BEFORE THE END OF THE WORLD

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The end of the world is coming soon.

Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

1 Peter 4:7-9

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

There is a day ahead when Jesus will return to judge the world and all who are in it, the living and the dead.

The scriptures affirm that no one knows when this will happen (Matthew 24:36). So what are we to do in the interim?

Well, one thing all Christians should know is that they are responsible and accountable for carrying on the work that Jesus began, the work to ensure all would know their opportunity for salvation through belief in Him. This tasking is referred to as “The Great Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20).

In addition to this, we also find guidance in today’s three verses from 1 Peter, chapter 4. Look again at those words here:

The end of the world is coming soon.

Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. Vv.7-9

Here we learn that Christian believers are to do this as time marches toward the day when Jesus returns and the world as we know it ends (Revelation 21:1-2).

1. Pray without ceasing.

Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.

While this verse might not say this exactly, we do find it as an exhortation in the scriptures (1 Thessalonians 5:16). And while none of us are perfect in prayer and may not meet the mark of doing so unceasingly, we can practice an “earnest and disciplined” prayer life, one that is grounded in seriousness and consistency as we come before the Lord through which all things are possible.

2. Show deep love for one another.

Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other.

If there is one thing sorely missing today as we live within our communities, cities, states, and nations, it’s love. I say this because of the deep divisions we find between people, people who are often closer to war than they are peace. In the context of race, socioeconomics, religion (even within religions like Christianity), and even gender, we find too many people at odds with one another and the cure is love, not just any love but the love one can only find in the Lord. This is why Jesus, when asked about the greatest commandments, had this to say:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-38  

The road to proper love first goes through loving God with all we are, heart and soul and mind, and then when all our love is invested in Him, then we can in turn, share His love with others. When we do this, love others with the purity and perfection found in our Lord, then we will find the words of 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 8 come to be:

Love never fails.

Imagine a world where we love like this, a world where love leads to forgiveness and the covering of “a multitude of sins”. It’s what Christians are to strive for during the run up to the end of the world.

3. Show hospitality to others.

Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

When we love one another as the Lord loves, we will care for them as He does and when we think about the Lord’s care, one thing should quickly come to mind:

His provision.

Indeed, the Lord meets our needs and gives us what we need in order for his will to be done in our lives. We aren’t ever left in a place where He isn’t near and ready to offer us a place to stay and meal to eat.

Today, many people are in this position, in need of shelter and a something to eat. Unfortunately, there always seems to be a shortage of available space to accommodate the homeless and hungry, much like Joseph and a very pregnant Mary experienced in the town of Bethlehem. And while the couple eventually was allowed to gain the shelter of a stable, no one in town opened their home and offered a meal or two to the travel-weary parents of the coming Messiah.

Many people wonder why we have such a large homeless issue in America. Perhaps the question should really be why we have such a large hospitality problem. For if we would see our homes and food as really belonging to God and not ourselves, perhaps our perspective would change and we would see ourselves as instruments of His provision to others.

Just some spiritual food for thought.

Friends, this world is not going to last forever. This we know. We also know what we’re to do before it happens and so it’s time to get to work telling others about the salvation available through Jesus, praying earnestly with discipline, loving others as the Lord loves, and showing hospitality to anyone who needs it.

The Word of God calls us to such and our only proper response is to carry out what we’re told to do with obedience.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.