The Presence of the Lord

Scripture Read: Romans 13:11-14 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Application: When will the Lord return? That is a question that has been on the mind of everyone that has trusted in Christ from the day the church began. So much written, so many theories and even so many false prophets. Can we know? Yes … not a date, or even His return for us, but we can know that for all of us we will be in His presence within 80 – 100 years! He may return to us before we go through the gate of death, but if not we can know that we will return to Him when He calls for us. How very important and true this section of scripture is. No matter what your personal conviction is about how or when exactly the return of Christ will be – we all must live like it would be today! For death can happen at anytime and then we are in the presence of the Lord. The real issue for all of us is “making no provision”. All of us will trip and stumble into sin – we are sinners by nature, but we do not want to plan to sin. It would be horrible to be in an open sin when He calls for us – either through death or Rapture. This requires a real conscious effort and a disciplined life. Both are things so many of us lack. Father please lead us into this kind of life. We do not want to look back at our failures, for that causes regret. Still we can use that regret to help us resolve what our future will look like. No matter what failures we have had it does not mean we cannot invest the time we have left. Lord God please hear us as we seek to change our lives through Your power in whatever areas need to be changed! Cause us to live as if we were going to meet You today. We love you Lord.

* Meditation Questions: Do I believe I am ready to meet Him? If so – Why? If not – Why? What needs to change? Do I look forward to being with Him just to escape issues here or because I desire to be in His presence?