Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

The popularity of Google as a search engine also makes it a very good means of discerning trends. The other day I searched “Bible Ban” and was taken back by what I saw. I expected to see terms such as “Pakistan” and “Iran” and “North Korea” but was surprised that many of the top “hits” were California, Colorado, Idaho, Supreme Court, Florida, School Board, ACLU, Alabama, and ‘Bible is Hate Speech.’

Through personal observation, it amazes me how so many Christians show a blatant disregard for the bible. Here in the US, we have access to the Bible unlike any other country in the world. Almost every household has a Bible or two or maybe even three. But where do those Bibles spend most of their time? In the majority of households … CHRISTIAN households, you’ll find them tucked away on a shelf, perched on a coffee or side table or hidden in a drawer. If someone were to break into the house and make off with the television, it would most certainly be noticed; maybe not if the Bibles were stolen.

Howard Rutledge was a fighter pilot in Vietnam who after being shot down found himself a prisoner for seven long years. He was kept in what amounted to a dog pen, chained and naked with rotten food to eat and vermin his only friends. Having been raised by Christian parents, He eventually found himself craving spiritual nourishment as much as physical food. Later, after his release, he would write: “Regrettably, I had not seen then the importance of memorizing verses from the Bible, or learning gospel songs. Now, when I needed them, it was too late. I never dreamed that I would spend almost seven years (five of them in solitary confinement) in a prison in North Vietnam or that thinking about one memorized verse could have made the whole day bearable. One portion of a verse I did remember was, Thy word have I hid in my heart.’ How often I wished I had really worked to hide God’s Word in my heart.”

Do you know what your tomorrow holds for you? As we’ve seen in our study of Matthew 24, persecution is on the way … even here in the United States. Conditions for the church are only going to get worse until we are raptured out of here. In the latter chapters of Genesis, we see Joseph storing up grain during years when times are good in order to sustain them when the times of famine came. If we are wise, we will do likewise, storing up God’s Word in our hearts that we may partake of it’s continued nourishment when times of famine come.

Amos 8:11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord GOD, “That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD.