Enraptured by the Rapture. Luke 18:31-34.

As Jesus led the disciples to Jerusalem, He warned them about His coming crucifixion. He told them—in plain terms—what would happen. His words were not poetic or artful in any way. He was not speaking in parables. He spoke the literal truth in the simplest terms—and they completely missed it. He told them what was coming in Matthew 20:17-19. He told them in Mark 10:33-34. And He told them in Luke 18:31-34. This was probably one conversation reported three different times, but it could be three conversations. Here’s how Luke reported it. Notice how plain the language is. Jesus uses no allegory, no poetry, no symbolism:

“Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem. Everything that is written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and He will be mocked, insulted, spit on, and after they flog Him, they will kill Him, and He will rise on the third day” Luke 18:31-33.

Could Jesus say it any more clearly? He is going to Jerusalem where He will be brutally murdered. Then He will come back to life. Yet they understood none of it. Why not? How could they miss it? Because God did not allow them to understand it.

“They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said” Luke 18:34.

God wanted them to understand nothing at the time, but to remember and understand the words LATER.

Recently people seem to be talking about the rapture more than ever. I can’t complain: the Bible says “We who are alive will be caught up together … to meet the Lord in the air” 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The rapture is in the Bible.

Moreover, God promises to bless those who study the prophecies of Revelation: “Blessed are those who read the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near” Revelation 1:3.

We should study the prophecies. We should look forward to the appearing of Jesus with joyful anticipation—He will reward those who LOVE His appearing, 2 Timothy 4:8-9.

But prophecy is the most difficult language in the entire Bible. Prophecy does not use plain language, but often relies on poetry, allegory, and symbolism. Like a parable, prophecy tends to have one meaning for the many, but another for the few. But even when language is easy, God sometimes hides things from His people just as He hid the meaning of Jesus’s plain words from the disciples.

(Imagine—the disciples missed what was predicted in plain language only days before it happened. By contrast, some preachers today are dogmatic about their interpretations of prophecies written in difficult, poetic, even dream-like language over 2,000 years ago.)

Moreover, consider the confusion over the First Coming of Christ. As I have written previously, God kept key details hidden from His people:

The Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament were significantly misunderstood. We look back today and understand that there are TWO COMINGS of Christ, a first coming as a Suffering Servant on a donkey, and a second coming as a Conquering King on a white horse.

But no one in the time of Christ understood that. NO ONE. They knew the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. They were able to interpret some of the prophecies correctly. But no one on earth understood that the Messiah would be born, then die on a cross, be resurrected, ascend to heaven, and return later. NOT ONE PERSON understood those details. These were not stupid people. And they were not without the Holy Spirit. God spoke to prophets through His Holy Spirit all the time. If no one in Israel understood what was going on, it is because God chose not to reveal everything.

In the same way, God may have chosen NOT TO REVEAL EVERYTHING to us.[1]

If the disciples missed a plain-spoken prediction of events a week away, and if all the Old Testament prophets and scholars were unable to discover that the Messiah would come not once but twice, then we should exercise great humility[2] as we seek to interpret end-times scripture, and even more so as we try to connect specific passages to events in today’s news.

What is more important than assigning an end-times interpretation to every event in today’s news is the state of your heart. Do you love Jesus so much that you look forward to His return?

We must pray and humbly seek God’s face, and obey the instructions He gave us–clear instructions–and look forward to His coming with joyful anticipation, 2 Timothy 4:8-9.

Pray: “Even so, come Lord Jesus” Revelation 22:20.

Read Luke 18.

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[1] https://dadsdailydevotionals.com/2023/10/20/sign-of-the-times-matthew-246/

[2] Anyone preaching on the end-times should exercise great humility, knowing God has often kept some things hidden. For this reason, I listen with skepticism to those offering detailed, super-specific interpretations linking the news of the day to the words of scripture.

How Do You Achieve Greatness? Matthew 20:26.

How do you achieve greatness? Hard work? Dedication? Long hours? Sacrifice? Talent? Competitiveness? Drive? Self-discipline? Early to bed, early to rise?

All of those things are vital for many aspects of life. But when the disciples talked about achievements and rank in God’s kingdom, Jesus had an answer so radical it was revolutionary:

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave” Matthew 20:26

Are you willing to be a servant? Do you give extra, stay longer, work harder, and expect nothing in return? Are you willing to wash dishes for your friends? Pick up their stuff? Do things for your home and family without being asked? Help out at school or on the job without worrying about who gets the credit?

Jesus invented and modeled what business gurus today call “servant leadership.” He did not just talk about it; He lived it. He washed the disciples’ feet. He served them at the Last Supper. He gave up His rights and power and prestige and glory in Heaven to become a crying baby in diapers. He humbled Himself, and He served. We must do the same.

Pray and ask Him to make you not a “leader,” but a “servant leader.”

Ask Him to show you things you can do today and every day to SERVE others. Help someone. God will bless you so much. Ask Him to help you see yourself as a servant. Ask Him to give you opportunities to serve and a desire to do it, especially when it is for someone who cannot pay you back.

Be a servant. Then God will make you a leader.

Read Matthew 20.

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The Sin of Comparison. Matthew 20:1-16.

My wife has a favorite sermon: Dave Edwards’ message “THE SIN OF COMPARISON.” Twenty years ago she bought a copy on cassette and played it for years.[1]

Edward’s point was we need to stop comparing our lives to lives around us. Nothing will make you unhappy faster! We learn as children to measure ourselves by looking at our peers. Are my clothes as nice? Are my grades as high? Is my role on the sports team as good? Are my parents as cool? Does our family have as much money? Is my jewelry, car, house, farm, or vacation as nice? Adults compare jobs, spouses, children, education, talents, brains, hobbies—you name it. And social media increases the problem. In fact, for some people social media serves only one purpose: a forum to comparison-shop every aspect of your family against those of all your friends—and non-friends.

What was remarkable about Dave’s sermon may be that he bluntly called comparison a sin. I’m not sure we had ever thought about it that way before.

Is comparing your circumstances and status normal? Absolutely. It is the most natural thing in the world. As children we constantly compare everything with brothers and sisters, fighting over who got more pie, a better seat in the car, the top bunk on vacation, better Christmas presents, and on and on. That is normal and not entirely bad—it helps children learn sharing, fairness, and conflict resolution.

But we sin when we over-compare, and it makes us unhappy, ungrateful, and mad at God.

Jesus told a parable about a landowner who hired workers for his vineyard at dawn, 9, noon, 3, and 5 pm, then paid them all the same. Those who worked all day naturally felt cheated. However, the man paid those who worked all day a full day’s pay. They were only mad because he was so generous to the others.

“You made them equal to us, who bore the burden of the day and the burning heat!” Matthew 20:12. I agree with them. But the landowner has a right to run his business as he sees fit.

“I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius? Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this man the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my business? Are you jealous because I’m generous?” Matthew 20:13-15.

Is that you? Are you angry when God is more generous with other people than He is with you?

Yes, one friend is better looking. Another more athletic. A third has more money. And a fourth has all of the above and a whole lot more. Face it: when you compare yourself to others, you will NEVER be happy.

What God gives you is His business.

Doesn’t He have a right to do what He wants with His business? He does. You serve King Jesus. He is the Sovereign King. You are the king’s servant.

Stop comparing! Take your eyes off the lives of others and COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS. Spend more time every day praying prayers of thankfulness. You will never be thankful enough. You should never run out of words of thanksgiving to God. And nothing will make you happier than a heart filled with the genuine gratitude born out of prayers of thanks.

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[1] Dave Edwards is now a Pastor of Discipleship at Church Project in the Woodlands, Texas.

THE SINNER’S PRAYER. Luke 18:9-14.

Joel Osteen concludes each sermon with a prayer: “Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and Savior.” Then Joel looks at the camera and says, “If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe ya’ got born again. Get in a good, Bible-based church…”

That always seems abrupt to me. The biggest moment of your life—bigger than graduation, marriage, or buying a house, yet it’s three sentences tacked on at the end of a feel-good talk about making lemonade out of life’s lemons.

Could that do it? Are 18 words enough to secure your spot in heaven?

Yes.

The Bible does not tell us what words to use when leading the lost to Christ. And that is for the best. If God gave us a word-for-word prayer, a set of words with magical power, the thing would be more like a witch’s spell than a real prayer. God is not looking at your words, but your HEART. It is your HEART that must REPENT. It is your HEART that must be BORN AGAIN.

But although we have no magical formula, in one of His parables, Jesus gives us a powerful example of a “Sinner’s Prayer”:

“‘Two men went into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people, swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all I receive.’

But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘GOD, BE MERCIFUL TO ME, A SINNER!’

I tell you, this man went to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted” Luke 18:9-14.

Salvation comes to those who beg for mercy because they know they’ve sinned. It will not always include the same emotions, but the heart must always be humble before a holy God.

Read Luke 18.

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GRATITUDE. Luke 17:15-16.

When I fell out of the garage rafters as a child and hit my head on the iron car bumper, I was happy not to be paralyzed. I was on the concrete floor doing sit-ups (to shake off the pain) with my hands clasped behind my head, and I was so thankful not to be dead or paralyzed, that with every sit-up I said, “Thank you, God! Thank you, God! Thank you, God!” I was in pain, but I was thankful.

Are you thankful? Can you be thankful when you are isolated or socially distanced? As bad as COVID stigma was in 2020, the stigma of leprosy was worse.

One day Jesus was met on the road by ten men with leprosy. They stood at a distance (“isolating themselves” as required) and they yelled for Jesus to heal them. He told them to show themselves to the priest—which was the step AFTER a healing, the equivalent of taking a COVID test after healing so you can show your negative result to all who might ask. The ten obeyed and were healed as they walked.

“But one of them, seeing that he was healed, returned and, with a loud voice, gave glory to God. He fell facedown at the feet of Jesus, thanking Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus said, ‘Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?’” Luke 17:15-16.

What would you do? Would you run back to thank Jesus while you could still find Him? Or would you be so concerned with that ticket back to society that you would skip saying thanks, assuming Jesus would understand?

After 2020, we know the feeling of being shamed for a health condition. It is so incredibly inconvenient that you just want things back to normal. I understand the ungrateful “other nine” better than I did before COVID-19.

But I want to be grateful.

Dear God, make us thankful. Let NOTHING be more important than giving You glory and thanks and a heart filled with gratitude EVERY DAY. Help us see blessings EVERY DAY—even when it hurts.

Read Luke 17.

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THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES ARE NOT VERY SPECIFIC. Luke 17:26-36.

The Pulitzer-winning novel GONE WITH THE WIND opens with the Tarleton twins courting Scarlett O’Hara. It is April of 1861, and the 19-year-old brothers have been expelled from the University of Georgia.

“It don’t matter much. We’d have had to come home before the term was out anyway.”

“Why?”

“The war! The war’s going to start any day….”

“You know there isn’t going to be any war,” said Scarlett, bored. “It’s all just talk … There won’t be any war, and I’m tired of hearing about it.”

“Not going to be any war!” cried the twins indignantly, as though they had been defrauded. “Why honey, of course there’s going to be a war. The Yankees may be scared of us, but after the way General Beauregard shelled them out of Fort Sumter day before yesterday, they’ll have to fight or stand branded as cowards before the whole world….”

Not only would there be a Civil War, but historians agree the war had already begun—with the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861.

Sometimes you can anticipate a war. There may be saber-rattling and talking heads on TV and hysteria in the press. One crowd is trying to organize a militia. Another is buying up canned goods and building underground bunkers. Some wars are as predictable as bad weather.

But other wars are not predictable at all, stealing in like a thief in the night.

Jesus employs both metaphors when teaching on His return—His coming will be as unexpected as a thief in the night, but His people will see generalized signs that allow them to prepare their hearts—if not their estates.

“If the owner of the house had known when the thief was coming, he would have kept watch…” Matthew 24:43. But “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” 1 Thessalonians 5:2.

The unexpected arrival of God’s judgment is not unprecedented, but ‘precedented.’ It follows a pattern we have seen before:

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man: people went on eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage until the day Noah boarded the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.  It will be the same as it was in the days of Lot: people went on eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building. But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be like that the day the Son of Man is revealed … two will be in one bed. One will be taken, the other will be left. Two will be grinding grain. One will be taken, the other left” Luke 17:26-36.

The “Great and Terrible Day of the Lord” will come by surprise—while everyone is going on with life, engaged in jobs, weddings, buying, and selling, and suddenly they will stand before the Throne. But Jesus says there will be some signs.

“Learn the lesson from the fig tree: when its twigs grow tender and leaves come out, you know summer is near” Matthew 24:32.

Knowing a season is near is a pretty vague statement of timing. Imagine if I wrote a letter home from a trip overseas saying I would come home when the pecan trees leaf out. Given the eight pecan trees at our house—each on its own schedule—I could arrive anytime between February and April.

The second coming of Christ is the same way. He emphasizes that His arrival will catch people by surprise, like a thief in the night. But there are some generalized signs to watch. Two of the most important are probably the fact that Israel gained statehood in 1948 and that the gospel is reaching more and more of the world’s unreached people groups. His return is closer than ever, yet the specific timing remains as unpredictable as a thief in the night.

What are we to do? Pray and look forward to His return with joyful anticipation:

“Look up and be watchful, for your redemption draweth nigh” Luke 21:28.

“There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord will award me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have loved His appearing” 2 Timothy 4:8-9.

Pray:  God, may our hearts love You and Your kingdom so deeply that we long for you to come and take us home. Maranatha! Even so, COME LORD JESUS! Revelation 22:20.

Read Luke 17.

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CAMELS. Mark 10:17-25.

“As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before Him, and asked, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to be saved?’” Mark 10:17.

Jesus eventually told him to sell all he had and give to the poor—“and the man went away sad, because he had many possessions”v.22. And Jesus said, “It is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven”v.25.

Have you threaded a needle? Getting a thread through a needle requires me to lick the thread and put on glasses—it is a delicate operation. You’ll never fit a mouse through a needle, not to mention a camel. But since the 9th century, some have argued the word “needle” refers to a “man-gate” in the city wall for men to walk through after the larger gates had been locked for the night. A camel could squeeze through such a gate, but only if he was unloaded and coaxed to crawl under the gate—getting through was hard, but not impossible.

An interpretation from the 4th century is that “camel” is a misspelling. If one letter is changed, it becomes the Greek word for an anchor rope. That makes sense: “It is easier to thread an anchor rope through a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.”

The point is, your STUFF can get in the way. Things we love on earth can keep us from things we would really love in heaven. I admire the rich man: he RAN to Jesus and KNELT down. He knew Whom to ask. And he ASKED THE RIGHT QUESTION—“How can I have eternal life?”

Are we as passionate? Do we run and kneel? Are we asking good questions? This man was probably among those later converted on Pentecost—he was deeply moved by Jesus and I suspect he responded.

May we Run, Kneel, and Seek Answers. Then OBEY.

Dear God, if we ever love our STUFF more than you, take away the stuff.

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DO YOU WANT HARDWARE OR TOOLS? Mark 10:42-45.

Remember baseball tournaments? Coaches would rally the team by inspiring them with talk of hardware: Come on, boys, let’s go get some hardware!

We love to win trophies. We love certificates, plaques, ribbons, medals, scholarships, ranks, promotions, and more.

Even the disciples wanted hardware.

“But Jesus called the disciples over and said, ‘You know that those who are rulers of the Gentiles dominate them and lord it over them. But it must not be like that among you. Whoever wishes to become GREAT among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be FIRST among you must be slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many” Mark 10:42-45.

Who gets the hardware at a childrens’ baseball tournament? The players—the children. And who gets the tools—the rakes, hoses, brooms, chalk, tarps, radar guns, and cameras? The adults.

Are you looking for hardware or for tools? Do you try to achieve, or to sacrifice? What about in your job? With friends? With relatives? With family? At home?

Think about it: often the best baseball players on the field at youth tournaments are the ones who serving the children—the coaches and guys like the Five Tool crew. The greatest are in the role of the servant. (*Minister = “servant” in Latin, from “minus.” Deacon = “servant” in Greek.)

And when you serve, you are following Jesus, who tied a towel around His waist and washed the feet of his disciples—hours before His crucifixion. Under that stress, He was SERVING.

When you serve, you are Christlike. Thus, when you serve, He will bless you. It’s a simple formula: IF YOU WANT TO BE GREAT, BE A SERVANT.

Serve, and you will achieve. Pick up servant TOOLS (toilet brush, dishwashing soap, mop, etc.) and God will bless you with HARDWARE also.

Read Mark 10.

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Biblical Manhood is Kingdom Childhood. Mark 10:14.

I admire two ministers and a layman.[1] First, Johnny D. Our youth minister loved his family, and was determined to obey Jesus in all things. He also had a gift for loving people, listening to people, and showing compassion.

He was full of joy and when you were around him, you knew following Christ was exciting.

Second, Miller C. Miller was a worship leader who talked about Jesus with a contagious enthusiasm that was stunning. His musicianship was great, but when he spoke, you could not get enough.

He and I once had a lengthy conversation and I walked away convinced I had just seen Jesus.

Not literally, of course, but Miller’s heart was close to the Lord and there was no armor, no defenses—his heart was right there on the surface in every conversation, and when you felt affection from Miller it just felt like it was coming straight from the heart of God; Miller was only a conduit.

Finally, my father. In some ways, he is nothing like the two above. He was born in 1935 and was reared on a John Wayne kind of manhood. Daddy shed one tear in the 55 years I knew him—at his own father’s funeral. He was not a hugger. He was not a warm, fuzzy person, though he became more affectionate and encouraging as he aged. Instead, he was the strong, silent type. But he was kind, patient, and cheerful in all circumstances. No matter how old he was, he never lost his sense of wonder–he was delighted by nature, animals, puzzles, and all the mysteries of science. His affection for such things was absolutely childlike. He never lost his sense of PLAY. (How many kids ever climbed a tree with their grandpa?)

And He never doubted the Lord. He ALWAYS trusted.

He always had hope and saw himself not as a superhero who had to solve everything, but as a child of God with a heavenly Father who would provide. He was also the most honest person I ever met.

The ministry of Jesus attracted children. But the disciples thought the children were getting in the way of serious ministry and tried to get rid of them. Jesus told them to leave the children alone.

“Let them come to Me. Don’t stop them. For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” Mark 10:14.

Jesus went on to explain that we should be like children:

“Unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven … Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 18:3-4.

Jesus says to humble yourself like a child. But how? I think it requires a prayer—many prayers—of surrender. The three I admire were among those who do it best. They were humble. They saw themselves not as superheroes but as children of God. They were submitted to the will of their Father.

He filled them with compassion, joy, and a childlike enthusiasm even in old age. They were not walking around like knights in suits of armor, but took off the defenses—the armor and walls the rest of us hide behind—knowing their heavenly Father was their defender. They simply endured and forgave. Though burdened with tough careers and a load of earthly stress, these men were buoyed through life by the joy of Jesus. They rested in the Father’s arms and found peace there. They knew His heart toward them was good and kind and forgiving and that helped them live lives of honesty and integrity, of never giving up, never surrendering to discouragement, but walking with Jesus every day.

These three very different men had one physical trait in common: All three had the eyes of a child.

No matter how old, sick, or burdened, they never lost the twinkle in their eyes, the spark of youthful joy and enthusiasm. Even when my father had Alzheimer’s you could still see joy and even laughter in his eyes. He never lost the heart of a child; in fact, I saw it more and more the older he became.

Perhaps the best understanding of “Biblical manhood” is that Jesus encourages us to become trusting, humble, cheerful, forgiving, and honest.

In other words, truly Biblical manhood requires the overwhelming humility that can cause even the most talented, successful, and powerful among us to see himself as a tiny, trusting child, obedient to the will of a loving Father.

Biblical manhood is resting like a child cradled in the arms of his heavenly Father.

King David–giant-killer, battlefield general, and conquering king–said it best:

“Surely I have composed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child rests in the arms of his mother. Deep down inside me, I am as content as a young child” Psalm 131:2.

Read Mark 10.

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[1] There are others I admire, but have not known as well, either because I was so young during their ministry or because we never met. I am speaking here of men I have talked to many times.

WORDS MATTER. Matthew 19:4.

I wrote a book of study tips. One tip encourages visual learners to make the content from their classes visual if possible. But visual media have their limits:

“IF YOU DON’T KNOW ANY OTHER WAY TO STUDY, THEN CONVERT YOUR NOTES TO DRAWINGS AND DIAGRAMS. If you’re a ‘visual person’ (everyone says they’re a visual person, right?), then prove it by making the stuff visual. Just be sure you can put it back into an essay form at test time. There are many ways to convert things to pictures, charts, graphs, maps, and more. However, though I am a visual person and though I love drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, maps, graphs, and charts, I don’t recall ever using any of those visual options to prepare for tests. Words are better, faster, easier. (There is a reason we use language to convey complex ideas.) … Creating something visual is better than not studying at all…. But I am one visual person who will tell you that for most academic subjects, words are the better medium.”[1]

There are many ways to express ideas. You might sing, dance, paint, sculpt, mow patterns in the lawn, or rent a plane and do some skywriting. Some people express themselves with clothing or tattoos or personalized license plates or tongue rings.

But WORDS ARE THE BETTER MEDIUM. WORDS ARE BETTER, FASTER, EASIER. THERE IS A REASON WE USE LANGUAGE TO CONVEY COMPLEX IDEAS.

The Bible contains sixty-six books by forty authors. There is material in the Bible that might have been more easily conveyed with spreadsheets, family trees, paintings, architectural drawings, and more. But God chose words. And that was the best choice. Language is the strongest, most versatile medium. Words are everything. Yet every day our culture wanders further from an idea-filled forest of words into the less-propositional, less-rational plain of images, videos, and cheap laughs. We are feeding our minds less by feeding our eyes and giggles more.

Every work of art communicates ideas. But think of this: an artist may spend a year working on a painting. But the five-minute act of choosing a title can completely change the idea that painting conveys. Consider the famous 1893 painting THE SCREAM by Edvard Munch. Look at the painting above (one of several versions in both paint and pastel) and imagine how different the reaction would be if the title of the piece was “THE SNEEZE”?

A single word has the power to change everything. Words are powerful.

Do you pay attention to words? Do you read song lyrics? Do you catch what people say on TV shows? Do you read personalized license plates or words in tattoos? Have you ever received a letter or card and read it more than once? Words are not chosen without a reason—someone is trying to say something. Pay attention to words.

God, the Creator of all the arts, chose words to explain and clarify the deepest truths:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” Genesis 1:1.

“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life” John 3:16.

“In the beginning the Creator made them male and female” Matthew 19:4.

I am in no hurry to raise controversial topics. But it is interesting that when the Pharisees asked Jesus to comment on the legality of divorce, He began His answer by reminding listeners that God made people male and female. Would there have been any doubt in first-century Israel? No. Perhaps Jesus restates this truth from Genesis 1:27 for the benefit of future generations: “He created them male and female.”

Words matter. God chose words as the medium to contain His truth.

The King James translation contains 788,137 words—and those words contain all the truth God captured for us to master. Can you imagine the volume of wisdom contained in a single Bible? Yet you will not benefit from God’s truth until you master His word. Study His word. Words matter.

Read Matthew 19.

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[1] https://www.amazon.com/How-Make-As-Journey-Professor-ebook/dp/B0CFGPZQN2