Democrat Congressman Lewis is regarded as a Civil Rights Icon. He stood with Martin Luther King against the injustice of segregation and was unjustly beaten as they crossed the bridge in the march to Selma. He was a man with a cause and as a result, he helped bridge the gap becoming an African American member of Congress, and living to see the first African American president.
But just now his cause is leading far lest members of Congress in an uncivil resistance to the peaceful transfer of power from the left to the right by refusing to attend the inauguration of the President-Elect, Donald J. Trump because he disapproves and denies his legitimacy (He boycotted George W. Bush's as well).
He, along others like Congresswoman Elizabeth Warren have vowed never to work with the new President. Considering that he will be signing bills into law for the next four to eight years would suggest that they intend to accomplish nothing or at least not be a part of getting anything done for their next two to four terms in Congress.
So, it would appear to me that their intent is to continue fueling a divided America. But to what end? Will this dug in form of opposition bring about an advancement in the common good of our nation? Will insisting that everyone move left result in righting the failures of our nation state? Will we be safer, more prosperous, more peaceful or make more progress as a nation?
Le me take you where I always want to go for answers to life's questions, the words of Jesus: “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand" (Matt 12:25).
Drawing lines and closing doors leads only to disruption and derailing. Unless we choose to work together, hammering out our differences instead of hammering on each other, the inner cities will continue their downward spiral, poverty will continue its strangle hold on the most vulnerable, the disrespect of other nations will continue to rise, nothing good will come from the bad posture of a nation divided. Jus' Say'n.
Friday, January 20, 2017
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Despising Wisdom
In Proverbs 1:7 we read, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." The word for fear in this passage is equivalent to having proper respect. It is to fully appreciate that God is not man but rather Creator, just as Thomas Jefferson penned in our Declaration of Independence.
Our nation was not built on the notion that we are are so great that all must give way to us but rather that God is so great and that he has given us the right of self-determination, including the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
That is not to say that we get to have everything we want, every time we want it but that we have the right to pursue it. Too many think they have the right to demand what they want, believing it only right to get what they demand.
Their are many in Hollywood, the media, in Congress and Democrats from across the nation who feel they have been robbed of their right to have their candidate ascend to the office of president. But the fact is that while they had the right to pursue that outcome, their is no right to demand it.
We, as humans, are not in charge of the outcomes of life. We can do our best to raise our children right, only be very disappointed. We can save for retirement, only to see it swallowed up in health costs. Non-smokers sometimes get lung cancer, healthy eaters can develop diabetes, college graduates can wind up flipping burgers.
This, to me is the laughable part of the climate change initiative, that we think we can actually determine the climate of the earth. I have no doubt that the earth's climate is changing. There is amble evidence the world has gone through multiple Ice Ages and periods of warming to follow. Are we to believe that we could cause or prevent these global shifts in climate - really?
Are we to believe that we can actually bring peace to the Middle East when there has bee fighting going on for as long as it has existed? We can't even bring peace to the streets of Chicago. While you or I can choose not to be prejudiced, can we really wipe out prejudice and bigotry from the land entirely? Can we really wipe out all diseases? There is a "Super Bug" that antibiotics are not containing already and cancer cells are morphing to defeat our treatments as I'm writing.
There are thing so out of our control and we are fools to believe otherwise, and even greater fools to not recognize that our only true hope is in God, in his promise of redemption and life in Christ. Many are fools indeed, refusing to acknowledge The Creator and his power over the creation, thinking themselves "Captain of their own Destiny." We're not even first mate.
Think about your life and all that has happened. Have you really been in control? Think of the state of our union, have we really got things under control? Consider the world around us, do we have that under control? Do we really think that we don't need a Savior?
We think we are really wise but the truth is that to think so highly of ourselves is to foolishly despise the wisdom of knowing God and living under his banner. Rejecting God is to reject his good and righteous control over our lives and the life he offers. Jus' Say'n.
Our nation was not built on the notion that we are are so great that all must give way to us but rather that God is so great and that he has given us the right of self-determination, including the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
That is not to say that we get to have everything we want, every time we want it but that we have the right to pursue it. Too many think they have the right to demand what they want, believing it only right to get what they demand.
Their are many in Hollywood, the media, in Congress and Democrats from across the nation who feel they have been robbed of their right to have their candidate ascend to the office of president. But the fact is that while they had the right to pursue that outcome, their is no right to demand it.
We, as humans, are not in charge of the outcomes of life. We can do our best to raise our children right, only be very disappointed. We can save for retirement, only to see it swallowed up in health costs. Non-smokers sometimes get lung cancer, healthy eaters can develop diabetes, college graduates can wind up flipping burgers.
This, to me is the laughable part of the climate change initiative, that we think we can actually determine the climate of the earth. I have no doubt that the earth's climate is changing. There is amble evidence the world has gone through multiple Ice Ages and periods of warming to follow. Are we to believe that we could cause or prevent these global shifts in climate - really?
Are we to believe that we can actually bring peace to the Middle East when there has bee fighting going on for as long as it has existed? We can't even bring peace to the streets of Chicago. While you or I can choose not to be prejudiced, can we really wipe out prejudice and bigotry from the land entirely? Can we really wipe out all diseases? There is a "Super Bug" that antibiotics are not containing already and cancer cells are morphing to defeat our treatments as I'm writing.
There are thing so out of our control and we are fools to believe otherwise, and even greater fools to not recognize that our only true hope is in God, in his promise of redemption and life in Christ. Many are fools indeed, refusing to acknowledge The Creator and his power over the creation, thinking themselves "Captain of their own Destiny." We're not even first mate.
Think about your life and all that has happened. Have you really been in control? Think of the state of our union, have we really got things under control? Consider the world around us, do we have that under control? Do we really think that we don't need a Savior?
We think we are really wise but the truth is that to think so highly of ourselves is to foolishly despise the wisdom of knowing God and living under his banner. Rejecting God is to reject his good and righteous control over our lives and the life he offers. Jus' Say'n.
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Humble High
If there is one dish that Americans are loathe to eat, it is humble pie. Having been born a nation by casting off the British Crown, our DNA is encoded to resist humbling ourselves before any man. Dozens of Democratic congressional leaders are boycotting the Inauguration of our new President because they feel he is not fit to be their president, despite the fact that he overwhelmingly won the Electoral Vote.
They feel their candidate and their ideology to be superior in every way, and the effort of the Russians to disrupt and disqualify our political process is the nail upon which they hang their angst. Rather than look to the flaws their candidate brought to the race, the missed opportunities to visit certain states that were lost, the fact that over a billion dollars was spent and the backing of media elites and the current Administration did not sway the Electorate enough mover come the reality of the state of affairs; they choose to look own their noses at the other flawed candidate, who happened to win.
How American, how human to stand so proudly defiant against an authority for whom they have no respect, but how ungodly. To begin with, "The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves" (Rom 13:1-2).
And the call God is not to refuse to recognize those Authorities but instead "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made...for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness" (1 Tim 2:1-2).
They feel their candidate and their ideology to be superior in every way, and the effort of the Russians to disrupt and disqualify our political process is the nail upon which they hang their angst. Rather than look to the flaws their candidate brought to the race, the missed opportunities to visit certain states that were lost, the fact that over a billion dollars was spent and the backing of media elites and the current Administration did not sway the Electorate enough mover come the reality of the state of affairs; they choose to look own their noses at the other flawed candidate, who happened to win.
How American, how human to stand so proudly defiant against an authority for whom they have no respect, but how ungodly. To begin with, "The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves" (Rom 13:1-2).
And the call God is not to refuse to recognize those Authorities but instead "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made...for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness" (1 Tim 2:1-2).
The answer to the disappointment and even disbelief of the disaffected Democrats is to resist, not the flawed President-Elect who was elected despite those flaws over their preferred flawed candidate, but to instead "...clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time" (1Pet 5-6). Jus' Say'n.
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
The Way Down
The Psalmist declares, "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers" (Ps 1:1). In this declaration, he clearly lays out the progression of sin as opposed to something that just happens.
So often someone caught in an affair will say, "I didn't mean for this to occur, it just happened." Or one one caught taking money from til might say, "I don' know how this happened, one thing just led to another and..." The defense is an innocence of ignorance, that the sin had a life if its own, not something put in motion by the one caught. Really? No, not really!
The reality is that one takes a path down into the pit of sin, he doesn't just suddenly fall without warning. For instance a man may respond to some "innocent" flirting (walk), then go for an "innocent" lunch (stand) and finally light the flame of an affair by going somewhere to be alone (sit)."
We really don't just wake up one day transformed into a thief or an adulterer or an addict or a whatever type of sin condition one might find himself hip-deep involved in. We take a journey the step-by-step brings us along a downward path.
The New Testament puts it this way: "When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death" (Jas 1:13-15).
The way down is not so much a slip and a fall as it is a step followed by another and another until one is reaches a place he/she might never have believed he/she would have gone. From where you started to where you wind up feels like it took a life of its own and just happened but it mist certainly did not. The way down is a progression of decisions every step of the way. Jus' Say'n.
So often someone caught in an affair will say, "I didn't mean for this to occur, it just happened." Or one one caught taking money from til might say, "I don' know how this happened, one thing just led to another and..." The defense is an innocence of ignorance, that the sin had a life if its own, not something put in motion by the one caught. Really? No, not really!
The reality is that one takes a path down into the pit of sin, he doesn't just suddenly fall without warning. For instance a man may respond to some "innocent" flirting (walk), then go for an "innocent" lunch (stand) and finally light the flame of an affair by going somewhere to be alone (sit)."
We really don't just wake up one day transformed into a thief or an adulterer or an addict or a whatever type of sin condition one might find himself hip-deep involved in. We take a journey the step-by-step brings us along a downward path.
The New Testament puts it this way: "When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death" (Jas 1:13-15).
The way down is not so much a slip and a fall as it is a step followed by another and another until one is reaches a place he/she might never have believed he/she would have gone. From where you started to where you wind up feels like it took a life of its own and just happened but it mist certainly did not. The way down is a progression of decisions every step of the way. Jus' Say'n.
Monday, January 16, 2017
Harvest Time
I cannot begin to tell you the number of times I've heard someone say, "I wish I new what my purpose was." The idea being that they really I sure God had something for them to do, only it has 't been revealed or hasn't presents itself yet. It is as if they are waiting on the wheat to be ready for harvest so they can began the work that will then be obvious.
The truth of the matter, however, is that they are waiting in vain. While there may be additional or more focused work in the future, God's work for all his children is not going to be prepared, it has been prepared: "For you were created in Christ I do the good works God has prepared for you to do" (Eph 2:10).
And while you may not have recognized it, this work is all about you: "Don't you have a saying, 'It's still four months until harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest" (Jn 4:35).
I'm not discounting the fact that you may have a special ministry in your future or that there is something very specific God has in mind for you. What I am getting at is there is never a time to sit back and wait for God to show up with a job list as there are endless opportunities to serve God all around us, all the time.
Until you get clarification as to a specific ministry, every child of God Is instructed, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Gal 6:9-10).
God does have a purpose for you and one day that may be revealed as a very specific ministry opportunity. However, for now the work is all about you. Just find a need and meet it. Open your eyes to the pain and loss of others. Offer a smile, offer a hand, offer to share or help in some was - get involved with those with whom you come into contact. Don't wait, the harvest time is here. Jus' Say'n.
The truth of the matter, however, is that they are waiting in vain. While there may be additional or more focused work in the future, God's work for all his children is not going to be prepared, it has been prepared: "For you were created in Christ I do the good works God has prepared for you to do" (Eph 2:10).
And while you may not have recognized it, this work is all about you: "Don't you have a saying, 'It's still four months until harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest" (Jn 4:35).
I'm not discounting the fact that you may have a special ministry in your future or that there is something very specific God has in mind for you. What I am getting at is there is never a time to sit back and wait for God to show up with a job list as there are endless opportunities to serve God all around us, all the time.
Until you get clarification as to a specific ministry, every child of God Is instructed, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Gal 6:9-10).
God does have a purpose for you and one day that may be revealed as a very specific ministry opportunity. However, for now the work is all about you. Just find a need and meet it. Open your eyes to the pain and loss of others. Offer a smile, offer a hand, offer to share or help in some was - get involved with those with whom you come into contact. Don't wait, the harvest time is here. Jus' Say'n.
Friday, January 13, 2017
The Ladder
The proverbial "Ladder of Success" can be a very elusive thing indeed. While climbing it to the top is a challenge in itself, just finding it can be overwhelming. Many have simply given up ascending to the top and settle for less than they had dreamed. Others still have given up dreaming altogether, believing the ladder has been denied them.
We accept the diminished capacity of our lives saying things like, "Times are tough" or "There just aren't any opportunities" or we lay the blame on others insisting they are holding us back because of our color or gender or whatever. Whatever the reason, the result is the same: We settle.
Some settle for what they would say is good enough and others settle for far less than they had hoped, while some are just trying to survive. Many give up the struggle and look to their family or the government to take care of them, becoming lifelong dependants or wards of the state. Some just take to the streets looking for handouts and places to sleep - they simply check out of normal society.
What is so sad is that we are not created to settle or give in or give up. We were created for greatness: "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor" (Psa 8:3-5).
God has sown the seeds of glory and honor in our hearts, not so that we may become proud or arrogant but that we might accept our place at the table as sons and daughters of the Most High. When we settle instead of stretch, we deny our calling to soar instead of sink.
The problem is that our definition of success and the power to succeed are misplaced. Success is not accumulating a certain amount of money or level of education or job status, success is being who God called you to be, doing what he called you to do, advancing the boarders of the kingdom where you live and serve.
Was Jesus ever rich, were his apostles or prophets or so many other of very noted servants of the kingdom? Not particularly, but they were successful indeed. While we tend to view success through the lens of materialism, Jesus plainly warns us: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Mt 6:19-20).
And when we Lise. To our Lord, "Seeking first the kingdom of Gid and his righteousness, all these things [material needs] are given to us as well" (Mt 6:33). The point isn't how much you gain in personal wealth or power or prominence, it is accepting God's claim on your life and living it fully for him. When we do that, we are succeeding and we will reach the very top of the ladder of success in glory. There is nothing to compare. There is no real substitute. Jus' Say'n.
We accept the diminished capacity of our lives saying things like, "Times are tough" or "There just aren't any opportunities" or we lay the blame on others insisting they are holding us back because of our color or gender or whatever. Whatever the reason, the result is the same: We settle.
Some settle for what they would say is good enough and others settle for far less than they had hoped, while some are just trying to survive. Many give up the struggle and look to their family or the government to take care of them, becoming lifelong dependants or wards of the state. Some just take to the streets looking for handouts and places to sleep - they simply check out of normal society.
What is so sad is that we are not created to settle or give in or give up. We were created for greatness: "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor" (Psa 8:3-5).
God has sown the seeds of glory and honor in our hearts, not so that we may become proud or arrogant but that we might accept our place at the table as sons and daughters of the Most High. When we settle instead of stretch, we deny our calling to soar instead of sink.
The problem is that our definition of success and the power to succeed are misplaced. Success is not accumulating a certain amount of money or level of education or job status, success is being who God called you to be, doing what he called you to do, advancing the boarders of the kingdom where you live and serve.
Was Jesus ever rich, were his apostles or prophets or so many other of very noted servants of the kingdom? Not particularly, but they were successful indeed. While we tend to view success through the lens of materialism, Jesus plainly warns us: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Mt 6:19-20).
And when we Lise. To our Lord, "Seeking first the kingdom of Gid and his righteousness, all these things [material needs] are given to us as well" (Mt 6:33). The point isn't how much you gain in personal wealth or power or prominence, it is accepting God's claim on your life and living it fully for him. When we do that, we are succeeding and we will reach the very top of the ladder of success in glory. There is nothing to compare. There is no real substitute. Jus' Say'n.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
The Gift
What is the best gift you can give to your wife? Flowers, perfume, jewelry? How about for your husband? Golf clubs, a new watch, power tools? Mate you need to find something for your mother or your child or a good friend - what is the best gift?
The truth of the matter is that the gift matters much less than the spirit in which it was given. An old pocket knife given to a boy by his Grandfather who wanted to give him a connection will still be treasures long after myriads of much more expensive gifts received from people who gave because an occasion demanded it. And certainly an expensive gift from a husband in the doghouse means far less than a simple token of a loving husband's true affection.
As parents, we are quick to receive and exalt to the coveted place on the refrigerator any art attempt our small child makes for us. Those inexpensive treasures are held on to because they are given and received from and by the heart. But, what if we knew that our child ad to be fired by his teacher to make a Mother's Day card, that he only made it out of fear of penalty?
What if your husband tosses a piece of fine jewelry at you saying, "Here, I didn't want to spend the money but I felt I had to because it's our anniversary!" Do we rally want gifts that are given under duress or required etiquette or out of some sense if responsibility against their true wishes? Neither does God!
When we attend church services just because we think it required to stay out of hell, when we pay a tithe instead of making an offering from the heart, when read our Bibles or about out a prayer because of a perceived requirement; God is not moved, he is not honored, he is not touched by our perfunctory.
"While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinner" (Matt 9:10-13).
What God is looking for, what our loved ones hold dear, the gift that really makes a difference and holds a place in our hearts is the gift that comes from our hearts. It could be something with a big price tag or a simple craft made by hand, it could be something that wows ours or something other's would not notice, it could be virtually anything as long as it is wrapped in your love. Your heart's affection is the gift your loved ones desire as does God. Jus' Say'n.
The truth of the matter is that the gift matters much less than the spirit in which it was given. An old pocket knife given to a boy by his Grandfather who wanted to give him a connection will still be treasures long after myriads of much more expensive gifts received from people who gave because an occasion demanded it. And certainly an expensive gift from a husband in the doghouse means far less than a simple token of a loving husband's true affection.
As parents, we are quick to receive and exalt to the coveted place on the refrigerator any art attempt our small child makes for us. Those inexpensive treasures are held on to because they are given and received from and by the heart. But, what if we knew that our child ad to be fired by his teacher to make a Mother's Day card, that he only made it out of fear of penalty?
What if your husband tosses a piece of fine jewelry at you saying, "Here, I didn't want to spend the money but I felt I had to because it's our anniversary!" Do we rally want gifts that are given under duress or required etiquette or out of some sense if responsibility against their true wishes? Neither does God!
When we attend church services just because we think it required to stay out of hell, when we pay a tithe instead of making an offering from the heart, when read our Bibles or about out a prayer because of a perceived requirement; God is not moved, he is not honored, he is not touched by our perfunctory.
"While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinner" (Matt 9:10-13).
What God is looking for, what our loved ones hold dear, the gift that really makes a difference and holds a place in our hearts is the gift that comes from our hearts. It could be something with a big price tag or a simple craft made by hand, it could be something that wows ours or something other's would not notice, it could be virtually anything as long as it is wrapped in your love. Your heart's affection is the gift your loved ones desire as does God. Jus' Say'n.
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