RSample.com

In a past life as a salesman for NFIB, my job was to talk to small business owners about the problems that they were facing. Inevitably, we often would start talking about challenges at home as well – as the line between home and small business is often very blurred. Small business owners are lone rangers by nature – but this loneliness saddened me.

It also infuriated me, as the vast majority of these businesses were owned by Christians. I could see pictures on their office walls of church functions, I could tell they were believers from the way they talked, and I usually saw a Bible somewhere on their desk. What raised my hackles is that as I talked to these hard working men and women, it dawned on me that never had anyone from their church visited them at work. The one place that defines an entrepreneur – their business – is the one place that the church never seemed to want to go.

If the church is going to have an impact – be it at the local or national level – we need to get out of our walls and meet people where they are working. The reason why military chaplains are so effective – and I served as one – is they are going through the same things that their flock is going through. Hospital chaplains do the same – visiting the sick and their family members where they are hurting the most. But the local church is nowhere present – expecting people to come to Sunday worship, Bible studies, small groups, and youth programs – but never going to them.

As humans, we are “hard-wired” to work. God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden to till it, to care for it – in short, to work. Work, in many ways, defines who we are. Men – more so than women – will usually respond to the question “Who are you” with “I am steel worker”. Small business owners – be they male or female – are even more apt to define themselves by their work. Of course we are much more than what we do – we are after all Children of God, as Christians heirs to the Kingdom of Grace. But we cannot dismiss the simple fact that we also see ourselves by what we do.

Jesus did say “Come to me” (Matt 11:28), but He also said to His disciples “Go and make disciples…” (Math 28:19) The church – her pastors, elders, officers – needs to go out to where people are. Meet them at work, at the office, on the floor of the factory, out in the hot sun. The church needs to see how her members sweat away the day – whether they are straining their back or worried about how to make payroll. Only when the church understands the very basic cares and triumphs of her members can she then go about helping them lead transformed lives in the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

I cannot believe it myself.  I am totally behind the Senator from California when she calls for a slow-down of investigations into interrogations used by the Bush administration. ( From CBS News.)  As the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Feinstein wants to complete her investigation before any “truth commission” is put in place by the House.   Though Speaker Pelosi disagrees, Senate Majority Leader Reid backs up his colleague from the west coast. (From Politico.com. )

While the country’s security will benefit from this slow down, in the end the Democrats will be thankful.  Those on the left calling for these investigations have forgotten that they have a hand in all of this.  Speaker Pelosi has not denied that she was briefed, but insists that all she knew was that the administration was discussing these techniques, not using them.  Her double-talk on these topic has even her aides hunkering down. (Pelosi playing defense on torture)  Republicans, including Hoekstra and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), insist that Pelosi and congressional leaders from both parties were told about the “enhanced interrogation techniques” as far back as 2002. (From CNS News.)  It is becoming increasingly clear that Democrats knew about these interrogation techniques, and gave their tacit approval as to their use.

I honestly believe that these hearings will quietly die away – and we should be thankful.  We are at war with a culture of terrorism that thinks nothing of cutting off the heads of kidnapped people – not to mention flying planes into buildings and killing 3000 Americans.  I do not condone torture – but I do approve of these techniques that put suspects into that uncomfortable zone where telling the truth brings relief.    We have received valuable intel from these interrogations, information that has saved lives. (From The American Spectator.)  Democrats will also be thankful, as none of their involvement will have to go on record.

So, I agree with Senator Feinstein.  I am going to go out and recycle now, maybe put a windmill in my back yard…

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin sick soul.

A balm, a salve, a healing and soothing ointment.  It seems that in these days of economic and moral distress, we all are seeking something not to just take away the pain, but that will also  bring healing as well.  No matter what side of the political aisle  we find ourselves, all of us have “fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)  In that shortfall is the source of our pain, our grief, and our sorrow.  It makes sense that our separation from the Author of all Joy only results in emptiness.

Some times I feel discouraged,
And think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again.

I love this spiritual because it gets right down to brass tacks – I hurt, I am depressed, and I am not getting anywhere.  And we all feel that way at times.  But then, it reminds us that in the Holy Spirit, we are revived.  Given that this is a spiritual that grew out of the agony of slavery, we can see that this simple trust in Jesus takes away even the deepest of sorrow.  “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

If you can’t preach like Peter,
If you can’t pray like Paul,
Just tell the love of Jesus,
And say He died for all.

Of course, our faith is not just about us.  We are also to bring this balm to others.  Not all of us can preach, nor teach, nor lead thousands in prayer with elegant words.  But, we can share the love of Christ with those around us – through our actions and words.  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

My father-in-law and collegue T. M. Moore has posted a good article at his website.

I wonder if the country has ever been as politically divided as it is today. There have always been deep political divisions in America. One thinks of Jefferson and Adams, Lincoln and Douglas, and even Nixon and virtually any Democrat. But the attitudes of spite and malice that characterize the worst political machinations have generally been confined to handfuls of people. Today the rancor, name-calling, and rage are spreading throughout the electorate and the nation as a whole. Witness the outrage over the interrogation memos and the heated confrontations over gay marriage. The idea of America as one nation under God is officially obsolete; it no longer exists. “My America” is now the nation of choice, while “your America” is an enemy to be vilified and crushed. What passes for public debate – radio talk shows and cable TV news – only enhances the rage and deepens the rifts. There is nothing on the horizon to offer any hope for uniting the nation around the idea of the nation and all its glorious vision, purpose, and heritage. This is the result of the politicization of American life, the view that everything of interest or importance can be reduced to politics and resolved through party action. Party lines have been drawn clearly and definitively, and each side is simply waiting and hoping that the other will screw up so royally that a window of opportunity will appear through which they can grab power and further the cause of their America while they may. Saddest of all this is the impotence of the Church to bring reason, reconciliation, or peace to the nation. We’re too compromised, too alienated, and too ill-informed to offer anything but more fuel to the fire. But we must not give up and we must not despair. Ours is the responsibility of seeking to promote the welfare of the nation for all its citizens, and prayer is the place to begin. Let the end of politics not be irreparable division, but incessant prayer for revival and renewal throughout the land.

Read More at MyParuchia.com

This letter is sent to Congressman John Murtha in response to a news article posted on CBS news.

The Honorable John Murtha
Member, United States House of Representatives
District Office
647 Main Street
Suite 401
Johnstown, PA 15901

Dear Mr. Murtha:

I am writing in response to a news article posted on CBS.com dated April 20, 2009 entitled “Murtha’s Defense Earmarks Draw Questions “( http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/20/eveningnews/main4958071.shtml). The article states: “In all, 10 recent Murtha donors are slated to receive $31 million in Murtha earmarks for 2010.” You also stated that you are willing to be called corrupt if you are “taking care of your district.”

On your website, you defend the policy of using earmarks: “Earmarks do not increase the federal budget, they direct funds within the budget for certain community projects or programs. If these funds are not directed by members of Congress, decisions would be left for Washington bureaucrats in various federal agencies to decide what is best for our local communities. ”

Although I now live in Tennessee, I grew up in Erie, and will always consider Western Pennsylvania my home. Sir, I strongly urge you to reconsider your position on these, and any, earmarks. You have stated: “Earmarks do not increase the federal budget, they direct funds within the budget for certain community projects or programs.” While they do not increase the federal budget, they are still coming out of tax payer dollars – my dollars. As a ranking member of Congress, and one who is well known on the national scale, you should take the lead in ending the practice of earmarks. Western Pennsylvanians, and I know them well, want to keep more of their hard earned money rather than pay an increasing tax margin to have you and others “direct” those funds.

Your statements on earmarks would carry more weight if 31 million dollars of your “directed funds” were not going to 10 donors to your campaign. While you are not doing anything illegal, Western Pennsylvanians and the rest of the country will no longer tolerate the slight appearance of wrong doing. Again, as a respected member of Congress you have the ability and influence to stop the use of earmarks. I urge you to do so.
Sincerely yours,

Reuel K. Sample