Preparing for One who is coming...Matthew 24:1-14

Maybe this drum set given to the church is a good illustration of the title of this blog.  We were given this drum set.  I have switched out the cymbals to perforated ones to reduce the ring but allow the drummer to play with sticks more naturally.  We have purchased these foam rings (one yet for the floor tom) to reduce the volume while producing a fuller tone.  We purchased a foam hammer for the kicker drum.  A drummer's throne and also separate headset with volume control from the house feed to supply a balanced output from the rest of the platform.  What is missing?  A drummer... the one to come!  

On a side note, I really love these drum head rings.  I have taken apart the toms and spare to put inside foam above and below and then retuned the drums.  These you just lay on the drum and it does that all for you.  What a difference instantly.  The foam kicker allowed me to take the stuffing in the kicker drum away.  Enough of my obsession with good quality controlled sound and back to Someone is coming.

Matthew 24 tells us about the Someone who is coming.  Jesus is asked the questions of "when" and "what" but He focuses more on the "how" we are to be.  Our church world does what the disciples of Jesus did.  How many books are written on the "when" and "what" of the end times rather than the "how" we are to be?  How many charts have been created in detail to the "when" and the "what" that make those 2 questions answered more important than the "how" question?  I am going through this passage for the 4th time and I am striving to stress the "how" question more than anything else.

Jesus gives us and His disciples the "when" and the "what" but it really means nothing unless we tackle the "how" situation His way.  We are not to be deceived by false prophets and we are not to be troubled by wars and rumors of wars.  We are not to follow the ways of the world of offense, betrayal and hatred of others.  We are to endure to the end.  All of these need to have a relationship in place to fulfill them.  We need to have a saving relationship with Jesus so that our focus rock solid on the truth and our hope is firmly on what He says rather than what men say.  We need to have Someone that we actually stand by following His actions while we are in the midst of an ever increasing evil world.  

Even now I can get caught up in the "when" and "what" of the end times.  I can get drawn in to the podcasts and even religious influencers who are "experts" of the "when" and "what" of the end times.  What should I be doing?  I can get a pretty good idea of "when" and "what" I should know from Jesus in Matthew 24 so that I am not troubled or deceived but what I need to focus on is "how" He calls me to be.  I should be listening more to those who focus on the "how."  I think those who focus on the "how" actually make more of an impact than those who focus on the "when" and the "what."  

So I am striving to give the facts that Jesus gives us and His disciples but zero in on our overall response and reaction through whatever part of His story that we walk through with our finite lives here.  Is my "how" mirroring what Jesus is saying to His disciples?  Am I listening to His words more than the words of this world and even more than those who are "experts" in the "when" and the "what" of the end times?   

Adam