Tag Archives: judgment

Expired!

Daily living, Eschatology,

USA_passport_1976It is Sunday morning, 7 a.m. In two hours I will be teaching a Bible class. In three hours I will be worshiping with the family at the Eastern Shore Church of Christ. In 24 hours I will flying to Guyana where I will spend the next 2 weeks teaching men who want to preach the gospel.

Then I saw it. My passport was expired.

Just that fast my plans evaporated. There would be no trip to Guyana. Plans involving many people across two continents crumbled. I looked at the words again and again and they would not change. Expired. Expired! Expired!

The most aggravating part of the whole thing was that this was my fault entirely. There was no one else to blame. I fouled up.

But like most preachers who are always in search of an illustration, I found one. Here it is.

I was not prepared for my Guyana trip. Will I be prepared for my eternal trip?

We Will Meet The Lord

For months, I knew I was going to Guyana. The date was set and all I had to do was be ready. I failed. There is another date that is coming for all of us. We will stand before the Lord in judgment. It is not a pleasant thought for many. It is a moment filled with fear and anxiety. But it is coming.  The writer of Hebrews is clear, “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

Peter smacked the skeptics when he wrote, “the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise…” and “the Day of the Lord will come…” (2 Peter 3:9, 10). Some were denying the return of the Lord. They argued that nothing had changed since Jesus died and he wasn’t coming again. They were wrong then and they are wrong now. Jesus is coming.

Christians do not deny that the Lord will return. They just forget or become apathetic about his return. But if you know the Lord is coming, should we not all be ready always?

Late is Too Late

As soon as I realized my passport was expired, I went to the internet. I surfed to the National Passport Center. I was hoping there was a grace period or some way I could renew online, right then and there. I found that there was no grace period (in fact there is a kind of reverse grace period). There was no way to quickly renew an expired passport on line. I would have to wait until Monday morning, call for an appointment and physically travel to New Orleans. In other words, I was busted.

The Israelites  were busted too. They assumed everything was fine. In fact, they were looking forward to the Day of the Lord. But Amos knew better. Contrary to their own thoughts they were terribly unprepared. After listing the ways God tried to get their attention and their subsequent rejection of his efforts, God says through Amos:

“Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;
because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” (Amos 4:12)

Jesus himself tells the parable of foolish virgins who came to the wedding unprepared. The bridegroom was late and when he arrived they realized they were without oil for their lamps. They scrambled to buy more but could not until it was already too late. The doors were closed and they were shutout (Matthew 25:1-13).

I think I can say that this will never happen to me again. I will never allow my passport to expire again. But I only missed a single, albeit important, trip to Guyana. What would it be like to be eternally too late?

The Unknown Date

My passport expired August 4, 2013. My trip was set firm for December 9, 2013. During the interim I could have renewed. In fact, I could have probably waited until November to send in the paperwork. Of course I did not, but I could have because I knew the date that it would be required. Not so with the coming judgment.

Jesus is clear, no one knows the date of his coming (Matthew 24:44). Believers are to be ready always. Men have tried to set the date of Jesus’ return and all of them have failed miserably. We know Jesus is coming but we do not know when. So the importance of preparation is clear. We must be prepared always for the return of the Lord.

A family I know was adopting a child from Russia. They were unsure when the adoption would finalize or when they would be called to Russia. Do you think they kept their passports up to date?

Be prepared. The Lord is coming.

Bryant Evans may be reached at bryant at bryantevans.com. You can follow Bryant on Twitter @jbevans.

Prepare

Church Bulletin, Eschatology, , ,

It did not freeze last night. Contrary to some weather forecasts, it only dropped to about 37 here in Daphne. But I did notice my neighbors covering their plants yesterday. And even though they will awake to realize their work was not needed, they will still take similar preparations next time. When living in the Tuscaloosa area many years ago it was almost comical to watch people strip the stores of every last loaf of bread and every last gallon of milk just because a forecaster uttered the frightful word, “snow.” The people there took weather preparations seriously, as they should.

It’s sad that people do not take seriously spiritual warnings and prepare for their spiritual future. So many will face the reality of judgment without preparation. Why? I think I have some ideas.

Preparation suggests belief

The only reason people prepare for  snow or for a freeze, is because they believe it is plausible that snow or freezing temperatures will come. People hear the warnings and they may not be certain, but they do not want to be caught unprepared. They believe the words of the forecaster and act appropriately.

Today, many do not prepare for the Lord’s return because they do not believe it will come, or, they believe they have more time. Jesus himself declares the inevitability of his return. He says, “the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). Peter speaks the same, “the day of the Lord will come like a thief and then the heavens will pass away with a roar…” (2 Peter 3:10). Paul echoes the thought, “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night…” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). The warnings are given but belief is lacking.

Preparation suggests experience

The reason people prepare for bad weather is because they have seen what can happen when you are not prepared. When snow strikes the deep south it is always trouble. We are not prepared for snow drifts and impassable streets. We have been in that condition before and do not wish to repeat that mistake again.

Spiritually, we have historical events which ought press us to both believe and to prepare for the future coming of the Lord. While Jesus has not come to bring an end to the world before, he has come in judgment. Matthew 24:1-35 is a lengthy, detailed warning of the coming of Jesus in judgment against the nation of Israel. About 40 years after that warning, Israel was destroyed. The AD 70 assault by Rome leveled the city and destroyed the Temple. It was a defeat from which Israel never recovered.

Time and again in Scripture, God warned of his coming judgment. Not once did he fail in his promises. Let us read and learn so that we can believe the warnings of eternal judgment. Let not one of us fail to be prepared for his return. For the saved, the return of the Lord is a glorious moment of deliverance. But for the unbelieving, only dreadful unending punishment is in store.

I do not know if it will freeze tonight. But I do know the Lord will come. I will be ready, will you?

 

Bryant Evans may be reached at bryant at bryantevans.com. You can follow Bryant on Twitter  @jbevans.

Lessons from the Passing of Senator Edward Kennedy

Eschatology, Government, News,

Senator Ted Kennedy died Tuesday night. The patriarch of the Kennedy family was, according to the Washington Post a “the last male survivor of a privileged and charismatic family that in the 1960’s dominated American politics and attracted worldwide attention.” The story reminded readers that his two brothers were political scions in their own right, one serving as President and the other as Attorney General of the United States before being gunned down. A sister who died a few days ago was the founder of the Special Olympics and the only surviving sibling is a former ambassador to Ireland.

That means nothing today.

Edward “Teddy” Kennedy discovered some truths in the waning days of his life that we should all come to know right now.

Death Comes for All

The cold, spiny fingers of the reaper touch all men sooner or later. The writer of Hebrews says “it is appointed unto men once to die” (Hebrews 9:4). There is no escape from the condemnation of death which is the just penalty of our own sins (Romans 6:23). I have little doubt that the Kennedy family brought the entire weight of their wealth and privilege to bear on the Senator’s health but to no avail.

On the Press Register website this morning there were 16 obituary notices. Each dear to someone but none with the power and prestige of Ted Kennedy. Yet they all, including Kennedy, shared the same fate – death. We cannot escape the grip of death but we can prepare for it.

“Things” Bring Little Comfort

Senator Kennedy died at the Kennedy family “compound “ in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. The very idea of a lush compound in Hyannis Port brings to mind ideas of wealth and rich living. I suspect the furnishing around the ailing public servant were of the highest order. A staff attended to his every need and that of the gathered family. Yet when his final breath exhaled none of those things mattered to him or to his family. The press of death bypassed all the grand amenities once cherished by the Senator.

It might be easy to cast aspersions on Kennedy because of his wealth but in truth men of all life’s stations are touched by  the love of belongings. The Bible reminds us that “covetousness is idolatry” (Colossians 3:4) and that contentment is “great gain” ( 1 Timothy 6:6). God gives us what we need as we serve him.

Judgment Comes

I will not presume to judge Senator Kennedy. God has not given me that responsibility. However I am certain that the Senator now knows the true value of his time upon the earth. As the writer of Hebrews noted in the preceding passage, judgment follows death.  In Luke 16 both the rich man and Lazarus the beggar, knew their destinies just after death. Both were in places unchangeable and unchanging, either doomed to an eternity of punishment or blessed with everlasting glory. The Senator knows the reality of judgment and one would expect that he would share it with those left behind if he could.

The coming days and weeks will bring many memorials, reflections and services to honor the life of Edward Kennedy. But our glory here, if any, is fleeting. Let us pursue the glory of the Father of Lights and leave this old world behind. It has nothing for us.

When we pass, and we all will, let us talk of what lies ahead for us and not what is behind.