Gloria Copeland said
(in the devotional book "From Faith to Faith" she co-wrote with her
husband), "The Spirit of God is delivering a vital message to you
today: Get ready for Jesus' return! It's an old message. But there is a fresh urgency to it. An urgency you can't afford to ignore."
The thing is that we
have waited for His coming for so long we have become complacent and tend to
not look for signs that His return is imminent.
If we are not pressing in, trying to draw ever closer to God, seeking
out His heights and depths, or actively looking for Him how can we be ready to
go with Him when He comes (Mt. 24:44)?
I count myself as
one who has not continued to dig deeper EVERY DAY into His Word, in
conversation with Him, and praying continually (1 Thess. 5:17). Oh, to others around me I appear to go hard
after God but His Spirit convicts me that what I am doing is not enough. He is calling me to MORE. We may not know the exact time and day that
Jesus will return for us, but we should be ready (Mt. 24:36, 44-45; 25:13). I am not ready.
When I was in
Mission School my obligation to my program was as follows:
1.
Read the Bible every
day:
a.
Two chapters in the Old
Testament
b.
Five Psalms
c.
One Proverbs
d.
Two chapters in the
New Testament
2.
Spend time every day
writing in a journal what God is showing me in His Word
3.
Work every afternoon
in my assigned job (mine was emptying all garbages around the campus and
dorms)
4.
Do an outreach once
a week in the community (I and two other classmates would hold services in a
local nursing home, taking turns leading worship and preaching)
5.
Be ready, at any
time, to be a witness for the Hope (Jesus) that was within me to those around me
This was in addition
to my morning classes, yet I was enthralled and so focused on Jesus that the
time just flew by. It was like being on
a honeymoon; my relationship with the Lord just soared!
Upon graduation we
each made the commitment to continue doing items one and two daily. I have to admit that over the years, 32 to be
exact, I have relaxed into a nice little routine of reading about one chapter
in the Bible, praying for the prayer requests others have given me, praying for
our president, and praying for any of my personal needs. I also share with other residents and with
staff as God gives me direction. God’s
Spirit has pointed out to me that it is not enough; I have left my “first love”
(Rev. 2:3-5).
I have asked
forgiveness of the Lord for becoming lax in my relationship with Him and repented
[meaning I choose right now, 5/25/2020, to turn away from my nice little
routine and go hard after Him again (Psalm 63)]. Will you pray for me to be faithful?
Are you sensing that
we are living in the Last Days and that His return for His Bride (the Body of
Christ) is imminent? We are His Bride,
you know. We need to be ready. Will you ask the Lord to show you how He
wants you to get closer to Him? Will you
join me in “diving” closer into Him?
That’s right, I did not say “drawing”, I said “diving”. It needs to be an all-or-nothing commitment;
it needs to be sudden; it needs to be now!
“I don’t think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when
all this is going to happen. You know as well as I that the day of the Master’s
coming can’t be posted on our calendars. He won’t call ahead and make an
appointment any more than a burglar would. About the time everybody’s walking
around complacently, congratulating each other—‘We’ve sure got it made! Now we
can take it easy!’—suddenly everything will fall apart. It’s going to come as
suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman.” (1 Thess. 5:2 MSG)
