Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known . . . the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes (Luke 19:41-42).
THEME
TEMPORAL VALUES
In the 1662 English Prayer Book, the devout proclaim, "O God . . . may [we] so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal."
With only the temporal in mind, the Jerusalem crowds triumphantly welcomed Jesus. They wanted a deliverer, someone who could rout the Romans. Having seen His miracles, they were convinced of His might, but they never really saw the Man behind the miracles. Jesus wept over their shortsightedness (Luke 19:41-44).
Perhaps the two Emmaus disciples were in that crowd, for they confessed to Jesus, their unidentified Companion on the road, that they had hoped the Nazarene would deliver Israel (Luke 24:21). Jesus corrected their value system by giving them an eternal perspective. He called them foolish for not realizing that suffering always precedes glory, just as the Old Testament had revealed.
Isaiah described Jesus as an innocent lamb at a slaughterhouse and as a war hero at a spoil-dividing summit (53:7, 12). The horror of death on the cross came before the honor of victory.
Like the Jerusalem throngs, we often focus on the immediate; we need to lay aside the magnifying glass, climb the mountain, pick up the binoculars, and search the horizon.
-----------------------------------------
OCT 21
JOHN 12:12-19
Then the multitudes . . . cried out, . . . "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Matthew 21:9).
It's Sunday morning, time for the electronic church in America. Thousands lounge in their living rooms watching television. Almost every channel carries a religious program. Some preachers proclaim a clear-cut gospel message. Others, however, pace before an enraptured audience, telling them that Jesus will heal all their diseases and make them rich. "He wants you well! Poverty is of the devil!" shouts the preacher. And the swelling of applause picks up where he leaves off. People love the "gospel" of prosperity and deliverance from sickness.
Now turn back the calendar to a Sunday morning around 33 a.d. The city is Jerusalem. There's no TV, but there is a preacher who stirs the hopes of an excited crowd. For three years He's been going about Judea and Galilee, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and even raising the dead. Now He rides into Jerusalem on a colt, gladly receiving the acclaim of the crowd. But those who shout "Hosanna!" are accepting Him for what they think He will give them, not for who He is and what He came to do. They want an earthly Messiah who will provide for their material welfare, not a suffering Messiah whose death on the cross will expose their sin, provide forgiveness, and call for a life commitment.
Jesus didn't promise release from all the suffering in the world. But He did offer forgiveness, peace, eternal life, and a cross. Anything less than taking up that cross in serving Him is shallow allegiance.
--D.J.D.
The word easy appears only once in the New Testament, and then in connection with yoke.
-----------------------------------------
OCT 22
MATTHEW 21:1-11
A great multitude . . . cried out: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!'" (John 12:12-13).
Sometimes I wonder how many of those who enthusiastically cried, "Hosanna!" on Palm Sunday were shouting, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" a few days later. People must have been disappointed, even resentful, that Christ didn't overthrow the Romans and set up an earthly kingdom. He had had a golden opportunity to rally support as He rode into Jerusalem. In contrast to His earlier actions, He didn't try to dampen this jubilant demonstration. Yet neither did he capitalize on the fervor of the crowd and issue a call to arms. Those who longed only for release from foreign domination were disillusioned. The Messiah had not fulfilled their expectations.
Jesus' contemporaries failed to recognize that before He could assert His outward sovereignty, He had to rule the inner citadel of their hearts. The Jews' greatest need was not freedom from Caesar's legions but release from the chains of their own sin. Jesus would rule in power and glory one day, but first He had to pay sin's penalty on the cross. The key to His kingdom was not revolution but repentance.
Through the centuries the issue has not changed. If we follow Christ only because we think He'll shield us from life's hardships, heal all our sicknesses, and guarantee prosperity, we're headed for disillusionment. But if we renounce sin, take up our cross, and live for Him because He is our God, our Creator, and our Redeemer, we will never be disappointed in Him.
--D.J.D.
Putting Christ first brings satisfaction that lasts.
-----------------------------------------
OCT 23
HABAKKUK 3
Although the fig tree shall not blossom . . . yet I will rejoice in the Lord (Habakkuk 3:17-18 kjv).
Those who center their lives on spiritual values rather than material things are best equipped to endure the adversities of life and to profit from them. In fact, they can even rejoice in them.
In 450 STORIES FOR LIFE, Gust Anderson tells about visiting a church in a farming community of eastern Alberta, Canada, where there had been eight years of drought. The farmers were deep in debt, and their economic situation looked hopeless. In spite of their poverty, however, many of them continued to meet together to worship and praise God. Anderson was especially impressed by the testimony of one of these farmers. Dressed in overalls and an old coat--the best clothes he had--the man stood up and quoted Habakkuk 3:17-18. "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Anderson thought, that dear saint has found the secret of real joy.
It isn't wrong to find pleasure in the good things money can buy, but we should never rely on them for happiness. If our fulfillment depends on material possessions, we are crushed when we lose them. But if our joy is found in the Lord, nothing can disrupt it, not even economic distress. Those who know and trust the Lord can rejoice--even in poverty.
--R.W.D.
Happiness depends on happenings; joy depends on Jesus!
-----------------------------------------
OCT 24
1 JOHN 2:12-17
Do not love the world or the things in the world (1 John 2:15).
A man visiting a distant city made no comment when his friends showed him one of the city's most impressive buildings. Disappointed at his silence, one of the friends finally asked, "Don't you think it's beautiful?" "No, not really," he responded. "I've been to Rome, you see."
Because he had seen the magnificent structures of Rome's glorious past, the building his friends showed him did not impress him. It suffered tragically by comparison.
C. H. Spurgeon, commenting on that story, said, "O believer, if the world tempts you with its rare sights and curious prospects, you may well scorn them, having been by contemplation in heaven, and being able by faith to see infinitely better delights every hour of the day."
Believers who through faith in God's Word have had a foretaste of heaven and have considered their glorious spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus are not attracted by the enchantments of this world. They're not impressed by its empty baubles. They're not enamored with its allurements. Recognizing that which has genuine worth and lasting value, they respond to the earthly and temporal by saying, "Take the world, but give me Jesus."
--R.W.D.
The world cannot distract us when Christ attracts us.
-----------------------------------------
OCT 25
LUKE 24:44-53
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above (Colossians 3:1).
Christians are a "heavenly" people. That's what Paul meant when he told the Ephesians that God has "raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:6). We live on earth, but "our citizenship is in heaven" (Php 3:20). We should therefore "seek those things which are above," and store up treasures in heaven.
We see a graphic difference between an earthly minded person and a heavenly minded person when we look at two Middle Eastern tombs. The first is the burial place of King Tut in Egypt. Inside, precious metal and blue porcelain cover the walls. The mummy of the king is enclosed in a beautifully inscribed, gold-covered sarcophagus. Although King Tut apparently believed in an afterlife, he thought of it in terms of this world's possessions, which he wanted to take with him.
The other tomb, in Palestine, is a simple rock-hewn cave believed by many to be Jesus' burial site. Inside, there is no gold, no earthly treasure, and no body. Jesus had no reason to store up this world's treasures. His goal was to fulfill all righteousness by doing His Father's will. His was a spiritual kingdom of truth and love.
The treasures we store up on earth will all stay behind when this life ends. But the treasures we store up in heaven we'll have for eternity. When we seek to be Christlike in thought, word, and deed, we will live like "heavenly" people.
--P.R.V.
Wise are those who gear their goals to heavenly gains.
-----------------------------------------
OCT 26
MATTHEW 6:19-24
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"
(Matthew 6:21).
Junior wanted a dump truck, and he let everyone in the store know it. When his mother said no, the little boy threw a temper tantrum. He howled louder and louder until the embarrassed mother bought the toy. As I watched, I thought of what my mother told me when I was young. "Don't hang your heart on things!" she said. At times I rebelled against that idea, but today I'm deeply grateful for her advice. And I think it should be displayed as a motto in every home.
The apostle Paul warned that the earth and all "the works that are in it will be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10). With this truth in mind, he went on to say, "Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness. . . ?" (v. 11). Because material things are transient, we ought to set our affection on "things above" (Col 3:2).
In a day when we're bombarded as never before by appeals to buy and have, it's difficult, even for believers, to stand firm against an excessive desire for things. Beautiful full-color spreads in magazines, scintillating radio commercials, and persuasive television ads combine to make us feel that we can't get along without certain products.
We need to guard ourselves against the tendency to want more and more material possessions. They can become heart hang-ups that draw us away from the Lord. Material values pass away; spiritual values last forever.
--R.W.D.
Hold lightly to the things of earth but tightly to the things of heaven.
-----------------------------------------
OCT 27
DEUTERONOMY 6:1-5
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart"
(Deuteronomy 6:5).
Many people come to a sad end because they worship wrong gods. Some are wicked, having made a god out of sensual pleasure. Others are decent people, yet they too have worshiped the wrong god.
After a young farmer committed suicide, his wife said, "Farming wasn't just a job with Floyd. It was his identity, his nationality, his religion. Working with the ground gave us both a sense of connection with the Almighty. But it had gone sour by the time Floyd killed himself."
My heart goes out to people like Floyd. They have a deep appreciation of God's natural world and are willing to work hard. But whenever an occupation or anything temporal takes priority in life, it becomes our god. The apostle John admonished us, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. . . . For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world" (1 John 2:15-16). This can apply to any earthly pursuit that becomes central in our lives.
When we love anything more than the true and living God revealed in the Bible, we are worshiping it. Whatever it is, it won't last. And it won't be able to help us when our plans shatter, our health fails, or death beckons. Only the true God can help us then.
--H.V.L.
The "world" is whatever cools our affection for Christ.
