Matthew 24:1-14
Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many (Matthew 24:4-5).

Today, we will begin to look at some of the reasons we need to study on living in troubled times. It is my prayer that the Lord will confirm His words in your heart.

1. To be prepared. We study this topic so that we can be prepared for whatever is coming or are already happening in our environment, community and world.

   From the passage we read we can see that the Lord took His time to explain what the end times will look like and the troubles we are to expect. Verse 7-8 reads: “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:7-8).

   Are these not already happening in our time? Can anyone say the global economic meltdown and the news of wars have not reached him or her? Many nations’ financial and economic growth has been moving between being bearish and bullish. The perennial problems of bad leadership and governance, corruption and mismanagement of funds abound in many nations.

   Are believers not being persecuted and made to look like the bad and intolerant ones around the world? It is, therefore, time for us to face the reality of the times we are living in. May the Lord draw your heart unto wisdom and prayer in Jesus’ Name. Shalom.

Your Turn

• Thank God for the infallibility of His word.
• Thank Him for providing the answers on how to live as we wait for His second coming.

Hymn: We will wait upon the Lord.

Further Reading: Daniel 7:9-14.