tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52369024078205123492024-02-18T22:26:39.993-05:00The Gospel to Go: Faith and everyday lifeCE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-54303443950387879692021-08-31T11:04:00.002-04:002021-09-09T11:28:42.025-04:00Where's God <p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgqeiSTs64oDLQ62Us9OeHTN_bHUQ0b8SsQhjT9LsUhb1gkR_63t0DgRQme2eMZSIhqoYkS-jiv0bcAbqBfZ6XE1TDZ_QiTsM1c4f9P1WSIE9ywrhyphenhyphenTKJRBGyuUYnCroWYkuugr3Nb_YH/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="328" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgqeiSTs64oDLQ62Us9OeHTN_bHUQ0b8SsQhjT9LsUhb1gkR_63t0DgRQme2eMZSIhqoYkS-jiv0bcAbqBfZ6XE1TDZ_QiTsM1c4f9P1WSIE9ywrhyphenhyphenTKJRBGyuUYnCroWYkuugr3Nb_YH/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Pandemics, earthquakes, tornadoes, civil wars, violence, famine, poverty, sickness, pain, death—the list of suffering in the world today gives rise to a universal concern, "Where's God?" To answer this question, we need to start at the beginning, in Genesis 1:1, where it is written that God was at work '<i>In the beginning....</i>." creating a perfect world for humankind. When God had finished, this world contained everything humankind would ever need. In God's perfect world, sickness and death did not exist. It was a safe place where humankind could live together with God for eternity. </span><p></p><p><b><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">So, what happened to that world?</span></i></b></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Simple answer— humankind sinned, and caused corruption to defile God's perfect world (Genesis 3). Think of it like a computer file that works perfectly fine until one day it is corrupted by a malicious attack. When a computer file is corrupted, it is unuseable and no longer operates as it was intended. Likewise, that's what happened to the perfect world God created for us. This world is sin damaged so nothing operates as God intended. Humankind inherited a legacy of sin from the first family, Adam and Eve. And that legacy still binds and hinders us today.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="font-size: 16px;"><i><span style="background-color: white;">What </span></i></b><b style="font-size: 16px;"><i><span style="background-color: white;">is sin? </span></i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Although none of us were in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned, still God passed judgement on all future humankind because He knew that in time, we would commit enough of our own sins to deserve punishment. Sin is </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">willfully disobeying God's laws or commands. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">You may have heard of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+5&version=NIV" target="_blank">The Ten Commandments </a>which were given by God to protect us; and if obeyed, they would stabilize our communities so that we could live peaceful, successful and happy lives. The Bible is full of examples of how humankind ultimately sinned against God, and suffered dire consequences. Even now, commiting acts like greed, robbery, murder, stealing, lying, hating others, premartial sex, homosexuality, adultery, rape, drunkeness, drug abuse are ways we sin against God today. In truth, we all have 'missed the mark' in some way trying to live up to God's standards. </span></span></p><p></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;"> "</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">For everyone has </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bolder;">sinned</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">; we </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bolder;">all</span></i><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><i> fall short of God’s glorious standard." </i>Romans 3:23 </span></span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><i><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sin has its consequences</span></b></i></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">God has said, "The soul who sins shall die." </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Ezekiel 18:20 ESV</span></i></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">And as if that weren't bad enough<b>,</b><b> </b>sin also separates us from God. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were immediately kicked out of the Garden of Eden. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Sin robs you of God's presence. </span><span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+66%3A18&version=NLT" target="_blank">Sin hinders your prayers.</a> Sin prevents you from spending eternity in Heaven. Sin keeps you from enjoying <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+29%3A11&version=NIV" target="_blank">what God has planned for you.</a> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">God hates sin</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 16px;"> because of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=evil+continually&version=KJV" target="_blank">what sin does to you</a>.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> </span></span><b style="font-size: 16px;"><i>God's remedy for sin</i></b></span></p><p><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 16px;">God, in His great love and mercy for us, was not willing to let sin destroy His creation. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+John+3%3A20&version=CEV" target="_blank">God knew</a>, e</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 16px;">ven before the first sin was committed, that He would devise a plan </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 16px;">to rescue and restore humankind to Himself. </span></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mmRPSoDrrFU" width="320" youtube-src-id="mmRPSoDrrFU"></iframe></span></div><span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span></span></p><blockquote><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 16px;"><i>"Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life." John 3:16 ESV</i></span></span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 16px;">God's plan involved sacrificing His Son, Jesus, as payment for our sins. Jesus took the punishment we deserved. His death on the Cross was payment and pardon for our sin. Still, a pardon is worthless unless you accept it. The way back into God's good graces is through Jesus Christ, and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2014%3A6&version=ERV" target="_blank">accepting Him as your Savior.</a> You may think of yourself as a '<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+10%3A18&version=ESV" target="_blank">good person</a>,' but you still need Jesus to be fully reconciled to God. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>Peace with God </b></i></span></p><p></p><p><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 16px;">The world's problems will never be solved through human effort. Jesus Christ is our only hope. True and longlasting peace only comes when you surrender your old life to Christ in exchange for a new beginning.</span></span></p><p><span></span></p><blockquote><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 16px;"><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial"><i>"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT</i></span></span></span></blockquote><p><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ready to take that first step toward a new life? When you <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+2%3A21&version=NIV" target="_blank">say this prayer</a>, with a sincere and repentant heart, your sins are forgiven, and you are reconciled back to God:</span></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-style: italic;">Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and ask You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for the gift of eternal life with you. In Your Name. Amen.</span></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">To learn more about your new life in Christ, contact <a href="https://peacewithgod.net/" target="_blank">peacewithgod.net </a> Someone is there 24/7 to talk with you. </span></p>CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-38356711472827839002020-09-06T09:50:00.001-04:002020-09-06T10:01:55.145-04:00Deadly force: Guns in the hands of bad cops<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "proximo nova", "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The law does not require <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/police" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">police</a> officers to utilize the absolute minimum force necessary in a threat situation — only that the level of force used be reasonable to control a deadly threat.—<a href="http://www.policeone.com/health-fitness/articles/8104031-When-cops-kill-The-psychology-of-deadly-force-encounters/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Dr. Lawrence Miller</a></em></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "proximo nova", "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "proximo nova", "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">Ohio's Samuel DuBose and South Carolina's Walter Scott had a lot in common. Both men were driving their cars when they were stopped by police for an alleged traffic violation. Both men were unarmed. Neither man had been placed under arrest. Based on video footage, neither man appeared to present <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">a t</em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">hreat</em> to the officer or the community. But for reasons unknown, during questioning by the police officers, both men tried to flee and were shot and killed. Both policemen are charged with murder, and are currently awaiting trial.</div>
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It seems rare if ever that police use of <a href="http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Deadly+Force" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">deadly force</a> results in the police being charged with a crime, According to the law, the police are allowed to use deadly force on anyone they reasonably deem to be a clear and present threat to them or to others. Use of deadly force is solely at the discretion of the police officer at the scene. Things can get murky when a police officer uses deadly force to subdue an unarmed citizen where there is no obvious or identified threat present, including that of self-defense. Police use of deadly force becomes a problem when a few law enforcement officers overstep the boundaries and intent of the law and <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/nicholasquah/heres-a-timeline-of-unarmed-black-men-killed-by-police-over#.pvDOqKr5m" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">execute innocent citizens</a>.</div>
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Who can forget the New York police shootings of <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/unarmed-amadou-diallo-shot-killed-police-1999-article-1.2095255" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amadu Dialo</a>, the unarmed African immigrant who was shot at 41 times on his doorstep by four plain-clothes officers in a case of mistaken identity; or an unarmed <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/nov/27/usa.julianborger" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Sean Bell </a>who was killed under questionable circumstances when undercover cops fired 51 shots into the car in which Bell was a passenger. Police claimed they <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">felt threatened</em> when someone in Bell's party was thought to have a gun, except no gun was ever found. In both cases, the police were not held accountable for their conduct in the shootings.</div>
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The U.S. Supreme Court has weighed in on the issue of police use of deadly force by clarifying and restricting its use to certain circumstances. In response to the 1985 case, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_v._Garner" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tennessee v. Garner</a>, the Court cited Fourth Amendment protections:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">When a law enforcement officer is pursuing a fleeing suspect, he or she may not use deadly force to prevent escape unless "the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.</em></div>
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Further, in his majority opinion, Justice Byron Clark wrote:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">It is no doubt unfortunate when a suspect who is in sight escapes, but the fact that the police arrive a little late or are a little slower afoot does not always justify killing the suspect. A police officer may not seize an unarmed, non-dangerous suspect by shooting him dead,—<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/10/us/south-carolina-case-police-deadly-force/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Supreme Court Justice Byron Clark</a></em></div>
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Recent fatal police shootings of unarmed citizens for seemingly minor, non-violent offenses has called into question the use of deadly force. Either the police aren't aware of the Supreme Court's ruling on use of deadly force (highly unlikely) or a few officers have taken it upon themselves to <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">shoot first and answer questions later</em>. What's even more troubling is the police officers who have been caught lying about the circumstances that caused them to shoot and kill their victims. Without the benefit of police body cams and passersby videos, the officers would otherwise get away with murder, as some undoubtedly have.</div>
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The mega hit song, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6oMw9iRurw" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Inner City Blues</a>, co-written by singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye and James Nyx Jr in 1971, is a fitting description of the tensions that exist between police and urban communities. The lyrics read in part—</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Crime is increasing, trigger happy policing. Panic is spreading, God knows where we're heading</em>.</div>
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Now, almost 45 years later, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32458096" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">nothing has fundamentally changed</a> in that relationship. In fact, things have gotten worse with more guns on the street, especially in the hands of criminals, making it harder for the police to always identify the community's law abiding citizens, especially when certain assumptions are made.</div>
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Policing is a tough and dangerous job. That notwithstanding, most police officers, like rookie Officer <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/ohio-cop-praised-refusing-resort-deadly-force-against-murder-suspect" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Jeffrey Kidder</a>, do an admirable job of it. However, like in everything, there are always a few bad apples. A gun in the hands of a bad cop poses a danger to any community. No one is safe with a trigger happy cop on the street. Police departments must do a better job at identifying and taking bad cops off the street and off the force, if necessary.</div>
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A prime example is Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia, the arresting officer in the <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/sandra-bland" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Sandra Bland</a> case. Encinia had a known history of "unprofessional conduct" on the job for which he got off with only a written warning, Without behavioral counseling or other remedial therapy, it is highly probable that Encinia would repeat the bad conduct at some future point. That day came when Encinia pulled motorist Sandra Bland over for a minor traffic violation,</div>
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Encinia is caught by his dashboard cam clearly displaying unprofessional conduct toward Bland, He can be seen pointing his taser in Bland's face and threatening to "light her up." Encinia's aggressive behavior sparked the eventual confrontation that led to Bland's arrest. In his brief time on the force, Encinia has racked up two unprofessional conduct citations and disciplinary action for violating departmental policy in the Bland arr<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhVPq-AzsL-NGT6MkqOL3sfEvyrcuwV5Pyr2pl_RSxv6tCbCN4Wm6xwnf90NfsrWPBmAIlM-kvtbQKNHLIVP9TF4m6DPjtLO-Zcjt7C1Ikk6V3zMtRGDPRPcwY61fItwC2xdufGr7-798/s960/brothers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhVPq-AzsL-NGT6MkqOL3sfEvyrcuwV5Pyr2pl_RSxv6tCbCN4Wm6xwnf90NfsrWPBmAIlM-kvtbQKNHLIVP9TF4m6DPjtLO-Zcjt7C1Ikk6V3zMtRGDPRPcwY61fItwC2xdufGr7-798/s320/brothers.jpg" /></a>est. And he still has his gun.</div>
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Police commanders must be watchful for any officer with repeated conduct infractions, citizen complaints or a pattern of illegal arrests or questionable use of deadly force, which could be a sign of trouble down the road for the officer and the community. Police departments must police themselves by removing officers who abuse their power. It's vitally important for all of us that police departments aren't putting or leaving guns in the hands of men and women who have no business being police officers.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Pray for kings and others in power, so that we may live quiet and peaceful lives as we worship and honor God.—1 Timothy 2:2 CEV</em></div>
<br />CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-37073974555571890992019-07-17T06:24:00.002-04:002020-02-10T21:16:29.933-05:00The hidden dangers behind the rainbow flag<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvPNQnmxNyd6Hp0lscMw1AzivHYaco0OVBuIGcejx8xDvEX4Zznf6xnh3eNdplIv3x6XCXLngOtkQb0dhyfn6MtTQJ54lSicAAP4yDCCpDG5KlpUlXbcme4qFJ6-QsoP3V51cGkDxHWrrY/s1600/whitehouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvPNQnmxNyd6Hp0lscMw1AzivHYaco0OVBuIGcejx8xDvEX4Zznf6xnh3eNdplIv3x6XCXLngOtkQb0dhyfn6MtTQJ54lSicAAP4yDCCpDG5KlpUlXbcme4qFJ6-QsoP3V51cGkDxHWrrY/s400/whitehouse.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
The United States was already a nation at odds with its Christian values and acceptance of openly gay persons into the society long before President Barack Obama bathed the people's White House in the distinctive colors of the <i>rainbow</i> flag—a symbol of gay pride. As confirmed by his own <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/06/09/fact-sheet-obama-administrations-record-and-lgbt-community" target="_blank">legislative record</a>, President Obama did more to facilitate the incursion of the gay rights agenda into mainstream American society and politics than any other U.S. president before him. Obama's actions gave the gay community the ammunition it needed to launch a full assault on America's values, morals, and ultimately, its culture. This wholesale endorsement of homosexual rights, coming from the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTVq-laX9do" target="_blank">leader of the free world</a>, enabled what is happening now in America to play out strategically in other countries around the world. According to Christian author, <a href="https://stream.org/author/michaelbrown/" target="_blank">Dr. Michael Brown</a>, "As America goes, so goes the world."<br />
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<i>You see, our nation has had an incredible, unprecedented impact on the world, both for good and evil, and if America has a complete moral and cultural collapse the ripple effect will be felt around the world. —Dr. Brown</i></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1lXgIDqNbzbMdyzpyQucr9qJ-dh40dzmIwdy_C9f29WDMqCUiEdmrCDEE2Gm93VQUr4beFb_ooHdMc_xoVmFHm18yk-Ul2YSVUkDTz_5soXGsqPKlLIGU-bAup8jMv_bE4Md_PzfRk7y/s1600/rainbowflag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="162" data-original-width="286" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1lXgIDqNbzbMdyzpyQucr9qJ-dh40dzmIwdy_C9f29WDMqCUiEdmrCDEE2Gm93VQUr4beFb_ooHdMc_xoVmFHm18yk-Ul2YSVUkDTz_5soXGsqPKlLIGU-bAup8jMv_bE4Md_PzfRk7y/s200/rainbowflag.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
The ripple that started in America is spreading rapidly to cities around the globe. It's commonplace nowadays to see images of the gay lifestyle and see openly gay characters portrayed on television and in social media, movies and commercial advertisements, often with implicit sexual overtones. More and more <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/these-30-brands-are-celebrating-pride-giving-back-lgbt-community-1441707" target="_blank">businesses and commercial interests</a> are displaying the rainbow flag or its colors in a welcoming nod to the LGBTQ community. The <i>rainbow</i> flag has become a strategic weapon in the arsenal of the gay rights movement.<br />
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Historically, flags have either symbolized the conquest of an enemy after a war, or been used as markers to indicate territorial rights to occupied land. Similarly, the <i>rainbow</i> flag is a symbol of conquest and of victory in recognition of gays having fought for and won their place in mainstream society. The <i>rainbow</i> flag is both a visual and a visceral sign of the gay community's growing influence in our society. On a recent trip to London, Lisbon, Barcelona and Tel Aviv, the <i>rainbow</i> flag was prominently displayed nearly everywhere I went, including atop some government and public buildings, in the windows of homes, and on commercial and business establishments. And as if that weren't enough, <i>pride</i> organizers pushed to have the <i>rainbow</i> flag flown atop American embassies abroad during <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=93&v=vnwbr991EGk" target="_blank"><i>gay pride</i> month</a>, but were denied by the State Department. Still some embassy officials defied the order and flew the flag anyway. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;">The U.S. embassies in Israel, Germany, Brazil, and Latvia are among those embassies that requested permission to fly the <i>rainbow</i> flag on their flagpoles.</span><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span><br />
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<i><b>One has to wonder, where is this all leading? What does the gay community really want? What's behind the gay agenda?</b></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsBPGWdDAA-7JSeXP35RtfIxc2XEP0KBaZyQS0WtOdE7qXjeEjV-2FW_Kd8BP1JQ76bsm7-crF8XEDaH-FRmIug8v0oJvrr5FgyQeAJn37UrPGr2f6pWC0O13EoSSKYjDPzXHMhshhCn5/s1600/gayagenda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="720" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsBPGWdDAA-7JSeXP35RtfIxc2XEP0KBaZyQS0WtOdE7qXjeEjV-2FW_Kd8BP1JQ76bsm7-crF8XEDaH-FRmIug8v0oJvrr5FgyQeAJn37UrPGr2f6pWC0O13EoSSKYjDPzXHMhshhCn5/s200/gayagenda.jpg" width="200" /></a>Nothing so far would suggest that the gay community is satisfied with cultural acceptance, protected class status under the law, or having certain <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_United_States" target="_blank">equal rights</a> on par with heterosexuals. Of course not, they want much more. Ultimately, gays want to transform America into a pro-gay society with all the rights and privileges this would entail. Could this really happen? Some like social analyst James R. Aist say the possibility is there:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The ultimate and most all-encompassing goal of the gay agenda is to force our society to fully accept their lifestyle as morally, socially, and religiously equivalent to the heterosexual lifestyle. This goal is for not only acceptance, but also affirmation and celebration of homosexual behavior as normal, natural, healthy and desirable.</i></span></span></blockquote>
So what's their plan? Gay strategists, Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen, outlined the agenda for gay activism some 25 years ago in a gay magazine article entitled, "<a href="http://library.gayhomeland.org/0018/EN/EN_Overhauling_Straight.htm" target="_blank">The Overhauling of Straight America</a>." In the article, Kirk and Madsen suggests a series of strategies aimed at "desensitizing the American public concerning gays and gay rights." Gay activists have been employing the strategies laid out by Kirk and Madsen with good results. According to the plan, gays have been manipulating the attitudes of heterosexuals from being adverse to 'gay rights' to being staunch defenders. And we see this happening now. Gay activists tell us that they simply want the same right as heterosexuals to love who they want. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. They also want our children. Gay writer Daniel Villarreal wrote in Queerty magazine:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>They accuse us of exploiting children and in response we say, “NOOO! We’re not gonna make kids learn about homosexuality, we swear! It’s not like we’re trying to recruit your children or anything.” But let’s face it—that’s a lie. We want educators to teach future generations of children to accept queer sexuality. In fact, our very future depends on it.</i></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>I and a lot of other people want to indoctrinate, recruit, teach, and expose children to queer sexuality AND THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. —Queerty, May 2011</i></span></span></blockquote>
Having influence over the sexual development and natural selection of pre-adolescents is a perfect strategy for gays because it ensures the continuation of homosexual ideals and practice into future generations.<br />
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<b><i>What can stand in the way of the gay community achieving everything it wants?</i></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdgN923gbaLRmenDZsXqjrdWUhkcNId82DZwiNDoathzCo-BFM_td8KQnav481EuMqZJ3763Bp0uUQT1vX0jGfBMlwQ6xMd6M_WDztnMuzXjCYmuzgVfFQHStrDx4yv7gdrLYwk4jFimU/s1600/lgbt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1200" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdgN923gbaLRmenDZsXqjrdWUhkcNId82DZwiNDoathzCo-BFM_td8KQnav481EuMqZJ3763Bp0uUQT1vX0jGfBMlwQ6xMd6M_WDztnMuzXjCYmuzgVfFQHStrDx4yv7gdrLYwk4jFimU/s200/lgbt.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
To gay America, Christians pose the biggest threat to homosexuality achieving total acceptance by the Church. Christian opposition to the gay lifestyle is based on scripture that condemns sexual acts between persons of the same sex. Understanding this, <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kirk and Madsen devised a strategy to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominational_positions_on_homosexuality" target="_blank">cause division among churches</a> along denominational lines over their interpretation of the scripture and acceptance of homosexuality. Some denominations going so far as to allow homosexuals to hold leadership positions in the church, while others strictly forbid even church membership. To further neutralize opposition, gays have branded Christians as homophobic, and have filed lawsuits against Christians who refuse services to homosexuals that conflict with their religious beliefs. All of this is intended to silence the objections about homosexuality from within religious circles.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 20.4188px;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">As a result, fewer church leaders and pastors are speaking out against homosexual behavior whether in society, or in their own congregations</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">As long as m</span>ainstream churches are divided in their views about homosexuality as sin, they will never be able to present a united front against the practice, which is exactly what gays want.</span><br />
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<i><b>How should Christians respond to the gay agenda?</b></i><br />
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The answer is "the same as Christ would." <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5:1&version=NLT" target="_blank">Jesus Christ</a> condemned sin of all kinds, but never the sinner. And those whom He freed from their sins were told to '<i>Go and sin no more</i>.' As followers of Christ, we are not under denominational constraints. We can choose to follow Christ instead of man. Those of us who have received God's grace for our own sins, should extend that same grace to the homosexual who is no different from us in his or her need of the Savior and of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5%3A8&version=NLT" target="_blank">salvation</a>. Jesus promised He would settle everything <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25:31-33&version=KJV" target="_blank">when He returns</a>. In the meantime, we are to continue sharing our testimony about God's love and mercy <i>for all sinners</i>, and lead those who would seek Him to find <a href="http://peacewithgod.net/" target="_blank">peace with God</a>.<br />
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-41188031194113938292018-09-18T20:25:00.000-04:002019-11-18T14:09:32.867-05:00The Sting of Rejection<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UyRbjCek2sgr48mjbrelLnnaLc5Gh5nTKHTJixsc-X0pHXEf8q5oytOC2Potf2yJAlLFLaguk9ixEANTUZR9xqKX1_oOERCUOIa6w2tPZvTVUVzwP9zn2b-XSI9z5fpKLC5vygZsmaIC/s1600/rejected2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="1600" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UyRbjCek2sgr48mjbrelLnnaLc5Gh5nTKHTJixsc-X0pHXEf8q5oytOC2Potf2yJAlLFLaguk9ixEANTUZR9xqKX1_oOERCUOIa6w2tPZvTVUVzwP9zn2b-XSI9z5fpKLC5vygZsmaIC/s320/rejected2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; display: inline; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">He [Jesus] had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Isaiah 53:3 NIV</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nothing hurts worse in this life than being rejected. Rejection is the ultimate 'put down' whether you're the one doing the rejecting, or the one being rejected. Rejection makes you feel <i>unloved, unwanted, unappreciated, inferior, inadequate, worthless. Rejection can cause s</i>ome people to become suicidal.<i> </i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Rejection hurts like a sucker punch to the stomach. And no matter how long ago it happened, the sting of rejection can linger for months, even years.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Rejection sticks out like a sore thumb. We see it on the faces of <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">desperate </span>people who spend their life on the streets. We see it in the self-destructing behavior of people who abuse harmful substances that they know can kill them. We see it in the actions of people who engage in criminal and other anti-social behavior without remorse. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rejection can take many forms— like being rejected in the womb, rejected at birth, rejected by family or friends, rejected for a job, rejected because of your race, religion, or physical appearance. The list of ways to be rejected is endless. Maybe you have been rejected at some point in your life, and it turned your world upside down. Maybe it’s been years, and you’re still struggling to get back on your feet. The promises you made to yourself to turn your life around haven’t been kept.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-3108c398-7fff-bb4d-8c0f-923c6ced4616"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3108c398-7fff-bb4d-8c0f-923c6ced4616"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You are not alone. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jesus was the </span><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">most rejected man in the history of the world. The Bible says that </span><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"He [Jesus] was despised and rejected by mankind, </span></i></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.</span><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none;">"</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none;"> Sound like you? </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none;">Being rejected didn't stop Jesus from fulfilling his purpose in life which was <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5:8&version=NIV" target="_blank">to die for the sins of the world</a>. <span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none;">Christ's ultimate victory over rejection means that anyone who faces rejection —past, present or future—can look to Jesus Christ for healing and acceptance. </span></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3108c398-7fff-bb4d-8c0f-923c6ced4616"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none;"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-3108c398-7fff-bb4d-8c0f-923c6ced4616"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none;"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none;">It doesn't mean that you'll never face rejection in some form ever again; but if and when you do you'll be stronger, better able to handle it with Christ in your corner. <span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px;">Those persons who rejected you may never change their attitude, but <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+5%3A17&version=NKJV" target="_blank">you can change</a>. When you know who you are in Christ, you can forgive those who rejected you and move on. Today is the day you throw<span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none;"> off the chains of bondage that have held you a prisoner of rejection.</span> Declare<span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none;"> your freedom now with this simple <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+11:25&version=CEV" target="_blank">prayer</a>—</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Dear Jesus, thank you for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>not</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> rejecting me. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Thank you for loving me and dying for my sins. </span>I need you in my life. I am so sorry for the way I've lived and the things I've done. Please forgive me and help me to live the way you want me to. I put my life in your hands. Thank you God for forgiving me and giving me the gift of eternal life in Heaven when I die. </span></b></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">To learn more about what awaits you as a new believer in Jesus Christ, go to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=48&v=aLHsQF131HQ" target="_blank">peacewithgod.net </a> Friends are waiting online to help you. Need prayer? They can help there too.</span></span><br />
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-86821694049173585202017-10-23T10:20:00.000-04:002019-08-01T00:28:49.822-04:00How to get your life unstuck<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 16px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">"Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God"</span></strong><strong style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 16px;"> - (<a href="http://www.biblestudytools.com/psalms/42-11.html" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3366b4; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Psalm 42:11</a>).</strong></span></i><br />
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The other day when I was getting dressed I picked up a garment to put it on and noticed the zipper was stuck. Being somewhat in a hurry, I tugged at the zipper trying to force it to move in either direction, but only made it worse. It was frustrating that this little zipper was taking up so much of my time. I stopped to examine the zipper more closely to determine where it was stuck, then proceeded to pull and tug on it, back and forth even harder—still it would not budge. My frustration was beginning to rise to a level of rage. This stuck zipper was holding me back from what I had planned to do. It was ruining my carefully laid out plan for the attire I wanted to wear, and making me late for the engagement I wanted to attend. Not only was the zipper was stuck, but so was I.<br />
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Like that zipper, we see people every day who are stuck in life. Stuck because of things they've done to themselves. Stuck because of things others have done to them. Stuck because they can't figure out a way to get unstuck, so they stay stuck. And remain stuck for years and years.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNoZCWRrP_i-ceWFMls8KPYi-cS8Q2c-Fmj4GI4HSvq1BxopDusNMdWI9gYzD2o4ZCcRIPEMiPRLFpAGMN9rovRzJugZfGK4-WGaqQtg8QE3fihRj5ffATSgTH1FGhtXq5k_POR_WXsQi7/s1600/homeless+man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="594" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNoZCWRrP_i-ceWFMls8KPYi-cS8Q2c-Fmj4GI4HSvq1BxopDusNMdWI9gYzD2o4ZCcRIPEMiPRLFpAGMN9rovRzJugZfGK4-WGaqQtg8QE3fihRj5ffATSgTH1FGhtXq5k_POR_WXsQi7/s200/homeless+man.jpg" width="200" /></a>Does that sound like you? There's hope. Nothing will change until you get tired of being stuck, and decide you want to be free. Back to the example of the zipper. After I calmed down and stopped tugging the zipper back and forth, back and forth, it dawned on me that there was only one way to free that zipper, and that was to keep moving it forward. I realized in doing that the zipper would free itself from the point where it was stuck. Moving it backward and forward had only made things worse. The solution was simple—don't go back, move forward.<br />
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Like the zipper, you may be stuck in a place or a situation that you need to get out of, or one from which you think you can't escape or change. It may be a job, a family situation, a run-in with the legal system, a medical crisis, a crisis of faith or any number of things holding you back from making forward progress. And perhaps you think there is no way things are going to change or get better. You've become discouraged and, now the enemy has you right where he wants you. Things are bound to go downhill from here.<br />
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The moment you give in to being stuck you will remain stuck, unless—<br />
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you start moving forward against the thing or situation that has you bound. Make up your mind that you will no longer remain in the same dry place where you are today. Do whatever is necessary to move forward one step at a time. You may need help doing it. Seek out the help you need. Don't say you can't because you can. As my mother used to tell me, "There's always a way."<br />
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There's no shame in being stuck. You may be stuck, but you don't have to stay there. At <a href="http://peacewithgod.net/">peacewithGod.net</a> you just may find the answer you've been searching for to help you get unstuck.<br />
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-24036281002942357632017-05-11T09:06:00.000-04:002017-05-11T09:06:47.765-04:00Mother's Day grief: Celebrating memories helps ease the pain of loss <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proximo Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Not everyone will be able to celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday. For those who have lost a mother, it can be a painful day of mourning, especially if this is the first Mother’s Day without Mom or if young children are grieving, too. This may also be a hard day for women who have experienced infertility, pregnancy loss or the loss of a child." </em>—Good Grief Center for Bereavement Support</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "proximo nova", "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I remember my first Mother's Day without my mother like it was yesterday. Mom quietly passed away at home on December 26th after a valiant 22 year battle with </span><a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/multiple-sclerosis/DS00188" rel="nofollow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-family: "proximo nova", "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Multiple Sclerosis</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "proximo nova", "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">. Looking back, one of the best things I did after Mom died was join a </span><a href="http://www.hospicefoundation.org/supportgroup" rel="nofollow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-family: "proximo nova", "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">grief support group </a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "proximo nova", "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">facilitated by a trained grief counselor. One of the most helpful things I learned from the counselor was that everyone experiences grief differently, there is no time limit on grief that it takes as long as it takes.</span><br />
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Some <a href="http://grief.com/the-five-stages-of-grief/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Grief experts</a> will tell you that we grieve in stages designed to move us from denial to acceptance of the death. Others say that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/nov/25/grief-mourning-psychology-customs" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">grief is different</a> for everybody, that there's no set pattern to follow. There's probably some truth in both points of view, depending on the one doing the grieving. One thing is certain, it helps to have a coping strategy in place for those difficult times, like birthdays and holidays. The <a href="http://www.goodgriefcenter.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Good Grief Center for Bereavement Support</a> says that <a href="http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2011/05/06/coping-with-grief-on-mothers-day/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">coping with grief on Mother's Day</a> can be especially hard on women, men and children. The Good Grief Center offers these tips for getting through this highly celebrated day:</div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Do something positive in memory of your mother. Choose an activity that will connect you to her.</em></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ask a trusted friend or coworker what helped them when their mother died.</em></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">For children, Explain that this is a good day for good memories of Mom. Break out the photo album and reminisce with them.</em></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">If you’re a woman who never held your baby due to a pregnancy loss, celebrate your baby by lighting a candle or planting a flower that blooms every year.</em></li>
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Those for whom the pain of grief at losing a mother still lingers, it may be helpful on Mother's Day to celebrate your memories of your mother. Recall stories of good times, her favorite sayings or special occasions. Share your memories with family or a good friend. And if tears come, let them come. Tears are <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+30:10-12&version=CEV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">God's way of cleansing our soul</a>. Don't shrink from this day or let it control you. Rather, meet it head on as your mother would want you to. Whatever way you choose to celebrate, make yours a Happy Mother's Day!</div>
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Since my Mom's passing, I have not missed celebrating her on Mother's Day. Usually, I mail her Mother's Day card to me. On that special day, I read the card aloud, and wish her a "Happy Mother's Day in heaven." Afterwards, I may have dinner with a friend or cook one of Mom's favorite dishes. It brings me such joy and helps me to get through this day. Following is my tribute in memory of my dear Mom. Please use it as a model to write your own if you'd like.</div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">I Remember Madre (Mother)</strong></div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">I remember her hugs, her smile, her laughter, her hazel eyes that changed color when she scolded me. I remember her coconut lemon pound cakes, her Hungarian goulash, apple cobblers, pigs feet and potato salad dinners that raised money for our church.</strong></div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">I remember her voice, her advice, her unconditional love and encouraging words as I went off to college. I remember how smart she was, how forgiving, how funny and how simple things brought her so much joy.</strong></div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">I remember her kindness, her courage, her faith, her final words, "Don't forget, I love you...up to the sky and back." I haven't forgot, Madre, I never will. I will always love you—up to the sky. —by Carolyn K. Erwin</strong></div>
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-80427022290195342442017-05-07T18:15:00.000-04:002017-05-07T18:15:29.568-04:00A Mother's Day tribute to family caregivers who care for aging parents<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proximo Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Sixteen years ago, Carolyn Johnson gave up her job and her home to take care of her mother Florence. At 81, the frailties of Florence’s age are compounded by Multiple Sclerosis. She can’t bathe or clothe herself and needs someone with her all the time. "They [doctors] wanted to put her in a nursing home initially, but I resisted that. And the trade-off has been, she's lived [a lot] longer," Carolyn shared as she combed her mother’s hair. Many Americans agree with Carolyn’s decision. Today, one in four US households must find care for an elderly relative, and the majority of them are choosing to take care of their relative at home. ---<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/caring-for-the-elderly-from-the-home/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Thalia Assuras</a>, CBS News</em></div>
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That was me back in 2000. I was my mother's caregiver for 18 years until she passed away at the age of 83, two years after that article appeared. As a <a href="https://www.apa.org/about/gr/issues/cyf/caregiving-facts.aspx" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">family caregiver</a>, I was blessed to be in a special league with many other dedicated daughters and sons, daughters-in-law and sons-in-law who were also taking care of their mothers. All of us made personal, financial and professional sacrifices to care for our <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/aging" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">aging</a> or disabled parents. Although it wasn't always easy, knowing that we were giving unselfishly of ourselves to help our parents<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> in their time of need </em>made it all worth it. For my generation, taking care of our parents was expected of us, and still promises <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+5%3A16&version=NLT" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a special reward.</a><br />
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Without a doubt, <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/family" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">family</a> caregivers are the linchpin that holds America's <a href="http://www.rwjf.org/en/research-publications/find-rwjf-research/2014/02/long-term-care--what-are-the-issues-.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">long term care</a> system together. Without them, the whole system would collapse (and everybody knows that). It's family caregivers who bear the bulk of the responsibility of caring for this nation's aging and disabled population. Currently, there are an estimated 66 million family caregivers in the United States (<a href="https://caregiver.org/selected-caregiver-statistics" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">see statistical breakdown</a>).<br />
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Traditionally, federal and state governments have counted on the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">willingness of families</em> to care for their own. The economic value of the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">unpaid assistance</em> that family caregivers provide to aging and disabled relatives is estimated at 450 billion a year. That's money the government has yet to pay out to family caregivers for the vital work they do.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Many family caregivers perform personal, intimate activities like bathing or dressing. Other common tasks include paying bills and managing finances; scheduling and accompanying a loved one to doctor appointments; managing multiple medications; operating medical equipment; and performing wound care. Family caregivers also coordinate care and help their loved ones navigate health care services and community supports that might be available. ---<a href="http://blog.aarp.org/2014/05/01/family-caregiving-theres-nothing-informal-about-it/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lynn Friss Feinberg</a>, AARP blogger</em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Selfless is</em> a word that describes family caregivers<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">. </em>They are often on-call 24 hours a day responding to someone else's care needs. Family Caregivers may forfeit days off, report for duty even when they're sick and pass up holidays because the needs of their loved one comes first. In the beginning, you don't always realize the extent of the demands caregiving places on you but you learn, and most important, you adjust. You have to in order to survive; or risk caregiver burnout. If you are a family caregiver know the <a href="http://www.helpguide.org/elder/caregiver_stress_burnout.htm" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">signs of caregiver burnout</a>.</div>
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As all-consuming as it is, becoming someone's caregiver is truly <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+15%3A13&version=NIV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">an act of love</a>.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">You have many reasons for providing home care. The most frequent reason is love for your friend or family member and a desire to provide care in familiar surroundings. It could be that home care is your only option, because outside care, even if it’s available, is often too expensive. You might also be motivated by a sense of obligation, or concern that no one else can provide the same quality care. ---James R. Sherman,<a href="http://www.alsa.org/als-care/caregivers/caregivers-month/characteristics-of-a-caregiver.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Creative Caregiving</a></em></div>
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Family caregivers have not always had the recognition and support that they have now. It took family caregivers and their <a href="https://scout.sunlightfoundation.com/item/speech/CREC-2000-06-28-pt1-PgS6000.chunk15/sen-barbara-mikulski-the-departments-of-labor-health-and-human-" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">advocates joining forces to lobby Congress</a> to pass legislation supporting family caregivers. A momentum shift occurred in 2000 when Congress amended the Older Americans Act to create the <a href="http://www.aoa.gov/aoaroot/Press_Room/Products_Materials/fact/pdf/Natl_Family_Caregiver_Support.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">National Family Caregiver Support Program</a> (NFCSP). This groundbreaking program not only <a href="http://www.aoa.gov/aoaroot/program_results/docs/Program_Eval/FINAL%20NFCSP%20Report%20July22,%202004.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">legitimized the importance of family caregivers</a> but also entitled them to basic services, not the least of which is respite care to enable them to take a break from caregiving. For the first time in a long time, family caregivers could see light at the end of a long, lonely tunnel.<br />
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But that was 14 years ago. The torch has been passed to a new generation of family caregivers. Elected officials and public policymakers will need constant reminders of why it's important to fully support family caregivers as Congress considers <a href="http://archrespite.org/news/legislative-alerts" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">new programs</a> and funding levels. <a href="http://www.acl.gov/Programs/Index.aspx#Adults" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Administrations come and go</a> but the role of the family caregiver remains just as indispensable today as it has always been. Providing care to aging and disabled loved ones who can't care for themselves is a noble calling. If you know of a family member, friend, neighbor or co-worker who's a family caregiver, why not give'em a hug or bake a casserole to let them know how much you appreciate them. It's a good word that will go a long way.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">THERE ARE ONLY FOUR KINDS OF PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN CAREGIVERS, THOSE WHO ARE CURRENTLY CAREGIVERS, THOSE WHO WILL BE CAREGIVERS, AND THOSE WHO WILL NEED CAREGIVERS ---<a href="http://www.rosalynncarter.org/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Rosalynn Carter</a>, founder, The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving</em></div>
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-54746206278718309492017-04-25T17:52:00.000-04:002017-04-25T17:57:27.067-04:00Forever Friends: A friendship for the ages<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden collapsible is-collapsed clearfix" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proximo Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
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I received some <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/good-news" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">good news</a> recently. My mother's best friend has died. She was 91. You may be thinking, "Why would someone's death be good news?" Good question. But before I answer, let me tell you about "Ms Alma" as I called her, and why their friendship was so special. Ms. Alma and Florence have been friends for about 60 years I guess.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEp93pUlPm0qNtMWRpTdEHSVeHiQb6TnwULBNwpILZj6PEfe2AoYaw4bRIYXXttC1-_3yuT3wsxhDoXvmg2lQ_qll3pCIyS6Se7iWBUyz-cQywQpg7Bh6O6ORTBNI7A_8IdDsuCr0G4LsI/s1600/Alma0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEp93pUlPm0qNtMWRpTdEHSVeHiQb6TnwULBNwpILZj6PEfe2AoYaw4bRIYXXttC1-_3yuT3wsxhDoXvmg2lQ_qll3pCIyS6Se7iWBUyz-cQywQpg7Bh6O6ORTBNI7A_8IdDsuCr0G4LsI/s320/Alma0001.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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In their younger years, these two beautiful women were social butterflies attracting the attention of the most eligible men in their circle. Alma and Florence belonged to several well known social clubs of the day, and loved to throw fancy parties for their other friends. Family life for Alma and Florence included their husbands, children, church every Sunday and large family dinners, especially at holiday time.<br />
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Throughout their long friendship, Alma and Florence were always there for each other through good times and bad, sickness and health. The day came when Florence suffered a major health crisis. Diagnosed in her late fifties with multiple sclerosis, Florence lost her ability to walk. This didn't stop Alma from coming to see her friend. Alma kept Florence's spirits up with stories about the good old days, frequently punctuating the air between them with fits of laughter.<br />
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When she came Alma always bought Florence's favorites — corned beef sandwiches or crab cakes. I loved watching those two feast on good food and good conversation. Before leaving Alma always gave me what she called "a little piece of change," usually five or ten dollars. I think it was her way of letting me know how much she appreciated me for taking good care of her friend.<br />
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The time would come when Alma developed health problems of her own, limiting her ability to get around independently. No longer could she keep up her regular visits to see Florence, but that didn't stop her. She still managed to call every week to check in with her friend. When Florence was blessed to buy a used wheelchair van, one of the first trips we made in it was to see Alma.<br />
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This time, we bought the food. One beautiful summer afternoon, we surprised Alma with an impromptu outdoor picnic. Because her house was not accessible for Florence's wheelchair, Alma's daughter helped set up a folding table with tablecloth on the sidewalk out front. We sat down to a meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits and sweet tea. We had fun that day, laughing and joking as Alma's neighbors glanced back at us with disapproving looks as they walked by. Obviously, they had no idea of the longstanding history between these two women, and why this was perfectly normal behavior for the two of them. Later that day, as Alma and Florence said their "goodbyes," I knew somehow that these two friends had probably seen the last of their best days on earth together.</div>
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Not long afterwards, Alma's health declined to the extent that her daughters could no longer care for her at home. Alma was placed in a nursing home conveniently within five minutes driving distance from our house. Florence and I visited Alma there often to play dominoes and eat lunch with her. It was almost like old times, except that both women were now in wheelchairs.<br />
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Later that year, Florence passed away at age 83. Alma's daughter brought her to the funeral. I will never forget the heartfelt tribute Alma made to her friend:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">When they told me that Florence had died, I had to come. Florence and I were the best of friends. I really will miss her.</em></div>
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After Florence's death, I continued to visit Alma. She was always glad to see me. Our shared grief over the lost of our mutual best friend brought us closer together. The time came when I decided to move away from the area. I struggled with how to tell Alma I would be leaving. The night before my last visit with her, I had a dream. In the dream, I was instructed to share the gospel with Alma and lead her in a prayer for salvation, just as I had done with Florence some years before. The next day, when I arrived at the nursing home, Alma seemed especially glad to see me. It was as if she had been expecting me to come that day. With few words from me, Alma prayed to receive Jesus Christ, as her Lord and Savior. The look of pure joy on her aging face was both priceless and precious.<br />
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I never saw Alma again after that day. Some ten years later, I came across one of Florence's old phone books. Leafing through its pages, I came across a phone number for one of Alma's daughters, so I called her. When she answered, I found myself blurting out the words, "Is your mother still alive?" After she confirmed who I was, she said that her mother had died a year earlier. My call had come on the one year anniversary of her death. Alma was 91 when she died. I hung up the phone thinking:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">What a joyful reunion Alma and Florence must be having in heaven right now.</em></div>
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I was glad to hear that Alma had died because I knew these two lifelong friends would be reunited once more. In life, they shared a special friendship. And now, in death, they share an eternity in the presence of God.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">And I heard a voice from heaven saying, 'Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them.' Revelation 14:13</em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:1-2</em></div>
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</section>CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-87637936558662997082017-02-04T10:54:00.000-05:002017-02-05T20:51:11.040-05:00Hollywood's shuffle<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proximo Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
If you remember <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20096303,00.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Robert Townsend</a>'s 1987 satirical movie, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Shuffle" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hollywood Shuffle</a>, you'll understand why just about every black actor in <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/hollywood" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Hollywood</a> leaped for joy when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Viola_Davis" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Viola Davis</a> won the 2015 "Best Actress in a TV Drama Series" Emmy award for <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3205802/reviews" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">How to Get Away with Murder</a>.</em></div>
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Davis' history making Emmy win (first black actor to win), only served to confirm how <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">limited the opportunities are</em> for actors of color in Hollywood. Like a broken record, <a href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/watch-1981-report-on-racial-stereotyping-lack-of-opportunities-for-black-actors-whats-changed-30-years-later-20151007" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">lack of opportunity</a> has been a constant theme playing in the background of every black actor's Hollywood hopes and dreams.<br />
Davis' win elevated the status of just about every black actor in Hollywood, at least temporarily. In her acceptance speech, as other black award winners have done, Davis bemoaned the lack of meaningful starring roles for black actors to give them a shot at even being considered for acting's top prizes.</div>
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Hollywood has never been a welcoming place for black actors. Look at the history. During Hollywood's darkest days (no pun intended), blacks weren't even allowed to play themselves on screen. <span style="line-height: 1.5rem;">White filmmakers used white actors in blackface to play black characters. When blacks weren't being left off the silver screen entirely, they were paraded in front of the cameras as objects of derision and ridicule thus perpetuating negative images and reinforcing racist attitudes toward blacks.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.5rem;">Who can forget the infamous 1915 film, </span><a href="http://www.filmsite.org/birt.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5rem; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Birth of a Nation</a><span style="line-height: 1.5rem;">, with its blatantly racist images and black stereotypes. It's no surprise that Hollywood has never pulled this controversial film out of circulation despite </span><a href="http://chnm.gmu.edu/episodes/the-birth-of-a-nation-and-black-protest/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5rem; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">black protests</a><span style="line-height: 1.5rem;"> and calls for its censorship. At one time, it was the highest grossing film in Hollywood. </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem;">The Birth of a Nation</em><span style="line-height: 1.5rem;"> is still available today. It's been reformatted for DVD on Netflix.</span></div>
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During Hollywood's <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood?from=Main.GoldenAgeOfHollywood" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Golden Age</a>, in the late 20's to early 60's when movie-making was at its peak, black actors were cast as slaves, mammys, cooks, coons, and lazy, slow-witted, jive-talkin' niggas, which was consistent at the time with white society's view of blacks, <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/hattie-mcdaniel-38433" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hattie McDaniel</a> was the first black actor to win an Oscar in 1940 from the Motion Picture Academy for playing [a] <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Mammy</em> in the movie, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Gone With the Wind</em>. McDaniel, and another black actor, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0275297/bio" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Stepin Fetchit</a> (not his real name), faced much criticism from black leaders for portraying dim-witted or subservient black characters. Even today, calling a black person a <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">stepin fetchit, </em>is still viewed as a racial slur.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://www.biography.com/people/walter-white-9529708" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Walter White</a>, executive secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People </em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">from 1931 to 1955</em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">, pleaded with African-American actors to stop accepting such stereotypical parts, as he believed they degraded their community. White urged movie studios to start creating roles that portrayed blacks as capable of achieving far more than cooking and cleaning for white people.— </em><a href="http://www.biography.com/people/hattie-mcdaniel-38433#controversy" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the Hattie McDaniel story</a></div>
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Even now, Hollywood continues to attract criticism for how it portrays black life in movies and on <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/television" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">television</a>. Far from putting its <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">darkie</em> past behind it, Hollywood has merely rewritten and updated the script for a 21st century audience. The stereotyping and typecasting of roles for black actors has not stopped. The slaves, mammys, coons, jiggaboos and jive talkin' niggas have simply been recast as bitches, whores, drug addicts, dope dealers, thugs, gangstas, and criminals for a new generation of black and white audiences whose understanding of their society is shaped largely by these <a href="http://racerelations.about.com/od/hollywood/a/Five-Common-Black-Stereotypes-In-Tv-And-Film.htm" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hollywood stereotypes.</a></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Stereotypical roles in society have been excessively exaggerated by television programs, keeping racism alive and breathing in America. The careful selections of ethnicities in role casting have had an exceptionally large impact on American society. Young television viewers are learning at an early age about race and discrimination </em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">and are witnessing the ugly impacts of these issues.—</em><a href="http://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/11156.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Racism in Television</a></div>
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If anybody thinks Hollywood has changed its ways, think again. Money is what drives the equation in Hollywood. As long as the movie studios continue to make a profit from movies that depict white racial superiority, reinforce white values, while maintaining the status quo as it relates to blacks, Hollywood has little reason to change its ways. Furthermore, unless Hollywood is convinced that it can still make money by embracing diversity in all its facets, and that audiences will pay to see this level of diversity on film, there's no reason for the motion picture industry to change the formula that's worked for it some 100 years or more.</div>
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Also, the fact that a few black actors and producers have recently made breakthroughs with such popular shows as <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Scandal</em>, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Empire</em> and <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">How to Get Away with Murder </em>should not be seen as progress. Neither Cookie nor the Lyon clan, Olivia Pope nor Annalise Keating are the kind of character role models anyone should want the next generation of little black kids to aspire to be like. Real progress will come when black characters are routinely included as part of the human landscape of every show on television and in every movie made. Until then, the Tyler Perrys, Shonda Rhimes and Lee Daniels in Hollywood should take their cue from black filmmakers like the late <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/oscar-micheaux-9407584#a-prolific-career" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Oscar Micheaux</a> and tell our stories in their entirety the way they should be told. I'm believing that there are enough talent resources and collective wealth within the black community to get it done.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.—1 Timothy 6:9-10</em></div>
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-25664443808699921182017-01-13T07:47:00.000-05:002020-02-23T09:34:42.107-05:00Martin Luther King: The torch is in our hands (Reprise) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">March on Washington, 1963</td></tr>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Following is a speech I presented at the 25th Annual Upper Merion Martin Luther King Jr National Holiday Celebration on January 9th in King of Prussia, Pa.</em><br />
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It’s an honor for me to be with you this evening to commemorate and remember the life and work of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Thank you to the planning committee for inviting me and to all of you for coming tonight. Can you believe it’s been 50 years since Dr King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC?</div>
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I listened to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Dr. King’s speech </a>on <i>YouTube</i> recently. His speech is just as contemporary and relevant today as when it was first presented in 1963. I remember the year well, I was just 15 years old at the time. And I remember that my mother wouldn't let me go to the <a href="http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=96" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">March on Washington</a> because she thought there might be trouble. So I was limited to watching it on television from the safety of our living-room.<br />
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Two years before Dr King's speech, I wrote a poem that embodied some of the same themes contained in Dr King's speech. I was 13 years old at the time, and at the urging of my eighth grade English teacher, I entered the poem in the National Anthology of High School Poetry contest. Not only did they publish my poem, but they also gave it special recognition for its depth and maturity. The poem is entitled <i>Man</i> and I'd like to recite it for you now:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Shall we judge a man by his race or creed; or shall we judge him by word and deed? By the good he's done for mankind; or by the memory he's left behind? What makes this man is not his skin. Instead, it's what he has within.</em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">So deep within him it doesn't show; but by his words and deeds you'll know that this is a man of dignity. And by his side you're proud to be. For his memory will leave an imprint in the sand; an impression of greatness that will stand the test of time and eternity; as a beacon of hope for all humanity.</em></div>
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When I wrote <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Man</em>, I’d never heard of Dr King. But like him, I was influenced by the times in which I grew up; and by the injustices I saw happening around me. <i>Man</i>, the poem, echoes the sentiments of the man we celebrate today.<br />
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Like many of you, I am a product of the 60’s also known as the decade that shaped a generation. Who here remembers Motown and the Beatles, Star Trek and the first moon landing, the first televised Super Bowl between the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs, Hippies and the summer of Love, Jimmie Hendricks and Woodstock or that fateful day in Dallas?</div>
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And likewise, who can forget the Birmingham church bombing that killed 4 innocent, young black girls, the brutal murder of 14 year old Emmett Till, the murders of Civil Rights workers Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney or Medgar Evers, segregated schools, Jim Crow laws, whites and colored only signs, Klu Klux Klan lynchings, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, lunch counter sit-ins, countless marches and demonstrations or that horrible day in Memphis?</div>
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Like now, the decade of the 60's was a difficult, if not transformative time in America's history. Dr King galvanized a generation of blacks and whites, Protestants and Catholics, Jews and Gentiles into a moral alliance for the cause of freedom, justice and equality. This moral alliance succeeded in unraveling and dismantling racially discriminatory laws and practices that had enslaved black Americans for some 300 years.</div>
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This moral alliance succeeded in achieving passage of federal legislation that outlawed racial discrimination in public accommodations and employment; that restored and protected the voting rights of black Americans, and that banned discrimination in the sale and rental of housing.</div>
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At the time of Dr King’s death in 1968, I was a 19 year old sophomore at <a href="http://www.washcoll.edu/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Washington College</a> in Chestertown, Md. I was the only black student at the College, which at that time had an enrollment of 635 students. After learning Dr King had been killed, I left the College intent on never going back because it had been a less than welcoming environment for me.</div>
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I arrived home to Baltimore, only to find the streets filled with National Guardsmen in anticipation of rioting. Somehow, I found out that one of the local churches had chartered a bus to Atlanta for Dr King's funeral, so I got on the bus with them. There was no stopping me this time.<br />
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Once in Atlanta, I left the group and made my way to Ebenezer Baptist Church where the funeral was being held. I was determined to get inside the church In spite of not having an invitation or the proper credentials. I accomplished my mission and took a seat in the balcony. When the service ended, I was exiting the balcony just as Dr King’s casket was passing by. I quickly joined the procession of mourners for the long procession to the cemetery. Glancing across my row of mourners, there was Sammy Davis Jr, Harry Belafonte, Diana Ross with the Supremes, and singer Leslie Uggams, who later offered to give me a lift back to my bus. Mrs [Coretta Scott] King, Rev Jesse Jackson, and Dr Ralph Abernathy were in the row of mourners just ahead of us. It was an incredible day.<br />
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When I returned home to Baltimore, my mother told me that someone from the College had called asking if I had planned on coming back to school. I guess someone noticed I was missing. That call was what I needed to motivate me to return to school, but now with the determination to make a difference. I decided to confront Washington College's long held practice of selectively admitting one black student every three years, a policy that needed to change. It would not be easy.<br />
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By the time I graduated in 1970, there were eight black underclassmen enrolled at the College—the largest number of black students ever admitted at one time (Class of 1973). I also initiated the first black student union at the College. I tell you this is to prove that everyone has the power within to make a difference, to impact the culture for good if he or she chooses.<br />
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If Dr King were alive today, he would say that the struggle for justice and equality is not over, that the <i>Dream</i> has not yet been fulfilled, that there is still work to be done before we reach the <i>promised land</i> of true equality, justice and brotherhood.<br />
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I have some concerns about state of our country. I am concerned about a generation of our youth that we are losing to drugs, alcohol, crime and gun violence. I am concerned about the fact that more black males enter prison than enroll in college. I am concerned about the high dropout rates in our public schools that exceed graduation rates. I am concerned that in this economy, the job market is shrinking, along with wages.<br />
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I am concerned about a growing underclass of poor people who lack the skills and the opportunity to compete in a global economy. I am concerned that our elected officials have failed us by not making our lives better. I am concerned that, as a nation, America has become too complacent and too comfortable with things the way they have always been.<br />
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But we must not lose hope. The torch has been passed and is now in the hands of a new generation. As torchbearers, we must show the way by investing our individual as well as collective time, talent and resources into fostering meaningful relationships with under-served and disadvantaged communities. As torchbearers, we must continue to promote the ideals of Dr King’s <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Dream</em> in our daily lives. It’s time to go beyond the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Dream</em> and make it our reality.<br />
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(Photo credits: Getty Photos)</div>
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-14836562800417437242016-12-28T08:10:00.002-05:002020-12-30T09:58:54.119-05:00A New Year's resolution for a happier new you <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proximo Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
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Each year on December 31st at exactly 12:00 o'clock midnight fireworks light up the night sky, champagne corks pop, horns and whistles blow, hugs and kisses are exchanged and well wishes for a Happy New Year echo all over the world. Most people view this annual year end ritual as a chance to start the new year with a clean slate.</div>
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</figcaption></figure></section><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proximo Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">Out of habit, many people revert to making New Year resolutions at the start of every year. But I wonder how many of those new New Year's resolutions are actually holdovers from last year's failed attempts? We often regurgitate the same resolutions from year to year (i.e."This year I will lose the weight.") hoping for a different result. According to Clinical Psychologist and researcher John Norcross:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Approximately 50 percent of the population makes resolutions each New Year. Among the top resolutions are weight loss, exercise, stopping smoking, better money management and debt reduction.</em></div>
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Sound familiar? Well, you are not alone. Millions of people are stuck in this perennial revolving door of making New Year resolutions, only to break them a few weeks or months down the road, and revert to the same old way of doing things or to the same habits they promised to change. Let's face it, our human efforts at self-improvement are at best superficial, external, and destined to fail every time. Psychology professor Timothy Pychyl calls resolutions a form of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">cultural procrastination</em> :</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">[In] an effort to reinvent oneself, people make resolutions as a way of motivating themselves. People [really] aren't ready to change their habits, particularly bad habits, and that accounts for the high failure rate.</em></div>
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And then, there are those who believe that all it takes is willpower to succeed in keeping resolutions (And how's that worked for you?). If willpower alone is all that's needed, you would have succeeded with that first diet or the first time you tried to stop smoking, drinking, using drugs or whatever else you tried to <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">will</em> yourself to stop or start doing. New Year resolutions by themselves have no power, says author S. Michael Houdmann:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Resolving to start or stop doing a certain activity has no value unless you have the proper motivation for stopping or starting that activity.</em></div>
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For a resolution to succeed, it takes more than proper motivation. Once you decide you want to make a change, you need a specific plan, organization, time management, peer or professional support to make it work. In "10 Worst New Year’s Resolutions (And How to Make Them Work)," writer Ann Pietrangelo lays out a partial recipe for success. However, even Pietrangelo's formula lacks one key ingredient, and that is— spiritual resolve.</div>
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No doubt we are creatures of habit. However, spiritual resolve acknowledges that we are also creatures created by a loving God for a purpose. As such, we are ultimately accountable to our Creator. Spiritual resolve must under-gird any desire we have for a changed life. Without spiritual resolve and God's help, our human efforts are nothing more than <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207:26-27&version=NLV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a house built on sand.</a> The Bible explains it this way:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 TLB</em></div>
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It takes spiritual resolve to surrender your old life in exchange for a new life in Christ. When resolutions fail, God alone has the <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%205:6&version=NLV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">power to change you</a>. You don't have to go it alone anymore trying to make life work, <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+13:5-7&version=TLB" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">you have a helper </a>to guide you. Likewise, you don't have to wait until next December 31 at 12 o'clock midnight to take advantage of the offer. You can begin this new year with your sins forgiven and a chance to <a href="http://peacewithgod.jesus.net/that-whoever-believes-in-him/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">start your life over</a>. Believe me, it doesn't get any better than this. I speak from experience. Happy new year, happier new you!</div>
CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-12598325551891417672016-12-23T20:33:00.002-05:002020-12-01T11:13:05.434-05:00The 2,000 year old rumor that is still being spread around the world<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
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We all know how rumors are spread. One person hears or sees something and tells someone else. That person tells another person who tells another, who tells another, who tells another, and so on. Rumors can travel like wildfire through neighborhoods, cities, towns, countries, across oceans, and nowadays, over the Internet. Long before you or I was born a rumor got started that is still being spread around the world more than 2,000 years later.</div>
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The rumor is t<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">hat shepherds were in a field one night watching their sheep when suddenly an angel appeared to them saying: "Today, in the town of David, a savior has been born to you; He is Christ, the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find the baby wrapped in clothes lying in a manger (Luke 2:11 NIV)." After the initial shock of this unexpected heavenly visitation, one of the shepherds said: "Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing [check out this rumor] that has happened, which the Lord has told us about (Luke 2:15 NIV)." So, off they went to Bethlehem leaving their sheep behind.</span></div>
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When they arrived days later, they found the mother Mary, father Joseph and the promised baby just as the angel had said. Now these shepherds had a choice, they could have just observed the happenings at the stable, hung around worshiping and getting their praise on and then returned home to the fields. After all, they had busy jobs with a flock of hungry, needy sheep to feed and care for. Instead of going home and keeping what they had witnessed to themselves, these transformed shepherds set out across the land to "spread the word [rumor] concerning what had been told to them about this child. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them (Luke 2:17 NIV)."</div>
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Today, by the power of the Holy Spirit, this rumored birth of Christ Jesus, the savior for all humankind, which the shepherds spread thousands of years ago, is still being spread around the world on every known continent by Christians everywhere. Perhaps you too are a believer today because somebody told somebody who told somebody, who told somebody, and that somebody told you about the Good News that a Savior called Christ Jesus was born into the world to save us from ours sins. The question now is, "Who have you told?"<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To learn more about Jesus the Christ, go to <a href="peacewithgod.net" target="_blank">peacewithgod.net</a></div>
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-76857200145722172322016-12-05T20:35:00.000-05:002018-12-17T11:00:14.051-05:00A Christmas miracle: When death took a detour <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Miracle<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> - A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.—</span></b> Webster's dictionary</i></span></div>
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I <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">believe</em> in miracles. I have enough faith to <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">expect them</span> to happen in my life in when I pray. Even though we don't hear enough about <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%202:22-23&version=KJV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">divine miracles</a> nowadays, they do still happen. I know because I was the recipient of a divine miracle on Christmas Day 2002. The following is a true account of that miracle and the events as they occurred that day.</div>
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To give you a little background, by December of that year, I had been caring for my 83 year old mother throughout her 22 year battle with primary progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS had long ago taken away her ability to walk, but by 2002, Mom had also lost her ability to speak, feed herself, chew or swallow. At the same time, she started having seizures, which gradually became more persistent, unrelenting, and life-threatening. As a result, Mom was hospitalized and given high doses of phenobarbital to quell the seizures. We left the hospital 12 days later, just three days before Christmas.</div>
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Even though mother couldn't speak, her eyes told me that she was glad to be back home. We both were. After I made her comfortable in bed and checked her feeding tube, I took a break to rest. When I returned to check on her, I noticed that Mom was staring hard at the window at the foot of her bed. She appeared not to even notice that I had entered the room. This was not like her.<br />
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I stood by her bedside calling her name, but she paid me no notice. Instead, she was focused hard at the foot of her bed like she saw something something in her room that my eyes couldn't see. The look on her face more radiant than I'd ever seen her. She was literally glowing, smiling even. I stood there waiting for her to finally notice me. I said nothing about what I had witnessed. As I readied the IV pole for her feeding, she looked directly at me, and with a trembling hand waved me off. I knew what she was asking, so I said, "Mom I can't not feed you that's between you and Jesus."<br />
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The next morning, the home care nurse came by for a routine check of Mom's vital signs. </div>
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After the nurse left, I bathed, dressed, and transferred mother to her wheelchair. She was happy to be out of bed. The long hospital stay had been tough on her, but I told her that we were not going to let <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+25:2&version=KJV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">MS get the better of us</a>; that we were in this fight together to the end.<br />
I combed her hair before leaving her in the care of the aide while I went to the store. When I returned, the aide said Mom had called my name and then went to sleep. After letting the aide out, I went to check on Mom. When I couldn't wake her, I realized that she was not asleep; she had slipped quietly into a coma. It was Christmas Eve.</div>
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I really didn't know what else to do except put her to bed and hope that she would pull through as she had done in the past. Even though things were not looking good at that point, I made a decision not to take her back to the hospital. Going back to the hospital was not an option for us. It was Mom's wish and mine that when death came he would find her at home. I called my sister and waited for her to come. During the long hours I was alone, I held Mom's hand and talked to her. I believed that even in her comatose state, she could still hear me.<br />
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Later that evening, my sister joined me in a bedside vigil for our mother. Together we stood watch as <a href="http://www.hospicefoundation.org/dyingsigns" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">imminent death</a> was poised to take our mother from us. I don't remember why, but for some reason, I needed something from the drugstore. My sister volunteered to go. It was after midnight when she left for the 24-hour pharmacy a few blocks away. It seemed like she was gone for a longer than usual time. I wondered if she was somewhere crying? I went over to the window and looked out.<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcHhA1jJFJ8" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> It was snowing</a>. It was then that I realized it was Christmas Day.</div>
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I returned to mother's bedside and reached for her hand. I was surprised by how cold it had become. I started rubbing her arms, her legs, her feet. I was startled by how ice cold they had become like the life blood had drained from them. I searched my Mom's face to see if she was still breathing— she was, but just barely. Her breathing had become shallow and there was a faint rattling noise when she exhaled. Hurrying to the other side of the bed, I checked the 1,000 ml drainage bag hanging hung there. It should have been full to capacity since Mom was still taking in fluids through her feeding tube. But it was bone dry, except for a reddish-brown stain at the bottom. My immediate thought was that her <a href="http://www.prlog.org/11107239-end-of-life-kidney-failure-symptoms-10-signs-death-is-near.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">kidneys</a> had shut down. For the first time throughout this ordeal, I allowed myself the thought that Mom was slipping away—that she was in fact dying. Instinctively in desperation, I cried aloud—</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">"Mom, it's Christmas Day. Please don't die on Christmas."</em></div>
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At that moment, a sudden urge hit me to use the bathroom. When I returned moments later, I grasped Mom's hand again, and immediately noticed something was different. Her hand was warm. Surprised by this, I began feeling for her arms, legs, feet, forehead—her entire body was feverishly hot. I hurried to the other side of the bed to check her drainage bag. When only moments before it had been empty, it was now filled to overflowing with pale, yellow urine. At that moment, I realized what God had done—stopping death in it's tracks.<br />
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God heard my cry and ordered death to stand down. I can only imagine my Mom engaged in a negotiation with the Angel outside the gates of Heaven, holding up one finger and pleading—<br />
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">"Please God, can I go back for just one more day for my daughter."</em></div>
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Mom didn't die on Christmas Day. She died the day <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">after</em> on December 26 sometime around 2:00 pm. My sister and I were together when Mom breathed her last. This miracle was nothing compared to what Jesus Christ did lover 2,0000 years ago when He died for the sins of the whole world to reconcile us to God. And because of Christ, life doesn't end at death. Whosoever <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203:14-16&version=GNT" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">believes in Christ</a> has eternal life. I can't wait to <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Thessalonians+4:15-17&version=CEV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">see mother again</a> to find out what really happened on that fateful Christmas Day.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. John 3:16 CEV</em></div>
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-91731105180823062262016-10-09T18:26:00.001-04:002022-02-28T09:16:42.886-05:00Why Black History Month still matters in the 21st century <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proximo Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEge2LJ7nMQyaeXRchtdPGGVjgKqp3qmYxfbJLInKZtwmBIdZ9cvXmbNjpBHYAn8h6FvnbaJTEOnW1foGIQKujrfW3o97vTV-NjAb0-oZMjAON4vRc6uYp9oGZCoclF52WrtGNZCXxA_ZPVYvSBbfLIr6kVluiJDEgyGLtr-sNIRK3O49dZwr2oBaoiwPA=s500" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="500" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEge2LJ7nMQyaeXRchtdPGGVjgKqp3qmYxfbJLInKZtwmBIdZ9cvXmbNjpBHYAn8h6FvnbaJTEOnW1foGIQKujrfW3o97vTV-NjAb0-oZMjAON4vRc6uYp9oGZCoclF52WrtGNZCXxA_ZPVYvSBbfLIr6kVluiJDEgyGLtr-sNIRK3O49dZwr2oBaoiwPA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br />African-American Millennials say they never really learned anything useful during <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/black-history-month" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Black History Month</a> activities at school, and they fret that having a formal, month-long observance gives the nation a pass to ignore black history the rest of the year.— Shreveport Times</em></div>
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Today's black youth are so far removed from the events recapitulated during Black History Month that some may question whether <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/24/black-history-month-still-needed/5797753/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Black History Month</a> is still relevant to them?. Obviously, those who think this way have never heard of <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/doomed-to-repeat-it" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">George Santayana</a> who famously said:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.</em></div>
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What self-respecting people throws away its history? It would be foolish to do so. Every generation needs to know from whence it came in order to determine its future course. No one questions if the Revolutionary War or the Holocaust are still relevant today? Black History Month serves to remind blacks as well as whites of how far we've come as a nation since the dark days of slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation. Not only that, Black History Month gives blacks a chance to tell their history from their own point of view with no holds barred.</div>
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<br />
Without a doubt, blacks have an important place in American history whenever the story of America is told. Black History Month plays homage to this fact, and documents it. And while it may be inspiring, indeed, instructive to look in the <a href="http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3323" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">rear view mirror of black history</a> from time to time, each generation is responsible for confronting the vexing issues of their day, finding their own solutions, and taking their place alongside history. For 21st century blacks, this means speaking out about resurgent issues of racial inequality and social injustice that are not unlike those endured by earlier generations of blacks some 100 years ago in America. Black History Month should motivate 21st century blacks to continue confronting American society until these conditions no longer exist. We can't afford to take the pressure off. Freedom is too important a right to accept anything less..</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Up from slavery, black lives have always mattered.</em></div>
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To do away with Black History Month would be like "cutting off our nose to spite our face." Black youth need Black History Month to understand their rightful place in the struggle for racial equality and social justice for their own generation. The freedom mantle has been passed to a new generation. The question these 21st century blacks must ask themselves is not how far they've come, but where they're headed?</div>
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Black History Month recitations must move beyond reciting Dr Martin Luther King Jr's, "<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">I Have A Dream"</em> speech to the question King himself posed in his last book, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">"Where Do We go From Here: Chaos or Community? "</em> In that 1967 book, Dr King described the then state of black people in America as follows:</div>
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<li><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b>Half of all Negroes live in substandard housing</b></em></li>
<li><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b>Negroes have half the income of whites</b></em></li>
<li><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b>There are twice as many Negroes unemployed</b></em></li>
<li><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b>The rate of infant mortality among Negroes is double that of whites</b></em></li>
<li><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b>In elementary schools, Negroes lag one to three years behind whites</b></em></li>
<li><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b>One twentieth as many Negroes as whites attend college</b></em></li>
<li><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b>Of employed Negroes, 75 percent hold menial jobs</b></em></li>
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The question blacks need to ask of themselves is <i>"How much has changed since Dr King made those observations?"</i><br />
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According to former Harvard professor and theologian <a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/10/05/cornel_west_the_state_of_black_america_in_the_age_of_obama_has_been_one_of_desperation_confusion_and_capitulation/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Cornel West</a> not much has changed from 1967 to now, despite having a black president in the White House. West has been critical of President Barack Obama for what he says is "<i>a perceived lack of quantifiable social and economic progress in poorer black communities."</i></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Black people have suffered more in this age than in the recent past. Empirical indices of infant mortality rates, mass incarceration rates, mass unemployment and dramatic declines in household wealth reveal this sad reality. How do we account for this irony? It goes far beyond the individual figure of President Obama himself, though he is complicit; he is a symptom, not a primary cause. Although he is a symbol for some of either a post-racial condition or incredible Black progress, his presidency conceals the escalating levels of social misery in poor and Black America. —</em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Black Prophetic Fire</em> (Beacon Press) by Cornel West.</div>
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In 2014, The <a href="http://nul.iamempowered.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">National Urban League</a> released the 38th edition of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">"The State of Black America"</em> a report that details economic disparities impeding black progress— unemployment and underemployment, two strong indicators of growth and progress. Without question, there are large disparities between blacks and whites on all <a href="http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/06/27/on-views-of-race-and-inequality-blacks-and-whites-are-worlds-apart/">social and economic indices.</a><br />
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In the short span of 50 years, the outcry of blacks has gone from "We<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> shall overcome"</em> to "B<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">lack lives matter" reflecting a worsening of social and economic conditions in the black community.</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em>Without a Black History Month, 21st century blacks would have no idea how these two protests are inter-connected. A newly opened <i><a href="https://nmaahc.si.edu/">National Museum of African American History and Culture</a></i> on the National Mall in Washington, DC provides a more permanent and accessible archive for everyone to study black history and its place in the history of America. If Black History Month has anything to teach America about its racially troubled past, it is this— the struggle against racial inequality and for social justice is one that we, as a nation, must win together.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">I don't feel no ways tired, I've come too far from where I started from. Nobody told me that the road would be easy, I don't believe He brought me this far to leave me.— <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gku2ywwbNZM" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Curtis Burrell</a></em></div>
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-60700499532193609292016-09-13T13:18:00.000-04:002016-09-14T09:37:57.011-04:00Dancing for the Lord beats 'Dancing with the Stars'I grew up in a Baptist church<br />
Where it was hard for me, you see<br />
To raise my hands and stomp my feet,<br />
When I felt the Spirit move in me.<br />
<br />
We just didn't do that sorta thing<br />
Back where I came from.<br />
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"Child, you crazy?" Grandma'd say.<br />
"You better sit still and hush that fuss<br />
'fore I get my strap and give you some."<br />
<br />
So, I'd sit there like a lady<br />
Beside her like she said,<br />
But way down deep on the inside<br />
I'd be dancing out of my head.<br />
<br />
When I grew up, I left the church<br />
And went out on my own.<br />
Free at last to let it all hang out<br />
After all now, I was grown.<br />
<br />
I took a chance<br />
Cause I wanted to dance.<br />
And the world beckoned, "Baby come on.<br />
Shake that body to the beat<br />
<br />
Let the rhythm take control.<br />
Wave your hands in the air<br />
Like you just don't care.<br />
Get down right hysterical."<br />
<br />
I danced for the world for quite awhile,<br />
I was having so much fun.<br />
Can't nobody stop me now (this child of the night.)<br />
I knew nothing of the Son.<br />
<br />
Then, one day between the smoke and the noise<br />
I heard a small voice inside my head say,<br />
"Come home my child, this isn't for you."<br />
And as my eyes searched the crowd,<br />
I knew it was true.<br />
<br />
So, I went home that night and prayed:<br />
"Father God, please forgive me for all the years I spent<br />
Dancing to the beat of a different drummer<br />
With all my heart I now repent."<br />
<br />
"Come into my heart, Lord<br />
Use my feet and my hands.<br />
Teach me how to dance for you<br />
Just like King David danced."<br />
<br />
I wanna dance like David danced.<br />
I wanna dance like David danced.<br />
<br />
Got my hands in the air<br />
Moving in the Spirit like I don't have a care.<br />
Giving God some serious praise for the rest of my days<br />
I wanna dance like David danced.<br />
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(c) 2003 Carolyn K. Erwin<br />
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<br />CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-60060191686496566902016-09-11T09:23:00.000-04:002016-09-11T09:23:28.454-04:00Facebook is changing how we make 'friends'<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proximo Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">While <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/facebook" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> has enabled us to become more connected across geographic, cultural and generational divides, it’s also left many people, particularly the young, feeling more disconnected. ---</em><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2014/02/04/is-facebook-breeding-loneliness/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Margie Warrell</a>, Forbes</div>
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Click. I just <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">unfriended</em></strong> some people on my Facebook page. Unfriending someone may sound cold and heartless, but to be honest, it was easier than I thought it would be. I felt no emotional pangs whatsoever. Besides, it made perfect sense under the circumstances. Except for incessant snippets and snapshot postings about "what's on [their] minds," I realized that I had no real connection to the people I unfriended. They weren't really <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">my friends</em>; they belonged to someone else. I added them because Facebook kept pushing me to do it, so I did.</div>
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In order to create a Facebook account, you <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">have to</em> add friends to your profile. My friends and your friends are <a href="http://www.business-management-degree.net/facebook/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook's bread and butter</a>. As the largest social media site in the world with <a href="http://www.statisticbrain.com/social-networking-statistics/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">1.4 billion users, </a>Facebook brings home <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">1 billion per quarter</em> in advertising revenue thanks largely to the friends you and I feed into it. The more friends we add, the better Facebook likes us. Facebook gleans through the snippets of personal data we provide in our posts, <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/much-facebook-friend-worth-174-17-134305887.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">sells the information to advertisers</a> who then feed it back to us in the form of ads on our Facebook page. Adding insult to injury, some users have also been touting Facebook as a way for you to <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/facebook-users-making-money-off-you-and-your-friends" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">make money off your friends</a>.</div>
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But forget about Facebook's motives, the real danger here is what Facebook is doing to our ability as human beings to relate to each other in meaningful ways. Before Facebook, a friend was usually someone with whom you shared life, a history and emotional ties; someone you cared about and who cared about you. Facebook changed all that by creating a platform that promotes instant friendships between persons whose only real connection may indeed be in cyberspace. In his blog, "<a href="http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-tools/social-media-pretend-friends-and-the-lie-of-false-intimacy/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Social media, Pretend Friends and the Lie of False Intimacy</a>," writer Jay Baer says:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Social media forces upon us a feeling of intimacy and closeness that doesn't actually exist....Is that what we want – spending considerable time building large networks of shallow connections, potentially at the expense of deepening a few cherished friendships upon which we can truly rely?</em></div>
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With social media users spending on average an aggregate of 700 billion minutes a month online, the opportunity to cultivate and nurture offline friendships diminishes. The generation mostly affected by this are 18 to 24 year-olds who comprise 98 percent of social media users. Wherever you look, nowadays, you see young adults with their faces buried in their android devices, presumably checking their Facebook page, rather than interacting with the people around them. I remember watching a young couple in a restaurant having dinner. Between bites of food, their attention was focused more on their smartphones than on each other. And they're not alone; some older adults are just as guilty of this behavior. I wonder what <a href="http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/2005/11/22" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">'Dear Abby'</a> would say about someone who constantly checks their phone when they're with you?</div>
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So where are we headed as a society in light of our dogged reliance and near obsession with social media connectivity? A study by the <a href="http://www.asanet.org/press/20060616.cfm" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">American Sociological Association</a> suggests that we are heading down a dangerous path toward social isolation, if not social stagnation:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The evidence shows that Americans have fewer confidants and those ties are also more family-based than they used to be. This change indicates something that’s not good for our society. Ties with a close network of people create a safety net. ---</em>Lynn Smith-Lovin, professor of Sociology at Duke University</div>
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A post on Facebook or "tweet" on Twitter can never replace a hug when you really need one. Hopefully, you have someone in your life who fills the role of being there for you when you need them. When God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, he placed within their DNA a unique material property that seeks to pair up and replicate itself. God created <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen+2%3A7&version=NIV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">humankind </a>to have a relationship with Him, and with other people. <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-social-self/201308/belongingness-essential-bridges-support-the-self" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Belonging defines our place in this world</a>. Life is made richer by mutually satisfying relationships that are nurtured over time. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians+15:33&version=NIV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">We are defined by our relationships</a>. Clearly, there needs to be a balance as well as a distinction between the relationships we create online and those we pursue in real life.</div>
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The people I unfriended from my Facebook page probably won't even miss me, or even realize that I'm gone. Well, no matter. No longer having to read their posts will give me more time to make a few more phone calls, send personal notes to friends I haven't connected with in awhile and join some real life friends for a game of cards. I'm sure Facebook will be waiting when I get back.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me --</em>Job 29:4-5</div>
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-75821048540682349342016-08-12T13:26:00.000-04:002017-01-06T13:45:40.730-05:00Youth hostels are giving older travelers a bigger bang for their bucks<br />
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Hostels aren't just for the youth anymore. They're for anyone who's young at heart.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The rise of mature backpackers means that <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/hostels" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">hostels</a> are no longer the preserve of 20-something backpackers. Hostel owners are now realizing that they can upgrade their facilities to cater to a wider audience.—</em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/travel/haute-hostels-put-to-the-test-in-europe.html?_r=1" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Seth Sherwood</a></div>
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Regardless of whether or not you live on a fixed income, unless you're <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/donald-trump" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Donald Trump</a>, nobody should want to spend more money than they have to for something they can get cheaper elsewhere. With the price of a night's lodging on the rise at even moderately priced hotels, older travelers are seeking an alternative, and some have found it in youth hostels.</div>
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Now don't let the word "youth" turn you away. The "youth" part has been dropped from the name because hostels aren't just for youth anymore. Hostels have been attracting increasing numbers of older adult travelers who are discovering what the youth have known all along— hostelling is a great way to see the world and not spend a fortune doing it <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">(Sorry, Mr. Trump)</em>. Although still a primary destination for a younger generation, hostels are attracting an older clientele with their ideal locations, low cost and convenience.</div>
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I'll let you in on a little secret. I am a converted hosteler. Those who know me may be shocked that I would even consider sleeping in a <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">hostel</em> environment (pun intended). To be honest, when I first decided to try hostelling, I <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">was </em>somewhat apprehensive about what to expect. But I didn't go in cold, and neither should you. I did my homework, looked at websites, and read hostel reviews prior to booking. During a trip to Chicago, I actually checked out of my hotel early just so I could spend one night in a hostel to try it out. My first night at the <a href="https://www.hihostels.com/search/hostels?q=chicago" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hi-Chicago</a> hostel, the staff served up a complimentary meal of Chicago-style hot dogs. From that point on, I was hooked on hostels.</div>
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Whatever misgivings, reluctance or fears you may have about hostels, I urge you to keep an open mind. Hostels have grown up, and more importantly, spruced up, as travel writer, <a href="http://blog.shermanstravel.com/2014/9-reasons-why-adults-can-enjoy-hostels-too/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Alex Schechter</a>, points out:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Forget the typical hostel clichés of cramped rooms, messy bathrooms, and lackluster design. As hotels show across-the-board improvements in their amenities, public spaces, and digital capabilities, so too are hostels catching up to the times with contemporary designs, upgraded facilities, centralized locations, and dedicated concierge staff.</em></div>
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Forget about the glam and glamour because you won't find it in most hostels. What you will find are clean, comfortable, safe accommodations in some great places for far less than what most hotels charge. Hostels offer a dormitory style sleeping arrangement, which means you could be sharing a room with other people (<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Sound a little creepy? I thought so too, at first)</em>. Room sharing configurations can have as few as four or as many as 12 beds to a room, depending on the size of the hostel. But if room-sharing bothers you, many hostels also have private rooms, which will cost you a little more. If you are traveling with family members, you can all share the same room or suite. Unlike a hotel, you won't get room service in a hostel. Instead, most hostels have fully equipped kitchens for you to store and prepare your own meals. Some hostels include a continental breakfast in the room charge, or may have an on-site cafe where you can purchase meals. These comments are from a veteran hosteler:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">I was quite anxious before I had stayed in a hostel for the first time. I was concerned about the safety of my belongings and how easy it would be to meet people in each one I stayed. But the more I traveled, the more I realized hostels really are for everybody. They’re for people from all social backgrounds, from all parts of the world, all walks of life and all ages. If you’re concerned that your age puts hostels out of your reach, I’ve two words for you – don’t be.—</em><a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/blog/2013/02/08/are-you-ever-too-old-to-stay-in-a-hostel/#ixzz3fxzokUrl" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Colm Hanratty</a></div>
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If you like making new friends, hostels are a great way to meet travelers from other countries. On a recent visit to New York, I stayed at the <a href="https://www.hihostels.com/hostels/hi-new-york-city" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hi-New York City</a> hostel where I met Marie from <a href="http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Centre-International-de-Sjour-Martinique/Fort-de-France/29033?sc_sau=sfab&sc_pos=1" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Martinique</a> and Virina from Germany, who I gifted with a copy of the <a href="http://www.featurepics.com/online/New-Testament-Antique-Bible-Printed-1108778.aspx" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">New Testament</a>. Both women are staying in hostels as they travel throughout the U.S. I also met Ben from <a href="http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Pink-Hostel-International/Accra/2279?dateFrom=2015-07-18&dateTo=2015-07-21&sc_sau=avdc&sc_pos=3" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ghana</a>. I didn't see my roommates very much, but I do know they were from Brazil, Australia and Sweden. For their part, hostels try to foster a sense of community among the guests through organized activities like city tours, pub crawls, comedy nights, movies and pizza parties. Participation is voluntary.</div>
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There are many hostels located in cities throughout the U.S. and around the world. Think of someplace in the world you'd like to go. You might be surprised to learn that there is at least one hostel there, maybe more. An easy way to find out is to do an online search at <a href="https://www.hihostels.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hostelling International</a> and <a href="http://www.hostelworld.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hostelworld</a>, two of the largest hostel booking and membership sites. Between these two websites, you'll find thousands of hostel listings in places like—New Orleans, Miami Beach, San Diego, London, Paris, Portugal, China, Africa, The Netherlands—just to give you an idea of what's out there.<br />
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Well, I've just about said all that I can on the subject. It's now up to you to decide if hostelling is for you. As for me, I'm off to book my next hostel adventure in Miami Beach. Until next time, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hostel la vista, baby.</em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">When you were young, you were able to do as you liked and go wherever you wanted to; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and others will direct you and take you where you don’t want to go.—John 21:18 TLB</em></div>
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-30518835802777068662016-08-06T17:44:00.000-04:002016-08-07T23:02:29.559-04:00Why "Black Lives Matter" is a win-win for us all<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 19.2px;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The colonial history, the legacy of enslavement, racial subordination and segregation, racial terrorism, and racial inequality in the US remains a serious challenge as there has been no real commitment to reparations and to truth and reconciliation for people of African descent.—<a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=17000&LangID=E">Statement by the United Nations on Racism in the U.S. </a></span></i></span><br />
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Recently, I had a conversation with a Jewish man in which I compared the enslavement of Jews in Egypt to the ordeal of Africans in America whose ancestors were brought to this country in chains and sold into slavery. I asked him how Jews have been able to transcend their own enslavement. He admitted that slavery for Africans in America was 10 times worse than for Jews in Egypt. He went on to say that one thing that helped Jews move beyond their past was the fact that the old slave generation died out in the wilderness, and was replaced by a new generation that knew no slavery. They got a new start, so to speak.<br />
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Africans in America a.k.a blacks are not there yet. A legacy of slavery still mars generations of blacks who continue to be marginalized by American society despite the anomaly of electing a black president in 2008. The <a href="http://merica.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/9/united-nations-racismracialandethnicdiscriminationintheus.html">United Nations</a> recently took note that black people in the U.S. still face daily reminders of their slave past, even generations later, in the form of subtle and sometimes not so subtle societal discrimination, inequality, injustice and racism that is exclusively based on their skin color. Unlike Jews, blacks can't hide who they are, not that they should have to. It's America's image of black people, and blacks own self-image that must change. For that to happen, hearts must also change.<br />
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<i><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. —Ezekiel 36:26</span></span></i></blockquote>
The growing controversy over the <i>Black Lives Matter</i> movement sends a clear signal that hearts need to be transformed on both sides. Some have chosen to view <i>Black Lives Matter </i>as negative, divisive and racist, even though the movement's founders have stated otherwise:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 26.6667px;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">#BlackLivesMatter doesn’t mean your life isn’t important–it means that black lives, which are seen as without value within a white supremacy [structure in America], are important to your liberation. Given the disproportionate impact state violence has on black lives, we understand that when black people in this country get free, the benefits will be wide reaching and transformative for society as a whole... </span></i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 26.6667px;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is why we call on black people and our allies to take up the call that black lives matter. We’re not saying black lives are more important than other lives, or that other lives are not criminalized and oppressed in various ways. We remain in active solidarity with all oppressed people who are fighting for their liberation and we know that our destinies</span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">are intertwined.—<a href="http://blacklivesmatter.com/about/">Black Lives Matter statement of purpose</a></span></i></span></blockquote>
In times past, when blacks in the U.S. organized to achieve parity within the bounds of the majority white society, such groups were <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO">targeted for destruction by the government</a>, and their leaders neutralized—i.e. Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Whitney Young, Martin Luther King Jr., George Jackson, Fred Hampton, Angela Davis and Huey Newton, And so it is with the new <i>Black Lives Matters</i> movement, purposely labelled a <i>terrorist group</i> by some to set the stage for its eventual demise like all the others before it. And that could happen unless America changes course and is convinced of the positives that could come from embracing its racially divided past, righting the many wrongs it's done to blacks, and opening the door to economic opportunities for this oppressed group. Telling blacks they should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps while you still have your boot on their necks holding them down is disingenuous. When <i><a href="http://blackdemographics.com/">Black Lives Matter</a></i>, we all benefit, and we all matter.<br />
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Undoubtedly, blacks must also be accountable for their own actions. For <i>Black Lives Matter</i> to really matter, the black community has to come together and police itself. Black futures are being decimated by self inflicted wounds from black-on-black crime, drug addiction and trafficking, illiteracy, joblessness, juvenile delinquency and a broken family structure of single parent households. Not that these things aren't occurring in other communities, but the numbers for blacks are out of proportion to their percentage in the population. Destructive forces, counter-productive attitudes and behaviors within the black community need to be called out and stopped no matter who's doing it. No longer should those persons committing crimes against black people be ignored and given safe haven to do more harm. If <i>Black Lives Matter</i> they must <i>matter</i> first within the black community, and to their own people.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>if they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again.—2 Chronicles 7:14</i></span></span></blockquote>
But it doesn't stop there. Likewise, good-hearted whites must not keep silent when racism continues rear its ugly head in private or public conversations, within institutions, media reporting, commercial images, jokes, comments and so on. To do so only serves to perpetuate and pass down the vestiges of prejudice that divide this country. For America to be made whole, blacks and whites must coalesce to expose and root out the bad apples among us. No doubt it will take a committed village to do it, but it's not an impossible task. In the end, it will be worth it, and a win-win for the generations to come.<br />
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<br />CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-62677836407869454782016-07-07T12:29:00.000-04:002018-12-16T03:08:45.860-05:00Love alert: You could be dating a serial cheater<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem;">
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I asked this question of a male friend recently, “Why do men cheat?" I'm still waiting for an answer. Gone are the days it seems when the <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%202:24&version=NKJV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">biblical edict </a>of one man, one woman actually meant something. There was a time when couples dated in preparation for marriage. Nowadays, couples date, even have sex just for pleasure without any thought of commitment. Words like "we're engaged" or "my fiance" have lost the exclusivity they once had. Fidelity and monogamy are still valued as moral absolutes in our society, but not always practiced.</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What's behind this shift in our morals? Blame it on the law of supply and demand coupled with unrestrained freewill. There are too many women and not enough men to go around. This gender discrepancy is the perfect breeding ground for the serial cheater who considers it his duty to take full advantage and seize the moment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In his article, "<a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sectionfront/life/the-new-math-on-campus-232395/">New Math on Campus</a>," New York Times reporter Alex Williams sums it up this way: "Needless to say, this puts guys in a position to play the field, and tends to mean that even the ones willing to make a commitment come with storied romantic histories."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">W. Keith Campbell, a psychology professor at the University of Georgia, agrees: “When men have the social power, they create a man’s ideal of relationships.” (Translation: more partners, more sex.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6N08SqvZew">Serial cheaters</a> have simultaneous relationships with multiple unsuspecting partners. Women, who knowingly or unknowingly date a serial cheater, run the risk of becoming a victim of his promiscuity, of possibly acquiring an STD or HIV/AIDS, and of being devalued by a relationship you thought was committed. Some women ignore a man's cheating because they feel they have to in order to keep him. As one woman observed, “If a guy is not getting what he wants, he can quickly and abruptly go to the next one, because there are so many of us.”</span><br />
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You could be dating a serial cheater. Here are some signs to watch out for (Disclaimer: <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">This does not mean that every man who exhibits one or more of these behaviors is a serial cheater. Know your man.</em>).</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">If he seems too good to be true, he probably is.</strong></em> Serial cheaters are charmers, a real Mr. Nice Guy. In the early stages of a relationship, he goes out of his way to spend time with you. He calls you several times a day just to say he's thinking of you. He treats you like a queen, opens doors and when you're walking together, he insists that you walk on the inside away from the traffic. He likes to caress and hold hands. He may act as if sex is the farthest thing from his mind when it's the only thing on his mind. He doesn't have to rush you because he knows he has other women he can be intimate with.</div>
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In the article, "Sex: Are men really after only one thing?" psychologist Dr. Diana Kirschner addresses this question: "For example, a small percentage of men are caught in what I call the Player Deadly Dating Pattern. These are often the "hot bad boys" who can be enormously infatuating to women because of their smooth romantic alpha behavior. But under that seductive bravado they are usually insecure, have low self esteem and a "me-first mentality." These are the men who value conquest over being connected and honorable. For these reasons, the Player can pose a great deal of difficulty for women who want a lasting love relationship."</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Serial cheaters are generally good talkers.</strong></em> Pay close attention to what he does, not just what he says. Serial cheaters are good at what I call "vanilla" conversations --- a whole lot of talk with little substance. Serial cheaters give more detail than necessary about mundane things to keep you off balance so you don't ask questions. Names and gender references are purposely omitted to prevent a slip of the tongue. Don't be reluctant to interview any man who wants a dating relationship with you. Ask the important questions upfront. What are his values, goals, family background, purpose for wanting to date you, etc. If he's evasive or talks a lot of jive, dump him. It will save you time and heartbreak down the road.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">He's a real friendly guy, except most of his friends are women. </strong></em>You've heard of the expression, "He's a man's man." Serial cheaters are more like every woman's man. Women are attracted to him because of his sensitivity to a woman's needs. He's a helper, a confidant, a shoulder to cry on, a port in a storm, someone who totally understands you ---everything a woman could want, except he's all that with a lot of other women too. He may not be having sex with all of them but it's a sure bet that at least two or three are more than just "friends." A serial cheater collects friends for a hobby. I once knew a serial cheater who bragged about having over 200 names in his contact list. Knowing him most were probably women.</div>
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Observe how your guy acts toward you around other women. Is he easily distracted by them? Does he make comments ("She's a good looking woman.") on their appearance, especially physical features, in your presence? Is his attention divided when he's with you? Are your dates or phone calls hurried like you're on speed dial? Does he never intentionally bring you around any of his other women friends?</div>
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Other issues that could have an impact on how he views women are an addiction to sex and pornography, which he keeps hidden. Some hints at this problem may be his off color comments or sexual innuendo during ordinary conversations with you, or he may half jokingly ask you to talk "dirty" to him when he knows that's not your style. These are important cues to think about.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Serial cheaters like long distance relationships, the farther the better</strong>.</em> A serial cheater prides himself on being able to engage in multiple relationships with women without any of them knowing about the others. Distance is a great enabler for him. The women he dates conveniently live in different cities, usually ones he visits regularly for other reasons as well (i.e. work, family, recreation). The trips usually last a few days. He may even call to "check in" as if he is accounting for his time. He usually comes back with "vanilla" explanations about what he did while he was away, and don’t forget the gifts. Don't be fooled. If your intuition tells you something's going on, you're probably right.</div>
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Better to date locally; it's easier and safer. You want someone who has roots down deep in the community not someone who's a transient. Get to know your potential date/mate through his friends, family and the people he hangs out with. If he never takes you around them, watch out something's not kosher about your relationship. Could be he's hiding something more than just you.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Don't think because a serial cheater gets married he's changed his ways.</strong></em> Serial cheaters often marry, in fact serially, one woman after another. Let's suppose you date a serial cheater who decides he wants to marry you. At some point, the marriage may run into trouble or he may get bored so he starts looking around for other distractions. Consequently, he goes back to what he knows best, and adds adultery to his portfolio.</div>
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One serial cheater's first wife left him after learning that he cheated before they married. He remarried but when his second wife became overweight and unattractive to him, his eyes began to wander. On his way to work every morning, he started noticing a nice looking woman. He made sure their paths would cross. One night, he ran into her at a local bar and they began a torrid affair. Eventually, he left his second wife for this woman, who he later married. They had a turbulent marriage, which ended in a nasty divorce. Now he’s free, single and uncommitted, ready to test the relationship waters again. He's joined a <a href="http://www.alfredstreet.org/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">mega-church</a> where he's got lots of women to choose from. The sad part is he thinks he's happy. Well, maybe he is---at least on the outside.</div>
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Dating is serious business. Rather than just looking for immediate gratification, look for someone who would make you a good husband and father to your children or a true companion in your old age. So many silly women have laid themselves out there. And now the children are paying the price for mother's mistakes. Calling someone your child's "baby daddy" is no substitute for giving them a father who is more than just a sperm donor.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Serial cheaters need professional help to confront their problem.</strong></em> You are not the Red Cross so don't even attempt a rescue mission. Leave it to the professionals. On your way out of the relationship, there's nothing wrong with a gentle suggestion that he might benefit from talking with a relationship or spiritual counselor about his feelings. Serial cheaters are emotionally detached from their behavior and reluctant to talk about it. When you confront them, they see themselves as the victim believing that something is wrong with you for rejecting them. Serial cheaters are seldom the first to leave a relationship even if it's bad.<br />
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Instead, they withdraw emotionally and wait for you to take the first step, which you eventually do out of frustration. Being seen as <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">the victim</em>, makes it easier for serial cheaters to solicit sympathy from friends and a new unsuspecting partner. It's all part of the plan.</div>
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There is hope for the woman who's looking for a good man. There are many decent men of good character out there in spite of the bad example set by serial cheaters. But good men usually look for women of equally good character with whom they have something in common. In my previous article, "Love well: How to cultivate healthy relationships," I advise women and men to take stock of themselves and cultivate realistic expectations of what you need and don't need, want and don't want in a relationship. And if you know you have low self-esteem, low self-respect, abandonment, trust or other issues get to work on them through <a href="http://peacewithgod.net/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">professional or spiritual counseling</a> before you seek to be in relationship with anybody.</div>
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The Bible offers wise <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs%203&version=CEV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">counsel about relationships</a>, and especially about how to choose companions of good character. It's really true that what God has joined together neither man nor woman can tear apart. If you're someone who's been hurt by a serial cheater, or you <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">are</em> that serial cheater, <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2029:11&version=CEV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">God has a plan for you</a>. You may be at a point where you've tried everything and everybody and <a href="http://peacewithgod.jesus.net/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">your life is still empty</a>. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+1:17-19&version=NLT" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">God can restore you</a> and put your life back on the right track. You've got nothing more to lose and <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%205:17&version=NKJV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">everything to gain</a>.</div>
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Note: Need to know how to trust again? For relationship help, I highly recommend the book, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Boundaries-Learning-Trust-Relationships/dp/0310330769" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Beyond Boundaries</a>.</em></div>
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-61618090483436499912016-07-06T19:12:00.002-04:002016-09-29T10:27:11.029-04:00Online evangelism: How cyberspace is helping millions find Jesus <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proximo Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
"<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">And then he [Jesus] told them [his disciples], “You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere" Mark 16:15.</em></div>
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Two thousand years ago, when Jesus issued this command to a fledgling Christian church, it might have seemed like a daunting task given the fact that the disciples traveled mostly on foot back then.<br />
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These early Christians were the foot soldiers responsible for spreading the gospel throughout the then known world that included Asia and Africa. Little could they have envisioned a day when Christians could connect with millions of people in Europe, North and South America, Antarctica and Australia via the Internet with one click. Fast forward to the 21st century where millions of seekers are finding God from the comfort of their PCs, tablet computers and smartphones.</div>
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The Internet is giving Christians yet another way to deliver the good news of the gospel to virtual millions through online chatrooms, <a href="http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">social networking</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webcast" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">webcasts</a> and <a href="http://thegospeltogo.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">weblogs</a>. The Internet's ability to reach an audience of millions inspired <a href="http://www.cru.org/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Campus Crusade for Christ</a> to create an <a href="http://notashamedofthegospel.com/online-evangelism-101/internet-evangelism-are-you-engaging-in-this-phenomenon-that-is-taking-the-world-by-surprise/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">online evangelism</a> start-up in 2004. Its success launched <a href="http://www.globalmediaoutreach.com/about-us/history" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Global Media Outreach (GMO) </a>as a viable tool for evangelism. Since going live, over <a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/online-evangelism-ministry-reaches-687000-in-one-day-48803/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">50 million</a> people have logged onto GMO's <a href="http://www.globalmediaoutreach.com/about-us/websites" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">many websites</a> and made decisions for Christ.</div>
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In 2011, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) launched "<a href="http://peacewithgod.jesus.net/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Peace with God</a>," an online evangelism website. BGEA's trained volunteer online missionaries converse with visitors via a chatroom. Visitors can ask any question, but at some point, the conversation always turns to whether they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Currently, over <a href="http://www.billygraham.org/mediarelations_pressrelease_detail.asp?id=9659" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">3 million online visitors</a> have logged onto PeacewithGod.net and made decisions to accept Christ. Another popular online evangelism website is "<a href="http://www.needhim.org/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Need Him</a>." Through its radio and TV spots, "Need Him" encourages listeners to call an 800 number to speak with an online counselor about their spiritual concerns. About the reach of online evangelism, a blogger writes:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Many people in desperate need of the gospel stop in Christian chatrooms, hoping to meet someone who can lead them to God. They think of Christians as experts in how to be saved and how to live a meaningful life. Some of these desperate people know that they are lost. They want someone to help them become Christians, and they say so as they enter the chatrooms. </em>(From ilovejesus.com)</div>
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According to GMO's Michelle Diedrich, online evangelism reaches a wider audience today than any other means of spreading the gospel:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">We are the first generation - ever - to hold in our hands the technology to give every person on earth multiple chances to accept Jesus Christ. More people use the Internet than go to church.</em></div>
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Diedrich explains, however, that online evangelism is intended to complement, not replace, traditional church programs and services. <a href="http://www.qplace.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Q Place</a> president Mary Schaller favors a [more] traditional face-to-face approach to evangelism. She shares her <a href="https://www.barna.org/barna-update/culture/621-the-art-of-spiritual-conversation-in-a-changing-culture#.UkIO_Iashzu" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">thoughts</a> on the subject:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The obvious advantages to digital spiritual dialogue are its convenience, flexibility, accessibility and anonymity. Yet our culture is caught in a problematic paradox: Despite the increasing digital interconnectivity, people continue to grow more socially disconnected and lonely because most of the conversation is superficial. Can you have meaningful, life- changing digital conversations and relationships? I believe to a certain extent you can, but they don’t take the place of being in the same room with people.</em></div>
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<a href="http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/evangelism-missions/8917-10-ways-to-evangelize-on-facebook" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> is yet another cyber way Christians have found to meet and connect old and new friends to Christ. <a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/harvest-crusades-going-virtual-we-are-moving-into-that-space-54179/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> is gaining popularity as a place to share scripture, testimonies, church happenings and invite others to evangelistic gatherings. Likewise, weblogs have expanded the reach of the gospel across continents. When I first started writing my blogs, The <a href="http://thegospeltogo.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Gospel to GO</a> and <a href="http://thegospeltogo-london.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Gospel to GO: London</a>, I didn't know whether they would find an audience. To my surprise, through <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/228493" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Google Analytics</a>, I discovered that the blogs have a worldwide audience spanning five of the seven continents. this just goes to show the power of the Internet. Antarctica and Australia, it's time to come on board.</div>
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But where does all this cyber-evangelizing leave the lowly foot soldier of the gospel in the scheme of things? The Bible says that foot soldiers are still valued as the preferred method for <a href="https://www.barna.org/barna-update/5-barna-update/186-survey-shows-how-christians-share-their-faith#.UkNpToashzu" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">communicating the gospel to others</a>:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">And how can anyone tell them without being sent by the Lord? The Scriptures say it is a beautiful sight to see even the feet of someone coming to preach the good news. Romans 10:15</em></div>
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Online evangelism will never diminish the local church's role as an evangelizing body of believers. Online converts will always need a physical church to call home where they can practice their new faith, and build relationships. Local churches provide that personal touch, and face-to-face contact that the Internet cannot. The fact is many men and women who have trusted Jesus as their Savior, did so because a friend or a stranger simply took the time to explain the gospel to them.<br />
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Online evangelism neither eliminates the need nor the responsibility of local churches to engage in vigorous <a href="http://www.soulwinning.info/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">soulwinning</a> efforts in their communities. <a href="http://www.siloambc.org/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Siloam Baptist Church</a> in Norristown, PA is an example of how the local church can embrace the soulwinning aspect of its mission (view slideshow). Every month, members of Siloam's GO!Team take to the streets surrounding the church to engage with the residents and pray for the neighborhood.</div>
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Ultimately, the gospel's power does not depend on a particular methodology but rather on its relational ---God2man2man ---connection. Whether that connection is communicated over Internet or over a backyard fence, this is the penultimate message that Christians have to share with the world.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14</em></div>
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-63547046453033422062016-07-06T18:45:00.000-04:002017-03-08T01:39:46.268-05:00Everybody talkin' 'bout heaven ain't goin' there<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proximo Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">A surprising fact is that most people believe they are good enough to go to heaven. Why? Because they feel that they are a “good person.” Are there “good people” who think they are going to heaven but in reality will not be going? --- Jack Wellman</em><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiclRNyTVgHshuTifIWiRkTBa0AG__U79bfQ-fKq0921gxQ2pyBxRrxVbtVm1YTCcD6FmIzMfYioqAr99SxzsVOo1Os2EatByrW-RRUtQ3j_bAWR0DJ5AoYIA5Makm-h-Kh-woz2ysWWlI3/s1600/R.I.P..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiclRNyTVgHshuTifIWiRkTBa0AG__U79bfQ-fKq0921gxQ2pyBxRrxVbtVm1YTCcD6FmIzMfYioqAr99SxzsVOo1Os2EatByrW-RRUtQ3j_bAWR0DJ5AoYIA5Makm-h-Kh-woz2ysWWlI3/s320/R.I.P..jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Just about everybody has an opinion about heaven --- some believe, some don't believe and some don't have a clue. Yet, heaven is widely thought of as the place most people want to go when they die even though they may have no idea what it takes to get in.<br />
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So often when a loved one dies, we like to assume that he or she is up in heaven looking down on us. Mostly, we tell ourselves this because it helps ease the pain of loss and keeps our dearly departed one close. Another common belief is that heaven is a place where good people go after they depart this earth. Who doesn't think of him or herself as a good person? But is being a good person <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">good enough</em> to get you into heaven? The fact is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DGuG5O8X6A" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">everybody talkin' 'bout heaven ain't goin' there</a>. </div>
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With so many misconceptions out there about heaven, I took to the streets to find out what the average person knows or believes. For this survey, I asked <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/millennials" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Millennials</a> since they are the next generation to lead America into the future. How <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/2010/02/17/religion-among-the-millennials/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Millennials feel about God and religion</a> will have a definite an impact on the kind of society they create. I conducted the survey at a local shopping mall and commuter train station. My sample consisted of randomly chosen males and females of different ethnicities between the ages of 18-34.</div>
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Here's what they had to say in response to questions about heaven:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">1.) Do you believe in heaven?</strong></em></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;">64% yes</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;">36 % no</li>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">2.) What do you know about heaven?</strong></em></div>
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Some of the more interesting responses:</div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">I know it's a great place and I want to go there. (Age 24)</em></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">I do believe there is something out there. I don't really believe in heaven or hell. (Age 18)</em></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">It's a place people will go if they do something good with their life and they'll be reunited with loved ones (Age 25)</em></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">It's a better place and hopefully, one day I [will] see my family, the ones who've passed away. (Age 29)</em></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">I don't think much about heaven or know much. (Age 23)</em></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">It's the place where your soul hopefully goes if you've been on good behavior. (Age 27)</em></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">I heard that God died for our sins and once we die we live in eternal peace. (Age 20)</em></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Not like a Christian heaven, but I believe that after you die you don't have to put up with worldly woes. (Age 25)</em></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">I was raised as Christian so I know about heaven as much as the Bible says and as much as Evangelical Christians will tell you. I am very atheistic at this point. (Age 27)</em></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">I know absolutely nothing except what's recorded in the Bible. (Age 34)</em></li>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">3.) Do you expect to go to heaven when you die? If yes, why? If no, why?</strong></em></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;">64% yes*</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;">21 % no</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;">15% not sure</li>
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*Among the reasons given, "because I'm a good person" topped the list; also mentioned was "belief in God or Jesus."</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Do you currently attend a place of worship like a church, synagogue, mosque or temple?</strong></em></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;">43 % yes</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;">57% no*</li>
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*Among the "no" responses, "used to attend church" and "worship at home" were among the reasons given.</div>
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I wasn't surprised by the mixed responses I got from Millennials on heaven. However, it should be noted that those who demonstrated any spiritual or biblical understanding of heaven were in the minority. You can draw your own conclusions, as to what this means, especially if you're the parent of a Millennial or a member of the clergy. At the very least, it probably suggests that, as parents and as clergy, we haven't done a good enough job <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+6:4&version=NIV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">preparing the Millennial generation</a> in this area. While Millennials may not be focused much on heaven right now, they still need to know what's ahead for them and what the options are.</div>
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The fact is Millennials are at greater risk of <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">dying young</strong> from <a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/guns-crime/report/2014/02/21/84491/young-guns-how-gun-violence-is-devastating-the-millennial-generation/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">gun violence</a>, motor vehicle accidents, drugs and <a href="http://www.policymic.com/articles/62165/suicide-is-the-third-leading-cause-of-death-among-millennials-here-s-how-i-m-trying-to-stop-it" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">suicide</a> than any previous generation in America. Millennials have already experienced the pain of death of their peers and acquaintances, and aren't as reluctant to talk about dying or life after death as you might think. When Millennials write "R.I.P." on the makeshift memorials of their friends, we need to come alongside them to help them understand <a href="http://www.gotquestions.org/rest-in-peace-RIP.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">what it really means</a>. So that when it's their turn to stare down death, they'll have the <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+4%3A7&version=NLV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">peace in their heart</a> that's beyond comprehension.</div>
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As for the question, "Do you expect to go to heaven?" A majority answered "yes" and gave this reason: "because I'm a good person" or "because I believe I'm a good person." I thought the comment by a 27 year old woman was the most revealing. Although she does not believe in heaven, she feels that she couldn't meet all the "stipulations" required to get in, anyway. Good people do go to heaven but not just because they're <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">good</em>. Likewise, bad people can also go to heaven, in spite of having been bad. Heaven isn't a place for only <a href="https://bible.org/article/why-good-people-don-t-go-heaven" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">good people</a>.</div>
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If you want the truth, nobody gets into heaven on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvIxwc90BEI" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">his or her own merit</a>. You couldn't possibly do enough good deeds in a lifetime to earn a place in heaven. Keeping all <a href="http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/command.htm" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ten Commandments</a> or any other form of human effort on your part won't earn you a place in heaven. The way to heaven begins with seeing yourself as God sees you --- <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5%3A8-9&version=NLT" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a sinner</a> in need of God's forgiveness:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">We are all infected and impure with sin.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />When we display our righteous deeds,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />they are nothing but filthy rags. </em>Isaiah 64:6</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.</em> Romans 3:23</div>
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Heaven is a level playing field, meaning anyone who <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">wants in</em> can get in. The only stipulation, the only requirement is that you accept <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+1%3A18&version=TLB" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">God's invitation</a>. It's a choice that only you can make. Millennials, please hear this. After you're dead, the opportunity to choose where you'll spend eternity is loss, unless that choice is made before you die. <a href="http://peacewithgod.jesus.net/that-he-gave-his-only-son/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">This short video</a> explains everything you need to know to make it into heaven. Need help making a decision? Someone is waiting at <a href="http://peacewithgod.jesus.net/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.peacewithgod.net</a> to pray with you.</div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.</strong></div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">I once was lost, but now I'm found; was blind but now I see.</strong></div>
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---From the hymn, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Amazing Grace</em> by <a href="http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4221333/k.998/Amazing_Grace_in_John_Newton__A_Christian_Witness_Lived_and_Sung.htm" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">John Newton</a></div>
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-49497611790049975952016-07-06T18:35:00.001-04:002018-09-14T23:42:31.105-04:00A warning to the Church: God is not pleased<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proximo Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">It is appalling that the most segregated hour in Christian America is 11 o'clock on Sunday morning. --<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q881g1L_d8" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Dr. Martin Luther King Jr</a></em></div>
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One of my most enduring childhood memories is of growing up on Effingham Street in Portsmouth, Va. There were two churches on our block—one black, the other white. On Sunday mornings, I can remember watching people gather at the white church across the street, and wondering why we never went to that church and why they never came to ours. When I asked my grandmother about it, she quickly put an end to my childhood curiosity by saying:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Our church is better.</em></div>
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I remember thinking if it's better why aren't those people coming over here? It didn't make sense to me then and still doesn't.</div>
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I would be told<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> "Ours is better" </em>each time I questioned why blacks and whites never mingled together in public places or at public events in that southern town. Whites had their space and we had ours. This was the mid-fifties. It wasn't until much later in life that I learned first hand the real truth about racial segregation in America. In spite of its multiracial makeup, America is still in bondage to a <a href="http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+6:12&version=GNT" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">spirit of segregation</a> that pervades much of society, even our churches.</div>
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Although it's been 50 years since Dr. King addressed the issue of racial segregation in the Christian church, not much has changed. On any given Sunday, it is still possible to open the doors of most Christian churches in America and find a homogeneous congregation of people worshiping God, and not see a single member of another <a href="http://www.sott.net/article/223180-Scientific-Evidence-Suggests-Race-is-an-Artificial-Construct" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">race</a>. According to Chris Rice, co-author of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">More Than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel, </em>most <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/christians" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Christians</a> never give it much thought.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ninety percent of African-American Christians worship in all-black churches. Ninety percent of white American Christians worship in all-white churches...Years since the incredible victories of the Civil Rights movement, we continue to live in the trajectory of racial fragmentation. The biggest problem is that we don't see that as a problem.</em></div>
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Segregated pews are viewed as the norm. There are a few multiracial and multicultural churches; however, they account for only 5-7 percent of Christian congregations. News flash—there won't be a separate heaven for all those who want to only be with their own kind. It's in the Bible:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">After this I looked, and there was an enormous crowd—no one could count all the people! They were from <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">every race</strong>, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood in front of the throne and of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They called out in a loud voice: 'Salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne, and from the Lamb!' (Revelation 7:8-9)</em></div>
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It seems clear from this that God intends for his followers to live together in eternity as <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">one</em></strong> big happy family. So then, why aren't we doing more to become <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">one body in Christ</em> here on earth? By the numbers, Christian congregations continue to lag behind the rest of society when it comes to eliminating self-imposed racial segregation.</div>
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Christian theologians and church leaders have differing opinions on what can be done to ameliorate the situation. Most admit there's a lack of diversity in the churches, but make excuses like <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">"People prefer to go to church with people who look like them"</em> or <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">"People choose churches where they feel comfortable." </em><br />
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></em> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">S</em>adly, there is also a misguided remnant who have racist tendencies, and don't want to see people from other races in their congregations [We need to pray for them]. Regardless, of the reason, no excuse is valid in the eyes of God who expects <a href="http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2013:34-35&version=GNT" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Christians to love each other and everybody else</a>.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">If the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and if we are indeed saved, then it should be possible for us to celebrate differences in skin color and culture as evidence of the divine artistry of creation and redemption and not as grounds for continued separation, exploitation, and prejudice. - <a href="https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1999/07/multicultural-ministry-challenges-and-blessings" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Walter Douglas</a></em></div>
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Now then, how do we start to transform Sundays at 11 o'clock from the most segregated hour to <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">the most racially diverse and inclusive hour </em>in Christian America? Perhaps, the answer lies in one changed heart, one friendly handshake across the aisle, one conversation that ends with an invite until we get the job done. Every believer, black and white, will have to do his part to bring about a change. Change may be difficult, but change we must even if it means moving out of our comfort zone. </div>
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You remember the story I shared earlier about the two Christian churches on my block that never intermingled with each other? Well, Ebenezer Baptist Church, <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "proximo nova","helvetica neue","arial","helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">the black church,</span> is still on Effingham Street having maintained a presence in that community for 100-plus years now. As for the white church, it closed its doors years ago and moved away. So, I guess my grandmother was right, after all, our church really was the better one.</div>
CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-52999458431866812842016-07-06T18:23:00.000-04:002016-07-06T18:23:49.423-04:00Conquering your fear: What are you most afraid of<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proximo Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">"T</em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">he only thing we have to <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/fear" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">fear</a> is fear itself " — President Franklin D. Roosevelt</em></div>
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<img alt="Fear strikes usually placid Ottawa, Canada" class="zoomable media__img" data-large="http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width_large/hash/97/4a/974afd185e6c3153aedf378825abb334.jpg?itok=G2EqhODG" height="350" rel="image_src" src="https://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/97/4a/974afd185e6c3153aedf378825abb334.jpg?itok=PToRi-RR" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: 265px;" title="Fear strikes usually placid Ottawa, Canada" typeof="foaf:Image" width="474" /><br />
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Few would disagree that this world is becoming a more dangerous and uncertain place. More people admit to being afraid than at any other time in modern history. For a reason behind this climate of fear, you need only look at the headlines — Ebola outbreaks, ISIS threats, <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2014/10/23/fear-takes-over-usually-placid-ottawa/TOnEQSlP8gbpBp3qxmrD1M/story.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ottawa shootings</a>, <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2014/11/18/israel-shaken-deaths-synagogue-assault/E52lnEqh2tWWGWx4BgNUxK/story.html?p1=Article_Trending_Most_Viewed" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">domestic terror</a>, wars, <a href="http://time.com/money/3501902/stocks-plunge-global-economic-fears/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">economic downturns,</a>global unrest and <a href="http://www.livescience.com/38167-national-security-impact-of-warming-climate.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">climate changes</a>. It's hard to feel safe when everywhere you look, it seems the world is in trouble. People are naturally afraid for the future.</div>
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Adding to global fears are the many privately held fears that people have—mostly having to do with matters of personal health, security and safety. Among these concerns are fear of serious illness, tragic accident, job loss, financial collapse, violent crime, growing old and dying young. The media paints a grim picture of an <a href="http://economyincrisis.org/content/detroit-a-vision-of-americas-potential-future#more-18501" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">America in crisis</a>, which only adds to the level of anxiety felt by so many. Our fears are tearing us apart, says writer Julie Hanus:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">For the first time in history, fear is tearing society apart. In the past, fear has engendered solidarity—as it did in the 1950s, when nuclear anxieties bound Americans together. Contemporary fear throws wedges between us. This isolation, in turn, renders the public ever more fearful. What’s more, media outlets, politicians, and businesses all have learned to capitalize on this distinctly modern sense of dread, and thus profit from finding ways to cultivate it. — </em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://www.utne.com/politics/overcoming-american-fear-culture-on-eve-of-new-presidency.aspx#axzz3H6d6NRiO" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Julie Hanus</a></em></div>
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Unlike President Franklin Roosevelt, who reassured a fearful nation in the face of hard economic times, present day politicians shamelessly engage in <a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/donaldlambro/2013/07/10/obamas-fearmongering-didnt-frighten-anyone-n1637199/page/full" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">fear mongering</a> for political advantage. These political opportunists are modern day <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO04VXBIS0M" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Chicken Littles</a> who play on our fears with their<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> sky is falling </em>rhetoric, all the while trying to convince us they're trying to save us. It's a strategy that has been used successfully time and again by both political parties. Somebody just needs to tell <a href="http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+8%3A31-32&version=GNT" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the truth</a>.</div>
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What are you most afraid of? How has fear affected your life? Is your fear worth the time, place and energy you are giving it? What steps can you take to overcome your fear? These are important questions you should ask yourself. The idea behind these questions is to get you thinking about and moving toward a solution rather than giving in and letting fear control you. You may be unable to do it on your own. You may need the help of a professional. The point is do something about your fear rather than doing nothing and letting fear dominate you. <a href="http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua+1%3A9+&version=GNT" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The choice is yours to make</a>. Here's an example of what that looks like:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">A. You hear something go bump in the dark. It frightens you, so run out of the house away from the noise. As a result, the dark remains a scary place for you.</em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">B. You hear something go bump in the dark. It frightens you but you grab a flashlight and walk towards the sound and discover the source. The cat knocked over a stack of books on the counter. You've confronted the dark and taken control of your fear.</em></div>
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Fear keeps you off balance and not in control of the situation. <a href="http://www.anxietybc.com/sites/default/files/FacingFears_Exposure.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Confronting your fear</a> puts the power back in your hands. Gradually exposing yourself, under controlled conditions, to the thing you fear may help ease your fear. It's like what we do with kids who fear riding a bike for the first time. We ease their fear by using training wheels and running alongside them until their confidence builds and they gain balance and control of the bike.</div>
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Perhaps, someone like a friend, pastor or therapist would be willing to walk alongside you as you work on conquering your fear. They can help you develop a strategy for overcoming your fear. Ultimately, it's important that you realize <a href="http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+5%3A8&version=GNT" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">fear is not your friend</a> — far from it. If you let it continue, fear will completely destroy <a href="http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2029:11&version=GW" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the good life </a>God intends for you.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need. </em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">He lets me rest in fields of green grass </em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water. </em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">He gives me new strength. He guides me in the right paths, </em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">as he has promised. </em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me. Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me. — Psalm 23: 1-4</em></div>
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-75397055229127381422016-07-06T17:52:00.000-04:002016-07-06T17:52:19.941-04:00Happy Holidays: Where are the shepherds when we need them <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proximo Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
In 2009, President and Mrs. Obama broke tradition by announcing that their White House holiday card would expressly omit any mention of <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/christmas" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Christmas</a> or of Jesus' birth. The words <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">"Merry Christmas"</em>were replaced by <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">"<a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/happy-holidays" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Happy Holidays</a>"</em> on cards sent from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. A growing trend to omit any mention of Christmas from the holiday's celebration has been steadily creeping into the culture of America. Public displays of nativity scenes have come under attack by anti-Christmas groups, and in a few cases, the courts have declared them to be illegal in public places in some communities.</div>
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Nowadays Christmas is marked by tree trimming and gift giving with little mention of Jesus Christ, whose birth it celebrates. And like the Presidential holiday card, some of us send out greeting cards full of holiday cheer, but no mention of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gjUWi-Y_go" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">real joy</a> that came into the world with Christ's birth.</div>
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The proclamation of Jesus' birth must not end with the shepherds. Those who follow the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Christ</em> of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Christ</em>mas must proclaim this gospel message until the day Christ returns. Christians have an obligation to declare the real reason for the season, which is that Christ came into the world to save sinners. The shepherds left their sheep, and probably lost their jobs to spread the good news of Christ's coming. These words—</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, still have power to change lives in any season. </em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">This is the true message of Christmas that a lost world needs to hear.</em></div>
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Stand up for Christmas. If someone says, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Happy Holidays </em>it's their right, but it's also your right to respond, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Have a blessed Christmas</em> or <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Merry Christmas</em>. This Christmas, before opening your gifts, read the biblical account of Christ's birth in the Gospels. And may this Christmas be as the angels proclaimed that day long ago in Bethleham—</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.</em></div>
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CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236902407820512349.post-59497321236445804652016-07-06T17:44:00.000-04:002016-07-06T17:44:18.453-04:00How Jesus' resurrection takes the fear out of dying<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Proximo Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Death is not a blind alley that leads the human race into a state of nothingness, but an open door which leads man into life eternal.— Dr Martin Luther King Jr</em></div>
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Several years ago, I was talking with a friend, and just happened to mention that a <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1317414/Briton-wife-ordered-QM2-cruise-ship-anti-Semitic-row.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">famous Broadway producer</a> we met on a cruise had died. My friend looked straight at me and said, "I'm ready." I didn't realize what she meant until a few days later when I received a call that my friend had died. As shocking as the news was, I took comfort in the fact that she didn't fear death. You might say she looked <a href="http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A2-3&version=NKJV" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">forward </a>to it because she was a <a href="https://carm.org/dictionary-christian" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Christian.</a></div>
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Christians die like everybody else, and often from all the <a href="http://www.gotquestions.org/bad-things-good-people.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">bad things</a> in this world that kill everybody else. The difference is when Christians die, they know they won't stay dead forever. According to Christian belief, anyone who believes in <a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/jesus-christ" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Jesus Christ</a> will never really die. This truth is rooted in God's <a href="http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+17:3&version=NLT" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">unshakable promise</a> of eternal life to <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">anyone</em> who accepts his Christ.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NLT</em></div>
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I haven't faced the moment of death personally, but I have been present when others have. You can tell a lot about a person by how they face the moment of death. Their last words, the look on their face say a lot about the kind of life they lived. For instance, some people curse God as they are dying, others make last-minute pleas for forgiveness, <a href="http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+10%3A9&version=NLT" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">which God does honor</a>.</div>
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And then, there are the true Christians. You can tell by the radiant look on their faces, as they lay dying, that they must see heaven open up and angels descending to take them <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">home</em>. When my mother died from MS at age 83, she had that look. I was happy for her, and I admit a little envious because I knew without a doubt she was heading for a place where she'd be more alive than she'd ever been in life. For the believer in Christ, death is the fulfillment of this scripture:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">And we are not afraid but are quite content to die, for then we will be at home with the Lord. </em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">2 Corinthians 5:8 TLB</em></div>
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<a class="inline_link omniture-click-processed" href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/easter" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Easter</a> marks a sacred time on the Christian calendar because it symbolizes Christ's victory over death, and by association, the victory of every believing Christian. Essentially, that's what Jesus' resurrection means in a world of believers and non-believers. Refusing to believe doesn't change or negate the reality of what Jesus accomplished. The <a href="http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020&version=NLT" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">scriptures</a> tell his story:</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Jesus died a physical death on the cross and was raised by God's spirit from the dead. Christ's resurrection is evidenced by the empty tomb in Jerusalem, by the written testimony of his disciples in the Gospels, and by the more than 500 sightings of others who encountered Jesus after his resurrection prior to his ascension into heaven.</em></div>
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What Jesus did made death merely an event, not a dead end. Christ's resurrection took the sting out of death. No wonder Christians don't view death in the same way others do. Christians see death as a <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">home-going.</em><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em>Christian songwriters write songs like <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkrgFwTXiFc" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Soon and Very Soon</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-CTuh6MBwI" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">I'm Going Away</a></em> and <i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xwzItqYmII" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">I Can Only Imagine</a> </i>that celebrate the certainty of an afterlife. Christians know that one day they will see this Jesus, who died not only for their sins, but also for <a href="http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus+2:12-14&version=NLT" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the sins of everyone</a>. No one needs to hold onto a fear of death because <a href="http://peacewithgod.net/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Jesus is alive</a>.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Romans 5:1 NLT</em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">This article is dedicated to the family and friends of the 150 people who died tragically in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/27/world/europe/germanwings-crash.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Germanwings airliner crash</a> (March, 2015).</strong></em></div>
CE Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927513107011727023noreply@blogger.com0