Things need to get worse before Christ's return. I don't think there is any disagreement as that's what the Bible states. We, despite ourselves and our effort, are not able to bring a stop to the inevitable. It's going to happen. It's not a question so much of how as it is of when. The battle that Satan has put up to be his own god is on a crash course and whether or not we like it, that too will end. Personally I like it. We have, since the fall, become a captive people who have adhered to the way of the world rather than be repulsed. Serving ourselves and the world around us have dulled us to the reality of the future. It's not like the future that is predicted by economists or historians. It's a future determined by prophecy from old. Many years ago these prophecies were given by God to godly men and women who delivered them to the people. These prophecies are ongoing. They end with the destruction of the enemy. In between we are left to engage in what we will based on our relationship with Jesus or the relationship we don't have with Jesus! While there is a harvest to bring in, there is little time for that to be accomplished. Time is drawing near for the return of Christ. What you and I are doing or not doing is evidence of whether we have the love of Christ in us or not. If we do not have the love of Christ we won't speak the Gospel because we don't really believe it. If we don't believe the Gospel then what is our relationship with Jesus?
I don't like the bumper sticker that states "coexist" in different beliefs symbols. Might as well say we give up. Christians are called out to be God's people. With that in mind we should ask ourselves what we would say if we were called out for our faith. That too will happen. Men, women and children will be called out and told to take the mark of the beast. Men, women and children will have to choose whether to stand up for God and die (physically) or to deny God and live (physically) without salvation. There aren't any other choices then and there aren't any other choices now. What we do when we profess Jesus should take us to a hopeful place where we know that we know that our lives are alive because of Jesus and that He will be taking us home. Does your life? Should we be content to coexist, we have no faith in God. The choice is whether we coexist with the lost or whether we coexist with God and his people. Remember that you and I will be called before the throne of God who will demand from us an accounting of how we lived or died. Whether we like it or not, the timeline given is going to move forward with or without us. It's up to us to make a difference in the lives of those around us; to those we are called to minister to. If we don't tell the lost, who will?
We have it backwards. We live as if our lives will never end while we know that they will in fact be taken whenever our time comes. For some their lives are cut short while others live to be a "ripe old age." Never the less, it's not how long we live our lives but rather what we do with the days we have. We can throw up our hands and tell ourselves that there's nothing we can do or we can throw in our hands and do what we can, say what we can and live what we can. Living our lives as lives that count and can be instrumental for Jesus is what makes the Christian a Christian. I'm not talking about works as works don't save us. I'm talking about loving because Christ is love and we are to be Christ to the world. We are not called to do all the work. We are called to do the work that Jesus has set before us. That's to make disciples of all mankind. If we don't take care of the widow and orphan than we aren't taking care of all mankind. If we don't share the blessings of God then we are not taking care of all mankind. If we don't share the love of Christ then we are not helping people escape their dead lives and become alive in Christ. We are the mouth, hands and heart of Jesus. What are we doing to be who he wants us to be to others? It's always your and my choice.
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