“ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. “ ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.’” Jeremiah 33:14-15

The days of Jeremiah the prophet were grim. The immediate hope of relief in the short term was negligible. The end of Jerusalem and Judah was at hand.

Yet, despite all the poor choices made by the leadership of Israel and the divided loyalties of the people, God didn’t give up on the people.

When life is hard for us and some of the bad decisions we make are self-inflicted, God doesn’t give up on us either.

Not only did God want to give his chosen people hope, this future promise would also change the world too.

The promise of king for Israel (and the world) would be related to the great King David of Israel’s past.

This king will be righteous. He will do the right thing, He will be in relationship with God, and he will lead all of us towards God.

God made a promise to Israel and to us and it came to pass. Jesus, son of Mary and Joseph was born. Both the gospel of Matthew and Luke show the connection to King David through a list of descendants.

Jesus became the most untypical king to ever live. He came to serve and not be served. Jesus showed the extent of his divine and royal love by dying for the people and then coming back to life!

Because of his resurrection Jesus is still our reigning King!

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, let us also prepare for our King’s return!

Joy to the world; the Lord is come;
Let Earth receive her King;
Let ev’ry heart prepare him room,
And heav’n and nature sing.

God bless,
Pr. Ben

Jesus said, “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he (the Christ) is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:26-27

This weekend we will remember the last weekend of the church calendar: Christ the King Sunday. As it is the last weekend of the church year (Advent begins the new church year) we also take time to remember that at the end of time itself, Christ will return to earth.

It makes sense to remember Christ’s return on the last Sunday of the church year! We come to the end of the year and symbolically jump forward to the end of time.

This is not up for debate. We declare this promise in our historic creeds.

He (Jesus) will come again to judge the living and the dead.- Apostles’ Creed

And…

He (Jesus) will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. – Nicene Creed

This will happen one day. When Jesus makes a promise, he keeps it.

As you know, many Christians over the centuries have tried to predict Christ’s return to no avail. It is a fool’s errand to ever think we can control God or somehow know when or why God acts.

Even Jesus told us (more than once) that predicting his return is a mistake on our part.

Jesus said, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:36-39

No one means, absolutely no one. Any prediction of Christ’s return is guesswork.

However, we should not doubt the return of Christ or even his existence. God is real and his kingdom is more real than the world we live in. Whether by our own death or Christ’s return, one day, we will be invited to go live in his Kingdom forever.

Until that glorious day (for the faithful), let us live as through Christ is coming back in a few hours.

For me, this life is getting me ready for eternal life. I want to “practice” my faith (trust in Jesus) now and, live according to God’s will (love God and love my neighbor). Why? So that when I am called to my true eternal home, I fit in and don’t have regrets like Ebenezer Scrooge.

I am getting ready for my eternal tomorrow, today. I hope you are too.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Matthew 24:42

God bless,
Pr. Ben

Acts 8:32-35

The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture (from Isaiah 53): “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”

The eunuch asked Philip (a Christian), “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

The eunuch, an Ethiopian man, was leaving Jerusalem and heading home. He decided to do some Bible study on the way. Like a lot of people, he started reading the Bible and it didn’t make sense. (Who hasn’t been there before???)

Jesus knew this was going to happen, so he sent Philip to be on that same road at that very moment to lend assistance. Philip tells the eunuch that the person he is reading about in Isaiah 53 is none other than Jesus who recently died, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.

Philip most likely told the eunuch that Jesus loved him too and wanted to be in relationship with him.

This man’s heart was so moved by that message that the minute he saw some water, he asked Philip to baptize him. (That was his way of saying “yes” to what Jesus was offering.) And that is exactly what happened, the man was baptized and welcomed into the family of faith.

It is simple. Jesus reached out to the Ethiopian eunuch through the scriptures (Isaiah 53) and Philip. When that man received what Jesus offered (a relationship, forgiveness and eternal life) he responded by being baptized.

The Ethiopian Eunuch said yes to what Jesus offered to him (and to all of us). He said, “yes” when most of the world says “no”.

He responded to the gift that was offered. That is how we live our lives as Christians. We respond to the gift already given in Christ Jesus.

This is true the first time the gift of faith is offered and it is true if you’ve been a lifelong Christian, all of life is a lived response to the grace of Jesus.

The first time is an invitation to respond!

We are reminded of the words of Saint Paul, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17

The man heard the message of God’s love in Jesus through both the Bible and Philip’s words.

That is how we share the good news of God’s love… by speaking. We tell others that Jesus loves them. We respond to God’s grace in our life by sharing Jesus with others. That is our response!

If we never open our mouths and speak the name of Jesus, others will never hear.

Saint Paul knows this!

How, then, can anyone call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have never heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? Romans 10:14

I pray the grace of Jesus has moved you to respond to what you have been given!!! Keep saying “yes” to Jesus and keep responding in love!

God bless,
Pr. Ben