by Jed Estrada

Save Our Money in 2010!

2010-01-13T12:22:00.001-05:00

This year, millions of Americans are making New Year’s resolutions for better lives. For most of them, that means better finances. Television, magazines, and tabloids are ablaze with the top financial resolutions to save money in 2010. Money is a popular thing these days. So many politicians, businessmen, and newscasters are talking about money, and in such large amounts that it is hard to imagine what use the few dollars you hold in your pocket really are.

The past few years have seen several major calamities and overhauls in the national economic scene. Unfortunately, these are not merely isolated economic fluctuations, but signs of the unraveling of our entire economic system. The housing market crash, the mortgage meltdown, and the demise of several national banks were all dominoes in a greater and imminent collapse, which started with the lowering of banking standards from years before. (See “In Whom Do We Trust?” April 2009) What is next?

This decade has seen unprecedented government intervention and control, with the business industry being the latest sector to see government tampering. In September 2008 the federal government stepped in to bail out AIG, one of the world's largest insurers. Then on June 1^st 2009, the government bailed out General Motors, the second-oldest member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Now the Obama administration is calling for yet another stimulus bill, supposedly focusing on job creation. The Heritage Foundation, a public policy research institute published a report citing the failure of Obama’s previous stimulus bill. “In January 2009, White House economists predicted that the stimulus bill would create (not merely save) 3.3 million net jobs by 2010. Since then, 3.5 million more net jobs have been lost, pushing the unemployment rate above 10 percent,” said Brian Riedl, the Heritage Foundation's lead budget analyst.

The fact is that more money alone has never solved economic problems. If the government run economy is consistently faltering, that means that the procedures are failing. The situation we have today is like a convoluted operating room, with so many instruments and medications, that we can’t even diagnose the problem, so as to even begin to find a solution. One thing is clear: the stimulus option does not work, and has a long history of not working. The Heritage Foundation reports, “The idea that increased deficit spending can cure recessions has been tested repeatedly, and it has failed repeatedly.” In the 1930s, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” doubled federal spending, but unemployment remained above 20 percent until World War II. President Bush tried to improve the economy through Government spending in 2001, and 2008, but the economy continued to worsen both times, exacerbated by the costs of the war. Now Obama is attempting yet another stimulus bill, while at the same time increasing national spending (a.k.a., national debt).

The most dismal factor in all of this is that the money being spent to fix the economy is coming from taxpayers. Government intervention works on the principle that the Government can spend your money better than you can to fix your problems. That’s exactly what our government has been doing, and now our nation is 12 trillion dollars in debt. According to information from the U.S. Treasury and Federal reserve, the burden of debt per taxpayer is $112,671. That’s how much the government has spent on you. In a nation where 15 million people are unemployed, we can only wonder what those people would have done if they had their own money. President Ronald Reagan believed that “there is nothing wrong with America that Americans can't fix.” A free market built American prosperity. A free market rebuilt our nation after the Great Depression. What could we do today if we were free from government intervention and control?

This year is very likely to be filled with even more financial crises. As we look at the past few years of economic dismay, it is apparent that all of the problems have had their roots in past decisions. Unfortunately, the past year has been filled with more poor economic decision, and we can’t hold up a myth of prosperity forever. So save your money this year while it is still yours, and don’t follow the nation’s reckless spending example. As Frank Hubbard, a simple harpsichord maker so wittily said, “The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket.”

The Search for Truth

2009-10-28T13:48:00.001-04:00

In April of 1995, following the Oklahoma City Bombing, rescue workers left this message in paint on one of the surviving walls: “We search for the truth. We seek justice. The courts require it. The victims cry for it. GOD demands it!” The bombing in Oklahoma City was the very first case of terrorism at home, and it shook the nation. The safety and security that America had long taken for granted was being challenged, and the question of truth was in everyone’s minds. The cry for truth and justice resonated loudly, and the culture rushed to provide the answer. Unfortunately, the answers of our postmodern society were unfit to provide a solid answer, and unable to promise a secure future.

Dr. Gene Edward Veith, a columnist for WORLD Magazine and author of 18 books, wrote about the conflicting worldviews that are prevalent in society today in his book, Loving God with all your Mind: Thinking as a Christian in the Postmodern World. He identifies the fact that the world we live in today has an overall climate of postmodernism, which denies absolute truth, and holds to a belief that truth is a construction of the will. In short, “the human being is the creator of truth.” According to this belief, truth must be relative, and therefore indefinable. And if that’s true, how can we ever find justice?

Sadly, justice is the first thing to be lost in a society where truth is relative. Our courts are an example of this moral disintegration. Our judicial system is based upon the Constitution, the supreme law of the land. But what happens when supreme law is relative? Postmodernism wants us to believe that truth is fluid. It is constantly changing, and always able to be shaped in whatever way we see fit. This has led to a re-interpretation of the Constitution by our highest courts, which can only end in a disregard for our basic rights. Life is no longer valued. Private property is no longer protected. And because truth isn’t solid, we can expect even more new interpretations in the future.

Ideas have consequences. Our ideas shape our beliefs, which we use to interpret the facts that we encounter. Our beliefs will ultimately shape our conclusions, and our conclusions are what determine our actions. Under a postmodern worldview, that means a person who completely believes that he should blow up a building would honestly be right in acting upon the ‘truth’ that he created. The terrorist attacks on September 11th were ideological attacks. The radical Muslim terrorists had deep religious convictions that killing the “infidels” was truly righteous. Our problems only get deeper when there is a clash of postmodernism, which is inevitable under such an erroneous belief. What happens when two people’s constructed truths collide? Here then, is our dilemma: Truth is a construction, and in our society we construct our truth around pleasure, building our own luxuries high around us like great towers. Then along comes another man. We wouldn’t dare confront him, because he is entitled to his own truth, which he can construct and live out as he sees fit. But if this man happens to be a Muslim extremist, then truth for him may consists of the destruction of our towers. Looking at it this way, it is very easy to see why our government is so slow to bring justice to our enemies.

There is only one way for us to avoid this pitfall, and it is both proverbial and simple: Let the Lord build the house. God’s ways are perfect, and His law is truth. Even when our courts no longer require justice, and even when our citizens no longer cry for truth, we can always trust God to demand it! Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is unchanging, absolute, and flawless, and He is the perfect answer to all our problems. This is our truth, which the Bible says has the power to set us free! Armed with a solid foundation, we can intellectually and capably engage our modern society.

Withdrawal is unthinkable. Having found what truth is, we can never go back to a flawed belief, no matter how blissful ignorance seems. Compromise is not an option. The very nature or our truth makes it absolute and unchanging. Postmodernists constantly change and clarify their beliefs, which will quickly bring them to circular reasoning and dead ends. Using logical and systematic methods, we can easily isolate a postmodern worldview. If truth is relative, then what is right? If we invent what is right, why do we punish murderers? Our culture can’t give us the answers. Only a fundamental, supreme law can govern a nation.

Peter Marshall, the U.S. Senate chaplain in the early 1900s prayed on the senate floor, “Give to us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for—because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything.” As we look at the direction our nation is going and see our society falling down around us, it is clear that we need basic truth instilled in our culture once again. The only way for us live in this world is to truly love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. Only by standing for Him can we successfully stand in this world, and thereby make a positive impact on our culture for God’s glory.

An Investor's Story

2009-08-24T23:18:00.000-04:00

The Other Side of the Bank and Credit Market Crash

Richard Edwards moved to Horseheads this past October after the economic depression engulfed the market. Mr. Edwards is a programmer and web designer from Southern California, but over the past years he became involved in the real estate market. His story captures the depth of the shift in fortunes that resulted from the 2008 economic crash, and gives a good snapshot to how exactly such a depression affects individuals.

Ten years ago, Mr. Edwards and his wife took the money from their mortgage and invested it in real-estate. Through a series of quick ‘flips,’ (quick re-selling of property) he was able to make a significant amount of money very quickly. That made it an effective and attractive field of business. By leveraging the property, and taking out more mortgages, he was able to buy more real-estate. The theory was that as the banks gave out loans, the people who bought the land and houses would pay it back eventually. The original loans that the investor bought the property with would start with a very low “teaser rate” of interest, and the investment would appreciate, or increase in value, before it expired. And even if the investment didn’t appreciate in time, and investor could keep refinancing until it was sold. “With so many different lenders, we could always refinance to get out of paying real interest rates, especially on the larger payments that would pay down the larger loans” said Mr. Edwards. “As long as the real estate value kept going up, and as long as we could keep on refinancing, then it was a profitable business that went on for 10 years.”

That worked out great, up until the mortgage lending meltdown in 2007, caused mostly by inaccurate credit rating, speculation, and the changing policies of banks and the government; all brought to a head by a sudden boom in the real estate market. “When the mortgage lending meltdown made national news, then suddenly no lenders anywhere would refinance anything. And one by one we watched these teaser rates expire, and were unable to refinance them to more affordable loans. As the loans reset, we found they were no longer profitable.” With a large portfolio of investments on hand, Mr. Edwards found his assets value dropped from 6 digit to 4 digit value, and his liabilities ranging in the 7 and 8 digit figures. “We were borrowing money out of the property we had purchased to use them just as down payments on the larger loans of other properties.”

Then at the end of October 2008, the strain of foreclosures and default loans finally pulled their toll on the banks, causing the big bank and credit market crash that is still rippling through our economy and industries today. For people like Richard Edwards who were already reeling from the mortgage lending meltdown, this was the final straw. “I didn’t have any time to react to it. At this time I was still unemployed, and was socked with payments that were unaffordable, and had at this time exhausted my savings.” Richard tried to make any profit he could out of the property he still had on hand, but through this entire time no one was buying anymore. Before he might have gotten several offers on a piece of land within two weeks of putting it on sale, but now he might go three months without even one offer. “It’s like a shell game, where there’s a bunch of shells being moved around, and you wonder which one has the equity in it, the answer is none of them do!”

While talking to Richard Edwards, I was struck with the scope of the real estate market crash. Throughout the months of senate committees and investigations that followed the market crash, it was revealed how deep and corrupt the problems with the credit and mortgage system really were. But for Mr. Edwards and many of the other hundreds of thousands of people who lost their jobs, it was nothing less than a screeching halt, wild spin, and hard crash to an entire field of business. While it is easy to point out the irresponsibility of banks in the amount of money they would lend out on poor credit, it is also important to keep in mind the domino effect of calamities that hit viable investors like Mr. Edwards. “Originally I had set aside around $250,000 as a contingency, thinking that a quarter of a million dollars would be enough to weather any wrinkle in the real estate market. It didn’t occur that I would be socked with both long term unemployment, and a decline in real estate values, and the inability to refinance loans. So it was the culmination of those three calamities, any one of which would have been difficult to weather, which quickly burned through my savings.”

Many today are quick to point out individuals living beyond their means as the ones responsible for our economic state. In Richard Edwards’s case, it was his entire field that collapsed. In talking to him, he told me that he does not consider it a personal failure for himself. He did what he could to prepare, and even in the end he never filed for bankruptcy. “I could have weathered one, maybe two, but not all three calamities at once.” In the end, with enormous interest rates, debts, and a lump of semi-worthless real estate, Mr. Edwards told me he thought it was best just to walk away. Now he has picked up web designing and programming again, as well as adventures that involve canoeing, instead of the stock market.

True Security in an Insecure World

2009-04-10T11:16:00.001-04:00

We have all heard the advice at some point that if you want to be successful, get a good education, and find a good job with good benefits. Assuming that you are a good worker and you don’t make bad financial decisions, you should be set to make a career, build a retirement, and at best stay economically secure for your life. Unfortunately, our economic world is a much more harrowing place these days where survival is the key: survival for companies as they seek to stay out of the red, and survival for employees as they try and hold onto their source of income.

Since the economic downturn has hit the roots of the financial industry, nearly every sector is experiencing unemployment. According to data from the US Department of Labor, the highest rate of unemployment is in the service sector, which affects nearly every service the average citizen use on a daily basis, but manufacturing is also experiencing a financial hit.

Job security isn’t the legendary shelter that many people once believed it to be. In these hard economic times where not even banks are secure, companies often need to cut back to survive. In the changing economy, even some of the strongest companies are no longer as secure as they once were believed to be. Joe Dabroski, a resident of Sayre Pennsylvania, lost his job this past January after 25 years with IBM, a company which has held to the strongest standards of employee retention, even through the Great Depression.

Joe Dabroski graduated from Clarkson College (now Clarkson University) with a B.A. in Mechanical Engineering in 1983. There he met his wife Marion, who graduated the following year with a degree in Chemical Engineering. IBM was actively recruiting top college graduates in the early 1980s. Joe interviewed with an IBM recruiter directly from Clarkson’s campus, and was hired as a development engineer at the IBM’s Endicott site. He was quickly promoted over the years, and reached the position of Senior Engineer in about 10 years. In 1992 he moved to the branch of applications engineering. There he worked with outside customers, describing and promoting silicon technology to other businesses and corporations. He worked in the micro-electronics division, which was the primary developer of the high technology silicon chips within the company. In 2002 he moved to a larger division, working on IBM’s core silicon technology. Here he was an operations analysts doing staff work for management, and working from home. This was the position he held until he was laid off in January 2009.

Mr. Dabroski said that by January he knew it was only a matter of time before he would be affected by IBM’s job cuts. “It was the third cycle of immediate layoffs, but I was finally affected. It finally got to the point where they were past cutting down to the bone, and they were cutting some of the bones out”, said Mr. Dabroski. At the time he was working in Sales Operations, and within an 18 month period 70 percent of the fifteen employee department had been laid off.

But even with such a strong background and experience with the company, Mr. and Mrs. Dabroski weren’t taking any chances. “When Joe started at IBM it was part of the company’s policy that he wouldn’t get laid off.” Marion Dabroski said. “The first time there were layoffs, it was an eye-opener for us, so we decided then that we weren’t going to overextend ourselves. You couldn’t be sure to know how long this good thing was going to last. And so we had to prepare ourselves for it not lasting forever.” The Dabroskis paid off their home mortgage, and stayed out of debt. “I can’t tell you what a comfort that was to us when he lost his job that we weren’t worried if we could make our house payment.”

When Joe Dabroski was laid off, he was given 30 days to search for another job within the company. But by the time the month was over, neither he nor anyone he knew had found another position in IBM. But Joe was able to quickly find a new job with the help of IBM’s out placement services that came with their severance package. He now works for Stateline Auto Auction in the accounting office. On the topic of job security, he says “Job security is very much based on what skills you can develop and how you can articulate them and describe what they are, so you that can move within the company from job to job, or to another company.” Accordingly, for a responsible worker, your security will be invested in what you can do, and not a dependency on what a company promises you. By developing your skills, you have something to take with you if you lose your job, and you can bring it to a new job. “In essence” said Mr. Dabroski, “if you’re able to do that, then you are secure in the effect of being able to demonstrate that you can help a new company, or a new position to succeed.”

For the Dabroskis, keeping a secure family is the priority. Joe said he and Marion were able to work together during his period of unemployment. “We were in lock step on how to approach these things, and when we found out that I lost my job we weren’t struggling with each other because we were already prepared.” As Christians, if we place our security first in our Faith and our Family, we’ll find that God is faithful, and will never downsize His kingdom. Or as the Psalmist says, “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it.” So rest your security first on the Kingdom of God, “and all these things will be added unto you.”

Trust: Where is Yours?

2009-03-08T23:31:00.001-04:00

Hardly a day goes by without more reports of government funds being thrown into the financial market. Although we are encouraged to trust the administration and this new stimulus plan, any thinking person can do the calculations, and see that it just doesn’t add up. When you’re dealing with huge concepts like billions of dollars, it is dangerously commonplace to hear that the new proposed Federal bailout package is over $1 trillion now. As our national deficit soars past $10 trillion, all of this additional spending to our budget will cause even great problems down the road. But all we see are politicians and lawmakers running around trying to save the day with more money, and paying no heed to the impending night. Basic economics, history, and reason all prove that when the government tampers with the economy, the results are negative.

It looks like all of us in Chemung County might finally get a look at some of that Federal money, after all. Last month the Elmira Savings Bank received a check from the government totaling $9.09 million in stimulus dollars. Assistant Vice President Kim Elliot says this will enable them to generate more loans, and to promote growth in the community. Michael Hosey, the president and chef executor of the bank assures that Elmira Savings is “still strong and growing.” The danger now is that as more money is pumped into the system, our savings will lose value as the rest of the market experiences inflation.

The banking system, and in some ways the entire economic system relies on a trust. When you trade currency for goods or services, that dollar bill is a promise of a set value. Inflation breaks that trust. In the same way, the banks use the funds you deposit to finance other people homes, help them buy a new car, and essentially flows through the market in a stable pattern that ensures your money will be there when you withdraw it. Irresponsibility and poor money management breaks that trust. This entire economic crisis started when the banks were making out large loans to people to buy houses, and was exacerbated by inflated collateral prices, all of which resulted in net losses to both the financial and banking industries.

Tom Woods, the manager of the Solutions Federal Credit Union says that this problem began back in the late 1990s, when banks lowered their standards of loaning money, and tried to create equality while ignoring the debt-to-income ratios that were used for decades. “It’s not popular, but not all borrowers are created equal” said Mr. Woods. “Philosophy went if everyone has car and house, you have equality, and happiness, and prosperity. And like many things that look good, the end result can be pain sorrow and misery. If you don’t have the management skills and resources to pay that back, you lose your car or your house.” What happened was that thousands of people would finance their house with a $100,000 loan, and that would inflate the market. Their new home would be appraised at $130,000, with the value of homes was being artificially raised due to and increase in housing loans. When it all finally came back down, the people who had taken out these huge loans were left with big mortgages that were greater than the value of their homes. Then when they foreclosed, the house could be sold for $80,000, and the bank had to absorb a net loss $50 grand.

Tom Woods says the only solution is for people to start living within their means. If the government keeps on bailing us out, we’re headed for another economic emergency, just like the banking and housing crash. Government bailouts are just like the lowering of lending standards. It takes way the responsibility of individuals to pay for their actions. Just like the banks could only absorb so much of other people’s losses, we’re approaching the point as a nation where we can’t take anymore debt. The scary thing is who will really have pay. “I think we’ve forgotten who we work for, and who we’re accountable to” said Mr. Woods. “Really, all that money is the American people’s money. Government doesn’t have money just lying around. It’s like a credit union. If you borrow money and don’t pay it back, it harms all the other credit users.” Those extra trillion dollars the government just borrowed will have to be paid back by the taxpayers. According to the research of a public policy research institute called the Heritage Foundation, Congress’s budget resolutions will require a 3.3 trillion dollar tax increase over the next decade, roughly equaling about an additional $2,600 per household annually. And hold your breath, because we’re still spending,

So what should our perspective as Christians be? Thou shalt not steal for starters, and there are plenty of ways to do that in this world without breaking the law. Try to exercise safe financial practices, and above all trust in God. It’s ironic that at a time when all our economic trusts are failing, our money still says “In God we trust.” I was watching the congressional hearings last week, and one Congressman stated, “It will take someone with the Wisdom of Solomon to sort this all out.” Unfortunately for our politicians, Solomon’s wisdom was a gift from God, and they don’t seem to get along with Him very well. A separation of church and state is a separation of wisdom and reason, as well. If you want to succeed in anything, you need faith in something higher. Tom Woods, the manager of the Solution Federal Credit Union says his faith has been indispensable. “As I see things crumble in many people way of looking at things, I’ve been able to know what’s going on… I am not overly paralyzed by the thought of where we’re headed. God is good, and if I stay the course and stay true to God he will make good things happen. Whether we do good or not, I know God is in control, and for his people He will not leave us or forsake us.”

Presidents Day: Who Will We Honor?

2009-02-18T15:34:00.005-05:00

Before all the excitement from the elections and inauguration can be forgotten, we have another opportunity to remember our presidents in February. President’s Day, on February 16th, is a special historical holiday to honor some of the greatest men who have lead this nation. It was first established as a national holiday in by congress, in 1971. Before then, the Nation observed both Washington’s Birthday on February 22nd, and Lincoln’s birthday on February 12th. In the original bill to create the central date, the recommendation to call it ‘President’s Day’ was voted down in effort to preserve the primary honor of Washington and Lincoln. Eventually the common name became commercialized, and generally accepted, but it is still a holiday primarily in honor of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

In a free nation where we aren’t required to kneel at the point of a sword, or bow on pain of death, this holiday represents and opportunity to show gratitude and respect for to our leaders. Really, it’s equally a celebration of Freedom as it is of presidents. We know far too well what presidents look like today. Every detail and action is emphasized, accentuated, scrutinized, and criticized. But do we really know what the President of the United States means to us as citizens? To choose the leader of a nation is an unparalleled gift of liberty, and marks the president’s role with service. The goal of Presidents Day is to honor them in return for that service. In an effort to keep that in perspective, Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays are still observed to highlight two of the greatest presidents this nation who has had, and frame the celebration of the rest of them.. One of them was the father of the nation, and the other preserved it. Despite anything else about them, the most significant feature of their characters is their servanthood, and commitment to America.

George Washington’s renowned integrity laid in his humility, and ultimately his role as a servant. He was first and foremost a committed man of God, and all his honors and promotions were by the will of the people around him. According to one account by the Quaker Isaac Potts, he once found General Washington in the woods during the winter at Valley Forge praying to God for his country, and thanking Him for His “exuberant goodness which, from the depths of obscurity, had exalted him to the head of a great nation.” Washington considered his role as an honor first to God who had given him a chance to serve, and then to his country which he was a servant to. He once said “I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington was the President of the United States for two terms, and though he held what many men view as the most enviable title of all, he is remembered best for the title he held most dear: an honorable man. We remember 43 presidents. How many of them can compare to Washington?

Abraham Lincoln was another man who was a great servant to his country. Many history books tell different stories of his presidency, and there are a lot of contrary views tied up in the Civil War. But Abraham Lincoln was another man who was known for integrity and honesty, earning him the famous nickname “Honest Abe.” Lincoln said of himself “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have.” Lincoln saw the darkest moments of this nation, and though many are quick to point out where he could have done differently and better, he was clearly a man of God whom God raised up to preserve the United States. The latter President James A. Garfield said of Lincoln, “He was one of the few great rulers whose wisdom increased with his power, and whose spirit grew gentler and tenderer as his triumphs were multiplied.”

These great men were citizens who stepped up when their nation needed them, and served their country. We celebrate them first to honor their memory for their sakes, and second to remember it for ourselves. We need more citizens today who will serve their county for thee love of Liberty. Our leaders should not only follow these men’s footsteps on the stairs of the capitol, but also in the deeds of their character. Too many men these days run for political office as their career instead of a service, and it’s the citizens that pay them back for their actions for the rest of their lives. I’m not just talking about reaping the consequences, although that has unfortunately become the norm. All political offices carry lifelong pensions which are paid by the taxpayers. You really have to wonder who is serving who? Our leaders should take more lessons from our own history, and do more to follow in the steps of integrity that our forefathers have laid.

So how can you celebrate President’s Day? It’s a national holiday, and holiday means “a day that holy (or set apart).” We must remember that God has given us a great nation with a rich heritage. God gave us great men like George Washington and James Madison for the divine plan of given us a country with freedom like we have today. He rose up men like Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan to preserve us in a perilous time. Every leader this nation has ever had right up through Barak Obama has been ordained by God for a special purpose in this Land of the Free. Don’t lose sight of any of those facts, and celebrate President’s Day for the memory of our past heritage, and a standard for our future.

I will not sleep.

2009-02-10T01:43:00.086-05:00

It's late... I can't sleep.

I wonder why I'm not tired. I've been staying up later and later, recently. The other night I put together a playlist on imeem that inspired me. Tonight I wrote a note on facebook for my friends, and then I read some blogs. I'm finding a theme that I find hard to ignore. People writing... yet not for anyone in particular. I ventured back to xanga the other day to see who was still there. There are a few people yet, blogging faithfully. One girl name Hailey used to be the proclaimed "Queen of Xanga." I remember when she would post, and get 40 eprops. She still writes, even though no one comments anymore! I left mine when my subscribers dwindled.

It's late... I shouldn't sleep.

I've been resting far too long. Just relaxing, and dreaming. I haven't written much in a while. It's true I write for the newspaper, but it's not the same as pouring out your heart in words. I get a rush when I write articles, and I know it's something I'll enjoy doing for a living. But what about when I'm not working? When ever anyone asks what I'm doing these days, I tell them I'm working for Wegmans, and writing for the newspaper. It sounds like enough I guess, but in reality it's not much. I only work 32 hours a week, and I usually write my articles towards the end of the month. Other than that, from day to day in the evenings and on my 3 days off a week, I don't do anything. At least, I can't hold up anything that's finished. I have found I like to work. At Wegmans I throw myself into the tasks, and I excel at them. I never slow down, and I accomplish a lot. My boss loves and respects me, and all the managers appreciate me. Work gives me purpose. It keeps me awake. It's in my leisure that I drift off. I have a quote on the left that says "My heart is stirred by a noble theme..." It's not. My heart is... not empty, but not stirring. It's more like stagnant. I really think I am becalmed, like in the Horse Latitudes I wrote about. Even when I write my articles, it's my mind that's working. I need to write more from my heart, and I can't worry about who reads it.

It's late... but I wont sleep.

I have things to write about all the time. I just put it off, because I tell myself 'that's not a complete though. Save it until you can use it somewhere.' I'm going to get in the habbit of just writing more when something comes to me. There's more that I need, and I know what it is, but for now I just need to stir the waters. I hear the song in my mind, by Aaron Shust:

My Spirit is left wanting something more
Than my selfish hopes/ and my selfish dreams
I’m lying with my face down to the floor
I’m crying out for more
Give me Words to speak
Don’t let my Spirit sleep
Cause I can’t think of anything worth saying
But I know that I owe You my life
So give me Words to speak
Don’t let my Spirit sleep
Every night, every day/ I find that I have nothing left to say
So I stand here in silence awaiting Your guidance
I’m wanting only Your voice to be heard
Let them be Your Words

There's not a lot that I need. I know fully well what God has given me. What I need is to use it! It's late, but I won't let it be too late. I won't let my mind stop writing, and Lord don't let my spirit sleep. Stir my heart with a noble theme, and I'll write it for you... just like the pale letters above my header say.

And now... I'll get some rest. :-)

The Year of the Lord

2009-01-18T16:29:00.002-05:00

It’s that time of year where news and internet sites are proclaiming the zodiac sign for 2009, and speculating on the meaning the premonitions of the upcoming year. 2009 is the Chinese Year of the Ox, for those who are interested, and it bears the characteristics of leadership, as well as prosperity through fortitude and hard work. But don’t get carried away with omens and signs. The Bible says that God appoints times and seasons, and 2009 is just another year in the timeline of God’s plan. That said, what is the significance of a new year? For Christians who are watching and praying, it is one year closer to God’s promised return. To those who are observing the signs of the times, it is another page in the divine story. To almost everyone, the New Year represents a new beginning of sort, or another chance. There is definitely a sense of a fresh start, and it is reflected in the numerous New Year’s Resolutions that most people make.

The book of Isaiah has a prophecy that speaks of a glorious year of the Lord. For the nation of Israel whom it was written too, they understood a year of favor according to the laws about the year of jubilee, which was also the only tradition they observed that included blessings extended to the gentiles. When this prophecy spoke of a year of God’s favor, it held a much greater blessing. Isaiah chapter 61 verses 1 and 2 says “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn.” When Jesus went to Nazareth, He stood in their synagogue and read this passage. Then before all the people He said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." The meaning there was that Jesus was the one who would issue in the Year of the Lord. In the subsequent years if His ministry He went around doing just the things spoken of in the prophecy: bringing good news to afflicted, healing the brokenhearted, setting spiritual captives free, and comforting the mourners. But there was more to the fulfillment of the prophecy than just a year or two of miracles on earth. Through the imparting of the Holy Spirit on those who believe on Jesus, these great works continue through us. But how will they be accomplished? When Jesus was in Nazareth the people did not see the truth. Instead they rejected Him, and threw Him out of the synagogue. How do we react to the fulfillment of the prophecy?

I am reminded of a message I heard this past Christmas season about another fulfilled prophecy referring to Christ. The whole story of Mary being chosen to bear the Savior of the world is symbolic of the grace of God which makes the New Testament so special. God can work through any of us to accomplish His work. The message I heard challenged believers to carry the Savior to others, just as Mary carried Him into the world. Through the Holy Spirit we are empowered to bring the light of God’s salvation to a dark world. That is the same Spirit that Isaiah 61 speaks of, and in that same way we can bring good news to the afflicted, bind the broken hearts, and proclaim liberty to the captives. In that way, this year of 2009 can be as much a year of the Lord as His ministry was over 2000 years ago.

Second Corinthians 5:21 charges us that “we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us.” The beauty of Christ’s work was that He gave us the commandment to continue it throughout the world. Even as Christ came to make a pathway between God and man, so we are sent by God to prepare the way for His Spirit in others. As we carry the Spirit of God to those around us, the Lord will anoint us to bring His good news, and through Him we will make 2009 a glorious Year of the Lord!

Experiencing the Magic!

2008-12-09T22:15:00.001-05:00

We live in a world where there is so much to do, so much that needs to be done, and far too many people who are just here for the ride. Just take for example the fact that experiences and entertainment are viewed as the same thing. Life needs to be big, exciting, and adventurous! As the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said, “The person who has lived the most is not the one who has lived the longest, but the one with the richest experiences.” The only problem with that is whether you live to be old or experienced, you still die the same. That’s why you need something that reaches deeper than just the things that happen to you in life.

The holiday season is a great example. Everyone spends lots of money to create a Christmas experience. It’s a time of joy, giving, and creating wonderful memories for everyone. Christmas is one of those special times that make memories that last entire lifetimes. Disney advertises its world resort Christmas dream vacation, filled with festivities, activities, and what their website calls, “an unforgettable experience.” Are these things wrong? Of course not. It is just the best example of where the world forgets the meaning, and replaces it with the experience alone. Jesus is the true meaning of Christmas, but what we forget too often is that He is also the true meaning of everything in our lives.

Here are a few examples of things that have lost their quality of meaning in the world today. Our work is one of them. Too many people work only because they are told to, because they need to, or just for the money. Work is a great opportunity not only to accomplish something, but also to glorify God. There is a bumper sticker that says “my boss is a Jewish carpenter.” What it means is that we are workers for Jesus on earth, in a very literal sense. Even in non-ministry related work, you are a witness for Christ by showing honesty, diligence, and integrity. I like to say that when I’m at work I am doing double duty; I’m on the Wegmans payroll, but I’m also putting in hours for the Kingdom. Church is another example of where many people miss the point. I’ve heard the term “worship experience” used too much. While that can be a good thing to put us in the right spirit before God, it can’t exist apart from the purpose of giving God all the glory. Besides, the world will never come to Christ on the entertainment ticket. It has to be through the sincere worship part of the “worship experience” that will point them to God.

And lastly, life in general. The world’s mentality is like that quote by Rousseau, which said living means having rich experiences. I recently had a discussion with a student from Corning Community College on this subject. He was writing on the topic of why God lets bad things happen to us, and concluded that it is to allow us to fully experience life. “If God protected us from all harm then there really would be no point in living since we would never experience anything real,” he wrote. “We learn through experience, we learn through pain. We must experience the world on our own, through our own conscious choices to make our lives something we can look back upon and feel proud of.” He said that he had once been close to God, and had faith, but now he felt he could learn so much more about life by grasping life more fully, and learning from experiences. The only problem is, this life isn’t it. God created us to ultimately have fellowship with Him, and that won’t happen until eternity. The best thing we can do with our experiences is to give them back to God by using every opportunity to glorify Him. If we keep them to ourselves, our experiences will die with us, and then what will we have to be proud of? The whole point of this life is not to get to know ourselves, but to get to know Jesus. That is the reason He came down to earth.

So this holiday season as we celebrate the first coming to Jesus, let’s try to make it one great experience to remember! But do it first and foremost by honoring God, and letting everything else be done for His glory. Don’t put “decking the halls” above “hearkening to the herald angels.” Take time to worship the King that they sung about so long ago, who wants a place in your heart and home as much today as he did 2000 years ago in Bethlehem. That way we’ll make it a memory not only for this lifetime, but also an eternal treasure of our continuous worship of God.

A Saviour on Capitol Hill?

2008-11-12T16:40:00.004-05:00

Derek Webb is a Contemporary Christian Musician, and a former singer from the group, Caedmon’s Call. He came out with a song in 2007 that has become an anthem for many people I know, called A Savior on Capitol Hill. The first verse goes “I’m so tired of these mortal men with their hands on their wallets and their hearts full of sin/ scared of their enemies, scared of their friends and always running for re-election/ so come to DC if it be thy will because we’ve never had a savior on Capitol Hill.” I think the song is a good reminder to anyone who looks to the hills for their defense. Capitol Hill, in this case. In a nation where almost all of our past presidents have claimed to be Christians, you can’t pick the next one on that alone. Too many people thought that our country would be saved if we elected McCain, and too many now think that it will be cursed because we elected Obama.

As Christians, there are several things that we believe and understand. The first is that God is in control, and uses all things for good. To keep that from becoming clichéd, put it in real world application. I honestly believe that this election will prove to be healthy for this country. As I watched the news results and saw the hundreds of thousand Americans celebrating Obama’s victory, I was encouraged that America would regain its spirit. I am not overly critical of the Bush administration, but it was undoubtedly unpopular. The change of administrations has definitely gotten a lot of people acutely interested in their country’s political scene. Many of those were an enormous amount of young people who love Obama. On the flip side, I think that now Christians will wake up to the reality that “when the righteous do nothing, the wicked rule.” Far too many Christians in the past years have fallen for the myth that if we have a godly president, everything is okay. That mentality has kept Christians politically asleep for the past 8 years, and allowed our ‘godly’ president to sink our nation into a 10 trillion dollar debt, among other things. Because we didn’t keep the leader of our choice accountable, now we will be forced to be involved to protect our rights from the opposite side. If that is what it takes to wake Christians up, then I say again that this election will be healthy for this country.

The second truth is less well known, and in greater need of remembrance today. It’s that God raises up all leaders, and “the heart of the [president] is in the hands of the Lord.” As our next president prepares to change this nation, are we objective? Are we seeking God’s will, or are we going to blanket reject anything from a democrat? Let me give you an objective perspective here. I am warily interested to see the economic changes that Obama is planning for our country. Any reasonable person can see that our nation is plunging towards an economic crash. Unfortunately, conservative economics haven’t been used properly since Reagan. Someone needed to grab the wheel, and change directions immediately. The people chose a Democrat, and now you have to expect him to veer the country left. Almost everyone approaching this election knew we needed an economic change. I’m not saying I’ll agree with what Obama does, but I am interested enough too watch it, and I’m trusting in the One whose hands are on Obama.

The last point I want to address is patriotism. The Bible tells us to respect our leaders, and that is something we all know, but in America it takes a different form. This is a free country, and respect doesn’t mean a forced allegiance. Here it’s a privilege to serve our country that is designed to serve us. Think about all the things your nation provides you with. The apostle Paul didn’t have the opportunity to love his country. Rome was restrictive, and you had to honor it to live. But in America God has blessed us with liberty, and a right to choose our government. So as part of a nation that has chosen Obama, what are you going to do? For the past several years the liberal media and much of America has torn down the country through it’s despising of the Bush administration. Now that the ball is in the conservative court, I hope we have enough patriotism to not follow suite. The biblical principle of correcting in love doesn’t end on a personal level. It means that as you lobby your elected officials, and campaign or protest, you aren’t also slandering them.

Finally, as we pray for God to bless this nation, remember that God has historically blessed or cursed a nation on behalf of its people. True change comes on a spiritual level, and not with a new president. Live as you would before God, because you never know if you are being counted in a heavenly equation as one of the few righteous. In Sodom and Gomorrah there weren’t even ten. How many will America need to survive?

Introduction

2008-10-17T16:37:00.001-04:00

Hello friends and readers. :-)

This is officially the start of my online publication of all the articles I write. It will include the my monthly column from the MorningStar Newspaper, my articles for the ChristianTeen View e-Magazine, and also any important news about my life, or professional career. I archived all my past published works for you to read if you feel like it. But right now I want to update you all on what's going on in my life.

First, I have officially registered for online courses through Regen University. I'll be taking Western Civilization, College Algebra, and Biblical Languages. They are quarter semester courses, and begin on October 27th. Patrick Henry College also accepts some transfers from Regent, and I still am keeping my aim towards PHC. :-) I'm taking to Algebra to help prepare for a third shot at the SAT, which I plan to take in December. I am really trying to bring my score up so I can have a chance for the Journalism Scholarship from PHC. my last try was 100 points short of the minimum requirement. :-/ I am also excited to be taking Biblical languages, as I have always wanted to learn more about the Scripture's original context.

Secondly, I have closed on an apartment deal in Elmira, NY. I have been thinking of renting there for a while now, and keeping it under a lot of prayer from my family, friends, and two churches. This was an amazing deal, and a miraculous answer to all of my prayers and hopes, as well as my mom's wishes, and my dad's advice. I am very blessed and encouraged to see God continuing to work so greatly in my life! :-D Anyway, this arrangement will really help me focus during my college courses and SAT prep. It also gives me a strategic location to continue and advance in working with the newspaper, and I wont have to cut any of my work hours since I am so close now.

On a more serious note, I realize that this is a very important time for me. My pastor told me that he observed that everything I was doing in my life rested heavily on self control, and that these next years would be very decisive in my life. As I'm looking ahead to what I am working for, I see how right he is. This is it. Everything I ever told myself I would do someday has to be done now. This is literally the first day of the rest of my life. So prayers are definitely good, and encouragement is always welcome. I feel like God is passing the ball to my court. I am excited about the possibilities, and overwhelmed at the stakes! I'll really need to trust God more than ever now, but I am greatly encouraged that I can feel Him leading me. I am really blessed.

Anyway, I would appreciate any feedback you might have, and I would be honored if you read my opinions. Thank you for your time, and your support. :-)

- Jed Estrada

Dare We to Hope? Dare We Try?

2008-10-02T12:00:00.003-04:00

You can call it the way of the world, or you can sum it up to the Third Law of Thermodynamics at work, but you cannot deny the tendency of nations to decline. No matter how great the government, or how strong the constitution, erosion always chips away the foundations. America as we once knew it, and as it once existed is deteriorating. You can see it in the men who lead us. You can see it in the entertainment we indulge ourselves with. You can see it in man's creations. But most of all, you can see it in your average Joe American: the people who make up this country, elect our leaders, and who indulge in the worlds entertainment. And if you really take a sincere and scrutinized look, you will see it in ourselves.

What is it about nations that causes them to decline? I have observed that there is a pattern in human nature and development that makes us strive for achievement, and having gotten there we become complacent. In our complacency we then turn leisure, and have and increasing desire to have everything taken care of for us. Politically, this leads to a socialistic form of government, where the people turn to "big brother" for everything from the roofs over our heads, to our daily bread. Ironically, it is then the turn of those in charge to seek achievement, as government strives for power and authority. And when they have achieved absolute rule, it is then their turn to become complacent, and through that the structure of nations fall.

I find it very interesting that through all of that, it is an apathy among the citizens that ultimately allows them to become complacent, then to let their leaders achieve absolute rule, and then do nothing as their nation falls apart until it is much too late. Or as Edmund Burke said, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” In this case it is important to remember in terms of moral absolutes that socialism, complacency, and moral decadence is wrong. The Bible and all of History prove this to be true.

So where are we in the U.S. today? A history teacher recently asked me if I thought the United States had peaked as a nation yet. I believe we are in the deciding moments. The peak has not yet been passed, but we are definitely on the ridge. There is a growing apathy among people today, a full grown and established decadence in entertainment, a growing and almost established moral relativism, and definitely a growing movement towards socialism. I see both discouragement and hope. The recent economic crisis is a perfect example of both. We backed ourselves to the edge of a cliff with our credit based economic system, and then the proposed federal bailout which was authored by practically ever federal leader was an enormous step in the direction of socialist control in the public market by the government. I heard so many people say that it was necessary to uphold our economic stability, or at least the illusion if it. I ask you as our patriots asked so long ago, is the economy so dear, or our comfort so sweet to be bought at the price of chains? At the end of the day, and in the closing of the market, government intervention and bailout is a step in the wrong direction. And that is where I see the hope. There were enough wise people to lobby their representatives and tell them that as citizens they did not want to burden of government intervention. There were also enough honest politicians who listened to their constituents, and opposed the measure. And now in the face of economic decline, we have a great choice and chance before us. Either we will work to rebuild our economy on sound business policies, or government will assume control over the floundering market. And trust me, such control is never relinquished. It only grows, and restricts. In these crucial moments in history it is necessary for the citizens of America to care enough for their future to become involved in their nation.

So what is the Christian's duty to America? We remember that as God's people, we are citizens first and foremost of Heaven. But you are also a citizen of the United States. What does that mean? First of all, it is definitely a good thing. Paul was a citizen of Rome, and as such he was better able to serve God in the world. But the United States is very unique nation. Take a moment to think about it, and appreciate the nation that God has given you citizenship in. Over 230 years ago when our nation was created our founders did something never done before in the History of the World. They dedicated the country as a nation Under God! That act of submission to a divine authority in the greatest form of human power (the government) is the greatest reason why God has blessed America.

But our founders did something else which was both Historic and rare. They made America a nation of the people, and the power of government in that nation was "of the people, by the people, and for the people!" Where does that leave us today? The real blame of why we have fallen so far is ultimately on the people of America. As a nation we have moved away from God, by our actions, or our lack of action. That is our greatest shame, and yet our greatest hope! The Bible says "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." In that verse, the literal Hebrew interpretation of nation is 'people.' Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. In this moment in time, God has given us a nation whose blessing under God is hinged upon the faith of its people. Why then are we the least active in their nation today? Less than 40% of Christians are even registered to vote. This is the apathy that is destroying the nation. I know people in churches who are not even ashamed to define themselves as apathetic. How can we be using our gifts and occupying until Christ comes if we are failing to use such a great gift of liberty? We are no better than the servant who buried his talent in the ground. How can we dare to look for hope if we are not daring enough to try and fight for it? The elections are coming up in this nation, and it's not just about the next president. There are offices all over the nation, the state, and even our city which are open for election. Do you even care enough about your own city to vote and raise your voice?

President Ronald Reagan said in his farewell address, “We've got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom - freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is special and rare. It's fragile; it needs protection… I'm warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American spirit.” How true has this become? How important is this today? I beg you on the behalf America and the blessings that God has given to it, to understand and appreciate what you have, because if you don't it will quickly be lost. As Abraham Lincoln wrote to Congress, "We shall nobly save or meanly lose this last best hope of earth." America! May God shed His grace on thee!

"Do Hard Things" - Alex and Brett Harris Challenge the 'Myth of Adolescence'

2008-10-01T12:00:00.001-04:00

Looking for a good book for teens? Even if you aren’t, here’s one that might be worth your while. Do Hard Things is a best selling book for teenagers. It is written by Alex and Brett Harris, the twin sons of Christian and Homeschool pioneer Greg Harris. Alex and Brett are teenagers who are sold out for Christ, and they give us an awesome and inspiring message of making a difference while you are young. Beginning with a foreword penned by Chuck Norris’s fist, and packed with real life stories of committed teens making a difference in their worlds, Do Hard Things will challenge you wherever you are, and show the way to do something hard!

“Most people don’t expect you to understand what we’re going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don’t expect you to care. And even if you care, they don’t expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don’t expect it to last.” Whew! Take a moment to think about that! Those are the first words of chapter 1, and it sums up the entire message of overcoming low expectations.

Have you ever felt that no one takes you seriously just because you’re a teenager? They don’t. Not only that, most people don’t expect much from teenagers. As a result, it’s easy for many to ride through the teen years without having to do too much. Even schools are dropping their expectations of teenagers. Do Hard Things offers an alternative to that. It shows you how to use your teen years “not as a vacation from responsibility, but as a launching pad for the rest of our lives.”

The most amazing thing about the book is its perspective. It is filled with an overpowering sense of encouragement and empowerment from teenagers themselves, showing that it is possible to go against the flow of the popular culture. They take the concept of rebellion and revolution, and apply it to the rebellious attitude of teen life today. The Rebelution as they call it, is a teenage rebellion against low expectations, and a revolutionary return to biblical authority, and character. That is what ‘hard things’ are: actions that challenge us, build our character, and make us stronger.

So what is a hard thing for you? No matter where you are, there is always something you can do to grow stronger, or learn more. Your hard thing could be something that most people would not expect you to do. Whatever it could be, this book will give you the ideas you need to find your challenge, and the mindset you need to challenge the world! Do Hard Things is a fantastic book, and if you’re willing to spend the $9.70 (plus $3.99 shipping and handling) on Amazon, and read through this book, I think you’ll be well on your way to overcoming society’s low expectations!

Faith of our Fathers

2008-09-01T12:00:00.001-04:00

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, … and spends himself in a worthy cause.” They say a critic has an easy job, that he can spend his time building nothing, and still make a livving in the profitable field of breaking down the creations of others. The church is one organization that is probably criticized more than any organization in this country, besides the government. This may likely be that because the church has the great commission to be the light in the world, and one can always find something else that it could be doing… or not be doing. But as necessary or useful even constructive criticism can be, it is always greater to point out achievements, and success. In that standpoint, I believe it is extremely noteworthy to mention what the church is doing right.

The Christian community in Elmira is extremely vibrant, and has been increasingly active in the past few years. Many churches organize street ministries, or open their doors to the community in a variety edifying and educational programs. Probably the biggest example of church activity was the Let Elmira Live rally last May, in which more than 10 churches sent volunteers, and supported the ministry. But it wasn’t just a week long project that ended with the final rally at the Elmira Christian Center, it was the beginning of a greater movement of the churches within Elmira. On August 12th, I sat in on a meeting of several churches discussing the success of Let Elmira Live, and how they were following up with the people who had become saved through it. One lady told of how their church sent a group to Hawthorn Court, and the kids came running out asking, “Are you from the Elmira Christian Center?” It struck me that it is an incredible thing that the community recognizes the church’s involvement, and even looks forward to it coming to into the neighborhood.

Another example of the way the community sees the church took place two weeks ago at the Living Word Evangelical Free church on Lake street, not far from Pigeon Point. Some kids were playing in the church park, and began to break a window on the shed with rocks. The other kids called the youth Pastor, Mark Walker, who lived down the street. When Mr. Walker arrived, he found the adults from the neighborhood stopping the kids, and scolding them. “This is God’s house” said one parent, “and you don’t treat it this way.” The interesting thing here is the sense of ownership that the parents in the neighborhood have for the church property. Even though they don’t attend church, they recognize it’s presence, and feel the duty to protect it. Living Word reaches out to the kids in the community with Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and a 5 Day Club ministry at the Walker’s house. The kid’s parents have even come to church picnics on occasion. This builds a trust, and a mutual connection with the neighborhood, and is great way for the church to gain respect in the community. When parents see how the church takes their kids in, and shows them love, and teaches them, it shows the parents that the church is part of the social structure. “We see it as an opportunity to get close to them” said Mr. Walker. “You can’t force the issue, but when they open their hearts then there is an opportunity to share God’s love.”

The Bible tells us that we are the salt of the earth, and to let our light shine among men. Not merely a salt that adds spice, but as a cleansing, and preserving component. And not just a light so the world can see our works, but a light that shines the way to Christ, who is the Light of the world. A church that is built on this firm foundation is one which Jesus tells us in Matthew 16:18 that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against.” I am encouraged to see a generation growing in churches that recognizes their responsibility in the community, and a generation in the community that respects the role of the church. I firmly believe with many other Christians in this city that if we persevere with Faith and Hope, that a revival is truly possible in our land.

Responsibility: Where Generosity Begins and Ends

2008-08-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

On July 30th, President Bush signed a bipartisan bill to increase the money spent on AIDS in Africa from 15 billion, to 48 billion. This historic bill is what Bush calls a picture of the generosity of the American people, which the Wall Street Journal reports will save 5 to 7 lives. people. Since the benefit of life is so significant, I would be very reluctant to criticize such an expensive gift. But I am left to wonder whether our government is just looking for opportunities to spend money. I don't know how many people can grasp the concept of a multi-trillion dollar national deficit, but it basically means that the next several generations are going to be paying off our nations debt. Our leaders may have promised that they wouldn't raise taxes, but by spending so much on credit they are essentially passing the bill down to the next generation.

On the same day that President Bush approved the AIDS package for Africa, he also signed a bill to bail out the gigantic Freddie Mae and Fanny Mac organizations, and cover up to 400,000 home owners, according to the Wall Street Journal's Market Watch. It is one thing that the government has spent billions of dollars on disaster relief. It is still another that it spends additional billions on disaster relief in other countries. But for the government to become involved in the 'free market' is a vast overstepping of it's constitutional bounds, and will invariably cause further problems for the market. Not only does this give government a foot in the door of the market, it also opens up dependency for yet another area... our failures. The market bill also included a provision to create a federal backstop to ensure the future stability of the mortgage giants. Businessmen learn judgment and discernment for a reason, so that their companies don't go bankrupt. But now the government has sent the message that they will bail out important corporations who go broke.

So doe generosity and good intentions make it right? Giles St. Aubyn, an author and historian said "It is melancholy to reflect that Mankind has suffered more from ill-judged philanthropy than calculated malice. The road to hell is no less harrowing for being paved with good intentions." To give a gift is a worthy thing, but not if it is not yours to give. It is one thing that our government wishes to use its taxpayers' money abroad, but it is quite another to borrow money against the future, and bind that future in debt. Just because the government deals in the trillions of dollars doesn't mean that basic principles of economics and saving do not apply.

The Heritage Foundation, a research and educational think tank published an article entitled My Neighbor's Keeper? Rethinking Responsibility and the Role of Government, in which it noted that "Government is not solely-- or even primarily--responsible for taking care of our neighbors. That responsibility belongs to each one of us as participants in a variety of relationships and overlapping communities."

So what is our Christian responsibility? When the Bible says to give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar and to God the things that belong to God, it is addressing an individual responsibility. Our taxes are due to our government, and our gifts are due to God. The AIDS crisis in Africa may be beyond individual generosity, but the poor of our community are always with us. Just because our government gives welfare to the needy in society, doesn't mean that we don't have a responsibility to minister to them. To sit back and ignore them just because they have handouts from the government will only cause more dependency, and make it harder for them to achieve success. An old Chinese proverb says "Give a man a fish, and you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for his life." As we reach out to help our neighbors, we can teach them to be responsible instead of dependent, and perhaps our politicians will learn to temper their generosity with prudence.

What is Worth a Life... Or a Death?

2008-08-01T12:00:00.000-04:00

In 1995, the Department of Justice reported a dramatic decrease in serious violent crimes. After a steady rise of criminal violence, this year marked the greatest drop ever, and started a steady decline that continued through the turn of the century. There have been many theories about these facts, including the notion that this is due to the legalization of abortion in 1973. Several professors and lawyers have published papers and articles citing this explanation. Their reasoning is based on statistics that since the poor, uneducated, and single parents are more likely to have an abortion, and since most crimes are committed by 18 to 25 year olds from poor, single, and uneducated parents, according to even more statistics, that the millions of abortions per year since 1973 basically aborted a generation of criminals. Aside from the obvious discrimination and defamation of the poor and uneducated, this reasoning relies far too heavily on a slippery slope fallacy. Is this how society justifies abortion? By saying that they would all grow into criminals anyway?

Lliberal professors saw this as an easy opportunity for put in a plug for abortion. Liberals have been waiting for the chance to jump on the benefits of abortion ever since it was legalized. But what was really the reason for the decrease of crime in1995? Well if we were trying to twist events that into a political statement, it would be just as easy to say that this was because of the newly elected republican legislators, or that the conservative appointed judges of Reagan and Bush Sr. (who according to the Law and Order research society were much less supportive of criminal defendants) were finally starting to curb crime. But in all objectivity, it should be noted that neither of these politically polarized remedies have much of a direct connection on criminal actions, and crime rates themselves. I think we should take a look at the obvious: the statistics.

The Department of Justice uses two sources to create its statistics. It compiles documented arrests, along police and FBI reports from the Uniform Crime Report, but it also relies heavily on National Crime Victimization Survey. The NCVS polls an average of 77,200 households per year, randomly selected by the Census Bureau. The survey asks questions on domestic violence, and is launched from the principle that there are many crimes which aren’t reported to the police. However, in 1989 the NCVS went through a redesign, in which the methodology of the survey was changed, purportedly to improve the gathering of information. The questions were also changed to be more direct, according to the Bureau of Justice. This new method was phased in between 1993 and 1995, in perfect timing with the documented decrease in crime. The interesting part is that the decrease was almost entirely according to the NCVS portion of the statistics. The police arrests and reports for serious violent crimes remained roughly the same, with only smaller decreases towards the end of the 1990s.

It is a sad thing when we become used to evil. This has happened in our nation after 35 years of abortion, where it is starting to become just another side for a politician to take, and not the life and death struggle that it truly is. It is something that is mentioned almost as an afterthought from the pulpits, and just another statistic in our country. Now we have come to the point where people in our nation are showing it to be a benefit. What is truly sad is that the Justice system in our nation is devaluing life on the one hand by narrowing the margins, and lowering the statistics of serious crimes, and then our professors credit the murder of millions of unborn as our solution to crime. Yet even with the sharp drops on the graphs, and the coincidental introduction of a survey redesign, there is still no logical correlation between abortion and crime rates. The statistical evidence that tries to link the two also fails to take into account the ratio of crime with population increases. Dr. John Lott, professor of Law at Yale University, and John Whitley, an Australian economist published their own rebuttal article, in which they applied the theory to all the states, and all the statistics, including abortions before the Roe. vs. Wade decision. Not surprisingly, the evidence did not show a proportional decrease in crime. "Many factors that reduce murder rates, but the legalization of abortion is not one of them. Of the over six thousand regressions that we estimated here, only one regression implied even a small reduction in the murder rate” said their summary.

Do we really understand the value of life today? Do we feel anything when we hear that 50 million babies have been aborted since 1973? Does it hurt us to know that 300,000 people were murdered in Darfur? Do we weep for the 80,000 people killed in an earthquake in Myanmar? A friend on mine recently asked me, "what is life worth, and what is worth dying for?” For example, 60 million soldiers died for us in WWII for the freedom and safety of America and her allies. So would it be worth if the reality was that abortion was decreasing crime? The difference between taking a life and giving a life, is ultimately love. Sacrifice is noble, and the Bible says that there is no greater love. It is a sacrifice that is vastly opposite to the selfishness that defines abortion. Killing only leads to more death, or as Dr. John Lott says, “Essentially, the message is, if you choose death, you get death. With interest.”

From Generation to Degeneration

2008-07-01T12:00:00.001-04:00

There are some things that never get better with time. Gas never gets cheaper, taxes will never go down, and the concept of penny candy exists only in Norman Rockwell's nostalgic paintings. It happens by the law of gradients, or in Economics the "boiling frog" principle: that if you turn up the heat ever so slowly, a frog will boil without ever realizing it. After all, who noticed the price of bubble gum go from 1 cent, to 5, to 10, to 25?

Sadly, the same is true for morality. From generation to generation, the line between what is acceptable and what is appalling sinks further and further. Many of the problems we face today can be directly tied into a break down of values from yesterday. Deborah Brezina, a faculty member for Summit Ministries, and author of several books calls this phenomenon “points and counterpoints in history.” Or consider it this way: the family used to be an icon of society. Dad's and their sons used to go fishing, or hunting together. Now many kids are hunting for the fathers they never knew. Justice used to prevail, and the Law would lock the crooks up, so children would be safe in the streets. Now we lock ourselves in our houses, while criminals roam the cities. When did these changes occur, and what caused them? The truth is, morality has been on a downward spiral for a long time now. Divorce became an accepted norm long ago, and kids who grew up without their parents didn't learn to be good ones. With marriage no longer being sacred, there came a rise of immorality. And can you guess what impact that has had on the value of life itself? Society is accepting abortion as legitimate, and now battles over euthanasia are not too distant. So it shouldn't be any surprise that after immorality has been accepted for so long that we are now fighting homosexuality. After all, if everything that family stands for is eroded, why should the very structure of family be respected any more?

Arthur W. Pink, a Christian evangelist and Bible scholar noted "We can form no conception of social virtue or felicity, yea, no conception of human society itself, which has not its foundation in the family." A. W. Pink himself was converted to Christianity due to his father's constant and patient admonitions from the Bible, and having lived in both England and the United States, he was able to witness the necessity of strong family values to the well being of society. "No matter how excellent the constitution and laws of a country may be, or how vast its resources and prosperity, there is no sure basis for social order or public as well as private virtue, until it be laid in the wise regulation of its families" said Pink in his book, An Exposition of Hebrews.

So what is it like when generations are firmly rooted in families? It still exists today, despite its disappearance from popular culture. Meet Al and Shirley Russ, long time residents of Elmira. In a city that is questioning the basic components of a family, (specifically a man and a women) Al and Shirley just celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary this past May.

Al was born in Canandaigua, and Shirley was born in Addison. They met in Elmira, at the intersection of Broadway and Franklin Street, where Shirley waited for the bus in front of the gas station that Al worked at. Al Russ joined the military at age 22, and he and Shirley were married in Rantoul Illinois, where Al was serving at the Chanute Air Force Base. Mr. Russ is a veteran of WWII, in which he served with General Chennault's famous 'Flying Tigers' in China as a mechanic. Shirley Russ went into nursing, and served in the Women's Nursing Core during WWII. Al and Shirley had two daughters, and today they have many grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Two of their great-grandchildren currently serve in the military; One in Afghanistan, and another in the Navy's maintenance division, while one of their great-granddaughters has also pursued nursing. But the greatest way that their children are following their steps is in their faith, which has been passed down throughout their family's generations.

So what is the secret to Al and Shirley Russ's strong family? "Good church affiliation" says Al Russ, and Shirley adds that strong Christian faith is also the key. These are some of the basic principles of traditional family values, and Shirley notes that a lack of fellowship with Jesus is part of the problem today. Or as A. W. Pink said back in 1954, "a nation is but the aggregate of its families, and unless there be good husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, there cannot possibly be good citizens. Therefore the present decay of home life and family discipline threaten the stability of our nation today far more severely than does any foreign hostility." The effects of the decay that A. W. Pink saw are sadly apparent today, and we are coming to a time when such degeneration will indeed threaten the very stability of our nation. The good news is that there still are many strong families today, and as we continue to build on the sacred and solid institution of family, we may see a generation that halts the moral decline, and institutes and upward spiral that lifts this nation to the heights that great men once dreamed of.

A Sign of the TIMEs

2008-05-01T12:00:00.003-04:00

TIME Magazine’s 2007 Person of the Year title was chosen from a unique and intriguing group of individuals. The runner-ups for the title were notables such as Al Gore, for his dedication to the environment, Hu Jintao, the communist president of the People's Republic of China, the internationally acclaimed author of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling, and U.S. General David Petraeus, who TIME says “fought America's most difficult foreign war — and one at home” However, the man who rose above all these others in the bold, earth-changing leadership that defines the title was Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia. In a feature article entitled “Choosing order before Freedom,” TIME Magazine recognized Putin for his “extraordinary feat of leadership in imposing stability on a nation that has rarely known it.”

The problem is, the Kremlin’s leadership of Russia has run contrary to the free and democratic principles of America and it’s allies. Even worse, Putin has been contrary to the U.S. in its efforts to fight terrorism and promote security. During a time when the United States is attempting to build nations, and promote democracy abroad, Russia has seen an increased infringement of freedom and democracy since Putin came to power. According to the Heritage Foundation, the Kremlin and its supporters have systematically been gaining control of all the key areas of influence over Russia. Since 2003, all television networks are run directly by the government, or by groups that support it. Practically all Western broadcasting corporations are also banned from Russian networks. It is also disturbing to note that in the past decade several Russian journalists and critics have mysteriously been murdered. The most recent death of Alexander Litvinenko, in 2006 by radioactive poisoning, was directly linked to the Kremlin.

The media hasn’t been the only field where the Putin has sought control. Private, and non-governmental organizations have recently been subjected to excessive restrictions, and regulations. Foreign involvement, or “interference” as it was put, was prohibited in January 2005, and the following year Putin enacted a law that gave the Kremlin the authority over all private and non-governmental organizations which threatened the “national interests of the Russian Republic,” as defined by the Kremlin. The law also allowed government officials to attend and observe any and all meetings that a private organization might hold.

Over the course of Putin’s presidency, the Political system in Russia has become almost completely one-party. Through a program of propaganda and intimidation, opponents of Putin have slowly and quietly been replaced by supporters, and allies. Local government has been either circumvented or heavily controlled, and the power of direct representation has been extremely diluted, and limited. In 2001, Putin signed a law that required any political party to have a minimum of 10,000 members before it could have representation, with an additional requirement of at least 100 members in each of Russia’s 89 districts. Given the restrictions on free media, this made the rise of a new party practically non-existent. Furthermore, 3 months before the 2004 elections, Putin signed a law censoring criticism of political candidates by the media. In Russia’s 2003 Parliamentary elections, Putin’s supporters had won 300 of the 450 seat parliament, and in 2004 Putin won a second Presidential term in a widely acclaimed landslide victory, which many westerners viewed with suspicion.

So is this an example of the leadership that TIME Magazine admires in its Person of the Year? TIME magazine insists that the Person of the Year award is not an honor, nor an endorsement. It is rather intended to be a candid recognition of the individual who has had the most significant impact on the world “for better or for worse.” After all, Adolph Hitler was named Person of the Year in 1939, and a year later Joseph Stalin given the title for 1940. Believe it or not, Osama bin Ladin was a runner-up for the 2001 title, which was given to New York City’s mayor, Rudy Giuliani instead, due to a large public protest. However, the so called “order” that Putin has established is nowhere along the lines of Mayor Giuliani’s heroic leadership, and in international policy Vladimir Putin has been more of a foe to the United States.

Even though Iran has defied the U.S. as well as the United Nations, Russia has persistently engaged in selling weapons to Iran. The Center for Strategic and International Studies published a report in December 2006 detailing Russia’s weapons trade with Iran, and noting the increased military contracts since Putin became President in 2000. According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a well-respected observer of global military transfers, Russia provides 70 percent of Iran’s military imports. Furthermore, and despite a United Nations sanction on nuclear technology, Russia helped to fund and build Iran’s nuclear power plant, which it claims is only for peaceful purposes. In addition to Russia’s obvious support of Iran, it has also been the only nation to hold diplomatic relations with Palestine’s extremist Hamas government. Vladimir Putin also opposes the war in Iraq, and has been deliberately divisive with the United State’s plans for an allied missile defense system.

With all these facts and discord so obviously contrasted, why has TIME Magazine insisted on exalting this man for leadership qualities? The political irony of such a choice is far too apparent to be coincidental, especially at a time when President Bush’s leadership is criticized, the war in Iraq is opposed, and missile defense initiatives are viewed with skepticism, often by TIME Magazine itself. It raises the question of the objectivity with which the Person of the Year title is bestowed.

In the end, we do not yet know the full extent of Vladimir Putin’s legacy as President of Russia, but with the Presidential elections this past March, Putin has stepped down to the role of Prime Minister, and Dmitrii Anatolevich Medevedev is now the third President of Russia. Only time will show the impact of the Kremlin’s infringement of freedom in Russia, and how Russia’s new President will display his leadership and power.