April 1, 2010 (Mark 12-13, Matthew 22-23, Luke 20-21)

All the various passages centered on this one theme: Christ's return. There were other side lessons, but this seemed to be the main one. There will be times of war, earthquakes, famine and plagues. There will be a time of great persecution. And then the end will come. But we don't know when that will be. Me, being the great procrastinator, could easily argue after reading this that we still have time. But the reality is, no matter how much time we have, we should be living for Christ - making Him the priority of our lives. Putting others first. Loving our neighbor as ourselves.


⁸ He replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and saying, ‘The time has come!’ But don’t believe them. ⁹ And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place first, but the end won’t follow immediately.” ¹⁰ Then he added, “Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.

¹² “But before all this occurs, there will be a time of great persecution. You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will stand trial before kings and governors because you are my followers. ¹³ But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. ¹⁴ So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you, ¹⁵ for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you! ¹⁶ Even those closest to you—your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends—will betray you. They will even kill some of you. ¹⁷ And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. ¹⁸ But not a hair of your head will perish! ¹⁹ By standing firm, you will win your souls.

²⁰ “And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived. ²¹ Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. Those in Jerusalem must get out, and those out in the country should not return to the city. ²² For those will be days of God’s vengeance, and the prophetic words of the Scriptures will be fulfilled. ²³ How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. For there will be disaster in the land and great anger against this people. ²⁴ They will be killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world. And Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of the Gentiles comes to an end.

As I read this next verse, I thought of "global warming" and how what is going to happen will probably be attributed to that.

²⁵ “And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. ²⁶ People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”

²⁹ Then he gave them this illustration: “Notice the fig tree, or any other tree. ³⁰ When the leaves come out, you know without being told that summer is near. ³¹ In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that the Kingdom of God is near. ³² I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things have taken place. ³³ Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

³⁴ “Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, ³⁵ like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. ³⁶ Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”

God is really dealing with me about a lot of things, probably the most important one being the way I spend my time. I remember when I was leading a small group and how He was dealing with me about it back then as well. At that point I was surfing the news online, and all the latest 'entertainment news', etc. And there's nothing wrong with that, but I was convicted about the time that was being sucked away. So for me, and where I was and what God was saying to me, there WAS something wrong with that. I remember making the comment, "I hope God never asks me to give up American Idol". And I don't know that He has yet, but I do know that I don't enjoy it as much, so perhaps that is the next thing to go. Cooper and I were talking about that recently, and he asked "Doesn't God want us to have fun? Does He always just want us to read the Bible?" I think that goes to the other extreme. I think He does want us to have fun, and a lot of times the most fun I have is when I'm using the gifts He's given me - serving others. I'm just looking at things through a whole new filter lately. Looking at things through the filter of does it really matter? This next verse caught my eye in regards to that. Jesus went every day, early, to the temple to teach, and every evening he returned to the Mount of Olives. It says 'every evening', not 'every afternoon'. Maybe I'm going off the deep end, and even now as I type this, I want to go veg in front of the TV. But more than that I need sleep, so as soon as I get some things done around the house I will go to bed and get rest, and not allow my evening to be sucked away with mindless TV. Choices - every day we have them. And our choices are important for eternity.

³⁷ Every day Jesus went to the Temple to teach, and each evening he returned to spend the night on the Mount of Olives. ³⁸ The crowds gathered at the Temple early each morning to hear him.