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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-03-20 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Matthew 24:23-28 (MSG) |
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Text: |
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 dazzling 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. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| In this Scripture it was obvious that Jesus saw clearly how easy it was for the people to be persuaded about the return of the Lord, so He gave some clear signs for children of God to look for, and he gave warnings for things that might sway them towards misrepresentations of the return of Christ. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Unfortunately we still see lots of examples like those Jesus warned of in this passage, for we know of the glamourous attractions of various public ‘ministries’ that easily get the attention of thousands and thousands, who will travel hundreds of miles to be miraculous touched by them. Friends, I hate to burst your bubble, but these ‘men’ or ‘women’ can merely lead you to the cross for healing from the Master himself, and as the Word of God says, it’s because of your faith in God, that will heal you, nothing more, nothing less. We’ve heard the predictions of many about the day of the return of Jesus. Not possible, for the Word of God declares that Jesus Himself doesn’t have that date or hour, only the Father Himself. Do pray tell me why someone would declare that they are closer to the Father than His very own Son! Please don’t misunderstand, as I am not saying that you shouldn’t be encouraged by a public ministry figure. However, should they cross the line and meet the criteria that Jesus is warning us to look out for, please be diligent enough to know that it is time for you to move on. Know also that the only way you will know TRUTH, is to study the Word of God yourself, for if you don’t, then everything will sound right to you that may come from every teacher – true or false. In conclusion, let me assure you that the Word of God is clear that Jesus will return again to take His bride – the church, home to be with He and the Father. ‘The Church’ is made up of born again believers in Jesus Christ, so in some households or churches, one might graduate to heaven while their friend right next to them may have never surrendered their life to the Lord Jesus. When will this occur? Jesus said that He is unaware of the date or the hour, for only the Father in Heaven knows that. Being ready to go now is the only way of assuring you that should He return in the very next minute, or later in the year, or just at a future date, it doesn’t matter, for you will be ‘ready’ to go! I hope that you can share and appreciate the excitement of that return with me friend! When we’re excited about a trip or any future event, we become impatient with delays, oh that Jesus will keep us excited about our journey as we share with others today and every day! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Having just taken a trip, the impatience of delays and disruptions are fresh on my mind, so Lord Jesus I pray that You will be with Your children as we standby for the trumpet sound and the gates opening wide as You return to take us home to glory with You! We can hardly contain ourselves as we think about that! Now may we be bold enough to share that excitement with others, so that they too might catch a glimpse of the day of Your return and accept Your invitation to join the throng as we await Your return. Oh, ‘What a Day That Will Be, when My Jesus I shall See, when I look upon His face….’. Lord, may the excitement of Your return incent your children to witness to others today and every day until You return! AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Tag: Read the Word
What Should We Do?
May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Find out first-hand what God would have you do today! This will be important as you seek to do His will. May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for your blessing, friend!………
Today’s Bible Reference: Luke 3:10–14
Today’s Bible Text: 10 The crowds asked, “What should we do?”
11 John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.”
12 Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, “Teacher, what should we do?”
13 He replied, “Collect no more taxes than the government requires.”
14 “What should we do?” asked some soldiers.
John replied, “Don’t extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.”
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
My Take Away: In so many areas of our lives we ask the same question as was asked of John the Baptist. As a child when we are tired of whippings and ready to do things mom way, we might ask her to just remind, or show us again what we could do to please her. As adults, we might ask our spouse to remind us of what we could do to please them or stay in their good graces. In our jobs we want to know what we could do to move up the corporate ladder, or earn more money. I believe that each time we attend church, we are looking for opportunities to worship and praise God for His goodness, but also to seek His face for our next assignment, or just instructions for righteous living that would please Him. Daily as we open the Word of God (and I pray that it is daily for you friend), we are looking for more encouragement and blessings from God, and looking for our next set of instructions from the Holy Spirit on what we must do to be more reflective of our Savior to those that we will come into contact with that day. We are simply asking like the different groups of people asked John, “What Shall We Do?”. A few verses down in this same chapter, John went on to explain how the Lord will soon return and how He will separate the chaff from the wheat – in other words, there will come a day of accountability, where the Master will recognize those who have obediently followed His instructions found in the Word of God from those who claimed the name but, continued to do the same old same old, and those who wanted nothing to do with their Creator or His precious Son, Jesus Christ. In knowing the Son of God, we have an obligation to obey Him, otherwise we never prove to Him or the world that we are a true son or daughter of the King. What then shall we do? Won’t you go before the Master and ask that question today, friend? John gave some basic answers that I’ve shared with you, but if you know Jesus personally, you have every right to approach Him and ask for your personalized instructions on what He would have you do. Let me encourage you to form that type of intimate relationship with your Heavenly Father, friend.
Prayer: Father, I want to thank You for showing me day after day that Your Word is active and very much alive, for You speak directly to me personally when I read its pages. Please help me to obediently follow Your instructions as a light unto my path of life. I have no doubt that my readers face the same dilemma each day as they seek Your face. Please revive Your army with Your almighty instructions – fresh new life that will not only revive us, but incent us to encourage others towards a more meaningful life and may we bless others as we meet them today. ‘As We seek Your face, may we know Your Heart’ is our hearts’ song today Lord Jesus. Please bless Your children accordingly, and we will be eternally grateful. AMEN!
Footnote: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!
2016
Nuggets From God's Word 