February 21, 2024
LISTEN TO AUDIO
Every Friday at 12:00 noon the siren would wail. That was the warning signal to stop whatever we were doing, put our heads down on our desks and cover our heads with our hands. That was the exercise we practiced every week just in case an atomic bomb exploded nearby.
Even as a kid under the age of ten, I realized the absurdity and futility of that effort. Cover my head against an atomic bomb? Really? I heard the stories. I saw the pictures. I watched the movies about the end of the world and monsters created out of radioactivity unleashed upon those who survived. Neighbors tried to prepare by digging fallout shelters in their yards and stocking them with food and supplies just in case they survived. Many post-apocalyptic novels and stories were written. And as well as I could at the time, I understood the threat.
I’m a baby boomer and I have lived my entire life under the threat of nuclear devastation that would destroy the world and everything in it.
So far, no one’s pushed the button – so far.
I graduated from sixth grade and advanced to seventh grade. And we no longer practiced the exercise as if, the threat of nuclear annihilation had somehow gone away sometime during the summer. We all knew the real threat continued.
The truth is that we still live under nuclear threat. It’s just one more thing on our list of threats, real and unreal, that we live with every day. Some will never happen, some might. Just one more thing, real or imagined, that we have to worry about.
What about Jesus? What about JESUS?? WHAT ABOUT JESUS???!!! We, our kids, our families, our friends, all we love, need to hear the stories, see the pictures, understand the truth.
The Bible says, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God …” 1 Thessalonians 4:16, NIV, and
“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.” Mark 13:26, NIV
The Bible goes on to say, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Matthew 24:36, NIV
Jesus reassures us saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:1-3, NIV
In other words Jesus says, “I’ll be back!” Some hear that as a threat, others believe it as a promise. Either way, it is the Truth. And we need to prepare. One way or another, sooner or later, each one of us will meet our Lord Jesus Christ, either if He returns to earth during our lifetime or when we die and leave this world.
Instead of ignoring the Truth or just covering our heads with our hands, we can bend our knees, bow our heads, fold our hands, pray, hug our family and our neighbors, praise the Lord and prepare for His return in glory.
C. S. Lewis, British writer, theologian and scholar, puts it this way, “I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realize what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the Author walks on to the stage the play is over … but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else – something it never entered your head to conceive – comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing; it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.”
Christ will come again! That’s the promise. That’s the Truth.
REMEMBER & BELIEVE
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
In the meantime, prepare for His return!
QUESTION
How are you preparing for Christ's return?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, please help us to prepare to be with You in heaven when our time in this world is over.
Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil and the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (NRSV)
God bless you!
Richard
Christ Worshipper | Disciple Maker | Hope Giver
Welcome to In the Meantime. I'm glad you're here! We are living in the time between Christ's ascension into heaven and His promised return to earth. In the Meantime is a collection of stories about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and His presence, love, mercy and grace in my life. In the Meantime, Jesus is Lord! Hallelujah!
Comments