Someone With Integrity

It’s an old adage that there is no such thing as bad publicity. However, when a person spends a week in the press portrayed as out of touch, a git, a ninny, a moron, retarded, or brain damaged, and then the next week is back in the press as offending a Catholic church Archbishop, that person is stretching the limits of the above axiom. Sheryl Crow just can’t seem to stay away from bad press. I must apologize to the brain damaged and retarded people for linking them to Sheryl Crow. I did not mean to disparage you.

It seems that the Archbishop of St Louis, the Most Reverend Raymond Burke, resigned his position as chairman of the Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation. The organization had booked the TP queen for a concert and Bishop Burke wanted the concert cancelled because of Crow’s pro-abortion activism. When the foundation’s board of governors chose profit over principle, Bishop Burke resigned.

I am not Catholic. But Bishop Burke has shown himself to be a man of integrity. He suggested that John Kerry be denied communion for his pro-abortion statements and the church couldn’t stand the negative publicity. It is time that more Christians, Catholic and protestant, take a stand for their beliefs publicly. That’s not to say that pickets should be formed outside every human slaughterhouse in America (though that would be a great thing). That is the mission for some but not everyone. Believers of every faith can no longer keep silent. We will be held accountable for the murder of millions of babies if we do not give voice to our beliefs.

A little over a week ago, the Supreme Court bravely acknowledged that there is barbarism in the practice of abortion. Although that is my description of their actions, it is a beginning of a battle for the unborn future leaders of this country. The pro-death abortionists realize this and have stepped up their campaigns to save their murderous agenda. I believe that Justice Ginsberg even referred to this as an issue of women’s health. BS. Children are not a disease Ms Ginsberg. They are a gift from a benevolent Creator. Archbishop Burke gets it. We should all take heed of his example.

Eternity

This blog has not been a journal type blog. I like the more political leaning stuff and so that’s where this one normally goes. Today I’m going to be a bit different and I’ll get back to politics tomorrow.

I’ve just had 7 of the most rewarding days that I’ve ever experienced. Our church presented the Eternity drama by City Bible Church in Portland, OR. I was cast as Satan and it has been an exhilarating and exhausting week. I lost my voice almost completely each night but it never faltered during any presentation. You call that what you will. I call it a God thing. My knees have been toast each day and walking is excruciating. However I didn’t feel a single twinge at all when I was onstage or doing any of the physically demanding tasks as part of my portrayal. Anyone with osteoarthritis can tell you, that’s a God thing.

But that pales in comparison to what we have witnessed since Saturday night. Let me start a few days earlier so that I don’t get ahead of myself. The initial meeting was Thursday night. We met the three person crew from Portland and began with icebreaker skits to get everyone out of their shells. Then they had us read through some parts. After about three hours, the crew and our pastor went to a backroom to pray and cast each role.

They came back and announced all of the roles except Satan. I didn’t think that I did very well on my read-through so I got in line to sign up to be an angel. Then the director, J. R. Nunez called me out and announced that I was going to be Satan. I had no idea what I was in for. I got my script which included all of the “hell” scenes and they told me which ones we would be using. I went home and began to memorize my part for the rehearsal the next evening.

When I arrived Friday night, J. R. pulled me aside and told me that he forgot to mention that the Satan makeup was a “skull” look and he asked me if I was willing to shave my head. After my initial shock I remembered that I had prayed that I was willing to do whatever God wanted me to do to bring him glory, that very morning. I had no choice. Saturday morning I got up early and shaved my head. I don’t look like myself anymore. We rehearsed through each scene twice and then a complete run through. We got an hour off and then had our first presentation at 7:00 that night. I use the word presentation because we weren’t performing but we were presenting an opportunity for those attending to meet God in a very real and personal way.

Saturday night saw 12 persons come to meet Christ in a real and personal way. There were also many rededications. Sunday saw another 17 first time believers. Monday there were 34. Tuesday there were 42 more and we were amazed that God had used us in a real way to bring over 100 people to know him in just 4 short days. But we prayed that we wouldn’t put God in a box and limit Him. We specifically asked him to blow us away Wednesday night. Be careful what you ask for.

As Wednesday progressed, I had no voice whatsoever. It had been horrible all week except during the presentations. I had to talk a lot at work and when I left I could barely speak above a whisper. I had to go to my kid’s high school to help with their play rehearsal before I had to be in makeup at 5:00. Needless to say, I was haggard, raspy, and very tired when Francee started putting on my makeup. I hadn’t seen my wife in three days and I was not in a frame of mind to do what I had to do. We began our group prayer time at 6:10. I was disappointed in that it seemed that our numbers of pray-ers had dwindled. I’m sure that fatigue had a lot to do with it. At about 6:40, J. R. came back and told us that the auditorium was full. The doors had only been open about 10 minutes! He then asked if we were willing to do two performances back to back because there were still about 600 people in line, wrapped around the church. We had caused a major traffic jam for a mile in each direction. Could we do it twice? Absolutely!

It was then that I noticed that my throat didn’t hurt anymore. Until then, my voice would be sore each night until I made my entrance. Tonight, God chose to heal me early. If you’ve never been touched but the healing power of God, you have no idea what it is like. I didn’t feel a charge of electricity shoot through my body. I didn’t feel heat, pain, or get “slain in the Spirit.” I just noticed that all of the aches, pains, and my voice immediately felt normal. Completely normal. There was an amazing feeling of strength and energy but that was it. God touched me and I was incredibly humbled by that. When we are willing to do things beyond our capabilities, God can do amazing things.

We went through the production and began our prayer time during the final moments of the presentation. I’m sure that anyone who could have seen into the hell pit under the stage would have been amazed to see Satan and his demons praying for the salvation of the lost in the audience. We had done that each night and God had blessed us tremendously. Of the 5 people that we named specifically, 4 got saved. That’s a God thing. David, Julian, Marc, Kelly, Brian, Chris, Savanna, Ryan, and Rebecca, you guys are some serious prayer warriors! God’s army assailed the gates of hell and snatched 87 souls from death. 87 people chose Christ over death! Ain’t God Good!

When we came back 30 minutes later, the room was almost full once again. 350-400 people came back at 8:30 on a Wednesday night to see the message of salvation proclaimed through a 2 hour drama. Once again God moved and even more people came to know Christ in a personal way. I didn’t hear the final number but it was way over 200 for the week. I was normally exhausted after just one presentation but I had more energy the last time than any of the others. That was a God thing!

Let me just say that you should know that God is real. He loves you enough that he sent his own son to die as a payment for your imperfection. God requires perfection to live with Him and we aren’t capable of being perfect. The death and resurrection of His son Jesus made us perfect by paying the blood price for us. To spend eternity with God, you simply have to acknowledge your inability to achieve His standard of perfection and accept the payment that Jesus made for you by His death on the Roman cross. Confess that you aren’t perfect, accept Jesus’ sacrifice, and believe that God raised him from the dead. That’s it. Now you have a new hope and you stop living in the imperfect way that you were. It’s not easy. You can’t do it by yourself. But the Bible teaches us that when we are weak, God is strong.

God’s love is contrasted by Satan’s hatred for all that God has created. As Jesus us the Messiah, Satan is the deceiver. If you don’t choose God, you choose Satan by default. Once you are dead, you get no more second chances. There is no more time. The world experience is full of people who expect to go home tonight but never make it. You can’t afford to miss the opportunity because you are busy, bored, or want just a little more time. You have to choose. I’ve chosen. As for me, and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Ain't God Good!

Ain’t God good? Comedian Jerry Clower wrote a book by that name many years ago but the sentiment is timeless. How anyone can look at the intricacy of the world around us and deny the existence and intervention of God displays an acute arrogance and infinitesimal ignorance.

Yet I’m still amazed when God reveals himself to us a personal way. Last Sunday (four days ago) a good friend was in a car accident. I’m not going to put her name here; you don’t need to know it. She didn’t see a semi-trailer crossing in front of her and hit it at around 70 mph. Her bumper went under the truck so the airbag sensors weren’t activated and the airbag didn’t go off. She was air evacuated to the closest neuro center about 100 miles away from the head trauma when she hit the steering wheel.

Her brain was swelling so fast that by the time they got her to the hospital, permanent brain damage seemed a certainty. But literally thousands of people stopped what they were doing and petitioned God to intervene and heal her. The doctors removed a portion of her skull hours later to relieve the pressure with the hope that she would at least be functional. If everything went better than hoped they would replace the skull piece in three months.

She walked out of the hospital today with absolutely no damage or ill effects whatsoever. She will have the skull piece replaced next week.

God answers prayer. He is still in the business of intervening in the human existence and changing lives forever. There is no medical explanation for my friend’s recovery. The doctors expected her to still be in a coma today. God is real. Look at the wonder of the world around you. He loves you. If you want to get to know Him, put it in the comments and I’ll show you how.

Here We Go

I finally finished closing out fiscal year 2006 and now I can once again focus on things that matter. The manner in which the government conducts itself fiscally defies understanding. But that's not what this post is about. It's time to focus on the upcoming midterm elections.

I try not to watch too much broadcast TV. I get most of my news from the internet and select cable channels. I've watched a broad variety of programs and I choose which ones I find honest, believable and objective. Other people may not agree with my choices but that's okay. They have the right to be wrong.

My broadcast viewing is limited to sports and Extreme Makeover Home Edition. It is a show that attempts to make a difference and entertains. More fare like that and TV might be viewable again. As I was watching the Dallas Cowboys throttle the Tennessee Titans, I was forced to endure a series of political ads at each commercial break. One thing stood out. The Democrat ads unwaveringly tried to link the Republican candidate to the president or pointed out some personal flaw that was so egregious that the candidate should not only not be elected but tarred, feathered, and run out of town on a rail.

By contrast, the Republican ads all were focused on the issues. Most compared the voting records of the candidates. This is the crux of the upcoming election. While the DNC strategy seems to be to dig up some dirt, mix it with a healthy dose of BS, and fling the poo at the opponent, the Republican strategy attempts to focus on and is driven by the issues.

This is our government of the 21st century. The agenda of the president is attacked, slowed and dragged in to the morass of the opposition party. That is exactly what the DNC is. Opposition. They have no new ideas. They want to provide free health care, by raising your taxes - Bush is Satan. They want free and open borders with instant citizenship for ILLEGAL aliens, paid for by raising your taxes - Bush is Satan. They want to capitulate the war on terror and bring our troops home to fight the terrorists back in America where they belong, paid by raising your taxes - Bush is Satan. They want to destroy traditional family values and raise your taxes - Bush is Satan. They want to confuse and lie to seniors about their benefits by raising their taxes - Bush is Satan. They don't believe in God and want to raise your taxes - but they believe in Satan because Bush is Satan.

The party platform seems to be the ostrich agenda. Stick your head in the sand and pretend that it is 1993. If we don't bother anyone, they will leave us alone and we can raise your taxes. Bush is Satan, Hugo Chavez is right, we can fix everything by raising your taxes. Excuse me but where are the new ideas?

I was brought up to believe if you are going to complain about something, provide a solution. I believe that by and large, the Republican solutions are the right solutions. I think that if we abandon the war on terror that is currently being fought in Iraq, we will most certainly be fighting it over here. I believe that the only way to ensure peace is to destroy our enemies, without apologies. I believe that the quickest way to increase tax receipts is by lowering tax rates. Laffer was right. I believe that a family consist of one woman married to one man. That union has the right and privilege to produce children. I believe that government should provide a stable environment for its citizens to work toward the successful achievement of their goals. It is not the role of government to provide that success to someone not willing to work for it by penalizing someone who has. I believe that the best way to help someone is to help him help himself. I believe that sometimes circumstances overwhelm people and it is the responsibility of the citizens of this country to provide charity for them, not for the government to redistribute my money to a derelict taking advantage of a corrupt system. I believe that mankind is charged with being a good steward of all of creation. That does not mean that the survival of a mutated sub-species trumps the needs of all of mankind. I believe that statement does not give us a license to destroy this planet to benefit humans. I have been to ANWR and seen it. I believe that drilling in a small portion of that frozen wasteland would provide a greater benefit to all Americans than the agenda of the wacko environmentalists. I believe that abortion is the greatest mass murder in world history.

I believe that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob came to earth in human form as the Son of the Living God. The name of the Son is Jesus of Nazareth. You don't have to adopt my beliefs but my god doesn't force himself on you and I won't either. You can go to hell if you so choose. I hope that you don't.

I will vote in November for the candidates who most closely represent my beliefs. Single issue politics will give power to those who don't deserve it. Between now and then, I will campaign to defeat those who would see to the ruin of this country if they were to benefit politically.

Exactly What Did He Get Wrong?

I'm not Catholic. I'm a Baptist. We may disagree on doctrinal interpretation but we do agree on many key points. First, we worship the Hebrew deity YHWH, the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We believe that God sent the person of his son to live a blameless human life and sacrifice himself for the sins of mankind. We believe that one day God will once again send his son Jesus to conquer the enemies of God, temporal and spiritual, and will end the enmity between God and man. On these things we agree.

The leader of the Catholic church has come under fire for comments made about Islam. As a Christian, I see a fellow believer who is being attacked for speaking the truth and I feel compelled to comment.

Pope Benedict quoted a 14th century emperor that questioned what Muhammad had brought to the world religions that was a new idea. The Pope is exactly right. Muhammad brought a moon-fertility god of the pagan Meccans, called Allah, and made him a god of war. He specifically commanded that followers were to command non-believers to convert at the point of a sword or die. He futher commanded that followers were to eradicate Jewish and Christian non-believers that he call infidels. Muhammad didn't bring anything new to the table. He simply adopted various qualities of pagan religions that he liked and packaged them in a monotheistic package he called Islam.

Today, Islamic leaders of religion and government are condemning the Pope's remarks. Like the American democrats shrilling against shining the light on Bill Clinton's infidelities, the truth appears to be the most damaging and painful of weapons. If Islam is the religion of peace, consider these quotes in response to the Pope's comments:

"Benedict, the author of such unfortunate and insolent remarks, is going down in history for his words," he said. "He is going down in history in the same category as leaders such as (Adolf) Hitler and (Benito) Mussolini." [He is going to cause a second Holocaust. Not that Muslims recognize the first Holocaust. Matter-of-fact, I'm pretty sure that Muslims wouldn't recognize a Holocaust if it jumped up and B___ slapped them.]

"The pope has thrown gasoline onto the fire ... in a world where the risk of a clash between religions is high" [He's making us kill you]

"Anyone who describes Islam as a religion as intolerant encourages violence" [You're going to kill us if we don't call you tolerant?]

"What he has done is that he has quoted very offensive remarks by some emperor hundreds of years ago," she added. "It is not helpful (because) we have been trying to bridge the gap, calling for dialogue and understanding between religions." [We talk and you understand, convert or we will kill you. We may kill you anyway just because you are a Jew or a Christian]

What he didn't say was the Muhammad was a pedophile, a false prophet, a psychopath, or anything else that was true. The Pope is right. Muhammad was a nutjob. Now he's a dead nutjob. To the shrieking Islamists in the press I say "Truth Hurts."