In light of the new Socialist Health Care Law that was just enacted un-Constitutionally this Sunday and Tuesday, we need to seriously think about what it means to provide for our families in a God honoring way. I entreat you to read the following I received from a wonderful source, Vision Forum, and start thinking about this mandate from God: that we provide for our families, widows and orphans and others in need in the body of Christ. We as a church in America have sadly abdicated this mandate to the state for too long. We have not followed God's way, and have selfishly given ourselves over to the gods of money, laziness, selfishness, and greed. Please take a moment to read the below letter and evaluate as a family your finances and expenses on health care. See where you can cut waste and greed. Teach your children the value and godliness of hard work and good health, because under these new laws that our government is passing without our consent, it is going to be much harder for our children to provide even the most basic of needs for themselves and their families when they become adults. Their future starts now with your godly example and teaching them to be responsible, god fearing, praying, Bible reading, hard working, money-saving boys and girls. They need to see you sacrifice wants so they can learn to sacrifice wants. You need to sit down as a family and discuss what is going on in our world and country and decide as a family to get back to Biblical principles and live sacrificially. Do it as a family. Share the vision with your church family. The church needs to start thinking in the ways defined below and mentioned above. God, I do believe, is pouring out judgement and calling his people to repent. Do not ignore him. Our country can only remain a free country to the extent we live our lives according to the Bible and for God's glory. Don't consider these things just as a way to preserve your family and your lifestyle. Consider these things to bring glory and honor to the one whom you claim is Lord, first and foremost.
It is going to require a lot of sacrifice and self denial to do these things. My husband and I are checking out the information given below regarding healthcare sharing ministries, which according to what we have initially read are exempt from the mandates given in the new Health Care Law. We have checked out Samaritan's Ministries website and looked at their guidelines. To go this route would actually cost us more than we are paying for health insurance and medical coverage to pay for our shares in this plan and cover our own medical expenses when they arise, but in the long run, we would not be beholden to the government. It would take us cutting out waste in our spending to save for preventative care, dental and other costs not covered in one of these plans. But it would be living up to what God would want us to do. Taking care of our family needs and helping to provide for our Christian family as well. Saving for the above and not relying on our insurance to pay for these things, is what we should all be doing. We wouldn't be in the kind of crisis that we are now in our country and the costs of health care would not be as high if we all followed the ways of God, and some of the things these health care sharing ministries promote. To do this would mean some cuts in our spending on things we have grown attached to. For me, it would mean a total cut of my crafting expenses, but as I look at all the unused items I have accumulated, that won't really be a sacrifice in the long run. Rather it will be a cut that has been needed for a long time. For us as a family, it might mean we have to creatively think of ways to provide a little extra income other than our jobs. It might mean in our homeschooling, we get a little more creative and use the library more. It probably means more hours spent in the garden tending to it so we produce a bounty in the Summer to last us through the winter. It may mean less candy, toys, frivolous requests at the store for items we won't really use. It may mean making more things from scratch, cutting out unnecessary events we go to, being more creative about vacations. But think of the wonderful memories these things will create, the praise we can give our God as we watch him bless us with opportunities and growth and closeness as we become better stewards of our resources, time, and energy. Think of the spiritual blessings that will come from bringing our wants to the throne room of God and praying over them, saving for them, and watching God provide for what he knows is best for us. Think of the spiritual growth that would come from relying on God to meet our needs, as we help take care of others in our church family. Think of the closeness to God we will have when we spend more time in prayer, more time in His word leaning and practicing what he desires for our lives as his people. God is good and he can provide for our needs and he can bless us even with over abundance for wants too that will bring him glory. I am excited to start on this new journey, and I probably won't miss having or getting the things I might have to give up. I have this wild feeling that the rewards of this kind of new living will be so great, we won't ever want to live any way else.
So read below and join us in thinking about how in the light of this new socialist era of our government, we can glorify God and live out his command to take care of our families.
Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. (Nehemiah 4:14)
Summary: This week the United States took one more significant step towards greater government control over the family with the passage of President Obama’s neo-Marxist health care initiative. The implications for medicine, entrepreneurship, and the Christian family are far-reaching. In the wake of this devastating news, Christians must stop and reevaluate their approach to health care. It is the purpose of this email to present you with a practical, affordable and Christ-honoring solution to the present crisis in the form of Samaritan Ministries.
Self Government or Statism:
The Battle for the Family
The defining cultural issue of this generation is the battle for the Christian family. At stake is the definition of marriage, the meaning of manhood and womanhood, the preservation of a godly seed, and the future of a multi-generational vision of victory in which our posterity will continue to enjoy the blessings of liberty.
Christians Must Not Become Welfare Junkies
This battle must take many forms. We must proclaim truth from the pulpit, disciple our children around the table, model Christ in our households, and even “stand with the enemies” in the very gates of the land without fear (Psalm 127). But there is another oft-overlooked, but crucial component in a wise strategy of defense for the Christian family — we must reject the welfare junkie mentality, stop looking to the state as our provider, and look to God to work through His people with private-sector solutions to real problems.
Two Theories of Salvation
The Bible indicates that it is the duty of the people of God who make up the Church, not the State, to meet the needs of the Church. Though we have a duty of love and charity toward all men (1 John 3:17, 18), our first obligation is to the household of faith (Galatians 6:10), and those directly within our jurisdiction of responsibility (1 Timothy 5:8). Those who fail to provide for their own are deemed “worse than infidels.”
A key difference between Christianity and humanism is our soteriology (our view of salvation). Christians believe that man’s basic problem is sin. Humanists believe man’s basic problem is his environment. Consequently, humanists advocate salvation through legislation. The idea is that the State can save man through education, wealth redistribution, or other environmental changes. This view of the messianic state — the state as savior — is at the heart of President Obama’s socialized medicine initiative.
The Christian Duty of Self Government
Christians, not the federal or state government, are to care for their own, including widows and the fatherless (James 1:27). One reason for this is that such care is given in the name of Jesus Christ and for His sake. A second reason is that long-term giving must come with accountability. A third reason is that God has ordained the state to wield the sword as a minister of justice (Romans 13), not to become a welfare agency.
Senate Health Care Bill Exempts
Health Care Sharing Groups
The health care bill that was passed Sunday night by the U.S. House of Representatives, often referred to as the Senate bill, contains a provision that exempts members of health care sharing ministries from the bill’s requirement for individuals to purchase health insurance. This is the bill that president has now signed.
Every freedom-loving American, parent, and Christian should be concerned about the effect this bill will have on all the American people, our health care system, and the economy, if the provisions of this bill are actually implemented. While many of the provisions will take effect soon, the individual and employer mandates to purchase health insurance are not scheduled to take effect until 2014, after the next presidential election. We need to continue to pray for God’s intervention in this situation. But, we should act prudently now.
What is Samaritan Ministries?
More than any other successful piece of legislation in the history of America, President; Obama’s bill promises to reshape the nature of medicine, creating disincentives for medical freedom, penalizing physicians and medical providers for excellence, and opening greater avenues for control of the family. Christian parents need a practical and meaningful alternative now. That alternative is Samaritan Ministries.
The highly professional executive team at Samaritan Ministries is made up of deeply committed Christian professionals (some are personal friends of mine) who understand that it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. And the candle they have lit is burning bright.
Samaritan Ministries is not an insurance company. Samaritan seeks to meet the needs of the saints through Christians helping Christians. For more than a decade, Samaritan Ministries has been the “shared medical assistance program” of choice for thousands of families. Their track record of support and satisfied members is simply superior. This is a medical assistance provider that is run on Christian principles, by Christians, for Christians. More than just an outstanding alternative to the overwhelming costs of insurance programs, Samaritan Ministries is a means of strengthening individual families and the Body of Christ through a program of personal responsibility, prayer support, and shared financial needs. The benefits of being a member of Samaritan are strong, and the cost is extremely reasonable. In fact, Samaritan families pay a fraction of the typical costs to insure a family through an insurance provider.
Do Yourself a Favor — Investigate
This God-Blessed Option
The mission of Vision Forum is to encourage the rebuilding of the Christian family. Samaritan Ministries makes my life, and the life of the families at Vision Forum, easier by standing beside us (and we beside them) in the advancement of this mission for the glory of God. They bless us by helping families with healthcare needs, by modeling a godly vision of Christians helping Christians, and by providing cost-effective, excellent alternatives to the exorbitant expense of modern healthcare.
|
With gratitude to the Lord for the executive team and the faithful families who have wisely and successfully managed Samaritan Ministries for more than a decade, I want to invite you to learn more about them at SamaritanMinistries.org or by calling (888) 2-OTHERS. Moreover, as a satisfied subscriber to Samaritan Ministries and a Christian brother who is deeply grateful to them for their principled efforts to work within the Body of Christ to provide crucial financial medical assistance, and to oppose the continued socialistic extremes of our nation’s civil magistrates, I am pleased to wholeheartedly recommend this Christ-proclaiming, family-defending ministry to my brothers and sisters in Christ. There is no doubt in my mind that God has raised Samaritan Ministries up for such a time as this.
Persevero, | |
 | |
1 comment:
Health Care Sharing Ministries are great ... you check out www.Medi-Share.org.
The Medi-Share process is much more user friendly than Samaritan (I think either is great!, much less paper flow with Medi-Share.
Medi-Share was the largest Sharing Ministry up until 2008. But the State DOIs started to harass them. The Feds always go after the big boys. But they (Medi-Share)have navigated themselves through the legal challenges pretty well. Their victories have helped the othe sharing ministries like Samaritan and Brotherhood. The exemption from Obamacare will only give these ministries even more creditability
Post a Comment