Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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 Hasha: Passion Week

Matthew 24:1-28
Vs 35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away”.

Mathew 24 is one of the most reassuring chapters in the New Testament. This chapter is a private conversation between Jesus and His disciples. When asked by His disciples, Jesus describes the signs that would occur before His second coming. Matthew 24:5-8 describes the beginning of sorrows; Vs 9-10 describes the turning of humanity against each other and Vs 11-12 describes about the cultural results caused by the turning of humanity against each other.
 
In the beginning of His narration, Jesus gives a warning to His disciples, “Watch out that no one deceives you.” (Matthew 24:4). Here Jesus warns His disciples to stand firm for the Lord, be rooted in God’s word and be prepared for persecution. The signs of His second coming are detailed and include: the rise of false Christs, wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against each other, kingdom against kingdom, pestilences, famines and earthquakes, persecution, and hatred, turning away from faith, betrayal and hatred of one another, false prophets, widespread injustice, and indifference to others instead of love.


In the Old Testament, the Lord reminds us through His prophet Haggai, that there will be distressful days ahead before His second coming, as there was before our Lord’s first coming. We can see this in the New Testament also when Jesus mentions that there will always be “wars and rumors of wars.” (Matthew 24:6-7). However, this grim reality is juxtaposed with a message of hope in which Jesus reminds us not to be afraid. Specifically, it is written that Jesus says, “see to it that you are not alarmed: verse 6.”  Jesus gives us the assurance through His words that God’s people do not have to fear those days or lose heart, because their Lord is faithful to His promise. Kingdoms in this world will rise and fall, but God’s Kingdom will stand forever! Those who trust in Him will not be ashamed. They also will live and reign with Him forever. We also read in the scripture that we are saved by grace alone through faith in Christ, not through good works. Jesus gave His life as a ransom for our sins. God reconciled the world to Himself through Christ. What a solace it is to know that our good works are not the cause of our salvation, but the result of our salvation.
As Jesus told in this chapter “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” (Matthew 24:9-14). “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35).” God is steadfast in His Word. He remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. Let us pray that we too become firm and unwavering in our faith and on God’s Word until the end.                                                           

PRAYER
Dear loving Lord, thank You for giving Your life as a ransom for our sins. Thank You for the promise that Your word will never pass away. Give us the faith and Your grace to stand firm on Your words to the end.
                                               
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 
Stand firm in God’s word until the end!

 Dr. Susan Raj
Carmel MTC, Boston, MA

Christian Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church

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