One Size Won't Fit All

     Education within the United States in times past was even more than adequate.  But that was in the day when the local citizens had total and complete control over their school.   They decided what was to bee taught, when it was to be taught and by whom it was to be taught.  The small school was the norm.  Many a person was taught in a one-room school house.  Pre-civil war days you would find that these schools were private schools.  Gradually, the schools were merged together into community schools with tax money coming back to the school, but the local school board maintained control.
     The first enemy of the local school was the entity that should have been their greatest supporter, the state department of education.  Moves were made to have larger and larger schools even though at the time it was being promoted everyone knew that the larger schools were where most of the problems were.
     But, the great enemy of the local school entered the picture--The Federal Government.  Everyone should know that the most of the things they touch; they mess up.  It was such a noble thought to have--No Child Left Behind!  That sounds much better than--No Child Going Ahead, but the end result is so similar.  Everyone knows that there are differences that cannot be ignored.  All children do not have the same potential, the same personalities, the same drives.  There will always in the real world be a gap between the haves and the have-nots.
     Since that was a dismal failure, let us change the name to Common Core and change our approach.  But do not be deceived, it is an attempt to do the same thing in a different package.  In order to better promote the concept let us use statistics to make our case.  IN ALL TESTING THE UNITED STATES COMES IN LOW WHEN COMPARED WITH THE REST OF THE COUNTRIES IN EDUCATION.  That statement is grossly misleading at the very least and is a blatant lie at the worse.  Statistics can prove anything.  I heard of a man who drowned in a river where the water averaged only six inches deep .  Too bad he stepped into a six foot hole.
     Do you think for a moment the other countries are figuring the scores of the special education students, the handicapped, the hungry, the homeless, or the unconcerned in their averages.  No, I think not, and when you remove those from our stats you will find America at the top.
     There are problems in education, but they cannot be solved from the state capitol or Washington, D.C.  Get the government out of education and put it in the hands of the people who educated the generation that put men on the moon and brought them safely back--the local school board.

A Democracy Was Never Intended to be a Utopia

     We live in the greatest country on earth and under the best political situation available to mankind--a democracy.  Granted, we have flaws and we have problems with our situation that is caused by human error.  Much of our problems can be traced to the fact that men who wanted to be public servants developed our system, but it is now controlled by men who seem to be intent upon advancing their own public agenda and feathering their own nest.
     If we lived in a Utopia, each of us would always get and have the things they wanted.  That is not the way that our government is structured.  It is a given fact that many in our country think that the government is supposed to work, at least for them, as a Utopia and provide the things for them that they both want and need.
     Lest my remarks be misunderstood, let me quickly say that there are many times in my own life when decisions are voted upon by our citizens that are contrary to what I would like to see.  It seems as if there are more and more decisions being made that are in direct opposition to the Christian principles that I believe.  There are many today that would like for it to be that the minority always wins and the majority always looses.  That cannot be.
     Thus far in our country's history, for the most part, the majority has usually made provisions for the wishes and desires of the minority.  Hopefully, it will always be so.
     There once was a time when things were either right or wrong within itself.  Gradually, we have lead people to believe that nothing is absolutely wrong or absolutely right, but somewhere in between reality lies.  Since nothing is totally wrong or right, if it feels good do it.
     From my front porch it seems as if most things work pretty good as long as the local citizens handle their own projects.  Once the government becomes involved, either state or federal, and the local citizens have no voice in the matter things go down hill.
     Remember as Thomas Jefferson once said, "A government that is big enough to give you everything you want, is large enough to take everything you have.

Marriage On the Brink of Destruction

     Let me begin by stating that the man who had more to do with civil rights accomplishments in this country was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..  He alluded to the fact that he had seen the other side of the  mountain.  Perhaps if he had been allowed to remain upon this earth longer he might have seen what many of us can see today.  It is not all bright and shiny on this side of the mountain.
     The family unit is in much turmoil and great danger.  First, it is in danger because of the concept of marriage itself.  Marriage was never intended to be a temporary arrangement to last only as long as ever thing goes well.  I am not concerned as much about the couple themselves, but the effect it has on their children.  In some places and cultures in our country today there are more grandparents raising the children than their own parents.  So as marriage itself goes the family will also go.
     Marriage has always been between one woman and one man.  I care not what the gay (bad choice of word, many seem anything except happy)  people think about it, nor do I even care what benefits they can manage to get for themselves, you cannot just change what a word is to suit your fancy.  I don't like the narrow definition of "boat".  So I want to start a campaign to also include in that term the use of trains.  From now on trains will be referred to as boats.  But rest assured they will never float.
     To open the door of "marriage" to include anything besides one man-one woman, is inviting all manner of possibilities.  How can you tell a person that marriage does not include one man and two or more women, or one woman and two or more men?  God forbid, but what if a man wanted to take on as his sexual partner a cow or sheep.  Can he get married to it?  Why not?
     Tied very closely to the marriage and family is the abortion issue.  People have thrown logic out then windows, using only one argument, the woman has a right to do what she wishes with her body.  If that argument becomes the guiding principle for decisions, how can any court ever again find a prostitute guilty of anything?  Does not that argument make prostitution legal?
     All that I have said thus far affect the immediate family.  There are far reaching ramifications that extend into every spectrum of society.  The first outside entity to be directly affected by the breakup of the family is the public school.  Pity the student from the broken home when the teacher assigns homework and there is no parent there to help. In cases where the grandparents are taking care of the student, many of them are unable to assist in the educational process as it exists today.

Settling Down In A Strange Land

     Does it seem strange to you that some of the Children of Israel did not want to go into the promised land that God had promised them and He was willing to fight the battles for them.  They eventually decided they would go into the promised land, fight for the other tribes right to have the land and then return to settle down in a strange land.
     It ought not seem strange because that is exactly the situation that we have today in most of the churches across the land..  God wants each Christian to enjoy life to the fullest, yet many are content for a sermonette on Sunday morning, (unless it is too pretty a day to waste at church) and then spend the rest of the week "doing as the Romans do."  They ignore all warnings that God has given then in the Word about dedication and faithfulness.  The reality that they must face God some day and give accountability to him is a remote possibility instead of a certainty.
     I remember seeing an advertisement for a certain brand of automobile many years.  It showed an eloquently dressed lady getting out of a car without a wrinkle in her dress or a hair out of place.  The caption at the bottom of the picture said, "One of the nicer things about riding in a car with the body built by Fischer is knowing that you will be approved upon arrival."  I would think that would be the desire of every Christian as he considers arriving at the end of his/her life that they would want to be approved upon arrival.  However, it seems that those who settle down in a strange land give no thought about being approved upon arrival and are totally ungrateful that Jesus paid the price of the fare to get us to our destination.

First or Second: What difference does it make?

A cab driver picked up a passenger one day that was an evangelical Christian.  During the course of the ride the passenger asked the cab driver if he were a Christian.  The driver avowed that he was a Buddhist.  The Christian then said, "You need to be a Christian."  The cab driver responded, "If being a Buddhist is good and being a Christian is good, I will be a Buddhist-Christian."    
     There are many situations in life where it really does not matter if a person comes in first or second.  So often the things that we compete for is so trivial that it really does not matter.  Even in sporting events, where we live and die by each pitch, most folks don't remember who came in second a few years ago.
     But there is a totally different aspect to the first or second situation when you come to Go.   Make no mistake about it God is the "God of the second chance."  Thank God that he is that type of God, for all of us have found ourselves committing the same error over and over.  Paul referred to that inability of ours as laying aside "the sin that so easily besets us."  It is refreshing to know that God is faithful to forgive us of our sins when we confess them to Him.
     But make no mistake about it, even though He is the God of the second chance, He is not the God of the second choice.  THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GOD BEFORE ME.  Yet there are so many Christians who seemingly believe as the cab driver believed.  For six days of the week they serve another god.  It might be the job, fame, popularity etc., but God does not accept competition.  Someone referred to these type of people as being worldly Christians.  Sounds rather strange since the two or opposites.  Why not call them heavenly devils?
     Be sure you understand the different; God is the God of the second chance, but he is not the God of the second choice.

County Line Sermon, Sunday Before Christmas

The Wisdom of God

     The wisdom of God so far surpasses the wisdom of the smartest man that it almost defies our trying to compare His wisdom to anything we can comprehend.  But just for this morning let us think for a moment what it might be like if God should ask us for help in making his decisions.  To do this we will need to go back into time so as we might have a little knowledge of what is being asked of us, since we have no understanding at all of the future.  So to begin, let us suppose that we had been involved in the greatest event ever to occur upon this earth, the birth of Jesus.

     For some strange reason God is asking you, not the person sitting next to you, you yourself.  I will be supplying verbally your reaction as well as the input of God.  You think along with me even though the exact words you might say may vary a little.

     God says to you, "Things have really gone bad down on the earth so I think I should send my son down to see if he can provide a way for mankind to get out of the mess that he is in."

     " Lord, I think that is a great idea.  It is about time that man gets put in his place, he has become so high and mighty.  Are you going to send a legion of angels down to help him get things carried out?" 

     To which God says, "No, he will have to do it himself." 

    " Now, God, do you think that will be wise, just Jesus alone." 

     "Oh, I think he will be okay.  I am going to send him back as a baby." 

     " Lord, you can’t be kidding.  A baby.  Why he won’t last long at all as a baby.  God, if you are going to send him down as a baby where will he be born, in Rome.  They have the finest doctors and places to deliver babies in the world." 

    " No, I’m not sending him to Rome." 

    "Then I guess the next best place will be Egypt." 

      "I’m not sending him to Egypt, either." 

     "Then Lord, where are you going to have him be born?"  

     "He is going to be born in Bethlehem." 

     "Bethlehem?     Why, Lord, there is not any place in that city for him to be born.  They don’t even have a decent place to lay a child down in that forsaken city." 

     "Oh, he has a place alright.  He is going to be born in a stable and he will be just fine in the manger where they feed the cattle." 

     "Lord, you must be kidding.  Why, who do you have picked out to be the mother of  Jesus?"  

     God said, "I have chosen a young woman by the name of Mary." 

     "Lord, you do know she is not even married." 

     "Yes, I know that." 

     "Why, Lord, the people will talk." 

     God said, "It is obvious that you do not believe the scripture.  For the scripture says, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and call his name Emmanuel."

     "I’m sorry, Father.  We need to tell the whole world that you are sending your son down there to get things straightened out.  I have a plan for telling the world.  We can either write a message on the full moon that everyone in the whole world can see or either have an angel stand on the moon with a large megaphone and broadcast the message to the earth."

     God says, “I’m going to use angels to tell the world alright, just not like you are talking about."

      "How do you plan to use the angels, Lord?" 

     "I am going to select a special group of people for the angels to appear and tell the good news."    

      "That’s a good plan, Lord.  Do you have a certain group of nobility picked out to deliver the message to?"  

     "I have a group picked out, but you would probably not call them nobility." 

     "Who do you have in mind, God?  I have picked out a group of shepherds that are close enough to Bethlehem to walk and see my son." 

     "Lord, do you know what type of people those shepherds are?  Some of them are not very trustworthy.  Probably none of them even own a sheep themselves.  Their repetition is not much more than common thieves."

     "I don’t think you quite understand just yet.  My child you see, all men are common thieves.  Common in the sense that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  Thieves in the sense they take what belongs to me every day and consider it to be theirs.  Think just a moment what all you had yesterday.  How much of that did you provide for yourself and how much of it did I provide for you.  Still think the shepherds or common thieves.  Makes you think a little more highly of the shepherds, doesn’t it."

     "You are right, Lord.  Of course you are always right.  But how will Jesus do on earth?"

     "Well actually, they won’t pay much attention to him and they will finally kill him."

      "Surely God, Jesus won’t have to die."

      "As usual, you are having difficulty in understanding.  You see my child Jesus must live to die, in order that you may someday day to live." 

     "I think you have everything well thought out and planned.  Can you let me in on how things work out?"

    " I could tell you the very end but I won’t tell you any farther than 2013."

     "Why just 2013?"

      "You see, the old world is really going to be getting messed up about that time in spite of all my son has done.  I am counting on some folks real special that year.  If they don’t become dedicated there will be a lot more folks that will die and go to hell.  But, I don’t want you to worry about what those folks will do; I just want you to concentrate on what you are going to do in the year to come.  Because of what you do this year folks there may be some folks who will go to heaven that would not have made it without you and there could be some who will go to hell if you fail to be committed as a Christian.  You thought you had all the answers and now you know that you have to depend upon me.  I’ll be there as you decide what you will do.  I have a feeling that the next time we get together it will be around my throne in heaven.  

How to Earn an F in Histoy

     When you begin to consider the history of our great country and the place that the Judeo-Christian ideas and beliefs have played in making us great, you begin to see why our country is where it is today.  The state constitutions off all thirteen of the original states demanded that a person be a believer in God in order to hold public office.  Not so today!
     During the 1830's, prior to Arkansas becoming a state, a man was brought into Federal court for the crime of desecrating the Sabbath.  That which he had done was to burn a brush pile on Sunday.  The end result of the trial was an acquittal because of relatives being on the jury.  But to think that the courts considered Sunday to be the Lord's day and was Holy is far removed from the concept today.  If the government does not consider it a Holy day, I want my mail delivered on Sunday.  If Christmas and Easter are not Holy days, I demand that all government employees work on those days, congress included.
     Many are alive today who remember the 'blue laws" which prevented many stores and/or certain articles from being sold on Sunday.  Now Sunday's have become one of the more commercialized days for stores.
     When I was a young person it was a rare occasion to hear a gun being fired on Sunday.  When a person heard a gunshot they wondered who it was that would be hunting on a Sunday.  Quite a change today when the Game and Fish Commissions will even set seasons to begin on Sunday as to attract more hunters.
     Need I even mention the greatest change of all.  If you had told me when I graduated from high school in 1955 that I would live to see the day when folks would scream, "Save the owl, but kill the babies," I would have told you that you were foolish.
     Never forget, the bible proclaims, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people."  Somehow we have failed to learn from history.