Holy Spirit

Should political principles take precidence over moral principles?

10house3_span-articleLarge[1]No rational human being, religious or secular, can deny with any degree of credibility that there are much differences between political principles and moral principles. Therefore, moral principles should take precedence over political principles, especially when the expected outcome impacts the greater good of the society at large.  However, politicians in Washington are best known for putting their political principles before their moral obligations, especially when fulfilling their moral obligations do not translate to many votes at the polls. And it matters not to these elected servants whether the country is at a critical juncture where many of its citizens are struggling to find work and provide food for their families.

Anyone on the outside looking in would think putting people back to work is our number-one priority. Instead, these self-centered rich intractable are more interested in scoring points than moving their country forward. They have manufactured crisis after crisis, and then they use scripted rhetoric to deceive the American people into believing that they have their best interest at heart. It seems everything in Washington is a chess game. Nobody wants to give a little and take a little. It is either all or nothing.

Let’s take the ongoing budget debacle, for example. What a mess this fiasco has turned out to be. There are no signs of compromise on the horizon, even though polls after polls have indicated that a majority of the American people want both sides to reach an agreement that will help move this struggling the country forward.

Still, the thing that disturbs me the most about Washington is the claim of being Christian by many of its heartless politicians. These men and women are so consumed by their political ideology that they rather ignore the teachings of Jesus Christ than compromise. Frankly, I am not sure about these people. The Holy Bible tells me that as, Christians, we must “Let our light shine before men who may see our good works, and glorify the Father who is in heaven. However, all I hear from these so-called Christians in Washington are gloom and doom.

So you think you know the time of Jesus’ arrival

The second coming of Christ is imminent. It is not a myth as some people think. We know this as fact from a conversation Jesus had with His disciples. After braking the news to His disciples that He must leave them and go to His father, their countenance changed. “Do not let your hearts be troubled”. He said. “Trust in God. Trust in me also. There are many rooms in my father house. If this were not true, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. If I go and do that, I will come back, and I will take you with me. Then you will also be where I am” (John 14:1-3).

However, the time of arrival of Jesus’ is not known. He said so himself. “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating, and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and devoured them. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at a hand-mill; one will be taken and the other left.

Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Nevertheless, you should bear this in mind: If the owner of the house had known at what time during night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and deny the thief access. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:36-44).

Likewise, if the five foolish virgins had known what time the bridegroom comes they would have stayed put instead of going out to buy oil for their lamps. Still, it should not matter whether Christ returns today or tomorrow. The main thing is to get our acts together and live in readiness and anticipation of His impending return

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Jesus is a Rock in a weary land

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And David spoke unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul:

And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; thou saved me from violence.

I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;
The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
In my distress, I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears—2 Samuel 22:1-7

Do you still look the way you did before you met Jesus?

It has been more than twenty years since I came in contact with Jesus, and I must admit, I have had my share of ups and downs. Over the years my experience has thought me not to take my Salvation for granted, so now and then I do a soul-searching. I usually replay situations where I think I did wrong and ask God to forgive me. I also devise strategies that I think will help to stop me from making those mistakes ever again. Sometimes I fail, but I keep trying.

Astonishingly, recently while I was doing my usual soul-searching the following question pops up in my head: “Do you still look the way you did before you met Jesus?..Now, this is a difficult question. Nonetheless, I would like to think I have changed tremendously for the better over the past twenty years. Conversely, If I have not, then I would be one of the biggest Dr. Hyde and Mrs. Jekyll because it is impossible for anyone to stay the same after he or she, came in contact with Jesus. If I sound stupid, and naïve, I am not the only one.

The apostle Paul, in one of his letters to the Church in Corinth states: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Perhaps the apostle was thinking about his own conversion and later transformation (Acts 9), when he penned those words. For there was no fiercer opponent of the gospel of Jesus Christ than Saul, yet when he came in contact with Jesus his life transformed like a caterpillar morphed into a butterfly. images[2]

My dear brothers and sisters let us face reality. If we say we are Christians, and family, friends, neighbors and co-workers do not see the change in us, something is wrong. It is either we have aborted the transformation process or it never occurred at all. Surely, Saul did not suddenly become this perfect person after his Damascus road experience. Neither did the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well, but the changes in these two people were blinding.

Hence, if family, friends, neighbors and co-workers do not see any changes in your attitude, behavior, language and modus operandi you need to ask yourself this question: “Do I still look the way I did before I met Jesus?” If the answer is yes, then it is time for a soul-searching.

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Without Jesus all is for naught

Lance Armstrong at the 2005 Tour de France.

Lance Armstrong at the 2005 Tour de France. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lance Armstrong has finally decided to come clean. After years of passionate denial, the man had backed himself into a corner where he had no other alternative but to come clean. He admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France. Still, I would like to think Armstrong’s confession was not news to most Americans. Many of us have long suspected that Lance was on the juice, yet we cheered every time he won. After all, he is one of us. He is a winner, and we love him.

So, instead of self pity and isolation, poor Lance has embarked on an apology and reconciliation tour, to repair his tattered image. No doubt, this must be the toughest time in his life. However, shameful this might appears, I Applaud him, and I pray for him. I just wish he had done this sooner. My only hope is he will use this experience to turn his life over to the true and living God. Because even though, his actions were despicable and disgraceful, he is not different from anyone of us. The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Roman 3:23).

Sin is the reason Lance Armstrong cheated, and sin is the reason Jesus died. There is a way out for all of us (sinners). Jesus says, “I am the Way the truth and the Life. No one come to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Further, Jesus also directs us to, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

It is a fact that lightening travels the path of least resistance. Similarly, it is not a secret that humans like to get things the easy way. Like many of us, Lance Armstrong chose the wide gate and the broad way. It brought him much success, fame and fortune, but in the end all was for naught.