Acts 1: 10, 11 They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "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." --NIV
In the name of the One Who will return the way He left, amen.
Has a Jehovah's witness ever knocked on your door and tried to convince you that Jesus returned invisibly in 1914? They and many others disturb Christians with their rantings about how Jesus has already returned and is ruling invisibly. On the other hand, some people in mainline churches suggest that Jesus will never return visibly, but that His spirit of compassion and self sacrifice is what He was talking about when He said He would come again.
The clear facts from Scripture are that He will indeed return visibly, and only visibly, and He will be seen by everyone. This fact is something that should strike fear into the wicked, but hope and comfort in our hearts. We do not need to be troubled by false teachers who claim that Jesus has already returned, or that He will not ever return visibly. Our Savior will return in the very same way that He left--on the clouds of heaven with His people looking up to meet Him.
On the days when things do not go the way they should, step back and lift your head up. Gaze into the sky, and let your spirit meditate on the place where Jesus went. Let it spend a few minutes there away from the cares of this life. Let it remember Jesus' promise that He is with us now, even though He has withdrawn His visible presense from us. And if someone should ask, "Why are you staring up into the sky?" You can answer, "Because that is where my Savior went, and He is coming back to take me with Him." May the Lord bless you as you wait for His return. Amen.
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, it is hard to wait. We grow tired and long for Your return. People ridicule us, and discourage us by teaching things that are different from what Your holy word teaches. Bless us by Your Holy Spirit, and keep us strong in the True Faith. Keep us focused on where we are going, so that we are not crushed by the false teachers and scoffers around us, amen.
Copyright 1999 Reformation Lutheran Church http://ReformationChurch.org