Peace in Trying Times
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler
The other evening I turned on the national news to see what chaos and mayhem was going on in the world. I really wasn’t surprised by what I heard! Year after year, the headlines are becoming increasingly more ominous. In the Middle East, Syria is embroiled in a major civil war; Israel is repeatedly threatened with annihilation; and ISIS is attempting to build an Islamic State where the beheadings of those who reject their ideology is commonplace. Then there’s Iran, which is nearing the completion of a nuclear bomb, that will undoubtedly result in the nuclear proliferation of other nations in the region.
In Europe, many countries are facing financial collapse. Greece has already declared bankruptcy. Here in America, our government has managed to rack up a national debt to the tune of 17 trillion dollars, which our country will probably live to regret simply because there’s no one to bail us out. If this isn’t troubling enough, most of our cities are becoming more like the wild west where lawlessness has taken over our streets with daily carjackings and shootings being a common occurrence.
The opportunists have seized the moment to run commercials between these alarming headlines to alert everyone to the coming economic collapse that will make the 2008 crash look insignificant. The survivalist takes advantage of this mass hysteria to warn everyone to be prepared for the next act of God or man-made disaster by purchasing a survival kit with a large supply of food.
If you had to take two aspirins and lie down after reading these lines, it is important for you to remember that Paul predicted that perilous times (II Tim. 3:1) and lawlessness (I Tim. 1:9) would be widespread in the last days of the age of grace. These troubling events have caused many believers, who fail to rightly divide the Word of truth, to wonder if we are in the early stages of the Tribulation. But we want to assure everyone who reads these words that if you are a believer in Christ you are delivered from the future Tribulation and wrath to come (I Thes. 1:10; 5:9 cf. Rev. 6:15-17).
Not one Old Testament prophecy is being fulfilled today, including those found in the four Gospels and early Acts. This does not necessarily mean that the stage isn’t being set by Satan for coming world events. The above headlines should remind us that we are living in man’s day and will experience many times the injustices of man’s wrath (I Cor. 4:3). Through it all, we can rest in the peace of God that passes all understanding—it will keep our hearts and minds through the most trying times!
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Court Case
During a case in municipal court in Middletown, Ohio, a lawyer asked the judge to be excused from representing his client.
The judge scanned the courtroom, looking for a suitable replacement. But before he could find one, the defendant stood up and said, "That's all right, Judge. I won't be needing another lawyer. I've decided to tell the truth."
- from Da Mouse Tracks
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