1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 - The Bridegroom

1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 "There is no need to write you, brothers, about the times and occasions when these things will happen. For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief comes at night." (TEV)

Matthew 25:6-13 "It was already midnight when the cry rang out, 'Here is the bridegroom! Come and meet him!' The ten girls woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 Then the foolish ones said to the wise ones, 'Let us have some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.' 'No, indeed,' the wise ones answered, 'there is not enough for you and for us. Go to the store and buy some for yourselves.' So the foolish girls went off to buy some oil; and while they were gone, the bridegroom arrived. The five girls who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was closed. "Later the other girls arrived. 'Sir, sir! Let us in!' they cried out. 'Certainly not! I don't know you,' the bridegroom answered." And Jesus concluded, "Watch out, then, because you do not know the day or the hour." (TEV)

Matthew 7:23 "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (KJV)

Facing one's mortality causes a person to re-evaluate various aspects of his/her life.......at least that was the case when I had recovered from my heart attack. I began to look over the number of different things I had going and found out after my review that none of them added up to come close to an eternity of separation from my Lord. The many "jewels" of the mortal life are gone once the door of death is opened and I pass through.........then I am faced by a Holy and Just God...........and I will be judged according to what I did for Him.

The day I made that assessment I was lying in a hospital bed. When I was through, I came up woefully short of things I'd done for the Lord............and that hit me so hard I cried..........and I asked Him to give me another chance, and the next time I did the tally, I promised Him, it would look better.

Well, God did forgive me..........just as His Word has said, but I still needed a nudge from Him by briefly experiencing what an eternity would be without Him........and it literally terrified me into getting serious on my walk with the Lord. I'm not proud that the Lord had to take a second pass at me, in fact, I'm acutely embarrassed. But I'm deeply grateful He did.

I know I've shared these experiences before in these devotionals. But I continue to share them because of the impact they had on me and my life with the Lord. They changed me..............they planted in me a hunger to get to know the God I took so much for granted earlier in my life. It is through God's mercy that I type these words tonight....I did nothing to earn another chance, but He gave it to me just the same..............and, perhaps as an added benefit, I will learn something more about my God through their ministry to someone else.

It's true.......I'll never know the hour............but I will do my best to be one of the five above who has his lamp full of oil and his wick trimmed when the Bridegroom comes for me.

Love in Jesus,

Jim

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"But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired." (1 Corinthians 12:18 NASB)

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."

This devotional was originally posted on CCI-Devo - Daily Group Devotionals on December 29, 2003 in post #441. It was written by Jim Ross, a former United Pentecostal Church member, who attends Christian Challenge International, the sponsor of the devotional group. The devotional is the copyright of Jim Ross and is reprinted on this site by permission.