Quit guessing

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:36–44)

Yesterday I repeated to my praying friends that I’ve never been able to second-guess God. I’ve learned that too much of my prayer requests are more like telling Him what I want Him to do, and His response is never what I thought it would be and always a surprise, not a surprise that He answered, but exactly what He did about the issue.

This means that that He has taught me to stop speculating. I cannot say, “Maybe God will do this or that” because I have no clue what His plan is or what He will do. I am not God and even making suggestions to Him about how to answer my prayers is simply impertinent. 

As I read what Jesus said about His return, it seems important that even He does not know the day or the hour. Some might say this is His humanness talking, but as God He must know. Yet I read it again — He says only the Father knows, not the Son.

Why? Well, if I am to be like Jesus, this is a trust issue. He is coming back. My role is not speculation about the time or how it will happen, but to be doing what He says. I could waste a lot of time researching all the definitions and descriptions when He asked me to have coffee with my neighbor who needs to hear the gospel. He will let me know what I should be doing, not what He is doing.

Even if I could figure it out, the last line verifies that being ready is more important, for He will not show up when I expect it. So all my ideas are useless anyway.

Jesus, You convince me to be alert to Your Spirit and involved in whatever Your will is for me. Only vanity can make me think this day or year or whatever. You also convince me that how and when You do show up, no one will be able to say, “I told you so.” 

 

"And all will be changed. . . . "

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away. (Matthew 22:15–22)

The Pharisees were more concerned about trapping Jesus yet they gave Him opportunity to make a point. Money is not about this life. The Bible also says that loving it is the root of all evil. 

I’m reminded that my ‘stuff’ falls into the same category. In the past few weeks I found myself reminding several friends that we cannot take our earthly possessions with us when we die, particularly money. This is true of all material possessions. By the grace of God we get to use them while we are here, but He is in charge of what we have. I’m only a steward and responsible for what I do with it.

The next passage is also about earthly issues vs. what is ours after death and in the resurrection:

The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. So too the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.” But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. (Matthew 22:23–33)

I had a long talk with a dear relative who is in a cult. His wife just died after years of suffering and in a wheelchair. He is comforting himself that when he dies, they will be together again. At this point, reminding him of the above truths was not appropriate. However, we did agree that God has kept us largely in the dark concerning the nature of eternity. 

Comparing these two thoughts means we do not take our current relationships with us either. Those with money will not be bulging at the pockets. Those with fancy clothes, cars, and other possession will not need them. And those married more than once do not have to wonder who their spouse will be for eternity. God’s plan covers all those issues.

Lord Jesus, Your church is Your bride. We will be fully united to You. All our needs will be covered even as they are covered here. Whether we spend eternity here on a renewed earth or somewhere else, heaven is not just a place but about being in Your presence with no more sorrows or tears, and all needs fully met. It is seeing You face to face with a deep realization of who You are and what You have done. For now, help me keep the difference between here and now sorted out from there and forever. 

 

Two become one...

Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” (Matthew 19:1–9)

Theologians and ordinary believers are uncertain how to interpret this passage, and I hesitate because I was divorced before I knew Christ or what He had to say about it. However, in more than fifty years of a second marriage, God has taught us many things about the meaning of this union. In knowing what He didn’t approve of, we learned much.

In Jesus’ day, some thought divorce was permissible if the husband ceased to love his wife, or had seen some one whom he liked better, or even because she cooked his dinner badly. Another group permitted divorce only in case of fornication, adultery, or some offense against chastity. Obviously, this had something to do with bringing the contention to Jesus. Taking either side would put Him in trouble with the other view. 

These days and in our culture, some people used to stick together for the sake of the children. Others decide that if the feeling is gone and there is no more emotional love then there is no reason to stay married. The issues can be complicated, but the divorce rate in North America is at least 30% and upward. 

Marriage challenges are common. We watched a show about newlyweds. He was a neat-freak and she kicked her shoes off at the door and left them there. Both felt unloved. A well-known book on love languages tells of givers married to people who feel most loved when people listen to them. The giver thinks those gifts say it, but the silence is all the other partner hears. Marriage bliss is complicated.

What does the Bible say about avoiding divorce? This makes the problem even greater:

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. (Ephesians 5:22–33)

In short terms, a couple is to be a picture of Christ and His church. He is to love and lead, and she is to respect and follow. Most women and many men think this is nonsense. Only those who do it find the joy of being in a ‘one flesh’ relationship. This means overcoming the differences in how each think. Imagine the challenge to a church to know and do the will of God. Imagine the challenge to lead a woman who wants to be her own leader and love her when she resists. Imagine the challenge to follow a man who refuses to seek God's will. Marriage that lasts is not easy, never mind happy.

Lord God, You stuck with the lessons and keep teaching me what it means to be a wife that does Your will. You also have taught my hubby much about loving me like You love me. Like he says, patience and forgiveness are vital. I can be a bossy and demanding person with a critical attitude. Yet here we are fifty-five years later. You are amazingly merciful to help us stick to ‘for better or for worse’ and amazingly patient with our many mistakes!

Genuine Forgiveness

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.” (Matthew 18:21–27)

Nearly every movie or television series I can think of involves lack of forgiveness. Someone hurts or betrays another person and retaliation follows. Yet Jesus speaks of the solution for such conflict and His cure rarely makes fiction never mind the reality of daily life.

From the War of the Roses in the 1400’s to the Hatfields and McCoys in the late 1800s, to modern family disputes, there are many feuds over everything from positions of power to who owns what, to what to call a family business, people fight over just about everything. Not only are some spats extremely petty, we travelled Europe several years ago and discovered people groups that held grudges against others for something that happened hundreds of years prior. 

I understand. I’ve been angry over nasty remarks and other less serious treatment, and griped far too long, finally realizing that my lack of forgiveness hurt me far more than it bothered the other person. What Jesus has done is illustrated in the story:

“But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:28–35)

If I could total up my sins, I might go out and hang myself as Judas did, and then not experience the forgiveness offered by Jesus. Like the servant who owed more than he could ever pay, I have no right or reason to not forgive those who owe me or who have hurt me. 

Oh, forgiveness is not forgetting, or putting the injury out of mind. It is choosing not to hold against the other person whatever they did. No retaliation or revenge. No bad thoughts. No complaining or gossip to others.

One thing that helps me forgive someone is think about my own sins and how much Jesus has forgiven me.

Jesus. This is just another way to grow into Your image, to be like You. I’m not to hold grudges, but be quick to forgive. I would love to see that attitude in our selfish world, but right now, the best I can do is have it myself.

 

Proof of who Jesus is…

Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:22–32)

This tells how the religious leaders of Jesus’ day thought that His power came from Satan rather than God. Jesus called this the unforgivable sin. They, and many like them, do not think or teach that Jesus is God in human flesh. If the Holy Spirit is telling them otherwise and they are resisting Him, then this sin is not forgiven nor can it be — because the forgiveness included in redemption includes knowing who Jesus is. He is not “a son” or an empowered man, or only a prophet, or an angel, and certainly not an instrument of Satan. As been said, He is not a liar or a deceiver either. 

The difficulty is that His identity must be revealed to a willing heart, and only the Holy Spirit can do that. While He is unlimited in the ways He might use, to deny what He says is unforgivable because knowing Jesus in a saving relationship must include knowing who He is. Denying His deity is the same thing as denying the Holy Spirit and that equates to ‘unforgivable.’

This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:6–12)

Not understanding how God can be triune and yet one God is not an excuse for rejecting this reality. All that do that rationalize that if they cannot figure it out, it must not be true. Deeper still, those who believe it realize that if God had to become a man and die for my sin, then there is nothing I could do to earn or deserve it. How humbling is that! Of course human pride resists the Spirit telling us we are helpless without Him.

Lord Jesus, You reveal Yourself and make known Your identity to those who know and accept this: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8–9) Thank You for making me  aware of how much the Spirit  of God is needed to be able to have a saving relationship with You through mercy and grace, and that my ‘goodness’ can never be good enough. I am eternally grateful!

 
 

Stand Up for Jesus

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:16–33)

Currently in our country and culture, all religions are allowed or tolerated. Only Christians are slipping out of that toleration in several ways. We cannot speak out against certain sins because this is now unlawful. While some ministries are admired, most of the time many non-believers consider us a bit weird or pay no attention to us at all.

As I read the above passage, I wondered if persecution is better than being ignored. When people protest truth, it is usually because they ‘get it’ but don’t want to hear it. No reaction at all could indicate a much harder heart. 

The point Jesus makes is that no matter how others treat us, He watches over us and as we continue to stand up for Him, He continues to represent us to His Father and promises His peace to those who rely on Him. 

Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:31–33)

Many tend to think that the worst persecutors can do is put us to death, but forget that death shoves us out of this place into eternal glory with Him. No wonder He asks if I now believe!

Jesus, there are days I want to leave this life and be with You. Usually I’m feeling sorry for myself. Far better to join You because my life or words have convicted someone, eventually even brought them to their knees, then to be comfortable and safe but those around me remain without faith and are denied by You. You do not author fear but love and a sound mind. Grant me the love, peace and joy of the Holy Spirit that others can hear and hopefully see a clearer picture of You. 

 

Part of the job description…

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:35–38)

Did the disciples pray as instructed? Likely. And the next few verses tell that they were the ones sent out to labor in His harvest!

Rarely have I heard anyone pray this way. Perhaps most are like me; I don’t want to ask God to send out workers because I’m not keen about being sent. My early excuses were three children who need their mother. Then my husband’s work keeps us moving too much and I cannot fit in missionary work with being a supportive wife. Other reasons may not have been as reasonable. Now I’m just too old.

Yet none of these are a problem for God. My sister had three kids, and ran a business, but she was also a harvester. Her grandchildren all love Jesus because she saw them as Jesus does — sheep without a shepherd. If that were my only example, it is enough to make me pray as Jesus instructed.

I’m finally learning how to put the Lord into everyday conversations. He keeps surprising me and as my story comes out, His Name is part of it. Sometimes just the mention of His Name results in meeting a brother or sister in Christ that I would otherwise not be aware of their faith. 

More often, most people say nothing. However, a wise sister in the Lord reminds me that God can bring my words back to them when they need to hear them. Praying this way might be more like planting seeds than bringing in a harvest. Or more like watering and nourishing someone else’s work than reaping the results, but when God nudges me to be the answer to my own prayers, how vital to realize the value of being part of His work in the lives of those who do not yet know Him.

Lord Jesus, I can make excuses, but You are able to bypass that foolishness and use people as You choose. Prayer like this merely makes us more aware and more willing. Work in my heart as I pray that You will keep working and putting Your people where we can do the most good to build Your kingdom.