Tag Archive | lessons from Matthew

Matthew 25 – Are you ready for your groom?

Apr4

Good Morning y’all. Happy Easter!!!

Today we are studying Matthew 25. I am focusing the blog on verse 1 – 13

Be blessed 🙂

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“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.  The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps,  but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.  When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’ “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps.  Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.  Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’ “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’ “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return”. (Matthew 25:1-13 NLT)

What struck me immediately as I read these verses was that both the wise and foolish fell asleep while waiting for the return of the groom. The difference though, is the wise could afford to sleep because they had done what was necessary before. They had prepared themselves in advance (made sure they had extra oil just in case it will be needed) unlike the foolish who didn’t prepare. Falling asleep was a costly decision for the foolish. Eventually the groom turned up but the foolish ones were running out of oil. They went to get some more oil but were too late by the time they got back.

Are we prepared for Jesus’ coming back? Is our life in order? Do we have enough oil to see us through to the end? Once the groom is here, there won’t be time to get ready. It will be late by then.

We need to do the right thing at the right time, if not we will miss our moment and what God is doing in us and around us.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says: “There is a right time for everything” (TLB).
There is a time and place for everything. Look at the ant they know when to plant and when to harvest without anyone having to tell them.

“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise!—Which, having no chief, overseer, or ruler,Provides her food in the summer and gathers her supplies in the harvest”. (Proverbs 6:6-8 AMP)

Now is the time to invest in heavens economy. Now is our time of preparation. I remember when Queen Esther (Esther 2) was going to meet the king, she went through many months of preparations. Had she refused them and said I will do the needful only when the king requests to see me, perhaps she would have missed her moment and won’t have been Queen and won’t have been in the right place to be able to save the Jews. Therefore, it is crucial that we are prepared and ready at all times. For we do not know when Jesus will be back, but one thing that is certain is that He is definately coming back.

You might be thinking how do I prepare myself? Below are some of the things i believe we should be doing to prepare ourselves

1) Salvation. We need to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved”. Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)

2) Study the word of God. That is where we learn more about God and what He wants us to do.

“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do”.( Joshua 1:8 NLT)

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path”.( Psalms 119: 105 NLT)

3) Obey God’s instructions. It’s not enough to study, but we must also obey what God tells us to do. Book of James tells us we mustn’t be hearers alone but also doers of God’s word.

“Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like”.(James 1: 22-24)

“If you love me, obey my commandments”.
(John 14:15 NLT)

4) Spend time in Prayer. Prayer is communication between one and God so spend time talking to God and listening for Him too.

“Never stop praying”(1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT)

“Do all this in prayer, asking for God’s help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God’s people” (Ephesians 6:18 GNT)

5) Allow the Holyspirit to lead. The Holyspirit is our helper, teacher, Advocate and guide. Allow him take the Lead and direct us in all that we do.

“Those who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children”. (Romans 8:14 GNT)

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves”. (Galatians 5:16 NLT)

Today, Let’s examine our readiness for our groom.

Prayer :
Dear Lord we thank you for today and your Word. We pray we will be found doing the right thing at the right time and won’t miss out on Jesus’ return. And when the time comes, may we hear you say welcome home faithful servant. In Jesus Name we prayed. Amen.

Thank you for joining today.

Have a wonderful Easter basking in God’s love for us.

***With God all things are possible***

Matthew 24 – Endure till the end

Apr2

Good afternoon y’all. Today we are looking at Matthew 24.

Be blessed 🙂

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In verse 6 Jesus tells us there will be wars and threats of wars but we shouldn’t be afraid.
“You will soon hear about wars and threats of wars, but don’t be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn’t the end”. (Matthew 24:6 CEVUS06)
This is very comforting especially in our world today where people are being killed everyday for no reason; nations fighting against nations; and terrorist attacks everywhere. Sometimes we become  fearful and don’t want to even leave the house. We start to live in the fear of what might happen. If I go to the mall will there be someone waiting to bomb it? Reading this verse, made me realise that God doesn’t want us to live in the fear of all that’s happening around us. He specifically said, ‘… do not be afraid…’. Another version says, ‘do not panic’. Let’s stop living in fear but rather let’s allow the fear draw us closer to God and find the strength and courage to face the days ahead.

Verse 11 tells us about false preachers and leaders rising up to lead a lot of people astray.
“And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray”. (Matthew 24:11 ESV)
It’s already happening. There are many false preachers claiming to be miracle workers, scamming people left right and center. Even Christians are falling for their scams!

Verse 12 tells us love of many will wax cold.
“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold”. (Matthew 24:12 ESV)
That’s so true nowadays. A lot of us have lost our zeal for God because of all the evil happening around us. We have become lukewarm. We have become distracted by all that’s going on. It’s not to late for us to return to our first love. He will receive us with open arms.

“But I do have something against you! And it is this: You don’t have as much love as you used to. Think about where you have fallen from, and then turn back and do as you did at first. If you don’t turn back, I will come and take away your lampstand”. (Revelation 2:4-5 CEVUS06)
But verse 13 gives me hope. It says: But if you keep on being faithful ,you will be saved”(CEVUS06). That is,  we mustn’t allow ourselves get distracted by all that’s going on. We must keep at what God has called us to do. We mustn’t loose sight of Him. We must be found faithful at our duty post doing what He has called us to do. Verse 45 – 47 also emphasizes this.
“Who here qualifies for the job of overseeing the kitchen? A person the Master can depend on to feed the workers on time each day. Someone the Master can drop in on unannounced and always find him doing his job. A God-blessed man or woman, I tell you. It won’t be long before the Master will put this person in charge of the whole operation. (Matthew 24:45-47 MSG)

Verse 44 tells us to always be ready.
“Always be ready! You don’t know when the Son of Man will come”. (Matthew 24:44 CEVUS06)
The end is drawing nigh. Let us to re-evaluate our lives and make sure we are living in accordance to God’s word. Also, let’s start sharing the gospel every opportunity we get. Jesus is coming soon.
Don’t let anyone fool you by telling you they know when Jesus is coming. That’s a big fat lie! No one knows when He is coming, hence why we need to be watchful and alert. Make sure we are ready at all times and are found faithful when He comes.

Prayer:
Dear God, thank You for giving us Your Son, Jesus, who died for us and is raised up in victory over death and sin. Help us be watchful and alert so we do not miss out on His second coming. May we be found faithful, doing what He has asked us to do. In Jesus’ Name we prayed. Amen.

Thanks for joining today. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the chapter 🙂

Have a blessed day 🙂

***With God all things are possible***