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Thursday, October 8, 2009

Pumpkin stand Lancaster County

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"Perhaps Today!"

"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, 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" (Matthew 24:30,31).

The present conflict in Israel is of great interest to many believers. Of course we should be concerned in the sense of having compassion for a region of the world rife with conflict.  But there is also a prophetic interest in what is happening in that part of the world.

For the vast majority of the church's history there was no nation of Israel as a separate political entity.  In 70 AD the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish people were dispersed throughout the world. For nearly 1,900 years the Jewish people, although scattered around the world, amazingly maintained their distinct spiritual identity and continue to do so today.  And of course in the last sixty years they have once again become a distinct political entity.

The Bible teaches that believers in each generation are to be ready for the great climax to the present age, which will be the promised return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wrote to the early believers in Philippi of "eagerly awaiting our Savior from heaven" (Philippians 3:20). Beginning with these New Testament believers and in each generation since, believers have died in their faith and now await this great event from a different perspective. (The Apostle Paul acknowledged this in 1 Thessalonians 4:13ff).

Those of us living at this present time keep our faith and expectancy and wonder if we just might be that generation that is living at the coming of the Lord.  Some would prefer I be more emphatic and say "We will be that generation", but my knowledge of the Bible and history indicates that there have been many earnest believers who indeed felt they were "that generation", yet they died a natural, physical death.

Two extremes in Biblical prophecy need to be guarded against. One is the "whatever will be, will be" position that hardly expresses the expectant outlook seen in the early believers.  The other is an outlook that seeks to find some prophetic significance to every event, which I believe can lead to "expectation burnout".  At any given time in my Christian life it seems that someone has supposedly unlocked some Bible mystery and made a very specific prediction regarding the return of the Lord, yet here we remain  on October 8, 2009.

The daily text is found in the great teaching of Jesus concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, His eventual return and the end of the age. In our secular, scientific and materialistic age this reading is astounding.  I believe that it will happen just like the Bible declares. Perhaps today!  Let us stay expectant, ready, and faithful.


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Jesus, we look forward with tremendous anticipation to the day You appear in the clouds with power and great glory; as You come to claim Your chosen Bride,  the redeemed and purified.  The dead in Christ will arise and be caught up to meet You in the skies as we together exalt and glorify You, the King of kings and Lord of lords.  Help us to be faithful and true and to live in glad expectancy of Your unannounced appearing as signs of Your coming multiply revealing to the redeemed that the glorious event is drawing closer.



For further study on the topic of our Lord's Second Coming here's a booklet from the Radio Bible Class titled, "What Can We Know About The Second Coming"  (pdf)

Here's another message we write about today's topic.

Are you ready?  Here's a simple explanation of the plan of salvation.



Amish team and fall field work
My Amish neighbor is out doing his field work,
preparing the soil for another planting.

Here's an interesting online booklet (pdf) on soil titled "Celebrating The Wonder Of Soil", a topic not often considered.  



Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
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(In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.)

"I Wish We'd All Been Ready"  Video  This is the first "contemporary" Christian song I ever recall hearing. Prior to this I only knew the hymns we sang in church at that time.  My older brother Pat had turned to Christ while in the service in Germany and witnessed to me one May day in 1971.  I initially was unresponsive to his challenge to follow Christ but God used this song to prepare my heart and in August I attended a revival service at the old Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri and accepted the Lord as my Savior.

The original singer of this song was Larry Norman, who passed away last year.  Here's a version of Larry Norman singing the song.  Video

"Sing To The King"  Video

For His returning we watch and we pray
We will be ready the dawn of that day!

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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.

Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."

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