The week after the Japanese earthquake, many people world-wide began to take emergency preparedness seriously, at least for a little while. The same seriousness fell like a blanket on this country after ‘911’. People went back to church – at least for a few weeks. Then, after the initial shock wore off, they were back to business as usual. I don’t know why, but it seems like it always takes a major calamity to jolt people into action.
This Spring and Summer, we have seen weather extremes like never before. Record-breaking floods, droughts, temperatures and storms have battered the country and left much of our farmlands barren. What do you think this is going to mean to food prices? Well, I’ll tell you – food prices are going to skyrocket – and sooner than you think!
This past week, we have seen the stock market go up and down like a roller coaster. What we don’t readily understand is what all that means to the economic situation in this country and the entire world. What it means is that our money is very soon going to be worth almost nothing!
In Matthew 24:8 Jesus said the signs of nature will be like “birth pangs.” The closer a pregnant woman gets to the time her baby is born, the birth pangs increase in two ways. They increase in frequency and intensity. That is exactly what Jesus meant here. The closer we get to His coming, the more frequently we will see natural calamities like weather extremes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, plagues, famine, wars and the like.
Why does Jesus tell us about the signs of His coming? Jesus didn’t say that He would take us out of this world before we would experience any of these things. If that were true, we would already be gone, wouldn’t we?! No, Jesus told us about the signs because He didn’t want us to be taken by surprise and be unprepared!
Why then do we yawn when we hear these things in our newscasts and act as if we are not going to be affected? It’s time now to ‘read and heed’ Matthew 24!
A recent article I read said we can count on three things very soon:
- Food supplies becoming scarce
- Food prices doubling in 2-3 years and then doubling again in the next 2-3 years
- Growing food will be more valuable than gold
Today, you may only hear about the world’s violence and economic woes, or see the faces of famine in another country on the news, or watch as natural disasters effect other parts of the nation and the world. But rest assured, we will not always be exempt from all these things. The world you see around you today may be very different tomorrow. Don’t wait until it comes to you – you need to be ready today for what may come tomorrow.
The prophetic dreams, visions and revelation that the Lord gives his people are for a reason! We are not to ignore them! Everywhere, the Prophets are warning to get ready! Of course, that means spiritually FIRST – but it also means get ready with food, water and other necessities!
“A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.” (Proverbs 22:3 NLT)
“A sensible man watches for problems ahead and prepares to meet them. The simpleton never looks and suffers the consequences.” (Proverbs 27:12 TLB)
As we see the events of Revelation escalating at a phenomenal rate, let’s make sure we are prepared – spiritually and physically. We still have time but we need to act NOW. The economic situation in this country and all over the world is going to make it very difficult, very soon to gather things we need for Times of Trouble. The stock market is on a roller coaster and it’s not going to end well. The drought and extreme weather we are having is going to make food prices unaffordable rapidly! It’s all coming together, or maybe we should say it’s all coming apart.
For now, we have a good supply of emergency food that we can hold the line on the pricing. But in the very near future, you won’t be able to get this food at any price! It’s fast coming to that and we know it to be true by the economic forecasts. Don’t wait on this – your family is counting on you to provide the basic necessities of life for them when calamity strikes.
Do what you can today for your family and then rest in the fact that we are in the hands of a loving God. Get your plan going! Do something today to prepare for tomorrow!
I don’t want anyone I love to have to suffer unnecessarily, and I want to have something left over to give to others.
Love,
Jim
