Watch and Be Ready

“Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!” Mark 13:35-37

When you read a novel—or watch a suspenseful movie—and your insides start to churn at the dilemma the heroine (or hero) is facing, do you turn to the last chapter or fast forward to the final scene to learn if everything turns out okay? I have to confess—I often do just that. I want to know what’s going to happen—how it all turns out—so I can go back and enjoy the journey.

In a way, that was what the disciples did with Jesus. He used earthly parables to teach them about the heavenly kingdom—that he would return and take them there. They asked him three questions.

“Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3b

Like readers of a novel, they asked, how will we recognize the climax of the story? Throughout his description of the warning signs, Jesus repeatedly told them to be alert, stay awake, be vigilant. The time of his coming was not to catch them unaware—unprepared. Jesus didn’t want them to think he was delaying his coming so they would get caught up with…providing for their families…righting the wrongs in society…spreading the gospel to the nations. Don’t misunderstand me, he does want us to fulfill our calling as women—daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, grandmothers—all with the awareness that Jesus Is Coming. And that’s good. His coming shouldn’t frighten us.

When I was a much younger believer, I was focused on establishing my life. College, career, marriage, children, starter home, bigger home. Then it was plans for college for our children and retirement. When I thought Jesus might come and interrupt all my plans, I was afraid he would come before I reached my goals. Then I felt guilt because I wasn’t trusting that his plan for my life was better than mine. I would pray for guidance, but what I really wanted was for God to co-sign my plans, not implement his. That was coming from a heart that believed in him, but didn’t know him well enough to believe him.

But God…in his gentle mercy and grace, taught me to know the heart and person of his Son, my savior. If there is one parable that has been a turning point for me in desiring to watch and be ready, it’s the parable of the ten virgins.

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.” Matthew 25:1-10

Early on, I was convinced I was one of the five foolish ones who weren’t prepared to meet the bridegroom and my self-condemnation was painful. Since this parable was a picture of something the disciples would know and relate to, I was driven to do some research on Jewish weddings to see what the Lord had to teach me. I greatly needed his peace.

I learned Jewish marriage in Jesus’ day had several steps. First was betrothal, which involved the groom leaving his father’s house for the prospective bride’s home. There he would pay the “bride price,” which established the marriage covenant. The third step was for the groom to return to his father’s house and prepare the bridal chamber. The final step occurred when everything was ready for the bride. At the time of the father’s choosing, he would send his son to bring the bride home for the marriage feast.

Lights went on. That is what Jesus has done for me…and you. He left his father’s home and came to earth for us. When he was crucified he paid the “bride price” with his blood, death and resurrection. Then he returned to his father’s house to prepare a place for each one of us. He isn’t delaying his return, he’s preparing a place for his bride. And, he’s preparing to present his bride to the father gowned in dazzling white, without spot or blemish. It’s all his work, not mine. How could I not love someone who gave himself so selflessly?

Over time of study in God’s word, I’ve come to know this One who loves his bride and gave his life as the bride price. Those parables were written to a Jewish audience and primarily refer to the second coming of Jesus. But, hidden within is the blessed hope of the Rapture. Jesus is at the door, just waiting for the Father to say everything is ready. Now I’m happy to live the days allotted to me in this world, expecting any day now to hear the call, “Behold the bridegroom. Come out to meet him.”

“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:2-3

by Marilyn Allison

The Perfect Building

“As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” Mark 13:1

As I sit here writing this, the news is on in the next room. In fact, it’s been on just about all day. And though the sound is low, I can gather enough in the reporters’ tones to know how they feel over what they are witnessing. The great cathedral, Notre Dame, is burning.

What a tragedy. Having had the opportunity to visit this magnificent building nearly a decade ago, I know what a historic treasure it is, and my heart goes out to all of the people in Paris witnessing this devastation.

Though Notre Dame’s picturesque spire has graced the Parisian skyline for over 800 years and the gothic relief has stood timeless through all those centuries as well, the flames seem to be showing no mercy in sparing any of it. Surely no one watching from anywhere in the world would’ve thought to see this historic monument so utterly destroyed in our lifetime.

The disciples—whose own likenesses were to grace this cathedral centuries later—during their own lives gazed with wonder at the magnificent buildings all around them there on Temple Mount. No doubt, they could not have imagined these buildings’ untimely demise either.

According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, some of the massive stones making up these buildings were as long as 37 feet, as high as 12 feet and as wide as 18 feet. Despite their massive size and seeming indestructability, however, Jesus—speaking to the disciples—foretells of these buildings’ utter destruction saying,

“Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Mark 13:2b

No doubt this would have caught their attention. Curious to know even more. the disciples then ask about the timing of this destruction. Jesus doesn’t address their question directly. Instead, he warns his followers of many other things they might expect in the future. In the midst of this discourse, though, he holds out a promise seeming in contrast to the future tragedy of the fallen buildings. He says,

“All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Mark 13:13

As humans, we put a lot of stock in the historicity and grandeur of man-made things. When something as iconic as Notre Dame is destroyed, humans are overwhelmed with the grief of losing something so irreplaceable. And, no doubt, such a loss is very sad. The Jews, too, grieved at the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.

God, however, has a very different way of viewing things. He cares far more for God-made structures than anything man could ever make. Irreplaceable to him are the “buildings” designed to carry his image to the world—us. Long ago God gave up man-made dwellings and chose instead to make his home in us. Now he dwells in structures made by his own hand, and made perfect by his own Son’s precious blood.

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“Enlarge and purify the mansions of our souls that they may be fit habitations for Thy Spirit, who dost prefer before all temples the upright heart and pure. Amen” – A.W. Tozer

by Siara Borning



Addicted to False Security

Addicted to False Security

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

I had been mourning over some really painful things for days. Life doesn’t always go the way we expect it to. People let us down. We let ourselves down. Life…it lets us down. Learning to let go of what we expect things to be is just painful. We fight to make things right—rather, what we perceive to be right. We wage war within our minds over our bad choices, replaying scenes as if to find the missing key that will unlock the door to security once again.

As a Christian, my hope is in Jesus Christ. I am, for the most part, resolute in my faith. I take no credit for the strength of my faith because I am naturally cynical, untrusting, and fearful. But God has set within me a foundation of faith in Him I cannot explain. How does one explain the unexplainable? All I know is…it is supernatural.

However, every faith is tested. It must be. And sometimes God has to show us what our faith is really made of. Though He determines the measure of our faith, the impurities of our flesh offer no help to grow it—just the opposite. And I was about to learn something about mine.

Things I counted on were failing. It felt so burdensome, like a heavy jacket too big for me. I wanted to strip it off and give it to its rightful owner. Go to God, I thought. Just pray, read His Word. You’ll feel better then. I did those things—multiple times—and I didn’t feel better.

This morning while texting with my friend, I tried my best to offer hope to her in her pain. I had to admit, I struggled to see clearly through the heavy burden I currently bore. Failing marriages of women I love… failing health of cancer stricken people I love…failing news of Sri Lanka Christians referred to as “Easter Worshippers”—blown to pieces while worshiping Jesus, not Easter…my husband’s unemployment for nearly the fifth month…uncertainty of the future…uncertainty of anything.

In the middle of our conversation the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart. “I intercede for you with groanings too deep for words.” I paused and realized the truth of what was happening. As I bore the pain for others, the Lord was bearing the pain for us all.

I grabbed my Bible and flipped to Romans, Chapter eight, to read God’s words in context. From verse one through to the end of the chapter, God answered. He answered my grief and my confusion and he put a word to the heaviness I couldn’t shake. Insecurity. That was the heavy coat I was desperately trying to take off—the cumbersome weight of false security. God’s love humbled me as I realized I often choose to wear that coat. All I could say was, “I get it now.”

Rick came in with his coffee to where I was sitting, Bible—opened wide to Romans eight—across my lap.

“Can I please share with you what God showed me this morning?” I asked. He graciously let me.

I began to cry as I read the full chapter out loud to my husband. Not just a little tear that kinda wets your eyes, but sobs. At times, I could hardly make out the Apostle Paul’s words on the page. I had to take breaks because I couldn’t speak clearly. I grieved, I rejoiced, and I grieved again. Noticing the look on my husband’s face, I imagined he probably didn’t understand what was happening to me. I apologized for concerning him, but how could I explain what I could barely grasp myself? As I reached the end of the chapter, verses 38 and 39 broke me even more, as if that were even possible. I wept in my hands.

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I heard God like never before, through Paul’s words, through my own voice. I was being set free from the power of a million-pound lie while grace and peace flooded in. My only true security is in Christ and for the first time I believed it.

Are you feeling insecure about something?

Do you wish you could just do something? Change something? Be something?

Please read Romans Eight.

It will tell you we live in a completely insecure world—corrupted by sin. All of creation, humanity—corrupt. And we all continue to grip so tightly to the things of this world expecting, demanding, hoping, forcing it all to offer us the security it has no capacity to fulfill. No marriage, no job, no government, no friendship, no remedy, no army, no bank account, no contract, no promise from creation is capable of providing the security we so desperately crave.

But Christ.

The pills we take, the therapy we need, the books we read, the education we attain, the false religious ceremonies we perform, the addictions we practice, the lies we believe (and tell), the money we hoard or spend to gain false security is killing us.

Insecurity. This is the world on sin.

by Dana Lange

Noticed

Noticed

“Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44

In the midst of the huge Passover crowds milling about in the outer court of the Temple, Jesus noticed a woman. He noticed her financial circumstances (poor). He noticed her marital state (widow). He noticed her humility (dropped in two small coins). He noticed her heart (poor as she is, she’s given everything she had to live on). He noticed a woman.

It made me think of other women he noticed and recorded in the Bible. I thought of…
-Rahab, the harlot who risked her life to hide Israel’s spies (Joshua 2)…
-The widow of Zarephath, who shared the last food she had with the prophet Elijah
(1 Kings 17)…
-Deborah, who judged Israel with integrity (Judges 4)…
-Hannah, a barren woman who gave back to the LORD the desire of her heart (1 Samuel 1)…
-Abigail, who wisely interceded with David to offset the foolishness of her husband
(1 Samuel 25)…
-The Shunemite Woman—wealthy but childless—who showed hospitality to the prophet Elisha
(2 Kings 4)…
-Ruth, the Pagan who chose to claim Naomi’s God as her own (Ruth 1)…
-Bathsheba, the repentant adulteress, graciously included in the bloodline of the Messiah (Matthew 1)…
-Teenage Mary, who received the promise of bearing the Messiah (Luke 1)…
-The widow in Nain, who received her only son back to life (Luke 7)…
-The Gentile Woman, who prevailed to touch Jesus’ garment and was healed (Mark 5)…
-Martha, distracted by service while her sister listened to Jesus teach (Luke 10)…
-Mary Magdalene, who was restored to sanity from demon possession (Mark 16)…
-Mary of Bethany, the only one who understood Jesus’ purpose and anointed him for death (John 12)

Each one of them had a need similar to those we experience. The need for protection, sustenance, purpose, family, victory, oneness with God, healing, forgiveness, and hope. Jesus saw them, had compassion on them and met their deepest need.

They lived in a culture that held little expectation for women beyond that of reproduction and household duties. Their opinions weren’t respected. Even in the legal system of the day, the testimony of a woman was inadmissible.

But the Son of God heard the heart’s cry of women.

Jesus looked. He watched. He heard. He noticed. He had compassion. He had relationship.

Following the darkest weekend in history, the sun rose on Sunday morning. It shone upon three figures standing before an empty tomb, wondering where the Lord’s body had been taken. They looked inside and were shocked to see a young man garbed in a white robe. Were these three Peter, James and John, the stalwart apostles who had shared the most intimate moments of ministry with Jesus?

No. The most important pronouncement in history was given to women.

“When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, ‘Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” Mark 16:5-7

According to verse one of this chapter, the women were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. Three women were entrusted with carrying the glorious message of Jesus’ resurrection to his grieving followers. Their hope was restored with honor.

What is your need today? Are you worried about the needs of every day life? Can you believe that Jesus notices you? Hears You? Respects You? Has compassion on you? Will keep his promise to stay with you, keep you and bring you through to victory? In Matthew, Chapter 6, Jesus reassures us God—our Heavenly Father—already knows what we need.

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33

Choose to put your faith in him. He has noticed you.

by Marilyn Allison

The Rock of Refuge

The Rock of Refuge

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds I am healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

On him. In him. My sin crushed Jesus Christ. Not hidden away in some deserted area. No. Publicly. All could see. All could mock him. The depth of God’s love for us held Jesus there.

He died. I live.

He suffered. I go free.

He was wounded. I am healed.

We sin and sin again. Yet God is still holding open the gate to heaven, held open by Jesus Christ—the Rock of my salvation.

“I love you, oh LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:1-2

by Eve Montano