Today on MoneyLife

MoneyLife host Chuck Bentley begins the program with an update on Andy and Kristy Hirko. H had asked listeners last week to vote for the video Andy submitted to the “Live with Regis and Kelly” TV show’s dance contest.

Listeners must have voted because Andy’s video is one of the five finalists for the grand prize of $50,000. Andy will be performing his dance today before the judges who will award the prize. Stay tuned to find out how he did.

If Andy wins, all the money will be used for debt reduction. The couple has been working toward that already and had been praying for creative ways to accelerate the payoff. God gave them the idea of entering the contest. They've already won $10,000 for getting to this stage in the contest

Switching gears, Chuck says he’s been getting e-mail from listeners thanking him for calling the nation to a season of prayer and fasting. People know that God is the real solution to this economic crisis; hope is not in government.

Chuck asks listeners to join us in going before the Lord and announces that a Web site is on its way. Concerned abut debt, people are turning to our Money Map Coaches online.

After the break, Chuck welcomes Bob Fry to the program. Bob is an investment counselor in Southern California.

Bob tells listeners taht the entire world is worried about the health of the banking system in the U.S. and worldwide. Banks aren’t lending to each other as they should, as everyone has been waiting on the bailout.

Bob says he doesn't think this is not financial Armageddon but if it that turns out to be the case, he's not sure there’s anything we could do about it. Still, he believes the financial system will survive this.

There are a lot of economies in the world that are healthy. Our own economy is healthier than the media’s focus on this crisis would have you believe. Overall, we should get through this. Meanwhile, it's difficult to know how much the bailout bill will help, but it's probably better to do something than nothing.

Bob believes the bailout will be good in the short-term, and will provide a calming influence, strengthening banks. He's not sure what debts are going to be bought and how they’ll be priced. Bob doesn’t believe the bailout will solve the underlying problem created by years of really cheap credit that drove up the price of assets worldwide. Everything has been overpriced, in the U.S., real estate more than other things.

What’s happening is a de-leveraging, that is, removing the credit from the system. Prices will drop and will be lower than we've seen. Bob says he doesn’t know how long it will take for trust to return to the financial markets. Most people are convinced the government doesn’t know what it’s doing. Trust can only be in God.

Chuck says this is a time when everyone should be looking to the Lord and taking our hope and dependency out of man (government and elected officials) and placing it back where it should have been all along. Chuck cites Psalm 146:3-5.

Chuck thanks Bob Friday for being a guest on MoneyLife today.

After the break, Chuck welcomes Rusty Leonard to the program. Rusty is the Founder and CEO of Stewardship Partners, and a top portfolio manager for the Templeton Fund.

Rusty tells listeners that given the circumstances, there’s no alternative but the bailout plan and that the economy needs it as soon as possible. He believes we are near the bottom of this market; the past looks awful but the future is hopeful.

The bailout bill probably will be only a down payment. There will be other stimulus packages to try and keep the economy from being in a prolonged recession. All the activity will probably pay off in the long run.

With prices low, now is the best time to become an investor. Safe investments are expensive but risky investments are cheap. Not all the risky investments will work out in the long run, but the ones that do should more than offset the ones that don’t recover and appreciate.

There is still a possibility of a complete financial meltdown, but Rusty believes that is highly unlikely. Still, we need to be wise and pay attention. Rusty sees abundant opportunities to invest. He has a little bit of gold in his portfolio as a diversifier, or insurance policy, but now is a bad time to buy gold.

Instead, now is the time to buy blue chip companies which have strong balance sheets with no debt and are providing capital to others. There are many of these companies and they are paying high dividends. Rusty says we are definitey going into a recession and some of the companies involved with financial instruments will suffer; most won’t go bankrupt.

The c orporate sector balance sheet is strong outside of financial companies. Most companies are in good shape. It's the consumer and government that are in trouble. The FDIC has done a great job so far of protecting depositors and taxpayers. Most banks are strong.

The purpose of all the bank sales the government has put together is to keep people from running to the bank and withdrawing all their money. As long as people are confident in the financial system everything will be fine.

After the break, Chuck gives some closing thoughts:

Today we heard from two professional money managers who are godly and know the inner working of our financial markets. Both said we should calm down; that it’s going to be ok. The purpose of this program is to bring you hope, help, and insight everyday, especially during turbulent times.

Keep your trust and faith in God. No one knows the future but it sounds like economic sanity may return. Chuck's concern is that people will go back to “business as usual” and not make the corrections that need to be made.

We need to repent of our greed; it can’t be corrected by the government. We have to turn back to the Lord and his financial principles. Chuck continues his call for a grassroots movement of Christians to pray and fast for God to intercede in our lives and our country’s economic challenges.

We've got to return to honoring God with our wealth, saving money but not hoarding, and getting out of debt. We need to get out of debt in the next four years because it will get difficult again at the end of the next presidential election cycle. We must invest wisely and steadily.

Chuck informs listeners that our $50,000 matching gift challenge in September has been met, and that he is grateful to our listeners for helping Crown. Chuck says the ministry still faces difficult days ahead and asks listeners to consider making a gift to Crown.

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Should You Be Preparing a War Portfolio?

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Other Resources:

• ABCs of Money Package
• Career Direct
• God's Principles for Operating a Business
• Business By the Book
• Crown Mvelopes