Mark 13:7-8
Jesus began, “Watch out for
doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged
identities claiming, ‘I’m the One.’ They will deceive a lot of people.
When you hear of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic.
This is routine history, and no sign of the end. Nation will fight
nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Earthquakes will occur in
various places. There will be famines. But these things are nothing
compared to what’s coming."
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
My
mother used to say that the wars, crimes and atrocities we face today
are nothing new. And indeed, if you read the Old Testament, you can
learn about everything from the bloodiest, most heinous battle tactics
to racism, sexism, and discrimination of every sort. Babies were killed
to prove a point. There was torture and rape…and entire villages and
tribes were decimated. Centuries ago, “prophets” told of the end of the
world as if it was imminent…and we’re still here.
Today, we are
barraged with lies and/or grossly exaggerated claims at every turn. For
some reason, many people seem to delight in scaring the stuffing out of
others with doomsday reports, while others have such inflated egos that
they cannot seem to help but declare themselves the ultimate savior of
all things that are wrong in the world.
So what are we to do?
Who do we trust? How do we sift through all of the chatter and
determine the truth? We start with prayer…and a long, deep breath. We
“let go and let God”…and give Him our burdens and fears. We delve into
the scriptures and let God’s word soak into our soul. The truth is
there, along with answers to virtually all of the questions we have - if
we will only calm down and pay attention.
We also have to exercise our God-given common sense. We have to ask ourselves…”What is this person really saying…and what does GOD
say about the same issues?” If you will continue reading Mark 13
through at least verse 13, you will see that Jesus assures that the Holy
Spirit will always be with us…and that those who persevere in their
faith will be saved in the end.
Our Timothy has asked me
several times lately, “Why are you and Uncle Greg always so happy?” It
appears that on some level, we are filling our little ones with a “gloom
and doom” impression of the world. Even they don’t understand how
anyone could experience genuine and sustaining joy in light of all that
is happening in the world. My answer to the question of why I am always
happy has become, “Because God blesses us and takes care of us.”
Yes,
bad things happen. Yes…I sometimes have sadness and heartaches, just
like everyone else – even Jesus. But God is still with me…and He always
will be. No matter what, I will be saved in the end…and I choose to
focus on this rather than the darkness and despair that so many are
propagating.
Who do YOU trust? More importantly, who do others believe you trust? People are watching…are you showing them genuine faith in Jesus? Don’t you think you should be?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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