More About This Money Thing!

On an earlier post the subject of money was discussed with the fact that it has become a prominent "god" in this republic of the United States and that it dominates and actually enslaves the lives of millions of all ages.

A very bitter and dissatisfying fruit produced by this "deity's" influence is greed. You see, in serving this particular "god" one is driven by greed on a 24/7 schedule! This takes place on an individual level and also on a corporate level. Take note at the end of the year as to what corporations report record breaking profits and what we as consumers were paying for whatever it is these leeches in the business world are producing!

Money in itself is a neutral commodity. It is neither good nor evil. But human attitudes toward, desires for, and use of money will either be good or evil depending on choices made by each human individually and a group of humans at a corporate level where power and influence are quite extensive and where manipulation in the worlds of finance and business are not just possible, but all too often a way of life!

The God-fearing and wise approach to money involves the following essentials:

• The recognition that God owns all things. This basic truth is revealed repeatedly throughout the holy Scriptures. Note just three of many:
  

  
  The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. --- Psalm 24:1
  
  "The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine," says the LORD of hosts. --- Haggai 2:8
  
  "...Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You...."
  --- part of King David's prayer in 1 Chronicles 29:11-14
  

  
  
  
• Recognizing that a proportionate share of one's income is to be given in support of God's work going on in the world. Most Christians agree that the tithe (10% of one's income) is the standard of giving to those efforts of sharing the message of salvation and hope through Jesus Christ among all peoples and nations of this present world as mandated by Him in Matthew 28:18-20
  
  The tithe was practiced under what is known as the Old Testament covenant that was established under the leadership of Moses.
  
  Reason, coupled with the complete revelation to which we now have access, and the knowledge of Jesus' sacrifice for all the sins of the entire human race leads an open minded person to the conclusion that one can do nothing less than give 10% of our gross income to support the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere!
  

  
  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. --- 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
  

  
  
  
• Recognizing the ultimate accountability to God Himself as to how our money was used in addition to all the other facets regarding what we did with our lives while residents in this present world. There are two judgments we need to keep always in mind -- one involves Christians appearing before Christ to have their works "assessed" and rewards or loss handed to them, depending on how serious they were in serving and representing Him during their lives as believers. The issue is not whether they will enter Heaven, but rather the quality of service through obedience which they produced -- wise use of time, abilities, and material goods, including stewardship responsibility of money which was entrusted to their care.
  

  
  Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. --- 2 Corinthians 5:9, 10
  
  According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become manifest; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If any one's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If any one's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.--- 1 Corinthians 3:10-15
  

  
  The other judgment involves all who are not Christian -- they too are to be judged on basis of their works. Since these rejected Jesus Christ as the only possible way of being forgiven and thus qualified to enter Heaven, the issue will be the intensity of punishment in Hell. This judgment has been commonly referred to as the "Great White Throne Judgment" for obvious reasons as stated in the book of The Revelation.
  

  
  Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
  --- Revelation 20:11-15
  

  
  Luke 16 provides some details as to the nature of torment experienced by those who refused to repent of their sins and in this age of Gospel proclamation, have refused to receive Jesus Christ into their lives as Savior and Lord!
  

While money dominates the vast majority of people, you don't need to let it dominate you -- but only by God's grace and mercy can you be set free from it's tentacles! Another way of looking at it -- it's a bit like handling dynamite -- handle it wisely and carefully and good things can take place through its use -- handle it foolishly and it will destroy you both in time and for eternity!

Parting questions -- is your love for Jesus Christ greater than your love for money? And if your love for Him is greater, what portion of your money is being used to honor Him as Savior and Lord of your life?

OK, How About a Fun Thing for a Change?

Yes, I'll be the first to admit it -- just about everything you are exposed to at this BLOG is rather negative as we deal with the issues of today which are a reflection of the fact that our republic has in mass rejected the values which are necessary for a sane, sensible, serene, stable and surviving culture!

But for a little bit of relief -- how about doing something a bit different? Would you like to dress up politicians and wanna-be-presidents so that the clothes more accurately reflect the "real" person?

Just go to Clothes Make the Man or Woman! -- that's my own title, by the way!

There you will find some persons whom you will recognize and then you can go to an area where you select the stuff they will wear. In Rudy G.'s case, there is a female or two you can add to his portrait! After you have "dressed" them, you can save the picture to your computer.

Here's an idea -- to make your voting experience in 2008 more interesting, why not print out the distinguished "portrait" and take it along when you make your selection for the next president of the U.S.A. in 2008! Enjoy!

Wow! The Dow Blasts Through 13,000 -- But That Doesn't Mean a Chicken in Every Pot!

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! --- 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Wall Street ready to throw a party in the streets -- money rolling like a mighty river -- "experts" on investing so excited that they might even dampen their britches and start looking for some Pampers to assist them in their "emergency" circumstances!

Yes, for a time there are some who are making money like crazy -- as one convicted "insider" said years ago, "A little greed is a good thing!" For a time he served in a "country club" prison environment (designed just for "white color" people) and then was released to spend all his millions made with a bit of "manipulating" in the world of finance.

But the masses within our republic will reap no benefits from this supposed "boom" as the DOW ascends to new heights. It can be proven by data available that the gap between the rich and poor is an ever widening chasm.

Greed is the motivating factor more and more with obscene profit figures being released by a growing number of corporations such as those dealing with petroleum, pharmaceuticals, etc. And there is that Haliburton outfit (with which Dick Cheney had direct connections years ago) which is making money by the truck loads under the guise of "reconstructing" Iraq, and which has made a move to shift headquarters into an Arab country! Anyone out there noticed lately about an "accountability" problem with millions and millions of dollars in the so-called "reconstruction" of Iraq?

A number of companies have dismantled operations here in the U. S. and have set up shop somewhere overseas or across the border in Mexico where workers will be paid a piddling amount under unhealthy work conditions to put together a product which will be sent here for sale! Have you made it a practice to look at where your purchased consumer items have been made? Write down the names and see how soon you have a quite a listing of countries which occupy representative seats at a place called the United Nations!

But who cares? So long as the select "few" make tons of money in the process everyone will be happy, right? And every once in a while we hear a word from that dark, dismal and depressing place known as Washington DC about how great the economy is doing!

OK -- enough of the attempt to bring us down to reality! This republic which finds itself in a most tragic state of spiritual, moral and ethical bankruptcy will discover likely too late that what seems to be a financial "boom" really is not, and is to be likened to an overinflated balloon about to pop! And guess who has the pin in His hand ready to prick it?

Among the many "idols" which have been set up over the years in this nation, the one which occupies the #1 position is most likely money. God has indicated that He will judge a nation and in the process He will bring its gods to nothing! He did it in ancient Egypt and in ancient Babylon as well as in dealing with many other peoples as history has run its course -- here is God's declaration about the matter:

The LORD will be awesome to them, for He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth; people shall worship Him, each one from his place, indeed all the shores of the nations. --- Zephaniah 2:11

In fact it is predicted that the time will come as human history reaches its final stages that fear will drive even prominent, powerful and very wealthy people into the recesses and cavities of the earth's surface! You don't think it will happen, do you? If you disagree, you'll have to have a heart to heart talk with the One Who said this:

The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols He shall utterly abolish. They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made, each for himself to worship, to the moles and bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the rugged rocks, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. --- Isaiah 2:17-21

It's really not a question of whether that Wall Street "balloon" will pop, but rather WHEN it is going to happen!

Stayed tuned for the next edition of further discussion on this interesting subject of money and how to be wise in handling whatever amount God sees fit to entrust to your care -- that way you won't get burned as will happen to the majority in the future!

"After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'" --- Matthew 25:19-21

Another Letter to the Editor -- TV News People Are Like Piranah!

Among my many and varied activities has been that of writing letters over the years. My kids will have real adventures when they sort out their "inheritance" -- their old dad won't leave them much money, but they will have a ton or two of letters to read through -- what a joy time that will be!

Included in letter recipients over the years have been letters to the editors of newspapers. At present time there are 4 newspapers in our area to which letters have been sent: The Altoona Mirror, The Indiana Gazette, The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, and Mainline Newspapers, Inc. Mainline Newspapers is a weekly serving different communities in Cambria County. The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat quit publishing my letters some time ago. The issue about this is discussed at my web site, www.crrange.com, and all the letters which they did not publish are posted there. Whether they will publish this recent one remains yet to be seen.

So, below is the letter which deals with rampant hypocrisy in the TV news industry and their concentrated focus on the VA Tech tragedy to the neglect of a far more serious "massacre" which is a daily happening in our republic! If you find that you are a bit in agreement on this problem of the TV news media, I would welcome your comments. If you feel you should try to defend them, DON'T, because you CAN'T! And the pure reason is that these people are first and foremost concerned about money and ratings -- fair and accurate reporting of news events as well as respect for victims of tragedies such as the VA Tech incident are not a priority -- it's all about money! So here we go........

Monday, April 23, 2007>

Editor:

The TV media explicitly demonstrated a morphosis from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde as it relished the tragedy at Virginia Tech a week ago. Or to put it another way, these people resembled a school of piranha in bloody waters stripping its victim to a skeleton in a short period of time.

True to form in their inconsistency, members of the TV networks constantly threw the word “massacre” at us while intentionally avoiding the fact that on April 16, 2007 hundreds of unborn children were massacred in their mothers’ wombs! Further, these people will never give us the details with shocking photos for proof regarding the greatest massacre in United States history. The grand total is now approaching 48 million victims and a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol was not the murder weapon used. How about a ban on those instruments which destroy the unborn in the womb?

As could be expected an anti-gun campaign has been revived with able assistance from the media. Get rid of the guns and we will have a safe and peaceful society so we are told. Hypocrisy is rampant on this issue also. Compare how many people have died violently as a result of use of alcoholic beverages in a year’s time compared with death by firearms. We can start with number of victims of drunken drivers and then add on the other circumstances, including those who drank some booze and then in anger killed someone with a gun! But then, there hasn’t been a campaign to rid the country of alcoholic beverages because of destruction, pain, sorrow, and death which it has caused, has there? Just get rid of those horrible guns and our troubles will be over!

We have yet to witness a full response from the God Whom we profess to trust as inscribed on our coins and currency. In His revelation to us He has made it clear that hypocrisy is not a way of life in which He takes delight and the price to be paid is far greater than any of us can imagine.

Still contending at www.crrange.com and blogging at http://cdharriger.blogspot.com

Clayton D. Harriger, Pastor

United Methodist "Leaders" on An Anti-Gun Frenzy!

Certain persons holding high positions in the United Methodist Church are showing clearly that the hinges on their knee joints work very well -- immediately after the Virginia Tech tragedy with 32 victims shot by another student the knee-jerk reaction was much faster than a doctor using his little hammer on them!

Calls for a ban on firearms and the need for the U. S. Congress to take immediate action came in staccato fashion or should I say machine gun fashion -- their mouths were on full automatic! But nothing is said by these people about the other killing instruments we have in the United States, including drunk drivers who turn their vehicles into lethal killing machines and add a significant number of victims to the death list in a year's time!

Yes, Virginia, hypocrisy is alive and well even in the United Methodist Church these days. As the chorus of voices coming from United Methodist leadership drones on and on through UM media outlets and we are told of the need to get rid of the guns, you will not hear one small itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny whimper about a massacre that staggers the mind of a morally sensitive and spiritually alert individual. You see, on that very day, April 16, 2007, while 32 students were shot by a crazed gunman at Virginia Tech, hundreds of unborn children were violently mutilated and murdered in their mothers' wombs! You want to apply the word, "massacre?" How about applying it to thousands of unborn victims each week?

The average massacre rate of the unborn in this republic is about 100,000 a month throughout the entire year! Oh yes, is this not a republic which prides itself on being a nation where all persons should have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

But United Methodist leaders are very, very silent about this massacre which has been taking place for over 34 years. The reason? The United Methodist Church officially places its sanction on abortion. You think not? Go ahead and check the Book of Discipline in the Social Principles area and note the statements relative to abortion -- you will find that it is worded in such a clever way -- mention is made about being reluctant to approve abortion, but then the statement continues and presto -- it is approved so that any woman in the UMC who wants an abortion can get it by simply claiming that the pregnancy will work undue hardship, stress, pain, suffering, or ____________ (get a lawyer to fill in the blank, since they can come up with all kinds of words to justify questionable actions!).

Strange is it not that a mainline denomination such as the UMC with a steady decline in membership over decades gives the green light to the mutilation and murder of the unborn and its leadership cannot come to the conclusion that such a position has caused great damage and loss to the denomination -- what if those nearly 48 million massacred unborn victims had been permitted to live? Only an unthinking fool would deny that at least some of them may have become members of the UMC -- the oldest would be in their 30's now and who knows what significant contributions they may have made -- if only they had not been victims of the greatest massacre in U. S. history! Are you up to checking the latest tally in light of certain significant dates in recent U.S. history? If you dare, try digesting what you observe at A Quick Look At the United States' Massacre Tally!

But don't hold your breath until a United Methodist bishop or some other leader in the denomination mentions the fact that a far greater number persons have been massacred than the 32 at Virginia Tech in mid April of 2007.

And yes, I referred to those millions of victims as persons -- the reason? I simply agree with God's view of the unborn who are known and identified by Him before they are even conceived in the womb! You don't believe it? Well now, how about you having a very long and private conversation with your Creator and ask Him all about it? And then, let me know what He has said to you by way of explanation.

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; and I ordained you a prophet to the nations." --- Jeremiah 1:4, 5

Well, It's About Time!

Did you ever picture yourself in the above scene? No, not as the driver of that black vehicle, but as the occupant of the wooden box about to be taken out of that vehicle and put in a hole in the ground?

The time is long overdue for each of us to do some thinking about issues that reach far beyond the limits of this present world and time -- such serious thinking helps us to sort out what is really important and what is foolish, trivial and very unprofitable!

For such an experience you are invited to go to

It Is Time....!

Who knows, you might never be the same person again......ever!

N O T E: This item is going to be reposted every few days due to the nature of the issue raised. We live in a fast paced world with a deadly assumption that we will always have lots of time to do whatever it is that happens to be on our personal agenda at the moment -- other people die, but I am like the Energizer Bunny -- I'll just keep going and going and going -- or will I?

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
--- James 4:13-17

Guns Are NOT #1 When It Comes to Tools of Death!

I confess to a bit of prejudice in addressing the issue of guns and efforts to "control" ownership and use of the same. Here are some things I admit which reveal my "prejudice:"

• I am the owner of a number of guns with the handguns being greater in number than my rifles and shotguns. My handguns range in size from a .357 magnum with an 8 inch barrel to a very small mini-mag 22 cal. revolver which lies snugly in the palm of my hand. In this collection are 9 mm semi-automatics, including a German Luger built in 1918, and 32 cal. semi-automatics with one being a duplicate of a weapon used by 007 agent James Bond in the film series.
  
  
• I have a sticker on my front storm door which is red in color with the following inscription: WARNING - This property is protected by an Armed American Citizen - Absolutely nothing in here is worth dying for!
  
  
• I have a licensed permit which allows me to legally carry any of my handguns concealed and loaded, except in areas where laws override the permit such as post office and other government property, public schools, and most colleges and universities.
  
  
• In conclusion on this matter I need to say also that my guns have killed less people than Teddy Kennedy's Oldsmobile which he owned a number of years ago! Teddy is great on getting rid of guns but he has never campaigned on getting rid of Oldsmobiles!
  

The Virginia Tech tragedy did a number of things in addition to shocking us and bringing out the worst in competitive media exploitation of the tragedy -- it also revived the "anti-gun" movement in which a number of high profile people in government and the entertainment industry (which has its own way of promoting violence daily) begin to froth at the mouth and rant on about the need to get rid of guns!

Can you stop and think for a minute in a very sober and common sense fashion? Consider this:

• Guns are not the number 1 killer -- compare the number killed by guns in a year's time to the number killed senselessly due to alcohol use, beginning with drunk driver victims plus all the other incidents involving violent death due to someone having a few "drinks" -- and in some of these firearms were the tools, but if the person hadn't guzzled some booze, it is likely the death would not have taken place! Will anything be done to curb and eventually eliminate the booze epidemic -- no, because even many of the "anti-gun" people who want to confiscate my guns just have to have their nip of booze on a regular basis! So in their stupidity and lack of common sense they will pursue their goal of removing guns from our nation under the delusion we will not have any more "massacres!" They forget that all they will accomplish will be taking the guns away from the law abiding citizens -- thousands of the criminal element will still have theirs!
  
  
• Second, a careful study of past incidents of mass shootings will uncover the disturbing fact that they took place in what was considered a "gun-free" environment! Cities such as New York or Washington DC which have the strictest gun control laws on the books (if you are caught with a hand gun in one of those places, they are almost ready to hang you without trial and jury) but also have extremely high murder rates, many involving firearms. Colleges, universities, and public schools are "gun free" by law. Even most campus security officers are not permitted to carry firearms. A person who is determined to wipe out a bunch of people in a gun shooting spree is aware that he doesn't have to worry about some of his potential victims carrying a weapon. What if a couple of students at Virginia Tech had been carrying weapons or would have had quick access to them? Yea, I know -- it's crazy to suggest such a thing is it not? But numerous incidents across this country which don't make headlines show that when a citizen is armed in his home, for instance, and an intruder breaks in to rob and/or kill, the weapon in the hands of a homeowner has made a difference!
  
  
• Third -- BUT the big issue that is deliberately avoided by the high profile people on their anti-gun rampage is the massacre of about 100,000 unborn children every month is this republic. Talk about violence -- what do you call an intentional act that results in a human which God is forming in the womb being chopped and torn to pieces? We claim to be shocked when someone kills another person and then dismembers the body, placing the parts in garbage bags etc! Yet there is an eerie silence coming especially from those who try to convince us that if we take away the guns, then all the violence and the killing will be ended. In the right column of this BLOG is a section about the greatest massacre in United States' history. You can view photos of some of the victims -- and remember, they were just as special and precious as the 32 who were shot on the campus of Virginia Tech! But most U.S. citizens, including the frothing-at-the-mouth anti-gun people, couldn't care less!
  

Amidst all the media in their shark-frenzy attention given to Virginia Tech and newly released information on the person who did the shooting, there was a measure of good news -- a Supreme Court ruling which has upheld the ban on partial birth abortions, but the slaughter of thousands each week still continues -- so we as a nation are not off the hook by any means as the Creator of this universe sees it!

"For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered to do all these abominations'?" --- Jeremiah 7:5-10

A "Massacre" at Virginia Tech? Why Do They Not Face the One With Far Greater Numbers?

There is no doubt that our republic was shaken from one end to the other upon learning of the killing of at last 32 persons on the campus of Virginia Tech in the morning hours of April 16, 2007.

A minority of persons across this nation whose faith and commitment is centered in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are certainly praying for families of victims as well as so many others impacted by this tragedy. Even as we pray there are very elusive answers to so many questions which are being asked now and will continue to be asked in times yet to come.

As masses of people from TV, radio and print media milk this incident to the very last drop in the drive to upstage competitors there will be certain areas on which all of them will agree that are considered "off limits."

First, they will make the term "massacre" high profile -- it is dramatic and has great shock value, but they will never ever face the greatest massacre in U. S. history which continues unabated week by week with thousands of mutilated and murdered victims! When was the last time you saw those hypocrites speak of this massacre which has absolutely nothing that comes close by way of comparison when you examine the history of this republic all the way back to the 1700's? Are you willing to show more honesty than the media crowd by looking at the latest tally in light of certain time frames at A Quick Look At the United States' Massacre Tally!


Second, there is the refusal to face the hard reality that we are witnessing a "harvest time" when it comes to sudden outbursts of violence and mass killings. Since the rebel 60's settled in and we cast aside basic Judeo-Christian values on a widespread basis, beginning with "officially" kicking God out of our public school systems, we have instituted a destructive conditioning program for our young from the time they have been born!

Many of the media people who are "milking" the Virginia Tech tragedy are part of media empires that concoct programming under the guise of "entertainment" which conditions us to be prone to violence when we feel we just have to resolve some kind of "frustration" which has invaded our lives!

When a person is fed a daily diet of violence through media outlets (Hollywood produced junk, TV movies, games laced with violence, music and the rap garbage that is punctuated with violent expressions) then that person is "armed" and "loaded" with a hair trigger and some incident is all it takes to set that person off with tragic results.

One person observed on basis of a lot of statistics over past decades that it would take at least one generation or more if drastic changes were now made and a "purging" took place within the media entertainment industry of this cesspool quality stuff before positive improvement would begin to take place in our culture!

Will it happen? Not likely, because the immoral, violent and putrid stuff sells and the dominating philosophy is, "We give the public what it wants and fatten our bank accounts in the process!" Besides, it's our constitutional "right" to market this stuff which will turn our young Dr. Jekyll's into future Mr. Hyde's!

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

--- Galatians 6:6, 7

This law of sowing and reaping not only applies to us as individuals and our personal choices, but it applies also on a collective basis to an entire culture and whether or not it seeks to obey God or reject His spiritual and moral laws and create an indescribable hell for itself!

Another Intentional Slap at Christianity -- But Then, What Else Is New?

Head honcho of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean, issued a press statement on March 30th which was titled, "DNC Offers Passover Greetings." The following was contained within the release:

"On Monday night, Jews around the world will begin celebrating Passover, a week-long holiday that commemorates the Israelites' freedom from persecution and slavery."

All well and good -- anyone familiar a bit with the history of the Jewish people from very ancient times knows it has not been an easy life for them much of the time through the centuries. Passover is a very special celebration dating back to the time this people was set free from their enslavement to the Egyptians through direct intervention by Almighty God in a series of miracles as He judged the Egyptians for their idolatry and holding the Israelites in bondage for a period of 400 years! The crowning work of His judgment was the slaying of the firstborn throughout Egypt and the sparing of the Israelites in every home where the blood of a sacrificed lamb had been applied to the doorposts and lintel of an Israelite residence. And later when Pharaoh and his troops tried to pursue the Israelites through the Red Sea which God had opened up for them, God then allowed the waters to return into that gap and all the Egyptians were drowned! When you don't listen to God and obey, you ALWAYS pay and the price is always high as the mighty Pharaoh and his people found out far too late!

Now come a few days later from March 30th to Easter on April 8th -- head honcho Dean on behalf of the Democratic National Committee issued another statement. You would think that this would make some mention of the significance of Easter as it pertains to Christians and their faith in celebrating the resurrection of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

But here is what was said:

"Easter Sunday is a joyful celebration. The holiday represents peace, redemption and renewal, a theme which brings hope to people of all faiths. During this time Christians are called to remember who they are as people of faith, and that even the greatest of evils will not have the last word..."

Dean is about as far off base as some pastors and theologians who profess Christianity but at the same time are skeptical or just plain come out and deny that Jesus was literally resurrected 3 days later after the crucifixion!

For one thing the "joyful celebration" as he puts it is strictly limited to those in the Christian faith and to no other faith beyond Christianity. You can play with your jelly beans, chocolate bunnies and marshmallow chicks all you want, and profess any one of a thousand religious "isms," but unless you have truly repented of your sins and have received Jesus Christ into your life as Savior and Lord, Easter is just another day with a few extra trappings!

Further, it is only through Jesus Christ that peace of lasting significance is experienced and the assurance of having been redeemed for time and eternity!

But the head honcho of the DNC made absolutely no mention of Jesus Christ and the reality of His resurrection which is at the very heart of the Easter celebration observed by Christians -- again, in effect by such statements God is given the obscene gesture and it is obvious that Mr. Dean couldn't care less!

Brace yourselves folks! Christians and their faith are going to come under attack more and more as time passes -- it's been predicted! And especially as God begins to deal with this country more and more for its massive shedding of innocent blood, idolatry, sexual immorality, false teaching of the young regarding the origin of life, and the cancer of greed! But the problem is, we don't want to believe it can really happen in this republic which makes a hypocritical claim of being "one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all!"

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me." --- Jesus speaking in John 15:18-21

PS: Don't try to say that I am a Republican because of the above remarks about the Democrats -- due to the condition of the Republican Party right now, the same statements could have come from some of their leadership as well! I am a non-affliated registered voter in Cambria County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with the confession that entering the voting booth is one of the most frustrating experiences I have to endure throughout the year.

Prayer Is Also a Weapon -- Use It!

Let the righteous strike me; it shall be a kindness. And let him reprove me; it shall be as excellent oil; let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked. --- Psalm 141:5

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. --- James 5:16-18

The concept of prayer for a large number of people consists mainly in seeking something from God -- it boils down to asking God for blessings and if one is in some kind of "crisis" dilemma, then you ask God for help and that He would get you out of the trouble in which you find yourself.

Some may go a bit further and say that we ought to give God thanks and express gratitude for good things He has granted. At that one special time of the year, in between a turkey dinner and a plethora of football games, we may be reminded to pray a bit and offer up an expression of gratitude!

Prayer is much more than what has been mentioned, and that includes use of prayer as a "weapon." Note the statements in Psalm 141 as mentioned above -- about praying against the "deeds of the wicked." Then we are informed of one person who did this very thing -- Elijah prayed that it would not rain and for 3 1/2 years God turned off the spigot when it came to rain events in the northern kingdom of ancient Israel. Its king was Ahab with a rather notorious wife named Jezebel -- she was a good missionary -- she brought all her heathen deities with her when she married Ahab and Baal worship was widely promoted and accepted -- perhaps the people were excitedly proclaiming the fact that now they were a "diverse" people with different ideas about belief systems and worship just as has been happening in the mainline denominations today -- you hear a lot about celebrating "diversity" in the United Methodist Church at the present time!

Ahab confronted Elijah and accused him of causing trouble in the kingdom -- it's a fascinating encounter -- I'll let you hunt it up and see what adventures Elijah had as he used prayer as a weapon.

There is a lot of wickedness in our culture and even big name people can be a part of it -- they live it and actively promote it at times! So pray "against" them -- that God will return upon their heads the "fruit of their doings!" This last expression is Biblical by the way -- you can see references to it from time to time.

Try that approach for instance with the guys who mutilate and murder unborn children! Or with elected officials who act more out of self-interest and self-preservation than they do for the interests and well being of the citizens they are supposed to represent! Or with those in the entertainment industry with their repulsive display of immorality and ungodly influence upon our young folks! And don't forget other ways those who are wicked in their ways have a destructive influence on our young -- those who traffic in drugs and alcohol -- those who influence the young with "music" (term used loosely) laced with lyrics encouraging immoral and violent conduct -- those who teach our young that we have "evolved" from lower life forms rather than being a special creation, with each person known and identified by God before conception in the womb and for whom there is a special place in God's overall plan for His creation. This last problem on origins is to be compared to an intellectual cancer which is out of control in the majority of educational institutions throughout the U.S. starting at the elementary level and continuing all the way through the graduate school level!

And just maybe with the resulting calamities that come about, there may be some who will actually repent of their wickedness and seek the mercy and forgiveness of God so wonderfully offered in and through His Son, Jesus Christ!

But we also are sobered with the historical record that in Elijah's case, it didn't do any good -- the kingdom continued down the slippery slope toward impending judgment and ultimate collapse. It doesn't exist anymore.

So, shake the dust off that weapon and be sure to use it every day -- you have to keep working at it because it's virtually impossible to fully identify all the wickedness which exists within a republic known as the United States of America! But sensitivity to what God has revealed in His Word about the patterns of wickedness and enlightenment provided by the Holy Spirit, we will be able to see more clearly where it is concentrated and then pray against it!

In a sense we who have chosen to follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord find ourselves surrounded by the "lions" of wickedness in a variety of forms -- and we are constantly pressured to go along with the ungodliness of our culture without objection or saying something that may "offend" somebody! Nonsense! Get out that weapon and use it -- see what great things God can and will do -- if He shut the mouths of hungry lions in the presence of His servant, Daniel, He can bring all manner of chaos into the lives of those who live and promote the ways of wickedness!

And a PS: Do you remember what happened to that bunch which conspired against Daniel with the result that he was thrown into the lions den? They and all the members of their families were pitched into the den and this time the lions had a feast -- God allowed them to gorge themselves. Yes, wickedness does pay off, but not in a very pleasant way ultimately!

It is time for You to act, O LORD, for they have regarded Your law as void. Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold! Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way. --- Psalm 119:126-128

What If We Are Told Not to Pray Any Longer?

"Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you."

"Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble."

Then the LORD said to me, "Do not pray for this people, for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence." --- Jeremiah 7:16; 11:14; 14:11, 12

There has been a very deadly assumption down through the centuries to the present time -- that God always answers all prayers. It seems to be especially entrenched as a society of people get careless and very sloppy when it comes to spiritual, moral and ethical responsibilities. The more lax they become when it comes to the issue of seeking to obey God and fulfilling His divine plan, the more insistent they are that God always answers prayer and all we need to do is ask Him for whatever we have in mind and He will just pour out a ton of blessings in response! Some professing Christians are about willing to engage in a "knock down, drag out fight" over this thing of God answering prayer.

Jeremiah the prophet lived at a time when the spiritual and moral climate of the nation in which he lived was shockingly very much the same as what we are witnessing in the United States. There was a lot of noise generated throughout the country that just about everyone "believed in God." The major problem was the wide gap between what was claimed by way of belief and performance in conduct that provided credibility to that profession of "believing in God!"

There had been the adoption of idolatry, immorality, the "shedding of innocent blood" (child sacrifice to heathen deities), the profaning of the day of worship, and the corruption of the teaching of God's Word -- that is, if it even qualified as "teaching," since the revelation of God to which they had access didn't really mean much to them any longer. For instance, when something is considered vitally important you give attention to it, but when it is not a priority, then it is mainly ignored!

Finally God revealed that the time for praying and being heard had passed -- even a godly person such as Jeremiah was told to pray no longer, because God would no longer listen. He had sounded the warning for years and no one took him seriously, and then it happened -- his nation was invaded and totally destroyed!

Want to think on a troubling question -- how long do you think it will be before God begins to reveal a similar instruction -- "Don't pray any more for your country because I won't hear you!"

For further thought -- when the calamities began to really hit, the people began to say, "Why is God doing these things to us -- what have we done?"

Take a slow and very prayerful walk through the book of Jeremiah and then follow through with the book of Ezekiel -- after you finish, do it again a few more times and see how very up to date these two really are!

Moreover He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. And He said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you." So I ate it, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness. And He said to me: "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel, not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted." --- Ezekiel 3:1-7

Through another prophet God said He was going to return to His place until there was honest recognition of having sinned against Him -- the implication was that if they prayed and called on God without repenting and turning from their wicked ways, He was not going to hear them! Ah, you can check that one out in Hosea 5:15 -- yes, it's in the Old Testament -- you might have to hunt a while, but he's there. He lived quite a number of years before Jeremiah and Ezekiel but the spiritual "cancer" was already at work, and God gave Hosea a command to marry a harlot -- a rather dramatic object lesson spelling out how the country had betrayed God in constant acts of spiritual infidelity! If Hosea were living in Washington DC or some other section of our republic today, he would be given the identical "marching orders!" And it is more than an outside possibility that God would say the same today as He said through Hosea a long time ago -- "I will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; in their affliction they will diligently seek Me." --- Hosea 5:15

Important Tax Reminder!

Have you paid your taxes......??


Don't forget -- 12 million illegal aliens are depending on you!

OK -- just two things about all this:

• First, this was something that has been circulating around the Internet and someone passed it on to me -- I don't know what person should be credited with the graphic or the reason we should be sure to pay our taxes!
  
  
• Second, the issue of "illegals" in this country has become somewhat of a powder keg -- a real political time bomb with a heavy emphasis on amnesty being granted to all who are in this country illegally.
  At least a few of us are wondering what's going on here -- has it not been for a long time that certain laws have been in place which determine how many from wherever are permitted to enter this country? And once you get in you are expected to adjust to the customs of this republic that include obedience to its laws and the learning of its language which is English, right?
  
  But then again, it seems that it's still pretty much a rather rigid requirement to enter this country if you are coming from just about anywhere except from that country below the southwestern border of the United States!
  

And on this tax thing -- something else to remember -- thanks to our elected officials, it now takes the average citizen nearly 6 months to pay ALL taxes (local, state, federal, hidden, and not so hidden) before he or she can begin to pocket a bit of income for personal use within each calendar year! And a PS -- we Pennsylvanians are among those who pay some of the highest gasoline taxes in the whole country and there is talk of adding some more tax on gas -- hang on, we'll make it to the top of the heap yet! With the most top heavy bumbling legislature of the entire 50 states, we can be sure of one thing -- our tax nightmare has really just begun!

"Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain. --- Ezekiel 22:27

Special Notice for Those Sharing Millions of Dollars!

This is for that huge number of persons who send me emails offering to share a few million dollars with me for a small favor on my part.

Since there are so many of you who have access to someone's estate or an inheritance which nobody is claiming and this involves a lot of emailing to find someone willing to enter into a partnership with you, I have designed a form which will expedite the proceedings. Also, the grammar will be reasonably correct since I have a better command of the English language than you who still have a serious problem with the language -- the proper use of nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and sentence structure can be a real pain, can it not? So feel free to copy and paste the form and insert the names and other vital information as suggested and then delete the suggestions. Once you get your millions with the help of some U.S. citizen, maybe you could send me a few thousand dollars for use of the form! Let's just say I work on a commission basis in this sort of thing. I thank you in advance for your most generous response.

Standard Form for Sharing Millions of U. S. Dollars

Dearly Beloved (this is the most recent and very affectionate salutation to use):

I am (insert your name) from Nigeria (or insert some other African country). The late Mr. (insert name of deceased) was forced to flee when rebels took over the government. He was able to hide (insert any number) millions of U. S. dollars in an extra large piggy bank in the left corner of the third cemetery (or insert other location) on the road going south out of (insert name of town).

I have recovered this money but need to have it transferred to your country. I have complete faith that you will be willing to have these funds transferred to your personal bank account. I ask that you divide these funds as follows: you take (insert percentage, but no higher than 30%) and the balance will be mine. The generous amount which you receive will be compensation for entering into this partnership.

Please provide me with the following information: your name, postal address, phone number, and bank account number.

Also, please keep this matter very confidential. As soon as I receive the requested information from you, I will immediately begin the process for the transfer of the funds to your account. You will receive processing papers which will give further instructions as to what you must do to complete the transfer.

In closing I want to inform you that I am a born again Christian and have been diagnosed with cancer. My doctor informs me that I only have a few months to live. So your prompt attention to this matter is extremely important for the benefit of the both of us.

Sincerely,
(insert name)
(insert email address and phone number)


If I had all those millions of dollars which have been offered to me these past few years I would have a fortune that would compete with big name millionaires!

Sadly there have been people who have taken the "bait" and gotten badly burned financially in these scams that just keep going like the Energizer Bunny!

This type of scam takes many forms but it has only been in recent months that they have been weaving the "born again Christian" and the terminal cancer scenario into the offers for you and me to become millionaires.

As for me, I will continue to pass up these offers on the basis that I'm in line to receive some things that make the millions of dollars offered in this world look like putrid garbage by way of comparison! Read it for youself......

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." --- Jesus in John 14:1-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. --- 1 Peter 1:3-5

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. --- Romans 8:16-18

Looking forward to seeing you there -- in fact, I put together an invitation which you are welcome to examine -- it's at Meet Me in Heaven!

Why Fly a Shredded Flag?

My wife tells me, "Get that ragged flag down and get a new one!" Most passers-by would fully agree. And as you view the picture, you probably agree also. It is a bit of a disgrace to fly the banner of the republic of the United States of America in such a condition, is it not?

Yes, I do intend to replace it after a bit of time has passed. Perhaps the word is going around the neighborhood already -- "Have you seen what that crazy preacher is doing now -- he's got a badly tattered and torn flag flying beside his house -- has he no sense of pride at all? Doesn't he care about how that looks to the people who are driving by his place?" Maybe the Blacklick Township supervisors will get after him about that!

On the other hand, perhaps all flags flying around the United States should be in a shredded condition such as the one pictured above. And it would be especially fitting if the ones flying at the White House, the Capitol building in DC, the Pentagon, all state capitol buildings and all post offices throughout the republic of the United States were in such a condition!

And why is that, you may ask?

As you look at that tattered and torn flag consider this:

• As a culture, we have shredded the spiritual truths which have been given to us through God's special revelation, the holy Scriptures (the Bible)!
  
  
• We have shredded the moral standards which provide a solid foundation for a sane, sensible, stable and surviving culture as we now move into a very uncertain future!
  
  
• We have shredded the ethical standards which are so vital in human relationships so that we have become a "slit the throat, knife 'em in the back" society with a driving passion to get all the money we can get by whatever means it takes to get it! As an example, have you bought a gallon of gasoline lately? See what Exxon-Mobile's profit margin is when they release their next report. But the Exxon-Mobile high command is not the only bunch interested in getting lots and lots of money!
  
  
• We have literally been "shredding" thousands of unborn children every week for decades, with the grand tally moving toward the 48 million mark -- for the latest see A Quick Look at the United States' Massacre Tally!
  

So that flag that has had millions recite a plege in its presence and conclude by saying "...one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all." is a powerful symbol when it becomes shredded and torn -- it is reflecting in a rather dramatic way what the spiritual, moral and ethical climate of the United States of America actually is at the present time. It is also painfully obvious that the vast majority of elected officials and far too many church leaders are indifferent to this tragedy or simply don't care!

"Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time I punish them, they shall be cast down," says the LORD. Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, 'listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not listen.' Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not heeded My words, nor My law, but rejected it." --- Jeremiah 6:15-19

Some Refer to It As "Sextra Credit" -- Teachers in Sexual Relationships with Students!

NBC made a big deal out of what they called "Catching a Predator" -- that is, setting up the bait via computer and snaring a guy who thought he'd get a young teen-aged girl to be sexually intimate in some way with him! With cameras in focus the guy comes to the house where the alleged "target" of his raging hormones was supposedly living -- the host of the program confronts him in a dramatic way and then as the guy leaves a bunch of cops nail him as if he were carrying a couple of AK-47 assault rifles and enough ammo to hold off an army -- the guy is thrown to the sidewalk with cops covering him as thick as 2" icing on a chocolate cake!

But as usual, NBC is only consistent in its inconsistency as are most of those TV networks! What they don't even whisper about is something going on in schools across the country involving some teachers and students. But then, they couldn't stage this thing as they do the "predator" series and it would be rough to have a bunch of cops throwing an attractive school teacher to the ground in case she too was carrying an AK-47 in her bra!

WorldNetDaily.com has given time and space to this growing problem -- teachers sexually involved with students, with some of those students just reaching their mid-teens in age!

But something else stands out worse than the proverbial "sore thumb" in this growing epidemic and that is the way the court system deals with these offenders. They are very rarely ever considered sexual predators and more often than not a judge will let them off very lightly when it comes to sentencing as though to suggest, "You naughty little girl -- you shouldn't do things like that, so I'll put you on probation for a while and you can think about what you did!"

Go ahead -- check it out at The big list: Female teachers with students You'll find that the "justice system" is weighed in the balances and found to be very much wanting on this moral catastrophe of the first magnitude!

So we have an avalanche of questions -- how can these things happen? Can't these teachers control themselves? And if they are married, what's wrong that they would betray their husbands for an encounter in the back seat of the family sedan with a teen-ager?

One thing we have not really come to honestly confront in our culture as it wavers on its very unsteady foundation of spiritual, moral, and ethical sand -- we have had a good solid 4 decades+ of preaching that "Sex is fun with anyone or more than one anyone at the same time, anywhere, and at any time we may feel so overwhelmed with our carnal appetites!"

This cesspool level morality has come at us through the avenues of Hollywood films, TV programming, popular magazines, and books. There are those "talk shows" which delight in getting into this subject as well -- it always makes for big, big ratings! It has been demonstrated at a high profile level by noted celebrities as their bedroom antics are chronicled for us -- who is sleeping with whom and how many kids have been comceived in these romps which take place on a non-stop basis!

In far too many ways, it's still a "Monkey see, monkey do!" culture -- especially when it comes to this fascinating and very powerful part of us which is referred to as "human sexuality!"

Will we ever get turned around 180 degrees and begin to take seriously what our Creator has revealed about responsibility regarding sexual expression and experience? Will we as a culture really seek to know and then live within the boundaries Almighty God has established when it comes to this thing commonly referred to as "sex?"

Evidence at this point is unmistakably clear that we, as a nation, would rather give God an obscene gesture, find the nearest bed or whatever, and continue our mad dash to a judgment that human words cannot begin to describe and the human mind is totally incapable of beginning to understand!

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. --- 1 John 2:15-17

Have You Graduated Beyond the Bunnies & Eggs Thing?

Just as it is at Christmas time, the competition is fierce -- ads coming at you in all directions trying to persuade you to buy new clothes and lots of sweet stuff as you prepare for Easter. Of course those selling other kinds of merchandise are reminding you that it's spring time and you need a lot of their products for making it a much better spring than you've ever had before! And if you're hurting for some reason -- maybe you skinned your toe on your neighbor's uneven sidewalk, there's a zillion lawyers out there with repulsive ads telling you to sue and get "the money you deserve for your pain and suffering!" That way you can give your neighbor an Easter present he won't ever forget.

What is your reason for celebrating Easter, if you have managed to move beyond such stuff as that mentioned above? Are you able to lift your vision far beyond the little bunnies, chickens, and eggs -- the jelly beans and the flowers?

After gazing for a time on a central cross outside the city of Jerusalem with the body impaled upon it now removed, are you a bit excited? Does the excitement become more intense as you remember again that the grave was unable to hold Him in its deadly grip and that Jesus came out of that tomb three days after His slow and painful death on a Roman cross?


Even within churches claiming to be identified with the Christian faith there has at times been skepticism displayed when it comes to the literal bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. For a few of us, that comes as no surprise -- each century has produced a number who seem to take delight in denying that Jesus is alive, but our response is simple -- "You are badly mistaken -- I'm in daily contact with Him and we have conversation about many things. You can't carry on conversation with a dead person successfully!"

Let the skeptics ramble on in their blindness and stupidity, we know better as we continue to walk in fellowship with Him Who is King of kings and Lord of lords! So this Easter, let's check our vision again -- how far can we see? Do we see Him Who was dead for a brief moment and placed in a stone tomb, but is now alive and some day in the future will return to rule this world forever?

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." --- John 14:1-6

If you are still at the bunny, chicks, eggs, and chocolate level, slip on over and take a look at How to Become a Christian -- you life just might be changed forever!