Opinion Thoughts, Opinion Expressed

Three men in a desert

2012-02-11T10:50:00.000-06:00

Three men are hiking in the desert and become lost. One man came prepared and packed a full back pack water jug. The second man had assumed they would be there only a few hours and packed only two canteens of water he carried on his belt. The third man brought a couple of water bottles he bought in the convenient store at the edge of the desert.

As the day wore on the third man decided he might die if he didn't have more water for hydration. He suggested to the first man who had carried his heavy load of a full back pack of water to share his since he had so much more, perhaps even more than he needed. So the first man filled the third man's two water bottles to the brim and gave them to the third man.

The second man finished his second canteen by the end of the first full day in the desert and also suggested that the first man share his abundance with him. The first man filled one of the canteens the second man carried, gave it back to him so he would have water to last through the night and into the next day.

The first man had finished some of his water through the first day as well and with the filling of the third man's two water bottles and the second man's canteen, the first man's back pack water jug had been depleted by over half.

In the late afternoon of the second full day in the desert the second man and the third man had finished all of their water once again and turned to the first man for a refill. Having finished a portion of his water in his back pack jug, the first man had only about a third of his jug's water remaining.

The second man and the third man became adamant with the first man that he should share his remaining water with them since he had started with so much more than they had each started with. The first man began to resist saying that he had thought ahead, packed the water, had carried the heavy water for the entire time in the desert without any help from the others. Moreover, the first man argued, he had already shared more than a third of his water with each of them previously. The second and third man had already consumed all they had plus about a third of the first man's water.

When the second and third man perceived the first man was not going to give them his water, they attacked him and compelled him to redistribute his water so that each of them had equal shares of the first man's remaining water. After taking the water from the first man the other two continued on their journey to try to escape the desert. The first man stayed behind for fear the other two would attack him again later and take all of his water.

Two days later the first man was rescued from the desert by a search party that had been looking for all of them. When the first man was found he inquired about the others. He was informed their bodies had been found the day before; they were burned by the sun and their water containers were completely dry.

Was it fair for the two men to compel the first man to give them equal shares of his water? How did the first man survive?

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2012 Resolutions

2012-01-02T16:38:00.000-06:00

If your New Year Resolution was to quit smoking and you are finding it difficult to stick with your plan, consider the cost of smoking to have another motivation to stop. The cost in money is bad enough, but the health cost is even greater.

Some people find it difficult to quit smoking cigarettes and find little motivation to do so. Even though the cigarette package bears a warning to one’s health, it still does not seem to be significant enough to eliminate smoking. Perhaps it is because a person feels healthy and smoking is incremental…one cigarette at a time. A person usually does not feel any worse after smoking only one cigarette.

Monetary cost

The other side of the incremental perspective however, could be the cost associated with smoking. A package of cigarettes usually comes in a package of 20. A package of a popular brand of cigarettes will cost approximately $5.20. The following incremental breakdown of the cost is surprising.

If a person smokes one package of cigarettes per day it will cost $5.20 in that one day. That does not seem like a lot, and if it is only an incidental cost it is not that much. However, in the incremental perspective at the end of a week the cost of smoking a pack a day is $36.40. Examine the following table:

Month = $156.00
Year = $1900.08
5 Years = $9500.40
10 Years = 19,000.80
15 Years = $28,501.20
20 Years = 38,001.20
25 Years = 47,502.00

Hmm…one pack a day costs $47,502.00 in twenty-five years. That is assuming that the government will not increase the tax on cigarettes over the next 25 years. Over forty-seven thousand dollars could go a long way toward paying off a mortgage. Remember, incrementally is only one cigarette at a time.

Health cost

Of course the cost has to include the health aspect as well. Lighting up a cigarette and inhaling the smoke into our lungs has been shown to be directly linked to significant health risks. In one day for the pack-a-day smoker is of course 20 cigarettes. The number increases to 140 in a week. Examine the following table:

Month = 600
Year = 7308
5 Years = 36,540
10 Years = 73,080
15 Years = 109,620
20 Years = 146,160
25 Years = 182,700

Wow! In twenty-five years the smoker has burned up $47,502 and has also smoked 182,700 cigarettes.

Investment cost

Another cost to consider is the loss of potential investment earnings. Consider the magic of compounded interest especially from the incremental perspective. Any calculation Table will demonstrate the potential earnings of saving the cost of a package of cigarettes. By saving the $5.20 per day in a compounded savings account at 3% compounded interest it will yield approximately $70,382.58 in twenty-five years. Of course the potential savings could be even greater if the $5.20 per day were invested in other forms of earning potential stocks or bonds.

Summary

By quitting smoking a person can earn and save at the same time over the next twenty-five years of their life. By not smoking any more cigarettes and instead investing the cost of the package of cigarettes over the next twenty-five years, the smoker will have…

• Not smoked 182,700 cigarettes and will likely be much more healthy;

• Not spent and burned up $47,502 over the same period of time; and,

• By investing the cost of cigarettes that would have been spent by continuing to smoke, the non-smoker will have approximately $70,382.58 to spend on other things.

What could be more of a motivation to quit smoking and avoid the incremental effects of loss of money and health, and at the same time gaining the incremental effects of compounded interest investments?

Jim Killebrew

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Baby boomer generation

2011-11-28T12:10:00.002-06:00

The "Baby Boomer" generation is the product of the "Greatest Generation." Once having put the world at peace after WWII the Greatest Generation as they have been called, set about building their families, neighborhoods and communities. They participated in one of the greatest growth spurts in American history. The Military Industrial Complex with its innovation for advancement in technology and commerce became only a by-product of their efforts. The sweat-equity they poured into their jobs and careers built a foundation of solid economic efforts that allowed a young President in 1963 to declare the presence of a man on the moon by the end of that decade. Naturally that happened; theirs was a generation of accomplishment.

They did all of that and even more; they raised children called war-babies and baby boomers. They instilled in those pliable minds the love of freedom and national pride. They established a moral character of "middle-class" America that forged a strong bond with God and Country that was reinforced with the likes of Billy Graham, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, Eleanor Roosevelt, John Wayne, Maya Angelou, Robert Mitchum, Ella Fitzgerald, Clarke Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Barbara Jordan and, yes, even Ronald Reagan.

Working during the week and making family trips to town on the week-ends was a way of life. Eating out was a treat, buying a new or used car was the thrill of life, taking in a ball game and watching the advent of a new thing called television. Watching the first shows that had come from the radio to television like Jack Benny, Red Skelton, George Burns and Gracie Allen and the Ozzie and Harriet show.

Many American Dads and Moms during those years participated in family worship on Sundays, ate meals with the family, bought groceries, paid bills, and led the family in ordinary life. Dad, along with Mom, was the leader of the family and children, along with the grandparents sat on the front porch in the cool of the evening to talk while the kids caught lightning bugs, roller skated on the sidewalks or rode their bikes that Dad and Mom had given them for Christmas.

That was the generation of accomplishment. In the span of their lives they sat on buckboards pulled by horse or mule, ate food from an "ice box" cooled with a large block of ice delivered to their homes or picked up at the ice plant in town, drew their own water from a well outside or pumped it from a kitchen sink pump, received telegraphs in emergencies, rode the train, saw the first cars roll off of Ford's assembly line, witnessed the first generation of airplane flights, but still managed to see in their lifetime John Glenn orbit the earth in near space and see Neal Armstrong walk on the moon.

The War Babies and Baby Boomers have now grown up, having careers for themselves, raising their children and grandchildren. They have listened to the stories of their parents talking about the "great depression" and the war fought to eradicate the world of a madman. Many of the War Babies and Baby Boomers knew exactly where the buck stopped in the White House, and even though they did not understand it, some of them, along with their parents liked Ike and practiced many times hiding under their desks at school to protect themselves against the "A-Bomb" that could possibly drop from the sky at any time.

The "Three 'Rs'" were a staple in school along with the pledge of allegiance to the Flag of the United States being recited each and every morning as the first thing of the day. In most schools this generation also publically read the Bible in front of the class, listened to announcements over a centralized intercom system and studied American history to cement into their minds the foundation of America. As time moved on the Baby Boomer generation began to change.

By graduation time this generation saw itself slipping into a war that quickly became unpopular. As if wars are ever popular, this one lacked the full-scale commitment from the American people as WWII had established. Vietnam was a far-away place where people were fighting for independence from a communist stronghold. Peoples in that region were mixed into different kinds of fighting groups and it was unclear about who constituted the enemy. It seemed the United States government was tepid in their desire to actually win the war in Vietnam.

The war dragged on without a formal declaration with definition changes ranging from "war effort" to "police action". The war moved from the commanders on the battlefield to the politicians in Washington. Coupled with the Civil Rights movement that sought equality for all Americans, the President waged "war" against poverty and fought battles for other social justice programs in a divisive stance with the more volatile war in Vietnam. With the country torn by war, civil unrest leading to riots and political campaigning, the President chose not to seek another term in office.

By the end of 1968 the country had lost important civil rights leaders through assassination like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and political figures like Robert Kennedy and had elected a different political party to the Office of President of the United States; Richard Nixon. Promising to end the war, the new President lingered on for an entire term with Americans still dying in Vietnam. It was not until his second term President Nixon pulled American troops from Southeast Asia. The feared "domino theory" became a reality; Cambodia, Laos and South Vietnam fell to the communists.

A blight of anger, indifference and downright hatred fell over the returning troops. Americans seemed to blame those who fought the war rather than the ones who politically controlled it. Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines were even spat upon in some cases. They seemed to have to carry the burden of a nation who had rejected a war, but found no response from the politicians, so they heaped their scorn upon those who were visible as they returned and walked the gauntlets of dissatisfied Americans.

As time passed the Baby Boomers settled into corporate America and continued on in their careers. The so-called "silent majority" seemed to turn their focus more on economics and politics than anything else. Greed was the new theme with Wall Street, fantasy, and most of all everything mega. Career, education and commerce ruled the day. The Baby Boomers worked two jobs, secured higher education and had babies to create the next generation; Generation X.

War Babies and Baby Boomers seemed to meld into the landscape as the political structure and leadership was passed on to the next generation. Many in the Baby Boomer group simply worked and raised families; they have buried their parents from the Greatest Generation and have been putting the finishing touches on their own retirement plans. But some cracks in their plans have emerged.

Baby Boomers are set to retire over the next few years. After having paid into the Social Security System and Medicare for their entire working lives, they are being told the systems are unsustainable. They are being told the money they have paid from each of their pay checks even before they received them is a type of "welfare" or entitlement similar to the welfare benefits. They are being told that the "Trust Fund" has been used over the years is now empty with not enough funding to provide what was promised. For years the politicians have talked about the "third rail" of government, meaning Social Security, and the need to make adjustments in the system. The Baby Boomers have watched and heeded the onslaught of the attacks on their future. Their medical care is in jeopardy; their retirement supplements are in jeopardy; their economic strength is being eroded by massive amounts of debt by out-of-control spending, the standing of America's strength in the world is in jeopardy and the political structure of America's greatness is in jeopardy. But the Baby Boomer generation is being attacked from other fronts as well.

Slowly through the years a new kind of war has been waged. The Middle East and Europe have both experienced that new war methodology more than the United States. Terrorism, a form of focused destruction and murder from radical groups have emerged as the mode of choice from groups who see more industrialized countries as a threat to their culture.

Perhaps the most radicalized groups have come from the radical Jihadists that see the Westernized industrial, technological world as "Infidels" and thus, an enemy that must be destroyed. It would be difficult to argue that September 11, 2001 was an act of war with the attack of the World Trade Center Twin Towers and Pentagon. The weapon of choice for that attack was hijacked planes taken by force by radical terrorists and used as weapons. But even prior to that time the American people had become synthesized through the tenants of multiculturalism, educational restructuring and political left-wing liberalism that resulted in an array of political correctness that attacked traditional American values. Judeo-Christian values came under intense attack through a resurgence of atheism pushing social changes that over the years resulted in reduction of recognition of the Ten Commandments, prayer in schools, even substituting the word Christmas, and using instead the term Holiday Season.

Slowly through the past two decades the sentiment has changed to a greater tolerance toward any value other than the Christian value. Efforts have intensified to completely separate Christianity from mainstream America to retreat behind church walls. People are being taught intolerance toward Christian values, but acceptance of other, more radical values. It is increasingly politically incorrect to speak openly of Christian virtues in schools, or anyplace where the words can be heard. People are "offended" by any use of Christian symbols or words. Through it all there are many in the Baby Boomer generation who have remained quiet, fearing the condensation of being identified as a "right-winged" Christian radical. I believe this is a mistake for our society.

I have said for awhile we have remained silent too long against speaking out against those who wish to kill us. Where are the women's groups in this country who fought for women's rights, but say absolutely nothing about the wholesale destruction of women in the Middle East under Sharia law? Men are allowed to beat women, own them as property, divorce them on a whim, marry them against their will as teenagers, and treat them as if they are less intelligent than men. They control the lives of women in every way; even as to how they dress or are seen in public. American women, even those who are ultra liberal, travel to the Middle Eastern Islamic countries and wear the traditional dress to cover their faces and entire bodies. That is something they would never tolerate anywhere in the Western world. Yet here they are, never saying a word about the treatment of millions of women in the Islamic world. Where is the National Organization of Women? Where are the Feminist groups who protest to ensure "women's rights" even to the degree of taking the life of an unborn child for any reason whatsoever? They are conspicuously silent when it comes to defending their counterparts in the Islamic world.

We have been brow-beaten into submission of silence on our university campuses where radicalized groups hold sway over the speech of others. We can celebrate the other world religious faiths but castigate Christianity by claiming "separation of Church and State" thus shutting down the use of the Bible even as an historical book. We are held silent by the liberal press and "politically correct" crowd when we see with our very eyes the results of the radical terrorist violence and hear their vows to "kill the infidels." We see small children groped and touched through invasive searches at airports, and elderly women taken from their wheelchairs to be searched, but see clerics of other faiths with their traditional dress hiding their body and head prance by unhampered as they board the airplane. We don't want to be called "racist" or offend anyone by any hint of "profiling" anyone who meets the criteria of radicalism, so our backs are broken in several places by our self-imposed practice of bending over backwards to spare their feelings.

Yes, our freedoms are vanishing before our very eyes. Our world seems to crumble as each day goes by as we submit further to the will of those who hate us. Our President bows a waist-deep bow to the leader of a country whose desire is to see us dead, we borrow vulgar amounts of money from a country like China whose communist goals have been to bury the Western way of life for the past century, we "save" vast amounts of oil, coal and shale reserves through political edict of embargo that results in our total dependence on foreign energy and we face the prospect of losing our great country to the whims of a few political hacks whose goals seem to be our destruction. But you know something, there is still hope.

Once again our hope lies in those of us who are older, wiser and continue to believe in the greatness of our country. Our fathers and grandfathers, mothers and grandmothers fought and supported the fight against tyranny from the Socialists and Nazis during WWII. They fought against communism in Korea after the world was in flame from madmen; through perseverance and great personal loss, they won those wars. Later they also won the cold war when President Reagan, Pope John Paul and Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom understood how to defeat the enemy by the careful rebuilding of our infrastructure and military, personal faith in God and resolve for freedom the world over. Even though faint-hearted, liberal people advised Mr. Reagan not to utter those words at the Wall in Germany, he knew what he was saying when he said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." When that wall came down, so did the infrastructure of the USSR since it had only produced an empire of form instead of substance.

Our generation was the last one who really touched the tentacles of an adversary with national identity and communist backing: Southeast Asia. The Baby Boomer generation was called one more time to serve in our national interest. Perhaps you experienced it much more closely than I by being in the middle of it. But even during that time you could see the current and next generation losing its will to wage war. The President was at home declaring a "war on poverty" while at the same time not giving the troops the same support they had received during past Presidents like Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. The left-wing liberals had already begun to take the constraining grasp on American individualism and greatness. Even Mr. Nixon crawled through a first term with minimal effort to "win" the war raging in Vietnam. It was not until his second term that he allowed the prevailing weakness at home to influence his will and give way to even what he had called the "domino effect." The generations that followed have been weaker by each year. With the exception of the Reagan Administration years, the military was downsized essentially from that time forward.

After Mr. Nixon and the initiation of the "all volunteer" military the generations following have consistently lost ground. All but the most patriotic have lost their way in a world of greed, corruption and political morass. The military was almost gutted during the Carter and Clinton Administrations.

There is one last chance: Millions in the "War Baby" and "Boomer" generations are going to have to carry the load again. We are going to have to look to the future into the next election cycle and make the right choices by working and voting to carry the day for America. Our tax codes are bloated, the regulations from commerce are debilitating, the debt is burdensome and our philosophical and Christian values are tarnished. This younger generation has lost its way and has found the teat of the government handouts to sustain it until the next nanny comes along for it to latch onto. So we must buck up, go out there and do it again; looking backward to our forefathers, grandparents and parents and our Christian heritage for motivation, but looking forward to our great losses as a nation if we don't stand up and do the right thing and muster the strength to overcome radical socialism once again to preserve our American Dream for our children and grandchildren.

Jim Killebrew

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Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T15:26:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has been around for a long time; in America it started with an ocean voyage. We are all familiar with the Pilgrims coming to America on the Mayflower. It had been a long voyage across the ocean in 1620 when the Mayflower set sail on September 6, 1620 and arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts on November 9, 1620. It's landing site was known as the Plymouth Colony since it had sailed from Plymouth, England. The 66 day voyage had taken its toll as it crossed the Atlantic ocean. With a crew of between 20 and 25, the ship carried 102 passengers, 37 were members of the separatist Leiden congregation seeking freedom of worship in the New World. Two people died during the voyage, and two babies were born on the ship during the trip.

About half of the individuals who were aboard the Mayflower died during the first winter of 1620-1621. At harvest time in 1621 those who survived, 53 in all, celebrated the harvest with what has been recognized as America's first Thanksgiving. Through the years the group aboard that ship and the settlement at Plymouth, Massachusetts, even though some were "strangers" while others were "saints" have all become known as "Pilgrims."

Through the years into modern America the celebration of Thanksgiving has not only endured, but flourished. It was Abraham Lincoln who began the tradition of a national Thanksgiving in 1863. Prior to that some state Governors proclaimed the day, and some Presidents encouraged a day of Thanksgiving; some did not. In modern times we celebrate Thanksgiving as a day to be grateful for all the blessings we have; not only nationally, but individually as well.

It is easy to reflect on the presence of Thanksgiving, especially since we can see a direct tie to the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony celebrating along with their Indian neighbors at the bountiful harvest experienced in 1621. Beside the great harvest, however, the Pilgrims would have known the true source of Thanksgiving. They were a God-fearing, loving people who would have been very familiar with the teachings of the Bible.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Beyond a doubt the Pilgrims would have been familiar with the passage in Psalms 100 that calls the people to give thanks.

Psalm 100

100:1 Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth!

100:2 Worship the Lord with joy!

Enter his presence with joyful singing!

100:3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!

He made us and we belong to him;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise!

Give him thanks!

Praise his name!

100:5 For the Lord is good.

His loyal love endures,

and he is faithful through all generations. (Psalms 100:1-5)

The psalmist saw the faithfulness of God directed to His children, the Jewish Nation, and called the people from all over the nation to celebrate with him. The Children of Israel had been blessed by God and the psalmist recognized the relationship between God and His people and wanted to praise God and give Him thanks. Likewise, the Pilgrims had seen the faithfulness of God to them, His grafted-in people, grafted by the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His work on the cross.

Emerging from a very difficult voyage from England, a very tough winter, with the loss of nearly half of their company through death, with each family having lost a loved one and touched by the harshness of the times, God had now come through with a bountiful harvest, much better health and the Pilgrims felt the blessings flow through their hearts. With those who took leadership, and those who were following, they collectively with one heart began to see the importance of remembering a custom they had practiced in their home country, and they planted a new custom in this new-found land that would bathe each of them in Thanksgiving to their Creator for delivering them into a new life of freedom and abundance.

Worship was not just an act of singing or raising hands to heaven. It meant serving God and each other. It meant serving those upon whose land they had rested. So along with the great Indian King Massasoit and approximately 90 of his men, the Pilgrims sat down to a meal and communed together giving thanks to God Who had see their struggles and had brought them through it, and now even with abundance.

It was a joyful acknowledgement that they entered into their worship of praise. They acknowledged that God had created them and had given them abundance of life. He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and they, even now, as His servants, each belonged to Him. He was all-powerful and sustaining even in the face of adversity and hardship. It was His doing that their morning had come with joy and sunshine, even with the fruits of their labor He had blessed them with the harvest for which they were thankful. So they lifted their faces and hearts with praise and thanksgiving knowing that God loved them and He would endure forever. They set into motion on this new land that would ultimately be called America the precedent of worship because of the promise they knew to be true that God endures forever and to each of the generations that would follow in their footsteps.

With hearts full of thankfulness how could the Pilgrims not heed the call to worship and celebration? No doubt they continued with their freedom of beliefs in the Lord Jesus Christ as they rehearsed the psalmist's call to worship:

Sing for Joy

Psalm 95

95:1 Come! Let’s sing for joy to the Lord!

Let’s shout out praises to our protector who delivers us!

95:2 Let’s enter his presence with thanksgiving!

Let’s shout out to him in celebration! (Psalm 95:1-2)

The people remembered they were to sing for joy and remember the Lord Who made them. The admonition was to joyfully shout, praise and worship with service, but also never to rebel against the Lord. The first Thanksgiving was likely a fairly noisy celebration among those who had survived the harsh winter with God's hand of protection and deliverance and with those whom the Lord had introduced as Natives in a new land who joined in the celebration of a bountiful harvest.

The Practicing Christian

Finally, the Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving no doubt understood that Christians must practice their faith. They must turn to God and allow Him to work through their hearts and think about His ways and worship Him as their Creator and Sustainer. With thankful hearts and the wisdom they found in their New Testament Scripture which had been translated by the Great King James of England just a few years (1611) prior to their Mayflower voyage, they knew the writings of the Apostle Paul through his letters recorded in their new Bible that Christians ought to always be thankful.

Philippians 4

4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! 4:5 Let everyone see your gentleness. The Lord is near! 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. 4:7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. 4:9 And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9)

The first Thanksgiving was celebrated with people who were close to God. Their hearts were full of joy and they celebrated that joy, deliverance and protection from God. They exhibited the gentleness of spirit and leading of the Holy Spirit as those who came from this native land joined them in their celebration. They left their anxiety behind them with the fading of the past winter winds and moved forward into the spring and summer of the joy that comes in the morning. Now their harvest of plenty was reason to give praise and thanks. They yielded their spirits over to the God of plenty with their corporate thanksgiving and individual requests of blessings through personal prayers. They settled in to bask in the SON shine of peace and understanding that filled their hearts with the love of Jesus Christ.

As we look to our own 21st century Thanksgiving celebrations, may we first remember that we are the creation of God, and we are to celebrate by giving Him thanks and worship in spirit and truth reflecting on the vastness of Grace that He has given us through His work on the cross to secure the salvation He offers. To Him be Praise and Glory forever!

Jim Killebrew

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Branson recognition of veterans

2011-11-11T17:22:00.000-06:00

My wife and I have visited Branson, Missouri on several occasions the past few years. Aside from the wonderful shows that are offered in that great vacation spot is something that warms the heart. Sometime before, during or after each show presented there, the Veterans of the United States Military are recognized. They are asked to stand to receive the expressed thanks from the audience through applause. Sometime the recognition is cascaded by the particular branch's song being played as those Veterans in that branch rise for recognition. This recognition is a part of each show during the entire year, not just around Veteran's Day.

I have no idea how this tradition was started, or by whom. It is such a wonderful idea and being a Veteran, I for one really appreciate the remembrance of service. America is a country of services in almost every walk of life. Services are offered in corporate America and in the volunteer sector. People volunteer in service groups, churches, day cares, nursing homes, residential services for individuals with disabilities, homeless centers, recreational centers, Boy and Girl Scouts, hospitals, schools and almost every other charitable concern imaginable. Americans are generous people and giving is a part of life.

Another characteristic of Americanism is freedom. The country was founded on the ideals and principles of each individual being free and enjoying the rights that God has given. So much so that our own Congress declared on July 4, 1776 that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

With the foundational values of volunteerism and Creator-given unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, Americans have traditionally marched off to foreign countries when called. From the "Midnight Ride" in the American Revolution to the latest Afghanistan War Americans have listened to the siren calls of warning that the country was in danger and freedom was being threatened. They have lined up to endure the rigors of training, hardships of interrupted lives, separations from families, entry into foreign lands, open risk of enemy fire, reality of capture, and the great possibility of sacrificing their lives to preserve freedom for everyone. Aside from justice and continued freedom, the greatest commodity produced by wars is the American Veteran.

Each war beginning with the American Revolution, War of 1812, Mexican War, Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, Afghanistan War and Iraq War has produced tens of thousands of Veterans. These Veterans have received mixed welcomes after their service in hard-fought wars.

Animosity against Southern fighters lasted for many years following the American Civil war. Returning Veterans from the Vietnam War were met with harsh responses from Americans who were war-weary. Some were even spat upon and demeaned as they tried to re-assimilate into the American mainstream. In contrast, modern Americans have turned the corner on respect and revere related to Veterans since the darker days of post-Vietnam.

An all-volunteer military of the modern times has tapped into the patriotism of Americans in general. Vietnam caused a slight derailment in the American bedrock of Democracy, freedom and independence, but citizens, by and large, have now returned to their heritage upon which our nation was founded. Young men and women have gathered beyond the military's quotas and have volunteered for service in all branches of the military. Honor, duty and the "no man left behind" collective thinking has prevailed in all branches of military service and the Veterans leaving their tours of duty have demonstrated that higher calling and determination by infusing back into the National consciousness the reality of who we are as Americans and what we owe our Veterans.

I believe the organizers of the Branson Shows and the Chamber of that city have absolutely done the right thing to show their respect to the Military Veterans and I applaud them for their continued efforts. I would like to think that each Veteran who stands when asked at each of those shows look around and immediately knows, without a doubt, these are my brothers with whom I have shared one of the greatest responsibilities of my life, and one of the greatest blessings to have contributed to the continued preservation of the American dream of freedom, justice and independence.

Jim Killebrew, Veteran, United States Air Force

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Military service...thank you

2011-11-09T15:34:00.000-06:00

They have been called Doughboys, leathernecks, G.I.s, Troops, Dogface, Army, Air Force, National Guard, Navy, Marines or Military. They are sometimes referred to as Armed Forces. More recently for those who served in the last World War, they were referred to as “The Greatest Generation.” They have fought to free our country from tyranny from British rule in the Revolutionary War, preserved a splitting nation during the Civil War, repelled foreign domination in two World Wars, fought communism in Korea and Viet Nam, freed a friendly nation from invasion in Dessert Storm, toppled a dictator and helped build a nation of freedom in Iraq and fought to destroy avowed terrorist extremists in Afghanistan.

After serving sometimes years in the most difficult circumstances of life that separates from family, creates hardship, forging lifelong bonds, being removed from American soil to hostile lands, sacrificing body and limb, even to the ultimate sacrifice of life, the separated military person now is simply a Veteran.

Veterans return home sometimes intact, other times broken, but in most instances in high spirit. A Veteran is a person who was your high school buddy, your grocery clerk, insurance salesman, or perhaps you physician or banker. No matter what profession or job Veterans are all around us because there has always been a need for men and women to serve their country.

Service to their country is what they have done. They served on ships, in airplanes, tanks, jeeps, hummers, helicopters, trucks and on foot. They have given their word and taken an oath to protect and preserve “our way of life” in the United States even to the point of dying to allow each of us to remain free. They have marched through mud and fire, eaten swill, frozen in foxholes, fried in desserts and been eaten by mosquitoes in the jungle. They have been in grave danger under enemy fire, tortured by enemy as captives, and sustained emotional trauma as they have been aware of their loved ones at home suffering on wages that sometimes qualified them for welfare. And yet for some of them even though their tour of duty finished and provided opportunity to return to American civilization, they have stood tall and marched right back into the “hot zone” for another tour because of their sense of honor and duty.

On Veterans Day you will notice them; they will stand out. The Veterans will be the ones whose hands are firmly planted over their hearts when the colors pass by during the parade. Their stand will be straight and tall to the extent they are able as the National Anthem is played at the game. You will notice them as they quickly wipe a falling tear as the names of fallen comrades are read at the memorial service. You might see one standing alone in the middle of a National Cemetery by a White Cross or Star of David, with head bowed, standing at parade rest.

When you see them or notice them, watch them for a moment or two and remember as best you can the sacrifice they made for you. You are able to walk the streets of America free, live the American dream, relish the full rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States because that man or woman stood on foreign soil, faced the onslaught of the full force of a powerful enemy and stood his or her ground…all of it in your place so you could remain free. If the situation is right, move toward that Veteran, take his or her hand in yours and simply say “Thank you.”

Jim Killebrew

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Taxes and the rich

2011-11-06T16:35:00.000-06:00

There is a lot of conversation today on talk radio, network and cable news programs that tout the premise that the "rich" are not paying their "fair share" in taxes. Many in political power are suggesting that people who are the "richest among" us are getting a pass when it comes to paying taxes. Some who are in the class of "Billionaires" are even reporting that they pay less tax than the secretaries who work for them.

For that group of people whose "net" worth is counted in the millions and billions it is likely true in most cases they pay less percentage in taxes. Here is the reason why: When a person accumulates that much wealth s/he generally has assets that are diversified over a wide range of investments and ownerships that are capable of producing money. In such cases the individual is able to declare no income at all and therefore not pay any "income" tax. Since their wealth is so high, the accumulation of money comes in the form of dividends or "gains" on their capital, or capital gains.

For example if a billionaire or millionaire had five million dollars setting in an account that produced only 4% interest over the year, that money would yield about $280,000.00 in a year. That $280,000.00 would be counted as capital gains and the percentage of tax that would be owed would be around 15% to 17% of that gross gain. On the other hand, if a small business owner, say a plumber or contractor was able to make that same amount of money during the same year, and only $50,000.00 of it was counted as income for the plumber or contractor, after payroll for the employees and all other expenses of the business were paid, the "income" of $50,000.00 would require a greater percentage in the tax bracket of income to be paid in the form of income tax than the same $280,000.00 the millionaire made through capital gains. This is a function of the tax code.

When we hear politicians telling us that the millionaire paid less in taxes than the plumber or contractor, they are saying words that are inflaming to a less rich person's ears, but the words are not entirely true. The millionaire who accumulated $280,000.00 in capital gains would pay tax at 15%, or $57,000.00. The plumber who grossed $280,000.00 and claimed $50,000.00 in personal income would only pay $16,800.00 in income tax, but at an income tax bracket set at 24%.

For the capital gains revenue the taxes are at a steady, flat rate and not progressive like the ordinary income taxes are. When we talk about "tax brackets" we are talking about levels of adjusted gross income that is represented in tax tables that start at the lowest levels and move to the highest levels. Hence, for persons who are not rich and earn only a salary of $40,000.00 would be in a tax bracket, or level that is lower than a person who makes $95,000.00 per year. Therefore, even by taxing the richest among us, those whose salaries are much lower will continue to pay more taxes under our current system.

This type of rhetoric being spouted by the media and politicians is causing a war against the socioeconomic classes. The lower socioeconomic classes are being purposely pitted against the higher socioeconomic classes. What we are missing in the argument is truthfulness in what will actually happen if the so-called rich are taxed in such a way as to dismantle their structure of capital assets. There is a lack of genuineness from the politicians explaining who the rich really are.

The class warfare that currently exists in our society is destined to squeeze out the so-called "middle class" because in the final analysis they are the ones who will likely suffer the most by placing pressure on the wealthy.

We have been told that eighty (80) percent of our wealth in the United States is generated by small businesses. Those people are the ones who are the plumbers, contractors, dentists, doctors working in clinics, consultants, truck owners driving their own rigs, barbers and beauticians who own their own shop and employ others, restaurant owners, dress shops, cleaners, trash haulers, and the list goes on and on. These are the people who take risks to start their business, pump their capital into the business, employ people and pay salaries, keep investing in their business with any extra money that is earned, and deliver the services and goods in an economy that grows with the demands created by the needs of the people.

When a line is drawn at some ceiling level by any politician from the government to take more money through taxes as the individual crosses that line, the earning power is reduced, people lose jobs and less, not more, taxes are collected. Let me give an example to illustrate the point.

Many years ago when I was attending Alice Robertson Jr. High School in Muskogee, I started working at Weddle's Grocery store on Chestnut street. I worked in the Weddle store on East Side Boulevard and the one at Grandview. One of the things I learned from that experience was that in order to have a job I needed to seek out those who had the jobs available. Mr. Weddle was kind enough to give me a job and agreed to pay me to sack groceries and stock shelves.

The owner of that store took all the risks of opening a store in Muskogee. He invested his resources, time and energy in establishing a service to the people of Muskogee. He was never given a promise from anyone that he would do well and make it in the grocery business. He risked what he had to provide those services and by doing so he hired many others in Muskogee to work for him and help him grow his business.

Was he richer than me? Of course he was; did he risk much more than me? Of course he did. But he shared his wealth by giving me and many others a job to make a living, or in my case, have spending money all through high school.

I don't know a thing about what he or any other owner of businesses at that time paid in taxes. I do know that they spent a lot of money on payroll. With the money I made working in my job, and the money many others made working in their jobs that he provided, paid our fair share of taxes that would not have been paid without his having first given us the job with the ability to make our own salaries.

Through the years I have never worked for a "poor" person who did not have the resources to pay my salary. But I have never thought less of a person who has risked much in order to give me a job. When the person who invests in their business, grows that business, continues to hire more people to help with that business, but makes money in the process, I believe it is that owner's right to not only make as much as s/he can, but keep as much as possible too.

For some reason the liberal political focus concentrated in the Democrat Party now days is to demonize the people who are "wealthy" and demand they pay "their fair share" in more and more taxes. If the government should finally take from them more than they can possible afford, and it begins to reverse the growth of their business, and people are laid off because of it, will those increased amounts taken from the "rich" in taxes offset the loss of taxes from the amount of money that would have been paid by their laid-off employees if they were still working?

Jim Killebrew

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School vouchers

2011-10-25T15:46:00.001-05:00

School vouchers are being discussed across the land. Public education is in a turmoil and has been pronounced by some as a dismal failure. School Districts are charged with the responsibility of providing a quality education for all children, no matter what their needs. Some school programs have excelled in quality education, but others have not. Resources are always a question, and finding those resources among families with few resources is a problem. Hence the use of vouchers to offer families a choice among educational programs that offer the educational support an individual student needs regardless of what district the child belongs to.

Some school districts and union officials have resisted the use of vouchers claiming it places the districts in jeopardy of losing students to other districts causing a loss of funding for home districts and a reduction of teachers in that district. This is especially true for those children with special needs.

These days we hear so much about the "No Child Left Behind" law that seems to force teachers to "teach toward the test." Other teachers have been heard to say they must teach toward the greater number of children in the mid-range and simply do not have time or resources to teach those above or below the mean. Consequently through the evolvement from the first enactment of the Federal law 94-142 that requires children with special needs to be educated through the development of Individual Educational Plans (IEPs), school districts have been experimenting to find the best way to follow the laws and provide a functional education for a child with special needs.

Those experiments have produced a myriad of "solutions" that range from individual tutoring to mainstreaming. A totally forgotten group traditionally has been those individuals who have been institutionalized and cared for through some derivative of a State financed facility that has segregated people with special needs into one place, no matter where they lived in the state. The education for those persons was relegated to total segregation where the "mean" was lowered yet again. Today, as a result of a long-standing practice of "deinstitutionalization" and "normalization" many of those same people with special needs live in segregated "group homes" and spend their days in a "sheltered work shop" with others with intellectual or other developmental disabilities.

The problem with the past methods of helping people with special needs has been an almost complete separation of the individual from his/her primary support group, the natural family. When the educational system of today, post "normalization" practices speaks of public education for people with special needs, by and large it means separating them sometime during the educational day into a classroom where others with similar needs are placed.

Our long history of "separate but equal" in other arenas of life should have taught us that separation from the mainstream does not always mean the quality of those services are equal. The only way the equality for separate services can have a chance to reach and maintain the quality that is meant for the mainstream services is for the person with special needs to have a strong advocate, and that advocate should be the family.

Educators are going to have to realize that the power of quality rests in a system where the provider of those services must be challenged to continually strive for the "best practice" for each individual. The idea of "If you build it, they will come," works only if the system continues to build excellence and quality and maintains dynamic change to attract those who choose that service.

For children with special needs who need support to advocate for themselves to make the choices they need to make to have the best quality of services, the parent or family must have the power to shop around and choose the best available service among services. With that power through vouchers and other methods of having resources, they will not have to settle for only what is offered by one service provider alone.

Jim Killebrew

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Truth

2011-10-24T15:57:00.000-05:00

This article is going to be for the more mature readers; not as in "mature audience" to warn of pending pornography, but mature in the sense that of having grown into wisdom by living a life of "knowing" right from wrong.

When Jesus stood before Pilot in a "trial" to determine his crimes, the Governor tried to have Jesus admit He was committing some crime against the Roman authority. Jesus was talking about a kingdom, but not a kingdom of this world. In the Gospel of John, chapter 18 we have the following account: 18:36 Jesus replied [to Pilot], “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 18:37 Then Pilate said, “So you are a king!” Jesus replied, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world – to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” 18:38 Pilate asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:36-38)

That has been the age-old question. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is studied in universities around the world. He was a German philosopher who looked at the paradigm of absolute Truth in the model of relativity. He described an idea (thesis) as being affected by the "antithesis" of that idea or belief, that eventually evolved into a "synthesis." From that it became a new idea or belief. Of course this is oversimplified and understated, but the paradigm shift proposed by Hegel was significant. It represented a shift from the Absolute Truth to a relative truth that was situational at best.

Ethical behavior was changed from "sin" to relativism. Relativism defined simply is the belief that concepts such as right and wrong, goodness and badness, or truth and falsehood are not absolute but change from culture to culture and situation to situation. The standard that was based on the Absolute presence of God was "synthesized" to a new concept that "God" was anything that could be developed by any culture or society. No longer was it an Absolute Law from God that one human may not murder another, but killing could be tolerated under certain circumstances and redefined depending upon the situation in which the "murder" was carried out.

In fact the Laws that had previously been believed as "God's Laws" were simply suggestions that had to be viewed within the context of society, culture and situations. Society could "borrow" those "suggestions" but had the authority to change them to meet the newer standards relegated by the relative power derived from either the force imposed by totalitarianism or from the rule of any group of individuals who agreed to some stated standard. From within that paradigm shift even the Church began to change.

In Europe and the United States even the secular societies continued to believe in the God of the universe and essentially knew right from wrong. For nineteen centuries after the Ministry of Jesus on earth sin was still relegated as being wrong because it was perpetrated against God. But with the philosophical values ushered in by Hegel even the common man began to believe that "right" was measured by a shifting standard and could mean anything each individual wanted it to mean. Sin continued, but it no longer had the authority or sting of having been committed against God, but against the standards of another man whose values were less noble.

Entire societies began to emerge with a synthesized set of values that long-sense had discarded Absolutes that the God of the universe was in control. Truth became unstable and relative truth became king. That which had been fundamentally wrong became right in the eyes of many. Nazism, fascism, socialism and communism became the new, relative truths that provided the rule. But within that rule came a justifiable truth that allowed atrocities to live within the framework of legalism within the boundaries of Nationalism.

Nazism relative truth allowed for the extermination of over six million human beings of Jewish faith. Fascism relative truth allowed for the destruction of basic human rights, property rights, religious rights and the rampant destruction throughout a society that destroyed tranquility and joined with the Nazi relative truth to plunge the entire world into a war. Socialism and communism relative truth joined to destroy a host of societies to a totalitarian rule that resulted in millions of lives being lost, fatherlands being destroyed and human bondage being forged that lasted for a hundred years.

Atheism found a home nestled in the secure establishment of relativism as well. It became fashionable to decry the presence of God in anything. No longer did God live on the earth among and in mankind, but He was not living anywhere in the universe. "Science" became the new god that Atheism could embrace. With each new "discovery" or each new "theory" that railed against a Creationist God, relative truth won the day. Evolutionary Theory replaced Bible reading in the public schools. Biblical authority gave way to a theory that had been relegated as "fact" even when proponents agreed there was a "missing link."

Today in the Western cultures and societies the fact of an Absolute God with Absolute Truth is laughed off as a myth borne by uneducated, backward simpletons who must use a crutch of "religion" to make their way in a sophisticated world. The consistent, incremental movement toward the attack of Christianity in America is following the same patterns it did in Europe.

Christianity in America is being maligned and marginalized each and every day. The new relative truth god is more than materialism, or even atheism, it is sophistication and snobbery. It is people who have become smart in worldly content who have "grown" above the Absoluteness of God. In America, in the educational systems, political systems, scientific circles, economic systems, social systems and even the religious systems, mankind has finally planted the flag of superiority deeply and squarely on the summit of the Tower of Babel.

There is only one thing they are forgetting: Absolute Truth continues to reign supreme in the universe. God is not dead; God is still alive and well. In the Gospel of John we catch a glimpse of what Truth is with the words of Jesus. He said He would be leaving for awhile, but we would know Him and He would not leave us alone: 14:5 Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 14:6 Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 14:7 If you have known me, you will know my Father too. And from now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:5-7)

Jesus continued to tell about the One whom He would send: 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey my commandments. 14:16 Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever – 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides with you and will be in you." (John 14:15-17)

Finally, Jesus prayed for His followers to be set apart in the Truth of His Word: 17:16 "They [disciples] do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world. 17:17 Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth. 17:18 Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world." (John 17:16-18)

Make no mistake about it, it appears that Absolute Truth is dead and gone, however, we need to remember that Truth is in this world and is living within the heart of each Christian who has committed his or her life in the Lord Jesus Christ. The work that He has done by giving Himself on the Roman cross to be a sacrifice to forgive sins of each person who accepts Him is the Truth, the Absolute Truth and nothing but the Truth. Even if most of the seven billion human souls living on the earth choose not to believe that, it does not alter it as being a fact: Jesus is the Absolute Truth!

Jim Killebrew

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Mom remembered

2011-10-22T19:28:00.000-05:00

Today would have been my Mother's 99th birthday. I was born on her birthday so it is just one more of many hundreds of things we shared. She always said she could never forget her birthday since she always helped me celebrate mine.

Mom was one of those "Greatest Generation" people who was born long before WWII and was married with three children before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Dad was a bit older at the time of the war's beginning, and with a wife and three children he escaped being called into the war effort for awhile, but finally was drafted in spite of his age and family situation.

From the point Dad left for his army duties Mom was the head of the household. After his training and before he shipped out for Germany, Dad started the events that led to my Mother's October 1944 birthday presenting her with a gift of yet another son. It was later that I learned I had been labeled as a "war baby". Now with four children and a husband embroiled in the war effort ten thousand miles away, Mom had to use her strength and savvy to provide for herself and her family.

People in those days endured trials and grief that as a child growing up after the war and during the next two or three decades was seldom endured. Making dollars stretch, finding the best bargains in food and clothes and teaching respect for each other fell to Mom. She always made the best of it always giving her family the very best she could.

Looking back I can see where Mom was the doctor, teacher, lawyer, preacher, mender, disciplinarian, arbitrator of arguments, provider, soother of hurts, but always Mom. She cooked all the meals, washed all the clothes, shopped for all the clothes, took us to church and Sunday School, kept us all on course and made it fun to be in "our family".

Mom was special because she spent her life "raising" her kids, caring for them, counseling them, advising them and most of all, loving them. The Bible says that the length of a human life is but a "vapor" that is here today and gone tomorrow. As one generation comes and goes another takes its place. Mom is gone now, but she left her mark on each of her children and their children as well. We miss you Mom and love you very much!

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Christian reward

2011-10-15T16:53:00.001-05:00

A blog I follow written by a fellow Christian wrote about the fear of living one's life and dying in obscurity. He mentioned the prize of our world was seeking fame, power and resources. Because Christians love Jesus, however, what we do in His name is done to give Him the glory. But our lives are lived in submission as God works through us by His Spirit. My blog friend's conclusions are correct; living our lives in obscurity here is nothing, because being in Jesus is everything.

Matthew, one of Jesus' Disciples recorded something that Jesus said about judgment. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 25:32 All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 25:33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 25:34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 25:36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 25:38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 25:39 When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 25:40 And the king will answer them, ‘I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.’" (Matthew 25:31-40)

When we act in love toward the "least" of our brothers or sisters who belong to Jesus, our obscurity is thrown out the window, because we, in fact, are doing that kindness to Jesus.

I would like to think at least two things happen when we arrive in heaven: The first is that we will be met with many who will simply say “Thank you.” The man who learned of Jesus when he was 12 because you took the time to teach his Sunday School class. The woman who didn’t have quite enough money to pay her heating bill and you finished out the payment. The lad who got into your car by hitchhiking and went the last 100 miles home after having lived in “a far country” and woke up one morning having “come to his right mind.”

Those acts, little acts, done in Jesus’ name helped each of those to walk “the streets of gold” forever. Yes, Jesus got the glory, but on that day, in heaven, Jesus will turn to you and say, “but you get the thanks.” He will thank you for yielding to Him and allowing Him to work through you to touch the lives of so many.

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Forgiveness

2011-09-30T22:28:00.000-05:00

On Friday 9/30/2011 I heard a news report on the radio that a 13 year old girl in Pakistan had misspelled the word "Mohammad" on a paper. The Teacher of the class lost it emotionally and almost had an emotional break-down. The school made a big deal of the girl's spelling mistake and when word got out, over fifty religious Muslim leaders called for the girl's arrest and for her to be charged with blasphemy; which carries a sentence of death. The incident caused the girl and her family to go into hiding for fear of their lives.

Perhaps it is just the consequence of a life-time of Western culture and socialization of living in a Democracy in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries that has established my thinking, but does this sound a bit too harsh a punishment for misspelling a word? I know there is a vast difference between the theology of Islam and Christianity, just as there was a difference between Isaac and Ishmael. The subsequent feud between those two brothers has likely created more hatred and bloodshed than any other feud in history. All the same, if the peoples from those two brothers could examine themselves deeply enough to reach to the core of their basic humanity, I would hope that they would find some level of commonality. If nothing else, I would hope that commonality would be forgiveness.

If the God of Abraham could find it within His heart to find a way to provide forgiveness to His crowning creation, I suspect that somewhere deep within the deoxyribonucleic acid shared by human nature there is a glimmer of hope for finding a shred of forgiveness for each other. If this 13 year old girl could be the object of that micro step toward forgiveness from a tradition so deeply rooted in reactionary hatred, it might be the first step onto a path that would lead to healing for humanity.

I will pray for that balm of forgiveness and a glimmer of a new day.

Jim Killebrew

Stimulus growth myth

2011-09-27T23:27:00.000-05:00

Government stimulus: The government does not produce a product or service that generates income. Money comes to the government by confiscation of that money by the government through laws and regulations imposed on those who work for incomes. This is usually referred to as income tax, corporate tax, user tax, property tax, or some other kind of tax imposed on the individual with an income. A portion of each individual's income is handed over to the government even before the individual is paid. This is the information printed on the individual's check stub that is labeled income tax, FICA, Medicare, State income tax, and in some cases city or county taxes. If the individual tries to hide or prevent the government from taking the income from the individual, the individual is punished with fines or imprisonment.

Once the government has possession of the individual's income the representatives of the government freely spend the money as they see fit. They oftentimes spend the money on special interest groups that directly or indirectly benefit the public official who has the authority to spend the money. Special projects in public official's districts are funded as an aid to help the public official be re-elected to the office or position numerous times in order to keep the power of managing the money confiscated from the individuals with income.

When the government officials decide to use a portion of the money confiscated from individuals for "infrastructure jobs" or other special projects, those jobs usually do not produce further income. They are never sustaining nor self-sufficient to the point of reducing the need for more public money. Moreover, the stimulus money for specific jobs usually require an oversight structure that pays individuals to supervise, manage, administrate, direct or otherwise act as a form of Chief Executive Officer of the funding stream. For each dollar of the stimulus money used to stimulate spending through the application of some sort of infrastructure job, a significant percentage of each dollar is used for the oversight structure.

When the stimulus money is used to pay for services in the federal, state or local community, it automatically becomes a job that cannot be sustained unless the money from the stimulus source is continued indefinitely. When the stimulus money runs out there is generally no mechanism in place that will carry the job forward in the future. Therefore, the person holding that job will usually be laid off and will join the ranks of the unemployed again.

When the government wants or needs more money it simply takes more money from each individual wage earner. Taxes are raised and a greater percentage of the individual's wages are confiscated. It is done in hundreds of ways. Products or services that people want are identified and the government levies a new tax on that product or service. In addition to the individual's income or wage being taxed, the government taxes the money the individual has left. The government does that by requiring businesses to collect taxes like sales tax charged on each item of product or service they sell and turn that tax money over to the government.

Businesses usually cannot afford to absorb the higher taxes the government imposes on their products or services, so the amount of tax the government imposes on those products or services is added to the cost of those products or services. Then when the individual purchases those products or services the business charges the cost of the product or service and the tax. The business keeps the earnings of the service or product to replace the purchased product or service, and then surrenders the taxes collected for the government over to the government. Therefore, the government, through laws and regulations has forced each business in the United States to serve as a tax collector for the government.

The government officials have developed a windfall profit scheme for themselves. Through the enactment of laws that have the authority to put citizens in prison for many years, they can extract as much money as they want from the average citizen who works for a salary. They can, and do, tax almost everything that exists. All people pay taxes to the government. Each person who works to make a salary pays first right off the top of their check by the use of "payroll deductions." The portion the government believes is their "fair share" of the individual's salary is taken even before the individual is issued their check. If the individual does not have enough taken out and falls short of what the government has decided as their "fair share" at the end of the year the employee makes it up by paying more lump sum taxes. If the payroll deduction number has been too low in the government's opinion, the individual must pay a fine to the government for not deducting enough. If the individual overpays by having more deducted throughout the year and it requires a "refund" at the end of the year, the government will also fine the individual for causing them to have to issue a refund.

In summary, the federal government is comprised of the President, Congress and the Supreme Court. There are 535 members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives. The Congress makes the laws and the President signs them into law. The Supreme Court judges if they are consistent with the United States Constitution. Those few people make up the entirety of the law-making process. They are responsible for the thousands of taxes and the spending of the individual's tax money.

Government stimulus does not really work that well since the money is taken from individuals who earn a living by working and making a salary. By taking money from the workers and giving, or redistributing, it to others who do not work to make a salary only tends to de-motivate the workers and at the same time kill the incentive to work in the individuals who do not have jobs. This pattern has been seen in most of the socialistic societies throughout the world.

Since the government only has money that was taken from individuals who are wage earners, there has to be a limit on what is spent. As the government spends more and more of the individual's earned wages, there is a slow-down in the economy since the government does not produce any product that is renewable and sustaining. The government does not build wealth; it only spends confiscated wages earned by others.

Arguments

2011-09-18T18:08:00.002-05:00

Did you ever listen to a husband and wife argue, even fight? What about a brother and sister, or two friends, perhaps a girlfriend with her boyfriend? If you listen to enough couples over a long enough period of time you will discover that a pattern emerges.

The conversation starts with low tones, just an exchange of thoughts verbalized by each party in their own words. There are glances, smiles, frowns, looks of puzzlement, surprise or joy. Then it happens: a word spoken or an opinion is given; it falls on ears that register disagreement and a flag goes up to prepare for the onslaught of further disagreements. A counterstatement is spoken by another person, then another; the other counters and voices begin to become strained. Visceral reactions are charged and emotions begin to explode; the fight stance begins its countdown.

In very short order one party begins to raise the decibel level with charges and countercharges and finally, both parties are shouting at each other. At that point the argument accelerates to the level of an all-out fight. Accusations are tossed back and forth, charges are continued, language may begin to deteriorate from civil diction to rancorous profanity and name-calling. Then suddenly either the man or woman turns from the fight and takes flight leaving slammed doors in the wake. The person retreats from the room or perhaps leaves entirely; sometimes for hours or even days.

What follows may be the slow-burn process of thinking things over, telling someone else about the fight, trying to elicit supporters for a favored side by trashing not only the position of the other side, but the person on the other side as well. Many, of course, simply bury the dreadful feelings received in the fight and let them fester until callousness or hate consumes the person and all hope of reconciliation is gone.

One theory is postulated that blames ethnocentrism. Defined in Wikipedia, "Ethnocentrism is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own. The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behavior, customs, and religion. These ethnic distinctions and sub-divisions serve to define each ethnicity's unique cultural identity.^[1]" What may be true for ethnicity may also be true for personal, relational situations as well.

Mistakenly we charge various misadventures between peoples as racism, when in fact there is only one race: the Human Race. Within the human race are various ethnic groups that form cultures that develop behaviors, customs and religions. We look at those differences and sometimes feel uncomfortable with those differences and sometimes treat those differences with personal hostility. It is not that we are racist; it is that we are ethnocentric because we pre-judge our own behavior as being "right", while we view the other ethnic behavior as being "wrong". The problem is that we all do it to each other.

Individuals make the same mistake. In a relationship we act the same way; we tenaciously hold to our own positions as being "right" and the other positions as being "wrong." My way of doing things is the "best" way to do them. If not "my way" it's the "highway" for you. Yet intellectually in most other instances we agree there are many perceptions to the same incident or situation. In relationships, however, we become rigid and unmoving when challenged in our own preconceptions. Most people are "comfortable" within their own "comfort zone." To try to move them out of that zone is to cause them to exert effort to move; but they usually want to remain right where they are to maintain their personal position.

Really, when we think about it, it is simply a form of self-love. We look through our own eyes and selfishly believe the world revolves around us and any change that needs to be made must be made by others. Even the person who is constantly trying to "change society for the better" is only trying to change it to match their own perception of how it ought to be; and usually that being a match to their own likes and dislikes.

We are warned repeatedly in the Scriptures not to think of ourselves so highly to the point of disregarding others:

"For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith." (Romans 12:3)

"There is a generation whose eyes are so lofty, and whose eyelids are lifted up disdainfully." (Proverbs 30:13)

"Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited." (Romans 12:16)

"Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself." (Philippians 2:3)

These are admonitions that would help us to get along with each other in our close relationships as well as in our cultural diversity. In the modern vernacular we just need to "chill out." We need to logically think of all possible facets to any question or situation. Look at the other position and see how it fits into our own world. If we can live with it, we need to think about adapting to it.

Surely in the world there will be positions on politics and religion. We may never be able to fully "adapt" to positions that are personally untenable within our own belief structure. But surely with personal issues like buying a gas range vs. an electric range, or painting an object blue vs. indigo is something that logic and negotiation can be used to avoid an argument.

For Christians, however, there is a greater authority and a more direct mandate to avoid personal degradation of character and personality. We are mandated to "get along" and work out our differences since our "commonality" with one another resides in our being in Christ. Just review the writings of the Apostle Paul in Colossians:

Colossians 3

Exhortations to Seek the Things Above

"3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 3:2 Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, 3:3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 3:4 When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him. 3:5 So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion [think of this as lust], evil desire, and greed which is idolatry. 3:6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. 3:7 You also lived your lives in this way at one time, when you used to live among them. 3:8 But now, put off all such things as anger, rage, malice, slander, abusive language from your mouth. 3:9 Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices 3:10 and have been clothed with the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it. 3:11 Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all."

Exhortation to Unity and Love

"3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 3:13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. 3:14 And to all these virtues add love, which is the perfect bond. 3:15 Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and be thankful. 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God. 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Finally, the Apostle James gives us the path to True Wisdom:

"Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings.But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. Suchwisdom does not comefrom above but is earthly, natural,demonic. For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating,full of mercy and good fruit,impartial, and not hypocritical. And the fruit that consists of righteousnessis plantedin peace amongthose who make peace." (James 3:13-18)

911 remembered

2011-09-11T15:24:00.001-05:00

911 is remembered by most people in the United States as a vivid memory. It was a day that we inhaled with a gasp and held our breath at the sights we saw, the feelings we felt and the numbness that prevailed.

It was a day that brought destruction from those whose hearts and minds had long since closed to lifting humanity; but rather sought to stand on their tip-toes to selfishly bring the world's attention to themselves.

It was a day of destruction and loss of innocent life with actions from evil men who sought to ignite a flame of hate across the nation and around the world.

It was a day that terrorists from the far corners lifted their arms with rifles and blasted the air with their hate-filled celebration of murder and the intentional suicidal, homicidal actions of their fellow terrorists.

But it was also a day that seared into the hearts and minds of Americans and other freedom-loving individuals everywhere a sense of resolve that evil cannot be victorious over good.

It has been remembered as a day when thousands of first responders ran toward burning buildings to save as many as possible.

It has been remembered as a day when thousands, if not millions, of prayers went up to the God of the Universe to provide strength, comfort and even justice as the events played out through the day.

It has been remembered as a time when thousands of family, friends, neighbors, and even a nation stood in solidarity against the evil perpetrated with presumed impunity, as they began the fight to eradicate the arrogance of evil being thunderously shouted from caves and remote places around the world.

It has been remembered as a time for healing, resurgence, re-building and standing strong against the chorus of evil emanating from the radical infestation of misfits who captured peaceful peoples and held them hostage with radical views and shouts of hatred.

It has been remembered as a time of innocence before the day, but a time of rapid maturity of waging war against terrorism in the years that followed.

For sure we are more cautious; and yet continue to be a uniquely open society. Even with more stringent security, our boarders continue to remain surprisingly porous. Our values for human freedom remain strong, our reliance on each other remains intact; and our Spiritual quest to look beyond ourselves to become more than we can be is unfettered.

Finally, we have remained committed to being the beacon on the hill for the rest of the world to see; the sounding board of freedom for all to hear; the example of unity and society of laws for other cultures to feel; and the continued peaceful transfer of power from leader to leader as the blueprint for all other nations to follow. On that day evil meant to dissolve our resolve by mass destruction and murder; but instead, we have become stronger, smarter, mightier, more resolved to move onward, upward and forward to demonstrate to the world that as a nation, under God, we will be sustained to grow toward greater freedom, more tolerance to diversity, and steadfastly anchored in our faith in our God to buttress "We the People."

Narcissism unleashed

2011-07-27T22:32:00.003-05:00

It is amazing to me that the people in the world today, especially the Western world, are so filled with self-centeredness. Almost every day there are stories of people who do things mean or unsightly to others because of their own feeling of privilege and beliefs in their superiority. These narcissistic personalities are crafting their lives on the backs of others about whom they feel are unimportant and undeserving by maneuvering events and situations toward themselves just so they can feel important.

It is almost like we have become a society of anti-social personalities who are predisposed to destroy those around us just so we can see ourselves in the mirror one more time. It is there in business, government, industry, communities, families and of course, individuals. It is more than fierce competition that drives us to undercut those around us. It has become a natural life-style of many who see themselves as "number one" and require the worship of others. When that self-aggrandized worship is denied, the person presses even more fiercely to claw their way to the top of the heap. It leads to some feeling exhilarated in achieving their goal to dump as many as possible from humanity onto the garbage pile of human misery.

The writer of Proverbs says, "Better is a person of humble standing who nevertheless has a servant, than one who pretends to be somebody important yet has no food." (Proverbs 12:9) The "humble" person who is looked down upon by others, who is not part of the "in" crowd, but still does the very best he can, and at the same time is fair and just in his relationship with others is a much better person that the one who is pretentious. This is a person who feigns importance for himself. A practice of "play-acting" a part of being someone important to make others think of the person more highly. Yet, even though that person spends all of his money on himself to make himself look good, he makes himself so poor he is unable to even afford food for himself. This is a person who lives well beyond his financial means just to impress others and make them think he is better than he actually is.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, "Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Let each one examine his own work. Then he can take pride in himself and not compare himself with someone else. For each one will carry his own load." (Galatians 6:2-5)

We are warned repeatedly in the Scriptures not to think of ourselves more highly than others:

"There is a generation whose eyes are so lofty, and whose eyelids are lifted up disdainfully." (Proverbs 30:13)

"Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited." (Romans 12:16)

"The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks, 'God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.'” (Psalms 10:4)

"Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself." (Philippians 2:3)

These Scriptures warn against the haughtiness of self-centeredness. Instead we are encouraged to gain Wisdom by thinking of others, and what is best for them. The Apostle James gives us the path to True Wisdom:

Jealousy and selfishness brings only the disorder of society and evil practices. In contrast, see the difference Wisdom brings: "Pureness, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and not hypocritical." We are longing for peace among us? Then we must be wise with our actions and put others before ourselves.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the young Preacher, Timothy that there would be a sign of the last days. One of the things we could look for was how people would be treating others in the cultures and society. "But understand this, that in the last days difficulttimes will come. For peoplewill be lovers of themselves,lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God. They will maintain the outward appearanceof religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these." (1 Timothy 3:1-5)

Reading through these words brings us to the realization that our world is practicing these things almost to the letter. People are "lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant...loving pleasure rather than loving God." Could there be any more insightful commentary on our world than that?

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God's reminder

2011-07-15T11:49:00.002-05:00

I have always found it amazing that anywhere you open to in the Bible and start reading I can always see Jesus in any of those passages because we are this side of the cross.

Just now to test this hypothesis I picked up a Bible at my desk and randomly opened it to 1 Chronicles 4:27: "Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but his brothers did not have many children; so their entire clan did not become as numerous as the people of Judah."

Then I thought, Judah was the clan from which Jesus was born years later.

I then tried again and this time randomly landed on Proverbs 22:17-18: "Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready for your lips."

Then I thought that Jesus is the wisest Teacher of all, and He promised to put His "Law" in my heart.

My friend sent me a story form Joni Eareckson that reminds me of the example like the one I just mentioned about the Bible. As a Christian I believe God has given us the ability to look at any experience we have and see the presence of Jesus in it. All we have to do is yield ourselves to His Will and He allows us to see that everything we experience is somehow related to Him and His provision for us.

"The Wall Won't Hurt You"

Joni Eareckson

"For by You I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall. Psalm 18:29, NKJV"

"Corie is 19 years old, a little under five feet tall, has one of the most winsome smiles I've ever encountered, and has Down Syndrome. Corie's speech is a little slurred and her nouns and verbs don't always match. But that just adds to her charm. One summer at a Family Retreat she asked me excitedly, "Are you going rock wall and come down and watching me climb it all the way to the top and back down okay?" I replied, 'You bet!'"

"I watched the conference staff workers strap my new friend into her helmet and climbing harness. Corie was ready! She gave me a happy 'thumbs up,' turned to the wall, grabbed a rock, and away she went. She was so fast! This girl had no fear! After she had conquered her goal and scooted back down the wall, everyone cheered."

"But Heather, who was next, was too nervous to cheer. It was her very first climb... and she has Down syndrome, too. "Are you ready?" the staff worker asked her. She could only stare at him with a blank expression. But then Corie stepped in. "Headder, you are going, too, up?" she said. Slipping an arm around her friend, Corie said softly, "Okay it is, Headder. The wall won't hurt you." That was all Heather needed to hear. In the next instant she was scrambling up the wall. Halfway up, she meekly called down, 'It doesn't hurt!'"

"Are you facing an intimidating wall right now... a medical problem, an unexpected bill, a strained relationship, or a wrestling match with temptation? God has a purpose, and knows all about what you're facing. Look up, take heart and say, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13)."

Ms. Eareckson's thoughts help us to understand that sometimes we face "walls" of discouragement and pain. Our experiences may seem far away from what God is doing in our lives. However, during good times, or not so good times, every experience for the Christian is a reminder that God has shed His Grace on each of us. We can see Him and His working in and through us as we yield ourselves to Him and allow His Spirit to work through us.

Sometimes it may seem that he is far away and there seems to be no purpose in what we are going through, but with His Grace, the shadows are dispelled, the curtain is drawn and we see clearly how an event has given us strength to grow in Him. It is like the famous poem, "Footprints" when there was only one set of footprints in the sand and Jesus says, "It was then when I carried you."

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Founding Fathers

2011-07-04T07:39:00.002-05:00

Through the years Historians have written volumes about America's Founding Fathers. At least four of them who were numbered among the most important became the President of the newly established United States of America. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison were distinguished not only as Founding Fathers, but leaders through their Presidential terms. Other recognized Founding Fathers included Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay.

These men were visionaries for sure; they were leaders in freedom and independence. They risked their lives to break the tyranny of repression and injustice brought by unfair taxation and force from the rule of Great Britain. These were men of character, integrity and high honor. They believed in the principle of freedom, independence, self-rule, with power derived from the people and leadership directed from their Creator. But one ingredient in their formula for freedom is not often examined.

Yes, these men individually were consecrated to the idea of freedom and they put their minds, souls and talents into the creation and development of a Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Revolutionary War and the United States Constitution. But if they were only a small group of educated, insightful, well-intentioned group of patriotic elitists who tried to form an idea into a reality for the entire country, they likely would have failed.

It was their countrymen who provided the fuel for the Founding Fathers to launch into the realization of their ideals of self-government and freedom from tyranny. I suspect that people throughout the Thirteen Colonies had experienced the weight of oppression delivered by a government thousands of miles away that tried to impose on the New World population the Monarchial Rules of yesteryear that frankly did not fit any longer. The population of the Colonies had gelled to the point of having a commonality of their sense of justice. They contrasted the British garrisons dotted throughout the land with the vastness of freedom that lay ahead through the birth of a new nation that was experiencing pains of renewal and regeneration.

With like-minded countrymen throughout the Colonies the Founding Fathers were able to spark the fire of revolt that would change all of their lives forever. Countrymen who were just as smart, just as educated and just as committed to freedom and justice as were the individuals who rose to the level of Founding Fathers were willing to commit their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to self-govern. As those ideas were formulated into words that would eventually give rise to hope in the future for individual independence I suspect there were many "Patrick Henrys" across the Colonies who were ready and willing to sound the alarm and fight for freedom.

And so it is, as we celebrate each Independence Day, we look not only to the leaders of this great nation that has grown likely well beyond the wildest dreams of our Founding Fathers, but we look to ourselves, our countrymen who still believe in freedom, independence and self-rule with the Divine Guidance from our Creator to keep us on course.

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Christ above all

2011-07-01T13:59:00.001-05:00

Today's world is diverse. The economical, political, social, cultural and religious world seem to be trying to merge together into a one-world system. The problem is the diversity and ethnocentricity. People groups tend to cluster, preferring to follow the trends of propinquity where personal relationships are stronger than integrated camaraderie.

The intent and motivation of mankind has come full circle. Following the world-wide flood in the days of Noah (account of Noah in Genesis 7, 8 and 9), recorded in the Bible, the peoples of the earth were united in a one-world order. They shared a common language and wanted to cluster together into a powerful force in unity. The problem was that it interfered with the Will of God. Genesis 11 gives us a glimpse of antiquity even before Greece and Rome: "11:1 The whole earth had a common language and a common vocabulary. 11:2 When the people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 11:3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” (They had brick instead of stone and tar instead of mortar.) 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise we will be scattered across the face of the entire earth.”

11:5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had started building. 11:6 And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. 11:7 Come, let’s go down and confuse their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.”

11:8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building the city. 11:9 That is why its name was called Babel – because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth." (Genesis 11:1-9)

Because the peoples of the world scattered they sought out those of like language and began to cluster as families, then villages, cities and regions sharing their like-characteristics. The Bible summarizes the families of the Children of Noah and the regions which they inhabited. Today, however, through economics and political forces the world is again trying to establish common ground into what we hear our politicians call a "New World Order."

The remnants, however, of the old world remain; especially in the religious order. Major religions of the world flourish: Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Muslimism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Atheistic beliefs, Theism, and Christianity. From these major divisions of beliefs are thousands of splintered groups with their own ethnocentric variances of their systems. The continuum of faith and allegiance in each of these groups range from a passive acquaintance with the rudiments of the system to complete submission to its core. Of all the systems and world-view beliefs, the one that is pre-eminent above all others is the one with Christ at its center.

God's Creation

The Bible records that God created the universe and the planets. "1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) The plural Hebrew word used for God, "Elohim" represents majesty and implies sovereignty and incomparability; He is the God over any other god. Later God made that fact very clear to the people He had chosen to bear the lineage of Christ Who would ultimately pay the price for redemption of mankind. He had declared in His First Commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3)

We are reminded of the pre-eminence of Christ by one of His Disciples, John, as he recorded, "1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. 1:2 The Word was with God in the beginning. 1:3 All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. 1:5 And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it. 1:14 Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father." (John 1:1-5, 14)

Christ is the Creator; His relationship was with God, and was "fully God." This passage declares that nothing that was created could be separated from Him since He was the Creator. He was there in the beginning. Nothing similar could be said about any other leader of any religious system. It was God, through Christ that made the world and everything in it. It is in Christ that we have life and none other.

Peter declares Christ

Jesus had been born as a light in this creation and His light "shines on in the darkness." He lived His life as the ultimate sacrifice and paid the price on the cross with His shed blood. It was there that we can become atoned and justified with our sins being blotted out because of God's Grace. Peter, one of Jesus' Disciples, who later was an Apostle, recognized this and told us in his declaration to the people on the Day of Pentecost, fifty (50) days after Jesus ascended from Jerusalem into heaven.

"2:14 But Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed them: “You men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this and listen carefully to what I say. 2:15 In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 2:16 But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel:

2:17 ‘And in the last days it will be,’ God says,

‘that I will pour out my Spirit on all people,

and your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

and your young men will see visions,

and your old men will dream dreams.

2:18 Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

2:19 And I will perform wonders in the sky above

and miraculous signs on the earth below,

blood and fire and clouds of smoke.

2:20 The sun will be changed to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

2:21 And then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

2:22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, wonders, and miraculous signs that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know – 2:23 this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles. 2:24 But God raised him up, having released him from the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power. 2:25 For David says about him,

‘I saw the Lord always in front of me,

for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.

2:26 Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced;

my body also will live in hope,

2:27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades,

nor permit your Holy One to experience decay.

2:28 You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will make me full of joy with your presence.’

2:29 “Brothers, I can speak confidently to you about our forefather David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 2:30 So then, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, 2:31 David by foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did his body experience decay. 2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it. 2:33 So then, exalted to the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured out what you both see and hear. 2:34 For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says,

‘The Lord said to my lord,

“Sit at my right hand

2:35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’

2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.”

It was Jesus Whom Peter said, "God...made...Lord and Christ." When the Spirit of God had empowered Peter the result was a sermon that rehearsed the history that all the people present that day would remember. Peter spoke from the Prophet Joel (Chapter 2) about the Spirit of God being poured out on the people. Psalms 16: 8-11 served as a quotation from the great King of Israel, David. He offered proof that it was not David, but Jesus Who ascended into heaven. In this sense Jesus was in greater authority that King David. Therefore, since all the people present was familiar with the citations Peter used, they knew without a doubt that Jesus was the one that Peter declared as the God-made Christ.

Paul declares Christ Above All

The Apostle Paul had come from a background of persecuting the Christians. As Saul, the emissary of the Sanhedrin, he had tried to squash what he considered to be simply a "movement" of these Disciples of Jesus to keep His teachings among the people. Three thousand souls had been added to the Church on the Day of Pentecost alone. (Acts 2:38) They had repented of their sins and had been baptized into Jesus by being immersed in water. But as time passed more and more were being added to the Church as Peter and the other Apostles continued to preach the Gospel of Christ. So Paul had to do something to stop the spread of this new teaching.

Saul (later Paul) was present as a believer, Stephen was killed by stoning (Read Stephen's stand at the Council in Acts 7). It was Saul who stood by watching the outer garments of those throwing the stones that ultimately killed Stephen (Acts 8:1). Saul was in full agreement with the killing of Stephen, and continued to hunt down those who walked in "The Way" to destroy them because they named the name of Jesus. In fact it was on that very day that a great persecution of Christians began; and Saul was leading the charge. He gathered papers from the High Priest and the Council to seek out the Christians to be put in prison or destroyed.

It was on such a mission that Saul met Jesus. "9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats to murder the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest 9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem." (Acts 9:1-2) While traveling that road to Damascus to arrest as many Christians as he could, The Christ met him instead.

"9:3 As he was going along, approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 9:4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 9:5 So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting! 9:6 But stand up and enter the city and you will be told what you must do.” 9:7 (Now the men who were traveling with him stood there speechless, because they heard the voice but saw no one.) 9:8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open, he could see nothing. Leading him by the hand, his companions brought him into Damascus. 9:9 For three days he could not see, and he neither ate nor drank anything." (Acts 9:3-9)

Saul was converted on the road to Damascus when he met Jesus Who told him that He was the one Saul was persecuting. Saul, whose name was changed to Paul, was appointed by Jesus, The Christ to be the Apostle to preach the Gospel of Jesus, The Christ to the Gentiles in the known world. "9:15 But the Lord said to him, [Ananias] “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel." (Acts 9:15) In his converted life Paul became the champion of Christianity. He carried the Gospel of Christ to the outer parts of the world at that time, established many congregations through his missionary efforts and encouraged many of those congregations, and others he had not planted, with letters of encouragement and theology. Paul's letters, inspired by God, give us insights into how God is working with each of us as we submit ourselves to Him and follow him through His Spirit. One of the points that Paul established through some of his letters was the Pre-eminence of Jesus, The Christ.

Philippians

Paul wrote to the Church in Philippi to encourage them, but in doing so he gave us a glimpse of Christ's Pre-eminence. In the process of writing the letter, Paul launched into what some consider a song that was known to the people of the time, but the words witness to Christ's authority: "2:5 You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,

2:6 who though he existed in the form of God

did not regard equality with God

as something to be grasped,

2:7 but emptied himself

by taking on the form of a slave,

by looking like other men,

and by sharing in human nature.

2:8 He humbled himself,

by becoming obedient to the point of death

– even death on a cross!

2:9 As a result God exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

2:10 so that at the name of Jesus

every knee will bow

– in heaven and on earth and under the earth –

2:11 and every tongue confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord

to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11)

Colossians

The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in Colossi to remind them of the supremacy of Christ: "1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,

1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.

1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son

1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven." (Colossians 1:15-20)

Hebrews

Although some believe that Paul did not write the letter to the Hebrews, it still bears a lot of the characteristics of Paul's writings. Whoever wrote it, however, attested to the beliefs that Paul had written in letters to the Churches. Chapters 1-9 of the Book of Hebrews explains the superiority of Jesus over the angles in heaven. He is greater than the great leader Moses; greater than the High Priest in Judaism, in fact He is our High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, a priest to whom even the great Abraham offered sacrifice.

Hebrews documents that it is the Blood of Jesus that saves us; it is His work on the cross that is the salvation of all who believe in Him. His work on the cross was done only once, but it was done for all. It has the power to save us from our sins, redeem us from death, give us eternal life, provide an atonement for us from unrighteousness, justify us in the sight of God through a legal declaration from God that declares us righteous in His sight through Christ and His work on the cross. His Grace, through the sacrifice of Jesus His Son on the cross, sanctifies us to maturity in Christ and grows us through the work of the Holy Spirit and gives us the power to work for Him because of our love for Him as He does His work through us to point others to Christ.

Revelation

Finally, John reveals to us that the only one in heaven who is worthy enough to sit on the right hand of God is the Son, Jesus, The Christ. This is a revelation from Jesus Christ as given to John who is a witness of the things he has seen. "1:4 From John, to the seven churches that are in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from “he who is,” and who was, and who is still to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 1:5 and from Jesus Christ – the faithful witness, the firstborn from among the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has set us free from our sins at the cost of his own blood 1:6 and has appointed us as a kingdom, as priests serving his God and Father – to him be the glory and the power forever and ever! Amen.

1:7 (Look! He is returning with the clouds,

and every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him,

and all the tribes on the earth will mourn because of him.

This will certainly come to pass! Amen.)

1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God – the one who is, and who was, and who is still to come – the All-Powerful!

Revelation chapter 5 declares that Jesus is the Worthy Lamb, the One Who was Slain, the one who gave His blood for the salvation of many. It is He Who is worthy and will remain for all eternity.

Summary

As the world order of economics, political influence, military might, multi-cultural diversity, recession, depression, rising or collapsing of nations, value of money, the price of oil, global warming, or which Hollywood pop star has the cutest haircut or wins the most awards, the most important matter is your relationship with Jesus, The Christ. In my life, as in all other lives, it will not matter when the last verse of my life is being sung how I voted, what car I drove, how many material goods I have, how many important people I know, how many offices I held, how many degrees I achieved, or anything else; it will only matter what my relationship with Jesus is and whether or not I have yielded my life to Him.

Unlike any of the other religions or leaders on earth, the only one who claims to be above it all and offers eternal life because of what He did on the cross by shedding His blood is Jesus.

Jim Killebrew

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Psychology does not absolve guilt

2011-06-23T17:22:00.000-05:00

"In psychology, as well as in ordinary language, guilt is an affective state in which one experiences conflict at having done something that one believes one should not have done (or conversely, having not done something one believes one should have done). It gives rise to a feeling which does not go away easily, driven by 'conscience'. Sigmund Freud described this as the result of a struggle between the ego and the superego parental imprinting. Freud rejected the role of God as punisher in times of illness or rewarder in time of wellness. While removing one source of guilt from patients, he described another. This was the unconscious force within the individual that contributed to illness. The victim of someone else's accident or bad luck may be offered criticism, the theory being that the victim may be at fault for having attracted the other person's hostility. Guilt and its causes, merits, and demerits are common themes in psychology and psychiatry. It is often associated with depression, and sometimes anxiety." (see this quote with the link at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt)

Psychology attempts to give us ways in which we can heal ourselves from the guilt and conscience that our guilt brings. There are countless "Self-Help" strategies offered as ways to help us live with ourselves and in the company of society. Psychology even offers the answers for developing values and moral behavior while providing guidelines for living our lives. We can examine our behaviors, motivation and self-control through the offerings of psychology. We can even change our thoughts by "cognitive restructuring" so that we can put unpleasant thoughts out of our mind. We can change our behavior, understand ourselves, delve into our relationships, learn to date, love, have marriage and sex all within the confines of psychological theory.

The problem we find as Christians is that as we become dependent on the latest psychological research finding or philosophical postulate and we slavishly begin to adhere to the pathways of psychology to find happiness, absolution from guilt and it becomes a "law" to which we strive to keep just so we can become "all that we can be." A Christian might want to examine their flirtation with a near-obsession with psychology as their deliverance, since it likely becomes a substitution to their faith in the work of Christ in them through His Spirit.

The Apostle Paul asked the Christians in Galatia a question about their relationship with God's Spirit and their trying to "work" out their salvation by obeying the law. "After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" (Galatians 3:3) Again he asks, "Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?" (Galatians 3:5)

To the Colossians the Apostle wrote, "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." (Colossians 2:8)

Paul talked about the law and guilt when he wrote to the Christians at Rome. "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." (Romans 3:19-20)

The Apostle continued in that writing to declare to the people that righteousness comes through faith in what God did through Jesus on the cross and through the resurrection. "But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:21-24)

Ephesians 3:20-21 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21) Remember, it is His power that is at work within us, not the power of some plan of self improvement; nor is it the strength of our own power.

We feel our guilt because our guilt is real. We really have sinned and fallen short of God's Glory. No matter how many rituals we pass through or ten-step programs we complete, our guilt is never removed by our own efforts. Even Freud said our conscience is always there; something is always reminding us whether it is within ourselves or the society at large.

Psychology has been my adult-life career; my education (BA, MA, Ph.D.) has been focused on psychology, education and counseling. My life-long motivation has been Christian. But the discovery that has been the most revealing in both those endeavors was my struggle to continually "do" the right thing which always produced a greater desire to resist "doing" the right thing. The Apostle Paul shed light on that many years ago.

Reading through Paul's letters, especially Romans, Galatians, Ephesians and Colossians he sheds light on the fact that the law, any law, or set of prescriptive imperatives' that we hold as our faith will eventually bring us nothing but failure. Psychology is man-centered and becomes a set of laws in which we place our hope that someday we will be better people by practicing the precepts of that law. It is futile at best.

We really do not have the power within us to absolve our guilt; that must come from outside of ourselves. Our tenacious grasp of any law that we cling to in order to bring ourselves to righteousness is doomed to failure even before we yield ourselves to it. That is the Wisdom of God: For our sins to be forgiven He had to forgive our sin and the only way He could do it was through His Son Jesus Christ. It is the work on the cross and His resurrection that conquers death for me and forgives me of my sins. It really has nothing to do with my past; it has everything to do with my present and to Whom I yield.

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Father's day

2011-06-18T17:28:00.001-05:00

Father's Day is a special day for sure. We are all tuned in to having a father, or at least a father figure to whom we can relate. I have written about my own father in my postings before and have expressed my sentiments for all he did for me. I think, however, that guys like my Dad were a special breed who lived in a special time and answered the call like other generations before them had done to keep the freedom fires burning for their posterity.

The days are being shortened for the men of my Dad's generation; we are losing them far too quickly in this new century and soon their memories will be faded to the point that we will lose that eye-witness account of their world. For those Dads who were born in the 1920's in the Twentieth Century need to be listened to with their thoughts and memories being recorded.

A fellow whose life began in say, 1922 was only seven years old when the stock market crashed in 1929 sending the world in a tail-spin depression that had a devastating effect on their lives. Just think of it, at seven years old this generation of future men would be husbands, fathers and defenders of our nation as they first became a working member of their family to scratch out a living during one of the most hurtful depressions in our history. On their tenth birthday they would be celebrating during the beginning of perhaps full-family unemployment, complete loss of family resources and very little, if any, prospect for future improvement.

Having lived through the dust-blowing depression their eighteenth birthday would be celebrated in 1940 still in depression, but with a looming dark shadow of war about to erupt. On their nineteenth and twentieth birthdays they would be welcomed with the draft or volunteering for duty to serve as fighters in World War II. They would march off to lands across the seas with guns and bayonets and only with the experience of poverty and depression under their belts.

For those who survived and returned some would still not make it to their thirtieth birthday before they returned to a far-away place called Korea to fight another war. The children of depression and young men of war times, this generation of men and fathers really didn't start living their lives until they had reached their thirties.

Once having put the world at peace they set about building their families, neighborhoods and communities. They participated in one of the greatest growth spurts in American history. The Military Industrial Complex with its innovation for advancement in technology and commerce became only a by-product of their efforts. The sweat-equity they poured into their jobs and careers built a foundation of solid economic efforts that allowed a young President in 1963 to declare the presence of a man on the moon by the end of that decade.

They did all of that and even more; they raised children called war-babies and baby boomers. They instilled in those pliable minds the love of freedom and national pride. They established a moral character of "middle-class" America that forged a strong bond with God and Country that was reinforced with the likes of John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Clarke Gable, Jimmy Stewart and, yes, even Ronald Reagan.

Many American Dads during those years participated in family worship on Sundays, ate meals with the family, bought groceries, paid bills, and led the family in ordinary life. Dad, along with Mom, was the leader of the family and children, along with the grandparents sat on the front porch in the cool of the evening to talk while the kids caught lightning bugs, skated on the sidewalks or rode the bikes that Dad had given them for Christmas.

Today those folks are in their late eighties and nineties. They have lived a rich, full life of accomplishment that has left us with someplace much better than what they received in their first thirty years of life. My Dad was one of those in that generation and his story deserves to be remembered. Even though there are not near as many of that generation left, if your Dad of that generation remains, the best thing you can give to him and to yourself is to sit down with him on this Father's Day and listen to his story. Write it down, share it with others; remember it, and give it to your own kids.

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Ten Commandments: number one

2011-06-17T15:27:00.000-05:00

The first of the Ten Commandments spoken by God and given to Moses is the most important one:

20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3)

God is absolute in His command for His people to seek only Him and not place other gods in front of Him. God is the Creator and it is Him who rescued mankind from sin. He is the one, through Jesus Christ, who gave Himself as a sacrifice on the cross to redeem each of us from sin. We are to love Him and yield ourselves to Him; we are not to raise up anything else to worship and place our faith in except Him.

Unfortunately, we are like the Children of Israel who were waiting for Moses to return from the top of the mountain with the tablets of written commandments, but instead of waiting they formed a calf made for gold and began to worship it as a god. Many of our gods may not be made of gold, but some of them are. We have raised up many gods in America and there are millions who serve them.

To name just a few, there is the god of technology; god of discovery; god of progress; god of power; god of propinquity; and a god of knowledge.

Technology god

Technology has a cycle it uses that has created a demand for it that keeps mankind bound up breathlessly waiting for the newest technological breakthrough. That cycle is development, usability, obsolescence.

With the newest development of an item like the iPod or the computer or the cell phone we wait at the stores, sometimes all night just to be the first to buy the newest advancement in technological gadgetry. We use it, become dependent on it, sometimes even flaunt it for others to see how important we are to have such a prize, and then discover a fatal flaw that is always present. It becomes obsolete almost the moment we buy it.

Planned obsolescence is as much a part of technology as the actual development itself. Our obedience to its use and our allegiance to its demands is almost a worship that creates a dependence that makes us believe, "We just can't do without it." If it is difficult to believe it has become like a god, just watch a couple of teenagers with their cell phones and the time they spend texting each other.

Discovery god

Discovery is the quest or search that motivates and becomes the driving force that pushes us beyond our personal zones of complacency. Discovery draws us as a force that becomes god-like as we seek further uniqueness and exploration.

No matter what the discovery is, we want it to be one-of-a-kind that is unique in all the world. A song, a play, a new type of vacuum cleaner, a better mousetrap; if it can be unique then it elevates the discoverer's standing with everyone else.

Exploration plays a large part in the discovery process. The hunt becomes an obsession to find the prize. It may be the gold in the stream or mountain, or the fountain of youth in the "new world" that draws the adventurer, but the opiate is powerful to find uniqueness through exploration.

A life consumed in pursuit of discovery becomes a god in the person's life. We all play that part, chasing after the golden ring, looking for the prize, discovering the next thrill; always the "next" thing that will bring satisfaction. Even though the next thing in discovery often becomes an illusion as well. It becomes a god of disappointment.

Progress god

No one wants to stand still. We want to keep moving, progressing toward a goal; moving step-by-step toward a desire for something newer. We discard older models for newer ones...the newest cell phone, iPod or electronic reader.

In our society we honor the newest or youngest. We seek innovation with new appliances, better floor plans, faster and more economical cars, travel with more comfort or getting us there quicker. Constant change brings newer time-saving devices or helps us to live longer with better health. We revere progress and through the generations leave a trail of items that once held promise of innovation but now is relegated as "antique" to sit in a showcase or museum for people to remember.

Power god

Each of us has a sphere of power around which we surround ourselves. We seek power through political and military means, personal influence and even relationships. In America it now will take not just millions of dollars to run for President, but Billions of dollars. This for a job that pays only a salary.

Everyone searches for power through influence over others. Even if it is just for simple agreement with a position taken or an argument to win, we want to exert influence in such a way as to win. It builds our personal position and seemingly makes us strong.

Knowledge god

Closely associated with power is the pursuit of knowledge. Especially knowledge that is personal and relatively unknown by others. We seek the "inside" story, the "behind the scenes" information. We want to know what others do not know so we can shine when the time is right and demonstrate our knowledge to help us assume influence over situations or others.

We equate knowledge with intelligence and seek a higher level of learning to reach goals and attain more personal power. This can come through better job positions, better career performance, promotions over others; in short a building up of personal influence and power.

Propinquity god

This is a form of imitating and associating with others with whom we admire and want to be like. Within each culture or ethnic group the characteristics are similar to our own so we tend to associate with people who are like us. It is well established in people-groups around the globe; ethnic groups tend to remain together in association and residence. Although there are societal integration attempts, on an individualized basis, people tend to seek out those who are more like themselves than those who are significantly different.

We see this in church congregations with predominant ethnic groups with fairly consistent associations even when there are peripheral ethnic peoples who try to join in. Predominantly Black congregations tend to remain Black; White congregations tend to remain White. Cultural groups tend to live in the same neighborhoods and predominantly associate with each other.

Even when there are attempts through social engineering to integrate cultures and ethnic groups it is oftentimes met with resistance and sometimes violence. As Jesus prayed for unity in the first century, we too seek unity among the believers, but by-and-large we remain "denominational" in our practice.

Even though God has declared that we "shall" not have any other gods other than Him, we have established other things that lead us away from Him as we live our lives on a daily basis.

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Gospel made simple

2011-06-11T19:12:00.001-05:00

I was reading about the components of a story; I learned the following: A story is a design in five parts: The Inciting Incident, the first major event of the telling, is the primary cause for all that follows, putting into motion the other four elements – Progressive Complications, Crisis, Climax, Resolution.

Here is a one sentence example of the Greatest Story using these components:

God created man;

man sinned against God, the sin brought death into the creation;

mankind was separated from a relationship with God;

mankind was completely lost and had no hope of survival;

then, God provided Grace through the death of Jesus Christ His Son on the cross to save mankind.

Jesus conquered death by being resurrected by God's power and mankind regained relationship with God as they repented, believed God and yielded to Him.

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