While scholars have long debated the various Biblical texts concerning Jesus' return, their area of expressed unity is that He WILL return. Just as references to His first coming were known but not always fully understood, this is likely true of Jesus' next appearance. Just as Matthew and Luke beautifully narrate the humble birth of our Lord in a Bethlehem stable, no OT prophet knew, save the town itself, the precise details that would unfold on that beautiful scandalous night. And while far more details seem apparent from the NT authors, even by Jesus Himself, it's clear by the diverse interpretations of those inerrant prophecies that Jesus' second Advent will be much different than the first. Will this next event include surprises, things not anticipated? Most likely. Will some prognosticators be embarrassed by how wrongly their interpretations proved to be? Undoubtedly. But this we can safely say: Jesus' first Advent was to bring redemption, salvation, and peace between God and man; His second Advent will be to bring resurrection, vindication, and judgment. Are there any Scriptures that are particularly eyebrow raising in those regards? 2 Thessalonians 1:9-10 may top the list as Paul reveals: "They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might, when He comes on that Day to be glorified in His saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed." (ESV) Therefore on that Day, may we be among the glorifying saints, those who marvel, those who believe, those overcome with unimaginable joy, when our Lord returns...

1 Thessalonians 4:13-16 declares: "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 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, and the dead in Christ will rise first." (NIV) Paul goes on to tell us much more will follow. While we may wonder what Jesus thinks when it comes to how people around the globe celebrate His first coming--His humble and relatively quiet birth in a Bethlehem stable--we might ponder similarly what Jesus thinks about the various eclectic views of end-time prognosticators. This we know: however quiet Jesus' first Advent was, His second Advent promises to be much louder and vastly more visible. Within moments on that Day, what was once broad speculation will have vanished. And what else? His encore appearance will be magnificently glorious for His own--those longing for His return--and yet it will be horribly terrifying for everyone else! So which way will it be for you?

On the Mount of Olives, just days before His cross, Jesus shares the following found in Matthew 25:31-34: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'" (ESV) So what does Jesus mean, "Blessed by My Father?" Is this some sort of earned blessing? But doesn't God give what we neither deserve nor could ever earn? Isn't that called, grace? Most certainly! But then in the next dozen verses Jesus describes His second coming judgment--His expectations--the evidences of the undeserved favor He has freely bestowed. What's striking is how intertwined and commingled our vertical actions are with our horizontal ones--how our treatment of "the least of these" reflects on how we treat the Lord Himself--good, bad, and otherwise. As always, Jesus' words are weighty. What will we do with them?

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul gives this beloved church family (and all church families) what seems to be a monumental challenge: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (ESV) When we merely focus on the "thanksgiving" part, this alone seems most difficult, especially when the circumstances may be far from "good." If we were to make lists of all the "good" things we were thankful for and then commenced to thanking God for all those things, we might feel we were closing in on the object of the command. But what happens when the "good" list gets wiped out--then what? Ephesians 3:20 sounds similar: "And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (NLT) Perhaps the key to compliance is the part where it says, "In Christ Jesus." How so? Because the things in Christ Jesus--the eternal things won for us by Christ's sacrifice--cannot be wiped out. Those things are moth, rust, and thief-proof! Those things are better than "good!" And therefore, as our Father's adopted children, no matter the temporal circumstances in the here and now, thanksgiving for what has been won for us by our Lord, is not only possible, but something we can embrace with all our hearts...

In Paul's Doxology found in Romans 11:33-36, it says: "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unfathomable (inscrutable, unsearchable) are His judgments (His decisions)! And how untraceable (mysterious, undiscoverable) are His ways (His methods, His paths)! For who has known the mind of the Lord and who has understood His thoughts, or who has [ever] been His counselor? Or who has first given God anything that he might be paid back or that he could claim a recompense? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. [For all things originate with Him and come from Him; all things live through Him, and all things center in and tend to consummate and to end in Him.] To Him be glory forever! Amen (so be it)." (AMPC) When we read in Scripture how God knows everything, that He's, all-knowing, the theological term is: Omniscient. And of course if He's Omniscient then He knows everything there is to know about us! More incredible yet, the One Who knows all things grants us the awesome privilege of knowing Him! How awesome is that?! So do you know Him? Would you like to?

Philippians 4:4-7 says: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (ESV) What's promised in this passage? Peace! And the text says that peace will surpasses or transcend all understanding. In other words, whatever it may be that's fueling our anxiety, causing us to worry, may not be understood even after we've prayed, but peace--of more value than understanding--should settle us into a place of trusting God as we wait for His answers. Some might tell us in times of fretting to go to our "happy place." But God's Word tells us to pray and allow Him to blanket us with peace. In Matthew 11:28-30 we have a striking invitation from Jesus which He issues to all of us weighed down heavily by worrisome burdens of every sort: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (NKJV) That sounds like a superb invitation!

After God revealed to Daniel the dream of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, here's what the prophet wrote in Daniel 2:20-21: "Daniel answered and said: 'Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.'" (NKJV) These words were not only true for Judah, living in the midst of Babylonian captivity, but these words remain true for all people of all nations throughout all time! While elections come and go and various leaders rise and then later disappear, the throne of Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ remains absolutely secure and occupied! Therefore, in the meantime, no matter what nation or what leader temporarily holds power, anywhere on the planet, the Great Commandment and Great Commission--issued to us by Jesus Himself--stands immoveable for the citizens of the Kingdom of God. So not only is this true for Christians in America, but for Christians from every nation, tribe, and tongue…

The prefix, or root word, ortho means: straight; right; correct. We see ortho in front of a lot of important words such as orthodontics, orthopedics, orthotics, and orthoscopic. A couple theological terms should also be included in the mix: Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy. Orthodoxy refers to right doctrine. Orthopraxy refers to right practice. Jesus, the Word made flesh, most certainly exemplified everything He taught. Ideally as believers we want our orthodoxy and orthopraxy to be in alignment and working hand to hand. 1 John 2:3-6 helps clarify the distinct terms and how they work together: "We know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commands." [orthodoxy.] Whoever says, 'I know Him,' but does not do what He commands [orthopraxy] is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did." (ESV) Paul had to especially encourage his young protege, Timothy, just how vital both of these were. Sound or right teaching must be carefully and faithfully preached. And likewise, whatever is taught, must be put into practice. This also means of course that Paul's exhortations to Timothy, were also very much meant for us...

Philippians 2:3-4 says: "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." (ESV) The VOICE version illuminates those verses like this: "Don’t let selfishness and prideful agendas take over. Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others. Get beyond yourselves and protecting your own interests; be sincere, and secure your neighbors’ interests first.” Paul follows these powerful admonitions by showing how Christ Jesus perfectly modeled and exemplified all this via His incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. And it's likely Paul was quoting the oldest credal hymn of the time. Some have rightly said that the genuineness of a person's faith and relationship with God is manifested best when no one else is watching. What does love look like when a neighbor or stranger or even an enemy is down for the count and it's just you and them? When pressed about who our neighbor was, Jesus answered with the parable of the Good Samaritan. To the Samaritan, that lone bleeding Jew was a stranger and enemy but he cared for him like a beloved neighbor. So Jesus has set the bar high for us, not only by the example of the Samaritan, but especially and most assuredly by the example of Himself!

In 2 Corinthians 9:7-8 Paul talks about giving and what our hearts should be like in doing so: "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work." (ESV) Giving must flow from willing hearts, not as a result of twisted arms. When giving flows from a heart that trusts in the Ultimate Giver, the results reverberate in the here and now but also serve as deposits in heaven. When we realize that everything we have comes from God anyway, then we begin to realize that whatever we give is never really lost; it's merely sown. While we don't exactly know what that harvest will look like, it'll certainly surpass the seeds themselves. The results of this increasing awareness is our hands become less tight-fisted and more prone to opening wide. In Chapters 8 & 9 of 2 Corinthians, as Paul lays out such truths, He also reminds us of the Gospel which should be the foundation for all our giving. In 2 Corinthians 8:9 he writes: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich." (ESV) And Paul echoes again in 2 Corinthians 9:15: Thanks be to God for His inexpressible Gift!" (ESV)