He’s Coming Back - Get Busy

January 9

(Acts 1:10-11 NIV) "They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. {11} "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.""

(Matthew 24:29-30, 44-46 NIV) ""Immediately after the distress of those days "'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' {30} "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory… {44} So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. {45} "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? {46} It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.""

(1 Peter 2:11-12 NIV) "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. {12} Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

As Jesus ascended into the clouds, the disciples stood around, looking up to the sky. Two angels came and reminded them that He would be coming back and expecting results. They had better get busy with the kingdom building stuff Jesus had spoken about. Hadn’t He told them it would be good for the servants whose master found them working for Him when he returned? They should stop standing around longing for heaven, and get busy being His disciples here on earth. They were to live every day as if He was coming back today. That’s still a good idea! When we do that, the timeline no longer matters. Get out of the holy huddle. Go out and be His witnesses. Stop critiquing and start loving. Do more praising than complaining. Live like Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and you too can glorify God and live beyond your means. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day