What on Earth is Happening: Is There Any Hope?

From these blogs, it is obvious that I am engaged in a ministry called Encouragement for End-Times Endurance. You can't encourage anybody if the message is always negative. Conversely, encouragement can't produce any lasting benefit if it is bereft of truth. Encouragement is nothing like euphoria. (This means a false sense of well-being and is the stuff political campaigns and way too many church services are made of). Therefore, this blog is an attempt t0 encourage with the truth. The only way to do that is to, from time to time, introduce matters of faith, for which no apology is made.

This morning's yahoo news headline stated that the political situation in Illinois vexes Obama. It seems as though the seat he vacated for the presidency has no clear-cut favorite, with the 2010 elections looming. The governorship of Illinois is up for re-election also. The pundits say that democratic losses here would greatly overshadow what recently happened in Mass. The sad thing is that the GOP front runner in the senatorial race is pro-abortion rights and favors more gun control. This can leave a person wringing their hands, wondering how things can ever get better. This writer states that from a natural viewpoint, they can't. Remember the third lens of Scripture? That's where faith comes in.

In a recent op-ed piece for the New York Times, columnist Ross Douthat sais: "If you treat your faith like a hothouse flower, too vulnerable to survive in the crass world of public disputation, then you ensure that nobody will take it seriously." There are a number of excellent Christian Apologists (they don't apologize for being Christian; they defend the Christian Faith), whose writings I will make no attempt to duplicate here. Check out the writings of Ravi Zacharias, Chuck Colson, Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, among others. In the meantime, I will just make my faith statements.

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As bad as things will get, Jesus will return and set things right. Those who have died throughout the centuries trusting in Him for forgiveness of sins and eternal life will be resurrected and those believers alive at the time of His return will be changed; and both will be removed from the earth to be with the Lord forever. The earth and its unbelieving population will then undergo a terrible time of judgment known as the Day of the Lord. This is why the return of Christ is labeled as "the Blessed hope" to those who are anticipating it.

The strength of my belief is this has already been mentioned - it is the amazing accuracy with which Bible prophecy has thus far been fulfilled. I have no reason to believe that prophecy yet future won't be similarly By faith in Christ, we have a time to look forward to in which every wrong will be righted and there shall be no more death, crying or pain. There will be peace on earth because the Prince of Peace will reign.