SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 28-31 “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:7) To be exiled is to be barred from one’s native country, either for political or punitive reasons. Jeremiah is urging the…
Satan is a liar!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 22:1-6 “Then Satan entered Judas…” Satan did not force his way in, Judas finally surrendered to his subtle, sinister whispers. Judas had long been struggling with doubts, and Satan was feeding them with lies. This is how demons work, they enter our mind as thoughts that appear to be our own. ‘You’re no good,…
Wake up call!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 21:34-38 Weighed down by … carousing, drunkenness, the anxieties of life. Things that hold us down, or back, things that keep us from looking up, or moving forward. Jesus is warning us to think very carefully about how we are living, and what we are distracted by. It’s like a message to the captain…
The signs of (kingdom) summer!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 21:29-33 I always enjoy seeing the leaves budding on the trees. A sure sign that spring has come, and summer is on the way. (In Canada, spring and summer is what I look forward too). Jesus describes this anticipation, announced by the budding fig tree. When we see trouble in the world, when we…
Stand up, lift up your head!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 21:20-28 What Jesus describes here (vv.20-24) actually occurs in AD 70. Jerusalem will be trampled (it’s history to this day) until the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled. We are in the times of the Gentiles, when the church expands beyond the Jews – all nations make up God’s family. Jesus doesn’t say when…
To know and experience the real God!
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 99 I want people to know Who God really is. I’m convinced that people cannot truly experience and enjoy life apart from knowing God. When they know and experience God, they will be great (like Moses, Aaron, Samuel, etc.). Not God as the church says He is, but God as He is. God is…
What kind of leader/prophet am I?
SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 21-27 The leaders (shepherds) of Israel have failed to speak and act for justice and mercy (21:11f). The prophets keep saying ‘everything if fine, no worries, God will protect you!’ (23:17) The leaders do what they want, the prophets say what they want… and God is fed up. He is sending Babylon to defeat…
God will speak (and work) through me!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 21:10-19 I’ve never been persecuted… but I’ve also kept a low profile as a christian. Keep it quiet, don’t rock the boat, avoid drawing attention to myself. Maybe I am not persecuted because my light is under a bowl – hidden. But this also means I miss out on the Lord giving me the…
The church that impresses God
SCRIPTURE: Luke 21:5-9 This reading makes me think of Shania Twain’s song, ‘That don’t impress me much!’ The disciples are impressed by the beautiful temple structures – like an impressive mega-church complex. I think of a huge church I attended in New Orleans, and someone in the group with me said, ‘wow, wouldn’t you like to…
Big heart, big gift!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 21:1-4 It is not the size of the gift, but of the giver’s heart, that counts. God can do more with this widow’s penny, than with the sizable donations of the rich. God doesn’t need our money, but He does need – and desires – our hearts, our commitment. Better big heart with little…