Jesus is still the hope of the world and Jesus is coming again, Acts 1:11. Will you be ready to meet Him when He comes? Malachi 3:1-3 announced the first advent of Jesus, but posed the question, "Who shall abide the Day of His Coming and who shall stand when He appeareth?" (ASV).

 

The contemporaries of Jesus were not ready for Him when He came. They missed the significance of that glorious event because they had some self-imposed barriers to obscure their vision of the incarnate God. There were three reasons for their failure to be ready for Him.   

 

First, they had lost their regard for the Word of God. In Jeremiah's day, King Jehoiakim showed his complete disdain for the Word by severing the pages from the scroll of Jeremiah with his pen knife before dropping them in the flames of the fire in his hearth. As each page was read to him, he naively destroyed it, Jeremiah 36. No one objected. No one cared. No one rebuked him. His action seemed to evoke general approval. Jeremiah, however, was again commissioned to re-write it and to add more beside! You cannot destroy the barometer to avert the storm. You cannot kill time by stamping on a watch. You cannot thwart the eternal purpose of God by scorching his Word. Jesus said, "The Word which I have spoken will judge you in the last day," John 12:48. James 4:5 posed the question, "Do you think the scripture speaks in vain?" 

 

When we ignore the Bible, we have no ethical standard of behaviour. We have no guide to God. We have no certainty about our origin. We have no idea what our destination is. We have no comfort in trouble. We have no hope in Christ. We would just be floundering in a sea of uncertainty! Our life would be meaningless and our outlook pessimistic. But understanding the message of the Bible transforms all that to a dispensation of hope in Christ. Our lack of knowledge is not set in concrete. We are able "to study to show ourselves approved unto God. . ." So, let's do it!!

 

Second, they refused to change. They did not want Jesus to change them -- they wanted to change Jesus' teaching  to suit their own preconceived notions. They did not comprehend the concept of repentance. Paul taught that God calls all men everywhere to repentance -- no exceptions, Acts 17:30. Jesus said, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish," Luke 13:3,5. Repentance is "a change of mind that results in a change of life." The Calvinist prayed, "O Lord, may I be right, for I shall never change!" Another said, "I am willing to change, but I would like to see the color of the man's eyes who can change me!" A preacher once said, "After age forty, people stop thinking--they simply rearrange their prejudices". To remain stubborn and bull-headed will never be pleasing to our God.

 

There were two Saul's in the Scripture: Saul, king of Israel, refused to change and went down as a villain in the ranks of infamy; Saul of Tarsus, persecutor of the saints, changed ... and become a mouthpiece for God as Paul the Apostle! His legacy lives on in the Word today! Personal transformation is not only necessary, it is essential, Romans 12:1-3.

 

Thirdly, they failed to look forward to his coming. "He came to his own (things) and his own (people) received him not," John 1:11. They rejected their Messiah and Deliverer because the flames of motivation, expectation and anticipation had gone out in their hearts. Their religion never touched their hearts, John 4:23-24. Since He was not the desired militant leader who would drive out the Romans and usher in the utopia, he was not what they wanted nor needed. He failed to live up to their warped expectations, so they rejected Him to their own peril.

 

Those same reasons will keep us from being ready to meet the Lord when He comes. A little boy was riding in an elevator of a skyscraper with his grandfather. As they passed the 35th floor, he asked his grandfather, "Does Jesus know we're coming?" Indeed, does He know we're coming? Are we strangers to his way? An elevator operator was asked a speculative question by a passenger, "Which way will I go if the cable breaks?" The wise operator replied, "That all depends on how you have been living, sir!" Make sure you are living in Jesus Christ -- he will carry you through! He is coming again -- who shall stand when he appeareth?"

 

Love you all,

 

Al--'the Horne of Africa"

 

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