Time Out for God
Devotional
By Danna Appleby
In Like Manner
“Days of
Elijah,” by
“Midnight Cry,” by
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNROtERcPSs&NR=1
Therefore be ye also ready, for in
such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh. (Matthew 24:44)
As Jesus walks with His disciples He
tells them He will soon return to His Father who has sent Him. After Jesus is
crucified on the cross and resurrected from the dead; He appears not only
before His disciples, but to hundreds of eye witnesses.
The time of His departure draws near
and Jesus leads His small band of disciples just outside of
After He said those things and as the
disciples watch, Jesus is taken up in a cloud and hidden from sight. The disciples intensely watch trying to get
one last glimpse of Jesus. Two men in
white stood by and said:
“Men of
The disciples must have been filled
with wonderment at what had taken place, but did as Jesus said and walk back
to
This same Jesus that ascended into
the heavens to return to His Father will return just as He left in like manner. He will descend just as He ascended. Many prophesies were given about Christ’s
return and many were given by Jesus Himself.
Before Jesus was crucified, the
disciples questioned Jesus as to what would be the sign of His coming. Jesus answered:
“Take heed that no one deceives
you. For many will come in My name,
saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of
wars. See that you are not troubled;
for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and
earthquakes in various places. All
these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24:4-8)
We are closer now than we’ve ever
been to our Lord’s return. It will not
be long before we will see Jesus returning in all of His glory and
radiance. Indeed the signs of the
times are everywhere and we can see them unfolding before our very eyes. We
are living in troublesome times with hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis,
but it is not only the horrific happenings around us, but ungodliness abounds
in every form and fashion. It would
seem that the Apostle Paul gets a glimpse into the future because he
describes people living in our own time.
But know this, that in the last days
perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of
money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal,
despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather
than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (2 Tim. 3:1-5)
We don’t know when He will return,
but Jesus said that His return would be “in a little while.” Of course, when
He spoke those words, it was over 2,000 years ago.
The Lord is not slack concerning His
promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering to us, not willing
that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
Recently, I heard some Christians say
Christ was coming back on May 21, 2011. Another said, “Well, they’ve been saying that sort of thing for
years.” I have to agree, it’s not the
first time someone has set the day of Christ’s return, but we’re told in
Scripture that no man knows the day or the hour of Christ’s return. If the Son of God doesn’t know the day of
His return, then how can any man living on the face of this planet? We must be on guard about false predictions.
But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son,
but the Father. (Mark 13:32)
My sister longs for the return of
Christ more than anyone I’ve ever known. Over the years, Gale has had countless dreams about Christ’s
return. Recently she said, “I just
cannot wait for Jesus to come back!” She said it with such fervor that I was
almost taken aback.
There will be a special crown of
righteousness for those who love Christ’s appearing. That means that whoever longs to see Jesus return and
they’re anxious for it to happen, each of them will receive a special crown.
Henceforth there is laid up for me a
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at
that day and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His
appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8)
The night Gale and I spoke, I dreamed
that she and my husband and I were walking along a riverside. All of a sudden
I looked around and she was no where to be found. I looked everywhere but could not find
her. When I awoke, it came to me that
Gale had been taken up with the Lord. I believe He wanted me to see how quickly people will vanish at the
time of our Lord’s appearing. It was
immediate and without warning.
Scripture tells us that Christians
will leave this world in the twinkling of an eye, it will be that sudden. (1 Cor. 15:52) Nursing babies will disappear from
mothers’ arms. Children playing in the
yard will vanish without warning. Cars
will veer off the road because drivers will no longer be behind the steering
wheel. Workers will disappear from
assembly lines. Pastors will be taken from behind pulpits. Teachers will
vanish from classrooms. The snatching away of the saints will be a sudden
thing. It will be quick. It will be abrupt.
Two women shall be grinding together;
the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other
left. (Luke 17:35-36)
My cousin’s husband, Rev. Tim Schane,
pastors in
Michelle went to
Christmas came and with it came
holiday food and fellowship. Afterwards, Joyce decided she should try on her blue suit to make sure
it still fit. Much to her disappointment, the beautiful blue suit
did not fit the same as it did at the store.
Joyce told Tim his tux might not
fit either and they better begin an exercise program to shed the extra
pounds. After all, they wanted their
wedding garments to fit.
Months went by and each of them
became totally consumed with losing weight before the wedding. They began eating a lot of foods they
really didn’t like and when shedding the pounds wasn’t fast enough, the
determined duo stepped it up a notch and walked twice a day. When their schedules permitted, they walked
together, but if not, they walked alone. One particular day when Joyce was walking she felt the Lord impress an
important message upon her heart:
“You can fit into your blue suit, but what
have you done to wear my wedding
garment?”
The question pricked Joyce’s heart to
the core and she began to realize how much time she had spent making
preparations for the wedding, but she had lost focus on preparing for the
most important wedding celebration of all.
Joyce then knew she must share the
message with Tim. Once she did, both
of them realized they needed to refocus. Tim told his congregation that the cares of life can distract us and
we must keep our minds focused upon the Lord’s return.
Many of us are making preparations to
stay around this world as if we’re going to live for another 100 years,
but the time for making preparations
to leave is upon us. We must be
watching and waiting for the Lord’s return because He could come within the
next hour.
Are you setting your mind on things
above instead of the things of this world? Are you ready to meet the Lord if He should return? Is your heart prepared to meet Him if He
should come today?
Jesus Christ will come in like manner just as He
departed. Let’s be ready for within
the hour that we least expect it, He will come again.
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. (Revelation 1:7)
You may be wondering how you can go
to heaven. Perhaps this is the first
time you’ve ever read a message like this. Maybe you’ve never heard of this Jesus Christ I’ve spoken about and
you did not know He will return for those whose hearts are clean and pure. You can receive Jesus into your heart
and you can do so right now, right
where you are. Jesus Christ is the
only way to heaven. The Lord is
waiting for you with welcoming arms of love. The words of Jesus are:
“I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
If you would like to receive Jesus as
your Lord and Savior, and want to be ready for His return, please pray this
prayer from the depths of your heart:
Dear God, I confess all my sins to
You. I want to receive You into my
heart and life. Change and transform me. Take away every sin and my soul will be
whiter than snow. I confess that Your
Son Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, was buried in a tomb, and
rose again on the third day. I
surrender my life and my will to Yours. Thank You for saving me. In
Jesus’ name. Amen.
If you sincerely prayed that prayer,
you are now a true child of God and are ready when the same Jesus I spoke of
returns for His children.
Welcome
to the family of God!
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