It's God and Goodness Go Together Thing

Dear America,

Spring Forward, Fall Back

Spring Forward, Fall Back

Spring Forward, Fall Back

and isn't this just the story of, and through, the ages....

isn't this just the story of mankind, in general -- be it individually or in the collective.

IN the wake of another tragedy at the hands of one truly broken soul, Americans are struggling to come to an understanding; finding common ground on such an horrific loss --- over and over and over again -- is heartbreaking, exhausting, crippling our grip on just who we really are as a nation, as we share in the lives of each other within this greater community that we recognize as these United States of America.

To have such an act of evil occur -- and within the four walls of a place we go for sanctuary, once again -- prompts most of us to question everything, including God;  even still -- unbearable as it is, even in that moment, God was there.

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.    From one man he made a nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  God did this so that men would seek him, though he is not far from each one of us.  For in him we live and move and have our being.  As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'" 

This is the Apostle Paul, speaking to the people of Athens, according to Acts 17:24-28

For all of us who recognize this intimate connection with our God, our Father -- a connection originating with our own individual intent to seek Him, taking express action to know HIM, in order that we may live and move and love and have our being in Him -- God was within the hearts and minds of everyone in that church, because it is there, inside us, where God lives (for all, of course, except for the evil one).

God was there in Sutherland Springs.

But to question is good; questioning all those in authority over our lives is good, and that goes double for all government programs, especially if it involves its number one responsibility -- ensuring the nation's security.  As we have all come to find out, the perpetrator of Sunday's massacre was deemed unstable, he had a history of assault against his own family and animals, received a court martial from the Air Force, was imprisoned for a year, and even spent time in a psych unit somewhere...and somehow or other, the red flags never surfaced in the background check when he went to purchase a gun; human error failed us.

We live and we learn; and sometimes it is painful -- for some days are just more difficult than others.

For believers, God is always there -- even when we are in the middle of questioning everything.  God wants us to be real with Him in all ways, completely -- through all our days, from our joys to our pains.

In my daily devotional just yesterday, Sarah Young-- speaking as Jesus -- said this:

"Your sense of security must not rest in your possessions or in things going your way.  I am training you to depend on Me alone, finding fulfillment in My Presence.  This entails being satisfied with much or with little, accepting either as My will for the moment.  Instead of grasping and controlling, you are learning to release and receive.  Cultivate this receptive stance by trusting Me in every situation."

Oh my, just how do we do that when an entire family of eight are gone in an instant -- or after a toddler, with a lifespan amounting to a blink of an eye, is surely swept into angel's arms for a journey onward and upward into heaven? 

God is there; He knows where each of us will have our start and where we shall have our finish.

In the meantime, we must press on; we must live and learn and endeavor to be the best people we can possibly be, so that ultimately, our individual and collective efforts can negate the acts of evil that come our way, opening every path available to overcome.  The hope is, to live with our God and our Good showing; ergo, to give this kind of good true authority over all.

Logic tells me that no matter the inanimate object of choice, if evil wants to have its day...it will be done.  And there are all kinds of levels of evil -- from the sexual deviants in Hollywood, preying upon innocents, that go under the radar, but not really, for decades (like the Harvey Weinstein's and Kevin Spacey's)......and even systematically, within places we naturally thought safe, totally protected, if not out of bounds entirely, like the Catholic Church.... to radical Islamic extremists who hate the infidels, specifically, the entire Western World, and carry on with every intent to kill us all...to radical oppressors around the world like Kim Jong-un........to all the psycho killers and gang members in between -- evil lives and moves and has its being here, too.

Cities like Chicago, Baltimore, Los Angeles prove this logic day in and day out; do you really think all these guns used on the streets of the inner cities are acquired legally?

Home Depot truck rentals prove this logic, as well.

God, our Father, is so far away from the hearts and minds from these perpetrators/terrorists.  But if you are a person of faith, you know God is Good, that in all things we can seek God, find God, and be comforted by God, and be given guidance directly from God in moving forward -- no matter what happens on this precious earth, more importantly, in our neighborhoods, churches and schools, and in all the places we call home.

If we choose to know God -- to live and move and have our being in God -- then we automatically, genuinely, and faithfully fear no evil.  We choose to live courageously, even if we are hated for every thought and prayer in the process.  Just when did thoughts and prayers become political?

Answer:  perhaps in springtime 2008, when a young Senator Barack Obama made this statement, in part and while in Pennsylvania: "...And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."  Although Obama later tried to dial it back, the Left -- as a whole -- has since taken this sentiment and double downed with no regrets.

Of course, in reference to narratives and political agendas, the Left just loves to ignore the fact that two innocents clinging to their guns, joined forces to save the day down in Sutherland, Texas, last Sunday.  Heroes.  Two men of faith.  And, of course, God was there... Hmmm I wonder -- any connection there worthy of a conversation, if not also answering to the plaguing questions of this day itself?

Turning to our current administration:  Is it hatred when a president tries to protect our national security, knowing where some of this evil comes and using this information to support better vetting, even if it seems extreme?  Is it hatred to call it like he sees it, be it on twitter or at the presidential podium? 

Speaking of podiums -- did you all happen to listen to his speech in Seoul, South Korea last night?

This girl was struck by the words chosen by the South Korean leader, Moon Jae-in...."Now let me introduce you to the leader of the world, Donald Trump."  He didn't differentiate the "leader of the free world" from the whole world.  tee hee  It gave me such a giggle -- thinking the leftists have to be squirming in their seats and ready to throw up...

Moon spoke authority over Trump as if he, himself, is actually in relationship with a solid leader of the free world.  It seems, over and over again, when the world, large and small, is in relationship with this president, it responds to America's president with the proper respect. 

I wonder -- if given the same respect here at home -- just how different our experience under this Trump  Administration might just be...By the way, President Trump gave a great speech, addressing South Korea's neighbor to the north, that which is beholden to pure evil -- it was a moment reinforcing America's steadfast relationship with liberty and freedom around the globe, stressing the need to meet such a challenge with Kim Jung-un together, with acts of strength and diplomacy.  And it was good.

The forces of good and evil are forever at play, here on earth.

That is just reality.

And none of this surprises God -- even though it may shock and scare the living daylights out of each one of us.  God knows the day we begin to the day we end, for each and every one.

Good must overcome; and in the end, good will overcome.

God is here, there and everywhere and is waiting upon us to seek Him, to praise Him, to find Him even amidst the hatred that lives here, there and everywhere, too.  God is the One and Only Thing that does not change -- as long as our connection to this God is clear, and faithful,  this is where the One True Authority over our lives must live, and move, and have its being.

God and goodness go together; the offspring of a certain belief system not only believe it wholeheartedly, it was the very catalyst for change that started a revolution and produced the very republic that we all live, for better or worse.

God bless the people of Sutherland Springs.
God bless the people of South Korea, and all the rest of the days on the president's travel calendar.
God bless this day in America, and all the days of our lives.

Make it a Good Day, G