I was recently interviewed on NPR with relation to an effort in Clay County to extend the hours of Alchohol sales on Sunday.

There are generally two camps on the matter. One who sees it as a matter of commerce and wants to extend the hours for economic development purposes and on that generally for religious or moral purposes would prefer the laws remain as is.

The economic development camp has statistics that indicate that in other areas where time changes have occurred there has been no rise in accidents, crimes, etc as a result.  Additionally there may be some evidence to suggest that longer driving distances while drinking could actually be causing higher accident rates. Their major arguement is economic development. They say places like golf courses, grocery stores, and restaurants are losing sales to surrounding counties.

On the other side is a very passionate group of people who don’t want to see alcohol sales increase. There is barely a family that hasn’t been touched by the damage alcohol and drug addiction creates. They have valid arguments as well as community standards that they desire to uphold.

I can relate to both parties and have come down along the lines of really trying to help the person who might be addicted. I tend to believe that changing times will do little to avert the real issue of alcohol and drug addiction and that legislating morality has proven not to work.  C.S. Lewis once wrote “You cannot make men good by law” and he was probably right. Laws in this area have never really worked. Can anyone say we are winning the drug war?

Does this mean I am in favor of extending the hours? Not really..

It means my focus is on helping an alcoholic or addict to acheive sobriety and the way I believe that is done is through heart change. As of this writing I have not had a drink since July 23rd, 1996. No law would have kept me from the problems I had back in those days, I surely would have stocked up the night before or drove a little further if I wanted to purchase alcohol.

For my fellow Christians  – examine scripture – rarely will you see Jesus addressing legislative issues, but if you feel that is your calling  - work it legislatively with everything in you, but don’t ever stop going after the heart, looking for hurting people who need to experience the love, forgiveness and freedom that is found in Christ. Also, don’t shun programs like Alcoholic’s Anonymous – while their primary purpose might be a bit different than ours they work for those who work it.  Those who have a strong foundation in Christ and in AA have a very high likelyhood of recovery.

What about community standards – I do think they are worth preserving and fighting for and where applicable I certianly would.

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I wanted to take a moment to really just say thank you for the myriad of friends who have come out to help with the campaign even at this early stage. Be it signing up to help on election days, going out to walk neighborhoods, writing a check, or simply to put a petition in the mail. Each day I open the mailbox and poof 3, 5, 10, 18, 25+ petitions show up in the mail. I am amazed by your faithfulness, I am amazed that you would take time out of your schedules to help further the vision God has put on my heart for the future generations of Clay counties children.

A sincere thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you…

Just in case..

** Political advertisement paid for and approved by Eric Jaffe for Clay County School Board District 1 **

Most people desire to stay faithful in their tithes and their offerings but sometimes the busyness of life gets in the way.

Here are some tips we have learned along the way to stay consistent in our giving.

1) Whenever you get paid, immediately go write a tithe check to your local church. This is the principle of First Fruits found in the bible (Matt. 13:30). Giving God our first and the best of our offering.

2) Automate your giving: There are a number of ways to accomplish this in our electronic world. If you use online banking you can goto your banking website and navigate to the “Bill Pay” area and set up an automatic payment to Journey Church, 5000 US Highway 17, Suite 18 #95, Orange Park, Fl 32003. You can time the automatic payment to occur shortly after your paycheck gets placed in your account. By doing this your bank will automatically generate a check and mail it to the church on your behalf.

3) Use the churches “Donate Online” button located on the homepage of  http://www.journeychurch.org  This is a great way to stay consistent in your giving. Maybe you miss church, are out of town, or simply prefer to manually make a tithe donation electronically vs physically using a printed check.

At the core make consistent giving an essential ingredient to your christianity. Putting God first in your finances is a sign of maturity in the faith. It reminds us that God is the owner and we are stewards of the resources He entrusts us with.

We are praying for you, your family, and your work. May God bless you as you put Him first in all you do.

Visit http://www.t90x.org for more information on our 90 day tithing challenge.