“OllyOllyIncomefree….OllyOllyIncomefree…”

That’s how I remember that old phrase we used to shout to close out a game of ‘Hide & Seek’.

Funny how we can say things, regurgitate things without ever giving much thought to what we are actually saying. Sheep are good at doing that; especially when it comes to hearing things we’ve been taught. We just take it as truth and trust the person who is feeding us that what we have heard could not possibly be wrong.

How many of us have been guilty of forwarding an email or sharing some random post on social media that ‘sounded legit’ and it certainly lined up with what we like to hear ourselves…so we just passed it on assuming it was truth. I mean, why bother to verify to make sure what we are spreading is factual or not. Since when did facts matter? (Now I’m digressing with hint of sarcasm)

I’m poking myself here now because I know I’ve been guilty of doing things like that, and it usually leaves a shade or embarrassment on my face. Oh, and that would include sharing statements and beliefs that I also heard smart sounding preachers proclaim. Anyone reading today ever been guilty of quoting a ‘scripture’, only to find out later that no such verse existed? Does “God helps those who help themselves” sound familiar? It’s not in the Bible. Nor is that one about how ‘one who is so spiritually minded that they are of no earthly good’. I looked for that one for a long time. It ain’t in there. And no….money is NOT…the ‘root of all evil’; but the "love of it is a root of all kinds of evil”. (1 Tim. 6:10)

But back to our game of ‘Hide & Seek’. I never played the game with a person named Ollie, but that is how I remember that shout to inform all those who were still hiding that the game was over and they could come back to the ‘base’ without being tagged or penalized. Then someone else would be selected to close their eyes and count and the game would resume as everyone else found that perfect hiding spot. We used to play that into the late hours of dark. And that phrase is actually: “All Ye…All Ye…In…Come Free”. In other words, anyone and everyone still hiding (in the darkness) may now come in free of any penalty or fear of being ‘tagged’.

But you still had to come in.

Any ‘lightbulbs’ coming on for anyone about now? ;-)

And we should all remember when the next person started their turn as they would close their eyes and count down (whatever the agreed upon time was for others to go hide)…when it got down to that final second…once again another cry was yelled out. Do you remember what it was?

“Ready or not, here I come!”

In my post yesterday, I touched on this subject about being ‘ready’; and the question needs to be asked again: “Are we ready?”…and the other question that is equally as important is: “What does it even mean to be ‘ready’?”

The reason I feel compelled to bring this up again and expound upon it some is Jesus kind of hinted that it might be a good idea if we were ‘ready’. You can read in both Luke 12:35-40 and Matt. 24:43-44 where Jesus was admonishing those in His audience how wise it would be to be watching for the return of the master even though the time of his arrival or return was uncertain.

He then utters this interesting statement how “if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.” (Oh, do you recall the word picture Paul used to describe how the ‘day of the Lord’ would come? -1 Thess. 5:2).

Then Jesus follows up that illustration by saying: “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

It is safe to assume that if you have been on heightened awareness looking for Him to come at ‘any moment’ given what you hear and read is happening around the world these days, then He’s probably not coming according to your time chart. I mean, He could…but…

So if Jesus makes a strong case that we better be watching and ‘ready’, would it not make sense to investigate just what that means to ‘be ready’, especially if we are planning on attending some celestial wedding the Bible talks much about? So how to you assess the fact whether you are ‘ready or not’? Did you take a quick glance at your church membership card? Do a mental evaluation as to how accurate your tithing records are? Did you follow through to help out with VBS or work in the local food pantry? Got all those boxes checked?

So now maybe you remind yourself that you were fully baptized having made a public profession of faith and you even gave your personal testimony of ‘salvation’ at a church men’s group or ladies breakfast. Everything checks out there. Oh…wait…it’s been a few days since you cracked that bible open…life got busy and there was all those family activities and football games to watch and …well you know. I mean, it’s not like we are ‘saved because we read the bible every day’…or not. But just to settle that uneasiness, you go over and pick it up and read a few chapters…just to make sure.

Yep…Now you’re ready

But can you really explain what it means to ‘be ready’ in light of His imminent return…and for a bride I might remind you that is ‘pure and holy without spot, stain, blemish, or wrinkle’? (Eph. 5:27)

This is about the time/place where you remember those reassuring sermons from church that tell us to trust in the ‘finished work of Christ’ and how there is nothing we ourselves, could ever contribute to this ‘free gift of salvation to all who believe’. In other words, ‘Just Believe’.

We all know about the ‘finished work of Jesus’ on the cross when He, Himself uttered that last phrase as He ‘gave up the Ghost’ saying…”It is finished.” (John 19:30)

He completed the work the Father sent Him to do. But guess what? That was just the beginning as now…there is a ‘work’ to be done in each and every one of us who come to Jesus with all our hearts.

In fact, Paul even expresses confidence that the ‘work God began in us will be completed’, (Phil. 1:6) …but friends…that is not some guaranteed assurance that it will happen just because you quote that verse three times a day. Do you know what that ‘work’ actually is? He came to conform us into His image and likeness. (Rom. 8:29). But in order for this work to be completed, let alone begin…you have to come to Him with your whole heart and surrender your life to Him…making Him ‘Lord of all’, not just ‘accepting Him as your Savior’. The two roles are inseparable. And this is one of the greatest lies passed down from pulpits across the land for generations. I know….such a bold statement to make. But I have plenty of scripture to support this. You would do well to examine this for yourself. (Acts 17:11)

Look at Paul’s use of wording there in Colossians 1:21-23 where he explains how God’s plan of reconciliation was to present us “holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight…IF…IF… IF we continue in the faith...grounded and steadfast and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which we heard…”

What do you think became of those disciples we read about in John 6:66 who no longer walked with Jesus because His sayings were ‘hard’? Did they …continue in the faith based on what we read there?” Or what about all those who were invited to the wedding in Matt. 22:1-14 and when the call went out for them to come…they declined. The king was not happy about that either. In fact you will read later in that portion of Matt. 22 how someone thought they could come in dressed as they pleased…and were promptly removed. (11-12)

Friends…this is serious; very serious. And if this kind of talk does not line up with the ‘gospel version’ you have been hearing taught, then I fear you have been listening to …’another gospel’. (2 Cor. 11:3-4; Gal. 1:6-10). If the ‘work was indeed finished…for all who believe’, then why would we be told to ‘fear lest we fall short of entering this place of rest’? (Heb. 4:1). And what on earth was happening with that church at Sardis we read about in the opening verses in Rev. 3? This was a church that had made a name for itself of really being ‘alive’, yet what did Jesus tell them in vs.1-2? He said they were ‘dead’ and…he “found their ‘works lacking’ or ‘not complete’ before God”. But I thought it was ‘all finished’?

He then warns them if they do not repent, then they can expect something they were not looking for…Him, to come upon them as a ‘thief’. And what does a ‘thief come to do’? (John 10:10)

Are you needing some good news about now? I have it…Jesus is still uttering the cry: “All ye…All Ye…in…come free!”. Come to Him…with ALL your heart in total surrender. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. There is still time for Him to begin and finish a ‘work in you’. See you tomorrow?