Monday, November 3, 2014

Pastor's Ponderings, November 3, 2014

News Got You Down?

Recently in The Federalist, Sean Davis wrote, “Inflation is real. Stagnant wages are real. And the result is a lower standard of living for tens of millions of working American families.” Moreover in the Detroit Free Press, the writer suggested that not even the middle class could afford vacations, new vehicles, paying off debt, emergency or retirement savings, medical care or dental work.  If we internalize the message in these articles we might as well give up! 

Despite all of the dire economic predictions, the Bible tells us that God always gives us the victory (2 Corinthians 2:14).  We really do not have to worry about what the marketplace is doing, what the unemployment rate is this month, or which businesses are about to fail or succeed. We have to know that our financial success, and success in every other area of our life, is based only on God. It is His word that determines the world’s ups and downs (Psalm 75:6, 7; Isaiah 55:10, 11) and we must trust that He is in control.

While it may seem scary, terrifying, and anxiety producing, we should continue to pray for our political leaders and employers, and for our financial plans. We can rest in and rely on a loving God who will take care of us through these trying times. Therefore, when our neighbors are worrying or focusing on the latest bad news, let us look to Jesus who began and who matures our belief in Him (Hebrews 12:2).

2 Corinthians 2:14
Amplified Bible (AMP)
14 But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere,

Psalm 75:6, 7
New International Version (NIV)
6 No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves.
It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another

Isaiah 55:10, 11
New International Version (NIV)
10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Hebrews 12:2
Amplified Bible (AMP)
2 Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]…



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