“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”
“This is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”
We see here that there is a delay for good reason. It's God's desire to seek and save the lost.
Matthew 24:42-44 NASB "“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you must be ready as well; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will."
Living ready means being sure we are living with that thought in mind. Living a life that is indeed in obedience to our calling and purpose.
Matthew 25:1-13 NASB "“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take extra oil with them; but the prudent ones took oil in flasks with their lamps. Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there finally was a shout: ‘Behold, the groom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. But the foolish virgins said to the prudent ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ However, the prudent ones answered, ‘No, there most certainly would not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the groom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Yet later, the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ Be on the alert then, because you do not know the day nor the hour."
Prudent...Notice how many times that word was used? The dictionary defines prudent as: acting with or showing care and thought for the future.
Jesus also, in this part of Matthew's gospel, used the words of being on the alert. Literally to be ready at a moments notice.
We easily can be taken in by the woes and troubles of this world. We can allow ourselves to be swayed by social media opinions. We can be derailed by sins both small and great. We can be consumed by things we find great joy in that have nothing to do with a life ready for Jesus to return. Yes, a tool of Satan is to give believers what they think they want, as long as it keeps them from doing or being what the Spirit wants them to be.
Living ready is a daily thing. It's a fulfillment of setting your mind on things above and not on the things of this world.
Living ready is daily confessing of your sins and seeking to be doing what God wants of you.
Living ready is our not being surprised when that moment comes and Christ calls us to come up to meet Him...be it the Rapture of the Church or our time to leave this world.
Living ready is not to squander our time, energy and effort living a life that isn't ready to meet Jesus.
Look at some things said of Israel by Jesus. Had they been ready to meet Jesus things might have been different. They weren't ready and, although part of God's plan to usher in the Church and save us Gentiles, we see Jesus implying differently. That a future could have been different. But they refused to understand and believe John the Baptist. They refused to understand and believe Jesus at His Word. They had ears but did not hear, eyes that would not see. As Scripture says about them.
Look at your life. How much of it is really ready for the return of Jesus?
Look at what you spend your time, your energy and your money on. Look at your time with Jesus each day. Is it a few minutes or seconds or do you take REAL time away from your schedule to be with Him?
Look at your desires and see if they align with what God wants.
Look at your level of obedience to God's Word.
Look at your excuses for not obeying. Would they hold up in God's Court? Are your excuses more or less you whining about doing what God wants of you? The more you whine the more you honestly hope God will leave you alone and go find someone else to do your job? God is a God of truth. Be truthful with you.
Living ready is always in the moment. It's always being done, not on a to do list.
Living ready is to live in such a way that the unbelieving see your ways and glorify your Father who is in Heaven. Do people see you or do they see Jesus in you?
Yes, most of us have jobs to do to provide for ourselves and our families. Colossians 3:23-24 NASB says: "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve."
Living Ready...does this reflect well in your life? Now is the time to effect change. Now is the time you can do something about it. By not being ready you can be compared to the servant who took what His Master entrusted to him and bury it in the ground until He returns. He was heavily rebuked for this.
We are told in Romans 12 of pursuing what we are to be doing in the body of Christ. Was told long ago by several wise preacher's. If God's taking the time to repeat Himself in His Word...LISTEN...use your Spiritual eyes. This thing written of Israel...having ears that don't hear...eyes that don't see...is this speaking of you as well?
Live ready for you do not know the hour in which the Son of Man will return...be...on...the...alert!
No comments:
Post a Comment