It was another ugly week for politics and Christianity, our nation, and the world for that matter, mostly fueled by the recent terrorism events, and I certainly let some of my emotions get the best of me. Aren’t we better than this? Maybe we should all step back, pause for a bit, and consider all that’s going on, and really look at the big picture. Here’s some food for thought:
1. As we enter into Thanksgiving, let’s ask ourselves: Just how thankful and giving are we, and/or should be?
2. People will forget what you said and did, but not how you made them feel.
3. What we see in others exists in ourselves as well.
4. The opposite of is praise is blame.
5. Division makes us weak: “A house divided cannot stand.” United we stand or divided we fall.
6. We are blessed to be a blessing to others, especially the poor.
7. You cannot out give God, He owns everything and what we have right now is only temporary.
8. Even if every terrorist were wiped off the planet today, would that give us true peace?
9. We reap what we sow.
10. Thankfulness leads to God’s faithfulness.
11. Insecurity is sure to follow the person who is thinking about themselves all day long. (Get and stay humble.)
12. Pride comes before the fall.
13. Mercy trumps judgement.
14. We must be wise as serpents and innocent like doves.
15. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.
16. When Jesus is your Prince of Peace, Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, does it really matter who is President?
17. Jesus never asked for fans or converts, He said “Follow me and go make Disciples.”
Basically, I believe that there is now a great tension between a God-centered approach to social justice and a man-centered approach to social justice. The man-centered approach sees the government in the role of savior, bringing in a utopia through government policies. The God-centered approach sees Christ as Savior, bringing heaven to earth when He returns. That’s why we pray: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.” At His return, Christ will restore all things and execute perfect justice. Until then, Christians need to God’s reflect love and justice by showing kindness, generosity, and mercy to those less fortunate.
Also consider this: “Jesus isn’t a conservative republican. Jesus isn’t a progressive liberal. Jesus is God. Jesus’ death was the glorious inauguration of his coming Kingdom, not an invitation to use his name to legitimize our own little kingdoms. Don’t get me wrong, I’m for causes, social and political, but we cannot forget that those things cannot save. They cannot change people’s sinful hearts, they cannot save people’s souls from eternal death, and in the end they cannot offer anything more than a better life in this world. Christians have one message: the gospel of Jesus Christ’s atoning death, glorious resurrection, and coming Kingdom. Be defined by that; preach that and let everything else come second. ” ~ Caleb Flores
Finally, please take the time to watch this video and really ask yourself, can fear and faith co-exist, just how amazing is God’s Grace and deep is His love; did Jesus die for just some or whosoever believes; how does God work through us where we are; how are we the “Kingdom of God” and how much do we actually trust God and what would Jesus do today?
