Is preparation really that important? This devotional looks at the different ways in which we prepare to meet God.
Nuggets
- Paul said everyone is going to have to give an account of every thought, word, and deed that we have had while here in this life.
- We have to be prepared to be sentenced if we do not have the Child of Christmas as our Savior.
- We have to prepare to meet God at any time.
Choosing Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer and living that out means we will be rewarded with glory, honor, and eternal life.
Devotions in Silencing Our Hearts at Christmastime series
For the last six devotions, we been looking at being prepared for the birth of the Child of Christmas. But let’s get real for a second.
How important is it to be prepared?
In one word, very. Let’s look at how in the last devotion of the series.
Let's Put It into Context
Here is a running list of nuggets for the series.
Burton’s Preparation for Judgment is the foundation for this devotion.
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Preparing for Judgment Day
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (II Cor. 5: 10 ESV)
Paul said everyone is going to have to give an account of every thought, word, and deed that we have had while here in this life.
Scary, isn’t it? We think that, as disciples, we get to opt out of that.
Instead, Burton said we should use that to prepare. He wrote, “The very idea of standing before the judgment-seat of Christ should so overpower the mind with its awfulness that every moment should be busily employed in preparing for that hour.”
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The only way we can be prepared for Judgment Day is by making the Child of Christmas our Savior and Redeemer.
First, we have to believe that God is real and admit disobeyed Him. The churchy word for this is we have to repent. Repentance is acknowledging our separation from God and expressing sorrow for breaking God’s laws and commandments by making the commitment to change our sinful ways to ways of righteousness through obedience.
- Sin is not believing that Jesus is our Savior to save us from our actions by humans that disobey God and break one of His reasonable, holy, and righteous laws and commandments, goes against a purpose He has for us, or follows Satan’s promptings.
- Holy means to be set apart — because of our devotion to God — to become perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Spiritual graces are worldly morals that have been submitted to God to further His kingdom instead of enhancing this world.
- Sanctified means to be set free from sin.
- Pure means not being sinful or having the stain of sin.
- Virtues are standards of moral excellence.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Righteous means we are free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws.
- Holy means to be set apart — because of our devotion to God — to become perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues.
- Obedience means submitting ourselves to the will of God as it is presented to us and living our lives accordingly.
Glossary
Second, we have to believe Jesus is not only His Son but also our salvation. Salvation is the gift of life through the deliverance from condemnation and sin to acceptance and holiness and changes us from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
- Holiness is the transcendent excellence of His nature that includes elements of purity, dedication, and commitment that lead to being set apart.
- Purity means possessing God’s moral character, having eliminated the stain of sin.
- Spiritual death is the spiritual separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin.
- The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Glossary
Third, we have confess that God is Sovereign God.
Finally, we have to live as He calls us to live — which is to become as He is. The churchy word for that is we have to be sanctified. Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul, which begins with regeneration; gradually changes our nature and morals through the promptings of the Holy Spirit; and ends with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness.
- Regeneration is being changed from spiritually dead to spiritually alive and the internal new birth and requickening that God brings about through the work of the Holy Spirit to give us new character.
Glossary
Once we have accepted God’s gift of salvation, we do not have to fear judgment. We are His children. Our punishment has been removed.
Worldview people might believe that God was trying to frighten us or strong arm us into following Him. Parker said that was far from the case. Instead, this shows His love for us.
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Glossary
If God didn’t love us, He would just punish us without warning. Allowing us to prepare and change shows He wants us to love Him in return. His mercy is His love.
Worse, worldview people may think that, just because they don’t believe in God, they won’t be judged by Him. Solomon disabused us of that notion. He wrote, “Men can refuse to pray; refuse to repent and reform their ways; refuse to make confession of Christ: but there is one thing they cannot refuse to do, — they cannot refuse to meet God. The call of death all must hear and obey.”
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Everyone will be judged on whether they are blessed or cursed. Blessedness means we have been perfected. God put a curse on us as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin, making the terms sin and curse interchangeable.
Preparing for the Sentencing
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels’” (Mt. 25: 41 ESV)
We have to be prepared to be sentenced if we do not have the Child of Christmas as our Savior.
I almost entitled this as Preparing for the Judgment. Why is this a separate heading?
If we choose to make the Child of Christmas our Savior and Redeemer, everything will be fine. If we don’t, not so much.
This isn’t going to be a 25-year sentence. We aren’t going to get off for good behavior.
This is a lifetime sentence — an eternal lifetime sentence.
We have two choices — follow Jesus or deny Jesus. We have to say yes to following Jesus and living it out, or we say no to Him.
God isn’t going to change the verdict. Not on Judgment Day. Not a million years later.
Our sentence is our sentence for eternity.
Linden brought up an important point. We have a sense of justice. We want things to be right and those punished who do wrong.
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Worldview people just don’t think they are wrong because they cannot see God as being right.
He is.
Preparing Now
“The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away” (Ps. 90: 10 ESV)
We have to prepare to meet God at any time.
The thing is, we don’t know how long we will live. The average life span in the US is 77 years.
But that isn’t guaranteed. Facebook is filled with “armies” of people praying for children with cancer and other terminal diseases.
We aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. We can be killed in a car accident. We can be shot and killed in a robbery attempt. We can choke on a piece of meat.
Only God knows how long we have.
So, when God calls us to salvation, we want to decide now. We don’t want to wait until tomorrow. We don’t even want to wait until this afternoon — or in five minutes.
We want to give our lives to God now. We have to consciously decide to follow Him.
Preparing for Our Reward
“He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers” (Rom. 2: 7 NLT)
Choosing Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer and living that out means we will be rewarded with glory, honor, and eternal life.
Why? Because we are doing good. No, not good by the worldview. It isn’t random acts of kindness and other charity acts.
Robinson told us exactly what it is.
- “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Mic. 6: 8 ESV).
- “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Col. 3: 23 ESV).
- “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord” (Rom. 12: 11 ESV).
- “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22: 37-39 ESV).
- “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (I Pet. 2: 21-23 ESV).
What do we learn from these verses? It is loving the Lord and others and living the way He calls us to live.
Making the Connections #1
So, have you figured out how we prepare to meet God? Burns told us exactly how to prepare.
- Repentance
- Faith
- Regeneration
- Good works in the Holy Spirit
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Of course, preparation is going to be about our spiritual condition.
Making the Connections #2
Brooks hooked this to Christmas. He wrote, “These words contain the two elements of all advent thoughts, the promise of a coming, and the exhortation to prepare for that coming.”
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The Messiah had been promised years before. Israel watched for His coming.
Jesus is coming back again some day. We have to be prepared.
Making the Connections #3
We can’t physically see God right now. One day we will.
Think about that day. Some will be excited. Some will be surprised. Some will be scared out of their gourd.
What we feel in that day will be determined by how prepared we are to experience it.
How Do We Apply This?
- Evaluate ourselves to determine the status of our relationships with God.
- Search for Him if we do not have a relationship with Him.
- Constantly seek Him if we do.
- Show God gratitude.
- Worship God for His character.
- Work out our salvation by getting the character of God.
- Have our faith impact our hearts and actions.
- Follow how God’s Word tells us to prepare.
- Start preparing right now.
- Be genuine in our preparations.
- Don’t put it off.
- Don’t prepare in ways God does not call us.
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Father God. We want to be prepared to meet You this minute. We want to be more prepared as our lives continue. We ask that the Child of Christmas be our Savior and Redeemer. Amen.
What do you think?
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