It all began when my elementary teacher told me, “If you’re going to get caught doing something, let it be something good.” This became my mantra; I only wanted to be caught doing something helpful, beneficial, productive. When the parents of those I was babysitting came home, they found me cleaning, not watching TV. If my boss came into my office unannounced, he would find me on the phone with a customer, not scrolling social media. In all areas of my life, I want to be caught doing something good.
In Matthew 24 Jesus tells the disciples that there would be a day when the people of God would be reunited with God, but to be aware because Jesus “is coming at an hour you do not expect” (v.44). Much like parents who tell the babysitter their helpful hints for caring for their children while they are away, Jesus gives us a few things to watch for so that we are ready for His return.
He tells us to look for those who will deceive us, coming in His name. He warns us to watch for wars and rumors of wars as nation rises against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes, persecution of the saints, betrayal, and lawlessness, and the love of many will grow cold—all while the good news of the kingdom is going out to all nations. In Genesis we find God grieved by the widespread evil and wickedness of humanity. But just as God found a faithful man in Noah, I pray He finds a faithful servant in me.
As I look around our world today, I feel the pain Jesus mentions in Matthew 24:8. Every generation could say they too have felt these groans. But let’s not be quick to move on. These warnings are worthy of our notice because of the position it puts our hearts in, postures of preparation and expectation for His presence. We want to be found doing His work and His will upon His return, ready and unified (Romans 13:12–14).
Thank you, Jesus, for Your Word, and Your promise that You will return for the living and the dead. May You return to find Your servants doing good work in the field with a plow in hand planting good seeds. Let us not only be hearers but doers of Your Word as we wait for Your coming. Eyes up, feet on the earth. Come, Lord Jesus, come.
That has always been my thought too, TRACI GENDRON… I am always so saddened by the fact that God regretted making mankind. But He also gave us Jesus to save us, sweet She’s, and He is coming again. Let us be ready and tell those that are lost, as well.
“Come, Jesus, Come”… I love that song.
We don’t know when it will be, and my husband always says it’s not “bad enough” yet. I don’t know that I agree with that statement. But I’ve mentioned before that I am more of a glass-half-full person, and he is not. We can look at the same circumstances very differently.
A pastor I know often says, in reference to His second coming, “Perhaps today.”
Amen! ❤️
When I was growing up I often heard the phrase “ what if Jesus came back and found you in the movie theatre, the dance, the bar etc etc.”. This was meant as a deterrent to go to these places but all it did was install a fear in me off His coming. This developed into an anxiety around current events and an avoidance of the topic completely. As I grew as a Christian I have felt such guilt over feeling this way, not looking forward to Jesus return. In fact I was tempted to overlook this devotional today. The enemy has held this over my head my whole life, even though I know longer fear being found in these places. Those fearful thoughts go deep. I have been praying for God to give me a new picture of Jesus return, to give me a heart that eagerly anticipates His return. He is doing a new thing in me, praise God.
I believe this is where a lot of my anxiety comes from.
I read this is another devotional I’ve been working through:
MY GREAT UNEARTHING IS THE DEVIL’S UNDOING
God uproots the weeds so He can
plant new seeds
GOD IS DOING A NEW THING IN ME!
I WILL SEE HIS GOODNESS IN
the land of the living
(From Fully Alive by Susie Larson)
I fully inderstand this. I was told similar things, such as “Would you watch this if Jesus were sitting next to you” or would you be here if Jesus were here. And while it did protect me from situation, and did give me a way to discern between godly and worldly things, it also robbed me of joy and filled me with guilt and so much fear and anxiety for accidental mistakes or not being good enough. And thank God, he found me there. And while I know I am not good enough, there is now so much joy amd freedom in that. I am weak and He is strong. And I am allowed to enjoy things and take Him with me there. God rejoices in our joy and that is also beautiful ❤️
Something I try to tell myself “there is no good in me.” The ONLY good in me is because of my Jesus! JESUS gets ALL the glory. And then I mess up. And I start to feel like I’m not being a “good example” and here I am reminded how dearly loved I am by OUR JESUS and though we should always strive to grow and set a good example I am reminded I am flawed. I am a sinner saved by GRACE! Thank you Jesus!
❤
“For I regret that I made them.” What a sad sad statement. But yet I understand why God would feel this way. We make a muck of everything. Let us “put on the armor of light”! Put our focus on our Lord. Walk in decency. Eyes up on only Him. I want to be Your faithful servant.
We try to stay up on current events around the World at our house. My husband and I talk about what is happening in the World a lot and we follow it as closely as we can. Some of that comes from being former missionaries and having friends who live overseas. As I was reading these scriptures this morning, I kept recognizing glimpses of current events. The end of times may be way down the road, but make no mistake, it is coming. Every generation sees glimpses of these things, but is it getting worse? Perhaps? The verse that really comforted me from this reading today was verse 14: “This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” God will hold off the end of times until all the world has heard the Gospel! How kind, how caring, how redemptive! I am certain that the state of the World, no matter what century we are talking about, grieved God. But He is waiting until ALL have heard the Gospel. I am so grateful to know a God who cares so much for His people!
Excellent devotional today. Hit me right where I needed to be reminded! ❤️
Thank you @Maria Baer for your comment. I feel like for myself and many others when we read Scriptures like this, it can be easy to get caught in the anxiety of “am I good enough? Am I doing enough? Will I be ready when Jesus returns? Will He accept me?” but the answer is simple. As long as we believe in Jesus’s salvation then the answer to all the above questions is YES. He loved us enough to die for us before we were even born. He WILL accept us at the end of times simply for our acceptance of His salvation. Thank you Jesus for the gift we did not and do not deserve. <3