There is a palpable mood of anticipation across the world today and it is not a hopeful one.  It is one part shapeless anxiety, one part nameless dread of something as yet invisible but just around the corner, and three parts certainty that disaster will soon be arriving on platform 7…or maybe 8.  Please meet your party.

Needless to say, it is not a positive energy.  It is less about embracing change than it is bracing for impact.   There is a sense that tectonic plates are in motion, seismic shifts of great magnitude are in the offing and a tsunami or two may follow.  Though some may be in denial, everyone and I mean everyone, is on edge to one degree or another.  In the current environment, it would hardly be surprising if we found that the top trending search terms were “What on earth is happening?” and “How can I prepare for what’s coming?”

While we’re talking expectations, what are yours?  Do you see global peace and prosperity on the horizon?  Love and brotherhood busting out all over?  Truth and trust abounding?  An end to violence and corruption?  Safety and security everywhere you look?  Humanity striding confidently into a new golden age of unity, charity and kindness?

If you are not expecting this kind of future, what are you expecting?  That the ‘other shoe’ will not drop after all?  That the proverbial sword of Damocles dangling above your head will never descend?  Are you waiting for “science” or the state or space aliens, to come through?   Are you relying on the ”experts” or the “international community” to set things on a sure and steady footing?  How likely is it that the rapidly rising tides of chaos and calamity will turn back and ebb away of their own accord?  [If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, does your mom know that you’re still up and playing with her cell phone (again)?]

Could it be that the secret fear of multiplied millions of earthlings is that they DO know what’s coming (judgment), they know its source (sin), and they know Who’s behind it (a patient, but offended and indignant God)?   That terror is justified.  The Bible warns, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).

 God, both loving and merciful, provided a sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sin (the blood of a sinless Lamb—His only Son, Jesus Christ).  Jesus suffered, died, was buried and rose again from the dead.  Scorn and rejection of God’s supreme sacrifice carries the most dire consequence imaginable (as there is no other provision for dealing with sin).  Christ is the only way since there is no other way.  Whoever refuses the pardon Jesus suffered and died on the cross to give them can stop looking forward to His return.  Instead, there remains “But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” [of God] (Hebrews 10:27).

However, for those who repent of their sins and place their full trust and confidence in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, the expectancy surrounding His return is one of joyous anticipation.  The Apostle Paul noted that the church in Thessaloniki was composed of those who had turned from the worship of idols “…to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come” (I Thessalonians 1:9-10).

The Thessalonian believers were not biting their nails, tensely anticipating doom and disaster.  They were eagerly awaiting Jesus’ return.  Do you want to live in constant suspense, just waiting for the axe of God’s judgment on a Christ-rejecting world to fall (and afterwards, to face eternity in the lake of fire)?  Or would you prefer to accept His gift of eternal life now, be spared from the wrath to come (and afterwards spend eternity in heaven)?  Not a difficult choice, is it?  Well, then…What are you waiting for?

HOW TO BE SAVED:

• Admit to God that you are a sinner (that you have not kept His moral law to perfection; in your thoughts, words, and actions you have done what His law forbids and have failed to do what His love demands).  This is seeing yourself from God’s point of view and agreeing that He is right about you.  Be as specific as you can.
• Believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead.
• Sincerely repent (turn away) from your sins, asking God to forgive you and to use His power to help you resist temptation, no matter how strong the pull of sin may be, at first.
• Acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of your life.  Invite Him to move into your heart and take up residence there, so that He can transform you from the inside out.
• Trust His promise to save you and give you a new spiritual birth and a new nature (thoughts, desires, priorities, hopes, dreams, and character).

SOME KEY TRUTHS:

• “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23)
• “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.”  (Romans 3:10)
• “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”  (Isaiah 59:2)
• “For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (Romans 6:23)
• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)
• “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)
• “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”  (I Corinthians 15:3,4)
• “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12)
• “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him…”  (Revelation 3:20)
• “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:13)
• “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  (Romans 10:9-10)
• “Verily, verily, I say unto you; He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life; and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  (John 5:24)
• “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name.”  (John 20:31) 
• “These things I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”  (I John 5:13)