May 21 / Luke 21:5-33

Luke 21:5-33

It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will provide you eloquence and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to oppose or refute. (vv. 13-15) The previous verse refers to Jesus’ disciples being brought before kings and governors (see Acts 25 and 26), but for us today it can refer to any opportunity that we find for sharing our faith. About this evangelism topic… Evangelism doesn’t mean that we have to find and share with a nonbeliever. It means sharing our faith, wherever. David taught me/us to pray often for whomever in whatever circumstances I/we find ourselves. So yesterday I had a medical appointment with my P.A., a female going on maternity leave at the end of her shift. I asked her if I could pray for her and she was delighted, almost emotional when I had finished praying. I don’t know her full faith direction, but I know that she is a believer. And my prayer to this believer was a comfort and an encouragement. We can do this, folks! We can share our faith – with whomever, whenever, wherever! It’s like learning a foreign language. Early on you find that you can understand what someone is saying or that you can read what you see written. But you only begin to feel confident in that foreign language when you are more fluent in speech. And that only comes when you start speaking the language – the hardest part for most people, speaking. It’s the same with sharing your faith. You’ll get better once you get started. As the Nike commercial says, “Just do it!”

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May 20 / Mark 13:1-31

Mark 13:1-31

My Study Bible noted some very direct warnings by Jesus to His disciples: See to it…; But be on your guard…; But take heed…; Watch out, stay alert…; Therefore, stay alert…; …be on the alert!” (NASB, vv. 5, 9, 23, 33, 35, 37, all respectively) The ESV has “Stay awake…” instead of “Stay alert” for these last three warnings. So how do we (or how should we) stay awake or stay alert in our present-day circumstances? What to be on guard for or against…??

…the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. (vv. 24b-25) I’ve often wondered if there is life on other planets, and I have come to the conclusion that there is not. If there were, God would have to have created them differently than us, without a fallen nature, or God would have to make plans for their redemption as well, as in Jesus dying again to save these other peoples…??!! And these stars that are falling – what happens to those “beings” living in those other solar systems? All this is well beyond my comprehension or imagination! It’s not my issue. I just need to be on guard, stay awake, and stay alert in my world around me!

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May 19 / Matt. 24:15-35

Matthew 24:15-35

Today’s reading is divided into two parts. For each part we can see Jesus answering the questions the disciples asked in verse 3 from yesterday. For verses 15-28 Jesus is answering the question, “…when will these things be?”, where “these things” are likely referring to Jesus’ comment in verse one about the Temple, “…there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” So it could be that Jesus is foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. In the second part of today’s reading Jesus is responding to that second question that the disciples posed in verse 3: …and what will be the sign of your coming…?

Every Sunday we speak the following words: “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” We remember and acknowledge Jesus’ words to His disciples that He will return. There are thousands of people in every generation who point to the end times and Jesus’ return being nearby, but it hasn’t happened yet and it’s been almost 2000 years. One might begin to wonder whether we are all caught up in some fantasy as some nonbelievers would suggest. But …we know Him in Whom we have believed! (II Timothy 1:12, slightly edited) We know of Jesus’ life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His disciples and their writings and their followers, and His Holy Spirit alive and at work in our lives today. There is simply no basis for unbelief in our lives. If Jesus said these things 2000 years ago and three of His followers recorded His words, if we believe all these other truths, then we believe that He will return. When? We don’t know; we wait. End of story…!

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May 18 / Matt. 24:1-14

I expressed frustration yesterday about the inequality of vaccination distributions worldwide. Then a number of news agencies reported yesterday that President Biden is committing another 20 million doses above the 60 million that had already been committed – that the USA would become an “arsenal of vaccines” for the world. So that’s good, but still far short of need.

But today’s Scripture reading… Portions of today’s reading seem to point to the “end of the age” question that the disciples ask at the end of verse 3, especially the last two verses. But other portions seem to reflect ongoing issues in the world from Jesus’ time until now: For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. (v. 7) Finally, other portions of today’s reading seem to target Jesus’ disciples and their followers, especially toward the last half of the first century: Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. (v. 9) Naturally this last verse is also alive and active in today’s world, as we hear during our prayers each Sunday for the persecuted church.

With it all, as I read through these “end times” pronouncements by Jesus I am secure in the confidence that I have that “He will not leave us or forsake us”. Although this section in quotation marks is not a direct quote, here are five sources that say essentially the same thing: Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:5, Hebrews 13:5-6, Deuteronomy 31:8, 1 Chronicles 28:20. “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

See also: September 27 (2019) / Matt. 24:1-14

May 17 / Mark 12:38-44, Luke 20:45-21:4

Mark 12:38-44 and Luke 20:45-21:4

It keeps coming back to me – am I doing enough? Are we doing enough? The latest is COVID vaccinations. We are moving quite well in the USA to getting everyone 16 and over vaccinated who wants the vaccine and now we’re moving on to the 12-15 year old group. And that’s good news, but the poor countries in this world have barely begun vaccinations. Click down to the table on the following website to see the ranking of percent vaccinated by all countries: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/mapping-spread-new-coronavirus/?itid=hp_pandemic%20test. Our dear friends in Uganda – 1% of their population vaccinated. I often fear for the moral state of our country. But the financial inequities, both within and outside our country are truly staggering. What would Jesus do…??

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May 16 / Matt. 23:25-39

Matthew 23:25-39

Hidden in plain sight… So many times I have read Jesus’ chastisements, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites…, and His continuing comments on their behaviors, but for some reason I always imagined that He was speaking to the crowd. But not true! He was speaking directly to the scribes and Pharisees! In fact Jesus speaks the word “you” 35 times in these 24 “woe” verses (13-36). On other occasions Jesus is speaking to the crowds or to His followers about the scribes and Pharisees and their hypocrisy (e.g., Matthew 6:5, Luke 12:2), but here He is speaking directly to them. Yes, their anger against Him must certainly be growing!!

I mentioned in my second comment below a chronological issue concerning Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem. But even then I hadn’t realized that He very likely had spoken these words earlier. Luke has Him speaking these words during His Galilean journey toward Jerusalem (Luke 13:34-35). Luke also has Him weeping over Jerusalem as He approached the city during His Palm Sunday procession (Luke 19:41).

I continue to be challenged by Jesus’ call to humility and His chastisement of hypocrisy.

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May 15 / Matt. 23:1-24

Matthew 23:1-24

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! (vv. 13, 14, 15, 23) So many times I have likened myself to the Pharisees, especially in the area where they were distrusting this would-be Messiah as a faker or a scam artist. So if I often identify with the Pharisees, I need to read these passages carefully where Jesus challenges their hypocrisy and ask myself if I am being hypocritical in my words vs. my actions? Message to myself, just that…

And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. (v. 9) This verse has been in Scriptural texts for two thousand years – how did we come to the point where we refer to priests as “Father”??!!

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (v. 23) I often wonder if we as a church are doing enough for “justice and mercy and faithfulness”. From our $421,147 church budget we allocated only $16,634 (3.9%) in 2021 for our Mission Committee. And a very large chunk of that Mission Committee budget goes to missionaries that we support, of which much of that (I would think) covers living expenses and evangelistic activities. I am not criticizing the Mission Committee or the missionaries, but I wonder how much of what we give actually feeds down to the poor and needy. And while we do what we can for needy Hispanic families through our Avanza ministry, the conditions in which these families live is sad compared to our own lifestyles. And it’s not just an issue for our church – it’s also an issue for us as individuals and us as a nation. I don’t have answers, but wouldn’t it be great if we could tithe our church budget or our own incomes for pure need-based activities? Where to go from here…??

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May 14 / Luke 20:27-44

Luke 20:27-44

But He said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son? (v. 41) It’s intriguing to me that Jesus raises this question after He has been questioned by both the Pharisees (paying taxes to Caesar) and the Sadducees (the resurrection). After these two questions (and many, many previous questions and challenges) we have the line that …they no longer dared to ask him any question. (v. 40) Jesus has answered well, leaving the Jewish leaders with nothing more to challenge Him. So to top it off, He asks them a question which they cannot answer! A bit of “salt in the wound” from Jesus to these Jewish leaders – it likely increased their anger to Him all the more.

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May 13 / Mark 12:18-37

Mark 12:18-37

I would suggest that it’s worth reading my comment in the second link below from 2019 on the scribe’s question about the most important commandment. I find that discussion between Jesus and the scribe to be really heartwarming – a genuine question from the scribe and a perfect reply from Jesus, then further discussion between them. It makes me want to meet that scribe!

And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. (v. 34b) I looked ahead in The Chronological Study Bible and as far as I could tell this statement is true, that there are no more incidents where the Pharisees or Sadducees were asking Jesus questions in which they were trying to challenge Him.

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (v. 30) I don’t know if I’ve said it to all of you before, but this quote from Jesus is my “conversion verse”. On May 17, 1975 late in the evening I was once again sitting with my friend, Jim and he was sharing with me again as he had for the previous 3.5 years. But somehow through all that he said this verse came to me and I was convicted that I was a sinner and that I needed God’s forgiveness. I knew that I was not even close on obeying that “greatest commandment”. I think of this almost every Sunday when we read this commandment at the beginning of our service following the “Prayer for Purity” when the deacon reads the “Summary of the Law”. Sweet…!

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May 12 / Matt. 22:23-46

Matthew 22:23-46

In the second link below I tried to clarify Matthew’s verse 44 which reads The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies under Your feet”. (Caps for further clarification…) Substituting differently than below, another way to read this verse could be God the Father said to Jesus <i.e., David’s Lord, the Messiah>, “Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies under Your feet”. How does that substitution work for the rest of you? Is it still faithful to the Scriptural meaning?

Now there were seven brothers among us. (v. 25) Matthew, different from Mark and Luke adds these last two words, “among us”. I doubt that the Sadducees knew of one real-life case of seven brothers having the one wife. It’s one thing to ask Jesus a question, to test Him. But it’s another to employ a falsehood to initiate the test. Jesus could easily have responded, “Really? Six dead brothers and then a seventh…?? Amazing!” (Yes, it’s a very small point, but it’s something that I noticed this morning.)

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