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The Spiritual Roots of Debt

In the 2009 movie Taken, actor Liam Neeson plays the role of a retired Secret Service agent whose teenage daughter wants to travel to Europe with friends. The young woman needs her father's permission to leave the country, and he remains adamant about her not going. After reluctantly giving in to the pressures of his ex-wife and daughter, the father consents to the trip, only to be called within hours of her arrival with the news of her abduction.

The plot reminds me of another story in which a child demanded to leave home only to find himself in dire straits that could have been avoided. We commonly refer to it as the parable of the prodigal son (see Luke 15:11-32). This fellow, who was accustomed to living well in his father's house, ended up losing his inheritance, forced to feed pigs and sleeping on the ground.

The great tragedy of his story is that he was entirely responsible for his plight. His character splintered along the fault line of his own greed, impatience and entitlement. His life had become a living hell.

Too many people today live just like this young man—experiencing a hellish existence of their own making. When we live for things we cannot afford—willing to do just about anything to acquire more stuff—we're already in hell. When we spend money we don't have and don't know when we are going to get, we're already living in hell. When we go to work every day and cannot write a check without worrying about having sufficient funds to cover it, we're living in hell.

Getting Out of Hell

If we are going to get out of our hell, we have to own the bad choices we've made and the current hole we're in. It's humbling, but so is having a car repossessed or losing a home to foreclosure.

If you are addicted to shopping, if you are living above your means, if you are wasting and losing money, tell the truth— tell it to yourself. This is how the prodigal son got out of his hell. After he honestly saw himself, then he spoke to himself: "How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!" (Luke 15:17, NIV).

This is how you get out of debt and financial hell—you must have a one-on-one talk with yourself. One way to begin this conversation with yourself is to compile a written list of everything you buy, everything you spend money on. Write down the cost of every newspaper, magazine, cup of coffee and breath mint. Think through what you spend and why you spend it in an average week—write down the full amount you spend for groceries and eating in restaurants, parking or taking the subway, fast food and dry cleaning.

With this kind of written evidence of your conversation, you will have answered the question: "Where does my money go?" You will see exactly where and how you are spending your money. Within a month you will be able to account for all your expenses and tell yourself what you need to change.

Our real challenge has less to do with controlling our money and more to do with personal discipline and controlling our lives. Our money is out of control because our lives are out of control.

Finding a New Way of Life

The prodigal son talked to himself and ultimately got out of hell. But then he submitted himself to his father. He realized that he had to go back to his father's house.

To get out of our financial hell, we have to do what the prodigal son did and submit to a new system that can save us from ourselves. When I found myself living in financial hell, I had to submit to a new system, a new approach to living.

Giving the first 10 percent of our income to God—which Christians call tithing—is better understood as a key part of God's system. Saving and investing the next 20 percent of our income—this too is part of this new financial system. Balancing our checkbooks and living within a budget—these are all part of the system. Gone is the reckless extravagance of buying what one does not need, spending what one does not have, and living with no financial system in place.

Jesus died to change the system. He died to change the way we deal with our enemies. He died to change the way we treat our neighbors. He died to change the way we treat our children. He died to change the way we treat our families. He died to change the way we treat ourselves. He died to change the way we treat our finances.

Turning away from ourselves, from our own extravagant pig troughs, and turning toward Jesus leads us out of slavery, out of hell. He came to set the captives free and heal us of more than our physical ailments. He came to deliver us from the hell we often create for ourselves.

As we follow the example of Christ and pursue our relationship with our Father, we can break the bondage of this lust for things and the anxiety that accompanies it. As Christians, we must replace our preoccupation with the material with the Messiah and redirect our pursuit of stuff with the pursuit of the Savior.

When we put our minds to it, set our actions in motion, and invest our complete faith in God, we can do more than resist the power of culture over us. We can experience the freedom and fulfillment that's truly priceless.

Adapted from dfree: Breaking Free From Financial Slavery by DeForest B. Soaries Jr., copyright 2011. Published by Zondervan. Used by permission. No portion of this article may be copied or redistributed in any form. This book is available on Amazon.

Adversity

Adversity

More than 2,000 years ago, a young Greek artist named Timanthes studied under a respected tutor. After several years, the teacher's efforts seemed to have paid off when Timanthes painted an exquisite work of art. Unfortunately, he became so enraptured with the painting that he spent days gazing at it. One morning when he arrived to admire his work, he was shocked to find it blotted out with paint. Angry, Timanthes ran to his teacher, who admitted he had destroyed the painting. "I did it for your own good. That painting was retarding your progress." Timanthes took his teacher's advice and produced Sacrifice of Iphigenia, which is regarded as one of the finest paintings of antiquity.  

Adversity in life is God's way of refining and beautifying our lives in His image. He is the Master Artist who constantly shapes the way He wants us to be. If you haven't been walking with God, He still loves you and wants you back. It is never too late for God to refinish the colors of your heart. If you are walking with God, take comfort because He promises to love you unconditionally. (Turning Point Daily Devotional, 11/19/03)

The Real Thing

The Real Thing

 by Marvin Williams

Read: 1 John 2:3-11

Whoever keeps His Word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. —1 John 2:5

A church in Naperville, Illinois, is basking in excitement about its brand-new bells in the belfry above its sanctuary. When the church was built many years ago, they didn't have the money to purchase bells. However, for its 25th anniversary they were able to raise the funds to hang three bells in the vacant space. Even though they are stunning, there is one problem: the congregation will never hear the bells ring. Although they look real, they are artificial.

The apostle John wrote his first epistle to encourage believers not to just look like real Christians, but to prove they are genuine by how they live. The evidence that a person's faith is real is not found in some mystical experience with God. The proof that people truly know and love God is found in submitting to His authority and to His Word. John writes, "But whoever keeps His Word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked" (1 John 2:5-6).

If we claim that we have been transformed by the gospel and intimately know and love God, we should validate it by our obedience to His Word.

Don't listen to the Word of God And then ignore what you have heard;
Instead obey God's will for you—
Be doers of the Word. —Sper

Obedience to God is an expression of our love for God.

Did Jesus Teach Pacifism?

Did Jesus Teach Pacifism?

By :  desiringgod.org

The attacks of September 11 2001 and the resulting war against terrorism have brought to the front once again the question of the Christian view of war. The question is particularly complex because it is hard to see how war can be consistent with the biblical emphasis upon forgiveness and forebearance and love. This emphasis is perhaps most pointed in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus says:You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:39-44)

Does Jesus' teaching that we should turn the other cheek and love our enemies mean that it is always wrong to go to war? Should the world have turned the other cheek to Hitler and tried to love him into surrender? When Osama Ben Laden ordered the attack on the World Trade Center, should the U.S. have responded by sending him the Sears Tower as well? Or does Jesus allow a place for both loving our enemies and yet, in certain situations, using force to restrain life-threatening wickedness?

What follows are some of the primary reasons we believe that it is right for the military (and Christians who are a part of the military) to engage in wars that have just cause--namely, self-defense, the restraint of life-threatening evil, and the punishment of nations and individuals who have committed unjust acts of war against one's country. This is called the just war theory. We will close by seeking to explain how this fits with the command to turn the other cheek, love our enemies, and not resist him who is evil.

Pacifism is harmful
To let someone murder when it is in your power to stop them is completely contrary to our moral sentiments. If a Hitler is on the move and seeking to bind the world in tyranny and destroy entire ethnic groups, it would seem very clearly wrong not to oppose him with force (which sometimes is the only effective method). It is true that war itself is harmful and tragic; but pacifism would result in even more harm to the world because it would give wicked people virtually free reign. We of course must be open to letting the Bible transform our moral sentiments, but this observation should at least cause us to pause and reflect more deeply before concluding that Jesus is intending to teach pacifism.

Consistent pacifism would have to eliminate the police, not just the military
In fact, if we were to conclude that governments should always turn the other cheek and never resist evil, then we would be logically committing ourselves to getting rid of not only the armed forces, but also the police force and criminal justice system. For police officers arrest criminals, using force against them if necessary, and put them in jail. That is not turning the other cheek. Does Jesus intend his command to turn the other cheek to apply to the police? Surely not as their primary way of responding to evil. God does not want evil to run about in our society unchecked (cf. in the OT the numerous civil laws and in the NT Romans 13, to be discussed below). If one accepts the legitimacy of police using force in some instances, there can be no objection to the military using force in some instances, either.

Luke 3:14 allows military service
It is significant that John the Baptist did not tell the soldiers to leave the military when they asked him what it meant to repent: "And some soldiers were questioning him, saying, 'And what about us, what shall we do?' And he said to them, 'Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages'" (Luke 3:14). Since it is, therefore, possible to live a godly life and yet be in the military, it must be because engaging in war is not always sinful.

John 18:36 acknowledges the right of the sword to earthly kingdoms
In this passage, Jesus says: "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." When Jesus says that if his kingdom were of this world his servants would be fighting, he implies that it is right for kingdoms of this world to fight when the cause is just and circumstances require it. As Christians, we are citizens of "two kingdoms"--our country on earth, and heaven. Jesus shows us that it is never right to fight for the sake of his spiritual kingdom, but that it is right to fight on behalf of earthly kingdoms (when necessary to counter evil and destruction).

Romans 13:3-4 grants governments the right to use force to restrain and punish evil
Paul writes: "For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil."

Here Paul affirms the government's right to use force in two ways. First, he says that it "does not bear the sword for nothing." Second, he states that government is a "minister of God" when it executes vengeance against evildoers.

Governments, of course, do not have the right to use force for any purpose whatsoever. They do not have the right to use force in order to lord it over their citizens and impose unnecessary restraints upon freedom. There are two purposes for which this text says the government is justified in using force: the restraint of evil and the punishment of evil. The purpose of force is not just to prevent further evil from happening, but to punish evil acts by bringing the perpetrators to justice. Government is acting as a "minister of God" when it serves as "an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil."

Does the right of the sword in this text extend to the case of war? The immediate context does have in mind the use of physical force in regard to a government's own citizens. But by extension this also implies that if one nation commits an act of war against another nation, the offended nation has the right to engage in self-defense and to avenge the wrong. Would it be consistent to say that a nation has a right to restrain and punish evil committed against it by its own citizens, but not to restrain and punish evil committed against it by another nation? The mere fact that the civil offense was committed by another country does not remove their accountability to the country they attacked.

1 Peter 2:13-14 confirms the teaching of Romans 13:3-4
In 1 Peter 2:13-14, we are taught: "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right." Once again, the right of governments to punish evil is affirmed.

Is it right for a Christian to fight in a war?
Since the Scriptures teach that it is right for a nation to engage in a just war, it follows that it is therefore right for a Christian to fight in such a war. Some have argued that non-Christians may fight in wars but believers may not, but this distinction is not found in Scripture. Scripture teaches that it is not sin for a government to engage in a just war, and there is therefore nothing that forbids Christian from being involved in just wars.

Church and state must be distinguished
It is very important, however, to remember here the distinction between church and state. The Christian fights in a war not as an ambassador of the church or on behalf of the church, but as an ambassador of his country. The church is not to use violence (John 18:36), but the government at times may (John 18:36; Romans 13:3-4; etc.). So the Christian fights not as an agent of the church, but as an agent of the government of his country. Both are ultimately under the authority of God, but each has a distinct role.

What about turning the other cheek?
What, now, are we to make of Jesus' radical commands in Matthew 5:39-41? "Do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two." How does this fit with what we have seen above?

First, we need to clarify what the problem is not. The problem is not that Jesus appears to be telling us to lie down and let evil overtake us. That is clearly not what he is saying. Instead, he is telling us what it looks like "not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). We have all seen the wisdom of Jesus' words here in our everyday lives. Much of the time, the most effective way to overcome evil is by not resisting. If someone says a mean word, it is far more effective to respond with kindness than with another mean word in return. If someone tries wrongly to cut you off on the freeway, it is usually best just to let them do it. If we would learn these principles, our lives would be much more peaceful and, ironically, we would be vindicated more often.

So the problem is not that it looks as though Jesus is telling us to let evil steam-roll over us. The problem is that it looks like Jesus is telling us that the only way we should ever seek to overcome evil is by letting it go and responding with kindness. It looks as though he leaves no place for using force in resisting evil.

Part of the answer to this difficulty lies in understanding the hyperbolic nature of much of the Sermon on the Mount. I don't think that Jesus is telling us never to respond to evil with force (such as in self-defense) or always to literally turn the other cheek when we are slapped any more than his command later in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:6 means that we should only pray when we are completely alone or his command in Matthew 5:29 means that some should literally gouge out their eyes. Jesus himself drove the thieves away from the temple with a whip (John 2:15) and Paul at times insisted on his rights as a Roman citizen (Acts 25:11; cf. also the interesting instance of Acts 16:35-40). Jesus is using hyperbole to illustrate what our primary disposition and attitude should be, not to say that we should literally give in to every attempt to do evil against us. That is part of the answer.

The main part of the answer, however, lies in remembering that Jesus is speaking primarily to individuals. He is not mainly addressing governments here, but is primarily speaking at the personal level. This text, then, shows that an individual's primary response to evil should be to "turn the other cheek," while the other texts we have seen (e.g., Romans 13:3-4) show that government's God-given responsibility is to punish those who commit civil crimes (murder, terrorism, acts of war, etc.). While it is sometimes appropriate even for individuals to use self-defense, it is never appropriate for individuals to seek to punish others. But it is right, however, for governments both to take measures of self-defense and to execute retribution.

There are, in other words, various "spheres" of life. God has willed that some spheres include responsibilities that are not necessarily included in other spheres. Personally, it would be wrong for us to execute retribution on people who harm us. But passages like Romans 13:3-4 and John 18:36 show that Jesus is not denying governments the right to execute retribution on evildoers. Therefore, when a Christian is under the authority of the government and authorized to fight in a just war on the nation's behalf, it is appropriate for him to fight. For he is not fighting as a private individual, but as a representative of the government to which God has given the power of the sword.

In doing so, a Christian soldier should strive to love one's opponents in war as people, remembering that he opposes them as agents of the opposing government/system, not as private individuals. When at war, we need to look at people in the opposing army/terrorist group at two levels--the private, and governmental/public. Because of the private level, the soldier should pray for and love the opposing soldiers. And because of the public level, the soldier fights against them--not as private individuals, but as public representatives of the system and evil that is being opposed. That distinction, I am sure, would be hard to maintain in battle. Neither would it remove the pain and difficulty of being involved in fighting against other human beings. But it is perhaps a faint reflection of how the personal and governmental spheres overlap and involve one another while still remaining distinct.

Further Resources
John Piper, "Terrorism, Justice, and Loving Our Enemies"

Robert Clouse, ed., War: Four Christian Views.

John Feinberg, Ethics for a Brave New World, chapter 13, "The Christian and War"

Norman Geisler,Christian Ethics, chapter 12, "War"

© Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.

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You Fool! - Our Daily Bread

You Fool! - Our Daily Bread

odb.org |by C. P. Hia on March 16, 2012

Read: Luke 12:16-21

The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." —Psalm 14:1

It seems to me rather contradictory that Jesus, who was so gentle at times (Matt. 19:13-15), would call some people fools. Yet, as recorded in the Gospels a number of times, our Lord used this derogatory term to describe those He spoke about—especially the Pharisees (see Matt. 23:17-19; Luke 11:39-40).

Jesus also used the word fool in a parable after warning a man about coveting (Luke 12:13-21). What made him foolish is not the fact that he built bigger barns to store his abundant harvest (vv.16-18). It would have been more foolish of him to leave it out in the fields where inclement weather would spoil it. Nor was he foolish because of his thought that this unexpected windfall was enough to last him a long time (v.19). After all, we are urged to follow the example of the ant in "storing up" the harvest (Prov. 6:6-8).

What made the man foolish? He left God out of the picture. He was called a fool because he failed to realize that his life was in God's hands. While he was planning carefully for his comfortable life on earth, he failed to plan for eternity and store up treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:20).

Does your plan for the future have God in it? You won't want to be called foolish by Him in the end.

Oh, why not turn while yet you may; Too late, it soon will be—
A glorious life you may possess
Throughout eternity. —Anon.

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. —Jim Elliot

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Listening

Listening

In his book Directions, author James Hamilton shares this insight about listening to God: "Before refrigerators, people used icehouses to preserve their food. Icehouses had thick walls, no windows and a tightly fitted door. In winter, when streams and lakes were frozen, large blocks of ice were cut, hauled to the icehouses and covered with sawdust. Often the ice would last well into the summer.

One man lost a valuable watch while working in an icehouse. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn't find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile. A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the icehouse during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch. Amazed, the men asked him how he found it. I closed the door,'' the boy replied, "lay down in the sawdust, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking.'' Often the question is not whether God is speaking, but whether we are being still enough and quiet enough to hear. Yes, Jesus assures us that our heavenly Father always listens to us, but do we really listen to God? Do we follow the instructions of Psalm 46, "Be still, and know that I am God"? - Eric S. Ritz

Beauty In The Church - Our Daily Bread

odb.org |by Julie Ackerman Link on March 11, 2012

Read: Exodus 36:1-7

When my husband, Jay, and I decided to build a new house, we didn't recruit friends and family who enjoy working with power tools; instead we hired a skilled builder to create something both functional and beautiful.

Beauty in the church building, however, is not always a high priority. Some associate it with impracticality, so anything ornate or decorative is considered wasteful. But that wasn't God's attitude when He established a place of worship for the ancient Israelites. He didn't recruit just anybody to set up an ordinary tent. He appointed skilled craftsmen, Bezalel and Oholiab (Ex. 36:1), to decorate the tabernacle with finely-woven tapestries and intricately designed ornaments (37:17-20).

I think the beauty was important then because it reminded the people of the worth of God in their worship. During the dry and dusty days of desert wanderings, they needed a reminder of God's majesty.

The beauty created by God's people in worship settings today can serve the same purpose. We offer God our best talents because He is worthy. Beauty also gives us a glimpse of heaven and whets our appetites for what God is preparing for our future.