2 Thessalonians 2:8 - Famous People

2 Thessalonians 2:8 "Then the Wicked One will be revealed, but when the Lord Jesus comes, he will kill him with the breath from his mouth and destroy him with his dazzling presence." (TEV)

One of the times in my past I remember very vividly was the time I came face to face with a United States Senator. My brother and I had gone with my dad to church in Minneapolis, and as we walked in my dad pointed at a man sitting in a pew about two rows up from us. Dad said the man was Senator Eugene McCarthy, and what really blew my brother and me away is that Dad knew him, in fact, the two of them played on the same college hockey team.

Dad got Senator McCarthy's attention and asked him if he wanted to go to breakfast after church with us to catch up on things. The Senator agreed, and it wasn't long before we were sitting across the table from him at a local restaurant. I don't remember about my brother, but I was pretty much speechless..............I didn't know what to say............I mean, after all this guy was a famous person.

We managed to get a few words out, but mostly we listened to Dad and the Senator reliving the past when they played hockey together. One incident that really got them laughing was a time when Senator McCarthy hit Dad illegally with his hockey stick and apparently got away with it. This made Dad furious, and he skated as fast as he could down the ice and clobbered the Senator. Of course, Dad got a penalty, but Senator McCarthy didn't get out of it without any ill effects. The both of them laughed about that, and it's a story I'll always remember.

Tonight's scripture got me thinking about the above incident because I'm more than amazed at the awesomeness of God.......His Power....His Strength............His Righteousness. But even with all the reverence I feel for my Lord, I still never get the sense that He isn't willing to talk to me..........not as a Creator to one of the lesser beings He's created, but as a friend.........a good friend....who talks to me in language that is so unassuming.

I find it interesting how I'm sometimes speechless when I get to meet a famous person like the Senator above, but when I'm in the Presence of the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last...............though I'm humbled by it, I still am not at a loss for words.

There will be the day, as Paul points out, when the Lord will return in all His Glory to kill the "Wicked One....with the breath from His Mouth". And I'm sure I'll fall on my face when I first behold His awesome Presence..........but I've got a feeling that we won't have any trouble communicating with each other after that............not because I'm someone special...........but because of Him.........His Mercy..........His Grace........His Love.

Love in Jesus,

Jim

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"But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired." (1 Corinthians 12:18 NASB)

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."

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This devotional was originally posted on CCI-Devo - Daily Group Devotionals on January 18, 2004 in post #454. It was written by Jim Ross, a former United Pentecostal Church member, who attends Christian Challenge International, the sponsor of the devotional group. The devotional is the copyright of Jim Ross and is reprinted on this site by permission.

Page added April 14, 2006

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