Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Friday, October 23, 2015

Today’s Scriptures:

“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” (Revelation 16:15).

Today’s Observation:

The richest blessing in the book of Revelation is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. After so many people, places, and things blow up, burn down, become afflicted, are destroyed, dismantled, and disrupted, there is a bright spot of hope in the universe. It’s like the many months of pregnancy mothers endure. There are pangs, trials, complications, afflictions, and sometimes worse. As she carries her blessed child, hopefully to full term, things do not get easier—they get more difficult. But at the appropriate time, all mothers are eventually delivered of their children. The Bible says: “The creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)” (Romans 8:21–25, NLT).

At just the right time, when as many people as possible are ready to live with God in peace, Jesus will return. While it is true that Jesus said He would come as a thief in the night (meaning unexpectedly), He also said blessed are those who keep alert and watch with our garments (of His righteousness) covering our nakedness (of former sinfulness) fresh, pressed, and gleaming white. So while we do not know exactly when Jesus will come, He has given signs that shout to us that the time is near. Nature shows signs as the trees turn that the seasons are changing. Mothers experience the different gestational periods of their babies as they prepare to make their appearances. God gives us enough to go on, to let us know His coming is as close as our hands are to our bodies. The Bible says it this way: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5:2–6).

Conclusion:

I must admit that the Revelation can be overwhelming at times, because of the many evil plots of the enemy, and God’s necessary treatment of them. But we must not become wearied to the point of discouragement. Jesus will soon keep His promise. He will come! He will eternally deliver His people from sin, sickness, and death! He will create a new heaven and a new earth. The question is: “Will you (will I) choose to accept all of the provisions HE has made for us to live eternally?” God has given all of heaven in the Person and ministry of Jesus Christ to make eternity possible. There is no sin or shame that God cannot conquer in the lives of those who surrender to Him. Jesus is coming soon. Are you ready to see Him?

A Prayer for Your Hearts:

Lord, please help us prepare for your arrival. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.--L. David Harris (www.davidwritesalot.com)