I, hay or eye are so similar.  Not just homonyms but sharing synonymous focus.  That focus being “me”.  I want, hay is the vote for my desire and my eyes track what my flesh requires.  Lord forgive me for those sins I have committed in omission, those naughty little covets with my eyes, wishes and declarations.  Don’t we get it that the first three books of Revelation are those that apply to true believers?  We will be gone by the time Book four declares those things that are yet to come.  We’ve got a short time to get it right, to surrender, to obey, to prepare and share.  We were not made for tribulation but to be wed to the Lord during Jacob’s time of trial and the Great Day of our Lord.  We will see our day of judgment before everyone else.  We will receive our rewards, our feast and our husband while the world is catapulted into the worst days in history.  Why else would it be called “blessed assurance”?

In the interim it is the little things that matter.  Everyone can see a tank coming over the horizon or an opposing army’s movements, but it is the assassin, the creeping lion the lord of the flies that is the most dangerous.  Don’t just watch out for the big things in this life, be a watchman for the enemies who use camouflage, disguise or concealment as their primary weaponry.   We are called to remember our first love, to endure persecution, to repent and remain clean from spiritual and sexual immorality, but the one we miss is being vigilant.  Our greatest enemy is complacency.

In 549 B.C., Cyrus of Persia conquered the “impregnable” city of Sardis and it is said that he came “like a thief in the night”.  Does this reference sound familiar?  The citizens of Sardis had a false sense of security, they took their salvation for granted and therefore the guard posts were empty on three sides of the city cliffs.  Diligence would have saved their lives, vigilance would have seen and perhaps repelled the enemy, yet false hope destroyed their city.  Do we hear the messages that the Lord is telling each of us as He warns the churches?  Will we be caught asleep in spiritual pride or will we remain vigilant, with the oil of the Holy Spirit filling our lamps.  Will we focus our hearts, minds and eyes toward His inevitable return for His Church?  Do I walk by faith or do the “eyes have it”?  I delight in the thought of You, Father Almighty, Jesus my King and Holy Spirit my Guide.

Jeremiah 10:23 I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.  Correct me, Lord, but only with justice–not in Your anger, lest You reduce me to nothing.  Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, on the peoples who do not call on Your name.  For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and destroyed his homeland.

http://youtu.be/QAh5daQu9x0  That moment commentary by Jim