Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

The Holy Spirit woke me up repeating the ‘Christ’s Return Warning’ is to “live ready”.

Jesus said in Today’s scripture, Matthew 24:42-44 (NIV)…
[42] “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. [43] 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. [44] So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Consider…
A common request made by the person picking someone up to go somewhere is “be ready when I get there”. The reason for that request is the person coming has mapped out the time it takes to reach the final destination and doesn’t want to be late.

So it is with Jesus’ exhortation in today’s scripture. He said in essence, be ready to go when I show up.

There are myriads of people obsessed with being in the last days. They like to reference 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV), which warns…
[1] But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. [2] People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, [3] without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, [4] treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— [5] having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

And they refer to Jesus’ descriptions in Matthew 24:4-14 (NIV)…
[4] Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. [5] For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. [6] You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. [7] Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. [8] All these are the beginning of birth pains. [9] “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. [10] At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, [11] and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. [12] Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, [13] but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. [14] And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Then these doomsdayers like to point out the reality of these prophesies that we’re living in now.

While I agree we’re living in perilous times, I don’t believe we fully understand the reason for the warning.

This made me go to Google for the weather alert levels. According to weather.gov, there are 3 tiers:

• OUTLOOK – Be Aware!
• WATCH – Be Prepared!
• WARNING – Taken Action!

The Bible’s warnings about the end times are a call to action, not just a suggestion to be aware or get ready. The Holy Spirit is emphasizing “Live Ready”!

Indeed, the Lord is saying in light of His imminent return, we need to live ready! I base that understanding on 2 Peter 3:9-12 (ERV), which explains…
[9] The Lord is not being slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be lost. He wants everyone to change their ways and stop sinning. [10] But the day when the Lord comes again will surprise everyone like the coming of a thief. The sky will disappear with a loud noise. Everything in the sky will be destroyed with fire. And the earth and everything in it will be burned up. [11] Everything will be destroyed in this way. So what kind of people should you be? Your lives should be holy and devoted to God. [12] You should be looking forward to the day of God, wanting more than anything else for it to come soon. When it comes, the sky will be destroyed with fire, and everything in the sky will melt with heat.

The Holy Spirit highlighted…
So what kind of people should you be? Your lives should be holy and devoted to God.

Notice the verse didn’t say get ready, it said live. That’s because when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we got ready for eternal life. In the meantime while we’re waiting for Jesus’ return, we need to live for Him as Lord.

That’s why the Paul said in Colossians 1:9-12 (ERV)…
[9] Since the day we heard these things about you, we have continued praying for you. This is what we pray: that God will make you completely sure of what he wants by giving you all the wisdom and spiritual understanding you need; [10] that this will help you live in a way that brings honor to the Lord and pleases him in every way; that your life will produce good works of every kind and that you will grow in your knowledge of God; [11] that God will strengthen you with his own great power so that you will be patient and not give up when troubles come. Then you will be happy [12] and give thanks to the Father. He has made you able to have what he has promised to give all his holy people, who live in the light.

That sounds like a reiteration of…
Your lives should be holy and devoted to God.

Ephesians 4:1-3 (NIV) expounds on that devotion to God…
[1] As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. [2] Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. [3] Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

In light of Jesus’ return, we should focus on living worthy of His calling.

That made me heat the Apostle Paul say in Philippians 3:13-16 (ERV)…
[13] Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. [14] I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine because God has called me through Christ Jesus to life up there in heaven. [15] All of us who have grown to be spiritually mature should think this way too. And if there is any of this that you don’t agree with, God will make it clear to you. [16] But we should continue following the truth we already have.

The Holy Spirit is saying focus on God’s Divine finish line, not what’s going to be left behind.

Ephesians 5:1-2 (ERV) further emphasizes we must live focused on God…
[1] You are God’s dear children, so try to be like him. [2] Live a life of love. Love others just as Christ loved us. He gave himself for us, a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.

You see, in order to be truly ready when Jesus returns, we must be sacrificially loving others like Him.

Indeed, the Holy Spirit succinctly summed up the ‘Christ’s Return Warning’ with live, and love, like Jesus if you want to be ready to go with Him.

Bonus thought: Instead of busily getting ready for Jesus to return in a little while, make living for Him your lifestyle. If you’re living ready, you won’t have to worry about getting ready, because you’ll already be ready for Christ’s Return.

Today’s song is…
I Pray We’ll Be Ready

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)