Matthew 24:15-25
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
15 “So when you see standing
in the holy place(A) ‘the
abomination that causes desolation,’[a] spoken
of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are
in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the roof of his house go down to
take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be
in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight
will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled
from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22 If
those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of
the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is
the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and
false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive
even the elect—if that were possible. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
Footnote:
- Matthew 24:15 Daniel
9:27; 11:31; 12:11
For those of us who have
asked the question, “How much worse can it get?” we have an answer in this
passage. As I read this I had to think
of Thomas, the one that has gotten labeled “doubting Thomas” and I had to have
a little more respect for him than I had in the past.
John
20:26-28
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
26 A week later his
disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors
were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out
your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to
him, “My Lord and my God!”
I believe Thomas thought
the end had come, just like we sometimes think.
Even though Christ had said He would die and raise in three days, I believe
that Thomas was in a state of shock and disbelief. Have you ever been there? Well if you have you know that sometimes you
don’t always think clearly. You remember
some things and forget others. It is my
thought that Thomas remembered Christ saying not to believe anyone who claimed
to be the Christ, not even the elect, not even if he appeared in the inner room and Thomas was going
to make sure he got proof prior to believing anything.
More and more it feels
like we are in the end times. I can
remember my granddad not wanting to go to stores that used scanners because he
felt it was a sign of the end times. I
must say that I think he was probably right that it was a sign of the end times,
it was the beginning of new technology that will be used to establish a way for
purchases to be made with the swipe of a hand or a forehead, yet we are not at
the end yet. Jesus mentions there will wars and rumors of wars, nation against
nation, famines, and earthquakes and we have all seen these in our day, but
these are only the beginning of the birth pains. There is no doubt that the end is one day closer
today than it was yesterday but the question we need to be asking is not “When
are you coming Lord?” but rather “Am I ready for your coming Lord?”.
How do we prepare
ourselves for the times ahead for us whether we go through the persecution or
are joined with Christ through our own death?
There are several things we can do for that future day, it is something the
disciples did as well. The first and
foremost is we need to get to know the One that we claim is our Lord and
Savior. You cannot get to know someone
by seeing them once a week in a church service.
I have trouble even remembering someone’s name let alone know who they
really are when I just see them once a week at church. To know Him and to grow in Him, I learned
this little acronym from Christian Youth in Action and I believe it is a way to
check to see if you are really growing in Christ:
1.
Go to God in Prayer – I Peter
4:7 We need to clear our minds of all things
of this world and go to God in prayer. I
Thessalonians 5:17 tells us we should be in a constant state of prayer. When we
recognize that we are not in control of our life we realize that we need to be
in constant communication with the One who is so we pray continually.
2.
Read His word DAILY –
John 15:7; Psalm 119:16 (Also note in
the first verse of our passage today, Jesus said, “Let the reader understand” this tells me that the passage was written
for the reader not just for the present time it in which it was spoken. It tells me that I need to read the Word and
ask for understanding and clarification through the Holy Spirit
3.
Obey His commands Psalm
119: 17 - 18 – we cannot obey if we don’t know what His commands are, we need
to make sure we know what He wants of each of us.
4.
Worship with other
believers – Hebrews 10:25 – It is so important for us, just like it was for the
disciples to meet together and draw strength from each other. For some reason Thomas was missing from the
crowd. He withdrew to some isolated
place and was not around when Christ appeared to the others. He missed out on a
blessing and was most likely doubting because He was trying to handle it on his
own. Let’s learn a lesson from Thomas
and be diligent to be with others even when we don’t really feel like it.
5.
Witness to others –
Matthew 28: 19 – 20. We need to share
with others regarding our testimony and how our lives have changed because of
Christ. We need to tell them the
wonderful story of Christ’s love for us.
We need to live a life that is pleasing to God, our actions need to
follow our words so that we cannot be labeled a hypocrite.
I look at this list and
ask myself, what am I not doing that would stunt my growth in Him. I ask the Lord, to open my eyes to my
weakness and give me strength, wisdom, and desire to be more diligent in my
relationship with Him. Times are going
to get worse, the Word makes that clear.
Are we ready to meet our Maker, are we ready to stand up against
persecution and be strong in the name of the Lord. The disciples were ones that hid in an inner
room for a little while but when they saw their risne Lord they had strength,
wisdom, and a desire to let others know about Him no matter the cost.
As you seek Him with all
your hearts may you realize He is right there with you, you can put your hands
in His nail scared hands and in His wounded side. Your eyes and hearts can be opened to
recognize Him standing in your presence.
Be strong in the Lord and face the challenges of this world with Him by
your side.
Seeking Him with all my
heart,
Sheila
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