Are You Ready?

       Whenever I read the verses in Isaiah 11:1-5 quoted below, verses that Paul set down in 1 Thessalonians come to my mind:

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  (17)  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Then I start envisioning Jesus’ return for us, Hallelujah, because Jesus is coming, and in my mind, He has arrived.  As I come back to the realization that He hasn’t made that return, I still live with the knowledge that He will return.

              As we approach this CHRISTmas Season, and we “wont” to Glorify this Baby Jesus, we need to refresh our minds about His Gospel, His Life, His Death, His Burial, and His Resurrection from the grave.  In that refreshment,

consider His imminent return.  We have expected His Return for thousands of years, and His return could be momentarily or at any time.

              The question I seem to always ask myself is, “Are you ready for Him John? Are you ready?”  There are days in my life I would have to tell you that I am not, my head isn’t on straight.  I find then that my devotion, my prayer life, my Bible reading hasn’t been what it should have been.  It requires effort on my part to move myself back to where I ought to be for His return.  This effort is a choice I make.  It should be a choice made on a daily basis.

              I know the thought question is; “I am saved; I am going to heaven, then aren’t I ready?”  If you have accepted Jesus as your personal Saviour, yes, Heaven is your home, and a mansion awaits you.  The “ready” part is a two-headed coin.  God tells us to obey His Son in all that Jesus asks:  pray without ceasing, read the scriptures, do not forsake the assembling of the brethren, and on and on it goes.  Where do you stand with Jesus today?  You must make the choice.  First, choose Him, Jesus, and then get ready, for He may be on His way.

Bro. John R. E Chastain

Isaiah 11:1-5  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:  (2)  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;  (3)  And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:  (4)  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.  (5)  And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.