Why Show Mercy to Immigrants?

 

What happens when you ask a president who says he has Christian values to govern using Christian values? You are witnessing it every day. Trump and his followers promote the idea that their actions are CHRISTIAN, advancing BIBLICAL standards for godly living. I say they have forgotten or choose to ignore Romans 3:7-8, "For if the truth of God has INCREASED through my LIE to His glory, why am I also STILL judged as a sinner? And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come?" - as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just."

In other words, you can't do horrible things even if it is for the good of the church, kingdom, or Christian body.

Taking President Trump at his word, that he stands with Christians, particularly Evangelicals, Rev. Budde issued a simple request. The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Diocese of Washington, made a direct appeal to Trump during a post-Inauguration prayer service (January 2025) he attended, asking him to show mercy to members of the LGBTQ+ community and migrants who are in the country illegally.

Referencing Trump’s belief that he was saved by God from assassination (July 13, 2024, at 5:11 PM CDT), Budde preached, “You have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.”
Trump and his supporters did not hold kindly to being asked to show mercy towards people who may be fearful of his administration's future actions regarding immigration. Who becomes upset about being asked to be kind? Who needs to be asked to be kind in the first place? Both answers to the questions: Donald Trump and his supporters.

Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas, a prominent Trump supporter, was at the service and posted on X that Budde “insulted rather than encouraged our great president” and “there was palpable disgust in the audience with her words.” What was the reverend asking Trump to have mercy on? The way he will go about HANDLING immigrants. Why the disgust at the notion of being kind?

The executive orders signed on the first day of President Trump’s second term radically expand the legal authorities used to enforce immigration law against immigrants already in the U.S., while calling for an equally radical expansion of the infrastructure that would be needed to accomplish the "mass deportations" the president has promised. Furthermore, they signal efforts to immiserate unauthorized immigrants living in the United States, depriving them of the ability to work legally and punishing them for being unable to “register” with the U.S. government—something they have no way of doing.

While addressing the ongoing immigration problem, the Trump administration is not acting with MERCY, stripping a people of their DIGNITY and HUMANITY, forgetting many immigrants are fleeing their country riddled with poverty, war, and violence. Many immigrants flee poverty and violence from countries in Central America, including El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. These countries are among the most impoverished and violent in the world.
Wanting immigrants to enter the United States legally is the desire of the majority of Americans.

Very few people are in favor of people out and out breaking the law. What many people are taking exception to is the WAY the illegal immigrants are being treated. Donald Trump painted an apocalyptic picture of a country being "occupied" by hordes of criminal foreigners in his campaign speech. Trump has super-charged concerns by claiming an "invasion" is underway by migrants he says will rape and murder Americans. Donald Trump vowed to “rescue” the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado, from the rapists, “blood thirsty criminals,” and “most violent people on earth” he insists are ruining the “fabric” of the country and its culture: immigrants. The former president has escalated his xenophobic and racist rhetoric against migrants and minority groups he says are genetically predisposed to commit crime. This type of rhetoric leads to fear and violence.

          America proclaims to be a Christian nation. If it truly is, it would choose to be guided by the                 Christian Bible adhering to its principles; all NOT some of them. There are several passages                 guiding the Christian in how they are to treat foreigners. 

Love foreigners

• Leviticus 19:33-34: Treat foreigners as you would your own people, and love them as you love yourself
• Deuteronomy 10:18-19: God loves foreigners and provides for them with food and clothing 
• Matthew 25:35: Jesus says that welcoming strangers is a way to show that you are his follower 

Provide for foreigners

• Deuteronomy 14:28-29: Store tithes so that foreigners and Levites can eat 
• Isaiah 58:10: Feed the hungry and satisfy those in need

Show mercy to foreigners

Zechariah 7:9: Show kindness and mercy to foreigners, orphans, and widows
Deuteronomy 24:17-18: Do not deprive foreigners or orphans of justice
Deuteronomy 27:19: Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from foreigners, orphans, or widows

 

Trump Will Be Mean To You For Me

ARE YOU SURPRISED AT THE REASONS PEOPLE SAY WHY THEY ARE VOTING FOR TRUMP? 

Ask undecided voters or supporters of Trump and you will get answers regarding the economy and how they were better off during his presidency. But come on, who really believes that?

Trump has crossed every level of decency. Several marriages and affairs, people filing lawsuits against him to get money for services rendered, phony universities making promises of education, sexual assaults, and the list of unethical behavior goes on and on.

Republicans stand behind family values. How can people with conservative values listen to a man insult, mock, and demean everyone at a whim? He encourages those who listens to him to be fearful or at least aggressive in their beliefs. Trump has made a recent call for a “violent day” of policing as part of his plan to push cops to be as brutal as possible and shield them from accountability. Trump, in Erie, Pennsylvania, called for shoplifters to face “one really violent day” and “one rough hour” at the hands of the police, arguing that it was Democratic policy to coddle offenders, and that taking the gloves off in the fight against street crime was the only way to render communities safe again. Trump called for “one real rough, nasty” and “violent day” of police retaliation in order to eradicate crime “immediately.”

Of course, this is not the first time Trump advocated for AGGRESSIVE or violent behavior. On 6 January, thousands of Trump supporters gathered at a "Save America" rally organized to challenge the result of last November's presidential election. In a 70-minute address, Mr. Trump exhorted them to march on Congress where politicians had met to certify Democrat Joe Biden's win. The attack began moments after he took the applause. He told those gathered, "You don't concede when there's theft involved. Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore." He continued, "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore."

He criminalizes ALL immigrants, legal and illegal such as Mexicans and Haitians. His comments regarding women are sexist and misogynistic. Even before he became president, Mr. Trump had a history of controversial comments about women. His comments in a 2005 Access Hollywood tape about grabbing women "by the pussy" are perhaps the most notorious and made headlines in 2016. His attacks on women are countless.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: "She doesn't have the look. She doesn't have the stamina, I said she doesn't have the stamina, and I don't believe she does have the stamina."

Former Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina: "Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that the face of our next president?"

Senator Elizabeth Warren: "Goofy Elizabeth Warren, one of the least productive US Senators, has a nasty mouth."

Journalist Megyn Kelly: "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever."

Assault accuser E Jean Carroll: "No 1, she's not my type. No 2, it never happened. It never happened, OK?"

Rosie O'Donnell: "She's a slob. How does she even get on television? If I were running The View, I'd fire Rosie. I'd look her right in that fat, ugly face of hers and say, 'Rosie, you're fired.'"

Ivanka Trump: "She does have a very nice figure. I've said if Ivanka weren't my daughter perhaps I'd be dating her."

Former White House aide Omarosa Newman: "When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn't work out."

Donald Trump has a PATTERN. He's NASTY! He will say the most DEBASED things imaginable. He has no regard for rules of CIVILITY, ETHICS, or MORALS and people LOVE IT because he will be MEAN to people FOR them. There is no other conclusion to draw when a man has ATTACKED or OFFENDED almost everyone he has come into contact with. People of color who are successful are called DEI hires. DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which are concepts that are often used together because they are interconnected. They are a philosophy and culture that aims to create a more just society by acknowledging, supporting, and embracing people of all backgrounds.

Trump does what the average person cannot do without repercussions. The RACIST in his/her rural countryside cannot or may not have a minority they can openly tell GO BACK TO YOUR OWN COUNTRY. “Mass deportation now!” is a catchphrase for the Trump presidential campaign, as the Republican nominee proposes a crackdown on immigration that would oust thousands of undocumented people. “We’re going to have the largest deportation,” Trump said at a June campaign rally in Racine, Wisconsin. “We have no choice.” The crowd responded with a chant: “Send them back. Send them back. Send them back.” Even in modern times, there is a lingering sentiment that AMERICANS who are Black, should return to Africa even though Africa has never been their homeland. 

The average man (not all) who has a woman supervisor or boss would love to say she slept her way to the top as Trump insinuates Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has. Trump reposted a photo of arguably the two most ACCOMPLISHED politicians in America, Hillary Clinton and Vice President Kamala Harris. The photo was accompanied by a caption that is almost unspeakably vile, suggesting that the vice president of the United States slept her way to the top. 

Republican nominee Donald Trump has called Harris "dumb as a rock" and repeatedly — presumably intentionally — mispronounced her first name.  Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, doubled down: “Kamala Harris is, by all accounts, dumb as a rock. Even minorities like myself know that. She is weak, failed, and dangerously liberal,” he told NBC News.

Supporters of Trumps says he speaks for the AVERAGE man. Is THIS how the average man or people want to be represented? The answer is YES. There is no other reason to vote for such a man. Trump is needed to do what the average man is unable to do, be NASTY, MEAN, SEXIST, and yes, RACIST.

He has NO policies to make America better and RAMBLES about inconsequential topics when not BRAGGING about himself. In January, for example, he once described using an iron dome missile defense system as “ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding… Boom. Okay. Missile launch. Whoosh. Boom.” Trump: "I HAVE A CHART THAT'S MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE. I love tha..... is it around? .... is it around ... *wanders off and hugs the air* ... I sleep with that chart every night. I kiss it. I love it." “They’re going to take over a lot more than Aurora, Colorado, they’re going to go through Colorado, take over the whole damn state, unless … I become president.” Just google some of his speeches. No economic plan anywhere.

Even his supporters are leaving his rallies early. They have heard his usual speeches calling people out of their names and saying how BAD they are for America. He is not saying anything that matters for their daily lives. But he does say the things about others they want to say but can't get away with the way Trump does. Those who do stay to the end of his lengthy rallies wait anxiously for his INSULTS to fly. They can count on Trump to be mean FOR THEM.

Even Trump knows the only thing he has to offer is stand-up comedy at the expense of decent people. If Trump loses the 2024 presidential election, who will do the dirty work for Republicans? Will the UGLINESS demonstrated and applauded by the Right go quietly back into shadows and whispers of private homes and select circles? When the man chosen by the Right for his distasteful rhetoric is REPLACED (hopefully) by the JOY the Kamala/Walz ticket offer, what will become of those who cheered a man who once told the Proud Boys (The Proud Boys is a North American all-male, far-right, neo-fascist militant organization that promotes and engages in political violence) to "stand back and stand by"? Proud Boys members accounted for the highest number of extremist arrestees in relation to the insurrection (January 6th) with over 57 members and affiliates of chapters across the country arrested to date. 

Many people hate the term 'Politically Correct' because it means putting forth effort not to offend people. Not being able to say what you really want to say. I believe political correctness has been used when describing Donald Trump's supporters. It is not opinion that Donald Trump is corrupt, unethical, narcissistic, racist, criminal, and only concerned with his time in the spotlight. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's a duck. There is NO DOUBT who Donald Trump is and who are loyal to him.

The 78-year-old is the first former president in US history to be criminally convicted, having been found guilty of falsifying business records. Federal prosecutors allege he pressured officials to reverse the results, knowingly spread lies about election fraud and sought to exploit the Capitol riot on 6 January 2021 to delay the certification of Mr. Biden's victory and stay in power. He's been charged with four criminal counts, including conspiracy to defraud the US and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.

Trump made a payment to the adult-film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Ms. Daniels was paid $130,000 (£103,000) to keep quiet about her claim that she had sex with Trump, which he denies. Providing so-called hush-money is not illegal. The jurors deliberated over two days before finding the former president guilty of all 34 counts of fraud under campaign finance laws.

Trump and some 18 other defendants are accused of criminally conspiring to overturn his very narrow defeat in the state of Georgia in the 2020 election. The racketeering investigation, led by Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis, was sparked in part by a leaked phone call in which the former president asked the state's top election official to "find 11,780 votes". Trump was hit with 13 criminal counts, subsequently reduced to 10. They include one alleged violation of Georgia's Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (Rico).

Finally, Trump will be tried to see if he mishandled classified documents by taking them from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago residence after he left office. The case against Trump is also about whether he obstructed the FBI's efforts to retrieve the files, as well as the criminal investigation into his handling of them. The majority of the counts are for the willful retention of national defense information, which falls under the Espionage Act. There are then eight individual counts, which include conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record and making false statements. Trump has pleaded not guilty on all counts.

It's time to come clean REPUBLICANS, MAGA, FAR RIGHT, and CONSERVATIVES who CONTINUE to support such a man. The only reason you still support him is because HE WILL BE MEAN TO PEOPLE FOR YOU and you're spending a lot of time putting lipstick on a PIG. America sees you.

They're Eating the Pets? (Ohio, Trump)

In the 2024 Presidential Debate, Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, said, "In Springfield, they're eating the dogs — the people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're eating — they're eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame." When ABC anchor David Muir responded that city officials disputed that, Trump insisted he had seen people saying so on television.

The people who are accused of eating pets are immigrants of color, Haitians. Why is this important? Because crime and fear are tools used against people of color and immigrants. People forget, American history has criminals who have eaten PEOPLE. These killers are best known as serial killers and have something in common. They are white. Some murderers, such as Boone Helm, Albert Fish, Andrei Chikatilo, and Jeffery Dahmer, are known to have eaten parts of their victims after killing them.

Why are some crimes, including mass shootings, not as feared as other crimes? RACE plays an interesting factor. People are more outraged on social media about the possibility of a pet being eaten than schools being shot up. REALLY?

Why do White women clutch their purses and/or cross the street when encountering a Black male in public? Can it be because the news outlets reporting on Black crime is done with a 'be afraid' of them because they ALL have a violent nature? But are Black or brown people the ONLY or MOST extreme violent people? Of course, criminals come in all different colors, but there is not a FEAR factor engrained with white people committing crimes as with other ethnicities.

White people report on crime as if they do not commit crimes. Donald Trump's campaign centers around, "Immigrants are killing good White people." During the debate he just sounded crazy to most, but not to his fearful White base. They continue to promote the fear of a beloved pet being eaten, not "OUR CHILDREN ARE BEING SLAUGHTERED."

On average, research on racial differences in the criminal justice system indicates that Black people are, indeed, overrepresented at every decision point (e.g., arrest, sentencing). At the front end of the criminal justice process, Black individuals are arrested at rates that far exceed those of Whites. What If They Were White? The Differential Arrest Consequences of Victim Characteristics for Black and White Co-offenders - PMC (nih.gov). Black people are not the only ones committing crimes.

The Violence Policy Center (VPC) released When Men Murder Women: A Review of 25 Years of Female Homicide Victimization in the United States, analyzes 25 years of data, from 1996 to 2020, from the VPC’s annual report, When Men Murder Women. Here are a few of the results. A high number of White women are murdered by their intimate partner, who in most cases, are White. Not the stranger or immigrant.

• A total of 45,817 females were murdered by males in single victim/single offender incidents between 1996 and 2020 as reported to the FBI UCR’s Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR). Of these, 29,503 victims were white (64 percent), 14,038 were Black (31 percent), 1,216 were Asian or Pacific Islander (three percent), and 522 were American Indian/Alaska Native (one percent). Information about race was missing for 538 victims (one percent).
• Most women killed by men knew their killers. Over the past 25 years, 92 percent of female victims knew their male killers.
• Among female victims who knew their male killers, 61 percent were murdered by an intimate partner.

I'm sure there is a tendency to believe ALL of these women were assaulted by a Black person. This would be a wrong assumption. There is evidence Black people are not the only people who commit crimes.

• In 2019, 69.4 percent of all individuals arrested were White, 26.6 percent were Black or African American, and 4.0 percent were of other races. FBI — Table 43
• White individuals were arrested more often for violent crimes than individuals of any other race and accounted for 59.1 percent of those arrests.
• White juveniles comprised 56.4 percent of juveniles arrested for aggravated assault and 55.4 percent of juveniles arrested for larceny-theft.

We live in an age where it is a race to be the first to report the news. Social media has become a key player in getting the latest news out the fastest. But social media is not known to be a factual source of news. It also picks and chooses what will be the most accepted report when it comes to headlines relying on shock value and what people want to hear as truth. As of late, social media wants to report immigrants are the cause of increased crime. It's what a certain demographic wants to hear to give validity to their displeasure not wanting the country to become filled with immigrants. The fear of violence is an effective tool in the anti-immigrant argument. But there are other FACTS which should cause fear.

According to Hunting Humans: An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers, 82% of American serial killers are white, while 15% are Black and 2.5% are Hispanic. In the US alone, the FBI estimates there are between 25-50 active serial killers at any given time, despite the authorities not being aware of them or connecting the killings together. On a worldwide scale, this estimate is certainly larger, but only a handful of serial killer cases are confirmed to be unsolved. 

Radford University and Florida Gulf Coast University have a jointly operated database that keeps track of serial killers, their years of operation, their victims, and their methods of execution. Each year, the team behind the database releases an annual report on serial killer data. The database tracks serial killings all the way back to 1900 and includes serial killers from over 115 countries. The U.S. leads the rest of the world in documented serial killers, with a whopping 3,613 serial killers as of 2020 (England is not-so-close second, with known 176 serial killers as of 2020). The data tracks the number of serial killers that have been active each year too, with 1986 being the peak in the U.S. Generally, murders by serial killers in the U.S. was at its highest between 1970 and 1990, which is when some of the most sensationalized killers were active (think Bundy, Dahmer, Ramirez, Gacy, and Kemper, among many more). 

Between 1982 and December 2023, 80 out of the 149 mass shootings in the United States were carried out by White shooters. By comparison, the perpetrator was African American in 26 mass shootings, and Latino in 12. When calculated as percentages, this amounts to 54 percent, 17 percent, and eight percent respectively. Since 2015, over 19,000 people have been shot and wounded or killed in a mass shooting. In 2022 alone, over 600 people were killed, with over 2,700 wounded. Both the number of mass shooting incidents and the number of people shot in them have increased since 2015, reaching a high of 686 mass shooting incidents in 2021.

When it comes to hate crimes, 

• 48.6 percent were victims of crimes motivated by their offenders’ anti-Black or African American bias.
• In 2021, there were 3,906 victims of anti-Black or African American hate crimes in the United States, making it the racially motivated hate crime with the most victims in that year. 
• The second most common racially motivated hate crime, anti-White crimes, had 1,341 victims in that year.

The lynching of Michael Donald in Mobile, Alabama on March 21, 1981, is considered one of the last reported lynchings in the United States. Donald, a 19-year-old African American, was beaten and killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and his body was hung from a tree. Four men were involved in the lynching, with one being executed in 1997 and another sentenced to life in prison. The third man was also sentenced to life in prison, and the fourth was indicted but died before his trial could be completed.

What the news media does report about White criminals is White collar crime which in essence is viewed as harmless and not really criminal. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) offers a simplified definition of white-collar crime: “lying, cheating, and stealing.” According to FBI data from 2020, white males commit the majority of white-collar crimes. White-collar crimes are crimes committed by people of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupation for financial gain. Examples of white-collar crimes include fraud, bribery, embezzlement, insider trading, money laundering, identity theft, and forgery. However, white-collar crime offenders also tend to have other characteristics, including:

• Being in their late 30s to 40s
• Having a middle-class background
• Having at least some higher education
• Being employed
• Being married
• Having religious and community affiliations
• Owning homes
• Having less prior criminal justice involvement.

White collar crime has all but been glamorized as for rich people, so it must not be as bad as murder and rape. Some criminologists argue that White males who are class-advantaged are uniquely positioned to commit white-collar crime because they may have stronger deviant motivations, greater deviant opportunities, and weaker social controls. The majority of white-collar crime offenders are white males.

Victims of White-collar crimes tend to be those in lower income bracket or with little education.

When it comes to rape, reports have claimed nearly 90% of those convicted of wider child abuse offenses and on sex offenders register are White men. There isn’t much publicly available information on this. The data does show a large majority of those convicted of sexual offences (no matter the age of the victim) are White.

The Black male is often stereotyped as a drug user and drug dealer. White Americans are people who have ancestry from Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. According to one study by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), in 2017, about 38.2% of young White adults aged 18 to 25 reported that they were current illicit drug users. In terms of drug use by race, White Americans have the highest rates of drug use and abuse. This is likely due to a variety of factors, including socio-economic status, access to drugs, and cultural factors. African Americans have the second highest rates of drug use and abuse. Examining Drug Use by Race - Free by the Sea - Washington. 

In 2021, White people were more likely than people in all other racial or ethnic groups to be past month alcohol users. More than half of White people (52.2%) were past month alcohol users. In 2021, underage White people aged 12 to 20 were more likely to be past month alcohol users (18.1%) compared with underage Hispanic or Latino (14.5%), Multiracial (13.2%), Black or African American (9.4%), or Asian people (6.4%). Underage White people were also more likely to be past month binge drinkers (10.1%) compared with underage Hispanic or Latino (7.3%), Black or African American (5.5%), or Asian people (2.5%). 

The spotlight has always been on people of color as criminals. The nightly news if filled with accounts of Black crime. It is more than evident that ALL races are capable of being perpetrators of horrendous crimes. Clearly, the REACTION to a criminal is what fuels our beliefs about criminals. White people loudly proclaim their aversion to crime ignoring the statistics regarding crimes and criminal act committed by White people. Crime is not dictated by the color of a person's skin but by the content of their heart.

What if Black women started clinching their purses or running for cover when they encountered a White male who is statistically known to abuse drugs, commit rape, be a mass shooter, serial killer, lies, cheat, embezzle, and commit fraud? What would that America look like?

Donald Trump and Racism (Vote)

 

WHAT ARE CHRISTIANS, ESPECIALLY EVANGELICALS, DOING SUPPORTING TRUMP?

I have been left bewildered by people who continue to support Donald Trump. I just don't get why people back a man who is ruled by greed and motivated by racism and sexism. They can no longer deny his flawed character and turn to the Bible and say God has always used flawed people. I'm sorry. As a Black person, there is not enough of Christian-splaining to get me on board with an outright racist.

If I haven't said it lately, I'll say it now. I am a Christian first, second, and last. As a practicing Christian I use the Bible as my guide for daily living. It instructs me in 2 Timothy 2:15, King James Version (KJV) "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

Christians have a DUTY to correctly understand the Scriptures, live by a correct understanding of the Scriptures, and to teach sound doctrine in regard to Scripture. If people see Donald Trump as a man chosen by God, what is the KINGDOM mission, or message Trump has?

I have heard on many news programs whether God figures into a candidate's choices and motivations. Christians are encouraged not to make any decisions in their public or private life without prayer and making sure that the decision is in line with "What Would Jesus Do" or "What Would God have me to do." I must say that I am offended by people speaking sarcastically about this religious practice. But a person's individual religious practice should not be forced on others. People should be able to see by a person's actions whether that person is living out the faith they proclaim.

If there was a list made of sinful things Donald Trump does and Godly things Trump does, which list would be the longest? The way he speaks about minorities, like at the Black Conservative Federation and about E. Jean Carroll would not go in his Godly column.

Trump: “These lights are so bright in my eyes. And I can't see so many people out there. But I can only see the black ones, I can’t see the white ones. That's how far I’ve come.”

It saddens me to read our Black youth saying they have no plan to vote. Their grandparents fought so hard for them to enjoy freedoms, and they WILL lose them checking out of politics because they are at PRESENT able to live without being arrested, harassed, targeted, for being Black. People ask, "How could humans ever have owned humans?" Simple. People never believed people would go that far. Religion, sadly, has always been the 'entry' card to gain power and do evil. Exactly what the Republican Party is doing now, and minorities and women cannot envision themselves being treated inhumanely by other humans. Our history is proof that it happens. YOUNG PEOPLE, YOU MUST VOTE!!!

The Republican Party is taking the lasting respect of Christianity down. People pointed to Christianity as crazy at times. Take speaking in tongues for example, which my denomination does not do, seems crazy to many denominations and outsiders. Speaking in tongues does not make Christians crazy, a little scary like the Scriptures says they would appear to others, yes, but not psycho. The TRUTH about speaking in tongues is a Christian is not to speak in tongues unless there is an interpreter present to tell the listeners what is being said. As I said, interpretation of Scripture has been a point of contention between denominations and speaking in tongues is one of them. The original meaning of 'speaking in tongues' does not mean a gibberish language, but different languages from different parts of the world (Spanish, French, Italian etc.). Speaking in tongues does not send anyone to hell unless it is used as a measuring stick for salvation. This truth in Scripture has been divided in many different ways and 'wrongly' at times.

Donald Trump is on the world stage and never passes a microphone without speaking. He name-call people, belittle people, constantly complain, elevate himself above others, lie compulsively, demonstrate greed, and panders to the worse emotions of his followers. I ask again, what is his Kingdom mission for God? Trump is for Trump and the people who support him are also for self.

Philippians 3:7 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." This is not Donald Trump. This is not the Republican Party. Each try to outdo the other as the most hateful. Democrats are not perfect either, but they are not malicious, racist, or sexist. YOUNG PEOPLE YOU MUST VOTE!!!

I keep using the word sad when I speak about the United States' political climate. I'm also in disbelief at how my sisters and brothers in Christ are behaving. It causes me pain to hear and see how people use and try to manipulate Christianity for their own purposes. This should be the issue that affects Evangelicals the most: What kind of ambassador for God have we become?

Why do I continue to speak on this subject? Because it is my duty as a Christian. Matthew 18:15-17“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector."

Young people, you have a duty to continue to ensure everyone in America is safe from racism and sexism and all other "isms." America is your house, and you would never allow horrible things to happen in your home. Black men and women declare themselves KING and QUEENS. Well, it's time to defend your kingdom and make sure those you rule are taken care of. VOTE.

TEXAS: Civil War/Secession

The great state of Texas, where everything is bigger, is in the spotlight. The Supreme Court gave a ruling they found out-of-line regarding their problem with illegal immigrants entering their country. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, January 22, 2024, ordered Texas to allow federal border agents access to the state’s border with Mexico, where Texas officials have deployed miles of concertina wire to prevent people from crossing the border. Texas is REFUSING to comply.

Twitter has been on fire with posting saying Texas should secede, leave the Union or launch a Civil War. The point has also been made that when the Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade, there was not such an extreme reaction of defying a federal ruling or threats of "war."

The chatter Texans (and others) are making, draws attention to their "RED" state and the character of those who loudly and proudly identify themselves as Republican and Conservative. The Republican Party has been labled as being comprised of 'extremists' and with tendencies of being violent. Because of these particular labels, government tends to handle them with kid gloves. Their tendency to be 'extreme' makes it difficult to prosecute their chosen "instigator" Donald Trump, least they become completely unhinged as demonstrated by the attack on the Capitol January 6, 2021.

No matter how softly people tread when dealing with the ALT RIGHT, they seem hell bent on forcing their wants, without consideration for others, on the United States. There is something fundamentally OFF about the MAGA section of the Republican Party. When will they be seen as the danger they truly are? 

The ACTIONS of Americans, regardless of political affiliation, if it is a threat to the democracy, should be handled as a threat. Remaining SILENT and hoping "this too shall pass" is not the way to handle potentially dangerous threats made towards the government or its citizens. If the people are opperating SEDITIOUSLY under the guise of religion, the danger is even greater in my opinion. 

How does the everyday CHRISTIAN or American CITIZEN recognize a person is using religion in a way that is dangerous and for their own gain? Well the Bible has not left us without clear discernment of BAD fruit. It is time for Americans to operate in wisdom and that means acknowledging the facts and making decisions and choices based on those PROVEN facts.

Excerpts from my book: "The Politics of Prayer"

     WISDOM Truth, knowledge, and wisdom are only effective when put into action. 

Luke 2:52 states Jesus increased in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man. Wisdom was his intellectual growth, stature was his physical growth, favor with God was his spiritual growth, and favor with man was his social development. Wisdom was a major part of Jesus’ life and should be a part of every Christian’s life as well. It takes wisdom to pray for our leaders and ourselves. It takes wisdom to make the right choices when engaging political issues. When making choices on political issues we may ASK ourselves: 1. Does it help my witness for God? 2. Am I motivated by a desire to help others to know Christ? 3. Is it against a specific command in Scripture and would thus cause me to sin? 4. Is it the best and most beneficial course of action? 5. Am I thinking only of myself, or do I truly care about the other person? 6. Am I acting lovingly or selfishly? 7. Does it glorify God? 8. Will it cause someone else to sin? 

WISDOM QUOTES “A wise old owl sat on an oak: The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard; Why aren’t we like that wise old bird?” “The highest form of wisdom is kindness.” The Talmud “Wisdom is knowing what to do next, skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it.” David Starr Jordon “A man only becomes wise when he begins to calculate the approximate depth of his ignorance.” Gian Carlo Menotti “We must become the change we want to see.” Mahatma Gandhi “Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfish to seek other than itself.” Kahlil Gibran “The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.” Ralph Waldo Emerson “The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil.” Cicero “One of the greatest pieces of economic wisdom is to know what you do not know.” John Kenneth Gilbraith “The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.” William James “The truest greatness lies in being kind, the truest wisdom is a happy mind.” Ella Wheeler Wilcox “Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.” Immanuel Kant “It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.” Mohandas K. Gandhi “Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.” Norman Cousins “Patience is the companion of wisdom.” Saint Augustine “The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to question, and by seeking we may come upon truth.” Pierre Abelard “I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be.” Thomas Jefferson “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Abraham Lincoln “By three methods we may learn wisdom; first, by reflection, which is noblest, second, by imitation, which is easiest, and third; by experience, which is the most bitter.” Confucius “A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion.” Chinese Proverbs.

King Solomon of the Bible, was considered the wisest man on Earth. God gave Solomon his wisdom along with a promise: “As for you, if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised to your father, David saying; ”You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel” (I Kings 9:4-5). 

Solomon should have been a man to be envied. He was the first king to sit on the throne of a kingdom at peace. He had been given divine wisdom by God. He built a temple for God (a center of Jewish religion), and he was richer and more prosperous than any king in any surrounding nation. This should have been enough for the man who had it all, but it wasn’t. 

Solomon’s downfall came from within the walls of his home; his many wives and their many pagan religions. He married 700 hundred women for political reasons and consorted with 300 concubines (I Kings 11:3). Solomon, in his old age, began to do as his wives did and worshipped pagan gods and built high places of worship for those pagan gods. For Solomon’s sin, God said he would take the kingdom from the hands of his son; all but one tribe would he leave for his son for the sake of his father David. The lesson to be learned is to be mindful of our associations and how we conduct our private lives. Solomon was his own worst enemy in a time of success and grandeur, he destroyed himself. It is easier to blame our problems on government or others, but we must also look at ourselves.

James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” 

Proverbs 3:16-18 "Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.

REFLECTION I encourage you to incorporate prayer for your leaders into your daily prayers asking God to give them wisdom to lead. Wisdom goes beyond just knowledge; it encompasses the ability to make the right choice at the right time. Wisdom is only effective when put into action. Pray that your leaders, as well as yourself, will have the ability to know what is right and to do what is right. Make a PRAYER LIST FOR THOSE WHO NEED WISDOM, but recognize bad fruit, and throw it out.

My book The Politics of Prayer can be purchased on amazon.com. Please like, share and follow.