Five Suggestions for Keeping Your Lamp
Full of Oil 

Matthew 25:3-4 (ESV) …when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

Although we do not know the day or the hour of Christ’s return, given the consistent nature of God, we can be alerted to the season of His return. Throughout Scripture, the phrase “day of the Lord” has consistently referenced moments of tumultuous tribulation and judgement. It will, no doubt, be during one of these events that the final day of the Lord will occur.

WARNING: Humanity is once again focused on the potential of a world war erupting from the tinder box of the Middle East. Do not assume your family will be unaffected. Do not assume you will have an early exit. Do not be a foolish virgin who finds her oil inadequate. 

Keeping Your Lamp Trimmed and Ready

Below are five suggestions for keeping your lamp trimmed and ready:

• Insist on a daily schedule of home worship. Read and practice Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Visit sonnychilds.com for home worship guides.

• Establish an intimate core group of accountability partners. Read and practice the examples of Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 1:2. Corporate mass assemblies facilitate spectator complacency, not vigilance. 

• Keep your family close. World events and influences can quickly overwhelm. Read and practice Ephesians 6:18; 2 John 1:8. Exercise parental and spousal acuity. 

• Focus on spiritual positivity. Govern a responsible amount of exposure to world news. Fascinate about God’s presence. Read and practice Philippians 4:8.

• Pray! Pray! Pray! Ignore man’s restrictive rules of religious sanctimony, and learn to be real in your conversations with the Father. Read and practice Ephesians 6:18; Hebrews 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

The convenience of American religiosity has lulled many of us into a state of complacency. Wake up church! It’s time to check the oil!