Mark 13:32-37 Stay Awake!
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: April 4, 2018, Mark 13:32-37
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 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 stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
(Understanding the Text / Revelation of God) Here again, I am confused. I think this part has swung back to talking about the second coming. Again, it is following the patterns I see in Messianic versus local prophesies in the Old Testament, but I still don’t get the logic. I find it interesting that Jesus as a human did not know when the second coming would take place. The second coming would happen when the Father had determined that there was no more hope for the earth. The Father would know that the tipping point had been reached where no more humans could be rescued and where the universe would have had its fill of sin so that the question would never again raise its ugly head.
This also tells me that the Father is mysterious even to the angels. The angels are His messengers, but not necessarily in His counsel in all things. It is understandable that while He was on earth that Jesus was limited in knowledge. He gave up His omniscience when He became a human. I do not know if Jesus took it back up upon His resurrection. If not, that is one more blame to lay at the door of sin.
(Application) Here, Jesus says to stay awake and yet in the parable of the 10 virgins, they all slept. Thus, He warns us of a behavior that He knows we will still do. What does it mean to stay awake? Does it mean to be reading the Bible, praying, supporting other Christians, and spreading the gospel while doing good works for others? Or is this about keeping the relationship with Jesus and not losing hope that He would soon return? Maybe sleeping has to do with letting the world into my heart while waking means being on guard to Satan’s deceptions.
(Understanding the Text / Revelation of God) I don’t know what to think about this chapter. I just can’t understand most of it, and so it does not provide me with the insights that I have had about other chapters. The commentaries that I have are useless when it comes to prophesy, so they cannot give me insights. Mostly what I have learned is that Jesus knew what would happen to the temple clearly, but did not know everything about His own second coming. Thus, Jesus knew that some people who were alive in His time would still be alive when the temple was destroyed, but when it came to His second coming, He did not know when it would be. He could only tell us to watch and wait and be prepared because He would come again. He told us that His second coming was sure, but that the date was not known, except by the One who knows everything from the end to the beginning.
(Prayer) Do not let me sleep. Keep me awake, whether it is to be reading the Bible, praying, supporting my brothers and sisters, and spreading the gospel, or whether it is maintaining my relationship with You and not losing hope in Your soon return. Don’t let me fail to watch for Your presence.