One glance at the news and you will hear the words oil pipelines and nuclear war. North Korea is in the news, Russia is in the news, Ukraine is in the news, Iran is in the news, Saudi Arabia is in the news, Israel is in the news, China is in the news, and of course the United States is in the news. I just saw a headline that France has over 2500 gas stations without gas and 2000 with only partial fuel. You can look at the news and think the enemy is winning, but then when you open your Bible you read where Jesus said, ““I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” (Luke 10:17-20) Now you have a choice to make, are you going to be intimidated by the works of the enemy around the world, or are you going to be enamored by the Lord of Heaven and Earth? One will create in you fear and anxiety, the other will create in you love and gratitude. The choice is yours.

We should not be ignorant of happenings around the world. We live in the world. Decisions that world leaders make affect us in many ways, they inconvenience us greatly, and they even trouble us for we have no control over any of it. Then we hear the words of Jesus in John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” Yet again we have a choice to make, are we going to sit at home and watch our favorite news network all night long, just so our knowledge of something makes us feel “in the know” or are we going to head out and enjoy our friends and family, knowing we have prayed for the peace of Jerusalem and the world? I know for me, I pray for Putin, Kim Jung Un, Biden, Xi Ping, the Crown Prince, and any other world leaders name I hear. But I also realize, the Bible says, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Proverbs 21:1). Shalom my friends, God knows how to shift the hearts of world leaders, both wicked and righteous ones. Have a great weekend.