Philippians 4:7 should give anyone confidence who believes in God.  The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  

But there are some very unsettling things going on in the world right now.  In the African country of Zimbabwe we have a unscrupulous leader (Mugabe) who, after the election a couple of months ago, lost but waited several days to make the information public only to claim he lost but that the winner did not get the 50% majority which was needed so they would have to hold the election again.  And since that first election he and his lynch men have done everything they can to terrorize the opponent so they can’t campaign without being bothered and have actually murdered people who wanted to vote for the winner, Morgan Tsvangirai.  

I don’t believe that Tsvangirai might not have actually gotten the 50% that was needed to be the new leader.  The new election was to be held but Tsvangiria pulled out of the race just so his followers wouldn’t be tortured and killed any more by Mugabe’s followers.  

And there were the police, siding with Mugabe–the crooked leader I am talking about! I can’t believe the United Nations doesn’t intercede and do what is right!  If we weren’t in Iraq cleaning up the Sadam mess we probably could and would step in.  I actually would vote right now to clean out Mugabe and his crooked regime.  Mugabe also jailed some of Tsvangirai’s campaign leaders in an attempt to scare them and ruin their campaigning process.  It worked–illegally so, but when you have the police under your corrupt control, this is what happens.  I wish someone with decency and power would stop this disgusting man.  (I know what John Wayne would have done in the old Western movies!)  The people of Zimbabwe deserve better!  
 
I often wonder just how bad is the gas situation is going to get.  The government just came out with some numbers showing it is affecting everything and is starting to cause an increase in inflation!   My local gas station actually ran out and stopped selling fuel the last couple of days.  They put a sign on the pumps that said, “No longer selling fuel because the profit margin isn’t enough to pay for the cost”.  

I don’t blame the owners of this gas station–they are upstanding people.  Something is seriously wrong when something like this is happening and our big-name fuel companies are making record profits.  I think people who are greedy and price-gouge will be rewarded with their behavior some day and I will not feel sorry for them.   When the tide turns, only God will be able to help them.

The prophet Isaiah spoke and prophesied about the judgment against the nations about 700 years before Christ. Isaiah 34…Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it!  The Lord is angry at all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies.  He will totally destroy them; he will give them over to slaughter. Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will send up a stench; the mountains will be soaked with their blood.  All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved, and the sky rolled up like a scroll; the entire starry host will fall, like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.  My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; see, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have totally destroyed.  The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood; it is covered with fat–the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in Edom.  And the wild oxen will fall with them, the bull calves and the great bulls.  Their land will be drenched with blood, and the dust will be soaked with fat.  For the Lord had a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause.  Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch!  It will not be quenched night and day; its smoke will rise forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again.  The desert owl and screech owl will possess it; the great owl and raven will nest there.  God will stretch out over Edom, the measuring line of chaos, and the plumb line of desolation.  Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom; all her princes will vanish away.  Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her strongholds.  She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls.  Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures will also repose and find for themselves places of rest.  The owl will nest there and lay eggs, she will hatch them, and care for her young under the shadow of her wings; There also the falcons will gather, each with its mate.  Look in the scroll of the Lord and read:  None of these will be missing, not one will lack her mate.  For it is his mouth that has given the order, and his spirit will gather them together.  He allots their portions; his hand distributes them by measure.  They will possess it forever and dwell there from generation to generation.  

Isaiah 35...The Joy of the Redeemed...The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.  Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.  The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give away; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.  Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.  Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.  Water will gush for in the wilderness and streams in the desert.  The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs.  In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.  And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness.  The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it.  No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there.  But only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return.  They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.  Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Hebrews 11...Faith...Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  This is what the ancients were commended for.  By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.  Be faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did.  By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings.  And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.  By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away.  For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.  By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.  By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith...13...All these people were still living by faith when they died.  They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.  And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.  People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.  If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  Instead, they were longing for a better country---a heavenly one.

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he had prepared a city for them.

With faith we can have a positive outlook and overcome all obstacles in life!     

Steve Huneke