Praying for Relief

Let me be relief, Lord.

Relief to the friend who has lost his or her way. Relief to the heart of a nation needing help, but not finding it from her government - because there are so many voices crying for help. Let me join with others of a similar heart, who know the answer is in the hard work and prayers of the pioneer and native american who together offered help to a peaceful neighbor. Those who know the answer is not in what the government can do for the people, but what each individual in society can offer up to help our nation heal.

Our society needs help. More than I alone can give. Our world needs help, more than I alone can give. Lift my aching soul, and my paltry offering of prayer, my dream of helping... just a little, and make it large. Make it an offering that gains a following, an offering that is imbued with Your energy and power. Make it strong, make it miraculous, make it a wave that will renew, revive, and bless this world. Help those who are hurting so much that they cannot find the energy to pray for others. Give them the healing they so richly deserve, so they may turn and offer you praise, and to pray for our nation, for its healing, and our world, for its healing.

We can't demand so much that there isn't enough to go around. We have to start working smarter, and praying harder.

We must not expect more of our society, but expect society's money to be spent efficiently - spend more doing it correctly and efficiently now, instead of spending more money doing it over again next year.

Dear Lord, make my small offering powerful. Make my friend's prayer powerful. Make it the change we need in this nation. In God We Trust. Make it true, for everyone.

Sense of Community vs. Sense of Government

A conversation I had today brought to mind the things that we do for relief. At one time, churches and religious organizations were allowed to provide well for their constituents, by allowing the pastor or leader to have a home provided to them, as well as food and other care by the community. Doctors, Nurses, Teachers, and Pastors were all welcome in the community that needed them. Communities hurting for public servants will provide for them, and today, even, you see "community policing" where police officers are offered a home at no interest if they will locate in certain neighborhoods.

Many of our public servants are expected to provide extra to the community in terms of taxes (their barter is taxed), and extra insurance, along with the inevitable extra time that social service requires.

How can we do this? Expect the Doctor or Nurse, Police officer, Pastor (you fill in the blank) to put in 120 hours a week, and pay the community for the effort they put in?

Something is wrong with this picture.

At one time, we took care of our public servants, and they took care of the poorest in our communities. They spent the hours, and we spent the effort to make sure they were comfortable.

Now we put our public servants through the wringer, and coddle the poorest of our community with the money we once paid our public servants to care.

Is it any wonder our emergency rooms, missions, mental hospitals and prisons are full to the brim?

Is it any wonder we have lost our way?

It is time to redirect our energies. It is time to realize that taking care of relief means giving those who can the means to do. Those who can listen, give and care - need the means of action.

To some extent, this is a clarification of my feeling that the social worker would rather say "yes, I can help" than push a thousand pieces of paper across a desk all day, and say "No, you don't qualify until you reach a certain level of bottom of the barrel."

Our public servants need to be thanked. Not just personally, but collectively. A community needs to say "Here is your home."

"Here is your meal."

Saying "Here is our money, and you can pay taxes, too," opens up a whole new world. It becomes easy to say,

"I hired you. You have to do what I say. You have to work for the money I pay. If you don't do the job right, I'll take you to court and take your money away. I'll fire you. I'll..."

Tell me that's not true. Tell me parents don't go to their child's teacher and demand their precious little one pass to the next grade, even though it might be better for the child to learn. Tell me that pastors and doctors and social workers aren't overburdened with the demand to prove their worth.

You can't.

You know I'm telling the truth.

Demand that we start doing things right. Get the insurance companies out of the people business, and let them insure things. Let people be people. Let those who make human error be held harmless, and let those who would harm a community be held responsible.

Expect the best, and respect the best.

Ishmael

President Obama has opened a serious discussion. If you have read my missives on Relief, you know that no one should be deemed homeless in God's universe. I believe God promised Abraham his descendents would have the promise of filling the world. Extremism is not an option.

People are the same the world over. Desperation, hunger, lack of respect and lack of purpose are the evils that cause extremist views. Give that which lifts up a man, and he will avoid the promises of those who would use people to hurt others. Wars, other than those which seek freedom of the oppressed, will cease.

I believe a homeland needs to be carved out for the Palestinian people, but they should not expect Israel. Just as Israel was promised to Jacob, so a world was promised to Ishmael (Genesis 17:18-22). God promised Abraham his descendants would be as the stars of the sky and the sands - and my take on the above verse, (even though it says "nation," it also says "12 rulers") is that the opportunities of the world would be open to Ishmael, should his descendants choose to (PEACEFULLY) take advantage of God's promise. We are all children of Abraham. A nation should be carved out -(named Ishmael, if necessary) and give the Palestinians a homeland. Join together and build a far better homeland than that they were forced to leave.

Do not let anyone believe that fighting is an answer. Science has proved God, so let science and the edicts of relief prove our action. The energy of the universe, The energy of God, the ability of God's people to achieve results, will prevail. Let us recognize the power of energy in our world, and make it happen.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

God is the taste of Water... Bahgavad Gita

As a long time Christian, I have had my share of questions and struggles. Almost 2 years ago, upon a question from a friend about why Jesus' promises didn't seem to be relevant in today's world, I began studying a closer relationship with the Almighty. I discovered a relationship that explains many things for me, and the title quote was a turning point. As I contemplated the taste of water, I began to consider how wonderful that first drop tastes when you have been without water for awhile. For most of us, that is a trip to the surgery wing. For some in our world, that is a real need. Finding ways to be relief, to offer relief, to comfort...

The bible speaks of God as love, a friend, a guide. But understanding God as relief ties together all we know of quantum physics, of everything! Faith as a grain of mustard seed - Jesus explained many of his parables to his disciples. Now, put yourself in Jesus' place, and you know quantum physics. How are you going to explain to the common man in the year zero about the actions of atomic particles?

Science tells us the actions of these particles react to how you expect them to appear. The rule says they are so fast and so small you can either observe how fast they are going, or observe their state. You cannot do both.

It ties in with the Biblical statement that Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever. There is no time in classical physics! Time is a man made construct.

Observe the statement. God isn't water, not any material thing, in fact. He is the unknowable force behind our world. God is relief!