Taste and See That God Is Good

Genesis 16:13-14 - So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, "You are a. God of seeing," for she said, "Truly here I have seen him who looks after me." Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

Psalm 34:8 - Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

John 20:19 - On the evening do that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."

Colossians 3:15 - And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body. And be thankful. 

Dear God, peace. Goodness. God, You are not the God of the GOP which gave everyone a bitter pill. You are a God who loves every single person because every single person was created just as You wanted him or her to be. In Your loving goodness, You chose some of us to be less rich than others, and in Your loving goodness, You instilled on some good people in our history to design programs to help those less fortunate than others. You spoke clearly in Matthew 25 about how we are to treat those less fortunate. You instilled in governments all the way back to kings and kingdoms the value of humanity, a nation, a leadership, takes care of its citizens. I apologize for the GOP which misrepresents You. I ask for their eyes and their hearts to be opened to the error of their ways. And in the meantime, I ask for Your continued provision for my family. After all, You are a God of love and of peace, and You are good. Thank You for wisdom and goodness and peace. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

You Are My Child

Psalm 46:10 - "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

I John 3:2 - Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

Dear God, in today's lesson, You said do not be like the Pharisees who made up their own rules and to just relax in Your peace. So basically Pharisees were legalists? And republicans and especially that extremist tea party are like Pharisees? They sure do make up a lot of rules that You did NOT make. They demand on having the right to carry guns while also being stupid and self-entitled by trying to take healthcare from those who are less fortunate. Well, frankly, if they get to keep their guns, then I get to keep my healthcare and my insurance so that when one them stupidly shoots off their gun, I have medical treatment that I will not lose my home over. Of course, then they would be sitting in jail for life for shooting me and almost killing me and they would be responsible for making sure those hospital bills are paid because it was their fault to start with and it would not be my fault if out of their hate for the president I lost my insurance after eight years of fighting to be able to have better insurance because I already knew my old plan was junk even before the media started calling those plans junk. I was just never allowed to get new and more comprehensive insurance or even dental insurance until the ACA came along because before the ACA came along, insurance companies were allowed to violate the ADA and discriminate against people with disabilities. Well, God, I know what I have to do tomorrow regarding the primaries, and my mom might do the same thing. I have prayed through Matthew 25 and Romans 13 and some of the other passages I have journeyed through, and I feel at peace with my decision. Just move through the hearts and minds of other evangelical Christians in the district and give them the wisdom and the insight to make the right decision in the best interest of the least of these as well. Thank You for Your peace. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Observation

Most Republicans on Facebook hate facts. Hardcore facts. How do I know? Because when presented with facts, they call others names. Very hurtful and often unrepeatable names. And they often claim to be Christians. 

Here is a little known fact about new ACA plans: Many do not require consumers to meet any of the deductible before covering services. How do I know? Because I have one. And shh.... But it means that insurance is actually working now! YES! 

Also, I now understand exactly what the phrase JUNK PLAN means. I had a classic example of it this past week as I was at the doctor's office dehydrated and in need of an IV treatment. A junk plan is one that when an emergency strikes isn't really there at all. How do I figure? Let me break it down.

Under the pre-ACA plan, one of two things would have been required for me to receive that life-saving IV fluid. Option one: Pre-approval. In the meantime, I was so dehydrated, my brain was literally becoming unresponsive. Option two: ER and wait until they decide when to finally get me in. Either way, we are talking a bare minimum of $500 in charges if not more.

BUT, get this: Under the new ACA-compliant plan, the oncologist's office ran it through the insurance and found that the treatment was covered at 100% of the allowed amount. I paid my copay. And the deductible did not have to be met first. And here's the kicker: The ACA put the power of care back in the hands of the doctor and the patient and the patient's family! Yes, you read at right! 

By the way, it is almost April, and I have a $500 deductible with my new plan and still have not met it even though I have had a lot of medical care this year. So continues the life of a patient wih chronic health conditions. For the first time in my life as an insured person, I have insurance that actually works for me. 

Now if only my representatives would actually follow suit, everything might have a chance of looking up. Haha.

By the way, I do not consider myself democrat, but I do have more liberal leanings of late. However, I am also conservative in other areas. Stop boxing people in unless they come right out and say what they are. I am a progressive thinking Christian who sees life from a different perspective because of how my life experiences have shaped me. And I follow Matthew 25:31-46 in all my ways. I am a Christian revolutionary if you would. I am a young adult sick of organized religion that has become abusive to the least of these and corrupted by leaders who are selfish and arrogant and refuse to acknowledge their faults when they are pointed out and called to more. That is what I am. 

Anyway, those are my observations today.

Using Matthew 25 in Election Years

So, I have a confession. And to make this confession, I have to rewind to when I first came of age to vote. When I came of age, I was eager to register to vote. Why not? It is a rite of passage. Only one problem! I was young and naive and had no clue about the issues or why it should matter. At that time, I was in a Southern Baptist church and I thought I had to vote republican because that is what the church believed. So I voted for Bush. And it turned out to be some of the worst years I have ever seen for this country and my family. Constant struggles. People losing jobs left and right. People losing homes. People going broke for lack of health insurance. Hospitals becoming profit-driven instead of charity-based. Healthcare becoming more of a business than a service. I wrote countless e-mails to the president. Response: We'll fix it. We'll fix it. By the time the elections in 2008 came around, things were at their worst yet and still nothing had been done to fix anything. 

In 2008, two main candidates came up: Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama. Well, here is my confession. 1. I voted for McCain. He proposed the Affordable Care Act which was the answer I was looking for regarding the mess of insurance. He was republican. And I was supposed to vote republican if I am a Christian, right? 2. I figured Obama couldn't win because Amerrica wasn't ready for a black president. 

Well, guess what? Obama won. And guess what else? He passed the very same Affordable Care Act that McCain promised he was going to pass! And guess what else? The republicans let me down big time. The uprising of the tea party whose main mission was to obstruct anything and everything the black man in the president's office tried to accomplish no matter how good or right for the country it is or was ruined the Republican Party for me once and for all.

Here is what I have observed about the tea party:

They tend to be hateful extremists and they do it in the name of Jesus. They have distorted what the Bible says and they have criminalizes the poor, the sick, the hungry, children, the elderly, the disabled, and even the veterans. Just today alone, I saw them asserting that if a person doesn't pay taxes, then they should have no rights. Well, here is my response: IF they truly believe that, then they need to leave America right now and take their ungrateful butts elsewhere because many veterans do not pay taxes because as soon as they are done serving our country, many of them end up with no jobs, no homes, and very little income at all which is why they do not pay taxes. And disabled people are the same way. Matter of fact, until the ABLE Act passes, disabled people are kept in a state of low income because the ones who are lucky enough to get a job can only work part time if they need their benefits. And on top of that, between benefits and work, they cannot exceed $4000 in assets a year. But by the logic of the tea party comments I saw today, the disabled people and the veterans should have NO rights because they don't pay taxes. Right? 

Do you know what is happening? I used to be republican until the tea party extremists came along. And when Romney came along spreading his venomous vitriol around, I heard a great sermon issued called SWOOP. In that sermon, it was stated that if Christians really believe that mess about the 48%, they need to repent. Because that attitude wasn't helping to further the kingdom of God. The passage was Matthew 25. And it was because of that sermon that I prayed through Matthew 25 going into elections in 2012. And as a result, Obama was the choice I made. 

So, here's something. Romans 13 outlines our responsibility to government. Matthew 25 outlines our responsibility to those who are the least of these. And either God is sovereign and therefore everything happening right now is part of His will including Obama and the Affordable Care Act, or God is not sovereign. But if you believe in the sovereignty of God, then you need to trust that EVERYTHING is in His will. 

So this year, how am I voting? I don't know for sure, but I do know I will not be voting for Chad Mathis. Why? 1. He opposes the ACA. 2. He comes from a medical specialist background - orthopedist. 3. I know him from when I was seeing an orthopedist. He treated my broken foot in 2007. In 2008, he suddenly quit seeing me. No letter, no call, nothing. He committed abandonment which is unethical. And the way I reason that is like this: If he cannot ethically dismiss a patient, how can he practice ethical politics?

Oh, and at this point, if the only thing a candidate can say about the ACA is repeal, then they need to go home. Because by November, everyone who wants insurance and can get insurance will have insurance and will have already saved thousands of dollars on healthcare costs. No way will any of us want to ever regress! 

Do you know what happens to the money saved on healthcare costs? It goes into the economy. My own family has needed home repairs coming up. Long overdue. We have to buy goods that are needed to make the repairs and pay for services that are needed to make them. This means money is going back in the economy that didn't exist before because everything was being paid into healthcare. So the $300 saved in January because of more comprehensive insurance will pay down medical debt first. Then after that, it pays down other debts. Then it gets used to stimulate the economy. 

Who wouldn't want that?

What would Jesus do? Jesus would make sure that everyone is taken care of.

Is healthcare a right? If all men and women are created equal under God, and all men and women have the right to the pursuit of life, liberty, and justice, then yes, healthcare is a right. And if it takes insurance to make healthcare possible, then insurance is a right too. 

How do I figure? Because autism means I have a way of thinking literally and I am thinking literally right now. 

But Matthew 25 is how people should respond to the least of these! Government is comprised of people just like churches are comprised of people. So if Matthew 25 is about how people should respond to the least of these and government and churches are comprised of people, then government and churches are to follow Matthew 25. And when any sector of government or any church fails to respond according to Matthew 25, it brings the rest of them down. 

Want to win people over to the kingdom of God? Start following Matthew 25. And repent of your bad attitude toward the poor, the sick, the disabled, the hungry, the disenfranchised. Because not everyone on SNAP, SSI, SSDI, or even TANF (often called welfare) is a lazy, moocher. Many are veterans, retired, and disabled. Not all of them are drug users. Not all of them are gaming the system. Not all of them are takers. 

And if you have a problem with taxes helping people, then get off the roads, withdraw your children from public schools, and do not ever call 911 for anything because those are tax dollars helping people. 

Like I said, I use Matthew 25 when approaching elections, and I will continue to do so. And as long as any of the least of these are being attacked in any way whatsoever by any candidate, I will not vote for that person. At this point, that means that I cannot morally or biblically vote for any person who opposes the ACA because that is an attack on the sick and disabled (many disabilities are from sickness that went unchecked, untreated, or under treated). 

I am open to comments by the way. A healthy debate is always good. But bullying and harassment is never good.

1. Republicans don't own God and don't corner the market on Christianity.

2. Democrats can be Christians and Christians can be democrats.

3. Political leanings don't determine who a person is.

4. While I lean toward the democrat party right now, I am just as opposed to gay "marriage" and abortion as the next person who leans toward the republican party. The only difference is that my life experiences shaped my political beliefs in such a way that I have no choice but to consider those when I am choosing who gets my vote as opposed to just voting so generally. Because while republicans claim to be pro-life and spend all this time voting to make abortion illegal, they also keep voting to cut SNAP and SSI and SSDI and veterans benefits and they keep voting to repeal the ACA (50 times failed now), which makes them pro-birth and not pro-life because if you are going to force a woman to carry a baby, you must ensure that her healthcare and food is provided for as well as the baby's healthcare and food. Not everyone in any party believes 100% of the things that the party believes in. 

5. Right now the God the republicans, and mostly the tea party, is painting a picture of, is a God that contradicts the scriptures. While some democrats may not adhere to God as part of the party, the God I see through their actions is lining up more with scriptures each day. But perhaps, the reason that the democrats refuse to justify things by God is because you really cannot mix God and politics. Logically. So while the republicans are justifying hurting the least of these by misquoting scriptures and taking scriptures out of context, the democrats are not taking it there because things become too murky if they do. God is God. And all authority under heaven is appointed by God. But God is not to be mocked or contradicted. And if the republicans keep criminalizing the least of these, then they are no better than the democrats who don't mix politics and God at all. 

That is my honest opinion. 

The Christian Duty to Government

Romans 13

ESV - Submission to Authorities

1-7

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

This is to remind you that if you are a Christian but are sitting there talking all kinds of bad about President Obama and the Affordable Care Act that you need to check your heart and your attitude. 

Reasons why the ACA is good:

1. Our bodies are temples. We are to take care of them. If we get sick, we should go to a doctor. 

2. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 25:31-46 that how we treat the poor, the hungry, the sick, the homeless, etc. - the least of these - is how we treat Him. Do you want to be sorted into the goats because you denied someone the help they needed?

3. It allows some women to get certain birth control pills for free. Not all women and not all birth control. This is good because the increased access to birth control can lead to far less unwanted, unexpected pregnancies which can then lead to far fewer unnecessary abortions. Let me clarify. Unnecessary abortion is any abortion that is not sought out because of endangerment of the mother or the baby. If a pregnancy got to a point where both the mom and baby were in danger, then by all means terminate the pregnancy because that way only one life has to be lost as opposed to two unless the woman is far enough along that the baby can thrive in which case just do early birthing. Also, I make this point because of the silly or stupid laws being enacted to make abortion illegal while at the same time cuts keep being made to SNAP and idiots keep trying to repeal the ACA. These so-called pro-lifers are not pro-life because they want to force women to carry babies yet they also want to starve them and kill them by preventing them from having food or healthcare. 

4. It increases the need for greater personal responsibility. People with pre-existing conditions can now get insurance which now means they can get healthcare. These are the people who the ACA was designed for. People who if they were lucky to get insurance at all could be dropped when they most needed it and end up homeless as a result of bankruptcy from killer debt. People who might have just flat out denied. These people are the largest percentage of what used ERs and might not have been able to pay the whole bill which would then cause the costs to go up for all the insured. Again, if you ask what Jesus would do in this case, refer back to Matthew 25. 

5. By standardizing at a minimum what insurance can and cannot do, it makes every subject to something called equality. In America, we supposedly believe that all men and women are created equal with certain unalienable rights. Yet in America, there are several subsets of the population who are treated as inferior. The disabled is one of those groups. And many sicknesses can turn into disabilities if they are not treated adequately enough. But many people who fall under this category of disabilities only need one thing: insurance which gives them a key to healthcare. After all, why should only the rich have affordable healthcare.

I am not saying that the ACA is perfect by any means, but it is a right step in ending the gender and disability and income disparities. Not everyone will come out winners. No human law enacted ever produces 100% winners. However, I am perplexed and even incensed by all the people claiming to be Christians acting the way they are. And to boot, then they ask "why are our freedoms being taken away from us?" Did any of them ever stop to think that their "freedoms" overstepped another person's freedoms and that's why they are now being penalized?

Look, I am a Christian. I am not perfect, but the conservatives and the republicans, and especially the tea party terrorists, do not corner the market on Chrisitianity. I don't like abortion any more or less than any other Christian, but I do believe that the government does play a role in being charitable toward the welfare of its citizenship because I know from experience that not all churches are able to handle all the needs of all the people all the time. So I support the SNAP, the SSDI, the SSI, the veterans, the ACA, and any other program that helps people. I do not support drug testing anyone who is on any assistance program simply because to drug test them means children could end up hurt and suffering and because Florida already found it to be a waste of money and an invasion of privacy. The excuse I read this week on that issue - but I have to do a drug test to keep my job. No, you don't. No one that is not potentially endangering lives or impaired if they use drugs has to take a test. I learned that pre-employment drug tests are illegal because they lead to what I have experienced: discrimination. Doesn't matter if you can provide the prescription. Also, the tax dollars could be better spent expanding Medicaid in my state so that the TANF recipients can have insurance and be put through drug rehab programs and the tax dollars could be better spent on welfare-to-work programs. Our state already says SNAP recipients who are of age and physically able are supposed to be seeking employment. No new legislation needed and Congress already passed that anyway. 

At any rate, I felt I needed to share this today because instead of lashing out at people like I could do, I decided to point them to specific scripture and remind them of God's words on the matter. 

Sit with Me

Psalm 73:23-24 - Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.

II Corinthians 3:18 - And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

II Corinthians 3:18 (ICB) - Our faces, then, are not covered. We all show the Lord's glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings more and more glory. And it comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Hebrews 13:15 - Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

Dear God, If only Tom would have been consistent with me, then how much better things could be. But because he chose to believe untruths rather than the truth that he had already acknowledged several times, and because he chose not to work through the conflict and aim for restoration and seek peace, things escalated. He caused further damage when he violated all of his promises and his compromise. He turned ugly and is not the same Tom. And the Tom he became is not a Tom that should even be in a ministry position. And that breaks my heart. But the strangest thing is that I have been consistent in trying to show him the very same grace he used to show me and I have consistently tried to offer him the opportunity to correct the error of his ways. And really, it isn't too late because there are still two weeks left before the complaint would be made known. God, You know my heart is good in this. Please work in his heart to bring about the conversation that needs to happen. The one conversation that could actually help bring about more peace. What he did was injust, lacked grace, hateful, and arrogantly stupid. Through this, my mom has actually even begun to see You as well. She knows I am hurting yet I have shown far greater courage than is even possible for me to have. Right now, things are just so messed up. Attorneys that lack professionalism and never contact people sending inquiries be they already on a retainer due to contractual obligation or not. Agencies that claim they do things yet just don't have the resources to do the things they claim to do. I mean, really. Professionalism is a key thing to maintain if you want to make a good impression, and making a bad impression gets you called out big time. I am still not able to attend church right now. And that makes me sad. But the damage they did was so wrong and so unnecessary. They claim to believe in grace but they don't even practice it. They claim to believe in church discipline but they don't practice it. Tom claimed it was because of my autism. And if that is the case, then they basically put a big target sign on my back for all the leadership to see that said kick her until she is dead. And Tom, knowing that it was wrong, let it happen! And then he just joined right in. He knew it was wrong. He acknowledged it was wrong. Yet he still let it happen and joined in? God, I know the answer to this, but do You NOT see where Tom was wrong by his very own actions in this? Oh, wait. So that is where the complaint came in. Because Tom knew that what was going on was wrong, acknowledged that it was wrong, yet still he allowed it to happen and then joined in what he already knew and acknowledged to be wrong! And You call that sin. The repentance he needs to show is not so much with You as it is with me. I know You want me to forgive him, and if he would talk to me and restore Facebook, I could easily say I forgive you to him, but until then, I, like You, am hesitant to forgive him. I know You forgive us. WHEN WE ASK. And we repent. I am just evidencing more of You based on how You act according to the Bible. The funny thing is, the more I act like You, the more radical some people see me as being. Oh well. Jesus was seen as radical in His time, too. In response to something. I had seen about something Miley Cyrus (that girl has gone beyond Britney Spears' level of crazy) posted, but she got criticized for it big time, on none other than a page claiming to be Christian but in reality is almost as divisive as Fox News (which has no business being called news because they are too biased (hopefully they are not members of the SPJ or I would need to ask the SPJ to revoke their memberships for ethical violations)), but with the exception of one point, I agreed with her post. Jesus actually did define marriage in one of the passages where He taught about divorce. But Jesus never spoke about abortion or birth control. One reason I see is that even though He spoke about the least of these in Matthew 25, who are being even more oppressed by the republicans now than ever, is because Jesus didn't consider it possible to actually oppress the born. You can oppress the living, but you cannot truly oppress the unborn. And undoubtedly, the women who choose abortion probably felt oppressed before they made the decision (wouldn't you if you were a poor woman on SNAP because your husband was killed in war, you got pregnant by rape, but your lawmakers placed the burden of proof on you to prove it was rape or threatened to take away your SNAP benefits like they do in Pennsylvania and are trying to do everywhere now?). So the woman is already being oppressed before she got pregnant. She was oppressed because she got raped. She chooses abortion because of it. And she gets oppressed even more being called a murderer over a decision made due to stupid lawmakers who claim to be Christian? This is playing out exactly the way things were happening back when Jesus talked about the least of these to start with! As to birth control, it didn't exist as we know it back then. But anyone who says that it is unbiblical is being legalistic. Birth control is used in women like me who have life threatening anemia in order to prevent bleeding out. Pretty much, I am no longer allowed to bleed at all because of the severity of things. Major freak out, God. I lost one of the pills. Probably rolled under the refrigerator that needs replacing soon. But the ironic thing is the same people that are so against abortion are also against the Affordable Care Act (I'm not based on biblical study I did into it) which can help women who pay for insurance obtain birth control at no cost if it meets certain specifications which can actually do more to reduce unwanted pregnancies which then reduces abortion rates, against SNAP and welfare (by the way, they need to stop clumping disability, social security, and veteran's benefits (they earned those benefits) into welfare). So they are trying to have things both ways. They lost that argument though when the FDA made Plan B an over the counter drug which means insurance doesn't pay for it anymore. The majority of people who are saying they are against the ACA are the ones who managed to get assistance to pay for their insurance. Here I am, in greater need of assistance and being harassed by the marketplace because my governor chose to put politics over people in Alabama. I'm supposed to qualify for Medicaid because I have disabilities that I am fighting with social security about (all of which are in the covered disabilities guide by the way, God, so You see the problem, right - neither the churches nor the government seem to actually want to help the least of these?). Ugh! God, seriously. I am all over the map this morning because I have so much pent up emotion! Tom was and is wrong. His church was and is wrong. The republicans are wrong. And Fox News and The Christian Post are wrong. Anything that goes against Your word at any point is wrong. Tom violated Your word when he allowed what he acknowledged to be wrong to happen and then joined in. His church violated Your word when they chose to not show the grace they claim to believe in and chose not to exercise proper church discipline with me. The republicans are wrong because they keep hurting the people who are lower income while they claim to be Christians. Fox News is wrong because they are biased. The Christian Post is wrong because they post divisive things and every time they post about the president, they do it in an effort to stir up division. And the people on that page violate Your word with every attack they make on him. Romans 13 says we are to respect every God-given authority under heaven and to pray for them. Where was all this name calling when Bush was president? But a black man is now president, something I never thought possible in my life, and suddenly, it's like the Civil Rights era all over again. They will probably do the same when a woman gets into office, too. Oh, God, so many people make me ashamed to be a Christian at times. They claim to be Christians while yet hating on everyone who is the least of these. Today, I actually thank You for giving me autism because one of the best parts is my honesty and my integrity and my genuineness. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

One World by TobyMac (YouTube)

One time

One world

Two times

One love

Three times

Rewind

'Cause I'm a dedicate this song to everyone of God's children

Come as you are

Come just like you be

It's the bumps and curves of our history

But no blocks in the road that we can't traverse

And no wounds from the past that can't be nursed

All,hate gonna dissipate from our fate

No check, together we got a checkmate

All hate gonna dissipate and fade away

To make room for a brand new day

We got one world 'til it's time to fly

We got so it's one love 'til we say good-bye

We got one world it's enough to share

'Til we're called home and we're called up in the air we got

One world

I'll look out for you, you look out for me

One world

Together we can be perfect harmony

One world

I'll look out for you, you look out for me

One world

And I'm a dedicate this song to everyone of God's children

One world oughta be more than enough

And if it's not, is God looking in pure disgust?

Wondering what the dilly with the silly I see?

When I made each of these in the image of me 

Everyday is a chance for a new stance 

Like every song is a chance for a new dance

And everyone of is was made to reflect the light

And glorify the most high so bright

We got one world 'til it's time to fly

So it's one love 'til we say good-bye

We got one world it's enough to share

'Til the King calls us home and we're caught up in the air we got

One world

I'll look out for you, you look out for me

One world

Together we can be perfect harmony

One world

I'll look out for you, you look out for me

One world

And I'm a dedicate this song to everyone of God's children

You can come as you are

Love is yours

Love is ours

I am a witness

Sweet forgiveness

You will shine like a star

Burning bright where you are in our one world, one world

Like a star, like a star, like a star

One world

Like a star, baby

One world

And I'm gonna dedicate this song, dedicate this song

Let's come together and love

Let's come together and love

Let's come together and love

Let's come together and love, come together 

God Has Autism Too or Why Churches Need to Minister to and With Special Needs Adults

God has autism. 

Why?

God is perfectionistic. He created a perfect world. His work was perfect. Then He created these people. Who flubbed up the perfection. 

So God had a meltdown. He punished the people who messed up the perfection. 

People kept screwing up and things got more flubbed up. So God had another meltdown. This time He flooded the whole earth and started over again after He calmed down enough to be more reasonable. 

But God still was not happy. It just was not the same ever again.

So God sent Jesus. 

Now here's the clencher: Jesus was no ordinary baby. Nor was He any ordinary man.

And churches who mess up in this might want to repent sooner than later because the end result will not be good for them.

Many churches do not minister to or with special needs individuals or their families. Particularly adults with special needs. 

This is a very sad reality. 

Anyone who has read earlier posts on here know what I just dealt with with one such church. 

I have been praying that they will see their mistakes before they hurt more people like me. 

If ever there was a more compelling reason for them to repent and try to repair the damage they caused me, and for that matter, a more compelling reason for them and really for EVERY church to minister to and with special needs children AND adults, here it is:

Most of Jesus' life ministry was spent healing the deaf, healing the blind, healing the leper, healing the woman with a bleeding issue. Jesus even said how you treat the least of these is how you treat Him (Matthew 25). And He basically said if you treat them fair and treat them well, then you treat Him fair and well and you will be a sheep. BUT, conversely, if you hurt them, you hurt Him and you will be a goat sent to the fire. He is talking about churches too as the churches are simply comprised of people. So, if your church doesn't minister to and with children AND adults with special needs and instead does what that church did to me, you might need to do one of two things:

1. Go to your leadership and talk to them and even complain and protest. 

2. Run far away from that church for failing to actually do the work of Jesus.

Because here's the thing: Jesus not only did or encouraged foreign missions, but He also did and encouraged special needs ministry. And if a church is lacking either of these things, then it is not really following Jesus at all, now is it? 

Don't get me wrong. I know some churches will claim that they just don't have the resources or the people to volunteer or the people who need it. WRONG WRONG WRONG. 

Let me take, no offense, but just because I am more familiar with them, so let me take Oak Mountain for example.

Excuse 1: Don't have the resources.

Wrong. 

Oak Mountain has over 2500 people by now. It is also in a predominantly affluent area. With the new campaign it is launching, some of the allocation or reallocation of funds can include special needs ministry to both children and adults? The focus is too much on the children. This fails to remember that children with special needs grow up to be adults who still have special needs. But in a church that size or larger, if the excuse is not having the resources, I would be more concerned that they are misappropriating some of the resources rather than that they truly don't have the resources.

Excuse 2: Don't have the people to volunteer.

Wrong.

Oak Mountain never asked. They never expressed the need. Therefore they do not have because they did not ask. If they would announce the need, they would have people who would step up. I know. Because I met several who are interested. But they have not been asked nor have they been made aware of the need. Why? Because as I have experienced, their leaders treat autism as though it is a sin which also means they treat God as though God is a sinner. Read some of my previous posts for clarity on that comment. 

Excuse 3: Don't have the people who need it.

Wrong.

I needed it and still need it. With autism diagnosis rates in children being 1 in 88 and 1 in 50 between ages 6 and 17, and adults being unaccounted for, a church the size of Oak Mountain definitely has the people who need it. And that's just autism! ADHD, ODD, OCD, dyslexia, Down Syndrome, Tourette's, SPD, MR, LD are others that can benefit. I read a statistic last night that bothered me as I have been made a statistic as a result of what they did to me: 95% of families with special needs are unchurched. A smaller percent (55%) was also given. If this excuse is used, I would be more concerned about why this is the case than about this being the case. Why? In my case, I was bullied and abused, more so after the diagnosis of autism came to their attention. And even the offending party (Tom) admitted that to my mom (the only truth he told her). We met others with similar stories with regard to the exact same church. Which means that they are literally doing something wrong. RUN people. Because that is NOT what Jesus would want. 

Why do I write this though? Because right now, believe it or not, bringing it to public light is the most gracious thing I can do under the circumstances. Because someone out there might read this and finally say aha! and might be able to call foul and help correct the wrong. Because no church deserves to be in a position that Jesus would deem as goat. Because every church deserves a chance to do right and repair damage they magnified or caused. Because every church deserves a chance to do better. And because these principles apply to EVERY church. 

Wake up churches! You're hurting people more than you understand right now. You're pushing them away from God rather than drawing them to God. 

By the way, I am a millennial with autism. Double whammy. Churches! Do you want to know how to effectively minister to people like me? Talk to me! 

I challenge each person reading this to evaluate his or her own church though and see if you can identify some of the things I pointed out here. Then do one of those two things. But if you talk and they still refuse, I would suggest running and warning others who would be negatively impacted as well. 

I would rather that NO church be like that with anyone. And the fact a church was like that to me at all is sad and gives me much grief. But grace is winning right now and telling me to give them one last chance to correct things before they can do more harm. They can choose to take advantage of this moment and reach out. Or the alternative is one I cannot fathom right now because it is even worse. 

My hunch is that the reason Jesus has a special place and consideration for people with special needs is because He knows that these are often the people who cannot even defend themselves against a world that can be so mean and cold. And since EVERY person alive is an image bearer of the Creator, then if a child or adult has autism or any of the countless other conditions that I named or even didn't name, then to some degree, God has those characteristics too. Because here's the ultimate deal: Anyone who actually gets to know me for me knows that I am creative, loving, caring, compassionate, loyal, real, honest, and sometimes even funny because I see the world differently. And the thing is, many of my characteristics are also ones that God has! And it's the same with any of us special needs people. If a church rejects us, it essentially also rejects God because we are also God's children. 

I know some of you may be scratching your heads some after this. GOOD! See the comment box below? Use it! Because I want this post to be conversational and to result in conversations. It needs to. And if you follow me on YouTube, keep an eye out for a similar video soon. 

Dear Heartless "Conservatives" in Congress

So your idea is to take away the right of millions who are considered disabled under the ADA to have equal access to the same affordable healthcare everyone else gets as GRANTED under the ADA? Insurance companies are illegally discriminating against people who actually do need the system! I got lucky. I am underinsured, but I have no chance at getting more comprehensive coverage without the ACA because I now have pre-existing conditions. Go back and read re ADA.

What do you have against millions of people being able to rest comfortably knowing that they will not arbitrarily lose their insurance just because they get sick again?

Really? You Conservative Republicans claim to be Christians yet you don't care one iota about those whom Jesus calls the least of these?!? That makes me sick. You say socialism has no place in America and you define socialism as care for the least of these. Jesus was a socialist by your definition and you are saying there is no room for Jesus in America.

For once, a law, the ACA, was enacted to make it illegal for insurance companies to discriminate against people who have pre-existing conditions, yet in your ignorance you still insist that you want to destroy the hopes and dreams of many Americans who are trying to get insurance but can't because they have a condition. Wow. So heartless!

You want me to lose my insurance, lose my access to affordable healthcare, lose my ability to get well and to stay well, lose my possibility of ever working because I'm too sick, lose my home and transportation and family and friends? Why? Because you forgot who you work for and are too interested in protecting the rich who only want to commit fraud against the tax system and line your pockets so you can commit the same fraud and abuse of people who are in fact the least of these.

Dear Conservatives, if you are Christians, go back and read Matthew 25. Because of Matthew 25, I am no longer a Republican and can no longer vote Republican. I apparently became too progressive to be considered conservative and I'm sorry I also happen to believe in socialism because Jesus was a socialist based on your definition. Whatever the case, stop threatening my livelihood and my health! I have just as much right to exist as anyone else. I come from a long line of veterans who fought in every war since this country was still in its foundational days. And my ancestors didn't fight so that some heartless jerks could destroy the least of these because of their selfish desires. After all, Jesus said render to Caesar what is owed to Caesar and that meant that the more you made, the more you owed. Sincerely, Me

I Have a Dream

So as the nation reflects upon the impact of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I want to say that we are still not all treated as equal.

Equality extends beyond race. Equality also extends to ability (disabled people, and non-disabled people).

In the past few years, an important law was passed, called the Affordable Care Act. This law ends unlawful discrimination against people who have "pre-existing conditions." It ended people being dropped from insurance because they got sick. It was an important step in truly equalizing access to healthcare for all citizens. Yet there are those who oppose the measure. The thing I have observed though? The majority of those who oppose the measure are offended that they will be taxed for not having insurance. To me, it is reasonable to tax them for CHOOSING NOT to get insured while they are healthy and might not NEED it. After all, those of us who are insured have been paying for their care when they have an emergency as well as our own care. The uninsured tend to be the biggest "drain" in the healthcare industry. Also, the opposition hurts those who have "pre-existing conditions" because of the principles outlined in Matthew 25 regarding the least of these.

Let's bring that to modern day. Jesus is a man and He gets sick. Do we treat Him or do we say, "oops, sorry, no insurance, forget it?" Or treat Him and then stick Him with a bill for $50,000 because He couldn't get insurance because He was born with a heart condition that He didn't know about until it acted up and He needed treatment? Because that's what has been happening.

If we were to assume that how we treat others equates to how we treat Jesus, how much would life change for everyone?

Dr. King had a great dream. And so do I. And we are definitely not done yet. Until EVERY person is treated equally. His words still ring true today.

And so do the Words of God.

Let us not forget,