We are "to live self-controlled, upright godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope- the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."
Titus 2:12-13
It's been a long time since I've written a blog. Brent and I have had a long distance move to Florida and we have started seminary at Dallas Theological Seminary. Life has been a whirlwind for us but it's also been a very good season in our spiritual lives. I wasn't really planning to write a blog today because I have four other papers due this week but I felt like I was really supposed to share what has been on my heart.
Many of us have been discouraged lately because of the things we are witnessing in our nation and I am no exception to that rule. So much is happening so fast that it's almost hard to keep up with, especially in terms of a cancel culture that wants to silence conservatives and eliminate people of faith from public discourse. It comes as no surprise to those of us who have see the changes coming down the pike.
There have so many people across our nation that have been praying for our country and for the future of it. While I am certain that God has heard our prayers and that He is answering our prayers, it also occurs to me that He may not be answering them in the way we would have chosen. In fact, I am quite certain that He has a better plan that we cannot yet see and I do look forward to that plan being revealed.
As I have listened to the hearts of sweet friends and family about the way things are today, I started thinking about some of the ways that the Bible has explained to us that things would be in the last days. While no one can definitively know the dates of the last days, there are certain indicators (or signs) that tell us we are near:
"in the last days will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
Travel and "knowledge will increase." (Daniel 12:4)
Deception (Matthew 24:14)
Mockers and scoffers saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?" (2 Peter 3:3-4)
"Signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations." (Luke 21:25)
"As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:37)
"People will not endure sound teaching". (2 Timothy 4:3)
"As it was in the days of Lot- they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building" (Luke 17:28)
"lawlessness will increase and the love of many will grow cold." (Matthew 24:12)
And these are just a few of the signs that the Bible tells us will occur. We also know that Israel will be hated, believers will be persecuted, and that there will be wars, earthquakes, and pestilences.
While all of these things sound terrible to this of us who live in the West and have not really had to endure much persecution for our faith, it is a normal part of being a Christ-follower in other parts of the world. As a matter of fact, many of the writers in the New Testament said that it was an honor if God calls you to suffer for His Names sake. They understood that when believers are persecuted that the Gospel spreads and people come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior.
God did not leave us during these times with no hope. In fact, Jesus said, "When you see these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption in drawing near." (Luke 21:28) There will come a day, and it may be sooner than we think that Jesus will appear in the clouds and take His children home. In fact, it could even happen today.
John wrote, "All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as Jesus is pure" (1John 3:3) This means that we live our lives in such a way that we know the return of the Lord is imminent and that we will not be ashamed when He appears. To even be able to purify ourselves, we must first respond to what Jesus has done for us through His death, burial and resurrection by confessing our sins to Him and asking Him to become the Lord of our lives.
What I do know is that if we do not like the things we are witnessing in the world today, then we definitely do not want to be in the group of people that are left here on the earth after the Rapture of the church. That's when it's going to uglier than anything we could ever imagine. In fact, we are told that it will be the worst that it has ever been on this planet.
So many people right now that are not Christians right now need to know that there is hope, and they need to know who the source of that hope is, which is Jesus. Not only has God given us hope as His children, but He has also told us to wait for the "blessed hope" which is the return of Jesus in all His glory. This is the time when God will rule the earth righteously and goodness will be restored.
Let's face it. We are living in the most exciting times this earth has ever known. It was an exciting time when Jesus was born the first time, but now we will see Him return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! He is not coming back as a helpless infant this time. No, this time He is returning as our Righteous King that will restore justice and order to a chaotic and crazy world.
In the interim, we can either wring our hands in worry and fear or we can rise up as the imagers of God and share the hope we have with others who desperately need to know. We must be bold and brave and learn to trust God fully now. Persecution is here. It is not coming; it is here. Be strong and do not back down from the biblical precepts that you know to be true. Do not shrink back from the faith you know to be true.
I seriously don't know if I will be able to post another blog on social media. So, in the event that this is my last post, I just wanted to share what is burning in my heart.
May God bless each of you and may the Gospel go forth in power!!!!
