Daily Wisdom 06-19-2001 Company's Coming!

The once off-white walls are now a warm terra-cotta, soft beige, and a deep gray-blue. My old pink and gray area rug has been replaced by a beautiful new one with shades that match my colorful walls. Kitchen cabinets have also been thoroughly cleaned and now have a fresh coat of paint as do the halls and the ceiling. Although we accomplished things we never had time for during the past few years, it was not the fact that they just needed doing that motivated my husband and me into the action that brought a whole new and fresh look to our 25-year-old house.

Motivation for those needed improvements came unexpectedly in an email message from my sister, Helen. She and our sister Betty had made the decision to drive the 350 miles to our house and celebrate with me a birthday with a big round number. I guess they thought I would need help getting over that hump since both of them had already passed that momentous milestone themselves.

We worked for several weeks. Closets were cleaned, books and shelves dusted, guest beds were readied. We cleaned under the beds, windowsills, and closet floors. We sorted out junk and disposed of several bags of trash that we had held onto for unknown reasons. It was time well spent. Our house has never looked this good. Although I wanted things to be nice when my sisters arrived, I know they would have had just as good of a time if we had not done all this preparation before their arrival. It was just that I knew their visit was the motivation I needed to get off dead center and get these things accomplished. My sisters hadn't been to my home in several years and I wanted to be prepared for their return. The Bible tells us to be prepared for another, far more important return visitor. "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord" 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

Even though my special birthday this year was coming all my life, it took a lot of years before it actually happened. The verse above is a statement from God. It will come to pass. No one knows the day or the hour. No ones knows when He will come again, but the Bible is clear that He will come and He will come without warning in the twinkling of an eye. And He will snatch away those who are "in Christ." Those who are not "in Christ" will be left behind as is described in a current popular book series. And those left behind will experience indescribable tribulation.

Get ready, get ready, get ready! Make sure your personal "house" is in order. His imminent appearance should be the motivation you need to make sure your faith and trust are in Jesus - the Savior, Jesus - God's Messiah, and not in your own efforts or anything else. You can't "clean" your own life thoroughly enough for Him. The blood that Jesus shed for you is the only sufficient cleansing agent. Then you too will be "in Christ" and you will not be left behind.

If you're interested, there is more information about:
The most important event of all time and
The most important Book of all time.