Swallow-Tailed Kite

    We planned to write about Peter Schweizer on China's exploitation of birthright citizenship - and how Christian language is used against us. But the truth is too disturbing. 

    So, we'll praise God's swallow-tailed kite (my favorite bird). 

    My bird book on the Florida's Everglades describes the kite as "loveliness of form, beauty of plumage patter, and graceful flight." I've seen one in the trees behind our Florida home and will never forget it. 

     "White feathers cover the bird's head and underparts. Black plumage with purple sheen clothes its back, it's long, narrow. pointed wings and its deeply forked tail." 

     "In flight, this hawk may soar high in the sky or swoop for a drink without pausing, it seizes prey with its talons and eats the food while flying. Its menu includes large insects, amphibians, small reptiles and nesting birds. The kite chooses tops of tall trees (as in our back yard) for nesting."

     "The female uses her talons to snatch large twigs and mosses for nest building. Spectacular flocks leave the park in August, flying to Central and South America." 

     There. Isn't that better reading than what the Chinese are doing to use nests for births in countries linked to America? To give them voting rights? 

         Jimmy

   

     

Palm Sunday    

     Jesus made a "triumphal entry" to Jerusalem on Sunday. Well, the people who loved his healing power considered it a triumph. They must have thought he came to replace the Romans. 

     In Luke 19, we read that on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples ahead to find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden.

     They found the colt, brought it to Jesus, and put him on it. Not a kingly wagon, or even a horse. A colt, which normally would not tolerate a rider. 

     When he approached Jerusalem, a whole crowd of disciples joyfully praised God in loud forces for all the miracles they had seen. "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" They through palm branches and clothing on the road.

     Did Jesus grin and wave to the crowd? No! He wept over the special city, and he warned...what enemies were going to do to them, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you. Luke 19:41-44. 

     Five days later Jesus was crucified, voluntarily enduring the sentence the Jerusalem crowd - and all of us - deserve. 

    God loves us that much. Do we recognize the limited time we have? Heaven or hell. Nothing halfway. 

  

 

Who Really Owns Your House?

     "It may be the government," writes Andree Peterson in WORLD magazine. 

      "These days, young people can't buy houses, and retired people have difficulty holding on to them. For seniors, mortgages were paid off long ago. We own them free and clear...or do we? We can still lose them. An estimated 42 million homeowners are in danger of going bankrupt.

     "In all states, K-12 schools rely on revenue from property taxes. The appraising district sets the value of your house - often inflated - for taxing purposes. The legitimate worth of your house is thus fraudulently overvalued, which gives the taxing entities an extra few thousand dollars worth of value to play with. 

     "What makes your house worth more than it was five years ago? It may be nothing. It happened because school districts are borrowing money and using your house as collateral. Money also goes to many NGO's with names like Interfaith Action of Greater St. Paul, and American Indian Family Center. 

     "You have now entered the big boy world of federal markets, of $23 trillion in property overvaluation affecting every home in the country...and of compound interest that can never be paid off. On a fixed income, this is unaffordable. 

     "One of President Trump's proposed affordability measures is to repeal property taxes. Good for him. How about we get local schools out of the bond business and have them overate on a cash-only basis?"

Who really owns your house? "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." - Psalm 24:1

A Historic Decline

     "For the first time in half a century, more immigrants left the United States than entered. Researchers examined immigration and Customs Enforcement data, which show deportations within the interior of the U.S.- away from the border - jumped 46 during Trump's first nine years in office. 

     "ICE arrests quadrupled as a whole, including a sevenfold surge in arrests of immigrants with no criminal convictions. ICE conducted more than 675,000 deportations last year. That included almost 300,000 from within the interior of the country - a record for this century. As the Trump administration continues its crackdown, net migration will likely continue to decline."

Better Than Expected

     "Economists expect the global economy to expand by about 3% this year and next. Based on strength shown by the private sector and governments last year, despite economic shocks from trade disruptions and marketplace uncertainties. 

     "Experts revised their expectations upward after observing responses to tariff increases that began in April, investor optimism and surging tech investments. Worldwide, economic growth has averaged about 3% each year since 2021.

     "Trade and market analysts were surprised that global economics, led by the U.S. and China recovered well following the 2020 recession. 

     "The risks rosy projections remain numerous: rising government debt levels, higher than predicted inflation, reduced AI investments, and economic or military disruptions to supply chains." 

 

Drawn to Darkness

     Teens are succumbing to the lure of violent online extremism. Can their families save them before it's too late?

     An article in WORLD magazine: "Radicalization often happens behind closed doors, making it impossible to know the entire scope of the problem. But existing metrics suggest this is a significant and growing threat." 

     "Happy kids aren't stumbling on these sites and they are being radicalized. The are already struggling with difficult experiences and broken relationships and want to know 'does anybody else feel like I do?"

     And a reminder from Scripture. Ephesians 6, in this war-like world, we must put on the armor of truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and Spirit. 

Views has company this week. Our blogs continue, but short.

 

It Was the Lord's Will

Isaiah 53:9-12 

     He was assigned a grave with the wicked. and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 

     Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 

     After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life, and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 

     Therefore, I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Your blogger is a transgressor,

but Jesus took my punishment. 

How about you?