Yes: this is a long post. Yes: it requires careful reading. Yes: it's one of the more important posts... please read, pray, and consider responding

Now that the election is over, it might be easy to slip into a state of either passive bliss, or passive despair, depending on your point of view. Both would be wrong because, as I've stated often, the calling of the church is to vote prayerfully, and work hard for the good of the culture where we live.

Towards that end, I urge you to consider the potential impending train wreck that might occur, should the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), actually become law in the coming year. Our President elect has already declared that he will sign this bill into law if it passes.

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"...there was famine in all the lands..." (Genesis 41:54) I know all the talk about the cup being half full or half empty, depending on one's perspective. I know that we've much for which to be thankful if we'll but open our eyes and see. "There's still plenty of turkey and all", and "look at the starving children on the other side of the world". These are the things we tell ourselves this year as we gather around tables laden with feast to celebrate and express gratitude for God's provision.

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When I finished seminary, I was working as a carpet cleaner in Los Angeles, traveling throughout the city in a van and pumping steamed water into stained fabric. This trade allowed me conversation with a large cross section of humanity, and the many conversations I had about God during those days were, in retrospect, a profoundly valuable part of my theological education. It was because of these rug cleaning gigs that I got the chance to learn what people really thought about God.

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The votes have been cast.  Two stirring speeches were given, both striking in their humility and call for unity.  American democracy was on a world stage last night and we collectively demonstrated that the ideals of giving everyone a voice are still alive and well, perhaps more visibly demonstrated this year than any other.  

But now that it's over, millions of believers are waking up either elated or exasperated, overjoyed or angry, delighted or despairing.  I know this because this is a time of seismic political shifts among people of faith, with fractures growing along geographical, generational, theological, and economic lines, depending on your particular situation.  I know this because in this  first election since the rise of the blogosphere, infammatory pixels have been hurled, believer at believer, with such intensity that outsiders would think the left and right worship different Gods.  

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I drove 400 miles yesterday and ended up back where I started.  The whole event was a comical series of miscommunications.  Scheduled to teach for a week long intensive at a Bible School in Canada, I'd made my way north and was waiting at the float plane dock on the Frasier river, pondering why the airline had no reservation for me.  I'd checked my e-mail before leaving, and confirmed the dates, but also had heard from the school that they'd reserved my flight.  I decided, just before boarding the plane to call the school and confirm that I was supposed to be there this week.  "Nope" came back the reply.  "You're scheduled for next week." 

"But my e-mail says it's this week"

"Here's the one I sent you" she said, and proceeded to read a note confirming that I was to begin teaching, not tonight, but one week from tonight.  

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"But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear..." Matthew 13:16

I woke up in the middle of the night once to turn off the heat and walked into the corner of a wall. I wasn't drunk or angry, just presumptuous, thinking that I knew the lay of the land in our apartment better than I really did. Embarrassed, I crawled back into bed letting my wife know that the thud wasn't an earthquake; it was just my head. She asked how serious it was and I said I felt fine. It wasn't until she turned the light on that we discovered blood was soaking the pillow and the sheets, and that I needed to get to the emergency room. The only thing worse than not seeing is not seeing while presuming to know the way.

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We who know Christ are in the midst of an incredibly opportune season. Economic stories have completely overshadowed all others because of both the breadth and depth of the crisis. As markets meltdown globally, fear and anxiety are evident everywhere. People have lost paper wealth, and as the crisis deepens the number of people losing real assets like cars and homes will increase too. No matter what your view on either the source of the crisis or the solution (and I know we won't all agree on these matters), one thing is certain: we are called to confidence and boldness, not fear. Here's why:

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It's Friday.  I'm driving back to the Eugene, OR, airport after teaching Thursday night and this morning for a small group of people who love words, reading, and wriring.  They're the editing team of Harvest House Publishing, the publishing family of my book:  o2 Breathing New Life into Faith, also available through this web site. I've thoroughly enjoyed the convesations with them, from the moment I arrived yesterday at the airport, until I said goodbye this morning.  

The rain is falling as I drive south on the Oregon coast, the road dropping off to my right offering glimpses of the waves crashing against the rocks.  I see a sign for "Cooks Chasm" and impetuously pull off out of curisoity.  There's a sign at the far end of this tiny parking area and I walk over to it.  From there I can stare straight down into the chasm, maybe 100 fee deep.  Waves are crashing into this narrow gorge with explosive force, but nothing has prepared me for what happens next.  As I'm looking down into the chasm, what appears to be a geyser suddenly shoots hundreds of gallons of sea spray out from the rock, about 50 feet into the sky.  This is accompanied by a loud explosion, like the sound of thunder.  This is called a 'blow hole', and it's the result of the pressurized wave water shooting into the chasm, finding a hole in the rock, and finding it's way out with tremendous force.  

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Here's the quote of the day: "We're all worried about losing our jobs," Rep. Paul Ryan, a Republican, declared in an impassioned speech in support of the bill before the vote. "Most of us say, 'I want this thing to pass, but I want you to vote for it — not me.' " What else could you expect from an economic system predicated on the notion that everyone acting in their own self-interests will always lead to a win/win situation. Somehow, I wonder: WWJT. What would Jesus think? He'd think that we should put the

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The Headlines are pouring in from around the world:  500 point market 'adustment' evaporates billions.  Major banking institutions melting down.  Government bails out major insurance company.  Global Economy.  Foreclosure crisis.  Consumer Debt.  Energy Consumption declines with economic downturn... etc. etc. 

"Yes, yes, all very interesting, author, but you're here to talk about spiritual things,  So please, a little Bible study?" Since you asked... here we go:

 James 5:1 tells us that we who are rich will have our own share of miseries so that, rather than rejoicing in our riches, perhaps we should acknowledge that they've come, perhaps, at the cost of unjust treatment for those who live elsewhere, far away, working for wages that fail to provide adequately.  

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