Month: October 2017

Republicans who obstructed everything President Obama tried to do, complaining about Democrats obstructing trump.

Are we the nation born in the fires of war, proudly proclaiming our independence, laying out an ideology of rights granted by our Creator, rights that have been the cornerstone of a roadmap that despite our failings has brought us this far. We are an imperfect people, we continue to stumble along and fall short of the path we have laid out. But what is sad and even pathetic is how so many want to just live in the comfort of what they have, are not willing to want the same freedom and inequality for others. Somehow a large group of people believe that you can only fight for freedom on the front lines of a war as a soldier and if they are free well everyone else is as well.

Look, if there is a single person in this country who cannot drive down the street without getting pulled over because of the color of their skin then none of us is free. Freedom just as with life is a journey not a destination. If we do not stand up and fight for all Americans to be free and be constantly vigilant in maintaining the forward momentum of Freedom then eventually complacency will lead to erosion of rights. All you have to do is look around and see that there are men who want to repeal the 14th through the 19th amendments, why? Because they want only white men to vote, if some of them had their way only white property owners would be able to vote. Then there are those who actively refuse to treat all people equally under the law, from judges to law enforcement, this is a problem that is entrenched across the country and until all of the people are willing to stand against such abuses they will continue.

That there was ever a point in the past that was better than today. This idea that life was so much better before, before what though? And sure people give you all kinds of answers but if you look closely at what they all have in common is discrimination. Racial, religious, sexual; separate or together does not matter because at the end of the day it was when wealthy white protestant men ruled unabated.

But look how twisted this world is deep down, wealthy businessmen grew the Christmas that we know through advertising and turned it into the commodity that it is today. White protestants bemoan a war on Christmas because the secular spectacle they created is no longer under their control. The dumbest part of all though is that Christ didn’t admonish his followers to faithfully adhere to celebration of his birth, instead he admonished them to keep his commandments, to share bread and wine in remembrance of his sacrifice which was the new covenant, to pick up our crosses daily and to follow him. If you are angry someone didn’t say Merry Christmas then you missed everything that Christ taught and stands for in this world and the next.

Of course I imagine that the same type of people have always been around as we have today. The same people who blindly shout back the blue, probably would have cheered at the crucifixion, not because they are bad but because the status quo favors them and they want to maintain that status quo. And look how easily they can twist what someone does to suit their worldview, aligning kneeling or sitting during the National Anthem as an attack on the military and veterans is no different than the Sanhedrin convincing Pontius Pilate to kill Jesus, because they did not accept the message Jesus brought they twisted his words to fit their determination of truth.

And so the lies perpetuate generation after generation. The enemy infects this world with fear and hate, filling the coffers of the greedy who exercise control and power. We are so easily fooled and blinded by hard lies and soft ones. Always in too big of a hurry, as the Preacher Man said this morning we will not stop, pray, and wait on God. We do not trust in God or study his word. We cannot follow as disciples on a path we do not grasp.

So, we pine for the mythical better days. We escape into the lies rather than face the hard truths that we fall short everyday, everyday we must ask for forgiveness, and everyday we are expected to follow in the paths of Jesus or succumb to the world. Want an easy litmus test as to whether you are on the path with Jesus? Did you think negatively towards any person today or think you were better than someone for any reason? If so it is time to get on your knees and say the Lord’s Prayer. If you didn’t, then Jesus I thank you for reading my blog and ask you to join me as I pray the Lord’s Prayer.

Today, this day, is your very last day in this world. What do you do? Do you give up on it? Go back to bed maybe and sleep in, it wont matter will it.
Maybe you get up and go on in to work, but do you give it everything you have? Maybe you just half ass it, after all it is your last day why should it matter?
You get home from work, what then? Do you make the most of every moment with your family, or withdraw into your own things?
Was your last day just like the last 100 or 1000 that you lived? If you had to relive any of them would you want too? Do you even remember them? Did they each fill you with such awe and wonder that you put every bit of yourself into them. Maybe they were just mindless, regretful, empty; a rinsing and repeating of drab days that turned your mind numb.
Would you wake up on the last day of your life thankful and see it through to the end with the same thankfulness?
Are you thankful today, for this day? Are you so moved by the wonder of it that you will make the most of every moment, even the tedious ones? Will you show people you love them, be gracious, forgiving, and merciful?

I keep hearing people say people shouldn’t protest this way or that. Or people at Harvard held a silent protest and then people say this is how you should protest, taking a knee is too offensive if done at the wrong time, but sit silently. What the hell has happened to this country, when did we take out our spines and leave them on the side of the road. This is the country of the Boston Tea Party, the American Revolution, the Civil Rights Movement, now we are the country of sit down and be quiet. Sad.