Don’t you hate it when someone has prepared an excellent meal, but travel delays mean that certain friends or relatives don’t get to enjoy it? Sometimes there are no leftovers, and an opportunity is lost.

God has prepared an extraordinary spiritual meal for all people. It is received by faith. But it is not offered forever. The day will come when body and soul are separated, and those who do not believe in Jesus as their Savior will not share in his blessings. It’s the beginning of the end. Now is the time to issue the invitation!

Sometimes people get braver when they realize they are nearing the end. They speak things they couldn’t or wouldn’t say before, even to the powerful, because they realize they have nothing to lose.

The message of repentance and forgiveness of sins through Jesus’ death on the cross has many powerful enemies. Sometimes those enemies are religious people, rebellious spirits and heretics. Sometimes those enemies are people of this world who worship their own personal desires and glory in their shame.

It doesn’t matter how powerful the enemies are. God persists in speaking his truth and drawing our eyes to his Son, who will help us persevere to the end and speak truth to powerful voices.

It might be expected for someone to look sorry when they are caught doing something wrong. You might even see tears and hear words of apology. But you might not be surprised if the shock of being caught wears off and so does the intensity of the repentance.

Real repentance looks different. God doesn’t want us to simply go through religious motions like some sort of show. God’s desire is that our repentance would demonstrate sincere sorrow over sin. It might be unexpected, but God wants us to see the grace and forgiveness he has shown us in Christ, and in response, to love him back deeply and sincerely.