Fear of Birds?  

   When you think of Florida, what comes to mind?

   Alligators? Seagulls? Pythons? Flamingos? Eagles?

   Residents of Westchase, a zip code of 21,000 people between Clearwater and Tampa, think of buzzards. And they ain't happy.

   Turkey vultures have taken over the neighborhood. And because these scavengers are federally protected, people can't fight back.

   One woman told a TV reporter, "We could have 20 to 25 vultures on our roof. They land on our screens, their under-feathers are all over the roof, their droppings are all over the place." 

   These nuisances with a 6-foot wingspan are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. They arrived about three years ago. 

   The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture has promised to help, but bureaucrats have given no timetable. 

   We live about an hour north of Westchase. It could be us. Yikes! 

Fear of Man 

   When someone learns that you vote differently, they can become unfriendly. Dislike comes with rejection on their face. 

   God knows about the fear of rejection: Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks. Ezekiel 3:9

   Columnist Andree Seu Peterson asks, "If I faint now, what will I do when real persecution comes?"    

   For all things are yours, whether ... the world or life or death or the present or the future - all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.  1 Corinthians 3:21-23

            Jimmy

 Dear Mr. President,      

   So, we wasted 60 minutes writing a letter the president will never see. Even if they give it to him, he may not be in office much longer. Cognitive something-or-other...you know? 

   We did get a response from Bill Clinton - or a staff member? - in the 1990s. But this White House doesn't want my vote to matter, ever again. Why would they humor me? 

   God allowed you to become our president, I wrote. To what end, I'm not sure. As a fellow Christian, I'm concerned about your salvation. 

   Readers, we know that God is not partial to the mighty, the greedy or the liars. Not everyone who says Lord, Lord is saved. I mentioned people God chose for leadership assignments: 

Joseph - sold into slavery by his 10 older brothers.

Moses - an old shepherd, slow of speech. He begged, Send someone else. 

Gideon - I am the least in my family. 

David - any of his older brothers might have been Samuel's preference. 

Daniel - taken captive. Interpreted king's dream. Prophesied end times. 

Joseph and Mary - Were they from Scranton too? (Couldn't help it 😊 ) 

John the Baptist - sackcloth. Greatest of men? Stepped aside for Jesus.

Widow - gave all she had, more than all the others. Two copper coins. 

Solomon - the exception. But, his efforts were just chasing after the wind. 

   We concluded with Jesus: Let the little children come to me. For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.

             Jimmy

  

You might enjoy 

             some hate mail we received from readers here on our anti-social media: 

   I will never foregive you for your hard line about forgiveness.

   I was shocked at your blog on power lines. Nobody never saw a electron. The power companys make that up so they can rip us off. 

   You call yourself a sailor? Nobody in their right mind woud take a boat out in 25-not winds.

   I agree with politishun who say we can't legislate hate out of people's harts and minds. But we can sure beat it out of them! 

   About all the debt. Look. Businesses make 50 purcent profit. Tax them good and we'll all be free of debt by 4th of July. 

   Jimmy, you think you so smart. But you white, a man and Christian. We're coming after you oppressor! 

   If China take over world do you think they give every one free rice? Like Obama give blacks everything free? 

   Your pen name. Do you mean Jimmy Donut is your name in the pen? 

Did you believe all that fakery?

 And this agreeable person in South America:

   Gringo. Chulo. Tehablo. No ebrado. Poss teologia es verdad. Jesus es librar de muerte.  

Tomorrow, our letter to the president. For real.

Jimmy

             

Someone's prayer

God, sometimes when I look at the world around me, I feel overwhelmed by anxiety, and my thoughts start to spiral. I need you to change the way I think.

Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts, and your ways are better than mine. You give hope to the hopeless, and strength to the weak. You alone can renew my mind and remind me of my purpose.

Help me to take every thought captive as I give you my concerns. Remind me that you are with me, and that you will continue to instruct and guide me.

Counsel me as I reflect on your Word, and help me to apply your truths to my life. Give me strength to do right, and help me to pursue you above all else—always.

In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. 

You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. 

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

Psalm 139:1-7

One More Thing

   When we collect most of the scriptures on one topic, we better appreciate its message, its truth, its power. 

   Take forgiveness.

   Is there anyone who ever lived who didn’t offend someone? 

   Is there anyone who ever lived who didn’t suffer offense from others?

   Is there anyone who ever lived who didn’t often sin or displease God?

   We can “put on love.” But what is love without forgiveness…in a family, or community? 

   Our heavenly Father loves … and forgives those who humble themselves and pray. He knows our inclinations. Love and forgiveness is the glue that binds us under his protective wing. 

      Jimmy

PS. Without love AND forgiveness, we see families, organizations, communities and nations coming apart, or never uniting.

 

 Must We Forgive?

   A parable -    ...his master turned him over to the jailers... 

   This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart. Matt. 18:34-35.            No fake forgiveness.   

   Our forgiving Lord is that serious about our attitude. 

   Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37.             Simple as that.

   Paul urged forgiveness … in order that Satan might not outwit us. 2 Cor. 2:10-11

   He added: Therefore, as God’s chosen people… Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love…  Col. 3:12-13

   We met. Aware of my imperfections, I asked her to forgive me. She nodded yes, and asked for forgiveness. I nodded yes.

   That didn’t solve any problems. There was no way to restore that special relationship unless both of us submitted to Christ. 

But, forgiveness slew bitterness.

   And you (baby John) will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation, through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God…               - his father, Zechariah, Luke 1:76-78

             Jimmy

Do We Have to?

   Jesus taught his disciples a short prayer. Some manuscripts read: …your kingdom come; your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Luke 11:2, NIV

   I once thought of this being a distant reality, when the Lord returns to rule the world. He wants us to pray for his will...when he returns…someday.

   That day will come. However, I totally missed present reality: God is among us, and his kingdom-will is being done everywhere his servants serve and obey.

But, do we have to forgive?

   Jesus continued, Forgive us our sins, as we also forgive everyone who sins against us. v. 4  

   Everyone? Some people hurt us big time, and they get away with it!

   For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Matt: 6:12   

                                Do I need forgiven? I’m not so bad, am I?   

   Peter wanted details: Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?  Jesus: I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matt. 18:21-22   

   Once, I was hurt badly. Indirectly. Our youngsters whom I loved were hurt, more than they realized. This wasn’t a bad day. It was hell.  

   For two-plus months I floundered, losing sleep, hope and direction. I spent evenings in my apartment, letting God...if he was real (?) deal with me. 

Did I really, really have to forgive?

Tomorrow

        Jimmy

Don't Be Shocked!   

   Electricity is our amazing friend. 

   Without it we could not microwave our supper. Or spend our lives watching TV. Or wear out our cell phones. Or enjoy comfortable temperatures. 

   Worst of all, we could not publish Views By the Sea and you would be so deprived. 

   CAUTION! Our low voltage/high current helper is generated in a power plant at high voltage/low current. It is the alternating-current (AC) method patented by George Westinghouse, age 19, Pittsburgh, in 1914. (Not Thomas Edison's direct-current (DC), which would have melted long-distance wires.) Batteries provide direct current. Electrons in every cell of our bodies ... no current.

   Invisible electrons basically don't leave the generator. It is the push - voltage - transformed to current that lights up your night...and day. 

   A long chain of transformers gradually "step down" voltage from the power plant to your home, ending in low voltage/high current useful for brewing coffee. 

   There are many power lines near you with enough voltage to end your love affair with electricity and everything else. The son of our doctor in my hometown was killed when his ladder touched a low hanging power line. His father consulted with my electrical-engineer dad, and sued.

   If you see a downed power line, from a storm, or have an accident where a pole and the lines have fallen to ground level:

*  Call 911. Wait for help.

*  Stay 35 feet away from a power line; assume it is live, including your car or anything else it is touching. Never touch it, even with a stick or cloth. 

*  If your car is in the clutter and you must get out due to smoke or fire, do not exit one foot at a time. Jump, and shuffle with both feet always grounded until you are safely away. That goes against every instinct, so memorize this and pass it on.

      Jimmy

   

    

    

The tiniest details of our lives never grow old to him.

God is filled with wonder at our faltering steps

and stammering words, because he views them

through the eyes of a loving Father.

We are the child on his screen saver.

Today is the most important day of our lives

  - Pastor John Ortberg         

He talks through burning bushes and donkeys;

he sends messages through storms and rainbows;

he whispers in a still small voice.

He speaks in ordinary things like cooking and small talk,

through storytelling, love, fishing, sheep,

sweet corn and flowers, sports, music and raising kids. 

God is closer than we think

Chasing After the Wind

   You may have read about the spill my cousin and I experienced on a lake, in our collapsible canoe...with a sail...without life jackets. Bet you thought I learned my lesson. Ha.

Growing Up, No. 9

   I was at fault then, and later when I was blown into Lake Erie. A bachelor working at a Toledo TV station, I had purchased my 13-ft. sloop, bought and assembled a trailer, and docked it in the Maumee River.

   After another busy week, I longed for an afternoon of sailing. The wind was surprisingly strong, possibly 25 knots. I couldn't have left the docks without knocking into other boats. 

   A couple men in a motorboat offered to tow me into the river, where I could raise the sails and begin the fun. I was confident I could handle - even enjoy - the wind. 

   In ten seconds or less I was blowing downriver toward the lake. Couldn't raise the jib sail much, much less the main sail. Tried turning the boat around. No way Hosea!   

   How did I think I could return, tacking into strong wind on a river? 

   Into the lake Scamper (her name) and I were blown, wondering what will happen when we arrive in Canada.    ...        Hey, an island! Yea! 

   I curled around the northern side out of the wind and came to full stop. Could have raised the sails, but I surrendered. 

   When a boater is in trouble, he stands up and raises both arms to form an arch. Way off, a lone fisherman responded and towed me to my dock.   

James 1:6 - But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

      Jimmy

Saturdays and Sundays: brief briefs

Monday: Don't be shocked! 

New Covenant, the Blood of Christ

   We know of the tabernacle and how it taught the people about sin and forgiveness, outwardly, without touching the soul.  

   In Hebrews chapter 9, beginning at verse 11, the author explains to Jewish Christians that Christ came as true high priest. 

   He wrote, Christ…went through the more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made… He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

   Before, people were “ceremonially, outwardly clean.” How much more, will the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! v. 14 Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – now that he has died as a ransom to set them free…  v. 15  

   V. 23. It was necessary for the copies to be purified with sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy; he entered heaven itself... 

   Now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people, and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

His blood forgives – ransoms – justifies – cleanses – 

sanctifies – opens the way – is a guarantee – a purifying power.

 

Tomorrow: The wind wins

Opening the Curtain

   Well into the first century A.D., Jewish Greek-speaking Christians were having a hard time. They believed, but were being persecuted.

   The unknown writer of Hebrews wrote to strengthen their faith by explaining how redemption in Christ fulfilled provisions of the old covenant. 

   Today, Christians can better appreciate God’s plan (before creation) of salvation, by knowing the first covenant. 

   In chapter 9, the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. The first room of the tabernacle held a lampstand, table and consecrated bread. This was called the Holy Place.

   Behind a large curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, with a golden altar of incense, and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. The ark contained a gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and stone tablets (Ten Commandments) of the covenant. Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, over the atonement cover. vv. 1-5

   Priests managed their ministry in the first/outer room, but only the high priest entered the inner room, and only once a year. And never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins of the people. vv. 6-8

   The gifts and sacrifices were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They were food and drink, and various ceremonial washings – external regulations applying for a time - to prepare for Christ. vv. 9-10 

   When Jesus breathed his last, God tore open the curtain from top to bottom, signaling access to his presence - provided by the voluntary blood of the Savior, not involuntary blood of calves, goats and lambs.  

   But Israel will rise again.  

                             

Imperfection to Perfection

   High priests came and went. They were appointed by regulation and ancestry, imperfect humans administering law. The law was weak and useless for imparting divine life and access to God. There was no oath.

   To the rescue came Jesus Christ, on oath (Hebrews 7:21-22; Numbers 23:19; Psalm 110:4).

   The night of betrayal and arrest, Jesus prayed for himself:

   Father … Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:1-3).

   He appeared, died, rose again, and lives to intercede for those who believe. He comes as the power of indestructible life.

   By this better hope, we draw near to God. He can save completely (Hebrews 7:25-27). Once for all; perfect forever.

   By him we receive true love, his presence, mercy and grace - even through weakness and trials. We come to him with confidence (Hebrews 7:4).

   Exalted to the right hand of God, he received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear (Acts 2:33).        

This is a rough illustration: 

But imagine human beings living in the middle of the ocean.

Even the strongest swimmers eventually tire and sink.

Only those with life vests survive the storms and are rescued.

Jesus is the life, the rescuer.

John 14:6

       

Over 60? 

Be a Heavy Drinker

   Well, not that kind of drinker. 

   Our friend forwarded this helpful information for us to pass on. 

   A physician wrote that dehydration is one of three most common causes of mental confusion in the elderly. "It may sound like a joke, but it isn't," he says. 

   Seniors quickly dehydrate. This is severe and affects the entire body, the physician points out. It may cause mental confusion, a drop in blood pressure, increased heart palpitations, chest pain, coma and even death. 

   By age 60 people have just over 50% of the water the body should have. This is part of natural aging. 

   Seniors dehydrate not only because they have less water, but because they don't sense any difference. 

   The doctor offers these alerts:

*  Make a habit of drinking liquids. This includes water, juices, teas, coconut water, milk, soups, watermelon, melon, peaches, pineapple, oranges and tangerines. Drink some liquid every two hours!

*  Family members: Offer fluids to those over 60, and observe them.

   If you realize they are rejecting liquids, are irritable, breathless or show a lack of attention, these are recurrent symptoms of dehydration. 

          Jimmy

 

The Church  

    Part 4, last in series

The Greek word ekklesia refers to a meeting of people called out and summoned together. The church headed by Christ includes believers redeemed by his voluntary death and resurrection...pilgrims no longer belonging to the world. 

~ ~ ~

   ...you were redeemed from the empty way of life...with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 1 Peter 1:18-19

   The church is a temple of the Holy Spirit and members of Christ himself. ...you are God's temple and God's Spirit lives in you. 1 Corinthians 3:16 

   No true church exists apart from vital union with Christ. God...appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body... Ephesians 1:22

   The church is a spiritual fellowship, involving the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 13:14 

   The church is an army in spiritual conflict with Satan and sin. The living Word of God delivers people from Satan's dominion and conquers every power of this dark world. Acts 26:18, Ephesians 6:10-18, Hebrews 4:12, Rev. 19:15, 21.

   The church is a foundation of the truth. 1 Timothy 3:15. 

   The church invisible is the body of true believers united by faith in Christ. The visible church is local congregations of faithful overcomers along with those who are false, Rev. 2:2; fallen, Rev. 2:5; spiritually dead, Rev. 3:1; or lukewarm, Rev. 3:16. 

    The church's hope is centered on Christ's return. We wait for the hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior. Titus 2:13 

#

 Church, Keys, Stones, House 

Imagery to Explain Spirit

    Part 3

Review: Heaven answers the question, voiced through Peter. Jesus will build his "church." Hell will not overcome it. 

Jesus gives his disciples "keys" - instructions on church ministry. He is the "living Stone," or cornerstone of the spiritual building. Believers, "living stones," are added to the growing "house." The Lord is our rock. Psalm 18:2

~ ~ ~

   In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Acts 2:17, 22

Comments:  In spite of Satan's success - apostasy (abandonment) and false teachers in the kingdom - the church will not be destroyed. True believers will demonstrate kingdom power of the Holy Spirit in conflict with Satan, sin, disease, the world and the demonic. 

   However, there is no guarantee that some believers, local churches or groups, or denominations will never fall into immorality, error or apostasy.

   Jesus himself predicted that many will fall from the faith. Believers must turn from sin or face removal from his kingdom. 

   At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matt. 24:10-11.

   If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. Revelation 2:5

Friday: The Church

 Living Stone and living stones 

   Part 2

   Peter correctly answered the greatest question: You are the Christ (Messiah) Son of the living God. Matthew 16:16

   The New Testament being written in Greek -- Jesus then explained that the Father himself revealed this truth to Peter. He said: You are Peter (Petros, small stone) and on this rock (Petra, massive rock, Peter's answer) I will build my church and the gates of Hades (hell) will not overcome it. v. 18 

Comment: The gates represent Satan and world evil striving to destroy the church. 

   I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. v. 19 

Comments: The keys are God's delegated authority to Peter and the church: 

1. rebuke sin; carry out church discipline. 2. pray for God's cause. 3. tie up the demonic and set free the captives. 4. announce God's standard of righteousness and judgment to come. 5. proclaim salvation and forgiveness of sins for all who repent and believe in Christ. 

   Jesus said: Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they will be forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. John 24:22-23   

Comment: Nowhere in scripture is Peter a supreme and infallible authority. Nor that he should have infallible successors. 

   It is Jesus Christ who is the Rock, the great foundation of the church. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11. 

   After Peter saw and interacted with his risen Lord, and was baptized in the Spirit, he wrote: As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood...  1 Peter 2:4-5 

Next: A remnant will survive 

   

   

If You Had to Choose   

   We Americans like our Constitutional rights, and millions of us like our Bibles as well. 

   Which would you select if you had to choose one or the other? Worse, what if we lost the Constitution in a leftist takeover - followed by severe persecution of believers? 

   It's not out of the question. It is the norm in much of this dark world. 

   Our view by the sea is clear. Only the Bible addresses the two irreconcilable destinations of after-life. Once we are of age, our destination is already assigned. It is all downhill from there...forever. Infant baptism is not biblical and does not save. 

   The good news: we can choose a most wonderful destination with a little information and a lot of faith.       

   We will spend a couple days here reviewing the "greatest question ever asked," followed by the Bible's teaching for those who correctly answer the question. If you never read another blog, don't miss this four-part series!   

   Our helpers are my pastor, and commentary by the late Donald Stamps, a missionary, and eight associates with lots of letters (degrees). Their work is found in the New International Version, The Full Life Study Bible. 

The Greatest Question  

   In Matthew 16:13-19, Jesus asked his disciples Who do people say the Son of Man is? Not that he didn't already know. They tossed out some names.

   Then Jesus got to the point: Who do you say I am? 

   We don't know if the men discussed this, but Peter who often spoke up answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 

   Blessed are you, Jesus answered, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 

Next: Rocks, churches, gates, keys

            

They Came from Afar  

   It is the hot and potentially rainy season in Florida. Still, they came.

   They came from Pennsylvania and Virginia. They came from Georgia,

New York and Washington. 

   No, they weren't fleeing politicly-blue states. Or vacationers looking for beaches.  

   Although there was a beach. It's called Treasure Island. 

   Close to 100 of us would gather in one small area on one very broad beach. 

   None of us were in bathing suits. We all waited in air conditioning until the last minute. The sun was bright as we followed the trail to our seats. 

   It was 5:30 pm. 

   Along came the best man and the maid of honor. The groomsmen and bridesmaids. Mother of the bide and parents of the groom. And the groom.

   We stood to watch the bride process with her father.   

   The Vow &  Ring Ceremony. Blessing & Kiss. Pronouncement. 

   Holly and Joshua became one. Under God. A treasure.

   On Treasure Island.

           Uncle Jimmy

           

 Jude, Bluntly Speaking  

   Author of the last letter in the New Testament before Revelation, Jude identifies himself as brother of James. The only two brothers by those names in the NT were half-brothers of Jesus.

   After urging his "friends" to contend for the faith, Jude reminds them of those who "suffer the punishment of eternal fire. Godless men who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ..." 

   He mentions the angels who did not keep their positions of authority...Sodom and Gomorrah...dreamers who pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings." 

   "Woe to them!" he exclaims. "These men who speak abusively against whatever they do not understand. They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion." 

   Jude reminds them - "Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men. See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him." 

   Then he looks to the future - "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires. These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit." 

   Warnings delivered, Jude ends his short letter - "Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear..."

  

There is Credit, as in Praise 

                  And Credit, as in Debt  

   Total outstanding credit card debt for Americans was $753 billion as of April. This is a 14.5 percent drop, year to year, due to stimulus checks and reduced spending during the pandemic. 

   However, other outstanding debt has increased.

   Total outstanding consumer debt in 2020 was $14.9 trillion, says Experian.

   Total student loan debt in the first quarter was $1.7 trillion says the Federal Reserve.

   Total mortgage debt in 2020 was $10.3 trillion, up 7 percent. 

   Total consumer debt for an average American in 2020 was $92,000. 

   Does this concern anyone?

Quotables

   "God gave us these children." A Malian man, whose wife, 25, gave birth to nine babies on May 4. All nine survived. 

   "We cannot legislate hate out of our people's hearts and minds." An Asian representative, about an Asian hate crimes bill the U.S. House passed in May.  

   "When I arrived, he was at the morgue and his internal organs were taken out." The wife of a Burmese poet, taken into custody for questioning. His writing had inspired resistance to the military, which took control of Myanmar in February.

       Jimmy 

Inflation Up 4.2 Percent 

   Maybe the president needs to authorize another stimulus or relief plan. (See yesterday's Views.) Inflation is up 4.2 percent since a year ago. How about a New Deal that actually works? 

   We feel the effects at the gas pump, the used car lot, the home improvement store and in the housing market. Blame the pandemic, which led to exorbitant government relief spending, shutdowns, supply chain disruptions and stay-home orders. 

   An economist says, "We have too much money because we've printed it like mad to finance government extravagance." 

   Also in the mix was the Suez Canal blockage, the power blackout in Texas, and the cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline. 

   While normalcy went bye bye last year, sawmills cut staff and production. But homeowners unable to travel chose to renovate their homes, driving lumber prices up 124 percent. Decisions in 2020 by rental car companies resulted in shortages of used cars, and after people started traveling again, prices rose 21 percent.

   The price of food is up 3.8 percent. Would-be workers took advantage of government handouts, resulting in "Help Wanted" signs galore. When companies raise wages to attract employees, the costs pass along to customers. 

   Will the Fed continue to pump money into circulation and drive inflation? The economist said, "Trump spent and borrowed a lot. The sense is Biden is going to do that even worse."  

   A professor predicts that if inflation continues upward, it will be more difficult for Biden to promote other pricey legislation. 

   Government solving economic problems? We're right back in the 1930s - without the depression. 

        Jimmy 

 Mysterious Money    

   My fellow American: Maybe you received the letter.

I am pleased to inform you that because of the American Rescue Plan, a direct payment of $2,800 was issued to you by direct deposit. 

   The letter mentioned other benefits - "aid for small businesses, an expanded child tax credit for families, and resources to reopen our schools safely. Also the Plan extends unemployment insurance and helps reduce health care premiums through the Affordable Care Act." 

   You know who signed the letter: President Joseph R. Biden Jr. 

   Okay. Some people needed help. Others were not financially affected by the pandemic. No matter. Get used to depending on the Federal Government and its printing press, until rivers flow uphill and elephants fly. 

   Joel Belz of WORLD magazine considers the Rescue Plan "the real crime or ethical breach. The scam that we may live with the longest," he writes, "is the transfer of hundreds of billions of dollars from a virtually unknown source into the bank accounts of accepting citizens." 

   "With our massive level of national debt ($28 trillion) where do those dollars come from?" he asks. 

   "This started last year when former President Donald Trump authorized the first two 'stimulus' packages - the $2.2 trillion CARES Act and its $900 billion follow up. The effort accelerated when President Biden added his support to the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan." 

   Belz wants to know, "Who's going to say, 'Stop!' You can't put that money in my account. It's phony money!"

             Jimmy

Outnumbered in Prison 

   Following is part of what Petr Jasek, Voice of the Martyrs, 

wrote after spending 445 days in a Sudanese prison with six ISIS men: 

   "During each call for prayer, as my cellmates washed themselves, I systematically praised God with words from Revelation 4:8: The four living creatures ... day and night they never ceased to say, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!'     

   "If those four creatures could say the words 'holy, holy, holy' throughout eternity, then I knew I could manage to say them for one minute, for five minutes, or for an hour. I began repeating that verse over and over in my mind.

   "Those words made me think of God's specific attributes - His holiness, His purity, His ability to heal. 'Holy, holy, holy is God who sets the captives free.' I prayed for Christians in Eritrea, some of whom had been imprisoned for over a decade. 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord,' I repeated to myself over and over again. I knew I couldn't sing my hymns aloud or speak the words of Scripture, but I could surely sing and say them in my heart.

   "When I began to focus more on the holiness and power of God and less on the horrors of my own situation, the dynamics in my prison cell began to change for the worse. My ISIS cellmates did not know that I had begun silently repeating these worshipful words, but during the first week of February, the more I sang to God and exalted His name, the more harshly they treated me."

Are Christians and Jews

going to face persecution in America?