Mark 13:24-37 – Jesus is Coming!

Read Mark 13:24-37

As I reflect and write today, I muse that Advent is just around the corner. It strikes me that this is the perfect text for what Advent does for us today. It’s like God just “winked” at us with such profound words. We look to the skies and await Jesus’ return. Here, Jesus is telling us what to expect if we’re still here to witness it.

There’s that fig tree again! But now, we see an even deeper meaning in Jesus’ example just a few verses ago. Jesus saw the signs and knew what to expect of the tree. Jesus has explained the signs we can expect to see when his coming is near. But the fig tree didn’t produce fruit in time for Jesus, and sometimes the signs we see about his coming are just the beginning; the best (fruit) is yet to come. The difference ends in that I’m not going to curse the fact that I haven’t seen Jesus yet. Continue reading “Mark 13:24-37 – Jesus is Coming!”

Mark 12:1-17 – More Than a Parable

Read Mark 12:1-17

Jesus loved to use stories, known as parables, in his teaching. While always memorable, the meanings are not always clear. But God allowed these religious leaders to understand the truth about who they represented in the story. I’m guessing that was Jesus’ intent all along, hoping they would not be too blind to recognize themselves. Their exit must have spoken volumes to Jesus. The crowd was likely clueless.

What caution can we take from the story? It may be easy for us to see the relationship between the landowner and God, who sent his son (Jesus) into the world. Jesus paid with his life, too. We don’t want to be like the greedy farmers who disrespect God or his Son. We can look around the world today and see plenty of examples of that. Does it break your heart, too? Continue reading “Mark 12:1-17 – More Than a Parable”

Numbers 3:1-13 – Calling the Levites

Read Numbers 3:1-13

This reading was helpful for me. It connected some dots about the origins of the relationship between Levites and the priests. I love the collaboration and bond that grew out of God’s desired leadership for his people. Of course, God knew that Aaron would need help.

Moses and Aaron were clearly favored individuals in God’s eyes. They were given such important jobs in helping the people along on their faith and life journey. Faith was always meant to be part of our lives. Out of that faith comes our devotion. Today we look to church leadership, online pastors, and Bible teachers to help us understand God and introduce the importance of being in a right relationship with God. Continue reading “Numbers 3:1-13 – Calling the Levites”

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