Here’s a word for you all about these end days and the trials ahead that we each must face… 
Be spiritually prepared! We should always be examining ourselves to see if our faith is genuine, so I admonish you all to continually test yourselves! Surely you all must know that the Lord Jesus Christ is among us, even as I speak; if not, you have actually failed the true test of genuine faith.

Speaking of faith, it was by faith that Abraham offered up Isaac as a sacrifice back when God was testing him. So taking encouragement from this story, we should know that when our faith is tested to those kinds of limits, our endurance actually has a chance to grow and mature. 
The Lord tests our thoughts and examines our hearts during the night, which is why many of us dream often and even sometimes remember them. He scrutinises us there, in the vulnerability of sleep. So we must be determined not to sin in what we say and do during the waking hours, for it is reflected in our unconscious heart testings during the night, when our spirits come alive even as our body rests. Interestingly, the word encourages us to cry out, “Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart! Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the HEART. And everyone on the planet will be tested with the Lord’s fire.

It is the trials we will all face during our earthly walks towards Christ that will show that our faith is indeed genuine. It will be tested just as fire tests and purifies gold – though our faiths are far more precious than mere gold! So when our faiths remain strong through many trials, it will bring us rewards and honour on that very significant day when Jesus Christ is finally revealed to the whole world in all His glory. And since He Himself has gone through such suffering and testing as we will be faced with, He is able to powerfully help us when we are also being tested. Our High Priest understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin, praise the Lord! Let us mimic Him in this way!
It is written that everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will eventually suffer persecution, however severe it is. But don’t be afraid of what we are about to suffer, for the devil will even throw some of us into prison to test us. But if we remain faithful to Jesus even when facing death, He will give us the crown of life!

Always remember that we must never test the Lord our God… remember what happened to Ananias and Sapphira! We must never forget about what happened to the children of Israel in the wilderness, long ago. Remember that all of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were ‘baptised’ as followers of Moses. All of them ate the same spiritual food, and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that travelled with them, and that rock was Christ. Yet the Father was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness for the wild animals to devour, in shame.
The point I’m making is that these things happened as a warning to we who live at the end of the age, so that we would not crave evil things, or worship idols like they did. As the scriptures tell us, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.” You may say it’s so shameful, but we face the same temptations! We must also not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, even causing 23,000 of them to die in one day… nor should we ever put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and then they died from snakebites for not focusing on Moses’s staff like they were commanded to. 
No, we mustn’t even grumble, like many of them did, and then they were destroyed in the wilderness for their ungrateful unbelief. Again I say that these things happened to them as examples for us, for they were written down to warn we who live at the end of the age. So, try to remember that even if we are being tested by many troubles, and even if we are very poor, we must also be filled with abundant joy that comes from His Spirit, which should also overflow in rich generosity in spite of our circumstances.

Do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit, for we must be vigilant to test them to see if the spirit they have really comes from God. For as many of you have realised, there are many false prophets in the world.Yes, test everything that is said to you about matters pertaining to faith, by being fervent in prayer and getting to know the scriptures better and better for yourself as each day passes. Hold fast onto what is good, according to God. God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation, for afterwards they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him!
As you may be aware, the world grows ever more hostile to believers again in these last days, but don’t be afraid of what you are probably about to suffer. If we obey His command to persevere during those times, He will protect us from that great time of testing that will come upon the whole world, which is specifically to test those who belong to this world.
Don’t forget that we defeat the devil by the blood of the Lamb, and by our testimony. We must not love our lives so much that we are afraid to die for the Lord!

Encourage each other with these words.