Stop Staring

​Love you all, praying for you,
 
I just love God’s Word.  It gives you such a different perspective.  Acts 1:9 – After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and cloud hid Him from their sight.  And while they were gazing into heaven as He went, two men stood beside them in white clothes.  “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven?  This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will someday return from heaven in the same way you saw him go.  Can you imagine being there as Jesus ascended up into the sky, into heaven as a cloud covered him and took him away?  Can you imagine being there when he descends again to earth, the same way He was taken up into heaven?  Have you ever thought about… “What if you knew that today was the day?”  What if you got a text from Jesus, telling you that He was coming back tonight at 7:00 pm?  What would you do today?  Would you tell somebody?  Would you praise more? Or pray more? Would you just call in sick from work, and wait til He gets here?  Matthew 25:13 – Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.  (He then told the parable of the talents.  And those who were faithful until he returned, were welcomed into His eternal home with great reward.)  2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  But the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly as a thief.  The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be exposed… laid bare.  Since all these things will be dissolved in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?  You should live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.  That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth filled with God’s righteousness.   I Thessalonians 5:2 – For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape.  But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we are not of the night or of the darkness.  So be on your guard, not asleep like the others.  But let us be watchful and sensible… since we belong to the day, let us be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.  For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord, Jesus Christ.  He died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live forever with Him.  Therefore encourage each other and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.  Praying that even if you knew that Jesus would come back this evening at 7:00 pm, that you would keep doing what you are doing.  That you would keep doing the plans He gave you for today – in PiVAT before dinner last night.  That you would keep soaking in your PRISM time in His Word.  That you would pray without ceasing, rejoice in his promise, exhort one other daily, and tell somebody that He’s coming.  That you would give your testimony, and help others discover theirs.  That you would be watchful, thankful, expecting, that you would share this good news!  That you would walk in the Holy Spirit, being faithful to the last hour.  What if He was coming back today?
 
Love you all,
dad