Day 30 - The Glorious Return

Written By: Wendy Alligood

SCRIPTURE FOCUS
Matthew 24:30–31  (NKJV)
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

DEVOTION
In chapter Matthew 24, Jesus is telling the disciples what the future holds. He predicts the destruction of the temple. He describes what will take place after His ascension into heaven and what will happen immediately before His second coming. He isn’t making a prediction as some psychic might, but as One who knows the future. The second coming of Christ is the hope of every believer! Verses 30 and 31 describe His second coming.

When Jesus died on the cross, he paid the penalty for all the sins ever committed in the past and those that would be committed in the future. He was placed in a tomb. For many of His followers, including His disciples, it seemed to be the end. If they had understood as we can now what he was telling them in Matthew 16:21 (From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.), they would have realized this was not the end. It was a new beginning.
 
Although Jesus is in heaven now, seated at the right hand of the Father (So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. NKJV), He has promised to come again. Titus 2:13 describes the second coming as a “glorious appearing.”

The first time Christ came as a baby in the manger and lived the life of a suffering servant. When He comes again, He will come in victory with the armies of heaven to finally defeat satan and his demons. Jesus told His disciples he would come back soon. “Soon” to the Lord and “soon” to humans are obviously two very different things. Some may think it is taking a very long time. He left the earth over 2,000 years ago. The Bible says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” ((2 Peter 3:8,9). He is allowing time for more to come to salvation.

No one knows the exact time when Jesus is coming again except the Father. Mark 13:32 says, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” However, there will be some signs. There are many things that will take place before Jesus returns.

In the meantime, we have not been left alone. Jesus promised that when He went away, the Father would send a “helper”. John 14:26 says,  “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” The Holy Spirit is with us and in every believer.
 
We don’t know when the Lord will return, but we do know HOW the Lord will appear. In Acts 1:11 the angels say, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” (NKJV). In Acts 1:9 we read that Jesus was taken up into a cloud, so we know He will return through the clouds one day.
 
While this is an awesome promise and one we should look forward to, we must remember that there is still work to be done now. The Lord desires more people would come to salvation. “The last command that Jesus gave his followers was this:  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19-20). We are to carry out Jesus; last wishes.

ACTION STEP
Does the Holy Spirit live in you? If you have never accepted Christ as your Savior, you do not have the help of the Holy Spirit. Your action step should be to confess that you are a sinner (we all are) and that you believe Jesus’ death on the cross paid the penalty for your sins so that you can go to heaven. If you pray this sincerely, the Holy Spirit will come immediately. Please share this decision with someone on our staff who can give you some materials to help you with your next steps.
The Lord hasn’t come back yet because He wants more people to come to know HIm. We are commanded to tell others about HIm. Who can you tell about Jesus today? Who can you invite to church this Sunday or on Easter?

PRAYER TIME
Dear Father, Thank you for your patience as you wait for more people to come to know you. Thank you for the Holy Spirit who helps us live day to day until we die or Jesus comes again. Thank you for your promise that Jesus will return in victory one day “soon’. Please help me to tell _______ about Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection and what You have done in my life.