Jump Start # 2851

Matthew 25:31 “So when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.”

I was driving home the other day. It was a nice sunny day and the sky was layered with white puffy clouds. A couple of the clouds caught my attention as I was looking through the windshield. What if Jesus appeared right then? Before I got home, before I went through the day’s mail, while driving in my car, He appeared.

I tend to think that we intellectually know that Jesus is coming in the clouds. We’ve heard enough lessons that reminds us of all that will take place. The dead will be raised. The righteous will be caught up with the Lord. The living will be changed in an instant. The earth and all the elements will be burned up. Classes on the second coming and sermons on the judgment often remind us of these divine truths. But I wonder if that’s all it is for us. We understand it factually, but we go about our day and our lives as if it most likely won’t happen any time soon. In fact, there may be within us a wish that He won’t come anytime soon. We’ve got plans. There is vacations that we want to take. There are weddings that we want to go to. There are babies to be born. Some are adding on to their house and they’d like to see it completed and enjoy it. Some are looking for a new home. Life is good and we enjoy it and we know He’s coming, but maybe it will be a few centuries down the road so we don’t have to deal with it.

Our verse comes from a series of lessons about the Lord’s coming. The chapter begins with the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. The groom was gone. When he returned, the foolish were not ready. Next follows the parable of the talents. The master was gone for a while. Each servant was given some money with the expectation that he would do something positive with it. The master returned. The one talent man didn’t have much to show for what was given to him. Then comes the gathering of the sheep and the goats. This takes place when “the Son of Man comes.”

Jesus is coming. That’s the thought. He’s coming whether we are ready or not. He’s coming whether we want Him to or not. He’s coming, not on our schedule, as the wedding virgins found out, but on His timetable. It’s good to every once in a while, to tap the brakes of life and remember that Jesus is coming.

Some thoughts:

First, remembering that Jesus is coming helps me keep the Lord and His kingdom at the top of my list. My Dodgers are struggling this year. Too many injuries. They are not in first place. They are not in second place. But if indeed, I actually saw Jesus the other day, would any of that matter? Would those thoughts even enter my mind? Clean houses, weed free yards, balanced checkbooks, and everything in it’s place may make us feel good, but are we in the right place for Jesus to come? He is coming. There is no doubt about that. Are there things I have been kicking down the road because they are hard or I simply don’t want to do them? Am I still flirting too much with the Devil? Do I still have anger in my heart? Am I still holding on to hurts and refusing to forgive? When do I plan to deal with these things? Another day, and still kicking those cans down the road.

Second, remembering that Jesus is coming reminds me that God doesn’t forget His promises. That’s an old, old promise, told throughout Matthew 25 that Jesus is coming. Years have passed by. Decades have passed by. Generations have passed by. None of us can trace our family ancestry back to the first century. Far too many years. Yet, this promise remains. And, this reminds us that God keeps all of His promises. His promises to forgive us. His promises to care for us. His promises to be there for us. We make promises and either break them or forget them. Not God. Jesus is coming.

Third, that day, when Jesus does come, will be like no other day. Can you imagine? Have you put some thought to that? The sky filled with angels. Everyone stopping what they are doing and be looking skyward. People running out of their homes and stores. Cars stopped on the interstate and people getting out of their cars. Some will wonder what it is. The faithful will know. Jesus has come. Everything changes. No time to get back home. No place to run to. Many will be scared. I think tears would roll down my cheeks. Politics won’t matter. Stock markets won’t matter. Ball games won’t matter. Jesus has come.

Fourth, to see the face of the Lord, what a glorious honor that would be. Revelation says every eye shall see Him. I can’t figure out how that would happen. When we are seeing the sun, the other side of the planet isn’t. They have darkness and stars. When we have night, the other side has day. How can every eye see Him? But how could God part the Red Sea and the bottom be dry and not muddy? How could God make the sun stand still or move shadows backwards? How could God create all that we see by simply saying “Let there be”? There will be some that do not know Jesus. There will be some who have given up on Jesus. But for those who have stayed alert and watchful and ready, what a glorious, glorious time to see the Lord.

We sing, “There’s a great day coming, a great day coming.” It’s great if you are ready. It’s great if you are alert. What if today was the day?

Roger

Jump Start # 1999

Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.”

Our verse today, the third in a series about the coming judgment. The chapter starts with the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. That sets the tone for believers to be alert because you “do not know the day nor the hour.” The second parable, talents, shows the basis of the coming judgment. We are not compared with one other, but, instead, the judgment is based upon what each of us could do. The judgment is about being responsible with what God has given to us. The final story, where our verse is found, shows us that the judgment is determined by our faith and our choices. In many ways, we choose each day to live for Heaven or to live without God, which is Hell. The judgment will not ignore these choices that we have made everyday of our lives. The judgment is not a written test about what we know, but rather, an examination of what our faith led us to do. Too many would like to live like a sinner and die like a saint. That simply won’t happen. The world has distorted and twisted things so badly, that people are convinced that the sinners are the ones who have all the fun. Long ago, Mark Twain is claimed to have said, “I like Heaven for the climate and Hell for the company.” That generated laughs, but it doesn’t make Heaven smile. Christians are perceived by many to be stern, serious, frowning and against everything. Who would want to be a Christian, if that was the case? It’s so wrong. Christians have a blast and they can have that without regrets, shame, guilt or layers of issues that come with sin.

Our verse tells of the coming of Jesus. He’ll come in His glory with all the angels. Just imagine. Imagine being home and you hear a noise like you’ve never heard before. Loud. It didn’t come from the house. What could it be? Did a plane crash? You rush outside and immediately you see the sky full of angels. Hundreds and hundreds of angels. Everywhere you look, there are angels. All about us are people looking skyward. Many are scared. Some are wondering if aliens are invading the planet. But you know. You have known for a long, long time.

You’ve read the verses in Peter, Thessalonians and other places. You know what’s going to happen. You know why it’s happening. You know and you have wondered if you would be alive to see this day. And, here it is. It’s Jesus. You see Him. Others are running around. Some are trying to hide. Some are crying. Some are cursing. Some are declaring that this couldn’t be. But you know. You drop to your knees and look upward with a smile on your face. You’re ready. You’ve been ready for a long, long time. It’s Jesus.

He promised a long time ago that He’d come again. He promised that He would take us to be with Him. And, now, here it is.

Imagine if Jesus came today. Suddenly, nothing else matters. What you have planned won’t come about. That doesn’t matter. You had a vacation scheduled. That doesn’t matter. You have a package that was to be delivered. That won’t happen now, and it doesn’t matter. You have a doctor’s appointment scheduled. That won’t happen now, and it doesn’t matter. You had a plumber scheduled to come out to the house in the morning. That won’t happen now, and it doesn’t matter. There are some important meetings at work that won’t take place. It doesn’t matter now. You haven’t finished the last episode of a TV series that you wanted to watch. That won’t happen now, and it doesn’t matter. You were going to see the latest Star Wars movie but that won’t happen now, and it doesn’t matter. There won’t be a Super Bowl. There won’t be a college football championship game. Some babies wouldn’t be born. Some wouldn’t graduate. Some books would never get published. Some songs would never get recorded. Some projects would never be completed. Some houses would never be finished. Some business deals would never come about. Some trials would not take place. Some criminals would not be caught. Some Christmas presents would not be opened.

If Jesus came TODAY, imagine how everything you have planned would suddenly stop. And, at that moment, nothing else matters. Nothing. Nothing, but you and Jesus. It won’t matter if you have your hair combed, or if you have shaved for the day. It won’t matter if you are barefoot or in your jammies. It won’t matter if you locked your door when you went outside. It won’t matter if you have gas in your car. It won’t matter if you backed up your computer or put all your pictures on Cloud. These things simply will not matter. It’s just you and Jesus. That’s all that matters. Now, everything you read, every Bible class you remembered, all those sermons—everything swirls around in your head. You remember. You know. This is the end as Paul described it to the Corinthians. You know in just a moment you’ll be changed. You’ll put on the immortal. You wonder what that will feel like. You wonder what you’ll look like. You know very soon that all the graves will open and the dead will be raised. You wonder what they will look like. You know that this earth will soon be destroyed. You know.

And all that matters is you and Jesus. Now, will it be like this? I don’t know. But we do know that He’s promised to come. We do know that the living will be changed and the dead will be raised. We do know that He’s coming with all the angels. We do know that when He comes, He’ll take God’s people. We do know that the world will be destroyed with fire. We do know that there will be a judgment. We do know that everyone will be ushered into eternity.

And we do know that all that really matters is you and Jesus. Do you believe? Do you follow? Do you obey? Do you please Him? Do you worship Him? Do you think about these things?

You and Jesus. He’s coming…what if it were today?

Roger