Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Mark 13 and Psalm 66

Now that our remembrance of the Ascension is behind us, we step back into the Gospel of Mark. At this point in the Gospel, Jesus is in Jerusalem, and it’s the final week of His ministry. Betrayal, suffering, crucifixion and death await, and He knows it. Yet somehow, Jesus’ eyes are on the greater plan of God that lies beyond that horror. Ultimately, His eyes are on that great and glorious day when

²⁶ ‘… people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

Jesus warns us in this chapter that a great deal will happen in the season between His death & resurrection and His return as the triumphant King of Eternity, gathering His people to be with Him forever. There will be times of violent turmoil in this fallen world, natural disasters, persecution of believers, false teaching and deception. It will all seem very frightening and confusing (and isn’t that true today?!) And yet, Jesus promises, despite all of this the word of the Lord will continue to be announced in every nation on earth and will draw people into God’s Kingdom Family. Finally, on a day and at an hour known only to the Heavenly Father, Jesus will return to inaugurate His perfect Kingdom forever.

With all of that in mind, Jesus’ most central instruction to us (His disciples) in this chapter is what He repeats over and over again: “Be on guard!” (v.5, 9, 23, 33) Jesus wants us to be alert and attentive at all times. We should not allow the turmoil of the world, the difficulties of life, or even our speculation about God’s timeline for the end-times to distract us from Him, from His plan, and from our unique role in that plan. Jesus has work for each of us to do … every day of our lives. He wants to use us to extend His Kingdom and to prepare the world for His return, and He needs us to be alert to His prompting at all times.

Life application: Today I encourage you to make the will of Jesus your number one priority. Your life is not ultimately about achieving your goals at work or University, and its not ultimately about growing your bank balance or your property portfolio. Ultimately it is about bringing glory to Jesus and growing His Kingdom. So be alert, be on guard, and be obedient to the call of Jesus. You never know how many more opportunities you’ll have to do so. Just do it!