Good food for thought for a struggling people

Friends:

Here is one take on how to make it through whatever economic crisis we are in.

How To Survive A Bad Economy
by Randy Robison

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves breakin and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)

There’s a lot of talk about the economy these days. The stock market is taking a beating, homes are being foreclosed and the dollar is losing value. The news is full of doom and gloom, so people are worried. Accusations of thievery and mismanagement abound. But when the blame is set aside and the financial intricacies are stripped away, what is the core issue?
Mark Punzo, a friend of the ministry who works at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, recently asked me, “What is something worth?” It didn’t take me long to reply, “Whatever somebody will pay for it.” “So what are you worth?” he asked. I admit my first thought went to life insurance actuary tables. My salary times x number of years before I retire… But I knew that wasn’t what he was driving at, so I guessed, “Whatever someone will pay me?” “Whatever someone will pay for you,” he corrected. Then he asked a question that really bent my mind. “What did God pay for you?” Now I got it. God paid for me with His only Son’s blood. It certainly wasn’t the first time I’d heard that principle, but it was the first time I had heard it put that way. It struck me hard. Is that really the value God places on me? Am I worth the sacrifice of Jesus Christ? Why don’t I act like it?
“When God spoke that to me,” Mark continued, “He then said, ‘Look at all the people around you. That’s what they are worth to Me, too.’”
What incredible value! You, your loved ones, your acquaintances and even the people you don’t know are by far the most valuable things ever created, worth more than any company’s stock, assets or investments.
So why is it that we seem to be more concerned about our retirement plans than our relatives? Why do we react to an economic crisis with more urgency than a spiritual crisis? Do we really see the value in ourselves and in other people that God sees?
I confess that I take people for granted. If I spotted a $20 bill in the gutter, I’d stop to pick it up. But I have passed right by a person lying in the gutter without any second thoughts. I think perhaps my sense of value is askew. As a “responsible” husband and father, I spend time laying up treasure on earth for medical bills, college and (hopefully, some day) retirement. But those things will all pass away. My daughter’s car will eventually break down and rust, but her spirit is eternal. My son’s braces will give him a nice smile for a while, but what kind of man will he be when his teeth are falling out and his looks don’t matter any more?
I have decided to not worry about the economy. Good or bad, God is in control. I can only have one response if I want to hold on to anything of value: invest in the things in which God has invested.
You are worth what God paid for you. So is your spouse, your child and your neighbor. If you want to be rich, don’t look to your bank account. It will fail you. Look to the people in your life and invest in them. Then you will be truly prosperous, no matter what the economy does. And unlike the wealth of this world, you can take it with you forever.

This Week: Don’t worry about the economy; just make good investments. Deposit your time and love into someone’s life.
Prayer: “Father, forgive me for focusing on the temporal things of this earth. Help me to see the value in people that You see and lay up treasure in heaven by investing in them.”

Be blessed.

Solomon's Porch tomorrow night

Friends:

Please consider joining us tomorrow for Solomon’s Porch at First Cup coffee house at Five and Inkster in Redford. Our topic for tomorrow:

Last week the people of metro Atlanta experienced the first real gas shortage in recent memory. People were left to wonder what they would do if they could not gas up their vehicles. The questions for discussion are: what would you do if you could not put gas in your car? How would your life change? How would you go about living your “normal” life? Is modifying your use of fossil fuels a good or bad thing? What would be the end result if this became a reality in our area? Could you survive? What is the faith response to all of this? Come out tomorrow for what should be an interesting discussion.

Be blessed.

Can you work through these four phases of forgiveness?

Do you have the power to forgive?

Friends:

I came across this in the Free Press this morning. I believe people of faith, like all people, often struggle with the issue of forgiveness. As yourself, if there is someone in your life who you need to forgive, if you can work through these four steps toward better health? Below I have listed the four phases of forgiveness. It asks, are you willing to:

Uncover the causes of your anger and recognize its impact on your health.

Decide to forgive. Recognize that it is your choice and make the commitment.

Work toward understanding, forgiveness and compassion.

Release yourself from your emotional prison and discover the freedom of forgiveness.

Source: "Forgiveness Is a Choice: A Step-by-Step Process for Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope," by Robert D. Enright (American Psychological Association, $19.95)

Is this helpful? Did the author leave something out? Let me know.

Be blessed.

How do you pray?

Friends:

One of the books I am currently reading is Body Prayer by Doug Pagitt. In this insightful read some postures for prayer are explained. Which one fits your style of prayer?

Many people are accustomed to closing their eyes and bowing their heads during prayer. For the originators of this practice, this was not an empty custom but a physical way of focusing of God. By their actions, these people of prayer showed that their immediate surroundings were not as important as God.

For other early believers, folding their hands during prayer was a statement that they would not hold onto anything else when they were praying. It was a physical way to say to God, “Your kingdom come, your will be done in my life.”

Still others pray with their eyes open, their faces turned up to the sky, and their hands spread wide. This posture indicates a willingness to accept all that God has made.

For pray-ers in the first century, it was common to pray facedown with one’s knees pulled close to the chest and one’s forehead touching the ground. Doing so put one close to the ground and in the most humble position possible.

The custom of kneeling and bowing one’s head in prayer is strengthened by the imagery of a person approaching a king to make a request. When doing this in prayer, the subject puts herself at the mercy of the King by exposing her neck, and act which shows her complete vulnerability to the Sovereign’s power.

The New Testament practice of placing hands on the one being prayed for is yet another physical act of faith and prayer.

Still others pray while walking or singing or standing.

Pagitt further points out that “From the beginning Christians have recognized that prayer is not simply a matter of words; it is an integration of all of life, through the body.”

How do you pray? Let us learn from each other new ways to mesh the body and spirit.

Solomon's Porch Road Trip?

Is anyone interested in making this our next SP? I have heard Jim speak in the past and he promises not to disappoint.

Jim Wallis, the author of the New York Times best-seller, The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America, will be speaking in Detroit, MI.
On Thursday, September 18, at 7.30 p.m., Jim will give a keynote address at University of Detroit Mercy. Jim's talk, entitled "Faith in the Public Square," will cover religion and politics, and the upcoming presidential race. The event is free and open to the public and will take place at Calihan Hall on University of Detroit Mercy's McNichols Campus. An RSVP is required.
Sep. 18, 2008: Detroit, MI.An Evening with Jim WallisUniversity of Detroit Mercy (7.30 p.m.)4001 W McNichols Rd.Contact: Gary LichtmanTel: 313-993-1254