We Did It! OR Did We?

Manic Monday – Dow roars back, gains 936 points --- newspaper headline on Tuesday, October 14, 2008

What a change in countenances – last week the corners of the mouths of those people on the floor of the stock exchange were drooping so low a passer-by could have tripped over them. Yesterday there were grins a couple of miles wide and a thumbs up gesture indicating we “bit the bullet” and we’re out of the woods of financial chaos – happy days are here again! Or are they?

Keep in mind – the vast majority of “movers and shakers” in the human race are unregenerate in heart and mind, including those who snap fingers and things happen in the world of finance in every nook and cranny of this planet.

Consequently the focus is on self and the motivating force is greed – a high standard of ethics and honesty in business dealings is not a part of these peoples’ value systems. Financial scandals which we occasionally hear about are only the tip of the iceberg.

And so, as financial calamity began to set in and the tales of woe began to pour forth through news outlets there was a mad scramble to apply the tourniquet and stop the financial hemorrhaging somehow. We heard from the president and other powerful people that action would be taken in addition to the already 700 billion dollar bailout approved by the U.S. Congress.

Influential people in other nations rallied and made decisions related to dealing with the financial crisis. It seems they are fearful as to what the “domino effect” would be in their countries should what happened to the United States spill over beyond the Atlantic and Pacific oceans!

Monday, October 13, 2008, saw a mighty surge in markets everywhere. The result – a spirit which said, if framed in words, “We did it!”

Ready for a challenge? The reality is this – God is giving the human race all the rope it wants with the day coming in which it will hang itself – the only way total annihilation will be prevented is direct intervention by Jesus Christ Himself!

While it seems that the “crisis” has been resolved and the “happy days” are here again, it is but a delusion at the very best – the human race will continue to intensify the conditions which existed during the times of Noah before the judgment of the flood and Lot when he lived in the city of Sodom. The only exception is a minority group of persons who follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord – persons who are fully persuaded that doing His will and fulfilling His call upon their lives is the most important thing to be considered on a daily basis.

But for this small group – life will be increasingly difficult as they are the targets of scorn and rejection. In some parts of the world it is far beyond that – bitter and violent persecution resulting in beatings, torture, imprisonment, and even loss of life! Jesus warned of such things taking place by saying,

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.” --- John 15:18-21

AND

"Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 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. 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. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” --- Matthew 24:4-13

So, don’t get caught up in all the euphoria now sweeping the financial markets around the world and the nations in which they are located – remember, the money “god” is scheduled for judgment in the future along with many others. Make sure you have your faith centered in the true and living God Who visited this planet 2 millennia ago in human form – His name is Jesus!

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. --- 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3