Aug 5

“Let no man deceive you by any means:…” 2 Thessalonians 2:3

The subject of the timing of the return of Jesus, has given rise to much speculation among believers and resulted in not too few serious errors of doctrine and falsities. Paul encourages the Thessalonian believers, and in doing so he speaks to us also, in regards to this matter. We have been clearly taught that no man knows the hour or the day of the coming of Christ for His church. This ought to have been determent enough for forecasters and prognosticators from offering up their predictions, but sadly it hasn’t stopped them. In turn the failed predictions have simply added to both the tension of the wait among believers, and the scorn and ridicule among unbelievers. The Holy Ghost through Paul tells us not to be shaken in mind, troubled nor deceived regarding the return of Jesus and its timing. In fact he offers good reasons and evidences to stay the minds of believers from running ahead and worrying unnecessarily about the issue of imminence. Why did God see fit to give such encouragement? It would seem God knows our human nature and how susceptible we are to make more mistakes and poor choices, to be deceived by the opinions and teaching of others, lose focus or become less effective in the work we are to do, when we overstress our expectation of an impending return of Jesus. It is true that we should live unto God with the preparedness that this life could cease at any moment, for indeed none of us are guaranteed the next breath! Personal preparation and spiritual readiness are necessary for the believer, but God does not want us to live with fear or undue concern about what is ahead. Doctrines based on misinterpretation of scripture, have proposed a ‘secret rapture’, a silent, secretive removal of anyone who professes Christianity (warts, spots, wrinkles and all) from the world, leaving those left behind in a quandary or proposing all sorts of weird and wonderful explanations as to what actually took place. Even for believers the rapture is presented as some sort of surprise return of Jesus, geared almost to ‘catch’ them out, instead of catching them up! This is not the presentation of scripture for those who believe. Believers, who are spiritually attuned to God and His word, have been given plenty of information, warning and direction. They must not be deceived by man’s perception in any way. Neither by abandoning the work and challenges which must be faced because Jesus is ‘coming soon’, nor by becoming complacent and putting off the work and growth necessary because ‘there is yet plenty of time’! The true believer will be ready day to day by maintaining a close and intimate relationship with Jesus, and yet keep busy at the business of the Father, living every aspect of life faithfully and until the day of Christ’s appearing! Jesus is returning to catch away a pure and holy ‘bride’. It is clear from scripture that the true church must yet suffer and be purified before the coming of Jesus. Our individual ‘works’ will be tried with the fire of persecution and affliction, and tested for quality. Antichrist and the powers of evil in authority and government, will be aligned against the people of God. The dark world around us will continue to need the light of God to be shined in testimony, from the lives and conduct of believers who will faithfully serve God until ‘the end’. Let’s be more concerned with the kind of service we offer our King, than with the time of His return. Let’s prepare ourselves, our loved ones and anyone else we can help, for the time ahead, by continuing to pray, read and obey His word, and live a holy life in the fear of God. Let’s remember at all times that God is faithful, He will keep His promises and will keep us also through whatever lays up ahead, and not forget that His timing as always, will be perfect!

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion

July 20

“…whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, … with the brightness of his coming:” 2 Thessalonians 2:8

This passage refers to the ‘man of sin’, ‘the wicked one’, the antichrist and all that is associated with him and his work. The end of the reign of antichrist and the destruction of his influence is prophesied here. There may be times as believers, when looking at the condition of the world around us, that we may think evil has triumphed and that perhaps the battle against evil has been lost. God through His word encourages us to lift our heads in faith towards heaven, and know with assurance that the future has been set and determined by His own hand, and that the end result is not the victory of evil, but its thorough and total destruction. Yahwah IS the winning side! All we need to do is remain faithfully on His side, and we will see the fulfilment of all that He has planned and promised. The wicked one will be slain, his influence made void and his kingdom destroyed and removed. This work, God will perform by the same power He has demonstrated in creating the universe. He spoke the worlds into existence, and it is by the same ‘spirit of His mouth’, that He is able to destroy or bring to nought. We should not think of a battle between God and the devil, as some sort of arm wrestle where the outcome is dubious or hanging on the balances of chance! The comparison would more be like God’s atomic bomb versus Satan’s bow and arrow! Yahwah will only need to speak the words of destruction and the enemy will be consumed. God’s own glory will render useless and hopeless any and all power which may be aligned against Him. This is a battle already won in eternity and simply waiting for its future fulfilment! God’s almighty power is not threatened by the workings of the wicked one, nor is it lessened because evil is allowed to rule for a while. There is purpose and reason in what God does and He is always ultimately in control of all! Like a dog on a chain, the devil is limited in the scope he is given and to how far God will allow him to go. The damage he can do is real, but again limited largely to those who allow him to rule in their lives and choose to stay close to him or support his agenda. God could have totally destroyed him before, but has in His wisdom elected to permit his influence, so we as humans can make our own choice of who we will serve. This way when we serve God, it must be by our personal choice and free will. This is the only way God really wants us to love, worship and serve Him! In the end however, there will be no more time for such choice. We will each have set our eternal destiny, and final judgment will fall both on the wicked one, and all who have followed him. Victory for those who stand on God’s side is guaranteed, the question is one for each of us to answer - where will we be standing when God comes in His brightness to judge the wicked?

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion

Mar 31

 “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God…” 2 Thessalonians 1:8

Many have constructed an erroneous image of God in their minds. They have believed that because God is love, He cannot therefore be a party to distributing judgement, which may cause the suffering of anyone, regardless how sinful or guilty they may be. This could not be further from the truth of the essential and righteous nature of Yahwah. That God is love is a fact of scripture, but that this fact precludes and disqualifies Him from being a righteous judge of sin, is gross error! It is in fact His love that will demand justice be brought on those who have not ‘known’ Him. God’s love is not a fickle, fluffy, cover-all-without-righteous-process, kind of love. Calvary is the evidence that His love demands justice. Those who believe in Jesus have their sins remitted and paid for by Christ’s sacrifice at Golgotha, but their sin WAS PAID FOR! The love and righteousness of God, demanded that sin be judged! Through the atonement at Calvary, He has already given mankind the way ‘out’ of future judgment and death, by judging sin on the cross, in the death of Jesus. When humans refuse to ‘know’ God, that is, to acknowledge Him, His love and what He has done for them, they are placing themselves in line for the judgement, which is coming on this earth. They are saying by their actions, they do not want the salvation from death, which God has provided. They are despising God’s provision, and turning away from the only hope of escape. They are stating, they are not accountable for their actions to God and that He has no claim or authority over them. They are denying the fact that as the Creator of all things, including humans, He is our God and King! In spite of this wilful ignorance of God, disregard of His laws, choice to live in sin, and give their life’s allegiance to the devil and their own fleshly desires, many will still claim that ‘because God is love’, He will not judge them or punish them with an eternal retribution! This is simply wishful thinking! The kind of judgement which God has already purposed and revealed in His Word, which He will visit on sinful humanity, is intense with the purity of His Holiness and the indignation of His righteousness! Described as a ‘flaming fire’, the vengeance or judgement of God, is not going to be comparable in devastation, destruction and permanence, to anything man has ever known before! Sin demands and merits such reckoning. God has given man plenty of time and warning to evade, get out of the way and escape such judgement. The real question is why does most of humanity not heed to the loving wooing of the Saviour? Let us make every effort to warn those around us of the impending danger they are facing outside of Christ!

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion

Mar 16

. “…that Wicked…whom the Lord shall consume…” 2 Thessalonians 2:8

The wicked one referred to in this verse, is the antichrist. The term wicked here means literally ‘lawless’, for he considers himself above and beyond the law of God, and urges all men to follow him, in this lawlessness. We are told that the essence and spirit of antichrist, is and has been in the world already, but soon will also become apparent and tangible, in and through the ‘man of sin’. In His wisdom and foreknowledge, God has already informed His people that these things will happen. We will be able to verify what God has revealed to us, and see this entity rise to a position of power and authority, abuse his station and set himself up as God to be worshipped. The world will fall for the deception of the man of sin, who will ultimately lead all humanity into rebellion and rejection, of the One True God and His law. There is no doubt we are seeing this same spirit at work in the world today, but it is only going to get worse! In light of this, how relevant and imperative that we develop and maintain a strong and intimate, personal relationship with Jesus! Nothing else is going to sustain us in the times we will soon face. When we relegate the importance of building our relationship with the Lord, to the lower levels of priority in our lives, we are already preparing ourselves, to fall prey to antichrist and his regime! For Christians this would be the most disconsolate condition, for having known in advance about the devil’s devices and plans, we should most certainly not become his victims! This is a time to stand strong in Jesus, fight and be counted on the Lord’s side! Ultimately the battle is the Lord’s and He will end this evil reign promptly, and with unquestioned superiority! The Lord will consume ‘by the spirit of His mouth’, the lawless one and all who choose to align themselves with him. This is an awesome and frightening concept! There is glorious and staggering creative power, in the words which are uttered by God’s mouth. All it took was for Him to ‘speak’ the universe and everything in it into existence, and it was so. There is however, also terrifying and indescribable destructive power, in the words God can speak! At His voice and command, the heavens can roll back like a scroll, and all matter, which consists and is held together by His power, can collapse and be abolished in a moment! The battle of the Lord against this ‘wicked’ one and his followers, is not going to be a lengthy or drawn out epic! The same eternal, omnipotent voice that created all, will utter the words that will consume and destroy, leaving nothing of the pride, realm and rebellion of the lawless one. Let us remain close to God, watchful and alert, making sure we stay on the ‘winning side’ with Jesus!

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion

Jan 25

“…from the presence of the Lord…” 2Thessalonians 1:9

The everlasting destruction of those who persevere in their wickedness against God is an act of justice. The Word of God presents this topic over and again, as a standing warning to all, and no man will be able to claim ignorance of the love and just severity of God, at the judgment bar. The devastation mentioned in these verses is interesting, in that it is an explanation of at least one aspect of what it means for the wicked to be everlastingly ‘destroyed’. The context presents this punishment as a permanent separation from the presence of the Holy God and all He provides, a continual banishment from the benefits and faithfulness of His endowing power. In a very small measure it would be something like the doom of those poor wretches who, for the term of their lives, were imprisoned in dark, damp cells, deep in the bowels of the earth, away from the warmth, light and beneficial effects of the sun. Sin against the Everlasting and Infinite God, unless repented of, will reap the wages of everlasting and infinite punishment. This is the awful consequence of sin. Yet in spite of the mess and chaos we bring into our lives through sin, so many still largely choose to ignore, mock and decry God’s warnings as mere fables, and religious make-believe. By the time these same people face their eternal destiny, it will be too late to re-frame their belief system. Their minds will be changed in spite of themselves, as they stare at the reality of God face to face. Their knees will bow in acceptance and confession that Christ is indeed Lord, but it will be too late to benefit from this submission. The time of salvation will be past. They will be expelled from the presence of God, to spend a dark eternity in the dreadful torment and realisation, that all they had ever wanted in life was in fact just that – the wonder, beauty and blessing of the presence of the Lord!

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion