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Read Matthew 13:24-30
“Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn” (v. 30).
Travel back in time to that classroom, that subject, that teacher for whom you had to work the hardest. Whether your classmates wore poo- dle skirts and Elvis hairdos or bell bottoms and afros (or even something a bit more modern), chances are we all had that class — or maybe even that test, in particular — that was especially challenging. You skipped questions to come back to later. You stewed and chewed the eraser off your pencil. You figured and re-figured and searched your brain for the answer.
A few days later when the teacher handed the graded tests back, you dreaded and desired to see the result. Did you make the grade? Did you get enough right? What was that letter in red going to be?
Some people approach life that way. They believe there is a God and there is a heaven, and they hope that they get enough correct answers to pass the test. They do not expect a hundred percent but just hope that the good outweighs the bad.

The problem is Jesus did not allow for an in-between, good-enough result at the final judgment. There were wheat, and there were weeds. The all-knowing Judge sees which category our hearts fall into. (Ashlee Englund)

Are you ready to be gathered into His barn?

This is the Monday, October 6, 2014 devotional reading of Opening the Word.
Photo credit: "Frontier Classroom" by Corey Leopold used under CC BY 2.0 / Resized, cropped.

Read 2 Peter 3:9-14
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (v. 10).
The business where I worked had an unwelcome visitor. The last employee locked up and went home. The late-night visitor gained entrance with a pry-bar and proceeded to do thousands of dollars of damage and also to steal some computers.
If only we had known he was coming! If he would have had the courtesy to call during business hours that day and let us know what he had planned, we could have prepared. We could have hired a guard for the night, but thieves in that part of the country do not give advance warning.
A thief in the night is a far cry from a welcome guest. Yet for those who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior, His return will bring the same element of surprise as would a thief in the night. Then again, while His coming will be “as a thief in the night,” He did let us know that He is coming. He even taught us about what would be going on in the world just before His return.
Jesus also told us what we need to know and be prepared for His coming. Those who repent, believe, and obey will be taken to heaven with Him. Those who reject Him will suffer needless, eternal loss. (Mark Avery)

Get ready; Jesus is coming.

This is the Tuesday, September 30, 2014 devotional reading of Opening the Word.
Photo credit: "Caught in the Act" by *sax used under CC BY 2.0 / Resized, cropped.