Spiraling Downward

I have really started to do my homework on a lot of stuff that has gone on in the last hundred years or so with our national government. I have a degree in political science, so I have always been interested in politics, but it has not been until the last few months that I have really been researching things. What I have found is that our nation has been heading in the wrong direction for the last hundred years. This is very disturbing to me and if you want to know what things kind of started it all I would encourage you to look at entitlement programs, into the Federal Reserve, and into the constitutional rulings that have been issued by the Supreme Court. I know this may sound overwhelming, but you need to know these kind of things to know how much of your freedoms have actually been infringed upon. I will do as much as I can through this blog to take you on the journey that I have been on and the first thing I would recommend is to read the book titled, "Who Killed the Constitution?" It is a little on the legal side but in terms you can understand. It is an excellent look at the dismantling of our constitution. Each person must pay attention to their local elections and their state elections. Be sure you know the issues you are voting on and the people you are voting on. The states have more power than the federal government, yet we have not empowered our state officials to exercise these powers. We must empower our local officials.

Jesus, a socialist?

I, personally, am so tired of people saying that Jesus Himself was a socialist. The truth is that if Jesus had wanted to enact change through the government, He would have done so when He was here on earth. I also think that for others, who are not Christians, to say that Jesus promoted hatred of certain groups of people is simply not true. We are all sinners; it's just that some of us have chosen to ask forgiveness of our sin. This does not give us as Christians the right to demean someone else because of their sin. Remember, but for the grace of God, there goes I. This is so true. We are called to live above reproach. Jesus took the ten commandments a step further for His followers to follow. The reason I say this is because we must take back our "image" if you will from the government and from the media. In all actuality, I don't know if this can be done, but we must not let government officials or media personalities tell us what or who Jesus was, we must discover this truth through our Bibles and through our church. The church needs to step up and lead and not sugar-coat everything. Challenge Christians to truly live out the things that Christ tells us to do and the way the Bible tells us to live. We have let the government take over areas that were to be for the church and we have sat by and let it happen. In fact, in my opinion, many churches no longer feel the need to help the less fortunate and instead show them to some government agency to receive help. We have allowed the government and the media to tell us that because we don't believe a certain way, we are not compassionate. If we follow Jesus' lead, this is an absolute lie straight from the pits of hell and yet our churches are silent. We cannot expect the government to be compassionate and yet this is the view that is being put out there. Let's win this and make this argument our own.

I also want to vent about one more thing. I am tired of the actors in hollywood telling us about their opinions on politics and how we should live our life when they are all living Jerry Springer lifestyles, with the exception being that they have money. I am saying this with all sincerity and not being sarcastic; these people really need Jesus. He IS the answer, not government.

What king do you want?

So, I've known about what I wanted to write in my blog for a few days, but life happened and I am just now getting around to actually writing it. I was interested to see what the Bible said during the time that Israel demanded a king. I didn't want to read into it without reading the Word, but after reading in 1 Samuel, it just solidified what I was thinking. I am looking around our society and seeing that people are no longer looking for saving grace to come from Jesus, but instead what this to come from our government. We have gotten so used to politicians not fulfilling their promises that it doesn't even shock us anymore. However, with the last campaign and namely with the person who is now our president, people not only expect him to deliver everything he promised but also refused to hear what he was saying. People still have blinders on but I believe they are slowly beginning to come off. It is President Obama's words that we need to listen to and then follow that up with watching his actions. For me, the best example of this is the fact that he says he is a Christian and has even talked about his conversion. I don't know if he is a Christian or not because that is between him and God, just the same as ultimately, I don't know if my best friend is truly a Christian. All I have to go on is the words said and the action taken; I cannot see a person's heart like God can. Anyway, he professes to be a Christian and yet how many times has he attended church. I know that some people believe that you don't have to attend church to be a Christian, but I believe you have a desire to worship Christ in a corporate setting with other believers. When I am away from my church, I miss the fellowship and the worship.

Anyway, back to the king thing. In 1 Samuel when the people demand a king, God tells Samuel that the people are not rejecting Samuel but they are rejecting God as their king. I have never seen so much hope and saving expected from one person (apart from Christ) or from one entitity (the government.) I believe we have taken a turn in our country where people believe that government (or Pres. Obama) can save them. The sad thing is that our President plays into this. He knows that people are looking to him as a messiah figure and yet he plays it off. Again, as a Christian, I personally would be quick to point out I am not in any way like the Messiah, but maybe that is just me. Government cannot save you. President Barack Obama cannot save you. The only person that can save you is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our country would do well to remember that.

Theresa P.

Why the divide?

Well, this is officially my first blog on faith and politics. It should be noted that I am a Christian foremost, a mom and a wife, and an American. I am pretty conservative, probably more so than the mainstream of the country, but I am not an extremists (at least not according to me.) Having said all of that, I believe that there is something wrong with our country which is why I felt compelled to start my own blog. I do not honestly expect anyone to read this, but I need an outlet. I have been very concerned since the election about what I consider a politic divide among Christians. This may not be a big deal among most people but it is to me because I see things that are being supported on both sides that I don't think line up with Christian beliefs. I have wondered why this divide exist and so I posed the question on my facebook. I only received two responses, both of which I felt were correct. Alot of people only vote party and really don't care to line up the persons beliefs with what the Bible says. I have had a number of people tell me that someone would vote for the devil if he were a Democrat (or a Republican, but Democrat is what I have heard.) Within each party, there is a wide range of views. We, as Christians, must start looking beyond party and matching the individual up with the Bible.

I believe the divide has a lot to do with the fact that we are living in the most Biblically illiterate society ever. This is a failure on the part of the church. Churches have shied away from teaching anything that may be viewed as being "political" because of the fear of the loss of tax-exempt status. This is a false fear. The church can teach many things but the church must be sure it is teaching the Bible (After all, it does have to answer to God.) If the Bible speaks on political issues, which I believe it does, then the church is obligated to teach that but the church must not play politics with the Bible. Right now, liberals, who historically have not really cared about what the Bible says on certain issues, has begun to hijack the importance of the Bible and used morallity and equated it with equality. The first thing they will say is "What would Jesus do?" Well, I can tell you He would not go against the will of His Father.

Theresa P.