Honoring Authority!

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. 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.For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.   Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:1-10 NIV

POLITICS ALERT!

The Word of The Lord!

Considering the fact that Trump has openly and defiantly rebelled against the current president in his attempt to nullify the legitimacy because of President Obama's skin color--shows he does not honor authority.

Considering the fact that Trump brags about not paying taxes--shows he does not honor authority of The Word.

Considering the fact that Trump is openly promoting fascism in a democracy--shows he does not honor authority and integrity of the democratic process.

Considering the fact that Trump cheated on his first wife with his second wife--shows he does not honor authority or commitment to his vows.

Considering the fact that Trump has so many pending lawsuits (74 at present count) against him--shows he has no respect for authority, commitment, or integrity.

Considering the fact that Trump has openly denigrated so many different groups of people--shows he has no love in his heart for others who do not look like him.

Now, considering the choices we have for president--should we be more concerned about "emails" or temperament; emails or predatory behavior; emails or sociopathic behavior; emails or narcissistic racism; emails or alleged pedophile (December 16, 2016 court case); emails or what's in the best interest of the country for everyone--not just a handful; emails or measuring the worth of the candidate with The Word as the benchmark?

Anyone who is voting "party" as a priority over "country" reveals some serious character flaws in judgment.

The facts are what they are--both candidates have lied, but only one is promoting fear-mongering, hatred and bigotry--on a consistent basis. God knows and if people are open to hearing God speak to their hearts--they'll hear what He has to say over all the noise and clamor of "church folks" and those who would jeopardize the security of a nation in order to prove loyalty to a political party--who has done nothing but obstruct the process of democracy for the last six years.

People have a choice to make and I pray they will consider all the factual evidence (not innuendo) before casting a vote. A lot can happen in four years--we can experience peace and forward movement or total decimation of the democratic way of life. I have already chosen the path of peace because love trumps hate every day!

Don't Worry About People!

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.What can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those who help me; Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. Psalm 118:6-9 NKJV

People--they can love on you one minute and hate you the next--depending upon whether you agree with them or disagree with them. There's the rub--mere mortals are too fickle to trust or to have great confidence in. This is why we have to trust in The Lord, who knows all things and the hearts of all people.

People will say one thing when actually they mean another. This is evident in what we see in this election cycle. Yeah, I know--here I go again, but I think it is important to point out material differences in what is reported in the media and what is actuality. Take for instance the visit to Detroit by the Republican nominee. On the surface  or rather from the angle pictures were taken and publicized, it would appear that the church was full. It was not, another picture as seen below--was taken from the rear of the church. Here we see a completely different story. The true story--one the nominee will never tell. In fact, there were more people outside the church protesting his visit than inside.

It is this kind of "manipulation" with truth that causes confusion and misleads others. Now, think about it. How much else has been manipulated so that the media publicizes one thing, but just the opposite is true? And for the record, the visit that was supposed to be an attempt to reach out to "African Americans" was a smokescreen--more manipulation and none of us in the Black Community were fooled by it. In fact, many of us saw this manipulation as insulting. The fake humility, the attempt to "teach" Black Americans about Lincoln, and then--in a church where people read the bible--consistently--he tries to school them about a passage of scripture. Absolutely laughable!

Even with all the negativity--tossed by both parties--those of us who know The Lord are not fooled by it. And most of us, would rather the candidates speak to the issues, not the personal insults because the bottom line is--one is less honest than the other (though neither has been completely transparent).
Fear--as a tool to manipulate--is actually a tool of the devil. For The Word tells us that perfect love, casts out fear. Since we know God is Love--then fear has to represent the devil--who works on the minds of people, causing them doubt. And we know, that when doubt enters in the mind of people, fear resides in their hearts. Doubt and faith cannot reside in the same place at the same time and we are told that those who doubt what God can do is a double-minded person, unstable in all their ways.  

For those of us who have both natural eyes to see what's in front of us and spiritual eyes to see through the smokescreens, we know--for our confidence is in The Lord, not man.

With the screaming and fear-mongering about Hillary and emails and Benghazi (all investigated and clearing her), not much has been said about the corrupt business deals that have caused people to lose their businesses and many people to lose money with misleading claims made to people about Trump University, the modeling agency, the casinos, and so much more. The bottom line for me is this--he may have money, but it is how his wealth was obtained--taking advantage of people-- that leaves a really nasty taste in my mouth. And before anyone attempts to chastise me, all this information is public knowledge--I'm just restating it for the record. I really feel sorry for all those who have bought into his rhetoric that is nothing more than lies. I believe the facts--speak louder than the innuendo by those who are capable of critical thinking. 

So we have a choice to make in November and it is less about someone trying to take away guns (that's never been said, but it has been manipulated to cause fear in others) than it's about--who's qualified to get the job done. If a person who is a business man can now create "millions of jobs" why didn't they do it as a private citizen? Of course, we know Trump exaggerates everything, so his word actually means nothing. Even when he keeps claiming he's not a politician, he hasn't realized that running for a public, elected position is the definition of a politician.

They both have some confidence building to do with all people. And while I support Hillary Clinton as the most qualified person to get the job done, my confidence remains in The Lord, not her and certainly not Trump.

Walking in Darkness!

Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. I John 2:8-11 NIV

Political Alert!

When John reminds us that we as Believers should be walking in the Light of God's love and yet we see--those who claim to be walking in the light hating--what are we really demonstrating to the world?

I'm more inclined to believe "the world" knows how to treat others better than those who claim to know Christ--based upon what I see on a daily basis in the media. More specifically, the Republican party is always "acting" like they're more religious than the Democrats, but from what I see--with all the hate-mongering promoted and encouraged, I'd rather be known as a Believer than a Christian with all of the "religious" trappings that apparently mean nothing to those espousing the claims. I have seen more hate and fear-mongering from those who claim to know Christ and follow Him than I could have ever imagined. I am ashamed and embarrassed by the behavior of those who claim to be Christians, but obviously have no clue as to how Christ wants us to live--loving one another.

If we have not love--one for the other--we do not belong to Christ and all the religiosity we demonstrate, won't mean a thing.

Loving one another does not mean we have to agree with one another, but it should mean we respect one another enough to accept that we all have differing opinions, and simply agree to disagree without all the name-calling and bashing others.

I cannot imagine that God is happy with much of what He's seeing in our behavior. We have literally defiled our relationship with Him because of politics--which is a disaster in this country--and in a few months, it will all be over--no matter who wins. But will we be able to restore broken relationships with others because of differing opinions? I don't know.  Some of the things I see--cut quite deep and restoration of relationships may not be possible and that's a shame.

As Believers--we should not promote or support anyone who promotes fear or hate. It's really just that simple. Love--covers a multitude of sin and when we love--unconditionally, we are able to forgive, but hate--is a cancer that runs rampant and is not satisfied until it kills. The enemy's job--kill, steal, and destroy, father of liars, and master of deception. 

If we ever expect anyone to have any respect for the word, "Christian" we'd better start cleaning up our acts or no one is going to be believe we are "followers of Christ" when we promote hatred of people--for any reason. If we promote hatred, we lie when we claim to be followers of Christ.

Followers of Christ--true Believers--have various skin tones, colors; come from various backgrounds and come in all sizes and though we love the same God--read the same Word, we have various differing thoughts about how we do things--as it relates to being a Believer, but everything we do--should be aligned with The Word.

Our role--while in the earth--is to love people to Christ--not turn them off from hearing the Gospel message. And quite frankly, I'm becoming tone-deaf to some people who claim to be Christians, but are promoting agendas based on political party affiliations rather than The Word of God. The Gospel Message is the only we should be promoting and not just by beating people up with The Word, but in our treatment of everyone.

It is time for us to stop walking in darkness--doing the deeds of darkness, but to live in the glorious light of The Lord!

Let's Be Honest!

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:13-21 NIV

What the world needs now--is love--God's love--overflowing the banks of our hearts, flooding our souls, saturating every fiber of our beings until all hate and fear is washed away.

But before that can happen, we must be honest with ourselves and everyone else.
There is brewing--just below the surface--a volcanic eruption of hate and when it spills over onto the masses, we will witness such carnage as we've never seen--unless we are honest about where we are--our attitudes--towards other human beings.

We cannot ignore the hatred that exists towards others: White people hating black people, hating Native Americans, Black people hating white people and black people, White people hating White people--all people hating anyone--red, yellow, brown, black or white it does not matter--what the color of our skin is--we are all precious in God's sight!

Where there is hate--LOVE cannot reign in the hearts of people, for if we have not received His love, we have no love to give. And anyone--absolutely anyone--hiding behind any banner--Christian, KKK, law enforcement, mothers, fathers, grandparents--teachers, judges, politicians, political candidates--anyone who promotes hate is guilty of the blood flowing from inciting the masses. They are guilty and should be ashamed of themselves for their promotion of hatred--building walls of division instead of bridges for relationships--and for every person that is grieving the loss of a loved one because of someone else instigating the hatred--you, too should grieve--for you have grieved Holy Spirit by not obeying Him.

If this sounds like a rant--against hatred--so be it. I'm tired of so-called Christians supporting those who promote hatred and fear. I'm tired of so-called Christians, sitting idly by doing nothing, but quoting scriptures when they don't apply them on a daily basis. I'm tired of so-called Christian leaders supporting fear-mongering instead of promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  We will never win people to Christ by creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred and the promotion of bigotry--it is love that overcomes the evil that pervades the land.

Can we honestly say--without hesitation or doubt--that we are capable of loving all people--no matter their circumstances or positions in life; no matter what color their skin or are we doomed to suffer the consequences of our inability to love--unconditionally?

Let's be honest with ourselves and with others. God already knows the truth. Then, after we admit our shortcomings to live--promoting peace and harmony--let's repent, get off our behinds and do something about it--show somebody who looks differently than we do, thinks differently than we do --and pour on the love. Can we do that?

Watch this--https://youtu.be/HrAvdqVFyjc --it's about ten minutes--and think about what is being said and if you agree--that it's time for a change--join me in promoting love of all people!

Let's Be Honest!

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:13-21 NIV

What the world needs now--is love--God's love--overflowing the banks of our hearts, flooding our souls, saturating every fiber of our beings until all hate and fear is washed away.

But before that can happen, we must be honest with ourselves and everyone else.
There is brewing--just below the surface--a volcanic eruption of hate and when it spills over onto the masses, we will witness such carnage as we've never seen--unless we are honest about where we are--our attitudes--towards other human beings.

We cannot ignore the hatred that exists towards others: White people hating black people, hating Native Americans, Black people hating white people and black people, White people hating White people--all people hating anyone--red, yellow, brown, black or white it does not matter--what the color of our skin is--we are all precious in God's sight!

Where there is hate--LOVE cannot reign in the hearts of people, for if we have not received His love, we have no love to give. And anyone--absolutely anyone--hiding behind any banner--Christian, KKK, law enforcement, mothers, fathers, grandparents--teachers, judges, politicians, political candidates--anyone who promotes hate is guilty of the blood flowing from inciting the masses. They are guilty and should be ashamed of themselves for their promotion of hatred--building walls of division instead of bridges for relationships--and for every person that is grieving the loss of a loved one because of someone else instigating the hatred--you, too should grieve--for you have grieved Holy Spirit by not obeying Him.

If this sounds like a rant--against hatred--so be it. I'm tired of so-called Christians supporting those who promote hatred and fear. I'm tired of so-called Christians, sitting idly by doing nothing, but quoting scriptures when they don't apply them on a daily basis. I'm tired of so-called Christian leaders supporting fear-mongering instead of promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  We will never win people to Christ by creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred and the promotion of bigotry--it is love that overcomes the evil that pervades the land.

Can we honestly say--without hesitation or doubt--that we are capable of loving all people--no matter their circumstances or positions in life; no matter what color their skin or are we doomed to suffer the consequences of our inability to love--unconditionally?

Let's be honest with ourselves and with others. God already knows the truth. Then, after we admit our shortcomings to live--promoting peace and harmony--let's repent, get off our behinds and do something about it--show somebody who looks differently than we do, thinks differently than we do --and pour on the love. Can we do that?

Watch this--https://youtu.be/HrAvdqVFyjc --it's about ten minutes--and think about what is being said and if you agree--that it's time for a change--join me in promoting love of all people!

People With Character!

Then Solomon said, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground, but if evil is found in him, he dies.” I King 1:52 HCSB

Dr. Martin Luther King is known for saying, he would rather people be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. Why? People with character--know how to conduct themselves at all times.

Of course, many people would take the referenced scripture of out of context and attempt to say that I'm implying people with no character should die. That's not why I used this particular verse of scripture.

In this passage we find Adonijah--the self-proclaimed king--trying to take the place of Solomon when he knew that David had promised Solomon the throne. Adonijah was not concerned about doing what was right, only doing what he wanted to do and for that reason, when it was reported to David--the dying king--what Adonijah was doing, David arranged for Solomon to be anointed the next king [with the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan present to confirm]--even as Adonijah and his crew were celebrating what they thought was a coup.

In those days, rebellion against a king meant death. And when it was reported to Solomon that Adonijah was afraid of what he had done--trying to steal the authority of kingship from its rightful owner--Solomon commanded Adonijah be brought to him and declared that if it was determined that he was a man of character (integrity), nothing would happen to him, but if not--he would die.

I'm not advocating that anyone without character should die, but I am advocating that anyone without moral substance, integrity and honesty and incorruptible values--should never be allowed in a position of authority since we know--corruption breeds corruption and immorality breeds immorality, and dishonesty breeds more dishonesty.

Fear-mongering and hatred are character traits of evil and wickedness. We know this because The Word says, that "perfect love casts out fear." So if love will cast fear aside--we know no love abides in anyone who instills fear in others. And those who have received God's love, know how to love--unconditionally--and will not promote hatred of people--rather they promote hatred of sin--not the sinner.

Before anyone tries to refute that we are to hate, let's look at what The Word says:

Hate evil and love good; establish justice in the gate. Amos 5:15 HCSB

The righteous hate lying, but the wicked act disgustingly and disgracefully. Proverbs 13:5 HCSB Those who know The Lord and try to live according to His Word, hate the thought of lying, but the wicked won't hesitate to lie. And we know--Satan is the father of liars.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Romans 12:9 NIV It is not good to think that killing a person is "a beautiful thing."

At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24:10,11 NIV

The time that Jesus references through Matthew is the last days and here we are.

So, are we people with character and is there evidence for all to see by how we live? If we lie to ourselves, we fool only ourselves for God knows the inward person and He is never fooled by the externals.