Something has been bothering me, and I know I’ve said this before, but I may step on toes here, and lose some of you this time for real. I have never written anything remotely political before, and I wouldn’t say I’m starting now, but bear with me. Have you ever heard of the Sadducees and the Pharisees? They were religious sects within Judaism during the time of Christ. They both held political power. There was a “supreme court” of ancient Israel that held members from both groups called the Sanhedrin. The Sadducees tended to be more wealthy and hold more powerful positions. The Pharisees were more representative of the common working people. Jesus was in almost constant conflict with both of them, and condemned each on more than one occasion. Which brings me to Jesus and politics today. I have seen too many believers who are choosing the world and politics, over God’s Word. I am not saying there is no place for politics, because there is, especially when used to carry out things like ...
I finally realized something monumental (in my opinion) the other day that I want to share with you. I hope I express it in a way that makes sense. Most of us carry some kind of pain, or experience some kind of suffering in our lives. I want anyone who has dealt with hurt, pain, or suffering of any kind to know, I see you too. I have a feeling that one of the reasons it may be difficult to deal with some of what’s happening in this country, is that (maybe unconsciously) it may remind each of us of our own unexpressed or maybe even expressed pain. I was reminded of this the other day, when an old friend cried out in anger publicly expressing her own struggle with pain. It was the first time many of us were made aware of the depth of that pain due to abuse, loss, and betrayal. She sees the pain of black people, yet struggles with seeing so many act on that pain in destructive ways. She doesn’t do that. A lot of people don’t do that (at least in ways that are clearly visible to...
Yesterday I was pulling up weeds in my “garden.” The area I call my garden used to be an actual garden full of vegetables and such. Years ago I took great care in fertilizing the soil with compost and even transplanted some worms into the mix. Since then, after I let it go, the soil had been fully supporting and nourishing various kinds of weeds that found their way into those boxes, until yesterday. As I pulled up the weeds, I noticed how some of the weeds don’t look like weeds. Some of them produce beautiful little flowers. Some of them look like a tomato might grow on them at any moment. Some produce beautiful leaves that could complement a wedding bouquet. Some of those weeds are so plant or flower-like, and attractive, you almost hate to pull them up. But, the truth is, they are weeds and will choke the life out of the plant you actually want to grow, and possibly get nourishment from. It’s important to know the difference between the plants and the weeds. If you nourish the w...
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