03- 18- 11 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Mark 13: 1- 4)
“AND NOW, THE END IS NEAR…”
1- “And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! 2- And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3- And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4- Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?”
Do you remember that song of Frank Sinatra, “My Way”? Notice the lyrics of the song;
“And now, the end is near,
And so I face the final curtain.
My friends, I'll say it clear;
I'll state my case of which I'm certain.
I've lived a life that's full -
I've travelled each and every highway.
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.”
And so I face the final curtain.
My friends, I'll say it clear;
I'll state my case of which I'm certain.
I've lived a life that's full -
I've travelled each and every highway.
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.”
The Lord Jesus Christ was answering questions from His disciples while at the same time making His disciples understand of the coming events and generations. In His answers to their questions, He at the same time was actually giving them the accurate prophecies of the coming events and the end times as well as His second coming. His disciples at that time was in great admiration of the great temple, its structure and beauty, as well as the details of the design and the interior set ups. They saw the temple in a different perspective or outlook. And to be more straightforward as the way I observed their admiration of the temple, they were looking at it in the flesh and not in the spirit. Let me shade a little application on how they have observed, made a comment and how I personally interpret and see their outlook on the temple; I believe, first of all; they just saw the beautiful building. Secondly, they were more concern of the structure rather than the spiritual significance of the temple. Thirdly, they were amazed by the awesome structure and the architectural genius designed of the temple and not the absolute purpose of the temple. It’s very much the same as what we see in the Christian community and churches. People are more concern of the building and how to make it looks great while millions are dying of hunger, without salvation and in miseries and hopeless situations. Some church members may have the same feelings, pride in their heart as they stand in front of their church building feeling great about the awesomeness and the beauty and greatness of the church building just like what the disciples said to Jesus in front of the temple, when they said; “Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!” And Jesus will have the same answer to us, because at the end of this age and of this world, nothing will be standing, but the soul that we have brought in to God and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said in verse (2) “And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Let me clarify this, I am not against the church having a big and beautiful building, because we are also trying to raise some money so we could have our own church building and it’s great. We are in a BUILDING FUND DRIVE and were doing everything that we can do and we use every idea that we have and use the talents of our church members to raise money for our church building. But, we must not forget to win the lost world for Christ and go out there for a Mission trip and tell the whole world about Jesus and the free gift of salvation. Again, let me share to you this verse from the Book of (Mark 13:10) “And the gospel must first be published among all nations.”
