Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things . . . 
Psalm 119:18 (ESV) 

Boastful in the last days.

1–5  This be constantly knowing, that in the last days difficult times will set in, for men shall be fond of themselves, fond of money, swaggerers, haughty, revilers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, lacking self-control, savage, haters of that which is good, betrayers, headstrong, besotted with pride, fond of pleasure rather than having an affection for God, having a mere outward semblance of piety toward God but denying the power of the same. And these be constantly shunning.  Wuest, K. S. (1961). The New Testament: an expanded translation (2 Ti 3:1–5). Eerdmans.

People like to know the signs of the last days. Paul gives a powerful picture of godlessness in the last days.

From  The Pastoral Epistles: a commentary on the Greek text.

The next layer of terms, working from both the beginning and the end of the list, focuses on pride and hostility toward others. Associated, therefore, with self-love is an attitude of arrogant pride and disdain for others. In the first two words of this layer, joined here as in Rom. 1:30, Paul describes these people as “boasters” (ἀλαζόνες, notice Pr. 21:24 LXX and the associated concepts there) and as “arrogant” or “haughty” (ὑπερήφανοι,** Lk. 1:51; Rom. 1:30; Jas. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5), i.e., as those who express their pride in both talk and attitude. Here again Paul mentions characteristics of the false teachers (cf. 1 Tim. 1:7; 6:4; see Trench, Synonyms, 98–102 on both words; Barclay, More NT Words, 85–89 on the second). The third word of this group, βλάσφημοι** (Acts 6:11; 1 Tim. 1:13; here; 2 Pet. 2:11), “evil speakers,” “slanderers,” is most likely used here of “abusive” speech against other people, just as the related verb and abstract noun are used elsewhere in the PE of an evil that Christians must avoid in their dealings with non-Christians (βλασφημέω in Tit. 3:2) and that is associated with the false teachers (βλασφημία in 1 Tim. 6:4).

From the Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains

88.220 ἀλαζών, όνος m: (derivative of ἀλαζονεία ‘pretentious pride,’ 88.219) one who is pretentiously proud and given to bragging about it—‘braggart, arrogant person.’ ἔσονται γὰρ οἱ ἄνθρωποι φίλαυτοι, φιλάργυροι, ἀλαζόνες ‘for there will be people who are lovers of themselves, lovers of money, braggarts’ 2 Tm 3:2. In a number of languages an arrogant person is described figuratively as ‘one who speaks big words about himself’ or ‘one whose mouth is too big for his body.’).
 
From the Theological lexicon of the New Testament

ἀλαζονεία, ἀλαζών
alazoneia, boastful arrogance; alazōn, boaster
mention as a third epithymia “the lust for riches or money,” it is precisely because he had his sights set on a more serious vice than the ostentation of the wealthy or their arrogance toward the poor. He contrasts with God the creaturely pride, the mastery of one’s own existence, of the person who decides and directs the course of his life without taking God into account.11 This “sufficiency” is the exact opposite of the absolute duty of worshiping God and serving God devoutly; it follows that this is something altogether different from the classical and profane alazoneia.
 
This one word easily describes the attitudes we see in our world today. Go before our Lord in humility and worship.

Cathy and Danny Sartin
www.deeperstillmissions.com
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Wuest, K. S. (1961). The New Testament: an expanded translation (2 Ti 3:1–5). Eerdmans.
LXX Septuagint
** all occurrences of the word or phrase in the New Testament are listed or it is identified as a New Testament hapax legomenon
** all occurrences of the word or phrase in the New Testament are listed or it is identified as a New Testament hapax legomenon
PE Pastoral Epistles
Knight, G. W. (1992). The Pastoral Epistles: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 431). W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press.
m masculine
Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). In Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 764). United Bible Societies.
11 This is the interpretation of J. Chaine, Les Epîtres catholiques, Paris, 1939, p. 164; R. Schnackenburg, Die Johannesbriefe, Freiburg, 1953, p. 114. Ἀλαζών does not occur in the papyri, but cf. P.Lond. 1927, 32 (Christian, mid-fourth century, H. I. Bell, Jews and Christians in Egypt, p. 111): τὴν τοῦ κόσμου ἀλαζονίαν ἀπεκήρυξας καὶ τὴν τῶν κενοδόξων μεγαλαυχίαν ἐβδέλυξας.
Spicq, C., & Ernest, J. D. (1994). In Theological lexicon of the New Testament (Vol. 1, pp. 63–65). Hendrickson Publishers.

Copyright © Danny Sartin. All Rights Reserved.Bible Nuggets are written for pastors, youth leaders and missionaries who desire to go deeper still in God’s Word. 
Re-Prints: Deeper Still Missions devotionals are protected by international copyright laws. To request reprint permission contact the offices of DSM. Permission is granted and encouraged to forward this post in its entirety to others without making any changes or deletions.

Water-buck
Passenger on the Ark
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We came over a rise at Kruger National Park and saw a beautiful group of Water-bucks. Cathy remarked about this female and her unique markings, gorgeous neck mane, and ruff. What a beauty she was!

This is one of the heaviest antelopes to be found in Africa. We were being treated to a safari by a former national park guide and current missionary. It was so nice to have someone along who spoke English and could converse with other guides who spoke the native languages. 

Then our driver said, did you know this antelope was on the ark with Noah? Certainly I was intrigued and questioned the story. He said, do you see the white ring on its backside? We say here in Africa that the water-buck was one of the first animals on the ark because he backed into the wet white paint. That created the circle you see on the rump. 

All of us laughed but at the same time it endeared this antelope to us. Each time we see one we think of the ark where God saved mankind from the world wide flood.

We are always amazed when we are confronted with the creativity of God's designs. This beautiful animal left an impression on our hearts and minds. It made a special memory that points directly at our God.
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Cathy and Danny Sartin
www.deeperstillmissions.com
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Copyright © Danny Sartin. All Rights Reserved.
Spiritual Safaris are written for those who support Deeper Still Missions and its goal of missionary retention. 
Re-Prints: Deeper Still Missions devotionals are protected by international copyright laws. To request reprint permission contact the offices of DSM. Permission is granted and encouraged to forward this post in its entirety to others without making any changes or deletions.

Kingdom Leadership requires that you keep a clear head and an anchored connection to God and His Word. There is a pestilence moving among us that seeks to remove the anchor of thought and belief. Not only do we need to know what we believe but why we believe it!

There is a leprosy of thought that is eating at common sense and truth as declared by God himself. Have you recently heard the words. . . did God really say? Are you comfortable teaching the Word of God? Do you seek to twist the Word so it matches popular thought and behavior?

Before attending seminary my pastor told me to be very careful. There are people who love to twist the Word of God because they want to alter what God has said. They will tell you that the Bible can not be trusted! I say to you, Lean on God's Word and His truth!

2 Timothy 4:2–3 (NIV84)
2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

Know that God is faithful to us. The Lord abides and his truth will endure for all generations. We take great comfort in knowing the creator and listening to His Word. Don't let the prowling lion catch you unaware.
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Cathy and Danny Sartin
www.deeperstillmissions.com
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The Holy Bible: New International Version (2 Ti 4:2–3). (1984). Zondervan.
Copyright © Danny Sartin. All Rights Reserved. Photos taken by Cathy and Danny Sartin in Africa.Kingdom Leadership is written for missionaries and ministers serving our Lord in various parts of the world.
Re-Prints: Deeper Still Missions devotionals are protected by international copyright laws. To request reprint permission contact the offices of DSM. Permission is granted and encouraged to forward this post in its entirety to others without making any changes or deletions.

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things . . . Psalm 119:18 (ESV) 

Some have continued to ask about the rapture of the church and the end times. Below is the fourth reason I believe Christ will return for His Church before the onset of the Great Tribulation. Consider these thoughts:

Time gap between the rapture and second coming of Christ.

• 2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

 

• Revelation 19:7–9 (ESV) Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

5:9 we also have as our ambition. Paul was speaking of his ambition in life, but not the kind of proud, selfish desire that “ambition” expresses in English. “Ambition” is from the Gr. word that means “to love what is honorable.” Paul demonstrated that it is right and noble for the believer to strive for excellence, spiritual goals, and all that is honorable before God (cf. Ro 15:20; 1Ti 3:1). whether at home or absent. See notes on vv. 6, 8. Paul’s ambition was not altered by his state of being—whether he should be in heaven or on earth—he cared how he lived for the Lord (see notes on Ro 14:6; Php 1:20; cf. 1Co 9:27).  pleasing to Him. This was Paul’s highest goal (cf. 1Co 4:1–5), and should be so for every believer (cf. Ro 12:2; Eph 5:10; Col 1:9; 1Th 4:1). The term translated “pleasing” is the same one used in Tit 2:9 to describe slaves who were passionate to please their masters.

 5:10 This describes the believer’s deepest motivation and highest aim in pleasing God—the realization that every Christian is inevitably and ultimately accountable to Him. the judgment seat of Christ. “Judgment seat” metaphorically refers to the place where the Lord will sit to evaluate believers’ lives for the purpose of giving them eternal rewards. It is translated from the Gr. word bēma, which was an elevated platform where victorious athletes (e.g., during the Olympics) went to receive their crowns. The term is also used in the NT to refer to the place of judging, as when Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate (Mt 27:19; Jn 19:13), but here the reference is definitely from the athletic analogy. Corinth had such a platform where both athletic rewards and legal justice were dispensed (Ac 18:12–16), so the Corinthians understood Paul’s reference. deeds in the body. Actions which happened during the believer’s time of earthly ministry. This does not include sins, since their judgment took place at the cross (Eph 1:7). Paul was referring to all those activities believers do during their lifetimes, which relate to their eternal reward and praise from God. What Christians do in their temporal bodies will, in His eyes, have an impact for eternity (see notes on 1Co 4:3–5; cf. Ro 12:1, 2: Rev 22:12). whether good or bad. These Gr. terms do not refer to moral good and moral evil. Matters of sin have been completely dealt with by the death of the Savior. Rather, Paul was comparing worthwhile, eternally valuable activities with useless ones. His point was not that believers should not enjoy certain wholesome, earthly things, but that they should glorify God in them and spend most of their energy and time with what has eternal value (see notes on 1Co 3:8–14).     
                       
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (2 Co 5:9–10). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
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Consider two events that seem to fall before the second coming of Jesus. The judgement seat of Christ is one and the marriage supper of the Lord is a second.

We recognize that many faithful Christians have different perceptions about these end time events. But a time is coming when it will be clear to us all.

Cathy and Danny Sartin
www.deeperstillmissions.com
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The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ps 119:18; 2 Cor 5:10; Rev 19:7-9). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.Copyright © Danny Sartin. All Rights Reserved.
Bible Nuggets are written for pastors, youth leaders and missionaries who desire to go deeper still in God’s Word. 
Re-Prints: Deeper Still Missions devotionals are protected by international copyright laws. To request reprint permission contact the offices of DSM. Permission is granted and encouraged to forward this post in its entirety to others without making any changes or deletions.