Daily Reading March 10 2010 from 2 Timothy 3:1-9 NIV

Day 59

2 Timothy 3:1-9 NIV
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self‑control, brutal, not lovers of the good,4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God– 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak‑willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,7 always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth–men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

Last Days -
Today Paul begins with a list of the state of man in the last days. "People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." This is quite a list and far too much for us to explore in this post but suffice it to say with every generation we see the behaviors here described intensify. The longer man lives upon the earth the more evil we see. These are truly signs of the coming of the end. Many, like myself, believe we are very close to the end but many in past generations refused to believe mankind could become more wicked than it was in their day. Nevertheless, the conditions continue to worsen with each day that passes. None of us know when the end will come but we do know that an end will come and Christ will return. The next section of this passage talks about believers or those who call themselves believers "having a form of godliness but denying its power" these call themselves Christians and talk of God but deny his power and refuse to submit to Him. The scripture goes on to say "always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth" we have more knowledge and better teachers than ever before. The gospel is now propagated with media giving us more access than ever before yet so many are so far from God. Paul says "these men oppose the truth-men of depraved minds" Paul says they are rejected as far as faith is concerned. Apparently in the last days their secrets will become clear. God always reveals our true hearts over time. Just put people in crisis situations and you see their hearts clearly. Listen to someones conversation and you can see their passions. Pay attention to what people do with their spare time or disposable income and it's easy to distinguish priorities. God has the benefit of looking right through us by discerning the motives of our hearts. What does God see when He looks in your heart?

Blessings,

Pastor Larry