VIGILANCE

But you must remember, my fellow-citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing." Andrew Jackson
________________________________________________________________________________
Mk 13:32 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Mk 13:33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.
Mk 13:34 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.
Mk 13:35 “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.
Mk 13:36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.
Mk 13:37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!”
________________________________________________________________________________

After reading the quote above from Andrew Jackson, I looked up eternal in the dictionary:
1 a : having infinite duration : everlasting b : of or relating to eternity c : characterized by abiding fellowship with God.

WOW!! What a profound statement Andrew made! ONE NATION UNDER GOD comes to mind. The USA experiences freedoms that other countries do not have. The difference is that we were established with God in control. At least that is what our forefathers intended. A day and age where saying God was acceptable and advised. There was no argument amongst the people as to who their lives and country belonged to, and doing so would have been unacceptable behavior. I feel that his statement is similar to a statement that Peter had made:

1Pe 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
1Pe 5:9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
1Pe 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
1Pe 5:11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Andrew speaks of Vigilance. Mark and Peter speak of being alert. The question is what do they want us to stay alert to? I feel we are to stay awake so that we do not fall into temptation. The devil roams around and waits for someone to whisper his lies to. Someone that is asleep in their walk/relationship with Christ. The only thing that can squelch the devil's lies, is the Truth that is found in the Word of God. This Truth needs to be in your heart and mind and meditated on daily. Our goal is to be one with Christ Who is one with the Father. Christ exemplifies this behavior when the devil is trying to tempt him in the desert (LUK 4:1). Every time the devil tries to trick Him into bondage, Christ has the Truth on the tip of His tongue and wins the battle of that time for it. Three different lies and Jesus had Truth for every one of them. He would not have been ready if He had not been keeping constant communion with the Father. In order to build a realtionship with anyone, you need to communicate with them. We communicate with God through His Word, prayer, and being still to hear His still small voice so that we may be obedient to it.

The devil's wants to keep as many of us in bondage/slavery as he is able to. God's Grace that you receive when you Believe the Word and accept the free gift that He has given us, (Christ on the Cross), will secure your blessings that He has promised.

The biggest promise/blessing we can hold onto is our salvation. Let us make sure we are awake in Christ for the return of the owner of our house (heart)!