Day 37 Bible Reading

Job 37-39, Matthew 24: 32-51. Psalm 19: 1-6

Matthew 24: 42 (ESV)

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”

Verse 42 from Matthew 24 I believe is a message for all Christians that can apply not only to when Christ returns but to our death. We do not know when our time will come to depart from the earth and we will meet Jesus in heaven, so we must prepare daily that our hearts are clean. We must ask nightly for forgiveness, tell God all that we have done good and bad, and be strong in our faith. I don’t want my last thought to be “am I right with God?” as I lay there dying. I want to wake up every morning knowing I am right with God. Every year I also think about everyone I know and ponder that if today was my last day, if there is anything I need to any of my friends that I would regret I didn’t say. I’m pretty much a straight shooter so I believe I’ve very honest with people, probably much more than they would like. But there are always a few things I know I hold back just because it’s not the right thing to say. I always ask myself if these things I’m holding back from a friend or relative, something I would regret not saying to them if I had the chance. Then if the Lord comes or my time comes, I know I will face either even with a clear mind and heart.

Day 36 Bible Reading

Job 34-36, Matthew 24: 1-31, Psalm 18: 43-50

Matthew 24: 4-7 (ESV)

“And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.”

Verses 4-7 from Matthew 24 made me think about whether we are now living in this time described by Christ. Because of social media we live in a time when people can become famous very quickly. Something they’ve said or done goes “viral” and they get millions of views. I don’t believe anyone has said that they are “the Christ”, but they come very close in terms of their influence and fame. People follow them until something happens and their new “idol” becomes tarnished. We hear rumors of wars, and sometimes it feels like nations are ready to go to war with each other. There are famines but they are not widespread yet, but there does seem to be a rise in earthquakes around the world. Are we in the end times? I don’t know. All I know is our world is shifting quickly and because of social media, we know about it in “real time”. I think what we need to hold onto in our seemingly “chaotic” world is The Bible and the teachings of Christ. They have survived for over 2,000 years in a world that is always changing and in times of world wars has been even more chaotic than they are now.