Anticipation to Prepare
by Jim Person
2 February 2026
« Previous DayRecently, I was preparing for a trip that I was really excited about. At the same time, I had a list of things that I needed or wanted to get done before I travelled. While I excitedly counted down the days, I was also working on my list to prepare for the trip. I was thinking about what I needed to pack and the things that had to be done at home and work before I went. I knew how many days I had to prepare, and I could divide the tasks up by the number of days I had before the trip.
As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of Jesus’ return which is coming “soon.” This is an even more exciting event than my trip, but we don’t know the exact time. We need to be prepared, but we can’t divide our preparation tasks up by the number of days we have left. So how do we prepare? As our scripture for today says, we are to keep watch because we don’t know when He will return. If we read in context Matthew chapters 24 and 25, we will see that we are to be doing the tasks He has assigned us to do.
Today, I would like to encourage all of us to be preparing for this most exciting event. Let us watch and pray and live lives of obedience, waiting with expectation the return of our Lord.
Jim Person Jim grew up in Alaska and from a small child commercial fished every summer with his family. God called him, his wife Tanya, and their four children to move to Hungary as missionaries in 2003. God then led him to join Ellel Ministries in 2005. After serving in various positions with Ellel in Central and Eastern Europe, God led them back to the United States, where he is now serving with the Ellel USA team. Jim and Tanya have a passion to see leaders restored, the church discipled and walking in God’s fullness of life and freedom. They also love mentoring the existing and developing Ellel teams wherever God leads them. Jim also has a real gift for working with the land to create a beautiful and welcoming environment.
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