Watching

 

Dear friends,

Thanksgiving has come and gone. We hope to be able to say the same about the leftover turkey. Having cooked a turkey a few weeks back, our Thanksgiving meal was liver and onions. It was a quiet affair, with just the two of us. And I doubt anyone else would have enjoyed it as much.

 

Snow happened this week. The weather man guessed we would get less than an inch, but it turned out to be more like 2 to 3 inches here. We will now need to get the rest of the Christmas lights up and plugged in.

 

It is the advent season, when Christians focus on the first coming of the Lord Jesus. While there are differing opinions over the exact time of year He was born, there is no doubt in His followers’ minds that He was born in Bethlehem, just as the scripture says.

 

In today’s world, there is renewed interest in His second return, or second advent. Jesus plainly told His disciples to expect His return at some time in the future. As we read the New Testament, it seems they anticipated He would come back in their lifetime. He did not, however, give them a specific time for His return. He told them some things to look for and warned them not to get caught up in false prophecies.

 

These are His words: Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am the Christ, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed… As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:4-39).

 

Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him (Matthew 24:42-44).

 

“He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority” (Acts 1:7).

He will return. Are you ready?

 

In Him,

Pastor Jerry