Wars and Rumor of Wars

“…wars and rumor of wars…but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” P.S It will never stop until I come again! Matthew 24:6-7

Jun 28, 2022 – Headline reads, “46 Migrants Found Dead in Abandoned Trailer in San Antonio.” Who does such a thing? 46 souls abandoned to slowly die in the Texas heat! Is that driver any better than the person who attacks a school? Not in my view. Sadly, this incident will be replaced by other heinous acts in the weeks ahead. A stolen car was wrecked two miles from us just a few hours ago and the thief is at large. We are exercising caution at this moment around our house. The local news at noon, six, and eleven always includes acts of violence. Sadly, Uvalde, Texas will be forever grief-stricken by its own horrific event. So unbelievably sad.

Lest we forget, the war in Ukraine is fully engaged and witnessing unspeakable acts of barbarity. Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, viewed with his own eyes the methodical Russian destruction of Kyiv, Ukraine and described that war as “an absurdity in the 21st century.” Absurdity? That word might be appropriate for the intellectual mind that, having seen a glimmer of hope in the limited conflicts of recent years, sees a peaceful world as indeed possible, but the word “absurdity” is quite inappropriate for the BIBLICAL mind. Why the difference? The biblical mind accepts the biblical teaching regarding the UNCHANGING nature of man.

According to the Bible man’s nature is like a spring that bubbles from the ground. One can place his foot on the bubble to quench its arrival, but the spring will soon break forth in a different place. That’s just the way man is. It is similar to one newlywed suddenly spouting off to the other and the other shockingly asks, “Where did that outburst come from? I hadn’t seen that side of my mate before!” But the other side was always there!

Billy Graham concludes, “We are given to violence. It fills our screens, fills our novels and our books. As we look around, we find that there is little personal, domestic, social, economic or political peace anywhere.”

Even at its best, the nature of man is an unsettled nature which is at war with God (Romans 8:7), his fellow man (Today’s Verse) and even himself (Isaiah 57:21). Romans 3:9-20 paints an accurate picture of what is wrong with man…and why our ministry exists.

Man’s sinful, depraved condition cannot be changed by the will of man or the will of the flesh (John 1:13), passing new laws or better education. Today’s Verse guarantees that the current condition will continue until the end of the world, because man’s HEART will remain unchanged until the end of the world.

KEY: The only remedy is the new birth or being born again. Jesus asserts, “You must be born again” – a birth which results in “a new creation.” The new nature does not mean the old violent, rebellious nature is removed (1 John 1:8, 10) and life is ha-ha-ha from that moment on. However, it does mean a new power exists which can overpower the old power or the old nature (Galatians 5:16). Jesus does not make life easy, but He does make life easier. The Apostle Paul writes, “It was for FREEDOM that Christ SET US FREE” (Galatians 5:1).

Your ministry is the only cure for this world, because the heartbeat of your ministry is this message: “You must be born again.”

Keep sowing Jesus. You are someone’s hope.

Tom Swartzwelder was born again at the age of nine in an old-fashioned revival meeting. Tom received his B.A. from Tennessee Temple University and his M. Div from Luther Rice Seminary. He has pastored for nearly forty years in both bi-vocational and full-time roles. He provides practical how-to-do-ministry resources for the disciples of Jesus Christ at http://www.godsgreenhouse.net. Tom’s latest book is “God Speaks–Today!”