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EIBC Devotional #14 - “The Second Coming”

Emerald Isle Baptist Church

Pastor Zach Emory

Scripture - Luke 12:35-40

35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” 

We do not know when our Lord will return. Even He Himself admitted that he did not know; that knowledge only belongs to the Father (Matt. 24:36). For this reason, Jesus urges us to be ready, for that day will come “like a thief in the night” (1 Thess 5:2). With all that is going on around us, it is natural to wonder about that day. Christians around the world and across the ages have looked to the skies with expectant eyes for a sign of Christ’s return. We long for the day when creation is consummated and the Kingdom of God is ushered in fully. In the meantime, we must be ready and “keep our lamps burning,” fanning the flame of the Spirit of Christ within us. We must “stay awake” spiritually, living our lives as if that day has already come. What does that look like? Matthew tells us in Chapter 25. “34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’” In a word, it is faith in action through love.

Questions for Reflection

How might you be ready for Christ’s return if it were to occur this week?

Prayer - Heavenly Father, prepare me for Your Coming Kingdom so that I might live in Your glory forever. Amen. 

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