Weekly Devotion

April 11 2021

The Day and Hour Unknown
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but
only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would
happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the
Son of Man. Matthew 24:36-39 NIV

As I write this devotion, we are just coming out of a record breaking winter storm event. So
many people were affected by the February storm. My husband and I were fortunate. We listened
to the weather forecasters and took the necessary precautions. Propane tank filled? Check!
Bottled water? Check! Candles? Check! Food supplies for several days? Check! Plenty of books
to read? Check! (I know…not on everyone’s preparedness checklist but it’s on mine!). We did
everything we could think of to be prepared for whatever might happen.
All the preparedness got me to thinking: Do I put as much effort into my preparedness for
heaven as I did to prepare for the winter storm? Am I spending as much time studying my Bible
as I should? How’s my prayer life? Am I working as hard on my relationship with God as I did
preparing for the storm? Or as a long time Christian, am I coasting? Ouch.
And then of course, my brain jumped to: What about my friends and family? My neighbors? I
spent time every day during the storm texting friends and family to check on them. What am I
doing as a Christian to live out my life as an example for them to help them prepare for heaven?
According to different reports I have read, up to 26% of people in my area do not believe in God.
You might read 26% and think, that’s not too bad. But what if I give you a number? The
population of my county is just over 85,000. So 26% of that is over 22,000. Makes you stop and
think doesn’t it?
Church, I ask you: Are you prepared? Are you doing all you can to ensure heaven is filled?
Let us pray:
Father God – we come to you asking forgiveness for all those times when we are just coasting.
Renew in us a sense of urgency. A sense of purpose. A sense of preparedness. We don’t want a
single person to be “homeless” when it comes to your eternal home you have prepared for us.
Father, open our eyes and our hearts to the opportunities around us every day to lead others to
you.