Honestly, I’ve grown weary of the palpable weaponization of poverty and homelessness in our country. It’s a cudgel wielded by political parties living far away from the consequences of their poor planning and enflamed passions of ‘useful idiots’. It takes everything I have at times to pray for our leaders – especially when they use racism as a main tool in their divisive rhetoric.
Please do not mistake me – I realize there are millions of people (including myself at present) relying on charities, ministries, and the like. I am in no way minimizing this work. As Christians we’re not to be indifferent to poverty and suffering – in fact throughout the entire Bible, Christians are called to help the needy and condemns those who take advantage of the poor.
But can we at least seek reasonable solutions in helping each other instead of futile ones like the Biden Administration spending $30 million to distribute crack-pipes and ‘advance racial equality’? Wow, talk about misappropriations and out-of-touch spending. So, from my limited perspective it appears the Biden Administration, and thus elites who run the entire system, continue to impoverish people and hasten their demise. Fantastic! I think to myself as I shake my head in disgust …
HUNTER BIDEN INFLUENCE ON DOMESTIC POLICY NOW?
Ok, let me state at the outset that I am no theologian or political scientist. I merely exercise my God-given ability to think and reason. I pay attention to latest events, read scripture, fellowship with other sinners saved by grace and stay connected to a Bible-believing and teaching church here in Upstate New York.
I came from a very dysfunctional inner-city home without any stable parental supervision – but God redeemed me and gave me a hope and strength that would benefit other children living as I did. And as reluctant as I may be, I know God wants me to share my story because “… the harvest is plentiful but the laborers few” and I know full well the hope and confidence I now have due to my relationship with the one true living God.
I have zero fear of cancel-culture and I do my best to live at peace with everyone, as much as it depends upon me. [Romans 12:9-21] Every day is a struggle … and I will share more as I write … but trust me, the very last thing I ever wanted to do after walking through ‘the valley of the shadow of death’ from my own hurt and wounded past was to turn around and do it again for others … but God never wastes a hurt as He’s “… close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Before becoming a Christian, I took pride in working hard to achieve a quiet, peaceful life in the suburbs far away from inner-city chaos. Honestly, it’s quite difficult to go from severe childhood trauma and dysfunction into any semblance of healthy living – let alone maintaining and thriving in relationships and business. I half expected the trees to start accosting and bullying the wildlife during this transition time of heart-healing and learning about God.
As Christians, we are called to live differently through the truth of scripture. No matter how difficult or unjust the trials, no matter how unworthy or small we may feel, we must remember that “God is for us” and that we matter to Him. Simply put, God thought it was a good idea to see you were born! [Jeremiah 1:5]
Sadly, there will always be a world of evil in front of us. Jesus himself was crushed in spirit and heart-broken over it – so much so that He did something about it.
“There is none righteous, not even one … there is none who seek God … their throat is an open grave … with their tongues they keep deceiving … their feet are swift to shed blood … the path of peace they have not known … through the law comes knowledge of sin … for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God … but God demonstrates His love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us … for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [Romans 3:10-6:23]
Christ overcame the grave on our behalf – it’s the Gospel Message – and that same power lives inside us [Romans 8:11] if we “… declare with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” [Romans 10:9]
Step back and get perspective as men and women of Biblical hope and confidence in the knowledge that all things will “… work out for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” [Romans 8:28]
Surviving and thriving even through evil times.
Remember, there is nothing new under the sun [Ecclesiastes 1:9] and God is never confused or surprised. Never are we to be people of absolute loss and despair when we spend time reading scripture and discovering Jesus as the Messiah [Matthew 16:15-20] and the Great I AM.
We may feel like we’re living in a modern-day Babylon and become angry over the sufferings we see around us, trust me, I struggle with this daily. But staying connected with Christ in our Biblical Bootcamp will equip us with hope, humility and wisdom to continue in ‘running the race’ with confidence as we find God’s purpose for our life.
Thank you for reading … more to come on my inner-city ministry with girls from Hamilton Hill in Schenectady, NY and my work in Christian broadcasting.
Blessings, Mary Budesheim
