Bible verses about "preparation" | Goodspeed

¹³ But he who holds out to the end will be saved.

⁴² So you must be on the watch, for you do not know on what day your Master is coming.

⁴⁷ The slave who knows his master's wishes, but does not get ready or act upon them, will be severely punished.

²⁸ What man among you if he wishes to build a tower does not first sit down and estimate the cost of it, to see whether he has enough to complete it?

⁹ But when you hear of wars and outbreaks, do not be alarmed. These have to come first, but the end does not follow immediately." ¹⁰ Then he said to them, "Nation will rise in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, and pestilence and famine here and there. There will be horrors and great signs in the sky. ¹² But before all this, men will arrest you and persecute you, and hand you over to synagogues and prisons and have you brought before kings and governors on my account. ¹³ It will all lead to your testifying. ¹⁴ So make up your minds not to prepare your defense, ¹⁵ for I will give you such wisdom of utterance as none of your opponents will be able to resist or dispute. ¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by your parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends and they will put some of you to death, ¹⁷ and you will be hated by everyone because you bear my name. ¹⁸ Yet not a hair of your head will perish! ¹⁹ It is by your endurance that you will win your souls. ²⁰ But when you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, then you must understand that her devastation is at hand. ²¹ Then those who are in Judea must fly to the hills, those who are in the city must get out of it, and those who are in the country must not go into it, ²² for those are the days of vengeance, when all that is written in the Scriptures will be fulfilled. ²³ But alas for women who are with child at that time, or who have babies, for there will be great misery in the land and anger at this people. ²⁴ They will fall by the edge of the sword, and be carried off as prisoners among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the heathen, until the time of the heathen comes. ²⁵ There will be signs too in sun, moon, and stars, and on earth dismay among the heathen, bewildered at the roar of the sea and the waves. ²⁶ Men will swoon with fear and foreboding of what is to happen to the world, for the forces in the sky will shake. ²⁷ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great power and glory. ²⁸ But when this begins to happen, look up and raise your heads, for your deliverance will be at hand." ²⁹ And he gave them an illustration: "See the fig tree and all the trees. ³⁰ As soon as they put out their leaves, you see them and you know without being told that summer is coming. ³¹ So when you see these things happen, you must know that the Kingdom of God is at hand. ³² I tell you, it will all happen before the present generation passes away. ³³ Earth and sky will pass away, but my words will not. ³⁴ But take care that your hearts are not loaded down with self-indulgence and drunkenness and worldly cares, and that day takes you by surprise, like a trap. ³⁵ For it will come on all who are living anywhere on the face of the earth. ³⁶ But you must be vigilant and always pray that you may succeed in escaping all this that is going to happen, and in standing in the presence of the Son of Man."

³³ I have told you all this, so that through me you may find peace. In the world you have trouble; but take courage! I have conquered the world."

¹ I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by this mercy of God, to offer your bodies in a living sacrifice that will be holy and acceptable to God; that is your rational worship. ² You must not adopt the customs of this world but by your new attitude of mind be transformed so that you can find out what God's will is—what is good, pleasing, and perfect.

¹¹ All this especially, because you know this critical time and that it is time for you to wake from your sleep, for our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

¹ "Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were foolish and five were sensible. ³ For the foolish ones brought their lamps but brought no oil with them, ⁴ but the sensible ones with their lamps brought oil in their flasks. ⁵ As the bridegroom was slow in coming, they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. ⁶ But in the middle of the night there was a shout 'Here is the bridegroom! Come out and meet him!' ⁷ Then all the bridesmaids awoke, and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' ⁹ But the sensible ones answered, 'There may not be enough for us and you. You had better go to the dealers and buy yourselves some.' ¹⁰ But while they were gone to buy it, the bridegroom arrived, and the ones that were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was closed. ¹¹ Afterward the other bridesmaids came and said, 'Sir! Sir! Open the door for us!' ¹² But he answered, 'I tell you, I do not know you!' ¹³ So you must be on the watch, for you do not know either the day or the hour. ¹⁴ "For it is just like a man who was going on a journey, and called in his slaves, and put his property in their hands. ¹⁵ He gave one five thousand dollars, and another two thousand, and another one thousand; to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶ The man who had received the five thousand dollars immediately went into business with the money, and made five thousand more. ¹⁷ In the same way the man who had received the two thousand made two thousand more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received the one thousand went away and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. ¹⁹ Long afterward, their master came back and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And the man who had received the five thousand dollars came up bringing him five thousand more, and said, 'Sir, you put five thousand dollars in my hands; here I have made five thousand more.' ²¹ His master said to him, 'Well done, my excellent, faithful slave! you have been faithful about a small amount; I will put a large one into your hands. Come, share your master's enjoyment!' ²² And the man who had received the two thousand came up and said, 'Sir, you put two thousand dollars into my hands; here I have made two thousand more.' ²³ His master said to him, 'Well done, my excellent, faithful slave! you have been faithful about a small amount; I will put a large one into your hands. Come! share your master's enjoyment.' ²⁴ And the man who had received the one thousand came up and said, 'Sir, I knew you were a hard man, who reaped where you had not sown, and gathered where you had not threshed, ²⁵ and I was frightened, and I went and hid your thousand dollars in the ground. Here is your money!' ²⁶ His master answered, 'You wicked, idle slave! You knew that I reaped where I had not sown and gathered where I had not threshed? ²⁷ Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and then when I came back I would have gotten my property with interest. ²⁸ So take the thousand dollars away from him, and give it to the man who has the ten thousand, ²⁹ for the man who has will have more given him, and will be plentifully supplied, and from the man who has nothing even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And put the good-for-nothing slave out into the darkness outside, to weep and grind his teeth there.' ³¹ "When the Son of Man comes in his splendor, with all his angels with him, he will take his seat on his glorious throne, ³² and all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats, ³³ and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. ³⁴ Then the king will say to those at his right, 'Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take possession of the kingdom which has been destined for you from the creation of the world. ³⁵ For when I was hungry, you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, when I was a stranger, you invited me to your homes, ³⁶ when I had no clothes, you gave me clothes, when I was sick, you looked after me, when I was in prison, you came to see me.' ³⁷ Then the upright will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger, and invite you home, or without clothing, and supply you with it? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison, and go to see you?' ⁴⁰ The king will answer, 'I tell you, in so far as you did it to one of the humblest of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.' ⁴¹ Then he will say to those at his left, 'Begone, you accursed people, to the everlasting fire destined for the devil and his angels! ⁴² For when I was hungry, you gave me nothing to eat, and when I was thirsty you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ when I was a stranger, you did not invite me home, when I had no clothes, you did not supply me, when I was sick and in prison, you did not look after me.' ⁴⁴ Then they in their turn will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or in need of clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not wait upon you?' ⁴⁵ Then he will answer, 'I tell you, in so far as you failed to do it for one of these people who are humblest, you failed to do it for me.' ⁴⁶ Then they will go away to everlasting punishment, and the upright to everlasting life."

⁴⁴ Therefore you must be ready too, for the Son of Man is coming at a time when you do not expect him.

³⁶ But you must be vigilant and always pray that you may succeed in escaping all this that is going to happen, and in standing in the presence of the Son of Man."

¹⁵ but reverence Christ in your hearts as Lord, and always be ready to make your defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that you have. But do so gently and respectfully,