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Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Luke 9-10
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Matthew 24:23-28
Jesus: I cannot say this clearly enough: during this time, someone will say to you, “Look, here is the Anointed One!” or “Aren’t you relieved? Haven’t you seen the Savior down there, around the bend, over the hill and dale?” Do not believe them. False liberators and false prophets will appear, and they will know a few tricks—they will perform great miracles, and they will make great promises. If it were possible, they would even deceive God’s elect. But I am warning you ahead of time: remember—do not fall for their lies or lines or promises. If someone says, “He’s out there in the desert”—do not go. And if someone says, “He’s here at our house, at our table”—do not believe him. When the Son of Man comes, He will be as visible as lightning in the East is visible even in the West. And where the carcass is, there will always be vultures.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
My wife and I were fortunate enough to purchase land the day our subdivision opened lots for sale and chose the highest lot in the neighborhood. From our backyard we can see the Tower of the Americas in downtown San Antonio, twenty miles away. From the front of the house we can see the city of Boerne eight miles away. The vista is beautiful. We see miles in every direction from our little piece of the world.
One other thing happens on the top of this hill, though, that I really enjoy. I kind of like thunderstorms. In thunderstorm, we see lightning strikes everywhere around us. We’ve never been hit by lightning, but because we can see so far in the distance, when thunderstorms hit, we see them forever. The skies are bright for a long time as they advance toward us and as they retreat from us. Especially in the middle of the night, the light shows are magnificent.
Some of you might think I’m a little crazy because I think storms are so beautiful. My dog thinks so. He’s terrified of storms and hides when they come around. But I’ve always enjoyed watching them. The shear power and majesty hidden in the clouds helps me recognize once again the absolute authority God has over this earth.
But those thunderstorms also remind me of these verses in Matthew and Paul’s description of Jesus’ coming again in 1 Corinthians 15. Jesus says everyone will know of His return. Like lightning in the East is visible in the West. That’s the way it is on my hilltop. Sometimes I don’t know where the lightning is, I just know it’s really bright because it stuck somewhere around us and whole sky lit up when it did.
That’s how it will be when Jesus returns he says. His coming will be like lightning. Paul says it will happen in the blink of an eye. Just think about how fast the blink of an eye. It’s measured in milliseconds. And just that fast, Jesus will come, take His redeemed with Him and be gone at the rapture. That’s fast. It’s like a lightning strike He says. Ever try to capture a lightning strike on film. You almost have to take a move and then capture the one or two frames within the movie on which the strike occurs. If you wait to push the button to activate the lens when you see the strike, you will already have missed it. That’s how fast Jesus’ return will be.
So I don’t listen to anyone who says, “Follow me, I’m the one.” There are a bunch of them out there, though. Some of you are old enough to remember Jim Jones and the purple cool-aid. Then there was David Koresh and the Waco bunch. Those made national news, but they are not the only self proclaimed messiah’s in the world. Lots of people follow lots of false messiahs who tell them what they want to hear. They give them false hope or tickle their ears with good sounding words, but end up eternally with the same fate as those in Waco and Jonestown. Death. But spiritual death. Eternal death.
But if Jesus’ return will be as quick as lightning, no one who sticks around longer than a couple of milliseconds is Him. That should be our first clue about anyone who claims they are the anointed one, the messiah, God’s special messenger come to take us home. If we would just read God’s word and understand what it says, we could not be fooled by such cult leaders who get so full of themselves they can’t see past their ego and then blind others with what they think is their wonderful message. It’s only more garbage.
Remember that lightning analogy Jesus uses? Remember that blink of an eye analogy Paul uses? It won’t take long for Jesus to take His own home with Him. Everyone will see Him, just like I can see the light from thunderstorms light up the sky all around my house no matter which direction the strikes happen. They are so brief, but in that moment, they turn the night into day. And just that quickly, one day I’ll be caught up in the air with Him when He comes again.
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