Thought for the Day 06/06/06
I don't get "preachy" in these Thoughts often, but on this day when rumor abounds on 06/06/06 today, I send this second Thought with love to you all, something a fellow believer wrote to warn us of the nearing of the end - May our Lord Jesus come soon!
The description of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible is spoken of in terms which make the combined effects of 9/11, tsunamis, Katrina and the severe recent earthquakes sound like child’s play. The warnings we are given are astounding. "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from
the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened." (Matt. 24:21 RSV)
In light of these descriptions, it begs the question – "Why do so many fail to heed the warning?" People continue to live in sin as if this will not come to pass. Not surprisingly, the Scriptures provide us with the answer of why people do not heed the warning. Some people just assume that life was we know it will go on forever. They say "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man." (Matt. 24:36-39 NJB)
Others will dismiss the Second Coming as pure fiction. "First of all, do not forget that in the final days there will come sarcastic scoffers whose life is ruled by their passions. ‘What has happened to the promise of his coming?’ they will say, ‘Since our Fathers died everything has gone on just as it has since the beginning of creation!’" (2 Pet. 3:3-4) Other people fail to realize how terrible the Second Coming will be for those who are still serving sin. "For look, the Day is coming, glowing like a furnace. All the proud and all the evil-doers will be the stubble, and the Day, when it comes, will set them ablaze." (Mat. 4:1 NJB)
We certainly don’t want to be accused of trying to scare people into serving Christ. In the seven years we have been writing the Thought For the Day, we have never delved into this very important topic for this very reason. However, the warning from God is real and needs to be heeded. We would prefer to focus on the loving offer of forgiveness and salvation, and God's loving help in our daily lives. If that is not sufficient to motivate, perhaps the warning of impending judgment will do the trick. God tells us what to do. "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men every where to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world…" (Acts. 17:30-31)
God is shaking up the world to warn us. Let us believe in God and His Son, repent, be baptized and follow them in the way of Truth, love and joy. Our lives depend on it.
The description of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible is spoken of in terms which make the combined effects of 9/11, tsunamis, Katrina and the severe recent earthquakes sound like child’s play. The warnings we are given are astounding. "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from
the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened." (Matt. 24:21 RSV)
In light of these descriptions, it begs the question – "Why do so many fail to heed the warning?" People continue to live in sin as if this will not come to pass. Not surprisingly, the Scriptures provide us with the answer of why people do not heed the warning. Some people just assume that life was we know it will go on forever. They say "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man." (Matt. 24:36-39 NJB)
Others will dismiss the Second Coming as pure fiction. "First of all, do not forget that in the final days there will come sarcastic scoffers whose life is ruled by their passions. ‘What has happened to the promise of his coming?’ they will say, ‘Since our Fathers died everything has gone on just as it has since the beginning of creation!’" (2 Pet. 3:3-4) Other people fail to realize how terrible the Second Coming will be for those who are still serving sin. "For look, the Day is coming, glowing like a furnace. All the proud and all the evil-doers will be the stubble, and the Day, when it comes, will set them ablaze." (Mat. 4:1 NJB)
We certainly don’t want to be accused of trying to scare people into serving Christ. In the seven years we have been writing the Thought For the Day, we have never delved into this very important topic for this very reason. However, the warning from God is real and needs to be heeded. We would prefer to focus on the loving offer of forgiveness and salvation, and God's loving help in our daily lives. If that is not sufficient to motivate, perhaps the warning of impending judgment will do the trick. God tells us what to do. "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men every where to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world…" (Acts. 17:30-31)
God is shaking up the world to warn us. Let us believe in God and His Son, repent, be baptized and follow them in the way of Truth, love and joy. Our lives depend on it.
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