THOUGHTS AT THREE A.M.

VIRGINIA TECH!: WHEN TERRIBLE THINGS HAPPEN!!!

I know that you are hurting right now. We are all hurting, because word has gotten around so quickly...all but hermits and those who don't care have seen the news,and heard all about that "depressed" young man who decided to go on a rampage today and ended up shooting and killing 22 people, including himself,and injured countless others.It's a hard thing to witness via t.v.: it's an even harder thing to report, or blog on.And yet, it's even more difficult to be silent. If by not saying anything on the situation gives one the feeling that some people don't care, then I must speak. If in speaking I bring you to tears, or to wrath, then that at least is an emotion more easily understood and dealt with than the emptiness inside left by the vast sense of waste of those lives, so full of potential,cut short before they could realize their dreams and ambitions. My heart and soul goes out to the parents of each and every student  injured or killed today,as well as the families of the instructors who put their lives on the line to protect their students.

In the next few days your going to hear a lot of flowery speeches about those involved,and see footage of people in churches crying and praying,just as we have seen before when a tragedy has occurred. Whether this signifies a long term beginning to a commitment to God from now on, or just a short term gesture,because they are frightened or in mourning,none but God can tell. People will react in strange ways at times like this.

As my Mother used to say: this reminds me of a story.

It seems a young mother took her little boy to his first day of school,and walked up to the teacher, and informed her that in no uncertain terms she did not expect the teacher to hit her little sensitive boy."Oh?" the teacher said," Then he's so well behaved, he won't be acting up?" "Oh,no! I don't mean that at all! He probably will act up...a little. But he's so sensitive, that all you have to do, is hit the kid next to him, and he will settle right down!"

So, my question to you is, what do you think? Might this instance be yet another situation,where God allowed this to happen, in effect, hitting the kid next to us, to get our attention? Another warning to get yourself right with God before something worse comes upon us?

I think it could very well be so.

I'm praying for all of you, and God bless you all.

OUI?

HEY.NBC? MY PREACHER DIDN'T CHANGE HIS MESSAGE, JUST BECAUSE THE POLITICS HAVE CHANGED!!

It was a tease on Sunday morning's Today show, that said "Your preacher may have a new message from the pulpit this morning, in view of the election results this week!" Well, this may come as a shock,but I wasn't even interested in the story. Not that it wasn't an intriguing thought, but you see, my church has a stronger leader, one who will not be swayed by whatever way the political wind is blowing. Our church is led by the Holy Spirit, who leads our preachers to preach the unalterable word of God, without fear or favor!

So, just because we now have a Republican president, and a Democratic congress does not change what " Thus sayeth the Lord"! I don't know what sort of nonsense was being handed down to those preparing to go to church this morning, while listening to the Today show,because after hearing that piece of stupidity, I just turned it off. I can only hope that  those who did listen were not shaken,and I certainly hope that no preachers, pastors, teachers, or evangelists were taken in by this bit of tomfoolery either. It's a sad state of affairs when a supposed "News" program begins to fiddle about with the Gospel coming forth from the pulpits of this nation. And I further hope that everyone who did hear this  story was well grounded in the word of God, and knows that God is the same, yesterday, today, and forever,and are not blown about by every wind of doctrine that seeks to undermine our faith.

I am sure that most Christians went to church, and had a wonderful time in the Lord, no different than any other Sunday morning,last week, last month or last year. I know I did. Why should today be unusual? In my church, the election wasn't even mentioned. Why should it be? We don't walk by sight, we walk by faith.

On the other hand, if there was lots of anxious hand wringing, or wrath,worry or fearsome proclamations coming forth from your church, then perhaps it is time for you to find a new church, where the power of God is real, and the preacher knows that God is God,and God will never change,and you can trust in Him to bring you through whatever comes your way!

OUI?

LET'S TALK ABOUT TELEVISION PROGRAMING,FOR EASTER!!

So, Whaddia think about the EASTER week-end programing, for 2006? Kinda sucks, doesn't it? I mean, I looked at the line up for Friday and Saturday, and, to say the least, I was singularly unimpressed.I mean, to their credit, ABC  did run"The Ten Commandments", um...LAST week-end,but let's face it, at best, that would have just been the preamble for the BIG movie, THIS  week-end,and then...they didn't do ANYTHING! This week-end, spiritually speaking, as far as the BIG THREE NETWORKS, was dead! But Sunday. SUNDAY! When there should have been some spectacular movie programing, recounting the huge, the most important,biggest and best moving and operation of God upon this earth, namely the ultimate Sacrifice made by the LAMB of God, Jesus Christ, and the miracle of his rising from the dead,and not one of the networks saw fit to acknowledge it, or him in any way, shape or form! Now, that is just WRONG! Especially in America, where our whole foundation is based upon the free expression of our faith in God...And those who founded it were CHRISTIANS!

So, NBC,CBS,AND ABC!! What do you have to say for yourselves, particularly since your whole everything was based on the fact that, in your infancy as networks, you built your empires upon Christian Programing,and used to run wonderful movies such as "THE ROBE!" , "BEN-HUR",and"THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD!"as well as"THE TEN COMMANDMENTS!" On Easter!! Then, it was a glorious day for the United States of America,where every American with a Television set could tune in,and be filled with the true meaning of Easter,and get an understanding of what a glorious thing had occurred on this morning 2000 years ago, and that it had nothing to do with chocolate bunnies, or Easter egg hunts,and tons of candy....and now, that is all it is about, according to what you have televised! HUH? Easter egg hunts on the white House Lawn is all very well and good, but that is not the purpose for which God established you and blessed you to make you as large and powerful as you are now,IS it? No! And so, today, I looked at the schedule, and I couldn't believe my eyes.Not one! NO,not one Network chose to honor God, on this most important day. It was all the same old, same old, just another day..which has filtered down to the general population, who are not church goers,and it is your fault that so many have forgotten God, days without number,and YOU have led the parade on this one too.Somewhere along the line, you dropped the "CODE OF GOOD CONDUCT and now a lot of things are slipping through on the air,and no one does anything about it.It's become so all pervasive, that most Christians just turn their heads,and turn their backs,and don't watch anymore, but I am watching YOU, and so is GOD. Now, I am going to stop just short of calling down a curse on your stations, but you know I am not called to do that.Only God can take from you what he has given you, but it's not like you haven't given him plenty of provocation! You may feel perfectly justified in allowing more and more junk to take the place of goodness and honoring God, given the popularity of Cable, and Satellite dishes and things,to do this, but in your hearts,you people who make up the schedules, and CEO'S who make the big decisions,you have got to be called to account for every idle word you allow to be spoken, every opportunity to honor God you let slip by, because HE gave you much,and much is EXPECTED from you,and now, you have dropped the ball, with a great Big  THUD!!!

The way to win the public back from the lure of the, how shall I say it?... VARIETY?  Of cable, is not to go running down that slippery slope,after them,waiving filth and gore and degradation in the air,but with a relief from those things,with truth(Ah, not the tabloid kind of truth either!) but the real truth, beauty and love.

IF!(And that's a big if!)

If you still know what those things are!

OUI?

SUCH WEATHER, IN THE MOVIES AND IN REAL LIFE ALL OVER THE WORLD, IS GETTING MORE PECULIAR!!

So, it's November, and today in the U.S.of A. we had tornadoes in Nashville,rain and snow and fog in one part of the Mid-west, and in Indiana, Tornado watches and warnings all day! Now, I don't know about you, but I call that strange.It has rained on and off all day here, and right now the temperatures are dropping, and the wind is roaring around the house about 40 miles an hour.The prognosticators say we should have below freezing temps and snow falling by 6 a.m. Personally, I like weather, always have. But I am unaccustomed to it being like the dead of winter one place, and within two or three hundred miles away more like spring or summer. For those of you who have no weather, other than the-nice-every-day -kind, tornado weather has absolutely nothing to do with freezing temps. and snow kind! In fact, one could usually tell when a tornado was about to hit, because it would be Hot and overcast, and then the wind would go dead calm,and the sky would go a sickly yellow or green. Then, the rumbling would start, and the winds would pick up, and it was time to hit the basement! But there was no snow involved...no cold weather. That is until I saw the movie, " The Day After Tomorrow." Which first brought to my attention odd weather patterns.And now we have had earthquakes and tsunamis, mud slides and rain upon rain, and hurricanes that ran us out of the Alphabet on one side of the country and heat and drought on the other side.Record early snows in the Rockies, and twisters where they never had twisters before, and snow in Iowa up to their armpits, and all of it almost before the leaves have come off the trees.And now, we have been treated to " Category 7: The end of the world." And now, this weather has gone even nutsier than it was before. So, what do you think? Have the movies producers been inspired by the spirit world to warn us what is coming, or is the spirit world, and God in particular, responding to that which we find it necessary to turn our attention to? Lest you think I am drawing parallels where there are none, think back to the time when dairy farmers, in response to the low prices they were getting for their milk, began pouring bucket after bucket of milk down the drain, rather than accept what they called "mere pennies per gallon"...then, they had the nerve to be upset and surprised when, all on it's own, the milk production dropped dramatically for everyone who participated in the publicity stunt.Or, how about the number of couples who cannot conceive children, now that abortion is so popular and easily accessible in this country, when we used to have no problem with families having baby after baby until then? That, along with this notion of zero population growth certainly has changed this countries image of a "large family" from 10 or more down to three or four!

OUI?

CBS'S MADE FOR T.V. MOVIE:"CATAGORY 7: "THE END OF THE WORLD!!"

I admit I found the title of this movie very enticing, so even though I was busy with church when the first half aired last Sunday, I was taping it, so I could watch it later. I am glad I did it that way, because even though it started out with much exciting action, and a promising aspect of sprinkles of prophesy here and there, it soon became clear to me that the respected spiritual leader was being used in this case, as in so many other movies, as a mere foil to jab at the church, that although some are sincere, most are madmen or idiots. That this would be the twist as far as the church was concerned was disappointing, to say the least, however, when the secular world is involved, it is not surprising. The action was fair, the special effects really good, and the dialog was pedestrian, to the point of predictability, and yet one could see the production was inspired by the Katrina and Rita Hurricane mess our country has experienced.All in all, I suppose one could say that this movie in and of itself is a sign of the times,and in it's own way gives record to the struggles we find ourselves in at this point in time, although in a very compact and fictitious way.Truthfully, part 1 did leave the audience with a cliffhanger, so even being certain that part 2 would not live up to it's title, I did watch the second half last night, which started after church, and gave me an opportunity to work on my rug while the show was on.It is just as well I had something else to do while I watched.Part 2 was even less exciting than part 1, unless, of course, the experience of seeing tons of paper blowing down the street, while people run and scream in the wind gets your blood boiling. It does nothing for me.All I could think of, was what a waste of paper!

On the upside, Randy Quaid turned in a stellar performance as one of the storm chasers,and his new found affection for his cute little side-kick sort of made you glad the world didn't end after all!

OUI?

REVELATIONS WEEK 3

Well, tonight was the showing of revelations for the third installment of that mini-series, and I am sorry to say, I dropped the ball. I was at Bible study,and it ran a little long,and I just missed it.It just wasn't that high on my priority list. Bible study was more important. The subject was highly of moment to me because I am always coming in contact with young people who need direction, and for the most part, are not getting it anywhere else. I have been experiencing some opposition of late, and had been wondering why. Tonight's bible study was being led by a preacher who councils youngsters in the most dangerous situations imaginable.Those that have been abused, and/or raised in homes where they practiced witchcraft, otherwise known as worshiping Satan. This man stated emphatically, and I believe him, that when you begin to make inroads in depopulating the powers of darkness, you are going to have opposition.He has had visitations from an evil figure, that told him he was going to kill him.When he woke up from this dream or vision, he was sitting on the side of his bed, and he began to pray, and suddenly, he felt Jesus hand in his. He was reassured that the Lord wasn't going to let go of him,and that calmed all his fears and anxiety. So, you can see, I had every reason to listen intently to what this man had to say.It was infinitely more important than some fictionalized made for t.v. movie, which sheds no light on the actual book of Revelations, and brings one no closer to the Lord.

In reading this over, I see that I come off as being a little stuffy, or supercilious,but believe me, I don't mean it that way. In fact, I feel I have been chastened by the Lord for continueing to follow something, namely the show on NBC, that I knew to be error. Knowing this, I still had planned to watch this week's episode. I really feel sheepish about it, and yet, at the same time, I am very happy, too. Because the Lord chastizes those he loves.

Oui?

REVELATIONS,WEEK 2

In case you missed my first blog on this series, let me say up front that I knew that this would be only loosely based on the actual book of Revelations.For those of you who caught the first critique, I apologize for repeating myself. In any case, this week I felt completely justified and vindicated for making such an observation.This week's offering was so far off the beam from the actual scriptures, I hardly know where to begin,but let's start with the most obvious, and work our way through it from there. In the first place, there is no evidence to suggest that the anti-Christ( or Satan) will be a bloodless child killer.In fact,the opposite will be true.He will be hailed and accepted as the Messiah,who will finally bring about peace in the middle-east, at least until the seven year non-aggression pact is broken.Secondly,Christ will not return as a child.As it says in Acts, chapter 1,vs 11,"this same Jesus,which is taken up from you into heaven,shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven." He was assumed, bodily, into a cloud, therefore, Jesus will step out of a cloud,the same fully grown man who walked the earth 2000 years ago.From there, it is difficult for one to focus on what came next in the writer's thinking.They took the book of Revelations,threw out st. John, but kept the isle of patmos,threw in a miracle child..of a nun and.. what? Another immaculate conception? Oh,Please!From Genesis to the New testament, the bible painstakingly traces the bloodlines of Adam, and Abraham, up through David,and eventually to reach Jesus Christ of Nazareth.So, now, we get to revelations, and all of a sudden, here is this unknown little nun, without a word of her linage, and she is the new" Perfect vessel"? But, enough about that.We all understand that this is a work of fiction, but wouldn't it be nice to at least have some of it ring true? Simply throwing up bits of scripture, religious icons and smoky churches with stained glass windows, and having another nun, and an unbeliever running around trying to find the miracle child, to "stop the end of the world" from happening, is a poor bastardization of the book of Revelations.Besides which, no true woman or man who believed in God would presume to thwart the plans of the Almighty. It cannot be done, in any case, so what are they doing?I am sorry if that sounds harsh, or like I am cussing, but it is only the truth.This could only have come from scripture if the book was torn to bits, flung on the floor, and then pieces picked up at random, and inserted willy-nilly into an action- adventure script depicting a struggle between good and evil.To be fair,the acting is good,the piece is well cast, and the locations are very attractive,but as far as being a good representation of the book of Revelations, it is not.

oui?

REVELATIONS-REPEAT?!

so, now, NBC has decided to run the show which premired on last wed. on Sunday night. huh. Well. Where do you suppose they got the idea to do that? I haven't a clue. From some think tank maybe? Or some bright young up and coming jr.exec. came up with the notion that a whole week gap between episodes was a little too long?

One can only hope.

oui?

NBC GOOFS AGAIN!

Not being a prophet, when I wrote the previous blog, I did not foresee any indication, any slightest clue that the NBC NETWORK would be so ignorant as to put this most looked forward to, most high profile mini-series "REVELATIONS" on in a weekly basis. How stupid, and short sighted can you be?This program is a topic of moment, and you fellas are going to drag it out over six weeks? Why? How?  Have you lost sight of the fact that this program needs to be understood to be effective? Now, how is it going to be completely comprehended if it is not watched in it's entirety.Could it be, that you don't really care what the watching public really gets out of the show,just as long as they tune in to see it? NAAAH! That couldn't be true. Could it? NO! In order for that to be the case, you would have to be, to quote Paula Abdul, just "cold hearted snakes" and that is not possible! Look at the way you pander to sports enthusiasts...um, wait a minute...maybe...but oh!..look  into his eyes, uh-oh, he's been tellin' lies...No, I don't think you intended to lie to  us, but on the other hand, to paraphrase DONALD TRUMP, you had a really good idea, and then you dropped the ball. You messed it up. Haven't you learned anything from "THE APPRENTICE?" Don't you  know by now that presentation is everything?

Or, don't you care? 

OUI?

THE DA VINCI CODE AND REVELATIONS

THE DA VINCI CODE

Well, I didn't expect to be pleased, but I am. You never know what your going to get when a news program decides to delve into a religious/ spiritual based theme, whether it is a book or a movie, supposedly real, or fictional. This time, NBC got it right,and made a really remarkable in depth study of this most contraversial book. It turns out, as I suspected it would that it is a really good fact based work of fiction. Enjoy it, but don't believe everything you read, and only half of what you see.Thanks guys! Good going!

REVELATIONS

I was intriged by this first installment of NBC'S mini-series, based, very loosely, I thought, on the book of revelations.Actual scripture suffered a bit, but then, the book is so involved,that it would have been difficult to do otherwise in an attempt to portray how this would play out in people's lives, in modern times. Silly me, I had hoped that they would begin with St.John the divine, on the isle of patmos, and open up with the vision that JESUS CHRIST gave to him, regarding the end of days,the rapture,the great tribulation period,and the second coming of christ, the battle of arrmageddon, and of course, the millinium reign.Then, flash forward, and then, flashback. However, they opted for modern times, and I suppose I understand their thinking. This, perhaps will be easier for the general public to get, if they handle it right.Time will tell.

Of course, I shall offer my opinon after each installment.

STAY TUNED.

Oui?