Heeerrrrre’s your sign……….(in my best Bill Engvall voice)

Matthew 24:6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

I am not the “news nerd” I once was. I now usually watch the first 15 minutes of the local news to catch the weather, for it plays a major roll in my business load and schedule. Many times I have to change it and come back to the weather to shield the mayhem from my boys. The world scene I catch mostly by chance online and radio. But the world scene this week has demanded greater attention with the imminent outlook of escalating war in Israel. The stage is being set for an elevated warfront during a time of uncertainty of allies and leadership of that region and abroad. Israel is known throughout the world as God’s people, and God promised Abraham that He would protect them eternally. Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” The Bible is full of proof of this promise of God to the Jewish nation.

We all know of how fragile our nations economy is right now. Most likely many of us have felt it’s pain on a very personal scale. The world’s economy is teetering also on the brink of collapse. We have seen weather phenomena recently that have seemed extraordinary;  great storms, fires, and earthquakes of recent years. All of these are signs of God’s power, not mother nature. He is in control and He is giving us signs to point us to Himself. Are we living in the times of Matthew 24? Matthew 24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Can you see how much of this could fall onto the timetable of today’s generation?

How can we turn our back blindly on what we see unfolding before us? How can we not be pressed to share the hope that lies within us? Those around us just may seem to not notice, or worse yet to deny God’s work around them. Christ tells us in Matthew His return will catch many by surprise; and they will pay for their mistake eternally. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. The signs are here, the time is now. Can you really afford to go about your day and pretend it is not really happening? It is not too late, until it is.