The Election Is Finally Over

I admit I love politics and follow it very closely, but this election year was getting to be too much to handle. It is finally over and now we have determined who the next President will be. Did your candidate win? My candidate did not even make it our of the primaries (if you want to know who I like you need to look at the back of my van as I have kept my stickers for the next run). We are now ready to face the realities that are encountering our country. Whether your candidate won or lost there is still many things we as Christians and Americans need to be doing to help our country. First, we need to pray for our leaders. It is important to pray for our leaders and ask God to give them guidance and direction. Secondly, we need to be responsible in our own respects and do what we can do personally to improve our country. How much time do you spend volunteering and working with charities? Every volunteer helps to improve our country. How are your spending habits and increases in debt? The reality is that wise spending helps form a stable economy. What are you doing to help take care of the environment? Do you recycle or even turn the lights off when you leave a room? Taking care of the environment is not an issue of whether global warming is true or not. It is really an issue of stewardship given to us in Genesis, at the beginning of all things, when God told man that we are to be the caretakers of this Earth. So, taking care of the environment is not an issue of politics or even science, it is an issue of taking care of what God created. My point is that there is nothing we can do now in regards to who will be the political leaders of the country. However, we still a whole lot to do in regards to doing what we can to help our communities and country to thrive. Being a responsible and active citizen does show a lot to the community and in many ways can open doors to bring people to understand who God is.

On another thought, the political situation of the year made me consider the way the process works. Out of millions of people in this country we are only left to choose from two people basically to be the President. Are we really getting the absolute best candidate when it takes a person to be rich and well connected to even be considered for President? I was also considering how Jesus would do in our current political situation if he came to America today and ran today (obviously our country wouldn't allow it because he was born overseas). But consider if Jesus ran for President today. I am not even sure he would have won the Conservative Evangelical vote because they would have considered him to be too soft on sin. Consider who he hung out with in his day and how he was viewed then. He would have had a special compassion for the sinner and would have interacted with them positively to bring a change. Jesus would not have stood on a street with a giant sign saying "God Hates Homosexuals". He would have taken the time to get to know them and allow them to see who he was and what special about Him. That is where the change takes place. Jesus would have spoken out against the church for calling everyone else sinner while harboring sins in their own lives (call it hypocrisy). So in the United States today it is unlikely that Jesus could be elected president, even by the churches who call on his name. I could be wrong (not the first time) but that is just what I am thinking.

Persecuted Church

This past Sunday was the Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Our Sunday Morning service was not typical and did not fit into our normal patterns. I believe that our slight change of venue helped to focus on what the persecuted face. It is difficult to consider the persecuted when we are engaging in our normal routines and sitting in our beautiful sanctuary. Let us consider the persecuted throughout the year and not just make our prayers for them a once a year event. The persecuted Christians are seeing results from our prayers. Remember the video we watched from Iraq? Pastor Ghassan Thomas of the CMA church in Baghdad tells his congregation that the believers in North America are praying for them and this makes a difference to them. Let's continue to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters. Let's also consider our relationship with God and ponder if we would remain faithful to Jesus in the face of persecution. We can help those who are persecuted by praying for them.

Thoughts On The Economy

How's your bank statement looking today? For many of us it appears that things are pretty difficult. Throughout the Bible we hear statements about being wise stewards and the adverse effects that the love of money can have on people, relationships, and even societies. Guess what, the Bible has been proven correct as we look at our current financial struggles as a nation (and around the world for that matter) and personally. Greed and corruption have run rampant because it our societal shifts have been designed to encourage greed in promoting the things that help us achieve wealth in this society creating a materialistic culture that is focused on possessions. Today we see large corporations that we give some responsibility for our financial well-being (by investing or depositing our money) going bankrupt. Greed has caused the decision-makers to abandon ethics and common-sense principles about handling money and try to create a system where more could be had at any cost. Unfortunately, these huge companies have been pardoned for their misdeeds through an economic bailout. Doesn't it seem unfair that they have squandered our money and yet the government is willing to swoop in and give them our tax money to deal with. If we ran out of money and couldn't pay our bills we would be sued, fined, and taken to account for our fiances...what we would not find is a free pass. The bottom line is that crafty and shrewd business maneuvering was shown to be ineffective. The principles of stewardship and financial responsibility found in the Bible (mainly not getting into ridiculous debts and avoiding a mindset of materialism) would have kept us from this disastrous situation. In fact, many people who have applied these principles, while maybe feeling a bit of the crunch, are still doing OK financially. Maybe it is time we give Biblical responsibility a try. Principles of greed and corruption have gotten us into a mess. Honestly, the best way to get out of this mess is to engage in Biblical financial principles. (Also, maybe we should try to get God appointed as secretary of the treasury seeing as how He has taught us the right principles along.)Unfortunately we cannot force our county to become financially responsible, but we can personally search the Scriptural mandates and find ways to implement these basic, simple, yet remarkable principles into our lives. Biblical principles on money may go against the tide of American culture a little bit, but I think we can all see the destination that tide is flowing to is not so pretty or promising. So, my encouragement to you is to look back many years ago to financial principles that work found in Scripture. Do you really want advice in getting out of a financial mess from the very same people who brought you the mess? Take your Bible and open to the back where the concordance is and look up the words "money", "stewardship", "debt". Then look up all the verses where these Scriptures are found reading the verses before and after as well (for better context). See how basic yet profound these principles are? Read the principles and consider how you can apply them to your lives. Another good resource for dealing with finances are both Dave Ramsey and Crown Financial Ministries who provide tremendous Biblical based resources on finances. It is important to be financially stable and living with good stewardship because it will absolutely affect your spiritual life. We cannot change the country's economic status, but we surely can do something for our own financial well being.

That's What I'm Thinking For Now,
Bill

Simple Tips On Finances:
1.) Cut up the credit cards
2.) Create a budget and stick to it
3.) Use cash whenever possible
4.) Make cuts in your budget when money is tight, but don't cut back your giving to God's work
(and I'm not just saying that because I am a pastor)
5.) Make your money a matter of prayer in good times and bad
- God is the provider of all that we recieve, so it is a great idea to consult Him.
6.) Find accountablity with someone close to you
- Often we don't like to talk about finances because they are personal, but talking with a trusted friend can provide the accountability and support to become financially strong
7.) Teach your kids now the value of money and the dangers of credit
- School's often teach kids how to get credit, but not the dangers or responsibilities associated with it.