The Ultimate Fresh Start

So, New Year's is coming and I guess many people are thinking about resolutions. You know, resolutions, those changes you make for the first couple of weeks in January and then completely abandon. You have the best of intentions, but you're really not into making a change, just into making the resolution. To steal from a Seinfeld episode when he's at the Rent-a-car counter, "You know how to make the resolution, you just can't keep the resolution."

This time of year is a time of reflection, isn't it? We look back at the previous year and take an account of the events in our lives. Things we did that we look on with fondness, and others that we wish never happened. We wish we had made more money or been a better parent or spouse or employee or boss. There are things in us we wish we could change, but they've been part of us all of our lives. This is true no matter how old you are. We want to change, but January 21st comes around and we just don't have the energy or the wherewithal or the motivation or the mental toughness to carry on.

Take heart! You CAN change with help. There's One out there who will change you. Make you new!

I tell you if you want the ultimate fresh start, Jesus wants to give it to you. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 God gives us the ultimate fresh start promise. He says, once you have Christ in your life, your old self is replaced by a new self! WOW! And that's a fresh start that will last for eternity.

Do you want to change? Do you need to change? Is there something missing in your life? Are you lonely, though you're surrounded by people? Are you angry? Are you missing the mark as a parent? Do you feel like it's all for nothing and you are getting tired of looking back on your life at this time of year and just being disappointed in yourself? Jesus Christ came to this planet, so you would have a new, fresh start. A new you. Not even "the ultimate makeover", because all the old will be stripped away and you will be brand new!

Give it some thought. Get alone with God. Talk to Him. Ask him to change you. Ask Him to come into your heart and make you a new person. Tell him your troubles and your disappointments with yourself and your life. Call out to Him. He will answer you! Psalm 55:16 and Romans 10:13 are just two verses that promises that.

No resolutions this year. You don't need resolutions that you try to keep on your own. Jesus Christ came to this planet and He wants to change you. Use His power to change. It's a change that will last all eternity. It's a permanent change by the Master Changer. This year, don't look back, look up to Christ and allow Him to make you a new person.

God bless you. May God bless America.

Have a Happy and Healthy New Year.

The Greatest Story Ever Told

The following was posted with permission by my brother and Pastor Mike Cassara. It is his sermon for this Sunday at Nesconset Christian Church. Services are 9:00AM and 10:45AM. I hope you can attend. You can click the link for my home church at the right for directions and more information about Nesconset Christian Church.

Christmas- A Gift for All People

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Luke 1:57 – 2:21

Without a doubt, the story of Jesus’ birth is in fact the greatest story ever told in whatever language it is spoken. And over the past two weeks we have examined exactly how God prepared the world for the entrance of His only Son into this world. First, he informed an aged Jewish priest that his wife who was beyond child bearing years would give birth to a son and they were to name him John. At first Zechariah doubted the angel’s words but just as the angel had said, his wife Elizabeth got pregnant. Then the same angel, Gabriel visited a young cousin of Elizabeth. Her name was Mary. She was engaged to a man but had not yet had sexual relations with him. Yet the angel informs this virgin she will conceive a child. In confusion she asks the angel, “How can this be when I have never been with a man?” The angel tells her the Holy Spirit will come upon her and will overshadow her and a son will be born to her. And then the angel tells us the most shocking news. This child is the promised Messiah that the nation of Israel has been awaiting for literally thousands of years. He shall be called the Son of God for he has come to save men from their sins. Wow!

I am not a big fan of reality Television but there are a few of them that are heartwarming. One is Extreme House Makeover. The best part of the show is at the end when Ty Pennington yells, Move That Bus. To see the reaction of the once broken and hurting families see their new house, to watch how they respond to what has been built just for them often brings tears. There is a new show called The Secret Millionaire. A multi-millionaire will for one week assume the role of a poor and impoverished person. They are placed in an environment where they meet many hurting and struggling people. At the end of the week the millionaire decides who he is going to give substantial amounts of money to. He then cleans up, dresses up in his millionaire digs and finds the folks he has chosen to be a recipient of his benevolence. He reveals to them that he has lied to them all week. He in fact is not poor, he is a millionaire. And then he hands them a check. On one episode, $100,000 was given to a lady in a poor section of San Diego who takes in foster kids. She has a dozen or so kids in her house all at her own expense. Another family received $125,000 to assist with the medical bills they have accumulated since their daughter was diagnosed with cancer. To watch the reactions and responses of these folks brings tears to my eyes. It is always a joy to watch the response to unbelievably good news.

Well if the story of Jesus’ birth is in fact the greatest story ever told, how should we respond to it? What should our reaction be? Well before I answer that question, allow me to make a case as to why this is referred to as The Greatest Story Ever Told.

When God created the universe he subsequently created living creatures, last of all humans. He brought us into existence for the very specific purpose of having a relationship with us. He would be our daddy and we would be his children. He would provide for all of our needs and care for us in a perfect and loving way. We would live under his care and guidelines for our lives and enjoy the rich blessings of being the creator’s child. But the history of mankind has been marked by deliberate and willful choices not to live under God’s care and guidelines. In fact for most of known history, humans have chosen to reject God’s care and guidelines for our lives. When those choices are made, the Bible calls it sin. And those choices have led to a broken relationship with God. Our sins and rejection of God’s involvement in our lives have separated us from God and in fact made us enemies of God. And this is true of the worst of sinners as it is true for the least of sinners. We are all sinners. We have all chosen to reject God’s care for our lives and his guidelines for our lives, thus we can all be spoken of as separated from God and an enemy of God.

But God is driven by two character traits that define who He is. He is a God of Love and also is a God of Justice. As a God of love he could not stand to have his creation separated from Him and in a situation where they are called His enemies. But as a God of Justice, our choices to reject His care and provisions for our life and our choice to reject his guidelines for how we live our lives has to be punished. He wouldn’t be true to who He is if he didn’t enact the punishment we deserve. But He wouldn’t be true to His nature of a loving God if he didn’t do something that would give us a second chance at having the relationship with Him he originally intended when he created mankind.

So because He is God and the sovereign creator of the universe He came up with a plan. He would send His own Son, who dwelt with Him in all the majesty and glory of heaven to this earth. And He would send him to be born of virgin who was engaged to a relatively poor carpenter from a very humble and obscure town in the middle of nowhere. His son would be born and for the first thirty years of his life live a very normal life for a carpenter’s son. And then he would begin to reveal himself for who in fact he was. The son of God sent to this earth to become the substitute punishment for the sins and disobedience of God’s children. After three years of teaching people about God and authenticating his claim to be God in the flesh through incredible and undeniable miracles, Jesus was falsely arrested, put through a trial that was a mockery and sentenced to death, accused of nothing worthy of dying, much less being executed through the extremely agonizing experience of crucifixion. As Jesus hung on that cross, nailed at his wrists and feet with large spikes driven through his flesh, dark clouds began to roll in across Jerusalem where this scene was playing out. The clouds were so dark that the sun was hidden. The ground began to shake violently. In the holy temple, a curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple suddenly was torn in two all on its own. At that moment, Jesus, the son of God who left heaven and all its glory to come to this earth was taking on the full wrath and fury of the Father. Jesus was assuming the sins of mankind on himself and was experiencing the full force of God’s punishment. He cried out, “My God, My God, why are you forsaking me.” The Father in fact had withdrawn his presence from his son and in a realm you and I cannot relate to, Jesus who had no sin in his life became sin and was punished in our place. The wrath and fury that we deserve for our deliberate choices to disobey God and reject His care for our lives was now placed on Jesus, billions of times over.

After six hours of enduring excruciating physical and spiritual torment, Jesus died. But less than 48 hours later, Jesus sprung back to life, bursting forth back on the scene to the amazement of not only his followers but those who had put him to death. He dwelt among his followers for forty more days and then returned to the glory and majesty of heaven. Before He returned to heaven he told his followers to go and tell all the world that if they put their faith and trust in Him and His work on the cross, they would be forgiven of all their sins and be welcomed back into the very relationship that God intended to have with them when He originally created the universe and mankind. Because Jesus died in their place they could receive the gift of salvation. And when people accept the gift of salvation, several things are promised to them.

1. They would become children of God, instead of being enemies of God. Those who choose to accept the gift of salvation would have the relationship with God He originally intended to have with His children.

2. They would be able to stand before God holy and blameless without sin, because Jesus nailed their sins to the cross and left them there forevermore.

3. God would once again care for and provide for them and in turn, they would do their best to live lives that honored God through obedience to His guidelines and plans for their life.

4. And they would not have to fear physical death for no longer would God’s children die. When their physical life on this earth ended they would immediately join the rest of God’s children in all the glory and majesty of heaven, to live forever in place where there will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more evil, no more tears. Only joy and the presence of God and His children.

Now you tell me, is that not the greatest story ever told? Is this not the most incredible thing you have ever heard?

Now, that you have heard the great story, the bus has been moved, what is going to be your reaction, your response to this great news? Are you going to walk out of here and say, O that’s a nice, heartwarming story? Or will this story affect your life, change you in some way or manner?

Well I want to go to scripture to see how various people responded to Jesus’ birth and perhaps see how we ought to respond to it.

1. Believe

Simple enough, huh? A couple of weeks ago, we saw how Zechariah failed to believe that God would do what the angel promised him. That’s why he’s silent until his son is born. Then we saw how Mary, in contrast to that, believed that what the angel said really would take place. But here with these shepherds we see another example of faith. After the angels leave, they look at each other and say: What are we waiting for? Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.

There is no debate. There is no procrastination. They don’t decide to sleep on it. They don’t go to the local library for research. They just figure that it’s all true. That’s faith. Scripture says that without faith it’s impossible to please God. The angel says, “Peace on earth among people with whom he is pleased.” Who is that? It’s those who respond to God’s gift through faith. Scripture says, “For by grace you are saved, through faith....”

Faith means you say yes to all that God was doing through Christ. Yes, he is the Savior of the world. Yes, he came to die for my sins. Yes, through him I find forgiveness and new life. Yes, I want to follow Christ as Lord. Faith isn’t a spectator sport; it’s an active embracing of all that God has promised in Christ. God brings you to a point, and it’s not a time for debate; it’s not a time for sleeping on it; it’s not even a time to do more research; it’s a time act in faith upon what the Lord has said.

The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity—hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory—because at the Father's will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross.

So if you have yet to put your faith in Christ, stop delaying, stop researching, stop thinking about it and just do it. Believe.

2. Obedience

When the angel Gabriel visited Joseph to let him know that his fiancé Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, he was told that the child’s name was to be Jesus. That is found in Matthew 1:21. In Luke 2:21, we read, eight days later, when the baby was circumcised he was named Jesus. Now you may think that is a small detail. Not a breathtaking example of obedience. But in fact it was because in those days, Jewish custom pretty much demanded that the first born son is named after the father. I can imagine all the pressure Joseph and Mary would have been under to name their son Joseph. But they were told to name him Jesus and that is what they did.

We see a similar situation with Zechariah and Elizabeth. They were told to name their son John. Luke 1:59-63 (NLT) When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!” “What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.”

There is a time to break with family tradition. Maybe the hardest time to do that is at Christmas. There is a time to say: “No. This is what God has told us to do. I know that’s different than how it has always been done in our family, but I must obey him.” Zechariah has learned that he doesn’t call the shots, but neither does their family; God does.

How do we respond to the greatest story ever told? We are committed to learning God’s way for us to live. It’s all here in the Bible so it means we start reading the Bible and learning how to do life God’s way. And then we start doing our best to be obedient. We strive as best as we can to choose God’s ways over our own ways. We admit that He knows what is best and we deliberately choose to follow what He wants us to do, even when those around us don’t understand our choice or pressure us to do otherwise. Jesus said, if you love me you will obey me. Obedience.

3. Tell Others

Luke tells us that after the Shepherds arrived in Bethlehem and saw Jesus lying in the barn in a feeding trough (not a great place for the Son of God to be born), they told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about the child. Luke 2:17

When you embrace Christ—or should I say, he embraces you—something happens to you. You know it. Paul says, “The love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5). If you, like the shepherds, have experienced that, you have to tell others about it.

By the way, they weren’t preachers, they weren’t missionaries; but that didn’t matter. They had heard something. They had seen something. That something meant salvation for the whole world. I bet the recipients of The Secret Millionaire’s benevolence immediately got on the phone and called their family and friends and told them the great news. I bet the families on Extreme House Makeover told everyone they knew they had been chosen to be on the show. You see when something great happens to you, you just have to tell others. And when you are born again, and God does this awesome work of salvation and new birth, you just have to tell others.

I’m not one of those Christians who thinks we should get rid of the Christmas trees and eggnog and exchanging of gifts. I like all that stuff. I like Christmas shopping...a little bit. But, do you know what? If we do all that stuff, but don’t talk about Jesus—if we fail to speak of the real meaning of it all; if we neglect to tell someone that this child was born as Savior and Lord, that he was sent by God to die on the cross to dies as our substitute punishment; if we neglect to tell others, we’ve failed to do Christmas right.

The angel said that this is good news of great joy which shall be for all the people. All the people. Did you hear that? Not just religious people, not just Western people, not just poor people or rich people or smart people or not-so-smart people—for all people. So don’t let Christmas go by without telling some people about Jesus.

4. Meditate on All of This

Luke 2:19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.

Amidst all the activity, I need to just stop and treasure all these things. I need to ponder them in my heart. I need to engage in some holy wonder.

How do you do that? Maybe that means you stop in the middle of your shopping and sit down and pull out your Bible and just read the Christmas story. Maybe that means you gather your children around a nativity scene each night this week and unwrap a different piece and talk about the role it plays in the Christmas story. Maybe that means you wake up really early one morning this week and find a place you can watch the sunrise and meditate on Zechariah’s words: “The Sunrise on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace.” Maybe that means you write the words of the angel on a 3x5 card and pull it out every time you eat: “Behold I bring you good news of great joy which shall be for all the people....”

Luke tells us that the reaction of those who heard the shepherd’s story was astonishment. When you treasure these things in our heart and think about them often, you can’t keep from being astonished by it all. Albert Einstein said, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as if nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is."

When you do that, when you really let it sink in, you’ll find yourself doing exactly what the shepherds did next. Verse 20 said they went back, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Go back! Where? To your everyday life. Just because you have seen the Christ doesn’t mean you stay in the manger. You go back to where you came from, but you go back glorifying and praising God. You don’t just wait until Sunday to do that. You go back and do that. You do that in the everyday places of life.

John McCain wrote an article for Time Magazine this past August that spoke of his personal journey of faith. In his article McCain shared a powerful story of something that occurred while he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam:

When I was a prisoner of war in Vietnam…my captors would tie my arms behind my back and then loop the rope around my neck and ankles so that my head was pulled down between my knees. I was often left like that throughout the night. One night a guard came into my cell. He put his finger to his lips signaling for me to be quiet and then loosened my ropes to relieve my pain. The next morning, when his shift ended, the guard returned and retightened the ropes, never saying a word to me.

A month or so later, on Christmas Day, I was standing in the dirt courtyard when I saw that same guard approach me. He walked up and stood silently next to me, not looking or smiling at me. Then he used his sandaled foot to draw a cross in the dirt. We stood wordlessly looking at the cross, remembering the true light of Christmas, even in the darkness of a Vietnamese prison camp.

The Gifts Brought to Jesus

We all know the account of the three kings that came from the east to worship the new born savior in Bethlehem, Jesus Christ. They brought gifts of gold, frankinsense and myrrh.

Now we all what gold is and the value it has. It's a precious metal and has great value and worth. If you were to buy an ounce of gold today, it would cost you about $800.

Myrrh was a spice used in embalming. I believe it forshadowed Jesus' death. It was also very valuable in those days and worth it's weight in gold at the time.

However, the interesting gift, to me, is frankinsense. It was used in perfume and incense. The interesting thing, to me anyway, is the tree that frankinsense is derived from, the Boswellia tree. This particular tree is unusual in that it grows in environments so harsh that they sometimes seem like they are growing right out of solid rock. They also have deep roots that make them hardy and strong to withstand any storm. What a symbol that is to us who call ourselves Christ followers. The tree is us. The rock is Jesus. When we give our lives over to Him and we pray and study we grow deep roots and then can withstand any storm because we are rooted and anchored on the rock, Jesus Christ.

This Christmas season, the season we celebrate the birth of the Rock, Jesus Christ, rededicate yourself to growing deep roots. Pray, read, study, get to know your Savior more intimately, so that you can withstand, with His help, any storm that comes into your life.

Merry Christmas.

God bless you and may God bless America.

A Sign of the Times

By now you've probably heard about the sign that the Governor of Washington state allowed to be put in the rotunda of the her capitol building along with symbols of the holiday season such as a nativity for Christmas and menorah for Hanukkah. This person, who some say stole her election, allowed a placard with the following words on it:

“At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. “There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”

How festive. How lovely. You know, that just warms your heart, doesn't it? Seems like the basis of this holiday (Winter Solstice) is to attack people's faith. Wow! What a tradition! You have to think that being an atheist is somewhat akin to being in the KKK. Seeing others, who aren't like you or think the way you do as inferior. Apparently, those who believe in gods, devils, angels have no ability to reason. So we're mindless drones who are able to be manipulated into doing stupid things like help the poor. How stupid can you be?

Look, this placard is not a symbol. It's an attack on people of faith, all faiths, but especially Christians. How dare they denigrate the celebration of the birth of the Savior of the world? How dare they? How shameful and cowardly is Governor Gregoire for allowing this and then hiding behind some court decision? This is outrageous.

However, it's not surprising. Jesus said in John 15:18, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."

So, to Governor Gregoire. someone who has tried to minimize and ruin this celebration of CHRISTmas, I have to say shame on you, although, I'm not surprised at how you hate us. In your haste for "tolerance", you've allowed others to show their intolerance and hate. You're a coward and a disgrace. You don't deserve the position you're in and I call on you to resign.

Unto Us

You know, I love this time of year. I used to hate it, but I've come to appreciate and love what this time of year is all about, the birth of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

Christmas time is sort of part one in the complete account of Jesus' life. Notice, I did not use the word "story" because that would make it sound as if it were not factual, which, indeed, it is.

In Matthew and Luke, we get a detailed account of the Savior's birth and how it came about. From the Angel appearing to Mary and Joseph in separate events, to Jesus' foretold birth in Bethlehem, to the family's escape to Egypt. It's all there in the accounts of these two Biblical writers. They were inspired by God's Holy Spirit to document these events giving us all the necessary details. It's such a great start to the complete Jesus account.

We don't get details about Jesus' early life. I believe (and this is just my opinion) that if Jesus' early life were important for us to know about, our Father would have made sure it got into the accounts in the Bible. To me, if God doesn't think it's important, then I don't. Besides it gives us something to talk about when we get to heaven.

Jesus' birth heralds in God's redemption plan for the world. It put it in motion. We all have sinned. We're deserving of eternal separation from God. Although, the world would say differently, man is inherently sinful, not good. That doesn't mean we're all murderers, but we all do something or have done something to break God's laws. However, and thankfully, we're not condemned to hell for eternity if we admit we are sinful and ask God to forgive our sins, to change us and come and live inside us through His Holy Spirit.

We have to give up everything and in doing so, we gain everything. Seems paradoxical, I know, but listen. When we give up all the sin in our lives, all the control in our lives and all the stuff in our lives and hand it over to Jesus, then we become members of God's family and co-inheritors with Jesus. And we receive eternal life with God in heaven and there's nothing on earth that even comes close to that, my friends. That is everything! Spending eternity with God where there is no sorry, no pain, no crisis, no heartache, no death is more than we could ever imagine. Think of your life and all the baggage that you carry around and how exhausting it can be. Now, think of being carefree, pain free, crisis free, sorrow free for the rest of eternity! I would take that for a month, much less eternity. That is what we get when we give our lives to the One, the Redeemer, the Savior. But, we have to give up everything to gain all that. Seems like a small price to pay, doesn't it?

All of this from a little child. One whose birth we celebrate this time of year. Not just any child. Not some made-up child. A real child. God in the flesh. The Savior, Jesus Christ.

Unto us a child was given. That is Jesus, the Christ, the Redeemer, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Emanuel.

Christmas time is the time of giving. Give Jesus your life today and get the greatest gift of all, eternal life in God's family!

Have a blessed and glorious Christmas.

God bless you and may God bless America!

Giving Thanks

How many times have we heard this advise, "Be thankful for what you have because there are people who have far less than you do."? How hard is it to be thankful when you are in the middle of something like a job loss or the loss of a loved one or a marriage breakup? It's extremely difficult, in those circumstances, to say, I'm thankful for this or that because, let's face it, you are busy dealing with the day-to-day feelings and events having to do with your life. And sometimes life is cruel. It's hard. However, as my dear brother in Christ and my pastor says, "It could be worse."

Although it can be hard to give thanks while you are experiencing life's troubles, we should take time to look at the bigger picture of life and that's our eternal destination. Really and truly, the time we spend on this planet battling this or that is an extremely short time compared to where we will spend eternity.

Think of it this way, you go to the doctor to get your flu shot and you hate getting shots. Many people do hate that because it can hurt a bit. Well, think of the protection you get in the long term for a short term amount of pain. That's what life is. It's that very short pain we endure for a lifetime of pain-free, worry-free living with our heavenly Father. For that we should give thanks.

As Christ followers we experience what others experience. We go through times of anguish, of loss, of anger, but we have this to be thankful for, our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ knows exactly what we are going through and He cares for us. He helps us endure and get through those times and learn from those lessons. We come out of "the valley" better, stronger and able to tell others who experience the same things that it will eventually be OK because God Himself sees you through it all. For that we should give thanks.

So, my friends, if you are experiencing something negative in your life at this time of year, truly give thanks to God who will see you through it. Give thanks that you have the hope He gives us who have been adopted into His family. Give thanks that you have what you have even if it's not much. Give thanks that God gave His Son for you, so that you'd be able to have a relationship with Him.

To anyone, and I truly don't know if anyone reads this, but to those who do, thank you. Next time you're here, leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

May you have a peaceful and blessed Thanksgiving, finding something to thank God for.

May God bless you and may God bless America!

Christmas Parade Name Change Causes Fireworks

Every year the village of Patchogue, Long Island has a Christmas boat parade. It's very well attended (approximately 1500 people show up to see the parade) and has become a well-loved annual community event. That is until this year. The Greater Patchogue Foundation, who runs the annual event, decided that this year political correctness would rule. Apparently fueled by complaints that the Christmas parade was not inclusive enough (apparently all the atheists out there were insulted that they weren't represented in the name of a Christian holiday parade), the Greater Patchogue Foundation changed the name of the parade to the Holiday Boat Parade. Enter the Grucci Fireworks company who were sponsoring the parade.

For those who don't know, Grucci is a long-time and much admired Long Island company. The Grucci family has been providing spectacular fireworks displays for most of the major events around the New York metropolitan area and the country for many, many years. They are unmatched in the fireworks industry. Well, the Gruccis were providing fireworks for this year's Patchogue Christmas Boat parade and when they found out that Christmas was eliminated from the name of the parade, they pulled out. Good for them! Not only did they pull out of the parade, but they encouraged people to not attend. Well, it seems like people listened because the attendance was down a whopping 33% from years gone by. I say good for the Gruccis and all those who stayed away.

Let's face it, this is Christmas time, folks. The nativity display, colorful lights, the inclusion of Santa, the decorating of trees and the like are all CHRISTMAS things. They don't apply to any other celebration. Sorry to those who don't feel included in a celebration that they have no connection to. My advice would be to either embrace the Christmas theme of the year (like many Jews do in celebrating the "secular" (if there truly is such a thing) part of the season) or attend a Christian church at this time of year and see what all the joy and celebrating is all about. Otherwise, stop your bellyaching and come to grips with the fact that we are all different and celebrate different holidays and not everyone has to be included in everything. As a Christian, I don't lament that I am not included in the celebrations of Jews or Muslims.

Jesus was right when he said that "people will hate you because they hated me first." How true LORD.

So, this year, and every year, say "Merry Christmas". Don't deny the time of year. It's Christmas time! It's that time of year that we celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Whether people believe in Him or not doesn't change the fact that He is who He is. And if people hate you for it, thank God, because He's the one who sustains us through the times of persecution and it's because of Him we suffer and what better sign in our lives that we are living a life pleasing to God.

Merry Christmas to all.

God bless you and may God bless America!

Where to Go from Here?

Well, I've settled down now that the election is over. I'm not happy with the person who got in. I took the upside down American flag, signifying distress, off my computer desktop at work. My American flag is still not back up at home, but eventually it will be. It's the symbol of something I believe in, not necessarily the person in the Oval office.

What do we do now? Well, God tells us in the Bible that we're supposed to pray for our leaders. That's what I'll do. It doesn't mean that I think the person is great or a shining star or anything like that. It means the person is now the leader of this country and he needs prayer. This country needs prayer. That's what we need to do.

So, I will take up the task of praying, not only for the President, but for the government (that includes state and local) and this country.

I believe we are entering into a time that God is showing what life is like without Him. America, it's time to open your eyes at the reality. Life without God is not good. It is a life with turmoil and immorality. It is a life without hope. That hope is Jesus Christ.

As Christ followers, we need to pray. That's one of the things we're called to do. I, for one, will endeavor to be obedient to our Father and do so. But not just out of obedience, but out of love for people who are lost; those without Christ.

Join with me and let's all create a chorus, a blanket of prayer for all the lost in this country and around the world.

God bless you and may God bless America.

Changing the Country One Heart at a Time

I have come to realize that we cannot change this country. You and I cannot effect change. God must change us one heart at a time. When people's hearts change, this country will change. That's the reality we live in. It's always been and it always will be.

As Christians we should stand up for what is Biblical. We cannot stand silent on topics such as abortion, marriage, assisted suicide and the like. We should seek out candidates and public servants that are closely aligned with Biblical views. However, true change will only come when people change. That change will only come when God changes those hearts.

The "job" at hand is and always will be to introduce people to Jesus. Not by pounding them over the head with the Bible and telling them where they are going wrong, but by living our lives in a way that they will see we are different, thus prompting questions and curiosity. Yes, friends, we should be DIFFERENT, not the same. We should stand out, not blend in. When the crowd goes one way, we should go the other. When people say one thing, we should say the other, or better yet, keep silent. There will be some sacrifices. We'll lose friends. Some of our family will be alienated. We may even lose a job. However, for the cause of the Gospel, all of that is insignificant compared to souls being saved and hearts being changed. Jesus sacrificed His life for us while we were still sinners, enemies of His, so having some temporary discomfort should not dissuade us from doing what we have to to spread His good news.

People are not our enemy. Obama is not our enemy. Neither are liberals or al-Qaeda. The enemy is the prince of this world. Our enemy is our heavenly Father's enemy. After all, we are His children. I had an uncle that if you picked a fight with his kids, you picked a fight with him. That's the way we should be. The enemy has picked a fight with our Father, we should jump in. After all, we have Him on our side. Did you ever get in a fight and have your big brother standing just behind you? How did you feel? Pretty brave, I'm sure. Pretty invincible. You felt like you couldn't lose. How much more should we feel like that with Almighty God at our back?

Tuesday was a mighty wake up call to me. I have focused too much on doing things myself. That's why I started this blog, to try to help change things. What a failure that was. I don't even know if anyone is reading this, but I have to do this. I hope that someone will come by and see this and it will help them. I know I cannot change them, but maybe I can help. That's going to be my focus; getting the word, God's Word out.

Will I speak out on issues? For sure I will. The President will be under the microscope and I'll be there when he messes up. However, I will be praying that God will change his heart. That God will influence, not only him, but all of the members of our government. We all should pray and we should get out the word, God's Word. The good news, the Gospel. That's our commission and we should be obedient with enthusiasm and join the fight for the hearts of this country. That's the only way this country will surely change in way that is pleasing to God.

God bless you.

May God change America.

There's Hope, but Not in Men

I have finally come to realize that the only true hope we have is in Jesus Christ. Time after time I have put my hope in men and I've been burned to one extent or another. Now, it's almost as if I have to ignore people and just focus on Jesus. I don't mean to ignore people as if they don't exist, I mean to ignore them to the point that I put hope in them that they'll be Christ-like in any way. That time is over for me. I will expect the worst, because nine times out of ten, that's what you get.

To the contrary, there has never been a time that I put my hope in our Lord and Savior and have been disappointed. From being able to buy my house, to jobs to getting us through the death of a baby, God has ALWAYS come through. Why is it so hard to remember that when times get tough? I just don't know.

Dear friends, I wish I could say that "this too shall pass", but the reality is different. The newly elected President is set to wreck this country for many decades to come by appointing up to five (depending on his number of terms) Supreme Court Justices. America will cease to exist as we know it because he will appoint justices not only to the Supreme Court, but to the federal courts that will "have empathy" for certain groups. No longer will justice be blind in America. Hold on if you're not in one of those special groups. Your life is about to change and not for the better.

Anyway, the good news is always the good news. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever! Amen?

Amen.

We are called to pray for the president. I have to tell you that I will have trouble in that regard. I have to tell you that I have unsubscribed from "The Presidential Prayer Team". Right now, I just don't have it in me. I know my Father in heaven wants me to do that. I will. I'm just not there yet.

For those of you who consider yourselves conservatives, we have work to do. We have to seek out, find and recruit those who will run on the values of Ronald Reagan. We need people with backbone. People who can communicate that message in a meaningful way to mom and pop America. And people who more closely hold values in line with Biblical values. That is most important. Maybe even consider running for some elected office yourself.

Can we change this country? No, we can't, but we can do our part to be used by God to change America. And that change will come, yes, even revival will come if we get the Gospel out. That's the change we need in America. America needs the LORD. He's the agent of change. He changes the heart. When the heart changes, the person changes. One by one, as people accept Jesus our country will change. That's our mission, yes our commission to spread the Gospel. Oh, there'll be people who reject it. Even the great Christian, Paul the apostle, got run out of city after city. However, he kept going. He focused on his commission, to bring the Gospel to the gentiles. That was his one goal. He knew, while he was doing that, God would be with him and God will be with us as we do what we are commissioned to do, bring the Gospel to those in our community, state and country.

Although the future of America seems dark, Jesus, the Light of the world, can shatter any darkness brought on by those who so not live according to His will and his tenets. It's our job and, indeed, should be our desire to bring the Light to those around us who are shrouded in the darkness. If we don't do that, who will?

God bless you and yours.

May God have mercy on America.

Psalm 146

The Word of God is always a comfort. From Psalm 146:

3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save.

4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,

6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.

Post Mortem - America

I'm wearing black today and I took my American flag down this morning. I rolled it up and put it away in my garage. Its symbolism lost all of its meaning last night. I no longer identify with it. I don't want to identify with it. I'm ashamed and dismayed.

It took 232 years, but I believe America is now dead as a republic, as a world leader and as that shining beacon to the world that we were for all those years. We've now taken our place in the background with all the other mediocre countries in the world. Overnight, we've become Europe.

Worse yet, we've spit in God's eye. The 86% of us that identify ourselves somehow with Christianity, have said, God means nothing in our lives and how we live it. Shame on us all.

I would say at this point the government should immediately begin purging God's name from the money, the Pledge and all government buildings. We've proven for once and for all, it was all a sham. That God really has played no part in this country for many years now. Those who hold close to God must now come to grips with the fact that America truly is a Godless country and we are in the minority from now on. True believers make up a very small part of this country. God forgive us. We've taken a country You gave us and turned it over to the forces of darkness. How can we ever recover?

For me, after trying to recover from such a devastating event as this past election, I must focus for once and for all on being a citizen of heaven. That's where my allegiance should have been all along. God forgive me for getting caught up in the politics of this world. A world that is passing away. A world that will be here for a fleeting moment. One that will be burnt up on the glorious day. Even so, LORD Jesus come quickly!

I don't know how you will react to this election. I haven't a clue about anything anymore, except this, that Jesus Christ is LORD, He is Savior, He is God. He hasn't changed today. We've changed. He hasn't left us, we've left Him. His face might have turned from us as a nation, but He loves His children and although we've messed up royally this time, His love endures.

Make this commitment today, that you will focus on your heavenly citizenship. That your commitment to the great commission will be refocused to getting the job done. That you will ask God for boldness, for courage and for wisdom in order to be pleasing in His sight and not to worry about what is happening around us.

It's not going to be easy, but you know that the early church went through much more. They were being killed for their faith. Those who followed "The Way" as it was called, were seen by the Roman government as nothing more than religious zealots bent on overthrowing the government. They did not worship Caesar, so they were summarily killed in one way or another.

Our commitment must be equal to the early disciples. We must have the same level of boldness and courage. With God on our side who can harm us? No one. Not the new President or his political party. In reality, they are in need of prayer. They are about to send this country down a path it probably will never recover from. Shame on them and shame on us for allowing it.

Dear friends, prayer is not more important today than it was yesterday, because it was important yesterday too. If you aren't praying regularly, I suggest you start. You, your family and friends and this land need it now more than ever.

The hope we have in Jesus Christ has not changed because of what happened yesterday. That hope is still there if you have given your life over to Him. The One on whose shoulders the government rests is alive and well today no matter what place He is given in this land.

That is the only truth that is keeping me going today.

God bless you and yours.

May God have mercy on this land.

America Died Tonight

My country is no more. It died tonight with this election. I believe evil won tonight. This battle goes to those who serve the prince of this world.

There's nothing that can be said right now except if you are a Christian, a God-fearing, Bible-believing Christian, pray. Pray that this travesty will serve as a wake up call for all Christians in America and we will finally turn from our wicked ways and humble ourselves, so that God will heal this land.

Hold on, it's going to get very ugly.

God bless you.

May God have mercy on us.

God Bless America

Today we elect a new President.

When I went to vote this morning, I couldn't help but feel like I was going to a funeral.

I am hoping that feeling will not be justified tomorrow.

God bless you.

May God bless America.

2 Thessalonians 3:3

Change is Coming with History in the Making

No matter who gets elected tomorrow, history will be made. Change will be brought to this country. If Barack Obama is elected, this country will get its first African-American President. I believe that will be the smallest change we, as Americans, will experience if he gets in. If America elects John McCain, Sarah Palin will be the first ever female Vice President of this country. The first female to be "a heartbeat away" from being President.

Not only will history be made, but change will come to this great land. Change in the form of bigger, more oppressive government will come if Obama is elected. We will be plunged into a European-type government that will change America in ways we don't want. We'll have a more Communist-like approach to government. Higher taxes and unemployment are sure to follow. It won't be the republicans doing. The democrats will have both the congress and the presidency wielding power that will be unchecked. They will care only about their agenda and not what's good for this country. They think they know better than the founding fathers did. They think their version of America is what is best. It's not. Europe is our example and they aren't exactly burning up the world in economic prosperity. They aren't safer than we are. They have higher taxes than we do. They pay much more for fuel than we do. They are weaker in every way than we are, yet the democrats want to be like them. I don't get it. Being America worked just fine for the last 200 or so years. I don't know why we have to change now.

Sure, there are some things that need fixing. The economy and our energy policy. However, there's always something to fix. That doesn't mean that we need to fundamentally change our form of government to do so. We should fix those things within the framework of the government we have.

Change will come tomorrow. There's one thing that won't change, though. The knowledge and fact that our Almighty Savior, Jesus Christ is the same and will never ever change. I refer you to Hebrews 13:8. What a comfort that is that no matter who is leading this country, who is wrecking our country, Jesus is the same and will never change. Why is that important? Think of this. How can we count on the promises He gives, if He is ever changing? We would never be able to count on the hope He gives us. We would never know how He would respond to our life situations. Why would we follow a God like that? This is part of the uniqueness of our God. The only true God. He never changes. That has to be a comfort to us.

So, no matter who gets in tomorrow and however this country changes in the years to come, know this dear friends, Jesus will never change. He'll be the same loving God He has always been. He's the only one we can count on even when we can't count on ourselves. He's the one constant. The one rock. He's our God and we can count on Him and His promises.

Don't forget to vote and vote your beliefs.

God bless you and may God bless America.

Voting

There's less than a week to go until Election Day. The citizens of this country enjoy this right, to choose who leads us in our government from our tiny towns to the highest office in the land. Though we have that right, only 3 out of 10 (in a good year) actually partake of that right. It's sad how apathetic we are when it comes to voting.

I want to talk to those of you who call yourselves Christian. Do you plan to vote this year? Please, if you are not, please reconsider. This year, more so than others, is a pivotal election in our history. Not only are there important issues on the table like abortion, gay marriage, redistribution of wealth, higher taxes, and such issues like that, but did you realize that the next President will appoint from between two and five Supreme Court Justices? These are the people who shape the interpretation of law throughout our land. They wield tremendous influence in this country for better or worse.

One candidate, Obama wants the Supreme Court to be sympathetic to certain groups in this country. In a 2001 interview he stated that he wanted the Supreme Court to be involved in redistributing wealth in this country. He also stated that he wanted them (the Supreme Court Justices) to favor some over others. So, he wants some to have an advantage in the courts over others. Now, I don't know about you, but one of the great things about this country is that all are treated equally under the law, so it doesn't matter if you are a corporate CEO or if you serve coffee at the local diner counter, as soon as you step into court, you are treated the same as the next person. Barack Obama wants to change that. This is a fact. The audio of that interview can be found here at the NPR web site. Scroll to the January 18, 2001 interview and listen for yourself.

Why should you be concerned about all of this? Well, if you believe that he government was meant to take your money and give it to someone else, then it means nothing. If you are a parent of a daughter and you believe that your daughter should have the "right" to unfettered abortions and have those abortions without your knowledge or consent even if she's a minor, then it means nothing. If you believe it's OK for babies, fully viable and ALIVE, who survive an abortion attempt to be put into closets and allowed to DIE, then it means nothing. If you believe it's OK to kill a baby at any time during a pregnancy even at delivery, then this issue means nothing to you. If you believe that anyone should be able to marry anyone, such as a man marrying a man, a man marrying several women or even combinations of men and women marrying, then it means nothing. If you don't care about these and other moral issues facing this nation, then the Supreme Court should mean nothing to you.

However, if you are intent on voting what you believe to be the truth as a Christian, then this should mean everything to you. As Christians, we must vote what we believe. If our faith doesn't translate into action, then it is no faith at all. I'd like to refer you to James 2:26. If you are a Bible-believing Christian, this should be important to you.

Vote. Get other Christians to vote. You know I get so many "forwards" in my email. All kinds of things from jokes to chain emails imploring me to say a prayer and then send that email to another five, ten or however many people and then see what happens. What kind of groundswell would there be if we, as Christians, started an email chain exhorting all Christ-followers to simply leave their homes on November 4th and cast a vote for what they believe, what we all believe as the body of Christ? I believe there would be a landslide the likes of which have not been seen in a long time.

Vote. Vote what you believe. Leave the rest to God.

God bless you and may God, in His infinite grace and mercy bless America.

Prayer for America

There are those who say, "Well, there's nothing left to do but pray." There's a sense of desperation in that statement, isn't there?

Prayer should not be done in desperation by those who call themselves Christ followers. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we are told not to stop praying, much less leave it to the last possible thing to do in a situation. Prayer should be a constant activity in our day.

That doesn't mean that we are to continually pray, but that throughout the day we should pray from time to time as we go about our daily routines.

We should have been praying for this year's election for some time now. We shouldn't be leaving it to the last moment. If you haven't been praying for this year's election, please start today. Reach out to God and pray from your heart.

Pray for this country too. Pray for peace and protection. Pray that we'll be a light once again to the world. Pray for a revival, the likes of which we've never seen. Pray that our new leaders will govern us in a way that is pleasing and glorifying to God. If ever we needed God, it is now.

Whatever happens next Tuesday, let it not be because God's children didn't pray. Together, in prayer, we wield tremendous power and who can withstand the awesome power of God when His children ask Him for help?

One last thing. Don't let any poll keep you from voting. Your vote does count. It's your privilege and responsibility to vote.

God bless you and may God bless America.

Down the Stretch They Come!

This year's presidential race is just about over. Election Day is eight days away. Come January, we'll have someone new in the White House.

As the campaigns draw to a close the tension, rhetoric, desperation is being ratcheted up to a fever pitch. More attack ads, more often trying to sway voters. Trying to show the other guy is wrong for the job. Trying, desperately trying to win.

Most of the media is pulling for Obama, as if they would benefit from a Presidency that squashes those who even seem to disagree with him. How long will it be before a President Obama shuts down those media outlets, like FoxNews, that would take him to task on being a Marxist or soft on terrorism. His media attack dogs will be out in force to silence those who even question his abilities, ideas, or methods. Does anyone remember Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union or more recently what Mr. Chavez did in Venezuela as their dictator? Silence those who oppose you, so the masses will get in line. Does that sound like the America you want to live in?

This is going on now, this day, in this country by the Obama campaign. Barbara West, a journalist in Florida on WFTV, was conducting an interview with Joe Biden on TV. She asked him a couple of admittedly tough questions. OH MY! Imagine a politician having to answer actual questions! My oh my what a concept. Well, old Joe never answered the questions. Sure he smiled, he laughed, he seemed surprised that someone would have the audacity to ask some tough questions, but he never answered the questions.

After that, Biden's wife was to be on the same Florida TV station and the Obama campaign canceled that appearance and basically told the station they were now blackballed from any contact with the Obama campaign.

This is from a blog titled "Hal Boedecker, The TV Guy":

WFTV-Channel 9's Barbara West conducted a satellite interview with Sen. Joe Biden on Thursday. A friend says it's some of the best entertainment he's seen recently. What do you think?

West wondered about Sen. Barack Obama's comment, to Joe the Plumber, about spreading the wealth. She quoted Karl Marx ("From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." Quote added by me Eagleswingsbob for reference) and asked how Obama isn't being a Marxist with the "spreading the wealth" comment.

"Are you joking?" said Biden, who is Obama's running mate. "No," West said.

West later asked Biden about his comments that Obama could be tested early on as president. She wondered if the Delaware senator was saying America's days as the world's leading power were over.

"I don't know who's writing your questions," Biden shot back.

Biden so disliked West's line of questioning that the Obama campaign canceled a WFTV interview with Jill Biden, the candidate's wife.

"This cancellation is non-negotiable, and further opportunities for your station to interview with this campaign are unlikely, at best for the duration of the remaining days until the election," wrote Laura K. McGinnis, Central Florida communications director for the Obama campaign.

Now back to my blog:

Nice, eh? Ask tough questions, get blackballed. You know that those "in the tank" for Mr. Obama will make sure that they have continuous access to him by never hitting him hard on any issues. Can that be good for the country? Well, no, of course not. You need to know the truth from those in power and the media is the way to that truth, or so it should be. That will be stopped with an Obama regime.

Let's face it, the more you experience Mr. Obama, the scarier he gets.

I recently came back from a trip to Europe, the UK, specifically. I have seen what taxing people to death does to people's spirits. It kills it. His ideas about taking from the rich to giving to the poor is right out of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx. Karl Marx is the father of Communism in the Soviet Union. COMMUNISM, folks. Remember, the form of government WE FOUGHT AGAINST? This is not freedom. It's not right. It's not America.

In America we succeed or fail on our own. That's the beauty of our system. Someone from a poor background can leave that poverty by working hard. ANYONE can succeed. In Barack Obama's world no one succeeds. It's evil to succeed. You get penalized (taxed) for succeeding. People, you may think the rich are the problem in this country, but they aren't. They are the people who risk their money to create jobs. They are the people who work 18 hour days to build a business and when that business succeeds, they get rewarded by higher earnings. After all, they worked for it. It sustains jobs. They give large sums of money to charities. They keep local economies going because their workers have to buy breakfasts and lunches. They stop at the local shops to drop off dry cleaning. They buy a quart of milk on the way home at the local grocery store. Do you see how it works in a capitalist society? Barack Obama wants to fundamentally change this country into one that is dependent on the government. That's not America.

We are a strong, independent people. We want to do what's right. We are farmers. We are small business owners. We are grocery clerks. We work hard. We love freedom. All of this is slipping away because of people like Barack Obama. He thinks you aren't smart or hard working. He wants to weaken you so you have to depend on the government. Dependence on the government means weakness. You cannot do anything for yourself. Ever want to put up a shed on your property and the town tells you where on your property you can put it and how big it can be and sometimes what color it can be? It's not right and that's just a small thing. Imagine when you are accepting "subsidies" to buy things like a car. Imagine the restrictions that will come with that. They'll tell you that your car has to be a certain size or has to get a certain gas mileage. Can you imagine your government getting that intrusive into your life? Well, it could happen and probably will.

You know that there is literally no such thing as a free lunch. You don't get anything from the government for nothing. There's always a price to pay.

Although I know in my heart that no matter who gets elected, that God has this whole situation in His capable hands, it still concerns me that America is about to change and not for the good if Barack Obama gets in with a Democratically-controlled congress. My child will not benefit from the America I grew up in. She'll not be able to make something of herself. We'll be Europe and I've been there and it's not a place I want to live.

If you are someone with a relationship with God, use this week to pray. Pray for peace. Pray for the right person to get in. Pray for God to forgive this country for its sins. This very well could be God's way of getting our attention. Telling us we are straying too far from Him. After all, he allowed Israel to be overtaken time after time to show them the error of her ways. This could be the same situation.

Friends I have to tell you I am pessimistic about the outcome of this election, but I'm voting. Don't stay home becasue the media says the race is over. Remember, they predicted that Harry Truman lost to Thomas Dewey and THEY WERE WRONG! They are doing this to discourage those who would vote for McCain from coming out. It's a classic strategy. If we, who identify more closely with John McCain get out and vote, we may very well see the media and the Obama campaign who are already planning their celebrations with perverbial egg on their collective faces.

May God bless you all and may God bless America.

McCain or Obama, Does It Really Matter?

OK, so I was thinking this weekend. I know, that sounds scary and maybe even unique, but I was thinking.

Does it really matter, in the long run, who is elected President of the United States? Eternally, it makes no difference whatsoever and as a Christ follower, that should be my perspective on everything.

No matter who gets in and what havoc they create on this earth, eternally speaking, it does not matter because Christ is still in control, He is still our LORD and Savior, He still protects us and helps us through tough times (please refer to Psalm 23 of the Bible version of your choice) and we will still spend ETERNITY with Him in paradise. And compared to the time a person is in power (up to eight years), eternity is a much longer time than that!

So, take heart, and do what you can, VOTE, but don't worry and keep your eyes on Jesus because He is the Beginning and the End (Alpha and Omega for those of you who prefer).

Our focus should be Jesus and we cannot allow circumstances to dictate our actions or our mental state, that's what our relationship with Jesus should be doing. I refer you to "the peace that surpasses all understanding".

We need to remember these things. It is for times like this that we should be reading and studying God's Word. We should be praying. Of course, these are things we should be doing anyway, but it is for times like these that we reap the benefits of those activities.

So, as things happen and events unfold, read more, pray more, get a keener focus on your LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. Cling to the that tree that He died on. Drop all your baggage at the His feet. Resolve today to allow God to shoulder your burdens no matter what they are, whether financial, relationship, work, housing, marriage, or whatever. Get somewhere private, get on your knees and talk to God and hand over your life with all the garbage, weaknesses, sins, virtues, talents, everything. Make up your mind today to let God walk you "through the valley".

And, if you haven't given your life over to the One who is the Rock, then don't let another day go by without giving it all over to Him including your life and life circumstances. He will not only guide you, He will protect you and make sure that in the end, when all is said and done, that you are whole and OK even if it is the day of His return.

Keep that eternal perspective. Don't let circumstances dictate your actions or your mental state (yes, I know I said that already, but I think it's important to repeat). Let your relationship with Him, dictate your response to life's circumstances.

We are different and we should be living differently. We should standout with how we react to life. We should stand out with how peaceful we are. Not that we should not care, but that it should not bother us as those who do not have the Hope we do. The hope and comfort we have because we have a relationship with the One who is in control of the universe.

And it is when we live differently, that those who do not have a relationship with God will be prompted to ask questions and be drawn to Him, the One who saves. After all, that's our purpose on this planet. Let's decide today to fulfill that purpose to God's glory because we are the children of God and we should want what our Father, almighty God, wants and that is that "all would be saved".

God bless you and may God bless America!

Panic? No, Hang Tight

OK, so things in this country and around the world are crazy right now. Don't panic.

Remember in "It's A Wonderful Life" when everyone was panicking and old man Potter wasn't? He gained control of the banks, transportation, and other industries in the town. Control. That's what it was about, not the money. He had plenty of that.

Sound familiar? The government is playing on the fear, the panic to gain control. In the end we all lose if that happens. Don't panic! Hang in there and keep telling your representatives to stop and don't buy or nationalize industries like banking, which they are talking about.

I am not giving you financial advice. You have to decide financial moves for yourself. My advice is to not make any decisions without thinking about it and researching it. Don't panic! The people who come out of these situations well are those who DO NOT PANIC.

The Word of God is such a comfort in times like this:

Matthew 6(NIV):
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Hang in there. It's up to us to be a light to those around us. We have to be that example of "the peace that passes all understanding". This way God will use this to draw more to Himself. We need to "be still" and let God use us.

A couple of blogs ago I was discouraged, but I see this whole thing differently now. We have a responsibility in times like this to show who God is. How He helps us. How we are different. Let's stand tall, arm in arm with our faces towards the storm and let God work through us.

It's all about God, guys. Not us. We have to approach this with that in mind. What can we do to further the spread of the Gospel? What good does it do our mission, to spread the "Good News" if we are worrying, panicking, or talking and being negative? It doesn't do it any good.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Let's take the time to pray for strength. Do it today. Allow God to use you. It's what we're here for.

To God be the glory!

God bless you and may God bless America!

The Alarm is Ringing!

Hear that? That annoying sound? That's your alarm ringing. Question is will you wake up?

Your government is thinking of buying all the banks. Remember when the Venezuelan dictator Chavez started buying industries and nationalizing them? That's what DICTATORS do. They bring everything under GOVERNMENT control.

Sound familiar? The US government is thinking of BUYING THE BANKING INDUSTRY. Hello? Hear that alarm?

We are a democratic republic, aren't we? Not a dictatorship. Are we? Has anyone out there voted on this? Have any of YOUR representatives or senators asked you about this? No, I didn't think so.

Why are we allowing this? Is anyone paying attention?

It's time to wake up America! We need action. We need to find someone we TRUST. It's not Obama. It's apparently not McCain either. Neither party is doing the right thing. There has to be someone out there.

I do know someone, not a Washington insider, not a politician even, that you can put ALL your trust in. That would be Jesus Christ. He is trustworthy for sure. He's looking out for you. He died for you. When you have a relationship with Him, you can trust Him to take care of you. That doesn't mean that things won't happen. Life still happens even with a relationship with Jesus, but what happens is that He walks through your life with you and helping you. You may get bruised or even battered, but you'll be able to get through it all and be OK at the other side of it.

We need to wake up America and hold our elected officials accountable for what they are doing. We need Jesus more. Give your life to Christ. All things will work for the good for you after that.

God bless you. May God bless America.

I'm Angry and Discouraged

I didn't watch the debate last night between McCain and Obama. There was nothing either could say to sway me one way or the other. Also, if the guy I want in did poorly, I wanted to save myself the aggravation of watching it.

As we get closer to Election Day, I am getting angrier and more discouraged. I am bracing for what I believe will be one of the darkest days in our nation's history, electing Barack Obama President. Oh, I'm still casting my vote. That matters. I think everyone should still vote, but be aware that things are going to change in this country, and not for the better when he gets in. I hope that I am wrong, I really do, but it's just looking bleak right now.

Why John McCain is not going harder at this guy is beyond me. I think that's where a lot of my anger is coming from. It's like seeing your friend getting beat up and not defending himself and not being able to jump in to help.

We are also seeing how powerful the media is. They want Obama in, although why I cannot fathom, and they are making sure that happens. The masses don't watch people like Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs, Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity. These guys, especially the crew from FoxNews, have been demonized in the media, so the vast majority of Americans probably see them as right-wing kooks.

There are things coming out about Obama that are disturbing at best. His associations with people who want to do America harm. These are not just casual relationships, either. It's appalling to me that more of this is not coming out. It's not surprising knowing how the media is, it's just appalling.

My country is about to change radically. I don't like that one bit. Abortion, gay marriage, the second amendment. These are things that will shape our society for years to come, not to mention we are about to be taxed into oblivion. The government will tell you how much you can make. How much is enough for you. Remember, Biden said that people making $250K per year "can afford" to give to others who don't have. Really? Who is he to say that? How can he determine who can afford what? The government is about to take a hold of your life that it will not willingly release.

How can we, as freedom-loving Americans allow that to happen? Why are we being led like lemmings to the brink of disaster by electing this "man"? There are no leaders on the other side. Not McCain, no one. There are no Teddy Roosevelts.

Now, more than ever, we need to lean on God. I have to be honest, that I have been fretting over this whole election and ignoring my own advice from one of my previous blogs on how to weather the storm. I am not focused on Jesus at all. I'm angry. I'm discouraged. I can't believe that this is happening. I can't seem to get it out of my head that my country is not going to be special anymore. It's not a place that people will look to anymore. We are declining as a nation and that hurts.

What hurts even more is that God, though present, is being pushed out of our public lives. When Obama gets in, our freedoms will change also. We won't be able to speak out against things that he deems worthy, like gay marriage, abortion and the like. That will be "hate speech". They will tell us, keep that talk private. Your faith is a private thing. Our pastors will not be able to preach against sinful lifestyles. They will try to silence us. It's a scary thing. This will happen just by electing one man to the presidency. If that happens, I pray to God to have the strength of Daniel.

If we don't come together as a group and I'm talking about Christians and vote for McCain, we will get what we deserve. It's too late to organize. It's too late to do anything but get out there and make sure we get the right person in there.

It's not looking good friends.

I can only hope I am wrong.

God bless you and may God bless America.

Pray for America

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Friends, it is time to pray. Pray for your country. God gives us this promise in 2 Chronicles, but it comes with conditions. What are they?

The first is that we must be His people. Yes, that's right, God hears His people and not those who aren't called by His name. It's just the way it is. This says God won't hear those who do not give their lives over to Jesus Christ.

The second condition is that we must humble ourselves, pray and seek Him. We must admit that we need God. That without Him, we are nothing and can do nothing. We must admit to Him that we are sinful. We must come clean with all our weaknesses and faults. We have to come down from our own self-styled pedestal and lay at His feet with our face in the dirt. We must look for what He wants from us. How He wants us to live. What He wants us to give up.

The third condition, and I wonder if this isn't the most important, is that we must repent. Turn from our wicked ways is what God tells us. There is no option. We MUST repent. Leave all those things that are keeping us from God at the foot of the cross. Whatever that sin is, porn, drugs, work, food, sex, shopping, we MUST repent and turn from those things.

Once we meet those conditions, God will fulfill His end of the promise. Go ahead and test Him. He's faithful. He's true to His word. He will do what He says.

Friends, we need a revival in this land. We are headed down a horribly sinful path in this country and we need to reverse that. The only way that will happen is with God's help. We cannot do it on our own.

America needs all of the Christ followers now. We must do this or this country could be lost.

Will you set out from now on to humble yourself, repent and pray for America? If we do, we will be astonished at what God will do for our great land. He promised it, He'll deliver.

God bless you and may God bless America.

VP Debate Analysis

I hate watching debates. I just hate them. It's too aggravating for me because of the sniping that goes back and forth and the half-truth spins people put on facts and the techniques used to make the other person just plain look bad.

That being said, I watched most of the debate last night between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. Here's my take on it.

Sarah Palin won this debate hands down. For the last two weeks she has been vilified by the mainstream media, left-wing blogs and those who got convinced she was some air-head, know-nothing from Hole-In-The-Wall, Alaska. Well, OK. Take that criticism and look at what happened last night when she went up against the more experienced, more seasoned, expert Senate debater Joe Biden. Nothing happened. There was no knockout punch. It wasn't Bambi vs. Godzilla. She wasn't embarrassed or shown up. She didn't crash and burn. She more than held her own against the mighty Biden. That makes her the clear winner of this debate. Biden couldn't deliver the final blow and suddenly Rocky gets off the canvas and you can hear the inspirational music start playing in the background.

The choice we have this year is clear to me. We either put all of our trust in someone who will take this country down the path to socialism, higher-taxes, higher-interest rates a la Jimmy Carter, weaker defense and a lower standard of living. That would be Mr. Obama. Or we can elect someone who will protect babies both unborn and newly born after botched abortions, lower taxes, keep our national defense strong and vital, provide oversight and reform to our economy and generally get the federal government out of our way so that we can prosper.

America, make the choice.

God bless you and may God bless America!

We're Losing America

Let's face it, the America we have today is not the America our parents had. The country is changing and not for the better.

Friends we are embarking into an era where our freedoms will be decreased, our government will become more controlling over our lives and our money and our quality of life will be forever changed.

We're losing America.

As Obama cruises into the Presidency and McCain seems to be happy to hand it to him, I am reminded of how gleeful all those New Yorkers were when the "honorable" Eliot Spitzer was elected Governor of this once great state. Well, America, you get what you pay for and Eliot Spitzer turned out not to be the great governor they all thought he would be, but a common john that frequented prostitutes.

Well, Obama supporters, enjoy your victory. People were happy about Jimmy Carter too. Then when interest rates were in the double digits and our citizens were held hostage in Iran, the happiness gave way to dispair and anger. Yet, Jimmy Carter could do nothing to give economic relief to those who suffered under possibly the worst presidency in our history. Also, he talked to the Iranians. He talked and talked and talked. Negotiated. Cajoled. Talking did nothing to release our citizens from their illegal captivity. Talk is what you'll get from Obama. No action. Just talk. He'll negotiate. He'll take the diplomatic approach. He'll give this country away.

You get what you pay for America.

If you want us to be more like Europe or even China, then elect Obama.

If you think your government can do better with more of your money in the form of higher taxes, then elect Obama.

If you think the government knows better how you should live your life than you do, then elect Obama.

If you don't give a hoot about what America stands for and you think we are the "evil" empire, then by all means vote for Obama.

If you don't care that Obama's close associates are domestic terrorists, then please vote for him.

If, the fact that his closest economic adivisors are the very greedy men that led Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae into this economic disaster called the subprime mortgage mess and gave tens of thousands of dollars to Obama and Obama did nothing to reform those entities, then, please, vote for Obama.

Me? I'm not giving my vote to someone who has done nothing as a Senator, wants to increase the size, scope and power of our government and the control they have over us, whose judgement is horrible in making choices like who he associates with, was wrong on Iraq and is such an agent for change he chose a man with 30 years in Washington who was voted the third most liberal senator in America (two places behind Mr. Obama).

I'm giving McCain my vote. He probably will not win, but I have to make a statement in my own way. After all, even though it doesn't look like it anymore, this is still America.

God bless you and may God bless America.

Seems Like McCain is Fading

Not that this will convince me to not vote or vote for the other person, but it seems like John McCain has lost his way. Ever since he suspended his campaign to work on the bailout plan (which failed by the way), he has faded from sight. Meanwhile, Obama stays in the background letting the economy campaign for him

John McCain needs to do something dramatic and do it quickly or all is lost and we are on our way to becoming Europe.

He needs a better plan than is already out there. The Senate plan is basically the House plan with some tax breaks in there. Talk about putting lipstick on a pig. This one still smells.

There's no leadership coming from either side. They are paralyzed by the fear of failure.

As Americans we should be demanding action from our representatives. Clinton, Schumer, where are they? Nowhere to be found. They voted for that horrible bailout. It is so shameful that this do nothing Congress continues to do nothing even in the face of horrific economic events. I cannot imagine what would happen if we were attacked. They'd blame each other while the bombs were falling.

I am tired. I have no patience for this. At 50, nonsense just makes me angry and that what this is, nonsense. Pelosi, Reid, all of them are playing politics with this country bringing us to the brink of an economic meltdown not seen since my parents were kids in the 20s and 30s.

I take solace in the fact that no matter what happens, this is only temporary and whatever pain (economic or otherwise) I have to go through for now, eternity in Heaven awaits those of us who are children of the Almighty Father.

Even so LORD Jesus, come quickly.

God bless you and may God bless America.

Weathering the Storm

Matthew 8:24-26 (NIV)

24Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" 26He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

I love this account of the storm in Matthew. It gives us such a great example of how we should react to the storms that come up in our lives, like this financial crisis we are heading into in America.

Can you imagine the disciples conversation in that boat as the wind whipped up and the waves started growing and Jesus slept calmly and peacefully through it all?

Now, rest assured, Jesus wasn't "sleeping on the job". He slept peacefully because He knew the storm, like all things, were completely under His control and there was nothing to fear because of that. He knew all He had to do was command the storm to stop and it would.

The disciples should have followed Jesus' example and relaxed and, yes, slept and let the storm rage around them because the One who controls everything was with them and would not allow the storm to harm them. Think of this, what good would it do in the spreading of the Gospel had Jesus allowed his disciples to be swept out to sea and drowned? First, there would have been no one to actually spread the Gospel and Jesus would have had to pick more men. Also, we would not have this great example of how we are protected by our great and loving LORD and Savior during the storms of life.

Keep this account in mind when a storm comes up in your life, whether it involves money, family, your job or your marriage or anything that causes the wind and the rain to be whipped up in your life. Instead of worrying about the storm, as a Christ follower, realize you have the One who controls everything right there in the boat with you and He will not allow the storm to harm you. Yes, you might get tossed to and fro by the wind and the rain, but the boat will stay afloat and you'll make it to the other side intact so that you can spread the good news that Jesus is your shield in times of trouble.

Enough is Enough!

OK, is anyone else losing their patience with our representatives in Washington? I know I am.

Who cares about debates when the country is headed down the drain? Who cares what party you belong to when the country is headed down an economic abyss?

These people just don't get it. The country is in trouble and all they can do is play the blame game to try and posture themselves to win an election. I'm sick of it. Are you?

We need an uprising. Not an overthrow of the government, but an uprising of voters or Americans. We need to hold these politicians' feet to the fire until they do something to fix this mess or at least head us down the road to fix it. Enough is enough.

Sure, you can read all kinds of glib comments from all those bloggers out there on one side or the other. They mean nothing at a time like this. We need to fix America and we need to do it now.

This is our economic 9/11. We are being attacked by bad decisions by greedy people. It's an attack on our economic well-being much like Osama Bin Laden's attack on the World Trade Center was. We need to gather up the troops and set off to win this war. Not with guns or missiles, but with sound economic minds coming up with sound approaches to fix this mess.

We don't need Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi or Obama accusing McCain of this or that. We need cooperation and results. It's time everyone. Enough is enough.

Why isn't there more of an outcry from us? Is anyone out there? We should be screaming at our representatives to GET THIS DONE! They work for US! Use this link to find out who your representatives are in the House and Senate and tell them to fix this mess!

http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Let's go America. It's time for us to stand up and be heard!

God bless you and yours and may God bless America!