The End

Readings for today: Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, Luke 21:5-38

Today Jesus gives us a reality check. In this world, we will suffer. There will be trials. There will be tribulation. Our culture will reject God. Nations will defy God. Kings and rulers and authorities. Presidents and Congressional representatives and Supreme Court Justices will go their own way and do what is right in their own eyes. There will be wars. Violence. Natural disasters on a devastating scale. Drought. Famine. Disease will afflict so many. People will love injustice. People will love ungodliness. People will chase unrighteousness. They will call good “evil” and evil “good.” And these are just the beginning of the birth pangs of the new age.

In this confusing time, many will claim to speak for Jesus. They will claim to speak for God. They will push their own agendas. They will offer up their own ideas in place of God. They will promote selfishness and pride and narcissism. They will promote unrighteousness and lawlessness and unfettered freedom. They will be grifters who use the gospel to turn a profit. But they will sound so good that many will be led astray.

There will be abominations of desolation. Incredible acts of self-worship and idolatry that would make the ancient Canaanites blush. Worship will grow cold. Honoring God will become rare as people choose to do what feels good or what seems right in their own eyes. It will be like the days leading up to Noah. The days when the Judges reigned in Israel. Hatred. Rage. Violence. Pain. Suffering. All will become the norm as the world rebels against the authority of God.

Any of this sound familiar? Any of this feel familiar? What’s a Christian to do in the midst of it all? Endure to the end. Persevere in their faith. Cling to Jesus. The world will hate us. The world will seek to destroy us. The world will persecute us. Throw us into prison. Torture us and even kill us. They will restrict our rights. They will label preaching the gospel “hate speech.” They will make faithfulness to the law of God a hate crime. They will drag us into courts. They will put us on trial. They will do all they can to force us to abandon our faith. I’ve seen it happen in some of the places I’ve been around the world and I’m seeing signs of it starting to happen here at home. It shouldn’t surprise me. Jesus promises things will get so bad that if they weren’t cut short – if God somehow delayed His return – no one would be saved.

But make no mistake…God will return! Things will get so bad even nature itself will feel the effect. The sun will darken. The moon refuse to shine. It will seem like the stars have fallen out of the sky. And just when it seems like we cannot go on, Jesus will appear. He will come on the clouds with great glory and power! A trumpet will sound and the angels will gather His family from the four corners of the earth. We do not know exactly when this day will come but we know it draws ever closer. Seemingly with every single breaking news story! Climate change. Political corruption. Violence and hatred. Economic upheaval globally. The world seemingly stands on the brink.

So again, what’s a Christian to do? Stay wise. Be prepared. Make sure we stay about the work God has assigned to us. Caring for the least among us. The hungry and thirsty. The naked and ashamed. The sick and imprisoned. As we care for them, we care for Jesus. Seek the lost. Fulfill the Great Commission. Take the gospel to every tribe, tongue, and nation in the world. This is the work the Master has assigned to us and when He comes again, may He find us faithful!

Readings for tomorrow: Matthew 26:1-5, 14-35, Mark 14:1-2, 10-31, Luke 22:1-38, John 13

Who is Jesus?

Readings for today: John 7-9

It’s a question that has perplexed humanity for centuries. Who was or is Jesus? Is he the Messiah as so many Christians believe? Is he a good ethical teacher in line with many other rabbi’s of his day? Is he crazy because of his claims to divinity? Is he evil because of how he deliberately calls his followers to die for him?

It was C.S. Lewis, himself a former atheist, who first crafted the “Lord, Liar, Lunatic” argument in his book, Mere Christianity. Lewis argues Jesus’ own words preclude him from being accepted as a good ethical teacher. No ethical teacher could ever be called “good” and make the claims Jesus does. So either that means we have to take what he says at face value and accept him as Lord or we accept that he believes himself to be Lord which makes him a lunatic or we have to accept he knows he’s lying about himself which makes him evil. Jesus simply doesn’t leave us any other options.

We see a similar debate raging in our reading today. The people of the 1st century in Galilee, Jerusalem, heck, even Jesus’ own family aren’t quite sure what to make of him. Is he the promised Messiah? Is he a miracle-worker? Is he a brilliant, if eccentric, rabbi? Is he a prophet? Is he a charlatan? Everyone wanted to know and everyone had their opinion. His family made it clear they didn’t believe in him. The Pharisees made it clear they opposed him. The crowds were all over the map when it came to him. Who is this man?

Jesus makes it very clear who he is. “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says.” (John‬ ‭7‬:‭37‬-‭38‬ ‭MSG‬‬) “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.” (John‬ ‭8‬:‭12‬ ‭MSG‬‬) “Believe me,” said Jesus, “I am who I am long before Abraham was anything.” (John‬ ‭8‬:‭58‬ ‭MSG‬‬) Jesus is making clear claims to divinity in these passages which is why the people pick up stones to throw at him. He is making himself known as the Messiah and calling his people to place their faith and trust in him. He leaves no doubt about who he is and what he’s come to do and who has sent him. He answers every one of their questions fully and completely and clearly. But still many struggle to believe. They question his background and upbringing. They question his authority. They question his logic and rationale. They question the source of his power. They find so many reasons not to believe rather than simply accept what Jesus says about himself.

I find the same dynamic is true for many people today. No matter how many times you show them the evidence or point them to Jesus’ own words or offer up the testimonies of the literally billions of Christians around the world and throughout history; they still refuse to believe. They still try to find reasons not to believe. What about you? Who do you say Jesus is?

Readings for tomorrow: Luke 10, John 10, 11:1-54