I appreciate the thoughtful comments of 'Mark' who responded to last week's blog. I had read in a national news mag about the Black Panthers intimidating white voters at a polling site but I must have missed the date it occured or the editors of the mag were remiss in checking their source. Also, in further conversation with 'Mark' I found that Rosie is very generous in funding certain charities. A good reminder that most people have an altruistic part of their life we are not aware of. Thanks 'Mark.'

My blog will be coming out at random times instead of regularly. It does take time and I have a lot of other interests; too many, probably.

Fancifulfloyd's Fearless Forecast, continued

After reading today that many incoming college freshmen do not wear watches, have never used a phone with a cord attached, do not write in cursive or use email, I realized how far behind the times I am. Some of my "Fearless Forecasts" now appear quaint and, though only guesses, way off the mark. Changes in technology and its effects on society are accelerating at a dizzying pace. Young people readily accept tech change but it can strike fear in the hearts of the middle-aged and elderly or at the least make them very uncomfortable. They may feel the world is racing ahead without them and whatever significance they had is disappearing. But there are others in the older age groups who may not fully embrace rapid change but who jump on for the ride and reserve their opinions 'til they see where it takes them.

Aldous Huxley, in his book "Brave New world," was remarkably prescient. Written in novel form around 1930, many of his predictions have come to pass. One in particular has remained with me even though I read it some 40 years ago. In the future Huxley saw the nuclear family as we know it, father, mother and children, has disappeared except for one family that is exhibited ------in a zoo.

Could it be that our nation is moving in that direction? Not long ago having a baby out of wedlock stigmatized both mother and baby. Today, there is slight, if any, such stigma attached to unwed mothers or their offspring. The divorce rate hovers around 50% of all marriages. It is interesting to note that the divorce rate is slightly higher for couples in which one or both individuals are Christians. In the future there will be far fewer divorces because marriage itself is being progressively viewed as archaic and unnecessary. Sex is regarded as recreational and considered an integral part of dating. This is another indication of the fading influence of the church which was once the arbitor of morals in a community.

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Please read Matthew 20:1-16

This Jesus' parable of the landowner who hires day laborers at different times of a day, promising to pay them "what is right" for their services. At the end of the day the landowner directs his farm manager to pay the workers beginning with the last hired and then going to the first. Work for a full day was from 6:00 in the morning to 6:00 in the evening and was worth one denarius. Imagine the astonishment and resentment of those who had worked all 12 hours when they saw that those who had worked only one hour and the others who had worked less than a full day got paid a whole denarius. When it became their turn, the full-day laborers expected to be given more than one denarius. When it didn't happen they let the landowner hear about it. Their attitude was: We worked longer; we deserve more pay than these others, it's only fair.

"Not fair? " the landowner said. "I didn't deceive you. You got the going rate of one denarius for a day of work. I choose to be generous and I can do as I wish with my money. Take your denarius and go home."

The landowner represents God. Those who were first hired may be seen as the Pharisees and other leaders who saw themselves as having labored since the time of Abraham. They and their ancestors had been following what they understood to be God's directions for a long time and felt they were entitled to a greater reward. Note that that the landowner was not compelled by law, need or custom to hire any of these men. He could have gone on and found others who might be looking for a day's pay. It was the landowner's choice.

Many Jews in Jesus' day believed wealth was a sign of God's favor and a person's righteousness. But God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34) and he is free to dispense his grace as he sees fit. God's generosity is shown in the landowner's hiring of every laborer available and paying the last as much as the first. Jesus says we can trust God to be fair and the last who come into the Kingdom will be treated as well as those who entered first. Note also: the early hires were content with the usual denarius for their work until they saw that the latecomers were getting the same. Instead of being grateful that they had what was promised them and they could now feed their families another day, they began to concentrate on what they didn't get. This is one of the chief causes of discontent and misery personally, nationally and internationally.

I recently watched a tv program of an interview with a man born without arms or legs. It would seem he had cause to berate God for letting him be born with that condition. Instead of complaining, he took what he had been given and became an evangelist for Christ. Wherever he goes people are drawn to him, amazed at his joyful spirit and that he glorifies God who, in opinion of many, dealt the man a really bad hand.

We should thank God for what we have. No matter what condition we are in there are millions of people in the world who would gladly change places with us. "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

Next blog: The mosque in New York City

Fancifulfloyd's Fearless Forecasts (continued from last week) What do you think will happen in the future? Will I be close or way off in my guesses? Make up your own mind about whether these changes, if they come to pass, will be for the better or the worse.



Next 25 years: 2010-2035



Medical (Addendum to last week's predictions) Assumptions were made based on Obamacare becoming law. If Supreme Court finds it unconstitutional that people must buy the insurance or pay a fine, then the whole thing will come down like a house of cards. The Court may also, and should, find it totally unreasonable to use Interstate Commerce as the boat to float the requirement.


Society


Gay Marriage



Slam dunk by or before by 2011 in California; in the rest of the nation by or before 2025. There is growing public support and tide is turning in favor of gay marriage. Objections are generally being regarded as religious only. Supporters say religion should not stand in the way of, nor should Christians impose their views on, what supporters feel is a strictly civil matter . Many young people have a much more liberal attitude about this matter than their elders so the next generation will provide the final push.


Race Relations.


Anglos are usually singled out as the main source of racism and all other ethnic groups as the victims and objects of their disdain. Any honest observer can see that is not true. Racism is a two-way street. It is passed on from generation to generation and deeply embedded in all ethnic groups.



A possible solution would be for all 220 million people, who label themselves as 'Christian' to actually live out the Golden Rule as stated by Jesus. The situation is as complicated and defying of resolution as trying to get members of the Aryan Nation and the Black Panthers to peacefully co-exist. It does not help that the current attorney general of the U.S. did nothing when Black Panthers threatened white voters at a polling place. Did our president know of this and have a part in the decision to look the other way? Hmm.


Politicians and demagogues have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. To discredit them, some office seekers find it effective to brand opponents as racists. It doesn't have to be true; there will be plenty of people ready to believe it even without proof. Hucksters found they could make a very good living keeping the racial stew stirred up and served hot. The elite of our nation, who fancy themselves as the all-knowing intelligentsia, do their part in invoking history to create a sense of guilt for events none of us had anything to do with.


I think a possible remedy for racial antagonism is already underway. It lies in the inexorable movement of our nation away from being predominately white to predominately 'tan.' Interracial marriages are on the increase. They seem to have found acceptance and interracial marriage will be the vehicle which will carry the nation to 'tan-hood' and perhaps an end to the senseless strife of racism.

On the hand, racism may be so set in concrete that it won't be abolished until Jesus returns. Nevertheless, nation-wide tipping point of white to tan: around 2040.



More next week.

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Rosie O'Donnell recently said, "Fundamental Christianity is as dangerous as fundamental Islam." Really? Where did she get her information? I'd bet she doesn't know much about either one and it's my opinion she is more dangerous than either of them because of her lack of knowledge and she will soon have a talk show where she can spread this blather. Part of the reason for her astonishing statement is to call attention to the new talk show. Another part is she may actually believe what she said.

Far too many critics of Christianity see it as a hammer pounding on two nails: abortion and gay marriage. "Christians hate gays and women who have abortions." That is the message critics say they are getting and the one I think may be behind Rosie's statement and also being drilled into the mind of unbelievers. As if to reinforce that message, a misguided man claiming to be a Christian shot and killed an abortionist doctor.

What's happened to Jesus' message of love, peace, compassion and forgiveness? It is much more attractive and winsome than constantly harping on the negative.

As for Rosie: She has a right to say whatever she wants and I am a firm believer in the right of free speech. Pray that God will soften her heart and increase her spiritual wisdom. I don't feel any animosity toward her. Instead, I feel she is an unhappy and lonely person who needs Jesus in her life.

But, what do I know? My first wife answered that with, "Not much."

Fancifulfloyd's Bold Predictions.
(Not prophecies; only guesses based on trends, history and experience.)


The next 25 years: 2010-2035


Marijuana


Legal in California by or before 2015

Legal in other states (a few holdouts; Idaho, Utah, etc.) by or before 2020

Taxed like cigarettes creating a black market run by drug lords (dl)

In the meantime, violence escalates along the U.S.-Mex. border. U.S. border guards and ranchers and other citizens killed/kidnapped by dl, forcing our president to finally take military action. Bush is blamed. (Only kidding)
Drug gangs unite; they assassinate Mexican president in plan to take over Mexico.

Drug use will continue in the U.S. Stupidity cannot be wiped out. Besides, too many powerful and not so powerful people have financial interests in the continued flow of drugs.


TV and Movies

No limit on obscene language and full frontal nudity on TV (10 p.m. and later) and on R-rated movies to occur before 2025. Explicit sex acts will be allowed to be portrayed by 2035 on "premium" channels.
If you are thinking it could never happen you may not have noticed how those responsible for tv shows are constantly pushing back the borders of decency. If you're over 70 just think back to when toilet paper was advertised as 'bathroom tissue" because the word "toilet" was not allowed on tv. Jack Paar, host of the "Tonight Show" quit the show temporarily because he was not allowed to use the word "commode" in a skit. Young people, used to the coarse language of today, would not believe these restrictions ever existed. More recently, comedian George Carlin made a list of obscene words that he said could not be used on tv. He didn't live to see he was mistaken.
When I was a youngster I went to see "Gone With the Wind" when it first came to our little town. I can still remember the collective horrified gasp that came from the audience when Clark Gable said, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." Damn was not to be said in public.


Medical


30 million (or the real number) people who will receive med insurance under Obamacare will get care equal to Medicaid. There are not enough MD's now, nor will there be, to provide a higher level of care. There will be a dramatic increase in the number of Nurse Practioners (NP) in a ratio of at least 3 NPs for each physician. Patients will be seen by NPs; physicians will limit themselves to the more acute cases. Only very sick or injured patients will be allowed hospitalization. Cuts in Medicare, increases in premiums, will be made to help finance Obamacare, so Medicare patients will fare only slightly better. Patients will pay full cost of elective surgery.

More predictions next week.
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A recently ordained minister was scheduled to perform his first wedding. He consulted an older minister for advice. After going over the mechanics the older minister offered a word of warning. "Sometimes it happens that even the most seasoned minister will suddenly go completely blank during the service and forget what goes next. It helps to say a passage of scripture to get your mind get back on track."
Sure enough, it happened. While trying to reassemble his thoughts, the young minister spoke the first scripture passage that came to him, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do."
I don't know about others, but those words applied to me at my first wedding. I didn't know what I was doing. Still in the Navy, pitifully small savings, 20 years old, etc. My plans were to go to college and become an architect when I left the Navy. I had never even met an architect and had no realistic idea about what an architect did. Talk about clueless. I liked to draw so I felt that was all I needed to know. (After we know it all, what we learn becomes our real education.) Nothing prepared me for the reality of architectural practice: dealing with clients, budgets, contractors, deadlines, building committees, codes and government regulations, etc.
There are other areas of life where we comfortably believe we know what we need to know. I recently listened as a friend gave her testimony as part of the Sunday school lesson she was teaching. She had been raised in a Christian home, faithfully attended ss, church services and youth activities. When she became an adult she felt, she said, that she knew what it meant to be a Christian and was comfortable with her beliefs.
But then, still quoting her, she and her husband attended a Life in the Spirit seminar in our home and met the real Jesus. She gave me credit but I can't change anyone. I credit it completely to the work of the Holy Spirit who caused the spiritual life of she and her husband to change.
The reach of the Spirit is not limited. He can work anyplace to deliver an epiphany to us. Church, Sunday school, living room, at the kitchen sink (as happened to a friend of mine,) at a bar, while driving, reading, walking, etc.
God knows I don't mean to challenge anyone's Christianity. If you've confessed Christ as your savior and believe it in your heart, you are, according to scripture, a Christian. What ever is the state of your relationship with God is your business. I'm saying some people bop along thinking they have this Christian thing nailed and then, because they are prompted by the Spirit to know more of Jesus, their spiritual eyes are opened. There is always more of Jesus for us to know. All we need is the desire.
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

Psalm 91:10, 11


"No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."
Some years ago a home security salesman called to see if I might have an interest in having a security system installed at my house. I told him I already had such a system; that there was an angel with a flaming sword standing guard at every door and window of my house.
There was a pause and then he said, "Oh?" Another pause, he thanked me and hung up.

What he thought of the angel bit I have no way of knowing. Obviously he was not expecting such an answer. But I wasn't kidding or just trying to brush him off. I meant it. Is it practical to rely on God to provide guardian angels? No; electronic security systems are practical. Would I advise anyone to do as I have done? No. Everyone must make their own decision. However, I believe it is not, as a dear friend of mine would say, "a heaven or hell" proposition.

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I recently celebrated my 85th birthday with most of my family. They came from Hot Springs, Dallas, Lubbock and Tyler for the day. What a great treat for me to have 2 of my 3 children, my grandchildren and all 6 of my great-grand children (all under 5 yrs) plus in-laws. All of the adults are Christians. God has blessed me without measure. My son and his wife live in Colorado and could not attend..

If anyone were to ask me what it feels like to be old, I would tell them they would have to ask someone else, because I don't know.

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If it were announced that the method of executing criminals would henceforth be changed to drilling a hole in the back of the person's head and then vacuuming out their brain, what do you think would be the public reaction? Outrage, surely. It won't happen of course. The law protects criminals from "cruel and unusual punishment." But it is not all that unusual because
approximately 3000 times a year this is the method used for partial-birth abortion. After emerging from the mother and with its head still in the birth canal, the baby is killed by the doctor by inserting a sharp instrument into its skull and the brain is vacuumed out. A living being with a beating heart and every right to live is killed. Apparently if the baby was fully delivered and then killed it would be murder. But, as long as the baby remains partially in the mother it is called a fetus and when killed it is only considered abortion. Those in favor of abortion maintain that a fetus has no rights until it is fully delivered.
Even unwanted animals receive better and more humane treatment from veterinarians.
Barbara Boxer, California congresswoman with San Francisco in her district, says that a fetus can only be considered a baby when it leaves the hospital.
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Mark 11;22-24
"So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast in the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe you receive them and you will have them."
What a magnificent promise! Often overlooked or skipped because it sounds too good to be true.
Is this just pie in the sky? Does Jesus really mean this or is he just teasing us? No empty words ever issued from the lips of Jesus. Not a single one. His words are truth and life. and completely reliable. Believe this and you will live.
He begins the promise with an absolute requirement for its fulfillment: Have complete, unwavering trust in God. Believe without doubt that God can do what to us seems impossible.
One of the best descriptions of faith is this, "Walking to the edge of all the light you have and taking one more step." If we don't believe that God is omnipotent, gracious and responds to our prayers with unbounded love there's no use going any further because our words will only bounce off the ceiling. So, let us take our mustard seed of faith and go to the Throne of Grace.
What ever 'mountain' we saw before us, whatever obstacle or decision, etc. we now view from the perspective of faith. We see the 'mountain' reduced by the power of God to the point that it disappears and in its place is the clear answer to our prayer. Spiritually we have already received our request. Faith accepts the answer as already accomplished even though the manifestation may take place in the future. As an evangelist said, "That should make an Egyptian mummy shout halleluja!"
After we have prayed in faith and accepted that our prayer has been answered we should keep our spiritual eyes open for signs that our answer is being unveiled.
When we are confronted with troubles or difficult decisions our first reaction is to worry. I say again: Since the dawn of time, worry has not solved a single problem. What it does do is paralyze us with indecision.
Jesus had much to say about worry. The main thing he said about it is: "Don't!" Instead trust in the omnipotence of God even though this is counter to our sense of self-reliance and, some would say, common sense.

Dear Readers; No blog this week and maybe for the next few weeks. I will be concentrating on my paintings for a while.
Fancifulfloyd

As I plod my 2 mile walk at our church's Christian Life Center track, every other walker passes me. I joke that once I was in a race where I was the only contestant but I'm so slow I still came in second. Hey; I'm grateful I can still walk. I also use the time to think about subjects for upcoming blogs.

I thought this morning that if you live long enough you're going to see most things at least twice. Fashions, for example, and other areas of design and art which seem to cycle every decade or so. Some things my take longer. Colors of the 70's, once so popular (turquoise, chartreuse, etc.) and now considered to be just this side of hideous, will reappear someday as the must-have NEW COLORS! All it would take is for some celebrity like Martha to make the declaration and her countless devoted followers would fall in line. I hope that someday ladies will again wear hats and white gloves. My wife greeted that idea with thumbs down. LaNell said if men had to wear hats and white gloves I wouldn't think it would be so charming.
Past political solutions proposed to solve national problems is another area that gets recycled. Our president, who is a rank amateur at governing and who has proved the adage told to children for many years, that anyone can grow up to be president, seems to have looked to FDR for guidance in solving some of our current problems. Although FDR was a seasoned politician and former governor of New York, very little of what he did made any improvement during the Depression. His Progressive advisers offered many noble proposals for the betterment of society. Some became law but most simply made the central government bigger and more bureaucratic as will Obamacare. Progressives find the Constitution a nuisance and are constantly trying to get around it or undermine it in order to further their agenda.
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In connection with last week's blog on security I offer this poem I wrote years ago:

Security

Some souls float on the surface of life,
Content to drift with the tide.
Others, afraid of venturing too far,
Find secluded coves and hide

They shall come down to the evening of life
Wishing they had been more bold.
Fearful of getting too close to the fire,
They end being out in the cold.

Don't worry what others are thinking,
Be your very own woman or man,
Cast off your line from safe harbor;
Live to the fullest you can.

Don't waste the gold of hours;
Too soon our sky is the sod.
Don't trade freedom for safety,
There's security only in God.

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 New King James

Fame and fortune are just not what they're cracked up to be. Exhibits: Al and Tipper Gore, Sandra Bullock and former husband Jesse James, etc. No amount of money or acclaim can assure anyone protection from disappointment, sorrow, illness and, ultimately, death which the Greek poet Euripides said is, "The debt we all must pay."

For some the inevitability of death, and the mistaken notion that this life is all there is, urges them to cram as many pleasures as possible into their lives; experiences that may be moral or , if that doesn't do the trick, immoral. Hey; What ever it takes. They must be constantly involved and in motion. To slow down, to think about where they are going and why they exist might cause them to face the fact that they are mortal like everyone else and they will have to "pay the price." This activity, this never-ending search for pleasure erroneously referred to as "living life to the fullest," can be compared to a duck gliding smoothly on the surface of the water but out of sight beneath the water his feet are churning furiously. How often that could be applied to men and women, of all ages, who seem to have it all together on the outside but inside are frightened children, dismayed and disappointed in their fruitless search for meaning, love, peace and satisfaction. They desperately struggle to find them in drugs and/or at the bottom of a bottle; looking for love and security in all the wrong places. One of the descriptions of Ernest Hemingway, the famous author, included that he knew how to "live life to the fullest." Yet, he was plagued by self-doubt and spiritual bankruptcy and so finally committed suicide.

No one has to have my permission to live however they wish. I haven't done the best job with my own life. But I would suggest that no life can truly be full if the fear of death is constantly lurking nearby. Hiding that fear in the shadows doesn't erase the reality of death. Wouldn't it be immeasurably better to be free from fear? To have a real sense of security in whatever situation that comes against us? To know that whether in life or death we belong to Christ?
Of course.

Real security is formed neither in our physical nor in our emotional being; it was formed in our spiritual being when we accepted the free gift of God in Christ's sacrifice at the Cross. Unfortunately, after we have accepted this precious gift we may not have known what to do next. Too often we are cast adrift without true biblical teaching, directions for study, fellowship with mature Christians or an understanding of the spiritual gifts that came with our salvation. We may not have been told, taught or found for ourselves in the Scriptures that we have been set free in Christ. "If the Son sets you free you are free indeed." Part of that promise is the freedom from fear. "God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind." Time after time Jesus said, "Fear not." ("Don't be afraid.")

Listen to St. Paul, "Since we, God's children, are human beings--made of flesh and blood--he became flesh and blood too by being born in human form; for only as a human being could he die and in dying break the power of the devil who had the power of death. Only in that way could he deliver those who through fear of death have been living lives as slaves to constant dread." Hebrews 2:14, 15 LB

Read Romans:8:31-39. Here are verses 35-39 LB:
"Who then can ever keep Christ's love from us? When we have trouble or calamity, when we are hunted down and destroyed, is it because he doesn't love us anymore? And if we are hungry, or penniless, or in danger, or threatened with death, has God deserted us?
"No, for the Scriptures tell us that for his sake we must be ready to face death every moment of the day----we are like sheep awaiting slaughter; but despite all this, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us enough to die for us. For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels won't and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God's love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, or where we are---high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean---nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us."

Freedom and security; Christ died so you and I could have them. We must not drive more spikes into Christ by refusing what his blood has bought. Freedom and security; they're a package deal. Please; don't be timid of spirit. Grab the package and run! It's yours. Embrace it in your spirit as the ancient Rabbis would dance with the Torah! To God be the glory.