In Matthew 24, Jesus delivered to his disciples his basic teaching on the end of the age.  It involved wars and rumors of wars, nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom, famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in many different places.

He warned them that believers would be hated for His name’s sake, betrayed even by family and other so-called Christians. Because iniquity (lawlessness) would abound the love of many shall grow cold. Into this atmosphere the Antichrist will be able to set up his systems of control and abomination.

It is during times of stress and turmoil that the devil has his biggest successes. They are like an open door for further acts of evil to enter in. It is important to be able to recognize the difference between those who bring solutions to the problems and those who encourage the problems for their own ends. Black Americans and other minorities are suffering financially right now but, instead of pointing out solutions to the problems, such as stabilizing black families or encouraging black children to stay in school where better education can improve their job prospects, many just ‘stir the pot‘ by blaming racial discrimination. Does racial discrimination exist? – most certainly but, it can be overcome by strong Christian values and a willingness to work to be educated. Doctor Ben Carson and his family are strong examples of this.

Instead of this approach those groups like Black Lives Matter or Reverend Al Sharpton capitalize on the ‘blame game’ to feather their own nests. President Obama blames law enforcement for arresting too many black people instead of addressing the lawlessness that causes the arrests. These attitudes just further the problems.

Jesus warned us that as we approach the end, these kinds of stress would increase. Financial collapse will increase as well, further increasing the stress. He not only warned that man’s greed and rebellion would bring on these problems but, He gave us strategies to endure through them. In the last post, I listed the first strategy – be not deceived by Satan’s plans.

Here I am listing t second strategy – be at peace.

Jesus said, “see that you are not troubled: for these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

The Psalmist wrote, “Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” (Psalm 119:165)

“The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.” (Psalm 29:11).

TV could be a blessing but it is mostly a curse to us because it is powered by advertising which is aimed at making you dissatisfied and prime news is bad news. Like Chicken Little, they delight in reporting the disasters and bad news! Jesus didn’t hide the bad things that will happen in the last days, He just taught not to be disturbed by them because He is in control – and in the end – we win!!!

I am proud to be an American. I was proud to serve my country in the military but, I realize every country is in the process of passing away. They will all give way to the Kingdom of God which is coming. While I enjoy American citizenship, I understand that I also am a citizen of the kingdom of God. While the devil may have his way for a while, in the end he loses and I win – in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Obeying God and His laws will bring peace in the midst of any storm the devil can think up. As the three Hebrew children of Daniel discovered, God will give strength to face the fiery furnace and bless with peace. God is no respecter of persons and He will do the same for us. So whatever stressful trial you may be facing, remember our God is the same today as He ever was. Trust Him and He will take you through the problem into victory and peace.

(7 Strategies for the end will continue in the next post)