Be Ready...

I heard more bad news on the economy today… like that's news. May I remind you that Christ promised to return?

Thank-you.

I would remind you that Christ will return.

The signs of the times are given to us as warnings to always be ready. Over the next few months as we close in on and go through 2009 I humbly predict there will be a lot of talk about the "end-times." There will be a lot of interpretation of the signs and events around us. We will be tempted to watch everything so closely that panic is a step away and anger at the culture won't be far behind. Pulling our hair out (or someone else's) is not the intended result of Christ coming back for the church.

There will be quotes from the Bible that predict all the bad things that are happening and some that may be around the corner. The call will attempt to wake up the church and cause people to get right with God before it's too late.

But is that the intended mood of the church when Christ returns? Is that an attitude of glorious expectation?

I'd like to give a couple other scriptures that have caught my eye this morning.

Acts 2:16-21
⁽¹⁶⁾ No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
⁽¹⁷⁾ "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. ⁽¹⁹⁾ I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
⁽²⁰⁾ The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. ⁽²¹⁾ And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

1 Corinthians 1:7-9
⁽⁷⁾ Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. ⁽⁸⁾ He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁽⁹⁾ God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Rather than being worried about what is happening in the world around me, I have to be honest, I'm getting excited about what is happening (and will happen) to me. Don't worry about counting hurricanes or looking for the anti-Christ. Look to the church and watch God get her ready for the return of Christ. Even more fun than that – be one of the people who God is getting ready for the return of Christ.

So, this Sunday is not about people going to church to look nice or be nice. This Sunday is not about liking songs or finding something we wish we did different. This Sunday is not about if the sermon spoke to you or if it bored you.

This Sunday is about people getting ready to meet Jesus! This Sunday is about all ages taking part in being the Church! This Sunday is about the Spirit of God dusting you off! This Sunday is about being strong and blameless! This Sunday is about being ready!

So is the next one. And the one after that. And the one after that.

Looking forward to the day, Pastor Dave