Easter Message: Prologue to Eternal Life and Everlasting Bliss

"If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die." In other words, without a hope for resurrection and everlasting joy with Christ we have nothing else. Now, if Christ is raised, and I believe He is, and if trusting him means that we will be raised with Him, then this life is just a brief prelude to eternal life with Christ and ever-increasing joy with Him. And if that is true, then like Paul, John, Peter and His early followers, we are no one's fool. His early followers live's of radical, risk-taking, sacrificial love is not to be pitied. Pity not them that rise with Christ.

Jesus says in Luke 14:13-14, "When you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." Do you see the effect of believing in the resurrection – really believing, not just saying you believe it? Without the resurrection we tend to want our pleasures here and now, and so we avoid risk and danger and difficulty and pain and discomfort and frustration; and so our love is tame and bland and weak and cautious and timid.

But, Jesus says, if you believe that your joy in the resurrection will make up for a thousand losses and self-denials and sacrifices and dangers and risks here for the sake of love, then you will love people without a view to what you can get out of it here. It will be sustained by the joy set before you. And that will be the kind of love that we all dream about from time to time.

We were made for it. Christ died and rose again to make it possible. Come to Him. Trust Him. The Bible says, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved". Saved from sin. Saved from judgment. Saved from a life of mere self-serving indulgence.

"If in this life only we have hoped in Christ we are of all men most to be pitied." But since Christ has been raised, and since by trusting in him we will be raised with him, then this life of radical, sacrificial love is not to be pitied. Pity not them who rise with Christ.

Good Friday is Good News

Too many, 'Good Friday' may sound strange considering what had actually happened on that day. Many would not believe that the day Jesus was crucified should be called 'Good', but indeed it is good for those of us who were lost and now are found, who were blind but now see. Good Friday is the Christian commemoration of Jesus' Passion story’; specifically his betrayal, trial and crucifixion that are described in the Christian gospels. In the sequence of Holy Week, it follows the rituals marking the Last Supper on the Thursday before ‘Good Friday’ and precedes the celebration of Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday. Some theologians theorize that Good Friday stems from the words ‘God’s Friday,’ while others think that the word 'good' would simply be interpreted as something that is observed as holy. Whether it is called Black Friday, Friday of Sorrows or Good Friday, Christ indeed paid the price for mankind’s redemption if they, but  believe. Since Jewish tradition dictates that Friday begins at sundown on Thursday, the events of Good Friday traditionally begin with the betrayal of Jesus by his apostle Judas in the garden of Gethsemane. He is subsequently brought before the Sanhedrin council, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate and King Herod of Galilee with the ultimate outcome being his condemnation to death by crucifixion. The trial of Jesus and his crucifixion are described in varying detail by all four Gospels, the Jewish historian Josephus and the Roman writer Tacitus. “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. So then you were no longer strangers and aliens, but were fellow citizens of God’s household”. Is the reader of this blog post a member of God’s household? If not, you only have to trust and obey. He will show you the way, fore he is the truth and the light.

My Special Friend is Gone yet Lives

Yesterday, while glancing at the calendar I saw that it was the anniversary month of meeting my recently departed best friend. I can still picture her with those large sparkling brown eyes and that always adorable look on her face. We all know that life itself will not last forever. But when the end comes, and it always does, you’re never ready to fully accept it. Like most people, I had been through this before, but this time was the toughest. She is the one who had my heart more than any other who had preceded her. She was the one I will miss most.

She came into our lives as just a baby. We already had two girls. But one girl was at the end of her days or at least we thought so. We did not want the other girl to be left alone so we decided to take her in. Ginger took one look at the adoptee and by her actions said “I am not going anywhere at the moment.” She hung on for more than two years after that and left us one warm summer afternoon. The new girl looked a lot different than the other two, but was quite special in her own way.

What made Bonnie special? Those 55 pounds of brownish, black and white fur, with those piercing brown eyes was exceedingly smart- much more than the others. Like so many other families we had many sharing our house over the years, but this one was so much smarter.

Her body, like most bodies would eventually betray her. Her mind was still sharp as a knife, but her lungs and heart gave out. We tried our best to keep her with us, but her time had come. My wife and I felt so helpless kneeling there next to her. She hung on for about thirty minutes. After that she left us while lying in my arms. I felt so helpless sitting there holding her. I had protected her and taken care of her since she was a puppy, but now I cannot any longer. Our beloved Bonnie was gone.

God works in mysterious ways. Seven months after Bonnie passed away, we adopted a fifty-five pound Border-Australian Shepard while vacationing in Florida. Both my wife and I have told Cassie she has a large collar to fill. There will never be someone to fill the hole in my heart for the loss of my best friend who now runs the streets of heaven. One day my wife and I will again have Bonnie alongside us as we walk those same streets of gold.

Contrived Racism and its Perpetuation - Part 3

The rise of the welfare state in the 60's contributed unintentionally or otherwise to the demise of the black family as a stable institution. The out of wedlock among American blacks today is 73%, three times higher than it was prior to the 'War on Poverty'. Children raised in fatherless homes are far more likely to grow up poor and eventually engage in criminal behavior than their peers who are raised in two parent homes. The 'War' has cost tax payers trillions of dollars with no end in sight and has resulted in an entitlement and slavery reparations mentality...I'll tell you what I see in the world, I think too many blacks are accustomed to getting anything they want by simply demanding it. True it has worked for fifty years . Get a few hundred people on camera, implicitly, threaten to cause civil unrest, and sadly the DC bureaucrats turn on the tax payers greenback's spigot. What happens if white middle class America for the most part no longer buys it. Most recognize that what was once a civil rights issue has become shakedown game. Fewer people still feel responsible for the failings of and inadequacies of blacks. What happens if middle class America ever say's enough?  

I ask you, the reader if white conservative America is responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates are seven fold the rate of white America? Is it white conservative America’s fault that illegitimacy in black communities exceeds seventy percent? Is it white conservative America’s fault that high school drop-out rates exceed fifty percent in many cities? Do you suppose that the failure lies mainly within the black community itself or possibly the rise of the welfare state? One has to look no further than the progressive liberal left to see the consequences of reliance on the socialist's welfare state. The left, whether intentional or not has created a ‘welfare state of mind’ that has damaged the psyche of black America and has indebted Middle Class America.

 

As for racism, look no further than interracial crime, especially those interracial crimes of violence. Is the progressive left or the Black Caucus, or Reverend’s Sharpton and Jackson aware that white criminals choose black victims three percent of the time, while black thugs choose white victims just under fifty percent of the time? Is the black leadership aware that black-on-white rapes are one hundred times more common than the opposite? The Holder's, Sharpton's and Jackson's almost always take exception when statistical data is released exposing social deviant behavior among the black community. They often attribute the deviancy to social or police profiling. To attribute high incidents of social pathology to social or police profiling is what I contend is part and parcel to contrived racism. The problem as I see it is when 70% of the people getting arrested are black, in cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial profiling; it is the law of probability. The welfare programs for the poor, and blacks in particular provide incentive for the behaviors that are most likely to perpetuate poverty. The demise of the working black culture is directly related to the process of welfare reform. Contributing to the demise is the "prominent black spokesman" who spread immiseration and complaint because in truth they know middle class America will be forced to accommodate their malcontent. Thus the few who pay taxes will pay more taxes. I ask you, when is enough, enough? 

Contrived Racism and it's Perpetuation -Part 2

Has not America been the best nation on earth for blacks and other people of color? Was it white America who sold half-million black Africans to slave traders who then brought them to America's shores? Was it not in America that the blacks were introduced to Christianity and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity they have ever known? Was not the white American most responsible for this new found prosperity?

No where in the world has a nation's white populous done more to lift up blacks than Anglo America. Has America not spent multiple trillions and is still allocating a large percentage of its annual budget on entitlements, mostly for black America? Have you ever wondered what part of the population is being taxed the most to pay for entitlements? Does not middle class America financially shoulder the majority of the burden for welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8, Medicaid, and poverty programs designed to bring black Americans into mainstream America? Has not Government, business and academia not engaged in discriminatory actions against whites with affirmative action, minority mandated contract and quotas? All this to advance blacks over whites.

The liberal left’s mindset is racially exploitive, its politics trumps everything. Party affiliation and ideological leanings identifies conservative Americans as racists. The right has shouldered what I label "illusionary grievances." These grievances are in fact baseless.  The right is castigated for racial wrongs committed decades ago and are still blamed for the plight of most blacks in poverty. Was it the political conservative that implemented programs that resulted not in the progress of the black American family but its deterioration? The answer to the question is forthcoming in the next blog.

Contrived Racism and it's Perpetuation-Part One

This piece, of a three part series is written for my friends, both black and white and those of liberal persuasion who are designated middle class. I will address an issue that should be a concern to all middle class America. The issue deals with racism as perpetrated by the progressive left to enslave the soul of African-Americans and eliminate the middle class through what I deem intentional and unfair government endorsed legislation.  The subject of my next several blogs will be contentious to some, thought provoking to others and hopefully result in revelation of the truth to most. I encourage the readers to re-post and share your views with this writer. I write this series not as a bigot. Neither  am I blind to the fact that the government, through the welfare state is the primary reason relations between the races are worsening and class warfare is now primed to reduce the middle class to an insignificant entity.

Given all the data, one cannot help but see racism as a perception of reality that is at this point in time of history skewed.  Unfortunately, many black's perception of racism is based on a false narrative. Even though this writer is white, I lived in a time when there was real institutional racism in America. That racism is no more. Evidence suggests that racism is aggravated by the progressive left and its lapdog media that has been pumping out, namely that a black American can never receive justice. The thought of a black individual never receiving justice is absurd.

If racism is defined as a way of behaving or thinking that shows you do not like or respect people who are different than the race or class from which you identify with, then in fact, we as a people need to have a conversation. Since conversations are between people who exist in a place, situation or point in time, let us have an open dialog about race in America. Not race in America yesterday, but race in America today. The conversation needs to be two-way. Not the Obama or Holder way. White Middle Class America needs to be heard. The too often silent and for the most part white middle class needs to have its grievances, concerns and petitions heard.

Relativity to Reality

Why not challenge the Left's ideology and its relativity to reality? Can we expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong? If we chasten achievement  and affluence will we not get less of it? If we continue to underwrite bad decision making by giving taxpayer money to the impoverished will we not undermine initiative and personal responsibility and fashion new generations of poor people?

To bring positive change to America we must cease debating feelings and ideology with the left. Here is a novel idea; why not hold the leftist elite accountable? Are the progressive left's policies producing the results they claim? Is the record debt obligation good for America and her citizens (both present and future)? Are government agencies performing as their commission demands and should their budgets be reduced or the entity eliminated if it cannot show positive results? Why should government agencies and programs not be required to substantiate, not only its budget but its existence?

Do we as Americans not prefer savings to waste at reasonable cost? Is it too much to require the progressive left to prove that their programs and policies are producing outcomes beneficial to the nation's well being? I believe this tactic would shift the debate from one of ideology and good intentions to reality.