Be Ready

 Luke 12:40

You too, be continually ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

 

Be ready! The word of Jesus to His disciples. Two questions; ready for what, and how to be ready? The owner of the home was unprepared when a thief came into his house in the night. The owner most likely was asleep or preoccupied with the cares of life. Maybe he failed to lock his doors, or set his alarm. Most likely if he would have known that an intruder was going to break into his home that night, he would have made sure that his house was secure and possibly armed himself for protection. Jesus said, like this unsuspected thief, His return to the earth will be without knowing the time and day He would return. But, He made it clear that He would return and told them to be ready. What does it mean to be ready? Jesus says, those that are ready will have their lamps filled with oil. The oil represents the Holy Spirit. As we are occupied with the work that God has called us to do, we are to be diligent and live our lives as if He would return today.  Like the foolish virgins without the oil, there may not be time to get ready. Let’s keep our lamps filled and trimmed, to be continually ready for His return!

Labor Not In Vain

1 Corinth 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

When things get tough and the everything in life seems to be against you, hold on! Don’t quit doing what is right. It may seem that our work is in vain. Time in prayer and trying to build the Kingdom with little results can be discouraging and dishearten. We are tempted to just give up and close the church doors. Our labor to build the kingdom seems to be all in vain. Like Paul, we live in a society that is corrupted and immoral. Sin abounds at every street corner, people are not willing to give up their sin to live for God. People would rather spend the day of worship with recreation or personal pleasure. There seems to be no time for God. This is not the time to run and give way to the devil. Let us be steadfast, unmovable in our convictions that Christ is the answer for the ills of this world. Our work for the Lord is not finished. Let us occupy till He comes.

Waiting on God

James 5:8 “Be ye also patient; make firm your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”--

 Probably one of the most difficult virtues to obtain. Waiting, doing nothing, when you have so much to do and places to be is not something that come natural for most of us. The idea of having patience (waiting for an event to take place or for something to be completed) is address in God’s Word because it is so much of what happens in our lives day to day. I often have to take a deep breathe and remind myself that God has everything under His control and on His time clock. Many still wonder when the Lord will return, but all we need to worry about is to be ready when He comes. Occupy ourselves doing the work of the Lord, waiting patiently for His coming.