Monday, September 14, 2009

Do You Value What Almighty God Values?















In our American society, what a person finds important, of value, is vitally connected to what one’s society finds important. The safety of a nation is surely related to what it values. Good and healthy values maintain the existence of a nation. Our “UNALIENABLE RIGHTS. . . Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” are in jeopardy. They are not to be transferred to a new owner. “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

As our nation abandons its historic healthy foundation, it will be unable to survive the tests of rightness and reality. It is only solid ground that offers support to the good and bad. A nation that has little or no place for moral rightness, traditional family structure, etc. cannot last. It is within a healthy society that things not so healthy and even worse can exist and have a place and hope for a good recovery. As we are indifferent to and even vote for the losing of healthy values
then we are left with unhealthy values. Such unhealthy conditions are like the flea finding no good home in the dead cat.

As we abandon God-honoring family structure and moral standards we assure the present and future generations of much trouble. Our present needs, wants and wrongs have no refuge apart from a safe moral and family environment. Failed marriages, the absence of legal marriages and, of far greater damage, the promoting of marriages that violate sound reasoning which honors God’s original intent, make for a troubled and troublesome society. A people away from God’s good order are like a train off its tracks. Neither shall rightly advance.

The God ordered values of MARRIAGE (Genesis 2:24; Hebrews 13:4), FAMILY, DISCIPLINE, MORAL RIGHTNESS, WORK, LAW and ORDER, RESPECT, DECENCY, etc. are always safe and sure standards.

God’s Values Do Not Change

“For I am the LORD, I CHANGE NOT; Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto ME, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts: (Malachi 3:6-7). “The counsel of the LORD standeth forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 33:11-12).

God’s Values Allow For Grace

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should PERISH, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter
3:9). “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise PERISH” (Luke 13:3, 5) “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should NOT PERISH, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

God’s Values Set The Standard
For Our Values

“He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him...He thatloveth Me not keepeth not My sayings: (John 14:21, 23, 24). “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether” (Psalm 19:7, 8, 9).

Our values must realistically line up with God’s RIGHTNESS. God’s RIGHTNESS is put on display in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ whom God values. Our values need to line up with God’s. To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is to value God’s Rightness. “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth” (Romans 10:4). “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, though salt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation: (Romans 10:9-10)

The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

MBC I.F.

The Gospel of John Challenge

Sunday, September 13, 2009

13 Key Questions That Must Be Answered Before Supporting or Rejecting Government Controlled Health Care

13 Key Questions That Must Be Answered Before Supporting or Rejecting Government Controlled Health Care

1. Is universal health care constitutional? Did the founding fathers believe that it was the government’s responsibility to provide health care for its citizens? Is health care really a right? Should the government also provide everyone with a car, a home, a college education, and maybe even a high definition TV?

2. Is universal health care really affordable? Is it going to drive our country into greater debt and create an unbearable and unsolvable debt problem for our children and grandchildren? Is governmental health care going to result in higher taxes, overburdening a society that is already far overtaxed? Providing health care for millions who are not now covered is going be extremely costly. Who is going to pay the bill? In our own families, if we have any fiscal sanity, when we cannot afford to buy something, we don’t. For the government to spend money it doesn’t have is economic suicide. It may temporarily help the uninsured, but ultimately it hurts all Americans. Bankrupt California is a picture of what our nation will become if we continue to practice deficit spending. Maybe our government will bail out California, but who will bail out the United States? The terrorists do not need to attack us; they can just stand by as we destroy ourselves.

3. Is governmental health care going to be wasteful and poorly managed like so many big government programs? Consider, for example, the public governmental school systems. For far less money per student, private schools have achieved a far better education than the public schools (as demonstrated in numerous studies). Are we to assume the government will do better when it comes to providing good quality health for its citizens without significant waste and mismanagement?

4. Is universal health care just? Is it fair to have hard working, successful Americans pay for the health care of those who do not have it? Should each according to his ability provide to each according to his need? I’m all in favor of those who are wealthy contributing to help those who are in need, but should not this contribution be voluntary out of a charitable heart of love and concern for the less fortunate? It should not be a government imposed obligation forced upon all Americans by way of higher fees and taxes.

5. Will governmental health care foster freedom and liberty? The freedom to choose one’s own doctors, to choose one’s own hospital, choose one’s own insurance plan etc. Will a person have the freedom not to have health insurance if he so desires?
.
6. Will governmental health care lead to the expansion and growth of the federal government? Will the federal government have more and more control over our lives or less control? The more we are controlled, the less we are free. As government grows, freedom shrinks.
.
7. We are told that we will be able to keep our private health insurance, but will private insurance companies be able to compete fairly with the government subsidized system?
.
8. How successful have other countries been when they have adopted governmental, socialized medicine and health care? Do we want to become like Canada? Like England? We hear horror stories of people waiting for months for medical treatment in these countries. We hear about people from Canada coming to the United States and paying out of pocket so that they can get treated in a timely fashion. Are these stories really true?
.
9. Can our health care problems be solved in some other way apart from a major take over by the government? Tort reform has been talked about for decades but no reform ever seems to take place. Both Republicans and Democrats have both failed to address this issue. Wouldn’t it be good to send less of our health care dollars to lawyers?
.
10. Will health care be prioritized and rationalized so that the elderly are less of a priority than those who are young because they don’t have much time to live anyway? What about the unborn who have serious birth defects? Will they forcibly be eliminated in order to cut anticipated medical costs?

11. If the government is in control of health care, and if they consider that certain diets and lifestyles will result in a healthier life which will result in less health care expenses, will they then begin to limit our freedoms by telling us what we can eat, not eat, etc.? Will they penalize overweight people and dictate what they can do and cannot do? How much intrusion into our private lives will take place? Will healthy lifestyle changes be enforced or will they be voluntary? Again we have the issue of personal freedom.
.
12. Our health care system needs to be reformed and improved, but should not we be careful lest the cure becomes worse than the disease?
.
13. The last and final point to be made in this list which is absolutely crucial; Be sure that your expectations and absolute trust is found only in the unchangeability of Almighty God and in His precious promises found in His Holy Word. Do not look to Washington for all your expectations and hope. The righteousness of God is our greatest need (Matt 6:33). This is by far our greatest need for our eternal future and well being more than any temporal health care agenda for us here in time.
.
Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? If not, may you consider Him in these last days.
.
The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!
.
GZ I.F.
.
The Gospel of John Challenge
georgezeller@juno.com