Forgive us our Debts 4

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I'm republishing this old letter because of our current national emergency.  I dressed up the type styles for you and reedited it.  What Moses and Jesus command is not optional.  This is a Christian problem.  I pray that we take it to heart.

Yours in Christ,

Herb Swanson aka Augie

Originally written around Saturday, March 17, 2012

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Forgive us our Debts

Dear family and friends in the Lord Jesus Christ,

I just wanted to make sure you’re there and you’re okay today.

But, I’m so concerned about overthrowing our debt-slavery in America, that I’m now involved with it every day.  I guess I’m now writing to over 50 people a week, but I need to be reaching thousands and thousands.  Maybe you can help me with that.

The Nature of Salvation

Only the blood of Christ matters.  Everyone’s sins, without exception, are forgiven (1 John 2:2, John 3:16).  But so many people, having been healed of their sins, turn away from Christ; one way or another they say, “No thank you.  I don’t need it.”  So, they refuse the cup of salvation (Psalm 116:10-19) that gives them eternal life, and they go to eternal Hell because they just didn’t want the forgiveness they had already been granted.  But this great salvation is offered for the human spirit, mind, and body; not just the spirit.  The problems of this life, both mind and body, can not all be fixed; but, we still have a Gospel obligation to try to help each other with them.  And when specific sins threaten mind or body, and we begin to understand these sins, simply by reading our Bibles, we have an obligation to try to destroy them.  Every person alive on this planet has been set free from slavery to sin, we are not supposed to be living lives of slavery: not to false idols, not to each other.  Sadly, so many people love their lives of slavery.  They refuse the cup of salvation that gives them eternal life.  Of course, we cannot defeat every form of slavery, but we have an obligation to try.  We sin grievously when we are silent about such sins.

The Size of the Problem

I’m not a prophet at all, let alone a prophet of doom.  I’m just a guy who reads his Bible, watches the news, and prays.  I’m a happy-go-lucky kid who thinks it’s fun when other people are happy.  But I don’t need to have the gift of prophecy or be a genius to figure out that America is in serious trouble.  For example, the government bailouts are no longer running a few hundred bucks per man, woman, and child; they are reaching into the thousands of dollars; and soon may reach much higher, even as high as a million dollars per working family.  Gee, everybody who hears, reads, or sees the news knows that.  I haven’t got a clue what will happen to my family or yours, when we get a bill for a million bucks.  But I’m pretty sure, it won’t be good.

The Utopian Social Gospel Won’t Work

I don’t believe in the social gospel either, that we can win the world for Christ by just doing nice things.  I don’t believe in any utopian plan.  Only the shed blood of Jesus Christ fixes all of life’s problems: now and in eternity.  But the blood of Christ requires obedience among His disciples.

Other Problems

Federal bailouts are not the only problem facing America.  There is the national security problem, the whole death-culture problem, the business collapse problem, the job loss problem, the real estate problem, and a half-dozen or more other big national level problems.  All of them demanding and yelling to be fixed right now.

The Root Cause

But from the news, and by reading my Bible, I’ve come to believe that the root cause of all of these problems is debt.  That’s no special revelation either.  Lots of people are saying the same thing in the news every day.  “The greatest threat to national security is our debt.”  And on, and on, and on....  Blah, blah, blah....  And, they continue to talk all around the debt problem every day.  But no national level leader, no political candidate, no one is addressing the debt-slavery problem head on.

Deal with the Root Cause First

If the core, root cause problem is debt, let’s deal with debt.  We have to get out of debt, before it destroys America.  We’re all going to die anyway, we can’t stop that; but, we don’t have to die cruelly from war in our streets, famine, or defeat by a foreign power.  We don’t have to die, sinking into a Godless idolatry, becoming an unthankful, bitter, God-hating people.  We can see these things as enemies, fight them off, by the grace of God, and embrace death for what it is, the entry into a new and better life in a new and better place.  In the mean time, it’s not really in our best interests, selfishly and thanklessly to destroy the beautiful America that God has so generously given us.

We just have to break this debt-slavery.  Get out of debt ourselves.  Help our families, friends, and neighbors to get out of debt.  Yes, charity does begin at home.

How to Break the Root Cause

If we were only willing to listen to what Moses, all the Prophets, and Christ Himself so clearly preach.  If we were only willing to break our code of silence.  If we, the Church, would only rise up with one voice, our government would be forced to listen.  Our government can be pressured into writing debt-forgiveness and anti-usury laws patterned after the Jubilee, Sabbatical, and anti-usury Laws of the Bible.  Yes, Laws.  Moses did not write the Ten Suggestions.  Christ did not preach that we would be admitted into the Kingdom of His Forgiveness, even if we insist on being a cruel, heartless, unforgiving people who are willing to see our neighbors enslaved under the thumb of debt-slavery.

Forgiveness is not an option, it is the Law of the Kingdom of Forgiveness.

This debt-slavery can be stopped in its tracks.  Federal bailouts should stop.

Bailout money should be redirected: first toward crushing the debt and usury of the working poor and middle classes.

After all, it’s workers who pay all the bills anyway.  Let’s take this monkey off their backs.  Then we can work on business and government debt.  After all, the non-working poor and idle rich aren’t much in debt, but let’s show them mercy as well.  Then, maybe God in His rich mercy will let the jobs and freedom come back.

Yet, neither you nor I, nor anybody we know, has ever heard a single sermon on this subject.  Our silence is sinful.

Historic Punishment

So when I read in my Bible that God put both Israel and Judah out of existence as nations for these very same sins of Godlessness, unthankfulness, and cruel slavery of their own brothers and sisters; I have to believe that America is not far behind.  Please, we just don’t have to end this way.

A Personal Confession

I’m sorry I’m so caught up in this, but I’ve been guilty of being silent for so long....  Now, I have to speak up.  I wish that I had more time to spend with the people that know and love me, I owe them, big time.  But, this is a matter of life and death.  Thank you, and friends like you, for being patient and understanding with this poor fool.  I really do need to know that you’re okay.  At a very basic level, this message of debt-forgiveness, cannot exist or continue, without knowing that you’re there and okay.  This message is all about loving my neighbor, and I have around 309-million American and 7-billion World neighbors, every single one hurt by debt-slavery, but charity begins at home with just one neighbor at a time.  You’re it.  And I don’t mean that we’re playing tag.

Yours in Christ,

Herb Swanson
aka Augie, short for Augustine

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