Be dressed in readiness and keep your lamps lit.  Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks.  Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes;  truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and wait on them.  Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.  You too, be ready;  for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.    Luke 12:35-40  NASB

Many things in our lives are planned.  Several months ago, my husband and I planned a vacation only to find that the dates we had planned included two of our nieces graduations.  We had to delay our vacation by 3 days.  We still had a wonderful vacation, but we had to totally rearrange our plans as we did not have sufficient time to go where we had planned.

Many years ago, I had booked a trip to the Caribbean with a relative and a close friend.  My relative did not have sufficient identification to board the plane.  We were afraid that he was going to miss the flight.  He had someone in route with what he needed, but we were going to have to board the plane without him.  My friend was incredulous that I would leave him.  I explained to her that the airline was kind enough to put him on a later flight at no extra charge, but that I did not think that they would do the same for us.  I had invested a lot of money and time planning this trip and was not about to miss it. I was ready and I was going.

In our scripture passage today, Jesus is telling His disciples how important it is that they be ready.  In verse 39 he tells them that if the head of the house had known when the thief was coming, he would have prevented the burglary.  Now I will tell you that after 25 years in law enforcement, you like to think that you have heard it all and seen it all, but I know that there are new adventures every day.  But, I will say that I have never heard of someone notifying a home owner and scheduling a crime.  I have never heard of a murderer telling their victim that they plan to kill them at a specific day and time.  I have never heard of a thief scheduling a burglary or a home invasion.

The Bible is very clear on the fact that we have no idea when we will face our final judgement.  Only that we should be ready at all times.

When I committed my life to Christ, I began to ask myself this question as I lived my life day to day.  What if God came back right this minute?  Would my behavior at this exact moment be pleasing to Him?  Would he have some hard questions for me to answer?  It has made me a lot more aware of my behavior.  It makes me straighten up a lot quicker when I know that my behavior would not be pleasing to God.

So, what about you?  Are you ready?  If God came back right this very minute, like before you could finish reading this blog, would you be ready to face your final judgement?

Many stubborn people pride themselves on the fact that no one can make them do anything.  Well, they are right.  No one can make them love the Lord and love others.  No one can make them go to church.  No one can make them pray.  No one can make them read their bible.  But one thing that they can bank on, is that one day they will face their maker.  One day they will answer for every idle word that comes from their mouths (Matthew 12:36).  One day they will face the great white throne of judgement (Revelation 20).

One day we will all account for our words and deeds.  This we cannot escape.  We will be made to do that, it’s not optional.  So, again I ask, are you ready?  If you are not ready, or if you are not sure if you are ready, then I beg you to be sure.  I beg you to get ready.  Get the identification you need to travel into heaven to spend eternity.  Make sure that you have reservations, that your name is written in the Lamb’s book of Life (Revelation 20:12-15).  There is no time like the present.  If you are just not sure where to start, begin by talking to a trusted friend or pastor, or feel free to contact me through this website.

This is one trip that is not optional.  We are all going, we just don’t know when.  But, you can know where you are headed.  My prayer for you today is that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are headed to your heavenly home to spend eternity with God the Father.

Have a great day!