Skip to main content

Serious Times

 Romans 13:11 –  “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”

We are living in serious times. We have entered what the Bible defines as the “the last days.” I believe we must get serious about our walk and relationship with God. The word serious means something important, weighty, sincere, and requiring careful attention. Merriam-Webster defines serious as “deeply interested; devoted.” [I]


James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” I will use the word serious as an acrostic to encourage you to draw closer to God. 


  • S – Seek first the kingdom of God. Matthew 6:33 says, ““But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
  • E – Embrace the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:16 says, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
  •  R – Resist the Devil – James 4:7 says, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
  • I – Invest in the kingdom - Proverbs 11:24-25 says, “Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”
  •  O – Obey God completely - James 1:22 says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
  •  U - Unite together in unity – Psalms 133:1-3 says, “Psalms 133:1-3 – “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing—Life forevermore.”
  •  S – Stand firm to the end – I Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

Serious times require a serious commitment to the Lord. We cannot allow discouragement to derail us, disappointment to defeat us, or distractions to detour us. We must stand firm, stay faithful, and finish strong. 



[i] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/serious

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Declaration of Ownership

Psalm 24:1-2 – “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters.”               Psalm 24 is the third part of a trilogy with Psalm 22 and 23. David opens Psalm 22 prophetically with the words Jesus would say on the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?” Psalm 23 reveals our Lord as the Great Shepherd who cares for His sheep. Psalm 24 reveals the Lord as the King of Glory.  Psalm 24 begins with a declaration of ownership. The Psalmist identifies the Lord as the Creator. Psalm 24:2 says, “He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters. Psalm 89:11 says, “The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.”  The beginning of cr...

Rebuilding the Broken Altar of Prayer

In Matthew 21: 12-13 , “ Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” Jesus made this declaration, “My house shall be called a house of prayer!”  I believe that God is calling us back to the altar of prayer.  For several weeks the Lord has dealt with me about rebuilding the broken altar of prayer in our personal and corporate lives.  If we are going to see spiritual breakthrough in our churches and communities then we must rebuild and return to the altar of prayer. Wayman Rogers writes, “The ministry of prayer is the most important of all ministries in the church.  Prayer creates the atmosphere and binds the powers of darkness so the gospel of Jesus can go forward and the church can prosper....

The Tent Peg of Jael

Judges 4:21-22 – “Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. And then, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, I will show you the man whom you seek.” And when he went into her  tent,  there lay Sisera, dead with the peg in his temple.”             The book of Judges covered a chaotic time in Israel’s history.   A key Scripture for Judges in found in Judges 21:25, “Every man did was right in his own eyes.” There were seven cycles of apostasy, where the covenant children of God would turn away from the principles of the Word of God.             When they had godly leadership they would serve the Lord.   When that leader would die they would turn f...