Morning, Zane (…even though I didn’t get this sent off in the morning),
Hope you’re doing well. What’s your job status now?
I think I’m going to overload you today…and send over not just one devotional, but two—one from the New Testament reading plan, and one from the Old Testament. Both contain topics that I think are highly relevant to our achieving success in life, as well as helping us understand where we are on the timeline of human history. Without a doubt, things are heating up and falling into place so as to usher in THE END.
Be blessed. But you have to choose to agree to the conditions required for being blessed—otherwise you won’t be. That’s simple Biblical math.
Love and prayers—Tua/Ray.
The lead question presented by the disciples in verse 4 was, “Tell us, WHEN will these things happen?” Why would Jesus respond the way He did by saying, “Watch out that no one deceives you”? The reasonable reason as I see it is something like this: IF YOU ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE DECEIVED then WHEN THESE THINGS WILL HAPPEN DOESN’T REALLY MATTER. It’s not till verse 32 that Jesus begins to address the question of WHEN. And even there, the answer is not specific. Besides stating that He can’t tell exactly WHEN, He also implies that WHEN doesn’t really matter—that to be high-centered on the WHEN is to be preoccupied with the unimportant.
So what is important? Listen up! If you have ever been given good, practical, and all-encompassing advice on how to successfully live your life in a way that is pleasing to God, and free from failure, I think you have it here in this chapter. This advice comes in the form of WARNINGS. And they come from Someone who KNOWS—not just someone with an opinion or an agenda. Let’s quickly review those warnings at face value: “Watch out that no one deceives you” (v. 5). “Be on your guard” (v. 9). “Do not worry” (v. 11). “Do not believe it” (v. 21). “Be on your guard” (v. 23). “Be on your guard” (v. 33). “Be alert” (v. 33). “Keep watch” (v. 35). “What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!” (v. 37). (Quick question: How many people is “everyone?”)
Whew! Do we get the picture? Are we paying attention? Are we truly aware of what we are engaged in? Do we really see the battle lines drawn? Do we comprehend the prize of victory and the consequence of defeat?
Let’s give attention to one more important statement of warning given at the end of this discourse: “If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you…”…“Yawn…zzzzzzzzzz”… “sleeping” (v. 36).
Sin has consequences—bad ones. That’s just the way it is. People can rebel, fight, scream, argue, legalize it, and get angry at their circumstances and blame God all they want—but they can never alter that fact—any more than they can get angry at the law of gravity and successfully alter it. The New Testament calls it “the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). Awareness of this FACT was not exclusive to the New Testament era—its basic form had to be available to the knowledge of these ancient kings of Israel and Judah as well. The instructions contained in their scriptures were explicit. And they had their own history to draw from. Surely they could discern the blessed benefits of those gone before them who chose a lifestyle of living to please God. Surely they could see the historical effects of sin and rebellion. Surely they would know that no one on their deathbed had ever repented of a HEART AFTER GOD. How could they plead ignorant?—and accidentally adopt a lifestyle of doing “evil in the eyes of the LORD” when they know different?
Untold suffering is the lot of Judah as described in the last two chapters of 2 Kings. Babylon is the tool that God uses this time around to chastise His persistently sinful people. Jerusalem and the temple are demolished. The ornate splendor and craftsmanship that were signs of their prosperity and blessing are stripped away. Nearly the entire population of survivors are hauled off into captivity to Babylon.
I’m recalling that song, “By the Rivers of Babylon,” that has become a kind of hit tune in our day. As I consider its lyrics, I’m inclined toward a different view than most. Here are a few lines:
Hey, all you Jewish guys, wailing and carrying on beside the rivers of Babylon, don’t you get it?!?! Don’t you think your present status could be a predictable consequence? You want to call your captors “wicked,” but who really are the wicked ones here? Don’t you understand you weren’t singing “the LORD’S song” in your homeland either?—not at heart level anyway. If you had, how likely is it that you would be where you are right now?
Well—let’s not be too tough on them. After all, we’re all made of the same crazy stuff. And history confirms this fact: Sinners who keep sinning continue to reproduce sinners who keep sinning—UNLESS—unless they shift their heart attention to their Maker Who alone is able to turn on their lights and allow them to see and embrace the provided antidote—which boils down to choosing Christ as both Savior and Lord.
Let’s review here how the Apostle Paul is inspired to present the solution: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-4).