“Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.” - Revelation 16:15 (NIV)

I was sitting in my office when the phone rang. The voice on the other end was shaken as the message was given "A plane has just crashed into one of the Twin Towers in New York City". Within a very short time, 2,973 people who woke up that morning would never again wake up in this life. The suddenness and the horror of that day will never be forgotten and it has changed our daily lives in many ways. It makes you think of what some believe Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto stated after the attack on Pearl Harbor, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." But...are we really awake?

Jesus is coming again, and this time he will bring judgment that is true and just. He spoke of his second coming in Matthew 24:42 with similar words, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." Yet, when he comes most people will be as much surprised as those on September 11, 2001 because they won't be watching. Because of wrong priorities and pursuits their spiritual condition will be embarrassing... they will be unprepared and asleep. 

How is your spiritual life today? Do you know Christ as your Savior? If you do, are you living a life that will be pleasing to him when he returns? Can you say without reservation that you are waiting for his return with expectation? Remember the words of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:4, 6: "But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief...  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled."  Jesus is coming... so stay awake my friends!!