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It’s the fifth day of spring, and I have already had to mow a part of the backyard.  Most of the property is just starting to green up, but this little patch is thick and luscious.

Erma Bombeck wrote a book back in 95 called ‘Life is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank’.  Guess what?  It’s true! This patch of lush, thick, green grass is right over the septic tank’s drain field.

While I was mowing, I remembered this book and thought of the truth of it.  How the grass is greener over the septic tank.  The septic tank.  Full of…well, you know.

And then I thought about growth.

You know, natural growth, physical growth happens with or without our help.  Living things need food, water, air, and we grow.  Like the grass in the backyard, which is over a spot that is always wet.

Spiritual growth, emotional growth, mental growth?  They take work.

And I thought about my relationship with God, and those times that I have noticed the most growth.  It seems to me that those growing times are almost always over a ‘septic tank’.  Some happening in my life, or in a loved one’s life, that forces me in to God.

There are a lot of questions that I don’t have the answer to.  A lot of things that I don’t understand.

A dear one dies, unexpectedly.  Taken too young, too soon, in spite of faithful prayers.

A business fails, after years in prayer and careful planning.  Everything done right.

Failing health, regardless of all of the careful exercise, eating and care.

Children abused, murdered, left alone.

Countries at war…none seeming to be in the right.

People I trust and admire, whose actions or words seem to me to stand in stark contradiction to the scripture they claim to follow.

“How can God…?

If God is, then….?

How do you explain this, if God is…?

That’s when we wrestle. And that’s when we grow.

Wrestling is an up close activity.  You can’t wrestle from a distance, you have to be in close. You grab ahold of the person that you are wrestling with and you hold on.

Remember Jacob wrestling with the angel of God?  He was in a very difficult time.  He was returning home after years away with all of his family and all that he had earned while he was gone.  But, he was returning home to a brother that he had betrayed over and over again.  He didn’t know what his reception would be, or if he would even survive.

During the night, an angel appeared, and wrestled with him til daylight.  All night, they wrestled, hand to hand, up close and personal.  Jacob was wounded in the wrestling and when the angel told Jacob to let him go, Jacob refused. ‘Not until you have blessed me’, he said.

And the angel changed his name.  Jacob became Israel, because he had wrestled with God and with man and had overcome.

Jacob was changed in the wrestling.  He grew, and became one known for struggling with God and for struggling with man, and overcoming in the struggle.

I know that wrestling.  I live in it.

I struggle a lot.  With God and with people.  About my faith and what it means to be Christian in this society.  With God, because there is a lot I don’t understand.  I don’t know how to be, or how to do.  I only know that He is…and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.

And I wrestle with man.  My fellow Christians who often condemn me for my actions and attitudes.  And others who, because I am a Christian, accuse and condemn me for others’ actions, or even my inaction.

It’s a septic tank!

But, the grass is greener.  And growth comes.

Am I trying to say that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the way I think about all of this is absolutely, 100% correct, and if you don’t line up with it, you are wrong?

No, what I am trying to say is that struggle is okay.  That it can even be good.  It is honest.

And you might have your name changed in the process.

I haven’t posted in a while because I have been praying. I don’t like to speak without having a resolution, a clear path. And I just don’t have one now. But, I started this to share my journey here, to talk about my thoughts and prayers, so here it is.

Abortion is wrong.  I can’t find a way to call it anything but, especially Scripturally. Even a cursory read of the Bible, which doesn’t mention the word abortion specifically, shows that children are precious, made in the image of God, and alive…named, called…before birth.

Even science shows that this is a human life from conception.  It can never be anything other than human. Vulnerable, unable to live without the support of its mother for months, but human.

And ‘thou shalt not murder”.  Intentional, premeditated, without legal or moral justification, motivated by hatred, malice or selfishness, or the taking of an innocent life.  In many cases it seems that abortion fits all of these definitions of murder. (Not in all, by any means and trust me, I get it…this is me speaking as a pro-life Christian with all of the arguments as to why I am against abortion)

Not to mention my call as a Christian to protect the innocent, the poor, the marginalized, the fatherless, etc.

Then how do I reconcile my political activism, and supporting people or parties that are pro abortion with my faith?

I haven’t.  I struggle every day.

Because we are talking about the sanctity of human life.  All of it.  The unborn and the born.  The fetus and its Mom.  The poor.  Immigrants. Women, men, children.  Friends and enemies.  All of it.

So, when we are talking politically and aligning with a group in our current society, we are talking about aligning with a group that is ‘pro-life’, and cuts funding to families, medical care, financial aid, attacks immigrants, silent when it comes to racial injustice or actively pursues it in removing protections from certain racial groups. 

Or, conversely, to align with a group that supports the poor, supports immigrants, funds healthcare for the vulnerable, addresses racial injustice….and supports and funds abortion.

Most of my adult life I have been a single issue voter.  If the candidate was pro life, they had my vote.  It didn’t even occur to me to look at all of these other lives.  Suddenly I am aware.  Suddenly, the government is sending  agents into cities and violently arresting people who speak with a different accent or are other than white.  Suddenly, funding for health care is cut, deeply.  Suddenly, the death penalty is restored in Washington, DC.  Suddenly all of the Diversity, equity and inclusion programs are stopped.  Suddenly, people are being killed in boats in international waters.  Suddenly, more than 40 people have died in ICE custody since January 2025, primarily due to conditions and lack of medical care.

All affecting human lives.  Lives created in the image of God.

I hold the unborn sacred. And I hold the immigrant sacred. And I hold the poor person sacred. And I hold the political prisoner sacred. And I hold the torture victim sacred. Because scripture requires me to. And I will not be silent about any of them simply because naming them makes someone uncomfortable.

So, the same blood that cries out from the ground in Genesis 4 for the unborn, cries out from the detention centers in Georgia and Texas and Pennsylvania and California.  It cries out from the depths of the oceans where , according to NPR and multiple news sources, more than 100 people were bombed out of the water.  It cries out from the ghetto where the woman can no longer feed her children because of cuts to welfare.  It cries out from the hospitals and clinics where people can no longer receive health care because of cuts.  It cries out from Iran, and Gaza, and Israel, and Cuba.

How do I reconcile it?  I don’t.  I can’t.  I will fight for every human life that I can.  I will speak to every person that I can reach about how loved they are, and the price that Christ paid for them.  I will do everything in my power to help a pregnant woman in crisis to be able to carry her baby. I will help her find care, I will take her to care. I will open my home…I will love her and pray for her and walk alongside her. Because, she is not a murderer. She is not in her mind considering a heinous crime. She is making a choice for the safety of herself, her life, or the child’s in a society where she is often left on her own.  And if she chooses abortion, I am going to love her anyway.

We’re at war. Well, I guess not technically, since Congress has not yet said that we are, and they are the only ones with the power to say so.

On February 28, US forces, alongside of Israel, began bombing Iran. They say there was an imminent threat, although there has been no proof thereof. I know you watch the news, so you know all of this.

There have since been over 200 verified reports that military leadership has said that President Trump is, “anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth,”

I actually do have a number of friends and relatives that believe that Trump is God’s anointed choice for these times. One person asked me if I was challenging their faith when I first began posting about the things that were going on in the country right now. As if faith in God equated to faith in Trump!

And, this is an issue. The Trump administration ‘preaches’ a gospel. The gospel of Christian Nationalism.

The gospel of Christian Nationalism is that the right people, armed with the right politics, led by a divinely anointed strong man, can seize the institutions of cultural and governmental power, expel or subdue the wrong people, reverse the nation’s moral decline, and establish God’s kingdom on earth through dominion. Salvation in this gospel is not received by faith — it is achieved by victory. It is not offered to all — it is reserved for those who belong.

Galatians 1:8-9 “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed [anathema] As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed [anathema].”

Anathema is the Greek word used for accursed here. The Strong’s and Thayers Greek Lexicon translate this word as meaning: a curse, a man accursed, devoted to the direst woes.

So, what was the Gospel that Paul preached? In a previous post I talked about the Romans Road. A very simple map about what the Bible says it means to be a Christian. This road map is also a description of the Gospel that Paul preached.

In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, he sums it up this way, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures…”

The Gospel of Paul preaches that all have sinned and owe the wages of sin which is death. We are all condemned. No matter our ethnicity, or where we live, but all. That Jesus, born of a virgin, a Jewish man and a refugee, came to die (a death that was carried about by the government) and rose again to purchase our salvation and freedom from sin. And that salvation is a gift from God through faith.

I think that as Christians it is important that we recognize the distinction. The Scripture tells us to be careful that we are not deceived. “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” 2 Corinthians 11;3-4

Ask yourself, through careful study and prayer, ‘What is this Gospel and that our administration is ‘preaching’? Who is this Jesus that they tell us they are following? ‘ Is it the gospel that Paul preached? Is it the Jesus that Paul preached? Or is it Anathema?

You have to decide.

This verse says, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

How are you able to reconcile this Scripture with political/social activism, which is by definition NOT submitting to the governing authorities?

I have prayed long and hard about this. As I have every decision that I am making these days, as I try to navigate the waters of Christianity in these chaotic, cruel, and seemingly heartless times. As a Christian, how do I submit to the governing authorities who I believe are robbing my neighbors? How do I protect and love my neighbors, and submit?

I can’t. When it comes to ICE and DHS and their current practices in the way they are handling themselves in our city streets, I can’t. When I watch a man who claims to love America and is the actual leader of America, disobeying the Constitution and ignoring the legal decisions against him, I can’t. When I see a large group of very rich and untouchable people getting away with the outright sexual abuse of countless minors, abuse that seems to go up to murder, I can’t.

But, then how do you claim to be a follower of Christ and disobey this very basic commandment?

There is another command. One that says ‘We must obey God rather than man.’ (Acts 5:29). One that says, ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’ (Mark 12:17)

Okay, but how do you know when and what to give to whom in this context? Let’s look at the Bible….

The midwives disobeyed Pharaoh when they hid Moses in the bulrushes. Moses disobeyed the Pharaoh when he kept coming back to get his people set free. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, when they refused to worship in the way that law demanded. Daniel, when he continued to pray in spite of the law.

Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, Micah, Nahum Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, each stood against their political leaders when they were disobeying the laws of the land.

Peter and John, when they continued to preach in that Name, in spite of being ordered to stop. Paul was literally jailed for the last half of his ministry for the same reason. All of the disciples, who chose to obey God rather than man.

I have two commandments from Jesus. ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. (Mt 22:37-40)

So, when our government is complicit in harming my neighbors, I will obey God rather than man. I will peacefully protest, I will write letters, I will make phone calls, I will vote, and I will do whatever I need to do to protect my neighbor. And, I will do it loud and clear!

I feel like I need to say here, because I can already hear someone saying ‘But, illegal aliens…’! Mmm Hmm. Even undocumented immigrants who are on American soil, committing a civil offense, a misdemeanor, who are protected by the constitutional ideas of due process, and who are often detained illegally, are my neighbors.

Who are your neighbors?

‘I have determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified’ (1Cor 2:2). So, what does that have to do with politics, political activism, and MAGA? 

I am going to tell you, so fair warning, if you don’t want to hear about Christianity and my faith, you should probably read another post!

What is a Christian, first of all.  Is it someone who goes to a Christian church, or who reads the Christian Bible, or even prays to the Christian God?  Is it the basis of being a true American? Perhaps it is a person who tries to live their life by the tenets of the Holy Bible.  You know, ‘Do unto others’.

The term Christian first appears in the Bible in Acts 11:26, where it tells us that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. The word literally means ‘follower of Christ’. Some say, ‘little Christs’.  It may have been derogatory at first, but later became a badge of honor.

What is that? A follower of Christ?

We can take a walk down Romans Road…this is an easy guide to what it means to be a Christian.  First, the Bible teaches us that ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’(Rom 3.23)  ‘The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom 6:23)…’ But, God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom 5:8)…If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.’(Rom 10:9-10)…and finally, ‘Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Rom 5:1)

All have sinned. The word that is translated as ‘all’ from the original Greek is the word ‘pan’.  It means, all, each, every, everyone, everything.  Each and every human being alive has sinned and come short of the glory of God.  And the wages of that sin is death.  To be separated from God, eternally.  (See John 17)

Well, then we should just make it illegal to sin. We should pass laws that reflect Christian principles so that God will bless this country. If we live according to those laws and become a Christian nation, then we will be okay.

Let’s look back at the Israelites, at the Old Testament. Genesis tells the story of the beginning of humanity through the beginning of the Israelite people. Exodus through Deuteronomy recounts the giving of the laws that God required His people to follow to be a holy people. The rest of the Old Testament literally testifies to the fact that they could not keep the law!  They failed over and over again, including Moses, who actually met God face-to-face to receive the law from Him.

In Matthew 5, in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that He had not come to do away with the law, but to fulfill it. He said, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven…..For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

Hated a neighbor lately? Road Rage? Gluttony? Lust? Greed? Thought, even fleetingly about killing someone? Beaten your wife? Your kid? Your dog? Taken a pen from work? Had an abortion? Come into the country illegally? Are you LGBTQ+? Living with boyfriend/girlfriend? Had an affair? Kept that extra change the cashier accidentally gave you? 

All have sinned. You, me, ‘them’.

If our goal as Christians is to see others saved, to keep others from spending eternity without God, then it cannot be done through legislation.  Christian Nationalism is not the answer. Jesus Christ and Him Crucified is the Way, and the only answer.

Now, as a Christian, one who has accepted the sacrifice that Jesus made for me, one who has been ‘born again’, how I live my life does make a difference.  Being a follower of Christ, and one who has discovered the meaning of Love, means to try to walk in His way.

He left us with only two commandments. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

When I see people being marginalized or abused, stripped of rights and dignity, maligned, jailed, even murdered for the crime of being…I am going to step up.

I am going to do whatever is in my power to see people loved. Institutionalized hate…I am going to yell loud and clear against it. Discrimination, when I see it, I am going to point it out. Masked men accosting people on the street, in ways that not only clearly go against the Constitution this country is built on, but also hurt, dehumanize, and humiliate them, I will speak up.

I like to think that I am a Christian, living the life that Christ would have me live, speaking His love to all my neighbors.  I love you.

Christian Nationalism seems to be the battle cry these days. After all, we are a Christian nation, right?

I do have a lot to say about that, about whether a Nation can be Christian…but that’s for later I think.

Today, I’ve been thinking about what makes America America.

If you are reading this, you probably know the story of Israel. Allow me take a moment for a recap.

Abraham was called to follow God. And, to make a very long story short, he did. He married Sarah, they had Isaac. Isaac married Rebekah and they had the twins, Esau and Jacob. Jacob married Leah and Rachel, who between the three of them had 12 sons. They were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.

Josephs brothers sold him into slavery, where he eventually ended up in Egypt. While there, through a number of miraculous and very difficult circumstances, Joseph became a leader in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. There was famine in the land lasting seven years, and through that circumstance Joseph was reunited with his family, bringing them all to live in Egypt, in the land of Goshen.

Some 700 years later, out of fear of the number of Israelites living in Goshen, they had become slaves, and Moses was born.

God called Moses to set his people free from slavery. You may have heard of the plagues of Egypt? This is where they fit in to history, and finally Pharaoh allowed Israel to leave.

Now, Israel is in the wilderness, in the process of transitioning between a nation of slaves, to a nation of God.

From Exodus to Deuteronomy we read the commandments that God gave to this people. These commandments, these laws, were meant to separate Israel from every other nation. It is the following of these laws that demonstrated that Israel was other than every other nation. God’s chosen people, and very different from every other nation in justice, in mercy, in morality.

We find, as history goes on, that God sends His prophets to Israel to rebuke them every time they disobey the law. Especially the leadership. Because, without the law, without adherence to the law He had set before them, they were no longer different. They appeared to be the same as all of the nations surrounding them. Without the law, they were essentially the same as every other nation.

We have the Constitution. Now I do not mean to put the Constitution on the level of the laws of God. Bear in mind that I am speaking of what makes a nation, not a faith.

The Constitution is the law that sets America apart from every other nation. “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liverty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Every time we disregard this law, this document, this foundational instrument of our government, we become less recognizable. When our leadership wantonly disregards the laws, articles and amendments, they are leading us in a direction that makes this great country less recognizable as the place of justice, tranquility, safety and peace that sets us apart from every other nation.

Although, America was built on Judeo/Christian principles, it was not built on the Bible. It was built on the Constitution. To protect America, we must protect the Constitution.