What Does It Mean To Be A Christian?

I heard someone say that you can’t be a democrat and be a Christian. Sadly in our country, the term Christian has been hijacked by a political agenda. 

So what does it really mean to be a “Christian”?

A Christian is someone who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ.

That’s quite a loaded definition and is interpreted in many different ways.

So what exactly did Jesus teach?

Jesus’ teachings taught love, compassion, forgiveness and being kind to others. He wants us to love our enemies and to treat others as we would like to be treated.

Sure, it can get deeper than those basic points of his teachings but you can see that none of these teachings give anyone a political agenda or permission to be weird. You don’t have to be weird to be a Christian.

Look, I grew up in a very emotional Pentecostal church denomination where it was fueled on emotion and strict rules of holiness. To put it plainly, it was pretty weird at times. I have always had an introverted personality so I never fit in with the things that went on in the church. Now I know some people need that type of church but just because I wasn’t “weird” never meant that I wasn’t a Christian.

When I went on a tour to Israel several years ago, our guide told us that most people there do not refer to themselves as Christians due to the historical issues that occurred during the crusades but they prefer to be known as “believers”.

When you look at today’s Christians in the United States, it is looking more like the crusades during the middle ages. Christians have become very aggressive and militant. Spanning most of the High Middle Ages (1050-1300 CE), a series of military expeditions called the Crusades was launched from Christian Europe against the peoples of the Near East. Sparked by a zeal to rid the Holy Lands of infidels. This is NOT what Christ had intended. We can’t force people to believe in Christ. This isn’t a belief done by force but with love and being the physical representatives of Christ in this world.

There is a false belief that the new administration is going to usher in a new Christian nationalism but it is destined to backfire and become like the ill-fated Crusades for the Middle Ages. You can’t force Christian. It won’t work. Many will say that we need the Ten Commandments in our schools or the Bible in every classroom. That is not how it is done. If someone isn’t a football fan, you can’t put a football in front of them and expect them to become a fan. They have to feel the excitement and become a fan on their own and in their own way. Not by force or hate.

Yeah, I might not agree with someone’s life choices or their lifestyles but I can still love them and associate with them. Didn’t Jesus do that too?

Federal Employees: Political Pawns in the Swamp

I just read an article (Read it here) about how federal employees are terrified with all the changes by the new Trump Administration.  It is sad that anyone would have to live and work in fear for their jobs.  The most hurtful part of the article were the comments.  Each comment was filled hate and happy that federal workers are in fear.  There are some huge erroneous assumptions that people make about federal employees.

I spent 30 years as an employee for the federal government.  Most think that federal workers are overpaid and lazy.  While there are some that are, I can tell you that most of the people I worked with throughout my career were dedicated and very mindful of spending the taxpayer's money wisely.  Yes, I did see some wasteful spending and people who had "fluff" jobs but those were few.  

Many view the entire federal workforce as the "enemy" now but I can tell you that the federal workforce is made up of people who support all political parties.  The thing that most don't realize is that we never gave a thought of politics and were even prohibited by law to talk about politics in doing our jobs.  I obliviously wore a campaign button once into the office and our ethics officer cornered me and advised me of the prohibition against doing so.  

During my entire time with the United States Attorneys' Office, the only time that politics became an issue was when a new political party took over as President because our U.S. Attorney had to resign since he was the only presidentially appointed employee in our office.  Sometimes it was sad because I enjoyed working with some of them and they had to resign simply because they were of a different political party.  I always thought that was dumb.  To me, it made more sense that someone in that position were neutral since we were dealing with justice.  

As federal employees, we were always pawns when it came time for the federal budget and we were furloughed.  We went without a paycheck.  Even when we got paid back later, it was always stressful because the bills still had to be paid on time.  We were not given a pass on that.  None of us cared about politics, we just wanted to get paid.  Many of us still had to go to work anyway when we were deemed essential.  So to say it is a fluff job is totally inaccurate.

I can tell you that a majority of federal employees are hard workers and they don't care about politics.  They are proud of working for their country and doing a good job.  

The President has said that he intends to have each federal employee pledge allegiance to him.  I suppose there is going to be some directive or form that employees will be required to sign to fulfill this directive if it comes out.  This is totally unheard of and simply not fair to force federal employees to pander to politics instead of being neutral.

Many ignorantly assume that federal employees do not pay taxes.  This is definitely not true.  We definitely pay and we always knew we were stewards of our own tax monies.

In the years I was employed, my dedication was to assist our office in finding justice for the American people.  It was never about politics, and it should never be political.

I worry about my former co-workers who are still working for the government.  I fear how this is going to change the federal workforce in the future.  Are there cuts that should be made?  Sure, every agency probably has some things that could be done more efficiently.  I am certain that people like Elon Musk are not remotely qualified to determine these types of decisions.  

I am proud to have served my country with integrity and dedication.  It was never to a president or any political party.  I did my job with the same dedication regardless of which party occupied the White House.  Many of my former colleagues have the same dedication.   They should not be hated or scorned for the service they provide to our country.  It is not fair to lump every federal worker into the swamp they want to drain. 

What To Do If You Miss The Rapture...

You may or may not believe things I have written about the rapture.  I know it is difficult for some to believe and I will admit that there are some things we simply don’t understand.  There are many interpretations about the End Times events in Bible prophecy.  

The rapture is when Jesus returns to take away the believers - including those who had died - from the earth as He has promised.  

The world will be in total chaos like it has never experienced before.  

So what happens If you are left behind, what happens next?  Is there any hope?  

Here are some things you need to know:

Do NOT take the Mark of the Beast

Under NO circumstance should you take the Mark of the Beast.  There will be no repentance if you choose to take this mark.  

Do not believe the explanations given by the secular media.

This should be no surprise to anyone now.  The media will slant the explanation to whatever they are instructed to do.  Don’t expect to get the truth of what has happened. 

Get rid of your smartphone 

As you can probably understand, your phone will be a way for the government to track you.  

Make sure you have a printed Bible.

If you have never given the Bible much thought before the rapture, you will need a copy so that you will know what is ahead and what to expect.  Don’t trust in digital versions as they could be tracked. 

Leave your home and get away from the cities, especially the big cities.

You must be prepared to “live off the grid” where you can evade those who will seek you out for not taking the mark and your rejection of pledging loyalty to the beast. 

Don’t go to church.

You read this right.  Avoid any church because they will be controlled by the government and will not be a place of refuge for you.  

Prepare a way to get food and find shelter

Once you have realized that you have missed the rapture, gather as much non-perishable food as possible and prepare to leave your home.  

Get a small, self-powered radio. 

If you can’t get the kind you crank by hand, get a battery-operated radio and a good supply of batteries, because you’re going to need to listen. Don’t believe the propaganda, but believe when they tell you about certain events relating to wars and geophysical calamities. You’ll be able to know what will happen next by reading Revelation 6-19.

Can you still become a believer after the rapture?  Yes, but it will be extremely difficult.  Bible prophecy states that there will be 144,000 Jewish evangelists which will be released into the world.  (Rev 7:4)  Even if you become a believer you will face extreme persecution and possibly execution if you refuse to deny Christ.  

Look, I know this isn’t positive news and sounds a bit far fetched but when it happens you will want to know how to survive if you miss the rapture.