Tag: watch

Advent Three – Confessional Prayer

Mark 13:33-37 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

Start by centering your heart in God’s presence… Give thanks to Him that you do not need to hide anything from him. Affirm that He is faithful and good, and his mercy and grace are “new every morning.” (Lam. 3:22-23) 

Now let Him begin the process of searching your heart. Are there ways you have not honored Christ this week? Where were your thoughts and desires not centered in Him? How have you failed in obedience to Christ?

Take a minute and meditate on the Mark 13 passage. Jesus says – be on guard, keep awake. Are there distractions in your life that inhibit the watchfulness we are to have? Is hurry your master?  Have you grown complacent? Is there fear or anxiety in even thinking about the Day of the Lord?

Then, simply confess specifically what the Holy Spirit is showing you. Don’t rush through this process. Simply rest in God’s presence as He does this.

Now choose to let this go and receive the truth of this passage: “I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. Let him lead me to the banquet hall and let his banner over me be love”. If you have confessed a stronghold of fear or complacency receive Christ’s forgiveness for you. Remember – “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

And finally commit this confession to the Lord. As you rest in His grace and mercy ask Him how to walk this out. Ask for the supernatural power of His Spirit to give you what you need to move forward.

How is He calling you to watchfulness? How is He asking you to look for His second coming?

I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. Psalm 130:6

Advent Three – “At the Very Gates”

The Parable of the Ten Virgins Matthew 25:1-13

The title above comes from a passage in Mark, chapter 13 where Mark describes the return of Christ.  He says, after describing the destruction of the temple and the tribulation and danger that his disciples will see and experience – “So, also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates” (Mark 13:29).

The language throughout the New Testament is graphic, even disturbing. I find myself uncomfortable – just hoping (without much intent) that I will be ready. Peter says that the day of the Lord will come like a thief, “and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (1 Peter 3:10).  And then he asks a question in almost a nonchalant way – “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God?” (11, 12).

What sort of people? Our answer here will determine what sort of watchers we’ll be. I’ll be honest, I have never made the connection between my godliness and the Lord’s return. I appreciate Peter’s admonition here and I think it says more about Christ’s return than our trying to watch for the signs. Peter carries this theme through both of his letters. He’s calling the church to be holy, as God is holy; he is calling the church to be ready – even in the midst of suffering and trials. Christ is at the gates, ready to return, to take His bride to Himself – and He wants our faith to be tested in authenticity, “that even though it is tested by fire – it may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7). When I think about the Second Coming my desire for an end to my own suffering and pain often eclipses my desire that all might “be found in him” (Phi 3:9)

I want to be that watchman on the tower – watching and waiting for the Redemption of the world to come in all His power and glory. I want to be numbered among the 5 virgins who were ready when the Bridegroom returned (Mat 25:1-13). I want to heed the warning of Peter in 1 Peter in 1 Peter 5:8-10 – Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering.

To pray for His coming again means we want justice not just alleviation of our own private suffering. It means we want an end to exploitation, injustice and evil. Good watching should create in us a fervor that no one should perish.

It should strengthen our hearts to meditate on what a world looks like when it’s free from sin, destruction, and injustice.

This practice of watching in Advent is formational. Fleming Rutledge asks a simple question: “what’s in those lamps?” (Once and Future King, p. 97) What makes 5 virgins ready and 5 who were not? Is it not our practices of worship, Bible study and prayer? (ibid. p. 99).

Our watching might not be merely about observing the times, but about being ready and alert, as Peter indicates. In the passage above, Peter says that the world to come is a world of righteousness, and our lives need to exhibit godliness and holiness – traits we can never attain on our own. In this same letter, in chapter one Peter tells us: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness!” (I Peter 1:3). I would say then that watching has less to do with frantically searching for the signs as much as it has to do with our abiding in Christ, our immersion in His life. May we all be like the watchmen in Isaiah 52:8:

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they should for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.

Isaiah 52:8

In the parable of the five virgins who were ready, Matthew says – when the bridegroom came – they went in with him to the marriage feast! (Mat 25:10). And such is the kingdom of God!