Connecting with God
So we’ll be ready when the time comes
| Connecting with God | Connecting with Truth | An Audacious Future |
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Part 3: An Audacious Future
One generation will experience the consummate ferocity of the Apocalypse
Yogi Berra once quipped, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.” When the Eschaton arrives, every person will experience a decisive connecting point with Jesus Christ. Missing this connection would be catastrophic; might not get there―an inconceivable option. Yet many, perhaps most, do not know where they are going. Fear, doubt, and insecurity monopolize their future.
When danger threatens our future, it provokes us to embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Connecting with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has never been a dispensable option; we connect as an unavoidable priority.
Reviewing the past will heighten our awareness of the future. It will amplify our desire to resolve lingering doubts, fears, and insecurities. Reality beckons us to reinforce our relationships so we might finish strong when our time comes. Threatening situations demand that we connect with the truth. Each incident compels us to renounce complacency and abandon indifference
“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” (Sir Winston Churchill)
When disaster strikes, repercussions ignite an urgency to pray, plan, and then proceed with whatever strength and courage we can muster. In the end, ignorance will not sustain our critical mission. We desperately need every asset God has to offer, including His spiritual armor, spiritual weapons, spiritual gifts, and fruit of the Spirit. Jesus fashioned His followers to recognize danger head on, and to face it with informed confidence.
Apocalyptic events may be unavoidable, perhaps even imminent. Yet few dare to think seriously about worse case scenarios—and for good reason. Worrying about an impending disaster generates feelings of anxiety and fear, which are counterproductive and harmful. Paul said,
be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Phil 4:6)
The Greek word eschatos (ἔσχατος) appears throughout the New Testament. The New American Standard Bible uses it 52 times as an adjective translating it 7 different ways.
Eschatos means:
Last: Referring to time or space, the uttermost part, the end
of the earth, last in rank, grade or worth, i.e., the lowest
Extreme: Last in time or place, last in a series of places, last
in temporal succession
realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. (2 Timothy 3:1)
protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:5)
