Recession proof

All that is in heaven and in earth is Yours. — 1 Chronicles 29:11

In his sermon titled “What Is the Recession For?” pastor John Piper suggests that when the economy plummets, God has His own purposes. Some of them might be:

1. To expose hidden sin and so bring us to repentance and cleansing.

2. To wake us up to the constant and desperate condition of the developing world, where there is always and only recession of the worst kind.

3. To relocate the roots of our joy in His grace rather than in our goods, in His mercy rather than in our money, in His worth rather than in our wealth.

4. To advance His saving mission in the world — the spread of the gospel and the growth of His church — precisely at a time when human resources are least able to support it.

5. To bring His church to care for its hurting members and to grow in the gift of love.

What else does God want to teach us in difficult times? That nothing is impossible with Him (Luke 1:37). That He who owns “the cattle on a thousand hills” (Ps. 50:10) is not limited by an economic downturn. That God hasn’t placed a memorandum on the Great Commission nor abandoned us (Matt. 28:20). Let’s not put our hopes on worldly prosperity, but on the One who owns it all! — Cindy Hess Kasper

When difficulties come our way,

God uses them to show

That when we put our trust in Him

His goodness we will know. — Sper

READ: 1 Chron. 29:10-13

When all you have is God, you have all you need.

The Bible in one year:

• 1 Kings 12-13

• Luke 22:1-20