Day 21: Return Ready - Part 3

Day 21: Return Ready - Part 3
Jon Mitchell

Over the last 2 days I’ve mentioned that being kingdom ready is being return ready. The parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 shows us 5 wise virgins and 5 foolish virgins—that the normal Christian life, offered by Christ, is a life filled with the oil of God’s manifesting presence. What makes us kingdom ready and return ready is what’s inside our lamp—oil! Having a lamp was not enough. The lamp is just a vessel and is useless without the oil! The indwelling presence of the fullness of God through the Holy Spirit is more important than any wineskin, form, or structure we can create, or program that we can participate in.

As I’ve studied this scripture over the last year, I’ve been overwhelmed with the following question: Is it possible to go through all of the motions that Christian’s go through and not be return ready? So many are committed to religion. They are committed to their denomination. They embrace Christ religiously, they embrace Christ socially, they embrace Christ intellectually, but they’ve never been born again by the Spirit of God. They’ve never embraced repentance. They are lamps without oil! And the tragedy is you can fool your friends, you can fool your spouse, and you can even fool yourself, but you cannot fool Jesus! He knows the truth about our spiritual condition. He knows who has an expectant heart, a believing heart, a prepared heart, an oil filled return ready heart. 

For the believer, this parable brings us face-to-face with the need to be filled and re-filled. If we are going to endure, if we are going to remain faithful, if we’re going to be return ready, yesterday’s filling is not enough. We must give Him more room in our lamp. We need ongoing Holy Spirit anointing. As the Psalmist said in Psalms 92:10, “Your anointing has made me strong and mighty. You’ve empowered my life for triumph by pouring fresh oil over me.” (TPT)

Jesus, fill me with your anointing and presence today through the power of the Holy Spirit. I don’t want to just go through the motions. I don’t want to be committed to religion, I want to be committed to you. I want to be kingdom ready and return ready. Show me where I’m distracted or disinterested. Break off any passivity in my life.

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