Time is Not our Friend

I am reading in Daniel, chapter 9, today. Daniel understood, according to the word of the Lord, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So he turned his attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And he prayed for his nation, for his people. And I, Sue J Love, understand that in these last days that all the earth will be under the judgment of Almighty God and so I pray for my loved ones, for my nation, and for the people of the earth to turn their hearts to God in biblical repentance with a commitment to follow Him in obedience.

 

Daniel 9:4-6 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

And I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of loving devotion to those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances. 6We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, fathers, and all the people of the land.”

 

There are many people in our world today professing faith in Jesus Christ with their lips only, but their hearts are far from God. They make professions of faith which are not followed up with action. They profess loyalty and devotion to God, but their words are not sincere. They might confess their sins with their lips, and say, “I’m sorry,” but then go right back to the same sinful habits they have maintained for a very long while. So they make promises which they do not intend to keep. For sin rules their hearts.

 

For they are selfish and self-centered and self-indulgent people who love their sins more than anything else. They have no guilt or shame about the sins they commit against God, and against other humans, habitually and deliberately. And they may even proclaim love and devotion to God and to their spouses (if they are married) and yet continue to cheat on both of them as a matter of habit. And so many of them today are addicted to sexual immorality which they keep returning to over and over again.

 

But what did Daniel say here? He said that God is one who keeps His covenant of loving devotion to those who love Him and who keep His commandments. And the New Testament apostles taught the same truth as this, so this is not just old covenant teaching, but it is also new covenant teaching. For us to be in genuine relationship with God/Christ, and to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God, we must obey His commands as a matter of life practice. For if we love God, we will obey our Lord.

 

Daniel 9:9-10 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“9To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, even though we have rebelled against Him 10and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God to walk in His laws, which He set before us through His servants the prophets.”

 

Many people professing faith in Jesus Christ today are misconstruing God’s grace into a license to keep on in their sins without punishment. They take two verses like this out of context and they teach and/or they believe that God’s grace covers all their sins, even their deliberate and habitual sins against the Lord and their refusal to bow the knee to the Lord to walk in obedience to His commands. But the Scriptures make it clear that if sin is our habit, and not obedience to God, that we do not have salvation from sin.

 

But because that is not what they believe, even though they know right from wrong, and they know what the Scriptures teach on this subject, they continue in their deliberate and habitual sins, in disobeying God and His commands, and in being unfaithful to God (and to spouse if married). But God’s grace is not free license to continue in sin. God’s grace is training us to renounce all ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return (Titus 2:11-14).

 

Daniel 9:13-14 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“13Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquities and giving attention to Your truth. 14Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it upon us. For the LORD our God is righteous in all He does; yet we have not obeyed His voice.”

 

We are now living in a time, in our nations, and in the world as a whole, when, if we are paying close attention, we will see that the prophecies regarding these last days are being fulfilled right before our eyes on a daily basis. God is judging the nations of this world. And he is judging the people of this world who have rejected Jesus as their Messiah and all who profess the name of Jesus but for whom He is not Lord of their lives, for they are still “lord” of their own lives, still living according to their sinful desires.

 

So, keep watch on what is going on in the world, but don’t follow just one political party. And don’t follow just one news site. And don’t follow just one leader, which includes pastors, elders, presidents, kings, and other rulers. Be those who surrender to the Lord Jesus, who are paying close attention to His teachings, and who are living according to His will and to His commands. And pray for much discernment to know who is telling the truth and who is lying to the people, for deception abounds in our world and church today.

 

And then be spiritually, mentally, and physically prepared for what is coming next. For God’s judgments are on this earth. And “the beast” is rising and is consuming the nations and the people of this world. And we the people of this world are being brought into a one world order of “the beast” one step at a time. And do not put your hope and your trust in kings and presidents and pastors and politicians to save you. Repent of all known sins and follow the Lord Jesus in full obedience and surrender from this day forward.

 

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

 

Time is Not our Friend

An Original Work / August 25, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

As the Deer

 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

 

As the deer panteth for the water

So my soul longeth after You

You alone are my heart's desire

And I long to worship You

 

You alone are my strength, my shield

To You alone may my spirit yield

You alone are my heart's desire

And I long to worship You

 

[A Prayer of Devotion to God Alone]