Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives across
the valley from the Temple. Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to him
privately and asked him, "Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign
will show us that these things are about to be fulfilled?" Jesus replied,
"Don't let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, 'I
am the Messiah.' They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats
of wars, but don't panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won't
follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, as well as
famines. But this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
Mark 13:3-8
Are you
easily deceived or mislead? Do you need a sign to show you what is happening? The
disciples must have felt like they needed a sign. Tell us, when will all this happen? People are still wondering this
today. Look at history…wars, earthquakes, and famines. These are still happening
today.
 |
| If there is an earthquake will these fall? |
To see a
great history of earthquakes not only today, but all over the world for the
past year Google “earthquakes today.” I discovered that there have been 625 earthquakes in the past 24 hours,
4,073 in the last seven days and 52,221 in the last 365 days. That is a lot of
shaking.
Famines? Yes
we are having an unprecedented number of famines in the world today. Once
again, used Google to see the dire distress that thousands of people in our world are
experiencing. The United Nations has warned that over one million children
could die of starvation in the coming months. That doesn’t include the adults
affected by the current famines that are occurring in Yemen, Sudan, Somalia,
and Nigeria. Also associated with the famines is a lack of clean drinking
water. Things that we take for granted with clean water flowing from our
faucets and a refrigerator full of fresh foods aren’t available to those
people. We are so blessed. How can anyone complain?
Wars? Wikipedia serves as a resource for us to see that wars are ongoing. There are
major conflicts in which about ten thousand people died during the last year
are occurring in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Mexico. Wars and rumors of
wars…that is just what Jesus was telling His disciples. But there have been
wars throughout history—so why is this time any different? No reason—it is just
that we are experiencing it…and are saddened by not only the loss of life, but
by the affect it has on the people of those countries in economic, political
and social parameters. Life is truly tough for those having to live in constant
conflicts that disrupt their families, food supplies, communications and causes
them to have to relocate and live in terror. Where is God’s peace in that?
Jesus didn’t
promise peace, but He did say…Don’t panic…Do not be frightened. That could
be challenging when bombs are going off around you…people are treating each
other brutally and there is no food or water.
Is this the
“time” about which Jesus was speaking? We don’t know. People all throughout the
ages have thought…and hoped…that Jesus would return during their lifetime. Only
God knows when Jesus will call His followers home. It is for us to not be
misled…to not be deceived. Be careful in whom you believe.
Prayer
~ Lord, Just as the Israelites declared with Joshua before they entered into
the Promised Land…"We will serve the LORD our God. We will obey Him
alone." Joshua 24:24. Let all the people praise You, Lord God—King of
Kings, forever.
Daily
Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 1-6
© 2018 Text and
photo by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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