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Go ahead and look first at Matthew 24 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.

Key Verse(s): Matthew 24:6

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.

Title: The Promise of Eternity and the Problem of Pain

Observation: This chapter talks about the 2^nd coming of Jesus, this time to rule over the world and the tribulations to come before Jesus will return.

I think that we would like Jesus to come and snatch us up into his eternal realm while the battles of the earth are just beginning. We’d like Him to catch us up in the air with him, just after church some Sunday morning, with clean souls and an attitude of praise. Yet I think that Jesus in this chapter, and elsewhere, warns us that his coming will surprise us.

I think that we are in the stage that hears of wars and rumors of wars. Just this week we it has been reported that the U.S. has put together a plan for a strike to disarm the nuclear ambitions of Iran. While there is denial on the part of our officials, the reality is that whether this plan ever took shape or not, controlling the increasing number of states and non-governmental organizations (read terrorist) with access to weapons of mass destruction means entering an era where we will be constantly bombarded with wars and rumors of war in a regular basis.

So what do we do in the middle of the mess that is unfolding? Hold on to Jesus. It has always been this way. Most generations of humans have lived at some point in their life in the middle of a war zone- we in American have largely been spared for many generations. Jesus’ prayer is not that God would take us out of the world, but that God would protect us from the evil one (John 17:15) The days may get much darker before we see Jesus face to face.

Application: I need to have courage, courage that comes from Jesus. Not a false belief that I, nor my family, will not suffer. But rather that Jesus will be in the midst of the days of suffering. And I need to be vigilant in the midst of “strange days” that I attend to the Lord and His work.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to be a model of faith and perseverance. Give me courage and resolve when I am tempted to collapse into blame and hatred for those who look like my countries enemies. Allow me to be a person of peace, and be willing to turn the other cheek when I am hit.

In Jesus Name,
Amen.