April 7

“It is time to arise out of slumber, for our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” These words in Romans 13:11 are sobering. Indeed, if they were true when Paul penned them, how much more imminent is the return of Christ today than it was when Paul languished in a Roman dungeon awaiting execution!

Around us on every side are indicators of the Lord’s soon return. Events in the middle east, wars and rumors of wars, man’s inhumanity to man, the rise of violence not only as a form of entertainment but as an actuality on our streets and in our schools tell us that man has lost his moral compass and we are hurling through uncharted waters of a tumultuous sea of crime and war and evil.

We who profess faith in Christ must be emboldened in this dire hour to take the truth on which we stand to every life that touches ours! Our passion for Christ and the reality that salvation is to be obtained only through His substitionary life, death and resurrection must motivate us to be steadfast in our endeavor to share Jesus’ unspeakable gift to us with everyone whose path crosses ours.

If we remain silent, how many shall miss the glorious gospel message of salvation? If we remain silent, how many will continue to live lives steeped in anger and hatred and violence? If we remain silent, how many will go to a Christ-less grave? If we truly believe what we profess, surely we must awaken from slumber and be employed about our Father’s business of reaching the lost with the truth of Christ’s precious salvation and matchless love for them.