Keep Shining!

King Solomon was correct when he said in Eccleasiastes 1:9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

This morning I read that  the Old Testament’s  Israelite King Manasseh had the longest reign in Judah’s history. II Chronicles 33:1  Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years  2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished;  

-High places were used to worship false gods such as Baal or Molech.

 What  jumped out to me  this morning was that Manasseh rebuilt the high places that his father  the godly King Hezekiah had demolished.  The high places were an affront, an insult to the True and Living God. Manasseh’s father King Hezekiah was right in destroying those blasphemous places . God was pleased with Hezekiah for doing this. Then here comes  his son Manasseh repeating the sins of those who preceded his godly father.  Manasseh even made it worse.  He brought in more false gods than every king before him. 

Manasseh did not make a mistake. He didn’t care. He knew it was wrong to rebuild those dens of inquiry, but he  did it anyway. Manasseh was defiant. 

Today in 2025 we are witnessing the same  defiance. This administration is rebuilding the walls of hatred and exclusion. Many tears and much care went into tearing down the protective barriers of prejudice and hatred.  The Civil Rights Movement did not just benefit oppressed people of color,  specifically African Americans. The talent, beauty and diversity of tearing down the walls of hatred in the USA revealed the hidden truth  that we all are created equal. Trying to level the playing field uncovered the fact that we are stronger together.

This malicious assault on the evolving greatness of working together is more than heart breaking it  could be soul destroying.  However we must refuse to let that happen. Independent companies don’t have to bow and can refuse to participate in taking the country backwards. As a citizen you don’t have to go backwards in thinking that its alright to mistreat people or not hired a qualified person  because of the color of their skin or any other identifying characteristic.

I ask that you join me in not letting the actions of the last few days blind us to the fact that there are more of us who desire a country that work’s for the majority and not just a few billionaires. Look at the World’s  history,  minority rule is not even good for those who believe they can do what they want. We are going to have to work harder  to overcome this intruding darkness by shining our little lights. As long as one of us is left standing shining our lights darkness  cannot overcome us.  Deep in my heart I  do believe that we shall overcome. 

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness;only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate;only love can do that."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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Photo Credit NPR

On his First Day in office the 47th President, Donald J.  Trump  proved an old saying wrong, “If you do the crime you do the time.”  Well obviously that phrase was kicked out the door when  DJT pardoned 1,600 law breakers They were pardoned because their law breaking was all done in the service of DJT when he refused to hand over power peacefully. What do you say to the law officers who were doing their duty to protect and serve? What do you say to the officers who were rammed with the American Flag? What about the officer whose faces were jammed into the fencing and who struggled to breathe. 

 How dare you say you stand behind and support the Blue/Police when you let violent criminals who harmed them out of jail?  These are some of the  same people who  caused injuries to 174 police officers. These people were adjudicated as guilty, but are not paying for their crimes. And YES there were crimes committed. 

“But despite the GOP rhetoric, the charges against defendants like Webster and Fairlamb are not an anomaly. Rather, they are part of a larger pattern of violence wrought that day, particularly against the largely outnumbered police officers who were there. Of the more than 500 people(as of the writing of this piece) now charged in relation to the storming of the Capitol, at least 96 of them, or nearly 1 in 5, are accused of committing acts of violence, according to a database created and maintained by NPR of all the people charged in the riot.”  New Videos Underscore The Violence Against Police At The Jan. 6 Capitol Riot

UPDATED JUNE 23, 20214:56 PM ET  Meg Anderson

Obviously we are seeing that the last words  of the last line of the  United States  Pledge of Allegiance “ ..with Liberty and Justice for all”  are being sullied in real time.  Let us resolve to not be hardened by  the hypocrisy of the miscarriage of justice and the destruction of the rule of law.

The Lord hates two things. He hates it when the guilty are set free. 

He also hates it when those who aren’t guilty are punished.

Proverbs 17:15 NIRV (New International Readers Version of the Bible)