I received a comment that gave me pause and, as usual, I sat quietly reflecting upon it for awhile. At the end of my reflection, I found that I was right back to the beginning, as I always am, with little clear insight on what to do.
My problem is this:
What is the answer politically for this nation when both of the primary parties are corrupt and do not address the needs of the American Christian or “follower of Jesus Christ?” What do I do when none of the candidates that are being held up to America as “appropriate,” are appropriate? Essentially, yet again I will have to make a choice between the lesser of the two evils. Well, I don’t know about you, the reader, but I am personally sick and tired of doing this; I don’t think I can do it again, one more time.
The Republicans are known as the party of “family values,” yet they behave as anything BUT. The Republicans are supposed to be the believers in God, but their actions certainly don’t show that, do they? When is the last time you heard a Republican candidate discussing how to protect the poor, disabled, elderly, and less fortunate? When have the Republicans worried about Main Street?
The Republicans care about corporate America and the people who rip the rest of us off. They are pro-life and are against abortion, but they don’t seem to mind frying mentally disturbed human beings in their electric chairs and gas chambers, or lethally injecting them to the death. They don’t desire to rehabilitate anyone. And they seem to have no difficulty spending billions upon billions of our tax dollars on needless war, while they try to play the world’s policeman with our money. No, they are definitely not the answer and cannot address the needs of America, obviously.
The Democrats do care about the poor, the needy, disabled, and impoverished, but they care to the point that they want government to coddle, clothe, house, and support everybody, thus creating essentially a police state that has its nose into everybody’s business, and I do mean EVERYBODY’S. The government under the Democrats even has the audacity to think it can remove children from their parent’s home because the children are obese! They are butting into a host of areas where they are not wanted. And they spend like we’re wealthy as a nation instead of broke.
Democrats are pretty scary when it comes to what they promote as family values too, and are determined to go to the extreme of dismantling religious rights of expression within the public square. They insist on trampling upon the majority’s beliefs in God on a fairly regular basis, while pushing a “secularism” of their own that is a religion in and of itself. This is an ANTI-THEISM that I don’t want forced onto my child in the public school system or at the university level. It’s pure hypocrisy. Democrats don’t understand that a safety net isn’t what we’ve got anymore because when the whole system is jeopardized by the safety net, nobody is safe! In other words, they cut off their own noses to spite their face.
When I look at these two monstrosities of governmental bodies, I am overwhelmed by angst and irritation. And I find myself looking around for just one normal human being that has a little bit of everything we need, who isn’t a liar, who isn’t corrupt, who will get us back to at least a semblance of what the constitution tells us America is supposed to look like, but where is this individual, and who is it? I don’t think he or she belongs to either party, frankly. And I am still at a complete loss of how to vote as we approach the end of this year and another new year is about to arrive.
What to do?
I’m exasperated and tired of this struggle every time we have to vote in another president for America.
I remain in prayer for our beautiful country and can only ask of God that He make things clear for me, eventually.
What Do You Think? Courteous Opinion Always Welcome!
A Texas mother shot her two children, who are currently in critical condition, then took her own life. This occurred at the Texas Department of Health & Human Services building in Laredo, TX. The woman had recently been denied food stamps. The You Tube video above makes most of the particulars clear.
Why I write about this is because I have to think about the desperate state this woman’s mind was in. She was upset about being denied food stamps, but there was obviously more to this than the food stamp straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak.
To attempt to take the lives of one’s own children, a mother must be crazed and out of her mind. She has to feel there is no other way out. I have to wonder, how do people get into this condition in a society where we take running water and food we buy at the grocery store for granted? Why couldn’t she have appealed to her neighbors or the nearest church for help? Why couldn’t she get help from the nearest food bank?
Our society has become so disconnected from one another that we are unable to recognize when someone is in dire shape and needs our assistance. As Christians, this is unacceptable. We have to become more aware of that lady on the corner who is struggling with her children, all alone. We need to open up our eyes and not just plan to attend church on Sunday as a testimony of our love for Jesus Christ.
We need to begin to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. This was the second great commandment in the bible. It’s time we all begin to try and pay closer attention to it. Loving our neighbor as ourselves means that we open up our heart and share, give our money, food, possessions, or anything we can in order to help another. It means that we vote in such a way that the poor, elderly, disabled, and downtrodden are cared for.
So many these days claim Christianity yet sneer at the poor and the less fortunate. This isn’t Christ-like; there is nothing Christian about it. Please trust me on this, Jesus Christ does not approve! One day we will stand before Him and God the Father and have to account for why we voted as we did, and why we held money as an idol instead of sharing our bounty with those who sorely needed it.
The world we expect to behave with cold hearts, but Christians are to be beacons of hope, shining their lights for all to see. We need to look about us for those who are doing without, who are obviously suffering, who are alone and desperate. God will lead us to them if our hearts are right with Him.
I say this to myself, as I write this to you, the reader. I want to remind myself that it’s time to be Christian in deed, not just in word. We must make a difference in this life, while we have opportunity. Just think about it, please.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A Texas woman who for months was unable to qualify for food stamps pulled a gun in a state welfare office and staged a seven-hour standoff with police that ended with her shooting her two children before killing herself, officials said Tuesday.
The children, a 10-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, remained in critical condition Tuesday. The shooting took place at a Texas Department of Health and Human Services building in Laredo, where police said about 25 people were inside at the time.
Authorities identified the mother as Rachelle Grimmer, 38, and children Ramie and Timothy.
Grimmer first applied for food stamps in July but was denied because she didn’t turn in enough information, Texas Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman said.
Goodman didn’t know what Grimmer specifically failed to provide. In addition to completing an 18-page application, families seeking state benefits also must provide documents proving their information, such as proof of employment and residency.
“We were still waiting, and if we had that, I don’t know if she would still qualify or not,” Goodman said.
Goodman said Grimmer’s last contact with the agency appeared to be a phone call in mid-November. When the family entered the Laredo office on Monday shortly before 5 p.m., Goodman said Grimmer asked to speak to a new caseworker, and not the one whom she worked with previously.
Shortly thereafter, Goodman said, Grimmer was taken to a private room to discuss her case. She said it was there the mother revealed a gun and the standoff began.
Police negotiators stayed on the phone with Grimmer throughout the evening, but she kept hanging up, Baeza said. She allegedly told negotiators about a litany of complaints against state and federal government agencies.
Despite those complaints, Baeza said it wasn’t clear what specifically triggered the standoff.
“This wasn’t like a knee-jerk reaction,” said Baeza, adding that Grimmer felt she was owed restitution of some sort.
Grimmer let a supervisor go unharmed around 7:45, but stayed inside the office with her children. After hanging up the phone around 11:45, police heard three shots, and police entered the building. Inside, they found Grimmer’s body and her two wounded children.
The children were “very critical” and unconscious when taken from the scene, Baeza said.
Goodman credited an office supervisor, a 24-year veteran of the agency, for ensuring the release of the other employees.
“He had told her he would try to help her, and that if she would let everyone else leave, he would talk to her,” Goodman said.
Goodman didn’t know whether Grimmer had a job, or whether her children were covered under Medicaid welfare services or the state children’s health insurance program. The family had no history with the Texas Department of Child Protective Services.
Grimmer also appeared to fall out of touch during her pursuit of food stamps. The mother originally applied July 7, but Goodman said Grimmer missed her first interview and didn’t call back and reschedule for a few weeks. Her case was closed Aug. 8 for lack of a full application, Goodman said.
How much food stamp money a family receives depends on their income level. The average family on food stamps in Texas receives $294 a month.
Three months later, Grimmer called the agency’s ombudsman Nov. 16 and requested a review of how her rejected case was handled. Goodman said the agency found that caseworkers acted appropriately after looking over Grimmer’s file, and a supervisor called Grimmer’s cell phone last Thursday to tell her the outcome. No one answered and the phone’s voicemail box was full, Goodman said.
“The indications she had she was dealing with a lot of issues,” Goodman said.
State welfare offices have come under scrutiny in the past for being overburdened, but Goodman said the agency has made significant strides in the past three years. She said wait times are shorter, and that Grimmer was scheduled for her initial interview just one day after applying. Grimmer didn’t make the appointment, she said.
Goodman said it’s not unusual for caseworkers to confront angry or confused benefit-seekers, but that it’s very rare for a situation to escalate to violence.
Pretty much every time I hear something about the economy here in America, it’s negative and a little frightening. No one knows what’s going to happen in our nation.
From personal experience in the last year or so though, I can tell that things have been better in America in the past, versus how they are now. It’s easy to see that the money I once had bought a lot more groceries than it does now. Inflation is scary. I’ve had to make the cuts where I can, and it’s made things difficult in terms of sacrifice and being forced into prioritizing.
My little girl and I get by though, and we trust God, 100%. God has been here for us in countless ways this holiday season; nevertheless, it’s a little nerve-wracking, even when one has faith.
I hope the rest of you out here in blog-land, all across the world, are faring well and that there are people to help you when you need it. I’m praying for our world and our country, and hope you are too.
Billionaire investor George Soros says that the global financial system is on the brink of collapse.
Developed countries are falling into a “deflationary debt trap,” in which consumer spending falls, products become more expensive, tax revenues drop, and sovereign debt grows, Soros said last week, according to the Wall Street Journal. As a result, he said, the global financial system is in a “self-reinforcing process of disintegration.”
“The consequences could be quite disastrous,” Soros, who was born in Hungary, said at the tenth anniversary of the International Senior Lawyers Project.
Concern is mounting that the eurozone may break up because of market pressure on European sovereign debt, which could plunge Europe into a depression and the world into a recession. Observers are already worried that Europe could suffer a recession and subsequent slow growth for several years even if it averts a eurozone breakup, since products would remain expensive on the euro, making consumers more hesitant to buy them and forcing governments to curtail budgets even more as consumer spending falls.
The markets have forced pressure on the eurozone because of these fears. Borrowing costs for Italy and Spain recently hit record highs, which economists say are unsustainable over the long term. Either of these countries would be forced to default on their debt if not enough investors are willing to buy their new sovereign debt at bond auctions.
If Italy or Spain defaults on their sovereign debt and leaves the eurozone, it would probably break up. Depositors likely would pull their investments from banks, large European banks would fail, borrowing costs for other countries would become unsustainable, and other countries would leave the euro. Such an outcome would depress lending and consumer spending and plunge Europe into a deep recession.
European leaders will meet for a summit on Thursday and Friday to try to reach an agreement to stave off a breakup of the eurozone — a deal they haven’t been able to come to for two years.
European stock markets have fallen in response to the crisis in Europe. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 is down 9.97 percent for the year, the DAX in Germany is down 11.78 percent for the year, and the CAC 40 in France is down 14.70 percent for the year, according to Thomson Reuters.
Many economists say that the eurozone can avert a breakup only if the European Central Bank steps up to become a lender of last resort for troubled European countries. But the ECB has been purchasing European sovereign debt only in limited amounts, and the central bank in Germany — Europe’s largest economy — has expressed concerns that printing money to buy large amounts of European sovereign debt would violate the ECB’s mandate to temper inflation.
Nonetheless, sources close to German Chancellor Angela Merkel have said she is prepared to let the ECB buy more troubled European sovereign debt if those countries implement long-term budget cuts.
The United States itself continues to grapple with federal debt that topped $15 trillion for the first time last month, according to ABC.
We all have troubles and trying times in our lives that challenge us. Personally-speaking, I had a severe accident that injured my right leg and ankle so badly that it required emergency surgery. Unfortunately, the surgery was done improperly and I have not been able to walk without the assistance of a boot, crutches, and sometimes a wheelchair, since the accident and surgery occurred, nearly a year ago.
This has been a time of challenge and struggle for me. I took walking for granted, along with being able to adequately and quickly do whatever was demanded of me as a single mom. I have become discouraged over time. Most people would be.
It’s a common fact that the holidays also often bring on depression and discouragement. The following is a wonderful way of helping ourselves, through the encouragement of someone I admire and look up to a lot — Dr. Charles Stanley is a great minister whom I have turned to through his powerful televised messages. I hope you’ll benefit from this one as much as I have.
If your discouragement is more severe, however, and will not go away no matter what you attempt, like exercise, healthy eathing, a healthy schedule, and plenty of rest, you may need to see a mental health professional in your community. There is no shame in this whatsoever. God gave us mental health professionals for a reason.
Here is Dr. Stanley’s Sunday message on overcoming discouragement:
Notes for Dr. Stanley’s broadcast today from In Touch.org:
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Overcoming Discouragement
Are you tired of feeling discouraged? Whether or not your situations change, you can experience joy, peace, and contentment. Circumstances don’t have to dictate your emotions. You have Someone on your side who is always available to help you, strengthen you, and uphold you.
SUMMARY:
Are you discouraged?
Maybe your family is hurting, you have lost
your job, or the latest news is depressing. In
circumstances like these, you might wonder,
God, where are You? Why haven’t You acted
by now?
Discouragement is a common response to the
challenges of life. Even David, who experienced
great spiritual triumphs, had some powerful
emotional struggles. In Psalm 42:11, he wrote:
“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why
have you become disturbed within me? Hope
in God, for I shall yet praise Him.” His reaction
must have been similar after Ziklag, his home at
the time, was destroyed. David was able to find
victory in that situation in part because he knew
how to overcome discouragement.
SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLES:
David’s Example
While David and his fellow warriors were
away, the Amalekites raided their town, burned
everything, and captured their wives and
children. The men were so devastated when
they learned the news that they wanted to stone
David to death. So in the midst of his heartbreak
over his family, David had to deal with the pain
of betrayal and the fear of losing his life.
How did David respond? He “strengthened
himself in the LORD his God” (1 Sam. 30:6). In
other words, he encouraged himself. He turned to
God, who promised him victory if he would
pursue the attackers (1 Sam. 30:18).
Discouragement Described
Can you relate to the discouragement David felt?
Most likely, you can. Discouragement is universal—
everyone has been dismayed at some time. It is also
recurring—you may overcome discouragement,
only to face it again.
Avoid those who indulge in negativity and self-pity since discouragement is
contagious. It is unpredictable—you never know
when it will strike.
Finally, it is temporary—it will pass if you respond to it correctly.
Discouragement and disappointment are often
used as synonyms. But there is a difference.
Disappointment is unavoidable.When our
expectations aren’t met, we feel disappointed
with people, events, and circumstances. But
discouragement (a feeling of despair and
despondency) is a choice.We can choose to
remain dejected or determine to work through
our feelings and overcome them.
Causes of Discouragement
Inability to Please Significant People—Don’t
become someone who is impossible to satisfy. You
will discourage those closest to you.
Physical or Verbal Abuse—This kind of strife
usually leads to discouragement.
Unanswered Prayer—When God is silent, ask
Him to reveal anything that is hindering your
prayers. Remember, His timing is often different
than ours.
Lack of Proper Recognition—If you give
your best, it’s natural to expect a word of praise,
a thank you, and sometimes a promotion.
Strongholds—Those who are trapped in sin
often feel discouraged.
Practical Lessons for Understanding the Word of God
KEY PASSAGE: 1 Samuel 30:1-6 | SUPPORTING SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 30:7-25 | Psalm 42:11; 43:5; 103:19
Proverbs 3:5-6; 15:4 | Mark 6:30-31 | Hebrews 13:5
LIFE PRINCIPLES NOTES | LP100411
Financial Pressure—This is a common cause
of depression, especially in these difficult
economic times.
Health Problems—Discouragement often
accompanies life-threatening, debilitating, or
incurable illnesses.
Adversity—When bad things happen, we may
ask, “God, how could You let this happen?”
Feelings of Worthlessness—Those who feel
unloved, unappreciated, or unimportant often
struggle with this emotion.
Consequences of Discouragement
Divided Attention—If you feel discouraged,
you may not be able to work wholeheartedly. For
instance, if you are discouraged about your
marriage, you might not do your best at work.
Blaming Others—David’s soldiers accused him
of the Amalekite attack.When you feel down, be
careful not to dwell on the wrongs of others.
Anger and Depression—Some people turn to
medication to feel better emotionally. Unless you
address the inner roots of discouragement, you
will never overcome negative feelings.
Estrangement—In other words, you push
people away because you are constantly grumbling.
Loss of Confidence—Every aspect of your life
will suffer when you feel unsure of yourself.
Negative Spirit—Complaining leads to
discouragement (Prov. 15:4). Don’t rehash painful
events. You will only make them seem worse.
Unwise Decisions—Discouragement can
cloud your judgment.Work through your feelings
first, then you can make a careful, godly decision.
Spiritual Drift—Depression opens the door
to doubt. Before long you may wonder if God is
all-powerful and question His love for you.
Cures for Discouragement
Change your perspective. There are several
steps to this process. First, look within. Answer
the question, “Why am I discouraged?” Second,
look up. God is all powerful, and He can rescue you from discouragement.
Third, look back. Don’t dwell on hurtful things from the past. Instead,
think about how God has been faithful to deliver
you.
Fourth, look ahead. Focus on what God is
doing now in your life. Be encouraged by what
He has planned for you in the future.
Have the right response. Responding
correctly to discouragement involves several
things.
First, rest. Physical and emotional
exhaustion often lead to discouragement.
Second, reorganize your life. Evaluate how you are using
your time, energy, and other resources. Make
sure you are doing the right things in the right
way.
Third, resolve to trust God. Believe that He is
in control (Ps. 103:19), that He loves you, and that
He will never leave you (Heb. 13:5). He can turn
adversity into something good. Fourth, resist
discouragement.
Ask God to show you how to
respond to difficulty. You will be amazed at the
difference a positive attitude makes.
CONCLUSION:
Are you tired of feeling discouraged?Whether or
not your situations change, you can experience
joy, peace, and contentment. Circumstances
don’t have to dictate your emotions. You have
Someone on your side who is always available
to help you, strengthen you, and uphold you.
How do you get to know this Person? By
getting into the Word of God. Meditate on
scriptural principles and feast on the Father’s
thoughts. Allow Scripture to penetrate your
mind and heart. Discouragement will lose its
foothold, and you will become joyous and
fruitful again.
What Do You Think? Courteous Opinion Always Welcome!
I thought I would share it because it disturbed me. You may or may not feel the same way. It was a skin-crawling, creepy kind of disturbance, and I murmured out loud to myself, ” how arrogant…” as I clicked to the next video that was being offered for viewing.
This man, the “one percent,” is insulting on some level. And arrogant. I can’t exactly tell you all of the reasons why, though. If I think on it deeply, I’ll certainly be able to verbalize a lot, I’m sure, but I don’t want to think on him or this too deeply. People aren’t supposed to be like this, and I guess that’s why I would prefer not to think about it, (which probably means I should give this some more thought).
Perhaps you should too 😉
I’m not a Democrat, by the way, or a Republican, in case you wondered. I’m an Independent. No matter how you ID though, this is bothersome.
The man featured in the clip below, who claims to be a part of the 1 percent, seems to have written off the other 99 percent of society as less than excellent.
When confronted by a reporter from Inner City Media, he proceeds to state that he seriously doubts that “anyone great” ever came out of the 99 percent. But when the reporter offers up The Beatles and the Marx Brothers as examples, he does admit there could be a few notable contributions made by the less monied class.
According to the Village Voice, the clip was taken during the National Day of Action, on Nov. 17, as part of the Occupy Los Angeles movement.
While the man’s name and location of the interview and have not been clearly identified, he does claim to be part of the one percent. However, without proof of his membership in the exclusive club, there is always the chance that he could have been among the third of one-percenters that joined the 99 percent during the recession.
UPDATE: A tipster has identified the man in the video to be Jim Kruse, Senior Managing Director for CB Richard Ellis’ Los Angeles South Region.
During our last post about Jesus & the Sinner, the reading at the bottom of part one stated the following:
“Of course, Jesus did have a message to proclaim to them. But his message was not, “Straighten up your life and keep the law.” Rather, his message was, “The kingdom of God is yours; you are included.”
After sharing this reading from part one, I received the following comment from one of our very own Word Press bloggers, and I thought the question and commentary this blogger offered was so important and so in depth, that I thought I better simply make a part two out of my initial blog on the topic of Jesus and the Sinner. The answer is much more involved than a mere answer to a comment should be; so here then is the question/comment that was submitted to me regarding part one and my answer follows that:
“Is there any scriptural evidence to back this up? I don’t recall any passages relating the words Jesus spoke at these dinner parties. And it seems at odds with the Sermon on the Mount, as given in Matthew. There, Jesus exhorts the people to follow the law to the smallest letter, and he sets even higher standards than the law when it comes to things like murder and adultery. I think he really did expect people to straighten up their lives and keep the law.”
And here is my answer:
There is absolutely no doubt that Jesus intended Christians to straighten up and keep the law, eventually. I understand that He came to fulfill the law and the prophets, though His overall, complete message through out the New Testament was a message describing the great love and mercy of God the Father. Let’s look at a rather infamous scriptural reference that shows us that Jesus was not to condemn the sinner:
16“For(AA) God so loved(AB) the world,[i](AC) that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not(AD) perish but have eternal life. 17For(AE) God did not send his Son into the world(AF) to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18(AG) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not(AH) believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3: 16- 18
God expects those who have accepted Jesus Christ, who believe, to be as perfect as He is eventually, but He recognizes that this is impossible as long as we continue to have the old sin nature. After salvation though, something quite wonderful happens. We are changed. We are “born again.”
Until we become a new creature in Christ, our sin nature remains what it once was and there is little motivation to change it. After we are born again, most Christians desire to be “pleasing to God.” We desire to exhibit “the fruits of the spirit.” The mature Christian exhibits these quite readily. His nature consists of self control, is gentle, loving, compassionate, full of joy, and the other fruits of the spirit. The immature Christian may struggle in this area and has a lot to work on, but still one sees progress in this area of the fruits of the spirit, slowly over time.
Jesus Christ knows that those who are not born again are full of sin and probably demonstrating the old sin nature in most facets of their lives. He isn’t going to harp on people’s sins immediately and begin lecturing about these when God is more concerned with simply bringing people to awareness of who He is and what He did for mankind by allowing Jesus to be crucified on the cross.
Let’s think about the Samaritan woman who met Jesus by the well, who stated after she left “who is this man that told me everything I had ever done?” Jesus didn’t lecture her at length about her sin, did He? He mentioned that He knew that she had five husbands, so that she would realize that He was someone special, and she eventually did, but He was far more concerned that she know and understand that He was/is the Messiah so that she would believe, than He was about judging her sin. Study John 4: 7 – 30 and you’ll see this for yourself:
7A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, (F) “Give me a drink.” 8(For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” ((G) For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you(H) living water.” 11The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12(I) Are you greater than our father Jacob?(J) He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14but(K) whoever drinks of the water that I will give him(L) will never be thirsty again.[b] The water that I will give him will become(M) in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15The woman said to him, “Sir,(N) give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
16Jesus said to her, “Go,(O) call your husband, and come here.” 17The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that(P) you are(Q) a prophet. 20(R) Our fathers worshiped on(S) this mountain, but you say that(T) in Jerusalem is(U) the place where people ought to worship.” 21Jesus said to her, (V) “Woman, believe me,(W) the hour is coming when(X) neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22(Y) You worship what you do not know;(Z) we worship what we know, for(AA) salvation is from the Jews. 23But(AB) the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father(AC) in spirit and(AD) truth, for the Father(AE) is seeking such people to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman said to him, “I know that(AF) Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes,(AG) he will tell us all things.” 26Jesus said to her, (AH) “I who speak to you am he.”
27Just then(AI) his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29“Come, see a man(AJ) who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30They went out of the town and were coming to him.
Now if we also look at the example of John 8: 1 – 11, we see that Jesus was dealing with the Pharisees, who are legalistic and overly concerned with sin to the point that they care more about judgment and the law then they do about compassion and mercy; Jesus quickly set them straight:
1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
As we see from this above example, Jesus first loves and accepts the woman and does not condemn her, then He tells her to go and leave her life of sin.
Christians today need to be behaving similarly with those who are lost.
We need to stop ruthless judgment and dislike of sinners and others who may be difficult to love and feel the great compassion and love that Jesus felt for them instead. These souls will be concerned about dealing with their sins after they have accepted Jesus and believe. Every Christian I have ever known wanted to please God of His own accord and stopped sinning on his or her own, once he or she has been born again. Of course no one can completely stop all sin, but we try; we put forth great effort not to disappoint our Lord and Savior. God expects little more from us, in my personal opinion.
There are, unfortunately though, far too many Christians who believe that it’s all right to judge and condemn, who are not studying the behavior of Jesus with sinners. Jesus offered love, compassion, and mercy FIRST, and judgment and lecture LAST. Let’s attempt to follow His example with those who are lost and still sinning in spiritual blindness; there is plenty of time when they believe and have come to know God for them to change and follow the example that we follow in Jesus Christ, behavior-wise.
What Do You Think? Courteous Opinion Always Welcome!
It’s easy to become pious, self-righteous, and legalistic as a Christian, but it’s clear that God doesn’t want our pride involved in the life we lead. Jesus Christ expects us to stay humble and teachable. While we are to judge others in love and to correct and rebuke in love, we’re also to judge righteously, and not from a place of hypocrisy. This is made clear within the bible when we’re told to pluck the beam out of our own eyes instead of focusing upon the splinter within our brother’s.
Jesus truly loved sinners and those who find it hard to be good. He wasn’t judgmental and condemning, as a rule. Certainly He could be harsh at times, but primarily Jesus loved others unconditionally, and was willing to forgive and wipe the slate clean of those who were obviously less than snowy white.
As Christians, do we really love those who are still caught up in sin, who are leading lives full of acts that we are warned not to engage in? Do we look down at or sneer at those who are homosexual or transgender? Do we think ourselves better than they are? Do we study those who are caught up in alcoholism and drug abuse with disdain or disgust? What about the poor, the homeless, the panhandlers? How about the people who are struggling to make ends meet, who are dependent upon government food stamps for their next meal? Do we really care and love everyone, who may be a part of Christ’s flock of wayward, lost sheep? Even the difficult to love and the unlovable?
The following reading was eye-opening in this respect, and I hope it offers you a lot to think about as a Christian in our political climate today in America and within the world.
Tax Collectors and Sinners
by Jirair S. Tashjian
The Pharisees complained that Jesus went to dinner parties with tax collectors and sinners. But who were these people? How did they fit in the world of their time?
Sociologists assign people to upper, middle, and lower classes. In industrialized nations, the middle class is relatively large. In Palestine in the time of Jesus, what we know as middle class was rather small. It was made up of professional people such as shopkeepers, tradesmen, fishermen, and educated people such as the Pharisees and scribes. Being a carpenter, Jesus most likely belonged to this class.
Even smaller than the middle class was the upper class. This class included the very wealthy such as the aristocratic families of the Herods, the high priests, and the rich nobility that owned most of the land.
The majority of the people in Palestine belonged to the lower class, known as the poor. All sorts of people belonged to this class, such as orphans and widows, the blind, the crippled, and the mentally ill. Having no other means of livelihood, people with physical and mental handicaps became beggars. To this class also belonged outcasts. One can be an outcast without necessarily being poor economically. Such were tax collectors and sinners.
The tax collectors were Jews who collected taxes from fellow Jews for the Roman Empire. They made their living by charging an extra amount. Some of them made more than a living. They exacted any amount they could and thus became well to do. They were considered traitors who became wealthy by collaborating with Roman authorities at the expense of their own people.
The sinners who are grouped with the tax collectors were not ordinary sinners. The Pharisees along with others could readily admit that everyone is, after all, a sinner and in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness. But the sinners associated with tax collectors were in a special class. These were people who deliberately and persistently transgressed the requirements of the law. Included in this group would be money-lenders who charged interest on loans advanced to fellow Jews. This was a clear violation of the law of God stated in Leviticus 25:36-38.
Also in this group of sinners might be prostitutes who made their living by their ill-gotten gains. These were individuals who sold themselves to a life of sin in deliberate disregard of the law of God.
Yet, Jesus apparently associated with such people at dinner parties. The Pharisees charged that Jesus was “a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 7:34). Even though Jesus belonged to the middle class, he reached out to people of the lower class. On one occasion Jesus said to some religious leaders in Jerusalem, “The tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you” (Matthew 21:31).
It’s not hard to see why the Pharisees and others were upset that Jesus had table fellowship with people who were morally questionable. These individuals were profiting by disobeying the command of God and betraying their own people. They were what the Old Testament calls the wicked, unworthy to be part of the people of God.
Now, if Jesus had fellowship with tax collectors and sinners in order to preach to them, the Pharisees would not have fussed. After all, who would have objected that tax collectors and sinners were forsaking their sinful lifestyle, making restitution, and seeking a life of righteousness? The Pharisees believed that God offered forgiveness when sinners repented. They could even rejoice that a wretched sinner saw the light and was converted from a life of debauchery.
But what infuriated the Pharisees was that Jesus was not explicitly or directly asking tax collectors and sinners to do any of this. Some of them no doubt did repent, such as Levi (Luke 5:28). But Jesus seems to have accepted them as they were and was freely having dinner with them without requiring that they first clean up their lives.
Of course, Jesus did have a message to proclaim to them. But his message was not, “Straighten up your life and keep the law.” Rather, his message was, “The kingdom of God is yours; you are included.” By eating with them, he was extending to them the kingdom of God.
When we read about the protest of the Pharisees, we are quick to condemn them and to side with Jesus. But if Jesus were physically present in our world today, would we as church people be comfortable if he spent his time with cheats and swindlers, sexually deviant individuals, gays and lesbians? Would we not be infuriated if he constantly went to their dinner parties and didn’t come to ours?
17 I love those who love me, and those who look for me will find me. –Proverbs 8:17
This is a promise from God. He doesn’t make promises lightly. God keeps His promises. He promises this kind of thing again and again within the Holy Bible. There are several verses that tell us this is the case.
God assures us that those who look for God will find Him. This has been the case in my life and the lives of millions of others.
What could prevent us from finding God if we were diligently looking for Him and couldn’t find Him? The bible tells us that there are several things that could “hinder” our search for God.
God isn’t hiding, nor is He some great mystery. He wants to be found by all who are sincerely seeking Him. You can actually know God.
29But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. –Deuteronomy 4:29
Democrats are pretty scary when it comes to what they promote as family values too, and are determined to go to the extreme of dismantling religious rights of expression within the public square. They insist on trampling upon the majority’s beliefs in God on a fairly regular basis, while pushing a “secularism” of their own that is a religion in and of itself. This is an ANTI-THEISM that I don’t want forced onto my child in the public school system or at the university level. It’s pure hypocrisy. Democrats don’t understand that a safety net isn’t what we’ve got anymore because when the whole system is jeopardized by the safety net, nobody is safe! In other words, they cut off their own noses to spite their face.
life of a female bible warrior 
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