Child of God

With all the trials and hard times we go through, it's good to hear a simple message to remind us that if we've surrendered our lives to the Lord, we are children of God.  That was the point of today's sermon.  It was so simple yet so powerful.

The title really caught my attention: 'You are LOVED and WANTED by the God of all the ages.'  The subtitle was equally attention grabbing:  'You are FORGVEEN and ACCEPTED by the God of the ages.' 
It's based on 1 John 3:1: ' See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!'

That is what we are: we are children of God!  That alone is an amazinng thought, but Pastor Lynn went on to give three points to illustrate this truth.

1.  He created you in his image.  (God would not have created you if he didn't WANT you.)

2.  He redeemed you by his blood.  (Jesus paid the price for your salvation, and God redeemed you.  You are twice owned.)

3.  He perfected you with his grace.  (Made perfect in Jesus.)

If we remember tthese simple truths, it will change the way we thimk about ourselvves.  We are children of God!

This song went along perfectly with his sermon:
https://youtu.be/f8TkUMJtK5k

Election Observations

Today is Aug. 19.  There are 450 days until Election Day 2016.  Thatt's a lifetime in terms of who will make it all the way to Election Day.  Right now, there are 17 Republican candidates in the race.  The field will be whittled down quickly.

Right now, it's basically a popularity contest.  Trump is on top in the polls because he's a famous name.  I can't believe people are taking him seriously.  I think Trump is in the race only to disrupt and create division within the GOP ranks.  Trump is running to promote Trump.  He's not a Republican, and his  star will fade fastt  (although it would be fun to see Trump debate Hillary).

I look for the field of candidates to thin out pretty quickly.  Gilmore, Graham and Pataki will be the firsts to go because no one knows who they are.  Perry and Santorum will follow.  They are holdovers from the 2012 election, but their time has passed.

Jeb Bush would have a better chance if his name wasn't Bush.  Maybe he should change his name to Clinton.

The Gang of Governors (Walker, Jindal, Christie and Kasich) are strong candidates, but there''s not a standout among them.  Kasich lost my respect with his answer  about same-sex marriage.  He said we must love gays and accept same-sex marrige.  Well, he's half right. Love them, yes!  Accept same-sex marriage, NEVER!  It is wrong no matter what five unelected lawyers on the Supreme Court say.

Carson and Fiorina are smart and very popular, but I really think they lack the experience needed to hold the most powerful job in the world.  The same can be said about first-term senators Marco Rubio and Rand Paul.

The exception is  Cruz.  Even though he's a first-termer, he has proved he can take a stand for consvative values. I look for him to go far.   He has a very good chance of making it all the way to the nomination.

Then there's my top choice: Mike Huckabee.  His chances aren't that great, but in the unpredictable world of politics, anything can happen!