Maranatha!
What a privilege we have of knowing Christ the Creator as our personal Lord and Savior and soon coming King! What an honor we have of serving him on the earth in our worship. Truly - it is a foretaste of heaven when we will worship and serve Him continually in an everlasting life of worship.
What a powerful time in the Lord's presence yesterday as well! I have such anticipation of the Lord's soon return. For those who know Him it is a hopeful time -- not a dreadful time.
Jesus foretells that his coming will take place as a thief in the night when He will comes to "snatch" his church away. It will be in a moment when you do not expect and will happen in the blink of an eye. The Word of the Lord warns us that it will be as it was in the days of Lot and of Noah when evil was pervasive and everyone was going about as normal eating, drinking, and living their lives without any acknowledgement or fear of God. In both stories, if you will remember, Lot and Noah were both taken out of the way (a picture of the rapture) before sudden destruction and the full judgment of God came upon the earth.
Most biblical scholars believe that the church will be raptured prior to the great tribulation. This does not mean we will not see trouble on the earth. Clearly we will witness great distress (wars, rumors of wars, famine, and pestilences) in the earth. We see these things occurring every day in the news! All of these troubles are described in Matthew 24 but the Lord will appear coming in clouds of glory for his church to catch us away before the worst devastations come upon the earth. Praise the Lord!
I believe the Spirit is reminding us once again to be serious about our commitment to Christ and to get ready for Jesus is coming back for a bride without spot or blemish. Bible scholars are in agreement that no other prophecies need to be fulfilled before the coming of the Lord and the rapture of the church. The fact of the matter is he could come at any moment. The question is will we be like the wise virgins who were ready or the unwise virgins who were not? Nothing we enjoy or love in this life compares to Christ and what we shall be when we shall see Him for we shall be like Him.
v. 3 - Let us then be true and faithful trusting serving every day. Just one glimpse of Him in glory will the toils of life repay. (When We All Get To Heaven)
Thanks and may wherever you go and whatever you do today become a place for His Holy presence to dwell for you are the temple of the Holy Ghost.
Until He Comes,
Pastor Chad Stafford
South Metro Ministries
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