ARE YOU SLEEPING?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the
owner of the house will come back – whether in the evening,
or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If He
comes suddenly, do not let Him find you sleeping.”
(Mark 13:35-36)

MEDITATION:
Remember on Christmas Eve how you anxiously anticipated a visit
from Santa Claus? Your excitement was so high that it was hard to
go to sleep, but your parents told you that Santa would bypass your
house if you are awake.

The harder you tried to go to sleep, the less you became sleepy, but
somehow you always eventually fell asleep. Then, in the morning as
soon as you were awake, you ran to see what Santa had left for you.

The scriptures tell us that we should have that same anticipation for
the return of Jesus Christ. However, we are told that we should not
be found sleeping. I believe these instructions tell us that we should
not be lazy about serving the Lord. We should be active in obeying
Him and we should consider the possibility of His return each day.
We are to be living our lives as if He could return today.

Dwight L. Moody used to say,
    “I never preach a sermon without thinking that
      possibly the Lord may come before I preach another.”

Dr. G. Campbell Morgan said
    “I never begin my work in the morning without thinking that
      perhaps He may interrupt my work and begin His own. I am
      not looking for death. I am looking for Him.”

If we looked for His return with great anticipation, imagine how different
our lives would be. We would be more dedicated to obeying the Lord and
pursuing His goals for our lives. We would be guarding our thoughts and
language, and we would be more concerned about how He sees us, than we
are about how we can impress those around us. Spending worship time with
other believers would be a high priority for us.

Imagine how great it would be to be praising and worshipping God with
other believers the day when Jesus returns! Those who love Him and look
forward to His return will have a natural desire to obey His command to
worship with other believers and encourage each other ‘…all the more as
we see the Day approaching’.

Satan doesn’t like our obedience to God and will fill our minds with many
other thoughts that deter us from following the instructions He has given
us in His Word.
For instance, Satan can give us thoughts like,
    “The end of the world hasn’t happened yet, so
      why should I burden myself thinking about it?
      I still have time remaining to start obeying His
      commands and I plan to start as soon as
      ‘______’ (fill in the blank).”

ACTION:
Do you have a ‘blank’ in your life that is preventing you from being
obedient? If you do, you (and God) know the contents of your ‘blank’.
Through the things we have seen in nature (fires, tsunamis, tornadoes,
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, etc.) God continues to
give us reminders that the return of Jesus is near.

In Matthew, Jesus tells us what we can expect as His return gets closer.
    “As it was in the days of Noah, so it
      will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”
      (Matthew 24:37)

In the days of Noah, there was
    – apostasy
      (people were believing ungodly philosophies).
    – anarchy
      (violence filled the earth).
    – wicked ideas
      (there were philosophers and politicians
       who were trying to remake society).

Today, there are scores of philosophers, false teachers, and politicians
who are devising schemes and carrying out plans to remold society to
fit their system of beliefs and values. Their goals include redefining,
or removing altogether, the laws and guidelines established by our
Creator.

As unbelievable as it sounds, some are implying that the Bible is wrong
and that God made a mistake when creating mankind. We have seen an
uprising of the idea that God created men who should have been women,
and men who should have been women. Some believe that marriage
defined by God is also wrong and are pushing for mankind’s laws
to overrule what God has ordained.

Whenever we know we are not obeying God’s commands, it creates
in us lessening of our desire and anticipation of His return. When we
have less anticipation of His return, we will have less of a desire to
spend time with other believers.

Why? Because we don’t have as much in common with them. They are
looking forward to His return, but our desire is to have more time for
changing our routines and giving Him ‘full control’ of our lives…time
for us to replace the ‘blank’ that is currently in control (either full or
partial control).

However, the ‘sands of time’ are running out, and we all need to
decide ‘today’ to acknowledge God as our ‘Maker’ and give Him
full control of our lives.
    Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel
    before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God
    and we are the people of His pasture, the flock
    under His care. Today, if only you would hear
    His voice, “Do not harden your hearts….”
    (Psalm 95:6-8a)

    Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we
    will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry
    on business and make money.” Why, you do not even
    know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life?
    You are a mist that appears for a little while and then
    vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s
    will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast
    in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If
    anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and
    doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
    (James 4:13-17)

Pray,
“Heavenly Father if I am not anticipating Your return as
I should be, then cleanse me of everything that prevents
me from looking forward to that Day. You know the things
that are causing me to go my own way instead of following
Your plans and instructions for my life. Help me to set aside
my selfishness and yield entirely to Your commands, so I can
obey You as I should. Father, You see how the number of those
praising and worshipping You is shrinking, and how there are
many who are allowing attractions of the world to replace their
time spent with You and connecting with other believers. I pray
that You will help me to overcome whatever stands between You
and me, so that I can be more obedient to You and look forward
to the return of Your Son, Jesus.”

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