J.J. Stark
March 2016
Week 8
IGNITE
Class 10
Inductive
Bible Study (IBS)
Vigilance
“37Blessed are those servants whom
the master, when he comes, will find watching.
Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down
to eat, and will come and serve them. 38And
if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find
them so, blessed are those servants. 39But
know this, that if the master of the house had known the hour the thief would
come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 40Therefore,
you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
– Luke 12:37-40 (NKJV)
Being
vigilant…one of the biggest struggles I battle every day in my walk with
Christ. Vigilant, as defined in the
Merriam-Webster dictionary means “alertly
watchful, especially to avoid danger.”
As much as I dislike admitting
it, I am constantly running into danger – be it physically, mentally, or
spiritually. Most of the time it is
distractions in the earthly realm that become my primary focus and I find myself
neglecting my communication with Christ.
On my own I knew this is not a good thing, but after reading through
Luke 12:37-40, the Lord gave me a wake-up call about it. This passage proved to be very good tool for
self-evaluation, as showed the danger that I am not as in love with Christ as I
thought I was…in other words not fully devoted.
A true servant is one that is not only loyal to his master, but one that
also loves his master, and, as this
passage in Luke indicates, does not cease watching for his master’s safe
return. This really humbles me because
it unearthed the lack of love I still have for Christ. Am I constantly looking for Christ’s return? No…
This also
brought to mind a passage that a family friend shared with me a while back –
Ezekiel 33:2-7 “2Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say
to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people the people of the
land take a man from their territory and make him their watchmen, 3when
he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the
people, 4then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not
take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his
own head. 5He heard the sound
of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. 6But if the watchman sees the
sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and
the sword comes and takes any person form among them, he is taken away in his
iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand. 7So you, son of man: I have made
you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My
mouth and warn them for Me.”
Again,
alertness is vital. Christ is always
there and ready to help me, but I have to meet Him part way and daily surrender
my life and continue to chase further after His presence and majesty.
Application: Today I will find a passage on
Christ’s return and share it with my roommates.
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