Christian America Dead...Perhaps?

 Is Christian America dead? Perhaps so. But why?

If Christian America is dead to our nation perhaps it’s because of the lack of compassion, empathy, morality, bearing with one another, and plainly the result of a nation that became lovers of themselves. 

When the ideal lifestyle is one of seeking what “I” desire above all else to make “me” happy, everything and everyone else is secondary. Perhaps many only think or seek out others in moments where someone else might best meet a desire or perceived need?

It’s sad that those are often the reasons human beings think or consider others.

People are asking more and more “what about me” “don’t I matter” “where is the compassion and empathy when I’m hurting” because we live in a country that no longer places value on what is essential  for unity and peace. What’s essential is love for God and love for one another. 

There’s a reason that Scripture exhorts human beings to love, beginning with loving our creator and then loving one another. 

Without love we die. We die spiritually, emotionally, educationally, mentally, socially. We drown in anger, bitterness, fear, idolatry, resentments, jealousy, envy, and more. The list goes on and on. 

What has happened to this nation? A nation that some say began as a Christian nation? There was a time, that now seems so long ago, that much of what was considered and done in homes and in society, held some type of biblical influence. That appears to no longer be ideal or necessary in a postmodern world. 

What’s more, if the hearts of human beings only selfishly think of others when there’s a want or desire, we have to ask ourselves is selfishness really all that remains left of the human heart? Is that really who we want to be, what we want to represent? Is that our legacy as human beings? Shouldn’t we examine our hearts to find out what’s really there? 

Is Christian America truly dead? If so, were we genuinely a Christian Nation? Can we ever return to being a Christian Nation? If so how long will it take? What happens to the next generation and generations thereafter who could possibly not even know or relate to authentic Christianity? If Christianity in the biblical sense of the word were somehow able to regain momentum in America becoming more Christian than not, would it remain or would the country simply relapse yet again? 

What would it take to reclaim a Christian America and what would it take to maintain it and never again lose a Christian America? 

In conclusion I leave with you an Exhortation: 

Love the Lord our creator 

Love one another 

Bear with one another 

Always pray for those who persecute 

Pray without ceasing 

Never grow tired of doing good 

Seek to do for others above self

Seek God to learn your true identity 

Seek God to understand your purpose 

Trust the Lord to meet your needs 

A New Season... Waiting to See What Else God Has in Store

Already things have shifted. It’s a new season of watching and seeing what else God has in store. Who knew but God that 9 days after posting part 3 of my previous story of “What God Has for You” that I would be let go from my job! It was a surprise but not a surprise given the circumstances and concerns I had leading up to the very day that I was released. It’s August and I’m still reflecting. Reflecting on the past 7 years of serving in one place and the many experiences and what I gained from those experiences. I hope to blog a little later after more has been revealed on what I did actually gain from my time of serving there.

Like any layoff, it’s unpleasant. Sometimes an employer can make the lay off process even more unpleasant. This was the case for me. I could not fathom how a ministry could handle something so sensitive so poorly, yet it was so. After I was let go, in the beginning I found myself stuck ruminating on the details and events leading up to the final day. Even now, at the oddest times, my mind slips into ruminating over details that now seem insignificant. Perhaps I’m coming to the end of purging and letting go. Perhaps I’m healing. But how does one overcome 7 years of some very unhealthy experiences? Yes I know the Christian response to that question. However my mind and heart are not completely aligned with the reality of that way of thinking and proceeding just yet. My time served there was not all bad. I met some wonderful people and was blessed with some wonderful experiences with those I still hold in my heart. Yet the very unhealthy experiences are loudest in my mind. I know there’s no way to exist in a broken world and not experience heartbreak and disappointment. I’m not disillusioned about the fact that Evil exists right alongside the things that bring us joy. But I find myself struggling with bitterness and feelings of betrayal even while I know my soul had grown sick from having remained there 7 years. It was a very dysfunctional environment. Perhaps my disillusionment and sadness stems from experiencing the unexpected in a Christian establishment that was very much like working in many secular organizations where dysfunctional people come together to attempt to meet a common goal, yet the goal is constantly changing and or lost in the midst of conflicts and disorganized human beings, and people getting hurt in the process and even while the leaders were aware, and many were part of the problems, they did nothing significant to change the environment. 

I left bitterness behind from and in my past long ago, so I thought. Somehow here it has reared it’s ugliness, creeping into my heart, into my thoughts. Someone asked what’s been the difference between experiencing this lay off and other lay offs in the past? My answer is simple yet complex. Secular vs. Christianity. Boundaries in a secular work environment prevent the overlapping of professional and personal to a great extent. Secular allows and adheres to specific policies that is understood and cannot openly be violated without repercussions. In some ministries and in this case those policies are constantly violated and manipulated without any regard and there’s no way around it. It creates a sense of powerlessness. 

So though I know that ALL of this, all that has taken place is in the palm of God’s hand and someday I’ll look back on the circumstances and see more of how God demonstrates His sovereignty, how He was moving and connecting pieces together all along, and hopefully how I’ve grown and become stronger as a result of my experiences with God holding me up with the righteousness of His right hand, right now it is a very painful walk to say the least and it has opened doors to things that I thought were laid to rest long ago. I don’t seem to have the energy to pursue the next or do much to help myself. It’s quite a chore to do things that once came so easily. Everyday looks and feels different. I hate feeling weakened yet I know in my weakness God’s strongness is revealed. 

I know that God has a plan. He is at work. I’m a bit exhausted and weighed down and I know the only alternative is to truly surrender and go through the process of this dark night of the soul with Him instead of without to avoid succumbing completely to bitterness and resentment. Let go of the fact that things could have been handled in a way that wouldn’t have stripped me of my dignity and simply be grateful that my true worth and identity are in Christ. Let go of the negative experiences, hold on to the good, and be grateful for having been released from something that in the end was making my soul utterly and overwhelmingly sick. 

My identity is in Christ. My identity is in Christ, and God is at work. 

What God Has For You Will Be! (Part 3)

So there the four of us were being shifted around again, some voluntarily. Eventually two of the four of us joined the IT department – they were not only intelligent, but just altogether phenomenal human beings who I came to love dearly. I was asked to apply for a position in Business Relations. Oh my! Business Relations! But I was up against some tough candidates – one of which was my Team Lead from the Leadership department. I admired this person and how hard they worked to get where they were, but their heart like most of us needed a lot of softening and a lot of changing and growing. I met all types of challenges going up against him for that particular job position, including gossip and slander, attempts by the Lead’s Supervisor to undermine me to the person who would soon become my new boss! It was disheartening and disappointing to see how low some might sink so low to discredit and hurt another person, especially someone who had worked very hard and added value to their team. But God was in control. I didn’t know it at the time, but God had been at work way ahead of me. God walked me through the interview process, Him knowing that He had already given me the job, but by faith I had to move through the process. I got the job! There were a few more attempts to undermine and discredit me, but my new boss put a stop to it by confronting my old supervisor’s behavior. He pointed out how faithful of a servant I had been for her and the team and never could he have imagined someone in her position would do such a thing. God is good! I can look back and see exactly what God was doing, however it was still very unpleasant.

What God Has For You Will Be! (Part 2)

In April I reentered the workforce after what seemed a very long layoff. I later learned through experience that it wasn't such a long lay off compared to the one I experienced many years later, but that is another chapter of my story for another time.

I showed up for my first day and entered into an environment that my spirit immediately rejected because of some of the types of people that I encountered. It simply was not the type of place that I expected to work. But God had a plan and there were many things that He desired to teach me - things I wasn't prepared for! Kicking and screaming, I went along with God's plan as this was the door that He chose to open and I really had no choice, single parent and all, in need of a paycheck! Everyday I wanted to bolt, but I stayed and pressed through. I was miserable to say the least. I began connecting with some wonderful people and encountered some not so wonderful, but I stayed the course. After a few weeks of training I was placed in Sales Support and then moved to Customer Service to handle sales and customer complaints. Time went on and God began to shift things around again. Four of us were selected to move to what was called the Leadership team where it was supposedly such a privilege to be on this particular team. They were a terrible group of people, and that is putting it mildly. It was a challenge to remain on the team because they did not welcome us nor want us - we were beneath them. I imagine they worked very hard to get where they were; however we too worked hard and for whatever reason we were chosen. It was a very unpleasant experience, but we encouraged one another to not give up. We met their demands and jumped through their hoops. None was pleasing to them whatsoever. The supervisor looked down her nose at each of us daily. In fact she would stand in her doorway with a disdainful glare making her contempt very obvious. But God! I couldn't have imagined what God would do, but He was faithfully at work. He caused some immediate changes. There was no more separate, hidden area for the Leadership team. He literally tore down the walls of that place and they were placed out in the open with the rest of customer service. The four of us who were selected to join the team remained on the team throughout all the changes. Eventually God began promoting each of us and opening doors from other places!
Not only did we survive, but we thrived! Stay tuned...Part 3 to come!

What God Has For Your Will Be! (Part 1)

Today while speaking to a friend about her son and their process of walking through a challenging season where praying and trusting the Lord was their only recourse, that ultimately led to her son's very successful job interview, I was suddenly reminded of a time that God affirmed that what He has for me will be and sometimes it requires His shifting things around to get us to the exact place that He wants us to be. I hope this will encourage you so that you will not lose hope or tire of doing what is good and right before our Lord, because in due time, if we persist in doing good for our Lord's Kingdom, we will reap a great harvest!

In the past, reflecting on that particular season of my life was tough because there were so many challenges that I had to face and walk through. But today God allowed me to look back and see a very different picture! Today I can look back and see what God did so systematically and how He so perfectly aligned all things to work together for good - and that certainly encourages me!

The story is too long to go into every detail from beginning to end in one post so I will divide the posts into parts.

There I was in the midst of the storm, in deep distress after having been laid off from the airlines a few times, single parent, and no additional financial support. Out of nowhere a car accident totaled out my car and I didn't know how we were going to make it. After several weeks I had been able to get into a rental car. Then the process began of having to work with an attorney, go through physical therapy to recover from the car accident, and eventually received enough cash to purchase a used car. Although I didn't see it at the time, the blessing in that was actually no more car payment! I only had to pay monthly insurance. I still did not have a job. The airlines wanted to bring me back but the only offer was a part-time position in Las Vegas. I was desperate and began making plans. Well things were not coming together and I began to realize that I could not possibly relocate to Las Vegas on a part-time salary and I could not imagine living there as a single parent, so I sought God for another way. I went to my regular church service Sunday morning and sat sobbing throughout the service. After praise and worship ended, I was immediately brought up before the church by a sister in Christ (La Nelle Parker!)where she pleaded with the church to help me find a job. I was mortified as I stood there sobbing and looking out into the congregation as their eyes were fixed on me. The following month (February) someone reached out to me. God had opened a door! The process took a few weeks and by then it was the month of March, things were so tough by then; however as I look back I can see that God was sustaining me through the process.

Joshua 1:8-10

"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Two Kinds of Rest – Earthly Rest with God & Eternal rest with God

Hebrews 4:9-11

Through Christ we receive many spiritual blessings including a day of rest. In fact there are two kinds of rest – one we might call an earthly Sabbath - observed on a particular day, usually a Sunday, but technically should be a Saturday, and one that we might call a heavenly Sabbath – which is a true and lasting spiritual rest, an eternal rest, but so often we are busy about doing what is right in our own eyes, we miss the opportunity to enter into either rest. Hebrews 4:9 – 11 says that when you enter into God’s rest, you cease from doing your works; therefore strive to enter into that rest. God commands us to take a day of rest now and at some point He will call each of us to an eternal rest, but if we continue going our own way, we live a life of disobedience, doing what is right in our own eyes, and in doing so we may miss out on both our earthly and heavenly rest. We must relinquish the right to do what is right in our own eyes and be submitted to Christ. Recognize that the only valid activity that counts stems from the indwelling sovereignty of Christ.
Consider the Sabbath on earth when best observed and extend the idea to eternity, void of imperfection, and that would be heaven! The Sabbath is holy; so is heaven. It is a period of worship; so is heaven. It is for praise and for the contemplation of heavenly truth; so is heaven. The Sabbath is appointed that we may lay aside worldly cares and anxieties for a little season here; heaven that we may lay them aside forever.

Think about how we currently spend the Sabbath – in idleness; in business; in traveling; in sports & recreation; in light reading and conversation; in sleep; in visiting; in exercise; in lounging; in revelry – partying and dissipation – overindulgence – greed; in any and every way "except the right way;" in every way except in holy communion with God.

The psalmist wrote long after the days of Joshua; there is another rest, a state of blessedness, for the people of God; and this is the Gospel, the blessings it procures and communicates, and the eternal glory which it prepares for, and has promised to, genuine believers. As God finished his work, and then rested from it, so he will cause those who believe, to finish their work, and then to enjoy their rest. It is evident, that there is a more spiritual and excellent Sabbath remaining for the people of God, than that of the seventh day.

The"rest" in Heb 4:8 is rest from weariness, but the "rest" in Heb 4:9 is the nobler and more exalted "Sabbath" rest. The two ideas of "rest" combined, give the perfect view of the heavenly Sabbath. Rest from weariness, sorrow, and sin; and rest in the completion of God's new creation (Re 21:5). The whole renovated creation shall share in it; nothing will there be to break the Sabbath of eternity; and the Triune God shall rejoice in the work of His hands (Zep 3:17).