“However, the prudent ones answered, ‘No, there most certainly would not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’  But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the groom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut” (Matthew 25:9-10).

I cannot prepare for you.  I write these devotions to be prepared, and I share them with You to urge you to prepare, but I cannot do it for you.  My desire is that you be strong in the faith, but I too must go through the daily struggle to be prepared lest our Lord find me asleep.  Even if I do fail, will that keep you from preparing according to the word of the Lord?  We each have our part, and yours will fall upon you, for you alone will stand before the Lord to give an account.

Lord, in this world we look around and too often do what we see others do.  Help me to narrow my focus so that I do what You have shown me to do.  You alone are the author and finisher of my faith.  Continue to lead me and teach me to keep my eyes upon You.  Through all things, aid me to not be distracted by those around me, but to be faithful no matter what may come upon this life here and now.

Lord Jesus, You are the Savior, and I must be saved.  Guide me in the salvation You have given me.  Help me to prepare and in preparing, be prepared for whatever may come.  Lead me in Your goodness and mercy so that I humbly listen to You and heed Your direction.  Lord, thank You for being tenacious with me.  Keep me standing firm in this faith You have given me knowing that it leads me to forever with You.  Amen.

“Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.  But the foolish virgins said to the prudent ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out’” (Matthew 25:7-8).

Are you ready to meet the Lord?  Many say, “I am Christian,” but they are not living the new life they have been given.  They do not prepare to be able to give an account of the hope that is within them.  Others do what they do.  What about you?  Are you taking advantage of, and learning how to live, this new life?  Are you studying to show yourself approved?  Are you praying constantly — beyond just asking for stuff?

Lord, You know where I have a kindergarten-level faith.  Help me to move away from childishness and into a life of faith that seeks You every day.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to not be lazy with this faith that You have given me.  Lead me in the way of life that You intend for me to live.  I do not always know what to do, but You do.  Help me to draw closer to You each day so that I may be ready for whatever may come.

Lord Jesus, You have given us warning upon warning and I see the signs all around me.  Lead me into this life of faith that You have given me.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to stand firm in the truth, for You have spoken the words of eternal life.  Help me today to be diligent in doing what You give me to do.  Keep me holding fast to the truth.  Amen.

“Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep.  But at midnight there finally was a shout: ‘Behold, the groom! Come out to meet him’” (Matthew 25:5-6).

The Lord does not play tricks with us.  He does want us to always be ready to meet Him with the hope that He has given us.  Being ready is tied to being diligent.  If we are to become like Christ, we cannot stop until we are stopped.  Some become weary of the journey.  Ask the Lord to give you more stamina to continue the journey.  Be on the alert, for the wicked one is on the prowl.  Be aware and see the signs.

Lord, this age is filled with sign after sign.  I watch those whom I thought were faithful seemingly falling to my left and right.  Sucked in by the whims of this world, they seem to be asleep to You.  Help me to have the eyes to see and the ears to hear so that I do not fall asleep or get caught unaware of all that is going on around me.  You are my provider, Lord.  Guide me to prepare for what You know is ahead.

Father in Heaven, all things are in Your hands.  Through Your only begotten Son, You have given me new life.  Help me to live that life.  Keep me close to You, drawing ever more near so that I may see what You show me and not fall into the slumber of this world.  Guide me in the way You know I need to go.  Help me now and always to hold fast to the salvation You have given me.  Amen.

“For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take extra oil with them; but the prudent ones took oil in flasks with their lamps” (Matthew 25:3-4).

Are you prepared to give an account of the hope that is within you?  It is tempting to simply rely on the idea of the grace of Jesus and do nothing.  That is not wise.  Come, the Lord says, let us reason together.  You are diligent about earthly things, so why are you not equally diligent about your eternal life?  Forgive me for saying this if you are.  Jesus wants to awaken you to the urgency of His kingdom.

Lord, You know how lazy I can be.  I spend my time the way I want to spend it.  I am often frivolous with important things and focus upon things that do not matter.  Lift me out of the indifference of this life to see things as You would have me see them.  Continue to lead me up and out of this world’s thinking to put on Your mind and see things the way You know I need to see them.

Lord Jesus, You have come to save me.  Beyond knowing that my sins are forgiven, help me to live this life which You are offering me.  Take the energy I pour into temporary things and help me to pour them into the life You intend for me to live.  Take me ever deeper into the mystery of the faith You have revealed to me so that I may continuously grow into Your likeness.  Amen.

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom.  Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent” (Matthew 25:1-2).

There are many who say they are Christian.  We do not know which is which; in fact, we are forbidden to make that determination, but do heed the warning for yourself.  Prudence is continually seeking for the right things.  We once called it common sense.  If you are going to be a part of the family of God, then be a part of God’s family.  There can be no sitting on the fence.  There are the foolish and the prudent.  Which are you?

Lord, You have said it plainly, and I look around and see many who say they believe, but act no different than those who proclaim they do not believe.  Take my eyes off others and guide me deep inside to make a moral assessment of where I am.  Where I am lacking, fill me.  Where I am clinging to that which hinders me, remove it.  Take me the whole distance to go where You are calling me to go.

Lord Jesus, You are the judge of the living and the dead.  You are the One who enables me to live into the life You offer.  Lead me by Your grace to grow day by day, in order that I may fulfill the Father’s will for my life.  Help me to press through the struggles that are before me so that I may live a true and everlasting life.  Aid me to be teachable.  Guide me, Lord, and teach me to follow You.  Amen.

“Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.  But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and he eats and drinks with those habitually drunk; then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and he will cut him in two and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 24:47-51).

Our culture promotes a life of dissipation.  (Jesus has this covered, so eat, drink, and make merry.)  That is the mockery of this age.  We each have been given time in which to live life.  Will we live life, or continue to live the death into which we were born?  The Lord has offered to free us from a life that is meaningless to live a life that prepares for eternity.  We can choose to stay with hell.  Heaven is the way and the life that is offered.

Lord, there is nothing more serious than the life You have offered through faith by grace.  The old Adam is indifferent.  You are offering something different, real, true, and eternal.  You call us to not think that we own anything but are stewards for which You entrust us with what we care for.  Your word of truth calls us to live according to the way You have established things.  Teach us these things and help Your people understand.

Lord Jesus, You have spoken plainly, but sometimes, in my muddled head, I do not see things, as I am able to only by Your help.  Lead me up and out of this fuzzy thinking to live into the life You call me to live.  Take all indifference away from me so that I may take care to heed the word You have given me.  You have made me a steward of all that You have entrusted to me.  Teach me how to be a steward after Your own heart.  Amen.

“Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes” (Matthew 24:46).

Do you act as a slave of the Lord?  Are you your own person?  Do you spend as much time learning the truth of the Lord as you do with entertainment?  Are you doing what the Lord gives you to do?  It is obvious from the meltdown of our culture that many who say they follow Jesus are giving lip service but doing little or nothing else.  You have been given a call from the Lord of all creation.  Are you faithfully following that call?

Lord, I know that I am to spend my time with You.  I do not.  Teach me the discipline I need to live the life I tell myself and others that I am living.  You know where I am no different than the unbelievers around me.  Help me to be true to myself so that I can be genuine to others.  Help me to not play the games of this world, but live into the life for which I am being prepared by You for eternity.

Lord Jesus, You have called for me to be faithful.  Where the pollution of this world has seeped in, show me and correct me.  Where I am speaking the words, but not living according to Your word, correct me.  Where my god in this world is anything but You, the true God, kill it.  Keep me close to You Lord so that I may walk in what I believe and live according to the full revelation of Your word.  Amen.

“Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household slaves, to give them their food at the proper time?” (Matthew 24:45)

We all are stewards.  Everything belongs to God.  We will leave our things all behind when we leave.  What then?  We are stewards.  We are slaves to something.  What do you do as a steward?  The best you can for the master.  Who is your master?  You cannot serve two masters.  You will not be your own master.  The Lord has provided.  What will you do with what He has provided?

Lord, this world tells me I am my own person.  This world lies.  I defy the lie with all the things I am obligated to do.  If I were truly free, I could literally do whatever I feel like doing.  But I cannot.  Help me to live the life of stewardship that You have given me.  Guide me in the upward call of faith so that I look to You and spend my life preparing for what You have in store for me.  Teach me how to be a steward.

Lord Jesus, I have been put in charge of many things.  You have led me thus far in the faith You have given me.  I am also filled with the pollution of this age.  Guide me Lord in the upward call that You have given me so that I become a good steward of the mysteries of faith which You have revealed to me.  Help me to do what You give me to do each day and not shirk the responsibility of being Your steward.  Amen.

“But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.  For this reason you must be ready as well; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will” (Matthew 24:43-44).

If we think selfishly, we will miss the point.  Scripture says it elsewhere when it says, “Be ready to give an account of the hope that is within you.”  Today may be the day you meet the Lord.  Are you ready?  Always be ready.  He will not judge you on what you do not know, or what you have not done, but upon what opportunities you have taken to know Him and what you have done with what He has given you.

The thief is the wicked one who will attempt to steal the hope that is within you.  We live in a world filled with wickedness that wraps itself in false light.  See the wickedness that will try to steal the faith you have been given.  Let the Holy Spirit guide you through the traps of this world.  Always live preparing yourself for the promise which is the basis for the hope we have been given.  Live preparing to meet Lord Jesus face to face.

Jesus, You know how often I live in the moment.  I am tossed about by waves of thought filled with untruths that swirl all around me.  Your word is truth.  Help me to keep Your word as the anchor that holds me in the place of truth.  From there, guide me to live in the truth of the revelation You have given me.  Let me be ready on any given day to give an account, whether to others or to You.  Amen.

“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42).

The only day that we have ever been given to live through is today.  Tomorrow will have its own issues.  Do not be like some who become anxious thinking the end is here.  It will come for us all like a thief in the night when we have our turn to sleep in death before the great and terrible day.  Live each day expectantly, for the Lord is with us always.  When it is time, the end of the age will come for us all.  Live then, today, for the Lord of life will come someday.

Lord, all things are in Your hands.  You Who wonderfully knit me in my mother’s womb have called me to journey with You by faith.  In that call, You have guided me according to the word which You have spoken.  Lead me now and always in the truth of the faith which has been delivered by You once for all.  You are the Good News of salvation.  Lead me ever deeper into this salvation which You have given.

Lord Jesus, You are the way, truth, and life.  Through You alone is there hope and an eternal future.  Guide me beyond the pitfalls of this life to learn how to live faithfully.  Lead me in the way which You have spoken so that I may live this life You have given me, being always ready for Your return.  You know the plans the Father has for me.  Guide me so that I live according to His eternal plan.  Amen.