2 Timothy 3:1-5 –   “ But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come. ² For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God. ⁵ They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power. So, avoid people like these.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I was impressed with the lateness of the hour on God’s timetable.   I sense the urgency of the hour and see the diligent attempt of the devil to distract and sidetrack God’s laborers.   I sense the longing of God for the harvest and the culmination of our salvation.   Time is short, and the church and world are largely distracted.  We are more moved by the events in the world than the stirring in the heavens.

Paul warned Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 of the conditions of the Last Days. One of the signs would be inordinate self-love, selfishness, greed, overpowering hate, and faux religion.   There would be churches going through the motions, thinking they were godly and pleasing God, but empty and impotent spiritually.  The lost would not be touched, and the believers would not grow spiritually.

In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, he prophesied that in the Last Days, there would be a rejection of the Gospel in favor of a more humanistic and flesh-serving Gospel.

 The Bible makes it clear that God requires those who would enter into His kingdom to be holy and live in righteousness.   But the Last Days people will find that too confining and demanding, requiring discipline, and creating a faux Gospel that appeals to the flesh and gives false security.

There is an increasing acceptability today for man-made doctrines that eliminate hell and make every lifestyle acceptable.   They insist that since God is love, love would not punish but would accept everyone, no matter what.   God is love.    That is an undeniable fact!   He is also just, and nothing unholy can abide in His presence.

From this time forward, there will be an increase in flesh focus in the church, and thousands, if not millions, will participate in attacking those who teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ that requires dying to self. It may appear that the faux Gospel is succeeding, but when the shaking begins and the chaos is unleashed, many of those formerly deceived will turn to the truth.

We must prepare for the harvest.   Every follower of Jesus who rejects the flesh Gospel will be a harvester and be required to teach others the way of life.  Every follower of the truth will be called upon to become a spiritual father or mother to those seeking the truth.   The church services will be transformed from the norm of today into a time of testimony, reporting, and strategy.

Pastors will be transformed into a more apostolic role, and the believers will again take the Gospel to the marketplace.   They will pray, study, and witness with their words and lives.   Some will become martyrs for their faith. Harvest time requires laborers, and the fruit of the harvest will have to be processed (taught and equipped).

The time is short, and the urgency is permeating the atmosphere.   The call of the Spirit of God is to prepare our hearts for service!  There can be no more casual part-time Christianity.  The time has come to get out of the boat and walk in the water.  We will give what we have; the question is, what do we have to give?  Prepare for harvest!

Fasten your seat belts; the ride is about to get exciting!   Lord help us to be ready and be involved in the Last Day’s Harvest!

Psalm 103:1-5 – “Bless the Lord, O my soul,  and all that is within me,     bless his holy name!  ² Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, ³ who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your  diseases, ⁴ who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, ⁵ who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, I was drawn to Psalm 103.   Most of the time, we focus on the first five verses.  They are powerful, but only part of the message of the Holy Spirit as He inspired the Psalmist.

Our day should begin and continue to be filled with Praise and Thanksgiving to God.  We should continually remind ourselves of His benefits (blessings).   One of the greatest is FORGIVENESS and HEALING.   The word “all” describes the extent of that forgiveness and healing.

We should continually rehearse in our hearts and minds the reality of what we were and His redemptive work of Grace.   We should remember God’s daily provisions of material and spiritual things that we need and why He gives them to us.   Notice verse 5 – “Who satisfies your mouth with good things, SO THAT your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”   I suggest that the satisfied mouth include what goes in it and what comes out of it.  Natural and Spiritual.

In verse 7, we are given a truth that should be a goal.  “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.”   We should yearn to KNOW Him, not just observe what He does.

In verse 12, we learn the totality of God’s forgiveness.  “As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Wholly and forever gone.   A beautiful explanation is found in verse 14, “For He knows whereof we are made; He remembers that we are dust (mortal).”  In verse 17, the incredible long-suffering patience of God is revealed.  It is from everlasting to everlasting.

God’s immeasurable love, mercy, grace, patience, and provision are ample reasons to BLESS HIM at all times.   This God, the Creator of all things, loves us that much.   How dare we not love Him with our whole being?   How dare we insult the love and mercy of God with any measure of ingratitude?

“For God so loved the world (mankind included) that He gave His only begotten Son, SO THAT whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Let us remind ourselves daily, and even hourly, of His benefits (blessings).   Do not let the devil or anyone steal your joy and dampen your gratitude!  I urge you to read and meditate on Psalm 103.  It can give you a new level of understanding and confidence that will be needed for the remainder of the year 2025.

Lord, help us to appreciate Who You are and become Who You say we are!

Psalm 90:12 – “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, Psalms 90-92 resonated deeply with my heart.   A central theme in them is that God has a dwelling place that we can access and live in NOW!    Now is the key.   We will, one day, be in heaven, but there is a place in the Spirit that we can access NOW!

In Psalm 90:12, we are asked to be mindful of our mortality and the brevity of earthly life.   Why?   It is to motivate us to apply our hearts to wisdom.   We are told that the beginning of wisdom is the reverential fear of God.

Psalm 91 serves as a guidebook of life for the child of God.   It, too, begins with the focus on that non-earthly dwelling place in God that believers can access NOW!

Living in the consciousness of God encourages and empowers us.  In that condition and from that presence, we know and declare that God is our refuge, fortress, and God.  We know, declare, and expect deliverance from demonic entrapment.  We are confident because, in that dwelling place, God covers us with His truth and power that banishes fear.  Remember, there is no fear in love.

In that place, we live in God’s divine protection, seeing the destruction but living in the midst of it, untouched.  It is a place of health and healing.  It is a place of angelic protection.  Angels are ministers of help!  Their assignment is protection and guidance.

In Psalm 92, the people who abide in God have a unique promise.  Verses 12-15 serve as a redescription and reminder of the person described in Psalm 1.   They flourish like the Palm tree.  Those planted (a key) in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of God.  They will win their cases of judgment against evil.  They will enforce the victory of Jesus.  They will be productive and fruitful even in their twilight years.  They will be examples and testimonies of God’s mercy, love, justice, power, and purity.

Young or old, if we search out and dwell in God, making Him our abode, these promises and provisions are ours!  The key is to seek Him and abide in Him.  Bloom where you are planted in the Garden of God’s choosing.  We are living stones that must surrender our wills to His.  We are building blocks in God’s house.  We are the Body of Christ, the Family of God, and His warriors.  We have His presence and promise filled with provisions and power to overcome any problem.

Psalm 91:16 – “With long life will I satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”

We have no excuse not to flourish!   We have His presence, promise, and power.   We can run through a troop and leap over a wall.  From abiding in Him and His Word abiding in us, we can live victoriously, setting captives free and living free!  The key is dwelling or abiding in Him.  Total surrender!

Lord, help us to live in the NOW and be who You have created us to be NOW!

Psalm 78:36-37 – “But they flattered him with their mouths;  they lied to him with their tongues.  ³⁷ Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, the requirement of surrender and commitment filled my thoughts.  As I pondered those thoughts, I heard in my heart, “Do I have your whole heart and complete loyalty?”   I was taken aback by that thought, and as my pattern is, I didn’t answer; I waited.

Evil is prevalent in today’s world.   Many believers are under siege and struggling to keep their heads above the waters of life.  The church often seems powerless and appears more like a business than an army.   Where is the power?   Where are the all-night intercessory prayer meetings?   Where is the power of the early church?  It was a church where the deacons preached and worked miracles.   The LORD confirmed His Word with signs and wonders.    Where is that today?

As I mused on those thoughts, I found myself reading Psalm 77.   In his distress, the Psalmist prayed through the night, overwhelmed.   In verse 6, “I meditated far into the night; I communed with my own heart; I have examined my soul…”

In Psalm 78, he revealed the condition of the people and why the power was missing.  In verses 36-37, “Nevertheless, they loved Him with their mouths and lied to Him with their tongues.  37 For their hearts were not right with Him, neither were they steadfast in His Covenant.”

Does God have our whole heart?  What do we do in times of stress, distress, or ease?   Do we pray or complain, or pray and complain at the same time?   Do we beg for help?   Rather than looking inward, we strategize as to how to alleviate the problem.

If God has the whole heart, the heart knows that He is the source and presses into God’s provision.  If God has our whole heart and commitment, expectation is present, even at the forefront.  If God has the whole heart, He is first in everything.

In a church where God is LORD, “expectation” thrives!   In the early church and in the life of Jesus, they frequently spent the night interceding.  A prime example was Jesus’ explanation of why the disciples could not set the lad free from demonic activity.  He said, “This kind only goes out by fasting and prayer.”   Additionally, when Peter was awaiting execution, the church prayed fervently throughout the night.  The pattern was they prayed UNTIL.

If God has the whole heart, the flesh is rendered powerless and takes a back seat.

What will bring the harvest, revival, restoration, and renewal is Wholehearted Commitment!    It is Total Surrender.   It is dying to self (all of self).   When the world sees the church (leadership and members) living in expectation and enforcing the victory of Calvary, they will seek out the Church and, thereby, the LORD.

What is our reaction when we are confronted with situations that require the supernatural?  Do we expect God to use us, “These signs shall follow them that believe…” Or do we hand it over to the professionals (ministers)?  We are a kingdom of priests.  We are more than conquerors.  Nothing is impossible to the one who believes.

Does God have our whole heart?   The answer is revealed in our response.  I desire to be an example of a life wholly submitted and committed to God.

May the LORD help us to surrender our whole hearts to Him and manifest Him in this present world!

Colossians 1:24-29 – “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body—for the sake of his body, the church—what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.  ²⁵ I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship from God—given to me for you—in order to complete the word of God, ²⁶ that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints.  ²⁷ God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  ²⁸ We proclaim him by instructing and teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature in Christ.  ²⁹ Toward this goal I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully works in me.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, a thought exploded in my spirit.  It is found in Colossians 1:26-27 and is further developed throughout the rest of the book.   “Christ IN You, the Hope of Glory!”

The thought that was reverberating in my spirit was the full scope of “Christ IN us.”    We say it, sing it, testify of it, but do we manifest it?  How real and literal is it to us?

In Colossians 1:22-23, we find that through the Cross, we are enabled to be transformed into people who are holy, without reproach, and blameless.    He is, but are we?    That depends on “Christ IN us” being a realized reality.

He said this would be our condition and position “IF.”   That dastardly little word “if” keeps interfering with our precepts and concepts.     “IF” we continue in faith and our foundation remains firm.   “IF” we are not moved from the hope of the gospel, we will experience this transformation.    We will manifest HIM.   It all begins with “Christ IN us.”

In Colossians 2:9, we read an incredible declaration.  “For in Him is embodied all the fullness of the Godhead.”   Keep in mind this: Christ is IN us through the new birth.  IN us.    What does that mean?    How does that look in manifestation?   How does He look?   How does He live?  What does He do?   What attitude does He exhibit?   Is that what we offer?  Then, I ask, is “Christ IN us” in a manifested reality?

If He is LORD, we are totally surrendered to His Lordship.  If He is IN us and the LORD, His life is manifested through us.   What is the overriding passion and pursuit of our lives?   If He is IN us, Colossians 3 informs us how we are to live.

It begins “IF” we have risen with Jesus in the newness of life, THEN.   Seek Him and the things of heaven.  THEN, you set your mind on heavenly Christ things, the things His mind is set on.   THEN, you mortify your earthly members: immorality, uncleanness, intemperate desires, evil lust, and covetousness, for these are idolatry.

In verse 8, THEN, if Christ is IN you through the new birth, you PUT OFF: anger, malice, wrath, blasphemy, foul conversation.   Do not lie to one another, and put away the old ways of life, which include selfishness.

In verse 12, he reminds us that IF Christ is IN us, THEN we are to put on (not pray for God to do it for us) mercy, gentleness, humbleness of mind, meekness, patience, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another.

In verse 15, we are to let (think about that word) the peace of Christ govern your hearts and let (that word again) His word dwell in you abundantly.   Then, he gives a pathway to bringing the fleshly man in line.  Teach and admonish one another (restoration is always the goal).  We do this in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs sung with grace!

Is Christ IN us?   Can others see it?  Do we see it?  If He is IN us, then the fullness of the Godhead is IN us.   Sin cannot defeat us.   No devil in hell can hinder us.  Nothing is impossible for us.  We have ALL the authority of the Godhead operating IN and THROUGH us.    Is that us?

That is my heart’s cry – Total surrender and total reception of the finished work of Jesus!   That is our heritage.  That is our provision.  That is our invitation.  That is our promise.   

May Christ be manifested in each of us daily and in all things!