Wars and Sins, July 2025

 “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.” Matthew, Mark, and Luke all give us the same warning. And with two world conflicts now taking place, people are starting to wonder, “Is this the end of days?” (Jesus himself said that only the Father knows). On top of major wars, there seems to be one skirmish after another breaking out in cities across the world among citizens of the same country, a sort of localized outbreak of civil wars. What starts out as a peaceful protest soon descends into chaos and anarchy. Why is all of this happening now and how are we as believers supposed to respond?

First question first. “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” Moses wrote this thousands of years ago, and sadly, nothing has changed since. This is the effect of original sin. The evil acts of sinful humanity seem new and unexpected to us because we are living through it. But history teaches us that this type of activity has always existed. That doesn’t make it better or acceptable, but having insight into the why gives us some peace in understanding.

Now the bigger question. What can we do about the troubles around us? The short and discouraging answer is, nothing that will cause major changes to happen quickly. Our spheres of influence are too small to move world events. But that is not an excuse to do nothing. We can continue to love our neighbors and make disciples, changing the world one person at a time. We can also do what we’ve always done, pray. Pray for peace in the world and in our communities. Pray for safety, security, and calm in our country and in our neighborhoods. Pray that evil doers will repent of their evil ways and come to know Jesus. Love each other and don’t give up meeting together. While our individual actions have little effect on the world stage, our collective prayers can move God to make bold moves. And unlike us, His power and authority have no limits to make the world a better place.     AMEN

Blessings to you,
Pastor David