Good Advice Learned From My Father, for These Perilous Times

II Timothy 3:1-2, 14 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,”

Vs. 14 “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou has learned them.”

I am most grateful that I still have my 84 year old father with me and even more blessed that I can still learn spiritual truths from him. I am living proof that you never outgrow your need for a father and should cherish the treasure of having a Godly one! Recently I heard my father preach again, and he left nuggets of truth that I recall hearing him share throughout my life. May I share some of them with you?

Treasures of Truth

1. Don’t trust in yourself.  In this culture of proud boasters, lovers of self, unthankful and completely self-absorbed, we need to realize that self must go! We cannot lean on the arm of flesh and make it in these last days. The scripture must be number one in my life! If I am to stand faithful to the Lord all the way to the rapture, I must not put confidence in my flesh. There must be a power stronger than my own flesh.

2. Whatever my hand finds to do for the Lord, I need to do it! I should not be lazy in my Christian life. I need to look for opportunities to serve my Lord. I should look for ways to make myself a servant to others. Ecclesiastes 9:10 “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.”

3. Believe that God can do His plan for your life…through you. Don’t be a faithless servant of the Lord. Don’t let your lack of faith stop you! Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him…” Faithless saints accomplish little for the One who saved them. That kind of Christian life will not help you endure in perilous times! You will not stay faithful to Christ without a strong faith in the Lord.

4. Be patient. Trusting the Lord is always profitable for us. In the same way that a forest of trees does not grow lush and beautiful overnight, your Christian life will not become mature overnight either. Learn to walk by faith and wait patiently on the LORD.

5. Don’t try to control God. We live in a culture that is masterful at manipulating their life circumstances and people around them. You can’t do that with God! Learn to conform to God’s plan and just trust Him!

6. Do not be easily discouraged. Our quick discouragement only reveals our lack of faith. We will learn more from our defeats than we will from our victories! James 1:2 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;” Don’t be a Christian who goes AWOL.

7. Pray frequently, fervently and much! Life’s battles will be won on our knees! James 5:16b “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

8. Enlist the prayers of other Christians. Don’t be so proud that you cannot ask prayer of other saints of God. James 5:16a “Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed.” Too many Christians refuse to ask others to pray for them for fear of exposing their own personal weaknesses. Praying for each other builds stronger churches because we learn to bear one another’s burdens. We are all works in progress. We are not to be museums of artificial trophies of God’s grace.

9. Do the best you can to walk in faithfulness and trust God to do the rest. Don’t be afraid to start out in the faith walk….it’s then that we can see the Lord step in and take over for us.

10. Learn to rejoice no matter what comes! Remind yourself everyday that you are serving a LIVING God! Our God is alive! Our rejoicing is a barometer of our faith in the Lord. There are too many sullen, joyless Christians. If you want to make it through the perilous times that are upon us….we must learn to focus on the victory that we already have in Christ and REJOICE in it! Psalm 19:8 “The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

Habakkuk 3:18-19 “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places….”

No matter how perilous these times get….always be reminded that our God is on the throne! Indeed….our God Reigns!