Don't be alarmed!

SCRIPTURE Matthew 24:4-7
4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,[a]' and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.

OBSERVATION
We know that Jesus said, Watch out." There are so many people that claim to know the answers to our dilemmas. "The end" is not yet
Rather than answering the disciples' questions on their terms, Jesus used the occasion to teach them three important things. One, he taught them that the scenario they were asking about was much more complicated than their simplistic notions. Two, they could not know when Jesus would "come," or as we would say, "return." Three, they should worry about or "watch" their relationship with God and not worry about "watching" world or local events. Let's not be alarmed but keep ourselves close to God. If you are worrying about world events. God is saying Peace be still. Eventhough, we know that things are getting worse the best thing to do is concern yourself with your relationship with Christ. This is just the beginning of what will come.

APPLICATION
I want to be concern about my relationship with you and know that I am in right standing with you. Basically, the "sign" of Jesus' coming, as he gave it, was his coming! There is a lesson here for us. Quite simply, there is no advance sign of Jesus' coming for us to be able to predict. He comes when he comes, and the people who are then alive will know it when it happens. I do not want to get carried away with false prophets and false predictions. We need to meet with God daily rest in his presence. Do not be alarmed! Things are going to get better.

PRAYER
Lord, we know that there are so many people that have been suffering because of this economy, and we pray for them. We pray that you will help them out of this turmoil. We pray that people will come closer to you. We know that things are going to get better and that you are doing mircales in people lives. Lord, I pray that people will trust you and come closer to you. You are the only person that can save us.