Tag: bible

And Gather His Elect (Mark 13:24-31 Devotion)

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“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 “the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 “And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven. 28 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 “So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near–at the doors! 30 “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

– Mark 13:24-31 (NKJV)

Don’t miss the forest for the trees on this passage. Some pretty huge things, cataclysmic events even are unfolding here. The Sun, the moon, the stars will fall… but the important part is that Jesus saves his own! He hasn’t abandoned his elect (to use the term in this passage). He is faithful. He has come back for you!

Though the sky falls, though the sun fails to shine, though the stars disappear, all is not lost, for Jesus remains and he is coming for you! Are you ready? Don’t be so grounded in this moment that you forget we were made for eternity.

There are things that will let you down in this life, but Jesus isn’t one of them. He will send his angels for you. His word rings true when everything else has fallen away. There will be a generation who sees it all come to pass from beginning to end in their lifetime. It might happen today. Don’t lose heart. Don’t be discouraged. Be ready. Be prepared. Be bold in your witness. When the days get dark, he has not forgotten you.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We are encouraged by your word. Though everything else falls away, your word remains. We place our trust in you. You didn’t tell us that you were a way, or a truth, or know about life. You are the way, the truth, and the life and so we are all in on you. We trust you with all that we are so that we might be prepared and ready for that day. Even now we pray, “your kingdom come.” Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Why is Jesus Telling the Disciples This? (Mark 13:14-23 Devotion)

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“So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 “Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. 16 “And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 17 “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18 “And pray that your flight may not be in winter. 19 “For [in] those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. 20 “And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days. 21 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here [is] the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, [He is] there!’ do not believe it. 22 “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 “But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.

– Mark 13:14-23 (NKJV)

Several years ago I used to pick up a friend for church on Sunday mornings. He had a bad habit of sleeping in and I wanted to be sure he was ready to go when I got to his house so he didn’t make me late. This was a time before cellphones and so I’d call him from my house before I left for his house. This would give him 20 minutes to prepare. He could count on me being in his driveway 20 minutes from when I called him. Yet, there were mornings I’d call and He wasn’t even out of bed and he’d lie telling me that he was ready and when I got to his house I’d find out that he had fallen back asleep. His preparation or failure to be ready revealed where his heart was any given Sunday morning.

From time to time evangelical culture gets wrapped up with the immanent return of Christ. Which is good and true, he could come at any moment. I think we may be living in one of those times of expectancy around the return of Christ. While there is a ton of diversity of thought about when and how Jesus will return, one thing is clear, Jesus is coming back and we should be ready.

Rather than getting caught up in the “when” or how,” let’s think about why Jesus is telling the disciples these things. Part of the why is so that they will be prepared. As I shared yesterday, we need to be able to expect things to get worse before they get better. Christians need to expect persecution in this world. We don’t need to be caught off guard.

We need to expect there to be false teachers or false messiah’s who show up and deceive people. We need to expect them so when we see them we are not disheartened but are moved to action. Time is of the essence, everything could be change in our world in an instant.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. Prepare our hearts today for your immanent return. We recognize that the world will grope in darkness until all is set right in Christ. We long for that day. Give us grace to live this day in the readiness of the gospel. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Endurance! (Mark 13:9-13 Devotion)

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“But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. 10 “And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. 11 “But when they arrest [you] and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 “Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father [his] child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 13 “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

– Mark 13:9-13 (NKJV)

In High School we got a new basketball coach. He told us on the first day of practice that we would do drills, drills, and more drills. He said we would run a lot, if we were out of shape, we might throw up, but to keep going. His philosophy was to drill us so hard that we’d still feel “fresh” when the other team was tired. I was a little chubby and lost one pound per practice and kept it off. (Seriously I kept up with it. We had 21 practices and I lost 21 pounds that season)!

I guess if the coach hadn’t told us what he was doing and why, we might have rebelled when we ran 25 suicides (a basketball drill) per practice. But since we knew what he was doing and where we were going with it, we’d go throw up and get back on the line. As the end of the season I was probably in the best shape of my life and a much better basketball player than when I started the season.

This world will fall apart before Jesus returns and he is preparing the disciples for what they must endure. Things will get worse before they get better. They will go through all sorts of persecution. The silver lining is that in the midst of the persecution they will have an opportunity to be a witness for Christ.

Jesus sets their hearts at ease by telling them what is coming, so that when persecution comes their way, they won’t be caught off guard. They will be ready in the day of trouble. They don’t need to worry about what to say then either, the Holy Spirit will give them words.* This is a different message than those who tell us how to live our “Best life now.”

*(It should be noted that this passage is about witnessing under persecution, not about teaching Sunday school or preaching. You won’t need notes to tell about how good Jesus is, but you will need boldness, courage, and the ability to speak clearly and with conviction when you are persecuted and the Holy Spirit will supply all the believer needs in such moments. )

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We are grateful for your grace in our lives. We pray that we would be those who would endure whatever hardships come our way. We trust you for courage and boldness to be a witness for you when we face persecution. We thank you for your love! Please give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Are We Living in the End Times? (Mark 13:3-8 Devotion)

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Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be? And what [will be] the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?” 5 And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 6 “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am [He],’ and will deceive many. 7 “But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for [such things] must happen, but the end [is] not yet. 8 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These [are] the beginnings of sorrows.

– Mark 13:3-8 (NKJV)

With the escalating tensions and war happening in Israel and Ukraine, many people are asking, “are living in the end times?” The answer before the conflict is the same it is now… we are closer than we have ever been before. Yet, it’s not just because there is a war being raged in Israel and other places. Jesus spoke in Israel across the valley from the temple and said that when you “hear of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet” (v. 7). So it isn’t the war or rumor of wars that has us concerned that the end times are on us, because we know that there will be conflict until Jesus returns and brings ultimate peace.

Jesus notes that these things are like birth pains. This earth will groan under the weight of sin until Christ comes and sets it free. When we see conflict in the world it should cause us to look with hope for the return of Christ. The wars, disasters, and rise of false teachers should all serve to cause us to realize that we can’t remain in the world the way it is. This world isn’t our final home. We are waiting for something better.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We recognize that we won’t live on this earth, the way that it is, forever. We look for and long for your return. We know that sin will continue to cause havoc and division in the world until Christ returns. Prepare our hearts even now for that day. Give us peace. Let us be ready. Let us not love our lives so much here in this age that we forget the blessings that still lie ahead of us. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (Mark 13:1-2 Devotion)

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Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings [are here]!” 2 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not [one] stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

– Mark 13:1-2 (NKJV)

The first time I went to the beach we built sandcastles. Then I noticed that as the tide came in, it washed the sandcastle away. It was there one moment and then when we came back from playing in the water we noticed that most of it had washed away.

On that same trip I noticed all the condos, the fancy boats, the types of vehicles, and the number of beautiful restaurants. I was impressed with all the wealth that I saw on display around me. I couldn’t help but wonder where everyone got their money.

Then I experience my first hurricane on the gulf coast. Several weeks after the storm had passed, my friends and I went to the beach and we saw that the place was devastated. They were still doing reconstruction on buildings that had been damaged. Sand was pushed into all sorts of places it wasn’t supposed to be and some of those boats were torn to pieces or pushed inland.

One of the disciples can’t help but marvel at the decadence that surrounds the temple. He is amazed. Jesus doesn’t let his amazement linger long as he speaks to his disciple and tells him that all these stones will be torn down. All the disciple could see was what was there now, he had no way to see the future. But Jesus knew what was coming. His perspective was eternal.

If we aren’t careful we will spend our lives invested in the here and now and we will miss what is coming. We need to look with a long term, eternal perspective. So much of the work of our hands will be erased by future generations, but the work that Christ does in our lives will last.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. Help us set our eyes on the eternal today. Don’t let us waste our lives on just admiring the here and now, but let our hearts be focused on your kingdom and glory. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Give to God the Things That are Made in His Image (Mark 12:13-17 Devotion)

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Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in [His] words. 14 When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 “Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see [it].” 16 So they brought [it]. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription [is] this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at Him.

– Mark 12:13-17 (NKJV)

This is another attempt at a “gotcha” moment with Jesus. These leaders are trying to trick him up in his words and so they ask him a question about taxes. They don’t really care about taxes. What they want to do is get Jesus on the record saying something that will get him in trouble either with the government or the people and so they ask him a simple “yes/no” type question. “Do we pay our taxes or not?”

The design is to trap Jesus. Like when I was in the 5th grade and someone asked me, “Have you told your mom that you wet the bed yet?” To answer a simple yes or no to this question would lead to endless hours of ridicule from my classmates for wetting the bed, even if I never wet the bed… It was a trick question.

So these leaders ask Jesus a trick question. A simple “Yes” or a “no” will give them all the ammunition they need. They just need to hear it from Jesus’ lips. But instead, Jesus gives them a different answer. One that goes deeper than the initial question they were asking. He refers to the image on the coin and says, “Give the things to Caesars that are Caesars.” That would have been profound on it’s own, but Jesus goes a step further and says to give to, “God the things that are Gods.”

Which makes you think. What has God’s image on it?… It’s you and me! People are made in the image of God (see Genesis 1:26)! We owe God more than taxes. We owe him our life, our breath, our everything! We were created by God and for his Glory!

This means that God doesn’t have a right to JUST a portion of my time, money, etc… He has a right to ALL of it! The portion we may give as a tithe or an offering is a representation of how we are stewarding the rest. The time we give on Sundays as a day of worship is a representation of how we steward the rest of the week.

So they asked about if they should pay their share of taxes and Jesus hit them back with a question not just about taxes, but how they spend the rest! We may owe the government a little, but we owe God everything. So if I’m stewarding the life he has given me, am I using it in a way that brings glory and honor for him?

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We are grateful that you have blessed us with so many wonderful blessings in this life. I pray we never take your gifts for granted but that we would live whole and purposeful lives in bringing you honor and glory. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Pride and Politics (Mark 11:27-33 Devotion)

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Then they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. 28 And they said to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: 30 “The baptism of John–was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.” 31 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 “But if we say, ‘From men’ “–they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed. 33 So they answered and said to Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

– Mark 11:27-43 (NKJV)

There have been several times I’ve seen someone driving down the road in an extremely reckless manner and I’ve thought, “If I were a police officer I could pull you over and give you a ticket for what you are doing. You are driving recklessly!” The fact was that I couldn’t pull them over. Even if put lights on my car and somehow managed to compel someone speeding past me to pull over, I can’t issue them a ticket. I simply don’t have the authority. If I do put lights on my vehicle, dress up in a uniform, and pull people over I’d be guilty of a bigger issue, I’d be impersonating an officer. To act like I have authority when I don’t, is a big crime as well.

The religious leaders are trying to get Jesus to say one of two things. Either he doesn’t have the authority to turn over tables in the temple like he just did… or make him claim authority (that they can later challenge)… What is left unsaid in this dispute is that Jesus was in the right and they were in the wrong.

The religious leaders wanted to shift public opinion from being against them to being against Jesus. They don’t want to be seen as terrible people for profiting from, allowing, and encouraging the desecration of this portion of the temple, so they attempt to shift the charge to “this man has no authority here.” So Jesus handles these leaders exposing their fears. He poses a question back to them that causes them to sweat under fear of the pubic scrutiny.

They probably didn’t see it this way, but this was a grace. Jesus was allowing these men to see what was really ruling their heart… Pride and a thirst for political power. They didn’t really care about the worship of God. For them it had become a commercial enterprise long ago.

You know if we aren’t careful we can become like these religious leaders who were looking to challenge Jesus’ authority rather than addressing the things they had done wrong. Do we allow the bible to penetrate our hearts and lives or do we maintain secret sins and imagine that life is ok if we aren’t ever “called out” or “caught?” If someone else notices or not, our sins are still sins. When they are exposed we should deal with them before the Lord.

I wondered as I was reading this passage this morning, what might have happened had Jesus cleansed the temple and these leaders immediately recognized and repented of their sins? What if they had just owned their greed and dealt with it then? Perhaps Jesus’ question about John’s baptism was more than a riddle, but an appeal for real repentance like John had called for (Matthew 3:7-12).

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We are grateful for your grace. We are grateful for the voices of accountability in our life the expose our hearts and help us see our need of repentance. Help us not to shy away from a loving stern rebuke, but welcome the voice of loving correction in our lives. Let us not be so worried about others that we lose sight of honoring you. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Have Faith and Forgive (Mark 11:20-26 Devotion)

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Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” 22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive [them], and you will have [them]. 25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

– Mark 11:20-26 (NKJV)

The disciples had marveled at how quickly Jesus spoke and the results showed up on the tree. Jesus took the time at this moment to teach the disciples about faith. He used a common phrase among the people of the day about “Moving mountains.” Perhaps it was a common phrase because Herod had taken down one small mountain bucket by bucket to build up a man made mountain and palace known as Herodium. The implication was that if one man can have such a vision and drive to carry out by human labor what seemed impossible, how much more should we have faith in God who will certainly carry out his will.

Then Jesus moves the disciples to the topic or prayer, reminding them that their dependence isn’t in their ability to speak it and believe it, but in the God whom they speak too. So when we pray according to God’s will they receive what they ask (there really is no other genuine way to pray). The real test then comes at the end of this section when Jesus reminds the disciples that forgiveness is one of those seemingly impossible things that God can work in your heart to do.

So when you pray and you have unforgiveness in your heart, one of the first things you need to do is ask the Lord to give you forgiveness for those who have wronged you. That payer with faith will be answered.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. Search our hearts. If there is any unforgiveness in us we ask that you bring it to the surface and give us the grace to forgive those who have hurt us. If we have needlessly caused offense, we ask that you would call whatever arguments or situations to mind and those offended so we might seek to be reconciled to our brothers and sisters. We ask for your grace to work in our hearts and lives. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Trusted Steward or Violent Thief (Mark 12:1-12 Devotion)

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Then He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around [it], dug [a place for] the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 2 “Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. 3 “And they took [him] and beat him and sent [him] away empty-handed. 4 “Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded [him] in the head, and sent [him] away shamefully treated. 5 “And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. 6 “Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 “But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 “So they took him and killed [him] and cast [him] out of the vineyard. 9 “Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. 10 “Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. 11 This was the LORD’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? ” 12 And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.

– Mark 12:1-12 (NKJV)

Jesus continues to address the misuse of religious authority by those who are in power over the Jewish people. Jesus’ authority had been questioned by the religious leaders. The insinuation in this parable is that the religious leaders are unrighteous stewards. They didn’t want to honor God. They just wanted to use God’s name to gain power and authority for themselves. Furthermore they hardened their heart against God’s messengers and didn’t listen to what they had to say. Now these leaders had hardened their hearts against Jesus himself and because they had, judgement was coming.

In verse ten Jesus makes a statement about a cornerstone. He is quoting from Psalm 118. The meaning is that the leaders had rejected Him as the cornerstone (foundation and guideline) for their lives, but that even though he was rejected by them, He would still be the guideline by which their lives were judged.

Many people reject Jesus. Even seemingly Christian people can conduct life under a set of rules apart from a relationship with Christ. Jesus is the cornerstone of a believers life. The Holy Spirit is moving and working in each one of us to conform us to the image of Christ. To be confirmed to the image of Christ, we must accept God’s authority in our lives.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We are grateful for your word, let it be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We gladly submit our hearts to you. Let us live with confidence in your authority and benevolent good will. Let walk in humility. Please give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

In the House of the Lord (Mark 11:15-19 Devotion)

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So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city.

– Mark 11:15-19 (NKJV)

The temple was a place of worship. It had places for different people to go. The place referred to here was probably the outer court also known as the court of the gentiles. It was a place where those folks who were not born Jewish could come pray and worship God. The problem was that there was no longer room for people to come and pray because it was filled with smelly animals for sacrifice and the people selling them were selling them at marked up prices (like buying a coke at a theme park).

What the people were doing was wrong, but it wasn’t just wrong, it was communicating the wrong message to everyone. It was saying that God doesn’t have room for people who weren’t ethnically Jewish. That was bad for little Jewish boys and girls to grow up believing and it was bad for people of other nationalities who were coming to faith in God and wanted to worship him. Then it was also wrong to take advantage of people. You shouldn’t do that anywhere, but you especially shouldn’t extort people in a place that was built for prayer and worship to the one true God (as if he didn’t know).

So Jesus has a righteous zeal here. We’ve been watching Jesus take up for the poor and oppressed and now we see him come toe to toe with the leaders who should have been looking for the people but have instead been oppressing them. Their reaction is cowardly. They can’t address Jesus from the scripture because they know they are wrong and so privately they seek to kill Jesus.

This passage teaches us a few things. One we should not extort others, especially in the worship of God. Two, we should be careful of the image we present to others by our actions and their implications of what we believe about God. Three, we need to examine our hearts to see if we are submitting ourselves to be used by God for His will or if we are attempting to use God to carry out our own corrupt will.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We are grateful that Jesus cleansed the temple and set the record straight on the purpose of the temple and the activities that should go on in a house of worship. We pray that our lives would be clean of double or perverse motives. Let us love one another and not take advantage of others. Let us be diligent to take the gospel to all nations. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.