meditations for an everyday relationship with Jesus

Ending times

Daniel 12:4 "But you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam about, and knowledge will increase."

If there was ever an indicator of prophecy being fulfilled in our lifetime, this one resonates. It was significant when I began this exercise of lesson writing back in 2001, and it remains as clear as ever.

The time of the end:

Many will roam about: transportation and means have created a lifestyle of global travel and general transience that is unparalleled in modern history. As the family and the community have become blurred with regard to boundary and definition, the attachment to birthplace and region have all but vanished.

Knowledge will increase: It has been said that modern man processes more information in a single day than most processed in a lifetime only a hundred years ago… and that is still ramping up with the cloud and other instantaneous media platforms.

How long can this dizzying pace continue before it runs its course and God says “enough is enough!”? Daniel indicates that it may be sooner rather than later.

Service requirements

1Timothy3:2-7 An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher, not addicted to wine, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy one who manages his own household competently, having his children under control with all dignity.

(If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God's church?)

He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the Devil. Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the Devil's trap.

A leader must be living a life that is indicative of the serious nature of his or her calling. I believe Paul’s letter to Timothy was worded to underscore the gravity of being such a leader. It is obvious that no one, save Jesus Himself, could be that well grounded. But the message is clear: be in better shape than those you teach if you want them to grow.

As such, an individual must be settled, not a practicing addict, be able to manage his own dwelling place, and must not be a new convert. Why you ask? Because even a person with some years in the faith is not always able to resist the temptations of theAdversary; and such an individual must have had the time to prove that falling prey is not the norm.