Why We Need to Stop Doing Nothing

Our monthly prayer circle met yesterday and my two great-nieces joined us. They had just returned from Passion Week at the beach. Louie Giglio was one of the speakers. As always, he had cut straight to the heart with his words. 

They both shared what they'd learned and what had spoken to them the most. Each girl was moved by different things, but one point hit home for both of them. 

Jesus is coming back and we're not ready. 

The harvest needs to be gathered in and we're not fully in the field. 

We pray for Jesus to return soon, yet we aren't doing what it takes to share the good news to every people group in the world. We're not even sharing the news of Jesus with the people we know and with whom we work and go to school. 

If Jesus is delaying until all have heard the gospel, we need to get busy and start telling others about Him. There's kingdom work to be done and more than enough to go around. 

We can't do nothing anymore.

As I've pondered the lessons the girls had learned, I had to agree. If we want Jesus to return, and we should, then we must stop contenting ourselves with social media, cute clothes, and nice fingernails. There's nothing inherently wrong with any of those things, but they can't be the extent of our lives. 

A well-toned body and physical strength are admirable, but they aren't enough. Our spirit must be well-toned and strong, as well. 

Participating in a Bible study or watching a Christian video is a good use of time,  but not if we fail to put the lessons we learn into practice. The point of Bible study is not a notch on our spiritual belt. It's supposed to transform us and the way we live, to make us more like Jesus than we were before. 

Posting a Scripture meme is not the same as sitting down over coffee with a friend and sharing what Jesus means to us. 

How dare we pray for His return yet fail to prepare for that return with a lifestyle of discipleship? How dare we anticipate that glorious day without sharing the glorious news? Are we so callous that we want to keep all of heaven for ourselves and not invite our friends and family members to come along?

I might be wrong about this, but I believe we've stopped modeling our lives of discipleship on the original disciples and contented ourselves with a second-rate form of religion. Those early men and women of God were tireless in the cause of Christ. 

Some years ago, I realized my circle of friends and acquaintances was filled with believers. There wasn't an unbeliever in the bunch. It was a simple prayer, but no less heartfelt. "Lord, send some lost people my way..." and He did. God longs to fill our lives with people who need Him, but it's pointless to send them our way if we won't share Christ with them when He does.

If we know Him, let's live like it. If we love Him, let's share Him. If we believe He's coming back, let's prepare by telling everyone we see that Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ is returning. 

His return could be any day. Let's stop doing nothing and live like we believe He's coming again.

"You know the saying, 'Four months between planting and harvest,'? But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. John 4:35 nlt 

__________

Please like and share if this blog post has touched your heart. It extends our digital reach in significant ways. Thank you.

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post:Guest Blogger Lindsey Knott: Rejection

If you feel led to partner with this ministry (US, Jordan, the digital world), here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841 

Or you can mail your check or money order to: Global Outreach/ PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802. Be sure to put Account 4841 in the "for" line.

Being Left Behind and Wishing You Weren't

Bedtime was later than I'd intended last night. When the train rolled through our town just after 5 am, I awoke, bleary-eyed and wishing I'd gone to bed on time. Maggie and Mamie, my little high-maintenance dogs, were asleep at the foot of my bed. 

As usual, Maggie went to the screened porch to greet the dawn. Mamie, however, wanted to sleep a little longer. 

"Mamie, I'm going to get coffee. Do you want to go potty?"

She lifted her head, tilted it to one side, and stared at me. 

"You want to go?" 

She lowered her head again, snuggled back into a little ball, and closed her eyes. Sleep was clearly her priority.

I went downstairs for coffee. A slice of bread was still in the toaster when I heard a familiar sound. "Arf. Arf. Arf." 

Mamie was relentless. She'd suddenly realized she'd been left behind, and she wasn't happy about it.

Her response reminded me of a lot of people. She'd had a chance to go with me, but she'd ignored it. 

When Jesus left this earth after his resurrection, He made certain His followers knew one thing. "I"m coming back to get you. You need to live ready."

He described that wonderful day. He will appear in the sky, riding on a cloud, and everyone will see Him. A loud trumpet will sound, and everyone will hear it. Angels will be sent to gather His people, and all His disciples will go. No delay. No waiting around.

Those who aren't disciples will be left behind, because, when the trumpet sounds, all the deciding will have already been done. When people look around and realize the followers of Jesus have gone, it'll be too late to wish they'd followed Him. 

Now is the time to decide about Jesus. Now is the time to take a close look at our lives. Do we truly follow Him or just talk about it? Are we a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ or a fan of the concept? Are we a pew-sitter or a passionate servant? 

Some will go. Some will stay. Which one will you be?

"And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matthew 24:31

____________

Note: There are some people who disagree with this theology. A little earlier in this passage, Jesus describes a great tribulation and suggests that this "taking away" will be at some point after the tribulation has occurred, or at least after it has begun. I'm not writing to argue the point of pre-, -post-, or mid-tribulation theology. Some people believe the "taking away" will be for lost people headed to judgment. One day, everyone will know what viewpoint is correct. The point is that Jesus will return and all the deciding will be past. We need to live ready.

___________

Please like and share to extend our digital reach.

In case you missed it, here's the link for yesterdays post: Contingent Promises from the Consistent Promise Keeper

If you feel led to partner with this ministry (US, Jordan, the digital world), here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841 

Or you can mail your check or money order to: Global Outreach/ PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802. Be sure to put Account 4841 in the "for" line.

______

The Presentation of Splendor

When Judy offered to mentor the women in our office, I jumped at the chance. My first homework assignment was to study Colossians 3. 

Those who are accustomed to my study techniques, or have read my blog for a while, know that an entire chapter is a huge undertaking for me. I can stay in one verse for weeks on end. I once wrote more than 50 blogs on a single passage. 

It's taken a while, but I've made it to Colossians 3:4. The beauty of this verse has stopped me in my tracks. 

"When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with Him in glory." Colossians 3:4 nasb

I'll spare you all the Greek words, but the "when" means that Christ will return, but we don't know the exact time yet. "Life" means life that's real and genuine, active and vigorous, devoted to God and blessed both in this life and the next. "Glory" indicates the condition of blessedness, splendor, and majesty.

Here's the Leanna paraphrase.

When Jesus comes back, wrapped in splendor and majesty, shining in all His glory, every eye will be turned to His magnificence. The most amazing thing will happen. He'll present us, His bride, the church, in His same splendor and magnificence, to the world. 

When God the Father shows off His Son, He'll show us off, too.

In a way, His bride is a kind of "trophy wife" because He bought her, cleansed her, changed her, transformed her and made her a beautiful trophy of grace and love. What's truly incredible is that we, His disciples, are the bride of Christ. We are the ones whom He will present. 

We won't be merely wrapped up in a fancy outfit that makes us look glorious. We'll be transformed from the inside out. 

How great is that?

We can look at the rest of this passage another day, but here's the quick summary. We are to get ready for Presentation Day (AKA Christ's Second Coming) now by getting rid of sin and embracing righteousness. 

Today, let's take a careful look at our hearts. Are we prepared for presentation? If not, let's renounce our sin and embrace the righteousness of Christ. He's coming back, and it might not be long. We need to be ready. 

__________________

No blog yesterday because I was out of town and away from wifi, but here's the link to Friday's blog: The Lurking Serpent and the Biblical Application Challenge

For those who have had a hard time downloading the James study to their phones, I've divided it into separate blog posts, and you can access it that way. Links are embedded. You won't need the BLB app, but you will need the electronic copy to have the links, even if you print it. Go to Lessons in Discipleship
If you'd like to participate in the James study, here's how: More than Enough: Living a Life Worth Living

If you'd like to help support this ministry, here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841
#Jesus 

Behavior that Demonstrates Belief

The weather forecast yesterday was a confusing one for me. "We're gonna have a huge storm," people told me. "It's a bad sign when the weather channel sends a reporter to our town."

I head the reports, but I also looked at the weather maps. There was going to be a storm, but it appeared that it would miss my little town. I moved my car away from the trees, just in case, because I have a little experience with weather predictions coming true. 

My behavior demonstrated my belief.

Weather reports seem an iffy thing to me. They are based on predictions and directions of wind and air movement, and they're constantly in flux. What we think is coming here goes somewhere else. What we worry about dissipates. We never really know.

When Moses gave a weather report, though, you could count on it. 

If he said hail was coming, Pharaoh knew, without a single doubt, that it was.

That's the difference between man's wisdom and God's wisdom. 

I noticed today, for the first time, that some of the Egyptians believed Moses. When he said a bad hailstorm was coming and every living creature that was outside would be killed, a few Egyptians gathered their people and all their animals in the house and waited for the storm Moses predicted. (Exodus 9:20)

Most did not. They scoffed at Moses, left their animals outside, and lost every single one of them due to the hail.

We are so much like those foolish Egyptians, aren't we? 

People today still pick and choose what they want to believe. We still want to believe things will stay the same, that we will be safe. 

The Bible, however, paints a different picture. Suffering will come to us all. A great tribulation will come. 

One day, Jesus will come back for his church and we need to be ready.

We can tell what we believe by how we behave. Do we live as those who expect our Savior to return or not? 

One day, Jesus will return. One day His church will rise and meet Him in the sky. It's going to be an exciting day, but on that day, it will be too late to change our minds. We must prepare now for our journey heavenward.

If our behavior demonstrates what we believe, and it does, what does our behavior say about our faith in a Risen, Returning Savior?

Live like you believe.

~~~~~~~~~
In case you missed one of this week's posts, here are the links:  A Little Good News: Working Together,  Things I've Learned: There is a God and I'm Not It, Cutting Down a Tree and Praying for Miracles, and The Tree That Preached a Sermon, The Wounded Deer and the Unsaid Words, Being Angry Without Sin, and Starting Over: It's Not as Easy as It Seems.

#chronologicalBible #livelikeyoubelieve #JesusChrist #disciple #secondcoming #weather #Moses

The Blizzard That Was Not

The NOAA weather alerts pinged off and on all day, sometimes arriving before I could finish reading the one before. My heart sank when the alerts changed from "Winter storm watch" to "WINTER STORM WARNING". An icy storm was the last thing I wanted.

According to NOAA, the storm wasn't just a possibility, it was a done deal. It was coming, and I needed get ready. (Admittedly, the storm did arrive, just not at my house.)

My neighbor, Sam, had been to the store, where he drinks coffee and discusses the issues of life and the world with the other men. It's been a ritual for decades. He came back from drinking coffee with a firm certainty that a bad storm was coming, and we needed to get ready. 

I was already prepared for the storm. I had been to town and bought dog food, butter, and spinach. That's what I wanted on hand if I got snowed in. I'd also bought carrots. They're not my usual winter storm fare, but I needed them for the beef stew I was cooking.

My preparations were both adequate and complete. I thought.

Sam decided we should bring firewood from the tractor shed to the house and stack it in the wood rack on my porch. Just in case the power went out.

"I already have enough wood for two days. That's plenty."

Sam disagreed. 

It was raining. I didn't want to get out. I whined and argued. 

Sam was adamant. 

"Look at the radar, Sam. We're on the edge of the storm."

"You need the wood. Just in case."

"Now, Sam. Even if we get snow, the temperature's in the mid-thirties. It's too warm to stick."

"Come on. Let's get it done." Sam would not give up. 

We hauled the wood in the rain. 

The question of storm preparation has been on my mind ever since. When we know a storm is coming, we're wise to prepare for the survival of our families. 

But what about the spiritual storms that are coming?

Scripture is very clear that, one day, Jesus is coming back to get His church, and there will some tough times before He does. It's not a storm we can track on radar, but it's even more certain than the most urgent warning.

Jesus is coming and, when He does, there won't be time to run to the store for bread and milk. 

"Behold, I tell you a mystery;

 we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; 

for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, 

and we shall be changed.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 nasb

We can prepare for that day, and the Apostle Paul has told us how. 

"Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, 

knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." 

1 Cor 15:68 nasb

In all our preparations, lets be sure to make the preparations that matter most. 

Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ is coming again. Be ready.

~~~~~~~~

In case you missed one of this week's posts, here are the links:  The Monarch Migration Badge,  The Sermon Without Words,  A Matter of Perspective, Living in Goshen: God's Best, Embracing Our Personal Gethsemane, What is the Point of Suffering: Extracting the Precious, and Mamie and the Ink Stain.

Be sure to check out my new Amazon Author Page.

#stormwarning #milkandbread #secondcoming #beready #Christian

How to Recognize Good News

I was tossing about for a topic to write about this morning and coming up empty. Last night, I had a plan. This morning, it's gone straight out of my head. I should write about some good news, I thought, and Google'd "good news". 

Much to my surprise, the first hit was "Joe Biden Bid for White House Would Begin in a $60 Million Hole." Really? That certainly isn't good news for Joe Biden or his fellow Democrats. Only Republicans could call that good news. 

The next hit was "Mexican Drug Lord Injured in Recent Evasion of Capture." It's not good news for Mexico that the man is a drug dealer, nor that he recently evaded capture. I'm certain his injury was not good news to him, either, so what is good about this news?

The third hit was equally discouraging. "More die as violence and finger pointing plagues Israelis and Palestinians." As one who regularly prays for the peace of Jerusalem, that supposed good news was another disappointment.

Clearly, we have lost the ability to recognize Good News and Bad News, so I've decided to enlighten us on the difference.

This is Bad News: We are all sinners and we deserve nothing except death and hell. (Romans 3:23)

This is Good News: God sent Jesus to pay for our sin and  give us eternal life for free.

Here are some more examples of Good News:
God has a plan for each one of us and it's for our own good, not for a calamity, to give us a future and a hope. (Jer. 29:11)

Jesus binds up the brokenhearted, comforts those who mourn, and turns their ashes into beauty, their mourning into gladness, their fainting into praise. (Isaiah 61:3)

If you put your trust in Him, God will help you deal with whatever trouble comes your way. (Matt. 6:34)

Jesus is in Heaven and preparing a place for us. He's coming back for those who belong to Him and we will spend eternity with Him in Heaven. (John 14:2-3)

The news is full of stories about wrongdoing, but we don't have to listen to the news to find out about the sinfulness of man. Scripture tells us clearly that we are all sinners. Evil is rampant in the world, and has been from the beginning. One day, God will deal with all the evil but, because of His great mercy, He has delayed.

For now, we need to know that there is evil, some of it will be directed against those who love Christ, and some of that evil will be terrible. In the end, Jesus will return, gather His own, and settle the score. 

As disciples of Christ, our job is not to fear evil. Our job is to BE salt and light in a dark and tasteless, perishing world and to love the most unlovely among us.

The news that matters most is that Christ has risen and is coming again. That is truly good news.
_______
Here are links to similar posts about good news: A Little Good News and The Good News Mail.

In case you missed any of this week's posts, here are the links: Still a Sinner, How to Have a Flood of God-Love, The Wonder Girls Close the Park, Soft drinks, snacks, and airplane takeoff, Yeast in the Flour, and The Problem With Phone Calls. 

The most-read post of the past week: Death is Not the End. 

#GoodNews #Jesusiscomingagain #secondcoming #disciple #JesusChrist

photo courtesy of freeimages.com

Waiting Well: Our Response to the Knock on the Door

"Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You, too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect." (Luke 12: 35-40 NASB)

Our Waiting Well series began a with a post on serving faithfully, followed by keeping our lamps lit. Yesterday, we looked at waiting for the bridegroom to return from the marriage feast. Today we turn to our response when the Master knocks.

Jesus said we are to be ready for His return in the same way that servants wait for their master to return from the wedding feast. They are dressed, awake, and alert. The house is secured, the doors locked to protect what is inside. 

At the moment the master knocks, the waiting servants fling open the door immediately. Without a second of delay, they welcome Him home because they have been waiting with eager expectation.

We are to be waiting for the return of Christ with that same eager expectation, ready to receive Him with open arms, open hearts, and open doors. 

We look forward to Christ's return because we love Him, because He is the bridegroom for His church and we belong to Him. We are His and He is ours. He is the one our heart most desires, and we look forward to seeing Him, just as we would a long-delayed but much-loved relative.

One day, the trumpets will blow, the sky will split, and King Jesus will appear. It will be a glorious day. 

The King is coming. Be ready.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NASB (1)

(1) http://bible.com/100/1th.4.16-17.nasb

~~~~~~~

Our Father, Thank you for sending Jesus to save sinners like me. Thank you that He is coming again. Create in me a clean, ready heart, eager to meet my Lord. Help me to stay ready. In Jesus' precious name, Amen.

Waiting well: Waiting for the Bridegroom

A Jewish wedding in Jesus' time was not like our modern weddings. The marriage was arranged, and a period of betrothal followed. During this time, both the bride and groom prepared themselves for the marriage. The bride made her wedding garments and purified herself. The groom prepared a place for her in his father's house. He would build an addition (insula) onto the father's house where the two would live. 

Only the groom's father could decide when the addition was ready. When he gave the groom the happy news, he and his groomsmen would go for his bride. The marriage would be consummated and a week-long celebratory feast would follow. 

His servants would be on the alert, waiting for the groom (their master) to return with his bride. It was a time of great rejoicing. Because the bride would be coming to her new home for the first time, everyone present wanted the preparations to be complete to welcome her. The servants would be charged with staying ready.

In that same way, Our Lord Jesus has gone to His Father's house to prepare a place for us. Only our Heavenly Father can say when the preparations are complete, but when He does, Jesus will return for His bride. When he returns, there will be no delays. He will be ready, and we must be, too.

We are to be alert, waiting for our Lord, Jesus, with joyful expectation. Our waiting is to be as servants waiting for their master. There's no way to know when he will come, but we must be ready, preparations complete. We can be confident that, at the end of our waiting, there will be great rejoicing. 

All the preparation, all the waiting will be worth it when Jesus appears.

The amazing, inscrutable part of this is that we wait as servants but the bride for whom Jesus comes is the church. We're not just waiting for our Master. We're waiting for our bridegroom.

We aren't waiting for a destination (heaven). We're waiting for a person with whom we have a precious relationship. Jesus. 

He's coming again. Be ready.

"Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You, too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect." (Luke 12: 35-40 NASB)

~~~~~~~

Our Father in Heaven, Thank you for the preparations being made for the bride of Christ. Thank you that Jesus will return for His own. Help me to prepare for His return and to stay ready for Him. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Our Waiting Well series began a with a post on serving faithfully. Yesterday, we looked at the issue of keeping our lamps lit. 

Waiting Well: Keep your lamps lit

"Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You, too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect." (Luke 12: 35-40 NASB)

"Keep your lamps lit," Jesus told his disciples. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:22), He said, "The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light." The word translated as "clear" is haplous, and refers to singleness of purpose. 

"Keep your lamps lit" implies that the fire can go out; our ardor can dim. How do we prevent this dimming of our light? We've studied this before. In Luke 11:33-35, the word used to describe lighting the lamp is hapto, which means "to fasten". In a way, the light of Christ, the flame of His love in us, should be attached to our hearts, stuck like glue. You can read more about this lamp of our body, fastening the fire, and serving faithfully every day by clicking on the links. 

In this passage, I believe Jesus is saying persevere in faith with singleness of purpose and devotion. Don't let your ardor for Him cool. Don't get distracted or race after the things of this world.

It's our responsibility to "tend the fire", to keep the flame burning. Bible study, prayer, worship and obedience to His Still, Small Voice all help to keep our fire burning. Is your flame flickering? Is it in danger of going out? Be still before our Lord. Open your Bible and stay there until you have fresh encouragement, fresh hope, fresh fire.

Do what it takes to keep your flame burning.

Be ready. 

The King is coming.

~~~~~~~

Our Father, forgive the flickering flame of our faith. Kindle in us the fire that only comes from closeness with You. Help us to shine our light in such a way that others are drawn to You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Unexpected Surprises

There's a routine to feeding in my barn. Every morning, I head to the barn tack room, set out three buckets, scoop the feed into the buckets, grab all three, and head to the stalls. The closest stall gets feed first. The horse with the sweetest, most patient disposition, however, is in the last stall. She gets fed last every time. 

This morning was no different. As I opened her stall door, I thought, "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first."  In an instant, the routine changed. Tomorrow, Belle will be fed first. A sweet, gentle spirit like hers should have a reward, don't you think? I smiled to myself as I headed back to the house. It's a little surprise she has coming, but a surprise nonetheless. 

I love unexpected surprises, don't you? Maybe Jesus does, too, because He said that, when we least expect it, He's coming back. It's going to be a sky-splitting surprise and everyone on earth will be utterly astounded. The last is still last now, but when Jesus comes back, everything will change. That's when the last will be first and we will be totally astounded by the order He arranges. I wonder if He might not be watching for those with sweet, gentle spirits to "move up the line".  Perhaps we should take a lesson from my very nice horse. The sweetest dispositions (those most like Jesus) will eventually get their own reward, and sometimes, even now, the last becomes first. 

The Perils of Parousia

My son Ryan was scheduled to fly home from college today. I expected that he would arrive in Tupelo around 1:30 pm. Unfortunately, he missed his flight and has been rescheduled for a later flight. The new flight has been delayed, and now is delayed again. As I was thinking about the waiting, it reminded me of the Advent period, which seems a lot like a "waiting" of its own. 

This may seem a little complicated, but the term advent is an Anglicized form of the Latin word adventus, which means "coming".  Adventus is the Latin translation of the Greek word parousia. Parousia is a word that means "presence" or "presence after absence".  It is used in the Gospels to denote Christ's return (see Matt. 24:3). This word is actually used, for the most part, to indicate the second coming of Jesus, not his natal arrival. Technically, advent (the time of Christ's coming after an absence) is better related to Easter and lent than to Christmas. 

Since I'm having some very joyful parousia of my own today as I wait for my son and his tardy flight, the whole idea of "anticipating the coming" is on my mind. 

This December Advent of ours actually celebrates that first coming of the Presence of God. Emmanuel, God with us. How wonderful to anticipate with the knowledge that we celebrate what is historical fact and spiritual victory! Even more exciting is that every day we live as believers is a kind of Advent, a parousia, as we anticipate the "coming after an absence" of our risen Lord. 

During these last few days of our December Advent, keep in mind the more wonderful Daily Advent, our Daily Parousia, as we anticipate not only the natal arrival of Christ but also his majestic second coming!  

Hear the good news! Christ has come. Christ is risen. Christ is coming again!