Today's The Day

OPENING PRAYER:

Loving Lord, I don’t want to someone who hears your Word and doesn’t obey it. I want to be a person who has a life-long loyalty to you.

READ: MATTHEW 24:36-51

The Day and Hour Unknown

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Footnotes

[a] Matthew 24:36 Some manuscripts do not have nor the Son.

REFLECT:

Still your heart before the Lord and ask him to speak to you today.

Jesus uses different images in this passage to reinforce the sense of verses 36, 42 and 44: nobody knows when he will return. First, his return is compared to the time of Noah (vs 37–39), when people were carrying on as normal until the moment the flood arrived. Secondly, we imagine two people working together (vs 40,41), one of whom is taken. Thirdly, Jesus asks, wouldn’t we take precautions to prevent housebreaking (v 43)? And lastly, we are to compare the examples of a faithful and an evil servant, each left in charge when the master is away.

So, let’s ponder the question in verse 45. Are we being faithful in the things he has given us to do? Are we using our position to bless others or to take advantage of them (compare verse 45 with verse 49)? I find it easy to imagine positive changes in my life that will start tomorrow. But when tomorrow comes, well, often my good intentions get pushed back by another week or two! Jesus’ point is that it is now that matters: we cannot know when he will return, so we need to live as if it might be today.

APPLY:

Apply Are there aspects of your life that you don’t think Jesus would like if he returned right now? Talk to him about things you know need to change. Talk with a Christian friend or leader who could walk with you through the change.

I WILL STATEMENT:

I WILL pray this prayer every day this week.

CLOSING PRAYER:

Holy Spirit, guide me today. Guide me through prayer, through Your word, and through other people. I pray that You will be my constant companion and my closest friend even when I feel lost. Amen.

WORSHIP:

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