*DAILY ⓂANNA*WEDNESDAY 28TH DECEMBER, 2022*FLEE THE RAT RACE*

🗣️FLEE THE RAT RACE💫

It is advisable you read the text first

📜TEXT:LUKE 21:29-38📜

Luke 21:29-38
[29]And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;[30]When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.[31]So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

[32]Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled[33]Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
[34]And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.[35]For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

[36]Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.[37]And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives.[38]And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him.

🔑📖KEY VERSE: "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares" (LUKE 21:34).

There is a growing parallel between the events of the last days and the days leading to the close of every year. As the year draws to an end, there has come a rush of activities such as travel, shopping, revelry and gatherings for all sorts of ceremonies. Men and women are in the firm grip of the spirit of the rat race.

Our Lord went into more specifics as He dwelt on what would obtain in the world on the threshold of His Second Coming. As He spoke of the sign of the fig tree and the other vegetation to announce the nearness of His return, He also warned His disciples not to be swallowed by the activities of the time. They should avoid overindulgence in materialism and the seemingly legitimate demands of career, culture and community. They would be a "snare" upon the unguarded believer who would want to move with the times.

As the year rolls to an end, there will be invitations to feasts and gatherings from all and sundry in the name of bidding farewell to the year. We need to be careful of these as they promote worldliness, promiscuity, carelessness and other forms of carnal indulgence. Rather than being in such gatherings that may not exalt the Lord, we should spend the time to watch, pray and seek to promote His glory while we expect His return.

Instead of being drawn away by the rat race common during this season, we should focus on activities and programmes that will direct the attention of people towards the coming of the Lord and help them get ready. This is the most worthwhile and rewarding activity to engage in at this time.

✍🏽THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Don't just dine and wine this season; win the lost for Christ.

📜THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:``` EZEKIEL 39-42📜

    *MEDITATION*

Watching for Christ's second coming

1. The signs of His coming
a. All the signs of His second coming are fulfilled and there is nothing standing between us and His coming, starting with the rapture, v31.
b. Only the careless will ignore the reality of all signs being fulfilled, vv29,30.
c. The generation of Jews will not be extinct till Jesus comes again. The Jews have pass has through many things meant to destroy them from the global map but no king or kingdom ever succeeded because of the words of Jesus in v32.

Question
Can you recall the "iron furnace" the Jews have passed through both in the Bible and History which could have wiped them off? Jesus said His coming is as certain as the inability of man to totally wipe off any generation of the Jews.

2. The certainty of His coming
a. The fact is repeated by virtually all the writing prophets that matter in the Bible.
b. All the writing Apotles also prophesied it with full clarity.
c. The reality is more certain that the certainty of the existence of heaven and earth, vv32,33. Even if and when heaven and earth cease to exist, the prophesy remains intact.

3. The caution for those who are Christs
a. For the unbelievers, His coming will be a snare that they will fall into because they will never watch for it in reality, v35.
b. For believers, meeting up is not automatic. There must be deliberate, daily and delightful warchfulness and waiting for Him, v36.
c. Watch against the peculiar characteristics of this age, which is the love of entertainment and pleasure, that have also crept in to the church, and make sure you are not entangled, v34.

Questions
a. What are the those things you should watch against in v34 if the day will not meet you unprepared?
b. What is the specific prayer point Jesus gave the saints concerning His coming?, v36.

Prayer points
Lord, make your coming very real in my spirit🙏
Give me the spirit and the watchfulness that is always waiting and watching for your coming🙏
Lord, give me the power that will live the life that will count me worthy to stand before you🙏
God, block all the doors of carelessness in the church🙏

HYMN He is coming again

Good morning sir/ma.
Remember the content a got from the DEEPER CHRISTIAN LIFE MINISTRY daily-manna in December

[Source of the content]: Daily Manna