Families First; America First

Why do we take care of our families so well? Is it to keep adding blessings to our families or is there another reason?

  We take care of our families, and serve each member as best as we can, so that each member can, in turn, help others.

  We can only give away what we have been given.

  One of the directions we have for the church, is to 'edify' the body of Christ. We don't just have people 'come to Christ' to just go out and tell others how they can 'come to Christ'. The body of Christ needs to be edified in order for the people to be effective in ministering to one another. Each member of the body of Christ needs edification and discipleship before they can give quality ministry to others.

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 1 Corinthians 12:14-20 ESV

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10 ESV

  It might look selfish on the outside to take care of one's self or family first, but in the end, it makes sense. When we are edified, we can be used to help other's be edified. If we are blessed materially, we can give materially to others. We work hard so we can share our abundance with others.

  If I am sick, I cannot take care of my children or family effectively. If I am weak, I cannot be strong for others. I am not in a place to help them until I am helped first. I cannot financially help others if I do not have a job or a means of bringing in money. If I believe that 'money' is the root of all evil, and I refuse to work because money is an idol, I am certainly not going to be able to help others who have physical needs.  If I get sick, I won't be able to help others who are sick, because I am too weak to help others and I won't have money to get medical help if I don't have an income. 

  When America was started, one of the reasons that many believe, is that God would use this nation to ultimately bless others. As people worked hard and built a society, then as they prospered, this prosperity was to be shared with others. 

  The Left doesn't understand many things and they make wrong assumptions on things. One wrong assumption is that wealthy people are greedy. I agree that wealthy people can be greedy. Many are. But not everyone who has money is greedy. The Left would say that the wealthy are bullying the poor around. This is nothing more than judging a group of people. There may be some who are bullying others who don't have money. They should be dealt with by the Law. People who are bullies should be penalized. But that doesn't mean that everyone who is rich is greedy. Greed is a heart issue. It is not resolved with political maneuvers. Greed is resolved in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But if a group of people have rejected God, I guess this wouldn't makes sense to them anyway.

  We edify ourselves, so we can minister to others. We edify the body of Christ, so those in the church can minister effectively. We build our nation up so it will be equipped to help other nations in need, when the time arises for that need to be met. 

   We work hard so we have resources to help others with. One day, we will give account of all that was entrusted to us. Let us be faithful with what God has given us. Let us become everything that God wants us to be, so we can serve others in order for them to become everything God wants them to be. 

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.  1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV

Note: I just read about the phrase, America First. I realize that the President used this phrase as well as members of the KKK in the 20s. The meaning of the phrase simply means that we need to take care of our country instead of trying to take care of all the other countries in the world, at our expense. I'm sure the KKK would like to have made a powerful America without having black people as citizens. That is extremely sad and wrong. Nothing that the President has said has indicated that he wants any race or people of color exterminated. The phrase America First is just a simple way of saying that we need to take care of our country first. The same way we would take care of our families or churches before we would take care of others. We take care of our own, with the goal of our own being able to ultimately serve others. We are not myopic. It's just not a good idea to try to help others without taking care of ourselves first. That's all it means. Nothing more. 

Who Are The Real Haters?

  We see a lot of hatred in our country today, especially in the political realm. Freedom of Speech is one thing. But acting violently to speech that one doesn't agree with, well, that's not acceptable. In fact, it should be illegal.

   I have seen some hatred on the Right. I have seen some nasty remarks from Conservatives regarding the ideology of the Left. But I see something much deeper, and even something that is, I believe, misunderstood.

   There is a lot of rumors, and slander going around, making the President look like a racist. People falsely accuse him of separating children from their parents at the Border (even though he openly talked about enforcing the law that prohibits that). Why, they even say the President is a racist, simply because he wants to build a wall around the Border. Former Presidents also wanted to keep illegal immigrants from coming through the Border.

   People make a stretch and say that the President hates people with brown skin, but is that really true? I have never heard him say any such thing. When the President attacks people, it is always because they attacked him or his principles first. His response is irregardless of the skin color of the attacker.

   But people put words in the President's mouth to make the case that he is a racist. They want people of color to not trust the President. There is a reason why. When the next elections come around, the Left wants every black, brown, yellow, whatever the skin color is, they want the votes. They need the votes. They want these people of color to trust them and support them. The people of color are made into a victim group in which they say the President hates, and they will 'rescue' these people from the President's supposed hatred for them.

  So, there are some people in government who are anti-American. I won't say these people hate America. What they hate is the America that was started 200+ years ago, by our Founding Fathers. They wish to remake America into another kind of country, with different kinds of rights for different groups of people.

  I am not young, but I remember what we learned in History when I was a kid. It is not the same as what is being taught today in our schools. We are taught today, that America is an illegitimate nation, and deserves to be punished. Even more so now, thanks to the push further Left, we are now even learning that America should not be a sovereign nation. America should be not so powerful, and our country should come down several notches and get off her high horse. America should be part of a league of nations, instead of an independent nation.

  I know some of my readers will argue with me on this, because this is what you were taught in school. This teaching has never been taught before, and its not like someone has some kind of new revelation on the real secret of how America came into being. All this new idea of America started in the 1960s, when there was a big rebellion from the young people in this country, against the authorities. It was violent and lots of destruction came as a result of this rebellion. Today, the college professors and teachers, and teachers of teachers are those same ones who bolted against our country in the 60s. Socialism is now favorable, even though young people really have no idea of what the cost will be for living in a Socialistic country. They are enamored with the idea of getting 'free things'. They have not been told the cost of all this. They will end up paying, but it will be their children and descendants that will be the ones to suffer.

  Anyway, back to the subject of hate. If someone wears a MAGA hat, they risk being attacked. Who does the attacking? Someone who hates the President. Someone who is angry that Donald Trump is president right now. Who are the people who throw people out of restaurants? Those who hate the President. Who are those pushing for abortion rights? The same ones who accuse Pro-lifers of being 'hateful'. Who are those pushing for laws to allow babies to die if they are unwanted? Who are those spreading rumors about candidates and Supreme Court choices made by our President? The same ones who hate him and his supporters.

  You should read the emails from the Left. They actually say in the same paragraph, that they should do peaceful protests, but that they need to be aggressive in what they do. One of their own recommends harassing those who support or work with the President, when they go into a restaurant or wherever they go in public. We have seen this exercise worked out already too.

   Just try wearing a MAGA hat or a Trump support t-shirt. Walk around town. I dare you to do this. For when you do, you will find who the real 'haters' are.

  Remember, violence is an act of hate. It is one thing to express freedom of speech. It is another thing to physically attack someone you don't agree with or to steal or ruin their property because of your anger toward them.

Here is the story of how Activist Mommy's window was smashed. Remember, this lady has been attacked many times for her stand for what is right and true, and for protection for babies in the womb.
https://us16.campaign-archive.com/?u=a7ce00329a11990d3d6d2623e&id=1e7a2a5713

God calls us to the ministry of reconciliation. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." Matthew 5:9 ESV
"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 ESV

We represent the Lord and we are to be peacemakers, not troublemakers. God does not call us to acts of violence. God wants us to work peacefully with each other and to represent Him well and accurately.