Devotion
Is the end nigh? Who cares?
David Jacobs
In 70 A.D., the Jews saw their revolt against the Romans as the Battle of Armageddon. 300 years later, the Bishop of Tours claimed that the end times were going to be arriving any day now. 1,000 years later, The Black Plague was making its way around Europe, as the world proclaimed that this was certainly the end! 500 years down the line, hundreds of thousands of American Christians lined up for an event that would later be known as 'The Great Disappointment'.
Had they read 2 Peter 3, they would have realized that God takes no joy in destroying His creation, and is certainly not as fickle as the false prophecies like to imply.
Many have lived in their idea of 'end times', and have been convinced theirs will be the last. Yet God has stated that only He knows. Our job is not to be obsessed with Mayan calendars or British star maps. God has reserved the difficult task of judgment for Himself. All that is asked of us is that we come to repent. Everything else is but an egotistical distraction.
Prayer
Only God decides when this day will come; it could be tomorrow; it could be a thousand years later. But He has made His promise, and so He waits. 'For what?' We might ask. We do not know. We do not need to. But we know it will come, and we know God does not delight in denying His own children into His Kingdom, so make the Lord happy; repent! Repent while you still have today.
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
