Daily Lesson for July 11, 2014

Today's Lesson is from Matthew chapter 24 verses 15 and 16:

15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."

There is a prayer that we must all learn to pray, whether in word or in spirit, if we are to get through this world without losing our minds.  It is the Serenity Prayer:

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference."

What I love about that prayer is that it is honest about there being circumstances in life that just aren't going to change. There's nothing we can do about them; and to try to do something would take our spiritual peace, our sanity, and perhaps even our lives.

In the last days of his life Jesus prophesied that the city of Jerusalem would fall.  Surprisingly, what he told his followers to do when they saw the signs of the city's end was to run. You read that right; Jesus told them to run - he literally told them to head for the hills.

Sometimes discretion really is the better part of valor.  There are some things we cannot do anything about and to try to do something is to risk destruction - whether of the soul or the body.  And to simply stay is to risk being the victim of abuse.  What we must learn to do in these circumstances is accept them - see and acknowledge there's nothing we can do; and then get the heck out.

We not only have Jesus' permission - we have his instruction.