Why?

I was just here at work thinking about the 17 different people that I have seen today in my store. It's an odd thing, but not one of these 17 people were anything like the other. It would be impossible to play, "One of these things is not like the other" because of the 17, the only thing that they had in common was coming into my shoe store and talking to me.









Most of my days, I spend the majority of my time with my thoughts, and yes they do tend to revolve around me and my world...as I'm sure that your thoughts mostly revolve around you and your world. And in my world, everyone has the same thoughts as me...after all this is "my world" where I am the center.

I guess that the really amazing thing is to see the differences in humanity, I mean there is such diversity even within the races. God must really love variety, because He sure made this world full of it...well there's that...strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

Who's Word Will You Believe?

It has been a while since I posted anything here, but as I was reading the headline in my local newspaper today, I was struck with this thought. "Who's Word Will You Believe?" The headline in the newspaper was "Stricter Rules to Deal with H1N1". For those of you who don't know what "H1N1" is, it is also called the swine flu. We almost had hysteria last year because of this virus, and it appears that the CDC (Center for Disease Control) is already putting information out there under the guise of helping inform the people. I think there is something more nefarious going on here, and I think it needs to be addressed.

Now for those of you who possibly don't know, I am a Christian. A disciple and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. I make no bones about it, it is who I am. So understand that everything I'm about to say is based on my belief in Jesus. Whether or not you agree, or disagree with me is immaterial, I just want you to know before you read any further.

Jesus, the Bible tells us took stripes on His back to purchase our physical healing. (1Peter 2:24) We do not have to be worried or fret about whether or not we will contract some disease if we will believe what God's Word says in regards to healing and walk in it. In other words, I choose to believe what God's Word says about mine and my family's physical health, and that is, that we can walk totally carefree of whatever the CDC is talking about concerning their latest threat of sickness. We can and do walk in this freedom every day.

I read a story about another Christian, a man named John G. Leake who worked with people who were dying of the bubonic plague. Here is an excerpt about him from his book "How To Be Filled With Spiritual Power":

For five years in South Africa, John G. Lake displayed the greatest spiritual power seen since the days of Jesus — not only for others but also for himself. While assisting doctors during a bubonic plague outbreak, he was asked why he had not contracted the disease since he had used none of their medical protection. He said, "it is the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." To demonstrate, he had them take live bubonic plague germs still foaming from the lungs of a newly dead person and put them in his hands and then examine the germs under a microscope. They were dead.

This is a desire of my heart, to walk in this type of power. One thing that I know is that Jesus is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34) and that whatever He would do for John G. Leake, He will do for me and my family as well. And not only that, He will do it for you and your family too! What it boils down to is this, who's report are you going to believe?

In other words, Who's Word Will You Believe? The world's? It says that you have to watch out and be extra careful that you don't become infected with the swine flu. That is full of fear, and fear will keep you from attaining the promises of God. Or will you believe God's Word, and walk in faith holding nothing back? One produces fear, the other faith, and the Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

To bottom line this for you...you have a choice of who's words you will believe. And depending on what you choose will determine what you have in your life. Remember God told us in the Bible that He set before us life and death, blessing and cursing, but that we should choose life. And that is what my family and I will be doing instead of worrying about what the CDC has to say. Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

I'm Afraid That I'm Becoming Obsolete

You know that now we've been in the 21st Century for a few years, I'm becoming more and more aware that I may be in danger of becoming obsolete.

As I watch society and see the changes that have been rocketing us into a new place, I find that my thoughts tend to not fit in as well as they used to. For instance, tattoos have become common place. People are getting tattoos so fast the ink hardly has a chance of drying before they are getting another one. I for one, do not like tattoos. I remember the days when the only people that got tattoos were soldiers, prisoners and your crazy Uncle Louie (name made up to protect the innocent) who thought it might be fun to get one. Now kids are hardly out of grade school and they are designing the tat they are going to get as soon as they can. And I'm labeled a crack pot, or fool because I don't like them.

Another thing is society's pre-occupation with the "coolness" of being gay or lesbian. I personally believe that it is wrong. That is "my" opinion, which I am entitled to have. I have friends that are in the gay/lesbian camp. The friends that I have there I consider to be really good friends of mine, and I love them deeply. But I do have to say, I don't understand their decision. And I know that it is their decision to make, and if I'm to stay their friend I have to accept them and the decision they have made. I don't have to agree with it, but I love them and will continue my relationship because of my love for them.

Yet, I don't understand this whole gay/lesbian attitude to force people to accept them. It seems for the most part, and I know that I am talking in the general sense here, that if I don't accept the gay/lesbian way of thinking, and make their point of view my point of view, then my ideas, my thoughts and my opinions are labeled as hateful ones, and not worthy of any time in the debate. My obsolete opinion is just trod under foot as that of an un-enlightened primative man's musings and therefore not worth anything.

I'm in danger of becoming obsolete, because I think that a man should be a man and stand up for what is right and true in life. I'm really tired of special interest groups telling everyone else what to believe, and that if they don't agree with them then they are wrong. I'm in danger of becoming obsolete because the world doesn't want real men anymore. In the world's eyes there is no need for men. We should all be androgynous beings, not really male or female, just beings who "love" each other.

What happened to the men that fought in World War II? What would happen if we were forced to re-instate the draft and go to war in the near future? Would there being any men left to go to war? Or would they be too concerned with getting along with everyone and just refuse to fight injustice? Sometimes there is a peace that only comes at the end of a sword, I don't like it, but that is just the way it is. There are bad people in the world that want nothing more than to kill as many people as get in there way. The only way to stop them is for someone to stand between them and the innocent. That takes real men, and this way of thinking is becoming obsolete.

I may be in danger of becoming obsolete as a man in this 21st century, but let me say one thing...I will not become obsolete without a fight. There is one man here who is willing to stand against injustice, and the will of special interest groups who fight unfairly. I am that man, and will continue to be that man until they finally cover my grave with dirt. So, who's with me? Strength and honor....

What's The World Coming To? You Choose.

Okay, so last night I'm watching a little bit of Law and Order Criminal Intent on Bravo, when this commercial comes on for chemistry.com. It's one of their "I promise to...." commercials with couples that have met on the website making promises to each other in various public places.

So I've been seeing these for a while, and to tell the truth, I wasn't really paying too much attention to it, and chose to get up and grab a cup of coffee. I hear this guy saying something like, "I promise to never play the martyr role....", and then the strangest thing, I hear another male voice promising something back to the first male voice. At this point, I quit pouring my cup of coffee, and looked at the screen. I must admit that I was shocked at what I saw there in living color on my television. There are two guys standing there holding hands in a market and promising things to each other.

Now, now before you say it, I'll just go on record and say that I do not subscribe to homophobia, nor do I think of myself as a homophobe. Here is the definition of homophobia: irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals. I do not fear nor have an aversion to, or discriminate against homosexuals in any way. We as part of humanity have all been created in the likeness of God and that likeness is a spiritual one. Yet I will go on record as disagreeing with their life's choices, just I would if I saw someone who was an alcoholic, or a man beating his wife and children. Which unless I'm mistaken is still my right to do in America...at least for a little while.

What I do disagree with, and have an aversion to is this type of blatant, in your face tactic to push the homosexual agenda forward. I do understand that for chemistry.com this was probably a business decision to cater to the homosexual demographic, thus increasing their marketshare and making them more money. I guess kudos to them for reaching out...but what I think bothers me the most here is that it is just one more thing in bringing this minority to the forefront, making people think that it is really the majority.

The real problem here is that from my side of the fence (an overtly Christian viewpoint), homosexuality is usually attacked by hurling insults, Scripture and homophobic rhetoric and not viewing it for what it really is...a choice. I seem to remember somewhere in the Bible where we are told that life and death, blessing and cursing are set before us, we are then told to choose life, but ultimately we are the ones who must choose. God does not force His will upon us, and neither should we force our will upon others...no matter which side of the fence we are on....strength and honor....

I Used To Fit In With The World

I was on my way to work yesterday, it was time once again to inventory the shoe store. On the way to work I was listening to my truck's radio and there were people talking about recycling our trash. They actually used the words "good trash" and "bad trash". Okay so here it is the definition of the word "trash" - rubbish: worthless material that is to be disposed of. Okay that is according to Webster's Dictionary.

As I decided that I had heard enough of that station, I changed it to another local station, and heard them talking about how "green" our city is. They used the phrase, "green footprint", meaning how well we are protecting the enviroment. I must admit, that I did not really understand what any of these people were talking about. I used to fit in with the world, but apparently not any more. I felt like an old, used up has-been from another era listening to those radio broadcasts.

I personally believe that "going green" and recycling everything under the sun is an excercise in futility. Let me explain what I mean by that. According to

2 Peter 3:7 & 10 (7)By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. (10)But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

I say that it is an excercise in futility because of the fact that one day it will all be burned up in the day of judgement. This planet that people are feverishly trying to save, will be destroyed eventually...and no matter how big a green footprint we leave, it is not going to stop it.

This is not to say that I think we should willingly pollute the enviroment, no not at all. If you would take a look inside the cab of my truck you would realize that I think littering is a bad thing. So much so, that I would rather ride around with a bunch of trash in the floorboard than to throw it out.

I guess my question is this, what are we really teaching this younger generation? That if they seperate clear plastics from dark plastics it makes them a better person? How? What is the agenda here really? It seems to me to be more about "how" it makes the person who is doing it feel, than actually about the "what" it does for the enviroment.

I'm just becoming obsolete as a member of society I guess, not that that's really a bad thing...the way society is going. I'll keep my enviroment clean of trash, (I learned that from the crying Indian) but I'm not going to recycle...I'll leave that for the "feel good" generation....

Stand Up

Okay, so I'm not a fan of beauty pagents, and I don't watch them. But apparently this last Ms. USA pagent has had some controversy surrounding it. I watched the clips where Perez Hilton, this guy who's claim to fame is that he is some type of celebrity blogger was a judge for the pagent. He asked Ms. California a question did she think all states should allow gay marriage.
Her answer was that while she thought everyone was entitled to choose, her opinion was that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

The thing that I find interesting is then a day or two later he is referring to her using the "b" word and the "c" word. I'm wondering what she did to deserve such horrid and deragitory treatment. She answered his question in a way that he didn't like! What has this world come to when we are asked what our opinions are and then we are blasted because we didn't answer in the way the person asking for our opinions wanted us to?

This little poser boy should be taken to task for his treatment of her. Where are all the women's groups? They have been mysteriously quiet as this girl has been raked over the coals. If she had been raped physically by Perez Hilton there woud be all types of outcries...wouldn't there? He has verbally raped her, and don't think it is anything other than that. He has violated her as a person, not caring the least bit for her heart. No, all he is doing is trying to get a little bit bigger piece of fame and fortune for himself, and I for one am sickened by the lack of support for this girl who stated her mind.

Okay, so I'm a little worked up today over this, because it seems that if we stand up and say what we believe and it doesn't match up to the main stream of society then we are treated as lepers or outcasts. I for one, would much rather spend time with lepers and outcasts than the mainstream of society with its small view of a person's heart.

So hear my battle cry today, "Stand up! Stand up for what is good, honest and decent! Don't cower down to the main stream of society that says you are a bigot if you don't agree with them! Stand up and look evil square in its face and call it what it is. No more should we stand idly by while all that is good, virtous and true get trampled in the name of getting along! Stand up and speak the truth in love all the while keeping your spine stiff and straight as the onslaught of popular opinion crashes into you like a wave!"

I'm reminded of the quote, "All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men and women to do nothing." (Dave's paraphrase) It's time for those of us who are tired of the main stream of society to get out there and divert the flow of it away from what is good and true, and aim it in the direction of where it really needs to go, the sewer.

Where are the leaders?

Okay, so I've just gotta get this off of my chest. It's really been bothering me, and to be quite honest if I don't get it out, I think I might literally explode.

WHERE ARE ALL THE LEADERS?

I mean come on, I wonder where all the leaders are nowadays. When I was growing up back in the late sixties and early seventies, we knew who the bad guys were because of the way they acted. Now that I'm forty-five, I wonder if anyone really knows who the bad guys are. What I've seen doesn't lead me to believe they do.

When my childhood hero John Wayne fought against the bad guys in the movies he was in, you could always tell who they were. For the most part it was simple, they were the guys who were trying to tell other people what to do. Things really haven't changed that much in all these years. The bad guys still are telling people what to do.

In the movies, the bad guys would start messing with folks, and some good guy would ride in and take care of them. One of my favorite scenes of all times is in the movie "True Grit". John Wayne plays a crotchity old guy named Rooster Cogburn. He's been hunting this particular bad guy for a while, and it's time for the showdown. Rooster hollars at the man, "Fill your hands you s.o.b.!" and taking the reigns into his mouth he charges his horse across the field firing a rifle from one hand and a pistol from the other.

What I love about this scene is that Rooster Cogburn just takes care of business. He doesn't wait for a comittee meeting, or worry if the political pundits will say anything negative about his decision. He just takes care of business, like a leader should.

In this day and age, we need leaders both men and women to stand up and do right because it's the right thing to do, not because it might make it onto the news and make them look better. Where are the leaders? I'm not sure, but I know this...if John Wayne were still alive, he'd probably have a big job using his boot to get his point across...strength and honor....