NEW POST on "Jerusalem Watch" Blog: www.apfjw.blogspot.com
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"But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief." (1 Thessalonians 4:4)
There is enough history of God's faithfulness to His Words which should be a warning to all humanity that, "this Day," is coming as sure as anything will come------ and it will come, "as a thief in the night." As the foolish maidens whose oil supply was shortsighted, so will be those who, "this Day should overtake...." The good news to you and me in our text today, however, is that you and I need not be afraid, because we are, "not in darkness....[We] are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others, but let us watch and be sober." This sobriety will ensure our deliverance in, "That Day."
There are distractions all around us today which are designed to keep us from vigilance and sobriety. The answer is not to cloister ourselves in some religious "retreat." In Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are commissioned and empowered to walk the streets of the town or city in which we go about our daily lives, but warned to, "watch and be sober." Central to this is obedience to the "God-Breathed" Word, which of course we cannot do if we do not know the Scriptures. Also, watchful prayer is integral to, "watch and be sober," as is regular fellowship with other Followers of Jesus Christ and serving others, "means of grace," which are far too underrated in today's Christian Community.
The days and hours are ticking by towards the close of our sojourn in this life and towards the close of, "this present age." Do not let, "this Day... overtake you as a thief....For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together ("in union") with Him."
Father, in Jesus' Name, in the Holy Spirit keep me ever mindful of the walk of sobriety and vigilance. Amen.
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When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
