“And you will hear of wars and rumors of war …….. 7) For nation will rise against nation and Kingdom against kingdom … “ .. Matthew 24:6-7
To start, allow me to share a song/poem I wrote some several years back ……
Rumors of War
“I look into their eyes -See a trace of fear
They’re sensing something strange – Something happening near
The battle drums are beating – Rythyms of the age
The story is unfolding – on the very next page
East vs. west – Southern skies on fire
Stalking one another – with a haunting desire
Emperors are raging – Spewing words of hate
The few of them deciding – All the rest of our fate
Mothers streaming tears – Sending sons to die
Hastened by the fact – That no one seems to try
Fathers shaking fists – To a deafening roar
Shouting their appeal – To a closing door
Children of the time – Tossing to & fro
Hoping it’s not them – that casts the final blow
Searching for some reason – Just beyond their reach
Some sense of understanding – that they can’t teach
Johnny get your gun – We’re going off to war
I don’t know what is left for us – anymore”
While I realize this is a somewhat dark portrait of our current times, most will admit to its truth ..
I mean no matter where you look these days .. websites, news outlets, personal conversations .. there is this sense of division & growing hatred amongst the masses .. Most everyone I talk to is angry & upset at what they are seeing taking place right here in America, the once proud ‘land of the free’ .. Besides the nations & kingdoms of the world rattling their swords at each other increasingly by the day, so too America within itself! ..
I’ll come back to this in a moment, but first I want to share with you just a glimpse of what war really looks like .. I have personally witnessed it up close & personal .. In the 60’s, I spent over a year serving in the Vietnam conflict & I can tell you that at that time these people had no hope .. You could see it in their eyes! .. Homes torn apart, family members missing or dead, hunger … the list is endless .. & then during this same time period, our mission sent us to Hong Kong when, at that specific time, was experiencing a mass exodus of people fleeing the closing borders of Red China .. A city of some 2 million people had grown to 25 million overnight with starvation & sickness rampant in the streets .. Even children would swim into the bay to try & get the garbage cast overboard by our ships! …. Here I am, a young man from a very sheltered life in Oregon to this?! .. Trust me when I say, it changes you, & gives you a sense of hopelessness that otherwise never even existed prior to these experiences .. It is not something that ones forgets …,. ever …… This is most likely the reason the last line of the song is so dark, because it did feel like there was nothing much left to hope for … anymore ..
Briefly talking about right here in America today, we are witnessing this growing sense of hopelessness .. I mean the rate of increasing suicide, divorce, murder, depression, & so much more is growing exponentially by the minute! .. It seems a lot like the ‘front line’ mentality of past days .. As many of you know who follow my website, I have believed for some time now that America had to decline as the only existing super power in the world .. Well sadly, it is! .. I have NEVER witnessed the division we are seeing in this land right now! .. I mean it’s so bad that if you simply disagree with someone, you may very well receive death threats! .. It is really sad to witness, & unless there is a ‘miracle’ reversal of this reality, it will only grow worse, just like the prophesied ‘birth pains’ of Matthew 24 ..
Most every person you talk to these days believe that America will NEVER be same going forward .. Tragically, they are right .. So what is the primary cause of all this? .. News pundits, politicians, scientists, college professors, and the like will give us all the social & scientific facts as to why, & the ways to ‘fix’ it all .. But what we don’t see being acknowledge here is the #1 cause of this nation’s downfall, & that is the abandonment of our faith in Jesus Christ! .. If folks would just read the biblical history of previous nations & kingdoms, the ones who either didn’t follow God, or did & then fell away, have all ceased to exist! .. Every one of them! .. Will it be any different for this nation? .. Unless we turn our collective hearts back to God .. & immediately .. It won’t ..
For a moment, I will again refer back to the prophecy I have mentioned recently given to us by a pastor .. If you remember, he stated that November would be the month that a fist slams the calendar & the roofs blow off the banks, etc .. Well if the current political rhetoric continues, there will certainly be chaos concerning this presidential election .. Both ‘sides’ are promising to NOT accept the results! .. Simply, regardless of which side wins, the chaos in the cities we are witnessing right now will seem like ding-dong school compared to what’s coming ..
There is so much more I could talk about here, but for the sake of time, I want to take you back, again, to the last line of the song, “I don’t know what’s left for us – anymore” .. Sadly, this is how the vast majority of folks are feeling right now .. Hopeless, sad, & utterly defeated! .. This is exactly how I felt after my own ‘conflict’ experiences .. But then, something started tugging at my heart .. something that I somehow knew I needed to pursue in order to heal .. And it was so simple! .. I began my journey back into the loving & saving arms of Jesus! .. Was it easy? .. Not at first .. I mean Satan hates it when this happens to people .. But I needed & wanted this hope & sense of peace back in my life, & I soon realized that it was Jesus, & only Jesus, that could give me that hope ..
In closing, America’s fate, without returning to God, is like all the nations of the past .. They end up in the trash heap of history .. I will tell you this .. If you open yourself up & do look to Him, & ask Him to come to you, He will! .. & guess what, the last line of the aforementioned song will no longer be true! .. There is hope & happiness for any & all who desire to seek Him! .. Jesus said this in Revelation 3:20 .. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” .. That’s it! .. Just ask Him! .. Just knock on the door! .. & then you, too, will have joy right now, even as the world grows darker by the day .. Take heart! .. Jesus is waiting for YOU! .. I will be praying for you, & God knows exactly who you are! .. Hallelujah! ..
Until next time,
Red