Maybe Tomorrow. Maybe Today.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives. (Second Peter 3:9-11)

“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 24:42-44)

“We need to live in that mode of expectation all the time.” –Rev. Ronald Benjamin

As we consider the coming of Christ, we read in Scripture that the day of the Lord will arrive “like a thief.” In Sunday’s sermon Pastor Benjamin noted that thieves do not announce their arrival, because to announce arrival is to present to persons a ‘last chance’ to secure their homes or their valuables. Our guest pastor said, and I paraphrase here, A thief does not send you a notice saying ‘I’m coming between 2 and 3.’ In the same way, no person will receive an announcement of the exact time when our Lord will return. But, even though we do not have an exact date nor time, we do know that Jesus will return.

Concerning His return, Jesus used a particular analogy that Scripture records for us: lightning. “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:27) His appearing will be swift, and it will be seen by all.

How are we to live in light of this truth? We are to live in a state of readiness. The apostle Peter wrote, “You ought to live holy and godly lives.” And, we do so: not merely because we don’t know when our Lord Jesus will return, but because we love Him deeply and want to walk in obedience to His word.

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Upheaval! Upheaval!

When I was very young (back in the late '60's/early '70's) it was normal to see street preachers on the sidewalks of New York. Though they were from different denominational backgrounds and different ethnic groups, their messages were essentially in the same vein: Jesus Loves You; Repent; The End Is Near.

My first foray into evangelism occurred when I was attending church services at The Salvation Army. I and my pastor, Brigadier Mary Niesiewicz, walked into a local bar. We handed out free copies of The War Cry magazine to the patrons and encouraged them to turn to Jesus. (For those unfamiliar with my 1970's church life, back then it was normal to involve younger children in the same ministry efforts that the adults were engaged in.) Having heard street preachers for several years by then, I knew what to say.  But, I had a big problem. Although I knew the script and its attendant scriptures, I did not understand the importance of applying this information to my personal life.

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam spoke of the importance of being free to embrace a lifestyle of holiness and righteousness. And today I find myself wondering if we in Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene are embracing that lifestyle, or if we are just parroting the script.

Jesus loves you. For those of us who signed up for this Christian faith-walk, this is one of the first things we learn. The love of Christ is incredible. As we consider Advent, we acknowledge that Jesus has come. He demonstrated His love for us by giving up His life, in order to give us access to eternal life with Him.

Repent. Because Jesus has extended this life-offer to us, we are encouraged to turn to Him. Turning to Him means that we walk away from lifestyles and belief systems that run counter to His word. Our pastor shared that Advent reminds us that Christ, the King in the kingdom of God, is come. In the here-and-now, every day, He calls for us to love and serve Him exclusively.

The end is near. Some people have adopted a mantra of "I'll accept Jesus later", because they are sure that "later" will come at the hour of their choosing. But Pastor Sam addressed this false belief with his reference to Matthew chapter 24. No one is guaranteed a "later". Particularly at Bronx Bethany, we have done so many so-called "untimely death" funerals; we should know better than to assume that we can postpone a decision to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. The Advent narrative asserts that Jesus will come: we are exhorted to be prepared to meet Him.

In his sermon, Pastor Sam used what I believe is one of the scariest words in the English language: upheaval. It brings to mind images of uncontrollable destructive forces, the sort of which come and go in moments, leaving behind massive devastation. Tsunamis. EF-5 tornadoes. Floods. We have seen the Matthew 24 signs already: the destruction of the Temple, wars, earthquakes, famines, persecutions, betrayals, deceit, and wickedness. As our pastor said (paraphrased here), If Jesus should come back tomorrow, we can't say that we didn't know. Why? Because we have already seen upheaval... and if we live longer, we will see more.

So, in light of this, we look inward and reflect on the current state of our faith-walk. Do we obey the commands of this Jesus, our Lover who we claim to love so much? Are we eager to repent, turning away from sin and completely devoting ourselves to Christ? Are we living each day in the pursuit of holiness and righteousness, knowing that Jesus has told us to be ready to meet Him?

Know the script. Know the scriptures. Live the lifestyle. Understand upheaval.

Listen; get this. If you knew that some man was going to break into your house tonight, would you go to bed? No, you would keep watch and be ready to confront him. You would not be surprised at all when he showed up. In the same way, you need to be ready and stay ready: Jesus is coming back at a time when you don't expect Him to. So, live your whole faith-life "expecting". Do you work for Him? Then work. Don't slack off just because you think He's delaying His return. Make sure the King of kings can always find you at your post, doing the works He lovingly created you to do, and doing those works without hypocrisy, so that you don't lose what God promised to you. (my paraphrase of Matthew 24:43-51)