Do not be afraid.

In Matt  24:6, Jesus tells his disciples to not be afraid just because they hear of wars and rumours of wars.  Right now on this planet there are more than 40 years being fought.  Most of these wars are civil in nature.  In the past couple of years the Arab or Muslim world has been involved in civil wars where the so called common people are throwing off the yoke of oppression under some form of dictatorship.  In the past couple of years more than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria.  The government there is fighting for control against the Muslim Brotherhood.  Jesus said, "do not be alarmed or afraid when these things happen."  It is birth pains or a sign of His coming.  Jesus is coming back and sooner than we think.  Some Christians live as if they have all the time in the world.  There are even preachers who say that the coming of Christ will not come until later or not even at all.  Yet to me it is clear that the coming of the Lord is immanent.  There is one reality all of us are going to meet the Lord.  We are either going to meet Him through the portal of death or the rapture.  We also know that each day that we  live is a gift.  My reality has been that now I have lived a few decades I have seen a few of my child hood or school friends pass away.  When that begins to happen you realize that each day is a gift and you begin to live each day as it could be your last day on the planet.  You become keenly aware that you have only one life to live and so you begin to live it for the Lord.  I also have another dangerous habit.  I ride a motorcycle and each time I go out I know I may not come back, not because I am a bad rider but everyone else is not a best drivers.  So I live my life each day as it is my last and I try to make each moment count for eternity.  I do not live afraid but purposeful.  I trust you will as well.