What can we do about the perilous times we are facing in this present age? It seems like every time we watch the television innocent people are being killed or hurt badly. Jonathan and I have decided years ago that we do not want cable in our home, because there is nothing positive for us or our children to watch. Instead we have invested in movies that will build our spirit up. This is our attempt to protect our family from the mess that is on television. However, I do get a chance to watch some cable TV while I exercise at the gym.
Yesterday, while I was doing some cardio, I saw on the news that someone has bombed the Boston Marathon. I could not believe someone would do that to all those innocent people. My first thought was, Lord, it seems like every week people are killing innocent people. After thinking about the Boston marathon and wondering why all of these killings are happening, the Lord lead me to this scripture passage, 2 Timothy chapter 3: 2-5.
3 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
The bible tells us what we can expect in the last days before Christ return. We should not be surprised that so many people are engaging in evil ways. The bible is clear of the behavior we can expect to see in the last days even amongst people who claim to have a relationship with God. The bible says that there will be some who have a form of Godliness but denying His power. What can Christians do about the downward spiral we see in the world?
1. Stay Away– In 2 Timothy 3:5 we are instructed to “Have nothing to do with such people.” When I was growing up my father often said, “Birds of a feather flock together.” Which means that people are around people that are like them. Even if you do not like some of the behavior you see in your friends, if you hang around them long enough you will take on those character traits. That is why the bible says, “Have nothing to do with such people.”
Christians are not the only people that realize we become who we are around. There are internships and mentorships all so we can have exposure to someone we hope to be like one day. If the world is smart enough to realize that we become who we are around, why don’t Christians realize it? We must first stay away from people who are doing exactly what we have read in 2 Timothy 3: 2-5.
2. Seek Believers– Hebrews 10:25 says , “25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” It is important that we stay connected with other Christians. It is not enough to just stay away from people who do not have faith in Christ, we must replace their absence with people who are following Christ.
When I was growing up my family did not celebrate Halloween, my dad said it was celebrating the devils birthday. We were not allowed to dress up or have candy. As a child I had no desire to celebrate the devil. I just wanted to wear costumes and eat candy. My desire never went away, and I didn’t see anything wrong with it. What I have learned is that it is alright to say no to your children about things that we believe are bad for them, however, we must give them something else that is good. So, yes, we must stay away but we must associate ourselves with believers.
3. Pray – In James 5:16 we are told that “ The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” As Christians we are aware that the times are only going to get worst. We must pray for those we love and the world. Prayer does work! I remember the first time I prayed to God and really meant what I was saying to him. I was in 9th grade and I was sitting in my social studies class. Our teacher left the room to get our test scores from the office.
While he was gone, a boy, for some reason, decided to turn around and start bothering me. He started calling me names and threaten me. I was getting really angry and I wanted to take my text book and hit him in the head. However, I didn’t want to get in trouble, so I prayed. Before I could open my eyes I was filled with peace, and shortly after our teacher came back. My teacher handed everyone their test results, I looked immediately at my score and I found that I had failed horribly.
Well, all of a sudden I hear the same boy laughing and saying, “Ha-ha, I got Nikki’s test and she failed, she got …. grade.” He was announcing it to the whole class but that didn’t bother me, I wondered who’s test I had in my hand. At the top of the page was this young gentlemen’s name and as you already know, he failed horribly, a lot worst then I did. I walked over to him quietly and handed him his test, I got my test from him and walked away. God will always answer our prayers and he will always redeem us. Because of the way I responded to this young boy , only by the grace of God, he wanted to be my friend and we became good friends all through high school.
Challenge: Remember that we are living in perilous times but we are not helpless, there is something we can do as Christians. We can Stay Away, Seek Believers, and Pray.
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