Soon Isn't Now. Yet

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture, rejecting fear and championing faith. Jesus said he was coming soon, and there are signs of the end times. We should be prepared and continue to live in accordance with God's will. The word of God provides hope and comfort in times of stress and anxiety. We should approach the idea of Jesus' return with confidence, alertness, love, assurance, and a willingness to abide in Him. Our purpose is to reflect the image of God and stay faithful to Him. Welcome to Fear No Fear. Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embrace you today. This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. We reject fear in any and all forms. Fear is a spiritual force, the currency of darkness and ignorance. It's what we inherited when Adam gave up his faith and Satan uses it to keep people down. His only weapon is words. If he can get you believing or looking at words of fear, he's got you. Instead, we champion faith as an allegiance to God, as a belief and trust and loyalty to the Lord God Almighty. We accept the evidence of his word as unvarnished truth, as is, just as it's written. We get close to his perfect love through the word, and perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4.18 All scripture is taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Visit eBible.org Luke 21.9 When you hear of wars and disturbances, don't be terrified, for these things must happen first, but the end won't come immediately. Jesus said he was coming soon. Three times right at the end. Revelation 22, verse 7, verse 12, and then again in verse 20. Behold, I am coming soon. My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his worth. That's verse 12. Behold means to look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is used as an injunction, which is a formal command or admonition, which in turn is cautionary advice, usually about imminent danger, like when you're driving along a mountain highway and you see a sharp turn ahead sign. It doesn't happen immediately after the sign. It takes a little, especially if you consider the speed at which you're going, but pretty soon, bam, sharp turn. So whatever has a behold in front of it is important. Important enough, you'd better be beholding it. Verse 7 says, Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. Verse 12 we just read, and verse 20 is near the end of this long speech. It says, He who testifies these things says, Yes, I am coming soon. All three are statements by Jesus in his closing plea of the revelation to John. They weren't the only time his coming soon is mentioned. There are 13 other times Scripture talks about the imminent return of Jesus, such as Matthew 24-44, 2 Peter 3-10, Revelation 3-11, and 1 Peter 4-7. But that was 2,000 years ago, and we're still saying soon. I mean, James 5-7 tells us to be patient until the Lord comes, like a farmer waiting for his crop to ripen. How realistic is this soon? The world is rife with war and disturbances. The more years that happen, the more problems emerge. We seem at times to be spiraling into chaos. Jesus said this was inevitable and that the end won't be immediate. Soon, as a word, means near future. But things have been spiraling for 2,000 years. They could spiral for 2,000 more. There's something about these times, though. Don't you feel a speed to things? When things go bad, they go bad fast. When things happen that we like, they seem to flash in the pan and then be over. Things are mounting, one on top of the other, until we're not sure about everything, and the word conspiracy is being uttered by toddlers in daycare. There seems to be a sooner-than-you-think soonness to our current soon. We're moving toward the future that will be the end, the completion. Now, no one knows when it will be, Matthew 24, 36-42. It should be enough for us that it is soon. If we rush to the end, people won't get the full chance they deserve to hear the good news and the opportunity to choose to change their course. Humans are the carbon copy of fallen Adam. Like begets like. And those humans, all humans, are going to hell because of their very nature of unrighteousness, of sin. They can't change it. They can't force their way off that path. There is no human effort that is good enough in any way, shape, or form. No human-made god can save them. Because if any of those spirits or entities are real, they're also unrighteous and headed to the same place. The most they can do is hold your hand while you both get kicked in. Hell is real. Hell is the absence of God. Absence from God. Hell is aloneness. Hell is horrific. And hell is where we're all going. Period. Unless we change our course. Unless we take the hand that Jesus is holding out to us. All of us. God desires that everyone be saved and that no one is lost. 2 Peter 3.9 The urgency you feel and see in the spirit as Holy Spirit moves and talks and calls out to the world should be our greatest proof. This is not a call to save because some people are about to perish. This is a 2 a.m. last call. Pick your go-home partner urgency. We are in the last of the last days. And yes, there might be a last of the last of the last days or even a last of the last of the last of the last days. But the end is in sight. The light at the end of the tunnel is the glory of God and only the righteous in Christ will be able to stand in its presence. Luke 21, 34-36 We're being given the warning that everyone since the resurrection has been given. It will be soon. When you see the troubles kick up, prepare yourself and step things up. Because Jesus said wars and disturbances would happen. And then the end. But not immediately. Now we live in that not immediately. That's good. We have some time. Often we feel there's more we could be doing for people and for the Lord. Maybe we haven't been good stewards of what we've been given. Maybe we're not being the employee we should be. Maybe we aren't talking and showing love to those around us, whether neighbor, friend, co-worker, or stranger that we chat up in the coffee line. Maybe we haven't been serious enough about our walk with the Lord. Enoch walked with God and then stayed walking, disappearing from the earth. That would be great. But there have been days I wonder if I've walked so poorly that I'm going to get a wish you were here card from heaven. That's my flesh talking. That's not God's perspective. And I thank him daily for being merciful in all things. He is merciful and his mercy endures forever. Now there is still a list of things I want to be doing on a daily basis. A list of things I want to accomplish for him. And I am glad not immediately means I get some time to continue to work, study, and learn about him. But we also live in soon. We have some time, but we don't know how much some is in that time. Soon means soon. It's defined as without undue time lapse and in a prompt matter or speedily. It means we all have to get serious about Jesus and the only future that matters. Jesus is coming. When we do not expect, Matthew 24, 44. On a day we don't know, Matthew 24, 42. And as lightning he will appear, Matthew 24, 26 to 27. That all seems quite nerve wrackingly. Oh dear, what a lovely day this is. I think I'll take a walk before I get to the shopping or here I am it's over. The more you think on it, the more anxious you can become. A recent survey from the American Bible Society found that those who were engaged with Scripture multiple times a week reported more stress and trauma than those that weren't. But it wasn't because the word caused it. Rather, they found those believers experiencing more stress and trying times tended to turn to the word more than others. Across America, one quarter of people experience stress and 10% report stress at very high levels. 44 have trouble sleeping. 44 were lonely and cut off. 37% were numb about life. If believers in the word are scoring higher in those negative categories, why do they bother with the word? Well, because anxiety is fear and it's not of the kingdom. But what is of the kingdom? Hope. Hope is of the kingdom. We hope in the Lord. Those in the word scored 71 out of 100 in a Hope Agency test. Those not engaged with the word, a full 14 points lower. Those believers experiencing stress were turning to the word because it gave them hope. It engaged their belief that everything was going to be okay. Because you can't actively and intentionally read the word without walking away with a God's-got-this viewpoint. It's so very obvious he does. He has a plan. He's following it. So how then should we take this soon business? Well, in confidence. Not communication made in confidence, but in certitude. 100% certain that what Jesus began in us, Jesus will complete in us. Philippians 1.6. In alertness because the times of frivolity are over. 1 Peter 4.7. We need to hold on to what Jesus has given to our care. Revelation 3.11. With open eyes, testing the word of the Lord and all teaching so that we stay the course. Matthew 7.5. In love, John 13.34-35. Encouraging each other and supporting each other when none of us race alone. Hebrews 10.24-25. With total assurance that whatever comes, Jesus will be able to handle it. John 1.3. That the victory has already been won through the cross and resurrection. Revelation 1.8. Finally, abiding in Him. 1 John 2.28. Because when we abide in Jesus, we know we are listening and ready to be obedient to the smallest thing. We won't be ashamed when He comes, but proud that we have done our best in all things. Not a prideful pride, a worshipful proud. Jesus enabled us to do these things and have this attitude. And in Him, because of Him, we were able to accomplish it. Now, the abiding part of all of that is the most important part. You see, we were made in the very image of God. Genesis 1.27. Looking back from that to the very beginning of this history in Genesis 1.2, we find that the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Hovering is defined as fluttering in the air or moving to and fro near a place to fluctuate around a given point. Other translations than the World English Bible translate the word hovering as moving. The Hebrew word is rakaf. It's a primitive root of things like fluttering, hovering, moving, and shaking. Like a bird hovering over its young. These are all movement words, movement concepts. That means we, as images and reproductions of God, are movement beings. When Jews pray, they rock back and forth. They call it shuckling. They do it for several reasons. When Torah was first given, it is written that the people saw and trembled. Exodus 20.15. We're called to pray with our whole being. Psalm 35.10. Mind, spirit, and soul do that through speech. The body, through movement. In the Zohar, which is a foundational book of Jewish mystical thought, they say that the soul of man is the candle of God, so they rock back and forth like the flame of a candle. The Baal Shem Tov says that just as when a person is drowning, no one would scoff at him if he were floundering about to save himself, so, too, one should not scoff when observing a person making movements while praying, for he is trying to concentrate and stave off foreign thoughts. But my favorite was a comment I heard by a rabbi—I'm sorry, but I forget which one— that simply stated, God is a God of movement, so we move in honor of who he is. Now, what does all of that have to do with abiding? Well, we, as beings, move. Spiritually, we move. Physically, we move. We're movers. If we're not abiding in Jesus, if we're not anchored in the Word, do you know what happens? We move. We move away from the Lord. We move away from what we've been told. We move away from daily declarations, daily devotions, and a constant, purposeful, intentional meditation on the Lord. Does that mean we should seek to stay put? No. God is a God of movement, a God of growth, a God of, let's go over there. What we should do is emulate the angelic and move around God. We see in Isaiah 6, 2-3, that angels circle the throne of God, crying, Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh of armies. The whole earth is full of his glory. If we, too, circle the Lord, if we, too, move around him, keeping God at the center of our lives, keeping Jesus in the middle of our sight, thoughts, and mind, we will abide in him and be able to navigate this world, moving always toward the Lord and not away from him. The world can be scary, but Holy Spirit sealed you for the day of redemption, Ephesians 4-30. When you were saved, you were moved from the camp of the wilderness into the pasture of the shepherd, Colossians 1, 9-14. That is where we should stay, in his yard, under his blessing, abiding in the word, we in Jesus, Jesus in us. Jesus is coming soon. All the groanings and trials of this life, proclaim it more and more, year by year, day by day. He is coming soon. Maybe not today. Maybe not next year, but soon and in the blink of an eye, like a flash of lightning. He will come and all will see him, Revelation 1-7. Don't be terrified of the world around you or of the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't let your heart be troubled. Pray, praise, and be confident. Jesus has you, and he's not letting go. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Proverbs 3, 3-4. Love is the greatest gift humans were ever given. It is truly a piece of the divine, because Scripture tells us that God is love, 1 John 4, 8 and verse 16. Love can do more than any single force outside of the name of Jesus, because God is love. Love can cross racial lines, political lines, denominational lines, religious lines, cultural lines, and gender lines. Selfless love, pure love. Love, just to love each other. Not emotional, sexual, or selfish. Just love. We decide to love. We choose to love. We're commanded to love one another 13 times in the New Testament, at least. We're commanded to love our neighbor about nine times. Choosing to lay aside strife, bitterness, jealousy, hatred, bigotry, and choosing to love is an important thing. It is the gift God gave us first. We're not commanded to like people, only to love them. Not to approve of them or agree, but to love. It's a decision. It isn't a feeling. It's a lifestyle. It's saying, I don't like anything about what you stand for, but I love you, and I honestly want the best for you. Have you met my friend Jesus? Because he loves you too. And then praying for them, or with them, and never wishing for them any harm, never mocking, never talking down to them or at them, loving them, blessing them, every time, all the time, repenting of all grudges or bitterness, forgiving them each and every time it's needed, not placing ourselves in danger, but listening to the guiding of Holy Spirit as we love them, faithfully and with purpose. Because God is love, and imitation is the best compliment we can pay him. Praise him today. Choose to love. As we close, remember that you have earth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this. Today, God loves that I, now you, fill in the blank. Was it a meal you made? A smile you gave? Did you get out of bed? Read? Put on socks? There's no wrong answers here. There is no end to God's love, and no end to the things about you that he loves each and every day. Pick one. And remember, the Lord loves you just because you're you. 1 John 4, 9-10 tells us, By this, God's love was revealed in us, that God has sent his only-born Son into the world, that we might live through him. And this is love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His perfect love turned away God's wrath because of sin, and it casts out our fear too. See verses 18 and 19. We love because he first loved us. He just loves us. Can't get enough of us. And that is wonderful. See you next time.