Carol J German

“The end of the world is coming soon.” (1 Peter 4:7) Jesus and the disciples let everyone know this reality back in their day. Although 2,000 years have passed, don’t let the lull of Christ’s delay cause you to ignore what is about to take place. No one knows the day or hour when Jesus Christ will return to take true believers home with Him before He roars like the Mighty Lion that He is. He is not an infant in a manger any longer!

“Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There, the day of the Lord will soon arrive. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine. The Lord’s voice will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth will shake. But the Lord will be a refuge for His people, a strong fortress for the people of Israel.” (Joel 3:14-16)

Time is passing by at lightening speed! If the message was urgent for Christ’s disciples, it is even more so today. So, don’t be blase’ or careless with your sins. Salvation is at hand and the harvest is ripe; see 2 Corinthians 6:2 and Joel 3:13. As each day passes, we are inching closer and closer to the Lord’s return. He will be coming as a lion that will exert His dominance and authority.

How are you to live in these end days? In 1 Peter 4:7-11, Peter gives insight into what God is looking for from those who choose to believe Him, follow His Son, and obey the Holy Spirit. First, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Every true believer lives dependent on God. Read throughout the New Testament and see how Jesus depended fully on His Father. There is no other way for you and I to live. Second, do not stop showing deep love for one another. We all need encouraging and a hand to hold while we make our ways in these dark, evil days. Third, cheerfully share your home. You are called to serve others, just like Jesus; see Matthew 20:28 and Mark 10:45. Finally, God gave you spiritual gifts. You are to use them well in your service to others.

In Christ, you are able to live out these four God-pleasing attributes.

As you live each day with heaven in mind, “everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to Him forever and forever. Amen.”¹¹ Until Jesus returns, either for you personally like He did with Matthew Perry last weekend, or on a global scale where all true believers will be taken up into the clouds to be with the Lord Jesus before He takes care of death and sin on the earth. This is where the book of Revelations becomes a fulfilled prophecy.

You do not want to be left standing around when Jesus returns for His Church. You definitely do not want to be unprepared if He comes for just you. Does your life reflect this equation: Jesus > me? Or is it the other way around? Can you truly say what Peter declares in John 6:68, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe and we know You are the Holy One of God.”

The Lion is about to roar. Place your faith in the three persons of the Trinity and come to know them personally, intimately, and deeply where they become your life.