The Time Is Short, The Time Is Now

Today (July 12, 2006) has been an interesting day on the world's stage. As the news of "wars and rumors of war" have increased in the Gaza Strip, we awoke to the news that Hezbollah mimicked the work of Hamas and has kidnapped two Israeli soldiers after first crossing into Israeli territory and killing three or four Jewish soldiers.

If we only watched the news, today's world could be a time of fear as the actions in Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian territory, and especially Iran seem to indicate that WAR is just around the corner. However, we, as believers in Jesus, have the comfort of knowing that our safety does not depend upon the evening news but instead on a sovereign God and His holy word!

We can look at the Bible passages which describe the end of days and realize that regardless of the circumstances - God is in control. He knew before time even began the circumstances we would find ourselves in on July 12, 2006, as well as the day in which you read this article. Nothing captures Yahweh Elohim by surprise. He is Lord and will protect those who have received Jesus as Messiah.
This protection, however, does not mean that life will be easy, that people will not die, or that nothing bad will ever happen to us. Believers have suffered throughout the centuries since Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee. This reality of martyrdom will not change; but we have the promise that He watches over those who believe in Him.

Consequently, we must acknowledge that "time is short." How short? We do not know; but we can recognize that the time we have to share the Gospel with God's Chosen People is drawing to a close. We then have either one of two choices - we can get busy with the work of evangelism or we can look towards the sky and try to guess the time and date for Jesus' return. Tzedakah Ministries chooses to be proactive in the work of Jewish missions and leave the future to God (Mark 13:31-32).

Books, conferences, and movies about the end of days are popular and we might very well be in the final moments of this world. However, the end is not the point of our mission on earth. Evangelism, in particular sharing the Good News of the Messiah with the Jewish people, is our sole and primary purpose as Christians. Let God take care of the future because He already has done so, and let us devote ourselves to the work of evangelism, "to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile." Shalom and God bless. Acts 20:24.