God Speaks
Jesus Gives a Description and Signs of the End Times
Verse of the Day: Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. (Mark 13:33 NIV 2011)
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Watch TBR Day 310
We Respond
Mark 13
Reflection: After condemning the rich religious leaders for their prideful self-aggrandizement, Jesus turned and commended a poor widow’s self-sacrificial offering. Jesus foretold of the destruction of the temple, of wars and persecution, and the destruction of Jerusalem. Many of these things happened around 70AD. Many others will occur at the coming of the Son of Man. Some seem to be occurring now. Some commentators think that the fig tree represents the nation of Israel reestablished in their ancient land in May of 1948. We are to watch for the signs of the times and keep our own behavior pure and godly and pray. The time of the Lord’s return is sooner than it has ever been.
Prayer: Dear God who watches over the widows and the orphans, the poor and the afflicted, You called attention to this widow’s sacrificial offering. I desire, with help of the Holy Spirit, to follow in Your footsteps and hers. Jesus, You, foretold of the destruction of the temple, wars and persecution, and the destruction of Jerusalem. You wanted Your disciples (then and now) to not be surprised but prepared. Over the centuries, the coming of the Son of Man has been the subject of many sermons and books. Please help your people to know which ones are right. Your fig tree, Israel, is budding as well as under attack from her hostile neighbors. May Your people be alert, watch our behavior, and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will examine my patterns and motives for giving and ask the Lord to help me to follow faithful patterns and to purify my motives.
- I will search through the Old and New Testaments for prophecies of the destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem and compare it with secular accounts of 70A.D.
- I will search through the Old and New Testaments for prophecies of the return of Christ and use the list to wait expectantly and pray for it to come soon.
- I will pray for myself and other believers to be faithful in the midst of persecution and other suffering so that “. . . as a result, the Messiah will be widely known and honored.” (Luke 21:13 TLB)
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.