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How the Mighty Have Fallen

Yahoo News reports on Bernie Madoff's court appearance:  "In court Thursday, Madoff — a dapper figure, dressed in a charcoal-gray
suit, with swept-back, wavy gray hair — said he began the scheme during
the last recession, when 'I felt compelled to satisfy my clients'
expectations, at any cost.' He did not put his investors' money into
the market, as he claimed. Instead, it was a Ponzi scheme, or a pyramid, in which early investors are paid off with money taken in from later ones.

'When I began the Ponzi scheme I believed it would end shortly and I
would be able to extricate myself and my clients from the scheme,' he
said. 'However, this proved difficult, and ultimately impossible, and
as the years went by I realized that my arrest and this day would
inevitably come.'"

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," soon-to-be-king David proclaims three times in the first chapter of 2 Samuel, referring to King Saul's death. Mr. Madoff and Saul had some characteristics in common. Fear of people, most notably. Madoff "felt compelled" to give his clients what they demanded. Saul was "afraid of the people" (1Samual 15:24) and thereby disobeyed God's clear command to utterly destroy an enemy, including all their livestock.

Saul compounded his disobedience by insisting to the priest, Samuel, that the sheep Saul had spared were to be sacrificed to Yahweh. But Saul replied, "To obey is better than sacrifice." (1Samuel 15:22)

How often our disobedience is inspired by our fear of people. We want to please others rather than God. We step just a bit out of bounds and think we can pull ourselves back when we need to. We'll ask for forgiveness afterwards.

We may not be the "mighty," but we, too, can fall. Unlike Mr. Madoff, we may not take so many down with us. We may not impact a nation, like Saul's disobedience. But people are watching us. Our children, our church friends, our neighbors, even random people in the world. And in this age of social networking, our impact can extend farther than we might imagine.

Obedience matters. It matters that we stay inside the boundaries God has drawn. We choose to believe honesty wins over deception. We choose to believe obedience is better than asking forgiveness. We work towards faithfulness in every area. Disobedience is shaky ground. Just look at Saul or ask Mr. Madoff.

Father, we need your enabling to obey. May we see that obedience to your commands leads to a stable life.

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Make it a Good Day

“Make it a good day.” For a while, an NPR reporter signed
off the daily business report with those words. They don’t say that now. And yet,
in spite of reports of job loss, foreclosure, and retirees going back to work,
we can make it a good day. Because God is good. Because of God’s goodness,
making a day good may be difficult, but it’s not impossible.

 

 I’ve never lost a job, though I have been very
poor, to the extent of a few months on welfare. God provided. During a drought
in Israel, the ravens fed Elijah. The good God provided. Jesus says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:33, KJV) If we seek him, he has taken on this responsibility—to provide “all these things”—food and
clothing. We can expect him to fulfill his good promise. We fulfill our responsibility
by putting him and his kingdom first.

 

What
does that mean? It means letting God shape all our attitudes. In this economic
climate, it means fighting fear and cultivating faith. It means reading the Bible.
Reading other stories of faith. For some of us, it means giving him the first
half-hour of our day. Maybe it means practicing the presence of God, like
Brother Lawrence, minute by minute, as we wash dishes, wipe baby’s bottom, and
do the laundry. It means saying, “Jesus, you know my heart and you know my
needs. You are the source of my life and strength. Thank you.”

 

It means
asking God what it means for us, so that he himself will teach us and give us the
power to make today a good day.

 

Father,
we need your perspective. Today, may we see your goodness.

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The Party is Over

It's almost official. The American party, populated by men in gold jewelry and women in silk gowns is over. Well, maybe not for everybody, and for some of us the party never started, but for many Americans, the stock market is crashing the party.

The festival of endless food and fuel and increasing 401Ks is drawing to a close. Maybe most of us, by God's unmerited kindness, will be able to hold on to our current standard of living. If not, how will we respond?

Ecclesiastes says (7:2) "It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you are going to die, and you should think about it while there is still time." (NLT)

Will the end of the American festival help us think more about funerals? Will we, as we sell our SUVs and shutter our lake cabins, and trade our broken gold jewelry for cash, consider our epitaph? Perhaps we should listen to Solomon, who was the author of Ecclesiastes, the wisest man who ever lived, and one of the wealthiest.

Though money may be shrinking, we still have time. Time to consider what we want on our tombstone. Time to consider what will be proclaimed at our funerals. Time to be sure our foundation is solid, built on the rock of Jesus. His party will last forever.

Jesus, we long for your Kingdom party, that you are even now, preparing. 

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