Neither Jew nor Greek

There's a lot of controversy over the new Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor. One of the controversies surrounds her statement about how a Hispanic woman (latina) judge makes better decisions than a white male judge because of her life experiences. President Obama calls that empathy. He wants someone who applies empathy to their judicial decisions rather than just applying the rule of law. That means, instead of just applying the law equally to everyone, Obama wants a judge, and apparently has one in Sotomayor, who takes into consideration the person and their life situation when making a ruling. No longer will the law be applied equally to everyone when Sotomayor becomes a Supreme Court Justice, and she will be confirmed because the Democrats have the votes to confirm her. The highest court in the land will be changed for a very long time once Judge Sotomayor is seated.

So this means that someone who the soon to be Justice sees as disadvantaged will probably have more of a standing in her court than anyone else. She will side with a minority or an immigrant or a woman or a poor person or a homosexual because of her perception of their life's disadvantages. Why, some would ask, is this a bad thing? Well, it's one of those things that can start out being perceived as good. I mean, who doesn't root for the underdog? We want to see disadvantaged people get ahead. We want all Americans to do well and not be taken advantage of in any situation. However, what happens when you, who might not be in one of these categories, go to court, and you are already on the losing end because of who you are and you aren't even given the chance to state your case? That happened to a group of firemen from Connecticut in Sotomayor's court. She dismissed their suit summarily without even hearing the case. Why? Because they were mostly white with one Hispanic in the group. Fairness is an important aspect of any judicial hearing. She, Sotomayor, applies her own fairness to her decisions, apparently.

Thankfully, when we talk about God, we have no such worries. Galatians 3:26-29, James 2:1-11, Romans 2:6-10 and I'm sure there are other examples throughout the Bible too numerous to list here, where we see God telling us that everyone is treated equally by Him. Thank God! So, He does not care if you are rich or poor, white, black, brown, yellow, from the US, Indonesia, or Russia, man or woman. All receive equal treatment from God. We are not subject to the whim of a God who decides things on who you are and what you've experienced. All are welcome and given equal treatment!

So, as the days go by and you hear about empathy and unequal treatment on the part of the new Supreme Court Justice nominee, rest assured that God does not play favorites. You are equal with the giants of the Christian faith when you choose to give your life over to Christ. So, you are equal with Paul the apostle. God will treat you just the same as He treats Billy Graham. You can count on it!

Once again we are reassured that no matter what man does, God does it better.

When you join God's family, you are welcomed as the individual you are and take on the identity of God's child which ensures that you are treated without prejudice by the Creator of the Universe! What a great promise that is!

God bless you.

May God have mercy on America.

Marriage: One Man, One Woman. It's Biblical, not Political!

What's Different About You?

A minivan goes zipping by you on the highway doing a brisk 70 MPH (in a 55 MPH zone). And the one thing you notice as you are able to steady your vehicle from the "jet wash", it's got that Jesus fish on the back.

The SUV you are following seems to be meandering down the road. The driver, who has a cell phone glued to his ear, doesn't seem to have a destination in mind, nor a particular lane picked out. As you go to pass, you spy the "Got Jesus?" bumper sticker on the back.

As you walk onto the beach searching out just the right spot, you see an open spot and plop yourself down. The music is blaring all over. You hear hip hop, rap, rock. All the usual music genres. And, to your right, the music blares sounding like all the other radios blasting away, except you see some of the teens in mohawks and others wearing "WWJD" tee shirts.

At work, there's that guy that says he's a Christian. He prays before his meals. He seems nice. He's a pretty cool guy because when you're joking around the water cooler about, you know, women and stuff, he laughs right along with the rest of you. He's so not judgmental.

That Christian lady business owner meets with her accoutant. It's tax time again. Times are tough and when her accountant asks about deductions and gives her a wink, she just goes along, because she needs the money, the government already gets enough of her money, and, hey,everybody does it.

If you ever visit New York City (Manhattan, for those out of towners), you can always tell the tourists. They are the ones with their necks craned looking up at all the tall buildings. They stand out like sore thumbs. They are different. Visitors from other states and foreign lands who you can tell don't live there. They are just visiting.

That's how we are to be as Christians. We are to stand out, even if it annoys others. We should be those "slow pokes" in the right lane with their blue tooth devices in their ears. We should be the ones stubbornly sticking to morals and ethics in our personal lives and business lives. Though nice to listen to, our music should also be different. At the very least, it should have a different message, told in a different and reverential way.

Peter writes in 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 11 and 12:

11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.

12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

We should stand out. How else will the Gospel be effectively spread? If we aren't different, then why, oh why, would anyone want God in their lives? Why would they even ask us about God? If we don't have peace through troubles. If we don't have impeccable moral standards. If we don't help those in need. If we aren't exemplary employees. If we aren't the best bosses. If we aren't the most loving parents. If we aren't the most respectful citizens. If we aren't forgiving.

We'll suffer for it. Like Christ suffered. Peter chronicles that in the following verses:

20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.

21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

We need to do the right thing and not worry about the consequences because God will care for us.

Or do we blend in to avoid that suffering? Peter tells us later in this letter in chapter 3:

14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened."

15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

Again, Peter gives the promise that God will take care of us when we live as God wants and do the right thing. Why, then, would we not want to stand out? Why then would we not want to be different? All we have to do is live our lives as God directs us to and let Him handle the consequences. He will. He promises that. These scriptures prove it. He proved with with Miss California. That is a real example that you can hold on to. If He'll do it for her, He'll certainly do the same for you.

We have to be prepared to give that answer when asked.

Look at Miss California, Carrie Prejean and how she suffered for doing the right thing. She, however, was prepared to give her answer and let God take care of the consequences. Look at the result. She's still Miss California. She's still got her integrity. She was different. She didn't modify her answer or compromise her beliefs to "do the right thing" in the world's eyes. She did the right thing in God's eyes. I believe she proved to the world she truly is an alien in this land.

We have to get out of this mentality that we have to blend in and be like those around us to get along. Jesus didn't get along. The apostles were effective because they preached something different than was being preached by everyone else. They lived what they preached. They stood out. They were effective. Paul, stood out. Peter and John stood out. James stood out. Steven stood out. All stood out. They were different.

If you were in a crowd, would you stand out or blend in?

Are you an alien in this land or a resident?

These are questions we all need to ask ourselves.

God bless you.

May God have mercy on America.

Miss California Saga - The Light Shines on Who Really is the Hater

Carrie Prejean is still Miss California USA. As she should be.

The past three weeks have done one thing and that is shone the light on who really are the haters in the gay marriage issue and it's not the people who believe that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman.

The 21-year old Miss Prejean has endured personal attacks to her character, her intellect, her appearance and her faith. Not to mention having to see her parents attacked as well.

And how has she responded? With grace and civility. She's been silent these three weeks, allowing those who are on the pro-gay side to launch a barrage of hate-filled, intolerant attacks on her. And she kept silent. She took it. Time after time. Day after day. Even hour after hour she was villified, mocked, insulted and attacked on YouTube, on blogs, on Facebook, on Twitter, on cable and in the failing and rapidly insignificant network TV and print media.

Yet, she kept silent.

That is, until today.

Today, at the press conference so deftly promoted and orchestrated by "The Donald", Miss Prejean spoke her mind about the created controversy and resulting attacks. As she has to date, she represented her God, herself, her state and her country flawlessly. Not holding anything back, she intelligently, steadfastly and lovingly stood up for her answer which was based fully on her faith and rather obvious fabulous upbringing. She stood up to those who would have flung rotten vegetables at her had they had the chance. Instead of an eye for an eye approach, she talked about her faith, her right to free speech and how she forgave those who were so hateful and intolerant of her. She reaffirmed her belief that marriage is exclusively between one man and one woman.

She showed love and tolerance to those who will never know what those words really mean.

In the end, the light of reality shone on those hate-filled, intolerant people who attacked Carrie Prejean, but an even brighter light, the light of the love of God shone on Miss Prejean. The light that is the light of Jesus.

The other day I wondered on here if it mattered if we stood up for Christian values. Miss Prejean has shown me that indeed we should. Not necessarily by seeking out areas to speak out against, although, I think that is OK, but when things come up in our day-to-day lives, we should unashamedly and forthrightly, with love, state those values and stick to them. Let God take care of the consequences. We see, that, in Carrie Prejean's case, and so we can rest assured in our lives too, God took care of her and got her through what could have been a personal disaster.

God is good all the time!

To Him be the glory.

May God bless you.

May God have mercy on America.

Marriage: One Man, One Woman. It's Biblical, Not Political!

Does Standing Up for Christian Values Really Matter?

I have been wrestling with this question. Does it really matter, in the long run, if we Christians stand up for Christian values, speak out on issues like abortion and traditional marriage, and get politically active? In the long run, since it seems like we are losing all these battles with more states legalizing homosexual "marriage", no real progress being made against abortion and more and more of America tending towards secularization, are we just wasting our time and energy with these things? Can our time, talent and energy be better spent?

I am torn. As much as it bugs me to no end when I see another state fall to the homosexual pressure and pander to a very vocal minority or I see organizations like Planned Parenthood, who admittedly are one of the nation's largest abortion providers or enablers bankrolled by your tax dollars getting even more of my money (in tax dollars) or I see the country voting for more and more liberal candidates by a wide margin, I wonder if I should be fighting even harder against these things. Or should I be praying more? Or should I be more faithful to living out the Gospel every day? Or should I be loving those around me more and showing them who God is through what I do and say? And just let God take care of the rest?

It's hard to sit and do nothing about these issues. It's hard to see our country ravaged by people who hate who we are and what we stand for. It's hard to see God smeared and mocked and believers persecuted and made fun of. It pains me to see people like Bill Maher hate God and those who love Him. I find it difficult to watch a news report about someone like Miss California, Carrie Prejean, getting vilified in the media and then all Christians getting raked over the coals because, after all, we're not perfect, even though we don't claim to be. This is all hard for me. I find myself getting angry. Wanting to yell and pound my fist and shake someone so they'll WAKE UP. Then, I wonder what God would have me do and I have to tell you that I just don't know. I want to do something. I want to make a difference. That's why I do this. Hopefully, this blog will impact someone somewhere for the good; for God and for our country. But, in the end, when Jesus returns, will all that effort have made any real difference? Will the world have been a better place because of what I and others have done or is the slide of society an inevitable thing that just signals the more imminent return of our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ?

It's a question I hope that I can answer someday. Right now, I don't have the answer.

What do you think? Leave a comment.

God bless you.

May God have mercy on America.

Marriage: One Man, One Woman; It's Biblical, not Political!