Remember years ago the T-shirts and bumper stickers that bore the nonsensical message "Be A Lert: The world needs more Lerts!" I LOVED that expression; in fact, it still runs through my head every now and then, even if it may not make it out of my mouth. I'm thinking we may need to bring back that message, except slide that "A" right over next to the "L" and leave it at "Be alert." And what better time than Advent, the season of remembering our Messiah's first coming, the season we SHOULD be remembering He's coming back, and it could happen any moment of any day.
"Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." (Revelation 22:7 CSB)
These words were spoken to the apostle John by the One presumed by John and by most scholars throughout history to be the post-incarnate Messiah Jesus. Throughout His Word are indications, not the least of which is His well-documented resurrection, that He came once to be a man in order to experience all that we humans experience. He came to be one of us, in order to pay the price for the sins of all humanity for all time, though He remained throughout that human life the perfect Lamb of God, the Passover Lamb. He then promised to return for His Church, those who choose to follow Him, at some future time known only to the Father.
Just like the perfect Passover lamb of Jewish history, He was born in a shepherd's field in Bethlehem, as prophesied by Micah of the Old Testament:
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2 NIV)
But oh, my friend, when He returns it will not be as a humble carpenter and servant, but as a conquering king!
"Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen."
(Revelation 1:7 ESV)
(See also Isaiah 19:1, Daniel 7:13, Zechariah 12:10-11)
In these days before we celebrate the coming of the Baby in the manger, let us never forget that He is coming again, and oh, the glory of that Second Coming!
For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” (Romans 14:11 ESV, emphasis mine)
BE ALERT!
"He must increase and I must decrease."
John 3:30
✝️
* NOTE: I strongly recommend reading the entire book of Micah (just 7 chapters!) to be thrilled beyond words this Christmas season. 💗
