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Neglecting Ike and Gustov Victims; the Shame of America

2008-10-01T10:03:00.001-05:00

Some have told me to "let it go". Others have told me "it's a lost cause". Still others have accused me of being "crazy" and through it all, NO ONE has told me "keep it up". What is this all about?

One month ago today a major hurricane hit the Louisiana coast near Grand Isle. Hurricane Gustov continued inland and hurricane force winds battered places as far away as Baton Rouge relentlessly. Meanwhile, down the road in New Orleans all the reporters from all the major news outlets were focused on watching a few waves overtop a few levees. With every ounce of their being they were hoping to see the levees break and their cameras provide live footage of the greatest flood of all time.

All the willing of all the media could not force the levees to break. After a day of anticipation, they were bitterly disappointed that there was no huge story coming out of New Orleans. With heavy heart they trudged to either St. Paul to cover the Republican convention they never wanted to attend, or to South Carolina on the off chance Tropical Storm Hanna might turn into a real newsworthy storm.

While Hanna was huffing and puffing and not really doing much of anything, Hurricane Ike was ripping the Bahamas and then Cuba apart like an angry monster let loose on the city. Of course no reporters are allowed in Cuba and no one in their right mind would have stayed in the Bahamas. Thus, the real story of Ike was neglected, just as the real story of Gustov.

For days, the headlines regarding Ike were directed towards Florida. Where and how this became the focus of attention is baffling. Ike was never headed that way. Still, whenever the folks on Key West are told to evacuate, that becomes the almighty big story of any storm. Why do people live there anyway?

Consider these facts. In the twelve days between Hurricane Gustov and Hurricane Ike, there was basically NO media coverage of Gustov's damage except in the immediate New Orleans/Baton Rouge areas. Even the television outlets in coastal Mississippi did not cover the story. There were far bigger fish to fry than spending resources on covering a little ole storm that hit a section of Louisiana no one in the United States knows or cares about.

FEMA, the Red Cross, Salvation Army and a few other charities were on the scene providing a little help; but the response after Gustov was minimal and a disgrace to the heart of disaster relief in this country. If we are going to selectively pick and choose who receives aid, media coverage and prayers; our country has slid down the slope to extinction.

As Ike grew into the sprawling monster he became, of course every news outlet rushed crews to Galveston and Houston in anticipation of a huge story. Dreams of Katrina like footage flooded the minds of reporters looking for the story that would catapult them to the "big time". As dire warnings were issued for those refusing to evacuate circulated, the army of reporters spread out to find safe areas to weather the storm at, yet be close enough to provide graphic shots of the impending carnage.

Images of reporters being swept off their feet in the rising storm surge made the rounds on the internet along with pictures of fools hanging sideways on light poles as the rising winds came ashore. Stupid interviews with people bragging about not evacuating but staying in their beachfront houses drinking beer and partying were still filling television screens the afternoon before the storm hit.

When the media went to bed that Friday night Ike came ashore, they were like children on Christmas Eve. Surely the next morning would provide days of coverage of a totally wiped out Galveston and a severely crippled Houston. Awards and high ratings danced through their heads as they endured a night of wind and storms.

But, alas, once again the weather gods did not cooperate. With bitter disappointment these loyal foot soldiers of the media giants went out to battle on Saturday only to find huge sections of Galveston still standing and worse yet, Houston was barely touched. With clenched fists they cursed the weather gods for not sending the 20 foot storm surge that would have leveled Galveston and crippled the oil and gas industries in Houston for years. Instead, all they got was a little category 2 hurricane with a storm surge that only destroyed places too far to film and that no one cared about.

As a result of Ike not killing 100,000 people, totally destroying the city of Galveston or flooding half of Houston; the media stayed long enough to give a few reports for a few days and then started the mass exodus to find the next big story that America craved to see. Within a week to ten days after Ike, most of the national media were long gone and by two weeks after the storm, there were no longer ANY stories about Ike, Galveston, Houston, the Texas coast or Louisiana.

What have we come to in this country? Do we simply cast off those who suffer the loss of their homes, jobs and families simply because the carnage was not great enough to warrant continued coverage? The media stayed in New Orleans and to a lesser degree the Mississippi coast for months after Katrina. Through their constant coverage of the devastation came the impetus for America to give of their goods, money and time to help those in need.

Since the media has chosen to forsake those affected by Gustov and Ike, there is but a trickle of help heading their way. The response by America to these hurricanes has been tepid at best and non-existent most of the time. America has quickly forgotten about Ike because of the soap opera playing out in Washington over the "bail out". While debate continues on giving 700 billion to bail out banks, an obscure bill was passed giving a few billion dollars to help those affected by Gustov and Ike.

I know times are tough and everyone is uptight about money, but that does not give an excuse to forget about those who have lost everything and are only starting on the long journey to normalcy. Even the incredible story out of Atlanta regarding gasoline shortages has only in the past two days made the headlines (near the bottom). Either America does not care anymore about helping her fellow citizens in time of need or they do not know what the need is due to the arrogance and ratings driven media who have shirked their duty by failing to cover Gustov and stick with the Ike stories. Shame on you.

Epitaph For Fools

2008-09-14T19:41:00.001-05:00

My heart is screaming within me. My stomach is tied in knots so thick they will never come undone. Everything within me wants to grab America by the neck and shake her to wake her up. This is a night unlike no others in the history of our nation. Never before will so many people lose their lives as will happen over the next 12-18 hours. If fatalities were really counted, the toll from Ike would number in the tens of thousands. When has America ever lost tens of thousands of its citizens in one night?

Estimates of well over 100,000 defying mandatory evacuation orders and willingly and many times proudly saying they would never leave their home are dead men and women walking. When the National Weather Service says "certain death" they mean it. Yet, thousands will party until they die while others will stubbornly be praying for God's protection even as they drown. Others will perish because they never heard a storm was coming and still others will die in the line of duty trying to protect and serve others.

My soul cries out and I want to shake my fists in anger at the stupidity of fools. We tried to warn them not to trust in models and past experiences. No one who lived through the 1900 hurricane was there to tell them what would happen if they stayed. I cannot stand to think of what the dawn will bring and worse yet, Sunday morning's dawn. The smell of death will line the coast from Galveston to Morgan City as those too stubborn, foolish or stupid to listen to wisdom will perish.

God uses the analogy of what is happening tonight in Texas and Louisiana to emphasize the need to listen to and take heed to wisdom in Proverbs chapter one. Before viewing the extent of the devastation, find a Bible and read the second half of the first chapter of Proverbs and then look at the images that will flood our television sets for weeks to come. Think of Proverbs chapter one when you pay 5 dollars for gas because the heart and soul of the American petroleum center has been ripped out.

Think about Proverbs one when you see the body bags of those who refused to listen to wisdom and paid the price. Think about Proverbs one when you see neighborhoods under water in Houston and people clinging to rooftops hoping against hope to be rescued. Think about Proverbs one when you see skyscrapers with all their windows blown out and flooded streets coated with oil and water contaminated with chemicals of every sort and kind.

Think about Proverbs one when you see places such as Port Arthur totally inundated and the many oil refineries shut down and flooded. Think about Proverbs one when the politicians and talking heads descend on Texas like a batch of locusts to show everyone how much they care. Where were they before the storm? Where were the words of encouragement and promises of help after the storm?

Think about Proverbs one when images of what used to be small coastal communities are now just foundations sitting barren in the sand. Think about Proverbs one when those who trusted in seawalls are inundated with water that laughed at the walls. Think about Proverbs one when the final price tag of Ike is ever figured out, and when the insurance premiums of everyone go up.

Yes, my soul weeps for I know many people will needlessly die this night because they refused to listen to wisdom. They thought they could withstand the forces of a hurricane which is more powerful than any to hit the United States. They thought they could have the time of their life having a hurricane party as their life ends in a giant wave of water. They thought they were smarter than wisdom and they will pay the ultimate price for their folly.

Millions will see all the horror in the next few days and shake their heads and say "what a waste". Many who live along the coasts of America will then proceed to move on with their lives and never learn a lesson from Ike. Many will one day face the same end result as those facing it tonight as the folly of their stubbornness finally catches up with them.

God help those who through no fault of their own got caught in this storm. God have mercy on those who thought they were bigger than You. God, please forgive those who cry out to you in their final minutes as they finally realize how stupid and sinful they were. All any of us can do now is give those in harm's way to God for the protection of their souls.

What a truly sad night this is in America.

Ike Will Be Far Worse Than Katrina

2008-09-13T06:47:00.001-05:00

Do not expect any documentable real news from Ike's strike until later today or probably tomorrow. As in any disaster, initial reports will be too rosy or too dire. It will take days for the full scope of this disaster to be known. No one has a clue how many people ignored the mandatory evacuation orders, so those involved with search and rescue do not know how many people they are looking for. Estimates of close to 150,000 people in the counties affected make this a daunting task for sure.

Due to the size of Ike, hurricane conditions will continue to buffet the entire area most of today. Do not expect to see anything but the barest of live of coverage from the worst areas. It is simply not safe for anyone to go out until the water recedes and the winds die down. Houston must endure many hours of relentless high tides and winds. No definitive details of its fate will be known today.

High tide in Galveston matched pretty much when Ike came ashore. Only time will tell what has become of the estimated 15,000 people who stayed and refused to leave the island. The honest fear is that from Galveston all the way to the western suburbs of New Orleans when the water recedes what will be found is carnage due to the high numbers of people who failed to leave the areas.

The time has come in America for mandatory evacuations to mean just that. If people refuse to leave, they should either be arrested and hauled to some secure facility or sign a paper acknowledging NO emergency services are available and no lawsuits can be filed. Images of emergency personnel risking their lives to save those who at the very last minute "chickened out" and wanted to escape the storm make me very upset.

What good does a "mandatory evacuation" order mean if 20% of the people ignore it? The entire evacuation process in this country is a joke. Evacuations are ordered when not needed and not ordered when they are. People pick and choose which "mandatory" evacuation orders they want to abide by and then expect to be rescued when they ignore such orders.

For the next few days, just like after a major earthquake, the emphasis is on search and rescue. Those trained in this field are called "first responders" and their mission is to find, treat and rescue anyone still alive after this disaster. Only after those in critical situations are rescued will the search for those who died start in earnest. Only after that will the emphasis switch to helping those NOT in life threatening situations.

This tragedy will far surpass Katrina simply due to the amount of people involved and the size of the area covered. Just as in Katrina's case, there will be hundreds of thousands of people with no power, no jobs and pretty much no house for weeks if not months. Sure, in a few days look for every spare electric truck in the country to head toward this area to help get the power on. But, along the coast there will be no power and no help for a very long time.

Keep this in mind; there are still thousands of people in Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama who have never gotten repairs made to their homes after Katrina three years ago. There is simply not enough crews, money and charities around to get to everyone. Now this disaster will be added into the mix. Everyone knows those with the most money will get repairs first, for they can afford to pay cash. Those who must hassle with insurance companies many times go months and years before receiving the funds needed to get roofs fixed and other repairs.

Just as in Katrina and Rita's cases, there will be thousands of people who had no insurance and who must depend on FEMA or charities to provide assistance. Again, due to the size of this disaster, every governmental and charitable organization in existence will be taxed to the max over the next few months and years.

Make no mistake about it. We will be dealing with various effects of Ike for years. There are NO quick fixes after a major hurricane hit. Everything will go in slow motion for quite some time due to a multitude of issues from contaminated water to broken glass to electric wires down to hundreds of thousands of buildings which must be gutted before the mold makes them uninhabitable to …

As this drama turns the page to what comes next, please continue to pray for those whose lives have been turned upside down and inside out by this storm. Honestly, we will not know much of anything about the scope of this disaster for days. In the meantime I pray America realizes that like it or not; we have Katrina #2 on our hands—only worse.

Tornadoes, Katrina and Current Hurricanes

2008-09-04T13:45:00.001-05:00

The images are indelibly etched into my mind's eye. I could live another hundred years and never forget what I witnessed in first New Orleans, then Mississippi and finally Cameron, Louisiana. The devastation hurricanes Katrina and Rita brought to these locations was beyond the scope of my ability to grasp. Nothing I could have done ahead of time could have prepared me for what I saw and the stories of those whom I met.

I had seen the destruction tornadoes can cause first hand many times. I have lived through a few tornadoes and know full well what nature is capable of doing in a matter of 60 seconds. Twisted metal, broken glass and splintered wood are the earmarks of a tornado passing through. One house can be a pile of rubble while the one next to it is intact. That is the way a tornado chooses its victims.

A tornado, even a major one, is at the most a mile wide. Most tornadoes are a few hundred feet wide and travel on the ground a few miles. Monster F-5 tornadoes such as the one which destroyed Greensburg, Kansas are exceptions and thankfully only occur rarely. The vast majority of tornadoes are capable of quickly destroying a house or barn and then return to the cloud from which they came.

The destruction a large tornado causes is nothing to dismiss. When one of these storms hits a populated area the effects are devastating as far as loss of life and property. But, the losses are localized and limited to a particular part of town or along a line stretching from one location to the next. Tornadoes are not capable of inflicting damage on a huge geographical area for they are too small.

That which will always set Katrina apart from most storms was the sheer size of the hurricane. At one time Katrina took up almost the entire Gulf of Mexico. Its hurricane force winds stretched hundreds of miles in all directions and brought death and destruction far from its eye. Most hurricanes, even monster category 4 or 5 ones are compact and bring catastrophic devastation to a particular location, but only minor damage to region.

Katrina not only caused the catastrophic damage locally, it managed to cause major damage to an area roughly the size of the state of Montana. When comparing hurricanes, we must always keep in mind the size of Katrina and not just wind speeds. Due to its size and strength, Katrina was able to force a wall of water called the storm surge against the Mississippi coast every bit as terrifying as the tsunami that hit southeast Asia.

Those images which I will never forget were of piles of rubble stretching for miles and gutted out buildings which once were apartment complexes, hospitals and shopping centers. As long as I live, I will never forget driving through southeast New Orleans (not the 9^th ward area) which had been a nice middle class section of town. The buildings and houses were still there, but every single one of them had been gutted.

No words can describe the eeriness of an empty town. The most stirring memory I have is of a huge medical center totally gutted and void of any life whatsoever. The whole scene reminded me of how a city would look after a nuclear war. I cannot imagine what the area looked like immediately after the storm, for it was nearly nine months after Katrina hit that I was able to get down there and see its impact.

There are localized areas of heavy loss from Gustov, but to compare this storm to Katrina is silly. I am thankful the area was evacuated for that was the wise thing to do, but some of the statements made about this being "the storm of the century" and the prospects for "catastrophic damage" were a bit overblown. Unfortunately politics entered the equation as well as using fear tactics to motivate stubborn people to evacuate.

I am extremely thankful to our Heavenly Father for His protection and blessing on this situation. Gustov could have been a very bad storm if it had ramped up to a category 4 and moved 50 miles to the east. But, since it did neither, it will go down in history as just another Louisiana borderline category 3 hurricane that mainly afflicted a part of the state sparsely populated.

Hanna is a different story. By the hour the threat from this storm is growing. As it quickly strengthens and grows in the coming few days while moving north, it poses a grave threat to very populated and popular areas such as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and coastal North Carolina. It has been a few years since this part of the country has suffered a major hurricane, but they are in line for one this coming weekend.

Some independent forecasters think Hanna may end up as big and dangerous as Katrina was. Certainly anyone living near the coast of South and North Carolina needs to be very alert and watchful concerning Hanna. Ike, which will probably be a hurricane today could follow Hanna to the Carolinas or head west into the Gulf of Mexico to follow Gustov.

Josephine will become a tropical storm today and probably be a hurricane within a few days. It too is heading west toward the United States. Next in line will be Kyle who is a few days away from forming. No doubt, the next few weeks will test everyone's patience as one storm after another threatens the United States mainland.

Please pray for those who will be returning home after Gustov. Please pray they do not turn bitter and resentful for having to evacuate for nothing. People tend to forget there are times when it is right to play it safe, especially with hurricanes. Please pray for the millions of people living in coastal South and North Carolina who will be having to go through this week what those in Louisiana and Mississippi just went through.

No one likes having to evacuate, especially to shelters which tend to be hot, noisy and smelly. No one likes having to pack up whatever they can fit in their car and leave, not knowing if they will have a home when they return. No one likes the expense and aggravation involved with an evacuation. But, considering the alternative is possible injury or death, it is a necessary evil to living near the ocean.

I am sure there will be much more to write about as this week unfolds, but for now I want to thank you for allowing me to share this with you. There are millions of our brothers and sisters in need of GREAT amounts of prayer right now. Thank you for taking the time to lift them up in prayer.

Fay may Spell Trouble for Gulf Coast

2008-08-20T08:17:00.001-05:00

There is little, if any historical data to compare what Tropical Storm Fay is doing to. Thus, logic dictates there is even less data to look at as to what it COULD do. This little storm has managed to cause even the most skilled forecasters to scratch their heads in utter bewilderment. If the scenario should happen to play out over the next few days this storm would make history.

Weather events do not happen by luck, chance or coincidence. There are meteorological reasons for why a storm does what it does. Storms do not have a mind of their own which enables them to deliberately do things to aggravate forecasters. Storms end up doing what the various aspects of weather governing it tell it to do.

One of the most distressing possible ways the whole Fay saga could end is if the storm makes history by hitting near Jacksonville, Florida as category 1 hurricane and moves west back across Florida and emerges in the Gulf of Mexico intact. If, and the probabilities of this taking place are very slim, this were to happen the end results from Fay could be worse than Katrina three years ago.

Winds blow counterclockwise around a hurricane. Katrina came up from the south and because of this, the storm surge ended up being over twenty feet along the Mississippi coast. The initial damage in New Orleans from Katrina was minimal because it sat on the western side of the hurricane moving north. The New Orleans catastrophe came about when Katrina moved ashore and the winds switched to the north and blew the waters from Lake Pontchartrain into the city which sits below sea level.

If Fay were to move west from Florida towards New Orleans, the potential disaster would dwarf Katrina. Why? Because the westward movement of the storm would produce a prolonged period of NORTH winds ahead of the approaching storm. Instead of a storm surge preceding the hurricane like Katrina, the storm surge would follow the storm and be minimal. The greater danger would be the north winds over a prolonged time blowing the waters of Lake Pontchartrain into the city of New Orleans.

Due to the lay of the land and where the city of New Orleans sits, there is actually very little danger of a storm surge inundating the city. The potential problems have always laid in the scenario of a storm moving in from the southeast or east and generating a prolonged period of hurricane force winds over Lake Pontchartrain. Unless a person has been to the area it is difficult to picture how a lake could cause more problems than an ocean; but such is the case in New Orleans.

No one knows at this time what Fay will end up doing. It may come ashore again and more or less just fizzle out. It may come ashore and move to the northwest into Georgia and help break the longstanding drought there. It may emerge on the west side of Florida, move south and make a loop following the same path it just took. It may emerge into the warm waters of the Gulf, become a hurricane and move west directly toward New Orleans.

This storm has a history of NOT doing what the computer models think it should do. Because of this, it would be highly advantageous for anyone from the panhandle of Florida to New Orleans to be acutely aware of the movements of Fay over the next few days. Some models and some hurricane experts think the greatest danger is that Fay emerges off the west coast of Florida, immediately intensifies and follows Ivan's 1994 path which would put Mobile, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida at high risk.

Needless to say, the next three to seven days could end up being at the very least, interesting and at the worst, a disaster which would equal or exceed Katrina in some respects. And as if this were not enough to be concerned about, out in the Atlantic is the next storm which is slowly taking shape and could be buffeting some portion of the United States coastline by this time next week.

I would highly recommend anyone with interests on the Gulf Coast to monitor what Fay is doing very closely along with the next storm. The remainder of this hurricane season could end up being very active and one that presents forecasters with storms such as Fay which are nearly impossible to forecast. As in any hurricane season, the next 2 months are the most dangerous and especially so this year. Vigilance is the key word for the day and for the days to come.

Edouard: Prepare for the Worst and Pray for the Best

2008-08-04T05:29:00.001-05:00

The developing situation along the Gulf coast bears witness to the fact that anyone living near the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico must stay ever vigilant. Only last year we had the situation with Hurricane Humberto developing quickly into a small but potent storm and now we have Edouard seemingly coming out of nowhere to pose problems for not only the coastal areas but offshore oil drilling platforms.

No one expects Edouard to become much more than a strong tropical storm, but some computer models are expecting it to strengthen to a hurricane before coming ashore near Houston. The problem with this whole scenario is that only three days ago, no one expected there to even be a tropical depression, let alone a storm.

The question that begs to be answered is how with all the computers and all the forecasting tools available to meteorologists does a storm form so close to the shore of the United States without warning? The answer is that there are private companies which were speaking of the possibility of a storm days ago. It was only the official government agency which did not.

The formation of these storms so close to land and their rapid intensification is new phenomena. For too long, the standard forecasting tools did not take into account the ability of storms to form and ramp up as quickly as they are now doing. Until the "official" tools catch up with the reality of what is happening, these "surprise" storms will keep popping up.

What if sometime down the road one of these storms springs to life within 24 hours and stalls. While hovering offshore it strengthens and keeps growing. What if one of these little storms suddenly turns into a storm like Wilma in 2005 or Charley in 2004 and explodes as it reaches shore. What if one of these storms does this right over Houston or New Orleans?

If the people have ho advance warning than there is no safe way to evacuate them from harm's way. If there is not at least 36 hours or more to prepare for a hurricane, the result will be confusion, pandemonium and a disaster almost as bad as the actual storm. Hurricane Dolly last month proved that a little storm can cause much damage if aimed at the right spot.

Even if Edouard only ends up bringing much needed rain to Texas and little else; it needs to be viewed as a wakeup call to those who live and have business interests along the Gulf Coast as well as the Atlantic coast. Preparation is the key to survival as well as minimizing the impact of such storms. Since the forecasting agencies are somewhat playing "catch up" with these kinds of storms, it places an even greater degree of urgency that preparations for storms are in place even when no storm is there.

Anyone living within 100 miles of the Gulf Coast or Atlantic Ocean should have a plan in place for what to do if a storm pays a surprise visit. If planning to stay put, then provisions MUST be in place well in advance of a storm, for once it is upon you, there is no way to find food, fuel, wood, etc. It is one thing to have days of advance warning of an impending storm; it is quite another to have 24 hours or less.

In our "get it done at the last minute" society, it is very hard to slow down long enough to think through what is needed and what to do if one of these surprise storms forms near you. But, it is no longer something that is optional, the time needs to be made to make plans and get provisions in place NOW. Even if not needed this year, then at least the worry is gone for next year's hurricane season.

Think about the worst case scenario even with Edouard; it suddenly strengthens today off the coast of Louisiana and stalls long enough to become a strong category 3 hurricane and then takes aim on Houston. It was absolute mayhem three years ago when Houston had days of advance warning for Rita. What if there were only hours of advance warning instead of days? That is why plans and provisions must be made in advance. I strongly urge anyone reading this to "prepare for the worst and keep praying for the best", not only with the current storm, but in all matters of natural disasters.

Hurricane Dolly’s Devastation You Will Never See

2008-07-23T11:08:00.001-05:00

Images of devastation are appearing on television screens around the world out of Brownsville, Texas and surrounding areas. Please keep in mind that no one will ever see the images of those whose lives will be wiped out from this storm. That is because those who will be most harshly dealt with are not living in Texas, but across the Rio Grande in Mexico.

There are, no doubt, pockets of extreme poverty all along the Rio Grande valley in Texas. That is not the issue here. The real issue deals with the lack of understanding regarding just how bad conditions are on the Mexican side of the valley. One must keep in mind that few Americans ever venture into the horrible neighborhoods of most Mexican cities where people live in cardboard houses (at best) and survive on nearly nothing. Welcome to the "Third World".

One does not have to go to countries in Africa or Asia to find living conditions so brutal that no one in this country could imagine. Poverty so deep that there are no solutions and political systems so rife with corruption that there is no hope are the norm in most third world countries. Too many times Americans picture Mexico as a resort country due to visits to Cancun or Acapulco. Also, too many times Americans associate Mexico only with the huge and sprawling capital of Mexico City.

Outside of these areas, there is a huge country locked in poverty with few governmental services available and areas run more by drug lords than any official government. The people live in utter squalor and have for many generations. From these dire straits comes the yearning to come to America where there are jobs (which most Americans refuse to do) and money to be legitimately made. Most of what is made by Mexicans in America goes back to Mexico to support their families.

As fewer and fewer Americans are willing to make a living doing physical work, somebody must to it or it won't get done. If it were not for the Mexicans who went to New Orleans and the Mississippi coast after Katrina, hardly any roofs would have been repaired or replaced. Americans are simply not willing to climb up on scalding hot roofs and do the hard work needed to make the repairs.

We all know that we would starve to death if not for the migrant workers who make their living picking the fruits and vegetables we enjoy so much. These people spend all their lives doing a job very few Americans would do even if paid $30 an hour. Americans are simply not willing to get down on their hands and knees to do what is needed no matter how difficult or physically taxing.

Yet, in spite of all the good things most of our neighbors from the south have done for us, they are hated and despised and huge numbers of Americans want to deport anyone who snuck into this country. Giant fences are being put up to keep people who are trying to survive out of our pristine land. Since when is this country so damn righteous that we shut our doors to those who are only trying to literally live? Since when are we so high and mighty that we say NO to those who are gladly willing to do the jobs we refuse to do.

Nothing has changed since the days of slavery. Just because official slavery was banned by the Constitution doesn't mean it does not still exist. What else do you call the importation of legal and illegal aliens to do jobs no one else will do? Slaves were imported to work in the cotton fields and to take care of children and make meals. Slaves were imported to do all the dirty work so that the wealthy land owners could busy themselves with making more money, socializing and traveling.

Those wealthy enough to hire "household servants" usually don't get them from the local labor pool. No, they scarf them up from Guatemala or El Salvador or Mexico. Why? So they don't have to pay them what an American would demand in wages. This exact same thing goes on with migrant workers and other menial jobs Americans will not lower themselves to do unless they receive a king's ransom for doing them.

As Dolly plows up the Rio Grande River valley, it will literally wipe out hundreds of thousands of cardboard homes and probably end of killing thousands of poor people the world will never hear about. Every major hurricane has seen far more casualties than are officially recorded. Eyewitnesses swore under oath that they saw trucks loaded with bodies in body bags leaving the devastation after Hurricane Andrew. The same can be said after Katrina.

Officials refuse to accurately give statistics for fatalities due to fears that they will be held responsible financially or in the court of public opinion. Instead, they downplay the numbers of people killed, especially when they are peasants, homeless, illegal aliens or ultra poor. These tactics are employed in the United States, Mexico Miramar, China, Russia and just about every other country in the world. Ruling governments do not want the world to know just how badly they screwed up by not preparing for a major storm or helping them quickly afterwards.

Please keep all this in mind as you see the handpicked images of particular destruction that will grace our televisions over the next few days. Rest assured that a week or so from now, Dolly will be forgotten except for those directly impacted. The rest of the country will be far more concerned about politics and sports than how "forgotten" people will figure out how to move on when they have lost literally everything they had in this life.

In any major disaster there are those who we see on the news who somehow manage to get all the help they need both economically as well as volunteers. The people we never see are the ones who either fall through the cracks and somehow miss out on all the help provided by social safety nets or worse yet; as far as the government was concerned—they never were there to begin with. God help the invisible forgotten masses whose only means for survival comes from our prayers and the willingness on the part of a few true heroes who look for them and help them exclusively.

I thank God for the small independent relief agencies whose mission is to find those people neglected by everyone else. I thank God for those who are willing to avoid the headlines and the photo ops to search out the one lost sheep no one else cares about. In my books, those who are worthy of being called "relief workers" are those who go where no one else is willing to go to help those no one else will help.

Fires, Floods and Fears of Hurricanes; Disaster Update 7/1/08

2008-07-01T03:56:00.001-05:00

FIRES

As of early this morning, over 1,400 fires were burning in California with no relief in sight. Many of these fires have been burning for over a week with new ones starting daily. With the weather forecast calling for a chance of more dry lightning, there is a crisis of epic proportions brewing in paradise. Even now, there are air quality warnings in effect for much of the Bay area as the smoke from fires settles over the area. The fire near Big Sur may prove to be especially devastating due to the loss of tourism during the normally busy summer.

Every tanker used to fight wildfires in the United States is currently in use in California. This is very troubling since the fire season usually doesn't peak until the end of July and first of August. This summer could end up being one of the most physically and financially taxing in many years. President Bush has already declared California a disaster area and thus eligible for federal help.

FLOODS

Now that the levee has broken at Winfield, Missouri, the flood of '08 will be hard pressed to keep its position at the top of the headlines. As the rivers slowly fall and the extent of the devastation in Iowa, Indiana and Illinois (along with Missouri) begins to be apparent; the full scope of this disaster will shock anyone with eyes to see. Unlike tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes; flooding generally does not physically destroy buildings. Floods creep in, do their dirty work and sneak out. The damage done by floods is not seen looking at a dwelling from the outside. The damage is internal.

Not only does furniture and other personal effects need to be replaced after a flood; of much greater importance is the replacing of ruined carpet and drywall. If said items are not replaced, there is almost a dead certainty of black mold growing. One of the problems with a major flood along a river a wide as the Mississippi is how long it takes for the flood waters to recede. In flash flooding, the water comes up and goes down quickly. In major river flooding it take a long time for both the water to rise above flood stage as well as to drop below it.

FEARS OF HURRICANES

The hurricane season has completed its first month with only one very minor named storm. Is this unusual? Not at all would be the correct answer. Although not unheard of to have a hurricane in June, it is very rare. The components needed to develop and grow a storm into hurricane strength are usually not there in June. July is when the various pieces of the hurricane development puzzle start coming together and August through September is usually when the greatest threat of hurricanes striking the United States exists.

Those entrusted with trying to see what the next few months hold are very concerned about the potential for at least one major hurricane hitting the East Coast of the United States. Most experts are expecting at least one direct hit and possibly two or three by the time the season winds down in October. Areas from Texas to Florida should be ready to deal with potential development by mid-July and North Carolina and points north by August. This is NOT a year to take the hurricane threat lightly.

CONCLUSION

This has been an exceptionally difficult year for states such as Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. Many of these states have been hit with repeated disasters starting with ice in December and continuing to the present flooding and violent storm damage. Missouri saw horrific flooding in the southern part of the state this spring and now has seen disastrous flooding along the Mississippi River in the northeast part of the state. So far, the only silver lining has been that the Missouri River has not reached levels anywhere near the floods of 1993 and 1995.

Iowa was buried with record snows this past winter and then inundated with incredible storms this spring and early summer. It is no wonder that when areas were hit with a half foot of rain a few weeks ago, the inevitable result would be massive flooding. Earlier this year Arkansas was hit repeatedly with deadly tornadoes which claimed many lives and caused extraordinary damage. Also this spring the major rivers in Arkansas reached historic levels and caused extensive damage.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

It has been a rough year for middle America and the year is only half over. Although the emphasis now switches to the western fires and potential hurricanes in the southern and eastern United States; I pray all remember the all those who will still be suffering in middle America when the rest of country sits down to Thanksgiving dinner. It takes time to recover from tornadoes and floods even when on a small scale. It takes "forever" to recover from repeated disasters impacting thousands upon thousands of people covering almost one third of this country.

I am sure those who have lost everything to storms and floods would greatly appreciate your prayers and any help that you could send via your favorite charity. Many groups are working as hard as they can to help as many as possible. They are all spread very thin and have pretty much exhausted their resources. If you want to help, please contact the American Red Cross, Salvation Army or numerous small independent charities working I disaster areas.

When Things Appear Too Good To Be True—They Are

2008-06-18T07:00:00.001-05:00

I watched in horror as it rained relentlessly this spring throughout the upper Midwest and Ohio River valley. This came after a winter with record breaking snows in some of the same areas. When snow melts, it produces water. The rivers had been running high since March. Now they are at record levels. I honestly feel badly for those whose lives are being turned upside down by floods, tornadoes and other natural disasters. Everything within me wanted to help, but the funds were not there to personally do much of anything.

A week ago, while on the road delivering supplies to needy groups, I received an unsolicited e-mail from a person overseas who knew of me and what I was doing and wanted to help. This person said she was dying of cancer and the doctors had put her in hospice. She was trying to hide her assets from greedy step-children and honor the wishes of her deceased husband which was to open a huge charity/foundation for disadvantaged people with an emphasis on medical care and vocational training.

This person offered a huge amount of money to start this foundation with the stipulation it had to be used for charity except for 5% to cover my trouble in setting it all up. The money was to come to me by way of an inheritance upon her soon decease. I of course was very skeptical of the message and responded with short messages explaining I was on the road. I checked the person out from every angle available to me. There was absolutely nothing amiss.

Of course I was susceptible to this at the current time. Right when I was thinking I could do nothing to help other groups directly helping those hurt by the storms and floods I have an offer of millions of dollars dropped in my lap. I allowed myself to think it was "God" supplying a need and once I did, my ability to objectively look at the situation vanished.

Monday morning I received a message from a bank in Liverpool, UK with instructions for handling the inheritance. I checked everything out, and it all appeared legit. I called a lawyer friend to confirm that the requests were genuine when dealing with an overseas inheritance. He said everything was being done exactly correct.

Everything within me wanted this to completely genuine. Everything within me simply wanted there to be the means to provide much needed funding to various small groups trying to help others. I knew the risks and weighed the pros and cons of following through with the instructions and decided it was worth the risk just in case this whole thing was God's way providing for His people. With little trepidation I sent a copy of my driver's license and an account number to a bank account.

Almost immediately after sending this information I felt that feeling deep inside one feels when they have just done the stupidest thing they ever did in life. I wanted so badly to press the key on the keyboard that is not there; the "I want to take it back" key. I knew within a minute of sending the information I had screwed up even though I had no verifiable proof.

As soon as this happened I prayed and did another search on the internet and buried deep on page 5 of a search I found a troubling thing. On a page dealing with scams, someone was writing about the exact same thing I had just been through earlier this year. Obviously no one listened nor did anyone do anything about it for I had just fallen prey to the same scam.

Once I took off my rose colored glasses and honestly looked at the e-mails I had received, I began to see small discrepancies I had not noticed before. I raced to the bank and closed the account which I had sent the number to. The bank manager, who I know quite well, just shook his head when he looked at some of the documents and said they were 100% the work of scammers. Thankfully they had not yet withdrawn the funds we were sure they were about to do.

Upon leaving the bank I was left with the depressing realization that I had voluntarily sent a copy of my driver's license to people who were about to use the information on it to either steal my identity or destroy me financially. I felt like I had taken all my clothes off and was standing in the middle of the highway.

I called the State Attorney General's office and explained the situation. They suggested I bring all the correspondence to their office (100 miles away). Yesterday morning I went there and to various other offices and found out there was nothing they could do since the scammers were obviously out of the country. Even though my social security number is not on my driver's license, I was told all the horrible things that will probably happen as my license is duplicated and sold to criminal interests.

My cell phone and land lines received about 50 calls from these people starting at noon yesterday. They relentlessly called every few minutes, obviously upset about the account being closed. My cell phone has been turned off since yesterday afternoon and the land line disconnected. Even though I sent these crooks an e-mail telling them I was onto to their scam and that I had turned the case over to the Attorney General's Office; I have no idea what will come next.

As upset with myself as I am over this, I know I did the right thing to close the account and take the situation to the state's highest legal authorities. I can do nothing but pray about the driver's license situation and the release of personal contact information to unscrupulous people. Through this ongoing ordeal I am left with one overwhelming question: How could I be so stupid?

Why am I sharing this with you? Because I do not want anyone to have to go through what I have the past two days. I don't want anyone to have to worry about identity theft and losing their assets and their good name. I don't want anyone else to fall for something that looks 100% legitimate on the outside, only to find out it was all a lie.

Listen, I am 55 years old and have lectured groups on protecting themselves from scams. I had never fallen for one in my life. I feel like the biggest creep on this planet that I would allow my personal desire to help others to blind me to an attempt to totally ruin me. I cannot believe I could be so stupid to not see what was happening. All I know is that I so wanted it to be true, I made it true in my own mind. This ladies and gentlemen is called DECEPTION.

Please remember what has been said countless times; "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't". In my case I have had to learn this the hard way.

The Six Woes of Isaiah Chapter 5; Very Timely

2008-05-21T21:31:00.002-05:00

In Isaiah 5:8-23, a series of six woes are pronounced followed by three judgment sections. Jesus had read Isaiah innumerable times in his life. He knew this record better than anyone who ever lived. Although he did not quote it in Matthew 23, it helped form the foundation upon which its “woes” are built. These six woes from Isaiah also provide a scathing commentary of current attitudes toward God and His Word. Starting in verse 8 of Isaiah we read from the NIV:

“Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land.”

Parcels of land in Israel were to be leased and not sold. The land had been assigned to families and was to stay in the family’s possession for ever according to Numbers27:7-11. In Isaiah 5:9 and 10, judgment is passed regarding verse 8. The judgment is for all practical purposes the “woe”. In verses 11 and 12 we have the second woe:

“Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, and stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine.
They have harps and lyres at their banquets, tambourines and flutes and wine, but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord, no respect for the work of His hands.”

This woe is addressing a lifestyle of drunkenness and wild parties. Somehow, just as today, this “Epicurean” manner of living life (eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we may die) became the norm. It was no longer looked upon as wrong and instead was viewed as “having fun”. Just as today, these people condemned Isaiah as being “old fashioned” or “out of touch” with current culture. Just because culture says something is fine, does not make it fine with God.

Verses 13 through 15 pronounce judgment for this blatant disregard for God’s law. Verse 15 is very important to understand:

“So man will be brought low and mankind humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled.”

The purpose of God’s judgment is to humble arrogant man. As long as man thinks he can do as he pleases without fear of judgment, he does it and does it more and keeps doing it until he becomes arrogant and boastful in his ability to defy God’s Word. The Bible is full of accounts where this same pattern is followed. It is the very nature of man to rebel and if he can “get away with it”, rebel again only more so. This is why children must be disciplined. If their error is not confronted, reproved and corrected; they will only become more and more obstinate and self confident in their arrogant disobedience.

Verses 18 and 19 of Isaiah 5 bring up the third woe:

“Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes,
To those who say, “Let God hurry, let Him hasten His work so we may see it. Let it approach, let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come, so we may know it.”

These verses are referring to the people mocking God and His prophets. They were basically expressing their total disbelief that God would ever carry out any of His judgments the prophets had been screaming about. They literally were daring God to do what He said He would do, never believing for an instant God would actually do it. This is dangerous footing to be on and millions of people are doing the same thing today. They are mocking God by their lifestyles of sin and arrogant unbelief. They do not believe for an instant that God will ever judge them for they do not believe in the God of the Bible.

I wish verse 20 could be plastered upon every billboard in America. This one verse absolutely defines what has become of our culture and country. Its application to today is amazing, for it is as if this verse was written yesterday instead of thousands of years ago.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

What better way to describe “things” in not only America, but the entire world, than this verse? Everywhere and in almost all things, that which is evil is now called good and vice a versa. The lie has become the truth and the truth is looked upon as the lie. People’s consciences have become so hardened and their minds so deceived that what they believe in their hearts is the truth; is nothing but a lie from hell. Just as the serpent deceived Eve in the garden, and ultimately got her to believe “the lie” of “you shall not surely die”, so he has deceived multitudes of Christians into believing his lies to the point many Christians mock God just as the people in Isaiah’s time.

This “turn of events” is nothing more than darkness being called light and light being called darkness. The “Christian right” has been so viciously attacked by moral degenerates that it is now scorned and looked upon as rotten fruit by “progressives”. Satan himself transformed himself into an angel of light and in so doing, he has succeeded in deceiving the vast majority of Christians into believing his dark lies are the truth and the truth are nothing but fables and myths not to believed.

Verse 21 follows upon the previous verses to list the fifth woe:

“Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and clever in their own sight.”

I wish people would just read the Bible! How much clearer can God make things? Man’s wisdom has crowded out the true knowledge of God to the point that those of us who still believe the Bible is the God Breathed Word and Will of God are looked upon as fools, mentally unstable and dangerous enemies. Worldly wisdom rules in every school district in America and every secular university we push our kids to attend. Is it any wonder that by the time most people graduate from college, they are lukewarm Christians at best?

Oh how unbelievers think they are so clever in their own eyes. They sit around patting themselves on the back for their latest victory over those “stupid” Christians. They think they have outsmarted their god. They think just like their father thinks, Satan. Even though Satan was thrust out of God’s presence because of his rebellion, he daily persuades countless people to believe he really won and that his systems of greed, lust and power are genuine and the other “god’s” are inferior and wrong. And people believe him.

Verses 22 and 23 bring up the sixth woe, which again, could have been written this morning:

“Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks,
Who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent.”

O.K., I can’t stand it anymore. How can people who rip apart the Bible and say it is not applicable to our current day and time not see how it addresses issues that fill news shows and provide fodder for worthless television episodes every evening? Good grief, how many stupid television shows have innocently portrayed a bunch of 20 something year olds having a huge party with beer guzzling contests and other horrid activities. Somehow, those who are best at drinking huge amounts of beer and other drinks are cheered as heroes and champions by the adoring crowd of drunk revelers. All this is portrayed as “innocent fun”. Tell this to the parents who lose a child to a drunk driver.

Our political and justice systems are rife with worthless lawyers and judges who gladly accept bribes to acquit the guilty. These same people will deny justice to the innocent. Friends, the Bible is as applicable today as when it was first written. The very same things that were happening in Israel thousands of years ago are still happening in the western world today. Nothing has changed except things are far worse now than ever. All because people have believed Satan’s lies and have bought into his line that God is dead and He will never really judge this earth. These people have a day of reckoning awaiting them that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy (and I have some bad ones).

Earlier in Isaiah, two other “woes” were brought up in chapter 3 in verses 9 and 11:

“The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves.
Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done.”

What more can I say that God hasn’t said in a way anyone can understand if they want to. Those who have made a mockery of God and His Word WILL BE PAID BACK for what they have said and done. In Isaiah’s time, that “pay back” came suddenly in the form of Israel being conquered and sent into exile. For those who defy God today and proudly display their “sin of Sodom” in parades, who don’t even bother to “hide it” anymore; Woe to them. They have brought disaster upon themselves.

Verses 24 and 25 describe the judgment of God on this sordid unbelief:

“Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against HIS PEOPLE; His hand is raised and He strikes them down. The mountains shake, and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets. Yet for all this, His anger is not turned away, His hand is still upraised.”

God is a God of justice as well as love and mercy. Revelation tells us that the day is coming when all those on this earth who blatantly live in wickedness, defying and mocking God, and denying His existence until the bitter end; will receive the biggest “pay back” in history. When the wrath of God, which has been building for thousands of years, is finally released in all its fury in Revelation, those arrogant mockers of God will find out what the word “WOE” really means. I say they deserve all they have coming to them.

Who Cares About Myanmar?

2008-05-06T07:41:00.001-05:00

Just as in the case of the tsunami in Indonesia, the horrible facts regarding the destruction from the cyclone in Burma will take time to come to light. This much is known for sure; the initial estimates of 400 casualties were just the tip of the iceberg. If and when the true magnitude and scope of this disaster ever is known, the death toll could reach well into the tens of thousands and the number of homeless could be in the millions.

It would be very easy for those of us in the "civilized world" to brush aside this tragedy as something reserved for a backwards country, run by a repressive regime and that they more or less "had it coming" to them. After all, if a similar hurricane hit the United States, the damage would be great but the loss of life would be small. "These people should have taken care of themselves" is the temptation to justify a lack of compassion.

It is the government's responsibility to warn the population of an impending weather related disaster. The problem in a country such as Burma is the extreme poverty in which the population lives and thus the lack of modern conveniences such as radios and televisions. How do you warn millions of people of an approaching storm with no means to broadcast instructions to them? How do you move millions of people to safety who don't own vehicles to get to safety in?

Stories surfaced immediately after this storm struck of people spending their last resources just to buy a candle at a highly inflated price to have any light. It is truly beyond the ability of our "civilized" minds to grasp the idea of spending the last money you own to buy a candle. Of course, it is beyond our ability to conceive that people live in "houses" made of cardboard and survive on a daily diet of perhaps 1000 calories (on a good day).

The United States of America has less than one twentieth of the world's population but controls the vast majority of the world's wealth. The standard of living enjoyed by those in the United States and other "civilized" countries is impossible to compare to how the majority of this world lives. Whereas many people in this world barely make enough to stay alive another day, those privileged few who were blessed to be born into and live in the "civilized world" make more in a day than many make in a year.

We can read accounts in the Bible of severe famines caused by droughts and wars. We can read of times when mothers were forced to eat their own children due to lack of any other food. History is full of accounts of pioneers and explorers who died of starvation as they found themselves in hostile environments with no source of food. A fairly current movie chronicled such an account of a troubled young man in Alaska who faced running out of food.

As most of us lug around twenty to one hundred pounds of excess fat, there are literally billions of other humans living on this earth who don't have one ounce of fat on their bodies. Starvation is one of the cruelest forms of slow death possible. Unless one has seen the people who have turned into literal skin and bones; no one has the right to say when they are hungry "I'm starving to death". Most of us do not have a clue what it means to really be "starving".

Unless and until those who have lived the pampered and sheltered lives common to the "civilized world" go to places of extreme poverty and suffering and see for themselves how people are forced to live who have no way to make a living; there is no way a truly compassionate response to a disaster such as the one in Burma will ever be mounted. Sure, there will be the typical few hundred millions of humanitarian relief offered, but it will be offered with no genuine sincerity.

I lay out a challenge to any and all who might read this that grew up in middle class America and have never actually seen up close the throes of abject poverty. Next time you have some of your weeks of stored up vacation time come up; instead of using it to go sailing, on a nice cruise, visiting some exotic country full of palm trees and over priced drinks or playing golf everyday; why not volunteer to go to one of the multitude of places just in this country struggling to recover from floods, tornadoes and even the lingering effects of Katrina.

Nothing changes your life, your perspective and your ability to manifest true compassion quicker than having to live with and find ways to help people who had nothing, or have lost everything. When one is forced to look into the eyes of a person who has nothing in this life of any value, then you can finally see the reason Jesus came to this earth to begin with. See, He didn't come to heal the whole, feed the full or befriend the popular.

Jesus Christ came to heal the brokenhearted, to set the captives free and to bind up the wounds of the broken. Those who glory in their own self-sufficiency do not need a Savior. But those who have nothing and mean nothing to this world desperately need the love and compassion only our Savior can bring. When one reads the account at the end of Matthew 25 there is no question as to what the proper response SHOULD be by a Christian when confronted by human suffering. Please Respond with Love.

CRITICAL SITUATION: Fuel Costs Killing Charities

2008-04-21T05:34:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the Real World.

As the vast majority of Americans continue to sit back pretending nothing to terribly wrong is going on with the country, the lower echelons of society are feeling the first huge waves of the coming economic storm. There are hundreds of thousands of upper middle class Americans who honestly can’t say it makes a bit of difference what gasoline is selling for since they never look at the bill; they have enough money to not be bothered.

On the other end of the spectrum are hundreds of thousands of lower income people, many trying to survive working minimum wage jobs, who are daily having to make choices between food and gas or medicine or electricity. With more and more of their income being devoured by ever escalating prices for food staples and gasoline; there is no disposable income left for any emergency.

In many of the bigger cities as well as along the Gulf coast, many food pantries and shelters have already closed and what few are left cannot find supplies. As more and more of the last elements of the social safety net are withdrawn it leads to desperate people doing more and more desperate things. Crime is dramatically rising in areas which only a few months ago had little or no crime. Petty thefts as well as armed robberies are increasing at an alarming rate.

If the shelters, community outreach programs, food pantries and other services designed to help people get through the tough times until they can stand on their feet again collapse; who is left to cover the needs? Fewer and fewer churches play an active role in helping the poor. Fewer and fewer charities have the resources to offer more than a referral service to other agencies. State and local governments are strapped for resources and do not have the means to step in and help.

If within a few days a mid-sized community has several bank robberies, numerous dollar stores held up and even the school cafeteria broken into to find food; is this not a pretty clear indication something is wrong? The numbers of hurting people are climbing each day. The numbers of homeless are increasing daily. The numbers of frustrated people who are at their wits end and ready to snap is dramatically increasing every day.

Fuel Costs Make Transporting Food Difficult

One of the most frustrating situations to have arisen is that there is still food in the warehouses of major charities who send tons of food every year overseas and to outreach centers in this country. The problem at the moment is finding the money to pay the sky high fuel costs to transport food from the warehouse to the destination it is needed. With diesel prices well over $4.00 per gallon, even the truckers who want to help cannot afford to run an empty semi to a warehouse, pick up a load of food, take it to the outreach center needing it and then run an empty truck back home—all for free.

There used to be many truckers willing to pick up a load if it were on their way and their truck was empty. It is even getting difficult to find those able to do this anymore. Independent truckers are just barely making enough to stay in business running full loads all the time. As much as they want to help, the cost of diesel is making it extremely difficult to provide “free hauls”.

A case in point is Tri Coastal Community Outreach in Grand Bay, Alabama. They have a full semi of food available to them if they can pick it up in Nashville on April 24th. It is a one time and one day shot. All attempts to find anyone to help have failed. The best offer from a trucking company was close to $1,500 to transport the load less than 500 miles from Nashville to Mobile. Where on earth does a small community outreach center find $1,500?

For lack of any better way to do it. Members of the group will drive to Nashville, rent two 26 foot trucks and one car tow bar, load the two trucks, and then drive them (with one towing the car) back to Alabama. The estimated cost for all this will be $700-800. But, being good stewards, this is the only way to get the food. Or is it?

The Need for Fuel Sponsors

There is an urgent need for sponsors to step up and help with fuel costs to transport food and other supplies to destinations in need. I see no reason why groups of professionals could not pool their charitable gifts together and make them available to groups such as Tri Coastal to provide for proper transportation of goods instead of the kind of arrangement they must do this week. Even doing it as they are, the cost is still staggering. Transportation costs are quickly becoming a huge issue for not only non-profits but many charities doing construction and other services.

If you are a professional and desire to really see your charitable giving do the most good, consider making a special fund that is to be used strictly for the transportation costs of getting resources from supply houses to outreach centers. Any group doing full scale community outreach is in desperate need of food and other supplies that many times are located all over the United States. Any of these groups who are 501 (c) 3 charities should be able to develop a program where donations can be received specifically designated for transportation costs.

The Need for Consistent Resources

The directors of most community outreach/homeless shelters/food pantries and other service charities spend most of their time trying to locate money or resources. Instead of being able to oversee case work or develop plans and programs to better serve the people in need; too much of their time has to be spent tracking down the means to meet the needs. They all need consistent and reliable sources for food, clothing, furniture, building supplies and other vital resources.

Church groups, service organizations, clubs and societies as well as schools and businesses can all do drives on a regular basis for some of these groups. Many of these groups have programs in place for organizations or individuals to systematically give on a regular and set basis. To stick around for the long haul, these groups need to know where supplies are coming from next.

The Need Will Only Get Worse

As the economic situation is this country continues to go downhill, the needs among the poor will only skyrocket, and this is due to a dramatic increase in numbers of people in need in addition to greater and greater need. The first round of failures among care givers is staggering and quite discouraging. Those left are handling far more case loads than they were expecting. Budgets and resources are being stretched to the absolute limit.

Before the situation gets much worse, please consider providing assistance where you can to those still involved with trying to help those in the lowest socio-economic levels. If there is anyone who deserves a helping hand and someone to aid them in their times of intense personal and financial turmoil it is those who through no fault of their own have “fallen through the cracks” of our social welfare system.

A Disturbing Dream; Impending Darkness on the Land

2008-04-15T03:55:00.000-05:00

There is an uneasiness that is creeping over my soul. I feel a curtain is being pulled shut. What was left of the light is being blocked by something thick and oppressive. I see swarms of what appear to huge flying insects, each carrying something that looks like a case under their arm. They are flying in formation and the closer they get the louder the buzz becomes.

As they approach the shore, they split and go different directions. Some to the north and some to the south. Yet, in spite of splitting, they are as numerous as before. As they cover the sky, the day becomes dark as night. They literally block the light of the sun.

Screams are heard as the first of these demons lands and disrupts the entire landscape of a town. All goes haywire and nothing works as it was designed. People panic for there is no day. A massive cloud hovers over the town and then moves on. This process is repeated over and over again around the country. One town after another is thrust into darkness and then seemingly loses its ability to function.

There is a numbness spreading over the land. A type of resolution that there is nothing that can be done to hinder or stop this plague. At the back of the swarm there is the faint light of dawn but the light is distorted and things are not as they appear. There is no longer the sharp lines of demarcation between black and white. Gray is the predominant color and haziness is the predominant view.

No one knows what has just happened, although everyone knows something of profound importance just did. Confidence has been replaced by doubt and boldness with fear. The mighty have been brought back to earth and the poor have been squashed beyond recognition. The land is barren and the shelves are bare. The markets are empty and the roads are untraveled. There is a hush that lies over the land that is missing all sounds of industry and traffic. Commerce has ceased and all stay huddled in their abodes.

What has happened, a few dare ask, as they tenderly walk outside in the murky twilight. Where are the lights, the roar of big trucks, and planes taking off and trains roaring down the tracks? Where are the kids normally yelling and screaming? Where are the sirens of police and ambulances and fire trucks going about to save people’s lives?

What has gone here and what is to happen. There is no electricity, no radio and no television or computers. Even the dogs have ceased to bark and nowhere is found the sound of life. People are still there for the hushed sounds of whispers can be heard coming from dark houses and even darker buildings. No one wants to move lest they be discovered by a foe they do not know. No one can call for help. No one is injured or trapped in demolished buildings or heaps of rubble.

Finally a baby’s cry breaks the silence. Then there is another and another. Cries can now be heard erupting from all over the town. Wailing and moaning as if people were crushed and in intense pain. Yet, there is no physical trauma and nothing to account for the cries filled with pain and sorrow.

People are awakening to the stark reality that life as they knew it was over. Whatever had blown through was so devastating it demolished all that everyone had built their lives upon. Nothing worked, no running water, no air conditioner, no vehicles, no computers, to telephones and no light. As the sun starts to set, the reality of the impending total darkness starts to settle in. The wails turn to screams as countless people must confront their worst nightmare; a night with no light.

Into the town ride messengers of the most High God delivering a message directly from Him. The message is not what anyone wants to hear. The message is one of repentance and turning to the truth and not that all will be well. The people riot and rip the messengers off their horses and kill them. They wanted a message that the lights would be turned back on shortly and heard just the opposite.

Screams pierce the night air as helpless women are raped in their homes with no one to protect them. Houses across the town are pillaged by robbers who take everything of value with no one to stop them. Fights erupt as people trip over others, unable to see them lying in the streets. There is no reason and no comfort to be found. Only gloom and dismay hangs over the town.

After what seemed like thirty hours of night, the sun did come up, but not as they expected. It lacked the brilliance they were used to. It was not cloudy, but the sun looked like it was shrouded in clouds. There was not the heat that usually came with the sunrise. Everyone was cold, tired and scared.

There was no news for there was no media. There was no way to find out what had happened or if it were going to get better or worse. Lack of knowledge aroused even greater frustration and fear. Panic set in as people literally went insane.

The sick soon died for lack of medicine. The weak soon died for lack of food. The infirm soon went crazy unable to cope. The ruthless soon went on rampages fulfilling every evil desire they ever imagined. There was no order and there was no compassion. Every man was for himself and every man sought to destroy his neighbor before he was destroyed.

The Passion of the Global Warming Religion

2008-03-30T15:01:00.002-05:00

I have posted close to 100 times on a secular site since last summer. I have posted on Biblical topics economic issues, disasters, politics, ethical dilemmas and even sports. Although viewed by close to 10,000 people, there have only been two posts which have ever generated attacks on me personally and my beliefs.

The first was when I dared write on a bill signed into law last fall in California virtually eliminating the usage of “mom and dad” in schools lest it upset same-sex couples. I was ripped by every group possible for my non-progressive views and intolerance for complaining about the bill. Not one conservative Christian ever came to my defense. Every comment was punishing and extremely personal as to its vindictiveness. These types of people do not take kindly to someone saying their devilish lifestyle is sin.

The other day I wrote a post daring to expose the “Global Warming/Climate Change” hoax for what it is and possibly linking the movement and its grand guru Mr. Gore to Revelation 13. I have evidently hit the hottest button of them all. Within minutes of the post, I was flooded with comment requests from mainly Christians vehemently upset that I dared state there was a rapture of the church coming and after the thousand year reign of Christ, God would destroy this earth and create a new one. Oh my, this evidently is pure blasphemy.

Within a few hours I have been called every imaginable name in the books for daring to say that “Global warming/climate change” might be now considered a religion due to the fervent behavior of it adherents and that there might be a rapture. No one is complaining that I hint that the movement might be the worldwide religion of the Book of Revelation. No one is complaining that I hint that Al Gore could qualify for the false prophet job. No one cares about anything important. They only care to trash a fundamentalist belief (the rapture) and a perceived destroyer of the environment.

A recent comment railed on me for being lazy and that I was the reason the environmental revolutionaries will rise up and squash people like me for being the source of the problem. In other words, since I dare to disagree I am now guiltier than the corporations that dump tons of pollutants into the air and rivers? I am guiltier than the countries with NO environmental policies? I guess I am a much more important fellow than I thought I was.

I could honestly care less about a lot of this stuff, but I do care deeply about Christian issues and especially the venom being displayed by those who do not believe in the rapture toward those of us who do. Somehow, we are the villains for wanting to not spend the rest of our lives saving this planet from all the evil man has done to it. It all sounds good, just as many religions do; but at the root of it is worship of earth vs worship of God.

God expects us to be good stewards of this earth. That is not the issue. The issue is a carefully crafted lie that is now universally considered by most people to be true—global warming. Thus, since this is now the perceived truth, anyone not on its bandwagon or fighting against it is a heretic and should be punished. This is real stuff, folks and not just me venting steam. There are people out there who would gladly hunt down and kill people like me for speaking out against their “religion”.

I am simply stating the truth from God’s Word that saving this planet is not our reason for being here. Saving this earth’s inhabitants from suffering an eternity in hell might be, but not saving this planet. I am not going to start hugging trees or participating in any of the ever increasing religious rituals tied into the new “global warming/climate change” religion. I am not shutting my lights off for an hour nor am I going to spend all my time worrying about how many feet the ocean might rise a hundred years from now.

Global warming is a myth and a man-made hoax. All current scientific data states conclusively that we have been in a period of global cooling for ten years. Most scientists not sold out to the myth are far more afraid of global cooling than warming. An ice sheet over New York or Chicago might be more difficult to handle than a 3 inch rise of the oceans.

Green Police can come to my door today and demand I recant my blasphemous words against their religion, but I never will. A multitude of angry “Christian” soldiers can come and demand I recant my statements about the rapture, but I never will. Truth is truth and unless you are willing to stand up for the truth and speak it, then you are part of the lie. I refuse to bow to those who shortly will rule this planet during the Great Tribulation. I refuse to yield to those so called Christians who have compromised THE faith to promote THE lie.

Reluctantly I deleted the post that prompted all this. I simply do not have the time or desire to engage in relentless arguments with people totally unwilling to listen. The issues confronting us all are far bigger and more important than the temperature of our atmosphere.

The Day is Fast Approaching: A Word to the Church

2008-03-27T08:23:00.000-05:00

There are numerous indications that there may be an attack on Israel before the 60th anniversary of her formation on May 14th. There are numerous “soft” versions of this story floating around news outlets this morning, but please read the following from a reputable source:

“Military sources disclose that Hizballah has built up its rocket arsenal to three and-a-half times its pre-2006 Lebanon War stocks. Some of the 40,000 rockets of Syrian and Iranian manufacture can hit Israel targets as far south as Beersheba, 350 km. away from the Shiite terror group’s launching pads north of Lebanon’s Litani River.

Not only has Tel Aviv come within range, but Hizballah and the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza can between them cover most of Israel except for its southernmost tip at Eilat. Using these two surrogates, Tehran can therefore make war on Israel and keep its hands clean ... military sources report the lion’s share of rockets smuggled to Hizballah in recent months are Syrian-made. Damascus has also shipped to Hizballah quantities of anti-air weapons, including shoulder-borne rockets and scores of Russian-made anti-aircraft ZSU-100 automatic 14.4 mm caliber cannon, which are most effective against low-flying aircraft, helicopters and drones."

The prophetic clock is not any way linked to events taking place in the United States of America. From God’s point of view, the only place to look to see where that clock is at is ISRAEL. News such as that written above has little to do with 99.9999999% of the world’s population for they do not live in Israel. But, from God’s point of view, what happens in that little country has a direct impact on 100% of every living person in the world.

God’s prophets in the Old Testament spoke clearly of the approaching “Day of the Lord”. The things spoken of obviously did not take place when Christ came to this earth 2,000 years ago. All things prophetic relating to “The Day of the Lord” refer to events leading up to His second coming when Jesus Christ comes as Lord of Lords and King of Kings to establish His Kingdom on earth from Jerusalem.

The book of Revelation gives graphic details as to the events leading up to this glorious day. Daniel’s prophecy speaks of a final week of seven years immediately preceding the return of Christ. Mid-way in that seven years Revelation speaks of the Antichrist rising to power and becoming the supreme world ruler. Starting in Revelation 13, the final three and one half years before the coming of Christ are chronicled in graphic detail.

When combining the events recorded in Revelation together with all the prophecies in the Old Testament, it is very obvious there are extremely troubling times in store for Israel before Christ returns. That is why news stories such as the one above are important to not only those who live in Israel, but to all who wait patiently for the rapture of the church which happens some time before the wrath of God is poured out in Revelation 16. The book of Romans assures us that we have been saved from the wrath which is to come.

No man knows when Christ is coming back to either gather His bride or to establish His reign on earth in Jerusalem. But, we know from Matthew 24 general things to look for to know if the end is near. We know from reading Old Testament prophecies in the books of the Prophets what will comes directly before that great and notable Day of the Lord. He who has eyes to see and ears to hear should be able to see clearly that the end is fast approaching.

As Christians we need to take heed to the warnings in sections of scripture such as Romans 13 where it says:

“Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
The night if far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
Romans 13:11-14 NKJV

When Jesus was here on earth he spoke of “The Kingdom of Heaven was AT HAND”. Romans 13 tells us “THE DAY” is at hand. The Day is the day of Christ’s return. What are we to do before then? We are to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. We are to walk properly and ethically as in the day, and not in drunkenness, revelry, lewdness, lust, envy and strife which are done by those in the night. In all matters we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ in our minds and make NO provisions for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.

I leave you with the Lord’s Word to His church in these critical hours before His imminent return:

“For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
For when they say, “Peace and safety” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
You are all sons of light and sons of he day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness.
Threfore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.
But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:2-11 NKJV

Too Proud to Help? Who Will Help You?

2008-03-15T09:05:00.001-05:00

Here is the question; why should I help some poor bum who sits at home all day drinking cheap wine or shooting himself up with crack and gets monthly benefits from various government programs? Next question: Why should I share of my resources with someone who was stupid enough to live next to a river, over a fault line, on the coast or in a part of the country prone to tornadoes? Final question: Why should I feel it is my responsibility to act as a social worker, psychologist, lawyer, nurse or chauffeur for someone I don’t know, am not related to or have nothing in common with?

These three questions form the basis of why we are seeing a crisis in the care-giving community. More and more people are taking the “hands off” approach to sharing as a direct result of problems in their own lives. The sad reality of this quiz is that if there is no good reason to do any of the above; other than if private citizens don’t do these things, the responsibility will be transferred to various levels of government which will entail raising taxes to pay for more services.

Let there be no mistake about this; the vast majority of Americans would rather walk naked down main street eating cockroaches than personally get involved helping someone they don’t know or are related to. Yet, these same people will without hesitation write a check to a major charity to provide help for these people. What is the deal here? Why is it so repulsive to think of personally helping another yet it is so fulfilling to “write a check”?

Look at this way, if a bum approached you on the street; which would you rather him say: “Got a dollar you can spare” or “Can I come work for you in return for a hot meal”? Of course 99% of all people would prefer the request for the dollar. No one wants to say no to a person trying to do the right thing, but no one wants a stranger coming to his house and stealing him blind, killing his kids and burning his house down either. As much as no one really wants to give a dollar to a stranger, it is much easier to do than face the possible scenarios of dragging a bum home.

My wife and I watched an old episode of “Leave It To Beaver” the other night. The storyline was simply one of a lost cat who kept being fed by Beaver and even after being taken home to its owner, would escape and come right back. The moral of the story was that if you put food out for a cat, it will keep coming back to get fed. The same moral would be true of helping those who are downtrodden and downcast.

Far too many programs are set up to simply provide a bowl of food for people. Of course it is appreciated, but what is really being accomplished? Pavlov proved many years ago that dogs and people are conditioned to respond a certain way. Put the bowl of food out at the same place at the same time every day and the dog or cat will become a permanent guest within a few days. The unfortunate reality of many charity and most government programs is that it amounts to setting a bowl of food on the porch daily.

Simply writing a check to the Red Cross or having money payroll deducted for the United Way sounds good, but does the person have a clue where the money is going or whether it is helping anyone? Yet, by “giving” this way, the personal responsibility is removed from having to actually get involved with other’s lives. Refusing to help “the bums” who won’t work sounds noble, but if taxes are being paid, the person is “helping” anyway through massive governmental welfare programs.

Studies indicate there is a huge number of very angry people in this country who detest the idea of providing any help to the downtrodden. Most of these angry people are white men who can’t stand the idea of any of their money helping some lazy black or Mexican man. I appreciate this sentiment, but it does not make it right. First of all it is extremely prejudicial and racial in tone. Second of all it is incredibly short-sighted and narrow minded in scope. And finally it flies in the face of the attitude of charity this country was built on and which has allowed it to survive and prosper through the years.

These same people who self-righteously proclaim their resistance to helping others because of the color of their skin or nationality will gladly offer help to one of their “good buddies” or their families. They will go to church and offer to fix the roof on the building or donate lumber for a Sunday School room addition. In their minds, this giving is allowable for it is helping the church. But, the idea of giving to help a poor person is “anathema” to them.

Here is the truth in all this. If the church would crawl out of its hallowed walled chambers and get involved helping people in their community; there would be no need for expensive government programs and no need for all the humanitarian charities to be begging for money all the time. If the church started offering programs to help the disadvantaged learn skills and receive tutoring in basic elements of surviving then these people could learn to stand on their own feet and not need others to help them all the time.

But no, the church is too busy buying new pews and putting new carpet down to worry about helping the bum down the street. The church is too busy hosting wedding receptions, baby showers, 50th anniversary celebrations, funerals and teas to spend a lousy dime to keep the kids down the street from dying of malnutrition. The church is too busy locking its doors all but a few hours a week rather than have someone there to counsel and help a person facing a life changing crisis.

Somehow many churches think all they are there for is to provide a place for people to show up to on Sunday mornings. These types of churches have totally missed the point of their very existence. The church is there to help people. Sure, part of that help is spiritual feeding through services and programs, but help is much more than a sermon once a week. Genuine help involves getting involved with a person’s life to the point needs can be established and then met.
For those who are far too angry to help anyone get out of the mess their life has become; I ask you to pause and think about who is going to help YOU when the world caves in around you? I know you say it never will, but sooner or later everyone will have to face the day in their lives when the music ends and friends depart, when death of a loved one causes pain too hard to bear and disease saps the once strong body of all life and energy. Sooner or later everyone faces the day of reckoning in their lives when all they once took pride in fades and all that once made them so arrogant melts before their eyes.

Who is going to help you then I ask of you who are too proud to help another now? When you are old and crippled and can’t even clean yourself up after soiling your diaper, who is going to want to care for that “nasty old codger” who would never give a dime to help all those “lazy bums”. What goes around, comes around and that is a fact. For those too proud, arrogant of selfish to reach out to help others now, don’t be expecting anyone to help you later when you need it.

Servants of Jesus Christ Serving Each Other

2008-03-01T00:30:00.002-06:00

Jesus Christ is to be our MASTER. Jesus, himself, said “no man can serve two masters.” In the same section Jesus also talks about “the eye being single”. This is referring to the single minded attention a servant must have toward his master. We only have two eyes and they cannot be focused on two things at once.

When we carried out God’s instructions in Romans 10:9 and 10; we SAID (confessed) that Jesus is LORD. We said (confessed) that Jesus is the Master and that we wanted Him to be OUR MASTER. If Jesus is indeed our MASTER, then we cannot serve both HIM and ourselves at the same time. If Jesus is our Lord and Master, then we are under obligation to DO as He says and to obey His voice. If we are going to be able to really serve Him, we must make Him the object of our devotion and attention.

The New Testament is full of references to us “serving each other”. Not only are we servants of our Lord Jesus Christ; we are to serve each other in love. The great and simple key to understanding is that we are SERVANTS of Jesus Christ as we SERVE one another in love. We look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith to know how to best serve each other within the body of Christ.

We cannot serve Christ, for He is not here to place a blanket around or bring a cup of hot tea. We are His servants, but the ones we are to serve are His people. The last night he was with his disciples, he gave them an example of service which was to carry them through the upcoming years. He got on the floor and cleaned their feet. He lovingly cleansed the dirt and the grime off the most disgusting part of the human body. In Oriental culture, there was no greater way of showing humility towards another than to wash their feet.

Service takes humility. There is NO room for pride, arrogance or haughtiness in service. Christian service demands placing one’s own needs and desires in complete subjection to the desires of the master. The Master’s desire is to see his people blessed, fed, healed and comforted. To do this takes getting down on the floor and washing their feet.

It has taken me my whole life to learn this lesson I am sharing with you now. When we got born again, we made a commitment to make Jesus Christ Lord in our lives. To do this demands subjection of our will and desires to HIS. We have to become His servants and not servants to ourselves, our jobs or SIN. Learning to obey is learning how to be His servant. Learning to look at HIM and not at the world, or at people or ourselves is HOW we learn the heart of a servant.

Once we learn HOW to live our lives looking at Him, then we can serve others as He would if He were here. We are His servants in the sense that we are His hands, and feet. We are to be to others, exactly what He would be if He were here. That is the meaning of being an “ambassador for Christ” and this is what Christian service is to be all about. We are to be the ones on the floor gently cleaning the filth of this world off the feet of those who want to be made clean.

We cannot “save” anyone, for that is God’s job. We cannot “heal” anyone, for only God can do that. We can only do what our Lord left for us as an example, and that is to be broken bread for those who are hungry and examples of our Lord’s life and love. Helping others is not always a matter of “beating them over the head with the Gospel”. Many times it is simply manifesting the sincere love of God through lending a hand or offering help when needed.

A voice from the fourteenth century, St. Teresa of Avila, reminds us that WE are God's hands.

"God has no hands but our hands to do his work today; God has no feet but our feet to lead others in his way; God has no voice but our voice to tell others how he died; and, God has no help but our help to lead them to his side."

A gentleman once took the liberty of refining St. Teresa’s prayer as follows:

"God has no hands but our handswith which to give His people bread.God has no feet but our feetwith which to walk among the almost dead.We say that we are His, and He is ours.Deeds are the proof of this, not words,And these are the proving hours."

Oswald Chambers asks the question, "Are we willing to be broken bread and poured out wine in Jesus Christ's hands for others?" I pray our answer is YES on all counts.

Have the Faith of God

2008-02-18T06:34:00.001-06:00

Faith is one of those words which has many different definitions. Biblically, one must determine by the context whether faith is referring to "the faith of Jesus Christ", the "family of faith" or "firm belief". There is no greater verse in the Bible dealing with faith as an act of utter and complete belief than Hebrews 11:1 where it says:

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

The word translated "substance" is the Greek word "hupostasis". The word basically means "essence, substance, reality; that which is the basis of something; hence, guarantee or confidence." In other words, the word means "documentable proof, thus providing a guarantee". I believe it was James Moulton who first started using the term "title deed" as the appropriate translation of this word.

A title deed provides proof of ownership. If you can produce the title deed to a property, then you can prove you own that property. When making the dreaded trip to the DMV to get tags for a new vehicle; you must have the title for the vehicle or it will never become yours. A title is the legal proof you own something, even if it is a thousand miles away. If you have the title, the property is yours.

When a person buys a car and finances it through a bank or other facility; the title goes to the bank and stays there until the car is paid off. Although you have the car, drive the car, pay taxes on the car, etc; you do not own the car until there is no longer a lien against it. As long as money is owed on the car, it never really is yours. The same thing happens with mortgages on homes. Until the home is paid off, the mortgage holder is the real owner of the house.

Hebrews 11:1 states that faith is the title deed of things "hoped for". This hope is really nothing more than what we are praying for. When we pray, we have faith that what we are praying about comes to pass. That faith is our title deed to what we are praying for. It is also the "evidence" of things not seen. The word translated "evidence" is an obscure Greek word only used one other place in the New Testament. The word literally means "to convict, or conviction". It is a legal word that is used as a figure of speech here in Hebrews. It would be better translated "certain persuasion" although many versions translate it "conviction".

Faith, that mysterious word with a truckload of different meanings, is the title deed and certain persuasion of things prayed for and not yet seen. Every great person of faith who ever lived knew by experience what this verse was talking about. In fact, the entire eleventh chapter of Hebrews is devoted to those who from God's perspective were men and women of faith. Everyone mentioned or mentioned by name in Hebrews 11 practiced verse 1 and that is what enabled them to make into the "Faith Hall of Fame".

Think of dearly beloved Peter. Out in their boat at night, the disciples think they see a ghost standing on the water. Peter thinks it might be Jesus, but isn't quite sure. He calls out to this ghost and demands that if he is really Jesus, then tell him to walk on the water to him. Ah, Peter knew that only Jesus would really tell him to do it. I am quite sure Peter was not expecting any reply. Much to his surprise, the Master told him ONE WORD; "COME". The word of God doesn't always have to be 2000 words. Sometimes it is only ONE word.

Once Peter had the Word Of God, he either needed to believe it or reject it. Without so much as even thinking about the consequences, Peter climbed out of the boat and started walking on the water to Jesus. Even as he was climbing out, the voices of the other disciples were ringing through his mind. "Don't do it Pete", "You are going to sink", "Think of your Mom, Peter"; everywhere and from all directions he was being bombarded with all the good reasons NOT to walk out on faith to Jesus.

Once you receive the Word of God in your life, start walking. Don't wait around for detailed instructions as to how to get out of the boat and how to handle walking on waves. Just DO IT!! Peter got out of the boat and immediately started walking on the water. When he took that first step of faith, he literally believed what Jesus had said to him was true. In his case, Peter did not need a title deed, but rather a plank, and he got one. Peter's faith in the word of God given to him by Jesus was the guarantee he would not sink when he tried to walk on the water.

Peter did begin to sink only when he "lost the faith" by getting distracted and looking at the waves instead of the Lord Jesus. When we glue our eyes upon the Lord and fasten ourselves to the word He gives us; we can walk on water. We can do whatever it is that God sets before us to do if we have complete faith it came from God and is directed to us.

Nowhere is faith more completely taught, than by Jesus after he has cursed the fig tree and it died overnight. In Mark 11:22 it says:

"And Jesus answering said unto them, Have faith in God."

Some manuscripts omit this verse, some have it as it is recorded in the KJV and still others would have it read; "Have the faith of God". Wow, what a concept that is! To have the faith of God is certainly beyond our mortal mind's ability to comprehend. How much faith does God have? Hebrews 11:3 says:

"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed (prepared) by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."

God had to literally create everything as He prepared the ages and fashioned the universe. God spoke, and things that were not there came into being. That is faith! As Genesis 1 repeatedly says; "and God said…" and it came to pass. God spoke His Word and it came to pass because of His faith. Oh how glorious life would be for us all if we could "have the faith of God"! If we could, then back in Mark 11 it goes on to say in verses 23 and 24:

"For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says.

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive and you shall have them."

Faith is powerful. Prayer without faith is like a boat without an oar. When we pray, we need to manifest the "faith of God" in order to see the mountains moved and the things prayed for come to pass. I think we all know that faith is vital to seeing results when we pray. But, did you ever notice what the next two verses in Mark say, immediately after these verses on prayer? Look at verses 25 and 26 squarely in the context of having the faith of God:

"And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any; that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."

Holy something or other; it takes the "faith of God" to forgive others for those things they have done against you and to believe the Father has forgiven you. Do we need to forgive others? We do if we want our Father to forgive us. Honestly, it takes just as much faith to conquer bitterness and resentment and forgive as it does to move a mountain or expect results in prayer.

All these things are humanly impossible, but with God, they are possible. It takes faith to forgive for it goes against our very nature. It takes faith to believe, for the senses say it is impossible. It takes faith to conquer the doubts that keep us from seeing God's Word come to pass in our lives for they gnaw away at us like gnats in the summer. Have the faith of God!

FEMA & FORMALDEHYDE= FIASCO

2008-02-15T09:58:00.001-06:00

In June of 2006 I first started hearing about the possibility of formaldehyde in FEMA travel trailers housing hundreds of thousands of Katrina victims in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. When the initial reports started surfacing, they were of course totally rejected by FEMA as well as all agencies charged with the oversight of these deathtraps people were living in.

During the long and hot summer of 2006, more and more people who were exposed to various chemicals in the Katrina flood waters began suffering horrible skin problems. People who had continued living in water damaged homes began to suffer from mysterious breathing problems. People who had been confined to FEMA travel trailers were complaining of headaches and other strange symptoms. All these physical complaints were basically ignored and the people suffering them were more or less told they were "hypochondriacs".

By the summer of 2007, the initial symptoms reported by many had progressed to the point of death or hospital confinement. Indeed, it was revealed that toxic chemicals had been in Katrina's flood waters and anyone exposed to them who had not received a special "bath" soon afterwards was seeing their skin pretty much disintegrate. Those who had initially torn into flood damaged dwellings without proper protection, were being diagnosed with black mold related illnesses. There is no "cure" for this, only treatment of symptoms.

Last summer, more and more of the unfortunate people still confined to FEMA travel trailers were getting sick. A movement was launched to get Congress to deal with the problem. Many people had their trailers independently tested for formaldehyde and the results were staggering. Readings five to ten times above "safe" levels were common and readings far higher were found also. Still, nothing was being done to solve the problem except denying it existed.

Just yesterday, the following article was filed by an Associated Press writer dealing with FEMA's sudden reversal of policy regarding these trailers. Here is the link to the story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080215/ap_on_re_us/toxic_trailers

The people of the United States of America want the Federal Government to take care of them from the time they are born until the day they die. They want Federal assistance for everything from health insurance to house repairs after a storm. Because the people want the government to provide help, they are going to receive it, even if it kills them.

Katrina was an unprecedented disaster. The sheer numbers of people who lost their homes was beyond the scope of anybody's ability to plan for such a thing. FEMA should have been prepared and they were not. The states involved should have been prepared and they were not. The large charities should have been prepared and they were not. Due to lack of preparation, confusion ruled and where there is confusion there is every form of evil taking advantage of it.

In the two and one years since the Katrina/Rita/Wilma disasters in 2005, much has been done on all levels to better prepare for future disasters. Most of what has been hammered out is now in a document nobody has ever heard of unless they are involved in disaster relief work. There is now a National Disaster Response Plan in place that pretty much spells out exactly what is to take place when a huge disaster strikes. Obviously, if another Katrina hit, there would not be the confusion and tardiness in action started as there was in 2005.

Still, considering that this plan is squarely in the hands of FEMA, one has to wonder how well it would work and whether situations such as formaldehyde in trailers would be ignored for years. FEMA did not make a lot of friends in Katrina devastated areas. Constantly changing policy, mismanagement, fraud and confusion of all kinds turned a huge disaster into a catastrophic nightmare. Perhaps never in the history of this great land was a more shortsighted and irresponsible plan ever hatched than to order travel trailer manufacturers to cut corners and build trailers as fast as possible disregarding health risks, electric and plumbing codes and even structural guidelines.

The trailers were built in record time. Thousands of people were herded out of motels and cruise ships into these trailers which ended up many times in FEMA trailer parks. That was just about it as far as the government was concerned. Due to labor and material shortages, the repair and rebuilding of homes took well over a year to really begin to make a dent in the numbers of families living in trailers. All the while, as it turns out, these poor people were daily being exposed to chemicals that were destroying their health. So what that they had survived the storm, their lives were a living hell in every possible category.

I personally know many sick people who until recently were doomed to living in these deathtraps. Their only other option was to move back into a mold infested house that was probably unsafe to live in. Let me very clear here; there are health concerns raging all along the Gulf Coast that no one in the country knows about. The upturn in heart and lung issues is beyond the point of being alarming. The mental health issues are so huge that the system to treat them is overwhelmed.

Some physical issues take time to show their symptoms, while others appear quickly. The horrific symptoms of mold take quite awhile to become manifested. Once there, the road to recovery is long and painful. Ask anyone who has had to deal with mold in their lungs how pleasant the situation is. There are thousands upon thousands of very sick people in Katrina damaged areas. The vast majority of these people do not know what is making them sick, nor do they have the means to get treatment.

Those who have been exposed to formaldehyde poisoning should receive complete treatment and a dwelling free from toxic chemicals, at the very least. But, just as those exposed to "agent orange" found out; the government is not very quick to clean up after its messes. Due to the sheer numbers of people involved, those who claim to have medical conditions related to formaldehyde in FEMA trailers will probably end up waiting in long lines, then arguing with insensitive agents and put on a list that will take months if not years to bring to full resolution. Meanwhile, they will be miserable, dejected and many will simply give in and give up. Is that what the authorities really are wanting?

If any major investigative reporting agency ever really took the time to dig under the surface of supposed progress in the states affected by Katrina; they would quickly find issues that should be at the forefront of political campaigns instead of the meaningless ones that get all the headlines. There never was much love for the Federal Government down in Katrina land, but after this FEMA travel trailer fiasco, Montana might have another area of the country barking at its heels as far as extreme dislike for the "Feds".

My earnest prayer is that those in the legal and medical fields will respond to the needs in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and provide free help to thousands of hurting people. I pray that those trained in mental health will continue to volunteer to deal with the effects of a disaster that lingers on and on for many. I pray that as a nation, we never forget that although much has been done to repair and rebuild homes and businesses; the rebuilding of people's lives lags far behind.

For more information on the current state of things down "on the coast", please go my website at:

www.heart2heartshare.com and go to the "Sharing Partners" tab and follow the link to "Tri Coastal Community Outreach". Please get in touch with this wonderful group and they have ways to get you in touch with whomever you would need to talk to.

Please America, do not forget that the area which provided the nation with its most horrific natural disaster is even now reeling from an even bigger disaster; dealing with yet more fallout from poor decisions made after the storm. I pray we do all we can to help those who are at this very moment sick, depressed and feeling forsaken.

You CAN Help!

2008-02-10T09:01:00.001-06:00

People all the time ask me how they can help those who are suffering. There are many ways anyone can help, even if funds are low. Today I went to JC Penney store which was having a huge clearance sale. In the middle of an aisle, there was a big rack with many disaster readiness products. There were flashlight/radio which you crank up instead of using batteries, combination grill/coolers, combination cooler/radios and emergency preparation kits.

All these items at one time had a price tag of $40 on them. There were of course mark down stickers as the store was trying to get rid of last year's products to make room for the coming year. Today the sale was supposed to be 75% off. There were 36 of the crank flashlight/radios alone. I spoke to the store manager and we worked out a deal that if I bought all the stuff, he would cut the clearance price in half again.

I was able to get essential items that will save lives in hurricane prone areas for 10% of their original cost. In other words, I got 10 items for what only 1 cost not too long ago. Of course I now have all these boxes out in the barn awaiting my next journey down to the Gulf Coast. The point is; if a person is willing to spend a little time bargain shopping, there are incredible deals out there that could greatly help either yourself or someone else.

I was thinking today that if everybody went to their local JC Penny store on Monday, they could get the same items I did at the same price I did today; for that is their next mark down. Anyway, if people with a heart to help others did this, then we could have enough of these products scattered around to then figure out how to get to where they are needed before they are needed. If anyone follows through on this idea, and ends up with a large amount of these products; please go to my Heart2Heart SHARE site and contact me.

In previous posts I mentioned the need for food. This need has grown greatly with the recent tornadoes. We are not to the point we were after Katrina when we needed to have huge city-wide food drives; but someone needs to start putting some kind of drive together and start collecting canned and boxed goods to be shipped to various locations when needed in a few weeks.

Some of you do eBay. Did you know that eBay allows you to specify a certain amount of a transaction go to the charity of your choice? Many charities have people doing nothing but selling things on eBay. Individuals can also allot a certain percentage of certain products to go to charity.

Starting in April and running all summer, every Saturday you could get your car washed ten times if you wanted by various youth groups raising money for trips. Car washes, bake sales, yard sales and auctions are all great ways to show support for a group. They are also wonderful ways to generate excitement and get more people involved.

I cannot begin to communicate the urgency of need in certain areas. I know from my travels last year that the areas hit hardest by the tornadoes earlier this week are currently being well taken care of by FEMA and the big charities such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army. But, in the not too distant future these groups will all pull out and leave everything in the hands of what is known as "long term care committees". These groups are made up of representatives from various charities, churches and civic groups in the local community. Their purpose is to identify needs and work together to find ways to meet them.

This is all well and good, but what these groups will need soon are resources. It takes money, supplies and volunteers to rebuild a community and restore families to some degree of normalcy in their lives. Usually about two months after the disaster, that is when the needs start really piling up and the avenues for giving and service do so also.

No one needs to feel they cannot help their neighbor in need because of lack of finances. There are many ways to help. When I got back from my first journey to Katrina devastated Mississippi back in 2006, numerous people took it upon themselves to go door to door asking people if they had anything laying around the house not needed any longer to donate to the cause. Within a week, I had a huge truck full of everything from clothing, to furniture, to food, to building supplies and books.

At any given time, if one person gets it in their heart to share, and the fire starts burning brightly; their enthusiasm becomes contagious. Before long, others want to get involved because it is so much fun to quit worrying about yourself and become totally concerned about others. If anyone wants to do this and manages to round up some supplies; please contact me and I will arrange to pick them up wherever you are.

My Dentist and his wife left on a trip last Wednesday night. Every year they take 10 days in early February and go to a small clinic in Haiti to donate their services. When asked why they do this every year, the answer is "it is rewarding". Giving of yourself to another in need is indeed rewarding. It makes us feel good to know we are helping someone else. That is the way God set it up to work. Our greatest rewards in this life are not the ones we earned, but the ones we receive in service to others.

Please, there are more people in need now than ever before. Anything and everything you can imagine is desperately needed by someone, somewhere. There are numerous areas still devastated by Katrina. There are many communities still reeling from floods and tornadoes last summer. There are plenty of localized situations we see advertised on bulletin boards every week. There is plenty of need to go around. I pray there is plenty of help to supply those needs.

Food Crisis: Urgent Appeal for Help

2008-02-04T10:03:00.001-06:00

As more and more "extra" personal funds are being diverted to pay for mortgages, gasoline, food and entertainment; there is less and less available for charity. This is the report I am receiving from numerous places scattered around the country. This alarming trend must be abated for the sake of those suffering in situations they cannot deal with. A difficult as times may get, economically; we must never lose the fervor which has sparked charities in this country for decades.

Even if the economic stimulus package ever gets through Congress, it will be May at the earliest before anyone receives any money. What is worse, this package is not geared for those in dire financial straits; it is geared toward those who would use the money to buy more "things". It is an absolute travesty of justice for the House of Representatives to have passed this measure with NO checks going to senior citizens only living on Social Security.

Perhaps the Senate can add this to the measure, but there is strong resistance from politicians who for some reason don't want seniors to spend money on prescription drugs, rent or utilities. The same thing is being rammed though in relation to the poorest of the poor. Little or no money is available for them. But, in an equally shortsighted and stupid move, the Senate wants to give people making hundreds of thousands of dollars a check. It makes absolutely no sense to give people making $500 thousand a check and not give some poor senior citizen trying to live on $800 per month a check.

Obviously all the politicians want is to get free money into the hands of people who will re-elect them next fall. Pity the common folks who need an economic jolt; they are not important. I hate politics and politicians with a passion. How shortsighted, stupid and ignorant can they be to put this country deeply in debt to hand people a few hundred dollars with the stipulation it is to be used for plasma televisions, new furniture or a down payment on a new car. It makes my blood boil that this is all going on when the nation's attention is fixed on Super Bowl and Super Tuesday.

At the bottom of the economic ladder are many suffering families. The needs piling up among those who are trying to scrape by making minimum wage or attempting to live off of Social Security alone are staggering. In the ultra poor areas, disease, heart attacks, strokes and stress related disorders of all types are exploding. The corresponding medical bills are staggering. Crime is dramatically increasing as desperate people are resorting to desperate measures to find the money to feed their families.

I am very aware of the problems with drugs and other addictions that run rampant in poor areas, for I have written about them here. But, I am also aware of the desperate condition many families are getting into. They have no hope, no way out and no one to help them. Countless small charities have shut their doors in the past few months. They cannot find supplies and in some cases volunteers to help. Food banks have little food and that which they have has to purchased at very high prices.

If a community outreach center tries to provide a box of food per week for a family to help bridge the gap and keep them from resorting to crime or eating trash out of bins; the cost of the food in that box would conservatively be at least $50. If the center tries to help 100 families per week on average; that means they need $5,000 of food supplies per week to fill the boxes. This translates into over $20,000 of food per month. Where on God's green earth are these charities going to find this kind of money?

Food banks have "stood in the gap" for years making available canned goods and even frozen foods to charities at a dramatically reduced price. They were able to do this because of arrangements with many huge suppliers of grocery products that would donate as "gift in kind" excess, soon to be expired or discontinued products. Food banks would have to pay to get the products shipped in and stored. They, in turn would charge the individual charities a small price per pound to buy the product.

After a huge disaster, such as hurricane Katrina, vast amounts of food would be donated to the Food Banks, and shipping would be donated also. As a result, local charities could receive emergency food supplies free of charge for a season. In the case of Katrina, this went on for well over a year. Sooner or later the supplies run out and things go back to the old "price per pound" method.

Currently, most food banks are charging local charities around 18 cents per pound for food. That doesn't seem like much until you stop and realize how heavy a can of any kind of food is. A can of corn weighs just under a pound. That means a can costs a charity 18 cents. If the charity wants to put a can of corn in each of the 100 food boxes; that amounts to $18 just to purchase the corn. Now start adding in other vegetables, fruit, pasta products, and canned meat and the price starts skyrocketing. Just ten different canned products push the food bank bill up to $180 per week. Add in some frozen meat and other products to fill the box up and one can see how the total bill can end up far past the charity's means to pay for it.

Here you have the crux of the current problem. The need is great in poor areas and getting greater by the day. Local charities are closing due to lack of supplies and/or financial means to purchase them. The charities which remain, must now handle a marked increase in numbers of clients. Even if they had budgeted for the year and done fundraisers to get the money to stay afloat; with the increase in volume, they quickly are overwhelmed and find themselves in the same situation as the smaller charities. It is exactly like dominoes hitting each other and they all end up falling down.

Somewhere along the line, there has to be a domino strong enough to stand. Somewhere the collapsing charity train must be kept from totally derailing. Somewhere, someone must receive the wherewithal to keep receiving supplies and/or funds to purchase them so they can take care of the people. We must continue to fight for the "little guy" in the realm of community outreach, or people will end up literally starving to death.

Here is a dirty little secret no one knows; the government social agencies when confronted with a starving family can do nothing more than refer them to a PRIVATE charity to find help. So, for those who insist it is the government's problem, go tell exasperated social workers that. Well, if not the government, it should be the big charities. Bless their hearts, they are doing the best they can, but are slowly but surely having the same noose tightened around their necks when it comes to food.

Then surely the local churches will help the people. The truth is, very few churches have any money available in their budgets for local mission work. What few churches that do have the funds, usually can't help more than a handful of people and then run out of supplies. They quickly refer the people to the local community outreach centers; and they cycle starts anew.

We are truly facing a crisis in a realm no one believes exists. Very few Americans really believe there are people in this country starving. Don't just take my word that there are, go find out for yourself. Sure, some of these people brought it on themselves and need to go get a job. But, there are countless tens of thousands who through no fault of their own, find themselves without shelter, heat and worst of all food. Many of these people are over 70 years old with no family to help them. Many are single mothers or families being raised by the eldest child because the parents are strung out on dope.

There are many reasons why people end up at the end of road with nowhere to go. There are many reasons why people end up homeless, penniless and hungry. There are many reasons people cannot afford medical care or insurance. To lump all these people together and say it is "their fault" and refuse to offer aid to them is paramount to abuse. To dump all these people on governmental agencies, big charities, churches or community outreach programs; and NOT SUPPORT THEM is nothing but hypocritical arrogance.

Please, any of you reading this, if there is any way you can help; there are thousands of innocent victims suffering out there. These are not people in Africa or Asia, although there are millions suffering in those places also, they are in this country. These are people who may have at one time been your neighbor or co-worker. They may have checked you out at the store for years. They may have had children who went to school with yours. They may have gone to school with you. The people in greatest need just might be someone you know but don't know it.

How can you help? The food banks need major donations from suppliers, retailers, distributors and wholesalers. Mid-level charities need supplies such as truckloads of boxes of food, baby products and senior items such as meal-drinks and adult diapers. Smaller community outreach programs need FUNDS to purchase food from the food banks to keep providing a little help to those who are most desperate. Individual families need SPONSORS who will develop relationships with them and honestly find out what they need both short term and long term. Individuals need someone to work with them and direct them to a path that leads to self-sufficiency.

Please, America, don't become so self-absorbed you forget to "love thy neighbor as thyself". Please remember the golden rule of "doing unto others as you want done unto you". Instead of smugly criticizing those who have fallen on the hardest of times, why not try sympathizing with their situation. Who knows, you might be in the same boat they are in sooner than you think. If America rolls up its collective sleeves NOW, we can head this crisis off at the pass. If America turns up its collective noses now, then it is only going to get worse and more painful to deal with in the future.

If you want more information on various groups desperately in need of help; please go to my Heart2Heart SHARE website and click on SHARING PARTNERS. Here is the link to that website:

www.heart2heartshare.com

Thank you for your prayerful consideration in this matter. It really is a matter of life and death for many people. God bless you.

Standing Against the Flood of the Enemy

2008-01-30T20:46:00.001-06:00

I went out to feed the horses early yesterday because I knew incredible weather phenomena was coming through. When I left to make the 1/8^th mile trek up to the horse barn the temperature was 70 degrees with no wind. By the time I got back about twenty minutes later; the temperature was 50 degrees and the wind was blowing around 50 mph. Some twenty minutes later, the temp was down to 35 degrees and the wind was still blowing about 40 mph. In fact, I think every leaf in Kansas has blown across the state of Missouri to where we live.

Although, thankfully, there are no storms at the moment (quite unusual), this experience with an extremely strong cold front brought back memories of many pictures and videos I have seen of the storm surge that wiped out the coast of Mississippi during Katrina. Amazing video was shot from the Air Force base at Biloxi of the surge engulfing the parking lot and in a matter of minutes totally covering cars and buildings.

The Bible speaks of the enemy "coming in like a flood." When he decides to "invade", he holds nothing back. He aligns his forces to smother an area just like in a storm surge, or like the winds we are currently experiencing. He holds nothing back when he decides to put a person, place, church or city under "siege". In the Old Testament, you can see plenty of examples of physical enemies putting a city under siege. Jerusalem certainly was in this category more than once.

There is little that can be done once a full scale attack commences. The work must be done ahead of time. As the scouts motto states; "be prepared" is the only way to withstand the rushing winds or rising floods of the enemy. Ephesians 6 tells us to put on the whole armor of God, leaving nothing uncovered where a dart might get through. Once the armor is in place, the preparation stage is complete, then it says to STAND.

The hardest thing to do is STAND when facing hurricane force winds. Yet, that is one of the great keys to victory in spiritual warfare. There are certainly times to back off and there are times to retreat. But, in the heat of the battle, the need is to STAND. The victor is determined by who is left standing at the end of the battle.

The principalities and powers in high places that we war against are not to be shrugged off or treated lightly. These high ranking officers in the devil's army are powerful and crafty beyond description. They seek only the destruction of those who they feel are a threat to the devil's aims and goals. All they do is ultimately directed at those who are STANDING for God. That is where the battle rages. Between those who are attempting to be "faithful in Christ Jesus" and those who are high ranking officials in the devil's chain of command. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities…" Ephesians 6 tells us.

I believe God lets prayer warriors know ahead of time of an impending spiritual invasion. The heaviness and oppression we feel is the way God has set up to alert His warriors as to what is COMING. Once the sign has been given, the warriors must go into battle mode and pray as never before, and they must alert others to the upcoming event so they may prepare.

Last August I was attending a conference. After the key speaker spoke one night, there was the typical prayer service common to Assemblies denomination (where the conference was taking place). Not being of that persuasion, I didn't know what was coming. The speaker requested any and all those engaged in Christian service to come forward. I did as I was told and waited for the men to make their way down the line to me.

When they started praying over me, they were praying that whoever and whatever was seeking to destroy what I was doing for God would cease. Specifics were giving as to the particular person who was spreading deceitful lies and the prayer was made to make him stop. This was all news to me. I didn't know anyone was attempting to do such a thing.

Afterwards, I met up with the gentleman and asked for further details. He told me exactly what God showed him, complete with a "tattoo" on the arm. We prayed again and as much as I would like to say I found the person and stopped him, I never did. But, whoever it was succeeded in causing me no end of trouble. I must confess it was my own fault for not investigating further as to whom this mysterious person could be, but I got distracted and never did.

The enemy can be strong and powerful as well as crafty and extremely deceitful. Either way, we need each other's prayers to help us be strong enough to spot and withstand his attacks. "Be strong in the Lord and in the Power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Ephesians 6:10 and 11 says.

The word "wiles" can be translated as "strategies". The devil and his gang operate off of strategy. They don't do what they do on a whim. They study their target, find the weak points and then arrange a strategy to attack those weak points. Wicked spirits from on high are sent in to wage spiritual warfare against a saint, a fellowship of saints, a city, a state or even a nation. The book of Daniel speaks of Michael returning from battling the enemy in a certain geographical area.

Our mission, if we decide to accept it, is to PUT ON the whole armor of God and to STAND. We listen to the prayer warriors, we put on the whole armor of God, we pray and having done all, WE STAND. That is our mission and that is our calling in times of intense spiritual warfare.

The Price of Commitment

2008-01-29T20:24:00.002-06:00

I deplore religion. I deplore those who use religion to promote 100% secular causes. I deplore religious people who don't have one ounce of Christian blood inside them. I am a Christian and I am proud of it. My citizenship is not of this world and I do not pledge my allegiance to any nation or government of man. My king is Jesus Christ and to Him and Him alone I am committed. No institution of man, no religious ruling authority, no principality or power has any right to my heart or dominion over my soul.

Those who wish to cower in the shadows and hide from the stomping boots of agents bent on the destruction of "Christians" should be the first ones shot. They are a disgrace to those who gave their lives as martyrs for Christ. Cowards run for cover when the enemy approaches. Cowards should be the first ones fed to the hungry lions.

I am very tired of "playing religious games" with people who never have or ever will know and love Jesus Christ as a true Christian does. "Religious" people are not Christians simply because they practice some religion. Christianity is not a religion; it is a way of life. Christianity is a FAITH, not a system of rules or traditions of men.

I pray the next time some crazed madman aims his automatic weapon at people that he would first dare any Christians to be first in line to be shot. I would pray that there would be some who value their King more than their physical lives. I would pray there would be some willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for God. Oh how I pray there will always be a few true Christians around to show the enemy he cannot intimidate everyone.

I thank God for those who have served in the military. I understand the concept of fighting for freedom. I also understand that in spiritual warfare, there is only one thing the enemy understands and that is boldness. Peter speaks of our foe as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. A lion's roar freezes its prey in their tracks. Out of fear they stop and the lion has an easy lunch. When the lion roars, roar back at him. Don't just stand there shaking in your boots. Take out the sword of the spirit and cut off his tail as a souvenir of your encounter!

Fear freezes people and renders them easy prey for the enemy. Animal experts say that if a wild animal senses fear in its victim, it will immediately attack them. So what if the enemy snarls and growls madly. Snarl and growl right back at him. No fear has to be a true Christian's ironclad rule of combat. If the enemy senses fear, he will immediately go for the jugular.

I am not the least bit afraid of dying. I especially look forward to the day when I am hauled before the authorities and given the choice of renouncing my faith or being killed. I would count it my greatest honor in life to give my life on behalf of my king. There is nothing in this life worth compromising my faith for. My life is not my own, for I have been bought with a price. If the greatest thing I can do with this life is give it as a sacrifice to my King; so be it.

In the past 8 months there has been a rash of shooting sprees. First there was Virginia Tech, and then there was Finland, then Minnesota,then Colorado,then Chicago and now Kirkwood. Out of nowhere a wild person suddenly opens fire on innocent bystanders. Is this a bad thing? Of course it is, and the latest incident bears out where this is heading. The gunman in the Colorado shootings stated on his pre-killing internet post that he was going out to kill as many Christians as he could. He hated Christians and his hate bred murder. This started with Cain and continues unto the present.

Cain hated his brother Abel and his intense hatred motivated Cain to kill Abel. The devil hated Christ and the devil hates true Christians for they represent Christ now. Anyone who is daring to walk as He walked and talk as He talked is at the top of the devil's hit list. John 10:10 states that the devil's purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. He lives and breathes to disrupt and destroy true Christian's lives. He plots and plans circumstances to hinder, distract and burden those on his "list". He maneuvers people and situations around to present roadblocks, diversions and other things all for the purpose of thwarting God's plans. The devil is the ultimate orchestrator and manager.

Those who do not like battle, quickly make deals with the devil to leave them alone. They agree to do nothing that would threaten him in exchange for "immunity". They willingly shut up or water down the truth so as to not rile up the enemy. They find other "worthy" things to do with this life so as to not do anything worthy of getting the enemy mad. They are the ultimate pacifists and World War II proved conclusively what happens when you try and pacify the enemy. He steamrolls right over you.

Those who do not have the "heart" to fight the enemy want comfortable "desk jobs" far removed from the front lines of battle. These lukewarm Christians don't want anything to do with the actual "fight". They want to be spectators who get to sit in the stands and watch their Christian heroes do battle with the enemy like watching football on a Sunday afternoon.

Fighting the devil is difficult and entails putting on the whole armor of God found in Ephesians chapter 6. This section of Scripture specifically states that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, and powers and wicked spirits from on high. The battle is spiritual and it is not pretty. The devil and his gang are ruthless thugs when it comes to their hatred of Christians. They will stop at nothing to destroy anyone attempting to expose them and their father the devil. Thank God He gave us weapons to fight with. Thank God He has promised us He will never leave nor forsake us. Thank God for the victory, if not in this life, then eternally!

Christians need to stand up and be counted, not retreat into their fancy churches and hide. If Christianity is nothing more than a means to financial prosperity; it is nothing but a man-made religion. If Christianity is a means to become famous; then it is nothing but a man-made fraud. If Christianity is a fuzzy blanket to snuggle up in and hide from all the woes of the world; it is a counterfeit religion. True Christianity entails sacrifice and suffering. True Christianity demands separation from everything this world holds dear. True Christianity adamantly refuses to compromise with the enemy no matter how attractive his offers sound.

Christians need to have some "guts" or they will become fodder for the devil and his hungry legions of lions. Weak Christians breed a weak religion void of power and any real conviction. Christians need to understand that Christianity is not a religion but the rock solid faith of those totally committed to their Master. Christianity is simply that which describes and defines Christians. Christians are those who deliberately seek to become just like the Christ who lives within them.

I direct this post at no one in particular except the enemy. Jesus Christ needs warriors to rise up. He needs people not afraid of dying. He needs people more committed to Him than the world. He needs people unfazed by the screams of those demanding Christians shut up. He needs an army of men and women who count not this life dear to them. He needs people who would rather fight than compromise the truth. He needs people who are willing to burn rather than bow. He needs people unafraid of being cast into the lion's den or the fiery furnace heated 7 times more than normal.

Throughout this world, movements are arising that have one thing in common; their hatred for Christians. The day will come very soon when those who refuse to compromise the faith will suffer the consequences. Lord, I want to be in that number. I want to be one of those you can count on to fight and not run. I want to put on the whole armor of God so having done all; I can stand for God and withstand all the fiery darts thrown by the wicked one. I don't want the enemy to win and thus I feel compelled to fight for that which is true, honest, just and right; no matter the consequence and no matter the cost. Lord, please grant me the desire of my heart; to stand for you, no matter what.

Sobering Words From Proverbs Chapter One

2008-01-27T07:36:00.001-06:00

As we approach the end of this first month of the new year, I thought it very appropriate to look at Proverbs chapter one. I can think of no other chapter to better lay out the basic outline for all of 2008 than this chapter. My heart cries out for God's people to stop and listen to what God in His everlasting wisdom has to say about life and living it His way.

The very purpose of the proverbs is laid out in the opening verses. Reading from the NIV, let's look at verses 1-7 of chapter one:

"The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

For attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;

For acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair;

For giving prudence to the simple (those who lack judgment and are immature), knowledge and discretion to the young—

Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—

For understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline."

More than anything else, the book of Proverbs is in the Bible to give knowledge and discretion to the young. Older people get stuck in their ways of thinking and living and have a difficult time changing. But, younger people are more capable of learning and changing quicker and with less difficulty.

The book of Proverbs is for wisdom, discipline, understanding words of insight, for acquiring a disciplined life and for doing what is right, just and fair. Think about this for a moment; do we not all want these things? Is it not the innermost heart's desire in all of us to want not only wisdom and understanding, but discipline to do what is right, just and fair in this life? If so, then the wise person must listen and receive their guidance from the wisdom of Proverbs.

Many times in Proverbs, Solomon presents things using a grand analogy. He compares instruction and wisdom to a father and mother giving guidance to their son who is coming of age and getting ready to head out on his own into life. If Proverbs is looked upon from the perspective of imparting parental wisdom, it makes the book much easier to understand.

Verses 10 through 19 present the first of many warnings in Proverbs against various things. Here, the warning is against "enticement" which in today's world would be very similar to "peer pressure". It is very difficult to break away from the crowd and not give into the pressure to conform. Strength of character demands standing alone at times. Wisdom dictates doing what is right not what is popular.

"My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.

If they say, "Come along with us; let's lie in wait for someone's blood, let's waylay some harmless soul;

Let's swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

We will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder;

Throw in your lot with us, and will share a common purse—

My son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths;

For their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood.

How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds!

These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves!

Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it."

Those who use physical force to steal from others are committing spiritual suicide. The gang mentality that runs rampant in our cities and even suburbs is perfectly described in these verses. As unbelievably difficult as it is, a wise person HAS to SAY NO and NEVER yields to the pressure to conform.

The remaining verses in this chapter all reflect a general warning against rejecting wisdom. If 13 verses could be placed on television screens today instead of 13 hours of football; Proverbs 1:20-33 would be the verses I would choose out of the entire Bible to lay before people on this day. They are that important and essential to our future well-being, safety and freedom from fear:

"Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares;

At the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:

"How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?

If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.

But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,

Since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke,

I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you—

When calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

"Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me.

Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke,

They will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm."

I have studied and worked these verses inside out and upside down for a couple of years now. They are extremely important verses when dealing with "disaster relief". When people through either their pride or arrogance disregard wisdom's call in any matter, they are going to suffer the consequences. People who build a beautiful mansion directly on the beach are going to someday face the consequences of their foolishness when a hurricane shows mere mortals who is boss! If have no pity for fools who reject wisdom and defy nature. In my humble opinion; they deserve all the horrible consequences that sweep in with the next calamity.

Wisdom, indeed, does "laugh" at people's disaster and mocks them when a calamity overtakes them through their foolishness and stubborn refusal to listen to wisdom's advice. Verse 27 bears repeating for I fear this verse will become the mantra of millions of people very soon. Reading from the Amplified Bible verse 27 again says:

"When your panic comes as a storm and desolation and your calamity comes on as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you."

A whirlwind is a tornado. I have heard the horror stories of people who lived through hurricane Katrina. Huddled in a corner of a house being blown apart defines panic, distress and anguish. I have personally lived through tornadoes passing directly overhead and felt the change in pressure in my ears, and heard the nails being pulled out of boards and sheets of plywood being ripped off the roof and discarded like cardboard. There is nothing that better describes "panic, distress and anguish" than living through a category 4 hurricane or tornado.

The rejection of wisdom is a very big deal to God. So big, in fact, that He chooses to equate the consequences of rejecting it to the panic and anguish one feels when living through a gigantic storm. Unfortunately, those who have arrogantly refused to listen to God's warnings dealing with what is coming to this world, will have to endure the consequences of having to live through a time too terrible to describe.

The day of God's wrath is quickly approaching. God has issued "Wrath Warnings" since the days of the Old Testament prophets. The last thing God wanted in His written Word was the "Wrath Warning" in the book of Revelation. Those who take heed to the warnings and repent will be "saved from the wrath which is to come". Those who reject the warnings and continue living in sin will certainly be sorry they did.

Well before a severe storm, the National Weather Service issues a "watch". The purpose of a "watch" is to allow people enough time to prepare for a coming calamity. "Watches" are issued in advance of blizzards, ice storms, dry winds that fan fires, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, tropical storms, hurricanes and even tsunamis. Wisdom dictates taking precautionary measures before an approaching storm. Wise people prepare for a coming weather event and usually survive. Fools disregard the "watches" and usually end up the victims in a disaster.

When a storm is guaranteed to be a reality a "WARNING" is issued. Warnings are not given unless the situation has reached a crisis point. Warnings of all kinds are there for a reason. Only fools disregard warnings out of their arrogance and pride. It is truly amazing to look back on a situation such as Katrina and realize there was ample time for evacuations if people had heeded the "Watch" which was posted well in advance of the event. There was even time to escape once the "WARNING" was issued. For whatever the reason, those who deliberately decided to "ride out the storm" were the causalities of it. Those who properly prepared were the ones who endured the storm and had to deal with only physical damage instead of physical death.

The message of Proverbs chapter one is very sobering. Remember it says that when the horrible calamity strikes THEN those who arrogantly defied wisdom's call will cry for help. The Bible says that wisdom will not answer. It can't answer for it is too late. Wisdom cannot help AFTER THE FACT. Wisdom can only provide answers BEFORE hand. When it is rejected and arrogantly discarded when it could have helped; it is of no use after the calamity strikes.

I do not envy what those who hate the true knowledge of God and choose to NOT fear the Lord have to look forward to in 2008 and beyond. Those who will not accept God's advice written in His Word and those who spurn and flat out reject His rebuke; WILL eat of their own fruit and that fruit will not be good. The waywardness (turning away, backsliding) of the simple (the fools) will kill them. The complacency of fools will destroy them.

In Isaiah 32:6-8 it says:

"For the fool speaks folly, his mind is busy with evil; He practices ungodliness and spreads error concerning the Lord: the hungry he leaves empty and from the thirsty he withholds water.

The scoundrel's methods are wicked, he makes up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.

But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands."

In due time everyone will eat the fruit of their decisions in this life, whether good or bad. The fools and scoundrels will eventually receive the reward they are due for their wickedness, folly and selfishness. In due time, he who is noble and listens to the voice of wisdom and does what is right in the sight of the Lord will receive the reward due to them.

Allow me to close with repeating verse 33 from Proverbs chapter One from the Amplified Bible:

"But whoso hearkens to me [wisdom] shall dwell securely and in confident trust and shall be quiet, without fear or dread of evil."

No matter what the rest of this year brings, it is available to dwell securely and peacefully with no fear or dread of evil. PLEASE allow wisdom to guide and direct you to safety in this upcoming year of potential upheaval especially in the financial realm. God Bless You.

Disasters 2007: More Than Ever in This Country

2008-01-20T21:08:00.001-06:00

Having witnessed the devastating effects of numerous kinds of natural disasters, I can say that regardless of the way in which nature vents her fury, man's edifices don't fare well. In a matter of a few weeks last spring, I surveyed the damage done by tornadoes in three separate places. The only thing different with each situation was the location. In each case, the physical damage and mental anguish was identical regardless of the community.

A tornado, more than any other meteorological event, is unique in its compact yet incredibly destructive character. Even the largest tornadoes on record rarely are greater than one mile in width. From that perspective, a tornado is an exceedingly small force. Although a tornado is compact, it is ferocious and tenacious. A tornado doesn't come close to impacting as many people as a hurricane; but those it does impact suffer more violent damage than most people who endure hurricanes ever have to deal with.

It is interesting to note that next to sustained winds over 100 mph and the storm surge; the thing most to be feared with a hurricane coming ashore are the tornadoes that many times erupt near the eye wall of major hurricanes. No one can definitively say for sure, but it was estimated that there could have been 50 or more tornadoes accompanying both hurricanes Katrina and Rita ashore back in 2005. Local people who lived through both of those hurricanes claim there were hundreds of tornadoes but the weather experts deny that is possible.

Regardless of how many actual tornadoes happened; the damage on the ground would indicate there were multiple tornadoes touching down for short periods of time in multiple locations. Even after a hurricane hits, the damage caused by a tornado will still be unique. Talking to people who were huddled in their homes or in shelters while those storms roared by, many of them described sounds and sensations tornado victims always speak about. Personally, I believe there is much not understood in the realm of tornadoes associated with land falling hurricanes.

This past week as I was driving up I-44 toward St. Louis from Springfield, I happened to look out the window and saw where a small tornado had hit a two weeks ago. There were the always present blue tarps hiding roof damage on numerous homes. There were piles of rubble where barns stood previously. Somewhere in the path of damage was a family suffering with the unexpected loss of a loved one who was killed by the tornado.

Just a couple of weeks ago we basked in 70 degree warmth for a few days here in Missouri. Sure enough, when a strong cold front came roaring through, the first tornado watches of 2008 were posted and Missouri had the distinction of having watch number one for the year. January tornadoes are very rare anywhere in the United States, but extremely rare in Missouri. Even so, when the watches and warnings started flying, I knew we would be in for a long evening.

A wise person can decide not to build a home near the Gulf or Atlantic coastlines; thus eliminating the possibility of a hurricane destroying the home. A wise person can decide not to live on top of a fault line and thus avoid earthquake damage. A wise person can decide not to live on the side of a mountain thus avoiding forest fires and mudslides. A wise person can decide not to live on the banks of a river or stream, so as to avoid the inevitable flooding all moving bodies of water experience.

Yes, a wise person can decide to live in a location immune from many natural disasters, but not tornadoes. Just about anywhere is a prime location for a tornado to hit. Certainly "tornado alley" in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas are more prone to twisters than say Idaho; but other than living on top of Pike's Peak, nowhere is immune from the possibility of a tornado happening. Where exactly is one supposed to live if they are sincerely desirous of escaping nature's wrath? About the only place might be Vermont, but even that state has its share of wild winter weather events.

Far too many times, the attitude shown toward those whose lives were uprooted by a tornado is that they did something wrong by living where they chose to live. Nowhere is this ridiculous attitude more prevalent than towards those living in the middle of the country. "Who wants to live in Kansas" was the refrain I heard for years when people heard I grew up in the state. All Kansas used to be known for was tornadoes, Indians, Dorothy and Toto, wheat and endless treeless flat land. Now at least it is also known for basketball and football teams.

When the unprecedented tornado wiped the town of Greensburg, Kansas off the map last spring, there was an outpouring of concern in this country that was unique and inspiring. For the first time, people wanted to help after a Kansas tornado tragedy instead of criticizing the victims for living in the wrong state. For the first time, the United States of America really got behind the cause of rebuilding a tornado devastated city in Kansas. For the first time, America proved what it could do when it sets its preconceived prejudices aside and rallies to help a city in Kansas.

Unfortunately, what happened in Greensburg was not duplicated in numerous other areas severely impacted by last spring's disastrous tornado season. Many more populated places than normal were devastated by major tornadoes or tornado outbreaks last year. Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, New Mexico, Indiana and Kentucky are just some of the states which suffered catastrophic tornado damage last year. Americans have extremely short memories. Most have long forgotten the horrible tornadoes that plowed through Alabama and Georgia last March, including the one that killed numerous high school students in Enterprise, Alabama.

Last year, in addition to the outrageous tornado outbreaks, there were abnormally high numbers of both flash floods as well as regular floods reported. Historic flooding took place in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Major flooding took place in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Kentucky and many New England states. The cost to repair flood damage was enormous. Yet, floods never capture the public's attention because they are not as dramatic as piles of rubble after a huge tornado or hurricane.

While parts of the country were enduring record floods, other parts were suffering through unprecedented drought. The states of Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia all experienced record breaking drought that in many locales still is going on. Last spring, before the summer rains helped, Lake Okeechobee in southern Florida had reached record low levels. Last spring, fires raged in the swamps of southern Georgia sending dense smoke through much of the northern half of Florida.

Last summer, horrific forest fires raced down the dry canyons outside San Diego and Los Angeles, California destroying thousands of homes in the process. Again, in October a second fire almost burned Malibu off the map. Also last summer, huge fires burned unchecked for months in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Although summer fires happen almost every year in the western states; the decade long drought has made them worse than they used to be.

Early this winter a series of storms pounded the coastline of Washington and Oregon with winds normally associated with a category 2 hurricane. The damage was also roughly equivalent to a hurricane. Millions of people were without power for long periods of time between Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Within a week, the entire middle part of the country was paralyzed with an ice storm never seen before. Oklahoma was especially devastated by so much ice, it took the power companies weeks to get everyone's electricity back on.

Although it turned out to be another very quiet hurricane season (as far as the United States coastline), there was still one small hurricane that made land fall in almost the exact same place as Hurricane Rita did in 2005. The area was still recovering from Rita, so the damage was worse than would normally be expected with a category 1 hurricane. Even twenty-four hours before land fall, there were no warnings and no one expected the storm to blow up as it did immediately before hitting land.

2007 was a very active year weather-wise in this country. If the average American were asked if the weather was "wild" the past year, most would shrug their shoulders and say they didn't know. This is because there was little wild weather in the populated northeast part of the country. Even though there was a tornado that hopped through New York City; most people there would no longer remember it unless their house was damaged. In the absence of a huge hurricane, blizzard, ice storm or terrorist attack; the people in the Northeast cannot relate to the suffering experienced elsewhere in this country.

Images of demolished buildings in Kansas, ice on broken trees in Oklahoma, rivers swallowing up whole cities in Texas, entire towns blown away by a tornado in North Dakota, blackened hills and charred ruins where houses once stood in California and dried up lakes in Florida mean little to millions of people whose only daily concern is fighting traffic and seeing if their sports team won or lost. I hate to say it, but until a major natural disaster strikes the populated areas of the East Coast again; most people there will have little compassion for those suffering elsewhere in this country.

Whatever wonderful things come out of the Greensburg, Kansas tornado tragedy, I hope and pray they do not end there. I pray that anytime a community in this country is devastated by a force of nature, images will emerge quickly and be plastered on the Internet. I pray the major news organizations devote at least some of their precious newscasts to the plight of people whose entire lives were just turned upside down by earthquakes, wind storms and forest fires. I pray the major charitable organizations respond as quickly and in force as they did in Greensburg. I pray the average American is aroused by the images of destruction and suffering and finds within himself the motivation to help those in need either financially or by volunteering to help clean up or rebuild.

It is hard for someone to understand what a person goes through when they lose everything they have worked a lifetime to gain. It is hard for others to grasp the unbelievable suffering that is associated with the loss of one's home, its contents and especially a loved one. It is hard to comprehend the scope of a disaster that may affect upwards of a million people or more. It is hard to capture the hardships people must endure who have no electricity or water. It is hard to experience all these things unless you have seen, heard and been through it yourself.

This past year more Americans than ever before got a taste of disaster relief, for they found themselves in the middle of one. I sincerely pray that as nature once again starts unleashing her fury in the coming months that we remember to help and pray for those who through no fault of their own, found themselves in a natural disaster's path. After all, that is what America is supposed to be all about; neighbor helping neighbor and everyone helping anyone who needs it.