Be prepared

“When you see the disgusting and destructive thing that Daniel talked about standing in the holy place (the reader should understand this), then those in Judea must escape to the mountains. Those on the roof shouldn’t come down to grab things from their houses. Those in the field shouldn’t come back to grab their clothes. How terrible it will be at that time for women who are pregnant and for women who are nursing their children. Pray that it doesn’t happen in winter or on the Sabbath day. There will be great suffering such as the world has never before seen and will never again see. If that time weren’t shortened, nobody would be rescued. But for the sake of the ones whom God chose, that time will be cut short. “Then if somebody says to you, ‘Look, here’s the Christ,’ or ‘He’s over here,’ don’t believe it. False christs and false prophets will appear, and they will offer great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even those whom God has chosen. Look, I’ve told you ahead of time. So if they say to you, ‘Look, he’s in the desert,’ don’t go out. And if they say, ‘Look, he’s in the rooms deep inside the house,’ don’t believe it. Just as the lightning flashes from the east to the west, so it will be with the coming of the Human One. (Matthew 24:15-27, CEB)

We need to not worry about our stuff or anything other than being ready for the coming of the kingdom. Also, do not say here is the Christ when obviously it is not. Do not say signs that are happening are the ones that point to the coming of Christ, because only God knows that timing.

We just need to be ready. Doing the Lord’s work until the kingdom is fulfilled.

Be prepared and love all.

do God’s will

But remember the earlier days, after you saw the light. You stood your ground while you were suffering from an enormous amount of pressure. Sometimes you were exposed to insults and abuse in public. Other times you became partners with those who were treated that way. You even showed sympathy toward people in prison and accepted the confiscation of your possessions with joy, since you knew that you had better and lasting possessions. So don’t throw away your confidence—it brings a great reward. You need to endure so that you can receive the promises after you do God’s will. In a little while longer, the one who is coming will come and won’t delay; but my righteous one will live by faith, and my whole being won’t be pleased with anyone who shrinks back. But we aren’t the sort of people who timidly draw back and end up being destroyed. We’re the sort of people who have faith so that our whole beings are preserved. (Hebrews 10:32-39, CEB)

Remember when you first came to faith, and standing your ground was fun and invigorating?

When the light first came to you, showing it off was something you enjoyed doing. And then trials came, and the push back got harder, and it was not so joyful to explain yourself over and over when people just did not see things the same way you did, and it was difficult to have a conversation without fighting.

Stand strong and stand your ground. God is calling on you to be a voice for the voiceless, to stand with those who are beaten down by the system and society.

God is always with you. Helping you to live love, doing God’s will.

fear

If we make the decision to sin after we receive the knowledge of the truth, there isn’t a sacrifice for sins left any longer. There’s only a scary expectation of judgment and of a burning fire that’s going to devour God’s opponents. When someone rejected the Law from Moses, they were put to death without mercy on the basis of the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think is deserved by the person who walks all over God’s Son, who acts as if the blood of the covenant that made us holy is just ordinary blood, and who insults the Spirit of grace? We know the one who said, Judgment is mine; I will pay people back. And he also said, The Lord will judge his people. It’s scary to fall into the hands of the living God! (Hebrews 10:26-31, CEB)

Who has sinned after they knew they were a part of the body of Christ? Haven’t all of us? So, according to this reading, we will all be damned for all time. We walk all over the Son of God when we sin after we know we are accepted.

We can not not sin. We are sinful by nature, and try as we will we will fail. But God is a god of Love and mercy, and that is what we need to focus on. The love and acceptance, not the fear of damnation. Fear is a motivator that works only so long.

Love. Mercy. These are what help us focus on God and follow Their ways.

entrusted

Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” The Lord replied, “Who are the faithful and wise managers whom the master will put in charge of his household servants, to give them their food at the proper time? Happy are the servants whom the master finds fulfilling their responsibilities when he comes. I assure you that the master will put them in charge of all his possessions. “But suppose that these servants should say to themselves, My master is taking his time about coming. And suppose they began to beat the servants, both men and women, and to eat, drink, and get drunk. The master of those servants would come on a day when they weren’t expecting him, at a time they couldn’t predict. The master will cut them into pieces and assign them a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but didn’t prepare for it or act on it will be beaten severely. The one who didn’t know the master’s will but who did things deserving punishment will be beaten only a little. Much will be demanded from everyone who has been given much, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked. (Luke 12:41-48, CEB)

We are entrusted servants of Jesus. We are supposed to treat others as Jesus treats us, with love and compassion.

Will this be what Jesus finds when Jesus returns?

Suppose those entrusted servants start to beat or mistreat the others? What if they tell them they can not belong because their lifestyle is incorrect to be a part of the body of Christ?

What if they say that you can not be a leader because you are not the correct type of person?

What if they use fear to manipulate people into doing things that are not necessary to be a part of the body of Christ?

These are all things happening in today’s churches. LGBTQIA+ folks are being shamed for being who God created them to be and told that they do not belong because they are sinful. Women are told they can not be preachers or teachers or hold leadership positions because they have the wrong genitalia. And congregations use fear of hell and damnation to make people stay in line and follow the rules they set out. This is mistreatment of other servants.

We need to live and love like Jesus. Everyone, without exception and stop mistreating children of God.

You are entrusted.

By faith…

By faith Abraham offered Isaac when he was tested. The one who received the promises was offering his only son. He had been told concerning him, Your legitimate descendants will come from Isaac. He figured that God could even raise him from the dead. So in a way he did receive him back from the dead.
By faith Isaac also blessed Jacob and Esau concerning their future.
By faith Jacob blessed each of Joseph’s sons as he was dying and bowed in worship over the head of his staff.
By faith Joseph recalled the exodus of the Israelites at the end of his life, and gave instructions about burying his bones.
By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months when he was born, because they saw that the child was beautiful and they weren’t afraid of the king’s orders.
By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter when he was grown up. He chose to be mistreated with God’s people instead of having the temporary pleasures of sin. He thought that the abuses he suffered for Christ were more valuable than the treasures of Egypt, since he was looking forward to the reward.
By faith he left Egypt without being afraid of the king’s anger. He kept on going as if he could see what is invisible.
By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, in order that the destroyer could not touch their firstborn children. (Hebrews 11:17-28, CEB)

Abraham offered his only offspring as a sacrifice, trusting God would not let this happen. How many of us would take our only child to the mountain top and bind them to sacrifice them to God when we waited so long for the promise of them to be born? Abraham trusted God to wait for Isaac, even though he questioned God as he waited, and then he trusted God to bind him and prepare to hand him back.

All of those listed here faced terrible things, but trusted God.

Do you trust God with your life?

How are you living by faith?

By faith!

Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see. The elders in the past were approved because they showed faith.
By faith we understand that the universe has been created by a word from God so that the visible came into existence from the invisible.
By faith Abel offered a better sacrifice to God than Cain, which showed that he was righteous, since God gave approval to him for his gift. Though he died, he’s still speaking through faith.
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he didn’t see death, and he wasn’t found because God took him up. He was given approval for having pleased God before he was taken up. It’s impossible to please God without faith because the one who draws near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards people who try to find him.
By faith Noah responded with godly fear when he was warned about events he hadn’t seen yet. He built an ark to deliver his household. With his faith, he criticized the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes from faith. (Hebrews 11:1-7, CEB)

By faith all these things happened.

By trusting in the promises that God has made and knowing they will come to be because of all God has said They would do and have already done.

Faith is the reality of what we hope for. The proof that God will do what They promised to do.

Live in faith.

Breaks in…

“Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights in giving you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to those in need. Make for yourselves wallets that don’t wear out—a treasure in heaven that never runs out. No thief comes near there, and no moth destroys. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be too. “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps lit. Be like people waiting for their master to come home from a wedding celebration, who can immediately open the door for him when he arrives and knocks on the door. Happy are those servants whom the master finds waiting up when he arrives. I assure you that, when he arrives, he will dress himself to serve, seat them at the table as honored guests, and wait on them. Happy are those whom he finds alert, even if he comes at midnight or just before dawn. But know this, if the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he wouldn’t have allowed his home to be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Human One is coming at a time when you don’t expect him.” (Luke 12:32-40, CEB)

This passage ends by comparing Jesus to a thief.
“But know this, if the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he wouldn’t have allowed his home to be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Human One is coming at a time when you don’t expect him.”

If the homeowner knew when the thief would come, they would not have allowed the thief to enter. So, if we know when Jesus is coming, will we keep Him from getting in? E. Trey Clark in his commentary on workingpreacher.org, said, “How might we be receptive rather than resistant to Jesus’ coming into our life as we grow as vigilant disciples?” You see, Jesus as a thief is not one who breaks in to steal. He breaks in to make us more than we were. He comes unexpectedly and gives us a life that we have never had. And Jesus does not steal the treasure if we have placed it in the purse in heaven, He is protecting it, and helping us to follow where He leads.

As He said at the beginning of this passage, “Do not continue in fear, it is God’s good pleasure to give you the kindom. Sell your possessions and have mercy and compassion. Place your treasure in God’s hands, and your heart will follow God’s leading.” (Pastor Jerry’s paraphrase)

We need to put our lives and everything we hold dear in God’s hands, and our hearts will follow. We have to understand that Jesus comes unexpectedly and we will never truly be ready, but must work to follow and do what God has called us to do and be. Love all, have compassion, and trust that God will care for you and give you what you need.

Have faith, not fear. Trust God is with you, and know that you will always have what you need.

Do not continue in fear, but wait for the breaking in that will change the world forever.

Who do you serve?

“Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how terrible that darkness will be! No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. (Matthew 6:19-24,CEB)

Where is your treasure? First, to answer this, you need to know what your treasure is. Treasure is not always financial. It is time and yourself. If we place these things into God’s hands, our hearts will follow where God is leading us.

I have said many times that if you show me your checkbook register, I can tell you what and where your treasure is, who/what is your idol, and your god.

We need to give all our treasure over to God, where it will be safely held, and so our hearts follow. We can’t get our hearts in line and then know our treasure will follow; it is really the other way around. Place your treasure in God’s hands and know your heart will follow.

Who do you serve?

Truth…

The high priest asked, “Are these accusations true?”

Stephen responded, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran. God told him, ‘Leave your homeland and kin, and go to the land that I will show you.’ So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After Abraham’s father died, God had him resettle in this land where you now live. God didn’t give him an inheritance here, not even a square foot of land. However, God did promise to give the land as his possession to him and to his descendants, even though Abraham had no child. God put it this way: His descendants will be strangers in a land that belongs to others, who will enslave them and abuse them for four hundred years. And I will condemn the nation they serve as slaves, God said, and afterward they will leave that land and serve me in this place. God gave him the covenant confirmed through circumcision. Accordingly, eight days after Isaac’s birth, Abraham circumcised him. Isaac did the same with Jacob, and Jacob with the twelve patriarchs. (Acts 7:1-8, CEB)

“So what I told you is true… from a certain point of view.” Ob1 Kenobi.

This was followed by, “You’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.“

Our point of view greatly impacts the way we see things and how we believe them. This is evident in society today, specifically the USA society, where half of the people believe the lies being told by the administration, and the other half do not believe them. Stephen here answers a request for accusations being true with a history lesson, one that those accusing knew but probably did not know or understand from Stephen’s point of view.

How can we get the world view truth to be the truth from the biblical understanding, but then we also need to define who gets to say what the biblical truth is? Truth is a fact or belief that is accepted as true. But what is accepted as true today?

And I say that Jesus died and rose from the dead is truth, but I have friends who would say that is a myth.


So what is truth?

descendants

I’m speaking the truth in Christ—I’m not lying, as my conscience assures me with the Holy Spirit: I have great sadness and constant pain in my heart. I wish I could be cursed, cut off from Christ if it helped my brothers and sisters, who are my flesh-and-blood relatives. They are Israelites. The adoption as God’s children, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Law, the worship, and the promises belong to them. The Jewish ancestors are theirs, and the Christ descended from those ancestors. He is the one who rules over all things, who is God, and who is blessed forever. Amen. But it’s not as though God’s word has failed. Not all who are descended from Israel are part of Israel. Not all of Abraham’s children are called Abraham’s descendants, but instead your descendants will be named through Isaac. That means it isn’t the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children from the promise who are counted as descendants. The words in the promise were: A year from now I will return, and Sarah will have a son. (Romans 9:1-9, CEB)

Not all of Abraham’s children are called Abraham’s descendants. It is not enough to be a child to be included. We all know parents who disown their children. Usually for uber conservative reasons, which is completely wrong, but I digress.

Abraham’s descendants are named through his son. As God’s descendants are named through Their Son.

You are a descendant of God through the Son.

Help all of God’s children see this.