Just keep moving forward!
Issues of the mind and heart.
From Family Life
March 9, 2009
What Is Happening in Our World?
by Barbara Rainey
Since the U.S. economy started its sharp slide last fall, I've done a lot of thinking about what this all means to me, to my family, and to our nation and world. While watching this downturn, my thoughts have gone from, "This is interesting" to "This is perplexing." If it keeps falling, the prevailing emotions could inch nearer to frightening.
For now, the word "perplexing" accurately describes my vantage point. My family has been affected in several ways. My husband, Dennis, is working harder than ever here at FamilyLife, putting in 50-hour weeks trying to find ways to cut expenses and increase revenue. I just talked to one of our sons who said they are living hand to mouth, barely making ends meet. And I know it's true. Their pantry was bare when we visited last month. Another son and our son-in-law are both doing the same, working harder than ever trying to keep their families fed and their payments made.
These are not "business as usual" days. What our country is experiencing clearly isn't a brief downturn where things will return to normal in a few months.
What complicates it even further is that the American economy is a global issue. This leads to the question, What is God up to?
While I do not have the answer, I think it's good that we ask questions like this. We who claim to belong to God must be measuring our experience against the truth. We know that God is not passive. He is not sitting idly by just watching. That is not His character. Instead, God is intricately and intimately involved in the rise and fall of nations and in the comings and goings of all people.
Yesterday in my Bible study class I heard a verse that I do not think I've ever noticed before. It was as if lights flashed around it, dramatically grabbing my attention. This one short phrase fits this season of our American life perfectly: "And He will be the stability of your times" (Isaiah 33:6).
That's the bottom line. No matter what God is up to in the world today, no matter what course the current economic crisis takes, no matter what the political leaders in Washington do, God is the stability of our times.
It reminds me of the first line of an old hymn: "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." Our hope cannot be in money, a job, our house, our friends or family, and certainly our hope cannot be in Washington, D.C. All of those will disappoint.
Our hope must be in Christ alone for only there will we find true stability as individuals, in our marriages and in our families. In Christ alone, and in the power of His Word, we can find the strength we need to face the challenges of today.
I remain perplexed at our current state. And at the same time I am cautiously optimistic and even hesitantly excited at what God might be doing. Could this be part of the end times? It's possible. Will our businesses and families be better for this pruning and winnowing work of God? If we cooperate with Him in this there is no question we will be better for having been pruned.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:8 that he was "perplexed, but not despairing" when he was in the midst of trials and troubles. I have found great comfort in recent seasons of suffering in that short phrase. It is okay to be confused, baffled, and even mystified at the circumstances of my life. I can be perplexed and still be found having faith. Only when I move to despair, which means hopelessness, am I not living in faith.
We cannot know what tomorrow will bring but we know the One who will bring it. And that alone can keep us from despair as He brings stability to our times.
January days
Remember what Christmas is about....
The Bible and our Leaders
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings,
and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to
be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is
one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (1
Timothy 2:1-6).
Paul says that praying for the government should be of the highest
priority. It should be “first of all.” Prayer is one of the most
important things in the Christian life and can accomplish more than
political action. As J.B. Buffington wisely observed, “The answer is
not in the White House but in God’s house.” Through the power of
prayer, Bible-believing churches can have an influence far beyond
their numbers. This is why we need to establish the habit of daily
private intercessory prayer. Paul spoke of “my prayers” (Rom. 1:9).
This is also why we should pray corporately. It is a very sad and
telling fact that many churches no longer have a serious weekly prayer
meeting, and those that do find that it is scantily attended.
The passage gives two reasons why God’s people need to pray for their
governments.
First, we need to pray so that we might lead a quiet and peaceable
life in all godliness and honesty (1 Tim. 2:2).
Observe that we are not to pray for peace so that we can pursue our
own selfish aims. We are to pray for peace so that we might be rich
toward God’s business rather than toward our own. Too often God’s
people turn aside from godliness during times of peace and prosperity;
they seek their own will and pleasure ahead of God’s. Look at America
and Canada. Most churches are fat and worldly and lukewarm about God’s
work; they are entertaining and mollifying the saints rather than
challenging them to put Christ first. Look at the older saints. The
tendency is to settle down, to seek security and comfort, while being
half-hearted about obeying God and fulfilling the Great Commission.
Observe that we are to live in “all godliness.” Too often the churches
that are living in times of peace and prosperity are characterized by
worldliness rather than purity. Observe, too, that we are to live
“honestly.” This is in contrast to every form of dishonesty, to
stealing, crooked business practices, borrowing and not repaying,
slacking off on the job, and such.
Second, we need to pray so that the gospel might be preached to all
men (1 Tim. 2:3-6).
The Lord Jesus commanded that the gospel be preached to every person
(Mark 16:15), and in 1 Timothy 2 we see why, because God wants all men
to be saved. This work of world evangelism is called the “great
commission,” because it is so emphasized in the New Testament (Mat.
28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8). This work
is carried out more effectively in conditions of peace. Some say that
what North American churches need is persecution, and there is some
truth to that, but at the same time persecution hinders the free
preaching of the gospel. Consider China. The governmental persecution
there against the public preaching of the gospel and the free
gathering of non-registered churches and the totalitarian control of
the media, including the internet, means that a large percentage of
the people haven’t heard the gospel. The same is true for Muslim
nations such as Iran and Saudi Arabia. Consider the example of Nepal.
Prior to the 1990s, it was illegal to preach the gospel in Nepal and
as a result the number of churches was very small and the vast
majority of the people knew nothing of the gospel. In the early 1990s
there was a change in the constitution and governmental persecution
ceased. Since then, the number of churches has increased dramatically
and multitudes have heard the gospel that otherwise would not have
under the previous conditions.
God would not have exhorted us to pray for kings and those in
authority if He did not intend to answer those prayers. Through the
power of prayer we have the privilege of making a dramatic difference
in this present world.
