This morning I decided that I needed a coffee shop Bible study session – and of course I brought my laptop, because I never know when the Holy Spirit is going to place something on my heart to write about. So here I am, casually enjoying a sweet cream iced latte and avocado toast, while reading and writing about the end times. It just kinda makes me chuckle inside. Anyway…

As I was reading in Matthew 24, I was feeling particularly convicted. It really made me think. Of course, the whole Bible makes me think, but some parts more than others… you know what I mean? This chapter made me think about the strength of my faith and commitment to God. Matthew 24 discusses the end times – like when will it be, how it will come about, and what we can expect to happen. The discussion begins when Jesus’ disciples ask him how they will know when the end of the world is here (Matt. 24:3). Jesus tells them that there will be famines, earthquakes, wars, and false prophets trying to claim to be the Messiah (Matt. 24:4-8). Believers are also going to be hated so much that they will be persecuted and killed… wait what?!

“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.  And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.  Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.  But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Matthew 24:9-13 NLT

That’s the part that really made me think about my faith. We’ve read in history books about the persecution of Christians and those of other religious groups. There’s also a lot of historical accounts in the Bible that detail this kind of religious persecution. Of course we know that persecution is still happening around the world. If I happen to be alive when these things start happening to Christians in my area, will my faith endure? Am I willing to stake my life on the belief that Jesus is my Messiah and the Bible is God’s true and infallible Word? How far am I willing to go to defend the truth? Scripture says that many will fall away when the end draws near. Oh Lord, I pray that I will not fall away and betray You! I pray that I am not deceived by the false prophets! Reading this just makes me want to dive into Scripture even deeper so I can be rooted in the truth of God and avoid being deceived. We should also be consistently going to God in prayer not only for ourselves, but also for other believers! We are the church of Christ, so we should be striving to strengthen each other in the faith, as well. As we fellowship with other believers to strengthen them, we will also be strengthened in the process (Proverbs 27:17).

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

Ephesians 6:18 NLT

So, if there are going to be so many false prophets performing all kinds of miracles and doing their best to deceive everyone (Matt. 24:24-15) – how will we know Who really is the true Messiah? Jesus says that all will know when He comes again because there will be “lighting flashes” and He will be “coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” with “the mighty blast of a trumpet” to “gather his chosen ones from all over the world” (Matt. 24:26-31). It’s going to happen suddenly and unexpectedly (Matt. 24:36, 42, 44), but everyone will know when it happens. Therefore, we should prepare ourselves and be ready for His coming! Jesus tells a parable to illustrate this:

“A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them.  If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.  I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.  But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’  and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? The master will return unannounced and unexpected,  and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 24:45-51 NLT

When we receive Christ as our Savior, we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). God redeems us, cleanses us, and begins the process of sanctifying us (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8). Because of this, we should be striving to live differently than we were before we accepted Christ’s gift of forgiveness! We should strive to know God more deeply by spending time with Him in prayer and reading His Word. We should not be taking advantage of His mercy and grace by continuing to live in sin (Romans 6). I want to live out my gratitude and love for Him so that others may see the light of God in me and also come to salvation! When I get to heaven, I want to look around and see all the people who were saved because God used me to share His good news with them. I want to hear God tell me, “Well done, my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23 NLT).