I am ASTOUNDED at the glaring inconsistency of anyone claiming to follow Jesus and advocating the arming of people in our society with semi-automatic assault weapons. This is NOT of Christ.
Now, surely someone will say, "Yah, but what about when Jesus said to buy a sword (Luke 22:36)"?
Even the most staunch literalist must admit that Jesus did NOT advocate that they buy a BALLISTA or even a CROSSBOW that can kill many or some at a great distance. A sword was a weapon of defense against a very close threat. And Jesus also said, "All who take the sword will die by the sword (Matthew 26:52)."
Semi-automatic assault weapons were not created to hunt animals. They were not created to target shoot. They were not created to look good. They were CREATED to kill a person a second. As quickly as you can pull the trigger, you can kill someone with one of these, AT A DISTANCE! They were modified from their original purpose of killing MANY PEOPLE within seconds, to "only" killing a person a second. They were CREATED for military use. While I still believe that God's plan is to "turn swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks", I understand the need for professional soldiers to have the standard issue of the day on the battlefield. These weapons of mass destruction do NOT belong in the hands of untrained citizens - ANY of them.
With the horrible murder of 20 children by someone barely over the age of a child, along with his mother and 6 teaching professionals, the nation is finally taking a serious look at assault weapons and why anyone should be able to have them. It was a tipping point, especially after so many other mass shootings in recent history. It is about time.
Now, the insecure and fearful, the aggressive and those who love abuses of power in violence are becoming more vocal about the "right" to own these weapons that have ONE PURPOSE. When they are not trying to convince people that the ownership of guns is mainstream and harmless, they are screaming about their "rights" and "need" to have these weapons for protection and the protection of their liberty (even if that means picking up such arms against their own government, given the right circumstances). They are not rational. They are not compassionate. They are certainly not moral or ethical. They CANNOT be followers of Jesus while doing this. I question their emotional and mental stability in their IRRATIONAL DESIRE to have such implements of death close to them, and in their INSISTENCE that the nation preserve those rights over the safety and well-being of the rest of society. I believe they are unstable and precisely the ones who should never be allowed to own such implements of death.
If you want to own a rifle for shotgun for hunting. Please seek screening and proper licensure and get one after proper training. If you want a revolver for target shooting and, yes, protection of your household, please do the same. We do not allow the legal purchase of hand grenades or rocket launchers, however, and implements of death designed to kill a person a second at great distances, with large ammunition capacities should not be a value in our society, and certainly not a commodity.
We had a period in our history during which practically everyone on the street had a handgun and/or rifle, and carried them. We replaced that with LAW and Law Enforcement, because it dawned on us that it was not safe and we actually GREW to a greater height of development as a society. Now, those less developed among us, less civilized and less considerate of others would have us return to that age. It is clearly an ethical, moral, intellectual, spiritual and societal regression.
The gun nuts will blame child-rearing, homosexuals, gambling, those who advocate a separation of church and state, having a black President, "those people" who might come and kill me, liberals, other things they consider to be "immoral" and anything else (except global warming) for the trend of largely young, white, suburban or small town males picking up weapons of mass destruction and using them in the way they were intended to be used among our citizenry, but the truth is...
We are a morally corrupt society because we value violence as a means to our desired ends, teach the lust for power that "superiority" in strength or fire power can get one, a belief that my individual rights trump the good and/or safety and well-being of anyone else or all others if need be, and a belief that if I am afraid, I am justified in hurting anyone out of that fear. We raise our children to be fascinated with weapons and we teach them well to look out for number one above all. These are NOT Kingdom Values, according to Jesus.
To WANT to own one of these weapons of mass destruction puts us at odds with our Creator, our society and our neighbor. It is simply IMMORAL.
The rest of us who want a more just, civil and gentle society had better stand and be counted NOW, while the conversation is going on, because with each one of these tragedies, we behold our future if we succumb to the irrational and violent hearted among us, and allow this insanity to escalate. We need to say "NO!" to the fear-mongers and self-preservationists and NOT allow the further creation of an IMMORAL society of violence, built on fear and hatred.
Read, learn, pray, speak, write and act for a less violent society.
Pastor Jamie
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
the "white establishment" and Obama's re-election
Bill O'Reilly's comment about the "white establishment" was at least borderline honest and accurate. He is lamenting the shrinking demographic power of those like him - the majority of power - white, straight males in America, especially those who are upper-middle class to wealthy...
What I saw was the hope of ALL people - a new majority of ALL, and not just those who have had power and wealth. The "us" verses "them" race/class divide has been going on way too long for us to know who started the class divide, though I have my guess. It was certainly around in Jesus' time, as He addressed it time and time again. But sometimes the true majority steps up and speaks loudly.
Straight, White, Wealthy males have a very developed sense of entitlement. They feel entitled to rule over others "beneath" them. They believe they should be entitled to exploit those "beneath" them, both here and abroad. They believe they are entitled to corporate welfare while demanding an end to public assistance to families and while receiving tax exemptions and breaks. They believe they are superior to others, so theirs is "not" bigotry, but true superiority. They believe they should be able to dominate the culture and the returns on monetary efforts of all "under" them. They believe they are entitled to gain all the wealth they want, with no limits, off the backs of those "below" them. They believe the uneven playing field is correct, good and natural, so that affirmative action threatens their entitlement to ALL the choicest jobs, first and best pick to everything they want over others who are not them or like them.
They believe they are entitled to THE BEST of everything like education, employment, housing, cars, boats, food and clothing, recreation and entertainment, healthcare and profit margins. They believe they should have THE MOST influence over government, freedom from regulation, freedom from prosecution, the most profit and the most power and wealth.
Among the abundances to which they feel entitled are greed, bigotry, xenophobia, lust for power, sophiaphobia (fear of anyone valuing or attaining knowledge), ethnocentrism, racism, classism, homophobia, sexism, ruthlessness, mean-spiritedness, self-centeredness, hatefulness and intolerance.
So, Rove, Kochs, Trump, Murdock and others are now very upset because others might "get some".
Right-wing governors, secretaries of state, national politicians and local ones who lied, cheated, and tried to steal their election, who believed their entitlement to be royalty who can operate outside the truth, any sense of decency or integrity, as long as they can get what they want and keep all the power and wealth, are very angry because "those people" actually rose up and exercised their civil rights and actually participated in democracy. They lost one more step toward their unchallenged oligarchic plutocracy, and they are throwing a tantrum.
What is curious to me is that there are some who have been exploited by them - white, but not male or wealthy or just like those of the majority of power, who DEFEND them and espouse their ideology of how these things should continue, though THEY are being exploited and held down by those "in the club", who will NEVER let them be "in the club", because it would mean less power or wealth, or a lowered sense of superiority for themselves. This fierce loyalty and psychological alignment is maintained because they are duped into believing they either "are in the club" or could be someday, and that "those people" are holding them back from being there, when in truth it is those "above them" who are keeping them down and pitting them against others to keep them there and themselves in power and wealth. They believe that AT LEAST by virtue of their whiteness, straightness or the fact that they were born in this nation, they should have SOME entitlement - scraps from their masters' tables. They resent anyone who might equal their rights, provisions or positions in society. Their frustration, instead of being placed on those "above" them who hold them down, is misplaced on those "beside" or "below" them, as if by scapegoating them, they retain some position over them, or at least the favor of those who are "above" them, as if out of their loyalty they will be lifted up by them instead of held down. Rational people see this. They do not.
Now, both those who are among the entitled and those who aspire to be are throwing a temper tantrum because they did not get their puppet president who would do whatever those who truly are in power and wealth want him to do, those who look just like him.
This time, WE THE PEOPLE spoke. This time we got a taste of LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. This time it was an effort OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE.
It makes me hopeful for our nation. It makes them angry, which speaks volumes.
"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." "By their fruits you will know them." Jesus
Pastor Jamie
What I saw was the hope of ALL people - a new majority of ALL, and not just those who have had power and wealth. The "us" verses "them" race/class divide has been going on way too long for us to know who started the class divide, though I have my guess. It was certainly around in Jesus' time, as He addressed it time and time again. But sometimes the true majority steps up and speaks loudly.
Straight, White, Wealthy males have a very developed sense of entitlement. They feel entitled to rule over others "beneath" them. They believe they should be entitled to exploit those "beneath" them, both here and abroad. They believe they are entitled to corporate welfare while demanding an end to public assistance to families and while receiving tax exemptions and breaks. They believe they are superior to others, so theirs is "not" bigotry, but true superiority. They believe they should be able to dominate the culture and the returns on monetary efforts of all "under" them. They believe they are entitled to gain all the wealth they want, with no limits, off the backs of those "below" them. They believe the uneven playing field is correct, good and natural, so that affirmative action threatens their entitlement to ALL the choicest jobs, first and best pick to everything they want over others who are not them or like them.
They believe they are entitled to THE BEST of everything like education, employment, housing, cars, boats, food and clothing, recreation and entertainment, healthcare and profit margins. They believe they should have THE MOST influence over government, freedom from regulation, freedom from prosecution, the most profit and the most power and wealth.
Among the abundances to which they feel entitled are greed, bigotry, xenophobia, lust for power, sophiaphobia (fear of anyone valuing or attaining knowledge), ethnocentrism, racism, classism, homophobia, sexism, ruthlessness, mean-spiritedness, self-centeredness, hatefulness and intolerance.
So, Rove, Kochs, Trump, Murdock and others are now very upset because others might "get some".
Right-wing governors, secretaries of state, national politicians and local ones who lied, cheated, and tried to steal their election, who believed their entitlement to be royalty who can operate outside the truth, any sense of decency or integrity, as long as they can get what they want and keep all the power and wealth, are very angry because "those people" actually rose up and exercised their civil rights and actually participated in democracy. They lost one more step toward their unchallenged oligarchic plutocracy, and they are throwing a tantrum.
What is curious to me is that there are some who have been exploited by them - white, but not male or wealthy or just like those of the majority of power, who DEFEND them and espouse their ideology of how these things should continue, though THEY are being exploited and held down by those "in the club", who will NEVER let them be "in the club", because it would mean less power or wealth, or a lowered sense of superiority for themselves. This fierce loyalty and psychological alignment is maintained because they are duped into believing they either "are in the club" or could be someday, and that "those people" are holding them back from being there, when in truth it is those "above them" who are keeping them down and pitting them against others to keep them there and themselves in power and wealth. They believe that AT LEAST by virtue of their whiteness, straightness or the fact that they were born in this nation, they should have SOME entitlement - scraps from their masters' tables. They resent anyone who might equal their rights, provisions or positions in society. Their frustration, instead of being placed on those "above" them who hold them down, is misplaced on those "beside" or "below" them, as if by scapegoating them, they retain some position over them, or at least the favor of those who are "above" them, as if out of their loyalty they will be lifted up by them instead of held down. Rational people see this. They do not.
Now, both those who are among the entitled and those who aspire to be are throwing a temper tantrum because they did not get their puppet president who would do whatever those who truly are in power and wealth want him to do, those who look just like him.
This time, WE THE PEOPLE spoke. This time we got a taste of LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. This time it was an effort OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE.
It makes me hopeful for our nation. It makes them angry, which speaks volumes.
"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." "By their fruits you will know them." Jesus
Pastor Jamie
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
However this election turns out...
A little more or less than half of the voters in America voted for President Obama...
Some of them voted for him because he is our first black President.
Some of them voted for him because the other candidate did not represent them well.
Some of them voted for him because out of their ignorance or naivete, they believe he can single-
handedly change the wrong directions we have gone in for so long.
Some of them voted for him because they have seen his steady work to dig us out of the economic,
military/foreign affair and domestic/social mess left by the previous administration.
Some of them voted for him because they see his policies, ideologies and actions to be more fair for
the whole nation, because he does not only favor the wealthy and powerful.
Some of them voted for him because they are hopeful about our future as a nation, and they believe
that his integrity as a leader will help us continue to move toward a better place.
Some of us voted for him because we believe he is the lesser of evils and therefore the greater of goods,
though he has not gone far enough to work toward the well-being of the most vulnerable and all
people in the nation in equality and toward equity.
A little more or less than half of the voters in America voted for Governor Romney...
Some of them voted for him because he is not black.
Some of them voted for him because he represents their interests of opulent wealth and unchecked
power, or because they aspire to be the few in the club who have those things.
Some of them voted for him because they were again, out of their ignorance or naivete, duped into
believing he represented what is best for the whole country.
Some of them voted for him because they know his policies, ideologies and actions will benefit them
to have more opulent wealth and exploitative power over others in the nation who will be less
powerful and therefore more exploitable, or they simply aspire to live their values of ruthlessness,
mean-spiritedness, hatefulness, greed, hunger for power over others, intolerance and injustice, all
to get more quick, short term personal gains at the long-term expense of the rest of the nation and
indeed the world.
Some of them voted for him because they are hopeful about their future of the above-mentioned ill-
gotten gains and living the above mentioned values, regard-less of others in the nation.
Some of them voted for him because they believe he is good enough to get them what they want,
even through unscrupulous means in this election, though he is not even what they want in a
President, but at least he is not "the black guy" who would put reasonable regulations on the
acquisition of wealth for the sake of the rest of the nation, because it is all about them getting what
THEY want for THEMSELVES only, and not for the good of the whole nation or the world.
We are truly polarized and yes, clearly I reflect that polarization.
While I am not an "end time" prognosticator, I do believe the best vision of Jesus' return which is
simple, beautiful and hopeful in I Thessalonians 4:13-18.
I also believe that this is perhaps the beginning of THE GREAT SORTING OUT reflected in the
teachings of Jesus in the Gospels (Matthew 16:27, 28).
The Wheat and Chaff Matthew 3:11,12/Luke 3:15-17
The Net and Fishes Matthew 13:47-50
The Sheep and Goats Matthew 25:31-46
It will be the gathering of those who lived Kingdom Values as Jesus, Savior and Lord, fulfiller of the
Law and Prophets, gives them to us in His teachings and examples.
We have been instructed by the Law... Deuteronomy 15:7-11, among others...
We have been warned by The Prophets... Amos 5:11, 5:14-15, 5:21-24, among others...
We have been required to live Jesus' Agape Love Commandment... Matthew 7:1, 7:12, 22:34-40,
Luke 10:25-37
We have been warned by Jesus... Matthew 19:16-26, Luke 6:24-26, 12:13-21, 16:19-31, 18:18-30
and Matthew 7:21-23, Luke 6:46-49
We have been taught by Paul... II Corinthians 8:8-24, Philippians 2:1-11
We have been warned by the New Testament Prophet... James 1:22-25, 2:14-26, 4:1-10, 5:1-6
What is our hope? Repentance - changing our thinking, beliefs and directions like
Zacchaeus - Luke 19:1-10
I am praying for me, because I do reflect the polarization.
I am praying for those like me and those victimized because of the polarization.
I am praying also for those not like me and those who victimize others for their own gain.
I believe in God's Grace and I know my need for it. I believe in our ability to repent (change our
thinking, beliefs and directions) in order to follow what Jesus taught and exemplified as Lord,
because if we do not, we are not following Jesus as Savior.
Please Pray with me for ALL of us and the soul of our whole nation.
Pastor Jamie
Some of them voted for him because he is our first black President.
Some of them voted for him because the other candidate did not represent them well.
Some of them voted for him because out of their ignorance or naivete, they believe he can single-
handedly change the wrong directions we have gone in for so long.
Some of them voted for him because they have seen his steady work to dig us out of the economic,
military/foreign affair and domestic/social mess left by the previous administration.
Some of them voted for him because they see his policies, ideologies and actions to be more fair for
the whole nation, because he does not only favor the wealthy and powerful.
Some of them voted for him because they are hopeful about our future as a nation, and they believe
that his integrity as a leader will help us continue to move toward a better place.
Some of us voted for him because we believe he is the lesser of evils and therefore the greater of goods,
though he has not gone far enough to work toward the well-being of the most vulnerable and all
people in the nation in equality and toward equity.
A little more or less than half of the voters in America voted for Governor Romney...
Some of them voted for him because he is not black.
Some of them voted for him because he represents their interests of opulent wealth and unchecked
power, or because they aspire to be the few in the club who have those things.
Some of them voted for him because they were again, out of their ignorance or naivete, duped into
believing he represented what is best for the whole country.
Some of them voted for him because they know his policies, ideologies and actions will benefit them
to have more opulent wealth and exploitative power over others in the nation who will be less
powerful and therefore more exploitable, or they simply aspire to live their values of ruthlessness,
mean-spiritedness, hatefulness, greed, hunger for power over others, intolerance and injustice, all
to get more quick, short term personal gains at the long-term expense of the rest of the nation and
indeed the world.
Some of them voted for him because they are hopeful about their future of the above-mentioned ill-
gotten gains and living the above mentioned values, regard-less of others in the nation.
Some of them voted for him because they believe he is good enough to get them what they want,
even through unscrupulous means in this election, though he is not even what they want in a
President, but at least he is not "the black guy" who would put reasonable regulations on the
acquisition of wealth for the sake of the rest of the nation, because it is all about them getting what
THEY want for THEMSELVES only, and not for the good of the whole nation or the world.
We are truly polarized and yes, clearly I reflect that polarization.
While I am not an "end time" prognosticator, I do believe the best vision of Jesus' return which is
simple, beautiful and hopeful in I Thessalonians 4:13-18.
I also believe that this is perhaps the beginning of THE GREAT SORTING OUT reflected in the
teachings of Jesus in the Gospels (Matthew 16:27, 28).
The Wheat and Chaff Matthew 3:11,12/Luke 3:15-17
The Net and Fishes Matthew 13:47-50
The Sheep and Goats Matthew 25:31-46
It will be the gathering of those who lived Kingdom Values as Jesus, Savior and Lord, fulfiller of the
Law and Prophets, gives them to us in His teachings and examples.
We have been instructed by the Law... Deuteronomy 15:7-11, among others...
We have been warned by The Prophets... Amos 5:11, 5:14-15, 5:21-24, among others...
We have been required to live Jesus' Agape Love Commandment... Matthew 7:1, 7:12, 22:34-40,
Luke 10:25-37
We have been warned by Jesus... Matthew 19:16-26, Luke 6:24-26, 12:13-21, 16:19-31, 18:18-30
and Matthew 7:21-23, Luke 6:46-49
We have been taught by Paul... II Corinthians 8:8-24, Philippians 2:1-11
We have been warned by the New Testament Prophet... James 1:22-25, 2:14-26, 4:1-10, 5:1-6
What is our hope? Repentance - changing our thinking, beliefs and directions like
Zacchaeus - Luke 19:1-10
I am praying for me, because I do reflect the polarization.
I am praying for those like me and those victimized because of the polarization.
I am praying also for those not like me and those who victimize others for their own gain.
I believe in God's Grace and I know my need for it. I believe in our ability to repent (change our
thinking, beliefs and directions) in order to follow what Jesus taught and exemplified as Lord,
because if we do not, we are not following Jesus as Savior.
Please Pray with me for ALL of us and the soul of our whole nation.
Pastor Jamie
Monday, November 5, 2012
This Election
This election is about the DIRECTION of our country. It will tell A LOT about the character and heart of our nation. It will reveal our soul.
Are we going to continue on a path of more justice for all, equality and equitable treatment for ALL Americans? Are we going to continue to move toward the better treatment of our most vulnerable in healthcare, safeguards and compassion? Are we going to level the playing field in employment, education, healthcare, housing, safety and human rights? Are we going to respect all people and not just those who are most like us? Are we going to responsibly work with integrity among other nations? Are we going to embrace the principles of democracy over our love for laissez faire capitalism?
OR
Are we going to work our way back to "the gilded age", during which wealthy robber barons in our nation could do whatever they wanted at the expense of most in our society, in order to make more quick profit for themselves? Are we going to abandon the most vulnerable and eliminate safeguards so that we can give further tax breaks and "entitlements" to the most wealthy and powerful? Are we going to continue to entitle those who have over those who have not, and put systemic mechanisms in place that widen the gap between the two? Are we going to deepen the polarization in the nation, so that those in power can go unscathed toward more power and wealth, having successfully pitted the rest of us against each other? Are we going to go back to policies and strengthen them that disrespect, exploit, run roughshod and meddle in the affairs of other nations across the world? Are we going to weaken democracy and ultimately replace it completely with an oligarchic plutocracy?
Clearly, we have a choice tomorrow.
Clearly, the choice we make will reveal our heart and soul as a nation.
"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." - Jesus
"By their fruits you will know them." - Jesus
I pray that we will re-elect President Obama because I am a FOLLOWER OF THE WAY OF JESUS, and I cannot vote for someone who clearly does not follow Jesus - whether it is a political party, a candidate or an ideology.
JESUS demands that we work toward justice and peace, equity, equality and Agape Love for the most vulnerable. Anyone who votes for an ideology, party or candidate that goes against those things, votes AGAINST JESUS and His teachings and examples.
Vote your conscience - but if you claim to be a "Christian", vote your conscience informed by your faith and understanding of what Jesus taught and exemplified, as we have that in The Gospels...
... because YOUR VOTE reveals YOUR HEART AND SOUL...
Rev. Jamie Kaufman
Are we going to continue on a path of more justice for all, equality and equitable treatment for ALL Americans? Are we going to continue to move toward the better treatment of our most vulnerable in healthcare, safeguards and compassion? Are we going to level the playing field in employment, education, healthcare, housing, safety and human rights? Are we going to respect all people and not just those who are most like us? Are we going to responsibly work with integrity among other nations? Are we going to embrace the principles of democracy over our love for laissez faire capitalism?
OR
Are we going to work our way back to "the gilded age", during which wealthy robber barons in our nation could do whatever they wanted at the expense of most in our society, in order to make more quick profit for themselves? Are we going to abandon the most vulnerable and eliminate safeguards so that we can give further tax breaks and "entitlements" to the most wealthy and powerful? Are we going to continue to entitle those who have over those who have not, and put systemic mechanisms in place that widen the gap between the two? Are we going to deepen the polarization in the nation, so that those in power can go unscathed toward more power and wealth, having successfully pitted the rest of us against each other? Are we going to go back to policies and strengthen them that disrespect, exploit, run roughshod and meddle in the affairs of other nations across the world? Are we going to weaken democracy and ultimately replace it completely with an oligarchic plutocracy?
Clearly, we have a choice tomorrow.
Clearly, the choice we make will reveal our heart and soul as a nation.
"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." - Jesus
"By their fruits you will know them." - Jesus
I pray that we will re-elect President Obama because I am a FOLLOWER OF THE WAY OF JESUS, and I cannot vote for someone who clearly does not follow Jesus - whether it is a political party, a candidate or an ideology.
JESUS demands that we work toward justice and peace, equity, equality and Agape Love for the most vulnerable. Anyone who votes for an ideology, party or candidate that goes against those things, votes AGAINST JESUS and His teachings and examples.
Vote your conscience - but if you claim to be a "Christian", vote your conscience informed by your faith and understanding of what Jesus taught and exemplified, as we have that in The Gospels...
... because YOUR VOTE reveals YOUR HEART AND SOUL...
Rev. Jamie Kaufman
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Budgets are MORAL DOCUMENTS
Those on the political "right" continue to try to gut aid to individual citizens and families who are in need, while continuing to give HUGE "entitlements" to corporations, and allowing the wealthy not to pay their fair share of taxes...
A sampling of the IMMORALITY of this from The Word:
THE LAW:
Deuteronomy 15:7-11
Deuteronomy 24:14,15
... among others...
THE PROPHETS:
Amos 2:4-8
5:21-24
6:4-7
8:4-7
James 2:14-17
4:1-10
5:1-6
Ezekiel 34:1-10
... among others...
THE GOSPELS
Mark 12:38-44
Matthew 20:1-16
25:31-46
Luke 6:46-49
9:12-17
12:13-21
16:19-31
... among others...
Compassion for those whom Jesus loves is not a concern for those who are selfishly motivated by greed and have an interest to exploit the poor so they can get more for themselves. Since 1981, that has been the agenda of the political/christian "right", which is WRONG - the "Christians" giving lip service to Jesus while giving their devotion to Mammon, Mars and Bacchus (Mark 7:6-8)... mean-spirited, ruthless, self-centered, greedy, power hungry, exploitative, intolerant, classist, sexist, racist and homophobic are NOT Christian Values, not according to the Gospel of Jesus!
Who you vote for reflects whose way you value as a believer... read the Gospels before the election, concentrating on what Jesus taught and exemplified (especially His imperative statements), and look at what each candidate would do for the most vulnerable and what they would do for the most powerful and wealthy... on whose side is Jesus? It is clear...
Pastor Jamie
A sampling of the IMMORALITY of this from The Word:
THE LAW:
Deuteronomy 15:7-11
Deuteronomy 24:14,15
... among others...
THE PROPHETS:
Amos 2:4-8
5:21-24
6:4-7
8:4-7
James 2:14-17
4:1-10
5:1-6
Ezekiel 34:1-10
... among others...
THE GOSPELS
Mark 12:38-44
Matthew 20:1-16
25:31-46
Luke 6:46-49
9:12-17
12:13-21
16:19-31
... among others...
Compassion for those whom Jesus loves is not a concern for those who are selfishly motivated by greed and have an interest to exploit the poor so they can get more for themselves. Since 1981, that has been the agenda of the political/christian "right", which is WRONG - the "Christians" giving lip service to Jesus while giving their devotion to Mammon, Mars and Bacchus (Mark 7:6-8)... mean-spirited, ruthless, self-centered, greedy, power hungry, exploitative, intolerant, classist, sexist, racist and homophobic are NOT Christian Values, not according to the Gospel of Jesus!
Who you vote for reflects whose way you value as a believer... read the Gospels before the election, concentrating on what Jesus taught and exemplified (especially His imperative statements), and look at what each candidate would do for the most vulnerable and what they would do for the most powerful and wealthy... on whose side is Jesus? It is clear...
Pastor Jamie
Monday, October 15, 2012
The Arrogance of Entitlement
It is with a strong sense of privilege, arrogance that anyone would -
Travel to a far away land, plant their own nation's flag on it, exploit and kill the people who were already there when they "discovered" it, and then kidnap people from another part of the world and use them for slave labor for 400+ years... believing that there should be no understanding of how that might affect those who were victims of it for generations or recompense for it...
Squat on lands that belonged to people of another nation for generations, claiming it for their own, and then squabble with them over it and claim to be victims when some of them who refused to leave were killed "defending" a mission, only to steal the land in a bogus treaty... and THEN treat shamefully others from that same nation who generations later come across the border "illegally" to find work so they can support their starving families who live in the nation that originally lost the wide expanse of land and water.
Plant the logos of our nation's corporations in foreign lands and get our government to manipulate international law to allow these corporations to pollute the air, water and land, waste the natural resources and exploit the poorest in their nations for our corporations' profits, giving them tax breaks in the deal and lay off our own nation's workers in the process... and THEN claim that people in foreign nations hate us because they hate "freedom"????
Claim that ANYONE stole their job, just because they are white and/or male and/or straight in America, as if they were ENTITLED to it to begin with.
Claim that they are JOB CREATORS and should not have to pay their fair share of taxes because they are so and might be less likely to employ people if they have to pay their fair share, being the SAME ONES who laid off millions for their own profit while they WERE getting tax breaks!
ANYONE who says, "We're going to take the country back.", while claiming that their statement has nothing to do with race.
Claiming ANYONE is engaging in "Class Warfare" when, for 31 years they have run roughshod over laborers in our nation at will, have kept people out of equal education, healthcare, housing, employment and empowerment and have done all they can to keep from paying their taxes, while millions suffer so they can get more profit for themselves.
Claiming that VOTER SUPPRESSION is to keep "voter fraud" from happening, when they themselves have rigged TWO ELECTIONS and there is such a small number of voter fraud cases cited that there is NO WAY it could EVER justify disenfranchising millions of voters who would most likely vote for the opposing candidate, all while claiming that they value democracy and that it has nothing to do with race or class?????
Leaving alone a political system that is run by corporations through their lobbyists, PACS and Wall Street, designed to keep those already with power and wealth in power and wealth, and keeps any other independent or third-party candidates from public view, cutting programs for the poor and most vulnerable among us while cutting the taxes of the wealthy, while actively working to keep the poor poor by keeping them away from the voting booths.
Leaving alone an economic system that is also run by the same corporate heads who designed the system to get their wealth on the backs of the poor and lower middle class (needing to keep 6% of the population unemployed for the rest of us to prosper), and who believe they should not have to pay taxes or have profit limits, and scream about "welfare" while collecting billions in "entitlements" - CORPORATE WELFARE... screaming "hands off" to government regarding regulation all the while as "free enterprise", while expecting bail-outs if they fail... and wanting to legislate what people do in their bedrooms...
ANYONE who believes that they are truly "self made", or that they could have "made it" with the obstacles and inequities that for generations others have had to overcome just to survive...
Those who stand on their rights to "religious liberty" in this country, while trying to keep anyone who practices another faith from having any expressions of their faith in public... who scream when the government makes it impossible for religious employers to discriminate against citizens regarding healthcare, even over "religious" reasons, while screaming that others might get ANY rights for their faith systems...
Believing that average American citizens should be able to own weapons of mass destruction (that can kill a person a second), while we should do WHATEVER IT TAKES to keep other nations from having nuclear weapon capabilities, while we have as many as we want...
Claiming to be RIGHT TO LIFE while being in favor of THE DEATH PENALTY...
Wanting to sanction other nations for their human rights violations, while we treat resident aliens shamefully, keep our women making 26% less than males in the same jobs, making a minimum wage that is not a living wage, refusing our citizens healthcare, enforcing strict penalties for "urban" drugs while making "suburban" drugs barely a misdemeanor, and KEEPING OUR OWN CITIZENS FROM VOTING... having UNEQUAL education, healthcare, employment, safety, marriage, housing and other basic human needs that should be basic, human rights for any CIVILIZED nation...
It is out of such arrogant beliefs in entitlement and privilege that revolutions are borne... taxation without representation... oligarchic rule... corrupt and greedy economics... inequality, inequity, mean-spirited, ruthless, selfish, greedy, hateful, arrogant claims of entitlement over others... just because... all the while claiming to follow JESUS!!!!????? It is time for HIS revolution to start again... forget "the church", let the MOVEMENT of following Jesus begin anew!
Claiming to love democracy while doing everything one can to thwart the voice of the people.
Claiming that an economic system that has been in place for 31 years and was perfected in the LAST administration to the disastrous end that MOST Americans have experienced, should be put back in place again... so that those already wealthy can make quick profits on our backs again, at OUR peril!
Claiming that Greed and Lust For Power are American virtues... and normative American values... and that anyone who values otherwise is labeled "Un-American", especially those who value TRUE DEMOCRACY and an ECONOMIC SYSTEM with Limits for the sake of ALL, equally, and not just the few, exorbitantly!
Humility is a Kingdom Value. Generosity is a Kingdom Value. Equality and Equity are Kingdom Values. Agape Love is a Commandment. An arrogant sense of entitlement is NOT a Kingdom Value. It is time for American Christians to value humility, generosity, equality and equity in order to be in line with Kingdom Values, at least that is, if you believe JESUS...
The Arrogance of Entitlement... ah, but PRIDE GOES BEFORE THE FALL...
I read that somewhere.
PASTOR JAMIE
Travel to a far away land, plant their own nation's flag on it, exploit and kill the people who were already there when they "discovered" it, and then kidnap people from another part of the world and use them for slave labor for 400+ years... believing that there should be no understanding of how that might affect those who were victims of it for generations or recompense for it...
Squat on lands that belonged to people of another nation for generations, claiming it for their own, and then squabble with them over it and claim to be victims when some of them who refused to leave were killed "defending" a mission, only to steal the land in a bogus treaty... and THEN treat shamefully others from that same nation who generations later come across the border "illegally" to find work so they can support their starving families who live in the nation that originally lost the wide expanse of land and water.
Plant the logos of our nation's corporations in foreign lands and get our government to manipulate international law to allow these corporations to pollute the air, water and land, waste the natural resources and exploit the poorest in their nations for our corporations' profits, giving them tax breaks in the deal and lay off our own nation's workers in the process... and THEN claim that people in foreign nations hate us because they hate "freedom"????
Claim that ANYONE stole their job, just because they are white and/or male and/or straight in America, as if they were ENTITLED to it to begin with.
Claim that they are JOB CREATORS and should not have to pay their fair share of taxes because they are so and might be less likely to employ people if they have to pay their fair share, being the SAME ONES who laid off millions for their own profit while they WERE getting tax breaks!
ANYONE who says, "We're going to take the country back.", while claiming that their statement has nothing to do with race.
Claiming ANYONE is engaging in "Class Warfare" when, for 31 years they have run roughshod over laborers in our nation at will, have kept people out of equal education, healthcare, housing, employment and empowerment and have done all they can to keep from paying their taxes, while millions suffer so they can get more profit for themselves.
Claiming that VOTER SUPPRESSION is to keep "voter fraud" from happening, when they themselves have rigged TWO ELECTIONS and there is such a small number of voter fraud cases cited that there is NO WAY it could EVER justify disenfranchising millions of voters who would most likely vote for the opposing candidate, all while claiming that they value democracy and that it has nothing to do with race or class?????
Leaving alone a political system that is run by corporations through their lobbyists, PACS and Wall Street, designed to keep those already with power and wealth in power and wealth, and keeps any other independent or third-party candidates from public view, cutting programs for the poor and most vulnerable among us while cutting the taxes of the wealthy, while actively working to keep the poor poor by keeping them away from the voting booths.
Leaving alone an economic system that is also run by the same corporate heads who designed the system to get their wealth on the backs of the poor and lower middle class (needing to keep 6% of the population unemployed for the rest of us to prosper), and who believe they should not have to pay taxes or have profit limits, and scream about "welfare" while collecting billions in "entitlements" - CORPORATE WELFARE... screaming "hands off" to government regarding regulation all the while as "free enterprise", while expecting bail-outs if they fail... and wanting to legislate what people do in their bedrooms...
ANYONE who believes that they are truly "self made", or that they could have "made it" with the obstacles and inequities that for generations others have had to overcome just to survive...
Those who stand on their rights to "religious liberty" in this country, while trying to keep anyone who practices another faith from having any expressions of their faith in public... who scream when the government makes it impossible for religious employers to discriminate against citizens regarding healthcare, even over "religious" reasons, while screaming that others might get ANY rights for their faith systems...
Believing that average American citizens should be able to own weapons of mass destruction (that can kill a person a second), while we should do WHATEVER IT TAKES to keep other nations from having nuclear weapon capabilities, while we have as many as we want...
Claiming to be RIGHT TO LIFE while being in favor of THE DEATH PENALTY...
Wanting to sanction other nations for their human rights violations, while we treat resident aliens shamefully, keep our women making 26% less than males in the same jobs, making a minimum wage that is not a living wage, refusing our citizens healthcare, enforcing strict penalties for "urban" drugs while making "suburban" drugs barely a misdemeanor, and KEEPING OUR OWN CITIZENS FROM VOTING... having UNEQUAL education, healthcare, employment, safety, marriage, housing and other basic human needs that should be basic, human rights for any CIVILIZED nation...
It is out of such arrogant beliefs in entitlement and privilege that revolutions are borne... taxation without representation... oligarchic rule... corrupt and greedy economics... inequality, inequity, mean-spirited, ruthless, selfish, greedy, hateful, arrogant claims of entitlement over others... just because... all the while claiming to follow JESUS!!!!????? It is time for HIS revolution to start again... forget "the church", let the MOVEMENT of following Jesus begin anew!
Claiming to love democracy while doing everything one can to thwart the voice of the people.
Claiming that an economic system that has been in place for 31 years and was perfected in the LAST administration to the disastrous end that MOST Americans have experienced, should be put back in place again... so that those already wealthy can make quick profits on our backs again, at OUR peril!
Claiming that Greed and Lust For Power are American virtues... and normative American values... and that anyone who values otherwise is labeled "Un-American", especially those who value TRUE DEMOCRACY and an ECONOMIC SYSTEM with Limits for the sake of ALL, equally, and not just the few, exorbitantly!
Humility is a Kingdom Value. Generosity is a Kingdom Value. Equality and Equity are Kingdom Values. Agape Love is a Commandment. An arrogant sense of entitlement is NOT a Kingdom Value. It is time for American Christians to value humility, generosity, equality and equity in order to be in line with Kingdom Values, at least that is, if you believe JESUS...
The Arrogance of Entitlement... ah, but PRIDE GOES BEFORE THE FALL...
I read that somewhere.
PASTOR JAMIE
Monday, October 1, 2012
The source of unrest
JAMES 4:1-3 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it, so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it, so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you as wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your own pleasures... 'God opposes the proud, but gives Grace to the humble.'"
We are at unrest in our nation, because we want FOR OUR SELVES what we want and when we want it. Like spoiled children, when we don't get what we want and when we want it, someone else has to pay. We have a strong sense of entitlement to HAVE in abundance, so we EXPLOIT our own people and people across the world to get it.
Rather than ask for those things that do not only feed our own pleasures, we demand what we want and when we want it to please only our selves, and ignore the needs of others whom God loves. We get what we can on the backs of others and at their expense. We set up systems that allow us to do that at will, and wonder why we have such difficult turmoil in our nation and in the world. It is not because God does not answer prayer. It is because we have walked away from any decency, any concern and any consideration of what God wants.
Those with power in business do WHATEVER it takes to keep others with collective power from gaining for their families, all for their own larger profit margins.
Our corporations manipulate the World Trade Organization to make laws that benefit only our companies above whole other nations and their good.
Politicians, in the pockets of corporations, write laws that hurt the powerless and voiceless in favor of those with power and wealth, so that they can further exploit the powerless and voiceless for more profit for themselves.
Individuals keep the corrupt politicians in office because they either benefit from these practices, or hope to be included among the very wealthy someday - for most, neither of which comes to fruition.
Submitting to God and conforming to God's will means working for justice which brings peace. Where there is no justice in the world, there can be no peace. Until we commit to justice for ALL in ALL nations and not just our own, for ALL people and not just some, our nation's well-being will be in jeopardy.
According to James, the New Testament prophet, it is our adultery with God. We run off unfaithfully to please our idols... greed, lust for power, desire for prestige - OUR SELVES. We will not have
well-being in our nation or in the world, until we strive for justice for ALL. THEN there will be PEACE! THEN God will be pleased, and ALL those whom God loves will have enough.
We are at unrest in our nation, because we want FOR OUR SELVES what we want and when we want it. Like spoiled children, when we don't get what we want and when we want it, someone else has to pay. We have a strong sense of entitlement to HAVE in abundance, so we EXPLOIT our own people and people across the world to get it.
Rather than ask for those things that do not only feed our own pleasures, we demand what we want and when we want it to please only our selves, and ignore the needs of others whom God loves. We get what we can on the backs of others and at their expense. We set up systems that allow us to do that at will, and wonder why we have such difficult turmoil in our nation and in the world. It is not because God does not answer prayer. It is because we have walked away from any decency, any concern and any consideration of what God wants.
Those with power in business do WHATEVER it takes to keep others with collective power from gaining for their families, all for their own larger profit margins.
Our corporations manipulate the World Trade Organization to make laws that benefit only our companies above whole other nations and their good.
Politicians, in the pockets of corporations, write laws that hurt the powerless and voiceless in favor of those with power and wealth, so that they can further exploit the powerless and voiceless for more profit for themselves.
Individuals keep the corrupt politicians in office because they either benefit from these practices, or hope to be included among the very wealthy someday - for most, neither of which comes to fruition.
Submitting to God and conforming to God's will means working for justice which brings peace. Where there is no justice in the world, there can be no peace. Until we commit to justice for ALL in ALL nations and not just our own, for ALL people and not just some, our nation's well-being will be in jeopardy.
According to James, the New Testament prophet, it is our adultery with God. We run off unfaithfully to please our idols... greed, lust for power, desire for prestige - OUR SELVES. We will not have
well-being in our nation or in the world, until we strive for justice for ALL. THEN there will be PEACE! THEN God will be pleased, and ALL those whom God loves will have enough.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
VOTING as a Believer
I have watched as people got duped into believing that politicians' faith informed their political actions in the past. I have watched as people stormed off on a "moral" quest in elections. I have watched as people have twisted the truth about a politician's religious beliefs in order to manipulate voters. I have watched as people in power, both in church and politics, have claimed a division of church and state, while doing all they can to promote their particular religious agenda as they held others who did not share that down. I have also watched as some have disassociated how they vote with their active faith, or with any concern for others around them.
When will people who claim to follow Jesus stop voting for those who would hurt the many whom Jesus loves and who Jesus commanded us to love (Agape Love = active commitment on behalf of the other)?
When will people who claim to follow Jesus vote consistent with what Jesus taught and exemplified, and NOT just for their own self interests (Philippians 2:1-11)?
When will people who claim to follow Jesus, follow Jesus in how they vote regarding the powerless, the poor and the most vulnerable (Matthew 25:31-46)?
When will people who claim to follow Jesus, apply their obedience to Jesus in the voting booth?
"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me..." Mark 7:6,7
"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I tell you?" Luke 6:46
"As you do it (care for those in need, welcome the resident alien, care for the sick and imprisoned), you do it for me... when you refuse (them), you refuse me." Matthew 25:31-46
GREED is IMMORAL. ABUSES OF POWER are IMMORAL. SELF PROMOTION at the expense of others, especially the most vulnerable, is IMMORAL.
I will vote for the candidate who most exemplifies what Jesus taught and exemplified as Kingdom Values in His teachings and example for living... and NOT LOOK only to my own interests in doing so... (Phil. 2:1-11)...
Live what Jesus TAUGHT and EXEMPLIFIED. Vote accordingly.
Pastor Jamie
When will people who claim to follow Jesus stop voting for those who would hurt the many whom Jesus loves and who Jesus commanded us to love (Agape Love = active commitment on behalf of the other)?
When will people who claim to follow Jesus vote consistent with what Jesus taught and exemplified, and NOT just for their own self interests (Philippians 2:1-11)?
When will people who claim to follow Jesus, follow Jesus in how they vote regarding the powerless, the poor and the most vulnerable (Matthew 25:31-46)?
When will people who claim to follow Jesus, apply their obedience to Jesus in the voting booth?
"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me..." Mark 7:6,7
"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I tell you?" Luke 6:46
"As you do it (care for those in need, welcome the resident alien, care for the sick and imprisoned), you do it for me... when you refuse (them), you refuse me." Matthew 25:31-46
GREED is IMMORAL. ABUSES OF POWER are IMMORAL. SELF PROMOTION at the expense of others, especially the most vulnerable, is IMMORAL.
I will vote for the candidate who most exemplifies what Jesus taught and exemplified as Kingdom Values in His teachings and example for living... and NOT LOOK only to my own interests in doing so... (Phil. 2:1-11)...
Live what Jesus TAUGHT and EXEMPLIFIED. Vote accordingly.
Pastor Jamie
Friday, September 7, 2012
America The Beautiful
America The Beautiful...
would value ALL its citizens equally, and not just those with wealth and power...
would establish ONE VOTE for EVERY CITIZEN that counts equally, eliminating the electoral college for State and National elections so that re-districting games are ended...
would allow ALL candidates a LIMITED amount of air time on television and radio for free, and include them ALL in national debates, equally to eliminate unfair advantages in election practices...
would hold elections over a four day period, including a weekend, so that those who do not get paid if they do not work, do not have to choose between their family's well being or their right to vote...
would give EQUAL representation to ALL its citizens, and demand the EQUAL taxation of all, eliminating the lack of taxation on off shore accounts, counting ALL assets for taxation and not giving tax breaks to its companies, organizations or citizens ...
would make sure that if ALL citizens pay their taxes, they have the EQUAL RIGHTS of others who do the same (marriage, living conditions and affordable housing, healthcare, education, jobs, safety, etc.), regardless of faith, gender, sexual orientation, race, class or any other distinction...
would make sure that all employers treat ALL citizens equally in their hiring and payment/benefits practices, regardless of their age, race, gender, faith, sexual orientation or any other distinction...
would allow resident aliens one year to live in the country without harassment, and then give citizenship to any who have paid taxes and lived peaceably in that year...
would make sure all of its children have an EQUAL education, not funding more highly the schools of the children of the wealthy and powerful, who already have an edge...
would have school year-round, with longer semester and holiday breaks, so that our children continue the momentum of learning, so their parents do not have the immense challenge of childcare in the summers, and so that we may again compete internationally in child development...
would make at least a LIVING WAGE available to ALL workers, so that ALL can work with dignity and not worry about not providing for their families (currently $18 per hour minimum with benefits)...
would offer public assistance to any who are unable to work and as a supplement up to $18 per hour for those who do work but do not make a living wage, because everyone in America has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...
would limit the highest salaries in any corporation to 3x that of average workers, and not allow salaries that are 300x what they make...
would limit the percentage of profit companies can charge for necessities for living such as utilities, food, fuel, rent/mortgages and medicines, and limit the percentage of interest charged on any credit charges or loans...
would offer transportation for ALL citizens in EVERY area, whether by train, bus or other mass transit, so that ALL citizens can get to their jobs or schools by affordable means...
would offer incentives for companies that pay their employees well, and encourage entrepreneurs with limited tax exemptions for a short time and as long as they comply with salary minimums and pollution limits...
would allow and encourage American companies to increase their profit margins by investing in overseas companies owned and operated by their own citizens...
would offer healthcare to ALL its citizens, so that the poor can be healthy just like the rich, and make all elected officials subject to the same healthcare system that every citizen has...
would expect any companies in America to hire its own citizens, and would levy high import taxes on any companies that go overseas to exploit other peoples for resources and labor...
would limit the use of our military to national security, with the exception of the liberation of other citizens from tyranny across the world, if a majority of the remaining nations agree...
would make sure that prisons are state-run, and demand that inmates learn a trade or get a GED and go to college during their incarceration, while not allowing non-education related activities...
would not separate white-collar and blue collar criminals, but put them all in the same correctional facilities...
would do everything possible to develop renewable sources of energy for our economy, independence and stewardship of the creation...
would regulate pollution, waste and destruction of the planet, and regulate the safety of our food, air, water and land ABOVE any value for profit...
would eliminate the sale of assault weapons and explosives to citizens, and require stringent registration practices including careful background checks and time restraints before anyone is allowed to purchase a handgun or rifle of any kind, requiring also a special permit to be presented in order to purchase ammunition of any kind...
would make higher education affordable for all citizens, and instill a value for people pursuing it...
would require that anyone of "college" age who is not enrolled in college or trade school, or does not work in a non-profit organization that positively affects our citizens, serve in the military or the peace corp for two years...
would encourage spirituality in the diversity of practices that the world has represented, without lifting any one faith above others, which is the example Jesus set for Christians in His acceptance of non-Jews in His life and ministry, and which is the right of all citizens according to our constitution...
would acknowledge that these things should be done to benefit ALL, equally, and that these things are not done as an embrace of any other ideology than that of doing the right things for the right reasons...
That would be America The Beautiful! Pastor Jamie
would value ALL its citizens equally, and not just those with wealth and power...
would establish ONE VOTE for EVERY CITIZEN that counts equally, eliminating the electoral college for State and National elections so that re-districting games are ended...
would allow ALL candidates a LIMITED amount of air time on television and radio for free, and include them ALL in national debates, equally to eliminate unfair advantages in election practices...
would hold elections over a four day period, including a weekend, so that those who do not get paid if they do not work, do not have to choose between their family's well being or their right to vote...
would give EQUAL representation to ALL its citizens, and demand the EQUAL taxation of all, eliminating the lack of taxation on off shore accounts, counting ALL assets for taxation and not giving tax breaks to its companies, organizations or citizens ...
would make sure that if ALL citizens pay their taxes, they have the EQUAL RIGHTS of others who do the same (marriage, living conditions and affordable housing, healthcare, education, jobs, safety, etc.), regardless of faith, gender, sexual orientation, race, class or any other distinction...
would make sure that all employers treat ALL citizens equally in their hiring and payment/benefits practices, regardless of their age, race, gender, faith, sexual orientation or any other distinction...
would allow resident aliens one year to live in the country without harassment, and then give citizenship to any who have paid taxes and lived peaceably in that year...
would make sure all of its children have an EQUAL education, not funding more highly the schools of the children of the wealthy and powerful, who already have an edge...
would have school year-round, with longer semester and holiday breaks, so that our children continue the momentum of learning, so their parents do not have the immense challenge of childcare in the summers, and so that we may again compete internationally in child development...
would make at least a LIVING WAGE available to ALL workers, so that ALL can work with dignity and not worry about not providing for their families (currently $18 per hour minimum with benefits)...
would offer public assistance to any who are unable to work and as a supplement up to $18 per hour for those who do work but do not make a living wage, because everyone in America has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...
would limit the highest salaries in any corporation to 3x that of average workers, and not allow salaries that are 300x what they make...
would limit the percentage of profit companies can charge for necessities for living such as utilities, food, fuel, rent/mortgages and medicines, and limit the percentage of interest charged on any credit charges or loans...
would offer transportation for ALL citizens in EVERY area, whether by train, bus or other mass transit, so that ALL citizens can get to their jobs or schools by affordable means...
would offer incentives for companies that pay their employees well, and encourage entrepreneurs with limited tax exemptions for a short time and as long as they comply with salary minimums and pollution limits...
would allow and encourage American companies to increase their profit margins by investing in overseas companies owned and operated by their own citizens...
would offer healthcare to ALL its citizens, so that the poor can be healthy just like the rich, and make all elected officials subject to the same healthcare system that every citizen has...
would expect any companies in America to hire its own citizens, and would levy high import taxes on any companies that go overseas to exploit other peoples for resources and labor...
would limit the use of our military to national security, with the exception of the liberation of other citizens from tyranny across the world, if a majority of the remaining nations agree...
would make sure that prisons are state-run, and demand that inmates learn a trade or get a GED and go to college during their incarceration, while not allowing non-education related activities...
would not separate white-collar and blue collar criminals, but put them all in the same correctional facilities...
would do everything possible to develop renewable sources of energy for our economy, independence and stewardship of the creation...
would regulate pollution, waste and destruction of the planet, and regulate the safety of our food, air, water and land ABOVE any value for profit...
would eliminate the sale of assault weapons and explosives to citizens, and require stringent registration practices including careful background checks and time restraints before anyone is allowed to purchase a handgun or rifle of any kind, requiring also a special permit to be presented in order to purchase ammunition of any kind...
would make higher education affordable for all citizens, and instill a value for people pursuing it...
would require that anyone of "college" age who is not enrolled in college or trade school, or does not work in a non-profit organization that positively affects our citizens, serve in the military or the peace corp for two years...
would encourage spirituality in the diversity of practices that the world has represented, without lifting any one faith above others, which is the example Jesus set for Christians in His acceptance of non-Jews in His life and ministry, and which is the right of all citizens according to our constitution...
would acknowledge that these things should be done to benefit ALL, equally, and that these things are not done as an embrace of any other ideology than that of doing the right things for the right reasons...
That would be America The Beautiful! Pastor Jamie
Thursday, September 6, 2012
The Nation
I do not want to see an America that disregards the plight of those who are most vulnerable, whether they are poor or uneducated, homeless or elderly. The short term, exorbitant profit of the wealthy is not a higher value for me than their well-being.
I do not want to see an America that disregards our health and life through the de-regulation of businesses so that they may pollute and destroy our air, water and ground in order to make more profits for a few. The quality of the food we eat should not be compromised for the profit of a few because agencies designed to keep us safe have been cut. The health of our children and all people is at stake, and I have a higher value for them than for the profit of a few.
I do not want to see an America that exploits people overseas for profit. Our corporations go to places where they can pay very little for labor and pollute the environments, waste the resources and destroy the landscapes of other nations for the profit of a few from our land. We invade nations that are oil rich on false pretenses, rather than develop alternative sources of energy. The opulence of a few is NOT a higher value for me than the integrity of our nation.
I do not want to see an America that runs schools for profit, so that teachers will go to the highest bidder in order to make a living, and schools that cannot make it are shut down in rural and urban areas, thereby providing child labor for the robber barons who de-regulate labor practices. I have a higher value for the education of our children than for the greater wealth of the already wealthy.
I do not want to see an America that runs prisons for profit, so that in order to make more profit there must be more prisoners, and they are hired out for $2 an hour to farms and industries, furthering the for-profit system, thereby creating a new slavery in America, particularly because arrests are targeted more highly in urban, poor neighborhoods where people of color are more likely to live. I value true justice in a justice system, over the injustices perpetrated by a few for more profit on the backs of others.
I do not want to see an America that has 90% of the wealth in 5% of the population, and any government representation for their benefit only. I do not want to see the 95% of the population pay 100% of the taxes off of 10% of the wealth they possess, while the 5% pay 0% from the 90% of the wealth they hold. I value the well-being of ALL people too much to see them be owned by companies for the profits of a few.
I do not want to see an America that has sick and elderly dying in the streets, because there was no profit for the few in giving them medical care. I do not want to see an America in which disparities in education, employment, housing, safety and healthcare are so great that an even playing field even for survival is a distant fantasy. I do not want to see an America in which the mean-spirited, greedy, ruthless, intolerant and self-centered run rough-shod over the rest of the population. I value the well-being of all people, over the obscene practices for more profit by a few.
I do not want to see that America. I see it on the horizon and it scares me. I see it incrementally being implemented in policies that have been pushed for for 31 years. I see it being embraced by those who have the wealth and power and by those who believe they may be among them someday if they "tow the line". I see it in the de-regulation of industry and in the dismantling of government safeguards. I see it in the legislation of the bedrooms of Americans, and in the disenfranchisement of ANYONE not like the majority of power and wealth who hold sway. I see it. I saddens me. I value lifting up all, rather than just a few, and NOT tearing many down so that a few can stand on their shoulders... I value the morality of community values over the immorality of greed.
I will pray. I will speak. I will write. I will demand. I will demonstrate. I will challenge. I will vote.
What will you do? What America do YOU want to see? I will share my vision for the America I DO want to see on my next blog.
Pastor Jamie
I do not want to see an America that disregards our health and life through the de-regulation of businesses so that they may pollute and destroy our air, water and ground in order to make more profits for a few. The quality of the food we eat should not be compromised for the profit of a few because agencies designed to keep us safe have been cut. The health of our children and all people is at stake, and I have a higher value for them than for the profit of a few.
I do not want to see an America that exploits people overseas for profit. Our corporations go to places where they can pay very little for labor and pollute the environments, waste the resources and destroy the landscapes of other nations for the profit of a few from our land. We invade nations that are oil rich on false pretenses, rather than develop alternative sources of energy. The opulence of a few is NOT a higher value for me than the integrity of our nation.
I do not want to see an America that runs schools for profit, so that teachers will go to the highest bidder in order to make a living, and schools that cannot make it are shut down in rural and urban areas, thereby providing child labor for the robber barons who de-regulate labor practices. I have a higher value for the education of our children than for the greater wealth of the already wealthy.
I do not want to see an America that runs prisons for profit, so that in order to make more profit there must be more prisoners, and they are hired out for $2 an hour to farms and industries, furthering the for-profit system, thereby creating a new slavery in America, particularly because arrests are targeted more highly in urban, poor neighborhoods where people of color are more likely to live. I value true justice in a justice system, over the injustices perpetrated by a few for more profit on the backs of others.
I do not want to see an America that has 90% of the wealth in 5% of the population, and any government representation for their benefit only. I do not want to see the 95% of the population pay 100% of the taxes off of 10% of the wealth they possess, while the 5% pay 0% from the 90% of the wealth they hold. I value the well-being of ALL people too much to see them be owned by companies for the profits of a few.
I do not want to see an America that has sick and elderly dying in the streets, because there was no profit for the few in giving them medical care. I do not want to see an America in which disparities in education, employment, housing, safety and healthcare are so great that an even playing field even for survival is a distant fantasy. I do not want to see an America in which the mean-spirited, greedy, ruthless, intolerant and self-centered run rough-shod over the rest of the population. I value the well-being of all people, over the obscene practices for more profit by a few.
I do not want to see that America. I see it on the horizon and it scares me. I see it incrementally being implemented in policies that have been pushed for for 31 years. I see it being embraced by those who have the wealth and power and by those who believe they may be among them someday if they "tow the line". I see it in the de-regulation of industry and in the dismantling of government safeguards. I see it in the legislation of the bedrooms of Americans, and in the disenfranchisement of ANYONE not like the majority of power and wealth who hold sway. I see it. I saddens me. I value lifting up all, rather than just a few, and NOT tearing many down so that a few can stand on their shoulders... I value the morality of community values over the immorality of greed.
I will pray. I will speak. I will write. I will demand. I will demonstrate. I will challenge. I will vote.
What will you do? What America do YOU want to see? I will share my vision for the America I DO want to see on my next blog.
Pastor Jamie
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Labor Day
While some would LOVE to go back to the Serfdom of old, in which the "lord" of the manor held sway over everyone "under" him, and the belief was promoted that some are just born to greatness
and others to servitude, this is America.
While others would LOVE to go back to the days before Unions, when the Robber Barons of our land lived in what was called "the gilded age" for some as others worked seven day weeks and 12 hour days, children were forced into sweat shop labor and there was not only no healthcare but penalties and threats if someone had to take off work to go to the doctor, and people worked until they died because there was no pension, social security or medicare, this is America.
Some at the top of the economic ladder, you know, those who make 300x what those who do the labor make "under" them, have already manipulated a number of states into being "right to work" states what do not allow Union labor to have any power, while others do all they can to strip the power away from organized labor so that the owners and CEO's of corporations can get more work for less money and fewer benefits, claiming that it is good for the state employment health.
In "Right To Work States", like the one I live in (Georgia)...
Wages are 3.2% lower AT LEAST
Pensions are 4.8% lower AT LEAST
3.8 million fewer people would have pensions
and 2 million fewer would have healthcare if they were enacted in all states...
Workplace deaths are 34% higher
Middle Class income is lower in EVERY Right To Work State
Voter turnout is lower (partly because people cannot get off work to vote w/o losing wages)
For every $1 million in wage cuts, there is a loss of 6 or more jobs, in just a few industries counted
So, unless you are among those who make 300x what laborers make, and unless you are in the elite club, I suggest that you see the wisdom of supporting organized labor... the folks who brought us the 40 hour work week instead of 80, the folks who brought us the weekend and health coverage and pensions - NOT just for the wealthiest and most powerful, but average workers. See the wisdom of long term well-being for ALL our citizens, rather than just the short-term exorbitant profit for a few. See the wisdom of treating workers well and lifting up ALL Americans, rather than just those with power and wealth, while making it so that there are fewer of them.
Pray. Pray for Justice. Pray for the Unemployed. Pray for those who have the least. Pray for the souls of those who perpetrate injustice on others in order to serve their idol - greed.
Work. Speak. Demand. Call for Justice. Vote for those who will do the MOST FOR "THE LEAST", and not THE LEAST for THE MOST, while doing the MOST for only A FEW...
God help us all.
Pastor Jamie
and others to servitude, this is America.
While others would LOVE to go back to the days before Unions, when the Robber Barons of our land lived in what was called "the gilded age" for some as others worked seven day weeks and 12 hour days, children were forced into sweat shop labor and there was not only no healthcare but penalties and threats if someone had to take off work to go to the doctor, and people worked until they died because there was no pension, social security or medicare, this is America.
Some at the top of the economic ladder, you know, those who make 300x what those who do the labor make "under" them, have already manipulated a number of states into being "right to work" states what do not allow Union labor to have any power, while others do all they can to strip the power away from organized labor so that the owners and CEO's of corporations can get more work for less money and fewer benefits, claiming that it is good for the state employment health.
In "Right To Work States", like the one I live in (Georgia)...
Wages are 3.2% lower AT LEAST
Pensions are 4.8% lower AT LEAST
3.8 million fewer people would have pensions
and 2 million fewer would have healthcare if they were enacted in all states...
Workplace deaths are 34% higher
Middle Class income is lower in EVERY Right To Work State
Voter turnout is lower (partly because people cannot get off work to vote w/o losing wages)
For every $1 million in wage cuts, there is a loss of 6 or more jobs, in just a few industries counted
So, unless you are among those who make 300x what laborers make, and unless you are in the elite club, I suggest that you see the wisdom of supporting organized labor... the folks who brought us the 40 hour work week instead of 80, the folks who brought us the weekend and health coverage and pensions - NOT just for the wealthiest and most powerful, but average workers. See the wisdom of long term well-being for ALL our citizens, rather than just the short-term exorbitant profit for a few. See the wisdom of treating workers well and lifting up ALL Americans, rather than just those with power and wealth, while making it so that there are fewer of them.
Pray. Pray for Justice. Pray for the Unemployed. Pray for those who have the least. Pray for the souls of those who perpetrate injustice on others in order to serve their idol - greed.
Work. Speak. Demand. Call for Justice. Vote for those who will do the MOST FOR "THE LEAST", and not THE LEAST for THE MOST, while doing the MOST for only A FEW...
God help us all.
Pastor Jamie
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
The politically "right"
Ok, so just off the top of my head...
I do not find these things "right" about what is going on in the political "right", supported by the "Christian Right"...
Deliberately Lying and Misleading American citizens regarding this administration's policies and our President... about Medicare, Medicaid, "Welfare" and employment figures most recently...
Using Scare Tactics to instill fear over false claims regarding our President with labels like "socialism",
"muslim" and "unnatural" citizen...
Re-districting and Suppressing Voters actively and intentionally to favor one party while disenfranchising innocent voting citizens over false claims of wide-spread voter fraud...
Making claims of "Class warfare" now, when people have finally called it what it is after decades of silently being fiscally slaughtered...
Favoring the Wealthy over the Poor and Middle Class consistently, relentlessly, ruthlessly and persistently for 32 years, while claiming still that this "trickle down" thing works...
Blaming the President for the plight on the economy that the LAST ADMINISTRATION manufactured through de-regulation, two wars and favoring corporations over the people of the nation...
Claiming they want less government control over people's lives, unless we are talking about legislating women's own bodies, love between two consenting adults and the rights to exploit workers overseas while denying our own people jobs - THEN they want more government control...
Screaming over demands for equal taxation and representation that should be in place regarding corporations and wealthy individuals paying their taxes, ironically while being the ONLY ones truly represented by this nation's government and LEAST taxed today...
Straining at the gnats of individual fraud regarding public assistance, when the true Welfare Fraud is the government support of corporations in this "free market" system, which is a much greater percentage of our national budget and should not be given if it is truly a "free" market with less government control...
calling it "welfare" regarding poor individuals and families, and "entitlements" (aptly put) for the wealthy and powerful...
Scapegoating "illegal" immigrants, gay and lesbian citizens and anyone else who does not think (I use the term loosely) like they do... as the ENEMY and REASON for the nation's woes, much like the Nazi's did with SO MANY...
Claiming they love DEMOCRACY, when it is limitless, unchecked and unregulated GREED in Laissez Faire Capitalism they love, as exhibited in their practices of oligarchic control over the nation and the exclusion of voters, lack of representation of the poorest citizens and an economic system designed to allow the wealthy and powerful to stay that way on the backs of the poor and powerless...
Finally, wanting desperately to go back to the practices that got the NATION into this mess, because while the NATION has suffered in it, some INDIVIDUALS and CORPORATIONS have made out like bandits because of it... their lack of concern for the WHOLE NATION and PEOPLE for the sake of their own, short term and immense financial gain is disturbing...
Power, Prestige and Wealth are the Unholy Trinity of gods in America...
Devotion to them, while giving lip service to Jesus and Democracy has brought us to Idolatry and
Tyranny... and MANY are devoted to them...
Greed is not only our SIN, but our horrible National Treasure and Legacy to our own children and
the world around us...
Where is the political "right" in that?
Where is the CHRIST in that?
Where are YOU in that?
Pastor Jamie
I do not find these things "right" about what is going on in the political "right", supported by the "Christian Right"...
Deliberately Lying and Misleading American citizens regarding this administration's policies and our President... about Medicare, Medicaid, "Welfare" and employment figures most recently...
Using Scare Tactics to instill fear over false claims regarding our President with labels like "socialism",
"muslim" and "unnatural" citizen...
Re-districting and Suppressing Voters actively and intentionally to favor one party while disenfranchising innocent voting citizens over false claims of wide-spread voter fraud...
Making claims of "Class warfare" now, when people have finally called it what it is after decades of silently being fiscally slaughtered...
Favoring the Wealthy over the Poor and Middle Class consistently, relentlessly, ruthlessly and persistently for 32 years, while claiming still that this "trickle down" thing works...
Blaming the President for the plight on the economy that the LAST ADMINISTRATION manufactured through de-regulation, two wars and favoring corporations over the people of the nation...
Claiming they want less government control over people's lives, unless we are talking about legislating women's own bodies, love between two consenting adults and the rights to exploit workers overseas while denying our own people jobs - THEN they want more government control...
Screaming over demands for equal taxation and representation that should be in place regarding corporations and wealthy individuals paying their taxes, ironically while being the ONLY ones truly represented by this nation's government and LEAST taxed today...
Straining at the gnats of individual fraud regarding public assistance, when the true Welfare Fraud is the government support of corporations in this "free market" system, which is a much greater percentage of our national budget and should not be given if it is truly a "free" market with less government control...
calling it "welfare" regarding poor individuals and families, and "entitlements" (aptly put) for the wealthy and powerful...
Scapegoating "illegal" immigrants, gay and lesbian citizens and anyone else who does not think (I use the term loosely) like they do... as the ENEMY and REASON for the nation's woes, much like the Nazi's did with SO MANY...
Claiming they love DEMOCRACY, when it is limitless, unchecked and unregulated GREED in Laissez Faire Capitalism they love, as exhibited in their practices of oligarchic control over the nation and the exclusion of voters, lack of representation of the poorest citizens and an economic system designed to allow the wealthy and powerful to stay that way on the backs of the poor and powerless...
Finally, wanting desperately to go back to the practices that got the NATION into this mess, because while the NATION has suffered in it, some INDIVIDUALS and CORPORATIONS have made out like bandits because of it... their lack of concern for the WHOLE NATION and PEOPLE for the sake of their own, short term and immense financial gain is disturbing...
Power, Prestige and Wealth are the Unholy Trinity of gods in America...
Devotion to them, while giving lip service to Jesus and Democracy has brought us to Idolatry and
Tyranny... and MANY are devoted to them...
Greed is not only our SIN, but our horrible National Treasure and Legacy to our own children and
the world around us...
Where is the political "right" in that?
Where is the CHRIST in that?
Where are YOU in that?
Pastor Jamie
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Keep dreaming
Keep dreaming of the day
when this will not be a relative democracy any longer, masking an oligarchy of power and wealth
when every vote will truly count because it is counted and elects our officials
when every person will truly have equal respect and an equal chance
when every citizen will have what he/she needs as a human right
when every child will grow up with truly equal opportunities to grow
when all will have enough and the equal opportunities to grow beyond enough
Keep dreaming of the day
when we will live in a true democracy and not just a system of unchecked capitalism
when the well-being of everyone will replace greed as a national value
when people will embrace those different from themselves as treasured equals
when government will truly represent ALL the people and work on the behalf of ALL
when justice will be equal and injustice no longer a tool to elevate some while holding others down
when we will treat God's creation, our HOME, with respect, and stop polluting, wasting and
destroying it for our own, short term and short sighted gain
Keep dreaming of the day
Keep voting toward the day
I will keep writing, speaking, preaching, teaching, demonstrating and working toward that day
It will TRULY be THE ACCEPTABLE DAY OF THE LORD.
The day when THE DREAM becomes OUR REALITY.
Pastor Jamie
when this will not be a relative democracy any longer, masking an oligarchy of power and wealth
when every vote will truly count because it is counted and elects our officials
when every person will truly have equal respect and an equal chance
when every citizen will have what he/she needs as a human right
when every child will grow up with truly equal opportunities to grow
when all will have enough and the equal opportunities to grow beyond enough
Keep dreaming of the day
when we will live in a true democracy and not just a system of unchecked capitalism
when the well-being of everyone will replace greed as a national value
when people will embrace those different from themselves as treasured equals
when government will truly represent ALL the people and work on the behalf of ALL
when justice will be equal and injustice no longer a tool to elevate some while holding others down
when we will treat God's creation, our HOME, with respect, and stop polluting, wasting and
destroying it for our own, short term and short sighted gain
Keep dreaming of the day
Keep voting toward the day
I will keep writing, speaking, preaching, teaching, demonstrating and working toward that day
It will TRULY be THE ACCEPTABLE DAY OF THE LORD.
The day when THE DREAM becomes OUR REALITY.
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Woe to You
Woe to you, IF...
You accumulate wealth and property by monopolizing business and driving out or holding out others from making a living or from getting what they need in life (like Department stores and large corporations do, and anyone who would begrudge someone else their needed healthcare).
Woe to you, IF...
You have a life of ease and self-indulgence, and are independently wealthy. It will be taken from you.
GOD IS EXALTED when we LIVE IN JUSTICE!
Woe to you, IF...
You make sinning against humanity a way of life-engaging in falsehood for personal gain - always expecting more and greater blessings in a sense of entitlement, while considering what is evil in the eyes of God to be good, and what is good in the eyes of God to be evil (like politicians, corporate executives, lobbyists working to ship jobs overseas while laying off our workers, and exploiting foreign nations for more profit as a result of it).
Woe to you, IF...
You are among the self-indulgent who use bribes to benefit the guilty and hurt the innocent (voter suppression, re-districting, buy Supreme Court votes).
God will turn it around and drop you on your head.
Isaiah 5 and Luke 6:20-26
Woe to you, WHO...
Desire the day of The Lord, because it won't go as well for you as you think (Matthew 25:31-46).
Woe to you, WHO...
Think that God likes your Worship while you lack Justice and Righteousness in how you treat others in the world around you (Mark 7:1-13).
Woe to you, WHO...
Live at ease and are no better than others but think you are superior (Luke 18:9-14).
Woe to you, WHO...
Live in luxury and have a life of ease, and who ignore the plight of the poor and add to it (Luke 16:19-31).
Woe to you, WHO...
Turn Justice into poison and rejoice in things that don't matter, as if they do. (Luke 18:18-30)
Woe to you, WHO...
Think you are self made and therefore better than others, or should be more entitled than they should be (Luke 12:13-21).
God is going to turn things upside down on you! (Luke 6:20-26)
Amos 5:18 - 6:14
Woe to you...
Religious leaders who preach and teach a strict adherence to The Law but make exceptions for yourselves, and who like power, prestige and position with the wealth that comes with it. You will be humbled.
Woe to you...
Church leaders who keep people from God like you do yourselves, insisting that they go YOUR way which is not God's Way, collecting "saved" people who are not, really.
Woe to you...
Blind guides who are instructed NOT to swear at all, but who swear on monetary value above what comes from out of the heart.
Woe to you...
Hypocrites who make it all about tithing ostentatiously of your showy abundance, while ignoring the more important matters of justice, mercy and faith. (see also Luke 11:37-52)
Woe to you...
Hypocrites who make a show of your piety and self-righteousness, giving the right appearances and postures, but inside are filled with greed, self-indulgence and lust for power and control. Clean what is INSIDE of you.
Woe to you...
Who look spiritually alive on the outside, but are dead to God on the inside.
Woe to you...
Religious leaders who look and act the part, but only like the power, prestige, position and wealth, and who use them to exploit the most vulnerable in the world around them (Mark 20:45-47)
Woe to you...
Who claim to be unlike past sinners, as if you are more faithful, but you do the same things that destroy the faithful in God.
Jesus laments over you, because you have walked away from Him. It breaks His heart. (Lk. 13:34,35)
Jesus
Matthew 23:1-39
I just thought you should know. God loves you. Stop hurting yourself by hurting God's other children. "Christian" Politicians who make laws that hurt the most vulnerable for the sake of the wealthy and powerful, Clergy who turn a blind eye and deaf ear or who support their efforts, Business Leaders who ignore what Jesus taught about treating others well, Lobbyists who will hurt anyone to benefit their employers for personal gain, Voters who vote only for their self interests at the expense of others, and Citizens who operate out of selfish greed and get mean-spirited and ruthless with others all need to know. Please tell them that God is not pleased and that they do these things to their own destruction, along with the destruction of the whole nation. For their sake, and for ours...
Pastor Jamie
You accumulate wealth and property by monopolizing business and driving out or holding out others from making a living or from getting what they need in life (like Department stores and large corporations do, and anyone who would begrudge someone else their needed healthcare).
Woe to you, IF...
You have a life of ease and self-indulgence, and are independently wealthy. It will be taken from you.
GOD IS EXALTED when we LIVE IN JUSTICE!
Woe to you, IF...
You make sinning against humanity a way of life-engaging in falsehood for personal gain - always expecting more and greater blessings in a sense of entitlement, while considering what is evil in the eyes of God to be good, and what is good in the eyes of God to be evil (like politicians, corporate executives, lobbyists working to ship jobs overseas while laying off our workers, and exploiting foreign nations for more profit as a result of it).
Woe to you, IF...
You are among the self-indulgent who use bribes to benefit the guilty and hurt the innocent (voter suppression, re-districting, buy Supreme Court votes).
God will turn it around and drop you on your head.
Isaiah 5 and Luke 6:20-26
Woe to you, WHO...
Desire the day of The Lord, because it won't go as well for you as you think (Matthew 25:31-46).
Woe to you, WHO...
Think that God likes your Worship while you lack Justice and Righteousness in how you treat others in the world around you (Mark 7:1-13).
Woe to you, WHO...
Live at ease and are no better than others but think you are superior (Luke 18:9-14).
Woe to you, WHO...
Live in luxury and have a life of ease, and who ignore the plight of the poor and add to it (Luke 16:19-31).
Woe to you, WHO...
Turn Justice into poison and rejoice in things that don't matter, as if they do. (Luke 18:18-30)
Woe to you, WHO...
Think you are self made and therefore better than others, or should be more entitled than they should be (Luke 12:13-21).
God is going to turn things upside down on you! (Luke 6:20-26)
Amos 5:18 - 6:14
Woe to you...
Religious leaders who preach and teach a strict adherence to The Law but make exceptions for yourselves, and who like power, prestige and position with the wealth that comes with it. You will be humbled.
Woe to you...
Church leaders who keep people from God like you do yourselves, insisting that they go YOUR way which is not God's Way, collecting "saved" people who are not, really.
Woe to you...
Blind guides who are instructed NOT to swear at all, but who swear on monetary value above what comes from out of the heart.
Woe to you...
Hypocrites who make it all about tithing ostentatiously of your showy abundance, while ignoring the more important matters of justice, mercy and faith. (see also Luke 11:37-52)
Woe to you...
Hypocrites who make a show of your piety and self-righteousness, giving the right appearances and postures, but inside are filled with greed, self-indulgence and lust for power and control. Clean what is INSIDE of you.
Woe to you...
Who look spiritually alive on the outside, but are dead to God on the inside.
Woe to you...
Religious leaders who look and act the part, but only like the power, prestige, position and wealth, and who use them to exploit the most vulnerable in the world around them (Mark 20:45-47)
Woe to you...
Who claim to be unlike past sinners, as if you are more faithful, but you do the same things that destroy the faithful in God.
Jesus laments over you, because you have walked away from Him. It breaks His heart. (Lk. 13:34,35)
Jesus
Matthew 23:1-39
I just thought you should know. God loves you. Stop hurting yourself by hurting God's other children. "Christian" Politicians who make laws that hurt the most vulnerable for the sake of the wealthy and powerful, Clergy who turn a blind eye and deaf ear or who support their efforts, Business Leaders who ignore what Jesus taught about treating others well, Lobbyists who will hurt anyone to benefit their employers for personal gain, Voters who vote only for their self interests at the expense of others, and Citizens who operate out of selfish greed and get mean-spirited and ruthless with others all need to know. Please tell them that God is not pleased and that they do these things to their own destruction, along with the destruction of the whole nation. For their sake, and for ours...
Pastor Jamie
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Peace in a Warring Culture
We seem shocked when someone takes a tool that is created to kill a person a second and does just that.
We ignore the pain of the victims then, and try to justify owning tools of death.
In fact, we quickly get over the shock and make the tragedy a reason to get more tools of killing.
We are a violent culture. It is played out in the box office, on the small screen, in our music, in what we get obsessed with and what we buy and how we get it. Instead of investing in the tools of life, we invest in the tools of death. Instead of seeking "the things that make for peace" (Romans 14:19), we fill our lives with the things that make for war and then claim that we do it because we love peace and want to keep the peace. We jump to war when we can't get what we want by peaceful means, whether that is war in our own neighborhood, on our own streets or war across the world (James 4:1-3). We have learned this well as individuals and as a nation. We contribute to the violent nature of our society, but put the evil "out there" when horrible things happen to innocent victims. It absolves us, in our own minds, from any responsibility in what is happening in the world which we help to create. We justify owning "a sword" even through our misuse of scripture, ignoring that even in the worst cases, war was contextual in the Old Testament, and ignoring a preponderance of scripture on peace and living peaceably. This allows us indirectly to blame it on God, or at least to be able to say, "Hate the game, not the player." But we are all players in this most offensive game. We vote for politicians specifically because they are not "soft" on war or because they support the "right to bear arms". We support those who are supported by gun lobbyists. We refuse to ban tools of death that have one purpose - to kill one person per second. To be clear, I am not talking about weapons designed for hunting or even personal protection now, but offensive assault rifles. We want it to be easy to obtain such a weapon legally. We want no limits on the number of weapons or the amount of ammunition we can buy. We turn a blind eye, deafen our ears and even champion the accumulation of weaponry in every home in America. ... and I am just talking about American "Christians" here! And then, we turn the tragedy into an argument to arm MORE people with such tools of assault and death, rather than eliminate or even limit them.
Instead of having a value for what God wants -
"God shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they LEARN WAR anymore." Isa. 2:4
Instead of believing what Jesus said -
"Put your sword back into its place; for ALL who take the sword will perish by the sword." Matthew 26:52
Instead of seeing the Wisdom that Paul saw -
"...Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all... Do not BE
overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:14-21
Instead of living the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22,23... instead of... instead of... instead of...
We use our resources to produce, purchase and maintain weapons of mass destruction (60 people at a time) in our own land, having created the need for them because we are a warring culture. Then we write laws that allow us to carry weaponry in public and use them against unarmed persons if we FEEL "threatened". We are increasingly turning defending ourselves into the right to provoke war among our own people and likewise across the world with our immediate response being the positioning of our war machines outside of someone else's door. People of peace do not go into situations with those tools displayed or the exhibiting the postures that go with them. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." and "By their fruits you will know them." seem to be very telling quotes of Jesus about our warring culture.
I will not support, purchase or own one. I will not vote for anyone who wants them. As a follower of Jesus my Lord, I value peace. Shalom means wholeness and well-being, and without peace we have none. We have none. Our wholeness and well-being as a nation is shaken because we are increasingly a people who do not love the peace of the Kingdom of God above our own, warring natures. I will speak for, work for, write for, vote for peace - so help me, God.
Pastor Jamie
We ignore the pain of the victims then, and try to justify owning tools of death.
In fact, we quickly get over the shock and make the tragedy a reason to get more tools of killing.
We are a violent culture. It is played out in the box office, on the small screen, in our music, in what we get obsessed with and what we buy and how we get it. Instead of investing in the tools of life, we invest in the tools of death. Instead of seeking "the things that make for peace" (Romans 14:19), we fill our lives with the things that make for war and then claim that we do it because we love peace and want to keep the peace. We jump to war when we can't get what we want by peaceful means, whether that is war in our own neighborhood, on our own streets or war across the world (James 4:1-3). We have learned this well as individuals and as a nation. We contribute to the violent nature of our society, but put the evil "out there" when horrible things happen to innocent victims. It absolves us, in our own minds, from any responsibility in what is happening in the world which we help to create. We justify owning "a sword" even through our misuse of scripture, ignoring that even in the worst cases, war was contextual in the Old Testament, and ignoring a preponderance of scripture on peace and living peaceably. This allows us indirectly to blame it on God, or at least to be able to say, "Hate the game, not the player." But we are all players in this most offensive game. We vote for politicians specifically because they are not "soft" on war or because they support the "right to bear arms". We support those who are supported by gun lobbyists. We refuse to ban tools of death that have one purpose - to kill one person per second. To be clear, I am not talking about weapons designed for hunting or even personal protection now, but offensive assault rifles. We want it to be easy to obtain such a weapon legally. We want no limits on the number of weapons or the amount of ammunition we can buy. We turn a blind eye, deafen our ears and even champion the accumulation of weaponry in every home in America. ... and I am just talking about American "Christians" here! And then, we turn the tragedy into an argument to arm MORE people with such tools of assault and death, rather than eliminate or even limit them.
Instead of having a value for what God wants -
"God shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they LEARN WAR anymore." Isa. 2:4
Instead of believing what Jesus said -
"Put your sword back into its place; for ALL who take the sword will perish by the sword." Matthew 26:52
Instead of seeing the Wisdom that Paul saw -
"...Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all... Do not BE
overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:14-21
Instead of living the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22,23... instead of... instead of... instead of...
We use our resources to produce, purchase and maintain weapons of mass destruction (60 people at a time) in our own land, having created the need for them because we are a warring culture. Then we write laws that allow us to carry weaponry in public and use them against unarmed persons if we FEEL "threatened". We are increasingly turning defending ourselves into the right to provoke war among our own people and likewise across the world with our immediate response being the positioning of our war machines outside of someone else's door. People of peace do not go into situations with those tools displayed or the exhibiting the postures that go with them. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." and "By their fruits you will know them." seem to be very telling quotes of Jesus about our warring culture.
I will not support, purchase or own one. I will not vote for anyone who wants them. As a follower of Jesus my Lord, I value peace. Shalom means wholeness and well-being, and without peace we have none. We have none. Our wholeness and well-being as a nation is shaken because we are increasingly a people who do not love the peace of the Kingdom of God above our own, warring natures. I will speak for, work for, write for, vote for peace - so help me, God.
Pastor Jamie
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Hospitality, Compassion and Justice
All my political positions and economic positions come from The Word. I know, for some of you that makes no sense, but I am a child of God and Pastor... I am a student of The Word and I love what Jesus and the prophets had to teach about society and how we are to live in THIS part of God's Kingdom... so I offer this for those of you who do not know what I mean:
We are instructed in Torah, the Prophets, The Gospel of Jesus and the Epistles this -
"You shall not defraud your neighbor, steal or keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning..."
Leviticus 19:13 instructs us to treat laborers fairly with their wages... not lay them off for personal
profit or bust organizations that would help them be treated fairly
"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 a 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." Leviticus 19:33,34 instructs us to treat the
aliens in our land as citizens and loved ones, not exploit them for cheap labor because they have
no official papers and therefore no one to which to complain, and not scapegoat them for our
nation's problems and kick them out or round them up like criminals so we feel better about
our control (which is an illusion).
"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather
the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord
your God." Leviticus 23:22 instructs us to make intentional provision for the poor and aliens in
our land and not keep it all for our selves.
"You shall not pervert the justice due to our poor in their lawsuits. Keep far from a false charge, and do
not kill the innocent and those in the right, for I will not acquit the guilty of that. You shall take no
bribe, for a bride blinds the officials, and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. You shall
not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of
Egypt." Exodus 23:6-9 instructs us to not do tort reform that throws out lawsuits as "frivolous",
and not to let lobbyists bribe officials of government. And, unless you are a pure blooded native
American, you were once immigrants here and should know better than to treat aliens in the land
shamefully.
Why? So glad you asked! "For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God,
mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and
widow (most vulnerable in society), and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing.
You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt..." Deuteronomy 10:17
-19 instructs us that God loves them, and those whom God loves we had better love.
"You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who
reside in your land in one of your towns. You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset,
because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the Lord
against you, and you would incur guilt... You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of
justice; you shall not take a widow's garment in pledge. Remember that you were a slave in
Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this. When
you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it;
it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in
all our undertakings. When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the
alien, the orphan and the widow (the most vulnerable). When you gather the grapes of your
vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. Remember
that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this."
Deuteronomy 24:14-22 instructs us to help the poor, aliens and most vulnerable in society and
not to exploit, abuse, neglect, scapegoat them for our own personal gain as individuals, companies
or a nation!
I remember some "theologians" claiming that the Katrina disaster was a plague from God on
the sinful people of New Orleans. I do not hear them saying that the drought is a plague from
God on farmers and society because we have refused to treat "illegal" aliens with respect...
but have recently started targeting them and scapegoating them... interesting, don't you think?
"Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humbles our selves, but you do not notice? Look,
you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers. Look, you fast only
to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not
make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it
to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a
fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of the
injustice; to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your home;
when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then
your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your
vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall
call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and God will say, Here I am."
Isaiah 58:3-9 and also read 10-12, Amos 5:21-24 and Mark 7:6-8 instruct us that any piety or
outward shows of faithfulness or worship and praise are meaningless when we are unjust as
individuals or a nation with workers, the poor, minorities, the vulnerable and any in need.
See also Matthew 25:31-46 about how many who think they are sheep will find that they are
goats in the end... and how Jesus takes VERY seriously how we treat the most vulnerable...
Amos 5:10-15 instructs us about those who want to subvert the justice due others in order that
we might exploit the needy in our land for our own wealth and power, and how evil that is.
Amos 6:1-7 instructs us on how those with ease will not be the favored they think they are.
Micah 6:8 instructs us on what God has told us all along is acceptable to God.
Jesus in Matthew 5:42 instructs us to give to those who have no income.
Jesus in Matthew 21 instructs on evil tenants who think they can abuse others in God's Kingdom.
Jesus in Mark 14:7 says that we need to value Him above all, but help the poor as we are able,
always.
Jesus in Luke 10:7 sides with laborers in their pursuit of making a living (I Timothy 5:18).
Jesus in Luke 12 instructs us about being foolishly selfish (Rich Fool).
Jesus in Luke 16 instructs us on the sin of ignoring the plight of those most vulnerable (Rich Man
and Lazarus).
II Timothy 2:6 reads "It is the farmer who does the work who ought to have the first share of the crops." But we don't honor the workers as we do the owners and managers... it is backward according to Kingdom values.
James 2:14-17 instructs us on giving spiritual lip service to love, but not really helping someone,
and how useless that is in the Kingdom.
James 4:1-6 instructs us on how our mean-spirited, ruthless greed and willingness to do whatever
it takes to get what we want as a nation is sinful.
James 5:1-6 instructs us on how corrupt we are for the sake of the wealthy at the expense of others,
and how disgusting it is to God.
We, as a nation are in trouble, NOT because of the sexual sins we are obsessed with or the "liberal"
leanings that many label, but because we have treated people within our own land and those
abroad, people whom God loves, shamefully...
Politicians are voted on, and put into office by the people... and when they represent us in backing
the wealthy and powerful over the poorest in the land, writing laws that hurt the poor and make
it easy for the wealthy and powerful to exploit them...
cut programs that help the poor, rather than "entitlements" that help the rich...
actively engage in class warfare and then claim others are when they stand up to it...
intentionally break organized labor so that people will no longer make a living wage...
engage in voter suppression so that the wealthy and powerful can stay in office...
make it impossible for people to get justice, which they label "frivolous lawsuits"...
send jobs overseas and lay people off and then complain that they should not have to pay their
fair share of taxes because they are "job creators"...
scapegoat, target and oppress resident aliens in our land on whose backs we have gained
inexpensive food and manual labor for years...
keeping the poor and middle class working families from equal healthcare, while benefitting
those in the industry with greater profits and less accountability
keeping people from making a living wage while stockholders and corporate execs already
making 300x what the average worker makes, pursue limitless profit for themselves
not even to mention polluting, destroying and wasting the creation God loves, along with all the
people whom God created who inhabit it... and all for more profit for a few... oops, I guess I
did just mention it :-)
... and the people doing this "confess" with their lips to be "CHRISTIANS"?
No!
The God of the Law and Prophets is clearly not pleased.
Jesus, fulfiller of the Law and Prophets is not pleased.
We need to stop obsessively focusing on the sexual things that Jesus never mentioned, and go after the
REAL IMMORALITY of America, according to the Word of God - Greed and Lust for
Power, Prestige, Position and wealth... which we count as normative behavior in our nation, which
is rarely if ever mentioned in the church, and which is destroying our nation.
We have met the enemy. They are not "out there", and they are not "those people". The
worst enemy we have is US in the U.S..
Pastor Jamie
We are instructed in Torah, the Prophets, The Gospel of Jesus and the Epistles this -
"You shall not defraud your neighbor, steal or keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning..."
Leviticus 19:13 instructs us to treat laborers fairly with their wages... not lay them off for personal
profit or bust organizations that would help them be treated fairly
"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 a 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." Leviticus 19:33,34 instructs us to treat the
aliens in our land as citizens and loved ones, not exploit them for cheap labor because they have
no official papers and therefore no one to which to complain, and not scapegoat them for our
nation's problems and kick them out or round them up like criminals so we feel better about
our control (which is an illusion).
"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather
the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord
your God." Leviticus 23:22 instructs us to make intentional provision for the poor and aliens in
our land and not keep it all for our selves.
"You shall not pervert the justice due to our poor in their lawsuits. Keep far from a false charge, and do
not kill the innocent and those in the right, for I will not acquit the guilty of that. You shall take no
bribe, for a bride blinds the officials, and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. You shall
not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of
Egypt." Exodus 23:6-9 instructs us to not do tort reform that throws out lawsuits as "frivolous",
and not to let lobbyists bribe officials of government. And, unless you are a pure blooded native
American, you were once immigrants here and should know better than to treat aliens in the land
shamefully.
Why? So glad you asked! "For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God,
mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and
widow (most vulnerable in society), and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing.
You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt..." Deuteronomy 10:17
-19 instructs us that God loves them, and those whom God loves we had better love.
"You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who
reside in your land in one of your towns. You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset,
because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the Lord
against you, and you would incur guilt... You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of
justice; you shall not take a widow's garment in pledge. Remember that you were a slave in
Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this. When
you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it;
it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in
all our undertakings. When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the
alien, the orphan and the widow (the most vulnerable). When you gather the grapes of your
vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. Remember
that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this."
Deuteronomy 24:14-22 instructs us to help the poor, aliens and most vulnerable in society and
not to exploit, abuse, neglect, scapegoat them for our own personal gain as individuals, companies
or a nation!
I remember some "theologians" claiming that the Katrina disaster was a plague from God on
the sinful people of New Orleans. I do not hear them saying that the drought is a plague from
God on farmers and society because we have refused to treat "illegal" aliens with respect...
but have recently started targeting them and scapegoating them... interesting, don't you think?
"Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humbles our selves, but you do not notice? Look,
you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers. Look, you fast only
to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not
make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it
to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a
fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of the
injustice; to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your home;
when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then
your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your
vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall
call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and God will say, Here I am."
Isaiah 58:3-9 and also read 10-12, Amos 5:21-24 and Mark 7:6-8 instruct us that any piety or
outward shows of faithfulness or worship and praise are meaningless when we are unjust as
individuals or a nation with workers, the poor, minorities, the vulnerable and any in need.
See also Matthew 25:31-46 about how many who think they are sheep will find that they are
goats in the end... and how Jesus takes VERY seriously how we treat the most vulnerable...
Amos 5:10-15 instructs us about those who want to subvert the justice due others in order that
we might exploit the needy in our land for our own wealth and power, and how evil that is.
Amos 6:1-7 instructs us on how those with ease will not be the favored they think they are.
Micah 6:8 instructs us on what God has told us all along is acceptable to God.
Jesus in Matthew 5:42 instructs us to give to those who have no income.
Jesus in Matthew 21 instructs on evil tenants who think they can abuse others in God's Kingdom.
Jesus in Mark 14:7 says that we need to value Him above all, but help the poor as we are able,
always.
Jesus in Luke 10:7 sides with laborers in their pursuit of making a living (I Timothy 5:18).
Jesus in Luke 12 instructs us about being foolishly selfish (Rich Fool).
Jesus in Luke 16 instructs us on the sin of ignoring the plight of those most vulnerable (Rich Man
and Lazarus).
II Timothy 2:6 reads "It is the farmer who does the work who ought to have the first share of the crops." But we don't honor the workers as we do the owners and managers... it is backward according to Kingdom values.
James 2:14-17 instructs us on giving spiritual lip service to love, but not really helping someone,
and how useless that is in the Kingdom.
James 4:1-6 instructs us on how our mean-spirited, ruthless greed and willingness to do whatever
it takes to get what we want as a nation is sinful.
James 5:1-6 instructs us on how corrupt we are for the sake of the wealthy at the expense of others,
and how disgusting it is to God.
We, as a nation are in trouble, NOT because of the sexual sins we are obsessed with or the "liberal"
leanings that many label, but because we have treated people within our own land and those
abroad, people whom God loves, shamefully...
Politicians are voted on, and put into office by the people... and when they represent us in backing
the wealthy and powerful over the poorest in the land, writing laws that hurt the poor and make
it easy for the wealthy and powerful to exploit them...
cut programs that help the poor, rather than "entitlements" that help the rich...
actively engage in class warfare and then claim others are when they stand up to it...
intentionally break organized labor so that people will no longer make a living wage...
engage in voter suppression so that the wealthy and powerful can stay in office...
make it impossible for people to get justice, which they label "frivolous lawsuits"...
send jobs overseas and lay people off and then complain that they should not have to pay their
fair share of taxes because they are "job creators"...
scapegoat, target and oppress resident aliens in our land on whose backs we have gained
inexpensive food and manual labor for years...
keeping the poor and middle class working families from equal healthcare, while benefitting
those in the industry with greater profits and less accountability
keeping people from making a living wage while stockholders and corporate execs already
making 300x what the average worker makes, pursue limitless profit for themselves
not even to mention polluting, destroying and wasting the creation God loves, along with all the
people whom God created who inhabit it... and all for more profit for a few... oops, I guess I
did just mention it :-)
... and the people doing this "confess" with their lips to be "CHRISTIANS"?
No!
The God of the Law and Prophets is clearly not pleased.
Jesus, fulfiller of the Law and Prophets is not pleased.
We need to stop obsessively focusing on the sexual things that Jesus never mentioned, and go after the
REAL IMMORALITY of America, according to the Word of God - Greed and Lust for
Power, Prestige, Position and wealth... which we count as normative behavior in our nation, which
is rarely if ever mentioned in the church, and which is destroying our nation.
We have met the enemy. They are not "out there", and they are not "those people". The
worst enemy we have is US in the U.S..
Pastor Jamie
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Voter suppression
So, the Nazi's in the 30's promised to the public that they would turn the economy around by suppressing the communist voters and destroy Marxism. Voter suppression appeals to those who do not value democracy, but rather control, self-promotion above or at the expense of others, and the eventual full subjugation of those not like them. It does not come out of a value for ALL citizens within a nation.
The Nazi's scapegoated the Jews for the nation's problems (economic mostly), and did all that they could, including eventual violence at the polls, to suppress Jewish voters and vilify and discredit them as being "invalid" citizens, eventually to push them out and annihilate them. For some in our nation, the scapegoats are our black and brown sisters and brothers, and the poor who have been relegated that status, in part, by the policies that benefit the middle and upper economic classes in our nation. Even those who have voted before (especially those who did in 2008), are being scrutinized with extreme prejudice. Rather than look at the problem of income-disparities between those who struggle to survive and those who are given an exorbitant percentage of profit and address the higher percentage of our national budget in corporate welfare (that we instead call "entitlements"), and the fact that "job creators" took governmental hand-outs and THEN laid off much of the workforce for their own bonuses and profits to stockholders, rather than take a little less profit for them selves, we blame the small percentage of the nation on public assistance, the smaller percentage who perpetrate fraud among them, the "illegal" aliens in the nation (upon which we rely for cheap labor) and those who organized in labor to ensure them selves fair wages, sabbath rest and job security. The desire among those in power is a return to the robber-baron, captains of industry days of sweat shops and barely subsistence level living among laborers for the sake of excessive profit for the owners and their cronies. All political and economic efforts are aimed at that goal, and have been very effective of late.
Those who are perpetrating these efforts to obtain all the power and wealth for them selves have now raised the fear level over "voter fraud", when everyone knows, except those duped by their Nazi-like fear tactics ( as in, fear raised in 30's Germany over "the Jewish problem"), that the numbers do not bear out any great problem with voter fraud. It is aimed at those who have less means to provide what they consider to be PROPER identification. Then, the tricks begin at the polls, like in Florida for two Presidential elections, that would exclude VALID votes from the count. Then the "Jim Crow- like" poll games begin at the hands of those whose values show in it.
"By their fruits you will know them." - (Jesus) Do they value democracy, or only their own idolatrous devotion to unchecked and un-regulated capitalism - spelled G-R-E-E-D? "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." - (Jesus) Do they value a nation OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE and FOR THE PEOPLE (ALL the people), or just the wealthy and powerful (and mostly White) and those who aspire to be like them? Do they value democracy, or personal gain at any cost (to others) and by any means? "What does it profit a person (corporation or nation) to gain the whole world and lose (his/her/its) soul?" (Jesus)
End the mean-spirited, bigoted, self-promotional, exclusive, classist, racist, sexist, homophobic, nationalistic (as if WE were the original inhabitants of this land), xenophobic practices. Say "NO!" to those who would twist, skew, manipulate and corrupt the democratic process to disenfranchise some for their own benefit! Speak, write, demonstrate, facebook, tweet and VOTE for DEMOCRACY and support the rights of ALL people in this nation... that is, if you love Democracy above unchecked Capitalism, and love people above personal profit.
Pastor Jamie
The Nazi's scapegoated the Jews for the nation's problems (economic mostly), and did all that they could, including eventual violence at the polls, to suppress Jewish voters and vilify and discredit them as being "invalid" citizens, eventually to push them out and annihilate them. For some in our nation, the scapegoats are our black and brown sisters and brothers, and the poor who have been relegated that status, in part, by the policies that benefit the middle and upper economic classes in our nation. Even those who have voted before (especially those who did in 2008), are being scrutinized with extreme prejudice. Rather than look at the problem of income-disparities between those who struggle to survive and those who are given an exorbitant percentage of profit and address the higher percentage of our national budget in corporate welfare (that we instead call "entitlements"), and the fact that "job creators" took governmental hand-outs and THEN laid off much of the workforce for their own bonuses and profits to stockholders, rather than take a little less profit for them selves, we blame the small percentage of the nation on public assistance, the smaller percentage who perpetrate fraud among them, the "illegal" aliens in the nation (upon which we rely for cheap labor) and those who organized in labor to ensure them selves fair wages, sabbath rest and job security. The desire among those in power is a return to the robber-baron, captains of industry days of sweat shops and barely subsistence level living among laborers for the sake of excessive profit for the owners and their cronies. All political and economic efforts are aimed at that goal, and have been very effective of late.
Those who are perpetrating these efforts to obtain all the power and wealth for them selves have now raised the fear level over "voter fraud", when everyone knows, except those duped by their Nazi-like fear tactics ( as in, fear raised in 30's Germany over "the Jewish problem"), that the numbers do not bear out any great problem with voter fraud. It is aimed at those who have less means to provide what they consider to be PROPER identification. Then, the tricks begin at the polls, like in Florida for two Presidential elections, that would exclude VALID votes from the count. Then the "Jim Crow- like" poll games begin at the hands of those whose values show in it.
"By their fruits you will know them." - (Jesus) Do they value democracy, or only their own idolatrous devotion to unchecked and un-regulated capitalism - spelled G-R-E-E-D? "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." - (Jesus) Do they value a nation OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE and FOR THE PEOPLE (ALL the people), or just the wealthy and powerful (and mostly White) and those who aspire to be like them? Do they value democracy, or personal gain at any cost (to others) and by any means? "What does it profit a person (corporation or nation) to gain the whole world and lose (his/her/its) soul?" (Jesus)
End the mean-spirited, bigoted, self-promotional, exclusive, classist, racist, sexist, homophobic, nationalistic (as if WE were the original inhabitants of this land), xenophobic practices. Say "NO!" to those who would twist, skew, manipulate and corrupt the democratic process to disenfranchise some for their own benefit! Speak, write, demonstrate, facebook, tweet and VOTE for DEMOCRACY and support the rights of ALL people in this nation... that is, if you love Democracy above unchecked Capitalism, and love people above personal profit.
Pastor Jamie
Thursday, June 14, 2012
To Identify
The leaders of the church I now serve are studying Luke/Acts this summer through daily readings and comments on face book... I LOVE The Lord, The Lord's Word and Luke! If you read the first couple of chapters, you find God reaching into the lives of LOWLY people to lift them up in hope. Mary, a lowly and oh yes, engaged but not married woman is chosen to be the mother of Jesus as an unwed mother. You KNOW what kind of scandal that would be, yet God identifies with the scandalized. His genealogy in Luke is traced through common people and not royalty, through the generations, so His lineage is marked by His commonality with regular folks. They were too poor to bribe anyone for a room and Jesus was born in a barn, laid in a feeding trough for animals, so His beginnings are humble and poor, even homeless... then Jesus, (according to Matthew's Gospel) is made a Refugee in a foreign land because of political/religious persecution... identifying with the strangers in a land... the announcement of His birth breaks forth for the NIGHT CREW of Shepherds, who must watch the flocks at night... manual laborers are honored with the first announcement... then Jesus shares His mission as being Good News for the poor, oppressed and most vulnerable in society, as Jesus identifies with them in the world and champions them. And with whom do WE identify in OUR society and OUR American Christian church - the scandalized in society, poor, homeless, the common people, strangers in our land, the day laborers or night crew, the oppressed and most vulnerable... or the rich and powerful? Who do WE lift up? Who do WE benefit? Who do WE promote? I will vote for the candidate who will most help "the least of these", whom God loves and with whom Jesus identifies, or at least the one who will hurt them the least. I do so without hesitation or reservation. If it is what Jesus did and commanded, I will do it GLADLY. I think the powerful and wealthy are blessed enough, and could perhaps stand to be more of a blessing for others. I worship and follow the Lord whose mom praised the God who "scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree... has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich has sent away empty..." I think she had something there, and understood God's will for God's children as brothers and sisters, in the world. Would that we would grow more in our following of Jesus in how we live with those with whom Jesus identified.
Pastor Jamie
Pastor Jamie
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
The immorality of our current direction
"Love your neighbor as yourself" is not a suggestion, but rather a commandment! It means that you will no more want to see your neighbor (stranger and enemy according to Jesus in Luke 10) go without what they need than you would want that for yourself. It means that you would not entertain the thought of self promotion while neighbor is struggling or suffering.
Since 1980, the top 1% of those in the nation's economy doubled their income level. Since 1980, the top .1% more than tripled their income level. The average household income in our nation is about $34,000 and the mean per capita income is about $27,000. The gap between the very few who have the most and the increasingly more who have less is widening.
And yet Christians either sit silently, while screaming about other issues never addressed by Jesus, or they join the bandwagon, supporting those in government and business (increasingly the same entity), who promote the further wealth of the wealthy and further power of the powerful (same folks), while taking away what little power organized labor and others have in order to defend themselves and make a decent living.
While cutting programs for the poor, many in government are INSISTING that we continue tax breaks for the wealthy.
While cutting unemployment benefits in most states, many in government are INSISTING that we continue tax breaks for the corporations (whom they call job creators, though they are the ones who out of self interest for more personal profit laid people off and destroyed jobs to begin with).
While actively working to strip any say of the people in organized labor, many in government are allowing companies to strip away pensions and benefits for faithful employees of many years, that the companies agreed to pay them when they started work there!
Many of these people who are in government, in board rooms and voting booths are also in churches on Sunday mornings, praising Jesus.
Amos 5: 21-24
I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your assemblies. Even though you offer me your offerings, I will not accept them, and your peace offerings I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your instruments I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Amos 8:4-7
Hear this, you who trample upon the needy, and bring the poor of the land to an end, saying, 'When will the restrictions be over so that we may sell unrestricted again? And the sabbath, that we may offer our wares for sale, and make the weights uneven and gain more money, and deal deceitfully with false balances, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes, and sell the rotten produce to them?' The Lord has sworn by the pride of His people: "Surely I will never forget any of their deeds."
Matthew 25:31-46
Truly, I tell you, as you fed the hungry, clothed the naked, welcomed the stranger (alien in the land), visited the sick and imprisoned (with compassion and justice), so you did it to me. As you refused the feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, or visit the sick or imprisoned, you refused me. And the goats will go away to eternal punishment, but the sheep into eternal life. - Jesus
Luke 6:24-27
Woe to you who are rich now, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you, when all others speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets. But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you. - Jesus
Luke 18:18-30
How hard it is for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God! - Jesus
James 4:1-10
What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you? Is it not your passions that are at war within your members? You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war...'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'
James 5:1-11
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have killed the righteous, who does not resist you... the Judge is standing at the doors.
The LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR thing is a COMMANDMENT. Jesus takes it seriously. It is NO JOKE! The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob takes it seriously. Injustice, inequity, inequality God takes seriously. I am sometimes accused of talking too much about love, as if I am just sharing some nice thoughts with folks rather than sharing hard truths. This thing about AGAPE LOVE has a hard edge to it. At least according to Jesus, who IS the Judge of the living and dead in my faith, our salvation is dependent upon how well we treat "the least of these". How are we doing with that as politicians, business executives and voters (especially who profess to be "Christian") in our nation right now? I believe a whole lotta people who think they are sheep will be on the goat side of the ledger...
Trampling those who are already poor to gain more for those who are already rich is IMMORAL, at least according to God. With God, not all immorality has somehow to do with sex. GREED IS IMMORAL. INJUSTICE out of GREED is IMMORAL. The God whose name is praised by those who perpetrate this immorality is NOT PLEASED and WILL NOT allow it to continue. How's that for hard truth? How's that for a prophetic word?
To REPENT means to "change one's mind", presumably so that one's direction will change in life. I believe it is time for massive repentance and a different direction in our nation, so that ALL are lifted up and not just some. I believe THAT would PLEASE GOD. I pray for those with power and wealth. I pray for those who aspire to have it. I pray for my brothers and sisters who go without what they need because others hoard their abundance (Rich Fool - Luke 12) or step over the poor and ignore their plight as they come and go in opulent wealth (Rich Man and Lazarus - Luke 16). I pray for "the least of these" and try to help them because they are my sisters and brothers and Jesus loves them. I don't want to hurt those whom Jesus loves. It is not loving, faithful or wise. I also pray for those who perpetrate injustice out of immoral greed. I pray for their souls and the soul of our nation, especially now. It is the LOVING thing to do.
Pastor Jamie
Since 1980, the top 1% of those in the nation's economy doubled their income level. Since 1980, the top .1% more than tripled their income level. The average household income in our nation is about $34,000 and the mean per capita income is about $27,000. The gap between the very few who have the most and the increasingly more who have less is widening.
And yet Christians either sit silently, while screaming about other issues never addressed by Jesus, or they join the bandwagon, supporting those in government and business (increasingly the same entity), who promote the further wealth of the wealthy and further power of the powerful (same folks), while taking away what little power organized labor and others have in order to defend themselves and make a decent living.
While cutting programs for the poor, many in government are INSISTING that we continue tax breaks for the wealthy.
While cutting unemployment benefits in most states, many in government are INSISTING that we continue tax breaks for the corporations (whom they call job creators, though they are the ones who out of self interest for more personal profit laid people off and destroyed jobs to begin with).
While actively working to strip any say of the people in organized labor, many in government are allowing companies to strip away pensions and benefits for faithful employees of many years, that the companies agreed to pay them when they started work there!
Many of these people who are in government, in board rooms and voting booths are also in churches on Sunday mornings, praising Jesus.
Amos 5: 21-24
I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your assemblies. Even though you offer me your offerings, I will not accept them, and your peace offerings I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your instruments I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Amos 8:4-7
Hear this, you who trample upon the needy, and bring the poor of the land to an end, saying, 'When will the restrictions be over so that we may sell unrestricted again? And the sabbath, that we may offer our wares for sale, and make the weights uneven and gain more money, and deal deceitfully with false balances, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes, and sell the rotten produce to them?' The Lord has sworn by the pride of His people: "Surely I will never forget any of their deeds."
Matthew 25:31-46
Truly, I tell you, as you fed the hungry, clothed the naked, welcomed the stranger (alien in the land), visited the sick and imprisoned (with compassion and justice), so you did it to me. As you refused the feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, or visit the sick or imprisoned, you refused me. And the goats will go away to eternal punishment, but the sheep into eternal life. - Jesus
Luke 6:24-27
Woe to you who are rich now, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you, when all others speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets. But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you. - Jesus
Luke 18:18-30
How hard it is for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God! - Jesus
James 4:1-10
What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you? Is it not your passions that are at war within your members? You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war...'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'
James 5:1-11
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have killed the righteous, who does not resist you... the Judge is standing at the doors.
The LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR thing is a COMMANDMENT. Jesus takes it seriously. It is NO JOKE! The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob takes it seriously. Injustice, inequity, inequality God takes seriously. I am sometimes accused of talking too much about love, as if I am just sharing some nice thoughts with folks rather than sharing hard truths. This thing about AGAPE LOVE has a hard edge to it. At least according to Jesus, who IS the Judge of the living and dead in my faith, our salvation is dependent upon how well we treat "the least of these". How are we doing with that as politicians, business executives and voters (especially who profess to be "Christian") in our nation right now? I believe a whole lotta people who think they are sheep will be on the goat side of the ledger...
Trampling those who are already poor to gain more for those who are already rich is IMMORAL, at least according to God. With God, not all immorality has somehow to do with sex. GREED IS IMMORAL. INJUSTICE out of GREED is IMMORAL. The God whose name is praised by those who perpetrate this immorality is NOT PLEASED and WILL NOT allow it to continue. How's that for hard truth? How's that for a prophetic word?
To REPENT means to "change one's mind", presumably so that one's direction will change in life. I believe it is time for massive repentance and a different direction in our nation, so that ALL are lifted up and not just some. I believe THAT would PLEASE GOD. I pray for those with power and wealth. I pray for those who aspire to have it. I pray for my brothers and sisters who go without what they need because others hoard their abundance (Rich Fool - Luke 12) or step over the poor and ignore their plight as they come and go in opulent wealth (Rich Man and Lazarus - Luke 16). I pray for "the least of these" and try to help them because they are my sisters and brothers and Jesus loves them. I don't want to hurt those whom Jesus loves. It is not loving, faithful or wise. I also pray for those who perpetrate injustice out of immoral greed. I pray for their souls and the soul of our nation, especially now. It is the LOVING thing to do.
Pastor Jamie
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
"Shut up and come out, unclean societal spirits!"
Credit and/or my apologies must go to my wife, The Rev. Jacqueline Pinkney, for much of this, as it came out of her sermon preparation and our discussion of it this evening before prayer...
Mark 1: 21-28 YES! Dust your Bible off, go to the index and look up Mark, and read it, please :-)
In the synagogue, a man with an unclean Spirit encounters Jesus, and the spirit at seeing Jesus started to cry out to Him and negotiate with Jesus about His intentions. Jesus did not give the spirit the power or credibility worth talking, but demanded that the spirit exit the man. The spirit did with convulsions and loud cries.
We need to exorcise the unclean spirits in our society. They have been exercised for far too long and have become very strong and full of stamina. They are too healthy for our good, and they disrupt a healthy existence.
Like the man in the synagogue, until we encounter Jesus and His teachings in authority over our lives, we will remain with unclean spirits within as our norm, and live with them within us as if it is normal. It is only when we hear the teachings of Jesus as our authority that we see the "un-normal" state of our existence with them. We may be in the church and filled with unclean spirits, and until we encounter Jesus and His authority, we will deem them normal forces in our lives. And when we do see Jesus' authority in His teachings, we will try to negotiate, acknowledging who He is as Lord but not wanting to let go of the unclean... but Jesus will not give the spirits that much clout, even to listen to them, but will rather demand that they be silenced and cast them out of us. At that point, we will experience some discomfort, because they have become normal for us, and we are quite attached to them, so we do not want to let go, but rather to give Jesus acknowledgement and still be subject to the uncleanness of the spirits, gleefully going where they take us.
I know that Jesus is my authority... fulfiller of the Law and Prophets... Redeemer, Savior and LORD
of my life. I know that His Good News is good news because it teaches me the Kingdom Values within which I want to live. As a follower of the Way of Jesus, I have encountered Him and do encounter Him in His Good News... and I am in agreement with Him over the unclean spirit business.
I make every attempt to keep them silent and without power over my life.
So,
Unclean spirit of GREED... I recognize you for who you are... shut up with your rationalizations, your seductive promises of wealth, your protestations of innocence and uprightness in "success", "achievement" and "growth", your selfish origins and the scope of your ruthlessness to always get more for self at the expense of others... Jesus taught very differently about greed and wealth, and Jesus says, "Shut up and come out of them!"
Unclean spirit of POWER... I recognize you for who you are... shut up with your ideologies of dominance in the name of good and as our manifest destiny, your spoils of war, your blood lust and thirst for vengeance and pride of dominance and control, your profiting in blood, your "might makes right" attitudes and your perspective that power always has to be over someone else... Jesus taught very differently about abuses of power, and Jesus says, "Shut up and come out of them!"
Unclean spirit of PRESTIGE... I recognize you for who you are... shut up with your false belief that it is all about you, your guise as just being seen for the great child of God you are, your hunger for constant acknowledgement, your pride in self alone, your constant striving to be famous and not necessarily to do the right things, to be recognized and not for things uplifting, and sick need to be favored over someone else... Jesus taught very differently about humility and service for others in it, and Jesus says, "Shut up and come out of them!"
Unclean spirit of FEAR... I recognize you for who you are... shut up with your philosophy of self preservation and promotion above all others, your manipulation of others' fears so you can control them, your rationalization of judgment and exclusion of others because they are different, your false and arrogant sense of superiority over others who are not like you, your sick need to appear to be better than others and therefore the need to vilify them, and the venomous slander that leads to discrimination, exploitation and violence because your fear has led you to hatred of others... Jesus taught very differently about loving even stranger and enemy and not judging anyone, and Jesus says, "Shut up and come out of them!"
This may feel un-normal for a while and uncomfortable because it is not familiar, but my prayer is that these unclean spirits will come out of us, and that we will find our health and spiritual well being in Jesus. Encounter Him and His Good News. Submit to it, conform your way to His way. It'll only hurt for a minute, and the society around you will be much happier and healthier to be around you. You will ultimately feel much better inside. It will mean healing for your soul, and perhaps the soul of the church and our nation.
God bless you.
Pastor Jamie
Mark 1: 21-28 YES! Dust your Bible off, go to the index and look up Mark, and read it, please :-)
In the synagogue, a man with an unclean Spirit encounters Jesus, and the spirit at seeing Jesus started to cry out to Him and negotiate with Jesus about His intentions. Jesus did not give the spirit the power or credibility worth talking, but demanded that the spirit exit the man. The spirit did with convulsions and loud cries.
We need to exorcise the unclean spirits in our society. They have been exercised for far too long and have become very strong and full of stamina. They are too healthy for our good, and they disrupt a healthy existence.
Like the man in the synagogue, until we encounter Jesus and His teachings in authority over our lives, we will remain with unclean spirits within as our norm, and live with them within us as if it is normal. It is only when we hear the teachings of Jesus as our authority that we see the "un-normal" state of our existence with them. We may be in the church and filled with unclean spirits, and until we encounter Jesus and His authority, we will deem them normal forces in our lives. And when we do see Jesus' authority in His teachings, we will try to negotiate, acknowledging who He is as Lord but not wanting to let go of the unclean... but Jesus will not give the spirits that much clout, even to listen to them, but will rather demand that they be silenced and cast them out of us. At that point, we will experience some discomfort, because they have become normal for us, and we are quite attached to them, so we do not want to let go, but rather to give Jesus acknowledgement and still be subject to the uncleanness of the spirits, gleefully going where they take us.
I know that Jesus is my authority... fulfiller of the Law and Prophets... Redeemer, Savior and LORD
of my life. I know that His Good News is good news because it teaches me the Kingdom Values within which I want to live. As a follower of the Way of Jesus, I have encountered Him and do encounter Him in His Good News... and I am in agreement with Him over the unclean spirit business.
I make every attempt to keep them silent and without power over my life.
So,
Unclean spirit of GREED... I recognize you for who you are... shut up with your rationalizations, your seductive promises of wealth, your protestations of innocence and uprightness in "success", "achievement" and "growth", your selfish origins and the scope of your ruthlessness to always get more for self at the expense of others... Jesus taught very differently about greed and wealth, and Jesus says, "Shut up and come out of them!"
Unclean spirit of POWER... I recognize you for who you are... shut up with your ideologies of dominance in the name of good and as our manifest destiny, your spoils of war, your blood lust and thirst for vengeance and pride of dominance and control, your profiting in blood, your "might makes right" attitudes and your perspective that power always has to be over someone else... Jesus taught very differently about abuses of power, and Jesus says, "Shut up and come out of them!"
Unclean spirit of PRESTIGE... I recognize you for who you are... shut up with your false belief that it is all about you, your guise as just being seen for the great child of God you are, your hunger for constant acknowledgement, your pride in self alone, your constant striving to be famous and not necessarily to do the right things, to be recognized and not for things uplifting, and sick need to be favored over someone else... Jesus taught very differently about humility and service for others in it, and Jesus says, "Shut up and come out of them!"
Unclean spirit of FEAR... I recognize you for who you are... shut up with your philosophy of self preservation and promotion above all others, your manipulation of others' fears so you can control them, your rationalization of judgment and exclusion of others because they are different, your false and arrogant sense of superiority over others who are not like you, your sick need to appear to be better than others and therefore the need to vilify them, and the venomous slander that leads to discrimination, exploitation and violence because your fear has led you to hatred of others... Jesus taught very differently about loving even stranger and enemy and not judging anyone, and Jesus says, "Shut up and come out of them!"
This may feel un-normal for a while and uncomfortable because it is not familiar, but my prayer is that these unclean spirits will come out of us, and that we will find our health and spiritual well being in Jesus. Encounter Him and His Good News. Submit to it, conform your way to His way. It'll only hurt for a minute, and the society around you will be much happier and healthier to be around you. You will ultimately feel much better inside. It will mean healing for your soul, and perhaps the soul of the church and our nation.
God bless you.
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, May 6, 2012
what it is
OK, so God created us... gave us life... gives us all the possibilities and opportunities of living this life, and we are subject to the imperfections of it (disease, troubling situations, environment in which we live and which we affect, etc.)... God then sends the Son who redeems us (by dying for us) for our salvation after this life and who, incidentally taught us (in The Word... The Gospel - His Good News fulfillment of the Law and Prophets) what God expects of us on how we are to live as recipients of this life and redemption (also giving us His Grace in the Sacraments)... and sends the Holy Spirit to always point us to Christ Jesus in life, and therefore to God's Love, Grace, Redemption and Salvation... and God wants us to live according to the Law of Agape Love... apply that to the world around us and create joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, goodness and self-control in it...
... and we turn this God into a "Genie in a bottle", whom we call on to give us wishes and every desire, "Mr. Good Wrench" who will fix every trouble, magically (supernaturally) work on our behalf (if we are among the favored and blessed), "a prophylactic" to protect us from all harm and a "sugar daddy" to make us rich? All while we ignore what Jesus taught because all we want to do is offer Praise and Worship, along with our tithes and offerings, as a "priming of the supernatural pump"?
... does this seem to anyone else like a SLAP IN THE FACE TO GOD?
I ain't buyin' that... life is what we make it... good, bad or indifferent...
If God does not do another thing for me for the rest of my life, I could still spend it giving Thanks and Praise for what God has ALREADY done for me, and I will. Period.
Thank you, Lord. I PRAISE You for who You are - Loving, Merciful, Just, Gracious... and THANK you for what you have already done - creation, redemption, salvation, guiding me to You...
And out of thankfulness and gratitude, I will FOLLOW YOUR TEACHINGS for how you want me to live in the world and work to make it a place that is in alignment with your Kingdom Values, according to the Gospel of Jesus, my LORD.
Your Thankful Servant,
Jamie
... and we turn this God into a "Genie in a bottle", whom we call on to give us wishes and every desire, "Mr. Good Wrench" who will fix every trouble, magically (supernaturally) work on our behalf (if we are among the favored and blessed), "a prophylactic" to protect us from all harm and a "sugar daddy" to make us rich? All while we ignore what Jesus taught because all we want to do is offer Praise and Worship, along with our tithes and offerings, as a "priming of the supernatural pump"?
... does this seem to anyone else like a SLAP IN THE FACE TO GOD?
I ain't buyin' that... life is what we make it... good, bad or indifferent...
If God does not do another thing for me for the rest of my life, I could still spend it giving Thanks and Praise for what God has ALREADY done for me, and I will. Period.
Thank you, Lord. I PRAISE You for who You are - Loving, Merciful, Just, Gracious... and THANK you for what you have already done - creation, redemption, salvation, guiding me to You...
And out of thankfulness and gratitude, I will FOLLOW YOUR TEACHINGS for how you want me to live in the world and work to make it a place that is in alignment with your Kingdom Values, according to the Gospel of Jesus, my LORD.
Your Thankful Servant,
Jamie
Monday, April 30, 2012
first things first
Mark 1:15... the first recorded words of Jesus in the first Gospel written (60 AD... an imperative... a command... first of all, clarity that God's Kingdom is not far away, but with Jesus immanent... that the Old Testament Law and Prophets have been fulfilled... reached their time... now, this new covenant will be based on Grace and centered in Agape Love... Jesus said, "REPENT, AND BELIEVE IN THE GOOD NEWS."
METANOEITE... repent... means, literally "to change one's mind"... it means that one changes the way one thinks that, presumably, one's life changes will follow... to change how we look at things... to change our perspective on things...
BELIEVE IN THE GOOD NEWS... what Jesus came to offer (Luke 4:16-30)... Good News to the people of God that in Him there is Redemption and Salvation by God's Grace, and that that there is Justice in THIS part of God's Kingdom because The Law and Prophets are fulfilled in Jesus and the Kingdom is at hand... the acceptable time of the Lord is here... Kingdom Values are to be lived on earth.
One must CHANGE ONE'S THINKING to get this.
The Good News was something completely different than people had been hearing or living from those who represented God. Believe it or not, they said one thing and did another. Imagine it, but they would use God's word to exclude some people and beat them down with the Law. It is unfathomable for us to conceive of this, but they twisted the Word of God so that it seemed that God justified their abuses of power over others and their exploitation of others, especially the poor, for their own personal gain. It is maybe so far from our experience to grasp, that we may struggle with this passage. Can you imagine even the religious leaders turning the faith into something that would benefit themselves and people just like them over others who were powerless and poor? Naw... "By their fruits you will know them."
The Good News of Jesus turns things around in this part of God's Kingdom. Don't believe me? Read what Jesus taught and exemplified in the four Gospels... what did Jesus say about Greed? Power and authority? the rich and poor? corrupt religious leaders? corrupt people in power? homosexuals? (sorry, that was a trick one... Jesus said NOTHING about them)...
Read His Words... both quotes and parables... I dare you.
When you do, if you do, you may see that one needs to REPENT: change one's thinking, perspective, way of looking at things in order to believe in, value and follow the Good News in the world around us.
As The People of the Way of Jesus, we are embarking on a lectionary (system of looking at the scriptures for Preaching and Teaching) that is centered on Jesus' teachings and examples for us... you know, a consideration of what Jesus wants from us in how we live in this world... my prayer is that it will guide all those who engage in it to REPENT: change our way of thinking to Jesus' way of thinking, and believe in the Good News and conform our lives to living it in the world around us... I truly believe that in order to be a Christian, I must submit to Jesus' way and conform to Jesus' Will, and in order to do that, I must seriously look at what Jesus taught and exemplified for how we are to live in the world.
The first Imperative of Jesus in the First Gospel written - change your way of thinking (and living) and believe in what I (Jesus) tell you as Good News... it is not a suggestion, but an imperative... a command... the very first one! How are you at keeping it? I am looking at it very seriously for my life right now... I dare you to do the same!
Pastor Jamie
METANOEITE... repent... means, literally "to change one's mind"... it means that one changes the way one thinks that, presumably, one's life changes will follow... to change how we look at things... to change our perspective on things...
BELIEVE IN THE GOOD NEWS... what Jesus came to offer (Luke 4:16-30)... Good News to the people of God that in Him there is Redemption and Salvation by God's Grace, and that that there is Justice in THIS part of God's Kingdom because The Law and Prophets are fulfilled in Jesus and the Kingdom is at hand... the acceptable time of the Lord is here... Kingdom Values are to be lived on earth.
One must CHANGE ONE'S THINKING to get this.
The Good News was something completely different than people had been hearing or living from those who represented God. Believe it or not, they said one thing and did another. Imagine it, but they would use God's word to exclude some people and beat them down with the Law. It is unfathomable for us to conceive of this, but they twisted the Word of God so that it seemed that God justified their abuses of power over others and their exploitation of others, especially the poor, for their own personal gain. It is maybe so far from our experience to grasp, that we may struggle with this passage. Can you imagine even the religious leaders turning the faith into something that would benefit themselves and people just like them over others who were powerless and poor? Naw... "By their fruits you will know them."
The Good News of Jesus turns things around in this part of God's Kingdom. Don't believe me? Read what Jesus taught and exemplified in the four Gospels... what did Jesus say about Greed? Power and authority? the rich and poor? corrupt religious leaders? corrupt people in power? homosexuals? (sorry, that was a trick one... Jesus said NOTHING about them)...
Read His Words... both quotes and parables... I dare you.
When you do, if you do, you may see that one needs to REPENT: change one's thinking, perspective, way of looking at things in order to believe in, value and follow the Good News in the world around us.
As The People of the Way of Jesus, we are embarking on a lectionary (system of looking at the scriptures for Preaching and Teaching) that is centered on Jesus' teachings and examples for us... you know, a consideration of what Jesus wants from us in how we live in this world... my prayer is that it will guide all those who engage in it to REPENT: change our way of thinking to Jesus' way of thinking, and believe in the Good News and conform our lives to living it in the world around us... I truly believe that in order to be a Christian, I must submit to Jesus' way and conform to Jesus' Will, and in order to do that, I must seriously look at what Jesus taught and exemplified for how we are to live in the world.
The first Imperative of Jesus in the First Gospel written - change your way of thinking (and living) and believe in what I (Jesus) tell you as Good News... it is not a suggestion, but an imperative... a command... the very first one! How are you at keeping it? I am looking at it very seriously for my life right now... I dare you to do the same!
Pastor Jamie
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