What Does It Mean That Jesus Is Coming Back?

The Bible tells us that Jesus is going to come back soon.  During Roman persecution, this was great hope for deliverance. What does it mean to us today?

"He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come soon, Lord Jesus." Revelation 22:20, NIV.

The first part of the Bible verse above are the words of Jesus, the last part is the apostle's response.

AFFIRMATION
This verse has several affirmative words, "Testifies, yes and amen." The combined tone of these words is to say this is for certain, agreed upon, and wanted. That "yes" is like Jesus is saying, "This is set in stone and can't change, it will happen- I am coming soon."

AMEN
The Apostle John responds to the promise of Jesus return with "Amen, come soon..."  It like a prayer, and he says it with hope.  This was the same Apostle John who walked with Jesus and rested his head on Jesus' bosom at the last supper; he loved Jesus and longed for his return.

Can we say, "Amen, come soon Lord Jesus?" It appears today we are not as passionate about the Lord's return as the Apostle.  Jesus's return is one of our faith's great hopes, but we are too caught up in this world to want to serve the next one.  We must acknowledge the Bible teaches as fact that Jesus is coming soon, maybe today. We are caught up too much with family, job, hobbies, and amusements, to give his return the proper place in our hearts. What would life be like if we did?

     * Would we treat people differently?
     * Would we spend time different?
     * Would we work more for Jesus and less for self?
     * Would our thoughts be about self or about Jesus and his Glory?
     * Would we be more forgiving and compassionate?
     * Would we see slights and offenses as trivial?
     * Would we find purpose in trials?

LORD
He is coming not as the lowly carpenter but to be Lord of everything.  Scripture pictures his return with a sword, not a shepherd's crook.  He is the righteous and divinely appointed ruler who alone is worthy to rule mankind.  He will take away the sorrows of this world and bring peace, love, and joy.

Jesus' coming does not only affect us but it changes everything for everyone we love.  For some who love Jesus, his coming will be wondrous, but for those who have not trusted him as Savior they will be far from hope.

He is coming soon.  May we be challenged and encouraged by this hope.

If you are not ready for Jesus, or if you want to learn more about coming to Jesus follow this link to my other post: click here.

© Adron 1/16/13

What is God Looking For? Ezekiel 22:30

What is God looking for?

We are all looking for something but what about God, what is God looking for? Could we ever know just what God wants? Yes, and God used an ancient prophet to tell us exactly what He wanted.

"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it but I found none." Ezekiel 22:30. NIV.

GOD IS SEARCHING

"I looked for a man..." God is gazing upon humanity and he is trying to find something. It is incredible that the All-Knowing God would search as if in spite of His omniscience He is still hopeful of finding a certain man; As if God is hoping he is wrong, and that he somehow overlooked this special man.

A MAN

You would think God is looking for someone who is a PhD., or a philosopher, or a Nobel Prize laureate, or a great humanitarian, or one who is the head of a university, a government, or a charity. God is not looking for any such celebrity; He is looking for “a man.” This definition is unexceptional, common, and mundane as if just a man; any of us could be that one!

THE GAP

The walls were the city's defenses, but these walls were broken down and weakened, they were a danger and not a security. The man the Lord sought then and seeks now is one who will build up the walls, to protect and defend the people of God's affection. We as a church and a world need a man to build up the walls of prayer around our communities.

What does it mean to stand "in the gap?" It is a term that comes from ancient warfare, it meant to fill in part of the defenses with your own self thereby becoming part of the wall against defeat and disaster.

There is a gap today between lost humanity and God's wrath. We need one who stands before God in the priestly function of intercessory prayer. We need to be people who pray for our nation and our brothers. We need to confess our own sins and the sins of those of our community. We need to plead with our God for mercy on our houses and our neighborhoods.

OUR WORLD IS SEARCHING
Our world today is looking for solutions through movements, government, institutions and even guns, but God is looking and waiting for one to stand in the gap, the gap between us and his judgment. In the ancient time of Ezekiel he found none, may it not be the case today. May you and I be such people that God seeks, who stand before him in prayer for those around us.

To learn how to know God in a personal way see my other blog, CLICK HERE.

(c) Adron 2/22/11

When it May Be Wrong To Go To Church - Ezekiel 14:1-4.

God Loves You

We think it is always good to go to church, but is there a time when the Bible suggests it is wrong?

"Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. then the word of the lord came to me"' Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? Therefore speak to them and tell them this is what the Sovereign Lord says: When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the Lord will answer them myself in keeping with his great idolatry..." Ezekiel 14:1-4 NIV.

IDOLS
There are many kinds of idolatry but the worst and most deceptive is the idolatry of the heart. Idols misrepresent God, take His glory away, and are untrue in every respect. We think they are innocent but they mislead and guide us down wrong paths away from the very God we seek.

ORIGINS
There are many sources for heart dwelling idols. We can harbor some fantasy life in our imagination, or some bitterness clouds our vision of God. A past experience may stain our view of God. A wrong understanding of God may be caused by our parents, relationships, or contact with others who communicated the error to us.

It is questionable if any of us have a correct idea of the infinite, all powerful, all knowing, God of wonders and majesty. We are not capable of it since He is infinite and we are made of dust.

OUR HEART
There are times when our job, family, or retirement account may be an idol; but other well-meaning values may be exalted to idol statuses, such as ministry, denominational identity, or mission. We may harbor an idol by saying our style of worship is more acceptable than another's, or our standards of Christian conduct is more valid than another's.

An idol may force us to exclude a person from our church because of a culture or heritage or practice; even if the practice or culture is clearly defined as offensive to God once we make that doctrine and not God the standard we have become idolaters and are in danger of hearing Gods rebuke.

THE ONE TRUE GOD
God wants to be known correctly and it benefits us to know Him that way. We only know Him by His gracious revelation of Himself to us. Let's pray and ask God to show himself to us, (at least as much as we can handle). As we seek the truth of His revelation of Himself in honest humility we may come before Him in the confidence of acceptance and not fear His rebuke.

If we are not coming to the place of worship with an open and humble heart that honestly seeks to know and worship the Almighty we are deceiving ourselves and might just as well stay away.

Thank you for visiting and reading my blog. I sincerely hope this post is helpful and an encouragement.  For more like this see the most popular post in the left sidebar, or use the search box above.  

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(C) Adron 1/24/11

Forgiveness is not so simple. Psalm 103: 9, 10.

We say God’s ways are not our ways, but what are God’s ways, and what do they tell us about God?

“He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities.” Psalm 103:9, 10. NIV.

What hope these words offer! God is a God of forgiveness, not causal forgiveness but mercy on many levels; His accusations cease, His anger abates, His actions are amended, and our iniquities are voided out.

ANGER
We are shocked to read that God does have anger. We want God to be the wonderful mushy grandfather in the sky who gives gifts to the good and winks at the bad. Yet, God does have anger at the wrongs we do, the sins we commit, and the good we neglect to do. He would be cheap if it were otherwise.

ACCUSE
What good news that God “will not always accuse.”  God sees every wrong we do, and if He wished, God could call us into judgment whenever He wanted. He is our creator and father and has the right to require the fidelity of mankind, and as Lord of the universe, He is right to condemn our sin and us. To say God “will not always accuse” suggest there is a time when accusation and judgment will cease, and our guilt will be erased.

MERCY
God is not like us, we harbor anger or carry a grudge for decades until it taints every relationship and act, even to our own injury, but God does not bear a vindictive grudge forever. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or according to our iniquities. If he did, we would all be lost long ago. Each day we live, we do so as a testament to His mercy, forgiveness, and His Grace.

HOW?
How is it that “God will not Harbor His anger forever?” God’s anger is vented somewhere on someone or something. The Bible reveals that God spent His wrath on His Son Jesus on the cross. He placed our sin on His Holy Son and vented His just anger against those sins there. Not only was the fury of the wrath of God against our sin exhausted on Jesus, but He also offers eternal life to any who accept His Son’s sacrifice on their behalf. He did this for us, and we can say, “Indeed He does not treat us as our sins deserve.”

To learn how to find eternal forgiveness in Christ, click here to see my other post about the Gospel.

(c)Adron Dozat 10/11/10

The Ancient Prophet Warns America. Isaiah 6:9-10.

We have gospel TV, radio, Bible bookstores in every community, innumerable religious organizations for good, and churches on every corner, but has it helped us gain God’s blessing as a nation? Or do they, in fact, draw us away from the truth and toward judgment?

“He said, ‘Go and tell this people: “Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. 10. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.’” Isaiah 6:9-10. NIV.

BACKGROUND
These verses are from the passages where Isaiah receives his prophetic commission. He is told the people will hear but not hear, see but not see, and so they will not repent and forfeit healing. This judgment and warning apply to us today just as much- if not more- than in the days of ancient Israel. We see so much Gospel on TV, Internet and radio, we have bibles in most homes, and many of us can quote a few verses, we have churches on every corner but still, we are blind, calloused, and dull to righteousness and truth.

WARNING
Isaiah exposed their hardened hearts, and his words warn us that we, too, have calloused hearts and must beware. God says, “Go ahead be hardened to me, and deaf to my voice, and blind to my truth; go ahead. I will let you go all the way.”

TURN
They were warned, "Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." The action God asked of them was that they turn, they were going one way God said, 'Turn around and come back to me."

The opportunity was there but neglected. They chose to not see, to not hear, and to not turn. Their nation was destroyed, and they were taken as slaves and deported. We must not make their mistake.

Only the Lord can rescue us from blindness and judgment. May we pray for the Lord to open our eyes, ears, and hearts. May we see our sins and return and repent.

Your Friend

Adron

My Prayer For Our Nation.

Holy God, surely You are the God
Of all righteousness and truth.
Unbind our iron-wrapped eyes
To see our wrongs against Your love.
Clean our ears of the black crud
That blocks us from hearing Your word.
Demolition of our concrete hearts
And transplant tender organs.
Give us clear eyes that see Your truth.
Open our ears to hear Your words.
Grant us hearts that pump gentle love.
Take our dirty hands and turn us,
And place us on Your humble path.
May we soon enjoy Your healing,
And again, share the bright blessings
That flow from your gentle, sure hand.

(c) Adron 7/4/10

How Can Your Sins Be Cleansed? 2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV

We want our sins to be clean before God, so we say prayers, attend services, fast, etc. but do we have any assurance of cleanness?

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21.

God does not weigh our sins against counterbalancing “good deeds” and judge us based on the greater of the two. Sin deeply grieves God, who is so holy that the only payment is absolute death and eternal banishment from Him. But God does something about our sin we could never do; we can’t pay the price for sin but God puts our sin on one who did not have sin of his own to pay for.

RIGHTEOUSNESS
God freely gives what no man can ever earn- His righteousness. It is complete and satisfies the judgment of God against sin. God's righteousness is so far above any human righteousness that there is no comparison. Man’s righteousness only dresses up sin, but God's righteousness purifies as if sin never occurred.

SIN
Whatever God does is done perfectly. The fact that God put my sins on Jesus, and gives righteousness is a done deal; it is perfect and can’t be improved upon. We can rest, even rejoice, and celebrate that God has done what we never could do.

HIM
It is all because of Jesus. The pronoun "Him" is used twice, making the point.
     * In him we are offered righteousness.
     * In him we are given salvation. In him we have blessings.
     * In him we live. Why would anybody want to not be "in him?"
     * If you are not in him you am in your sin and will face judgment.
If you trust Jesus for salvation then you are are in him.

MIGHT
The word “might” means that the possibility now exists where it was not before but an action is required. You will have righteousness if you receive the salvation God offers through the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus.

SALVATION
Salvation is free because Jesus paid a great price on the cross; salvation is not cheap because it cost Jesus everything. To learn more about salvation see my other blog.

(c)Adron Dozat