My Dear Friend,
As humans, our faith will inevitably be challenged, especially in protracted hard times. It is my sincere prayer that you will be encouraged to hold on. As always, you are loved, and I look forward to when we will see each other again!
Love in Christ Jesus,
Pastor Mark“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up… ‘However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?’” Luke 18:1, 8b
“… even though you do not see him now, you believe in him…for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:8-9
“Be alert…Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:8-9
When the Son of Man Returns, Will He Find Faith in Us?It has been said that, “To ask the question is to answer it.” Jesus asked very few questions, so when he does, we should take notice. “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” In this peculiar question, the answer can be found: When the Lord finally returns as promised, many will have lost the faith they once had.
This prediction came at the end of a parable encouraging his disciples to “pray always and not give up.” In the parable, a human judge appears to be ignoring a woman’s plea for justice. But after realizing that she refuses to give up, the judge finally gives in to her request. Jesus then asks, “And will not God give justice to His elect, who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long over them?” (Luke 18:7). The point is that we should do exactly as this woman did in our own prayers: keep praying, and refuse to give up.
In the parable, the people who would finally see God’s justice were those “who cry to Him day and night.” How time-consuming! Not to mention, humbling! But this inconvenience cannot be omitted. The promise is to those who “pray always and do not give up,” to those “who cry to Him day and night.” There is no shortcut.
Just as the woman in the parable, people all over the world are crying out for justice. But to whom are they crying out? We can cry out to every leader, professional, or technological guru for some type of relief from the nightmare in which we are now living, but Jesus still cries out to us, “You should always pray and not give up.” In other words, do not give in to doubt, unbelief, or skepticism. We cannot use yet unanswered prayer as an excuse for giving up our faith in God.
Peter, “the apostle of hope,” commended the saints of his day by saying, “… even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8).
These were people of faith who were suffering great persecution as believers – people for whom it seemed that God was nowhere to be found: “You do not see him now, and yet you believe.” To give up their faith now would be to give up “the end result of their faith, the salvation of their souls.”
Peter ends his letter by warning them: Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” You can be sure that the devil is prowling outside your spiritual windows too. But in persistent prayer, we find the power to resist every temptation to quit the faith.
Scripture teaches that as the Second Coming of Jesus draws near, there will be a great “falling away” from the faith. This certainly refers to those who once had faith, for one cannot “fall” from a place that one has never been. Today, many who praised the Lord in the good times are now questioning and doubting. But when you hear noises of doubt and unbelief from outside your spiritual windows, resist them, and you will someday see the end result of your faith, the salvation of your soul. This is Jesus’ promise. He cannot lie!
Weekly Devotion: August 16, 2020
