Spend It Wisely -

Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.

—2 Peter 3:11–12

If we understand anything about Bible prophecy—about the teaching in Scripture regarding the return of Christ—if we get that in any way, shape, or form, then this is what will happen in our lives: we will want to be more godly people.

But if not, then we are missing the point, just like the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day. We are told in 1 John 3:2–3, "Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure."

We also read in 2 Peter 3:10, "Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God. . . . " Then Peter goes on to tell his readers what kind of lives they ought to be living in light of this.

So how does the knowledge of Christ's return affect you? Does it make you want to be a more godly man or woman? Does it make you want to do what you do as unto the Lord? We should be looking for opportunities to give this lost culture the sign they are looking for, which is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

We don't know when the end of the world will come. But at some point, our lives on earth will end, and then we will go into eternity. Time is like a coin; once it is spent, it cannot be spent again. So let's make our minutes count. (Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org )