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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
“It will be just like
this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the
housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one
in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to
keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. I
tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and
the other left.”
Luke 17:30-34
This ends
today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
The day when Jesus
returns will be the best ever for some people, the worst ever for the others.
You see, there is no
middle ground when the Savior of the world is sent back to earth by God to
judge all mankind. You are either on the side of Jesus or you aren’t, you are
either a Christian or you aren’t, you are either destined for salvation or
damnation.
The choice is ours to
make and there is too much at stake to choose the wrong side. It literally is a
matter wholly grounded in life or death and yet so many people will be
indifferent to the pending doom they face, having no urgency that sudden death
could come at any time.
In yesterday’s devotion,
we found Jesus using two very well known Old Testament events to build the
proper illustration for His disciples as He tried to explain about His second
coming, the coming that would happen after the Son of Man had to suffer many
things and be rejected by the current generation (Luke 17:25).
The first example served
to remind the disciples of what happened in the days of Noah. In that time, God
was so disgruntled with the blatant sinfulness of His people that He decided to
send a strong judgment message. We know He sent rains unlike the world had ever
seen, unrelenting rain that accumulated on earth until it formed a great flood
that obliterated everything and everyone who was not on the ark Noah had built.
None of those who perished knew what was coming nor did they live to tell about
it.
The same experience was
had by the inhabitants of Sodom who, like the people of Noah’s day, chose to
live in unapologetic wickedness in plain sight of God. And so again, God did
something about it, warning Lot and his family to flee before He rained down
fire and sulfur from the heavens on the unsuspecting, unrepentant sinners in
Sodom (Gomorrah suffered the same fate). In a flash, what was once alive was
destroyed. Nothing was left standing.
In both these instances,
sudden death came swiftly to those who would choose to defy God. Their Maker
and Master. And as we see in today’s passage, Jesus wasn’t done trying to make
His point with His followers. Look again at His words here, this time in regard
to the things of the world and their worth at His return:
“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On
that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down
to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember
Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses
their life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in
one bed; one will be taken and the other left.” Luke 17:30-34
You may have heard the
expression, “You can’t take it with you.” The great pastor Billy Graham put it
this way when he asked the question:
“Have you ever seen a
hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer behind it?”
When this life is over,
you will not retain anything of the world. Nada. God said it this way at the
creation of the first human beings, Adam and Eve:
“…for dust you are and to dust you will return.” Genesis 3:19
When death comes,
nothing we accumulate in the world will go with us. It will all be left behind
while we return to the dust. And we are all destined for death. All of us.
Nothing can save us from it except for one man and His name is Jesus.
For Christians will
willingly give up their worldly life for the eternal life promised through God’s
only Son, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world (John
1:29). They understand that nothing this world offers can compare to the glory
and splendor of the everlasting life to come, a life spent with God and Jesus
forever. There will be no need to take anything else because in our Father and
His Son, we will have everything we will ever need forever.
As for those who are not
in Jesus, those who have decided to reject Him, they will do everything they
can to try and keep their life and everything in it. Without the assurance of eternal
life, death is the end; they have no semblance of hope. There will be nothing
beyond this life and anything they gained while on earth will be lost. The day
they draw their last breath will be the day when everything suddenly dies.
To me, it’s the saddest
picture I could ever think of. To see someone live this life, a life that
offers eternal hope, only to see them decide to pass it up hope and exchange it
for doom at the time of their perishing.
Does this describe you
today as you read this? Are you sitting in a place where there is no hope for
your future beyond this life when sudden death comes?
If so, my prayer is that
you will decide to change your outlook forever by accepting Jesus Christ as
your Savior and joyfully receive the gift of salvation He offers. If you do,
then you will join the others who read this devotion and do so with thoughts of
thanksgiving as they are reminded of the victory they have in Jesus, a victory
that allows them to proclaim the words of the prophets and the Apostle Paul:
“Death has been
swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your
victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
“The sting of death is
sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:54-57
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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