Kobe Bryant, U.S. Senate Trial, Q & A, Baby Names, & Discernment

A lot of news stories have been coming up that I'm not going to say a whole lot about.
It's not that I'm not paying attention, but I'm not stirred up enough to address all of them.

Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant's death in the helicopter in California (along with his daughter and the seven other people with them) reminds us that life can be shorter than we expect, and that people need to hear the Gospel while they are still here on earth.
As someone who liked the Lakers, I was familiar with Kobe's name.
I was more of a team fan than a personal fan, but it is still sad.
I saw other news recently about a 24 year old police officer killed, and so all of these deaths are so sad...especially if you learn they didn't belong to the Lord.

U. S. Senate Trial
From all I've seen President Donald Trump has not committed a prosecutable crime, but some are so angry at him that they are looking for any possible excuse to try to get him removed from office. 
The House manager Adam Schiff is the one who originally got into office through redistricting (which was the Democrats way of getting back at James Rogan who helped lead in the impeachment of now former President Bill Clinton - Clinton actually did commit a legally prosecutable offense). 
That's all I'll say about that at least for now.

I've saved up a few more things to share with you:

The Q & A You Likely Missed
The other week, we watched a very interesting Q & A that Pastor Don Green of Truth Community Church did on a Tuesday night.
Making decisions in political elections was just one of the things that he responded about.
Truth Community Church Q & A

Popular Names by Decade
The Social Security Administration has lists of the top 200 names used for boys and girls in the U.S.A. born in each decade. 
You can check and see if your name is among them!

Popular Names

Discernment: Spiritual Survival for a Church in Crisis
I saw that GTY was offering a booklet on discernment, so I searched on their site and found that I could read it there. 
I believe it would be a good resource for people to get and distribute. 
I have recently had an online conversation with someone that would likely claim to be a Christian yet supports abortion, doesn't believe the Gospel of Scripture, and the person doesn't believe in Hell.  There are a lot of people who don't treat Scriptural truth as their final authority.
I'd encourage people to read the booklet HERE.

Home Buying & Repair - Favorite Links

If you are looking to buy a home in the U.S., I've done quite a bit of research recently that might help you.

1. The most up-to-date site realtors use is Realtor.com

2. A site that gives estimates of home values and includes some for sale by owner listings is Zillow.com

3. Neighborhood crime and safety is important to look into when buying a house as well. Trulia.com will let you know about the crime levels around a particular house.

4.  To find out city information USA.com has some helpful statistics.

5. I found a lot of helpful information about issues with houses on one site (like old houses, inspection, life expectancy for things in the home, electricity, etc., etc.)
Some information is just for Florida, but much of it is not.  http://www.mcgarryandmadsen.com/inspection/Blog/Blog.html

6.  There are 3 cost estimating sites for things that might need fixing in a house that I found very helpful.

Home Advisor 
HomeWyse 
Cost Helper 

The Lesser of Judgments

In past elections, I have voted a number of times for the lesser of judgments.
I say the lesser of judgments, rather than the lesser of evils.
I think of David having to choose a judgment due to his sin (in 2 Samuel 24:13).
Will a vote have the likelihood to save lives or stand for some Biblical morality?

In the last Presidential election, I voted more for Paul Ryan's possible tie breaking vote (that a Vice President has in the U.S. Senate) than for Romney, only to see Paul Ryan turn around to be wrong on the marriage issue later.  Yet, he did have a better record than who is left in the current election.

It would be great if a true Christian ran for President, but that rarely happens.
Even a professing Christian is often not truly one, and many people claim faith.
It used to be popular to claim to be a Christian to win an election, and some still do it today as we have seen.
Even in history, when a supposed Christian King or Queen or other ruled, it was not a bed of roses.

As it is, many of us figuratively hold our noses and cast our votes for people who are not quite right on some issues, but we try to pick people who are the best to save lives and stand at least for some moral principles that are echoes of Biblical beliefs - though held by non-Christians.

On some occasions, neither of the major candidates is trustworthy on the most important issues.
One may say they support what is right, but when their whole public record shows that they actually support what is wrong.  What then?
This is when I look for someone else to vote for.

When Governor Gray Davis of California was being voted out by a recall election, we had to choose between Arnold Schwarzenegger and others to replace him.
Before the election, Arnold Schwarzenegger had said that he would go with what the people wanted (in opposition to homosexual "marriage"). but he indicated that when the people were ready for it -he'd support it.
So, with that information, I could not vote for him, and I voted for a candidate who did not win. Guess what?  When someone illegally performed "weddings" in California, Governor Schwarzenneger's true colors came out in supporting the immoral "weddings."

This is why I cannot in good conscience vote for Donald Trump, and I certainly can't vote for the Democrat candidate.  Trump has proven to be dishonest, and I have every reason to believe that he will not fight to save the lives of the unborn or stand for Biblical morality.  
People need a proven track record, because Mr. Trump's public track record (not just what he's said, but what he's done) has been very poor.

I have yet to decide who I shall vote for, but it seems it will probably have to be a write-in.  I don't know that anyone else has qualifed in this state (Tennessee) for the election.   Even if they have, I don't know if they would be better.
We shall see.

Elections are very polarizing, and many of us feel very strongly.
Some of my friends will not vote at all, and some may compromise hoping for the best.
We will be disappointed in people, but each Christian must deal with their own conscience.
We need to be careful about judging and treating each other harshly in these cases.
God is the judge of motives.

Chinese Struggle for Freedom / Update On Chen Guangcheng

The video below from early June was extremely interesting for me to watch / listen to. As you know, I have been interested in China for many years.   You can learn a little more about Bob Fu and the plight of Christians and others in China.   It's also very telling to see how U.S. Presidents have responded to the situation there.  While I desire freedom for people in China, I desire most that more people also have the freedom from sin and death that Christ can give.  Please watch the video and then follow the link below to see an update on Chen Guangcheng.

Update from June 23rd about Chen Guangcheng: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2018504946_chennewhome24.html