To me this is the week where March Madness starts. The last week of the regular season, then the conference tourneys, and then the national tournament. I am going to be watching all the basketball I possibly can so that I can make the best selections I can in my bracket. I am hoping Michigan makes it in after a decade long absence. They are on the bubble which is exciting because I haven't rooted for them to get in like this in a long time.
BTW Joshua, my 9 month old, will be making picks. I will make the obvious picks like 1 over 16 and 2 over 15 but the rest he will pick. I will have two toys with team names on them. Which ever one he picks will be the team. The scary part is he will probably win.
GO BLUE!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Jesus is not a Republican...or a Democrat...
The Church is the reason that the Democratic fiscal policies are the way to go in our current time. It is funny to me that 85% of ‘Christians’ are Republicans when the Republicans have been the ones who have ignored the oppressed, the poor, and the less fortunate. They think that wealth will trickle down to those that don’t have money from the wealthy. How is that possible with them pursuing the American Dream? If the American Dream is about individual prosperity then how does wealth trickle when we are being selfish? Acts 2:45 says, “They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.” If this was an example set for us by the early church are we doing it? 50% of our population in America is Protestant. 35% of the population in America is Evangelical. More than 100 million Americans are in the evangelical church. What would America look like if the church lived like the church? Would we ever go into recession?
God does not have a political party. God is about the oppressed. God is about justice. God is love. God pursues us. God wants the church to be like Him. God is about sacrifice. God is about giving.
I really dislike the fact that it seems God has been tagged as in full support for the Republican party. Every year the ‘Christians’ are manipulated to think that the Republican party is the Christian party. This is simply not true. It is unfortunate that the Republican party manipulates us into thinking that if you vote for them you are voting for life. So, obviously as a Christian I do not want to see abortion. Abortion is not of God. So, we get on the very righteous horse to save lives and in so doing we think we need to fall in line with every Republican practice. So, essentially you become non-Christian in your thinking if you disagree with any Republican policy. What the heck is that? I am tired of this. I am tired of being manipulated. I want to be seen as an independent thinker. I want to be true to Christ. Here is what politicians have really manipulated us into believing as Christians: That the American Dream is righteous. They take an obvious moral stand in abortion and manipulate us into buying into the idea that the American Dream is of God or something. WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? It is time to stop buying into the immorality of the American Dream. The most dangerous part is it is so subtle. This is the one issue that both political parties want us to buy into and it is one issue that everyone in America wants. Why don’t the Christ followers make a stand against this? To me abortion and same sex marriage are only moral symptoms of a larger problem that we Christians have helped to fuel.
The American Dream is defined as a “dream of social order in which each man and woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are regardless of birth” by James Truslow Adams in his book Epic of America. The American Dream began as an opportunity to achieve great material prosperity. The context that the American Dream is referred to is always material wealth. Even in Adams’ definition which does not directly address material wealth but later he says that material wealth has counted plenty for those in pursuit of the American Dream. Material wealth is the end goal for those in pursuit of the American Dream. We hear all the time let’s return to prosperity, let’s improve our prosperity, and let me see how I can help myself and see myself attain the fullest stature. Is this the dream God has for us?
John 10:10 says, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” This passage would lead one to think that Jesus wants us to have a full life in how we define it. But, Jesus addresses the American Dream as defined above in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In fact, the story of the Rich Young Ruler says it all when Jesus asks him to sell everything and come follow him. Have you sacrificed anything lately? We just want Jesus so we can get to heaven and have him when times are tough but we also want all the immorality that this world offers in a full life. We want the best of both worlds. If we haven’t sacrificed to follow Jesus are we even a follower of Him? By our fruits they will know that we are a follower of Jesus. Does your fruit prove you to be a follower of Jesus? Or does your life look just like those of this world?
Hope. That is what people want. Hope for a better future. Hope for life to the full. Jesus is the one that truly gives life to the fullest. The church has not done its job of showing people the hope that is found in Jesus Christ. So, now the government is trying to provide that hope. All Barack Obama shows is that the church is not being the church. It is sobering. I voted for Barack because I feel his policies are more closely in line with the ways of Jesus. It is sad because we should not be forced by the government to give to the poor and oppressed. I used to vote Republican because I thought less taxes meant more money in the pocket and more opportunity for the Church to be the Church. But that is failed because the church is not the church. My heart is to see the broken, the oppressed, and the poor find hope. As the government implements solid policies to help them we as the church should be the church. If the church becomes what God intended then many of the political debates go away because the issues begin to diminish.
Acts 2:42-47 has many things to say about politics. What if 100 million people lived this way? What if we had everything in common and sold possessions so that everyone was without need? What would this mean for healthcare? for Abortion? for same sex marriage? Financially?
I think that the financial benefits for people are obvious. But what about healthcare, if we were living like Acts 2 then healthcare for everyone would be provided for by each other. If we lived in a community like this we would have the best healthcare ever and everyone would have it. This would happen because we would be living selflessly not selfishly. If everyone felt loved and accepted there would not be as high a need for abortion. Abortions happen just as frequently in the church as outside. This is because people feel shame, guilty, and don’t feel they can be honest with the church because they will be looked down upon. If we had a Church of love, grace, and forgiveness the need for Abortion would greatly diminish. The same thing goes for same sex marriage. Many of the people who are drawn to homosexuality are drawn to it because of the lack of love in their life. A community like Acts 2 would greatly diminish the need for same sex marriage. I understand that because of ‘The Fall’ and the sinful world we have from Adam that some people might be born a homosexual. I also understand that this is a controversial stance to take but even if you are born gay and the Church is being the Church then it will be a lot easier to deal with that as well as any other addiction that isn’t as overt.
It is our job as one who is in the church to be in the world but not of the world, we are to create culture not succumb to the culture, and we are to lead a revolutionary movement. The early church was a revolutionary movement. It was a lot harder to be a Christian then than it is now and yet how come it seems we have a lot harder time actually being what God called us to?
Greed has set in on the Church. It is obvious with this recession. Because the Church has not been the Church for so long the government is stepping up. It is my hope that the steps taken by the government will help the church to see their flaws and step up to the plate and change this culture. Jesus is definitely not a Republican because I think that over the last 20 years Republican policies have just shown greed and selfishness. Jesus is definitely not a Democrat either as hope is ultimately found in Jesus not the almighty dollar. But right now the Democrats seem to be the party that most addresses issues Jesus addresses. Some may not like that last statement and if you didn’t then ask yourself this question: What are you doing to address the issues Jesus addresses?
It is my desire that this be said of me, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me…” (Matthew 25:34-36)
…Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. (Matthew 25:40)
What are you doing for the least of these?
Let’s become the revolutionary movement Jesus intended.
Let’s change the world.
Let’s be the Church.
God does not have a political party. God is about the oppressed. God is about justice. God is love. God pursues us. God wants the church to be like Him. God is about sacrifice. God is about giving.
I really dislike the fact that it seems God has been tagged as in full support for the Republican party. Every year the ‘Christians’ are manipulated to think that the Republican party is the Christian party. This is simply not true. It is unfortunate that the Republican party manipulates us into thinking that if you vote for them you are voting for life. So, obviously as a Christian I do not want to see abortion. Abortion is not of God. So, we get on the very righteous horse to save lives and in so doing we think we need to fall in line with every Republican practice. So, essentially you become non-Christian in your thinking if you disagree with any Republican policy. What the heck is that? I am tired of this. I am tired of being manipulated. I want to be seen as an independent thinker. I want to be true to Christ. Here is what politicians have really manipulated us into believing as Christians: That the American Dream is righteous. They take an obvious moral stand in abortion and manipulate us into buying into the idea that the American Dream is of God or something. WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? It is time to stop buying into the immorality of the American Dream. The most dangerous part is it is so subtle. This is the one issue that both political parties want us to buy into and it is one issue that everyone in America wants. Why don’t the Christ followers make a stand against this? To me abortion and same sex marriage are only moral symptoms of a larger problem that we Christians have helped to fuel.
The American Dream is defined as a “dream of social order in which each man and woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are regardless of birth” by James Truslow Adams in his book Epic of America. The American Dream began as an opportunity to achieve great material prosperity. The context that the American Dream is referred to is always material wealth. Even in Adams’ definition which does not directly address material wealth but later he says that material wealth has counted plenty for those in pursuit of the American Dream. Material wealth is the end goal for those in pursuit of the American Dream. We hear all the time let’s return to prosperity, let’s improve our prosperity, and let me see how I can help myself and see myself attain the fullest stature. Is this the dream God has for us?
John 10:10 says, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” This passage would lead one to think that Jesus wants us to have a full life in how we define it. But, Jesus addresses the American Dream as defined above in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In fact, the story of the Rich Young Ruler says it all when Jesus asks him to sell everything and come follow him. Have you sacrificed anything lately? We just want Jesus so we can get to heaven and have him when times are tough but we also want all the immorality that this world offers in a full life. We want the best of both worlds. If we haven’t sacrificed to follow Jesus are we even a follower of Him? By our fruits they will know that we are a follower of Jesus. Does your fruit prove you to be a follower of Jesus? Or does your life look just like those of this world?
Hope. That is what people want. Hope for a better future. Hope for life to the full. Jesus is the one that truly gives life to the fullest. The church has not done its job of showing people the hope that is found in Jesus Christ. So, now the government is trying to provide that hope. All Barack Obama shows is that the church is not being the church. It is sobering. I voted for Barack because I feel his policies are more closely in line with the ways of Jesus. It is sad because we should not be forced by the government to give to the poor and oppressed. I used to vote Republican because I thought less taxes meant more money in the pocket and more opportunity for the Church to be the Church. But that is failed because the church is not the church. My heart is to see the broken, the oppressed, and the poor find hope. As the government implements solid policies to help them we as the church should be the church. If the church becomes what God intended then many of the political debates go away because the issues begin to diminish.
Acts 2:42-47 has many things to say about politics. What if 100 million people lived this way? What if we had everything in common and sold possessions so that everyone was without need? What would this mean for healthcare? for Abortion? for same sex marriage? Financially?
I think that the financial benefits for people are obvious. But what about healthcare, if we were living like Acts 2 then healthcare for everyone would be provided for by each other. If we lived in a community like this we would have the best healthcare ever and everyone would have it. This would happen because we would be living selflessly not selfishly. If everyone felt loved and accepted there would not be as high a need for abortion. Abortions happen just as frequently in the church as outside. This is because people feel shame, guilty, and don’t feel they can be honest with the church because they will be looked down upon. If we had a Church of love, grace, and forgiveness the need for Abortion would greatly diminish. The same thing goes for same sex marriage. Many of the people who are drawn to homosexuality are drawn to it because of the lack of love in their life. A community like Acts 2 would greatly diminish the need for same sex marriage. I understand that because of ‘The Fall’ and the sinful world we have from Adam that some people might be born a homosexual. I also understand that this is a controversial stance to take but even if you are born gay and the Church is being the Church then it will be a lot easier to deal with that as well as any other addiction that isn’t as overt.
It is our job as one who is in the church to be in the world but not of the world, we are to create culture not succumb to the culture, and we are to lead a revolutionary movement. The early church was a revolutionary movement. It was a lot harder to be a Christian then than it is now and yet how come it seems we have a lot harder time actually being what God called us to?
Greed has set in on the Church. It is obvious with this recession. Because the Church has not been the Church for so long the government is stepping up. It is my hope that the steps taken by the government will help the church to see their flaws and step up to the plate and change this culture. Jesus is definitely not a Republican because I think that over the last 20 years Republican policies have just shown greed and selfishness. Jesus is definitely not a Democrat either as hope is ultimately found in Jesus not the almighty dollar. But right now the Democrats seem to be the party that most addresses issues Jesus addresses. Some may not like that last statement and if you didn’t then ask yourself this question: What are you doing to address the issues Jesus addresses?
It is my desire that this be said of me, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me…” (Matthew 25:34-36)
…Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. (Matthew 25:40)
What are you doing for the least of these?
Let’s become the revolutionary movement Jesus intended.
Let’s change the world.
Let’s be the Church.
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