Tag Archives: expectation

Look for Him, December 2, 2019

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

Can you believe Advent has begun? Well, actually, it’s not hard to believe it’s here given the number of months the Christmas trees and Black Friday sales have been beating us over the head. It seems the commercialization of the season gets earlier every year. I think I saw the first Christmas tree sale in June this year and the first mention of early Black Friday sales before Halloween.

So for some, Advent means all those commercials finally come to a screeching halt. Not really, because after Christmas, all the retailers try to get rid of their inventory before taxes come due. New Year’s sales bombard us just as vigorously as Black Friday sales, just not as long. But Advent for those retail clerks means the mad rush is slowing down a little.

For some, Advent means pockets fill because of those weeks of sales. Marketing reaches the highs of the year to get all the merchandise sold. It means long hours but with a substantial financial reward if all goes well. Owners like Advent for the boost in profits and the hope of a better bottom line when markets start a little sluggish or stagnate in the middle of the year.

But for Christians, Advent means something very different. It’s a time to remember a past event when God descended to earth to dwell among us in human flesh. Jesus lived with us, suffered all the things we suffer, worked, played, laughed, cried. He was human in every respect. Jesus was also God in every respect. God incarnate. Advent looks to the past at the incredible love God demonstrated by becoming like us.

Advent also looks to the future. It reminds us Jesus said he would return to take those who believe in him to live with him forever in a new creation, a new heaven and earth born from the destruction of this one. He told his followers to watch for his return. But Jesus did something some think peculiar. He didn’t tell them when he would return, just to be ready.

Jesus taught in parables most often because we remember stories so much better than we remember lectures. So his lessons come through the stories he told. Many of his parables deal with the warning to be ready for his coming. But He sometimes gave straightforward warnings about preparations for his return. One such warning appears in the lectionary for the First Sunday of Advent that starts the new Christian calendar year. It comes from Matthew chapter twenty-four:

“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.

Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left.

Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

It would be nice if God told us when he would come, but you know what would happen. In my travels around the world, I’ve found that people can and will do incredibly horrible things to each other. We see it here in the drug and sex trafficking. We see it through the news media every day as political parties attack each other just because they can. We seldom hear the whole truth anymore about any story. The story twists to what someone wants to persuade us to lean to their side. It’s easy to understand why Pilot asked Jesus, “What is truth?”

If God told us when he would return, we would be horribly evil and do terrible things against each other until a few hours before his return. Then the churches would be full. Altars would be lined with seekers asking forgiveness. Most of us would wait until the very last minute to try to squeak into heaven on God’s good graces.

God doesn’t want us to squeak by. He wants us to worship him because he is God. He wants us to love him because he is love. God wants us to serve him because of the sacrifice he made for us out of his love for us. God wants us to understand who he is and so give ourselves as a living sacrifice to him so that others will know him.

God wants us to demonstrate every day the love he has for the world by loving others the way he demonstrates his love for us. Jesus told us all the Father’s authority rests in him. Then he told us all the commandments can be summarized in just two. The first, love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. But before anyone could question him about that one, he said the second commandment is like the first. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Those are the two commandments Jesus told us to follow. Love God and love others. And he told us you can’t love an invisible God if you can’t love the visible people around you. Then he showed us what love looks like by allowing himself to be arrested unjustly tried and executed in a manner reserved for the worst offenders of the law. Laws he never broke.

Even the laws the Pharisees said he broke concerning the Sabbath, when you read them carefully, Jesus only spoke most of the time. He told the man to stretch out his hand. He told the man to stand and walk. He told the woman she was healed. Most of his Sabbath healings, he just spoke. Even those in which he did something physical were not so dramatic physically that they violated the law. He spit on the ground and made mud. He touched a man’s ears. He touched a man’s eyes. Nothing worthy of the charges brought against him.

Even the charge of blasphemy for which the council finally found a reason to crucify him in their mock trial. Jesus never said the words for which he was convicted. As you read the transcript, you’ll find the chief priest asked the question, “Are you the Messiah?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am.” Is that Jesus confirming the truth or the high priest confirming the truth of his claims? Who is guilty here? So Jesus never broke any of the laws of Moses. Still, he was crucified based on those laws.

The real reason for his death? The council proclaimed it. If Jesus kept doing the things he did, people would believe him and follow him. The Romans would come and take away their place of power and their nation. They envied his position as Messiah, the Savior of God’s people.

Jesus is coming back. We will stand on the side of those who believe in him for eternal life, followers of his way of life. Or we will stand with Pharisees and Sadducees, envious of his power and position as God. It’s been that way since Satan tempted Adam and Eve with what they thought was the opportunity to be like God. They were not; we are not.

There is only one God. He came to live with us. He died for us. He promised to live in us. We celebrate Advent because of that promise and his promise to return to take us with him forever. Look for him in all you do in celebrating this year.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible-based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV): Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan

Anniversaries remind me of Advent, December 11, 2017

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Today’s Podcast

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Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com

We have been following “The Story” for the last 14 weeks, but for the next three, we will take a short recess and enjoy Advent, remembering Jesus’ first coming into the world in the flesh and also looking forward to His return one day soon. This three week break also puts our reading in the story such that our reading in The Story will coincide with the events of Easter as those dates roll around. So I hope you enjoy this short interlude as we enjoy the Christmas season together.

The term advent came into being in the 12th century. This Middle English word means the arrival or coming of something. The church soon adopted it as the description of the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, this year from December 3rd through December 24th. We use those four weeks to celebrate not just His coming, but to anticipate His return. That’s what Advent is all about. Something that arrives or comes.

As I prepare this podcast, I just celebrated my 41st anniversary. We spent the night as a “stay-cation” on the Riverwalk here in San Antonio. We enjoyed the lights, watched the people, ate great food, and reminisced about the last 41 years together. The time helped us remember our times together on other anniversaries. Gatlinburg, where we spent our honeymoon and several anniversaries, Germany, New York, and a host of other places. It made me remember a lot of anniversaries we spent apart because of deployments, field training, and travel at the Army’s demand.

We also thought about the future, though. The past helps lets us enjoy those fun times we’ve had together. We can live those good times over and over in our minds. But living in the past doesn’t help us much except to translate failures into lessons so that we don’t repeat mistakes and turn those lessons into more than knowledge. We can turn experience into wisdom as we mature and make the future better for ourselves and others as we share wisdom. So we talked about the future.

The younger crowd probably thinks in different ways about the future than those of us who are retiring and we who are retiring probably think differently than those who have been retired for awhile. Now Carole and I think about how we can live close to all of the grandkids. Of course, that would mean convincing our kids to live closer to each other in a mobile society. We think about health and downsizing and how much activity we can really do in a day before we launch out on one of those high adventure vacations. We talk about budgets and what will happen to pensions and Social Security and health insurance in the future now that we dip into it so much more than we did in the past.

But something we talk about so much more than we did a few years ago is just how close Jesus’ return feels to us. Earthquakes in Delaware? When did that become commonplace? Record numbers of hurricanes? Uncontrolled wildfires and flooding all around the world? You can blame it on global warming if you like, but you can also read about these things in Matthew 25 as Jesus warns of the catastrophic natural events that will occur before His return.

So as we read the papers and listen to the news and reporters seem so bumfuzzled about why things seem so crazy around the world, we just wonder how soon Jesus will return. We read the prophets and see the visions they saw happening all around us. I know, others have said the same thing for centuries, but as I read God’s word and recognize the earth is going through something like birth pangs to usher in a new heaven and new earth, It seems to me the labor pains are getting pretty intense. I’m not sure the labor can get much more intense before this new heaven and new earth come into existence.

So this Advent season we look at the future and recognize the earthquakes won’t diminish but will increase in the coming months or years. The floods will not stop, but rather the hurricanes will become more violent and more people along the coastal plains, major rivers, and 100, 500, and 1000 year flood plains will be at risk. Wildfires will continue to ravage areas plagued with continued drought. Violence from terrorism, racism, political divides, will only increase.

All of that sounds pretty bleak as we peek into the future and ask what it will be like. But it also means Jesus is coming soon. It means the end is near and we will join our Savior. We will be with Him forever when He comes to take His bride home. His desire has always been to live face to face with us in a personal, intimate relationship. The Story, His word, bares that out. As we look to the past and see His actions, His mercy and grace toward us, we recognize the love He has toward us and catch a glimpse of the plan He has for us in the future.

However, we must choose to get on the path to which He directs us. We cannot expect to live with Him eternally by choosing our own way, our own path. We must follow Him to His garden of Eden. We must follow His precepts and principles. We must obey. What are His commands? They are easy to remember, love God and love people. That’s it. Do those two things and all the others fall into place.

Here we are. The second week of Advent. Looking back and celebrating the arrival of Jesus, the One who changed everything. In fact, He changed the world so much that almost every nation recognizes Christmas as a special day of celebration, whether or not they are a Christian nation. It is an international, global holiday. The calendar turned because of His birth. He was and is the God/Man who came to save us.

Advent is also a time to look forward to His arrival. He said He would come again. All the signs are coming together to indicate He might come pretty soon. All you need do is read the paper and listen to the news, compare it to what He said would happen just before He comes and you’ll see the time is right for His return. This Advent season, take time to celebrate. Remember Jesus came to bring life and light to a dead and dark world. He did that in a spectacular way. But we can also remember He will come again to finish the work He said He would do. He will come again to take us to the place He is preparing for us. A place where we can be with Him face to face forever.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more about The Story and our part in it. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Better than Christmas (Revelation 22:20), May 25, 2017

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
This is better than Christmas…maybe. It depends on who you believe.
Scripture
1. Revelation 22:20
2. The Anointed One: Yes. I am coming soon.
Devotional
1. I enjoy watching my grandkids as special days start to approach.
  1. Birthdays
  2. Christmas
  3. Start counting very early
  4. Anxious for its arrival
2. We sometimes do the same with
  1. Vacations
  2. Weekends
  3. New jobs
  4. Retirement
3. Jesus talks about an event without a date
  1. He says He is returning soon
  2. His disciples have been looking for that day since He ascended into heaven a few days before Pentecost
  3. Some did some things Paul and others warned them against
    1. Sold all their belongings
    2. Stopped working
    3. Sat and waited
4. We’re not to stop everything and just sit in a room and wait
  1. We have a task to complete
  2. Told us to teach
  3. Share the message
  4. Make disciples
  5. We should be growing in grace and becoming more like Him
  6. That takes work and can’t be done by sitting and waiting for His return
5. Also says He will return at a time we don’t expect
  1. Only the Father knows the time and day of His return
  2. Comes like a thief in the night
  3. Promised to return
  4. Wants to give us every opportunity to come to Him
  5. His delay is not failure to keep His promise
  6. Opportunity to see His grace and mercy at work
  7. Wants all to come to know Him as Lord
6. He will come
  1. Soon is relative when thinking about eternity
  2. But He is coming soon to claim His own
  3. Be ready
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

Watch for His miracles (Matthew 14:16) April 3, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 1 Corinthians 11-12

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 14:16
Jesus: They don’t need to go back to the villages in order to eat supper. Give them something to eat here.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Jesus has preached all day to the crowds assembled to hear Him and see His miracles. He has met their needs. He has shared the good news of the kingdom of heaven being at hand. He has opened the scripture so their could understand God’s love for them. He shared how God wanted a relationship with them, not sacrifices and rituals and rules. He wanted obedience, but He wanted obedience in a relationship of love just as we give obedience to our spouse out of love.

So here they were. The hour was late. People were hunger. The crowd began to grow restless. Jesus preached on. The disciples slipped up next to Him and whispered in His ear. “Master, the people are hunger, why don’t we send them into the villages nearby so they can get something to eat.” Hey, boss. Time for a break. Let’s give everyone time to go to McDonalds and start again in 30 minutes. Sound good?

Jesus words astound His disciples. “Give them something to eat here.” Now I imagine the disciples stopped and looked around at the crowd, then looked at the hillsides, then looked at Jesus. I expect a few of them got big eyes and their eyebrows went sky-high in confusion. Some of them probably doubled over in laughter thinking He was pulling their leg. He must have been joking. Some got a little closer, “Excuse me? What did you say? I don’t think I heard you right. Did you say feed them here?”

"Uh, Jesus, there’s no cafeteria here. McDonald’s won’t be built here for another couple thousand years. We don’t have Long John Silvers or Captain D’s or Bill Millers or Denny’s or anything. We just have rocks and a few trees and grass. But Jesus, these people aren’t cows. They won’t eat grass and leaves and rocks.

Do what can we learn from Jesus’ words to His disciples?

First, expect the unexpected. Jesus’ response to His disciples shocked them. They didn’t know what to do with His response. They didn’t see any way out of the predicament He put them in. Feed this crowd here? It seemed ridiculous, but Jesus does things no one else can do. He does God-like things because He is God. If we are truly His, He will do God-like things through us. So expect the unexpected. Be ready for Him to use you in ways that just don’t make sense sometimes.

Second, expect to work. Jesus didn’t let the disciples off the hook. The people were hunger. They needed food. The disciples were about to work pretty hard as waiters for a crowd of 5,000 men plus all the women and children who were there. So we can assume there were well over 10,000 and probably closer to 20,000 people gathered together that day. So these disciples had their work cut out for them. Imagine waiting on 20,000 people to get enough food to them that their hunger is satisfied. Just think about the weight of food they will carry. If each person only eats 1/3 pound of food each, that’s still almost 3 1/2 tons of food they will carry one basket at a time until everyone is fed.

Third, expect to help people. Jesus wasn’t going to let this crowd go hungry. If the disciples released them into the villages to get food, they still wouldn’t be fed. Think about it. How much food do you think would have been available to feed those 20,000 people in the nearby villages? It would have wiped out the food sources. The villages couldn’t have supported such a request. These were small villages of maybe a few hundred people at the time. 20,000 people constituted the population of some of the larger cities of Jesus’ day. The local villages could not have fed the crowd anyway. So Jesus commanded His disciples to help these people satisfy their physical need.

Finally, expect a miracle. When Jesus directs us to do things in His name, He uses His resurrection power to get things done. Sometimes His miracles are extraordinary like the feeding of the 5,000 men and all the women and children accompanying them. Sometimes He heals in miraculous ways and there is almost instantaneous cure of some disease or illness. Sometimes He works through the hands of others. Sometimes His miracles are subtle, putting the right people at the right place at the right time so that their skills and talents can be put to work to make something happen. Sometimes He just lets us see that He is present with the miracle of His peace in our heart despite the circumstance we face. But we can look for the miracles around us and we will see His grace and mercy at work. We will see His mighty hand at work around us.

The disciples were astonished at Jesus’ words. On this side of the cross, we can learn from them and listen for Jesus’ words expectantly. Listen for Him to speak to you and watch His miracles work around you.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.