The Thursday Update

JANUARY 12, 2023

Lakeshore Friends—

Recent financial numbers don’t lie.  We’ve just come off a year with cost of living increases surging, and annualized inflation at around 8%, levels we haven’t seen in over 40 years.  It’s impacting the cost of virtually everything we buy.  We’ve also seen interest rates climb to over double what they were just a year ago, impacting the cost of purchases that require financing.  

We’ve seen stock market investments end the year with double-digit losses (the benchmark S&P 500 fell by a whopping -19.4% in 2022!), impacting the money we have available for our present and future retirement needs. 

And on top of all this, the outlook isn’t expected to improve any time soon.  Taken all together, these are difficult times for our financial security.

Despite all of this, I am 100 percent confident in this truth: even when the economy is bad, God is always good!  And His goodness extends to giving us amazing financial principles that can help us navigate virtually any and every bad economy we face.  After all, God does own it all (see Exodus 19:5, Psalm 24:1), so that means He can distribute it any way He wishes to.  And He tells us how to use money in ways that please Him and lead to optimal financial success.

On Sunday, we’re beginning a new series to help provide four important biblical strategies that can help you in these financially tough times.  No matter how bad or how good your financial situation is, I think you will find plenty of help over these next four weeks.

That’s because even when the economy is bad, God is always good!

Warmly,
Vince

JANUARY 5, 2023

Lakeshore Friends—

You all know of the tragic cardiac event that Buffalo Bills Safety Damar Hamlin suffered on Monday night during the first quarter of their game against the Cincinnati Bengals.  And I’m sure you all know what happened immediately afterward as players from both teams showed deep concern and offered support and prayer right there on the field.  So did many fans that night and again in the morning at various prayer vigils held at the hospital and in Buffalo. 

You may have seen that Damar’s charitable organization has raised around $6 million since this took place.  It’s been amazing and brought me to moments of shedding tears.  It’s beautiful to see.

What struck me on a big-picture level were these three things:

1. We’ve seen unconditional love in action. People are showing love regardless of any differences they may have.  How refreshing to see as opposed to all the division and hatred that we’ve seen so often, especially these past three years.  This is what the church is called to look like, and we strive to show that kind of love every day.  It’s not easy, but it is our aim.

2. We see people talking about prayer and actually praying. It’s interesting to see since so many people want to keep prayer out of every venue of life, except inside the walls of the church.  But to no surprise, when a crisis hits, people suddenly believe in prayer.  And did you see this from Dan Orlovsky on ESPN, of all places? Incredible! 

3. We hear the players talking about fellow players as brothers and family. I know the feeling that comes from spending tons of time with teammates on a sports team, and it is a band of brothers (and sisters for the ladies).  And the family that is healthy is called to be close, healthy, and strong for each other.

Let’s all try to be these same three things in mind for everyone we encounter. Let's also keep praying for Damar.  I’m praying that God would heal him and use this tragedy to do some healing in the way we treat each other in America, and the world.

Warmly,
Vince

DECEMBER 29, 2022

Lakeshore Friends—

Sometimes the way to move forward in life is to look backward. 

I’m not talking about rehearsing all that has happened in your life and living in the past.  And I’m not referring to thinking about some nostalgic days when people walked to school... everyday… up hill... both ways… in blizzards… October through April... What I mean is that there are some things that we have learned in the past that should always guide our future, regardless of what modern-day thinkers tell us we should embrace.

Too often, people assume that new ideas, new concepts, new technology, and new thinking will advance and improve our lives today from how we lived them in the past. But I’m fully convinced that’s not always the case.  Not all that’s new is better.  In fact, sometimes it takes us from the best that we already have.

As we ring out the old year and bring in the new year on Sunday, I want to kick off a series that will help us go "Back to the Future" in two important areas that have deeply concerned me these days: the Bible and the family.  There are voices calling us to move forward in dangerous ways in these two foundational areas of life.  I want to share how God wants us to go back to the standard He has set for us from the very beginning.

I can’t think of a more vital series to begin the year than this one.  I hope you’ll join us on January 1 as we look at going back to the Bible.

Don’t drink too much egg nog.  Do your best to go to bed a little after midnight, and let’s spend some time together on Sunday morning.

Warmly,
Vince