So Cal Real Estate News

(4/15/08)  Yesterday’s paper brought an uplifting story that helped put our real estate woes in perspective.

Today’s paper was a little more brutal. “The Next Big Quake: Big One Nearly Certain by 2038,” screamed the Register. The Times was a bit gentler: “Likelier here: the next Big One.”

Fortunately, I try to start each day with a something a little more inspiring. This year I’m reading through Wisdom for Today, a daily devotional by my Pastor, Chuck Smith.

Appropriately enough for April 15th, today’s devotional was taken from the Biblical book of Job.

It’s based on advice the troubled Job received from Eliphaz, a friend who had come to “comfort” Job in his distress. Possibly the oldest book of the Bible, Job could have been written yesterday for today’s California home owners.

Titled “Nothing + Nothing = Nothing,” today’s devotional is taken from Job 15:31, “Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself, for futility will be his reward.”

Here’s the first paragraph of “Pastor Chuck’s” thoughts on the passage:

“In his attempt to understand why God had stripped Job of all his possessions, Eliphaz reasoned that Job had foolishly put his trust in those possessions. Though Job had not done so, Eliphaz was right in speaking against the folly of those who are lulled into a deceptive sense of security by their wealth.”

Like maybe thinking Southern California real estate can only go up in value?

Bottom line, even if that were true, you still can’t take it with you!

1,500 years after Job, Jesus put it this way:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

I find that last sentence especially interesting. Jesus’ reason for not focusing on material wealth wasn’t so much that “you can’t take it with you,” as that it will distract our hearts from far more important things. Things that are eternal, like our family, our neighbors, our character and God.

Hopefully the last few year’s “shake up” in Southern California real estate values or the coming “shake up” reported in today’s paper will help us all focus more on things that can’t be shaken.

Today we’ll take a break from Southern California real estate to look at Easter, an inspiring event which helps Blair & I keep some perspective in even the craziest market.

Easter comes early this year, and 2008 is one year we could all use some inspiration as early as possible!

Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection provides hope, joy, perspective, and lessons in love, forgiveness, grace and endurance. Many Christians traditionally use the 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday as a period for prayer, repentance, and various levels of fasting. I think even folks who aren’t especially religious can benefit from contemplating the final weeks of Jesus life. (And any anti-Semites should remember all the main characters, including Jesus, were Jewish, but those who actually crucified him were Romans.)

In the weeks leading up to Easter, I usually try to read through and meditate on the Biblical accounts of the events of Holy week. Much of Jesus’ teaching related to trusting in God, dying to self, and loving God and others. In the last week of his earthly life, Jesus lived out these teachings magnificently. I’ve grown much from spending time reflecting on these events.

So, with 17 days remaining until Easter, may I suggest a mini-lenten series of readings on the life of Christ? Actually, a choice of two: A read-through of all of Mark’s fast moving Gospel, or of the last half of Matthew’s more detailed Gospel.

In either case, it’s a simple matter of reading a chapter a day, about the length of a sports’ columnist’s article. I do recommend a time of prayer before and of meditation, application, and prayer after. Can’t say I’ve ever used that approach with T.J. Simers’ column in the L.A.Times.

I prefer using a version of the Bible that’s in language I understand easily, which isn’t the King James Version in my case. Lately I’ve been using the English Standard Version, which is available online. If you click on this link, it will take you to a search page–just type in “Mark 1″ or “Matthew 12,” and the chapter will appear.

If you want an emphasis on action over sermons, I’d recommend the Gospel of Mark, which was written by a younger associate of St. Peter around 60 A.D., based largely on Peter’s first-hand recollections. (I majored in Roman History at UCLA, so that sort of thing is important to me.) If you subtract 8 from the date, you’ll read through all 16 chapters of Mark from this Sunday, March 9 (9 – 8 = chapter 1), through Easter, March 23, if you subtract 7, you can start tomorrow (Saturday) & will finish with the resurrection story the Saturday before Easter.

If you’d also like to pick up some of the lectures of Jesus too, then I recommend Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew was one of Jesus 12 closest disciples, and this is his first hand account, also written around 60 A.D. He was originally in the accounting field, actually a hated tax-collector for Rome who Jesus reached out to. If you want to end with the resurrection on Easter Sunday, just add 5 to the date and read a chapter a day (for example, if you start this Saturday, March 8, 8 -5 = chapter 12.)

If you’re a bit of a skeptic about how accurate the Gospels are, just click this link for a fairly concise summary. If you want to investigate the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, click here, or here or here. If you prefer to consider the evidence in a “whodunit” format, you might want to check out Scott Hong’s “The locked tomb mystery.”

Regardless of your religious or non-religious persuasion, we wish you a joyful celebration over the next several weeks, and continuing growth throughout the crazy year ahead.