Tag Archives: Matthew

As fast as lightning (Matthew 24:23-28) June 4, 2016

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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. 

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.

The rapture, get the question right. (Matthew 24:15-22) June 3, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Lamentations

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:15-22
Jesus: You will remember that the prophet Daniel predicted this—predicted the abomination that causes desolation—when you see the prophesied desolation of the holy place. (Reader, take notice; it is important that you understand this.) When you see this, let those in Judea flee to the mountains. If you are relaxing on your rooftop one evening and the signs of the temple’s destruction come, don’t return to your house to rescue a book or a pet or a scrap of clothing. If you are in the field when the great destruction begins, don’t return home for a cloak. Pregnant women and nursing mothers will have the worst of it. And as for you, pray that your flight to the hills will not come on the Sabbath or in the cold of winter. For the tribulation will be unparalleled—hardships of a magnitude that has not been seen since creation and that will not be seen again. Indeed the Lord God your merciful judge will cut this time of trial short, and this will be done for the benefit of the elect that some might indeed be saved—for no one could survive the depravity for very long.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

There’s a lot of debate about the rapture, the point in time when Jesus will resurrect His followers who have died and take up those who are still living to be with Him forever. Some say the rapture will happen before the tribulation, some say it will happen during the tribulation and some say it will happen after the tribulation. Scripture can support any of the theories depending on which scriptures you use and how you interpret them.

I suppose I could give you my opinion and you could send me your concurrence or argument against my opinion if you choose, but really, what does it matter? If God chooses for His children to go through the tribulation to sift out the true believers from those who just use His name as a tag to hide behind, that’s His business. He will be with us to the end and give us strength to endure the tribulation if He wants us to walk through it.

If God chooses to put us through to the midpoint of the tribulation when the three prophets speak in Jerusalem, that’s okay, too. We will witness the beginning of the outpouring of God’s wrath and perhaps be able to win some of those we’ve prayed for so long. Perhaps with God’s help in those days, He will enable us to share in new ways the good news of salvation so that some will come to know Him because of the intense suffering that so many will endure during those first three years of the tribulation. If then God chooses to take us home with Him at the midpoint to spare us from the remaining aftermath of His wrath, He just shows us more of His grace and mercy and love to an undeserving bunch of sinners.

And if God chooses to take us home with Him before the tribulation begins to spare us from even the beginning of the outpouring of His wrath upon the world for humanity’s refusal to acknowledge Him as God, then we are certainly blessed by the outpouring of His mercy. Do we deserve an early rapture? No. Do we deserve redemption? No. Do we deserve anything from God? No.

So how should we approach the debate when Christians begin to argue among themselves so fervently about pre-, mid-, and post-tribulation rapture? We should probably sit back and laugh at the brawl that ensues or perhaps weep for our misguided brothers and sisters who spend so much energy on such an unimportant thing.

What does it really matter after all? The question really is, “Will I be part of the rapture when it happens?” As long as I’m right with God, He will see me through the tribulation. Will I suffer during those times? Probably, as will every other human being on the planet. Will I suffer as much as those not right with God? Probably not. But for sure, if I’m right with God, I will not spend eternity in hell, separated from Him. If I’m right with God, I will be part of the rapture whenever it occurs and that’s the more important question. Not when it will be, but will I be part of it?

I will let others argue about when the rapture will happen. I don’t really care. I just want to be in it. So how do I want to live in relation to the tribulation? I will live so close to God that if the rapture is post-tribulation, I will rest in Him and be prepare to suffer through the awful state of the earth through those seven years of God’s wrath. If Jesus comes at the midpoint of the tribulation to take His bride home and the tribulation happens at the three and a half year point, I will praise Him for relief from the suffering and rejoice with Him forever. And if the rapture comes before the tribulation, well…, can you say joy unspeakable?

When those around you want to argue about the timing of the rapture, just remember the real question. It’s not when it comes, it’s are you part of it? 

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.

The consummation of all things is not far away (Matthew 24:13-14) June 2, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Proverbs 1

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:13-14
Jesus: But those who do not waver from our path and do not follow those false prophets—those among you will be saved. And this good news of God’s kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, a testimony to all people and all nations. Then, beloved, the end, the consummation of all things, will come.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Growing up, I always wondered about that part Jesus’ prophecy to His disciples that the end would come after the good news of God’s kingdom is preached throughout the whole world. It always seemed that’s what He was saying in the words He gave to His followers. They must have thought that would be a long time coming since news traveled so slowly in His day.

It took months and years to get news from one end of the known world to another. Modes of transportation were as fast as a horse or a ship or a man’s feet. And the path from east Asia to Spain to Egypt and Africa was a long treacherous one. Surely it would be a long time before Jesus returned if this was one of the things that must happen before His return.

When I was a boy, missionaries would come to our church and speak about the things they saw and the places they had traveled. Some to previously unexplored parts of the Amazon and the darkest parts of Africa. But today, there are few parts of the world that have been unexplored. There are few pockets of people who have been untouched by civilization. Few populations can say they have no knowledge of the at least some events that happen outside their community.

But what of the sharing of the gospel? Has the good news of God’s salvation reached around the world, yet? That’s the question we might ask ourselves. How close are we to reaching the world with the message of God’s kingdom at hand?

I’m sure my grandparents use to wonder if Jesus’ coming was right around the corner with the advent of radio. That invention made possible the transmission of the message to every square inch of the globe as long as someone had a receiver to pick up the radio waves and hear the message transmitted. Of course, the question then would be whether they understood the language of the speaker. I never worried about that translation, though, because I knew of the miracle of translation when Peter spoke on the day of Pentecost. People from every nation were gathered to celebrate and heard him speak in their own language. They understood even though he spoke in Greek, they heard in their native tongue. Translation for God is not an issue. Transmission of the gospel is the issue for us.

So then our parents wondered if perhaps television was the answer to spreading the gospel. This new media that rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s now invades every home in almost every nation of the world. The flick of a switch (or the push of a button on the remote) puts ideas into the minds of those who sit in front of the screen. Unfortunately, more of the world’s ideas than God’s come through that media. But it still gave hope to some that God’s message might be spread around the world through television.

For our generation the Internet seems to be the vehicle that promises to reach the world. You just can’t get away from it. The Internet permeates our lives. It seems to control almost every aspect of life. Our banking, our entertainment, our medical systems, our jobs – whatever they might be. The Internet is everywhere. Perhaps it might be the vehicle by which the gospel moves across the globe to every nation to spread the news that Jesus died that we might live.

There’s a very interesting statistic I’ll share with you about this podcast that amazes me every time I see it. I don’t understand it, I don’t know why it happens, I don’t know how it started, but one day I was curious as to where the downloads for my podcast went. One of the categories I can use to parse information about the podcast is the geographic origin of downloads, so I clicked on it and was astonished at the results.

I expected San Antonio to be the city with the largest number of downloads and it was. That’s where I live, so no surprise there. But the next cities in order did surprise me. I’ve been around a bit and have friends in a lot of places, but here are the next for cities in order San Francisco, Washington DC, Beijing, and Seattle. San Francisco? Shock. Beijing? Super shock! Did I think my podcast would reach around the world and anyone would be interested in what I had to say on a consistent basis in Beijing, China? Never in a million years.

But God’s message goes where He wants it to go. One day, and it’s coming closer every day, it will spread around the world and then, as Jesus says, the end, the consummation of all things, will come. Be ready, it’s not far away. 

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.

Be careful in these days! (Matthew 24:11-12) June 1, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 63-65

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:11-12
Jesus: The love that they had for one another will grow cold because few will obey the law. False prophets will appear, many will be taken in by them, and the only thing that will grow is wickedness. There will be no end to the increase of wickedness.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

How much should we concern ourselves with Jesus’ prophecy to His disciples about these end time happenings? What do we need to look for ourselves and how can we know if we are part of that group Jesus talks about or are we okay with God as we listen to His predictions? Have we let our love grow cold? Have we let ourselves be taken in by false prophets? Are we slipping into wickedness instead of righteousness?

Those are serious questions we need to answer for ourselves as we think of Jesus’ words today. So lets take a look at ourselves over the next few minutes.

Jesus says others will know His followers by our love for one another. But do I really love others? Do I help in times of need? Do I share their burdens with them not just in prayer, but in tangible ways so they recognize that I care for them as I would my flesh and blood brothers and sisters? Or has my love for fellow Christians become reduced to acquaintances at worship services and maintaining some friendships with the same few in my socio-economic level?

Do I really love the way Christ loved those that followed Him? Then a further question, do I love my enemies and pray for their salvation, their blessing, their success? Or do I do everything I can to trip them up, defeat them in some way, repudiate their character at every turn? Has my love grown cold?

How about the question of false teachers? Do I even know how to recognize false teachers when they come? There are a lot of good people in the world that are still lost. There are more that will twist and turn the scriptures to say what they want them to say for their benefit and forget the rest. Do I know how to recognize them and make sure I stay away from their teaching?

Do I listen to what teachers and prophets say and test it against God’s word to see if it really matches with the whole word of God? Do I test the validity of the prophet’s priciples and his life to see if he lives what he preaches? Do I check his behavior against God’s word to test the validity of how he lives the gospel in front of others? Do I follow a prophet because he makes me feel good or because his message sometimes convicts me and challenges me in areas of my life that need to become more Christlike?

I hear a lot of false prophets today that tell us a lot of things that don’t agree with God’s word. Sure they take a verse or two from His word, but they take it out of context and use it inappropriately and twist the whole tenor of God’s command to us to live holy and righteous lives. They ignore the whole of God’s word to focus on the few verses that appeal to them and lead others astray with them. Those are the false prophets Jesus talks about.

Satan did the same in the Garden of Eden with Adam when he talked about the tree of knowledge. Satan did the same thing with Jesus when he used the Psalms to entice Jesus to abandon the Father’s plan. The false prophets will use pieces and parts of scripture to entice us toward evil. So how do we know we might be subject to the teachings of false prophets? Test their teaching against the whole of God’s word. Put their single verses back into the context of God’s word. Don’t let a single verse of two dictate the flavor of the message, but rather understand the whole of God’s message.

How do you do that? Read His word! It’s only 1500 pages. That’s really not that long if you think about it. Read about four pages a day and you’ve read it in a year. Read and know God’s word and you will discern the difference between the false prophets and those proclaim the whole word of God.

What happens when we listen to and follow the false prophets that Satan sends? We experience an ever increasing growth in wickedness. Just look around and see the evidence of the false prophets’ work around us. Clearly wickedness is growing every day. Our abuse of drugs, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, the explosion of all kinds of vices throughout our country and the world. Can anyone possibly deny the growth of wickedness generation after generation since Jesus’ words to His disciples so long ago? And as He said, there will be no end of wickedness until He returns to stop it.

Should we concern ourselves with His words? Absolutely. Many will fall away. Can I fall away? I could if I fail to listen to Him and read His words and follow Him closely. So can you. Be careful in these days. 

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.

So what’s a few days of discomfort? (Matthew 24:9-10) May 31, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 1 Kings 1-4

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:9-10
Jesus: They will hand you over to your enemies, who will torture you and then kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me. And many who have followed Me and claimed to love Me and sought God’s kingdom will turn away—they will abandon the faith and betray and hate one another.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The promise Jesus gives in these two verses doesn’t sound so good does it. You might wonder who “they” includes in Jesus’ comment. Go back to the previous description of the signs of the times and you find it’s the people that claim to come in His name as the Messiah. He says some who call themselves Christians will hand you over to your enemies. If you really follow Jesus, you will be tortured, killed, hated by all nations just because you obey what Jesus says.

We’re beginning to see that today around the world. Look at what’s happening. Read the papers. Listen to the news reports. We hear only a fraction of what is happening to Christians around the globe. We hear about ISIS beheading Christians probably because the goal of ISIS is to dismantle our country. Their aim isn’t just to oust us from the middle east. They want our whole way of life ended. And that means our tolerance of any religion but Islam. They want their Sharia Laws enforced across the globe even though they don’t follow them personally.

But that’s not the only place where our enemies torture and kill true believers in Christ. We’re just getting reports from Europe in the refugee camps from the middle east that Christians are beaten, robbed of their possessions and food and sometimes killed just because they are Christian. And what do those in charge of the refugee camps do about the injuries and wrongs done to Christians? Not much if anything. They don’t want to create riots within the mostly Muslim populations, so they ignore the problem.

Then there are the African countries whose populations are increasingly turning toward Islam. Systematic genocide of Christians takes place every day. Whether through execution, unfair distribution of vital supplies in famine plagued areas, refusal to provide medical care to sick and injured. Dozens of ways are created to just let Christians perish in developing and developed countries around the world.

Even here in America, the rights and privileges of Christians are eroding day by day. As you screen the legislation proposed by state and federal agencies, the language often points directly toward Christians. We have quietly allowed our government to quell freedom of religion for those that serve the risen Lord as we increase our tolerance for all other faiths. Soon we will find even the freedoms we have in this country taken away as the end draws nearer.

But is this a time to withdraw, hide in holes, fear those that might try to silence the faithful followers of Christ? Absolutely not. The signs of the end of time are increasing just as Jesus said they would. The time we have left to share the good news of His sacrifice for our sins is drawing to a close. We have a great task in front of us. We need to share with those who would see our harm to help them know that God still loves them, despite the sin they commit. His will is not their punishment, but they choose that if they continue on the path they are on.

Today we see many doing exactly what Jesus said they would do. They claim to be followers and some might have been at one time, but when it gets hard. When Jesus says we can’t go the way of the world. When we begin to stand out from the crowd because we refuse to participate in the debachery the world calls pleasure. Many fall away. He talked about those in His parable of the sower. Those seeds sown among thorns that grow up but are choked out by their desire for the things of the world instead of keeping their eyes on the important things of God’s kingdom.

It doesn’t take much to look around and see that Jesus’ prophecies are coming true. Our grandparents probably said the same thing as they were growing up and the world continues to get worse. I just know that as Jesus uses labor as the metaphor, those birth pangs are getting closer together and more intense. I’m not sure how much closer they need to get before the labor of the final days begin, but they just don’t seem like they can be far off when you read Jesus’ prophecies.

His words to us may not sound like the most pleasant prospect for us right now. But remember, these things usher in the best days. Jesus is coming soon. And when He does, those that remain faithful to Him will join Him in a party that never ends. We will worship around the banquet table of God rejoicing with Him forever. With that in mind, what are a few days of discomfort in exchange for an eternity with Him? 

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.

We’d better get to it! (Matthew 24:4-8) May 30, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Exodus 33-36

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:4-8
Jesus: Take care that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name claiming they are the Anointed One, and many poor souls will be taken in. You will hear of wars, and you will hear rumors of wars, but you should not panic. It is inevitable, this violent breaking apart of the sinful world, but remember, the wars are not the end. The end is still unfolding. Nations will do battle with nations, and kingdoms will fight neighboring kingdoms, and there will be famines and earthquakes. But these are not the end. These are the birth pangs, the beginning. The end is still unfolding.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

These verses from Matthew that give us the description of the events that happen before the end comes can be a little disconcerting. Wars, rumors of wars, nations fighting against nations, kingdoms fighting against neighboring kingdoms. These are standard headlines today. Famines and earthquakes. They are everywhere.

I did a quick Internet search just to see what is going on around the world in relation to Jesus’ predictions. Today there are 54 conflicts going around the world. Fourteen of them kill 1,000 or more people a year in the fighting. In the last seven days, the seismologists have recorded 90 earthquakes of 4.0 or greater on the Richter scale. You might be interested to know that four or five years ago, the agency posted earthquakes with an intensity of three or more, but there are now so many, they only post those with an intensity of four or greater.

Talking about famine is a little harder to wrap your head around. We know famine means there is not enough food for everyone so let’s look at hunger statistics. These, too, are hard to wrap your head around. Hunger can mean the pains in your stomach that some of us feel when we miss a meal. That’s not what Jesus was talking about, I don’t think. Most of us could stand to miss a meal or two without consequence. In fact, it would probably help most of us. But when we think about the undernourished or those that die of starvation, that number is staggering. Currently 795 million people on the planet do not have enough food to maintain their health. That’s one out of nine people on the planet. And among children under the age of five, it’s the hunger, undernourishment is the number one cause of death. Over 3 million children died of hunger in 2012 and 161 million were undernourished.

We hear about the melting of the polar caps and the rise of the oceans. The changes in weather that create weather patterns that reduce the growing season for crops or increase the temperatures to make it unfavorable for crops to withstand the scorching sun. We hear about El Nina` and other weather patterns that disrupt the normal flow of air and bring disasters to regions of the country and the world. Storms abound creating havoc for hundreds of thousands in this country and around in every country.

But Jesus tells us all these things are just birth pangs. These are not the end, but signs of its coming. These are the events that will tell us He is returning soon. So what should we do?

We could crawl into a hole and try to protect ourselves from the onslaught that is coming. We could arm ourselves and defend our tiny piece of ground from invaders and hold on to the possessions we hold in our hand. We could sit by and do nothing assuming God will come and wisk us away so we never face the troubles that will continue to grow until the tribulation begins and Christ returns.

I’m not sure any of those are what Jesus had in mind when He told His disciples the signs to look for that would herald His return. I think He gave us those signs to tell us time is short to finish the tasks He gave us to do. He gave us a command to go and make disciples in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Remember? We are to share His message with others and bring them to the saving knowledge of Christ.

God does His best to let us know His grace is about to run out. Jesus told those around Him the signs like birth pangs that would precede the final judgments God would send upon the earth for their failure to follow Him and live in our selfish unrepentant state. I’m not sure how the signs could get much clearer. And if the birth pangs we see in the 54 conflicts, 90 earthquakes a week, 795 million people dying of malnutrition around the world, and all the other warning signs can be compared to the birth pangs preceding labor, just think what the end will be like. Women tell me the pain of the birth pangs and false labor are nothing compared to the labor itself. Can you imagine what the world will be like when these birth pangs of the end are over?

We have a lot of people to warn and help them understand there is but one way to escape the coming wrath God will pour out on this earth and those who fail to recognize Him as God. We don’t have much time left to do our job. We’d better get to it!

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.

The temple will fall (Matthew 24:2) May 29, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Galatians 1-3

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:2
Jesus: Look around you. All of it will become rubble. I tell you this: not one stone will be left standing.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The temple was a beautiful structure. Herod erected the gleaming white stone structure to create an awe inspiring edifice for the Jews he ruled. He wanted to win their favor and so spent what amounted to millions today to complete this monument to God. Only, it was more a monument to men than to God. Herod wanted the Jews to accept him as their king. Despite his evil, despite his loyalty to Rome rather than God, despite his utter failure in his faith, Herod thought he could win the Jews by buying their devotion with this temple.

And for many, the temple did win their favor. Herod put the priests in place who would allow his extravagances. The put up with him. They failed to call him out on his evil deeds because they enjoyed their privileges and power. They didn’t want to give up the luxuries and position and power the king gave them. Even these leaders and teachers knew where their power came from, they didn’t want to lose it, so they tolerated Herod.

This monument that was supposed to please God didn’t. But none of the temples did, really. If you go back to the first temple, you’ll remember David collected all the materials for it and gave the design to his son, Solomon to build it. God wouldn’t allow David to build it because of the blood on his hands in all the battles he had fought. But God allowed Solomon to build a temple. Solomon dedicated it and made some promises that he failed to keep.

Solomon’s son, Reheboam lost the northern tribes of Israel from the kingdom because of his father’s and his disobedience. The nation continued to falter in their faith and the temple finally was destroyed after it had been ransacked several times in the nation’s history. Ezra came back to lay its foundation four hundred years before Christ came, but it was nothing compared to the splendor of the ancient temple of Solomon or the awe inspiring edifice of Herod’s temple. And through all that time, the people continued to look at the building as the place where God resided.

They put Him in that box and assumed He stayed there. Just like we too often put God in our sanctuaries and assume He stays there. We leave after the worship service and live our lives pretty much the way the Israelites did when they left the temple. We forget God is the God of everyone and everything. That means He is in control of your home, whether you want Him to be or not. He is God in control of your job, whether you like it or not. He is God in control of who sits in the White House, whether the President is in your party affiliation or not. He is God in control of the terrorists, whether we want to think so or not.

We don’t understand why God allows things to happen the way they do, but we are not God and I’m glad for that. We would be terrible at the job. We are not just. Sometimes we are fair, but most of the time, we’re not and we are not just. But God is just. His actions are never unjust. It’s not in His nature to be unjust. He allows evil things to happen sometimes because we collectively made such a mess of His creation. Sometimes He gives us what we asked for. And the result is the world we see around us.

But God is still in control. He will not let His creation go further into an evil path than He desires. He will not let His children suffer beyond the point He chooses. God is beyond our understanding and we may not be able to figure it out with our finite minds, but God is still God. We are not. That’s the basic problem we have had since Adam. He thought he could become as wise as God. He couldn’t.

We think we can put God in a box. We can’t. We somehow get the idea we can confine His influence to the few hours we spend in worship with Him or we can turn Him on or off at our pleasure. We can’t. We think we can get by with our agenda and He’ll just go along with it because He likes us and we’re pretty good people. We’re not and He won’t.

You see, God is God. To really understand the purpose of the temple or the synagogue or the church, you really have to start with getting that one truth straight. God is God. Everything revolves around Him, not us. All those edifices are only temporary facilities for us to gather in community to worship. They have nothing to do with Him except as places for us to gather. He’s everywhere. We can meet with Him anywhere and we should. We can meet with Him anytime and we should. He is God.

So figure out God just wants to be with you. He doesn’t care much about the place. He cares about the relationship. We can’t impress Him with stuff, we only impress ourselves and others around us. They don’t count, only He does. Was Jesus sad that the temple would fall? I’m sure He was. Not because God wouldn’t have a place of worship, but because of all the reasons that caused God to allow its destruction once again. Our failure to listen to His voice.

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.

Through the eyes of faith (Matthew 23:34-39) May 28, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Luke 7-8

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 23:34-39
Jesus: That is why I am sending you prophets and wise men, teachers of breadth and depth and substance. You will kill some of them and crucify others. You will flog others in your synagogues. You will pursue them from town to town. And on your heads, stained through your hands and drenching your clothes, my friends, will be all the righteous blood ever shed on this earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah whom you murdered in the house of the Lord between the sanctuary and the altar. I tell you: this generation will bear the blood of all that has gone before.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem. You kill the prophets whom God gives you; you stone those God sends you. I have longed to gather your children the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you refuse to be gathered. Surely you can see that God has already removed His blessing from the house of Israel. I tell you this: you will not see Me again until you say, with the psalmist, “Anyone who comes in the name of the Eternal One will be blessed.”

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I grew up in a parsonage. And I was ordained in my denomination twenty-five years ago, myself. So I’ve been around the pulpit a long time. One of the things I’ve learned in that time, is that a lot of people like to have the pastor for lunch. I’m not talking about inviting the pastor to their house to enjoy a meal together. I’m talking about carving the pastor up and devouring him or her over the dinner table. I didn’t know until I was a teenager how often my dad got criticism about his messages from the faithful few that just had to say something. And it was always the same few. And there were always a few in every congregation.

I discovered when I began filling pulpits the same thing happened. Most people seemed to appreciate what I had to say from the pulpit. It wasn’t always comfortable, but I always try to share what God places on my heart and invariably the message reaches the right people in the congregation. I never preach to individuals, but individuals get God’s message, often in a way I never expected. That’s how God works.

But some people will hand me a note or make a comment or send me an email and let me know I missed the mark. Do I realize the political state of the world today? I really need to preach about that. Do I understand how many people are being killed by gun violence today? I ought to have a sermon about that. Do I know how many babies die in abortions every year? Am I concerned about that?

It’s interesting how many times I’m given sermon topics that someone is sure God has spoken to them about and so is sure I should speak to the congregation about it. Well, it just doesn’t work quite that way. At least it doesn’t work that way in any of the homiletic classes I’ve even taken. So I usually thank them for their concern and let it go. I would hate to be as miserable as they appear when they pick apart sermon topics and miss what I’ve tried to talk about in that day’s message.

I think that’s what Jesus was telling the crowd of teachers and Pharisees gathered around Him that day. God sent teachers and prophets and wise men to them to help them understand God’s message, but instead of listening to their message, they had them for dinner. Criticizing everything those prophets and teachers and wise men tried to do to help them. Those Pharisees thought they knew better. They thought they knew the law better than God knew the law.

Pretty silly, isn’t it? God gave them the law. He sent the prophets. He put the words into the prophet and teachers’ mouths. Why did these governing priests, who continually fought for position and power think they knew more than those God sent?

The answer is pretty simple. The Bible tells us Satan puts a veil over our eyes. The analogy I like to use takes you back to elementary school days. Remember those hidden picture puzzles? The teacher would give us a picture and we would have to find the shovel and the comb and the pail and the apple and umbrella and other objects hidden in the picture. God’s truth in this world is like looking at that hidden picture. Satan has put a veil over our eyes and all we see is the picture until we deliberately exercise our faith in Him.

When we put our faith in God, the hidden objects appear. We see all those things we couldn’t see before. The truth stands out and every time we look at that picture, there are the hidden objects. We can’t help but see them from then on. The truth stares at us. We can try to ignore it, but we can’t. But first, we must exercise our faith in Him. So what are you waiting for? Want to know the truth? It’s there in plain sight. Take another look through the eyes of faith. 

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.

Are you a Pharisee? (Matthew 23:23-33) May 27, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Jeremiah 47-52

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 23:23-33
Jesus: So woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees. You hypocrites! You tithe from your luxuries and your spices, giving away a tenth of your mint, your dill, and your cumin. But you have ignored the essentials of the law: justice, mercy, faithfulness. It is practice of the latter that makes sense of the former. You hypocritical, blind leaders. You spoon a fly from your soup and swallow a camel.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You remove fine layers of film and dust from the outside of a cup or bowl, but you leave the inside full of greed and covetousness and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee—can’t you see that if you clean the inside of the cup, the outside will be clean too?

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like a grave that has been whitewashed. You look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside you are full of moldering bones and decaying rot. You appear, at first blush, to be righteous, selfless, and pure; but on the inside you are polluted, sunk in hypocrisy and confusion and lawlessness.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build monuments to your dead, you mouth pieties over the bodies of prophets, you decorate the graves of your righteous ancestors. And you say, “If we had lived when our forefathers lived, we would have known better—we would not have joined them when they rose up against the prophets.” Even when you are preening, you make plain that you descended from those who murdered our prophets. So why don’t you finish what your forefathers started? You are children of vipers, you belly-dragging snakes. You won’t escape the judgment of hell.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Ouch! Jesus let those Pharisees have it! I’d sure hate to be in their shoes. But have I looked inside to make sure I’m not them? It’s easy for us to point fingers at those hypocrites and talk about how bad they were. But that’s exactly what they did, too. Remember Jesus’ words to them? “You say, ‘If we had lived when our forefathers lived, we would have know better…’” Isn’t that what we say about the Pharisees? If we lived when they lived, we would have known better. We would have followed Jesus. We would have obeyed Him. We would have believed everything He said. Really? Then why don’t we follow His commands now? Why do we have so much trouble listening to His voice now?

Are we so different from the Pharisees? If so, why do so many of us just play at worshiping God? We attend church on Sunday, but forget about Him the rest of the week and do whatever we feel like doing. We think God is pleased with us as long as we give Him that hour on Sunday every once in a while and we have our ticket to heaven. But that’s not what God wants. He wants our total devotion.

We can be such avid sports enthusiasts and build shrines to our favorite teams with rooms filled with paraphernalia. Banners hung on the walls, pillows and blankets and curtains with the team symbols everywhere. We can be such fans we have season tickets and never miss a game. Yet when it comes to God, we find it’s okay to skip devotions or skip church or forget prayers or set aside reading His word. God will understand, right?

Are we so different than those Pharisees? But take a look at the people Jesus criticized. These were the one who took a calculator with them to make sure they gave a tithe, a tenth, of everything to God. When they went to their garden and took out herbs for dinner they weighed them on the scale and set aside a tenth to take to the temple. When they plucked grapes off the vines, the first of every ten grapes when into a separate basket to go to the temple so God would get His tithe. These guys knew the law and lived it. If they accidentally took a wrong turn on the Sabbath and it caused them to approach the limit of their allotted distance for travel on the Sabbath, they would stop where they were and spend the rest of the day on that spot until the Sabbath concluded. Then they would complete their journey.

We might be avid sports fans, but these were avid law fans. They lived every jot and title. Yet Jesus told them they would not escape the judgment of hell. Why? Because they didn’t understand the kingdom of God is about living a relationship with the Almighty, not about keeping a long list of rules. God’s wants our love, and our love is shown through our obedience to His will. He will let us know our position with Him. Just ask Him. The Pharisees knew. Jesus made it pretty clear. If we ask He will let us know.

The question is, will we do something about it. The Pharisees thought they could fix their problem by destroying God’s Son. Of course, their solution didn’t work. The only solution is to come to Him in repentance. Confess who we are and who God is, then turn away from sin and toward Him. Follow the path He lays out for you. That’s the real solution. It works. We never need to hear the woes the Pharisees heard. It just takes listening and doing what God says.

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.

Don’t catch the woes! (Matthew 23:13-22) May 26, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Job 41-42

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 23:13-22
Jesus: Woe to you, you teachers of the law and Pharisees. There is such a gulf between what you say and what you do. You will stand before a crowd and lock the door of the kingdom of heaven right in front of everyone; you won’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from doing so.

Woe to you, you teachers of the law and Pharisees. What you say is not what you do. You steal the homes from under the widows while you pretend to pray for them. You will suffer great condemnation for this.

Woe to you Pharisees, woe to you who teach the law, hypocrites! You traverse hills and mountains and seas to make one convert, and then when he does convert, you make him much more a son of hell than you are.

Woe to you who are blind but deign to lead others. You say, “Swearing by the temple means nothing, but he who swears by the gold in the temple is bound by his oath.” Are you fools? You must be blind! For which is greater: the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, “Swearing by the altar means nothing, but he who swears by the sacrifice on the altar is bound by his oath.” You must be blind! Which is greater: the sacrifice or the altar that makes it sacred? So anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by the sacrifices and gifts laid upon it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the God who sanctifies it. And when you swear by heaven, you are swearing by God’s throne and by Him who sits upon it.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

These first woes Jesus gives to the leaders of the religion of His countrymen should give us warning about what God does not want to see in His church today. These were the elite according to those who went into the temple and synagogues. These were the teachers and preachers of the day. These were the ones you were told to emulate if you wanted to get on the right side of God’s grace. Yet Jesus had a lot of pretty harsh words for them as you hear this recollection from Matthew.

“What you say is not what you do. You steal the homes out from under widows. You are blind trying to lead others. You don’t understand what is really important in the temple or the rituals you use within the temple.”

How would you like to hear those words from Jesus? Would it make a difference in what you did or how you acted? It didn’t do much for the Pharisees. They just plotted to kill Him and then carried out their plan. Do we do that? I’m afraid sometimes we do. I’m afraid sometimes we get so caught up in what we think is right we refuse to listen to anything else. We won’t even listen to God. We refuse to listen to anything that might disrupt our comfortable position in the world. We want to be first or at least in the top ten and so we disregard any advice from anyone that would disagree with our position.

That’s what happened to the Pharisees. Jesus disagreed with them. He told them their interpretation of God’s word was wrong. He told those they tried to lead they were blind and not worthy of following because they only wanted glory for themselves and not glory for God. They could stand to share the limelight, even with God. As soon as Jesus began to challenge their position, the thing they coveted the most, they did everything they could to destroy Him.

Jesus saw through them, just like He can see through us when we seek glory for ourselves. We can talk a good game and maybe even do some good things for those around us. The Pharisees did. They prayed well. They took up offerings for the poor. It looked like they did great works for all those around them. But Jesus, and the Father knew better. God knew their hearts and the purpose behind their plans and actions. God knew the ego they worked to stroke with every action they took.

So Jesus told them like it is and hoped they would hear and repent. Those words remain for us today so that we can hear and understand and avoid the temptations to which the Pharisees fell. Woe to you Pharisees. Get it right. Do what you preach. If you know God’s word, then do it. Don’t just pray for the widows, but put feet to your prayers and help them. Don’t live a double standard. Be straight up with the people you lead and should be serving. Understand what’s really important. It’s not the rituals and programs you put in place to help you remember God and His grace. It’s His grace. It’s not the monuments we build to remind us about our journey with Him, it’s Him.

Until we recognize God for who He is and bow before Him as the Creator of all things, God, Commander of His Heavenly Armies and King of the universe and all it contains. Until we acknowledge He is God and we are nothing beside Him, we will try to be like those Pharisees, jockeying for position and power instead of giving our all to the King of kings, giving all glory to Him. Don’t be caught catching the woes the Pharisees caught from Jesus.

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.