“And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who
eagerly look forward to his appearing.” 2TIM.4:8 NLT.
The fourth characteristics of those who look forward to the coming of the Lord is that
they live as those that belong to the day. “But concerning the times and the seasons,
brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly
that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and
safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant
woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day
should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of
the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and
be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.
But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love,
and as a helmet the hope of salvation.” 1Thess.5:1-8.
We see in verse 8 of the above scripture how you should be dressed if you are truly
looking forward to the coming of the Lord. This dress must be put on all the time. This
dress consists of soberness, faith, love and confidence of your salvation.
Soberness can be defined as being clear minded, temperate, or serious. We ought to be
serious about of our Christian lives knowing that life is not a dress rehearsal. There is
only one life we have and we must make it count for God. You must be intentional in
your daily life taking steps to avoid regret when the Lord comes.
Faith is a prerequisite to pleasing the Lord. When the Lord returns one of the things he
will be looking for is faith. “I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless,
when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8. Your faith
in God and His word will bring you much praise, honour and glory when the Lord
returns.” These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests
and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So, when your
faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor
on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” 1Peter 1:7 The just shall
live by faith. It is impossible to live a victorious Christian life without faith. All that are
available to us in Christ Jesus can only be appropriated by faith.
Jesus gave us the commandment of love.” A new commandment I give to you, that you
love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 13:34. If you
are looking forward to His appearing wisdom demands that you keep doing what He
commanded you to do.
Any labour in God’s Kingdom that is not motivated by love will receive no reward from
the Lord (1Cor.13:1-3)
If there is one thing you must be sure of before you die or before the Lord returns it is
your salvation. Your salvation is based on the word of God and not on your feelings. “But
as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those
who believe in His name:” John 1:12. If you have not received Jesus as your personal
Saviour and Lord why not do it now before it is too late? If you have received Him, be
confident on the integrity of His word irrespective of your feelings. Without this
confidence the devil will defeat you and you will not be able to approach God and relate
with Him correctly. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Heb.4:16
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
Do not use your words to describe your situation. Use your words to change your
situation.