PERILOUS
TIMES ARE HERE: Devotion for Thursday September 29, 2016
Text:
2 Timothy 3:1 – 9 Memory verse: 2
Timothy 3:1
Perilous simply means very dangerous. The time
we are in fits in to this definition. Paul’s reference to the last days reveals
his sense of urgency and the need to intimate Timothy so it shouldn’t take him unawares. Such warnings
about the last days were certainly not unique to Paul alone but was a common
theme among the leaders of the early church (Acts 2:17; Jas 5:3; 2 Peter 3:3;
Jude 1:18). Perilous times mean hard to bear, dangerous, troublesome. As Paul
used it here it means a period when it will be difficult to be a Christian (2
Timothy 3:1 – Living Bible).
We need to give this warning Paul gave to
Timothy the full attention it deserves because we are already in the last days.
The ‘last days’ began after Jesus’ resurrection, when the Holy Spirit came upon
the believers at Pentecost (see Joel 2:28, 29 and Act 2:17). The last days will
continue until Christ’s second coming. Paul speaks about the last days as a
present reality (emphasizing the truth that the state of depravity in the world
is always ripe for harvest). Paul set out for us these signs of last days in 2
Timothy 3:2–5.
From the above it means that we are living in
the last days. It should not surprise us, then, to see the moral decadence of
our society. The example Paul gave from 2 Timothy 3:ff are all manifesting
today. People are now lovers of pleasure more than bible Studies, mid week
services, etc. We now have children who are highly disobedient to their
parents. Our society is now filled with all manner of wickedness; killing,
kidnapping, ritual murder, betrayals, etc.
Paul warned us that it would happen, as Jesus
Christ did too (see Matt 24). Thus we should run from them (3:5b, Gen. 39),
reject their enticement (Prov. 1:10) and have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather expose them (Ephesians 5:11). We should be
careful and heed to the warning of Paul in Romans 13:12 and 1 Corinthians 10:12.
Food
for Thought: We
shouldn’t forget the warning of Christ in Mark 13:33 which says, “Take heed, watch and pray;
for you do not know when the time is.”
Prayer: Keep
me to yourself, O Lord, in this perilous time so I will not backslide into sin.
No comments:
Post a Comment