Getting Ready Part 2

Getting Ready Part 2

We have our orders!

Matthew 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh.

1 Corinthians 16:13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.

1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.

1 Peter 1:13-17 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.

I was thinking about this and talking to the Lord and wanted to share about something that came up.

I was thinking, if you were in the army and your commander gave you an order to go watch for the enemy, what would you do? For starters, you’d want to learn as much about your enemy as you could so you’d be able to recognize him. You’d want to learn about his tactics and what kind of schemes he’d used in the past. You’d also want to learn about your commanders tactics that He used to overcome the enemy before. The more you knew about your enemy and about your commanders way of overcoming him, the better you’d be able to recognize the enemy when you’re watching and the better you’d be able to warn others of his latest scheme.

Well, that’s exactly what our orders are! We have been commanded to watch, wait and pray. Does that mean we scour the bible for anything related to end times? Some people think so.

I think we should scour the bible for everything in it though, as every single sentence in the Bible will help us be better prepared for our duty. How can we "set our hope fully on the Grace to be given us when Christ is revealed" if we don't know what that Grace is??? That Grace is the ultimate stage of our salvation! We need to prepare for that now! How can we warn others about the coming apostasy if we don’t know the True Gospel??? We can’t! How can we tell for sure if something is from the enemy unless we know our commander so well that no one could fool us into believing they were Him? I’m not saying that we shouldn’t study things related to the end times, but rather that we should seriously study ALL of God’s Word as every single word of it is relevant to our times.

We are the Lord’s watchmen! Let us do our jobs well and be in His Word regularly, praying and asking for understanding, knowledge and wisdom; asking for discernment, and that His Word be written indelibly on our hearts. In order to do a good job, watchmen must be informed. They must know what to watch for! They must know why they are watching. Let us be the best watchmen that we can be so we can warn others of what has already occurred and what is coming next! More importantly, let us be the best watchmen we can be so that we can truly, determinedly, and without any reserve or doubt, set our hearts on the Grace that our Lord will give to us on that day He is revealed and our salvation is finally complete!

What is coming next on the agenda for us is the rapture and the completion of our salvation, which is when we will be finding out what our lives will hold for us throughout eternity. All that we do here and now to ready ourselves for that eternity counts. This is the ONLY chance we have to prepare for our futures! That's why it is so important that we study and reflect on all of God's Word and stay close to Him in prayer. We have to realize that everything that happens to us right now, the Lord uses to prepare us for our life to come. (and that's going to be a very long life!) When we see the events and circumstances of our lives in this way, it can help us remember to keep our eyes fixed on Him and help us endure the hard times. That is what this passage is telling us:

1 Peter 1:5-6 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

One other thing I've noticed is that all who are born again are given the command to "watch", so I think it's something we should take seriously. Not only are we all given that command, but it is one that is repeated numerous times to us, so we can know it's especially important. Personally I think there are several reasons for that, but one at least is so that we will remain "on our toes" and "keep our noses to the grindstone", not giving up because we know He could appear for us, calling us Home, at any moment!