Read Luke 21:5-19
5 Some
of the disciples were talking about the Temple, how beautiful it looked with
its fine stones and the gifts offered to God. Jesus said, 6“All this
you see—the time will come when not a single stone here will be left in its
place; every one will be thrown down.”
7 “Teacher,”
they asked, “when will this be? And what will happen in order to show that the
time has come for it to take place?”
8 Jesus
said, “Be on guard; don’t be deceived. Many men, claiming to speak for me, will
come and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time has come!’ But don’t follow them. 9Don’t
be afraid when you hear of wars and revolutions; such things must happen first,
but they do not mean that the end is near.”
10 He
went on to say, “Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one
another. 11There will be terrible earthquakes, famines, and plagues
everywhere; there will be strange and terrifying things coming from the sky. 12Before
all these things take place, however, you will be arrested and persecuted; you
will be handed over to be tried in synagogues and be put in prison; you will be
brought before kings and rulers for my sake. 13This will be your
chance to tell the Good News. 14Make up your minds beforehand
not to worry about how you will defend yourselves, 15because I will give you
such words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to refute or
contradict what you say. 16You will be handed over by your parents,
your brothers, your relatives, and your friends; and some of you will be put to
death. 17Everyone will hate you because of me. 18But not
a single hair from your heads will be lost. 19Stand firm, and you
will save yourselves. [1]
Think
Being a Christian is not always going to be easy. Jesus warns that the end is not nearly as
near as we would like it to be. But
stand firm…
Pray
Lord, help me to stand firm.
Even when it is difficult to love, keep me loving, when it is difficult
to forgive, keep me forgiving, when it is difficult to do good – keep me doing.
Amen.
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