To be IN Christ

If you're a Christian pick up your Bible sometime and look at it for a moment. What you are holding in your hands is a physical representation of Christ. He is the Word that was made flesh. To know Him is to know His Word and vice versa.

You may go to church every week. You may love to sing and pray in public and whatever else the church you attend encourages you to do. But if you don't study the Word you are not doing something that Christ would have us to do. We come to know Him through being obedient to His law, through prayer, fasting, meditation, fellowship and studying His word.*

The Bible is Gods revealed word to mankind. It contains knowledge that we wouldn't easily come by otherwise. It contains Gods laws to guide mankind into righteous behavior. It contains the history of Gods dealing with Israel whom God chose to bring the knowledge of His word and His will to mankind. His word records what happened when they obeyed Him and when they disobeyed Him. It records the praise and wisdom of Israel; what they learned from following Gods word. And, it contains prophecies about what the future holds for nations who have been obedient and those who have been disobedient. The God of the Hebrew scriptures stepped out of eternity and became a flesh and blood human being to walk among us and set us an example of how to live; to offer Himself as a sacrifice to pay for our disobedience and to free us from the penalty of death that sin brings. He now sits at the right hand of God the Father in Heaven and acts as our high priest. That is who Jesus the Christ is. Every letter, every word, every punctuation in every page of the Bible is a reflection of Christ...the Word who became flesh.

The Bible however is incomplete. The whole story has yet to be written. And there is, at least, one other book that reflects the Body of Christ. We are told about it in the scriptures...the Book of Life wherein the names of the saints are written. A common blessing in Judaism is "May your name be found in the Book of Life." If you're obedient to God...it is.

Every believer who endures to the end will become a part of the story. Every believers life will be preserved for eternity written in the pages of the book of life. That is a part of what it means to be 'In the body of Christ'. 

God uses us to spread the Gospel, the good news, in different ways. Some are called to be minsters, some to make our computers work better, some are on the airwaves and some to sweep the floors of His churches. All who serve God from the greatest to the least are a part of spreading His gospel to mankind. There are people who put bumper stickers on the backs of their cars and there are people who become conduits of Gods light and His love through their lives. 

I am reminded here of two stories from the Book of Martyrs that took place when the church was new. The Roman empire saw this new religion of the Jews as a threat to their power so one emperor decreed that all Christians should be put to death if they would not renounce this new faith. Christians were murdered across the empire, some in horrific ways. One of these early believers was a young girl of only 19. She was arrested and threatened but she refused to renounce her savior. For her crime against the empire she was sentenced to die in the coliseum. On the day of her punishment she was led out into the middle of the arena where gladiators fought for the entertainment of the Roman masses. The crowd laughed and jeered as lions were released into the arena. They expected to see this young child of God run and scream in horror. What they saw instead was her remain calm and begin to sing a hymn to her God. While the lions tore her body apart the crowd fell silent. When they saw that this young girl had found a steadfast faith that gave her such inner peace many of them yearned for the same. Among them three thousand souls came to Christ that day. I have no doubt that day God found a new jewel for His crown. What a Roman emperor tried eradicate that day grew beyond all expectation into something that would transform history.

When the emperors decree went out to the legions in the North and one commander got the decree he ordered any members of the army that embraced this new faith to denounce it or remove their armor and clothing and march out over a frozen lake that was nearby. Several men stripped down out of their armor and clothing and assembled into a unit. They marched out over the ice also singing a hymn. Their commander watched as each fell freezing to death. He was so moved that he removed his own armor and clothing and marched out to join them. He told his other men who watched him in disbelief that these were his best men and they deserved to die with their commander. 

These believers became part of the Body of Christ. While their stories are a mere footnote in history and their names all but forgotten, their names will be found in the Book of Life. Their stories will be written in the pages of Gods Word for eternity. They lived and died in Christ.

Most of us will never face such martyrdom. We all have our own battles to fight. By God's grace through Christ we can call on Him directly to strengthen us for the trials we must endure. He will never leave us or forsake us...that's a promise we can count on. 

His message to each of us...Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. It is our destiny to walk the same path as those early believers. We are called to follow Christ as His prophets and apostles before us did and to become part of the Written Word of God. 

Hebrews chapter 11, what some call the 'faith chapter' recounts the lives of many believers who have gone before us. Its says of them the world was not worthy. They knew their home was not among the kingdoms of men. Their home was the Kingdom of God. Their lives are recorded for us as examples to us. They never took their eyes off the Kingdom of the Heavens as their goal. 

To live a Christian life is to be in the Body of Christ. It's the most difficult way of life because it makes us examine every aspect of our lives as we hold up the Word of God like a mirror. It's the most difficult and it's only kind of life worth living. Let us never take our eyes off the goal of eternal life in Gods Kingdom. If we remain steadfast, one day, we too will become a part of the Living Word of God...a part of Christ.

That is the Gospel.  

 _______________________________________________

 *"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Tim.2:15 KJV

 

 

 

Ramblings of an Old Guy Part 9

The young are sometimes known for their idealism. It's a good thing to have ideals but, as I've grown older, I admit I've lost some of mine. I've become jaded in my life by the people and institutions that I once held up...perhaps too high.

At one time I believed wholeheartedly in the values of the Constitution of the United States. While I still believe in many of those values, I've come to more clearly sees the flaws in it too. I used to believe the government of the United States wasn't corrupt. I'm sad to say I no longer believe that. I now think government on every level is corrupt to some degree or another. What I once saw as the Best form of government in Democracy, I now see as a popularity contest that cannot sustain itself indefinitely. 

We Americans have been proud to have the oldest contiguous government on earth while also having one of the youngest countries on earth. The 'old world' has often seen us as upstarts...and they were probably right. What they see now, in 2020, is a corrupt and chaotic exercise in Democracy. We have career politicians that hold office, and power, for decades completely going against what our founding fathers envisioned for us. Power is brokered into personal wealth for far too many. I often wonder where the statesmen have gone but, the truth is, the American government has always been chaotic. Somehow, through the Grace of God, we managed to keep the same form of government. over two centuries now.

One area of our system that many have touted to be the "best in the world" is our justice system. After having dealt with it on several occasions I came to realize that our "justice" system is rarely about justice...it's more often about who has the most money; the best lawyer or the right judge. Where I was once a strict "law and order" adherent, I've come to wonder just how many innocent people are imprisoned and how many guilty walk free because of corruption. The professionals in our system all take an oath to support and defend our Constitution and too many of them go on to put their egos or pocket books before the principles laid down in that Constitution. And "this" is the system so many have fought for in all our wars over more than two centuries. 

Perhaps the saddest fact in this is that so many good men and women have given their lives for the values laid down in our Constitution. They were the true idealists. They bought the freedoms we now casually take for granted and they paid the ultimate price.  

My disillusion goes beyond the government to the military, business, educational institutions and, maybe most of all, to religious institutions. I've seen people play politics in churches, schools, businesses and in the military instead of living up to their ideals. We humans tend to serve our own egos much more often than we serve our ideals. 

I've decided that my number one goal in life is to serve my God and not my ego. I fail at it every day but I keep that goal in the forefront of my mind. I can't change the government; the military; the educational system or the church but I can change me. The times when I can't live up to some of my ideals, like forgiving everyone for everything, I know I can call on my God to do it through me. So I will no longer try to be a part of this world. This is just where I live. I will walk with my Creator to try and rise above the standards the world lives by. It's the hardest thing I've ever attempted in my life but it's the only way worth living.

Reaching out for life

Our knowledge of our solar system is expanding all the time. We've discovered dozens of new moons and planetoids and increased our understanding of the little neighborhood we reside in in our milky-way galaxy. We live in a galaxy of somewhere between one hundred and four hundred billion stars. Our galaxy is one of over two trillion galaxies in the universe. We are driven to explore it. We've spent billions of dollars in searching for life in the universe and the only place we are sure it exists is right here on earth. Life is rare...

As a human being with a three pound brain I am painfully aware that there are some things that I just can't comprehend. I've never been great at math, for example, so I've come to rely on people who are being able to explain it to me in terms I can understand. One such instance I recall is trying to wrap my head around how much a billion dollars is. It was explained to me this way... If you gave your wife a billion dollars and told her to go shopping and not return until it was all spent, then stipulated that she may not spend more than a thousand dollars a day...she wouldn't come home for over three thousand years! When thinking on grand scales like astronomy and how big space is I'm reminded of that analogy. 

While I'm a fan of space travel and searching for extra-terrestrial life, given how we treat each other and the other living things on earth...the only place in the universe we're sure life exists...I wonder what we would do if we did find life elsewhere. We live on the most amazing planet that scientists have ever discovered. This blue jewel of ours is home to billions of different life forms. We humans like to believe we are the center of everything. We've come to dominate the earth. How we've treated each other and the other living things on the earth in our rise speaks to our shame. 

As a species we just don't value life. Now, I think we have the right to kill for only two reasons...for food and for self defense. The other living things on the earth kill for those reasons. But we murder each other over our differences in politics, religion and over the things we want that others have...just to name a few of our motivations. We humans don't value each other so it is no surprise that we murder some of the most amazing creatures on earth for trinkets and magical potions and passing fads.

Elephants, rhinos, tigers, pangolin, sharks and sea turtles are just a few of the other living things we feel entitled to butcher...out of greed and, sometimes, just because we can. When we aren't killing them we cage them or make them perform tricks for our amusement. We do all this while considering ourselves the "highest" form of life on earth. 

The biggest murder human beings are involved in is the murder of the earth itself. We trample across our blue jewel like we make no impact and it's resources will last forever. We pollute the air and the water. We think nothing of strip mines and deforestation...so we can have more "stuff".  We scar the face of the earth testing nuclear and other weapons. We engage in warfare that destroys plant life and kills any animals in it's wake indiscriminately. If any intelligent beings from other planets were to visit us they would undoubtedly be horrified at how we treat each other and desecrate the only home we have.

I suspect that life exists in billions of forms scattered across the universe. I have no doubt that there are other intelligent beings in the universe. Why they would want anything to do with us is a question we should ask ourselves. Who would you rather visit on a journey...adults or self absorbed, spoiled children?  I also suspect that there is a kind of "ethical barrier" in the universe that prohibits species such as ours from infecting other living things in the universe. The adults in the family don't allow the spoiled children to run wild in the neighborhood.

Since the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior I submit that, as a species, we are not worthy of trekking out into the universe and meeting other living beings. We need to grow up first. We need to learn to value our home, each other and the other living things on earth before we attempt to move out of the neighborhood. 

Just a thought...from the Blacksmiths Corner.

 

Kind-ness

While watching a movie recently it occurred to me that one of the most popular themes in movies and literature is when two people come to see beyond their differences and begin see their similarities. It seems especially poignant today since we are so intent on separating ourselves from each other.  As human beings we want to believe we are special and set apart. There are many things that divide us...race, religion, skin color, creed, nationality...and the list could go on and on. We like to see ourselves as "one of us" not "one of them". We sometimes even let things like our choice of sports teams divide us. It seems to me that we are pulled in two opposite directions. We want be be separate and unique and, at the same time, we want to be part of a greater whole.                                   

The wise men and women in every race and age have come to see beyond those things that separate us and see us as connected.  I'm reminded here of the old joke about the Buddhist who, ordering a hot dog says: "Make me one with everything!" The truth is...we are ONE  human race. We all draw from the same well of humanity. When we see another person...we aren't looking at some alien species...we are looking at someone more like us than different from us regardless of the differences we may focus on.

When we come to see, touch, or be touched by the humanity in another person we no longer see them as "one of them". That is what I've come to believe love is...the expanding of our sense of ourselves to include others.

Let's hope more of us come to understand that...before we can't turn back...

The Cesspool called Hollywood...

In the news lately we've heard about hurricanes hitting American cities leaving thousands homeless and without power. We've heard about more mass shootings with innocent people being murdered by crazed gunmen. The news has even touched on the crazy dictator in North Korea threatening nuclear war with the US...when it was a slow news day of course. 

What has overshadowed all these stories is the 'revelation' that men with power in Hollywood have been sexual predators for decades. That's the Real news after all! I call it a 'revelation' because, while it may sound new to many of us, most of Hollywood seems to have known about them all along. Hollywood has become the defacto American aristocracy. We hold, in the highest esteem, the actors who entertain us. We, as a culture, are drawn to the famous and want to know all about them. We can read all about their personal lives while in line at the grocery store. In what is the greatest of ironies they have become the moral voice of our generation. If the rich and famous believe it...it must be true. If they are 'doing it' it must be worth doing!

Let's bear in mind for a moment exactly what actors do. They don't cure diseases. They don't feed the hungry. They don't defend their country. They don't build our homes or grow our food. They don't put their lives on the line keeping our streets safe.  They pretend to be other people in front of a camera for the approval of strangers. They just entertain us. If they pretended to be other people without the cameras rolling they would be seen as common liars and con artists. Those who engage in sexual activity for the camera would be seen as common prostitutes...if there were no camera. The camera brings fame. Look at how many people want to be in front of it. Reality shows are at record numbers because of the promise of making, even the lowliest of us famous!

Many actors do this for obscene amounts of money that come with the fame it brings. For that many of them have sold their souls and compromised, or completely sold out, any values they may have begun with. Because, obviously, riches and fame are more important than integrity and good character.

Many actors, out of guilt or perhaps the desire for even more fame, take the time to advocate for some social cause so they can alleviate their consciences and convince themselves that they do something of value in our society. Many even tell us how they think we should vote! You see, Hollywood types and politicians have a great deal in common. Both want to be seen as good, decent people regardless of what they are really like in their private lives. Their lives are all about appearances over actual substance. 


Now...I like well written, well acted movies that tell a good story or makes some point. They entertain me...for a couple of hours at a time. 

Hollywood also cranks out more filth in the form of movies than a sewage treatment plant. What I'm talking about are those movies that glorify gun violence and gratuitous sex because those things sell...very much like illegal drugs. They appeal to the lowest, basest parts of us.

The people that make those movies tend to subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, push their own values off on the rest of us. While glorifying gun violence they preach to the rest of us the evils of owning guns. While making contemptuous comments about people of faith they advocate for all kinds of perversion. While giving lip service to treating women as the equals of men...those in power have sexually abused and degraded women just because they could. The same is true of those homosexuals in positions of power...many of them have equally abused their positions over young men and women because they could.

We are finding these things out now because it has become fashionable for victims to speak up. Many of the victims bear some responsibility for the culture that permeates Hollywood because most have waited to speak up for fear of their careers being damaged. They've held their silence to advance in their careers and allowed their abusers to continue their predatory behavior on new victims for decades...


These are the people who tell the rest of America what we should value? These are the people who want to tell the rest of us how to live? That sounds like a very bad B-movie comedy doesn't it? All they, in fact, do is pull down and trample on the values that have made this country great and sustained it through multiple wars and upheavals.

We, as a society, need to put actors and other Hollywood types in their proper place as simply entertainers and nothing more. They have it in their power to educate and uplift but few of them ever exercise that. They are no better than any one of the rest of us. In fact one may argue that they have something missing in themselves that they have a need to be recognized by strangers and held on some kind of pedestals because we can identify with the characters they pretend to be. I call that pathetic...worse yet some are plain evil. None of them are worth looking up to...

Human Nature

I'm a game of thrones fan...just like millions of other people. I think a part of it's appeal is that all human beings recognize greed, unbridled ambition and people who will do anything to get what they want. We recognize those, and the other qualities that the GOT characters demonstrate because they are all a part of each of us. We all draw from the well that is humanity.

While watching one evening it occurred to me that the various characters run around just like they actually have power, like they are in charge of the earth. Human leaders everywhere are little different. I thought: "How foolish human beings are to think that we control things!". That kind of control is a pure illusion. We have no real control over life. Sickness, old age and death come to us all eventually. We can't keep someone we love from dying when their time comes. We can't control what someone else thinks or feels. We can't control the weather or the geological changes in the earth. We live on the surface of a big ball and we are little better than ants. Someone observing us from a great altitude would, undoubtedly, come to a similar  conclusion.

What we do have power over; what we can control is ourselves. This is a truth that has been discovered and described by the wise in every race; every culture and every age. Theirs are voices that get drowned out in every generation because the young believe they are the first to discover all the wonders in life. For them everything is new so they must have discovered it. We can pass down our genes and we can pass down the body of knowledge that our race has amassed but we can't pass down wisdom. Wisdom is something that must be earned by every individual and, try as they might to pass it on, every wise person who has ever lived has found that very few will actually learn from their experience. You see...that's what wisdom is...learning from someone else's experience.

We have the power to destroy ourselves...and all life on earth for that matter. What we don't have the power to do is create life. The power that we think we have is an illusion. We like to delude ourselves that we are much more than we are. We, collectively, have thrown God out of our lives like we don't need Him. 'That' is delusional. We need Him now more than ever.

We'll all realize that one day. And that day is coming sooner than most of us think.

Civil War

I've often wondered why they call the war between the states 'civil' when there was nothing civil about it. Our country almost tore itself apart at that time. That the current generation, most of whom are ignorant of their own history, is behind the movement to tear down civil war monuments speaks to that ignorance. The country needed to heal after that devastating war between brothers. The Confederate monuments were a symbol of that healing. They weren't erected to celebrate racism or slavery. They were erected to recognize the courage and bravery of a people who fought for what they believed in. Most of them never owned a single slave. Though many modern historians try to tell us that war was all about slavery it was much more complicated than that. It was about states rights and the refusal to be told what to do, how to live, by a central government.

There is no question that slavery is wrong. It is an evil that almost every nation on earth has some history of. Over 500,000 Americans died paying for the sin of slavery. To help heal the rift between the winners and the losers of that civil war monument were erected in many cities to acknowledge it. In much the same way streets were named after and statues erected to Martin Luther King...to  heal a rift between two factions. Having those monuments acknowledges a time in our past where our people were violently divided by what they believed.

That time of conflict was a time very much like now. Our country is tearing itself apart by people who are beginning to see those that don't agree with them as less than they are somehow. Both sides have likened the other to Nazis...by people who have no idea how evil Nazis were. We have a history of different factions clashing; of people striving to be recognized as equals of the majority. Europeans clashed with the Native Americans, society clashed over women's rights, blacks have clashed against whites, political parties have always clashed against each other...sometimes more violently than others. These are many things that have divided us...but somehow, through it all we, eventually, came together or at least called an uneasy truce.

The time of turmoil we are entering now is only in the beginning stages. We have some dark times ahead of us. Americans, once again, seem unwilling to talk to each other...or even acknowledge the other side isn't made up of evil people...just people who disagree. We have enemies all around the globe that lie in wait to pounce on us in a time of weakness. God help us that we can come through this time of turmoil and come back together like we have in the past.

If enough people can remember that what we have in common is far greater than the things that separate us we may come through this time. If not...history has it's lessons to teach us there too. Ahead lies darkness or light...

Only time will tell...

World War III is coming...

World wars I and II were both supposed to be the wars that ended war. The trouble is...human nature hasn't changed. The technology has only gotten better. We humans are quite clever at figuring out how to kill each other in greater and greater numbers more effectively. If you are paying attention you know there is a general sense among many people that there are some very dark days ahead. The world is preparing for war.

Make no mistake about it. Many foreign leaders are doing what every chess player understands, they are positioning themselves for war. Like World Wars I & II once hostilities begin...once the first shots are fired...many nations may strike against their perceived enemies and it could spread like wildfire.

The only thing history really teaches us is that we learn nothing from history. The world is very much like it was in the 1930's...people have forgotten what real war looks like; there are waves of nationalism generated in many countries. Civil strife tears at the fabric of many countries. Economic uncertainty abounds. There are potential flash points all over the globe. India and Pakistan; India and China; China and Taiwan; North Korea and the US; Israel and it's Arab neighbors...just to name a few.

The sad fact is that every weapon ever invented by man, up to and including the atomic bomb, has been used in warfare against other human beings. The weapons we possess now almost make the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like toys. Nuclear weapons are horrific to be sure but biological and chemical weapons are their own kind of nightmares. Mankind has truly reached the point wherein we can destroy all life on earth. And, I'll say again, the trouble is...human nature hasn't changed.

The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. And, while most humans beings have learned very little from history...those of us who have tried to learn from history are terrified because we know that one day all the weapons we've created will be used.

We've thrown God of our public discourse at a time when we need Him most. He is our only hope of deliverance...from ourselves. I take comfort in my faith that teaches me He will deliver us from ourselves but not before some very dark times ahead.

"Come let us return to the Lord..." Hosea 6:1

Ramblings of an Old Guy Part 8

I recently turned 60 years old. (Hold on a minute...I have to read that first sentence over a few times for it to sink in!) Someone must have made a mistake! Someone screwed up the math! I can't be THAT old!!

I'm on the down-side of life's journey now. My youth is gone. It occurs to me that one of the great ironies in life is that we are expected to choose a career and a life partner while we are in our twenties. While I thought I knew everything when I was in my twenties...I realize now that I was an idiot! At 60 you can understand 20...but it doesn't work the other way around. In some ways growing older is like climbing a mountain.The higher you climb the farther you can see. I had no idea what I wanted out of life when I was in my twenties. Now that I've had a few birthdays I've figured it out...but don't have the energy I once had to enjoy it.

In my twenties I might have gravitated to someone who seemed to have "all the answers".  I don't fall for that trap anymore. Now, I'm leery of anyone who makes such claims. My experiences in life have taught me a few things...though some had to be hammered in my head over and over before they finally sunk in.

There is a sadness in growing old...but there is a joy too. I'm not impressed by a lot of the things that impressed me in my youth. I've become too jaded. The things that impress me now are the simple and honest things. I find a good dog to be near the top of the list. I've learned to be a better man from dogs. As far as people go, I've come to see the truth that Marcus Aurelius wrote in his "Meditations". I try not to concern myself with other people except for some unselfish purpose. I realize we all have it in our power to tear each other down or uplift each other. My faith teaches me to try and do the latter.


I've lost too many friends and family members to death at this point in my life to think life is all joy. It has its joy to be sure...but seeing someone I care about die tempers that joy. I've come to see love as the power that transcends life and death and possibly even time and space. My love for some who have crossed the veil has grown stronger over the years. My faith teaches me that I will see them all again. In that way, one day, death will be welcome. I've grown to hate death but see it as a way out too...a chance to finally find out the answer to life's biggest questions.

There are still too many things I want to do in life...but I leave all that in God's hands. Right now I'm just enjoying the simple things.

All Creatures Great and Small

I find it the height of irony that mankind is so intent on finding life on other worlds while taking for granted the wonder of living things all around us. We spend our time and money on building elaborate, advanced technologies
to find any kind of life not-of-this-earth. If our search for extraterrestrial life has taught us anything, it is that life is rare and precious. We too often take for granted that we share this amazing little blue planet with other living things. And when we take the time to really see them it becomes clear that each of them is a miracle in itself. Each of them has as much ownership of this earth as we. Each of them has the right to be here.

We hold the unspoken belief that the earth, and everything on it, is ours to do with as we please. God gave us dominion over everything else on the earth. We are the pinnacle of life on earth after all. Unfortunately our history is one of misuse and abuse of the world and the living creatures around us. We've failed to realize that with the dominion God gave us comes a great responsibility. We have the responsibility to treat other living things with respect and compassion. Instead, we all too often take all other living things...including each other...for granted. Why would God allow us to find life on another world when we treat the life on the world He gave us with such abuse and neglect?

We have misused animals, and each other, for our own perverted purposes as long as there have been human beings on earth. I believe the way we treat animals tells us something about who we really are...and it's not a good picture.

Some believe animals should entertain us. That's at the heart of things like circus's.  I don't care for people teaching animals that they need to perform tricks for their keep. I've never liked the circus or any practice that uses animals for entertainment.They don't need to do anything other than be themselves as far as I'm concerned. So many of them are far more intelligent than we give then credit for. So many of them are capable of love and friendship. We could learn so much from them if we'd just pay attention.

We owe them our love and respect because they are our fellow inhabitants of this planet. They add so much to life. I find practices that use animals for some perverse human purposes to be despicable. The Chinese practice of using rhinoceros horns, tiger bones; elephant tusks and bear gall bladder among other things are plain barbaric as far as I'm concerned. The world would be a far less interesting place without these noble creatures. For people to use them, especially for such ignorant, backwards purposes, speaks to our shame. Unfortunately, as the Chinese and Vietnamese grow richer because of capitalistic reforms, more of them have the money to afford black market rhino horn and other animal parts for their fantasy drugs. The practice is driven purely by superstition combined with greed and the uneducated lunacy that promotes it has endangered some of the most magnificent living things on earth.

There is no question that we, human beings, are an arrogant and immature species. We trample on the earth instead of walking softly upon it. We kill what we deem to be different or somehow 'less' than we are. We use living things for decorations and current fads. Even the most 'civilized' peoples among us are no better than jungle tribesmen in some ways. At least jungle tribesmen kill mainly for food and survival.

The creatures that inhabit our planet with us aren't things to be used...they are living, breathing examples of God's glory. There are many species that can feel the same emotions we do. Many animals are capable of love. And we are losing more of them every day by encroaching on their habitats; poisoning the air and water that they need and, too often, killing them just to suit some perverse and base desire.

While I believe in a kind of "food chain ethics" that we have the right to use animals for food the way any other predator on earth would, I also believe we owe them a measure of respect. With the right to use and kill animals for our survival comes the responsibility to treat them humanely. We use domesticated animals for food and work and that gives us the responsibility to care for those so used. This has been a common value among peoples who have used domesticated animals for their livelihoods for thousands of years. Too many other people kill and maim animals for profit and sometimes just because they can. Far too many take animals into their homes as pets or domesticated partners and misuse and abuse them. We humans, the 'highest' form of life on earth, often seem to be the most despicable to me. Animals only kill when they need to for survival...unless they've been perverted by contact with humans. Human beings kill...because we can.

Life in the universe is rare...if it exists anywhere else...and we, here on earth, have been richly blessed with an abundance of life forms. If we want to study alien life we, often, have to look no farther than the world around us. Insects and microscopic life forms are as alien as any other planet could produce. If we were to find life on another world...our history of  how we've treated them speaks to how we would eventually treat alien life. Why would God allow us to infect the living things on another world with the barbarity that we have treated the living things around us with? This planet is a training ground to prepare us before heading out into the universe. All we have done is prove that we're not ready for such a trek.

The Buddhists and others are right. We are all a part of a greater whole. The way we treat the least among us tells us who we are. We have a long way to go...

The Facts about the "Religion of Peace"

Here's what the Koran says:

The Verse Of The Sword from Al-Tawbah
Fight and slay the pagans (infidels) wherever ye find them, and seize them,
beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war." - Sura 9:5

"Prophet, make war on unbelievers and hypocrites, and deal rigorously
with them." - Sura 9:73

"Let not the unbelievers think they will ever get away. They have not
the power to do so. Muster against them all the men and cavalry at
your command, so that you may strike terror into the enemy of Allah
and your enemy... Prophet, (Muhammed) rouse the faithful to arms!
If they (the non-Muslims) incline to peace (accept Islam) make
peace with them." - Sura 8:59

"If they reject your judgement, know that it is Allah's wish to scourge
them for their sins." - Sura 5:49

"Believers (Muslims), take neither Jews nor Christians to be your
friends: they are friends with one another.
Whoever of you seeks their friendship shall become one of their number,

and God does not guide (those Jewish and Christian) wrong-doers." - Sura 5:51

These are just some of the many, many scriptures in the Koran that advocate violence against non-Muslims. So called "Peaceful" Muslims will tell you that these verses are...taken out of context or they're mistranslated from Arabic into English etc.

The FACT is "Peaceful" Muslims need to tell that to the ONE HUNDRED MILLION MUSLIMS that advocate violence because of such verses.

Here are more facts:

The Shoe Bomber was an Islamic extremist terrorist
The Beltway Snipers were Islamic extremists
The Fort Hood Shooter was an Islamic extremist
The underwear Bomber was an Islamic extremist
The U-S.S. Cole Bombers were Islamic extremists
The Madrid Train Bombers were Islamic extremists
The Bafi Nightclub Bombers were Islamic extremists
The London Subway Bombers were Islamic extremists
The Moscow Theater Attackers were Islamic extremists
The Boston Marathon Bombers were Islamic extremists
The Pan-Am flight #93 Bombers were Islamic extremists
The Air France Entebbe Hijackers were Islamic extremists
The Iranian Embassy Takeover, was by Islamic extremists
The Beirut U.S. Embassy bombers were Islamic extremists
The Libyan U.S. Embassy Attack was by Islamic extremists
The Buenos Aires Suicide Bombers were Islamic extremists
The Israeli Olympic Team Attackers were Islamic extremists
The Kenyan U.S, Embassy Bombers were Islamic extremists
The Saudi, Khobar Towers Bombers were Islamic extremists
The Beirut Marine Barracks bombers were Islamic extremists
The Besian Russian School Attackers were Islamic extremists
The first World Trade Center Bombers were Islamic extremists
The Bombay & Mumbai India Attackers were Islamic extremists
The Achille Lauro Cruise Ship Hijackers were Islamic extremists
The September 11th 2001 Airline Hijackers were Islamic extremists
The Kenyan Mall Massacre was done by Islamic extremists
Boko Haran are Islamic extremists
The kidnapping of an entire girls school and selling them into slavery in Nigeria was the work of Islamic extremists
The burning of a village full of 2000 people in Nigeria most of them alive was the work of Islamic extremists
The no-go zones being established in the west are allowed to be established by Islamic extremists
The Charlie Hebdo Magazine Massacre was carried out by Islamic extremists
The Pakistani school massacre of over 100 children was carried out by Islamic extremists
The men who shot little girls on a school bus in Afghanistan because they wanted an education were Islamic extremists.
The people demanding a separate government in the Phillipines are Islamic extremists
Since the year 2000 over 40 bombings have been carried out in the Phillipines by Islamic extremists
The Oklahoma City workplace beheading was done by an Islamic Extremist
The Fort Hood shooting was carried out by an Islamic extremist
The NYC cop Ax attacker was an Islamic extremist
The Canadian Parliament attack was carried out by an Islamic extremist.
France was attacked by Islamic extremists
The Chattanooga attack was by Islamic extremist .
The Oklahoma murderer who behead an American tried converting co-workers to Islam

The San Bernadino murders were committed by Islamic extremists.

Here are more facts...these are only thru 2004:

Sept.5, 1972...International Olympics...Munich, Germany...11 Israeli athletes murdered

Oct.23, 1983...United States Marine Corps barracks. Beruit, Lebonon...241 murdered...80 wounded

Oct.1985...Achille Lauro hijacked...69 year old American tourist in a wheelchair murdered...because he is Jewish

Dec.21, 1988...Pan Am flight 103...Lockerbie, Scotland...270 murdered

Feb.26, 1993...World Trade Center...New York, New York...6 murdered...1000 injured

June 25, 1996...Kobar Towers...Riyad, Saudi Arabia...19 murdered...372 injured

Aug. 7, 1998...U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania...224 murdered...hundreds injured

Oct. 12, 2000...Navel Vessel USS Cole in Persian Gulf...17 murdered...39 injured

Sept. 11, 2001...World Trade Center/ Pentagon...New York, New York/ Washington D.C....3030 murdered...2337 injured

In Israel since the second Intifadah there have been 425 terrorist attacks... 377 Israelis murdered...2076 injured

52 were suicide bombings...murdering 288 people...

(This information is dated and far from complete).

March 11, 2004…Spain, 10 bombs exploded on four commuter trains at three railstations, murdering 191 people, more than 1,800 injured

Sept.1-3, 2004…Beslan, Russia…1200 plus people in an elementary school taken hostage by 32 terrorists, 330 murdered…176 of them children (They were not allowed to eat, drink or go to the bathroom for three days while they were held hostage. Bombs killed many of them, many more were shot in the backs as they tried to escape)…over 500 injured...24 children orphaned.

All these MURDERS were committed by Islamic Extremists...

President Obama doesn't want you to see a pattern here. The BLIND SHEEP that follow him don't either...because it's POLITICALLY INCORRECT to racially profile or condemn a whole religion based on what THOUSANDS of them are doing.

(You see...they think their 'opinions' are equal to facts.)

We can fight them in their lands or we can fight them here...

When the Hell are we going to wake up!!!

Sarah Belle, My Sweet Love, I miss you so much...

I moved to New Mexico seven years ago. I live alone and didn't know many people. I was lonely. I asked God to send me someone to love. He sent me you, my sweet Sarah Belle. I didn't know it, but I had a hole in my heart that was exactly your size and shape. You filled it completely. You were three months old when God gave you to me.

It was hard at first because I had never had a dog. I learned to deal with your hair everywhere, your drinking from the toilet, and your willingness to eat almost anything!

What I got in return was the only unconditional love I've ever known in my life. You were my constant companion. You went with me everywhere. Everyone knew your name, even when they didn't know mine. You would walk into someone's home or store, just knowing that everyone loved you. You were right.

You opened my heart completely and you moved right into it. You taught me more things about love, friendship, loyalty, affection, forgiveness, gratitude, trust and joy than I ever knew. You became the song in my heart.

I would make up little songs to sing to you while we cuddled in the bed or watched TV. We would go on hikes in the forest that you loved. We would play with the squeaky toys you picked out from the store.

I was never lonely even one day I was blessed to have you. You knew how to make me smile and laugh every day. You brought me so much joy and you turned my house into a home. You taught me to love and respect other animals because, if you were capable of love, they may be capable of love too. You never met an enemy. You could make a friend of any biped or quadruped so fast. The deer, rabbits and other critters around our home all knew you were friendly.

I knew our lifespans were so different that I prayed for God to protect you from anything that would harm you and that He give you long life and good health. Your lifespan was on my mind often. I thought I'd have, maybe, 18 years with you. Aussies are long-lived and prone to few diseases. I never even dreamed that a parasite would take your life.

We never spent a single night apart in six years until you got sick and had to stay at the vets. You were away from me for almost two weeks. It kills me that I couldn't be with you during the hardest time in your life. I'm so sorry my love. God took you back at 11:40 Saturday morning February 7, 2015. The disease that gripped you caused you to lose the use of your hind legs. I laid down beside you and put my arm under your head. I told you how much  you've blessed my life; how much joy you brought me and how much I love you. I patted your chest and sang you a little song I used to sing to you in  the mornings. You kissed me and wagged your tail. I just couldn't see you suffer any longer so the doctor gave you something to put you in a deep sleep. When you were sleeping she gave you another shot and I said goodbye.

I have never felt so lonely in my life as when that happened. I wanted to die with you so we could stay together. Sometimes I still feel that way. I emailed my friends whom I had asked to pray for you and told them the light had gone out in my life...

When I hear people say they're sorry that my dog died...it sounds so  hollow. You were so much more to me than "just a dog". You were my best friend, my teacher, my heart and joy. I was in love with you...I still am. Most people just don't understand how important you were to me; how someone could be in love with a dog. Because of that I grieve in solitude. I miss you so much...

I saw my father and my grandmother die but nothing ever prepared me for the depth of pain I felt / feel at losing you. My heart is so completely broken. Holding on to that pain is the only thing that makes me feel close to you. I'm slowly learning to hold only the good memories. I want the world to know how much you meant / mean to me. No death will ever end my love for you...not yours or mine.

Losing you brought a crisis of my faith. I don't understand why God allowed you go at only six years old. I don't know why He didn't answer my prayers to protect you and heal you. How could He take the one being who brought me so much joy?  I still trust Him and know there is a bigger picture than I can see. I know He will allow us to be together again one day because I know our Heavenly Father and He is more kind, merciful and gracious than we can begin to understand. For now, the hole in my heart is back and only you can fill it.

I buried my heart with you. I look out my window and see the mound of dirt that covers you and I know it's there. Your heart is alive in me. I can feel it in the compassion I have for others animals now. You made me a better human being. Thank You Heavenly Father for my Sarah Belle. Thank You My Sweet Love...for the BEST six years and the BEST friend I've ever known.

The universe won't be able to contain my joy when I can hold you again. I dream of that day. I want you beside me for all eternity....

Profile of a Blacksmith: Robb Gunter

In the US people who work with their hands are often looked down upon by people who wear a suit and tie and carry a briefcase to work each day. That is not the case in older societies. In Germany, for example, blacksmiths, mechanics, welders and carpenters are considered just as professional as college professors. The masters of these crafts are thought of just as highly as any other professionals. The fact is the people who work with their hands make the other professions possible. Without carpenters there would be no dwellings in which to live or work. Without mechanics and repairmen there would be no one to keep modern machinery working. Without blacksmiths in our history...there would have been no one to make the tools that carpenters and mechanics use.

Blacksmiths and the craft of smithing made the modern world possible.

It is true that the craft almost died out after World War II. Modern welders and machinists replaced much of what smiths did. Around 1970 the craft began to make a comeback. Alex Bealer wrote a book titled: The Art of Blacksmithing that was meant to preserve some of the knowledge of the craft. That book also brought people interested in practicing the craft together to revive it. The number of folks who came together steadily grew and formed ABANA, the Artists Blacksmiths Association of North America. Since then clubs have formed in many states to bring smiths together because it is in coming together that old tools and techniques are rediscovered and shared. The craft has grown because of the men and women who find passion in it and in their willingness to share what they've learned with other smiths. The craft that dates back to Tubal Cain in the Bible has been reborn!

This is an exciting time for blacksmithing because of the men and women who have mastered the craft and been willing to share what they've discovered. One of those men is Robb Gunter. Robb began studying blacksmithing in 1980 with Rolando DeLeon in Santa Fe, New Mexico and  has worked with Francis Whitaker among others.

While working for Sandia Labs in Los Alamos, New Mexico Robb suggested the labs begin using forging as a way of producing parts. His employers thought he was joking, believing the ancient art of blacksmithing had nothing to offer the state-of-the-art facility. Robb proved them wrong demonstrating that forging could often produce better quality parts at a cheaper price. Robb became the resident blacksmith for Sandia Labs from 1986 until 1993. Robb founded the Forgery School of Blacksmithing in 1986 to promote the art by teaching beginning and intermediate smiths. After leaving Sandia Labs in 1993 he devoted more time to teaching and perfecting his art. Robb specializes in architectural commissions and has worked in several multi-million dollar homes.

Robb is devoted to his Christian faith and, because of his understanding of blacksmithing and metallurgy, has been able to shed light on those aspects of Biblical stories that contain elements related to metals.

In what can rightly be called a testament to Robb as a father, his two sons Brad and Chad have followed in their fathers footsteps and also become blacksmiths. Robb will readily tell you that his sons have surpassed the skills of their father and become masters of the art in their own right.

Robb has contributed to the ancient art of smithing in many ways. He developed a Super Quench solution for mild and low carbon steels. He's done demonstrations and classes in many local and national conferences.  Together Robb and his sons Brad and Chad now run a blacksmithing school in Moriarty, New Mexico called "G3". They teach classes for beginning through advanced students in the art. G3 also sells specialty blacksmithing tools and supplies.

To meet Robb is to instantly like him. He is an absolute master of the art. His skills could rival any smith on the planet. Despite that he's a very soft spoken, humble man willing to share his knowledge and expertise with anyone that shows an interest. He has that gleam in his eyes that only a real master has from learning to dance with the steel.

Robb has served to promote and preserve an ancient art while rediscovering techniques that could have been lost to history. Because of men and women like him, the hammer, the anvil and the forge now breathe new life!

Robb Gunter is a true American treasure.




  

Christ and the Hebrew Scriptures

It is a historical fact that most of the first Christians were Jews. (Those who practiced the religion of Judea.) We often hear why most early Jews rejected Christ as the first coming of the messiah. We don’t often hear why those Jews that did accept Christ as the Messiah did so. Those early Jewish Christians recognized the teachings of Christ and, later, His disciples as extensions of things they understood well from the Hebrew scripture. Scholars often point to the many scriptures that prophecy about Christ but there are more, perhaps more subtle, things in the Hebrew scripture that point to Christ.

1). Why did the early Jews see the baptism that John the Baptist, and later the early Christians, practiced as a logical extension of what they understood?

Baptism is symbolic of the children of Israel coming out of Egypt through the

Red Sea. Egypt was well understood to be a type of sin and coming through the Red Sea was symbolic of leaving sin behind…IE. Repentance.

2). Why did the early Jews see the tongues of fire over the heads of the followers of Christ on the Day of Pentecost as a logical extension of what they understood?

They understood the power of God to be manifested in the pillar of fire / cloud of smoke their ancestors followed in leaving Egypt. The pillar of fire they followed through the wilderness was a sign of Gods power leading the nation of Israel. This time, on the day of Pentecost after Christ’s death and resurrection, the power of God was leading individuals.

3). Why did the early Jews see Christ entering Jerusalem for Passover on the back of an ass and throw palm branches down in front of him, as a logical extension of what they understood?

Without knowing or understanding it they knew that God was going to ‘tabernacle with men’. The Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated by using palm branches to make temporary dwellings. They became symbolic of God residing with men.

4). Why did the early Jews see Christ feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fishes as a logical extension of what they understood?

They knew God could miraculously feed them like He did in the Sinai with manna. This was a proof of who Christ was to many.

5). Why did the early Jews see the sacrificial and priestly aspects of Christ in His gospel as a logical extension of what they understood?

They knew they needed a sacrifice to atone to God. They understood that sin demanded a life, that’s is how grievous it is to God. A sacrifice was the vehicle of their approach to God. They saw in Christ the fulfillment of the five major kinds of sacrifices that were outlined in Leviticus as well as a fulfilling of their Passover lamb.

They recognized they needed a High Priest. He was the facilitator of their approach to God. They saw the resurrected Christ as fulfilling that role at the right hand of God the Father.

These things, being fulfilled by Christ, made the old sacrificial system with its temple, priesthood and animal sacrifices no longer necessary.

6). Why did the early Jews recognize the gospel of Christ as an extension of what they understood?

They recognized in the gospel of Christ what they were taught by the tabernacle in the wilderness…the place of their approach to God. It was the template for the design of the temple of David built later. Here are just a few observations about the Tabernacle in the wilderness:

-           There was only one tabernacle, only one way to approach the one God.

-           Only priests were allowed to enter the tabernacle. These were men sanctified, set apart for a special function, to serve God and their fellow man.

-          The tabernacle was laid out in only one way. It was very specifically to be constructed to lay East-West. One entered facing West, the opposite of what pagans did in worshipping the rising sun.

-          The narrow way laid out by the tabernacle pointed towards God. There is only one way to God the Father. It was not the way most of humanity would assume.

-          Once entered, the first thing one encountered was the sacrificial altar. One had to accept the sacrifice before continuing. One who had accepted this sacrifice was set apart from the rest of the people.

-          While not all who accepted the sacrifice went on to enter the Holy Place, all who accepted the sacrifice were set apart. An ‘innumerable multitude’ could reside there.

-          The next thing one encountered was the brass laver where one was ritually cleansed before entering the Holy Place. Like baptism it was symbolic of repentance. One had to be cleansed by repentance before entering the Holy Place.

-          The tabernacle was ONE structure made up of TWO separate enclosures. There was only one way to enter, through the Holy Place. The Holy Place represented the Body of Christ…the other, the Holy of Holies, represented the presence of God the father. There was no Trinity represented.

-          To be inside the Holy Place was to be symbolically in the Body of Christ.

-          Once inside the Holy Place one saw the menorah on the left. It was ONE candlestick with seven distinct channels of light within the Body of Christ. Whether they represented seven eras of the church or seven attitudes of Christians or something else is debatable. The fact is they were seven separate lights coming from one source.

-          On the right was the table of showbread. It symbolized the Body of Christ that we are to partake of. Christ is the bread of life. We must partake of the Body of Christ to be in the Body of Christ.

-          Directly ahead, upon entering the Holy Place, was the altar of incense that was to be filled with finely chopped incense and burned so the smoke of it wafted up through the curtain into the Holy of Holies. This symbolized the prayers of the righteous.

-          Next, the curtain between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was to be crossed only once a year so that the Holy of Holies was entered only once a year and only by the High Priest. This was the forerunner of the curtain in the temple of David that was torn in half, from the top down, upon Christ’s death. Symbolic of the fact that anyone could now go directly to God the Father through Christ.

-          In the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant. It contained the tables of stone the commandments were written on.

-          From the Holy of Holies emanated the law of God. It was a perfect cube…one of only two mentioned in the scriptures. The other is the New Jerusalem. This was the ultimate destination for one entering the tabernacle.

-          The plan of God for mankind was symbolized in this structure.

The children of Israel would have recognized the symbols and the substance of Christ’s gospel as fulfilling what they had been taught all of their lives. Without an understanding of the Hebrew scripture these things would be lost on modern Christians.

God used symbols that we can understand to teach us lessons about spiritual truths. Sometimes we don’t make the connections between things that may seem mundane, like the details of the construction of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, and the truths they point to but everything in Gods word is there for a reason whether we understand it or not.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Tim. 2:15)