"Get Ready!"

Jesus said, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24: 36-44 NIV).

In a couple of weeks I will begin a class at my church dealing with “End Times.” I’ve done similar studies before and much of the material has not changed. However, each time that I teach the series I like to spend some time dealing with current events and how they point toward the funneling of time to that moment when God will send Jesus back to gather us home. Certainly the events we are seeing in our world today call clearly for us to examine them and to remind ourselves of the importance of being ready.

Not long ago I read an email from Ron Clarke who wrote about a legend that sounds as if it may have come or been adapted from C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters. As the legend goes, the devil held a graduation ceremony at his evil spiritual academy. During the day he questioned three of his evil spirits. To the first he said, "When you get out into the world, what are you going to say to the people?" "Oh," the evil spirit replied, "I shall tell them that there is no God." "That's no use," said the devil, "Creation tells people that there is a God. Not many will believe you." Then he said to the second evil spirit, "And what are you going to tell people?" "I shall say that there is not going to be a judgment" was the reply. "That's not much use," answered the devil, "Conscience tells them about judgment. Not many will believe you." Turning to the third evil spirit, he asked, "What about you?" "I shall tell people that there is a God and a judgment to come," answered the third evil spirit, "But I shall add that there is no hurry." "Excellent!" said the devil. "Many will believe that!"

Some might simply mark this as a silly story; however, I have found that it altogether too close to the truth! There are too many folks who are looking for this sign or that and miss the point. Jesus calls us to be ready at ANY time. Of course, all prophecy will be fulfilled. However, I think some of us who like to talk about what the prophecies will look like as they are fulfilled are going to be quite surprised! So, get ready! That means you indeed are a born again believer in Christ. If you have any doubt about that, please email me so that I can send you some simple steps to take.