Outstanding Ba;ance

 

When I first began mission work, I needed a credit card to book flights, hotels, and rental cars.  I know, I know, credit cards are dangerous for your budget.  But I made a commitment to pay off the balance each month.  I have had an American Express card since 1992 and have never paid a penny in interest.  But I have taken several trips overseas using its frequent flyer miles.  Back in those early days, I paid my bill by mail.  In 1995, I sent the bill off as usual.  The next month, I noticed that I was credited with the payment from American Express, but the check hadn’t gone through my bank.  So, I subtracted that amount from my bank balance knowing that it would eventually go through.  But on the next bank statement, the American Express check still had not been deposited by American Express.  So, I called American Express.  The lady answering the phone thanked me for my honesty but assured me that the check would go through.  Each month I looked at my bank statement, and the American Express amount was still outstanding.  I was tempted to spend the money, but I am glad that I didn’t, because a year later, the check suddenly was presented at my bank.  For a year, each month I looked for that check to go through.  Hey, Jesus said that He would come back to claim His bride, the church.  It has been 2,000 years since that promise was made, but He still hasn’t come.  But that doesn’t mean that Jesus won’t come.  And just like I had to keep my balance ready for the American Express check, we must be ready for the Lord’s return.  Paul said in I Thessalonians 4:16&17, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”