Episode #21: Are you Ready? How Prophecy Affects Our Work

The Word of the Week is ready and following is a transcript of this week's corresponding devotional podcast. Mentioned resources and links from the Desk to Desk segment are at the end of the transcript. 

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Ready.

Are you ready for Jesus’ return? He’s coming back you know. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 tells us:

 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

There are different views of the rapture based on how you interpret different parts of Scripture, but I’m inclined toward the view that Jesus will come to receive us in the clouds and He will also come again after a period of tribulation to reign on earth in the millennial kingdom and we will reign with him there. 

But regardless of whether you believe you will be taken up in the air with him before the tribulation or mid-tribulation or post-tribulation, He is coming. 

What does that mean to you and your work today?

Well, I heard about one little girl who had the right idea. When she heard in Sunday School that Jesus was coming back, she asked her mom on the way home,

‘Mommy, do you believe Jesus is coming back?”

Her mom answered, “Yes, I do, sweetie.”

The little girl then asked, "Do you think he could come today?”

"Well, yes, He could."

"Do you think he could come in a few minutes?" the girl replied.

"Yes, that’s possible, honey.”

The girl thought for a moment and then asked,

"Well, do you think you could comb my hair? "

We need to be like that little girl, always ready for Jesus return. 

And, of course, Scripture doesn’t leave us directionless on how to do that. We just read in I Thessalonians 4 that he was coming so let’s keep reading in that book for a minute to see what we should do to prepare for that. 

In chapter 5, we see a lot of action verbs which serve well as our “getting ready” checklist considering the context. Remember, it’s just after Paul’s teaching of the rapture. 

I’ll leave the entire checklist to you to read when you have a moment, but I want to highlight a few of these action words in no particular order that help us know  what we can do to prepare for Jesus' return. And this reads like an actual checklist, okay, because Paul just fires these things up

• Put on faith and love.
• Hope in salvation.
• Encourage one another and build each other up.
• Rejoice always.
• Pray continually.
• Give thanks in all circumstances.
• Do not treat prophecies with contempt but instead test them.
• Reject evil. 
• Do good to each other and everyone else.
• Help the weak.
• Be patient with everyone.

Right after teaching us about the rapture, Paul never assumes we’re fearful about it -- instead he assumes we’re encouraged and tells us to encourage others and then gives us a sort of checklist which is basically godly living  and in verse 11 he adds “just as in fact you are doing.” 

So let me summarize, friends -- Jesus is coming. This is encouraging, not scary (at least for believers) so encourage others with the news. Love God, love people and keep on keeping on.

Work-wise this looks like you working hard, working joyfully and  loving and encouraging your clients in the Lord. Even if they’re not believers, commit to being a light to them and praying for just the right opportunity to share Jesus. Yes, I am advocating for religion in the workplace because  verse 15 exhorts us to "always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. "Sharing Christ is absolutely the best thing you can do for anyone. 

Let's pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your son Jesus to die on the cross for us and for saving us -- we can’t wait until Jesus’ return. Please help us live and work joyfully in anticipation so when Jesus comes, we are ready! Help us to encourage our brothers and sisters in the Lord this week -- whether they are clients or not. And let us be lights for you to our clients with the opportunities we know you'll give us.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Desk to Desk Links & Resources:

 1. Feeling sad, unmotivated or depressed?  If you're currently struggling with feelings of sadness or lack of motivation, you may be suffering from depression or Seasonal Affective Disorder. You may also have an underlying health issue (i.e. hypothyroid or another kind of autoimmune disorder).  If this is impacting your relationships or productivity in any way, I encourage you to seek help -- talk to a biblical counselor from your church and see your doctor to rule out any health issues. Your hormones affect your feelings and energy levels more than you might think. 

If unable to find a biblical counselor near you, please email me. I may be able to help.

2. Linktr.ee is a popular "link in bio" service to give your social media followers a one-page resource of your recent or primary shared links. But it costs money. If you can create a web page, you can create one for free. Here's an example of a linktr.ee page you can use as a template:  Theology of Work Linktr.ee (pretty simple, huh?)

3.  would like to feature your work at home business in the podcast. To apply just click the first button on the top of my podcast page.