The Last Days
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (TPT) But you need to be aware that in the final days the culture of society will become extremely fierce and difficult for the people of God. People will be self-centered lovers of themselves and obsessed with money. They will boast of great things as they strut around in their arrogant pride and mock all that is right. They will ignore their own families. They will be ungrateful and ungodly. They will become addicted to hateful and malicious slander. Slaves to their desires, they will be ferocious, belligerent haters of what is good and right. With brutal treachery, they will act without restraint, bigoted and wrapped in clouds of their conceit. They will find their delight in the pleasures of this world more than the pleasures of the loving God. They may pretend to have a respect for God, but in reality they want nothing to do with God’s power. Stay away from people like these!
Does this description sound familiar to you? Would you agree that we are in the final days of the earth? Although it may sound like such doom and gloom, there is more to the story. This passage of scripture describes what life is like for those who aren't living for Jesus. As Christians, we have endless opportunities to share the light of Christ with those we encounter. This doesn't have to be the end of the story for the unsaved, many more will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ but only if we are doing the work! We can change eternity for someone who is lost and broken, mean and hateful. We can share the love of the Father to the fatherless and be that beacon of hope to the hopeless.
Romans 15:13 (TPT) Now may God, the inspiration and fountain of hope, fill you to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as you trust in him. And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with his super-abundance until you radiate with hope!
We have the power of the Holy Spirit on the inside of us - this is the same power that raised Jesus from the grave! We can continue to do the work of Christ for the rest of our days, no matter how many or how few it may be. God enables us and gives us the grace to do His will on earth. Don't you desire to help those in need? Wouldn't you want to share the great news of eternity with Jesus with everyone? If someone rejects the invitation to be free from sin and live in Heaven for all eternity, don't allow that to stop you from telling even more people about God. Allow that to cause a holy anguish within you that says no to the enemy even more!
1 Corinthians 15:57-58 (TPT) But we thank God for giving us the victory as conquerors through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. So now, beloved ones, stand firm and secure. Live your lives with an unshakable confidence. We know that we prosper and excel in every season by serving the Lord, because we are assured that our union with the Lord makes our labor productive with fruit that endures.
As we walk with our Father in daily union, He will ensure our labor produces good fruit that endures! We do not labor in vain, we fight the good fight of faith for the cause of Christ. We must stand firm and refuse to back down, refuse to bow down to the ways of the world - we have to be the beautiful bride of Christ that is not married to the world! We cannot live like and look like the world and expect to see spiritual growth and results, we will only get worldly results - they mean nothing in the end. Today, I encourage you to live a life that is honorable before God, Jesus paid a high price to redeem you from the bondage of sin, it's time we truly surrender all back to Him!
