Monday, July 6th, 2009 "Guard Duty"

Tsunami Devotional by Steve Keaton

Monday, July 6^th, 2009

Title: Guard Duty

Text: Mark 13:32-37 (NIV)

³²"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. ³⁴It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

³⁵"Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. ³⁶If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. ³⁷What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!' "

When I was 19 years old I had the amazing experience of spending 17 weeks in the US Army Basic Training and Reconnaissance School. These weeks often felt like years as we would wake up at 4AM and often not lay our heads on our pillows until around midnight. Back in the day the Army had a commercial that boasted that they did more by 9AM than most people did all day. Take it from me. That is not a false statement. They just fail to mention that they wake up 4 hours before most normal people. Anyway, one of the hoops that we had to jump through during those ridiculously cold months at Fort Knox, Kentucky was pulling guard duty. Wow, I actually just got goose pumps just thinking about it.

Guard duty consisted of one lone soldier, bundled up in like 30 layers of clothing, gloves and the ugliest toboggan one could ever put on their head. Then the Drill Sergeant would drop us off at a location where tanks and other military vehicles were parked. Our job was the walk around for 2 hours and make sure no one jumped a fence and stole one of the tanks. Right! Like some hooligan is roaming around an Army base, in the middle of the night, in the winter when the temperature is below 0 and decide to jump a fence, break into a tank and take it for a joy ride. But nonetheless, that was part of our training and certainly something we had to take serious enough. I mean, who wants to be known as the guy who allowed someone to steal a tank? So I remember thinking to myself that I needed to do my best to not only stay awake but to make sure that no one got by me. I was told to keep watch and that was what I was going to do. Because who knew when I would be asked to do it for real?

Well, that is exactly what all of us who call ourselves “Christ Followers” have been told to do. Maybe we haven’t been asked to stand guard and watch for someone who may want to steal an Army tank, but instead Jesus gives us our orders through the text found in Mark 13. We are to keep our eyes open and our hearts prepared for the return of our savior. Who knows when this will happen? The answer is that only God knows of hour of this return. Not Jesus, not your pastor, not the President of the Unites States. Only our Creator knows. And I’ll tell you this much, I want to be prepared and ready to watch my savior return in all of his glory. And as much as this world would like to distract us from our orders to keep watch, just know that Jesus will be back for us. On a day and at a time when most would least expect it, Jesus will return.

So will you join me in standing guard duty and keeping watch for the return of Jesus? Will you stand with me and prepare ourselves for the day our King returns to take his people on to paradise? Will you walk with me, keeping our eyes fixed on the sky eagerly anticipating the moment we see Christ break through the clouds ready to embrace those who have called on his name? All we have to do is prepare our hearts and minds with the things of God, stay awake, alert and watch. And we don’t even have to wear a funny hat.

Something to Think About:

• What can we do to prepare ourselves for the return of our King?
• What distractions should we avoid?
• How can we help others be prepared for the return of Jesus?

A Few Minutes with God:

God, I thank you for the promise of the return of my savior. I pray for your guidance and strength to help challenge and prepare me for the day Jesus comes back for his people. Please use me to help spread the word and help others be prepared as well. Help me avoid the worldly distractions that would draw my attention away from keeping watch. Amen.