In today's devotional, we pay attention to Jesus' warning about how the kingdom of God will be consummated and his second coming. "Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” “Where, Lord?” they asked. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”

Luke 17:33‭-‬35‭, ‬37 NIV. These verses speak about the day believers will be taken out of this world just before the days of tribulations begins and the events around that time. How do we know it's time, Jesus says; "where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather." The dead bodies are all around us today and the events they represent have been occurring at a pace, we will read about this in Matthew 24. The dead bodies represent events; "Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Matthew 24:4‭-‬13 NIV. My encouragement, take out time to read these verses again and again and ask yourself how close you think Jesus' second coming is.

In today's devotional, we read about Lazarus' death and Jesus' journey to raise him back to life. We learned something today about God's love and how it often does not make sense to the natural man. Jesus loved Lazarus, heard he was sick and knew the sickness would likely lead to his death, and Jesus had the power to heal him, but he chose not to come which inadvertently led to Lazarus' death; what kind of love is that? That is what the natural mind would think. "Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

John 11:1‭, ‬3‭-‬4 NIV. I have heard people argue that Jesus could not have been the Son of God because how could he claim that Lazarus sickness would not lead to death but Lazarus died? Actually, Jesus' words were; "this sickness will not END in death" Jesus didn't say; will not lead to death, he said, end in death. And ultimately, Lazarus would come back to life. Secondly, we learned that faith isn't just what we declare or know, it is something more. Martha seemed to have faith in Jesus and even expressed that faith openly, but when it came to acting on that faith, she stepped back into unbelief. "When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

John 11:20‭-‬22 NIV. I want to challenge you to read the story again and try and find out what Martha's weakness was; why was she not able to believe in Jesus?

In today's devotional, we read about the parables of the Lost Son, the shrewd manager and the rich man and Lazarus. From the parable of the lost son we said we should draw lessons from all 3 main characters in the story not just the lost son; the father's unwavering love, the younger son's recklessness and heart of repentance, and the elder son's lack of initiative, everything the father had was his yet he lived like he owned nothing. From the shrewd manager we said we could learn about planning for tomorrow and that money competes for the place God wants in our heart. From the parable of the rich man and Lazarus we said; each person ended where they did because of their relationships with God, not their status of being rich or poor. We also said there is a chasm as the Bible puts it between the realm of the dead; hades and those alive, and vice versa those currently in heaven waiting to return with Jesus. We said when believers die, they go stand straight before God. Listen to the podcast for more!

In today's devotional, we learn about the steep price of being a disciple of Jesus. What does it cost to follow Jesus? What is the cost of being a Christian? It's possible this question might seem somewhat unimportant especially if you live where you are allowed to practice your faith, but not so everywhere in the world even today, and at one time when Christianity began, it meant your life if you said you were a Christian. Jesus answers this questions and said; “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

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Luke 14:26‭-‬27 NIV.

Jesus describes a disciple as someone who has counted the cost of following him. He describes a disciple as someone who in comparison to choosing God, knows the whole world means nothing. A disciple is someone who has carried their cross to follow Jesus. To carry a cross in Jesus' day meant a death sentence, everyone who carried a cross automatically died on the same cross. A disciple is someone is dead but still living,

someone who has signed the dotted lines of their death certificate; with the understanding it can happen any time. A disciple is dead while living. "In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

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Luke 14:33 NIV. A disciple has given up their right to own anything, at best, they are custodians. Are you a disciple of Jesus?

In today's devotional, Jesus teaches on the dedication, grit and personal commitment required to walk with God. Here, we learn that walking with God is not only a narrow way, but that it is a personal commitment, it's your own relationship with God. “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

Luke 13:24‭-‬25 NIV. Is Jesus saying there will be people who will genuinely try to come to him and will not be able to find him? I don't think so. My opinion is that he is saying don't put it off till another time like the people of his time were putting off their dedication to God to some other time. Don't say I will give my life to Christ tomorrow, tomorrow might be too late. Do it now!

In today's devotional, Jesus teaches his disciples to be on guard. He teach them on; greed, worry, hypocrisy, being covetous and being vigilant to understand the times we live in. "Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

Luke 12:15 NIV. Greed is a stage 4 cancer. "Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

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Luke 12:22‭-‬24 NIV. Worrying is a slap against God, you are simply saying the almighty does not know what he is doing. "Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

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Luke 12:33‭-‬34 NIV. "But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Luke 12:39‭-‬40 NIV. "He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?

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Luke 12:54‭-‬57 NIV. This generation will witness the second coming.

In today's devotional, we learn from the story of Martha and Mary on what is truly important when it comes to a relationship with God. In the background of the story, Jesus was visiting their home. Let's call that having a relationship with Jesus. Martha chose taking care of her guests; Jesus and his disciples, she chose hospitality while her sister Mary chose just one thing, to be with Jesus. Let's read; "As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38‭-‬42 NIV. Can you draw other parallels between the sisters? Martha had chosen many things, Mary chose one. Martha had now allowed herself to become upset, Mary was simply taking in the words of Jesus. Lessons; each one of us will ultimately need to choose. What we choose is not the problem because I don't think Mary would eventually not have joined her sister. What we choose first is what's important. We will each need to choose what we will prioritize. Jesus says what Mary chose was better. Prioritize being with the Lord over working for him. Prioritize walking with him over working for him. Working for him is good, walking with him is better.

What is more important; to love or to be right? This was the dilemma faced by the 3 parties in the story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus told this parable in response to an expert of the law who wanted to justify why he could not always keep the law. He asked Jesus what the law of God really meant when it says to love ones neighbour; who is my neighbour? "In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Luke 10:30‭-‬37 NIV. While it became obvious who the man's neighbour was from who helped him, my emphasis is on understanding why both the priest and levite refused to help. The man is going from Jerusalem to Jericho. This meant he had accomplished whatever he went to Jerusalem to do, telling us that he was likely a Jew. However, being a fellow Jew was not enough to convince both the priest and Levite to help him. The priest did not help because touching a dead body would have defiled him. He would become unclean and would remain unclean for more than a week. He didn't want to take that risk and be barred from ministering in the temple. The Levite had similar reason, he would have become unclean and unable to assist in the temple. The Samaritan however; crossing ethnic, social and financial lines, stepped forward to help this man. Samaritan usually have nothing to do with Jews, he broke that barrier. The could easily have died while he was transporting him to the hospital, he was taking a risk. And lastly, he paid for his treatment out of pocket. The lesson in the parable is this, don't prioritize being right, doing the word of God even, over practicing love. You can't miss it whenever you are practicing love.

In today's devotional, we will draw some lessons from this unusual dispute Jesus has with the Pharisees about who he was, who sent him and where he came from. In hindsight now, this was clearly a discussion the Pharisees could not possibly understand. They were claiming he was an illegitimate child, he was claiming God as his father. He claimed he knew where he was from above and that he came from God. They were claiming they know his parents and siblings and were certain his mother was likely impregnated by a stranger, most likely, a Samaritan. A hilarious encounter I must say. "In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.” Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

John 8:17‭-‬19 NIV. Some of them could even stomach Joseph as his father, the majority however would have told the story severally of how Mary travelled to Zachariah's house and returned 4 months pregnant claiming the Holy Spirit impregnated her. "Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

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John 8:54‭-‬59 NIV. By claiming the title; "I am", they understood he was claiming he was equal to God. Our lessons, to know Jesus, you must accept who he is. Declaring that he is a prophet is not enough, many of them did. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

In today's devotional, we begin studying the Judean and Parean part of Jesus' ministry as he sets his sight on Jerusalem where he would eventually be tried and killed. Attending the feast of tabernacles Jesus said; "On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

John 7:37‭-‬39 NIV. The challenge is simple; you want to drink? come. They don't buy or obtain this with money, you get it with thirst.