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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pastor Jamie
   

New Life

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

more or less

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

I've got an idea...

How about...

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

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

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

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

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

Pastor Jamie 
   

work to do

The Good News of Jesus demands that Agape Love be lived. That brings about Peace, Justice and Equitable treatment of all God's children. In the world in which we live, the powers and principalities operate on a different system of values. Driven by greed and a lust for power, they seek self-indulgence at the expense of others. That runs contrary to Jesus' Good News. It is Anti-Christ. But how do we make a difference is a world that has this far gone down that path? 1. Know the Good News of Jesus. Read, learn, internalize and apply what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled, as we have it in the Gospel witnesses. 2. Expose the works of darkness. When something is inconsistent, even or especially with what the church is doing, point it out, and remind folk of Jesus' more excellent way. 3. Be persistent in holding folk accountable for practicing what they preach. Hold anyone who claims the name of Jesus to the standard of His teachings, even (or especially) the church that bears His name. 4. Demonstrate Jesus' Good News Kingdom Values. LIVE Jesus' more excellent way of Agape Love (active commitment on behalf of the other) in the world around you, absent of judgment or intolerance, willing to forgive. 5. Speak, write and march out of Agape Love for Peace, Justice and Equitable treatment for all. The First Century believers lived Jesus' Way, and it changed the world by changing the thinking of those who witnessed His Agape Love in action. Let THAT be our mission today, here and now. Pastor Jamie

Lenten Repentance

The first command of Jesus, in the first chapter of the first Gospel written was “Repent, and believe in the Good News.” This imperative to “change one’s mind” (metanoia) or “change one’s thinking” is especially necessary for any who would consider living God’s Kingdom values of Agape Love and Grace that Jesus taught and modeled in His ministry, according to the Gospels. We must change our way of thinking in order to be people of Agape Love and Grace, for then we will be able to change our way of living Agape Love and Grace. But of what must we repent? I believe that Greed, Lust for Power and Self-Indulgence are preclusive of living the Good News of Jesus in the world. Agape Love is active commitment on behalf of the other, and these “values” are centered in self and not “other”. If these are core values in one’s life, then living Agape Love will be difficult at best. Despite our best efforts, we cannot truly be duplicitous in our values and faithful to Jesus’ teachings and examples of Agape Love. I believe that Apathy, Complacency and Hatred are also preclusive of living Jesus’ Good News in the world. Apathy, being the opposite of loving, does not allow for concern or commitment on behalf of the other. Complacency, being focused on one’s own satisfactory situation in life, does not often allow for the dissatisfaction necessary in order for us to be actively committed to another’s plight in life. Hatred leads one to anything but active commitment on behalf of the other, and may indeed lead to our commitment to actively hurt the other. Agape Love is rendered impossible from any of those orientations to the world. If we learn anything from the Gospels regarding Jesus’ teachings and examples around Agape Love, we learn that we must think differently in order to live it. The Rich Fool of Luke 12:13-21 faced grave consequences for living his greed in utter complacency. The Rich Young Man of Luke 18:18-30 willingly chose to hold onto his established value for greed and the consequent sadness, rather than repent, live Kingdom Values and ultimately be happy. The unnamed rich man of Luke 16:19-31 was slow to learn even while facing the fruits of his apathetic greed and self-indulgence. But the lesson of repentance in Zacchaeus’ story was different, as we find it in Luke 19:1-10. Zacchaeus changed his thinking and embraced a different value than the greed, power lust and self-indulgence he once held as his core values. His encounter with Jesus replaced the complacency of his station in life with Agape Love, actively lived in the lives of those who were once exploited in order for him to have what he had. Zacchaeus was transformed. And we find that the greed and hatred of the robbers, apathy and/or complacency of the priest and Levite are countered by the Agape Love of the “Good” Samaritan in Jesus’ teaching of Luke 10:25-37, changing the life of the stranger/enemy who was healed, and perhaps the life of the Samaritan and of listeners to the story. Repentance leads to transformation. When we embrace the Kingdom Values of the Good News of Jesus, we necessarily change how we think about things in this part of the Kingdom and how we live in it. Then the Good News of Agape Love and Grace come out from within us and into the world around us, also then transforming other individuals and whole communities. When we think differently than the normalized ways of greed, lust for power and self-indulgence, it makes us better within and has a positive effect on the world around us. When we leave apathy, complacency and hatred behind us in order to live active commitment on behalf of the other, we find within us a deep, abiding love for others that transforms us and them. The poverty, hunger, violence, injustice, inequity, inequality, discrimination and exploitation that are now commonplace in the world, could be things of a dark past if we could bring ourselves to shed our values for wealth, power and self-indulgence, leave behind our complacency, apathy and hatred and live the Kingdom Values Jesus taught and modeled of Agape Love and Grace. A world of well-being, peace, justice, equitable treatment and equality, adequate sustenance, mutual respect, acceptance and benefit is possible with different thinking. It starts with one heart and mind at a time. As you encounter Jesus this Lenten season, consider how repentance (changing your thinking) may bring about transformation that starts from within you and is manifested in the world around you. Pastor Jamie

Lenten Sacrifice

As I am a follower of Jesus' Way, one who values the message of the Cross especially, and one who relies fully on the redemption message of Grace and Agape Love...

I suggest to all who claim Jesus' name that THIS LENT... on our way to the Cross...

we sacrifice our attitudes that keep Jesus on the Cross,
that we sacrifice those baser, darker corners of our spirit that relegate us to being part of the mob,
that we sacrifice those ideologies that preclude Agape Love,
that we sacrifice those philosophies that put us at enmity with those whom Jesus loves,
that we sacrifice those behaviors that come from "us" vs. "them" thinking,
that we sacrifice those instincts to judge others who are different,
that we sacrifice those bitterest feelings that keep us from forgiving,
that we sacrifice those most gut-wrenching, vengeful emotions that would bring us to violent
    words or actions or both,
that we sacrifice those personal guiles that would keep us from being Gracious,
that we sacrifice those norms that keep us locked into selfishness, greed and ruthlessness,
that we sacrifice those classist outlooks which are born of our sense of entitlement and that
    give us disdain for or license to exploit those poor who Jesus loves,
that we sacrifice those arrogant, self-serving, destructive leanings toward destruction of the
    creation we are charged stewardship over for some short term and personal profit or
    convenience,
that we sacrifice those racist residues that persist in how we view sisters and brothers that
    allow us somehow to see ourselves as "superior",
that we sacrifice those urges to find reasons in scripture to point fingers of self-righteous and
    arrogant disgust at our LGBT sisters and brothers,
that we sacrifice those temptations to engage in self-indulgence at the expense of anyone else,
that we sacrifice those stirrings within that would drive us to unfaithfulness to God, to
    spouse, to children, to humanity,
that we sacrifice ALL that is Anti-Christ, ALL that is Anti-Agape, ALL that is Anti-Grace...

THIS LENT... on our way to the Cross...

Let us unburden ourselves of these things,
sacrifice them at the Altar of Agape Love, Grace, Equality, Equity, Freedom, Justice and Peace,
out of devotion to the one whose going to the Cross means those very things to us...

Pastor Jamie