What is the GOOD news?

I rant and rave often in this blog about what is wrong. 
I believe that we need to expose the works of darkness, and
defend those who are hurt by them...
I believe that loving others means advocating them, standing
with them, lending them our power, our presence, our voices...
I believe that loving "the least of these" children of God is
our call as humans, and especially as people who claim to be
followers of Jesus... and loving them with the Agape Love
commanded by Jesus means ACTIVE commitment on their
behalf and not some warm, sympathetic feelings...
I prefer EMPATHY that does not distance, but rather draws
from within me an understanding and desire to closely
walk with those who God loves and positively affect their
well-being...
The GOOD NEWS of Jesus compels me to live that Agape
Love...
So, the Good News in all this is that when we expose the
works of darkness that hurt others, we ARE shedding LIGHT
on them... and when we clearly see what they are, we are
compelled by Agape Love to first, defend those who are being
victimized by them, and then eliminate them...
The Good News for you is that someone did that for YOU!
The Good News for others is that the someone who did that
for you, compels you to do that for OTHERS...
Instead of requesting supernatural interventions, why not pray
for the kind of strength, commitment, compassion and
endurance it takes to LIVE the Agape Love commanded in the
Good News of Jesus, and CHANGE THE WORLD AROUND
YOU?
That would be living the Good News, indeed!
Pastor Jamie

Part of Loving

It is a natural part of loving to defend those who you love.
It is a natural thing to stand with those who need support,
    to lend one's voice to those who have none,
    to use one's power for the powerless,
    and expose the works of those who would hurt them,
        shield them from lack or harm
        and work to assure their well-being.
If that means speaking truth to power,
    standing up against the prevailing, punishing powers
    standing WITH those who one loves, who God loves,
         voicing truth and justice to the lies and injustice of others...
    then that is what one who loves does.
Prophets love.
Activists love.
Followers of Jesus love.
So we ACT on that love on behalf of others.
   We speak, we write, we demonstrate, we demand, we work
         toward the day when all are treated with justice and
         equity, equality, peace and have well-being...
So when those who would want to profit off the exploitation
    of others complain about "class warfare", we continue to
    work against them.
And when those who hate ANYONE and discriminate against
    ANYONE for ANY reason complain that their religions
    or civic rights are violated when they are kept from doing
    so, we continue to work against them.
When equal education, affordable housing, transportation, food,
    jobs, livable wages, insurance, safety, clean air, water and
    land are withheld from any of God's people for the increased
    profit of a few, we continue to work against them...
because it is NOT what we are against that matters,
    but what we are FOR...
    that we LOVE them... THAT is what matters to us,
    because our protest, our insistence and our action is out of
    LOVE... and love never ends!
Pastor Jamie

Mammon - America's Idol

   Greed is America's Idol. It has led us to hold many among us down, out and back through exploitation, quick profits for the few at the expense of the many, systems designed to favor the wealthy and keep the poor right where they are, keep people from having affordable housing, safe transportation, good schools, healthcare, nutritional food, drinkable water, breathable air, livable incomes, adequate benefits, etc., etc., etc. It has led us into wars, exposed us to the world a...s bullies, opportunists and arrogant, intolerant despots. So when people would tell you that God is not pleased over people being gay, having children outside of wedlock, considering abortion as an option or using birth control, let them know why God is TRULY not happy with our nation, and how we all play a part in a reverence to greed that leads to injustice, inequity, inequality, hatred, intolerance and the unrest that comes with it all.
   Agape Love is Jesus' COMMAND. It does not allow us to give the love that belongs to God and Neighbor to Mammon, but COMMANDS us to active commitment on behalf of the "other", especially "the least of these...". Jesus said that we cannot serve both God and wealth... it is time we stop trying to do so as believers, and start being FOLLOWERS OF JESUS' WAY...
   We CANNOT love God and hate our Neighbor, at least not and be faithful to either.  If we say we love God, then we must love what God loves, and the Law and Prophets, Gospels, Acts and Epistles all share that God loves economic justice, helping the poor and disenfranchised and living thankfully with enough.  Our identity as a nation is wrapped up in "The American way", and centered around an unsustainable "standard of living" that we have set up which means MORE, always MORE.  Those who can make that happen for themselves do just that, at the expense of those who cannot.  Our system of laissez-faire Capitalism is set up to benefit those who already have wealth and power at the expense of those who have little of either.   It is an unjust, unfaithful, unloving and un-Christ-like system. 
   If believers in Jesus will be FOLLOWERS of Jesus and His Way, then there will be a different way with a different system based on His commanded Agape Love.  It will reflect the active commitment on behalf of the other that Agape Love demands.  It will lift people up to having enough, and let those who have more than enough know the self-sacrifice of unconditional love in sharing what they have for their neighbors, even strangers and enemies, as Jesus defines neighbor.  It will shift the settling for fleeting happiness over having more than one needs, into a deep, abiding joy and sense of satisfaction in knowing that others have what they need.  The joy will be in relationships with God and Neighbor, rather than in self with un-living wealth.  It will bring completeness, wholeness and well-being to ALL, including those who re-define the objects of their love. 
   THEN there will be peace BECAUSE there is JUSTICE, EQUALITY, EQUITIBABLE TREATMENT FOR ALL in this newfound WELL-BEING.  THEN God will be pleased with us as individuals, corporations, churches, government and nation.  THEN it will be GOOD NEWS, but Good News for ALL PEOPLE...
Pastor Jamie

It doesn't take a genius to see what's going on.

It doesn't take a genius to see what is going on...
    and, no, it is NOT a conspiracy theory thing...
It is CLEAR from words and actions (by their fruits you will know them),
    that there are those who would BUY government because they do not value democracy...
    what they value is HAVING IT ALL... what they are working toward is HAVING IT ALL...
    their only value is that... (where your treasure is, there will your heart be also)...
    having all the wealth (of which the 1% already control 87%)
    having all the power (which they are currently buying - LEGALLY - in government)
    having all the prestige and position (which their propaganda wing is working on)...

It is all toward the establishment of a new GILDED AGE,
    in which, as in the 20's before the crash, the 1% controlled it all...
    worked people to death or near death and fired them at will for unforgivable behavior
         like being sick or needing time off to care for their children...
    worked children in the farms and factories, because they had no future in the schools...
    shamelessly exploited, ignored the needs of and murdered minority citizens...
    used the army to violently quell any expressions of citizen rights...
   
We are heading in that direction again, folks... because we have been duped in believing their
    rhetoric and/or lulled into believing things are not extreme in their minds...

So, we already have RIGHT TO WORK (for nothing states) that also have FIRE AT WILL policies,
   actively killing organized labor that balances the power of owners and corporate management...
      we are moving toward FOR PROFIT SCHOOLS, so those who cannot afford school will
          be left out and available to go into the fields and factories again...
      we already have FOR PROFIT PRISONS that will gladly take in more prisoners who serve
          LONG sentences for small crimes, and who will be shipped out to farms and factories
          for cheap labor - the proceeds to go to the prisons... the new SLAVERY...
      we already have few taxes on the wealthy and the bulk of taxes being paid by everyone else...
      we already have efforts to take away affordable healthcare from those who finally got it...
      we already see efforts to eliminate social security and Medicare/Medicaid from our elderly and
           most vulnerable...
      we already have the new red-lining in the cities, to eliminate poor populations for the
          sake of those who want to take over...
      we already have less affordable, public transportation available...
      we already have food and fuel, insurance prices higher in areas of poverty than in areas of
          affluence...
      we already have public assistance being ripped from those most struggling, while those who are
          rich get tax breaks and incentives - WELFARE
      we already have the new NAFTA (TPP) that will ship more American jobs overseas and
          incentivize corporations once again to move where cheap labor, cheap resources and
          fewer regulations mean more unchecked profit for them at the expense of others..
      we already have our environment being destroyed for the profit of a few...
      we have already seen the CRASH, and have been in recovery, only to hear that some who would
          be elected want to go back to doing what brought the CRASH all over again...

The gerrymandering, voter suppression laws, lack of campaign finance regulations and secretive PAC money collections are all aimed at one thing - a return to the GOOD OLD DAYS for the 1%, which marks the BAD OLD DAYS for everyone else...

You watch the signs of the weather... you have seen this before, too... for some reason, WE THE PEOPLE have stupidly let it go on and on... fighting it at the last second, when it threatens our very existence, and then slumbering while this movement builds again...

It is unconscionable, IMMORAL, reprehensible ... and anti-Christ, whose teachings and commands DEMAND concern and committed action on behalf of the most vulnerable...

It doesn't take a genius to see what is happening, or to act to stop it.  VOTE, speak, write, demonstrate, protest, call an elected official... VOTE as people who follow JESUS - His teachings and commands... looking not only to your own interests, but to the interests of others... VOTE!  While you still can!  Before they take that away from you!  VOTE!

Pastor Jamie
   

New Life

So, I know that Jesus took my sin's death to its death, became sin and took it to its death on the Cross, and gives me HIS resurrection. I know what a gift that is to my soul - what deliverance that means. I know that it is about personal salvation. I also know that dying to sin and rising to new life, DAILY, because I am baptized into His death and resurrection, means that I can and should live differently, as one who has been given new life. I am committed, by Jesus' command to live Agape Love, to see that others have deliverance in THIS PART of God's Kingdom, so that they can live a new life, too. If I am to follow Jesus, then I must follow Jesus' way of not judging, of forgiving, of showing compassion to the most vulnerable and in need, of reaching out to stranger and even enemy in Agape. If I do anything other, I am not following Jesus. I can no more want harm or want come to a neighbor (defined by Jesus as stranger and enemy), than I want that for myself, if I love my neighbor as myself. If I love God, I can no more focus only on my own desires, but also on the needs of others who God loves, and work to make sure they are cared for. I am SAVED from selfish, self-centered, greedy, ruthless, power-hungry, controlling, intolerant, judgmental, unforgiving, bigoted, irrational, unloving, apathetic and complacent living. I am CALLED to a life of self-sacrifice, thankfulness, compassion, love, peace, joy, kindness, acceptance(even celebration), actively committed solidarity with my neighbor (stranger, enemy). I do that because Jesus taught, commanded and modeled that life for me in THIS PART of God's Kingdom. I do it because I am redeemed and saved from sin and its death. I do it as a RESPONSE of gratitude and thankfulness to Jesus. THIS is my prayer, my praise and my offering to God... to LIVE as a living sacrifice for the one who sacrificed for me. So, others may keep any empty worship, praise and tithing that are devoid of active Agape Love. They may keep any focus on personal salvation that comes down only to belief toward pie in the sky when we die. I will LIVE my Faith by Grace in Agape Love here and now. Pastor Jamie

more or less

There are those who say they want LESS Government, so that MORE power is concentrated in the hands of fewer people, LESS gets done to protect citizens' rights, and LESS gets done for the most vulnerable. There are those who say they want LESS Government regulation over business practices, so that MORE money is made for the few, and Greed becomes MORE the norm, so that the many can be more easily fleeced by them, and the economcy for the many is shot, while the few make more. Many of these same folks say they want MORE legislation over people's love lives and bodies, while adding MORE legislation to allow LESS restraint on those who would like to make discrimination a part of their religious freedoms. They also want MORE War, LESS responsibility for the lives of those who fight them for us, MORE profit out of war and LESS restraint in the inhumanities committed in War. They want MORE freedom to profile, harrass and openly kill young, black men. They want LESS participation by all citizens in the voting process. They want MORE profit and privitization of schools and prisons, so there is LESS education for the poorest among us, but MORE room for them in prison and the free labor they provide to farms and factories. They want LESS freedom for people to love who they love, and MORE freedom to openly hate them. They want MORE freedom to buy weapons with not limits, amd LESS affordable healthcare for our citizens. I believe that these attitudes, behaviors, philosophies and ideologies are MORE hurtful and therefore LESS Christ-like than those of the folks who oppose them, so I am one of them. Pastor Jamie PS - it was suggested by a good friend and doctor, that you look up "We are the many" by Makana on YouTube..., that it speaks to this very well... I agree!

I've got an idea...

How about...

Those in business who profess to be followers of Jesus
     pay their laborers their wages... all of them... in a timely way
     feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, give benefits for their employees who
           might get sick...hire those who were in prison...
     do not pay women 77% of what men in comparable positions/experience get
     do not find ways to keep from paying a living wage for your own bonuses and greater profit
and make ENOUGH... be satisfied with ENOUGH so that ALL can have enough...

Those in politics who profess to be a followers of Jesus
    feed the hungry and not take away their food stamps
    clothe the naked and not take away their assistance
    welcome the stranger and do not deport them
    keep ACA so the sick can get cared for, yes, even the poor ones
    create one justice system for ALL... the same for ALL...
    make sure that the penalties AFTER someone gets out of prison do not
          further marginalize them and limit their legal options
    do not kill the creation for the sake of more profit for their friends...
    do not take away from the poor and most vulnerable so the powerful rich have more
    do not jeopardize our nation's security by undermining our President
    do not do whatever it takes to rush off to war for more oil, profit
    do not create bogus scandals to misdirect folk from seeing the truth of their works of darkness
    do not make up lies to scare voters so that they will vote for them
    do not intentionally work to make voting impossible for the young and minorities AGAIN
    do not crush labor so that management can exploit people at will
    do not claim to be job creators and then lay off millions for the profit of a few
    do not claim to be "right to life" and Pro-death penalty
    do not claim control over women's bodies on some bogus claims of righteousness   
    do not claim that you love democracy when it is only laissez-faire capitalism that you love
    do not claim patriotism when you willingly sacrifice lives on trumped up wars to make profit...
    do not obstruct every progressive, caring, logical, reasonable, responsible bill or appointment
        because a. you HATE our black President, and 2. you HATE progress for others
    do not dupe the elderly into voting for you and then take away their financial support
    do not sell your votes to the highest lobbyist bidders...
    stop being duplicitous about EVERYIHING
    and
GOVERN all the people equally... represent ALL the people equally...

... and those regular citizens who profess to follow Jesus...

PATRONIZE ONLY BUSINESSES WHO TREAT THEIR EMPLOYEES WELL,
    PAY A LIVING WAGE... PROVIDE BENEFITS...
    DO NOT EXPLOIT WORKERS/RESOURCES OVERSEAS,
    PAY A FAIR PRICE FOR GOODS HERE AND ABROAD,
    KEEP PEOPLE EMPLOYED, EVEN WHEN TIMES ARE HARD...

VOTE FOR POLITICIANS WHO WILL TRULY FOLLOW JESUS
    IN THE DECISIONS THEY MAKE, ACTIONS THEY TAKE AND
    LAWS THEY WRITE...

Pastor Jamie