January 21

Luke 21:34 (NIV)
34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.

I don’t think I have ever noticed this verse before. Of course it is given in the context of Jesus’ discourse on end times but this principle of living is a great encouragement. The warning from Jesus is that you won’t be prepared for the end because you won’t see it coming because you will see little or care little about the things of God and His Kingdom. It is the weighing down of our hearts that struck me today. The sin that so easily entangles us, the worry that so quickly floods us causes us to “to experience difficulty by burdensome and troublous obligations”. To be careful is to be in a continued state of readiness. Jesus is saying to us to be continually ready, to watch out so we don’t slide into party mode or become overcome by the cares of this world so that we only see THIS WORLD! Church, be on guard and don’t let yourself, don’t let life weigh you down! Not only will you miss the signs of the end, but you will miss His Kingdom’s presence and power all around you.

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.