And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Matthew 24:6
Dear Church and Friends,
Today is the first day of the mandate to shelter-in-place. I hope this finds you well. No one has told me to stay in my room since I was a child. I guess if you live long enough everything repeats itself.
Sunday nights when I’m not teaching January Bible Study, I’ve been preaching through the gospel of Matthew. The last Sunday night we were together I’d reached the end of the 23rd chapter. So I thought today I thought I would look to the 24th chapter for our devotion.
Matthew 24 is a time-scape painted by the Lord Jesus which leads us up to his return. If you have your Bible handy turn to Matthew 24:4-7.
- “see that ye be not troubled” This phrase stands out especially now while we are worried about the future. Jesus has taken care of the main trouble, our sin and rebellion. The rest of the troubles are just pretenders. Life and all of is ups and downs are in his hands.
- “the end is not yet” We always feel like this is it, the end of all things has come. Jesus even tells us in verse 8 that these are just the beginning of sorrows. As bad as it may seem or actually be, it’s not as bad as it will be during the great tribulation. Good news for the church, we won’t experience those evil days.
- “and there shall be famines, and pestilences . . .” Yes there will be. We see the truth of that statement. The reason I point this out is that our Lord knew about today long before we heard about a little crown shaped virus. It all a part of his plan even though we can’t see the whole picture let’s just remember to keep our eyes on Jesus.
Prayer Requests: I came across a site called Mom’s in Prayer. They have a website and a prayer calendar online. Click the link above to access the requests for this month.
Music: Today’s selection is an original piece that Joy Chadwell wrote. She and I performed it at our last talent night service.
Catechism: The Principles of the Christian Religion.
- Question 13: What did God determine concerning his creatures?
- Answer: He did before all time, by his unchangeable counsel, ordain whatsoever afterwards should come to pass.
- Question 14: In what manner had all things their beginning?
- Answer: In the beginning of time, when no creature had any being, God by his word alone, in the space of six days created all things.
- Question 15: Who are the principle creatures?
- Answer: Angels and men.
Stay strong. We are all in this together. All my best.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Matthew 24:7-8
The Bible Bistro 