NOW IS THE TIME
Undoubtedly, we live in the last days. We are seeing the signs of the end times in Matthew 24, the famines, wars, deception, lawlessness and persecution, becoming more and more a reality. How do we prepare ourselves for the times ahead? How do we respond to the days we are living in?
Now is the time...
To give ourselves to loving God and others
With all the challenges that are coming our way, it is pretty easy to look after our personal interests and seek after personal preservation. We are told that famines and wars are to come. And under such circumstances it is easier to get absorbed with efforts and plans to survive. But certainly, this is not the time to be seeking after our personal needs. This is a time when we are called to endeavor to grow in our love relationship with God and our love for others.
1 Corinthians 13 tells us that above all is love. We must love the God who gave His most precious Son for us and the sinners like us whom Christ died for.
When we choose to love others it does a work in our hearts. It has a cleansing effect. It also produces great joy and satisfaction.
Who do we love? We are to love the young in the faith, unbelievers, those who spite us, and the brethren. God is calling us to love beyond our families. God is calling us to love beyond comfort.
Love will be tested. If our love is failing today then how shall our love fair in the times ahead. Matthew 24 tells us that the love of many will grow cold. When it becomes difficult to love a person, cry out to God that He will give you love.
We can actually do a lot of good, even exercise gifts, without love!!!! Unfortunately, such works will not matter and will hold no value.
Are there people that you have tried to reach out to but have not responded? Or perhaps have even responded negatively? Perhaps you have been trying to reach out to them for so long? Do not give up. You will never know how perhaps with just a little more persistence you will bring them to the Lord. Loving others often bears fruit after multiple occasions that we have chosen to give love. The Word says in 1 Corinthians 13:8 that love never fails!!!! This is something we can hold on to even as we love others even more. Remember God did not quit on us even if we have provided plenty of reasons for Him to do so.
To walk the straight and narrow path
Now is the time to get right with God. Let us allow Him to do a work in us beyond what is on the surface. Let us ask God to do a real deep inner work in our lives. This is the time for us to plead with God for the softness of heart to surrender areas of our lives that we have yet to give up. This is the time to cry out for God to grant us victory in the areas of defeat and weakness. This is the time to ask God to expose the areas of sin in our lives that we are not even aware of. This is the time to be crying out for deep cleansing. Perhaps there is an area in our lives we do not want God to touch and yet for the longest time He has been asking for it. Let us plead for God’s breakthrough today. The days ahead are going to be filled with deception. One splinter in our lives can lead to getting swayed by deception. It is the time to repent and walk the narrow path!
What drives you today? If we are to be asked what are our dreams, ambitions and desires, what would they be? Are we still running after personal dreams, ambitions and desires? This is the time to live for God.
It says that great darkness shall cover the earth. This tells us that in the days ahead, the glitter of this world’s riches will begin to faint. The times ahead will reveal the lack of meaning and value of the things of this earth. And wouldn’t it be better to live in this reality today so that we can give ourselves to things that really matter?
In the end times there are two possible scenarios for a man when the riches of this world loose their splendor - one is to regret all the wasted time, money, and effort devoted to things that will not last or to rejoice because one has lived for eternal things. It is inevitable that this world will be pass away. The question is will we see our life’s efforts and sacrifices passing away with it?
I had a dream that really spoke to my heart. I was walking with someone and before us were two paths. I personally knew the right path and even understood the dangers of the wrong path. But as we walked along and talked we noticed that we still headed the wrong path. And so we rushed to go back to the crossroad and head towards the right path. But as we were along the right path which was a train track that goes through a tunnel, suddenly we heard a train rushing behind us. That supposedly put us in danger because the tunnel could only fit the train. We ran very hard but my friend could not run faster then I woke up.
As I pondered on that dream the Lord began to speak to me a couple of things. One, it is not enough to know the right path. We have to be vigilantly heading towards that direction because if we are not watching carefully we could end up on the wrong path. Secondly, it spoke to me of how important it is to be on the right track today. I realized the issue is not merely whether we know the right way or that we are even on the right way. The question also is how quick we are moving towards the right way. In that dream we eventually got on the right track but not at the right time. If we walked in the right path earlier we probably would not have had a train running behind us and we could have safely gone out of the tunnel. And this really spoke to me of how there is an urgency to be moving towards the right track.
We need to move along the right track at the right time and that time is now. Now is the time to prepare. Now is the time to love God and others more. Now is the time to get right with God. Now is the time to live for God. Let us wait no longer and act today.
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Romans 13:11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.Romans 13:11 tells us that this is the time. This is the time to prepare for the days ahead. Now is the time to begin to do or do better a number of things. I submit three of them in this entry:
Now is the time...
To give ourselves to loving God and others
With all the challenges that are coming our way, it is pretty easy to look after our personal interests and seek after personal preservation. We are told that famines and wars are to come. And under such circumstances it is easier to get absorbed with efforts and plans to survive. But certainly, this is not the time to be seeking after our personal needs. This is a time when we are called to endeavor to grow in our love relationship with God and our love for others.
1 Corinthians 13 tells us that above all is love. We must love the God who gave His most precious Son for us and the sinners like us whom Christ died for.
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.To love God means to obey His commands, to put Him above all things, and give our all to Him. We are to live our lives for Him by seeking and obeying His perfect will for our lives.
Deuteronomy 11:13 ‘And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.On loving others, the Prophet Isaiah declares:
Isaiah 60:1-3
Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,What is the light we are called to shine? Jesus in Matthew 5 declares that we are the light of the world. He tells us to let our light shine that others may see our good works.
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.In the years that I have been a Christian I have seen how potent love is in drawing people. How do we love people? We must love them through:
- Words: Let our words build people up. Our words can either bring life or death to people’s spirits. Let us choose to give life by speaking the truth and seasoning our words with grace.
- Actions: We should go out of our way to help people and show them our affection and care. Do we make others feel they are loved and cared for? Do we help people in a time of need? It is not enough to think this way “I am doing no one any harm and I am not bothering anyone.” Love is not simply the absence of hatred or harm towards another. Love must be active. Our actions do not have to be grand displays of love. Even simple things demonstrate love. Listening for one is a powerful way to convey love.
- Prayers: We can love people through our prayers. When we come to God, it can be quite easy to fill our prayers with our personal petitions. However, even in our prayers God seeks that we watch over other people’s needs more.
- Giving: Love also is about giving others not simply what is convenient to let go but what people truly need as we are able. When giving to others, have this thought as a guide. If you were in their place what would you have them give to you. The last days will be marked by difficulties and shortages. If we have not developed a lifestyle of generousity today when things are still quite easy, we are most likely not going to be generous in the hours of great need.
- Correction: Love people by rebuking or warning them with love when needed. Love cannot keep silent.
When we choose to love others it does a work in our hearts. It has a cleansing effect. It also produces great joy and satisfaction.
Who do we love? We are to love the young in the faith, unbelievers, those who spite us, and the brethren. God is calling us to love beyond our families. God is calling us to love beyond comfort.
Love will be tested. If our love is failing today then how shall our love fair in the times ahead. Matthew 24 tells us that the love of many will grow cold. When it becomes difficult to love a person, cry out to God that He will give you love.
We can actually do a lot of good, even exercise gifts, without love!!!! Unfortunately, such works will not matter and will hold no value.
Are there people that you have tried to reach out to but have not responded? Or perhaps have even responded negatively? Perhaps you have been trying to reach out to them for so long? Do not give up. You will never know how perhaps with just a little more persistence you will bring them to the Lord. Loving others often bears fruit after multiple occasions that we have chosen to give love. The Word says in 1 Corinthians 13:8 that love never fails!!!! This is something we can hold on to even as we love others even more. Remember God did not quit on us even if we have provided plenty of reasons for Him to do so.
To walk the straight and narrow path
Now is the time to get right with God. Let us allow Him to do a work in us beyond what is on the surface. Let us ask God to do a real deep inner work in our lives. This is the time for us to plead with God for the softness of heart to surrender areas of our lives that we have yet to give up. This is the time to cry out for God to grant us victory in the areas of defeat and weakness. This is the time to ask God to expose the areas of sin in our lives that we are not even aware of. This is the time to be crying out for deep cleansing. Perhaps there is an area in our lives we do not want God to touch and yet for the longest time He has been asking for it. Let us plead for God’s breakthrough today. The days ahead are going to be filled with deception. One splinter in our lives can lead to getting swayed by deception. It is the time to repent and walk the narrow path!
Romans 13:11-14 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.To live for the Lord and eternity
What drives you today? If we are to be asked what are our dreams, ambitions and desires, what would they be? Are we still running after personal dreams, ambitions and desires? This is the time to live for God.
It says that great darkness shall cover the earth. This tells us that in the days ahead, the glitter of this world’s riches will begin to faint. The times ahead will reveal the lack of meaning and value of the things of this earth. And wouldn’t it be better to live in this reality today so that we can give ourselves to things that really matter?
In the end times there are two possible scenarios for a man when the riches of this world loose their splendor - one is to regret all the wasted time, money, and effort devoted to things that will not last or to rejoice because one has lived for eternal things. It is inevitable that this world will be pass away. The question is will we see our life’s efforts and sacrifices passing away with it?
Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.This is the time to dedicate our lives and our family’s lives to pursuing God and advancing the kingdom. It is time to prepare and live out what God has called us for.
I had a dream that really spoke to my heart. I was walking with someone and before us were two paths. I personally knew the right path and even understood the dangers of the wrong path. But as we walked along and talked we noticed that we still headed the wrong path. And so we rushed to go back to the crossroad and head towards the right path. But as we were along the right path which was a train track that goes through a tunnel, suddenly we heard a train rushing behind us. That supposedly put us in danger because the tunnel could only fit the train. We ran very hard but my friend could not run faster then I woke up.
As I pondered on that dream the Lord began to speak to me a couple of things. One, it is not enough to know the right path. We have to be vigilantly heading towards that direction because if we are not watching carefully we could end up on the wrong path. Secondly, it spoke to me of how important it is to be on the right track today. I realized the issue is not merely whether we know the right way or that we are even on the right way. The question also is how quick we are moving towards the right way. In that dream we eventually got on the right track but not at the right time. If we walked in the right path earlier we probably would not have had a train running behind us and we could have safely gone out of the tunnel. And this really spoke to me of how there is an urgency to be moving towards the right track.
We need to move along the right track at the right time and that time is now. Now is the time to prepare. Now is the time to love God and others more. Now is the time to get right with God. Now is the time to live for God. Let us wait no longer and act today.
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