Week of 6/16-6/22: Living in Light - The King Returns to Live

Day One: 1 Thessalonians 1:8-10 For the Lord’s message rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything, for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.  

“DAD’S COMING.” That can be a scary phrase or a good phrase, depending on the circumstances.If the bedroom is destroyed, chores have not been done, or the report card is less than stellar, “dad’s coming” can be a terrible phrase.However, if the circumstance is that the car broke down in the middle of the road while driving or there is a stranger lurking around the yard, “dad’s coming” is a soothing and comforting phrase.

Dad is coming, or perhaps more accurately, brother is coming.Big brother, that is.Jesus.This knowledge, that God is coming to redeem believers and to rescue, restore, and bring justice, should change how believers live their everyday lives.But this is not soothing for unbelievers.God’s coming is also the coming of judgment.Sin will be judged.People will give an account.Knowing this reality should change how unbelievers live their lives, namely, it should bring them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, who alone can satisfy God’s righteous anger toward sinners.

The Christian faith is not intended to be a “one day when we get to heaven” reality only.It is supposed to be a life-changing reality now.The knowledge of Christ’s coming should lead people to get their lives lined up with God.Everyday decisions, attitudes, and actions matter.He is coming.He may be today, perhaps tomorrow.Whenever it is, one thing is certain: It is going to happen.Because of that, this should have a profound impact on each moment of our lives.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why should knowing Jesus is returning have an impact on how you live?

▷▷Why do you think most live in ways that ignores this fact?

▷▷What is a way to stay reminded of this truth on a consistent basis?

Week of 6/16-6/22: Living in Light - The King Returns to Live

Day Two: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him: We ask you, brothers, not to be easily upset in mind or troubled, either by a spirit or by a message or by a letter as if from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s sanctuary, publicizing that he himself is God.

THERE ARE THINGS IN THE WORLD created and intended to deter crime.For example, alarm systems in businesses and homes are meant to deter burglars.If they enter the business or home, the alarm goes off, and they flee, because they know the cops are coming.There are cameras set up in stores to deter thieves from taking things.The thief knows that if the person behind the camera sees them, the cops will be on their way.These things aren’t designed to simply catch criminals, but even more so, to deter them.

Likewise, the knowledge that Christ sees all things and is coming again, should lead believers to a rejection of the spirit of antichrist in this w

orld.It should deter Christians from embracing the spirit of antichrist so prevalent.This godless disposition must be rejected if individuals want to walk in accordance with God’s Word and God’s will.

Worldliness is the spirit of antichrist.Anything that will divert attention and affections away from Christ is the heart of antichrist.This must be rejected and aggressively fought against.Christ is coming back! The spirit of antichrist will be defeated and the kingdom of God will finally breakthrough completely.

Everything not honoring and exalting to God will be no more.This should lead believers to keep their sights on the coming Christ who will conquer the spirit of antichrist encountered in the world.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What are some examples of worldliness or spirit of antichrist you face every day?

▷▷What are some ways these things can be fought against?

▷▷How can believers aide one another in the fight against the spirit of antichrist?

Week of 6/16-6/22: Living in Light - The King Returns to Live

Day Three: Jude 1:20-23 But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, expecting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. Have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

IMAGINE A MAN who owns a diamond mine.He is currently away from it, out of the country.He sends an invitation to a few close friends that he is closing the mine.It will no longer be excavated and have its diamonds extracted from it.The friends are invited to the mine to collect for themselves as many diamonds as they can secure.The amount of time they have to do this is until the mine owner returns to the mine and closes it.They don’t know how long he will be away but he tells them the time of return is coming.

What kind of urgency will those friends invited to collect diamonds from the mine work with? What other activities would they stop doing to focus more time on mining? Their urgency is fueled by the value of the diamonds and their knowledge that the mine owner is on his way and that when he arrives, time for collecting diamonds will be finished forever.

While the story is not a perfect parallel, it is meant to demonstrate the urgency with which believers should be joined to the mission of God in evangelizing the world.Believers have been invited to look for diamonds, the souls of men.These souls are more precious than any diamond, and the time for collecting them into the kingdom is limited because the mine owner, Christ, is returning.When He returns there will be no more evangelizing.The mine will be closed.Only those diamonds collected before His return will enter into the heavenly kingdom.The rest will experience everlasting torment in hell.

Oh friends, the time for collecting is now! Christ is coming and the day for collecting will soon be over.In the same way that many would be fueled with urgency to collect diamonds, which only have earthly value, believers should be fueled with an urgency over the diamonds, the souls, that have eternal value and worth.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷How can you get more involved in the mission of God?

▷▷What are some ways you can stay reminded that Christ is coming soon?

▷▷What are some ways you can reinforce the reality that souls are more precious than diamonds, leading you to greater concern for them?

Week of 6/9-6/15: Living in Light - The King Preserves

Day One: 1 Peter 1:3-9 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials so that the genuineness of your faith—more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls”

EVERYONE HAS A SOFT SPOT for the men and women serving in the Armed Forces of the nation’s military. Most are incredibly proud of those soldiers, past and present that have fought to preserve the freedoms and liberties of the United States and its people. One of the reasons they are so honored and revered is because they show, and throughout history have shown, a perseverance to the task of representing the country, even in the midst of tough times and incredible dangers facing them. Soldiers have stared death in the face and have willingly gone forward into dangerous missions and situations because of their love for their country. When they show such perseverance in the midst of danger, it brings glory to the nation that they are willing to fight for. It exalts the nation in which they fight, when faced with incredible danger, they willingly march forward.

In a similar, yet more powerful way, Christians who willingly face trials, tribulations, and hardships because of their faith and loyalty to Jesus Christ, are exalting the one they persevere for. As believers willingly experience persecution and suffering, and persevere through them, they are exalting the God who is worthy to follow through any and all trials. This is how God is glorified through the perseverance of his people. His worthiness is displayed by the willingness of those who love him, to carry forward, even when times are incredibly tough.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What are some different types of trials that Christians may face in their lives?

▷▷What are some ways a believer can persevere through these different trials?

▷▷In what ways is God glorified through that perseverance?

Week of 6/9-6/15: Living in Light - The King Preserves

Day Two: 2 Peter 3:8-13 Dear friends, don’t let this one thing escape you: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness as you wait for and earnestly desire the coming of the day of God. The heavens will be on fire and be dissolved because of it, and the elements will melt with the heat. But based on His promise, we wait for the new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will dwell”

LOUIS ZAMPERINI WAS AN OLYMPIC TRACK ATHLETE in the 1936 Olympics at the Berlin games. He was just a young man at the time and was looking forward to the 1940 games. But when World War II happened, the 1940 Olympics were canceled, so Louis signed up for the military. He joined the fight as a part of the Army Air Forces and flew on a B-24 bomber over the Pacific Ocean.

In April of 1942, while flying over the Pacific Ocean looking for a crashed B-24 bomber, his aircraft crashed into the water. Of the 11 crew members, only three survived, one being Louis. The stories of Louis’ experiences are found in the best-selling book Unbroken. There the story is told that Louis was stranded in the Pacific Ocean for 47 days. When they landed upon the shores of the Marshall Islands, 850 miles away from where they crashed, only two of the three men were still alive. Louis ended up a prisoner of war because the island he landed upon was Japanese occupied territory. He would be a prisoner of war for three years until the end of the war in August 1945.

How did Louis survive on the water for 47 days near starvation? How did he survive the beatings, dysentery, and starvation while a prisoner? His focus was on going home. He dreamed about his mom’s cooking. He dreamed about the things he would do when he was free. His hope was rooted in a future of bliss and blessing. This is the same hope a believer uses to persevere through the daily trials in this life. The hope of the Christian is set firmly in the future realities of the new heavens and the new earth. Though there may be present suffering, one day, in God’s future kingdom, it will end. Paradise will be restored and sin will be no more. That is how a believer perseveres.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why do you think looking forward to future realities is so effective at helping through present suffering?

▷▷What difficult times have you faced recently? How did you handle those times?

▷▷How could focusing on Christ and His promises have changed the situation?

Week of 6/9-6/15: Living in Light - The King Preserves

Day Three: 1 John 2:15-19 Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For everything that belongs to the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God’s will remains forever. Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard, “Antichrist is coming,” even now many antichrists have come. We know from this that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us”  

“IT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT’S WHAT YOU DO.” This is a fairly popular statement used today to describe the importance of how actions must accompany promises made by words, if they’re to be believed. Many people will vow to do something or will make claims to have particular beliefs, but their actions do not match what they claim. When this happens, it becomes difficult to trust that person in the future.

It is not uncommon any longer for people to say one thing publicly but do something completely different when people aren’t around. It seems ridiculous because our actions really tell others who we are. It is a like a basketball team coming on to the court for a game, but instead of playing basketball, they begin running football plays. They can claim to be a basketball team all they want to, but their actions do not match what they say they’re doing. If someone claimed to be a swimmer, but never got into the water and went swimming, their actions would not match their words.

Similarly, God’s people need to do more than simply talk about perseverance, their actions must match. The people of God show their perseverance by their actions. When persecuted for beliefs, they continue standing for and sharing those beliefs. When facing difficult circumstances in life, they continue trusting God rather than giving way to worldly worrying. Perseverance is a verb that requires actions.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What are the different type of ways perseverance is demonstrated through actions?

▷▷What reasons do you think so many people have a dichotomy between their words and actions?

Week of 5/26-6/1: Living in Light - The King Declares Guilty People Righteous

Day One: Romans 5:12-14 “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned. In fact, sin was in the world before the law, but sin is not charged to a person’s account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression. He is a prototype of the Coming One.”

IT DOES NOT TAKE BEING AN EXPERT in trees to know that if the root system of a tree is diseased, the entire tree will be affected. This impacts the appearance and functioning of all parts of the tree, including the branches. For example, if an apple tree is failing to produce apples, or if the apples produced are rotten, the solution is not to staple apples to the branches. The problem does not originate from the fruit on branches, but rather starts in the roots of the tree. If the roots are healthy, the tree is likely to be healthy. But if the roots are diseased, the whole tree suffers.

We can think of the entire human race much like one enormous tree. Unfortunately, this tree has a very diseased root system. If each person is a branch of this tree, the root of the tree would be Adam. Adam is the father of humanity and, because of this, all of humanity is born into sin. Adam sinned against God, bringing his offspring, or branches, into sin with him. All the branches of this tree of Adam have a sinful nature like him. Just as branches cannot claim autonomy from the roots, neither does any person have the ability to claim autonomy from their first father, Adam. Because of our sin, we are guilty before God. We are under the curse of Adam.

Fortunately, the story doesn’t end there. There is a treatment for this curse of sin, which is found in the gospel. By believing the gospel of Christ, we are given the ability to live on mission for God.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷In what ways do our lives show that we are corrupt and born into sin?

▷▷What are our natural objections against inheriting a sin nature?

▷▷How are those natural objections countered by truth of Scripture?