Tag: Mark 13

Watch! (Mark 13:32-37 Devotion)

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“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34 “[It is] like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 “Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming–in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning– 36 “lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 “And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!“

– Mark 13:32-37 (NKJV)

When I was little my dad used to take me hunting with him for pronghorn, or we’d call them antelope. In parts of Eastern Montana, if you had good eyes, you could see them from a mile away! I thought I had good eyes and so I’d help my dad scan the horizon for pronghorn in the hopes of shooting one. I was restless looking all over hoping to see some movement. But there were times where, after a morning of looking, I’d slowly fall into a daze and just stare off into a day dreaming. I’m almost convinced that a pronghorn could have walked up to me in one of those dazes and I wouldn’t have noticed.

The word used for “watch” in verse 33 has the idea of “hunting” and “sleep” mixed together. The idea is that you are restless. You look for sleep, but haven’t found it yet so you keep looking. The other word used for “watch” in verses 35 and 37 carry a little different connotation. It has the idea of a night “watch.” Which emphasizes being alert, vigilant, and not groggy or slumbering. You put them together and they paint a picture of watching with eagerness while being diligent to avoid sleep. Scan the horizon and be alert for Jesus could return at any moment.

Such a posture of watchfulness requires some effort on our part. It’s easy to drift off when we don’t see him coming immediately. It’s easy to be lulled into a false sense of “he’s not coming today,” and live like he isn’t coming back. We are called to live in the sober reality of Jesus could come back at any moment.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. You could return at any moment. Give us grace to be watchful and ready. Show us how to live with preparedness to go at any moment. Help us not to hold the things of earth so dear that we forget to scan the horizon and pray for your “kingdom to come.” Let us long with watchfulness for the coming of the day of the Lord. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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.