The Cross Section - RMB Blog

  This article will cover what the Bible says about two overlapping subjects, money and trade.  I define trade as two people exchanging goods or services either directly or through the use of money.  Money is simply a medium of exchange or trade.  It allows trade to cost less time, effort, and resources.   We all know trade can occur with or without using money.  We have all swapped lunch items in the school cafeteria or have seen it occur.  Maybe your mom wouldn't give you a dessert.  If you wanted a dessert and you had something else of value like Cheetos, there was still hope.  Maybe there was a kid at your table who didn't really like her Twinkies.  Now there was an opportunity for both to get what we wanted.  No money was needed to trade the Twinkies for the Cheetos.  However, you had to find someone who wanted what you had more than what they had.  You also had to want what they had more than what you had. This ...

One of the major themes in the Bible is God’s redemption of the nation of Israel.  God made a promise of land to the sons of Abraham, but generations later his descendants were enslaved in Egypt.  From Exodus to Joshua, you see the activity of God to bring them out of that slavery and into a new land that He had promised them long ago.  He promised them freedom.  On Mount Sinai God gave Moses the laws He wanted the nation of Israel to live by, so that they could experience freedom.  Previously, I focused on the laws against charging usury (interest) to the poor who needed to borrow money for necessities.  Now, I would like to look at another economic aspect of the Mosaic law, the establishment of private property. First, we will look at the books of Joshua and Leviticus to understand how land was distributed and who in effect had ownership.  Then we can think about why private property was so important to accomplishing God’s goals for Israel.  As ...

  Sometimes I write poems.  This is the first one I have put on this page.  Hope it sparks thought and encourages anyone needing encouragement. Bless me God!  Bless those around me! Not because we deserve it. We deserve pain and punishment Much less this abundant nourishment. "I live sweat but I dream light years", (D Boon forever) Such lofty thoughts piled on top of beers. Honest thoughts collect into seas of tears. No hope but for gospel tracks to erase those years. Be humble yet radical, pointed but not strange Tailor the message to one not the whole shebang. Caught by my own indecision, lost in the moment. For spirit and truth we pray in light of our lament. But the other party works independently the message whisked away from you so casually. Beyond hope beyond grace beyond imagination Inhaled and exhaled in rooms of stagnation I didn't die. I would  never kill! Where is the gospel when I breathe so freely? My sin apparent to eyes that peer more clearly,...