Mark 13:33 - How To Live Like Jesus Was Coming Today!
Mark 13:33 - How To Live Like Jesus Was Coming Today!
Mark 13:33 (KJV) Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not
when the time is.
Mark 13:33 (MEV) Take heed, watch and pray. For you do not know
when the time will come.
Mark 13:33 (NIV) Be on guard! Be alert ! You do not know when
that time will come.
Mark 13:33 (AMP) Be on your guard [constantly alert], and watch
and pray; for you do not know when the time will come.
Mark 13:33 (NCV) Be careful! Always be ready, because you don't
know when that time will be.
INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTS
We are not being instructed here to stand by the window and wait
for Christ's return; rather we are being told to live a certain kind
of life - a conscious, alert, involved life. [Life Recovery
Devotional SB]
The simple fact is that we do not know the moment that God's
"when" will be transformed into "now." God's when may be today,
tomorrow, or lie in the distant future long after we have completed our
sojourns here on earth. But these options make no difference to us at
all. What is important is that as we wait expectantly, we "watch,"
using every gift and opportunity to serve the Lord. [Victor Bible
Background Commentary]
COMMENTARY
Months of planning go into a wedding, the birth of a baby, a
career change, a speaking engagement, the purchase of a home. Do you
place the same importance on preparing for Christ's return, the most
important event in your life? Its results will last for eternity. You dare
not postpone your preparations because you do not know when his
return will occur. The way to prepare is to study God's Word and live
by its instructions each day. Only then will you be ready. [Life
Application SB]
The way to prepare is to love God and to let that love manifest
itself in obedience to God's Word and Spirit each day. Only then will
you be ready. [One Year NLT SB re Mark 13:21-37]
If the love of God flows through us, we will find ourselves
sharing that love with those around us, for God is love, and that love
is bigger than its container, the Christian, so it must overflow.
Those around us long for love, for our world is full of hate, Satan's
legacy since the Garden of Eden episode. Let us as Christians share
God's love as we await the return of His Son from heaven. [Al Bryant;
Time with God devotional SB mod. re. Luke 12:35]
PARALLEL THOUGHT
Anticipation. Preparation. Readiness. Vigilance. These ideas
permeate Jesus' words in the last half of Luke 12. His words can be
troubling to us because we don't know what to expect or when to be ready.
Jesus didn't give the disciples a timetable either.
The unknown timing of Christ's return is not a trick to catch
us off guard. God is not withholding from us important details
about his plans. If God's Word does not tell us, then we do not need
to know. If we don't need to know, then we should not be
preoccupied with figuring it out. Rather, we should focus on what we do
know.
Jesus does not tell us when to be ready. Instead, he tells us
how to live. This is what we know. So anticipation, preparation,
readiness, and vigilance can all be summed up in another word - obedience.
By being obedient to what we know, we will fulfill all those other
things. And God is fair. He will judge us in light of what we know, not
what we are ignorant of. [One Year NLT SB re. Luke 12:48]
IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER
Just the thought of living so that we are ready when Christ
returns should fuel all God's children to be about his kingdom work with
consecrated energy and zeal. Whether we have the strength, time, and vigor
to do his will depends on our readiness and openness to hearing his
voice in prayer. Prayer is absolutely necessary if we wish to carry on
God's work successfully. God has designed it so that he will
sufficiently and energetically work through us in proportion to how much we
give ourselves to prayer and so live ready for Christ's return. As we
see the time of his return drawing near, we evaluate how we are
spending our days by asking, "What am I to be doing?" The Lord has
planned and purposed so much for our lives, given us so much work to do
for his glory. However, so that we can be truly ready, God beckons
us to his glorious throne room to pour out our hearts and concerns
and to listen for his marching orders. Then as we work with him in
fulfilling his Word and purposes, we will do so in his power, love, and
grace. Are you ready? Living ready begins on our knees ... and
continues as we stay there. [Praying Through The Bible By Fuller re Luke
12:35-38]
The success of our living ready is dependent on our giving
ourselves in prayer. E. M. Bounds (1835-1913)
Prayer is the breath of the soul. It is the secret of
spiritual power. No other means of grace can be substituted, and the
health of the soul be preserved. Prayer brings the heart into immediate
contact with the Well-spring of life, and strengthens the sinew and
muscle of the religious experience. Neglect the exercise of prayer, or
engage in prayer spasmodically, now and then, as seems convenient, and
you lose your hold on God. The spiritual faculties lose their
vitality, the religious experience lacks health and vigor.
It is only at the altar of God that we can kindle our tapers
with divine fire. It is only the divine light that will reveal the
littleness, the incompetence, of human ability, and give clear views of the
perfection and purity of Christ. It is only as we behold Jesus that we
desire to be like Him, only as we view His righteousness that we hunger
and thirst to possess it; and it is only as we ask in earnest
prayer, that God will grant us our heart's desire. GW254,5
Remember that prayer is the source of your strength. A worker
cannot gain success while he hurries through his prayers and rushes
away to look after something that he fears may be neglected or
forgotten. He gives only a few hurried thoughts to God; he does not take
time to think, to pray, to wait upon the Lord for a renewal of
physical and spiritual strength. He soon becomes weary. He does not feel
the uplifting, inspiring influence of God's Spirit. He is not
quickened by fresh life. His jaded frame and tired brain are not soothed
by personal contact with Christ. 7T243 re Pro.10:29
CLOSING THOUGHTS
All that we do here and now should be done in view of the fact
of our Lord's appearance.... never let the world around us close our
eyes to God.... resist the constant temptation to build our lives on
things rather than on His coming. [Victor Teacher's Commentary re. Luke
12:35]
The time is kept a secret, that you may be engaged to stand
always upon your guard.... watch for his coming, that it may not at any
time be a surprise to you, and pray for that grace which is necessary
to qualify you for it, for ye know not when the time is; and....
which may come any day." (Matthew Henry's Commentary)
We must so live that it does not matter when he comes. It gives
us the high honor of making every day fit for him to see and being
at any moment ready to meet him face to face. [Barclay Commentary
mod]
PRACTICAL APPLICATION FOR THE NEW YEAR
Hope for the New Year: The Hope of Glory
I am Christ in you, the Hope of Glory. The Messiah -- the
Savior of the world -- lives in you!
This promise is for all who have faith in Me: I dwell in your
hearts through faith. This amazing blessing is a work of My Spirit in
your inner being. The more you trust Me, the more you can enjoy My
indwelling Presence -- and the more effectively I can live through you.
In a world that may seem increasingly hopeless, remember that
I am the hope of Glory.
This hope is ultimately about Heaven, where you will live
with Me forever. But the Light of Heaven's Glory is so brilliant that
some of its rays can reach you even in the present -- no matter how
dark your circumstances may appear. I am the Light that shines on in
the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it. As you
follow Me along your life-path, clothed in My righteousness, this Light
shines brighter and brighter until full day.
Think of it -- the universe knows no greater Power than Me,
and I live in you! Celebrate My indwelling Presence. It is your gift
to enjoy. (Col. 1:27; Eph. 3:16, 17; John 1:5; Pro. 4:18) [Jesus
Today Devotional Journal by Sarah Young]
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Seeking God Made Real: http://vimeo.com/31489782
Musical Devotional On Christian Living:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcotY5K7T0c
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDY:
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Discover Bible Studies: http://studies.itiswritten.com/discover/
LINKS FOR PROPHECY SEMINARS
Revelation Today Series by Pastor John Bradshaw:
https://revelationtoday.com/other-streams/
Prophecies Decoded Sermon Series by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
