Friday, November 14, 2008

More government doesn't help



We all need to understand and make our voice heard that these artificial props for our economy ($700 billion bailout etc.) will do nothing to serve our country. It may delay the inevitable, but won't stop it. Whenever government has stepped in to "fix", the worse things seem to get. If you understand anything about the government run Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, this clip is unbelievable! Here is a banking system that was sick and dying (years before all of these failures started to come to the surface) and all of the representatives that scream for more government involvement were doing everything in their power to defend the system. They were literally bullying other reps while saying, "There is nothing wrong with Fannie or Freddie," which now we know to be complete lies as we've seen their failures and many others. This clip was so revealing to me about some of the flaws to big government thinking I couldn't help but post it.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Initial Response to Election



I think the best response to our recent elections is obviously prayer. Whether or not God wills a certain thing like a presidential election is a long theological debate. I do know that according to the Bible, He raises up and puts down kings and queens. At any rate, I don't believe God is surprised in any way.

First I believe we need to pray for our new leaders as the Bible commands us to do. Regardless of their spiritual, economic or ethical views, we need to be praying for them! God used many different types of leaders throughout the Bible to accomplish His will and ultimately bring glory to Him!

Second, I think we need a God-given awakening to what God is doing spiritually in our land! I heard it spoken prophetically almost ten years ago from a pastor in Africa that God will revive our nation by one of two ways: through desperation or through devastation. He went on to describe the devastation that many of their countries went through which drove them to God and brought transformation to their nations. That word has never left me and my concern has always been, "Are we really going to get desperate enough without some sort of devastating circumstance?" Historically, I just don't see that.

There have been many prophetic words spoken about a coming economic crisis (which by the way, hasn't even started yet, despite the trouble we've seen thus far) and from my education it doesn't take a prophet to read history. We've seen a depression every 80 yrs in our nation's history, many financial books point to an economic crisis due to baby boomers retiring in mass numbers and drawing from their retirements simultaneously, and there are many experts pointing to an energy crisis due to the demand of oil coming from China and other world leaders. What's interesting is that all three of these crisis land around the same time (approx. 2016).

It can be pretty overwhelming, but the good news is that God is sovereign and knows exactly how to bring glory to himself. What will it take to bring a nation to its knees? Why don't we start crying out now? What are we willing to give up to spend a little time praying and listening for God's heart?

The best thing I see in light of this election:
This nation just elected a new leader based on one thing...They are so hungry for hope and change! What an opportunity for the Church as we have the hope and change their souls are really desperate for. The more people enter into crisis, the more that hole will be driven to find answers. It's just a great picture of the climate of our culture! We are desperate for hope and desperate for something real. Now is our moment in history to join with heaven and give ourselves to see God's kingdom come on the earth!