Editor’s note: This is something I wrote years ago, on the idea of whether or not you can lose your salvation.

Yes, one does find verses like these:

Revelation 2:7: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”

Revelation 2:11: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”

But the Scriptures also say this:

I John 5:4-5: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”

I John 4:2-4: “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Christ is telling us here that we have already overcome the world. That is a done deal. We have overcome the world – it is a finished act, accomplished by Christ Jesus our Lord.

And this verse:

Matthew 10:22: “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”

Enduring to the end is not what saves us but is a sign that we are saved – it’s a result, not a cause, just like good works are a result and not a cause. We will endure to the end because it is Christ’s good pleasure that we endure to the end; He has predestined us to that before the world began. My actions can no more lose it than my actions gained it in the first place – it is His doing, not mine. I am not saved by my actions but by His grace; even the saving faith was a gift from God.

A number of weeks ago I was watching the news on TV and saw a special report on a very unusual church ministry. This particular church (and I’m afraid I don’t remember what state it was in) had Islamic neighbors who were renovating their mosque. Since their mosque was undergoing construction the Muslims who attend it were unable to hold their services there. The Christian church offered to let the Muslims use their church instead until the renovations were complete. So the two groups shared a single facility – the Christians held their traditional services and left, and then the Muslims held their Islamic services and left. They did not share services or change the gods they worshiped; they simply shared the same facility.

People talked about what a wonderful, kind thing it was for the Christian church to do that, but I’m not sure it was the right thing to do. Is it really a good idea to take a building that’s dedicated to the glory of God and allow Muslims to use it to worship Allah? How is that different from the church endorsing Islam as a true religion that honors God? After all, suppose the tables were turned. Do you really think that Muslims would allow Christians to use their mosques to worship Jesus? (A related question: how many Jewish synagogues do you think exist in Mecca? Isn’t it interesting how everyone is supposed to be tolerant of Islam and yet Islam is never asked to be tolerant of others? Why do you suppose this tolerance only goes one way?)

Let’s think about this for a minute. I hope it is clear to everyone that the Christian God is not the same as the Islamic Allah. Christianity teaches of a triune God who sent His Son Jesus (who was fully God, and fully man) to Earth to die for the sins of mankind and, through that death, purchase forgiveness and salvation for mankind. Islam strenuously denies all of these things. Some people may stand up and say that they’re all the same, but even Muslims do not believe this. After all, if they’re “all the same”, then why do Muslim countries execute people who leave Islam and convert to Christianity? They clearly see a difference between the two religions.

There are a tremendous number of differences between Islam and Christianity but I will focus on just one. Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, who came to Earth to die for mankind and purchase salvation. Islam completely denies this. The Bible has this to say about people who deny this doctrine:

1 John 4:2: “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is in the world.”

That’s pretty cut and dried. Islam denies this, so it is not of God. Its god, then, is not the God of the Bible, but a false god. Just in case we missed it, this concept can be found repeatedly all throughout the Bible:

1 John 2:22: “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.”

Does Islam agree that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the World, and that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but should have everlasting life? Absolutely not! The Bible, then, calls its teachings lies. It is a false doctrine and those who hold to it worship a false God. Allah, then, cannot be the God of the Bible. This is not complicated.

Therefore, those who follow Islam are following a false god, and those who help Islam are helping people down the road to Hell. If a church offers to lend its facilities to Muslims for the express purpose of allowing them to worship their false god, isn’t that aiding the spread of Islam – and, therefore, leading people away from the real God? Should churches really be doing that?

Some might say “Oh, you’re just overreacting. It’s not a big deal.” The Bible disagrees. Look at what 2 John has to say about this:

2 John 1:7: “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”

John warns Christians to be wary of “deceivers” who deny that Jesus is the Messiah. Islam would definitely fall under this category. John goes on:

2 John 1:10: “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed:
11 For he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds.”

Do you see what this is saying? This strictly commands Christians to not provide any form of help whatsoever to those who are spreading a false gospel. Even verbal support is forbidden. Do you think that, just maybe, lending your church to people so they can worship false gods just might be considered “support”? Do you think the Apostle John would have put his stamp of approval on that? Do you think God would have approved of that? I don’t think so.

The Bible commands us to love each other and to be a light to the world, but I see nothing loving or kind in helping people spread a false gospel. The world may approve but I do not believe God is honored.

Recently I read that the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in St. Paul, Minnesota welcomed three lesbian ministers into their church. Sadly, this has become so common that it’s no longer news. Not only do many church accept homosexuality, but they even accept homosexual clergy.

What caught my attention was that the church took this as an opportunity to repent of the “sin” of having condemned homosexuality in the past. That’s right: the church now believes that its previous stance of calling homosexuality a sin was actually a grievous offense against God Himself. In their own words, they said they should have “listened, learned, and included” instead of condemning it as sin and urging homosexuals to repent.

That is a pretty astonishing step to take, even in today’s jaded and immoral culture. At one time churches throughout the country taught that homosexuality was a sin; now they teach that condemning homosexuality is a sin. Times have really changed.

I have heard people try to argue that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality. Anyone who tells you that is either ignorant or lying. The Bible not only condemns it, but it condemns it with incredibly strong language.

For example:

Leviticus 18:22: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is abomination.”

Here we see God saying “Don’t do it.” That’s actually pretty clear. A couple chapters later God elaborates on this idea:

Leviticus 20:13: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”

It’s hard to imagine a stronger condemnation of homosexuality than that! In fact, it’s so strong that this verse has caused the Bible to be banned as “hate speech” in numerous countries around the world. That fact alone should put to rest the idea that the Bible smiles approvingly on homosexuality. But God has a great deal more to say about the subject. Do you remember Sodom and Gomorrah? God didn’t look down on those cities with favor, nor did He choose to “listen, learn, and include”. He didn’t seek out their inhabitants and have them put in positions of authority over His children. Instead, He destroyed those cities and everyone who lived in them with fire and brimstone:

Genesis 19:24: “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;
25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.”

This is about as clear an example of divine judgment upon homosexuality as you could possibly want. But some people may say “Well, that was Old Testament, and God was mean and grumpy back then. In the New Testament things were different.” As foolish as it is, people do make that argument.

The reason it is a foolish thing to say is because God never changes. He is eternal, perfect, and unchanging:

James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

Numbers 23:19: “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”

I Samuel 15:29: “And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.”

God never changes. Besides this, the New Testament condemns homosexuality as strongly as the Old Testament. In fact, the Bible says that homosexuality is actually a curse:

Romans 1:26: “For this cause God gave them up unto vile afflictions: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.”

What is homosexuality called? A “vile affliction”. The Bible does not depict it as just an “alternative lifestyle”. It is an abomination to God, as the passage goes on to explain:

Romans 1:28: “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

God clearly sees homosexuality as an evil thing. It may be acceptable to society but it is not acceptable to God. He calls it a sin and urges all those living that lifestyle to repent of it and come to God for forgiveness, cleansing, and healing. God is more than willing to extend forgiveness, but in order to accept that forgiveness you must first acknowledge that it is a sin, that you are wrong, and that God is right.

People say “Well, we can’t help it. Homosexuality is genetic – there’s just nothing we can do about it.” That in itself is a lie – homosexuality is treatable, and a great many people have left that lifestyle and found healing. But for the sake of the argument, let’s say that there is a genetic disposition toward homosexuality. That does not change the situation at all. After all, if someone had a genetic disposition toward molesting children, would that mean it’s ok for them to do that? Or if someone had a genetic disposition toward mass murder, would that mean “they just can’t help it” and society should just step back, be understanding, and let them disembowel people?

Of course not! A sin is a sin, and sin separates us from God. The fact is, all of us are predisposed to sin because we have sin natures. Sinning is what we do; it’s who we are. But God can change us, if we ask Him to. He can set us free from the bondage of sin and give us a new life.

That is why the actions of this church are so horrible. There are very real consequences to homosexuality – not just in this life, but also in the life to come. The Bible is clear that those who refuse to seek God’s forgiveness and cling to the homosexual lifestyle will not make it to Heaven:

I Corinthians 6:9: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 As such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

The offer that God makes is this: everyone has sinned in God’s sight, but Jesus came to Earth and died in our place – He took upon Himself the punishment that we deserved. If we will agree with God that the things we’ve been doing really are sins, and confess them to God, and ask God to forgive us, then He will. As verse 11 says, God is powerful enough to wash us clean of all our sins, and give us a new heart. He can defeat the sin in our lives, no matter how many times it has defeated us in the past.

That is why the actions of this church are so dangerous. Instead of telling people that they are on the road to Hell and desperately need to turn from their sins and ask God for forgiveness, they tell them that God approves of what they’re doing and that everything is fine. There is nothing loving or kind about that. Which is more loving – to tell people who are on the road to destruction that they’re fine and nothing bad is going to happen to them, or to warn them that they are caught in sin but that God is able and willing to help them escape?

All over the world, criticism of homosexuality is being classified as “hate speech”. And yet those who approve of homosexual behavior are actually the ones guilty of true “hate speech”, for they are encouraging people to engage in a lifestyle that will damn them for eternity. There is nothing loving about that.

The truth is that you cannot fight God. You may hate Him and His laws; you may despise His Word and reject it utterly. The fact remains that one day you will die, and after death – whether you believe in God or not – you will stand before a holy God and give an account of your life. God has made it very clear what will happen to those who insist on clinging to their sins – for if you reject God’s forgiveness and mercy then you will face His wrath. There are no other options. Deciding to not believe in God will not make Him go away.

God is an all-powerful immortal who created the entire universe, and who will one day come back and destroy it. If you refuse His forgiveness then what hope do you think you have? How are you going to defeat an almighty God?

Editor’s Note: For several years I was an HR support person for a large company. Whenever a manager fired someone they had to give a reason, and one day I went through the reasons and collected the best of them. Here they are, unedited, exactly as they were typed into the system (spelling mistakes and all)!

HE WAS NOTHING BUT TROUBLE.ALL THE WAY AROUND. DO NOT REHIRE DO NOT REHIRE DO NOT REHIRE DO NOT REHIRE DO NOT REHIRE DO NOT REHIRE DO NOT REHIRE IF YOU DO REHIRE HIM GOD HELP YOU

Employee used his cell phone while on duty to call the radio station that was playing on the PA system and requested a song; told DJ he was “hiding out in a shower” at [redacted]

Employee picked up paycheck,and didn t return for work until 30 min. before the shift was over.Employee stated she was “high” from drug use.

Rob is a no show/ no call because he is incarserated in the county jail on drug charges

Stephanie left work without telliing anyone she was leaving. When I ask her about it the next day, she stated she left because the police were here and she was carring a large quanity of drugs in her purse

resigned under advice from therapist

WROTE A FOWL WORD ON THE SERPENTENE PERTAINING TO A MGR.

when i came in to work on 11/20 am he had been drinking. and a customer stated he had asked him to buy him a beer. Needless to say he was let go immediatly.

Went to be a dealer in casino and make more money.

WAS TOLD TO CLEAN RESTROOMS — HE SELF TERMINATED HIMSELF

was steeling

was returning to school could not work anymore also he was caught eating foof that he did not pay for.

Was mad because I gave her walls to clean.

was hearing vioces telling her. evil was coming for her

was always calling in or shoeing up late

wanted by police so she walked out

walked out because he didnt like the radio station

using fowl lanaguage on the line.Was arguring with another employee

ugh

Tired of working

This was not a free ticket

Jill smooched her boyfriend in front of long line of customers instead of waiting on them.

got caught smoking weed off property by police reported to his p.o. so he skipped town to keep fron going back for a parole violation.

lakey was arrested by the police for a forgery charge from a previous job. she did not report for work on 7/8/03 for her 3 pm shift. this is not a legitimate reason for missing work.

Recently I’ve seen a lot of people predicting that the world, as we know it, is about to end. People may no longer walk the streets carrying signs saying “Repent – the end is near!”, but that message is still being proclaimed in blogs, websites, news articles, and even on television.

Some of the theories are utter nonsense. For example, one guy suggested that the recent BP oil spill in the Gulf would trigger an explosion of all the oil buried beneath the ocean, which would in turn blow up the whole planet and cause a mass extinction event. That had zero chance of happening and, as we’ve seen, it did not happen. The oil spill was certainly a disaster, but it did not kill every last person on the planet.

Other theories are more plausible and should perhaps be taken more seriously. For example, some people have pointed out that our electrical grid is vulnerable to solar flares. The power grid in the United States depends upon around 350 high-voltage transformers. These giant machines alter electrical voltages so that electricity can be transmitted over long distances. (Without them you’d have to live right next to a power plant; it’s not easy to send electricity hundreds of miles.) These units weigh more than 100 tons and take years to build – in fact, there’s currently a 3-year backorder on them. If a solar flare were to destroy them (or even take out just some of them) it would shut down the nation’s power grid for years. Can you imagine what life would be like without electricity? Estimates suggest that the damage would be in the trillions of dollars and around 60% to 90% of the country’s population would die.

What is the risk of a solar flare of that magnitude happening? As it turns out, solar activity peaks every 22 years. In the most recent cycles the high-energy particles and X-rays from the Sun have either missed Earth, just barely grazed it, or were too weak to do any damage. However, in 1859 and in 1921 massive storms did strike the Earth. At the time they had little impact because there was no power grid in 1859, and the grid was in its infancy in 1921. But if the 1859 or 1921 storm were to hit today our grid would go down and we would all die. In 1859 it didn’t really matter if people had power or not because nearly everyone lived on farms, and the farms didn’t need power to operate. That is not the case today. Just going without power for a single day is a huge inconvenience; if the power was shut off forever it would be more than just inconvenient – it would be fatal.

Some people have suggested that a massive solar flare could happen sometime between 2011 and 2013; others dispute this. What is not disputed is that the planet has been hit by massive solar flares before and will be hit by them again. Our power grid has not been hardened to survive such an event. If it happens our grid will go down and it will not go back up. What happened in 1859 and 1921 will eventually happen again. It may not be in the next few years and it may not happen in the next decade. It may not even happen in our lifetimes. But it could happen at any time, and if it did happen the world as we know it would end.

Another possibility is terrorism. If a terrorist were to obtain a nuclear weapon, put it on an inexpensive cruise missile (the type that can be purchased for ~$100,000 on the black market), and fire it off the coast of the United States (so it wouldn’t even have to be smuggled into the country), they could detonate it around 20 to 25 miles above the nation. That would produce a massive electromagnetic pulse that would have the same effect as a massive solar flare – the power grid would go down, it would not come back up, and we would all die. Our electronic equipment (like our cars and computers, for example) has not been hardened against an EMP and would not survive.

There are already several rogue states with ties to terrorism (like Iran and North Korea) that either have nuclear weapons or will have them in the near future. It also may be possible to obtain nuclear weapons on the black market; some Russian nuclear facilities are not particularly well-guarded and many nukes been “misplaced”. An EMP-causing nuke could be launched tomorrow, or it might not ever happen. But, like a rogue solar flare, it could happen at any moment and end civilization.

Yet another possibility is inflation. The government has been spending tax dollars in a way that has never been seen before in history; we now have an administration that is spending trillions more than it actually has to spend. To put that number into perspective: if you spend $1000 per day you would have spent $365,000 by the end of the year. If you spent $1000 per day starting in 0 AD and wanted to spend a billion dollars, it would take you until the 28th century to do so. If you wanted to spend a trillion dollars, you would have to go through that process 999 more times. It is an unbelievable amount of money. A trillion one-dollar bills, laid end-to-end, would reach from the Earth to the Sun – a distance of 93 million miles. It is an unfathomable number. In the Milky Way galaxy there are “only” 400 billion stars – in other words, it’s larger than the number of stars in our galaxy.

The reason the government can spend that much money is because other countries are still willing to lend it to us. Nations like China are willing to take what amount to IOUS’s from our government – we get their money, and they get interest and a promise we’ll pay them back someday. At some point it will become impossible to pay the interest on the money we owe. Some nations, like Japan, are already in that position; their national debt is 200% of their GDP (meaning their nation owes twice what the entire country can produce in a year), and over 60% of their budget is spent paying interest – and that is with an amazing interest rate of just 0.05%. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that at some point, interest rates will go up, the country will default, and the Yen will become worthless.

The same thing could happen here. All it would take is for China to wake up one day and say “You know what? The US has $95 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities and debt. I’m going to sell off my bonds and invest my money in a country that isn’t spending like drunken sailors.” At that point the market becomes flooded with dollars (which makes them nearly worthless) and the purchasing power of the dollar drops to zero (a process known as hyperinflation). Overnight the savings of millions of Americans is wiped out, their 401ks become worthless, and they become unable to purchase anything. This is followed by massive unemployment, societal collapse, rioting, and death.

All it would take is for one major holder of our debt to decide to invest their money somewhere else, and that could happen tomorrow. If it did then the house of cards would collapse and our country would be destroyed. We’d become a third-world nation virtually overnight.

Of course, that might not ever happen. A solar flare might not ever happen. An EMP terrorist attack might not ever happen. Things may just keep on going as they are now, day after day, year after year – just as they have for the past century. Yes, the world might end this afternoon, but the chances are it won’t. (At least, that’s what we hope.)

I’m sure there are other doomsday scenarios out there, but let’s stick with these. Let’s say that you believe, for whatever reason, that the end of the world is imminent. You’ve read the reports and you see the writing on the wall. Now, I’m not saying that any of this is likely; personally, I think there’s no way to know what the future holds. Anything is possible but that doesn’t mean anything is likely. But, for the sake of the argument, let’s say you are convinced that it’s all about to come crashing down. What do you do?

Obviously, this is a little different from being afraid that your teenage son might total your car. You can’t just go buy “end of the world” insurance. How do you respond to a threat of that magnitude? Is there a way to “hedge your bets” so that, just in case something does happen, you’ll make it through just fine?

Believe it or not there are Biblical principles we can apply to this. I think the most striking one can be found right here:

Matthew 6:34: “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

In other words, Jesus told us to not worry about tomorrow – just focus on today and tomorrow will take care of itself. That seems like really bizarre advice. Does Jesus actually mean that?

Apparently so! Look what Jesus said in the verses just before that one:

Matthew 6:25: “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

In what is one of the most astonishing passages in the entire Bible, Jesus actually commands His followers to “take no thought for your life”. He commanded them to not worry about the future – to not be concerned about food, water, or clothing. In fact, Jesus actually chided His disciples for their lack of faith, pointing out that God knew they had needs and was more than able to provide for them. As verse 33 explains, Jesus wants us to be focused on just one thing: serving God. When our focus is on building God’s kingdom He will supply us with whatever we need. As Jesus pointed out, the birds don’t sow crops or harvest fields but God still feeds them. We can trust God to feed us as well.

Now, this doesn’t mean that there won’t be suffering; 11 of the 12 apostles died a martyr’s death. Jesus told us that in this life there would be “great tribulation”. He never said life would be easy – in fact, He said it would be painful, difficult, and full of trials. But God does not want us to worry about tomorrow. God is bigger than tomorrow; He knows what’s coming and He will take care of us. We don’t know what the future holds but we do know Who holds the future – and that’s really all we need to know.

This seems to fly in the face of reason. After all, isn’t that just being irresponsible? Even Proverbs 22:3 says “A prudent man forseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.” What we forget is that God wants us to hide ourselves in Him. God wants to be our strong tower, our mighty refuge, and our defense. 2 Chronicles says this:

2 Chronicles 16:9: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”

Do you see that? It is so easy to forget that God wants us to put our trust in Him. That’s not just a cute phrase that we recite on Sunday mornings; God actually wants us to trust in His ability to take care of us. He wants us to believe that when times are tough God will be there. He doesn’t want us to think “Well, tough times are coming, but I’ve got it covered.” He wants our thought to be “Tough times are coming, but God will take care of me. I’m going to stay focused on serving God and let Him deal with the future.”

People think that “God helps those who help themselves” is a Bible verse, but it’s not. To us that may seem irresponsible. After all, shouldn’t we at least try to do something? I’ve seen many people recommend stockpiling a six-months’ supply of food and water, or investing heavily in gold. While I’m not against taking precautions it’s worth nothing that the Bible has a different take on things. It doesn’t seem to think that silver or gold is of much value when the world is ending:

Proverbs 11:4: “Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.”

Let we think that is talking about the Great White Throne judgment, Ezekiel expounds further on this topic:

Ezekiel 7:19: “They shall case their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.”

You might be thinking “That doesn’t make any sense! Surely having lots of money stored away would be a great asset when civilization is collapsing.” Proverbs gives a hint as to why this doesn’t work:

Proverbs 13:8: “The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.”

In other words, if civilization has collapsed and you are the only person around who has food, water, and money, what do you think is going to happen? Do you think your neighbors are just going to starve to death while they watch you eat? Not exactly! It’s much more likely that they’ll try to kill you and take your food from you. Having food when no one else has food is very close to painting a big target on your head saying “Shoot me”. Even if you have guns and are able to keep your neighbors at bay, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to keep a squadron of soldiers at bay. Somebody is going to find out that you have food, and then large numbers of highly-armed people are going to come and seize it.

As far as gold goes – sure, it seems like a great investment now, but what do you think will happen if hyperinflation hits? In 1933 the United States government made it illegal for people to own more than $100 worth of gold. Anyone who had stockpiles of gold were forced to exchange it for paper money. This law was not repealed until 1974. If the government was broke and had nothing to spend but worthless paper money, do you really think they wouldn’t pass that law again? All they’d have to do is pass a single law and then – bam! – they can legally confiscate all your gold. So yes, owning gold could help in the day of disaster – right up until someone decides to steal it.

Interestingly, the Bible does not depict stockpiling things in a very flattering light. It’s true that in the case of Joseph, stockpiling food on a national basis led to millions of lives being saved. Yet, in other cases, it’s definitely frowned upon. Look at what James says:

James 5:1: “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.”

“Heaping treasure together for the last days” is something that James is criticizing. It’s not listed as an admirable trait. Jesus illustrated this in a parable:

Luke 12:16: “And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater: and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for may years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

What did this person do that so angered God? When the Lord blessed him with great wealth, the man didn’t give it to the poor to help them – instead, he decided to stockpile it all for himself so that he could lead an easy, comfortable life. Jesus said that the Christian response was quite different. Notice what He says in this passage:

Luke 3:9: “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.”

Jesus warned the people that bad times were coming. However, when the people asked Christ what to do about it He didn’t say “If you have two coats, keep one as a spare because it’s going to get ugly out there.” Instead, He told people to give away their spares. If they had two coats they were told to give the second one to someone who needed it right then. If they had extra food they weren’t supposed to store it up – they were to find a hungry person and feed them. That is not a stockpile mentality.

It is very rare for God to save people by having them store up huge quantities of food and water ahead of time. The only examples that come to mind are Noah (in which the whole world was destroyed by water and Noah had to live on a boat for a year), and Joseph, which we’ve already mentioned. Elijah didn’t survive the drought by having lots of food stored up; instead, God sent birds to feed him, and when that failed He sent him to a widow that had one cup of flour left. That one cup of flour miraculously fed three people for months. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years, and they survived because God rained down food from heaven for them. How much food did He send? Just enough to meet their immediate need.

God wants us to lead radically different lives. Jesus said this:

Matthew 6:19: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Jesus does not want us to lay up great fortunes here on Earth – in fact, He strictly prohibits it. He wants us to invest our time, money, and energy into God’s kingdom. If we have more than we need God wants us to give it to people who need it. God does not want us to be distracted by what may or may not happen tomorrow; instead, God wants our focus – and our heart – to be centered on serving Him. God wants us to trust Him when it comes to what might happen tomorrow. Don’t worry about it; don’t fret about it; don’t wonder where your next meal will come from. God knows you need food and He will provide.

The question is, if something bad happens and the world as we know it comes to an end, who are you going to be looking to for deliverance? Are you thinking “Well, I’ve got all these things prepared so I’ll be fine” or “God will take care of me?” Are you depending on yourself to get through it, or are you looking to God?

This doesn’t mean that you’ll survive. A lot of Christians died when Rome was sacked. A lot of Christians died in the Black Plague, and in the two World Wars. But God wants us to trust Him with our future and with our lives. While we are here on Earth He will watch over us, and when our work is done the Lord will bring us home. Above all, He wants us to trust Him, not ourselves. As Paul said:

Philippians 4:19: “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

The question is, do we really believe that? When the power grid is down, and our cities are burning, and grocery stores have no food, and our homes are empty – when it comes right down to it, do we really believe that God will supply all our needs, or do we think it’s all up to us?

 
That Being Said…

I just know someone is going to read this and think “Well, if the Lord is going to supply all my needs then I’m not going to go to work anymore. I’ll just sit at home and let food rain down from the sky.” Or “If God will supply all my needs then I’m not going to take my medication anymore. God will just miraculously heal me.” Or “If God will supply all my needs then I don’t need to use my umbrella. God will miraculously move the rain so I don’t get wet.”

I hope you realize how foolish that is. There is a tremendous difference between trusting God to meet your needs and refusing the deliverance that God has already provided. When it’s raining you can use an umbrella – God has provided you with a way to avoid getting wet. Expecting God to do something miraculous when He’s already provided you with something is just being insulting. At the same time, expecting God to miraculously heal your broken leg when you can just go to the doctor and get it treated is insanity – God has provided doctors and hospitals. The same goes for jobs – if you have one then God has already given you a way to put food on the table. Rejecting God’s deliverance just because you’d rather be delivered some other, more comfortable way is foolish. It dishonors God.

The ‘end of the world as we know it’ is quite another matter. While you can take all sorts of precautions (and I have no problem with that), it must be realized that, honestly, there’s very little you can do. The gold, food, and water you stockpile can all be taken from you. Angry mobs could storm your house and kill you. Lots of things could happen that could defeat your best preparations. The chances are good that, no matter what you do, if something happens that wipes out 90% of the country’s population, you are going to be a part of that 90%.

But God doesn’t want us to worry about it. He knows we have needs, He knows what they are, and He is more than able to take care of them. God wants us to say “Lord, my future is in Your hands. I’m going to keep serving You and let You deal with tomorrow.” There is tremendous peace in giving our tomorrows to God and spending our todays following Christ. There’s very little we can do about tomorrow, but there’s a lot God can do about it. Let Him handle it.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I’ve come out with new editions of a couple books! First of all, the first book in the Stryker series, On the Edge of Eternity, is now available in paperback. You can find it here:

On the Edge of Eternity – 290 pages; $12.99.

Second, I’ve come out with a new (less expensive) version of my first book, Final Destination. The book has been reformatted and has new cover art. You can find it here:

Final Destination – 96 pages; $7.00.

Thanks!

Back in 2007 I wrote a short Starman book named “Danger at L5!”. The book has been available as a free download from this blog for a long time, but until now it’s never been available in print.

That has now changed! You can find printed copies of the book right here:

Danger at L5 – paperback; 69 pages. $7.00.

As always, the book can still be downloaded free-of-charge from this link.

My latest book, Tom Swift and His Claytronic Stones, is now available! You can download the entire, edited book free-of-charge right here:

Tom Swift and His Claytronic Stones (170 pages; pdf)

The book is also available in print:

Hardback edition: $16.40

Paperback edition: $7.90

“IRENE!” TOM SWIFT JR. EXCLAIMED in shock. He stood up, astonished. “It’s impossible! It can’t be!”

Irene smiled. “I’m glad to see you haven’t forgotten me! Bud tells me I’ve been out of the loop for quite some time. From what I can tell you’ve been pretty busy since we last saw each other.”

“But I don’t understand,” Tom said, not taking his eyes off her. “How is this possible? I mean, I actually watched you die – with my own eyes, in fact! Even with time travel I wasn’t able to save you. How did you get here?”

“It’s actually pretty simple,” Irene replied. “I wasn’t in the plane that you saw crash. Your father beamed me out of it moments before it hit the ocean.”

“But that’s impossible! I didn’t invent the Transmittaton until years later. ”

“He didn’t use your Transmittaton – whatever that is. He used the transporter on board the Exedra. Apparently Tom III has teleportation down to a science! It worked pretty well, too, from what I could tell.”

“The Exedra was there? But – why–”

Irene laughed. “Oh, Tom, I love you. It’s so good to see you again! When I left Brungaria I never thought I’d see you again. I was convinced I’d signed my death warrant – and then the next thing I knew I was sitting there talking to Anita. I am just delighted to be here, I really am. It feels like being born all over again. Everything is new, fresh, and exciting.”

Starting at the beginning, Irene told Tom everything that she had learned about the events of the past few weeks. Tom was dumfounded. “You mean I crashed into the Exedra?”

“You did,” Irene replied. “I guess even geniuses can’t think of everything. I mean, really! There were actually three Tom Swifts on board that starship and yet none of them realized that a large, invisible object lying directly in your path just might be a collision hazard.”

“Wow,” Tom replied. He shook his head in disbelief. He was astonished at how quickly his life had been turned upside-down. Just a few minutes earlier he had given up all hope, and now he found that his despair had been swallowed up by unbelievable joy. It was the most fantastic feeling.

“I don’t know what to say,” he said at last. “I’m so glad to have you back. It’s like going through a dozen Christmases all at once. I’ve longed for this moment for ages, and now that it’s here – I’m just shocked!”

“Then I’ll just have to leave you in shock,” the red-haired girl replied. She got up, walked around the desk, and kissed him. “I hate to leave you but I’ve really got to go see my parents.. I’m sure they’d like to know that their daughter has come back to life. But what would you think about a date tonight?”

“I’ll be there,” Tom promised. “My schedule is wide-open! I’ll be at your parent’s house at six to pick you up. Have you seen my triphibian atomicar?”

“Just that ugly semi thing you drove back in time,” Irene said.

“Oh, right. Well, we have much nicer models than that! I’ve got a red convertible model that’s just amazing.”

“Fantastic!” Irene replied. “So you’ll take me to dinner by the lake?”

“Absolutely,” Tom nodded. “By the way, do you need a ride home?”

Irene shook her head. “We’re in the future now, Tom! We don’t need cars anymore. I’ll just radio your man-in-space and have him beam me home.”

“Oh. Sure, you can do that. But I hope you realize that matter transmission isn’t exactly mainstream yet! That technology is still pretty new.”

“That’s something we’ll have to change,” Irene said eagerly. “From what I can tell you’ve done an amazing job creating the inventions of the future but a lousy job marketing them. All that’s about to change, Tom, and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”

Irene looked at Tom. “By the way, may I have my pencil radio, please?”

Tom looked at the girl in surprise and then removed the pencils from his pocket and handed them to her. “Why, sure! I made them for you, you know, after you asked me to that day. But how did you find out about them?”

“Bud told me,” Irene replied, grinning. She used the radio to contact the outpost in space, and a moment later she vanished.

Tom smiled. This is going to be a good day after all, he thought. He glanced at his watch. I’d better get busy! I’ve got a lot to do before that date tonight.

The young inventor went straight to his laboratory and got to work. He’d only been working for a few minutes, however, when he was interrupted by a knock at the door. When he opened it he saw Phyllis Newton standing there.

“Hey, Tom,” she said. The teenage girl looked distraught and unhappy.

Tom’s heart sank. He remembered the scathing lecture she’d given him earlier. That talk hasn’t happened in this timeline yet, he realized wryly. I guess I’m in for it now!

“Hi, Phyl,” he said nervously. “Um, would you like to come in?”

“Not really,” she replied. “I mean, not anymore, anyway. It’s just not fair! I had it all worked out. I was going to come over here and dump you, after telling you what a lousy boyfriend you’d been. I was really going to put you in your place!”

“I know,” Tom replied. “I remember that conversation very well. You really let me have it, and I have to say I deserved every word. I’ve treated you horribly.”

“What do you mean, you remember it?” Phyl asked, puzzled. “How can you remember a speech I never gave?”

“We had that conversation in a different timeline,” Tom explained. “It’s kind of complicated.”

Phyl shook her head. “Whatever. I don’t want to know. But, anyway, as I was saying, I was just about to come over here when I got a phone call from Irene. That’s when I found out that your father brought her back from the dead.”

She sighed. “She’s so happy to be back, Tom. She really loves you, and I know you never stopped loving her. I couldn’t compete with her when she was dead, and I know I can’t do it now. So I’m just going to walk away and leave you two alone. Not for your sake,” she said, glaring at Tom, “but for hers. She’s always been good to me and I’m not going to mess with her. Especially not over you. Just – treat her well, ok? She’s a very special person. Don’t treat her the way you treated me or you’ll lose her.”

“I won’t,” Tom promised. He felt acutely uncomfortable. What am I supposed to say?

“Ok,” Phyl replied. “I’ll get out of your way then.” She sighed, turned around, and left. Tom watched as she got into her car and drove away.

There had to be a better way to handle that, Tom thought to himself. Why do I never know what to do in these situations? He stood there for a few minutes, thinking, and then went back inside his lab.

Late that evening Tom and Irene took a meandering stroll along the shores of Lake Carlopa. The sun had set long ago and the stars were out, filling the sky with countless pinpoints of flickering light. The moon had risen hours earlier and its glow lit the area with a faint, silvery light. In the distance the happy couple could see the seafood restaurant where they had eaten supper. It was one of the happiest meals Tom could remember. Tom was surprised to find that just being with Irene was enough to make him happy. He didn’t have to say anything or even do anything; just walking by the lake with her, holding her hand, filled him with a joy beyond words. He was deeply satisfied.

The couple found a large oak tree and sat down underneath it. The night was a warm one but a cool breeze blew over the lake. They sat down next to each other and watched the fireflies flicker in the forest.

“So what are you going to do now, Tom?” Irene asked.

“My Dad thinks I should go to Epsilon Eridani,” Tom replied. “It’s the largest space colony that’s ever been built – it’s even bigger than our operation on Nestria.”

“I’d love to go to Nestria someday,” Irene replied. “You have no idea how much I’d love to look up in the sky and see the Earth hanging there. That would be a dream come true.”

“I would be more than happy to take you. In fact, there are a whole lot of things I can’t wait to show you! Why, there’s Fearing Island, the Outpost in Space, Bartonia, the hydrodome – and you haven’t even had the grand tour of Swift Enterprises yet, for that matter! I could spend months just showing you around.”

“I think I could work that into my schedule,” Irene replied, grinning. “Really, Tom, I’d love it.”

“I would too. But to get back to your question, I think my Dad is right. Having a chance to build a true city in the stars is too good an opportunity to pass up. Interstellar colonization is a new chapter in mankind’s history – it’s the future, Irene. How could we pass that up? I mean, who wouldn’t want to be a part of it?”

Irene smiled. “I agree, Tom. But what I meant was not what are you going to to later, but what are you going to right now?”

Tom looked at her, puzzled. Irene laughed. “You haven’t changed a bit, have you? Maybe that’s why I love you so much. I’ll give you a hint: do you have anything for me?”

Instantly the young inventor remembered what he’d forgotten. He looked at the red-haired girl, astonished. “How could you possibly know? Have you been in my lab this afternoon?”

Irene shook her head. “I haven’t even seen your lab since I got back. But Tom, if you want to keep something a secret you shouldn’t leave your blueprints lying around on workbenches where other people can find them. We used to share the same laboratory, you know!”

Tom sighed. “Please tell me I didn’t do that! Dad and I went to such great lengths to hide it from you, and–”

Irene merely smiled. “No one ever said security was your strong point, Tom. But that’s ok – I love you anyway.”

Tom stood up and put his hand into his pocket. He suddenly felt acutely nervous. Irene looked so beautiful, sitting there in the moonlight, looking up at him. Just seeing her was enough to make his heart melt. I don’t deserve this, he thought. But thank you.

He removed the box from his pocket, got down on one knee, and gave the box to Irene. She eagerly opened it. When she saw the diamond ring inside she gasped. She carefully took it out and gazed at it. “It’s so beautiful,” she whispered.

Tom’s mind went blank. All he knew is that he was deeply, madly in love with the red-haired girl that was holding his ring, and he knew that he would always love her, to the end of his days. The flowery speech he had spent the entire afternoon drafting disappeared from his mind. All he could think to say was, “Irene, will you marry me?”

Irene placed the ring on her finger and looked Tom in the eye. She smiled, with pure love radiating from her eyes. “Of course,” she replied softly. She stood up, put her arms around Tom, and kissed him.

Tom closed his eyes and relaxed. All was well in the world. It doesn’t get better than this, he though happily.

TOM SWIFT JR. LOOKED UP when he heard a knock on his office door. “Come on in,” he called out.

His father entered the office and closed the door behind him. “I hope I’m not disturbing you, son.”

“Not really,” Tom said, sighing. The young inventor was sitting behind his desk. There was a stack of papers on it but Tom was ignoring them. His father could tell that he was preoccupied.

“I’m surprised to find you here,” Mr. Swift remarked as he took a seat. “It’s quite unusual to find you in your office.”

“I’ve just been doing a lot of thinking lately, Dad. I haven’t been in an inventive mood.”

“I can understand that,” Mr. Swift said. “Speaking of moods, I just had a meeting with Ed Gamino. He told me that you paid him a visit a few days ago and were quite upset. Apparently you told him some very disturbing things.”

Tom nodded. “I wondered how long it would take you to find out about that. Frankly, if you hadn’t come to me in another day or two I was going to tell you about it myself. There’s been a lot going on lately that I think you need to know about. I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but I haven’t been completely honest with you lately.”

If only you knew, his father thought. Aloud he said, “Why don’t you tell me about it. I’m here to listen.”

Tom took a deep breath and began talking. He started by telling his father how he had tried to get Tom Swift IV to give him plans for his time trigger. He then told him about Ed Gamino’s offer, and how Tom’s acceptance of it ultimately led to the nanite flood that destroyed the Earth. He finished by telling the account of his disastrous trip back through time – a trip which failed to rescue Irene but did put an end to the claytronic stones.

His father was silent for a few moments after Tom finished his story. He was tempted to tell his son that he already knew what had happened but decided against it. He could tell how upset and remorseful his son was, and decided that was not the right moment to tell him his side of the story.

“I just don’t know what to do, Dad,” Tom said. “I’ve done horrible things. I know I was able to stop the flood, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that I enabled it to happen in the first place! After all, what if time travel hadn’t worked, or what if I’d failed to stop the nanites? What if there had been no way to undo what I had done? I let my love for Irene blind me to what I was doing. And now – well, now I just don’t know what to do with myself. I’ve let everyone down, and that’s something that I can’t fix..”

“I’m afraid you have, Son. This is something you will carry with you for the rest of your life. You’ve disappointed me greatly and you’ve betrayed the trust of many people who thought very highly of you. Trust, once lost, is very difficult to regain. I think you’ll find Tom Swift IV much more reluctant to answer you when you call in the future.”

“I know,” Tom said. “I’m sorry, Dad, I really am.”

“And then there’s Ed,” Mr. Swift continued. “He’s not a bad person, Tom. He just gets excited sometimes and doesn’t really think through all of the possibilities. He’s the sort of person that needs watching to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. Instead of doing that, though, you let him down. Your relationship with him will never be the same.”

“But he stole the time trigger plans!” Tom protested. “That was hardly an honest thing to do.”

“He did it because he trusted you. It never crossed his mind that anything you invented might be a serious danger to the world. You could have taken him aside and shown him why the stones were dangerous, but you didn’t because you wanted what he had to offer. You didn’t even take any precautions to make sure the stones were treated safely! You could have just told Ed you’d supply the stones yourself when the time was right. But instead you gave dynamite to a child and he blew himself up with it.”

“I never thought of that,” Tom replied.

“That’s the whole problem,” his father continued. “You never stopped to think any of this through. You didn’t think about what might happen if something went wrong with the stones, or if something went wrong when you traveled back in time. You never gave a single thought to the immense danger you placed the entire world in – or if you did you just ignored it. You put the lives of countless innocent people in danger just so you could have a chance at saving someone who was already dead. That’s a terrible thing to do, son. You should never have even considered it.”

“I know,” Tom replied. “I know. If I could take it all back I would, but I can’t. I just got lost inside my grief and I went too far. But what do I do now?”

“You move on,” his father replied. “You can’t erase the past, but you can learn from it and choose not to make the same mistakes in the future. You can use the lessons that you’ve learned here to build a brighter future. That’s all you can do.”

Tom sighed. “I’m sure you’re right. But Dad, for such a long time I held out hope that I could save her. I really, honestly thought that I could do it. I had a future – a future with her – and now that future is gone. I know, now, that I’ll never get her back. And I just don’t know what to do with myself. Irene was the one thing that I really wanted, and now she’s gone forever. And I just don’t know what to do.”

His father thought for a minute. “I know it’s not the same thing as having Irene, but there’s always the Barclay Group project. Since your claytronic stones are no longer an option it will take the colonists much longer to build their city. I’m sure your help would be immensely appreciated.”

“You mean that project hasn’t been canceled?” Tom asked. “I thought, after all that happened with Ed–”

“The colonization project is much bigger than Ed,” Mr. Swift replied. “I highly doubt that they are going to call it off at this point! Too many people are involved and too much money has been spent. And yes, despite everything that’s happened I do think they would value your help. After all, no one has more experience establishing space colonies than you do.”

“I guess,” Tom replied. “I’ll look into it.”

“Good,” his father said. He stood up. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you to never, ever do anything like that again.”

“You don’t,” his son replied.

“I will be watching you a little more closely than I have in the past. I may have given you too much freedom before you were ready for it.”

Tom simply nodded and said nothing. Mr. Swift looked at his teenage son. He knew his son was despondent, and his heart ached to help him. “I hope you know how much I love you, Tom. Your mother and I are very proud of you. You’ve done a lot of amazing things and I know that you have a bright future ahead of you. Learn from this, but don’t let it crush you. Remember, you’re not the only one that’s ever made a mistake. I’ve done things I regret as well – in fact, I am largely to blame for the series of events that led to Irene’s death. At the time I never dreamed that my attempt to get talcap wood for my ocean airport would lead to all this, but it did.”

“It’s not your fault, Dad,” his son replied. “Besides, Irene chose to fly that hyperplane. No one forced her to. If she hadn’t done it none of us would be here.”

“I know,” his father said. He thought back to the planet he’d seen just a few hours ago – a world that had been destroyed in an atomic war. The memory still haunted him. And it all started with talcap wood, he thought sadly. But at least I can make this right.

Aloud he said “I know you’re busy but I’m afraid there is one more thing. There’s someone else here that would like to talk with you.”

Tom sighed. “I’m sure there is. I can think of a number of people that would probably like to give me a piece of their mind.”

“If you’ll wait just a moment,” Mr. Swift said. He then left the office and closed the door behind him. Several minutes passed, but his father did not return. Tom stared at his door, puzzled. A feeling of nervousness grew. What’s taking so long? he thought. He sighed.

A moment later the door opened. Irene Goddard walked into the room and took a seat in front of the desk. “Hey there, Tom!” she said, smiling.