He's Coming

…so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

(Hebrews 10:36)

Meditation

From my teen years until I was in my forties, I turned my back on, what I knew to be the truth of salvation. I was shown the truth until I was about twelve but rebelled as I came to the age of accountability. I thought the salvation message the preacher tossed out every Sunday, when I was a kid, was foolishness. However, deep down in my heart, I knew it was the truth. I struggled through thirty plus years, searching for a different way to fill a void I couldn’t fill. When I finally was brought low enough by the circumstances of life, I realized I needed to return to my first love. The Jesus I loved as a child. The Jesus I loved before I got too smart for my own good.

Jesus was born over two thousand years ago and served all mankind when he willingly went to the cross. It was all part of God’s plan for us. The Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, contains over three hundred predictions of the coming Messiah. Jesus wasn’t born by chance. He was the Father’s answer to the sins of everyone who ever lived. Not just a select few. Not just a certain race. Not just Jews or Americans. Not just Catholics or Protestants; everyone. The sins of man have a price that had to be paid. There is no way for us to pay our own sin debt. We need a redeemer, someone spotless and without blemish to cleanse us. The blood of Jesus is the only acceptable payment. When we repent and confess Christ as our Lord, we are washed clean by his blood, shed on the cross.

Jesus came the first time to pay the price for our sins. When he returns, he will only come to save those who are waiting for him. We will be waiting because we have already received the gift of salvation. If you haven’t submitted to him and confessed him as your Lord and Savior before he returns, your fate is sealed. Only your punishment remains. The choice is up to you. You can choose now, to follow Jesus or follow your own carnal desires. When that day comes and Jesus returns, if you are still wallowing in your sins, hell will be your next stop. Before it’s too late, please, search out the truth in the scriptures. It’s the only place you’ll find real truth, anywhere.

Father God, you are the wonderful example of love. You showed your love by giving us a Savior, in your Son, Jesus. No one had ever done anything to deserve a redeemer, but Jesus sacrificed himself for us anyway. No one will ever do anything to deserve that sacrifice. The first appearance of your Christ was to bring salvation to all mankind. When he comes again, he’s not going to come as a servant but a judge. He will not be sacrificing himself again for sin but to deliver all of us who follow him from this sinful world. Father we long for that day, but we know there’s plenty of people who don’t know Jesus yet. Be patient with us when we fail to share the gospel with those who need to hear it. Forgive us when we wander away and backslide into our old ways. Restore us to righteousness when we repent. Help us, Lord, to be found following him on the narrow path when Christ returns. In his name, we pray. Amen!