From My Perspective - - - 

Several years ago, a crusty US Senator Everett Dirksen from Illinois was known to have said: “A million here and a million there – soon we’ll be talking about real money.” One wonders what he might say if he was alive today.  A Billion here and a Billion there – soon it will be a Trillion or more.  In the midst of the government “bailout” (albeit they would like to use the word “rescue”), one of the benefactors of the Government’s Distribution of monies was the AIG Company (American International Group, Inc.). They became the recipients of $85 Billion Dollars). It is intriguing to see what they have done with some of that money in the midst of the financial and economic tsunami. The Press is reporting the following: “After government rescue, insurance firm AIG partied at swank resort”  The article states: “Days after federal officials agreed to an $85 billion bailout of American International Group, the insurance firm spent more than $440,000 for a corporate retreat at a swanky California resort. An invoice from the week-long getaway, a copy of which you'll find below, was obtained by the congressional panel that has been holding hearings this week about Wall Street collapses and executive excess. The late-September AIG gathering at the St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach cost $443,343, according to the invoice. The six-figure sum covered hotel rooms, banquets, golf fees, and spa services at the resort south of Los Angeles.” What does out Government then do? They have extended this company an additional 38 Billion Dollars for the so-called “rescue”!

In today’s Wall Street Journal Opinion Page, the following “solution” is suggested for some of our nation’s woes (Commentary about the Presidential Debate on Tuesday): “The rarest coin in the realm now is confidence. Let us posit that John McCain and Barack Obama in their debate or at any given hour are doing next to nothing to raise confidence. They have company in their failure -- 533 other Members of Congress and one president. President Bush's approval rating hangs at 25%, nearly an unprecedented low. Congress's approval is at historic lows. A Rasmussen poll last weekend said nearly 60% of the public would chuck the entire Congress. The standard remedy for this in political systems everywhere is throw the bums out. In 2006's off-year congressional election, the American people threw out one set of Republican bums, and if current polls mean anything, replaced them with the Democrats' finest bums. Maybe it's time for Plan B. Mark down 2008 as the year that many large public and private institutions hit the wall. Suddenly, in different ways, they were manifestly failing. Why? Tuesday's presidential debate offered a glimpse. Amid the din of crashing banks in the U.S. and Europe and stumbling government efforts to plug the dikes, Barack Obama and John McCain airily promised to wave into life one grandiose solution after another for health insurance, Social Security, energy supplies and incomes. Do serious voters believe any of this?”

My Grandmother lived in our home until her death. She had many pithy statements she would share from time to time. One of them was: “Waste not – Want not!” What would happen within our government if that pithy statement was applied? What if earmarks and grants and foreign aide, etc. were greatly curtailed, reduced, or eliminated? Another parody that makes sense is: “If your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep will be your downfall.” The Scriptures give practical teaching regarding finances. Among them is a passage from I Timothy 6:7-10 (The Message), “Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that's enough. But if it's only money these leaders are after, they'll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after…”

Consider these things with me - - - Good and practical stewardship should be observed by us all. Our nation needs to return to sound principles and careful expenditures. We have become a nation and people of debt. We are at the point that debt-management is beyond our reach and financial disaster lurks at the threshold of our nation. Be diligent to follow sound financial management standards, and live within your means. Learn to save rather than to spend. God will supply for all our needs when we honor him as good stewards!

From My Perspective - - -

Howie Mandel has taken a “no-brainer” concept for a Game Show and popularized it to a leading prime-time program. There is currently a daily format as well. The simple idea is to guess which case out of 26 contains one million dollars. The concept is not dissimilar to an earlier program with Monty Hall called Lets Make A Deal. Both programs are based on the gambling instincts of people and/or the greed principle. With one program, guess the case with the Million Dollars; with the other, choose Door Number1, Number 2, or Number 3 for the big prize of day!

As we hear the news headlines of the past several days, the United States Economy is in jeopardy. It is difficult to determine the depths of it because of the prolonged period of Deficit Spending that has gone on for years. Now, the key word is “Bail-Out” companies that have been mismanaged and/or misrepresented the true worth of the particular company. Some name companies that have failed in recent years include Global Crossing, Enron, Adelphia, and Worldcom. Currently, everything from Investment Centers to Banks to Major Corporations with Bankruptcy and/or Closure! Overnight, Bank Regulators closed one of the largest banks in the nation – Washington Mutual – and the assets were taken over by JP Morgan. The Congress of the United States believes the solution is to obligate the nation for 700 billion dollars to bail out Mortgage Holders and other businesses. While the nation is focused on the much bigger picture of the economy, the House of Representatives approved a 25 Billion Dollar for the Automotive Industry (with promise of additional relief next week). There was the $85 Billion for AIG. Pick the case for the Million Dollar Jackpot. Is the Big Deal behind Door Number 1, Number 2, or Number 3?

Receiving little notice are some religious broadcasters who are appealing for funds in a very clever but erroneous way. The erroneous appeal is to SOW SEED (Money). Some ask for the Seed Money of $100.00, although it is usually $1,000.00. In a very convincing but erroneous way, they suggest that you cannot receive your harvest unless you plant your seed (money). The idea is to send your money to those soliciting the seed. The appeal is that if you do so THE BOAZ ANOINTING will be reciprocated in your behalf. An Evangelist named Mike Murdock has popularized this erroneous approach. He explains it as: Anointed Numbers (and a Boaz Anointing)- “The reason I’m praying for 70 is that number is a anointing number under Moses, And God said whoever the 70 people are that respect your mantle, that respect your anointing, Moses every time I bless you I’ll bless them. What I’m asking God to do is every time He blesses Mike Murdock he blesses you, every time he gives me a financial idea he gives you one. Every time he silences the Devil for me, He’ll silence an enemy for you. Every time God heals my son, He heals yours. That’s a Boaz anointing (according to Murdock), the anointing you respect is the anointing that grows in your life.”

However, the story of Boaz and Ruth is a very tender one pertaining to Love and Redemption. Boaz was a very wealthy man who lived in Bethlehem. When Naomi returned to Bethlehem with Ruth, her widowed daughter-in-law, she sent her into the fields of Boaz to glean. Boaz learned that Ruth's deceased husband was a distant relative of his. He acted kindly towards Ruth and instructed his farm workers to leave extra sheaves of barley for her to gather. Ruth had another relative of her late husband who was closer than Boaz. By law, the other relative was obligated to marry her, as stated in Deuteronomy 25:5 through 10. Boaz confronted the other relative with this law, and after the relative refused to marry Ruth, Boaz agreed to marry her, and to buy the estate of her deceased husband. After they were married, Ruth had a son named Obed, who became the father of Jesse, who became the father of David.