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!
How
God Saves Men
Believing
Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing
Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
ead
Acts 16L31 Romans 1:16, and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
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