Posted in Christian Service, Leadership, Life Inspiration, Political

A Man and His Concubine (An American tale?)

chick tale

So this morning I sat out to spend some time in the Word of God and settle for myself a scripture that I had heard over the weekend being used out of context. Funny thing about God… my ways are not His ways. In the process of searching out that scripture I found three references, the first of which was not the one for which I sought to understand. That of course was the one God opened my eyes to. The scripture reading for me today was in the book of Judges, Chapters 19-20. I was drawn into a dark, gruesome and horrific story of a man and his concubine.

Judges 19:1-2

And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah. And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father’s house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.

That’s quite the story opener is it not? Here’s what caught my eye: Israel has no leadership… wow, doesn’t that sound familiar. You’ll note I’m not asking a question. We all know that we have no leadership. Well… technically poor leadership. By the biblical responsibilities of the tribe for which he belonged this unnamed Levite man of the story should have been a minister of God. But to Shari quote what I’m reading, he’s shacked up with an unscrupulous chick and has to go chasing after her back down to her daddy’s house in Bethlehemjudah where life is just one big party. His father in law convinces him again and again to spend the night in party central until finally after five days he says, ‘I gotta go.’ So he, the dame, and his servant saddle up their donkey’s and hit the highway. The first towns they come to are heathen towns for which the servant suggests they stay. But the Levite informs him that they’re not staying in a town belonging to people who are not Israelites. It must have been their version of Las Vegas. So they passed through those towns and come to their own people in Gibeah, who won’t give them the time of day or a place to stay! So now they’re homeless in the street; when along comes an out of town farmer who has a place to stay there in that city and brings them in for the night.

The story only gets worse.

Sodom and Gommorah rises from the ashes as some men in the city (of their own people) come to the farmer’s house “wanting the men” to join them. The farmer decides to appease them by offering up his own daughter (which they deny) and the Levite’s concubine (whom they accept) and take her and rape her all night, returning her dead in the morning on the farmer’s doorstep. Horror movie in the making. So the Levite returns to his hometown, cuts his dead concubine in pieces and sends the pieces out to his own people in the form of a shock-o-gram intending incite war on the Benjamites who killed her.

Following the Lord’s approval the war ensues, killing twenty-two thousand of their own Israelites the first day, and eighteen thousand the second day; which caused them to question God if this battle was such a good idea.

God said go, so they went and victory was theirs the third time.

When I read this terrible tragedy my first thought  was, “sounds like America.” This could possibly be a State of the Union address illustration if we’d get a President who was saved. Totally judgmental I know… But I’m not taking it back. I’m tired! I’m tired of America whoring after whoever or whatever it is that’s out there in all of their political correctness with total disregard for what we’re marrying into (literally and figuratively). The Iran deal that’s on the table is like climbing in bed with the terrorist and when they slit your throat proclaiming…. “I didn’t see that coming.” Really? Our Washington representatives allowing the President to visit and call the  homes of criminals while making no attempt to comfort the hearts of grieving police families is every bit as appalling as the farmer and the Levite’s willingness to sacrifice their women so that the men would leave them alone. And every bit as stupid as their shock when the woman was returned raped and murdered. So by comforting people who kill cops… cop killers will stop, is that the theory? American powers that be have given our children to be killed in abortions, but we’re shocked that they would cut the babies apart and sell them.

Suddenly the story in Judges isn’t so unfamiliar is it?

And so they incite war within America. They turn it into a racial, gender, rich vs. poor, educated vs. non-educated, etc. etc. until everyone has something against someone. The 40,000 people lost in the battle for justice in Israel were killed by their own people. The average American sees it but sits helpless. What’s the answer?

Here’s a few ideas:

  • Israel didn’t need a King, they had God. So do we!
  • Stop sleeping with the enemy ourselves. As servants of God, why are we marrying the world’s ideas? It doesn’t matter what the world says is right. If God says it’s wrong it is.
  • The enemy that’s doing the most damage is in our own camp. It’s not the people who “aren’t like us,” that we have issues with. They, like us, need God.
  • Stop allowing access to our children (those born and those unborn)
  • We’ve literally had the body parts of an innocent child sent to us.

Today’s blog isn’t meant to incite war, it’s meant to cause you to first examine yourself, and then the world around you.

What state are you in?

  • Spiritually? Do you have a right heart with God?
  • Literally? I’m in West Virginia… where are you?

It’s time to examine both and start cleaning house. Don’t wait until they’ve taken your family and then start the battle. Start protecting what’s yours.

Posted in Christian Service, Leadership, Life Inspiration, Political

It’s not up for debate

chick debate

I did not watch the Republican debate a few days ago, and I cannot say that I’m sad about it. Republicans praised themselves for a job well done like high school jocks coming off the field after a winning game and the Democrats acted like school children poking fun of the new kid with weird clothes. And that was just the social media posts. The News crews didn’t act any better. Can you tell that I put little stock in American democracy? Will I vote? Of course I will, I’d be crazy not to; but the reality of it is we have a lot of crazy people in society who didn’t vote the last time else we’d not have the demonic forces in the White House that are there now. Hey… this is my blog, if you’re offended… get your own. It’s not my intent to offend, it’s my intent to stir your heart for the cause of Christ, not for the cause of a political party.

Life is not up for Debate

Romans 14:7-8 says “For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

Although you may eat well and live well the truth of the matter is you do not control the length of your life. You may shorten it by stupidity, but the how long you live is entirely God’s decision. How you live your life is yours. You are either living it for God, or you are living against Him. There is no in between. Being a democrat is no more wrong than eating pork… unless you are a democrat who doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ, or you do not care that your behavior offends Jesus Christ or His people. Being a republican is no more right than not eating pork. Those are earthly titles and works, what are they doing for Christ? And if your goal is to offend the democrat… you’ve not presented Christ in a very good light, because Christ is not in either party, but the agenda of Christ better be in both if Christians are going to stand up for it. You are either 4for Him, or against Him and you are for certain living out one or the other by your decisions.

Judgement is not up for debate

Romans 14:9-10

For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

Whether or not we agree on candidates we need to understand that Christ died for all, so that living or dead we can have a relationship with Him. Opinions are like hearts, everyone has one; and they beat rapid or slow depending upon what they’re passionate for or about. Every heart of a child of God should be passionate about God’s people who He died for. Whether or not you agree with them, shouldn’t change how you feel about their soul. But that’s not what I see happening. Christian Republicans and Democrats alike are touting that they have only the best in mind for God’s people… and yet the evidence is to the contrary because neither side treats the other as God would intend. Both sides are judging from a human viewpoint… not God’s. And even though I certainly see God greater in one party’s agenda than the other, I don’t see that party coming together in the cohesiveness of Christ who died for all. Rather they have separate agenda’s that God is partially in and they themselves govern the rest of the agenda. Christ died for all (the entire agenda). You either live for Him or not… Not in part, but in whole.

The Final Authority is not up for debate

Romans 14:11

For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

God will not be mocked… that’s Bible. And you may not care that you offend me or anyone else. But if you have offended God you’ve got problems. He is the final authority on life. He decides if you live or die, and when (not if) you stand before Him one day there will be no arrogance about you. There will not be a political party in Heaven nor an agenda up for debate; it was settled on the cross. Does yours line up with it?

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Posted in Christian Service, Eternity, Life Inspiration, Political

It’s Time to Tell Them

chick tell them

My Dad ran for office on a local level when I was in early elementary school. My quiet, humble father was in politics. It meant very little to me until my 18th year and I was allowed to vote for the very first time, which also happened to be a year that my father was up for re-election. That year it mattered. For the first time I witnessed the ugly side of politics, and it is was very ugly. And yet my quiet, humble father refused to say anything. Every lie that was published I would protest and ask my dad to protest and he’d just smile with that steadfast grin of his and say, “If they know me, they know the truth.” And I’d fume! Why on earth would he say nothing? The answer was as simple as the grin on his face, because my Dad read and understood the truth, grace and predestinate God. No, I’m not saying we are predestinated for salvation; that is a personal decision God expects everyone to make, nobody is destined for Hell by God’s design. But, if God desires a man or a woman to be in office, you better believe He has the power to make it happen. Does He desire every man or woman currently in office to be in that position… Nope. I believe He lets us have what we ask for. Even if it’s stupid…and then sometimes He spares us because there is a predestinated event that God’s plan requires. I think we’re seeing that plan play out.

This morning as I read a few “political” posts my heart sunk and my stomach rolled over, and then I thought about my Dad’s statement, “If they know me, they know the truth.” So I turned that statement back to myself: Because I know Him, I know the truth. The political rhetoric of the day has no effect on the truth. They can stand flatfooted and lie to the American public, they can stand flatfooted and side against God in all the arrogance and disdain for His Word, and it doesn’t change one Word of it. Hallelujah!!! God knows the end, we do not.

But for Christians to sit on their hind parts and do nothing because we feel overwhelmed, outnumbered and unheard is as idiotic as Hillary Clinton saying that we need to empathize with those who seek to destroy us. If by empathize (understand and identify with them) she means, we should desire that they be destroyed too, then okay. I empathize with them. Would I love to see the world saved, Yes Amen! But that’s not reality. And it’s certainly not God’s intention for us to allow the name of Christ to be taken in vain by the leadership of our country and to watch as they side with the enemies of God.

Forever and a day I’ve felt disconnected from American political decisions. Locally, I feel I have a voice but nationally not so much.  And yet here I am with my very own platform on the World Wide Web and although it still has limited reach, it has a reach. I am without excuse to say that I don’t have a voice, and if you’re reading this, so are you. You have a voice.

The very reason we have the wicked in power in America that we do is because we’ve allowed it. I don’t understand how a man got elected to whom everyone I meet says that it wasn’t their vote that got him elected. I’ve heard enough supporters of him to know he had more than a few votes. So what I’m inclined to believe is that those who had the power and the desire to see him voted out… didn’t vote. Praise God I was not one of them… but I’m just as guilty.

I have not voiced my opinion loud enough because I didn’t want to deal with the political fallout. Well, look what that theory got me. I love my Dad’s laid back attitude. It was needful for me to see that God has this world in control even when it’s out of control. But from my Dad’s vantage point now, in the presence of God, perhaps he would say. You know the truth Shari, but they don’t… SO TELL THEM.

Romans 14:12

So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.