Have you ever fell asleep when you really needed to stay awake? Maybe you was babysitting and you took a nap when the children watched the movie. Maybe you have been driving and have been struggling to stay awake to drive. We’ve all been there. Even Peter, James, and John, (Jesus’s disciples), fell asleep when Jesus asked them to stay awake and pray with him. So it’s a human thing, right?
Well if you’ve watched the news you’ve seen Paris had been attacked. Many of their people now are to scared for sleep. They are scared to leave their homes now. They have made themselves stay awake. Sunday, I attended church not expecting to hear a message about Paris, but I did. There country is now in “High Alert”, correct? Why? -Because they are searching for the men who done this. They are searching on alert and wide awake searching for the evil one.
Now you probably thinking, “Marli you are going so far down a rabbit hole that this is sounding crazy.”, but I beg you to ride this out with me. I have a point.
Paris is searching for the one who attacked them, but as Christians we know who are enemy is and we still don’t search to defeat him. Why? We know how to. God tells us that even the demons Trimble at the sound of his name. They know who he is. Satan himself knows his time is limited, he knows he must kill steal and destroy ever one in his path because there will be a day; that My God prevails! He will ride upon a white horse and he will make ever knee bow and ever tongue confess that He Is GOD!
Now your probably amening or nodding your head at your phone or computer screen right now, saying “Yes I believe this.” But do you really? Do we really believe that he is coming? God tells us that if we have the faith of a mustard seed that we could move a mountain. Have you seen a mustard seed? There tiny…. Sure it should be easy for us to have that much faith, but how many mountains could you move right now with your faith? A mole hill? A dirt clump? I mean really. In Mark 14:32-42, Jesus begs Peter, James, and John to STAY AWAKE, or in other words STAY ALERT. Then even Jesus begged that he wouldn’t have to die…… He was man just like us. He felt every nail. He wept like we have. He’s bled. He’s lived. He’s loved. He has overcome the life we live now, and he asked his closest friends to pray. Why? Because the hour was near. Read that again… “THE HOUR WAS NEAR.”
What’s the differentence between Peter, James, and John vs. us? Nothing… Because we as Christians, we as a church have Fallen asleep, and we don’t know what to do. Because we are supposed to be praying, because the hour is near… Praying for the lost, praying to be closer to him, praying so HIS will would be DONE as he has it planned.
And I know we as humans get scared. That’s why he promised to never leave us. In Psalms 121: 1-8 he says, “I lift my eyes unto The hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord. The maker of heaven and earth.”. When you look at a hill, do you think of God or do you say oh it’s a hill? God made that and he made us, and just like he protected his people before he will Protect us now. And I f you read on he says that, “The Lord is my keeper. The Lord is your shade . The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon at night. The Lord preserve you from all evil. psalms 112:5-7” .
Read that last line, “The Lord preserves you from all evil.” He keeps you safe. He keeps you safe. He keeps you safe, from what? Evil. The evil that’s in the world today, the evil that kills steals and destroys, the evil we call the devil. He protects us from him.
We should be able to stay awake then to be alert, right? You maybe fired up now but you have to keep adding more wood to your fire because you will burn out. You will fall asleep . Because Jesus warned them twice personally to stay awake and they couldn’t. He’s asking us to stay awake spirituality, so that we can be alert.
You’ve seen the news, and spoiler alert! We win in the end… But a lot die. Why? Because they don’t know Jesus, and that’s our job to tell them. How many times will you fall asleep? Are you willing to pray, even read your bible. Yes read your bible. That’s how God strengthens us. Don’t give up now, our fight is just beginning. Stay awake for the hour has come. Stay awake because God needs us to be ready and listen to him. Will you? I pray you do, because these are the days of Daniel. These are the days of Jospeh. These are the days of Peter. We are living in the days that have already happened, but just like history- it repeats itself. We have the book to tells us how to live, fight, and win. Are you reading it? It’s called the bible. Pick it up, you’ll need one.
-Marli
(Part of this was inspired by the sermon I had on Sunday from Lyn Gaskey. So I have to give credit to him as well. But most of all to God who tells us what all to say,write,and do.)
Just Being Marli 