Jesus said in Luke 12:54 "When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. 55 And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. 56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?"
How do we "discern" this time?
In my opinion, I believe it has everything to do with our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And that's how we will "discern" the signs of the times. God has made it so easy for us these days. All we have to do is turn on the computer and watch the news. Go to Youtube.
The wind and the sea are roaring! Have you noticed? Pretty hard not to. You can plug your ears and close your eyes, but you would still be able to feel that "something is going on"!
As I have heard several preachers say,
"Something BIBLICAL is going on!"
Russia is invading the Ukraine. The Muslim Brotherhood is slaughtering Christians. Jerusalem is surrounded by armies! Take a look in your Bible.
Luke 21:20 "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh."
Is Jerusalem surrounded with enough armies, do you think? Or do we need a few more? Let's see: we've got Iran, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey to name a few. Threats have been made. Things are heating up.
And what are we supposed to do when Israel is surrounded with armies?
Luke 21:21 "Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto."
I, for one plan to stay as far away from Israel as I can get. I have no plans (like some Christians I know) to visit Jerusalem in these days. Not a good idea.
Or, the Ukraine, for that matter. Or Libya, Nigeria, Syria, Egypt or Iraq for that matter... There's a lot of the world that's just not safe anymore. The sea and the waves are roaring!
Luke 21:25 and 26 "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken."
Quite often "sea" and "waves" are symbolic of crowds of people. And, the sea and the waves are roaring in the Ukraine and Syria along with other nations right now. People are getting stirred up.
Fear is a weapon of the devil. Don't allow him to use it on you! Fear is not of God. Fear is not the truth. It's a lie of the devil. That's why we need to keep our eyes on Jesus. Keep your eyes on the Word /Jesus.
I find myself with an insatiable appetite for God's Word these days. It seems like I can't live without it. I'm trying to prepare myself psychologically for the possibility that my precious Bible may be taken away from me, so I am memorizing important verses (and reviewing ones I have memorized in the past).
The Word of God completely turns the battle around!
With the Word in our hearts, we become fearless, full of faith, powerful and dynamic. It's a tonic!
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