Here and coming

The Internet sure is a swirlin’ these days.  From conspiracies and Charlie Kirk, to the rapture and Tylenol, there’s a lot of information and opinions to scroll through.  It feels like trying to run through knee deep water. 

When big news events happen we all spend a lot of extra time looking at our phones because we want to know what is happening.  To me, though, it seems like the most dangerous and distracting times on social media come a week or two after a big event.  

The dust of Charlie’s assassination has settled, and in it’s place have come the conspiracy theories and wild accusations.  From his memorial being a satanic ritual, to Israel being responsible and everything else in between there are about a million rabbit trails to follow.  

Sadly, sometimes I want to jump in.  The human quest and need for knowledge is deep.  But I also know that our desire for knowledge is often folly.  It’s folly to listen to people you don’t know spout conspiracies on the Internet, even if you’re pretty sure there’s some truth in it.  It’s folly to think that you need to have everything figured out.  

Recently Brad said something along the lines of “I’m just to the point of wanting to say ‘OK’ to whatever I’m told happened”.  It seems a whole lot simpler than trying to find the lie behind every headline.  I’m not condoning sitting in the dark and accepting everything as truth, but I would rather be ignorant when it comes to whatever hot and new take someone is spouting.

I hope to be more concerned with telling people about Jesus than I am about learning who really killed Charlie Kirk.  I hope to be more concerned with loving my neighbor than whether or not Jimmy Kimmel has his show back.  I hope to be more concerned about praying for those hurting than how my Facebook feed feels about the Tylenol/autism debacle.  

The enemy is prowling, ready to pounce on us.  What we saw at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service last Sunday was revival.  Jesus was proclaimed as King on that stage.  I think WE WILL MISS what the Lord is doing if we are looking for the rapture or conspiracy theories to fill our void.  Only Jesus fills that longing within us, and He is not only here, but He is coming.  

There is a common saying in the Vineyard movement that the Kingdom of God is both now and not yet.  This phrase was coined to explain why we see God move in the miraculous, but also why sometimes we don’t see the healing.  God’s kingdom has been partially revealed here on earth, but won’t fully be revealed until Jesus returns and establishes a new heaven and a new earth.

I understand the concept of the now and not yet, but the phrase never sat well with me.   A few years ago I heard a teacher mention that the Kingdom of God is “here and coming” and I latched on to it.  Whereas the now and not yet is written in the negative and with lack, the here and coming is positive and hopeful. 

So friends, the Kingdom of God is at hand.  Jesus is here.  His presence is already among us, but He is also returning soon.  The day and the hour we may not know, but one thing we can be sure of: Jesus is coming, and the Bible tells us that EVERY knee will bow and EVERY tongue will confess that He is Lord.  

If you haven’t confessed Jesus as Lord, why not?  Christ is the ONLY thing that will fill your void and make you whole.  

Guard your heart in this time, for everything you do flows from it.