No! It's not caused by Global Warming...

   Recently Governor Brown gave a speech at a news conference on the Camp Fire in California.  Here he spent much of his time placing the blame for the fire on Global Warming and used his speech to instill fear into us to get on board his agenda to control the climate.

   But sorry Mr Brown... the disastrous blaze in Northern California know as the "Camp Fire" was not caused by Global Warming.  The problem isn't a mysterious Boogie-man you try to use to push your agenda.

   The problem was caused by 3 main agents:

1)  Environmentalists
2)  Unions
3)  Lawyers

First the Environmentalists.   These people put pressure on California back in the 70's to end the clear-cutting of timber.   This has caused the over-growth of trees in our state and because our forestry service has done it's job of stopping the smaller fires, the uncut timber has become a ticking time-fire-bomb.   Trees do not last forever.   They, like everything else, die naturally and when they do they carpet the forest floor with dead and dry wood.  This wood, if not removed will pile up and become extremely flammable.   Once started, there is no stopping it.

The Unions played their part in this fiasco because over the years PG&E lineman have become overpaid.  Simple linemen can earn over $200K per year and a high voltage lineman can earn over $300K.    They also have large fully-funded pensions that include full medical and dental for life and also a 401K on the side that PG&E matches dollar for dollar.   These unions have forced PG&E to cut back on staff and have made it too expensive for them to replace their dying infrastructure. These power lines (some of which were only meant to be "temporary" ) are now falling apart.   These power line provide the "spark" to light the ticking-fire-bomb in our state.  We are foolish to think that all these high voltage lines can just live on forever.   They will eventually crumble and light more and more dangerous fires.   As proof that PG&E knows this is the problem, they have set up plans to shut off the power during certain conditions of high humidity and WIND.   That is the only solution PG&E has to address the problem.  It is CHEAPER for them to lose money by shutting of the power (can't charge people for power you didn't deliver) than it is to FIX their aging equipment.

Finally we have the lawyers.  All these disasters are followed by huge lawsuits levied against PG&E by the insurance companies.  Because they don't want to be held holding the bag on these burnt homes they go after PG&E to offset the cost.  But in the end, that leaves PG&E with even LESS money to fund fixing the problem.   This becomes a perfect storm in which everyone will be hurt in the end. 

California will continue to see increasing amounts of catastrophic fires in the coming years if this is not addressed.  The answer to the problem is not moving to Solar Panels.  The answer is two pronged.

First we must allow the timber industry to clear cut again.  This will remove the old growth and also provide fire-breaks that will stop future fires from ravaging uncontrolled.   We cannot continue to allow them to grow unchecked.  Before modern fire control, mother nature took care of it by periodically cleaning up the forests.   But now we don't let that happen.   Clear-cutting is our best alternative.  The wood in our forests will be used for something, we might as well put it to some GOOD use.   Right now it's only use is to devastate our citizens and fill our skies with smoke.

Next, we have to get PG&E to improve and update their aging lines.   Because of the current situation and how much it needs to be done quickly, the Governor should call out the National Guard to work along side of PG&E to assist in getting this much needed work done quickly and cheaply.

The Scientific Model doesn't make MATHEMATICAL sense

    People often don't realize, but there is really only ONE mathematical function in the universe.   and that function is none other than ADDITION.    Addition is the source function (or building block function) for all other functions. 

    Subtraction?        Addition of negative numbers

                                 Example:   4 - 3  =  4 + (-3)  = 1

    Multiplication?   Iterative Addition. 

                                Example:  4x3 = 3 + 3 + 3 + 3   OR  4 + 4 + 4

    Division?           Iterative Addition of negative numbers. 

                                 Example: How many times can you -3 to 12 ?  Answer: 4

    and so forth...

    Everything essentially boils down to to this function.

    And yet, when scientists try to explain why the Universe exists they wants us to believe that

                                                              0 + 0 = 1.  

They implore us to accept that something comes out of nothing.   Of course you can point to a myriad of complex functions that explain HOW the universe works, but that in no way explains WHY it is here at all.

    Science actually follows an ancient faulty method of thinking that was found in Egyptian Mythology.  In the Egyptian story of creation, Ra , the Sun god,  comes out of the Nile because Ra says,  "I knew my own name!".   This is the same faulty view used by scientists today that believe the Universe pulls itself out of nothing because the equations tell it do so.  But like any person who looks at the story of Ra, one cannot call themselves forth unless they first exists to call themselves forth.  The same goes with the scientific view.  The equations that govern the universe (and "create" it), cannot exist if the universe that they govern, does not first exist.  It's much like having automobile traffic laws BEFORE there are automobiles. It is also important to understand that having equations that describe how a universe works does not answer the more pressing question of WHY it works this way.  This is the "slight of hand" that most physicists do when discussing the beginning of the universe.  They say they will can explain why we are here but in the end of their thesis they have only explained how the universe functions and how it may have reached its current state of existence

   Genesis actually makes more logical sense.  It says,

                                  God + 0 = Universe.

   Here the equation can actually be balanced and make some numerical sense (if numbers is your thing).   The laws are created to govern the universe at the same time as the universe is created. Of course many will then ask, "Where does GOD come from?" to which the Christian can only reply, "From Eternity".    This is where none of us humans can possibly understand at any level.   We cannot fathom a world without time.   Even in movies like "Interstellar" which tries to bend our understanding of time, we cannot grasp its powerful hold on our lives.   God is outside that realm and no set of events can hold him or contain him.

Was Jesus a Socialist?

   I heard a story a while back in which a professor at a university made an astonishing statement that Jesus himself was a Socialist.   Granted, socialism didn't come about for about another 1800 years or so after Jesus ascension, but would Jesus have thrown his hat (or tunic) in with the Socialist crowd if he was around today?

   The idea stems from Jesus concern for the poor and downtrodden and that if Jesus was living on earth today he would want to align himself with others who also appear to be concerned with the poor and downtrodden.

But is that the case? 

   Looking at Jesus teachings we might come away with a different view.   Jesus words can be divided into 2 categories:  Parables (teachings) and Conversations (discussions).   Let's take a look at each of these and see if they align with a Socialist view or a Capitalist view.

Parables
   Jesus many parables use different groups of people to illustrate God's relationship to us and how we should relate to him and others.   Here are the different parables and the groups of people used to show our releationship

Lost Sheep :  Shepherd (God) , Sheep (us)
Lost Coin:    Woman (God),  lost coin (us)
Pearl of Great price:  Merchant (God), Pearl (us)
Hidden Treasure in a field:   Seeker (God),  treasure (us)
Workers in the Vineyard:  Owner (God), workers (us)
Vineyard and the renters :   Owner (God) , renters (us)
Prodigal Son : Father (God), sons (us)
The Giving of the Talents:   King (God), servants (us)
The Wedding Feast:   King (God the Father) , Son (God the Son), servants (us) , people (world)

In every case shown above the "owner" is God and he is always shown in a positive light.  The workers are often shown in a negative light as they are often shown to be "grumbling" (dissatisfied) or murderous and treacherous (killing the Son in the Parable of the Vineyard and the renters.  The owner is often shown to be generous and loving.   In the case of the Vineyard and the Workers, he gives the same amount of money to all the workers despite how many hours they worked in the field.   This would be the same as a business owner paying unequal wages to his workers. (not very Socialist).   In the story of the Giving of the Talents, the king gives his wealth to his servants in UNEQUAL amounts.   He gives 5000 to one, 3000 to another and 1000 to the third.  When he comes back the only one who gets chastised is the one who BURIED his wealth and did nothing with it.  If Jesus was a Socialist would he berate a person for not gaining wealth?   Wouldn't he berate the ones who doubled their wealth and not sharing with the guy who didn't do anything?

What about his Parable of the Good Samaritan?  Doesn't that point to Socialism?  Since the man who showed compassion on the injured person ,who was robbed and beaten, picked him and cared for him.  Doesn't that point to Socialism?   Looking closely at the parable, however, we do see somethings that don't line up with this view.  First of all, the Samaritan uses his own wealth to help and care for the man who is near death.   He uses his own oil and wine to clean his wounds, puts him on his own donkey and carries him to an inn and pays for his further care.   He doesn't round up people and go after the people who passed this man buy to get them to pay for his care.   This is where using this story to support "Jesus is a Socialist" view runs off the rails.

So in terms of his Parables, I think we can say that Jesus connection with the Socialist would be a big stretch of the imagination.

Conversations (discussions)
   So one, might argue that his Parables are just spring boards for his teachings and we can't see much into his view of how we ought to be towards each other.  For example, Jesus is asked a question about paying taxes to Caesar.   Jesus says, "Give unto Caesar that which is Caesars and give unto God that which is Gods!".    Here Jesus shows us that as his followers we should "give" to whoever that asks us.  If the government asks for our money we should give it and if God has need of our money then we should give it too. 

Socialism and Capitalism are the same....sort of

    It's interesting how 2 very different ideas can find a common ancestry at their core when you look at them.  On their outsides they operate very differently.   Socialism is about control whereas Capitalism is about no control.   But on their insides, they both operate from the same basic human instinct....

GREED

   Greed is inherent in every human being.  Whether you come from an evolutionary direction or from a religious one.   An evolutionist would tell you that greed is a basic form of self protection and preservation.   The human doesn't know when or where their next meal is coming from, so it's better to "stock up" just in case there is a famine coming.   A religious person will tell you that greed is part of the human sinful condition.  The soul wants more for itself and nothing for their neighbor.  Whichever your view, greed is a common thread in all of us.

   But what makes the 2 "-isms" so different, is what you combine it with.   Like in chemistry where

         Sodium (Na)   + Chlorine (Cl) = SALT (NaCl) which the body needs to function.
         Hydrogen (H) + Chlorine (Cl) = Hydochloric Acid (HCl) which is a poison.

So also, it's not the GREED that is necessarily wrong but instead it's what you combine it with. 

  Capitalism combines greed + industriousness = a better world.    Under capitalism you get computers, phones, car, airplanes,  new materials, different kinds of food, and the list goes on..

   Socialism, on the other hand, combines  greed + laziness = theft.    Rather than creating new products and services it merely takes from those who are perceived to have too much and gives it to others it perceives as being more in need of it. 

  Socialism cannot  ever exist on its own.   It must live on the back of the Capitalist in order to survive.   Like a "sucker-fish" that lives its entire life stuck to the side of shark so also Socialism merely rides along taking what it wants without earning it.   Time and time again, we have seen socialist societies die after their parent organism stops providing for it.

What about Democratic Socialism?

  Is Democratic Theft more acceptable than plain old regular Theft?   What if we all voted to have your house ransacked?  Would that make you feel better about having your house broken into?  Democratic Socialism is really nothing new and has already been tried many times before.   The famous Greek philosopher, Plato, once said,  "Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner!".     This could not better illustrate the GREED + LAZINESS factors in Socialism.   The 2 wolves will undoubtedly be wanting more food for themselves (greed) and will want to gain that food using the least amount of energy to do it (laziness).   The same holds true today.  In my opinion, nothing can be more lazy than casting a ballot saying "I WANT MORE!" for a party that will promise you "MORE". 

But don't some people have too much?

   Yes, that may seem to be so.   That is the one danger of Capitalism.   But there is one corrective force in the world that limits this behavior.    That force is of course "death".   It corrects the distribution in 2 major ways.   First of all, none of us is "taking it with us".    Accumulated wealth is often redistributed shared because of death.  Even before the person dies, often they are engaging in lots of philanthropy to either quiet a bothered conscience or to some how insure their name will not be forgotten when they leave this earth.  Whatever the cause, the wealth gets broken down and shared with those who didn't earn it.   Buildings are built, parks are erected, foundations are created, research is funded and scholarships are awarded. 

   But this is not just something that the Uber-rich can afford to do either.   Even my wife and I have had many opportunities to benefit the poor from our "excess".   In recent years, my wife and I have decided to downsize our living arrangement now that our kids are living on their own.   I have made countless trips to Good Will and Salvation Army to unload the many items we have purchased over the years that we no longer have any need of in our lives.   We have given away, beds, dressers, bikes, computers, TVs, tons of cloths, shoes, coats, chairs, and the list goes on.   I estimate that if I had held on to all those items, my 3 car garage would be filled to the ceiling.  Right now, there are countless people out there using items we purchased at full price and are now using free of charge.   Right now those people are benefiting from our "excess". 

Separating the HOLY from the PROFANE

   You have probably seen the news articles about how the Catholic Church ignored problems regarding pedophile priests who preyed upon countless children over several decades.   It has even been reported that there is even a group of homosexual priests who have helped cover each others tracks that have infiltrated the church as well.   The church chose to ignore complaints about these men and are now paying the price.   Why did they choose to ignore?  Only God knows!   Maybe because in the modern era it's hard to recruit men to stay celibate for their entire life and they felt forced to take any and all applicants.  Maybe it was because they couldn't come to grips that leaders in their church could be so vile and the resulting court cases it might bring about on them.  Maybe it was a little of both.  What ever the cause, the effect is destructive none the less.

   Previously I wrote a blog called "Bowling for Sinners!" in which I show how Satan uses leaders to take out a whole host of sinners in one swoop.  Jesus told the disciples before he was to be crucified, "It is written, Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter!".   While he was speaking of his own death to come, I think he was also sending a message to his disciples to be on guard as well.   Their actions can cause the scattering of many of God's flock that they have been entrusted with.  He was informing them that they will have a big target on their backs by Satan to do the most damage....so BEWARE!

   We have all said (or heard it said), "How can a person who claims to be a Christian do such a thing?"   Usually this is followed with, "IF that is what it means to be a Christian then I don't want to have anything to do with it!".   Our problem is that as humans we have a problem of separating the holy from the profane.  We forget that we has humans are all sinners and we seriously mess things up no matter how holy it is.   It's like the GEICO commercial with the sloth playing Pictionary.   The tag line is , "If you're a sloth, you move slowly.   It's what you do!".  In the same manner we might say,

"If you are human, you mess things up.  It's what you do!".

   Let's take the US Constitution for example.   Most would say it was the greatest document ever devised by man.  It promotes the right to speak, the right to assemble, the right to believe, the right to print, the right to not be detained without a warrant or to have your possessions taken from you.  All of these are great ideals, but too often we fall short.   Take for example what President Roosevelt did during WWII.  FDR imprisoned citizens with Japanese ancestry unlawfully during the war because we had a fear they would not be loyal to our country.  Does this mean that the Constitution is flawed?  Of course not!   In fact, these problems only enhance it's need in our lives.  It shows us to be flawed humans who need to be reigned in and held accountable.   It's not the Constitution that needs to be changed, but our hearts and minds.  We later paid the survivors reparations for our misdeeds.

   Likewise, the issue of the pedophiles in the Catholic church should not take away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but in the eyes of those who are outside of the church it does.   Satan does quite a number on those judge God's truth by our actions or in-actions. It's been said that a little knowledge can be dangerous.  In this case, it is eternally dangerous for many have only a "little knowledge" of our faith and so judge it's "truth" as "falsehood" based on our sinful being.  They do not understand that God's GRACE is not changed by inability to conform 100% to his LOVE. 

  God knows this weakness in our nature.   He knows that people will judge HIM by OUR deeds or misdeeds.   It is WHY we should as Christ's Ambassadors "try" to live lives worth of our calling.  It's not to become more worthy in HIS eyes, but instead to not be a distraction to those who are yet to be called by his grace or a stumbling block to those who are "weak in faith".  At the same time we must always point to our own sinfulness and our own need of a savior and not make our lives the centerpiece of our faith.    It is truly a narrow road we must walk.

Saving the children

Most of us recently were paying close attention to what was happening in a cave in Thailand.   12 boys and a coach had gone into a cave and were forced to move further into the cave to escape the rising water from a Monsoon that had come through.  After several days, divers were able to locate them in a chamber that was several miles back.   How those boys must have felt being in that dark chamber thinking no one would ever be able to find them... let alone save them.   They must have felt completely hopeless and alone as they sat on that muddy cave slope.   As a kid, I used to go canoeing on the Current River in southern Missouri.   Every year my friends and I went to the same spots to have freeze-out competitions, cliff jumping, raft wars and then going into a large cave at the end.   This cave would go back almost a quarter mile (there was only one path so no fear of getting lost).   We would go back to the farthest chamber and then turn our flashlights off for 10 seconds.   To this day, that is the blackest darkness I have ever experienced (I still use that memory as a way to thwart a "sneeze" I don't want to come out).   Those 10 seconds seemed like an eternity to me. 

I can't imagine how they must have felt when that first scuba diver appeared.   The shear JOY they must have felt could not be replicated by the most seasoned Hollywood actor I am sure.  The cheers echoing off those cave walls must have been deafening. 

Their plight was not much different from our as humans on this earth.   We were trapped in our sins with no way out and a feeling that no one cared.    We, like these kids, wandered away from God and went places we should not have gone.   We were warned, but we felt we knew better.   Like those rescuers, God went searching for us and risking everything.   Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep and how the shepherd "leaves the 99 and goes searching for the 1 lost sheep".  For these lost kids, the rescuers had to risk it all as well.   I am sure many of the divers who endured the treacherous 3 hour swim to their chamber had their own children to think of too.   The kids trapped in the cave were worth as much, if not more, than their own children sleeping safely in their own beds.   God risked it all too when he sent his son to come and save us.

 Do you think the scuba divers chastised them for being so foolish and stupid?    Do you think the first words out of their mouth was: "You stupid foolish boys!! Look what you put me through!  I could be home with my kids right now, but instead I have to endure 3 hours underwater and difficult conditions to come looking for the likes of you!  I should just leave you here!  You deserve what you get!  But I guess I will take it easy on you and tell others where you are at anyway!"

I doubt that was what he said to them.   I am sure he was calming with them and told them how happy he was to have found them.   He must have reassured them that they will get them out of the cave in due time and all we will okay.

Jesus, too, came and reassured us of what was to come.   He told us, "The Son of Man did not come into the world to condemn the world but to SAVE the world!".   In another verse Jesus says, "I have come that you might have LIFE and have it to the FULL!". 

Jesus, like those divers, just tells us to trust him.   The divers had to teach the boys how to scuba dive and take them though some of the most dangerous and dark water they would ever experience.   This dive was so difficult that even a seasoned Thai Navy SEAL died in the process.   Now they would need to help get 11-16 year boys through the same water.   One person said that in the most treacherous part, the water is like swimming through black coffee.   They needed the boys to trust that they would lead them out.  Jesus too asks us to trust him to lead us out of this world.   He, like the diver, has already "swam through death" for us and we can know for sure we are in good hands and like those boys, joined with our waiting families on the other side.

The divers must have told the boys right before they left the chamber what they would be facing.  They must have reminded them that even in the darkest water, they would be right there with them  and they would be connected to them with a tether-line at all times.    Right before Jesus ascended he said, "Truly I am with you ALWAYS!  Even unto the end of the world!".   In another verse he says, "My Father holds on to his children and nothing can take them from his hand!".    We are baptized in Christ Jesus and we are tethered to him now and into eternity.   

Jesus is with us though the blackest black that life can throw at us.  Failed marriages, lost jobs, cancer, addiction, loss of loved ones, hatred, scorn, loneliness, not being understood, fear.   Through all of these he is tethered to us and can lead us out.

He just bids us to "Come follow me!"

In the long term Hedonism cannot survive

   My wife and I love to watch "Wheel of Fortune" (we almost don't miss an episode).   At the beginning Pat Sajak goes around and interviews each contestant to find out where they are from, what they do, who they are married to, etc..   I personally use this information to choose who to root for.  We don't bet on it but it makes it more interesting.   I have a few deciding factors that help me decide.  If they are from the Chicago area, a government employee or a lawyer I automatically put them in the "don't root for" category.   One thing that used to put them in the don't-root-for list was if they said they were "proud parents of 2 (or more) fur-babies" (cat's, dog's, rabbits etc).   This phase is being used more and more by the Millennial generation.  In fact, research is showing married couples under 35 are more likely to have pets than children.

    This used to bother me but now I see it as a blessing.   I see our country divided differently today.   It's heathen verses non-heathen.   In a hedonistic society everything is about YOU.  It's all about YOUR pleasure.  It's all about YOUR life.  It's all about YOUR career.  It's all about YOUR experiences.  For non-believers the world is a very scary and short-lived place.   It's all about sucking all the marrow out of life that you can before you are turned back into dirt.   This fear guides all your decisions.   You feel you have to get all your ducks in a row before you can even BEGIN to think about kids.  You need your career in place.  You need to get your 401k fully-funded.  You need to get your McMansion set up and see all the major sites in the world because kids take that away from you.  First they date for 5 years, then they live together for 5 years, then they get married and live another 5 years before they start to the process of making babies.   But then you find your 38 years old and your eggs aren't worth crap or his sperm count is diminished to almost nothing because of all the "stress" you endured working for the McMansion and the career.   For many young couples today pets replace children.  They dote on them, train them, feed them, take pictures of them and show them off to others.  They are cheaper too.   No clothes to buy (unless you feel you need to), no college to save for, no piano lessons or dance recitals to go to.   No nasty notes from the teacher that require you to have meetings with them.   If you need to run off to Bora Bora then it's off to the kennel for them.   Easy Peasy!

    I looked around me and made an interesting observation.   The only young couples around me that I saw having kids were Christian couples.    You see, they are not living in fear of the future.  God has their back and their children.   He is with them all the way.   The Bible says, "Perfect love drives out fear!".  That is what God does in our lives.  He drives out fear much like Jesus drove the money changers from the temple who were making God's house a den of thieves.   They are not living in fear of death for they know there is much more that awaits them after death.  God has promised and has made it known to us by the resurrection of Jesus from the grave.

   But that observation showed me that there in lies the answer to hedonism.  Ultimately hedonism is it's own worst enemy.  The heathens encourage their side to not have children.  They tell them that they can have it all without children and the world will be better off too.   But this means that the heathen eventually will die off and it will be the non-heathen (the Christians) who will repopulate society.    It may take 2 generations but eventually things will change.   Currently our country is still dealing with the most Hedonistic generation to have ever lived: the baby-boomer generation.  This generation is now moving into their end-years and are now in it's final convulsions of trying to accomplish all they can before they take their last breath.  Baby Boomer 1.0 gave birth to Baby-Boomer 2.0 which felt families should only have 1 or 2 children.   Now Baby-Boomer 3.0 is being taught to have 0 or 1 child or not get married at all (most 20 year old are living together instead of getting married).   Eventually the hedonist generation and their ill-thought-views will be wiped from the face of the earth like a nightmare that is soon forgotten. 

    Hedonism is really the source of it's own destruction.   

He stinks!

    One of my favorite verses from the Bible is Mary speaking to Jesus about her brother Lazarus lying in the grave.   She tells Jesus, "Lord!  He's been in the tomb for 4 days now and he stinks!"  ( the KJV says , 'He stinketh!' )

    The story of Lazarus is a deeply emotional one.  There is so much there to unpack for one blog.  First we have Jesus waiting to go back to Bethany after he here's that Lazarus is sick.  By the time he does show up, Lazarus has been dead and buried 4 days.   Mary's first words to Jesus are, "Lord if you had been here Lazarus would not have died!".   Was that a proclamation of faith or was that an indictment of Jesus?   It's very hard to say.   I think it's a little bit of both.  Mary is being nice and venting at the same time it seems.    She had seen Jesus heal many people.  Maybe she even saw him raise Jairus' daughter who had just died.  Why didn't he hurry back in time to help a person who he was close to?   Jesus uses this as an opportunity to teach Mary about his mission and who he his.  He says to her,

 "I am the resurrection and the life!  He who believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live!"

   He then asks to see where they have laid him.   Jesus already knows where they have put him, but he wants Mary to show him.  When they arrive, Jesus first prays to the Father and then asks that the tombstone be rolled back.

   It is here, that Mary says those infamous words, "Lord, it's been 4 days and surely now he stinks!"
Mary thought that Lazarus was beyond the help of God.   His flesh was rotting and being eaten by maggots.   Death can be like watching a slowly dying fire.  When a person has just died,  nothing changes.  Like the fire, we may still feel the warmth of the flame.  There is still hope the fire could be re-ignited.   But like a fire that has not only been out for a long time but has had water put on it as well we eventually give up all hope in them coming back to life.  Mary was in that place too.  She had lost all hope in Lazarus coming back any time soon.   Jesus then calls out in a loud voice, "Lazarus!  Come out!"  and Mark records that immediately the dead man came out. 

   Who do we think stinks?   Who do we think is beyond the help of God?   Maybe it's a family member?  Or a co-worker?  Or a neighbor?  Maybe it's a politician we don''t like or a famous person who mocks Christianity?   We might case them off as un-save-able and too far gone.   But Jesus stands at the doorway of their tombs and calls them out of their dark dungeons of despair.    He calls US out of OUR tombs.   Places were our flesh is rotting and we have no life in us and all seems to be lost.   He beckons us to come out and be with him.

    Jesus prayer to the Father is also important to look at as well.  First, it shows that Jesus does nothing on his own accord, but only with the Father's blessing.   Second, it shows that both the Father and the Son are in the life giving business.  Too often Christians make the mistake of thinking the Father is against us, and that because his son Jesus is for us, then God the Father kind of goes along with him on saving the world (A sort of cosmic puppy Jesus brings to the Father to bring home with him... "Can we keep him Father?").   But that is so far from the truth.  The Father and the Son work together to bring Lazarus back from the dead.   They are both in the life giving business.  They both love us.  (Jesus said, 'I and the Father are ONE!')

     Later in the book of Acts, Saul the persecutor becomes Paul the missionary.  Shortly after Jesus confronts him on the road to Damascus, Saul is sent to Damascus and Jesus sends Ananias to go and give him sight back (Saul had been blinded).   Ananias says to Jesus, 'Lord, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm has has done to your holy people in Jerusalem.  And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call upon your name!'.    Does Jesus need Ananias report on Saul to remind him who he is dealing with??   No.  Of course not!   Jesus knows fully who he's dealing with.   He knows Saul even better than Ananias thinks he does.   Ananias is basically saying, "God, this man Saul is too far gone! You can't be serious!"

    How many people do we say are too far gone?   How about Obama?  How about Hillary?  How about Bill Clinton?  How about Trump?    Who is too much for God to change?   Do we pray for them?

   Maybe it's you?   Do you think you are too far gone.  Do you feel un-save-able?  The Bible is chuck-full of stories like yours.   From Abraham, (a liar, an adulterer and a idol-worshiper) to Jacob (who tricks his father, extorts his brother to give him the inheritance) to Moses (a murderer) to Jonah (who runs from responsibility and from God) to David (an adulterer and a murderer) to Peter (a blasphemer who abandons Jesus) to Saul who later becomes Paul (a blasphemer, murderer, violent man).   All are forgiven and shown abundant mercy.   Do you think you stink more than them? 

Listen to Jesus call out your name!  He calls you out of the tomb of your despair and hopelessness!! You will stink no more!

When lost: Up is better than down

   When I became a hunter in California I had to take a Hunter Safety Class.   The class didn't just deal with "gun safety" but also safety in the woods.   Most hunting in California is up in the Sierra Mountains which is mile upon mile of untouched forest far away from human inhabitants.  It's very easy when you start going after a deer in the woods to get lost and disorientated.  Being lost can be a very scary feeling.  Your heart begins to pump fast. You begin to move a bit faster than normal.   Noises become more acute all around.  Panic sets in.   You feel you must get to safety as fast as possible. Adrenaline pumps through your veins which clouds your mental processes.  In some cases people who are lost even begin to leave behind critical equipment they might need because they feel weighed down by those items and they are not thinking straight.

    What most people do when they get lost in the woods is they go DOWN HILL.  They think downhill will lead to homes, roads, cities.   But out in the woods, mostly it leads to canyons and dangerous rivers.  I always say, "Gravity can be a bitch!".   Gravity pulls you down hill.   It's easier and less effort on your part.   One time a friend of my son that was hunting with us (his first time ever) he got separated and he kept walking down hill.   He even walked right past a very well marked hiking trail because he was panicking.  We eventually found him by firing our guns to let him know where we were and were able to rescue him.

   We were told by our instructors you must fight this desire to go down and instead walk UP HILL!   By going up hill we do three things for ourselves.  First going uphill burns off that energy our bodies generate from all the fear and panic we have.   It slows us down.   We have to stop periodically to catch our breath.  This keeps us from making rash decisions.   Second, it gets us to higher ground where we can get perspective of where we are at and where we can go to get help.   Maybe we see a house, or a road in the distance.   Maybe we see a familiar landmark.   This gives us HOPE which is a powerful feeling when one gets lost.  Hope that you have a direction and you are in control of your situation.   Finally, it provides a way for others to FIND you.  A search helicopter can easily spot you on the top of a treeless hill rather than down in a brush filled canyon.

   This doesn't only apply to hunting and hiking but also to our world.   We live in a world where we can easily get lost as a society.    The world is a big scary place and we panic in our searching for solutions.  It's always easier to go DOWN in society than it is to go UP.

   Take for example: abortion.   I agree that our world is not fair when it comes to women and childbirth.  Men can walk away from a baby and women cannot.   We must realize that when a woman gets pregnant their hormones are generated to bond the mother to the unborn child.  Hormones are very emotionally powerful chemicals in our bodies (I learned this when I became extremely low Testosterone at a very early age of 40 and I felt like crap).   So we have 2 bars set a different levels for men and women when it comes to babies.   Men are not only less emotionally attached to children, they physically don't have to carry the baby for 9 months and can move on.  Women, on the other hand, cannot simply leave the child.    So hear we have the classic "lost in the woods" situation.  How do we level the bars between the sexes?   What do we do?   We have 2 choices here.

    First we could go down hill and lower the bar for women and allow them an easy way to leave the child and emotionally divorce themselves from the situation.   Simple...right?   But going down you lose something.   You lose a part of you that you were given.   To become more like MEN you must LOSE that which makes you a WOMAN.  Your emotional strength and emotional connection to the world and to children.   An abortion robs you of something God gave you to make you unique.  Our world and society loses when we require women to act more like men.  Our world needs both woman and men.  It has also been found that women who have abortions are much more likely to suffer from chronic depression.   The downhill path leads to more downhill paths.

   The second choice is to RAISE the bar on men and hold them accountable for their actions.  Especially in today's world of DNA testing we can 100% prove who is the father and make them financially supportive.   But that is a harder path.  It's UP HILL.   It requires the courts to step in and to enforce the laws we already have in place.   It requires society to stop giving men a pass on these pressing issues (here's an idea! Let's fine men $10,000 per child to pay for the mothers maternity doctor visits and delivery).  Why should they get a free ride and force the women in our world to pay the price?

    This uphill path also gives women opportunity to slow down and reassess their choices in life and make better choices.  It can give them HOPE as well.  Hope that they have done the right thing and given someone a chance at life (even if they put the child up for adoption) and they took a lemon and made lemonade.   Pregnancy can also be away for others to know you need help.   Like the lost hunter standing up on a hill waiting for a helicopter to fly over, pregnancy is often hard to hide and society often instinctively wants to step in an help where it can and give aid.   But like the hunter that goes down into the steep canyon and cannot be "found", so also the woman who chooses abortion hides her pain in secret, never able to let others know she's lost and in need of help.

   We must be like the lost person in the woods and fight the urge to take the easier route in our choices because those choices can leave us more lost than we started as a society.

Universal Constants

    From the very creation of Physics, certain things were thought to be unchangeable.  When Newton first developed the laws of physics he said that mass, time and space never change.  It seemed reasonable that these aspects of the universe were unalterable.  The mass of an object should not change and everyone who measures the mass should measure the same amount (note: he never defined what "mass" was).  Time also, should be unchangeable and it too should always be measured the same by everyone everywhere.   It makes sense!  Why would your watch run different from mine?  Space as well should not change.  If my ruler is the same length as yours, why shouldn't we both measure the same distance?  It all makes sense!

   250 years later Einstein showed that mass,space and time are not constants at all, but the speed of light ("c") is a constant and is measured the same by all observers despite what speed or direction they are going.   For 250 years the scientists were wrong, they just didn't know it yet.   At first Einstein was lambasted for his ideas.   Did he think he was greater than Newton??    Yet, eventually he was proven right anyway.

   Sometimes we are like that to God.  What makes sense to us is not what makes sense to God.   What we think matters to God, really doesn't matter to God at all.  In mathematics we refer to a variable that has no effect on another variable as being an "independent variable".   The function "y" is not altered by this variable.   Take for example,

    y = 5x + w

    The function below has two variables: x and w.  If I asked you what effect does "s" have on the function you would have to say that y is independent of s as it doesn't even factor into the equation.

    In the Psalms, David often writes about the "steadfastness" of God's love.  It is steady and strong no matter what we do.  It is "independent" of our actions or lack of love.  It doesn't change.  It's constant like the speed of light.   What we think changes God's love of us, doesn't really change it at all.   We think God should be like us.  Makes sense right?   But like Newton, what makes sense isn't always reality.

   I remember when I had to fly down to Southern California because my son had crashed his car into a tree.  It was the 3 am phone call you don't want to get as a father.  Our son was always a handful and a challenge at times to raise (he would even agree to that).  I remember vividly walking into that hospital room and seeing him laying there with his head all stitched up and his arm in a sling.  I remember feeling nothing but love for him at that moment.  Not disappointment.  Not despair.  Not anger.    Just love.   His actions had no bearing on my feelings for him.  I would always love him no matter what.

   God loves you too.... no matter what! 

Inoculation

We've all heard the phrase "a little knowledge can be dangerous". The same could be true for Christianity. Knowing a little bit about Jesus can be dangerous and that it prevents us from digging deeper and developing A closer relationship with him. It's sort of like being inoculated. When we went to inoculate somebody from a deadly disease we give them a dead form of that same virus that causes the body to react to learn about it just a little bit so that when the real thing comes along the body can attack it and prevent it from spreading throughout the rest of the body. The same happens with Jesus. Some people feel that they know all about him. Maybe they took a class in college or high school in which they spent maybe a chapter on Christianity. Or maybe they even went to church for a brief time when they were young they may have even been confirmed and feel that they know enough and that's all they need and they can go on. So that when the Holy Spirit comes in their lives and tries to develop a deeper relationship between them and Jesus their immune to it they feel that they know enough I don't need to dig any deeper they don't need to spend any time in his word they know what Christianity is all about. That little knowledge they have is really preventing them from going any further. They essentially have a "dead form of faith" which passes off as "being religious" and fools them into a false sense of security.  

The History books don't matter

    A phrase President Obama liked to use a lot in his speeches was "They will be on the wrong side of history".   It was meant as a way of saying, "We can't do anything about their actions now, but history will not be kind to them and will right the wrong later".   When Russia invaded the Ukraine, Obama said this of them as a way trying to scold Vladimir Putin into rethinking his decision. 

   One has to wonder about this issue of being on the "right side of history".  If I am an atheist and don't believe in a life after death, why should I care what the history books right about me?  I don't exist anymore and I won't be able to care what they write about me anyway.    Does Hitler care?  Stalin?   Mao?  Do you think Putin will care when he is gone?

    But if there is a heaven and hell, it's NOT the history books that I will be mostly concerned with when I am gone.  It will be a different set of books God has that will be of much larger concern to me.   In the previous case, the history books are essentially moot and powerless.  In the later case, God's books have a lot to say about us.

 In Revelation 20:12, the Apostle John writes in,

12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books....
15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

    God keeps 2 sets of books, much like businesses keep ledgers with credits and debits being tracked.  On God's books it's much the same.  One one side is the list of all our sins we have committed, and on the other is the sins paid for by God's own Son JESUS CHRIST!  For those, who are baptized in Christ Jesus they are made alive in him and pass from death to life.  Not in some future time, but RIGHT NOW!   We have nothing to fear as we die.  Our names are written not only in the Book of Life,  but in God's own hands.  800 years before Christ, the Prophet Isaiah wrote,

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?  Though she may forget, I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands!

   Our names are not written in "pencil" in the Book of Life, but are written in the blood Christ shed on the cross for us!

How Hollywood agrees with the 2nd Amendment

What do all these movies have in common?

1984
The Running Man
Hunger Games
Divergent
Fahrenheit 451

Being Remembered

   I have seen a trend that is occurring more and more often.   That trend is putting "memorials" on the backside of your vehicle to commemorate the death of a loved one.   The most common one is the decorating of the back windshield with white-lettering and pictures of doves, hearts, angels etc and including the birth and death dates of the person.   This, in affect, turns the vehicle into a mobile-grave-marker.   I can understand why someone would do that.   I know that people don't visit cemeteries and therefore grave-markers go unnoticed by most of us.  It's hard to accept that many people die without being "remembered" by most of us.   We want their lives to have meaning and consequence.   We yearn for their lives to have an impact on this earth.

   Jesus was asked by one of the thieves on the cross next to him,

"Lord! Remember me when you enter your kingdom!"

   That's all.... just "remember me".   And to his astonishment Jesus goes far beyond his request to be remembered.   He promises the man complete forgiveness of his sins and that he will enter God's kingdom that very day when he replies,

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”   --Luke 23:43

   The man who had no hope at all when he was lifted on his cross next to Jesus now had the best hope anyone could ever have.  I think the Pharisees down below must have been scratching their heads as they heard Jesus during his agony on the cross minister to this lost soul.  Maybe they would recall Jesus own words earlier when he said to those who made exception to Jesus eating and drinking with "sinners",

"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to   repentance.”  --Luke 5:32

   How much does this thief know of Jesus?   Answer: hardly anything at all.  Most of what he has learned came from the mockers down below.  They yelled "insults" at him.   Taunted him with his "claims" and probably quoted some of Jesus own teachings back at him.   That's all it takes for the Holy Spirit to work.   Even when the world mocks Jesus it inadvertently professes about him and performs an unintended spreading of the gospel.  Yet despite the small amount of what he has learned in the few hours he has been placed next to Jesus he has come to accept him as "Lord".  Simply amazing!

    When Jesus sent out his disciples and they came back bragging about what they saw happen.  They bragged to each other about how they saw the sick being healed and demons being pushed out of people.   Jesus admonishes them and says,

However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.  -- Luke 10:20

    We, also, get caught up in our own earthly "demon kicking" and need Jesus to remind us what really matters in the end.  He reminds us that being "remembered in heaven" is so much more valuable than being remembered here on earth.  I had a conversation with a co-worker on how it's so silly some of the verbal fights we see going on at our company over which vendor we should use for our work.   I said to him, "There's not going to be a bronze statue of me standing outside our building in Folsom with me standing next to an emulator and pointing out into the distance!  When I leave I will be forgotten along with all I have worked on too!". 

     As we make our way through this world we daily need Jesus gentle reminder of what is really important: "He will not forget us when we die but will take us to heaven to be with him forever"

 

Inception

   The movie "Inception" is about a world where people figure out how to get into other people's dreams and dive down deep into their sub-conscience and plant an "idea" into them that will propel them to do what they want them to do.

   The concept that an "idea" is very powerful tool is absolutely correct.   Ideas have changed societies, built H-bombs and created things like the Holocaust.  But at the the individual level they also have effects as well.  Our minds are open fields for good and for bad ideas.   Ideas that sometimes seem to come out of nowhere.  

   Let me illustrate.   When I was trying to decide whether to be an engineer or a pastor I consulted lots of different people to help me see which way I should go.  All gave me their opinions but nothing seemed to point the way.   Then I saw the movies "Chariots of Fire" where the main character, Eric Little. is talking to his sister about his conflict between running in the Olympics and being a missionary.   He said, "I know God has made me for a purpose!  But he also made me FAST!  When I run I feel his PLEASURE!".   It was at that moment I decided to be an engineer.  Because I too felt God's pleasure as I studied my math and science.   Those were abilities he gave me to use.  A thought set my course in life.

   Another illustration I like to use is how I met my wife.  I had just moved out to New England area for my first job and I sat in Mt Calvary Lutheran church for the first time (just 2 weeks after moving out to the area) and I saw this beautiful girl with the most gorgeous head of strawberry blonde hair and I heard a voice say (in my brain) , "You are going to marry that girl someday!".  It was such a strong thought I looked around to see if someone was playing a joke on me.  3 years later we were married.  A thought brought me my wife.

   Thoughts can be Powerful!

    But thoughts can also be destructive.   Look in Genesis and see Eve talking with Satan about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.   He plants thought in her that says "Did God really say that?"  You see Eve was not around when God told Adam to not eat of the tree.  She was not created yet.   She had to trust that Adam was telling the truth.   Satan's question to her, "Did God really say 'You will die'?"  is not a question directed about God, but instead what Adam told Eve that God had told him.  Doubt can be a seed that grows and spreads like a weed in a persons life. 

- Does he/she love me?

- Did they do that on purpose?

- Can I trust him/her?

These doubts about other people in our lives ruin relationships and drive us away from others.  Marriages are destroyed.  Friendships are lost.  Churches are torn apart.   

    Maybe the most destructive thought to a believer is simply, "Am I saved?".   Doubt about ones salvation begins as one doubts their own internal goodness.  We may at some level, even though we know we are sinners, still harbor some idea that we have some internal quality that God likes and wants to preserve, but when that quality is removed (or we don't see it as enough in God's eyes to be worth much) we begin to doubt our value in God's eyes.   Even though we know God's love is for all.... somehow we feel we fall through 'the cracks' of God's love into hell itself.   It's for THEM....but not for ME.   We may feel that God can forgive the sins of our youth...but not our adulthood.  We may feel he can forgive the sins of ignorance....but not the sins of willfulness.  King David says to the prophet Nathan after he is confronted with his adultery and murder, "I AM UNDONE!".   He was basically saying: "I am naked as Adam before God!"   Nathan proclaims to David the good and bad news that he is forgiven but that his sin (that everyone knew about) will have ramifications and will cause a division in his own household.  This will later hold true as his son Absollem will take advice from other people that HE should be the King of Israel since his father has committed 2 horrible sins against God).  

   Satan knows about our doubts of ourselves and our feelings of being unworthy and he plays on them all the time.   

- IF God loved you he would have kept you from doing that!

- IF YOU loved God you would not have done that!

- NOW you have gone TOO FAR!  

- This is who you REALLY are!  Give up!

Satan knows that our limited minds have problems with "infinity".    We are finite and therefore God must be finite as well.   If we have limited love ... God must have limited love as well.   Paul tries to express how wrong this thinking is when he says in Ephesians, 

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

    We cannot fathom how infinite God's love is for us.  Our doubts about ourselves are really doubts about what God has told us about himself and his relationship to us. He calls us "His children" yet we doubt our "belonging".   He dies for us and yet we doubt his love for us.   He raises from the dead and declares "Peace to you!" and we feel he is out to get us for our sins.  He forgives the disciples for their abandonment and their disowning him and we doubt his forgiveness for our willful sins of abandonment and disowning. 

   So the real question to each of us know is simply this:   Which thoughts are you going to entertain and listen to?   God's spirit that tells us we are loved and accepted for who are are right now?  Or the satanic thought that you are not "good enough" or that God has forgotten you.  

Exception

ex·cep·tion

ikˈsepSH(ə)n/

noun

1. 
   

   a person or thing that is excluded from a general statement or does not follow a rule.

   "the drives between towns are a delight, and the journey to Graz is no exception"

   
   

   synonyms:

   anomaly, irregularity, deviation, special case, isolated example, peculiarity, abnormality, oddity;  misfit, aberration;  informalfreak;  bad apple "this case is an exception"

     Depending on the situation we either LOVE or HATE this word with very little in between.   We LOVE this word when it benefits US and we HATE this word when either it benefits someone we dislike or leaves us out in the cold.   Just take time to look at our tax laws and you will find it filled with EXCEPTIONS.   Recently I was doing my taxes and noticed that people living in the Washington DC area get a "First Time Homebuyers Credit".   It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how that got inserted into our 1040 forms.  If you live in DC, you love this law.   If you don't live in DC, you hate this law.

In our Christian Faith we fall victim to exceptionalism as well.   There are 2 forms of "exception-ism" we see in play in our lives.   The first has to do with our relationship to God's law.   Some flaunt that the law doesn't apply to them anymore... they are an exception.  This isn't just within the church but can be found in the world as well.   Take for example, two people living together.   We insert an exception to the 6th commandment that isn't there.   That exception is :  We love each other.  Love is often used today as an exception clause for just about anything under the sun today. 

We love each other.... so we are having sex
We love each other.... so we are living together.
We love the children...so we are getting a divorce.

     But in reality these are not exceptions, instead they are excuses for why we want to disobey God.   There are no exceptions written into God's laws.   There are no "if  X then the law does not apply".   We are all guilty of breaking it.

     Another form of exception-ism we can fall victim too is even more deadlier than the former version.   This form says that I am exception to God's love and grace.  Even though the Bible is chuck  full of stories of horrible people having their sins forgiven, we tend to view ourselves as somehow worse than them and an exception to God's grace.   Here a just a few of the Bibles "sinner-saints"

Noah       - alcoholic
Abraham - idolater,  liar , adulterer (has sex with his wife's servant and later abandons Ishmael)
Sarah       - doubts God's promise, gives her servant to Abraham and then has her sent away
Jacob       - liar, extortionist, cheater
Moses      - murderer (kills Egyptian slave owner with his own hands)
Rahab      - a prostitute who helps them take down Jericho and becomes a ancestor of David/Jesus
David       - adultery, murder, lying (and he was supposed to be a man after God's own heart)
Solomon  - over 1000 concubines who lead him astray to worship other gods
Woman caught in adultery - Jesus forgives fully
Samaritan woman - Jesus forgives though she is married 5 times and is living with a man
Peter        - abandons Jesus and yells down curses on himself when question by a servant girl
Disciples  - all abandon Jesus and run away and hide
Thief       - the thief on the cross next to Jesus who Jesus gives certainty of eternal life with him
Paul         - formerly called Saul who went after Christians and murdered them in God's name

     Many of these men even "knew better" when they committed their sins against God and God forgave them all their sins out of his grace and mercy.   Yet somehow we think we are worse than them.   We have somehow found the one sin God cannot forgive.   Out of the BILLIONS of BILLIONS of BILLIONS of sins committed since time began which God can forgive, we have found the one EXCEPTION that he cannot forgive.  We believe we are an exception to God's love.

ISN'T THAT RIDICULOUS??

   This is why God chose these people in the first place.   To show US his boundless mercy.  Paul writes in Romans,

"Where sin abounds ... GOD'S GRACE ABOUNDS MORE!!"  

    So you think you have sinned too much?   God has a message for you; You haven't!  A problem with us humans is that we have a problem with grasping the idea of infinity.  Scientists talk about the ever expanding universe.  But "Expanding into what??" we ask.  It boggles the mind.   Maybe God made it that way to show us just how immense his grace is!   His grace is ever expanding like the universe...swallowing up whatever sins we might have committed in order to show how great he is!

   Yes, of course, this does not give us a "license to commit sin" (like 007 has a license to kill), but it frees us from the fear of God's retribution and being frozen in our tracks from living for him.   We can live in complete confidence that we are his children and nothing can take us from his hands.

NO EXCEPTIONS!!

Grace Mercy Peace!

     In studying Romans I noticed how often Paul uses these 3 words: Grace, Mercy, Peace.   These are not words we hear used much today.   They seem foreign to us.  You almost expect to see them removed from the dictionary from their lack of use. 

   Grace is hard to define.  I once heard a pastor say, "Grace stands for, God's Riches At Christ's Expense".   That is nice and simple,  but is that all?   Is it just how God treats ME??    How do I live a life of Grace?   We are able to offer grace to others, but usually on a temporary and need-to-have basis.   Some one is being a jerk because they lost their job or a death in the family... we extend grace to them.   Someone is having a bad day at work.... we extend grace to them.   A person in line at a grocery store with 1 item in hand and we have a cart full of food.... we extend grace and let them go ahead.  That kind of grace is passive in nature.   I don't really have to do anything but let you by and have your way.   God's grace is not just passive.... it extends to action.   Mercy is the active form of Grace.  It doesn't just step aside, but it steps forward to help and to save.

   I was watching a TV show about "Horders".   These are people who are living a life of misery in the filth they have accumulated over many years.    One woman was helping her sister clean her house and as she walked upstairs she was astonished to find the upstairs carpet littered with dog feces.   It was literally everywhere you stepped.  She asked, "How do live like this?"  and her sister replied, "I don't go up there anymore!" .   She has a 2 story house but only lives on the first floor.  She didn't even smell the stench anymore.

   Jesus comes to our doors knocking.  Asking to come in.   Not to have tea, but here to clean up our sin-hording-lives.   We, like that woman, have horded our sins and collected them for so long we are either too ashamed to let people in or we don't even notice them anymore.   At first those sins were small and controllable we felt.  But somewhere along the line they took over.   Like those dogs who took over the woman's upstairs and had crapped all over her floor, our sins made a mess of our lives.   They are our "pet sins" we don't want to get rid of.   Jesus comes and kicks those dogs out and picks up the sin-feces that is all around us and halls it away to the cross for us.   That is MERCY.

   Finally, through that MERCY we can have PEACE, not only him but also with each other.  Our cleaned up homes/lives are not a sign of how great we are but how great he is.   But Jesus doesn't just come to clean your home.  He wants to come and have life with you in you and He wants to clean everyone's home.  He wants us to be on mission with him to help others using the same GRACE, MERCY and PEACE he has extended to us.   How do we do that?

    At the end of the TV program they would show the BEFORE and AFTER pictures of the home.   The people whose lives have been changed often say how they could not have done this on their own and how they owe a debt of gratitude to the people who stepped in and helped.  Other people who watch this show are compelled to call in and ask for their help.   They want what those people have.  We must be willing to show others, like in the TV show, our before and after pictures.   We must be open to allow others to see what Christ has done for us and continues to do for us because, you see, our hording natures have not been deleted.   We get lazy. We get side-tracked.  We get lured back into allowing "the dogs"  back into our homes only to have Christ kick them out again when we call out to God, "Lord have MERCY on me a sinner!"

GRACE, MERCY and PEACE now have new meanings to us.