Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Exodus 37-40
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Matthew 24:32-35
Jesus: Now think of the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and greenish, as soon as it begins to sprout leaves, you know to expect summer. In the same way, when you see the wars and the suffering and the false liberators and the desolations, you will know the Son of Man is near—right at the door. I tell you this: this generation will see all these things take place before it passes away. My words are always true and always here with you. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
Jesus spends a lot of time and effort telling His followers about the signs of the end times. He also spends a lot of time and gives us a lot of metaphors warning us to watch for those signs indicating to us they will not be a surprise. No one will have an excuse and not realizing He was coming back. He told us in as many ways as He could that He would return one day and told us to watch for Him.
Living in San Antonio, Texas we don’t have the same kind of weather as the northern states, but I’ve lived far enough north that I can relate to His comments about spring. Even in San Antonio, we do have a couple of season. We have a green season from September through June and a brown season in July and August when it’s so hot everything burns up. Just kidding. Sort of.
But it is fairly simple, if you look around at nature to watch the signs of the different season of the year. Just a few days ago the signs of the coming summer came to my yard in the form of a fawn born by one of the does that camp out on my lawn three or four times a week. I’m not sure I care for the deer eating my shrubs, but sometimes it’s kind of cool to look out the back windows and see a small herd sleeping around the house. But the fawn was too young to keep up with the herd in the morning, so its mother left it by my garage until its wobbly legs strengthen and she could come back and get it.
Signs of late spring and early summer in Texas. I can watch the different birds that have come to nest and eat the birdseed in my mother-in-law’s bird feeder and know that spring is just about over and summer is here. As different birds migrate through different areas of the country, the species of the season tell us what time of year we’re in.
And as Jesus points out, we can tell the time of year by seeing the green shoots spring from the tree branches. New leaves open and it seems new life begins on those barren trees each year. New blades of grass spring from the earth. Plants sprout and grow as seeds take root and draw water and nourishment from the soil. We know the seasons of the year just by looking around.
Those of you in the north, know winter is almost here when those leaves turn colors and you begin to spend hours of your weekends raking them up. Then the snow falls and blankets the earth with its cold, white cover. We know the seasons by the signs we see all around us. It doesn’t take a calendar for us to know what time of year it is. Just look around and you can tell.
So it is with the end times, Jesus tells us. His word gives us all the signs. He tells us to watch and those who look around can see the seasons change and know that His coming is not far off. The signs are cascading all around us. Wars, rumors of wars, nations fighting against nations, earthquakes, natural disasters of all types, famine, diseases, out of control weather patterns – what else do we need to see to know that the signs are all pointing toward His coming back?
The seasons are changing in God’s plan for sending His Son to come back for His bride, the church. Jesus told us the signs. He told us to watch. He doesn’t want us to be surprised when He streaks across the sky to gather us together to take us home with Him. So, are you watching for Him?
We get ready for winter by protecting our pipes, covering sensitive plants or bringing them indoors, checking our heating systems, putting snow tires on the car and checking the antifreeze, all kinds of things to get ready for the season. We get ready for the summer by calling the air conditioning services to check our HVAC system, we check the car’s coolant levels, we fertilize the yard and clean up the tree limbs and flower beds that didn’t make it through the winter. We the seasons watch and get ready.
Jesus says He’s coming back. Watch for the signs and be ready. Only the Father knows when Jesus will return, but the signs are coming fast and furious. Don’t be caught unaware. Watch the seasons change.
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