Watch! Be ready

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 23-24; Psalm 92

TO CHEW ON: " 'For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.' " Matthew 24:38-39


Our reading gives us some natural signs that herald the near return of Christ including:

" '…the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken' " - Matthew 24:29.

What causes this unnatural darkening? Volcanic matter in earth's atmosphere?

What are those falling stars? Meteors and comets plowing into us?

I can just imagine how such natural disasters will be reported in the news. Scientific experts will analyze and prescribe. They will be the fault of fracking, or fossil fuel use, or CO2, or disturbed ecosystems, or weakened magnetism at the poles, or pollution, or… We will be told, if we only do more of this, less of that, the balance will right itself.

Meanwhile wherever it can, life will go on as usual - Matthew 24:37-38, 40-41.

I describe this scenario because even for those of us who have read these Bible passages and have been forewarned, it's easy to get lulled into complacency by the naturalistic explanations of scientists and those who supposedly understand earth's mechanisms (or at least have lots of theories).

Believers expressing their take on events are / will be mocked no less than Noah was. They're even viewed as dangerous because of their convictions that supernatural forces are at work here and thus they don't buy into scientific prescriptions of how to save the earth.

The billboard sign I take from this passage for myself—for all of us who believe these prophecies—is BE ALERT! Be watchful for Jesus' second coming.

" ' … when you see these things, know that it is near' " - Matthew 24:33. 

" 'But watch therefore…' " Matthew 24:42. 

" 'Therefore you also, be ready' " - Matthew 24:44.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to see Your hand at work in earth's natural events and disasters. Help me to live alert to signs of Your return, not dulled by the spirit of my time. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 92

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Worship tug-of-war

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Micah 7:1-20

TO CHEW ON: “Therefore I will look to the LORD,
I will wait for the God of my salvation
My God will hear me.” Micah 7:7

Micah’s hopeful declaration: “I will look to the LORD; I will wait …My God will hear” comes out of a deep desire to see Judah turn back to God.

Micah prophesied at the same time as Isaiah. They preached between when Israel was divided into two (Israel and Judah) and the destruction of the temple. Canaanite idolatry was popular. Though King Hezekiah had legislated reforms and had won a victory over Assyria, the people were still spiritually enslaved to idols. Micah knew: “Judah was bound to fall unless the nation turned back in wholehearted repentance” - Willard S. Elijahson, “Introduction to Micah,” New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1201.

And so Micah’s prophecies are full of warnings of what will happen if the people persist in worshiping idols versus enticements to come back to God. What “carrots” did he hold before the people of his time?

• God would be their teacher - Micah 4:2.

• God would be their righteous judge - Micah 4:3.

• God’s fair judgments would bring peace and security - Micah 4:3,4.

• If they repented God would shine light into their darkness - Micah 7:8,9.

• God would shepherd them and lead them to good places - Micah 7:14.

• With mercy and compassion God would forgive their sins - Micah 7:18,19.

We live in a time when idolatry looks different but is no less real. We are tempted to worship and trust in ourselves, our wealth, education, entertainment, science, technology, government, the democratic process, our legal system etc. But these things are, finally, no more reliable or efficacious than the images, high places, and divining ceremonies of the ancients. They will never deliver us from existential angst—that hole in our spirits that drives us to lust, greed, selfishness, pride, deception, etc., which inspire personal and interpersonal turmoil. Ours is a hole that can only be filled satisfactorily with God and a relationship with Him.

Let’s focus all our worship on God, who will also be these things (teacher, righteous judge, source of peace and security, light, shepherd, forgiving and merciful Saviour) to us.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for faithful Micah whose words are still relevant today. Help me to see through the allure of false worship and to put all my trust in, give all my worship to You. Amen.
MORE: First Sunday of Advent

Today is the first Sunday of Advent! Today’s liturgy begins with this Collect:

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.