Thoughts on circumstances

In this season of political and economic upheaval, it is a good thing to remember 2 things:

1) Romans 13 says:

1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.

All Authority has been established by God.  Certainly vote the way the Holy Spirit guides you!  But whatever the outcome, remember that God is in control and that whoever is president IS president because God gave him the authority.

2) Psalm 111 says:

5 He provides food for those who fear him; 
       he remembers his covenant forever.

and Jesus said in Matthew 6:

24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. 25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

and Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:

7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.

Our provision is not dependent on our own efforts, on our jobs, or on the economy.  Our provision comes from God.  He gives us the skills and talents that we can use in making a living, certainly. But when our circumstances are such that our own efforts come to nothing, we need not live in fear for our food and clothing.  Our provision comes from God.  It is that simple.

I think that in this country we have become so accustomed to a lifestyle that is so excessive that the thought of actually being content with having just our needs met is, by comparison, terrifying to most of us!  But the bottom line is: If I have less to occupy my time in care and upkeep, I have more time to spend with God and family and friends.  What are my standards for contentment in life?   Are they based on things?  or are they based on relationships?  What are God's standards? 

Maybe by answering those questions, we can find a right perspective on the events that are happening in front of us.  Whether the person we believe should be in office wins or not, whether the economy recovers quickly or we enter into an economic crisis - these things I know - God is sovereign and His ways are not our ways and He loves us and is pursuing us with a passion and I want to return that passion to Him.  My response can only be - Whatever it takes, God.

Wearing the shoe on the other foot

I got a taste of what it is like to be in a place where people do not speak your language. Last night Angel Barios spoke at LCC and he spoke in spanish. With my limited french and 5 years of helping my kids through latin class, I was able to pick out enough to get an idea about what he was saying (and then it helped a lot when he started translating some of it!) but not enough to really comprehend the entire message. This was a very enlightening experience.

For me, when someone is speaking about Jesus, I want to know and understand what is being said! Any new thing I learn about my Savior is water for my thirsty soul. As I was listening, I knew Angel was talking about Jesus, and that in itself brought warmth to my heart, but at the same time, I was hungry and frustrated.... wanting more. How frustrating it must be to so many spanish speaking people in our area to go to church week after week, wanting to learn more, wanting to converse, wanting to have relationships with people and yet being held back by lack of knowledge of English.

There has to be more we can do for this segment of the population. I have to admit, sadly, that I never really thought about the difficulties the hispanic community faces on a daily basis. I am glad for this opportunity to walk a few yards in their shoes. I like being made to think. It is a wonderful thing to be lead by someone with the heart to reach people by any means, that thinks outside the box and is constantly challenging us to reach the next level.

I am going to look into what it takes to get an ESL class going. Maybe that could help. I might even look up spanish tutorials on the web :)