If you are hoping that Obamacare will survive the recent turnover in Congress, relax; all is well. But, if you are hoping the Repubs will force repeal of Obamacare you're out of luck. They won't succeed in their bogus attempt to repeal it because insurance and pharma companies, huge donors to the Repub party, don't want it repealed. House Repubs will make a great smoke and mirrors show of fulfilling their campaign promise of voting to repeal the law knowing full well that it won't get by the Democratically controlled Senate. If it should, Mr. Obama will veto it. Then the elephants can say, "See? We tried but those stubborn ol' donkeys wouldn't cooperate." Business as usual.
If we put our ultimate trust in anyone or anything other than God we are sure to be disappointed.
**************************************************
I noticed in an NFL ad that the play-off games were being seen by our armed forces in 175 countries.
a.) I didn't know there are 175 countries
b.) What business do we have putting our troops in those countries? Who made us the
world's police force?
***************************************************
The Pope recently said he was shocked to hear that Christians have been killed in Egypt and other Muslim countries. With all due respect to your exalted position, sir, you should know this is not something new. It has been going on for centuries and will continue until.......?
***************************************************
A small Christian group has been persuaded by Harold Camping, who heads up evangelistic Family Radio, that the world is coming to an end on May 21, 2011. (Time mag Jan. 4, 2011) Mr. Camping made a similar prediction that was to take place on Sept. 6, 1994. Did that happen and I missed it?
The group under Mr. Camping's wing is distributing flyers about the "coming" event and feverishly trying to inform the public before it's too late. Evangelism is good but I don't think this is the way to go about it.
Jesus said that no one knows the date when the world will end; not even Jesus. Yet, people will continue to believe they have found secret codes in the Bible that enable them to figure out the date. Even Isaac Newton, the great English scientist, spent years poring over the scriptures and eventually thought he had determined a date for the end of the world. God had something to say about this in Isaiah 44:25. "I am the one who shows what liars all false prophets are, by causing something else to happen than the things they say. I make wise men give opposite advice to what they should, and make them into fools." No matter how devoted and sincere decoders and self-appointed prophets are, no one can know the mind of God except the Spirit of God.
We are to be spiritually ready for whatever happens, not frightened or worried about the apocalypse. "Be not afraid; only believe" Mark 5:36
**********************************************
According to recent news articles, cursive writing will soon be as unintelligible as Elizabethan English is to most of us. Cursive is sooo twentieth century. Just think; people over thirty will be able to write messages in cursive that will be a mystery to the youngsters now in school. And if the cursive document includes correct grammar it will be a double mystery. On the other hand, I confess that twitter (tweet? twert? twizzle?) language might as well be Chinese to me.
lol, bff. There; did I just say something nice or gross?**********************************************
Cleaning out our house after Nita's death, I threw or gave away hundreds (literally) of things that had been accumulated over the 60 years of our marriage. Included were plaques representing awards of various kinds. After my departure from this vale of tears no one would remember (even my memory was a little hazy about some of them) or care what they were for. I was not the least bit sentimental about them so into the dust bin they went. This led me to wonder: what, if anything, of worth and endurance would I leave behind?
My name? The Marsellos family name will disappear with the passing of my son. Not always succesfully because of all my multitude of weaknesses, I have tried to uphold the name without stain and I know he is doing, and will continue, to do the same. In the areas of father, husband, grandfather, etc., architect, poet, novelist, artist, Christian, etc., I can say without false modesty and with complete honesty that I have never felt I was more than average. ( One definition of average: The best of the worst and the worst of the best. Ugh.) Paul said we are not to think better of ourselves than we ought.
Does life have a point or is it only a collection of random events? Do we have a reason for being or are we like a weather vane, doing our job as we and others see it but being moved only by the vagarious winds? I firmly believe we have free will but is there some Grand Scheme in which, under the right conditions, my free will ultimately blends with God's will for His purposes?
It can occur at any age but middle age seems the time when many examine their progress in life. I know I did. I found that I was, so to speak, "Weighed in the balances and found wanting." (Daniel 5:27) I had no spiritual weight at all. For me, life was bleak and without real satisfaction. There are numerous ways to temporarily cover up spiritual hunger and deficiencies: appearing religious (talking the talk. I was very good at that), church attendance in body but not in spirit, denial that anything is missing, alcohol, illicit sex, drugs, work, pride (remember the Pharisees? Nothing wrong with us. We're sons of Abraham), gathering possessions, etc., but only one way to level the balances.
Jesus said to Nicodemus (and us), "You MUST be born again." There is no wiggle room in this statement; it is absolute. Take it or leave it; there's no middle ground. It will do no good to stand before God and say,"I was an Eagle Scout" or "I attended every church service all my life" or "My grandfather was a preacher" or "Our family is very prominent. We have always been good people and contributed millions to good causes." Fine. Wonderful. Congratulations. But, none of that matters unless you have been born again.
All of the above leads to a dream I had recently. In the dream I was conversing with a group of people; none that I recognized. I don't know if there were 2 people or 20. But I distinctly and clearly remember that I declared,
"I know why I was born! It was so I could lead (---?---) to Christ!"
The name of the person was a blur. Was it someone I had the privilege to influence for Jesus in the past or someone in the near future? I don't know. But I do know the joy I felt to have the confirmation of the reason for my existence. Everything else in my life has only been background.
*******************************************
"Now the God of hope give you all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit" Romans 15:13
