Spiritual Preparedness

I read this the other day in my quiet time and it was so good I had to share it.  It is actually from October 31st so I am late in posting it...you will have to excuse me it has been a crazy week to say the least and I am not really even sure why other than this is the first night we have been home in over a week.

Please read this...it applies to everyone.  Yes, even you (and me).

The scripture was about everyone being prepared for Jesus' return.  Before Jesus was crucified, He sat with his disciples (believers) and explained to them what His return would be like and heeded them some warnings in order to be prepared.

In Mark 13, He gives the specific days of distress that will happen before His return (people claiming to be God, wars, earthquakes, handed over to the local councils, gospel preached to all nations, arrested for Jesus' sake, family betray one another etc.).

Then, it reads....
"But in THOSE days, following that distress, "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.  At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.  And he will send His angels (with a loud trumpet call) and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.  When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."  Mark 13, Matthew 24 and Luke 21


Then He tells us how to be prepared for His coming....

"Be careful, 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.  For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth."  Luke 21:34-35


This applies to each one of us right now...in the midst of your daily lives.  Iva May explains more in detail what He means. And before you think NONE of them apply to you, think again!

Dissipation-the indulgence of extravagant and temperate (no self control) pleasures or the delving into immoral pleasure.  Dissipation includes the excessive enjoyment of: food, sexual pleasure, sporting activities, surfing the internet, shopping, hobbies, etc. (none of which are bad in and of themselves) and exploration of immoral behavior (pornography, illicit sex, drugs, etc). 

Drunkenness- the use of anything (drugs, alcohol, etc.) to stimulate enjoyment or to numb pain.  Under the influence of anything that blurs spiritual vision. 

Anxieties of life-This includes anything that you should pray about but don't (child rearing, finances, aging, job, politics, elections, etc.) so you live in a state of worry and anxiety.

"A weighed down heart needs to lose weight.  Just as exercise and self-restraint shed unneeded pounds so they prepare us to live life on high alert or in a state of readiness. Self denial is not popular in America where is always something new to be had.  The lust for things handicaps ones ability to develop watchfulness and prepare for the coming kingdom of heaven." Iva May

Oswald Chambers states, "You must discipline yourself now, if you do not you will ruin your life for God.   People go spiritually wrong because they stubbornly refuse to discipline themselves physically, mentally or in any other way, and after a while they become that most contemptible and objectionable thing, a petted man or woman, and their own greatest cause of suffering."  

We are all guilty of overdoing something, overeating, worrying, not praying enough, and too much of a good thing.  Let's all be ready for His return.  Shed some spiritual pounds so we that we can see clearly!

Jesus himself tells us in Mark 13:33, "Be on guard!  Be alert!  You do not know when that time will come!"

Are YOU ready?  

Don't wait until we see Him in the clouds to get your spiritual affairs in order, it will be TOO LATE!!!