Chuck Larsen

When your enlistment is about to expire in the Navy you’re called a “short-timer.” One of my jobs on the Destroyer, USS WALLER, was to prepare the discharge paper work for those getting out. I’ve seen dozens of men make short-timer chains out of soft drink pop-tops. One guy had 100 days left and he made his chain and wore it around his waist every day. He would remove one link with each day that passed. When it got too small to wear around his waist, he put it around his neck. I hated to see this guy coming to the Ship’s office because he always wanted to make sure I was getting everything ready for his discharge. This guy already had a job waiting for him. He had set a wedding date. He applied for the GI bill home loan benefit. He bought his set of civilian clothes to wear off the ship. He didn’t miss a beat! That’s the way it was for most of them. They were so enamored by what awaited them that they couldn’t wait to get ready. View full article »

In Matthew 24, Jesus explains the coming of the end. We are a lot like the disciples; they really wanted to know when it was going to happen. If I knew when, I could plan better, right? If it was really soon, I could start getting ready. If it was a long way off I could put off getting ready! But Jesus makes it perfectly clear in Matthew 24:36 that we can’t know. He says, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” View full article »

In the Olivet discourse of Matthew 24, Jesus teaches his disciples about the temporal nature of all things. He says in verse 35, “Heaven and earth will pass away…” It’s all temporary! Everything we see and everything we touch, all the material world is going to come to an end. Then he adds the adverse conjunction “but.” He says, “… but my words will not pass away. “ View full article »

Jesus uses a phrase from the book of Daniel in Matthew 24:15 when he instructs his disciples about the coming of the end. He never implies any specific dating but he speaks of when the “abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, is standing in the Holy Place.” View full article »

Just about everything that Jesus did and said has a ring of prophetic fulfillment of, or allusions to, the Old Testament. In Psalm 91, the Psalmist describes God’s love for His people and His passion to take care of them as a loving Father. The Psalmist writes, “He will cover you with his wings. Under the feathers of his wings you will find safety.” In Matthew 23:37 Jesus looks down upon the holy city of Jerusalem. He knows the fate that awaits it. He Sighs, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” View full article »

I suspect the phrase “practice what you preach” may have come from Matthew 23:3. Jesus was explaining that the Pharisees preached good sermons from the authoritative seat of Moses, and they should be listened to. It says, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.” But it’s the practice that preaches so much louder than the preaching. It’s the practice that truly makes the difference. View full article »

Yesterday, I focused on the inevitability of our death. Today, Jesus explains the inevitability of the resurrection from the dead. The Sadducees did not believe in the supernatural at all and always argued that there was no such thing as a resurrection of the dead. (That’s why they were sad, you see!) In chapter 22, they challenged Jesus on the subject and presented him with the dilemma of a woman who had outlived seven husbands. They thought they would trick him with the question, “whose wife is she going to be in the resurrection?” View full article »

In the parable that opens Chapter 22, Jesus tells of a father who invites many guests to a wedding feast for his son. But those invited are just too busy. It says, “But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business…” In Luke’s rendition of the story, they all make excuses; they have oxen to train, fields to plow, families to manage, etc. All the reasons are clearly exposed as flimsy excuses. View full article »