Are You Ready? How to Live with Purpose in the Last Days

Meta Description: Are we living in the last days? The Bible says yes—and that changes everything. Here's how to live with urgency, purpose, and hope. URL Slug: living-in-the-last-days-turn-serve-wait Featured Image: A dramatic sunrise or dawn sky over a city skyline, symbolizing anticipation, new beginnings, and the hope of Christ's return. Warm golden tones with a sense of expectancy.

Have you looked at the state of the world lately—the wars, the division, the rapid rise of AI—and wondered, Are we nearing the end? Could Jesus really be coming back soon?

If you've asked that question, you're in good company. About 2,000 years ago, a group of brand-new Christians in a city called Thessalonica were asking the exact same thing.

We Are Living in the Last Days (And Have Been for a While)

Here's something that might surprise you: the answer to "are we living in the last days?" is a clear and definitive yes—but not in the way most people think.

The Bible teaches us that the last days began when Jesus ascended into heaven and the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost. From that moment forward, every generation of believers has been living in the final chapter of God's redemptive plan. Nearly every section of Scripture—the Law, the Prophets, the Gospels, the Epistles, Revelation—either foreshadows or directly teaches that Jesus is coming again.

So yes, we are living in the last days. We've been living in them for 2,000 years. And that means every generation of believers is called to live with sincere, faithful spiritual urgency.

That's exactly what Paul was calling the Thessalonians to when he wrote his first letter to their young, persecuted church. And it's what I believe God is calling us to today.

The Gospel Is More Than Words—It's Power

Before Paul gives the Thessalonians any instructions, he reminds them of something foundational. In 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5, he writes:

"For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction."

I love this. Paul doesn't start with a to-do list. He starts with love and power. God loves you—that's the foundation. But he didn't stop there. He gave you his power.

Many of us have embraced the love of God but are living without the power of God. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in every follower of Jesus. God's love secures you, but God's power strengthens and transforms you. Don't just enjoy the love of God—tap into the power of the living God that helps you overcome temptation and defeat darkness.

Three Things Believers Do in the Last Days: Turn, Serve, Wait

As I've been studying 1 Thessalonians over the past several weeks, I keep coming back to three simple but profound words that describe how we're meant to live. We turn. We serve. We wait.

We Turn—From Idols to the Living God

In 1 Thessalonians 1:9, Paul commends the Thessalonians because "you turned to God from idols." In their culture, that meant rejecting the worship of Zeus, Apollo, and even Caesar. It was costly and countercultural. Everyone knew where they stood.

Most of us don't worship Zeus. But pretty much all of us battle with idolatry in some form. An idol is anything we put in God's place—anything we ask to do what only God can do.

Maybe it's success and the endless hustle, because deep down we believe our worth is tied to what we produce. Maybe it's comfort, money, or the pursuit of bigger and better things. Maybe it's relationships, or what other people think of us, or simply living for ourselves—our body, our truth, our happiness above all else.

Paul warned us this was coming. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, he wrote: "Mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud... lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power."

Sound familiar? Living in the last days requires a conscious choice to turn away from the lower things of this world and turn toward God. The biblical word for it is repent—to turn. Turn away from selfishness, pride, and entitlement. Turn toward him.

We Serve—the Living God, Not Dead Idols

Paul continues in 1 Thessalonians 1:9 that they turned to God "to serve the living and true God." Notice he doesn't just say turn—he says turn and serve.

Idols are lifeless. They promise freedom but enslave us. They promise happiness but leave us empty. Our God is alive. His word is alive. He hears your prayers. He moves. He saves.

Turning to God for salvation happens once. But serving God happens daily. The Greek word translated "serve" here is doulos—it means to serve with complete loyalty, putting the will of another above your own. It's not "God, bless my agenda." It's "God, I surrender my agenda to yours."

If you're on the fence, I want to speak directly to you: now is the time to serve the one who loves you. Not tomorrow. Not when life settles down. Not at the next stage. Now.

We Wait—Actively and Expectantly

Finally, Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 that we wait "for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath."

Waiting doesn't mean doing nothing. The Greek word for waiting here carries the meaning of remaining, abiding, and staying—the same word Jesus uses eleven times in John 15 when he says "Remain in me... Abide in me." To wait, in this sense, means to wait actively and faithfully with great expectation.

I'll be honest with you. Back in 1988, I was a brand-new Christian when a book came out called 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Take Place in 1988. I figured if there were 88 reasons, that was enough for me to take it seriously. I was alert, expectant, and living with urgency every single day.

Now that I'm older and (slightly) more mature, I'm working to bring that urgency back to the front of my mind. Because even if Jesus doesn't return in my lifetime, I only have so many days left to serve him. Time is short.

Four Questions Worth Sitting With

As I've been preparing this series, I've been asking myself four honest questions—and I'd encourage you to wrestle with them too, especially in community with others:

1. Have I forgiven those who hurt me? Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15: "If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." That's sobering.

2. Have I shared my faith with those who need Jesus? Think about the people in your normal sphere of life—family, coworkers, teammates. If Jesus returned today, would they know him?

3. Am I more focused on this world than on eternity? I'll be honest—this one trips me up the most. There's so much that pulls at my attention. But I don't want to love this world more than I think about the one to come.

4. Am I trusting in God's grace alone to save me? As Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." You can't earn it. Neither can I. We trust in his grace alone.

Get Ready

No one knows the day or the hour of Christ's return. But we know this: we are living in the last days, and our King is coming.

So what do we do? We turn. We serve. We wait—actively, faithfully, and with great expectation.

I want to invite you to work through these four questions this week with people you trust. If you're not already in a Life Group, now is the time to get into community. We're not meant to do this life alone. Iron sharpens iron, and these are exactly the kinds of conversations we need to be having together.

And if today you're realizing you're not sure where you stand with God—please don't wait. The gospel is the good news that God so loved the world that he sent Jesus, who died for our sins and rose from the dead, so that anyone who calls on his name will be forgiven and made new. Not by your works. Only by his grace.

Get ready. Our King is coming soon.

Social Media Excerpt (Facebook/Instagram): Are we living in the last days? According to Scripture, the answer is yes—and it changes how we're supposed to live right now. This week I'm sharing three things every believer is called to do: turn from what's pulling us away from God, serve him wholeheartedly, and wait with active expectation for Christ's return. Read the full post and ask yourself the four questions I've been sitting with all week. 👇

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