Prayer of Encouragement
I pray...
that I function in strength and power by the Spirit
that Christ make his home in my heart through faith
that I have power to comprehend the measure of the love of Christ
that I truly experience the love of Christ, not just know it in my head
that I may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:20-21
Thanksgiving is a Great Time
A great time for universities and students to thank us taxpayers for supporting President Lyndon Johnson's Higher Education Act.
Better yet, if President Biden gets the okay to wipe out student loan debt, we will pay an estimated $430 billion more than we pay now for those who default, one third of whom never get their degree. Yea!
Millions who owe $1.6 trillion have applied for loan forgiveness.
Cancelling loads doesn't solve the problem. Over the past 40 years, the average cost of private college tuition has tripled. Do you know of anything else that has tripled? Maybe housing, or vehicles?
See. Universities dependent on student payments were limited in what they could charge in tuition. Yours truly paid about $350 a quarter (10 weeks) at a state university. And that included out-of-state add on. One year (fall, winter, spring) cost me about $1,050, plus food and board.
When our do-good Government began doing good, universities realized they could rely on taxpayers and upped their tuition, no doubt paying professors and other employees more - good for them - and investing in more facilities - maybe worthwhile?
Now, while more jobs require degrees, students and taxpayers are on the hook. It takes on average 21 years to pay off student loans.
Government (taxpayer) loans may be helping students who otherwise would have no shot. Harvard among others has billions in the bank thanks to wealthy alumni. Wouldn't be nice if they helped more, when millions of taxpayers who never attended college may get a bill for $430 billion?
Jimmy ðŸ˜
Think Today's Voting is Difficult?
Who would you have voted for in the 1930s?
Candidate A associates with crooked politicians,
and consults with an astrologist. He has had two mistresses, chain smokes
and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.
Candidate B was removed from office twice, sleeps until noon, used
opium in college, and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.
Candidate C is a decorated war veteran. He is a vegetarian,
doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and never cheated on his wife.
Which is your choice? A is Franklin D. Roosevelt.
B is Winston Churchill
C is Adolph Hitler
Makes us wonder what's going on with our congressional representatives and people in the White House.
Insipid Goals for Kids
So, American parents are raising the future generation of leaders and doers, movers and shakers. Or not.
A poll by the Barna Group would make our founders weep.
"Discipline" and "toughness" were not dominant among respondents describing what is important to effective child rearing.
* Patience - 36 percent
* Demonstration of love - 32 percent
* Discipline and understanding - 22 percent
* Faith commitment - 20 percent
* Communication skills - 17 percent
* Compassion - 14 percent
* Listening skills - 12 percent
* Being intelligent - 11 percent
* Being a praying person - 4 percent
These results from a survey of Christian families were indistinguishable from a survey of parents not "born again."
Joel Belz of WORLD magazine wonders if these parents are as easily satisfied with their surgeons, car mechanics, stockbrokers and others who matter in the course of life.
Jimmy
What's Most Important?
In a recent poll, 60 percent of voters said they strongly disagree with Democrats' (Biden) policy of leaving our Southern border open to immigrants and whatever else comes across daily.
No other country in the world has such a policy. Is opening the door to most anyone a big step toward destroying our sovereign nation? Certainly, our democracy, which liberals wish to replace with socialism.
There are other one-issue causes: abortion, economy, crime, etc. But, what good is it to win that fight and lose the entire constitution?
Tuesday, there were slam dunks on both sides, and nail-bitters as well. But, at least 10 percent did not think losing our country and its freedoms is more important than voting for Democratic senate candidates. Even a man who is not only mentally compromised but in favor of numerous ideas that are clearly foreign to our culture (or so we thought) won a senate seat.
People have differences. We get it. But how several million voters concerned about our survival could ignore the clear path to correction is a result of focus, and gobs of money spent on fooling us. If the House tilts red, we may delay calamity for a while longer.
Jimmy
Unique Importance
Joe Belz, Conclusion
To be consistently anti-abortion (you can) at the same time cast your vote for environmental sensitivity, against racism, and for economic justice. These are not independent, isolated packages.
It's hard to see how anyone can focus on the future of polar bears and whales, while asking evangelicals to (stop caring about infant humans). Keep in mind that abortion is one of the most racist of all social causes. The history of Planned Parenthood and similar organizations is racist to the core - as is their current practice.
And no economist can look at the loss of 50 million American babies over the last 45 years [this was written in 2008] and not wince at the drain on the vitality of our society. Today's poor Americans are poorer than they would have been if we'd take care to preserve enough consumers - and workers - to fill a state 1-1/2 as big as California.
Stop apologizing for focusing on a single issue. It's those promoting causes like abortion and same-sex marriage who are the real "single issue" fanatics, falsely teaching that you can mess with one or two aspects of life without upsetting the balance God installed in His created order.
We need to expose the lie for the tragic falsehood that it is - and to teach the next generation what a bad bargain they have been asked to accept.
WORLD magazine
Issues of Unique Importance
This is an old column (modified for space) by Joel Belz,
Jewish upbringing, believer in Christ,
retired from WORLD magazine, that doesn't get old.
It's become a frequent reminder to us evangelical Christians not to let our cultural identity be framed by single issues. Why are backers of the "Evangelical Manifesto" so ready to join the cultural left - suggesting guilt for evangelicals preoccupied with the evils of abortion and same-sex marriage?
And if younger evangelicals are embarrassed by their elders and think it's time to get equally exercised over issues like racism, economic justice and the environment - maybe we need to do a better job of explaining to them why we've put the emphasis where we have.
Evangelicals shouldn't be embarrassed to say clearly: Abortion and same-sex marriage are uniquely heinous sins. They rattle the foundation of a civilized society.
I'm not referring so much to the young women caught in the anguish of an unexpected pregnancy or folks bewildered by their sexual identity. I'm talking mostly about a society that goes all out to tell such people that they're doing just fine. There's forgiveness for individual sinners. There's judgment for societies that lead them astray.
It's true that we haven't been as zealous as we ought in fighting racism, abuse of the environment, and poverty. But on those fronts, we're at least facing the right direction.
Here's the difference: What evangelical do you know who says insensitivity to the poor should be promoted? What leader is calling for more racism? Who advocates the plundering of the environment? That is exactly the kind of cheer-leading that is going on for abortion and same-sex marriage.
Conclusion to come
