Republican Judd Gregg abruptly withdraws his nomination over two irreconcilable differences with Obama. Over meaningful issues, I may add.

“However, it has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.

Good for him. The Stimulus Package has irritated the tar out of me because the secrecy, the fear-mongering, and false premises, the vast scope, the overwhelming quantity and the arrogance of the politicians shoving it down the throat of a skeptical America. The Census issue, drowned out in the noise, is no less an issue. It moves the responsibility for counting Americans next year under Obama’s administration where newly-approved funds in the Stimulus bill funneled to the left-wing Acorn voter cheats will affect the division of power between Republicans and Democrats for the next 10 years.

I’m glad Senator Gregg has decided not to support this atrocity. If only the other 61 Senators supporting him would also realize how bad this is for America.

I keep telling myself that Obama is my President, but I oppose everything he’s done in his first 3 weeks. He ramrods this down our throats, lies about the facts, and when we take issue tells the press that *we* aren’t being bipartisan.

I hope America survives, so I hope Obama fails.

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Partisan Fight Over Bipartisanship (politicalwire.com)

Most economists almost unanimously recognize that, even if philosophically you’re — you’re wary of government intervening in the economy, when you have the kind of problem we have right now — what started on Wall Street, goes to Main Street, suddenly businesses can’t get credit, they start paring back their investment, they start laying off workers, workers start pulling back in terms of spending — that, when you have that situation, that government is an important element of introducing some additional demand into the economy.

Most economists? Cato Organization has a list of economists who disagree:

Burton Abrams, Univ. of Delaware
Douglas Adie, Ohio University
Ryan Amacher, Univ. of Texas at Arlington
J.J. Arias, Georgia College & State University
Howard Baetjer, Jr., Towson University
Stacie Beck, Univ. of Delaware
Don Bellante, Univ. of South Florida
James Bennett, George Mason University
Bruce Benson, Florida State University
Sanjai Bhagat, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder
Mark Bils, Univ. of Rochester
Alberto Bisin, New York University
Walter Block, Loyola University New Orleans
Cecil Bohanon, Ball State University
Michele Boldrin, Washington University in St. Louis
Donald Booth, Chapman University
Michael Bordo, Rutgers University
Samuel Bostaph, Univ. of Dallas
Scott Bradford, Brigham Young University
Genevieve Briand, Eastern Washington University
George Brower, Moravian College
James Buchanan, Nobel laureate
Richard Burdekin, Claremont McKenna College
Henry Butler, Northwestern University
William Butos, Trinity College
Peter Calcagno, College of Charleston
Bryan Caplan, George Mason University
Art Carden, Rhodes College
James Cardon, Brigham Young University
Dustin Chambers, Salisbury University
Emily Chamlee-Wright, Beloit College
V.V. Chari, Univ. of Minnesota
Barry Chiswick, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
Lawrence Cima, John Carroll University
J.R. Clark, Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Gian Luca Clementi, New York University
R. Morris Coats, Nicholls State University
John Cochran, Metropolitan State College
John Cochrane, Univ. of Chicago
John Cogan, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
John Coleman, Duke University
Boyd Collier, Tarleton State University
Robert Collinge, Univ. of Texas at San Antonio
Lee Coppock, Univ. of Virginia
Mario Crucini, Vanderbilt University
Christopher Culp, Univ. of Chicago
Kirby Cundiff, Northeastern State University
Antony Davies, Duquesne University
John Dawson, Appalachian State University
Clarence Deitsch, Ball State University
Arthur Diamond, Jr., Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha
John Dobra, Univ. of Nevada, Reno
James Dorn, Towson University
Christopher Douglas, Univ. of Michigan, Flint
Floyd Duncan, Virginia Military Institute
Francis Egan, Trinity College
John Egger, Towson University
Kenneth Elzinga, Univ. of Virginia
Paul Evans, Ohio State University
Eugene Fama, Univ. of Chicago
W. Ken Farr, Georgia College & State University
Hartmut Fischer, Univ. of San Francisco
Fred Foldvary, Santa Clara University
Murray Frank, Univ. of Minnesota
Peter Frank, Wingate University
Timothy Fuerst, Bowling Green State University
B. Delworth Gardner, Brigham Young University
John Garen, Univ. of Kentucky
Rick Geddes, Cornell University
Aaron Gellman, Northwestern University
William Gerdes, Clarke College
Michael Gibbs, Univ. of Chicago
Stephan Gohmann, Univ. of Louisville
Rodolfo Gonzalez, San Jose State University
Richard Gordon, Penn State University
Peter Gordon, Univ. of Southern California
Ernie Goss, Creighton University
Paul Gregory, Univ. of Houston
Earl Grinols, Baylor University
Daniel Gropper, Auburn University
R.W. Hafer, Southern Illinois
University, Edwardsville
Arthur Hall, Univ. of Kansas
Steve Hanke, Johns Hopkins
Stephen Happel, Arizona State University
Frank Hefner, College of Charleston
Ronald Heiner, George Mason University
David Henderson, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Robert Herren, North Dakota State University
Gailen Hite, Columbia University
Steven Horwitz, St. Lawrence University
John Howe, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia
Jeffrey Hummel, San Jose State University
Bruce Hutchinson, Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Brian Jacobsen, Wisconsin Lutheran College
Jason Johnston, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Boyan Jovanovic, New York University
Jonathan Karpoff, Univ. of Washington
Barry Keating, Univ. of Notre Dame
Naveen Khanna, Michigan State University
Nicholas Kiefer, Cornell University
Daniel Klein, George Mason University
Paul Koch, Univ. of Kansas
Narayana Kocherlakota, Univ. of Minnesota
Marek Kolar, Delta College
Roger Koppl, Kishore Kulkarni, Metropolitan State College of Denver
Deepak Lal, UCLA
George Langelett, South Dakota State University
James Larriviere, Spring Hill College
Robert Lawson, Auburn University
John Levendis, Loyola University New Orleans
David Levine, Washington University in St. Louis
Peter Lewin, Univ. of Texas at Dallas
Dean Lillard, Cornell University
Zheng Liu, Emory University
Alan Lockard, Binghampton University
Edward Lopez, San Jose State University
John Lunn, Hope College
Glenn MacDonald, Washington
University in St. Louis
Michael Marlow, California
Polytechnic State University
Deryl Martin, Tennessee Tech University
Dale Matcheck, Northwood University
Deirdre McCloskey, Univ. of Illinois, Chicago
John McDermott, Univ. of South Carolina
Joseph McGarrity, Univ. of Central Arkansas
Roger Meiners, Univ. of Texas at Arlington
Allan Meltzer, Carnegie Mellon University
John Merrifield, Univ. of Texas at San Antonio
James Miller III, George Mason University
Jeffrey Miron, Harvard University
Thomas Moeller, Texas Christian University
John Moorhouse, Wake Forest University
Andrea Moro, Vanderbilt University
Andrew Morriss, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Michael Munger, Duke University
Kevin Murphy, Univ. of Southern California
Richard Muth, Emory University
Charles Nelson, Univ. of Washington
Seth Norton, Wheaton College
Lee Ohanian, Univ. of California, Los Angeles
Lydia Ortega, San Jose State University
Evan Osborne, Wright State University
Randall Parker, East Carolina University
Donald Parsons, George Washington University
Sam Peltzman, Univ. of Chicago
Mark Perry, Univ. of Michigan, Flint
Christopher Phelan, Univ. of Minnesota
Gordon Phillips, Univ. of Maryland
Michael Pippenger, Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks
Tomasz Piskorski, Columbia University
Brennan Platt, Brigham Young University
Joseph Pomykala, Towson University
William Poole, Univ. of Delaware
Barry Poulson, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder
Benjamin Powell, Suffolk University
Edward Prescott, Nobel laureate
Gary Quinlivan, Saint Vincent College
Reza Ramazani, Saint Michael’s College
Adriano Rampini, Duke University
Eric Rasmusen, Indiana University
Mario Rizzo, New York University
Richard Roll, Univ. of California, Los Angeles
Robert Rossana, Wayne State University
James Roumasset, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa
John Rowe, Univ. of South Florida
Charles Rowley, George Mason University
Juan Rubio-Ramirez, Duke University
Roy Ruffin, Univ. of Houston
Kevin Salyer, Univ. of California, Davis
Pavel Savor, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Ronald Schmidt, Univ. of Rochester
Carlos Seiglie, Rutgers University
William Shughart II, Univ. of Mississippi
Charles Skipton, Univ. of Tampa
James Smith, Western Carolina University
Vernon Smith, Nobel laureate
Lawrence Southwick, Jr., Univ. at Buffalo
Dean Stansel, Florida Gulf Coast University
Houston Stokes, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
Brian Strow, Western Kentucky University
Shirley Svorny, California State
University, Northridge
John Tatom, Indiana State University
Wade Thomas, State University of New York at Oneonta
Henry Thompson, Auburn University
Alex Tokarev, The King’s College
Edward Tower, Duke University
Leo Troy, Rutgers University
David Tuerck, Suffolk University
Charlotte Twight, Boise State University
Kamal Upadhyaya, Univ. of New Haven
Charles Upton, Kent State University
T. Norman Van Cott, Ball State University
Richard Vedder, Ohio University
Richard Wagner, George Mason University
Douglas M. Walker, College of Charleston
Douglas O. Walker, Regent University
Christopher Westley, Jacksonville State University
Lawrence White, Univ. of Missouri at St. Louis
Walter Williams, George Mason University
Doug Wills, Univ. of Washington Tacoma
Dennis Wilson, Western Kentucky University
Gary Wolfram, Hillsdale College
Huizhong Zhou, Western Michigan University
Lee Adkins, Oklahoma State University
William Albrecht, Univ. of Iowa
Donald Alexander, Western Michigan University
Geoffrey Andron, Austin Community College
Nathan Ashby, Univ. of Texas at El Paso
George Averitt, Purdue North Central University
Charles Baird, California State University, East Bay
Timothy Bastian, Creighton University
John Bethune, Barton College
Robert Bise, Orange Coast College
Karl Borden, University of Nebraska
Donald Boudreaux, George Mason University
Ivan Brick, Rutgers University
Phil Bryson, Brigham Young University
Richard Burkhauser, Cornell University
Edwin Burton, Univ. of Virginia
Jim Butkiewicz, Univ. of Delaware
Richard Cebula, Armstrong Atlantic State University
Don Chance, Louisiana State University
Robert Chatfield, Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas
Lloyd Cohen, George Mason University
Peter Colwell, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Michael Connolly, Univ. of Miami
Jim Couch, Univ. of North Alabama
Eleanor Craig, Univ. of Delaware
Michael Danie
ls, Columbus State University
A. Edward Day, Univ. of Texas at Dallas
Stephen Dempsey, Univ. of Vermont
Allan DeSerpa, Arizona State University
William Dewald, Ohio State University
Jeff Dorfman, Univ. of Georgia
Lanny Ebenstein, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara
Michael Erickson, The College of Idaho
Jack Estill, San Jose State University
Dorla Evans, Univ. of Alabama in Huntsville
Frank Falero, California State University, Bakersfield
Daniel Feenberg, National Bureau of Economic Research
Eric Fisher, California Polytechnic State University
Arthur Fleisher, Metropolitan State College of Denver
William Ford, Middle Tennessee State University
Ralph Frasca, Univ. of Dayton
Joseph Giacalone, St. John’s University
Adam Gifford, California State Unviersity, Northridge
Otis Gilley, Louisiana Tech University
J. Edward Graham, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Richard Grant, Lipscomb University
Gauri-Shankar Guha, Arkansas State University
Darren Gulla, Univ. of Kentucky
Dennis Halcoussis, California State University, Northridge
Richard Hart, Miami University
James Hartley, Mount Holyoke College
Thomas Hazlett, George Mason University
Scott Hein, Texas Tech University
Bradley Hobbs, Florida Gulf Coast University
John Hoehn, Michigan State University
Daniel Houser, George Mason University
Thomas Howard, University of Denver
Chris Hughen, Univ. of Denver
Marcus Ingram, Univ. of Tampa
Joseph Jadlow, Oklahoma State University
Sherry Jarrell, Wake Forest University
Carrie Kerekes, Florida Gulf Coast University
Robert Krol, California State University, Northridge
James Kurre, Penn State Erie
Tom Lehman, Indiana Wesleyan University
W. Cris Lewis, Utah State University
Stan Liebowitz, Univ. of Texas at Dallas
Anthony Losasso, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
John Lott, Jr., Univ. of Maryland
Keith Malone, Univ. of North Alabama
Henry Manne, George Mason University
Richard Marcus, Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Timothy Mathews, Kennesaw State University
John Matsusaka, Univ. of Southern California
Thomas Mayor, Univ. of Houston
W. Douglas McMillin, Louisiana State University
Mario Miranda, The Ohio State University
Ed Miseta, Penn State Erie
James Moncur, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa
Charles Moss, Univ. of Florida
Tim Muris, George Mason University
John Murray, Univ. of Toledo
David Mustard, Univ. of Georgia
Steven Myers, Univ. of Akron
Dhananjay Nanda, University of Miami
Stephen Parente, Univ. of Minnesota
Allen Parkman, Univ. of New Mexico
Douglas Patterson, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and University
Timothy Perri, Appalachian State University
Mark Pingle, Univ. of Nevada, Reno
Ivan Pongracic, Hillsdale College
Richard Rawlins, Missouri Southern State University
Thomas Rhee, California State University, Long Beach
Christine Ries, Georgia Institute of Technology
Nancy Roberts, Arizona State University
Larry Ross, Univ. of Alaska Anchorage
Timothy Roth, Univ. of Texas at El Paso
Atulya Sarin, Santa Clara University
Thomas Saving, Texas A&M University
Eric Schansberg, Indiana University Southeast
John Seater, North Carolina University
Alan Shapiro, Univ. of Southern California
Frank Spreng, McKendree University
Judith Staley Brenneke, John Carroll University
John E. Stapleford, Eastern University
Courtenay Stone, Ball State University
Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, UCLA
Scott Sumner, Bentley University
Clifford Thies, Shenandoah University
William Trumbull, West Virginia University
Gustavo Ventura, Univ. of Iowa
Marc Weidenmier, Claremont McKenna College
Robert Whaples, Wake Forest University
Gene Wunder, Washburn University
John Zdanowicz, Florida International University
Jerry Zimmerman, Univ. of Rochester
Joseph Zoric, Franciscan University of Steubenville

The best and simple economic “stimulus” plan I’ve seen is to simly refund all individual taxes collected in 2008. It costs about the same and gives all the people’s money back to the people who would happily spend such a windfall.

Please, Congress, stop helping us now. Just put the checkbook down and back away.

But that doesn’t mean we check our beliefs and feelings at the door and blindly follow our new Dear Leader. In one week -

He reestablished federal funding for overseas abortions. Why in the heck are we paying for that, anyway? Are we trying to control the population of future enemies? Is our top priority in economic uncertainty to abort unborn children of foreigners?

He reestablished embryonic stem cell research. Might as well start planning ahead for harvesting fetuses if we need unborn children for medical purposes.

He stopped military tribunals in Guantanamo and ordered the facility closed in a year. Nobody knows what to do with the 250+ terrorists held there. Send them to other countries? They end up back on the battlefield. Bring them to US soil? A writ of “habeas corpus” will have them released as they have not been charged with violating US criminal law.

He’s urging nearly a trillion dollars of spending to stimulate the economy. Who gets this money? Some of it goes to taxpayers. Where did they get this money? Er, taxpayers. And there are some hideous things in the bill, like spending on contraceptives, polishing tombstones, educating Americans about the benefits of government-sponsored healthcare. How in the heck will that stimulate the economy?

Obama’s bipartisan approach so far seems to consist of, “I won.”

Go help us all.

Feeling good today, and ready to roll. And whoa, there are a lot of submissions this week. Here’s the 254th Christian Carnival in reverse submittal order-

Vickie Sloderbeck presents How to Be a Sidetracked Mom posted at Sidetracked Moms. Apparently this takes instruction.

Jeremy Pierce presents Bob Jones and Race posted at Parableman. A reflection on some Christians’ resistance to Bob Jones University’s repentance on the race issue.

Jody Neufeld presents Wanted: an Available Tool in the Hand of God posted at Jody’s Devotionals. Have you considered the story of the widow who gave her all and what that might mean in your life?

Henry Neufeld presents Stories in a Chronological Context posted at Participatory Bible Study Blog. Sometimes we behave as though the Bible consists of nothing but God’s interventions. Perhaps we ought to consider the time that passes between our favorite stories as well.

A Sower presents Solomon- God’s Greatest Disappointment? posted at A Sower’s Heart. What can we learn from Solomon’s life?

Minister Mamie L. Pack presents Open Confessions posted at The Life I Now Live. A beautiful study of a transparent life.

Tiffany Partin presents Five Bucks and a Piece of Tin Foil posted at Fathom Deep: Sounding the Depths of God. A simple gift, 2 opposite reactions. This is the season to offer help to those who really need it.

A. Lee presents Edvard Munch : the Man behind the Scream ~ Biography posted at e Art Fair .com. What does Munch have to do with Christianity, you might ask. Everything, I’d like to answer. Munch comes from a strictly religious upbringing and this influence has permeated his art.

In a post entitled God’s arrival in Jerusalem, Weekend Fisher traces an Old Testament prophecy of God’s arrival in Jerusalem back to when God’s arrival was first announced: “Prepare the way of the LORD”. These are among the words which Mark uses to open his gospel. WF considers the possibility that Mark considered Jesus to be the LORD spoken of in the prophecy. Read the article at Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength.

Vickie Sloderbeck presents Some Thoughts on Why I Homeschool My Children posted at Sidetracked Moms. Good thoughts on the benefits of homeschooling. Yeah, I know it’s a second entry from this blog, but if I can post the carnival a day late, then Vickie can have 2 posts.

Drew Tatusko presents the great emergence from abundance posted at Notes From Off Center. God’s grace is a gift that extends beyond any contingencies in which the cause and effect of life finds all people. This includes death itself. Because God’s grace is not contingent on what happens in the world in which we live, God must deserve thanks at every point in time and history. A more fitting alternative is to say either that God simply must not exist, or at least the God who gives the gift of grace to all, for all, and forever must not be real.

Allen Scott presents Living in the Land of Denial posted at Journey Across the Sky. Many people live their lives in a state of denial. An altered state of reality you could say. A place where, in their opinion, everything is as it should be, but those around them hold to a different viewpoint.

Mike Weaver presents Will I Ever Finish? posted at COURAGE FOR TODAY. Lessons I have learned in my Christian walk with the Lord, this time about procrastination.

Mike Weaver presents Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue posted at COURAGE FOR TODAY. Lessons I have learned from my Christian walk with the Lord, this time about my grandmother’s Christmas tree.

Richard H. Anderson presents Date of the Crucifixion according to Luke posted at dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos.

Raffi Shahinian presents 7 Christian Clichés…Re-appropriated posted at parables of a prodigal world. Bite-sized morsels of Christianity.

Gil presents Matachines posted at gilocafe. Soldiers of the Virgin dance in her honor.

Jennifer in OR presents Christmas Music: Annie Moses Band! posted at Diary of 1. Contemporary and Classical mix of Christmas music.

ChristianPF presents What the Bible says about this economic downturn posted at Christian Personal Finance Blog. A look at what the Bible says about the economy and what we should be doing now.

ChrisB presents A Concordance as a Devotional posted at Homeward Bound. Even the “begats” can teach us something important with just a little work.

MBB presents Christmas Shopping Credit Tips posted at Money Blue Book Blog.

Stephen Miracle presents Christmas Charity: Giving This Holiday Season posted at Inspirational Articles @ AltNoise.net. It might be harder to give this Christmas season, but it gives us the perfect opportunity to help those in need. It will no longer be automated action, but something actually coming from your heart.

FMF presents Free Money Finance: The Fuel to Feed the Fire posted at Free Money Finance. You can turn your financial life around if God is with you.

Rodney Olsen presents The Bishop of Harare posted at RodneyOlsen.net. Christians in Zimbabwe are suffering persecution. What would the church be doing to stand beside our brothers and sisters?

Henry T (Hank) Imler presents Objections to Calvinism Part 8 of 5 posted at Think Wink.. Does the New Testament discuss Limited Atonement?

Henry M Imler presents Seeking One’s Own Glory posted at Theology for the Masses. God’s glory, which is God’s own being, is God’s love.

Tom Fuerst presents Culture, Theology and Gender posted at Theology for the Masses. The traditional role of women in the home and church versus secular feminism.

Johnny and Kate Brooks presents Hey! You’ve got my nose! posted at Pure Christianity. Way back, we all came from the same family.

The 253rd edition from last week, the Advent (Conspiracy) Edition CCLIII, can be found at “Parables of a Prodigal World.”

http://www.parablesofaprodigalworld.com/2008/12/christian-carnival-ccliii-advent.html

You know you’re itching to submit an article. You can do so with the Christian Carnival Submission form http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1551.html

• Lawrence of Arabia presents wright speaks the truth; obama apologizes for it posted at revolt in the desert.
  Sort of a “devil’s advocate” look at the inflammatory Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s speech and America. I understand the point he’s making, but the premise is a bit hard to embrace.
• Elementaryhistoryteacher presents Free Willing posted at Got Bible?, responding to a reader’s comment that religion is “life-hating and degrading.”
  Of course it’s not; God created us, and He loves life!
• Henry Imler presents Relinquishment of Dominance as a Requirement for Citizenship in the Kingdom of God posted at Theology for the Masses.
  What does it mean to be “like a child?”
• Paul Manata presents “Paradox In Christian Theology” Reviewed posted at Triablogue. A thorough book (p)review of James Anderson’s “Paradox in Christian Theology: An Analysis of Its Presence, Character, and Epistemic Status.” Anderson argues that there are indeed some Christian doctrines that are paradoxical. But, these may be rationally believed, and warranted for the Christian. Anderson offers a model, based largely off Plantinga’s model of warrant, whereby this claim is substantiated.
• Greg Qualls presents Murphy v. God – God Wins!!! posted at GregQualls.com. Giving glory to God for all things good.
  (Psst – God had an advantage, I think. )
• George Marcelo presents The Roman Catholic Church is Satanic! posted at George A. Marcelo’s Weblog.
  Er, I struggled with this one. While I understand George’s warnings, I also understand Paul’s warning we should not be devisive over doctrine. If your Catholic, you’ll probably be offended, but I think the author is trying to make sure you understand what “accepting Jesus” means.
• FMF presents Seven Deadly Signs of Financial Bondage posted at Free Money Finance. Signs of financial bondage from the Bible.
  This isn’t a Christian website, but the post is from a pastor that provides scripture to meditate on when thinking about financial issues.
• David Gushee presents What Dr. King means to me posted at CounterCulture. Reflections about the life and work of one of the Christian leaders whose work has had the deepest impact on my own moral vision, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Renae presents Camper Bus to Minivan posted at Life Nurturing Education.
  Wow, talk about a life-changing event!
• Tina Petersel presents The Cost of Repentence posted at Maiden Song. A salute to Paul Weyrich’s brave stand in repenting for choosing politics over principle this election season.
  “Repentence” is a word too easily tossed around. What does it mean, really?
• Diane R presents Single Christians and the Church posted at Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet. Single Christians are not always treated with respect in most churches. Why is this, and how should they be treated?
  Interesting topic, especially contrasted with “Are you happy or holy? posted below.
• Allen Scott presents Sneak Peeks: Glimpses of upcoming events posted at Journey Across the Sky.
  Ah, the power of advertising. Advertise salvation!
• Jessica Jones presents The Intentional Family posted at Practical Nourishment.
  Good practical advise for raising your children, though mostly secular in nature.
• This week at Light Along the Journey, John reflects on what he would have told himself if he could have jumped into a plutonium-powered Delorean and visited himself in the past with his post Seven Things I Wish I Knew at Seventeen.
  It’s not too late to know it now (and put it into practice)!
• Gavin R. Putland presents Still on the mountaintop: Economically rational racism posted at /etc/cron.whenever/. Marking the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “mountaintop” speech.
• Tasia Eraseren presents A Christian Walk posted at A Closer Walk With JESUS. Jesus is The Good News. Addressing God, the Bible, Religion, and the Christian Community.
• This week at Life is Worth Living, Paul reflects on the book of promises, the bible, in Book of Promises.
• Andrew Tatusko presents The Church as Sacrament: Religion and Wealth Inequality Part II posted at Notes From Off Center. The church is that physical entity which is not only a symbol of the saving power of Christ, but is the very means by which God continues to enact and perform acts of grace and love in the world. First God was incarnate in Christ. Now God is incarnate in the church.
• Angela Williams Duea presents Christians are brainwashed. posted at angelawd. The suggestion that as a believer, I was brainwashed in my faith, made me look closer at the reasons I embrace Christianity.
  I agree – “brainwashing” is like “legalism.” Why do you believe what you believe?
• Richard H. Anderson presents Blame it on Eli posted at dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos.
• ChrisB presents Sin, Death, and Evolution posted at Homeward Bound. A discussion of death as a consequence of sin and its implications for evolution.
• Annette presents Why pray before meals? posted at Fish and Cans. Lightbulb moment in learning the importance of prayer before meals.
• Chad Dalton presents Sharing the gospel – #4 posted at Living Stone Bible Church Blog.
• Jennifer in OR presents Are you happy or are you holy? posted at Diary of 1. Is your marriage for happiness or holiness…or is this a silly question?
• Tom Gilson presents Knowing the True God posted at Thinking Christian. A response to New Age-related questions about God.
• Henry Neufeld presents Relating the Incarnation to Inspiration posted at Participatory Bible Study Blog. What points about the incarnation are applicable to an incarnational view of inspiration.
• Jody Neufeld presents Forgiveness: Not a Neat Package posted at Jody Along the Path. Forgiveness is necessary, but it isn’t always as neat and idy as we might like it to be.
• Mark Olson presents One Man. A Journey. A Return. posted at Pseudo-Polymath. I don’t exactly know what to call what I’ve written. But I’ve written it just the same. What do y’all think?
• The Bible Archive’s Rey offers a (very rough) history of the New Testament canon.
• In Infinite harm posted at Parableman, Wink examines some arguments for why we should think of our sin against God as an infinite crime deserving of an infinite punishment as part of a series on annihilationism and hell.
• Weekend Fisher at Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength offers some thoughts on Judaism (ancient and modern) and God’s message to all nations through Christ on Judaism and the foundation of Christianity.
• John at Brain Cramps for God took part in a “Weekly Faith Roundtable” at Street Prophets where he was supposed to present to others “what Evangelicalism is”

Submit your blog article to the next edition of christian carnival ii using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Malachi came after Haggai and Zechariah and probably wrote this about the same time as Ezra and Nehemiah. Here’s a probable time line –

538 BC — Zerubbabel leads the first return of Jews from Babylon (prophets Haggai and Zechariah)
521–486 BC — Rebuilding the temple
458 BC — Ezra leads the second return of Jews from Babylon
445 BC — Nehemiah leads the third return of Jews from Babylon
433 BC — Malachi rebukes Israel

After admonitions from the earlier prophets, the temple in Jerusalem had been rebuilt, but over time the people became lazy, earlier spiritual reforms were abandoned, and conditions declined. Jerusalem fell into poor shape, both economically and spiritually. Nehemiah mentions in Nehemiah 5:5 that conditions were so poor, some parents sold their children into slavery to pay debts. That’s not legal today, though goodness knows I once tried. (No, no, no, I’m just kidding.)

The people had turned away from their faith, marrying non-Hebrews and practicing in the occult, and blaming their own poor conditions on God. Malachi challenges this mindset — the people can’t neglect their faith and then blame the resulting poor conditions on God. God’s love is unchanging, forever faithful. It’s the people; it’s us, that are not consistently loving.

Do You Trust God’s Love?

Let’s start with Malachi 1:2-3 –

“I have loved you,” says the LORD.

“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” the LORD says. “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

God says He loves us, and the people respond “How? How do you love us? We have no prosperity, we’re selling our children into slavery, and times are tough. What do you mean you love us?” They people of Jerusalem had a lot to complain about. They had been in captivity by the Babylonians for over 80 years, then 70 years since they had returned to Jerusalem, but they were still not independent. For 150 years their destiny was manipulated by the Babylonians and Chaldeans, and now, even though they had rebuilt the temple and rebuilt the walls under Nehemiah, they didn’t have the manpower to defend against their enemies. From their point of view, God had allowed them to be dragged off into exile, and only through their own hard work did they return, rebuild the temple, rebuild the wall, and rebuild whatever prosperity they could muster. Where was God? How could God possibly say He loved them when so many bad things had happened?

Bad things happen to us today. We complain about them. In Afghanistan, there were 23 South Korean Christians captured by the Taliban; two of them, including the pastor, have already been killed. Where is God? I once lost my job and was unemployed for 2 months. Does anybody here have some health issue that doesn’t seem to have any Godly purpose? What sort of bad things are happening to us or in our society right now?

Do these bad things mean God doesn’t love us? Do they mean that God isn’t paying attention to us?

The people of Jerusalem must have a lot of nerve to say that God doesn’t love them. When he says, “Yet I have loved Jacob,” God is reminding them that God chose His people and has given them preferential treatment. If you remember the book of Obadiah a few weeks back, the people of Esau, the Edomites, share the same father as Jacob. Esau’s people, though, were not chosen by God, and the people of Edom openly rebelled against God. When Moses led the Israelis to the Promised Land, the people of Edom would not allow them to pass. When Nebuchadnezzar attacks, the Edomites tell the Babylonians where the Israelites are hiding, then join in the sacking and plunder. The Lord reminds the people of Jerusalem of His preferential treatment of Israel. The Lord God parted the Red Sea, had an angel of fire to protect them, provided manna in the dessert, but to the Edomites, God promises destruction. God reminds the people of Jerusalem that He loves them, but it appears the people do not remember or do not appreciate what God has done for them. It is true that God allowed their captivity, but only to cure them of their persistent idolatry. God had preserved them, though, and kept them from being destroyed. The people of Jacob only have to look to the people of Esau to see how much God loves them. Without God’s protection, they would have been destroyed.

What has God done for us? It can be difficult to see what God is doing in our lives with our narrow view of “me, me, me.” We’re too limited in our vision, only looking at the moment. God’s love works over a long period of time, and only over time do we get a perspective of how much God loves us. We get mad at God for something that just happened just now and forget about all His other mercies in the past. Perhaps when I lost my job, God saw that I was dependent on something other than Him, and I needed a reminder that if I was faithful, He would provide all my needs. Perhaps health issues give us empathy for others that have similar health issues; nobody can speak God’s love to a cancer patient like a Christian cancer survivor. Perhaps he uses health issues to remind us that our lives are temporal, short, and that we should devote whatever time we have left to loving our Lord and loving others.

But God does care for us, even in the middle of trials. Jesus tells us (Matthew 10:30) that our Father has numbered the very hairs on our head. One… two… there are a lot of hairs, some of us more than others.

It is God’s discipline in our lives that we have so much trouble understanding. The Babylonian captivity was discipline imposed by God to cure them of idolatry. A parent will punish their child for playing in the street, not because the parent hates the child, but because the parent loves the child. The parent could stand in the street also to direct traffic and protect the child, or the parent can teach the child the dangers of traffic. God often chooses to teach us, not just protect us.

There’s a story about a summer Christian camp for kids, and one of the counselors was teaching that God had a purpose for everything He created. The kids came up with good reasons for clouds, trees, animals, rocks, dirt, rivers, and so forth, when one of the children asked, “Why did God create poison ivy?” There was an uncomfortable pause while the counselor thought, but then one of the other children said, “God made poison ivy to teach us there are some things we should just keep our cotton-pickin’ hands off of.”

The people of Jerusalem clearly misunderstood about God’s love. When we trust in God’s love, it does not mean we no longer have responsibilities. The people of Jerusalem though they were exempt from responsibility and effort. They believed they can slack off, be part-time lackadaisical believers, and God will take care of them. We too, pray for God to just fix things. While God sometimes just “fixes” things for us, most of the time God teaches us not to play in traffic. There was a prayer I heard long ago about how God works, it goes like this –

I asked God to take away my pride. And God said “No”.
He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole. And God said “No”.
He said her spirit was whole, her body was only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience. And God said “No”.
He said patience is a by-product of tribulations. It isn’t granted, it is earned.

I asked God to give me happiness. And God said “No”.
He said He gives me blessings, happiness is up to me.

I asked God to spare me pain. And God said “No”.
He said suffering draws me apart from worldly cares and brings me closer to Him.

I asked God to make my spirit grow. And God said “No”.
He said I must grow on my own. But He will prune me to make me fruitful.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. And God said “No”.
He said He will give me life, that I may enjoy all things.

I ask God to help me love others, as much as he loves me.
And God said “Ah, finally you have the idea!”

How does God love us? Like the people of Jerusalem, in the midst of our lives, we focus too much on the here and now. If we would ask God if He loved us, God would say “Yes.” He gave me his only Son who died for us, and we will be in heaven someday because we believe. That’s how much God loves us.

Question for the class — What helps you trust that God loves you when it seems to you God’s doesn’t hear your prayers?

Consider -
1. I can trust God’s love because…

Do You Honor God’s Greatness?

The real question isn’t whether God loves us. The real question is: do we love God? Malachi 1:6-9 –

A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the LORD Almighty. “It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name.

“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’

“You place defiled food on my altar.

“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’

“By saying that the LORD’s table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the LORD Almighty.

“Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”-says the LORD Almighty.

God asks a good question — with their mouths, the people say they honor God. But God shows them their hypocrisy — they say one thing, but their actions show their lack of respect for God. Starting with the priests; the Lord says the priests are showing God contempt, not honor. The priests are offering blind animals for sacrifice. The animals are crippled and diseased. Where did the priests get the blind and crippled animals? The people offered them. The Lord asks them to try offering them to the governor. Would the governor be pleased? If you were going to a friend’s house for a potluck supper, what would your friend think if you brought an expired can of sauerkraut and a half-open carton of milk?

If we truly believe God is our almighty God, we should honor him with our best. How do we do that? For instance, at work, how should we honor God? With our best service, the best job we can do. As a neighbor, how should we honor God? By loving our neighbor as ourselves. At home as a spouse or a parent, how should we honor God? By loving our spouse, at a minimum, like we love our neighbor. At worship, how should we honor God? With all our hearts; with repentance, reflection, forgiveness. Matthew 5:23-24 tells us, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

Let me ask you something — who here thinks they are truly loveable? I mean if we could see everything in your life, what you do, what you say, even what you think, who here believes they are truly warm and fuzzy and loveable all of the time? And yet, God loves us anyway. What do we do to earn this love? Nothing. God loves us even when we’re unlovable. That is a truly extraordinary demonstration of what love is. It’s not a feeling, it’s an action. We love our neighbor, not because he’s necessarily loveable, but because we are called to love him. And it’s a great example of how we are to love our spouses — our spouses may indeed be truly loveable, but that’s not why we love them. When our spouses are loveable, that just makes it easier to like them. We love our spouses because by loving our spouses, we are honoring God.

As Christians, we worship God through our service to Him and through our obedience. Not just on Sunday mornings, but Monday mornings and Tuesday mornings, too. Notice that God doesn’t want our gift if we are at odds with our Christian brother or sister. We’re a married class; who is our closest brother or sister? What God says here is that if we’re at odds with our spouse, our gift is meaningless. Our worship to Him is expressed through love to one another. Before we worship on Sunday morning, it should be our reminder to forgive one another, to love one another, to be reconciled to one another.

How strongly does God feel about this? Malachi 1:10 has very strong words about this.

“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.”

Any outward ritual is worthless. God doesn’t care about outward rituals. God cares about the heart and mind and spirit. If your heart is not right, if your heart is not repentant, forgiving, and full of love, God says He’d rather we nail the church doors shut and go home. He doesn’t want half-hearted worship. He doesn’t want worship from us if we’re angry or gossipy or unforgiving. In Mark 12:28-34, one of the teachers of the law asked Jesus which was the most important commandment. What was Jesus’ response?

The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

The verse after that isn’t quite so well known; the teacher of the law agreed with Jesus –

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

This verse doesn’t say that the burnt offerings and sacrifices were unimportant; it says that the offerings and sacrifices are worth less than the love of God and the love of each other. Whatever effort we go through to love God and each other, our offerings are worth less. If you love God half-heartedly, the offering is almost worthless.

I believe the Lord would almost rather we be like Esau, who He hated. I think He would have us hate God and turn our face away from Him. If we’re in church going through the motions of worship, but being a poor example of a Christian to our neighbor, our co-worker, our bible class friends, or heaven forbid our spouses, we are harming God’s church. When we are a poor example of Christ’s love, we hinder the witness of those fully devoted followers of Christ.

Let me give you an example of how being a poor example of an obedient Christian can harm the church and turn away potential believers. There was an article last week from Rome; an Italian politician whose party represents Christian values was caught in a hotel room with two prostitutes and a large amount of cocaine. When he was caught, this was his response:

“So politicians in the UDC [Christian Party] do not make love? Of course, I recognize Christian values. But what has that got to do with going with a prostitute? It is a personal matter. This affair has nothing to do with family values. I cannot be branded a bad father and a bad husband simply because after five or six days away from home, an occasion presented itself.”

In Revelation 3:15-16, Jesus says this about being a half-hearted Christian –

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

I’m not sure what the theological implications of Jesus spitting us out of His mouth are, but it doesn’t sound like a good thing. Non-committed Christians can be more harmful than non-Christians. Part-time Christians can be distasteful to God. It is not our actions that please God; it’s our heart. If our tongue both praises God and curses men, we are lukewarm, we are dishonoring God. God would have us nail the church doors shut.

Consider -
2. I will honor the Lord’s greatness by offering Him the best of my…
3. I will repent of my unacceptable attitudes and actions that include…

Do You Love God Wholeheartedly?

God wants the best from us. Malachi 1:11-14 –

My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD Almighty.

“But you profane it by saying of the Lord’s table, ‘It is defiled,’ and of its food, ‘It is contemptible.’ And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the LORD Almighty.

“When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the LORD. “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the LORD Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.

God wants our best; God wants us to lean on Him, not on ourselves. When we hold back from God, like the man who keep the best for himself and offers the blemished leftovers to God, God doesn’t bless that. God says instead of blessings, such a person is cursed instead.

The purpose of our lives is to show God’s glory, God’s excellence, God’s love, in everything we do. Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Another question for the class; I assume nobody brought an unblemished goat to sacrifice this morning. What are examples of an unacceptable offering today?

What is the best way to show that we love the Lord with all of our heart?

Consider -
4. I will express wholehearted devotion to God by…

Conclusion

If I truly trust in the Lord and believe He is greatest among all names, if I truly believe Jesus is my Lord and savior and not just a religious figure, then I want to offer my Lord my best. I can trust in the Lord; he has provided great things to me; my wife, my life, my health, my hair number 2,063,425. Most of all, He provided His son to me to that I shall not perish but have eternal life. If we trust that the Lord loves us, even when we’re suffering or when we don’t feel as though God hears our prayers, we still give the Lord our best. A half-hearted effort of going through the motions means nothing to the Lord, He would rather nail the church doors shut than to listen to us mouth off about each other or to give lip-service to His will. Even when we don’t feel loved, we should give our best to the Lord, just like when we don’t feel loved, we should still give our best to each other. For great is His name above all other names, and our actions and worship should recognize that He is Lord.

A guy named Pete gets a job as a switchman with the railroad, and undergoes weeks of training. The supervisor then takes him into the switch booth to test his readiness. The following exchange takes place:
Supervisor: “Imagine you were sitting here alone and you learned there was a train coming from the North on that track, and another coming from the South on the same track. What would you do?”
Pete: “I’d throw this switch right here and put one train on the other track.”
Supervisor: And what if that switch didn’t work?”
Pete: “I’d go down to the track and throw that big switchlever there, putting one train on the other track.”
Supervisor: “And what if that switchlever didn’t work?”
Pete: “Then I’d come back here and call the dispatcher to stop both trains.”
Supervisor: “And what if the phone didn’t work?”
Pete: “Then I’d go to that gas station across the street and use their phone.”
Supervisor: “And what if their phone didn’t work?”
Pete: “Then I’d go get Uncle Joe.”
Supervisor: “Uncle Joe??? What would he do?”
Pete: “Nothing, but he ain’t never seen a train wreck.”

Many of us, though, have seen a trainwreck in our lives or the lives of somebody close to us. Something terrible, something awful, that left us with a feeling of “why me?” When I was born, the first thing that happened was the doctor picked me up by my feet and hung me upside down. As a baby, I was having a hard time maintaining my dignity. If that wasn’t back enough, then the doctor smacked me on the rear end. I thought, “What did I do to deserve THAT?” It seems sometimes that some people have been trying to smack me around ever since.

Perhaps you’ve been smacked around, too. A marriage that failed, a mother or father that died. I have a friend up in Conroe who has a granddaughter that’s permanently brain damaged since the age of 8 months because of a tragic home accident. Some in here are widows or widowers, having lost spouses too early. When calamity happens, we want to ask why, we want to question God. Some may want to step away from their faith in anger at God. Why do bad things happen to good people?

There are lots of possibilities. For the unbeliever, God will use pain and suffering to turn the unbeliever away from evil ways. Repent, turn from sin, and face God. The bible has a lot of good instruction for Christians, but for the unbeliever, God has only 1 instruction: “Believe in me!”

For one who professes Christ but leans on men, God uses calamity to strengthen faith. If a Christian leans on money, God takes that crutch away through a family emergency, perhaps loss of a job. If a Christian leans on his own works, God may cripple him to make him dependent on God. For a strong, upright and faithful Christian, God uses calamity to sanctify him, to bring him closer to God. And then sometimes, we don’t have any idea why we suffer. We look at ourselves for unrepentant sin, something we’re doing wrong, we think God’s trying to tell us something, and we just can’t figure it out. It’s undeserved. We’ve been smacked on the bottom and been through a trainwreck, and we don’t know why.

The book of Job is an example of undeserved suffering. Job is a prominent and wealthy servant of God, and in a matter of minutes, Job lost everything. Financially, emotionally, physically, spiritually, all took a beating. To Job, it might appear that God had deserted him and offered him no comfort or explanation. Yet through all of his suffering, Job remained faithful to God and even stopped to worship Him in the midst of suffering. That’s inspirational, a perfect example of how God wants us to respond in everything.

Let’s walk through Job’s life and see what happens. If you have your bibles, let’s turn to the chapter on automotive quality (At Ford, Quality is Job 1). Here we find the wizard of Uz, Job.

Job 1:1. In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

Job is described spiritually, not physically. We are to be judged by our character, not our appearance. Job was “blameless and upright.” He was morally sound, mature, full of integrity. The Hebrew word for “blameless” is “tam” and also means “perfect.” Job walked the straight and narrow path.

Job “feared God and shunned evil.” This doesn’t mean he was a coward; a fear of God is necessary for good spiritual discipline. Proverbs 1:7 says “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Oswald Chambers, in a book called “My Utmost for His Highest,” wrote “The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.”

I think the phrase “shunned God and feared evil” together are interesting – “feared God” meant Job always did the right thing, but more than that he shunned evil, or also avoided the wrong thing. He was a complete man of God, not one who did good when people were watching and evil when people weren’t. Job was not a hypocrite who said one thing and did another, he was a man of perfect integrity, doing what was right and avoiding what was wrong.

He was also a very wealthy, prosperous man. Let’s look at his tax return –
- seven sons, 3 daughters. Excellent, so he had a lot of deductions for dependents
- 7000 sheep
- 3000 camels (*I* don’t own *any* camels!)
- 500 oxen
- 500 donkeys (I don’t own any donkeys either. True story: my brother gave his wife a donkey for Mother’s Day last year. Wait, that gives me an idea. My wife and I are celebrating our one year anniversary next week… Never mind. It was an idea, but not a good idea, mind you.)
- and a large number of servants.

Job was like sort of a cross between Billy Graham and Bill Gates. In verse 4 through 5, we also learn that Job was blessed not only with material wealth and public prestige, but also a loving family. Seven sons and three daughters that regularly broke bread together and Job would pray for them and offer sacrifices on their behalf.

Now, in verse 6, we step away from the human world and into the spiritual world where there is some sort of conference going on in Heaven. The angels of the Lord are presenting themselves before the Almighty, and God notices Satan there. “Where have you been?” says God.

“Checking things out, wandering around, looking for some mischief.”

This is disturbing to me. God says, “Have you considered Job? He’s the best of the best, blameless and upright, fears God and shuns evil.” I’d like to avoid the devil and stay far away from him. Here God is saying, “Dude, check out Job.” Why would God do this?

The short answer is, we don’t really know. How can we know the mind of God. Here’s a few things we do know, however – we know that Romans 8:28 says “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” All things, including what’s about to happen to Job. How could calamity be considered good? Well, Job wouldn’t know this of course, but he turned out to be an example for thousands of years of God’s power and absolute control. That’s good for us to know, even if Job didn’t. We also know that God promises not to give us more than we can handle. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” God will not permit anything to come into our lives that we are not capable of withstanding. That doesn’t mean tragedy won’t come our way – only that when it does, we’ll either be able to stand up under it or provide a way out.

Job 1:9-11, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

I’m not surprised Satan cops an attitude with God. Satan says that the only reason Job fears the lord and is a man of perfect integrity is because God has built a hedge of protection around job. In other words, Satan charges that the only reason Job is such a great guy is because God pays him. Have you prayed for a hedge of protection? It’s a good prayer, something good to ask for. But this verse shows that the hedge of protection is taken down as easily as it is put up, but more importantly, if the hedge of protection is taken down, it may not have anything whatsoever to do with our morality.

Are we shallow Christians that believe that if we are doing God’s will, God will bless us? Are we making some sort of bartering agreement with God? Alright God, I mowed my neighbor’s yard this week. I helped a little old lady across the street. I said, “God bless you” when somebody sneezed. Now listen God: you owe me. That is a shallow Christian that misunderstands the will of God. We do not do God’s will in order to receive blessings. We do God’s will so that God may do His will. We may or may not receive blessings on this earth. Our blessing is after we are done on this earth.

God *is* a God of blessings, but He is not *only* a God of blessings. He’s not some magician we produce at parties to pull a rabbit out of a hat for us. I’ve heard people give an excuse for their behavior by saying, “God just wants me to be happy.” That is not God’s primary desire. God’s primary goal is for us to worship Him. You cannot excuse your behavior by saying, “God wants me to be happy.” When you read this disaster in Job’s life, can you say God wants Job to be happy? No, God wants Job to glorify God.

We also know here that Satan badly misjudges Job, and God is perfectly right and accurate. Satan believes that if Satan is allowed to wreak havoc in Job’s life that Job will renounce God and curse God to His face. God knows Job, though. God will be able to use Job’s calamities for God’s purposes.

Job 1:12, “The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.”

What would happened if this exchange was about you? What if God and Satan were talking about you in heaven? “Have you considered my servant Michael? Have you considered my servant Ken? Have you considered my servant ________? Put your own name in the blank. God knows where you are spiritually, and He promises not to give us more than we can handle, but how would you feel about God talking about you with Satan?

Notice that God is sovereign, all powerful. We like to believe that God is all good and nothing evil comes from Him, but that’s an incomplete picture. God *is* all good, but He is also sovereign, in charge of everything. Notice Satan has to ask God’s permission before he is allowed to mess with Job. The humans in us would like to say God’s answer should be, “Nope, don’t mess with Job, he’s mine.” We like to think of God and Satan as being the great generals of a massive battle between good and evil, battling it out in the heavens and on earth. Obi Wan Kanobe versus Darth Vader. Professor X versus Magneto. Aslan versus the White Witch. We think Satan is ruling the earth from Hell, but that’s not quite right. From the book of Job and in 1 Peter 5:8, we know that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, and Revelation 20:10 tells us that Satan will not be cast into the Lake of Fire before Judgment Day. God isn’t battling Satan, God is sovereign. God is referred to as “The Almighty” in the book of Job 31 times. When Satan wants to do evil, he has to ask God’s permission. This is true in the New Testament, too, by the way. In Luke 22, the disciples are squabbling over which one of them will be considered the greatest in Heaven, and Jesus rebukes them and tells them to be more concerned about serving. Then he says in Luke 22:31: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.” Look, Satan is asking for permission again.

Does it bother you that God gives permission for suffering? A big mistake in our Christian walk is to misunderstand what “God is in control” means. We think that since God is in control, we have a right to expect Him to keep bad things from happening to us. We think that because we try to keep bad things from happening to our friends and family, that God should do the same for us. We are children of God, are we not? How could God let something bad happen to us if He is in control.

Let me ask you some blunt questions. Did God have a son? And did that son suffer? And did that suffering work for God’s glory? God does have a plan, God is in control, and it’s human folly to think that God’s plan does not include suffering. As Christians, we know that our suffering will be used by God for His purposes. We know that it is our response to disappointments in life that makes us stronger in our faith in our almighty God. The sinner doesn’t have this comfort. To the sinner, suffering is pointless. Suffering makes a sinner bitter. Suffering makes a Christian better.

Let’s see what sort of things we’ve learned so far about God.

Lessons Learned about God
- God is sovereign over all, good and evil.
- God provides hedges and removes them according to His will.

We’ve learned a few things about Satan during this exchange. I learned Satan has access to God in Heaven. I read this exchange and thought, Holy Smoke, how did Satan get in there? That’s not allowed! But it’s true, Satan has access to God, and must ask God for permission before he can do evil. We learn that Satan is evil, but not sovereign over evil. Satan has to ask God’s permission.

Lessons Learned About Satan
- Satan has access to God’s throne in Heaven.
- Satan has to ask God’s permission before he can touch God’s people

What happens to Job after this? Satan may not lay a finger on Job – God set that boundary and Satan must obey – but Satan sends destruction. Job 13-19, the Sabeans steal the ox and donkeys, then kill all the servants. Then lightning strikes and kills the sheep, then the Chaldeans steal all the camels, and then a mighty wind collapses his son’s house and kills all of his children. In a matter of minutes, Job loses everything. Everything.

Now I know that in a room full of singles like this, we are likely to have tragedies in our lives. Death. Divorce. Loss of material things. Loss of a job. Why did we have to suffer? When we’re facing a calamity, the first thing we must do is self-reflection. We must look inside ourselves for unrepentant sin. The Old Testament is replete with examples of God sending His perfect wrath in order to turn His people away from evil and toward Him. We’ll never be 100% righteous, but we know when we are sinning and it feels too good to stop. God will get our attention one way or another. But what if we’ve examined ourselves for unrepentant sin and find none? God did not allow Satan to bring harm to Job just to say to Satan, See, I told you. God knew Job’s faith was real, and God knew this before he allowed Satan to do what he did. God’s purposes in allowing suffering are complex and it is not possible to reduce the purpose of suffering to some simple explanation.

I know how I have reacted to suffering in my life. Anger. Depression. A mix of both. Let’s see how a man of God reacted, see what he did and did not do.

Job 1:20, At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship.

Instead of tearing robes we wear black, but ancient signs of grief were tearing his robe and shaving his head. It is ok to grieve. It is ok to cry. We are commanded to love one another, and the loss of that love is most certainly a time for grief. God gave us emotions, and it’s ok to show those emotions. But then look what Job did – he fell to the ground and worshipped God. Job said,

Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.”

As Christians, we can recognize that everything in this life is a gift from God. Our relationships, our children, our stuff. We came into this world naked, without a thing. And when we leave, we take nothing with us. The Lord gives it all to us, and the Lord takes it all away again. “May the name of the Lord be praised.” It is easy to praise the name of the Lord when he gives. When he takes away, can we still praise the name of the Lord? Are we only thankful for things he gives? He may have many reasons for taking away, all according to His purpose. Can we give thanks to God for taking it away?

How do we remain thankful while suffering? Rather than blame God for what he doesn’t have, Job thanks God for what he does have. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul tells us, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” We recognize that it is God’s will for us to be thankful in all circumstances. Job could thank God because Job realized that everything Job had wasn’t Job’s; it all belonged to God. God owns everything. Job had the privilege of managing it for a little while. And in so, we learn one more thing about God: When Satan attacks, God uses it for own good and His glory.

Job 1:22, “In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”

It’s ok to be angry. It’s ok to be depressed. Our emotions are something God gives us. Job certainly had intense feelings of grief. But Job did not sin because he didn’t say God was wrong. He didn’t say God was neglectful. He didn’t say God has bad intentions. Through all Job’s grief, he said, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Job stayed strong. He didn’t whine, “Why meeeee?” His character remained that which God approved, even in the midst of suffering. Job was strong, patient, even resigned. And Satan must have been disappointed. Here was a man who loved God more than money, more than his earthly possessions, more than his family. Job’s relationship with God was not dependent on his circumstances, his position in society, or his stuff.

In Chapter 2, Satan goes back to God and says, “well, ok, so that didn’t work, but you didn’t let me touch him. He’s still a healthy person. Let me take away his health.” I don’t know what this illness was, maybe he had more than one thing. In chapter 2, we know he has boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head, and they itch. In Chapter 7 through 30, we learn that it also includes a haggard appearance, running sores, loss of sleep, depression, severe weight loss, acute pain, darkened and peeling skin, and fever. Oh, and bad breath. In verse 7, Job sits down in the ashes of his life and scrapes himself with a piece of broken pottery. Sort of symbolic, like his life had now become a piece of broken pottery.

His wife was less than helpful. “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die already.” Before we pick on Job’s wife too harshly, let’s remember that she, too, was intensely affected by all of this. She, too, had lost all of her children, she’s lost any importance she thought she had in the eyes of the community, and her husband is some foul-smelling creature sitting in a garbage dump scraping sores with a piece of pottery. So Job’s wife was certainly under a lot of stress. It’s easy to pick on her, but she’s in pain. Perhaps she thought her own pain would end. Perhaps she just loved Job and wanted his suffering to end.

Job still didn’t sin; sometimes it’s easier to remain faithful to God when you’re alone, but remaining faithful to God when you’re with others is harder. Job tells her that she’s talking foolishly, that her faith is not wise enough. “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” We do not always have a choice in our circumstances, but we do have a choice in how we respond. Job’s wife responded first with her emotions. Job responded with his faith.

Job’s closest friends were more helpful. What did they say? Nothing. When they came to visit, they were shocked, they cried with him, then sat on the ground with him for 7 days and said nothing. Nothing. Just sat and grieved. Sometimes there’s nothing you can say, so there’s no need to try. Just be there.

Discussion: Describe a tragedy that happened to you or a loved one. How did you respond? How should you respond?

I want to close with a few examples. How many here have seen United 93 at the theater? It’s a powerful movie, mostly for what it doesn’t say. There’s no commentary explaining peoples motives, just a snapshot of people’s actions. We see the confusion of the people at the FAA, the hysteria of the passengers, the evil of the terrorists bound on killing as many people as they can.

Many of us have heard of Todd Beamer, who uttered the now famous, “Let’s roll” during the passengers revolt against the terrorists. What a lot of us may not know is Todd Beamer’s family were devoted followers of Christ. Can you identify with Todd’s wife, Lisa, the grief she must have suffered? She turned her faith in God into a powerful testimony and wrote a book that encourages people to build their lives on a firm foundation of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Here’s what she wrote about 9/11:

We all have the choice to look at the things we’ve lost or to look at the things we have, to become bitter or to become better, to live in fear or to live in hope. I’ve chosen to live in hope, not because I’m a strong person but because of the heavenly, eternal perspective that God has given me. Lately I’ve been trying to look at the bigger picture, to discover what I’m supposed to learn from all this. Probably the most important truth is that my security must be in God rather than in anything or anyone in this world.

Think about it: the World Trade Center represented economic power, success, and security; yet it was shaken and destroyed in one hour or less. The Pentagon is the symbol of our nation’s military might; yet it, too, proved vulnerable. Where can we find true security these days?

I have found safety and security in a loving heavenly Father, who cannot be shaken, who will never leave me or forsake me, and in whom I can trust completely. For those looking for hope, I recommend grabbing the hand of your heavenly Father as tightly as possible, like a little child does with his parent. God is a hero who will always be there when you need him.

Another survivor is Jennifer Sands. Her husband was killed in the World Trade Center that day. She’s since written two books, the first called “A Tempered Faith,” that details the emotional and spiritual struggles – and triumph – in losing her husband. She continued with a second book called “A Teachable Faith,” where she shares her continued journey on how God uses circumstances to teach us, heal us, and give us a greater understanding of Him.

And finally, Joni Eareckson Tada who has founded a ministry on sharing the gospel and equipping churches with the tools to evangelize and disciple people affected by disabilities. Joni said that when she gets to heaven she is going to fold up her wheel chair hand it to Jesus and say, “thanks, I needed that.”

There’s our example. Thanks, Jesus. I needed that. Have a great week this week, no matter what.

• 9:00am Still shaping up to be a modestly higher open for the indices as futures indications remain comfortably above fair value. (Translation: We predict the Market will go up today.)
• 09:40 am : Market makes a second attempt to bounce back from continued consolidation. (Translation: Well, ok, the market went down, but now it’s going up.)
• 10:00 am : Equities are still on the offensive as nine of ten economic sectors post early gains. (Translation: Market is really going up this time.)
• 10:30 am : Early morning recovery efforts lose some steam as Dow continues to plummet. (Translation: Dang. We thought it was going up. It’s taking a nosedive big time.)
• 11:00 am : Stocks try to regain some momentum as another sell-off. (Translation: OK, so the Market went. We knew it all along. Sure hope it goes back up though.)
• 11:30 am : So much for several days of consolidation creating a sense that stocks are oversold on a short-term basis as the bottom falls out of the market within the last 30 minutes. (Translation: Um, we thought the market was going up but it went down, now it’s obvious it’s really going down. )
• 12:00 pm : Market is still trying to find some definitive direction midday. (Translation: Well, maybe it’s not going down. Hard to tell.)
• 12:30 pm : More of the same for stocks as the afternoon session gets underway. (Translation: What the heck was that? Whatever it was, it’s still doing it. Our motto: Nearly As Accurate As Weathermen!)
• 1:00 pm : Market reverses course within the last 30 minutes and spikes to session highs. (Translation: Woohoo! We were right, it’s going to go up after all!)
• 1:30 pm : Market extends its reach into positive territory as nine out of 10 economic sectors are now trading higher. (Translation: See? Told ya it was going higher.)
• 2:00 pm : Not much changed since the last update but market breadth now suggests that buyers have the upper hand. (Translation: The market is going up, neener neener neener.)
• 2:30 pm : Market is still holding onto the bulk of today’s gains as buying remains widespread across most areas. (Translation: Well, it *looks* like it’s going up.)
• 3:00 pm : Might it be deja vu? It’s hard to say, but right now, the market is following a similar course from yesterday where it struggled to hold gains. (Translation: Whatever the market’s doing, it’s either exactly like yesterday or it’s not. Market may be headed down like we said all along.)
• 3:30 pm : Major averages now trade in split fashion and at their lowest levels of the afternoon. (Translation: Nailed it. The market is going both up *and* down!)

a) refund the money because citizens are complaining about property taxes, or
b) tax businesses too! Yeehaw!

If you answered (b), you can be a Texas legislator, too!

Those sneaky dogs are trying to quickly pass a tax on small businesses and hope opposition can’t organize fast enough to stop it. C.L.O.U.T. has the details.

Action Alert – Call you State Rep Right Now at the Capitol Office!
Find your State Representative and their Austin Phone number at this website Immediately!

http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/welcome.php

Tell Your State Rep to VOTE NO on House Bill 3 – the Sharp/Perry Tax plan. Taxing small and medium businesses is BAD for the Texas economy and for job growth. The Texas House of Representativs votes Monday morning on this plan for the first time. Tell your Representative that taxing Texas is bad for Texas – and the State has a $8.2 Billion Surplus – why tax more Texans when you are sitting on a pile of extra money? Use the surplus to Buy Down the School Tax Rate and then GO HOME!

Your State Rep will have a letter on their desk tomorrow morning from local tax activist Norman Adams. CLOUT support Norman Adams position:

The Sharp Business Tax will discourage business owners from locating in Texas.

I have compiled a list of eight companies located in the Greater Houston area. Please take a look at the Franchise vs. Sharp spreadsheet. I believe these companies represent typical small business owners in Texas. Most of these businesses will not get substantial property tax relief therefore I have not included it.

Paul Bettencourt, Dan Patrick and I furnished a completed schedule “B” (Sharp Tax form) to Governor Perry’s office Friday, on each of these businesses. One of the questions his staff asked, was “Why didn’t you bring this to our attention sooner?” My answer was, because I personally became aware of the details of this proposal only two weeks ago!

The majority of small business owners do not realize what the Sharp Tax Plan is about. They are leaving it up to you, their elected representatives. When they find out about it, they will hold you responsible!

The spreadsheet will show you what the Sharp Business Tax will do to these business owners! These folks will average nearly a 400% increase!

Currently, the Texas Constitution protects non corporate entities from an income tax. According to the Sharp “experts” less than one out of ten Texas businesses are subject to the Franchise tax.

The Franchise tax collected for 2005 was $1.7 Billion. In 2006, it will exceed $2 Billion!

If the Sharp plan is adopted, we will not only increase the tax our corporations are paying now, by adding the LLPs, we will multiply the tax rolls by at least ten fold. This new tax may produce twenty times our current revenue! NO ONE KNOWS!

I pray God will move you to review the attached Franchise / Sharp comparison. If you will actually review it, you will agree the Sharp Tax is bad for Texas.

May God bless you as you consider the future of our great state.

Stand strong, do what you know is right.

Norman E. Adams, CIC

Adams Insurance Service, Inc.

Call your State Representative – TAXING TEXAS WILL MOVE JOBS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH OUTSIDE OF TEXAS.

YOUR STATE REP’S VOTE IS ON THE RECORD – THEY MUST VOTE FOR TEXAS – NOT FOR TAXES!!

Edd C. Hendee

Executive Director – CLOUT