Political Courage on Immigration Reform?

Political courage like anything else is truly much needed when it comes to changing the way our country views things. Whether it's laws  or not, it doesn't matter! Our country was called to have spiritual courage folks. Think about it.

Our President wants more Americans to stand up and have what he calls political courage for immigration reform. Why?

He wants anyone and everyone to be able to come into our country.

While I don't believe that people from other countries shouldn't be allowed to come here, I also don't believe that we should allow our borders to be out of control, enabling folks to inhabit this country unless they have gone through the proper immigration process.

Does God have the whole world in His hands? Yes, He does, and He always will. However, that doesn't mean that we are NOT to focus on protecting our citizens and the freedoms that we have enjoyed here. God has blessed us, and we should share that blessing, but that doesn't mean that we should take our borders lightly.

Political Courage from Lawmakers? 

When the President calls for political courage from our lawmakers, what is he really asking for? He is asking for comprehensive immigration reform, and he is making it urgent, because he wants to be able to pass this law as soon as possible.

Obama made this statement while he was at a naturalization ceremony, and the it was sone in front of these 28 new Americans at the White House. The White House no doubt has given support for bipartisan efforts, and while it sounds great in theory about this bipartisan gathering, is it really good for our country?

Bipartisan efforts are great, but what I am talking about is immigration reform. In my mind, it seems that the President is the one that evades political courage, because he leaves nothing up for discussion. Instead, he just tells people that the time to study this issue is over. That's it. What is left?

The fact remains that instead of standing up for what is right and protecting our country, our President and his cronies are so overly concerned with making everyone so happy that they can't and won't take a stand for anything. It's that tolerance bug again folks. What's up?

The more we become tolerant, the less we stand for. There is so much leniency I find it frightening. In fact, I believe that we are so lenient that our country will just accept everything.

Before you know it, we tolerate:

1. Sex acts in the street 
2. Drunkeness from our teens 
3. Teen pregnancy or even worse when these girls are younger 

There aren't enough people taking a stand, but instead we tolerate everything. We cannot continue to live this life! Our children trust in us to show them the way, and if we are teaching this, how can we possibly expect them to grow up and be strong men and women?

Are you ready to take a stand for what is right and NOT what everyone else thinks you should do or believe? Are you ready to take a stand for your God and STOP agreeing with other people that everything is okay?

It's NOT okay, and it's time to get angry about the sin and turn political courage into an intolerance for just anything and everything.

Live courageously!

Prayer Movement? How Prayer Could be Making it's Way Back into the Schools!

Prayer movement you say? Ah, that could be the case when it comes to the state of Arkansas, and no doubt it's being questioned due to those that always scream about the freedom of religion.

While many argue today that Christians talk too much about their faith, they are simply exercising their rights. Myself included, a Christian that isn't afraid to speak their mind!

After all, I thought the issue was freedom of, and not "freedom from". Right? So, if a bill passes in the state of Arkansas that allows students to take a moment of silence and reflect, how hard could it be to pray? I can pray anywhere, anytime, and pray about anything I want.

Whether or not the schools allow prayer doesn't matter as far as the ability for one to pray to God our Father, but the practice of prayer once taken out of school has shown what can happen. Yes, it speaks for itself folks. Would you agree that the mandate to take a moment of silence might be great for our schools? Maybe Arkansas is on to something!

Create Your Own Prayer Movement 

While Arkansas is having this debate over the moment of silence in schools and whether or not it encourages prayer in schools, what are you doing to get some activity on this in your schools? Would you be a willing vessel to start a prayer movement? 

The bill in this case was presented by Republican representative Debra Hobbs, and it states that time to reflect quietly and pray is mandatory. The idea that Hobbs puts on the table is that it helps students prepare for their day adequately. Would you agree? Most Christians, myself included attempt to start the day off with prayer, and in this respect, Hobbs is approaching this the same way. 

The interesting point is the comment that Hobbs made to a local TV stations, which was, and I quote:

"Prayer was added in the language so if a student chooses to pray, 'the teacher can't say 'Oh you can't pray in school,'" Hobb said to a local TV station."

It's amazing that this has been such a touchy subject for so long, and yet now there is someone attempting to do something about it. The press is naturally going after this story big time, all in all they are haters of the press in that they would love to just shut this thing down and make it sound like someone is trying to find a sly way to "slip prayer into the school."

The funny thing is, anyone can pray anywhere at any time. Even if the bill gets rejected, it was a great stand taken by Hobbs, and one that we should model after her, and no doubt begin to build a case for starting our own prayer movement. Don't you agree?

Do you stand up for what you believe in? I know I haven't always done so, and the thing is, prayer is a privilege. It is the direct connection to our Heavenly Father. How could we do without it? Why do we tolerate such arguments over something our forefathers did when this country was started?

Isn't it a free country or is becoming communist? Something to think about. We cannot live without prayer, and neither can our children. If you would like to see prayer in school, then don't let up. Even if we approached it as allowing our students to hold Bible studies, we are starting somewhere. With so many clubs that schools offer, why not allow our kids to hold a Bible study, right?

Have courage, have faith. Parent's, if we don't teach our kids the right way, we won't teach them at all. Start praying about how you can start your own prayer movement right where you are, and always live courageously!

Spiritual Courage-The New Pope's Mission

Spiritual courage is a term you probably don't hear often, but I'm not surprised. In fact, up until yesterday, I had not heard that term used in quite some time. Why? Because we live in a time of tolerance, when too much of everything is being tolerated.

Courage is standing up for what is right no matter what, and I hope that pray that the new Pope stands behind his mission to see a church built on the blood of Jesus Christ. Do you think that is what we will get? How far would you have to go to find spiritual courage in your church? What about in your neighborhood? Before I get too carried away, could  you even find it in your home? That's a great question, right?

I don't know about you, but my thoughts are that we don't have enough guts in the church today in America to share our faith with anyone. What say you? Much like the disciples were fleeing from Jesus when the soldiers came, people are feeling today still. Has the church gone soft? Yes, yes it has.

Defining Spiritual Courage

Oftentimes, when I have discussions about spiritual courage with other church members, it seems to go back to one thing. That one thing is that they don't want to offend anyone. What is so offensive about what I believe? It's a free country right? Or, is this one free country becoming communist? 

You can call it what you want, but we have way too many yes men at our doors, saying that they know Jesus but yet they deny Him with their actions. What kind of faith is that? That isn't much of one, and what is on the inside of you is what comes out of you. have you ever considered that?

There are too many so called spiritual leaders going soft. They take a position of leadership running on a campaign type persona, but once they take over, they start listening to the "voices of reason". What are those exactly? It's time to stand up and be counted, and if you aren't ready, don't proclaim Jesus and then attach everything else to His name. It's quite simple actually. 

So, when the Pope says that he wants to see the church be built on the blood of Jesus, will he stick to it? Will he focus on those less fortunate as he has done in Argentina? Will he continue to take public transportation rather than limousines?

What is true spiritual leadership, and can we learn anything from him? 

Spiritual Courage is Saying God and God Alone

Aside from what the Pope plans to teach and preach, at the end of the day I have one thing to say. It's simply speaking the Word of God back to myself, you, and everyone else that I come into contact with. 

I only bow to the "One True God", "The Son of God"! I only pray to God the Father, and I have his Holy Spirit living withing me, I am changed! I hope that the world understand that worshipping a man is not acceptable in the eyes of Jesus. I am set apart, and we that are saved and washed by the blood of Christ know this or at least we should. 

So, do you have the spiritual courage to let this be your message to others? What will you say when someone asks you what you believe and why? Will you stand behind what you say you believe, or  will you change your message  down the road so as NOT to offend someone? 

I won't back down, and I will worship God and God alone, you better believe it! To learn more about spiritual courage, and how you can wear and share your courage with others, you can go to www.courageouslife.com, for more information!