A morsel before I die

America is having its problems too. Officially, unemployment is over 10%, but the real rate may be as high as 17 – 20%. In many U.S. cities, charities are overwhelmed and aid agencies report they have never seen it this bad.

In New York alone, there are an estimated 1.4 million hungry who now rely on soup kitchens and food pantries to survive – up 21 percent compared to last year (nbcnewyork.com, December 17, 2009). An additional 4 million New Yorkers now have to make hard choices between buying food and paying the rent (foodbanknyc.com, January 26, 2010).

But then we remember Haiti and we remember their poverty and we think about their devastation. And then we remember that around the world: "1.02 billion people do not have enough to eat" and "every six seconds a child dies because of hunger and related causes" (World Food Program report, "Hunger Stats", January 24, 2010), and it doesn't seem too bad in America.

But for millions, it is tough in America right now. And it will get much worse. Scripture clearly reveals that poverty, famine, earthquakes, disease and wars will increase as we approach the end of the age (Matthew 24:7, Luke 21:11).

So, what important lessons can we learn now before the worst comes?

Thousands of years ago, in a parched and famished land, a tired widow was preparing to bake a morsel of bread for herself and her son before they would die. There was no food. There were no soup-kitchens. There was no U.N. There were no charities. No aid workers. So, she gathered a few brittle sticks to build her little fire to bake her little cake and then she would die. But then a stranger appeared. This stranger was the prophet Elijah, and he asked her to bake her little cake for him!

So, she did. The widow of Zarephath took her last remnant of flour and oil and baked a little cake for Elijah instead of for herself and her son. And. as promised, her flour and her oil did not run out! She and her house ate from that bin of flour and that jar of oil for many days (1 Kings 17:8-16)!

What should we learn from her story? We should learn that God can provide even in desperate times! But God requires faith. And faith requires action!

Mainstream religion can't explain what is happening in Haiti. Mainstream "Christianity" does not understand what is coming. And mainstream ministers do not teach how to walk righteously before God! But, just like in Elijah's day, there is a God in heaven and His servants are still powerfully preaching the way to righteousness!

Have faith! Be courageous! Be righteous! Show God your faith by your actions (James 2:22)! Live now as Jesus instructs (Luke 6:46)! If we live righteously, God promises that we will not starve (Psalm 33:18-19, Proverbs 10:3)! If we live righteously, God promises to provide for our needs (Matthew 6:33)!

The widow of Zarephath thought that all that was left was a morsel before she and her son would die. But she was wrong! There was a God in heaven and He sent His servant to her house! She did not withhold what His servant asked – even her very last morsel!

Don't wait until your last morsel! Learn now to walk and to live righteously and humbly before your God and your Creator, before the really severe times come that Jesus prophesized! Get your Bible, send for, or read online What Is a True Christian? to learn how.