Hebrews 10:23-25 - "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
Matthew 24:9-13 - "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."
Paul wrote to Timothy that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. There will be times of hardship and stress, tremendous pressure, darkness, and evil. People will love pleasure and themselves, not God. We are seeing it, all around us, aren't we? Turn on the tv and the darkness and evil comes right into our living rooms. It is not going to get any easier to be a Christian. Jesus lays it out for us how bad it is going to be in the Matthew passage and in the book of Revelation.
Scripture tells us that believers are secure by the power of God, but that doesn't mean we can do anything we want to. There is human responsibility to security...it's called holding fast...and that is what the writer of Hebrews said we should be doing. God is telling us what we will need to do to remain steadfast. We need to meet, meet, meet! The only place we can remain steadfast until the Lord returns is with His people. We need to meet and stir each other up to love. Being a lone Christian is just not going to work as the days continue to grow darker. The Lord said that many are going to fall away when Satan's wrath is unleashed during the great tribulation. Pretty sobering, isn't it? Those who don't remain and continue to love and hold fast will prove their faith was not genuine. The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. It is there. We need to meet and call each other to action, to walk in that poured into us love. We are called to love and do good deeds, but we are also called to help each other love. We need to help each other be loving people, to put the Lord and others before ourselves. The greatest thing I can think of to stir you up in this is Jesus love for you.
Remember His great love for you.
Meet with His people.
Love.
Help others love.
Be loved.
Giving to the Poor
8 months ago
7 comments:
Love you! and Tim too!
Aw, Beth, and we love you!
Beautiful writing, Kathy. An important reminder, too! My mind and heart have been on a lot of this content lately, due to world events right now. Stuff is happening!
God is definitely on the move, Ruhiyyih. Keep alert and watchful. Good seeing you and Matt on Sunday!
It is a blessing to have fellowship with other believers! I love the immediate connection when traveling, and running into like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ. I see how necessary this "meet, meet, meet"is, especially as my new son-in-law is the only Christian in his unit over in Iraq. Its a HARD place, but maybe sometimes we need to experience it to truly hunger after God's people and our common faith. Its one way to realize we need each other. Love you, too Kathy, even though I've only met you once. You were one of those immediate connections!
Your comments always (100% word!) bring warmth to my heart, Laurie. Thank you! The love the body of Christ shares so quickly is such a precious gift, isn't it?
Hey Overcomer-
In this week's bulletin, the "Think About It" section read as follows:
A church is a gift from God.
Assembly required.
It made me think of your post.
Have fun and stay busy - Luke 19:13
-The Orange Mailman
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