Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The chasm continues to widen.

If it seems the more you practice good, evil on the other side is enjoying a grander heyday, you’re right.

Our enemies are determined to thwart our plans at every turn and to convince us to come to the dark side where victory seems all but certain.

Living the godly life is messy, full of unanticipated reactions and decisions how to stay on track.

Consider the temptation of Jesus when Satan made numerous promises to recruit Him for his team. Jesus responded with truths from the word of God forcing Satan to retreat for a future opportunity.

When you’re persecuted yet know the nature of the battle you’re fighting and know and use the armaments at your disposal, your victory will be more in the process than in the outcome.

The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, but our weapons are superior to any intimidating Death Star.

Know and use the Word of God and stand on His promises and despite what seems to be the outcome, your victory is the promise embedded in the process.

Use the Force, the Word of God.

There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Whew! That’s an impressive list, especially if you’re into current events.

But Paul can be dramatic.

Lately anything that can point to these being the last days often does so, and with remarkable accuracy.

All his listed traits are alive, thriving, and highly contagious these days.

None are external events but internal ones, observable in those around us and oftentimes also within us. A list like that allows no escape for any of us.

But an escape was provided by Jesus’ death and resurrection and your choice to accept His forgiveness as an unmerited gift.

As a young boy prone to misbehavior, I fully expected no presents for me under the Christmas tree, but there they were, unearned, undeserved, yet provided to me despite what I’d done.

It always blew me away that dad, mom and Santa all loved me so much that they’d still spent time and money on a terrible kid like me.

I learned early on that the love doesn’t go away because of what I’ve done.

It stays because of whose I am.

If a widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.”

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Abandonment of the elderly is widespread in our nation yet nearly unheard of in so many others.

The fact there even exists scriptural instruction on the topic confirms the practice is nothing new.

Years of helping seniors to thrive and survive has often left this warm heart cold and bitter.

Families deliver mom, dad or grandma like a package on the doorstep of assisted living then race home never to be seen nor heard from again.

If you’ve followed me any length of time you’ve read my stories where I was their only ‘family’ present for Thanksgivings, birthdays, and funerals.

I’ve tracked down distant family members more times than I care to enumerate the unanswered emails and disconnected phone numbers of kin.

I’m proud to work with a team who cares and goes the extra mile for a cohort so close to my heart yet so far from those who should.

If you’re a follower of Christ and have yet neglected to fulfill this clear command, Lord have mercy on you at the hour of His return.

Likewise, if you have learned the value of our elders and sacrifice some things in your own present life to demonstrate it, riches and rewards await you.

Sorry for the rant, but I hope when you’re old, feeble, or infirmed, you get back what you have given when the trumpet sounds.

I’ll just leave this right here.

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

On second thought…

Lacking discernment and good conscience, people will follow anyone or anything without giving a second thought to it.

Media, bad actor politicians, and other influencer$ to name but a few.

Thinking for yourself hasn’t only fallen out of popularity, worse, it’s fallen out of convenience and into habit.

The inconvenient truth however is that God knows we’re lazy and enjoy having our ears tickled even if it means like sheep, some will be shepherded to slaughter by those who would feast on our fattened ignorance.

Wake up sheeple! The spirit of this world conspires against us and that ain’t no theory, it’s a fact.

We are in those ‘later times’ where abandonment of faith in the one Lamb of God, the only good shepherd, is the new religion proselytized by those who are deceitful and hypocritical with seared consciences.

Before you make a fateful decision, give a second thought first to who was the author and still desires the invitation to be the finisher of your faith.

We are His handiwork and His sheep hear His voice.

Mindless social media scrolling to pass the time is a powerful devil’s workshop.

It might be just a momentary screen pause, a longer than usual glance, or a full stop of the thumb, but platform algorithms quickly learn what snags your glance then feeds you more.

Foods, skin, pranks, vulgarity, or just cat videos, the ultimate algorithmic service is to identify, rank, and deliver what appears to entertain you most so you spend more screen time, stumble upon more ads, or worse, stumble into sin.

What begins as a harmless, mindless act has become a not so insidious mindful science, an unwitting study in human behavior to which you provide face to screen consent each time you pull out your phone.

Take every thought captive in obedience to Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:5, and above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

“For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Each of us was made for flight, wings and all.

Every kid dreams of flying at least once. When I first understood angels was my first introduction to that dream.

It wasn’t until decades later I fully comprehended the price to be paid for my personal wings. Give up my worldly way of living and accept the price paid for my redemption and eventual return back into the arms of Jesus for which I was appointed.

I chose to avoid the certain wrath to come and instead resurrected my childhood dream.

I have since discovered it was no dream at all.

It was always God’s destiny for me and for everyone to spread wing and take flight to our eternal home when the trumpet sounds, for there is the where and the what that dreams are made of.