Matthew 24:36, 42-44, 46 (NCV)

"No one knows when that day or time will be, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.

"So always be ready, because you don't know the day your Lord will come. Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time of night a thief was coming, the owner would watch and not let the thief break in. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time you don't expect him.

When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed."


In this chapter Jesus prophesied about the second coming from the Mount of Olives, where the prophet Zechariah predicted the Messiah would stand when He came to establish His Kingdom. (If you have time read the book of Zechariah. Chapter 9 tells of the coming King...it is an amazing book. Somehow I never read the pages before like I did today.)

So if we read Matthew 24...and know that Jesus is who He says He is. He is telling His followers about a time when He will come again. He describes it like the days of Noah when people just went about their business and no one knew the appointed time of the flood. "They knew nothing about what was happening until the flood came and destroyed them. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. Two men will be in the field. One will be taken, and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding grain with a mill. One will be taken, and the other will be left"(Mathew 24:39-41 NCV).

What kind of people should we be? Peter tells us, "You should live holy lives and serve God, as you wait for and (here is that word again) look forward to the coming of the day of God" (2 Peter 3:11-12 NCV).

But we must remember that hope for a future is not a license for irresponsibility in the present. We must wait...but remembering we are waiting forwardly.

For many of us waiting is not a problem. Or, maybe waiting IS our real problem! We are so good at waiting that we are not waiting forwardly. We forget to look. We become so complacent in our lives...we forget to look. We are to content. We seldom search the skies. We rarely run to the temple...We seldom, if ever, allow the Holy Spirit to interrupt our plans and lead us to worship so that we might SEE JESUS!

So really it is to those of us who are good at waiting and weak in our watching that our Lord was speaking to when He says, "No one knows when that day or time will be, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows...So always be ready, because you don't know the day your Lord will come!

We are to wait forwardly...patiently vigilant...always going about God's work. But not so patient that we lose our vigilance. Nor so vigilant what we lose our patience either.

I have to ask myself, "If Jesus were to return this very moment, would I be prepared? What would He find me doing? If I am not prepare...what steps must I take so I would be prepared? Remember the first thing the Lord asks of me is to, "Lead a holy life."

"Who is the wise and loyal servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time? When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed" (Matthew 24:45-46)NCV.

I don't know about you..but I want to be blessed by my Lord. I want to be the one He takes because He sees me doing His will. Please know it is a daily battle...God tells us to fight will all the power of the Holy Spirit! But to remember to be ready...because He is coming!

Mama Barb