Sunflower Faith

My Daily Life Journal Reading

Today’s Life Journal Reading is from: Job 25 and Mark 13 and Mark 14 

Scripture

 ¹ Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”
² And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”   
³ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”
⁵ And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. ⁶ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. ⁷ But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. ⁸ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.
⁹ “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. ¹⁰ And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. ¹¹ But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. ¹² Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ¹³ And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.   
¹⁴ “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁵ Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. ¹⁶ And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. ¹⁷ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ¹⁸ And pray that your flight may not be in winter. ¹⁹ For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. ²⁰ And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.
²¹ “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. ²² For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²³ But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.   
²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; ²⁵ the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.   
²⁸ “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near—at the doors! ³⁰ Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. (Mark 13, New King James Version)

Observation:

From Matthew Henry’s Commentary:

See how little Christ values outward pomp, where there is not real purity of heart. He looks with pity upon the ruin of precious souls, and weeps over them, but we do not find him look with pity upon the ruin of a fine house. Let us then be reminded how needful it is for us to have a more lasting abode in heaven, and to be prepared for it by the influences of the Holy Spirit, sought in the earnest use of all the means of grace. (Mk

13:5-13)

Mark is a great book to read and it’s a comforting book to read. It is a reminder that all things are temporary but that we have to be on guard and diligent about our walk with Christ and how we proclaim our faith.

But as we go through the chapter, as MHC reminds us, that it becomes a warning to, for the things that have yet to come:

See how little Christ values outward pomp, where there is not real purity of heart. He looks with pity upon the ruin of precious souls, and weeps over them, but we do not find him look with pity upon the ruin of a fine house. Let us then be reminded how needful it is for us to have a more lasting abode in heaven, and to be prepared for it by the influences of the Holy Spirit, sought in the earnest use of all the means of grace. (Mk 13:5-13)

We don’t know when He will return, but it will happen at an unspecified time and without really a “heads up” I’m coming. It’s a reminder of remembering where we should store our treasures; Not here on Earth where everything is fleeting and will turn to rust and in God’s time, be wiped forever away, but to store treasures in God’s world, where it will be there forever, in His Glory and prescence.

Watchfulness urged.

 We have the application of this prophetic sermon. As to the destruction of Jerusalem, expect it to come very shortly. As to the end of the world, do not inquire when it will come, for of that day and that hour knoweth no man. Christ, as God, could not be ignorant of anything; but the Divine wisdom which dwelt in our Saviour, communicated itself to his human soul according to the Divine pleasure. As to both, our duty is to watch and pray. Our Lord Jesus, when he ascended on high, left something for all his servants to do. We ought to be always upon our watch, in expectation of his return.

This applies to Christ’s coming to us at our death, as well as to the general judgment.

 We know not whether our Master will come in the days of youth, or middle age, or old age; but, as soon as we are born, we begin to die, and therefore we must expect death.

Our great care must be, that, whenever our Lord comes, he may not find us secure, indulging in ease and sloth, mindless of our work and duty. He says to all, Watch, that you may be found in peace, without spot, and blameless. (Emphasis added by me)-From Matthew Henry Commentary

Who knows when this happens, but as I read this,  remember in school, when the teacher left the room, sometimes we really didn’t have an idea when she/he will return.

For those who were diligent, they did what they were supposed to do, but for others, with little regard or care or concern, let loose and figure, they were “free” for the moment, till the teacher return, often without warning and with rebuke for their bad behaviour.

Application:

Being a Christian-there is no off time. God doesn’t begin and end on Sunday or at church; HE is everywhere. When we go home and close the doors, the world may not see us, but He still sees us and more than anything, He still sees what is in our heart, where we try to deny others and ourselves.

Reading Mark 13; It is a source of comfort that all things are temporary and yes, we who proclaim Christ to be our Lord and Saviour, will have tribulations in our lives in all forms; No one who is truly in His word, is safe from a cynical and broken world that doesn’t understand or have yet to know Him or proclaim Him as “Lord”.

This is a reminder that if people start questioning, be divisive or harass, more than often, it’s like the old adage, “Misery loves company”; They see something that they are cynical about and to satisfy their own needs, will find ways to poke holes and tear you down, to make themselves feel better.

The reason: It’s not about you; It’s who you represent: Him. People who have no issue with Him will leave you alone, but people who have issues or are convicted, they are going to find ways to tangible find satisfaction, but ultimately, it’s going to be between them and Him.

This is a reminder to be strong.

Remember what they did to Christ.

They didn’t welcome Him.

They jeered Him.

They attacked Him in everyway they can.

People don’t like what makes them feel convicted, guilty or have to question.

People don’t like what they can’t control or understand.

Have strong faith; Have faith in Him; You’re not in this alone.

This was shared from “The Pocket Testament League“:

Toward the end of the day as I was checking out at a store, I gave the cashier a Gospel, and I told her that it was for her.

She handed it back to me and said she could not take it. I handed it to her again and told her I would really like her to have it.

 She said she could not accept it. I told her I understood, and then went on my way. At first, I was taken aback.

I was embarrassed, because she had rejected my gift in front of several customers.

 Then I started thinking about how many times Jesus has been rejected, and how Jesus must feel when He is rejected.

 It shed a bit of light on witnessing for me. I may be rejected, but nothing compares to the rejection of Jesus Christ’s Gift of Eternal Life.

 

 When Jesus preached the Good News of God’s love to the people around Him, not everyone accepted it. Some people said “no,” even though the Son of God Himself was bringing them the Gospel message. As His disciple, you can expect the same treatment!

Though most people gladly take the Gospel of John you offer them, a few will reject it. When this happens, take heart. You are experiencing nothing that the Lord Himself hasn’t experienced first.

 

Hey, if that doesn’t convince you, remember Peter, a man who serve with Christ till the end!

   ⁶⁶ Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came. ⁶⁷ And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.”
⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are saying.” And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.
⁶⁹ And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, “This is one of them.” ⁷⁰ But he denied it again.
And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, “Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it.”
⁷¹ Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!”
⁷² A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept. (Mark 14:66-72, New King James Version)

Prayer:

Lord, Thank you for being bold and strong and setting an example of how faithful You are; You show us, in Your name and will, it can be done and I thank You for not giving up on me, on everyone. Lord, I pray that I can not only share Your word, but grow in Your word, so I can be a more willing servant who is discerning and able to share Your word more openly and willingly.

We all fear, but we can’t let our fear, and help us learn from Peter who at first denied You, not once but several times but overcame that and fully stood up for You, boldly and loud! I pray and hope, I can keep getting out of my comfort zone, to be a vessal for Your work.

Amen.

If you use the Life Journal and participate in the daily readings, I would like to hear from you and your perspective on each day’s reading. Please feel free to join in the linky that I post below, so others too, who uses the Life Journal/or SOAP method to read the bible can participate.

Don’t feel obligate to have to blog about each passage to be read, but if anything, feel free to share those passages that have the most impact on you that day.

There maybe some days that you may read your daily reading and find nothing to jot down in your journal or on your blog and that’s okay, but there maybe other days, that you will find yourself inspire.

This is about you being encouraged to have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, and spending each day with Him, You and Him.

I also have a November bookmark with this month’s readings, that you are more than welcome to download and print for your own use, to keep up with the daily readings.

It is my prayer and hope that this will be an encouragement to establish a personal daily reading as well.

To find out more about using the S.O.A.P. method, here’s a link to an ehow article and here’s the link to the Life Journal to find out more what it is, and how you can use it for your own daily bible readings. If you don’t want to order the journal or if it’s not available through your local church, another method is simply, buy a journal or notebook or even blog about your life journal readings.

Disclaimer: I am not personally affiliated with the church that the link goes to, but merely share it as a resource of what the Life Journal is, how to order it.
.