Leaders Section
1 Peter 2:21
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you,
leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.
Today is New Year Eve and
the world is celebrating the closing of the year and the dawn of a New Year at
midnight. There will be celebrations going on around the earth as midnight
approaches in city after city around the globe. Many will have extravagant fireworks
display, national TV stations will have variety shows with the celebrities
ushering in the New Year.
Yet others will be
celebrating with grand parties with pomp and glitter well into the wee hours of
the night. Much efforts and money will be poured in to celebrate this annual
event of passing of an old year to a new.
The question that lingers
in the minds of many would be what would the New Year bring to the world? Would
there be significant events that will happen like a major war that may threaten
the peace of the world? Would the political stability of the world be
challenged even as we see terrorism on the rise globally?
What about the financial
situation in the world, would there be a collapse that would be worldwide as
widely propagated? We would not be able to exactly know. However one thing we
know is that we would be one year closer to the soon return of our Lord Jesus
Christ. This means that world events will definitely become more and more
challenging as Jesus had said that these are the beginning of sorrows and they
are like birth pangs in a woman. These would increase and become more and more
frequent and severe.
Knowing this, now is the
time that we need to hold fast to our salvation and our calling. We must build
up our faith and be strengthened to meet the challenges ahead in the New Year.
The apostle Peter reminds
us today ‘To this you were called, because Christ
suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.’ As servant leaders we
must first strengthen ourselves and then in turn strengthen our flock. Let us plan
and pray that the Church would be fully equipped to meet all the challenges in
the New Year.
Public Section
2 Cor 6:2
I tell you, now is the
time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.
Jesus came to fulfil the divine plan of Salvation. The world
needs this irrespective of race or creed. Each day there are hundreds of souls
that are falling into the pits of hell and the call to evangelize and save
souls is clear.
A moment ago, I received an email from a friend in South
Africa informing me that next year 2017 she is going to India to become a full
time missionary. She has a career and teenage children but she knows the call
of God is loud and clear and she is prepared to answer the call and make the
sacrifice of giving up worldly security and comfort.
Paul also reminds us that we in this present age and time we
are in the perfect timing of the Lord. Paul says; I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of
salvation.
The truth is every day is the time of salvation, we must not
forget this but to be urgent in responding to this call of evangelism. There
are many souls to be saved and in the Church there are also many souls that
have backslidden but need to return to God. We do see many who think that they
are saved but in truth have backslidden and have lost their salvation.
We need to remind our brethren that once saved is not always
saved. As Paul said in Phip 2: 21 Wherefore
my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more
in my absence, work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling.
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