THANKSGIVING

                                                                  THANKSGIVING   

    For many Americans, the Horn of Plenty is an accurate symbol of

celebration. Unfortunately, the number of Americans who cannot

enjoy a full life is growing. The holiday should be a day giving you a

warm, fuzzy feeling of contentment. When you live in a poor area

that has been neglected by politicians for generations, it's difficult

to ignore a Horn of Plenty that's not full of bounty. But, it's good to

see an outpouring of generosity from those who understand what

it's like to be poor. Thanksgiving, like Christmas, is a holiday that

brings the joy of homecoming. It is a day that belongs to no particular

religion or group, contrary to American thinking. This message will

explore the holiday, but first I want to describe the best observance

of Thanksgiving I personally experienced.

    A few years after my wife and I were married, we were working 

very hard towards becoming workaholics. We were both animal 

lovers with extensive farm experience, and we were going to breed

and raise champion registered livestock. We dove into the challenge,

and found ourselves somewhat overwhelmed with work. We had only

the help of a young neighbor boy, so days were very long. Because

we had dairy cows, dairy goats, sheep and horses, there was much

special care for show stock. On thanksgiving morning, we began the

day before dawn as usual. Just before we went to begin chores, we

received a phone call. It was from a young family who lived about an

hour away, and they invited us to Thanksgiving dinner. Although we

had the fixings for a big dinner, we wouldn't have time to prepare it,

so the invitation was tempting. We declined with great regret because

the chores plus travel time would not work out. Our friends said it 

would not be a problem. They had the dinner prepared, and they'd pack

it up and bring it. 

    They did, and our gathering included my wife and I, the neighbor boy,

our friends and their young son. I believe it was the most delightful

holiday meal we ever had. We've had happy observances, but there was

a special feeling that day. We worked hard, but sharing that dinner with

friends was priceless. Because we have always had a sizable number

of livestock, our holidays are usually spent close to home. As a result,

our gatherings are mostly friends. Sometimes this includes people who

are there because of our ministry. This brings even more to the meaning

and understanding of our way of life.

    Now, I want to go back to the probable beginning of the observance.

Our American society likes to dwell on being good, honest, helpful people.

Some of us are, but we buy into historical stories that fudge the truth. In

this respect, our personal history as a nation is damaging, just as religious truth hurts. I was fascinated in elementary school, learning about the  pilgrims and Indians, with their colorful dress and feast. It was a wonderful story. I still like to believe it really happened that way. But, I have learned that the Pilgrim search for religious freedom was really a desire to establish a strict dictatorship based on lack of or misunderstanding the bible. There was no religious freedom in that group of people who preached hate rather than love. They considered the Indians savages, just as many white people today do. You have to understand that when people write history about themselves, they usually write good stuff. To really know the whole truth, you need other sources. There are educators writing inaccurate history textbooks today, and there are religious writers changing the bible. When history doesn't reflect nice things about people, they write information to encourage you to like them.

    I can only speculate on what happened on that first Thanksgiving in

1621, but I do know what happened on Thanksgiving in America after we

became the "land of the free." Actually, what we should call it is the "free

land for the conquerors." As whites settled in, they were outraged that 

native Americans--Indians--would fight to keep their land. You know, the 

land that always belonged to them; the land they used for hundreds or

thousands of years without polluting it. This may seem like a miserable

way to describe the holiday, but truth hurts. Scripture explains that we

are as "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6) "But we are all like an unclean thing, And

all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;" 

    Americans have done some marvelous things, like preserving freedom

in World War II, but we are not squeaky clean. To be honest, this country

was not founded for religious freedom, but for greed. The whites took

advantage of the Indians' lack of worldliness, trading beads and trinkets

for land. The whites brought disease from Europe that Indians had no

immunity to protect them from. The whites brought alcohol and created

a problem. We got everything for a bargain, and what wasn't a good deal,

we took--actually stole it. That set the stage for some very memorable

actual historical Thanksgiving observances. Return with me to yesteryear, actually 1831. Congress had passed the Indian Relocation Act. Our government decided to relocate six tribes from their native land, and began the trip in November. The tribes, all from the south, included

Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Creek. They 

had to travel from homelands in the Carolinas and elsewhere ON FOOT, 

women and children, and their meager possessions. There was nothing  

waiting for them in Oklahoma--land promised to them forever. Oklahoma 

was mostly worthless to whites at the time. As the Indians were forced 

to walk to their new land, it was November--Thanksgiving time. It was 

not a nice winter. It was very cold, it sleeted, it snowed, and there were 

flash floods. It was 1838, and this journey became known as the Trail of 

Tears.

     No one knows how may Indian lives were lost, but you can imagine

babies, young children, the elderly and women were victims of this cruel

land grab. Know why they were moved? The white plantation owners wanted the land. This was part of the slavery movement. There hasn't been much said about this atrocity, but it wasn't just Indians that were forced to make this trip. The group also included European whites who were not citizens, black freemen, and slaves who were squatters. Starvation and disease took a heavy toll. The new land--Oklahoma--was taken away in only 10  years. In 1829, gold was discovered in Georgia, and you can guess what happened to the Indians there. In this outrageous action, the whites actually defied a ruling by the Supreme Court.

    One group of Indians was led by an incompetent guide and vanished in 

a swamp. In one group, as many as 6,000 of 16,500 perished along the

way. In 1837, 44,000 were forced to move, freeing 26 million acres of land

for white men. This allowed the expansion of slavery and contributed to

our racial problem today. Don't for one nano-second think things have

changed that much in the interim. I lived in the deep South, and the racial

attitude is with many people from birth because the people they are

surrounded by have bias. The bias has unfortunately spread from the

South because it is a way for people to elevate themselves over others.

The Christian church is failing to do anything about this because many

leaders do not teach Christianity. Our faith is based on inclusion and

love. Politicians seem to talk only of separation and hate. Read the four

gospels, folks. There should be no forcing of Christian beliefs. Christ came

to give us a choice. I could go into our national history to further destroy

our feel good attitude, but I'll only cite one more glaring example. Read

on, and give thanks this year that God hasn't punished us as Israel was

punished so many times. We're overdue.

    Our politicians talk about democracy building. It's just another lie, like 

the recent announcement there hasn't been an increase in the cost of

living. Congress (government) is denying the elderly who set aside social

security retirement savings, their own money. I digress, so back to how

America destroys democracy. This trip is across the biggest pond, the

Pacific Ocean. We find ourselves in Hawaii, a peaceful nation with a king.

Foreigners begin arriving, and they see wonderful opportunities in the

good land and an even better climate. This is an example where greed is

paramount, but religion is also a problem. We'll review religion first, and

follow with greed. Christianity came to Hawaii, and the battle raged 

between Catholics and Protestants. The natives were peaceful. Only the

religious zealots battled. You see how we white men have improved the

world. Strife is where ever we go. After the religious bigots on both sides

finally became peaceful, the conflict for government took the stage.

     In 1893, Hawaii was recognized as a monarchy by France and 

England, but not the United States. The reason, as usual, was greed.

Businessmen and politicians were involved in lucrative trade, with

sugar the main item. In that year, seven businessmen used their

influence to bring U.S. marines and sailors ashore to "protect" these

seven men. They were five Americans, and one each from England

and Germany. These seven men claimed they "feared for their lives."

Sound familiar? It was a lie. The ruling queen and natives showed no

evidence of military or other force and were completely peaceful. The

problem was the seven white men wanted to control things, and had

to depose the Hawaiian government to do it. Once again, American

politicians took control of native land. The Hawaiians observed their

first Thanksgiving as native pawns of America. The natives were a 

source of cheap labor. 

     It's not pretty when you examine the facts of America. Freedom to

worship was true, but the worship these freedom seekers FORCED on

the public was completely unchristian. Control and greed were the

motives. Nothing has changed, except we have an unchristian 

movement underway to force everyone to follow teaching that is

as far removed from Christ as Satan. America was built not by people

who claimed to be Christians, but by people of many faiths and races.

The merchants of the revolutionary days sold the public on revolting

because of taxation without representation when the real reason was

the diminishing profit from the sale of tea to the public because of the

tax by England. The merchants of the North had their hand in the slave

trade as well, with their business with ship owners. Politicians and

business people can pull the wool over the public's eyes, but GOD is

watching. He knows your heart and the heart of all those who are using

His Son's name to further their personal agendas. This is not new to Him.

He has had to punish the Chosen regularly because the spiritual leaders

led the people astray. It's happening again right here in America. Not all

religious leaders are corrupt, but most politicians are. Many leaders 

have called for the abolishment of the education departments, and

others are rewriting textbooks with false claims.

    This is not a happy Thanksgiving message because we need to

understand that God expects much more than a day here and there

to appreciate His blessings. While many Americans are blessed

beyond reason, many others are being forced to live in pain and want.

Christ taught us how to live, and most of our leaders are ignoring His

four books of instruction in scripture. The entire "free" world is being

inundated by immigrants fleeing corrupt governments and religious

states. Why would fat cat politicians say these people are only fleeing

to take other people's things away? There are reports of mass murders,

encouraged rape and children sold into the militia. Matt. 25:31-46 tells

us how to treat others. Unfortunately, greed has replaced freedom in

America. The symbol of an eagle looks more and more like the national

symbol of Nazi Germany, and the American symbol is the dollar sign.

    I have been truly blessed, but most of my blessings are known only

to me and my family. That's because they are blessings valued in 

heaven, not the world of natural man. You need to read 2 Peter, 

chapter two, verses 1-22. We are warned about false doctrine, false

teachers, deception and depravity of false teachers. Peter could already

see the beginning of hell on earth. The term false teachers includes

political as well as religious preachers. After all, politicians are just

advanced and experienced preachers trying to further their personal

fortunes. It takes dollars to be successful in the natural man's world.

That's true for religious leaders as well. Without the presence of the

Holy Spirit, you can do good things, but not heavenly things. 

    I've probably ruined your Thanksgiving with this message, but the

primary goal was to make you aware that a happy Thanksgiving we may

observe was not happening for others in the past and in the present.

Unless we pay attention to the political preaching to the general public,

as well as in the church, God will act. We can't sweep it under the rug

with a broom of indifference. God loves us all, and that includes other

races and faiths. If we don't act Christ-like, we are imitation Christians,

and no different than people of other faiths. The God of Israel is also

the God of all. He won't permit you to decide you are better than His

other creations. We are on the upside of His blessings, and He expects

us to be guided by the Christ inside us, not the natural world of man.

This Thanksgiving, give Him thanks you are on the upside, and try to

show Him you care by leveling the playing field.

Rev. Walbear   

CINO I

                                                                          CINO I

    John 14:6 tells Christians their marching orders. "Jesus said to  him,'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" I keep repeating Christ's directions for all Christians which are in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John. That's just four books of the entire bible. So, why are so many people who claim to have (Christian) faith wandering around in the Old Testament? Worse yet, their understanding of the Old Testament rates somewhere below zero. At my advanced age, I still have two mentors. I don't know it all, and my mentors don't think they know it all. All three of us rely solely on scripture and experience. That brings us to the title of this message.

    The title comes directly from the quote of John. Other passages tell us the same directive. The way for a Christian begins at salvation. There can be no detours. Now we come to the second part, TRUTH. If truth is missing in your life, your acceptance of salvation came from your mouth, not your heart. The third part of the directive is life. We're not talking about earthly life; we're talking about eternal life and Heaven. Scripture warns us in Matt. 15:11,"Not what goes  into the mouth defiles the man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." Now on to the title of this message.

    CINO is the name of a new category of religion, a splinter of a major political party put together to seek a goal. The letters stand for Christians in Name Only. This is not political, but reality. These people brag about faith, but show absolutely no hint of Jesus Christ's
teaching. Rather than proclaim the words of Christ, they usually  loudly proclaim the OPPOSITE of His instructions, the worst being the heated exhortation to HATE certain people who are "different." These CINO people have one goal in mind, and it is money and power. Greed is dominant in most people's lives. There is an inborn trait, especially in men, to be "king of the hill." At one point in the cycle of civilization, men studied, served as an apprentice and worked to achieve that goal. Now money is being used as a shortcut.

    Hate is a major way to separate people, and is Satan's imitation of the purpose Christ explained in Luke 12:49-53. You need to read this short entire passage to understand His meaning, but the key is verse 51: "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth?
I tell you not at all, but rather division." What Christ is saying is that He is giving everyone the free choice of accepting salvation and eternal life or facing the Judgment Seat. There will be no peace on earth until He returns and the earth has been cleansed. The division He is talking about is the separation of committed believers from the those who committed by their mouth instead of the heart.

    Christ never excluded any person from the opportunity to receive salvation, and neither did the disciples. If you recall Acts 8:26-38, you see Phillip leads an Ethiopian man to salvation. Ethiopians were a black race. The disciples preached to all races of Europe, Asia and Africa. We have had groups such as the KKK in America who preach hatred against Jews as well as blacks. Yet, they claim to be  Christians. While Christ offered free choice with no human penalty for not accepting His offer, many Americans are following Satan's urging to force others to do everything they perceive to be part of their "faith." 

    Let's examine their "faith." They are attempting to separate people into two groups: those who follow their false teaching, and those who refuse. The latter group includes the REAL Christians. Sin number one: Use of force. These CINOs are teaching hatred of races. Sin number 2. They teach hatred of other religions. Sin number 3. They get political and teach hatred of their perceived Liberals. Sin number 4. They claim (very loudly) they represent Christ. Sin number 5. Now, here is the  kicker: If you support these false teachers, you have added the five sins to number 6--Your support. There is absolutely no excuse. You either follow the example of Jesus Christ, or you are following the horde of
false teachers identified in the New Testament. These false teachers include pastors and media people who join ambitious wannabe leaders to capture large followings and the filthy lucre that is the reward. Lucre is a gain through cheating, bribery and shameful practices. It is described in 1 Samuel, Titus and 1 Peter.

    You should note that all of the above tie in with other sins, the most common of which is lying. The bible lists this sin as false testimony, and it is commonly practiced in great detail in the church as gossip. When  Satan gets you hooked, he just piles on the others. All this can be easily prevented if you just study scripture and learn the truth. A Christian has a much easier path than most other faiths, including a Jew. Christianity is based on the Ten Commandments plus Christ's personal addition of "love thy neighbor as yourself." Christ speaks of brotherhood,  sisterhood and neighbors. Someone may be pretty unlikable, but that doesn't mean we have to love or hate him. We must treat him decently.
After all, everyone is a candidate for redemption, and we have many examples of people who were terrible, but later came to Christ.

    There is another type of hatred in America, and it is leveled on the basis of personal financial standing. All poor people are looked down upon by the CINOs. They dress poorly, frequently aren't well groomed, don't live in expensive houses, drive clunkers, etc. Not all poor people should be thrown in the garbage. There are many reasons for some of these situations that weren't caused by ignorance or laziness. For  example, I constantly hear people receiving social security are part of the "entitled" group. The money they receive is money they worked for and deposited in the government's retirement account. It is their
"hard earned" money. Isn't everybody entitled to their own money and possessions? These retired workers should not be lumped together with those receiving a social security supplement. This money is given by the government for various physical and mental disabilities. When politicians speak of cutting social security, they are cutting veterans' benefits which are part of the package. 

    Perhaps the worst hatred is leveled at the uneducated. Actually, it's aimed at the growing class of Americans who have high school  diplomas, but should not have been passed through the system. Many of these people are severely disadvantaged because they are limited to the basics of life. They don't understand government and often won't or can't budget and handle money. They spend their money unwisely, and have difficulty just living from day to day. While suffering quality of life, they don't understand what is necessary to improve their life. It's called education. When CINO politicians list the government agencies they will close, education is always among them. With one candidate is was one of three, but he could only  remember two. Another candidate had five goals, but could remember only four and forgot education. If you know anything about the history of early America, you know a school was one of the first things a  pioneer settlement established. Our education system is broken, and the people in administration are making it worse. Charter schools are a back door way of re-instituting segregated schools. Christian schools are dividing students by requiring a curriculum that is dominated by religion. That is a step towards making America a theocracy.

    In the entire history of the world, every attempt at theocracy has failed. Religious leaders get carried away with their self-righteousness and make laws. Many of these laws are totally opposite Christ's  teaching. Think about this: God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. They are common sense and were written on common stone. They are
easy to understand. The men of Israel just had to become involved in God's business. So they wanted a human king, and became a nation of man-made laws. Christ came to us with "love thy neighbor" because even the Jews were arguing among themselves. They were not asking God for answers, but asking the religious and civil leaders. The Jewish laws became so complicated, Christ came as a living example. The part of the world that identified through His name began separation as soon as leaders of a new church established that church. They all instituted rules for their church, and we now have all types of churches that carry denominational names. Some have developed their own
changes or additions to scripture, ignoring parts of the original to suit their taste. Most of their members are Christians in name only. Christ will have to return to clean up this mess.

    Scripture is the Word of God, and it is truth. Refer to the quote from John above. With truth comes light and life. America is not the only country facing this kind of political trouble. If you read current news from Europe, Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East, you will find that radical changes have already begun. When you have a handle on 
that, get out your bible and read Revelation. You may be able to connect some dots. The issue of secession will be voted on in Spain, which is a subject of interest in the United States. Finances and immigration are major issues in the European Union, as they are here. Russia is on the move. General Motors is importing 30,000 to 40,000 Buicks built entirely in China with their materials and labor. Corporations are selling our country out from under  us. 

    There is no safe place in the world except through the protection and care of Jesus Christ. If you are a heart committed Christian, you need to be sure you're not following CINOs. Check Christ's teaching. There are more problems with these false teachers that need to be brought to light. Compare their words with Christ's words. 

Rev. Walbear

TOO LATE ?

                                                                            TOO LATE ?

Why is it we always seem to learn things too late to cause much difference in the scheme of life? For Christians, salvation is a turning point. All is not lost for people of other faiths, because Jesus Christ (God) told us in Matt. 5:45, "that you may be sons  of your father in heaven; for He makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and unjust." As usual in scripture, you must look at the verses ahead of these key verses, as well as the following verses, and you will have understanding. Verse 38 speaks of love. The very last verse of this passage (verse 48) tells us how important the message is. "Therefore you shall be PERFECT, just as your Father in heaven is PERFECT."

You should note very carefully and seriously this group of verses, because this is NOT the message many Christians are giving the public. I don't usually salute people who are held up as great historical examples of Christian leadership. I'm going to waive that decision in this message because the man who caused the major correction in worshiping God would have celebrated a birthday on November 10. Like all of us, he made some mistakes, but he changed the course of Christianity which had left the tracks of Jesus Christ like a runaway train. Somehow, many people who loudly proclaim they are Christians, don't know the subject and substitute their own agenda. You should understand that a person who claims to be a Christian should teach the scripture Christ Christ gave us. That seems to rarely happen today.

Some Christians ask how we can preach love when there is so much violence, greed and hate in the world? If anyone should know about hate and violence, it is Christ. Yet, He preached love, even on the cross. The first scripture I quoted was from Matthew. This scripture is from Luke 23:34. "Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.'" Today's Christians are making the mistake or deliberately misleading the public by saying things they don't know. They are not required to quote the very words they claim to be Christian instruction. If you know the four gospels, you know many of these claims and statements are false. When some of these people do quote Old Testament passages, they are not quoting Jesus Christ, but other writers, such as Solomon, who were not priests or directly connected to God. These scriptures, except the Ten Commandments, are part of the Jewish Law, which gave way to Grace with the advent of Christ. The Epistles are letters of instruction to newly formed churches, and were sent to correct procedures and cultural problems. They are important, but not the words of Christ.

We go back to Luther, who was put on trial for his teaching of Christianity. Like Christ's persecution, there were two classes of  people who led the process to arrest Him, prosecute Him, and kill Him. Those two classes of people were the church leaders, and the elite representing the government. The Romans only killed Him because these two classes of people demanded it. Luther was more fortunate, but like the Apostle Paul, he had to be protected from being killed by his religious and elite leaders. Luther's problem was money. It always turns to money.

I'm not casting stones at Catholics today, but Luther was led by his devotion to Christ and scripture to a growing problem in the Catholic Church. The church was continually in debt and had to raise more and more money. The leaders came upon a simple way to raise lots of money. You can't get into Heaven by works, but you have a never ending parade of sins. If you're saved, or think you're saved, you know Christ died to cover your sins. You could repent, and Christ would make things "straight" for you. Conclusion: If you committed a specific sin and offered a certain amount of cash to a priest, he could cover the sin upon your confession by interceding with Christ/God. Jesus taught us we have a personal relationship with Him. We don't need an intercessor.

People don't know the gospels and they don't know the Epistles. Look at Romans 6:1. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that Grace may abound?" People were paying a sort of "sin tax" to the church so they could continue sins of choice. They thought they were saved, and were encouraged to believe that by church leaders and priests. Money was the winner; God was the loser. It was overly simple. You said a few words, were told you were saved, and now your sins would be forgiven for a price. This practice of sin forgiveness was known as indulgence. You enjoy the sin of your choice, confess you were bad and say you're sorry, and pay the man. Now you are heaven-bound again, and you can go and enjoy the same sin again. As long as you can afford it, you can enjoy it. A few words you speak plus money replaces the ONLY WAY YOUR SINS CAN BE FORGIVEN! That is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. It has nothing to do with works or money.

Christians should know that teaching hatred of anything but sin, is in reality, forgivable, but not if it continues and becomes a type of modern indulgence. God gives us free choice, but not the choice of hatred or oppression. Everyone has the choice of religion and faith. You may worship God within reason any way you choose. Both the Protestant and Catholic Churches have attempted to force people to join their particular churches in the past with dire consequences. Christ never said a person must be a Christian. Christians aren't the only people who do good deeds or finance good projects. Some Christians were anything but good people before they received salvation. In Christ's issuance of The Great Commission (Mark 16:15), a Christian has this simple, easy to understand directive: "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'"

He did not say to judge anyone (Matt. 7:1). "Judge not , that you be not judged." Christ will do the judging. People receive Christian salvation through the persuasion of the Holy Spirit. There is no force of any kind. Any person who preaches, promotes or condones use of force physically or mentally, is violating Christ's teaching. If he/she preaches it, it is a sin of commission. If it is promoted or condoned (in church, for example), it is a sin of omission. A Christian must preach the instruction of Christ. Otherwise, you are a tool of Satan, tricked into doing his work.

Most of these subjects being promoted today in error have to do with the subject of sex. Because most Christians are "straight," this is the easiest and most accepted method to be a more "Godly person." Not one of these subjects was taught by Christ. He taught subjects that are also the main fabric of other faiths. Why don't political candidates rail against false testimony (lies)? What about infidelity? What about respect? I hear and see elite leaders and many pastors and Christian radio stations condone false testimony. They offer no scriptural proof. That's because there isn't any. 

Most Christians are led to believe salvation is a one way street, based on acceptance of a free offer from Christ. People should understand there is no free lunch. We have to learn to walk, talk, and master some kind of job skill. When we receive salvation, we are expected to study and learn how to be a Christian. We must make ourselves Christ-like. The minute we exhibit hate in any form, we are indicating salvation didn't "take." It wasn't lost. It was never real. God warns in Isaiah, and Christ warns in Matthew that we may see without seeing and hear without hearing. Our words come from the carnal human. The ability to spiritually see and hear comes from the heart. God knows our minds are carnally directed. We must experience a change of heart. Our actions do speak louder than words spiritually. 

If you believe you are saved, but harbor hatred of any kind---racial, religious, social standing, or other, you are in trouble with God. If you don't take positive steps to rid yourself of this sin, you are showing God your acceptance of salvation wasn't from the heart. You will face the judgment seat, and may see non Christians you condemned pass you by, headed in a direction you now won't go. This is not a message to frighten you, but an attempt to get you to really look at the teaching of Christ. Do you think He forgot all the sex subjects that are constantly on the table today? If you read about the rich young ruler, you'll see that money is not a priority to enter Heaven. If your big deal is abortion, give me a scripture containing the word and what Christ taught about it. The bible actually does speak of it, but not in the flaming context of today's speakers. Notice it's always the woman who pays, sometimes with death, even in enlightened nations. Not very much do men pay. 

Decisions in America are mainly the product of wealthy white men, who make a career of living on taxpayer and corporate lobby money. Christ preached THE WAY. This was an invitation for all people. It was not a command. Germany was a Christian nation, taken over by a power-hungry man and the money of the industrial giants. He used racial prejudice to persuade the Germans to persecute the Jews. The combination of racial prejudice, money and greed is on the rise again in America. Much of the church has bought into it,and we see the formation of corporate ministries---the megachurches. Fun and entertainment are replacing study of the Word. If you read the Old Testament, you can guess what is happening.

Rev. Walbear

????? DAY

                                                                  ????? DAY

An unusual title for a Christian message? Father Time permits us to become hazy over the past, and we do the usual human thing and distort or dilute history. We take a monumental achievement under God's direction, and over generations obscure the accomplishment. The question for November 11 is what do we call the holiday? It began on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month to mark the signing of the peace treaty to end World War 1. At the time, it was called the "Great War." It was Armistice Day. That was in 1918, 97 years ago. My father was a veteran of that war. The "Second Great War" is the term for World War II. My father-in-law was a veteran of that war. I am a veteran of the Korean Conflict, a "happy" name for a bloody war. For a veteran, the signing of a peace treaty is a very special day. It means you survived. We have Memorial Day to observe the sacrifice our soldiers and civilians have made in all wars and conflicts. Now we may call Armistice Day "Remembrance" Day to recognize all the above. I don't buy this watering down of something Jesus Christ taught...PEACE AND love.

A few years back, a woman commented on my Armistice Day message. She said words to the effect, "Let's get on with things. I have other interests." Sadly, I believe many, many Americans today have many other interests. We are down to the last few people of the World War 1 generation. It's been almost 70 years since World War II ended. I'm of that generation, and I'm ashamed of the way families who didn't lose members in the war now support those leaders who can only think of cutting services to those who served. Of course, cutting services to retired workers who need the money they paid to social security for living expenses is also a SIN. Yes, it's the simple sin of greed. Not to forget my Korean Conflict brethren...some who returned home were spit on, and some were picketed and called baby killers. This was from yet another generation, although the gap is only about 60 years.

Because I spent my early school years during World War II, our attention was on that war. We learned very little about World  War I. It wasn't quite as big as number two, but it did include 18 nations, including Germany, Japan, England, France and Russia. It seems odd to recall that Japan was on our side. Germany was the big player, but none of the war was fought in that nation. War raged in the east of Europe, the area that Russia is now trying to take back that was formerly part of Russia, the north of Africa, and the main killing field of the flat land of France and neighboring small nations.

So you ask, "What does that have to do with anything?" This war of almost a hundred years ago was the incubator of new nations and new types of leadership. It was the beginning of ethnic cleansing in Europe, the birth of tanks, the use of machine guns, the birth of aircraft carriers and the first successful air sortie. The use of barbed wire and chlorine gas came to the battlefield. America showed the world we were racists. We had people of color serving in the military 100 years ago. But they were in separate units from whites. We sent these colored units to France, who was happy to have them. They were superb in battle and were awarded three unit citations, but they couldn't serve along side the white units. Today the military is one of the few places where racism is mostly under control. The major problem has become the treatment of women in the military. Harassment and rape are too frequent, especially in our elite academies.

Here's something to think about. The United States provided 80 percent of the oil used by the Allies in World War 1. We rationed gas and oil during World War II. What have our leaders and corporate people done to create today's prices? They say all storage is full, but they keep the price high. This is one of the little tricks our "smart' political and business leaders learned and improved upon during and after world War II. They learned how to promote greed, lie, create "cooked" books, and generally convince people they were good guys, even Christians. Many are church leaders today although they are not in the pulpit. Their specialties are influence and money.

The United States didn't enter the war until 1917, and our influence immediately changed the complexion of the situation. We mobilized by instituting the Selective Service (Draft), and soon we were sending 10,000 trained troops a day. When we went to a volunteer army, we took citizen participation away from the people, and you can see what has happened. We have become a "ME" nation instead of "WE." What have you done for our country? Few people want to serve in the military, and nobody wants to pay taxes. The worship of money has increased as Christianity --the real thing--is decreasing. The corporations and wealthy use our roads, railroads, airports and naval ports to acquire profits. They have security from our armed forces. They refuse to pay their share, and snooker middle class Americans with perceived sins not found in the Christian bible.

Many Americans weren't born yet when the two great wars occurred. They don't realize we could supply the weapons, oil, food and manpower to sustain victory. Our economic structure has enabled American business and political leaders to sell off our major industries and much of our other economic means. We have satisfied the desire of financial and industrial leaders. We are recklessly polluting air, water and soil. We are raping natural resources. Christians ignore the lessons in the Old Testament. Israel repeatedly passed through four cycles as the generations changed. They began in a poor condition, then worked to become strong; then had so many blessings they forgot where the blessings originated. When they short changed God, they went into captivity. Eventually the cycle began again. When the spiritual leaders strayed because of the good times, they were responsible for the downfall of the nation. The United States was given the opportunity to revisit God's favor by fighting to preserve Personal Choice in the world wars. Freedom does mean personal choice. Dictators have laws passed to restrict choice, usually connecting the laws to a set of religious restrictions. Think about this: Germany was a christian nation. They hated Jews. The German Christians told the public the Jews were becoming the capitalists of the country. Money was the seed that combined with religious hatred to create Nazi Germany and World War II.

World War 1 caused the death of 9 million soldiers and 7 million civilians. You can guess how many families lost soldiers and had to care for wounded and crippled people. In the last week of that war, 30,441 German soldiers were taken prisoner. In World War II, near the end, Germany's army partly consisted of 14 and 15 year old boys. A veteran who served in the artillery told me that his unit had a very difficult time because there were waves of these young soldiers being sent from the front to the rear lines where the artillery was set up. They had surrendered, and the front line troops didn't have the means to process them. In a four cycle system, Israel went from rags to rags. For them it was physical captivity.

God saw the repetition of man's way, and sent His Son to show man how to live. The very men who should have listened to Christ instead had Him killed. They were smart, right? They took Him out of the picture. Wait! They forgot He would be resurrected and they signed their personal ticket to Hell. Choose to remember Armistice Day as you wish. For anyone who has served in the military honorably, Armistice Day represents Peace and love. It means you can go home and see your' family. You can resume pursuit of life's goals. You can practice your Christian or other faith. Don't give up your precious right to choose, and don't try to prevent your brothers and sisters from choosing. Freedom is about Peace and everybody's God-given right to choose. Christ told us how to choose. Don't play the modern Christian and write your own rules and laws. Read the four gospels, and prepare
yourself for a meaningful Thanksgiving in two weeks.

Rev. Walbear