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How to Practice for the Return of Jesus

 

WATCH TODAY’S EPISODE ON YOUTUBE.

CONSECRATE

Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. 

Jesus, I belong to you.

I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.

Jesus, we belong to you. 

Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen. 

HEAR

Luke 20:9–13 ESV

And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’”

CONSIDER

As you know by now, I come from a long line of farmers. Over the years, we have farmed our own land and also the land of other landowners who rented it out to us as sharecroppers. Now that my father is retired from active farming, he rents out his land to tenant farmers, much like the case in today’s text.
 
Whether it be planting, cultivation, or harvest season, Dad loves me to drive him around the farm, field to field, to see how the farmers are doing with the crops. This past summer I was driving my dad around in my truck when we had a similar experience as described in today’s text. As we rounded the end of one field I noticed a farm truck speeding in our direction. As they got within a hundred yards of us they stopped on the turn row. In the city you would think nothing of it and keep right on driving. On the farm, it means one thing—they expect you to stop when you get to their truck and roll down your window. I began to get a little nervous. Perhaps they thought we were trespassing and were coming to ask us to leave? After all, as mentioned, we were in an unfamiliar vehicle to them. 
 
As we approached, I could see the farmer had a bit of a scowl on his face. As I told Dad to brace for impact, I thought to myself, Oh no, here it comes. Then he spotted my dad seated across from me in the passenger seat. His face lit up like the sun with a huge smile, and he shouted with absolute joy, “Mr. Walt! It is soooo good to see you!” You can imagine the delight of my dad as he returned the joyful greeting and a gracious conversation ensued. 
 
I thought to myself, This is exactly what the Father hoped for when he sent his Son to the world to check in on us, his tenant farmers, and see how we were doing with his land. 

Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’”

He got the opposite:

But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. “This is the heir,” they said. “Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. (vv. 14–15)

And that’s exactly what we did. We threw the only Son of God out of his own vineyard, and we killed him. And guess what? He’s given us a second chance. He has entrusted the farm back to the followers of his crucified and risen Son, and he has left on another long trip. He is coming back. This time, let’s be prepared to give him a good crop report and an eager, joy-filled greeting: “Lord Jesus! It is sooooo good to see you!” 

How about we start practicing that greeting now? 

PRAY

Father, thank you for entrusting this world to us, a first time and now a second time. And we ask you for the grace to not only be good farmers, but to remember that it all belongs to you, that it’s your farm. In fact, we belong to you. And what a great day it will be when you come back to your farm. We miss you. In fact, we long for you to be here. So prepare the way, Lord. Awaken our hearts. Make us ready and eager and joyfully longing for your return, where we’ll say: “Jesus, welcome back. It’s so good to see you.” And we will spend the rest of eternity fellowshipping together on that farm. It’s in Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen. 

JOURNAL

So what do you think? How about that story? Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? Are you excited about his return? Are you looking forward to it? Are you dreading it? Or are you just kind of a little bit indifferent to it? 

SING

Today, we will sing “I am Thine, O Lord” (hymn 591) from our Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise.

For the Awakening,
J. D. Walt

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WHAT IS THIS? Wake-Up Call is a daily encouragement to shake off the slumber of our busy lives and turn our eyes toward Jesus. Each morning our community gathers around a Scripture, a reflection, a prayer, and a few short questions, inviting us to reorient our lives around the love of Jesus that transforms our hearts, homes, churches, and cities.

Comments and Discussion

5 Responses

  1. Self interests…? You got me sidetracked in ways. I moved from the city to a small farming community in South Georgia, struggling to get grass to grow in my yard, I am surrounded by those farmers who have hundreds of acres of yields. I envey the knowledge, skill and experience that is rarely voiced by that community. I see grass is no problem in their yards. But on the topic of self interests you mentioned, I sat and wondered about what it will be like for those who are going to heaven but remain with some deep self interests; like will there be Monday night football? So many I know are so imbedded in sports that they’ll spend 30 hours watching it and maybe an hour in prayer. What will heaven be like for modern Christians? Will they need their IPads and smartphones in heaven? Will we have great factories to produce all the products needed in the homes Jesus has gone to prepare for us, or football? I have to laugh at those preposterous ideas of such, when all we need is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I trust it will be provisioned by God the Almighty who has provided for us, even now. Whatever awaits me there, it will be good and I won’t have to worry about; will I know how to get my grass to grow. I trust God will make it all worth our time in preparing for Jesus’ return, and what we will find in our new homes. Hopefully no electronics, advertisements, and the end of holidays like Halloween. Thanks for another WUC. Sorry, I got sidetracked.

    Reply

    1. “Treasures in heaven” is a concept rooted in Christian teachings, particularly in the Bible. Jesus teaches about storing up treasures in heaven in Matthew 6:19-21, where he says:

      “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

      In this context, “treasures in heaven” refers to:

      1. Spiritual riches: Acts of kindness, generosity, and love that bring lasting value and reward in the afterlife.
      2. Eternal investments: Good deeds, charitable giving, and living a life of faith and obedience to God.

      These treasures are considered eternal and imperishable, unlike earthly treasures that are temporary and fleeting. The idea is to prioritize what’s truly important and lasting, rather than focusing solely on material wealth

      Reply

    2. I’m no bible scholar, but I think our treasures are the people who make Eternity because we are faithful to do what Jesus asks us to do. By not focusing on perishable things, I can see people who need Jesus.

      Reply

  3. “The Fruit of the Vineyard”

    Jesus wants His followers to surrender to and be continually led by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:14) He wants Christians to give Him the fruit of the Spirit (the fruit of the vineyard, Luke 20:10) overflowing from their heart to Him, to one another, and to everyone they encounter. (Galatians 5:22-23)

    Jesus Christ wants people to have the glorious inner freedom (Romans 8:21) to unceasingly follow and obey God the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:1) He wants to set us free from bondage to religious laws (Galatians 5:4-6) and legalistic traditions (Mark 713) so that we can be led by the Spirit instead of being ruled by religious expectations, and regulations. (Galatians 5:18) Jesus wants us to not quench the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) so that God’s rivers of living water can continually overflow from deep within us (John 7:38-39) and produce the wonderful fruit of the Spirit that is free from the religious law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

    Christians need to be trained to “live by the Spirit” and to “keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25) It’s not effective for them to merely be taught more and more religious information every Sunday. (2 Timothy 3:5-7) Christ-followers need more than sermons. They need interactive, hands-on, Spirit-led discipleship. (Matthew 28:19) Then they can live a lifestyle free from bondage to Spirit-quenching pride, spiritual envy, and church conflict. (Galatians 5:26)

    Reply

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