Kenya Calling

A LOT of people wonder why I’m so spirited about being a missionary in Kenya. I want to tell the story of how this all began, because I honestly didn’t want to go to Africa in the first place. That often surprises people who’ve seen and heard me as I prepare to return.

 It all started in 2005. I was having a crummy year, to put it politely. I had moved out of a neighborhood where I managed an apartment building that I lived in. In that building not only did I have to deal with the constant sounds of abusive boyfriends, the pains of evictions, drug dealings, prostitutes, etc., but my own vehicle was shot. To top it off, I was shot at, and my head missed by mere inches, after I angered a guy for calling the cops while he beat his live-in girlfriend senseless in the presence of her children. So you can see while I moved out.

 

The place I moved to was much better, or so I thought. Don’t get me wrong, the apartment was great; the landlords very kind and responsible. The problem was that I had moved to a fancier bad neighborhood. I transferred my job to the store that was only two blocks away. I went from a store whose main consumer flow was at-home moms and the elderly with a dab of middle-upper class families to a store that was considered by American city standards as “ghetto”. There were homeless sleeping in the bathroom, widespread vandalism, people stealing daily, and they never gave up without a fight. One time, a rent-a-guard, who was hired as “unarmed”, shot and killed a guy stealing sunglasses.

The work thing I could deal with, but one day things took a dramatic turn for the worse. It was the night of July 2^nd. I heard fireworks and went to the window to see if I could spot them. I didn’t see anything up, but there was movement in the street. Then there were a few more bangs. Those weren’t fireworks, they were gunshots. Suddenly, one more shot rang out and one of the guys went down hard. I called 911, and then rushed outside to see if there was anything I could do. (Not the brightest idea in hindsight.) The one guy was down and breathing, but there was a dark pool of blood growing by the moment. There was something else in the blood, which I would later realize was brain matter. He was shot completely through his head (I couldn’t tell because he had a hoody over his face) and his body was basically shutting down. I could hear the gurgle of blood in his throat. He didn’t make it.

His buddy, who had been on hands and knees the whole time, was groaning. I gave words of comfort, assuring him that help would arrive soon. He just grunted. He, too, was wearing a hoody over his head, so when he spit blood, I was quite surprised. I asked myself where it came from (it was already a very confusing situation). I bent down to see a bloody hole in the side of his face; he’d been shot through the cheek. All the while, I assumed that these guys were the victims. As it would turn out, they were attempting to rob another guy, who fought back. He had also been shot; grazed in the head, but not too badly. He had gone home to his wife, then came out when the police arrived to tell them what had happened.

A few weeks later, I took my sister shopping downtown. As we walked back to the car, my sister said, “What’s that guy doing by your van?” I said, “Probably nothing.” I was wrong. I watched as he punched out my window, opened my van and stole my bicycle, camera, and a CD case with about 70 Christian CDs in it.

About two months after the shooting, I was walking to my van at night. Some kid came up and stuck a gun in my back and demanded my wallet. As God had planned, I lost my wallet the day before. It was recovered four months later, at a Christian store, with everything in it. That day, however, I thought I was dead. Not only did I have nothing for the thief, I was standing about five feet from where I watched the guy die two months prior.

You might be asking, “Gee, that sucks, but what has that got to do with Kenya?” I’m getting there. This is all connected. You see, in every instance I’ve given you, the people were black. The wife-beaters, the van shooter, drug dealers, prostitutes, the thieves and the fights at the store, the guard who killed a guy over sunglasses, the guy taking the sunglasses, the vandals, the robbers, shooters, van burglar, and not to mention the kids at the detention center I volunteered at. All of them were black. In my mind, I was beginning to stereotype, and my faith was being tested.

One night, as I drove home from the coffee shop, I sensed the Lord tugging at me to go to the church building and pray. (I have a set of keys.) I was tired and it was late. I really didn’t feel like doing it, but the urge was so strongly felt, I knew I had better be obedient. I went in and turned on a few low lights, set some quiet music on the speakers and said to myself, “I’ll give it about ten minutes, then home to bed.” Nope. I got down on my knees and I felt the Lord so strongly that I dropped to my face. I began to call out to the Lord. “What do you want me to do?” I asked. In my mind, I was asking about that night. Did He want me to go evangelize downtown? Did He want me to pay a visit to the homeless? Was there something or someone I should specifically intercede for? What did He call me there for?

Suddenly, as clear as day, I heard His voice. “I want you to go to Africa,” He said. Africa. Yeah, right. God wouldn’t tell me that. I took Japanese. I thought if anything, He’d call me to Asia, or maybe South America, but never in a million years did I think I’d be going to Africa. I began to rationalize immediately, telling myself that I was imagining it. God’s voice continued and I dared not raise my eyes. It was a sort of humbling respect, as if His direct and personal presence there kept me in check, prompting me to remain bowed at all times. There came a list of instructions and conditions, and in my mind I saw the eastern region of Africa, just under the Horn of Africa.

I don’t usually tell people the list of things God gave me, but I will say this: Among the directives, I was told not to seek out a group or church going to Africa. The trip would be presented to me, and I would have to respond at once. I wouldn’t be able to consider it for a day; I had to be faithful or I would miss the chance, and thereby miss out on my blessing. There were a few other qualifiers, but since I was supposed to just wait for it to happen, I began to put it in the back of my mind.

Fast forward to 2006. I had begun dating the woman who would become my wife. I just didn’t know it at the time. I was excited about our relationship and I wanted to introduce her to some friends who attended a certain college ministry, including the pastor of that ministry. We couldn’t be there for the whole thing, but we made it for the worship at the end. My girlfriend walked in as the music faded and the announcements began. I lingered to greet a few more people I hadn’t seen in a while. When I finally went in to join my girlfriend, I was stopped dead in my tracks. There, on the huge overhead projection screen, was a picture of Kenya. The announcement followed with the warning that it was the final night to sign up. As the collegiate intern spoke that they said it deep and directly into the microphone for dramatic effect. And there I was, standing alone dead center and mid-aisle at the back of the room. It was almost scripted (or maybe it was).

All of a sudden, every memory of the night God spoke to me came into my mind, as clear and fresh as though it had just happened. I knew with certainty that this was the trip, this was the presentation, and this was the sense of now-or-never urgency of which God had told me. I grabbed a pen and began to sign up as soon as the table was attended. My girlfriend looked at me in disbelief, understandably. Here I was, without so much as a word to her, signing up to fly to an African nation. She was slightly displeased, but I knew what God had said. Later on I was able to explain it to her in greater detail and I’m happy to say that she was much more understanding.

Once I had signed up, the waiting began. I had to wait for funds to come in, and I had to wait about four months till take-off. I began to wonder if I was cut out for the job. I mean, after all I had been through, did I really have what it takes to be compassionate enough to Africans without a hint of prejudice or racism to get in the way? Could I really love blacks as much as Jesus wanted me to? I mean, look what they had done to me here! I prayed about this over and over. Each time, I got the sensation that God just wanted me to be obedient. It was as though He was sharing His heart, just a little bit. He didn’t speak audibly again, but gave me more of an affecting response. But still, the thought bothered me; the fear that I might fail in the compassion department because of the experiences I’d had with blacks in the recent months.

Eventually, the trip came. I was quite excited and really looking forward to going to Kenya. I was about to embark on a journey that I had never dreamed of. I was going to go to Africa! It seemed surreal. As the flight left, I hid my fears and hesitations in a variety of ways. I read my Bible, and other books, listened to music, and talked to my teammates. I spoke about all the things I was doing well at; all the areas where I felt I could be proud of my spiritual growth. I suppose I was just trying to justify myself as a qualified member of the team. We flew from Milwaukee to Chicago; Chicago to London; and London to Nairobi, Kenya. As we arrived in Kenya, I couldn’t believe how long the travel was- about 30 hours. Yet, I wished I had a little more time to “prepare”.

We first met up with one of the members, Mark, of the local church, Nairobi Chapel. He was very nice and got us through as quickly as possible. It was quite different than any other airport I’d been to. The airport security guards wore camouflage and carried AK-47s and M-16s. We were also told to speak plainly and professionally; no sarcasm, as it would offend them if taken seriously. I thought that would be hard, because I tend to joke with sarcasm often. Mark brought us to a matatu, a type of van that works as a taxi.

Our first stop: dinner. I dreaded it already. Was I going to have to eat fried bugs? Raw meat from some weird animal or lizard? A freaky plant? Was there even a safety protocol for restaurants? I was freaking out- until we came to the place. Kenya, Africa; and what was I going to eat? Pizza. Maybe this won’t be so bad. One of my teammates and I decided to offer to buy a meal for Mark. When asked if he would like something, he replied, “I don’t eat. For three weeks.” The others and I looked at one another quizzically. He continued, “No more life.” I remembered that they aren’t sarcastic, and then he started laughing. I guess they can be sarcastic. He certainly had us for a minute!

We spent the night at a guest house in Nairobi, before heading out for the Maasai village. At the guest house, we were treated like royalty. Here we were, a bunch of white foreigners, and they kept an armed guard outside our building, took time to prepare a meal especially for us, and gave us the most respectful treatment I could ever ask for. I was definitely wrong about the people. My mistakenness was proved even greater as we arrived in the Maasai village.

It was beautiful to me. I’m sure they don’t think so; they see the same scenery every day. We were welcomed to one of the most stunning and exotic places on the earth by some of the kindest hearts I have ever encountered. The Maasai were astonishing. Not only in their hearts, but in their ways. There is no way to better describe the welcoming. They had a way of making a visitor feel like they were being received back home after a long time away. I truly felt as though I was supposed to be there.

Josiah is the man who allowed us to stay at his home. I suppose he could be considered the leader of the village. This group wasn’t quite as traditional as some. They had clothes like you’d find in America, and Josiah had a car. The first night, John, the only other guy on the team, and I slept inside Josiah’s home. It’s considered big for a Maasai house. The walls were made of corrugated sheet metal and there were two bedrooms. There was a large room with an area about five feet by three for a kitchen. The entire thing was probably the size of my typical American living room and bedroom. There was no bathroom, but a toilet in a roofless metal shack about 40 feet from his house.

There was another house next to Josiah’s, more typical of the traditional Maasai. It was made of sticks and held together with mud and manure. It isn’t as gross as it sounds. It actually makes sense. It doesn’t rain there much, so if there is no mud to build with they use manure. I was blown away at the simplicity with which they lived. There was everything they needed, and little else. A couple sets of clothes, a few dishes, basic tools like shovels and hammers, and other necessities were the only things they owned. The village had a herd of cows and a herd of sheep. They don’t have a currency between tribes, so cattle and children are the only ways of measuring wealth. It is such a beautiful way of living; so care free, that it made me wonder if I could do it, and what I would miss if I did.

The second night, and all the other nights we were in the village, we slept in tents. One for John and I, and one for the girls. The tent I was in had a mesh netted top. This was especially neat because we could see the stars as we lay in our sleeping bags. The stars looked like I was lying under a glass table on which someone had spilled a bottle of silver glitter. There was absolutely no light pollution from nearby cities- because there weren’t any. It was so dark that only the moon and stars bore any light. A truck driving down the mountain was clearly visible.

One morning I woke up especially early. I had always thought it would be astonishing to witness an African sunrise, like in the movie “The Lion King”. Well, I didn’t get my sunrise, but it was still so beautiful. I walked out past the houses, toward the church, which about a ten minute walk. It was cloudy from the cool night air, and just a bit misty. The sun would dissipate the clouds as it rose in the sky. I walked out to an acacia tree near the entrance to the sheet metal building that was used as the local church and the school. This tree stood alone amid sheets of short golden grass. Just beyond the tree was a descending hill and a deep and long valley. Below I could small herds of what I assume were impala, dotting the landscape. No finer image have I ever seen painted. I believe God showed me that as a witness to His majesty.

Immediately, I began to praise the Lord. I complimented His work, thanking and exalting Him for His mighty wonders. I began this sentence: “Thank You, Lord, for this once in a lifetime…” Suddenly, He cut me off. I felt Him say, “This isn’t once in a lifetime. You will return.” You would think that by now, I knew better than to question God. Still, I wondered how it would ever come to be, but I supposed that if I made it there once, I can do it again by God’s grace and design. He continued, “You will return with your wife.”

Now I thought that I was imagining things. I wasn’t married. I had a girlfriend, but God knew what He had planned. God had also given Kim, my then-girlfriend, a prophetic vision. She foresaw things to do with my trip to Kenya, our relationship, finances, and even our eventual marriage. But before we had discussed a marriage, even before we were engaged, God told me on the gorgeous golden hills of Kenya that I would not only have a wife, but that she would at some point go to Kenya with me.

There was little else to what God spoke that day to me. I sat in complete awe, admiring God even more for all of His creation, wondering how mighty He must be to orchestrate every creature, every galaxy, and at the same time to know each of us intimately. I praised Him and thanked Him as I wept on that hill. I walked away, wondering how this could be, when one of the Maasai men, also showing up to the church building, approached me. The words that came out of his mouth were all the confirmation I needed. He asked, in English, “You will return with your wife?”

On a very hot July afternoon, on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year 2007, I became the husband to Kimberly, a more faithful, loving and compassionate wife than I had ever dared ask for. God truly has been there to deliver me out of every dark and seemingly hopeless situation in my life and bless me thoroughly. He has been my help in trouble, my companion, and the One who provokes me on to overcome every obstacle in my walk of faith. Kimberly is one of those blessings, one of which I know I have never been deserving.

December 27^th, 2007, Kenya held a presidential election. The rival to the existing president lost the election. He called “election fraud” and there was an immediate reaction from his supporters. Rioting and violence ensued. Over 1500 were killed, 600,000 were displaced from their homes and hundreds of churches, homes and shops were burned to the ground. The violence was tribal, with a religious undertone. The losing candidate is Muslim, and the existing president is Christian, both from different tribes.

During this aggressive streak of brutality and bloodshed, I asked the Lord if He would still have me to plan a return to Kenya, or if this was not the time. He spoke to me once again, saying, “I Am giving you an Ananias calling. As Ananias went before Saul, so you are to go to Kenya without fear.” I’ll admit, I had never read much into Ananias. He was always the arbitrary character in Saul’s story. I had to re-read the verses about him over and over again. I quickly understood what the Lord meant.

Ananias was a prayerful man, faithful to God. Because of this, God told him to go to a certain house and pray for Saul (who would later be called Paul), who had been struck with blindness. Ananias was quite hesitant, because Saul was a powerful man who had gained a reputation for putting believers in Jesus into prison, or to death. I can imagine that any believer would be timid in approaching such a man, but to go to him and pray? To speak healing in the Name of Jesus? What would this man be likely to do as soon as he could see? No, most Christians would run the other way! But the Lord reassured Ananias, telling him that Saul would be used of God and would suffer for the gospel of Christ. Ananias went, letting no fear or potential for persecution hinder him. When he arrived, he found that Saul was expecting him, as God had told him to anticipate Ananias’ coming. So, with my reassurance from the Lord, I shall go to Kenya undaunted.

As I write this, we are expecting our first child together. I am planning on a short return trip to Kenya in August of 2009. Kim won’t be able to go this time, but will be returning with me at some time in the future.  I know the Lord has a great many things planned. I have no idea why He has chosen me to fulfill this mission, but I will gladly accept His desire as my grounding.

 

 

 

To be continued…

 

 

 

Parking the Problem

I just wanted to randomly rant for a moment. I made an interesting connection, and wanted to share it. There is a point to this, so try to stick with me.

I had this thought as I was driving home last night. While at the coffee shop downtown, I struck up a discussion with one of the employees who knows me well by now. We talked about parking downtown, about the high cost of tickets and the lack of spaces. I mentioned how it’s a very detrimental pain to have to go through.

First of all, there is a strict limit to when you can park, and the rules of parking and times and lengths vary from block to block. Then, if you don’t move your car, you get a $20 ticket (but it goes up after a few days).

If you are mindful of the time, you have to stop what you’re doing, no matter what it is, to go do one of two things (depending on the time). 1. Put more money in the meter, or the new machine at the other end of the block (but at least it gives a receipt). 2. Move your car.

So let’s say you’re shopping downtown. You have two hours to spend your money. Now, my wife can take two hours in a store, let alone the entire mall. Or maybe you work downtown. Then you spend your break looking for a new spot or putting your paycheck into the meter. Or you could be like me, enjoying a coffee shop, researching online, and writing blogs. No matter who you are, you have to stop what you’re doing to move a car. What if there’s not a spot? Too bad. That means that every two hours (the time limit for most areas of downtown Milwaukee) I have to pack up my laptop, wrap the cords, bundle up and look for a new parking spot. If I find one, guess what happens to my table at the coffee place? Gone; and I can’t risk leaving my stuff there in case I don’t get a spot. Shopping? You only have two hours, then you can’t spend any more (or spend $20 and stay put).

Here’s what I realized: There are meetings and meetings and all kinds of public and official agendas to find out why downtown is suffering and what they can do to improve it. Here’s a thought: “Stop making it such a pain to be there!”

It seems like they want your business, but they don’t want you to be there. They put it on the news, they report it in the paper, and they send mass emails and newsletters inviting the public and a ton of agencies to rallies and conferences. They ask how they can improve the downtown economy, improve businesses, and be more inviting. They put money into painting and decorating and street repair and give businesses a start-up advantage. The solution always seems to be this: Pay for it with more parking tickets. Send out the checkers and “generate some income.” This isn’t the solution. It’s the problem.

Downtowns are suffering. Not just in Milwaukee, but all over. If you want people to be there, you have to welcome them. Why make it so difficult? Why tell someone, “You only have two hours to spend your money in our district,” and then wonder why they aren’t spending more? The mall has come very close to closing in recent years. Many businesses have gone under, and others are struggling. There is nothing wrong with the business, just the streets around them. There isn’t too much crime (although, any crime is too much). The stores are nice, the jobs are good, and the restaurants are superb. But, I don’t want to go down there.

As I dwelt on this conversation, I thought, “What if we applied that principal to the country?” America has changed. Dramatically. We have a wild generation behind us. We have higher crime, greater risk of terrorism, rampant diseases, a housing crisis, crashing stocks, massive layoffs, and an economic crisis that some are calling “unparalleled”. And what is our countries attitude? “This is America. You can do whatever you want.”

It’s true that we started out as a Christian nation. Early settlers were trying to escape religious dictatorship. Thomas Jefferson said that we should have a separation of church and state, meaning that the government should not be allowed to control religious beliefs. Of course, most of America took that the other direction, saying that we can’t mix the two. The intention was that neither would control the other.

In our country’s youth, we encouraged church, faith, family values, and a solid moral standard. We built schools for the sole purpose of teaching Scripture, using the Bible as a tool to learn to read, write, and the mathematical practices implied therein. Harvard, Yale, Notre Dame. All started as Christian schools. Now they’re liberal.

As a young, Christian country, we were blessed with farming, industry, economic stability, and an increase in population, advances in science, medicine, and technology. It didn’t take long for us to screw that up. We took the Bible out of schools, the Ten Commandments out of courtrooms, and faith off the grid. President-elect Obama once said in a public speech, “We are no longer a Christian nation.” What a shame. In the land of “freedom”, there is one group who’s being silenced- the Christians.

As we said everyone could do what they want in our wonderful free land, some said, “I want to be atheist,” and we said that it was okay. They said, “I want to be gay,” and we said that it was okay. They said, “I want to kill my unborn child because I’m not ready to have responsibility,” and we said it was okay. Then they all got together and said, “Those Christians are telling me I’m wrong.” And what did America, the land of freedom, tell the Christians? “You can’t do that. It’s not okay.” No more Bibles; no more preaching; no more commandments; no more talking about abortion; no more talking about homosexuals; no more campaigning from the public pulpit; no more evangelism anywhere; no more praying in public. In fact, you have to accept them and support them or you’ll get a fine and go to jail.”

Then September 11^th happened. And the hurricanes in the gulf. And the wildfires in California. And all the people said, “Where was God?” God said, “I’m not allowed here.”

New York. Known for being liberal. A large homosexual population, widespread drug usage, gangs and violence. New York barely survived the eighties.

New Orleans. Known for the sanctified orgy called Mardi Gras, where hundreds of thousands expose themselves in shameful ways, get drunk, do drugs and brag about it with pride, often on video.

California. Known for gay marriage and bikinis. They’ve outlawed homeschooling, almost intentionally to attack Christian values. They won’t teach them in schools, and won’t allow you to teach them at home. They allow gay couples all the legal rights straight couples have. In fact, they encourage them to sue anyone who disagrees with their practices.

In every instance, people wonder why God doesn’t heed their call. If I were God, and I thank Him I’m not, I would most certainly be fed up with it. “You kick Me out and then ask Me to protect you?” Perhaps the problem with the country is the same as my parking issue: The solution is the problem.

America has taken so much pride in being “free”, that we’ve given ourselves away. We have sacrificed everything that made us great in the first place. If we don’t have a president, governors, mayors, councilmen, aldermen, representatives, and every other member of public office get down on their knees and repent, we are in for some SERIOUS trouble! They must repent of the raping of this land, the beheading of our blessing, the utter destruction of all forms of holiness, or we will see more deaths, more destruction, and we will be handed over to our enemies, both known and unseen. God promises blessing for those that follow Him. Right now, America is so far behind God, that she can’t even see His shadow. I believe that the only reason this country hasn’t been utterly obliterated is due the millions that remain faithful to Christ.

If you want this country to have a dramatic turn around to the positive, write, email and call your elected officials, all of them, and tell them that they need to repent. They need to reach out to God, ask for forgiveness, and walk uprightly according to God’s principals, and no longer their own. Then have everyone you know do the same. Should enough people ask of this, some might actually respond. Some publically, some in their own homes, out of sight. Whatever their response, we cannot sit idly by and watch our nation be handed over to darkness and evil at our leaders’ hands. Pray for your officials, contact them, and tell them how our solution might just be our problem.

7 Deep Things of God

7 Deep things of God – 1 Cor. 2: 7-12

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory…But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:7-10)

Part I. 7 DEEP THINGS THAT GOD WILL REVEAL TO THE CHURCH

1. Deep love and affection –

That you may be able to comprehend….what is the width and length and depth and height– to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge… (Ephesians 3:18-19)

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)

2. Deep displeasure – because of His deep love unto deep judgment

Then He shall…distress them in His deep displeasure (Psalm 2:5)

My own fury, it sustained Me. I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, made them drunk in My fury… (Isaiah 63:5-6)

3. Deep judgments – complex in purpose and nature

Your judgments are a great deep; O LORD (Psalm 36:6)

How unsearchable are His judgments…(Romans 11:33)

4. Deep thoughts – hidden plans of the mystery of God

How great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep. (Ps 92:5)

His ways are past finding out! (Romans 11:33)

We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory… (1 Corinthians 2:7-8 )

Also see Eph 3:9; Col 1:26; Luke 19:42

5. Deep wisdom – administration of His plans

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33)

…in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:3)

6. Deep knowledge – possesses vast info

Oh, the depth of the riches of …the knowledge of God… (Romans 11:33)

7. Deep secrets – hidden manna

He reveals deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. (Daniel 2:22)

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29)

The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him… (Psalm 25:14)

His secret counsel is with the upright. (Proverbs 3:32)

Part II. ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK

Called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” of whom we have much to say and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. (Hebrews 5:10-11)

Order of Melchizedek – Holy Spirit merger with perfect harmony of kingly and priestly dimension of kingdom.

1. Warring with worship .2. Outreach with gazing 3. Working with loving 4. Ruling with adoring – NOTE: ruling that is in the flesh is “me” focused however, adoring is “God” focused.

Dull of hearing makes a false distinction between the kingly and priestly heart and function. This false distinction exists within the heart of the dull.

 

Source: Friends of the Bridegroom www.FOTB.com

 

Politics. Stand for someting.

Politics. So many of us are just sick of it. Neither candidate has been telling the whole truth. Neither of them has a perfect voting record. Both of them love to sling mud. Its part of the job. One has to wonder, though, if being in the position of a presidential candidate requires such, let call it cruelty, and a heartlessness that you can publically attack another in front of millions, what else must that person have done to be in that position? Did they have to lie? Cheat? Break IRS tax codes and commit mass corporate deceptions? I’m sure that they did. You can’t get all the way to the top without stepping on a few toes.

 

He taxes too much. If you vote for him you’ll be homeless. If you vote for the other one, your children will starve. But if you vote for the first guy, they’ll lose all their education and become stupid rejects, begging for day-old scraps behind the ghetto bakery. But the other guy will take your job. And the other one will tax your new raise so you actually come home with $5 less every week. One of them will date your mom. The other will shut down her nursing home. One will have dinner with terrorists at Arby’s while the other just sends him a check at Christmas, even though they don’t celebrate Christmas.

 

Here’s what I’m saying: There are bigger issues than whose face is on the front page. Every day 6000 kids are killed by mid-term or later abortion. They refuse to allow Bibles in schools, so Christian parents teach home school, allowing their children to learn math and moral values at the same time. While the schools are taking a massive dump when it comes to value and ethics and crime and teaching self-worth, the state of California just outlawed Christians from their God-given right to teach their own kids. Now they have to send them to the cesspool of a school that will teach anti-creation science, thereby infringing on the rights of students to practice their own religion freely (but don’t worry, they won’t attack Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, agnostics, pagans, wiccans, Scientologists, etc. Just the Christians.)

 

Let’s see, what else? Lets talk about gay marriage. I’m all for gays to have the right to choose their lifestyle- its their choice. (Just like my kids schooling used to be.) But I’m not for the whole gay-marriage thing. Sure, they can practice it, but that doesn’t really make it a marriage. I know, I know, they’ve redefined what “marriage” is, but it used to be a union before God between a man and a woman. Since most homosexuals don’t believe in or care for God, they can’t really have a union before Him that He will honor. But, what they hey, they ignored my right to practice my faith (only if it’s from the Christian Bible) by ignoring the 1^st amendment, why not ignore the other principals too.

 

So who is going to do what to help me out? Am I personally going to benefit from either party being elected? Maybe, but probably not. There aren’t a whole lot of things that are going to actually make a difference in the way I daily live my life. I could be wrong, but here’s how I look at it:

If one side is accused of overtaxing and the other of allowing abortions, I will sacrifice a couple bucks, even a couple hundred, per year to vote for the sanctity of life.

If one side is accused of sending jobs overseas and the other of limiting free speech, I’m probably going to have to go for free speech. There will always be a need for jobs on the US. They may not be the best, but we have too many people not to need a ton of jobs. We also have a lot of politicians going after free speech, even though the ones attacked are the churches and the right. Hmm.

If one side wants to build a thousand mile fence at the borders and the other wants to let gays marry, I will go for the fence. Those guys are great climbers and if they can get in through, over or under a military fence, then they deserve to stay. For those that can’t, they can still come here, but have to go through the legal process. Meanwhile, I stand up for what I believe regarding gay marriage. I’m not anti-gay, but I’m not pro-gay. I’m just ok-gay; they can do their thing, but I don’t want tax dollars going toward something I find immoral.

Bottom line, I can’t do anything about the politicians. But, then again, I will probably never have to answer to them. I will, however, have to answer to God. I will stand before Him and be able to say that I voted for the things and the principles that are on His side, His Law, and His eternal purpose. I will say that I stood up for hundreds of thousands of innocent children and supported their right to life. I will say that I voted against the activity that led to His destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, the activities that He calls an abomination. I will be able to say that I stood up for His Word, His teaching, for the right to exhibit by faith, to speak freely the gospel. I will say, “Jesus, I stood up for you.”

What do you stand for?

When a Candidate Lies…

In this first video, Barack’s brother says that Barack will be a good Muslim leader and that Jews needn’t worry. There is a picture of Barack Hussein Obama in Muslim dress.

Here in the second video clip, Barack Hussein Obama slips up and, quite comfortably, says, “my Muslim faith.” Only when the guy interviewing Barack corrects him, does Mr. H. Obama try to salvage the slip.

In this third video, it starts off with Barack Hussein Obama’s admition that his Christian church is ok. Then his pastor says “God damn America” There are a lot of YouTube videos about his pastor’s racist & anti-America comments. feel free to search. Then Barack Hussein Obama says he’s been to 57 states, (with 1 to go, Alaska & Hawaii). Theres only 50 US states, but there ARE 57 Islamic states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Hmmm….. There are a lot of pictures that would seem to suggest nothhing but the fact that Barack Hussein Obama has a Muslim background. Whether or not he is now a Muslim is not the issue. The issue is lying to the US people. Also, he lied on the state bar exam in Chicago, saying he’d never been know by any other names, but he was registered at his Indonesian School (as a Muslim) by the name of Barry Soetoro. The lady in the video doesn’t quite read along with the words well, but thats why there’s a pause button.