<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Mark 13;32-37<div><br></div><div><b>32. &nbsp;“But of that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the sun, but only the Father.</b></div><div><b>33. &nbsp;Take heed, watch, and pray; for you do not know when the time will come.</b></div><div><b>34. &nbsp;It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch.</b></div><div><b>35. &nbsp;Watch therefore— for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning—</b></div><div><b>36. &nbsp;lest&nbsp;he comes suddenly and find you asleep.</b></div><div><b>37. &nbsp;And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch.”</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>‘Guard Duty’ in the military, or even standing ‘Fire Watch’ in some dried out old WW2 Army barracks in Basic Training, was serious business. &nbsp;The lives of others depended upon you the guard&nbsp;remaining alert. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Guard Duty was assigned to men who had put in a full day and were already tired. &nbsp;There was great physical fatigue and you had to force yourself to stay awake, while others slept. &nbsp;In Viet Nam it rotated, two hours on three or four hours off in which you tried to get a little sleep.</div><div><br></div><div>To <i>“Watch”</i>&nbsp;as Jesus uses the term is not simply a watch for the enemy, who seeks to tempt us into misbelief, despair, and other great&nbsp;shame and vice. &nbsp;We are also to be on watch for the return of our Lord Jesus.</div><div>When He comes as the Bridegroom, (Matthew 25;1-13) he will&nbsp;enter the wedding hall and, <i>“the door &nbsp;will be&nbsp;shut”</i>. (Matthew 25;10)</div><div><br></div><div>Once Jesus returns, and <i>“every eye shall behold Him” </i>(Revelation 1;7), the door will be shut. &nbsp;Those who were ready with their lamps burning will enter the wedding hall, those without repentance and faith will forever be left in the darkness and sorrow of hell.</div><div><br></div><div>To spiritually <i>“sleep”</i>&nbsp;means to live without a sense of the impending return of our Bridegroom. &nbsp;We neglect our own souls by neglecting the Word of God,&nbsp;and the will of God, that we should be holy in our own life and conduct, devoted to proclaiming that for now, ‘the Door into heaven is still open’. &nbsp;He is Jesus, <i>“the Door of the sheep”</i>&nbsp;(John 10;9)</div><div><br></div><div><i>“But take heed&nbsp;to yourselves less your hearts, be weighed&nbsp;down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of man.” &nbsp;</i>(Luke 21;34-36)</div><div><br></div><div>Being on guard is simply to believe what Jesus says. &nbsp;He is the master of the house who has put us, his servants in charge of the house, (which is&nbsp;the ministry of the Gospel, the Kingdom of God, the rule of Christ by the Holy Spirit and the Word in our hearts). &nbsp;We are to live daily expecting today may be the day of His&nbsp;return, and doing all we can to lead others to&nbsp;<i>“the open Door’ </i>&nbsp;before it is closed forever.<u></u></div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: Merciful Father, grant us to live expectantly and be on <i>“Watch”. &nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>Love,</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric</div><div>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</div><div><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Mark 13;32-37
32.  “But of that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the sun, but only the Father.33.  Take heed, watch, and pray; for you do not know when the time will come.34.  It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch.35.  Watch therefore— for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning—36.  lest he comes suddenly and find you asleep.37.  And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch.”
‘Guard Duty’ in the military, or even standing ‘Fire Watch’ in some dried out old WW2 Army barracks in Basic Training, was serious business.  The lives of others depended upon you the guard remaining alert.  
Guard Duty was assigned to men who had put in a full day and were already tired.  There was great physical fatigue and you had to force yourself to stay awake, while others slept.  In Viet Nam it rotated, two hours on three or four hours off in which you tried to get a little sleep.
To “Watch” as Jesus uses the term is not simply a watch for the enemy, who seeks to tempt us into misbelief, despair, and other great shame and vice.  We are also to be on watch for the return of our Lord Jesus.When He comes as the Bridegroom, (Matthew 25;1-13) he will enter the wedding hall and, “the door  will be shut”. (Matthew 25;10)
Once Jesus returns, and “every eye shall behold Him” (Revelation 1;7), the door will be shut.  Those who were ready with their lamps burning will enter the wedding hall, those without repentance and faith will forever be left in the darkness and sorrow of hell.
To spiritually “sleep” means to live without a sense of the impending return of our Bridegroom.  We neglect our own souls by neglecting the Word of God, and the will of God, that we should be holy in our own life and conduct, devoted to proclaiming that for now, ‘the Door into heaven is still open’.  He is Jesus, “the Door of the sheep” (John 10;9)
“But take heed to yourselves less your hearts, be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of man.”  (Luke 21;34-36)
Being on guard is simply to believe what Jesus says.  He is the master of the house who has put us, his servants in charge of the house, (which is the ministry of the Gospel, the Kingdom of God, the rule of Christ by the Holy Spirit and the Word in our hearts).  We are to live daily expecting today may be the day of His return, and doing all we can to lead others to “the open Door’  before it is closed forever.
Prayer: Merciful Father, grant us to live expectantly and be on “Watch”.  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”

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