TIME FOR AN UPGRADE

How blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,    Psalm 33:12a

Who are we and what are we all about? Can anyone answer this with even a smidgen of confidence?

We used to know. Not anymore.

We used to share a united purpose birthed from a united passion. Not anymore. Our currency still says “In GOD We Trust” and our Pledge of Allegiance still states we are “one nation under GOD” yet His Word is mocked and His ways ignored by most of our citizens.

We used to adhere to a few critical, common, core values of faith, freedom, and fairness which provided the foundation for our lives and relationships. Not anymore.

We used to be a nation where men are men, and women are women. Not anymore.

We used to expect quality products and services delivered by expert craftsmen and professionals. Not anymore.

We used to be a country where character, courtesy, modesty, and manners mattered. Not anymore.

Our nation, the United States of America, no longer has an identity by which she is known, and thus, no longer has any measure of unity amongst her inhabitants.

Today we are a mishmash of “ism’s”, ideologies, agendas, and lifestyles that are incompatible with one another and have produced our current state of division, confusion, and conflict.

Today in our country everything is a disposable commodity – homes, automobiles, appliances, babies, marriages, and families.

Today we live in a society that demands instant gratification. There is no longer any waiting for or working toward obtaining things, rather, everything is expected right now! Advertisements bombard us each day, telling us to purchase things we really don’t need in order to impress people we will never meet.

Today we are a nation of takers and talkers with an economy driven by consuming whatever we can get our hands and lips on; coveting what everyone else has that we don’t; and then communicating all of this via some form of media to the rest of the world.

Today we are a rude, arrogant, inpatient, self-absorbed population, living in an era of mediocrity and compromise, with everything being quick, convenient, and cheap, which also means most things are faux and inferior.

Today we live in a land of plastic, pretend, and over-portioned – money, body parts, food, etc… Personas and pictures are “doctored” in order to present and imply false images. Very little is real anymore, and somehow we are okay with this?

Today we import huge amounts of shoddy merchandise (junk) from other places around the world that is produced by abused and neglected (sweat shop) labor forces. Why?

All in all, we are a weakening and darkening nation and we will eventually crash if we continue as we are. History describes how all other dominant civilizations have fallen and so will ours – for we are not an exception to the rule. We have sold our integrity – trading our once GOD-fearing, adventurous, risk-taking, hard-working, no-quitting, united spirit for nothing more than a façade that attempts to hide our vast debt, deceit, and depravity. This should make it obvious to us that all ideologies and agendas are not equal. Some are neither good nor beneficial to our nation nor any other. All roads, religions, and regimes do not lead the same good, right, true, and healthy place. We must have an irrefutable, unshakable starting point – a baseline from which to build and grow from.

So return to your God. Show kindness and do what is fair, and wait for your God all the time.   Hosea 12:6

The inability for our government to agree on anything is a direct reflection upon who we are and what we are – we no longer know. We are in the midst of a total system failure and in extreme need of an upgrade in order to regain our identity. We need to turn back – to reform our thinking and align ourselves with GOD. We need to re-install Biblical truth into our nation and then reboot our lives upon it; for we have picked up a number of viruses which currently impair our senses and keep us distracted by insignificant, secondary matters. We have lost our way.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.   John 14:6

JESUS is the way.  JESUS is the truth.  JESUS is the life.

Instead of arguing over this, we need to accept it – trust it, teach it, and move forward. Who in their right mind can look at the happenings throughout the world and within our nation and deny the fact that we desperately need saving – that we absolutely need a Savior? We need to fill our minds with the truth found in GOD’s Word, as nothing else has the power to restore us.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.   Luke 2:11

No greater identity exists than what is found in Almighty GOD through His Christ. If our nation is to endure, our identity and unity must be found in the Savior JESUS. May our nation unite, one and all, in Him.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

CONTROL

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,  Philippians 2:5

Life happens…and most of it is completely outside of our control, yet we do have 100% complete control in some very important areas:

We choose how we react and respond to life’s happenings;

We also choose the attitude we bring into and carry out of life’s happenings.

We choose to use the happenings of life as opportunities to help us grow up, or as excuses to make us grumble;

We choose to become bitter, broken down people, or a bigger, better people.

Our reactions, responses, and attitudes are totally up to us – nothing else and no one else.

 

MY GO TO

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.   Psalm 121:1-2

We all have a go to. What’s yours? We all go to something, to someone… to cope with life. When stressors come, when pressures mount; When we become fearful and frustrated; When failures occur; When anxiety and anger build up; When death, disaster, and despair show up; When you hurt, when you need help, when you have lost hope…

What do you go to? Who do you go to?

Each of us copes in our own unique way. We all employ strategies, mechanisms, and ways to cope when life gets hard.

Some of us go to medications – both prescription and non-prescription;

Some of us go to other drugs – both legal and illegal;

Some of us go to alcohol;

Some of us go to caffeine;

Some of us go to sugar;

Some of us go to food – either eating too much or eating too little;

Some of us go to cigarettes, cigars, and chew;

Some of us go to the store – shopping for and purchasing new things we do or don’t need with money we do or don’t have;

Some of us go to bed and sleep; some of us stay awake for days at a time;

Some of us go to work and put in far too many hours; some of us call in sick;

Some of us go to the gym and exercise; some of us go for a run or a walk;

Some of us go to the movies or watch television;

Some of us go to our music or video games;

Some of us go to Facebook, Twitter, or email;

Some of us go to our journals, diaries, and blogs;

Some of us go to our friends and family;

Some of us go to a counselor, mentor, teacher, or coach;

Some of us go to cleaning everything in sight whether it needs it or not;

Some of us go to physically harming ourselves or others;

Some of us go to using, abusing, and neglecting others;

Some of us go to engaging in sexual activity that is unwise, unsafe, or illicit;

Some of us go to getting mad and venting at everything and everyone;

Some of us go into isolation from others;

Some of us go to insolating ourselves around others – those who tell us what we want to hear, rather than what we need to hear;

Some of us go to nature to get away from it all;

Some of us go to doing nothing at all;

Some of us go to _____________(fill in the blank);

We all have our regular, favorite go to’s to help us cope with life, and most of us employ many of the ones listed above. Some of our ways of coping actually do help us, but the majority only mask our pain and problems temporarily, then we find ourselves looking for new go to’s. Because we all need a go to place – better yet, a go to person to find rest and refreshment. We need a rescuer to save us from all the evil in this world, in others, and within ourselves.

May I offer a suggestion:

The LORD Jesus Christ is a strong shoulder, a stable shelter, a safe person to go to. He knows us better than we know ourselves and loves us more as well. This is the chorus from a song titled “Shoulders” by the group For King and Country:

My help comes from You
You’re right here, pulling me through
You carry my weakness, my sickness, my brokenness all on Your shoulders
Your shoulders
My help comes from You
You are my rest, my rescue
I don’t have to see to believe that You’re lifting me up on Your shoulders
Your shoulders

If He isn’t already, make JESUS your new go to – talk to Him, sing to Him, and worship Him. Read and meditate upon His wonderful Word, The Bible. Turn to JESUS and trust Him, joining with all who already know Him as the best go to of all:

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.   Psalm 121:2

Too Much Talk (TMT)

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,           James 1:19

I have my own theory on “Global Warming” and it’s this:   Too Much Talk

The amount of hot air being exhaled by human beings these days is astronomical!  We have 24/7/365 talk, talk, talk, talk, talk!  We have talk radio and talk TV.  We have all day news, all day weather, and all day sports.  We have “The Talk,” “The View,” and “The Chew.”  We have Game Day, Pre-Game, Halftime, Post-Game, Game Day-Wrap Up.

We have analysts, experts, commentators, and reporters talking non-stop all day everyday about everything.  We have politicians spewing off an endless array of “promises” 18 months before the election.

The amount of talk is excessive, unnecessary, and meaningless in most cases.  We have enough rhetoric, propaganda, and gossip going on to make our entire planet a greenhouse.

Enough already! How about this:   A National Day of Silence?

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!          Psalm 46:10