Do Not Be Troubled

Mark 13:4-8

“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”
And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you.
For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many.
But when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.

“The Battle of Alexander at Issus” by Albrecht Altdorfer

If we thought that we lived in troubled times with climate change and a global pandemic, Russia’s barbaric war on Ukraine has raised the spectre of worldwide catastrophe to add to the list. There is much to trouble us in these ‘end times’.

Maybe these are the times of ‘great tribulation’ as spoken of in th book of Revelation — we will not know until the Holy Spirit reveals it to us. What we must understand at this time is that whatever may befall, we need not succumb to panic if we are ‘in Christ’. Easy to say, but hard to hold on to. Turn always to Jesus Christ for His Holy Spirit presence.

Here is what I read from Oswald Chambers today …

THE BASIS OF PANIC

Mark 13:7 But when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.

That is either the statement of a madman or of a Being who has power to put something into a man and keep him free from panic, even in the midst of the awful terror of war. The basis of panic is always cowardice. Our Lord teaches us to look things full in the face. He says — "When you hear of wars, don't be scared." It is the most natural thing in the world to be scared, and the clearest evidence that God's grace is at work in our hearts is when we do not get into panics.
Our Lord insists on the inevitableness of peril. He says, "You must lay your account with war, with hatred, and with death." Men may have lived undisturbed over a volcano for a long while, when suddenly an eruption occurs. Jesus Christ did not say.— “You will understand why war has come," but — “Don't be scared when it does come, do not be in a panic.”
It is astonishing how we ignore Jesus Christ's words. He said that nations would end in war and bloodshed and havoc. We ignore His warnings; and when war comes we lose our wits and exhibit panic.
(OSWALD CHAMBERS, from THE SHADOW OF AN AGONY)

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‘Meditate on these things …

REVELATION 7:13-17
Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?"
And I said to him, "Sir, you know."
So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;
for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

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We have two videos today. The first is from Pastor Tim Dilena of Times Square Church in New York, and the second is the Gaither Vocal Band’s rendition of ‘These Are They …’

“The World Changed In One Night” — Pastor Tim Dilena (Times Square Church)

“These Are They …” — Gaither Vocal Band

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A HOLY CONDITION: Oswald Chambers on JOY
— Strength in the LORD --

OUR LORD TEACHES that moral progress must start from a point of moral innocence, and is consequently only possible to a man when he has been born again.
To become "as little children" means to receive a new heredity, a totally new nature, the essence of which is simplicity and confidence toward God. To develop the moral life, innocence must be transformed into virtue by a series of deliberate choices in which present pleasure is sacrificed for the ultimate joy of being good. The natural has to be transformed into the spiritual by willing obedience to the word and will of God.
[from ‘Biblical Ethics’]

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Listen to this meditation by clicking below…

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