WHAT IS THE ANSWER
THE FUTURE WILL BE AMAZING
More than at any other time in my lifetime, as we look toward the future both near and far, it would be easy to feel doom and gloom. So many of the common predictors that determine a person’s well-being seem to be going in the wrong direction. Between the state of the economy, our culture’s lack of morality, rampant corruption, global instability, and widespread deception, it definitely looks like what Jesus told his disciples to expect in Matthew 24.
Most of that scripture (The Olivet Discourse) describes what will happen toward the end during those 7 years called the Tribulation. It will be a time of God’s judgment and wrath poured out on the people of the earth who have rejected God, after Jesus rescues Believers in what we call “The Rapture” (Check out John 14:1-3, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, 1 Corinthians 1:51-53).
But the more relevant question for us is, “How do we deal with the situations we’re facing today?” Whether it’s the difficulty you’re facing at the moment or the events and direction of the world, we are all asking some of the same questions. The Good News is that the answer to all of your questions about the challenges of life is the same – You can stand Strong in your Faith in the God who has come through in the past, who can do it today, and who promised to do so in the future. You can trust in Him!
Our celebration of Christmas should be a reminder to us all of the fact that God keeps His promises. He promised to send us a Messiah – and He did! He promised to save us and set us free – and He did! He promised to send us the Holy Spirit – and He did! And Jesus promises to come back and to take us back with Him so that we can be with Him forever – and He will!
That’s why our Strong Faith in God himself allows each of us to face the future – whatever it brings – with courage, hope, and confidence. Like Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).
-Pastor Vern
