01/08/2023
When Jesus was asked why He ate with sinners and tax collectors he wasted no time in responding that He came to heal the sick, not those who are well, and He said it again in a different way so that He wouldn’t be misunderstood by saying that it was His intention to call sinners to repentance… not the righteous. If we step back from the trees so that we can see the forest we will realize that the first coming was indeed meant to destroy sin, and deal with death, but then we will find too that in His second coming He is returning to claim the righteous… those He has already healed. So if you are a sinner then repent, and if you are a believer then prepare yourself for the day He will return for you.
“And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.””
Luke 5:31-32 ESV
Are we yet to be redeemed? If we are still lost in sin then let’s hastily seek out our salvation in Him with fear and trembling lest we wait too long, but if we already believe, and have picked up our cross to follow Him, then let’s become the new people we were meant to be… the transformed in Christ. Let’s join together in our faith and work at perfecting ourselves as we wait with great anticipation for Jesus to come once again for us… let’s be ready for that day when the horns of Heaven sound, and He descends from the clouds to save us from this world and the evil in it.
“so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
Hebrews 9:28 ESV
Many ask why Jesus didn’t take us immediately to Himself when He first came. Well, He didn’t lift us up to deliver us to His Father because not all people and nations had heard the good news of His coming, nor had they heard His gospel. So as we go out into the world to deliver the gospel of Christ, He is busy preparing a place for us in Heaven, and we can trust in this because it is His word.
“But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation…”
2 Peter 3:13-15 ESV
Man is an impatient creature, and many will grow weary of waiting and turn away, but if we have faith, and wait as we are asked to do, then we will not perish, and will receive all that has been promised us… the joy, peace, resurrected body, and all the other things that we have been told await us. All of this is being prepared for us in eternity with God our Father.
So, have we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and His Father as our one true God? If so, are we waiting faithfully, and patiently, for Him to return? Are we praying, worshiping, and pouring ourselves into God’s Word as we prepare for what lies ahead when He comes for us?
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9 ESV
Prayer:
Thank you Father for the life, death, and resurrection, of your Son Jesus. Thank you for redeeming us of our sins through Him, and for His defeat of death. Father strengthen us in our belief, and faith, as we await the final return of your Son Jesus to claim us and raise us with Him. Let your Holy Spirit lead us each day until then as we work to do your will, and to be pleasing in your sight as Jesus is. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God whose Word is truth, and Son is life. Hear us as we praise you for every day that we wait, because in each one our faith increases, and the day grows nearer when Jesus will come to claim us. Wash us in His precious blood Father, so that we will be made pure… cleansed of all sin, and ready to stand before you. Judge us on that day to be righteous, and worthy in Christ to join you eternally in Heaven. Let all of creation sing of your glory as each name is announced as pleasing to you before your throne, and may all those who are yet to be judged see the mercy in your grace. In the thought of these things we are encouraged, and given hope here on earth, and in this your promise of eternity loving you, we find our strength of faith as we look for the coming of Jesus… every moment of each day.
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 ESV
Rich Forbes