Matthew 24:42: “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”
God’s children must be watchful and ready to face the coming of the day of the Lord. The Word of God says we must live a holy life. There two important aspects in being watchful. First is to stop any sin and uncleanliness. There are many people who can easily say, “my sins have been forgiven and the Lord Jesus has redeemed all of my sins, there should be no problem.” It’s true that their sins are forgiven, but these people do not turn to the Lord and continue living in their sins; or maybe they still have hidden sins, for example: dirty thoughts, pride, self-justification, bitterness, revenge, jealousy, unforgiveness and other things that cannot be seen from the outside.
The Word of God in 1 John 3:3-6 says, “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure… Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” We must flee from the fleshly desire and the power of darkness that tries to make us a captive of sin. Where should we run? We must run to the Lord because there is refuge in the name of the Lord Jesus. His name is a strong tower! Those who take refuge in Him will be saved.
The second aspect is to do the will of God. Do what is good and perfect. Don’t be like the church in Ephesus who was rebuked by the Lord, Revelation 2:4-5 “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”
Other than doing the will of God, the Lord also calls us to return back to our first love. If we have gone further away compared to the first time we knew Jesus, if our desire to seek the Lord is gone, if our desire to minister has gone down and we become weak, then the Lord is calling us to go back. Enter into the presence of the Lord often, read His Word, pray, praise and worship the Lord; this will restore our hearts and our first love in the Lord.
Let us become like the five wise virgins – who are not asleep, but watchful with their lamps that are always burning, waiting for the coming of the bridegroom that is sudden and without notice. God bless.
Publishing Team, IBC Church