Who Do You Trust?

Last evening President Obama gave his first speech before a joint session of Congress. I hesitated to listen, but decided that I needed to hear his plans for our nation's recovery from this financial debacle we have created. Not since the days of Ronald Reagan have we heard someone who can sway the masses by his rhetoric. As I listened to President Obama I thought to myself, "If only he were trying to convince people to become followers of Jesus Christ." But, alas, that was not his message.

As I later began to sift through what he said - and I absolutely refuse to listen to those media "talking heads" who think they have it all figured out - I came to the conclusion that what the President really wanted the American people to do was to trust him. He would provide the way of escape from our difficult times. He had the answers for the catastrophic problems that confront us. He wanted to be the leader, along with the members of Congress, to right the faltering ship of state.

Should I, as a believer in Jesus Christ, place my confidence and trust in my nation's governmental leaders to resolve the crisis we are in? And I began to ponder just who the President was asking me to put my confidence in. First, he asked that I trust him. Has he had any experience of leading a business through a crisis time? Has he ever worked with a nonprofit organization to help it to find footing in uncertain times? Has he ever had to file a business report or create a budget for a business that was nearing the brink of bankruptcy? Has he ever had to lay off staff and employees because the funds simply were not there? Has he ever had to sit down with a bank president to formulate a loan for a small business?

Second, he asked me to have confidence in the members of Congress. Now that is a scary proposition. As the television cameras panned the House Chambers last night, I recognized faces that I have seen in those Chambers dating back to the 1970's. They have become professional politicians. They are so far removed from knowing what the real world is like. Have they ever faced the threat of cancellation of health insurance because they could no longer afford the premiums? Have they ever had their salaries slashed and benefits curtailed because of budget shortfalls? When was the last time they were gainfully employed in a real job that demanded 8 hours a day or longer? When was the last time they were told that they would be furloughed for several weeks without pay?

These are the people who have answers for those of us who are presently experiencing health insurance premiums which we can no longer pay; salaries which have been cut and benefits which have been curtailed; and unpaid furloughs from work if we want to keep our jobs. I don't believe that too many of the politicians inside the Washington Beltway truly understand the pain we are experiencing. But, they will not come up with the solutions. We just have to trust them.

I am reminded of the closing verse of the second chapter of Isaiah. It reads: "Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?" What this ancient prophet is saying is this: Why should we put our confidence in the plans of men? After all he cannot even control the number of breaths he takes." If the prophet were here on this 25th day of February 2009, I think he would advise us to put our confidence and trust in the Lord. To draw our encouragement from His Word and not from governmental initiatives. To receive hope for our tomorrow through a commitment to His promises and not from those delivered by politicians.

I think I probably would have derived more hope from President Obama's speech last night if he had been as honest as was the ancient King Jehoshaphat, when confronted with a crisis of similar proportions. "We don't know what to do, but our eyes are upon you" (2 Chronicles 20:12). I believe God has a solution...but our leaders are certainly not calling upon Him for directions. "There is a way that seems right unto man, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 14:12). We certainly are living the first part of that proverb...hopefully it will not result in the consequences recorded in the last part.

It was Andre Crouch who wrote these words many years ago. They still speak encouragement to my heart: "Through it all, through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus, I've learned to trust in God; through it all, through it all, I've learned to depend upon His Word."

A Stimulus Bill: To Stimulate What?

Yesterday President Obama signed into law the largest publicly funded spending bill ever seen in American history. When you factor in the interest that will be paid on this debt the amount soars to over $1.3 trillion. Now I don't know about you, but my mind doesn't do well with numbers that large. But it is a lot of money...which, by the way, our country simply does not have stashed in a bank somewhere. No...now we will have to borrow that money from someone else...probably the Chinese or the Saudis. Those two nations already hold enough of our debt that, if they decided to ask for their money back, ... well, you think General Motors has problems.

Now you might be saying, "Max, are you against helping people out? Don't you want new jobs to be created?" I am not against helping people out, nor am I against new jobs. I am just against using the federal government as the tool for the creation of those jobs. I am struggling to find a paragraph within the United State Constitution that declares it is the function of the government to ensure that everyone has a job. It is not there. The matter of employment is a function of private enterprise. Governmental involvement always includes this disclaimer: "strings attached." And somehow those "strings" are detrimental to private enterprise.

Should we allow businesses to fail? What about General Motors and Chrysler? Let me respond by asking you, "Should we have bailed out the struggling airline industry?" If we had, perhaps we would still see airplanes flying the Eastern and TWA symbol, just to name a couple. No, we allowed the market to determine which airlines would survive. Perhaps that is what we need to do with the auto industry. Perhaps we don't need three major car manufacturers in America any longer. Perhaps we can get by with two domestic producers. Historically the market has always corrected itself. But I fear that governmental interference now has changed how the market will operate forever.

A second problem I have with this "stimulus bill" is that it continues to feed our growing entitlement mentality. If I have a problem...don't try to solve it myself...ask the government to solve it for me. I have taken out a bad mortgage. Instead of seeking to work with my creditors to resolve the matter...I just look for a government bailout. Where has the American work initiative gone? Where have those principles that once made America the hardest working and most productive nation on the planet gone? We have become complacent because, after all, the government will take care of us.

Will this huge spending bill work? According to a recent Rasmussen poll, 70% of Americans believe it will not! It is interesting to listen to even those who voted for the bill who are now having second thoughts about its success. It seems to me that the only thing this "stimulus bill" truly can guarantee is a greater deficit, resulting in an increase tax burden upon my grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Before I close I know that some of you are asking this question: What does this have to do with end-times? Simply this: The Bible tells us that in the end times there will be a one-world government that will dictate who can operate businesses, including manufacturing and selling. Is this "stimulus bill" part of that one-world plan? I am not sure, but it is a step in that direction; which can only mean that I need to be alert and aware because the King is coming!

Israeli Elections - What's Next?

Yesterday Israelis went to the polls in national elections. At stake were the 120 seats in the Knesset - the Israeli Parliament - and the leadership of the country. The reasons for the early elections were the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert because of political and financial scandals that involved him, and the inability of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni - the successor to the leadership of Olmert's Kadima Party - to form a coalition government.

Israeli politics is fascinating. There are a host of political parties in Israel representing just about every political and theological position imaginable. In yesterday's elections, twelve parties received enough votes to gain seats in the Knesset. And there were other political parties that received no seats in the Knesset. Because it takes a majority of 61 seats to control the Knesset, and with the winning party in yesterday's election - the Kadima Party - receiving only 28 seats, the party leader must woo others into a coalition government. In this case, Tzipi Livni would need to woo 33 other MKs (Member of Knesset) to join with her.

How is this wooing done? It is through the offering of Cabinet-status positions, the two most important being Minister of Defense and Foreign Minister. So, Livni will begin her wooing.

But what made yesterday's election so unique is that, although the Kadima Party won the most seats in the newly to-be-formed Knesset, the runner-up party - Likud, under the leadership of Benyamin Netanyahu - actually is in the stronger position to form a coalition government. The Likud Party is center-right party while the Kadima Party is more a center-left party. And in yesterday's elections, those parties on the right (those holding to more nationalistic, militaristic points of view) won 65 of the 120 Knesset seats. This would make Netanyahu more capable of forming a new government, although his party finished second.

So, what happens next? Israeli President Shimon Peres will visit with all the parties who won seats in yesterday's election. Then he will make the determination as to which party would have the best chance of forming a coalition that could govern all Israel. That decision will come sometime after February 18 when the election results are fully certified. Until then, the wheeling and dealing will take place between Kadima and Livni and Likud and Netanyahu for coalition partners. It should provide some very interesting viewing.

And, underlying all this is the Obama Factor. It is a certainty that Livni is more closely aligned to the Middle East philosophical positions of President Obama than is Netanyahu. How much influence will Washington place upon President Peres remains to be seen, but you can be assured that the pressure will be there.

Potentially Scary Scenes and a Word of Hope

Tensions continue to rise in the Middle East. An uneasy ceasefire remains in place along the Gaza Strip between Hamas and the IDF. Several splinter terrorist groups have tested that ceasefire with rocket and grenade attacks and IDF troops have responded with returned fire. But no serious military incursions have resulted because of these sporadic attacks.

Meanwhile, this week news was received of the first Iranian satellite being put into orbit. That nation now joins a host of other nations with communication, spy, and other types of satellites in orbit. Might possibly be a traffic jam there in space with all the stuff floating around. Of course the concern with this latest news from Iran is that the potential now exists for the Iranians to detonate a nuclear devise within the bowels of space. What would happen if they detonated a bomb that had the potential to seriously damage, if not destroy, the electrical systems of the world. Can you envision what the consequences would be? As one person told me recently during a discussion of the damage caused by an EMI (electro-magnetic impulse bomb): Mankind would revert to the cave-man days. Without electricity all of our lives would be severely handicapped: no computers, no heating or air conditioning, no gasoline (pumps run off electricity), no microwaves, no ATMs, and the list goes on. A single rocket fired from the deserts of Iran could create a world crisis. Just ask the people in Western Kentucky what life is like in the absence of electricity.

And, what about another 9-11 attack? Is it possible? Certainly there are individuals and groups around the world that would delight to see another major attack upon our nation. It is interesting that today former Vice President Dick Cheney published an interview in which he said that a 9-11 type of attack is very likely as President Obama scales back on the imprisonment of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay. The terrorists might believe that the consequences are not as severe as they had been in the past. Can you imagine what a 9-11 type of attack would have upon our fragile economic structure right now? Or upon our fragile American psyche? There might not be any recovery.

Well I have just shared with you two very scary scenarios. But let me also share a very encouraging scenario: Jesus Christ is coming back. And what a day that will be. That is our hope! That is the news that brings peace to our hearts even in the midst of disastrous times. So I need to keep looking up because it is from there that my redemption will soon draw nigh. And so should you.

Israel, Gaza, the Media - What Wrong with the Picture?

Well the cease-fire along the Gaza Strip did not last long. That was to be expected. After the boisterous comments of the Hamas leadership about their incredible victory over the barbarian Israelis, you knew they would soon test the waters once again. However, I found those boisterous comments rather ironic in that they came from men who had hunkered down below ground in shelters during the 3-week war. But they emerged from their holes praising their exploits. No sooner had the dust cleared from the collapsed tunnels than new ones were being dug. They now become the target of another Israeli attack helicopter or fighter jet.

And the world continues making Israel the most problematic nation on the face of the earth. Poverty in Gaza...blame the Israeli blockade. Collapsed buildings and destroyed homes in Gaza...blame Israel's disproportionate assault. Civilian deaths...blame those murderous Israelis; in fact, let's bring them before a War Crimes Tribunal. The liberal media bias and the anti-Israel United Nations cast their bewitching spell over so many.

Yet, what did Israel really do? In the past 7 years, over 8,000 rockets were launched from inside the Gaza Strip targeted for Israeli towns and settlements. That is four rockets every day for the past 7 years. Homes have been damaged. Schools have been destroyed. Farmer have had crops and livestock destroyed. Israelis, in such towns as Sderot and Ashkelon, learned to live with the "15-second rule" - meaning they had 15 seconds to get to a safe room from the time they heard the warning sirens. Israeli children attended classes in underground bomb shelters, their lives shrouded with fears. And this went on for 7 years. Israel did very little. But the world said nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Finally, Israel acted to defend its citizens. And the world reacted to protect the perpetrators of the violence, the Hamas leaders. Something is wrong with that picture, friends. Let's just suppose that a radical Mexican government decided it was going to send rockets everyday into El Paso, Texas. So, dozen of rockets every day threaten the lives and security of that Texas community. What would be our government's response? I hope we would take bold steps to destroy those who were firing the rockets. So, we can do it but not Israel; what a double standard we have developed.

I honestly believe that the people of Israel will need to take even more drastic steps against Hamas in Gaza. I believe that IDF troops will once again be heard marching down those dusty roads. I believe that even more Palestinian civilians will die having become human shields for Hamas terrorists. And I believe that the United Nations and other world powers will increase the rhetoric against Israel for its actions.

And I believe that the Bible describes and Israeli army victory over their Palestinian foes. But we will save that discussion for another blog.

Friends, Israel is just doing what most other nations would do to protect its own people. Our prayer should be that Hamas would surrender their arms. Then, and only then, perhaps peace might have a chance...but that I highly doubt.

An Unique Inaugural

Yesterday we witnessed an event unlike any other as Barack Obama became our nation's 44th President. Our nation has celebrated inaugurals before...some of them more memorable than others. What made yesterday's inaugural so unique was really two fold. First, and I won't dwell on this, Barack Obama is the first President from a minority race.

Second, and what I found to be most amazing, was the reaction of the world to his inauguration. From photos of dancing in the streets of Kenya to wild demonstrations in Japan, the world celebrated a new American President. This has not happened before in the annals of American history. But why all the fuss? Barack Obama is seen as the one person who can bring hope, not only to a nation, but to a world that is meandering on the seas of uncertainty. In many ways, Obama became more than the President of the United States, but also became the hoped for leader of the world. Can he bring peace to the Middle East? Many hope so! Can he resolve the financial markets around the world? Many hope so! Can he defuse the Iranian nuclear program? Many hope so!

Now what entered my mind as I viewed those world-wide celebrations was this: Will it be any different when the Antichrist steps forward upon the world stage? The Bible certainly seems to portray the Antichrist as a man who will give hope to a desperate world. He will offer them a peace that has only been dreamed of. And so the world will cast their hopes and dreams at his feet, along with their very lives.

As demonstrated yesterday, the world is ready for a man who can inspire them with his vision; who can "wow!" them with his oratory; and who can persuade them to make the personal sacrifices necessary to advance his agenda; all with the hope of a better future. Is Barack Obama the anticipated Antichrist? I don't believe he is...but he certainly will be used to prepare the way for that final leader who will dominate the world's stage until Jesus Christ comes.

Can You Hear Me Now?

A few years ago there was a certain phone company whose slogan was "can you hear me now?" As I remember the ads, they were not that outstanding, but I have never forgotten that slogan. A father lifts his voice in a frustrated conversation with his teen aged son and says, "Can you hear me now?" A mother, disgusted with the way her child is ignoring her pleas for obedience, cries out, "Can you hear me now?" Perhaps you have used those words, maybe without even thinking.

It seems that we all want to be heard. And it is getting increasingly more difficult to be heard through the din and noise of the world in which we live. Have you noticed how TV stations increase the volume when ads come on. It is almost as if they are saying to you, "Can you hear this message now?"

As I have been reading various articles and visiting websites devoted to end times events, I have come to the conclusion that God is asking the question, "Can you hear Me now?" Can you hear Me through the chaos of a wacky winter season? The Pacific Northwest has experienced a winter the likes of which it has not seen in decades. Minnesota is having one of the coldest winters in recent memory. Everywhere you turn, winter has reared its head with snow, ice, winds, and biting cold. God cries out, "Can you hear Me?" I am not sure if you know it or not, but there have been over 400 earthquakes in Yellowstone Park since Christmas. "Can you hear Me?"

The financial conditions of the world continue to deteriorate. Nations are piling up debt at enormous rates with little hope of ever seeing the black. There is a cry for a one-world financial system. "Can you hear Me now?" The conflict in the Middle East still rages. Iran threatens continuance of its nuclear ambitions instilling fear into the region and beyond. Radical Islam threatens any security around the world. The world cries out for a leader who will bring order and security. And God cries out within the noise and confusion, "Can you hear Me now?"

Sadly the answer is no! We are not listening. We don't want to listen. We are not looking for God. We don't want to be awakened from the comfortable slumber we are in. If we did indeed hear God's cry, "Can you hear Me now?", our response would be, "Don't rock our boats!"

I believe God's voice will continue getting stronger in the coming days. How we need to be more observant of what is happening around us. Each earthquake, every winter storm that is out of the norm, and every threat of war is God's cry to us to take heed. It truly is time for believers to wake up and to look up and to listen up. God has a lot to say.