How should I prepare for the coming of Christ?
Matthew 3:2“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
1 Peter 1:13-15So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.
Revelation 3:8-12“I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love. Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name.”
Prepare for Christ’s coming by committing your life to obeying God’s commands and by growing closer in your relationship with God. Believers live with a dual expectation: anticipating that Jesus could return any day, while also anticipating their face-to-face encounter with him at the moment their life ends. As you practice this dual expectation, you will grow in holiness and be ready when he returns for you.
Matthew 24:32-33“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door.”
Learn the signs of Christ’s return as revealed in Scripture and watch for them.
Matthew 24:42-44“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”
Because you can’t know when Christ will come again, you must be prepared at all times.
Matthew 24:14“The Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”
Matthew 28:18-20Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
When you take part in proclaiming the good news of salvation, you help prepare others for the coming of Christ.
