Scripture: Phillipians 1 v 4 - 6: "Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"
Basically, are we ready for the day of Jesus Christ? Do we even know what that day is? One thing is made clear, it is the day when the good work started in you by Him, is completed. Therefore, we are being made ready for that day.
We can pray for each other to be ready but if someone is resisting prayer, or change, or truth, that needs to be overcome first. Audit your own life today and ask yourself, Am I ready to leave Earth for Heaven? Am I confident that Jesus is pleased with me and can say, Well done good and faithful servant, enter into your rest?
Check list:-
1. I have confessed my sins, repented, been forgiven. Jesus has come into my heart and I am born again. My names is written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
2. I have been baptized by full immersion in water. Being christened as a baby is meaningless tradition that gains no benefit for the baby.
3. I have received the promise of the Father - the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues and other gifts.
4. I have renewed my mind to line up with what God says in His Word and realising that God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. His Word is true and unchangeable and we must be in agreement with Him or find ourselves opposing Him.
5. I am willing and able to share the love of Jesus and my testimony of how He saved me and has changed me with people who don't know Him to hopefully change their minds.
6. I have a wonderful relationship with Jesus Christ. We know each other well and are great friends.
7. I pray and read my Bible everyday to learn obedience to God.
If the above seven points are real and complete in your life then you are ready to enter eternal life with confidence. Eternal life starts the day you are born again and you are already a citizen of Heaven and no longer belong to this world. It sometimes takes a while to adjust. But we must.
The Lord has been impressing this message upon my heart because there are some who are quite sure God accepts them as they are and loves them no matter what they do or how they treat others. He is using this time of lockdown and fear of this deadly coronavirus to give us space to reflect and make sure we are ready to go.
Jesus loves us and wants nothing to prevent us being with Him forever.
In Job 42 the humble man, Job, continually confessed the greatness of God and his own nature. He hated himself and repented in dust and ashes. It's quite a while since I have heard of people repenting in dust and ashes, but it was quite common forty years ago. It's a very humbling experience and if you are truly battling with pride and arrogance, it is a real way to break it.
Romans 8 v 28 - 29: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."
God knew us before the foundation of this world and He made a way for us to be tissue-perfect to match Jesus, so that the Body of Christ would be the true image of His Son.
One thing is certain, the Lord has turned this world upside down with this coronavirus and to those who have ears to hear, the trumpets are starting to call out an alert to the whole world......Are you ready for I am coming soon!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, if any of us are not ready for whatever comes next, please highlight these areas in our lives so that we might conform to the image of Your Son, which is Your high standard mark. We will always fall short of His perfection but help us Lord to be as close as possible. In Jesus' name. Amen.
