Psalms 10:1-18
(1) Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
(2) The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
(3) For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
(4) The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
(5) His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
(6) He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.
(7) His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
(8) He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.
(9) He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
(10) He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
(11) He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
(12) Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
(13) Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
(14) Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
(15) Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
(16) The LORD is King forever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.
(17) LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
(18) To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.
Politics and world events are not encouraging to the Christian. We see death being raised up by wicked men as a suitable solution to the consequences of sin, and the simple problems of life. These same people faint at the very idea of a person willing to use the sword of justice God gave to human authority in order to protect or to bring justice. Lying is expected and encouraged. Someone who is unwilling to lie politically is generally castigated as a radical because when he speaks, actual, clear, precise thoughts are formed. Society is much more comfortable with words that do not apply to any specific position. They call it "reaching across the isle", but when men speak outrageous evil they turn a deaf ear. (Make no mistake, this is not political correctness; this is raw fear.)
May I offer a different perspective? The Christian is a child of God first. Not that the wickedness of this world, or God's judgement should not affect us, but we must by faith believe that He is good. We must serve Him regardless of the circumstances; in blessing and in testing. We must be grieved by His grief, and find peace in His will. I think sometimes we are more grieved by those things we see that are the result of wickedness, which is natural, but spiritual eyes are first moved by the things that move God's heart, and they are steadfast at all other times, because God provides strength to those who seek Him.
I believe now is the time for Christians all over the world to choose the fear of God over the fear of man.
I know that my blogging is not usually political, but I don't see this as political. It has been in my heart to say for a long time, as the left in the U.S. is cranking out more threats and intimidation every day and the world is less and less stable, I started out serving God by being completely dependant on Him, and in that area, nothing has changed. I do believe He wants to change my heart, to break it for the the wickedness all around me, so I can be used as He wants to use His people.
12 comments:
Amen Sis!! It is important to remember that we are a child of God first and foremost in making any decisions whether it be politically oriented or not. That is why it is so important to research who is running in the elections before we vote for anyone. I'd hate to vote for someone putting them in office not knowing anything about them and then they turn out to be contrary to God and His plan and I contributed to the devil's work. Thank you for this wonderful reminder.
You have some lovely children. They are about the ages of my grandchildren.
I would like you to read the words of Jesus as recorded by Matthew, and understand how those words are asking you to gather your courage and oppose the hypocrites who call themselves righteous Christians while selling our people into corporate slavery, while enriching the money-changers, while spreading death and destruction around the world while cloaked in the flag of our fathers.
They besmirch that flag with their lies and corruption; they plunder the resources and natural beauty that belong to our children and grandchildren; they spread fear among us so that they may rob us of our human rights and liberties and keep us subservient; they ignore the health and welfare of all of us as they work to fatten the treasuries of their corporate patrons; and, worst of all, they claim to be Christians while conducting themselves as Philistines.
They call themselves conservatives, but they seem to have no concept of what that word means. They have learned they can use it to confuse people like yourself, who would rise up and eject them from civil society if you would once look past their duplicitous piety and see them for the brutes they are.
The Party of Lincoln is now owned by Wall Street, by arms-makers, by poisoners of the earth, by tycoons who hold hostage the health and welfare of all of us. I will never again vote for anyone who allies himself with that corrupt party. Never!
Please, Sarah, do not attack "the left", for it is your left-leaning friends (such as myself) who are fighting to save what remains of our nation and our world after 25 years of plunder and devastation by hoodlums who call themselves "moral."
Sarah, please read the Beatitudes. Those words show us clearly that Jesus was a liberal. He tries to tell us of the power of humankind, not the power of individuals.
I would sign my own name and point you to my own writings, but I do not wish to invite the kind of vicious attacks we have witnessed for the last two decades from the so-called "moral majority."
Be well, and take care of those babies.
Sarah....Amen .....the Lord is doing the separating...Stand strong in the Lord ...in HIS WHOLE...and I repeat WHOLE WORD...You are not alone
check out some of the blog links I have and you will see that
Deby
WATW
Anonymous: Please rest assured that none of the readers of my blog that I know personally would find your blog and post mean comments. I can't vouch for everyone, but I have Sitemeter and I'm pretty sure my blog is not required reading for the vast right wing conspiracy.
That being said, I appreciate the time you took to read and post your opinion. I am passionately in favor of the freedom of speech, and as long as I'm not getting nasty comments myself, I have no problem whatsoever with someone who disagrees with me. I am well aware of just how horrible some folks can get fast-and I do not assume you are one of them just because I have been the brunt of vicious attacks from the left. (Let's face it, there are some really creepy people in this world and many of them have access to the internet!)
I would also like to clarify some things. I am not confused. You did not mention the name of the party you are against, but I may assume it is the Republican party. My comments go accross the board. I find plenty of people who try to cater to my beliefs enough to get me to vote for them, but none who act because they hold those beliefs themselves, and the duplicity is frustrating to me. That is one of the things that prompted me to make the post that I did.
To further clarify some definitions, I am a Bible believer, which you have probably been able to deduce. Some of the words I use are old fashioned Bible words, and I like to use Bible definitions as much as I can. Therefore, one of the few things I must agree with you on is your statement that Jesus is liberal (not socialist). Noah Webster defines liberal as, "1. Of a free heart; free to give or bestow; not close or contracted; munificent; bountiful; generous; giving largely; as a liberal donor;" In this I agree. Jesus freely gives eternal life to anyone who asks. He is generous His Gift is abundant and full. I love Him with all my heart, and I love to read in His word about the beautiful things He says. I read Matthew just last week, and I am always challenged that holiness is a matter of the heart, not simply actions. You will notice that Jesus never criticized the Pharisee's lifestyle of separation to God, He condemned utterly the hypocrites who thought their profuse "good works" gained them favor with God, and made them better than other people. Anonymous, I know I am no better than anyone on the planet. The only reason I am not headed for Hell right now, is that God had mercy on me, and saved me when I called on Him.
I can see that we are polarized on many of our beliefs. But I hope the next time you read about Jesus in the Bible you will see that He did not come to make social reform. He said so to Pilot, " My kingdom is not of this world..." He came to save you Anonymous, " For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:17) He did not come to condemn the world because, " He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (vs. 18)
The choice is yours, and I have no right to push anyone; the Son of God and Creator of us all never pushed anyone or forced anyone to accept Him, so I will never do that. But the Saviour was always clear and precise to let us know the reason we reject His truth and twist it to match our own beliefs. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." (vs. 19-20)
This is long enough to put as a separate post, but I would like to keep this in the comments for this post. My blog is not a political bandwagon.
I am continually amazed at the wisdom of you. That was a very good and proper answer to a confused but sincere individual.
On the other hand, I am not so kind. You have covered the immediate and necessary item of God’s wonderful love and provision. Therefore it remains to be said that GOD is a conservative.
HE is against abortion - the left is not
HE is against homosexuality calling it abomination - the left is not
HE is against living together before marriage - the left is not
HE is pro-marriage (one man, one woman) - the left is not
HE is against evolution - the left is not
HE is pro-modesty - the left is not
All that said your reply was needed first. Love you
HTOITA
Sarah,
Your response was wise as well as kind. You are a blessing to me!!!
~Gina
SarahJoy-You did an excellant Job for standing up for us Christians and Morality and standing against the left winged party. The left winged democrats are the ones that says most of the anonymous said on your response. I am offended that that person compared us Christians to the ones that claimed to be Christians that support slavery. The democrat party is the one that stood up for slavery and encouraged it. I read that in a democratic booklet my dad had years ago.
This person also is only concentrating on the gospels of Jesus not the whole Bible which is the word of God.
We that have strong beliefs in our Lord need to stand up against the wickedness of the world and especially of the country. WE Christians need to start voting for those that will help us.
I am so upset that this person upsetted you Sarah but, what I told my one friend on her myspace because she is studying to become a writer. Someone wrote her a negative review on something. I told her as you studying to become a writer you will run into negative comments. Just don't let it bother you to much because your standing up of what you believe in.
God Bless you sister
Good Luck
Karrie
A great post and I thank you for having the courage to stand for the Lord. We are first and formost children of The Lord and our alligence is to the Lord of Lord and King of Kings and I think you have the right perpective right down the road. God bless you. connie from Texas
This post was a blessing Sarah. Well said indeed. God bless!
Sarah, I commend you on your thoughtful response to my anonymous post of 10:43 a.m. Monday. Thank you for taking time in your busy day to write in a fashion that is not your favored context.
Two lessons I thought I had learned long ago were reinforced by your response, and I will try to do better in my future scribblings, in whatever forum.
First, I erred in suggesting that you were confused. I did not, and do not, believe that, but my poor phraseology invited that inference. My intent was to say that false conservative politicians attempt to confuse good-hearted people of faith by fomenting one or two easy hot-button issues behind which the politicians can hide their true nature and their real aims. And that good-hearted people of faith would revolt against the charlatans if they would move beyond the cheap rhetoric and examine the totality of the damage these impostors have wrought (and are still wreaking) upon our democracy, our world and our dreams for our children's future.
Second, by choosing to remain anonymous I certainly was not saying that you personally would engage in on-line meanness. I don't believe that, and I don't suppose your friends would do so, either. But the Internet links all of us, and that is both its greatness and its hazard. We neither control who witnesses our on-line expressions nor what their responses to those expressions will be. Nor do we want that control, as we believe in freedom of expression by everyone, not just ourselves.
I have no fear of words; for more than 45 years I have made my way in this world sitting at a keyboard. During that time my professional writing has been read by millions of people, and (of course) I occasionally have been the recipient of vituperation from those who did not agree. Some responses came from reasonable readers, others came from small, closed minds. Such attacks did not and will not harm me, but I have reached a point in my life where I want to focus on the proactive rather than the reactive. Also, as you clearly understand, today's marvelous (and seductive) technology can consume too much of our time that might be better spent in meditation, in planning, in alleviating suffering, in reducing the disorder in our modern lives or simply hugging our kids. I would rather do these things than paw through a bunch of capital-letter condemnations. I hope you understand.
One last point: I would say my first comment on your blog was probably triggered by, more than anything else, your statement that "the left in the U.S. is cranking out more threats and intimidation every day and the world is less and less stable." I was astonished by that statement, and I was inviting you to re-examine it. The world is less stable, certainly, and I hope you can reflect upon who the real perpetrators of instability are.
It was not the left who lied us into an unprovoked invasion of Iraq that has turned into a disastrous, inhuman quagmire. It is not the left who now refuse to end the misadventure, despite the clearly expressed will of the American people. It is not the left which is threatening and provoking war with Iran. It is not the left which is now seeking to resume the Cold War with foolish proposals to install new missiles in Europe. It is not the left who trumpet belief in democracy and then seek to undermine it in Latin America, South America and the Middle East when the people vote for the "wrong" political movement. It is not the left who have stubbornly denied the destruction of our planetary environment for so many years that it might be too late to avoid a great catastrophe for the human race. It is not the left who have colluded in the massive international concentration of wealth through globalization that is crushing the middle class in America and almost every other developed nation in the world.
Well . . . I apologize for the length of this comment, Sarah. You can't see me, of course, but right now I'm grinning at this violation of my own cautions against spending so much time with this technology. I think I'll go hug one of my grandkids.
Anonymous, I will not keep a dispute going and going in my comments, although I don't mind at all clarifying. I don't have gads of time floating about my house waiting to be squandered on the computer.
Yes, the left is breathing out threatenings more and more. The ACLU is breaking down our religeous freedoms, and Christians are becoming aware that if they are open in their beliefs and convictions, they will and often do come under attack. I will not argue this point, I am simply stating why I believe Christians should refuse to be afraid of those people any more.
The world is becoming less stable for Christians. Ask the mother in Turkey whose husband was tourtured to death because he was a Christian. Ask the Christians under attack in the middle east by radical Islam and those who must chose death if they accept Christ to save them out of the Muslum religeon. Ask the indians whose pastors were banished from their jungle villages in Venusualia by a regime that claims to have expanded the rights of the indians. Ask the Christians in China, North Korea, Iran, and many in the Philipeans who are under attack right now. They will tell you that the world is increasingly unstable.
You make a lot of statements without mentioning the name of President Bush, but I may assume you are angry with him. I'm acctually not pleased with him either, but probably for the opposit reasons as you are not pleased with him.
Oh, I could go down your statements point by point and enjoy the mental stimulation of debate, but honestly, Anonymous, I'm sure you understand my family needs me more than you do. I'm under no delusion that I will say just the right thing and you will see the light. If I could, I would point you back to the Person of Christ. He is your biggest need.
Yikes. Some day I'll learn how to spell...
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