Praying for the Lost

When it comes down to it, there are only two kinds of people in this world- the saved and the lost. I struggle to witness well because there is something in me that doesn't want to disturb the peace of the unsaved or to be labelled a whacko.  I believe our sin is deadly and that both Heaven and Hell are real. Only The Lord knows our hearts and can judge the quick (or living) from the dead, but when I see evidences of people into life who have given themselves over to the world, I can't help but wonder where they stand with The Lord. 

It isn't out of judgement that I speak out and The Lord knows I have failed to speak more than I have witnessed. It is out of love. I love them enough to share with them the opportunity to accept Heaven for themselves and to know the pure joy of fellowship with God himself. I long for them to see their faith confirmed and to have an assurance of their eternal home. God knows I long to share the love I have known with others. 

I believe that eternal damnation is our destiny if we do not recognize our sin for what it is and to accept our only hope is in the substitutionary sacrifice if Jesus Christ. I don't want anyone I know to experience that suffering. It is eternal and there all hope is lost. It is greater than any suffering we know here and I know some people who have suffered severely. If Hell is worse, I don't want anyone there. 

I think we have a problem. Far too many don't think their sin deserves judgment. In our own minds we are just not that bad. This thinking comes from comparing ourselves to people who have committed worse and loved less rather than comparing ourselves with a Holy God who cannot tolerate sin. We see God as the judge of others but not the judge of our hearts. 

As for me, I know to stand before God and make my case for acceptance would be blasphemous. I am a sinner if the worst kind. I have betrayed my God and my faith countless times. My ONLY hope is in the finished work of Jesus Christ only behalf. He redeemed me for himself. I no longer belong to the sin that enslaved me but I can choose not to sin. Even so, I do sin and continually need to remember my hope is Jesus and not my own works. 

On the other camp of sinners are those who believe they are too far gone in sin to be redeemed. For these there is great news, Jesus can redeem even the worst sinner. Think of the worst sinner you know...Hitler?  Bin Laden?  Jesus' offer of salvation is strong enough to redeem even them if they had only accepted it. The offer is only made for this life and then we are judged. If you are not covered by Jesus' blood which paid the penalty on advance for our sin you are forever lost. 

If Christians really believed that sin is deadly and that God will Judge, we would be pleading for others to come to Jesus and we would not look so lightly on our own sin. The lost are all around, some content and others miserable but both needing a Savior. Will we pray that The Lord will soften their hearts, give them spiritual eyes to see and us a boldness to witness of the great hope we have in Jesus?  May God have mercy on us of we let someone face eternity without God's presence because we failed to speak out. 

Christians, our mission is not to live out our days in peace and tranquility, but they are to bear witness to the world that there is a Holy God who has paved the way for us to be redeemed!  We have a hope of Heaven not because we are good but because Jesus is great!  

Who Pays?

As I consider the Supreme Court decision this week in favor of Hobby Lobby not being forced to pay for abortion drugs, I personally breathe a sigh of relief that justice prevailed. There has been a storm of controversy since the decision, but it isn't really about access to certain types of treatment, it is about who should pay for that treatment. 

Should I be forced to pay for an act I consider immoral and vile?  In this case my sympathies are with Hobby Lobby, but what if I were among those who are opposed to military interventions and believe in peaceful negotiations as the only viable alternative to resolving conflict?  Would I also be opposed to the government using my money against my will?  Granted, it is a little different than forcing someone to directly pay, but just the same it is government acting againsnt a persons will. 

At issue is that government assumes the role of God directing the affairs of the nation. When that governance is in alignment with God's will, they act justly and wisely. When that governance is against God's will, then the government has overstepped its bounds. 

As a nation, I think we did a better job in our early years if seeking God's will and applying ourselves to following it. Now, we are closer to a nation of Baal worship pets than we are to fearing God and seeking His pleasure. Instead, each does what is wise in their own eyes and pursues his own way. 

The solution is for our nation to trust Jesus as their Lord and look to Him for wisdom. We don't impose religion, but share that there is universal truth and there are moral rights and wrongs. We are not entitled to our own morality and our own judgment. God is judge and the moral law giver. 

Praise God for helping Hobby Lobby. I pray for those women who find themselves with a child, that they would turn to God and find the rest they long for. I pray that even though treatments may be accessible to them that the wood embrace life and consider the rights if the  child even as they are mapping out their own plans. 

When government acts outside their authority, tell God and ask for His intervention. I think you may be astounded at the answers to your prayers. 

May Gid richly bless you as you seek Him and as you serve Him. 

Real Love

It saddens me to read about new cultural norms of young adults choosing to delay or even reject marriage with the notion that they can engage in satisfying relationships outside the marital covenant. Where I live more than 1/2 of all babies are born to single parents. The evidence that these children are more likely to grow up in poverty and without the nurturing of both parents or know the stability that marriage brings to the next generation. What a tragic statement about the world we live in. 

It saddens me that these young adults will never know true love. The kind of love  that lasts a lifetime. True, my generation may have had a shot at it and then abandoned marriages when they got tough, but these young one really don't have a shot at all. 

God ordained the union of a man and a woman telling us that the two become one. When a person gives their body to another, they unite in more than just a physical way. The real joy in this union is the unity that it brings to relationship. You give a piece of who you are. Each time partners change a piece goes away with the prior lover until there is nothing left but the physical. Any surprise that men are now referred to as "boy-toys" and women have all types of demeaning references applied?  People are reduced to objects with no lasting value. 

Marriage is tough in most cases. It is the love that is tested. In marriage you cannot just walk away from your partner when they are out of favor or have treated you unkindly. It is where you make a choice to cling to your partner and work for their best. You choose in Christian marriage to continue to invest, even double down when times are hard and you don't see a great outcome, because you trust that God can affect an outcome for His glory even beyond what you can see. 

In marriage we learn how to forgive offenses that we inevitably receive (and commit). In marriage we learn to be patient when we don't get our way. We learn to be kind toward someone other than ourselves. We hold the other high and work to help them become all they dream. In marriage we don't harm the other with demeaning words but work to build the other up. Marriage is where we learn to noble character qualities and have those qualities tested before we go out into the world. 

In marriage there is great security. A haven at the end of a frustrating day where your partner cares about you. A comfort to know that you have an ally in the midst of a world with so much strife and evil. Even on the days when you are unlovely, there is someone who will not leave your side. There is someone who will encourage you to think about the lovely, the pure, the noble things of life. Someone who cares enough not to allow you to wallow in negativity but will redirect your thoughts and allow you to draw from their strength when you are weak. 

In marriage, you are not alone. You no longer live for just yourself but you are a unit that only functions as you intertwine your thoughts and life choices. Their is no option of going it alone. You are one. To separate would be to take your soul and tear it in a way that can no longer be repaired. Every separation is a blow. Is it any wonder that those outside of marriage see relationships so negatively that they refuse to commit to another?

I do not subscribe to the philosophies of those who say that they can be in a commuted union outside of marriage. The ultimate commitment is to go before God and witnesses to pledge yourself for life to another and then honor that commitment throughout the remainder of your days. To abandon your way and pledge yourself to the common good. 

My heart aches for my friends who think they are in a loving relationship outside marriage. They may know physical intimacy and they may know the joy of common interests but they do not know the satisfaction that comes with a love that is a lifelong commitment and has weathered the tests that would seek to break that love, knowing that by holding that relationship high they could overcome the tests and see what heights there are to love. 

Our Lord gave us the example of love that we live out in marriage. While we were still sinners (rebellious and hostile toward him) he gave his life and bore those sins in himself so that we could know fellowship with the Father and have the hope of eternity in Heaven. Fellowship with the Father and eternity in Heaven is the ultimate goal of marriage. To help your spouse grow in their faith and knowledge of Christ so they can be victors in life. They can have the assurance of Heaven and peace in the midst of their storms on earth. 

There are people who give up on their spouses before they see this goal achieved. They lose faith in their partner. As long as our spouse has breath there is hope. God has not exhausted hope for any individual here. We should not either. If we are married to a wayward spouse or are frustrated by differences in purpose, God has not given up and we their spouses have been uniquely sent to them for such a time as this. We are given to pray for them, because who will of we don't? We are given to encourage them to take a step if faith and trust in the promises of God. We are given to be Jesus for them and to lay down even our lives so that they can have the hope of Heaven and know true love while here on earth. 

Marriage is our best reflection of godly love. To embrace our mate with all their faults and see the potential that God sees in them and work for their good. There is no other relationship that can compete for that level if deep intimacy. We all long to be loved deeply and at a soul level, not just for what we can give to the other. That love is found in marriage. 

Marriage Differences - part 7

I started out my relationship with conflict in my marriage that seemed to largely play out as conflict with finances, but our larger issues were spiritual. Not just the need for salvation, but God needed to develop His character within me. It was I who was woefully lacking. It was for my good that God gave me this conflict. Not to harm me, but to redirect me. 

While we are both hard driven, strong willed people we are very different personalities. I am the saver in our marriage. He is the spender. I plan things out while he is able to take a trip and just head "west". He is much more affectionate and spontaneous than I am. I am more guarded and introspective. He is the life of the party while I am the "Martha" in the kitchen working the details behind the scenes. 

God gave me the ability to appreciate the differences that my husband brings. It isn't about one person having their way at the expense of the other, but in appreciating the talents that he brings and dedicating myself to help him become all that he can be. I know that the love of a good woman cannot do it all for him, but the love of a good God has everything he could ever desire. My hope is that I can grow in grace so much that I can be Christ to this man I love. To give him what Christ gave me - hope and a future. 

Marriage Differences - part 6

As I prayed for more grace and a deeper and greater love for my husband, I saw God's love in new perspective. His love is so much more than affection. It is a love that sees great offenses and extends itself anyway. I saw my sin and God's grace toward me much more personally and I did more introspection about the kind of lover I was toward God and the kind of lover I was toward my husband. I had failed in both relationships. God asked for my obedience and I was a rebel through and through. Even when I could identify bad attitudes, it didn't stop me from executing them. I could say with Paul, "what a wretched person I am". (Rom 7:24). 

Love is patient. (1 Cor. 13)

At our marriage ceremony, Rev. Ary quoted these verses. They sounded all pious and well placed for the covenant taking place, but it was not a good descriptor of my character. I was anything but patient. I was hard driven, motivated to do and be something. We each entered marriage, I believe out of selfish desire. We looked for marriage to give us stability for the uncertainty of our future. Having lived in a home with the troubled marriage of my parents, I didn't have huge expectations except that I would not repeat their mistakes and by sheer will would make this marriage last. Patience did not describe me; neither did kind, humble, long suffering, forgiving, and all the other aspects of love listed in scripture. God would develop those within me one by one. I was all wrong for marriage. I didn't have what it took, but God saw fit to place me with a man who was just as hard driven and able to confront my strong will at every turn. Any other man would have given up on me and let me go my strong headed way. God didn't give up on me and neither did my husband. 

The drive of emotion. So many of us enter into marriage with great affection and devotion to our mates. So it was with me. I was committed to marriage and believed the differences we had would work themselves out in marriage and that we would become closer and closer. I wanted closeness with my husband. I wanted real intimacy. I wanted more. As I grew in understanding of my husband, there are moments of deep intimacy, but more often than not there is the daily routines that keep us passing each other wondering who is this stranger that lives with me?  I had to dig deeper to find my reason for marriage. When I listened to a Dr. Dobson program he shared the commitment of his parents in marriage. They made a choice that no matter what came they would remain committed to the other. They would place the needs of the other high and pledge their lives to the other's good. 

This idea that love is more than emotion, it is a choice struck me deeply. Could I, would I hold my husbands needs high. Would I work for his good. Would I give more than what the world gives to him?  Would I be faithful in prayer, service and devotion for him?  Would I honor his leadership of our home even when I felt that the choices were unwise?  Would I allow my way to be secondary to his?  Would I continue to point him to righteousness and never give up?  Would I be willing to become a sweet and gentle personality in my home. If I were to ever become sweet and gentle, it would have to be a work of God. It was definitely not natural to me. I have always been a fighter, a scrapper, defending myself at every turn. Could I stop striving long enough to let God have His way in my life?  

Marriage Differences part 5

Not really knowing where my journey would take me, I set out to seek God's will and to return to serving my Lord whole-heartedly. God began to convict and prune this servant getting rid of some of the ugly dross that had developed in me. 

I came to see that strife between me and my husband and later between me and God when I didn't see immediate answers to prayer I looked for had left me bitter. The hurt, anger and resentment became a regular part of my days. I had to look at my condition and stop making excuses. I needed to call it what God calls it-- sin. That was hard to admit. After all the harsh words that had been spoken after all the disappointment, I felt entitled to my bitterness. God called me to let it go. It wasn't of Him and gave poor witness to those around me of my relationship with God. 

I had to also grapple with some fundamentals of salvation. No one earns it - it is a gift of grace. No one is righteous and no one seeks after God. No one can come to the Father unless God first does a work in our lives. We were utterly dead in sin when God chose to quicken us. We didn't choose on our own. We chose God because we were chosen. God wants that everyone come into a knowledge of Him. Jesus' payment on the cross was all sufficient for everyone. I was completely unworthy to be accepted by my Father in Heaven. I was not good. It was not right choices or good behavior that gained me status but only the work of Jesus. 

I had to see my husband the way God saw Him. If things were as utterly hopeless as I once imagined, then there would be no reason for God to keep us together. God had not given up on my husband and neither would I. I began to pray that God would give me HIS love for my husband and grow me in grace. 

GRACE - I needed to understand the grace of God. It is given only in cases without any merit at all. It is a gift and never earned. If we are kindly only to those who treat us with respect and kindness we are not demonstrating grace but offering payment through kind responses. Grace means that while you and I were still sinners, Christ died for us. In order for me to demonstrate grace it would require that I offer myself in humble service even if I was treated like a servant. Grace is a demonstration of true love which lays itself down for another without regard for merit or response. Because I was not the only bitter person in our marriage, but my husband had not yet experienced fellowship with The Lord. He had to rely on his own resources, but I had power from above.   

Marriage Differences part 4

The peace that can be derived from self help is superficial. Even in my return to church, the personal love and devotion I had as a teen for The Lord did not return as deep as in my earlier years.There was a comfort and a sense of rightness, but it was outward.  I longed for answers to resolve the conflict of my soul and to revive my marriage. 

Larry Burkett said that our management of money was an outward indicator of our true spiritual condition. I began to see  that my husband was relying on "Stuff" and his natural talents to provide for him. God was distant and not personal. When I was able to consider my husband's need for a relationship with The Lord, my focus changed. 

I began praying for him in earnest and continue to this day to ask The Lord to soften his heart toward the spiritual, convict his heart of sin, open his eyes to see salvation and release him from this bondage of materialism in his life. By this point, he had several cars and a motorcycle. His life was in the garage. With my return to developing my walk with The Lord, our lives seemed to have less in common and caused me to pray all the more. 

In my weakened spiritual state, I was in no condition to preach. I needed to learn and apply. Every lesson needed to take time to sink in. I needed to be reminded of who God is and the depths of his love. I had strayed and violated my relationship with God like the harlot that Hosea reclaimed, God had reclaimed my life, but I had a long way to go. I was humbled to see how much I had left my faith and failed to look to God to help me in my distress. 

Now I looked and prayed that God might suddenly work a miracle. Instant results. But that was not God's way for me. I was to first come face to face with my own need before I could minister to another. God placed me in a church and a Sunday School where people were seeking to know and apply God's word. My husband started to come with me as his contribution to compromise. 

I had much to learn about the love of God and how it is played out in the marriage relationship. My prayers for my husband made me more sensitive to his spiritual need and in turn The Lord developed a greater compassion for my husband. This was no longer a battle of wills but a fight for eternity playing out in the daily choices we made.   

Marriage Differences part 3

In the Navy, there really is no need to wish for change. It is always there around the corner. Three months at sea; three months home. Then gone again. When my husband was at sea, I did my best to live frugally and tuck away savings. When he was home, he would buy all the things he dreamed if while at sea and work out payment plans for the stuff purchased. He reasoned he had been deprived of life for months and had to make up for it while at home. I could manage the payments while he went back to sea. 

The breaks kept the marriage fresh. We were lonely and longing for each other when he returned, when the reality of the differences in philosophy reared their heads, it was time to return to sea. I continued to hold out hope that I could reason with him so that he too could see that house if cards being built ready to topple on the slightest change. 

I returned to college and resurrected my church attendance. I had to confront my own failures as a Christian. I had sunk far from my first love when I first vowed to serve The Lord. My issues in marriage had come down to my way and his way. Neither of us planned to budge. I started listening to a Christian radio station where I heard Larry Burkett for the first time. He wrote a number of books on money management and I ate them up like candy. He helped me to see and appreciate the differences between men and women and how the differences were to fulfill us, not to frustrate us. 

I fed on Christian self help books that I also shared with my husband. He seemed to find enjoyment from them as well. I started attending church and Bible study to help me keep my focus on God's hand in my life and not to create solutions of my own doing. We found a bit of peace for the journey and I was grateful.   

Marriage Differences part 2

Military life was a real change. We were taken from country living with family nearby to living in the city and all that comes with that life. We began with very little. The most valuable possession was the new car he purchased the week we were married. No longer would a sporty car do; he was married and that meant a sedan. 

Month to month we didn't know if we could make the rent. Gas had to wait until payday, sometimes meaning that a ride would need to be found to get to work. For several years of training, pay checks were meager and sometimes interrupted through administrative error. We lived moment by moment. Any extravagance would be funded by a friend or family member who was better off than we were. I had come from that kind of life, but for him it was a great sacrifice. 

When we finally landed our first real duty station, he was shipped out within a couple of days. In fact they were waiting for him to arrive. He borrowed enough money to rent a house, but no knowledge of whether we would be able to make the next rent payment. Creditors called throughout the day but I really didn't have the answers they wanted. Debt was a foreign concept to my growing years. I was very uneasy with our predicament. I didn't like engaging in these commitments that were so shaky. 

Later we bought a home using three months of advanced pay before shipping out. Again, no knowledge of how the next payment would be made. My discomfort led to conflict between us. I had not nurtured my relationship with my Lord nearly as much as I nurtured my marriage. But I had given all that I could and it just wasn't enough. In my mind it meant that someone else (my husband) should give more. 

I tried living by his rules thinking I was being a supportive wife and it wasn't working out. This was not what I had bought into. This was not the life I dreamed of as a girl.  God seemed so far out of the equation and I seemed to be the only one in our marriage who saw looming danger on the horizon. Something had to change.   

Marriage Differences part 1

Relationships have never been easy for me. As a teenager I had a few friends who were as geeky as me who embraced me. I say they embraced me because I certainly wasn't outgoing enough to bring someone into my circle. God organized my little circle of friends and even within this circle I guarded my deepest feelings. 

I remember praying one day feeling frustrated with family dysfunction and drama that God would bring someone into my life who was just interested in me, no manipulation and no demands. Shortly thereafter, some of my friends were organizing a double date. My best friend was to be set up with the nephew of another friend so she could take her beau out. My best friend declined, preferring to wait at home for the call that might just come through. And so I was selected as the substitute for a blind date to take place on Friday the 13th.  God at work to bring a shy but headstrong girl into a relationship with a boy. Later, I came to understand him as the answer to my prayer. 

This young man shared his thoughts about life. He was certainly more traveled and more experienced in life than I was. There were some clues along the way of some obsessive behavior, but I was oblivious since I was the latest obsession. He shared his belief that anyone should be able to do anything they wanted as long as it wasn't hurting someone else. I shared my desire to follow God and honor Him through my life. I didn't know that these two philosophies would conflict so greatly through the years. 

Even in dating years, it was apparent that his "stuff" was highly valued. His cars and all the add ons to trick them out were central to him. Washing and detailing the inside and out were all day affairs and done at least once a week. I remember opening a soda and on popping the lid some soda spit out inside his car. It was a crucial point in our relationship. I saw it a no big deal we will just wipe it away. He saw it as an intentional contamination of the pristine car he had just cleaned. Later after we were married about two months there was an accident. The bleach cap was not tightly secured and bleach leaked out over our clothes but also on the car seat where we had placed the laundry basket. I was fairly certain that was the end of our marriage. 

We were both accustomed to being masters of our destiny; calling our own shots. We were leaders and not followers, but we weren't always leading in the same direction. I liked that he knew his own mind until it came up against something I was passionate about. Will on will; like iron sharpening iron we went through our dating years each determined not to bend our wills to the other, but still finding each other captivating. As for me, in quiet moments I saw a young vulnerable man covering up insecurity by overcompensating. No one would  ever guess he had doubts because he would choose a direction and plunge headlong into it no matter where it ended. I suppose I did the same. My vulnerabilities were left to quiet moments in prayer. 

When during the course of our dating, my parents separated, I dropped out of college and really didn't know what was next for me, he offered to get an apartment for us. It wasn't how I envisioned our relationship going but I didn't see other options at the time. He was at a crossroads himself and began to explore the military as an option. 

He visited the recruiter who gave him some tests. He has always been very intelligent and did very well. They recommended him for the nuclear program and assured him he would make more money than he knew what to do with. It just seemed logical to him that we would get married so I could go with him. And so we did.    

Is Debt UnBiblical?

Americans by in large are active users of debt. When a desire or a need crops up for which we do not have cash, the credit card is a frequent "go-to" tool in our culture. Cars, furniture and electronics are given payment plans. Even our homes are mortgaged over very long periods of time. We Americans love our stuff and debt helps us abandon deferred gratification and enjoy the "good life" now. 

The amounts we currently owe in debts are staggering. Over $11 trillion in personal debt - almost 4 times the $2.7 US budget and approaching the $17 trillion of national debt. We are in deep. By the time we bail ourselves out and our nation, what will be left for impacting our world for Christ?  

So what does the Bible say:

Consider the story of the widow and the oil in 2 Kings 4:1-7. The dead man was a righteous fellow but had fallen into debt. As a result, the creditor was prepared to take the two children as slaves.  Proverbs 22:7 echoes this sentiment when it says, "just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender". In borrowing today we run the risk that we will not have sufficiency for the future and may become servants of another master. 

Debt is not forbidden in scripture, but is warned against and was a last resort for seeing oneself through a time of famine and want. 

The mark of plenty was to be that the people would lend to many nations and not borrow. (Deut 28:12). It demonstrates that God provides for his people so sufficiently that the unbelieving world would look to God through their lending. So what does debt say about us?

I believe that in the free use of credit, we have said some things about what we believe. We believe that God will continue to provide for us as he has in the past and that God will spare us from any time of want. It says we trust in our own abilities and don't need to look to God for our provision. It says that God was wrong in doling out provision to us. He didn't give us enough that we could have what we wanted or needed. 

In our free use if debt, we train ourselves away from dependence on God and hold our own estimations of our needs higher than God'sprovision. 

Indebtedness is indeed a curse to us. It steals money from our current monthly needs to pay for something in the past. It prevents us from saving for future needs and causes us to pay so much more for the things we use. Debt prevents us from answering God's call to follow him into ministry and missions because of our ties to the past. Debt prevents us from being generous givers to supply the needs of others and to find the work of the gospel. Debt keeps us from being lenders to unbelievers and so hinders our ability to witness to God's greatness. 

Our culture tells us there is good debt and bad debt but debt is so damagingfor families and for churches.  Debt merely drives up the prices of goods to keep us needing debt to afford to own a home or a car. Debt does not get us closer to God, but closer to the world. Debt allows us to live comfortably in the world and binds us to life here. 

We are called to be content with God's provision and to follow Him in witnessing of His greatness to the world. God is owner of all the world's wealth. The portion he supplies if insufficient should be provided through the hands of Gods people in love. 

In the New Testament church financial persecution of the believers was common. The churches from Paul's missionary journeys were collecting funds even sacrificing to supply the needs of the church in Jerusalem. That is God's provision in action. 

Treatment of the Poor

The US is a nation of great opportunity where a person of humble means can change their lot and achieve the dream of wealth beyond the reach of the majority of other nations. Even the poor in this country have enjoyed greater provision, freedom and opportunity than most. Our nation was founded on some very Christian principles that with hard work the poor can enjoy adequate accommodations. 

Unions took control when there were poor workers being oppressed by capitalist business owners who reaped great profit at the expense of the welfare of their staff. "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God" Prvb 14:31

Our laws are designed to give a fresh start to the poor. Bankruptcy laws offer something similar to the cancellation of debts in Deut 15:1-2. "At the end of every 7 years you must cancel debts.  This is how it shall be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment, because the Lord's time for canceling debts has been proclaimed."

Even government programs like SNAP (food stamps) are patterned after biblical directions to feed the poor and to provide for their welfare. 

Charities throughout the nation reach out with support for those who are in need. Caring for our fellow man in need is a very Biblical concept. Gleaning in the fields was meant to be provision for the poor. We are told that as God grants us abundance it is for us to be able to share with those in need. As churches, we have an opportunity to demonstrate Christ's love through practical acts if kindness which can also open the door to share the gospel. 

We are not to disregard the needs of the poor or to look down on them because when it comes to salvation, we all stand poor and needy at the foot of the cross. 

The poor are also instructed to work. 2 Thess 3:10 "if a man will not work, he shall not eat". In Pr 10:4 "Lazy hands make a man poor". 

The poor will always be among us for there will always be need. Our physical needs are a shadow of our great spiritual need. Our abundance is a shadow of Hod's great grace poured out not based on merit but on love for us. Even the poor are challenged to be good stewards if the  provision from God they have received and acknowledge that God has provided for all of their needs according to His riches in glory. 

We Christians are living in a time unlike any other where we can be salt and light to a world that is list and dying without hope of eternity in Heaven. We have great abundance to share and a message to proclaim. Our entitlement economy has downplayed the responsibility to work, oppression still exists and people long to have relief and peace that only God can provide. 

Benevolence is just part of the equation. If we are not in the business of transforming lives and discipling believers in the doctrines of the faith we have failed. It isn't about giving a handout, but a help up. That help can be physical and tangible, but it should never neglect the spiritual. 

There is great opportunity here. The fields are white into harvest if we will but share the abundance we have received. Look around you. If there are unbelievers in your circles, they are poor indeed. If there is someone suffering physically, be Christ to them. "The King will reply, ' I tell you the truth, whatever you have done for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me'" Matt 25:40. 

Handouts or Help Up?

The Bible tells us we will always have the poor with us. There are families who are truly struggling with limited means and limited opportunity. The Bible outlines the church's responsibility in caring for the poor, the widowed, the orphans and the oppressed. 

The Bible also places clear individual responsibilities to work and to provide for the needs of family members. 

When I am offering financial instruction a strong emphasis is placed on taking control and being personally responsible for the choices we make. All too often families in financial distress are overwhelmed and feel that their situation is hopeless. My role is to come alongside them and encourage them to be faithful in making one wise choice after another and look to God for the results. 

I believe there is a place for charity, but I also believe that handouts can give way to dependence and discourage hard work and personal accountability. Handouts can exacerbate the very conditions we are trying to alleviate. Far too many people are dependent on government subsidies as a way of life rather than a short term help during a time of crisis. The same can be said of local charity; though the charities I  associated with quickly learn to put boundaries around repeat customers. 

God clearly lays out a plan for our salvation that is completely out of our control. We are utterly dependent on the work of another to provide what we cannot provide for ourselves. So the grantors in the handout camp apply this to their benevolence programs taking on the role of Jesus to a hurting world. They demonstrate compassion but may be creating dependence. 

In the other camp we have the personal accountability proponents who believe that hard work and diligence will lend themselves success. This is the underpinning of the "American Dream" that anyone with enough effort can have greater opportunity. Scripture supports work and perseverance. It also discusses faithful service in response to God's provision for our sin. Extremists in this camp are hesitant with charity and despise government entitlements. They are proud and determined individuals who believe that each of us creates out own destiny. They are seen as very insensitive to the plight of the needy but in the long run may help up more people out of poverty by pushing them to do their best and not passively wait for external intervention. 

Both sides have a skewed view of the gospel and place more value on wealth and comfort than on our eternal state. The gospel message tells us that we are utterly helpless as sinners and completely dependent on a Savior to do the work of reconciliation. We are leopards who cannot change our spots we cannot make ourselves holy before God. We could exert every ounce of energy we have and still be separated from God for all eternity. Self sufficiency does not equal success in God's economy. We are hopelessly dependent on the work of Christ. However, once we have received the free gift that Christ offers for us and we have peace with God, our evidence and confirmation is the change that takes place in our lives. Instead of begging bread at the Masters table, we become the hands delivering that bread to others in need. After receiving salvation for free we work it out. The work of God in us begins at salvation and He equips us for good works that then demonstrate the power of God to others. 

There is a balance that needs to be struck in benevolence. We should encourage people to look to God for their supply and then depend on Him for the strength and wisdom to act in faith doing what we can. When we encounter a person in trials, a handout is not enough, we must come alongside them and share with them the hope of eternal security that can be received by believing in Christ. Having received that free gift we are grafted into God's plan and given purpose for our life on earth and assurance of eternity in Heaven. That is true riches. 

The Bottom is Still the Bottom

Reading through some recent intitiatives to raise minimum wage, I am struck by the lack if foresight being used by proponents. I know these people have a heart for those who are stuggling; living on incomes that are far below a living wage in today's economy. I know they want what is best for these families, but I don't think that they realize that raising the minimum wage may actually hurt the very people they hope to help. 

The greatest cost of doing business for most organizations is labor. A raise to minimum wage is not borne by the big bad corporations but is borne primarily by the low wage workers where increases in the cost if living cannot be sustained. The corporation passes the costs of wage increases on to the public in the form of higher priced products. 

Let's just assume for a moment that I am a minimum wage worker at a large retail establishment. As my wage goes up, so do all the wages of people who have seniority over me. This increased wage gets translated into higher prices for the products. As a low wage worker, I likely shop at the discount retail establishments for the goods and services I need. If the only increase my employer has is wages, the prices should increase to match the increase in my wages. Net-net no gain for me the low wage worker. The only thing that really changed is that the living wage is now higher and I still don't make enough to live a comfortable lifestyle. 

More than likely however, the cost if goods purchased also go up because the inventory prices go up when the producers and wholesalers have to pay THEIR employees more. That means for me working at the retailer the prices on the shelf will have to increase by MORE than the increase in my salary and may actually have my lifestyle diminished by the increase in wages. 

Beyond that, in order to continue to remain competive, my employer will likely have to reduce jobs or find ways to outsource activities overseas using less expensive labor to remain in business. My benefits will likely be cut, or have more of the cost transferred to me. I bear the cost because I really don't have alternatives. Bottom line: the bottom is still the bottom. 

The solution offered by government is to step in and offer assistance in the form of entitlements like welfare or food stamps or tax credits. That only serves to demean me more because I now become dependent on handouts rather than becoming self sufficient. Handouts discourage hard work because people adopt an attitutlde of complacency feeling that they can't change the "system". 

The real solution to poverty is not in handouts or layers of government protections, but in empowering the people with education and inspiration to take control for themselves the outcome of their story. The United States has always been the place where even someone from a poor background can achieve their dreams with hard work and a good idea. We need to encourage the development of entrepreneurship and encourage excellence in our children. 

This is a nation where opportunity still exists if people will only embrace the challenge. We are also a nation that cares for our disabled and disadvantaged. I encourage government to let charity do what it does best - invest in the lives if those with fewer option. 

Rather than raising minimum wage, consider moving the charitable deduction to the front page of the tax return so you don't have to itemize to reap the benefits or better yet create a tax credit for charitable donations and see if our communities don't thrive. Charity has the incentives and the know how to build opportunities for those who are most vulnerable. Raising the low income up with job training and education to grow the economy rather than tearing it down. 

The Bible outlines our resonsibiilities to the poor and the downtrodden. Charity not business or government are best at transition. Government only increases dependence. I believe Christian charity is best equipped to perform local mission and to provide for not only physical needs but spiritual as well. 

Christians live in a time where there is great need for hope. We have it to give. Let's be generous in our distributions. 

Who's Your Teacher

I have had some great teachers in my life; teachers that I just wanted to be around and soak up every ounce of knowledge they offered. I admired them for their wisdom and looked to them for guidance. They could only share what they had learned and applied. They couldn't make me learn - I had to do that for myself. 

So it is with our Lord. People can share from their personal experiences and give inspirational messages, but I cannot know The Lord through someone else's experience. I must know Him for myself. We must go beyond prescribed ritual and have a personal relationship with Jesus our Savior. 

I would like to suggest we have one source of revelation - that is scripture itself. The Bible is God's story shared to offer a picture of the great love that reconciles sinners to a Holy God. God wrote it Himself. Jesus is described as the word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God" John 1:1. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" John 1:14. 

Jesus is the Word. He was the Word spoken at creation that caused all things to come into being. It is His story penned on the pages of our Bible. We cannot have a personal encounter with Jesus without personally encountering God's Word. Way too many Christians depend on the study their pastor does in preparing a sermon or watching a message on TV without personally investing themselves in reading and learning directly from the source - the Word. 

We cannot develop the character of our Savior if all we get is second hand teaching. But Jesus himself offers a helper for us - His Spirit. The Spirit of God Himself takes residence in our souls at the time we are saves. We have God himself as our teacher; the 3rd person of the Trinity. This teacher is not human capable of misleading us. The Spirit has a clear mission in our lives. "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me." John 15:26. We have a teacher who can unfold scripture more profoundly than any gifted speaker and we can know Christ personally through this combination of studying scripture and being taught of the Spirit. 

No human can impose their experience in our lives. We must learn and apply what we have learned personally. We cannot witness for Christ until He his character is developed within us and radiates through us. Until this thing we have with The Lord becomes personal, we are just reporters of the news and not eyewitnesses. 

So who is your teacher of things spiritual?  Is it the pastor, the priest, the books you read? Or is it God Himelf in the form of the Word and the Spirit?  There are many false teachers about in these end times, but the Spirit of God bears witness if Jesus and does not inflate Himself. Jesus is the only hope of reconciliation with a Holy God and His Spirit teaches us and develops within us His character. 

Rights and Responsibilities -Taxes

It's that time of year again when we organize our records and prepare to account for our income to the government. Taxes pay for many of the good services we receive so it is right that we should pay for these services. We enjoy roads, schools, protection services like police and firemen, and our nation is protected from enemies by our military.   We receive many good things from government spending. 

When government does not choose wisely in their spending we have a great privilege in the US; we live in a republic where we have representation at the highest levels so our voice can be heard. Our nation was founded on Christian principles that have resulted in social justice programs and healthcare legislation.  We have always been a nation that offered opportunity even to the most vulnerable allowing them to regain strength and achieve success. We want everyone to have a shot at prosperity.  Laws are passed to ensure that no business power can take advantage of the citizens (even if following those laws result in higher costs of product delivery). 

Each service received from the government has a cost and reflects the values of the nation. (You elected them after all). So when it comes to paying taxes we should be ready to pay that price. As Christians we must recognize the very common temptation to not be fully transparent on our tax return is dishonest and shirks our responsibilities as citizens. Cheating on taxes for our own personal gain is not holy conduct and if we have been guilty we should confess it before God and do everything we can to make things right. 

Christians should be models of integrity and morality, therefore if there are decisions made by our elected officials we also have a responsibility to make things right and voice our stand and help educate our electorate about the choices before them.  We can and should be active in our govenment. No on ther nation has such opportunity. 

We are called to honor our authorities on earth even if they are not behaving rightly. They have been placed in their offices by God himself so our responsibility is to ensure their success. 

As I look at our system of entitlements, insurances and benefits, I do not believe that our nation can economically survive the burden these obligations place on the tax payer. Our founding fathers strongly believed in limited government and placing more responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the individual. Transferring responsibility for our welfare, health and retirement are all violations of our founding principles. 

We must pay, but we must also work to bring sensibility back to our government. It must not be given authority usurp our own responsibilities or those of charity. As Christians our obligation to care for the poor and needy must be a personal outreach and should not be transferred to goverment. If we are aware of suffering we have a responsibility to become involved. Let's take back our legacy to the world and share with those who need a word of hope that it is God and not government who supplies all our needs according to his riches in glory. 

Enduring

By now, New Years resolutions are taking their toll. Either we have adopted new habits and are overcoming those challenges we face or we have given up - disappointed in ourselves once again for failing. 

Our sin nature craves a life of ease where exercise, discretion with financial choices and  even eating choices are not necessary. We prefer leisure, indulgence, and revelry. Our natural self wants to avoid the rigors of discipline, submission and holy living. 

Let's face it, we may not change ourselves. The natural man in us is strong and seeks to keep us in bondage. We need help, not from a trainer or a financial advisor, but from a supernatural source. If you are not a believer living in faith, you cannot know this power. But for believers who have the Spirit of God residing in them we have a source of power that is greater than the natural man. We have power to be disciplined, wise and holy. We have God 'a power at work in us. 

If your resolutions have fallen flat, give up and lay your desires at the foot of the cross and pray that God will have His perfect way in you. Apply yourself to getting closer to him by reading and memorizing scripture. Work to be faithful in applying His word. I believer you will see God show up and do amazing things in your life; God's word says so. 

Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

Keep your focus right and everything else falls into place. Where you can't do it, God can. 

The Measure of Poverty

One if the greatest financial quandaries we have in our culture is how can we provide for those who are truly in need without creating a class of people who become so entitled in their handouts that they do not invest themselves in working for their well being. No one wants to see people suffer or to be neglected, but in meeting a need do we create new problems that keep a person living in meager circumstances and not assuming personal responsibility. 

Jesus told us we would always have the poor among us, but scripture also reminds us of our responsibilities to care for those who are oppressed, vulnerable and poor. 

Poverty is an obscure concept. There are those who earn seemingly adequate amounts of money but through choices or circumstances find themselves unable to fund their lifestyles. Either their lifestyle exceeds their income by including expenses that are beyond basic necessities or their circumstances have created liabilities beyond what their income can bear. 

In measuring poverty, usually an income threshold is determined to be a level at which basic expenses cannot be met. In the United States that income figure is more than the vast majority of nations and in many nations would be a measure of wealth rather than want. The trouble with this measure even in the US, is that people of every income have claimed insufficiency. In determining "enough" you  infer a valuation of the cost of basic living. 

Income alone is not a sufficient measure. For instance, if I earn $20,000 and receive healthcare as an employee benefit, my ability to meet basic needs may be better than someone who makes more but does not have this benefit. If I qualify for tax credits, I may have a boost that someone of equal income may not receive because of different family conditions. Income cannot measure poverty. 

There are people who live very humble lifestyles who are more than able to meet their needs and to save a portion for future expenses. These people may not live extravagantly, but they enjoy financial freedom as all needs are met. Our ability to live within our means and to save for the future is a key measure of our ability to remain self sustaining. 

It is easy to pass judgment on the life choices of another, but collectively as a nation, household debt has continued to increase. Many holding their next payday loan in the form of a credit card. We can deceive ourselves into thinking that we have matters I control, when in fact we presume upon God's grace for our provision. 

The Bible offers us some good guidance when it comes to caring for the poor that could benefit. The first generation church solved the issue by selling what they had to provide for the needs of those who were in need. While the generosity of these believers is commendable it is important to not that this was a voluntary act and not conscripted. 

God established the practice of gleaning as a way of providing for the poor. People were to leave some of their harvest for those in need to gather up. (Lev 23:22). It is good for us to include benevolence in our budgeting as well so that as we encounter those in need we can have the resources to extend a helping hand. This offering for the poor was also outlined in Deut 15:7 - 11. 

God hears the prayers of the afflicted and he calls his people to minister to their need. This is a benefit to both the giver who becomes more aware of the bounty they have received at the hand of God and the recipient who has his burden relieved. 

Giving to the poor and needy is repeated throughout scripture and ignoring the plight of the needy is attributed to the wicked. Jesus idolaters that when we provide for the needs of others we demonstrate our love for him when he said, "truly I say to you that to the extent you did it to the least of these brothers of Mine, you did it unto me".  (Matt 25:40). 

Providing for the poor is a measure of our  belonging to the Kingdom. In 1 John 3:17-18 we learn, "whoever has the world's goods, and be holds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?  little children, let us not love with word or tongue, but in deed and in truth."  A challenge for us to consider as we respond to the needs of those around us. 

Birth Control = Women's Rights?

Recently, I became interested in the life of Margaret Sanger the founder if Planned Parenthood especially in light of the debate currently around the government's mandate to offer birth control as part if their health insurance plans. It occurs to me that there are deep theological issues exposed in this debate and they may just have started years ago when Margaret Sanger outlined her reasons for offering birth control. 

1. Sexual Freedom - Sanger proposed that women were subjugated by the limits on sexuality that life without birth control imposed. She proposed that it was a matter if women's rights to give women the same sexual freedom that men enjoy. 

2. Professional Advancement. Sanger proposed that women who were bearing children did not have the same opportunity for career advancement by that men enjoy. Women who have young children frequently forfeit career opportunity to care for the children's needs. 

3.  Creating master race. Sanger was a proponent of eugenics believing that certain classes if individuals should not freely reproduce. By bringing into the world a child who may not have the same intellect or opportunity, society perpetuates poverty and suffering. 

Each one of Sanger's rationales for increasing access I birth control stands in contrast to Biblical guidance. 

1.  God ordained sex. His plan for sexual fulfillment is within the bonds of marriage so by definition it is safe sex. Within such committed relationships the child that may result is a blessing from God and a mark of His Devine providence for that union. There is no safe sex outside the bonds of marriage. Love cannot thrive in a relationship where there is no lasting commitment. We are made to love and be loved. As long as the option to walk away is on the table, love remains conditional at best. 

Births to single parents have increased almost exponentially over the past generation. Marriages now delayed on favor of self indulgences and career development. We would do well to abandon our self interests and choose a life that honors God. We will be more likely to encounter a mate that will also keep God first and fulfill their role of spouse more wholeheartedly. 

In our culture, even the marriages of Christians face the same vulnerability to failure as those who do not claim the name of Christ. As a nation we have failed to hold marriage high and give it the same esteem that God does. We live as self-centered as the rest of the world and imitate worship on Sunday. That is not a Christian life my friend. When we put God and spouse ahead of our interests our priorities change. We may even gain a greater understanding of what true love is. Jesus demonstrated it for us in that while we were still sinners He came to offer his life as a sacrifice; taking the penalty for our sin. What great love we have received. 

2.  Work is ordained by God. All work that is not immoral is valuable. We often confuse rank with value and thus despise the most necessary and noble professions. Work can be accomplished within the home - some of the children who will go on to impact society greatly being molded by a mother who invests in her children. We cannot attribute our worth based on our paycheck. Then we are looking to the wrong scale master to weigh us in the balance. A life of great worth is the life lived to God's glory. 

3.  All life has value. We cannot discard an unwanted child for the convenience of the parent. No one is perfect but one - Jesus Christ. We all have flaws and failures. To terminate a life because it will inevitably face hardship would be to end life as we know it.  Because a child is poor or of a race not deemed in favor by the society he lives in is not reason to end his life before it begins. All mankind is made in God's image and to kill that life is an affront to the Creator of that life. 

Hitler lived as a contemporary of Sanger also pursued philosophies of eugenics with disastrous results. The problem is that the classes of people in favor are subjective and not based on science or God's standard either. 

In a government influenced healthcare a system, allowable procedures will likely discriminate against the handicapped, the elderly, and those most vulnerable and least able to stand up for themselves. Even this week, when a group of nuns petitioned the courts to be excluded from the mandate to offer birth control, President Obama responded by saying that their objection was not based on fact and was not viable. It is happening in the United States already where the government limits our ability to keep our faith. It is just one small step to alienating yet another class of people who challenge the will of the government. 

We live in a culture where people of faith are truly a peculiar people. We can hide our faith and not shine for The Lord or we can expose our faith and stand for God even if it means standing against the culture. I challenge you to keep the faith. 

Resolving or planning

At the start if each new year so many people make resolutions all to be broken in the course of a few days. We want to lose weight, get healthy, be prosperous, or be better parents. Resolutions are great in that they focus us on what we would like to become or what we could like to achieve. 

Financial planners start every plan with a goal. That is what resolutions do for us. But a goal without a realistic plan to achieve success is just a wish. Wishes don't become reality unless we breathe life into them. That life comes from taking that goal and turning it into a plan. 

Far too many people live in financial frustration saying they don't earn enough to maintain their lifestyle without doing anything to increase their earnings or adjust their lifestyle. They fear that putting a plan in place will limit options and put barriers around their activities. And they are absolutely right. By definition my choice to do one thing prevents me from doing some other things. I cannot go easy and west at the same time. 

This fear of making a commitment to a particular course of action stops so many from making any progress at all. Like a deer in the headlights their life stands frozen, not sure of any direction. It is in charting a course and making a plan that our life takes on purpose and meaning. 

Is it possible that there are so many who while away their time with entertainment, Tv, movies and games because they are unwilling to look inside themselves and determine their direction and pursue it?  Is it possible that so many escape into drugs, alcohol and other addictions because they have not found meaning and purpose in life?  

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "I know the plans I have for you, declares The Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". Did you catch that?  God's plans for us not only give purpose and direction, but they offer us hope. 

I challenge you right now to examine your resolutions and if they are worthy, turn them into plans that have action steps. This will give your life direction and purpose. At the end of this year you can look back and say that God has prospered you and given you hope!  

New Year Resolutions

Don't you just love fresh starts?  New Years is often the time we begin again resolving to make things right in our lives. We write out goals for weight loss, savings, more exercise, less junk food, the list goes on and on. 

The Bible has guidance for us as we begin our new commitments. 

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  Matthew 6:33 (KJV). If we apply this principle we have the assurance that if we make our relationship with The Lord our highest priority that He will provide us all our needs and desires. You may be saying, "wait a minute, isn't that the theme of the prosperity gospel?"  Yes, that is the theme of prosperity gospel, but the element my prosperity gospel friends miss is that when we truly seek God, His word applied to our hearts changes our desires to align with His own. All the trivial stuff falls to the wayside while all the important things rise to the top when we put God first. 

My New Years resolution is to keep more of God's word in my heart and in my memory, carve out time for real fellowship on worship and prayer. I resolve to confess my sin more and to thank God in all things for that is God's will for me. I resolve to live my faith more boldly and to share my faith with more people without fear of rejection. I plan to seek God in His word and apply what I find to my life. To join me in my Bible study, come find me at my blog http://happysteward.blogspot.com. 

I hope that you will take God's challenge to seek Him in 2014 and find that all the other goals you have fall into place as a result.  Share with me your thoughts. Let's challenge one another to keep the faith.