When I was a kid, I used to go exploring in the attic. One day, I found a box in the bottom of a trunk with some World War II stuff my dad brought back when the war ended, including a complete Nazi officer's uniform. As soon as I opened that box lid, I thought I had found a fortune. It was filled with German money. The bills I held in my hands had lots of zeros on them ... many of them around 10,000 Marks! I couldn't imagine my dad having overlooked such a stash. Didn't he know we were rich? But alas, I soon learned from my grandmother (whose ancestors had come from Germany) that in 1920's post-war Germany a wheel barrel load of the very bills I held might have bought a loaf of bread. It's called hyper-inflation, and it happens when a government keeps printing more and more paper money in the futile hope that it will help the economy. You know, something like what they've doing in the US for a while now. And that's a good part of the reason the value of gold has been rising so dramatically ... as well as why many people have been buying it up. After all, it is a much safer bet than a rapidly devaluing piece paper.

Do I think our economy is going to crash and burn like some predict? In view of the current economic situation, I don't see how it can keep from happening. But then again, from what I had learned back in the 70s, it seemed to have been hanging on the brink even then. Now, other than knowing that God can keep an economy afloat in spite of itself, there is a more fundamental aspect in play here. For as our currency has no substantial backing (such as gold or silver), it's value is established through perception. In other words, as long as a large enough percentage of the population assumes that a dollar has real value, it will accept that perceived value as a worthy trade. If not ... well, it's happened before. And even though gold or silver will far outlast the dollar, it's value is also linked to the perception of those who value it. For there have been times in the history of this world that men would trade an obscene perceived value in gold for a piece of bread.

My friends, I realize that you have to live in this world (as do I), and I do think it's a good idea to be prepared, if at all possible. However, even your best preparations could all fall flat. What I'd like you to consider is the nature of real value, for when it comes down to it, this world is all built upon illusion. How you stand or fall is connected to how you regard that which is true worth. And you know what? Your God is fully able to shatter the delicate glass of perceived value for each and every one of us so you might more clearly see that which is truly valuable. And I think you know who will be revealed: Christ, the one who is your real life!

Shovel Audio

Yes, of course there is a new good news audio prepared and uploaded for you! See, I knew you were going to ask. :) You can either listen online or download to your computer or to a mobile device (as it is an mp3 file). This week's audio is entitled Salvation Information (the knowledge that saves us?). I hope you get a listen. As usual, Adam and I would love to hear back from you as to what you thought of it.