II Tim 3:1-5: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”
The future is not a mystery. Fortune telling and horoscopes mesmerize our culture. We all want to know what lies ahead for us. Movies and books about the end times sell well because we are hungry to know what is going to happen in the future. The bible, since it has been written, has told us what the future will look like. Paul gives us a glimpse of the world in the last days. He gives Timothy a list of how people will be and how people will behave. The interesting thing to observe is that this list is extremely close to how the world around us is today. Our culture is inundated with self-love, lust, greed, hate, and unholy living. Our governments are setting up laws that attack the basics of the Christian faith, or as Paul would say, “despisers of good”. You might say, “wait, that describes our culture today”. You are right. Paul says, that this means we are in the last days. For the Christ-follower this is awesome news. Our Lord will be coming back. However, this is not good news for those who have not given their heart to Jesus. For them a Judgment is coming.
For the Christ-follower we have a call and a challenge. The first is to make sure the list that Paul describes does not in anyway describe us. We must ensure that we will not be lovers of ourselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
The challenge is for us to share the good news of Jesus before he does come back. Do not get caught up with wanting to know the future. God’s word says we already know it. We need to minister and reach out to a lost and dark world. Jesus is the true and just answer to all of our needs. Accept Him today and enter into the most remarkable relationship of your life!
Tomorrows Readings:
Old Testament: Jer. 27-28 New Testament II Tim. 4
No comments:
Post a Comment