Alert!

 And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!

Mark 13:33 (NLT)

Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. We need to be ready for that day. We need to make our peace with Him before it's too late.

The time before Christ's return is one of tribulation. Jesus tells us to be encouraged because if we're persecuted our reward is great in heaven. He goes as far as to tell us to literally leap for joy if we have the honour of being persecuted for the sake of the Name.

If we forget that Christ will soon return, the danger is that we get spiritually lazy and complacent. Maybe we'll fall into sin because we delude ourselves we can get away with it.

If we expect a thief at night, we'll be like the kid in Home Alone. We won't let them get away with it. We should have a similar state of readiness for the return of the King of kings.

'Heavenly Father, may we be ready for the return of Your Son. May we live for Him until He does, in whose name we pray, amen'.