God is in Control

A Short Look at the Times

Matthew 24: 3-22, 36-39 (NIV)

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³ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

⁴ Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ 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. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ¹⁰ At that time, many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹ and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹² Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. ¹⁸ Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. ¹⁹ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! ²⁰ Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. ²² “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 

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³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 

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Photo 277463320 © Adrianadh | Dreamstime.com

In light of Iran sending more than 100 drones to attack Israel, the genocidal conflict going on in Ukraine, the saber-rattling about another round of bird flu, the decimation of our food supply (killing 2.0M chickens and now eyeing the elimination of cattle in 8 states with because they “tested positive” for the flu) and the mindless deterioration of the morals of our nation, reading the words of Jesus, what more needs to be said?  What remains is to ask Jesus into your heart, repent of your sins, read your Bible daily, and draw nigh unto Him.

Yes, we’ve seen wars and rumors of wars throughout many millennia, but somehow this seems different. The convergence of so many things simultaneously gives a different “look and feel” to current events.  

Remember: The Bible says nearly 300 times, in one way or another, to Fear Not. If you have fear, dread, or anxiety, take it to the Father in prayer. Lay it at the foot of the cross. Give it to Jesus. He died for ALL our sins, including entertaining the spirit of fear.

Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

You can only have a sound mind with a clear focus on what God has in mind for us and what we need to be doing while waiting for Him expectantly.

Today’s Prayer

As the world seems to be spinning more and more into chaos and dangerous times, we are reminded You are in control. You care for Your children and Your remnant. Thank you for Your grace, Your mercy, and most of all, for Your love.

Keep us healthy, strong, and protected. Put us on the front line of what You would have us be doing at this point in history. We’re Yours God. Give us clear direction. Help us to continually hear Your voice in our spirit. In Jesus name, Amen.