The Economy Is So Bad ... (a good chuckle)

The economy is so bad that . . . . 1.  I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail. 2.  I ordered a burger at McDonald's and the kid behind the counter asked, "Can you afford fries with that?" 3.  CEO's are now playing miniature golf. 4.  If the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or them. 5.  Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM. 6.  McDonald's is selling the 1/4 ouncer. 7.  Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names. 8.  A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico . 9.  Dick Cheney took his stockbroker hunting. 10. Motel Six won't leave the light on anymore. 11. The Mafia is laying off judges. 12. Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen. 13. Congress says they are looking into this Bernard Madoff scandal.  Oh, great!!  The guy who made $50 billion disappear is being investigated by the people who made $1.5 trillion disappear! And finally... 14. I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc., I called the Suicide Lifeline. I got a call center in Pakistan, and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck.

January 3, 2010 - "Firm Foundation"

Psalm 147:12-20; Ephesians 1:3-14

January 3, in the tenth year of the 21^st Century.

Happy New Year Covenant on the Corner!

Happy New Year!

And the Second Sunday after Christmas.

The 12 days of Christmas, and a partridge in pear tree.

We take a few days to catch our breath.

Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, we ponder these things in our heart:

What child is this, who laid to rest, On Mary’s lap is sleeping?

Whom angels greet with anthems sweet While shepherds watch are keeping?

The season after Christmas is a good time.

A time to sing praises to our God.

For God is gracious and a song of praise is fitting.

But where do we go from here?

In this fast-paced world of ours,

Where everything changes in a heartbeat.

Wars and rumors of war.

Fanatical young men strap explosives to their underwear.

Politicians tell us the sky is falling, and play upon our fears for their own unsavory ends.

Megachurch pastors offer the latest spiritual fix while building empires.

Peggy Noonan writes of our current state of affairs:

American “… institutions forgot their mission, they entered the empire of spin. They turned more and more attention, resources and effort to the public perception of their institution, and not to the reality of it.”

(Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal)

Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the porridge is too hot, too cold, and we can’t seem to find “the just right.”

Is there a place to stand?

For you and for me?

That really makes sense?

For courage and faith?

Is there a firm firm foundation, or is everything just pudding?

Scripture offers a resounding Yes!

There is a place to stand.

More than stand, but to live.

And to live well!

The Psalmist wrote:

The LORD builds up Jerusalem;

He gathers the outcasts of Israel.

He heals the brokenhearted,

And binds up their wounds.

….

He covers the heavens with clouds,

Prepares rain for the earth,

Makes grass grow on the hills.

He gives to the animals their food,

And to the young ravens when they cry.

It begins with a simple idea: It’s all about God!

When I was in seminary, Donna and I were out one Sunday to a church where I was preaching for the day.

I remember referencing a text from 2 Corinthians:

Jesus Christ is not “Yes and No” …

But in him it is always “Yes.”

For in him, every one of God’s promises is a “Yes.”

For this reason, it is through him that we say

The “Amen” to the glory of God.

That Sunday, I preached assurance.

God can be trusted.

God’s love is absolute and final.

Unconditional and irreproachable.

The same today, tomorrow and forever!

I quoted from Karl Barth … a young seminarian needs to lift up a few good quotes now and then from notable theologians.

This week, I went back to Barth, and though I’m not very young any more, I quote Barth with pleasure:

The Gospel, writes Barth “… is not a mixed message of joy and terror, salvation and damnation. …. It does not proclaim in the same breath both good and evil, both help and destruction, both life and death. …. … the final word is never that of warning, of judgment, or punishment, of a barrier erected, of a grave opened. …. …therefore, the first and last word is Yes and not No” (Church Dogmatics, Vol. 2-2, p.13).

At the door of the church after worship,

An elderly gentleman greeted me, grasped my hand firmly with both of his hands.

He looked at me intently, his cheeks wet with tears.

He asked,

“Will God smile on me some day?”

I no longer recall what I said.

But I’ll never forget the feel of his hands or the poignancy of his question.

I’m sure this man had spent much of his life in church.

Prayers and hymns and sermons weeks after week.

And now, in the twilight of his years, there was only an aching question in his soul, “Will God smile on me someday?”

That moment confirmed the purpose of my ministry: to preach grace, morning, noon and night, in season and out of season.

Amazing grace, the pure, absolute, grace of God … at work in all things for good, for this life, and most assuredly, for the life to come.

The “Yes” of God …

The man at the door, with tears in his eyes - “Will God smile on me some day?”

I made sure that the rest of my life would be devoted to one simple message: the love of God is real, and in Christ Jesus, we see the intent and purpose of God, free and clear!

For God so loved the world!

The Gospel is NOT a mixed message of hope for some and terror for others.

The Gospel is NOT uncertain about the outcome.

The outcome, dear friends, has been settled!

Settled in the heart and mind of God from the moment God became a tailor and sewed clothing for Adam and Eve.

From that moment on, God has been a tailor for all of us.

Good clothing, durable clothing!

Clothing us in the raiment of Christ [Galatians 3:27].

Let there be no doubt in our hearts about the faithfulness of God.

We will fail, but God never fails.

We may be faithless, but God remains faithful.

We will sin, but God’s forgiveness is greater.

We are saved, because of God’s commitment to us!

For his name’s sake, God leads us upon righteous paths.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Why has the church’s message so often been the exact opposite of assurance?

I’ve known hundreds of people throughout the years, in church all of their life, doing good for God, but their soul is sad – they don’t know that God has smiled on them … like the man at the door, there’s an aching question in their soul.

The peace of Christ is missing.

Are you unsure of God’s intentions toward you right now?

Are you doubtful about the end?

If you answer Yes, you’ve been a victim!

A victim of the church’s failure to preach the Gospel.

Some of us heard hellfire sermons when we were young, and it frightened us.

And maybe it wasn’t hellfire we heard.

Maybe just the admonition to be good.

You better watch out,

You better not cry,

Better not pout,

I'm telling you why:

God is coming to town.

He's making a list,

And checking it twice;

Gonna find out

Who's naughty and nice.

God is coming to town.

We are invited by Christ to live in a different place.

The Gospel.

Forgiveness and mercy.

A new day dawning.

A fresh start, all things made new.

A firm foundation.

Love now, and heaven later – a package deal!

Blessed be the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ,

Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places …

In Christ, we are:

We are holy and blameless.

Forgiven and redeemed.

Destined for adoption as God’s children.

Riches of grace lavished upon us.

Marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit.

Christ has done it all.

Christ has passed the test.

The victory Christ won, Christ won for us.

For you, and for me!

For all the world!

To know Christ DOES make a difference … Christ IS our firm foundation!

Are you with me on this?

I know that are!

Happy New Year, Covenant on the Corner.

Happy New Year!

Amen and Amen!

***********



The final hymn of the day: "How Firm a Foundation"


How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

“The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”

 

Peggy Noonan: Look Ahead Stoicism—and Optimism - WSJ.com

Peggy Noonan: Look Ahead Stoicism—and Optimism - WSJ.com

Posted using ShareThis

I'd change just a few things here, but Noonan is spot-on ... the Empire of Spin, indeed. And we're all so dizzy, like a child spinning around, we're about to topple over. And religion might help, but only if religious folks can abandon their own Empires of Spin - bigger isn't better, it's just illusional.

To recover the mission!

On Kwanzaa - a statement from the Obamas

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY ON KWANZAA

Michelle and I send warm wishes to all those celebrating Kwanzaa this holiday season. This is a joyous time of year when African Americans and all Americans come together to celebrate our blessings and the richness of our cultural traditions. This is also a time of reflection and renewal as we come to the end of one year and the beginning of another. The Kwanzaa message tells us that we should recall the lessons of the past even as we seize the promise of tomorrow.

The seven principles of Kwanzaa -- Unity, Self Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith -- express the values that have inspired us as individuals and families; communities and country. These same principles have sustained us as a nation during our darkest hours and provided hope for better days to come. Michelle and I know the challenges facing many African American families and families in all communities at this time, but we also know the spirit of perseverance and hope that is ever-present in the community. It is in this spirit that our family extends our prayers and best wishes during this season and for the New Year to come.

Women & Slavery

The following article comes from Christians for Biblical Equality, reminding us that there is no greater confidence than ignorance. Christians have hurled Scripture-grenades at one another for some centuries now - every since the Protestant Reformation and it's sola scriptura principle emerged, as if one verse or two might settle the matter. Anyway, the following note is terrific. Read and ponder.

The great error of history

"So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them"(Genesis 1:27, TNIV).

A noted church historian once observed that the great error of history is presumption—presuming that one has grasped the necessary facts related to a person, a group or situation when in reality one is largely uninformed. Perhaps you can recall a time in your own life when presumption led you into deep waters. I certainly can.

Some of the deepest waters in American history are the result of acting on presumptions rather than facts. Consider the presumption that created and legitimized American slavery. Slavery in the US was based on the mistaken belief that Africans as an ethnic group were inferior. In his towering book, The Civil War as a Theological Crisis, historian Mark Noll said that “so seriously fixed in the minds of white Americans, including most abolitionists, was the certainty of black racial inferiority that it overwhelmed biblical testimony about race, even though most Protestant Americans claimed that Scripture was in fact their supreme authority in adjudicating such matters” (Noll p. 73).

There were, however, some who cried out for the facts concerning race. Noll highlights one missionary working in Africa who said that nowhere in his experience had he observed evidence of the “native inferiority” of Africans “which many good and learned [people] suppose to exist.” According to this missionary, the deplorable ignorance ascribed to African culture was created by the slave trade (Noll p. 118)!

Like slavery, the presumptions made about women from nearly every philosophical and religious tradition have had deep roots. They have muddied our biblical clarity regarding gender and have led to the oppression and marginalization of women.

Presumptions are also responsible for the ignorance ascribed to the female gender. Conscious that if you control for opportunity you also control for ability, missionaries likePandita Ramabai and others led the way to educate andempower women. They believed that women are equally created in God's image and equally gifted by God, and therefore equally capable of extraordinary service. Like those who opposed the presumed inferiority of Africans, so too missionaries like William Carey, Mary Slessor, Amanda Smith, Amy Carmichael, Lottie Moon, Gladys Aylward and Katherine Bushnell challenged the gender prejudice that furthered the gross mistreatment of women around the globe.

May we always allow God's Spirit to challenge our presumptions and enable us to interpret Scripture consistently. May we honor every human being as created in God's image.
In Jesus,
Mimi Haddad
President

News Stand

Opinion journalism has exploded with the rise of cable TV and the blogosphere. What seems to be disappearing in the fog of opinion is accountability journalism.

Now, I understand clearly that pure “objectivity” doesn’t exist, and every effort to report anything will reflect the touch of the reporter. History is replete with even the biggest and the best news organizations being influenced by owners who have a political bias.

However, the large newspapers and news-gathering associations like Associated Press had a bevy of talented investigators and sleuths who knew how to dig around the bins of a state capital, nose around city hall and ferret out information from the local precinct captain.

And they were generally held accountable by editors who were hard-hitting and demanding, not only about style, but content and accuracy.

Though flawed, it was a remarkable means by which Americans would receive the news and have a chance to ponder their own point of view in light of information, mostly factual in nature.

Hannah Arendt noted: “Freedom of opinion is a farce unless factual information is guaranteed.”

It’s the “guarantee” that seems in jeopardy these days. When in a heartbeat, an emotional display will influence millions with pat phrases and appropriate appeals to whatever the ideology of the day might be, that , upon closer examination, is as empty of content as last night’s cereal bowl.

I regret that our nations news industry is on the ropes, and no one cries out, “hold the presses” for breaking news – it’s all done now digitally.

I’m part of that revolution. I haven’t subscribed to a newspaper for some years now. But every time I buy one, for breakfast at the local diner, I’m amazed – so much news in so little space; so much that I would otherwise not immediately find on my Google Homepage.

I’m thinking of subscribing to a local newspaper, just because I want to see the print news media remain a player in the flow of factual information, the essential element in freedom of opinion.

Perhaps we all need to pony up for the news – because the old adage may well hold true: we get what we pay for. And if it costs nothing, well, maybe, that’s what it's worth.

I don’t know for sure. But maybe if we want to maintain the flow of factual information so that reasoned opinion can be independently formed, we might have to put a little more into the kitty.

Thanks to the Christian Century, December 1, 2009, p.7

Afghanistan and Obama

Posted by my good friend and colleague: The Rev. Bob Orr ...


Kathie and I sat and listened to our President speak at West Point Tuesday evening on our nation's plans for Afghanistan.  While I don't want to see more of our country's treasure come home in coffins, it all comes down to this:  Do you believe those who want to do us harm are still in that part of the world and do they pose a national security risk to the United States?  The President took his time to do a complete strategy review and listened to all the key people involved, civilian and military.  Obviously he's convinced that the terrorists continue to desire to attack us and will use any means to do so. So the war expands. Our nation's efforts to keep militant, corrupted Islam at bay will continue throughout our lifetime. So I support the President.  I'm happy that for the first time, our country has an exit strategy, and 2011 will put pressure on the corrupt government in Afghanistan to get their act together. President Obama has two wars on his hands and an anemic economy at home.  We have so many problems within our borders that to be expending so much energy and resources beyond our borders is tragic but necessary. It may mean Obama will be a one term President though I hope not. He's the best and the brightest we've seen in a long while. Pray for our President, our Congress and our country.  The world seems engulfed in darkness.  We need more light and this is the season of Light coming into our dark lives.  Lord, how we need it!