Tag Archives: words of Jesus

Stars of the jumbo-screen (Matthew 25:31-40) June 14, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 1 Kings 10-13

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 25:31-40
Jesus: When the Son of Man comes in all His majesty accompanied by throngs of heavenly messengers, His throne will be wondrous. All the nations will assemble before Him, and He will judge them, distinguishing them from one another as a shepherd isolates the sheep from the goats. He will put some, the sheep, at His right hand and some, the goats, at His left. Then the King will say to those to His right,
King: Come here, you beloved, you people whom My Father has blessed. Claim your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of creation. You shall be richly rewarded, for when I was hungry, you fed Me. And when I was thirsty, you gave Me something to drink. I was alone as a stranger, and you welcomed Me into your homes and into your lives. I was naked, and you gave Me clothes to wear; I was sick, and you tended to My needs; I was in prison, and you comforted Me.
Even then the righteous will not have achieved perfect understanding and will not recall these things.
Righteous: Master, when did we find You hungry and give You food? When did we find You thirsty and slake Your thirst? When did we find You a stranger and welcome You in, or find You naked and clothe You? When did we find You sick and nurse You to health? When did we visit You when You were in prison?
King: I tell you this: whenever you saw a brother or sister hungry or cold, whatever you did to the least of these, so you did to Me.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

We probably hear lots of sermons about judgment day and the separation of the sheep from the goats, the obedient from the disobedient, the good from the evil. Well, maybe we don’t hear many sermons about that any more, but we probably should. However, if you’ve been in the church very long and if you’ve read your Bible much at all, you know a judgment day is coming on which we will be held account for the lives we live in this present age.

Rewards and punishments will be meted out for every individual based on two things. The lives we lived, that is the good and bad we did to others. And second, whether we accepted Jesus as Lord of our life during our life now. If we accept Him as Lord, the sinful acts are forgiven and not remembered by God. That’s a pretty interesting twist to God’s omniscience. God chooses to forget our sins and never remember them again when we ask repentantly for His forgiveness. But that’s a different sermon for a different time.

What I really want us to see today in the words Jesus spoke is this sentence in the middle of His discourse. “Even then the righteous will not have achieved perfect understanding and will not recall these things.” That’s a pretty interesting thing for Jesus to say at the judgment, don’t you think?

I always pictured the judgment as this long line of people walking up to Jesus, sitting on His throne. Next to Him is this gigantic jumbo-screen, like you see in a basketball court, large enough for everyone in line to see. And as you stand there, your whole life plays out in front of you. Everything you did shows up on that screen. Everything! I mean everything! But for those whose sins have been forgiven, washed away by the cleansing power of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, when those sinful acts start to play, instead of the act showing on the screen, there is this splash of blood red that covers the screen. Words scroll across the screen in big bold letters that read, “This portion of Richard’s life (or insert your name if you’re a child of God) is forgotten, covered by My blood.”

The video of your life continues. The whole of your life plays out. And as a child of God, saved by His grace, every sin committed shows up with that same crimson cover, “This portion of Richard’s life is forgotten, covered by My blood.” But the other interesting thing about that video for the righteous, is that I think we will see things we never realized happened. Words of encouragement we gave that we don’t remember. Acts of kindness we performed that slipped our mind. Giving gifts without any reason other than giving with the thought sharing God’s love at a particular moment in time, but never remembering the reason or the moment, or even the person we gave the gift.

I think for those who live under the direction of God’s Spirit in them, we will see dozens, hundreds of acts performed through our life that just happen every day because we feel compelled to do the right thing and that right thing serves God and others in ways we do not understand. At the judgment we will see how our lives impacted the world for good or evil. It will all be made clear. Until then, when God prompts you to do something, just do it. You’ll be surprised the joy it will bring to you and others when you do. Who knows, you might really be the star on a jumbo-screen one 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.

How many disciples would that be? (Matthew 25:14-30) June 13, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Leviticus 1-3

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 25:14-30
Jesus: This is how it will be. It will be like a landowner who is going on a trip. He instructed his slaves about caring for his property. He gave five talents to one slave, two to the next, and then one talent to the last slave—each according to his ability. Then the man left.
Promptly the man who had been given five talents went out and bartered and sold and turned his five talents into ten. And the one who had received two talents went to the market and turned his two into four. And the slave who had received just one talent? He dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money there.
Eventually the master came back from his travels, found his slaves, and settled up with them. The slave who had been given five talents came forward and told his master how he’d turned five into ten; then he handed the whole lot over to his master.
Master: Excellent. You’ve proved yourself not only clever but loyal. You’ve executed a rather small task masterfully, so now I am going to put you in charge of something larger. But before you go back to work, come join my great feast and celebration.
Then the slave who had been given two talents came forward and told his master how he’d turned two into four, and he handed all four talents to his master.
Master: Excellent. You’ve proved yourself not only clever but loyal. You’ve executed a rather small task masterfully, so now I am going to put you in charge of something larger. But before you go back to work, come join my great feast and celebration.
Finally the man who had been given one talent came forward.
Servant: Master, I know you are a hard man, difficult in every way. You can make a healthy sum when others would fail. You profit when other people are doing the work. You grow rich on the backs of others. So I was afraid, dug a hole, and hid the talent in the ground. Here it is. You can have it.
The master was furious.
Master: You are a pathetic excuse for a servant! You have disproved my trust in you and squandered my generosity. You know I always make a profit! You could have at least put this talent in the bank; then I could have earned a little interest on it! Take that one talent away, and give it to the servant who doubled my money from five to ten.
You see, everything was taken away from the man who had nothing, but the man who had something got even more. And as for the slave who made no profit but buried his talent in the ground? His master ordered his slaves to tie him up and throw him outside into the utter darkness where there is miserable mourning and great fear.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The story Jesus tells us about heaven in today’s lesson fits our society much better than some of the previous stories He’s told the crowd around Him. In our capitalistic, materialistic world, we understand using money to make money. We understand in our country how much easier it is to get the second million once you get the first million. You’ve learned the rules. You know the ropes. After the first million, you know how to use the right people and how to avoid others so that money multiplies.

The world’s economy makes it easy to multiply riches once you have them. We see it around us everywhere. The old euphemism that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer really happens in a lot of places. And it is at least relatively true in most of the world today. Those with wealth know how they got that way and they know how to continue to build on it.

So the master comes home from his trip and rewards those who doubled the funds he entrusted to them and punished the one who did not use the funds entrusted to him. How should we interpret that in our spiritual lives and in terms of the end times Jesus has been talking to His disciples about?

God gives each of us gifts, talents, skills, experiences that He expects us to use in service to Him and others. What talents, gifts has He given you to serve and edify His church? Is it preaching, teaching, hospitality? Is it one in the long list of spiritual gifts that Paul gives us in his writings? Maybe it’s the gift of math that you can use to help the treasurer of your church or to help others understand budgeting to help them out of or to avoid the stranglehold of debt. Maybe you are gifted as a mechanic and can serve some that need transportation but cannot afford to get their car fixed right because of their current situation.

What talents, gifts, skills, experiences has God given you that you can share with someone around you that can help them see the love of God. Can you use those gifts and multiple the disciples in His kingdom? That’s our task, after all, to make disciples in every nation. Are you using the gifts God has given you to double the disciples in your neighborhood? It’s an interesting question to ponder. How many disciples would that be? 

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.

How’s your oil level? (Matthew 25:1-13) June 12, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Ephesians 1-3

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 25:1-13
Jesus: Or picture the kingdom of heaven this way. It will be like ten bridesmaids who each picked up a lantern and went out to meet a certain bridegroom. Five of these women were sensible, good with details, and remembered to bring small flasks of oil for their lanterns. But five of them were flighty, too caught up in the excitement of their jaunt, and forgot to bring oil with them. The bridegroom did not turn up right away. Indeed, all the women, while waiting, found themselves falling asleep. And then in the middle of the night, they heard someone call, “The bridegroom is here, finally! Wake up and greet him!” The women got up and trimmed the wicks of their lanterns and prepared to go greet the groom. The five women who had no oil turned to their friends for help.
Ill-prepared Bridesmaids: Please give us some of your oil! Our lanterns are flickering and will go out soon.
But the five women who’d come prepared with oil said they didn’t have enough.
Prepared Bridesmaids: If we give you some of our oil, we’ll all run out too soon! You’d better go wake up a dealer and buy your own supply.
So the five ill-prepared women went in search of oil to buy, and while they were gone, the groom arrived. The five who stood ready with their lanterns accompanied him to the wedding party, and after they arrived, the door was shut.
Finally the rest of the women turned up at the party. They knocked on the door.
Ill-prepared Bridesmaids: Master, open up and let us in!
Bridegroom (refusing): I certainly don’t know you.
So stay awake; you neither know the day nor hour when the Son of Man will come.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Another story that should warn us about being unprepared for Jesus’ coming. Once again, those around Him understood the customs well and got the nuances of the story we probably miss. A few days ago, I mentioned the wedding practices of Jesus’ day in which the Father decides when the wedding will take place. He determines the additional room on the family’s house is sufficiently prepared for his son to bring in his bride and tell his son, “Go, get your bride.”

That’s the day the wedding takes place. No other announcement. That’s it. People in the village looked forward to the wedding feast and knew it was near as they watched the new construction near completion, but not until the father told his son to get his bride did anyone know the wedding would take place that day.

So the rest of the story. These were a big deal in a small village. It meant not just the expansion of the family, but the perpetuation of the family name, succession of property, passing of the family legacy and so much more. The wedding was a big deal. But to go to the wedding you had to join the wedding party as it passed through the narrow paths between the bride’s home and the groom’s home. If you missed the procession, you missed the wedding and you missed the feast.

When the revelers saw the times was getting close, they often stayed at the ready. Not knowing exactly when the father, son, and the rest of the wedding party would come by, people would wait by the roadside so they could join in and not miss it. That’s whats happening with these bridesmaids. The ten wait by the road expecting the wedding party to come by at any time. But they don’t know exactly when it will be because the father hasn’t released his son to fetch his bride yet. They know it is soon because the room looks like it’s done. They better be ready.

Five had the appearance of being ready. But it was just appearance. They looked good on the outside, but didn’t have everything they needed. They didn’t bring any oil. Maybe they expected the party to pass by in the daytime. Maybe they expected the party to pass by at least by early evening. But for whatever reason, the father delayed the coming. Those unprepared were left out. And like with Noah’s ark. Like the untrustworthy servant. These unprepared bridesmaids found themselves shut out.

They missed their chance. They knew what they needed to be part of the feast. They had part of their equipment, but didn’t pay attention to the details.

How about us? We know what it takes to get into the wedding feast. It takes confessing our sins, asking forgiveness. Believing in Jesus, God’s Son, as the means of our salvation, the one who sacrificed Himself to pay the penalty for our sins. It takes true repentance, turning away from sin and toward obedience to God. We know what we need to make it to the feast, but have we prepared? Have we accepted Him as Lord? Are we watching for Him and keeping at the ready for the moment He passes by?

Only you and God know the answer to those questions. But you can know. And in just a few moments in prayer with Him, you can have the assurance that you are ready and waiting at the roadside. If He tarries before coming, it means keeping oil in your lamp, staying prayed up, keeping Him as Lord, living the life He wants you to live.

How’s your oil level? 

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.

What kind of servant are you? (Matthew 24:48-51) June 11, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Luke 11-12

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:48-51
Jesus:But imagine that the master’s trust was misplaced, that the supposedly responsible servant is actually a thief who says to himself, “My master has been gone so long, he is not possibly coming back.” Then he beats his fellow servants and dines and drinks with drunkards. Well, when the master returns—as certainly he will—the servant will be caught unawares. The master will return on a day and at an hour when he isn’t expected. And he will cut his worthless servant into pieces and throw him out into darkness with the hypocrites, where there is weeping and grinding of teeth.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

In our culture this sounds like a pretty brutal punishment for a wayward servant. We can’t fathom anyone taking such extreme measures because someone exploited their position. I was thinking of the Enron executives as I read these verses and even those, as bad as it was for their investors, we didn’t tear them into pieces and throw them into darkness. Imprison them? Sure. Make them pay back the funds they squandered? If we can. Ruin their reputation and make sure they can never do that to anyone again? I hope so. But tear them into pieces? We just can’t imagine that kind of punishment.

But let’s go back to the culture in which Jesus lived. Remember He lived in a small country occupied by the Romans. The Romans were knows for their methods of imposing unique forms of cruelty on those who disobeyed. And they very often performed those acts of cruelty in public so others would not be so quick to follow suit with their disobedience.

Because of my military travels, I’ve seen what men can do to other men. The horrors of war are not soon forgotten when you see just how inhumane we can be to each other. The Romans perfected those skills. That’s the culture in which Jesus lived. And there was no such thing as firing a servant. Servants were slaves to the owner. Often the individual sold him or herself to the master because that was the only way the individual could survive in a world with no social support and only the rich and the poor. You either owned or were owned. It was a matter of survival for many.

So when a servant earned the privilege of running the master’s entire household, acting on the master’s behalf, the master placed an incredible amount of trust in that servant. The master’s entire wealth was in that slave’s hands at that point. But if that kind of trust was given, the master expected his wishes to be carried out. If not, those living in that culture knew how to inflict incredible pain and a lasting message to others who would dare to disobey.

So here we are in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, our national anthem reminds us. We know nothing of the culture Jesus talks about in this description of the master’s return. Those around Him understood it clearly. Perhaps even some of them were slaves in some Roman’s household and understood how their master handled disobedience. Jesus’ description didn’t surprise them.

But read a little further into Jesus’ words. Think about the tasks given the servant and the tasks Jesus has given us. Just before His ascension, Jesus gave His disciples, that includes us if we follow Him, a command. Remember what He told us? “I am here speaking with all the authority of God, who has commanded Me to give you this commission: Go out and make disciples in all the nations. Ceremonially wash them through baptism in the name of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then disciple them. Form them in the practices and postures that I have taught you, and show them how to follow the commands I have laid down for you. And I will be with you, day after day, to the end of the age.”

So that leads us to some pretty important questions in light of the description Jesus gave that day of His return and the coming judgment. First, am I one of His followers? If not, I won’t even have the opportunity to share with Him in glory. I’ll be part of the left behind, Jesus described earlier. I’ll never have an opportunity to carry out His tasks. I’ll face the full force of God’s wrath at judgment.

Second, if I am one of Jesus’ disciples, what am I doing to fulfill the task He gave us to go reproduce ourselves? Am I making more disciples? Am I teaching others the practices others have taught me so they can draw closer to God through solid Christian disciplines? Am I showing them how to follow the commands Jesus gave as a living example of obedience in front of them every day? How do I measure up? Am I a faithful, trustworthy servant working diligently until my Master’s return? Or am I a worthless slave not expecting Him to come any time soon and wallowing in disobedience?

Both kinds of servant will receive something from the Master. I’d much rather receive His praise and invitation to join Him that to hear His anger and be thrown into the pit where there is weeping and grinding of teeth. How about 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.

Living with the Master should be enough (Matthew 24:45-47) June 10, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Ezekiel 1-6

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:45-47
Jesus: The trustworthy servant is the one whom the master puts in charge of all the servants of his household; it is the trustworthy servant who not only oversees all the work, but also ensures the servants are properly fed and cared for. And it is, of course, crucial that a servant who is given such responsibility performs his responsibility to his master’s standards—so when the master returns he finds his trust has been rewarded. For then the master will put that good servant in charge of all his possessions.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

In our culture we don’t relate well to Jesus’ metaphor of the trustworthy servant. We do so much to forget about that chapter in our history when men owned other men and for good reason. Slavery has so many bad things about it. But in Jesus’ day and throughout most of man’s history, slaves have been a part of life. The wealthy had slaves and the poor were slaves. The concept of hourly wages for a regular job in not a very old concept.

There were day laborers in Jesus’ day as indicated by the story of the workers in the vineyard, but not many businesses hired people full time on regular salaries. You were part of a family and the family ran the business and you enjoyed the profits of that business, or you were hired on a very temporary basis for a specific task such as harvesting a crop or cutting lumber. Few people had full time jobs unless as slaves. In which case, you became part of the family, and the families profit and loss determined how well you were kept.

Slavery, good or bad, was part of His culture and He understood it the way all of His listeners understood it. Good servants, good slaves took care of his masters’ property. The master didn’t worry about his things when in the hands of his servants because the good servant knew the welfare of not just the master and his family, but his own welfare depended on taking good care of the family business. So the good servant took great pains to help the master prosper. And the good servant didn’t despair or feel bad about giving the profits to the master any more than we should feel bad about giving the profits we make for our employer over to her. It’s her money as risk. She is the one who provides all the necessary up front funds, equipment, business design, and so forth to all us to earn our salary and make a living.

The good servant did what the master wanted done whether or not the master was present. The servant’s outcome didn’t depend on the master’s presence, but on how well he didn his job caring for the master’s business affairs. We sometimes get that so mixed up and messed up in our current culture that thinks the government or our business or God owes us something. When you really stop and think it through, none of those owe us anything. It is by their design there is a job available in the first place. We should give thanks if we have one.

In cultures in which there is no such thing as social welfare or retirement funds or government assistance, people have a much better handle on what Jesus talked about in this short metaphor about the role of the servant in taking care of the master’s household. In those cultures, the only thing you can rely on is the work you perform. If you do well, the owner of the property will take good care of you. If you don’t perform well, you are put off the property and get to figure out how to make it on your own in a world where there are only masters and slaves and you just lost your only reference.

But when you are a trustworthy servant, it’s like being that employee the boss can count on for anything. The promotions come fast because the boss knows you will do what you say and will get the job done efficiently and effectively every time. You’ll take care of all the other employees in the process. You’ll satisfy the customers, you’ll make sure profits come in and the boss can go on vacation knowing everything will run smoothly when he puts you in charge.

That’s kind of what God has done with those who believe in Him. I’m not sure why He would entrust sinful man with the story of redemption but He did. Now He expects us to carry out His work until He returns. He’s like that master that went away and left his faithful servant in charge. He trusts us to do the work He left us to do. He expects us to do it to His standard without expecting anything in return, just knowing we are doing His work. Just like the faithful servant of the master in the story He told.

When we do, we will reap the benefits in the end. There is the reward of a job well done and the benefits of living in the master’s home with Him forever. That should be enough.

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 know He’s coming, be ready! (Matthew 24:42-44) June 9, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Proverbs 2-3

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:42-44
Jesus: So keep watch. You don’t know when your Lord will come. But you should know this: If the owner of a house had known his house was about to be broken into, he would have stayed up all night, vigilantly. He would have kept watch, and he would have thwarted the thief. So you must be ready because you know the Son of Man will come, but you can’t know precisely when.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

It’s hard to miss the theme over the last several days. Jesus continues to talk about His return. For the disciples around Him, He hasn’t departed yet, so they are confused. They don’t really understand what He’s talking about. He’s told them He’s going to die in Jerusalem, but they are having a hard time accepting it. But now He spends all this time talking about returning to Jerusalem to take them to be with Him and His Father in heaven.

To those who heard this for the first time, the words must have been incredible. How could He return, first of all. Once you’re dead, you’re dead. No one comes back from the grave. And now He spends all this time talking about coming back for them when He leaves them. They are dumbfounded. Then Jesus gives them all these signs that will point to His return. Signs that will show the beginning of the end or is it the end of the beginning. He tells them the temple will fall, the weather will wreak havoc on the earth, earthquakes will all but tear the world apart, and nations will try to destroy each other in war.

Once again He tells them His coming will be quick and silent, like a thief in the middle of the night. Be prepared. Watch. Stay awake and ready for Him to come.

As I was thinking about His words and what He might think about our actions today, I thought about how different our culture has become from that in Jesus day. Thieves didn’t have to work very hard to break into houses in His day. Sure there were locks, but nothing compared to the security of our homes today. We live in gated communities, some with 24 hour guards at the gates. We have all kinds of security systems that alert the police if there are intruders. We rest at night with almost complete confidence that no one will break in and harm us.

But I started thinking about that. We don’t watch like people did in Jesus day. I remember those times I spent in combat zones, we always had people awake watching the perimeter of our camp while the rest of us slept. We never had all of us asleep at the same time. Someone was always watching for the enemy. But that’s not true in our homes. We assume we’re safe.

Those in Jesus’ day didn’t feel quite as safe as we do today. Especially in the outlying villages. Not only did bandits roam the countryside, but there were also lions and bears to worry about. Those things in the wild will eat people if they get old and hungry and unable to chase the wild game they usually dined on. So homes were not always safe.

I wonder if our relative physical safety in this country have made us begin to get lax in watching for dangers everywhere. We don’t notice subtle differences in our surroundings on our routine route to work, something that soldiers learn to spy quickly in combat zones to keep them safe from ambush and improvised explosive devices. We don’t notice changed actions in those around us because we are not supposed to profile or be intolerant of abberrant behavior.

We don’t notice the signs all around us that tell us that Jesus is coming again and His coming is getting close. We don’t pay attention to the natural disasters happening all over the world. Unless they happen in our backyard, we don’t pay attention. But 90 medium-sized and greater earthquakes a week is probably something to begin paying attention to if you’re looking for Jesus to return. Maybe the change in weather sparking the change in sea-states is not man’s doing, but God’s. Maybe He’s telling us it’s just about time for Jesus to get His bride.

The question is whether we’re watching. He will come quickly, like a thief in the night. If the owner of the house knew the thief were coming, he’d stay up all night watching for him and be prepared to defend his home against the intruder. He’d be prepared. Jesus is coming just as quickly and just as stealthily. Unless you’re prepared to see for His coming you won’t see Him before it’s all over. You’ll be like the owner of the house who came in after then fact and found all his possessions gone. The thief came and went and you were not prepared for him. The house is empty and all is gone.

If Jesus comes back and leaves you here that’s what your life will be like. Empty. Hopeless. Everything lost. It pays to watch for Him. We know He’s coming. Be ready. 

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 stand on the wrong side of the door (Matthew 24:37-41) June 8, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 66-68

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:37-41
Jesus: As it was at the time of Noah, so it will be with the coming of the Son of Man. In the days before the flood, people were busy making lives for themselves: they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, making plans and having children and growing old, until the day Noah entered the ark. Those people had no idea what was coming; they knew nothing about the floods until the floods were upon them, sweeping them all away. That is how it will be with the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be plowing a field: one will be taken, and the other will be left in the field. Two women will be somewhere grinding at a mill: one will be taken, and the other will be left at the mill.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

We probably all know the story of Noah. He built the ark and God saved him and his family from the flood that covered the earth. We often rush through the details of the early part of the story, though. We forget it took Noah a hundred years to build the ark. Can you picture what was going on during that time? Noah was building a boat in preparation for the rains and the flood that were going to cover the earth. It had never rained before. Until the flood, God had watered the earth by the dew of the morning, not with rain.

I can imagine what his neighbors thought. If his subdivision had an HOA, he’d probably be thrown out on his ear. A 450 foot boat being built in the back yard. Who does that? This guy must be crazy. God tells him water will fall from the sky and kill everyone unless they repent and change their ways and do what this invisible voice tells them to do. What an idiot, right? Who does Noah think he is?

Noah has his sons believing this drivel, too. They work right along side him, cutting trees, sawing logs, melting pitch to seal the cracks. They are loyal to their father and trust his words. They have to listen to the same ridicule his father takes every day, but they honor their father and stand beside him day by day as he works on this giant ship that will house them during something they’ve never seen and don’t understand.

Everyone else goes about their daily business. They hear Noah’s story. They hear him talking about this coming flood. They see him working every day for a hundred years on this insane project. They even see the animals starting to appear out of nowhere. They watch as animals start to climb aboard this giant boat. Normal preditors and prey side by side entering the door of the ark without fighting. They watch but still laugh at the insane man listening to God.

But then the water starts falling from the sky. Just like Noah said it would. They don’t think too much about it until it doesn’t stop. It just keeps falling until the river floods. This has never happened before. Now they start to get a little worried. A few people slosh over to Noah’s boat and knock on the door. “Hey, Noah, can we come in?”

Noah can’t open the door. God shut the door. The water keeps rising. More people bang on the door. “Noah, let us in!” But as much as Noah might want to save his neighbors, he can’t open the door because God shut the door.

That’s what it will be like when Jesus returns. Those like Noah who listen to God’s voice will see all the signs of the coming disaster and prepare. Noah listened and built the ark, put food for his family and the animals God would save into the structure and saved his family. He tried to convince others, but they wouldn’t listen. Others around him saw the signs. The animals started coming around. They watched Noah prepare. They saw strange things happening in the sky they had never seen before, but they wouldn’t listen. Then it was too late.

The same will happen with Jesus’ return. Those who truly follow Him will prepare. They will see the signs Jesus gave us concerning His return and recognize the time is short. Everyone else will see the signs and ignore them. They will go about their everyday lives and not see the signs for what they are. But then, one day, the signs will be obvious just like the rain falling for the first time was obvious and people will cry out for help. But like those in Noah’s day who ran to the ark for safety. It will be too late.

God shut the door on those who would not heed the message Noah had for them in that day. On the day of Jesus’ return, it will be too late. Jesus tells us in these verses His coming will be like the days of Noah. Those that are ready will be taken with Him. Those that are not, will be left to face the wrath of God. Don’t be caught standing on the wrong side of the door. 

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.

No one knows the hour or the day, not even the messengers in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows. (Matthew 24:36) June 7, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 1 Kings 5-9

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:36
No one knows the hour or the day, not even the messengers in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I’ve got to tell you, today’s verse confused me for a long time. Jesus is fully God and fully man. So how could Jesus, the Son of God, part of the triune Godhead, not know when He was coming back to retrieve His bride the church if there is only one God represented in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? I just couldn’t wrap my mind around it. I still can’t to a great extent. But I’m human, not God.

Maybe some of my thought process could help someone else if you’ve ever spent more than a minute or two thinking about that question, though. So here we go. First, let’s think about the culture of the day and understand why the Father knows the information about the wedding between the groom, Jesus, and His bride, the church.

In Jesus day, families didn’t build separate houses. When a son became engaged, those were arranged marriages, by the way, his father had him start building a room or two on the family home for his new bride as a place to begin their new family. The family property was often bounded by a fence or wall to keep wild animals out and the families animals in, so the son would build within the confines of that structure. The extended family would share kitchens, common areas, storage space, usually only bedrooms were separate. And the son, his wife, and as many children as would fit in the bedroom slept together in that room.

The father determined when the son’s room was sufficiently prepared to house his new bride and accommodate the making of his new family. The wedding date wasn’t up to the bride, the son, the in-laws, the father made the decision. People in the village knew it was getting close as the new room got closer to its finished construction, but the wedding didn’t happen until the father said, “Son, go get your bride.”

And on that day, a wedding happened. No six-week notice in the mail. No engraved invitations. No twitter or Facebook save the date. The father said, “Go get your bride.” And that was the day.

So now you know a little more about why the Father knows the day and not the Son as to when the wedding takes place, when the Son will come to retrieve His bride, the church, to bring her home with Him. But how could Jesus not know if He is God? That’s the dilemma that always confused me.

So here’s how I figured it out one day as I was sitting around thinking about who Jesus is and what He did for us. God’s word says He is fully God, yet He is also fully Man. As I continue to read scripture and study Jesus’ life I get more and more amazed at what I see when I watch His life when He lived along side us. There is no question in my mind He is God incarnate, God in the flesh, God presented in the form of Man. But as I look at what He did on earth, I see more and more of His human side while He lived among us and communed with His Father side in heaven.

As Jesus spoke to His disciples that day and shared with them only the Father knows the time and day of the Son’s return, I think it tells us Jesus will return again in His fully human, fully God form once more. His human side had the limitations we have because He was human. He could do miracles because He had the presence and power of the Father and Spirit with Him. So did Peter, James, and John with the help of God’s Spirit.

The human side of Jesus didn’t know when He will return, but He will return, fully human, fully God once again. But next time, I have a feeling His human side will take the backseat instead of His God-side taking the backseat. When He came to live among us before, He limited His power and lived with us and like us experiencing every emotion, every pain, every temptation we experience. He didn’t sin, but He experienced all the things we experience.

When He comes back, God the Father will tell the Man/God Son, “Go get your bride.” And the God/Man will come back in His glory to take us home. We will see Him in His glory, fully God, and fully man. Jesus, the Man, doesn’t know when that will be. Does Jesus, the Godhead, present at creation? That’s a question well beyond my feeble attempts to understand. I’m just waiting for the Father to nod His head with a smile and tell Jesus to go. That will be a great day for His church.

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.

Watch the seasons change (Matthew 24:32-35) June 6, 2016

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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.

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.

There is coming a day (Matthew 24:29-31) June 5, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Galatians 4-6

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:29-31
Jesus: And as the prophets have foretold it: after the distress of those days,

The sun will grow dark,
and the moon will be hidden.
The stars will fall from the sky,
and all the powers in the heavens will be dislodged and shaken from their places.

That is when the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. All the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming; they will see Him powerful and glorious, riding on chariots of clouds in the sky. With a loud trumpet call, He will send out battalions of heavenly messengers; and they will gather His beloved faithful elect from the four corners of creation, from one end of heaven to the other.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

What an incredible day that will be. Song writers pen marvelous lyrics about that day. The music is always upbeat, uplifting, exciting. It makes your heart beat a little faster and puts a smile on your face. It reminds you that Jesus is coming back to retrieve His bride, the church, from this wicked world and take us to live with Him for eternity.

But it will be a sad day, too. Jesus will come and many will find themselves on the wrong side of His grace. His battalions of heavenly messengers will gather the faithful, but those who are not of that number will be left behind. Books and messages and songs have been written about those, too. Those songs are not so uplifting, so beautiful, so exciting and upbeat. Those are somber, dreadful, dreary songs and books and messages.

But the truth is that many will see God’s messengers sweep across the world to take His children home, but as much as they plead to be taken along, it will be too late. Time will have ended. The opportunity to receive His grace and forgiveness will have passed. The judgment of all mankind will have begun. The awful Day of the Lord will by on us.

At one time I hoped to live to see the day when Jesus returns. I don’t think I want to see that anymore. As I see all the evil and carnage that man can level against man, that is enough to shake me to the core. But as I read the descriptions of the end times and all the things that happen just leading up to the tribulation, the birth pangs that show it is coming, I really don’t want to go through those times.

Then if all those things, the wars, the famine, the earthquakes, the signs in the sky with the darkening of the moon, sun and stars. If all those things are just the beginning of the tribulation to fall on us, I kind of hope my years are over before those days come. I think now about my children and grandchildren and hope they do not have to go through those things either.

But the signs get closer every day. Like a woman getting closer to childbirth, those pains just get closer and closer together and they get more intense with each passing day until final full labor begins. Then those hours of labor are just miserable. That’s what the tribulation will be like. We’re just in the birth pangs now, but labor will begin soon and the labor will be absolutely miserable. The worst pain imaginable.

There is an end to it though. Jesus will take His faithful home. We will be with Him forever. His heavenly messengers will sweep across the earth to gather us together to join with Him for eternity. We will be spare the rest of the outpouring of God’s wrath, but those that are left will not. In the blink of an eye, we will be gone. The rest of humanity will face the worst God has to offer them. What is that? The absence of His presence. He will let them loose to face themselves without restraint of evil.

Can you imagine a world with no restraint on evil? Our world is a pretty wicked place right now, but there is still a strangle hold on evil for the sake of God’s faithful. God’s spirit is still in control of this place. He hold reign over Satan and his minions and will not let them loose to do as they please. But imagine if He opened the gates and let Satan do whatever he wished for a time.

We think about some of those seemingly soulless people we imprison for the rest of their lives – serial killers, serial rapists, those with no conscience that seem to thrive on the performance of evil and terror against others. Imagine a world full of those people running loose to do whatever they choose. That’s the world after the faithful are taken home with Christ.

There is coming a day when Jesus returns to take His faithful home. The question to ponder today, Will I be part of the crowd His heavenly messengers gather to be with Him, or part of the crowd left behind? It’s my choice as to which side I’m on. He’s ready to take Me with Him on that day fateful day, if I just repent and follow Him today.

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.