Truth Inspires

All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. (9)  "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. (10)  And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. (11)  And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. (12)  And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. (13)  But the one who endures to the end will be saved. (14)  And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. -Matthew 24:8-14 In this snippet of what is commonly referred to as the Olivet Discourse, Jesus outlines what He knew was going to be true for those who would follow in His footsteps, embracing Him as the one and only way to deliverance from sin and the inheritance of eternal bliss. God-fearing Christians know His words to have a final fulfillment that occurs in the last days

Several years ago, during an otherwise, uneventful night at work, I overheard a coworker state that He was a Christian. This individual held two jobs. One was a printing press operator, right next to me, and another was a backstreet nightclub owner. His passion in life was the night club activities, including sex and wife-swapping, of which he made no bones about his involvement. So I was taken aback when I heard him loudly exclaim, probably for my benefit, that he was an active Christian. I took the bait. It didn't take too long for me to walk over and inquire which church he attended. At that he blew up like a stick of dynamite! In mere moments, the wagons were circled and I was in the center. The shift had heard his loud screaming and atrocious profanity and thought surely someone had a limb stuck in the printing press. Why else would such a loud fuss be made? But that was not quite what they found. Instead they found a middle aged man throwing a temper tantrum and pointing t