Without Notice

Matthew 24:36-44

I’m a long way from a slob; in fact, I do not like clutter unless it is controlled as seen on my desk or sometimes the garage.  But I am married to Jan, who keeps a beautiful house and has taught me the application of cleanliness is akin to godliness.  It would be a small window when one would come to our home and see the place in disarray, but when expecting company, the house is transformed; it is ready for inspection for all must be in order for the ones coming.  Now most of the time we have a time and a date when the guest will arrive, but Jesus is telling us in Matthew 24:36, about His return and it comes without notice, but not without forewarning.  “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”

As one who is reading this, take to heart that Jesus tells the truth, and when you act on that truth it is called faith.  So as one who has never seen Jesus with my physical eyes, it is going to require that I see by faith, and by acting on my faith God calls that obedience.  It’s time to open your eyes and believe these words of Jesus: “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37)  Now we understand that Noah heard from God and obeyed and began to build an ark in a world that had never seen rain.  It took many years and Noah was the talk of his world, and if it were today CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox News, and CBS would all be making Noah the brunt of it by saying, can you believe this guy?  God calls him a righteous preacher, so that removes doubt that Noah did not tell others what God was going to do.  Is it not the same with our world, have we not had many warnings to be ready for the soon coming of Jesus, have we not had books written on the “Return of Jesus”?  And yes, we have the recorded teachings of Jesus telling us in the Gospels of His return, and yet, Jesus tells us that many will be as in the days of Noah.  It is recorded in Matthew 24:38-39, “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

A word to the wise from Jesus: “Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”  (Matthew 24:40-44)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice