I’m Somebody’s Child

LORD, my mom, on the one hand, is still plugging away at life and using her graceful age to witness to your glory and how. My dad, on the other, has long ago passed away. I guess that qualifies me halfway as nobody’s child.

If not that, perhaps it’s that I am the one solitary representative of my family that lives in this great United States while the rest of them live halfway across the globe.

If not that, perhaps it’s that no one would see through the joke and take my request to be adopted seriously if only to extract this fang of feeling so alone, core family-wise, in this sea of strange millions.

Woe is me.

Yeah, right. Not so fast, pity-partying heart. I am a child of God:

John 1:12 (NIV)
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God...”

I believe in my LORD and Savior’s name and in him, along with countless Brothers and Sisters who have believed likewise, I have been born again:

John 1:13 (NIV)
“---children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

The family I grew up in may be scattered across the seas. Only a precious few of my innumerable neighbors might call me by name.

The name I now carry transformed me from nobody to somebody.

I am the greatest Somebody’s child.

He is Abba, Father, God.

Let there be glory and honor and praises to him.

For it is in Jesus’ name that I pray. Amen.

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Only two days remain before oral arguments in the Supreme Court case of McCreary County v ACLU of Kentucky. Please pray for Liberty Counsel's Mat Staver as he focuses on his final preparations. Key will be to delineate between "Acknowledgment of Religion," which the Constitution permits, as opposed to "Establishment of Religion," which the Constitution forbids.

What Would Jesus Do?

Here's hoping, Father, that I do not get into any patent infringement troubles while posing the question. It's just that the nation remains abuzz over Terri Schiavo.

Look at this news item posted at the American Family Association website reporting that more than 5,000 people an hour are signing an online petition sponsored by the Center for Reclaiming America asking Florida's governor and lawmakers to save Terri.

News outlets give it coverage like this one on the Fox News website.

The American Center for Law and Justice continues to run updates on it (along with the equally important issue of the public display of the Ten Commandments.)

Great updates and insights continue to be posted on the theJesusfreak and theWittenberg Gate blogs.

I truly believe that all this attention, Father, is healthy for the nation's spirit.

I am very touched, though, LORD, by a couple of Brothers as they kept you prominent in their perspective while they remained involved in the issue. The SHEEP'S CRIB remembers the LORD Jesus' teaching that his church is to be known by how his followers love one another. J.A. Gillmartin is reacting to the suggestion of some Brothers to hold a protest rally at the church of the judge officiating Terri's case. The A Journey Home blog places the entire Terri Schiavo scenario up to the LORD's hand.

Indeed, LORD, in our zeal for the heart and soul of the nation, enable us to keep our eyes nevertheless glued to you. Help us to remember when you asked:

James 4:1 (NIV)
"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?"

Help us to be reminded that regarding this you taught:

James 4:2(b) (NIV)
"You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God."

And that further, you said:

James 4:3 (NIV)
"When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

Sometimes, Father, in the heat of battle, the noble cause becomes distant and what becomes falsely important is the urge to win and collect payback. My, would that not be such pleasure.

Remind us all the time, LORD, to constantly ask ourselves what you yourself would do.

In Jesus' Mighty Name, I pray. Amen.

My Dad Is Bigger

Here's interesting development posted at the American Center for Law and Justice website regarding the State of Florida moving to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case. It brings hope that Terri's husband's glaring lack of moral standing to remain as her guardian may be brought to bear on this issue.

More interesting insights could be found at theJesusfreak and Allthings2all blogs.

Meanwhile, northern 'burbs blog has started a very fascinating Q&A with a soon-to-be environmental lawyer who also maintains a blog known as Not-crunchy. Good read.

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Father, I thank you for answering prayers in behalf of Terri Schiavo. I continue to commit her in your hands. You are sovereign. I trust in your will that always causes all things to work together for good to those that love you and whom you have called according to your purpose. You are more than able to turn into good whatever may have been intended for evil.

I am reminded of the boy that bragged that his dad could beat the other boy's dad. If I were the other boy, I would have said my Dad is much, much bigger than your dad.

This brings to mind the devil who, like the school ground bully, would threaten and say, "I could beat you up with one hand tied behind my back."

Well, I would have replied, I could stop you dead on your tracks with my knees to the ground.

That is, because I know the LORD my Dad will be backing me up.

Father, you are far bigger than Terri's husband and his attorney and the unreliable US courts and the liberal politicians and the mainstream media and the devil combined.

That's why I know Terri will be just fine.

LORD, let your justice prevail.

In Jesus' Mighty Name I pray. Amen.

Kids Play House

Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, Inc.

Father, what fun it was when we were kids. We pretended to be moms and dads. We cooked in little plastic stoves and pots. We took care of our teddy bears when there were no little dolls for pretend kids.

We played doctor, too. We knew back then that when one of the dolls was sick, we were there to make sure it doesn't die.

What a difference it is when we grow up. Some of us get so smart we start playing God. We get law degrees and doctor degrees and we decide who gets to live and who gets to die.

Why can't we stay as kids, LORD? We made better sense then.

I continue to pray for Terri Schiavo, LORD. Please, let her live.

In Jesus' Mighty Name, I pray. Amen.

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The American Center for Law and Justice regards Terri Schiavo's situation as a very important case. They keep updates on their website and bring the latest on their daily radio broadcast.

The Wittenberg Gate blog has just started a "Bloggers' Best for Terri Schiavo, Part Two." Read up and weigh in.

Don't miss soul-penetrating insights on this issue at the Amy's Humble Musings blog.

Choose Life For Terri

Father, it is funny how all things evil lead to death:

Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV)
“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Meanwhile, all things God-ly lead to life:

Galatians 5:22-24 (NIV)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and selfcontrol. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”

This should not really be a major wonder. Early on in your Word, you have issued the instruction:

Deuteronomy 30:19(b)-20(a)(NIV)
“Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, ...”

Now, LORD, why in the world is Terri Schiavo’s husband wanting her dead when clearly she is so alive?

Please, come to her rescue.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name I pray. Amen.

A Tough Act To Follow

LORD, we’ve all had that feeling when someone sings like a pro at the karaoke and you’re up next at the mike. Or when someone comes to the end of a sterling career and you’re the recruit to take their place. Or when someone’s dad has made a lifetime of giving royal treatment to his wife and you’re the groom about to marry his daughter.

Talk about pressure!

Now, there’s more to that, too, than just intimidating mastery. The standout gets to set a standard. This shining one gets to be champion, top of the heap. This one gets to show up on everybody’s cross hairs with a target painted across his chest saying “The One To Beat.”

I’ve been asked, Father, given all the media play on the smorgasbord of religions available, why I put my money on my LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Well, in the “market place of gods,” no one has ever pulled something like this off other than the Son of God:

1 Corinthians 15:3-6 (NIV)
“...Christ died for our sins...he was buried...he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures...he appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred...at the same time,...”

No other person with a claim to the title of “god” has ever done that. Neither has any prophet nor any wise teacher.

No one else has predicted by hundreds of years exactly how and when he was to die, came, died, got buried and walked away from the grave afterwards, with multitudes to testify to it, except Christ. No one else could tack on to this special way of dying (and rising from the dead) the quality of being adequate in satisfying the perfect standard of the Father for a sacrifice good enough to wash away the sins of mankind.

Now, just try and top that.

That’s why your believers praise you, LORD. That’s why your saints exalt you.

Be exalted, O God above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name, I pray. Amen.

Read about the sad cable TV host who in his ignorace believes that he is “enlightened” in thinking that belief in God is a neurological disease.

Please continue to pray for Christian attorneys as they prepare for next week when the US Supreme Court hears oral arguments on two cases involving the public display of the Ten Commandments.

God To The Rescue

Praise God for his continuing work of salvation.

It is God’s intervention that led to the acquittal of the Philadelphia Christians who are being slapped with ridiculous charges and threatened with decades of imprisonment for invoking their right to free speech and expressing what God says in his Bible about homosexuality.

It is God’s unseen hands that guide Christian attorneys as they continue to prepare for March 2, 2005 when the US Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments on two cases involving the public display of the Ten Commandments.

It is God’s truth that exposes the lie of mainstream media that refuses to report the good things that our troops are accomplishing in Iraq.

It is God’s holiness that sets the standard for people’s cultural choices and renders the Oscar awards’ unknown and unaccountable voters out of touch with mainstream America.

It is an exciting time to be alive. God’s faithful are on their knees heeding his call:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

And God is faithful.

Glory be to your name, dear God.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name, I pray. Amen.

This Is The Life!

I thank you for life, Father. Thank you for broadening my idea of it.

Before I came to know Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and LORD, I thought that life was this thing that keeps me breathing and thinking and experiencing the world around me through my senses. I thought that when I cease to experience and all my senses fade to black, that was to be the end of life and I just stop existing.

I should have known that there is much more to life than what I cared to give it credit for:

1 John 5:11-12 (NIV)
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

Life goes on forever! Our physical bodies may cease to function and waste away. Life would go on beyond our physical bodies. Awesome!

That is, if we have Jesus Christ. If we do not have God’s Son, we are but zombies, walking around but already dead.

The beauty of it is that the zombie condition is reversible. We just need to receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and LORD and we will truly walk with life. Forever.

What a life!

That’s why we praise you, LORD. That’s why we offer you our all. That’s why we bow down to you and worship you as King.

Let all glory belong to you forever and ever.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name, I pray. Amen.

Here is a leading liberal who is scrambling to turn “purple,” seeing that a red tide has completely swamped blue. Look, Sam, look! Look at Ted. See Ted laugh and play.

Also, here’s some more very good reading on the debate over the constitutionality of publicly displaying the Ten Commandments.

One Way High Way

What comfort it is to know I’m in your care now, Father. It is a comfort I know is familiar to all whom you have adopted as sons and daughters in Jesus Christ.

I am not supposed to envy anymore, LORD, since your grace is so sufficient. Still, I feel that those who came to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and God much sooner than I did were very fortunate. They had the weight of the world lifted off their shoulders sooner. They got to enjoy your peace that is beyond human understanding sooner. They got to experience the warmth of your love, the exciting punctuality of your blessings, the joy of serving you really early on.

My way to you, Father, was rough and long. It was none of your own doing. I chose to heed my intellect and youthful independence.

I thought then that after all, even if this ‘God thing’ and ‘eternal life thing’ were true, wise gurus say that there are numerous ways to you. I felt then that this fall back strategy was safe enough.

Wrong again. All the ways the wise teachers pointed to led away from you. There is only One that is truly wise. There is only One that truly points to the One Way to you:

John 14:6 (NIV)
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

I thank you, Father, for never giving up on me. I thank you for listening to those that cared enough for me to spend nearly a lifetime pleading my case to you in prayer. Please, bless them abundantly.

I pray listen now to my prayers and have mercy on those whom I also care for and have not known my Jesus yet.

Please, lead them to the One true Way. Lead them to the One Way that leads to the Most High.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name, I ask it, LORD. Amen.

Our school system needs to be purged of teachers that push on our young a one-sided look at knowledge. Schools are filled with educators that have become elitists that promote a left-leaning, liberal point of view exclusively. Knowledge to them is not open to debate, other points of view not permissible. Support the movement among political leaders to reform US Education in this regard.

Also, read up on court briefs filed in support of the public display of the Ten Commandments.

Bragging Rights

I will fight for the weak and the oppressed. I will donate my riches to the poor. I will sacrifice my life for the people. I will build the cathedral of all cathedrals. I will devote myself to a lifetime of solitude and prayer. I will care for the sick, clothe the naked, feed the hungry, visit the prisoner, help the elderly.

Enough, Father? Have I earned my way to your heaven?

Forgive me, LORD. I am being facetious. You have taught me early on. While all of these things are noble and honorable, none of them earns me your approval to come home to heaven when I leave this life. As you said:

Ephesians 2:8 (NIV)
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith---and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God...”

It is by your mercy that we are saved from suffering forever the penalty of our sins. It is by the grace of your Son, Jesus Christ, whose passionate obedience to your plan of redemption snatched us from the gates of hell. My LORD and Savior allowed his body to be broken and hung bleeding on the cross. This was the sacrifice that satisfied your wrath and produced the gift that we only need to receive and trust in its effectiveness in getting us across from spiritual death to eternal life.

Some of us, Father, can’t believe that faith in your Son is all it takes. Some of us are sincerely moved by the gravity of our wickedness that we feel like we ought to do something to earn your favor. Some of us are simply so used to fending for ourselves.

That is not in your plan:

Ephesians 2:9[a] (NIV)
“---not by works,...”

We do not get saved by our own strength, nor by our own will, nor by our own wisdom.

Jesus Christ was the bruised and pierced sacrifice. All the glory in mankind’s salvation belong to him:

Ephesians 2:9[b] (NIV)
“...so that no one could boast.”

If we could have worked our way to salvation, we would have had bragging rights over it. Whether we do gloat over it or not is out of the question. We will have made Christ’s sacrifice unnecessary.

In the first place, we could not have even done it if we tried.

Be glorified, dear LORD! You alone deserve it.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name, I pray it, LORD. Amen.

Here is a Ten Commandments case update.

God-Size Love

In this day of hearts, what better way to measure your love, Father, if that is possible, than by the way it is put by the author of this song:

Psalm 108:4 (NIV)
“For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.”

I guess that somehow gives an idea of the enormity of your love. Often, words like “immeasurable” or “unfathomable” are used to describe it. I’m sure these are not exaggerations, LORD. Still, the psalmist somehow gives us a more finite idea.

We are time- and measure-bound, Father. You are infinite. I pray for your patience. We only seek to understand.

Perhaps, a little lesson in context would help. It is said that if we look at the verses that come before and after a particular verse in your Word, we might understand it better.

Let’s try verse 3, then:

“I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.”

Oh.

It figures.

Well, on to verse 5:

“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.”

Absolutely.

If such is the size of the love of God, he deserves nothing less than the praise of all the nations, glory over all the earth and exaltation above the heavens!

Indeed, be exalted, Father.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name, I ask it, LORD. Amen.

The US Supreme Court will soon make a ruling on whether or not the public display of the Ten Commandments is constitutional. What a sad commentary to today's spiritual condition of the nation that we even have to have the highest court of the land consider this. Please pray that the Supreme Court justices will be urged to come to a God-ly decision. Share in the work to better understand this issue and protect this important standard that serves as a basis for our legal system.

The Ultimate Snobbery

Hello, Father. Thank you for sustaining me through a busy day.

I love your Word for me today:

John 3:36[a] (NIV)
"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, ..."

It's something I'm quite aware of but that's not what I'm taking from it this time. It is the very awareness of it that reminds me how flesh can be so forgetful. We can be so comfortable that we know something that we take it for granted.

This is why you teach us to pray even when you already know what we will be praying for before we utter the first word. This is why you tell us to read your Word daily and every chance we get.

The world could think this would be boring. That is certainly not the believer's experience. Your presence is so sweet in those times of prayer. Your Word always brings fresh meaning no matter how many times we read it. What's more, we find ourselves to have grown a few steps better each time you visit us in prayer and Bible reading.

Why not? Trust grows as we see the truth of your Word prove itself time and again. Trust deepens faith. Faith builds character.

Through it all, your love is revealed. Love that requires no conditions. Love that would sacrifice even life to save the life of the loved one---whether love is returned or rejected.

Rejection. That's the second part of your Word for me today:

John 3:36[b] (NIV)
"...but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

It is so unthinkable that such a loving, patient God would be rejected. It's unbelievable that such unfathomable love would be unreciprocated, even despised and mocked.

Until I remind my forgetful self that once upon a time I did it to you, too, my LORD Jesus. What mindless snobbery! I belittled your love and toyed around with your fiery wrath:

Romans 1:18-19 (NIV)
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them."

Oh, yes. Heaven and earth testify to your truth. In wondrous ways you wrote your Bible so that we have a love letter from you that should make your love and concern for us so plain and clear. You revealed yourself to us through your Son:

John 3:16 (NIV)
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Once again, a very familiar verse from your Word. One I am also only too aware of that I need to keep reminding myself of it.

Remind me, LORD. Remind the world. Those of us that know you, let us not forget.

Those that do not know you, let them not reject your love.

In Jesus' Mighty Name, I ask it, LORD. Amen.

Experts say that when a father is involved in church, there is a high probability that his children will also get involved. In fact, when the men's ministry flourishes, so does the church. That's certainly something to chew on while we worship the LORD today.

I Confess

There is a saying, LORD, that a fish is caught by its mouth. In that case, Father, I am happily and blissfully caught. I read it in your Word:

Romans 10:9 (NIV)
"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

So I say it, Jesus is LORD. You got me, Father. And I believe it with all of my heart:

Romans 10:10 (NIV)
"For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

What a cool thought for the coming Valentine's Day, the heart day. With faith in my heart there will be no frustrating the love that I have:

Romans 10:11 (NIV)
"As the Scripture says, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'"

It does not matter who I am, what I have been, where I came from or when I came to this realization. It does not matter who, period:

Romans 10:12 (NIV)
"For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him;..."

ALL, dear LORD. You said, "all":

Romans 10:13 (NIV)
"...for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'"

How far and wide and high and deep is your love.

In this world, Father, confession often means getting caught in the storm of a scandal. With you, confession means forgiveness, blessings and eternal bliss.

Oh, Father. I confess! I confess!

The Department of Justice(?) is not acting on hard core pornography on cable television. Pornography is addicting and pornographers are targeting children to ensure customers well into the future. We need to protect children from these predators.

I Love You, Punk

Forgive my crass frivolity, LORD, but in today's slang, that pretty much says what you did for me. Of course, if you were asked, I'm sure you would have described it a lot better than I just did.

I could glean that from the example in your Word:

Romans 5:8 (NIV)
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Amazing love, LORD! Amazing grace. Without such a love how could the likes of me who shook our fists at your face and maligned your holy Name have had any hope at all?

You yourself taught:

John 15:13 (NIV)
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

Yet, LORD, when you died for me, I was not your friend. I was your enemy!

How awesome is your love. And I say 'awesome' not in the usual way that we mean it these days. I mean, your love is immeasurable. You did not only say:

Matthew 5:44 (NIV)
"...Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..."

You proved faithful to your Word by setting the example yourself.

That's why you are worthy of our praise. You are worthy of our thanks.

Be glorified, dear LORD. Let your glory be magnified.

In Jesus' Mighty Name, I ask it, LORD. Amen.

I don't know about you but I have always been suspicious about this self-esteem business. I grew up in a school system and a home where discipline and self-control were valued. Today, self-esteem gurus throw out these time-honored principles in the name of promoting a "positive self outlook". As a result, we promote slackers, cheaters and abusers simply because we "do not want to hurt their feelings."

Now, psychologists themselves are saying forget about self-esteem. Read up, bud. See how the wisdom of God's Word kicks human wisdom once again on the behind.

Dead Man Walking

That was me, LORD. That was how I walked before I came to know you. Smilingly, happily, confidently, proudly---but very much dead!

I thought I was alive. But your WORD said otherwise:

Romans 6:23[a] (NIV)
"For the wages of sin is death,..."

Oh, yes. I refused to believe I was living in sin. But that truth does not depend on whether or not I believed it.

It was like when I refused to believe that you were real, dear God. It did not make you disappear. Instead, you revealed yourself to me through your Son, my LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Dead man thinking: I'm smart. I know my way around. I live in the fast lane. I'm an achiever. Surely, if heaven were for real, I could achieve whatever it takes to get myself there. Isn't that how the game plays out?

Wrong. That's NOT how it plays out. It is no play at all. My fast lane was headed straight to hell---literally.

Dead man walking. I needed to get a life. The real, from here-to-eternity kind. And no amount of my smarts could achieve me one.

There was something I was missing:

Romans 6:23[b](NIV)
"...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

It was a GIFT! I did not have to achieve it. I just had to receive it. It was a free offer that did me no good until I accepted and enjoyed it. I just needed to trust that the offer was good for life forever.

Oh, I trust it, LORD. I trust it.

Foolish? Yes, maybe. If I remained in my unbelieving spirit. Not so, now that I have your Spirit:

1 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV)
"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."

Truly, you are all-wise, Father.

Praise be to my LORD and Savior Jesus Christ.

For it is in his Mighty Name that I pray it. Amen.

Valentine's Day is upon us. With a weekend in front of it. How are you holding together? It's a great opportunity to honor the LORD. Here's how.

The Power Of One

LORD, you were all it took to speak the universe into existence. How beautiful is your Creation! It reflects your perfection.

But it is not so perfect anymore. And it also took but one to make it so:

Romans 5:12 (NIV)
"...sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned..."

How terrible that because of this one, Adam, we must taste pain and disease. Because of one, life in this world leads only and without exception to an appointment with death.

Still, in all your wondrous might, dear God, you also only needed one to restore hope:

Romans 5:15 (NIV)
"...if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!"

How comforting, Father, that even when we still need to struggle through the accursed condition of this earth, we need not fear death. Jesus Christ has given eternal life to those who trust in his completed work:

Romans 5:18 (NIV)
"Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men."

Hallelujah! Jesus' Name be glorified.

For it is in his Mighty Name that I pray it. Amen.

Red or blue? Right or left? Conservative or liberal? Jesus Christ is above all. Heaven is infinitely better than any utopia, conservative or liberal. Best of all, it is an actual place, not an unattainable dream.

Check out this fine commentary on the left-right ideological freak show.

Me? A Sinner?

LORD, that was the hardest thing for me to accept. Especially in those days when I did not even believe you existed.

How can anyone accuse me of sinning? Do they live with me 24/7?

Yet, your Word was very clear about it:

Romans 3:23 (NIV)
"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,..."

You said "ALL," Father. That does not exempt me.

Now, I know that you love me---and my kind---deeply. You love me so much you don't want me to die, sin or no sin.

But you are holy. Holiness and sin just don't mix. While you are a God of love, you are also a God of justice. Justice dictates that I die because I sinned.

Quite a dilemma, Father.

But you are also all-wise. You have a solution: You sent your Son!

He died in my place. Even when he had no sin. He took my sins---and those of my kind---and paid the penalty for me. He paid it once and for all for everyone:

1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."

I thank you, LORD, for saving me. I pray you make of my life an offering that pleases you and magnifies your glory.

In Jesus' Mighty Name, I ask it, LORD. Amen.

The true color of liberal politicians is whatever color suits the time. Seeing that blue is rapidly losing ground to red, liberals scramble to propose "purple." Does that mean they will become red? Do wolves become sheep?

Look, Sam, look! Look at Hillary. See Hillary laugh and play.

Jesus Christ, My Righteousness

Romans 3:10 (NIV)
"As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one; ...'"

How sobering it is, Father, to know from your Word that none among us, your human creation, is righteous. Even if we gave to the poor. Even if we went to church every Sunday. Even if we sacrificed our lives for the weak. Even if we ate and breathed religion.

It is staggering to realize what your Word says about our righteousness:

Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)
"...all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

I shudder to think that there was a time when I thought that I could earn my way to your heaven. The best of my righteous heroics could not have done it. All the wealth in the universe could not have bought me a ticket, if there ever was one.

Yet, I was not without hope. You sent your Son. He became my righteousness. Your Word said so:

Romans 3:21-23
"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ..."

Thank you, LORD. Now I am righteous, not because of what I have done. Jesus Christ obeyed your plan to save me and my kind; even to death he obeyed. The finished work of Jesus Christ and my faith in him made me righteous.

Be glorified, my Father.

In Jesus' Mighty Name, I ask it, LORD. Amen

Check out this fine post on Social Security. Read up also on this alert from Liberty Counsel on an activist judge in New York.

I'm Gonna Live Forever!

Your Word says so, LORD. That settles it.

It is really quite clear:

1 John 5:13 (NIV)
"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life."

Of course, I supplied the emphasis on "know" because it says I don't have to guess. Your Word says I can know---not theorize nor imagine---that I am going to live forever.

Your apostle actually quotes you, LORD Jesus:

John 11:25-26 (NIV)
"..., I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die...”

So, I'm clicking my spiritual heels. I have eternal life!

And I am thankful that you want everyone to know. You want us who believe to let everyone know.

Enable us to tell as many as we can, Father, since you've assigned that part to us.

As you promised, you can take care of the rest.

After all, that's the part that you've assigned to you. And you, LORD, are faithful.

In Jesus' Mighty Name, I ask it, LORD. Amen.

Affirmation Is The Order Of The Day

Thank you, LORD, for the new link on this blog that connects to ifish.net. I am grateful, Father, that Jennie does not mind my posting it here. I pray that you will use this blog, LORD, so that more may share her inspiring messages.

Thank you also, Father, for the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General. I pray you build on this good first step towards a positive direction, LORD. Cause the confirmation of the President's nominees who will be useful to you in steering the course of the USA towards God-liness and moral uprightness.

Thank you most of all for your message to me today as I read my daily devotional. If I may share your Word here today, Father, you give me cause to believe that, truly, affirmation is your special word of the day.

Here, the Apostle John testifies to the truth and reality of God making a personal appearance through Jesus Christ and hobnobbing with him and his fellow apostles and thousands of others of his day:

1 John 1:1-7

The Word of Life

1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched–this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4We write this to make our joy complete.

Walking in the light

5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

I pray, Father, that you cause your Word to penetrate the heart of whomever you would lead to read it. Bring them to brotherhood with us whom you have adopted as sons through the finished work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

For it is in his Mighty Name that I ask it, LORD. Amen.

She Walks Again!

Glory, hallelujah! Praise be to your Name, Father!

It took a few days but today, Jennie Logsdon Martin issues her first post on her website, ifish.net since flying to Stanford last January 26th.

She walks again! "Miss Marietta" is finally gone. I hope she never comes back.

Thank you, Father. Welcome back, Jennie.

Thank you also, LORD, for the wisdom gained in this latest challenge. I pray you bless her desire to focus her energy more on being Mom to her kids.

Continue to use her, Father, and the many gifts you have given her to inspire your children and to glorify your Name.

In Jesus' Mighty Name, I ask it, LORD. Amen.

Democracy, Judges and Justice

Praise be to you, Father!

I pray indeed that the news about Democratic Senators supposedly not planning to filibuster Alberto Gonzales' nomination as replacement to Attorney General John Ashcroft will prove true.

I pray, LORD, that sense prevail over the Democratic Senators and that they do their duty to participate in the rightful straight up or down vote all Presidential nominees deserve.

If you are willing, LORD, expose the small minority of partisan Democratic Senators who abuse their advisory role in confirming Presidential nominees. Expose how they trample upon the centuries old Senate tradition of confirming nominees who receive the support of a majority of Senators. How ironic it is that they call themselves "Democrats" when they ignore the doctrine of majority rule.

Father, if they remain stiff-necked in their selfish partisanship in complete disregard of the moral future of the nation, please remove them from their positions.

I continue to pray, dear God, that you root out all the immoral and the ungodly from among our political leaders, from Washington DC down to the humblest county, and from among our justices and judges, educators, journalists and the media. I pray that you replace them all with the God-ly and the morally upright.

In Jesus' Mighty Name, I ask it, LORD. Amen.