Ready When He Is

DEVOTION
2 THESSALONIANS
READY WHEN HE IS
2 Thess 2:1-2
2:1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.
NIV
May 21st is nothing but another day in the Kingdom of God here on planet Earth. All the fuss this whoever is stirring up is nothing but a big farce. All throughout history man has been attempting to put a date on the coming of the Lord. But I am not worried about any date for I have nothing to fear. I am ready when he is. Oh sure I have not yet attained perfection, but I am still ready to be gathered to him. I am not unsettled or alarmed by any prophecy or report about the Lord already have come and gone, or about some day he is supposed to come. I am ready when he is. Right I am not without sin even at this point in my long journey with him, but I am ready. Why would I even think I could ever be free from sin in thought, word or deed? If I thought that way I would be in sin of having spiritual pride and so I still would not be free from the grip of sin in my life. No I am nothing but a sinner saved by grace and I am ready when he is. No alarm, no unsettledness in my spirit for I know God is the only one who knows when he will send Jesus and I am ready when he is. Do I have things I would still like to do here on earth? Sure, who doesn’t? I would at least like to see my second book published. I would still like to watch my granddaughter grow up and get married and see my great grandchildren. I would still like to finish, which it will never be, my model railroad. I would still like to shoot under 80 someday on the golf course. I would still like to preach at other churches sharing the message of Psalm one. I would still like to some specific person come to the saving knowledge of Christ, to be born again. And these things are not in any special order, just randomly listed. I am sure there might be a few other things I would like to get done, I just can’t think of them now, yet I am still ready when he is, even if I never see any of these done. No matter who says what, or when he is going to come, I am ready when he is.

Glorified

DEVOTION
2 THESSALONIANS
GLORIFIED
2 Thess 1:12
12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
NIV
Do I glorify my Lord Jesus Christ? That is the question I think every believer has to ask himself. How do I glorify the name of my Lord Jesus? What do I do in the presence of others that bring glory to his name? Does my behavior line up with my profession of faith in him? Do others think of how great God is because of me? Do others look at me and think that Jesus is the Lord of my life and that he is wonderful. Just how does he get any glory from my life? I know some people have told me they admire my faith, but that is admiring my faith not giving glory to Jesus. That, in a sense, lifts me up as a person of strong faith. Maybe that is alright due to my faith is being in him. Maybe living in such a manner as I trust him does bring glory to his name. Yet, I think I have to give testimony as to his greatest as well. I have to speak about how he has provided everything for me. I have to be vocal about all he has done for me, in me and through me. But I must do this in a manner which does not lift me up but lifts him up and gives him the glory and honor for all he has done and is still doing. Yet I see it is not all bad to receive some small amount of glory myself as I should be in him. I am not sure how I should be glorified in him. Except that all he does in my life, because he does all of that I am in a certain form glorified. That is difficult to wrap my mind around. I know that any glory I might have is completely due to the grace, the pleasure, of God and my Lord Jesus Christ. I really should not be doing anything which would bring me glory, but only that which would bring glory to him. Now if he has pleasure in my having any glory so be it. It seems strange even saying that. But I suppose in the whole of this idea, as I live demonstrating faith he is glorified and with all he does I get some as well. I know God loves me, that is for sure. I know he desires to bless my life, and show himself to others through his actions on behave of me. Still I just am not sure about this two way glorified concept, but I accept it.

Keep on Keeping On

DEVOTION
2 THESSALONIANS
KEEP ON KEEPING ON
2 Thess 1:11
11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
NIV
It is one thing to have the ability to achieve what I set my mind on doing, but it is completely a different thing to have God cramming full to completion all the things I do for the good of his kingdom. But I have to admit I that I cannot achieve all that I set my mind to as I am weak, but I relish in the fact he is strong. As to whether I am worthy of his calling on my life, I cannot speak to that issue for I cannot judge my worthiness, only he can. Sometimes I think I am, and than other times I know I am not. I suppose the one and only one who makes me worthy is Christ. Yet I am to be about my father’s business. I am to get on with having a purpose which is good and will benefit the Kingdom of God. I am to be doing things, actions, every act of my must be prompted by my faith in him. Because I believe I should be having good purposes and actions. These are not purposes for my own advancement in life. My actions are not supposed to be for my benefit, for things I want to get done, but rather for the kingdom. Yet am I not allowed to have some agenda of my own? Am I not allowed to have some plan for my life? Am I not allowed to have my own pleasures and comforts? Do I have to be continually having a good purpose and actions that will advance the kingdom? Maybe I need to reconfirm exactly what is my calling which I may be counted worthy of by God. I know that without him in the mix I surely cannot accomplish this calling. I know there are other people with an incredible charismatic personality able to attract and influence many others with their fine talk. I am not one of those. I have neither a charismatic personality nor fine talk and I do not attract or influence many. So why has God called me to do what I do? I can only think because he desires me to do what he desires me to do. The reason is his and I am but his servant to do whatever he calls me to do. He will fulfill that purpose. He will see to it that whatever he is having me to do will get done as he has planned it. I may never see the completion of any of the actions I do prompted by my faith. I think all I need to be concerned about is keeping on doing until he decides I should do something else. So I keep in keeping on.

Here I am to Worship

DEVOTION
1 THESSALONIANS
HERE I AM TO WORSHIP
2 Thess 1:10
10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
NIV
On the day he comes is an incredible statement all in itself, yet not only is he coming but he will be glorified in me and he will be marveled at by me as well. I am not completely sure how this will all happen. How will he be glorified or clothed in a garment in me? I think maybe this is in the sense that I will and have crowned him King, and he will be seen as the King by the whole world because of all his servants. I will be bowing down to the kingship of my Lord and Savior and the world will see that I was not wrong, or foolish to believe in him even though I have not seen him yet. The world whole will see he is the glorified King of kings, Lord of lords because he will be. It is beyond me why I am among all those who have believed. I have no idea why he got through to me and not to some others. Why was I able to hear the call of the Spirit? Why, when in all my sin, was he able to get into me? And even now I have not yet shed off all sin and still he counts me as one of those who believe. Why if I believe am I not able to rid myself of all sin? How can he really be glorified in me if I still am not completely free of sin? It has to be the simple fact of faith because works is not going to do it. I cannot ever glorify him because of works, because of being a perfect human being. I will be able to glorify him because of my faith in him. Sure I try to rid myself of all those sinful attitudes and or behaviors but I do not think I am ever going to be able to be successful. I am simply a sinner saved by grace and therefore I will bow down to my King and I will praise him and give him all the glory and honor he so rightly desires and I will do this before the whole earth.
Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that you’re my God, You’re altogether lovely, all together worthy, all together wonderful to me…

Need of Him

DEVOTION
2 THESSALONIANS
NEED OF HIM
2 Thess 1:7-9
8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power
NIV
If that doesn’t scare anyone into the kingdom I do not know what would. Except those I know who refuse to accept the truth just use this to prove how nasty God is and therefore he is not God. But I do not have a problem with this. It only proves to me that God is just. He allows people to decide for themselves if they what his peace or his wrath. If he was actually a mean unloving God he would simply make people do what he wants them to do. But he does not; I am not a puppet on stings being controlled by him. I had the free will to decide to follow him. I know I do not want anything to do with that everlasting destruction nor do I want to be shut out from his presence. That I think a lot of people, including believers have a misguided view of. I do not know how I think I have the right view, but yet I cannot see being in the process of being destroyed lasting forever. It is the simple fact that when they are destroyed, they are destroyed forever; never to come back, never to ever live again in some form in paradise with God. No, destruction is eternal, and therefore no in the presence of God. If they were still alive and in a eternal process of destruction, they would be in the presence of God or there is no place anyone can hide from him, he is everywhere. Hell is not even eternal, it will be destroyed when it is throw into the lake of burning sulfur. Now, although I am not a perfect human being, I don’t think I have to worry about this end for me. I sure have my faults, my failures and sins which continue to plague me and may well all the days of my life. But I am still saved from the horrible end of those who refuse to obey the gospel, because I do know God and I have accepted his provision for my salvation. It almost seems funny; those people think they have to be perfect and that I am supposed to be perfect. That is not possible. What is possible is God loves everyone so much he made a way for them to not be destroyed but to have everlasting life in his presence, even if they are not perfect. Right I should not just go about my merry way sinning anyway I want to. But at the same time I cannot never sin either, then I would be as pure as Jesus, as God and I am not, because I am not Jesus, and that is why I need him. I am in constant need of him.

Awesome Yet Awful

DEVOTION
2 THESSALONIANS
AWESOME YET AWFUL
2 Thess 1:6-7
6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. NIV
He could be nothing else but just. I know some of my un-believing friends would say that a loving caring merciful God could not be just as well. To them he has to be one or the other. Yet he is both. He is just and he will pay back but he has given everyone the opportunity to not get paid back. He has given me relief, rest, relaxation. Jesus has told me that if I was weary and burdened he would give me rest. I have that rest, I have that relief. I do not have to be concerned about the pay back one little bit. Now having said that I am concerned about some of those people who I care about that have refused his relief and are going to be paid back. But how can I change that? It is up to them, not me. I have told them, I have fulfilled my obligation and it is in their court not. Do I keep telling them? I think I am like a broken record, saying the same thing over and over again. It is up to God now. I do think about the coming day when Jesus is revealed. What is it actually going to look like? Will the sky actually be filled with a blazing fire and hoards of powerful angels? What a vision that is. I wonder if it will happen in my lifetime here on earth, or will I witness it from within the heavenly kingdom. Having knowledge of this event does present me with the concept of being ready even now. It is easy to get distracted from this coming event and get so involved in life and what I am going to do tomorrow or next week, next month, next year, or in 5 years that I sometimes hope he will wait until I get all I want to get done completed. Then I remember I need to live as though he is coming back tonight or even right now before I finish this devotion. It is going to happen, of this I am sure. History is not wrong, Jesus ascended and he is coming back, this time filled with glory and power and might to avenge all those who were wronged and belong to him. It will be an awesome, yet awful sight.

Up To God

DEVOTION
2 THESSALONIANS
UP TO GOD
2 Thess 1:5-6
5 All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
NIV
Is there anybody else who has right judgment? I think not. It is a comforting thing to know that God is always right and has always and will always make the right call. Father knows best! As for the evidence, I am not absolutely sure my life declares his judgment is right. If it depends on that preceding statement about perseverance and faith, well maybe my life does display evidence that his judgment is right. I surely want to be in the number who will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God. Yet I know it really has nothing to do with my desire. I cannot make it in based on anything I do or don’t do or could do. Right, I know I made the choice to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. But that is as far it goes depending on me. It is all God; he made that possible in the first place. So I have to come to the conclusion that the only reason I will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God is because of Jesus. My perseverance cannot do that. My faith cannot really do that either except that it is by faith that I am saved, least I boast about how I was counted worthy. I think the only reason I am counted worthy is because God says I am. He accepted my faith. It really is up to him, to his judgment whether I am worthy or not. I know some never really know if they are or not. But God has not left his judgment unknown for he has told me if I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that he raised Jesus from the dead, I will be saved, I will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God. But I also think that because I am maybe just a little bold about my faith, I have been the recipient of ridicule, but from the unbelievers and from those in the family of God. Especially when I do not act as holy as they think I am supposed to. But it is not up to their judgment as to if I am worthy, it is up to God. And I am going to leave it up to God.