THAT BLESSED END DATE! Part 1

SCRIPTURE: “The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober minded for prayer. “   1 Peter 4:7 (HCSB)

 Do you ever chuckle at the sight of long-passed expiration dates on products you’ve spotted on your medicine cabinet or food pantry?  Things that expired four months ago are one thing; to see an expiration date from ten or MORE years ago is something else!  (We’ve seen both in our home).  We, of course, should always be attentive and discard medicines, especially those with expired “use by…” dates; failure to do so can have toxic consequences!  Similarly, the failure of any soul to heed the Spirit’s warning that there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby one must be saved is to choose an eternity separated from God!!  (Now that’s the ULTIMATE toxic state of existence!)   The moment for standing before our Creator (and for others, our Lord and Savior) draws nigh! All shall give an account—at two separate resurrections, the Bible warns! (You will want to be in that FIRST group! (1 Peter 4:5; Revelation 20:6)

 If you have invited Christ into your heart, you’ve been rescued from the kingdom of darkness, where you were “at enmity with God,” and destined upon your death for a place of conscious and eternal separation from God—called hell. (Luke 16:19-25; Revelation 20:12-15)  Having been found by Christ in October 1984, I can rejoice that wickedness has an expiration date, says Revelation 21:27. “The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels,” explains our Lord when describing the reality of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13:36-42.  And while He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, the Judge of the earth certainly understands our longing for life as He originally intended.  “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the END will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

Until such time as our blessed Savior raptures those who’ve invited Him in to be their Lord, let us not be timid in sharing the gospel with others, as  the END draws nearer-- that Christ is the ONLY name by which any of us can be saved, (Acts 4:12); that humble submission to His lordship is the ONLY true spiritual nourishment for living in a world such as this one (John 6:35); and that Jesus Christ is THE ONLY Source of truth.  To ignore His Holy Word is to presume an eternal END for one’s soul from which Christ Jesus died to provide everlasting deliverance!
PRAYER:  Dear Lord, let us who trust in Jesus live each day in fresh gratefulness, humility, and a firm resolve, to walk worthily of You, who loved us enough to give up Your only begotten Son, to deliver us from an inescapable and terrible end!  In Christ’s name; amen!

(By Denise Diggs)