WATCHING? By Pastor Mark Olson

SCRIPTURE - Mark 13:33-36
Be on guard! Be alert ! You do not know when that time will come. It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.

OBSERVATION
At the beginning of this chapter Jesus and the disciples are leaving the temple and the disciples point out the beautiful stones. Jesus replies by telling them that in the future the stones of the temple will be torn down. When the disciples ask when this will be, Jesus proceeds to tell them all about the end times and concludes with the importance of being on guard for we don’t know when those times will come.

APPLICATION
Every morning I wake up as the most spiritual man on the planet ! I have all kinds of ambitions to serve God with everything that is in me. I intend to get up, do my devos, pray, and attack the day for God. My heart and mind are fully committed and I am ready to go for it ! Then I get out of bed ……. !

I am pretty consistent about doing my devos in the mornings, but I am also easily distracted by what’s going on around me. Even this morning, I got distracted during devos by the sprinklers going on - they were just repaired yesterday and this is the first time they’ve worked on their own in over a year. I had to get up and go see them. Then the trash truck came and I had to get up to see if he dropped some of my trash since the can was really full. Then I realized Shadow (my dog) had gone over the fence and was running around the neighborhood so I had to look out the window to see if I could see her. I didn’t bother to go get her (after all – I’m supposed to be doing my devotions ! Ha !), but I was preoccupied by her absence. Then I had to get that second cup of coffee, and on and on …….

I finally finished reading and started writing this journal entry and began to realize that I am not alert, not watching, not paying attention to God like I should – even during my devos. What a mess ! It’s become like brushing my teeth. I can brush my teeth in the morning and be thinking about something completely unrelated. I finish and leave the bathroom and don’t even remember being in there. That’s how devos are sometimes. I’m doing the task, but not being attentive to what I’m doing. I’m like the one who Jesus assigns to be at the front door and watch (in verse 34) but instead of watching the front sidewalk to see when the master of the house is coming home, I’ve turned aside to watch what’s going on in house or in the neighbor’s yard or somewhere else. That’s pretty sad.

We (or at least me) are so easily distracted in our Christian life. It’s not that we do horrible things all the time. But we are not attentive like we should be. We get so easily distracted by petty details that are minor and have no importance in comparison to God’s kingdom and his calling in our lives. As the result of one simple question from his disciples about when the prophesy will be fulfilled and the temple torn down, Jesus warns them very strongly to pay attention, be on guard, be alert and watch ! His admonition must be important. I need to pay attention. God wants to speak to me all day, every day, not just before I get out of bed in the morning !

PRAYER
Lord Jesus. My heart and mind are constantly distracted. I admit that things in the world around me draw my attention. Help me to stay focused on you. Help me to listen for that still small voice every moment of every day. Speak to me and remind me of your word as I go about the tasks of the day. Keep my heart and mind fixed on you. In Jesus name, Amen.