Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

Daily Encouragement for the Family of God by Kenton Cheek

6 November 2024

Reading From Matthew 24

“At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” —Matthew 24:10-14

The descriptions Jesus gives of the End Times seem remarkably like our modern era. Much to our dismay and heartache, many supposed followers of Christ are “deconstructing” their faith. What this really means is that they’ve chosen to give in to doubt and the lies of the enemy. It’s ok to have questions, but if one does not have a solid foundation of trust in Christ and His Word, their world will crumble. Because I know the Bible to be true and reliable, I can have questions and doubts but in the end my research only strengthened my faith in Him.

We must increase our knowledge of the truth, because the false prophets in our world today are too many to count. It is vital to know what you believe and why you believe it. We do this by reading, meditating, studying and living by God’s Word the Bible. Allowing godly principles to guide us will bring spiritual health and strength. Our beliefs and practices must be in alignment with the harmony of sound, biblical doctrine. Doctrine means teaching. Tests the spirits. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good.

In this passage, Jesus reveals why today’s world is so cruel. Unbelievers and many Christians are blinded to the connection between wickedness and cruelty. When sin increases, compassion decreases. Holiness and love go hand in hand. Hatred seems to be on the rise and kindness is rare.

The anecdote to this chaos and confusion is to stand firm upon Christ, His Word and to share His love and message with others. As individual followers of the Lord Jesus, we need to seek greater power and passion from the Holy Spirit to minister His message of reconciliation to our local communities, our regions and our world. Then Jesus will return and call all those who gave been sealed to Him to our eternal home and family.

“Lord open our spiritual eyes and ears to the truth of Your Word. Pour out Your Holy Spirit anointing upon us. Cause Your love to overflow our hearts and into the lives of those around us. Bless us with the strength, courage and tenacity we need to endure to the end. Thank You for Your eternal salvation. Amen.”

Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. —Revelation 2:10

My dear friends, stand firm and don’t be shaken. Always keep busy working for the Lord. You know that everything you do for him is worthwhile —I Corinthians 15:58

Stand firm and you will win life —Like 21:19