Tag Archives: Second Coming

Jesus is Coming

November 18, 2015bible, calling, faith, God, holy, hope, Jesus, Lectionary, Religion, theologyconfession, longing, Revelation 1:4-8, Second Coming, SUnday before Advent, waitingpamjw

God is,
always has been
and yet
is still to come.

He loves us,
saves us,
frees us
and appoints us
to be with him.
We are his people,
workers with him.

And yet,
he is still to come.
He promises to come again,
that everyone may see,
there will be no uncertainty,
God’s arrival.

God who was,
is
and is yet to come
we worship you.

I come in confession
for the times I have ignored you,
not looked for you,
missed
or hampered
your arrival where I am.
Forgive me
when I have wounded you.

May I wait,
faithfully,
openly,
longingly,
looking for your presence.

Lo He Comes With Clouds Descending

Revelation 1:4-8 (CEV)

⁴From John to the seven churches in Asia.

I pray that you
    will be blessed
with kindness and peace
from God, who is and was
    and is coming.
May you receive
    kindness and peace
from the seven spirits
    before the throne of God.
⁵May kindness and peace
    be yours
from Jesus Christ,
    the faithful witness.

Jesus was the first
    to conquer death,
and he is the ruler
    of all earthly kings.
Christ loves us,
    and by his blood
he set us free
    from our sins.
⁶He lets us rule as kings
and serve God his Father
    as priests.
To him be glory and power
    forever and ever! Amen.
⁷Look! He is coming
    with the clouds.
Everyone will see him,
even the ones who stuck
    a sword through him.
All people on earth
will weep because of him.
    Yes, it will happen! Amen.

⁸The Lord God says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the one who is and was and is coming. I am God All-Powerful!”

Look Out

November 12, 2014bible, faith, God, Jesus, Lectionary, Religion, theology1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, caring, Second Coming, waiting, watchingpamjw

We want to know when. We kid ourselves that if only we knew when, we would be ready and prepared. But would we? Will we ever be ready for God’s return?

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (CEV)

5 I don’t need to write you about the time or date when all this will happen. ²You surely know that the Lord’s return will be as a thief coming at night. ³People will think they are safe and secure. But destruction will suddenly strike them like the pains of a woman about to give birth. And they won’t escape.

⁴My dear friends, you don’t live in darkness, and so that day won’t surprise you like a thief. ⁵You belong to the light and live in the day. We don’t live in the night or belong to the dark. ⁶Others may sleep, but we should stay awake and be alert. ⁷People sleep during the night, and some even get drunk. ⁸But we belong to the day. So we must stay sober and let our faith and love be like a suit of armor. Our firm hope that we will be saved is our helmet.

⁹God doesn’t intend to punish us, but wants us to be saved by our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁰Christ died for us, so that we could live with him, whether we are alive or dead when he comes. ¹¹That’s why you must encourage and help each other, just as you are already doing.

This passage follows a similar theme to last weeks gospel reading. Don’t sleep, stay awake. It doesn’t mean physically, if it did I would be beyond all hope!

But we should be alert, spiritually aware. And we should be watching – perhaps not just for ourselves, but watching for those who cannot watch for themselves. When someone we know is in distress, we watch over them and we watch out for them. When I am asleep, I know that the wonderful Mr Pamsperambulation watches out. That’s an element of this watchfulness for God’s coming that I’ve never thought of before.

We won’t know when God is coming. We won’t know when we will meet him. It is a sad fact of life that sudden illness or accident can strike at any time. If it happened to me today, am I ready?

God is not trying to catch us out, waiting until we’re doing something wrong to pounce. He longs for us to live with him eternally. And that means being spiritually aware, doing all we can to be ready to meet him – encouraging and helping one another along the way.

Lord may I watch
and wait;
ready,
prepared,
living for you.

Give me patience,
stamina,
understanding,
compassion
and grace
that I may watch
and watch over
faithfully
for you

When?

November 14, 2013bible, church, faith, God, Jesus, Lectionary, life, Religion, theologyLuke 21:5-19, ready, Second Coming, waitingpamjw

Luke 21:5-19 (CEV)

The Temple Will Be Destroyed

⁵Some people were talking about the beautiful stones used to build the temple and about the gifts that had been placed in it. Jesus said, ⁶“Do you see these stones? The time is coming when not one of them will be left in place. They will all be knocked down.”

Warning about Trouble

⁷Some people asked, “Teacher, when will all this happen? How can we know when these things are about to take place?”

⁸Jesus replied:

Don’t be fooled by those who will come and claim to be me. They will say, “I am Christ!” and “Now is the time!” But don’t follow them. ⁹When you hear about wars and riots, don’t be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn’t the end.

¹⁰Nations will go to war against one another, and kingdoms will attack each other. ¹¹There will be great earthquakes, and in many places people will starve to death and suffer terrible diseases. All sorts of frightening things will be seen in the sky.

¹²Before all this happens, you will be arrested and punished. You will be tried in your meeting places and put in jail. Because of me you will be placed on trial before kings and governors. ¹³But this will be your chance to tell about your faith.

¹⁴Don’t worry about what you will say to defend yourselves. ¹⁵I will give you the wisdom to know what to say. None of your enemies will be able to oppose you or to say that you are wrong. ¹⁶You will be betrayed by your own parents, brothers, family, and friends. Some of you will even be killed. ¹⁷Because of me, you will be hated by everyone. ¹⁸But don’t worry!^[a] ¹⁹You will be saved by being faithful to me.