Today Our Daily Bread Mark 13 ++

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

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Mark 13:1-37
Jesus Foretells the Future
1As Jesus was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, "Teacher, look at these tremendous buildings! Look at the massive stones in the walls!"
2Jesus replied, "These magnificent buildings will be so completely demolished that not one stone will be left on top of another."
3Later, Jesus sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives across the valley from the Temple. Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to him privately and asked him, 4"When will all this take place? And will there be any sign ahead of time to show us when all this will be fulfilled?"
5Jesus replied, "Don't let anyone mislead you, 6because many will come in my name, claiming to be the Messiah. F70 They will lead many astray. 7And wars will break out near and far, but don't panic. Yes, these things must come, but the end won't follow immediately. 8Nations and kingdoms will proclaim war against each other, and there will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, and famines. But all this will be only the beginning of the horrors to come. 9But when these things begin to happen, watch out! You will be handed over to the courts and beaten in the synagogues. You will be accused before governors and kings of being my followers. This will be your opportunity to tell them about me. F71 10And the Good News must first be preached to every nation. 11But when you are arrested and stand trial, don't worry about what to say in your defense. Just say what God tells you to. Then it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
12"Brother will betray brother to death, fathers will betray their own children, and children will rise against their parents and cause them to be killed. 13And everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me. But those who endure to the end will be saved.
14"The time will come when you will see the sacrilegious object that causes desecration F72 standing where it should not be"—reader, pay attention! "Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. 15A person outside the house F73 must not go back into the house to pack. 16A person in the field must not return even to get a coat. 17How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for mothers nursing their babies in those days. 18And pray that your flight will not be in winter. 19For those will be days of greater horror than at any time since God created the world. And it will never happen again. 20In fact, unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, the entire human race will be destroyed. But for the sake of his chosen ones he has shortened those days.
21"And then if anyone tells you, 'Look, here is the Messiah,' or, 'There he is,' don't pay any attention. 22For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform miraculous signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones. 23Watch out! I have warned you!
24"At that time, after those horrible days end,
the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give light,
25 the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. F74
26Then everyone will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds with great power and glory. F75 27And he will send forth his angels to gather together his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
28"Now, learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its buds become tender and its leaves begin to sprout, you know without being told that summer is near. 29Just so, when you see the events I've described beginning to happen, you can be sure that his return is very near, right at the door. 30I assure you, this generation F76 will not pass from the scene until all these events have taken place. 31Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever.
32"However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. 33And since you don't know when they will happen, stay alert and keep watch. F77
34"The coming of the Son of Man can be compared with that of a man who left home to go on a trip. He gave each of his employees instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return. 35So keep a sharp lookout! For you do not know when the homeowner will return—at evening, midnight, early dawn, or late daybreak. 36Don't let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. 37What I say to you I say to everyone: Watch for his return!"
FOOTNOTES:F70: Greek name, saying, `I am.' F71: Or This will be your testimony against them. F72: Greek the abomination of desolation. See Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11. F73: Greek on the roof. F74: See Isa 13:10; 34:4; Joel 2:10. F75: See Dan 7:13. F76: Or this age, or this nation. F77: Some manuscripts add and pray.
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living Translation Copyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.


~ Lena’s Journalin’~ Today
Good morning.
I was reading these first few verses and went looking for definitions. In a few places in scripture when Jesus speaks with His disciples it seems He says one thing and the disciples say another about the same thing.
One instance is John 21 where Jesus says to Peter, “Do you love Me?” Jesus means unconditionally, Peter answers, “as a friend, I do”. Then there is a place where Jesus tells His disciples He’ very hungry, so they go off to get Him food, all the while He is delivering a woman and a city of people who need to have who He is and when the disciples come back with food, Jesus says,” thanks guys for the effort extended, but no thanks, I already ate”! He was satisfied by doing the will of God, they’d brought back what satisfies, naturally speaking, while He did what eternally satisfied another- His Father, God .
In this instance the disciples are saying- Wow, look at all man has made, isn’t it wondrous what the unity of man can bring about? Man has made glory for himself here (on earth) and it really is something glorious, something huge! (think of the eternal or temporal scope of view here). Jesus turns back around to them and says, so you think that what man has done is pretty spectacular, huh? You’ve seen it as glorious and this building is evidence of that. The building is the evidence of the exaltation of man’s works and how things are accomplished when they work together. I wonder why it took so long for man to get it together?
What was Jesus saying? He was telling them in spiritual, eternal terms, that the glory and exaltation of God is much greater than the small efforts of man to even reach God, there is a way that man thinks will bring glory on earth and even reach towards or become like God is, but that way is about to pass away here. The glory of God was meant to be carried in men and women of earth, living beings, not man-made buildings that anyone could blow up at anytime showing the futility of any unified effort.
Also the unity of God’s spirit would bring a glory to each individual man that will change each individual life. Lives would be forever eternally changed by the indwelling of God’s spirit in each person alive. They would not have to get holy by going to physical temple, but could be holy before God wherever they are each day!
The disciples were saying , natural glory, big man things in accomplishment, etc. Jesus said, mans’ accomplishments are minute in the view of God’s design for the earth through the unified power of God and man getting together.
When would this happen? From the time of Jesus death, burial and resurrection until now, whenever any person receives Christ and decides to live as God has designed. Whenever man joins in with the efforts of God and does God’s will there is great potential for glory, in tremendous amounts. Wherever disunity of man is and unity with God and men of God together rises up above the disunity of men. Man’s unity and the products of that unity are temporary in nature and actually work against the purposes of God, and actually bring destruction to the earth’s design. Man was designed by God to love and serve God in earth.
If man gives himself and his life over to any other purposes and even agrees with other men on those mis-purposes the earth is “tilted” in a sense, thrown off course, off of purpose. Thus the earth groans and travails for the manifestation of the purposed sons of God. Earthquakes are to shake the nations, as the earth is saying PLEASE love and serve God as you were designed, we’re thrown off by your own glory being displayed rather than God’s. Please re-adjust, PLEASE, we’re groaning for the re-adjustment of purpose!
So why is it going to be so hard on Christians of the last days? It is in the last days, that the earth is groaning from all who have passed through here and have only sought their own glory, also God’s enemies have their last ditch efforts to take whatever glory from God that they can. Why persecution? There are a few reasons. #1, Do you mean it? How much do you mean it? Do you agree to be unified with God no matter what? Or just when it feels great to do so? (Hint- that comes from natural mindedness- training course #1)
The life of faith in Christ IS NOT convenient and does not feel good, unless you can find His presence and go there as often as possible! Those now who choose to love what’s right and hate what’s wrong, in a sense have to do it for all who have not before them. If every person who has come into earth had obeyed God completely, would the earth be crying out and churning and the winds blowing and the ground shaking?
When Jesus dies the earth shook, quaked, why? In response to the purpose of God, the unified power of God and the awakening of spirit life now available to every human being born.
Those who endure to the end will be saved.
What does that mean? It means if you say a nice prayer thinking prayers of confession will save you and you live like a fool and do not forsake your sinful lusts you will not really be “saved”. It means if you said one thing, but you do another, if you say you love God, but never prove that love to God or the world, you will not be saved. Let’s be clear here too, I’m not talking about being saved from the effects of earthquakes, or other problems. I’m talking about keeping your faith all the way to the end through anything. If you give it up when problems come, you never really had it at all. The trials and problems are tests to see if the faith you say you have is solid enough to shake the earth back into order, to see if you are one that God can use for unification of purpose in Him. We’ve got to be found in Him before we can unify with Him.
I know I am strong today. Today is a day to show forth strength, the strength of God’s will. Are we united with His will? Can we feed and satisfy God with our living faith? Can we give God glory in the earth? Will we?
There is a big giant deception going on in the earth. That is , “We still have time to make it right with God, there’s no rush, I’ll get to that later on when I’m ready!” and every other deceptive temptation to not join ourselves with God’s purposes.
Are we God that we somehow know the times, hours and seasons? He has given us a few things to warn us, all of those are happening right now! That is grace to get it right. There’s no time like the present to get on board, become part of the crew, and get this boat rowing!
How long will you wait pondering the purposes of God? Do not be deceived, the enemy knows you are waiting and he awaits the taking of the precious life of unfulfilled potential. The only reason some of us get extra time on earth is someone is asking God for your soul and asking God for more time for you to come into that purpose. Purpose and even the potential of it, preserves life. It’s time to give it up, all excuses, all offenses, etc. before it IS too late, because the earth is calling for your manifestation into the active purposes of God’s will!

Proverbs 27:17-19
17 You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another. 18 If you care for your orchard, you'll enjoy its fruit; if you honor your boss, you'll be honored.
19 Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.
Psalm 122:1
1 When they said, "Let's go to the house of God," my heart leaped for joy.