He Will Come Again

Mark 13:26-27, 32-33 KJV; Do not fear the things to come. Rejoice, for Christ is with us now and he will come again in full glory.

We Shall See Him!

1 John 3:1-3; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Ephesians 7:4-6 KJV God is omnipresent; so omnipresent that we cannot fathom it. But, the children of God look for the day when we shall see Him face to face.

He Was Dead Yet Lives

Revelation 1:4-18 KJV

Knowing God Is God

Psalm 46:10

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.                                                                               

                                                                                     (John 6:35-40 KJV)

Doubt can creep in when one is least expecting it. Trouble may came and you wonder where God is. Does he really exist and if he does why would he allow this to happen. We cannot see him face to face now and sometimes it might be hard to grasp this Father in heaven. I have heard him described as a bearded old man living in the clouds or other such absurd analogies and those descriptions coming from adults! SMH!! It is absurd to make fun of something or someone that one does not know. 

But, those who worship him, do know him. As Job declared that he would one day see God face to face so do those who know and love him declare it. 

"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. 

                                                                                             (Job 19:25-27)

Our God is not some far away god who sits on a cloud. He is here with us, in us, above us, all around us. He is not an old man either. He is eternal and he is God Almighty. We do not have to see him face to face in order to know him. We read and hear the testimony of his many children. We witness his acts of love and kindness everyday in the Christians around us. We behold his creation and we are in awe of his handiwork.

Thomas knew Jesus. He was a follower of Jesus. They were friends. Yet, when Jesus rose from the dead Thomas doubted that this could possible be true. He had see him with his own eyes to believe it.  

"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29)

We don't have to see him to believe. We are witnesses to his grace and his mercy and his love. Blessed are you who believe for you have received everlasting life in the presence of God Almighty!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Watch And Pray

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. 

But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 

                                                                       (Mark 13:26-27, 32-33 KJV)

No one knows. No one knows when the Lord when our end will come; not for the individual and not for the world. It could be today. It could be millions of years from now. 

There have been days when I thought "isn't it about time for you to come in your full glory, LORD?" So many wars and threats of wars; rioting and destruction; families fighting within themselves and with their neighbors; congregations and communities battle with one another it makes one wonder if it will ever stop or even slow down. Will there will ever be peace?

These are not things that should lead us to despair. Jesus tells us that all these things and more will and must happen before the end. We must be prepared. We cannot give up hope. We cannot let our faith lie dormant or die. Be alert! Watch! Wait! He has come. He is present now. He will come again. Trust in the Lord who loves you so much that he was willing to die for you! Trust in the Lord who has gone to prepare a place for you. The promise that the Son of man will come in the clouds with great power and glory is good news; not bad.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Every Eye Shall See

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. 

                                                                                                      (Rev 4:7-8 KJV)

Every eye will see him. I was told by someone that I care about that they do not believe like I do. I was told, "When you're dead you're dead. There is nothing more." It is heartbreaking to hear someone that has been taught the truth; deny Jesus the Christ.

He is "the One who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." (vs 8 NIV) It does not matter whether one believes or not. Denial does not make him less or non-existent. The day will come when every eye will see him; every knee will bow before him; even those who pierced him; even those who denied him.

Be careful with your words. Do not deny the one who died for you. Jesus said, "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." (Matt 10:33 KJV)

He is, he was, and he yet will come again. He is the Almighty God who created you and who would save you from yourself.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Vengeance Is God's

"God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet." 

                                                                          (Nahum 1:2-3 KJV)

Nahum prophesies against Nineveh. He warns that His enemies (in this case the people of Nineveh) will not go unpunished. 

In reading some of these prophesies it sounds awfully vengeful and hurtful. Understand that vengeance is the LORD's to take and while it may appear to be really bad news to those who worship false idols and persecute those who worship the LORD, it is good news to the people of God. Those who find themselves attacked and persecuted by God's enemies have no other place to turn for hope and salvation except to the LORD and to His promise that He will deliver them from the hands of their enemies.

He will deliver us! It is the LORD who saves! Thanks be to God!

God's Peace - Pr. J

SISU

Sorry, no photos of funnel clouds from me. I was not there.

God is our refuge and strength,
   an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
   and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
   and the mountains quake with their surging.

                                             Psalm 46:1-3 NIV

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a very unique place to live. The people are very unique. They are often called Yoopers. The majority of the Yoopers have SISU, a Finnish term for grit or courage. This summer Houghton County and areas surrounding was hit by some devastating storms and flooding. Roads, bridges, and even homes were totally wiped out. There was no getting in or out of some areas. To my knowledge they received no Federal Assistance. The people worked together to get their communities back together.

Last night, I saw pictures of funnel clouds almost touching the ground in both Baraga and Houghton Counties on Facebook. There were no warning sirens. There did not seem to be any panic. People got out of their vehicles or stepped outside their homes to take pictures. I heard of no one taking cover. The comments that were made were like: "We're good," "Don't worry," "Yup, we were watching it, too." LOL - that would be Yooper SISU: don't find cover; just stand on the porch and watch the tornados. Apparently they did not touch down because I haven't been able to find anything on the news that said they did so far this morning. In fact, I can't find anything on the news about them at all. 

I am not sure what causes people to stand on the porch and watch funnel clouds. I am not sure why I would; but, I am pretty sure I would be among those standing in the wind and rain to watch the weather. It would not be the first time. Maybe, it's not the wisest thing to do. But; then again, maybe, it's due to total faith in the fact that no matter what happens all who believe have eternal life. 

God is our refuge and strength and we will not fear. 

God's Peace be with you; may your day be blessed - Pr. J

He Will Come Again

“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." Matt 24:29-31 NIV

It is Advent. No, it is not Christmas. It is the time before Christmas; the time that we prepare to celebrate that Jesus, our Savior, came to us as little child born in a barn. During the season of Advent we remember how Israel waited and watched and prepared themselves for the Messiah. He came humbly to us and he died a horrible death on the cross at the hands of the very people who had waited so long for him to come. In these weeks before Christmas we hear John the Baptist call us to repentance; to turn around and worship the one true God; to recognize that Jesus is the only one who can save us. 

Jesus came to us as a little child. During the Advent season we focus not just on his coming as that little child; but, the promise that he will come again in great glory. Hopefully, we are preparing for that day. Scripture would remind us that it will be a joyous day for his elect and definitely not so joyous for those who have rejected him; turning their backs to him, to worship other gods. I know... I have heard it before. "But, I don't have any other gods!" The truth is we all worship something. We all have something that is our ultimate concern. Each Advent season I look around and I grieve as I recognize that most often that ultimate concern is ourselves. We want our backs patted and our bank accounts padded. The Advent season for many is more about making themselves the center rather than making Jesus the center; the reason for the season. We can fake it all we want. We might be able to deceive some of the people all of the time. But, God know our motivations. He knows whom we love. He knows whom we worship. He knows what our ultimate concern is.

I pray that you are preparing your heart for the day when he will return to gather his elect. Please remember that Jesus is the reason. It's not about me. It's not about you. It is about the greatest gift that was ever given to humankind, Jesus the Christ, our Saviour and our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Covenant of Hope

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” (Genesis 9:13-16 NIV)

I have been listening to "Over the Rainbow" by Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwoʻole a lot lately. Iz was thirty-eight when he died in 1997. He had suffered many health problems during his life. In spite of his many health problems during his life, his music, especially this song, was filled with hope and with life. His music lives on.

God made a covenant with His people with the sign of the rainbow. He made a new covenant with us through the blood shed for us through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. There is always hope because we have Jesus as our Lord and our Savior.

As Hurricane Irma threatens the lives of property and many people, there is only one place that I know that I or anyone can go to in times like this to find comfort and reassurance. Only, at the feet of Jesus, can we find comfort and hope. Only at the feet of Jesus can we know a peace when danger is near.

May God grant comfort and peace to all who fear the coming days in the remembrance of the promise of life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

He Is Coming!

For 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 the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thess 4:16-17 NIV)

What more could one ask for than to spend our whole lives; even eternity, in His presence? That is where the hope of the Christian lies. It lies in the promise of being reconciled to God our Father after having turned our backs on Him over and over again.

The one who died for us died so that we could be reconciled to him in life. This is life: abiding in the presence of God's love; knowing that he was forsaken even by us will not forsake us.

Rejoice for this is the promise to all who believe that the Messiah has come and lived and died and lives again for you!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Every Eye Will See

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Cor 13:12.

My hearing is slowly leaving me. My eyes see more dimly as time passes. Yet, the truth is that as I age the light of Christ seems to shine brighter and brighter each day. That's a good thing!

As with so many of you, my hope is not in this world; but, in the Kingdom of God, where we will see, face, to face, our loving Father who has received us to Himself.

Life lived in this world can be fraught with loneliness, pain, and suffering. It can very much be a place where confusion reigns. However, for those of us who have been granted to see even dimly the Kingdom of God in Christ Jesus, we can know peace as we look with hope for the day when we will know fully the awesomeness of Almighty God; when we will see Him face to face. We look to the day when every knee will bow before the throne of God. (Rom 14:11)

“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.

Rev: 1:7

God's Peace - Pr. J

Praise Ye The Lord!

"Praise the Lord from the earth,
     you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
    stormy winds that do his bidding,
you mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all cattle,
    small creatures and flying birds,
kings of the earth and all nations,
    you princes and all rulers on earth,
young men and women,
    old men and children."
                                  Psalm 148:7-12 NIV

God is God of all of creation. He has made all things marvelously. Let us intentionally look around us today so that we might be better able to understand his awesome sovereignty; to grasp more firmly the reality of His gifts to humankind and all of creation. God, alone, is worthy to be praised. Let us all praise the Lord!

God's Peace - Pr. J