Irvin Wasswa- Tylertown Campus Pastor LHBC
1 Peter 4:7-11
The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
One of the biggest songs to hit the charts in the 1980’s was written by the rock band REM entitled It’s the End of the World as We Know It. The song was transposed to describe the reality of the last days on earth and the events which would bring about those last days. Though the song makes for a catchy tune, the lyrics in the song are mainly incoherent and the REM bandmates really had no clue the end of the world was at hand.
The truth of the matter is that no one but the Lord knows when the end of the world will take place. However, I do know this: We are closer to the end today than we were yesterday. The apostle Peter speaks to this reality in 1 Peter 4 in that the end of all things were at hand. King Jesus can come back at any moment! As Christians the reality of the end ought to impact we choose to live for the now. Since the end of the world is at hand, we must choose to live with a sense of urgency.
1 Peter 4 gives us three ways on how to live with a sense of urgency in these days: Choosing to be people of prayer, love, and service.
In these turbulent days there is nothing more powerful and important to the ministry of the church than prayer. I have heard it said this way: “God can do more in a moment, than we can do in a lifetime”. So we must choose to pray! We must understand that we are living in a broken world that is in desperate times. Instead of jumping onto social media to vent, choose to sit at the feet of Jesus and cry out to Him to move.
As believers in Christ in these days, we also must choose to love one another. In a world of division, because God is with us, we as the church can choose to be united and love one another. By the way, this call to love one another is more than just in word, but in deed. Peter speaks to loving each other earnestly, which means us seeking the good of others above one’s own, along with choosing to show one another’s hospitality. At the end of the day love is a verb, expressed in action. The call for us is to actively love one another in the body of Christ.
Lastly we must choose to serve the Lord in these days. As followers of Christ may we be known for our service to God and others over our selfishness. Let us choose to be people of God who use the spiritual gifts God has given us to serve the church.
The end of the world is at hand. Do our lives exemplify the action steps the apostle Peter has laid out for us? Let us make the most of the time we have here on earth by glorifying King Jesus with the way we live our life.
PRAYER FOR TODAY: Dear Heavenly Father Lord, I love you! I am thankful for your salvation! I am thankful that in you I do not have to fear life after death because I know I am secure in You. Help me to make the most of my time with the time I have left here on earth. Grow me in my prayer life, in my love for my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and in my heart for service. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
MEMORY VERSE FOR THE WEEK
Psalm 30:4
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name