Is it good or bad that only an average of 150 children crossed the U.S. Mexican border today to turn themselves in to authorities to only find themselves in the process of being deported back to central- America where they will likely again face the inhumanities and crimes against humanity in the forms of human-trafficking and drug cartel thug totalitarianism? Last month over 500 a day was the average. In the midst of political polarization, Christian America watches CNN and Fox news channels to get the right take on the situation. Some scream secure our borders call in the troops while others beg for mercy at any cost. Mostly all emotional appeals on both sides of the fence. What does the Bible say?
Leviticus 19:33-34?
"When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God."
Yeah OK! Its old testament. I know. Out with the old and in with the new. That's what the right would say. We have a much higher standard to live by now.
How about the words then of Jesus?
Matt 25: 35-45
Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me."
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’
He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’
Well maybe Jesus was too liberal and too perfect for our tribe of haves..
There was one of Jesus' disciples who pointed out that we are to be obedient, and that our forefathers too were exiles and fled lands for many reasons: some righteous,some selfish. We as Americans must not forget where it is where we came from.
"1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
These are refugees-alien invaders are not a commodity to place a monetary value on such as the SS did on Jews during the holocaust ultimately weighed against the cost of termination in bullets and gas. This a complicated issue and God is testing us.
Romans 13 challenges us and commands us to " be subject to governing authorities." God bless these people turning themselves over to the authorities as soon as they cross. God bless the border agents submitting to the authority of our own laws to follow due process in these matters. God bless the President and Congress to try create a way to deal with the challenge of immigration.
I ask myself and others... what is the problem? The problem is fear. Fear of change. Fear of the unknown. What will our neighborhoods look like in 20 years? What will our schools and sports teams look like in 10 years? What will our kids after coming home from school sound like in 5 years? How will this affect my own financial security and job situation in 5 years? Yes I believe all of this will change, and part of me cries, "What about me, Lord?"
But I think a bigger question, a more important question looms. Will the history books a hundred years from now say that Christian America acted out of fear?
2 Timothy 1:7 ESV
"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."
Or will God delight in our work and our hearts?
Last night my wife woke me up in Williston. "Lets go see the fire!" she exclaimed. I don't know all the details about the place that was burning, but I could smell smoke in my yard, and the fire was over a mile away. We drove toward the smoky glow, gradually weaving around incoming fire trucks and other on-lookers. The sky was bright with no clouds and star lit. I could see many of the constellations. I thought of these issues on our borders. I thought of my friend Jose Jimenez and his adventures. And I wondered about space travelers and aliens, constellations and distant galaxies.
I had this thought. Since the beginning of mankind men have been engaged in tribal warfare sometimes most gruesome and deadly in many forms. We want to identify with something anything; so we make our little camps. And shame on us Christians including me for doing the same. If God is infinite and we are finite, why are we, since the beginning of man, still engaged in this primitive behavior? What would Jesus if he were to come back today say about the mess of things that we have created; when, through His Grace we are made better to do so much more? Have we not learned or taught or handed down anything?
We are all God's children. We must start acting like brothers and sisters. And tap that flowing grand power of Love that is with all the Authority beyond borders and fences.
Showing posts with label Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christ. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
The Reunion
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV /
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.I got home after a few projects.
No parties, no big celebrations, just coming home after a season in the Bakken. I can't describe the feeling I had driving home. I wasn't coming home to a messy house at least in the cluttery sense or my family relationships. The kids had been calling and saying, "Dad! We are coming over."
So I get to spend quality time with the kids. YAY!!! I get to see my Bill W. and Dr. Bob friends, and they are ok. I get to reconnect with my friends at First Lutheran. Then, I have been making plans with my hunting buddies brad, Ryan and Ralph and a few others, like my brother... He wants me not to stir the pot with them, especially Bradley who has it coming for getting his name in the paper for doing stupid stuff this summer.
It's nice getting reacquainted with my home at Penguin Ranch. I don't like reorganizing my closets, its not easy for me to do. Its an ADD thing. I can be putting pants on my shelf and with three pair on the bed, I suddenly realize that I am outside by the well house wiring in the electricity to the well house heater, so I go back in the house and do dishes. later that day I go upstairs to clean the bathroom, and when I see my pants on the bed, I say to myself, "Oh yeah, I need to ...go wash my socks." Somehow, sometime before bed time, I see that my pants willed themselves to the closet when I was making meals for the kids and doing kitchen duties... I'm telling you!
New projects: not at the moment. But the teen rocket scientists of my residence are building an ice fishing shack out of my camper... doing a great job too by the way. My initial doubts have been shattered.
Now here is the kicker. Going back to the Bakken on Thursday. The puzzled reader would ask, "Why with all this good stuff would he take off and go right away?" The answer is quite simple. I leave early Thursday morning on the Empire Builder from Grand Forks to Williston. There I will reunite with my Williston group of friends and spend a delightful evening with the beautiful Brenda. Friday afternoon we depart from Williston in her cute little Pontiac to spend an awesome weekend bonding through Christ planning on and deer camp at Penguin Lodge.... planning an awesome life together. I love her.
In one year everything has changed, it hasn't been always easy or fun, or full of laughter, but through the salvation of Jesus Christ it has been worthwhile, and that has what has made the difference
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Open Doors
"For I know the plans I have for your," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Got laid off after a 5 short weeks of work. Its a long story. Layoffs seem to put a damper on my plans of prosperity and security, and I must guard my door to let negative thoughts come in. Sometimes it feels like so many doors are being shut. Experience shows me that it is quite the contrary.
I have been thinking about doors lately; both in a symbolic reference to my life, and also in a literal sense having installed a couple in my home. There are many doors in my house, but only three of them enter into my home.
The first one is screwed shut. It leads into my basement. I absolutely hated it as a kid. It was the one that we carried wood into the house. Its function was simply for work. And when we opened it. It meant sweat. It meant not fun. It also meant future warmth in the home and a clean aroma of fresh air in the house in the winter months along with aroma of sap and popple bark.
The next one leads into my kitchen area from the outside. I had a pretty nice one there. But the door jamb was broken. The latch would lock by itself, and I never had a key. So people living in my home on occasion would either hope the basement wasn't screwed shut, or a window latch left undone so they could crawl in or stumble down some rickety old stairs into a dark place; and eventually, through some exerted effort find a way to get in. I got a new door and frame hung it and finished it off with a modern lock and a handle made of deer antler.
The last door goes out onto the new deck. When dad moved in this old rickety house in 1980, it came complete with an overhanging porch on the west end of the house. It had an old door. But the only thing missing was the rest of the porch: no floor, no railings.. If a person would open the door and walk out, he would fall about three feet down into a sterile clump of dirt that because of the great overhang never got wet. So nothing ever grew. But the cats seemed to scratch in it and leave plenty of cat scent. An occasional dog over the years would dig a hole. A few weeds would grow on the edge where water dripped off the roof. When I moved in, I took out the door and covered it with plywood and finished off the inside saying to myself, "Maybe one day if only..." It seemed like a hopeless pipe dream. Then one day happened.
It started when the weather broke. I was laid off and had a little time, so I built a deck under the great over hang. I wanted the house looking better for the new love in my life. But I finally had the means and that porch had been bugging me since I was a kid. I wanted this place looking better. I wanted my kids and all who know me that Bunky is back. I wanted my house to reflect the person I really am. Its a great pleasure to see the look of approval on Brenda's face when she comes to visit from out west and see things improving. After all, this place will soon be hers also.
Finally after the deck was done, I get laid off again get a little time off and I woke up one day with the determination to get a door in so people can walk right out onto the deck, the deck with an old overhang that had been sitting empty with nothing underneath it for 33 years.
Here is the thing, for the last 5 years a small project like this would have been unfathomable. Overcome with fear, guilt, economic insecurity, resentments, and paralyzed by the depression of alcoholism, the old house with the messed up doors would have remained screwed shut. The beauty and freedom of a simple home would have remained hidden and just remained barely functional as a sleeping- eating place possibly for another 33 years. I didn't build it. I didn't hang the doors. God did.
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 NIV. It was only the pain of dealing with a great change of life that brought me to my knees. It was that pain that lead me to recommit my life to Christ, to examine my life as it was and is, to live in a solution that gives me the power to solve all my problems. My heart was hard and cold. So hard and brittle that it was shattered. And with a hole in my heart, God's love shined through. John 3:16 For God so loved the world he gave his only one and only Son. Now Jesus is the doorway.
When it seems like doors are being shut in one's life, God opens so many more.
"In the New Testament, Jesus tells us to knock at the door, but also warns that the door will someday close and shut out the unprepared. James warns us that the Judge is at the door. We do not have forever to decide. And finally, in Revelations, it is He who knocks at our doors, and waits for us to let Him in. And the final reference in Revelations is of a "door standing open to heaven" -- Hope is fulfilled." (Willa: Quotidian Reader).
People are much like a house. We also have our own personal doors to let in and out both good and bad. We can put up storm doors, or leave them unlocked. We can leave them wide open or put on good locks. We can put decorations on them, or we can smear lamb's blood on our door post. We choose which doors we want to open. Door A: same old blah blah blah!- restless, irritable, and discontent. Door B: God's world of love and endless possibilities.
A big door is opening in my life once again preparing a home and planning a life with Brenda. She enhances my walk toward Christ and encourages my walk toward the narrow gate. She consistently reminds me of the bigger picture of life, the unseen one that God has planned for each and everyone of us when we choose to walk that narrow path. That path isn't always fun, never is easy, but is always worthwhile. Thank God for doors... may they continue to open and close. As for me and my house and all who enter in it, we will serve the Lord.
Got laid off after a 5 short weeks of work. Its a long story. Layoffs seem to put a damper on my plans of prosperity and security, and I must guard my door to let negative thoughts come in. Sometimes it feels like so many doors are being shut. Experience shows me that it is quite the contrary.
I have been thinking about doors lately; both in a symbolic reference to my life, and also in a literal sense having installed a couple in my home. There are many doors in my house, but only three of them enter into my home.
The first one is screwed shut. It leads into my basement. I absolutely hated it as a kid. It was the one that we carried wood into the house. Its function was simply for work. And when we opened it. It meant sweat. It meant not fun. It also meant future warmth in the home and a clean aroma of fresh air in the house in the winter months along with aroma of sap and popple bark.
The next one leads into my kitchen area from the outside. I had a pretty nice one there. But the door jamb was broken. The latch would lock by itself, and I never had a key. So people living in my home on occasion would either hope the basement wasn't screwed shut, or a window latch left undone so they could crawl in or stumble down some rickety old stairs into a dark place; and eventually, through some exerted effort find a way to get in. I got a new door and frame hung it and finished it off with a modern lock and a handle made of deer antler.
The last door goes out onto the new deck. When dad moved in this old rickety house in 1980, it came complete with an overhanging porch on the west end of the house. It had an old door. But the only thing missing was the rest of the porch: no floor, no railings.. If a person would open the door and walk out, he would fall about three feet down into a sterile clump of dirt that because of the great overhang never got wet. So nothing ever grew. But the cats seemed to scratch in it and leave plenty of cat scent. An occasional dog over the years would dig a hole. A few weeds would grow on the edge where water dripped off the roof. When I moved in, I took out the door and covered it with plywood and finished off the inside saying to myself, "Maybe one day if only..." It seemed like a hopeless pipe dream. Then one day happened.
It started when the weather broke. I was laid off and had a little time, so I built a deck under the great over hang. I wanted the house looking better for the new love in my life. But I finally had the means and that porch had been bugging me since I was a kid. I wanted this place looking better. I wanted my kids and all who know me that Bunky is back. I wanted my house to reflect the person I really am. Its a great pleasure to see the look of approval on Brenda's face when she comes to visit from out west and see things improving. After all, this place will soon be hers also.
Finally after the deck was done, I get laid off again get a little time off and I woke up one day with the determination to get a door in so people can walk right out onto the deck, the deck with an old overhang that had been sitting empty with nothing underneath it for 33 years.
Here is the thing, for the last 5 years a small project like this would have been unfathomable. Overcome with fear, guilt, economic insecurity, resentments, and paralyzed by the depression of alcoholism, the old house with the messed up doors would have remained screwed shut. The beauty and freedom of a simple home would have remained hidden and just remained barely functional as a sleeping- eating place possibly for another 33 years. I didn't build it. I didn't hang the doors. God did.
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 NIV. It was only the pain of dealing with a great change of life that brought me to my knees. It was that pain that lead me to recommit my life to Christ, to examine my life as it was and is, to live in a solution that gives me the power to solve all my problems. My heart was hard and cold. So hard and brittle that it was shattered. And with a hole in my heart, God's love shined through. John 3:16 For God so loved the world he gave his only one and only Son. Now Jesus is the doorway.
When it seems like doors are being shut in one's life, God opens so many more.
"In the New Testament, Jesus tells us to knock at the door, but also warns that the door will someday close and shut out the unprepared. James warns us that the Judge is at the door. We do not have forever to decide. And finally, in Revelations, it is He who knocks at our doors, and waits for us to let Him in. And the final reference in Revelations is of a "door standing open to heaven" -- Hope is fulfilled." (Willa: Quotidian Reader).
People are much like a house. We also have our own personal doors to let in and out both good and bad. We can put up storm doors, or leave them unlocked. We can leave them wide open or put on good locks. We can put decorations on them, or we can smear lamb's blood on our door post. We choose which doors we want to open. Door A: same old blah blah blah!- restless, irritable, and discontent. Door B: God's world of love and endless possibilities.
A big door is opening in my life once again preparing a home and planning a life with Brenda. She enhances my walk toward Christ and encourages my walk toward the narrow gate. She consistently reminds me of the bigger picture of life, the unseen one that God has planned for each and everyone of us when we choose to walk that narrow path. That path isn't always fun, never is easy, but is always worthwhile. Thank God for doors... may they continue to open and close. As for me and my house and all who enter in it, we will serve the Lord.
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