<\/p>\n
Luke 12:35-13:21; John 9:1-41<\/strong><\/span> Luke:<\/strong> In Luke chapter 12 verse 40, Jesus is speaking about his second coming at the end of the age \u2013 \u201cYou must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 But, this verse also always seems to speak to me about the end of my life here on earth as well.\u00a0 One of 2 things will happen during our life that will bring our earthly life as we know it to an end \u2013 1.\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 second coming (which no one knows the day or hour) or 2. we will die.\u00a0 I know it\u2019s not something we all want to think about\u2026 but someday our earthly bodies will die.\u00a0 And I guess when I read verse 40 above, it makes me realize that not only do we not know the day or hour when Jesus\u2019 2nd coming will be.\u00a0 We also don\u2019t know the day or the hour of the end of our life either.\u00a0 So\u2026\u00a0 this verse then speaks to me clearly \u2013 you must be ready all the time!\u00a0 And, I don\u2019t view this as something to be anxious over.\u00a0 But, I do think it\u2019s serious for us to consider.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know about you \u2013 but sometimes I\u2019m a procrastinator.\u00a0 And when it comes to our faith in Jesus, there is no luxury of procrastination.\u00a0 We must have faith in Jesus, be living for Jesus, and really, be willing to die for Jesus \u2013 today.\u00a0 Now.\u00a0 Not tomorrow.\u00a0 Today.\u00a0 \u00a0Are you ready all the time?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/span> I love Jesus\u2019 teachings in Luke chapter 13 verses 18 & 19: \u201cThen Jesus said, \u201cWhat is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds come and find shelter among its branches.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 I think if we can have faith in the seed that Jesus plants in our hearts \u2013 the Gospel \u2013 we will see an amazing plant grow that will ultimately bless others.\u00a0 From the tiniest beginnings, with patience and faith, can come the largest of plants.\u00a0 Will you let Jesus plant a mustard seed in your heart?\u00a0 And will you be patient and allow the seed time & space to grow?\u00a0 And will you water and care for the seed of the Gospel planted in your heart so that one day it will be a beautiful tree of life for yourself and others you come in contact with?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> John:<\/strong> Jesus\u2019 teaching in John chapter 9 verse 3 is powerful \u2013 \u201cIt was not because of his sins or his parents\u2019 sins,\u201d Jesus answered. \u201cHe was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Wow.\u00a0 He was born blind so that God\u2019s power could be seen in him.\u00a0 I wonder about this in our lives today.\u00a0 When we have challenges or struggles, is it possible that they are happening so that the power of God can been seen?\u00a0 I know this can be tough to fathom when you are in the midst of a challenge or struggle \u2013 or, if you are blind for example, like this man in John 9.\u00a0 But\u2026\u00a0 no matter what life throws our way, do you think that God\u2019s power can be seen in any circumstance?\u00a0 Below is Cretan-born painter El Greco\u2019s \u201cChrist Healing the Blind Man\u201d from the year 1567:<\/span><\/p>\n Verse 27 is great when the healed man says \u2013 \u201c\u201dLook!\u201d the man exclaimed. \u201cI told you once. Didn\u2019t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?\u201d\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0Hmmm\u2026. Verses 39 through 40 are a dialogue that each one of us should reflect upon \u2013 \u201cThen Jesus told him, \u201cI have come to judge the world. I have come to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.\u201d\u00a0 The Pharisees who were standing there heard him and asked, \u201cAre you saying we are blind?\u201d \u201cIf you were blind, you wouldn\u2019t be guilty,\u201d Jesus replied. \u201cBut you remain guilty because you claim you can see.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 How are we behaving today?\u00a0 Are we allowing Jesus to give us spiritual sight?\u00a0 Or do we think we can see well enough spiritually without Jesus?\u00a0 Without Jesus, can we see or are we blind\u2026?\u00a0 Will we allow Jesus to heal us of our spiritual blindness right now?<\/span><\/p>\n Bible.org\u2019s commentary on today\u2019s John readings titled \u201cThe Light of the World\u201d<\/strong> is <\/span>at this link<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Worship Video:<\/strong>\u00a0 Today\u2019s readings in Luke chapter 12 reminded me of the MercyMe song \u201cAll of Creation:\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Please join us in memorizing and meditating on two verses of Scripture today:<\/strong> \u201cBut 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.\u201d\u201d<\/em> Luke 12:39-40 NIV<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Prayer Point:<\/strong> Pray that you are ready for Jesus to return right this very moment. Pray that you will always stay ready for Jesus\u2019 return, and that you will not quench the Spirit by sinning. Pray earnestly, \u201cCome Lord, Jesus, quickly come!\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Comments from You:<\/strong>\u00a0 What verses or insights stand out to you in today\u2019s readings?\u00a0 Please post up by clicking on the \u201cComments\u201d link below!<\/span><\/p>\n God bless, p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Chronological Bible readings at this link.<\/span><\/p>\n p.s. #2 \u2013 Download a schedule of our Chronological Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.<\/span><\/p>\n p.s. #3 \u2013 I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Luke 12:35-13:21; John 9:1-41~ Click here to read today\u2019s Scripture on Bible Gateway ~~ Listen to today\u2019s Scripture with The ESV Bible ~ Luke: In Luke chapter 12 verse 40, Jesus is speaking about his second coming at the end of the age \u2013 \u201cYou must be ready all the time, for the Son of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[2357,45,46,558,53,231],"class_list":["post-32782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bible-study","tag-17th","tag-bible","tag-blog","tag-chronological","tag-october","tag-readings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
~ Click here to read today\u2019s Scripture on Bible Gateway ~<\/span><\/em>
~ Listen to today\u2019s Scripture with <\/em>The ESV Bible<\/em><\/span> ~<\/p>\n
Chapter 12 verse 48 is also a powerful teaching from Jesus for us today \u2013 \u201cBut people who are not aware that they are doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 This is convicting\u2026\u00a0 think about it.\u00a0 The more we begin to know about Jesus and God and the Bible, the more we essentially have been \u201cgiven.\u201d\u00a0 And when this holy knowledge has been given to us \u2013 much is required.\u00a0 Much is expected.\u00a0 Maybe in our past we were not aware of our sins.\u00a0 Maybe we were not aware of sin at all really.\u00a0 Today, if we have been blessed with the knowledge of living by Jesus\u2019 teachings, we should not be acting as we did in the past when we did not know any better.\u00a0 Have you been given much?\u00a0 Are you living up to what is required of you?<\/span><\/p>\n
Bible.org\u2019s commentary on our Luke chapter 12 readings today titled \u201cThe Way to Wait\u201d<\/strong> is <\/span>at this link<\/span> and commentary titled \u201cThe Consequences of Christ\u2019s Coming\u201d<\/strong> is <\/span>at this link<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n
Bible.org\u2019s commentary on Luke chapter 13\u2019s readings today titled \u201cA Problem of Perspective\u201d<\/strong> is <\/span>at this link<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n
Mike<\/span><\/p>\n