Devotion 14 - Ready Yet Responsible

 Devotion 14 – Ready yet Responsible

There must be a balance in our Christian life between expecting Christ to come back soon and at the same time living as if He may not come back in our lifetime. If we go off on one extreme or the other, we will end up off balanced in life.

In his first epistle to the Thessalonians Church, Paul wrote to warn them that the Lord’s return was near. But apparently, some of them thought that since the Lord’s coming was so near, they should quit their jobs, and fast and pray at home, waiting for His return.

Paul heard about this, and so he wrote his second letter to teach them that though they must hold to a sense of the imminent return of Christ, they must also live as if His coming was far off. We must continue to be laying foundations and fighting the good fight for future generations.

The study of the end times should stir in us a great motivation for holy living and aggressive ministry (including missions, evangelism, discipleship). It should awake us from any spiritual lethargy and apathy. It should make a difference in our values, action, priorities and goals.

John Wesley was asked what he would do if he knew his Lord would return at that time the next day. He said in effect, “I would go to bed and go to sleep; wake up in the morning, and go on with my work, for I would want Him to find me doing what he had appointed.” That is the way we are supposed to live and prepare for the future – to be faithful and steadfast in our respective calling.

Blessing of being Prepared for the End Times

Rev.1:3 – “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.”

 

The book of Revelation is the only book in the whole Bible with a promise to bless those who read it, open their hearts to the things written in it and seek to heed them.

 

It is a book of hope, despite the fact that it was full of woes, plagues, curses, distresses and warnings. This book unfolds a panoramic view of the future before our eyes and thus helps us to see and keep things in clear perspective -- our time and purpose here on earth.

Every day, we are bombarded by devastating news and reports of violence, immorality, injustice, political scandals and natural disasters etc. etc., which can be very depressing at times. So, having an end in view helps to brings us hope, comfort and encouragement.  It helps to fortify our inner man, to be steadfast, preserved and undeterred by all the unpleasant circumstances in the world. When we have hope and reassurance about the future, it gives us strength and stability to live in the present.

This book also admonishes us on the folly of living for things that are temporal, things that will shortly pass away. It exalts us to live a life worthy of our calling with eternal life in perspective. To be forewarned is to be forearmed!

Guarding, Growing & Glorifying

2Pet.3:13-18 – “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless…beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”

 

Every Christian should aim at finishing well. To do that, growth is a necessity, not an option. The Christian life is like riding a bike, if we aren’t cycling and moving forward, we will easily fall off. Peter, in this scripture, exhorted us to “be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless…beware lest you also fall”. In order to persevere and maintain our steadfastness, we must be growing. The important thing is to continue in the growth process so that there is progress.

 

Are we ‘Lovesick”?

S.O.S. 2:5 - “For I am lovesick”

Like the Shulamites in the Songs, we should have that intense feeling of “lovesick” towards our bridegroom. We should have this insatiable ‘holy hunger’ for God. This emotion is very essential in our Christian lives as we await His coming. It helps to keep us from the love of the world. Many are distracted by the love of the world because we have lost the romantic feeling towards the Lord. It will also empower and strengthen us in times of trials and persecutions as romantic emotions can make pain more tolerable.

We hope that you will be abundantly bless through these end-times devotional. We pray that it will spur us on to live a holy live before Him and strengthen our spirit to serve Him. Most importantly, it will equip and made us ready as a bride for the awesome return of our beloved Bridegroom Jesus Christ!

P.S – For those you desire to have a deeper understanding regarding end-time, please visit our blog -www.sowers-wheat.com and read the panoramic view teaching on the book of 1 & 2 Thessalonians and Revelation. They are under the Links – Books Studies.