Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Today's scriptures are about looking forward to Jesus' return. Jesus said: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming" (Matt. 25:13). Jesus always taught us to be aware of our righteousness, specifically our conduct, speech, faith, and our ability to help others find their way. He's coming back one day, when we least expect it, so we much be conscious of our demeanor. I compare it to our conduct in church, around our parents, or other respected authority figures. I remember as a young girl I used to swear like a sailor, and it amazed me how it seemed like I couldn’t. I had a filthy mouth when I hung around with friends my age, but if I was around my mother or grandmother, you would never have known such words were in my vocabulary. I know a lot of you did things your parents told you not to do, maybe snuck friends in the house when you they weren't home, thinking you wouldn't get caught. However, there was always the danger of never knowing the time that your mom or dad would be home. If you knew they were coming at a certain time, the house would be clean, and you'd be studying or quiet as a church mouse, and they would never had known that you'd just had a party earlier that day. What we didn't know is that our parents often knew or found out what we were doing all along, so there was nothing that we could really hid from them. As children we acted that way because we didn't know any better, but as we grew into adults, we matured. That's the natural order of things, especially in our Faith walk. When we initially become saved, we're ignorant to the ways and teachings of Christ, so we're not expected to live like we've been saved for years; however we are expected to actively mature. Paul wrote: When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. (1 Cor. 13:11)
Upon Jesus' return, we'll all be judged accordingly, so it's important to look forward to it. I'll ask you a sobering question, which I want you to think about long and hard about. If Jesus was to appear right now to take you home, do you think you'd be "ready"? My previous Pastor posed this question all the time, "Will Jesus say to 'well done good and faithful servant', or 'depart from me I never knew you'?" These are things that you should think about with every decision that you make. Always ask yourself, "will this be pleasing to God?", because that's what's most important in life. Not so much how successful you are, how much money you have in the bank, or the size house you lived in. No, God will measure your heart, how much you loved Him and loved your neighbors. Did you come to Him for everything, did you obey His commandments to the best of your ability, did you help others in need, and did you spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those are what matters most to God.
With so much temptation in the world it's so hard to “live by the book” everyday and in all things, believe me I know. A friend asked me the other day “do I practice what I preach” and I had to take a long hard look at that. I have to honestly say, to the best of my ability, yes I do. Do I falter, yes, do I miss the mark sometimes, absolutely, but with each day am I better than I was the day before, most definitely, because in most cases I've taken the opportunity to repent for my sins, and learn from them. If you only take but one thing out of today's message I want it to be, "try your best". Listen to your Holy Spirit, and those times when you know what He's telling you to do, but because of your flesh you want to go the other way, try your best to resist the devil, and He will flee from you. It's hard at first, but I promise you, with each victory, it gets easier.
When Jesus returns He'll be looking first for those who have been covered by His blood, then by those who have repented for their sins. First question, have you accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior? Second question, do you have a relationship with God, through Christ? Third and final question, are you ready? My favorite verse today is: And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. (Isaiah 25:9)

ENJOY! http://www.bible.com/scripture-detail.php?juli=2455345&dtype=Scripture
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I love you!