Until That Day...

“Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come…Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.”—Matthew 24: 42; 45-46

Lord, help us to remember that the most important theme in this story is not debating whether You will return  pre-, mid-, or post-tribulation, but about being a faithful servant. As the world gets messier, more dangerous, and decidedly more uncertain, help us quell the selfish reflex response of:

"Come, Lord Jesus!" (what I really mean is “Get me out of here!”)

Because You so love this world that You desire that none should perish but have everlasting life, help us not be found caught staring into the sky at the expense of life’s responsibilities, or those we know and love. Instead, whenever You return to take us Home, let us be found faithful and wise at our post, doing what You have called, built, and burned within us to do and be, unto You and for others.

And to know that for guidance, we need look no further than the very essence of what you prayed that night on the way to the Cross for every follower of Yours then and now, very appropriately and relevantly, right on the heels of: "here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world”....

"God, You sent Me to start a revolution--a change-your-way-of-thinking Eternal revolution.

Those You have given Me have chosen to believe that.

It's still a work in progress for them, and it always will be,

But what matters is that they believe who I AM

And are learning each day to walk in and reflect Our love to those around them.

I'm coming home...now it's their turn

So, keep them in Me, but keep them out of their Christian bubble.

Put them in the world, but don't let them get sucked into its ways.

Help them to know that their protection from deception and temptation is simply this:

Eat the Word. Digest it. Live it.

They're Your people, each fearfully and wonderfully made.

They're not all alike, so help them to understand that it's OK if they don't all think, and process, and act alike.

But at the core, at the heart of their mission,

Stir them to be uniters, not dividers.

Most of all, let them know that they are never, ever alone in this Journey.

I may be coming Home to You

But Your love--Our love--and Presence will always be with them and in them 

A presence with a dynamite power to love, to pray, to testify that will blow them away

And rock their corner of the world

If they will only keep their heart and focus in One direction

Spirit of the living God--be ever ready to fall fresh on them

Over and over again...

Until I come back and bring them home to be with us

Forever."

[ADAPTED FROM 7-27-14]