For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it?

The day of the Lord is talking about when Jesus returns with His army to execute justice on the earth.

God warns about this day coming. Everyone will face judgment, but believers won’t be experiencing God’s wrath. Everyone needs to know there is an end to all this and we will all come down on one side or the other.

God wants everyone to know. He wants everyone to repent. “Return to me with all your heart,” He says.

What does it look like to return to God? He talks about weeping, mourning, fasting, and a broken heart.

God doesn’t turn away a heart broken over its sin. He draws near. He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. He is those things. That’s how God describes Himself. That’s what He wants you to know about Himself. That’s who He is.

He is a God who is just and must do what is right and punish evil but His heart desire is to show mercy where He can. He relents over disaster when He can. That’s His choice.

Do you need a returning to the Lord?

We can have assurance of our salvation, that we’ll be celebrating our marriage feast with the Lamb and not suffering under wrath.

To be one with God, we need to not join ourselves to other things. We need to be free of the love of the world. The warning in 1 John is that if we love the world then the love of the Father is not in us. If God is not the delight of your life, if something else gets you excited and makes your eyes light up instead of Jesus, then you’ve got another love and need a turning back.

If you are justifying and making excuses for a behavior, you have a sin that needs confessing. Turn to the Lord. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Be saved. Experience awesome with the Lord. There are two kinds of awesome. You don’t want the fearsome one.