Change

2/1/09

To wrap up this series there are a few things that I wanted to cover that wouldn't fill up a whole night.

Change
During this time in your life you will be going through some major changes; being independent, moving out from your parents' home, old friends move away, decide where you will live, what career to pursue, marriage, and more responsibilities. The world is opening up to you. How do you deal with these changes, and the anxiety or excitement that comes along with it?

The unknown can make us fearful, anxious, stressed. Remember what God says and take heart that we have a God that never changes and always keeps His promises (Malichi 3:6, Numbers 23:19). Matthew 11:28-30 reminds us that God is there all we need to do is go to Him, and in this time He is gentle and loving. If you are dealing with anxiety of what tomorrow may bring read: Matthew 6:25-27, Philippians 4:6.

Church and Theology
Another aspect is changing churches. There are two main criteria (Biblical teaching and actions)and many secondary (music, programs, aesthetics, etc) things that you should look for in a church. Paul warns us about having correct biblical teaching in Galatians 1:6-9, as you look for a church you need to have a foundation of good theology so that you are not swayed by every teaching. A biblically sound church will be in action, "faith without works is dead". The church needs to be doing those things that God commands us to do. A church can have both these criteria but miss out on why they are doing what they are doing. Revelation 2 speaks of the church in Ephesus and how they have strayed from their first love despite all the great things (great deeds, biblical teaching, hard work) they are doing and Christ reminds them to go back to their first love and do those things that they did then. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that we can give all our possessions away and it would mean nothing without love.

Politics
God calls us to be a part of this world and with something that can have a huge influence on our lives we need to be involved in politics. As you vote you need to understand there is wisdom in God's words of how a nation should be ran.

Government social programs. I have yet to find a passage that says the government should take care of the poor, but I did find several passages that says YOU should give (2 Corinthians 8:6-8, Proverbs 28:27, Matthew 6:2-3, Matthew 7:10, Matthew 25:34-46). I doubt anyone pays taxes in love, 1 Corinthians 13 if you are to give and without love it means nothing. Another issue is God wants us to be diligent with what He has given us (parable of the talents). Government programs are failing and yet they want to take on more programs. It is like picking the Detroit Lions with a record of 0W-16L to play for the Super Bowl. The other half of this is the poor. The government rewards those that do not work or who have made some bad decisions and continue to do so to get government help. 2 Thes. 3:10-11 says that those who do not work do not eat.

The bailouts and stimulus packages. The last 12 months we've heard both of these things spoken of from capital hill and both were done with taking on more debt. God says that the borrower is slave to the lender (Proverbs 22:7), and owe nothing to anyone (Romans 13:8). It is just unwise to go into debt.