Morning Nourishment

The Lord’s appearing is a warning, an encouragement, and an incentive to us

2 Tim. 4:1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus...and by His appearing and His kingdom.

8 …There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense me in that day, and not only me but also all those who have loved His appearing.

Paul says that such an award will be given to all who love the Lord’s appearing. The Lord’s appearing, His coming back, is a warning, an encouragement, and an incentive to us. We should love it and look forward to it with earnest expectation and joy. By it, the apostle charged Timothy to fulfill his ministry.

There is a great deal of talk among Christians today concerning the Lord’s second coming. But not many believers realize that when the Lord Jesus comes back, He will not come as the merciful God or as the gracious Savior, but as the righteous Judge. Christians should be warned and encouraged to prepare themselves to stand before this Judge. I hope that many among us will take up the burden in this dark age to bring such a solemn charge to the Lord’s people. We all need to receive this charge before God and before the Lord Jesus, the One who will judge the living and the dead. We must declare the fact that when the Lord comes back, He will be the Judge of all, both believers and unbelievers. According to Matthew 25, all of the Lord’s servants will have to give an account to Him. The Lord will either say, “Well done, good and faithful slave” (v. 21), or, “Evil and slothful slave” (v. 26). In His righteousness the Lord will decide whether or not we receive a reward.

We should not think that the Lord’s appearing will merely be a time of rapture and excitement. It will also be a time of great solemnity for every believer in Christ. This was the reason Paul charged Timothy by the Lord’s appearing and His kingdom. May we all give heed to this solemn warning.

Looking away unto Jesus and run the race set before us

Heb. 12:2 Looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down on the right hand of the throne of God.

Psa. 27:4 One thing I have asked from Jehovah; that do I seek: to dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of Jehovah, and to inquire in His temple.

May we all be persons who run the race...until the end. Even if we are hurt, offended, misunderstood, and rejected while running, we still have to cheer up and run the race unwearily for the sake of the Lord Jesus. Who receives the most praises in a race? It is the one who is hurt, who rises up again, and who finally wins the first place…. Being hurt and suffering are not a problem; even failing is not a problem….Today we are all in the race. Nothing counts today; everything will receive its final judgment at the end of the race. We should not give up, become weary, or faint in our soul for any reason. We ought to look unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith and run the race set before us!

In Hebrews 12:2 Paul told the Hebrew believers to look away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith. The Greek word translated “looking away unto” means to look with undivided attention by turning away from every other object….The Hebrew believers had to look away from all the things of their situation, away from their old religion and its persecution, and away from all earthly things that they might look unto Jesus who is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God in the heavens.

The wonderful Jesus, who is enthroned in heaven and “crowned with glory and honor” (2:9), is the greatest attraction in the universe, like an immense magnet drawing all His seekers unto Him. It is by being attracted by His charming beauty that we look away from all things other than Him.

The most important thing in the Christian life is to seek out the journey which the Lord has ordained and faithfully walk on it. A poor phenomenon among believers today is that many have not found the journey that the Lord has ordained for them. Some, even though they have found it, do not walk on it. This is the reason that their living is filled with so much spiritual death, gloom, and restriction, and this is the reason that there are so many conflicts and arguments in God’s work. The most important task for each of us is to put ourselves into God’s hand in a quiet, patient, prayerful, consecrated, and obedient way and wholeheartedly seek after His leading. We should be willing to obey Him and act only in accordance with His will. We should pray that He reveal to us the journey He has designated for us. After this, we should pay any price to wholeheartedly walk on it.

Those who run the race should not only lay aside the sin which so easily entangles them and every weight but should also run the race that is set before them with endurance. Why with endurance? Because the prize is not given at the beginning of the race, nor is it given in the middle of the race. Rather, it is given at the end—the very last step—of the race. We may run well at the start, and we may even run well at the midpoint, but we will not necessarily run well at the end. A victory involves winning at the beginning, at the midpoint, and at the end. Before reaching the end, we cannot guarantee that we will win the prize. We may fail in the last five steps. Once in a two hundred meter running race, a man was ahead of the other competitors by twenty meters at first. No one expected that he would fall down just two meters before the finish line. If we want to win the race, we have to be careful. We cannot say that we will surely win the prize before reaching the end. Even Paul said, “Not that I have already obtained or am already perfected, but I pursue” (Phil. 3:12). How about us?