We Have Found The Enemy....

     Years ago in a comic strip the little opossum, Pogo, made this statement, "We have found the enemy and it is us."  That is the problem in about every imaginable situation.  We are our own worse enemy.
     The most dangerous enemy that confronts us, as a free nation, is found within our own borders.  We, as a nation, have come to the point- the same as a movie of a few years ago, "we are sleeping with the enemy."  Many of the enemy are encamped within the confines of Washington, D.C.  Congress is filled with men and women who have abandoned their promises of doing "the will of the people" and have their own particular agenda of promoting themselves.  Until a new constitutional amendment is passed that prohibits congress from making laws that affect the citizens of the United States and does not affect them or prohibits them from making laws affecting them that does not affect the citizens of the United States we will continue to have problems.  Congress needs to be under the same health care plan, retirement plan, and insurance plans as the average citizen of the country has.  If they want more let them pay for it like everybody else.
     The man in the White House is his own worse enemy.  He would like to blame his problems on everyone else, but he is his enemy.  He became irritated because of those who claimed he was born outside the United States.  This could have easily been avoided by producing a birth certificate in the beginning and releasing all of his records pertaining to his work and education.  He might also deflect much of the criticism about his being a Muslim by boldly declaring on national TV that he believes Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  That is the mark that distinguishes a Christian.  It is not if your name is on a church roll, or you follow a certain dogma, it is your belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
     The atheist crowd acts as if Christians were their enemy.  It is hard to understand how something that does not even exist (that would be God in their mind) can even disturb their imagination.  If that is not enough for them to worry about, try worrying about this.  In Christian America they are free to choose to believe in God or not, but should the Muslims take over the country some day, they will be forced to, at least verbally, say they believe in a god or die.  Who is the enemy here?
     Inside the ranks of Christians I find that here we have become our own worse enemy.  In our well intended attempt to live at peace and harmony with all men many have broadened our thinking and weakened our position by declaring that the Muslims worship the same God we worship.  Sorry about that, but the last time I checked, the Christian God had a son that was dearly beloved, his name is Jesus.  The Muslims deny that Jesus is their god's son.  How can that be the same God.
     It is time we recognize that we are our own worse enemy.  Sometimes it is the termites on the inside of the church that do more damage than the woodpeckers on the outside of the church.  They are so deadly because they are so quite about their work.  It is past time that we let the Word of God be true and every man a liar.  I MUST SAY IT!!!
  

Can you trust the snake?

     It is an often told story, but it won't hurt to repeat it again.  A traveler high up in the mountains in the winter came across a rattlesnake that was just about frozen.  The rattlesnake said to the traveler, "Pick me up and take me down where it is warm."  The traveler said, ""I am afraid you will bite me."  "Oh, no," said the snake, "I would never do that."  The traveler picked up the snake and placed him inside his coat where it was nice and warm.  When they got down to the base of the mountain the traveler felt a sharp prick in his side.  He unzipped his coat and saw that the snake had bitten his side.  "Why did you bite me after you promised that you would not bite?"  The snake replied, "You knew what I  was when you picked me up."
     I think it is time that Christians wake up to the fact that the entire world is at enmity with God.  I think everyone expects the atheist to oppose Christianity, but fail to realize that many of the other religions of the world also come under that category.  It is time that Christians take a good close look at the Muslim religion.  Remember the snake above.  Now take a look at the countries where they are in control and see how they treat people of other faiths.  So they arrive in a country of religious  freedom that is based on the Judeo-Christian concept.  A country that has stood for over 200 years under that concept and has provided a quality of living that is unsurpassed in the entire world.
     The news today carries the story of Muslim students enrolled in a Catholic university and are protesting the placement of the cross on their own property.  The poor mistreated Muslim students are offended by the cross.  I would suggest that they find a Muslim university to attend if they are offended.  If a Christian was in one of the Muslim countries he/she would not even have the freedom to complain about a perceived offensive object.
     Where ever they go, they make demands for things to be done that will accommodate their religion.  If they want any accommodations let them accommodate themselves.  The Catholics pay for all of the expenses of their own university and I hope and pray that they do not bow down to their stupid requests.  It is high time for us to "let God be true and every man a liar."
     They would like to be able to impose their laws so as to supersede the laws of our nation that enabled us to become great.
     If you are still reading, I probably will lose you here, but so be it.  President Obama is as guilty as any man, if not more so, in contributing to the downgrading of Christianity and the upgrading of the Muslim religion.  What is that he said, "America is not a Christian nation."  He downplayed a day of Christian prayer and honored a day of Muslim prayer.  The very idea of the president of a Christian nation bowing down to a leader of a lesser nation.   The question has come up on whether or not he is even a Christian.  That question could easily be put to rest by his acknowledgement that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  I have difficulty believing that a Christian could set under the filthy mouthed preacher as he set under for so many years and be classified as a Christian.  I use the term not as to his eternal destiny but as to his being Christlike.
     I know it is not politically correct and I fear no longer religiously correct to say this but, it is either Jesus Christ is God or he was a liar.  If he is not God then each one of us has helped keep a lie going for centuries.  I for one, believe that He is the Son of God.  Elijah challenged the religious world of his day on Mt. Carmel, the choice was whether Jehovah was God or Baal was God.  There was no mistake in the answer.  We have come once again to a Mt. Carmel and the question is the same, "Is Jesus Christ to be God in your life or is Muhammad, Buddha. or some other fake icon to take that place.

Just Saying It Does Not Make It So

     Years ago in New Orleans, while it was still unlawful for Catholics to eat meat on Friday, there lived a lone, solitary Jew in the midst of a Catholic neighborhood.  Each Friday he would fire up his outdoor grill and proceed to permeate the neighborhood with the aroma of the grilling steaks.  Thus, in defense of their sanity, the neighbors began a campaign to convert the Jew to the Catholic religion.
     After several months of fervently witnessing to the Jew their efforts were rewarded. The Jew joined the Catholic church.  The father, dipped a rose in water and sprinkled the Jew with the words, "You were born a Jew, you were raised a Jew, but now you are a Catholic."
     The community breathed a collective sigh of relief.  That is until the next Friday.  As they prepared to eat their fish, there drifted through the neighborhood the aroma of steaks being grilled.  They converged on the Jew-Catholic and immediately asked, "Don't you know you can't eat beef on Friday?"
     He responded, "What beef?  Then with a flair he dipped his brush into the barbecue sauce and said, "You were born as beef, you were raised as beef, but now you are fish."
     I fear that something like that happens regularly in the church world.  By adjusting key words here and changing intent there, we come up with the same type of logic.  I am thinking especially of the simple concept of baptism.  No seriously thinking person will try to convince anyone that the use of the word baptidzo (best I can do on an English keyboard) meant anything else than dip, plunge or submerge in a liquid.  Oh, I know, pouring is such a beautiful symbol of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and sprinkling is such a beautiful simple service that can be performed anywhere, but what about the fact that baptism is supposed to portray the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
     Make no mistake about it, when interpreting the scripture, "Let God be true and every man a liar."

Left versus Right versus "RIGHT"

     Sometimes I understand a little better the old adage, "A little learning is a dangerous thing."  A person must understand the entire spectrum of life instead of isolated instances that we would use to prove our point.  When a person gets the complete picture of the United States from it's foundation, as a "nation under God" based upon the precepts of the Bible, God's Holy Word to where we are today, you can easily see how far we have strayed.  This is reflected throughout the political spectrum today.  More than once you have heard some say, "They need to compromise."  It makes no difference which side might be making that statement, for it has been said often.
     There are some things that simply can not be compromised.  You see, there are some absolute truths and when any mixture of untruth is inserted the entire precept is not compromised, it is surrendered to a falsehood.  Perhaps we are where we are because of the "leavening".  Remember, "A little leaven, leavens the whole lump."  One of the political "hot potatoes" we deal with is the existence of Israel.  There is no room to compromise on the question of Israel.  The Iranians and the Palestians say they do not have the right to exist and nothing short of their annihilation will satisfy.  Where is there room to compromise on this issue?
     We are dealing with so many tantalizing problems in our nation; problems that have no easy solution, but have a right solution.  The illegal immigrant problem, which is contributing to the destruction of our economy, is one of those situations,which many would avoid by wanting to bring up the need for immigration.  The problem is not immigration; the problem is ILLEGAL.  The illegal part is what must be fixed.  Oh, I know, I  know, there are heart wrenching stories of, what about this or what about that.  No, those situations are an outgrowth of the ILLEGAL problem.  Fix the problem!!
     Paul said in the Bible, that he who did not work could not eat.  And for those who refuse to acknowledge the the Word of God in their life, for now, don't forget John Smith also issued the same edict.  However, we have grown an unacceptable number of people, who do not want to work and "expect" others to take care of them.  It is sad, when you remember, there once was a time if tragedy struck the family and community banded together to help with the problem.  I can recall many an instance where the last days of a person's life was spent at home, being cared for by his/her family.  Not so today, millions make no provision for anything out of the ordinary happening.  The dying process is not out of the ordinary.  But for those type of situations let the government handle it.  To not help seems cruel to most folks.  It is no different than trying to save a drowning man.  If you are the one in charge of the rescue, in order to keep from drowning yourself, you may have to render him unconscious.  The numbers that we are trying to feed and provide for today has reached the point that "the drowning man is going to pull the rescuer under."
     I think the political crowd is always on the side of the numbers, not on the side of right or wrong.  It is not the government's place to act as an intercessor when things go wrong in our life.  Let a hurricane come through and wipe out 5000 homes and the government steps in to put things back together again.  Let a tornado come through and wipe out your home and you will be told there is nothing that the government can do.  You should have had insurance!!  Yet your loss is just as great in a single home destruction as if it had been in the middle of the 5000.
     I still believe there is an American Dream:  a place where you can work your fingers to the bone and get ahead in life.  There are far to many whose "American Dream" is, if sit here long enough and raise enough noise someone will provide for me, not only my needs, but give me all of the desires of my heart.
     Any student of ancient history will tell you that the fall of Rome was greatly contributed to by the masses that depended upon hand-outs with nothing given back to the government in turn. 

The greatest thing that ever happened to me!

     Often we take time to reflect over the course of our lives on the things, both good and bad, that came our way.  When I allow myself, or force myself, to think along these lines; I see the inconsistency that is there.  You, see, the greatest thing that ever happened to me was the time two Baptist preachers came by the house to talk with my parents.  I broke up their discussion when I asked them to tell me how to be saved.  That was the greatest thing that ever happened to me.  I have heard hundreds of other who echo that particular statement.
     That being said, leads me to an all important question, If that be so, what would be the greatest thing you could do for someone else?  It is not see that they get an education, or have a new home, or a new car.  The greatest thing you can do for someone else is to introduce them to Jesus Christ as their own personal saviour.  Why do we not do this?  Is it fear of someone making fun of us?  Is it fear of saying the wrong thing?  Or as someone told me, I am afraid of  running them off.  Where are they going to go?  They are already lost.  They are already on the road to hell.  There is nothing that a person can do that will not help the situation.
     To have advance warning that a bridge was out and to fail to warn others is unthinkable.  How much worse is it to have the knowledge that will prevent someone from spending an eternity in hell, and to hold our silence.  It is unthinkable, yet it is done so often.

9/11 in Retrospect

     I remember, as many millions, September 11, 2001.  Many Americans were shaken out of their complacency.  Once again, we stood united as one great nation.  There was something about the magnitude of the numbers that were affected in such a short space of time that disturbed us.  Church attendance, for a short span of time, increased.  We were forced out of our comfort zone.  On a national scale we were forced to consider our frail position as humans in spite of all that we do.
     But, that is something that has been ingrained into us since childhood as individuals.  Teenagers think they are invincible.  Young adults will live for many decades.  Senior citizens have no end in sight.  When reality finally takes over, none of this is assured.  Our nation's security may be safer than our own individual being.  Chances are the survival of the United States of America will endure far beyond the time allotted to any of us alive today.
     The number that died on September the 11th, reminds me of the 3000 that died when God gave the commandments to Moses and he came down from the mountain.  It also reminds me of the 3000 that were saved and added to the church on the day of Pentecost.  The magnitude of numbers always gets our attention, but for each of us, the most important fact still remains:  what is your standing before God?
     Oh, I know, it is not the fashionable thing to say in today's "tolerant world", however, I must say it.  If a person does not accept the death of Christ as being his/her payment for sin, nothing else really matters.  Remember, man still becomes the loser if he gains the whole world and loses his soul.

If they had been here, you would have told them!!

     The First Self Righteous Church had a member who lived up to the church's name!sake.  He was not only self righteous, but considered himself to be the most humble member of the church.  Upon leaving the church after each and every service he always told the preacher, "You really preached to THEM today, preacher."  He never included himself in that number that was preached to.  There came the night when just at gathering time a terrible storm began and the only two people at church was this member and the preacher.
     The preacher decided that this was the opportunity to preach to the member where he would have to acknowledge where the message was directed.  He tried to touch on every perceived flaw which the member had, all to no avail.  When the service was over the member approached the preacher and said to him, "Preacher, if they had been here tonight, you would have really preached to them."
     In a day when Satan is destroying everything that is not nailed down and is pulling nails as fast as he can, we need to take an inventory of our own lives and see how we measure up.  The above mentioned church member could not see any need for any changes in his own life, yet saw there was need of plenty of changes in the life of everyone else.  It is a rare church indeed in which their Sunday Morning attendance is even close to 50% of those who are on the church roll.  The number one reason for this nonattendance, is a lack of commitment from the average church member.  We are committed to the house payment, the car payment, our many pursuits of pleasure, any type of excuse will find us missing church to take care of something else which we deem of more importance at that moment.   The preacher usually hears something like this, "Preacher, we are having a family reunion next Sunday and will have to put in our appearance.  You do understand don't you?"  Several years ago in a church service where I was pastoring, my wife had her family reunion one Sunday.  We always put in our appearance, after worship service.  This day, though, while making the morning announcements, I said, "Doris is having her family reunion today."  As I said that, I stepped out from behind the pulpit as if I were leaving and said,  "We are going to go on up there so we won't be late.  You folks do understand don't you?"  They had a strange look on their face so I said, "No you don't understand, I don't understand either when I hear it about your missing the Lord's service."
     Don't forget the admonition for us in each and everything we do, "Do it as unto the Lord."  Preacher's need to preach as if it were only unto God, himself.  Sunday School teachers need to teach as if it were only unto the Lord.  Our giving and church attendance needs to be as if it were only unto the Lord.
     The old song says it best, "It's not my farther nor my mother, but it's me, Oh Lord!  Standing in the need of prayer.  I cannot answer for you, nor can you answer for me.  We must each give an account unto the Lord for each of our actions.  That alone should motivate us to do greater things for God.  It is even of more importance when we consider our failures may result in someone else spending an eternity in Hell.