Thursday. [Heb. 7:1-6; Luke 21:28-33]

   And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be weighed down with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. “That day,” which means the last day of the world or of each of us, comes like a thief and captures like a net; that is why the Lord says: Watch ye therefore and pray always (Luke 21:36). While since satiation and vain fussing are the top enemies of vigil and prayer, one is forewarned not to permit oneself to be weighed down by food, drink and worldly worries. For one who has eaten, drunk, made merry; who has slept enough but does it again what vigil can there be? Is one who is occupied solely with worldly things, day and night, up for prayer? “What should I do?” you say. “It is not possible to go without food; and we have to procure it. So we have to concern ourselves with this.” But the Lord did not say, “do not work, do not eat, do not drink,” but rather, let not your heart be weighed down with this. Work with your hands, but keep your heart free; if you must eat—eat, but do not burden yourself with food; drink wine when necessary, but do not let it lead to disturbance of your head and heart. Divide your outer from your inner and make the latter your life’s work, and the former a sideline; keep your attention and heart in the latter, and only your body, arms, legs and eyes in the former. Watch ye and pray always, that you may be made worthy to stand fearlessly before the Son of Man. In order to be made worthy of this, it is necessary to establish yourself before the Lord while you are still here in your life; there is one means for this—vigilant prayer in the heart performed by the mind. He who is in such a state of mind will not be taken unawares on “that day”.

Friday. [Heb. 7:18-25; Luke 21:37-22:8]

   Satan entered into Judas, and taught him how to betray the Lord; he agreed, and betrayed Him. Satan entered because the door was opened for him. What is within us is always closed; the Lord Himself stands outside and knocks, that we might open. What causes it to open? It is opened by sympathy, predisposition, or agreement. If all of this is inclined in the direction of the Lord, He enters. If satan enters, and not the Lord, the person himself is guilty. If you do not allow thoughts pleasing to satan, if you do not sympathize with them, or dispose yourself to their suggestions and agree to do them, satan walks nearby and then leaves, for he is not given power over anyone. If he takes possession of anyone, it is because that person gives himself over in slavery to him. The source of all evil is one’s thoughts. Do not allow bad thoughts and you will forever close the door of your soul to satan. That bad thoughts come—what can you do? Nobody on the earth is without them; there is no sin here. Chase them away, and that will end everything. If they come again, chase them away again—and so on for your entire life. When you accept thoughts and become engaged in them, it is not surprising that sympathy toward them appears as well; then they become even more persistent. After sympathy come bad intentions either for these or other bad deeds. Vague intentions then define themselves by an inclination toward one thing or another. Choice, agreement and resoluteness set in, and then sin is within! The door of the heart is opened wide. As soon as agreement forms, satan jumps in and begins to tyrannize. Then the poor soul is driven wearisomely like a slave or a pack-animal into doing indecent things. If it had not allowed bad thoughts, nothing of the sort would have happened.