Weel 17
The Lords Day, Week 17!
Thoughts on 2 Corinthians 1-3:
· 2 Cor. 1 - The God of all comfort... Paul writes to the church in Corinth having experienced himself many trials, hardships and persecution and his opening is this. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. Let me just stop and ask, can we say the same thing today? Can we look at our current circumstances and say Blessed be the God of all comfort? Or are we only complaining, frustrated, and angry? I'm not saying we can't be looking for this to end, or that we can't and shouldn't be praying for God to heal us, and our neighbors, but rather are we, in the midst of this still finding our ultimate comfort in Him? I read this and was convicted because I know that I haven't. But I know that as I read it this morning, I was struck by the fact that I need to. That there is no greater comfort than God, His comfort meets us in the midst of our greatest struggles and is how we can see joy in them... But Paul is also clear here that our comfort isn't merely about us but that others would see us and find comfort themselves! The world is watching right now Christian, how are you dealing with your circumstances? Paul then goes on to discuss a change in his plans, he intended to go visit Corinth but was derailed for their sake....
· 2 Cor. 2 - Then there is this situation that was taking place in the church that Paul is addressing, someone sinned and was punished for their sin. We don't have many details here and there's debate about what was taking place so I'm not going to spend a lot of time here, but look at where Paul lands. Forgive them and comfort them. Whatever the discipline that was carried out, it was enough, the person must have repented and Pauls concern is that the church receive him, that they forgive him and reaffirm their love for him. Paul says that their forgiveness, is his forgiveness. His concern is that Satan wouldn't cause trouble within the congregation. Proper church discipline should end with repentance and forgiveness. That's the goal of it, the goal isn't to punish, or hurt. Paul is so concerned with this persons condition that he says, be sure to comfort him that he isn't overwhelmed by sorrow. Our discipline must be fueled by compassion for the individual, and most importantly love for the Lord.
· 2 Cor. 2 & 3 - I want to look at the remainder of chapter 2, starting verse 12 together with chapter 3 because I think it's all one cohesive thought having to do with the preaching of the gospel. There are 3 things I want to point out here, first is Paul's acknowledgement that none are fit for this work. We see that in Ch. 2 verse 16 and in 3 verse 5. No one is fit for this ministry, none of us have what it takes to truly be a minister, a servant of the good news of Jesus. This means there is no room to boast, none at all for any Christian. Paul is addressing all of the church here, not just the leaders, and Paul would include himself within those who are not worthy. What every Christian is called to, is this ministry of the gospel, of the New Covenant in Christs blood, to deliver it to the world. We all have different roles in this, yes, but part of it nonetheless, and it is an impossible calling... But thanks be to God who has made us sufficient by His life giving Spirit. Any good that comes out of our works is only of God and His work in us. Secondly, that there are two outcomes when the gospel goes forward and both are glorifying to God. First there are those who are being saved, this is described as the fragrance from life to life, this is the outcome that we rejoice in and that which we pray for, we all desire that the message be received and to see people repent and trust in Him. But the second response still glorifies God, it is proof that the fragrance of the knowledge of God is going forward, and that is the response fo the perishing, who receive this message as the fragrance from death to death. The idea here that is repulsive to them, they want nothing to do with it, but though we mourn this response, it is still God who leads us in triumphal procession. God is responsible for the response, not us our role is to be sincere in the sight of God, proclaiming this truth and trusting in Him. The last thing is that the anchor for this, the reason we can go out into the world proclaiming this, is because we have such a hope, verse 12. Our hope is the source of our boldness. Do you want to know whether your hope is truly in Christ, how bold are you? This isn't a test of faith, but if the more we look upon Him with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord and being transformed into His image, the greater our boldness will become as the more sure our hope grows. Stare at Christ, become bold!
This was a lot for a Lords Day, but I could have also said so much more! Sit in these chapters for a bit today and soak up every word because it is all meaningful. God bless!
Monday, Week 17!
Thoughts on Exodus 13-16:
· Exodus 13 - As way of remembering what the Lord had done in Egypt, and His preservation of the first born and the salvation of all the people of Egypt they are told to consecrate their first born. This means that the first born was to be set apart as the Lords special property and for the Lords special service. More importantly I see this as a foreshadowing of Christ who is called the first-born of all creation, and where as the people are to consecrate their first-born out of remembrance that the Lord saved them, God the Father sacrifices the Son in order that His people be saved. All of this institutes the feast of unleavened bread to mark the passover and what God did to rescue His people out of Egypt which is still celebrated today by Jews. We also see that God is the one leading the people out of Egypt, and rather than take a direct route, in order that the people would become discouraged God takes the long way around. Saving them from a battle that the people are not ready to fight. We see in this the mercy and compassion of God. Knowing that the people are still weak, not only physically, but also spiritually, God is going to show them who He is, building their faith and trust in Him. God still does this with us, we are to grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him and most importantly our faith. For this reason, often as we mature in Christ, we find that life doesn't get easier, it actually gets harder with God growing and stretching our faith beyond what we ever could.
· Exodus 14 and 15- God leads the people across the Red Sea, and here's the only thing I want to point out. We often think the miracle is the splitting of the water, but it's not. The greater miracle is the dry ground. We see this mentioned multiple times, the ground was dry, they crossed on dry ground, they walked on dry ground, this is being repeated purposely, God doesn't want us to miss it. The splitting of the waters might be able to be dismissed as some sort of natural phenomena but the walking on dry ground, that isn't easily dismissed, this took a supernatural act. Without the dry ground the people would not have been able to cross, as we see that as soon as the Egyptians start into the water their chariot wheel become clogged, they no longer have dry ground. God controls everything, He has ultimate power over all things within creation making the ground dry and wet all in the matter of seconds so that as Israel finishes crossing immediately behind them, the ground is returning to its former state, preparing for the water to rush back in. The Israelites bore witness to this, and it remained with them through song as we read ini chapter 15. Take note of verse 19, "but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea." Think about this, if God is able to do this it shows that He is in control of even the most minor details, that there is nothing out of His control in this universe. Turning the ground from wet to dry and back again, all to set His people free. Trust that in your life God is in control of all the details, and that which is needed to set you free God is working. It may not be what you would think about, but how many times have you read about the crossing and thought that the big miracle was the splitting of the water... we always overlook the details. But praise Him, because He doesn't!
· Exodus 16 - The people of Israel must learn to trust in God as their provider. First through His provision of water to drink, and taking the bitter water and making it sweet, but then in His provision of food, meat in the evening and bread for the morning. Think about this, God could have led them into a land that had what they needed, but instead chose to take them to a barren place. All of this that they would learn to trust Him. This is a lesson we are always learning, and we still love to fight against the barrenness, we want to find ways to produce for ourselves, to prove ourselves as providers, but we can't provide anything. We are completely dependent on Him for everything. We must learn to praise God in the midst of our barrenness because He has provided for His people everything we need in Jesus Christ. Jesus is both living water and the manna from heaven. If you are His then you have already been led out of Egypt, He's rescued us from slavery to sin and death, and is teaching us who He is and the most basic of these lessons is to see Him as our provider. At every meal, I teach my family to pray and give thanks for Gods provision. I'm sure they may even get tired of hearing it, but we can't get tired of hearing it, because when we do, we will only find ourselves having to learn the lesson over again. As we will see with the Israelites.
God bless you all! I can't believe we are in week 17!!! Think of how many books we've already finished, Genesis, Matthew, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, and Isaiah. I think that's all of them so far. We are almost done with Job and Mark, and chipping away at the Psalms... Be encouraged, yes we still have a way to go, but before we know it, we will be celebrating Christmas and coming to an end of our Journey together! Hope you all have a great day!
Tuesday, Week 17!
Thoughts on 2 Samuel 1-4:
· 2 Samuel 1 - David receives word of Sauls death by way of an Amalekite who was living in the land of Israel, which is why he presents himself as a sojourner. This is important because it's actually Davids legal standing for what he does next. Sojourners were subject to the same laws as the Israelites, therefore they could be punished according to these laws. This man was seeking recognition, power, and probably assumed he'd receive some sort of monetary award for bringing the news of Sauls death. But as we've already seen, David remained his respect for Sauls authority because he knew God was the one who appointed him King, therefore he didn't believe it was the right of any of Gods children to remove Saul. This young man inserts himself into the story of the death of Saul, and takes final credit. Notice that he is careful to make Saul the one who asked for death. But David in this only sees him as a transgressor, one who would dare put his hands on the Lords anointed. Notice again, the phrase refers directly to the death of Saul. Davids response is to have him put to death. There is no mercy for such a person, and then he mourns the death of Saul and Jonathon. We see the Davids devotion to God in this mourning. David had not problem killing, it was what he did for a living, but his faith in God was such that even though Saul wanted him dead, David never saw him as anything less than the Lords anointed. It was Sauls appointment by God that kept David away, David didn't fear Saul, he feared God.
· 2 Samuel 2 & 3 - Israel is now split, with Judah following David and the rest of Israel following Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul. We are told that this doesn't last long however. Eventually Abner, the leader of Isn-Bosheth's army decides he is going to jump ship because of the way he was treated. All of this leads to the death of Abner as retaliation for his killing of the brother of Joab. However, the most important part of this is Davids response. He shows the people that he is a compassionate leader, that he had no part in the death of Abner, that he wanted peace. He shows abler a great amount of respect by mourning his death and we are told in verse 36 of chapter 3 that "all the people took notice of it, and it pleased the people..." David was truly becoming the people's king, He was appointed by God, but in all that was happening he was also gaining something that Saul never had. The people's love and respect.
· 2 Samuel 4 - All of this comes to a peak with the death of Isn-Bosheth. We have these two men, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite who also set out to make names for themselves. They kill the king in his sleep, in his own palace. They bring David the news, expecting reward, expecting to receive gratitude, but they have failed to understand him. David didn't need help, David had been assured this kingdom by God, he was chosen by God. He instead sees these men as cowards, they are wicked having killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed. Notice, he does not refer to him as the Lords anointed, he wasn't. But he still maintained respect for him as Sauls son, and though David had no problem going to war with him, he maintained certain boundaries. All of this is setting David up for the kind of king he is going to be, one who rules with compassion and who is just, seeking to honor God in all he does. David recognizes he cannot start his rule celebrating wickedness. He has these men executed, and gives Isn-Bosheth a proper burial. David now has his clear path to the throne...
God works in mysterious ways indeed. God had declared when David was still a child that he would be King of Israel, and took a lot to get there, but here he finally is. God wasn't absent in any of this either, but rather the one who orchestrated all of it. It's important that we see that, and that we don't see any aspect of this apart from Gods hand. Just as we must see every aspect of what is taking place, happening with God in control. There's comfort there, trust in Him and know that God is working it all out for His glory and our good... God bless you all and have a wonderful day!
Wednesday, Week 17!
Thoughts on Psalms 48 - 50:
· Psalm 48 - Mount Zion, also referred to as the heavenly Jerusalem in the book of Hebrews is pointing us ahead, to a time where we will be in the presence of our savior. This is the city which our God will establish forever, that will astound all the earthly kings and cause them to tremble at the sight of it. We today as the church dwell on these things, on the steadfast love of God as we come together, or when we can come together again. We take pleasure and praise Gods righteous judgements, and find peace as we rejoice over all He has done. We must point the next generation to this heavenly city, telling them all that awaits those who trust in Jesus, making sure they follow Him and recognize the He is our God forever and ever. This Psalm is all about our future hope, it's a real and sure hope! In that day there will be no one who can stop us from worshiping together!
· Psalm 49 - Those who trust in the Lord have no need to fear in times of trouble. There is nothing that another human being can do to you or for you that is of any eternal value. The rich may trust in their wealth and even use it to plot against you, but they can do nothing to save your life, the price they would need t pay is to great for them. All men will eventually face the same end, all men will die, the wise, the fool and the stupid, and no one takes anything with them. But God can pay the price, He can ransom our soul, and He will receive us. In verse 14 there's the mention of those who have death for a shepherd, contrast that with our good shepherd, who leads us by still waters, in paths of righteousness for His namesake. There are two paths ultimately, death and life... What you have in this world is meaningless, so when you see wicked people gain financial prosperity don't be deceived, don't get jealous, that financial prosperity is the only glory they will ever receive. We should pity them, we should look for every opportunity to point them to true life, to point them to the light that they will never get to see if they die in their sin. Because man without understanding, that is without repentance and faith, man without the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, is nothing more than a beast, he too will waste away having never experienced true life.
· Psalm 50 - God alone is the perfect judge. In each of these psalms there has been some reference to the judgement of God, but this psalm puts it at the center. Do you praise God for His judgement? Do you see His ability to Judge so righteously as a part of His perfection and Holiness and part of what makes Him worthy to be praised? Or are you still bitter over the fact that He judges you? I ask this question because if your response is the latter, you may still be in your sin. Being able to view Gods perfection in judgement is part of what it is to repent and trust in Him. It means that you know regardless of what you feel, Gods judgements are perfect, even His judgement against our own sinfulness. Yes even those sins which we don't really think are sinful. Look starting at verse 19, "You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother, you slander your won mothers son. These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you." God is nothing like us, and He has legitimate charges against all of us, and part of repentance is coming to terms with that, is recognizing that we have a self-serving bias that is always looking to self-justify. But God will not allow that, we must instead be grateful for His righteous judgement, see in it His holiness, and seek to glorify Him because of it. It is only the one who orders his way rightly that God shows the way of salvation! Repent, believe Him and stop trusting in yourself, stop thinking you know better than He does, none of us do!
Eva has gone back to work, which means she is mostly recovered! Thank you all so much for your prayers, but I am going to ask for you to please continue to pray, this sickness and all that has taken place over the last month has led us to ask the question, Lord what would you have us do to glorify you most? So please pray with us as we seek the Lord for what's next and to trust Him no matter what it may look like. How can we pray for you? Leave below in the comments. God bless!
Thursday, Week 17!
Thoughts on Job 33 & 34:
· Job 33 - Elihu is starting by addressing Job, and though much of what Job has said is true, he has done well in describing who God is but when it comes to Gods dealing with him, he has insisted that God has no reason to do the things that he is doing to him, he's ultimately been attempting to claim God has no justification for causing him to suffer. Here's Elihu's main point, God is greater than man, so from the start Job is wrong for taking a position against God, or for assuming he can ask God to answer to him for his suffering. Job has assumed through much of this that God has been silent, but Elihu points out that Job has missed the fact that one of the ways in which God speaks to His creatures is through suffering. That suffering is a means by which God allows us to recognize our own finiteness and ponder what comes after life. That God can do "all these things twice, three times, with a man to bring his soul from the pit, that he may be lighted with the light of life." (v. 29&30) C.S. Lewis has argued “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” This wasn't his argument, but rather gained from scripture, this is ultimately Elihu's argument here and he wants Job to see it, because in all of his suffering the only thing Job has been concerned with, is declaring his own innocence!
· Job 34 - Elihu is now turning to His defense of Gods goodness and His holiness. In this he is addressing all those present with Job. Job has stated that he is in the right... But Elihu sees the problem here, because though Job hasn't directly accused God of any wrongdoing, in his insisting upon his own innocence, he makes God out to be a liar or unjust. He says that Job is actually claiming that it does man no good to walk with God, because even the one who does delight in God, can come to suffer. Elihu points to the fact that God is a God of justice, that He will never pervert Justice, but rather is the one who ultimately holds up justice. God is able to cause all men to perish if He so desires, and in doing so He does no wrong. How could anyone think that God is against justice, when He shows no partiality to any man, but rather deals with all men as His creation. In verse 31 begins the summary. Instead of assuming your own innocence, believe that God knows more than you, submit to His wisdom and ask God to reveal to you your transgression, and repent, tell Him you will no longer do it. Declare what you know Job! You are not God, that He is greater and He knows more than you and that all of us have sinned against Him, and all of us need to repent and turn to Him. Don't be like the wicked Job, refusing to acknowledge your own transgressions. In this you only add the sin of rebellion to your own sin.
Two things are true in Jobs story, first, there was no specific sin that brought upon Jobs suffering. We've looked at this multiple times, and in Job defending himself we even understood where he was coming from. But the whole time Job missed the fact that He's still a sinner, he is still a transgressor, and for all that sin, the punishment is ultimately death. Not even Job was beyond this, he was continuing to look to his own righteousness instead of turning to trusting in God for His own justification. None of us are as righteous as Job, and yet most of us can become just as self-righteous as him. The warning here is for us just as much as him. God is never unjust in what He allows to enter into your life or mine. Suffering is meant to humble us and recognize more of our dependence upon Him. There's been a saying lately in the media by some wicked politicians, "Never waste a crisis/pandemic" and they've said this with very wicked intentions, however there's truth in it. God doesn't want us to waste a crisis, but the crisis is meant to turn us to Him, not our government. There's a battle going on in our culture, the battle to be god, but this is a losing battle. The government will ultimately bus the knee, or be destroyed in the process of trying to assert itself... Don't waste this crisis by expecting from man what can only come from God... Peace, hope, joy, provision and protection, all of these are only found in Him... The world can only provide the opposite. God bless and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!
Friday, Week 17!
Thoughts on Jeremiah 22-26:
· Jeremiah 22 - Judgement is being pronounced over the house of Judah, and the word is being spoken directly to the king of Judah. Here's what I want to point out, the role of the government is seen here in what the Lord orders the king to do, "Justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed, and do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless and the widow nor shed innocent blood in this place.." Pretty simple, the government is to protect the people, restrain evil, be a voice for the voiceless and ensure their rights are also protected and they aren't taken advantage of. The Lord promises that if they do this, then the Davidic Dynasty will continue... but if they do not, then they will be destroyed. These are the same boundaries that Paul gives us in Romans 13, our God is the same yesterday today and forever! The point here though is that the king of Judah is not being obedient, and he, along with the nation of Israel is facing destruction, the Lord is going to send another nation to destroy them, they will be his weapon against Judah who has defied their covenant with the Lord. Josiah was the last king who pursued justice, his sons were wicked, and Jehoiakim, who's reign is short, will be the one to usher in the destruction of Judah. His rule was wicked, seeking to rule for personal gain, and not seeking to rule in the way of His father. The tearing off of the signet ring is a sign of the end of the Davidic dynast, he is the last in the direct line of David to rule over Judah. It's not until Christ that one in the line of David will take His place on the throne, and Christs reign is forever!
· Jeremiah 23 - In this prophecy the shepherds are meant to be the kings, those who ruled over Israel and Judah, they scattered the sheep of Gods pasture. The Lord will deal with them for their wickedness, and He Himself will gather the sheep from all the countries, bringing them back into the fold. Jesus is that good shepherd who gathers the sheep, His sheep hear His voice and the come to Him. Jesus has set new shepherds over the people, under-shepherds, pastors, and we are to care for the sheep the way it was always intended. We are to know them, feed them, lead them, protect them, and unlike the wicked shepherds that ruled for selfish gain, the new shepherds will love the flock and under the care of the Good-Shepherd not a single sheep will be lost. This is a great warning for pastors today, we are under the care of the Great King, and we bare His name, The Lord is my Righteousness, we have no righteousness of our own, we have no authority of our own, and we dare not abuse His trust. The rest of this prophesy about lying prophets, has application for lying pastors as well. They to will reap destruction, those who are afraid to speak the truth of Gods word, and instead tell people only that which they want to hear. They rather speak about their own dreams and their own visions rather than what God has said... They will face the anger of the Lord on the day of Judgement... There is no way to hide from Him, He sees it all. The Word of the Lord is what Pastors must preach today, if they are to shepherd rightly they must not follow their own hearts, nor be guided by their own visions, nor by the desires of the people, but by the word of God.
· Jeremiah 24 - Figs... again, who do they represent? in this case there are good figs and bad figs... but it is still an illustration about Israel, this again should help us understand what's going on in Mark's gospel with the fig tree!
· Jeremiah 25 & 26 - The Lord will use Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar as His weapon against Judah. All of this took place exactly the way the Lord said it would. For speaking the word of the Lord, Jeremiah was threatened, again, and this time with death, but yet He couldn't help himself. The Lord caused His word to burn from within so He could only speak it. The Lord spared Jeremiah's life, but He would go on to witness this destruction, and seeing the people taken away into captivity, and He would weep over it... There are still many more years for Jeremiah to prophecy, but it won't get any easier for him either. Ask yourself, what if God has called you to a ministry like Jeremiah, one that would be just as sad, just as painful. Knowing you'd always be rejected by the people you love and the people you are trying to save, and call back to the Lord... Would Gods love be enough to sustain you? Would you be able to remain faithful? Would you go willingly into the ministry? The truth is none of us would, and if you think you would you are lying to yourself... Apart from a true work of God in our hearts and Him keeping us, and sustaining us every step of the way, we are much more like the kings than we are Jeremiah. But the comfort is knowing that God does sustain, that He does keep, and if that's what you want then you need to seek Him more now, when the people aren't completely against you, speak His truth now, when more people are willing to listen, don't wait for it to get as bad as it was for Jeremiah... Because if you think you'll do it then, when you aren't doing it now, you're only fooling yourself.
It's funny, when I am reading in the morning, as I read I'm thinking, Lord what are you going to have me write about today? I don't even know how much of this I'm understanding right now...lol Then I start writing as I relook at the passage and it becomes clearer...I'm so sorry for the length, I don't ever mean it to be so long! I'm sure there are places where I may be a bit off, or where we might disagree and that's o.k. as long as you are rooting your understanding in the word, and not in your heart. God bless you all, and I hope you have a wonderful Friday! Also please pray for my father, he just tested positive for the virus, so far his symptoms aren't to serious, just pray that it stay that way!
Saturday Week 17!
Thoughts on Mark 13 & 14:
· Mark 13 - I'm only going to comment here on what I think is clear, I know there is a lot of debate pertaining to this section of scripture, and even with some of what I think is clear, you might disagree, and that's o.k. Let's seek to understand the best we can, in the Spirit of peace for the glory of God. First we have Jesus prophesying on the destruction of the temple, considers all that just took place in the previous chapter, Mark is telling us all this in context. All the wickedness that has just taken place, ending with the Widow's offering and Jesus rebuke of the scribes. This took place around 70 AD, the temple was in fact destroyed just the way Jesus said it would be, almost 40 years after His death and resurrection. Then starting in verse 5 we have Jesus foretelling primarily of the destruction of Jerusalem, this to all took place in the 1st Century. This doesn't mean that there isn't any application for us. However, don't remove it from its context. Jesus clearly was speaking to the generation in front of Him. To think that we are the first generation to have wars and rumors of wars or to face persecution is just to be prideful and ignorant of history. For 100's of years this was the understanding of the church, it wasn't till more recently that we've taken these versus and attempted to transplant them into today. Does persecution still happen, yes, but this is specifically about Jerusalem, do wars still take place yes, are we still in end times, in a sense, yes, but much of this had it's fulfillment in the first century. There was even a great dispersion that took place where many were forced to flee, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem. It's in verse 24 where now we know we have not yet had fulfillment. Some do argue here for partial fulfillment, but all orthodox Christians agree that the greater fulfillment of the physical return of Christ has yet to come regardless even on the view of the previous verses. This is what we are waiting for, and for this no one knows the hour, no one knows the day, not even the Son! This is clear... NO ONE KNOWS, so why do so many people act like they know? Everyone wants to look at our culture today and say, oh look, you see this, the end is near, come Lord Jesus come! Your business is not to try to discern when Jesus is coming, if He Himself didn't know, do you really think you are smarter than He? Than God? We have a command here though, the command is to stay awake! This isn't about trying to discern when He's coming, it's about doing what He has told us to do until He does come. There are many who are so busy looking for Jesus to come, that they have neglected all that Jesus has told us to do until He comes. They aren't out building His church, they aren't edifying the saints, they aren't preaching the gospel and calling people to repent and believe, they aren't baptizing and teaching people to obey all that He is commanded. Instead all they do is shout, Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming. Don't let this be you, don't get caught staring into the sky so intently that when He does come you end up hearing, depart from me, I never knew you!
· Mark 14 - I want to just jump to Gethsemane, because there's a direct connection here to what we just looked at. The disciples fall asleep... Jesus just told them, stay awake, be on the look out, no one knows. He then tells them He his going to be delivered over, He is going to be executed, they partake in the passover, which is also pointing to Him. Then He asks for one simple thing, keep watch. They fall asleep... The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. This is me and you, it's so easy to fall asleep, its so easy to get distracted, our Savior gave His life for us and then gives us marching orders telling us, I don't know when I'm coming back. Don't worry about when but stay alert and do what I tell you... Yet we fall asleep. Why has our culture gotten so corrupted? we fell asleep. Why are babies dying and it being treated as a right? we fell asleep. Why has marriage been stripped of its meaning? we fell asleep. Why do people look at the church and see it as non-essential? because we fell asleep. My question for us is this, when are we going to wake up?
There's a lot of talk in some circles as to whether this is the end... What I don't understand is this... If it is, do you really think you should be wasting your time talking about it? Or should you be busy at work preaching the gospel? I don't happen to believe this is the end, my view of the end is different than most. I happen to think the gospel will be successful and that the nations will be brought under the rule of Christ before He comes. But either way, isn't that what we should be busy doing? Preaching the gospel... God bless you and thank you for your prayers for my father so far he's holding up o.k. Let me know how I can pray for you.