Welcome back friends.  I am honored by your presence as we look for the Blessed Hope and the appearing of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus (Titus 2:13).  Based on current events lining up with Biblical prophecy, I am convinced that the rapture is imminent, and that we as believers should be ready.  Thanks for joining me in that endeavor.

Part of being ready is adhering to Biblical teaching to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122), and to bless Israel (Genesis 12:3).  As most Bible-believing Christians do, I count it a privilege to stand strong with Israel.  Not because the nation or the people of Israel are perfect, but because they are the chosen land and chosen people of God, with whom we have a spiritual inheritance.  (See Romans 11 and Ephesians 1-2)

Today, evil agents of Satan himself are at work in our world.  We have seen al-Qaeda wreak havoc in the Middle East (and America); recently, Iranian-backed Hamas rained missiles on Israel (then blamed Israel for violating international law); and currently ISIS is systematically killing Christians and opposing Muslim groups as they take territory in Syria and Iraq.  Jesus warned of “wars and rumors of war” during the last days, and we are seeing the new face of brutal warfare in the Middle East.

Believers, we cannot stand idly by while ISIS crucifies believers (and others opposed to their views), while their militant leaders incessantly rape women and children, while they behead families (and display heads on fence posts in city parks), and while they bury people alive.

ISIS is only one of many ultra-radical, rogue terrorist groups whose evil ambition is to rule the world.  But we must understand that the evil ambitions perpetuated by ISIS and other radical Islamists are first to destroy the “little Satan” (Israel), and then take down the “great Satan” (the United States).  In doing so, the goal is to establish a world-wide caliphate of Islamic law.  You see, the Bible teaches that one day Jesus will establish His millennial kingdom on earth, and Satan has battled against that throughout history.  His ambition is to take what belongs only to the Lord and make it his own.  This is a battle between good and evil, and the face of evil today is extremely grotesque and abhorrent.

This brutality is real and God expects His people to act.  Most of us are not called to go fight ISIS (and other evil regimes), but it doesn’t mean we can’t act.  Here are some specific things we can do:

• Pray! If you cannot do anything else on this list, you can pray.  Ask God to protect, defend, and preserve those in harms way.  Pray that God will confuse the enemy and cause them to turn upon one another.  Petition God for supernatural protection of Christians who are either fleeing for their lives, or are secretly remaining in dangerous situations in order to share the love of Christ.  Pray for families whose loved ones have been murdered.  Ask for wisdom of world leaders to make wise decisions in dealing with the forces of evil. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
• Be equipped! Know and understand what God’s Word has to say about end times, then accurately apply Bible prophecy to today’s events.  Be a student of God’s Word, and read and follow Christian experts who know and understand today’s events in light of Scripture.  (I recommend Joel Rosenberg,  Amir Tsarfati, and Mark Martin’s End Time Prophecy teaching series.)
• Share! Share what you know about Bible prophecy with others.  One of the advantages in studying prophecy is that it makes us keenly aware of the urgency of our time.  Jesus’s return is imminent, we must be ready, and we must exhort others to be ready.
• Give! Some are called to go to the Middle East to serve.  Most are not.  For some of us, the only way we can have a tangible, active part of the ministry in the Middle East is to financially support those who are able to go physically.  If you are able to give beyond what you give to your church, consider these ministries who have deep reaches into the Middle East:  The Joshua Fund, Far Reaching Ministries, or International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem.
• Vote your values! Christian friends, though we cannot depend on our government to do what God has called us to do, we CAN be guided by our values to vote for those who stand firmly for Israel, and who stand for righteousness and morality.  Check the values of the candidates you consider and make sure they stand for the values you stand for.  (And be sure to vote accordingly!)

Those are practical “how to’s,” and you can probably think of others.  The important thing is to be ready, because the Blessed Hope and the coming of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, is at hand!