by David Brenneman
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near." Revelation 1:1-3.
Throughout many of the books that we read in the New Testament are the teachings that tell us that we are to live each day as if today were the day Jesus will return.
To live life as if today could be that day would certainly change how a great many people view their lives.
As odd as life is depicted in Hollywood and the other places these types of scenes are filmed...they do quite often get this aspect right. The aspect that in potential world ending events people's priorities abruptly change. Most everything gets tossed out the window that isn't about the direct need of the moment for which they are facing.
Yet all too many professing Believers in Jesus Christ aren't at all living life as if His promise to return for them is a high priority for them.
Part of how we live our lives isn't just to live in the character of Christ, but also to live as though we fully embrace His promised return.
We are to allow the grace poured out upon us to others. We are to show mercy as we have been shown mercy from on high by God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are also supposed to do what we do as unto the Lord with one hand and be ready to stand before Jesus with the other. Just as Nehemiah had those who returned to Jerusalem with him do.
We cannot, as professing Christians, live lives as if we can just go live life however we please. We are still here to further the gospel. We are still here to live transformed lives. We are still here because of His purposes for us. We aren't to live as though we have a ticket to go to Heaven so anything else doesn't matter.
We aren't here to bring glory to ourselves. Scripture explicitly states that we're to live lives in such a way that people see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. We are to be students of God's Word for our entire life. We are not promised health, wealth or prosperity. We are promised a new life in Christ that will bring honor and glory to God.
How are you doing in being prepared for Jesus to return for you?
Make sure that you read that statement again and make it intensely personal.
How honestly selfish have you been living your life for you more than you have for your calling in Christ?
We all do it in all kinds of ways and don't really see it that way.
We can often treat prayer to our living Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as optional and attach an self-justified excuse to it.
We can often treat meeting with Jesus daily in our Bibles as optional and attach another self-justified excuse to it.
We can often excuse our behavior towards others with a good self-justified excuse.
Notice the pattern? Self-justification is a cancerous weed in our lives. We are to be dying to ourselves daily and living for Jesus daily.
We are to take the Word of God as commands and not suggestions.
I've done it, I am certain you've done it too.
We need to be ready for Jesus.
We need to be aware of what our spiritual gifts are and to be sure we're using them to glorify God in Christ Jesus.
We need to do more self-examination to be sure we're not allowing selfish decisions, selfish desires, to be growing in our lives.
Jesus IS coming. Will you be. among the excited or among the ashamed? Among those looking forward to what He might say about how you lived your life or among those who will be ashamed at not having done what you were called to be doing for Him?
Right now, in this here this now, you can do something about it. You cannot change your past but you can change your present.
Because...the time is near.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
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