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5耶稣说：“你们要谨慎，免得有人迷惑你们。6将来有好些人冒我的名来，说：‘我是基督’，并且要迷惑许多人。7你们听见打仗和打仗的风声，不要惊慌。这些事是必须有的，只是末期还没有到。8民要攻打民，国要攻打国，多处必有地震、饥荒，这都是灾难的起头（“灾难”原文作“生产之难”）。
耶稣给出的预兆，与其说是指向了耶路撒冷的毁灭，不如说是指向了他的再次来临。这些预兆不断的提醒我们，最终有算账的那一天。让你们称第一次世界大战为“结束所有战争的战争”。但是第二次世界大战过了20年就爆发了。从那以后，战争来的越来越频繁了。你还记得我们没有战争的时候吗?战争似乎在不断增加而不是减少。
当我还在上小学的时候，科学家预言到2000年将不会再有饥荒。与其说饥荒是农业问题，不如说是分配问题。难民营里的人连种粮食的地方都没有。然而，美国的粮仓已经满了。自然灾害似乎也在增加。去年有多少次地震、台风、洪水?这些预兆并不是说耶稣就会马上再来。这些预兆都提醒他要再来，让我们为他的到来做好准备。
你想过这些事情吗?你会经常考虑耶稣的再次来临吗?或者你在计划你的一天和你的生活时，根本不考虑末日的问题?耶稣要我们思想他的第二次降临，不是要我们害怕，而是要确保我们为他的再来做好准备。这就是我写这篇每日灵修的原因之一。这是我每天活在神的话语中的方式，这样圣灵就可以继续在我的心里工作，产生悔改和信心。
你每天早上起床都能听到闹钟的声音吗?这里有一个建议。当起床的闹钟响起的时候，把今天想成是耶稣降临的日子。然后做一个简短的祷告，求他引导你，给你力量，在他的国度里再做一天工。
祷告:主耶稣，愿你快来!我盼望在那一天，我能平安地在你怀里，脱离这苦难的生命。在此之前，求你提醒我，也许今天就是末日，使我为你的到来做好准备。阿们。
Mark 13:5-8: Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. (NIV)
The signs which Jesus gives point more to his second coming than to the destruction of Jerusalem. They are signs which continually remind us that there will be a day of reckoning. They called World War I the “war to end all wars.” It took twenty years to start a second world war. Since then, they have come even more often. Can you remember a time when we were not at war? It seems that wars are increasing and not decreasing.
When I was in grade school, scientists predicted that there would be no more famines by the year 2000. Famine is not so much an agricultural problem as it is a distribution problem. People in refugee camps don’t have a place to even plant a garden. Yet, grain bins in the United States are overflowing. Natural disasters seem to be on the rise. How many hurricanes did we have last summer? These are not signs for the immediate return of Jesus. All these are reminders that he will come, and that we should be ready for his coming.
Do you think of these things? Is the coming of Jesus in your planning? Or do you plan your day and your life without thinking about the last day? Jesus wants us to think about his second coming, not to terrify us, but to make sure we are ready for his coming. This is one of the reasons I write this daily devotion. It’s my way of being in God’s Word every day so that the Holy Spirit can keep on working repentance and faith in my heart.
Do you get up to the sound of an alarm clock every morning? Here is a suggestion. When it goes off, think about today being the day Jesus will come. Then say a short prayer that he will guide you and give you strength for another day of work in his kingdom.
Prayer: Even so, come, Lord Jesus! I look forward to the day when I will be safely in your arms and delivered from this life of trouble. Until then, keep reminding me that today may be the day so that I may be ready for your coming. Amen.