Are You Ready?
Acts 20:32 & Luke 9:22 (NASB95)
"And now I commend you to God
and to the word of His grace,
which is able to build you up
and to give you the inheritance
among all those who are sanctified."
— Acts 20:32
"The Son of Man must suffer many things
and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes,
and be killed and be raised up on the third day."
— Luke 9:22
COWBOY WISDOM
When a cowboy finishes a long trail drive, he doesn't just walk off into the sunset without thinking about what's next. The best hands are always thinking ahead — where's the next drive, is the gear in order, is there anything left undone. Paul commended those Ephesian elders to God and to the word of His grace — knowing that he would not see their faces again in this life. He had done his part. Now he was trusting the Lord and the Scriptures to carry them forward. He had left nothing undone that he could do.
Jesus told His disciples plainly what was coming — suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection. He didn't sugarcoat the trail ahead, and He doesn't sugarcoat it for us either. He comes as a thief in the night. No man knows the time or the hour. That's not meant to scare us into paralysis; it's meant to keep us saddled up and ready to ride at a moment's notice. The question that closes every great revival, every powerful sermon, every faithful season of ministry is the same: Are you ready?
Ready doesn't mean perfect. It means you've settled the question of where you stand with Jesus Christ. It means you're not just a private confessor of faith, but someone willing to make it known — to bring out whatever holds you back and burn it publicly, the way those new converts in Acts 19 burned their occult scrolls in front of the whole city. A private faith that never costs you anything and never shows itself is almost worthless, as missionaries in places like Haiti have long observed. Real faith shows up. It leaves evidence.
The word of His grace is what sustains you now, and it will give you the inheritance among those who are sanctified. That inheritance is real. The grand prize is behind the door — and unlike a game show, the Lord has told you exactly which door it's behind. The only question left is whether you'll walk through it. So saddle up, do the work He's called you to, love the people He's placed around you — and be ready. Because He's coming.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
If the Lord returned today, would you be ready? What does "ready" mean to you personally?
Is your faith public and evident, or mostly private? What would it look like to make it more visible?
What "occult scrolls" — habits, attachments, secret sins — might the Lord be asking you to bring out and burn?
What has God commended to your care — a family, a ministry, a flock — that you need to faithfully tend until He comes?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, we believe You are coming back. Help us to live like it. Let our faith be bold, visible, and undeniable. Where we have held back, give us courage to step forward. Commend us to Your Word and Your grace — and may that grace build us up until we see You face to face. We are ready. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.
