Approaching the end

It is a strange coincidence that I should read Matthew 24 the day after a solar eclipse. These words are recoded there; Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “

I don’t think yesterday’s eclipse was what Jesus was talking about here however If we are clinging to the status quo This chapter has some frightening things .

In the muppets Christmas Carol there is a point right before the ghost of Christmas present appears where Gonzo and Rizzo leave the audience out of fear. I would like to do that here but it was for our comfort that Jesus gives us the warnings of this chapter.

The future has some dark days ahead but it’s okay, God is in it and it’s all part of His plan.

“Matthew 24:1-14 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” 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?” 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. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

When our daughter Hannah was little, when she was watching a movie with a scary part and she sensed it coming up she would start yelling “mote mommy mote” which translated to “please fast forward past the scary part!”

The only fast forward button that I see is that the church get busy and stay busy telling the world about our amazing savior Jesus.

Who can we tell today?