Since We Are Sons of God

"He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."  John 8:44

This entire world system wheezes and struggles to draw even the most faint of breaths, for it languishes in the iron, merciless grip of a diabolical, sinister, blackhearted tyrant who lives only to accuse and steal, kill, and destroy.  This enemy has hatefully and joyously endorsed all of man's would-be saviors, all of humandkind's supposed super-men who through any means sought to bring their own utopia on this planet.  Every Antiochus Epiphanes, Nero, Hitler, Mao, Amin-- all of them combined-- in ferocity and brutality and viciousness all pale in comparison to man's common, unsleeping enemy.  I speak not metaphorically of cancer, AIDS, or some other seemingly undefatigable plague; I speak not in general terms of man's inhumanity to man, nor of geopolitical corruption.  No, I speak of a foe man has no hope of even gaining a single advantage, no chance of winning one battle in the war against him.  I speak of none other than Satan himself.  And no, I refer not to some frail buffoon in a ridiculously shiny, skin-tight red suit with an inanimate styrofoam tail attached, who awkwardly brandishes a plastic pitchfork.  I speak not of a mythical finger-tall imp who sits on the left shoulder of us all whispering mishievous schemes for us to perform.  I speak emphatically, based on the Word of God of an enemy who is like a ravenous, powerful lion which stalks from the brush unsuspecting prey.  (And actually, the lion knows its power and needs not disguise its plans, and fears no creature of the wild.)  This enemy's tongue is lethal and seductive.  This enemy is a great, red, fearsome dragon.  Satan, my friend, is more powerful than all man's alleged wisdom, technological capability, creativity, etc., because when we're done with that list, all of man's ammunition is ultimately chained to the reality of the physical.  Add to that that man is by nature depraved and loves his hedonistic, selfish world of his wicked flesh and does much of Satan's work for him.  Satan operates in the spiritual realm, powerfully impacting the physical universe.  Alone against him, man is woefully, miserably lost.  

Satan's sole purpose can be summed up in one word: corruption.  He lives to corrupt man himself, his resources, whichever he needs or chooses, his mind, but most of all his relationship or status with Almighty God, keeping him spiritually dead.  Satan eagerly wishes to keep man in opposition to God, and while he is powerless against the Holy Spirit's use of God's word to convict man of sin, righteousness, and judgment, he uses every tool at his and man's desposal to keep man's mind on the things of the flesh.  Again, he is powerless against God's Word and even more, (and to many Christians this may sound shocking but) Satan knows the Scriptures better than most of us do.  Let us be clear on this.  Satan has no ability to respond to the gospel message and he cannot be saved from his final fate.  He does, however, have an intellectual knowledge of God's Word.  He has a memory and mind that is not subject to common human frailties like disease, dementia, fatigue, or age.  He (and his minions) are present when God's Word is discussed, talked about, read aloud.  Besides all of that, he has had to know what is in the Scriptures as he has worked tirelessly to produce powerfully deceptive counterfeits.  When one wants to defraud a currency one must study it harder than even the printers of the currency.  Satan is not original, saints.  What we do in sin has its origin with him.  Satan knows, therefore, his fate and how the depths of hell shall mock and scorn him as the lost say “is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; is this the man that made the nations tremble” (Isaiah 14:16)?  Satan is bent on bringing as many down into the pit with him as possible.  Furthermore, let us dispense with then terribly incorrect and unscriptural notion that Satan is ruling his kingdom based in fiery hell.  The Bible is clear that Satan is free and mobile in the world of men as he “as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8) and fears no man.  We must therefore, have access, and that unlimited, to weaponry that to him is completely irresistible.  We need the Holy Spirit.  

In this fast paced American society, our attentiveness to the cultivation of our relationship with Jesus Christ can sometimes suffer as our business with things that aren't necessarily sinful or harmful consume ever more increasing portions of our time and energy.  We, in our foolish thinking believe that “we'll be okay,” not even remembering that Satan desires to sift us as wheat.  The satanic bombardment is constant in our society.  Mindless television shows and movies, pointless athletic contests, pornography and reality shows clawing away at our decency all wear away at us, along with the normal toil of work and family responsibility.  We would do well to study closely how the Lord Jesus Christ approached the labor of his ministry and temptation.  

In Matthew chapter 4, Christ shows His people how to properly resist and overcome Satan and his tried and true methods to corrupt.  But first, we must have a truly proper understanding of all that was at stake here.  Satan knew exactly who Jesus was.  He was there when He was born; he was in the near background throughout Christ's childhood, biding his time, waiting for the optimum opportunity to corrupt his mortal enemy.  I believe that Satan knew from the Scriptures that the Messiah would one day come, hence his voracious, hateful pogroms against Israel throughout history, and I believe that he also knew that one of, if not the most essential missions on the agenda of the Messiah would be to wrest man out of his bondage.  He knew who Jesus was.  As Lucifer, Satan stood in the very presence of the Triune God and led the hosts of Heaven in worship; he knew.  And just as the underdog team in a playoff series dares to dream of pulling off the great upset of the highest-seeded team with the best players and record, I believe that Satan, in his inconceivable pride and folly actually thought that defeating Christ in the wilderness was actually possible.  After all, hadn't he corrupted man at Eden?  Hadn't he spurred man into such sin that Jehovah's judgment in the flood destroyed man, save eight?  Hadn't he oppressed and slaughtered the children of Israel over the centuries?  Hadn't he slithered his way into the very fabric of Jewish society with Baal, Asherah, and Moloch worship?  I believe Satan, just as the underdog when making a slew of critical, momentum-changing plays during the championship game, believed that he had a legitimate shot at unseating God from His Heavenly throne during those critical forty days.  

Close examination of the Scriptures shows us clearly as crystal that nothing-- absolutely nothing-- can take God by surprise.  God sees every outcome, every possibility, every impossibility all at once and not only does He know all, sees all, He has all power to act with no one in existence able to stay His mighty hand.  Jesus Christ was and is the only God-man, and while walking the roads of Judea those many years ago He divested Himself of the right to freely excercise His divine power as King of the universe, humbling Himself by becoming a servant-- the servant we could never be.  Christ limited Himself in His humanity but He never stopped being God incarnate.  He limited His own knowledge of certain things, choosing to trust the Father.  We know this from Mark 13:32, when the Lord says that not even He knew the day in which He would return to the earth.  In the humility of His earthly mission, He submitted to the Father's will exclusively.  This is important because in the most critical times of His life, aside from the crucifixion, Christ would be at His weakest physically, and in total isolation from the world.  Christ knew that He had to be tested.  His communion with the Father most assuredly revealed that, but never had Christ been subject to the unfettered temptation of Satan like He had been during His forty day fast in the wilderness.  All that has been said of Satan in the previous paragraphs, God knows to an infinite degree; He knew exactly what Christ was about to encounter yet the Holy Spirit didn't just lead Him into the wilderness, the Holy Spirit drove Him there, head-on against the sworn nemesis of all that is holy and righteous and good.  

Satan truly believed, I think, that this was the time when He could corrupt Jesus Christ.  Satan saw the physical weakness of the fast and he knew full well what fasting did to men.  Therefore, he attacked Jesus with what he knew appealed to selfish needs, motives, and desires.  While fasting is not the topic of this essay, this period of fasting fully crystalized the mission and focus of our Lord.  The key was His dependence on the guidance of the Holy Spirit even though the Holy Spirit brought Him to the furnace of trial.  Christ was ready though.  

The Lord said to His disciples of the Holy Spirit in John chapter 14, verse 26 that He would bring everything that He had said to them to their rememberance as part of the Spirit's work in their lives.  How would they know?  They had been immersed in Christ's teaching for three and a half years and it would be those things the Spirit would bring back as needed.  Why is this important?  It's important because the Holy Spirit did it for Jesus as well.  What was Jesus doing until age 30?  The Holy Spirit was preparing Him for these forty days.  Christ was studying God's Word, feasting on it, meditating on it, doing all the things He commanded His disciples to do with it.  If Christ Himself had to depend on the Holy Spirit and God's Word, how much more do we!  I believe that the temptation was a declaration of war on the kingdom of Satan and that his days were then numbered.

Christ, full of the Holy Spirit, having studied the Scriptures for decades was ready to both keep His desire for food in subjection and to place Satan into subjection.  Each temptation appealed to some aspect of selfish desire.  

Each temptation was to try to get Jesus to operate outside of God's will as Adam had done.  The first temptation appealed to His human need for the nourishment and satiating effects of food; the second temptation twisted God's word; the third temptation used the allure of power and the kingdoms of the world (which were Christ's by divine right).  All of them had one thing in common in that they all sought to motivate the Lord Jesus into making decisions outside the parameters set by His Father, the limits that He bound Himself to operate within.  Eating bread isn't evil; breaking a Holy Spirit-ordered fast is.  Trusting in God to protect (from injury and enemies) is actually a command; acting foolishly by intentionally placing oneself into danger is just that- foolish.  Ambition and desiring to possess that which belongs to you isn't wicked; taking possession of those things before God says so is.  It cannot be overstated the response of the Lord Jesus against our enemy.  Led by the Holy Spirit, He wielded God's Truth.  Satan wielded God's Truth, but he was not led by the Holy Spirit, nor could he be.  

In each temptation, the Word of God says that Satan said each time, “If you are,” “If you are,” “If you are.”  That's important as we come to the main point of this essay.  It was mentioned earlier that Satan knew exactly who Jesus was.  Jesus saw Satan expelled like lightning from Heaven at his rebellion.  Satan knew he could force Jesus to do nothing, so his only hope was to try to find weakness in the humanity of Christ; there was, of course none.  However, when Satan said “If” that could actually be “Since.”  He knew the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, but his being ultimately foolhardy led him to think that God had not planned for every contingency, reinforced every front of attack, foresaw all tactics he would use to attempt to gain an advantage.  I attest that the temptation of Christ was not to see if Jesus could stand against the power of Satan, but to prove that not only could He resist him, but that the power of God is unfathomably greater than the devil's little might and that there was absolutely no sin in Christ that could be used against Him.  For those of us who are blood-washed by Christ Jesus, the opening statements are the same by Satan and his demonic forces against us.  What God has wrought, he has no hope of undoing.  For those born-again, the Holy Spirit resides within us and his ability to corrupt us is limited by God's permissive will.  Furthermore, the Book of Job leads us to believe that Satan needs permission to attack the saints of God.  We are free from the bondage of sin and he cannot force us to do anything.

That leads us to the title of this piece.  Let us not behave as if we are sons of God, but let us behave righteously since we are sons of God; let us go boldly to the throne of grace since we are sons of God; let us love, worship, and serve Jehovah our God since we belong to Him.  Too much and too long have be behaved so un-Christlike, as if we're unsure of who and what we are in Christ.  Too many times we go outside the instruction of the Holy Spirit Who lives inside of us, grieving Him, placing ourselves in the jeopardy of divine chastisement.  Men-!  Since we are sons of God, let us pray like it, study God's Truth like it, stand without compromise in this last hour like it!

Satan knows who we are in Christ.  The problem, too often, is that we don't...

Until Jesus comes!

The War on Children Part One: "Malcolm"

"...somewhere, Herod was killing babies." The Beast, by Walter Dean Myers

I firmly believe that there is a merciless, sinister barrage waged against children in America, and one that shames the infamous onslaught of the Nazi Blitzkrieg against England during World War II.  The shelling with invisible artillery has all too visible destructive effects, for on the landscape of ideas and spirit lay strewn about the dim glowing-like-cooling-embers souls of our youth.  The mowing down of America's young people is taking place irregardless of social station, of ethnic affiliation, or of address; yet I must stipulate that the attacks are, in some places, more accelerated, more exact, more vicious.  (We call those places Englewood in Chicago; Compton in Los Angeles; the Bronx, in New York City, and there are countless others.)  One can look at the news, especially in Chicago and daily- literally daily- watch and listen to ghastly reports of cold, calculated acts of violence, of depraved, dark deeds of perversion against children.  Gang violence, like a determined legion of cancerous tumors within a healthy body marches through our nation's neighborhoods devouring the young in scores in the flower of youth.  The most frightening thing is that the multiple waves of vehemence are all intentional, all carefully planned.

The very first, and most important institution under attack by dark cabals is the family.  In America, the family has been assaulted as never before.  Some of the weaponry used to destroy the family have been innocuous, like healthy ambition, comfort and prosperity.  Yet the "big guns" used against the traditional nuclear family have been selfish motives and irresponsible sexual activity by parents, increasingly common drug use and abuse, but in particular, the one that will be the focus in this writing from the life of an actual young man (that I will call "Malcolm") having been a victim of sexual abuse by his very own family member.

When I started my teaching career close to fifteen years ago, I fit the stereotypical profile of the "change the world" teacher, who, in his very first year sought to rid the world of all its ills through miraculous, enthusiastic, competent education.  Little did I know how my (outstanding) university had under-prepared me for the tremendously huge challenges reigning in the community that surrounded my school.  I quickly learned to adjust; my father had instilled in me a strong work ethic and to be mentally tougher than the toughness of my situation.

"Malcolm" I immediately liked.  He had considerable deficits in the areas of Reading and Mathematics and typically used negative behavior and attention as a shield.  It was difficult to earn his trust but when I did, he was a pleasure to have in class, all things considered.  Over time, even amid an entire group of hard neighborhood roughening, he opened up considerably and allowed me (and a select few of his peers) into what he explained had been a regularity in his early adolescent years.  Beneath the veneer of professionalism and calm I was appalled as he shared that he had been molested over a period of six years by an older male sibling.  He said that he learned to cope, learned what and what not to expect.  He learned to just endure and just try to survive.  For him, getting through some days were monumental struggles and inevitably, the deeply-seated pain erupted in sometimes violent fashion.


I did my duty and reported what I knew about "Malcolm's" situation, even though he said that it had not been then-presently occurring.  "Malcolm" graduated on time having made great strides, yet intrapersonally, still far behind.  Of course, multiple pages more could be written, but the point here is to focus on American children in the cross-hairs of dastardly foes.  How could anyone forcibly and repeatedly take the innocence of a child?  All over the world- generally speaking- young children are symbols of purity and innocence.  It takes a truly blackhearted individual to target a child and hunt them like they are only meat.


In this nation, as the family continues to suffer relentless attack, the children are heavy casualties.  The attacks are deliberate and carefully engineered as it is quite apparent that one cannot accidentally molest a child.


"Malcolm" didn't know that he was in the middle of a war- nor did I.  Now I know from the pages of the Holy Bible that all of us, especially young people, are under surveillance and assault by unseen forces bent on the absolute corruption and ultimate destruction of mankind.  These forces are under the command of none other than Satan, who the Bible says, is "the god of this world" and that
"the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (I John 5:19).  It must be noted however, that while Satan is powerfully active man, by himself will carry out every single wicked urge he conceives if given enough time and opportunity.  As mentioned earlier, one need only turn on the evening news to have bona fide evidence that man, at his core, is basically evil.  Not only that, but he's getting worse...

Man, always being spurred on by Satanic influences in the media, music, doctrine, and philosophy is a chief tool in advancing a brutal pogrom against children.  And there's something terribly broken, deep within the spirit of man that drives him to crush that which is pure, to find pleasure in tearing down rather than building, losing himself in hedonism rather than possessing peace with godly restraint.    Over the years, I have seen so many children wounded and battered in the midst of this bitter conflict and have heard stories and first-hand accounts fueled by copious amounts of drugs and seething eruptions of lasciviousness.

The family must once again become the strong, walled city it needs to be for the protection of children, for within the family children are nurtured, taught, and protected but this can only be done through supernatural means as supernatural devices are used against it.  The saving, regenerating power of Jesus Christ is more than sufficient to subdue the filth pulsating in the heart of man for this is what He came to do- He came to transform man from the inside out by giving him a new heart and a new mind through saving faith in His sacrificial, atoning work on the cross for sin.  That's the only hope.  I have not seen "Malcolm" in many years, but for the hundreds of children I have taught over the years, I continue to pray for them all.

Next in The War on Children will be Part Two: The Scourge

The Corruption of Atheism

“...and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory” (Revelation 16:9).

Something delicate, pure broke within man that beautiful, sun-filled day when first he decided to operate outside the confines of God's Law in the Garden known as Eden. That sublime Jehovah-wrought equilibrium was, until a time set by Himself, thrown into chaotic, brutal, totally corrupting disarray. Of course, I speak of the tragic fall of man- of the dire failure of all humankind yet within the loins of our first father, Adam. Yes, in him we all fell, and great was our descent into depravity, and the millenia-long war against our maker has been harsh and self-destructive on our end, the ubiquitous evidence of our single, greatest problem. In the fall, man wanted existence without divine rule and ever since that fateful day he has used all his energies, intelligence, God-given creativity to scour all reference of his creator from public view even though the prospect is utterly, completely impossible. And therein is the core desire, the central motivating aim of what we call today Atheism. That tragic day in God's garden, Self was born, and from it's unholy birth it has hated the Lord and served its own agenda above all else. Furthermore, Self loathes God because it knows that all its deeds shall one day be brought to bear and scrutinized by eyes that see all and are not hindered by any human weakness. Atheism is a philosophy that knows God exists but is bent on living as if He doesn't.

In the Scripture listed at the beginning of this essay aptly describes the very nature of man and while its context references future events during the Seventieth Week it still identifies the central aim of man even to his last unregenerated breath- life without Him. The Seventieth Week is the time when God's wrath is poured out on a rebellious world and His righteous judgment is certainly warranted as mankind cannot, during this special time more than any other deny the working and power of God in the sphere of mortal men. Man will still remain under the sway of Satan and Antichrist- by choice. Atheism is a personal philosophy, one's way of having his own way of living apart from the rule of God. The interesting allure of Atheism is that it is marketed as “a step up” from the earlier, even primitive stages of man being steeped in superstition and old wives' tales. Atheism is most certainly marketed to today's people.

Looking back at man's fall, and in particular the seductive words of Satan, he said to Eve, “you will be like God;” but man wanted His unlimited knowledge and self-autonomy, but none of His righteous character. Atheism is touted by so many prominent people, from scientists and physicists to acedemics and celebrities, displayed as the way of thinking for “thinkers,” for the sophisticated, for the learned. One of the smartest individuals in popular literary culture, Christopher Hitchens, wrote a much-circulated, New York Times best-selling book entitled, God is not Great. In fact, I own that book and have read it, and, by the way, read it aghast when he purports that parents' inculcating religion into the minds of their children is tantamount to child abuse. Child abuse! What's amazing is his use of language and depth of logic and reason as he defends his built-on-folly point of view. His main premise is that there can be no agreement between the overwhelming, seemingly unstoppable presence of evil in the world and the existence of a good, omnipotent God (especially the God of the Bible). There are countless others, from Professor Stephen Hawking to Bill Maher and while the number of atheists in the world is not the subject of this paper, the atheists mentioned portray themselves as learned, erudite- and course, sophisticated. Another centrality is that they eschew God and live in His universe, His sublime creation that declares His glory, intelligence, might, and wisdom as if Someone of great purpose had not made it. Astonishing.

The Bible says of these individuals, of the same kind who will look in the very face of holy recompense in the last hours of Man's Day and curse God, who will literally grit their collective teeth and force themselves not to repent. While not the first book of the Bible in traditional order, the Book of Job, which is the first book chronologically spoke_ of the nature of the Atheist in chapter 21, verses 14 and 15:

“Yet they say to God, 'Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?'”

The Atheists that the Word speaks of here seem most like apostates, those who know that God exists, has all power, but reject His rule over them, thereby living as if He does not exist. (By the way, Christians sometimes live this way when steeped in backsliding, living as if Christ will not hold them accountable.) Probably the most damning indictment of the mind and behavior of atheistic thinking is found in Romans chapter 1, summed up in verse 22 where the Holy Spirit says, “Professing to be wise, they became fools,” which let's us know that man, still since the Garden of Eden has not given up seeking to be like God while rejecting having a relationship with Him.

Elsewhere in Romans, the Apostle Paul lets us know that God has written the fact of His existence and Law on the heart of man and the very presence of the conscience as an internal code of law invalidates man's claims of His nonexistence. The word is clear that men literally “suppress the truth” by unrighteous living and vain philosophy. Atheism is illogical in that it denies the obvious order of the universe, the intentional structure of the human body down to the atoms and quarks of each individual cell. It has no basis and actually needs God to have any purpose in the world of men. If God did not exist, then, would Atheism?

The Very Last Cheeseburger

     There are few things in the world that are more uniquely special to Americans than a cooked-just-right cheeseburger, with all the toppings and extras one could want.  Personally, a good cheeseburger ranks high on my list of favorite foods to savor.  I love mine cooked over bright orange dancing flames slathered with gobs of mayonnaise, at least three slices of tomato and double that in the strongest onions one can find.  Finally, I love for the ketchup and mustard to literally drip as I pick it up to devour it.  (Obviously, you can probably tell that I take my cheeseburger dining quite seriously.) 
     In these United States, one can purchase a halfway decent cheeseburger at almost any time, day or night.  Of course the price is usually correlated to the quality of the burger but we have the opportunity to indulge around the clock, especially in the city of Chicago.  There's the "big boys" like McDonald's and Burger King (and I suppose Wendy's as well).  There are neighborhood favorites like Top Notch, Maxwell's, and Dillinger's, and countless others all over the communities of Chicago and cities like Chicago.  All of these almost innumerable options only serve as undeniable testaments to our freedom in the United States.  My purpose here is not to wax poetically about cheeseburgers but rather what cheeseburgers may represent.  Bear with me.
     Right now in the United States we still enjoy freedoms that make us the envy of the world (despite their continual erosion).  For me, enjoying something as simple and mundane as a cheeseburger represents the most pleasant of memories-- of summer evenings free of care, of brief moments of respite after long hours of diligent labor, of relaxing Friday nights at the dinner table with my family.  However, our cheeseburger-appreciating culture rests upon a veritable foundation of matchsticks.  Beneath our masks of civility and patriotism are barely-chained monsters of fear and anxiety as we look upon these stressful times of financial uncertainty and geopolitical upheaval.  Yes, our facade of prosperity is consumed with cracks and bruises, barely holding together.  The incompetence that reigns in our nation's and states' capitols rules incredulously and the nation teeters on ruin.
     I think about what cheeseburgers represent, along with simple pleasures of the sort and how rapidly American society would devolve into anarchy should we lose them.  Our culture seems more and more dependent on sating our collective appetites on leisure and self-gratification, on consumption for the sake of consumption; we seem to lose more and more of what we once were in the temple of the religion of materialism and covetousness with no end in sight.  Think about it- what would happen if, like spoiled infants, the pacifier of our pleasure were yanked away?  Just like that baby which would cry as long as needed for it to be returned, how much would we destroy, how many would we be willing to infuriate and injure just to have our portion of the "pleasure pie" restored?  I attest that our decorum is a sham and it's polished exterior is as fragile as the thinnest, cheapest light bulb one can buy, and all necessary to cast us all into a cauldron of chaos is the loss of that which we have come to think is ours by right.  We're so used to satisfying our appetites that it frightens me to ponder on how we'll behave having to go without the trivial nuances we've duped ourselves into thinking we need them.
     "Black Friday" alone has shown us a California woman who pepper-sprayed other shoppers just so that she could secure "her chance to buy cheap electronics at a Walmart"  (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gnP4lNWq7GNim9MPpqvajINVGVZw?docId=1054bb0d4514486298f6d82bdcf18881). If this woman would stoop to such levels just to add more to her clutches, consider what people would do when even the bare necessities are scarce or even unavailable!
     It's the simple pleasures like cheeseburgers that we've grown fat and lazy from, the excess that has distracted us from preserving and improving our homes, communities, and nation.  It is these that we have enslaved ourselves to and have become quite unwilling to live without.  Yes, humanity can be quite ugly without legitimate needs- ask the Germans in post-WWI Germany, or African-Americans after the assassination of Martin Luther King.  And to think, cheeseburgers aren't even that healthy.
    

Jesus Christ and the Designated Hitter

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb..." Revelation 12:11

For those of us living in the hearty Midwestern region of the United States, October is known for the turning of green tree leaves into explosively beautiful gold and orange shades which help usher in the cool crispness of serene sunny mornings and sultry twilights.  The tenth month is also notable for its annual Halloween festivities that American children look forward to so that they can gorge themselves on sugary treats.  October is known also for the multiple playoff series of the national pastime, baseball.  As far as baseball is concerned, I have been and always will be a fan of the steeped-in-tradition Chicago White Sox, regardless of wins or losses.  Unfortunately, even though they achieved immortality by winning a championship in 2005, those losses have outweighed their victories.


The White Sox are a part of the American League of Major League Baseball and this league differs from its rival league, the National (League) in many ways, but one of the most striking is the existence of the position of DH, or designated hitter.  The other night, when most of my ideas for writing come, when I was pondering the magnificence of the Lord Jesus Christ I thought of the role of the designated hitter in baseball and how instrumental a position it is in the game.  


For anyone truly born again through saving faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, one is almost paralyzed by astonishment at the glorious grandeur of God's redemptive plan and how, even more inconceivably, He made the entire salvation process completely, absolutely, flawlessly foolproof.  And what I mean by that is that God, in His infinite grace and mercy originated and, of His own perfect will and matchless power, carried out that process with machine-like precision accounting for while simultaneously overruling human rebellion, incompetence, and impotence to bring all He foreknew before time began into His eternal Kingdom with Christ as sole potentate.  What in the world does this blessed mystery have to do with such a mundane subject of baseball and its designated hitter, you might ask?  The designated hitter does just what his name implies; the job of the DH is to just hit the ball but he does this in place of the pitcher.  Now, while the pitcher's position is undeniably essential for any baseball team, pitchers are usually regarded as almost inept hitters and in a batting lineup of nine players, he almost always, 99.99% of the time, bats dead last.  Pitchers must be in the batting lineup in the National League, by the way.


The designated hitter is the exact antithesis of the pitcher.  The DH is almost always a bigger, more physically imposing player who often strikes fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers.  Instead of batting last, the hitting ability of the DH affords him the privilege of batting at a more prominent position in the lineup.  Consider our own ineptitude at living the holy, righteous life life God's Law demands.  The glory of Christ is in the fact that He left that which was His by right- rulership over the entire universe- to condescend out of love to live that life in our place and to do it with excellent perfection.  I honestly don't know why the example of the designated hitter came to mind that other night, but it did, and I'm simply sharing.  Christ "bats" in our place, to do a job we are not skilled to do, so we stay in the dugout to just watch.  In addition to that, when the DH gets a hit, a runner comes in for the DH to run the bases.  I look at that like the Holy Spirit who empowers us to just as He empowered the ministry of Christ.  The Scripture says in Luke 4:1, "Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit..."  

The entire Christian life is guided, managed, controlled, ordered by God Himself and if one truly is honest, the Holy Spirit is literally living the life that is righteous as He resides within the believer.  The Scripture shown at the beginning of this post attributes all credit to the rightful power in the redemption of man, which is in the blood of Jesus Christ.  The saints of God are only able to overcome Satan, the flesh, and the world by the power of Christ's blood; His blood is the price for our justification in God's sight and for our sanctification as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.  We tremble because we know full well that God's merciful, mighty hand is on us and that the Creator of the cosmos has taken up residence within flawed, broken vessels!


Yes, the saints have a small part in the redemptive process and that that part is only in obedience.  Ah-!  Once again, I must relegate man to his proper place of powerlessness to even obey, for the Word is true that God's people look "unto Jesus, the author and finisher" of their faith (Heb 12:2).  Surely, ordinary mortals could never overcome the looming threat of eternal separation from God in hell without the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Jesus paid it all

all to Him I owe,

sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow...

                           -Elvina Hall, 1865

Which Jesus Do You Serve?

In American culture, the name of Jesus Christ is regarded in quite a few ways.  For some, myself included, the name of Jesus Christ is the most blessed, wonderful name in all existence.  For all too many Americans the name of Jesus Christ is merely a curse-word, a by-word, even the name of the figment of some diabolical imagination.  Nevertheless, Jesus Christ has been right in the middle of American culture from its inception as the unavoidable, immovable mountain in the center of the square of the marketplace of ideas.  At one time, the name of Jesus Christ in the United States was respected above all values, names, or ideologies.  Now, the name of Jesus Christ is loosely and flippantly tossed around and one might even expect skeptics and enemies of Jesus Christ to be engaged in such behavior but there are now even professing Christians who bring his name into disrepute and dishonor.  This brings us to the character, the person bearing the name.

We naturally associate not only the faces of family, friends, and associates with their respective names, but also the character of each.  In our minds, a person's behavior is inseparable from their name and the same is true of Jesus Christ.  When one uses Christ's name dishonorably, that person automatically reflects their own perception of Christ, a disposition that sees him as just a historical figure, or a fictitious construct like the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus.  Who takes the Easter Bunny seriously-?  Children who either know no better, or children who willingly believe the fiction.  Sadly, today, far too many Christians have no idea who and what Jesus Christ truly is.  The story of the "babe wrapped in swaddling cloths," born to a mild virgin has been told and retold so many times, Nativity scenes have been on display each December annually like clockwork have become a part of pop culture. 

For many, that's all that's known about Jesus Christ.  Consider for a moment the paintings, sculptures of Jesus Christ, still found in the United States, especially in Roman Catholic institutions and ponder the humble, gentle visages of those images.  Christ is shown as a supernaturally stoic, calm man who rarely smiles and just as seldom shows emotion, particularly the emotion of anger.  This image has become associated with that name in modern times unfortunately, and such a shame, for the Bible says that his name is a name above all names and that all shall confess the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  His name is one at the mere mention of which Satan and his demonic host shudder and tremble.

Modern Americans have become very accustomed to this Jesus.  Christians have too.  It is my objective to present another Jesus, one who is starkly different from the Jesus of American mainstream culture.  The Jesus I present may frighten many.

First, we have to briefly establish why Jesus is such a prominent part of history.  The Bible says that Jesus simply came to destroy the work of the devil and to seek and to save that which was lost.  He came to buy back, to redeem a lost, corrupt humanity from an incurable, one-hundred percent fatal malady- sin.  This is why he came.  Period.  The Jesus of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ was such an outstanding, Biblically accurate depiction of the Passion Week and comes as close as possible to what he went through out of love for us and obedience to his Father.  We see a submissive Jesus, one who restricts the use of his power, even against his bitter enemies.  Throughout the movie we see him condescending to the level of man, even washing the feet of his own disciples.  Yet again, Jesus came to deal with Satan's power over a lost mankind and sin's iron grip.  Sin's vise-like hold prevented God from living within man.  Jesus came to make it possible.

But sin rages on.  Satan continues to ravage the earth, seemingly without restraint (although those born again know better).  Christ succeeded, didn't he?  Of course, and there are, still today, people being saved from the eternal penalty of sin, hell.  God will not force man to obey his will.  Man, at his heart is by nature an enemy of God and does not want to be ruled by God.  God joyously receives all that embrace his Son in saving, repentant faith, but the day will come when the cancer of sin, born in Satan's heart and devouring the lives of mankind will finally be destroyed.  This presents the "other" Jesus.

The Jesus that will return to earth will not be the one who was spat upon and beaten, mocked and ridiculed.  This Jesus will be a mighty warrior, coming for battle, coming to settle all accounts, to give to all that which is deserved.  Now of course, both illustrations of Jesus Christ presented in this essay are one and the same, however separated only by purpose.  In his first coming, Christ came as a humble Redeemer.  At his second coming he will come as a King to take that which is rightfully his- worship and absolute, unresisted rule over the world.  The Jesus who will return to balance the scales will, in awesome, frightening fashion brandish his power on all who have resisted him, fought him, disobeyed him.  The Jesus who will return is a strong, regal figure who tolerates no rebellion or disobedience.  We would do well to remember that this time until his return is one of grace, of mercy, or urgency.  He is beseeching all to enter into the ark of salvation before it's too late because if you reject the Jesus who came in humility and meekness and incomprehensible restraint, you will have to face the Jesus who is returning as one who "treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of El Shaddai."

The time is now, Christian and non-Christian alike, to come to grips with the reality of Jesus Christ, that he is one who is coming to set everything aright and will forever eliminate that which does not fit within his plan for eternity.  By nature, man seeks to create his own objects of worship, therefore, man has comfortably fashioned a Jesus that he can fit into his own "box" but that, my friend is idolatry.  Jesus Christ will not permit himself to be made or remade by anyone.

The Men Are What's Wrong With America

“And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, as his father Manasseh had done" (II Kings 21:20).</p>
<p>If one looks at present-day American culture, one will undeniably see a civilization in its geo-political twilight, one which is, as far as morality is concerned, already six feet under the cold earth, long since eulogized, the weeping crowd having despondently departed, with future visitations uncertain.&#160; America's tombstone shall be a mighty, massive monument to her once world-famous decadence, her offal-smelling political theatre, her feints of global superiority from lazily resting upon laurels.&#160; Take comfort America-lovers, Patriots, you hearty scions of Minutemen and Buffalo Soldiers, for this is written with a heavy heart, with fear, with trembling of one who loves the United States of America strongly.&#160; Yes, I love my country and I love her enough to not turn a blind eye to her depravity.</p>
<p>Th United States has been in a continuous slide downward into the valley of impotence, and that cannot be disputed.&#160; Some might say that this is just a &#8220;dry spell,&#8221; just a &#8220;bump in the road&#8221; or even that the collective losing of our scruples should rather be interpreted as our ascent onto the mountain peak of intellectual freedom, the loosing of old-world shackles of outmoded, sexist, oppressive traditional code.&#160; Obviously opinions will vary about our beloved country's true moral condition.&nbsp; Facts, however, cannot be argued against.&nbsp; Just this week, I read in the Chicago Tribune of a 14-year-old boy's being beaten into a coma by a vicious street gang in Logan Square.&nbsp; Gang violence in our cities is sky-rocketing.&nbsp; Teen pregnancy has become an epidemic, partially because young ladies have not been effectively taught how to properly measure potential suitors against in-home, upstanding, hard-working men.&nbsp; The father is supposed to be the bar.&nbsp; The husband and father is to be ever-present exemplar of discipline, honor, and self-control.&nbsp; Over the past few decades, the absence of fathers and husbands in the home has invariably led to today's broken and battered society.</p>
<p>The attraction of quick money, combined with duress are two huge contributors to young men joining gangs, but I had parents, particularly a strong father who I feared infinitely more than any gangster or gangbanger, and my old neighborhood was replete with them.&nbsp; My father being there was a tremendous check against the pull of a life that I was not destined nor designed to live, and it is has been my father who has been my model after which I have patterned my work ethic and self-discipline.</p>
<p>The Bible verse at the opening of this post concerns the reign of King Amon, son of King Manasseh.  King Manasseh was the son and heir of a righteous king, Hezekiah who obeyed the commandments of the Lord and fought a valiant war against a storm of idolatry that chronically threatened to sweep through the nation and ensure the devastating impact of the hammer of God's judgment on the land.  If Hezekiah was so righteous, why was his son Manasseh and his grandson Amon so wicked?  The Bible says in II Chronicles 33:9 that Manasseh had caused the people of Judah to do more evil than the pagan nations that had been driven out of the land before them.  All of the reforms Hezekiah had instituted that were in perfect line with Jewish law he reversed.  How?  Why was Hezekiah the king so effective, but Hezekiah the father so ineffective?  This is one of the main ailments that plagues the United States of America- fathers who are are like absentee landlords.

The rapidity of our society's breakdown, I believe, is due to the failure of men to hold back the corruption that inherently lurks under the surface of all societies.  Fathers in particular are charged with the solemn duty to raise their sons and daughters to valiantly hold the line of morality and to advance high standards, thereby preserving and improving society.  Hezekiah, for whatever reason, did not make sure that his sons would walk in the way of God's Law.  Ultimately, their society unraveled, shown in the wickedness and depravity of the people, merely following the example set by their leadership.

Men have allowed their sons and daughters to be raised by the unscrupulous entertainers and musicians of the day, and they themselves are becoming enslaved by the constant stream of sexually explicit and pornograhic material flowing through every media outlet, and the “sins of the fathers” are passed on to the children.  Men, who have exhausted incalculable energies in careers and various pursuits, garnered numerous acolades aren't making the same investments into the lives of their children, nieces and nephews, the children of their neighborhoods. As a result, we are losing everything.  Without spiritual strength, every battle against each volley of societal and familial decay will be lost.  Without men who stand tall and strong, determined not to give in, the children will continue to be killed, abused, raised by television and movies.  All the righteous work of King Hezekiah had, by the time of his grandson Amon, been forgotten and undone.  Amon, as a result of the unfettered life of immorality and moral relativism, had been killed by his own servants.  Our children are also being cut down in youth.  Amon was twenty-two when he became king and was assassinated at age twenty-four.  Sound familiar?  How many news headlines could any one of us pull up recounting the tragic death of a young man?  If the men of the United States do not get in their rightful positions as servant-leaders of their homes and communities, empowered by God Himself, there will no longer be a United States of America on earth. 

"Little children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour." (I John 2:18)

"God Is Not a Christian" by Desmond Tutu http://pulsene.ws/1NWI4
Almost anywhere in the civilized world, the name of Bishop Desmond Tutu evokes tremendous respect- even love by those who know him personally, and rightfully so, among friends.  I have long heard of the endeavors of Bishop Tutu, of his tireless, relentless campaign against man's inhumanity toward man, and he should most certainly be applauded for not being content to serve his church behind the safety of the four walls of chapels and cathedrals.  The name of Desmond Tutu now, on the "Mount Rushmore" of human rights champions, is etched into that honorable granite alongside the likes of Mother Teresa, Mohatma Ghandi, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. With all of the violence, societal upheaval, and pestilence, it warms the heart to see what would appear to be one of the most superb examples of the love of God in active, compassionate display. Speaking of God, Desmond Tutu, who has more Biblical knowledge in his pinky toe than I in my entire body, said something in the above-noted article that really perked up my ears. He said that Christians, along with all mankind should "be willing to learn from one another, not claiming that we alone possess all truth and that somehow we have a corner on God." Therein is the lethal subtley of his plea. I understand the honorable intent of what he's urging mankind to do especially in light of growing distrust and hostility toward Muslims worldwide, the increasingly ferocious persecution of Christians globally, the palpable shadow of the Final Solution still lurking through Europe and millennia of spilled blood of millions of innocents in the name of religious purity and doctrine. His resolution to humanity's problems in the area of religious tolerance absolutely seem to be found in a real understanding of each other's spirituality and the self-control to not allow one's own beliefs not to translate into violent conflict, be it physical or intellectual. Ah! If only it were that simple! Archbishop Tutu (retired) leaves out the one, true salve to man's depravity, especially so when wrapped in the white raiment of spirituality and religious orthodoxy. (There's almost nothing more dangerous in the world than a confused or spiritually twisted, well-meaning religious zealot who thinks his wickedness is proper, sacred service to God.) Man has, in thousands of years of recorded human history, been inundated with religion, from the noble to the savage and he still has yet to fully subdue his own propensity for evil and self-destruction. It is my premise, based on the Bible, that man has not become better, more refined, more godlike with his myriad of religions simply because he is impotent to do so, he is totally incapable of removing from his own soul the scourge of that lethal condition that Jesus Christ addressed purely and simply as sin. The true culprit behind the slaughter of untold millions in the multiple wars instigated by religious agendas is sin, not ignorance of the truths of the religious doctrine of others. One need only read a newspaper or view the nightly news to understand the bottomless depths of man's total depravity. What transformative benefit is it to understand why the Quran advocates the execution of apostates? How will it further foster peaceful human coexistence if one understands the process of reincarnation? Mere understanding of one another's beliefs miserably fails to lift mankind to the ultimate height of responsible altruistic living. But that's exactly what Desmond Tutu believes will cure our societal ills. In the Bible, specifically in the Book of Genesis, Satan convinces that if she should follow her own dictates, her own will, her own understanding in eating of the forbidden fruit, she would ascend to godhood, and if one objectively thinks about man's religions, they all aspire to transform man into his idealistic, perfect state: godhood. What Desmond Tutu desires man to accomplish is most certainly a good goal but since he leaves out the necessity of man being born again through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ his hopes are built on shifting sand. As long as he leaves out the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit, man will never make his dream a reality and instead will always, despite his best attempts revisit the cruel crucible of persecution and war. There is a man the Bible says is coming onto the world scene (very soon) who will unite the entire world under the umbrella of a one-world religion that will seek to do all that Desmond Tutu wants man to do right now. This man will speak of peace like no one ever has before and will have the means to make it so. I wouldn't want anyone to take this as a mere conspiratorial rant. All one has to do is just take a rudimentary look at history and one will be forced to admit that mankind's past has been full, almost from its origin, of egomaniacal would-be world rulers, bent on the absolute subjugation of everything that breathes. Just look at the twentieth century! So it's not outside the realm of logic that another will come, who will take full advantage of disaster and misfortune, that his own agenda succeeds above all else. Humanity is ripe for a “new Caesar” to emerge, to “save” us from ourselves, from famine and war and economic crash after crash, from racism, religious persecution, pandemics, and the you-fill-in-the-blank. The Book of Daniel clearly says this world ruler will come to power peaceably and with enough intrigue able to make his rule absolute. One of his platforms, possibly his main platform, is one of peace between religions- obviously citing religiously motivated events in history that have been man's bloodiest conflicts. Just as Adolph Hitler was able to take full advantage Germany's squalor and devastation after her defeat in World War I, so Antichrist will exploit the looming threats of global economic collapse and a nuclear, biologically weaponized World War III. Man wants peace so badly, believes he can achieve it so strongly without Jesus Christ that he will believe anything and anyone who convincingly claims power to deliver it. Yes, the message of Desmond Tutu is the message of Antichrist for it imagines a world united, but at the expense of Truth. The message of the last hour will be one of tolerant, if not loving unity that man will be able to take his collective leap to godhood. The message will be that “We're all praying/worshipping the same God; he has revealed himself through different prophets, using diverse names and we dishonor him with our ignorant bickering.” This is why Desmond Tutu's message is dangerous. It naively attributes to man that which is, under his own power, infinitely beyond his reach. It assumes that the conflicts are all due to simple misunderstandings of each other's faiths; should one stand firmly on his deeply-held, time-tested beliefs, that one is misguided, intolerant, prepared for the road of blind religious hatred to his fellow man. It is my experience that standing on the immutable Truth of the Bible is the best, safest place in all of existence and the only true shelter against the deceptively cancerous, humanist treatises of men like Desmond Tutu who have exchanged the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for hopelessly flawed manifestos for the sake of peace and unity. “...Even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.”

To All of the Good-Hearted American Socialists and Communists

For a large portion of my life I was forced to rely on the learning and experience of others for my own worldview to take shape, and in truth, that worldview that I called my very own really wasn't mine, but a tapestry of pieces of others' worldviews sewn together, held together by an intrinsic need for ideological and philosophical structure.  I owe much of what and who I am to my parents, the valiant conquerers of Jim Crow Mississippi sad Arkansas and a racially oppressive Chicago at the height of the Civil Rights struggle.  They worked harder than there exists adjectives to describe their diligent toil to provide quality private school education for my entire childhood, including college and in college, my truly very own evaluation of the world took form.
     Still, though, I had an untested judgment of Socialism and Communism.  I had always been taught (and told) that especially Communism had been one of the great scourges of the twentieth century but I did not have objective facts to judge the validity of such claims.  Again, I was forced, to a degree to accept at face value.  But the greatest beauty of college is the unfettered access to all the world's knowledge and the greatest tragedy is not unearthing innumerable gems of truth. 
     It wasn't until fairly recently, now that my beloved America is in the throes of societal upheaval, that I came to really understand what Socialism and Communism are all about.  And my purpose here is not to condemn or praise these systems but to appeal to my fellow Americans who adhere to these philosophies.
     First, in the interest of being transparent, I am not a supporter of Socialism or Communism if not for their collective body count, then for their impracticality.  Socialism and Communism cannot endure for one reason above all others irregardless of the motives and intentions of the purveyors thereof. 
     I would dare postulate that there is actually a rather large number of well-meaning disciples of Marx in the United States that truly love America.  They have, however, chosen systems of government and economics that are flawed, and fundamentally so- as is Capitalism and our system of Constitutional Republicanism.  (They are all imperfect, by the way, because they are all human institutions.)  I would think that some, if not all the adherents of Socialism sad Communism (in America) had similar quests for objective truth to mine and they finally settled on that which they believed was best for America, and best for the hundreds of thousands locked out of the "American Dream" because of educational deficiencies, poverty, racism, sexism, etc.
     I can honestly understand why a country-loving patriot would promulgate Socialism out of a sincere belief that the socio-economic inequities deeply entrenched into the fabric of our nation don't allow one from the poverty and crime-oppressed Englewood community (on the south side of Chicago) the break/advantage they would need for escape.  I really do understand that, and why they would want a fair-dealing powerful government to balance the scales so that the power of corporations, banks, etc is checked by the servants of the people, all of whom are duly elected and empowered by the people.
     Therein lies the problem.  All government is comprised of people, and history has, with crystal clarity shown us that these virtually all-powerful governments, when given the power to act for the people always serve themselves above all.  What is missing is Almighty God, and the Founders of this great Republic knew firsthand of man's total depravity, and the natural tendency of powerful monarchs and governmental bodies to invariably lean toward tyranny, toward despotism.  The Founders understood that embedded within the workings of the government were needed constitutional roadblocks to absolute power by any one member or branch of government.  Furthermore, they understood, indicated by their (almost) unanimous reverence of "Nature's God" that man desperately needed something on the inside of himself to curb him from his innate craving for self promotion, at the expense of others if necessary.
     Socialism cannot work because it empties God of His power, removes Him from His rightful place as judge of all man's actions and arbitor of Truth, placing man there instead.  Socialism can't work also because one day, when the government has devolved into tyranny, as it is doing now before our eyes, the people will throw its shackles off of their hands and necks and violently depose it.  It cannot work because its premise is an impossible one.  Human government cannot balance the scales.  It falls on individuals, familes, friends, churches to do that.
     My fellow Americans who love Socialism, all we need do to understand its workings is to look at the twentieth century and spend time studying National Socialism work its way to its only possible end.  Adolph Hitler had become a god to the Germans and his wicked pogrom they executed to his satisfaction. 
     Socialism would remove ingenuity and ambition, save the craving for position in government.  Socialism would destroy a man's desire to work hard for his wages because one thing Socialism needs more than anything is money, and that revenue would only be raised through oppressively high taxes and fees for governmental services.  Most of all though, Socialism (and Communism) would demand the exit of God, the only force capable of checking man's depravity, from the public square, a la North Korea.  Socialism didn't produce the greatest, most powerful, wealthiest nation on earth, so what would be the advantage in embracing it now?  Look what it's done for Cuba, Venezuela, China, North Korea, Cambodia, Germany, and other nations.  No, we as Americans, must once again fully embrace our Judeo-Christian heritage, our Constitutional Republican form of government, and a rejuvenated dedication to work that benefits ourselves and each other.  Socialism, as you'll honestly see has no part of our history and heritage, nor should it.

Eating Garbage During the NBA Finals

While watching the colossal collapse of the National Basketball Association's version of the Titanic, my heart actually went out to the fans of the outplayed, underachieving Miami Heat and I briefly shared in the exultation of the people of Cleveland as their Brutus was himself foiled in his own underhanded schemings. I felt for the basketball fans of the Heat because of their feverishly pitched expectations based on their team's "Big Three" and the amount of money spent to bring about what on paper should lead to dynastic realizations. It felt vindicating to see the Dallas Mavericks, through class, superior coaching, and sportsmanship totally outlast the presumed juggernaut of the League. Ask anyone outside of Dallas, and I'm sure fans all over the nation had the Heat winning the Finals in five games, six at the most. I watched the clinching game six with my father, and after the game, I drove home, elated. As I drove home, I arrived at an intersection of perpendicular streets all too familiar to residents of Chicago's South Side, the red light camera-laden meeting of 99th and Halsted. Waiting for the light to turn green, a downtrodden, despondent-looking gentleman came up to my window seeking spare change. While I gave him what little change I was willing to part with, guilt filled my heart. There I was, in a well-working vehicle, with a stomach still full of delicacies I enjoyed with my family at my parents' home. I had just watched what, for sports fans, was one of the best NBA Finals series of all time yet I had just realized that I had participated in an idolatry of a pervasive sort. I lent my little energies to the furtherance of an industry that had inverted the priorities of an entire nation. Multiple hundreds of millions of dollars had been creating an entire universe of almost unparalled comfort and privilege for a group some of the most selfish, self-absorbed individuals on the face of the earth, and by no means do I think that they owe us anything whatsoever, and I'm certainly not jealous of what their talents and collective dedication has brought them. My point of contention is with the citizens of the wealthiest, most advanced nation on earth permitting such massive financial resources to be squandered for ultimately meaningless entertainment. If one is honest, starving, deprived citizens well-being infinitely outweighs the successful matching of competitive teams onsome hard-wood floor. In a nation with the resources, dilapidated schools should not exist. Underfunded hospitals and clinics should be the stuff of fantasy. AIDS and cancer research should continue unfettered. The elderly should be venerated and cared for with dignity. What I'm calling for is not the seizure of the funds and assets of the players in the NBA, nor of the owners who make multiple times more than the players. Capitalism is a glorious, bittersweet economic system that allows one to amass his own largesse by his own sweat and toil. However, one of the beautiful aspects of this system is that its direction rests in the hands and decisions of the consumers. This grave social injustice of Americans eating garbage out of restaurant dumpsters while billions of dollars continue to beatify athletes must end soon. It ends with the willful channeling of our monetary powers toward those activities that will preserve, protect, and elevate human dignity.

My Marriage is Worth Saving- and So is Yours

How getting divorced revived my sex life

This article was an incredibly engaging read for reasons quite obvious to myself. I, too, am a married man (and that happily, might I add) but have not somehow, by God's divine power, been made immune to the pressures, hurts, and wounds the heart incurs during the union between husbands and wives.

Most marriages I would think begin as beautiful wellsprings of blissful love, evidenced by the constant pondering one to the other, the perpetual touching and calling, the throughout-the-day texting and emailing each other. Marriages, extending out of the courting or dating stage can be a part of the most vibrant, vivacious years of one's life, but the age-old question remains still- "how does a couple keep the magic in the marriage?" As explicitly explained in the article, the neglected wife found herself and her marriage incapable of withstanding the agonizingly slow and possibly unstoppable cooling of love's fire. Before she knew it, the energetic sex stopped, the flirty, coy playing ended and she eventually found herself basically just sharing space with who she believed her soulmate in the early days of love. While I consider her ultimate handling of her problem cowardly and selfish, I couldn't help but feel for her and slight ire for her husband who did not prevent the tragic end of his marriage.

I love my wife. I really, really love my wife and am finding more things to love about her as time passes. That's not to say that we haven't had our ups and downs. In fact, a couple of years ago, my wife and I had the worst time being married to one another. I can't deny that when we went through our "valley" she just flat out didn't like me very much. Well, maybe I'm being too generous- she didn't like me at all and I thought that all the pageantry, joy, love, and ferocious sex would all be forever nullified. It was without a doubt the darkest time of my life. I have to also confess, that I was the husband in the article; I was the one who did not show my wife the emotional nurturing and support that she, as a woman, was designed to thrive on. She was my flower- the sun of my love was hidden behind gray clouds of hurt and dejection.

I am relieved and even more thankful to God for the brevity of that time and write these words testifying to the fact that my marriage is stronger as a result, but more than that because of the presence of God Himself in my marriage. What one learns more than anything in matrimony is how to, on a daily basis, sacrifice personal desires, goals, ambitions, for the sake of the spouse. Marriage is the greatest arena wherein one can battle Self into subjection for the sake of one's spouse and therein is the best example of Love, not in words said but in deeds done. Obviously, the Holy Bible provides the lens through which a proper perspective of marriage is gained. In its sacred pages, God's people understand that marriage is SPIRITUAL and a profound mystery. Marriage is meant to last a lifetime, and for the Christian, to exemplify the relationship Jesus Christ has with His Church. The Scriptures show Christ laying down His own life for His people, laying aside His rights as Lord and Sovereign over this universe for His own. My point in bringing this up is not to exclude non-Christians from the truths about marriage, but to show the proper state of mind and spirit one has to have in order to have a successful marriage. As an aside, I'm not suggesting that all Christians have successful marriages as the statistics borne among present-day American professing Christians show that the divorce rate is almost identical to American non-Christians. The key is whether God Himself is in that marriage and if the husband and wife are in full submission to His Word and will.

With that said, the wife in the article chose Self over her marriage, Self over her husband (as he also did), and Self over her children. She allowed Self to dictate her next moves based on how her husband's behavior affected her. I know the wounds incurred in a marriage can be deep, but those in successful marriages are able to withstand, address, and prevent in the future those wounds and become better individuals as a result. Successful marriages are those in which husbands and wives learn true self-sacrifice, bad habits are destroyed, children learn what responsibility and true love are and are able to show it in their marriages and children.

I believe the marriage in the article could have been saved, along with any- yes, any- marriage troubled. The difference is made in the heart of the respective spouses. Are the spouses guided by true, self-sacrificial Love (as shown in the Holy Bible) or guided by the infamous "50-50" philosophy where "as long as you do right by me, I'll do right by you" is the credo. I am no marriage expert, or marriage counselor. The only real expert on marriage is the one Who designed it, God Himself. He designed it to be the beautiful ground upon which civilization would be built, wherein children would be brought up respecting God and authority, ready to do the same with their children, wherein husband would learn how to care for and nurture others more than himself, wherein a wife would learn to trust and submit to her husband who is her servant-leader. I understand all will not accept God's design for their marriage but truly want their marriage to survive and thrive. God's design is the best one.

More could be written about this subject, but finally Self must be subjected in order for a marriage to last. The needs of the other must be put before the needs of Self. Had that wife and husband considered each other, that marriage could have been saved. Sexual intimacy is very important in a marriage, but can't be the driving force of the marriage. Sex is EXTREMELY important in my marriage so are our five children, but the day will come when the sex will stop and the children will be gone and what's left is what will take us into our golden years. My marriage is worth fighting for. So is yours.

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Christian- or Sodomite?

written by Gary B. Dotson

This post is intended first and foremost for the adherents of Biblical Christianity, and those who think that by their church attendance they give God service.

"Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom." Genesis 19:1a

     It's an integral part of the human make-up that drives us to seek as much comfort as possible, and frankly, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be comfortable. However, vice and complacency almost always come in when we desire comfort above personal integrity and moral responsibility as revealed by the Word and will of God. Jehovah is most certainly a good God and loves to shower His children with His blessings and grace. One must always be reminded that His generosity is not always shown in the manifestation of material commodities. Jehovah is spirit, and His absolutely pure perspective is eternal. His blessings, in their essence, are those that will gloriously outlast the frail, paltry confines of time and space and it is those treasures that are to be secured by Christian men and women for eternity. 

     Obviously, there's a catch. Jehovah is a God of holiness, a lover of righteousness and justice, best shown in the brutal suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, God in Person. One cannot enjoy fully the blessings and comforts of God and hold to the comforts of the world as well. The Word of God is clear on this matter. It is crystal clear on this matter. Yet and still, we Christians allow ourselves to be led astray by our sinful nature over which we were given power to subjugate by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God (if, we've been born again, that is). 

     Consider the nephew of possibly the most notable of the patriarchs of the Christian faith, Abraham. Abraham had such a rock-solid faith in Jehovah that He saw fit to bless not only Abraham, but his seed, and the entire world, for that matter for it would be from the loins of Abraham that the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ would be born, who would take away the sin of the world.

Abraham had so many material blessings as a result of his greater spiritual blessings that he became a king of sorts, a chief of the region of Mesopotamia and later in the land of Canaan. Abraham had massive flocks of cattle, many servants and even had mighty men trained in the arts of war who had been born in his household for defensive purposes (whom he used to rescue his nephew Lot, who had been taken captive during a fairly serious conflict between the kings of the region).

     Now, consider Abraham's nephew Lot. Lot was also greatly blessed by the Lord because he was a member of Abraham's family. Lot and Abraham were so endowed that the day came when the household of Abraham and Lot could no longer coexist together. Imagine the headache of trying to keep order amongst the combined hundreds of family members and servants, thousands of cattle and various livestock and the strain the Bible says they placed on the resources of the region for their constant needs of food, water, and minerals. 

   

     Abraham and Lot loved each other and were loyal to one another, but the day came went the two households could not remain together so they mutually but amicably separated.

In Genesis 19:1, Lot finds himself not only in Sodom, the city he had chosen to reside in, but sitting in the gate of the city. That's significant because in those days the gate of those walled cities was often where those with political power and influence would be found, as those notable visitors and travelers would meet those others of influence for direction, and diplomatic and commercial interaction. Cities were walled, fortified, and tightly controlled in those days for protection. The gates of a city had to be watched and filled with people of power and standing. 

     I would imagine that the king and aristocracy of Sodom saw Lot as a most welcomed addition to the city. Remember, he was the nephew of one of the most powerful and wealthy men of the region and he, too, was fabulously wealthy. Lot entered Sodom and was automatically a member of the aristocracy.

Lot showed his status as a member of the elite of Sodom, and forgive my speculation, but I would think that the people and rulers may have also been in fear of Abraham as well treating Lot accordingly. With but three hundred and eighteen military-trained servants he freed Lot and all that was taken. The victory won by Abraham was so important in the region that the king of Sodom personally went out to meet Abraham. 

     Today, within the church and without, Sodom is known for it's exceedingly wicked sexual immorality and homosexuality, and I'm sure, horrific acts of pedophilia. We know Sodom today as the very definition of human depravity. Yet Lot, showered with the favor of Jehovah Most High, found himself quite comfortable with Sodom and her amenities. How many of us are following Lot's steps?

This world certainly has its "gates." Entertainers sit in the gate of their industry, at their vain award galas, pornographic videos, and hedonistic parties. Politicians posture in the gate of government, corrupt deal-making and deceit-laden speeches. The lukewarm clergy perpetrate in the gate of church boards, behind pulpits, secret mistresses and homosexual lovers. American citizens sit in the gate of their possessions, jobs, and money, and just as the Sodomites were totally oblivious to the imminent fiery, final judgment of God, so are we. 

Finally, when the two angels dispatched by God to destroy Sodom (and Gomorrah) were poised to do just that, Lot still didn't want to leave Sodom. He was so addicted to its worldly comforts but his family was in an even worse spiritual state as they were far more carnal. His sons-in-law thought he was joking when he told his family what the angels told him. Of course, they did, because they saw daily his compromised lifestyle and how he loved to sit in the gate of Sodom. 

     This is not about the disgusting, vile deeds of homosexuality, but about the Christian church becoming so comfortable living amongst modern-day Sodomites that it lives compromised lifestyles to the point where it is ineffective. Lot was a citizen of Sodom by choice and was nearly swept away in the searing destruction thereof. Lot's apostate lifestyle meant doom for his wife. He failed her as she held fast to Sodom down to the very last second of her compromising life. But Lot's "wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt" (Genesis 19:26). How many us are going to continue to look back as judgment looms overhead? Repent!

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If Abortion Isn't Murder, Then Your God is Dead

Politics. Religion. Homosexuality. Abortion. Of the countless topics that inspire the most polarized, intensely heated dialogue amongst Americans, the issue of abortion is arguably the most divisive. The medical procedure of terminating pregnancies in the United States has been so hotly debated, it has even led to the deaths of abortion doctors, property damage due to bombings, and imprisonment of advocates on both sides of this issue. Yes, from its inception, abortion has been one of the defining issues in American politics, religion, and pop culture.
Those who take time to read this post may probably know someone who may have had an abortion or may even had the procedure done themselves. Up front, I wish to make my disposition clear concerning abortion- I personally am convinced that abortion of unborn babies is equal to the murder of an adult. There's absolutely no difference whatsoever.
What the readers of this post think about abortion goes to the heart of their deeply-held religious beliefs (if, indeed, they hold any) and in particular what their God thinks about abortion. If one considers him/herself a Bible-believing Christian, they cannot endorse abortion as a valid method of dealing with pregnancies, wanted or not. The key to that is "Bible-believing."
I am aware that some professing Christians do not find abortion deplorable and outright wicked and those kinds of Christians are probably the main ailment of the Christain church in the United States.
Abortion has become so monolithic an institution primarliy because Americans have accepted the rhetoric of many in the medical community that the unborn does not truly qualify for the title of "personhood." Perhaps readers should be reminded that the Nazi-perpetrated slaughter of the Jews across Europe was not resisted en masse by citizens of Europe in large part because they accepted Nazi propaganda that the Jews were not "fully human."
It's easy to kill that which isn't human.
Even by many hardened criminals, convicted of some of the most violent acts imaginable find harm to children absolutely unacceptable and a line that they won't even cross. Children and babies are the most defenseless of our society and are certainly worthy to be protected and provided for. Obviously, there are those who do not agree.
Every society that does not protect its most defenseless citizens is doomed to fall, doomed to be destroyed by its own lust for blood. Abortion can only exist in a nation wherein its citizens do not have a right perception of God. If God is worthy to be called" God," then He must be just and must love life. If this is true and if anyone claims to worship such a God and does not oppose abortion then that person's devotion is a sham and his "God" is a sadistic figment of imagination.
Think about it, what God deserves to be worshipped who does not love his own creation? Even more, what person can be trusted to the greatest degree whho does not cherish human lufe, one who fudges with vocabulary determining that an unborn baby is a "fetus," a mere mass of tissue that doesn't classify as a human being. Such thinking smacks of the nonsense that originally was present in the Constitution of the United States that classiffied Blacks as "three-fifths" human. It was such thinking that helped make slavery flourish throughout Western Civilization and that made men bend their god to their ideology rather than conform their ideology to the dictates of their god.
Christian, your god is dead if abortion is not murder and furthermore, you are no different from the adherents to the ideologies of Mao, Hitler, Stalin, and Pot. They didn't cherish human life because for them, God was nonexistent and if human opinion, majority-rule, and human government are the final arbitrators of the value of human life, then we are destined for the same dark, godless future and it will be Christians who will make it possible.

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