Category Archives: Living the Word

Your Shiny New Year

Devotional, Humanity & Sin, Living the Word, Spiritual Health, , , , , , , ,


Following every glittering testimony of faith from one raised in a stable Christian home- learning at an earthly father’s knee to love The Heavenly Father, happily participating in church life with the family, knowing a lifetime of Christian heritage- is a chorus of genuine amens and hearty hallelujahs! And rightly so!

But for many hearers, there’s a whispered, “please Lord, let that be my kid’s witness someday, since it will never be mine.”  There are those thinking of when they were children and rode the church bus alone every Sunday- and still are the only professing Christians in their families.  Many are remembering regular family participation in church- punctuated by long days and nights of familial dysfunction.  Many have no memory of attending church as a child.  Due to the troublesome vines continuously trying to choke it to death, some folks may not be able to distinguish the branches of their family tree.

The Good News is:  If you have kissed a hundred frogs and not one of them turned into royalty, if you are sleeping with pigs and slapping off flies, if you do not know your earthly father- much less your heavenly one, if you are running hard and fast from pain- afraid to slow down and catch your breath; there’s a GOD in heaven who made you, who loves you- and if you seek Him- you’ll find He was willing to take human form and die to redeem you from your natural sinful state and your proclivity to sin.

Sin has many natural consequences.  Some are merely difficult, others are horrid.  Most  important however, is the ultimate price of our sin:  It is spiritual death and eternal separation from GOD, and from all that is good and pure.  Good tidings of great joy:  Jesus Christ has come to buy back his own from the dark side!  GOD in The Son of God has paid in full for our offenses toward Him and for the harm we  have done others!

Now, respectfully, before all you precious theologians on every side of the many fences we’ve built prepare to take me to task- I thoughtfully read the book, too.  The Book says, if anyone wants GOD it is an act of His sovereign grace in that one’s life.  It says, if anyone is willing to trust in and sincerely believes on Jesus Christ, The Only Begotten Son of God, for personal salvation from sin it is an act of sovereign grace.  And if anyone consistently, yet imperfectly, displays the fruits of salvation and of The Indwelling of The Holy Spirit it is an act of sovereign grace.  And if anyone genuinely wants GOD he or she is elect.  And if anyone chooses GOD it is because GOD CHOSE first.  It says, there is not one thing, NO NOT ONE, that any of us lowly humans can do to better ourselves and our position before A HOLY GOD.  We can not even WANT God on our own.  We cannot be WILLING to obey on our own.  There is not one tiny work we can do without God either to save ourselves or to keep ourselves saved.  Everything is ALL of GOD and everything is owed to Him.  Justified- sanctified- glorified, ALL OF HIM! By Him, for Him, and through Him, ALL things came to be, and are coming to be, and will be, and are held together.  These things are in the book.  These things are in His Word.

Therefore, if you are one with a less than sparkling legacy and you truly want God, you will simply look to Him, as did the thief on the cross that solemn day long ago on Calvary’s Hill, and you will be saved! Then, you will go find your new brothers and sisters! You will link arms with them and in the power of The Holy Spirit, embrace the struggle against sin! You will go and celebrate the victory that was hard-won for you! Merry Christmas And A Shiny New Year!

Copyright 2023.    L. L. Shelton.

REALITY CHECK!

Church Culture, Current Events, Humanity & Sin, Living the Word, , , , , , , , ,


TIME FOR  A REALITY CHECK CHURCH:

WHERE ARE WE? 

We are on a planet largely controlled by powerful men who consider themselves God.  We in the United States, are  located within western society as it continues to abandon the principles of The Christian Faith.  We in America, are in a nation often governed by crooked and perverse men, and we are surrounded by a confused generation.

WHEN ARE WE?

We are in a time that bitter is called sweet, and evil is called good.  We are in a period of great deception, and are initially concerned with covering our sin rather than repenting of our sin.  The mad is deemed reasonable.  The criminal is protected and the victim is punished.  We are occupying during the upside-down, and we may truly be nearing the end of the church age.

HOW ARE WE?

Following the traumatic events of two world wars, our corporate society began the primary pursuit of personal peace and affluence.  Separating ourselves from the principles found in God’s Word, we spiraled into a sexual revolution and we witnessed the demoralization and eventual break down of the family.  The generation of free-love and casual sex was followed by a homosexual revolution.  We are in the midst of a transgender revolution. Our traumatized society may result in a collective reprobate mind.  Our earthly leaders appear to be considering a third world war.

WHO ARE WE?

We are the redeemed.   We are the saved.  We are bought at great price.  We are Saints.  We are Believers.  We are the precious children of THE MOST HIGH GOD;  possessions of GOD marked with His permanent seal.  We are friends of Jesus Christ.  We are the family of GOD.  We have the mind of GOD.  We are those who can not be separated from the LOVE of GOD.  We are the ones who will stand.

WHY ARE WE HERE?

To be the light of the world.  To be luminaries and blessings.   To enjoy GOD.  To be witnesses to TRUTH.  To live before a watching world with eternity in our hearts.  We are here to share THE GOOD NEWS to the glory of GOD! We are in Christ the HOPE of the world!

WHAT ARE WE TO DO?

  1. Love:  Love GOD with ALL our hearts, our souls, our minds, and our strength.  Love ourselves appropriately as GOD loves us; desiring for ourselves what GOD desires for us.  Love our neighbors better than we love ourselves; putting their needs ahead of our own.
  2. Obey:  Pray and focus on The Word Of GOD in Our LORD Jesus Christ; and putting one foot in front of the other, do the next thing- as unto The LORD.

This is our high calling and reasonable service.  This is our mission.  Our orders have not changed.  We are to occupy expectantly as we await our LORD’s return.

And since GOD is with us and for us, who can be against us?

Copyright 2023.    L.L. Shelton.

From Babel to CERN

Academics & The Arts, Current Events, Education, Humanity & Sin, Living the Word, Music, Politics, The Arts, , , , , ,

From tremendous tower to palatial particle accelerator, we are determined to find God through contrived methods and limited modalities.  We are sure that we can discover and sing the science without being in relationship  with its composer, unwilling to admit that we are only familiar with a derivative of authentic music.  Science is perfectly beautiful but should be studied in relationship with God as the magnificent and extravagant language of God.  Science should never be approached separately from a genuine relationship with God.  Science is knowledge, literally “to know.”  Knowledge apart from wisdom, divided from God, is missing an element essential to its core; something completely necessary to a proper application of knowledge.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, growing in paradise, was a tree of science, a tree of knowing.  This tree was a tree of many branches, of numerous disciplines, all capable of overwhelming our human sensitivities and bringing us to desolate places of ruin apart from the loving leadership of our Creator.  When we disobeyed GOD, made him sad, in other words-sinned- when we took and ate from this tree, we internalized the fruit, the knowing.  This knowing encompassed the good and the evil and implanted in us an awareness of the difference between the two, as we were endowed with a conscience; therefore we are accountable to God for our knowing.  It is our responsibility to acquire wisdom.

We must never give ourselves to the creation, for the creation- life- is absolutely vulnerable to all forms of death and dying apart from her Creator, with physical death at some point guaranteed; rather there is a way to give ourselves back to the Creator.  The way home is to be reunited with GOD, to become one with our Creator; we must accept the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, as the substitutionary atonement for the sin that produced our original separation from GOD, and maintains our perpetual separation from Him.  We must believe in Christ’s atonement,  through His sinless life, death, burial, and resurrection, accept it and bow our knee in acknowledgment of the Lordship of  Christ; GOD’s plan for our salvation from this world and our translation into the next, where we will  continue to enjoy our Creator and glorify Him forever.  Let the true music begin!

Copyright 2021.   L.L. Shelton.

RESIST OR FLEE

Bible Talk, Current Events, Health & Dis-ease, Health & Disease, Holistic Distress, Holistic Health, Humanity & Sin, Living the Word, Mental-Physical-Spiritual Health, Politics


I always taught my children to remember their three things:

  1. Keep your eyes on Jesus.
  2. Obey your authorities- IN THE LORD.
  3. Use good manners.

I taught them who Jesus was and who Jesus is.  I taught them the definition of authority and that some authority is good and of GOD and that some is evil; as every good thing fell in the beginning and can now be perverted.  I told them to follow authority ONLY when authority did not ask them to sin or to go against THE GOD of THE BIBLE.  I taught them that though manners and customs can be very specific as pertaining to different societies, ultimately manners are a way of behaving that does not offend another, and that good manners are defined in the Golden rule.  The Golden rule reminds us to do to others only that we would in our reasonable mind do or want done to ourselves.

In this present world, It is becoming increasingly difficult to know when the authority is in opposition to GOD and to HIS good.  Yet, as always, we must be able to recognize sin, and sin is anything that is displeasing to GOD, and to resist sin or flee from it.  I ask now that my children and all people pray for discernment- BEG for wisdom- and resist any authority in opposition to the good that is GOD.
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/68/80/73/6a17a66e9ec8c5/US11107588.pdf

Copyright 2021.    L.L. Shelton.

Don’t Let It Be Forgot

Academics & The Arts, Church Culture, Current Events, Education, Essay and Prose, Living the Word, Politics, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Is it probable that we have so abused our liberty  that we have propelled our nation into a choice between thinly veiled fascism and slightly  obscured communism? Is it too late for any rational choice- too late for our healing? Has the time passed for our recognition of the other’s point of view and a sincere attempt to find a common moral ground? Professing Christians stand resolutely on both sides of the divide, each one sure of his perspective and of his thoughts regarding  it.  Each idealogical camp accuses the other of a lack of regard for the living.  Each group is sure that the other is a culture committed to death of one kind or another; therefore each assembly is pushing for its members to vote according to conscience.

What if each individual and morally grounded voter is honestly compelled to consider an issue that he believes is a promotion of our culture of death, and is certain that the other party is oblivious to said issue; therefore he casts his ballot in the opposite direction? In this case, are we not obliged to consider that each congregation’s view of death is different.  As our president so aptly stated during a press briefing  related to the possibility of reopening the country during the COVID Crisis, and for these words I applaud  him, “There are many ways to die.”

While good Christians are united in their belief in their need of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and in their belief in His divinely appointed position as the only begotten Son Of God, good Christians are diverse in their genetic compositions as well as in their life experiences, lifestyles, and in their personal and cultural histories.  These differences allow for the development of a curious array of perspectives.  What if each of us on both sides of the aisle- that is each one who is truly sane- understands that death is the ultimate evil ushered into the world by sin and longs for life to prevail? What if our greatest need is to sit with the other at a round table and discover the other’s understanding of the nature, structure, and definition of death? What if, presently, our greatest common good would be to cultivate a true comprehension of the other Christian American’s view? (This is not to say that the table should accommodate those who do not profess Christ as Savior and Lord.  The table I imagine would seat my friends and family members who are fruit producing, baptized Believers, as well as their loved ones who are in the same position, and as the true church we would come together to discuss our opinions of God’s communication of what constitutes oppression and death, and to further our understanding of the other tribe’s dialect concerning such things.)

I find that I agree with Ayn Rand (who by her own admission, thought under the influence of Aristotle) in specifically this:  For one man to demand that another man give up his own life and personal happiness for the sake of another is the ultimate selfishness and is evil.  That said, I wholeheartedly believe that the Creator God who exists does ask this of each man for the other, and encourage the Christian education that exposes others to this Biblical Truth, and the subsequent explanation of all Scripture.  I hope for the church to continually propagate her beliefs founded in The Word of God to man, and that many will give up their own self-centeredness to the better man in Christ Jesus, to the power of His Holy Spirit, and to the will of God.

In conclusion, it is apparent that some good Christians are assured of the science evident in the natural physical world and other good Christians avow the “magic” of Aslan, and that some of us embrace both; of course both in the purest sense are True, as both in the purest sense can be known.  Come, let the church of America reason together.  Let us remember our history, and in all gravity, think on the mistakes of the past and learn from them.  Let us consider the abundant evidence of resulting corruption and reject fascism, communism, and all other terrible notions.  Let us avoid the evil of a totalitarian regime, as it is an absolute government of man in the place of God; and may He Himself have mercy on our souls!

Copyright 2020.    L.L. Shelton.

Some Will Dream

Bible Talk, Church Culture, Current Events, Essay and Prose, Living the Word, Natural Disaster, , , , ,


For Tricia Mikkelsen

By way of introduction, may I tell you that this is the truest account of my own extraordinary and personal experience that I am able to render.

To begin:  Reasoning, following the careful study of God’s Word, that I, being a pitiful sinner, would most likely find it overwhelming to focus on both the necessity of avoiding my personal sin in the here and now, and giving attention to the magnificent scope of the future; I largely put away any emphasis on eschatology.  Were I not to do so, to my way of thinking, I would surely fail in the primarily important endeavor to pursue the near maddeningly elusive business of holiness.  However, I have  lovely friends in the fellowship who have found it not only challenging to study the things to come, but invigorating, as it further encourages their own faiths and thrills their souls and I’m delighted to tell you that while I’ve avoided such, I was not foolish enough to turn a deaf ear to their joy and have therefore been privileged to listen to many interesting briefings on the subject, and I did form a loose opinion of the end (or if you prefer, the beginning, or starting over, the second coming, etc.) as it did appear as a formidable part of the whole.

All of this is a preface to my decision to tell you of a possibly prophetic dream I experienced.  Because this dream appeared especially vivid and significant, I noted it in my journal, as I’ve had a habit of keeping a diary since becoming a Christian as a young woman.  (Now, it is another story, but I will tell you that many would not have my testimony as I give it because I walked an aisle and professed faith as a child then later believed I had been mistaken.   Again, knowing as I do that I am “chief of sinners,”  I had no more desire to continue in such argument then as now, as it was and is apparent to me that I had best be about the job of cooperating in the challenging process of my sanctification.) Also, as it was especially brilliant, I relayed this particular dream to my eldest son on the morning following its happening.  It was not customary for me to tell others of my dreams and certainly not for me to write of them.  Over the years, I believe I have written of only two- possibly three- and this is the one dream I have felt pressed to consider as a word for the future.

While I am accomplished at communication, my preferred manner of lending a hand to a fellow is that of listening skillfully and asking thoughtful questions, thereby trusting both the individual and God Himself with the conclusion, and I have never considered myself any kind of prophet.  Though I have wondered at the supernatural, I have known and preferred the greatest knowledge and power available to man which is found in devotion to God and to His Word, and ultimately culminates in wisdom.  I have actively sought for Him to reveal Himself to me by communion with His Holy Spirit made possible by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ; through His written Word, communion with the saints, and the evidence of His existence and will in the natural world.  I have had no occasion of which to remark that I have felt myself to possess some sort of psychic power.

These things recognized, let us move to the heart of the matter:  As related to my son, who was drawing close to his twelfth birthday that particular morning, this is how it transpired:  I was aware of myself cleaning an apartment on the upper level of a building.  The sublet was small and neat, sparsely furnished, reminding me of an economy hotel suite. There were large plate glass windows on one wall and the drapes were pulled revealing a view of the sky.  I knew that I had my little ones- Anna, Jonathan, and Alexander with me (Jaxon was there “in the secret place” though I am not sure I knew it and Madelyn was still only a thought in the mind of God.).  As I was on my knees busily completing a task, I felt someone staring at me and l looked up and toward the window, simultaneously I heard something startling and tremendously loud and realized that a plane had crashed into the end of the building where I labored.

Standing before the window and to the right was a stunningly attractive woman, very neatly groomed, in a chic dark business suit.  She had short, closely clipped, glossy black hair and fair skin.  Her hair was parted to one side.  I am not sure, I suppose oddly, of the color of her eyes, however her gaze was penetrating and her tone commanding.  As I looked to her, she gestured toward the scene outside the window and stated plainly, “This is how you can always know that a storm is coming.”

I turned my attention from her to what was to be seen through the looking glass; and there presented was a scene I can not yet find sufficient words to describe.  I tried once a few years past to paint the scene and could not nearly reproduce it, but yet I am no great artist.  The best I have been able to report is that it seemed as though,as noted in my journal, “the sun had exploded and was consuming the sky” (and I was aware of the occurrence being of an explosive nature).  There was a great deal of light, warm color, and possibly flame- all against an expanse of black (I wonder if I should be ashamed of having shared such a thing with my child and would not normally have done it, but a sense of urgency prevailed.).

Less than a week after relating the pressing dream to my son, and having nearly forgotten it amid the daily bustle of life in our home of many children, other creatures that come along with them, and a high volume of traffic, I answered the persistent alarm of our landline (in those days we still had one) and heard my husband, Lee, who is so consistently even tempered to my regular displays of terrific passion that I am continually vexed, with an uncharacteristic urgency ask me to immediately turn on the television.

Our phone was cordless and the TV located in our finished walk-out basement.  I hurried downstairs from the kitchen to where the children were gathered to begin school, and did as I was asked.  The children quietened in response to my evidently anxious mood,  and together we watched in shocked silence as a plane flew directly into one of our World Trade Towers located at One Financial Center, Wall Street in New York City, New York.  We watched aghast as the horrific events of what would quickly become etched in the memories of all Americans as 9/11, unfolded before us on live television.  Understandably, I temporarily forgot my dream until some time after when my son reminded me of it and of the odd coincidence.

It had been several years and a move to a new state before I revisited my old journals and was prompted to consider my dream, the message, and the incredible timing, once more.  As I sat with my old journal in my hands wondering anew at those days of upset and unrest, at the tumultuous state of the world and at the odd coucidence of my peculiar, pressing dream, I realized that I had included something else in the entry- the end.   In my dream, I eventually turned away from the compelling site in front of me and grabbed little people shouting for children to run along with me to where I had parked our over-sized green van.  It seemed to take an eternity to traverse what was truly a brief distance and I remember thinking that we might not make it in time.  In time for what? I clearly recall that as we drew closer to our vehicle, I noted that my two oldest children, Emily and Donald, were not with me as they had been cleaning a different apartment at the opposite end of the building.  I was disturbed at our being separated and awakened feeling agitated.

Until that day of rediscovery, I did not think to question GOD concerning the details.  Now, I immediately wondered why the sense of urgency related to the dream, that I had felt at the time, had suddenly returned as I sat with the book of my collected messy musings open in  my lap.  In His Presence, I wondered, and after a time, three things were made clear to me.  First, I knew that the storm was not the events of 9/11, but that the events of 9/11 were a precursor to the storm and second that the storm would involve the entire globe, and third that it would arrive prior to Anna leaving our family to begin a life of her own.

I soon reminded my family of my dream and shared fully my further thoughts regarding it.  I cautioned them not to tell anyone else what I had disclosed and one child rolled her eyes in exaggerated fashion, giggled and quickly exclaimed,  “Don’t worry, Mom!” The others nodded their agreement and their terrific contagious laughter enveloped me as well.  Can you blame me for being unwilling to risk being committed to an institution for those not-quite-right-in-the-head? Seriously, I was concerned that I may be obsessing a bit, but I was well assured that I was as sane as the next guy, and was, after some prayer, content to put it away and to rest in Jesus- until recently.

Only our youngest two children live at home with us now, as the others are pursuing higher education or working and living with a roommate or a sibling   Our oldest is a young widow with a son- our first grandchild, and our second child is  married.  My mother and I, along with the two still living at home, were at her river cabin this year, the week of March eighth, observing the first presidential address to the nation concerning the novel coronavirus since February the twenty-ninth.  My brother and his wife were with us there as we gathered around the television and heard our President suggest that no one go to work if he or she felt unwell and that schools should consider closing.  That night, I marveled at this new turn of events for a considerable time before sleep claimed my restless mind.  In the morning, as I was preparing to enjoy a cup of coffee with my mom on the spacious front porch overlooking the exquisitely beautiful river, my dream returned- slamming into my consciousness with a force akin to a plane crashing into a building, nearly knocking me sideways.  I reminded my mother of my dream.  Of further interest, when we returned to our home from the river, Anna was engaged to be married.

I am sharing with you, with my readers, now as I believe GOD is prompting me to do so and to trust Him with the outcome, as for my own journey in His Spirit, this experience, this dream and all that has surrounded it, encourages my faith and thrills my soul! But I do not profess anything beyond what I have told you.  I have no idea if the second coming of Christ will be tomorrow, or ten years from now, or ten thousand years from now, but this has been for me greater evidence of the reality that is His Existence and Truth, and of the fact that He truly loves His children and communicates with us still.

May God continually manifest Himself to you, to me, and to a world continually in need of His Presence through Jesus Christ Our Lord,

Amen.

Please see The Book of Acts, 2: 14-21

Copyright 5/1/2020.    L.L. Shelton,

35 WAYS FOR THE CHURCH TO HELP MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN:

Bible Talk, Church Culture, Current Events, Family Life, Living the Word, Mental-Physical-Spiritual Health, Poetry

1. Stop expecting, worse desiring, for our government to do everything.
2. For all of our sakes STOP asking our government to do it all.
3. Eat and drink carefully and healthily, exercise twenty minutes, and study God’s Word each day in an attempt to keep ourselves in optimal health, to be of service to others.
4. Grow a portion of our own food.
5. If we are able to grow extra food- share it with our neighbors.
6. Buy from local food sources and producers.
7. Eat out at restaurants that serve only what is grown locally.
8. Start a local food pantry to collect from those who have much and redistribute to those who have little.
9. If we are fortunate enough to have opportunity and funding for regular preventative medical care, avail ourselves of the services.
10. If we are healthy and another is not, do what we can personally, to alleviate the person’s discomfort- particularly if this person is our own family member, but certainly do not limit our love and provision to our own.
11. Do our good works among our own and expand outward to others.
12. Start a medical fund in our local church and use it to help those in health crisis, within and outside the Body, who have no (or insufficient) medical coverage.
13. If we have an extra room, share it with someone who has no home of his or her own- particularly if this is a person (or family unit) from our own tribe, and certainly if the person is not in need of constant care or medical attention.
14. If we can afford to hire someone or to offer private care ourselves, open our home to someone needing constant care or who is dependent on medical aid. If the person has a home, supply care in his or her place of residence.
15. If we have an extra house or property of some kind… do we really need to talk about this?
16. Insist that able-bodied-minded persons work for their room and board.
17. If we have a dependable vehicle that is not fully and usefully employed- share it! At the least consider offering someone who is dependent on public transportation a regular ride.
18. Better yet- ditch our gas guzzling vehicle that helps to keep us dependent on foreign oil and/or fracking at home with the possibility of helping to create earthquakes, and cheerfully support public transportation with our tax dollars and our voluntary commitment to it.
19. Support alternative energy research and development.
20. Repair, re-use, recycle!
21. Turn our A/C up and our heat down 2-3 degrees. Give the money we save to someone who has less than we do.
22. Build a lending library of some kind and be sharers! Do this with our local church body and share with the community at large.
23. Educate our own children well.
24. Anytime we have opportunity, faithfully tutor someone else’s child. This can be done simply by seizing a teachable moment, or on a formal schedule of some kind.
25. If we are an employer, provide for the NEEDS of our own family members and those of our employees BEFORE providing extravagances for our family and those closest to us.
26. When someone from our own small society becomes pregnant outside of marriage- particularly with no criminal offense having taken place, assist the person ourselves in managing the pregnancy, the birth, and the rearing of the child, hopefully with the aid of our local church body.
27. Start an adoption fund in our local church and offer financial aid to Christians willing and desiring to open their homes to orphaned children.
28. Be especially supportive of widows, and encourage young widows OF THE FAITH to marry again.
29. Stop insisting that people get married for reasons that are unbiblical. Marriage is for Believers.
30. Stop penalizing people for being unmarried. Support the single members of your group in their choice to remain single. Support Civil Unions.
31. Offer singles and those choosing civil unions, family time with our families in our homes. If they are not Christian, so much the better, we can be like Jesus and offer a witness to The Gospel. (If you are strong, go into their territory when invited and enjoy them while offering a witness to The Gospel. This is not fellowship. Fellowship assumes like-mindedness.)
32. Stop expecting unbelievers to think and behave like we do.
33. Understand that those who are born into suffering are there, in part, to teach us selflessness and patience, and to help us learn to be servant-hearted.
34. As a rule, where and when possible, share with those outside the Church, and faithfully share The Gospel along the way.
35. Set an example of being kind to anyone and anything living- in this way we will nurture life and discourage a culture of death.

At the least, let our speech be encouraging, building up those around us rather than tearing them down. May GOD help us to make America great, and please LORD, let it begin in me.

Copyright 2018. L. L. Shelton.

The First Kingdom

Bible Talk, Church Culture, Living the Word, Politics

I am a Christian.  This does not mean I am perfect but it does mean that I strive to be like my Master. My Master lived and walked the earth and his biography is aptly recorded in the Scriptures. Therefore, I read and study his life to learn NOT what WOULD He do, but WHAT DID JESUS DO? This question should be central to all followers.

I grow weary with both major political parties using God’s Word to justify their various positions and actions.  Haven’t they ever heard of separation of church and state? Of course they have! They site it when it is to their advantage.  There was a reason that the founding fathers of our country, who probably had a collective I.Q. twice that of any group of citizens we could put together, today, touted the principle regularly.  Did you know that it was their idea of a way to ensure that the church is protected from the government- protected from tyranny?

We who are followers of The Way are citizens of his heavenly kingdom first.  Our allegiance belongs to God in Christ first and to our nation second.  This enables Christians of all earthly kingdoms and nations to be a collective “nation” of our own, of God, that is unified and overrides all other systems when it is necessary to obey God. This is not a difficult Truth, if you read the book and look for the answer with the sincere motive of finding how to be like Christ by learning what Jesus did.

Let’s not continue to drag our facsimiles of God into our political squabbles. He genuinely exists and He is everywhere.  He continues to make Himself known to all who are paying attention to Him.  We are primarily a part of a bigger better system.  Our first loyalty is to a King who has issued his law and identified it as the most important, the greatest of all laws:  The rule to love God FIRST, as He defines it, your neighbor second and equally with yourself; and to avoid any confusion He further interprets his law:  Do unto others- any other human being- as you would have done unto you.  Our efforts to mold and make God into something other than He has declared Himself to be are futile at best, absolutely foolish, and at worst, evil.

Copyright 2018. L.L. Shelton.