Friends,

   Your blogger is  in charge of the coffee around here, from purchase all the way through to rinsing out the pot. While refilling the jar of decaf and regular, 50-50, I was stunned to see - and hear - coffee beans pouring out of the regular bag. Oops. 

   I mixed ground decaf with the beans, curious to see - taste - if that would work. After Friday breakfast, Mrs. said the coffee was okay, as always. Then I told her what happened. Hey, if laughter is good medicine, hilarious laughter probably heals. You never have to grind coffee beans again. Isn't that good news? ....or maybe not.  

   As for news, we have added Newsmax.com. Newsmax TV, which we get on cable channel 1217, interviews people Fox News doesn't. There is also a Newsmax Magazine, but we wont spend more time on worldly issues than we already do. 

   Russian opposition leader Navalny said in a January 9 tweet: Don't tell me he (Trump) was banned for violating Twitter rules. I get death threats here every day for many years, and Twitter doesn't ban anyone.

   Jamie Dean, WORLD magazine: American Christians can lay aside any hope in a political rescue and put our faith wholly in a sure resurrection. We can serve others. And we can lean into Sundays as weekly (Easter)celebrations that propel us through difficult weeks, and remind us the one outcome that matters most is the most certain: Christ is risen indeed.

   It's hard to stand in a fallen world, but we will, as believers have for centuries.  

        Jimmy

 

 Voice of the Lord 

Benjamin then asks Prophet why he isn't using his name. 

First, says Prophet, when you are ready to visit earth, understand that they will not know your name. Only Gabriel and Michael are known. 

Angels have no ego. Now, about your name...

My name was associated with words given me from the spiritual realm. Many prophets had the same calling, but with different dreams, visions and revelations of both judgment and restoration. 

Were you Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, or...

My friend, our former names are not meaningful here in Glory. In fact, all saved mortals will receive new names in God's time. Before anyone can be saved, from this time forward, your Captain must provide a way. Yes, a Way! He is headed for the garden right now to speak with the Father. 

I was taught prophets had a "ministry gift," and that you were above kings.

We lived in our own ages, mostly apart from other prophets. We wrote what was divinely revealed, whether we understood it or not. Some prophecy of future events came to us in past tense. One prophet, known for unholy speech, experienced a vision of the Lord himself, on his throne. He confessed immediately and prophesied mightily the rest of his life. 

It must have been discouraging when mortals rejected knowledge, fought with each other, took miracles for granted and followed the ways of the world. 

God grieved. And we grieved. Both warnings and comfort are necessary, and we obeyed ... sometimes at risk of death. We had no tolerance for compromise, complacency, pretense or excuses. Our gift was to disturb the human mind, not coddle it. And we were not deceived by external appearance. 

Prophet! Word just came that my Captain is in the garden, and he is greatly troubled. 

Monday: To the garden

  

 

Brothers Finally 'Get it' 

I'm not finished, Prophet responds to Benjamin's query, patting himself where his human heart once beat.    

   When a famine caused Jacob to send his oldest sons to buy food, young Benjamin stayed behind. In Egypt the men had no idea they were dealing with their rejected brother, but he recognized them. 

   Joseph asked if their father was living, and if there was anyone else back home. Then he feigned anger and accused them of being spies. He would 'believe them' only if they brought their young brother to Egypt. Joseph imprisoned Simeon and sent the others home with food. Jacob was crushed, possibly losing another son - Rachel's son - forever.  

   Jacob had no choice. Judah promised to return home with Benjamin or live with the consequence. 

   In Egypt the second time, Joseph had his brothers brought to his house. They were terrified. When Joseph saw Benjamin, he was deeply moved and hurried out to weep privately. After he returned, his servants provided a meal, giving Benjamin five times as much food as his brothers.   

   Joseph still needed to know if his brothers' hearts were cured. He released them, with his own silver cup hidden in Benjamin's sack. Shortly, he sent his steward after them to 'find' the cup, and declare that he who 'stole' the cup deserved death. 

Looking for redemption 

   I can't relate to human emotion, but this must have greatly troubled the men ... or did they not care about Benjamin, as they hadn't cared about Joseph? 

   That's the question, my friend. Had their hearts changed? They all agreed to serve Egypt, but the steward said Benjamin would be his slave, and they could go free. 

   Again they offered to bear the consequence. No. Only Benjamin could be held responsible. 

   Judah - recalling how his father was in misery over Joseph's 'death by wild animal' - cried, "Let me be your slave!" 

   With that, Joseph could not restrain himself. He cleared the room of all Egyptians and wept loudly, "God sent me to preserve a remnant on earth, and to save your life by a great deliverance."

   He threw his arms around Benjamin, his mother's other son, and sent him back home to Jacob with 300 shekels of silver. 

   Yes! Yes! Evil and its consequences forgiven with mercy ... repentance demonstrated by acceptance of penalty ... discovered love! Freedom! Salvation! Deliverance! For mere mortals! 

   Redemption for the willing, the very cause for which your Captain is now engaged. And a foundation for what became "the children of Abraham," Jacob's grandfather. 

Tomorrow: Voice of the Lord

   

 Chapter 2

Son of My Right Hand  

The Prince of Peace is at supper with his disciples in the upper room. Meanwhile, in the upper realm our angel asks his mentor about the origin of his name, if he might know. 

   Prophet eyes Benjamin with curiosity, and, well, it's a worthwhile question. You know about Jacob and his family in Canaan. 

   Yes, and there was a famine, causing them to travel to Egypt for food.

   Hardships can lead to blessings. Before the famine, Jacob's ... it's not a wholesome story ... but Jacob fathered 12 sons by four mothers. God will honor the family throughout the age, not because they deserved it; he chose them for his higher purpose. 

   And his last son was Benjamin, twelfth in line for blessing. 

Sibling rivalry

   His soon father-in-law required him to marry his oldest, Leah, before he could marry Rachel, whom he loved. But, Rachel was barren, the sisters became fierce rivals, and involved their maid servants with Jacob. 

   Wait. Rachel was the mother of Benjamin. 

   In time, God answered Rachel's prayers and she gave birth to Joseph, the eleventh son. Jacob the father favored the son of his beloved Rachel. Joseph managed to irritate his older brothers, who sold him into slavery and lied to Jacob about it.   

   While Joseph was educated and became a high official in Egypt, as God no doubt arranged, up in Canaan Rachel gave birth to another son, with great difficulty. Before she died, she named him Ben-Oni, translated "son of my trouble." 

   Jacob knew the boy would carry a guilt trip all his life...

   Therefore he named him Benjamin, "son of my right hand," and he favored Rachel's son, as he once had favored Joseph. But, I'm no one's favorite angel. 

Tomorrow: a new concept, Redemption  

Loud Voices Shatter Calm  

As The Host waits for new commands, warriors remember another time they were called upon, Noah's time. 

   This time ... this time ... the world will be no more, if the order is given. Elements of earth will be destroyed by fire, as angels separate protons from neutrons from electrons. The sun will be darkened, the moon of course, and stars will fall from the sky. Heavenly bodies will be shaken with a great roar. 

   Suddenly, a rush sweeps over the ranks. A loud voice calls The Host to attention. Angels snap into place with perfect comportment. A second command, and every sword flashes upright. A third voice, and swords respond as if bolts of lightning. 

   Twelve legions cannot be recognized beneath the cover of a white-hot blaze. The Host can separate bone from marrow, right from wrong, truth from falsehood. 

   They once loosed the floodgates. Now, the gates themselves. 

   The Host is ready. 

   One more command informs the warriors to extinguish their fire. They stand down. 

   All wait. 

   Waiting on word from below. 

   Tomorrow: Introducing redemption

Battalion on Mission  

As Prophet and Benjamin move along, there are other legions. Now in Glory, Prophet has become better acquainted with ancient prophecy he and others spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.   

   They notice that a battalion is missing. Benjamin gets the attention of a messenger, who deviates just long enough to explain, The 111th is on special mission, high alert!   

   The sixth and seventh legions flank a decidedly superior warrior, an archangel. 

   Tell me, Benjamin asks Prophet, was the angel who put to death 185,000 Assyrians one of these warriors, or my Captain himself? And in the furnace with Daniel's three friends, was that him? 

   I see that you are curious, replies Prophet. Yes, I believe he was protecting them in the furnace. I also wonder ... are we looking at angels who brought plagues upon Egypt, served at Mt. Sinai, provided manna, destroyed Jericho? 

No centurions here 

   The Captain has been below for more than 30 earth years. Above, the twosome passes by the ninth legion and three more after that. 

   Benjamin lifts Prophet high up ... to gaze over the vast assembly, 12 legions strong ... exactly 2 million, 73 thousand, 6 hundred warriors, minus the 111th. This array is called The Host. 

   The 20,735 companies stand without mid-rank leadership. So perfect and obedient are they, no centurions are necessary. 

   For all its might, The Host is only a representation of the Creator's power ... he who called them into being. As he wills, they do. When he is pleased, they are pleased. When he is angry, they are angry. 

   By no means are these all the angels. At the Last Day, an angel holding the key to the bottomless pit will hold a great chain. Is this the Day? Angels long to know. 

   When the Lord finally declares the Last Day, he will descend like lightning, with trumpets and a loud command from the voice of the archangel. The Host will capture the rebellious and cast them into the fire. Indeed, fire on earth has already been kindled. 

   Benjamin remains with the angels while Prophet makes his way back to the city. When he arrives, Benjamin is there, waiting. They face each other without words, pondering the unsearchable wonders of the Highest. 

   Prophet's Lord. Benjamin's Captain. 

Tomorrow: Loud voices shatter calm

THE CAPTAIN & THE HOST

Chapter 1

Someone Has to Die

Unlikely companions they are, being from two different realms. 

   One had been a prophet, as a man, made a little lower than the angels. Now in the kingdom, his redeemed life is a little above the angels. 

   Prophet, as we know him, is assigned to explain human beings to a recently created angel. As a servant of the Most High, the perfect angel otherwise needs nothing from man. But, these mortals...why don't they understand the obvious? 

   We catch up with them while paradise is on high alert. Something historical is about to happen on earth, and legions of warrior angels may be deployed. 

   The twosome arrives at a staging area, where angels outfitted for spiritual warfare are assembling. 

   Prophet says to his student, These warriors have power unsurpassed by any weapon on earth. 

   I understand, replies Benjamin, politely. Remember, I'm an angel. 

   Prophet grins, I'll try to keep that in mind. 

   I have been directed ... and this is why I am assigned to you ... to provide knowledge of how they think and feel ... as life is there, not here. I can't do what you do, and you don't yet know what I know. You will someday serve there. I cannot return until the end of the age. 

   They overlook the nearest formation ... 10 files across and 10 rows deep, 100 combatants in all. This is a company. Down the line, each group of three companies form a battalion of 300. 

   Four battalions make up a regiment of 1,200 angels. Twelve regiments form a brigade of 14,400, and 12 brigades form a legion of 172,800. 

   No unit is called a division. That word is not used here. It is never needed since wickedness was found in Lucifer and he along with a third of the angels were banished to earth like a bolt of lightning. 

Tomorrow: One battalion is missing

   

 In Whom to Trust     

   The president signed into law an act making it harder for an immigrant to become a citizen, and would allow the president to imprison and deport non-citizens deemed dangerous or who come from a hostile nation. Sounds like Trump. 

   The act also would criminalize false statements critical of the federal government. Sounds like Biden, if he bows to the cancel culture. 

   Fact. Congress passed and President Adams signed four Alien & Sedition Acts in 1798, seven years after the Bill of Rights appeared in the Constitution. Nothing much came of these acts, and general disapproval may have cost Adams reelection. 

   Shall we say, human communications and travel are enormously, immensely, tremendously advanced compared with 1798? But, human nature is unchanged. 

   While we await the second shoe to drop in Washington, and others after that, we hope Christians and Jews, regardless of party, are focusing first on God, who does not change, in whom there is "no shadow of turning." 

   "'Come now, let us reason together,'" says the Lord" in Isaiah chapter 1. He is not happy with rulers, or worshippers in name only. 

   Christians are to "give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." We are also told to "pray for those in authority." We'll pray for their souls. 

   Meanwhile, we encourage you to feed on the Bible daily, and after that, check out THE CAPTAIN & THE HOST, here, starting tomorrow. The acts of the Lord are enormously, immensely, tremendously more valuable to our eternal security than short term acts of Congress or executive orders.

       Jimmy

Biden's Mystery

   This week, as our president and his wife were walking into a federal building, he was heard to say, "salute the marines." But he didn't. Who is talking into his ear piece, and what does that say about our presidency and our nation?

Biden's "Good People"     

China's Death Helmets    

   So this is what godless communists have come to. Hours after state-run China Observer published a report, December 27, the following information was deleted. Someone just lost a job, or worse.

   China and India skirmish over disputed territory in Tibet. To manage the action from afar, China is equipping soldiers with an embedded bomb in their helmets. 

   At a command center, a commander monitors a soldier with a digital combat navigation system, by radio. The commander can see the front by reading video captured by the soldier's camera. He can order artillery. 

   He can also detonate the helmet bomb when a soldier approaches the enemy, ensuring "that Chinese win any conflict." The soldier himself can push a button when severely wounded, to "maintain his dignity" and avoid capture. 

   Special forces, infantry, artillery, aviation and armor divisions will be equipped with self-destruction helmets.  

   Well, maybe the People's Liberation Army is having trouble managing its soldiers. How many Chinese men desperately care about territory in Tibet that has no bearing on their personal lives or their country?

   Therefore, China uses extreme methods to ensure soldiers don't desert or disobey commanders. 

~ ~ ~

Monday: THE CAPTAIN & THE HOST

        Jimmy

  

         

Coming Monday

   THE CAPTAIN & THE HOST    

   Chapter                          Days

   1.  Someone Has to Die    1-3

   2.  Son of My Right Hand  4-5

   3.  When Love Hurts         6-7

   4.  Testing the Teacher      8-10

   5.  He Pays My Debt         11

   6.  Captain Goes to Hell    12-13

   7.  Divine Surprise            14-15

   8.  Back from Earth           16-17

   9.  Weapons of Warfare     18-19

  10. Testing Benjamin          20

  11.  Preparation for War      21  

  12.  Let the Joy Begin         22 

  13.  Mission to Earth           23-24

  14.  Captain Takes Charge   25

  15.  Still Small Voice           26-27 

   Readers: My earlier message had a mistake. This is not "my" story. 

   It is the Lord's story, told largely in his words, NIV, intermingled with my

   feeble fiction. If you draw closer to him, Praise the Lord!     Not me. 

         Jimmy 

   

Redistribution Football    

   It's Spring 2022 and our leaders, having "equalized" every American into one of two categories - privileged or cancelled - turns their attention to the National Football League. Equality is the goal. 

   President Harris forms a commission chaired by Dr. Robin Hood, short on sports knowledge but famous for skilled deprograming of Trump supporters. 

   Dr. Hood orders an evaluation of every player who competed in 2021, and of college stars looking to be drafted. They are rated by position, great, good or average...3, 2 or 1. 

   His plan guarantees that each team will have the same numerical total going into the new season. All team rosters are reformed. 

   In 2022, it's working. There are few lopsided scores, overtime games increase, and no team wins more than 10 games. Attendance and TV viewership drop by 20 percent, player salaries decline by 15 percent, and a team that won twice in 2021 wins the next Super Bowl.

   More evaluations in 2023 double the above effects, a coach who wins by 8 points or more is fired, and the Super Bowl is renamed Equality Bowl. 

   In 2024, all the above trends continue, and a coach who wins by 4 points or more is fired. The Equality Bowl is moved permanently to Disney World, Florida.   

   In 2025, overtime games are the rule, attendance and TV viewership are not measured, no college players choose the NFL, and all eight remaining teams end with 4-4 records, making playoffs unnecessary.

   Dr. Hood goes to the Black, Brown & White House where he receives the Medal of Equality, the highest civilian honor. He is applauded for making the NFL equally as successful as all other Chinese-American organizations.   

Coming Monday: THE CAPTAIN & THE HOST

      Jimmy

Memo to America

Left, Right & Neither

 

I am God, and there is no other.

I am God, and there is none like me.

I make known the end from the beginning,

from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say: My purpose will stand,

and I will do all that I please

What I have said, that will I bring about;

what I have planned, that will I do.

Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, 

you who are far from righteousness.

I am bringing my righteousness near,

and my salvation will not be delayed.

Isaiah 46:9-13

 When They Come for Us  

   Remember the St. Louis couple with guns, holding off several unhinged people who broke into their gated community and tried to occupy their home? And the judge who sided with the radicals? 

   Makes us wonder who's next, given the boldness Democrats and their media comrades have shown since Georgia iced the senate's cake January 5. 

   A newspaper article on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day gives us food for thought. When King released his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" in 1963, we were serving our two-year stint in the Army. We had nothing to fear unless we failed to salute an officer. 

   The civil rights movement was not on our radar. Meanwhile, Dr. King had the courage to campaign peacefully against racial segregation. Blacks in the South had plenty to fear if they didn't "behave." I was dating a Southern girl who almost convinced me George Wallace was a good guy.  

   In solitary confinement, King began to write on margins of a newspaper, then scraps of paper, and finally, a legal pad provided by his lawyers. When his associates put it all together, it was 21 pages long. 

   His words were not ones of sorrow, the article says. They were filled with rational hope, quiet optimism, steadfast faith in God and the founding principles of our nation...not a description of leftist Democrats today. 

   "Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy (poem of reflection) into a creative psalm of brotherhood," he wrote. "I have no despair about the future." This from a man who was arrested 29 times. 

   The Civil Rights Act passed in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act a year later. 

   Sad, that voting rights have been manipulated to serve the interests of the ruling party, not so much the voters.     

        Jimmy

   

  

   

   

Coming Soon  

   Most of you know we will dedicate this blog, Views by the Sea, to a short story, Monday-Saturday for about 4-1/2 weeks, beginning next Monday, the 25th. Actually, we co-wrote it. God supplied the scriptures; we added the fiction. Confession: We've never been to heaven, where much of the story takes place. 😇

   We will also take you to the scary garden and to bloody Golgotha. One page a day won't require much of your time, although if you pause to reflect on scriptures, Yea!  

   Mrs. Donut has proof-read all 27 daily readings, and we trust you will be rewarded, no matter where you are on the path of faith. We will list the 15 chapter titles here on Friday.

   By using our blog, you can scroll back if you miss a day or two and catch up. However, if you prefer daily emails, let me know at jamesfasnacht5@gmail.com. Include your name so we know for sure who you are.    

                                           And now, some cheap complaining

    After about 60 years of struggle to change America, our dear leaders have reached the top of the mountain. With a final lock on power now underway, some things have to go, such as freedom and pretense of self-rule. 

   We want to help our new administration. Therefore we offer an introduction they can use for...

THE NEW CONSTITUTION

OF THE DIVERSE STATES

We the privileged in politics, media, education,

law and business, in order to form a more diverse

nation, establish control, insure domestic

antagonism, provide for immigrants, promote

Welfare, and secure the Blessings of our Deep

State to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and 

establish this Constitution for the Diverse States of America.

                         Whaddya think?    Jimmy

 Does God Feel?      

Saturday-Sunday

   In his second letter to the Corinthian church, Paul despairs of false preachers masquerading as apostles. With attractive message, new knowledge, charisma, eloquence, education, popularity and even miracles, they lead people astray. 

   Satan's influence draws "believers" into fusion with pagan and other religions. They deny the power of God. Scripture is minimized and Christ takes second place. 

   Paul is in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, more in touch with God's feelings than any human we know of (our opinion only). He is troubled to the core by people deviating from "whole hearted devotion" and fidelity to the "blood redemption." 

   In chapter 11 he writes of his anguish, suffering, hardships, distress, tears and grief - all over the spiritual disaster looming for people he taught and loves. A broken heart, great sorrow, trials, troubles, harassment, pains and persecution confront him always. 

   Are Paul's feelings greater than his Lord's? 

   When He has had enough, God (Revelation 19) will send an "angel to bind the dragon, serpent, devil, Satan in the Abyss, and lock and seal it." 

   Then "Christ will make war on the world, coming with the armies of heaven to strike down the nations."

   "The fury of the wrath of God Almighty" is feelings in action. 

   Do we distress over loved ones who are not spiritually safe? 

       Jimmy

 Wandering Blogger  

   I forgot where I parked.

   It's wintertime, and I'm wandering among vehicles like a drunken sailor. We had just finished lunch in the plaza. 

   Now she's with cart, snaking through the aisles at our supermarket...several door-fronts down the way...trusting me to secure our to-go boxes in a car I can't find. 

   If only I was as tall as Darryl Strawberry, Aaron Judge or LeBron James, maybe I could see over the Hondas, Buicks, Jeeps and Ford F-150s...and a stray cat. Should I call 911? Maybe it was stolen. 

   Is anyone watching me, an obviously confused senior? 

   An alert person would use his or her key fob to wake up our sleeping Subaru.

   Here's a lesson for young people: When you are old enough to drive, do not deviate from your tried-and-true parking spots, be it a restaurant or supermarket. When you split the difference, you will be frustrated.   

   Shame. I neglected to pray. Am I a believer or not? 

   All's well that ends well. My terror lasted for less than 60 seconds, and this is Florida, after-all, far better January than July.

   I found Mrs. in time to help select the bananas. She doesn't know. 

       Jimmy

  

 

The Last Days    

   Are we in the last days of this age, nearing the time of world tribulation? 

   We don't know. But you might recognize some of the signs.

There will be terrible times in the last days.

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power. 

Have nothing to do with them.

2 Timothy, 3:1-5

 Strawberry  

   How's that for a last name? We wonder if Darryl Strawberry faced razzing in elementary school.

   If he did, it was nothing compared to the hell he experienced at home. His father was an abusive alcoholic. He and his brother dealt with fear night after night.  

   Once when he was 14, his father came home drunk, drew a shotgun and threatened to kill the family. Darryl and brother picked up a butcher knife and a frying pan. Their mother encouraged the boys to leave the house, preventing tragedy. 

   Darryl says, "Most people don't understand that brokenness is real and it happens behind closed doors." 

   Strawberry carried pain into professional baseball, hitting 335 home runs for the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees in the 1980s and '90s, and winning four World Series rings. Though successful and popular, he felt broken inside. 

   He tried to cope with drugs and alcohol, getting in trouble with the league and the law. We remember those publicized stories, and our opinion was grand-slam negative. No grace or mercy from us. 

   Darryl recalls, "My pain led me to greatness, and my greatness led me to destructive behavior. I was buying more homes, more cars, more stuff to fill that void inside. None of it ever fills the void. 

   He found himself hiding behind the celebrity athlete. Who was he when the game ended? 

   Reading his late mother's journal, he saw that she prayed for him her whole life. Strawberry struggled with faith until he met Tracy, whom he married in 2006. He fully realized he had to take off the "uniform" and discover who he really was as a man. 

   Darryl now appreciates his childhood trauma, incarceration, addiction, cancer and other obstacles. "My life has changed dramatically because of my faith," he says, "operating in it and living it. Not just talking about it, but actually living it."

   He preaches the gospel across the country 250 days a year, focused on mentoring young people. 

   Strawberry's latest book is, "Turn Your Season Around." It includes biblical principles and practical steps. "Every day can be a new opportunity to succeed, develop and grow even in the midst of mistakes and failures." 

Source: The Epoch Times

      Jimmy

 Where Have All the Heroes Gone?     

   Difficult 2020 took more than pandemic victims from us. Mostly from aging.  

   If you're into novels, Mary Higgins Clarke passed on. Entertainers? Kenny Rodgers, Little Richard and Charlie Daniels.

   How about actors? Kirk Douglas, Brian Dennehy, Carl Reiner, Olivia De Havilland and Sean Connery. Washington notables? William Sessions, John Lewis and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

   TV lovers might miss Jim Lehrer, Hugh Downs, Regis Philbin and Alex Trebek. Business? Jack Welch. Farewell Ravi Zacharias, J.I. Packer, Walter Williams, Chuck Yeager and Herman Cain. 

   For years my focus was largely on athletes and coaches, some more than others: Don Larson, Kobe Bryant, Mickey Wright, Curly Neal, Bobby Mitchell, Al Kaline, Don Shula, Phyllis George (commentator), John Thompson, Tom Seaver, Lou Brock, Gale Sayers, Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford, Joe Morgan and Paul Hornung. 

   I still remember who they coached or played for. All departed in 2020. 

   There are younger stars taking their place. But, part of me is missing. 

   Relatives. My parents and all aunts and uncles are gone. Three cheers for my wife, children, grand children, great grandchildren, sister and family, and cousins. Plus in-laws and friends. 

   Two of my cousins (and family members) experienced the tragedy of sons -suddenly - taken by accident. The pain never quite disappears. 

   Some day I will disappoint a few people. Isn't there anyone who will never leave us ... no matter what? Now and forever? 

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 

And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age. 

Matthew 28:18, 20

       Jimmy

   

 Joining the Nations     

   In 1776 colonialists took steps to leave the nations, not just England, eventually producing a radical Constitution that offered freedom and voice for all. Today, our divided country is taking steps to rejoin the nations for the glory of man.  

   We may be surprised. The Lord is not.

   Whether freedom of thought and speech will survive, we don't know. Forces of hatred, cancellation and persecution have the upper hand, it seems. They are backed by the super-wealthy who collude for their own interests.   

   Division is history's normal. Centuries ago, God's chosen people split into two kingdoms; lesser separations followed. Survivors divided sharply over Jesus, and lost their independence until 1948.  

   Christian worshippers - protesters - separated from Rome, then evolved into denominations and independents, not that they disagree on the gospel itself. Some individual congregations, and groups of congregations, further split from denominations that had wandered from biblical truth. Today, the pandemic and national controversies create extra difficulty for pastors struggling to hold worshippers together. 

   Some (obscure?) Bible verses provide understanding. 

   Simeon, a temple priest, holding the Christ, 8 days old, prophesied: This child is a sign spoken against, so the thoughts of many will be revealed. Luke 2:35

   There it is. God himself divides, for his purposes. Not that man-driven division is wise and proper. What is Judgment Day if not a time of final separation?    

There will be differences   

   Maybe we have arrived at the time Jesus prophesied: Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold ... and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world. Then the end will come. Matthew 24:12-14.

   He also warned his followers, You will be hated. Matthew 24:9 

   Paul explained differences to the Corinthian church: There must be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. 1 Corinthians 11:19

   We have differences, including political. For many, faith overlaps with the secular. In Nazi Germany, some churches held to the truth, at serious risk, while others - swastikas on the walls - believed in Hitler to the end. 

   No political segment needs to boast in victory. The devil wants to rule the world. China's thought-control, communist party is his sign to the world. See Revelation. God knows. 

       Jimmy

   

Civilization at Stake?    

Conclusion

   In George Orwell's 1984 story, written in 1949, a Party official explains to Winston, "There will be no love except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter except the laugh over a defeated enemy. Always...there will be the intoxication of power." 

   Larry Arrn points out, "Totalitarianism will never win in the end - but it can win long enough to destroy a civilization. That is what is at stake in the fight we are in. 

   "We can see today the totalitarian impulse among powerful forces in politics and culture. We see it in the rise of doublethink, and we see it in attempts to rewrite our history. 

   "Some things have changed. Younger parents aren't sure that appreciation of America is the right thing to teach children. We've got to get across that America is freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. Freedom is special and rare. It's fragile; it needs protection. 

   "I'm warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American spirit. The astounding thing is not that some of our Founders were slaveholders. The astounding thing is that they founded a republic based on principles designed to abnegate slavery." 

   Dr. Arnn calls for investing young people with the spirit of freedom. To teach that people in the past were human and had to struggle. (Jefferson regretted things, and strived for change.) To prepare them to struggle with (current) problems and evils. To see one-sided teaching as a disservice to students. 

   "Depriving the young of the spirit of freedom will deprive all of us of our country," he concludes. "It could deprive us of our humanity itself. This must be stopped." 

 

Civilization at Stake? 

Part 3    

   We continue with Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale College ... our minor edits in the interest of clarity. 

   "In our time, the law of contradiction means that a governor could not hold that the pandemic renders church services too dangerous, and also that massive protest marches are fine. It would preclude a man from declaring himself a woman, or a woman declaring herself a man, as if gender is simply a matter of what one wills it to be. 

   "The law of contradiction also means that we can't change the past. What we can know of the truth resides in the past. The present is fleeting and confusing, and tomorrow has yet to come. Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas both said that changing the past is denied even to God. If something both happened and didn't happen, no human understanding is possible. God created us with the capacity for understanding. 

   "The art of doublethink denies and violates the law of contradiction. The state ministry in which Winston (1984) is tortured is called the Ministry of Love. There are three slogans in the Ministry of Truth: War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. The regime in 1984 exists to repeal the past. If the past can be changed, anything can be changed.    ...         To what end? 

   "'Why do you think you are being tortured?' Winston is asked. 'The Party is not trying to improve you. The Party cares nothing about you.' Winston sees that he is simply the subject of state power. Understanding has been rendered meaningless. The only competence with meaning is power." 

Tomorrow: Conclusion. The astounding thing   

Okay. We saw the rioting at the Capitol. Disgusting. Down with the man with a large "Jesus" flag and a bull horn. Maybe he was preaching. What viewers on TV saw was "followers of Jesus" being associated with lawbreakers.                   Back to Dr. Arnn:  

Civilization at Stake?  

Part 2 

   We continue with parts of a speech delivered in November by Larry Arnn, president, Hillsdale College.

   In Orwell's fiction, 1984, says Dr. Arnn, a man named Winston is aware of endless effort to alter reality. "He comes to see that he knows nothing of the past, of real history.

   "'Every record has been destroyed or falsified,'" Winston realizes, 'Every book has been rewritten, every picture repainted, every statue and street and building renamed, every date altered.' And that process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right."

   "Does this sound familiar?" the Hillsdale president asks. 

   In 1984, "The family is important to the state, because the state needs babies. But women are raised by the state in a way that they are not to enjoy relations with their husbands. And the children - as in China today, and as it was in the Soviet Union - are indoctrinated and taught to spy and inform on their parents. Parents love their children, but live in terror of them." 

~ ~ ~

Jesus:  Brother will betray brother to death. And a father his child.

Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.

All men will hate you because of me, but he who 

stands firm to the end will be saved.  Mark 13:12

Tomorrow: Part 3, the law of contradiction

 

Civilization at Stake?

Part 1

   While we try to process news from Georgia, here are portions of a speech delivered in November by Larry Arnn, president, Hillsdale College. 

   The occasion was a meeting to counter the New York Times' 1619 Project, which teaches that slavery, not freedom, is the defining fact of American history. The panel's goal is to restore truth and honesty to the teaching of American history, starting with President Trump's 1776 Commission. 

   "We must carry on the fight," Arnn said, "because our country is at stake. Indeed, civilization is at stake; the forces against freedom have more radical aims than just destroying America."

   He notes the drive to remake human nature, even nature itself. "...employing the tools of modern science, totalitarianism reaches farther than tyranny and attempts to control the totality of things." 

   Arnn used Orwell's 1984 to paint the picture. "There are telescreens everywhere as well as hidden cameras and microphones. Nearly everything is watched and heard. The 'Thought Police' oversees all this."

   "Look at China today," he said. "There are cameras everywhere watching people, and everything they do on the Internet is monitored. Algorithms are run and experiments are underway to assign each individual a social score."

   "If you don't act or think in the politically correct way, things happen to you - you lose the ability to travel, or you lose your job. You can also look at how big tech companies here in the U.S. are tracking people's movements and activities."

   "Even more alarming, these companies are increasingly able and willing to manipulate people's thoughts and decisions." 

Tomorrow: Rewriting the past 

 Readers: Your Lives Matter   

   Some of you know we attended journalism school, and spent our early working years on a newspaper. We were never going to be influential, but we took our teaching seriously - writing the information, letting readers decide what to think.

   You know - that's not how it's done today, especially with anything remotely political. We hear that journalism professors no longer coach students to hide their bias. Today's media intends to own you. 

   Let's call it - sinformation. 

   Not only does print and TV tell us what to think, they withhold information that doesn't align with their politics. Social media giants are masters at this. A wise columnist recently wrote about "things stated as facts, that cannot possibly be known as facts." 

   Take "Black Lives Matter." It's a relative term, pretending to be absolute. To whom do black lives matter? 

   Does the life of Clarence Thomas matter to the crowd equally with George Floyd or Michael Brown? Did the life of a black police chief murdered in St. Louis matter to BLM rioters? 

   Take the word "offensive." The Chiefs, Braves, Blackhawks, Seminoles, (formerly)  Redskins and Indians are offensive to the New York Times. But, polls have found a small fraction of native Americans are actually offended. Many are probably more concerned with survival.   

   "Times opinion journalists are so accustomed to making absolute statements," says our source, "they don't even know they're doing it anymore." There are few, if any, journalism schools that will call them out. 

   Here's good information: Your life matters. To God. Absolutely. 

       Jimmy

  

   

Georgia on My Mind   

   In 1781 the British surrendered at Yorktown. 

   Life in America didn't change suddenly. But in time, the fruit of revolution was freedom (not immediately for slaves) not only from a foreign power but from tyrannical government. 

   Yorktown is history's tipping point for the birth of a different nation. 

   Tuesday in Georgia the balance of power is on the ballot. As you know, even if one or both Republican senators win their runoff, the Senate holds a razor-thin ability to restrain the new president and House. 

   Until lately, America could endure a period in which one party held all the reigns, especially considering Supreme Court oversight. Few feared that one of the parties would seek to destroy our Constitution.

   That time has gone. One party has evolved. They will rule, not "we the people." In an unguarded moment, Senator Schumer shouted, after Georgia, "we're going to change America!"

   They wish to mix us in with a one-world government. We saw that 12 years ago this Spring. Some of them think 75 million voters should be cancelled. We saw that four years ago with Hillary Clinton's description: "deplorables." 

   There are governors and mayors messing with our lives ... right or wrong. A billionaire who doesn't live in the U.S. can influence most anything. Big techs, media and other high rollers carry far more clout than "we the people." We are divided, by design. That's how dictators win.  

   All this - and they don't yet have the White House. We hope the 60 percent rule for major legislation will survive. And that Biden and McConnell will remain constructive friends. And that Joe Manchin will break rank when sanity calls. 

   We pray that history doesn't call Georgia the end of Yorktown. 

        Jimmy     

   

FACING LIFE'S CHALLENGES

   As we embark on a new year, we are hopeful and optimistic. Yet we know that each year is filled with peaks and valleys. 

   There will be challenges. How will we face them? What will be our strategy?

   As King Jehoshaphat faced an invasion, he said to the Lord, We don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you. Then God's Spirit spoke through one of the men of Judah, Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is  not yours, but God's. 2 Chronicles 20:15. 

   The people began to sing and praise the Lord, who defeated the invaders. 

   Whatever challenges we face in life, we have a choice to turn to God and bow down before him, or to run away in fear. 

   The Lord desires to give us victory. We are called to follow Christ for a purpose - to trust him to do the impossible. Our life is in his hands. 

                           Excerpts from Be Still and Know, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. 

 

by Helen Steiner Rice

Life without purpose is barren indeed:

There can't be a harvest unless you plant seed.

There can't be attainment unless there's a goal,

And man's but a robot unless there's a soul.

If we send no ships out no ships will come in,

And unless there's a contest, nobody can win.

For games can't be won unless they are played,

And prayers can't be answered unless they are prayed. 

So pray for a purpose to make life worth living,

And pray for the joy of unselfish giving.

For great is your gladness and rich your reward,

When you make your life's purpose the choice of the Lord.

 New Year's Resolutions 

   Why not?

   No requests for $ on our blogs.

   No griping.

   No intentional falsehoods.

   Yes - info you might have missed otherwise.

   Yes - a story we are completing, to be previewed soon. 

            All the best to you and yours,

                      Jimmy