On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. (Zechariah 14:4, NIV)
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matthew 24:42, NIV)
My college teammate and former LSU golf star, Mac McLendon, has many golf stories. He is still a good friend and also a supporter of this ministry. Mac played the Tour in the 1960s and 70s and won four times. Mac played in the Masters a few times, but there is one memorable event that stands out regarding his time at Augusta.
The crowd parted. And there lying on the ground was his wife Joan.During the first round that year, Mac’s game suddenly left him, and he uncharacteristically hit the ball all over the lot. He could not find a fairway. He hit three people in the gallery in the first round. He was going to miss the cut for sure. He told his wife Joan that he was afraid he was going to hurt somebody if he played the second round. She scolded him and encouraged him to hit the range and find his game before round number two. Mac obeyed.
Well, round two started with a duck hook into the middle of the gallery. Here we go again. Mac trudged down the hill and up to his ball. The crowd parted. And there lying on the ground was his wife Joan. Mac’s drive caught her on the collarbone (she was OK and followed the last 12 holes without incident). But the wonderful punchline to the story is that when Mac saw Joan lying there and found that she would survive, he had to remind her, “I told you so!”
Our church has been studying end times in our Life Groups (they are still Sunday school classes to me!). Heady stuff. It’s hard to understand it all. Great theologians have been postulating theories for years. Here is what we do know: 1) Jesus is coming back! 2) We know how he is coming back. 3) We do not know when. Jesus knew that the timing of his return is dependent upon his Father.
So, my advice is to get ready. He’s coming back. He told us so: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory…” (Matthew 25:31).
In Acts 1, Jesus was taken up to the Father right before the disciples’ eyes and hidden from their sight in the clouds! Then, in verse 11, we read: “‘Men of Galilee,’ they (the angels) said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’”
The prophecies of angels are certain, so by them too we know that Jesus’ return is imminent. Let’s just say we’ve been given every reason to be ready—and don’t say I never told you so!
—
Randy Wolff
June 2, 2016
Copyright 2016 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.