ClydeStyle

Healing broken relationships and building better lives – ClydeStyle.

27 May 2012

Memorial Day: A call for true patriotism

We have reached another Memorial Day weekend and with this being a presidential election year we really need to prayer for the families of our fallen solders and our country.

We hear a lot these days about patriotism and we have been desensitized by politicians and the media to think that being patriotic means to be obedient to the state.

In these troubled times we have been discouraged from speaking out about our country’s debt being the result of wars we had no business participating in. Our economic crisis is the result of one thing only: Greed. Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Our greed has caused the death of many, homelessness, financial destruction, loss of dignity, self respect, worldwide shame and dishonor.

The media still hasn’t run a story about the few that benefited from our wars. I have yet to see the documentary that exposes the truth about the last 20 years of how our government has performed. The closest the media has come to this feat is a recent book by MSNBC‘s Rachel Maddow called Drift. I highly recommend it. She created a wonderful history book that paints the complete picture of what happened during the administration of the last 10 or so presidents. It’s very interesting that the Revolutionary War was all about patriots fighting government abuse of the rights of the people. Back then a 2 percent tax hike was TOO much.

In the 21st century, when do we reach too much?

Posted in Change, Free Will, God, Happiness, Justice, Life, Patriotism, Politics, Religious Freedom, Taking Responsibility | Leave a Comment
19 May 2012
2 Comments

The truth about forgiveness

Friends,

How often have you heard that we are supposed to forgive and forget? This has even been attributed as a biblical principle – the only problem is that God never told us to forgive AND forget.

Consider this: We are VERY human and in our carnal state it is not remembering the sin that is wrong, it’s how we remember it.

If I am remembering someone else’s trespass against me for the purposes of fueling my hatred toward them, then God’s going to have a problem with that.

If I am remembering the trespass as a reminder of how human we all really are and to fuel my compassion toward humanity, then God will be pleased.

You see, we can’t expect God to forgive us if we are unwilling to forgive others — was this not the Lord’s prayer?

Not to mention that Jesus also said that if we didn’t forgive genuinely (from the heart) our brother his trespasses, then God would not forgive us (Matt.18:35).

The issue I like to focus on is how much more the world will get to understand our God by the way we forgive. Any fool can seek revenge, but it takes a child of God to love their enemies, have compassion for those who persecute and give grace to evildoers.

You don’t forgive people because they ask for it or because they deserve it. You forgive my friend because you have been forgiven.

Selah

Posted in Forgiveness, Giving, God, God's Promises, Jesus Christ, Love, Prayer, Relationships, Truth
12 May 2012

Praise for our First Lady!

It’s time to praise everyone’s first lady. The woman who you first fell in love with; the woman who will forever be in your corner; the woman who knows how to make things right: Mama.

If you are as fortunate as I am to still have your best girl alive, I would ask that you show her a little extra love for Mother’s Day in honor of the mother’s who have passed on. And if your mother is alive, make sure you share her with those you know have lost their mom.

If your mother is no longer with you I believe it would be fitting to adopt a mom. You see, just as there are sons and daughters without mothers, the converse is true. This is why the “adopt a mother” concept makes so much sense.

Find her within your church; at the closest nursing home or Assisted Living facility; or take a stroll through your neighborhood — she’s out there.

And once you find her, make her day special. Flowers are always welcomed as would be something sweet. Mother’s also like cards of appreciation. Whatever you choose make sure on Mother’s Day you offset some of the evil in the world but showing unconditional love to a mom.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted in Generosity, Giving, Happiness, Love, Parenthood, Relationships, The Family
10 May 2012

A reason to be outraged?

May 9, 2012 will be a day that goes down in history as another advancement in civil rights.

President Barack Obama gave his personal feelings regarding same-sex unions. Before doing this, his administration has already done many things for gays and lesbians in regards to their civil rights. In addition, he has done quite a bit in his presidency for minorities and the disenfranchised.

With that said, we need to remember the separation of church and state. Too many religious people will attempt to make this an issue for the church — it is not.

What we can’t do here is forget what our constitution says regarding equal rights. If you believe in the fabric of what our forefathers wrote about “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”, and if you believe in the Holy Bible and you understand the teaching of free will and judgement day, you should be very understanding of the events of the day.

Why you ask? Because no one I know voted for Obama because of his religious beliefs. I hope that no one has wasted a vote on any politician based on his spirituality.

What you should have done is voted based on the political views they claimed and their ability to get those things done.

But you don’t need me to tell you why you should vote. Instead, let me just remind you of God’s word.

There are many people who believe in trying to do God’s job. You see, God never invited us to His judgement seat. God invited us to the love seat; forgiveness seat; and benevolent seat. These are the things that Christians do.

We need to uphold free will — hand in hand with democracy! We need to make sure that we don’t create a scenario that backfires on us. How can I decide a choice for someone when I don’t want anyone to make choices for me?

In this country, there are many organizations (like the KKK) that I don’t agree with. I don’t even think they should exist. And despite the evil things done in their history I believe in their right to exist. Why? Because I’m a Christian and I’m an American. As a Christian I know what the bible says and I know who has the final say. I know who will judge the quick and the dead and I’m comfortable with His judgement.

As an American, my constitution is the standard and we have a history of being hypocrites. Just as other great Americans have done, I feel duty bound to speak up for the rights our troops are defending. People have the right to love and be with who they want. Whether I agree with it or not, they still have that right.

We need to make sure that we are not trying to hide bigotry behind the cross!

Posted in Change, Free Will, God, Happiness, Justice, Love, Marriage, Patriotism, Politics, Relationships, Religious Freedom, society, Truth
05 May 2012

Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of victory, but for what?

For years I celebrated Cinco de Mayo thinking that it was the equivalent of the Fourth of July for Mexico. I grew up with Mexican neighbors, I still love Mexican food (minus all that cheese) and never did any of them ever correct my thinking. Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

In the spirit of unlikely victories I’d like to say that I am dissatisfied with the way civil rights is rationed out in Christian America. Our civil rights movement of the sixties advanced African-Americans some. Not that African-American’s have arrived by any stretch of the imagination, but it just seems to me that those who have been through a struggle would reach back with empathy  to help others going through a struggle.

Based on our history, you would think that on a massive scale, the Jewish nation would have done more things to assist African-Americans in their struggle. I’m not at all saying that nothing has been done, but with the reparations as a result of the horrible Holocaust and the fact that Jews maintained their identity through that process, Jews had information that would have changed the state of African-Americans today. Now I say this fully aware that most of the houses sold by Jews from the 60s-80s were sold to Blacks because Whites would not live in homes formally owned by Jews. Southfield, MI is a perfect example of this. There have been educational, healthcare, housing and other services given to assist African-Americans which were funded by Jews. These things were great helps in the struggle and they specifically dealt with the RESULTS of the struggle. I don’t know of anything done to PREVENT the struggle — and that’s my point. After slavery, Blacks needed direction and guidance. There was a need to know how the financial system functioned and ownership of real estate. Other than Tulsa’s Black Wall Street (and we know what happened to it!), this knowledge was missing. I wonder what if the Jews taught Blacks how to succeed much like the Native American taught the pilgrims how to succeed what would things look like now?

Fast forward to the 21st Century and African-Americans should be doing more to help Mexicans and Hispanics in their struggles with this nation. The very same struggles that we are still trying to overcome. Granted this should be the responsibility of everyone including federal, state and local authorities. When you start running statistics you will see that Jews went through some very horrible things here in America. African-Americans are still going through some horrible things in this country. And Mexicans and Hispanics are catching hell right now. From being kicked out of our country, to not having their healthcare disparities even addressed, to not receiving fair wages and benefits for work and poor education.

I don’t mean to sound harsh or offensive, but we need to stop accepting the unspoken pecking order that ranks the races.  I want to do something about this. I’m not sure what exactly, but I would like to do something to help with this cause. I realize that there are a lot of causes out there, but this Cinco de Mayo I would like to not only celebrate the Battle of Puebla with them, but I also want to end that celebration, by asking them what I can do to help. What about you?

Posted in Accountability, Bigotry, Change, Determination, Giving, Justice, Love, society, Taking Responsibility, Uncategorized
29 Apr 2012
2 Comments

On the other side of Jesus


Justice is a hard thing to demand.

 

I mean, how do I have the right to justice when I’m wrong too? Justice is defined as: The quality of being just; fairness. The principle of moral rightness; equity. Conformity to moral rightness in action or attitude; righteousness. I can be righteous … for an hour, a half day, 72 hours maybe. It doesn’t take long for me to end my righteous streak — and that’s the problem.

One of the greatest examples of hypocrisy is for someone to cause harm from being careless. Especially if you catch me on one of my righteous days, I can really stir up trouble and make you feel two inches tall by rebuking your behavior and telling you how wrong you are. I can do this without ever thinking about my unrighteousness.

I’m reminded of the two thieves that were literally hanging with Jesus. The thief on the one side of the savior began to mock him like he heard the crowd do. He said: ”Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

Once we reach the other side of Jesus, we get a far different disposition. The thief on the other side of Jesus said, “Don’t you fear God … since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

I want to stay on the other side of Jesus. I want to remember who I am and where I stand before him. I am a sinner saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. This salvation is impossible for me to obtain, but it has been gifted to me by the father that I may not brag. I’ve been made over and thank God that JUSTICE has been replaced in my vocabulary with GRACE.

And you only reach this point when you cross over to the other side of Jesus.

Posted in Faith, Forgiveness, Free Will, Jesus Christ, Justice, Resurrection, Uncategorized
21 Apr 2012
8 Comments

We need to wait for God’s end

Friends,

Everyone can relate to the feeling of being betrayed or having someone do something to you without cause.

It’s not right! It doesn’t feel good! And it’s hard to forgive in such cases.

There are many who may still be struggling to overcome the results of someone’s wrong doing. You would not be human if as a spiritual person you didn’t wonder or question where is God in all of this?

In 1 Peter 2, the bible tells us that it is thank worthy to God “when we suffer wrongfully” and “take it patiently.”

Although this is easier said than done, we need to wait on the Lord. God’s providence follows us into the calamity. God’s control has limited and manipulated the wrongdoing before it came to us.

Did you catch what I said? God has already worked things out. Now remember I am talking about the trouble that comes your way that you did not cause. This is the same type of trouble that James says to “count (it) all joy when you fall into divers temptations” (Ja. 1:2).

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all believers trusted God enough to allow his control and not seek to fight alone? There is a clear war going on here my friends — Good vs. Evil.

The real question is: Who are you going to trust? Can the wrongdoing of mankind trump the goodness of God when it comes to his love toward us?

Let’s wait (on the Lord) and see!

Posted in Confidence, Faith, Forgiveness, God, God's Promises, Love
15 Apr 2012
4 Comments

Smelling the roses

The latest census says that those who are 85 and older are now the fastest growing population. We could learn much from these aged pill takers.

I recently had the pleasure of talking with a few of them and in no particular order, these are the top 10 things I learned:

1) Wake up with the sun. Too many young folks sleep the day away and are unproductive. Wake up with a purpose and enjoy the sunrise.

2) Read twice as much as you watch TV.

3) Deny yourself and save money.

4) Eat healthy so that you can enjoy your golden years.

5) Get plenty of sleep.

6) Drink plenty of water.

7) Get plenty of exercise.

8) Control your use of technology; don’t let technology control you.

9) Enjoy family.

10) Practice loving everybody.

I wonder what it would be like if we spent 2012 with these 10 suggestions?

They all seem so obvious, but why don’t we do them? Who wants to wait for a degenerative disease to happen before we begin to take care of ourselves.

This age group is far more conservative, morally intellectual, far more cultural and more responsible than the generations after them.

Let’s accept the lessons and the responsibility that follows. If not, we might not have any roses to smell.

Posted in Giving, Happiness, Health, History, Life, Love, Perseverance, society, The Family, Uncategorized
07 Apr 2012
1 Comment

Our response to the resurrection

Speaking of the resurrection, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” And then he said, “Do you believe this?”

This is the time of the year where there is somewhat of a unified effort among most Christians to talk about, remember, celebrate and observe Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. It’s like the other time in the year where everyone wants to remember the “reason for the season” and celebrate peace on earth.

I don’t have a problem with these times as much as I have a problem with how we interpret the meanings. Our beliefs should be the center of what we shape our way of life from. If we believe something then our lives should be consistent in that which we believe.

For example, if things like compassion, integrity and excellence are things that I truly believe in, then the people that interact with me should experience these characteristics in me. I should not look down on anyone if I have compassion. I should not make it a habit to lie and cheat if I’m a man of integrity and my employer should not have to speak with me regarding my commitment if I seek excellence.

I’m afraid that too many people celebrate Jesus as a seasonal holiday and have not made the commitment to him for life.

Jesus ends the 26th verse of the 11th chapter in the Gospel according to John by asking the question concerning belief. He simply uses these four words that deserve a response. “Do you believe this?” If he were saying this today it would sound more like “If you believe this, then why …?”

If we truly have been crucified with Christ and now as a result we are living by faith, our works should show what we believe. Faith without works is still dead.

Posted in Uncategorized
01 Apr 2012
2 Comments

Opinions only count on surveys

There is something to be said about credentials.

It must be human nature to give your unsolicited testimony or opinion to others.

Every now and again you find a very reputable source that gives good information. These are the ones who are experts or enthusiasts in a particular field.

I’m no expert in nutrition, but I can definitely explain why processed food is bad for you, how Vitamin C fights cancer and how to reverse diabetes. I lost 75 pounds in 2011 as a result of following my research. However, even with my success, I’m smart enough to know that I still don’t know more than a person with advanced degrees in the field.

And there are some who have no experience in anything, but have an opinion on everything. These people have time on their hands to just sit back and form opinions. Every job looks easy, every decision could have been better and the worlds problems would be solved if we just listened to them.

I have experienced my fair share of these folks. And the thing I wonder most is, why wouldn’t they just study the topics they have opinions about? Why not at least be a life long learner and spend the extra time reading. Or better yet, advanced degrees are now available online. Wouldn’t it be cool to go to college and put some perspective on those opinions?

I know, I know. I’m dreaming. They won’t go to school and they won’t keep their opinions to themselves. So why am I writing this blog? Because it’s nicer than calling them an April fool! :-)

Posted in Opinions, society

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