“I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run” (Exodus 23:27).

We have just experienced Halloween with its diverse cast of characters, some cute and some devilish. Halloween seems to bring out the dark side. As I reflected on this, my mind turned to depictions of “bad guys” in the movies and on television. Have you ever noticed that so many times, their ultimate demise is the result of their own stupidity, their selfishness, and/or their lack of unity. For example, the three bank robbers all try to get more of their share of the loot at the expense of the others and end up killing off their partners or getting themselves caught.

Whether or not the writers of these dramas know it, they are following a script we see in the Bible numerous times. For example:

• During the time of Gideon: “When the threeunits blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and shouted, ‘A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!’ And each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled. And when they blew the three hundred trumpets, the Lord set the sword of one against another even throughout the entire army; and the army fled” (Judges 7:20-22).
• During the time of King Saul: ^“While Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, ‘Withdraw your hand.’ Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle; and behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow Philistine, and there was very great confusion” (1 Samuel 14:19-20).
• During the time of King Jehosaphat: “’Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: Put your trust in the Lord your God and you will endure. Put your trust in His prophets, and succeed.’ When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for His faithfulness is everlasting.’ When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were struck down. For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, completely destroying them; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. (2 Chronicles 20:20-23).

The assumption is that there will be battles during our lifetime—whether military or interfamily, financial, physical, emotional, spiritual, or cultural—and we will face the enemy. In fact, the more we are attuned to God’s holiness, the more likely we are to sense the presence of evil because it becomes even more abhorrent to us.

The message is that God is faithful, and good will win over evil. God uses different means to accomplish his good purposes. Sometimes he allows evil to just play itself out. We can trust in God’s victory over evil.

What is instructive is that we all have a role to play in the battle. Sometimes our role may seem irrelevant or ineffective in the face of conflict. In Gideon’s case, the people were to carry a torch and a trumpet, shout, blow their trumpets, and stand in place. Saul’s people had to show up for the fight and watch the Philistines fight with each other. The subjects of King Jehosaphat were to sing and praise and give thanks. I think that’s great advice to live by. In any event, we must trust in Him. In this day, as in the days of old, battles are being fought both here and abroad, even in the Holy Land. The battles are sometimes physical, always spiritual. We must be prepared to do whatever is required of us. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).”

Lastly and most importantly, we must not be anxious or fearful. Remember, Jesus said in John 16:33b “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Notice the verb tense: The present perfect is a grammatical combination of the present tense and perfect aspect that is used to express a past event that has present consequences.) Our confidence in the sovereignty and victory of our Lord and Savior is a powerful testimony to others.

“Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.’” (2 Chronicles 20:15).

In Christ,

Judy

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

In our American culture (and it may be true of other cultures-I just don’t know), we tend to be selfish. This is a human trait, and it seems to be manifest, or strangely obvious, in our land of plenty. We are competitive, or I am, anyway. And for me to win, I used to think that meant everyone else had to lose. Some days are better than others, but honestly, don’t we want what we think we deserve, whether it is first place in line, the first cookie (and maybe the last also), the top recognition? Our culture tends to value this competitive spirit, this ambition to win, whether it is in business, sports, the battlefield, or academia. This competitive spirit can also lead to what Steven Covey has labeled a scarcity mentality. We are afraid there is not enough to go around, so we had better get ours while the gettin’ is good. This is also referred to as a zero-sum mentality, meaning that for me to win, you must lose, so the net result overall is still zero.

I realize that I am writing to some incredibly godly, generous, big-hearted coworkers for whom this opening paragraph does not apply as much as to others in our culture, but you know what I mean. And I bet you can identify at some level if you are honest with yourselves.

This striving is not all bad.

• The Apostle Paul urges us: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).
• Jude writes “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend (fight strenuously) for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (Jude 1:3).

When Jesus promises an abundant life, of course he means a life full of riches, blessings, contentment, and security. But even more than that, he promises that this abundant life is not limited to just a few selective, deserving people. In fact, God desires that all be saved. For God so loved the world!! Jesus desires that all that the Father gives him will be saved, regardless of who they are or what they have done. “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37).

This grace that Jesus so generously gives means that we, too, may receive it no matter who we are or what we have done. It is a gift, and whether we are first or last, if we believe and receive, we are as eligible for the crown, the faith, as anyone else. We do not have to be concerned whether Jesus notices, because like God He is all-seeing. We do not have to be concerned whether Jesus is in a good mood that day, because he does not operate out of feelings but only agape love. And we do not have to be concerned whether a quota has been met and we lost out. In fact, we know that the last will be first in God’s economy. We also do not have to be concerned about who else is getting this grace and whether they deserve it as much or more than we do, because we know that sharing love, compassion, and faith multiplies rather than divides. Jesus is about multiplying, not dividing. He is the definition of abundance.

“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” (Romans 5:17).

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

In Christ,

Judy

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

If Jesus’ promise that He is the Life were not true, then we would all be doomed to death. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die—meaning that this life would be all we could ever look forward to. There is another word for this: Hopelessness.

This verse spells it out a little more clearly: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). This statement is a paradox. It seems to contradict itself, but it actually reveals a great truth.

There is an assumption in this verse that death is inevitable, which is also true. Physical death is an inevitability as a result of the curse pronounced by God upon Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). “And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” (Genesis 3:22).

Throughout the Bible we see darkness, sin, and death together juxtaposed against light, goodness, and life. Satan represents darkness, sin, and death. Jesus is light, goodness, and life.

When we die, our bodies are separated from our souls. Our bodies return to the earth as ashes and dust. Our souls go to heaven or hell, depending on our relationship with Jesus. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

How does Jesus change this; how do we have eternal life through Him? Jesus is the fulfilment of the promise God made way back in Genesis chapter 3. After Adam and Eve’s disobedience and the resulting curse of death, God makes a stunning prophecy, or promise: that a descendent of Eve (Jesus) would ultimately defeat the serpent (Satan). Through Jesus’ birth, life, and death on the cross, he paid the penalty for our disobedience (atonement) so that we could go free. Through his resurrection, Jesus defeated death and made it possible for us to enjoy eternal life with Him.

God’s prophecy in Genesis 3:15 was fulfilled in Jesus. God made another prophecy which we read in Revelation 21:3-4 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” The curse will be overturned, and with the defeat of death, we will have life everlasting. The tree of life which God planted in the Garden of Eden, freely available to Adam and Eve until their sin and banishment from the Garden, we will experience in even greater magnitude in the New Heaven and New Earth. No more curse, no more darkness, no more night. Only light and life, eternal life.

“And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bondservants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illuminate them; and they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:1-5).

In Christ,

Judy

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

I do not know about you, but I have come to rely upon my GPS for navigation and traffic. All I do is put in the address and “she” tells me how to get where I need to go. But then, I might also check Google navigation just to be sure, and often they disagree. And then, someone will recommend Waze which may suggest an alternate route to avoid a slowdown. So, do I take the one that says it will get me there quickest? Perhaps I should take the one that is the most conservative estimate. Or maybe it is the one that has proved most reliable over time. The problem is that not one of my devices is 100% accurate. So, you say that’s because conditions are changing all the time—traffic, road construction, weather, etc.

And even worse—have you ever fought to get somewhere and found when you got there that they had moved????  One time I was going to a play at TPAC. I had parked and was rushing down the street, cutting it close (and it was cold that night). When I arrived at the door, the sign said the entrance had changed to the other side, in essence, I still had two more blocks to go. UGH! BRRR! Conditions change all the time. What does not change is that I need to be at work at the start of my shift, or at my doctor’s office at the appointed time, or in my seat before the show starts. Those things do not change.

In life, we all have a final destination, and we are headed there now, if we have not already arrived. Our destination is the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is right where it has always been and always will be, in other words, you can count on it to not move or be moved. Heaven is where God is, and Jesus is sitting at His right hand.

“Forever, O Lord, thy Word is settled in heaven. God’s Word, or Law, is eternal and unchanging – fixed and established forever in the heaven of heavens” (comp. Psalm 89:2; James 1:17).

Not only is Heaven unchanging, the way to get there is described in the Scriptures and has not changed since they were written more than two thousand years ago. In John 6, we have two amazing miracles: Jesus feeding the five thousand, and Jesus walking on water. The next day, the crowd came looking again for Jesus.

“Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:24-29).

 Jesus is very clear, He is the only way to the Father in Heaven, and the only way we will stay on The Way to arrive in Heaven is to believe in The Way.

To continue with the logistical analogy, even though I happen to live on a dead-end road, I am fortunate in having more than one way to get to get to my road from wherever I am. Some of us pride ourselves on always having a Plan B, a backup plan if the first one falls through. Some of us have multiple options in play all the time, juggling and grabbing whichever seems the most profitable or expedient at any given time. And that is sometimes good; however, not when it comes to our path to the Kingdom of Heaven. In those cases, there is only one Way. To count on other things, to hope a Plan B will work, is to take our eye off our ultimate destination. Let us remember:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

In Christ,

Judy

 “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7a).

The words above describing God’s steadfast love and faithfulness are an attempt to translate the Hebrew word “hesed,” which appears 248 times in Scripture. According to various lexicons, when this Hebrew word is used in Scripture, it is translated as one or more of the following words: grace, kindness, goodness, piety, beauty, favor, good deeds, lovingkindness, mercy/merciful. Sally Lloyd Jones talks about “hesed” as God’s never-stopping. never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever kind of love. Is that not beautiful? I cannot read or repeat this without a catch in my throat.

This love is ours for the asking, for the receiving. Notably, Jonah, in the belly of the fish, said, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace (hesed) that could be theirs” (Jonah 2:8).

Jonah was learning. He knew intellectually about the grace of God, but he did not want it extended to Nineveh. He felt they were undeserving. The problem here is that it is not up to us as to who is deserving of God’s grace and mercy. (Thank God!). Jonah tried to run from God, both literally and in his disobedience. But God pursued him and yet allowed him to reach the depths of his mess in the bottom of the sea in the belly of the fish. Finally, when ‘Jonah could run no more, he prayed to God. “In my distress, I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry” (Jonah 2:2).

And when Jonah prayed, God answered. “And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land (Jonah 2:10).

God loves us with an everlasting love, yet we must realize our desperate need for him. We must cling to him only. If we grasp for other sources of help, we will miss the grace, the hesed, of God. Remember, in the words of the Apostle Paul: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).

“Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord.” (Jonah 2:8-9).

In Christ,

Judy

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10).

This verse paints a beautiful word picture in my mind. I see someone bowing low before Jesus, and Jesus gently holding them as He raises them up. There is another picture that Jesus paints in Luke:

“When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 14:8-10).

Jesus has an amazing way of turning things on their heads, as when he says, “The first will be last, and the last will be first.” This passage from Luke speaks of humility as a position—in this case, the lowest place (or farthest from the host). In the same way, humility is our position in relation to others, and to Christ. Bottom line, humility is not getting down on yourself. Humility is properly submitting to authority.

Jesus set the example. He humbled himself to be incarnated as a man, to die a horrible death on the cross; to be the lamb, the atoning sacrifice to take away the sins of the world. And then God raised him from the dead, and Jesus ascended to the right hand of God. And from there he will rule and reign. He knew that if he was obedient to his Father, that his Father would lift him up.

In the same way, we should be obedient to our heavenly Father, knowing that he will lift us up. James Chapter 4 leads off with why we have strife with our fellow brothers and sisters. “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (v.4). He then proceeds to tell us how to change this dynamic: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. (James 4:7-10)

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Proverbs 3:34).

In Christ,

Judy

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Besides Jesus, most of us would probably say that the Apostle Paul had the strongest faith of anyone in the New Testament. And certainly, there were heroes of the faith in the Old Testament such as Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and all the others listed in the Faith Hall of Fame (Hebrews 11). However, when we read their stories, we learn that they all experienced times when their faith was weak.

One of my favorite stories is about one of the most famous prophets in the Bible, Elijah. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah calls down fire from heaven in a showdown with the prophets of Baal.

“At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: ‘Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!’” (1 Kings 18:36-39).

Elijah exhibited great faith when going up against the most evil King Ahab and his 400 prophets of Baal, and God rewarded him with a miracle. You would think that Elijah would be filled with great confidence as a result. Yet when the wicked Queen Jezebel threatened him right after this miracle, “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life…he prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’”

Have you ever felt like that? Afraid. Had enough. Just can’t do this anymore. It’s just not worth it. Where do these feelings come from?

A clue to the answer to this question is in the question itself. Specifically, it’s the word “feelings.” Our feelings are an important component of our emotional health. God created us with emotions, and even Jesus wept. But we all know that our feelings are also changeable, we can’t really depend on them. I might be terribly upset immediately after hearing bad news, but the next day it won’t seem to matter so much.  The Bible tells us about the misleading nature of our feelings: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9). The Bible also tells us about the unpredictability of our feelings: “Even in laughter the heart may ache, and rejoicing may end in grief (Proverbs 14:13). That said, human feelings can reveal spiritual truths and help us grow toward Christian maturity. Our emotions can expose our need for God, our dependency on Him, and the frailty of our human existence (2 Corinthians 12:7–10). 

So, understanding this about our feelings, what do we do when our faith is weak? Oddly enough, it’s the same thing we do when our faith is strong and we feel invincible, and for all the same reasons. Because we need to understand what faith is and where our faith lies. When I sit down in a chair, my faith is not in my proficiency in sitting. My faith is in the chair. We need to understand just who or what it is that we have faith in. If my faith is in myself and my abilities, I’ve been known to fail. If my faith is in others, they have been known to fail.  But if my faith is in Jesus, He is Trustworthy and True. Jesus never fails. His timing is perfect, and his Way is always the right way.

When Paul was feeling weak, he remembered God’s grace. Throughout Scriptures, time after time, we read about the power of God and how he always came through, just like with Elijah in the passage above. We need to remember these wonderful stories of God’s compassion, his grace, his might, his victories, and his promises. This is why Moses could write with all confidence:

“In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling” (Exodus 15:13).

Judy

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

We have just celebrated Labor Day, and although I know that many workers get the day off to rest from their labors, many of you worked right on through. I sincerely hope you know how appreciated you are, and how godly it is that you remained at your post, working for the Lord.

This devotional is “bookended” by words spoken by the Apostle Paul to his brothers in sisters in Christ to encourage them in their faith. Their faith was a dynamic faith in many ways. For example:

• These new believers were actively converting from their old religion, whether it be Judaism or paganism, giving up their old ways and exchanging them for the ways of Christ. This involved continuous decision-making and taking action regarding what to think, what to say, and what to do. This is stressful and exhausting.
• In many cases, they were rejected by their families of origin because of their Christianity, and as a result having to relocate and develop new relationships and new resources. This, too, is challenging and stressful.
• And perhaps most importantly, they were actively involved in the expansion of Christianity, winning souls for Christ and supporting the missionary efforts of others. And while rewarding, it was dangerous and stressful work.

This is why Paul so often used metaphors of running the race and fighting the fight, because these new believers were so actively contending for the faith.

Many of us, early in the throes of any major change, are energetic and enthusiastic about what we are striving to do. And then, over time, we become complacent, maybe even bored, and possibly even revert to the older, “easier” ways. I bet you can relate; I know that I can. When I start a new job, I am so excited about coming to work every day and what I am going to learn and accomplish. And then it can sometimes just become routine, going through the motions. We can forget what our true motivation for the change was in the first place. Marriage can be like that also. That’s why John wrote to the church at Ephesus “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4).

How can we overcome this tendency to slack off, to forsake the first love and excitement?

1. Continually pray that our priorities are in the right place. In other words, focus on doing the Lord’s work. It is our “labor in the Lord” that is not in vain.
2. Remember that we are not doing this on our own— “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
3. Surround yourself with partners in the gospel, to pray and be prayed for, to encourage and be encouraged by, and to work alongside.
4. Focus on the prize, the crown, the wreath, the commendation of “well-done good and faithful servant”, the “harvest.” “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Jesus has promised that our labor “in the Lord” will not be in vain and that he will carry it through to completion. Therefore, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:4-6).

In Christ,

Judy

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

These are the words of Jesus, a promise to his disciples that he made during the last week before his crucifixion. In fact, just a little later on in Matthew 26:1-2, “When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, ‘As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.’”

We tend to attach more significance to the last words anyone knowingly says. When you are nearing death, you want to tell those you love what is absolutely the most important. What Jesus was telling his disciples is how to know about the end times, followed by instructions on how to be ready. That is a subject of interest to many people. We read Revelation with limited ability to understand the symbolism. We read passages in the Old Testament to try to interpret what we read in Revelation. But the fact of the matter is that Jesus gives us the plainest, easiest to understand description of what will happen in these gospel writings in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.

Here is the context: Jesus has been pouring into his disciples, trying to help them understand that He was really the Son of God, the promised Messiah. Peter had acknowledged him as the Christ, and then Jesus began to teach them “that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). They really had a hard time with that!

Later on, during Jesus’ last week before his crucifixion, Jesus pronounced “woes” on the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. Then, as he is walking away from the temple, he tells his disciples that the temple will be destroyed (Matt. 24:1-2). They proceed to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples ask Jesus when this destruction will occur and “what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matt. 24:3). They have lots of questions and know they do not have much time to get the answers.

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:4-5). He, in the remainder of chapter 24, then gives all the signs to watch for.

Jesus is telling them to not get caught up in all the deceptions and the conspiracy theories that abound. And isn’t that true of our day as well? And as bad as it is now, especially with our access to so many sorts of media, it is only going to get worse. Jesus tells us that the words of false prophets will die with them. However, Jesus’ words will never pass away.

We learn from the Bible how to distinguish true prophecy from false prophecy. David Jeremiah provides some great insight directly from Scriptures: https://davidjeremiah.blog/how-to-spot-a-false-prophet/.

We can trust the words of Jesus; however, we cannot truly base our beliefs and actions on them unless we know them. And we will only know them by reading Scripture and engaging in Bible study and prayer. I am so thankful that our God has given us His Word, and His Word is powerful. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Just think of it: God spoke the world into being. He said, “Let there be light, and there was light.” John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1-2).

My friends, there is nothing more important than making time to read and study the Word. Only by reading the Scriptures can you know what God wants you to know about Him; only by reading the Scriptures can you understand the depth of your sin and the love God has for you that he gave his only Son in atonement for your sin so that you can have life everlasting. This is an offer, a gift, which has an expiration date—the date of your death. Do not take a chance. Receive the gift now. Be ready, as the Scriptures strongly recommend. And share it with everyone you know and love.

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

In Christ,

Judy