There Will Be A Day

"The day of Christ's return will surprise people obsessed with their busy, happy lives- and the surprise will be an unpleasant awakening to God's wrath. Believers should keep watch, living in plain sight of God and doing right until he comes. Then whether Jesus returns before or after we die, we can be confident we will live with him in heaven."  ~The NCV Student Bible

"Now, brothers and sisters, we do not need to write you about times and dates. You know very well that the day the Lord comes again will be a surprise, like a thief that comes in the night." 1 Thes. 5:1-2 (NCV)

I'm certain many of you recognize the title of today's blog as also being the title to one of Jeremy Camp's hit songs. Might I also add that I love that particular song. It always propels me forward... into thoughts of the day of Jesus' triumphal return....the day that our faith will finally be made sight as we will then see Him face to face and be reunited with loved one's who have already been ushered by death into His presence....Oh, what a day that shall be!!!
For all who profess belief and trust in Jesus Christ, I do not believe that I exaggerate to say that the promise of that day lies at the very crux of all we hold dear because the promise of that day is, always has been and always will be so closely tied to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ....the promise of that day is a huge part of what, in fact, makes us Christians in the frst place....
As we have by now all heard of Harold Campings predictions of "Judgment Day", I find it completely ironic and exciting that although his predictions are utterly wrong, they still only serve to prove the true Biblical prophecies that speak to assure us of how very real that day, at some point, shall be!!!
How, you may ask, can I be so sure that Mr. Campings predictions are wrong? Well, for one thing, they have never come to fruition....but most importantly, is the fact that Jesus Himself left word for us concerning these things in Matthew 24:36 (NCV) where He said..... "No one knows when that day or time will be, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows."  And He goes on to make it very clear that no one but God will ever know when that day or time will be....we are simply admonished by Jesus... "to always be ready, because you don't know the day your Lord will come. Remember this: if the owner of the house knew what time of night a thief was coming, the owner would watch and not let the thief break in. So you must also be ready for the Son of Man will come at a time when you don't expect Him." Matthew 24:42-44
 Thankfully, even though Jesus Himself does not know when He will be called on by the Father to return. He did leave very clear "signs of the times" as to when we might anticipate His return and I know I speak not only for myself, but many others when I say that I feel sheer comfort and excitement as I look into news headlines and happenings around the world and see the very clear unrolling of these signs right before our very eyes!!! Yes, it would appear that it won't be long now before we behold our Savior face to face, but what if it turns out to be another thousand years before He returns??? Should our posture in waiting be any different??? Does that render the truth of God's Word any less effective and believable??? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
Although the Enemy has and will continue to use many like Camping to try and discredit the real truth of God's Holy Word, the end and final result will be the same....Christ shall return just like He said He would....It is true, according to scripture, that the days leading up to His return will not at all be pleasant or easy ones for us to endure, but it is also not for us to "sideline" ourselves watching and waiting for His return.... rather, we are to keep busy just as Peter wrote...."we are to live holy lives and serve God, as you wait for and look forward to the coming of the day of God." 2 Peter 3: 11-12 (NCV).....  we are to work for the continuance of the cause of His kingdom in this earth all the while knowing and anticipating that one sweet day...."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 those who have died believing in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive will be gathered up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words." 1Thes.4:16-18 (NCV)

Surviving All Things

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his pupose." Romans 8:28 ESV

My pastor recently taught a message where he spoke on the topics of perseverence, hope and overcoming life's hurts....in this message, he used the above scripture reference from the book of Romans. There was no way he could know this, but the whole premsie of his lesson is one of my life's greatest mantras. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, will get me on my "soapbox" quicker than discussing or hearing about God's promise to work all things in life to the benefit of those who love Him and are living out His purpose for their lives!
I've told my children many, many times....(especially those we adopted, as they have already had to survive a great many things), if we will simply allow God to help us learn to trust in and hold onto this one promise from Him, we'll have the art of persevering in life and continuing on in Christ locked up....
In a world where we are promised to have trouble, how then do we face that knowledge head on and without fear and anxiety ruling our hearts? We face it by remembering God's promise to us in Romans 8:28 and by remembering Jesus' own admission that we are to take heart because He has already overcome the world...."I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." John 16:33 NLT
I understand that I run the risk of trivializing this truth in writing about it and it is my sincere hope NOT to do so....as that is the exact opposite of what I'm hoping to portray....I don't mean to make this sound simple....there is absolutely no "easy button" for this life lesson...I will readily admit, that where this particular lesson gets tricky is that it is one which is often learned in hindsight and not foresight...by that I mean, you can "know" this scripture by memory but it's the "living it out", in walking through something hand-in-hand with God, where you actually "learn" it by heart....
Granted, there are some lessons I'd rather learn in theory than by experience...I'm sure most of you would agree with that....but I will also offer, that there are some things which are just too sweet to miss out on....some things that we simply will never see or realize  about God and ourselves until we're on the other side of the "something" we would never have chosen to live through had the choice been left up to us.....for each of us that "something" is different, but I beleive that God intends for the end result to be the same.....for us to emerge better and stronger for having walked it out....not bitter and weaker....as those words are not part of God's eternal vocabulary as it relates to His children...yes, better and stronger and just a tad bit more like His Son, Jesus...it's true that we will never attain His perfection, but we can have our minds and thinking renewed and transformed to be more like His....suffering is one aide which often brings about that result and I pray that in the midst of our suffering we will always remember that it also has a very precious promise stamped on it....He shall cause ALL things to work together for good......