One More Day...

~~~ Revelation 14:14-19 ~~~ Psalm 96 ~~~  Luke 21:5-11 ~~~~

The Lord comes to judge the earth.

On the final day the Lord will return to the earth
 for the last judgement.
The last day has been a part of our future
since Jesus overcame the chains of death.
As long as we have the ability to consider the future
 we will continue to wonder about judgment day.

Speculation about the end time keeps our curiosity alive.
It seems that living in the end time is to be
 experienced by each generation.
Throughout history tragic events cause us to ask,
'Is this it?' Some have even professed to have knowledge
of the date and time of the end.
Of course we know they are frauds
 trying to deceive gullible souls.
Wars, diseases, civil unrest, brutality, all sorts of corruption
give us cause to wonder just how near
we are to the final judgment day.

“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 
There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, 
and plagues from place to place;
and awesome sights and mighty signs 
will come from the sky.”

Any reference to the exact time has never been revealed by God.
If we knew the exact day and time or even
just the year of the end
imagine how different our lives would become.

As long as we do not have knowledge of the final day
 we still have time to do better.

Every year at the end of the liturgical cycle we are given end time readings.
These words create a somberness within our souls.
It is fitting that we should have this time
during the week of Thanksgiving.

Now is the time to make a note of our blessings.
Now is the time to acknowledge our intention
 to be more aware of our very life.

We are either living life to its fullest
or we are frightened by the possibilities of the end time.

As long as we have one more day to live
we have one more day to love more completely.

As long as we have one more day God 

allows us to repent for our past offenses.
As long as we have one more day

God expresses his hope that we will turn toward his ways.

Good only wants goodness and love to follow
 us all the days of our life.

“Use your sharp sickle and cut the clusters
 from the earth’s vines, for its grapes are ripe.”

One day God will close this chapter of our existence.
One day life as we know it on this planet will cease to exist.
One day we will all be brought into his presence.
One day we will each be held accountable for words,
 thoughts, and actions.

One day we will either be brought into the harvest
 or we will fall to the ground to be trampled upon.

We desire to be cut from the earth's vine.
On that day the earth will no longer hold
any promise of tomorrow.

On that day everything will come
 into submission to God's justice.

The sickle of the harvester is sharp and swift.

Blessings as we contemplate the end times...
keep in mind all that we have been given.

When the mighty signs come from the heavens
 there will be no doubt as to what is happening.

This day will be unlike any other that has come before.

Held in Attentive Peace.

The I AM Connection

 

~~~ Exodus 3:13-20 ~~~ Psalm 105 ~~~ Matthew11:28-30 ~~~

  

God replied, “I am who am.”

 

Taking those words at face value, God is present now.

For God the present is always right now.

God has not needed time since he began Creation. 

 

But we are very much united with our concepts of time.

It is hard for us to let go of what time means for us.

We are always making a reference to time.

We have a time for everything.

 

Today God tells Moses when they ask my name tell them....

I AM.

That hardly seems like a name.

It seems more like a state of being.

 

In school we learn about verb tenses and the different forms

 of a verb to use when denoting time.

 

So when God refers to himself as I AM; we may be puzzled.

 

God is telling us that he is indeed present right now.

We are to come to him in the now.

 

God was in the past days of our lives,

 but he wants us to focus on the present time.

God will be with us in the future, but the future is not here now.

 

If God has been present to Abraham. Isaac, Jacob, and Moses;

he is present to us right now in the same way.

 

In the present, God express concern for the people

he has chosen Moses to lead.

I am concerned about you
and about the way you are being treated in Egypt...

 

 God wants to change things now, not tomorrow.

We have a God of the present, there is no need to wait for him.

 

God wants us to believe, that he is with us all of the time.

There is only the present with God.

 

Go forward today from where you are, take God's hand

it is reaching out to you.

 

I will stretch out my hand...

 

If God is stretching out his hand to us

and we are living in the past or anxious about the future

we might miss it.

 

How many times have you been looking for something

that was there in front of you all along?

It happens to all of us. We even make jokes about how 'blind' we can be.

 

 

The gospel today is reminding us to make the connection...

If God is the I AM then he is also aware of our burdens.

 

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest...

 

If God is the I AM then it should be easy to come to him with our burdens.

There is no need to look for him...he is present.

There is no need to fear that he has abandoned us...he is present...

his hand in outstretched towards you.

There is no reason to worry that God will not be with you,

because he never leaves you.

 

He is the great  I AM...

The only one who claims to be the I AM.

The very same God of all who gone before us.

The very same God who will be for all those who come after us.

 

The I AM God is the God of all ages...of all times...

for all peoples.

 

Most importantly he is the God for you, the God for me.

Ever Present...the one and only

I AM.

 

Blessings in confidently

 knowing that God is with you at every moment.

He is the all present God.

He is the God who stretches out his hand to you...

grab hold of it and you will find rest and peace.