Jesus said do not be afraid of rumours of wars. Here's how you should live instead

Amid growing conflict in the Middle East and continued aggression in Ukraine, rumours of a third world war and conscription abound. How should Christians respond in a time of deepening international crisis?

The news is full of wars and rumours of wars. Tensions escalate daily in the Middle East; Russia and China flex their muscles and, this past weekend, the head of Nato accused Donald Trump of undermining Western security with his latest inflammatory comments.

Alongside this, we read a stream of panicky stories about funding and recruitment crises in our armed forces and the possible reintroduction of conscription.

No wonder fears of a third world war are rising. To a generation raised on the nostalgia of the second world war, the prospect of actually being involved in a similar scale conflict – amplified by the development of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons – is terrifying.