Ronald Reagan and Jesus

Who is responsible for solving the healthcare issues in America today? The politicians that we as Americans have elected appear to say that government is better able to care for the healthcare of Americans than individuals and the free market. This is in stark contrast to Ronald Reagan’s famous quote “Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem”.

What does the Bible say about the poor? Jesus tells us that the poor will always be a part of society (Mark 14:7). We are also told that laziness is not a characteristic to be encouraged as evidenced by the rule “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (2nd Thessalonians 3:10). That being said, there are people whose plight is not caused by a lack of effort. Jesus healed many people with debilitating diseases (i.e. blindness, paralysis, leprosy) while He was physically on Earth. The apostles also set up a food distribution program for widows to ensure their needs were met (Acts 6:1-5).

We are clearly told that we as individuals are responsible for the care of each other and not to leave such matters to an impersonal government organization. I am reminded of Matthew 25:40 where we are told “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me”. Is God able to say that about you? If you are not happy with your answer, today is yet another opportunity to help those in need.

Is There a Worm in Your Apple?

The extremist that murdered 13 and injured approximately 30 others at Fort Hood has been in the forefront of the news and the hearts of many Americans this week. I would venture to guess that if someone were to look at a line of soldiers without knowing them, they would not be able to pick out which one would betray those he pledged to fight beside.

This isn’t the first instance of betrayal inside a band of brothers. Judas was chosen as one of the 12 disciples to follow Jesus. The other disciples only learned that Judas was going to betray Jesus when he sopped bread with Christ at the same time. Judas was willing to sell out Christ for 30 pieces of silver. Fortunately, our Saviour has power over death and this betrayal was actually part of His plan to save mankind from its own sinfulness.

It has been said that character is what we do when no one is watching. We may be able to fool everyone else, but we cannot fool ourselves and we cannot fool God. Judas hung himself over his betrayal of Jesus. The extremist at Fort Hood was shot and will face trial for his actions. Let’s use these examples of bad character as additional reasons to pursue the righteousness God calls us to.

Pulling a Win out of a Losing Situation

Have you ever had a situation where you thought there were no good outcomes? You evaluate the task, your own resources, and what you see as being available to you and determine that accomplishing the task at hand just isn’t possible. Maybe after coming to this conclusion you have had something in the scenario change that made the task possible or maybe even you were able to accomplish more than expected by the original task.

The disciples were no strangers to these types of scenarios They were with Jesus when crowds of 4,000 (Matthew 15:32-39) and 5,000 (Matthew 14:13-21) men needed food as it was getting late. Jesus had the disciples see what food was available for the crowd to eat. On both occasions there were only a limited amount of fish and loaves of bread that couldn’t possibly feed the crowd. Jesus gave thanks for what was available and there wound up being not only enough fish and bread for all the crowd, but several basketfuls left over as well.

Just because we can’t see how any good can come from a situation doesn’t mean that no good can come from it. God knows about our situations and knows how He intends them to glorify His name. Are you willing to walk on faith to see what plans for a hope and a future the Father has for you?