The "good times" Christians

There are many such today. Life has been easy in the western world for decades, and affluence has been a major theme for many preachers. Affluence fitted the general economic scene, and it was what folks loved to hear.

Yes, the Bible talks of prosperity, every need supplied, that God wants us in health. There´s a flipside though. We also read of trials, tribulations, persecution – not exactly the favourite topic on your local church platform.

Because of that, many Christians are unprepared for when times aren´t so good – like now in the United States. All of a sudden, Wall St - that seemingly immovable rock - has crashed, and at the time of writing is up and down like a Coney Island roller-coaster.

The multi-billion dollars bailout, if Congress agrees to it, will leave the bankers happy, but not the taxpayers who have to shoulder the debt. If the man in the street is not compensated, then human greed and incompetence (the root of the sub-prime dealings) gets a gentle slap on the wrist. Reckless lending would be rewarded instead of those responsible being brought to justice. Today, some deliberate wrongdoing is seen as "just a mistake."

So now, America´s formerly smooth financial highways are filled with pot-holes, figuratively speaking.

Very difficult times are ahead, and this writer predicts that before long the planned North American Union comprising the US, Canada, and Mexico, will happen. The Amero will replace the death-throes dollar. It will be the end of the once-great United States as many remember it, and the beginning of the enslaving – it will not be presented as that - New World Order. With it will come a cashless society, as predicted in Revelation at the end of the Bible.

What needs to happen now on church platforms is a return to telling-it-like-it-is, and the "unpopular" Bible verses highlighted. Several times in Revelation 2 and 3 Jesus speaks futuristically of "he who overcomes" and "he who endures to the end", so obviously there will have to be something to overcome.

The faith of those who heard only prosperity preaching will collapse like a two-dollar suitcase when the hard times come – and we´re seeing the beginnings now.

So, dear Christian, you need to know what God says - and don´t depend on the local pastor telling you. You need to look not straight ahead at the TV channels but downward to your Bible, and upward to God, for "your redemption draws nigh."

Now is the time to get prepared mentally and spiritually for what is to come. Stick to Jesus and you will endure to the end. You will overcome – even if you´re put in a detention camp or have to sleep on the street. Despite that you will be the ultimate winner for eternity, exactly as Jesus promises.

There´s no greater lesson in overcoming than reading in the New Testament about the hardships of the Apostle Paul. He said "To live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Anyone not a believer now - become one. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the words on your silver coin, "In God we trust" will mean something to you.