When Christ Comes: The Beginning of the Very Best

When Christ Comes: The Beginning of the Very Best

by Max Lucado
When Christ Comes: The Beginning of the Very Best

When Christ Comes: The Beginning of the Very Best

by Max Lucado

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Overview

Life with no end? Space with no bounds? And what about Armageddon, The Lake of Fire, The Mark of the Beast?

Are we supposed to feel good about all this?

When we wonder about these things, we aren't alone. There is much about the end of history we don't understand. But while thoughts on the final day will stir our questions, they needn't stir our fears. Regarding that day, Jesus urged, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me" (John 14:1).

Max Lucado believes the day Christ comes will be the "beginning of the very best." And our primary task is to be prepared and peaceful while we wait.

If we have some questions about the end of time ...

If we have concerns about what will happen to us ...

If we want to look to the end of times as a source of comfort and not chaos ...

Then this is the book we need. New York Times best-selling author Max Lucado walks us through Scripture to find peace in the present and hope for the hereafter.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780849964435
Publisher: Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
Publication date: 01/07/2014
Pages: 240
Sales rank: 393,847
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.38(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

About The Author
Since entering the ministry in 1978, Max Lucado has served churches in Miami, Florida; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and San Antonio, Texas. He currently serves as the teaching minister of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. He is the recipient of the 2021 ECPA Pinnacle Award for his outstanding contribution to the publishing industry and society at large. He is America's bestselling inspirational author with more than 145 million products in print.

Visit his website at MaxLucado.com

Facebook.com/MaxLucado

Instagram.com/MaxLucado

Twitter.com/MaxLucado

Youtube.com/MaxLucadoOfficial

The Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast

Read an Excerpt

Satan, who tricked them [God's people], was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur with the beast and the false prophet. There they will be punished day and night forever and ever. —Revelation 20:10



My theater career peaked when I was nine years old. I was a proud member of the Odessa Boys Choir, a collection of thirty West Texas pre-puberty kids whose primary task was to sing at ladies' lunch-eons and Lion's Club meetings. We always wore green blazers and black slacks and marched onto the risers singing, "Hey, Look Me Over." Lawrence Welk would have been proud. Our big break came during my second year in the choir. The local junior college drama department needed some youngsters to be the Munchkins in their production of The Wizard of Oz. Would we be interested? Interested was not the word. We were thrilled. So long Women's Wednesday Auxiliary. Hell-o-o-o-o-o, Broadway!

But our little Munchkin feet never touched the stage until the dress rehearsal. We rehearsed in a different time and place. We in the choir learned our part independently of the junior college cast. We never saw Dorothy. We never heard about the Scarecrow, and we certainly knew nothing about the Wizard. This was significant because I was unacquainted with the plot. You assumed that everyone knew the Yellow Brick Road story? Not me. As I was growing up, The Wizard of Oz was on television once a year, always on a Sunday night. The rest of my friends, the rest of the school-yea verily, the rest of the free world got to stay home and watch The Wizard of Oz. But did I? No, siree. Not me. No way. We had church on Sunday nights and I had to go listen to some dumb preacher....(Oops, sorry. Guess I tapped into some repressed childhood anger.)

Suffice it to say, I had heard of The Wizard of Oz but had never seen it. So I didn't know the story. On the day of the dress rehearsal, I was woefully misinformed. Since we'd practiced away from the cast, I thought we (the Odessa Boys Choir) were the cast. Oh, I'd heard the director speak of supporting characters, but I assumed that they were minor and we were major. The city of Odessa, Texas, in other words, was turning out en masse to see we Munchkins. And not just we Munchkins, but especially "me Munchkin."

You see, I'm trying to find a way to say this humbly (it is hard)-I was a special Munchkin. I was a part of the "Lullaby Guild." Some of you connoisseurs of fine movies remember there were two choruses within the larger chorus of Munchkins. There was the "Lollipop Guild" and the "Lullaby Guild." With great talent we, the other three Munchkins and myself, stepped forth at the appropriate time, presented the Kansas farm girl with a gift, and sang, "On behalf of the Lullaby Guild, we wish to welcome you to Munchkin Land."

Prior to dress rehearsal, our practice never went any further. Consequently, I knew of nothing more. I assumed that the play ended with my presentation of the gift. Many nights I fell asleep envisioning Dorothy swooning at my feet and the crowd calling for more of Max the Munchkin. Agents would call, Hollywood would beckon, Broadway would beg. My career would be launched.

Imagine, then, my chagrin when I learned the truth. Finally, we were on the real stage with the real cast. We sang our Lullaby Guild song, but rather than practice curtain calls, the director patted our heads and hurried us out of the way with, "Nice job, little Munchkins." I was stunned. "You mean there is more to the show than me?" There was, and I was about to see it.

Out of a puff of smoke came the cackle of a wicked witch. She ran from stage right to stage left, cape flying and wand waving. I went from hurt to horrified! Talk about stage fright. They didn't have to tell me to act afraid. Who said anything about a witch? ! I didn't know anything about a witch!

I would have, of course, if I had known the story.

By the way, we can make the same mistake in life that I made on stage. If we aren't acquainted with the end of the script, we can grow fearful in the play.

That's why it's wise to ponder the last act.

The presence of Satan is one reason some people fear the return of Christ. Understandably so. Terms such as "Armageddon," "lake of fire," and the "scarlet beast" are enough to unnerve the stoutest heart. And certainly those who do not know God have reason to be anxious. But those dressed in Christ? No. They need only read the manuscript's final reference to the devil. "Satan, who tricked them [God's people], was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur with the beast and the false prophet. There they will be punished day and night forever and ever" (Rev. 20:10).

God hasn't kept the ending a secret. He wants us to see the big picture. He wants us to know that he wins. And he also wants us to know that the evil we witness on the stage of life is not as mighty as we might think…

…Suppose you had been present during that dress rehearsal of The Wizard of Oz. Suppose you'd seen a wide-eyed, red-headed kid hiding from the witch. And suppose you felt sorry for him. What would you have done? How would you have made him feel better?

Simple, you would have told him the rest of the story. "Sure, Max, the witch stirs up some trouble. Yes, Dorothy and the guys have their problems. But in the end, the witch melts like wax and everyone gets home safely."

Isn't that what God has told us about Satan? Read again the words of John: "The Devil who deceived them [God's people] will be hurled into Lake Fire and Brimstone, joining the Beast and False Prophet, the three in torment around the clock for ages without end" (Rev. 20:10 MSG).

God has kept no secrets. He has told us that, while on this yellow brick road, we will experience trouble. Disease will afflict bodies. Divorce will break hearts. Death will make widows and devastation will destroy countries. We should not expect any less. But just because the devil shows up and cackles, we needn't panic. "In [this] world you will have tribulation," Jesus promises, "but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33 NKJV).

Our Master speaks of an accomplished deed. "I have overcome the world." It is finished. The battle is over. Be alert. But don't be alarmed. The witch has no power. The manuscript has been published. The book has been bound. Satan is loosed for a season, but the season is oh-so-brief. The devil knows this. "He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short" (Rev. 12:12 NIV). Just a few more scenes, just a few more turns in the road, and his end will come. And we Munchkins will be there to see it.

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