Prayer is Good for Us

Two researchers at the University of Cincinnati have found data that supports what we who believe experience daily, God is good. No wonder we call it "Good News".

Way back in the Seventies I started studying the relationship between health and faith. Now, modern research methods have allowed us to see that being spiritual adds more to longevity than exercise and many other health building activities.


Go to my web site and buy my books for more good stuff.

Gary Sweeten

Oama and Non Profits

Will Obama kill charities? Maybe. His drive to tax high income eraners and reduce tax deductions looks pretty ominous. Take a look at the analysis of Dick Morris.

OBAMA SOAKS THE RICH: CHURCHES, DAY CARE, HOMELESS SHELTERS

By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN

Published on DickMorris.com on March 28, 2009

President Obama's glib assertion that his reduction in tax deductions will not reduce donations is absurd. His pathetic defense at his press conference - that he would still give a $100 dollar check to charity even if he only got $11 less of tax deduction from it was both disingenuous and beside the point.

And his comment that his reduced deduction would only impact one or two percent of the nation misses the point that it is these folks who are doing almost half of the donating.

In 2006, the most recent year for which data is available, four million taxpayers had adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 or more. They comprised 3% of the tax returns, made 31% of the income, but donated 44% of all charitable contributions. Together, they provided charity with $81 billion in that year.

Obama's plan will cost them $10 billion in extra taxes on the income they allocated to charitable donations. How can the president be so glibly certain that they will not curtail their charitable contributions by a like amount or even more?

Imagine all the harm Obama's program will cause. Churches will be hit most hard. They account for the largest share of charitable donations, but universities, disease research, hospitals, soup kitchens, and cultural institutions will also be hard hit. So will international relief efforts that funnel aid abroad through churches or directly.

It is totally dishonest for Obama to pretend that his curtailment of these deductions won't hurt the poor. It will most directly impact them since most of the charities Obama is hurting focus on helping the impoverished.

This proposal is not about saving money. It is about controlling it. By, in effect, transferring at least $11 billion a year from private philanthropy to government spending, Obama empowers the public sector at the expense of the voluntary one.

President Obama's recommended reduction in the tax deduction for charitable giving reflects his fundamental belief that only the government can or should help the poor. He wants to keep the impoverished directly dependent on the government - and the Democratic Party - for their daily bread.

The voluntary sector has always been the backbone of compassion in the United States. Our charitable donations dwarf those of any other country. And our system of tax deductions for giving permits us to decide what charities are worthy of our generosity - a decision Obama will transfer to the politicians under his program.

Go to DickMorris.com to read all of Dick's columns!

Missions

Preaching the gospel in Denmark is difficult. Well, not the preaching but the responses are low and church attendance is very low. The State Church in Denmark is Lutheran and I now know why our founders made sure we in American escaped from the horror of a state supported church.

But here is the good news. Creative and innovative church planters have discovered that many of the new immigrants to Denmark are very open to the good news. Over 450,000 new churches have been planted in Denmark in the past decade.


One of the reasons why our ministry of equipping is so critical in Europe lies here. They Christ Followers need good ministry skills and the new church leaders are under trained in practical skills of ministry. Please pray for a revival in Europe. There are more witches there than in Africa.

Gry Sweeten

Heart and Soul in Witnessing

I wrote a few posts ago about the technical brilliance and the soullessness of much of modern life. While in Norway and Denmark I saw the advance of social and politics that makes sure people live in relative comfort. They call it "A guaranteed quality of life." Scandinavia is the model for Liberals in the USA and we are headed rapidly in that direction.

The problem with such an ideal is the lack of initiative taken by ordinary people to innovate, relate with love and care to each other in a deep manner. It is easier to let the government take care of our problem and problem people. But that does not work very well. People with psychological and relational pain need love, care, kindness and sharing in a community not just pills and a psychiatric hospital staffed by bureaucrats.

It also means that witnessing is frowned upon. So most Christ Followers find it increasingly difficult to share their faith in Jesus. That is way too personal, emotional and agressive.

My seminar in Norway was held in a four star summer resort on the sea. Being winter, the rates with a meter of snow on the ground were low. Some thirty of us came together to grow deeper into personal relationship with God, self and others.

The staff at the resort were attentive and professional.

During one of my sessions on developing personal relationships with others I suggested that building caring relationships is most effective way to witness about Christ's love. I finished the session by asking how many of them knew the names of our servers and if any had spoken to them personally in the first two days of our visit. Few raised their hands.

I had suggested that the Jesus Model as presented in Luke 10 is a great evangelistic model. It tells us to bless people with peace as we go about our business. Then, we are to observe on whom that peace rests because that would alert us to the persons that were interested in Christ.

The group took the hint and thereafter became warmly inviting to the staff. One woman was fluent in Russian and discovered that two of the staff were from the former USSR. They chatted in Russian and the smiles were wide on their beaming faces.

One man asked how he might pray for a waitress and she burst into tears. She later asked him to pray that she would overcome her fear of males so she could develop a healthy relationship with a man.

A Pastor discovered that one of the wait staff was from his hometown and shared his unique way of speaking. They spent hours together reminiscing about the "old days" in the village.

In a few days this caring, Evangelical group of turned on, Spirit filled men and women discovered voices of compassion. They overcame the natural "Scandinavian Shyness" and showed strangers the love and concern of Jesus .

Two other groups were also having conferences at the hotel. They were loud, drunken and having a lot of "fun". The differences between them and us were obvious. We chatted with each other and the staff with warmth, empathy and respect. Some responded back with requests for prayer and understanding their loneliness. Even though sober we had more joy.

Take a look at how powerful respect, love, understanding and warmth can be, even to an atheist.

Gary Sweeten

Recession: What is God Up To?

Does God have a plan for the recession? I sure hope so because what I see coming from Washington, D.C. is not very comforting.

For most of the history of the world recession has been the constant and chronic situation. Well, not exactly recession but a full fledged DEPRESSION. It has only been in the recent past when Western Europe and the USA have been able to feed, clothe and house its citizens in a way that was safe, warm and adequate.

The Western or Christian World of Democracy is the first time in history that governments were concerned about providing a majority of its citizens with food, clothing and shelter. Slavery, poverty and rapacious leadership have been the order of the day. Thank God, with the rise of Christianity and Bible knowledge we have seen governments in the west act with some benevolence toward its citizens.

So, what is a godly plan now for our Western, Christianized leadership? I am not sure, but a the least we need to pray for our leaders and pray for Christians to respond to hurting folks in a compassionate and caring manner.

When we read the Bible it is clear that Christians lived under extremely difficult circumstances during those early days. It is also clear that other Christians, although in poverty themselves, sent financial relief to their brothers and sisters.

We in America are facing hard times but our brothers and sisters around the world are REALLY in trouble. So, what would God have us do? Step up our support for missions around the world. For example, Pastor Rich Femia just returned from Romania and I was in Russia last fall. Both countries had so very little even in prosperous times. Now the situation is critical. Older people are even starving.

Can we sit by in our beautiful houses and churches while brothers and sisters suffer? What should be our response

Preventing AIDS

In one of the best articles I have read about this subject, Christianity Today, tells about how one of the most important AIDS experts in the world supports monogamy and other faith based ways to prevent the spread of AIDS in Africa.

I hope you will read the article and report it widely among the media.

Gary Sweeten

Liberating Poor People

Poverty is not the problem, poor people are the problem. I grew up poor and my battle to be well off was mainly with myself, not someone else.

First, I had to be changed on the inside. I was similar to many of my adolescent friends in that I was crazy about the things that kept me poor. Sex, alcohol, fast cars and running around like a Tom Cat. I was not interested in books, classes and paying attention, let alone hard work. I always laughed at the joke that I had an allergy problem. I was allergic to hard work.

But God intervened and knocked me off the horse I was riding furiously toward Sodom and Gomorrah and got my attention. He said loudly and directly, "Choose this day whom you will serve." The only possible answer had to be, "You Lord, have the answers to life."

Shortly afterward God had an even bigger surprise for me by telling me to quit my factory job at Dowzer Electric where I repaired transformers so I could sign up to attend college. Wow! that was a shocker.

So, the two keys to leaving poverty were a changed life and attendance at college. I stopped drinking and carousing and did very well in college. I learned that I had some ability to think, do my lessons and enjoy a clean and sober life. After those insights financial health was easy.

There is no mystery to wealth. Self discipline, hard work, education and saving your money. Simple but not easy in this super heated environment of addictive buying.

I do believe that knowing Jesus brings to most an abundant life of health, wealth and wisdom. But not by helping them reap without sowing or winning the lottery. Life within limits and without the pretensions of ego and anyone can become well off.

I had the advantage of two great parents and some wonderful grand parents who helped me, taught me and trained me to treat others well while working hard and investing in good things. The great barrier to wealth and health is a single parent home. Men acting like Tom Cats and impregnating women with no intention of caring for their offspring. These men ought to be roundly condemned not supported by public figures.

Marriage of one man to one woman for one life is the healthiest norm there is for a good life. It is not something that requires brilliance or luck. Just a godly change and self discipline.

Gary Sweeten
www.sweetenlife.com