8 Things Narcissists Are Secretly Afraid Of

2 Timothy 3:1-5

Difficult Times Will Come

3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.

Salt and Light is about the Gospel

There is no more important message in these last days than the salvation message through Jesus Christ. We must be about the Lord's Work, which is the Gospel.

Too many people are interpreting the command to be "salt and light" as involvement in politics. The command had nothing to do with politics, it has to do with speaking the gospel to the unsaved and encouraging the born-again believers to keep looking to Jesus Christ.

I once heard someone who was experiencing grief that it didn't help for me to say; "God works all things for good for those who are in Christ Jesus." How could this not be a help to the grieving soul? Only if the person is mostly, if not entirely worldly-minded could anyone say that it does not help to be encouraged by Scripture.

Those who walk with Christ are not crushed by the hard things that happen to them. They are sad and grieve for a time but they remain joyful through their trials, joy that cannot be taken away because of hardship. They even quote scripture to themselves to comfort them as they journey through the trials.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

"16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day. 1

17 For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

A lady in a church we were attending once sat by my bedside as I was ailing and quoted scripture to me, I was delighted to hear it because it gave me hope that suffering is not in vain for the born-again believer, it has a purpose and will end either by healing or by the ultimate healing which is the death of the body for the soul to be present with God.

2 Corinthians 5:8 "but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.'

Death of the body is not the end for the born-again believer, it is the beginning of far more wonderful things than anything in this life. So wonderful is the life after death for the born-again believer that we cannot imagine it with our human minds. We know of it because God promised it.

Romans 8:18

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

Yes we grieve at times, and yes we become discouraged momentarily in our feelings, but in our Spirit, we are encouraged, believing God, we soldier on with the joy and peace that never leaves us.

Hallelujah for the peace and joy of Christ Who lives in us.