In the meantime or mean times

Last night, at our small group, a friend shared about looking up a passage of Scripture on the way home from church that she had jotted down from that morning’s sermon. She realized as she started reading that she had written down the wrong passage, but continued to read as she realized God had led her to the “wrong” place in Scripture.

The passage she was looking for was one on comfort, but the one she found offered something quite different. She found herself in Matthew 24 where Jesus answers the disciples’ questions about the end times with less than calming words describing, well, pretty much today’s headlines in our world.

As God would have it, this morning I opened the reading plan for 2014 that is leading me through the Bible for the next 11 plus months and yes. Of course. My reading covered Matthew 23-25.

It is all marked up now. Underlined. Arrows pointing this way and that. Hearts drawn by passages that provoke praise. Comments that came to my mind as I read. Some words are circled and some are boxed.

The boxed words are the ones of reassurance and hope in the midst of the scenes that are painted by our Lord of what the end before the BEGINNING will look like. These are the words that I want to hold on to as images of our precious children, grandchildren, great grandchildren(…the generation that will be the last before His return….only God knows who this is, possibly us???) flash into the words of terror that are depicted in these passages.

The boxed words include:

See that you are not troubled….Matthew 24:6

But he who endures to the end shall be saved…..Matthew 24:23

…but for the elects sake, those days will be shortened….Matthew 24:22

….but My word will by no means pass away….Matthew 24:36

What did our friend do when she found herself in the “wrong” passage? She began to share it with her sweet family as they drove home. The word of God stirred her to remind her children that they have to be grounded in the Word of God; that they can not rely on others to spoon feed them the Scriptures, but must learn and study these on their own.

And there it is. If the only thing that is going to remain is the Word, than I want to know it. I want to know Him, who is The Word made flesh.  I want my life to flow now and eternally from His Word. I want to feed on His Word, allowing it to transform me and then share it with my life lived out serving others. 

May God bless you with a heart that hungers for His Word. May He grant you understanding every time you read His Word. May your soul find rest and peace in the promises of our faithful God; our Savior, Redeemer, Champion. May your life be transformed and conformed to the Living Word of God.

Breathe deeply in His Spirit and be blessed by His love as you journey onward <3