Matthew 24:1-28, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 
Max Lucado Daily: Wait Expectantly - September 21, 2021

Wait on the Spirit. If Peter and the apostles needed his help, don’t we? They walked with Jesus for three years, heard his preaching, and saw his miracles. They saw the body of Christ buried in the grave and raised from the dead. They witnessed his upper room appearance and heard his instruction. Had they not received the best possible training? Weren’t they ready? Yet Jesus told them to wait on the Spirit. “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised…the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5).

Learn to wait, to be silent, to listen for his voice. Cherish stillness; sensitize yourself to his touch. And just think—you don’t need a thing. You’ve got it all. All God’s gifts right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene.

Matthew 24:1-28

Routine History

Jesus then left the Temple. As he walked away, his disciples pointed out how very impressive the Temple architecture was. Jesus said, “You’re not impressed by all this sheer size, are you? The truth of the matter is that there’s not a stone in that building that is not going to end up in a pile of rubble.”

3 Later as he was sitting on Mount Olives, his disciples approached and asked him, “Tell us, when are these things going to happen? What will be the sign of your coming, that the time’s up?”

4-8 Jesus said, “Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, ‘I am Christ, the Messiah.’ They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming.

9-10 “They are going to throw you to the wolves and kill you, everyone hating you because you carry my name. And then, going from bad to worse, it will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other’s throat, everyone hating each other.

11-12 “In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people. For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in—nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes.

13-14 “Staying with it—that’s what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come.
The Monster of Desecration

15-20 “But be ready to run for it when you see the monster of desecration set up in the Temple sanctuary. The prophet Daniel described this. If you’ve read Daniel, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you’re living in Judea at the time, run for the hills; if you’re working in the yard, don’t return to the house to get anything; if you’re out in the field, don’t go back and get your coat. Pregnant and nursing mothers will have it especially hard. Hope and pray this won’t happen during the winter or on a Sabbath.

21-22 “This is going to be trouble on a scale beyond what the world has ever seen, or will see again. If these days of trouble were left to run their course, nobody would make it. But on account of God’s chosen people, the trouble will be cut short.
The Arrival of the Son of Man

23-25 “If anyone tries to flag you down, calling out, ‘Here’s the Messiah!’ or points, ‘There he is!’ don’t fall for it. Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and bewitching performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. But I’ve given you fair warning.

26-28 “So if they say, ‘Run to the country and see him arrive!’ or, ‘Quick, get downtown, see him come!’ don’t give them the time of day. The Arrival of the Son of Man isn’t something you go to see. He comes like swift lightning to you! Whenever you see crowds gathering, think of carrion vultures circling, moving in, hovering over a rotting carcass. You can be quite sure that it’s not the living Son of Man pulling in those crowds.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
Today's Scripture Exodus 23:1–9 (NIV)

Laws of Justice and Mercy

23 “Do not spread false reports.p Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.q

2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justicer by siding with the crowd,s 3 and do not show favoritismt to a poor person in a lawsuit.

4 “If you come across your enemy’su ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.v 5 If you see the donkeyw of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.

6 “Do not deny justicex to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false chargey and do not put an innocentz or honest person to death,a for I will not acquit the guilty.b

8 “Do not accept a bribe,c for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.

9 “Do not oppress a foreigner;d you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.

Insight

God gave the Ten Commandments so His people could know how to love Him faithfully and wholeheartedly (Exodus 20:1–11; Matthew 22:38) and love their neighbor as they’d love themselves (Exodus 20:12–17; Matthew 22:39). Moses then laid down various stipulations that if followed would enable the Israelites to love their neighbors (Exodus 21:1–23:9). Because “the Lord is righteous, [and] he loves justice” (Psalm 11:7), Moses commanded them to “follow justice and justice alone” (Deuteronomy 16:20). “To act justly and to love mercy” is mandated of God’s people (Micah 6:8). Love for neighbors means justice for everyone. Today’s passage, Exodus 23:1–9, is an application of the ninth commandment, which ensured evenhanded, impartial justice for all: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (20:16). False accusation, malicious testimony, slander, and withholding justice because of external pressure, favoritism, or bribery all contribute to the perversion of true justice and repudiation of neighborly love. By: K. T. Sim

Truth, Lies, and Vigilantes
Do not spread false reports.Exodus 23:1

During the 2018 baseball season, a Chicago Cubs coach wanted to give a baseball to a young boy sitting by the dugout. But when the coach tossed the ball toward him, a man scooped it up instead. Video of the event went viral. News outlets and social media skewered this “brute” of a man. Except viewers didn’t know the whole story. Earlier, the man had helped the young boy snag a foul ball, and they agreed to share any additional balls that came their way. Unfortunately, it took twenty-four hours before the true story emerged. The mob had already done its damage, demonizing an innocent man.

Too often, we think we have all the facts when we only have fragments. In our modern gotcha culture, with snippets of dramatic video and inflamed tweets, it’s easy to condemn people without hearing the full story. However, Scripture warns us not to “spread false reports” (Exodus 23:1). We must do everything possible to confirm the truth before leveling accusations, making sure not to participate in lies. We should be cautious whenever a vigilante spirit takes hold, whenever passions ignite and waves of judgment swell. We want to safeguard ourselves from “follow[ing] the crowd in doing wrong” (v. 2).

 As believers in Jesus, may God help us not to spread falsehoods. May He provide what we need to exhibit wisdom and to make certain our words are actually true. By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

Take a moment to recollect a time when someone was falsely accused. What was the damage, and how was the wrong made right?

God, with things moving so fast these days, it’s often hard to know what’s real. Help me to listen, pay attention, and speak only the truth.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
The Missionary’s Predestined Purpose

Now the Lord says, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant… —Isaiah 49:5

The first thing that happens after we recognize our election by God in Christ Jesus is the destruction of our preconceived ideas, our narrow-minded thinking, and all of our other allegiances— we are turned solely into servants of God’s own purpose. The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree. And when we are born again we are brought into the realization of God’s great purpose for the human race, namely, that He created us for Himself. This realization of our election by God is the most joyful on earth, and we must learn to rely on this tremendous creative purpose of God. The first thing God will do is force the interests of the whole world through the channel of our hearts. The love of God, and even His very nature, is introduced into us. And we see the nature of Almighty God purely focused in John 3:16— “For God so loved the world….”

We must continually keep our soul open to the fact of God’s creative purpose, and never confuse or cloud it with our own intentions. If we do, God will have to force our intentions aside no matter how much it may hurt. A missionary is created for the purpose of being God’s servant, one in whom God is glorified. Once we realize that it is through the salvation of Jesus Christ that we are made perfectly fit for the purpose of God, we will understand why Jesus Christ is so strict and relentless in His demands. He demands absolute righteousness from His servants, because He has put into them the very nature of God.

Beware lest you forget God’s purpose for your life.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Seeing is never believing: we interpret what we see in the light of what we believe. Faith is confidence in God before you see God emerging; therefore the nature of faith is that it must be tried.  He Shall Glorify Me, 494 R

Bible in a Year: Ecclesiastes 7-9; 2 Corinthians 13

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
Milestones and Manure - #9052

Okay, as a city boy, I have a lot to learn about the country. I remember the time when I was a teenager and our youth group played this hide-and-seek game on a farm. This one other kid and I crawled under this piece of machinery, where we had to stay for about a half an hour. I didn't know what it was. After we were stuck there, my nose and I wanted to know what we were hiding under. My friend said, "Oh, this is a manure spreader." Hmmm. Well, in recent times, I've helped out a friend who has some horses, and part of taking care of equine pets is what they call "mucking out" their stables. Now if you've been a farmer your whole life, please don't laugh at me. Be kind. But I was dealing with manure more in those months more than I had in all my life up until then. And, frankly, I wasn't fond of it.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Milestones and Manure."

There's a passage of scripture that I've been familiar with most of my life that has taken on a graphic new meaning to me, because in a very real way, it's about manure. I know it's a strange subject for a Christian discussion, but tell that to the Apostle Paul. He's the one who used the analogy.

It's in Philippians 3, beginning with verse 7. Paul's just listed many of the great accomplishments of his life as a religious leader. It's an amazing list, demonstrating why he was one of the most respected, most successful Jewish religious leaders of his generation. Then he met Jesus. He follows his list of life achievements with this statement, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings."

Now that word that's translated "rubbish" in this translation is translated "dung" in the King James Version. Folks, that's manure. I've looked it up in the Greek. That's one of the meanings. That's basically what the original Greek word means. Paul says that compared to what he has found, and knowing and serving Christ, every other milestone and title and achievement in his life... Well, he said it's about as valuable as manure.

And that is values clarification; that right now you may be wondering how your life could be so full and yet it's not fulfilling. How could you be enjoying such success and yet feel like your life isn't all that significant. There's a reason. You're created, the Bible says, with "eternity in your heart" (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and no earth-stuff can possibly give you the meaning and fulfillment you need. Only what you do with Jesus and for Jesus can do that. It's not that your career, or your accomplishments, or your acquisitions, or positions are necessarily bad - they're just not enough.

You want to make the greatest possible difference with however much life you have left? Then spend as much of what you have, what you are, and what you've got in loving and serving King Jesus. Paul said really knowing Jesus made everything else seem worthless. It's not the championships, the scholarships, the memberships, the friendships that will captivate your heart and thrill your soul. It's making Jesus your central passion; the magnificent obsession of your life.

I haven't heard that little poem since I was a young man, but it's as true now as it ever was, "Only one life...t'will soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last."