For July 24, 2022
Over the past two-thousand years, we have been waiting, with great anticipation, for the glorious return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ just as He promised,
And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come. Then you will be arrested,
persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved… And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. Matthew 24:6-13, 30-31 (NLT)
No one can deny the similarities of the times immediately before the Lord’s return and those we are witnessing now in the world,
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- Escalating hostility and conflict between peoples and nations.
- Famine, pestilence and earthquakes occurring around the world.
- Heightened persecution against Christians and the Christian Faith.
- Increased disloyalty, betrayal, and religious fanaticism.
- Increased immorality and declined civility and benevolence.
We Christians look forward to our Lord Jesus Christ’s glorious return with great anticipation. While we wait, we should not fear because a wonderful future awaits us, as 1 John 3:2 (AKJV) reminds us, “We shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is!” We also have the added comfort that when He returns, He will reward us for our faithful endurance as well.
No one knows the day and hour when the Lord will appear, but it is certain to be growing sooner day by day as the signs of the times indicate. Then in an instant, we shall forever know the fullness of His love and grace, where the wicked will cease from troubling and the weary will be at rest forever. (Job 3:17)
Our loving God provides the only way for our redemption that washes away our sins, makes us righteous, and restores our lost fellowship forever.
Blood is essential to maintaining human life, so God institutes it, though sacrificial death, as the means to achieve our atonement. (cf. Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews 9:22) Sin-soiled humans cannot offer the unsoiled blood required to meet His righteous standards. Only someone perfect could shed pristine blood suitable to remediate our sins successfully. Thus, God had to become the perfect human sacrifice in Jesus Christ, to pay sin’s price fully. (cf. Isaiah 53:4-6, Hebrews 9:11-15)
Yet, all He requires is our faith in His vicarious, redeeming work, as we trust Him for salvation,
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17 (NJKV)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NKJV)
Without considering our “good” works, God takes away our sin and gives us Jesus’ righteousness because of our faith in His sacrifice at Calvary,
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2 (NKJV)
God’s eternal purpose is that we enjoy eternal a life with Him that is uncontaminated by sin, So as we put our faith in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, we become Born Again as His Holy Spirit inhabits us to enliven (quicken) our sin-deadened spirits eternally.
Christ in us is our hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) Through Him, we have a restored position and standing with God that makes us suitable and proper in every aspect. The Lord Jesus Christ’s return is imminent. Are you ready for His arrival?
What a Wonderful Savior!