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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Friends

Note: This post was supposed to be for 10/8/09 but I pushed the wrong button.


Friend: (dictionary definition) A person whom one knows well and is fond of. An ally, supporter and sympathizer.



Acquaintance: A person whom one knows slightly.



Proverbs 18:24: A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.


Proverbs 17:17: A friend loves at all times.



The word 'friend', like 'love', many times is misused or very loosely applied in a relationship. The term 'friend' is often used when actually we are referring to someone who is an acquaintance. A person may have many acquaintances but few real friends.



Aside from my wife, who is my best friend, and my children and other family who already meet the following, to me a friend is someone I can call at 2 or 3 in the morning; tell him I'm in need and he will come to my aid without even asking for details. He would be someone who, if I got in trouble, would not desert me and would be among the first to be at my side. I would do the same for him. We might get angry with each other but we don't let the anger linger. We have a deep respect for each other, overlook the defects in each other and build each other up. We pray together and for each other. A friends keeps me accountable.

These are not all the requirements of real friendship, and you may have different definitions of what constitutes true friendship , but when I apply these scenarios to those I know it quickly becomes apparent who is a friend sand who is an aquaintance.

Aristotle maintained that there are 3 categories, or tiers, of friends: 1. Business partners 2. People you enjoy being with socially 3. People with whom you pursue virtue or arete. The Christian form of arete is a self-sufficient life of contemplation and wisdom.



During one of our recent wars, (as I remember the story) two army buddies, Jim and Larry, came under enemy fire and ran toward a friendly bunker. Jim made it but didn't realize that Larry had been wounded and had fallen until he heard Larry call for help. Jim immediately started to his aid but the sergeant in charge grabbed Jim and commanded him to remain in the bunker; the enemy fire was so heavy and accurate that Jim would certainly be wounded or killed once he left the safety of the bunker. Jim wrested himself from the sergeant's grip and crawled to his friend. Larry managed a weak smile, grasped his friend's hand and said, "Jim; I knew you would come."



John 15:9, Jesus said to his disciples, "As the Father loved me, I also have loved you; abide in my love"

John 15:13,14: "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you."

John 15:15: "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from the Father I have made known to you."


With these words Jesus drew the disciples into a more intimate relationship with Him. At that point in their spiritual understanding they probably did not realize the importance of what he had said. He would die for them. He loved them with the most complete and deepest possible love: the love of God Himself. He had disclosed His Father's revelation to them of Jesus' identity and His mission: knowledge no one else had. That information could only be shared with friends; not with servants or acquaintances.

Now, by the grace of God, we are more than friends with Jesus. We are children of God and joint heirs with Jesus.



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File this under Strange Wills and Last Requests:

Heinrich Heine left all his wordly goods to his wife but with this provision: She must re-marry.

He said he wanted at least one man to be sorry Heinrich died.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Change

Change. The word strikes fear in some, hope in others and some say: So what? It seems our country is averse to change and we cringe when ever change is proposed. Certainly we are suspicious when the federal government attempts to adjust the status quo. Exhibit A is the current brouhaha over Mr. Obama's health care proposals. Thousands of citizens have marched on Washington in protests partly staged and supported financially by special interests and partly made up of citizens paying there own expenses and genuinely opposed to the proposed changes in health care. This is not the first time change has caused discord in our nation.




There are a number of instances in U.S. history involving change that have led to protests that produced armed conflict, bloodshed and, in some cases, enduring bitterness.


To mention a few:


The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. A tariff imposed by the government eliminated any profit farmers might make on their sales of grain. The farmers greeted the change with violence against tax collectors.


The Civil War. Slavery states would not embace the changes required under the Emancipation Proclamation. You know what happened after that.


The Bonus Army. In 1932 some 43000 WWl veterans came to Washington, DC. They had been promised a bonus for their service but it was to be paid in 1945. They wanted that date to be changed to 1932. Economic conditions in the country had deteriorated so much that the veterans and their families were in desparate financial straits. They set up a shanty town and prepared to wait for Congress to act in their favor. It didn't happen. President Herbet Hoover ordered federal troops, headed by Douglas McArthur, to drive out the veterans which they did. The troops also set fire to the shanty town. A number of people were killed including two babies.



Change brings uncertainty.

A man had next door neighbors he never visited or spoke to. Yet, when they moved he found that the event made him very uncomfortable. Who would be his new neighbors? Would they be noisy? Would they keep up their property? Would they be black, white, tan, yellow or brown?



From the day we are born we constantly change in one way or another; physically, mentally or morally. We can each recount changes that have taken place in our lives; some minor some momentous; some positive and some negative. Graduations, marriage, having children, careers, financial ups and downs, death of a spouse or parent, illnesess, aging, confronting our own demise and many, many others.

Accelerating changes in technology can be disorienting. They may make us feel we are being left behind and adrift with nothing static that we can hold on to.



An elderly lady made her first airplane trip. Her granddaughter met her at the terminal and asked, "How was the trip, Granny?"

"It was alright I guess, but I didn't let my weight all the way down on the seat."



On what can we confidently let all our weight down? What is there that is permanent in an ever-changing world? What is there that merits our complete trust? What is there that we can hook our anchor to and know that it will never be cut loose?



It's not our bank account, stocks or bonds; it's not our position in society, confidence in other people or our own abilities; most of which can be wiped out or nullified in a moment. Thousands of Americans found that out just recently.



"For I am the Lord, I do not change." Malachi 6:8



"Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall for it was founded on the rock." (Jesus) Matthew 7:24, 25


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Recipes

From time to time I will bring you personally tested recipes from our chef's kitchen. This first one is for the more adventuresome who are looking for new taste sensations.

Potato Chip Sandwich. That's right; potato chips.

2 slices bread of your choice

Real Pimento cheese. (As opposed to fake cheese)

Barbeque flavored potato chips (I use Lay's)

Thin sliced ham or turkey

Spread one slice of bread liberally with cheese

Place 2 layers of chips over cheese

Place meat over chips and cover with remaining slice of bread; press to crush chips

Bon Apetit!

Eat your heart out Julia Child


Thursday, September 17, 2009

Joe Wilson and Acorn

Joe Wilson's outburst against President Obama was disrespectful at best and indefensible at worst. It is more evidence that the culture in our country continues its march to the coarse and base. Okay, I'm old-fashioned, but I feel that regardless of party affiliation, no one should approve Mr. wilson's behavior toward the President. However, his fit of pique delighted his supporters so much they sent him $1 million for his campaign fund. It's been said that the state he represents, South Carolina, is "too small to be a country and too big to be an insane asylum.(*)"

Former president Jimmy Carter has waded into this controversy shooting from the hip as usual. Nobody invited his comments but that didn't stop him. Apparently he was able to read Mr. Wilson's mind and found that Mr. Wilson's remark was inspired by racism. Wilson's son gives a much more favorable view of his father's attitude toward race.



But, thank you, Mr. Carter for pouring gasoline on the fire and giving the demagogues more ammunition. His statement also helps to perpetuate the myth that all white people and only white people are racists. I think Mr. Carter is still trying to somehow make up for his disasterous presidency. This is not the best way.



To his credit, Mr. Wilson apologized saying, in effect, that stress caused him to lose control of his emotions. Really? The only member of Congress under stress?





I'll admit I don't know if Mr. Obama's health plan bill is good. bad or somewhere in between. To really be knowledgable, one would have to read the entire massive document. With all the usual fraud associated with any government program, earmarks and other special interest considerations it contains, the bill might be found to not be about health care at all! It might just be about shoveling money out of the treasury willy nilly. That would be a good joke, wouldn't it?




I understand that ridding Medicare of fraud and waste is supposed to help pay for the new program. My questions are: Why has that not been done already? If the goverment has known all along that fraud and waste are in the program, why has that been allowed to continue?

What do you think?

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You may know by now that a man and a woman, pretending to be interested in establishing a brothel, went to the Brooklyn ACORN office for help. A hidden camera recorded the interview and revealed that the workers were more than happy to oblige. They took them thru the process and also advised the pretenders how they could avoid paying income taxes on their brothel business. Is this the first time supported ACORN workers have advised someone how to circumvent laws and avoid taxes? ACORN's president says this episode does not represent the org's activities and purpose and that the staff members involved have been terminated. She says Fox news was behind the scam for the Republican party. Does that imply that what the ACORN staff members did would be OK otherwise?


This is not the first or most notorious scandal involving ACORN. Go to "Scandals at ACORN" on the internet to see how your tax dollars are loosely handed out. There are too many incidents to list here. Nevertheless, they continue to operate with impunity. Could it be that it is to the advantage of one political party?



It's interesting to note that this organization, with offices around the nation, has recieved millions of taxpayer money. The White House spokesman said he "assumed" that how such monies were spent was monitored by the federal agencies that granted them. Baloney. This is pork barrel money. ACORN claims to work for the empowerment of the poor, for immigrants and low to medium income working families of blacks and Latinos. And they get out the vote. For whom, they don't say. But, it doesn't take a genius IQ to figure it out. One only has to see which members of Congress support and protect ACORN. Start with Barney Frank.




Of course, working for the benefit of the poor, etc., for their voting rights, decent housing and health care is a worthwhile cause. I certainly don't resent public monies being spent on helping the helpless and disenfranchised if it is done properly and honestly.


Jesus' deep concern for the poor is very clear in the scriptures and some might see his purposes as being aligned with such orgs as ACORN. However, before that truly happens, ACORN will have to adjust their methods, tactics and agenda to be at a much higher moral and spiritual level. Their current mottos seems to be "The end justifies the means." and "It's none of your business how we spend your money." They don't cut it.
The GOP is trying to cut off funding to ACORN.



Locally, the Christian Information and Service Center and other volunteer aid organizations are ministering to anyone in need regardless of race, creed or color and without government help, political bias or scandal.




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(*) Kathleen Parker's column

Friday, September 4, 2009

I re-read Lincoln's Gettysburg address recently. I freely admit my admiration for Mr. Lincoln and I often quote him. It is interesting that his address was only one of five delivered that day and was the shortest. He was not even the main speaker. That honor went to scholar Edward Everett, considered the greatest orator of his time. He delivered the longest speech. It lasted two hours.



The President's remarks received polite applause but very few in attendance or those who read an account later in the newspapers had the least idea his short, concise speech would one day be considered the masterpiece it is while the other four speeches would soon be forgotten. As for Lincoln, he thought his address had been a failure and lamented so to an aide.




Consider the last part of the address in light of today's events in our nation:


----"that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation , under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and the government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth."

Of, by, and for, the people. Hmm. I wonder what Mr. Lincoln would think of our government today? It's beginning to look more like government of, by, and for, the government.


Mr. Lincoln also had this to say: "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms it will be because we destroyed ourselves."





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From: Sun Tzu "Art of War"

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but do not know the enemy, for every victory you gain you will lose a battle."

"There is no instance of a country benefiting from prolonged warfare."

The day it was announced that the U.S. had invaded Iraq after 9/11, I said that it would prove to be a terrible mistake. I was put down as unpatriotic and out of touch with the realties of the dangers our country faced. I am no prophet but just from the history of Iraq with its hundreds of years of religious and tribal divisions, it should have been apparent to anyone that democracy and/or occupation by a foreign power were not going to be accepted. The Shiites and the Sunnis have been at odds ever since Muhammad died (about 632 AD) and will continue their division for hundreds of more years. The first rule of war is: Know your enemy. Apparently this sensible rule was either not considered or was brushed aside.


So far this gross error in judgment has cost 4327 American dead, 31,483 wounded, untold numbers of veterans returning home with psychological problems, families suffering from the loss of sons, daughters, husbands and wives and billions of dollars for which the public will never get a full accounting. Billions that could have been used at home and abroad for schools, food, infrastructure and hundreds of other worthwhile projects. Add the loss of stature for The U.S. around the world and the bill is staggering. That's some but not all on the debit side.

So, for the suffering and misery,waste and human loss what has been gained?


If you know of anything, please let me know. But, for my part, I can't see a single positive thing has been accomplished.


Afghanistan? More of the same. In addition, military power has been trumped by tenacity and terrain.

Again the first rule of war was ignored and so far the results prove it.

In 1919, after 3 Anglo-Afghan wars, Afghanistan won its independence from England. In one of those wars an entire British army group, except for one survivor, was slaughtered by the Afghans. Ask the Russians what it's like to fight in that country.

It may be politically naive of me to suggest it but I believe the U.S. should immediately withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan unless Mr. Obama can lay out in simple, honest terms exactly why it is absolutely necessary for our troops to remain. So far, in two administrations, we have been fed nothing but pap.



My security does not depend on wordly might. Zechariah 4:6: "Not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord Almighty."

Thursday, September 3, 2009

This and That

A



When he was a child, a friend of mine attended a country church. He said whenever someone joined the church on profession of faith a member, a little old lady, would literally dance down the aisle. I wish I could have been there.


Jesus said, "There is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner which repents than in 99 just persons which need no repentance." The dear lady in the small church was reflecting the joy resounding in heaven. Joy in the Lord is not often expressed so exuberantly as in dancing but it is nothing new.


See 2Samuel 6:16, in part: "---Michal, Saul's daughter, watched from a window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord---") Michal was filled with contempt for David, not because he was leaping and dancing but because she did not share his love of God.




Personally, I have no objection if church members hang from the rafters, run, leap, dance, shout or do hand springs, if their actions are truly motivated by joy in the Lord. That's a big if. How would I evaluate? Spiritual things are spiritually discerned.





I've been present at a many joyful worship services in various places. They take place every Sunday in our contemporary service. Others have been in prisons where I was sometimes privileged to speak. Another was in a barn with 50 or so other believers, singing in the Spirit. Some were during lay-led weekend programs; others were in homes, halls, churches, hotel ballrooms, stadiums, etc. and not limited to Sunday. The setting doesn't matter either. "Where two or three are gathered in My name there I am in the midst of them."



B


In 2007 a pastor was invited to speak to a group of war veterans in an east coast city. During his sermon he noticed a man standing in the back of the room, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. The attitude of his posture seemed to say, "Convince me if you think you can!"


After the service the pastor approached the man who said, "OK, preacher. You got me."


"What does that mean?" the pastor asked


"It means I'm tired of hating and I want Jesus in my life." Then the man said, "Hold out your hand."


The pastor did as he was requested and the man dropped a crudely-made bracelet in his hand. It appeared to be bits of ivory strung together. "What's this?"asked the pastor.


"Teeth," the man answered. "The teeth of men I killed in Vietnam. They killed my buddies and I killed them."


The Vietnam war had been over for nearly 40 years and for all that time this man had been carrying a burden of intense hatred. Now, under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, he was ready to surrender it to Jesus. He was finally convinced that there was only one cure for the corrosive effects of hate.




"Come to me all of you who labor and are carrying a heavy load of stuff and I'll give you rest."


Jesus is the garbage man. "Give me the garbage in your life in your life and I'll give you peace and rest for your soul."





P.S. From the sublime to the ridiculous:


In 1916, then President Howard Taft, et al, eased the income tax into law. Not to worry, soothed the Prez; the tax would be applied only to those who earned the stratospheric incomes of the Rich. At that, the tax would be only 1% for those earning $250,000 (sound familiar?) in today's dollars and topping out at 7% for the fortunate few making $6 million.


In 2006 there were 136 million tax returns. Out of that figure 43.4 million returns had no tax liability. Add to that 15 million households and individuals who did not file tax returns. None. Zip. Nada. So, 41%, or about 121 million, of U.S. citizens don't have to worry about taxes. That leaves 59% of us to pay the bills
This is not a rant against those who don't pay taxes. It's about the unreliability of government promises and leads to the question of how the programs proposed by Mr. Obama are going to be paid for. As resourceful as he may appear, he cannot repeal or override the laws of economics. His promise that there would be no new taxes is pure fairy dust.


One of these days our banker, China, may cash in all their chips (U.S. government bonds) and the American dollar will be worth less than toilet paper.



PPS I am indebted to Walter Williams column for the figures quoted above. He in turn credited a Washington firm: Tax Foundation









































































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