2012 Day 74 – Mark 13

13 Tuesday Mar 2012

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In verse 14 where it says, “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’standing where it does not belong–let the reader understand–then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”, it is talking about acts of desecration of the temple. There were several times the temple was desecrated before Christ; in 597 BC when Nebuchadnezzar looted the temple and took Judea captive; and in 168 BC when Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed a pig to Zeus on the temple alter. This past summer I participated in a study of the book of Daniel and much of the book prophesied about the coming Messiah and the history before and after. Verse 14 is a reinforcement of prophesy of events that would end up happening in 70 AD when the Roman General Titus (no relation to the book of Titus) will place an idol on the site of the burned out temple. What is important to see here, in my mind, is that God knows, for the most part, the people of this earth don’t respect Him. Hard times for believers will come and we should not be a surprise. God knows what is coming and is certainly not surprised.

2012 Day 73 – Luke 21

12 Monday Mar 2012

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Being a believer is the most important and rewarding thing I have ever done. And while it is rewarding and eternally sufficient, it is also not meant to be easy. We tend to want to water down our faith in order to increase our chances of the rest of the world liking us. The truth is we should not be surprised that most of the world either hates us or are are being told they should. In verses 17-19 Jesus makes it clear, “17 All men will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By standing firm you will gain life.” I tend to get upset when I see someone post something on Facebook or Twitter that makes believers look bad, but this is no surprise to God. All we can do is pray that we become as good of a reflection of Christ as we possibly can and God will work on the hearts men and women towards a loving relationship with Him. In the end, our reward is that we have gained eternal life.

2012 Day 72 – Luke 20

11 Sunday Mar 2012

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In today’s reading I do not have a verse that struck me, but instead I have an observation. As Christians we will sometimes win battles here on earth, but in the end the war is not ours to win. Jesus was able to combat and dispute everything they threw at Him, and yet, they still killed Him. I know what you are thinking… “In the back of the book it’s says we win” and that is true, just remember that God’s path to His final plan sometimes leads us to lose some wars in order to arrive final victory. My point is this; we may be smarter than the people around us and may be able to logically win a philosophical battle, but most importantly the plan is that we are obedient to God. Unless there is heart change in the individual we are talking to, no amount of logic or smart responses will ever convince someone to have a relationship with God. There is a time when bold defense of our faith is needed and there is also a time when defense of my faith is nothing more than a victory for me and does nothing to further the Kingdom of God.

2012 Day 71 – Matthew 23

11 Sunday Mar 2012

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After reading Matthew chapter 23 all I can say is, Wow! Jesus does not hold back as He condemns the religious leaders. Six (6) time Jesus says “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!”, He also says “Woe to you, blind guides!”, and finally He calls them “You snakes! You brood of vipers!” Jesus does not mince word with these men who are supposed to be leaders. They are more concerned with how they appear than with the spiritual health of the Jews. As I read this I could not help but think of those who call themselves leaders of our faith, along with myself as a believer. Are we hypocrites? Are we blind guides? Are we a brood of vipers? I hope not. But if we are, we know exactly how Jesus feels about it.

2012 Day 70 – Mark 12

10 Saturday Mar 2012

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I love how verses 32 and 33 show the voice of reason coming out of one of the religious leaders after he asks Jesus what the greatest command is; “32 Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” what is even better was Jesus’ response in verse 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” It was almost like Jesus says, “Finally, someone has a clue!” The key is to remember that to love God with all our hearts is the Greatest Command. This means loving Him above all else; above career, friends, even family! Sometimes that is a hard pill to swallow.

2012 Day 69 – Matthew 22

09 Friday Mar 2012

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Today’s reading in Matthew 22 shows how much the religious leaders wanted to stump Jesus. Both the Sadducees and Pharisees worked very hard, but at ever turn Jesus had an answer. What stood out to me today was verse 22, “‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” In this verse Jesus is making it clear that heaven is for real. God is the God of the living and not the dead. I love knowing that I will see the people I love once again in heaven. It brings me comfort and joy knowing that those who believe in Christ and His saving grace will be with me for eternity.

2012 Day 68 – John 12

08 Thursday Mar 2012

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In verses 44-46 it says, 44 Then Jesus cried out, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. My favorite thing about this passage is that Jesus recognizes the most important thing is to reflect God’s glory. He also makes it clear that His purpose is to shine the light back to God. If we believe in God we don’t want to stay in the dark, we want to be in the light and in turn we will reflect His light for all to see.

2012 Day 67 – Mark 11

07 Wednesday Mar 2012

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I struggled In today’s reading when I got to verse 24 where it says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” When I read this passage It always makes me think I do not have enough faith to move mountains, and while I think it is sometimes true, I think there is more to this story. Motives for our prayers and desired outcomes are important. Our faith should always be focused on God and not in the object of our prayer. If we focus only on the object of our requests, then if God refuses we are left with nothing. Our focus should always be on God and the desire to further His kingdom and the realization that He has a perfect plan.

2012 Day 66 – Luke 19

06 Tuesday Mar 2012

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Jesus deserves our praise and we often feel that we need to rebuke others into giving Him their praise as well. When Jesus is making His triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the Pharisees begin to rebuke the people for praising Him, Jesus makes a beautiful statement in verse 40, “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Jesus wants our praise, but he certainly does not need it to make Him any more praiseworthy than He already is. Even “the stones will cry out” if people are quiet. It makes it so much more powerful in my mind to know that Jesus doesn’t need me to praise Him because in the end He will receive it whether I give it to Him or not, though I certainly want to be someone who praises Him!

2012 Day 65 – Luke 18

05 Monday Mar 2012

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I tend to get hung up on what God is actually capable of doing. The truth is that I limit God to the things I think are possible. Verse 27, Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” I have to honest here… Sometimes I lose sight of God as the creator of the universe. There are times I put God’s abilities on par with what I’m able to accomplish on my own. I need to be better at remembering that I am never alone and that God never leaves me on my own. He is always there and He wants me to rely on Him for all things not just the big things.