Prison Walk

Leave a reply

As I walk amidst the wounded from the field of battle within our culture, I asked a couple young inmates if they had anything they wanted to pray for tonight????

One young inmate said he had 4 kids ages 6 and 7.  I repeated what he said because I thought I heard wrong. I asked about the mother. That’s when he told me the children were from four different girls. The kids are being raised by the grand parents. Wow do they need our prayers. The young man has a tear tattoo on the lower corner of his left eye.

Another asked to pray for his daughter who is age two. When I asked I was told the mother is not part of the family. She is in another kind of prison I thought to myself!

These young people should still be just kids to me.

Who drove prayer out of our schools? Who seeks to remove God from everything? Who clings to the destruction of life before it arrives? Who remains silent while so many seek to silence the voice of the tear that speaks for a young man who does not know what to say or how to pray!

If there appears some intensity to my writing or when I speak from time to time — forgive me — the voice of that tear I hear penetrated my soul and I could not hold it in!

The Promise of Baby Boy

Leave a reply

The spirit of the mind doesn’t stop working. 2 Kings 4:8 was the 1st reading for Sunday July 2, 2017 – today – I shared before I ever asked the inmates last Thursday what they wanted to pray for.

Now I know God set me up! Elisha encountered a woman of influence.

She invited him and recognized he was a holy man so she had a room setup so he would have a place to stay on his many returns.

Elisha recognized the gift and wanted to give her a gift. How many of us would think of something besides things or stuff? She has no son Elisha was told. He promised “This time next year you will be fondling a baby son!

How many today would say – I wish you a new born baby?

The gift of new life – the gift to create new life – the gift to nurture new life – the gift of giving self to the new life treasure that takes years to unfold – to find one self – one gives one self away and in the process creates new life possibilities beyond expectations.

Should I die and go away? What treasure can I leave behind that can open doors to new life even in the midst of a spiritual darkness and a war man seeks to control life in every way!

Easter Season April 23, 2017

Leave a reply

Date April 23, 2017 or 1997 or 2006

In the Gospel of John we hear a dramatic story. It was the first day of the week. The first day, a powerful symbol of a brand new beginning. It was the very first day the church began its mission. It was the establishment of a brand new house, a house made of living stones. It is the same new beginning that occurs over and over as we are Baptized and when we become transformed by the power and spirit of Jesus Christ.

The disciples were discouraged, defeated, fearful, afraid and weak. They had locked the doors to the place where they were. Someone had taken the body of the Lord and they did not know where they had put him. During this moment of weakness, something very amazing, dramatic and remarkable happened. The Lord came and stood in their midst. “Peace be with you”. At the appearance of the Lord they literally exploded with joy.

Then he breathed on them. Receive the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Love of God and neighbor, the spirit of forgiveness. The spirit of Jesus Christ who died on the cross, once for all sinners. Before they could digest his appearance immediately followed the commissioning. As the Father has sent me so I send you. The whole course of human history was changed.

We are gathered here together in the house the Lord has built, as testimony to this change. The resurrection continues to occur here and now in Fayetteville Georgia in April 1997. Oh how many lives have been transformed throughout these many ages the spirit of Jesus Christ.

Think again for a moment about the place the disciples had retreated to. They were hiding in a house within a house. They had withdrawn into a place and within that place they had further withdrew into themselves.

John Michael Talbot composed a song called “My House”. It is a song which symbolically tells the story of how we each hide within our house. Our house. The house where we shelter ourselves so that no one can peer in and see who we really are. For we are often like the disciples a fearful and doubtful people. It is in the very darkness of our house, that we can encounter our beloved, the one who releases us from our greatest fears and doubts enabling us to journey outside our house where we can bring his love and peace to the people of this world.

Thomas was missing the first time Jesus appeared to the disciples. When the other disciples told Thomas about Jesus, he spoke as a man of courage and ignorance. Thomas was a stubborn seeker of manifest credentials.

Thomas symbolizes for us our human instinct to hide beneath a courageous exterior, the shell of a house, while below the surface we manifest both doubt and fear which challenge our faith.

A week later, despite the locked doors. One week later we find them again behind locked doors. These are the same disciples who had rejoiced only a week before. This message should give us great hope and joy. Here we have the first eye witnesses’. Our ancestors in faith, who had already seen the risen Lord, and still they where locked behind closed doors. Like these disciples, we too can expect weak moments. There is hope for you and me. Again Jesus began “Peace be with you”.

Then Jesus confronted the doubting Thomas in us all by calling Thomas from unbelief to belief. Next we hear the message that should be music to our ears. “Blessed are they who have not seen but believed”. This message is for you and I so that through this faith we may be transformed and have life everlasting in his name.

Jesus can penetrate any structure within which we hide:

No matter the size of the house or the sophistication of our culture, Jesus can penetrate any structure or barrier we can create. When we find ourselves retreating into the darkness of our house, is when the Gospel of John tells us Jesus will be there with us in the dark. No matter the depth of the fear, the denseness of the hiding place, or the inclination to doubt, Jesus will stand before us, if only we open our hearts to see his presence. “Peace be with you”. The peace that only God can give.

A peace we acquire when we freely turn control of our house, over to him and with Him begin to forgive those who have sinned against us.

With Baptism into the church we are forgiven, and within the traditional sacrament of forgiveness we are forgiven, and we the church continue to preach the forgiveness of sins in Jesus. It is in the forgiveness of sins that the Lord creates for us a divine indwelling.  A place of peace with our God and our neighbor. Forgiveness leads to a oneness of spirit and unity.

We have gathered together in this place, we call the house of the Lord. As we come to the altar, let us offer up and shed our individual house to the Lord, so that the one spirit will dwell within this community of believers, touching and guiding us with his spirit in faith. Then when we leave this place, we can go out in joy to love one another and our neighbors with the same mind and spirit of Jesus Christ.

Lent 2017

Leave a reply

See if you can think of modern day examples to substitute for the word “hunter”! Do I really need to give anyone a clue?

A reminder to all – especially Christians –> It’s “LENT” with wisdom
while many of today’s new age folks consider this ancient out of date throw away belief’s and values — we have from the Liturgy of the Hours morning prayer said every single dang gum day this
RESPONSORY – (PS I think it is designed especially for the too smart of head that ignores the heart – but God knew just how hard a heart can grow so it is repeated over and over and over so just maybe one day it will penetrate hearts grown stone cold.)

God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.
– God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.
From those who would trap me with lying words
– and from the hunter’s snare.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.

Yep only God can save humankind from the selfie crises of self worship! Who you looking for?

Birthday Present 2017

Leave a reply

My birthday present to you in 2017!!! Some say I am retired!?! Could have fooled me! But I say – the voice more powerful just keeps on calling – stay persistent do not get discouraged by people seeking their own desires . The promise made will be a lasting treasure! My birthday gift to those willing to listen and with ears willing to hear! From 2 Timothy 4:

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: 

a 2; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.

b 3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity,* will accumulate teachers

c 4 and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths.

d 5 But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry.

Has this day (b 3;) already arrived? What myths (c 4;) has the world embraced? Who has the courage (d 5;) to be open, listen and speak the truth?

2017 Protests & The Tea Party of 2008

Leave a reply

Memories: I participated in the Tea Party Protests of 2008 & 2009. I assisted in the initial spontaneous citizen dialogue using the internet to articulate what it was that was bubbling up from the gut of people across this nation. I wish I had saved my comments from those days for my grand children to read today.

Memories: I participated in the Tea Party Protests of 2008 & 2009. I assisted in the initial spontaneous citizen dialogue using the internet to articulate what it was that was bubbling up from the gut of people across this nation. I wish I had saved my comments from those days for my grand children to read today. When ones American values are being violated is when the gut begins to speak so ones mind and spirit will stop and listen. My values were defined in the Declaration of Independence the founding document for the Constitution – I realized our national leaders had been long straying from the vision of self governess and the creation of new form of government called a Republic when democracy was recognized as a real threat to liberty, freedom and the rights of the people.

I willingly marched on Washington D.C., hosted a local rally and spoke at several others. I probably still have the talks I gave. And no one got paid for what they did.

The Main Stream Media can not fool me with the fake news of yesterday or today. Back then Tea Party protesters were called many names by many of the elected elite of both parties and the main stream media joined in with the powerful – Tea Party = “extremist”, “racist”, “homophobes”, “Nazis” and many more. Tea Party folks showed up at national and state Republican and Democratic Town Hall meetings. No discrimination there = both parties were guilty. And we had many outstanding black and espanic Tea Party supporters. Tea Party folks recognized the federal government was no longer representing the people within either party. Tea Party folks didn’t just whine and complain they worked, organized and offered real solutions which any citizen of party or affiliation was welcome to read.

http://www.teapartypatriots.org/

The hatred expressed by some toward the Tea Party movement made me realize our nation was and is still suffering from a sickness caused by the lust for power and control.When the Tea Party marched on Washington D.C. the capital was cleaner than when they came and no one got hurt or property destroyed.

Compare what is taking place today where people destroy property, beat people up, yell and scream, some are even being paid to shut other voices down in an effort to create an image of unrest yet they offer no solutions and seem bent on attacking only a single party.

When ones American values are being violated is when the gut begins to speak so ones mind and spirit will stop and listen. My values were defined in the Declaration of Independence the founding document for the Constitution – I realized our national leaders had been long straying (almost all of my life) from the vision of self governess and the creation of new form of government called a Republic where democracy was recognized as a real threat to liberty, freedom and the rights of the people.

So many young folks don’t know our nations history and are easily influenced by the creation of an image that may not be true!

I willingly marched on Washington D.C., hosted a local rally and spoke at several others. I probably still have the talks I gave. And no one got paid for what they did.

No one including the Main Stream Media can not fool me with the fake news of yesterday or today. Back then Tea Party protesters were called many names by many of the elected elite of both parties and the main stream media joined in with the powerful – Tea Party = “extremist”, “racist”, “homophobes”, “Nazis” and many more.

Tea Party folks showed up at national and state Republican and Democratic Town Hall meetings. No discrimination there = both parties were guilty. And we had many outstanding black and espanic Tea Party supporters.

Tea Party folks recognized the federal government was no longer representing the people within either party. Tea Party folks didn’t just whine and complain they worked, organized and offered real solutions which any citizen of party or affiliation willing to look was welcome to read.

The hatred expressed by some toward the Tea Party movement made me realize our nation was and is still suffering from a sickness caused by the great sin of lust and greed for power and control.

When the Tea Party marched on Washington D.C. the capital was cleaner than when they came and no one got hurt or property destroyed.

Compare what is taking place today!

Symbols of Wisdom – The Worlds & God’s

Leave a reply

There are two kinds of Wisdom.  The symbol for the worlds wisdom is the iphone or smartphone.  Every youngsters around the age of 12 begins to carry the symbol of the worlds wisdom everywhere they go these days.  With it’s internet connectivity all knowledge and images are available to the child with little or no supervision.  A child has neither the maturity, knowledge or ability to understand the most intimate details they may be exposed to.

The impact of the worlds wisdom creates division which can easily be observed almost everywhere a family and friends gather.  Check out the tables at a local restaurant.  Everyone at the table is more than likely being consumed by a non-living smart device.  We could conclude they are being trained by the device of the world, voluntarily being divided and consumed into a non living selfie devise.  Each individual is living in a fantasy world of self where the development of social skills/interaction with real people is inhibited or worse eliminated.  Hence we might expect in the face of real or perceived conflict these young folks will soon learn to run for the nearest imaginary wifi safe zone.

The symbol of God’s wisdom is strikingly different.  It is the real flesh and blood of Christ hanging on a cross we call a crucifix.  And secret code to God’s wisdom is provided by the nail driven through the flesh of Christ which serves as the key that opens the door to the wisdom of God and a life lived more abundantly.  The crucifixion is the result of dealing with real people by one who was willing to sacrifice everything to speak the truth to those loved including ones enemy who seeks to bully, discredit and shut up any voice that has the courage to speak of the word of truth and wisdom reveled to those willing to surrender to the creator of all things.

 

Modern Gun Violence versus Cowboys and Indians of Yesterday

Leave a reply

When I was a kid in the 1950’s the major game my brother and I played was cowboys and Indians.  Our favorite hero’s were Gene Autry & Back in the Saddle Again, Roy Rogers & Trigger his horse, Zorro, and the Lone Ranger and Tonto.  We went to the movies to watch cowboy shows every chance we could.  We both used sticks as imaginary horses.  I remember a long piece of brown wood with white paint alone the 3/4″ side was my horse which had a white mane.

From morning to sunset it was ride em cowboy and shoot up the bad guys.  I must have shot my brother a million times and he did the same to me.  Sometimes we would argue who shot who first.  But for sure eventually one of us would pretend to die.  In fact we could take almost forever to die as we exaggerated the slowest of slow deaths.

Wow – can you imagine what might happen to us in today’s uptight modern world?  We would be taken out of school, away from our parents, placed in custody and required to talk to a shrink with an agenda to dismantle the spirit of the boy we were created with and then require we be put on some sort of drug.  I suspect today’s so called highly educated self proclaimed experts must have experienced a seriously lack oxygen to the brain that effected their critical thinking capacity.  Or worse they must be taking self prescribed drugs that cause them to seek safe zones from little boys.

Think about it neither my brother, nor I or any of our cousins or friends ever killed a single person because we had what today’s experts do not honor and was probably never covered in their higher educational curriculum or internship experience.  We had mothers and fathers of  faith took us to church every Sunday and when necessary gave us a spanking.  Gosh they sent us to a Catholic School where “religion” and the “ten commandments” were taught.  Gosh my brother and I knew the difference between play, pretending and real life even when we were little boys.

This is called being “churched” versus those being incarcerated in our modern world that are now recognized as being “unchurched”.

Go figure – just how smart are the secular progressives?

Symptoms of a Generational Attack on the American Culture

Leave a reply

Completed my annual prison update orientation today. We are being told the new inmates coming into the system are different from previous generations. The one word summary used = “they are unchurched”!

Reflection – and you won’t hear this in church, where happy talk is the model of this modern era — translation the secular progressive movement in our nation has been highly successful in dismantling the cornerstone fortress’s (family and church) which historically protected not only children but civilization.

Seems so many have forgotten our nation really was founded upon a christian/judeo philosophy – freedom of religion and liberty grounded in personal responsibility. Is that taught in school anymore?: For the new age folks – this is a very old story being repeated under our noses lead by the ever sophisticated Hollywood glamor class with values one can find in a septic tank! Oh – if it feels good do as much as you can with as many as you can — there are no consequences and it doesn’t matter who you do it with.

Shut my mouth, should I speak in terms of a philosophy passed on as ages old wisdom and knowledge of “right or wrong” or heaven forbid I use the words “virtue or sin”. The progressives and the young will either try to shut me up or run for the nearest safe zone.

Folks are just misunderstood is the progressive answer! They better watch out – cause the gangs have no respect for safe zones either.

Division in America and Removal of Prayer

Leave a reply

Heard Trump say the division in our nation stared before Obama. Then I heard a bone head pundit say it started when Bill Clinton was impeached!

Gosh, I still remember the 1960’s when the secular progressive movement succeeded in scaring people into thinking they couldn’t pray in government schools. I pray everywhere I go – even in a government prison.

Today, I received an official briefing on the impact to the long term removal of prayer – young inmates have no idea how to pray when they need it the most. For many of them the new church is a gang where at lest someone there recognizes they exist.