Devotional Guide For the week of March 23, 2008
THE LIFE TO COME?
About separating goats and sheep
To read the Bible in one year, today read Job 22-24
To Know:
³For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with
the archangel¹s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the
dead
in Christ will rise first.²(1 Thess. 4:16)
Jesus will come again. This fact energized the early Church. The
Christians
living in the Roman Empire were in a race with the returning Lord. They
made
haste to warn the world not to presume on the divine patience. Every day
that Christ stays away, judgment is being mercifully delayed.
Nevertheless,
that final day must come.
The emperor of Rome displayed his military victories by leading his
legions
back to the eternal city through the cities of the empire. His arrival was
a
joy to Roman citizens but it was a show of judgment to the enemies of the
realm. Streets like those in Thessalonica would be lined with people both
for and against the empire. To the citizens, these marchers would be like
a
sweet aroma, but to the conquered crowds they were a stench in the
nostrils.
In this same way, Jesus will return to separate the sheep from the goats
by
his presence.
To Do:
In good times, that have lasted for a long time we are easily lulled to
sleep. The apostle Peter wrote, ³Where is the promise of his coming? For
ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were
from the beginning of creation.² (2Peter 3:4) Jesus rose on a day in the
history of this world and he will return on a specified date. When he
arrives, many will recoil in sheer horror. On that day they will face the
judgment of the one whose love they steadfastly refused. Let none of us be
counted among them.
03258$-03258
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