A young boy spent the day in his grandfather’s clock shop, and a recently dropped off broken clock loudly chimed “10,” “11,” “12” . . . then “13,” and finally ended at “15”!
The grandfather turned to the boy and asked, “I thought I just heard a clock chime . . . what time is it?”
The boy, surprised, honestly responded, “I don’t know . . . but it’s later than it’s ever been!”
Last week in my own state of Georgia, I learned the tragic news that several precious young people were killed in school—murdered by a fellow student!
I’m presently working with, not one, but two clients–one in high school and one in middle school—who knew and witnessed school shootings.
It’s later than it’s ever been!
Last week, in Kentucky, there was someone shooting at cars on highway I-75!
It’s later than it’s ever been!
This week, in the United States, as we corporately remember and “celebrate” another anniversary of 9/11, we are all acutely aware of the fact that: it’s later than it’s ever been!
It’s true! It is later than it’s ever been . . . and Jesus is coming soon! But the question is, what are you doing about it?
Storm Forecast
I have family in both Florida and Puerto Rico (the Caribbean), and we have all been glued to the weather reports of the ongoing and recurring tropical storms and hurricanes. Moment by moment and hour by hour, my family has been checking in with each other and keeping everybody informed about the latest updates.
Jesus also taught us to watch for signs of the storm as well: “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times” (Matthew 16:2, 3, NIV).
How attentive to the signs of the times have you been? Are you ready? Are your family and friends and neighbors ready? Do you care? If you do, I ask you again: what are you doing about it to let others know?
God’s Weather Men
“And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to this world—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. ‘Fear God,’ he shouted. ‘Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.’ Then another angel followed him through the sky, shouting, ‘Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen—because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality.’ Then a third angel followed them, shouting, ‘Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.’ This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus” (Revelation 14:6-12, NLT).
The three angels’ messages should be our messages! In these stinging and sobering words, Ellen G. White both rebukes and refocuses us: “In a special sense Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchmen and light bearers. To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world. . . . They have been given a work of the most solemn import—the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages. There is no other work of so great importance. They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention. The most solemn truths ever entrusted to mortals have been given to us to proclaim to the world. The proclamation of these truths is to be our work. The world is to be warned, and God’s people are to be true to the trust committed to them.”
A Jarring Warning
The Apostle Paul, writing about what things would be like right before Jesus returned to this world, wrote this jarring warning:
“. . . you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.”
Look, I’m not trying to make you angry or scare you; I’m simply reminding you that all you have to do is take a look around at our world to know that something is up. Jesus is getting ready to come back! We all need to wake up!
In Jesus’ parable of the ten bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13), Jesus makes the clear point that they were all asleep!
Bottom Line!
So, what’s the bottom line? Well, it’s my hope that after reading this you will:
- Fall in love with Jesus Christ and fully give Him your hearts, your lives, and wills . . . basically, don’t hold anything back from Him and totally follow Him all the rest of your days.
- Continue growing and flourishing in your relationship with God, through Jesus.
- Not make or continue to make stupid, purposeful, or careless mistakes that get you tangled up in years and years of chronic sin, addictions, bad life situations, and the consequences that go with them. Instead, you’ll be able to sidestep those things and . . .
- Share that love and freedom that you’ve found in Christ with as many people as you can to . . .
- Speed Christ’s return so we can all go home to spend eternity with Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is coming back soon, and none of us have time to waste! Ephesians 5:15-17 puts it like this: “Act like people with good sense and not like fools. These are evil times, so make every minute count. Don’t be stupid. Instead, find out what the Lord wants you to do” (CEV).
It’s later than it’s ever been, and the storm is coming! Get to work to get yourself and others ready
