The apostles wrote to the early Christians about the return of Jesus, passing on \u2018preparation\u2019 teachings their Teacher had given them. Knowing His time on earth was short, Jesus predicted two huge future events during His passion week. First, the Temple would be destroyed. Around forty years later, in 70 A.D., the Romans surrounded Jerusalem and destroyed the Holy Place on Mt. Moriah. The other prophesy, that of His return, has not yet taken place. Though there is much controversy over various details, all must admit we are now closer to the Second Coming than ever before..<\/p>\n
Three parables found in Matthew 25 reveal \u2018preparation\u2019 mindsets Jesus wants us to possess. He does not want His children to simply take a survivalist mentality or go sit and wait on a mountain top. Nor does He want us to be oblivious to what is happening in the world and miss the signs He described as \u2018birth pains.\u2019 I asked our daughter, Kinsey (the midwife), about \u2018birth pains.\u2019 \u201cBirth pains come at the end of pregnancy. As time passes, the contractions become more frequent and more intense,\u201d she answered. \u201cThen, when the mother thinks she just can\u2019t make it any longer, the baby comes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The parable of the 10 virgins contrasts the difference between being wise and being foolish in the last days. The five foolish virgins were unprepared for the coming of the Bridegroom. They took an emergency outing to buy some oil for their lamps, but didn\u2019t make it back in time. All five were shut out and could not enter the Wedding Banquet. The five wise virgins had already brought extra oil for their lamps; when the Bridegroom came, they were prepared and welcomed in with open arms.<\/p>\n
In the Bible, oil usually represents the Spirit, so the message seems clear: Be filled with the Spirit. Have your eyes on Jesus. Be spiritually prepared. God has given us His Holy Spirit, but am I listening to Him? Is God my passion, or do lesser matters consume my mind and energy? How do I spend my time? The Spirit points us to Jesus and helps us know Him better. The Spirit reminds us of the necessity of obeying our Lord. If we don\u2019t understand, we can ask Him for help. The Spirit is our Helper. God is for<\/em> us! So Jesus warns: \u201cTherefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.\u201d (Matthew 25:13)<\/p>\n The second parable is about using our talents. The question is not as much: how many talents do I have? But rather: what am I doing with what I\u2019ve been given? While Jesus stressed being spiritually prepared as we watch and pray, He did not teach idleness. While we watch, we are about His work. We pray to know God\u2019s will. How do I bless my spouse, my kids, and my friends? How do I serve my neighbor? What type of employee am I? Do I use my abilities and gifts to bring glory to God? Burying my talent brings disaster! Using my gifts and blessings with boldness and wisdom pleases the Lord. \u201cBlessed is that servant whom the Master finds doing his job when He comes.\u201d (Matthew 24:46)<\/p>\n Finally, our Good Shepherd tells a story of Judgment. When you hear people saying: \u2018all are going to heaven\u2019 or \u2018there is no hell\u2019 or \u2018a God of love would never punish\u2019\u2026 tell them you prefer to listen to Jesus. He talked a lot about heaven and hell and judgment. This last story in Matthew 25 says there will be a separation. The sheep enter the Kingdom; the goats do not. \u201cHow did you treat Me?\u201d was the measuring stick of the Judge. The prepared soul sees one in pain and responds\u2026 the hungry, the poor, the heartbroken, the sick, the imprisoned\u2026 When we serve the hurting, we serve our Savior. He is everywhere.<\/p>\n Watch. Pray. Obey. Be wise. Be full of the Spirit. Be fruitful. Serve. Love. These are some of Jesus\u2019 instructions on preparation.<\/p>\n \u201cBe very careful, then, how you live \u2014 not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord\u2019s will is.\u201d Ephesians 5:15-17<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The apostles wrote to the early Christians about the return of Jesus, passing on \u2018preparation\u2019 teachings their Teacher had given them. Knowing His time on earth was short, Jesus predicted two huge future events during His passion week. First, the Temple would be destroyed. Around forty years later, in 70 A.D., the Romans surrounded Jerusalem […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-judgment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3856"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3861,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3856\/revisions\/3861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}