JUN 19

1 John 2:17
Memorise 1 Thessalonians 5:18
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish."

We can see from our passage today that lusts and temptations will pass away only when the world passes away. We will only be free of sin and temptation when either the Lord takes us to be with Him in heaven or when the earth is destroyed and a new earth is put in its place after the Millennium reign of Christ (Revelation 21, 22). Hence while this is the long term solution for temptation this is not to be until such time as is determined by God. We also learn from this passage that everything in the world is temporal. No matter how wonderful they may seem to us today, it will one day be destroyed. Therefore for us in the present, the simple advice given is that we must strive to do only the will of God. This then becomes our present antidote to temptation – the desire to seek God’s will and to do it. When this becomes the focus of our lives, then our attention will be fixed on doing God’s will, rather than fulfilling our own lusts.

In the Parable of the Ten Pounds, the noble man, which represents Christ, tells his servants to “occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13). This is a call by Christ for us to be faithful in all that we do, seeking the will of God until Christ returns. We are to continue to grow in our understanding of God through His Word. We are to put into practice all that is commanded and we are continue to fulfil the Great Commission and be good witnesses for the Lord to a dying world. We are to continue in the vocations that God has called us to and we are to do well in these to glorify God’s name. While God may take us away to be with Him, He has instead chosen for us to remain in this world with all its imperfections. As believers, this world will continue to present trials and temptations to us according to God’s will as such experiences strengthen our faith (1 Peter 1:7). The world continues on but in spite of this God’s sovereign will and purpose shall be fulfilled. The day will come when the old world will be no more than a memory. Are you going to be there that day with Christ? You can if only you believe, repent and come to trust on the Christ the Saviour.

Thought: Nothing will last except the things of God.
Prayer: Lord, please help me to live with eternity's values in mind.