As far as the curse is found...

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found…

- From “Joy to the World” by Isaac Watts

Hello family! Brent and I usually banter about economic topics and post things about our families, but this time I thought it would be good to share something deeper that has been on my heart.

I love the Christmas carol "Joy to the World", not only for its beauty but also for its rich depth. I recently just finished listening to an amazing message by R.C. Sproul, “The Curse Motif of the Atonement.” This message was given at the Together for the Gospel conference back in April 2008. I would like to share with you some of the highlights from that message:

The joy we have in Christ is being released from the curse of sin so that we may know God and enjoy the blessings of fellowship with Him. In our culture, the term “curse” may conjure up images of Harry Potter casting spells and hexes or the Twilight series with vampires and werewolves. Our culture sees the term “curse” as one of superstition and fiction. But does it stop there? Is that as far as it goes?

No. There is a curse. A real, actual curse. And this curse came from God Himself. It is the curse that we incurred because of sin. It is the curse placed on the earth itself, while it, like us, awaits and even groans for redemption. And the only remedy for this curse is a bloody, primitive obscene death- by a perfect, spotless person, who is completely unstained by this curse. This death must provide a substitution, a swap, so that He can take away our sins and give us His perfect righteousness. Jesus has done this. He became a curse for us, so that we can be reconciled to God and enjoy fellowship with Him again.

Jesus has come so that God’s "blessings may flow, as far as the curse is found." If we've been freed from the curse, are we living like we're free? Are we experiencing fellowship with God and His grace?

May the knowledge of our freedom from the curse compel us to worship and enjoy our fellowship with Christ, our curse-bearer, our Lord and Savior.

Scriptures: Gal 3:10-14; Rom 8:20-23; 2 Cor 5:21;
Link: http://t4g.org/08/media/

Heroic Ben, Saving the World!

First a quote,

"The problem is that today's all-out attack on recession may well generate a surge of unwanted inflation in 2010 or after. But the Fed seems to regard that as an acceptable price to pay to avoid disaster now."

then the link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_52/b4114022505333.htm

The "acceptable price to pay," is what we a paying now as a result of similar actions by Brother Greenspan. (Fighting the "recession" that came on the heels of the dot-com bust. I know I was naive then, moreso than I am now, but I didn't even realize we had a recession to fight back then).

Anyway. For the record. If you didn't already know. I think all of this hogwash is a really bad idea. All of the media says that all of these wonderful actions will result in a turn-around sometime in '09. Why? Well...nobody can tell you. Because nobody knows. They just assume that if nothing else works, then the eventually the kitchen sink will. Its got to, right?

The first person to throw me a rational opinion wins. I've not seen one out of Washington, or their media, yet. Actually, though, everything I've heard Sen. Shelby of Alabama say, which, mind you, isn't much, has been pretty top notch. Barney Frank, on the other hand, makes me want to dynomite my eardrums everytime I hear him blabber.

Keynes may be dead, but he's more alive today than either Elvis or Lenin.

Snow

We got a little bit of early snow this year. This is how we spent the first part of our day:

Looking at now covered hills.

Looking at really cold horses.

Running in the snow.

And eating muffins in the snow.

The rest of the day was spent at the Tennessee Aquarium or in transit.

Funny Smelling Free Markets

This may or may not be the right link for the NPR segment that was on this morning. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97933365. If not, I'm sorry I just wasted 4 minutes of your time.

Anyway, on we go. The discussion on the automaker bailout, which you may or may not have just listened to, discussed the automakers getting the bailout "with concessions." Well we know with about 95% certainty that the automakers are going to get something. Its the concessions, that are supposed to make the bailout palpable to the average Joe (be he a plumber or otherwise) is what I have a beef with: Top management must go. No financial engagements of $25-million or more without congressional review. Cabinet level auto-Czars, including reps from the EPA.

Is this supposed to make me like the bailout? This is giving them a lifeline with a brick attached. "You can have the bailout, sir, but only on condition that we saddle you with an impossible business model." Crazy!

So a family is going bankrupt. He asks for a congressional bailout. He gets one "with concessions." He has to leave the family. The remaining family cannot buy anything more than $50 dollars without approval from both sets of in-laws. And all family decisions are subject to review by the neighborhood association.

I thought we fought a cold war AGAINST communism and a real war AGAINST fascism. Now we can't get enough of it.