Are You Awake and Ready or Are You Hiding?
Good Morning Friends,
The great Christian hope is that Jesus will come again. When John was preparing the way for Jesus’ ministry many people were following him to be baptized. He called them “a brood of viper,” for they had not awaken to the reality of their sin and the need for repentance. So too now, as we prepare for Christmas and the hope of Jesus coming again we need to acknowledge our need for Jesus to baptize us with the Holy Spirit and with fire in the hope of the second coming. Every time we take communion we acknowledge this desire. And so we wait watchfully with an urgency to be about God’s work. Each day, not just each time we take communion, we are to recall that He gave us a task, a commission, to seek His Kingdom first….to love one another…to be as one in mind and spirit. Today as we continue our Advent journey, we are challenged to remain at our post attending to God’s priorities acknowledging our sin and seeking forgiveness. Are You Awake and Ready or Are You Hiding?
Scripture: Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Isaiah 58:67 (NRSV)
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. ‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.’
Mark 13:31-37 (NRSV)
and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Romans 5:5 (NRSV)
Message: In today’s scripture from Mark, Jesus brings up the second coming. Here we realize that the message is not about when, but about the importance in our lives of consistently living in the knowledge that God has given mankind a task in this world, a task that is not meant to be done in isolation. What is clear is that we are expected to carry out a mission here on earth until He returns to us or we return to Him. We are to live as if He was coming tomorrow…on guard least we are led away from our post. We are to be ready to meet our maker when we serve the least, the last and the lost. We are to be ready to meet our maker as He comes for all to see in His glory. Christmas is coming my friends, and so is Jesus. And when our attitude is right about the Holy Spirit we are drawn toward Christ. When we have the courage to be authentic, when the Holy Spirit has shattered our defenses and silenced our excuses…then…then we can see the effect of the winds of change. Here we can rejoice in our redemption with the enthusiasm of good cheer and the awareness of God working in our lives… it is then that people begin to recognize us as Christians…. it is then that we have a future of hope. Sometimes we get so focused on the second coming that we forget that Christ Jesus has already come…that He has established His kingdom and He lives in the world He has created. So let us imagine for a moment that Jesus is with us…let’s imagine what it would be like if we lived every moment as though God was all around us. Friends, what if we lived as though nothing could happen that God could not take care of? What if we lived as though heaven was all around us? What if we really lived as though our sins and failures were gone from the mind of God? What if we lived as though the power of the Holy Spirit lived in us? Friends, having been pardoned by faith, we have been paroled to enjoy peace…the fellowship, joy and hope of God’s glorious place of grace can be in our lives. Here we have hope. We are awakening to God in the celebration of the season. We are to experience this wondrous way of awakening faith. And here we are to realize that it is not a competition but a personal awakening of love that brings joy and casts out fear. We are to awaken to trust. When Jesus awakes in us a demonstration of the power of His love and grace we can no longer hide. Awake my friends for you are on watch and Christ is coming.
Pray that we live the Christian life today. Pray we have the courage, concentration and vigilance to stay awake. Pray that we are fruitful in providing for those who hunger. Pray that we live in the spirit of Advent… expectantly… each day with generosity and kindness. Pray that we would be comfortable doing exactly what we are doing if He returned today.
Pray we rejoice in the moments when we trust our lives to Christ and His guarantee. Pray we belong to Christ, yet free and empowered to walk with God as we receive and grow in His gifts. Pray we are freed to experience salvation, freed in the security of God’s provision and freed in the hope that we will grow and serve as we abide with our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Pray we be a connecting point between the earth and the divine creator. Pray that God’s Kingdom will come.
Pray that through acts of faith repeated as an acts of love that we awaken in our heats the memory of Christ. Pray we seek to honor God with an awakened conscience.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 