1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

I don’t think much has changed since John wrote this epistle. Sure the world has grown, sure technology is on the rise, but the sentiment about antichrists remains the same. A fledgling church surrounded by a dangerous and evil world would have felt oppressed and that there were many who would stand against the gospel. Well the church age has been around for almost two thousand years and we live in a dangerous and evil world that opposes the gospel.

There is a reason I chose anti-matter rather than antichrist as the title for this devotional. The issue of anti is opposition, being against. We know Christ, the antichrist opposes who Christ is but the antichrist is not just the opposite of Christ. He opposes everything that matters to Jesus Christ. He opposes you and me, love, fellowship, unity, harmony, and the gospel.

John warned that this is the last time. Obviously it was not true then. It might not be now. But then again we do not know that. Given that the anti-matter is in strong opposition to the matter, then what matters most? There is great evil in the world. There is so much to pray for. There is so much opposition to the gospel both here and abroad. What if all that is a distraction, a deceiving? What if what really matters to Christ is right in front of you? What if the soul you bring to Christ is the last soul needed to complete the body of Christ?

Now that would be the last time.

Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Psalm 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Verbs are action words. They indicate how the rest of the sentence relates to the subject. The subject of course is the Lord. What is unique is the object of the verb, you and me. He makes me, He leads me, He restores me are unique in relationship between our Lord and ourselves.

He makes us implies that we are subject to Him and that we have no choice. While my life experiences tell me that I have made choices and the results are consequences, both good and bad. Yet here I am in God’s will as if it didn’t matter what path I chose it would lead me here. God only knows how that happened. I know I don’t.

He leads me seems clearer. I am looking to follow. I see Him as the example. I see Him as the trusted guide. I am looking to what He is doing. Following is just a matter of vision, keeping my eyes upon Jesus. Yes I blink, yes I fall asleep, yes I get distracted, but my intention is to turn my eyes upon Jesus.

He restores is the most difficult. I don’t have any involvement in that. The other verbs requires cooperative effort on my part, an awareness, a response. Restoration happens not because I have done anything. It is not based on my actions, my vision, or my relationship. It happens because of who He is and what He wills. I am not involved because I would put a GPS system on a 1936 Cord Speedster during restoration and that was not in the design.

The bottom line is that I am going to pay a little more attention to the verbs in my life.