Saturday, October 3, 2009
9-12 March on DC part 1
When I found out about the tea parties earlier this year, I wanted to join in them here locally, but it seemed that I didn't know where they were or how to connect. I wanted to join not out of hostility toward our government, but because I am gravely concerned about the course of direction our country is taking. It did not start with our current president, but this has been growing over the years.
Here is my great concern: We are adopting a mentality that our problems are too large to be fixed by anyone but the government. The problem is: the government is us! We fund the government work so if we say we need something we are paying for it ourselves and at a higher cost than we could have achieved by going to private and personal solutions to our problems. The government adds the costs of administration that are higher than any private enterprise. What you get is a disconnect from the solution, because by adding layers and layers of administration, you almost guarantee mismanagement (you can blame the government for that later) but you also become removed from the solution as it is no longer personal.
If I know that you are in need, it would be wrong to ask someone else to help out when I am able. It would certainly be wrong to rob from someone else in order to meet your need. That was Robin Hood's gig. If your need is greater than what I can supply, then I can help to make your need known to those who can help, but you see in this scenario we are all becoming personally involved in seeing your need met. We are vested in your welfare and you then are accountable to us as your need is supplied. Not accountable that you are forced to repay; but that you use the resources to supply your need and you take personal action to secure your welfare for the future. If I am in need, I must honor your terms for receiving help.
If I send you to a government agency to receive help, they must create layers and layers of buracracy to ensure that your need is legitimate (because they don't know you) and they must create a mechanism to limit the flow to you to keep you from taking advantage of the resources. They may never see you again and have limited ways to hold the numbers of people needing help accountable for the help they receive. If I am in need I must play by their rules and they hold the power over my life.
Our country was founded on the principle that government should be limited and that the power should remain in the hands of the people. The more services you get from the government the more power you yield to them. We were founded on the concept that we should limit our times of need and work hard to maintain our independence, but our attitudes have shifted.
I remember my Dad's attitude toward credit. He saw going to a bank for a loan as an admission of failure. He saw that the lender then had power to influence your decisions and he would not live in servitude to the banker. Now we live in an age where the vast majority of American's have significant debt (Credit Card, Auto and Mortgage). Servitude is common, so it is not surprising that we would now look to the government to provide for our needs when we can no longer borrow to maintain the standard of living we enjoy. The cost of healthcare is great, but the loss of freedoms will be even greater if we allow the government to solve for our needs.
I am an oddball, I have never felt that Social Security was in my best interest. It was a temporary program to sustain the nation when the government created catastrophic financial failure. I don't believe that it ever should have continued. These social safety nets that we have like Social Security, Unemployment, Earned Income Tax Credit all take money from the pockets of tax paying citizens and redistribute wealth to those in need. I honestly think that we could have done better as Christians to help than the government can. Can you imagine the witness we would have? I am not suggesting a mission of social justice; I am suggesting that those who are truly poor and widowed should be able to look to us for a leg up.
My trip to the 9-12 tea party was amazing. There was not the hostility that people claim, though there were people who did not say kind words about our government or our President. I believe that even those leaders who are not godly are placed in office by God for a purpose. I think that purpose is to drive us back to our God and to seek his wisdom and strength. Israel asked for leaders like the other nations had and God granted their request. It eventually landed them in bondage, but God was faithful even then to see them through. I don't believe that tea party goers should compare Obama with Hitler (that is disrespectful), but I do think that we should all be alert to see the end of the path we are taking and to take action now before it is too late.
I think that we can honor our authorities and still speak out against abuses that we see and work to correct them. I think it means that we are writing to our representatives in government and sharing our concerns (respectfully).
At the tea party on 9-12, I was amazed that so many people could come together and be so kind toward one another. Though we were a crowd of at least a million I believe, people were gentle and kind. They said "pardon me" and "excuse me" when passing through the masses of people. People weren't prone to pushing and shoving. They were respectful, not hateful. I have been in crowds at fairs, in New York City, Rome Italy and even Washington DC as people were trying to get from one place to another and were not as gentle.
There were people who came from all over the United States. I understand that the garage at Union Station can hold 5000 buses and it was full. If each bus had 50 people, that is a sizeable crowd already. I also heard that you couldn't get train, plane or even car into the city due to the crowds. It was a huge mass of people to be sure. I was amazed at the number of citizens in walkers and wheel chairs who endured the physical challenges of being there who made the effort to come. Of all the people in the world who have a sense of the cost of healthcare, I am sure it was them. But they came in protest.
I got to thank one of the police officers for coming to work that day as I am sure that having any crowd that large is a job to manage. The officer replied to me that it wasn't a bad day at all. The police weren't concerned which tells me that this assembly was a peaceable one.
I travelled with a bus group from Richmond VA by myself. I was not concerned for my safety even once. On an average day in DC I can't say that would be true. In my next blog entry, look at some of the pictures and video I took.
Here is my great concern: We are adopting a mentality that our problems are too large to be fixed by anyone but the government. The problem is: the government is us! We fund the government work so if we say we need something we are paying for it ourselves and at a higher cost than we could have achieved by going to private and personal solutions to our problems. The government adds the costs of administration that are higher than any private enterprise. What you get is a disconnect from the solution, because by adding layers and layers of administration, you almost guarantee mismanagement (you can blame the government for that later) but you also become removed from the solution as it is no longer personal.
If I know that you are in need, it would be wrong to ask someone else to help out when I am able. It would certainly be wrong to rob from someone else in order to meet your need. That was Robin Hood's gig. If your need is greater than what I can supply, then I can help to make your need known to those who can help, but you see in this scenario we are all becoming personally involved in seeing your need met. We are vested in your welfare and you then are accountable to us as your need is supplied. Not accountable that you are forced to repay; but that you use the resources to supply your need and you take personal action to secure your welfare for the future. If I am in need, I must honor your terms for receiving help.
If I send you to a government agency to receive help, they must create layers and layers of buracracy to ensure that your need is legitimate (because they don't know you) and they must create a mechanism to limit the flow to you to keep you from taking advantage of the resources. They may never see you again and have limited ways to hold the numbers of people needing help accountable for the help they receive. If I am in need I must play by their rules and they hold the power over my life.
Our country was founded on the principle that government should be limited and that the power should remain in the hands of the people. The more services you get from the government the more power you yield to them. We were founded on the concept that we should limit our times of need and work hard to maintain our independence, but our attitudes have shifted.
I remember my Dad's attitude toward credit. He saw going to a bank for a loan as an admission of failure. He saw that the lender then had power to influence your decisions and he would not live in servitude to the banker. Now we live in an age where the vast majority of American's have significant debt (Credit Card, Auto and Mortgage). Servitude is common, so it is not surprising that we would now look to the government to provide for our needs when we can no longer borrow to maintain the standard of living we enjoy. The cost of healthcare is great, but the loss of freedoms will be even greater if we allow the government to solve for our needs.
I am an oddball, I have never felt that Social Security was in my best interest. It was a temporary program to sustain the nation when the government created catastrophic financial failure. I don't believe that it ever should have continued. These social safety nets that we have like Social Security, Unemployment, Earned Income Tax Credit all take money from the pockets of tax paying citizens and redistribute wealth to those in need. I honestly think that we could have done better as Christians to help than the government can. Can you imagine the witness we would have? I am not suggesting a mission of social justice; I am suggesting that those who are truly poor and widowed should be able to look to us for a leg up.
My trip to the 9-12 tea party was amazing. There was not the hostility that people claim, though there were people who did not say kind words about our government or our President. I believe that even those leaders who are not godly are placed in office by God for a purpose. I think that purpose is to drive us back to our God and to seek his wisdom and strength. Israel asked for leaders like the other nations had and God granted their request. It eventually landed them in bondage, but God was faithful even then to see them through. I don't believe that tea party goers should compare Obama with Hitler (that is disrespectful), but I do think that we should all be alert to see the end of the path we are taking and to take action now before it is too late.
I think that we can honor our authorities and still speak out against abuses that we see and work to correct them. I think it means that we are writing to our representatives in government and sharing our concerns (respectfully).
At the tea party on 9-12, I was amazed that so many people could come together and be so kind toward one another. Though we were a crowd of at least a million I believe, people were gentle and kind. They said "pardon me" and "excuse me" when passing through the masses of people. People weren't prone to pushing and shoving. They were respectful, not hateful. I have been in crowds at fairs, in New York City, Rome Italy and even Washington DC as people were trying to get from one place to another and were not as gentle.
There were people who came from all over the United States. I understand that the garage at Union Station can hold 5000 buses and it was full. If each bus had 50 people, that is a sizeable crowd already. I also heard that you couldn't get train, plane or even car into the city due to the crowds. It was a huge mass of people to be sure. I was amazed at the number of citizens in walkers and wheel chairs who endured the physical challenges of being there who made the effort to come. Of all the people in the world who have a sense of the cost of healthcare, I am sure it was them. But they came in protest.
I got to thank one of the police officers for coming to work that day as I am sure that having any crowd that large is a job to manage. The officer replied to me that it wasn't a bad day at all. The police weren't concerned which tells me that this assembly was a peaceable one.
I travelled with a bus group from Richmond VA by myself. I was not concerned for my safety even once. On an average day in DC I can't say that would be true. In my next blog entry, look at some of the pictures and video I took.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Nehemiah Chap 11-12
In Chapters 11 and 12, Nehemiah records the repopulation of the city of Jerusalem. One tenth of the populations from each of the tribes was to live in Jerusalem while the rest remained in their own towns caring for their ancestral property. Nehemiah records not only names but positions that were held. Each man passing on a legacy to future generations. It is easy to say that by the time you die that you would like to accomplish certain things…to talk of achievements as being in the distant future, but we don’t know how long we will live and we never know if today might be the day our name goes into the newspaper headlines. Each and every day we are faced with choices and those choices have long lasting consequences.
Occasionally, men get to have a legacy by virtue of some serendipitous event, but more often than not, our legacy is a function of our character which is built day after day as we choose to follow the Lord in the mundane. Today we are building our legacy that will be remembered into the future. God graciously allows us to choose for ourselves what kind of legacy we will leave. Will it be for good or evil? Will we depend on our own efforts or will we glorify God and draw on his strength to meet the challenges of the day?
We have only one life to live and we can live for ourselves, for someone else or for the Lord. In the end our daily choices will evidence our hearts passion. What will those choices say about you? From this passage we learn that God honors our acts done according to his instruction.
Occasionally, men get to have a legacy by virtue of some serendipitous event, but more often than not, our legacy is a function of our character which is built day after day as we choose to follow the Lord in the mundane. Today we are building our legacy that will be remembered into the future. God graciously allows us to choose for ourselves what kind of legacy we will leave. Will it be for good or evil? Will we depend on our own efforts or will we glorify God and draw on his strength to meet the challenges of the day?
We have only one life to live and we can live for ourselves, for someone else or for the Lord. In the end our daily choices will evidence our hearts passion. What will those choices say about you? From this passage we learn that God honors our acts done according to his instruction.
Nehemiah Chap 10
Imagine having your name written down for all of prosperity to read that you have affixed your seal to a binding agreement with God. Would you rejoice to be counted? Nehemiah carefully recorded the names of the men who had covenanted with God so everyone would know. I think that if it were me, the recording of my name would make me be very careful about my conduct so that I would not dishonor the covenant I made. But when you think about it, isn’t it true of all Christians? Our name has been written in the book of Life forever, we bear the name of Christ. That should make us more conscious of our conduct. In this chapter, we learn that God’s people must be holy because they bear his name.
Like the Israelites we are called to a Holy standard of conduct. We are not supposed to live like everyone else in the world who doesn’t know the Lord. Our choices should be honoring to God; we don’t live as if there is no accountability, but we live a life pleasing to the Lord knowing that we will one day give an account to Him. What would holy living look like in your home?
God commanded the Israelites to be a separate nation and to not mix with the surrounding countries. He did this not because the surrounding countries were less deserving of God’s love. The Israelites showed over and over again that they didn’t deserve the grace that God bestowed on them. It was to keep their focus on serving the Lord and living holy lives. This was foreign to the other nations and these surrounding nations would not be good influences on them.
The standard of living for the Lord is something that we don’t often see even solid Christian communities. God wanted his people to be completely loyal to him and to serve him alone. He had a standard of giving so that those in full time ministry would not lack. So often we bring God our leftovers. We pray as we drift into sleep at the end of a day, we put off Bible Study because we have a full and busy schedule. We excuse our raw words or selfishness as understandable given our conditions, but God has a much higher standard for us than we often have for ourselves.
God called the Israelites to consecrate to the Lord, their first and their best as an indication of their loyalty and commitment to service. We see the Israelites having confessed their sins rededicating themselves to the Lord. Thank God for his grace and mercy in our lives and his long suffering toward us as we sin, confess and rededicate ourselves over and over. What would I be willing to sacrifice as a token of my loyalty? Have I ever truly sacrificed at all? As I grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ I find that I learn more about how to live holy and what sacrifice really means. It makes me all the more grateful to be adopted by him and to want to live a holy life.
Like the Israelites we are called to a Holy standard of conduct. We are not supposed to live like everyone else in the world who doesn’t know the Lord. Our choices should be honoring to God; we don’t live as if there is no accountability, but we live a life pleasing to the Lord knowing that we will one day give an account to Him. What would holy living look like in your home?
God commanded the Israelites to be a separate nation and to not mix with the surrounding countries. He did this not because the surrounding countries were less deserving of God’s love. The Israelites showed over and over again that they didn’t deserve the grace that God bestowed on them. It was to keep their focus on serving the Lord and living holy lives. This was foreign to the other nations and these surrounding nations would not be good influences on them.
The standard of living for the Lord is something that we don’t often see even solid Christian communities. God wanted his people to be completely loyal to him and to serve him alone. He had a standard of giving so that those in full time ministry would not lack. So often we bring God our leftovers. We pray as we drift into sleep at the end of a day, we put off Bible Study because we have a full and busy schedule. We excuse our raw words or selfishness as understandable given our conditions, but God has a much higher standard for us than we often have for ourselves.
God called the Israelites to consecrate to the Lord, their first and their best as an indication of their loyalty and commitment to service. We see the Israelites having confessed their sins rededicating themselves to the Lord. Thank God for his grace and mercy in our lives and his long suffering toward us as we sin, confess and rededicate ourselves over and over. What would I be willing to sacrifice as a token of my loyalty? Have I ever truly sacrificed at all? As I grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ I find that I learn more about how to live holy and what sacrifice really means. It makes me all the more grateful to be adopted by him and to want to live a holy life.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Nehemiah 9
When I first completed my study of Nehemiah a few months ago, I was struck by chapter 9 and how much it seemed relevant to today. I wrote in my other blog about it. You can check it out here: http://happysteward.blogspot.com/2009/06/real-economic-stimulus.html. It seemed to me that so many of our economic stimulus efforts were ineffective and not long sighted.
In chapter 9 we find the people of Israel humbled by their sins and wanting to confess before God and restore fellowship with him. They pray acknowledging the faithfulness of God to his people and how unfaithful they themselves have been in the relationship. We need to have the same attitude when we come before the Lord in prayer. God has been faithful and has extended grace after grace in our lives, but so often we live without regard for him.
Israel acknowledges that this was the pattern of their lives as well and confessed their sin to God. They were so serious about their commitment to change that they made a binding agreement before God. Are we so serious about abandoning our sin that we would write our confession and make a binding pledge before God to change our ways? What would you write in your agreement?
As we see in this chapter, sin must be addressed in our lives to maintain fellowship with God. I pray we will all choose to see our sinful choices the same way God does and abandon them.
In chapter 9 we find the people of Israel humbled by their sins and wanting to confess before God and restore fellowship with him. They pray acknowledging the faithfulness of God to his people and how unfaithful they themselves have been in the relationship. We need to have the same attitude when we come before the Lord in prayer. God has been faithful and has extended grace after grace in our lives, but so often we live without regard for him.
Israel acknowledges that this was the pattern of their lives as well and confessed their sin to God. They were so serious about their commitment to change that they made a binding agreement before God. Are we so serious about abandoning our sin that we would write our confession and make a binding pledge before God to change our ways? What would you write in your agreement?
As we see in this chapter, sin must be addressed in our lives to maintain fellowship with God. I pray we will all choose to see our sinful choices the same way God does and abandon them.
Nehmiah 8
Have you ever been humbled by your time in the word? You come to praise and worship God and open your Bible to drink in a word of encouragement or remembrance of God's faithfulness to his people and find yourself moved and convicted by the words you read? It is hard to keep an attitude of joy when you have tears streaming down your face. You want to kneel before the Lord and relieve yourself of the pain you feel in knowing you have dishonored God.
The people of Israel found themselves in exactly that position as they heard Ezra reading the law before the people after the census was taken. As the Priests and Levites explained the reading to the people, people were struck by how far their lifestyles had strayed from the standard God set for his people. Even though the people were mourning for their sins, Nehemiah tells them this is not the right time. There will be an opportunity for you to deal with the sins you have committed, but right now they are in the midst of celebrating the faithfulness of God and it is important that the people take their focus off themselves and really worship God.
Our relationship with God is multifaceted and we must not neglect it. First and foremost, we need to give God recognition for his wonderful power he has displayed. We have many records through scripture of how God intervened in creation to provide for mankind. He created the moon, the stars, and our earth. He provides us rain and sun; desire and provision. We must take time to see the hand of God and thank him for his wonderful power, grace and love he has displayed. Even beyond the records within the Bible, we know of God's faithfulness in our own lives as well. If we think about it we can see God's hand at work providing for our circumstances, and our provision. It is only right that we give God the high place he deserves.
Only after we recognize God's authority and greatness can we then confess our sins and recognize how far short we fall. There is a place for us to confess sins and we should do it often keeping a short list, but only after He receives our worship.
There is also a place for us to thank him for all he has done. Thankful hearts are humble hearts and they do not become bitter for things they do not have but are grateful for what they do. As a financial planner, I believe that our lack of gratitude to God for our provision is the greatest hindrance to our planning for the future. We seek what we don't have today and sacrifice our future in order to have something that God did not see fit to give us.
Finally, there is a place for us to bring our needs to God. He wants us to ask for his continued provision and to share our concerns before him. In bringing supplications, we acknowledge him again as our provider and we look to him to supply our every need. From this passage we see that God's word is able to pierce hearts and restore fellowship with him. Have you read his word for you today?
The people of Israel found themselves in exactly that position as they heard Ezra reading the law before the people after the census was taken. As the Priests and Levites explained the reading to the people, people were struck by how far their lifestyles had strayed from the standard God set for his people. Even though the people were mourning for their sins, Nehemiah tells them this is not the right time. There will be an opportunity for you to deal with the sins you have committed, but right now they are in the midst of celebrating the faithfulness of God and it is important that the people take their focus off themselves and really worship God.
Our relationship with God is multifaceted and we must not neglect it. First and foremost, we need to give God recognition for his wonderful power he has displayed. We have many records through scripture of how God intervened in creation to provide for mankind. He created the moon, the stars, and our earth. He provides us rain and sun; desire and provision. We must take time to see the hand of God and thank him for his wonderful power, grace and love he has displayed. Even beyond the records within the Bible, we know of God's faithfulness in our own lives as well. If we think about it we can see God's hand at work providing for our circumstances, and our provision. It is only right that we give God the high place he deserves.
Only after we recognize God's authority and greatness can we then confess our sins and recognize how far short we fall. There is a place for us to confess sins and we should do it often keeping a short list, but only after He receives our worship.
There is also a place for us to thank him for all he has done. Thankful hearts are humble hearts and they do not become bitter for things they do not have but are grateful for what they do. As a financial planner, I believe that our lack of gratitude to God for our provision is the greatest hindrance to our planning for the future. We seek what we don't have today and sacrifice our future in order to have something that God did not see fit to give us.
Finally, there is a place for us to bring our needs to God. He wants us to ask for his continued provision and to share our concerns before him. In bringing supplications, we acknowledge him again as our provider and we look to him to supply our every need. From this passage we see that God's word is able to pierce hearts and restore fellowship with him. Have you read his word for you today?
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