"DON'T BE CAUGHT" ...July 6th devotion

Thank you for joining me for this week's devotion. It is my prayer that your heart will be challenged and changed from Gods Word!

Jesus said, "Therefore be alert, since you don't know what day your Lord is coming." But what are we to look for? and what are we supposed to do until we see what we are looking for? Should we be looking for parting clouds?Or the arrival of someone in biblical dress?

Scripture tells us to look to the second coming of Christ. We should be alert to that because only then will God be able to finish His plan for creation and fully establish His kingdom of love and righteousness.

MATTHEW 24:42-51
"Therefore be alert, since you don't know what day your Lord is coming. (43) But know this: if the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. (44) This is why you also should get ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (45) Who then is a faithful and sensible slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time? (46)Blessed is that slave whom his master, when he comes, will find working. (47)I assure you: He will put him in charge of all his possessions. (48)But if that wicked slave says in his heart, 'My master is delayed' (49) and starts to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, (50)that slave's master will come on a day he does not expect and at a time he does not know. (51)He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hyprocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

WHAT IS SO HARD ABOUT WATCHING AND WAITING?

In last week's YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I polled the readers the following question, "What are you most likely to do when something takes you by surprise?" The poll results showed the top 3 as being...

71% of those polled said they would make adjustments.
14% voted and said they would panic!
14% also voted and said the surprise would cause them to remain calm.

No doubt, in our day to day routine, we come up on surprises in our lives. How we react is more important than the actual surprise. In some cases, we can prepare ourselves ahead of time before the surprise happens. Have you ever been the recipient of a "surprise" birthday party but you caught wind of it before hand? What did you do? Did you act surprised anyway?

KEEPING OUR EYES OPEN TO CHRIST

Christians should not be SURPRISED at the physical return of Christ, for His Word tells us in the book of Revelation that this is going to happen. Being alert to Christ, however, is more than looking for the second coming. It must include being able to see Christ in the suffering of those around us.

In Matthew 25:31-46, Christ warns us that when we neglect to do something for a person in need, it is the same as neglecting to do it for Him. In fact, He said that those who neglect seeing Him in the needy around them are liable to eternal punishment. Now that calls for ALERTNESS!
A significant part of the parable I quoted above is where Jesus tells us in the book of Matthew that the slave who is put in charge, is put in charge to care for the other slaves. Instead he abused them. Once he determined that the master was not coming back for awhile, he started to beat his fellow slaves (vs. 49) His concern towards his fellow slaves seemed to only be intact when the master was present and when he was under the masters watchful eye.

If we are to be servant leaders, we need to be the one who cares for those around us, regardless of whether or not someone else is watching. Our ultimate goal in caring for others cannot be "Christ might return" but rather "Christ calls us to love others as if we are caring for Him."

DO YOU SNEAK THINGS WHEN NOBODY IS LOOKING?

* would you sneak some extra dessert?

* would you drink milk straight out of the jug?

* would you speed past the limit on the highway?

* have you taken office supplies for personal use?

* when nobody is looking, do you pick your nose?

* behind someones back, do you make fun of them?

If you have blurry vision or a difficulty seeing with your physical eye - most likely you will go to the doctor for an eye check up.

WHAT ABOUT WHEN WE DON'T SEE WELL FROM A SPIRITUAL PERSPECTIVE?

Is there an "eye test" for it? There really isn't a standardized test for that, but, we do need to monitor how watchful we are being.

Would you pass the vision test when it comes to caring for others like you would care for Christ?

Does your behaviour reflect your belief that God is always watching and supervising?

DON'T BE CAUGHT SURPRISED BY CHRIST'S RETURN!

PLEASE VOTE IN THIS WEEKS POLL AND CHECK OUT THE NEW BIBLE QUIZ ON THE SIDE BAR.