“So you, too must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.” Matthew 24:42 NLT
I have been so distracted. And it doesn’t take much for me. Between spending endless hours on social media (*que me cackling at reels*), engrossed with the news/current events and just mindless streaming; I waste a lot of time. Sure, there is a time and a place for enjoying these things but when they keep me from the things that God is calling me to, therein lies the problem.
Far too often, I allow worldly norms to outweigh God’s standard for my life. The world might say, “sis it’s okay, you worked all day so you deserve to sit for three hours scrolling on the socials”. And although, my flesh tends to agree with the world (help me Lord), my Spirit aches for the truth.
The truth is, we are to keep watch. Stand at the ready for Jesus’s return. Jesus’s instructions to the disciples are iterated in Matthew, Mark and Luke: that no one knows the hour or day when He will return. Therefore we ought to stay ready so that we don’t have to get ready.. Amen somebody
You must also be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. Matt. 24:44
The NLT version of Luke 21, verses 34-36, uses phrases like: “Don’t let the day catch you unaware like a trap.” and “Keep alert at all times.”
I don’t write this to invoke fear or even a legalistic ideology of the dos and don’ts of journeying with Jesus. No, instead I am inclined to remind us that as children of God we are called to a higher standard. Therefore, let us be sensitive to the distractions that are purposed to arrest our focus and shift our attention away from the things of God.
Jesus, knowing His impending fate gave warning to the disciples that when He returns, it will be like a normal day. Similar to how normal our days are right now. Business as usual; celebrations and traveling; wining and dining; nothing out of the norm. And even so the scripture warns us to be ready.
What does being ready for believers look like?
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Not being misled by speculative claims of what Christ’s return will look like and when.
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Not being afraid to tell people about Christ.
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Stand firm in the faith regardless of persecution.
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Being vigilant and obedient to how God has called us to live, as found in His word.