Good Morning Meadowbrooke,

We are promised in God’s Word that Jesus is coming back: “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him.”  Of His return to judge the nations, Jesus said: “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:30).  When Jesus comes again, He will come with “power” and “great glory.”

 

Jesus is coming, He will judge the nations, and He will come with power and great glory!  We do not know when He will come, but what we do know is that the time we have before His coming is running out!  In fact, the tone of the Bible is that the hour is late and His coming draws nigh (Luke 21:25-28)!  So, the question we are faced with today is not unlike the question our brothers and sisters from generations past were faced with then, and it is this: How should we now live in light of the promise that Jesus is coming back? 

 

Jesus’ return may be in your lifetime or your appearing before His throne may be tomorrow through death (2 Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27-28). So, considering what is coming, how are you living today?  Paul provides us with wise counsel for the way we should live today in his epistle to Titus, and it is with his words that I leave you as you prepare your heart for our time together in worship this Sunday:

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds. These things speak and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. No one is to disregard you.” (Titus 2:11-15)

As you prepare your heart and mind for worship at Meadowbrooke this Sunday, I encourage you to read the passage I will be preaching on in James 2:1-13.  Prayerfully consider who this passage encourages, how it helps us to live in light of Jesus, and the fact that we will all stand before Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Cor. 3:10-23; Rev. 20:11-15). 

 

Grace, 

Pastor Keith