November 1, 2004
But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
--1 Peter 4:7-10
I heard about a farmer and his wife who were sound asleep one night in bed. At midnight, their old grandfather clock went off, bonging 13 times instead of it’s usual 12. The farmer woke up at this with a panicked look on his face and turned to his wife and said, “Woman! Get up! It’s later than it’s ever been before!”
He’s right! It is later than it’s ever been before. All of us want to make our lives count for something in these end days. Not just to waste time and our lives, but to invest them. In 1 Peter 4, we discover how to do just that.
You’ve heard preachers and Christians proclaim through the generations that these are the last days. And you may have even seen a long-bearded man standing on the street corner with a sign hanging around his neck that says: “The End is Near.” We wonder in this nuclear age if someone is going to push the button making our world go up in flames destroying all mankind.
My friend, the message is no longer just a sign hanging around someone’s neck, but it is a present reality. It is the last hour, and we must be in the last seconds of the last minute of the last hours, because prophetically we are farther along and all things are now ready for Christ’s return.
There are still those cynics and scoffers who are continually saying, “What about the coming of Christ? Where is the promise of His coming?” But, I’m telling you now that God is waiting in mercy. He is delaying His judgment in these final days so that more can come to Him. The fact is, that we as Christians should live on tiptoe of expectancy to the return of Jesus.
No one knows that last day, hour, or second we have on earth. Make your life count now! Be it that your hands would be clean of innocent blood. Begin today by committing your last days in complete and total service to the Lord.
LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST,
BECAUSE OUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED.