Living Poor in America
At the risk of being accused of "harping" - not to be mistaken for the playing of that stringed instrument commonly seen in the arms of angels and beautiful young classical musicians - I would like to address once again the subject of being poor in the United States.
My family and I do not consider ourselves poor.
Yes, if we were living like the normal American family seeking the American Dream, we would be one paycheck away from homelessness...and yes, our income level would place us at the legal poverty level. But seriously, we never lack for anything we need!
Our Papa God takes such good care of us that my son just brought over a cardboard box full of food to another family. They often open their home to young people living on the streets and they had just taken in some more folks.
We have health insurance.
I pastor a church in the woods - many of whom actually live in tents or vans or cars IN the woods, or who live in beat up, run down housing located in the National Forest. (That's a picture of some of them up there on the right. A bunch of great Christian people who love the Lord) I think its safe to say that NONE of them have health insurance. For most of them, the monthly premium that they would need to pay in order to have health insurance would be more, a LOT more, than their monthly income - those who have an income from Social Security or some form of disability, or if old enough, maybe a retirement check.
Some can't even afford AUTO insurance. One of the young ladies lives in her 1993 van and is blessed to have a monthly disability check. She has to pay a good portion of that income to a no fault insurance agency so she can keep her van, (her "home") registered, so they don't revoke her drivers license and force her to live in an even worse situation.
People? Something has to change.
Let me share a true story with you. Linda is a member of our church. She and her husband used to be in the upper middle class. They owned two businesses - a nice gift shop in a tourist area and an independent surveying business. For reasons I don't even totally know, they lost both businesses and their home. Thankfully, they inherited a log cottage on a small piece of land here in the forest, so they are not homeless. They are currently living on his Social Security retirement and any extra they can make selling crafts and things at the flea market.
She fell and broke her arm and was taken to the hospital.
The hospital said that they could not treat her because her break was such that she needed a specialist and because she did not have insurance, they would not be able to help her. They gave her some pain medication and sent her on her way. The next day, she was able to get in to see an orthopedic surgeon (the specialist). They tell her that because she does not have insurance, she will need Ten Thousand Dollars up front before they would be able to treat her! Naturally, she didn't have that kind of money.
This is not an isolated case.
Another elderly man broke his leg and the same thing happened to him. He was able to finally get help through their county health department, thank God! But for some reason, Linda was unable to get any kind of treatment. To this date, she still has not had any treatment other than the original ex-ray and pain medication prescription. We've been able to pray for her for healing, and keep it wrapped in a small brace. The Lord seems to be healing her one day at a time.
Something needs to change.
The day before yesterday, while I was having a conversation about how President Obama's Health Care plan will force the elderly to be put to sleep like aging pets at a vet's office, I was told that we needed to have more faith and ask God to bring in the money to pay for these emergency medical costs. I couldn't believe it. I asked them if their church would be able to write a check for 10 grand to help a person get their broken arm treated. One sister in particular seemed adamant that if we had the faith to trust the Lord, that yes her church and any good church would be able to pay for that kind of medical cost.
OKaaaaay.
She insinuated that we lacked faith and if we were the Christian warriors we needed to be, we could better handle these kinds of situations. I got a little "cocky" and asked her if we could then count of her check? After all, it was only a few minutes before this that they were talking on the subject of 'Faith without works is Dead.'
Let me say right here that I am neither FOR nor am I AGAINST the Obama health plan.
However, I do not believe that he is the Anti-Christ, or even that he is a fore-runner to the evil leader soon to come. If people would study their Bible, that would be pretty clear. He is our elected President and I pray that he will be blessed and given wisdom from above to run our country as best as he possibly can. It doesn't seem like it sometimes, does it? Some of us need to open their Bibles to Romans chapter 13, the first couple of verses and get a grip on what their Christian Responsibility is.
We ARE in the end times. Everything I see, even the things that this president is doing that makes us scratch our heads in wonder, are all reminders that we are in the end times. That should excite us!
You know? If some Christians would spend half the amount of time in prayer and in reading their Bible as they do forwarding stupid urban legend emails that haven't an ounce of truth in them, they'd be stronger than ever before in the Lord!
Anyway... I just wanted to 'blog' about some of the medical care situations we have been experiencing with some of our friends. Something does have to change somewhere - IF THERE IS TIME. If there isn't time? Well, how exciting! We won't need insurance! Amen?? :)
I might add that while I do have medical insurance and even dental insurance, its not always the best. I have three broken teeth and one crown that need to be replaced. Even with coverage, I can't afford THAT. One tooth alone costs us over one thousand dollars and that is with the insurance company paying 80%!
Hallelujah - come quickly Lord Jesus!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Mark
My family and I do not consider ourselves poor.
Yes, if we were living like the normal American family seeking the American Dream, we would be one paycheck away from homelessness...and yes, our income level would place us at the legal poverty level. But seriously, we never lack for anything we need!
Our Papa God takes such good care of us that my son just brought over a cardboard box full of food to another family. They often open their home to young people living on the streets and they had just taken in some more folks.
We have health insurance.
I pastor a church in the woods - many of whom actually live in tents or vans or cars IN the woods, or who live in beat up, run down housing located in the National Forest. (That's a picture of some of them up there on the right. A bunch of great Christian people who love the Lord) I think its safe to say that NONE of them have health insurance. For most of them, the monthly premium that they would need to pay in order to have health insurance would be more, a LOT more, than their monthly income - those who have an income from Social Security or some form of disability, or if old enough, maybe a retirement check.
Some can't even afford AUTO insurance. One of the young ladies lives in her 1993 van and is blessed to have a monthly disability check. She has to pay a good portion of that income to a no fault insurance agency so she can keep her van, (her "home") registered, so they don't revoke her drivers license and force her to live in an even worse situation.
People? Something has to change.
Let me share a true story with you. Linda is a member of our church. She and her husband used to be in the upper middle class. They owned two businesses - a nice gift shop in a tourist area and an independent surveying business. For reasons I don't even totally know, they lost both businesses and their home. Thankfully, they inherited a log cottage on a small piece of land here in the forest, so they are not homeless. They are currently living on his Social Security retirement and any extra they can make selling crafts and things at the flea market.
She fell and broke her arm and was taken to the hospital.
The hospital said that they could not treat her because her break was such that she needed a specialist and because she did not have insurance, they would not be able to help her. They gave her some pain medication and sent her on her way. The next day, she was able to get in to see an orthopedic surgeon (the specialist). They tell her that because she does not have insurance, she will need Ten Thousand Dollars up front before they would be able to treat her! Naturally, she didn't have that kind of money.
This is not an isolated case.
Another elderly man broke his leg and the same thing happened to him. He was able to finally get help through their county health department, thank God! But for some reason, Linda was unable to get any kind of treatment. To this date, she still has not had any treatment other than the original ex-ray and pain medication prescription. We've been able to pray for her for healing, and keep it wrapped in a small brace. The Lord seems to be healing her one day at a time.
Something needs to change.
The day before yesterday, while I was having a conversation about how President Obama's Health Care plan will force the elderly to be put to sleep like aging pets at a vet's office, I was told that we needed to have more faith and ask God to bring in the money to pay for these emergency medical costs. I couldn't believe it. I asked them if their church would be able to write a check for 10 grand to help a person get their broken arm treated. One sister in particular seemed adamant that if we had the faith to trust the Lord, that yes her church and any good church would be able to pay for that kind of medical cost.
OKaaaaay.
She insinuated that we lacked faith and if we were the Christian warriors we needed to be, we could better handle these kinds of situations. I got a little "cocky" and asked her if we could then count of her check? After all, it was only a few minutes before this that they were talking on the subject of 'Faith without works is Dead.'
Let me say right here that I am neither FOR nor am I AGAINST the Obama health plan.
However, I do not believe that he is the Anti-Christ, or even that he is a fore-runner to the evil leader soon to come. If people would study their Bible, that would be pretty clear. He is our elected President and I pray that he will be blessed and given wisdom from above to run our country as best as he possibly can. It doesn't seem like it sometimes, does it? Some of us need to open their Bibles to Romans chapter 13, the first couple of verses and get a grip on what their Christian Responsibility is.
We ARE in the end times. Everything I see, even the things that this president is doing that makes us scratch our heads in wonder, are all reminders that we are in the end times. That should excite us!
You know? If some Christians would spend half the amount of time in prayer and in reading their Bible as they do forwarding stupid urban legend emails that haven't an ounce of truth in them, they'd be stronger than ever before in the Lord!
Anyway... I just wanted to 'blog' about some of the medical care situations we have been experiencing with some of our friends. Something does have to change somewhere - IF THERE IS TIME. If there isn't time? Well, how exciting! We won't need insurance! Amen?? :)
I might add that while I do have medical insurance and even dental insurance, its not always the best. I have three broken teeth and one crown that need to be replaced. Even with coverage, I can't afford THAT. One tooth alone costs us over one thousand dollars and that is with the insurance company paying 80%!
Hallelujah - come quickly Lord Jesus!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Mark
ADD A COMMENT
Latest Activity
© 2012 Created by Pastor Greg.
You need to be a member of LIBAW Christian Social Network to add comments!
Join LIBAW Christian Social Network