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2010 - A year of Adjustments Challenges in 2010: “it is time to begin making adjustments" Because of the drastic economic and political changes in the world and the USA, adjustments in our personal and corporal lives must be considered. In the arena of sports, to win consistently a coach must have the ability to quickly make adjustments. How many times in the first half of a football game one team dominates and racks up points over the opposition, and then in the second half, it seems that another two teams are playing. Suddenly, the one that was losing in the first half, begins to score points and wins the game. What happened? The coach made the right adjustments. We must begin to develop both a good offense and good defense. We must score points when they are available, such as a 3pt field goal and not go for the 7pt touchdown. Companies survive the test of time because the management was able to make the right adjustments according to the changing economical climate. Continued employment is maintained because of the willingness of the employee to make the right adjustments to please the management. There are attitude adjustments that must be made to maintain any kind of relationships with others. Healthy bodies are a product of the right adjustments to our diet. Faith that continues to become stronger is because of the adjustments made in our conversation and thoughts. It is labeled “tongue control”. Sometimes even our lifestyle must be adjusted to meet the demands of our environment. An example of the requirement of adjustment is driving our auto: When you are driving in heavy traffic, adjustments need to be made. So is it in life. When you do not feel good, make an adjustment. When your salary is cut, make an adjustment. When a person is angry with you, make an adjustment. We must listen to words of instruction given by the Scripture and the Holy Spirit. Wisdom of the Lord: Pr. 1:20-33 2010 inherits the scenario that has been created in 2009 In 2009 because of the lack of foresight and proper adjustment, plus the greed on part of some politicians, the banking world went into a spiral of indebtedness. Consequently a recession, not only in the USA occurred, but in all of the world. Stock markets plunged, companies went bankrupt and others laid off thousands of workers. To offset the possibility of the banking world collapsing, bailout funding was provided by congress. To the duress of the taxpayer, a large portion of those funds ended up funding pork projects under the guise of putting people back to work. The problem with this kind of policy is that people must pay more taxes and the jobs created are only temporary. In the midst of all this, the government administration pushes through an expensive health care program, supposedly fixing the old one, but again the chagrin to the taxpayer, it is filled with pork projects unrelated to health care, and very few of our legislators know what is even in the bill. As a result the nation’s debt has increased beyond reason. Our world has changed drastically over the last few months, and its past form is hardly recognizable at the present. A scripture that relates to our dilemma of drastic change is found in 2 Cor. 7:31: The question is: What made Paul write such a statement? Throughout the chapter, Paul addresses the married, the unmarried, the widows, mix-marriages, slaves, freedmen, and virgins. What was on the horizon? What was prompting Paul to advise the people of the adjustments they needed to make to meet a changing world? I discovered the following that relates to the above text. What was the approximate date of the writing of this Pauline letter? Many support the opinion the letter was written around 54 A.D. Possibly Paul had received a revelation that a major change was going to happen in the Roman Empire. Roman History: Claudius: AD 41-54 A physical infirmity of some kind (it has been suggested that he may have had cerebral palsy) caused the imperial family to consider Claudius a nonentity. He had busied himself with scholarly studies, writing books in Greek on such varied topics as the Etruscans and dice-playing. But when thrust into power, he proves to be a surprisingly effective emperor. The Roman empire is extended during his reign, with new provinces in northwest Africa (Mauretania), northern Greece (Thrace) and southern Britain. Claudius himself takes part in the British campaign, crossing the Thames and capturing what is now Colchester. He is so pleased with this achievement that he named his son Britannicus. It is an understatement to say that Claudius's private life was dramatic. His promiscuous third wife, Messalina, the mother of Britannicus, ploted against him with one of her lovers. He executed them in AD 48 and marries his niece, Agrippina. This was forbidden in Roman law, so he changed the law. The niece, like everyone else in the family, had a scheme. Her son by a previous marriage was just three years older than Britannicus. She persuaded Claudius to adopt this boy as his heir. With this agreed she poisoned the old man with toadstools, according to Roman gossip. In AD 54 her 16-year-old son was proclaimed by the praetorian guard as the emperor Nero. Nero: AD 54-68 In the early years of Nero's reign he was guided by wise counselors, particularly his old tutor Seneca. But soon he felt free to follow his own inclinations. Within a few years his riotous personal behavior deeply offended the citizens of Rome, who were also unimpressed by his insistence on performing in public–as charioteer, lute-player, poet and actor. And once again, in the family life of the Caesars, relationships were far from exemplary. The murder in AD 55 of his young stepbrother Britannicus was hardly surprising in the context of the time; the boy was inevitably a threat as the son of the previous emperor. More unusual are the deaths of Nero's mother and wife. In 58 Nero fell passionately in love with a married woman, Poppaea, the wife of Otho. Agrippina criticizes her son's liaison and was murdered in 59. Octavia, as his wife, had an unfortunate impediment; Nero divorces her, on a false charge of adultery, and then had her killed. He married Poppaea in 62. Nero becomes so unpopular that many believe he started the great fire of Rome in 64, so as to give himself the grandiose pleasure of rebuilding the city. The accusation (which led to the first Roman persecution of the Christians) was unjust. So is the legend that the histrionic emperor plays his fiddle while Rome burns. But the stories reflect more genuine grievances. Nero's extravagances drained the imperial coffers. His inattention to affairs of state ws reflected in serious rebellions at both extremes of the empire, in Britain in 60 and Palestine in 66. Soon even Romans were in revolt. In AD 68 Roman officials and legions in Gaul and Spain declare themselves against the emperor. In Rome the praetorian guards follow suit. The senate passes a vote of censure on Nero. Recognizing the inevitable, Nero slits his throat. There is no living male member of the Julian or Claudian families to claim the imperial crown. But the legions in various parts of the empire have their own ideas. For the first time it was realized, as Tacitus later writes, that emperors can be made elsewhere than in Rome. In the resulting clash of interests, AD 69 becomes the year of the four emperors. The world experiences seasons of change “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease" (Gen 8:22). “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven — (28 seasons are listed) In each season adjustments are needed! King Uzziah His reign began when he was 16 years of age and lasted some 52 years. 790 BC - 739 BC The prophet Isaiah saw a vision upon the death of King Uzziah “In the year of King, Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple” (Isa 6:1). The political times were changing and God gave Isaiah a vision and prepared him to face the Assyrian invasion that of 722 BC and the fall of the Northern Kingdom. He prophesied some 60 years, contemporaries with Hosea and Micah. The divided kingdom of Israel After the death of King Solomon, Rehoboam, traveled to Shechem to be crowned king. The people had been heavily taxed by King Solomon and wanted some reasonable relief. Rehoboam told them he would consider their request for three days and then give his decision. He first consulted with the elders that had served Solomon and then the younger generation that grew up with him and served him. The elders said, “ be a servant to the people and grant to them their petition.” The kingdom divided and major adjustments had to be made by the people. The landscape of the world rapidly changed in 2009 and the church must make the adjustments necessary in 2010 to stay effective in restraining the anti-Christ spirit in our nation and other parts of the world. What we did yesterday is not necessarily affective and relevant today. Seek God for the wisdom to make the right adjustments are necessary for your life and ministry. For your consideration, Leon C Willis
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