As we draw closer to the coming of the Lord, I find it sad that despite many being aware that we are in the end times of human history, people make excuses instead of getting their lives right with God. Many are playing spiritual Russian Roulette, a game of putting one bullet in the revolving barrel of a six-shooter, holding it to their heads, and pulling the trigger. “It’s never going to happen,” they say. They gamble their eternal souls on the belief that Christ will not return to put an end to the evil in this world. This madness resides in people's hearts even as they witness sign after sign of His imminent coming. Jesus spoke of it in terms of people being invited to a banquet and spurning the grace of the One who invites them:
16But He said to him, "A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, 'Come; for everything is ready now.' 18"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, 'I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused' (Luke 14:16-18).
It’s time to prepare for the banquet with the Lord and stop making excuses.
In 2000, I was separated from my American-born wife and two children for nearly three months when I left them in England to start work as one of the pastors at a large church in Cincinnati, Ohio (I was born in England). You bet I was counting the days until our reunion! How lonely I felt without the ones I loved. It brought me to tears many times. As the time grew closer for their arrival, I prepared everything for us to be together again. I checked the flight times repeatedly, planned where we would eat on the way from the airport, and cleaned the house meticulously where we would be staying, but most importantly, I prepared myself. What joy I felt when they arrived; we hugged and kissed over and over again. I was so excited to show the three of them around Cincinnati, where we would now live. My girlfriend (my wife of 45 years) and two children were coming home to their own country after about 19 years of serving God in England. You can't grasp my joy in reuniting them with their family and country.
If you are a Christian, this world is not your home. Like me longing for my family, our Lord longs for our reunion. He has spent nearly 2,000 years preparing a place for us so that where He is, we shall also be (John 14:1-3). Joy will fill His heart at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb when He shows us where we will live together. It must be disappointing for Him that some are not even watching for that Day; instead, they make excuses and choose the things of this world.
Many are unaware of the biblical signs of the times that surround us; they are spiritually asleep and not watching for Christ's return. These should be days of preparation. Before celebrating Passover and deliverance from Egypt toward the Promised Land, the Jewish people went through days of preparation (and they still do) as the Passover lamb was brought into the house for four days before it was slaughtered (Exodus 12:3-6). The houses of the Israelites were meticulously cleaned before Passover since it was also the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and every crumb of yeast or leaven had to be swept up and thrown away. Yeast or leaven represents sin. Before we see our Beloved, we are to prepare ourselves to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). We should cleanse our lives of all sin and get ready for the banquet with the Lord. Turn off the TV! Forget about sports! People are dying without knowing the Savior! We must do what we can to reach them with the truth! Prepare yourself for eternity!
Prayer: Father, keep us awake amid a world that wants to medicate and drug us to sleep. We want to be wide awake and sensitive to You so that we may walk in eager anticipation for that great Day when we will see You in all Your glory. Amen! Keith Thomas
For further reading, maybe you’d like to explore: How Do I Become a Christian or maybe what Jesus said about: You Must Be Born Again, or even: How Can I Be Sure of My Faith?
YouTube video teachings at: https://www.youtube.com/@keiththomas7/videos