This year has been a crazy one and it's only March... earthquakes in New Zealand, and Japan, flooding in Australia, Volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, Japan, Hawaii, Guatemala, civil unrest in many Middle Eastern Countries including Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, and now Syria. Is any of this sounding familiar?
The disciples asked Jesus what would be a sign of his return and he told them:
Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come. -Matthew 24:4-14 (italics my emphasis)
It's pretty obvious that we hear wars and rumours of war in this world... look at Libya. Prior to the current unrest and resulting conflict, there were rumblings pointing to what we are seeing. And we are seeing the rise of nation against nation with France, Britain, USA and Canada stepping in to protect the civilians of Libya. A part of me wonders if this is really the intent or if the dismantling of Qaddafi's regime is ultimately for their benefit. Anytime the western world gets involved in any Middle East conflict, I feel suspicion, a niggling of "What's in it for them?" (or should I say us, as I am living in the west)
Falling away from the faith is almost a fad now. One stat that I heard was that 70% of children that attend church will leave the church before they graduate from college. Considering that the percentage of kids who regularly attend church is not that big to start with we are looking at a huge falling away! It's only natural that people will hate each other, if you are not communing with God and experiencing His love, how can you love anyone? 1 John 4: 8, 19 Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love. We love because He first loved us.
Just look at the shows on television, like the Springer show or Maury. Would these shows even exist if we didn't hate? If you love someone, do you cheat on them? Some would argue yes, and ok, you can love someone and cheat on them but to do so over and over is not love for them but love for self and self-satisfaction. I would also put forth the argument that the love of others has definitely grown cold. People for the most part are disconnected from each other. We text rather than talk, most of us don't really know the people that live around us or work with us, except on a surface level, and compassion (while still alive) is waning. Sure we are upset when we hear about the devastation in Japan, but how quickly do we move on to the next news story, thinking, thank God that's not me. I know for myself, I wish that there was something that I could do but at the same time, there are struggles that I am facing in my life and so I focus on that...
So what is my point? I strongly believe that we are living in the end times. We are eye witnesses to exactly what Jesus was talking about. And what does that mean? Well, it's coming down to a real time of decision. When things really hit the fan who's got your back? I am so thankful for my faith in Jesus because I know that He will take care of me and all the other believers out there. For anyone that doesn't know Jesus, I urge you to open the new testament, read the book of John, learn about how Jesus died on the cross for the sins of all men, and open your heart to Him. Take your place as a child of God, be an heir to His promises and His kingdom....
In His love,
Cori
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