Pure Grace

I have no idea who came up with this top 10 list, but I think it’s something to reflect upon!
Top 10 Predictions No Matter Who Wins the Election

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

and God approves this message!

Credit is the buzzword of the past 3 weeks. We’ve been hearing about the credit markets being frozen. What if we lived with no credit and could only spend what we earned? I wonder what this crisis would look like under those circumstances. Credit had become very easy to get, buy a coat sign up for a instant credit card and get an immediate 10% off. Credit is sold as same as cash, with 12 months interest free financing. Even churches and non-profits fell into the credit trap. The meltdown over the past weeks reminded me of a Dave Ramsey riff (clip attached to this post!) on his radio show about a church going into debt on faith that God would see them through. The Dave Ramsey Show Podcast 08072008 1st hour
It’s really easy to rationalize our purchases especially when credit is/was so freely available. It’s also really easy to believe that faith in God will ease the debt payments. I often wonder how this makes God feel? I wonder if God is tired of hearing calls for bailouts. He did after all, create choice and a brain for each of us to make responsible financial decisions.

A great place to start eliminating debt from your life, grab yourself a copy of:

How do you find the perfect camera bag? There are roller bags, Camera/Computer combos, Backpacks, over the shoulder knapsack types and all have advantages. Here’s the trouble nobody wants to carry a big heavy bag with them while their out and about shooting. For me I want a bag that I can easily travel with, something that allows me to get through the airport and to my destination so I can shoot. I want a bag that will allow me to carry at least one body, a 70-200mm lens, a 24-70mm, a small fixed lens and a flash. Some pro’s will probably want a bag that fits two bodies, but one is enough for me… I just found a bag that fits my needs. its the Crumpler 6 million dollar bag.

It’s a great deep bag with lots of room, and will fit a 200mm lens, what I really like about this bag is that it will fit inside my roller board suitcase. So I can plunk the whole bag camera and all inside my suitcase that I roll on the plane. This is very convenient for travel, because when I’m all settled I just grab the bag and go. It has a nice shoulder pad and feels pretty good over the shoulder. If I was going on a long hike I would probably not carry this bag, I would probably add a vest that for an extra lens or two and memory cards etc.. All and all I’m really satisfied with this bag. 

I used to think Dave Ramsey was a way out of touch… Credit cards are same as cash, our purchases are protected. Why shouldn’t we use them same as cash? Well I have seen the light, credit is bad in all forms. Especially in light the past weeks financial crisis. A little credit goes a long ways. If you can get a little credit eventually you can get alot of credit. Imagine where our current financial picture would look like if Subprime mortgages didn’t exist. A simple credit card with a limit of $2000 leads to a good FICO score and a $250,000 subprime loan!
I remember hearing just a few months ago, real estate is really hot, it’s not a bad idea to use your homes equity to buy up real estate for investment purposes. Or hearing from a church that we have an opportunity to take on additional debt “in faith” to finance a building purchase, and in a few short years we’ll be able to sell it for a profit. Easy credit creates an environment for extreme risk. I don’t believe that God’s plan involves extreme risk, Dave Ramsey has a great article on what the bible says about Debt here’s a couple texts from that article; Proverbs 22:7 states that “The rich rule over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.” And Proverbs 21:20 “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.” The silver lining in this economic meltdown is that Cash is King, if you have Cash you will still be able to survive and thrive.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how organizations are able to grow wildly and others are dying a very slow death, regardless of the economy. Tony Morgan made a post about an older couple finding Christ at their satellite campus in South Carolina. Their content is definitely created for a younger demographic, but the message reached them.

Great content is definitely necessary but how does that great content reach people? Some may use the term intent, but i’ll use vision. I think it’s clear the churches or organizations(take Fox News as example, or MSNBC for that matter) that have a clearly defined vision are succeeding. Their content is reaching those that need it. i really don’t think that their success is about flashy graphics, music, or presentation. It’s clearly about vision, once the vision is lost the slow march towards death begins. Set the vision and start creating the content!