Breaking News!

I flipped on the TV in the bedroom to the Fox News channel yesterday as I was helping my wife to get ready for the day.  And as you would expect, they were devoting all their resources to cover the unfolding story of the shootings in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  It was still in the early stages of the event and not a lot of confirmed information was yet available, so the reporters and analysts were trying to give some reason to the traumatic situation.  It was a little eerie in that the shooter was reported to be driving a silver Mustang convertible and at that point was still supposed to be at large.

My wife and I were planning to go grocery shopping as soon as we were ready and I had planned to take our silver Mustang convertible as it is easier to help Piper in and out of that vehicle than our Buick due to its larger doors and contoured seats.  But even though we were a state away from the incident, I reconsidered when I thought about the frenzy that the news might be stirring up in people!

We ended up tuning into the Fox News channel at various times throughout the day to stay current on the tragedy.  At one point I became aware that, as with most of the shocking events that are covered on a national level, after a while it seems that the main message that the news programs are unknowingly or possibly knowingly conveying is FEAR.  Later in the day I took a peek at some of the Christian social networking groups that I belong to and read a little bit of everything from arguments on gun control and our rights to bear arms in order to protect ourselves, to calls for prayer for the families of the loved ones killed or injured in the shootings in Chattanooga.

This morning as I thought about yesterday’s events in light of the Word of God that I was reading, I actually found myself getting quite excited about the state of our world.  When you look at the troubled times that the countries across the globe are experiencing and cross reference with what the Word says about it, you find out that it’s all there and referred to as the Last Days!  And like I’ve said many times before, when you read the end of The Book you discover that WE WIN!

We have friends and even some relatives that are very keen to the last day’s events and can’t wait for Jesus to come and get us!  They seemed to be highly focused on His return and the relief it will give us.  I on the other hand can’t help but find myself focusing on the opportunities that we believers have for the plans and purposes of God RIGHT NOW – RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TROUBLED TIMES WE ARE READING ABOUT IN THE NEWS!

I can’t help but get excited when I read about the many revivals complete with signs, wonders and miracles that are going on in churches and Christian gatherings from coast to coast here in the United States and all across Europe.  The organization that my wife and I have been a part of for over 35 years is reporting these events happening in many of our affiliated churches all over the world!  My old home church back in California has been having almost continual revival meetings since we moved to North Carolina a year ago.

People are hurting and hungry for answers and Jesus is the answer that they need, complete with the miraculous solutions that only He and faith in His name can supply!  Now granted this isn’t the news that you’re most likely to see reported on the national TV news, but it is the news that you and I can willfully and joyfully proclaim from the mountain tops of our homes, our neighborhoods and all the other places that we frequent in our daily lives.

So, don’t allow yourself to get sucked into the fear that is being broadcast over the airwaves, newsprint and online.  The Message Bible tells us: “Don’t tolerate people who try to run your life… They’re a lot of hot air, that’s all they are.  They’re completely out of tune with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us.  He is the head and we are the body.  We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.”…” (Colossians 2:16-19) 

And don’t get so focused on Jesus’ return and how great it will be, but spend your time in the here and now… For that’s where the REAL ACTION IS!  How exciting is that!  Don’t you just want to be right smack in the middle of what God is doing in your city?  I know that I sure do!

So when you see the tragedies hitting close to home, like the events of yesterday that happened just a few hours away from where we live, don’t panic but get excited and expectant of the God things YOU and GOD can accomplish because of it!  Have a great weekend.  Stay in tune to His Word and keep asking yourself… “What or Who am I expecting to let guide my emotions and my actions?”  (… and what am I going to do about it!)