Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Revelation 22:12-13 Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
THE ALPHA AND OMEGA
Jesus says that He's going to judge people on the basis of what they've done. But don't get confused. He's NOT saying that good deeds are currency with which we can BUY our way into heaven. Words and actions are the visible evidence of an invisible faith. Words and deeds aren't like the money in your wallet, they're more like the driver's license. They IDENTIFY Christ's followers.
In Romans 4 Paul explains how Jesus will be able to declare Christians (who are certainly sinful) "not guilty" on Judgment Day.
" ... Abraham BELIEVED God, and it was credited to him as righteousness ... to the man who does not work BUT TRUSTS GOD who justifies the wicked, his FAITH IS CREDITED AS RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Romans 4:3,5).
Do you see why it makes sense to think about the second coming of Christ as we prepare to celebrate His first? If our hearts are ready to worship the humble Christ Child in the manger, than we're ready to meet the glorious Christ at the End. The way to be ready to meet Jesus the Judge, is to know Jesus the Savior.
Today, lets totally CHUCK any trust we have in ourselves. Let's totally DESPAIR of being good enough for God, and simply trust the promise that Jesus makes to us: "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life" (John 5:24).
Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. He created all in the beginning and He'll be there to judge all in the end. But in the middle, He came to save us.
