Serious Survivalist Skills

We've spoken before about the Pennsylvania police officers whom were ambushed. One was injured and the other was killed. In our previous discussion, they were still uncertain as to whom they were looking for. I called him a cowardly cop killer. Apparently, he's a planned perpetrator with serious survivalist skills. Feel free to read the article here.

So, they're looking for this guy, Eric Frein, in the Poconos Mountains. There's a lot of rugged terrain, cliffs, and even wetlands in the area. Frein is a self-trained survivalist and some experts are thinking he can't handle it that long. They are saying that he'll run out of food, or that the thermal-imaging equipment will detect his presence. However, they are also admitting that he may have a bunch of homemade bunkers out there where he's stored supplies.

Obviously this guy had planned his attack and therefore the potential for him to be more prepared than they realize is great. Besides, how long are they really going to invest 100s of men searching the mountains for this guy? I know that they're cops and therefore the camaraderie and bond is great, but there are other things that need attending to as well. I suspect this Frein character, if he planned properly, might just have enough stuff to outlast their efforts given time constraints and the financial burden. However, I also anticipate that there will be bounty hunters ready to pounce on him for the reward money if not just for the notoriety.

So, where's the Spiritual tie in here? I guess I could go down a couple of avenues. I could discuss the

fact that sin will eventually be exposed no matter how hard we try to hide it and even if it's not, guess what, it leads to death. Essentially, either Frein will get caught or he'll die out there alone. I could remind you that running from our guilt doesn't erase it. It's impossible to hide from God. He doesn't need thermal imaging technology to know your location even in the deepest, darkest forest or most atrocious mosquito-infested swamp. You cannot hide from His view.

If we realize that no sin is truly hidden, then it would behoove us to get on our knees and take ownership of our faults and failures. Let Him cleanse you from those atrocities. He can make you white as snow. More importantly, He wants to. Bring your murderous deeds to His feet and watch Him heal all your hurts.

Father, help us realize that we can't sin bigger than You can forgive. Remind us that we need You and that we can't hide from You. Cleanse us and bring us to our knees when necessary. We ask these things in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Fear and Compassion Rarely Meet

People are freaking out about these potential mega-viruses, these plagues that seem to have suddenly attacked our reality. In fact, there's a ship docked in Louisiana right now that has people fearful. Apparently, it's come from Africa, in the general vicinity of the place that's experiencing an Ebola outbreak. Feel free to read the article here.

There were people on board who were sick, one of whom had to be transported off the ship prior to it even arriving in the port because the necessity for treatment was so high. This severity of illness has doctors concerned that Ebola might show up here. Of course, the CDC is saying the risk is low but they did accept this patient in their HAZMAT suits as a precautionary

procedure.

I want you to realize, that fear and compassion rarely meet. I suspect that those working on this sick individual are doing their best, but I also suspect that they aren't being overly loving. They're following protocol and that's about it. Obviously, that's my assumption, but I want you to think about fear in your own life, particularly as it has pertained to other people...

If homeless people, let's say, creep you out, chances are you aren't going to actively seek an opportunity to assist them. If you're afraid of people carrying diseases like AIDs, you're probably avoiding them, not reaching out in love. You see, our fears hinder us from doing His will. What's His will? You might be asking. Well, that's simple, it's unity. He wants all things united in Christ and if you are a believer, you're supposed to be helping bring people to the Kingdom. You can't do that if you're afraid.

There are other issues within our brothers and sisters that we fear, things that they are doing that we somehow think will rub off on us. We fear drug addicts, prostitutes, homosexuals, etc. Why? Jesus wouldn't have. He didn't let sin, or illness, scare Him away, He didn't let fear into His life, period. Nope, He approached the despised, the outcast, and He offered them love that healed!

Listen, friends, it's high time we took Paul's, "to live is Christ and to die is gain," attitude. We'll do a lot more for the Kingdom, and push toward achieving His will, if we do. So, don't fear Ebola or any of these other things you are seeing in the news, the Scriptures tell us that they are bound to happen. Instead, look for all the opportunities He places before you each and every day. Shine the light, even to the infected. Remember, sin is a disease that leads to death too.

Let it Rise

So, since we are all totally focused on the stars of the American screen, it's no wonder that there's a piece on Yahoo! this morning about Ben Affleck and his upcoming movie role, Batman. He apparently has revealed a deep-seated connection to Batman's character (though the writer of the article suggested he was more closely connected to the Hulk). That connection of course, is anger.

Obviously, this link between Affleck and Batman is admired, or at least ok'ed as it's not a negative article. Though thankfully, Affleck admits it's a character flaw to let anger build until explosions are imminent and disastrous. At lease he recognizes there's a problem, but I didn't really notice any resolve to rectify it.

However, he did say, "I should sit down and say, 'Listen, I just want you to know what happened there wasn't OK,' instead of going, let it go, let it go, let it go...'Ah, that's not a big deal,' until finally you just pop!" I guess as they say, knowing is half the battle, at least he's not denying the problem exists. Perhaps that's where we can learn something...

I wonder if you'd be willing to take a deep look at your life, analyze your day, your week, your

month, your year and determine how many (even if you can't count them exactly) episodes of explosive anger you've participated in. How many times have you succumbed to that rise of rage? Which, brings me to my title: Let it Rise.

If you think I am suggesting that you should allow that explosive emotion to burst forth, to erupt from your being, you are quite wrong. Instead, the implication here is to let it rise up to your King, lift your inability to maintain peace and tranquility up to Him. Hand over those minor irritants that turn into mountainous anger. Let every ounce of imperfection within you rise up to Him; hand it over.

We are all Batman-like if that means harboring hidden anger. Sadly, most of us are unwilling to admit it and that's why we do great damage to the ones we love. We lash out at them over minutia

while denying we've got issues with our temper. Batman's a superhero, a creation of the imagination. Ben Affleck's a movie star, most of his behavior has been written down for him. What's interesting is that even in our imaginations, our heroes and stars are full of anger; surely we can't deny this is human reality. Admit you've got an issue with anger and then let it rise to the One who can enable you to fix the problem.

Cowardly Cop Killers

Perhaps you have seen the news about the Pennsylvania police trooper that was slain after a coward ambushed he and another officer. The fallen officer leaves behind two young boys and a devastated wife. You can read the whole article here.

I am saddened by the loss of life. I am particularly saddened by the loss of a father's life because the children that are left behind without that strong moral support, without that leadership are forever deprived of the means to understand a God that calls Himself, Father. It also creates a gulf of anger and a rift between those children and the King.

I am more bothered by cowardice. You see, I believe the enemy is a coward; that's why he has to use trickery and deception and ambush to destroy. If he were certain of his own abilities, he would make his presence known and his plans clear. Instead, he has to sneak up on us and like the cowardly cop killer in this story, take aim at us from a place in the woods, securely hidden from view and before we even have the chance to defend ourselves.

I suppose the best advice here is that we should always be aware of those dark spots in our lives, those wooded areas on the peripheral. Keep your eyes open, your ears alert and be prepared to fire back!

I hope we'll all lift up prayers for the family of Cpl. Bryon Dickson, who was murdered in an act of revolting cowardice. I ask that we also pray for Trooper Alex Douglass who was shot in the ambush as well, but is expected to survive. I also hope we'll pray for bravery in the face of danger and Faith in the One who saves!

Shocking New Planet Discovered!

This amuses me greatly! I am always amazed by the fact that scientists are shocked to discover what they think they know is minuscule in comparison to what is really out there. If you read this article you'll see that they believed a planet of Mega-Earth's design was wholly impossible. According to the article the planet couldn't possibly be rocky because its size would attract too much gas making it gassy like Jupiter. Obviously their theories were incorrect as Kepler-10c (Mega-Earth) is 2.3 times larger than Earth.

This article, and these "discoveries," bring a few verses to mind. The first, of course, is that man's wisdom is foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:25) when compared to the Creator of all the universes (and planets yet to be revealed). We are still so arrogant though that we are flabbergasted when that truth is brought to light. Why we think we know everything, or why we suppose that the theories our feeble minds create must hold true, is incomprehensible to me. The world's wisdom is really stupidity when compared to the Intelligent Designer (1 Corinthians 3:19)!

I read a little further in the article and discovered that this new planet, in the eyes of these scientists, opens up the possibility for other lifeforms. Really? Surely they are aware of the other entities that inhabit this earth and the atmosphere and heavenlies? No? Oh, yeah, they only believe in things they can manipulate down to numbers and visual proof (even if it's microscopic). Yes, those of you at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, there are "profound implications for the possibility for life;" it's there, you just don't see it! Read the Bible, that might clear some extraterrestrial things up for you. 

I guess the kicker for me is that the Director for the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative said, "... if you can make rocks, you can make life."  I suspect that's what Christ-followers have been trying to tell you guys for years. If God could speak and BANG it was, then yeah, He can make life wherever He wants. Oh, and rocks too! Not to mention coral reefs and those amoebas that you say appeared out of nowhere.

Spiritually Flabby

It's been a while since I posted here and since I am rapidly picking up other writing venues I think it behooves me to get something out on each of them as regularly as possible. That said, I noticed a piece of news on Yahoo! about fixing the flab on the back of your arms. Now, if you're a skinny person who's never had to hold your arm steady so as not to get smacked in the face, then this probably wouldn't be an article that drew your attention. I, on the other hand, have some seriously problematic arm-droopage; therefore, I was intrigued. 

Apparently they did a study on several different arm toning exercises. They even used "...electromyographic electrodes on the back of each subject's upper arm to record real-time muscle activity." The results revealed (sorry if you were going to go read the whole article) that the triangle push-up is indeed the best way to shape your arms (or at least eliminate some of the jiggle). That set me wondering, what if we were more concerned with our Spiritual flab than our muffin-tops and cellulite? What would that "exercise" look like?

Perhaps the better question there is, how do we know if we are Spiritually flabby? If we are allowing the fat of the world to encompass the muscle of His Word? I suspect the answer is easier than we realize. Here's a checklist to help you ascertain your level of Spiritual flabbiness:

1. When I wake up in the morning my first thought is about God.
2. I pray throughout the day even over little things.
3. I am eager to open His Word daily.
4. I don't just attend church I worship and engage there.
5. Verses pop into my head and I find myself quoting Scripture in regular conversation.
6. I feel lost if I haven't been actively engaged with the Father each day.

Someone who answers Yes to all six of these questions is eligible for the World's Strongest Spiritual Human Award. However, if you noted some No's, then your Spiritual being is in danger of rolls, cellulose that will keep you externally warm but Spiritually cold. He's not down with that middle ground either; remember He'll vomit out those of us who test on the luke-warm level. So how do you get your Spiritual life back in optimal health? Well, just switch up the language in the checklist:

1. I will make God first on my mind when I wake up.
2. I will pray without ceasing, even over minute stuff.
3. I will open and read my Bible each day.
4. I will make church attendance more about Him and less about the social aspect.
5. I will familiarize myself with Scripture so that I can think His thoughts.
6. I won't miss an opportunity to spend time with my Savior.

As a chubby lady (I'm trying not to offend) I realize the value in physical well being; but as a follower of

Christ, it seems infinitely more important to me to be with Him. Besides, when we start letting our lives and worlds revolve around Him, the worldly pleasures (i.e. chocolate chip cookies and Reese's cups) become less important and distracting. Therefore, it's quite probable that if you'll do a lot more time lifting your Bible and doing prayer push-ups your jello might dissipate too.

Our children will be slaves

When looking for something to write about, this piece of news caught my eye. Now, the article is extremely short as I suspect it's more of a snippet about the photo found on the page, however there's one line in there that is particularly poignant. So much so that I am better off quoting it so that you get the gist, "One of the worst droughts in California history has prompted the state and federal governments to severely cut water supplies to farms and cities..." Here's the thing, I suspect a good deal of people will breeze right on past that to what the author intended as the focus, the potential for gold discovery due to depleted waterways providing access to previously too deep riverbeds. In fact, if you read the first few comments you'll find instructions on proper panning and gold claim techniques rather than utter disgust with the governmental ability to cut water supplies! Which, by the way, you'll note that farms were getting cut first; that's just moronic! Let's cut our ability to grow food but make sure the decorative fountains still work!

I wonder, pretty frequently (especially since it was my propensity toward conspiracy theorizing that 

led me back to Faith), why we stand idly by and allow our government, that was supposed to be for the people, by the people, to control our every move. They are allowed to spy on us, via phone taps and website analyzing (or the like - I try to avoid getting into all the theories these days); they're forcing us to purchase health insurance or else be fined, they are creating a world in which Christian organizations/businesses must shut down in order to maintain integrity! Not that I'm complaining about the fact that we are moving closer to the return of the Savior, but I am bothered by our complacency as a nation and even more so as a body of believers. I think we waste our time arguing about movies (look at all the face-time on Facebook about Noah, God's Not Dead and the Son of God) rather than trying to fulfill our calls. Yes, we are all called, we are indeed here for a purpose and I suspect it is far greater than the Siskel and Ebert positions we are currently embracing (though these stances are tremendously safer than preaching the Gospel so that everyone hears).

I don't know about you, but I'm certainly not too keen on having my water rationed by a government I don't trust any farther than I can kick them (I played soccer, but I don't think I'd get too far with that massive conglomerate of evil). I guess I just needed to vent about how irritated I am over the control we are allowing ourselves to succumb to. I don't need a government telling me how to do anything and I certainly don't want them determining that I have used too much water to bathe my children. It just makes me want, all the more, to build a recycled home that is totally off the grid, our own well and rain water collection set-ups. Yeah, sometimes I think that's the answer, the further I can get away from control, the more I can focus on what matters (maybe). Anyway, I hope you'll consider what you're handing over to them, what you're allowing them to dictate for you because our children will really be slaves if we don't do something soon!