It's Not God's Problem

In his State of the Union address, President Obama promised the American people that he would give them an accounting for how their tax dollars are spent. Our society is complex and no one knows where our taxes are going, only that we seem to be paying too much. Recently, the White House released a website where our citizens can go and plug in their own numbers and get an itemized report of where their tax dollars were spent. Check it out here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/taxes/tax-receipt

As our economy struggles and it appears that things will only get worse, Americans are turning to prayer out of desperation. We can’t seem to learn the wisdom of turning to God before we make bad decisions and thus avoid desperation. But, God is not obligated to provide for wants that we’ve turned into needs.

Many Americans are proclaiming the end-times as the cause for all the wars, corporate corruption, lack of morals and character, and all the ills that seem to be threatening our lives. I suggest that we’re just harvesting what we've sown.

People ask “Why is God letting me go through this?” And the answer is, “Because you got what you asked for.” For generations now, Americans have turned to the government for sustenance rather than to Him. Every time we’ve told our representatives we wanted something, it’s come with a price tag in the form of taxes.

We demand clean water; our politicians say “I can provide that”. We demand highways so that we can travel and conduct business and they say, “Sure – no problem.” We demand safer working environments, and the government legislates the workplace. We demand protection from danger from enemies foreign and domestic, and our government supplies a military and police/fire protection. We demand a minimum wage and the government requires businesses to pay more, so the cost of payroll causes prices to rise for everyone.

We want the elderly and poor taken care of, but not out of our wallets - let the government provide for our seniors and the impoverished. We don't know our neighbor well enough to lend him our chain saw when a tree falls on his house, let him call FEMA for help. We don't have time to monitor our kids' activities, the government must screen movies and rate music for us.

We demand healthcare, and the government gets to decide what your life is worth and it tells you what to put in and on your body. We demand compensation when we are injured or feel slighted, and the government forces businesses and individuals to purchase insurance to cover lawsuits. We demand the right to parade our sexual preferences or our racial and cultural differences – things that have nothing to do with our character or our worth, and the government writes laws banning hate-speech. We demand the right to not be inconvenienced with unwanted pregnancies, and the government funds groups like Planned Parenthood. We demanded an income in our retirement, and the government gave us Social Security. We demanded medical care when we’re retired and have no health insurance –and the government gave us Medicare/Medicaid.

If we can’t get what we want for free from the government, we steal it, and the government provides prisons and guards. We demand the right to buy houses we can’t afford and the government guarantees the loan with taxpayer’s money. We demand the right to have what we want now rather than wait until we can afford it, and the government regulates how much interest the credit card lenders can charge you. We demand equal opportunity, and the government forces businesses to hire employees based on affirmative action rather than qualifications. We demand the right to a free education and the government tells us what can and can’t be taught to our children. We demand that our kids be able to go to college even if their grades aren’t worthy, and the government provides student loans and grants.

Worse, even if you don’t want the government involved in any of these things, your tax dollars are funding them. You may be employed, but you’re paying 4.4% of the costs for those who don’t work. You have always worked to support your family, but 10.7% for those who can’t or won’t. You don’t mind the 26% spent on national defense, but you do mind the 1.7% spent on aid to foreign countries.

America has gotten what we’ve wanted, but it’s cost us more than it’s worth. We are paying for things we never benefitted from, and we’re passing along to our children and grandchildren a debt that they can’t afford to pay. America has been selfish. We were not satisfied with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness –we wanted more. We ignored our founders when they warned about giving government too much power or about entering into entangling alliances that serve us no useful purpose. We ignored the fact that they were dependent upon the Creator for the foundation of our nation, and their prayers for our continued success, and we allowed our government to be everything to everyone.

Now we turn to God and expect Him to ignore what we’ve demanded all these years. We expect Him to help us choose the right lottery numbers or give us an idea that will make us wealthy. We want out of our circumstances; but we don’t want to let go of the things that are keeping us enslaved.

Whether God chooses to come to the aid of any of us is up to Him. We chose to put our trust in compromisers and power seekers. God just let us have our way. We have no right to expect most of the services that our government supplies, but if we’re going to demand them; we’ve got to pay for them. If we don’t want to pay for them, let’s get rid of them. It’s not God’s problem, it’s ours.

Why the Fear?

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The bike you see above belongs to Pastor David Smith. He has donated his bike to raise funds to help a ministry to the homeless that he started about a year ago in Durham, North Carolina. It's a beautiful bike, and it means something to David; but he's willing to part with it if it helps us feed, clothe, and most of all - share Jesus with hurting people.

It's late Sunday night,the end of a long and emotional weekend. We began on Saturday helping David and a wonderful group of volunteers with Meet Me At the Bridge. The weather was cloudy and a bit cool, and the weather prevented a lot of the regular guests from showing up for a meal or some clean clothes. Still, the worship music and the message were wonderful. My first tears came during one of the worship songs, an old one we used to sing when I was a child in church.

I talked with one of the homeless who shows up to help sort clothes...or rather I talked at him. His name is Dan. Dan's on the small side. His beard is graying, but he's clean and dressed in clothes suitable for the weather. Dan once worked for a business for more than 20 years. I suppose they paid him under the table due to his poor hearing. They never took out social security or offered him a retirement plan; so when the company closed down, Dan suddenly found himself jobless and homeless at the age of 52.

Dan walks a lot. He's tireless. Sometimes he's helping the homeless in Durham and sometimes he's in Raleigh. The Bridge has come to depend upon him to let us know who needs help and who might be looking for something they can sell to support their habit. I mentioned that I talked at Dan, because I didn't know until today that Dan has a serious hearing problem. He read my lips as we talked about where he was from. He spoke about telling other homeless people about coming to the Bridge for help. Dan told me that some of them wore the same clothes for a week at a time, and he'd tell them that there were clean, good clothes if they'd only come down to the park to get them. He talked about people needing to take responsibility for themselves, to keep themselves clean, to have some pride even if they didn't have a roof over their head.

As we were packing up to leave, I found a nice leather bag laying next to a hedge. I took it to some of the other volunteers to see if they knew who it belonged to. Pastor Smith was heading our way when one of the volunteers called out, "Does anyone know who this belongs to?" David nodded and said that it was his. He kept his iPad and minnistry tools in it. However Dan, because he can not hear well, only saw the volunteer holding up the bag and said, "Man, I could sure use that bag!" Without hesitation, David turned to Dan and said, "Brother, I brought it just for you." Dan quickly moved the few items he had in plastic Wal-Mart bags into the leather bag, gave David a hug and went on his way. That bag probably cost him more than $50, but it was just a thing God gave him so that he could bless someone else. I don't think anyone noticed the tears in my eyes. That's the kind of man David is.

David once pastored a church of several thousand; but about a year ago he felt that God was calling him to do something completely out of his comfort zone. He has a doctorate degree and has spent a lot of time as a traveling speaker. David lived in a nice house, drove expensive imports and wore a Rolex. Those things are just about gone now, but David never asks for help for himself. He has no income and takes no collection...not that the homeless have anything to give. Day after day, David walks the streets of Durham, earning the trust of the homeless, and trusting God not just for his ministry needs, but his own as well.

Today we had our semi-monthly meeting of volunteers. As busy as David is, he likes to bring his volunteers together to talk and joke as well as plan the next meal or opportunities he sees for Meet Me At the Bridge. David knows that many people are compassionate, but very few are passionate enough to sacrifice their time and resources indefinitely, so he's building a spiritual family so that we can continue to meet the needs of people that Jesus cares about. David is soft-spoken and gentle. Everything he says points towards God's love for us. His FaceBook posts are always uplifting. He's given just about everything he owns to be able to do what he knows God has called him to do. David lives by faith, not knowing where the resources and the help might come from - but he knows what God called him to do.

I say all of this because I want to ask you for a couple of things. First, Dan needs a good hearing aid. We can find someone who will fit it for him, but we can't afford to buy one. Dan deserves a hearing aid. He's a precious man.

Second, I want to ask you to make a donation in return for a raffle ticket with a chance of winning David's bike - a limited edition 1996 Harley Davidson Bad Boy. Notice that I emphasized it's a donation. The bike is great if you happen to be the one who wins it, but more importantly, your donation is going to help people like Dan - many of them veterans, some with addiction problems, some with mental issues. Our purpose isn't to come up with a bunch of programs - there are many of those available. Our purpose is to let hurting people know that God loves and cares about them.

Would you consider donating $20 to help David and Meet Me At the Bridge? If you will, we'll enter you into the raffle. Donate $100 and we'll send you six tickets. You can contribute on our website: www.meetmeatthebridge.com. Just enter "Bike raffle" in the note field. You may not care about a motorcycle, and that's fine. We have no corporate sponsors or government assistance. Everything comes from the pockets of the volunteers. We could use some more volunteers, or we could use your financial support. Dan is just one example of the people helped by Meet Me At the Bridge. There are hundreds that need our help.

Today, as we sat outdoors eating together and enjoying the beautiful weather, David mentioned that all of the revenue streams we've had seem to have dried up. So, what does all of this have to do with fear? Well, as I've tried to sell raffle tickets or ask people to donate, I'm getting a lot of excuses. The economy is awful, and many people worry about their jobs. They have a lot of personal debt that causes stress. Many are at the point that their charitable giving now goes to help their immediate family. There is a sense of hopelessness and fear in our nation, even among the faith community.

Fear immobilizes. Fear interferes with creativity. Fear keeps us from taking risks. Fear is a sign that our faith is in crisis. Courage is not the absence of fear - but the will to do something in spite of fear. I'm looking for some courageous people who can see beyond your circumstances and recognize God's plan for David Smith and Meet Me At the Bridge.

$20 is a lot of money to risk on a chance to win a bike. You can buy a quarter tank of gas with that much money, or go to a movie by yourself. It might buy your lunch for two or three days. May I suggest that you're looking at this the wrong way. $20 will buy enough bread to feed 60-80 people. $20 will buy enough pasta to feed 100 homeless men and women. $20 will buy toiletries for five homeless people. $20 will buy a pair of sneakers for someone who's using cardboard to cover the holes in the soles of their shoes. $20 is a lot of money, especially when it's given away.

To thank you for your $20 donation, we'll send you a chance to win that beautiful bike pictured above. Would you tell your family and friends about Meet Me At the Bridge and ask them to help. If you don't ride a motorcycle, you could sell it. If I win that bike, I'm giving it back to David because he's willing to give it away. Some of you could become sponsors of Meet Me At the Bridge. A few people giving $20 per month goes a long way. David might not ask you to help, but I will because I love David and I love what he is doing.

Thank you for reading this long post. I can't describe to you what it's like to be part of Meet Me At the Bridge, and to be around Pastor Smith and my own pastor and his family as they minister to the poor and homeless. It certainly has provided perspective in my own life. If you're local to the Raleigh/Durham area, please come out and volunteer with us. If you know of a hearing aid that could help Dan hear again, please contact me here, on FaceBook or David at the MMATB website. And please, help us sell all of the raffle tickets and raise money so that Meet Me At the Bridge can continue to feed, clothe, counsel, and disciple the homeless in Durham. "Fear not, says the Lord, for I know the plans I have for you...."

The Ant and the Contact

I read this story elsewhere but wanted to share it with people on my blog.

Brenda, an amateur climber, was almost halfway to the top of a huge granite mountain. She had stopped for a breather on a tiny ledge, but as she rested there, the tension on the safety rope caused it to snap in her face, dislodging one of her contact lenses.
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Desperately she searched the small ledge in the hope that it had fallen close at hand. Brenda was at the point where it was almost as far back down as it was to the top. She didn't want to quit, but she needed her contacts to see clearly. After an unsuccessful search, Brenda decided to press on rather than waste all that effort already put into the climb.

Climbing was difficult with her impaired vision. Brenda fought panic and fear until she reached the top. There, a fellow climber searched her clothing and hair in hopes of finding the missing contact. As tough as the climb had been, going back down was equally frightening, so Brenda prayed.

Brenda thought about the scripture that said 'The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.' The beauty she had expected to see at the top was instead blurry. She thought, 'Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.'

When she felt calm enough to begin the descent, Brenda continued to pray for her safety. Finally, on a trail near the bottom of the cliff they passed another party of climbers on the way up. One of the climbers shouted out, 'Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?'

Brenda was stunned. How did they know she'd lost her contact lens? It turned out that the only reason they had spotted it was because it was seen moving slowly across a twig on the back of an ant. What are the odds that someone would have noticed an ant had it not been on that twig at the precise time they were passing?
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The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told
him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, 'Lord, I don't know why you want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what you want me to do; I'll carry it for you.'
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This is a true story, and there are many lessons we can learn from this story. Perhaps chiefly among these lessons is this: We don't always, in fact we seldom, understand why we're stuck carrying the loads we are shouldered with. We can't see any potential for good, and often our burdens are heavy and heartbreaking. We can complain and ask God to remove the circumstance from our life, or we can accept our burden and say, "If You want me to carry this load Lord, I will."

Another lesson is that even when you don't sense the Lord moving in your life, He is. I can imagine that contact lens fluttering hundreds of feet down the side of that mountain only to land where it would never be found; but God saw where it went, and even before Brenda prayed, He sent that ant as an answer to her prayer. The ant couldn't eat that contact. It was heavy, it was awkward, but God used what was available to get the help to the person who needed it.

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. He is our source of existence and our Savior. He keeps us functioning each and every day. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him...I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)