“Then the Lord God said to the serpent, because you have done this, cursed are you more than all the livestock, and more than any animal of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life; and I will make enemies of you and the woman, and of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15 NASB)
Retail distribution centers have already started processing Christmas merchandise. Their rationale is to ensure that stores are prepared to meet the demand of shoppers, searching for holiday gifts, and seeking seasonal decoration products, earlier every year. Go ahead and agree! Afterall, you have been to the specialty home décor stores and the big-box stores, and you can testify to the fact that displays for Christmas are already taking up space once reserved for fall and Thanksgiving interior decorations and gifts. Buyers and store managers would clarify to those who question the retail strategy with these very words, “It’s not too early.” Their sales reports substantiate this clarification.
Well, let me add another clarification for Christians, a clarification along the same lines as that of the retail gurus. When it comes to talking about the coming of Jesus, “It’s not too early!” As a matter of fact, this mantra does not have to be restricted to any season but can be applicable all year around. Any time of the year is the right time of the year to talk about Jesus’ coming. Whether it be the season where leaves are falling, the time of the year when temperatures drop, the season where new flowers start to bloom, or the months when outdoor thermometers seem to be flawed in their design, seemingly limited in their functioning because they don’t have high enough numbers to indicated record-breaking heat levels. But when it comes to talking about Jesus’ coming, the truth is, “It is not too early!”
Why should we wait to spread the word about Jesus? As you can tell from the excerpt from Genesis above, looking at the capital letter “D” in “Descendant” and the capital letter “H” in the word “Him,” the promised of the Messiah and His victory over Satan is found in the first book of the Bible, in the Old Testament. You don’t have to wait until you get to the New Testament, to the gospels to read about Jesus’ first advent, His first coming, or His victory on Calvary. God speaks of it before you can finish chapter 3 in the first book of the Bible. Like I said, as a clarification, “It’s not too early” to talk about Jesus coming; coming into your life, coming to be your Savior and your Lord, coming to bring about some wonderful changes in your life or your capability to withstand the changes and challenges of life, coming to do such marvelous, awesome, wonderful things, so much so that you can’t keep it to yourself! And I can’t leave out that it is not too early to talk about the fact that Jesus is coming back again!
Keep that in mind today! Be moved to know that it’s not too early! Let me add to the clarification with two comments: (1) It’s not too early to be a witness for the Lord, as He has commissioned us to be, and (2) It’s not too early to make sure you are personally ready when Jesus comes, the second advent. Let me back that up with the closing verses. If your witnessing, soul-winning, kingdom of God expanding actions have become latent or you are waiting for ETC days (Ester, Thanksgiving, and Christman) to talk about Jesus, I’ll repeat the clarification: “It’s not too early!” Somebody you will run into this week is not ready for when Jesus comes. What are you going to do? Are you going to wait until a workshop is held on evangelizing? Are you going to wait until you hear a sermon on the Great Commission? I sure hope not! The Lord has not come because He desires no one to perish. That’s Bible! But let us not wait! Let’s get back to soul-winning! Wake up sleepy ones, “It’s not too early!” That comment I just made about waking up was for spiritual motivation. Now, from a literal perspective, it’s not too early to forward this email to someone. Have a great day being a witness for the Lord! Be blessed!
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 26:36-44 NASB)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King