Turn Around

As a new resident of Atlanta I find the roads, particularly the expressway, confusing. Every time I head south I get lost. This weekend I was sure I had good directions and would not make the same mistake again. Wishful thinking. I exited at a place where the numbers were lower than the exit I was supposed to take. I kept thinking the miraculous would happen and the numbers would get higher again. More wishful thinking. I passed four exits before I decided to get off and call the hotel where my meeting was being held. Sure enough, I was instructed to turn around and head north.

Has this happened to you? Have you ever felt yourself going in the wrong direction and waited too long before deciding to turn around? Fortunately, I had left home early so I arrived at the hotel exactly on time, but harried and nervous. All of this could have been avoided had I turned around sooner.

So it is with sin. Many times we feel the warning signs telling us to stop and turn around, but we do not heed them. We keep on going until circumstances force us to stop. As we travel along the road of life, let us pay attention to the signs along the way, and as soon as we realize we're going in the wrong direction, let's turn around. If we don't, we may arrive before our Maker, not just harried and nervous, but frightened and condemned.

Hold on

This past week my mind was saddened by the disasters that occurred here in Georgia and neighboring Alabama. In case you didn't watch the news, tornadoes touched down in these two places taking a number of lives, including that of eight children in Alabama. And as if that wasn't enough some baseball players and others injured when their bus hit the overpass and tumbled over to the highway below.

Always one to cry easily, I wept as I watched the news, thinking of the age-old question, Why do bad things happen to good people? Of course there are no answers, but I do want to extend some words of comfort to the families who lost their loved ones and to the people who lost their homes and possessions.

When the storms hit
And life looks bleak
When all we can do is ask "God, why?"
As lives and dreams bid us good-bye.
Hold on.

When we have no more tears to shed,
And sorrow still rears his ugly head
When nothing one can say will bring back
that child, that house, that smile.
Hold on

For the sun will shine again,
Hope and peace will be yours again
Your shoulders will straighten
Your burden will lighten
Dear one, hold on.

We'll Be Together

Celebrities usually draw nation wide attention during their lifetime, but sometimes even more so through their death. And when this passing is an untimely one as happened in the case of a super model recently, the attention is widespread and riveting.

But what prompted this blog more than anything is the action of a Florida judge who had the task of deciding where the lady's remains should be buried. According to the news report, the judge broke down in tears as he read his ruling, viz that the lady should be buried next to her son who also died under tragic circumstances last year. The judge, amidst tears said, "I want them to be together."

Those words have stuck with me ever since. How many of us share that same wish when we think of our own passing? I know my dearest wish would be to have my loved ones with me when I pass on. Not their earthly remains, but their eternal soul, and I want us to be together in a place where worms will not eat at us, a place where we'll live happily ever after.

I can think of no better place but heaven with my Lord Jesus Christ. But in order to get there we, and our loved ones, must first accept Him into our lives and live according to His teachings. Then we can be assured we will be "together" and the judge who will make that ruling will be none other than Jesus Christ Himself. Just think about it.
God bless.

The Alligator Story

This week I came across a little story about a woman, let’s call her Liz, who was in love with a man we’ll call Greg. Liz wanted to go and meet Greg but in order to get to him she had to cross a river teeming with alligators, and to make matters worse the bridge over the river was washed out. So Liz went to Captain Sinbad and asked him to take her across in his boat. Sinbad demanded certain favors which Liz refused. She then approached Harry who turned her down, so she went back to Sinbad and agreed to his terms. Once the deal was closed, Sinbad fulfilled his promise and delivered her into Greg’s arms. However, when Liz told Greg what she had to do in order to get to him, Greg became angry and dumped her. Liz found another guy, Sampson, who beat Greg up for the way he treated Liz, and in the end Liz and Sampson ride off in the sunset together.

Now this did not happen on the Jerry Springer show or one of the popular soaps. However, when we examine the story closely we may judge Liz for her lack of morals or Greg for his unwillingness to forgive, but I think the take of the story is how far would we go to get what we want. This lady was willing to cross a river teeming with alligators in order to get to the man she loved, or thought she loved.

I think for all of us there is a Greg that we may be prepared to go to any lengths to have. Our Greg may be a job, a promotion, a spouse, a car. Whatever it is we have to be careful, especially as women, not to compromise our values, because like Liz we may realize that our Greg is not really worth the trouble. God bless.

Lose The Weight

This month two of my female co-workers have had liposuction to make their bodies look slimmer and more sexy. I admire their courage as well as their new appearance, and while at first I was tempted to criticize, the more I thought about it the idea began to appeal to me. After all, I have some areas, my arms especially, that could benefit from suctioning as well.

Plastic surgery is the fastest growing area in the medical field. Face lifts, tummy tucks and breast implants, initially the domain of the Hollywood crowd, are now being sought after by ordinary housewife or working woman. One of my co-workers said the liposuction took ten pounds off her instantly. No sweat, no hunger pangs, no pain. Just a few thousand dollars and the surgeon’s scalpel. Sounds tempting, very tempting.

But I know of another procedure that can take pounds and pounds of weight off you instantly. It might not flatten your tummy or trim your thighs, but it will give you a sense of peace and unspeakable joy you never dreamed possible. It’s giving your life to Jesus. He can trim the weights of anger, hopelessness, depression, guilt, fear and many others.

All you have to do is believe that Jesus, the Son of God, came to this earth and died that you might live. Then ask Him to come into your heart, and He will. He will fill you so completely there will be no room for any other weight. And as an added bonus He will show you how to lose any extra physical weight you may be carrying around. Try it and see.

Hope in God

In my job as a behavioral health therapist I come across a lot of people suffering from depression who are hopeless and helpless. In fact, one depressed patient once said to me, "I have no dreams; I have no hope." And from his constricted affect I knew he was speaking the truth.

Many times I ask myself what terrible circumstances conspire to render someone so hopeless that they think of taking their own lives, or occupy their thoughts with death wishes.

In my own life I can identify with some of the struggles that many of my patients face, and yet I continue to function normally. My friends, too, have issues that beg for understanding and compassion - the death of a child, loss of a job, an unexpected diagnosis, divorce - and yet they continue to function. Sometimes the circumstances may not be severe, but they gnaw at our peace just the same. And we all experience them. Someone said, "Show me the person who doesn't have problems and I'll show you someone who isn't breathing."

So what separates those of us on the outside of a psychiatric unit from those on the inside? Better mental and emotional health? Inner strength? God? Our genetic make up? All of these can determine whether we succumb to depression or not, but the fact is if we do succumb there is hope in God. We do not have to say like that young man, "I have no hope." The Bible tells us, "Hope thou in God." We need to hope in Him, not in our wealth, position, our physician, or our therapist, but in God.

Father forgive them

I recently became a fan of a secular program, and for me that is a rare thing. It happened because of one contestant who had the nerve to stand up to the insufferable Simon after he insulted her with his remarks about her size. The charming, talented young woman told Simon in no uncertain terms that she forgave him without needing an apology because Jesus had forgiven her! To have the boldness to say that on national TV is a gift that could only have come from God. When I heard it I thought, I have to see who this person is, so I watched the show this week and was very impressed.

In reading about the trailblazers that shaped the future of African Americans, I came across a young lady who also displayed a great lesson of forgiveness. Six-year-old Ruby Bridges was bused to the Franz Elementary School in New Orleans under desegregation laws, and met with a great deal of persecution from the white parents, so much so that President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered that she be escorted by marshals to school every day.

As a result parents kept their children away from the school as a mark of protest, so little Ruby sat alone in the school while her teacher taught her. But it is recorded that while she was being escorted she prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Eventually the whites woke up to the realization that their kids were not being educated and they sent them back to school.

I spoke to a man the other day who said, “I will never forgive my ex-wife for what she did to me. Never!” He admitted that he was only hurting himself, and when I told him that Jesus chose to forgive the Roman soldiers who tortured and killed Him, he became even more angry and stormed away. But whether you’re dealing with a Simon, an errant spouse or a whole bunch of enemies, forgiveness wins every time.

Women of courage

How does a woman juggle housework and babies while her husband spends more time in jail than in helping to raise the kids? And in addition to performing her role as wife and mother still finds time to take part in protest rallies, speak to scores of people and protect her children from a bomb or two. This week we mourn the passing of one such woman, Coretta Scott King.

In writing this blog I was prompted by two things: one, it’s Black History month and two, a film of Gandhi which I viewed recently. Coretta King, wife of civil rights leader Martin Luther King and Kasturba “Ba” Gandhi were married to men who achieved world wide acclaim because of their extraordinary dedication to fighting injustice in their societies. However, I believe these men would not have achieved such greatness had they not been blessed with such exceptional mates.

Coretta King gave up the bright lights of a singing career to become the wife of a Baptist minister in 1953. Like Kasturba, Coretta also gave birth to four children. Early in the marriage she worked alongside her husband, or it was more like walked in marches beside him, traveled abroad with him and spoke on her husband’s behalf when he was unable to do so. However, while Mrs. Gandhi passed away before her husband, Coretta survived Martin Luther King by four decades. Determined that the work her husband began would live on, Coretta gave herself no time to mourn. Just four days after his death she led a march through the streets of Memphis, and attended the Poor People’s March in Washington later that year.

Over the years, Coretta King continued to work tirelessly in her husband’s memory, establishing the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, Georgia and achieving the goal of having her husband’s birthday honored as a public holiday in Jan. 1986. She continued to travel the globe preaching the gospel of equality and became a goodwill ambassador and advisor to world leaders including Nelson Mandela.

Like most wives of men in the limelight, Coretta and Kasturba had to put up with the scores of women who admired and followed their husbands. Despite rumors of infidelity on Martin Luther’s part, Coretta “stood by her man” as did Kasturba when women took her place in attending to Gandhi’s needs, and the world speculated on their non-sexual relationship. Whether we are married to a leader or a subordinate, we can learn from Coretta and Kasturba. Two women, two different worlds, many eras apart, but their message is the same: loyalty, devotion and courage. God calls us to no less.

Father forgive them

This past week my heart was warmed and saddened at the same time by a story in the Miami Herald about a man who had been set free after being incarcerated for twenty four years for a crime he didn’t commit. Crotzer is not the first, and hopefully would not be the last. Technology, via DNA testing, has made it possible for someone’s innocence or guilt to be proven years after a crime was committed. So today Crotzer and many others are free as a result of this, as well as the untiring efforts of their defense lawyers and the New York-based Innocence Project.

Many people rejoice at this turn of events, but for Crotzer and others like him who lost a big chunk of their lives, the road to true freedom is littered with obstacles. Diaz, a man freed after twenty six years, hardly ever leaves his house. His wife remarried, and he now lives with his daughter and her family. Crotzer, on the other hand, would like to find a job. But what skills does he have to live and work in the twenty first century? When he was released he had to be taught how to use a cell phone and how to swipe a card to open a hotel door, according to the Herald. A lot has taken place in twenty-four years.

However, two things struck me most about this story. The first is that Crotzer said he had no bitterness against anyone for robbing him of twenty-four years of his life. To suffer what he suffered and not be bitter is almost unbelievable. It’s almost like Jesus asking God to forgive the Roman soldiers for crucifying Him. How many of us could be like that? I don’t know if I could.

The other thing that struck me is that Crotzer’s mother passed away four years prior to his release. Crotzer said that is the one thing he regretted. And I believe that mother must have been praying all the while she waited for something to happen. Never underestimate the power of prayer. You might not live to see the answer, but the answer will come if you persist in prayer.

So let us send up a prayer of thanksgiving for Crotzer and the others, let us pray for the defense lawyers and the Innocence Project. Most of all, let us pray that the deadline, set for July of this year in Florida, for cases to be retried based on DNA evidence will be removed completely so that more innocent victims could be set free.

Happy New Year!

Jan 8, 2006

Believe me, this is not what I planned for my first blog for 2006. I wanted to open with something upbeat like goal-planning or New Year’s resolutions, instead I find myself writing about death. The son of one of my co-workers died by accident the day before New Year’s Eve, and it put a damper on my spirits as well as the rest of the staff who worked with her.

Even though I never knew him, his passing filled me with such sadness that I had to force myself to get over it. He was only eighteen, cut off in a horrible way while not yet in his prime. As we attended the viewing, my heart broke at the sight of the lonely casket standing at the head of the aisle, unopened, while my friend courageously greeted friends and acquaintances. I couldn’t say anything to her. No words, however eloquent, would be adequate. I conveyed my feelings with a deep hug, and left as soon as I could.

And yet death is a daily occurrence. Someone said in the midst of life there is death. We heard of the death of the coal miners in Virginia, the death of the soldiers in Iraq, and many others, and we feel sympathy for the families. But when death dares to come inside, or close to, our door, our feelings are shattered. That this enemy could triumph over us is more than we can bear. The Bible says “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). And again in v 22 it says, “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death”).

Thank God that because of Jesus Christ death is not the end for us or our loved ones who have accepted Him as our Savior. No, it’s not the end, but the beginning of a glorious reign with Him in His heavenly kingdom.

Peace on Earth

Dec 26, 2005

Well, I do hope you had a very Merry Christmas and can now bring yourself to the computer to
read this blog. My Christmas was okay, if you consider a houseful of people-about ten in all, including grand-children ranging in ages from seven to eighteen months. But I loved it, although now I’m dog tired. But now that Christmas is over we can reflect on the blessings, disappointments, joys, sorrows of 2005.

Uppermost in most people’s minds I’m sure would be the battering of storms we had this year. For us in Florida it seemed like there was hardly a let up once the season got underway. And for the people of New Orleans, not used to the unusual temperaments of Mother Nature, this year must have been a real shocker. London and Spain had their share of terrorist bombings, and Israelis saw themselves giving up their much cherished land for the sake of peace.

However, peace, in Israel and elsewhere, remains an elusive dream. I asked some of my patients-about fifteen of them- to arrange a list of goals, including world peace, on a scale of 1-10. Amazingly, not one of them assigned peace to the top five. When I asked them why, they all said it’s not attainable.

Their response filled me with sadness. To think that we have grown so cynical that we no longer expect to live in a peaceful world. But this is what makes Christmas so special, so unique. Because it celebrates the birth of One who came to the world that we might have peace. When the angels announced Jesus’ birth they said, "Peace on earth to men of goodwill", and just before He left this earth He said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you ..." (John 14:27).

However as I write this men are fighting in Iraq and other parts of the world. Peace on earth? What peace, you ask. It’s the peace that fills your hearts and minds when you embrace Jesus as your Lord and Savior. When you do that, it doesn’t matter whether shells are falling all around you, you will be like the little bird I saw in a picture, sound asleep on the tip of a branch in the midst of a raging storm! That is the peace that passes all understanding.

The Reason for the Season

Well, the Christmas season is upon us, and even though I promised myself I would not get caught up in the shopping frenzy, the cleaning and decorating frenzy and the cooking frenzy, I am, because I have relatives coming over from this weekend. And I never seem to have enough time or money to do everything that I would like to do. However, in the midst of all the frenzy, I managed to pause for a moment and consider my pastor’s words from last Sunday’s sermon.
He said that corporate is pushing God out of all of its affairs, and it will reach the point where our very freedom to worship may be threatened.

Frightening, but very probable. When you consider that prayer is no longer allowed in schools, a judge was fired for posting the Ten Commandments in his courtroom, and everywhere you look amidst all the glittering public decorations nothing is mentioned about Jesus Christ, then what he said is a distinct probability. In what other part of the world would someone come up with the idea of calling a Christmas tree a holiday tree? But here in a country that boasts of having been founded under godly principles, our creativity knows no bounds. Celebrating Christmas without mentioning Jesus is like coming to my birthday party and bringing a gift for someone else. That would be a gross insult, wouldn’t it? But that is exactly what we are doing here in America.

In my workplace there is a banner that reads Happy Hanukkah, and lots of pictures of Santa Claus and his reindeer, but nothing about Christmas. Well, I came up with the idea of putting up a little nativity scene with Merry Christmas written over it in my area. I encourage you to do the same, if you can. If you cannot put something up, how about putting something on- a T shirt, pin or some other emblem that would show that you’re celebrating the birth of Jesus. After all, He is the reason for the season. Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, hello there. Hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving and didn’t eat too much. Remember Christmas is less than a month away. I didn’t post this earlier because I worked on Thanksgiving Day, (got my turkey on work, too) and then came home early.

Well, what do I have to be thankful for? For life, health, friends, family, a home (still standing post Wilma) but most of all for the Holy spirit who checks me when I’m tempted to complain. I wanted to post a blog about the injustices we’re suffering here in South Florida after the hurricane, but He reminded me that the people of New Orleans suffered many times more than we did. Many of them probably could not get together with friends and family on Thanksgiving Day, or go to the mall (what’s that?) the next day.

So we’re blessed, I’m blessed, my family is blessed, my friends are blessed, the only that really suffers is the poor ol’ turkey.
God bless

Wilma's Blessings

It seems like anything I write these days it has to do with hurricanes. Today is one week since Wilma pounded South Florida and for many of us the road to recovery is a slow and painful one. Some of us, like my family and I, have been a little more fortunate than others. We hooted for joy when our lights returned on Saturday. Those yellow orbs never looked more beautiful. To be able to take a hot shower again, and use the microwave and the dishwasher again, and for me to be able to write again. It almost brings tears to my eyes.

We in South Florida had never experienced such widespread damage. Andrew back in 1993, was bad. Many people lost their lives and their homes, but it was just in one area. This time Wilma made sure she touched everyone. So now we’re still trying to cope with limited services that we once took for granted-like the supermarkets, banks, not to mention electricity and gas. But we have a lot to be thankful for.

There is a lot of sharing and generosity not usually seen here. Our neighbor went out of town the day after the storm and left us with his generator, so we were able to plug in the fridge and other small appliances. Someone brought me ice and water, which I shared with a lady from my church who lives alone. People, for the most part, are more courteous on the roads since most of the traffic lights are out.

Also, many people are talking about God. This morning I heard a gentleman on a call-in radio program say that Wilma was a reminder to us that God is in charge. That our plans, our todays, our tomorrows are all in His hands and we need to acknowledge. And he was readily backed up by the radio host. Yes, we may not have all the food we need, we have to stand in long lines for supplies, but the majority of us survived, so while we still have today, let’s place it in God’s hands.

KEEPING UP

Once again I’ve found myself lagging with this blog, but I’ve been keeping up with pretty much everything else. I’m walking indoors to a videotape, I’ve begun a twenty-one-day meatless fast, and that’s going pretty well, and I’ve been keeping up with my writing groups. My weakness lies in submitting to the different markets. One reason is, let’s face it, I hate REJECTION! But I also know if I don’t submit I can’t get accepted, right? So this week I’m focusing on SUBMISSIONS! How many did I do? Two-one to a contest, one to a devotional mag. For me that’s very good, but I want to be excellent. So next week I’ll submit three. How about that?

On a somber note, once again we’re bracing for another hurricane. Hurricane Rita. In New Orleans the streets are now beginning to dry, dead bodies are still around and people are still in a state of shock. People who had been evacuated to nearby Texas are now running from Texas. The Bible says in the last days men will run to and fro, their hearts failing them for fear. We cannot run from God and His wrath, the answer is to run to him. Won’t you run to Him today?

A Thief in the Night?

I think you would have to live on Mars to not hear about the devastating impact of hurricane Katrina. It has been called the most expensive hurricane in US history. The stories of widespread death and destruction would make enough reels to keep movie directors busy. And we in Florida thought Andrew was bad.

However, what boggles my mind is the fact that there was little or no warning, little time to prepare. I left for work that morning paying scant attention to the news. After all, it was just a tropical storm, right? But by the time I was ready to leave work that evening the clouds had darkened, rain poured from the heavens and palm trees bent almost to the ground by the fury of Katrina. I tried to make it out the door, but her ferocious, unseen hands literally pushed me back in. Fortunately, I work in a hospital that had already activated its emergency plan, and employees were accommodated for the night.

As I lay on the small hospital bed, I reflected on what the Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 "... that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." Here in Florida we were unprepared, and judging from the extent of the destruction in Louisiana, New Orleans and Biloxi, the people there were unprepared as well. So it was in Noah’s day. The people made fun of Noah when he told them a flood was coming. By the time they got to the ark God had already closed the doors.

Friends, let’s prepare now to meet the Lord while there is still time. You don’t want the doors of heaven to be closed against you.

Get anchored

Well, I’ve just returned from a fabulous cruise to the Caribbean. Seven glorious days on sea and land with some of my best friends and church family. It couldn’t get any better. So now I’m back at the keyboard trying to make good on the promise I made to you and myself last week. As far as my exercise goes, I got more than enough on the cruise. I walked miles both on the ship and when we went ashore, and I also took advantage of the state-of- the-art gym, sauna and spa on board ship, so by the time we set sail for home my clothes felt roomier, and I looked and felt better. How about that? So now I’m back and catching up on some much needed sleep. You know no one sleeps on a cruise.

But anyway, this week I want to comment on a book I just finished reading. It’s The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, and it tells of the life of Esther Greenwood, a young student fashion writer, whose troubled life closely resembled Sylvia’s. In the book she says, "I’ve tried to picture my world and the people in it as seen through the distorting lens of a bell jar." The book itself ends on a hopeful note, but as some of you may know, Sylvia Plath committed suicide. Her mother said that Sylvia was overwhelmed by trying to keep up with her writing and with the demands of her domestic life.

The idea of someone at the pinnacle of her success ending her life seems unthinkable, but it happens all too often. This is why I cannot overemphasize the importance of being anchored to God. It is He who gives us the strength to live from day to day. It is He who helps us to stay on the surface when the currents of life threaten to pull us under. Please, give your life to Him today, and watch Him take over.

Discipline

This week I received some inspiration from a photo of an 83- year-old woman who looks about half her age. I made a copy of her picture and circulated it among my colleagues, telling them that was me. Not one of them said, "You look great", or something to that effect. Instead, one asked, "That’s you?" Another asked, "When did you take this?" They were letting me know-quite nicely- that I didn’t look anything like the woman in the picture. So eventually I told them, "That’s me in a few months."

Now it takes discipline to achieve that kind of appearance. Discipline to get up early in the morning and exercise, discipline to pass up a second helping of that pie or that ice-cream. In the same way it takes discipline to pray, study the Word or write this blog. Acquiring this discipline comes from God. He can help you get where you want to go, be what you want to be, do what you want to do.

I have to admit I’m not there yet, although I’m trying and I’m praying. I remember when I first started walking, I felt like I was ploughing through ankle-deep mud. I struggled to walk one mile those first few weeks. Then I struggled to walk three days a week, but gradually I worked up to one and a quarter mile, then one and a half and this past week I walked two miles two days and exercised two days. Excuse me while I pat myself on the back..

However, my goal is to exercise at least four days a week. To achieve this, I’ve worked out a plan. If I wake up too late to go walking, I put on my video and do a thirty minute workout, or if I feel like doing neither I’ll do some stretching or weight lifting exercises. They are great for toning and limbering up the body. So pretty soon, I’ll be looking like that 83-year-old woman.

My next test of discipline has to do with my writing. I haven’t been exactly consistent in writing this blog. So I’m going to work on that, plus write at least one page of my new book In the Promised Land each day, submit an article every week and keep on submitting and tweaking Coming out of Egypt until I get it published. With a full time job and a home to look after, this could be a daunting prospect, but "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me" Phillipians 4:13.

Next week I’ll let you know whether I’m succeeding or not.

Happy Fourth of July

I finally got my Bravenet code pasted in to my blog, but guess what, the original had disappeared, the one about fathers, so you may be seeing two of the same with different titles! Let’s you know I’m not yet savvy about this whole blogging business. But I like it. I mean where else can you write about a whole spectrum of topics, from making afghans to politics?

So Happy Fourth, everybody. I trust that while you’re having your second helping of apple pie you stop to reflect on what Independence means to you and to America. What does Independence truly mean? Does it only mean having the ability to govern ourselves? Free from outside control, as the Oxford dictionary tells us? Or does it mean not depending on anyone? America is known as the Land of the free and the home of the brave. But lately we have to ask ourselves who are the free and who are the brave?

When a judge in Alabama loses his job as a result of fighting to keep the Ten Commandments in the courthouse, where is the freedom? When people can get into trouble for giving out tracts or Bibles near a school, where is the freedom? The drug dealers have easier access to the children than we do. When Christian teachers have to refrain from telling their pupils about God for fear of losing their jobs, where is the freedom?

Freedom may be limited, but bravery abounds. We have to be brave to walk the streets at nights, brave to send our children to school, brave to mention the name of Jesus in public. When over thirty six million people live in poverty in this, the richest country on earth, where is the independence? When children are the largest growing number of the nation’s poor, where is the independence? When words like outsourcing and downsizing are common everyday terms, where’s the independence?

I hate to spoil your celebrations, but we need to examine ourselves. The laws of this country were based on the laws of God. We must obey them. In the book of Deuteronomy Chapter 4 verses 5-6 Moses told the children of Israel: "Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgements, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.

Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people."
Can other nations now look at us and say we are a wise and understanding people? Hey, go easy on that apple pie. But that’s for another blog.

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Fathers In Action

I trust that all you fathers had a wonderful Father’s day with your loved ones. For the past few weeks I have been writing about mothers of the Bible, so now with Fathers’ day behind us, I think it would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention something about fathers and their place in our lives.

Fathers are tough, or most of them are, but they, too, need the guidance and strength that can come only from their Heavenly Father. A father who thinks he is too much of a man to pray or go to church is depriving himself -and his family- of one of the greatest benefits, which is, godly counsel. In Psalm 63:1, David said, " ... early will I seek thee: my soul longeth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;"

David knew the benefits of seeking God’s face regularly not only for counsel, but for comfort. Because even big, rugged men need to be comforted. When the storms of life come against you, as they did for David many times, you need comfort. You may try to mask your feelings with a macho outlook, but inside you hurt just as women do.

Abraham, called by God to be the "father of many nations", also knew the benefits of staying close to God. So much so, that he was called a "friend" of God. And the Lord said, "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgement; ..."( Genesis 18:19).

Such was the confidence that God had in Abraham. And He can have that same confidence in fathers of today if they would seek His face the way Abraham did. But not only did Abraham seek God, he obeyed him in everything, even to the point of taking his only son Isaac to sacrifice him, as the Lord had commanded.

Our society today is in dire need of godly fathers. In many homes the fathers are missing, and in some they are missing in action. Many juvenile offenders come from homes like these. What type of father are you? Are you missing or missing in action? Ask God to bring you back so you can fulfill your divine destiny as the head of the home. If every father would begin to do this we will see a turnaround in our nation and in the world. How about it?

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