Sunday, November 5, 2017

Luke 12 - "People Get Ready"


The Lord woke me this morning with a vision/dream. I was half awake so I'm not sure if I would call it a vision or a dream. I had prayed in the night for people to be in church today and for pastors to preach the Gospel and extend an invitation. I also prayed for Sunday School teachers to be aware of those in their class who needed an invitation to Him. It was not time for the clock to go off yet when I had this vision/dream so I was tempted to try to go back to sleep. But the Lord prompted me to get up and have some extra time with Him. I am still trying to comprehend what I saw...

It was a passenger train full of people...well it appeared to be full yet people kept jumping on and it continued to have room. The conductor was taking tickets as fast as he could. He kept looking at his pocket watch as if time was running short before the train was to leave. The people kept coming and they all had smiles on their faces. As the last person got on, the conductor took his stop watch out one more time with a frown on his face and a tear in his eye. The train started to pull out and the conductor jumped on. As it did there was one last man running to get on. The conductor put out his hand and the man grabbed it. With a smile on his face the conductor pulled the man onto the train as it gained speed.

Someone, somewhere will accept the Lord today. I see God as the Conductor in this vision. He is saddened when people are not living with Him in their heart. When one accepts Him, He is blessed. God wants us to walk in His salvation and in His holiness. He desires we love Him with our whole being. There is always room for one more on His train. Oh how I pray for people to be ready to accept Him into their life. I pray they will be ready to go the extra mile so to speak and allow Him to be Lord of Lords of their life. 

Luke 12 is full of warnings to all about how we need to live in expectancy. It is also full of encouraging words for all who walk in His presence. In verses thirty-five through forty we read of how we need to be ready for His return. Luke uses four word pictures to get his point across. "Be dressed in readiness"..."keep your lamps alight"...the picture of the servants waiting their master's return from a wedding feast...the picture of a thief breaking into a home during the night. We are told in verse forty "You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him" (NIV). How can we be ready? Plain and simple. We read in verses forty-two through forty-eight that He must be the Lord of Lords over our life, we must be His servant and we must live in expectation of His return. As we allow Him to be Lord over our life, we will have the desire in our heart to be His servant in different, new ways. It is an exciting place to live. He takes us to places we have never gone before to be His hands and feet. He introduces us to people who need to know His love in a different, new way. God will be the Judge over all. His ways must be walked in obedience in order to live with Him for eternity. We all have a choice to make. That choice goes beyond salvation and into a life of obedience. It may mean the difference of living in heaven or hell. I want Him to call be "blessed" (KJV) as He spoke in verses thirty-seven, thirty-eight and forty three. He will punish those who are not following Him. Luke ends this chapter with talking about how life on this earth will become disruptive to try to make people come to the end of themselves before He returns. In The Message Luke writes of a "change in the season, the God-season we're in right now" (MSG). I believe we are in a season of change as we draw nearer to His return. My desire is to be on 'His train' not just at the last moment but for a long time so I can be used as His servant. I want to be ready at all times. Therefore, I must stay prayed-up and loving on all I come in contact with.

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for giving me the privilege to pray during the night. Thank You for the vision/dream You gave me. Thank You for the time You gave Doc and I yesterday to spend together in between ministry. Thank You for friends who gave us the gift card to go out to eat. I am so blessed in knowing You love us so greatly as we walk in obedience to You. 'Thank You' seems so inadequate. I pray today for more people to find a 24/7 life with You. I pray for people who are teetering on the fence about whether to go to church today to make the decision to go. I also pray for pastors to not only preach boldly but to also offer an invitation for people to come to You. Lord, cleanse me and fill me with more of You so people will see/hear You through me. I pray for the one we dropped grocery items off to yesterday to not only have a healing in her physical body but most importantly her spiritual body. I ask that You continue to open doors for us in our city to be Your hands and feet. May You shine brightly through us. Thank You for being My Conductor. Amen.


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