Get Ready! The Final Day’s Coming!
Sometimes one day in our lives seems to cast a shadow on everything we do. That’s all right for short term things. But for the long term, the only day that should cast a shadow on daily events is the final day the Lord will return. That reality should affect everything in our lives.
The Lord is coming back. And He wants us to be prepared.
In Luke 22:7-13, Jesus gets ready for the last few days of his earthly life. He enters Jerusalem and His disciples say, “Where do you want us to have Passover?” He gives them instructions. Go to a well where a man carries a jar of water. Follow him and ask the master of his house for a room. That’s what they do, and they find everything as He told them.
Now He tells us to prepare for the Day of the Lord. He’s given us detailed instructions.
First, get your spirit ready for the final day.
Revelation 2:16, “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
Examine our lives to see if repentance is required. If so, we need to turn around and go the other direction, whether a relationship, habit, or whole lifestyle. When we’re going the wrong way, we need to repent.
Second, arm yourself with salvation.
1 Thessalonians 5:8, “Since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” No one’s ready for the Day of the Lord until he or she has asked Jesus Christ to come be Savior and Lord. We can’t have a relationship with God and entrance to heaven without Him.
Third, be at peace with God.
As the final Day comes closer and closer, we need the peace of Jesus. That comes when we yield ourselves daily to Him as our Lord and Master. Mark 13:11, “Don’t be anxious about those days of waiting.” Revelation 1:17, “Don’t be afraid at the coming of the Lord.” Luke 1:29, “Don’t be terrified at what’s happening while you wait.”
Fourth, get ready by prayer.
Pray for Jesus to come quickly. Pray for strength to face all that will come on this earth. Luke 21:36, “Pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” We need perseverance to make it through the waiting.
Fifth, get your mind ready.
Learn to recognize the signs of the times. Matthew 24:33, “When you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.” Be alert to what’s going on in our world. Don’t be isolated from what’s happening in the world.
Our minds should not be shaken by lies or deceit. 2 Thessalonians 2, “We ask you not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the final day of the Lord has already come.” Be sure of what the Bible says, to know what’s true. Always come right back to Scripture when all sorts of things come at you. Don’t be led astray. Don’t follow after false Christs.
Some people worry about ‘what if Jesus returned and I didn’t know it.’ The Bible says, “You’ll know it!” You won’t have to debate, “Could this be the Christ?” You’ll be on your knees when He comes down.
Keep Love Alive
Keep Love Alive
It’s important to not let our love grow cold. Love is an act of the mind. How do you keep your love alive for Christ, each other, His gospel, His church, and serving Him? By deciding in your mind. Continually choose to love.
Then, Luke 21:34 warns us, “Be careful, on guard, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.” So, watch squandering of money, energy, or resources, as well as getting drunk and being full of worry. Or you won’t be ready for that Day.
Sixth, get our bodies ready.
Straighten up and pay attention. Luke 21:28, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
He wants us to also use what gifts He’s given us. Matthew 25:15, “To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability.” While we wait, our bodies should be busy with ministry where He leads. Do the work He’s given you to do.
And don’t be spiritually asleep. 1 Thessalonians 5:6, “Let us not be like those who are asleep, but let us be alert, sober, and self-controlled.”
I think falling into spiritual slumber is easier than falling into physical sleep. We may have worked so hard on spiritual disciplines at one time. Perhaps it was study and prayer, Bible memory and faithful attendance, anything that produced growth in Christ. All those things can start to fade away and we drift. And we’re not ready for Christ’s return. We need to hang in there.
And, finally, don’t neglect gathering with other believers.
Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Strengthen one another. Help others to be faithful. Invite friends and family to know Christ.
In Luke 14:15ff we learn about the parable of the slighted invitation. A man prepared a great banquet and invitations were sent. One by one, the potential guests offer excuses. So, the host tells his servants and messengers to go out to the byways and bring outcasts and those normally not included to such feasts. He kept sending them out to compel folks to come until his tables were filled.
We should do the same. Invite those around you to your home. Compel them to come to Christ. Each one reach one until the Gospel goes to the whole world, all nations, every creature on earth, to prepare them for Christ’s return.
Meanwhile, we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison. And for those who become believers, we disciple them. That’s how we get this world ready.
Get Ready
Jesus is coming back. He’s returning on a marvelous, awesome day and we live right now under the shadow. We need to get ready. We live in the shadow of that coming Day. Christians are people of the Book, waiting for The Day of the Lord.
Stephen Bly
Copyright©1985
Grand Finale Fireworks Image by Sindi Short from Pixabay
Hands & Heart Image by Oliver Peters from Pixabay
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