“It always amazes me,” Stan began, “how God shows me so many different things about Him through the children in our neighborhood.”
“See something new?” I asked.
“I did,” Stan replied. “The other evening, a bunch of the children were playing a game outside. One of the children who was ‘It’, would cover his or her eyes and count to one hundred while the other children would go hide. The one who was “It” would then try to find them.”
“Oh,” I said, “I played that a lot when I was young. Great fun!”
“Me, too,” Stan added. “And the part of God’s teaching comes each time when I see that the child who is ‘It’ has finished counting to one hundred. He or she then yells, ‘Ready or not, here I come!’”
“And that teaches you what?” I asked.
“At some point in time,” Stan replied, “Christ Jesus is coming back. I don’t know when, and nobody on this side of eternity knows when, but it’s a fact that’s going to happen.”
Continuing, he said, “The Book of Revelation has much to say about that. As well, the apostle Peter addresses the subject in his second letter where he writes about that some readers of his letter thought that it wasn’t going to happen because it hadn’t happened already.”
“Same thing today,” I replied, “there are a lot of people who don’t think it’s true that Jesus is going to return.”
“That’s right, my friend,” Stan said, “but He is coming back whether they believe it or not. Also, it’s going to happen whether they are ready or not. God is patient, but at some point it’s going to happen. Satan just loves trying to convince people it’s not going to happen, but he’s a liar!”
“Best to be ready,” Stan concluded, “because we don’t know when He is going to cry out, ‘Ready or not, here I come!’”
“And,” he added, “if a person is not ready, it’s likely too late to get ready.”
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But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 2 Peter 3:11.
For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 1 Thessalonians 5:2.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, that you sent your Son Jesus the first time, and thank you that He will be coming back when you say it’s time for Him to return. Thank you for those people you brought into my life who showed me the truth of how to be ready because of Jesus’s first time here, though my acceptance of His finished work. Only you know if I will be here when Jesus returns, but, whether I am here or whether I am in eternity with you, I know I am ready. Thank you for that. I confess that too often I do not do what you intend to help others be ready. Please forgive me. And please help me in following every step of your lead in helping others to be ready, so that they will not be caught short when they hear Jesus say, “Ready or not, here I come.” Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in His name. Amen.
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Think on this: Are you ready for Jesus’ return? If not, what is necessary for you to be ready? How about those you know who are not ready? Do you take to heart as fact that one day Jesus is going to say, “Ready or not, here I come?”
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Comments, questions, suggestions, and the like can be addressed to The Storyteller at: waiting4thetrain@gmail.com.
Waiting for the Train 