We really need to get a firm grip on the context of the historical situation here. Paul is a prisoner in Rome for the final time, practically everyone has forsaken him, death is imminent, and HE'S praying for Timothy? Shouldn't we be reading a letter of encouragement from Timothy to Paul trying to keep up his spirits in the face of multiple, unavoidable hardships? I have to confess that this speaks very strongly to the quality of my own faith. Why is it that in times of duress I rarely pray about anything but me, me, and even more ME? Paul provides an example of something obviously contrary to my own way of thinking in such situations.
(more…)

So what is the apostle Peter's advice on how to live in expectation of Christ's imminent return? That we should be found "spotless and blameless", biblical terms most often used to describe an acute disassociation with sin. He doesn't tell us to buy a white robe and go stand on a hill, he doesn't advocate building and stocking a bunker, he doesn't even encourage us to seek the signs confirming all that the prophetic Word of God has promised will happen. No, we're called to live in the Last Days exactly the same way we're supposed to live each and every ordinary day of our life: in faithfulness to His Word, forsaking all sin.
(more…)

So…I've entered one of the stores belonging to a very famous chain specializing in Christian products. Standing at the front of the reasonably large book section, I can see quite a few displays and tables and bookcases. It's obvious that one of the most popular topics—especially in the Christian fiction genre—is the Last Days. Why is it that the displays, artwork, etc. all seem to create a visual excitement for the Last Days? Nothing to my eye comes close to Joel's description:
(more…)

Jesus Himself likens the Last Days to the way things were in Noah's day. (Matthew 24:37-39; Luke 17:26-27) One of the many similarities is that it's a time when the majority are "following after their own lusts", forsaking the Word and ways of God in favor of their own desires. Although "lusts" is often used in connection with sexual immorality, it really encompasses anything one gives into such as power, wealth, or position. If we truly believed Christ's return was imminent, we'd live like it, forsaking our own desires for His alone. Playing down any emphasis on His return is actually the expression of wanting to live how we want instead of how we should.
(more…)

In a day and age when those who go to church are statistically indistinguishable from those who don't when it comes to nearly every sexually related issue from divorce to homosexuality to sex outside marriage, I know from the outset how unreceptive most will find someone's stance rooted in "old fashioned values" where these things are concerned. We can point to the state of the current church being rooted in the erosion of the teaching of the Bible, its embracing secular production values, or even forsaking the Gospel in the name of becoming "seeker sensitive", but I think it ultimately goes back to the erosion of marriage. Throughout the whole of Scripture, a good spiritual relationship is compared to a monogamous heterosexual relationship. When that value ceases to exist in real life, all the rest of the reasons for unfaithfulness in the church take root.
(more…)

Does it bother you at all that the divorce rate among those that attend church is virtually the same as those that don't? Is it of any concern that the values for sexual morality are now basically the same within the church as without? Does it matter that activities at churches—even Sunday School—are trending downward so that we can spend "quality time" elsewhere? I could go on, but the real question comes down to, "Do you feel like Lot?"
(more…)

Let's start from the end. The possibility is suggested that someone can be rendered useless and unfruitful "in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ". It's not that they don't have knowledge, it just doesn't result in producing anything. How does this occur in someone?
(more…)