Be Vigilant. Stay ready. For the kingdom of heaven will come unexpectedly.
Good day, all. Glory be to God. In the month of November, I studied 4 devotionals. They were:
- John 5:2-14 (Arise, Take Up Your Bed and Walk)
- Matthew 18:18-20 (Divine Mandate)
- Matthew 13:24-32 (While Men Slept...)
- Matthew 24:36-44 (A Sudden Return)
Arise, Take Up Your Bed and Walk
As we come to the end of 2021, this devotional makes the perfect intro to the next year. For those of you who like me, start to plan for the new year a few months early, this is your call to action. Arise, take up your planner, or your journal, or whatever it is you use to look ahead and get moving.
Divine Mandate
This year was the first time that my faith in the word: "...truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven..." was challenged. This may be because I have rarely prayed together in a group for the same exact thing, or because every time I have done so to date, my prayers have been answered. I am not sure which.
But this year for the first time, I, along with many members of my immediate and extended family, prayed in unison for the life of my uncle Folabi to be saved and for him to be healed... and he was not. He passed away on the 15th of September 2021, survived by his parents, siblings, wife, and two children (and the rest of us extended family members).
His untimely death continued to haunt me in the months following and as you can see I am still talking about it. But I finally decided to put the matter to bed when in October, my devotionals led me to a resolution. I hope it leads anyone struggling with death to one too.
Damola Mabogunje
While Men Slept
This devotional focuses on parables about the kingdom of heaven. How the wheat and the weeds are left to grow together until harvest time i.e. the good and the bad grow up together until the rapture. How the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, tiny to begin with, but it eventually grows into the largest of trees giving support and cover to those who need it.
A Sudden Return
And finally, our last devotional of the month prepares us for the second coming of Jesus Christ. It warns that like in the days of Noah and the Ark, there will be no warning before Jesus comes. Like the floods that wiped the earth clean, Christ will come unexpectedly.
So we should be vigilant and keep watch. Let us all be ready when Christ comes again.
Conclusion
November's devotionals re-introduced me to a number of topics. The kingdom of heaven, the second coming, and the idea of being ready. You have to be vigilant to be ready, and you have to work at it to grow from a tiny mustard seed into a mustard tree. So I wrap this month up with the following sentence:
Be vigilant. Stay ready. For the Kingdom of heaven will come unexpectedly.