Things to Do While Waiting For Christ to Return

THINGS TO DO
WHILE WAITING FOR CHRIST TO RETURN

1. HAVE FUN

That's not just a suggestion, it's a commandment of God. It's one of the purposes of his Holy Days which includes both the weekly Sabbath and his annual Feast Days (See: "All about the Sabbath"). When he set specific appointments to meet with us for worship, he was very clear on the aspect of having fun. In the context of the Festival of Tabernacles (temporary dwellings), he commanded "you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days." (Lev. 23:40). The word rejoice is translated from the Hebrew samach, which in modern English means joyous, totally immersed in the joy of the moment, to be elated, enthralled, overjoyed, ecstatic, jubilant, celebrating, laughing, crying with joy, cheering, filled with happiness.

It's not just for the Sabbath and Feast days either. It's for every day. Paul wrote, "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." (Phil. 4:4).

"But what about when we are sick, or having problems or considering some portion of all of the evil and suffering that exists in the world?"
If we wait until a time when we have no problems, we will seldom if ever have any fun rejoicing. If we wait because the world is evil, then we shall die frustrated and sad. If we choose to concentrate on the obstacles to rejoicing, we shall never have an opportunity to rejoice. We can choose to be unhappy for most or all of every day of our life. But to do so means disobeying God's command to "rejoice".

The time to rejoice is now.

Rejoice for what God has already given us. To do so requires that we stop concentrating on what we have "lost", or what we never had, or what we will never have.
Concentrate on what we do have now, because we won't have it forever, whether it's wealth, health, or life itself (Mat. 6:34) Enjoy it today. Be thankful for it today. Ingratitude is a sin ("unthankful", 2 Tim. 3:2) and sin influences God to remove blessings and to bring about cursings (See: the whole Bible).
Paul wasn't just speaking theoretically when he said to "rejoice always". He explained, "I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." (Phil. 4:12).

How did Paul learn to rejoice when being beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, homeless, shelterless, and when in danger? "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."(Phil. 4:8).

If we have trouble recognizing our blessings, we should try comparing ourselves to those less "fortunate" than we are, instead of those who have more. Whatever our problems, there is always someone who is sicker, hungrier, older, poorer, who has greater problems or is in greater danger than we are. And in the context of immortality and eternity, our current problems will never justify whining. Pray about them and then let God "worry" about them while we concentrate on "rejoicing". A cheerful child with a problem gets help faster than a whining ingrate.

The reasons to rejoice, aside from the commandment, are all the blessings we are enjoying at this moment. To consider those blessings requires that we stop thinking, at least for a few moments, about all our problems.

[While God commands us to rejoice (have fun), he also forbids doing evil. And the world labels many forms of evil as "fun". There is even more confusion because each organized "religion" has its own definitions of "good" and "evil" and what is acceptable "fun". This results in some "church traditions" contradicting scripture (re: dancing, clothing styles, music, moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages, etc.) Your responsibility is to choose whose definitions you will use. Of course, you can always use the definitions as given in scripture. You should realize that these will often conflict with the definitions as interpreted by organized "religions".]

We can pretend that God may not exist and that our lives are a series of random lucky or unlucky events, the results of the actions of those around us (personal unaccountability), and blame all our problems and unhappiness on others.

Or we can stop whining (it really torques God's jaw, Num. 14:29), and we can start rejoicing (regardless of our situation).

2. BECOME PERFECT

Perfection is both desirable and achievable (See: "The Doctrine of Perfection: "You are Gods").
Perfection is righteousness, not self-righteousness (Luke 18:9-14). Perfection is humility, not vanity of position or power. Perfection is service to others, not being served and exalted by others (Mat. 20:20-28). Perfection is in having the right priorities and the right goals (Mat. 6:19-34). Perfection is not found in confusion (James 3:6; 1 Cor. 14:33), therefore it is not in the confusion commonly found within and among "religious" organizations.

Seeking perfection is not a single act but a process of daily choices leading in either one of only two directions (Deu. 30: 15,19).

Seeking perfection does not mean giving up or avoiding all "fun". Rejoicing is part of perfection.

Seeking perfection eliminates many of the obstacles to rejoicing.

3. ENJOY YOUR "WORK"

The original and still primary responsibility of every human is to "dress and keep" the earth (Gen. 1:27-30; 2:8, 15). ["dress", Heb. abad, to work (in any sense); "keep", Heb. shamar, to hedge about, i.e. guard, protect, attend to.] In other words we are to work (cultivate) the earth and to protect it. This applies to individuals who own property, and to all of us collectively as we affect the soil, air, water and environment either negatively (pollution, trash, destruction), or positively (cultivation, maintenance, cleanliness, preservation, and mimimum interference with natural ecological cycles).

God created an environment suitable for man to feed himself through agrarianism (gardening, farming, fishing and ranching). But in order to overcome the built-in curses (drought, famine, disease, etc.) for evil and for disobedience to God's laws, and in order to accumulate greater individual wealth and to pursue greater comfort while working less, man has pursued "business" to the point that "business" is the primary activity of the world today. The whole world is now affected by the buying and selling of paper "stocks", primarily by people who neither produce food nor manufacture useful items.

More people are now employed in "service" industries than in food production and manufacturing combined. People in these "businesses" cook for us, inform us, care for our clothes, sell us things, fix things for us, convince us that we need more things, entertain us, rule over us, make us fill out forms, tell us where we can go, guard us, medicate us, birth us, preach at us, and bury us. They tell us how we should dress, what we should think, whom we should think is important, which movies to see, which cars to drive, what to eat, how to be sexy, how to get rich, what is "in" and what is "out".

With all these luxurious services available, most people still work for someone else who tells them where to work, how to dress, what to say, what to do, when to do it and how to do it. They are ordered to do more, with less labor, in less time, with less material, with an apparent goal of doing everything immediately with nothing and for nothing. This voluntary servitude is usually accepted with the hope of living a "better life", having more things, gaining prestige (admiration from those of equal or lower status) or so that their children can obtain a higher level of servitude.

What is the difference between the average employee and a slave? The slave doesn't pretend to be free. The employee is usually "bound" by debts, narrowly specialized skills or knowledge, and a marketplace dominated by the single goal of profits. It has long been referred to as the "rat race" and we have become so accustomed to it that we consider it a normal state of affairs.

In the time of Paul, not all "slaves" were in chain gangs in rock quarries nor manning oars on Roman ships. Many were in positions equivalent to today's corporate employees and blue-collar workers. They had homes and took care of their own affairs but they were obligated to "serve" (work for) a "free" Roman citizen by providing services in farming, ranching, manufacturing or in the "service" professions.

It was to these "slaves" that Paul said, "If you can gain your freedom, do it. If not, don't be overly concerned about it.", and "Do not be servants to men." (1 Cor. 7:21-23, paraphrased). While it sounds like a contradiction, it is simply a play on words (a popular Jewish pastime, and a technique God and Christ both use). In other words, physical freedom is preferable, but even if you are physically enslaved, you can be and should be spiritually free. Do not be spiritually enslaved by men.

But how can the majority of humanity be economically enslaved and still enjoy their work? Even in Paul's time, it was possible for some to obtain their freedom and he said this was the preferable choice. Runaway slaves faced the death penalty. Today's employees may not face execution but they can face financial hardship and perhaps even homelessness. Paul's advice is still applicable. If you can escape economic or contractural slavery, do it. If not, then concentrate on your spiritual freedom and don't be overly concerned about the other as long as your priorities are in order. Therein lies a danger, but Paul was dealing with people on their own spiritual level.

The key to finding happiness in your work comes from a man who had enough money, power and opportunity to pursue any and all types of work and non-work (or recreation). A summary of his many studies, projects, pursuits and accomplishments are given in Ecc. 1:12 to 2:11. He concluded that, "There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God." (Ecc. 2:24). " . . . it is the gift of God." (Ecc. 3:13b).

The enjoyment must be in the doing, not in the product or service provided, or in the wages or position.

If you cannot enjoy the doing, then find something you do enjoy and find a way to get paid for it.

What does God want you to do?

When he worked with the Israelites he said, "And you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Israel." (Ex. 19:6).

That is still his intention.
"And have made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." (Rev. 1:6).
"And have made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." (Rev. 5:10).

[Once again, there is a difference between God's definitions and those of organized "religions". Christ explained part of the difference to the disciples (Mat. 20:25-28). Judging from the contrast between Christ's words here and the practices of organized "religions", many still don't get it.]

Most of us endure our work five days a week in order to "have fun" on the weekend (and "fun" seldom if ever means "church"). Most of us endure work for 35-40 years to "have fun" in retirement.
When Christ said he came that we could have life "more abundantly" (Jn. 10:10), he wasn't talking about "overtime".

And he was not just talking about having eternal life after this one (Jn. 10:1-42). He was talking about having a more abundant life than what is offered by "false shepherds", by "wolves in sheep's clothing", or by "hirelings" (preachers who are just in it for the pay, or for the lack of hard labor, or for the access to children, etc.).

One of the justifications for working for others is to support a "work of God". Most paid preachers will support this reasoning. The logic goes like this: 1) the preacher tells us to work to support the "work of God", 2) the "work of God" according to the preacher is a) his telling us to support the "work of God" and b) telling others to come, and join the "work of God" in which he will tell them to support the "work of God". See the circle? See logic? See the logic go in a circle?
Want to see what happens when the circle is broken? Stop paying the preacher and see how quickly "God has abandoned this work".
Exactly when did Christ's gospel become "Pay Per View", anyway?

Somehow righteousness becomes equated with the size of the offering and the more we give, the more righteous we are and the more "God is behind this work". Another circle. In effect, one that indicates that heaven is for sale by installments or bribery. We are not questioning the spirit of the givers here, simply the logic of the "tradition", the alleged scriptural basis, and the true purpose of those who teach the practice. We are not challenging "tithing" here (we shall address that in another article). We are questioning "ministries" to whom the gospel is "the means" to "the end" of self-perpetuation.

If Christ came so that we might have life more abundantly (and he said that he did, Jn. 10:10), does that mean we are to have less in order that others might have life more abundantly and also have less, ad infinitum? Doesn't that sound like a pyramid scheme?

If Christ promised to make our "burden" lighter (and he did promise that, Mat. 11:28), does that mean we must work more and sacrifice more, in order that others might have their burden lightened by working more and sacrificing more, ad infinitum? Won't this just produce a pyramid with the "religious pros" at the top and the rest of us at the bottom?

God created a "garden". Man created "business". Man also created various "religions" as "businesses". Take away the prophets and they still succeed. Take away the profits and they close the doors (and open under a new corporate charter elsewhere).

If our work is a "gift from God (Ecc. 3:13)", we should be able to "rejoice" in it and still concentrate on "seeking perfection".

If not, then perhaps changes need to be made in order to enjoy what Christ promised, a lighter burden and a more abundant life.

4. TAKE CARE OF YOUR "CONTAINER", BUT REMEMBER, IT IS ONLY A CONTAINER

You and your "container" (your body) are two separate things. You, as a conscious personality with emotions, desires, memories, hopes and dreams merely dwell in your physical container, your body. Human society, especially youth through middle age, is oriented as if the body and the consciousness are one and the same. That is understandable since neither one usually goes anywhere without the other.
Often, it is only the seniors or elderly that realize the separation between the "real" them and their containers, as they increasingly feel like a young person who is trapped in an old body. Not everyone reaches this awareness, since some age mentally, yielding in a subjective pace with their aging bodies. This is demonstrated by some acting "old" while others who are physically old, still acting "young".

We should become aware of the difference between the mind and the body in our early youth, when our mind, knowledge and confidence begin to exceed our physical childhood development. But we tend to be distracted from this awareness in our emotional immaturity.
A common result is that most people live a container-driven life. The exceptions are the young person who demonstrates maturity beyond his years and the elderly person who talks and behaves (to the extent his body will allow) like a 25 or 30 year-old. (We are not talking here about those who are 25 or 30 years old who still act like immature children.)

An infant seeks relief from hunger, cold, physical discomfort and emotional discomfort, without any awareness of mind versus body.

The child, when it's physical desires are satisfied, begins to seek other emotional and mental pleasures in any form. (Some never get beyond this stage.)

Adolescents develop an awareness of their physical self, and begin to judge, and to value themselves and others on this basis. (The age for this development is continually dropping to younger levels so that it appears now in pre-schoolers.) Most never get past this stage, however their "self-image" becomes increasingly fictional after age 25-35, aging more slowly than reality.

Since the majority of older people act old, sound old, smell old, and have "old" attitudes, it is little wonder that society devalues them in proportion to their "oldness". Many of them will say they feel like a younger person trapped in an old person's body, but few will actually "act" like it. Those who do, are enjoyed, admired, and applauded.

If you are more mature than your youthful body indicates, think about the differences between your mind and your body, and act accordingly.

If your body has aged but you still feel mentally like a young adult, think about the differences and act accordingly.

If we stop being preoccupied with our im-perfect physical container, we will have more time to have fun, work on spiritual perfection, and to enjoy our "work".

5. SERVE OTHERS

Serving others is fun if we do it right. It requires self-sacrifice. Christ said there is no greater love than that a man lay down his life (sacrifice one's own desires, time, effort) for others (Jn. 15:13). Love is the perfection in God's laws. Perfection is love toward God and toward others. Finding ways to bring fun to the lives of others is more satisfying than any physical pleasure, and the feeling lasts longer.
It requires that we spend less time being preoccupied with our "container".
Serving others is a "work" that is to be enjoyed.

Serving begins with those nearest us, our own family. Some service to others is expected by social custom -- politeness, truthfulness (although we know everyone lies), kindness, patience, gentleness, mercy, forgiveness (although if we refuse to forget, then we never really forgave), meekness (a lack of anger, not wimpiness), and peacefulness. God doesn't expect any less than this (Gal. 5:22-23).

For some reason we tend to serve strangers more with these acts (because we want approval) than we serve our own children, siblings, parents or mates (because of contempt due to familiarity, or the lust for revenge, or because of selfishness).

Serving others takes our mind off our own problems (enlarging our world beyond our selfishness).

Serving others tends to inspire them to serve also and brings joy (rejoicing) into their lives.

Serving others is fun. It can lead toward spiritual perfection. It is a work that is profitable for others and for ourselves.

6. LEARN HOW A MARRIAGE CAN BE SUCCESSFUL

The marriage relationship was created by God using the first human couple. His purpose was to teach an understanding of unity between two separate personalities, "a man . . . shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh." (Gen. 2:24).
It is a business arrangement (covenant with Abraham, Gen. 17:1-7; 18:19), but it is also much more than that: "That they all may be one; as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us: . . . I in them, and you in me that they may be made perfect in one: " (Jn. 17:21, 23).
It is a unity of the spirit that exists and increases in direct proportion to the unselfishness, in acts, words and thoughts, which each partner invests in the relationship. "The wife has not power (1850) of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband has not power of his own body, but the wife." (1 Cor. 7:4).

[1850 "power": Gk., "to control"; exercise authority upon, bring under the power of." (Strong's).]

Marriage is an opportunity to learn how to serve unselfishly. If we do not learn this, then we have wasted life's best opportunity and we may have disqualified ourselves as being worthy of God's kingdom. If we cannot manage to maintain a good relationship (preferably a constantly improving and closer relationship) with someone whom we (at least originally) desired physically, mentally, emotionally, sexually, and every other way, then how can God expect us to maintain a good or improving relationship with him, whom we have never seen? Would you want to spend eternity with someone who gives up, quits, loses interest, wanders off, or worse, learns to hate, becomes nagging, spiteful, revengeful, bitter, griping, complaining, petty, backbiting, angry, or dangerous? Why would God want anyone like that around? Even if they were, who else in the kingdom would go near them?

There are many helpful books available with specific and practical suggestions on how to have a happy and successful marriage. Those who study and put forth effort to change themselves reap the benefits.

One of the final tests of the marriage experience involves the promise to God about "in sickness and in health". Men would line up to help a sexy model change her clothes. Women would line up to help a masculine "hunk" take a bath by scrubbing his back.
But we eventually grow old and everything sags, we can't see well or hear well, we are often sick, we are either overweight or skin and bones, we become incontinent and we become unable to groom ourselves or to sit up or to walk. It is then, that we discover how much our mate actually loves us. It is when we are laying there unbathed, with foul breath, matted hair, unshaven, and stinking of our own filth, that our mate demonstrates 1) a fulfillment of their vow before God, and 2) their perfect attitude of unselfish service by helping us to maintain some dignity and to help us in any and every way when we can no longer help ourselves.

Some conduct their marriage as though their vows were, "For better, not worse; in sickness you are on your own, in health I'll stick around; for richer I'm good, for poorer I'm outa here; for as long as you're cute, but not old or ugly, then I'll pretend to be your husband/wife, till death (or a change of heart) do us part."

It is when we willingly (not grudgingly) do these things for our own mate, that God sees the measure of righteous character, of willing sacrifice, of unqualified love that he desires in each of us (Gen. 22; Jn. 13:1-17). Caring for the elderly can be unpleasant, but it is nothing compared to being required to slay your own child and burning him as a sacrificial offering (God's test of Abraham). God is not unreasonable in what he requires of us.

The condition of our mate's "container" is not a loophole in the marriage vows. If we were only "in love" with the "container" and not the person, then we have committed fraud before God.

Marriage takes work. It can be either fun or not, but that is mostly up to us. If we work at it properly, it will be more fun than otherwise. The purpose of life is not for everyone else to make you happy. Happiness can be found anywhere, as Paul said.

Marriage is our best opportunity to learn to grow toward spiritual perfection. It should not be wasted.

7. LEARN PATIENCE

"Life is short and then you die." (source unknown). So why shouldn't we be in a hurry?

"In your patience possess you your souls." (Luke 21:19).

This was part of Christ's answer to the disciples about the end of the world as we know it. We'll come back to this later.

When we were children we were impatient. "Are we there yet?" "Why?", "Why?", "Why?" Sometimes the why-ing became whining and we were no longer in control. Sometimes it provoked our parents into losing control.

We often demonstrate that adulthood does not automatically produce patience. We demand fast food, fast service, sound bite news, faster cars, faster roads, faster trips, faster computers, faster accumulation of wealth, faster promotions, fast track careers with an earlier retirement so we can get to the golf course faster and use a larger club to play a faster round. This gets us back to the club house faster to a drink so we can forget all the problems that interfered with our desire to live faster, or the realization that life went by so fast and now we are faced with the question, "Now what?".

We are often so busy making plans that we forget to live life. "Life is what happened while we were planning to do something else."

Around ages 30-40 many of us begin to realize that our wildest dreams are not going to come true. Our bodies are no longer getting stronger or more attractive and we have to face our mortality. Living well becomes more important than living fast. When we mature enough to realize that we are not immortal, our "need for speed" diminishes. We take fewer chances because we are not in a hurry to die. In our patience, the quality of our lives can improve.

The disciples asked Christ about the signs that would indicate that the end of the world is near because they thought it would come in their lifetimes. Ever since, churches have tried to scare people into conversion by proclaiming that, "The End is Near!". The "converted" eagerly look for signs that match Christ's prophecies and that might indicate that the end really is near. "Christians" ask, "Are we there yet?". And when the answer appears to once again be "No", then they ask "Why?, Why?, Why?".

As with most of Christ's comments, his reference in Luke 21 to patience means more than one thing. He warned about "many" people coming in his name ("Christians") saying "The end is near." And he said, "Do not follow them." (v. 8). These are false Christians. Don't be in a hurry to save your backside just because someone tries to scare you with "Jesus could come tonight." Fear God, not false prophets. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." (Ecc. 12:13).
"For they [false prophets] prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, says the Lord." (Jer. 29:9).

If some of these "Christians" are liars, then how do we know who is teaching and preaching the truth? Compare what they say to scripture (1 Ths. 5:21). That requires the patience to study (2 Tim. 2:15). In our patience, we can avoid deception.

Christ goes on to prophecy about wars and civil disturbances, "but the end is not yet" (v. 9). He speaks of great earthquakes, or as we call them "natural disasters", which often result in famines and pestilence (plagues). He also mentions "fearful sights and great signs" in the heavens. These are the things which tend to motivate people to suddenly want to "get religion".
"But before all this" (v. 12), there shall be religious persecution. You shall be delivered to the [state approved religions] and put into prisons.
Between the great natural disasters, the wars and the religious persecution, where can we hide? As Moses told the Israelites who were trapped between the sea, the mountains and Pharoah's army of death, ". . . Fear you not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you to day: . . . " (Ex. 14:13).

In our patience, we can be delivered out of all these dangers. Just as Israel was led by God into the safety of "the wilderness" (Ex. 3:18; 15:22), so shall those who "wait on God" (Psa. 25:5, 69:6; Hos. 12:6) be protected in "the wilderness" (Rev. 12:6, 14).
"But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess you your souls." (Luke 21:18-19).

Impatience kills. Stress kills, speed kills, anger kills. Sin kills.
In our patience, we can keep our soul alive longer.

Impatience can lead to many different sins:

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." (Gal. 5:19-21).

Patience can lead to righteousness:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (Gal. 5:22-23).
In our patience, we can grow toward perfection.

In our patience, we can make better choices of "fun", we can learn to enjoy our "work", be satisfied with our "container", learn to serve others more effectively and more often, and make our marriages better.

8. GET TO KNOW GOD

God is not hiding from mankind.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end [what you hope for]
Then shall you call upon me, and you shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
And you shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart.
And I will be found of you, says the Lord: . . . " (Jer. 29:11-14).

"But if from thence [idolatry, materialism] you shall seek the Lord your God, you shall find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.
When you are in tribulation, and all these things are come upon you, even in the latter days, if you turn to the Lord your God, and shall be obedient unto his voice;
(For the Lord your God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake you, neither destroy you, . . ." (Deu. 4:29-31).

"Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
You have commanded us to keep your precepts diligently.
I will keep your statutes: O forsake me not utterly." (Psa. 119:2, 4, 8)

" . . . know you the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts: if you seek him, he will be found of you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off for ever." (1 Chrn. 28:9, also see v. 8)

" . . . The Lord is with you, while you be with him; and if you seek him, he will be found of you; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you." (2 Chrn. 15:2).

But with all the different religions, even among Christians, and Christ's warnings about "false prophets", where do we go to seek him?

Study

"Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing [correctly teaching] the word of truth.
But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness." (2 Tim. 2:15-16).
[Note: At the time Paul said this, the Bible consisted only of the Old Testament. The New Testament had only been partially written and was being circulated as individual letters or books.]

"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." (1 Ths. 5:21).

"And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming there went into the synagogue of the Jews.[where only the Old Testament scrolls were read]
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word [the gospel of Christ from Paul and Silas] with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Therefore many of them believed; also of honorable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few." (Acts 17:10-12).
The Bereans, whom Paul praised, determined the validity of the the sermons and letters of the apostles (what is called the New Testament) by comparing them with what is now called the Old Testament "scriptures".

Prayer

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb. 4:16).

"Pray without ceasing." (1 Ths. 5:17).

Pray privately. (Mat. 6:6).

Don't use form prayers. (Mat. 6:7).

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:" (Mat. 7:7).

"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you." (Jn. 15:7).

"And in that day you shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you." (Jn. 16:23).

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraids not; and it shall be given him." (Jas. 1:5).

Through heartfelt and consistent prayer we can come to know God and understand what he expects of us. We can realize that he wants us to have fun while we, in our imperfect physical "containers", work at seeking spiritual perfection, including patience, in our marriages, in our service to others, and in our character.

Christ is going to return to earth (Jn. 14:28). Those who are dead will be resurrected to life (1 Cor. 15:52) on earth (Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:11). If we get to know either the Father or the Son, then we know the other (John 14:9). When Christ returns, the world will again reject him (Rev. 17) but this time he's coming as King who is armed and dangerous (Rev. 19:15).

"Many" who claim to be "Christians" will be rejected by Christ, who responds to them, "Verily I say unto you, I know you not." (Mat. 25:1-13; Luke 13:23-30).

When Christ returns, it would be a good idea to already know him and to know him in some way differently from that in which the "many" Christians claim to know him.

Copyright 2002, M.H. and G.H. All rights reserved.

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