Well, it looks like Reba McEntire is not dead after all, even though reports surfaced Monday night that she had fallen more than 100 feet off Hahnenkamm Mountains in Austria while filming.

Okay, so the website which posted the fake death, Global Associated News, did include a small box stating that the death announcement was a hoax, but who reads fine print? The rumor spread unchecked like wildfire. It also didn’t help that the singer’s social networking websites had not been updated since Monday afternoon.

Rumors always spread quickly. It’s what we human beings do. We love to spread stories, but we especially love to spread stories of calamities.

How does a Christian stay calm in the face of all these front-page rumors? All we need to do is go to the word of God for reassurance.

Jesus says in John 14:27:

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

We have to be so, so careful to not get caught up in the anxiety that is easy to fall prey to.  Even if the world is crumbling around us, let not our hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

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