Staying Alert
- jacarroll71
- Oct 30, 2013
- 2 min read
Today’s reading: Luke 20:9-22:6
My selection: Luke 21:34-36
34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.
My reflections: Jesus was teaching that the day of the coming of the kingdom of God was near, that it would happen before that generation would pass away. Was He referring to His death, resurrection, and ascension? Was He referring to the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost? Was He referring to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD? Was He referring to His still yet-to-come second coming and the final judgment? Was He referring to all of the above?
There will be disagreement about this among Bible scholars and students, but there will be much agreement that the final consummation of the kingdom is still before us and that we need to “watch” ourselves that our hearts not be “weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life.”
How near are we to the end of this age? It has been 500 years since Europe colonized the New World. The physical earth is largely populated and, since the 20th Century, is linked together by communication, transportation, economics, politics, and culture. Evil has not been reduced, indeed, it is more widespread and entrenched than ever with rampant abortion, sexual trafficking, and the normalization of various kinds of behaviors the Bible has declared sinful for thousands of years.
As the country song goes, “It’s Five o’clock Somewhere.” Let’s kick back and party. Let’s give ourselves to dissipation and drunkenness. This is what we hear.
My challenge: Now is the time to seek the Lord, to pray, and to proclaim the truth of the gospel and the need to flee the wrath to come by repentance and faith in the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Check your priorities today. Prepare to stand before the Son of Man.
Tomorrow’s reading: Luke 22:7-23:25
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