{"id":652,"date":"2020-11-05T15:45:01","date_gmt":"2020-11-05T20:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/?p=652"},"modified":"2021-07-31T04:43:11","modified_gmt":"2021-07-31T08:43:11","slug":"july-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/july-30\/","title":{"rendered":"July 30"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Luke 21:36 <\/span><\/strong>
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will you be ready?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bible encourages, admonishes, and commands you to be ready at all times. You can read the signs of the times that speak of Jesus\u2019s return, just like the disciples could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 Thessalonians 5:4 But you, believers, [all you who believe in Christ as Savior and acknowledge Him as God\u2019s Son] are not in spiritual darkness [nor held by its power], that the day [of judgment] would overtake you [by surprise] like a thief. (Amplified Bible, AMP)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if you are not careful, you can really get entangled with life and all of its affairs. You can become so busy fighting in the natural, you spend less and less time in the presence of the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 Timothy 2:4 No soldier in active service gets entangled in the [ordinary business] affairs of civilian life; [he avoids them] so that he may please the one who enlisted him to serve. (Amplified Bible, AMP)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being concerned with the affairs of life cause you pray less, only when it is convenient, and\/or when you are in distress. You use church as your Bible study, worship time, praise time,  etc. because you have convinced yourself you don\u2019t have any other time available. Your goals, your job, and what you want to accomplish in life have become your priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark 4:19 Then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless. (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition AMPC)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this is a description of your current walk, you will not be ready. You should be watchful. But don\u2019t just look for the signs of the time and what is going on around you. Look at yourself on the inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 Corinthians 13:5 Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don\u2019t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. (The Message MSG)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Be diligent in your pursuit of God. Know with assurance Christ will return and you will be ready when He does. The world would like to convince you all you believe is a myth. Do you want to still be here after the rapture?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please agree with me as I pray:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father, I want to be ready when Jesus returns. I know He is soon to return because I look at the things happening every day. But as I look at my life, I tell myself it is natural for me to want to accomplish personal goals. I know there are goals I want to achieve and be proud of. I repent for those times when I wanted to succeed personally, and I was willing to risk failure spiritually. I am sorry I was not spending enough time; I was not spending dedicated time; and I was not spending consecrated time with You. I don\u2019t want to fit You in or talk to You whenever I get a chance. What a dangerous way to live. I want to make the time to be in Your presence. I want to make the time to study Your word. I want You to count me worthy. You reward the diligent. I want to be diligent in seeking You. I want to hear You and know it\u2019s You speaking, because we have a relationship. Thank You for the command. Help me heed it\u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

If you want to understand the rapture or decide what you believe, I believe this document<\/a> will help you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Ask the Lord what He wants to say to you about today\u2019s devotional and journal His response as described here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. Will you be ready? The Bible encourages, admonishes, and commands you to be ready at all times. You can read the signs of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[235],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2142,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions\/2142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}