Sunday, November 11, 2012

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.




Saturday, November 10, 2012

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!

Friday, November 9, 2012

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!






Thursday, November 8, 2012

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."




Wednesday, November 7, 2012

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
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