Unemployment falls. U.S. employers eliminated 247,000 jobs last month, allowing the unemployment rate to decrease to 9.4 percent, its first decline in 15 months. President Obama said Friday he believes the "worst may be behind us" for the economy and that it could be starting a slow recovery.
This paragraph makes no sense to me at all. How does eliminated jobs cause the unemployment rate to fall?? Oh, well...at any rate, we still need to pray for all the people out of work. Unlike the President, I do NOT think the worst is behind us...
Who can make sense of such rage,
such anger against the very ones who fear you? (The Message)
"It is a holy awe of God, and that alone, which makes us truly and deeply feel his anger. The minds of the godly alone are wounded with the wrath of God; nor do they wait for his thunderbolts, to which the reprobate hold out their hard and iron necks, but they tremble the very moment when God moves only his little finger. In short, the faithful alone are sensible of God's wrath; and being subdued by it, they acknowledge theat they are nothing, and with true humility devote themselves wholly to him. This is wisdom to which the reprobate cannot attain, because they cannot lay aside the pride with which they are inflated. They are not touched with the feeling of God's wrath, because they do not stand in awe of him."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
"The Gain of Godliness"
Weekend Reading
In 1 Timothy 6, Paul addresses a money problem. He says, "The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil." Many people over the years have misquoted this, saying that "Money is the root of all evil." But those who read carefully, see that that is not true.
This problem we have with money is not necessarily just a problem for the wealthy. It is a human problem. In fact, people who have been wealthy for a long time seem to pay little attention to it. The "acquisitive impulse" seems to be more evident in the poor, the middle class and the "newly wealthy." "The reverse snobbery of people of modest means, who loathe people of substance while they pretend virtue, cannot mask the reality that we ordinary folks are not exempt from the apostle's warnings." Yes, all of us struggle with the "love of money."
We even have preachers who would justify greed, preaching a "health and wealth" gospel. They teach, as Paul warns about in 1 Timothy 6:5, that "godliness is a means of gain." But Paul has a different perspective in verse 6: "Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment..."
It should be obvious to anyone with any spiritual sense that the gain that comes from godliness is spiritual, not material. Real godliness is accompanied by contentment, not wealth. (There are those who are blessed by wealth, and that is not wrong. The problem comes when we expect wealth because we are "godly.") "Money is fine. Use it if you've got it. But don't be consumed by its pursuit."
Why should we not pursue it? Well, for one reason, "You can't take it with you." We've heard this all our lives, and it's true. Paul even says it in verse 7, "for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world." "Why spend one's life accumulating things that must be left behind, that are useless in eternity?" Food and clothing should be enough. What else do we need?
Confession time: As I write this, I'm sitting in a study, surrounded by stuff. To my left is a shelf with probably 200-300 record on it. On either side of that shelf are shelves with books on them, all filled to overflowing. In the bedroom to my left are several bookshelves, all filled, and a wardrobe, converted to a record cabinet, also completely full. Out in the hallway, opposite the kitchen is another bookshelf, next to a cd/dvd shelf that is completely full. Some of you have been to my house and seen this stuff.
But the point of it all is that it's just that. Stuff. Is any of it that important to me? I like books, yes. I like records. I collect them. But why? What value is there in owning a copy of the Beatles first vinyl album? (Turns out to be a fake copy, but still...) What value is there in owning autographed copies of books? Or even a second year Mickey Mantle baseball card? (Yeah...I have one of those, too.)
There are two truths about these things. 1) As already stated, I can't take it with me. I can give it to my children, but they can't take it with them, either. 2) IT'S ALL GONNA BURN!! Have you heard that before? Of course you have. But you know what? It's TRUE! It is all gonna burn, eventually.
So why don't I just sell it all on eBay and have done with it? I'll admit it. I just haven't been able to bring myself to do that. Maybe someday...
Like money (I'm working my way back into the artical, now), all of this stuff is a huge disctraction sometimes. Currently, I try to only buy books that I really want to read. In fact, I'm trying to get back into the library thing again. I LOVE libraries! All those books...*ahem!* Sorry.
"Contented people live simply; they live quietly; they live peacefully." On the other hand, the pursuit of wealth can destroy one's soul. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
I, I am he
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins. (ESV)
There are several different metaphors used in Scripture to describe how Jesus has carried our sins away. Palms 103:12 is one of my favorites: "as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us." (ESV) Jesus has carried our sins away an infinite distance! This is some of the best news I have ever heard, my friends! "He removed them from the presence of God and from us forever."
Hezekiah said, in Isaiah 38:17, "you have cast all my sins
behind your back." (ESV) "When something is behind your back, you can't see it anymore. It's out of sight. This is how He has completely dealt with our sins and put it away."
This is a "deliberate, decisive action on God's part." God, himself, has put our sins behind his back. He takes pleasure in doing so, too, because he takes great pleasure in the work of Jesus Christ.
The real question is this: Do we believe it? "Do we believe the testimony of Scripture, or do we believe our guilty feelings?" I confess that, many times, I pay more attention to the guilt that Satan heaps on me than to the words of the Bible. Today, I choose to believe God. My sins are forgiven. They are cast away from me as far as the east is from the west. How far is the east from the west? "From one scarred hand to the other..." (Shoutout to Casting Crowns...)
Hallelujah!
I thank you that you have blessed me and my family with a good means of living. I pray that I not place too much emphasis on "stuff" or the accumulation thereof. I know that I have a lot of stuff in my house that I could live without. I pray that these things do not become idols to me. I pray that the pursuit of wealth or the accumulation of goods will never distract me from worshipping you.
I praise you, my God, for the fact that you have eliminated my sins from me. You have cast them away. You have put them behind your back. They are cast to the bottom of the ocean, even to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. And this has been done, if I understand correctly, to ALL of my sins, even ones that have yet to be committed. Praises to you, O Lord!
Grace and peace, friends.