Tag: second coming

  • The things we value most will be left behind – We gain everything

    row of rusty pickups

    The farmyard had many rusty old trucks. It seems likely the owner was a collector (or perhaps ‘accumulator’ would be a better term), as they had rows of them.

    There were a few cars, but I mainly noticed pickup trucks. There were a lot of them from the fifties and sixties. There was even the odd one from the 40s or earlier. 

    These trucks were, at one point, the pride and joy of their owners. They had that new vehicle smell that so many people find appealing. They were bright and shiny, freshly painted, and certainly wouldn’t have been cheap to buy.

    Over the years, the paint faded, the bodies got dinged and dented, and the new-car smell gave way to the smell of the owner’s lifestyle. Eventually, they broke down or wore out and were just left in the field to rust.

    Eventually, they will rust away into nothingness. The elements gradually eat away the steel until nothing remains.

    Now I understand the need for a vehicle, and I know that they usually reach a point where they are no longer worth repairing. Seeing so many of their rusted old bodies, though, made me think about the Lord’s coming. Our possessions will be left behind.

    He’s coming again for His people.

    “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14 

    The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Matthew 26:63-64

    Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. Revelation 1:7

    All the “things” we value so highly, all the accomplishments we’re so proud of, all the “stuff” and accolades we’ve accumulated, will at that moment become even less valuable than those rusted old hulks sitting in the field. It will be left behind, exchanged for something far more valuable.

    Where are your priorities? Are the things that will be left behind when you die, or He comes again first in your life? Or have you accumulated treasures in heaven that won’t rust away and won’t be left behind when you go?

    Until next time, may your focus be on the things of His kingdom.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God)

    Be blessed, 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

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    All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word. 

    Unless otherwise noted, “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

  • Patience

    Herons can teach us something about waiting for the Lord

    Blue heron

    Wow, it’s October already. Where did September go? I had just  managed to start writing dates as September rather than August, and it’s gone. The month felt about two weeks long.

    I’ve been down with a nasty cold for the past week or so and have been largely stuck in the house. Yesterday, we took some time to drive to a local area park, where we could sit in the quiet and sun, while remaining a safe distance from others.

    We enjoyed watching the ducks and seeing a great blue heron work its way along the opposite bank from us. In this area, we are blessed to have a plethora of herons, mostly great blues, but also some greens, and bitterns.

    Herons are masterful and patient hunters. They can remain motionless for an extended period of time and then extend their necks and beaks forward at explosive speed to nab unwary prey. Every move is calculated and often in seemingly slow motion.

    Yesterday’s heron managed to spear a few small fish and some other unidentified prey as it worked its way down the shore. Now and then it seemed to miss, but it was successful more often than not.

    I confess that I’m nowhere near as patient as a heron. I keep praying for patience, and God answers by giving me things to be patient about. Still, I’m glad He is patient with me because I seem at times to be a very slow learner and prone to wandering.

    Like children in the days before a birthday party or Christmas, we impatiently long for His return. Almost every day, someone seems to claim to know when that will be, usually based on a tabloid theological interpretation of some world event combined with a misinterpreted passage of Scripture.

    There is no doubt that His return is coming; Scripture speaks of it often. The long-awaited Day of the Lord will arrive. But, When?

    It will happen when God deems the time to be right.  Second Peter 3 is entirely about that day and speaks of God’s patience.

    But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:8-12 NIV

    It’s coming at the perfect moment, and Jesus has told us that no one will know the day or time. 

    How do we live in that tension? We stop worrying about when it will happen and live like it might be today. We love our neighbor, share the good news, and keep short accounts with God.

    That might not make us any less impatient, but it will sharpen our walk and enhance our witness as we wait.

    Trust His timing, live for Him, and He will be glorified.

    Kevin

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