It May Be Today

"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. " - (Jesus in John 14:2-3, KJV). 

I remember reading a few years ago about a strange occurrence which I was informed took place in Haiti. A man reported to a gas
(petrol/fuel) station owner that he had picked up a hitchhiker who
was sitting in the back seat when, as they were driving along,
suddenly blurted out, "Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming!" Whereupon the man looked around and his passenger had disappeared.


Even more strange was the response from the gas station owner who
said, "You're the third person who has told me the exact same story."


Whether this incident was a strange coincidence, the figment of
someone's imagination, or something supernatural I cannot be certain.But of one thing we can be sure, Jesus is coming again. He himself promised he would.


Christ's first coming is an indisputable fact of history. His second
coming is just as certain. He said he would come when we least expect it. The important thing is to be ready by receiving him as our
personal Lord and Savior. He is coming again. It may be today. If so, are you ready? 


Remember, too, "Only one life, 'twill soon be past. Only what's done
for Jesus will last."


Prayer: "Gracious Loving Father God, Thank you for the wonderful hope you have given us that Jesus is coming again so we can all be together forever in heaven. I pray today for all who haven't received you as their Lord and Savior. Please use me to help share your gospel message of salvation to others around the world, which is now possible with e-mail and the Internet. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, In Jesus loving Name I Pray, Amen."

God's Eternal Promise

"But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase." - Daniel 12:4 (NKJV).


John Jordan explained how that if we made a graph to indicate the increase of man's knowledge from the beginning of time to 1845 it would measure 1 inch (25mm). From 1845 to 1945—just 100 years—it would measure three inches (76mm).  From 1945 to the present day it would be as tall as the Washington Monument, which is 555 feet (169m) high! According to one of my college professors, the world's knowledge was then doubling every five years. I believe that today it is doubling every two years. And with the computer age, knowledge is increasing at an ever-accelerating rate.


This, according to Daniel (a major prophet in the Bible) is one of the signs of the end times which will be climaxed by the return of Jesus Christ to earth to take all his true followers to be with him for all eternity.


Daniel said another sign of the end of this world age as we know it would be that of mankind rushing to and fro. Some Bible translations indicate that this means rushing to and fro for knowledge. Whether it means this or just men rushing to and fro [here and there] makes little difference as both are happening as never before in the history of mankind.


So, whether Jesus returns in our lifetime or not remains to be seen. The important thing to realize is that Jesus is coming again and that we need to be ready—for at a time when we least expect it, he will come again.


Jesus himself promised his disciples and followers that he would come again. Before he was crucified he said, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place  for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also." - John 14:1-3 (NASB).


After Jesus' resurrection, at the time of his return to heaven, the angels also promised "that this same Jesus" would come back again. As the Bible says, "They [Jesus' disciples and followers] were looking intently up into the sky as he [Jesus] was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same
way you have seen him go into heaven.'" - Acts 1:10-11 (NIV).


And this is the promise of hope that every true follower of Jesus has. Jesus is coming again and this evil world with all its sickness, sadness, sorrow and suffering will come to an end for all who put their faith and trust in Jesus for their eternal salvation. As God's Word says, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." - Revelation 21:4 (NKJV).


What a day, glorious day, this will be!"

Danger of Setting Dates for Christ's Return

Jesus said, "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 [Jesus Christ] will come at an hour when you do not expect him." - Matthew 24:42-44 (NIV).


It is amazing how intensely some people get caught up in the setting of dates regarding Christ's return and the end of this age. Jesus said that only God, the Father, knew the exact time his return would be. And yet whenever predictions are made with a specific date for Christ's return, there are gullible people who believe it and give up all they have in preparation for that day.


Over the centuries there have been various theories as to when and how the world might end. If  you google "date setters" on the web, you will learn that over the past 2000 years there have been many who have claimed that the world would end or that Christ would return on a certain date. Obviously they were all wrong. 


Following are just two of the many.


German mathematician, Michael Stifel, based on his study of Revelation, calculated that God's Day of Judgment would be on October 19, 1533. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Stifel )


Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses, calculated 1874 to be the year of Christ's return. It was then changed to 1878, 1881, 1910, 1914 with  later dates.


Unfortunately, because of these and modern-day fanatics, many people, including Christians, ignore or even shy away from the biblical teaching about Christ's coming again and the end of this age as we now know it.


However, Jesus himself promised that he would come again. - John 14:1. The angels of God assured the astounded followers of Jesus on the day of his ascension into heaven following his death, burial and resurrection saying, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." - Acts 1:11 (NIV). According to Jesus' words (when he was on earth) only God the Father knew the date and time of his return to earth. 
- Mathew 24:35-36.


The fact is that Jesus is coming again. We just don't know when. It may not be for a hundred, or a thousand years, or it may be today. The important thing is to be sure that you are ready, for when we least expect it, Jesus will come again. As Theodore Epp said, we need to "live as though Christ died yesterday, rose from the grave today, and is coming back tomorrow."

WATCH AND PRAY- JESUS IS COMING SOON

WATCH AND PRAY- JESUS IS COMING SOON
Those are the words that I heard from an Indian preacher with a brief case; and on its brief case is a sticker with the message: “Be ready, Jesus is Coming Soon” The same guy that I met in Bacolod City when I was a little boy, I met him the second time in front of the night club where I used to work in Manila. Please don’t ask me what type of job. Anyways, I was about between 19- 22 years old when I met him again with the same message. “Be ready, Jesus is Coming Soon”. This message really hit me and hunted my mind and conscience which caused me to really be afraid of what would happen to me after the rapture. Will I make it to Heaven and be with Jesus?
The Bible said: “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”
There is a literal Jesus who is coming. (Matthew 24:42)”Watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.”
I have a kid’s song that I wrote few years ago that goes like this:
“Jesus is coming soon, you must be ready, I don’t know when, May be today,
In John 14:1 to 3, Jesus has promised me He has prepared a place for me.
The Lord Jehovah, Our Blessed Savior, Who reigns in Glory,
We must be ready. When Jesus comes we have no time to count from 1 to 3,
When Jesus comes, we have no time to read from A to Z,
The Christians will fly, up, up in the sky, Hallelujah in the twinkling of an eye.
Jesus is coming soon, I’m always ready, I don’t know when,
May be today, First John chapter 3 verse two, Jesus has promised me,
When He comes again, I will be like Him.”
What a beautiful song to ponder upon on the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Mark 13:26)”And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds, with great power and glory.”
(Acts 1:10-11) 10”And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Titus 2:13)”Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.”