Finances and Family Formation

There is a passage in 1st Timothy 6 that can help us to see what is really important in God's eyes; we can read these words:
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Our view toward money, as it's been said, is an indicator of our view of God - if we are selfish with our possessions or look to our possessions to make us happy and fulfilled, we will miss the mark. But, if we regard our money as a tool from God, that He ultimately possesses, then we will use those finances wisely and be generous with what He has given to us.  On this earth, it is important to be able to buy and sell, but we always have to recognize that He is our ultimate source.

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In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon, who had acquired quite a bit of wealth in his life, recognized that material wealth is not the key to inner happiness. Ecclesiastes chapter 5 states:
10 He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.
11 When goods increase, They increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners Except to see them with their eyes?
12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.
13 There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.

The area of finances can place enormous pressure on families, and in these days of elevated inflation and other financial woes, it's important that individual Christians and their families gear up and apply God's principles to money management.

On Focus on the Family's Daily Citizen website, a former Meeting House guest, Zachary Mettler, provided some analysis on how family cohesiveness is affected by financial factors. He analyzes the Cost-of-Thriving Index (COTI), which "was designed by the nonprofit organization American Compass."  Mettler writes:

COTI measures the number of weeks the typical worker must work in order to cover the major costs for a family of four in middle-class America: Food, Housing, Health Care, Transportation and Higher Education.

According to COTI, in 1985, the typical American worker had to work nearly 40 weeks per year to cover the basic costs of these five categories. Costs totaled $17,586 whereas the average male working full-time earned $23,036.

But in 2022, COTI was 62.1, meaning the typical worker had to work 10 more weeks than there are in a year in order to afford the basics of a middle-class life. Whereas the average man working full time earns $63,388 annually, costs total $75,732.

So, since 1985 through last year, the cost differential has swung from over a 5,000-dollar surplus to more than 12,000-dollar deficit. 

Mettler also points out:

In addition to the COTI, American Compass has also released the results of their 2023 American Affordability Survey which found that “rising inequality, stagnating wages, and pressure for a household to have two incomes have all eroded the typical working family’s well-being.”

The survey found that most Americans want to be able to support their family on one income. Over 70% of Americans see that ability as “essential” or “important” to being in the middle class.

Conditions described as "vitally important" include:

* "Affording comprehensive health insurance" - 86% said this
* 74% said, "Owning your own home" and
* "Saving enough to pay for your children to attend college" was rated as "vitally important" by 69% of respondents.

The article quotes from Oren Cass, executive director and founder of American Compass; referring to this and other data, it says, "According to Cass, all this data has a great impact on falling family formation in the United States." He is quoted as saying: “Raising a family is in part an economic choice that has a lot of economic consequences..." The article says that:

He noted that it’s a compelling choice when individuals can get married, have children, and have the option to live off one income. “But that package is not really on offer in the market anymore,” he added.

“We shouldn’t be surprised, though we should be extremely concerned, that people are responding the way they are, by putting off marriage, by not getting married, by not having kids, by struggling to maintain families intact,” Cass said.

The organization, according to the Daily Citizen article, favors a tax credit, described as, "The Family Income Supplemental Credit, which would provide a monthly supplement paid to working families to the tune of $800 per month per child. The credit would also incentivize marriage, adding in a 20% marriage bonus for families."

That certainly sounds like a reversal or at least some sort of relief for married couples who find that they are paying higher taxes filing jointly than they would filing separately.  A recent CNBC.com story said:

If you got married in 2022, you can add “tax return” to the list of things you’ll now be sharing.

For some newlyweds, this is going to mean a bigger tax bill due to a so-called “marriage tax penalty.” It can happen when tax-bracket thresholds, deductions and credits are not double the amount allowed for single filers — and it can hurt both high- and low-income households.

“The penalty can be as high as 12% of a married couple’s income,” said Garrett Watson, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation.

Well, that certainly doesn't sound like a positive contributor to family formation and stability.  Our institutions, including government, should be friendly to families, recognizing that solid families contribute to a more stable society.  The Bible is clear on the sanctity of marriage and offers direction in raising children according to these sound principles.  Fractured families lead to broken lives, and we see the ill effects of family structures in decline in various trends.

Recognizing the financial landscape that the Daily Citizen pointed out, we can also be devoted to living according to God's financial principles.  We should surrender our financial decisions to the Lord, be communicative as spouses about our decisions regarding money.  And, at the cornerstone of a Biblical approach to finances is the concept of generosity - when we realize that all our resources are His and recognize our responsibility to be good stewards, it makes a dramatic shift in the way we live.

A Time to Speak

In this midst of confusion and the temptation to compromise, God's truth cuts through the erroneous ideas and brings clarity to those who would believe in Him. 1st Corinthians 15 relates this:
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

The Bible teaches that we sow what we reap in Galatians 6, and God's Word teaches us that we are not to be deceived - ultimately, the soul who sins will die - that's why we need a Savior, because we are sinners and cannot save ourselves.  But, if we live from a perspective of thinking we have all the answers and are devoted to mixing our philosophies with Scripture, we end up with confusion and self-deception. We can go to the Word of God to bring the clarity we need.

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The enemy, through his opposition to God and His ways, attempts to distort and discredit the truth, and we have to examine how he does that in our own lives, taking necessary steps to embrace God's power. 1st Peter 5 states:
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The transgender agenda has continued to morph and now represents a clear and present danger to our culture, as Biblical ideas of sexuality and the authority of our Creator are being trampled by those who believe that gender is fluid and that people can actually change their biological sex.

Fortunately, as I documented in the Top 10 Topics of 2022, people are pushing back - the outspokenness of those who are called "detransitioners," who faced physical harm because of their decision to follow the path of attempting to change their sex, coupled with the revelations that these treatments and surgeries are more common that we've been told by the media, have resulted in states taking action to curb the lunacy.

And, commentators are continuing to take note.  In the Christian space, Brandon Showalter is perhaps the most learned and outspoken journalist on this topic.  He writes for The Christian Post, was involved in a podcast series on the gender transition movement, and was even involved in the production of a film on the subject. 

Carl Trueman of Grove City College, writing for WORLD Magazine, in considering "what issues the evangelical establishment might be misjudging today that will lead to future disdain towards this generation of evangelical leadership," said, "Here is my suggestion: the issue of transgender ideology."

But, Trueman seems to indicate that the Church might be behind on this issue, writing:

Yet, for all of the evil that is being done to confused children and vulnerable women, it is some feminists who are speaking out on this. Kathleen Stock, the feminist philosopher, remains one of the most consistent and vocal opponents of the trans madness, even at the cost of her academic job. Abigail Shrier is another. And most famously author J. K. Rowling continues to speak courageously on the matter, though woe betide any who defend her, as Pamela Paul can now testify. It is right and proper that Christians give thanks for these voices.

He calls on "flagship evangelical organizations" to address the issue, writing:

It would be wonderful if Christianity Today were to run a series of detransition narratives, or Wheaton College host a conference on the damage that trans ideology is doing to children and to families. Such things would help confused parents and pastors. Then there are evangelicals with easy access to the pages of The Atlantic, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. If they were to use their platforms to speak out about this institutionalization of child abuse and misogyny, it might—no, it would—make a huge difference.

Tucker Carlson actually called out the Editor-in-Chief of Christianity Today and other so-called "Christian leaders," according to a piece on FoxNews.com, in the face of pro-life Christians being arrested for standing for life. He named other, what he termed, "professional Christians," asking if they would stand for a Canadian pastor who was arrested for protesting a drag queen story hour at a local library.  I would venture to say that point was that so-called Christian leaders who have a platform are unwilling to speak out on issues in which other believers are being persecuted for their public stands.

Michael Knowles is someone who is speaking out and facing the wrath of media outlets. He is with The Daily Wire, and at a recent conference, according to that website, he said: "For the good of society and especially for the good of the poor people who have fallen prey to this confusion, transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely, the whole preposterous ideology — at every level..."

The article goes on to say:

Although Knowles’ words were clearly a call for ending what he considers a dangerously flawed ideology, California State Sen. Scott Wiener accused him of calling for “genocide” of people who consider themselves transgender.

It went to to note:

Rolling Stone, Yahoo News, Huffington Post, and The Daily Beast all similarly misconstrued Knowles’ words as a call for eradicating people, not an ideology. The Daily Wire promptly demanded retractions and apologies from each of the publications, and Knowles himself reacted similarly to the Rolling Stone headline stating, “CPAC Speaker Calls for Transgender People to Be ‘Eradicated.”

In his podcast, according to the Daily Wire, Knowles continued to address the subject, saying:

“… If you want to deal with the transgender issue, it’s kind of all or nothing. Furthermore, the argument that the liberals make for trans the little kids is they say, transgenderism is real. A man can be a woman secretly, or a woman can be a man born into the wrong body.”

“You’re born that way. And so if you’re born that way, if it’s real, if that’s a true anthropology, then it’s got to be real for everybody. If transgenderism is real, then we certainly should trans the kids because the kids are already trans. And so to deny their true nature would be cruel.”

“The issue is transgenderism is not real for anybody,” Knowles concluded. “A man can’t really become a woman, and a woman can’t really become a man.”

It's. Not. Real. And you have pastors like Derek Reimer in Canada willing to take a stand against this agenda to the point of being arrested.  You may remember last year, pastors inside and outside Canada stood against a ban the government enacted in which it inserted itself into the counseling room, saying that counselors, presumably including pastors, could not counsel someone dealing with same-sex attraction to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to deal with it. Thousands of pastors stood for God's plan for sexuality and preached on the topic on one Sunday, led by John MacArthur and Canadian pastor James Coates. 

But, considering that, according to George Barna and the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, just over one-third of American Christian pastors possess a Biblical worldview.  And, the sheep without a shepherd are reaping the consequences - that could be a factor why according to the study I discussed yesterday with the CRC's Adam Rasmussen, only 13% of born-again Christians have a Biblical worldview. 

God's plan for sexuality began at creation - marriage is ordained as male and female in a one-flesh relationship.  Sexual purity is prescribed in Scripture inside of marriage - so bash "purity culture" all you want - God is very clear that He has ordained sex for marriage - between a man and a women; see Romans 1.  

And, a person is not born into the "wrong" body - we have been created male and female.  I quoted from detransitioner Oli London yesterday, whose discovery of God and His principles have propelled him to discover who God has made Him to be. 

There are a myriad of cultural influencers that would attempt to get us off track from the simplicity of living for Christ. Because we as humans want to live our own way, we fall prey to the tendency to mix what we think, our own opinions, with God's standards, and the mix leads to confusion. The Bible, God's Word, brings clarity - and when we are clear on what He says, then we can live - and stand and proclaim - what He has declared. 

Her? She?

We are all made in the image of God - and men and women who are surrendered to the Lord have the capacity to have a relationship with Christ, from which flows our unique giftedness. 1st Timothy chapter 2 says this:
8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;
9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,
10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.

In this passage, you see the intensity that God desires for his children - male and female.  Throughout the Scriptures, we see that men and women alike are called to walk rightly before the Lord, seeking to produce fruit to the glory of God.  In this passage, men are called upon to exercise spiritual responsibility to pray; that doesn't exclude women from doing that, as well.  Women are called to good works in this passage, but men who are obedient to God are also empowered for good works.  We should always be watchful and prayerful, submissive to God, so that His life might flow through us.

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In Genesis 1, in the Creation narrative, the Scriptures firmly establish the biological absolute of male and female; we can read these words:
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

March is Women's History Month, and tomorrow is recognized as International Women's Day, so the Hershey chocolate company, in an ad campaign in Canada, made the decision to use a man identifying as a woman to be a spokesperson for this new emphasis.

A Faithwire story relates:

The chocolate manufacturer brought back its limited-edition Hershey’s SHE bars for a third year on March 1 to “honor the influential women and girls who make an impact on our lives,” the Pennsylvania-based company said in a statement. “The Hershey’s SHE bars serve as a heartwarming reminder to take a moment and shine a light on the women and girls who inspire us every day.”

But, according to the article, "In Canada, the candy bar is being branded as HER. One of the five chosen to appear on the Canadian version of the candy bar is Fae Johnstone, a transgender woman, and activist, according to Newsweek."  Johnstone tweeted out, “I grew up with few trans role models. Many young trans folks haven’t met a trans adult,” adding, “I hope this campaign shows trans girls they can dream big and change the world too.”

The article quoted a tweet from Abigail Shrier, author of the book, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, who said, “You get the feeling that these companies *always* despised women — they were just waiting for the right moment...," adding, "Here’s the thing about real women, Hersheys: we have long memories.”

Joy Stackbauer of Family Research Council, writing for The Washington Stand, stated:

Sadly, the trend of kowtowing to the LGBTQQIP2SAA mob in direct opposition to supporting women has infested many mainstream chocolate producers. In 2021, both Mars, Inc. and Nestle USA joined an op-ed in support of transing kids and decrying state laws that protect women’s sports. After years of popular chocolate companies supporting the erasure of women, it appears that Americans are fed up.

She added:

If you’re a lover of both chocolate and biological reality, there’s no need to continue buying from woke companies that hate women. Even in a world where radical corporate activism lurks around every corner, it is (nearly) always possible to find a small, family-operated alternative to the mainstream companies that profit from perversion and sin.

As an example of that, her article offered three alternative chocolatiers. 

Franklin Graham tweeted out:

@Hersheys is using a biological man to represent women for International Women’s Day?? That’s really a slap in the face to women everywhere. I hope mothers, sisters, and daughters will rise up and tell Michele Buck, President and CEO of Hershey’s—who is a woman—that they don’t appreciate this and she should stand with women, not the woke Transagenda.

He linked to a FoxNews.com piece that included these quotes from professing Christians:

The Federalist Editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway blasted the candy maker with a scathing response, saying, "So @Hersheys is featuring a male in costume as a woman for its international women’s day ad campaign."

Conservative author and transgender movement critic Oli London slammed Johnstone and the ad, tweeting, "This is a tweet from the new face of HERSHEYS International Women’s Day Campaign - a man who identifies as a woman! The whole ad campaign is designed to uplift women on women’s day- but instead is a complete disrespect to REAL Women!"

In November, CBN.com ran an article about London that stated:

Social media influencer Oli London has gained millions of followers over the last few years on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, but he shocked the world last week after announcing that he would no longer be living his life as a transgender woman, but instead would embrace his God-given identity as a man.

Oli told CBN News his decision to detransition all began with finding God.

"I actually started going to church three months ago and I go several times a week now," he told CBN News. "I've been reading the Bible, I've been learning online, and watching YouTube videos about the teaching of Jesus and that has really helped me in my detransition. It made me realize that God made me the way He did (and) I should just stick with who I am, be who I am, and just find happiness."

So, the question, "What is a woman?" continues to reverberate across our culture, as gender confusion has continued to proliferate. Fortunately, there are those who are pushing back. I think that the detransitioner, Oli London, has a point: "God made me the way He did..."  The lie, that we will cover tomorrow, that God put young people in the wrong body has caused untold confusion. 

The Bible tells us we are fearfully and wonderfully made.  But, because of the fall and the accompanying curse, we need to be redeemed.  We were also born into a state of separation from God, and we must put to death the deeds of the flesh so that Christ's life can be expressed through us. The fleshly temptations to act in a manner inconsistent with who God wants us to be are very real, they affect us all, and we have to take the necessary action to crucify the flesh and reject its desires.

We also recognize that the Bible affirms us in our gender - the creation story in Genesis tells us that God created male and female - two genders, not 4, not 10, not 67 or whatever the latest number that is being force-fed to our culture. Our biological sex is a gift, and we should embrace that identity that is consistent with God's intent.  He will redeem and He will use males and females according to His giftedness, and those of us who are born again can anticipate how God desires to express Himself through us. 

Shoebox Love Story

Even before we came to know God, because of His great care for us, He provided a way for us to come to know Him through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. Romans 5 tells us:
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God knew us even before we came to know Him, and we can be confident that our lives are in His hands.  There are no surprises with Him, and we are under His watchful eye.  We can rejoice as we reflect on how we have seen Him work in and around us: bringing us in to salvation, guiding us in our decisions, bringing our spouses into our lives and other people, as well.  There are ample opportunities to praise God for His hand at work.

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We can acknowledge how God has worked in our lives, even before we came to know Him, and be confident that He is still at work by His Spirit. 2nd Peter chapter 1 says:
(3) His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

In the year 2000, a 7-year-old boy from Idaho participated in Operation Christmas Child, the shoebox ministry of Samaritan's Purse, in which these shoebox gifts filled with toys, school supplies, and more, are sent to needy children around the world in the name of the Lord.

His name is Tyrel Wolfe.  The God Reports website related that it was sent to a young girl his age. Now, some families choose to include a picture or even a letter in their shoebox.  Ty included "a photo of himself wearing cowboy attire, holding a lariat." He also passed along his address.

The box ended up in the Philippines, where it was opened by Joana Marchan at a Vacation Bible School event near Manila.  She sent Tyrel a letter of appreciation, but he never got it - the article says it was "lost in the mail."

So, the article says:

Eleven years later Joana decided to use Facebook to see if she could find the boy who packed her box. She searched for his name and got one hit in Idaho. She took a chance and submitted a friend request.

But Tyrel had never heard of Joana Marchan, so he ignored the request.

Two years later, Joana sent another friend request.

This time, Tyrel sent Joana a message asking how she knew him. She replied, telling him that he was the one who sent her a shoebox in 2000.

They began to correspond and they "discovered they shared a common faith in Christ and even enjoyed some of the same music."  

So, Tyrel was now about to graduate from high school, and he decided he wanted to go to Manila to meet Joana - he worked in order to buy a plane ticket.  When he arrived and they met, according to the God Reports article, "she burst into tears." A quote from Tyrel from People Magazine was included in the piece; he said: “When I finally got there and saw her, I had to punch myself a couple times because I thought it was a dream,” adding, “I was immediately attracted to her.” He also said, "I wanted to spend every moment I could with Joana while I was there, because once I left I didn’t know what would happen next..."

God Reports notes:

Tyrel sensed that Joana was the one for him. After he got back to Idaho, he began to work and save so he could go back to visit.

They stayed in touch via Facebook, and Skyped with each other often before Tyrel returned to the Philippines again in November. This time he stayed for a month.

On his second trip, he asked her father for permission to marry Joana.

The couple held an engagement party in the Philippines and obtained a fiancée visa for Joana.

On October 5, 2014 they got married outdoors on Tyrel’s parents’ 400-acre cattle ranch in Midvale, Idaho. The groom wore a traditional shirt often worn by Filipino grooms.

Guests were also asked to pack OCC shoeboxes and bring them to the wedding. 

Ty and Joana now have two children, and I found their page on Facebook. They also do a Vlog - a video blog - their love story is actually prominently featured on their YouTube channel.

Our lives are in His hands.  We can recognize that God in the mix - even when you don't see Him.  In this case, 22 years ago, two people had a divine appointment with one another through a shoebox gift. It's incredibly gratifying and praiseworthy to look back and see how God has worked in our lives and give Him the glory!  

We can even see how God was working in our lives to bring us into a saving knowledge of Christ. We found Him because He knew and loved us.  Now, there are those that reject the invitation, but that doesn't negate that the invitation is being given.  And, we can continue to pray to God that those divine invitations are received. 

We can also recognize how God is using so many churches and ministries to work in people's lives.  From the local church that is involved in proclamation of the truth of Scripture and the work of missions to the missions organization that is demonstrating the love and truth of God, we can seek how God would use us to further His Kingdom by being involved in His work.  And, please remember to pray for Faith Radio that God would continue to make His truth known through our sound Bible teaching and uplifting music; and pray about being involved in supporting us financially, as well. 

Brothers

There is a sharp contrast between a Christian worldview and a view of the world that is inconsistent with Biblical teaching. I've heard it taught that knowledge leads to wisdom. We should be gaining knowledge from the Word, producing godly wisdom in our hearts and minds. We can gain knowledge, but if we're not applying it, then we miss out on the principles God wants us to live by. 1st Corinthians 2 states:
12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,
16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?”But we have the mind of Christ.

So, we can question who is controlling our minds.  Are social media and other information on the Internet the primary determinants of what we believe?  Or are we beginning with the Scriptures and filtering the information we receive through a Christian worldview?  The world and the devil can deceive us to think that things are OK for us spiritually, when we are continuing to base our lives on the world's principles.  We have to be discerning about our spiritual intake and make sure our minds are being renewed to God's truth, according to Romans 12.

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Colossians 2 presents a clarion call to make sure that we possess a Christian worldview, and we allow that basis, found in the Scriptures, to govern how we live. Our Christian view of the world is quite the opposite of allowing the world's view to be imposed on us. We can read these words:
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

David was raised in a Christian home.  But, he had his doubts.

A Christian Post article relates: "...the attorney and author began considering serious philosophical questions about faith, including suffering and why a supposedly all-loving God condemns people to Hell." Eventually, he was convinced of "overwhelming evidence in favor of Christianity's truth claims." The article says that David "came into a full relationship with Christ in his mid-30s."  

He says: "People think that Christianity is based on blind faith," adding, "No, no, it's based on evidence. But faith is critical. Without faith, meaning putting your trust in Christ for your personal salvation, you're not going to get there, no matter how much you believe intellectually."

These words came from an interview David did with Joel Rosenberg of All Israel News, in which he related that after becoming a Christian, "...he wondered if his brother was a Christian." About his older brother, he said, "I mean, he thought he was in my view, and he embraced it intellectually...But did he think enough about it? And did it really affect his life in the way you would think if you were truly a faithful Christian?"

I have had the opportunity to interview David multiple times in the past about Finding Jesus in the Old Testament, The True Jesus, and Jesus is Risen.  He has developed quite a platform as a commentator and author. 

But, his brother had a platform, too; but more importantly, David wanted to know where his older brother stood on matters of faith.  So, as The Christian Post states:

He started witnessing to his older sibling, even asking him straightforwardly whether he truly believed. Rush Limbaugh answered, "yes." David Limbaugh asked why his brother didn't discuss his faith more. Rush Limbaugh allegedly replied that he didn't talk about it much because he didn't think he knew enough about it. He didn't want to make something he wasn't an expert in the focus of his talk show.

That's right, we're talking about the pioneer of talk radio as we know it today, Rush Limbaugh, who obviously was sympathetic to Christian thought, but perhaps didn't totally embrace it - until cancer struck.  The cancer that took his life just over 2 years ago.  The Christian Post article goes on to say:

"With Rush, he was experiencing this hardship, and he was taken down to the lowest point, and he turned," David Limbaugh added. "He had to turn; he had nowhere else to turn. Even if he hadn't had faith in Christ before, he had such sincere, heartfelt faith."

He said his brother began talking to God daily and reading the Bible, even texting his brother for insight on certain passages, something David Limbaugh had never seen him do before.

"It really doesn't matter if Rush embraced Christ 10 years before or one day before he died," he said. "What matters is, and I can say emphatically that he did embrace Him. I would say for sure in the early part of that last year. I think he did before, but I don't know. All I can say is he had an exclamation point on it during that time. He got his faith through Christ, and he leaned on Him."

David Limbaugh was intent on making sure that his brother really knew Jesus as His Savior. That can be a watchword to each of us, as we think about praying, living, and talking in a way that we bring our family along with us into the Kingdom.  We should possess that heart for those whom God has given to us.

David himself had considered the claims of the Bible and personalized the Scriptures and acted on them, coming into a saving knowledge of Christ.  We each must take the Bible seriously and purpose to living our lives according to what we find as we study and meditate on God's Word - not merely trying to attach Scripture to our own opinions, but allowing Scripture to originate our opinions.  Rush Limbaugh was certainly known for his opinions, but, while his positions on various issues were consistent with a Christian worldview, I don't believe that worldview was consistently the origin - or delivery - of his opinions, because, as David seems to affirm, it wasn't clear that he possessed it. 

David's story is a great example of how adversity can be a tool to lead people to Christ, and we can capitalize on that.  Rush's cancer diagnosis was something God used to open his heart and bring him into a relationship with the Lord.

Keep Praying

In the book of James chapter 5, we can find words of encouragement about the power and effectiveness of our prayers. We can find these words:
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

God wants His people to have healthy prayer lives, which can be part of a healthy Church, praying for one another and experiencing the release of God's power.  The story found here of Elijah's dedication can help us to expand our horizons and recognize the amazing power of God that is available for the believer who will come before what is called the "throne of grace" in Hebrews 4 and to call upon a God who is loving and attentive and has invited us to pray.

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We can be committed to come before God in the name of Jesus and recognize there is great power when we pray. In Mark chapter 11, we can read:
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.
23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

25 "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

One of the uniquely spiritual events that occurred in 2023 actually happened on a football field in Cincinnati, after Buffalo Bills cornerback Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and collapsed. This actually, as you know, set off a wave of public prayer.  And, it's interesting, when Damar suddenly was released from the hospital and began making public appearances, there were those that accused the NFL of theatrics or deception.

That does seem to have died down, but I would hope that the acceptance of public prayer would not; that it would only intensify.  A Decision Magazine article reported on a survey conducted in mid-January, some three weeks after Hamlin's collapse. 

The survey, from Summit.org, in association with McLaughlin and Associates, revealed that out of 1000 people indicating they were likely voters in a general election: "67.3%...believe that public calls for prayer after a national tragedy are effective in light of the public outpouring of prayer for NFL player Damar Hamlin; 19.7 percent believe such prayers are pointless, and 13.1% say they don’t know."

Broken down by age, you can find these percentages of those who "believe that public calls for prayer are effective."

• 54.7% of 18 to 29-year-olds 
• 62.3% of those aged 30-40
• 67.8% of voters aged 41-55
• 69.9% of voters aged 56-65
• 77.3% of voters over age 65.

Jeff Myers, President of Summit.org, stated:

“Unfortunately, young Americans seem more cynical about prayer, with a higher percentage than other age groups saying such calls to prayer are pointless,” he added. “But with many young athletes now publicly expressing their faith, perhaps the hearts of the rising generation will be more open to the very real power of faith and prayer.”

Franklin Graham is also quoted; he said: “There’s nothing more powerful for believers to do in a time of need than to call out to God,” adding, “God promises to hear and answer please from His people according to His gracious will.”

So two-thirds of Americans believe in prayer to some extent. But, prayer is more than just possessing a good luck charm or rubbing a genie's lamp.  The posture of prayer is very important.  We have to acknowledge the supremacy of God and humble ourselves before Him.  

That's where the person of prayer comes in.  Jesus said that no one comes to the Father except through Him.  While prayer may help comfort the non-believer or adjust his or her state of mind, true prayer that connects to God comes through the name of Jesus by those who have called upon Him and been born again. 

When we come to Jesus, we can truly experience the power of prayer.  Where we really, really communicate with God.  When we can approach Him by faith and know that He has heard us and will respond according to His will. We will see God work as we call upon Him in power. 

Revolution

There were those in Jesus' time who questioned the legitimacy of His ministry. They did not believe He had been sent from God; rather, quite the contrary. But, what He has done has survived for over 2000 years, and faithful servants have continued to obey Him, preach His Word, and do His work. 2nd Timothy chapter 2 states:
19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

So, there are opportunities to do good work for the Kingdom of God.  We can determine whether or not we will be faithful to His call and build on the foundation of the Church that has been laid throughout the years. We can make sure to surround ourselves with the right teaching, the right influences, and follow the right direction. We can be thankful for how we have seen God work in the past, and be expectant of how He will use His people in the future. 

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The apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 3 illustrated how the body of Christ is called to work together to lift up Jesus. He wrote:
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building.
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

I ascended the stairs and walked through the door to a rather nondescript suite of offices situated on the second floor above the plasma donation center, where college students could go to acquire some spending money. I had a different idea - I wanted to work in Christian radio.

The year was 1978.  I was a sophomore at the University of Tennessee. The previous summer, I had made a discovery that changed my life. Some of my friends in the youth group that I had joined during my senior year had opened a door to me to truly see a new world.  I had experienced Christian radio, and the impact was life-changing. 

So walking up those stairs and entering the door asking for a job was a continuation of that progression. That door opened a whole new world of possibility for my life.  And, I discovered what was taking place in Christian music at that time.

It was a time of rapid growth - new artists were appearing on the scene with great regularity. I learned about what was going on in California with the Jesus Movement, I discovered Maranatha! Music, that was on the cutting edge of what God was doing musically.  

1978 wasn't too far removed from the roots of that movement around 10 years before. The station where I worked aired a program called The Word for Today, with Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa.  This was rich, it was real, and I was glad to be exposing our Knoxville listeners to the new wave of what was called Contemporary Christian Music. 

The movie, The Jesus Music, was a documentary released by Jon and Andy Erwin a couple of years ago that included this birth of a movement. They have followed that up with a motion picture, Jesus Revolution, which is a dramatic portrayal of the origins of that movement and its impact on a young man named Greg Laurie.  The Los Angeles Times stated this in a story about the Jesus Music movie:

“There’s just something so pure about where it all started,” says co-director Jon Erwin. “There wasn’t really an industry or an agenda behind it. Just a bunch of hippie kids that experienced something and gathered in masses to sing their songs.”

Though “The Jesus Music” moves far beyond Costa Mesa to tackle issues of race, morality, sin and redemption, its opening canto beams light on a long-gone music community 50 miles south of Laurel Canyon. There, during the same period Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Frank Zappa and the Byrds were becoming famous, a half-dozen Calvary Chapel bands united in 1971 to create “The Everlastin’ Living Jesus Music Concert.”

Released on Chuck Smith’s new Maranatha! Music label and costing about $4,000 to produce, the album went on to sell more than 200,000 copies. Fifty years later, “The Everlastin’ Living Jesus Music Concert” is considered the Big Bang of contemporary Christian music — a collection of folk-inspired soft rock that, as it eased its way onto youth-group turntables across the country, cast a spell over Jesus-loving, mostly white baby boomers amid a generational shift.

“When I first heard that Maranatha record, I couldn’t get enough of it,” Christian singer Michael W. Smith says in “The Jesus Music.” “This thing called ‘Jesus Music,’ which exploded in Southern California, somehow found its way [to] my hometown, and it changed my life.”

One of the musical leaders of the movement was Chuck Girard. His website relates:

In his early twenties Chuck became disillusioned with life, and like so many of his generation began experimenting with drugs. This led to a five-year search for God through LSD, eastern religion, and a committed “hippie” lifestyle.

His search ended in 1970 at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa when he found true spiritual reality through accepting Jesus Christ as his Savior. Girard was already in a group call LOVE SONG, and along with the conversions of the band members came the radical change in their message. Previously playing clubs, preaching “peace and love”, and LSD as the way to find God, they now had a new message, and with this change helped blaze the path for the beginnings of what would become known as “The Jesus Movement” and Contemporary Christian Music. Chuck played with LOVE SONG for the next three years before launching solo with his first self-titled album CHUCK GIRARD that produced his most renowned song “Sometimes Alleluia”...

That seed inspired a whole new generation of Christian musicians, impacted Michael W. Smith about a decade later, and continues to impact musicians today - the producers of Jesus Revolution posted a video with positive comments from Rebecca St. James, Jeremy Camp, and...Bart Millard, himself a subject of an Erwin Brothers film, as well as Jeremy.  Bart wrote this on Facebook:

I finally had the chance to see @jesusrevolutionmovie and I’m at a loss for words. Other than “The Passion of The Christ,” I have never seen a movie blatantly share the gospel with such beauty! I’m telling you…every movie @kingdomstorycompany has made so far: “I Can Only Imagine, I still Believe, The Jesus Music, American underdog” along with many more, they have all made a path for the gospel to be shared like I have NEVER seen before.

I would hope that, if Jesus tarries, the current wave that seems to be occurring would be looked back upon 10, 20, 50 years from now and say this is when America, when our world, returned to God. I started in Christian radio about 10 years after the beginning of the Jesus Movement of the late 60's and early 70's - I had no idea it was going on during that time period.  But, I later recognized the effects.  Asbury started a wave, and only God knows where it's going - we just have to be faithful to continue to pray and call out to Him. 

We can also be devoted to build on the strong foundation of Christ. When we see God at work, we can be faithful to partner with Him, as Henry Blackaby has taught. God is calling us to draw close to Him, and when we fellowship with the Father, we can get a greater sense of what He wants to do through us. He gives us mission and purpose, and we can rejoice at how we have seen Him work.