"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come." Mark 13:32-33

You are alert, for you are waiting for someone -- a special someone. At first each approaching person is scanned to be sure he or she is not the one. Time goes on. Ways and means are discovered to pass the time. Each glance at the clock makes one marvel that minutes can pass so slowly. When will the person come?

Perhaps you have experienced this as you've waited for the doctor to return with a report or waited for a friend or a soon-to-come guest. The arrival seems to take forever.

We are warned that it is so with Christ's final coming. No one knows just when He will return. We are told to be alert, to be ready. When we least expect it, Christ will return to claim His own.

Christ gives us directions on how to pass the time until He returns. As we wait and watch, we are to share with others the glorious message of our Savior. We are to enlist other guards in the watch. We are to make disciples of all nations so they too may be ready and join us in the great celebration when our Savior returns.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, keep me alert for Your coming. Help me share Your Word as I wait for You. Amen.

(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)

Today's Bible Readings: Daniel 11-12    1 Timothy 1

To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"