Trusting God In 2013

Before the year began, we heard a lot of dismal news about what we could expect in 2013 as far as the US economy goes. It seems like every year it gets worse. Added to that, the Connecticut massacre is still very much uppermost in our minds. Further afield, things are not much better as European countries continue to struggle with their own economic woes and lives are lost daily in Syria.

If we focus on these things we can very easily become discouraged, but remember what Jesus said just before He left this earth. He said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer ; I have overcome the world" (John 16 : 33).

Is it difficult to be of good cheer? Feast on His word. It will cheer and comfort you when times are rough.

And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice , and your joy no man taketh from you (John 16: 22).

 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God (2 Corinthians 1 : 3 - 4).

 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46 : 1).

You can find these and many more words of  comfort and encouragement in God's word. Use them and encourage yourselves in the Lord.

Should We Give Money to Beggars?

I've had various replies to this question. Some people say we should never give money to beggars because most of them use it to buy drugs or alcohol. Others say we should buy the food instead and give it to them, still others say we should simply give the money and not worry about how they use it. I tend to straddle the fence on this one. Sometimes I give to the person depending on how he/she looks. If I think the person looks really hungry or needy, I give. People in wheelchairs and bearing a sign that says "Veteran" get me everytime.

Don't Give Up!

This week I want to comment on a book I read some time ago. It’s The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, and it tells of the life of Esther Greenwood, a young student fashion writer, whose troubled life closely resembled Sylvia’s. In the book she says, "I’ve tried to picture my world and the people in it as seen through the distorting lens of a bell jar." The book itself ends on a hopeful note, but as some of you may know, Sylvia Plath committed suicide. Her mother said that Sylvia was overwhelmed by trying to keep up with her writing and with the demands of her domestic life.

The idea of someone at the pinnacle of her success ending her life seems unthinkable, but it happens all too often. In this economy when many people are losing their jobs, their homes and their life savings, it is easy to become depressed. Last week the news media broadcast a story of a man and his wife who lost their jobs. He killed himself and his five children. The wife attempted to take her own life but didn't succeed.

This is why I cannot overemphasize the importance of being anchored to God. It is He who gives us the strength to live from day to day. It is He who helps us to stay on the surface when the currents of life threaten to pull us under. Now, more than ever, we need to "lift up our eyes to the hills, from whence comes our help" Psalm 121:1. Please, don't give up. Don't lose hope. Give your life to Jesus today if you haven't done so already, and watch Him take over.

It happened so fast

The elderly lady seated in a wheelchair spoke the above words as she was being interviewed by a reporter outside a bank that had been seized on Friday. Her sentiments echoed mine and, I'm sure, the rest of the population, as we watched this financial debacle being played out. As both houses of Congress scrambled to come up with some sort of a "rescue plan" to save our near-death economy, I asked myself how much longer do we have?

And I wasn't thinking about a bailout, handout or anything of that sort, but how much longer would it be before our Lord Himself takes center stage and say "Enough is enough!" Jesus said, "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matthew 24:27).

For make no mistake, everything that is swimming before our eyes right now is predicted in the Bible - the great economic meltdown, plagues and diseases, wars and rumors of wars. It's all there, and like a textbook, can be studied by us all. Are we taking heed? It's not too late. The answers to our crisis are, as always, in the word of God.

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal" (6: 19-20).

How accurate the word of God is, and how relevant! As we look at our empty savings and think about what may lie ahead, let us take comfort in these words: "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (v. 34).