How to Prepare
Today’s Verse:
Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. ~Revelation 22:7
Whenever someone announces to us they are coming to visit, we make preparation for their coming. We clean and organize our home. We purchase supplies, and prepare refreshments and food to serve them. When they arrive, we receive them with gladness and anticipate a wonderful time of fellowship. The Apostle John reminds us that our Lord Jesus is coming soon. His coming will be in two stages. The first stage is when He comes for us who are saved and the dead in Christ. The second stage is when we come with Him to establish His 1,000 year reign on earth. In our devotion this morning, John writes to help us prepare for His coming.
There is the reality of His coming.
“Behold, I come quickly.” The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is imminent. We look for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Tit. 2:13. His coming will be swift. His coming will be at the speed of the twinkling of an eye. That is in a fraction of a second! His coming will be certain. The angels told the Apostles at Jesus’ ascension that “this same Jesus will come in like manner as ye have seen go into heaven.” His coming will be sudden – He said, “I come quickly!”
There is the responsibility for His coming.
“Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” One of the key emphases in Rev. 22 is the phrase “the prophecy of this book.” It is referred to at least five times. As we prepare for His coming, our obedience to the Word of God is of utmost importance. We must be unwavering in our obedience. This means we should obey God’s Word in its entirety. The trends and fads of the day will pressure us to be less compliant, but we must remain unwavering. We must be unerring in our compliance. James tells us, “Do not err, my beloved brethren.” Let us determine to keep His commandments even as we know His commandments are not grievous.
There is the reverence with His coming.
“Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.” Let us not lose sight of the fact that we must maintain a right worship of God. The prophecies in revelation depict to us God Who is Righteous and Judge. We must determine that the worship of God is what we do constantly. When He comes for us, we will spend all of eternity worshipping Him. Revelation gives us wise insight on our worship of God at His throne. Let us be in a continuous mindset of worship.
There is the request for His coming.
“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus,” Revelations 22 closes the book and the Bible with the reminder Jesus is coming soon. Thus, our heartfelt prayer should be, “Even so, come Lord Jesus!” This request is one word: Maranatha. Paul tells us that there is a crown of righteousness laid up for all who love His appearing. We should be living with such a loving anticipation of the Lord’s coming that we are praying, “Come Lord Jesus, come!”
I do not like being taken by surprise of someone coming to see me. I always like to be prepared well in advance. In the same way, let us diligently prepare for the soon coming of our Lord Jesus. Be ready; He could come today!
Have a prepared God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Nahum 1-3