Sunday 16 Dec 2012

Sunday Reading: 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12

Key Verse: 2 Thessalonians 2:10
10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

Devotion:
I like to think that I can see when something is going wrong or when someone is doing something they should not; but if truth be told I am blind to so many things in life. This is partly because I want to be able to trust people and want to give them every chance I can to do right. But we live in a world where corruption is rife and where divisive ways are a part of life for most people.

God has seen this all before but He continues to give people chances to prove themselves. He has warned us enough times that there is going to come a time when enough is enough and there will not be any more second chances. We have to be ready for that time to make sure that we are not caught up in the world at that time and can follow Christ when it counts. God wants us to not just get to know Him but to believe in Him and trust in Him so that we may be saved from our sin debt that we owe.

Whilst God does know who is going to accept the truth and who is going to reject that same truth, He does not give up and allow many more people to feel rejected than those who actively chose that path – He would not be showing mercy if He allowed those around that person to fall into the same trap just because of peer pressure or bad choices.  God has set aside the time when there is not going to be another chance but He will also know that even a single group of people will be split up as some choose to turn to Christ in those last days whilst others will continue to reject Christ even when they see the truth unfolding before their eyes.

Just like Pharaoh had his heart hardened against the truth, man will also have his heart hardened against the truth and will not turn to accept Christ. These will be the ones that have chosen to follow Satan instead of God, those who have simply rejected God’s truth and hence find themselves in Satan’s footsteps even though they did not think of that at the time. God will have to reject those people who have rejected Him at that time; not because he does not love them, but because they have chosen to reject Christ.

Points to Ponder:
What do you do when you see things falling apart?

What will you do when you see God’s truth unfolding?