Watch and Be Ready – The Presidential Prayer Team

Watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life. – Luke 21:34

The majority of Luke chapter 21 is generally referred to as the Olivet Discourse because it is a sermon given by Jesus on the Mount of Olives. Some have suggested it could be called the End Times Lecture since Jesus speaks about the end of the age. He tells of the destruction of the temple, of wars and persecutions, the further destruction of Jerusalem, His second coming, and the sign of the fig tree. Then He cautions you to be watchful. Stay awake, stay alert, stay sober, and stay strong. He assured His disciples and you that “all these things” are going to take place.

Many Christians devote themselves to the study of eschatology – the end times – because the topic is an important part of understanding God’s Word. Arguments and disputes have arisen over the timing of events, rapture, tribulation, judgments, millennialism, the eternal state, and all that surrounds them. However, Jesus assured His disciples, including you, that the important thing is to know Him, stay connected to Him, and be watchful for Him… for, indeed, He is coming again!

God has a plan for the ages, and He is working out His plan. You are not able to know what He is going to do next, but you can have confidence that His Word is true and these things will happen, because they must. Pray, therefore, for those who remain in spiritual darkness. For them, and for all of humanity, the Light has come, and the time to decide to follow is growing short.

Today’s Verse: Luke 21:34

But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Recommended for further reading: Luke 21:20-28, 34-36

²⁰“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. ²¹Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, ²²for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. ²³Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. ²⁴They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

²⁵“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

³⁴“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. ³⁵For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”