Vol. 1 No. 27 |  October 5 , 2006  

    

This week

“The Bible teaches that Christians are totally different from anyone else.” -  
Peter Jeffery, Evangelicals Then and Now (Buy Now)

 


 

Finance

This Tax Law Change Affects a Lot of Christians – But It’s Easy to Protect Yourself

If you give non-cash donations every year and write them off on your taxes, you need to be aware of a new tax law that could affect your donations.

In the past, you could donate just about anything you wanted. Many people, instead of taking much of their stuff to the dump, take it to Goodwill or Salvation Army. They essentially pass their junk on to someone else and expect them to take it to the dump. And, yes, Goodwill and the Salvation Army have an enormous garbage bill.

There was nothing illegal about the practice – until they would lie on their taxes and claim the junk was in “good condition.” But it was almost impossible for the IRS to prove the lie.

So, according to the IRS, any non-cash donation you give now must be in “good condition.” That means it really needs to be in “good condition.” Trouble is, the IRS failed to define exactly what “good condition” is. So there’s still a loophole for those who really want to take advantage of the law.

If you don’t want to come under suspicion from the IRS, make sure you record everything you donate, including the condition, as accurately as you can. And then, take a picture of it. And don’t donate junk. It might even help your cause in the case of an audit if you have a receipt from a legitimate dumpsite. It would show you didn’t donate your trash.

– Steve Kroening
     
 

 

Health

Natural Relief for Neck and Back Pain

Do you suffer from neck or back pain? Two new studies suggest that two nutrients will relieve your pain even better than drugs.

In the first study, 250 patients with nonsurgical neck or back pain took daily supplements of fish oils. The heart friendly fats relieved pain and reduced the need for prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) medications.

At the start of the study, all of the patients were taking prescription NSAID medication. The researchers asked the participants to take daily fish oil supplements totaling 2,400 mg/day omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) for the first two weeks. Then they cut the dose in half, to 1,200 mg/day. After an average of 75 days, those on fish oil reported significant improvements in pain.

A whopping 78% of subjects followed directions and reduced their dose to 1,200 mg/day. The remaining 22% stayed with the original dose of 2,400 mg/day. The results were remarkable: 60% of subjects reported improvements in overall pain; 60% reported improvements in joint pain; 59% stopped taking their NSAID medications; 80% reported satisfaction with their improvement; and 88% reported that they would continue taking the fish oil supplement. The researchers reported no significant side effects. Those results are absolutely unprecedented.

Compare the safety and effectiveness of omega-3 fatty acid to the dangerous effects of pain medications. Who wouldn’t rather take fish oils? A drug-free treatment of neck or back pain would be a godsend for anyone who is afflicted.

These findings echo the results from other trials that compared the effectiveness of omega-3 fatty acids to ibuprofen for the treatment of arthritic pain. Millions suffer with back and neck pain. The side effects and complications associated with the use of NSAIDs include gastric ulcers and heart attack. These findings offer great hope in pain treatment.

The second study looked at the effects of the French maritime pine bark extract (Pycnogenol) on the enzymes COX-1 and COX-2. COX-1 and COX-2 are enzymes associated with pain. Most pain medications that address these enzymes cause all sorts of dangerous side effects. Pycnogenol was found to inhibit both COX-1 and COX-2 activity. We already knew that Pycnogenol reduces inflammation and inhibits platelets to prevent blood clots.

In this study, five healthy subjects consumed 200 mg/day Pycnogenol for five days. Blood samples were collected before they took the Pycnogenol and then again after five days. Pycnogenol in the blood samples moderately inhibited COX-1 and COX-2.

In the second approach, the researchers gave 10 subjects a single 300 mg dose of Pycnogenol. Serum samples collected only one half hour after ingestion of the Pycnogenol significantly inhibited both COX-1 and COX-2. This means that the compound works quickly after only one dose to deliver its benefits. Pycnogenol is available at most health food stores.

– James Balch, MD

(Quoted from Prescriptions for Healthy Living, 800-728-2288)
     
 
   

Marriage and Relationships

Creating Value in Your Marriage

How valuable are you to your spouse? Does your spouse think you are the most valuable person on the face of the earth? If not, have you ever asked yourself “Why?”

Unfortunately, it’s in human nature for us to think of ourselves as the most valuable person alive. Think about it. You don’t take care of anyone like you take care of yourself. But Jesus calls us to put others above ourselves.

In Philippians 2, Paul tells us to imitate Christ and “consider others better than yourself.” The implication here is that you should treat others with the same intensity as you treat yourself. And there’s a direct relationship between the intensity with which you care for others and how valuable you are to them.

But here’s the catch: You can’t care for them the way you want to
in order to create that value. You have to serve them the way they want to be served.

Just ask any wife whose husband romances her the way he wants to romance her. It’s just not as fruitful as it would be if he found out how she wanted to be romanced first and served her accordingly. In the first instance, the romance isn’t as valuable to the wife as the second. Oh, sure, she might enjoy it. But not nearly as much as she would if he did it “her way.”

Wives do this too. When they try to romance their husband, what do they do? They set out a nice table with candles and fine china. After all, that’s exactly how she would want to be romanced. And, while most guys will enjoy that, it may not be the way he would prefer the romance. Instead, this is how the husband should romance the wife.

This, obviously, requires you to talk to your spouse and know what really is valuable to them. Because the object of marriage isn’t to get what you want when you want it. It is to give as much as you can to your spouse in a way that brings the most enjoyment to his or her life. If you make that your goal, your value in the eyes of your spouse will absolutely skyrocket.

– Steve Kroening
     
 

 

Parenting and Education

When Ingratitude Can Cause Serious Problems for Your Children – And What to Do About It

     

Teaching children to have grateful hearts can be very challenging. Perhaps it’s because we struggle with it too. But there’s one sure sign of ingratitude that can spell real trouble for your children.

Many forms of ingratitude can be seen in simple ways – they don’t say “thank you,” they’re demanding, or they just don’t care. All of these need to be addressed with your children. But there’s one sign of ungratefulness that Scripture speaks against in detail.

It is coveting. In Hebrew, the word means, “to delight in or to desire.” No one likes to admit that we covet. It is a socially unacceptable feeling to have, much less to express (at least in the Christian community). Yet the 10th Commandment instructs us not to covet, which implies that, in our sinful nature, we often desire what others possess.

Thankfully, the Bible gives sound wisdom on this matter.

Long ago, there lived a man named Ahab. He was the king of Israel. He had much wealth and yet he coveted Naboth's vineyard. The man would not sell or trade his land to the king because it was the inheritance of his fathers.

Ahab was depressed because he could not have what he desired – even though he did not need it. His wicked wife Jezebel devised a plan to have Naboth falsely accused of cursing God and the King. The penalty was death by stoning. And so Naboth was killed. What can we learn from this account found in 1 Kings 21:1-10?

Coveting is a sin that leads to many other sins, including stealing, se.xual sins, vio.lent sins, and murder (as we see in this example). It is a sin that very much leads to harm for your children and others (including you). So when you see your children coveting (or identify it in your own life), it’s vital that you address it quickly and consistently. Make sure they hear these things from you often:

You have to teach your children repeatedly that God has already given them all that they need. (Phil 4:19) Teach them to be content with what they have. And that God supplies all their needs – and so much more.

You have to teach them to reflect on the cross and to realize how valuable they are to God. (Luke 12:6-7)

And, finally, you have to teach them to repent of their greed and refocus their thoughts on God’s goodness and on what He has promised. (Phil 4:8)

1 Cor. 2:9 – But as it is written, things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man. All that God has prepared for those who love Him.

– Gladys Villnow
     
 

 

Success

How You Can Successfully Overcome Any Fearful Situation

“Fear Not.” Those words appear 365 times throughout the Bible (one for every day of the year). Obviously, God knows you will encounter fearful situations. It could be a business situation that’s way over your head. It could be a life-and-death situation like those seen in our schools the last week or so. Or it could be the little thoughts that come into your head when you’re home alone at night.

It doesn’t matter what the fearful situation is, God doesn’t want your fear to overcome you. So how can you handle fearful situations and emerge from them successfully?

Some would say, “You just have to be tough.”

I don’t think that’s the Biblical model. In fact, I once heard someone say, “There’s no such thing as tough, just trained.” In other words, you need to train yourself to handle fear.

The first thing you need to train yourself to do is TRUST GOD! That begins with time in His Word and time on your knees in prayer. Then trust His Word when it says “all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” – even fearful events.

Second, trust God in the small events in your life. Until you trust God in the small things, you probably won’t handle the really fearful situations very well. Remember, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much.” (Luke 16:10)

Third, look at how Scripture trains you to respond to fear. The Exodus is a case study of fear. As Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they encountered one frightful situation after another. They feared the Egyptians who would have forced them to return to slavery.  They were terrified as they saw the fiery cloud descend on the mountain of God. They feared famine in the desert. They lived in fear even though God miraculously provided for them over and over. The Israelites responded wrongly.

God wanted the children of Israel to turn toward him when they were afraid. Instead they turned away from him. They feared famine so much, they disobeyed God by trying to stockpile manna. God foiled their plan by destroying the manna with rot and maggots. When none of their own disobedient schemes could allay their fears, they even considered willingly returning to Egypt. They allowed the emotion of the moment – fear – to dominate their actions.

Throughout all of the terrifying events of the Exodus,
one man consistently responded to fear properly: Moses.

Like the rest of the Israelites, Moses knew fear. But Moses responded differently. He confessed his fear to God: he was afraid that because he couldn't speak well, he would fail as Israel’s leader. But Moses trusted God. And God rewarded Moses’ honest faith. God assured Moses he would have the power he needed when he needed it.

Do you think Moses was afraid as he stepped up to address the rebellious people of Israel? He probably was. But Moses didn’t let his fear get in the way of what God told him to do. He took the action God told him to take – trusting God would act in his best interest. And God rewarded him by mightily delivering the Israelites time and again.

The key for Moses’ success in handling fear was that he resolved in advance what his response would be: faith and complete reliance on God to overcome whatever obstacle was too big for him.

You will be presented with things that scare you. Train yourself ahead of time to respond with faithful and trusting action. That way, when scary situations come, your response will be grounded in God and His ability to work it for your good and less by the emotion of the moment.

– Eric Lynch
     
 

 
 

Wisdom From History

How a King’s Mistakes Led to Lower Taxes

When King John was crowned the king of England in the early 13th century, it wasn’t his success that left their mark on history as much as his failures. After stunning failures in a series of events, the barons of England revolted. Their resulting work led to long-enduring limits on a king’s power.

The limits came to life in a document called the Great Charter (Magna Charta) of 1215.  The barons, representing the people, laid down some rules. Among these was the idea that the king could not confiscate property unless he paid a fair price for it.

Now this would clearly have been a problem for King John. He liked to take people’s property without paying for it, especially when it was the property called money. Now, with the Magna Charta in place, whenever he took money, he had to pay for it. It was hardly a satisfactory arrangement for him. Why take money if you only have to give it back in payment?

For any king such a rule becomes difficult to live with. This is especially true if you want to take people’s money for royal programs of any kind. Commonly, taking this money was called taxation, and the Great Charter helps explain why taxes were so low until recent times.

In fact, it helps to explain why there was no income tax in strongly Christian countries, such as the U.S. until about 100 years ago. Prior to that, taxes were port charges, import and export fees, and transaction taxes of some kind. The income tax changed all that.

Since then, the closest call to return to a Magna Charta-type tax system is the fair tax or sales tax. If you’d like to read more about it, read Congressman John Linder and radio talk-show host Neil Boortz’s book The Fair Tax Book: Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS. It’s nothing like the Magna Charta, but the tax system it describes is based on similar principles.

– Ian Hodge
     
     
 

 

Word for the Wise

What to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed

"When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, You knew my path."  Psalm 142:3

Overwhelmed – Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world.  Now what does that mean?  If you thought it was about sexual immorality, gluttony, violence, lying and coveting, you only scratched the surface of the problem.  The patterns of this world run much, much deeper.  They are the cultural compulsions that addict us to things like control, destiny, fulfillment and power.  For example, we have been seduced into believing that we must be in control of our future.  Our business books cry out the mantra, "Just follow these easy steps to take control of your life".  Our diet plans tell us that it's all up to us.  Our financial experts warn us to prepare for retirement.  And on and on it goes.  Get control of the world of tomorrow today. 

Somewhere during the mad dash to take charge we may arrive at the place of the Psalmist.  Overwhelmed.  Discouraged.  Weak.  Afraid.  In that moment we learn a great spiritual truth: the future is not ours to control.  No amount of preparation, protection or provision can guarantee anything about tomorrow.  We are weak, fragile and vulnerable.  In the wilderness there is only one place to run – to the God Who knows our paths.

The world hates weakness.  This world fears weakness.  This world denigrates weakness.  But the truth is that weakness is a description of our essential being.  And God loves weakness.  When I am weak, I can discover His strength.  When I am weak, I can learn of His care.  When I am weak, I can embrace His grace.  My strength prevents me from seeing the world as it really is.  It prevents me from finding the God Who lives in the wilderness.  Only in weakness will I find the God Who knew every step of my walk and was ready to show me the next one.

The patterns of this world include the priority of strength.  Followers of God go a different direction.  They bring their weakness before the King and lean on Him.  Overwhelmed is the right place to be.  God is all over overwhelmed.

– Skip Moen

(Ed. Note: Skip Moen, PhD, is the president of At God’s Table and the author of Words to Lead By.)
     
 

 
 

   

 Resources

 

The Fair Tax Book: Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS, by Congressman John Linder and Neil Boortz (BUY NOW)

Evangelicals Then and Now, Peter Jeffery, Evangelical Press (Buy Now)

 

   

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