Memorize: Truth of the Lord’s return
Key Verses: 1, 5, 7, 15, 22, 31, 34, 40, 51
Hypocrisy is a powerful thing. It starts in one area of life and can easily drift to others. It is like yeast hidden in bread dough, that although you can’t see it, you can see the effect of it on the bread dough. So stop hypocrisy. Be genuine, because someday all those things will be out in the open. Temporarily sparing your embarrassment is not a worthy goal. Open, honest living is what matters. God will take care of us. He knows us intimately.
Jesus has a way of getting to the root of a person’s problems. One man had a greed problem, and Jesus pointed it out and told him where greed would take him. We must not put our hope in riches. They are transitory, temporary distracting elements in our lives. We need some money to live, but beyond that, money can get in the way of our spiritual growth. Seek the Lord. All the rest, all the needed things will fall into place. This does not mean cars, boats and mansions, but what we need. Wealth cannot save us. We need to shift our priorities to God’s priorities.
We need to be ready for service, not ready to be served! Our job in life is to serve. What a contrast to our culture. So many want a handout, but we are called to give ourselves in service. When we do this we will not be surprised when Jesus returns, because we will be waiting, serving, ready for that moment. We won’t be cruising through life wondering what new thrill will take us away from our present boredom, instead we will be active in service, excited about what the Lord is doing in and through us in our world.
Of course Jesus causes division, because He demands that we must make a choice about Him. We can’t be neutral. Jesus had to choose death, or nothing of eternal value would come out of His life. We must choose death to ourselves in order for something eternal to come out of our lives. And this radical choice will divide families. Our priorities and values will crash into those of the world’s. There will be no peace as long as the world’s values exist in people. When Jesus returns, the world’s values will disappear. Then there will be peace.
The Arnold Journey 