Would you like to have your prayers answered and grow closer to God?

I’ve been following Christ, with varying degrees of success, for a long time. During that time, I’ve sent up all variety of prayers. In my experience, if you pray to receive a blessing, the results may be discouraging, but if you pray for opportunities to be a blessing, you’re rarely disappointed.  SC

Never diminish the future in deference to the past.

There are those among us who stubbornly deny reality and cling to the past. I sympathize and share your tendency. That being said, science is the observation and classification of provable facts, and denying facts is foolish and expensive. While knowledge of the past is admirable, a bright future depends on science and technology. Some see a bright and prosperous future as a result of education, while others continue to believe the world is flat. I myself am a reasoning person of faith. Cherish your faith, but not at the expense of reason. Never diminish the future in deference to the past. SC

A wise man learns from his misfortune; a happy man, the misfortune of others. SC

Under whose god, you may well ask.

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic
for which it stands,
one Nation under God,
indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.

Under whose god, you may well ask. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion. Unfortunately, there are those who choose to interpret these words very differently in order to support their own biases and agendas. They have entirely missed the true, original, and intended meaning of our Constitution and its very first amendment. They prefer an alternative meaning. That, in my humble opinion, is at the heart of our problem. What we have here is a failure to communicate and comprehend the basic principles of our American ideals of Liberty and Justice for all. We have citizens who passionately wave the flag and the Constitution, while entirely overlooking the very first amendment which the founders believed essential to the Republic’s success.  SC

The only thing we have to fear is ourselves.

Down through the eons of time, empires, dynasties, and eminent civilizations, have achieved great heights, and then come down like the salmon leaves of autumn, brought low by the same troublesome human nature that has hobbled mankind since Cain cudgeled Abel. Learned philosophers and renowned historians have devoted their lives to the study of these events, producing ponderous, voluminous anthologies, which grace the shelves of celebrated centers of higher learning all over the world.  And today, when similar behavior threatens our own aspiring metropolis, we scratch our head and wring our hands and wonder what the hell happened.  I feel tremendous empathy for people as individuals. As a species, I think we’re highly overrated. The only thing we have to fear is ourselves.  SC

When hearts are hardened and devotion strained, the empathy and compassion of those who care must be sufficiently resolute to compensate for those who do not. SC

While heaven is commendable as a long term goal, while here, the Lord requires faithful stewardship of His Creation and all our many blessings. Thus the problem: stewardship is rarely practiced by those just passing through. SC

Many are drawn like a moth to the light and become confused. Do not be deceived. Carrying the torch of Liberty is one thing. Spreading the flames of anarchy is something entirely different. SC

My Savior suggested we give up our jacket, walk the extra mile, forgive as often as necessary, give to any who ask, and love unconditionally. To believe and behave otherwise is not Christianity, but some alternative faith. It certainly does not reflect the American values I cherish. Turning desperate people away reflects neither Christianity nor America’s principles of liberty and justice for all.  It reflects not only alternative facts, but a dark and alternative America. SC

Immigration

Matthew 18:10-14New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Wandering Sheep

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. ^[11] [a]

¹² “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. ¹⁴ In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.”

Being human and encumbered as we are by our needy robes of flesh, we tend to approach any issue by first choosing the solution which is cheap, easy, expedient, and in our own best interests. If we profess to follow Christ, the proper solution is rarely that easy.  If we truly follow Christ, we must address each and every issue by asking ourselves, what would Christ do? In almost every instance, including immigration; regardless of ethnicity, religious or partisan divides, or gender issues, the answer is the same; The Good Sheppard would shelter the lost sheep. In my humble opinion, a God-fearing government of, by, and for its people, would do likewise. SC