In today's devotional, Jesus answers 2 questions the disciples asked him privately; "As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Matthew 24:3 NIV. Today, I paid particular attention to the abomination that causes desolation Jesus spoke about; “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Matthew 24:15‭-‬16 NIV. I said this abomination will be the person of the antichrist himself who will go into the temple, defile it and installs his image to be worshipped. We see this in the book of Revelation. "Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.

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Revelation 13:11‭-‬15 NIV. I also said that if you witness this event, it means you missed the capturing of the saints from this world.

In today's devotional, learning from Jesus' words to the Pharisees, my charge was for us not to be Pharisees. Jesus pronounced 7 woes on the Pharisees because of their pretentious way of life. He said; "everything they did was done for people to see." They love the place of honour and to be respected and called Rabbi as they walked by, Jesus said; “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

Matthew 23:13 NIV. What a great crime, in other words, Pharisees claim to hold the keys to the kingdom and they decide who gets in or not. In the second woe Jesus said; “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

Matthew 23:15 NIV. A Pharisee is an hypocrite and an hypothetical life cannot influence anyone for change. We take one more; “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

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Matthew 23:16‭-‬22 NIV. A Pharisee is in it for the money.

"At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

Mark 12:23‭-‬27 NIV. The Sadducees who came to Jesus with this seemingly difficult question would have been shocked at his response; "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living." If I was there, I would have asked Jesus; everyone eventually dies, so how is God not also the God of the dead? I think Jesus' response answered even my own question. To God, people don't die. That is the only explanation why he would not have said to Moses; I was the God of Abraham because at this point, Abraham was long dead and gone. But because Abraham is alive to God and present, God says correctly; I am the God of Abraham. Our lessons for today; there is a place and life after the grave and each one of us choose where and with whom we spend it; whether with God for all eternity or away from him. Secondly; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all had a relationship with God before they passed physically from this earth, no wonder their relationship with God continued. Your relationship with God here and now will determine where and with whom you spend eternity.

In today's devotional we share on the lesson of the parable of the 2 sons and draw a very important lesson. “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ “ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.

Matthew 21:28‭-‬31 NIV. While the Pharisees answered correctly, I am not sure if those of living today will agree, and even if we do openly, stylishly in our minds, we will disagree with Jesus. What people say is what carried weight for today's society, Jesus however disagrees. In today's society; those we place in position of leadership or those we reject for leadership are more about what they've said or say than what they do. Jesus however says that what people say is important, but the true revealer of character, of who a person really is, is what they do. Some will say the first son was rude and they are correct, but who truly honoured the father Jesus asked? My encouragement; pay attention to what people do better than you are paying attention to what they are saying. People can manipulate and deceive you with words but it is by far harder to do so with your actions.

In today's devotional, Jesus uses his encounter with the fig tree to teach us an important concept about prayer; "Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Mark 11:21‭-‬25 NIV. Faith is believing. To receive anything from God, we must first believe, even when what we are believing for is not in ours hands. Our belief is in the integrity of the one who promised, if he gave us his words, he would keep them. When we pray, we believe we already received what we asked for in prayer, the Bible says; it will be ours.

In today's devotional, we join the crowd welcoming Jesus to Jerusalem; "Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Mark 11:9‭-‬10 NIV. Nothing will be able to stop me praising the Lord.

"Your faith has healed you." These were Jesus' words to Bartimaeus. In our devotional today, we drew some life's lessons on faith from Bartimaeus' encounter with Jesus. His encounter is in Mark 10:46-52 and Luke 18:35-43. First the obvious, Bartimaeus was blind. His being blind was not enough to stop him. He used what he had, he could speak, he could shout. Stop paying attention to what you don't have. Use what you have to reach out for God. Secondly, Bartimaeus refused to listen to crowd when they tried to shut him down. In fact, the more they tried, the louder Bartimaeus shouted. Don't listen to the crowd, at best, they are a distraction. Thirdly, we note the same people who tried to shut him down were the same who told him; cheer up! Jesus is calling you. If you pay attention and stay focused long enough on your goal, your detractors will ultimately become your supporters. Next, Bartimaeus threw his cloak aside and jumped to his feet. You will need a different attire for where you are going to. Bartimaeus might not have realised it but that was the last time he was wearing the cloth of the blind beggar. Next, Jesus asked him; "what do you want me to do for you?" Here, our emphasis was that, you faith has to be clear on what it wants from God. For all you know, Bartimaeus could have simply be asking Jesus for money. Faith is specific. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

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Mark 10:51‭-‬52 NIV. Bartimaeus just taught us how to get our faith to work. Faith is usually specific to the individual, it is not in the crowd. Faith knows exactly what it wants and it is reaching out for it.

The cup and baptism of Jesus. In today's devotional, we read about a period when James and John came to Jesus and requested to be granted the right and left seats besides Jesus at the kingdom. Let's discountenance the fact that that would have seem inappropriate considering the other disciples, in any way they were simply trying to secure their futures. Jesus however uses the opportunity to teach them about what it would take to sit at his right and left sides. "They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

Mark 10:37‭-‬40 NIV. We note first that these places are reserved and prepared for some people. I guess that means it will not be for everyone. Secondly, those who will sit there will have drank the cup of suffering Jesus drank and be baptised with the same baptism he is baptised with. The cup here represents pain and suffering, it represents losing the right over your own life in submission to the one who has put the cup in your hands. The cup here represented dying on the cross. So when Jesus told them they didn't know what they agreeing to, he perfectly knew what he was saying. Jesus also spoke about his baptism. His baptism represents all the suffering that was to come; his trial and sentence, the beatings he received, the stripes and floggings he received, etc. all of it. His baptism represented the punishments, the spitting on and abuses and then to be born a king and die a criminal's death. Jesus says, those who will sit with him in the kingdom will have drank from this cup of suffering and be baptised. I know the brand of Christianity we practise seem to think these part of the scriptures do no matter any more, but you might want to pay attention because these are the very words of Jesus. This is what it means to be a Christian. So I ask; are you ready to drink the cup Jesus drank from and be baptized with the baptism he was baptized with?

Today's devotional focused on the parable of the young rich man who came to ask Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life? Jesus' answer shocked him, the other listeners and even Jesus' disciples; "Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Mark 10:21 NIV. Go, sell everything and give it away, wow! Jesus was touching on the purpose of wealth and the danger it constitutes. Wealth, riches, will forever compete for that place in our hearts that only God should have. The purpose of wealth is not to amass it, it is for helping others. Jesus was trying to help this man free himself from the prison that wealth had locked him in so that he could be free to serve God but he went away sad. Go, sell everything and give! My advise; you cannot serve God and mammon. You cannot hold allegiance to both equally, you have to chose one, chose God. Wealth is a difficult and cruel master to be free of. It promises you; the lust of the flesh, you will forever want more. The lust of the eyes; greed. And the pride of life. The solution is simple; go, sell everything and give.

In today's devotional, I spoke about a controversial statement my theology professor once made; that Jesus never held prayer meetings with his disciples! Do you agree? We will take a look at Jesus' teachings on prayer; the place of persistence and fervency when praying. "And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Luke 18:6‭-‬8 NIV. Prayer first and foremost is for building intimacy with God, it should be consistent, it should be regular and fervent. Jesus also taught on the doctrine of divorce and our conclusion was; God does not like divorce. "Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” “What did Moses command you?” he replied. They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Mark 10:2‭-‬9 NIV. However you read it, in marriage, God makes husbands and wives one, he makes them one flesh. Secondly, he wants them to be together; not minding the troubles and turbulence that comes with marriage; what God has joined together, "let no one separate." That includes the couple themselves.