Another year has just about come and gone…
Ξ December 31st, 2007 | → 2 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
With the end of 2007 quickly drawing nigh, I find myself sitting here thinking about some of the things that have taken place in our world this year. Of course there were the usual natural disasters that always tend to dominate the news for a few days here and there, but by and large the hot topic once again has been the War on Terror - and more specifically, the Iraqi front.
But in spite of all the troubles and trials that faced us throughout the year, there was also plenty of good news to be reported. For one, the war in Iraq has taken a dramatic turn for the better thanks to the success of “the surge”.
Now it’s up to the Iraqi people to step up and decide whether they want to build a successful nation with our extremely generous help, or if they prefer to simply return to a violent and ruthless, but somewhat stable dictatorship similar to the one they “enjoyed” under Sadam Hussein.
But whatever the Iraqis decide, they need to understand that the American people won’t stand for an endless occupation of their homeland with our brave young men and women dying for a cause that the Iraqis themselves seem to care little about. Enough said.
2007 was a bittersweet year on the personal front as well. Cheria’s beloved Uncle Jerry finally won his long battle with health problems, and today he is no doubt singing tenor in God’s heavenly chorus right alongside her Uncle Doug and Mr. Herman Widener, both of whom passed on before him. It’s been hard adjusting to life without Uncle Jerry around, but the fact that we’ll see him again some day without all of the pain and suffering he had to endure down here makes it a whole lot easier.
We also had a wonderful new addition to our family this year. Our beautiful granddaughter Madison was born on April 21, and Cheria and I have had a ball “babysitting” while her mom and dad were at work. Now if I can just get Granny to stop spoiling her!
As we prepare to embark on our journey into 2008, I’m happy to report that God is still in charge of all of His creations and our precious Saviour Jesus Christ is still sitting at His right hand, waiting for the appointed hour when He’ll come back in all His magnificent glory to take His people home. What a wonderful day that will be!
It is my hope and prayer that the new year will bring you plenty of happy times, and that the good Lord will provide the comfort you’ll need to get through the bad ones. Well, take care, and I hope to “see” all of you next year!
The Great Commission
Ξ December 30th, 2007 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Devotions |
Mark 16:15 - And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
After the Resurrection, Jesus didn’t ascend directly to Heaven. Instead, He walked upon the earth in his scarred, resurrected body for 40 days, and during that time He was seen by hundreds of people - proving once and for all that He was indeed the Risen Lord.
As the time drew nigh for Him to take His heavenly flight, Jesus gave the remaining 11 disciples a very important duty - the very succinct and explicit order that we refer to today as The Great Commission. Jesus instructed His followers to spread the word of His endless love and mercy to every single person upon the face of the planet in order that they might have the opportunity to come to know Him and accept Him as their personal Saviour.
Of course we all can’t simply pull up stakes and start traveling the world, but there are many ways in which we Christians can do our part to help complete the important mission that Christ left us with:
1 - First of all, we can support the brave missionaries (financially and otherwise) who have answered God’s call to preach the Gospel in faraway and dangerous lands. Through them, all Christians can play an important role is fulfilling Jesus’ last earthly directive.
2 - We can use the Internet and other forms of mass communications to get the Good News into the hearts and minds of the people living in virtually every nook and cranny of the globe.
3 - Most of all, we can pray for God’s blessings and protection for the millions of Christians who are living and teaching His Word in places where doing so means risking their very lives.
As believers who have been saved by the grace and mercy of our blessed Saviour, we each have a solemn duty to do whatever we can to help spread the Gospel to all the world. I know that I certainly need to do more in this regard, and chances are you do too. But as long as we try to do our very best I think our Heavenly Father will be well pleased.
satan’s never-ending “chess game”
Ξ December 29th, 2007 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Devotions |
1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
In the Garden of Eden, Eve was easy prey for the devil. After all, she was completely naive because she had never encountered evil in any form before the serpent approached her. Sure, God had given her and Adam explicit instructions not to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree, but she was no match for the absolute master of deception and the seductive words which he spoke unto her.
Still today satan is waging a constant battle against every man, woman and child on the face of the planet, and even those who are saved and walking in the will of God must be ever vigilant in order to avoid his wiley trappings. You see, satan has many powerful tools in his arsenal, just a few of which are seduction, deception and the ability to tell an outright lie while looking at you with a straight face.
Unless we arm ourselves with the “Sword of the Lord” (God’s infallible word) and pray daily for his protection, direction and guidance, we also are doomed to fall prey to the devil. Many good testimonies have been completely ruined over just one temporary lapse in judgment or the failure to recognize evil when it reared its ugly head.
Satan is always scheming and devising plans to trap us when our guard is down, much like a world-class chess player thinks several moves ahead in order to try to gain the advantage over his opponent. And without God’s help, we Christians will lose every time.
The “birth” of Jesus
Ξ December 28th, 2007 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Devotions |
John 1:1-3
1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 - The same was in the beginning with God.
3 - All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Many people assume that Jesus’ existence began with His miraculous birth in the tiny town of Bethlehem just a little over 2,000 years ago, but in reality He has always existed. When the Virgin Mary was conceived of the Holy Ghost as described in the Gospels, that simply marked the beginning of His human life.
The 33 years that Jesus spent on earth was just a tiny fraction of His “life”. Not only was He with the Heavenly Father when the heavens and the earth were created, but He Himself did the “work”!
When we refer to “God”, we are actually referring to the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Ghost. Each of these are separate beings, but each of them is also fully God, and all three of them have existed forever - and they will continue to exist for all eternity.
You see, God has no beginning and no end, and since Jesus is fully God, He also has no beginning and no end. He always was, and He always will be. He is our Lord and Saviour - the great “I am”.
It is very important that we understand that Jesus wasn’t “created” at the point of Mary’s conception. Instead, He left His glorious throne up in Heaven to temporarily come down to earth in human form in order to shed His perfect blood on the cross for the remission of our sins. Then a short while after His resurrection, He ascended back up to Heaven where He once again took His exalted place on the throne.
When Jesus said “It is finished” right before the death of His earthly body, He wasn’t referring to His life. Instead, He was referring to the mission that God the Father had sent Him down to earth to complete in the first place: making a way for a lost world to be forgiven of our sins.
Isn’t is great to know that we have a Saviour who always has been, and always will be? And isn’t it wonderful that we serve such a merciful, living God?
Rebecca Pepin and “Faces of Freedom”
Ξ December 27th, 2007 | → 3 Comments | ∇ Things I like |
My neck of the woods is blessed to be the adopted home of a very special young lady. As a legal immigrant from her native Canada, Rebecca Pepin worked hard and did everything that was required of her in order to become a naturalized citizen of the United States, and on October 27, 2006 that dream became a reality.
Rebecca is a living example of everything that makes our nation so great, and her life and achievements are undeniable proof that anyone who wishes to come here and live the American dream can do so - and they can do it in a manner that is both honorable and fair.
In her new book “Faces of Freedom”, Rebecca eloquently honors the memories and sacrifices of America’s fallen heroes, the magnificent young men and women who have given their all in order to help protect the ideals and way of life that she and millions of other legal immigrants have worked so hard to attain over the years. Her writings are both insightful and reverent, and you can feel down in your soul the connection she obviously shared with each family member as she interviewed them.
“Faces of Freedom” poignantly tells the personal story of 52 of America’s best and brightest, one from every state in the union as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Through the words and tears of those who loved them most, we are provided with a humbling glimpse at their heroic lives and tragic deaths, and in the end we must surely all come away with nothing less than complete respect and honor for their service and sacrifice.
As a veteran myself, I was honored to receive a signed copy of “Faces of Freedom” for Christmas this year - a special gift from my daughter Tami. And I must tell you, it was hard to turn even one page without feeling a tear run down my cheek after reading about each and every one of these 52 amazing individuals.
Of course their tremendous love for their country and the willingness to risk their lives in defense of it are by no means unique to the brave men and women profiled in the book. While intensely personal, their stories are no doubt quite similar to those of most of our fighting men and women who are serving on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan today.
Duty, Honor, Country: three simple words that epitomize what it means to be a patriot and a soldier. And through this wonderful book we all have an opportunity to honor the lives, selfless service and deaths of just a few of America’s finest.
To learn more about Rebecca Pepin and/or purchase “Faces of Freedom”, please visit www.rebeccapepin.com.
Gun Control
Ξ December 26th, 2007 | → 2 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
There are a number of “hot button” issues that are virtually guaranteed to generate a heated debate every time they come up, and the one that baffles me the most is “gun control”.
On one side you have those who believe that a civilized society should be a disarmed society, with only the police and members of the military carrying firearms. And there are even a few misguided individuals who believe that the police and military should be disarmed as well!
On the other side you have the folks who believe that the right to bear arms is not only guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but that our citizenry would indeed be considerably safer if there were no restrictions whatsoever on the right of law abiding citizens to bear arms.
I happen to fall into the second camp. I believe that each and every natural-born or naturalized citizen of the United States should be allowed to carry a firearm, convicted felons excepted.
Why do I think we would all be safer if we were all allowed to carry guns? Well, first of all, the vast majority of law-abiding citizens would use their weapons for legal purposes only - primarily self-defense and hunting. Criminals on the other hand do not respect or follow the laws of the land. After all, that’s why they’re called criminals. And as we all know, most criminals already carry weapons on them.
You’re not so sure about that? Well then think about this for just a moment: How many times have you heard news reports about people being arrested for a serious offense when they did not have a gun in their car, in their residence, or on their person? Maybe three? Four?
This issue really just boils down to plain common sense. I know it’s a cliché, but it really is true: If guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns!
Criminals, by definition, break the law, and one of their favorite laws to break is carrying a gun when they are not legally allowed to do so. Does it really make any sense to have a nation full of law-abiding citizens who cannot legally protect their lives and property with deadly force when those who are perfectly willing to kill them over a $10 watch routinely thumb their nose at the law and carry a gun anyway? Of course not.
So far I have been speaking more or less in the theoretical realm, but now let’s look at it from a practical, real-life point of view using a few real-life example situations:
1 - Do you remember the horrible attack by a lone gunman on the campus of Virginia Tech that resulted in 33 innocent students and faculty members being senselessly murdered? Just imagine for a moment what might have happened had one of the victims been carrying a handgun in his pants pocket. There is a very real possibility that the perpetrator could have been stopped after the very first shooting - perhaps even preventing all 33 of those murders.
2 - How about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 which resulted in literally thousands of innocent people being mercilessly slaughtered? If even one law-abiding person on each of those planes had been carrying a gun, the terrorists might well have been stopped before they could complete their evil mission of mass death and destruction. The twin towers would probably still be standing today, and we most likely wouldn’t be in the midst of such a costly war on terror either.
3 - Now let’s consider the January 16, 2002 shootings at Grundy, Virginia’s Appalachian School of Law. Even though the circumstances were quite similar to those at Virginia Tech, the shooter was stopped fairly quickly and only three people were killed. Why such a different outcome? Because at the sound of the first gunfire, two students ran out to their cars to retrieve their weapons, then ran back into the school and subdued the shooter.
Just think, if they hadn’t had to waste precious time running to their cars to retrieve their weapons (in other words, if they had been carrying them), there is a good possibility that no one would have been killed at all!
Do I carry a gun myself? Maybe, maybe not. But as long as there is uncertainty in the mind of anyone who would like to break into my house, then my family and I will certainly be a lot better off.
Let’s face it, we live in a dangerous world, and it makes no sense whatsoever for the good people of America to have to live day-by-day at the mercy and whim of their evil counterparts. The right to bear arms (no, it’s not a privilege - it’s a right) is indeed guaranteed by our Constitution, and every rational thinker in the country should be fighting relentlessly to make sure it stays that way.
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Ξ December 25th, 2007 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Devotions |
It is my hope that all of you have a wonderful Christmas and a very prosperous new year. May you enjoy this special day in the company of the ones you love, and if this time of year is difficult for you for one reason or another, I hope you’ll take comfort in the knowledge that with Christ by your side, you are never alone.
Jesus Christ not only offers salvation to all who will accept it, but He also offers comfort and companionship to those who are grieving and lonely. Today we celebrate our Saviour’s miraculous birth, for without Him we would be forever lost and without hope of redemption from our sins.
Jesus was born under the most humbling of circumstances, but everyone who learned of His birth and came to visit Him in that stable in Bethlehem recognized Him as the Saviour of the world - the King of kings.
Happy birthday Jesus, and Merry Christmas to all!
Mars to “outshine” the stars tonight
Ξ December 24th, 2007 | → 1 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
The planet Mars will outshine the even brightest stars in the sky tonight, and if you miss the opportunity to see it you’ll have to wait nine years for it to glow this brightly again.
The planet’s super-bright reddish glow will be the result of two factors working in tandem:
1 - With its current distance of a mere 55.5 millions miles from earth, it is extremely close to us as heavenly bodies go, and…
2 - Mars will be located directly opposite the sun in relation to the earth. In this state of ”opposition”, it will reflect most of the sunlight that strikes its surface right back in our direction.
The red planet has always held a special place in our collective imagination, and tonight she’ll put on a show unlike any that most of us have ever seen before.
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