I pray that all is well with you and that no matter what you are facing you are experiencing the peace of God! It is essential that we remember the Kingdom is within. No matter what is happening around us our peace should not be found in the circumstances. When the circumstances are not our peace they will not be our trouble!

     Jesus left these words of wisdom: Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27). He wasn’t leaving His disciples a peaceful world but He was leaving the opportunity to have a peaceful heart. If, however, we ignore the previous verse this promise of peace seems a little mystical and detached from any other elements. The previous verse says: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you (John 14:26). The hope of having peace lies in listening to what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us!

     If there has ever been a day that we all must listen to God with our own heart it is today. Those who don’t find peace by hearing the voice and direction of God in their heart will be looking to all the wrong places. They will be tossed to and fro by the circumstances that are abounding in this world.

     It is so very hard for me to keep silent about what I see and perceive to be happening in the world, but too often God’s people are troubled by knowing the truth. That is not my intention any more than it was Jesus’ intention when He gave the many warnings and prophesies about the days that are rushing upon the world.

     As you know, not many years ago our government, in the name of democracy and freedom, helped topple our ally in Egypt. The result, which it seemed everyone knew, was the takeover of that government by the Muslim Brotherhood, a terrorist organization that seeks to destroy Israel and America. Of course, there has been no mention of the nine billion dollars worth of weapons that we delivered to Egypt just before we helped make the shift of power to an anti-American, anti-Israel, anti-God government.

     Just recently Egypt cried out to the United States for the help we promised to provide for their free democracy and it was ignored. But at the same time while the news media was focusing on the murder by terrorists in an African mall, by presidential decree we began supplying arms to the rebels in Syria. The rebels (as they are called) are actually al-Qaeda terrorists seeking to topple another Middle Eastern government for the sake of surrounding and destroying Israel.

     All across the Muslim world Christians are being murdered and the preferred method of execution is beheading. Churches are being burned. The Middle East is headed toward becoming a caliphate. A prophesy from the Books of Daniel and Revelation foretells of a ten league nation that comes together and actually encompasses all of the land dominated by the former world powers: Syria, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, and Rome. It will be this “league of nations” that gives rise to what our Bible calls the antichrist. The Muslim calls him the Mahdi. He will come as their savior to lead them in the destruction of Israel and in world domination.

     They believe that Jesus will return, work signs and wonders, and then tell the world that He never said He was the Son of God. The Mahdi will destroy all those who believe the words of Jesus as they are in the Bible. (Obviously, the Jesus they are looking for is not who we are looking for.) They believe their Mahdi will sign a seven year peace treaty with Israel and then break it. At that time every Jew and every Christian will have two options: convert to Islam or be beheaded. Does any of this sound familiar? The nation of Islam is looking for a savior and a Jesus that our Bible describes as the antichrist and false prophet. They are looking for all the same events that we are expecting but they totally twist their meaning.

     To the world and to those who seek to profit by these tragedies this is just another religious war. After all, the whole conflict will be between the three largest religious groups in the world: Jews, Christians, and Muslims. They will welcome the antichrist as the man of peace. In the meantime, they will also welcome the destruction of Christianity because of the moral and ethical control it has held on the world for so long. This will be the final blow (in their mind) to a silent but methodical war that has been waged in our country for most of the past century to eradicate any display of faith in Jesus.

     The “extreme left” in our country is very “pro-Islam” and very “anti-Christian.” You can almost be assured that any position our current administration takes is going to put our country on the wrong side. So far it seems that we have all but abandoned Israel and all of our other allies in order to promote the Muslim agenda. But it is essential that you realize there is no political resolution to this problem. I have no hope that it would be much different if Republicans were in office. You see, this is a war that has been waged since Satan was cast out of Heaven. From the Tower of Babel until now the worship of Allah has been aimed at destroying all of God’s people and dominating Planet Earth.

     There are at least five things we all can do. First, we must all learn to hear the voice of God in our heart. No one outside of us can keep us in peace. Only you can hear the voice of God that will lead you to safety in these troubled times. If we don’t have peace our desperation and fear will certainly drive us to make bad choices and ultimately trust the wrong people. Second, we must continue to do everything we can to preach the gospel to the world. There is no political solution, this is a spiritual battle. Third, we must make good political decisions. We can have relative peace in our country and the freedom to preach the gospel only if we make responsible, biblically-based political choices. The day for voting for a party just because it will meet some short term need in your life has to come to an end. Fourth, let us all speak blessings of spiritual awakening and peace over our country. Fifth, agree in prayer for the immediate return of the Lord. And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely (Rev 22:17).

     Pray for me to have wisdom. For years I have considered writing a book about how to prepare for the end times. Almost everything we have been taught about the signs of the times is completely incompatible with what the Bible actually teaches. I am afraid that the great falling away will be largely because of misinformation that has been fed to the Church. If we are all expecting the wrong thing we will be surprised and overtaken by these events as they unfold.

     Have peace in the fact that God will not abandon us, but our comfort will be in our hearts, not in the world. Any deliverance God provides will be through the leading of His Spirit and we can all develop that part of our life while there is still time.

     The Bible gives the formula for overcoming: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death (Rev 12:11). The powerful series I taught this month, Communing with Christ: Experiencing the Power of the Cross, gives us understanding of some major aspects of what the Bible means when it refers to “the blood of the Lamb.”

     Together we will keep changing the way the world sees God. People will be saved, healed, delivered, and they will find the solutions they need for the future – whatever it may be. Those of you who have established your hearts in grace and peace are more equipped to face any challenge than any other group of people on the face of the Earth!

 

Abundant Blessings!