⁶ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Matt 24:6-7 NIV

There is plenty and more of war going on right now. There is a fair share of rumors of that going ’round, too. I think we all can agree that earthquakes and famine have been seriously newsworthy, often enough to raise the eyebrow of even the most disinterested person.

But, that’s not why I picked this passage, today. Right in the middle of the first sentence of verse 6 is my focus: Jesus says, “but see to it that you are not alarmed.”

He’s got it all under control, and tells us, “such things must happen.”

The earth will heave because it is dying, and it will not bear the fruit it was originally created to bear. Its people will turn against one another, instead of bowing before a righteous God. Sin must run its course and be seen for all it is.

But, also, Christ uses these as signs to those who are watching, giving us a peek into what is to come, so that we will have no need to feel abandoned, so that we will be encouraged that His promise to come again WILL BE fulfilled.

I look on events such as war and what we term “natural disasters” with much sadness because of those who may die or may have died without accepting Christ, and therefore have no hope of eternal life with Him. But, I also look at these events as opportunities to share my faith and offer hope, because I am neither afraid, nor am I alarmed. My steadiness is found in the Solid Rock of Christ Jesus and his Word.

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Tomorrow’s Reading:

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

Matt 22:37 NIV

What are you allowing to compete with God for your love? Whatever it is, is it winning?

What stands in the way of your ability to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind? What are you thinking about most? What are you loving more? What possesses the very core of your being?

For me, it’s busy-ness and not getting enough sleep, creating fatigue. I can easily fill my day with work and running around getting “things” done, but later fall into bed completely exhausted, with no chance of putting forth any conscious effort to pray. I might commune with the Lord as I drift off, but my priority is clearly falling sleep vs. intercessory prayer. 

Distractions, such as  social networking and Internet creep in with their deceptive messages of relaxing “me time”, but then an hour goes by without anything substantive coming out of the time spent, and I don’t even feel relaxed in the end!

When I recognize that I have been falling into these traps too often, I have to regroup and make an effort to sit down with my Bible, not my laptop, in a quiet place to stop the madness, shut out the noise, and ready my heart, soul, and mind for the Lord to take His rightful place as King, transforming “me time” into “His time”. 

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Tomorrow’s Reading:

²⁹ As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

 ³¹ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

 ³² Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

 ³³ “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

 ³⁴ Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Matt 20:29-34 NIV

When I was still lost to sin, I was blind to it and to every sinful thing that was going on in this world. Then I heard the Word of the Lord, and called out to Him. He said, “What do you desire?”

I desired His mercy and to repent of my sin. I said so, for I had recognized what I was, and that the penalty for my sin without Christ’s covering blood was God’s wrath.

Then, by his grace, Jesus had compassion on me, just as he did the blind men on the street. But instead of sight, he granted me life. Eternal Life in Him.

Thank you, Jesus!

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Tomorrow’s Reading:

“The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.”

Gen 40:23 NIV

This cupbearer made Joseph a promise to put in a good word with Pharoah, on Joseph’s behalf, for a reduced prison sentence; but, once the cupbearer got out of the clinker, he forgot all about his promise, and all about Joseph,  leaving him to while away in the jail.

This seems ridiculously callous. I mean, how do you forget about the guy who miraculously interpreted two dreams that came true, one of which was your own? But, when we read on in Genesis, we’ll find that it just wasn’t the right time for God’s plan to be fully realized. That there was more at stake than Joseph simply getting out of prison. 

For two years following the cupbearer’s pardon, Joseph waited. He might have gotten discouraged at times, but I believe he chose to have faith that even though he seemed to have been forgotten by the cupbearer, he had not been forsaken by God.

I love the story of Joseph in Egypt because it is a steady reminder to me that I only have a very minute view of my circumstances. God has the bigger picture entirely under control, and if I have the faith and patience to release my present situations to Him, and practice Proverbs 3:5 (“Trust in the LORD with all your heart  and lean not on your own understanding”), everything will be resolved according to God’s good will for me, and for His ultimate glory.

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Tomorrow’s Reading:

 ¹⁹ “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

Matt 18:19-20 NIV

If there is ANY important decision that needs to be made in our household, my husband and I pray over it, hand in hand, as one. When we can agree together before the Lord, we know it is the right decision, because God is there to guide us, through our unity in Him.

I am so blessed to know that the Lord honors our fellowship and common worship with His very presence.

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Tomorrow’s Reading:

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

Matt 17:5 NIV

Listening to Jesus… commanded by God the Father.

Listening to Jesus… taught by the Apostles, strongly recommended by preachers, evangelists, and believers, throughout history. (Heb 13:7-8)

Listening to Jesus… hearing His message of redemption, and accepting His offer of salvation. (John 4:21-26)

Listening to Jesus… reminding us every day that we are His precious lambs and He is the faithful Shepherd, who will go after any one of us when we stray or fall behind:

“Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” — Jesus

Listening to Jesus… promising to return to take us home:

“I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” — Jesus

Take a moment to stop whatever you have going on right now, be still, and just listen to Jesus.

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Tomorrow’s Reading:

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. ²⁶ What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

Matt 16:24-26 NIV

It is not in our nature to deny ourselves. We love to indulge in anything that makes us “happy”. The problem with this behavior is that nothing that we can do on our own, nothing we can earn or gain will save us in the end. Only Christ’s sacrifice on the cross affords us that security. He made the ultimate sacrifice that only He could make. His life for ours.

Metaphorically, He asks us to take up our own cross. To make a sacrifice of self, as well. We cannot earn our salvation by any personal effort, but as part of working out that salvation, we must learn to submit to Christ the things, thoughts, and desires that prevent us from having a deep and rooted relationship with Him. 

We must die to ourselves daily, and put Him at the top of our list. Make His will a priority. Make His people a priority. Make those who might make this same decision someday, because you spoke a word or said a prayer, a priority.

Stuff like this may not look like it offers a lot of notoriety, popularity, wealth and gain — the “happy” a lot of people are aching for, but find themselves coming up empty. But, then again, as you keep on prioritizing, those desires become less and less attractive and important, and the happiness you are looking for will well up from Christ in your heart, not from the treasures of this world.

The statement “Whoever loses his life for me (Christ), will find it” makes perfect sense. I found life, when I gave my heart to Him. Christ’s eternal life, for my finite life. Unbreakable, for my already broken one, and He doesn’t offer refurbishments, He makes us New.

This cross isn’t always easy to take up, because I make it that way. Like a small child, wanting to say “let me do it”. But every day that I wholly submit to the Lord, He gives me His strength to bear it, and I find my life’s satisfaction in Him and look forward to the reward that He eagarly awaits to give. 

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Tomorrow’s Reading:

¹³ When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Matt 14:13-14 NIV

Jesus had just heard of John the Baptist’s beheading, and He wanted to go somewhere to be alone. Probably to pray.

John’s murder affected Jesus. John was His cousin.  John had been sent out ahead of Jesus to preach about repentance and turning back to the Kingdom, preparing people to receive the gift of Salvation that Jesus would soon bring. John had  baptized Jesus, and there He was revealed as Christ the Messiah to John. And, despite the fact that they do not appear in scripture to have been ever in each other’s presence, as Jesus was with his chosen 12, Jesus and John the Baptist still had a unique and significant bond.

There are only a few places in scripture where Jesus is shown in mourning. He wept over Jerusalem, and also at the death of His friend, Lazarus. I am sure this is not the exhaustive list, but it is a glimpse, so that we will understand without doubt that He has known the losses and disappointments we experience, and can therefore relate to us on a deeply, personal level. To empathize vs. sympathize, if it must be put in these very limited human terms.

Yet, though He was mourning John, at that very moment when He sought privacy and a quiet place to reflect, He still set Himself aside to meet the physical and emotional needs of his creation, and heal their sick. THAT is the LOVE of my SAVIOR.

He is Emmanuel (God with Us) and Jehovah Rapha (The LORD our Healer), and infinitely more than I could ever write down here. I am in awe of Him every second of the day. Praise His Name Always!

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Tomorrow’s Reading:

⁴⁰ “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴² They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Matt 13:40-43 NIV

Verses 40-43 are the explanation of the parable of the wheat and tares.

The part of this passage that I am drawn to is Jesus speaking so graphically of fire, the weeping and teeth gnashing of the wicked, and the bright shining righteous… then, he adds, “He who has ears, let him hear.”

Seems like these strongly worded descriptions would be enough to make the hearers pay attention. But, Jesus knew their minds had been dulled by the sin they were steeped in every day; and He knew that later, modern readers would be even more desensitized. An invitation to really listen, to absolutely comprehend that His words were true, and to understand He meant business, was definitely in order.

I have accepted Christ as my Savior, and I look forward to the day when He will return and I will be one of those shining like the sun in the kingdom my Father. I am secure in the knowledge and faith that I will not be with those weeded out. At the same time, I acknowledge Jesus’s invitation to listen to warnings about the future fate of “all who do evil”, because there are so, so many people who do not understand their dire situation without Christ. Their ears are not perked up to hear His message. So, I have a responsibility to spread the Gospel that I, myself, heard long ago, and not tune out just because I am “in”.

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Tomorrow’s Reading:

³³ “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. ³⁴ You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. ³⁶ But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Matthew 12:33-37 NIV

There is sound logic backing the expression “think before you speak”.

As I read this passage in Matthew 12, I asked myself, “Will I speak truth for the glory of my Father in heaven today? Will I use my words to encourage and build up my husband, my children, my Church family, and others? Will I allow anything in my conversation to tarnish my testimony or the Gospel in the eyes of unbelievers?

Words are powerful and effective, and there is great responsibility in which ones I select, and how I might opt to use them. They can be a blessing to others, or they can deliver a death blow. James 3:9-10 carries a similar message, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.”

So, as I begin each day, I have a choice. Will I choose to be characterized by careless words that spill out of a rebellious heart, or will I choose to lift up the Lord and obediently honor Him in all that I say? My Lord’s good counsel comes through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:

“⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” Eph 5:4 NIV

“…be filled with the Spirit. ¹⁹ Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Eph 5:19-20 NIV

Thank you, Lord, for your constant love and wisdom. I pray that you fill me with your Spirit, and provide me with courage and strength to keep You ever present in my conversations today. Amen!

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Tomorrow’s Reading: