As Seventh-Day Adventist Christian teens, we’ve always grown up with the doctrinal teaching of Christ’s soon return. In fact, that’s what what the word “Adventist” means in our denominational name. An Adventist is someone who believes in Jesus’ second advent–or coming.
Although we as Seventh-Day Adventist Christian teens know and understand that Jesus is coming again soon, I’m sure some of us may be wondering:
Okay, I know Jesus is coming again soon–but HOW can I get ready?
In this devotional series, we’re gonna look into HOW to get ready for Jesus’ second coming on a basic, practical level.
To start off, we’re gonna look into Mark 13:32-33:
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.
How does this verse apply to us as Seventh-Day Adventist Christian teens who wanna know the practical dynamics of preparing for Jesus’ second coming?
In verse 33, Jesus gives us three things to do while we wait for Him to return:
- Take heed
- Watch
- Pray
For part one of this devotional series, we’re gonna dig deeper into those words “take heed.” What does it mean to”take heed?”
The words “take heed” come from a single Greek word, which is blepō (βλέπω). And
blepō (βλέπω) means “to see;to look at; to HAVE UNDERSTANDING.”
How does this definition connect with practically preparing for Jesus’ second coming?
Well, one of the basic steps to prepare for Christ’s soon return is to “see” and “understand” the signs that signify that His second coming is closer than ever before (Matthew 24:1-31).
But I believe taking heed, seeing, and understanding go way deeper than just intellectually knowing the signs of Christ’s soon return.
What do I mean by that?
In Proverbs 9:10, we read:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Did you guys catch that? We just learned that one of the definitions for “take heed” is UNDERSTANDING! And according to Proverbs 9:10, understanding is “the knowledge of the Holy One.”
What kind of knowledge is this verse talking about? I really like how the Good News Translation puts it:
To be wise you must first have reverence for the Lord. If you know the Holy One, you have understanding. (Proverbs 9:10 GNT)
Is this talking about just a cold, formal head knowledge of God?
No! It’s talking about KNOWING God; having a personal, experiential knowledge of God and His love. It is this kind of knowledge that will help us get ready for Jesus’ second coming.
Why?
Because when you have a personal, experiential knowledge of God; when you know Him as your Best Friend, your PERSONAL Savior, you can easily look at all the crashing flood of end-time signs with no fear because you know that the One Who is coming is Jesus–YOUR Redeemer, YOUR Companion, YOUR God. The One Who is coming soon to take you home is Someone you’ve always spent time with every day. That, my friend, is TRULY taking heed. It kind of reminds me of a beautiful statement that I read one time:
To His faithful followers Christ has been a daily companion and familiar friend. They have lived in close contact, in constant communion with God. Upon them the glory of the Lord has risen. In them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ has been reflected. Now they rejoice in the undimmed rays of the brightness and glory of the King in His majesty. They are prepared for the communion of heaven; for they have heaven in their hearts.
–{Christ’s Object Lessons page 420, emphasis added
The first practical step to getting ready for Jesus’ second coming is to spend time getting to know Him, spending time reading His holy word, and spending time praying to Him. That, my friend, is truly taking heed.
But dear reader, I wanna appeal to you today to take time and think about whether or not you are truly taking heed. I wanna appeal to you to ask God to search your heart (Psalm 139:23-24) and see if you are truly taking time to get to know God, to read His holy word, and to pray to Him. Because, friend, Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:23 are very solemn ones:
And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Dear reader, is it your desire to prepare for Jesus’ second coming and have Heaven in your heart? To truly take heed; to genuinely understand God for yourself and experience His goodness and love for you personally? Then I’d like to appeal to you to pray the following prayer below:
I’d like to conclude this post with a verse I hope and pray you’ll find encouraging, and one you may meditate on along with the above prayer:
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
(Jeremiah 29:13)
May God implant within each of our hearts a deep, genuine, and earnest desire to seek Him, to find Him, and to know Him more and more every day–until our hearts shine with the holy brightness of Heaven itself!
Amen! Maranatha!
Stay tuned for part 2 of this series on getting ready for Jesus’ second coming, where we’ll explore what it means to WATCH (Mark 13:33)! [NOTE: You can now view part 2 by CLICKING HERE]