“The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life, and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare. Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.”

For you are fully aware, that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness, so that this day should overtake you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 1 Thessalonians 5:2,4-6

My brothers and sisters in Christ, today begins the forty-day Lenten Season, a season of reflection and repentance. Let us be mindful, of all that the Lord endured to give us our freedom. Many of us take that liberty for granted, we continue to do evil in God’s sight, forgetting how patient he has been with us; but Scripture reminds us in Ecclesiastes 8:11, that, “When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.” But know that the coming of the Lord is imminent, many believe, that because they have been hearing this for so long, that the Lord is being slow on his promise. He is not slow; he is being patient with us. “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come, and not delay. The day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it, will be laid bare.” My brothers and sisters in Christ, now is the accepted time, a time for repentance, the time to WATCH AND PRAY, that you may not be caught off-guard.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, we are reminded in Hebrews 10:36 “Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.” So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward. Therefore, we must be joyful in hope, be patient in affliction, and continue to be faithful in prayer.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, because we walk by faith and not by sight, we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Hope that is seen is not hope, for why does one still hope for what he sees? But, if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Romans 8:24-25

Likewise, the spirit helps us in our weaknesses, for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercessions for us, with groaning which cannot be uttered. Now, he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because he makes intersessions for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:27-28

“Others, Lord, yes others, let this my motto be, help me to live for others, that I may live like Thee. Help me in all the work I do, to be sincere and true, and know that all I would do for you, must be done for others. Let “Self” be crucified and slain, and buried deep, not rise again, and may all my efforts be in vain, unless they be for others. So, when my work on earth is done, and my new work in heaven’s begun, may I forget the crown I’ve won, while thinking still of others. Others, Lord, yes others, let this my motto be, help me to live for others, that I may live like Thee.”

Many times we get upset when our true friends corrects us, but Scripture reminds us in Proverbs 27:6 that the wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, before we were formed in the whom God knew us, before we were born, he set us apart for himself for good works, he has loved us unfailingly. But, do we love him? Do we know him? “If anyone loves God, he is known by God.”