3 Minute Read
Prepare Your Heart
To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.
Read God’s Word
A Verse for Today
Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.
Matthew 21:43 (CSB): “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit.”
Reflecting on God’s Word
The words that Jesus spoke in the verse I chose today are sobering. Let’s think about them for a few moments.
In Matthew 21:33-40, Jesus told His listeners a parable. In it, He illustrated how God had invested in Israel and had entrusted to them the truth and the ability to know Him. He sent prophets to call them to obedience and into a relationship with Him, and yet the people of Israel resisted and often mistreated God’s messengers. Finally, God sent His own Son, and they killed Him.
God is a good steward and takes care of what belongs to Him. But when He appears to be wasting His time with an unproductive person or group, He moves on because He is a good steward of His time and resources.
So, when Israel repeatedly resisted God’s attempts to bring them closer to Him, Jesus gave the sobering words in Matthew 21:43.
Matthew 21:43 (CSB): “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit.”
Since God did this before, and since we realize that God doesn’t change, we can rest assured that God’s patience will eventually run out with other people as well. When He repeatedly reaches out to people who are content to live apart from Him and His standards, He will eventually move on to others who will be more receptive.
I am concerned that this is what is happening in so many churches across our land. And it is almost certainly a part of what is taking place in our country. Just as the Israelites enjoyed God’s blessings, but those very blessings lulled them into a spiritual contentment and apathy, which resulted in falling away from God into disobedience, it seems like so much of American Christendom is doing the very same thing right now.
We can point a finger at the moral decay of the culture around us. But it would be much more prudent to consider the condition of the salt in the shaker. After all, Jesus told us that we are “the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13), which holds back the world’s moral decay. We can’t blame the world for decaying when we, the salt, have lost our potency.
So, what is the answer? We need to renew our love for our God, the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:35-38). We need to realize that if we don’t get back our first love, the Lord will remove us from His care and oversight (Revelation 2:1-7) and move on to a people where His time would produce a much more favorable response.
Matthew 21:43 (CSB): “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit.”
Do you want Jesus to keep using you, your family, and your church? Then, by all means, don’t settle for a lifeless, Christless Christianity that doesn’t seek the Lord, study His Word, and put it into practice. Instead, seek the Lord and love Him with all your heart. And then let that love play out in obedience to Him, service to others, and so many more fruits that testify that God is working in your life.
Spend Time in Prayer
Lord Jesus, Your Word makes it clear that You are a patient God. But it also tells us that Your patience eventually runs out (Luke 13:6-9; etc.). So, help me not to presume upon Your patience. Help me make the most of the opportunities You have given me to know You and grow in holiness. Help me never to be the kind of person who exhausts Your patience so that You leave me to work in other, more potentially productive people’s lives. I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Going Deeper
If you want to go deeper, check out this article by Got Questions: “What does it mean to “seek the Lord while He may be found” (Isaiah 55:6)?”
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Matt Ellis is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Polk City, Florida (fbcpolkcity.com).
Matt’s Musings 