ALONE

                               
                                                                          ALONE

    Just reading or saying the word "alone" seems to convey a feeling of separation and longing. After an incident that happened to me some 75 years ago, I find myself still reflecting on that incident as if it happened yesterday. It gave me a permanent understanding of being "alone", even at my tender age. Being alone is not a good feeling,
even if it is only temporary. We are living in an age of separation, and loneliness is a major health problem.

    I not only remember that incident from childhood, but I can actually picture the setting. My parents owned a busy country store in a rural area. Upon occasion, someone or a family without transportation would call my parents and ask if we could deliver some groceries or a specific item. Mom and Dad had a very good business, and making a delivery was difficult. However they knew the circumstances of most of the area's families, and realized hardships they faced. Usually these requests represented a real need, and my parents were tuned to helping neighbors and customers. That was one of the reasons their business was go successful.

    It was summertime, so the mid part of most weekdays was the only time that activity at the store might be slow. This enabled my mother to accommodate requests for delivery. I would accompany my mother as she made the rare deliveries. This was the time shortly
before World War II, and the nation was still recovering from the Great Depression. Most rural families and people were poor, although farmers who owned their farms were making out better. Continued recovery began to speed up at this time, and really took off when we entered the war. The war replaced the depression as our major problem.

    On this occasion, a relatively young widow without a car or local kinfolk called and asked if we could deliver some things for her. She had a modest list of mostly groceries, and my folks had the time, so mother gathered the items together, and off we went. Because the order was sparse, it was evident she was on very limited income. There
were no frills. Even at my tender age, I realized she was still living in the hard times of the depression. She was cheerful and very happy for our visit.

    As I reflect back on that visit, I realize she was starved for company and someone to talk to and share a life. Being a conservative and rural area, there was a stigma with certain conditions. A divorced woman was partially ostracized by most of the people. Divorce was something you didn't do, and church people were not forgiving. If you were different, you were not in the mainstream. A widow "enjoyed" a little higher status
than a divorcee. Religion was a man dominated society. A divorced man was not set aside as was the divorced woman. 

    Some of the churched rural families were dominated by the husband as some denominations taught, not understanding the full directions in Ephesians, chapter five. "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such
thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. (5:25-27) It  seemed the biblical instructions stopped after Ephesians 5: 22-24. Verse 22 instructs "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the  Lord." That's a pretty good deal for a man if he doesn't read the remainder of the chapter, including 5:28, "So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself."

    Women who were divorced in those days didn't have a safety net of  any kind.  The safety net social programs were just being formed, and the women were mostly shunned by church people. Widows fared better,  and were not simply cast "alone at sea." I'm certain these women felt like a shipwrecked sailor. I was really young, but I recognized the need of aloneness. I had a solid family and security, and friends and relatives for emergency assistance. This lady was truly alone, and poor as well.

    Being so young, I was impatient about what seemed like hours there as my mother talked with the lady. She was starved for human companionship. My mother tried to explain the feeling, but I had never experienced anything like that, so it was years later before I acquired an understanding. The worst time of the year occurs at the major family
holidays--Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you are not a "heart" committed Christian, you are really alone at these times. Without Christ, you are in a "Me" situation rather than a "We" situation. You are also unlikely to find yourself in a future meaningful We situation with a human to form a trinity.

    To be alone and physically healthy when you're young isn't so bad because you usually have options. When you're older and have health issues is another matter. If you have responsible children or a caring adult friend, you will cherish their assistance. Unfortunately for some families, the children don't respond and sometimes create additional problems. They don't respect the directions of the Ten Commandments.
Ex. 20:12 tells us, "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you." We are living in the age of grace, but the Ten Commandments are still in effect. The son or daughter that fails to help a parent in a precarious situation will have to answer for the inaction. Worse yet, I've seen the
uncaring offspring actually try to "put away" the parent. 

     When there is no advocate for the person, they are at the mercy of physicians and other health care people. Some are very good, and  others aren't. Some workers in the profession are only there for the paycheck. All are overworked, because, like everything in America, it's usually a bottom line issue. There is only so much money, and when cuts are necessary, staff is pared. God is in control, and you should pursue your relationship with Christ with vigor. If you are sufficiently "tuned in", the Holy Spirit will help you. Unfortunately this does not help a non Christian or a professing Christian who is described by Christ.

    If a professing Christian tells Christ he/she has performed wonders in His name (Matt.7:22), they will have to have proven evidence of obeying the will of God (Matt.7:21). Otherwise, Christ tells us He never knew them (Matt. 7:23). A non Christian is pretty
much on his/her own. That's why, if you don't have a child or friend as an advocate, you'd better solidify your relationship with God. Even with excellent care, a person without a child or advocate can be traumatized by loneliness.

    When I was hospitalized for a few days, a doctor came to see me and asked how I'd like to go home the next day. I responded cheerfully that was an offer I was certain no one would refuse. He had a sad expression when he told me that was not always true. He explained some people had no one to go home to. They were alone in the world. How can you respond to that? I've always taken family support for granted. 

    There were other instances where I saw how important the companionship of someone could be. As I waited for my appointment, I saw an elderly couple come in. They were arm in arm, and you could  see the comfort they experienced by knowing someone who cared 
was with them. In therapy I saw people in a much worse condition than me struggle to overcome handicaps. Some of these patients were visited nearly every day by a spouse, son or daughter. It was obvious that having a loved one there to help them and cheer them on was a very big plus on the road to recovery. I was very blessed to have a wife and daughter to support me in every way.

    I can't even imagine how alone a young child would feel if they had to travel across a strange country or two trying to get away from poverty and crime. Not only are they completely alone; they are greeted in strange places by people who hate them. Parents
who send their children on a trek such as this show love and  desperation for the child's future. Those in war torn countries are even in worse situations.

    All humans were created by God in the likeness of Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. That includes all nationalities, colors and religions. Christ tells us not to turn away little children, and He tells us that in three of the gospels. It takes lots of time and money to care for children who cross into our nation, but if we are really following The Way, it is clear what we should do. One conservative told Vice President Biden that these children are "his" children, and he should pay the cost. Now, here is a clean decision for a Christian. Do we follow Christ's teaching, or do we value money over the Cross? America is loaded with billionaires and millionaires and sends foreign aid everywhere. Are we so greedy that those with dollars to burn and average Americans will turn children away? Sending them away pretty well settles their short future. America was mostly built by people who came here to build a future. Our nation will be judged by how we listen to Christ's teaching. It doesn't  look too good as everything seems to be based on dollars rather than the cross.

Rev. Walbear

SECOND COMING? WOW!

                  

                                                            SECOND COMING? WOW!

    I watched as a man announced the Second Coming, a God given miracle and the New Breed in America. I've spent years of study on the subjects of rapture and Christ's second coming, so this man had my attention. He said there was a project in a southern state, that when completed, would lead the way to lift up the working class of Americans. Furthermore, he said, this "miracle" would be shared by people in 22 states. He declared "It is our God given right to be able to profit."

    A Christian minister had published a book some time ago bearing the exact title this man used. This book is entirely about scripture, and a subject people of faith would want to read. It does not address the subject of financial wealth. There is a vast difference between financial and spiritual wealth. People who are interested in making money target
groups of people they find likely to "invest" a moderate amount of money to get on the "inside" of a "good thing." The title of this man's subject seemed to address those who are conservative Christians.

    At this point I became suspicious because he seemed to be interested in money, and not Jesus Christ. He did throw the word God around, but it was always connected with our "right" to gain wealth. There were other tease references, such as this wealth would be generated in 22 states, which made me think of the "red" states since he said the clue to this was in a southern state. I did not have to watch or listen to any more of his "preaching," because I had already guessed his "pitch." He was using a highly successful advertising method to bring a message of dollars rather than Christ. But I followed him to the end of his pitch.

    Of course he didn't ever mention scripture. He repeatedly referred to our "right" to have money (wealth), and how we could cash in by following his advice. Christians have been told by many pastors that God wants us to have abundance. Their explanation of abundance is material (cars, houses, etc.). Scripture's definition of abundance is found in Luke 12:15, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he  possesses." When the apostle Paul and other writers in the epistles spoke of Christian "benefits", they listed the gifts of the Spirit, not money. The real value of Christianity is salvation and the Holy Spirit's guidance to follow Christ's teaching in the four gospels.

    Way too much time is spent by Christian leaders raising money and promoting a "give and get" financial message. This may be Christianity's method of operation, but it never was the method of THE WAY, which was the title of the original church. Funds do have to be raised for the gospel to go out, but the social gimmicks used to gather large numbers
of people do not actually increase the number of committed Christians by any substantial amount. The buzz words used by the Second Coming speaker were designed to entice people to make a large profit.

    I read a wide variety of publications to keep abreast of changing world and national situations as well as religious matters. While some of this man's claims are or will be true, it isn't quite what it may seem to be. He outlined a fast-growing phenomena we recognize through terms such as fracking and pipe lines. There's really big money in this industry, and it's growing. Anyone with common sense should know it will raise the standard of living for some people, but the poorer Americans will not be the major beneficiaries. Property owners who lease the land where successful wells are located gain the lease
money and a royalty on gas produced. If you aren't one of the blessed property owners, you gain little unless you can afford to buy stock in an energy company that makes a profit. 

    The claim that we'll see lower domestic prices for gasoline or natural gas is false. Think about two things: prices last winter for heating and your car's gas, and the man's clincher from the southern state. This clincher is the construction of a transfer station that will receive the fracking gas and load it into ships for foreign sale. Of course they have to
build pipelines to sell the gas overseas. There are proposals all over the map for constructing these pipelines. But, let's back up to those foreign sales. They will only benefit the energy companies and the stockholders of those companies. How many low and middle income people can afford these stocks?

    This message is not about financial advising or finance, but rather to alert conservative Christians to the reality of the man's proposition. I don't have investments, but I read The Wall Street Journal. They follow finances very closely. Some energy companies are returning big profits to investors right now. Some of these companies are spending risky
large amounts on the hope rapidly expanding lease acquisition and successful drilling will follow. Some of these over-extended energy companies will fail and their stock will be worthless. 

    Subscribing to this man's financial newsletter/business does give him a comfortable income. However, he makes no pretense of following any part of God's involvement. Christ never said it was "our right" to be rich or wealthy. In fact, many/most of Christianity's leaders have not been rich and endured prison or were killed. If you consider investing in anything, you should pray for guidance. God is in control, but He gives you a choice. God may not lead to riches (money), but He will always lead to THE WAY, and that's for eternity. We have no man-made miracles for money or blessings. When you put your trust in man, you are not dealing with the One who operates the controls.

    Just a little information about give and get that is spelled out in scripture, but not easy to understand...We are living in the period of grace, but grace is only the fulfillment of the Law. That, of course, is the Ten Commandments plus one (Christ's Eleventh Commandment.) The tithe was a believer's contribution, or God's share of your blessing (income). The tithe is not a sacrifice. A sacrifice before Christ required shed blood. 
Christ died for our sacrifice. A Christian's sacrifice must be of special value to the person, just as blood was required before Christ. Giving from much is rarely a sacrifice. It usually does not represent a need, but could represent something like a tax write off. To understand this better, look at Luke 21:2-4.

    "And He saw also a certain poor woman putting in two mites. So He said, 'Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.'" Congregations tend to "look up" to members of the church who are big givers, but this only means they are impressed by amounts of gifts. Giving from much means little to God, and is not a sacrifice. It is a generous and good thing to do, but must be considered as God sees it. Reread the statement from Luke if you still don't understand. The widow had respect for God, and valued Him over money. Who comes first in your life? If you respect God over money, He will bless you with those things you need. Otherwise, you are
standing alone, and are at the whim of man. Look to God, not man. He can give you things more precious than gold such as health and family.

Rev. Walbear

NATIONAL JUDGMENT

                                           NATIONAL JUDGMENT

      In studying the end times, Christians need to look directly at scripture
to understand judgment. Each person is judged separately, and each
nation is judged separately based on the overall record of the people.
Christ said "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do
not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." (John 9:39)  This may be difficult to understand, but He is explaining He is not judging people while He is on earth, but people are separating themselves by choosing whether or not to believe in Him. Their personal choice   decides their eternal home.

    To judge a nation, God looks at the choices and records of the people
He placed in control of the nation. Christians who say they are committed
to Christ (The Way) will be judged as in the above paragraph, and He will
examine each person's works. Remember, James 2:17 warns us "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." Going to church is not works, singing in the choir is not works. Works is following the teaching of Christ as given us in the four gospels. Works is actually doing something to benefit someone else. If you study the PARABLES in the gospels you will see your marching orders. Christ warns about the love of money (Matt. 6:24); judgment (Matt, 7:1), and to save yourselves time in researching  many verses of scripture, look at Matt. 25:31-46.

    Matt. 25:31-46 makes it clear your works depend on some sort of 
sacrifice on your part. It may be time, money, skill, labor, supplies, or
counseling. There are two emotions at play when you do "works", and
your personal, honest evaluation will tell you how "religious" you really
are. You may have a warm, fuzzy feeling, which denotes you enjoyed
being able to help someone. You may have a feeling of satisfaction for
having fulfilled a need. If your feeling has both these elements, you have
performed a "works". A works requires more than an easy solution, as
you can see from Matt. 25:31-46. Under grace (Christ), tithing is not
a works (surprise). That was a requirement under the Law. We still 
call the offering (in services or mail, wire, etc.) tithing, but it is a
matter of choice in amount. If you research the giving of Israelites,
you will find the 10% was only a part of required giving. There were
several needs that were met through other offerings. These were
somewhat like the social nets we have today. Think social security
and health insurance. Consider the widow's mites (Mark 12:41-44,
Luke 21:1-4), to see what a sacrifice and works is.

    Americans proudly proclaim their generosity and mission work all
over the world. Today many foreign nations seem to have lost their
respect for us. Other developed nations have universal health care,
and much of it is high quality. We shove tons of money into education,
but keep falling behind other developed nations. While God will
undoubtedly weigh these matters in judging us, we are about to
cross the line Jesus warned us about THREE times. Look at Matt.
19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16, and Luke 18:13-17. He is speaking about
the importance of every person (child) to God, without discriminating
by nationality, race or religion. He is also telling us that His kingdom
consists of those who RESPOND and TRUST in Him. We are to treat
each child as a treasure and sacrifice whatever is necessary to raise
them for HIM. Yes, I'm writing about all those children that have
entered our nation illegally. If you're a real committed member of
The Way (Christianity), you must know these directions from Christ
are for us now as testimony to our faithfulness and truth. Or, we can
follow the advice of columnist George Will, who was quoted on TV
as calling these immigrants "eight year old criminals with teddy bears."

    These children haven't been judged by anyone, not even God, so
Will's comments are obviously a lie and intended to inflame those
Americans who are responding with greed and hatred. These people,
apparently know nothing of decency or Christ's teaching, and refuse
to understand that it takes a parent's great trust to send a child across
two or three countries in the hope they could escape the drugs and
murder of their native country. They aren't carrying bombs and they're 
not coming here to spread disease. Think of the terrifying trip across
countries without adults or money. Those complaining say we need
to spend our money and resources on our own children. They're
absolutely correct. We have large numbers of children right at home
who are poor, malnourished and in subpar schools. These same 
naysayers are the ones who are only concerned with their own family.
They are the ME politicians and followers who place their own interests
over other citizens. It's all about money, greed and discrimination.

    We're told in the gospels by Christ to treat our neighbors as we would
treat ourselves. This was such an important issue that Christ listed it
as the Eleventh Commandment. Where are our pastors and Christian
leaders on radio and television? For that matter, where are impartial
news editors? Will you be watching to see if the Satanic Temple court
case will be accepted by the Supreme Court? They want the same
privilege granting Christians the right to discriminate against people
and corporations who aren't Christians. This is the road to theocracy, 
which is well under construction. 

    God gave mankind the choice to follow Him or not. He has never
forced anyone to become a Christian. He has never forced anyone to
get educated, married or anything else. God does not want saints in
Heaven who can't pass His test of salvation. Those who aren't saved
obviously won't follow His (Christ's) teaching. If you think you're a
committed Christian, read the four gospels carefully and see how
many of His lessons you can pass. We all sin, but if we're committed,
we receive the Holy Spirit to help us reduce sin. Can you check off
areas He taught as places where you have improved? Do you care
at all about less fortunate people? Have you bought in to the ridiculous
claims that all poor people are lazy, all handicapped people are
 "throw-aways, that our returning vets don't deserve more than a
mere existence or whenever medical care, that all abortions are
sins, that same sex marriage is only for fornication, that gay people
should be (humanely) eliminated, the elderly should politely retire
and fade away without their own savings (social security), that our
federal government should be diluted to states' rights, that Hitler was
right in creating an elite race, that women should be "talked down"
to, that almost half of our citizens live off some kind of government
 welfare ,or that it's okay to follow any opinion without checking for 
the truth?

    You must understand that God is really in full control, and He is
able to perfectly understand the condition of your heart. He doesn't
have to hear your words to know the score, and He can't be fooled.
Only you can fool yourself. If Christians continue to ignore Christ's
directions, our national scorecard will fail. You could be among the
professing Christians that don't pass the tribulation test, and will have
to stay behind for the make-up test. I pray that isn't so.

Rev. Walbear