You would have to shut off your TV, computer, smart phone, and hide in a cave NOT to hear or see the time of trouble that is gripping our sin-sick world. Based upon the chronological events of World War I and World War II, our world has irrevocably entered through the gates of World War III. Nothing nuclear has been used just yet, so the conflicts are limited to conventional warfare at this writing. There’s so many ultra-serious heart-wrenching events and suffering to pray about and for, it’s difficult to know where to begin.
Incredibly, we as Seventh-day Adventists have been blessed with bright rays of hope and detailed instructions from our Lord and savior regards these very moments in history. Recall all of the prophecies and inspired writings that describe what is happening right now. That proves that God knows precisely what, when, and how all of these events will unfold… so we can trust the promises of God’s deliverance at just the right time.
In the meantime, we as Christians need to follow Jesus’ imperative to spread the good news of Jesus soon return and His gift of salvation to an unbelieving dying world. So how do we do that? First, we need to get rid of the false idea that spreading the gospel is the responsibility of church leaders, conferences, evangelists, and multimedia. The reality is that responsibility belongs to each of us individually, reaching out to those within our sphere of influence, one person at a time, and as often as possible…face to face.
Tell them that Jesus has overcome the world, and that He has already paid the price for all the sins that are out there by offering up His own perfect life to save everyone who is willing to believe Him and accept His free gift. It’s not our job to convince anyone; that’s the job of the Holy Spirit to do the convicting. When the unsaved start asking questions motivated by fear, you can confidently tell them that Jesus wants to motivate them by His love for them, not fear. All of us are just sojourning and passing through this sad world… this is all temporary anyways. We can’t take any of our stuff with us…all that we can take with us is our character. This is reason enough for us to experience hope and joy in Christ in the face of all the horror and evil that the devil is trying to pile on us. Even so, Jesus come soon…we need you Lord.