Whatever one’s viewpoint regarding the end times – whether you believe Jesus is coming to take his church just before the seven-year tribulation period of Revelation 6-19, or that he comes in the middle of the Tribulation, or at or near the end, no one can accurately deny the fact that we are living in dangerous
times.  Many factors make the present times of trouble unique in all of history.  Not one or two countries but the entire world is threatened by evil forces whose brutality is unequaled.  People have done terrible and arbitrary things to enemies during wars, but the brutality done by these terror groups goes way beyond the vanquishing of an enemy force, or demoralizing of a country’s citizens.  The Taliban, for example, has attacked over 1000 schools and slaughtered their children and teachers!  ISIS and the other terrorist groups take fiendish delight in competing with each other for vicious unrelenting cruelty.  It seems that their consciences are totally dead and unable to respond to any situation with any kind of mercy.  Our only real victories are those gained by the brave
Kurdish soldiers as they beat back ISIS and took back some of their land.  If we had provided them with weapons comparable to the ones used by their enemies, they would have beaten them back long ago and saved many innocent lives. We call upon Christians everywhere to pray for God to protect his people.  Pray for a deep and wide spiritual revival.  We at Calvary got a good push in that direction with the two Aglow speakers Thursday, and last Sunday with Tyrone Paul, South African pastor in charge of ten churches, a world traveler and dynamic, enlightening speaker.  What a blessing these three were to us!  God give us many more like them.  Don’t let the fire they started go out!  Fuel it with God’s word, fan it with prayer, and spread it with passionate witness. (And thank God for June Rosato’s leadership of Aglow!  God used it to give us a full church for Aglow with at least two coming to Jesus!)

 Written by

Rev. Dr. Richard L. Shaw, Pastor