"But know this, that in the last days perilous times (times of stress, difficult times, dangerous times, difficult days that will be hard to bear) will come: For men will be lovers of themselves...." (2 Timothy 3)
Phillips says of the last part of our text, "men will become utterly self-centered." Other translations say, "People will be selfish," and, "People will love only themselves." Now I know that you have heard many sermons and read many articles concerning, "In the last days." As I look back over the last six months, however, I see events and attitudes being manifest which are indicative of, "In the last days..," for me, at least, in a way which I have not witnessed in my life time. Consider:
The following statement, by someone who is considered to be a prophet, was sent to me by a friend. "For many pastors the quarantine period has caused them to reset and take inventory of their lives....Other pastors have suddenly concluded they hate what they are doing-- and they are trying to determine if it is that they hate pastoring or just pastoring the way it is being done. Church overhaul is in process and will be intensifying in the coming days, weeks and months. We are transitioning into a new era and 'church as usual' is not going to cut it....They are already planning a 'going back to normal,' but there is no such thing coming."
While this was inevitable, it is heart-breaking. I can tell the world that those who live for "ministry" are those who are living in a most precarious state. You and I were not called to live for "our ministry." We are called to follow Jesus Christ. If one follows, lives for, plans for, and is energized by his/her "ministry," the "hate what they are doing" is a very, very real probability. Too many love their "ministry," and bring God and people along with them; doesn't work that way.
I am so thankful that I saw in my Dad a love for and commitment to Jesus Christ. Whatever else he was and did in his life was the "outcome" of following, loving Jesus. May everything you and I do in the years we have in this sojourn be motivated only by love for and obedience to Jesus Christ.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray that You always be my "center," my foundation, my everything. Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
