Jesus Is Coming Back

Well good morning friends! You'll have to bear with me through today's blog. My heart is heavy and there is a lot on my mind. But, my coffee is starting to kick in so I can focus my thoughts a little better. Here we go!

I know what you're thinking. "Oh please, another person claiming 'Jesus is coming back soon.' " Notice in my title, I did not say soon. I simply said He's coming back. I know every time there's a huge war or world crisis that people tend to say He's coming back soon. First of all, I sure hope so! Secondly, it sure seems He just might ... seeing as our world is currently on fire so to speak. But, it's not our business to guess or set a date for Christ's return. The Bible says in Acts 1:7 "He said to them, it is not for you to know the times or dates the Father (God) has set by His own authority." I felt led to write this to make sure we're prepared for That Day! 

Definition of eternity: infinite or unending time. 

Which ever comes first, our death or Christ's return, our souls will spend somewhere for eternity. The two eternal destinations is either heaven or hell. Heaven being absolute paradise forever and ever with our Heavenly Father. Hell being absolute separation from God forever and ever. Have you ever thought about where you will spend your eternity? Have you really comprehended what eternity means? It's unending. It's forever. There is no breaks, no pauses. It goes on and on and on. I think that realization helped me when I came back to the Lord. I was terrified to think I could possibly spend eternity in a place where the Lord was absent. In total isolation. Total darkness and evil. Total nightmares... that would never end. It still gives me chills to this day to think about. But, we should think about it. It should scare us to our very core! The Bible teaches of a rich man's death, and how he went to hell. I encourage you to read Luke 16 for full context, as I am taking certain verses to share. Backstory, Lazarus was the poor beggar at the rich man's gate. The rich man had zero compassion and always overlooked the beggar. Luke 16:22-24, 27-28 states "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.... “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment." I didn't share that to say if we don't feed every beggar we come across that we'd go to hell. I shared to show you that hell is awful. Those Scriptures also mention of a great chasm that cannot be crossed, meaning once we're in our eternal destinations we can't 'escape' them. I don't know who needs to hear this but hell is not a party. It's not a laughing matter. It is never ending torment and isolation. FOREVER. There is no turning back or a second chance once we stand before God, for our final judgement will come then. But of course the Good News is that Jesus died to save us from eternity in hell. We have to have faith that He died for us to forgive us and wants to have a relationship with Him so we can spend our eternity with Him in heaven! 

Ok, let's talk about heaven. In John 14:2-6, Jesus says to His disciples "My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." This supports the title of my blog today. Jesus left once after His resurrection, and He is certainly coming back! Once that happens, God will set up a new heaven and a new earth. Revelation 21:1-5: "Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes.There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Man! What a day that will be! I don't know about you, but I would much rather spend my eternity there. Can you imagine? No more pain. No more tears. No more wars. No more depression and anxiety. No more sickness. No more evil. Total peace, forever and ever spent with God!  That gives me the good kind of chills, and I long for that paradise! 

However we are taken out of this life, we will all stand before God. We will have to give an account for our lives. (Romans 14:11-12) I'm sorry to say that if you stand before God and say 'well God I never committed any actual crimes. I was kind. I helped and volunteered and gave money to those in need when I could. I was a good person... I even went to church,' that He will say "... away from me, I never knew you." (Matthew 7:21-23) The ONLY way to spend eternity in Heaven is through Jesus. It is through a personal relationship with Him, and asking forgiveness of our sins and living daily for Him. It is believing that He is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, and was raised again by God on that third day. And believing that Jesus is alive and in heaven as we speak! I'm sorry today's blog was lengthy and heavy, it's just really been weighing on my heart and mind. As mentioned before, part of my testimony is that I ran from God for a time in my life. But thanks be for the many prayers my family and friends prayed over me, the Holy Spirit came over me and convicted me of my ways of living and I RAN back to Jesus. I cannot even imagine where I'd be today or what I'd be doing had I not listed to Him calling me back. You guessed it, chills again! This world is growing more evil by the second. There are a lot of wars happening and government deception. Jesus is coming back, friends. Soon? No idea. Regardless, we need to do a soul search and make sure we're ready to meet Him, in whatever manner that may happen. Friends, Jesus loves you and He wants nothing more than for you to be saved from an eternity separated from Him. Let's pray:

Father God, thank You for placing this on my heart to talk about. I know many people reading this will probably roll their eyes and scoff. That was me once, Lord. I was so tired of hearing about Jesus and Him coming back, etc. But thank You for convicting me and opening my eyes again to Your Truth and love and grace. Thank You for being so patient with us and giving us all the opportunities in the world to come to You before it's too late. Father I pray for all those who have either turned their backs on You, or maybe not even heard about You. Holy Spirit I pray Your conviction fall on them so heavily as it did on me. We need you God. Thank you for each person reading. Bless them Lord and be close to them. In Jesus Name I pray, amen!