Preparing for the Lord’s Return

Hello blog world! I pray that all is well with you!

 

I would like to begin by asking everyone this question… If God were to come today, would you be READY?

Many of us, before now, have not really given this question much thought. Nevertheless, my prayer is that after reading this post and pondering the questions and details, we will all become more cognizant of the reality of the Lord’s return and how serious it is for us to be prepared.

Let us first take a look at what the Bible says about His return. In Thessalonians 5: 1&2, the word of God says “Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. 2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.” [NLT]

Now why do we think God did not give us a specific time or date for the return? I am going to speculate that we all have had some type of schooling. With that said, please consider a teacher giving a “pop quiz”. Why do we think teachers give “pop quizzes”? Besides, of course, because some of them are quite evil, LOL. But in all seriousness, if the teacher were to tell her students all the time when they would be quizzed or tested, MOST if not all of the students, would ONLY study or prepare for the quiz/exam when the time was approaching. See, the teacher gives a “pop quiz” to avoid this type of behavior; she does this so that her students are ALWAYS preparing for a quiz. The very same way, God will “pop up” on us so that we are CONSTANTLY preparing for His return. If God were to tell us specifically when the return would take place, just like the students, MOST if not all of us, would slack off, live how we pleased, until the time drew closer and then begin to “take Him seriously”—this is simply living without fearing God.

Ok, now that we have looked at why I think we were not given a specific date, let us turn our focus on how we can then prepare for His return. These are four things the Holy Spirit has placed on my heart while compiling this post:

1.      Read God’s word DAILY

The word of God is commonly referred to as the “daily bread.” Subsequently, we must feed ourselves His word each day so that we are spiritually nourished.

2.      Apply what is read DAILY

Reading the word of God is easy (in a sense, because anyone can do it) but it does not stop there. After eating, our body goes through a process where all the food is digested and the different nutrients and particles are dispersed throughout the body allowing the different organs to function accordingly (I am no scientist but I believe this is how it works). Similarly, after reading, we must digest and understand what is read and cause the words to help us function daily.

3.      Pray (speak) to God DAILY

Many people shy away from praying because they claim or think they don’t know how to. Well, praying is a lot simpler than most people think. It is simply speaking or having a conversation with God. The more we do this (daily), the more we are able to hear from God and can become convicted and corrected when we are not living or behaving according to His will. That by the way is a great gift—the ability to hear God speak to you.

4.      Make an effort to become a better person DAILY

Listen, if you pinch yourself right now and it hurts or you at least was able to feel it, that may be because you are human. You are going to make mistakes every now and again BUT that is not your excuse to continue making mistakes and on purpose. Each day you get up, purpose in your heart that you will become a better person in Christ; you will live and lead by example. When you do make a mistake, and you will, quickly confess before God and keep it moving. Now, you may do it again (not necessarily on purpose) but don’t beat yourself up! God knows our weaknesses and if we are willing to bring them before Him and work on them, He will help us become better persons. The BIG differences are doing it over and over just because you know if you ask, God will forgive you AND doing it without even giving it much thought and sincerely asking for forgiveness. Under which do you fall? (More to come another time in another post)!

 

The common factor in preparing for God’s return as you can see, is DAILY! That is, each DAY we get a chance of breathing and existing on this earth, we MUST be in CONSTANT preparation for the Lord to return to/for us.

How sad would it be, if in that very hour that we decide to go out clubbing or choose to go to the beach or park instead of going to church, God decides to “pop up”??? Let me share something with you really briefly: back in my days of rebellion (what I prefer to call it), I would go clubbing with people I considered friends. One thing was evident and still is, I loved music BUT I did not belong in that kind of setting. I would always, after a few songs and dances, feel lost. I knew deep down inside that I was not supposed to be there. In fact, I often wondered what I would do if God were to come that very hour while I was standing on the dance floor ‘pop, lock, and dropping’ OR even while just standing outside in the line to enter the club. See, I shared all that to stir up our thinking on what can and will happen if we are/continue living/to live aimlessly, carelessly, and fearlessly—completely disregarding the return of God. We really have to become more aware and serious about this topic and many others. We have NO excuse when He returns. We may not have been given a specific time for His return BUT we were given the opportunity to prepare. Now that you have read and digested all of that, it is now up to you to decide what you would like to do and where you would like to end up consequently.

Don’t get caught slipping my friends, the Lord is returning and we all will be judged for the life we lived. So remember, each DAY we wake up, is a chance to PREPARE for His return

 

In closing, let me ask this question again…. If God were to come today, would you be READY?

 

 

God BLESS!

~Nissey