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Weekly Devotionals  |
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Good News DailyVolume VIII Sunday, December 7 We’ve all been alerted to global warming. The polar ice caps are melting and the seas are rising. Our earth is in for a change. But here, St. Peter warns us of a greater cataclysm: “The elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (v.10). It will be the end of the earth. This was written almost two thousand years ago, before nuclear fission and global warming were thought of. Yet God showed him that devastation was coming, not from a flood as before (vv.5-6), but from a fire. As Christians, what should we do? Certainly, we must avoid polluting the earth’s atmosphere. We must avoid contaminating it and try to refresh it while we can. But more importantly, we must listen to His Word and spread it to others—a Word of peace and love and holiness, by which He will eventually bring us into His kingdom. That is the way to be prepared. Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalms 148,149,150; Luke 7:28-35 Monday, December 8 As we approach winter, the days are shortening and the nights are lengthening. As we approach the second coming of our Lord Jesus, the same thing is happening spiritually. The darkness of evil is descending and spreading in the world. Paganism and unbelief are abounding, and immorality and evil are deepening. Someone once blithely spouted, “I think things are getting better every day.” To this his friend replied, “If that is so, they must be getting worse every night.” What is the result of us being in darkness? We stumble and head off in wrong and painful directions. Our Lord Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8:12). He promised us that if we followed Him we should not walk in darkness, but have the light of life—of wisdom and warmth and joy. What a tremendous blessing! Brothers and sisters, “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day” (v.5). Therefore, let us walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8)! Isaiah 5:8-12, 18-23; Psalm 25; Luke 21:20-28 Tuesday, December 9 I have a little Jack Russell terrier in my house. Whenever I eat a meal, she sits at my feet and stares at me without blinking an eye. I want to eat in peace and ignore her, but she makes me feel like a heel. At last I yield to her and leave something on the plate for her. Her persistence gets her what she wants. I realize that I must be just as persistent in prayer to my Heavenly Father, Who is much more generous than I am and has much more to give me. But there is another thing about prayer that I have learned from her. Sometimes I have on my plate a fish bone or some sweets. She wants them. But I know they are not good for her. So I brush them off into the garbage pail. That is like my Heavenly Father. I may want certain things, but He knows they are bad for me. So He refrains from giving them to me. What should I do? “In everything give thanks.” Isaiah 5:13-17, 24-25; Psalms 26, 28; Luke 21:29-38 Wednesday, December 10 I wonder if we preachers are too soft on sin and its consequences. Suppose a medical doctor discovered a cancerous tumor in a patient but did not warn him or her about it, though this doctor had the means to remove it completely. The patient eventually died in pain from this tumor. Would not the doctor be guilty of malpractice? We preachers are doctors of the soul. But if we fail to warn our congregations of their sins and the consequence of Hell, are we not guilty of a far worse malpractice? In Ezekiel 33:8-9 God warns us preachers of the terrible danger we face if we fail to warn our people of their own danger. This danger of Hell and everlasting destruction may be dismissed these days as being unworthy of a loving God. But we must ask ourselves, “What is Hell?” Is it not being eternally separated from the loving God Who created us? He has not forced us to love Him. He leaves the choice to us. But woe to those who reject Him! Isaiah 6:1-13; Psalm 38; John 7:53—8:11 Thursday, December 11 A church in my vicinity put up a sign, “Jesus is coming soon!”, but I wonder if the passers-by take it seriously. In this Advent season, we are directed to look back to Jesus’ first coming and also forward to his second coming. But how much attention does his second coming get? In his first Epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul concluded each chapter with a reference to Jesus’ second coming. But then, because some people expected Jesus momentarily, he wrote his second Epistle to inform them about the signs preceding the coming. A significant one would be the falling away of many people from the faith. Though that has happened several times in the past, there will come a final denouement. The kettle will finally boil over. The spark will turn into a blaze. The end of the world will come. Jesus sighed, “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Are we today seeing a falling away from the faith, worse than ever before? Take heed. He is coming—sooner or later! Isaiah 7:1-9; Psalm 37:1-18; Luke 22:1-13 Friday, December 12 When we were children, Christmas always seemed so far away. We probably asked our parents many times, “How many more days ’till Christmas comes?” They would reply, “Just wait. It won’t be much longer.” Now that we are adults, it seems that the second coming of Christ is far away. The days go by and he still hasn’t arrived. And we ask our Heavenly Father, “When is Your beloved Son coming?” I’m sure He’d say, “Look into my Word. It says ‘One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day’ (2 Peter 3:8). Remember that! The days seem long to you. You are still in your infancy as Christians. But one day, He will come and your wait will be over.” And He would add “Read further: ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise... but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance’” (v.9). That great Day is ahead. Let’s pray for repentance, and then for patience to wait for it! Isaiah 7:10-25; Psalm 31; Luke 22:14-30 Saturday, December 13 I once asked a 93 year old woman for the secret of her longevity. She replied “Just keep on going. Don’t give up.” That impressed me. As I grow older, my jobs take longer and I tire more quickly. I’m tempted to quit. As a pastor, I try to visit as many people as I can. But some of them never come to church. And I wonder if I should cross them off my list. Paul speaks here to us Christians. He has been telling us that Jesus will return to the world, but that we should be patient in waiting for Him. What should we do in the meantime? “Be not weary in well doing.” In two other places he gives the same counsel: “always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58)—not just abiding but abounding—and “in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9). John Wesley said, “Do all the good you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” Brothers and sisters: Go for it! Isaiah 8:1-15; Psalms 30, 32; Luke 22:31-38by Fr. John Pearce Used with permission from the BIBLE READING FELLOWSHIP |
