READY AND WAITING

"Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many;
and unto them that LOOK FOR HIM shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation"
(Hebrews 9:28).

I am always challenged by this Scripture that tells us that Christ is coming for those who LOOK for Him. Are we really looking for His coming, or are we so taken up with our busy lives that we don't even have time to think about it?

I was confronted by this truth a few years back when our son and daughter-in-law were coming to USA. All our children and grandchildren lived here in the Nashville area of Tennessee, except Rocky and Monique. They were still living in Australia. We longed for the day when they would come and live here with us too. We had been waiting 15 long years.

And then came the news. They were on their way. Oh the excitement. But, they wouldn't tell us the exact day they were coming. They wanted it to be a surprise. And now the anticipation. Every day we wondered if this would be the day. Would we get a phone call? Would they turn up at the doorstep? It was the top family conversation. Every day we looked with eagerness for their coming.

The day eventually arrived and it was a day of great joy. But, I was very convicted. I had to ask myself, "Am I looking and anticipating the coming of the Lord like I looked for Rocky and Monique to come?"

I remember when our precious daughter, Mercy was arriving from Liberia to come into our family. Once again we were filled with excitement and anticipation. We had spent days painting her room, preparing the decor, and waiting with anticipation for the moment she would arrive. We were already to drive to airport when we received a phone call to say the plane was delayed. Back to the house to wait. Maybe we should have been more alert to the Holy Spirit, but we waited and waited for the phone call to hear when the plane was coming in again. Instead, the next phone call we received was that Mercy was at the airport and waiting and we weren't there to meet her! What disappointment!

If these experiences weren't enough, I was faced with this truth again recently. Do you remember reading the wonderful testimony of the Waller family in Above Rubies #86 (they serve the vineyard farmers on the West Bank of Israel)? Recently Colin and I looked forward to attending the wedding of their daughter, Victoria to Aaron Hood. Guests were invited to come for the whole weekend to Kenlake State Park in Kentucky, bringing a lantern with them. We did not know the exact time the wedding would take place. It was to be a surprise--a picture of waiting for the Heavenly Bridegroom who comes for His bride, but we know "neither the day nor the hour" (Matthew 25:13).

Colin and I drove up Saturday morning (lantern and all!), thinking they surely wouldn't have the wedding Friday night! However, we arrived to find we missed the wedding! They blew the shofars in the night and the wedding was held at midnight, down by the lake in the moonlight--a glorious two and a half hour ceremony! We were slumbering and sleeping in our bed at home when the cry came, "Behold the bridegroom comes, go ye out to meet him" (Matthew 25:6)! Can you believe it? We missed! It was not enough to have oil in our lamp. We had to be READY!

It's not enough to be ready individually. I believe we should be "ready and waiting" families. Do you talk about the coming of the Lord with your children? Do you live like a family that is always ready for His coming, or are your lives consumed with all your comings and goings? A powerful way to keep your eyes upon the Lord and looking for Him is to have Family Devotions with your family each morning and evening. This brings your hearts to His Word, to keep your eyes upon Him, and to be in prayer.

If we are watching, we will be praying!

 Jesus said, "WATCH AND PRAY, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:40-41).

 Jesus said, "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, WATCH AND PRAY: for ye know not when the time is..." (Mark 13:32-37).

 Jesus said, "WATCH ye therefore, and PRAY ALWAYS, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man" (Luke 21:36).

Let's be READY, WAITING, AND LOOKING FOR JESUS FAMILIES, "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). This won't automatically happen. You will have to make it happen in your home.

Love from Nancy Campbell

www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

"Oh God, please save me from being intoxicated with the things of this life. Help me to see beyond this world to the real world. Help me to be a mother who encourages my family to constantly look for the coming of the Lord. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

I'm taking my eyes off the temporary and focusing them on the eternal, which is the reality.

Please read these Scriptures:

Matthew 24:36-44; 25:13; 26:40; Luke 12:40; Acts 1:7-11; 1 Corinthians 1:7; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 3:20; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 4:16-18; 5:6, 23; Titus 2:12-14; James 5:7-8; 1 Peter 4:7; 2 Peter 3:10-14; 1 John 2:28; Revelation 3:2-3; 16:15.