(Jesus said) "But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into." Matthew 24:43
Have you heard of a "house sitter"?
A house sitter is a person who comes and lives in your home when you are away. The house sitter makes sure all the appliances keep working, the pets are taken care of, and the owner's home is kept secure.
It really is quite a comfort to have someone you can trust watching over your place.
Nicholas Truesdell would not qualify.
Oh, it's not that Truesdell wasn't a house sitter. He was. He watched over the home of a young couple while they were away on vacation. Truesdell slept in the master bedroom; he watched television; he spent time on the computer; he even kept the owner's car in top running condition.
There is only one small, hardly-to-be-mentioned problem: the couple on vacation didn't know Truesdell was there. They didn't know because they hadn't invited him to watch their home.
Truesdell did that all on his own by forcing open a rear window.
Have you noticed the forces of evil are getting pushy? Once upon a time evil hid under the cover of darkness. It was ashamed to show its face and it skulked through the streets and hid in the shadows. Now, evil walks into your home and makes itself at home.
This is precisely why Christians need to band together. The above situation might have been prevented if the couple on vacation had asked the neighbors to watch their home. It might never have happened if the neighbors had kept a lookout.
The same is true for the family of faith.
No, I'm not saying we should all be nosy, butting into the affairs of others. I am saying we who have been redeemed by the Savior's sacrifice need to be concerned for the welfare of each other.
From a devotion originally written for "By the Way"
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, the Bible says we are to love each other, to support each other. Send Your Holy Spirit upon us so we might do so; help us to help each other take a stand against the powers of darkness. In the Name of Jesus we pray it. Amen.
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In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 136, 146 1 Corinthians 3
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