Judgment approaches; be ready

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Devotions: Ps 20, 21, 110, 116, 117; Deut 34:1-12; Rom 10:14-21; Mt 24:32-51

May YHWH answer you in days of trouble; may God protect you; may He send you help from His sanctuary and support from His holy hill! May He grant your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your victory and set up banners in the Name of our God! May YHWH fulfill all your petitions—for He will help His anointed ones and answer His call from heaven. Some boast in horses or chariots, in weapons or wealth; but I boast in the Name of YHWH Sabaoth, God of Hosts, the Almighty One. Bless me, Lord, to Your glory. Swallow up my enemies—sloth, lust, indolence, anxiety, materialism. Be exalted, O YHWH, in Your strength as we praise Your power and holy love. The heavenly Father says to my Lord: site at My right hand till I make Your enemies Your footstool. You Are a Priest forever, after the pattern of Melchizedek. Judge the nations, and have Your way! I love the Lord because He hears and answers my petitions; my God listens! Gracious He Is, and righteous; merciful, He pardons and delivers the lowly. Let my soul abide in rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with me. Lord, You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. I am still alive, by Your grace! I have no confidence in mortals, but I lift my heart and my hands in praise to the everlasting God. I will praise Him in the presence of His people. You, my God, have loosed my bonds, and I praise You now and always.

Moses went up from the plains of Moab to the top of Mt. Nebo, the top of Pisgah, across the Jordan from Jericho. There, YHWH showed Moses all the land of promise, and said, 'Behold! This is the land concerning which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You have seen it, but you will not go in.' So there Moses died; and Lord Himself buried Moses the servant of the Lord in a valley across from Beth-peor; but to this day, no one has discovered Moses' grave. He was 120 years old at his death, still bright-eyed and strong. The people of Israel mourned for Moses thirty days, and Joshua, son of Nun, took Moses' place at Israel's head. He was filled with the Spirit of wisdom, and the people obeyed Joshua as they had obeyed Moses. Until Jesus came, there was no other prophet in Israel like Moses, whom God knew face to face; none who accomplished signs and wonders comparable to those Moses worked in bringing Israel out from Egypt and in leading Israel for forty years in the wilderness.

Paul wrote: How shall mortals call upon One in Whom they have not yet believed? And how can they believe if they have never heard? And how may they hear, unless someone preaches to them? And how can someone preach unless they are sent? Just as the Scriptures record: how beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news! But not all who hear obey the gospel. Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ. The message has gone out to all the earth. Has Israel not understood? Moses and Isaiah address this: Moses says, 'I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; I'll make you angry by means of a foolish nation.' And Isaiah says for God, 'I have been found by those who did not seek Me; I have shown Myself to those who did not ask for Me.' But concerning Israel, Isaiah says, 'All day long I have held out My hands to a disobedient and contrary people.'

Jesus said: 'Learn this lesson from the fig tree: as soon as it puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. Take the same lesson from the signs I have mentioned to you. This generation will not pass away before all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away; but My words will not. No one knows the day and hour—not heaven's angels, not even God's Son—only the father knows. As in Noah's time, people went on with their daily routines until the rains came and the Flood wiped them out; the return of the Son of man will be similar: two men will be working together; one will be taken, the other left behind. Two women will be grinding at the mill—one will be taken, one left behind. So keep watching: you don't know the day when your Lord will come—it will be at an hour you do not expect. Who is the faithful servant, charged by the Master to feed His household? Blessed the servant whom the Master finds faithfully discharging the assigned responsibilities; the Master will set that servant over all His possessions. And woe to the wicked servant who neglects the Master's assignment; the Master will arrive unexpected and punish that unfaithful servant and set the servant among the hypocrites where all will weep and gnash their teeth.