Are You Ready?

Matthew 24:37-44

It was a normal, mid-autumn day, just like every other one.  People were going about their daily activities.  Women were shopping, men at their jobs.  Children were at their studies or playing.  This day seemed just like every other one.  Most giving no thought to their future.  And then it happened.  Mt. Vesuvius, immediately to the north of the city, exploded in a terrible volcano, covering the city and its inhabitants in burning ash and lava.  Thousands died, forever captured in their last motions.  This was the scene on that autumn day in 79 AD in the city of Pompeii.  Similar events have happened throughout history, where life was going on just like normal, and then, Bam!  Suddenly a disaster hits.  Everything was going on like it had done before at 5:12 am on April 18, 1906 in San Francisco, when a deadly earthquake hit, killing thousands.  Were any of these folks ready to face eternity?  Suddenly it happened.  No one paying attention to possible warning tremors or smoke coming from the mountain.  No one prepared.  This is the type of scenario that Jesus gives us in our Scripture passage today from the Gospel of Matthew.

As we look into the Scripture, Jesus was talking to His disciples while in the city of Jerusalem, just days before His crucifixion, and He was describing how it will be like when He, the Son of Man, the Messiah, will return.  The message Jesus gave was that it will be sudden.  It will be unexpected.  No one will know exactly when it will happen.

Jesus describes the time of His return as being “as in the days of Noah”.  What was happening right before Noah boarded the ark?  Life was going on just as usual.  Just like it was going on in Pompeii.  Just like it was going on in San Francisco, and numerous other places throughout history before a cataclysmic event happened.  We know that God destroyed the world and its inhabitants at the time of Noah because of terrible wickedness.  Literally no one outside of Noah and his family cared one bit about God or worshiped Him.  Not only was there great wickedness in Noah’s day, but everyone was also preoccupied with everyday life, and not with the things of God and salvation (vs. 37-39).  Then judgment came suddenly.

There is one difference between the people in Noah’s day, and that of many events like earthquakes, volcanos, fires, and other things, which is that the people at the time of Noah had plenty of clear warning that the rains and flood would come, but they were not concerned.  The people had absolute lack of concern for Noah’s message of the coming flood.  They watched him build the ark, and heard him preach of righteousness for many years, but they took no heed.  It was a pleasure-oriented, self-gratifying time.  No one cared.  All that mattered was their present-day life, their plans, and their desires.

That is how it will be when Jesus returns.  His Second Coming will be swift and sudden, just like Pompeii and San Francisco, and just like when the rain did start to fall at the time of Noah (vs. 40-42).  There will be no opportunity for last minute repentance or bargaining.  The choice we have already made will determine our eternal destiny.

No one knows what time the thief is coming when he breaks into your house.  If we did, we would be prepared.  Jesus compares that with when He will return (vs. 43-44).  If we did know, we would be prepared.  Jesus wants us to be prepared now, so that we are ready for Him.  It is good that we don’t know exactly when He will return.  If we did know an exact time, we might grow lazy in our work for Him, knowing that there was plenty of time still before that date came.  We might plan to keep sinning, and then turn to God right at the end.  However, we don’t know when it will happen.  We will be living our lives like normal, and then, Bam!  It has happened.  At the time of Noah, no one escaped.  Neither the rich nor poor, the educated or illiterate, the famous or common folk.  They all died in the flood because they did not heed the warnings.

Just as God provided one solitary way of escape for Noah and his family, He has provided one solitary way for any to escape the judgment when He returns, and that is through His Son, Jesus Christ.  There is no other way of salvation (Acts 4:12).  Jesus is warning us to be prepared.  Will you be ready?  Those bodies that still lie in the ruins of Pompeii to this day wish they had been ready and taken the route of escape.  The only safe choice is to call upon Jesus Christ as your Savior, and be saved today.

A Debt That We Owe

Romans 13:8-14

Most people have, at one time or another, owed a debt.  It might be with a mortgage on a house, or a car payment.  Perhaps a medical bill or a credit card bill.  Hopefully, as good, honest people, we do what we can to make our payments faithfully and on time.  If we do so, then after a period of time, the debt is finally paid off.  However, as we read in today’s Scripture, there is one debt that we owe others, that we will always owe.  Let’s look into God’s Word and see what that is.

Today’s New Testament reading, this first week of Advent, comes from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome.  In our passage, Paul talks about having outstanding debts (vs. 8).  The Apostle is not saying that we should never have any debts, or that we should only pay cash for everything.  In today’s world, very few would ever be able to afford to pay for a house outright, or even a new car.  Some countries do not have free medical care, so doctor and medical bills can be quite expensive.  When we do borrow or buy with credit, we need to make the payments when they are due.  In these verses, though, Paul is talking about our social responsibilities in not acting in any way towards others as to have a debt other than to love them, a debt which is never fully paid.  In general, a believer should never be constantly borrowing from others, whether money or personal items, and failing to pay back.

As Paul continues, he reminds us that we need to treat others as we would want to be treated, to love others as we do ourselves (vs. 9-10).  Loving others as ourselves means to be actively working for their good and for their welfare.  Paul quotes five of the Ten Commandments, those that deal with human relations.  He then quotes from Leviticus 19:18, which sums these five commandments up.  If we truly love our neighbor, we will only do what is in their best interest.

So often, though, we don’t act in a truly loving way towards others.  We come up with excuses, such as that they are not my family or close friends, so it doesn’t matter, or that since our behavior isn’t actually breaking a law, it’s okay.  How easy it is to excuse our indifference to others merely because we have no legal obligation to help them, or even justify harming them if our actions are technically legal.  However, Jesus doesn’t leave any loopholes in His law of loving others.  It is a debt we owe.

As he continues, Paul reminds us that the day of Jesus’ return is drawing closer (vs. 11).  Each day brings us one day closer to seeing Jesus.  Our behavior ought to reflect that belief.  We need to wake up out of our spiritual apathy and from being unresponsive to the things of God.  Since we know that Jesus’ return gets closer each day, we need to repent of, and forsake our sins.

Right now the world is in darkness.  At this present time, while Jesus is not physically present and the control of the world is in the hands of the prince of darkness, it is like night (vs. 12).  Believers need to cast off all works of darkness, and put on God’s armor of light.  We should conduct ourselves in a manner befitting those who bear the Name of Jesus (vs. 13), living a life that pleases God by our behavior.

Paul closes this Scripture passage by instructing us to make no provisions for the flesh (vs. 14).  By that he means that we should not be seeking opportunities to satisfy the desires of our sin nature.  Our behavior should be consistent with our new life in Christ.  We do that by not allowing wrong ideas or lustful desires to linger in our minds.  When we know we should avoid going somewhere, but we go anyway, that is a sin.  If some activity is a temptation, but we still do it, we dishonor Jesus.  We are to pursue God’s will in our lives, which leaves no room for sinful behavior. We will either commit ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord, or we will be preoccupied with sin.  We cannot do both.

In closing, let’s wake up and cast off the works of darkness from our lives, and actively live for the Lord Jesus!  Let’s pay that debt we owe, whether it is an actual debt of money, and certainly the debt of love we owe to each other!

Jerusalem

Psalm 122

My previous blog posting spoke about the hills or mountains surrounding the City of Jerusalem.  Today’s Scripture for this first week of Advent talks about the city itself.  Jerusalem is one of the most famous cities in the world.  Photos from different vantage points are almost immediately recognized.  Several million people each year travel to Jerusalem, as it is a holy city for Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.  Let’s look into today’s psalm, Psalm 122, and see what God might tell us today.

Psalm 122 is one of the Songs of Ascent, which are a collection of fifteen psalms (Psalms 120-134), which pilgrims coming to Jerusalem for the religious festivals in Biblical days would often recite or sing.  This particular one, along with three others, was written by King David, and we can feel the love that he had for the city he chose to be his capital.  When David first became king over just the tribe of Judah, his capital was in Hebron.  Later, when he became king over the whole nation, he moved the capital to Jerusalem.  Later he moved the Tabernacle with the Ark of the Covenant into the city, and made his plans for the Temple to be built there.  Prior to that time, Jerusalem had been a Jebusite stronghold.

Jerusalem was the setting for many important events in the Bible.  Though it was not a city at the time, it was near where Jerusalem would later be that Abraham was called to sacrifice his son Isaac and where God provided the sacrifice to spare him.  It was where David brought the Ark of the Covenant back from the Philistines, and later where Solomon would build the Temple.  Most importantly, it was where Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose again, and where the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples at Pentecost.

For King David, going to God’s Tabernacle (this was before the Temple was built) was a delight, not a burden or a chore.  This is unfortunately unlike how many Christians feel about attending church today.  If one is physically able, and if there is a good, Bible-preaching church in the area, believers really ought to be going to church on a regular basis.  David proclaimed that he was glad when friends or family invited him to come to God’s house to worship! (vs. 1).  If we have unconfessed sin, or our love for God has grown cold, we may not desire times of worship.  However, we can remedy that by confessing and repenting of any known sin, and stir up our love for the Lord through prayer and Bible reading.

As our psalm continues, we read that God’s Word says to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and to seek its good (vs. 6-9).  The name “Jerusalem” means “city of peace”.  That is a very ironic name, as Jerusalem has been fought over throughout history, more than probably any other city in the world.  David fought the Jebusites to gain control of Jerusalem.  His son Absalom sought to wrest control of the capital when he attempted a coup against his father.  Throughout the Bible we read of various empires fighting for control over the area, from the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans.  Since that time, various Muslim empires, along with the Christian crusaders, and the British empire have sought and held control.  The Jewish people regained control over Israel in 1948, yet there has continued to be fighting since then.  True peace will not come to Jerusalem until Jesus returns to set up His Millennial Kingdom, and all people acknowledge Him as Messiah and Savior.

The world cannot provide real peace.  All of the peace movements in the last century have really failed in their efforts, as there has not been any period of time where there wasn’t war or fighting somewhere in the world.  Real peace comes from faith in Jesus, because He, alone, embodies all of the characteristics of peace (John 14:27; John 16:33).  To find peace of mind and peace with others, we must find peace with God.  When the people of Jerusalem acknowledge Jesus Christ, and call upon Him as their Savior and Messiah, then they will have peace.  In the meantime, until that day, let us do as verse 6 says, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem”.

The Hills Of Jerusalem

Isaiah 2:1-5

If someone asked you to name some of the great mountains of the world, you might immediately think of Mt. Everest and its sister mountains in the Himalayas.  You might also think of some of the peaks in the Alps of Central Europe, or of the Rocky or Andes Mountains.  One doesn’t typically think of any of the mountains in Israel, as they are not very high at all.  The highest point in Israel is Mt. Hermon at 9,232 ft, in far northern Israel, near the Lebanon and Syrian border.  Even the highest peaks of the Rockies, Andes, or Alps don’t make the top 100 highest, and Mt. Hermon comes nowhere near them.  Yet in our Scripture for today, from the Book of Isaiah, we see where the mountains in Jerusalem are said to be the most exalted.  Let’s look into these verses and see why this is so.

In the nation of Israel, the capital city of Jerusalem does sit on one of the higher elevations in the country, yet that is all relative.  Jerusalem’s average elevation is only about 2,490 feet.  The city has several mountains very nearby, yet many people would only call them hills.  Right to the east is the Mount of Olives, with a height of 2,684 ft., and right northeast is Mt. Scopus, with a height of 2,710 ft.  Neither are impressive in height.  Most able-bodied people could easily climb them.  So why did Isaiah say that these mountains, these hills will be exalted above all?

God, in His Word here, is not speaking of the height or majestic grandeur of these mountains or hills that surround Jerusalem.  He is speaking of the holiness and sacredness of His city, particularly in His coming Millennial Kingdom, where Jerusalem will be the capital.   When Jesus returns to earth at His Second Coming, defeating His enemies and Satan, He will set up Jerusalem as His capital, and as Isaiah prophesies, all people and nations will come there (vs. 2-3).  They will come to learn from Him and His Word.  They will be taught God’s ways.  Right now the world does not want to come to God and learn from His Word.  They reject Jesus.  But there is coming a day when Jesus sets up His Kingdom, and at that time men and women will seek to be taught from Him.

As we read through this Scripture we come upon a rather familiar verse which speaks of people turning their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks (vs. 4).  This speaks of turning weapons of warfare into useful tools, such as farming equipment.  This prophecy will not happen until the Millennial reign of Jesus, either.  Many people speak these verses with a desire for peace between nations, which naturally everyone would wish.  However, no matter how ardently peace movements work for that, we don’t see this happening at all today.  The world cannot and will not find peace without Jesus, and until the world accepts Him as their Savior, Lord, and King, nations will continue to lift up swords against each other.  Until all nations worship Jesus, there will be no lasting peace anywhere.

We find the verses of this Scripture repeated by the prophet Micah (Micah 4:1-3).  These two prophets weren’t just copying each other's words.  When God repeats a message, the repetition shows how important it is to Him, and should be to us, as well.

The prophet Isaiah calls us to come and walk in the light of the Lord (vs. 5).  God doesn’t expect us to find our own way in life, or to find our own way to Him, so He lights our path by His Word.  We don’t need to grope in the dark.  Let us walk confidently with the truth of God’s Word to guide us.  As we walk confidently, being led by Him, the way will open up before us.

As we close our Scripture, let us return to the hills surrounding Jerusalem, hills that God has highly exalted.  Jesus said that when He would be lifted up, He would draw all men to Himself (John 12:31-33).  When Jesus was crucified, it was on one of the hills just outside of the Holy City, called Calvary or Golgotha.  His death on that hill, smaller in size than most of the other hills surrounding Jerusalem, has brought salvation to man, reconciling us to God.  Because of that, alone, we can join in saying that these hills are indeed, exalted above the rest.

Christ The King

Luke 19:29-40

This past week was the final week before the season of Advent begins, and this past Sunday was the Feast of Christ the King, which several denominations recognize and honor.  In keeping with that day of recognition, the Gospel reading from the Lectionary for this past Sunday highlights an event in the life of Jesus, where for a brief moment He was recognized as King.  Let’s take a quick look.

Jesus had been slowly making His way towards Jerusalem, where He knew He would be betrayed, arrested, and then crucified.  It was now just a few days before one of the most important and sacred of Jewish holidays, the Passover, and many people were gathering in the city to celebrate.  Jesus planned a special entry into the capital city, and He instructed His disciples what to do (vs. 29-34).

The disciples were instructed to go into a village nearby, where they would find a donkey, which they were to untie and bring to Him.  They did so, and when the owners asked what they were doing, they told them that Jesus needed them (vs. 33-34).  The owners immediately consented and allowed the disciples to take them.  What a privilege it was for them to supply the animals used by the Lord at this time!  (Matthew’s Gospel records that there was a female donkey and a young colt, Matthew 21:1-3).  Is there some belonging of yours that the Lord might wish to use for His ministry?  Perhaps your car to bring people to church.  Maybe use of your home for a group Bible study.  Or maybe your time to help in any number of activities.  When told that it was Jesus who needed the use of their donkey, these folks immediately said yes.

The donkey was chosen by God, and his role was announced many years in advance, as prophesied by Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9).  She had a good work to do for her Creator, and so do we in God’s plans (Ephesians 2:10).  The donkey didn’t put up a fuss when Jesus decided to use her, and neither should we when He wishes to use us for His purposes.  The donkey also had to be untied in order to be used.  She had to be figuratively set free.  We need to be set free from the bondages of our sins to be used by God, as well (John 8:32).

As just mentioned in the previous paragraph, centuries earlier the prophet Zechariah prophesied that the Messiah would come to Jerusalem as a humble king, riding on a young donkey.  Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, and is the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity.  He is God and Creator of all, and is certainly King.  Briefly, at this moment, the people were acknowledging Him as such, as He rode into Jerusalem.  The crowds that gathered were basically saying “Long live the King”.  This was just prior to the Passover, and large crowds were in Jerusalem then.  The crowds could see Jesus, and here He had a way to proclaim His mission that was unmistakable.  The people were wildly cheering, expecting that Jesus would proclaim Himself king, and liberate them from Roman rule.  However they were deaf to the words of the prophets, and blind to Jesus’ true mission.  This first time Jesus came to earth, He came to die for us, redeeming mankind from their sins.  The second time Jesus comes, it will be as the conquering king.

The people were shouting out praises, including shouts of peace (vs. 38).  Jesus was to suffer and die in a few days, and by His death He would bring peace between God and mankind, between heaven and earth.  Jesus completely defeated Satan, making it possible for all things to be reconciled in heaven and earth.

In the middle of all of the rejoicing, the Pharisees tried to stop the celebration (vs. 39).  They did not like Jesus, and rejected His message.  They tried to stop the people from calling out Hosanna and praising Him.  Jesus told them that if the people were quiet, the stones would cry out (vs. 40).  Natural stones would cry out, but not stony hearts, like the Pharisees had.  They would not join the praise.  All that the Pharisees' stony hearts would do is try to stop the praise.  Do we have a stony heart, unwilling to praise God?  Their stony hearts would quickly grow so hard that they would end up crucifying their Savior and God in just a few days.  We need to make sure our hearts never become that hard to God.  Instead, let’s sing our praises to Jesus as the crowds did that day, and willing give ourselves to His use, as that gentle donkey did.

Jesus, The Creator

Colossians 1:11-20

Heresies and false doctrines have always been a problem that the Church has had to deal with.  We see that today, especially with people being so hesitant to judge others, and feeling that everyone has the right to believe what they want.  The spreading of heresy and wrong beliefs started even in the early Church, during the Apostle Paul’s day.  Paul sought to correct the spread of false doctrines, and to teach the truth of God.  Let’s look at the truth of God's Word today that counteracts one prevalent heresy.

In our Scripture passage today from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we are presented with the doctrine that the Lord Jesus Christ is divine, and has always been pre-existent.  Jesus was not a created being, like every other person.  He is divine and the Second Person of the Trinity. There are some denominations today, actually cults, which teach that Jesus was a created being, and is not the Creator Himself.  This is not something new, as these teachings began to spread during the early days of the Apostles.  As we look at God’s Word, we see that this is a heresy that Paul sought to correct.

Looking into our Scripture, we are taught that Jesus is the Creator, not a created being (vs. 15-19).  He was present at creation, and is divine.  He existed before any of creation, before the universe came into existence.  He is greater than all that He made.  Jesus is supreme over all, including all ranks of angels.

Jesus is not only equal to God, He is God.  He is the visible image of the invisible God, the exact representation of God (vs. 15).  The fact that Jesus was “born” into this world at a certain time and place is part of His choice to become a man and die for our sins.  That was part of redemption’s plan, which Jesus freely decided before the dawn of time.  That does not negate His infinite role in the Trinity.

As the first-born over all creation, Jesus has all the priority and authority of the first-born prince in a king’s household.  Jesus came from heaven, not from the dust of the earth, as every other created person is.  He is Lord of all.  Jesus is supreme over all creation, including the spirit world (vs. 16).  There are some people today, as there were back in the days of the early church, who are over-enamored with angels and angelic beings, making them out to be divine beings.  Angels are not divine.  They are created beings, and Jesus neither was, nor is an angel.  He created them to be His ministering servants (Psalm 104:4; Hebrews 1:13-14).

We might wonder, then, why Jesus, who is God Himself, chose to become man, come to earth, and die for mankind?  It was because of His great love for us that He did (John 3:16).  Here in the U.S. we are celebrating Thanksgiving, and even if we feel that we have very little to be thankful for in this world today (and really, there is so much to be thankful for!), we can and should be thankful for God’s redeeming love for us!  All those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior have been delivered, rescued from the dominion of darkness, Satan’s rule, and transferred to the Kingdom of Christ (vs. 13).  Jesus defeated Satan through His death on the cross.  All who believe in Him are rescued and brought out of Satan’s kingdom of darkness, and into Jesus’ Kingdom of light.  We do not need to fear the dominions of darkness anymore.

Before we were saved, we were alienated from God, rebellious, sinful enemies, separated from His presence.  Our relationship with God has been restored through Jesus’ Blood on the cross (vs. 20).  His Blood should remind us of the enormous price and sacrifice paid to secure our salvation.  For this we need to walk in gratitude (vs. 12).  When we realize what Jesus has done for us, in addition to all the many good gifts He has given us, we can and should live with thankfulness, contentment, and joy, with a grateful heart.

Who Is A Fool?

Psalm 53

Nobody likes to be called a fool.  Perhaps an overbearing parent called you a fool because of a poor test score at school.  Maybe a neighborhood bully called you that, or an unkind boss.  Perhaps even an unloving spouse has called you a fool on a number of occasions.  The dictionary defines a fool as a person who is lacking in judgment or prudence.  It also gives another definition as a harmlessly deranged person or one lacking in common powers of understanding.  God has His definition of a fool, as we shall see when we look into today’s psalm.

Psalm 53 is one of the several psalms that King David wrote.  It is also almost identical to Psalm 14.  Paul also repeats parts of verse 1 and verse 3 in his letter to the Romans (Romans 3:10-12).  Every word in the Bible, God’s Word, is important.  However, when God repeats Himself, when He says something twice or more often, we do well to pay attention!

God’s definition of a fool is that of a person who does not believe in Him.  He calls people who say there is no God the real fools (vs. 1).  In His eyes, being a fool has nothing to do with someone’s intellectual ability.  He doesn’t call us fools because we do poorly on an exam, or we mess up with that home repair we tried to tackle.  He doesn’t even call us a fool for getting that speeding ticket.  God’s Word calls fools those who deny Him, the atheists and agnostics.  These fools don’t necessarily lack intellect, as many atheists and agnostics are highly educated.  Fools are people who reject God, the only One who can save them.

As David continues in this psalm we read that he is specifically referring to Yahweh, not just any gods.  In the days of the Bible, and up until just a couple hundred years ago, most people did believe in some type of divine being.  Today we see plenty of people who deny the existence of Yahweh or any type of divine being, and millions more who go after all sorts of pagan and false gods.  The Bible calls those who specifically deny Yahweh, and His only begotten Son the Lord Jesus Christ, as the real fools.

God proceeds to tell us that all mankind is under condemnation as sinners.  This indictment is universally applicable (vs. 1-3).  There is none who does good.  God continually observes all mankind, and sees that everyone has turned away from Him and His Word.  The Apostle Paul repeats this indictment, that everyone, all mankind are sinners in Romans 3:9-20.  Even the very best people we can think of throughout history, are actually sinners in God’s sight.  We are unclean, and all of the so-called good works we have done are nothing but like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

There are many who believe that science has now replaced man’s need for any type of deity, and thus, in their pseudo-intellectual mind they say we have no need for Him.  There are others who may say there is no God in order to cover their sin.  In their mind if there is no God, there will be no judgment, and this way they have the excuse to continue in their sin.  Though we all are sinners, including believers, with the denial of God’s existence often comes even more moral decay.  We see that so clearly today, as the morality of society steadily grows worse and worse.

No one but God is perfect.  All of us stand guilty before Him (Romans 3:23).  No matter how well we perform, none of us can boast when compared to God’s standard.  Because we all fall short, we must turn to Jesus to save us.  He, alone, is sinless, and His death on the cross obtained our salvation, if we will only call upon Him (Romans 10:9-10).

God is observing those who are seeking Him, so that He can bless us with His presence (II Chronicles 16:9).  He makes a clear distinction between those who worship Him, and those who refuse.  If we want to be restored, to be joyful and truly wise, we must seek the Lord in every situation (vs. 6).  When we do, we will realize that Jesus is the only One who can save us.