Whatever I do, I want to keep pressing on
Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Friends,
It feels good to be back. Over the past couple months I have had a hard time motivating myself to write. Not because I couldn’t find anything to write about; there are plenty of things to say. The new administration in Washington is a treasure trove of subjects to write about, and I definitely have opinions coupled with no fear of expressing them.
When I started publishing online way back in the mid 2000’s, it was about California politics, I called it California Notes. I stopped writing after a couple years as attention spans grew shorter and shorter with the rise of social media and short-form writing. The ability to share my photography with short comments was appealing, and I drifted away from long form and tired of political commentary.
When I started on Substack back in June last year I purposely decided it was not going to be predominately politics. This time around my focus has changed and I am writing more about faith, some about my photos, and perhaps throw in a few post about wine. The blurred lines between faith and politics means political commentary will likely enter my essays on faith from time to time. I don’t think the two, faith and politics, are mutually exclusive. My writing is motivated by real life experience, and anyone who knows me understands that my life experience is made up of strong faith and work in politics.
My desire is to use my writing to help people see the intersection between faith and everyday life. My hope is that people will read my opinions and thoughts and gain a better understanding of how their lives intersect with faith and how, with honest faith and trust placed in the right person, a fuller, richer life can be lived guided by the knowledge that no person on earth can deliver us from any of this world’s miseries. Who we follow and choose to emulate matters greatly.
Encouraging people to embrace a relationship with Jesus, and to strengthen an existing relationship with Jesus is what I want to do as I live out the later years of my life. I believe that as we follow Jesus and the ideals he shared with us in the Sermon on the Mount, the Sermon on the Plain, and the example of his life, we can have the peace and hope we so desperately desire.
“Whatever you do…”
Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17
I want to live my life in such a way that I would be comfortable inviting Jesus to take part with me. Whatever it is. What I say, write, the actions I take, the policies I support. Every single thing. Let none of it be done with selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility let me put others before self. It is this attitude that Jesus lived. Though I am not always successful, this is the example Jesus set for all of us to follow.
Being a Jesus Follower, a Christian, is not a job. It is not a thing to be done only in a certain place at a particular time. It is life. It is who we are. We are salt in a decaying world, and light in a place of utter darkness.
It’s an awesome responsibility.
Living out our faith in the midst of those who do not understand it is necessary if we are to be a reflection of the one who commissioned us to take the gospel into all the world. Whatever we do, let us make it something Jesus will endorse, and do it with thanksgiving recognizing the high calling he has entrusted to us.
Closing thoughts…
I don’t know where you are on your journey, but if you have questions or want to know more I would
love to hear from you. You can leave a comment to begin a conversation.
Perhaps you would prefer to send me an email.
However you choose to follow up, I hope to hear from you.