Editor’s Note: The AMI QT devotionals from Jan. 1-15 are provided by Pastor Ryun Chang (Ph.D.) who is the AMI Teaching Pastor. He and Insil have been married for 28+ years and they have three children: Christy (teacher), Joshua (grad student) and Justin (college freshman). They live in Philadelphia.
Devotional Thoughts for Today
Acts 1:6-7
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
Matt. 24:36
But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Over the years, conservative Christians have rightfully called out liberal scholars for holding to a low view of Scripture that results in the denial of important Christian doctrines, such as Virgin birth and resurrection of Christ. But those who say they believe the Bible aren’t entirely guilt-free for doing the opposite. Despite being told, “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Cor. 4:6), that is exactly what some do, especially regarding the time of Christ’s second coming. Even though Jesus disprivileged himself by choosing to be agnostic about it, and reminded the disciples, just before his ascension, that “it is not for [us] to know the times or dates the Father has set,” there has been no shortage of people who do just that: setting the date of his return.
I remember hearing several Christian leaders say that Christ would return (i.e., rapture) in the 1980s; one advocate even wrote a book entitled, “88 reasons Why The Rapture Will Be in 1988.” More recently, Harold Camping, erstwhile respected evangelist and Christian radio broadcaster, predicted that Christ would return to earth on May 21, 2011. When nothing occurred on that day, he re-dated it to October 21, 2011. Needless to say, he was wrong again.
One oft-forgotten historical doctrine of the church is the “Imminent Return of Christ,” which posits that Christ may come at any moment. But, ever since dispensationalism kept finding preconditions in the Bible that have be met before his coming, this doctrine lost its luster. Nevertheless, the time is right to reintroduce it to the church, as it was first taught by Apostle Paul: “About times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:1).
So, how should this doctrine affect us? We should daily render to God and His work the best of ourselves as if every day was our last day. No more setting dates! But let us live for God in such a manner that “this day should [not] surprise [us] like a thief” (1 Thess. 5:4). “With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying . . .” (Eph. 6:18).
Prayer
What an amazing God I worship! Father, remind me to always stay alert so that I may do the work of God. Instead of looking at the calendar to guess your Son’s return, may I look outside the window to see who is lost and hurt so that I may share the riches of Christ with them. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: 2 Peter 3
Lunch Break Study
Read Matt. 24:42-51: “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.
Question to Consider
- Why do you think God didn’t inform us of the exact day of Christ’s return?
- Based on this parable, what is one drawback with this eschatological “strategy” (i.e., not telling the exact date)?
- What is God’s expectation of us in light of the uncertainty of the second coming? How are you measuring up to that expectation?
Notes
- If we knew the exact date, then we would have behaved like some Thessalonians who were erroneously told that “the day of the Lord ha[d] already come” (2 Thess. 2:1). What did they do? They stopped working! So Paul had to tell them, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (3:10).
- Among the immature and carnal Christians, besides laziness, this would lead to the misuse of the talents and gifts God gave them. Instead of prompting responsibleness, it results in self-indulgence and licentiousness.
- In fact, the uncertainty should be understood as “he can return at any time,” which changes the equation. God wants us to be faithful at all times so that when Christ does return, he can say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things; I will put in charge of many things” (Matt. 25:21).
Evening Reflection
Looking back to today, did you encounter an opportunity to share something that you have with those who lack it? It could be anything: spare time (that could be used to help someone facing a deadline with no time to spare), knowledge (that could be used to help a classmate struggling with the last lesson) or extra cash in your pocket (that could have been used to share a meal with a discouraged coworker). Think like that and do it; be a better steward of the gifts and talents that God saw fit to give you.
A pastor’s worst nightmare is being told how ineffective his sermon is, and that’s what recently happened to a pastor to whom this college sophomore said, “I’ve gotten nothing out of your sermons.” To him, the problem lies squarely with the pastor’s alleged inability to preach or teach well; but that may not necessarily be the case.
Once, a theology professor and former academic dean of a Reformed seminary, who used attend my church, said to me, “There is no spiritual power in the seminaries.” So, there might be some truth to people jokingly mispronouncing “seminary” as “cemetery.” But behind the humor lies good reason: first, since the Bible is treated as a textbook to be studied in dry academic fashion, it begins to lose its luster as a sacred book “sent” from above; second, seminarians “forget” to pray while juggling a demanding course load, church responsibility and perhaps even a part-time job; third, some seminaries are so hell-bent on imposing their particular brand of systematic theology, that those students who believe it begin to disdain others who don’t. That’s being carnal, not spiritual (1 Cor. 3:1-4).
Atheist Sam Harris, in his book The End of Faith (2004), writes, “Religion preaches the truth of proposition for which it has no evidence. In fact… no evidence is even conceivable.” A demand for evidence before believing an extraordinary claim is fair, and Harris would find Christ’s disciples in agreement. After all, upon being told by some women that they saw the resurrected Christ, “they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense” (Lk. 24:11). What they demanded was “proof” as Thomas said, “Unless I . . . put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it” (Jn. 20:25). And Luke the physician states that that’s exactly what they got: “Many convincing proofs that he was alive.”
However, unfortunately for us, what were empirical evidences (i.e., based on sensual experience) for the disciples are now nothing more than a historical narrative to us, and in the hands of skeptics like Harris, mere myth or fable. So then, what makes resurrection, a scientific impossibility, a plausible event to us without having to check out our brains at the door before entering the sanctuary?
Today spectator sports aren’t limited to watching ball games while sipping beer and munching on popcorn; now they can go to church every Sunday, to be entertained by one talented individual who can do it all: sing, dance and even preach! A while back, a professional wrestler, standing at 6 ft 9 in and weighing at 450 lb, called himself, “The One Man Gang.” While the moniker might fit for him, it’s unequivocally unbiblical for us! That’s like saying, “The One Man Church.” Whether it’s a gang or church, no one single individual, however great he may be, should be its entire: it’s a recipe for an eventual defeat.
Certainly when religion is done wrong, Karl Marx is absolutely correct in saying that “religion is the opium of the masses.” Marx’s premise, of course, is that people in power manipulate religion to keep the people in line, so that the structure continues to sustain their advantage while the masses hold out for the pie in the sky. Thus, the flow of religion goes downward from the top. But that’s not how God designed it.
Contrary to Marx’s assertion, then, the flow of religion goes upward from the bottom. 1 Cor. 1:27 reads, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” No example better illustrates this truth than Daniel, a Jew exiled in Babylonia, whose bold testimony moved the hearts of King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:34-5) and King Darius (6:25-7); ironically, the political conquerors became spiritually conquered.
The AMI QT devotionals from Jan. 1-15 are provided by Pastor Ryun Chang (Ph.D.) who is the AMI Teaching Pastor. He and Insil have been married for 28+ years and they have three children: Christy (teacher), Joshua (grad student) and Justin (college freshman). They live in Philadelphia.
Thomas Sowell never knew his father who died before his birth; he grew up in the South, where his encounters with Caucasians were so rare that “he did not know that blond was a hair color.” After dropping out of high school, it seemed very unlikely that he would one day become a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and author of 30 books.
When given a challenge or difficult task, the first thing we often say is, “I can’t; it’s too hard.” The outcome of Sowell and Luke’s life suggests otherwise. While hard work (Prov. 14:23) and determination (24:16) led to Sowell’s rise, Luke presents an additional component: God equips and empowers those who obey His call. In that context, we can proclaim, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13).
With the end of the year quickly approaching, many of us have already begun making resolutions. Whether it’s to hit the gym or do more for our careers, we’re all eager to make good on our new commitments. But I want to encourage you to slow down, because too many of us are quick to plan out our lives on our own. We only seem to invite God to bless our new plans rather than to shape them. But this shouldn’t surprise us. We live in a time where the self is king. It is the self who possesses all authority to determine its own path; and to suggest otherwise is an affront to the unspoken laws of our culture. For this reason, we’ve grown accustomed to planning our lives however we see fit. But the psalmist shows us a better way.
Growing up, there was no one I idolized more than Michael Jordan, who played with a certain type of artistry that separated him from the rest. This made him arguably the greatest basketball player of all time (sorry, Kobe fans!). One reason for his success was his otherworldly work ethic. Although he was naturally gifted, he practiced as if he had to earn every ounce of it. And this obsession made it apparent to everyone that he lived for basketball. But here’s the depressing part: according to an ESPN article, even with all the accolades and success, Michael Jordan still remains dissatisfied and restless about his life. What he believed would one day bring him fulfillment failed to deliver—and now at the age of 52, he’s still searching. In other words, the idol he set up for himself had only brought profound disappointment.
In my early 20’s, I was going through a very difficult season while dealing with depression. Although I was attending church, I wasn’t necessarily looking for God. Instead, I sought comfort in all the wrong places; in fact, I rebelled against God in every way imaginable. But one Sunday, I found myself at a prayer meeting and God met me in a way that left no part of me untouched. And for the first time in many years I felt whole again. This was the beginning of a journey that continues even to this day. You see, this is a picture of grace—God’s undeserved favor bestowed upon someone who not only didn’t deserve it but wasn’t even looking for it!