Look! (part 3 of 4)

As we have noted the past two days. . .
"BEHOLD, HE IS COMING with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen." ( Revelation 1:7 ESV)
And the New Living Translation which reads. . .
"LOOK! HE COMES with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him -- even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the earth will weep because of him. Yes! Amen!" [NLT © 1997, Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House]

LOOK! Do we SEE? It is a point regarding Christ not to be missed! Do we SEE the urgency in those words? Do we SEE the plea to be ready in that statement? After accepting the fact it will happen, the next step is to REMAIN PREPARED.
Though many people continue to try to predict the Lord's coming, Jesus Himself stated. . .
"(30) Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. . . . (36) But CONCERNING THAT DAY AND HOUR NO ONE KNOWS, NOT EVEN THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN, NOR THE SON, BUT THE FATHER ONLY." ( Matthew 24:30-31 & 36 ESV)
Not knowing when implies the need for always being ready for whenever that time may come. And come it will! Does that truth hold our attention?
Peter warned. . .
"(10) But THE DAY of the Lord WILL COME LIKE A THIEF, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. (11) SINCE ALL THESE THINGS ARE THUS TO BE DISSOLVED, WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE OUGHT YOU TO BE in lives of holiness and godliness, (12) waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!" ( 2 Peter 3:10-12 ESV)
In view of all this, what kind of people ought we to be? We ought to BE A PREPARED PEOPLE as Heaven has been called a "prepared place for a prepared people." We ought to BE A WATCHFUL PEOPLE since we don't know when that day will come. We ought also to be A PEOPLE WHO SHARE with others THE MESSAGE OF HOPE they need in order to, themselves, be prepared. To miss the point is to miss the OPPORTUNITY TO BE PREPARED.
Have a great day PREPARED FOR OUR POINT OF DEPARTURE!
Carl
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[This focus was originally sent 04/27/1999 (edited some with passage changed to ESV)]

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