SNAP...economic relief!

Today's headlines really saddened my heart.   Our nation tips the scales at over 300 million people and a tenth of them are on food stamps.  12.5 million are unemployed...if you take in the number of married families where only one adult is working, that is a lot of people.  And yet, our nation feels it necessary to spend 600 million to search for aliens.  Something seems a little wrong with this picture.

Unemployment hits 25-year high

Record 31.8 million people on food stamps

 

Spacecraft to blast off in search of alien worlds

I feel blessed to go to a church and be surrounded by people who view this recession as a GOOD thing!  Pray continually for God's will to be revealed and fulfilled through this difficult time...for he will carry us on eagle's wings and HOLD us in his mighty right hand.

As stated by Pastor John:

"This is a message about God's purposes in the recession.  By recession I don't have any sophisticated definition in mind.  I just mean various financial setback like business slowdown, decreasing profits, massive layoffs and joblessness, the bursting of the housing bubble, thousands of foreclosures, personal and business bankruptcies, bank failures, investment company collapses, the loss of retirement funds, and the social ills and unrest that go with the downturn.  

God is SOVEREIGN over these things, he foresees them all, he causes or permits them all, and when he causes or permits something, he does so with purpose and design.

(SOME) of God's Purposes in THIS recession:

1.  He intends for this recession to expose hidden sin and so bring us to repentance and cleansing.

2.  He intends to wake us up to the constant and desperate condition of the developing world where there is always and only recession of the worst kind.

3.  He intends to relocate the roots of our joy in his grace rather than in our goods, in his mercy rather that our money, in his worth rather than our wealth.

4.  He intends to advance his saving mission in the world-the spread of the gospel and the growth of his church-precisely at a time when human resources are least able to support it. This is how he guards his glory.

5.  He intends for the church to care for its hurting members and to grow in the gift of love."

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2009/3566/