Time to Get Political

Hey all. It's time for me to get political.
     I've been following the presidential race with great interest (even though I can't vote for another year and a half) because my American History class has spent a great deal of time on the American government--and especially the president.
     The President of the United States is charged to enforce and defend the laws of the United States, as set down by the Legislative and defined/applied by the Judicial. He is the Head of State, meaning he is the chief diplomat and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
     Now, let me begin by saying I am a proud, conservative Republican. I am pro-life, Christian, and Republican. (There goes another seventy-five percent of my readers.) Since I pay taxes and am a citizen, I take interest in my nation's politics. Especially those involving my freedoms, like my right to say what I feel and to excercise my religion as I feel led to.
     People always say "America is the greatest nation on earth." I don't believe that that's true any more. I believe we have the potential to be the greatest and to stay the greatest, but we have fallen when it comes to our morality. Just look around. Our society is floundering.

Now, do I believe either of our presidential candidates can turn it around? I missed the first debate, but have watched each since then. I entered undecided--leaning more towards Romney, since he's Republican. I lost interest in the race when Rick Santorum dropped out (I'd take a Catholic over a Mormon, seeing as Catholics are closer to Christianity than a cult like the Mormons), but the vice presidential debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Romney's running mate Paul Ryan piqued my interest. The major theme I noticed in the debate was how often Biden attacked Romney/Ryan and shifted blame on other people. I started thinking, Isn't he supposed to be talking about Obama's plan for the next four years? What about the economy? Attacking Paul Ryan isn't a way to get college kids a job. So, I watched the town hall debate. It clinched my decision, if I had a vote.
     Barack Obama, as the God-allowed Chief of State of our country, still deserves our respect and loyalty, but he has lost my trust and support. The way he has handled this election--not even counting how he has handled this country in the last four years--has lost me. Always putting the blame on someone else. Always attacking Romney, his fellow countryman, instead of laying forth a positive plan to save this country. Add to that how he has lied about and slandered Romney often, and how he has lied about his own actions and words, and I don't believe that Obama needs another four years. I think it's time someone else had a chance.
     Does this mean I'm Pro-Romney? In a sense. I disagree with his faith, and he hasn't sold me when it comes to his policies. I agree with his foreign policy, but his economic and domestic policies must be proven to my nation.

So, to recap. I believe Obama has had his chance. His actions didn't cut it, so it's Romney's turn. But Romney has to prove himself.

There. Now, back to your daily lives of work, school, music, life, and love. Enjoy the blessing of the day God has given us!

- Garrett

The Story of Love and War - Christ and His Followers

     God.

     Sin.

     Two words that can never go together.

     That's the underlying premise behind every aspect of my faith. Of my life. See, I'm what we call a Christian. Uh-Oh. I think I just lost seventy-five percent of readers.

     Well, for those of you still interested enough to keep reading (not counting the people who know and love me and are reading this to support me), let me break down for you what that word "Christian" is all about. Then, you might see why I started this blog. Maybe you'll be interested enough to stay tuned. To listen. It's certainly my hope that my feeble words can impact someone in some way.

    

     So, what do we mean when we say Christian? Well, to get nerdy, by breaking the word down into its two parts--"Christos" and "ian"--we find that it's still Greek to us all. Literally. It's Greek. The word "Christianos"--our word "Christian"--is Greek for "One of Christ."

     Well, that's clear as mud.

     I guess you kind of have to know who Christ is so you can understand what it means to be "of" him. Let's see, where to start... Well, Jesus Christ was born around 30 B.C. in a small little Middle Eastern country called Israel. He was the son of a carpenter named Joseph--sorta. See, before Jesus was born, an angel--stay with me here--appeared to Joseph's fiancee, Mary, and said she was pregnant by God. It was a son, and he was to be named "Jesus." However, he had another name: Immanuel. This Hebrew (Israeli) term literally meant "God with us" or "God among us."

     So, Jesus Christ was God's son. Why would God--or any god, if they exist--send His son to our dingy old planet? Well, when God created us, we screwed up and made it so that we could only have the barest relationship with Him--which is a problem, seeing as the very reason God made us was to have a relationship with Him. So, God came up with a plan and set it into motion with Mary and Joseph's son, Jesus.

     As Jesus grew up, the Bible says he never made mistakes. Not the kind of mistakes like forgetting to walk the dog or getting a question on a test wrong. I mean, he never "sinned." He never did something that was against the fundamental, ethical laws God had put into place at the beginning of Creation. So, Jesus had something we couldn't have--he had a relationship with God, because there was no sin holding him back.

     God's plan was this: 1) Send Son to earth, 2) Have Son live our lives, 3) Let Son destroy sin. Simple? Not so much, because the only way to destroy sin would be to sever its grip on humanity. And to do that, a sacrifice was necessary.

     Around 3 A.D., Romans executed Jesus Christ after some Jewish religious leaders got mad at Jesus because he was everything they were supposed to be and not. End of story.

     Or is it? 'Cuz, unless someone is going crazy, over five hundred people saw Jesus walking, talking, teaching, and performing miracles after he died. Wait a second. Oh yeah, he said that would happen. "I'll rise from the dead three days after I die," he said. And there were a lot of witnesses to prove it. So what does that mean? Well, most sane people who are honest with themselves realize that this feat was proof of who He was. He really was--is--God's Son.

 

     Okay, long story short: Jesus Christ is the Son of the Creator, who wants to have a relationship with us but can't because we aren't holy like He is. Jesus Christ lived a perfect life, making Him holy, and when he came back from the dead he basically showed death who's boss. And He said that anyone who believes and follows Him will show death who's boss in the end, 'cuz we'll get to have that relationship with God--forever.

 

     Now, you know who Christ was. But what about -ian? No, not your friend Ian. I mean the Greek suffix "-ian," meaning "of." A Christian is someone who is "of" or "like" Christ. How did Jesus live? He lived perfectly. So how do we live? Well, we try to live like he did.

     Notice the word try. Although Christ broke sin's hold, he didn't get rid of sin. Not yet. It's not time for that. Now, we have the choice not to sin, and we try to keep that. But I can tell you this, it's a struggle everyday. You may be someone who looks at Christians and thinks "Goody two-shoes" (if anyone still says that), but it goes deeper than that.

 

     Think of this: a criminal is let out of prison. He does his best to uphold the law when he gets out, 'cuz he doesn't want to go back to prison--and to be honest, he wants to prove himself to the Judge. Well, there are hiccups along the way. Caught speeding. Fighting with someone in public. But the Judge looks down and says, "I know your heart is in the right place. Keep it that way."

 

     We Christians are far from perfect. But we're doing our best to become perfect by following Christ's example until the day we die. It's hard. If you join us, it'll be really, really hard. Believe me. But nothing of worth is easy, right?

 

 

 

Now you know who I am. Oh? You don't? Okay, okay. My name is Garrett. I'm a Christian living in South Carolina. I love my friends and family, and I love music. I play guitar, bass guitar, piano, and I sing; I also do some recording and mixing. I write books. I act. I work at Chick-Fil-A. I love to laugh and makes others laugh. And I love God, because without Him I wouldn't be here.

     The reason I started this blog is because I believe that God has asked me to tell His story to the world. To be poetic, it's the Story of Love and War. Life is about love, and it's about war. Loving God and loving others are the two reasons we're on this spinning mudball. But it's a war everyday--inside and out.

     I'll be posting sermons like I did above. I'll post song lyrics, and links to songs or videos or other blogs. I'll post Tweets, Facebook happenings, and other miscellania. I hope you'll stick around for the ride, because it's my hope and intention that you are impacted by something--anything--here.

 

It's the story of love war. Maybe it's time for you to find your part in it.

 

- Garrett