The notjustanotherreligionandpoliticspod's Podcast

Episode intro:

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 25 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped into a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

Body of episode:

Well, this is it! The final episode of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast. I believe I did what I set out to do: everything I said in the intro of every episode.

If you have not listened to all of the episodes yet, you have time. I will continue to pay the hosting fees to keep the podcast alive on my http://www.civillamorgan.com website.

If you would like to make a financial contribution to help pay the monthly hosting fee of $15.00, feel free to deposit that or any dollar amount to PayPal at booksbycivillamorgan@gmail.com. Your contributions will keep the episodes live and available for others to listen to well into the future.

The other way you can help is to share the episodes. Tell someone, anyone, everyone, about this podcast. Send them a link to your favorite episode, or an episode you believe might help them on their spiritual journey. It would be greatly appreciated!

I would like to say a great big THANK YOU to Rob Conley for producing these 25 episodes. I could not have had a better podcast producer, guys. He impressed me from day one with his skills. I mean just listen to the episodes! You may reach Rob at Gcatproductions@gmail.com if you or someone you know is in need of a podcast producer.

Thank you, Rob!

So I went back and listened to the intro episode and realized I said something about episode 25 that’s not exactly correct anymore. I had mentioned that the 25th episode would be on the subject of the book of Revelations. Well, as you can see, not exactly. I decided to discuss Revelations in episode 23.

I started this podcast with a list outline of 25 subject matters, but I gave myself permission to make changes as I went along; recognizing that things change and we do not know what the future holds. That’s a lesson for somebody.

And I did make changes along the way: Changes to episode topics, re-scheduling guests, and moving episodes around. I did tons of research on my monologue episodes to be sure each episode was done to the best of my ability. I hope it shows.

So...I would like to read a few pieces of listener feedback if you don’t mind…?

‘...I've thoroughly enjoyed your podcast. You have really refreshing takes on a lot of things, even some things I don't necessarily see the same way, you put your view in ways that make sense and allow me to think about them and challenge my opinions.’-Rob C.

‘Civilla, strangely in my busy day I came across an episode of your podcast. First, may I say I love the intro and closing music piece you've chosen. Good one Also, although I do not like to practice in ANY religious denomination and I have been exposed more than long enough to churches and congregations, I am a firm believer in light versus darkness and all that is associated with it. Keep doing what you are doing. Don't give up. Your message is very important. Keep being a light to others. Have a good rest of your day!'--Lilly V.

This is in regards to episode 22--Angels and Demons.

Great Biblical reminders about our responsibilities as Christians. I long to see the church operating in unity and being that "light" about which Christ spoke.'--M. Miller.

I really enjoyed reading feedback from listeners. It’s always nice to know that people are listening and that what you are saying is helpful and encouraging. It’s the coolest thing!

And just because I’m finished with the 25 episodes for this podcast does not mean you cannot continue to send feedback. I will read your feedback and post them in the show notes for this episode.

So, I won’t keep you for much longer, but I want to go over four quick points with you, and I really want you to keep these points close to your heart. They are really important to your Christian walk. Well, at least the first three points are:

I really believe it is important to be prayed up at all times as we never know when we will be facing demonic activity. Episode 22.

Remember, episode 22 was entitled Angels and Demons. We discussed the fact that both are real and that it is important that we protect our hearts and minds. Start your day with prayer. Pray daily, read your Bible daily, which by the way is really easy to do these days as the Bible is right there on your phone. You can now take it with you on your commute and read it on the bus or train. Or listen to it as you drive. You can pray wherever you are, all through the day. Besides, starting your day with prayer sets your heart and mind off in a positive direction.

Keeping your heart in the right place is important!

Look, as you can clearly see if you listened to all of the episodes, no one is perfect. You heard about my car wash incident, right? See episode 10. The best we can do is learn from our mistakes and mess-ups, and commit less of them as we mature--emotionally and spiritually. Saying ‘that’s just how I am’ and not maturing or changing in your Christian journey is not a good excuse, and it’s not a good look. The world is watching and listening.

At least not a good one. That means your growth is stunted and oh, by the way, everyone around you, not just the world but your family and friends; can see it.

They see it in your reaction to problems, issues, how you deal with being mistreated, and how you treat others. Your actions and reactions just should not be the same as they were five years ago, 10 years ago, two years ago. Keep trying to do better. Look, I’m speaking to myself too. We all have hot buttons. We’re never going to be perfect this side of Heaven, but we still have to strive toward perfection:

‘For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.’--2 Peter 1:5-8.

Keep a check on your heart at all times. It can easily go rogue. You may say my heart is stronger than that. What do you mean by ‘easily’? Well, consider the fact that we are currently living in and through a pandemic. Everyone is tired and stressed out. Plus there are a lot of social justice issues going on right now, tons of mass killings. It can take a toll on anyone. We can find ourselves being short with family, friends, or strangers. We may have a level of fear we are not willing to verbalize, and honestly, we may not even realize it is fear because we have never had to deal with so much at once. I believe that especially in these times we should keep this in mind as we step out of our homes to go anywhere, morning, noon, or night. Wisdom could allow us to see our family at the end of the day. You know?

If you keep your heart in the right place at all times, even when you put your foot in your mouth or react absolutely incorrectly to a situation; hang in there. Fix the situation if you can. And if you cannot, learn from your mistake. I truly believe the key to keeping your heart in the right place is to have a repentant heart, not a haughty ‘well they deserved it’ heart, even if they did deserve it. I really believe that when you check your heart, keep your heart in the right place, more issues will work out for the good than not.

Thirdly, never give up on your relationship with Jesus. You will have ups and downs. There will be times when you question His existence, His love for you; hey, even your love for Him. There may be times when you stop praying because a certain really important prayer was not answered. Trust me, I know. But know that He is always there. If you feel like He moved, check again, because it is not He who moved, but you. He just happens to know your beginning to your end, and your end to your beginning.

‘I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.’--Isaiah 46:10.

He knows why and why not. He knows what is still to come. We don’t.

It doesn’t make things easier sometimes, but it’s good to know you can trust God with your heart.

Final point: It is OK to reach out to me even though the podcast is complete. You may reach me via email at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com or follow me on Instagram @religionandpoliticspod. Just give me 24 to 48 hours to respond.

Besides, I still want to hear from you on the question I ask in every episode: whether verbally or in the show notes: Who is God?

It’s been a pleasure to be obedient to God’s command to create this podcast. I truly hope that through these episodes you have heard The Good News of who Jesus truly is.

Episode quote:

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”--Numbers 6:24-26.

Bye!

Podcast Producer:

Rob Conley

Gcatproductions@gmail.com

Links used for research:

https://www.openbible.info/topics/striving_for_perfection

Episode 10--Red Letters, What Do They Really Mean?

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/notjustanotherreligionandpoliticspod/Not_Another_Ep10_Final_8awrm.mp3

Episode 22--Angels and Demons:

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/notjustanotherreligionandpoliticspod/Not_Another_Ep22_FInalbd7hl.mp3

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Episode Title: God’s Promises Revisited

Episode intro:

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 24 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

Body of episode:

I want to revisit God’s promises. If you remember, I first discussed God’s promises in episode 13. But I really wanted to bonus God’s promises especially in light of the mayhem we are all currently living through. 2020 has been tougher than many of us have had to endure, and unfortunately, although there is a little light at the end of the tunnel, 2021 has had its own challenges. I keep saying it: Many of us have never been down this path before. I know there are a few centenarians around, God bless them. I’m quite sure they’ve seen a lot. But for the rest of us, well whew!

And in the midst of all of this, did you know God made us a really long list of promises? Crazy right? Through all of this sadness and grief, and death, and mass shootings, and hunger, and slavery, and human trafficking...and the list goes on. It sounds more like 49 AD or the 1200s than the 21st century.

How can He make promises and how do we know they pertain to us when they were documented thousands of years ago?

Well, He did not promise those things would not happen, in fact, He said:

‘I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”--John 16:33.

See the last part of that verse, ‘...I have overcome the world’? It’s one of those things where we know how the story ends. We know because the Book of Revelations tells us so.

But what about in the meantime? Because that is where we are, isn’t it? In the meantime.

In the meantime, we need to know what His promises are and then remind ourselves of those promises in the middle of terrible times. Times like these. Because as long as we are on this earth, we will not be able to avoid terrible times, so we might as well learn how to deal with them.

As human beings, we have many ways of coping or dealing with the bad things that come our way. The way we deal with things is typically based on our culture, on the way we have seen our elders deal, and our personalities. Some of us tend to run away from trouble. Some of us walk away when maybe we should face the trouble. Some of us look for trouble where there isn’t any. And some of us are brave enough to face down trouble, terror, looking it directly in the eyes.

But I believe even the strongest of us need promises. Human beings tend to do better when we have something to rely on, right? When we can rely on the hope that promises, well, promise.

So what is a promise? What are God’s promises?

‘A promise is ‘a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen.’--Google.

‘A promise is an object that may produce a single value some time in the future: either a resolved value or a reason that it’s not resolved (e.g., a network error occurred).--Master the Javascript. I mean did you know a promise was part of Java code?

I don’t know about you, but I learn something new every day!

Before we review some of the many promises in the Bible, I would like to make a suggestion: Many years ago I read a devotional that suggested we not treat scripture verses like quotes from the inside of a candy bar wrapper. If I’m not mistaken they specified a Milky Way wrapper, but I’m sure it doesn’t matter what candy bar. The point is that the verse you read has more meaning, more definition, more texture, dare I say; if you read the verse before and sometimes the verse after. Here’s an example: Jeremiah 29:11 says:

10‘This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’

But look at verse 10? That is a promise most people skip over and go straight to verse 11, holding onto that verse with all their might. And that’s fine, it is a promise after all. But verse 10 is a specific promise to those that were being held in captivity--in Babylon. God promised the Israelites that after 70 years in captivity He would bring them back to their place, to their land. And then in verse 11, He says those famous words that we all hang onto with everything we have in us.

Does verse 10 mean that verse 11 pertains only to the captives? I don’t believe so. But I do believe what the devotional I read years ago said about reading verses like they were candy wrapper quotes. We can claim God’s blessings just as He wants us to, but read the verses before and after for context. After all, as verse 10 shows, it's not always about us right?

So promises...God’s promises...

‘The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.’--Psalm 145:13.

“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”--Luke 1:45.

I love this verse, and I’ve held it close to my heart for years, especially when I am working on a project like this 25 episode limited-edition podcast that I felt God prompted me to create.

Although I know Jesus esteemed women and treated us as equals, there are not many verses in the Bible that specifically, genderally, I just made up another word; speaks to women, especially not like this one. So I use it as a promise to me. And it is. But look at the verse before:

44 ‘As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.’

Both of these verses are Elizabeth speaking to her cousin Mary. So remember, every verse is a verse unto itself, but the verses before and after add context.

I mean I could feel a little out of sorts, aka, some type of way about verse 44 as I never had children. I could be offended and decide that verse is not a promise for me. But I have decided not to be offended, and I have decided to continue to claim that verse. Look, there are times and situations where we are going to have to hang onto God’s promises with our fingernails. This is one of those verses for me.

So, what about this one...

‘For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him, the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.’--2 Corinthians 1:20.

“I am with you always, until the end of the age.”--Matthew 28:20.

“Don’t be afraid, because I’m with you; don’t be anxious, because I am your God.”--Isaiah 41:10.

“I am with you and will protect you wherever you go”.--Genesis 28:15.

These next few verses have stars next to them. I will tell you why in just a moment.

‘The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.’--Psalm 34:7.*

‘No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD.--Isaiah 54:17.*

‘Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.’--James 1:17.*

Those are some of my favorite verses. In fact, I incorporate them into my daily prayers. What if you started memorizing promises that you feel bring calm to your heart, and then incorporated them into your daily prayers. I believe it would help in the midst of all the daily craziness we are dealing with. Give it a try?

In this next verse Joshua who took over leading the Israelites after Moses died, is now dying and he says:

“Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.”--Joshua 23:14.

Even and especially in death, he can say that God fulfilled all of His promises. Amazing and beautiful right? That’s a promise in itself.

Well, as I mentioned, these are just a handful of the many verses in the Bible. There are hundreds more. Find the ones that pertain to you and repeat them daily. Hold them close to your heart and pray them over yourself and over your family and friends.

Episode quote:

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.’--2 Corinthians 1:20.

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

Thank you for tuning in. Email me with feedback or questions.

I would love to hear from you at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com. Give me 24 to 48 hours to respond. And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode. Until next time!

Bye!

Scriptures mentioned:

John 16:33.
Jeremiah 29:10-11
Psalm 145:13
Luke 1:44-45
Joshua 21:5
2 Corinthians 1:20
Matthew 28:20
Isaiah 41:10
Genesis 28:15
James 1:17
Isaiah 54:17
Psalm 34:7
Joshua 23:14

Research links:

https://www.openbible.info/topics/joy

https://medium.com/javascript-scene/master-the-javascript-interview-what-is-a-promise-27fc71e77261

https://en.operando.org/gods-promises-for-your-every-need/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAhs79BRD0ARIsAC6XpaWE3AH5lwhc6wgMe9zBCmoDH7Dv0z_jb1GYI1k0tgT5nIYqoPCQ-VMaAh2iEALw_wcB

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Episode intro:

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 23 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

Body of episode:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God [a]gave him to show unto his [b]servants, even the things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified [c]it by his angel unto his servant John; 2 who bare witness of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, even of all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand.--Revelations 1:1.

The book of Revelations was written by John the Apostle. So in the intro above, aka verse one of Revelations chapter one, he is referring to himself. Why? According to research, all of the apostles wrote their contributions to the New Testament in the third person. Apparently, it was a thing. Maybe a way not to make their writings sound like it was all about them? A way to remain humble?

According to my research: ‘The Book of Revelation was written sometime around 96 CE in Asia Minor. The author was probably a Christian from Ephesus known as "John the Elder." According to the Book, this John was on the island of Patmos, not far from the coast of Asia Minor, "because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus" (Rev. 1.10).’--Google.

Now some of my research said the book was written in 95 AD. I mean we’re talking the difference of a year.

As I did my research for this episode, I decided to rely on the Bible I keep on my nightstand. It’s a Bible I have had since April 26, 1985. Woah! That’s older than some of you right? And as I reached for my Bible, I decided to pick up another Bible I keep on my nightstand, my dad’s study Bible. I started scouring both Bibles for old notes, but the funny thing was there were more notes in my Bible than there were in my dad’s. And that’s when I remembered that this was definitely not his only Bible. And the notes in my Bible were from his teachings.

As I peruse my notes throughout the book of Revelations, I wish I had dated them. There are underlines, margin notes, stars, even a map key I used to get me to better understand.

The first note I see above chapter one is that ‘Jesus is the key focus of this book.’

Written next to verse four is ‘seven is God’s perfect number.’

Next to verse 12 which says ‘And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And having turned I saw seven golden [l]candlesticks…’ I wrote the word ‘churches.’ So the golden candlesticks were churches. More on that in a moment.

Verse 16 ‘And he had in his right hand seven stars…’ Next to that verse, I had written ‘leaders of the church.’ I did the note-taking/margin writing through the entire book of Revelations.

In chapter 18 where the tribulation and pre-tribulation are discussed. In chapter 19 I have a note in the margin that refers me back to 1 Thessalonians 5 where the second coming is referenced.

I mean if you just picked up the Bible for the first time today and started reading Revelations you would be like ‘whaaat?’ That’s how I was until I got the breakdown. The book of Revelations was like Greek to me, with all of the allegory and The Apostle John doing the best he could at describing things he had never seen before.

Some theologians believe he was seeing the future and would not have known the correct names for some of the things he saw. And I guess God was like ‘you know what? I am not taking you out of your time and place, it’s just too much for you.’ So God left him within his time-space continuum. Where have you heard that before?

Speaking of John, there is some back and forth that I found in my research, that there were apparently two men named John around that time period and there is some question as to which John wrote Revelations. I put a link here in the show notes to an article for the argument that the John who wrote Revelations is John the apostle. I am going with that as it has always been my understanding, and the timeline in this article tends to bear that out. Of course, I know that there are theologians out there who are way smarter than me. So if you are listening and you have input, I would love to hear it.

So, what I would like to do in this episode is not to necessarily break down every single verse and chapter, because what I explained, in the beginning, will help you do just that. Here are the clues I gave you:

The book of Revelations is an allegory.
John called or named some things based on the best word he could use for them. I will give you a specific example.
And he, John. spoke in the third person.

Armed with this information, you are literally halfway to understanding the book of Revelations when you read it. Allegory and all.

But I would like to go through a few more things just to give you some more context:

In chapters two and three those churches I mentioned earlier are directly spoken to about their behavior: good, bad, and ugly. And including changes, some of them needed to make.
Chapters four through six there are descriptions of Heaven and some activities going on in Heaven. The seven seals are also discussed.
Chapter seven talks about four powerful angels holding the corners of the earth. I also have in my margin notes ‘the saving of the odd-lot people that were left after the original rapture.’
The chapters go on to discuss the ‘tribulation saints’, ‘the three sets of people: ‘The tribulation saints, the 144k, and people left on earth after Jesus has come and gone.
I find it interesting in chapter nine I wrote in the margin ‘lifespan of a locust is five months.' Remember I mentioned earlier that John was seeing the future and did not have the name or names to describe some of what he saw? Chapter nine, verse nine is the perfect example: those locusts he mentioned, some believe he may have been talking about airplanes or some other modern technology! No kidding!
In chapter nine verse 16: ‘and the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand and I heard the number of them.’ My margin notes say ‘believed to be China since they have an army numbering the same.’
Chapter 11 talks about the Millennial period beginning.
Chapter 14 talks about the end of times. In my margin notes, I have the words ‘what will happen to the wicked’, and ‘what will happen to the holy’.
In chapter 17 it is discussed that Rome will regain power, influence. It is also discussed that some countries will turn their power over to the United Nations for a short period of time. The Millennial period is discussed again, in more detail.
Chapter 20 talks about an angel coming down from Heaven and subduing the devil. Then the thousand-year reign. And then in my margin notes by verse 11, ‘And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.’ I put the word hide in between no and place. In the margins, I wrote ‘final judgment of God himself. The wicked will try to flee.’
In chapter, 21. The new heaven and the new earth are described. Verse four is our closing quote for this episode.
In chapter 22, the final chapter, above verse one I wrote ‘continuation of description from chapter 21.’

The bottom line once again is this:

The book of Revelations is mostly allegory. Some of it literal, like when God spoke to the seven churches, telling them about themselves. Almost all of it seems quite scary to be honest. And it is suggested that as Believers we try our very best to understand every portion of the Bible, otherwise, what’s the point. But if you need a sedative after reading Revelations here it is: We win. The devil loses. Bottom line.

I hope this overview has helped you. I know it helped me all those years ago when my dad went through it line by line. I mean he broke it down. There are a few other passages that I will always remember him breaking down, like Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Whew, it was as eye-opening to me although probably on a smaller scale, as the breakdown of Revelations was. I will put the chapter in the show notes for you.

Episode quote:

‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’--Revelations 21:4.

Episode outro:

Thank you so much for tuning in. Let me know if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you! You may email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com. Please give me 24 to 48 hours to respond. You may also follow us on Instagram @religionandpoliticspod or on our Facebook page.

And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode. Until next time!

Remember, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Research links:

https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1308&context=jams

https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/17428/who-wrote-the-book-of-revelation

https://www.greeka.com/dodecanese/patmos/book-revelation/

https://www.bibleref.com/Revelation/10/Revelation-10-4.html

Bonus content:

Ecclesiastes chapter 3:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ecclesiastes+3&version=NIV

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Episode Title: Angels and Demons--How the church feels about the unseen.

Episode intro:

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 22 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

Body of episode:

Soooo, I may lose some of you almost immediately. I really hope not, but well some of us opt not to partake in any aspect of the spirit world subject-matter. The moment someone brings up angels and or demons, which by the way is the title of this episode, folks opt out. And honestly, I get it. The whole thing can seem a little scary especially if you did not grow up hearing conversation about such matters. In some cases, it may even sound a little cultish the way it is discussed in some quarters.

Some Believers toss around the words angels and demons the way non-believers toss around curse words. In both cases, making some listeners uncomfortable.

So I get it. But stick with me.

There was a time in my life when I watched all things Dracula on TV or at the movies. And just about anything having to do with angels and demons. I was intrigued. There was a TV show a few years ago and I believe it was actually called Angels and Demons. There was always some type of hand-to-hand combat between a particular angel and demon. If I remember the premise correctly, the two of them were somehow related.

But as I matured in my faith, and dare I say my gifts, more on that in a moment, I stopped watching said movies and shows. I felt like shows and movies having to do with this subject matter for lack of a better term, disrupted my spirit. It felt like I was giving the devil an open door to my spirit and I DID NOT WANT THAT.

So, I no longer watch anything that will disrupt my spirit. You may have felt a disruption in your spirit and not realized what it was.

Let me give you an example: you watch a movie, a TV show, or you listen to a song or certain music, and afterward, you feel angry or upset, or even afraid. Maybe you listen to certain musical artists on a regular basis and you always feel angry, like always, after listening to them.

You probably never wondered why, not putting two and two together and realizing you get along with the world in general, but after your commute to or from work, and listening to these certain songs, you just felt angry with your co-workers, with people in traffic, etc.

You are basically allowing these artists--musical, certain movies, videos, discussions, etc., to speak into your spirit. Chances are you are not even thinking that what they may be singing or saying is that bad. I mean it’s just a song, right? It’s just a movie? You are just letting it all in.

Look, the spirit world is real, whether you believe in it or not. And this is what I want to talk to you about today.

‘A spiritual stronghold is a habitual pattern of thought, built into one's thought life. Satan and his minions want to capture the minds of people: the mind is the citadel of the soul. He who controls the mind controls a very strategic place!’--Pulling down Strongholds: Strategies from Ancient and Modern Israel, Messiah conference 2000.

‘For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience to Messiah.’--2 Corinthians 10:4-5.

‘Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.’--1 Peter 5:8.

‘When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.’--2 Kings 6:16-17.

‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’--Ephesians 6:12.

There is a spirit world. We can’t take everything for granted and at face value.

The quote and the verses above, if you notice; make mention of angels, demons, and the spirit world. Things many people, even some Believers, do not believe in.

Look, some Believers pick through the Bible choosing what they like and leaving what they do not like or cannot explain; like they’re at a buffet.

The Bible is all you can eat, but you have to eat it all. Not in one sitting of course, but you get the idea. We are supposed to consume it in its entirety, as often as we can.

But let’s be honest, It’s not an easy read. Some portions of it have to be re-read, and even then, you need help understanding it.

And ‘all of it’ is where many people, Christians, and non-Christians, get tripped up or confused. Because the next question is does consuming the entire Bible mean that we have to still believe in stoning entire families, that women have no voice, or that slavery is Biblical?

These are just a few examples of where the Bible has been taken out of context for hundreds of years.

Number one: And I am trying my very best not to go down a rabbit hole here. Cause you know I’m good for that. Stoning people was a law of that time. It is not a law in the time in which we currently live. And of course, one would hope such a law would never be reimplemented.

Number two: Women had a voice back then. Do you want to know how I knew this? Because Jesus spoke to them, healed them, protected them, encouraged them, wherever He went. It was the men and the laws they created and implemented that silenced women and treated them like chattel. Jesus NEVER mistreated women.

This is another way for us ALL to know, that the way women were treated then, and even today, was and is man’s idea. They took certain commands from the Bible and completely twisted them into knots, for hundreds, thousands, of years.

Number Three: see number two. And, slavery was a thing back then, and even in more recent times, as we all know; but Jesus never said it was right or good. The Bible talks about how to behave toward your master if you were enslaved, it never said slavery was good.

“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God’s judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, “Abba! Father!”--Romans 8:15.

Remember, God made all of us. Every human, He created us. Man decided it was OK for one man to enslave another. That was man’s doing, not God's.

I heard this from Pastor Justin, one of the assistant pastors at my church, and whom by the way I interviewed for this podcast, link in the show notes; in a recent sermon, and I thought it was the explanation I have been searching for the longest time.

He said something to the effect that ‘the Bible doesn’t condone the behavior of these people. God uses people in the midst of their system.’

You see, this is what is so cool about the Bible, and the reason as I tried so hard to explain in episode 21, that it was written thousands of years ago, but is still relevant to this day. God, Jesus, never messed with the time-space continuum. He worked within the confines of it. Wow, I never thought I would use a Star Trek term in my podcast! Wow!

Allow me to give just one more example before we move on: Do they do things now, in 2021, the way they were done in 1951? What are some things that are no longer done? What is being done now that would be frowned on in 1951? Do you get the idea?

Oh, and please do not confuse the way things are done in certain time periods with the fundamentals, the foundation, of the Bible. The Bible, the Word, does not change based on when it is. ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’--John 3:16. is a fundamental of the Bible. Fundamentals do not change whether it is 2021 or 49 AD. There is nothing Biblically fundamental about stoning entire families or treating women like chattel or enslaving another human being. I hope this makes sense.

Angels and demons:

So, angels and demons. The spirit world. The unseen. The unknown, really. And what do angels and demons have to do with anything I just said?

Well, there are some things in this world, that whether you believe in them or not, they are true. As I mentioned before. Chances are if you are listening to this podcast, you are intelligent enough to believe that America did go to the moon. The earth is round. There was a holocaust of the Jews. Millions of Africans were stolen from their homeland and endured more than 400 years of slavery.

Unfortunately, there are people that are alive and well and comfortable right now, who do not believe some or any of these things. It’s really tragic.

And there are people as I mentioned earlier, who do not believe in angels or in demons.

There are Believers who choose to believe in some parts of the Bible while opting not to believe in other parts of the Bible. There are some Believers today who do not believe miracles still happen. There are some who do not believe there is a spirit world.

I’ve put a link to an article from Christianity Today, titled ‘The Truth About Angels and Demons is Staring Us In The Face’. The author discusses a book by author and professor Michael Heiser. But here is a clip from the article that I believe pertains to this discussion:

‘In his 2018 book Angels: What the Bible Really Says About God’s Heavenly Host, Heiser explains that message-bearing (what the word angel means in Greek) marks only one of the many functions performed by the supernatural, non-physical beings that God created. Angels also act as ministers of God’s will, watchers who are ever vigilant, soldiers in God’s heavenly host (or army), interpreters to men of God’s messages, protectors of God’s holiness, executors of God’s divine judgment, and members of God’s council who participate in and bear witness to God’s sovereign decisions and decrees.’

This explanation may make angels seem a little less woo-hoo than imagining beings floating around scaring people right?

Remember, I believe in the whole Bible and did not want to end this podcast without discussing these beings, this subject matter.

So, if you have read the Bible, and read any stories about angels, you have read about different visits angels made to humans right? And the angels we are most familiar with are Michael and Gabriel.

NOTE:

‘Michael the Archangel, in the Bible and in the Qurʾān (as Mīkāl), one of the archangels. He is repeatedly depicted as the “great captain,” the leader of the heavenly hosts, and the warrior helping the children of Israel.’

More angel sightings:

Genesis 18--three men approached Abram as he sat in the doorway of his tent in the heat of the day according to Genesis 18:1. One was thought to be God in human form, the other two were believed to be angels. They told Abram that his wife Sara would have a baby ‘according to the time of life’, verse 10. Of course, as the story goes she laughed to herself as she was quite old. And although she was in another part of the tent, the angel knew she laughed. Woah! Be sure to read Genesis 18 if you are not familiar with the story.

So, about Lucifer, the devil:

The first time the devil appeared in the Bible? You guessed it: The book of Genesis, in the Garden of Eden. He appeared as the snake who tempted Eve.

Story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness:

Now, as far as the other side of things, there was the story in Luke 4:1-11, where the devil attempted to tempt Jesus so that he could ultimately control Jesus, but of course, Christ knew what the devil was up to, so each time Jesus responded to the devil’s temptations with a word from the Word!

The devil wanted Jesus to turn stones into bread as Jesus was hungry after just coming off of a 40 day fast. Jesus responded that “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]”--verse 4.

The devil then tempted him a second time, telling him to throw himself from a high mountain, even quoting scripture to Jesus! The devil knows scripture. Please know scripture as well so that you can respond properly. Anyway, Jesus’s response was: “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[d]”--verse 7.

And then the third and final time, the devil told Jesus that if he bowed to him he would give Jesus the entire earth. Really? But Jesus responded: ‘Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[e]”--verse 10.

I mean, please know your scriptures so you know how to respond to negativity in all of its forms.

The devil’s back story:

So, speaking of the devil here is a little bit about his back story:

‘Lucifer was a senior angel who rebelled against God and was ejected from his presence. He is more commonly known as Satan or the devil. Other angels joined his rebellion and suffered the same fate. The Bible has a few references to this confrontation.’--Christianity.org.uk.

Basically, when Lucifer fell, he took a third of the angels with him, those angels becoming demons.

‘When Satan fell, he did not fall alone. Scripture tells us that he took one-third of the angels (see Revelation 12:4). Considering that the angelic host numbers more than 10,000 x 10,000 (see Revelation 5:11), that is a sizable group. They account for the fallen angels, or demons, that now do his bidding. As a result, Satan is a fallen, but powerful, spirit-being with a well-organized network of demon powers to help him accomplish his purposes. Those purposes, according to Jesus, are to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10).

That’s the bad news. The good news is that two-thirds of the angels are on our side! As the prophet Elisha said to his servant, “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16).’--Harvest.org.

So as you can see, the Bible discusses, talks about, angels and demons quite extensively. But of course, you would have to believe and believe in The Bible for its content to make sense. And I cannot convince you, I can only show you what the Bible, the unadulterated word of God says. You have to decide if what you are reading in the Bible is true.

As you know by now, I believe it is true. I would also like to say that I believe in angels and in demons because the Bible discusses them and their work quite extensively.

Recall earlier that I mentioned the term spiritual gifts in relation to why I stopped watching movies and TV shows with content related to angels and demons? Well, here is the scripture and the explanation:

‘There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gift of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous power, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.’--1Corinthians 12:7-11.

Note: the spirit mentioned here is not a ghost, it is The Holy Spirit, you know, one of the three parts of the Holy Trinity.

I am not of the belief that when you, for lack of a better word, possess any of these gifts that you should also be watching certain movies and shows. That’s what I meant when I said ‘disrupt my spirit.’ You can’t carry light and dark at the same time. Some things you have to choose between and this is one of those things. I made the choice to stop watching those shows and movies.

You know, I believe that no matter how strong we are in our Christian journey, and maybe despite the fact that we are strong, we have to exercise common sense. And this choice was me exercising my common sense.

My story:

My dad was my pastor for the first 40 or so years of my life. Wow, that makes me sound old. Anyway, there was a time when there had been a rash of church burglaries, and we were having our mid-week Bible study upstairs in his office. I recall asking him before we went upstairs if I should lock the front door. He said no. I did not agree with that decision, but I said nothing. We all went upstairs and as we read the book he had asked us all to purchase and read along with the Bible, the door downstairs was opened. We all heard it because we all, except for my dad, looked at each other.

Just then, I heard marching! I was like what in the world!? Then I saw them, walking two by two, they were dressed in light, spears in their right hands, laced up sandals, looking straight ahead. I could not believe what I was seeing! I looked around to see if anyone else in the Bible study was seeing what I was seeing but it did not appear so. My dad was talking, and everyone was looking in their books. Except me! I watched them walk right through our circle, walk past my dad’s left shoulder, and through the wall. And as they did that the marching subsided until I did not hear it anymore.

No one ever came up the stairs. We finished our Bible study, and I asked my mom if she saw them. I told her what happened and she said no. She had not seen or heard anything. She said I should have told them. As I think back now, she probably wanted me to tell them so that their hearts would be put at ease because we had all heard the door open downstairs. I was in too much shock!

I assumed that whoever opened the door downstairs probably heard the same thing. This is not the only incident I could tell of, but it is the only one I will tell here.

You see, I believe in them. And I would believe even if I never saw them because I believe in The Bible. I just feel fortunate that I also got to see. I can’t mix the gifts and what I saw, with the movies and shows I used to watch. It would cause havoc in my spirit. Life is difficult enough without that.

Remember, I am not trying to convince you that angels and demons exist. I just want you to know that the Bible says they do. You know, angels are mentioned 273 times in the Bible.’ That’s a lot not to believe.

Remember in episode 21 where I tried my best to explain to you why I believe the Bible is real and is NOT a book of fairy tales? I found this C.S. Lewis quote that sums it up nicely: Why I believe the Bible is real, and thus why Angels are real. Because really why would you want to believe in a book that is real but not believe in some of the contents. That in my opinion would be an absolute waste of time.

Anyway, here’s that quote:

‘I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.’--C.S. Lewis.

By the sun you see everything else. By the sun you see the light. By the Bible, you will see the light.

Episode Research Links:

https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/are-you-fighting-a-spiritual-war-priscilla-shirer-armor-of-god

https://www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2020/spiritual-warfare-in-a-pandemic

https://cbcalbany.com/new-blog/2020/5/25/spiritual-warfaresatan-demons-and-angels

https://considerthegospel.org/2012/09/23/why-did-god-create-a-devil/?gclid=CjwKCAiA9vOABhBfEiwATCi7GCs4fxBPwUViqxie4kXEw1GAlLFARog2QK1i-CqRVzdgfSBhWLiDKhoCregQAvD_BwE

https://www.neverthirsty.org/bible-qa/qa-archives/question/is-there-a-gap-between-the-first-and-second-verse-in-the-first-chapter-of-genesis/

https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_8.cfm

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/june-web-only/michael-heiser-angels-demons-unseen-realm.html

https://christianity.org.uk/article/do-angels-exist

https://harvest.org/know-god-article/the-origin-and-fall-of-the-devil/

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+12&version=KJV

https://www.christianity.com/christian-life/what-are-spiritual-gifts-understanding-the-types-and-discovering-yours.html

According to the Blue Letter Bible, the word ‘ "angels"--occurs 94 times in 92 verses in the KJV, including 92 exact phrases…’ Blueletterbible.org

Another search, Google, says that ‘Angels are mentioned 273 times in the Bible.’--Jul 2, 2020.

Episode Takeaways:

https://notjustanotherreligionandpoliticspod.podbean.com/e/episode-8-doubt-is-it-a-sin-my-interview-with-pastor-justin-mcneil/

https://notjustanotherreligionandpoliticspod.podbean.com/e/episode-21-is-the-bible-real-or-is-it-a-book-of-fairy-tales/

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-gye6a-dcbf2e

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-faiw7-f86eea

https://www.gracechapel.cc/sermons/spiritual-warfare?gclid=Cj0KCQiAmfmABhCHARIsACwPRAD75O3BnIBslPgGBW5ygmT-CJ7gV9Ynkh1u1dzGaqNVdYkZvZmgwWsaAs5zEALw_wcB

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

Well, thank you for tuning in. Let me know via social media https://www.facebook.com/relpolpod, @relpolpod on Instagram; or by email, if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you!

You may email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com. Please give me 24to 48 hours to respond.

And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode. Until next time!

Episode quote:

‘I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.’--C.S. Lewis.

Angels: What the Bible Really Says About God's Heavenly Host

View Details

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 21 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped foot in a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

Body of episode:

In today’s episode, I’m going to discuss the Bible. Is it real, is it a book of fairy tales as some belief, who wrote it, how long did it take to write the Bible? All of that and more will be discussed in this episode.

So, look, we all know there are people who do not believe in God. That’s not really what this episode is about, technically. What I mean is that some people believe the Bible was written a long time ago and that it is a book of stories that were written to help us deal with our own issues, you know, like a self-help book.

Some believe there is a higher being, but they don’t believe he is an actual god or even our creator, he’s just a ‘higher power’. And the Bible, well, no way so many different people wrote it over the course of so many years. More on that in a moment.

Bottom line, there are many beliefs, opinions, thoughts, etc., on the Bible and what it is really all about.

Speaking from a Christian standpoint, I can tell you the Bible is real because of my relationship with God.

Let me explain: in two words, things jive.

What? OK, here’s the thing.

The Bible has been around for thousands of years, and it is still relevant today. How? Well, the way God told us to live, via the Bible, still makes sense today. He told us to love our neighbors. ‘The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[g] There is no commandment greater than these.”--Mark 12:31. We are still taught from the time we are toddlers, to treat others as we would like to be treated right. They call it the golden rule, don’t they? Well, The Golden Rule comes straight out of the Bible.
Here’s another example. And some may have a problem with this because it comes from the Old Testament. Some people don’t like the Old Testament because they really feel it’s not relevant because of the book of Leviticus where all of the rules and regulations are. I mean from the very first chapter there are rules and regulations, and some of them are downright scary. So the questions are asked, well what kind of loving God has rules and regulations like that? How could He be a God of love and allow for entire families to be stoned to death? I always wondered why He allowed Tamar to be raped by her own brother and then to have to live in seclusion for the rest of her life. THAT is not fair!

Note: There are two Tamar’s in the Bible. The one who fought her father in law for her rights (Genesis 38) Yes, we women have been fighting for our rights for thousands of years. And the Tamar I am referring to, King David’s daughter.

But we sure love those promises though! That new song The Blessing by Elevation Worship, link in the show notes, is awesome, isn’t it? Well, the scripture, I mean the literal words, from that song, is from the Old Testament.

‘“The Lord bless you

and keep you;

the Lord make his face shine on you

and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn his face toward you

and give you peace.”--Numbers 6:24-26. I have always loved this blessing. It has always made me feel safe in God’s arms. I hope it makes you feel the same way.

The fact is that we will probably never understand all of God’s decisions and the things He allowed to happen or take place. But I do know that back to the New Testament for a moment, ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.’--Romans 8:28.

It doesn’t feel good while we are going through whatever it is we are having to deal with. We have all been through great difficulties in our lives. No one escapes this life without some type of grief. ‘Life is not for the faint of heart’, is what I always say. And the Bible does not go into any further detail about Tamar. I put a link to an article in the show notes on the rape of Tamar. The author did a powerful job with this article. I have never quite heard the story discussed like this before.

Well, I can tell you that many of us as Believers have prayers that were never answered. At least not in the way we wanted or expected. We have been through some very unfair, traumatic experiences. But we still trust and Believe in God. The One we believe created everything we see on this planet and in the skies above. Why?

Because when we pray we believe He hears us.
When we are in relationship with Him, we feel a heart connection.
When He answers our prayers He always goes above and beyond what we could ever expect.
When our hearts are broken over a life issue or over an unanswered prayer, He is still there, in the mix, and in the midst. And the only way to explain it is to say that we just know. We can feel His presence. You ever feel like someone is looking at you and you look up and sure enough, you catch someone’s eye. It’s a feeling right? And then you get confirmation when you catch them looking at you. Well, imagine that feeling 10 times over, and from deep within your heart. And know that it is only for good. Always only for good even in the bad times.

So, the Bible, is it real? When was it written? Please know that I will try my very best to make the timelines make sense, but it can be a little confusing…OK, a little more than a little confusing.

I was going to say ‘let’s start from the beginning’, but, well, you’ll see what I mean.

The Christian Bible has two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is the original Hebrew Bible, the sacred scriptures of the Jewish faith, written at different times between about 1200 and 165 BC. The New Testament books were written by Christians in the first century AD. Jul 12, 2011

Bible #1. The oldest surviving full text of the New Testament is the beautifully written Codex Sinaiticus, which was “discovered” at the St Catherine monastery at the base of Mt Sinai in Egypt in the 1840s and 1850s. Dating from circa 325-360 CE, it is not known where it was scribed – perhaps Rome or Egypt. Aug 30, 2018

According to both Jewish and Christian Dogma, the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (the first five books of the Bible and the entirety of the Torah) were all written by Moses in about 1,300 B.C. There are a few issues with this, however, such as the lack of evidence that Moses ever existed ...Feb 22, 2018

Anywhoo...

How many years after Jesus died was the Bible written?

forty years

Written over the course of almost a century after Jesus' death, the four gospels of the New Testament, though they tell the same story, reflect very different ideas and concerns. A period of forty years separates the death of Jesus from the writing of the first gospel.

So 40 years after Jesus died different authors started writing the contributions to the Bible, and although there were different authors over the course of many, many years, the Bible is still coherent, cohesive, written logically, and clearly. I mean clearly and logically as in it makes sense.

https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/whats-a-christian-worldview/

Bonus:

This is what I listened to as I worked on episodes 20 and 21:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw5OZiMB-Z8

Episode Takeaways:

https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/whats-a-christian-worldview/

How do we know the Bible is 100% Accurate?

http://bit.ly/3avdIXK

https://www.compellingtruth.org/write-the-Bible.html

www.biblegateway.com

The Blessing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp6aygmvzM4

https://www.christiancentury.org/article/critical-essay/read-rape-tamar-and-pay-attention-verbs

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

Well, thank you for tuning in. Let me know via social media or by email, if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you! You may email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com. Please give me 24to 48 hours to respond. And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode. Until next time!

Episode quote:

‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’--2 Timothy 3:16-17.

View Details

The State of the Church in 2020

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 20 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped foot in a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

Body of episode:

Much of the research for this episode came from Barna Research. There is enough content to last days and months. And I wanted to start my research with how non-Christians felt about Christians. It’s one of my favorite pet peeves: the way we allow the world to see us, to view us. The way we behave in the world. And the way the Bible says we should behave in the world.

Lest I sound holier than thou, let me explain. The Bible is filled with commands on how we should live as Believers.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. --Matthew 7:1-2.

'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."--Mark 12:31.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[a] But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.’--Matthew 5:38-40.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’--Matthew 5:13-16.

Those are just a few, and as you can probably see, at least one of them is not exactly easy to do. Which do you think it is? No one that I know of would say that being a Christian, a Believer, is easy. It’s just not. Why do we do it? We do it because when we say yes to Jesus, He changes our hearts and minds. We couldn’t, shouldn’t remain the same once we become Believers. Instead, we are supposed to grow, to mature. Now everyone matures at different rates. But we should not be in the same spot in our Christian walk five, 10, 20, 30 years later. Keep that in mind as you make your way through your Christian journey.

In their article, ‘What non-Christians want from faith conversations’, the numbers say:

Nearly all non-Christians (identify with a faith other than Christianity or no faith at all) and lapsed Christians (identify as Christian but have not attended church within the past month)
have a friend or family member who practices and prioritizes Christianity—but these believers may not be their ideal conversation partners when it comes to faith.
For instance, more than six in 10 non-Christians and lapsed Christians (62%) say they would be open to talking about faith matters with someone who listens without judgment—the top quality they value—but only one-third (34%) sees this trait in the Christians they know personally.’

So basically:

we are judgemental in our conversations with non-Christians or ‘backsliders’.
And we do not appear to be welcoming or inviting to the conversations that would be Christians or backsliders would like to have. This sounds like we either do not want to evangelize, thinking it is our pastor’s job to do or are afraid of being rejected if we initiate the conversation? May I suggest that we remain open to having the conversation with anyone, not just our circle of friends, which will increase the dare I say odds, of having the conversation?

Online services:

The next thing I checked into was online church. It’s quite pertinent as this episode is being recorded at the end of 2020, the year of the pandemic. Many of us are not attending church in person although more churches have re-opened for in-person service. I have opted to continue watching online to help protect my dad from COVID. So as I researched online service I found an interesting article on Pew Research, one of my favorite research platforms.

Where I thought they would simply discuss online church in the midst of a pandemic, the article actually talks about online church and people of color. You see, as everyone knows by now, people of color have been hardest hit by this pandemic because we tend to be the ones on the front line, and the ones with pre-existing conditions. Both are low hanging fruit for the virus. Here are the numbers:

‘Nearly three-quarters of white adults who report that they regularly attend religious services (72%) say they are “very” or “somewhat” confident they could safely attend in-person services right now at their regular house of worship without spreading or catching the coronavirus.’
‘...around half of Black (49%) and Hispanic (51%) Americans who are similarly observant express such confidence.

This is because people of color know the numbers. We hear the numbers every day. We see the families of affected people on our television screens every evening. We are just not willing to take the risk. I know I’m not.

See below for the link to the entire article. It’s a good article.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/07/amid-pandemic-black-and-hispanic-worshippers-more-concerned-about-safety-of-in-person-religious-services/

The church and social justice:

On the church and social justice, I found an essay that really pinpointed how the church should be involved, or not, in social justice. Here is a snippet:

‘The primary work of the institutional church is not to promote social justice, it is to warn people of divine justice. Its primary business is not to call society to be more righteous but to tell persons of the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. Its primary work is not to tell us who to elect to public office, it is to tell those in every nation of the One who elected many for eternal life. The primary work of the institutional church is to open and close the kingdom of God and to nurture the Christian faith. This it does primarily through the pure preaching of the gospel, the pure administration of the sacraments, and the exercise of church discipline.’--Calvin P. Van Reken.

The link to the entire essay is in the show notes. I think this is the closest I’ve come to my research if finding something that matches my feelings on the church's involvement in social justice. Check it out!

https://www.calvin.edu/library/database/crcpi/fulltext/ctj/68491.pdf

There is also an intriguing article by tabletmag.com that talks about how church--Christian and Catholic, as well as synagogue attendance is falling off almost precipitously as the article says in part:

‘ For one thing, young Americans have different habits. Rather than join institutions, millennials, argued Wade Clark Roof, author of the book Spiritual Marketplace, are indulging in a kind of “grazing,” finding their spiritual fixes in various different places rather than anyone organized church. As sociologists Robert Putnam and David Campbell explained, those in this age group “reject conventional religious affiliation, while not entirely giving up their religious feelings.”

The article also says that in addition to the young finding their religion through grazing, the church is under attack by the political left, assisted by the media. This is not new, but it seems to be a resurgence of the church trying to fit in so it is not attacked by these two entities.

Here’s the bottom line: we are going to have to read our Bibles and not just read them, but understand them. And we cannot rely on just what we hear on Sunday mornings. We should be reading daily, and we should use an assistive device such as a study Bible and or a commentary.

I use the Matthew Henry Commentary, Strong’s Dictionary, and Smith’s Bible Dictionary, among other research products.

But what does all of that have to do with the decline in church attendance? Well, if you are not a part of the decline, then you are still attending church. But hopefully, you are not attending just to attend, but because you want to be in relationship with God. And to be in relationship with God it is best to understand His heart.

His heart is for us as His creation. He does not hate anyone, although that narrative is what many non-Believers embrace to allow them to move through life in a dismissive way toward organized Religion: I.e. Christianity, Judaism, Catholicism. So I’m telling you that if you want to continue to walk with Jesus, go to church, and live the way the Bible says to live, you will not agree with everything the Left believes. And if you are truly living the way the Bible says to live, you will not believe or behave in the way the Right does either. You are going to live the Bible. You are going to show love to and for all of God’s creation. You may not agree with their decisions or lifestyles, but you will lead with love. It’s really simple, but as mentioned earlier, the presumption is that if you do not agree with everything the left believes in they think you have them. And if you do not behave in the unrecognizable way the Right is behaving, then you hate God.

We may find ourselves caught in the middle of a really ugly fight. But we can only continue trusting God that He sees and hears our prayers. He will protect us as we journey with Him.

See the link in the show notes for the entire article.

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/social-justice-is-killing-synagogues

Single in the church in 2020:

Now, last but not least, I want to discuss being single in church. I could also talk about being married in the church, but I won’t distinguish separately as I believe discussing being single in the church will in fact highlight being married in church. You’ll see.

I found a great article, or blog, written by Sarah Thebarge. It’s an old blog, but I found it quite relevant. She starts out by saying that the blog is not a church bashing session, She talks about how ‘Marriage is treated as the benchmark for maturity and adulthood’, or how ‘Single people are often disqualified from, or not even considered for, ministry positions because they're not married.’

I really liked her reminder on how Paul said that elders should be "the husband of one wife." and the church took that and ran with it, basically relegating single people to second class citizens who are not allowed a place in ministry, but Paul and Jesus were single! Hello!

It’s a great article, check it out. Link in the show notes.

There is also another article with the link in the show notes called ‘is the church letting down single Christians.’Similar premise, reminding anyone who would listen, that singles do not need to be fixed. What a concept right?!

https://www.sarahthebarge.com/blog/2015/01/7-reasons-why-its-hard-to-be-single-in-the-church

https://www.beliefnet.com/love-family/is-the-church-letting-down-single-christians.aspx

Well, I know the state of the church may seem a little depressing. I mean the precipitous fall off of church attendance, one political party thinking that we hate them because we may not agree with everything they say and do while the other party is giving the world cause to wonder what in the world happened to the church!

Things can seem out of control and leaving you wondering if you should continue on with the church. Or maybe you have decided to follow Jesus no matter what but wonder how to get the word out that although you are a Believer, a Jesus follower, that you do not hate. Well, the best way to get the word out is to live your belief. Just live it out. It will not always be easy, but keep living it and trust God to direct you on your journey.

Percentage of professing Christians in 2020 vs 10 years ago:

Both Protestantism and Catholicism are experiencing losses of population share. Currently, 43% of U.S. adults identify with Protestantism, down from 51% in 2009.
And one-in-five adults (20%) are Catholic, down from 23% in 2009.
Meanwhile, all subsets of the religiously unaffiliated population – a group also known as religious “nones” – have seen their numbers swell. Self-described atheists now account for 4% of U.S. adults, up modestly but significantly from 2% in 2009;
agnostics make up 5% of U.S. adults, up from 3% a decade ago;
and 17% of Americans now describe their religion as “nothing in particular,” up from 12% in 2009. Members of non-Christian religions also have grown modestly as a share of the adult population.

Closing commentary:

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. --Matthew 7:1-2.

'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."--Mark 12:31.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

Well, thank you for tuning in. Let me know via social media or by email if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you! You may email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com. Please give me 24 to 48 hours to respond. And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode. Until next time!

Research links/Episode Takeaways:

https://www.barna.com/research/state-of-the-church-2020/

https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2016/september/state-of-american-church-when-numbers-point-to-new-reality.html

https://www.barna.com/research/churchpulse-weekly-conversations-mark-sayers-faith-crisis/

https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/

https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/

Episode 12--Grace and Mercy

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-cp3rt-e63e5f

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Episode intro:

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 19 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

Body of episode:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Are the fruits of the spirit pieces of one fruit, like the pieces of an orange, or are they different fruits, like a bowl of various fruit?
What are the fruit of the spirit exactly? (Galatians 5:22-23).
Why are the fruit of the spirit so important, why an entire episode on them?
Are there rotten fruit? (Galatians 5:19-21).

I always thought they were different fruits, any fruit. You know, a bowl of fruit. But in a recent YouVersion devotional, I read that the fruit are not nine different fruits, it’s more like an orange with nine pieces. Could this belief be backed up by this quote from crosswalk.com,

‘The Greek word is singular, showing that “fruit” is a unified whole, not independent characteristics. As we grow, all the characteristics of Christ will be manifested in our lives.’

So are the fruit of the spirit pieces of one fruit? Does it matter?

I even found an article someone wrote about the different fruit they believed represented the fruit of the spirit based on the color of the fruit or the utility of the fruit. What fruit do you think represents love? What fruit do you think the coconut represents? Interesting right? Link in the show notes.

So I asked my dad, you know, my trusted theologian, if the fruit of the spirit were a fruit bowl full of different fruit, or if it were one fruit, like an orange. His answer: what does the Bible say? The answer is in the Bible. That’s his usual response.

Not to belabor the point, but the verse says ...‘the fruit of the Spirit is…’ ‘is’ is singular isn’t it? Matthew Henry’s Commentary says ‘the fruits of the spirit’. Am I reading too much into it?

Well, however you look at it, the fruit of the spirit is, are:

Love: ‘Love chooses to set aside one’s own preferences, desires, and sometimes even needs to put the other person first.’ (Philippians 2:1-3).-Crosswalk.com. It’s easy to do when you love the person. But what about when you don’t love the person. What about when you don’t even know the person? These fruit are not easy to eat sometimes, but they are definitely nourishing...to the spirit and to the soul.

Joy: ‘Joy sweeps out the temporary feelings of happiness, sadness, fear, anger, etc., and replaces those temporary good and bad feelings with a more permanent, beautifully settled, acceptance.’ --Civilla Morgan. (talk about my pecha kucha speech.) This is a quote from a five minute speech I did at a podcasting convention. The type of speech was a pecha kucha. They give you five minutes broken up into 20 seconds per slide. The slides advanced whether the speaker was finished or not. Needless to say, I put a lot of practice into my speech so that the slides did not leave me behind.

At any rate, as I wrote my speech about joy versus happiness, I felt the true meaning of joy. I have felt the meaning ever since. Do I always feel joyful? No, but I know what it is. And I did not know what it was until I started writing the speech. As we go through these fruits, I hope you will come to know each fruit the way I came to know joy, how it literally settled into a place in my heart like a piece I did not know was missing until it settled there.

Peace: There’s nothing like it in the world. I’m not talking about world peace, although that would be great. But we’ve been striving for world peace since the beginning of time right? No, I’m talking about the kind of peace we can feel even if surrounded by rampant chaos. Living in Florida, I have witnessed my fair share of hurricanes. One of the things I know about hurricanes, and you have probably heard it mentioned as the meteorologist walked us through the hurricane process, are the bands.

A hurricane could be roaring above us but in between the bands of hurricane chaos is calm, sometimes even sunshine. It’s a kind of cool, weird feeling. You know another band of hurricane chaos is coming, the meteorologist can even tell you when the next band is coming, but in the meantime, calm. Well, imagine feeling that kind of peace in your life no matter what is going on around you? Jesus said ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.’--John 14: 27.

I suggest you make peace a priority in your life no matter what is going on. Even if you wake up 10 or 15 minutes before your day begins just to breathe.

I am a die-hard introvert. I am always in search of peace, quiet, and alone time. But I also know it is quite important to spend the first part of my day doing my daily devotions. That’s what we called it growing up, devotions. I feel like that time at the beginning of my day is what I need to get me through the rest of the day. Peace, no matter what the day holds.

And if you want peace you have to exhibit peace, you have to have a spirit of peace. I truly believe that peace is worth its weight in gold. So not only should you seek peace, you should also be peace.

Forbearance: Also known as patience, not one of my strengths. It’s something I have to work on continually. And honestly, I am much better at it now than in my younger days. But it is something I definitely have to be intentional about. And come to think of it, isn't intentional, not to be confused with intention, the key to all of these fruit? I think so.

Just like any other aspect of our lives where we want to see growth and positivity. Don’t we have to be intentional about contributing to our retirement plans, to our exercise regimen, to keeping up with the oil change schedule in our vehicles? You get the point.

Depending on our strengths and weaknesses, we may need to be more or less intentional in one fruit over the other. But the key is to know which fruit requires intentionality and then work on that fruit daily, not ignoring the other fruit, but definitely knowing our fruit's strengths and weaknesses.

Patience. If patience is one of your fruit weaknesses, where does your lack of patience show up? Mine shows up in traffic. I have had a toll road transponder in almost every vehicle I have owned. I can’t stand traffic and will pay extra just to get on the toll road and away from the traffic lights.

But what about patience with ourselves? That is very important. We can tend to lack self patience, can’t we? We say the craziest things to ourselves when we mess up. Things no one else would be allowed to say to us. When working on your patience fruit, remember to be patient with yourself. God loves you and He wants you to succeed at dealing with the fruit and with every other aspect of your life. Learn to say positive things to yourself, and learn to be patient with yourself.

Kindness: What do you think about when you hear the word kindness?

Do you think of the pushover? The person that can easily be talked into something or the person that can be hoodwinked? Wow, when is the last time you heard that word right? OK, hoodwinked means to cheat or dupe someone. Not very nice.

I read a book written by a woman judge many years ago. I wish I could remember the title of the book. I got a lot of great suggestions and wisdom nuggets out of that book. But one thing I remember her saying was that we needed to work with people using an iron fist inside a velvet glove.

At first, I thought that was a harsh way of dealing with people, but I thought about that suggestion, allowing it to roll around in my mind for a very long time. I mean, it is still something I think about. I think of it as similar to the scripture verse ‘Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.’--Matthew 10:16 NKJV.

Serpents aren’t exactly the kindest creatures are they? The bottom line here is that kindness is key, but being kind also includes and involves wisdom. If you are the kindest person in the world but wisdom is not your forte, admit it, and then ask God to give you wisdom because, without the wisdom component, kindness alone can keep you from God’s best for you.

But kindness is a fruit for a reason: it is an important aspect of Christian life, which I believe is the point of these fruit. Working on these fruit daily matures us not only as Christians, as Believers, but as human beings interacting with other human beings. So kindness is not weakness, it just requires wisdom. God can give you tons of wisdom, just ask Him for it. I ask for it daily!

Goodness: ‘Goodness is action; it's not something we do only for the sake of being virtuous. When we strive to be “good” only for our own benefit, it is not truly goodness that we possess. In Greek, the word goodness, “agathosune,” means “an uprightness of heart and life”-- (Thayer & Strong, 1995). Some believe that goodness and kindness are similar enough to put them together in discussion of fruits of the spirit. I don’t agree. As I mentioned during the kindness discussion, kindness goes together with wisdom. I believe goodness is the act of kindness. It is the act of doing something good.

‘The key difference between kindness and goodness is that kindness mainly involves being generous and considerate, and helping others whereas goodness involves righteousness in action or doing what is right. Kindness and goodness are two virtues you should cultivate in your life.’--Jan 15, 2019

Faithfulness: When I think about faithfulness I think about the person who can be relied on, that dependable person. I’m sure you know at least one person like that. They are almost always available to help, to pitch in. Imagine that level of faithfulness relationship between the Believer and Jesus.

Flakiness, let’s say the opposite of faithfulness I believe is that habitual cancel, or whining without suggestions for a fix, or even unfaithfulness. Maybe unfaithfulness is going a bit far. I almost feel like calling someone unfaithful is judging their Christianity, their relationship with Jesus, with God. So I don’t want to use that word, but you know what I mean right? Flakiness is the opposite of faithfulness.

At any rate, if you find your personality does not tend to lend toward faithfulness, then work on it. Like I have to work on patience, or someone else would have to work on gentleness, the next fruit we will discuss. Admitting your fruit weakness is the first step to becoming strong in the fruit of the spirit.

Gentleness: So, gentleness. Most people equate gentleness with weakness. I think that whenever we want to think of someone as weak, when they are being gentle, the best thing to do is plug Jesus into the place where that person is.

For example, you have a friend or co-worker who tends not to allow themselves to be set off by someone who is obviously trying to press their buttons. But your friend is not taking the bait. And not only are they not taking the bait, they also feel sorry for the antagonizer.

It doesn’t mean they are weak for feeling for the antagonizer, they are probably putting themselves in the shoes of the antagonizer. There’s a lot of plugging in going on right?

I believe gentleness is a mental and spiritual strengthener.

Self-control: Ah yes, self-control. Whew! The first thing that came to my mind was chocolate. But we also know that self-control does not just mean considering the foods we eat, which is important of course. But self-control in all of the other aspects of our lives. This can become quite personal, but you can’t lie to yourself. At least you shouldn’t.

If self-control is a fruit you need to work on, and I am of the belief we all need to work on this one for one reason or another, make a list of the places in your life where you lack self-control, and then pray, talk to God about this list every day. Trust me, no matter how small or how big the issue, He hears you and He can help you.

So, are the fruits of the spirit orange slices or multiple fruit in a fruit bowl? I don’t know, I feel like they could be both at different times. But more importantly, understanding and working on each fruit in our daily lives is a process. A process that will take an entire lifetime to master in most of our cases.

But the key is to be vigilant on a daily basis, to exercise each fruit. Especially the ones that are more difficult for you. Remember, everyone will struggle with different fruit. Don’t judge, help.

Mastering the fruit strengthens your spiritual life of course, but it will also strengthen you in dealing with other personalities. All types of personalities.

Before we end today, I want to take a moment to discuss something else. No doubt you would agree with Newton’s Third Law of Physics--

‘For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.’

The statement means that in every interaction, there is a pair of forces acting on the two interacting objects. The size of the forces on the first object equals the size of the force on the second object.’

OK, maybe this does not quite fit, but the point I am trying to make is this: Galatians 5:19-22.

‘The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.’

These are what I like to call the rotten fruit. Imagine a bowl full of rotten, inedible fruit. Or if you are the person who thinks the fruit of the spirit is one orange, imagine a really rotten orange. I mean, almost to the level of you can’t make out what type of fruit it is, it is so rotten. Now I am not condemning you if you struggle with rotten fruit. Romans 8:1 says ‘Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…’

So once you become a Believer, that is where the work of renewing your mind begins. Renewing your mind from the rotten fruit in verses 19-22 to the beautiful and perfecting fruit in verse 22. It will take time. There will be missteps. There will be two steps forward and maybe a step or two backward. But the key as I said earlier, is to work on the fruit of the spirit daily. Each day you work on perfecting your mind, body, and spirit in the fruit of the spirit is each day you move further away from the rotten fruit.

I couldn’t in good conscience mention the good fruit without mentioning the rotten ones. I mean they do exist.

So here is the bottom line:

Exercise the good fruit daily.
Listen for God’s voice. He will speak to your heart when you are not maintaining your fruits properly.
Relationship with God keeps your fruit from becoming rotten.
If you happen upon a rotten fruit in your basket, Repeat Romans 8:1 and then ask God to help you remove the rotten fruit. You know what they say, one bad apple...

Research:

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/fruits-spirit-actual-fruits

https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/what-are-the-fruit-of-the-spirit.html

https://biblehub.com/matthew/10-16.htm

Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Scriptures mentioned:

Galatians 5:19-21
Galatians 5:20-23
Matthew 10:16
Romans 8:1
Philippians 2:1-3

Episode Takeaways:

‘Admitting your fruit weakness is the first step to becoming strong in the fruit of the spirit. ‘--Civilla

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode quote:

‘If the light that is on you is brighter than the light that is in you, the light that is on you will destroy you.’--Christine Caine.

Episode outro:

View Details

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 18 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

I promise it will be a really cool experience!

Body of episode:

Down through the years, dare I say the centuries, religious leaders have gotten a bad rap, coming from decisions such as involving themselves in religious wars of the middle ages. You know, those wars where they conquered lands and people in the name of God.

Today’s church leaders have suffered the same bad rap due to decisions of the flesh. You know, like getting caught in or being accused of compromising situations and acts.

Here’s the thing, and this is in no way to make excuses, but no matter how long a human being lives on this earth, religious leader or not, he or she will suffer from the human condition. No matter how long someone has been a Believer, he will have to pray for God’s forgiveness because he will always say, do, or think, something ungodly. As we mature in our relationship with Jesus, with God, though, it is hoped that we will do and say these things less often.

We will learn to think before we talk. We will learn not to judge lest we be judged. We will learn to have mercy on others because we have not walked their journey. And we will learn to show grace to those who have done us a small or a large wrong. It comes with time.

But wait, who, what, exactly is a religious leader? Well, generally speaking, a religious leader is typically the pastor of a congregation, a bishop, an elder. Someone in leadership of a church or a church organization. This leader is typically installed by or voted in, by the church organization or church board. In many cases though, churches are started by someone who felt called.

But back to the question I posed earlier, what is a church leader? What makes someone a church leader? It’s usually one of two reasons. When I first heard this reason, the hopeless romantic in me, the moral, ethical, ‘do the right things for the right reason’ person in me was shocked. Some people become church leaders for the money! Others become church leaders because they feel a calling. What is a calling? It is a prompting that you feel in your heart. It’s like any prompting you feel that you must do something. No matter how you try to ignore the prompting it keeps showing up. It keeps speaking to you.

You can feel a prompting for anything. You can feel a prompting to attend a certain school when maybe you had a different school in mind altogether. Maybe you feel a prompt to become a doctor when everyone in your family is in law. It’s that thing in your heart that you cannot ignore no matter how hard you try.

Yet for some, they are indeed going into the family business.

I could never understand it. The first time my dad told me about the calling versus leading a church for the money, or even just to keep the church in the family, I was shocked! Maybe I’m naive, but I wonder where those who were not called, get their sermons and their stamina. How does one stand in the pulpit Sunday after Sunday, giving the Word, but not really feeling it?

I guess it happens in other lines of work too. Remember those doctors and lawyers for example? Some doctors and lawyers are only in that line of work because their parents were, or it is what their parents wanted them to do. They're not feeling the call in their hearts.

But is being a pastor still different than being a doctor or lawyer? Maybe from my vantage point, my lens; growing up in church, as a pastor’s kid, I just can’t see someone just going through the motions in an ‘industry’ where you kinda have to have conversations with God on a regular basis, hearing from Him on a regular basis. How do you preach, run a church organization without that personal relationship with Jesus, with God? I know, naive.

Maybe I have a tiny bit of insight though. You see, as a Believer, I sometimes don’t feel called. I have some prayers that I have prayed for years, that have not been answered. Sometimes I feel ignored, as my prayers go unanswered. Did God hear me? Why did he never answer? Why continue trusting and believing in Him as I continue not to see or hear an answer?

What must it feel like to just be going through the motions, your heart not really in it, for financial gain, or to keep the ‘business’ in the family?

2 Timothy 1:3-5 says ‘ This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.’

But really, this has been going on for thousands of years right?

Well, regardless of the reason someone becomes a church leader: a pastor, a priest, a worship leader, an elder; God has a mandate:

Psalm 2: 10-11 says ‘Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.’

And 1 Timothy 5:17 says:

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.’

So we as followers must respect our leaders. And the leaders must lead with a heart for God and for God’s people.

‘Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God,] which he obtained with his own blood.’--Acts 20:28.

Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.--Jeremiah 23:1.

God is not playing with His leaders. He loves them. He knows they carry a heavy burden, so He’s not going to zap them with a lightning bolt when they mess up. Remember, we are all human. But I believe He watches the heart of the leader, as He watches all of our hearts. It is the heart He will judge.

If you look at the way God spoke to his prophets, priests, and kings, particularly in the Old Testament, He was firm, He was kind. He did not veer away from what He commanded them to do, but He did not zap Jonah when he went in the opposite direction in which he was supposed to go. He called David a man after his own heart, but He punished David when He had to.

There was a story where God asked David if he wanted to be judged by God himself, or by man. And David was quite clear he would prefer to be judged by God.

‘Then Satan attacked Israel by inciting David to enumerate a census of Israel. 2 David ordered Joab and the commanders of the army,[a] “Go take a census of Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan, and bring me a report so I can be aware of the total number.”

3 But Joab replied, “May the Lord increase the population of his people a hundredfold! Your majesty,[b] all of them are your majesty’s servants, aren’t they? So why should your majesty demand this? Why should he bring guilt to Israel?”

4 But the king’s order overruled Joab, so Joab left, traveled throughout all of Israel, and then returned to Jerusalem 5 to report the total population count to David. Throughout all of Israel, there were 1,100,000 men trained for war.[c] In Judah there were 470,000 men trained for war. 6 Levi and Benjamin were not included in the census because what the king had commanded was unethical to Joab.

David Chooses His Punishment 7 God considered this behavior[d] to be evil, so he attacked Israel. 8 David responded to God, “I sinned greatly by behaving this way. But now I am asking you, please remove the guilt of your servant, since I have acted very foolishly.”

9 So the Lord responded through Gad, David’s seer. 10 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I’m holding three choices out for you: pick one of them for yourself, and I will do it to you.”’”[e]

11 Gad went to David and told him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Make a choice for yourself: 12 Either three years of famine, or three months of reversals[f] as you are swept away by your enemies while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or three days with the sword of the Lord, consisting of pestilence infecting the land, with the angel of the Lord wreaking destruction from border to border throughout all[g] of Israel.’ Decide right now what I am to answer to the one who sent me.”

13 So David replied to Gad, “This is a very bad choice for me to make! Let me now please fall into the hand of the Lord, because his mercy is very great, but may I never fall into human hands!”--1 Chronicles 21:1-13.

David knew all about human nature. And don’t we all?

I did some research on the word pastor. In Hebrew, the definition of the word pastor is ‘to tend a flock. To rule by extens, to associate with (as a friend) make friendship with, a herdsman…’ Sounds nice right? Normal, friendly.

That’s what a pastor should be. A leader, a tender of his flock, right. To tend the flock what type of heart should he have? Can you lead and tend the flock with a wrong heart?

I’m sure it’s possible. Look, Jeremiah 17:9 says ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?’ Church leader, pastor, priest, or regular Joe or Jill, our hearts can go to some very dark places. We have to maintain that relationship with Jesus, with God. We have to let God guard and speak to our hearts, to keep our hearts in the right place...at all times. It is very easy to allow the darkness to take over when we are dealing with everyday issues, and life, and death, and being wronged, and sudden reversals on our life’s journey. Life is not easy for anyone, especially not for pastors. But growth and maturity are strong legs to stand on.

It is very important that we pray for our pastors in particular, and church leaders in general. But there is one thing I want to ask you not to forget. It will help you if you come across a dreaded news story where you hear that yet another pastor has fallen or made a decision God would not be pleased with:

Put your hope in God, and not in man.

Psalm 119:114--’...I have put my hope in your word.’

This is the bottom line. We must put our hope in God, in His Word. We pray for our church leaders. We support them. We rally around them when they are in their valley moments, and we rejoice with them when they have their mountaintop moments.

Do not be flakey about the support you give your pastor, whether you work directly with him or her, or not.

But at the end of the day, know that God will never fall, and He will never fail. He has called certain people here on earth to lead his flock, those of us who are Believers. And hey, you might even say God is in the family business because He is a part of the Holy Trinity. But that is one family business that is called, from the beginning of time.

Scriptures mentioned:

1 Timothy 5:17
Psalm 2:10-11
Acts 20:28

Episode Takeaways:

https://notjustanotherreligionandpoliticspod.podbean.com/e/episode-3-church-hurt/

https://notjustanotherreligionandpoliticspod.podbean.com/e/episode-15-navigating-christianity-while-witnessing-a-fall/

Research:

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-did-jesus-mean-by-many-are-called-but-few-are-chosen/

Strong’s Dictionary

https://www.biblegateway.com/

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

View Details

Episode intro:

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 17 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

Body of episode:

As soon as I started research for this episode I came across ‘Christian’ sites that were calling left-leaning beliefs on racial equality ‘critical race theory’. I will put all links in the show notes.

IF you know me or follow me on social media, you have heard me say or post about the lens we humans use to see and judge the world. We look through that lens, outward, but we are using the results and residue of our life experiences, those experiences we keep buried in our brains and our hearts; to make decisions. Most of these decisions are split second.

Others use a little more time to consider. But either way, that decision is based on our experiences or the experiences we learn from our elders, our cultural upbringing, what we believe about what we see on TV.

Here’s the thing. What I am about to say will be said through the lens of a three dimensional, or maybe multidimensional human being who is a woman, a black woman, a black woman raised in America, a black woman raised in America but of Caribbean extraction. A black woman raised in America of Caribbean extraction who recognizes that every day split-second decisions or assumptions are being made about her. And hey, maybe she, I, am making split decisions and judgments about others, about you, as well, right? Everything I just listed about myself, the things that make me Civilla, can also be considered lenses. My lenses. The lenses I view you through. The lenses I view the world through.

What are your lenses? Do you lead with your lenses? Do you make decisions with your lenses? Would you call your lenses biases? If you are a Christian, do you lead with your lenses or with what the Word says? What does the Word say about race? What does race have to do with voting? Should Christians vote? What is critical theory? What is critical race theory? Is being a single-issue voter a copout? Is there really such a thing as a single-issue voter? How do you vote when we are of the opinion that both candidates have really bad ideas, policies, personalities?

I have to admit, I was upset when I started my research and the first thing I happened on was articles about critical race theory. I was like here we go again, weaponizing my skin color is not cool. I don’t think that is what God had in mind when he created me. When he created any of us. Why are humans so small-minded? Yes, I was upset. My skin color has been debated since the beginning of time. Why?

As far as I’m concerned, Jesus’ take on critical race theory was to remind us that he created us all. He ate and drank with us all: regardless of race, creed, color, or sin. That was His take on critical race theory, not to be critical of races. Yet here we are. One article talked about critical race theory infiltrating the church! I dug around for anything I could find on critical theory and critical race theory. There was so much to read, but then I asked Google what he thought, and this is what I found on critical theory:

Critical theory is a social theory oriented toward critiquing and changing society as a whole. ... Critical theories aim to dig beneath the surface of social life and uncover the assumptions that keep human beings from a full and true understanding of how the world works. Oct 15, 2019.

And here is the definition of critical race theory, in a nutshell:

Critical Race Theory rejects all potential alternatives, like colorblindness, as forms of racism. Critical Race Theory is completely against the common-sense idea that race becomes less socially relevant and racism is therefore diminished by not focusing on race all the time. Jun 12, 2020.

Well, while I agree we should stop focusing on race so much, the fact is it is one of the first things we see about each other when we see each other.

I mean that’s why we have eyes. It is the decisions we make, you know those split-second decisions, judgments, that come next, that make all the difference in the world. It’s what we do next. And what has been done next for hundreds of years is why we are here today.

In fact, if we look back a couple of hundred years, or 50, we will find that the focus on race is what caused some to think it was OK for one race to treat another as subhuman. And furthermore, to use the Bible to make slavery legitimate. If we twist anything into a pretzel we can make it believable, we can make it work; and that is what slave owners did with The Word of God. We do the craziest things and then use the Bible to make it ‘true’.

‘God does not call us to execute judgment on others. Citing Noah’s curse to justify the slavery of African people is abusing a Bible text for your own advantage. The fact that European Christians have done this, is a terrible stain upon European church history.’--Biblword.net.

Notably, this story is “the mark of Cain” narrative that has served (in tandem with the “curse of Ham” story) as the most prominent theological justification of white supremacy. When Cain complains that his punishment is too harsh and that he will be killed if he is driven from his homeland, God agrees to mark him in some way as a visible sign of God’s protection, even while he remains under the curse. For generations, white Christians have interpreted this passage to describe the origins of dark-skinned humans, whom they understood as a race created not from the nobility of divine breath but from human acts of jealousy, murder, and deception.’--Baptist News.

What does this have to do with Christians and Government? Well, the United States spent the summer of 2020 in a time of racial reckoning. Those marching in the streets were protesting for change, systemic change. Unfortunately, those in the seat of governmental power and some in church leadership were calling those cries for justice and equality ‘radical left’, socialist, extremist, liberal, even dare I say progressive. Using all of the above in their thoughts on so-called critical race theory, never really asking their darker-skinned brothers and sisters how they felt about wanting the same freedoms as anyone else without being used as agenda items.

Black people never asked to be an agenda item. We are asking to be treated like human beings.

‘Want to make the Bible say welfare policies are bad? Find a proverb on laziness leading to poverty (Prov. 10:4). Want to say the opposite? Find another calling people to “defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Prov. 31:8–9).

The point is not that Proverbs contradicts itself. All these passages say something true. But we lack clear rules for knowing how any one of them should guide today’s public policy. Further, we too often witness people and parties exploiting the Bible for their purposes.’--Christianity Today, see link in the show notes.

I read an article in research for this episode. It upset me, but I read it to the end, hoping to ask some questions of the author. Unfortunately, they had not allowed for comments. I wonder why? The link to that article is in the show notes.

Before I get into voting, I want to talk about the Biblical worldview and World View.

‘A worldview is how you look at the world, how you think it operates, why things happen the way they do, what your purpose is. ... For example, a worldview of atheism, which is a belief that God does not exist, explains the creation of the universe and of life as randomness acting over a very long time.’

AKA The Big Bang Theory?

‘Christian worldview affirms that God is the sovereign and almighty Lord of all existence. Such an affirmation rejects any form of dualism, that matter has eternally existed, or that matter must, therefore, be evil since it is in principle opposed to God, the Source of all good.’

Dualism by the way is ‘the division of something conceptually into two opposed or contrasted aspects or the state of being so divided.’

Now I’m not going to get too deep in the weeds in this, but it is probably obvious to most of you that World view veers towards the Big Bang Theory while the Christian Worldview has us relying completely on God for everything from how we got here when we got here, and what will happen to us, i.e. where we’re going.

I’m bringing these views up because they help some people, usually, Believers, decide how and whom to vote for. So it is something to consider no matter which view you hold.

Now, as a Christian, I completely believe and trust, that there is a God. I believe he created us and all of the natural things we see around us. The trees, the skies, the planets, outer space, the universe, the solar systems, etc. It says so in the Bible, and I trust the Bible. But I do not think the Bible tells us everything. It does not answer all of our questions. Did I say that out loud? I believe the Bible is doing what it was created to do. It was created to tell us who our Creator is, to bring us into relationship with our Creator, and to teach us to trust our Creator. The Bible does not veer off-topic to tell us about dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus Rex, etc, etc, etc. It just doesn't. But God gave us the wisdom and knowledge to recognize these animals existed and in fact how long ago they existed.

Now we have really smart scientists, astronomers, astrophysicists to tell us about outer space, black holes, light years, the Kuiper Belt, the heliosphere, the event horizon. I mean they do exist. And there are scriptures as I said earlier, that makes attribution to the heavens and the stars, etc. But God told us through the Bible what he thought we needed to know. I believe the rest of the information will come when we see Him face to face.

That in a nutshell is my take on the whole world view and Christian worldview.

VOTING

Single issues voter--there will probably be a lot of this going on and the subject matter will usually be abortion rights, Roe v. Wade. Some will overlook everything else on a candidate's agenda, good or bad; and vote for the candidate that is for or against this one issue.
The abortion vote-Speaking of abortion? Why is there a divide amongst Christians about the abortion issue? Why are some Christians OK with abortion if the conception was based on rape or if the abortion is very early in the pregnancy? Why do some Christians believe that even contraception is bad? Why aren’t all Christians on the same page with the entire abortion issue? Psalm 139:13, ‘You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb.’ Jeremiah 1:4-5 says ‘Then the word of The Lord came to me saying “before you were born I knew you…’

In our current voting cycle, some are voting against a possible second civil war while others are voting against someone who says he is a practicing Catholic but believes in a woman’s right to manage her own body. These are difficult choices for those who are not single-issue voters. But would we have this dilemma as Christians, if we were praying the right prayers all along, instead of praying our agendas? What if Christians were on the same page with who to vote for, on the same page with praying for our president no matter what he looked like or what policies he held? If we prayed like that, like the Bible said to pray, we might not be in the dilemma we are now. Remember, what I am saying right now does not pertain to the single-issue voter. That person has already made up his or her mind. I’m talking to the person who is weighing multiple issues and policies to see who to vote for. This person is currently or has prayed and asked for God’s help in advising them who to vote for. Remember, if we had all been praying to God instead of praying past Him, agenda in hand; we might not have candidates that some of us find it hard to choose between.

Look, I can go on about the multiple issues that each candidate has on their own agenda. We can talk about Black Lives Matter, Defunding the Police, The Voting Rights Act, which I continue to wonder why it is still an issue. Why does the voting rights act have to be voted on and renewed every so often? Why is it not permanent? Anyway, the list goes on. And everything on the list is important to someone or some group. And remember when I mentioned being three-dimensional earlier? Well, as much as our society tends to like to put everyone in a neat little box, that’s not how it works. Humans are too three dimensional to fit into a neat little box. If you are a white man listening to this episode, you may find certain items on the agenda more or less important, and I, as a black woman, may find different things important. But what if we are both Believers? We should have more in common as Believers than we do not right? The Bible says ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.;--2 Corinthians 5:17.

Who to vote for? So, who do we vote for? I would never suggest to anyone who they should vote for. I believe the vote is deeply personal. That is also the reason I would not tell anyone who I am voting for. And beware, never assume you know who someone is voting for. I’ll leave that right there.

So, I’ve said a lot. Quite a bit. I did not come here to convince you one way or the other. I came to give you information and ask you to think. To pray on your vote. To remember that just because people talk about who they will vote for does not mean that is who they are going to vote for. The bottom line is this, what kind of country do you want to live in? Do you want to be afraid of your neighbor? Do you want to mistrust people who are a different color and race than you? Do you like the tribalism that you see right now? Do you like the mistrust of the government and governmental agencies? How does it feel to live divided in a country rich with beautiful diversity? Diversity of thought, of people, of skin colors, of foods, of so much! The unborn baby's life matters. My life matters. Your life matters. Life matters.

Maybe as Christians, we should be praying like the Bible says to pray. I mentioned that earlier. Maybe we should pray like all life matters so we can vote that way.

Scriptures mentioned:

‘Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.’--Deuteronomy 1:13.
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; …--Psalm 146:3-10.

Episode Takeaways:

Maybe we should pray like all life matters so we can vote that way.

Links used for research:

https://www.drjamesdobson.org/

https://www.ligonier.org/blog/christians-and-government/

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/topics/g/government/

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/march/tremper-longman-bible-ballot-politics.html

https://www.openbible.info/topics/voting

https://www.biblword.net/why-did-noah-curse-his-son-ham/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwwuD7BRDBARIsAK_5YhXDFPPemalE4YyNJ3egBCWefylDdjhXneRFLFohl2iXfa3pIEyUVB8aAvsbEALw_wcB

https://answersingenesis.org/racism/critical-race-theory-church/

https://kingdomeducationministries.com/2018/10/the-key-component-of-a-biblical-worldview/

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/incompatibility-critical-theory-christianity/

https://www.religion-online.org/article/the-morality-of-single-issue-voting/

https://baptistnews.com/article/we-are-cain-owning-up-to-the-reality-of-racism-in-america/#.X4pAEtBKjIU

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

Well, thank you for tuning in. Let me know via social media or by email if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you! You may email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com. Please give me 24to 48 hours to respond. And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode. Until next time!

Episode quote:

“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."--Abraham Lincoln.

View Details

Episode intro:

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 16 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped foot in a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

Guest intro:

I first saw our guest on a CNN interview, link in the show notes. And I watched in awe as she said what I thought. I found myself yelling at the TV ‘Yes! That’s what I've been saying all along!’ What was really cool was that my parents took us to see her world-famous grandfather many years ago. If I remember correctly, we were living in CT at the time. If it wasn’t CT, it was MA, where I grew up. Talk about a full-circle moment.

It would be many months after that CNN interview that this limited edition, 25 episode podcast was laid on my heart. I started thinking about the handful of episodes that I wanted to have as guest episodes. I started thinking ‘what if?’, ‘could I?’, ‘dare I?” and then I did.

Our guest was one of those handfuls of people that came to mind. Jerushah Duford is a speaker and author. She is currently finishing her Masters in Clinical Mental Health, she is married to the love of her life, and they are raising their kids in South Carolina. Mrs. Jerushah Duford, welcome and thank you so much for agreeing to have this conversation! It’s such an honor!

Body of episode:

Let’s jump right in! Tell us about your book, ‘Thank you, Billy Graham’?
What did your grandfather think of the book?
I know that although you had a grandfather who told an entire planet how to have eternal life, taught us the love of Jesus, and was truly obedient to God’s calling on his life, I’m sure the Graham family had many valley moments as well as mountain top moments just like any other family. And of course we know how the story ends, Revelations tells us so. But where do you think the family of America ends up, can we ever get back to where we were?
When you said:

‘My president does not have to be a Christian, I just don't want him held up as the poster boy for Christian evangelicals because he doesn’t represent most of us.’--Jerushah Armfield (Duford).

That's when you came onto my radar because it really is OK if our president is not a Christian. Isn’t it? Nowhere in the constitution does it say our president has to be Christian. I feel like the Christians who are all in for our current president feel that God needs our help to get His agenda through. Like they feel God has an agenda and the Religious Right feels it is their duty to help God even if it means looking the other way when our current president does and says things far from the heart of God. What do you think?

Besides praying, do you have suggestions, a final word for Christians and non-Christians, as we navigate the times in which we find ourselves?

Episode Takeaways:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D9hogyCixk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAgFlDWE8Mc

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Thank_You_Billy_Graham/G-_KAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

Episode 11--They Think We're Hypocrites

https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-mhn4i-e275d0

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

Episode quote:

‘My president doesn't have to be Christian, I just don't want him held up as the poster boy for Christians evangelicals because he doesn’t represent most of us.’--Jerushah Armfield (Duford).

View Details

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 15 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

Well, it took me some time to get to where I needed to be to create this episode. Sometimes, many times, when you are creating, whether you are a songwriter, a painter, a musician; whatever type of creator or creative you are, there are setbacks and delays. Setbacks and delays no matter how much you want to complete a project so you can move on to the next thing, you’re not finished until you are finished. And that’s just the way it is. In fact, I might go further and say that if you try to finish before you are finished, you will know. And more importantly, your audience will know.

Thus, I have learned to allow and live with the setbacks and delays as uncomfortable and as disruptive to my schedule they may be. Setbacks meaning life happens, but also just not being in the right state of mind to create what needs to be created. I have always been of the mindset that I need to create in such a way that I tell the truth, I back up the truth with proof, but that I do so with class. I’m going somewhere with this.

As I worked on this episode, I thought constantly about whether or not I sounded judgemental. I feel like I left judgemental a long time ago, but I wanted to be absolutely sure. I believe most of us leave judgemental when real life sets in and we find that we have made one or two really bad decisions. A handful of folks get to make it through life without making major bad decisions. I call those people quite fortunate. But most of us have done one or two things in our lives that if we had the chance we would go back in time and fix it.

Never fear, for those of us who messed up, we can take the opportunity to learn lessons from those mess-ups. Learning lessons from our mistakes is what makes us wise.

You know, that verse,

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.’--Matthew 7:1-5.

We have the first verse memorized right? Well, I added verses 2-5 for context and as an exclamation point. Look, I am attempting to lay a truth and proof filled foundation for everything I am about to say.

You may ask, ‘well what is the point of this episode, why even bring up what you are about to discuss?’ I thought about that. And it was partly because I was so absolutely proud of the Christian Community for not chasing after, running down, and attempting to verbally destroy the latest victim of bad decisions, on social media. Yes, there is an outlet here and there that will discuss this latest fall on their platforms in great detail. And they may say some things that are true and needed, but oh my, it could have been so much worse. I honestly thought Twitter would be overrun with judgment from Believers.

Yes, many said that Mr. Fallwell should step down. At first, he refused but eventually did step down.

For the record: I agreed with those who asked him to step away from his post at Liberty University. I believe God will bring healing to him and to the university, but sometimes healing comes only through stepping down, sitting down, at least for a time.

And of course, change usually takes all involved down a new path. ‘All involved’ usually means even the innocent, the onlookers. But God will be glorified in the changes.

Here’s the thing. There are not many of us on this planet who will not mess up. I’m talking about a major mess up. The kind that you probably said you would never do. The kind where you ask ‘what in the world? How did I get here?! And then if you are honest and you want to make things right, you rest a while and then start the journey back to where you messed up so that you can fix things and then try to get back on the path forward.

Years ago my dad told me ‘you have to go back to where you messed up and fix it before you can continue on.’ And as I look back at my life, it is true. I can see the places where I have gone back and made things right, and the places where I did not. We might as well be honest right?

I did an episode called ‘Grace and Mercy’, link in the show notes. And I pray ‘grace and mercy’ for this man and his family as well as the innocent bystanders.

Remember, it could be you, it could be me, no matter how many times you say ‘I could never.’ Life is just crazy, and without a doubt, any of us can find ourselves sitting in the results of some really bad decisions.

Here are four things I suggest we all learn how to do as human beings, Believers or not:

When you mess up, admit it.
Talk to God about it.
Ask his forgiveness.
And this next part, not easy at all! Ugh, ask those you sinned against for forgiveness as well. That part is never easy.

I wrote a book in 2008 entitled ‘Down Again’. Email me for a copy or purchase on Amazon. I wrote the book for those who have fallen as well as those who want to know more about the Christian walk. Because guess what, Christians fall. Why? Because we are not perfect. We are human beings. If we are Christians, then we are humans who are being perfected as we walk with Jesus. As we commune with Him and He communes with us. But for us to commune with Jesus, we have to be in relationship with Him. And when we are in relationship with Him, we are in tune with Him. We listen to him prompting and speaking to our hearts. We are obedient. And when we do all of that, we are less likely to fall.

But the fact is we don’t always listen and obey. Our flesh gets in the way. We want what we want when we want it. We disobey God’s commands which have our best interests at heart, and then we make a mess. We’ve seen them over the years. Stalwarts of the faith being caught in compromising situations because they want to be cool or they just give into certain desires. Remember, the fact is we will never be perfect, we are just being perfected. That’s not an excuse, it’s the truth. The way to stay out of compromising situations is to stay in with Jesus.

And look, this is not a guilt trip, but I have spoken with people who have told me that certain ‘falls from grace’ had deeply affected their own walk with God. And that my friends, is the clincher. People are watching us, and in their watch, they seldom believe that we are human and that we can mess up once we announce to the world that we are Christians, Believers. It’s a heavyweight to bear, and it is unfair because we are just as human as they are, except for our decision.

You see, it is our decision, our decision to follow Jesus, that sets us apart. And it is not always easy to live ‘set apart’. Set apart does not mean better than, it just means set apart. When something is set apart, it is not supposed to be used for everyday run of the mill things. It is to be used for what it is set apart for. When someone becomes a Christian, a Believer, they have made the decision to set themselves apart to live a certain lifestyle. Again, it does not make them better, it makes them realize that they cannot live the life they were living before. You can’t live two lives.

So, then let me add something to the list I gave you earlier:

When you mess up, admit it.
Talk to God about it.
Ask his forgiveness.
And this next part, not easy at all! Ugh, ask those you sinned against for forgiveness as well. That part is never easy.
Understand what it means to live a set-apart life.

What Does It Mean To Be Set Apart? ‘To be set apart means God chose us specifically for His Glory. The church has been set apart to be holy as God is holy and to tell the world that God through Jesus Christ called them out of darkness into His marvelous light. As a Christian, I am set apart to show the great and marvelous love God has for us and to live a life that is holy before God. This means living a life that is not conformed to the ways of this world.’--From the Living His Word website. See link below.

But no matter what we have done, if we as I mentioned above, ask God to forgive us, we can remind ourselves of the following:

‘This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him, there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.’--1 John 1:1-8

So, if we claim to have fellowship with God yet walk in darkness we are lying. We can’t hate our fellow man, our neighbors. We can’t live a unChristian like life and pretend to be Christians expecting to go to Heaven when we die. You can’t have it both ways!

Again, we are not perfect as human beings. We will make mistakes. We will mess up. But messing up and then staying messed up is the issue.

Look at verse 8, ‘if we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not within us.’ So heads up, don’t deceive yourself, and don’t try to deceive anyone else. No one is perfect. And we all know it.

Instead, work towards perfection.

Keep your heart in the right place at all times.

When you mess up admit it.

Don’t be petty. Ooops, how did that get there? And don’t think you are going to get away with whatever it is you are trying to get away with. It always comes out.

Research links:

https://livinghisword.org/what-does-it-mean-to-be-set-apart-for-god/

https://www.openbible.info/topics/being_set_apart

Scriptures mentioned:

Matthew 7:1-5
Exodus 3:2
Matthew 22:36-40
1 John 1:5-8

Episode links:

Red Letters by David Crowder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SfWKuP88EE

Big Daddy Weave My Story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TKAN-nAsu8

Matthew West

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdUu6ZsdVfM

My book, ‘Down Again’

https://www.authorhouse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/269980-Down-Again

Grace and Mercy episode

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-cp3rt-e63e5f

Red Letters episode

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-jijzx-e099df

Episode Takeaways:

‘When God fixes something that’s broken, you don’t even see the line.’

‘God can fix anything. He has fixed the craziest things.’

‘When God fixes things they turn out even better than before the mess.’

‘Nothing is the same once it’s broken except when God fixes it.’

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

Thank you for tuning in. Let me know via social media or by email if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you! You may email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com. Please give me 24 to 48 hours to respond. And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode. Until next time!

Episode quote:

“A real Christian is the one who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip.”--Billy Graham.

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Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 14 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped foot in a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

Body of episode:

You know those prayers you pray and there never seems to be an answer? You have prayed for years, time has passed, you are older, you have lived a lifetime, but the prayers were just never answered.

Maybe like me, you never got the family you craved, assumed you would have. You prayed you begged, you bargained with God. But nothing. Or so you thought. But the fact is, He was answering all along. The difficulty is the answer did not come as expected. And in fact, the answer may not come to fruition until we are long gone.

You see, I did not get the family I wanted, expected, felt deserving of.

Yes, I deserved to have a family. Why should you have the spouse and kids and I did not? God doesn’t have favorites right? Right.

But God does not answer prayer based on who is deserving or not, He answers based on His will be done and how the answer will work in His Kingdom. It’s not easy, but once we realize that it’s not about us, that we are not always going to be the center of attention, and that even so, even when our prayers are not answered the way we would like, but that God still loves and cares about us, we will recognize that even in the apparently unanswered prayers, there is an answer.

The answer may be for us and it may be for someone else. The way we deal with our unanswered prayer could save someone else from making a bad decision or from giving up. It could help them push through to greater than they imagined for their life.

We may never know how their witness of our pain could help so many thousands more, long after we are gone. We have to trust that even when things did not turn out as expected, God sees. He knows, and he will turn everything around for our good.

‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.’--Romans 8:28.

So in the course of my research, I found this website, compellingtruth.org, and I thought the following was a great explanation of what I’ve been saying:

‘God is not a God who chooses favorites based on His whims or even based on our good actions. He loves every human being, and we are all created in His image (John 3:16; Lamentations 3:22–23; Genesis 1:26–27). Those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ are children of God (John 1:12). If God shows favor to someone it is because His judgment is always perfect (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 7:11; Romans 9:14–16). To be clear, "favoritism" is generally defined as giving preferential or unfair treatment to one group at the expense of another. However, "favor" is approval of something or an act of kindness beyond what is due.’-Compellingtruth.org.

So the bottom line is:

He is answering our prayers.
And He was answering all along.

Keep praying. Don’t give up praying. And even after the time has passed for certain prayers to be answered, such as my wanting a family, don’t give up on prayer. Trust God in every stage of your life, and every stage of your prayers. I am now well past the age where I could possibly even entertain the idea of raising a child. I’m sure if I had to God would give me the grace and the wherewithal to do it, but it is no longer at the top of my list.

Even that is an answered prayer. There is still a missing part in my heart that I thought would be filled with a family of my own, but that part is being used to help other childless not by choice women, and men, come to terms with what did not happen for them.

You see, there is no need to pretend that all is well, and oh, I didn’t need that family anyway. That they may have caused more grief than anything else. Because that is not true. But what is true is that I chose not to get stuck where things did not work out.

When you choose not to get stuck, to keep Romans 8:28 close to your heart, then you will realize he was answering all along.

Episode Takeaways:

He was answering all along.

Research Links:

(I used the NIV version of the Bible for this episode.)

https://www.compellingtruth.org/does-God-have-favorites.html

21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” 22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”--John 21:21-23.

‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.’--Romans 8:28.

12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[b] met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.--Luke 17:12-15.

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

Well, thank you for tuning in. Let me know via social media or by email, if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you! You may email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com. Please give me 24 to 48 hours to respond. And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode. Until next time!

Episode quote:

'It's not about you.'--Civilla

'In the church, there is no 'they' and 'them', there is only us.'--Civilla

Reference 1 Corinthians 12:25-27 for proof.

Copyright Policy: While all of the material on the CompellingTruth.org website is under copyright protection, the only purpose of our copyright is to make sure people copy it right. As long as you always clearly reference and/or link to www.compellingtruth.org as the source of the material, you have our permission to copy, print, and distribute our material.

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Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 13 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal: I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped foot in a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

What is a promise?

Dictionary definition: ‘a declaration that something will or will not be done. An express assurance on which expectation is to be based.’-(Dictionary.com.)

Bible Hub definition: ‘In general, a declaration, written or verbal, made by one person to another, which binds the person who makes it to do, or to forbear to do, a specified act; a declaration which gives to the person to whom it is made a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act.’-(Biblehub.com.)

Strong’s Bible Concordance (1860) 'Divine assurance.' I think it is this definition that I like the most because it is the promises of God that we are discussing today, so how fitting right? Divine assurance. I don’t know about you, but the word assurance, just hearing the word, assures me, puts me at ease. But then when you put the word divine ahead of the word assurance. Well, I believe we can rest assured that divine assurances will not be empty assurances. Empty promises. How could they be if they are divine?

So what are the promises? Well, here’s the thing, there are 8810 promises! That is a lot! We definitely cannot go over all of them here and now, but we can go over several of them. You know, the ones many of us have heard...or not. Let’s see...

The most known promises:
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." --Joshua 1:9.
"But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."--Isaiah 40:31.
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."--Jeremiah 29:11.
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."--Matthew 6:33.
‘The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”--Psalm 34:7.*
“No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord.”--Isaiah 54:17.* (and here’s the thing, it is important to dissect God’s promises, really understand what they mean, read the verses before and after the promise. Make sure you really understand it because when you are going through those tough spots, especially unexpected ones, it is important to grab the right promise and keep it close to your heart, and run with it!
How many are there: 8810, according to Herbert R. Storms, see link in the show notes on the article about Mr. Storms.
How do we exercise His promises?

We read them. Not just these, but all of the promises we can find as we read the Bible. We memorize them. We hold them in our hearts, and we recall them when we go through our deepest valley moments. That’s what promises are for, to uplift the soul and remind us when we want to forget. When we feel God has forgotten what He promised us.

Life is hard, and sometimes it is easy to believe God has forgotten us, but I believe that is why He left his promises with us. They are reminders. I’m thankful for the reminders!

How do we use them in today’s world?

So, how do we use them in today’s world? Well, very similar to what I said earlier, we keep the promises in our hearts and repeat them during the difficult times to remind us God has not forgotten us. But practically speaking, the way we use them in today’s world is to first recognize that yes, these promises were recorded thousands of years ago and somehow they are still relevant today.

I find it amazing how the Bible is still relevant today. So the promises, of course, are relevant as well. Relevance. That’s the keyword, isn’t it? If the Bible, the promises, were not relevant; why would we bother? As I said earlier, life is hard. We need something to hang onto. We need reminders that God exists and that He cares. His promises are that reminder.

When I was growing up, we had these small booklets called Promise books. I put a link in the show notes to what appears to be the updated version, although they look the same. They are literally books filled with promises from the Bible. Check them out!

So, what is your favorite promise? How has repeating God’s promises helped you during a tough time?

Scriptures mentioned:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." --Joshua 1:9.
"But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."--Isaiah 40:31.
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."--Jeremiah 29:11.
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."--Matthew 6:33.
"For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us."--2 Corinthians 1:20.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."--Philippians 4:13.

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

Well, thank you for tuning in. Let me know via social media or by email if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you! You may email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com. Please give me 24to 48 hours to respond. And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode. Until next time!

Episode quote:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9.

Pssst! Since you got this far in the show notes, I have a gift for you! Email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com and I will send it to you!

Research used for this episode:

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-are-god-s-promises-in-the-bible.html

https://www.dailycommercial.com/news/20170708/reflections-how-many-promises-there-are-in-bible#:~:text=In%20all%2C%20Storms%20tallied%208%2C810,song%20written%20by%20Russell%20Carter.

https://biblehub.com/topical/p/promise.htm

https://www.christianbook.com/bible-promise-book-kjv-burgundy-paperback/9780916441432/pd/44143?en=google&event=SHOP&kw=christian-living-0-20%7C44143&p=1179710&dv=c&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvvj5BRDkARIsAGD9vlIyZsyl4oBUw4rCuK7x_ig4WDZ0DqtS70hzqaOIeAjSVcOj6dKHBasaAj46EALw_wcB

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Episode: Grace and Mercy

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 12 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

Remember, I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped into a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

Grace, the definition:

The Christian definition: ‘the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.’
a short prayer of thanks said before or after a meal.

Also defined as ‘courteous goodwill. Meaning, it's not asked for nor deserved, but is freely given.’

It is God’s grace that saves us from our sins. If it were not for His grace, we would continue to live in our sins. When you extend grace to someone, you overlook their bad or negative deed done to you or done in general. In general, as in going about your day and doing something you knew you had no business doing, and if you got caught you would most likely get in trouble. But you are extended grace, forgiveness.

Of course, as it says in Isaiah 26:10, you can be extended forgiveness but decide to keep doing that negative thing.

Mercy, on the other hand, is the compassion and kindness shown to someone whom it is in one's power to punish or harm. It is an act meant to relieve someone of their suffering. Dec 4, 2019.

Case in point, Psalm 4:1, David is asking God to ‘Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.’

Mercy is quite literally relief from a very difficult situation--whether it is a situation of our own making or a situation that someone else involved us in.

I could have done two separate episodes, one on grace, and one on mercy, but I really feel that although they mean two different things, they are still similar.

Have you ever been betrayed? If you have, it was most likely done by a family member or friend, right? The very nature of betrayal is that it is an act done by someone who knows you very well. The betrayer knows your schedule, your likes, and dislikes. Your integrity. They know you to the core of your being.

It can be a business partner who knows what you will or will not stand for in business dealings. It could be a sibling, a spouse. Someone who has the ability to hurt you so badly it is possible that betrayal can change your life forever.

What if that person comes back at a later date and asks for forgiveness. Which would you extend? Grace or mercy?

Extending grace means they could do it again, to you or to someone else, even if they ended up going to jail.

Extending mercy means you there is a possibility of not going to jail because of mercy.

That’s the difference between grace and mercy, but that is also, at least in my opinion, how similar they are.

Have you ever extended grace? What about mercy? It’s not always easy to do. In fact, the bigger the betrayal or misstep, the deeper you have to dig which is probably a given. I went out to lunch with a group of girls once, riding in one of their vehicles. When I got out I realized I had sat in melted crayon. It was one of my favorite pairs of jeans too. She apologized, saying one of her kids must have left it there. I had to extend grace. What else could I do? She did not offer to replace my jeans, and I did not ask her to.

But what about when someone you trust with most if not all of your personal self sells that knowledge to the highest bidder? Grace or mercy? I think we know by now that is grace. Unless that act was illegal and the betrayer is brought up on charges. Mercy, right? Oh by the way, mercy does not always mean you will not have to pay for your misdeeds. You may still have to go to jail. But jail or not, the betrayed has to decide whether he or she will extend mercy.

And don’t worry, the deeper you have to dig, meaning the bigger the offense or betrayal, the more of a process extending grace and mercy will be. After all, you are not a machine, your heart gets to be broken too. The decision to extend grace or mercy, as a human, with a heart that can be broken, is the whole point.

Honestly, it all seems unfair to me, until I remind myself that I need grace and mercy too. I may not betray someone, I may not commit an act that can possibly alter the trajectory of another human being’s life, i.e. cause a traffic accident that results in tearing a family apart. I may not intentionally cause harm to my business partner. But trust me, as a human, I can and probably will do something, even if it is not on purpose, that can cause me to need grace and mercy. Will I get it? Maybe, maybe not. Should I give it? As much as possible. As difficult as it can sometimes be.

Look, I say all the time, there is nothing easy about the Christian walk. I don’t care what any pastor, person who has been a Christian for a million years says. It’s not easy. But it’s good. Oh, you thought I was going to say ‘it’s worth it.’ Well, in the end, it will be, but for now, during your Christian journey here on earth, let’s stick with ‘it’s good.’ It’s good for your soul, for your mind, for your spirit.

I am not here to tell you that every Christian, including myself, will always want to extend grace and mercy, but it’s not about wanting to, it is about living the life and walking the walk that Jesus taught us to. As we walk we will grow. We will grow into doing the right thing. The world automatically says ‘you don’t like me, so I don’t like you.’ Or, ‘you hit me I’m going to hit you back harder’.

God is not asking us to be doormats, that is not what this is about. He wants us to be wise in our responses. He wants us to be discerning. He wants us to be harmless yet strong. “Listen carefully: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves [have no self-serving agenda].--Matthew 10:16. But He wants our auto-response to be grace and mercy, not tit for tat. Try grace and mercy first.

Scriptures mentioned:

‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.’--Ephesians 2:8-9

‘But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the Lord.’--Isaiah 26:10.

‘But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.’--Nehemiah 9:31.

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David. ‘Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.’--Psalm 4:1. “Listen carefully: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves [have no self-serving agenda].--Matthew 10:16.

Episode Takeaways:

‘They don’t have any integrity, but they recognize integrity.’

‘Will I get it? Maybe, maybe not. Should I give it? As much as possible.’

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode quote:

“Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion – it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.”--Billy Graham.

Episode outro:

Well, thank you for tuning in. Let me know via social media or by email, if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you! You may email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com. Please give me 24 to 48 hours to respond. And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode. Until next time!

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Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 11 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

Let me start by saying that I always say this podcast was created for everyone-the Believer and non-Believer alike. But in this episode, I want to speak to those who profess to the world that they are Believers.

Christians: the world sees us as all the same, as hypocrites or as the light and salt of the world. They don’t know anything about, they don’t see any difference between, and they don’t care about The Religious Right, the Methodists, or the Baptists. They don’t care about the COGIC--Church of God in Christ, or the Nazarene or Holiness churches; just to name a very few.

A handful may realize that there is an obvious difference between the ‘religious right’ and other Christians, but for the most part, they just care about what they are seeing in the news. You know, the news where they see children, some as young as infant age, being snatched from their parents at the Mexico/US border, while some in the religious community post on social media that ‘well they need to come here legally.’

Of course in a perfect world, people should arrive properly at the front door. But wouldn’t you be happy if a country had a plan B for you if you were running away from war, gangs, rape, and torture?

Recently, my pastor had a discussion with pastors of color, I listened as he described how computers have a default system, and that humans do as well! His analogy really hit me, and I’ve been seeing and hearing examples of default setting responses ever since. I did not realize that ‘well they should have come here legally’, or ‘well they should not have resisted while being arrested’, was a default setting, but it makes absolute sense!

What is your default response when you are not experiencing life the way someone else is?

As a Believer, is your default response that of a Believer? Does everyone you hang out with look like you? Do you just tolerate the people who do not look like you at your church? Do you even have people who do not look like you at your church?

Furthermore, are you growing in your relationship with Jesus, or do you go to church, and then when you get home you talk about ‘they’ and ‘them’ around your family and friends?

Everything I am about to discuss in this episode is backed up by scripture, and all of those scriptures are documented here in the show notes.

You will see in the list of scriptures that are asked as Believers to pray for our government. Nowhere in these scriptures does it say that we are supposed to be gung ho for a political party above our relationship with Jesus and above our relationship with our brothers and sisters of every race and color.

As a Believer, a Christian, did you pray for all prior presidents or just the ones in your political party? I’m sure you know this: it is much easier to pray for someone you like, and with whom you agree, at least in most of his policies. One day I will be able to say ‘his or her policies’. But for now, it is ‘his’.

I will go further and say it has been very difficult for me to pray for our current president. Why? Well, I have this fear in the pit of my stomach that he wants to see a race war in this country. I know that

2 Timothy 1:7 says ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.’

And I know as Believers we have to trust that God knows what is going on. He is in control. He sees.

But then I think about how America barely survived the Civil War.

That war pit brother against brother, and friend against friend.

I’ve put a link to a very detailed website on all things Civil War in the show notes. Please check it out! It is an awesome site, and I literally bumped into it. I found out some things I did not know. It is so important especially in these times, to know history, the real history.

I want to stay on topic, but listen to this:

‘ Stand Watie, a member of the Cherokee Nation, was the highest-ranking Native American on either side of the conflict after earning the rank of general.’--on the Confederate side.

Whoa!

But to get back on task here: 620,000 people died in that war. I pray to God that America never sees anything like that again.

But as I look at the images crossing the television screen, people being murdered on video, people of all colors and creeds marching for justice and change, and people standing outside their homes with shotguns because they feel ‘threatened’ by said marchers/protesters. We have never been down this path before!

Look, regardless of which party you belong to or agree with, you should be praying and asking God not to let this country fall apart! We should all be able to agree with that at a minimum! And reminder: Jesus did not belong to a political party. In fact, remember, he had a real problem with the way the Pharisees did life. They were always coming for Jesus. You know people like that, you have probably experienced someone like that, for no apparent reason, they were always trying you, talking about you, setting you up for failure. That’s how the Pharisees treated Jesus.

Is that how you would like to be known, as a Christian? Like a Pharisee?

There are people who believe I am embellishing and exaggerating about my fears. Why? Because they are not living my life. You see, life is very different depending on one’s race and color. And when we do not understand each other well enough, when we prefer to go to our defaults, then we end up just going back to our corners like boxers in a boxing ring.

As Believers that is not at all what Jesus had in mind. He was thinking more like

‘And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.‘--Hebrews 10:24-25.

As Christians it is not about ‘them’ and ‘they’, it is about us, no matter what we look like.

Now here is where I may lose some of you, Believers or not:

‘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.’--Romans 13:1.

‘Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.’

--1 Peter 2:17.

‘First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.’--1 Timothy 2:1-2.

‘Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.’--Titus 3:1-2.

Soooo, as Believers, we are supposed to respect and pray for every president in the white house! Yes!

Even after reading those scriptures though, you may still ask: how have Evangelicals, aka the far right, fallen for someone so completely unlike Jesus? One word: Agenda. I believe those who call themselves Believers and still defend the indefensible do so because they think God needs their help to get someone on the Supreme Court or to get certain laws enacted. I have news for you: God does not need anyone’s help.

A few years back I watched the granddaughter of the Rev. Dr. Billy Graham being interviewed on CNN. She said something that really struck a chord with me, and I remember yelling at the television ‘Yes! That’s it, I agree!

She said:

‘My president does not have to be a Christian, I just don’t want him held up as the poster boy for Christian evangelicals because he does not represent most of us.’--Jerushah Armfield, Granddaughter of Reverend Dr. Billy Graham.

Now obviously I am not a white evangelical, but I am a Christian and I believe we are supposed to believe in the same God, the same Jesus, and the same basic tenets of Christianity: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ Do you remember being taught that in Sunday School?

The world is watching how we behave toward the world and toward each other. They think we are hypocrites.

How is it OK to cage children and separate them from their parents?

Is that like Jesus?

Christianity is not about politics, it is about character. It is about compassion for our fellow human beings, morals, a soft heart, and a soft answer.

Jesus visited with everyone, he loved everyone, he cared for the heart of everyone. He was not a pretender. If He were it would have shown in his speech, in his actions, in his instruction. The heart can’t help but show through the best facade.

Did Jesus ever take a tone with people who did not agree with Him? Every time I see a cabinet member talking to the press they tighten up like they are getting ready to fight. Every president, their cabinet, their press secretaries, have had to field tough questions from the press. Why is this administration so different?

Recently I watched as the president attended a rally at a church in Arizona. I was so ashamed to see the response from the crowd of young people when our president used racial terminology to describe the virus that has caused us to be in the midst of a pandemic. I mean really? Church folk? Is this how we are supposed to behave? Is this Jesus like behavior?

Look, as difficult as it is, I will continue to pray for the leaders of our country. I am going to ask you to do the same. Maybe if more of us were praying instead of fighting and disagreeing with each other things might be different.

'We are in flux, and the people that can help are the believers.'

Scriptures:

2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Episode Takeaways:

https://notjustanotherreligionandpoliticspod.podbean.com/mf/play/g4ttbe/Not_Another_Ep5_Final.mp3

https://childlessnotbychoice.net/bonus-episode-privilege-its-like-a-blanket/

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/civil-war-facts#:~:text=Approximately%20620%2C000%20soldiers%20died%20from,war%20performed%20by%20William%20F.

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

Episode quote:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."--Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Until next time!

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Episode title: Red Letters with Winfred Burns

Episode intro:

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 10 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people.

Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped into a church, you will get this.

You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

Guest intro:

Winfred Burns II – Bio

Born in Chicago Illinois, Winfred Burns II is an alumnus of Langston University with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance. Winfred has worked for several of the top banks in the United States in various roles ranging from Branch Manager, Business Banker, Financial Advisor and Product Specialist.

He has been the guest of several radio programs and podcasts where he has spread the message of financial empowerment to the world. He is a published author of the book, “How To Move Up in Your Corporate Career.” His book gives you the information you need to put yourself in position to be promoted within your organization as well as to get a raise.

After having a radio show for two years, in January 2016, Winfred began his own internet radio network: Global Drive Network. Weekly the network has four radio shows on Blogtalkradio (The Soul Café’, The Scoop, The Word on Wednesday) and a magazine offering (Nouveau Exposure). Global Drive Network also hosts live events all over the country discussing a wide range of topics such as social justice, relationships, religion, politics and much much more.

Winfred is the proud dad of five-year old Winfred Burns III, aka (Tre).

In 1998, Winfred accepted his call to ministry while studying at Langston University. Since accepting his call, Winfred has preached the message of hope and salvation. He has served as a Worship Leader and as an Associate Minister at the John W. Coleman Chapel and at Pilgrims Rest Baptist Church. Winfred has also served as Assistant Pastor under his Father, Winfred Burns Sr.

Currently, Winfred serves on the worship team and as a Minister at Maple Ave Ministries under Dr. Denise Kingdom-Grier, while finishing his Masters of Divinity at Western Theological Seminary.

Welcome!

Scriptures mentioned by our guest:

Matthew 5
Deuteronomy 6: What Jews live by

Guest Contact Information:

The website is: www.walkroyale.com.

You can find him on all social media under Winfred Burns II.

Episode Takeaways:

Mark was written first

Luke saw what Mark wrote and wanted to add his perspective

Matthew wanted to then add his perspective

John’s POV is much different than the other three books--his entire purpose was to make sure there was no question who Jesus was.

If you do not see it across scripture, there is a good chance you made it up.

Judaism is a lifestyle, it is not a set of rules. Christians view their beliefs as a religion.

The purpose of the law was to get you to grace.

Jesus’ lifestyle is the way. The way of joy, peace, happiness.

Read Jesus to understand him for who he is, not for the example you see in many Christians because we do a lot of stupid stuff.

As Christians, our job is to me merciful, and to extend mercy. We are learning along with everyone else.

‘If you don’t do justice the rest of the over 600 laws don’t even matter.’

The sermon on the mount is Jesus re-setting us to what the Kingdom of God really is. It’s not about amassing power and wealth, and ignoring the poor.

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

Thanks for tuning in! Don’t forget to check out the show notes where you can view the research I used to create this episode, and to read some articles I think you may find interesting. Until next time!

Episode scripture or quote:

We are the Bibles the world is reading; we are the creeds the world is needing; we are the sermons the world is heeding.”--Billy Graham.

I love, love, love this song, and thought it pertained to today's episode, check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK80AdFdmCM

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Episode intro:

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 09 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped foot in a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

Guest intro:

Idella Liselle has over 20 years of coaching experience. She has been told she is wise beyond her years. Her wisdom and insight are a combination of the natural and the supernatural. She is often used to uncover a hidden thing that is sabotaging her clients from full and maintained success. Her aim is not to motivate her clients but totally transform them by partnering their purpose with power-producing profit.

Episode Takeaways:

I had a lifestyle of ministry before I had a platform

God’s way is the surrendered way.

My hardness came with my resistance.

Honoring the HS is a time saver.

If we do it God’s way, we get God’s results.

‘He will pour out His spirit on all men.’

All scripture must harmonize with other scriptures.

Know your audience. Know how to minister to men.

If you are wounded you will not be teachable.

When we are defending we can’t be

If he calls us, he will equip us.

Thank God for the agitators.

Be constantly in a mode of learning.

Women were persistent down through history.

Your church, your ministry, will not grow beyond you.

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

Well, thank you for tuning in. Let me know via social media or by email, if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you! You may email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com. Please give me 24 to 48 hours to respond. And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode. Until next time!

Contact Information:

http://idellaliselle.com/

Realministries.online

Here are the list of books:

Is Church Killing You

Legacy: The Prayers of a Mother

Diary of a BAD GIRL KINGDOM STYLE

Thoughts of a Virgin, Explicit on Purpose

Wife Material

The Rantings of a Crazy Woman, Words of Life and transformation

Crazy on Purpose, Learning Obedience When it doesn't make sense

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Doubt

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 08 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped foot in a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

Guest intro:

Justin McNeil is an Associate Pastor at City of Life Church, Kissimmee, FL. He and his wife of almost 10 years, Pastor Amanda McNeil, have led various ministries such as students, small groups, and launching new church locations. He is a life coach, counselor, teacher, and holds a Ph.D. in Pastoral Theology. He is the proud father of Malachi, a 4-year-old miracle.

Pastor Justin has an exceptional gift to teach the Word of God in a creative and clear way that captures listeners of various life stages. He aims to use his unique voice and creativity to inspire believers to live with enthusiasm, to discover the power of God’s word, and to show love to everyone.

Discussing doubt:

So if there is an ebb and flow, is doubt natural? And if so, why did Jesus berate Peter?

Scriptures mentioned by our guest:

Matthew 14:25-
Verse 28-30
Mark 9--’Lord I believe, help my unbelief’

Episode Takeaways:

‘There is a constant between tension and faith and doubt.’

‘Doubt is a by-product of a misplaced focus.’

‘Faith and doubt can’t co-exist.’

‘Faith is a by-product of a Christ-centered focus.’

‘Ask the question ‘what are we praying for?’

‘It is better to fight doubt than to give up.’

‘I don’t believe any of us are doomed to doubt.’

‘It’s the people who step out in faith who get to walk on the water.’

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people.

Listen on: Podbean Spotify Apple Podcast

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Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 07 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

Body of episode:

So, let’s stop a moment and catch up! Which by the way is the title of this episode. How clever right? Well, how are you liking the podcast so far? Have you been sharing with and forwarding the episodes to your friends and family members? Have you been telling everyone you know about this new, slightly campy, WWJD limited edition, podcast?

If not, please do!

You see, I really want to get the word out that Believers, Christians, serve a God who loves. We do not serve a dead God or a tyrannical God. We do not love and serve a God who breathes fire and hates people.

We love and serve the God who created us.

Does this mean life will be perfect? No. Right now we are living through a pandemic. Thousands of people have died worldwide. And life has changed. The way we do life has changed. And at the risk of sounding pessimistic, life will probably never be exactly the same again. At least not for a long time. But there is still a living God. A God who sees it all and is not wringing His hands at the thought of an actual pandemic in the 21st Century.

He sees that thousands of people have died and He is deeply saddened. And He hears the prayers of millions crying out to Him asking for healing. He is healing, in different ways. Not always in the ways we would prefer. Everyone would prefer healing for their family member, instead of death. But that’s not what is happening in thousands of families worldwide. What is happening is grief. Unimaginable grief.

And silver linings. Those of us who are surviving this pandemic are being given more time to get things done we have not had the time to do for months or even years. Many Believers are finding themselves at a place of reckoning in their hearts, in their personal relationship with Jesus, with God. It’s not enough to do church just ‘cause. God is talking to us in the deepest parts of our hearts, and I don’t know about you, but I am feeling compelled to listen. Like it’s now or never.

This deep heart-check may come with pandemics. And pandemics are typically once in a lifetime. But there were recent pandemics that did not happen or have the same effect as this CoronaVirus. Remember the Ebola pandemic? According to Google: The Western African Ebola virus epidemic was the most widespread outbreak of Ebola virus disease in history—causing major loss of life and socioeconomic disruption in the region, mainly in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Wikipedia.

Number of deaths: 11,323, Start date: February 2014

So it wasn’t global, but it definitely affected an entire region of a continent.

Then there was also the Swine Flu Pandemic of 2009, do you remember that one? What about the Zika Virus Pandemic of 2015? Did any of them seem like the pandemic we are currently experiencing? I don’t recall that being the case.

This one is different. Different in so many ways. Every country on this planet has been directly or indirectly affected. The entire planet has been asked to stay at home for some period of time. The entire world!

As of this recording, more than 234,000 people have died from this virus. That’s a lot of people. That is a lot of ripple effects. Family members left behind to grieve, pick up the pieces, and move on.

For those of us who are Believers, we feel God speaking to us. No matter who we are, how long we have been Believers, how old or young, He is going in, and doing some deep cleaning in our hearts. He is shedding light into some dark places.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 says “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.”--Jeremiah 17:9 (MSG). And please, we all have dark places in our hearts. Places that need work. Because the Bible also says in Romans 3:23 ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…’ And even with all of the cleaning, we will never be perfect. I’ve said this in a previous episode, we will never be perfect but it’s not about perfection. It is about daily journeying toward perfection.

With that said, I wanted to take a glimpse back at the last six episodes. Like I say at the beginning of each episode, come along with me, it will be a really cool experience!

Episode 1--I Believe Jesus was an introvert: Yes, there was an episode before this one. It’s the intro, so, well, it speaks for itself. Now, in Episode One, I really, really wanted that to be the first episode. I wanted to introduce Jesus to those of us who think we know Him as well as to those who do not, who did not. Now you have to admit, you never thought of him in terms of introvert versus extrovert right? But once you think about it, doesn’t it put a little bit of humanity on Him although you still know He is God? Like I say in the episode, ‘I believe He, like the typical introvert, needed that alone time to recharge.’ I still believe that. Look, I am convinced He was an introvert, from the very first miracle where He turned water into wine, He was not initially a willing participant. Anyway, take a listen to Episode One. What do you think?

Episode 2--Caught in Adultery: So, we went straight from talking about Jesus being an introvert to talking about adultery! Well, the Bible is an interesting book isn’t it? Why not create a podcast that at least attempts to mirror that level of interest? The last thing I wanted to do with this podcast was to make it fakingly boring! Hey, I just made up a new word. Some will pretend that the Bible is filled with flowery words on how to live so that when we die we go to Heaven.

Well, I am here to tell you, there is a lot in between. There is murder, adultery, theft, lying, slavery, gossip, unbelief, and just plain treachery. Just like real life. Just like life as we know it today. Why write a book on how to make it in a difficult world if that difficult world is not discussed and portrayed in the book? So, yeah, adultery? How did the religious people of the day deal with it? Is it much different today? You tell me. And in the meantime, check out how Jesus dealt with it in episode two.

Episode 3--Church Hurt: And then we went from adultery to being hurt in church. And they could be mutually exclusive... or not. For the purposes of these two episodes, they were not. It was literally just how I went from one episode to the next. Now in some cases, as the podcast progresses, I will be putting some episodes in categories, but so far, that has not been the case. I produced them in the order I did so that everyone--Believer and non-Believer will see that there are all types of things going on in the church. Still. Today.

At any rate, church hurt. Well, it’s just as it sounds. It is a hurtful event caused by a church leader or lay church member, that takes place in church. Check out the episode to find out the inexhaustible list of ways you can be hurt in church, and what to do about it, without leaving the church, or even more importantly, leaving your relationship with Jesus.

Episode 4--True Religion, BC and AC--My Interview with Matt Farrell--Well, this is my first interview episode of the podcast, and what an awesome episode and interview it was. To date it is one of the most listened to of the six episodes. We talk about everything from being a God hater to cult religions to loving God! Take a listen. You will see why it is one of the top listened to episodes. It was the perfect first interview episode!

Episode 5--The Case for Guns in Church--Yes, can you imagine? Guns in church! Is there no place sacred?! Well, actually, guns in church is nothing new: think wild wild west. They had guns in all aspects of their lives. But honestly, that’s not the time in history we discuss in this episode. We go way back to what we like to call the Bible days. Check out episode five to see exactly what I mean by that.

Episode 6--Does God Create Pandemics--And finally, now for our current as of this recording, worldwide pandemic. As of this recording, we are still in the midst of the CoronaVirus pandemic. I never thought we would see the day! What do you think? Did God create this Coronavirus pandemic? Tune in to see what I think!

Scriptures mentioned, links, and articles, etc:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-death-toll/
Jeremiah 17:9-10
Romans 3:23

Episode Takeaways:

‘Many Believers are finding themselves at a place of reckoning in their hearts, in their personal relationship with Jesus, with God. It’s not enough to do church just ‘cause. God is talking to us in the deepest parts of our hearts, and I don’t know about you, but I am feeling compelled to listen... Like it’s now or never.’

Episode quote:

“Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion – it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.”--Billy Graham.

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

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Pandemics! What does the Bible say?

Episode intro:

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 06 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped foot in a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

This really goes without saying, but I will say it anyway. We were already living in quite interesting times. But another layer was added within the last few months as of the time of this recording. We are literally living in the midst of a pandemic. Thousands of people have died since December 2019, and we are in April 2020 as I create this episode.

There is actually a death count clock on some of the news channels. Families are being interviewed about lost loved ones. The New York City police department is down 15 or 20% of its workforce. New York City is the epicenter of the pandemic, although the first cases were found in Seattle, Washington.

People are wearing masks when they leave their homes, and because our medical community nationwide is low on what everyone now actually knows the meaning of, PPE’s--personal protective equipment, which includes masks, gowns, and basic protective gear against the virus; the general public does not have ready access to masks, so many people are making their own.

Most Americans are under government order to stay at home. And many of us who still have jobs are now working at home.

Children are being taught their lessons via video.

Many small businesses are closed, some will never re-open. The larger businesses, like the amusement parks, have furloughed or laid off most of their employees. Grocery stores, including Walmart, are open as they are ‘essential businesses’, one of the new terms created during this pandemic. And these same stores are only allowing a certain number of people in the store at a time.

It sounds and feels like the end times many Christians have heard about in countless sermons. But it is different than what I believe the end times will be like because those of us who have survived this pandemic are using our quarantine time to learn new things, get caught up on projects, and for those of us who are Believers, to dig deeper into our time with God.

I have heard many people say these very things. And it has really been true for me. Even in the midst of so much loss of life, loss of jobs, the upending of our global economy, and spending so much time in our homes; we are already seeing the silver lining. We get to catch up with all of the things we have been putting off due to the busyness of life.

I believe in the end times there will be a different dare I say spirit? I could be wrong. But I believe it will feel more ominous.

At any rate, I’ve been doing some research on what God says about pandemics. But before we get into that, I would like to share some strategies for staying safe during this and most likely any pandemic:

Number one:

Follow the CDC guidelines. Many people outside of the at-risk demographic are now getting sick and even dying. It’s no longer the elderly or just people with pre-existing conditions. Very young people have died, even infants.

What are the guidelines:

Stay home as much as you can, only going out if you absolutely need to, for groceries or to the pharmacy. If your pharmacy offers delivery, sign up for it.
Practice social distancing, it can save your life! Social distancing is staying six feet away from people when you are out running those errands.
Do not gather in groups of more than 10 people.

Number two:

Consider those in your family who are at risk, or who have pre-existing conditions. Pre-existing conditions include high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, lung diseases, autoimmune conditions, etc. And remember, we may not always know who is at risk. There are many young and younger people out there who may seem OK, but they may have the aforementioned conditions and even conditions I have not mentioned here. Let’s just consider each other as we go about our day, even if we are staying in place. In fact, I have even heard doctors say that if we act as if everyone has the virus, that could save us.

Number three:

And this is very important:

Get the mental health help you need. We all know that everyone deals with stress very differently. Some people withdraw, some people lash out, some people just lose it altogether. We do not know who we are interacting with on the roads, in the grocery stores, standing in line, on a good day. But when a global pandemic hits us, and they are using the term ‘we are in this together’, we literally are. Be careful when interacting with others. Let things go even if you are in the right. Just let it go so you can make it home to your family. Stress brings out people’s true colors, and some of those colors are ugly! So now the day to day stresses of life have another layer. Several more layers actually, because the virus has caused family members to die, jobs have been lost, and now we have to deal with this temporary new normal. If you are feeling overwhelmed please, please seek help. Speak to a trusted friend, a pastor, priest, or therapist. Someone who can speak with you objectively. Many major corporations offer assistance through their EAP’s--employee assistance programs. Please do not be afraid to ask for help. Do not try to be strong and suffer in silence. We are all human and we can only take so much. This is new for all of us. It’s OK to get help.

Number four:

Look out for your neighbors, especially the elderly and the shut-ins. Those who cannot fend for themselves, or go to the grocery store. Be aware of those around you who could use some assistance. Run an errand for them when you are running an errand.

And finally:

The scam artists are out in full force to take advantage of people. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Please be careful.

So, what does God think about Pandemics? Did He create them? Did He create this one? Is He punishing us?

Those of us who are Believers should not be surprised at the state of the world pre- or post COVID19. We live in a fallen world. It may sound a bit like a cop-out to say that, but it is true. In a fallen world no one is exempt from the pains of the world. The second half of Matthew 5:45 says ‘...He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.’ No one is exempt when these things happen. So why become a Believer? Why are some of us Christians? Because who would, could, we rely on in the bad times? Even the people that love us most on this planet are not perfect. They may not always be there. And in fact, they do not know our end to our beginning or, our beginning to our end.

Wouldn’t it be better to trust in the one who knows why even if He does not always tell us why? Even in loss, He is the way. Even in grief, even when we literally do not know what is next. He is the only one who has the power to turn things around, to fix things, to bring life even in the midst of dead things.

Isaiah 46:9 says ‘I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’

I used to think this verse was a little harsh like I will do what I please whether you like it or not. But I believe what He is actually saying is that there is literally no one above him to tell Him what to do so He is literally doing what He wants, but not to our detriment.

Some people see God as a tyrant, and this verse may make it seem as though He is. But He is not a tyrant. Tyranny is not His go-to place. He is Love first. Love is His go-to place. It’s just that He does allow certain things to happen or not happen and we may never get to see or know why. The answer may show up long after we have left this earthly bound. This is where trust comes in.

We have to trust Him even when life seems severely unfair. All of this loss of life, so many hundreds of thousands of families have suddenly lost loved ones. Their lives have changed overnight. Suddenly. Just like that! It’s not fair. But God sees, He knows. But this world is fallen. It is filled with sin and disease. He will not heal everyone, He will not fix every issue. Not right now. But one day, when He comes back for us, His Believers, He will make everything right.

I know, like you, I wish He could make everything right now. But that’s just not how He operates. And remember, He is God all by Himself. He will not tell us everything. He will not answer our every why.

Many non-Christians, and honestly at times many Christians ask the very same question: ‘why does God allow…

And there tends to be anger when the question gets asked. But the answer is, as I said earlier, we live in a fallen world. There is no perfection here. The sin committed by Adam and Eve changed the way the world looks. Even nature is not exactly as it should be, as beautiful as it is. None of what we see is as it was originally created to be.

The fact is, when the door is opened to sin, sin will come in. And it will come in and take over. That is exactly what has happened to our world.

Many non-Christians also wonder how Christians, Believers, could believe and trust in a God who ‘allows’ things like pandemics. But that’s the point I made earlier. Who else could we trust in, would we trust in, when such mayhem comes our way. I would not want to trust in man to help me keep a positive mindset. All the other people I know are just as concerned as I am. This pandemic is a concerning issue, no matter how strong in our faith we are. We trust God, we believe in His wisdom even in the midst of this pandemic, but we are not perfect. We will still wonder if it could come our way, wonder what if it infects a family member or friend? It’s only human of us. But at the end of the day, the difference is we trust Him no matter what. Who would a non-Believer trust no matter what? Who would you rely on no matter what? Who would allow you to rely on them no matter what? There is no human that would not become tired after a while, of having others rely on them, even those they love and who love them. Everyone needs a break. God never needs a break. We can go to him with anything at any time, for the rest of our lives.

That my friends is what the Bible says about pandemics.

I hope that this episode has provided answers and hope in the midst of this difficult time. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have questions or concerns, or if you need prayer.

Scriptures mentioned:

‘Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’

Isaiah 46:09-10 New International Version (NIV) ‘You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.’

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.’

Matthew 24:6-13 New International Version (NIV) New International Version (NIV)

Episode Takeaways:

‘It’s kind of like falling in love. The grass is greener, the sky is bluer, the birds are chirpier.’

‘Be aware of those around you, especially those who cannot fend for themselves. Run an errand for them when you are running an errand for yourself.’

‘When the door is opened to sin, sin will come in and take over.’

‘Everyone needs a break. God never needs a break.’

‘We were already living in quite interesting times.’

‘I believe in the end times there will be a...different spirit.’

‘Tyranny is not His go-to place, love is His go-to place.’

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

Episode quote:

‘...but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.’--Matthew 24:13.

Research links and articles of interest:

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/theological-reflections-pandemic/

https://www.gotquestions.org/pandemic-diseases.html

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Nehemiah and The Case for Guns in Church

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 05 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

Recently, my dad and I were talking about the recent rash of church shootings. Like any normal human being, he was really disheartened that people could not even feel safe in church, being murdered as they worshipped. As of this recording, the most recent shooting was in White Settlement, Texas in late December 2019. Two parishioners were shot while worship service was going on, ‘before a member of the church’s volunteer security team fatally shot him, the authorities said.’

If it wasn’t for the security team, and the team member with a gun being in the right place at the right time in particular, more people probably would have been killed. No doubt. See the entire New York Times article in the show notes for this episode.

My dad felt it was weird that there were people attending church services who carried guns, I thought it was a great idea. He disagreed. And I understood what he meant. He felt, like a lot of Christians, that God’s protection should be enough. But then I asked ‘well what about Nehemiah?’

Nehemiah? Who is Nehemiah you ask? Well, before I tell you, let me give you a little back story. Nehemiah was going through a lot, and it would get worse before it got better. But let me not get ahead of myself.

The book of Nehemiah starts out with him narrating his life just before he set out on the journey of his lifetime.

1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:

He says...

In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. 5 Then I said:

Then he prayed: quote:

Nehemiah’s Prayer:

“Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees, and laws you gave your servant Moses.’ --Nehemiah 1:1-7. Unquote.

Nehemiah was born to Jewish parents who were held in exile in a land that had gone to war with his homeland and taken his people captive many years earlier. Yet he was cupbearer to the king of the land that had taken his people captive. After praying his prayer, one day he went to serve the King who noticed he did not seem himself and asked him what was wrong. Nehemiah told the king, and here is the conversation they had:

6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.

7 I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? 8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests. 9 So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.’--Nehemiah 2:6-9.

Sounds great right? Like wow, God’s favor was with Nehemiah because he was doing a great thing. Well, ever hear the term ‘no good deed goes unpunished’? Apparently the term has been attributed to multiple people. But nevertheless, it’s usually true. And it was in this case as well. You see, this would be about the time Nehemiah’s nemeses come on the scene.

‘When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.’--Verse 10. Uh oh.

But wait, back to Nehemiah for a moment.

As I researched Nehemiah’s nemeses’, I wondered about him, what did his name mean anyway? And I found the meaning quite fitting: Nehemiah, "YAHWEH comforts" in Hebrew, derived from נָחַם (nacham) meaning "to comfort" and יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. Nehemiah was the cupbearer at the king's palace-King Artaxerxes of Persia: 465-424 BC. He was more like a house manager who ran the king's palace. He was distinguished, efficient, and noble and the king loved him. Nehemiah was also a godly man who feared God.

Nehemiah 3 is where he builds the wall:

So moving right along, in Nehemiah chapter three, some men joined Nehemiah in rebuilding the wall, rebuilding it section by section. These men and their sons were from different parts of Jerusalem. Some of them were not even born builders, but they wanted to help. Hey, there was even a man there who was known as a perfume maker.

But Sanballat and Tobiah.

‘Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he mocked the Jews. 2He said in the presence of his associates and of the army of Samaria, ‘What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish—and burnt ones at that?’ 3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, ‘That stone wall they are building—any fox going up on it would break it down!’ 4Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their taunt back on their own heads, and give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from your sight; for they have hurled insults in the face of the builders.’--Nehemiah 4:1-5.

Wow, what a bunch of haters!

Well, as I read more about Nehemiah, I saw a lot of wisdom, planning, and common sense. In fact, probably because of his wisdom, common sense and planning, the rebuilding of the walls and gates was completed in just 52 days! (Nehemiah 6:15).’--Biblicalarchaeolgy.org. 52 days! Nehemiah was on a mission! And this is what happens when you are on a mission. You remain focused, ignore the naysayers, and get what you were called to do done!

At any rate, I believe that is what today’s church is exercising when they have police presence, plain-clothed security walking their properties and laypeople keeping their eyes open. Because even in doing good, or just minding your own business; there will be that one person who just prefers mayhem. So, who were these trouble-makers anyway?

According to the Book of Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, Tobiah was an Ammonite official who attempted to hinder Nehemiah's efforts to rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile and took over the storerooms of the Temple for his own use. Sanballat was apparently Tobiah’s peer, they were co-conspirators.

‘But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and the gaps were beginning to be closed, they were very angry, 8 and all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. 9 So Nehemiah (we) prayed to (our) God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

10 But Judah said, ‘The strength of the burden-bearers is failing, and there is too much rubbish so that we are unable to work on the wall.’ 11 And our enemies said, ‘They will not know or see anything before we come upon them and kill them and stop the work.’ 12 When the Jews who lived near them came, they said to us ten times, ‘From all the places where they live they will come up against us.’ 13 So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 After I looked these things over, I stood up and said to the nobles and the officials and the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your kin, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.’

5 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.

16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.--Nehemiah 4:16-18.

And this is the discussion my dad and I had. Nehemiah built the wall in record time, and he did so using wisdom and weapons.

You know, in my research I found an article that led to a sermon about why it is OK to build a wall. Apparently it was a sermon by a pastor named Robert Jeffress in which he says God is not against building walls, referencing the wall between the US and Mexico). But every time someone comes up with that argument, my response is Matthew 25: 31-40. “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” I do not see how the story of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall at Jerusalem has anything to do with the type of wall some want to build between the United States and Mexico.

Furthermore, I continue to find it difficult to understand how Believers read the same Bible but get such different information out of it. I know one thing, there will be no walls in Heaven!

Remember, God sees the heart. It’s always about the heart with Him.

In closing, I want to remind you to check out the show notes for all of my research notes. There are some bonus notes too because I considered going into further research about Ezra also assisting with building the wall, and even going into the New Testament to the story where Peter cut off the guard's ear when they came to take Jesus away. What’s the connection you ask? Where was Nehemiah’s heart in using armed guards to help him while rebuilding the wall? Where was Peter’s heart in being armed and trying to ‘assist and protect’ Jesus?

Well, thanks for tuning in! Let me know via social media or by email if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you! You may email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com. Please give me 24to 48 hours to respond. And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode, including articles you may find interesting. Until next time!

And remember my question. I really want to know what you think:

Who is God?

Until next time!

Research notes:

https://biblescripture.net/Nehemiah.html

https://factsandtrends.net/2018/05/21/how-likely-are-u-s-church-shootings/

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/29/us/fort-worth-church-shooting.html

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Nehemiah+3&version=NIV

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2019/01/13/first-baptist-s-robert-jeffress-backs-trump-s-border-plan-heaven-itself-is-going-to-have-a-wall-around-it/

‘The phrase no good deed goes unpunished is a cynical twist on the idea that good people are rewarded for being good. In real life, this is often not the case. The proverb no good deed goes unpunished has been variously attributed to Walter Winchell, John P. Grier, Oscar Wilde and Clare Boothe Luce.’--Google search.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/nehemiah-the-man-behind-the-wall/

Byline:

‘I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people.’

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Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 4 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped foot in a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

In an effort of full disclosure, Matt is family. He is my sister in law’s son. I want you to hear from him because he is a walking talking answer to prayer. But not only that, I literally, LITERALLY got to witness his transformation from BC--before Christ, to AC--after Christ.

It was several years ago, but when I tell you it is a privilege to know someone who didn’t have a relationship with Jesus, who did not want to pray when we prayed as a family just before we started packing up my house when I was getting ready to move, well, let’s let Matt tell his story. Hello Matt, how are you?

When did you realize that you needed to be in relationship with Jesus, was there a catalyst moment?
Did you grow up with any type of religion, religious training?
Tell us about relationship versus religion from your point of view.
What do you say to those who think your transformation or relationship with Jesus is just a bunch of bunk?
It was so amazing to witness your transformation. I was literally in awe, to tell you the truth. It almost seemed immediate. Was it in your opinion, immediate, like a miracle, or did it happen over time?

Scriptures mentioned by our guest:

‘Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.’--James 1:27.

Episode Takeaways:

Miracles are the radical change!

Turning our hearts from hearts of stone to hearts of flesh.

Closing commentary:

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

‘Who is God?’

Episode outro:

We are the Bibles the world is reading; we are the creeds the world is needing; we are the sermons the world is heeding.”

--Rev. Billy Graham.

‘Speaking to people, not yelling at people.’

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Church Hurt (Doesn’t have to lead to Church Hopping)

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 03 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped foot in a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

Let’s begin!

I did several searches for the definition of church hurt. Not because I do not know what it is, but because I like to provide proof for what I speak of and discuss. However, of all of the searching I did, I could not get Google to give me a definition. It kept giving me articles, YouTube videos, and blogs, on the issue of church hurt.

So since I could not get an actual definition, I decided to tell you what church hurt is from first-hand knowledge. You see, if you have attended church for any amount of time, chances are you have suffered church hurt. Whether it was something the pastor said from the pulpit that was not Biblical or not said in love, and that managed to pierce your heart leaving the commentary rolling around in your head for days, weeks, or months.

Maybe it was the way a church leader spoke to you or something they said to you that was not said in love, or maybe it was something someone said about you that was untrue so that they could get a visible position in the church. Or how about this one, someone who has been in the church for decades But treats people with rampant disrespect.

Look, the list goes on. There are a million and one ways to be the victim of church hurt. Who knows, you may have even hurt someone in church and they just never said anything. We are all humans. And as we all know, humans are flawed. This is why there is no perfect church. Because the church is composed of imperfect people.

Does the fact that the church is composed of imperfect humans make it OK for people to go around hurting each other? No.

Here’s the thing: most people go to church because they want a change in their lives. They want to see positive changes in their families. And those are all wonderful reasons to go to church. Some people even want a closer relationship with Jesus, with God, which is ultimately what we should all be striving for.

On the other hand, some people will say we do not have to go to church to have a relationship with God. And many times these decisions are made because they have been church hurt. But if we want to live in the way the Bible instructs us, well Hebrews 10:24-25 says ‘And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.’

Despite the possibility of church hurt, which if you think about it Jesus was quite familiar with, this scripture is saying we should still gather together. Paul, the author of the book of Hebrews was also well aware of church hurt. He was doing the hurting! If Jesus and Paul were church hurt and church hurting yet they still felt gathering together was important, well, do not allow church hurt to dictate to you the thought process that you do not have to go to church to be a Believer.

I am by no means saying you will go to Hell if you do not go to church. I am saying that gathering together is important because it is a strengthener. You’ve heard the term ‘strength in numbers’. We are, after all, beings who were made for relationships. Yes, many of us can spend hours, even days in our own company. But it is still good and healthy to have positive human interaction.

At any rate, people go to and join their local church for many reasons. They go to: interact with like-minded people, to fulfill some type of civic duty, to find a spouse, to obtain a position in their local church which might lead to a secular position in their community, the list of reasons goes on.

Speaking of a secular position in their community, some churches are run like secular corporations. And of course, there is nothing wrong with a church that is run like a corporation. We serve a God of order. But some churches can be run so secular that people can become cutthroat to get the coveted position they seek. The leadership will not notice or take seriously what is going on right under their noses because they do not see anything wrong with being cutthroat, or they do not hear from God about whom to put where.

But lest I digress, because in a future episode we will be talking about how God deals with leaders, let’s move on from here.

Here are three ways to protect yourself from or in church hurt, or a repeat of church hurt in the future:

Go to church for God, not for man. When you make your relationship with God your focus for going to church, everything else, even the good things like friendships and position, will become secondary. They should be anyway. I don’t mean to be harsh, but the relationship with Jesus, with God, is the most important relationship. Period. Once you have that fixed in your mind, when the hurt shows up, it may sting, you’re only human after all. But putting God first puts everything else and everyone else, in perspective.
Expect to be hurt. Remember, humans, are flawed. We will never be able to always say the right thing the right way at the right time. We will always have the opportunity to stick our feet in our mouths. And unfortunately, that happens quite a bit.
Remember, when people come to church, they are bringing baggage with them. Their bad decisions and bad attitudes do not suddenly go away. Those things should melt away with time if they are serious about having a relationship with Jesus. But remember, we have to want this change of heart and mind to happen.

This is why you may see people who have been in church for many decades, but they are still petty, gossipy, backstabbing, etc. They have not changed since the day they started attending the church. They have heard all of the sermons, but they do not see how the sermons would have anything to do with them.

What can we do to protect our hearts during church hurt? Well, as I said earlier, go to church because you love Jesus and you want to grow in relationship with Him. Knowing that every human is flawed, expect to be hurt at some point, and pray for people.

I grew up in the church. In fact, I am a PK--a preacher’s kid. Needless to say, I have been hurt multiple times over my years in church...that I know of. And I can honestly say, I never considered leaving the church because I was hurt. You might say that maybe I wasn’t hurt badly enough. Well, you would be quite mistaken. Some of the things that were said to me and done to me I remember like it was yesterday. But they do not hurt like it was yesterday. Some things took me a very long time to get over. Very long. But I meant I would make my way through.

I remember in one instance that I had to force myself to pray for someone, and to forgive them, otherwise I ran the risk of holding their words against them for the rest of my life, and theirs.

As Christians, we cannot afford to do that. I am not saying to pretend these things did not happen to you, that you weren’t told some really hurtful and filthy things, but I promise you, if you make God your reason for going to and staying in the church, even when the hurt comes, it will not stay. It cannot because the church folk are secondary. I don’t mean that other humans are less than. I mean that putting God first puts everything else and everyone else, in perspective. And let me tell you, there is nothing like perspective.

If you can keep perspective close to your heart, like you do wisdom and discernment, you will be far ahead of the curve of managing human interaction. Let me repeat that.

Remember, we cannot control others' thoughts and actions. We can only control ours. And do not be afraid, we will not always properly manage ours. But if you consider everything I have said here, you will be far ahead and on your way to putting God first and understanding that people are generally doing the best they can, but they are living life through their own lenses of hurt, life experiences, and self-protection.

When we keep this in mind, we will know how to remain open to being positive, filled with hope for our fellow churchgoers, and the wisdom to know how to deal with and pray for people--for church folk.

And once we have all of this knowledge in our hearts and minds, we will not hop from one church to the next, but we will as the saying goes, ‘bloom where we are planted.’ So what is church hopping? Well, it can take on many forms and many reasons. People will say they are leaving their church because of something someone said or did to them. But the thing is, they leave really often. They do not tend to stay at one church for very long. Hopping from one church to the next does no good for you or for the churches you keep hopping to or from.

This is why it is so important that you are going to the right church, to begin with. We must ask God to lead us to the right church. Going to a church because it is the largest one in town and it may afford you a title, is not the right reason. Some people prefer large churches believing they can hide out for a while and they won’t be required to help.

Some people prefer smaller churches because they want to work closely with the pastor. There’s nothing wrong with working closely with the pastor whether it is a large church or a small one. It all comes down to what is in your heart.

The heart. It’s always the bottom line. Check your heart. There is nothing wrong with wanting to have a position in the church. But check your heart. There is not even anything wrong with going to another church. But check your heart. Always check your heart.

The bottom line is this: put God first, and when you are hurt, pray for those who hurt you. Remember, people are bringing all their baggage to church. And because not everyone gets delivered from their mess right away, they can hang onto that mess for quite some time.

I’ve heard the church described as a hospital. Healthy people do not go to hospitals. The unhealthy go to the hospital to get healthy. In the meantime, the unhealthy will bring their lies, kleptomania, gossip, pettiness, passive-aggressiveness, sexual issues, roving eyes, and hands, you name it, it’s in the church. And the scary thing is it could be in the leaders or the laypeople. Sounds depressing huh? Well, God sees. And He is not pleased but He also will not allow our hurts, broken hearts, and brokenness to be our final chapter.

Genesis 50:20 says ‘As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…’ And Romans 8:28 says ‘And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.’

Believe it or not, you will make it through your season of church hurt and you will be all the wiser, stronger, and faithful to God for it. When you take that perspective on things, you can probably decide not to church hop, but bloom where you are planted!

Let me place an addendum here: If you are being abused in any way at your church, report that abuse. Many churches are now conducting background checks and vetting volunteers. But remember, no organization can vet for perfection. As human beings, we all need room to grow. So I am not equating church hurt with abuse.

Well, thank you for tuning in. Let me know via social media or by email if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you! You may email me at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com. Please give me 24to 48 hours to respond. And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode.

Until next time!

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question:

Who is God?

Episode quotes:

‘A lot of times the hopping happens because of the hurt.’

Sources:

https://www.openbible.info/topics/gathering_together

Genesis 50:20

Romans 8:28

Matthew Henry’s Commentary

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Caught in Adultery

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 02 of ‘Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast’! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal:

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped foot in a church, you will get it. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

So, this story. The more I think about it, the more I believe it is the crux, the cornerstone, of this entire podcast. Every time I read this story my heart gets adjusted. It’s like a re-set, a reminder of who Jesus is and what His primary mission was. He wants us to understand His way and how He wants us to live.

In the Christian church, the sermons preached on this story tend to put the weight of this sin on the woman. Keep in mind, the religious leaders dragged her or had her dragged from the bed of adultery. And if that is the case, where was the man? And really, isn’t it kinda creepy that these men dragged or had her dragged from the bed? What were they doing there?

At any rate, if she was committing adultery, so was the man. Seriously, where was he? Maybe one of those holding stones? But let me not get ahead of myself here!

If you are not familiar with the story, here it is:

Read John 8:1-11.

So, you know that quote, that movement, ‘what would Jesus do’? This is the story I most often think about. Because what He did was to kneel down and start writing in the dirt without saying a word.

When he finally stood up, his handful of words was all that was needed. Just a handful of words sent some very powerful men on their way. They just kinda ambled away. And as the adulteress stood there, she must have wondered in fear, if Jesus would punish her. What was about to happen to her? But Jesus forgives her and tells her not to sin anymore. That’s it! This is my most favorite part, he did not condone her sin and He did not condemn her. He did not sweep it under the rug. He did not try to spare her feelings, and He did not stone her.

The reason I feel this story is the crux of this podcast, the cornerstone, is because I believe it is the fundamental story of why Jesus came to us. Let me explain. Before Jesus came to Earth, there were no Jesus followers. That would be obvious right? But follow along with me. There were no Jesus followers. There were no Christians. There were people who followed the law. And there is nothing wrong with laws. Without them, there would be mayhem. Um, anarchy. I don’t know about you, but I would rather not live in a world of mayhem. As it is we have laws and some days it still feels like mayhem the moment I step out the door. But I digress.

Before Jesus, there were, and still are, other religions, and other religious beliefs. There were and still are, other gods and prophets that are worshipped around the world. Jesus however, is (still) alive. And for the three years, He was on earth, He taught that anyone who chose to follow Him would have to live a life of forgiveness.

He taught, in so many ways, but especially through this story, that there is no sinless human. Every time I read this story my initial thought is to be thankful that no one opted to throw a stone at this woman. Because really, someone in that group could have said ‘well, I am a (religious) leader, I do not sin. No seriously, we all sin. Or they may say, ‘I do not commit this type of sin.’ I’m sure you know people like this. They believe there are certain levels of sin.

In fact, our human logic and thought process says that murder would be a worse sin than gossip. But the fact is, they are both sins. That means no human is exempt from sin. We have all sinned. Romans 3:22-23 says ‘...For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…’ No human is better or worse than the next human.

But sometimes we think we are because we do not commit ‘that type of sin.’ Suppose one of the religious leaders standing there with a stone ready to stone this woman had acted out what he was probably thinking. I don’t sin like that. Hidden sin and public sin, are both sins. Gossip is sin. Murder is sin. Adultery is sin. But Jesus forgives all sin if we ask Him.

So thankfully no one opted to pretend more than they already had by dragging the woman to the town square. They dropped their rocks and backed away. Just kinda disappearing and blending into their little church click. More on church clicks in an upcoming episode.

Seriously, what was Jesus writing in the sand??? In some of my research, some thought He was writing the sins of each man that stood there with a rock in his hand! Whoa! If that’s the truth, no wonder they just kinda backed away and left! Hey, maybe He was writing the names of each man that had committed adultery. Honestly, I am not convinced as I do not think Jesus calls people out publicly unless He is dealing with a hardened and unrepentant heart. ‘But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.’--Romans 2:5.

So anyway, Jesus said ‘neither do I judge you, go your way and sin no more.’ Wow! Can you see how this story can be the foundation of the WWJD--’what would Jesus do’ type of life? This is the type of life I try to lead every day. I don’t want to judge people for their mistakes, their past, their lifestyles. But I want to be able to tell them what has gotten me through the tough times. Why I am still standing despite everything I have been through. And how, no matter what they have done, been through, abused, or misused, they can have that hope. Anyone can have it.

Jesus, God, does not see anyone as more special than the next.

So, how would you react to someone ‘caught in adultery?’ What would you say to them? How would you react to, or treat yourself in your own sin?

And while I am asking questions, this is a question I want to ask at the end of every episode: ‘Who is God?

Research used:

John 8:1-11

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/9-things-you-should-know-about-the-woman-caught-in-adultery

Smith’s Bible Dictionary

Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Articles of interest:

‘Sin has always mattered to God, but creation matters much more. God sent Jesus to give the adulterer a merciful way out.’

https://www.christianitytoday.com/women-leaders/2013/november/how-should-church-handle-adultery.html

https://thomrainer.com/2015/08/ashley-madison-adultery-and-the-church/

https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-writing-dirt.html

“It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge and my job to love.”--Rev. Dr. Billy Graham.

Quotes from the episode:

‘Every time I read this story my heart gets adjusted, it’s like a re-set, a reminder of who Jesus is...how He wants us to live.’

‘The more I think about it, the more I think it’s the crux, the cornerstone of this podcast.’

‘He knelt down and started writing in the dirt without saying a word.’

‘He did not condone her sin, and He did not condemn her...and he did not stone her.’

‘I believe (this) is the fundamental reason Jesus came to us.’

‘There is no sinless human.’

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Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode one of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in!

I have been feverishly writing since deciding to obey God and do this limited-edition podcast. So many episode ideas have popped in and out of my head, but somehow I knew this had to be the first episode.

So here’s the deal:

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped foot in a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him is like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience! And I believe you will learn something new.

Without further ado, here is episode one, ‘I Believe Jesus was an introvert’

Every time Jesus wanted to pray he tried and usually succeeded in getting away from the crowds. Luke 5:16 says ‘But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.’ Jesus was followed a lot. There was always someone who needed healing or had a family member who needed healing.

But He knew how important it was to pray on a regular basis. Which is, by the way, a great habit to practice.

I believe He, like the typical introvert, needed that alone time to recharge.

John 8:1-2, says “but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.”

Sounds to me like He went to The Mount of Olives alone. I found in some of my research that Jesus probably went out of Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives because He did not have anyone in town willing to put Him up for the night. Everyone knew how threatened by Him the religious leaders were, so no one wanted to risk putting Him up for the night.

So he would show up at the temple during the day, but at night He went into the countryside. I would imagine His disciples were with him most of those times, but He got in His alone time.

As Believers we should all put aside a certain amount of time daily, to pray alone. And yes, we also pray in groups, corporate prayer on Sunday mornings or in small groups.

We are a social race, but we are also individuals. We need to be able to speak to God on our own, to cultivate a relationship as He asked us to do. It’s relationship that He is after. Not religion.

He wants us to talk to Him. To cry out to Him in our pain, or to praise Him when we celebrate.

I believe Jesus’ prayer time rejuvenated him--giving Him what he needed to reach the masses and the individuals on a daily basis. Large or small crowds can sap the energy of the introvert.

As introverts, we tend to be selective about who we have in our circles, on our boat, dare I say, but we can still get hurt. Jesus was hurt by Judas after all. Did you know your betrayers know your schedule? That can be a whole other episode! But the fact is, Judas knew where Jesus would be.

By the way, we will talk about church hurt in a later episode. Stay tuned for that!

Three reasons I believe Jesus was an introvert:

He traveled with the same small group of people--his disciples and his good friends, although he helped thousands.
He trusted certain of his group to do certain things, in other words, he delegated to his disciples. And seldom if ever, relied on anyone outside his circle to do anything for him. Yet even within his small group, there was a smaller group. He only took three of his disciples with Him to the Mt. of Transfiguration.

‘After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.’--Matthew 17:1-3.

He relied on what was reliable, what was proven. In His case, prayer. Prayer is proven. Prayer is answered, even when the answer is not quite what we expected.

Jesus genuinely cared about people. He cared about the heart of man.

‘And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.’--Ezekiel 36:26.

As I wrote and researched the content for this episode, the thought came to my mind: Has anyone posed the question, ‘is Jesus an introvert?’ So I Googled it. Surprise to me! There were several articles on the matter: There was only one that directly talked about Jesus being an introvert or extrovert. I put in the show notes. Be sure to check it out.

Well, that is my argument for introvert Jesus. Short and sweet.

You may be wondering, ‘why does it matter?’ Well, isn’t it good to truly know someone? Isn’t it nice to be able to say about a friend or family member, ‘she doesn’t like soda’. Or, ‘he only drinks this particular brand of soft drink.’ Isn’t it nice to be known? Of course, it is! It makes you feel special.

While Jesus certainly does not need us to make Him feel special, the more we get to know Him and allow Him to speak into our hearts, the better our relationship with Him will be. The more we will understand and obey when He speaks to our hearts. Whether you are an introvert or extrovert, get to know Him. Allow Him into your heart. Get to know His heart. It is a relationship worth cultivating.

Before I go, I want to remind you to not only listen to the podcast but be sure to check out the show notes. All of the sources used for each episode will be in the show notes. I will also have a quote for you to think about in each episode. And I will have a question for you.

There will be a section for any articles I find in my research that I think you would like to read. So yes, the show notes are chock full of great info.

What do you think? Extrovert or introvert?

And while I am asking questions, here is a question I will be asking every episode: who is God?

Think about it and tell me anytime between now and the end of the podcast, the 25th episode. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Who is God?

Think on this:

‘If there is no maturity in your relationship with Jesus, you don’t trust the process and you don’t trust the author and finisher of your faith.’--Civilla

Sources:

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-stories/judas-betrayed-jesus-bible-story.html

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+18&version=NIV

(John 18:1-8)

John 18:1-8 says

When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side, there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.

2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns, and weapons.’

If we are to believe historical accounts, Judas was one of Jesus’ closest disciples. I don’t mean to go off on a tangent, but really, there is almost no deeper hurt than the hurt of betrayal by someone who is close: a family member, friend, business partner, etc. Someone who knows your schedule.

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/who-was-judas-iscariot.html

(The story of Judas Iscariot)

Luke 5:16 New International Version (NIV) New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Matthew 26:49-50, Luke 22:49

Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV / 21 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

https://www.openbible.info/topics/rejuvenation

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+17&version=NIV

Articles:

https://paulgustavson.net/was-jesus-an-introvert/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx6WZQqEgFA

(What did Jesus write in the sand?)

https://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/dr-julie-barrier/what-did-jesus-really-write-in-the-sand.html

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Who is God? Is He here right now? What's the difference between religion and relationship? Does God get mad? Is the book of Revelations real? Was Jesus an introvert? All this and more will be discussed in this podcast. Come join us for some very interesting conversation!' “I don't want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it.”--Rev. Billy Graham.

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