The stock market which has been plunging for ten days dove a whopping 513 points yesterday and the world financial markets are in panic mode. All of the television networks are running continuous coverage, as are the news organizations throughout the worldwide web. Is the stock market coming back, or is it gone because this was a necessary correction and a needle prick in a big bubble? Will it fall more today when the government announces (what everyone already knows) that few if any new jobs were created in our struggling economy last month? Did the do-nothing debt bill just passed by congress after months of bitter political in-fighting trigger the massive selloff, or was it the melt down in Europe created by entitlement driven overspending socialist countries like Spain and Italy that are too big to bail out?
The news hounds are covering this potential financial meltdown disaster from every angle, but of course they did take time out to cover the vitally important and weighty subject of President Obama’s 50th birthday political fund raising celebratory bash in Chicago where in his keynote address he predictably blamed the woes of the economy on George Bush for the fourteenth thousand time.
I know of some folks, (aside from me), who could really care less about Obama’s birthday celebration or what he had to say about this subject. They live in Somalia and they are fighting for their very lives. Over 500,000 children are on the brink of starvation and thousands have already died in a situation that is worse than Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Nearly 400,000 refugees have fled their homes seeking shelter in Dadaab, Kenya, where the world’s largest refugee camps are located. Approximately 80% are women and children and most had to walk through the searing heat of the scorched desert for weeks in order to get there.
The most dangerous aspect of the crisis is the radical militant groups within Somalia, namely the al-Shabaab terrorist group. They are conducting genocidal war against several factions of their own people in Somalia and are using the current natural disaster of drought to their advantage. These groups have prevented their own starving people from traveling to neighboring countries to the extent of imprisoning or killing anyone who tries to flee from their homeland. They have also blocked the entry of relief goods, including medicine and water, from the west due to their anti-Western beliefs. The members, who regard themselves as part of al-Qaeda have rejected anything western, including support or aid for their own starving people..
The images of these starved emaciated kids who are covered with flies are hard to look at and reminiscent of photos of Holocaust survivors. The constant war coupled with a drought has exhausted food supplies and some 23,000 children have lost their battle to survive in these conditions and have literally starved to death, and more are destined to follow in the coming days ahead.
One would think that more news coverage would be forthcoming on this, but alas not a single word on the news this morning about Somalia. (I would have thought that Obama would have blamed Bush for this too in his speech, but alas not a single word from him.)
With famines, epidemics, wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, worldwide economic chaos, people growing cold and indifferent and murdering girls and boys or standing around watching them starve to death, Christians being murdered in Iraq, Iran, and elsewhere, cult leaders taking 12 year old wives, terrorists blowing themselves up with a smile on their face as they envision going on to the virgin laden paradise promised by the mullahs, what is a reporter to cover?
I receive tons of mail from people who are undergoing all kinds of trials and tribulation in their lives. Some of the problems are truly heartbreaking and I am literally brought to tears. Others are nauseating pity party diatribes from spoiled people who are enduring minor discomfort from a poor investment or whatever and they make me wonder what makes these people actually think that they are entitled to a stress free existence in a fallen world.
If one objectively looks at the current state of the world and compares it to the descriptions given by Jesus Christ concerning how we are to recognize the signs of the end times it would be difficult to deny that we are not living in them now. And, although the world has always had false messiahs, cults, wars, ethnic violence and strife, starvation, disease, epidemics, earthquakes, persecution of Christians, and evil people galore, Jesus tells us that as a sign that we are entering into the last days we will see each of these increase in frequency and size. Described as “birth pangs,” these “pains” will continue to grow worse and worse, coming closer and closer together, as signs we are preparing to enter the Apocalypse . . .
No one knows exactly when God will return, but He did tell us that similar to seeing an approaching storm we should recognize it. I don’t know about you but the sky looks dark and foreboding to my old eyes.
My reason for pointing this out this morning is twofold. One we should keep in context our own realtively minor problems versus the more serious problems being endured by the world at large (and places like Somalia in particular), and two if one believes the Bible to be true, time is running out for the lost.
So, what’s the bottom line?
Keep your eyes on Jesus. There is faith, hope, and love in Him and only Him. The Bible states that the most important of those is love. We should love God with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and spirits and we should love each other second to that but in the same manner. If we do that, faith and hope will be strong in our lives. We will work hard to spread the good news of Jesus Christ who is the opposite of world turmoil and chaos and is the one stabilizing factor that can fill us and the world with gentle loving peace that surpasses all human understanding.
Tell someone about Jesus today won’t you? In so doing you will assist in ushering in His everlasting peace. To understand your role, read the below, especially the last verse.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday won’t you?
Matt. 24:3
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
.