But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father alone. For the coming of the Son will be just like the days of Noah, For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage until the day Noah entered the ark and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Matthew 24:36-39 NASB
In our scripture passage today, Jesus is discussing the end of the age with His disciples. They had questions about signs of His coming. He refers back to Genesis during the time of the flood. Genesis 6:5-6 says that the Lord was sorry that He made man because he saw the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that mans intents and thoughts of his heart were only evil continually. It says the Lord was grieved in His heart. Do you think what’s happening here today grieves God’s heart?
In Genesis 11 it says the earth was corrupt in the sight of God and filled with violence. Sounds like today, doesn’t it? Now I don’t want to camp here for long, because I tell you often that as Christians we are just passing through here. We are not to get entangled with the problems of this old world, that battle belongs to the Lord. But what is most important is that we don’t become involved in the evil and corruption that is going on today. We must be sure that we are far removed from it.
When I dedicated my life to the Lord, I had to take a look at what I did to fill my time. I had to ask myself, “If God called me home now, would he be happy with what I was doing in this moment?” I had to remind myself that God not only saw everything I did, but He knew what was in my heart.
We are in the season where we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Sadly, many celebrate it by drinking. Now this is where some of you will throw the scripture in my face and say that it’s okay to drink as long as you don’t get drunk. My pastor just preached on this Sunday, he disagrees and so do I. Allow me to explain. Ephesians 5:18 says, “And do not get drunk with wine for that is dissipation (debauchery), but be filled with the Spirit.” Now you will read this and say that this gives you permission to drink as long as you don’t get drunk. I used to believe this, but then I look back at times where the alcohol took control. There was even a time that I promised to be a designated driver and had to call a friend to bring me and my friends home. If we can’t say no to the drink, then the drink is already controlling us. Alcohol relaxes our inhibitions, making it hard to say no to just one more. When we are under control of the Holy Spirit, then He gives us control to say no, period.
The other thing I can tell you from my drinking days is when I drank it was usually due to external pressure like job stress, anger or peer pressure. The more I drank, the happier I felt, so I was inclined to overindulge. When I surrendered my life to the Lord, I prayed about my drinking. I thought just one every now and then wouldn’t hurt. The next time I went out and had one drink, I suffered a horrible migraine. I had suffered from migraines for years, but alcohol had never been a trigger. I knew that God was giving me my answer. I had to be filled with the Holy Spirit and leave the alcohol alone.
The stress of daily living can drain our Holy Spirit. We need to constantly keep our hearts filled with the Holy Spirit. This will overcome any problems we deal with, whereas alcohol only creates more.
Now as I listened to the sermon on Sunday, I couldn’t help but think how overindulging in food is just as bad. It doesn’t resolve any problems either, it just creates more.
We don’t know when the Lord is coming back, but 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that we should be sober and alert for the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. The devil is always looking for a way in and when we overindulge with anything, it allows him to slither in. This holiday season continually pray for God to fill your heart with His Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:15 tells us if we walk by the Spirit, we will not carry out the desires of the flesh.
Don’t forget what the holiday season is all about. Focus on Christ and all He did for us from the manger to the cross. The only thing we ever need to be full is His Holy Spirit.
Have a great day!