One Nation Under...What?

It has become

pretty clear

that America

no longer stands 

together as

One Nation Under God.

Instead, it appears,

we have become

a nation divided between

a couple of political parties.

To have become a people

who allow a

political party,

movement,

or

lobbyist group

to define who we are

ethically, morally and religiously

is ridiculous,

if not,

down right scary

because none of them

accurately represent 

who God is.

If the Lord was here,

He would say - 

oh wait!

He IS here!

And He is saying,

"Come,

those who will,

and follow Me.

Together,

you and I 

will change the world

as we usher in the 

Kingdom of Heaven."

"Under God"

has always been

and continues to be 

the standard by which I live.

 He is the One

with whom I partner

and work.

Because, truly,

He is the only One

with the solution to

all of our problems.

Moral Conscience?

I find it interesting

(or perhaps more honestly, disturbing)

that (some) people do not hesitate

to like, share, repost, forward or promote

those things which express their

opinions or annoyances about things

which make relatively no difference in the world.

Yet, mostly, ignore

those things which, perhaps,

prick the moral conscience

and might be the very thing God is using

to nudge them into action.

There are people all around us

who need our help every day.

We have neighbors who are on

the verge of becoming homeless,

friends who can't pay their bills,

family members who are struggling to feed their children,

and members of our communities who are homeless;

all living quietly on the fringes,

hoping that nobody will notice, 

yet at the same time, 

hoping that someone will;

not openly admitting their situation to the people

who claim to love them

because those are the same people

 calling others in similar situations,

“Lazy, low-life scum who think the world owes them something 

and who abuse the system in order to stay where they are.”

(As if poverty is something people aspire to).

Sure, there are a few who have learned how to

 “abuse the system”,

but I say that they are the exception and not the rule.

And I am willing to bet that there are just as many,

if not more, people at the other end of the 

social/economic/political spectrum, 

the mega-rich, 

who have used and abused far more

 to get to where they are

and continue to do so on a daily basis 

in order to maintain their positions.

I submit that if those on that end of the spectrum

would give just a portion of their excess

to those at the other end of the spectrum,

the need for welfare and 

assistance programs in America

would cease.

And if every one of us

would give something to the person next to us

who has less than we do,

 homelessness and hunger

 would end in America as well.

In short, if we

loved one another

and took care of the least among us

just as Jesus commanded.

Instead, it appears, 

that we would rather go on with our lives,

 perfectly content with

 the yearly bag of canned goods 

we donate to the local food drive,

the loose change we drop into the red bucket,

the shoe box we fill and ship overseas,

and the angel or two we pull off the tree;

feeling satisfied that we have

“done our part”,

all the while willing that 

annoying little prick of moral conscience

to simply shut up and go away!

Rant With a Purpose

Every so often,

something will rise up so strongly within me

that it's impossible for me

to remain silent.

This is one of those times.

The "Christian Conservative" response

to the election results has been

heart-wrenchingly appalling.

If we would

put as much time, energy and effort

into helping our neighbors in need

as we did in screaming at them 

to go out and vote

and

as we do in

demonizing people, 

blaming the government for all of our problems

and griping about everything else,

I am certain we would actually

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

in each other's lives

and bring about real change.

One day a few weeks ago,

I took our last thirty something dollars

to the grocery store and purchased

some "staples";

milk, eggs, bread, etc.

The things I purchased needed to last

us for about ten days.

The next morning,

as I opened the refrigerator

to make my husband's breakfast

and lunch,

Holy Spirit said,

"(Someone) needs half of what you purchased yesterday."

So, I contacted that family 

and asked if they needed some bread, milk and eggs.

The response was a resounding,  "YES!"

They were out of money,

out of food 

AND 

they were having mechanical problems

with their vehicle.

I took the food to them that same afternoon.

A day or two later,

I woke up with the weight of the knowledge that

my husband was going to need gas for his vehicle

that evening if he was going to make it home.

 I whispered my request to God,

said, "I trust You Jesus,"

and went about my day.

That evening,

about thirty minutes before my husband was

to leave work,

a friend handed me fifty dollars and said,

"The Lord said you need gas money," 

I was able to deposit it into the bank

just in time for my husband to go and get gas.

A couple of days after that,

I was handed one hundred dollars

with the comment,

"Obedience is rewarded."

At first,

I had no idea what the comment meant.

Then the giver looked at me and said,

"As you help others, you'll be helped as well." 

WOW!

I hadn't given a second thought

to the fact that I had shared our food

with another family.

It was simply the right thing to do.

No, my response to Holy Spirit

had not solved all of their problems

(or mine),

but my obedience did allow

for both of our families 

to eat for a couple of days.

And yes,

it appeared to take away 

from my own family's provisions,

but I am certain

that if I had chosen

to ignore what

Holy Spirit said to me,

I would have missed out

on the other blessings He had for us.

What kind of people are we

that we would allow our fellow 

countrymen,

our neighbors,

our friends,

our families

to go hungry

simply because 

of harsh judgments,

 selfish ambitions,

and

self-righteous attitudes?

If 

"Christian Conservatism"

is the face of

 "Christianity",

I certainly want nothing to do with it!

Lord help us!

What Jesus Didn't Do

  

As I think about

the things that

Jesus did and

the example He set,

I am both struck

and

moved by the things

that He didn't do.

When people went  to Him

with their needs,

He did not reproach them.

He didn't ask,

"Have you heard the gospel message?

Did you go forward during the altar call?"

He didn't first 

point out to them all of their faults

and

accuse them of 

"not doing anything to help themselves".

He did not despise their poverty,

 demand that they account for

every penny they had spent

in the past twelve months,

nor did He hand them a cup

marked "Urine Sample".

He did not look at them in disgust, 

ignore them

or turn His back on them

because they weren't living their lives

the way that He thought they ought

or because they weren't

contributing enough to society.

No.

He did

NONE

of these things.

Rather, 

He looked at them,

He saw them,

He knew them,

He had compassion upon them. 

He fed them,

He healed them,

He was a friend to them,

He loved them.

He granted their requests.

He did ALL of this

without

conditions,

limitations,

or

restrictions.

And after He DID 

all these things,

He said to us,

"Do, likewise, 

all that I have done

and

MORE."

One More

We do well

to remember

that

Jesus 

did not

overthrow

the Roman government,

but rather

taught 

&

demonstrated

what we can

(and ought to)

do

to usher in

the 

Kingdom of Heaven!

Institutions of man

OR

the Kingdom of Heaven?

This woman's efforts

are in

the Kingdom of Heaven!

God Thoughts No. Seventy

For months

I've been thinking a lot

about 

what would happen

and what

the world,

my country,

my state,

my community

would look like

if every individual

took 

personal responsibility

for one's 

own actions;

did

everything and all

that they could do

instead of the

least

that they can do;

stopped relying on

politicians and "leaders"

to fix

everything

and instead

became a part of the

solution;

quit judging

and 

began helping;

in short,

lived according to

the

Law of Love.

Jesus,

first 

fed

His betrayer,

then told him to

go and 

do what he must.

He then 

told those remaining

at the table,

"Love each other.

Love each other

 in the same way that 

I love you.

This Love

will prove 

to the world

that you

(love, obey &)

belong 

to

Me."

(John 13)

Change

begins in

the individual,

not

in the government.

One Hope

My hope

was never

in either

(or any)

man.

My hope

has always been

and remains in

the 

Lord.

King 

Jesus

Plain

&

 Simple