The Love of Many Shall Wax Cold

Matthew twenty-four is the great New Testament prophecy chapter. Verse twelve tells us that in the last days "the love of many shall wax cold". The greek word translated "love" is agape. Most of you know that agape is the love of commitment, not the love of emotion or of false enthusiasm. That tells us that many of those once committed to God by faith in Jesus Christ shall fall away. Why did Jesus say that? Why would He tell us such devastating news? He wanted to help protect those that would abide faithful in Him. He wanted us to be aware of the environment of the last days so that we would not be caught off guard or devastated by it. He also wanted us to understand the power of the environment. That same verse(Matthew 24:12) begins..."because iniquity shall abound". God wanted us to know how powerful the majority can be in human society. We tend to question ourselves when we perceive that we are a tiny minority. "How can I be right and everyone else wrong?" seems to be the natural question. The only way we can stand in the face of such odds is with "Great Faith". The power of God's Word to show us the conditions of the last days and, more importantly, the beauty and wonder of the nature, character, purpose and plan of God makes it very difficult for satan and his world to deceive us! Hang in there by constantly hearing His Word and by never forsaking the assembling of yourselves together! And when others fall, pray! Pray that they shall return to their loving, merciful God. And pray that you shall abide in Him always!

Prayer Works

As our GS Rev. Jerry Slye wrote, the essential ingredient for a great conference is prayer and that principle was demonstrated in the Hill Country General Conference just last month. I'm convicted that prayer may still be a "missing" ingredient in our churches and I'm trying to become part of the solution instead of the problem. Instead of praying, "God bless our church," I'm praying that our church will "bless God" simply by doing His will whatever it is and wherever it takes us. "Accomplish your purpose and reveal yourself through us," whether in a blog, a kind word or gesture, an email, a card, a book, a poem, a song, an image, a personal witness or a new place of worship. The Christian lives of decency and grace we lead today may lead others to want what we have and find the source of it when they need it most. The life of purpose and peace we live every day is what so many in the world are still desperately seeking. May we never take it for granted.
Rev. Curtis Morton preached a great sermon last Sunday, May 2 on Faith, Purpose and Gratitude. Listen to it when you get a chance. You may want to share it with some of your friends and family.