"Those who died in Christ will rise first. Then we the living, the
survivors,will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air." 1 Thess. 4:17
I
find it appropriate that this is one of the readings for today in our
Catholic daily scripture plan. Tomorrow is September 1, and this
September promises to be eventful. Some Christians believe that either
Jesus is coming, or a comet, or economic collapse. Now how does anyone
prepare for any of that? If you search #preppers on Instagram, you will
see 10,000 posts which include tips on canning, and what weapons and
tools people are collecting. If you search September 2015 on Youtube,
you will find many Christians sincerely believing and trying to convince
others of amazing things going to happen. So far the most amazing is
the story that the Pope is going to the US to convince the world to look
to aliens for salvation!!!
I
believe in the rapture, what Saint Paul describes in 1 Thessalonians 4.
Rapture comes from the Latin "rapio", which means to be caught up, to
be seized or snatched up. One day, Jesus will come and seize His Bride,
the Church! The whole Bible to me is like a romantic love story where
God pursues His people. He wooed Adam and Eve, gave them everything,
even free will. They chose to disobey. He has been wooing us through the
ages, until He came to show us who He really was and what He would do
for us if we gave Him our heart. And yes, one day, He will come back for
us, His bride, His beloved. What an exciting day that will be!!! Like
any bride to be, should we not be preparing ourselves, body, mind and
spirit? Should we not keep ourselves pure for Him who died for us?
Should we not spend every day reading His Words to us, savoring it,
believing His promises? Yes, we should be waiting and watching, for one
day we will meet Him who loved us first, face to face!
"Be doers of the Word and not hearers only." James 1:22
Chuck Swindoll has a great illustration about this important precept. What if I had to leave our business for a month to set up another office and I left someone in charge? Every day I would send instructions via email about what needs to be done, what to follow up on, employees to oversee, etc. At the end of the month, I come back and I see that the office is a mess, employees are not at their desks and the one I put in charge of everything, was nowhere to be found! When I ask questions, I find out that every day, they went through my instructions, underlined it, divided into groups and discussed it. BUT THE INSTRUCTIONS WERE NOT OBEYED!
Sometimes
Christians can be very diligent about studying the Word. The words in
their Bibles are underlined, encircled, colored in. If you look at my
old Bible, almost all the words are highlighted. I have notes in the
margins. In my new Bible I have paintings on many of the pages. But what
matters to God?
Jesus said in John
14:15, "If you love me, keep my commandments." In Matthew 12:50, Jesus
stretched out His hand toward his disciples and said, "Whoever does the
will of My Father is My brother, My mother, My sister." If we want to be
part of God's family, we need to be doers of the Word!
"Stay awake therefore! You can not know the day your Lord is coming!" Matthew 24:42
I am imagining myself as a servant in a household. When the master is on vacation, would I be relaxed and not very diligent with my duties? If I was an employee and my boss was out on a series of meetings, would I join in the noise in the office, the horse play and loud bantering? In Matthew 24, Jesus warns against not being prepared for the day He comes again. Like the master of the household or the boss, one does not know when Jesus will come!
With Jesus' coming, we need to always be spiritually prepared! We do not
need to wait for His second coming with all the bells and whistles! And
indeed if it is not the Lord's coming, death can easily come like a
thief in the night!
And the foolish said to the prudent, "Give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out." Matthew 25:8
In the Parable of the Virgins, there are 5 foolish bridesmaids and 5 wise ones. They are all waiting to welcome the groom who is very likely arriving with the Bride after fetching her from her parents' home. The wedding party is very delayed and the bridesmaids get sleepy. Picture it- 10 beautifully dressed and made up ladies, waiting outside in anticipation of the wedding party. At first they are excited, talking to each other animatedly, but as time goes tic ticking by with no sign of the Bride and Groom, they sit down and sink into sleepiness.
Alas!
When the warning shout comes that the Groom is near, the foolish
bridesmaids find out their lamps are sputtering! They ask the wise ones
for some but they say there will not be enough for all! So the foolish
ones leave to buy oil and we know what happens! After all that
preparation and waiting, they are not let into the wedding feast! "I do
not know you!" The Bridegroom says.
What
is that all important oil that keeps our lamps burning? Is it the Holy
Spirit? Is it the Word of God that is a lamp to our feet? Is it prayer? I
think it is everything that keeps us close to God and in fellowship
with Him. We should not allow the fire we have within us die- 'en
theos', God within.
Because if it dies, if it is not tended, we cannot beg, borrow or steal this oil, as the Bridesmaids found out to their peril!
I find a lot of inspiration
visiting here:
So many WONDERFUL blogfriends
to discover!
We need to be always ready. And wow you've pointed it out; ber-months are coming! Christmas is near!
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased you are keeping abreast of the end time scenarios. I think the comet story has been exaggerated somewhat ( maybe a very lot) and It could be this fall during the feasts however that remains to be seen. Your art is as always inspirational. I find it truly amazing how you can imagine turning those photos into such Godly scenes. You are so appreciated. Thank you so much for taking time to post your very creative art with us this week at Word Art Wednesday, in our 198th challenge.
ReplyDeleteBlessings and Hugs, Carole
I love your Bible journal pages. I have just started this fun creative way of studying Gods word. As for your post, I too just preached Sunday (8/30) on this very thing - the signs of the times.... Jesus told us in 3 gospel accounts to Be on guard, watch and pray! You are so right on - the Holy Spirit is the oil we need! He will speak and guide in these uncertain times. Blessings,,,,stopping by from #WeekendWhispers
ReplyDeleteThank you for this inspiration today, Patsy. Your words, punctuated by your beautiful art, remind me to put my concerns into perspective. If Jesus were to come back tomorrow, what would any of my earthly concerns mean? Nothing matters but staying close to him.
ReplyDeleteBless you, Dear One.
Hugs,
Teresa
Always enjoy your artwork. We recently did the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins with our youth Bible study. We talked about how the problem wasn't that they feel asleep but that they weren't prepared.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right - our bibles can be highlighted, written in, drawn on - but if we are not digesting the word and living it out, it's all in vain. Such a great reminder of Phil 3:10 (AMP) - "For our determined purpose is to KNOW Him." When we do that, we will much more naturally want to obey and please Him.
ReplyDelete