Big Day in San Francisco on Sunday, September 30th!

You have had a harlot's forehead; you refuse to be ashamed. --- Jeremiah 3:3b

You think you've heard or seen it all? Maybe you'll want to reconsider that!

Take a look at the above promotional poster for the Folsom Street Fair being held tomorrow in San Francisco. This happening is heralded as THE EVENT for same-gender couplers and their sympathizers who may be heterosexual in their orientation but campaign for the right to practice sodomy and lesbianism without restriction, etc.

The poster obviously is a mockery of the Last Supper which involved Jesus Christ and His disciples 2,000 years ago!

The gut-wrenching details on the Folsom Street Fair can be found in 2 articles from WorldNetDaily.com.

See 'Gays' mock Jesus with Last Supper take-off. Subtitle to this article notes, "Taxpayers subsidize event with nudity, orgies under watch of police."

Second article is titled, Pelosi won't condemn 'gay' slur of Last Supper

Any further question in your mind that this is just another step toward the goal of forced acceptance by everyone of the practices of sodomy and lesbianism in the good old U. S. of A? And when the goal is reached, if you so much as object vocally you may well be charged with a criminal offense under some warped version of a "hate crimes" statute!

Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. --- Revelation 22:14,15

Yes, Virginia, in Such a World As This, Negatives Are Very Necessary!

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." Jesus speaking in Matthew 23:23-28

"Always be positive -- be an upbeat person -- have a perpetual smile on your face -- do as the song of long ago exhorts, 'Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative...!'"

Many are the voices that broadcast the "positive" message in our culture. Books by the ton have been mass produced on the subject. Not a few church leaders and pastors make no secret of the fact that being "positive" on a 24/7 basis is the only way to go.

Is there a place for negatives in today's world? As I mentioned one time in communicating with a TV news anchor person who told me I was too negative -- I said to him, "Negatives are necessary in our world -- try starting your car sometime without a negative post on your battery!"

An honest search and evaluation of the holy Scriptures will reveal quite a bit of "negative" material!

God is portrayed as a God Who can either be very positive or very negative depending on the response we humans make to His call to repent of our sins and receive His forgiveness, which for 2,000 years has been graciously offered through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Let's honestly face it for once -- God was pretty negative when He wiped out the world with a flood a long time ago with only 8 people surviving -- and He was quite negative when He destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, was He not?

If you dare, read slowly and ponder long on the messages of the Old Testament prophets -- a lot of very negative stuff is found in their statements.

But why did they so often talk a "negative" talk? The answer is really quite simple -- they lived in times of ethical, moral, and spiritual corruption. God called them to denounce the wickedness of their generations and to declare the need to repent and turn to God. Much more often than not the response was a negative -- "We will continue in our sin, and if God doesn't like it, that's tough -- we like things just the way they are with no changes being made in the way we now live!"

The best summary of the pattern is seen in 2 Chronicles 36 -- God's compassion (a very positive thing) -- His urgent appeal -- rejection of the appeal by the citizens and their religious and political leaders -- finally the crossing over the line -- and then judgment by God, which proved to be a very "negative" experience of the first magnitude!

More tragic than that historical event is the fact that the very same pattern is being repeated in a republic known as the United States of America!

Strangely, there are church leaders who, in their great emphasis on being "positive," attempt to point to Jesus as the One Who was very "positive" -- you know, all love and compassion all the time. Have you looked at Matthew 23 lately? And note especially that His remarks were directed toward the religious "elite" of the day.

Jesus also referred to King Herod as a "fox" -- a label which was not intended to be complimentary! Are political leaders deserving of such a negative term?

So long as our nation and the world of which it is a small part continue in their present courses of direction there will be a critical need for "negatives."

That's the way it is, Virginia, whether you like it or not!

"Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." --- Isaiah 58:1

Big John Corrupted? Surely You Jest!

"Threatening a House member for criticizing earmarks. That's a clear violation of House ethics." --- Melanie Sloan, Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington DC

John Murtha is my congressman in Washington DC. I am not proud of that fact, but we in the Johnstown area of central Pennsylvania have had this "ball & chain" type of politician dragging us down for over 3 decades!

I have written personal letters to him on numerous occasions concerning various issues. And he has usually responded. When I do get a letter from him it is as is the case with politicians who have held office far too long -- a lot of words without any real substance and exhibiting the unusual ability to straddle the fence. I have found that a number of church leaders can do about the same thing!

Big John grabbed national headlines some time back by advocating the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. Needless to say, he doesn't rank high on Bush's book of people to admire and like.

In his district Big John holds a position that puts him higher than Almighty God Himself in the minds of a lot of people! And likely some would go to Big John first with their request for help rather than to God. Seems he has an open spigot in his district which runs to the U. S. Treasury! So this recent release of details about his being corrupted and abuse of his power will not go down well with a lot of people in his district and especially Johnstown where his name appears on buildings all over the place.

The report from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) mentions not only the theat Murtha made to a fellow House member, but also noted he had more earmarks (money for projects in his home district) than anyone else. He is also cited for the abuse of his position on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and allegations that by doing so such actions benefitted the lobbying firm of a former long-term staff staff member.

So, should anyone really be surprised?

Always remember, very few people can handle power and/or wealth responsibly. Big John Murtha of Johnstown PA certainly demonstrates the reality of that. And it's not just true in government, but also in the corporate world and within the church with its many institutions!

Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, to the oppressing city! She has not obeyed His voice, she has not received correction; she has not trusted in the LORD, she has not drawn near to her God. Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave not a bone till morning. Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people; her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. --- Zephaniah 3:1-4

Lying Does Pay Off!

They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, beguiling unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. --- 2 Peter 2:13a,14

Lying thrives in a culture such as ours. It is a practice involving persons of all ages -- from the very young who are just getting started in school to those in the sunset years who already have one foot in the grave and the other one is getting to be very shaky!

Lying happens due to a variety of motives:

• to avoid acceptance of the truth and the accountability that goes along with acceptance of the truth
  
• to avoid taking responsibility for bad decisions made and actions following those decisions
  
• to assassinate a person's character
  
• to seek revenge against a person for some alleged "wrong" done by that person
  
• to increase one's financial holdings
  
• to gain a prominent and powerful position for oneself
  

Lying always does immeasurable damage wherever it takes place.

It is strictly prohibited by God as listed in the code of the 10 commandments. The statement is simple, requiring no further explanation: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:16)

One area where the greatest devastation takes place is within that group of persons professing to be Christian in faith and followers of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

We are not as free to be "liberal" in our interpretations of the Scriptures as we would like to think! For instance:

• God has revealed that there was an Adam and there was an Eve -- our first "parents" and through whom the human race had its origin. But there are those (pastors, professors, church leaders, theologians, and laity) who say there never were such persons in existence -- God says He made them. But certain humans lie and say that Adam and Eve never really existed! That's more than a tad of a slap in God's face, wouldn't you say?
  
  
• God says the world got so wicked at one point that He destroyed all living things, human and animal, except for those on board an ark. The "spot & blemish" bunch (identified previously) scattered among professing Christians lie and say the event reported as a universal flood judgment never really happened!
  
  
• God has revealed that He brought the Israelites out of Egypt and at one point opened up that vast body of water known as the Red Sea, making the crossing possible for them. And then God permitted the waters to return to their natural condition, drowning the Egyptian military in the process as it zealously pursued the Israelites. The "spot & blemish" crowd lies and says it never happened!
  
  
• God has explicitly revealed the boundaries of how we humans are to experience our sexuality. That experience is limited to a male and female who have entered into the covenant of marriage. All other types of sexual activity which are mentioned in God's revelation are forbidden and labeled as sin or in some cases, worse than that, as being abominations! But the "spot & blemish" crowd lies and says that some forms of sexual behavior are good, and even preferable -- and worse, they claim that God gives His approval to such so that even in the church which professes to be Christian, just about any kind of sexual shenanigans are acceptable! God has yet to make His response to this updated standard of morality!
  
  
• God has revealed that with a love which defies human understanding He gave His Son, Jesus, to be a substitutionary sacrifice for all the sins committed by all the members of the human race. Further, that Jesus is the only way of salvation and entrance into God's Heaven. Christianity, unfortunately, is plagued by the "spot & blemish" crowd which says that there are other ways to get to Heaven through the many other faiths which presently exist in today's world, and we who are Christian should not be so dogmatic upon insisting that Jesus is exclusively the way to salvation and ultimately to Heaven!
  
  
• God has said there is a Hell and a lot of people are going to end up in that place. The "spot & blemish" crowd lies and says that there is no Hell! With unregenerate and warped minds they try to reason that God could never be a "God of love" if even one human ended up in Hell!
  
  
• God says there is a Devil on the loose along with a host of demons in league with him. The "spot & blemish" crowd lies and says there is no Devil and there are no demons!
  
  
• God says there will be a series of devastating judgments visited upon this earth in the future. The "spot & blemish" crowd lies and says there will be no such events because -- now by this time you can guess it -- yes, that's what they say -- "God is a God of love and compassion -- why He would never bring those terrible things associated with judgement upon anyone!"
  

So what we have at times is a major conflict -- with God saying one thing and the "spot & blemish" crowd within the ranks of Christianity saying the opposite -- God says He did it and they say He didn't, etc!

It comes down to this -- who is to be believed? Always keep in mind that lying does pay off, and if you go along with the lie/s, the future will not be pleasant. God has the last word on that matter, not the "spot & blemish" crowd -----

And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." --- Revelation 21:6-8

Are You As Angry with the Ones Who Actually Do It As You Are with Me?

Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity. No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. they trust in empty words and speak lies; they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. They hatch vipers' eggs and weave the spider's web; he who eats of their eggs dies, and from that which is crushed a viper breaks out. Their webs will not become garments, nor will they cover themselves with their works; their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. --- Isaiah 59:1-7

As the late Barney Fife, deputy sheriff of the Andy Griffith Show, would say, "Andy, we have a situation!"

The "situation" I'm in, and have been for some time is this: I have received irate emails over time and at least one phone call about the posting of pictures on my web site, Circuit Rider's Range located at www.crrange.com, of aborted unborn children. These have come from a variety of persons including some who hold a position of "church leader!"

I would be the first to admit -- the pictures are not pretty -- in fact, about all the very negative words you can find in Webster's could be applied in describing the images.

Now here's the mystery -- see if you can solve it -- I'm raked over the coals for posting the pictures, but how often do these same people, including those pious "church leaders," express the same degree of indignation toward the guys in the white coats who have the initials "M.D." erroneously stitched on those coats and who rip those unborn children to shreds for a few hundred dollars per child? It happens about 100,000 times per month on average in this republic which claims to be "one nation under God!"

Is there a word for that which starts with hypo... something or other?

This little comment is primarily directed toward such persons with a closing question -- "When are you going to get consistent on your approach to the United States' version of Holocaust?"

And for the rest of you, if you should have the misfortune of crossing paths with such persons or worse yet, you should discover you have one of them standing in the pulpit of your church, ask them the question!

As noted in another area it will be like witnessing a worm thrown into a hot skillet!

How Much Car Does a Person Need, Anyway?

If it were possible for eyeballs to literally pop out of their sockets, it would have happened at the Frankfurt auto show recently. At such an event there are many impressive automobiles on display, but whatever the value and however impressive any might have been in styling, all but one faded into the background.

The CEO of Lamborghini may have popped the buttons off his vest at this year's event. Some words spoken by Stephen Winkelman regarding the debut of his company's latest offering were these: "Uncompromising...a true automotive superlative."

That may have been an understatement as attendees at the show viewed a creation which was named, Reventon. There is supposed to be a little accent mark above the "o" in the name. And about that name -- seems the car was given the same name as that of a bull which killed the very well known #1 professional bull fighter, Felix Guzman, back in 1943!

Reventon looks almost like a jet fighter minus the wings! It is powered by a 12-cylinder engine which cranks out 650 horsepower and makes possible reaching 62 mph in 3.4 seconds with an 8,000 rpm red line!

One would think you would tear off all the tread on the rear tires when you are moving up to that 62 mph in those 3.4 seconds, but actually you have tread strain on all 4 tires while this little drama is played out. The car has what is called a "robotized gearbox" which transmits the power to all 4 wheels.

Anxious to get one so you can say that for once you not only kept up with the Jones family next door, but you passed them up and left them in the dust many miles back?

Better scramble and get in line because a limited number of these vehicles will be built and available for sale in 2008 -- only 20 will be built! The price? Oh, I guess we forgot to mention that at the beginning. Well, it will be about 1.4 million U.S. dollars plus tax! And then you might have to scramble a bit to find someone to insure this machine.

It is practically guaranteed that there will be 20 persons of great wealth who will order up -- there is no lack of persons in this world who like to display their wealth in different ways, whether the buying of a few mansions here and there, getting a few luxury automobiles, tailor made clothes, or if you are a wealthy presidential candidate and want every strand of your hair to be in proper place in order to impress the public, you lay out $400 for a haircut!

It is a fact -- very, very few people in this world can handle wealth and power responsibly -- in the vast majority of cases it's an ego thing sending out images which say, "Look at me and all my money and what I have bought for myself!"

God has addressed this problem repeatedly in His revelation (Holy Bible) to us. Because of the prominence of selfishness and greed in every generation the things God has to say are not flattering to say the least.

Never forget -- whatever amount of material goods God has allowed us to gain in this lifetime, it is extremely critical that we constantly converse with Him about how we should use those material goods (including money) in the interest of expanding His Kingdom in this chaotic world. Evidence is overwhelming that too few at all economic levels are willing to do this. Instead the prevailing attitude is -- "It's my money -- I worked hard for it and I will do with it as I (expletive deleted) well please!"

What percentage of your material goods is being used to honor the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and advance His Kingdom?

For a related discussion on this issue, see "Reminders When Mansion Shopping!" As an aside, one man wrote me a very irate email -- he thought from the title that he would get some advice on buying a mansion, especially how to save on taxes, etc! Actually there is something there far better than that -- he just had a vision problem -- he couldn't see far enough into the future! How far can you see?

Those who trust in their wealth and boast in the multitude of their riches none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him; for the redemption of their souls is costly, and it shall cease forever; that he should continue to live eternally, and not see the Pit. For he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
Their inner thought is that their houses will continue forever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain; He is like the beasts that perish. This is the way of those who are foolish, and of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah. Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me. Selah. Do not be afraid when one becomes rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dies he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lives he blesses himself (For men will praise you when you do well for yourself), he shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. --- Psalm 49:6-19

Is Your God the One Who Will Do It, OR Will Your god Be a Victim of It?

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

Thus you shall say to them: "The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens. He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion. When He utters His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens: and He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, He brings the wind out of His treasuries." --- Jeremiah 10:11-13

"As the thief is ashamed when he is found out, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their prophets, saying to a tree, 'You are my father,' and to a stone, 'You gave birth to me.' For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they will say, 'Arise and save us.' But where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your trouble; for according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah. Why will you plead with Me? You all have transgressed against Me," says the LORD. --- Jeremiah 2:26-29

He has done it at times throughout human history and one of these days the republic of the United States will undergo a similar experience.

Cultures have only one extremely critical issue to settle and time is limited as to whether that issue is settled correctly for the citizens’ well being and ongoing survival or incorrectly with the result that disintegration and ultimate disaster takes place! That issue is simply choosing who will be the deity (or deities) that all the citizens will honor, reverence, love, and obey daily.

Will the choice be to worship and obey the living eternal God Who loved us humans so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be the atoning sacrifice for every sin committed by every human since Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden for their disobedience to this God?

OR will the choice be to reject this true God and concoct a myriad of false deities as has been demonstrated by cultures down through the millennia of human history and continues at a vigorous pace in today’s world?

God has also demonstrated something most graphically. He targets His judgments not just at defiant human beings but also at the false deities they have created for themselves. What could be more explicit than this:

'For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. --– Exodus 12:12

Egypt was in a bad state of affairs after this incident. The Egyptians also discovered too late that they had made some very bad choices when it came to selection of deities around which they would rally! Can’t you just picture those Egyptians desperately calling on their sun god during those 3 days in which it was so dark you could almost slice it with a knife?

Now, are you ready for this? For decades a large number of U. S. citizens have established their own peculiar brand of false deities – no, not the kind that are crafted of wood, stone, or metal but nevertheless they are still very real in the lives of millions of all ages. The living God Who put this great universe together by simple spoken commands is ignored, insulted, and blasphemed on a 24/7 basis! The day set aside in which He is to be worshipped and honored has been trashed in countless ways – Sunday should be renamed Funday in order to more accurately reflect how low we as a society have sunk in the decades following WW II!

So how will it be in your case? Is the God Who will eventually bring all the deities now prominent on U. S. soil down and crush them into dust your God Whom you seek to honor and serve with all your heart?

OR will your god (or gods – you could have accumulated quite a number of them as did the ancient Egyptians) be the helpless and defenseless victim/s of indescribable judgment of the living God and Creator of this mighty universe?

Those who have made bad choices in determining their deities will be in a very precarious position to say the least. Don’t be one of them. Make sure you are “squared away” in your relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. And that you are living each day with the blessed assurance that He indeed is Savior and Lord in your life and the One Whom you are expecting to return to rule this world forever.

Further information on this eternal issue is found at How to Become a Christian! A link at the bottom of the area will bring you back to this location.

Further information with graphic details on the many deities to which citizens of the United States are giving enthusiastic devotion is found at Popular Deities of American Culture! A link at the bottom of the area will bring you back to this location.

"And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.” --- Daniel 5:23

"You shall have no other gods before Me. --– Exodus 20:3