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Credit Crisis Exposes Faith Crisis
By Justin DeStoppelaire | April 4, 2008
You do not have to go far to read or hear about the critical issues in the financial markets. We are seeing and experiencing financial challenges never seen before now. Who could have ever imagined families in America walking away from their homes before now?
Well, the billions of dollars in right downs and banks having to rescue each other are just part of the shake down and shake up we need to be on top of, so we are poised to ride a wave of opportunity.
I have heard from many who are scared to make a move of any kind. They feel insecure on whether to buy that new home, start that new business, and even how to invest for the future. It is understandable to why anyone might feel this way and YET we must remember we serve a victorious God. We shall fear no evil…unless we discover our faith is not rooted properly the way we had hoped or thought it was.
We know many of you can help each other by sharing and reading your testimony. So we would like to hear from you about, “What’s the biggest challenge you’re working to conquer in the marketplace right now?”
Topics: Kingdom Business |
April 4th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
My biggest challenge right now is knowing whether to start up a physiotherapy clinic. I owned one back in the 80’s and another one for two years in 2000-2002 before I was hospitalized and nearly lost my life. But God has restored my health. In the meantime I have worked for other private practioners as I am now.
April 4th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Based in Europe we are not facing that many struggles related to the crisis. Even though any crisis would hit Europe or the entire world. OUR Father has all in his Hands. In response to Linley, If you have a word from God and know for sure that He has spoken, you should go!
April 5th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Hi justin,its been a while, very busy here at the moment.just trying to get back on feet after franchise deal fell through.lost a years money and so on.have to sell family home now and start again.but praise god we can do all things in him,no fear.learned a lot about myself and what i dont know about the business world.chatting with a sister in the lord a couple of weeks ago convinced me to get a book by craig hill,and earl pitt on weath riches and money,even though i’m not finished it yet i am finding it a good read.since finding this book i cannot stop thinking about investing my money,in light of what is happening in the world this week i think careful planning is needed.i am looking forward to tuesday april 8th i will be listening in.have to go now but will be back wednesday.thank a mill and god bless from Ireland. Larry.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:06 am
My family have been through a rough year with my son being born prematurely. Thankfully he is doing better everyday. The weather in NY is one of his biggest problems and we are hoping to move to better climate but between finding housing and employment, the move down south seems to intimidate us. We know the warmer weather will help him and his brothers, but the move itself is scary for anyone. We know his recovery was a miracle and have to just move and see what life has in store for us.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Hi Justin,
In my opinion some of the called biggest challenges to conquer the marketplace in this hour and time are christian entrepreneurs do need the Issachar’s anointing to discern the time to know what to do in their business, divine wisdom to do their business accurately and rightfully to advance the Kingdom of God and bring all the glory to the Name of Jesus in the marketplace.
April 7th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Hi Justin,
We’ve got a 3-pronged challenge facing us. (1) Our start-up business is not growing as quickly as anticipated, and is still not breaking even.
(2)We got caught in the real estate meltdown, with our primary residence on the market and now priced in the short sale range… and a rental property where we moved our offices, is now on the market also. (3) We are trying to decide if we should move in with our offices, which is more geographically convenient and monthly costs are lower, or stay with our primary residence on the water… I am now looking for a job, on top of all the other things I do, and that still will not be enough cash to meet our expenses unless God supernaturally provides.
We know God’s hand is in this and that He will bring us out the other side. We just don’t want to miss Him in all this…and we don’t know what “the other side” will look like! All we have to hang onto is HIS WORD, and FAITH to know that HE is Faithful and TRUE!
April 8th, 2008 at 3:18 am
Hi justin,
just a short word of encouragement for carol,
carol as you know the word of god says theres life and death in the power of the tounge,
at the moment the lord is teaching me about coming into agreement with him in all things, it is his will that we prosper.so today i encorage you sister to speak life into your situation and dont give.the word says the enemy is going around like a roaring lion seeing who can devour,stand your ground sister and fight the good fight.you are victorious.BIG BLESSINGS and i’ll stand with you.Larry O’
April 15th, 2008 at 7:01 am
I keep trying to shake this, but it just won’t go away, so I will have my say & be done with this. I was indeed disturbed when one of you made the comment “Barak insane Obama”, during this last teleconference. However, such strong & negative language was not used towards any of the other caucasian candidates. The one thing this year’s election is doing is exposing some of the racial & gender prejudice that I believe still exists in the mindsets of many believers. This election is really giving all of us an opportunity to examine our hearts and ask God to cleanse us from any biases that may still exist in our hearts. Please note that I have not decided which candidate I will endorse, so I am not making these statements because I am a Hillary or Obama supporter.
April 15th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Dear KMC,
It breaks my heart to read what you wrote. What it shows is the racism in your heart. I do not look at Obama and see a man of color as much as I do a man who has very dangerous beliefs. Whoever made a comment had nothing to say about Obama’s race…it was his beliefs. Do not turn this blog into to a place of spreading racism. As a man who is married to a woman from another race, I am cautioning you to not project your issues onto others. I will not tolerate any false accusations toward me or others on this blog site.
Yes, I do agree that racism is an issue in this country. Some of my closest advisors are those of other ethnicities and they too feel too much attention is given to comments and just adds unnecessary fuel to the fire of division
April 15th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Hi KMC,
I think if you’ll double-check the recording, you’ll find that I said, “Barack Hussein Obama” since that’s his name (see the Wikipedia article here).
That being said, I might actually be inclined to jokingly swap his middle name for the word “insane.” But I might just as easily do that for the Senator from New York otherwise known as Hillary Rodham Clinton… if only it rhymed with some portion of her name.
I can assure that my sentiments toward either candidate have nothing to do with their race nor their gender. Rather, the mentality and beliefs that they represent in this election are directly and, I believe, intentionally designed to perpetuate the enslavement of the American people. Both Obama and Clinton preach a “gospel” of the Paternal State which is idolatrous and blasphemous to its very core. The idea that we should look upon the State as our great provider and attempt to solve individual problems through collective theft and bureaucratic redistribution of wealth demotes God from His proper place in our lives and deprives God-ordained work of its value.
I could go on, but I assure you that neither race nor gender is even remotely a factor in my mind. In fact, my prayer now for this election is that God would raise up another candidate — whoever he or she may be — who can carry the banner of Freedom that is no longer being carried. All 3 of the remaining front-runners quite frankly make me hit my knees and intercede on behalf of this nation.
Blessings,
David
April 15th, 2008 at 10:27 am
P.S. As I re-read my comments, it occurred to me that “insane” DOES, in fact, rhyme with McCain. Hmmm… I might have to remember that!
April 15th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Hi KMC,
“Go, Tiger, go”! is all I can say to that. He’s a great golfer, and he’s black, AND nobody cares
I don’t ever recall Tiger having been commented on for his golfing “because of” or “despite of” the amount of melanin that defines his skin color. It’s simply a moot point. Golfing is what defines him in the public, whether he performs well or poorly.
Maybe we can take our clue from that.
A great friend of mine once said to me, “Sometimes we will hear God because of the preacher, and sometimes despite of the preacher.” Relax a little, to hear the heart of the message that was given. Time is too precious to get hung up on what will only serve as a distraction from the the things that matter.
Sabrina
April 15th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
David, I apologize because I totally misheard & misunderstood what you said. Thanks for bringing correction & clarity with a spirit of love. I feel like you heard my heart, corrected my error and did not respond with a spirit of cynicism and attack as did the others. Thanks for being a great demonstration of the ministry of reconciliation.
Justin, you missed it because in my comments about racism “& gender prejudice”, I always used inclusive terms, so there was nothing to expose about me because I was already being transparent about the issues this election has resurrected in me. However, I can assure you that I will not turn your blog into a site to “spread racism” because I will not write any more comments. Thank you.
April 15th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Dear KMC,
Once again I say it breaks my heart to read your words. Because I confronted you with tough love you have chosen to shy away. I do not mind people discussing openly the “real” issues yet too many Christians are being blindly led to focus on issues that are not the real issues.
When someone makes a comment, PUBLICLY, as you did today I would have been out of place not to check your heart as I did. I am called by God to lead and steward this community. I would appreciate you and anyone else in the future to contact David or myself directly to gain better understanding of what may or may not have been said during a Teleseminar to avoid further circumstances as such. Because if we are not careful than we can get involved in situations that cause distraction and/or division rather than unity.
What I hope you, me, and others get out of this last few comments is greater understanding that Satan would love for you, me, and whoever else to go back and forth about offedning or not offending. How I could have worded my blog response better, maybe how you could have worded your original blog better. The point being is I care more for you and everyone in this community that I am not afraid to risk seeing where anyone really stands in their heart. I once heard it said, “God will sometimes offend the flesh to reveal what is in the heart.”
So KMC, I do hope you continue to comment because I and others have appreciated your words in the past. I do apologize if by a small blog entry that I could not hear your words of concern about an important issue. So please allow me some grace for you to hear in my words that my main objective is to help us all stay on the high road and see how the politicing going on in this nation has got us to buy into the gender and race card that certain people in power want us to focus on instead of where each candidate stands on the foundational issues. If we were not to be blinded by such politics we would say, “Stop making a bigger issue of something so as to hide an even deeper issue of the candidates true agenda.”
Yes, racism and gender issues are important yet they are not what is wrong with our country, rather a symptom of our problem. We need to know the real issues of re-establishing God as the true author and ruler of our government. When we get more focused on issues that revolve around that truth then issues like racism and gender will not only be dealt with yet they can be dealt with in a way that will be a part of restoring our nation on God’s Word.
Bottom line here to all of us is that in any relationship there is risk. Today a couple people risked sharing their concerns and in the electronic world of communication tonality was not heard. We all have a choice as to whether this will bring us closer together. It is my hope that we will have more trust because we shared openly and were willing to forgive each other for any offenses and to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us where we need to grow.
KMC, I do have Christ like love for you and please do not allow the enemy to confuse our communication. You have been able to hear my voice and my heart during the Teleseminars, when I have never been able to hear your audible voice. I hope by now you know my heart is to see you grow…why else would I write such a long blog response…Hahaha! Really, may you be blessed. If you choose to move on or if you choose to stay, I thank you for this opportunity to grow with you. I once heard it said, “Peace is not the absence of conflict, yet rather the mastery of conflict.”
April 15th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
There are many things that I truly appreciate about this community. A couple of them are manifest here in this situation.
One of them is that we don’t play games with “unity” by backing off of opinions and how we see things. Certainly that’s a common characteristic of the blogosphere, but it’s not common within Christianity — where immature people blast one another ruthlessly and where so-called “mature” people avoid stepping on one another’s toes to appear unified.
The fact is that we need one another’s perspectives. Contrived unity is false and worthless. It is in each of us bringing the deposit that God has placed in us that we find each joint supplying what is necessary for everything to fit together.
Sadly, written communications like these do not effectively portray emotion, tone of voice, and non-verbal cues that help us understand each other better. So, we run the risk of unintentionally miscommunicating.
This is where I appreciate one of the other characteristics — grace extended to one another as we strive to give voice to things that can be difficult to articulate and even more difficult hear correctly. Lord knows I need it at times.