Longing For His Return

Love Worth Finding

Longing For His Return
Pastor Adrian Rogers

"...we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." 1 Thessalonians 4:17

Is your heart longing for Jesus to return? Are you looking for Him? I am. The coming of Jesus is really the only hope for this world.

And when will that be? I don't know. It may be at morning when the clouds break open with sunlight and shadows of night recede from the sky. It may be at noon when the world is hustling and bustling. It may be at dusk when the birds are singing their evening song. Or at midnight, when the stars will dim by the blaze of glory when He descends from the heavenlies.

What joy fills my heart! Does it fill yours as well to think of that moment? Are you ready?

Look up into the skies today and think about His return. Can you imagine the sound of the trumpets and the voice of the angels announcing His return?

Be Ready For The Return of Christ

False Christs and false prophets will come and perform great wonders and miracles. They will try to fool even the people God has chosen, if that is possible. So be careful. I have warned you about all this before it happens.

"During the days after this trouble comes,

'the sun will grow dark,
and the moon will not give its light.
The stars will fall from the sky.
And the powers of the heavens will be shaken.' Isaiah 13:10; 34:4

"Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send his angels all around the earth to gather his chosen people from every part of the earth and from every part of heaven." Mark 13:22-27

READ Mark 13: 1-37

SITUATION Jesus taught his disciples about the signs of the end times. While he taught, he stood on the Mount of Olives directly opposite the Temple in Jerusalem. Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him to explain when the end would come.

OBSERVATION Be ready for the return of Christ. Some of the signs that will precede his coming are war, hunger, earthquakes, false Christs, false prophets, rumors of wars, loss of faith, persecution of believers, the increase of evil, and the preaching of the Good News to all the world.

INSPIRATION I was with American soldiers, near the front line at Danag. Can you imagine what it meant to them that an old lady cam to see them? Their wives and mothers were far away in America...At first I made them laugh heartily. Americans have a great sense of humor. But then I spoke to them very seriously. "Boys," I said, "we all know that you are in danger of your lives. It is possible that tomorrow you will be killed. Are you ready to look a righteous God in the eyes? It is possible if you repent and take your sins to Jesus. He wants you to forgive you and to cleanse your heart with His blood and fill it with His spirit. He said "Come to Me: and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37)." Many of these boys and men came . It is quite possible that now they are in heaven.

What about you who are reading this? Perhaps you will say: I am not on the front line of a war; my life is not in danger. But we all know that every person will have to die one day and after that the judgment--everyone, whether he wants it or not. Are you ready? (From Not I But Christ by Corrie ten Boom)3

APPLICATION If Jesus returned today, would you be among those who welcomed Him or among those who dread His coming? Reconsider your priorities and stand ready to go at a moment notice.

EXPLORATION Ready for Jesus Christ's Return -- Matthew 24:1-25:13; Luke 21:5-36; 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11

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The Devotional Bible - Experiencing The Heart of Jesus; Max Lucado General Editor, New Century Version, Thomas Nelson Bibles