If I Were The Devil

Read this in our church bulletin Sunday. It is from Paul Harvey:

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's
effort, instead of God's blessings;

I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of
the other way around;

I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;

I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to
leadership;

I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent
machines to make it convenient;

I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that life of animals are
valued more than human beings;

I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was
grounds for a lawsuit;

I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I
would get sports heroes to advertise them;

I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the
minds of every family member for my agenda;

I would attack then family, the backbone of any nation. I would make
divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so
does the nation;

I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and
movies screens, and I would call it art;

I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their
lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;

I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who
call themselves authorities and refer to their agendas as politically
correct;

I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, the
Bible is for the naive:

I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is
not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;

I GUESS I WOULD LEAVE THINGS PRETTY MUCH THE WAY THEY ARE!

Rejected Pick-Up Lines

I once taught a Sunday School lesson to the youth in which I gave them rejection lines for pick up lines they may receive.

Here are some of them:

Man: I would go to the end of the world for you.
Woman: But would you stay there?

Man: Where have you been all my life?
Woman: Hiding from you.

Man: Haven't I seen you someplace before?
Woman: Yes, that's why I don't go there anymore.

Man: Is this seat empty?
Woman: Yes, and this one will be too if you sit down.

Man: I want to give myself to you.

Woman: Sorry, I don’t accept cheap gifts.

There are also designated phone numbers you could give to people that you don’t like that may request your phone number called Rejection Hotlines. The other person doesn’t know it’s a rejection number until they dial it. Here is one of them >212-660-2245, try it!

The purpose of the lesson was to discuss dealing with rejection. Rejection doesn’t come primarily from dealing with the opposite sex, but can also come from employment rejection, rejection from leaders (teachers, parents, etc) and rejection from peers.

John 1 tells us that Jesus went to his own people and his own people rejected him. He was the stone that the builders rejected and became the cornerstone itself!

But my favorite is this, Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? “

While we will never be away from rejection, we can learn to not let it define who we are!

Awkward Moments

I read a story about a man named John Paul Jones. He was captain of the USS Ranger that had been given the first official salute from a foreign (French) ship in recognition of America’s independence and its newly adopted “Stars and Stripes” flag.

The story was about an altercation that was between Captain Jones and a larger British ship. Knowing that his ship was smaller and had fewer guns aboard, he made every effort to get side by side with his and the British ship.

An awkward moment came as the men were waiting for the ships to angle themselves properly. There were no guns shooting and no men shouting when the British captain taunts Captain Jones by telling him to surrender.

Captain Jones replied, “I have not yet begun to fight!”

It reminded me of the story of Mordecai. He offended a high ranking political advisor by not bowing to him. The advisor later asked the king to kill Mordecai and all his people. But Mordecai was a cousin of the queen and the queen spoke of how Mordecai saved the king. The king then asked his advisor how he should honor a man who pleased the king.

Thinking the king was talking about himself, the advisor shared that he should put a royal robe on him and mount him upon a royal horse escorting him through the city proclaiming how the king approved of him. The king then ordered him to carry it out for Mordecai. The man he hated.

These are two awkward stories that can really make us think. But there is one awkward scenario that wouldn’t be good for us to go through. That scenario is standing at judgment while the book of life is opened and our name is being searched for.

Do everything you can to prevent that awkward moment!

The Church Of Exiles

In school we learned that the Statue of Liberty was given to us from France as a result of a friendship formed from the Revolutionary War.

She stands at the door of our country welcoming strangers to the land of the free.

She holds a torch that represents “world-wide welcome”. The torch signals a beacon light for all to come.

She also holds a tablet. Inscribed on the tablet is the cry from her silent lips:

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"



Thank You http://www.nps.gov/



I can only imagine what the sight of the statue seemed like to those immigrants coming by ship to America.

Yet, the church is mandated with the same purpose.

The Statue of Liberty is fittingly named, the Mother of Exiles. The exiled are the undesired, lost, turned away and forsaken.

We are called to welcome these. Let’s be changed, and let us help change these!

The Banana Massacre

I had done some research on labor strikes several years ago. There were several that stood out. Two strikes were 3 years apart in Columbia and Honduras by the same company, United Fruits Company (today, its known as Chiquita). This specific company has been known to have strikes arranged by their banana laborers to this day.

The revolt in Columbia led to the military getting involved and the strike in Honduras led to Martial Law.

Wild right? Banana workers causing havoc?

The Columbian rebellion resulted in what is known as the Banana Massacre. Machine guns placed on corners of rooftops were fired into a crowd of men, women and children.

Genesis 1:2 has this to say, the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Another translation says, the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

To think that through the darkness and voids God was still there is a peace beyond understanding. Through chaos, turmoil and rebellion, God is still hovering.  I challenge you to recognize His presence in your life while you experience its mayhem.

Angry Birds

December 31^st , 2010 gave birth to an occurrence that was both weird and unexplainable. It was about a massive bird death of about 5,000 blackbirds as the year rolled over to the next.

It happened in Beebe, Arkansas.

Immediately people started wondering about the phenomena. I’m sure people were thinking of what this meant, if this was some strange sign or maybe, what influence does this incident have on humans?

You must admit, it is strange; five thousand birds falling from the sky to their death. They were everywhere. They were dead on mailboxes, swimming pools, cars, lawns, roads, roofs and sidewalks.

Yet, no one knew what caused all of this. Did some magical force moving in the New Year have an impact on the bird population? Was the cause due to the birds drinking something from somewhere that killed them? Did humans have something to do with it? Was it a disease or virus spreading between those birds?

To this day, no definitive answer has arisen from that strange event.

One year later, December 31^st, 2011, the same thing happened.  People woke up the next morning to the same display; dead birds everywhere. Except this time, there were those that were suspicious.  People believed that this time it was caused by man.  They believe that men purposefully and maliciously sought out the nesting trees of these birds as they slept and lit fireworks.

It’s believed that this caused the birds to awaken in fear and panic. As a result, the birds were literally scared to death.

The bible is filled with scriptures we would consider strange or different. Consider Job, who said, “my breath is offensive to my wife”.  He is a man who lost everything except his character and his wife could no longer handle it. But in the end, he had double of his original possession.

Behind every strange occurrence in scripture, there is a greater blessing! I encourage you to search for your treasure!

Pigs or Chicks?

Chicken & Pigs

They come in many variations. BBQ, fried or roasted. The one thing in common with these methods of deliciousness is that the animals have to die.

No matter where you go, they are popular in most places.

However, neither of these were strong desires in 1997. The reason is due to the spread of the Flu Virus. Pigs broke out in the US with the illness that year and in Hong Kong they killed 1.25 million chickens to stop the spread of it as well.

I’m sure they were very stressful days for the two animals.

It reminded me of the herd of swine in Mark 5.

The scripture reads of Jesus freeing two men from demons and those demons fleeing into a herd of swine. The swine then ran down the hill and drowned in the sea.

Although our problems may be many, Jesus has the power to make them flee.

Rely on Jesus! Trust in Him!

Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance is a staple for many events. It was originally written by a minister. He designed it to be memorized and recited within 15 seconds. However, as time passed, the pledge changed.

The latest version was adopted in 1954 and reads as follows:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

The last time I said the pledge was at the recent swearing in ceremony of my town’s new mayor. As a child, I recited it from memory only as directed from a teacher. Now, understanding the verbiage, I am proud to hold my hand over my heart, focus on the flag, truly mean the words I’m saying and recite it with others. It’s become one of those things that give me goose bumps in realizing the gravity of the pledge itself.

But it’s merely not enough to recite the pledge though; you must also place your hand over your heart to take true ownership of it.

Many people practice a similar principle when calling out to God. It is known as the lifting of hands.

This is practiced several times in the bible. The clearest to me is in 1 Timothy 2:8;
I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

If you were at gunpoint, what would your first reaction be? To lift your hands in surrender, if you want to live.

The same applies to God. If you were to surrender, you would lift up your hands showing your hands are empty, you have no weapons, you have no defense, it exposes vulnerability and you surrender to the will of the other party.

Lifting your hands also shows that you believe in God and trust in Him.

God knows your heart, but has always honored and requested this outward sign of prayer.
Pray, but also take ownership of it.

The Champion

The picture above is a hallmark in sports. It’s equivalent to Jordon seemingly gliding through the air to dunk or Babe Ruth aiming the bat down the field to where he will send the oncoming baseball.

The picture is of Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston who he just knocked out.

Sonny “Big Bear” Liston, is a man of mystery. He was a boxing champion who was defeated twice by arguably the greatest boxer of all time. Yet, there are important details in his life that not even the closest of relatives knew.

Sonny was born to parents of 13 children, yet no one knew his date of birth. He first told that he was born in 1928, yet the census done in 1930 had no record of his birth. Later, and for the purposes of boxing, he listed May 8, 1932 as his date of birth, though many people thought that was false as well because he looked years older.

Also, no one knows when or how he died. His wife returned home from a trip on January 5^th, 1971 and found him dead in their home next to his bed. The medical examiner declared December 30^th as his date of death because of the milk bottles and newspapers at his front door. His cause of death was listed as heroin overdose, yet he had no history of drug use.

1 Tim 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory”

While there is great mystery in God’s ways, there are things we know with a surety.

He was manifest (formed into) in the flesh – through Jesus.

He was justified (freed) in the Spirit- through the Holy Ghost.

Seen (known and made aware) of Angels.

Preached unto the Gentiles (non-Jewish people, me and you)

Believed on in the world (no explanation needed)

And received up into glory (Acts 1:9)

While we don’t know the day Sonny Liston was born or died, we are fortunate to know who our God is. But to know of God is not merely enough. We need to know God. The bible tells us that, to fear God is the beginning of wisdom and those that obey His word have good understanding.

The only way to know God and, more importantly, for him to know you is to follow Acts 2:38:

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost