Monday, February 27, 2012

How Far Are You Willing To Go For Your Faith ?

How far are you willing to go for your faith?
Most Sunday mornings,that I do not have work,just getting out of bed seems like a war of wills.
Yes I need to get up and no I don't want to.
Today on the news they spoke of a minister in Iran who was to be executed because he dared to ask the school why his children were being taught Islam,when the constitution of the country says they are free to practice other religions,like Christianity.
He has been in prison for over a year now and was to be executed today,but as of yet has not.
All this man is being asked to do is renounce his faith and he can again be a husband and father with his life back.
To which he says "No"
It makes me ashamed when I realize all that is asked of me by faith is to come to church,pray and spread the good news by both words and actions,the very things this man has done and now is in jail for.
We,in this country, are not so persecuted as we lead our selves to believe.Our rights are given to us and all we have to do is take the fundamental easy steps which we do not because of our own laziness.
I always say I could never be a martyr because I can't stand the though of pain,I am a whiner.
But do we ever know how we would tolerate being asked to renounce our beliefs just to be left alone and out of harms way?
I know people who tell me they would go to the death for their religious beliefs,to which I must ask..would you,really? And if so how can you be so sure?
For I am sure of nothing in life and can greatly understand how St.Peter felt when he denied Christ,three times.
Fear can seize you in an instant and who can tell what will come out of ones mouth.
The White House and Justice department along with the majority leader Bainer, have all urged Iran to take a breath and understand the back lash that will come from the execution of this Minister.
So little is asked of us in this country and only our own laziness stops us from being all we can be.
God can give us greatness of courage but we have to be able to put faith in the fact that only He and the Holy Spirit can lead us from our own selves.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Misinterpretation By President Obama

I have come to the point in my life where I most definitely do not want my President to tell me Bible quotes,especially when he is misinterpreting its meaning.
Recently while at a religious clergy breakfast in Washington D.C. the president spoke about his views on taxing the rich to give to the government to distribute to the poor,he said "and for us Christians we are told that 'for those who much is given,much is required'."
O.K. lets give credit due to the fact that he did know a Bible verse but lets also understand that he missed its context,it does not mean,as President Obama erroneously misspoke,that the government has the right to take from the rich and give to the poor.
The passage means that you as an individual,through your own richness,be it money,food,talent or time are to help your fellow brother or sister in their times of need.
Jesus did not say if you go into the world and some one ask you for a coat to go to the federal government,take your second coat,hand it to them and they will distribute it for you to whom ever they feel is in need.
In this scenario both you lose out on the good feelings of love and kindness being extended in help to a person in need and the recipient may lose out because the government may not feel like he qualifies for the coat but someone else does whom they feel is more in need.
But what if the gift you were to give this person,be it your coat,had some special meaning that only the recipient and God knew about and your giving of said clothing was to make a great difference in this person life,not because of the physical warmth it would provide,but because of the human kindness and generosity that was extended by you.
Would the government have more insight then God and give it to the right person for the right reason.
Not all we do is monetary sometimes what is given or done by another has meaning that we know nothing about,not just for the person receiving the gift but also for the one giving the gift.
We are told in the Bible not to follow false teachers,those who take Bible verses and use them for their own intent.
Any passage in the Bible can be manipulated to suit any person need depending on who they are,even Satan tried to use Bible verses when he tempted Jesus in the desert.
The act of giving is required by those of faith and for the government to try and wiggle its way into using these saying as a way to fund their political agendas are wrong.
Extra money taken from those who have more to give,has nothing to do with the helping of the poor,but does have everything to do with the growth of the government into our lives.
Can we be guaranteed that this money is not going to be used to fund a contra group,buy guns for things like fast and furious,attempt to overthrow our religious rights,fund abortions or euthanasia?
More money does not give us a promise that those in need are to be helped,all it does is make for more restrictions and laws turning us into a better funded nanny state.
We as church become insignificant when we do not fulfill our call to help the less fortunate,we become unnecessary and then we become...gone..
In the end why would anyone need religion when the government can now be their new god?

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Good Enough,Smart Enough

"I'm good enough,I'm smart enough and gosh darn it people like me"..Steward Smalley..Saturday Night Live.

With change in mind comes change in manners.

Today while looking through my nursing school looses leaf book,trying to find my resume,I came across my papers and grades.
It shocked me at how good my grades where.When I was in school I didn't really pay attention to all those little details,because the every day stresses took over my view point and shattered my illusions of how well I was doing through out the year.
We are what we think we are.
One day while listening to Donald Trump speak,it became clear to me the difference between him and I was he didn't have a problem giving himself a pat on the back for a job well done.
There is something to be learned here,and that is there is nothing wrong with realizing all your hard work and saying "you did a really great job,good for you."
We are harder on our selves then probably anyone else in the whole world.
It took me almost 9 years to realize all I achieved,in those ten months,to get to this point in life and understand that being your own cheerleader is not such a bad thing.
People with confidence can literally walk on water,just ask St.Peter.
When he stepped out of the boat Jesus kept him atop the waves,but as soon has his confidence in God failed so did he.
I have heard many religious people talk about being humble,but does that mean not being happy with your self and all you have accomplished?
I think not.
There is nothing wrong with patting your self on the back as a matter of fact it helps us focus with confidence,to what we can achieve in the future.
Being humble means understanding that all our triumphs are the result of our hard work and God guidance in our lives.
We move no where in life if we feel we are failures,which is so easy to do when we look at our every day struggles.
It has came to me today, that it is time to dust off and revitalize my resume so as to be in a better position to look for a new job for my own happiness.
No one can sell themselves if they don't like themselves,and feeling worthless is not uplifting or in anyway positive.
God does not want us to dislike ourselves nor be self loathing and demeaning.Many religious writers ring of self hate for our bodies,minds and values,but in my mind God made me who I am and although I'm not perfect it does not mean I am a terrible person,I tend to think that God made me and I am not a mistake or disappointment to him.
He has known me since I was in the womb,and that's a very long time.
We are worthy people,loving and kind and have achieved,with his help,much and should be proud of ourselves.
To not realize our potential is to not understand just how mighty God can be through us and our lives.
We can achieve greatness and God knows it,unfortunately we delude our selves in to believing we can not attain these things.
We're like Peter walking on the water and suddenly looking down and seeing only the raging water below instead of the calm shore in front of us.
So if we are good enough,smart enough and people like us,then why do we not also like our selves?