The stock market crash of October 29, 1929 made paupers of millionaires overnight.  Very few saw it coming; most thought the speculative market would continue to increase forever.  Americans deposited their faith in free-market capitalism which they firmly believed would not only save the day but allow everyone the opportunity of becoming wealthy.  But the manipulations of stocks by a few very rich and greedy investors and the subsequent loss of confidence by the rank and file in the market's ability to sustain itself created a plunge in investment that brought about the crash in stocks and bodies jumping to their death from high rises.  Such is history's lesson in what happens when we speculate and invest in the wrong securities.

Our currency boldly states, "In God we trust."  But we act as though we don't really believe that.  No, rather we invest our trust in the stocks of a global-based military presence, politicians who claim to represent our "interests," construction booms that lure speculators with no-deposit down offers, power-ball lotteries, the latest new diet, sexually-enhancing surgeries, low-interest credit cards, down payment free mortgage loans and-despite one of history's greatest lessons-the promise of a bull stock market economy.  But now it's a federal bailout and continued "economic stimulus" checks.  We place more trust in the green paper itself than in what's written on it.  Some things never change.  Ancient Canaan and ancient Rome, two superpowers of their time, placed their security in the same things all empires do: a mighty military largely funded by poor people and a strong economy largely funded by slave labor.  The Jews, however, knew better: they placed their security in God, the only safe investment.  Canaan vanished into the mists of history; Rome fell to a stronger military and economic overextension while the Jewish nation continued.  Meanwhile, during these stressful times, we Christians claim to trust in their God.  Do we really?  Or are we just talking out of the other side of our mouths?

 

Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly for twenty years.

At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgement. She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, “Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.” ’

 

A Song of Ascents.</nn><//nn>
To you I lift up my eyes,
   O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
As the eyes of servants
   look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
   to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
   until he has mercy upon us.

Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
   for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul has had more than its fill
   of the scorn of those who are at ease,
   of the contempt of the proud.

 

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, ‘There is peace and security’, then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then, let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.