Today’s reading: Matthew 24:29-51

“Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” - Matthew‬ ‭24:44‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The word used here for “ready” can also be translated as “prepared.”

Most of us are really good at preparing for guests when we know the time they are coming. Just this morning, we were racing all over our house to prepare for a visit from family. If they had shown up last night, we would have been like 😳.

Jesus wants us prepared for when he returns, and we aren’t given a time, day, or year. Because of a lack of timetable, we often lose any urgency we had in the beginning.

How can we stay ready, prepared, and awake?

1 Peter 1:13 is a verse we should think about a lot: “So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.”

Isn’t it cool to think about the action that will take place when Jesus returns?

In the meantime, may we keep active in our care for others and our worship of the One who will come again: Jesus.

Today's reading: Matthew 24:1-28

'And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.' - Matthew 24:14

In our reading for today, Jesus predicts in detail what will later happen to Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70 at the Romans' hands. The tricky part in Matthew 24 is trying to decipher when Jesus is talking about the destruction of Jerusalem and when he's talking about his second coming at the end of time.

I lean toward the dividing line being between today's reading and tomorrow's. It is fun to study and reflect upon.

At any rate, we can be confident in this one thing: Jesus knows the future like he knows our present and our past. He is constantly seeing time (as we know it) as a landscape. He truly is what John records in Revelation 22:13:

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

Do you think you can trust Jesus with your future that you keep worrying about? If we haven't realized it yet, there is so much in this world that is outside of our control. We would do well to entrust our future to the One who can take control.

Today’s reading: Matthew 23:13-39

“So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” - ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23:28‬ ‭ESV‬‬

There are really two things at play in this life:

1) Who we are.

2) What we do.

Jesus calls these religious “leaders” hypocrites. Matthew uses the Greek word hypokritēs; it can also be translated as “pretenders.”

What they were doing was coming from a place of fraudulence.

This should be one of our greatest fears as Christians. It is the danger that what we are doing becomes more and more distant from who we are becoming.

Want to be a more devoted follower of Jesus? Want transformation to take place in your life? Let God do what He has always wanted to do. Allow Him to transform you internally so that your obedience to Him can flow freely.

Pursue first.

Walk in faith second.

Be amazed at what God can do in your life today and every day here on out.

Today’s reading: Matthew 22:34-46, 23:1-12

“The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” - Matthew‬ ‭23:11-12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Matthew seems to spend so much time focusing on greatness. From slaves to children, He challenges us on how we view ourselves and each other.

If we view ourselves as having more value than someone else, we will always hesitate to serve them. I mean, isn’t the goal of this life to become so successful that you can have other people do the hard work for you?

Jesus would say no. He not only said this with His mouth, but He also said it with His life.

Jesus was never above stooping down low. Aren’t you glad this was the case? He touched the unclean. He washed feet. He spoke with discarded women. He chose those no one else wanted to choose.

Paul said it well when he wrote:

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” - 2 Corinthians 8:9

May we choose humility today!

Today’s reading: Matthew 22:1-33

“For many are called, but few are chosen.” - Matthew‬ ‭22:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

One of the things that our parents teach us from the beginning of our lives is to know how to dress appropriately for every occasion. Is it 18 degrees outside (like today)? You are not to wear shorts (though I see students every day disobeying this rule).

So, how about at the end of time? What kind of clothes will be appropriate to wear then? We may feel sorry for this guy who is singled out because of his attire that didn’t fit the occasion. Yet, he didn’t prepare himself the right way. Yes, there is a right way and a wrong way in this life.

Jesus said, in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.”

We also what Paul said in Galatians 3:26-27: “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

Go ahead and prepare yourself for the end of time by going all-in with your trust in Jesus. You won’t regret it.

We actually had a student in our ministry at IUPUI who showed up to our 8 am Life Group one time in a stunning outfit. Dress, shoes, hair, the whole bit. The rest of us were barely awake and chilling in sweats. We, of course, asked her, “What are you all dressed up for?” She responded, “Dress well, test well.” She prepared for each test by dressing to the max.

We would do well to take her advice when it comes to clothing ourselves with Jesus. May we dress well so that we test well when this life is all said and done.

Today's reading: Matthew 21:23-46

'Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.' - Matthew 21:31

What a bold statement for Jesus to make about these Jewish "experts." How dare Jesus declare that the "sinners" would be welcomed into His kingdom before them.

They had done all of the studying. They had memorized all 39 books of the Old Testament. Their entire lives were wrapped up in this system they had created. In Jesus, they saw a threat to unravel all they had accomplished. Little did they know that by killing Him, they would be initiating something that would spread much further and deeper into Jewish culture (and the entire world).

What had the tax collectors and prostitutes done differently? They didn't possess more knowledge. They purely believed (see vs. 32).

Beware of learning for the sake of bolstering your pride. May we learn to increase our trust in the name of Jesus.

Feel like you don't know enough? Jesus has you right where He wants you. May we "press on to know Him" (Hosea 6:3) for the rest of our lives.

Today's reading: Matthew 20:29-34, 21:1-22

'And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”' - Matthew 21:21-22 ESV

How is your prayer life? What are you currently asking God to do that is beyond your ability to accomplish?

Maybe we read through a Scripture like this one, and we think, "That isn't how prayer works in my life." Perhaps we pray, and then we don't see the answers we had wanted or expected from God. This disappointment can be super demotivating for future prayers.

Two things to note from our reading for today:

1. The two blind men didn't stop with their request for Jesus' mercy. The word "cried" is a word given in present tense continuous action. They had asked more than twice, despite the crowd rebuking them.

2. Jesus ends by saying, "...if you have faith." Trust is required. We have to go all in and believe that God is capable of moving mountains and fig trees.

"God, help us to pray with more consistency and trust, starting today! In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen."

Today’s reading: Matthew 20:1-28

‘“Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” So the last will be first, and the first last.’ - Matthew‬ ‭20:15-16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Most of us in the United States were conditioned as we grew up to be competitive. This isn’t just when it comes to sports. It is literally everywhere. Grades, appearances, promotions, relationships, and even churches are areas where we see competitiveness play out. Unwilling to compete? You will get stepped on or looked over.

Then Jesus tells the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard and blows our competitive capitalism to pieces.

The bottom line of the parable is that grace is never earned; it is always given.

We also see that we serve a God who is always looking for ways to be generous. Jesus will later say, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

We are all invited. It doesn’t matter when we turn to Jesus. It is only matters that we do turn.

Do you feel like you’re on the outside of Christianity because you’ve waited so long? It isn’t too late to turn to our generous Savior for salvation.

Today's reading: Matthew 19:13-30

'Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.' - Matthew 19:21-22 ESV

This man who came to Jesus had it all. He was wealthy. He was young, with his entire life ahead of him. Even better than that, he was an avid rule follower when it came to the Law of Moses. Jesus grills him with part of the 10 Commandments that deals with how we treat others, and he checked out just fine.

Yet, he apparently feels like something is missing. Have you ever felt like this? You've done what you can to live a pretty moral life. You treat others with fairness and compassion. Even so, there is still a feeling of incompletion inside. For many of us, it could be a form of idolatry that we've been ignoring.

For this man, it was his wealth. He apparently was trusting in it more than in God.

Is there anything in our lives currently that we'd be unwilling to give up for the sake of following Jesus?

"Father, we want to be completely aware of growth-areas in our lives. Would you reveal those to us today? In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen."

Today’s reading: Matthew 18:21-35, 19:1-12

“Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” - ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18:21-22‬ ‭ESV‬‬

There is a toxic saying that has been going around for some time. It goes like this: “People never change.” These words communicate that people aren’t worth forgiving.

Let’s ask ourselves this question today: “Have you changed as a result of Jesus coming into your life?”

Our ability to forgive others is found somewhere in these questions. Jesus believes that people deserve to be given a second, third, fourth... yes, a lot of chances.

Why would He do that? The heart of God is not that anyone should perish, but that ALL come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). God’s forgiveness, and our forgiveness, is a statement that people deserve another shot.

Now, our limitless forgiveness is not to negate the need for limited boundaries with people (that is also a form of love). It does mean that no one wins when we hang on to bitterness and hate.

Who do you need to forgive today? We may need to drop to our knees right now and declare that to Jesus, saying that we forgive whom ever that might be.