Penny and Pound ~ Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

I have never been one who likes Kool-aide.  When it comes to politics, social issues, and faith I become more and more someone who cares more for thinking thing through than following along.

No one, including you and I Dear Reader is right about everything.  My pursuit must be for truth with humility.  I must listen with compassion to what others think.  I must filter every position through the requirements of my faith to love and compassion.  I must seek righteousness and holiness with every step.

When any side demands that we accept everything in order to “belong” I must question the validity of the motives.  You do not have to believe everything I do for me to love and accept you.  I am all in on wanting everyone to have love and value.  I desire for every human to have the chance to live a rich and meaningful life. 

I cannot accept that all beliefs or positions are acceptable.  I do not, however, hate anyone just because I disagree.   I am not allowed to accept everything. I am not allowed to hate anyone.  These can live in harmony.  It is my obligation to be in for a penny and a pound on my love for Jesus and following him.  I am also required to be all in on my love for every human. 

It may be the one place where I insist that we should all be all in.  If everything we did was out of love for each other the world would be a much better place.   It is in this truth that we could all agree even if it is just a philosophical starting place.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Penny and Pound ~ Logical Conclusions

Greetings Dear Reader,

We take positions on issues and ideals.  We decide what we believe and what we think others should believe.  Adopting values that coincide with our beliefs becomes who we are.  Very seldom do we have the courage to take our belief systems to their logical conclusions.

I am not going to dive into this too deeply.  Remember Dear Reader that I am processing this for my own benefit.  I am trying to sort out the reasons why I am all in relative to my faith and following.

Do we really follow our beliefs to their logical conclusions?  My faith tells me that the entire effort is to get things back to good.  It requires me to love unconditionally.  It requires me to care for the needs of others.  It is vital that I not dismiss anyone based on his or her beliefs. 

I ponder if others follow their beliefs to their logical conclusion.  If, for example, there is only the natural world and this is all a huge accident there is no logical reason for me to care for anyone’s needs/wants but my own.  We can postulate all we want that about common good and making the world a better place.  If this is all there is then it does not matter. 

I must follow my faith to its logical conclusions and live them.  I must be all in for this or abandon it.  Since I believe it the latter is not an option.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Penny and Pound ~ Worrisome Words

Greetings Dear Reader,

One of the terms that recently stopped me in my tracks was “alternative facts”.  By its very nature a fact is “a thing that is indisputably the case.”   It is, therefore, unreasonable and worrisome when one claims that there are alternative facts. 

Just the facts Ma'am.  Just the facts...

We may disagree on ideas and ideals.  When we disagree on things of substance we look for facts.  When we disagree that there are absolute truths we really have no ground on which to stand.  Pilate asked this of Jesus.  He asked “What is truth?” 

We seek axiomatic principle in almost everything and in many cases reject what we find.  If we claim that there are no fundamental truths then we are loaded with logical difficulties in all communication.  In many cases the alternate truth is a lie or an error.

We demand that others embrace our “truth” and judge them if they do not.  Again, both the right and left do this with vigor so do not think that there are alternate truths about it.  I realize that there is a question begged here and I will not duck it.

I claim to hold belief in some very narrow absolute truths.   I also realize that these truths are not as inclusive as some popular thought would require.  These beliefs do not make me phobic or a racist.  They do not generate hatred or prejudice. 

Everything I believe is based on two primary requirements.  I must love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  This alone is a lifelong effort that must be renewed daily.  I must love my family, neighbors, strangers, and enemies without qualification.

This means that anything else I claim as truth must fall in line with those requirements.  I cannot accept that there are alternate facts that go against this requirement.  I will not accept that I have to agree with you about everything to live out these commands.  In fact, I am required to reject ideas that would make these commands invalid.

If there are no hard truths that we can treat as the bedrock of our congress together then everyone is entitled to their own choice of alternate facts.  I know what my dangerous weaknesses are.  The world does not want an Aramis Thorn who pursues those alternate “truths”.   More on that thinking tommorw.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Penny and Pound ~ A Response

Greetings Dear Reader,

I hope you realize how highly I value your responses.  Elisabeth sent me a response to yesterday’s post that I felt deserved to be shared with you Dear Reader.   She posted the address to a simple passage from the first letter to Timothy from the Apostle Paul.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 You must realize, however, that in the last days difficult times will come.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unfeeling, uncooperative, slanderous, degenerate, brutal, hateful of what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.  They will hold to an outward form of godliness but deny its power. Stay away from such people.

Please know that I do not intend to launch on a tirade about the last days or point a finger at anyone.  I find this passage fits greatly with the idea of a world with malleable ethics.  I could spend an entire series just pondering the meaning of each term in relation to the current state of both our national and world culture.

More important is that we realize when we see this behavior in the world we should not be surprised.  We should also assure that if we are following Christ we avoid these things.  Most interesting is that the list begins with people loving themselves.  These does not mean self-worth.  It means that people put their desires over what it right and the common welfare.

I would say that both sides of the coin do that to a great extent.  How often do we see an individual put his or her “rights” or will above the common good?  We I am not being prophetic.  I am merely commenting on what I see in the world.

I must see this list as something to avoid.  I must assure that I am not boastful, arrogant, hateful.  I must love the Father rather than what makes me feel good.  It is in being faithful to the opposite of these things that I find myself following Christ more closely.  Thank you Elisabeth.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Penny and Pound ~ Malleable Ethics

Greetings Dear Reader,

There are some things where one is either in or out.  One cannot be “a little bit pregnant.”  One is alive or dead.  One is faithful to one’s spouse or they are not.  There are some lines that cannot be crossed without being other than what we claim to be.

I cannot point my finger at others.  That is not my place nor the purpose of this exercise each day.  Rather it is so that I honestly consider what I must be in my heart, mind, and actions so that I do what is right.  I fail. That too drives me.  I want to be better today than yesterday.

Increasingly we see that ethics in our culture are opening malleable.  Our ethics have always been situational in some ways but it becomes more open and flagrant of late.  We have a serious problem of being ethically mercurial.   

We live out logical fallacies and embrace untenable philosophies.  We deny truths to appease our social and political desires.  We put truth, honor, justice, love, and kindness on a sliding scale.  

I had friend, who no longer considers me a friend because he wanted to minimize God’s command to love everyone.  He insisted that we need only respect everyone.  The Father is clear that we must love Him, our neighbors, strangers, and even our enemies.

We cannot pick and choose to whom we will show love, grace, and kindness.  I cannot refuse to love anyone.  I cannot pretend that I am better than anyone else.  I must be all in as one who commits to being faithful in my devotion to Christ’s example and following him.  It is not a weapon.  It is a practice in clear ethics lived out in humility.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Penny and Pound ~ Intolerant Inclusion

Greetings Dear Reader,

It seems that both the right and the left have a blind spot that I am not sure how to heal.   They both seem to demand that if I side with their side on anything that I must side with their side on everything.  When I offer a penny, each side demands a pound.

Some of these arguments for consistency are logical.  I cannot want equality in an area without wanting it for all humans.  I cannot speak of the value of life without speaking to the value of every life.  Where the demand for pounds over pennies confounds me is in the assumption of cross-pollination of values.  

My faith does not allow me to accept every position of either side.  I cannot claim to follow Christ and accept hatred of any kind.   I cannot promote violence and follow the Prince of Peace.   I cannot worship the Father and allow the slaughter of children. 

It is my experience, however, that both sides demand that I follow in the extreme no matter how illogical the position becomes.  To bolster this untenable dichotomy false syllogisms are created.  It is assumed that because I disagree on a point that I disagree on all points.   In the inverse if I support either side’s position on a single point it is assumed that I support it on all points. 

I can oppose the murder of the unborn without feeling that women should have less rights than men.  I can believe that all people should have access to quality affordable healthcare without being a communist. 

What I must do is follow Christ no matter who it offends.  As with so many things the demands of both sides make no room for the things that are reasonable.  The truth is often somewhere in the middle.  I must seek Christ and the truth no matter what the cost; penny or pound.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Penny and Pound ~ Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

I begin with the presumption that we have all heard the expression “in for a penny; in for a pound.”  For those of you who do not it simply means that one is all in for something.  It means that if accept a part of something then you accept it all.

I find that I ponder this in light of things of and not of the faith.  Let me mitigate a question.  All things are of faith.  There are no secular issues.  There are, however, sectarian issues.  There are questions of custom, practice, and politics that one must answer individually. 

These questions have to do with faith and following.  They have to do what is required of me by the Father and sometimes its opposition to the church, the public, and the politic.   By way of example I consider that there are those who would have me hate people who do not share my faith.  This is not the way the Father deals with the world.

In some things I am all in.  In some things I must not be because I cannot accept all things.  To hone my skill in following I must ponder all of them carefully.  In this part of the journey I will not get to them all but I hope you will walk with me for a bit as I ponder those before me.  Thank you as always for your company Dear Reader. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Updating Jesus - Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

We do not need to update Jesus to fit our culture.  Those who follow Christ must be sure to communicate in a way that is clear to our culture.  We must neither water down truth nor use language that makes the Gospel hard to understand.

An honest reading of the Gospels shows us clearly what Jesus requires of us.  An honest look at our culture shows that we are not doing as much as we cold to follow faithfully.  The balance we must adopt is simple and difficult all at once.

We must hold high standards without judging those who do not meet them.  We must love unconditionally even those who hate us.  We must feed those who are hungry without placing expectations on them.  We must live an example every moment.

Jesus did not promise that following would be easy.  He did require us to give all to do it.  I must follow in faith.  I must always love and be kind.  I must hate evil and hate no human.  I must live and move in Christ.  I must follow with my whole heart the Jesus who is. 

Make My Life A Prayer to You – Keith Green

Make my life a prayer to You

I wanna do what You want me to

No empty words and no white lies

No token prayers no compromise

I wanna shine the light You gave

Through Your Son You sent to save us

From ourselves and our despair

It comforts me to know You're really there

Well I wanna thank You now for being patient with me

Oh it's so hard to see, when my eyes are on me

I guess I'll have the trust and just believe what You say

Oh You're coming again, You're coming to take me away

I wanna die and let You give Your life to me, so I might live

And share the hope You gave to me, the love that set me free

I wanna tell the world out there, You're not some fable or fairy tale

That I've made up inside my head, You're God the Son

You've risen from the dead

Oh I wanna thank You now for being patient with me

Oh it's so hard to see, when my eyes are on me

I guess I'll have the trust and just believe what You say

Oh You're coming again, coming to take me away

I wanna die and let You give Your life to me, so I might live

And share the hope You gave to me

I wanna share the love that set me free

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Updating Jesus – Pet Food and Hunger

Greetings Dear Reader,

I was standing in line at the grocer’s recently when I overheard a woman complaining to her companion that they were out of the “Halo” dog food at another store.  She went on to say that her dog would not eat anything more “domestic”. 

This dog food is $45 a serving.  Before I get too wound up I want to be clear that I love dogs, I tolerate cats (even though I am allergic and am sure they have a plot to kill me {You can learn more about this in Sheetrock on the Road my latest book}), and I like most animals that are domesticated.  I hate animal abuse and feel that being cruel to any living creature is abhorrent.

I also think we need to understand the excess we accept to have pets in our home.  I do not want to be hypocritical here.  I have a bird.  It was a gift from my Daughter.  I have good bird food for it.  It is not high priced but has all the right nutrition.  The thing is that the market wants me to buy toys, perches, and treats for the bird as well.  The market demands that I anthropomorphize my bird.  I refuse.  I am, however, trying to teach him to talk. 

I refuse to succumb to the trend to make this bird an expensive plaything.  I enjoy his company and am amazed at his ability to mimic things.  I refuse to put him before the needs of humans.  This is what I mean.  We spend more on pets than we do on the hungry and homeless in our own country.  Again, it is not a bad thing to have pets but we have moved far beyond the pale.

Think for a moment what $45 dollars a meal means.  I can take my Son, Daughter, and Grandsons out to dinner for that.  The right organization can feed ten people with that.  I have not had a dog in a long time but I know that they eat at least twice a day.  I could not in good faith or conscience spend $90 a day on dog food if I were not at least matching that in feeding the hungry.

We look at the great wrongs in our culture and ignore the common every day excesses that make us selfish and unkind. Pets are not wrong.  Overindulging in them is.  Always wrong.  We do need to update our view of Jesus to include things he never mentioned , our cultural excesses included. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Updating Jesus – Health and Wealth

Greetings Dear Reader,

Long ago when I was in college I did some work as a nurse’s aid.  I worked for a company that sent you to homes to provide care for those who were ill.   I would determine if a nurse needed to call and do attended after care. 

I was sent to the home of a man how had dementia to check on the injuries he sustained from a fall.   What I saw that day has etched into my heart and mind the difference between following Christ and the modern myths of Jesus that no one should accept.

As I approached the door I could hear a sound that usually thrills my soul.  I heard gospel music and two women saying things like “yes Jesus” and “Praise you Jesus”.  As I rang the bell I smiled and prayed that I would be able to help the man.  I was thankful that I could be a part of caring for this man.

The first thing I noticed when one of the women opened the door was the smell.  The smell was old garbage.  The house was in complete disarray except for the couch in front of the TV.  The song ended and the woman still on the couch let out a loud “Praise you Jesus.”   A TV preacher who later was the focus of some serious scandal replaced the young beautiful singer.

The woman who had answered the door led me to the room where my patient was resting.  She stopped at the door without entering the room.  The room was spotless because it was barren.  There was a dresser with pictures of the man younger and in uniform.  There war medals that told the tale of a wounded hero. 

On the bed lay the man.  He was laughing softly and called me George.  My name is not George.  He needed to be bathed so I prepped a bed bath for him.  The women were both back on the couch listening to the sermon on TV.

The man pointed toward the water glass on his small bed-side table.  I went to the kitchen to get him some water.  The garbage smell was a double sink full of dirty dishes, rotting food, and cockroaches.   I filled a glass of water for the man and gagged back my reflex and my anger. 

When I returned to the bedroom the man greeted me with a friendly “Hi George.”  I prepped the bed bath and went to remove the man’s t-shirt.  To my anger and horror baby cockroaches skittered down the man.   I moved him to the chai in the room, cleaned and dressed him, and called the state welfare agency. 

What I later learned were the man’s daughters were content to watch someone tell them about the modern health and wealth “gospel”.  They would rather do that than clean the vermin from their ailing father. 

This corruption of who Jesus is and what he has for us angers me every time I encounter it.  We are called to care for the needs of others as followers of Jesus.  I am very sure that the TV is not where that happens. The man got the help he needed and I was able to see him a few other times.  He always called me George.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Updating Jesus – Past and Future

Greetings Dear Reader,

We understand as Christ followers that Jesus was here.  We understand that he will return.  Accepting who Jesus is requires that we see these things as real.  Most who claim to follow Christ will acknowledge his advent and his imminent return. 

It is the now that seems to be a challenge.  It is that Jesus claims to be always present that we ignore.  Jesus is present in every moment waiting for us to look for him and to him.  This is where we fail to see him.

Too often we are comfortable with the historical Jesus but not the present power of a living God.  As we move from moment to moment, hour to hour, and day to day we fail to embrace that Jesus is ever present.  It is why we allow ourselves to fail to follow.  It is why we do not live as Christ followers in the moment.

For a few years there was the WWJD (What would Jesus Do?) movement.  It was a meme thaw was maligned, and mocked.   It was a commercial success.  It was also a very central truth that was touted but rarely embraced.   It is truly my obligation to move through every moment with this in mind.

If I believe that Jesus is who he claimed to be (and I do) then I must move in to every moment searching for him.  I must ask what he would do in the moment.  I must embrace his expectations of me in the moment.  When I dither over decisions I must literally ask, “What would Jesus do?”  

If updating Jesus means removing him from the moment in any situation we are failing at following.  We deny the power of Christ when we ignore his presence in any instant.  He is there waiting to give us the will and the power to follow him through anything.  All we need to do is acknowledge and follow.  The rest will work out as it should.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Updating Jesus – American Jesus

Greetings Dear Reader,

We constantly need to be vigilant about remaking God in our image.  A simple Google search for pictures of Jesus will reveal that we seldom show him as a first century Jewish carpenter from the Middle East.   In most pictures he more resembles a European.   There is also Black Jesus, Buddy Christ, and American Jesus.

Too much of what we assume about following Christ is actually an American version of Christianity.  Whether it was intended or not many of the trappings of American Christianity do not reflect what the Gospels command us to do as Christ followers.  I realize that I repeat this often but the Gospel is very simple:

• Love God
• Love each other
• Take care of each other’s needs
• Follow in faith
• You cannot earn God’s favor

We Americanize Jesus to be on our side in politics, social issues, and religion.   We force him to theoretically bend to our religion.  We think we are better than others.  We do not make the needs of others our priority.  I am not speaking in anger here.  I am trying to speak plainly.  

We cannot say that we are Christ followers if we try to fit Jesus into our mold as Americans.  Our American history is littered with failures and abuses.  We have great potential but we do not live in a Christian nation.  We use God for our own purposes.

I must assure that I live the Gospel and not the mandates of a church that has left it behind.  Not all churches are bad.  Not all churches fail to live the Gospel.  The preponderance of politicized Christianity, however, consistently ignores the weightier matters of the Gospel. 

It is my obligation to keep the Gospel universal.  It is not about prosperity or possessions.  It is about love and generosity.  It is about faith and following.   When we try to use God for our own purposes we only hurt the message and diminish our own standing.

My God – Jethro Tull

People, what have you done?

Locked him in his golden cage, golden cage

Made him bend to your religion

Him resurrected from the grave, from the grave

He is the God of nothing

If that's all that you can see

You are the God of everything

He's inside you and me

So lean upon him gently

And don't call on him to save you

From your social graces

And the sins you used to waive, you used to waive

From the bloody church of England

In chains of history

Requests your earthly presence

At the vicarage for tea

And the graven image you know who

With his plastic crucifix, he's got him fixed

Confuses me as to who and where and why?

As to how he gets his kicks, he gets his kicks

Confessing to the endless sin

The endless whining sounds

You'll be praying till next Thursday

To all the gods that you can count

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Updating Jesus – Jesus IS God

Greetings Dear Reader,

When my Daughter Christmas first came to live with us her faith was very basic.  We were going through a Bible Study with people from our church when someone pointed out how important it was to remember that Jesus is God.  He is the Son and part of the Trinity.

After everyone left it was obvious that Christmas was quite upset.  She already loved Jesus.  She still had issues with God.  She did not want Jesus to be God.  Her vision of who God is was skewed by the people who claimed to be Christians but constantly abused her.

I see two very important things about which I need to be clear.  The first is that our culture wants to minimize the deity of Christ without diminishing the things they like about him.  When forced to confront who Jesus is they water him down or deny him outright.  We cannot embrace Jesus without embracing all that he is.

The second thing is that Christians very often misrepresent who Jesus is.  We use language that does not communicate well.  We add more to the Gospel than Jesus intended.  We ignore that parts of his teachings that are hard for us.  He is used for private purposes and to manipulate others.

No matter where we are in our journey back to God we need to see Jesus as he is.  He is the God/man.  He is not just a good man.  He is not for private use but he is personal.  He is not for private interpretation but applies uniquely to every individual.  He is an uncompromising complex contradiction. 

Once again when we try to diminish who Jesus is we lose the power of what he asks.  We lose the ability to see his purpose.  We need what Jesus offers.  Watering that down in any way or adding to it even a little is wrong.

It is in Jesus that we live, and move, and have our being.  There is a “master plan” and I have not idea what it is.  I know that it involves getting things back to “good.”  I know that it is tailored for every one of us.  The rest I have to learn as I follow in faith. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Updating Jesus – Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

I recently saw a sign on someone’s Face Book wall.   It read “I love Jesus but not the Bible.”   So many questions leapt to mind.   As I read what was said about this it was one of many attempts I have seen to modernize Jesus to fit our cultural bias.

I am going to proceed from a couple of premises that are important to understanding this trend.  The first is that Jesus verified the Old Testament from his own teachings.  The second is that the only record we have of those teachings is the Gospels, which are in the New Testament.  One cannot reject the Bible as a whole and claim to know anything about Jesus.

That is the simple piece of this line of thinking.   The harder part is the thin line between making the Gospels relative to our culture and changing who Jesus is to make him fit into our culture.  The two are vastly different.  One is vital and the other is true heresy.    I use “heresy” very sparingly but in this case it applies.

Making Jesus fit into our culture is perhaps the vilest form of “taking the name of God in vain.”   He is not there for our purposes.  We exist for his purposes.  As I ponder the aspects of this I hope you will be there with me Dear Reader.  It will be hard and expose places where I need to change.  Your support makes that easier.

Playing Marbles with Diamonds – Steve Camp

Waking up to a very different world

We got mud on our flag before it’s even been unfurled

Our heroes have fallen and a leader is heard to find

The clock is running out and we’re casting our pearls before swine

There’s a whole lot more than preaching to the choir

Kneeling at the alter and paying our tithe

We’ve been treating God like he’s happiness for hire

We’ve been playing marbles with diamonds

Isn’t it a sin how his name how his name gets thrown around

We pat God on the back like a buddy from out of town

We thank “the man upstairs” for the things people praise us for

We give God the glory but we’re happy to take the award

There’s a whole lot more than raising lots of money

Building our churches and spreading our faith

If faith is just the dice you roll to get lucky

We’ve been playing marbles with diamonds

There are precious things of God

And we must guard them with our lives

Like an unborn baby’s dreams

Like a husband love his wife

May the hope of his returning

May it glorify our faith

As we hold onto his holy word

May the chaff be blown away

Can we ever live up to the things we say we believe

Because the world is watching looking for some honesty

Are we riding down a freeway instead of narrow road

We turned the passion for the lost into the business of saving souls

There’s a whole lot more than preaching to the choir

Kneeling at the alter and paying our tithe

We’ve been treating God like he’s happiness for hire

We’ve been playing marbles with diamonds

There’s a whole lot more than raising lots of money

Building our churches and spread

If faith is just the dice you roll to get lucky

We’ve been playing marbles with diamonds.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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