Dwell a While in the Sackcloth and Ashes

Has the West lost its mojo? The fiscal re-grouping Ms Ghosh suggests will not teach us what we need to learn about fair trade and ethical wealth distribution. When will the poor in the two thirds world get their "better effect"?... An axe needs to be laid at the root of the marauding tentacles of global capitalism. We should dwell a while in the sackcloth and ashes... "Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land"(2 Chronicles 7:14). The 'Christian West' needs to summon the moral, spiritual and political will to do this.

A prayer point for all churches.

Spooked into austerity, we dig our own economic grave

www.guardian.co.uk

Jayati Ghosh: Fear of the markets has blinded leaders to the alternatives. Economies can grow out of debt or plunge deeper into crisis

Nothing is Lost by giving.

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:19


Here St Paul assures us confidently that because we give for the good of others (verse 18),God will surely give to us all we need when we need it. So these tough economic times DO NOT call for us to stop giving. They represent a test of our confidence in the God we serve. So no matter how hard things get, I'll not throw away my confidence in God... Will you? 


Let's remember the rewards our faith in the Lord have brought us so far. Keep giving to meet the needs we see around us and God will be faithful where you and I are concerned.

Divine Sufficiency In the Age of Austerity by PRT

There's something Dickensian about the cuts our local authorities are making in these times.. or haven't you felt it yet? Councils up and down the country will be making rather savage cuts to their budgets, incrementally, for several years to come; affecting the elderly, the vulnerable and the young. Well, actually all of us! Have you felt it yet? It makes me smile to hear folks complain that their local authority is "making cuts in the wrong places". That usually means that cuts are being made that impact them directly! It's set to get a whole lot worse. But what does Jesus say our response should be to hard economic times?

Do Not Worry

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Matt 6:25-26 (NIV)

Give

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Luke 6:38 (NIV)

So rather than anchor ourselves in worry and penny pinching, why not operate in the truth of God's word:

God blesses so you can be a blessing

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need will abound in every good work. 2 Cor 9:8 (NIV)

It's certainly counter-cultural; and rather a necessary paradigm shift for us if we are to be "salt and light" during hard times.