How To Turn Garbage Into Rubble.

Back in the depression era, my family was barely making ends meet. With three small boys in "1 day bed," housed in the same room with mom and dad, made for some difficult nights. When I was, dunno, three or perhaps four, I experienced night mares quite a bit. My dad worked in a dairy and had to get up very early, and my night mares didn't help his nerves much. However, at that young age I do remember blaming the night mares on the devil. One particular night mare I recall even today, although my memory has faded quite a bit since then was of a nation in rubble. The reason I vividly recall it might be linked to the fact that it occurred more than once. Even at that time, with whatever ability of understanding I had, I felt the nation in question was America.

Today, we see America in a time of mockery and complacency, ignoring the warnings of many years gone by. No one would argue that the depression of the 30's & 40's was merely a foreshadow of what we are seeing now or about to see. Many in those days thought the German dictator was the anti-Christ and Bible scholars were in hot pursuit of connecting the dots. Howbeit, one major piece of the puzzle was missing at that time. The prophecy of the Jew returning to his/her homeland had yet to occur.

At our time in history, it is agreed to by many scholars that most of the pieces are in place and the stage is set. Much like Israel, America also had a role to play in both history and Bible prophecy. As the homeland for the Jews (God's chosen people) by whom God said He would bless the nations; God set it aside and blessed America to become a homeland for Gentiles from every nation (founded on Judeo-Christian principles) for the purpose of blessing other nations.

However, much like Israel, America became so prosperous through God's blessings that it said: "God, we don't need you anymore." "We are rich, in need of nothing." Get out of our courtrooms and sporting events. Get out of our graduating ceremonies and classrooms. Sure we believe in free speech, but don't mention God or Jesus to us or we will single you as a hate monger.

We Americans are a civilized people. We would never do anything barbaric to babies. We would never reward the guilty and tax the innocent. We would never say, "Thou shalt not kill" is offensive to anyone."We would never turn a confessed killer loose to society on a technicality. We would never allow any marriage to occur other than what has been the norm since the beginning of time. We would never give our government's taxpayer money to any group that commits voter fraud. That's just who we are, and because we are a righteous nation in our own eyes, we do not need a God to tell us what to do.

I never have zeroed in on what the rubble in those night mares were. I do know that America has a lot of excess garbage that needs to be cleaned up. But, we can always just pass that along to the next generation and let them deal with it. And if that don't work, perhaps some day the garbage will become so large it will simply turn into rubble. Dunno, just wondering.

A First Time Interview With Satan

I would not wish this on anyone considering this critter's fate. Nevertheless, walk with me for a brief period to peer inside such a warped mind. My hope is to conjure up some inkling of what might make such a being tick.

If I were Satan, I would already know certain things about people. After all, I have been around them for about 6000 years. I know their desires and the things they will accept. I know how to entice them to believe questionable issues. You must realize I had a lot to learn. Apparently I came on too strong before the big flood.

I have since learned to ease into things and be more persuasive. Oh sure I lost out to Job, Jesus and those others, but that was all in the learning process. I have come a long way since then. Look at all I have accomplished just within the last 60 years. You my friend should be proud of me. I am proud of myself. Oh, don't believe that pride goeth before destruction stuff in the Bible. That is a bunch of lies. You need to listen to me; I will take you places -- hah, hah, hah.

Take the case of prayer in schools back in 1962. It did not take a genius to realize what would happen if prayer was taken out of schools. That's right; the next step was to take God out of schools and then out of everywhere else. Since the parents were not teaching about God at home, they would never hear about Him. That is why schools now teach there is no God and generations have and will continue to pass that down to their children's children. As an added bonus, they now teach sex in schools, my favorite subject, even to small children. I pride myself with that achievement. After all, Jesus called me the prince of this world. Remember, He never disputed me when I showed and offered Him all the kingdoms of this world if He would bow down to me. You can be sure I would never have given them to Him if He did bow to me. You know, He once called me the father of lies -- ha, ha.

Back in 1973, I was able to earn a landmark Supreme Court chalk-one-up-for-me victory. Also back in the 70's and 80's, I set the stage for another group to become bolder and more visible. Then in 2004, I convinced people to turn a godly President into one of the most disliked Presidents ever? All I had to do was persuade people that 4000 troops who volunteered, and who were eager and willing to die for their country in Iraq was exceedingly more important than 80,000,000 innocent babies who have died involuntarily. Yeah, it is no longer like the old days; I find my job so much easier anymore. All I had to do in the 2008 election year was to tell the younger voters the government would give them everything if they voted for the right candidate. Hee, hee - boy did they get fooled - I guess that's why they call me the great deceiver, huh? The last election I changed everything around. I turned one side into haters just like me. They don't know it is me doing it because they don't even know I exist because the never read the Bible.

Look at all the ways available today to infiltrate peoples minds; drugs, music, radio, TV, computers, religions -- yes, religions. I have invented so many of them to add to their confusion. I even concocted religions that believe in Jesus; however, I have made Him anything but the Son of God. I thought that was clever too - ha, ha. Hey, have you also noticed that more people than ever are looking forward to the day that honors me, Halloween. I have almost assured them that Christmas is bad and Halloween is good.

Don't let this leak out, but my main project today is to confuse, distort and make people believe the Bible is full of lies. I know I have been doing that for centuries, but this is a big push for today. Huh - you ask me why? Certainly you jest. The Bible makes me tremble. Between me and you and the gate post, I know it is the true Word of God. In the past I watched as God gave certain men words to write about what He wanted people to know. I also watched those men as they did so with great painstaking detail and care. Yes, the Bible is my biggest hindrance to keeping people on my side. Remember, I only come to kill, steal and destroy. How can I do that if the Bible takes people from me and sets them free? I don't like that. That's why I put doubts in their hearts about things. People get confused very easily.

Let me clue you in on a little secret of mine. It's not what I say, but how I say it. I tell my people all the time -- don't say, "Jesus is not the only way." Say it with a question like this, "Is Jesus really the only way?" See how that puts doubt in their heart. Do you remember when I used that on Eve in the Garden? -- Oh, you were not there. Anyway, I said to Eve, "Did God really say, you shall not surely die?" I look back on that all the time. That was funny because besides making her sin, I also took away the earthly dominion authority from man. That's why I am the prince of this world. The best part to this whole thing is I have people thinking that other people are their problem. They don't know, it's really me -- ha, ha.

My long-range goal now is to take the heavenly kingdom authority away from God. All I need to do is change one of His biblical truths into a lie and God will be under my authority, because I am the father of lies. That means I will be the father -- hah, hah, hah. Well, back to work. I must get all those who follow me to keep all those other people from becoming thinkers. Once they realize I have been deceiving them all along, I might lose them to the other side. Oh my lord, I must be off -- bye.

Has the Immoral Minority Overtaken the Moral Majority?

With the Presidential Election coming up, I have republished this blog in light of the times. Even after the people have voted for their candidate of choice, this article will be relevant as the people have made the decision of whose moral values they wish to follow.

Sin is a word most people hate to hear, let alone be accused of committing. The Bible declares tears do not exist in heaven, but the late Reverend Jerry Falwell must be fighting them back. The morals in today's society have plummeted to an all-time low. Has Reverend Falwell's Moral Majority army of the 1980's and 90's now become the Moral Minority? With the past several elections over, Americans selected whom they desired as their leaders. Did they vote for someone with strong moral principles, someone who would guide us with wisdom of God's Word and His will for our nation, or did they risk placing our nation in jeopardy. The voter must realize that when someone votes for a candidate, he is agreeing with that candidate's platform? In other words, the voter embraces any immoral viewpoints, which his candidate may have.

Perhaps the biggest tragedy in America is the attempt to rid God from every venue of life. Each Christmas season that evidence becomes more evident. However, a close second, is one that must bring even God to tears -- abortion. For any clear thinking individual to dare compare the tragedy of abortion to any war we fight is a tragedy in itself. What the poll show at the time of this writing is that between 65 to 70 percent of Americans agree that the issue of abortion either does not matter anymore, or a woman should have the right to abortion anytime she desires and at any age she happens to be. Moreover, the polls also show something else. What do you suppose is more important than the issue of abortion? That's right, the good old root of all evil -- the pocketbook. The candidate who can promise the most entitlements gets the cherished endorsement.

I hate to be the bearer of doom-and-gloom, but as a thinker and a realist, I no longer see a silver lining in the clouds anymore. The fringes surrounding America's future are showing right now. Today foreclosures are out of control, oil prices are gushing skyward, food prices are hard to swallow, medical cost make you sick, all the while the dollar keeps declining. Notice, the one thing we want to protect is the very item being affected -- the pocketbook.

Today's abortion issue is merely one among many moral issues that needs fixing. Throughout history, we have had watchmen like Noah, Jonah and others who warned of impending danger and the need to repent. Yet, many times the warnings were ignored, while at other times, including 9/11 and Katrina, everyone was caught off guard and by surprise. Are we living in a period of time, which is repeating the warnings of the past? Could another impending disaster be looming round the corner? Have we paddled beyond the river of no return? Is there still gold at the end of the rainbow?

These are questions we seek answers to, but another question each of us must ask ourselves -- "What matters most, my pocketbook or my morals?" Your vote will tell exactly where you stand. As I see it, if America's morals are not right, the American dream will become the American nightmare. Maybe, just maybe, Jerry Falwell and the Moral Right were right after all.

Is America Going To Pot?

In the late '50's, '60's & early '70's, a dictator by the name of Nikita Khrushchev ruled over the Soviet Union. Watching television one day, several years before I became a Christian, I remember vividly watching that man make a startling statement and wondering what he meant by it or how such a thing could happen in America. As he pounded his shoe on the podium, he said in so many words, "We will bury you." "We will not fire a shot." "America will die from within."

That was 5 decades ago, and within the past few years we see his prophecy coming to pass. Communists have encroached the executive branch and without doubt, the other two branches of government. Laws are being made today to promote lifestyles and other issues that in the '50's and '60's would be unthinkable and shocking.

It was one of Khrushchev's predecessors, Vladimir Lenin, who realized the possibility of changing the values of a culture and set it on a course to the desired direction, by teaching its values early on to the children. He said, "Give me four years to teach the children and that seed will never be uprooted." The first step in that endeavor for America occurred soon after Khrushchev's remarks, when in 1962 the Supreme Court sided with one atheistic woman against the will of millions of Americans by removing prayer from the schools. To see the results of that ruling, view one of my earlier blogs by clicking here.

That event happened over 50 years ago, much longer than the four years to change the minds of our children. Many children from that era have grandchildren and great-grandchildren in this generation. A great percentage of them reared without any teaching of God as noted by the explosion of atheism in today's society.

Is America really going to pot or have its citizens merely lost direction? It seems Khrushchev and Lenin were both right. Oh by the way, Lenin also made another statement that seems to fall right into line with what America is facing in society and government today. He is quoted as saying, "A lie told often enough becomes the truth."

Not to take sides, the Church must also shoulder as much of the blame. When we, as a called out people, will humble ourselves and pray and seek God's face and turn from our wicked ways, then He will hear from heaven and forgive our sins and heal our land. Although I believe we are beyond the point of no return, this passage from 2 Chronicles 7:14 is still valid, if not more so.

One final Scripture for the Church living in a decaying culture of today, is this one from Titus filled with hope for tomorrow:

• "Looking for that blessed hope,and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." - (Titus 2:14) To God be the glory.

Is the road getting rough to travel? -- Have you decided to throw in the towel?

President's day is viewed by some as just another day off. Although gone for now, that day will come around again next year. Still, it is fitting that we set aside a day to honor a handful of 45 men. These 45 special men were selected and elected by a process and privilege, which we in the United States enjoy. That process says, we want this one man (or woman) to represent us as a nation. One individual with power and authority to lead and guide our country in many areas of decisions.

Over the years, we have been blessed with godly men who took charge to keep this nation strong and free. Presidents who were not afraid to call upon God for guidance and wisdom, and to use that wisdom even when it went against the grain of opposition. When I think of these men who took charge of this nation, one such man comes into mind more than any other.

A man whose odds of becoming president were so great, you wonder why he even kept trying. He was born into a very poor family. At 7 years of age, his family was forced out of their home and this boy had to work to support them. At age 9, this shy backwards boy's mother died. At age 22, he lost his job as a store clerk. He wanted to attend law school, but his education simply was not good enough. At age 23, he went into debt to be a partner in a store, but 3 years later, his partner died leaving him with a huge debt. At age 28, a 4-year romantic relationship with a young lady ended when she turned down his marriage proposal. Still, an earlier courtship ended in heartache with her death. At age 37, after a third try, he finally became elected to congress, but 2 years later failed to win reelection. At the same time, it was observed that he had what many today would call a nervous breakdown. At age 41, adding to the heartaches of an already unhappy marriage, his 4 year old son died. At age 42, he was rejected for land officer. At age 45, he ran for the Senate and lost. At age 47, He was defeated for Vice Presidential nominee. At age 49, he again ran for the Senate and lost.

Can you imagine how he was probably criticized, misunderstood, had periods of depression, and snubbed by his colleagues - certainly he was not the envy of his peers. Nevertheless, in spite of all his heartaches and setbacks, he did not let it deter him. He kept going forward, not looking back. Thankfully, he did not give up, because at age 51, he was elected to the highest office of President of the United States.

You have probably guessed who this man was. Defeated repeatedly by personal, business and political failures, yet he never gave up. Born in a log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809, next year marks the 200th anniversary of his birth. Shot in the head by an assassin's bullet on Good Friday, he died the next day on April 15, 1865.

Abraham Lincoln, who became perhaps the most revered of all Presidents, never gave up when circumstances were against him. He kept his focus on the good until he won the prize. There is a prize awaiting you too. Paul the Apostle declared in the Epistle of Philippians - His desire is to know Jesus and counted all things as dung that he might win Christ. "Forgetting those things, which are behind, I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Just as Abraham Lincoln did not give up at 7 years old, 9 years old, 22, 23, 28, 37, 41, 42, 47, 49 years old amidst failures and heartaches and attained the prize of President; and, as Paul pressed on until he reached his mark of his high calling; we too must set our sights toward and endeavor to persevere in our quest of reaching the highest office that anyone could ever reach - not as President of the United States, but as kings and priest in the house of our God in Christ Jesus forever.