The following is a post from the Desiring God blog written by Matt Perman.  It is refreshing how he sees the health as the economy in terms of loving the people around him and not merely in terms of his own financial well being.  Another good encouragement to prayer.

I pray for the economy at all times, not just times of crisis, because as Christians we are to wish for and seek the welfare of others. There are few things that have more impact on the welfare of large groups of people, in the physical sense, than the state of the economy. Therefore, I believe that the command to “love your neighbor” implies that we desire, seek, and pray for the welfare of the economy.

A healthy economy serves people in multiple ways. Here are two.

First, it is better for people to be able to work for their living than to have to depend upon others to provide for their needs. For example, Paul exhorts the Thessalonians to work with their hands so that they “will not be dependent upon anyone” (1 Thessalonians 4:12; see also 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12).

In addition to this, as Wayne Grudem has pointed out in his book Business to the Glory of God , economic productivity is the only long-term solution to global poverty. We have seen this manifestly demonstrated over the last several hundred years as economic freedom has, through God’s grace, lifted millions out of poverty, and it remains true for the future.

Second, a healthy economy more effectively allows for the wide-scale implementation of proactive initiatives for the good of others. This is where I want to spend my time—focusing on things that do good for people on a large scale, both physically and spiritually. The multi-faceted creative initiatives that are enabled by a healthy economy include both the initiatives of for-profit businesses as well as the social and spiritual good that non-profit organizations are able to do.

It is absolutely true that God does good through times of hardship and not just health. This is not just true, but glorious. Yet this does not give us reason as Christians to be nonchalant about whether hardship comes. We are to guide our actions and desires by God’s will of command, which is to seek our nation’s (and the world’s) welfare, just as God commanded Jeremiah: “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare (Jeremiah 29:7).

Our leaders need extraordinary wisdom as they determine the most effective way to deal with the current tumultuous situation in the financial markets. This weekend is especially significant as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and congress flesh out the details of the bold plan that is needed to end this situation.

Join with me in praying that the Lord would grant accurate and profound wisdom to our leaders to do this successfully—and join with me in continuing to do this at all times no matter what the situation.

I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings [make sure not to forget that!] be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

This is a pretty huge topic these days and everyone seems to have an opinion.  I thought I would post a couple of items I’ve come accross that seem to have a biblial perspective on things.

The best place to start of course is Scripture itself- the only infallible word on these things.  Josh Harris recently posted the following selection of verses on money.

This week I came across a couple of posts on the issue of husbands and marriage.  Sometimes I think many of us as men are sleep walking through our marriages without grasping the significance of what we are called to do- there is an incredible privilege and weight that goes along with being a husband.  We should be driven daily to the free grace of God that covers our failures and to further striving to reflect our Savior in our marriages.

The first is from Justin Buzzard at Buzzard Blog.  His wife gave birth to their second son this week and he received the following advice from one of the elders at his church.

…I am adding a prayer for your marriage, clearly more stress and pressure will be applied with two young ‘uns and all the great stuff you are involved in.

We talk about being “intentional” all the time, over the next year you are really going to have to be intentional in putting Taylor’s needs ahead of your own. She will be 24/7 putting the needs of two boys ahead of her wants, desires and needs…that’s the just the way it is in this stage with multiple kids….so she is going to desperately need someone to pamper her and put her first…prioritize her.

Guess what that is YOU I know this sounds kind of like a raw deal (I mean who is going to be pampering Justin?). But this is the Biblical model. Christ laid down his life so that He could present the church (bride) blameless. I think as men we have that same challenge, we need to be building into our wives by serving them, meeting their needs, putting them first in all things…that’s how we lead them to a deeper relationship with Jesus.

Fight the very human desire to want something for yourself. When those thoughts come try and transfer it to, “how can I take something off of Taylor’s plate today?”.

I know this may sound a bit brutal in lieu of all you have going on….but God made you strong for a purpose, He gave you an abundance of gifts for a purpose, and He has provided many friends to pray for you all for a purpose…

The second is a video clip of John Piper that Vitamin Z posted this last week on the importance and magnificence of marriage.

At 4:59am this morning we welcomed our newest daughter, Makaylee Faith Pickard, into the world. She was 8 lbs 3 oz and 21 inches long at birth.  Nicole and Makaylee are doing well.  Praise God for His good gifts!  Simply amazing!  Amazing grace!  Amazing God!

Here are a couple of gems from John Stott to start your week off with.  Enjoy!

This first is from the Church Matters blog at 9marks ministries.

The following is from Justin Buzzard’s blog, Buzzard Blog.  Hope it’s helpful.

A while back the blog Blazing Center posted the following on loving other sinners who have problems like us.  Are we ready to get our hands messy like our Savior did?

Confession: I’m not a big fan of other people’s problems. I’m a wicked sinner who’s got a pile of his own sin to deal with on a daily basis. When someone comes to me with a problem, whether it be physical, financial, relational, or spiritual, I’m not doing a jig of excitement.

Working through problems with others takes work. My lazy heart doesn’t like work. It takes work to sit down and have a long, painful conversation about a friend’s current struggle with lust. It takes effort to pick up the phone and call a friend at 10:00 PM when all I want to do is sleep. My mind sinfully begins firing off excuses.

• Look Stephen, these aren’t your problems. Let them deal with them.

• You’ve had a long day and you just need R&R, TLC, and ABOC (A Bag of Chips).

• Why do I always get sucked into these situations?

Can you relate to my sinful, selfish distaste for the problem of others? The truth is, I don’t want to get my hands messy. People (myself included) are messy things, and I don’t want to get my hands dirty messing with other people’s problems.

Yet when I read the example of the Apostle Paul I’m deeply challenged. Paul was a guy who, out of deep love for the saints, didn’t hesitate to get messy. The book of Philemon illustrates this wonderfully.

Here’s the deal. Philemon has a slave named Onesimus. Onesimus, not being a Christian, steals from Philemon and then proceeds to high-tail it out of town. While on the run Onesimus meets Paul, who in turn leads him to Jesus. After becoming a Christian Onesimus realizes that he needs to return to Philemon and right what has been wrong. All this equals a very messy situation between two messy sinners.

Enter Paul. He writes a letter to Philemon, pleading with him to be reconciled to Onesimus. He offers to pay any monetary debt owed by Onesimus. He even asks Philemon to prepare a room for him so that he can come and visit. Out of love for Onesimus and Philemon, Paul gets his hands very messy.

I want to be like Paul. I want to have such a love for my fellow Christians that I’m not afraid to get my hands messy.

What about you? Can you relate to my distaste for messy people problems? How do we grow in our love for the saints?