Saturday 24 November 2018

What we should be doing

What we should be doing
“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  
For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;  and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.  
Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.  
But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.  
 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.  Matthew 24:36-42
I as a Christian believe that Jesus will return to this earth to judge all mankind. Here in Matthew 24:36-42 Jesus points out not only what will happen in the days leading up to that return but crucially that no one knows the day He will return. Thus it is incumbent on those of us who believe in Jesus to be found working for him. To do our best to present the truth about Jesus and the eternal life with God he gives.
Sadly all too many Christians like to as one of my friends put it “read the tea leafs in the scripture” they look for the signs Jesus spoke about. They read the book of Revelations and other prophetic books and try to guess when Christ will return. It’s not just the current generation of Christians that does this. Each generation of Christians seem to have believers who try to predict Christ’s return.
 I can remember my first pastor who started preaching around the beginning of world war two. He told me many thought Hitler was the anti-Christ and that God was coming. They like those who speculate to day were wrong.
It is not the job of a Christian to speculate on when Christ will return. While it might be nice to speculate. Speculation amounts to nothing productive.
Our time would be better spent spreading the Good News of Jesus to the world around us. And no other generation has a better opportunity to do so that this one.
I am sixty plus. When I was born the first man made artificial satellite had not been launched. Communications satellites were unknown. The way the gospel message was spread was through church congregations, evangelistic crusades, Radio and eventually Television. All of these media while good, took a lot of planning and money.
Today however we have the internet. Anyone with a computer, smart phone, or electronic tablet can in an instant post something that can be read by virtually everyone on earth at little or no financial cost.
Thus I believe it is our obligation as believers in Christ to tell the world about the most important thing in our life, Jesus Christ.
Jesus said,
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. 
When a man found it, he hid it again, 
and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  
When he found one of great value, 
he went away and sold everything he had 
and bought it
                     Matthew 13:44-46.
The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is simple. Jesus speaking of himself said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, 
that whoever believes in him shall not perish
 but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, 
but to save the world through him. 
                                                       John 3:16,17
John’s Gospel telling us,
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, 
he gave the right to become children of God— 
children born not of natural descent, 
nor of human decision or a husband’s will, 
but born of God.” 
                               John 1:12,13.
This is what Christians need to be telling the world.
Please think about it.

No comments: