Tough times call for soft encouragement
By Elizabeth Prata
Podcast Below
DISCERNMENT: Have you polished, adjusted, and thanked God today for your spiritual armor? We should be armed and ready, from head to toe, and praising the Lord for His generosity in protecting us from the demons and from the evil one himself! If we are on guard, rooted in His word, and seeking His face, we can always spot the real from the imitation, the Godly miracle from the demonic copy, the truth from a lying sign. It is a skill that needs honing, and we will need it more than ever as each day from now on progresses. Be ready and sharpen that sword: read your Bible today!
HOW, THEN, SHALL WE BE? Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (2 Peter 3:11). When He comes, how will Jesus find each one of us? Arguing with a spouse? Or serving with humility? Without self-control? Or sober and watchful? In His glorious wisdom He gave us opportunity to obey Him. Let us be faithful and diligent in His service, till the end!
BAD TIMES ARE GOOD TIMES: Oh what an exciting time we live in! Are you looking up, looking forward, and looking out? Share Him, expect Him, and love each other till the moment the trumpet sounds… He said He will come, He said to look up when we see these things come to pass, and He is coming soon. Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. (Romans 13:11). Now is the time to urge those who do not believe to seek truth. Truth resides in Jesus and in Him alone. And aren’t we who know Him blessed with the most wonderful relationship of which we can possibly conceive? Even if we do not have opportunity to witness every day, let us reflect Him in our demeanor and smile. We are rejoicing always!
For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
SPEEDING UP! Do you feel things are going faster and faster? The news that is coming at us is ever more forceful in its depravity? I do! I feel like a gal stuck in a snowball that is gathering speed as it rolls down the hill. The times are picking up steam. Are you using one eye for looking out (for your fellow man) and the other eye for looking up (for our redemption draweth nigh)?
KINDNESS IS THE WATCHWORD: The times are getting harder now for all of us, financially, emotionally, physically. Let us remember to share our faith with unbelievers but also encourage each other. Now is the time to let grudges go, to refrain from being annoyed by small things. Put personal differences aside and “build each other up” as we face increasing iniquity that disheartens and depresses, as the news indeed often does. (Be Salt & Light, Matthew 5:13-16)
Jesus said we do not need to worry. Matthew 6:25: “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
It has been The End Time since Jesus ascended and will end when He returns. We are in the last days. The Lord may tarry longer but it feels to me and many others that the end of the end days may be upon us. Whether or not they are, let us watch and marvel at His word, feel joy in His promises, even as we see the needs of others rise in confusion and fear…because that represents a tremendous opportunity to share Jesus with them! It is hard but it’s also exciting for us to actually see many of God’s works unfold in these days.
Whatever it is or whatever you’re going through, God’s got this! It is not a surprise to Him, it is ordained for His glory and our good. Cling to that and the knowledge that if you are in Him, He is your all in all, Alpha and Omega, perfect Savior who loves His children dearly.
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