support the Snyders....

The reason that I have this on the blog is because I am standing with a family that had one of the most its sacred moments-the laying of rest of a loved one-disturbed by "people" (and I use that term very loosely) who used the occasion to proclaim the message of their "congregation" (Westboro "Baptist" Church in Kansas) and their "pastor"; that the reason this young man who served his country was killed was the judgement of God upon him for serving a country that supports homosexulality.

What made it more tragic, is that when the family sued; some judge ruled that the disruption caused by WBC was protected under "free speech". While I am not a fan of homosexuality, I am appalled by the actions of WBC for the following:

1. Their message that God hates sinners...this is not true...it is sin that God hates, not those who He created. If God were to hate sinners, then He wouldn't have sent His Son to die on the cross to pay for our sins. When Jesus was here on the earth, the ones who thought they knew God because of their "religiousity" were the ones who were condemned the most by Him. It is a shame when a body of "believers" who are supposed to follow the example of Jesus are the one who are acting like those whom He condmened. And if God hates sinners, then we should be hated every single day, because we even as believers do still sin. And by inference then shouldn't God hate the people at WBC as well?
2. That they use a time of grief and sorrow to shout their message. This is a time of mourning, a family has just lost a loved one; a spouse no longer has their loved one; children are without a parent. The last thing that they need to hear is that they "deserved" to die as a part of some "judgement", the last thing they need to hear is someone yelling and causing a disruption. How does that show the love of God?
3. They are causing a false witness for the church-Many people will never darken the doors of a church and the only witness that they have is the way that believers act. When people do the things that this "congregation' does; it causes a image that Christians are nothing more than hateful bigots...and by inference that Christ is nothing more than a hateful, judgemental tyrant, when He is the exact opposite. One act of hate unravels hundreds if not thousands of years of ministry and takes just as long to repair (if you don't believe me, how often are the Crusades and Inquistion brought up as examples of how Christians are). They may claim to be sharing the "message" of God, but in reality who is the focus on? It is not on God, but on them.
4. They do not share their message in a Godly way-Where is the Scripture reference that we are to get in someone's face and tell them that God hates them and be disruptive and disrespectful. I wonder what kind of Bible they read?
5. And have you noticed that they are eager to condemn the person being laid to rest, and to blame the country; but they do not share the Good News, share requests for repentence, or anything on how to come to God?

I'm sorry WBC; but you are doing as much damage to our nation and the cause of Christ if not more than those whom you condemn. At least the unbelievers have a small excuse. God's Word has given us the guidelines on how to be as believers and if you choose to not obey it, then you are just as guility as those you judge!

no "reason" at all

There is a group that is trying to get the National Day of Prayer changed to the "National Day of Reason". I think that this is one of the most ridiculous ideas that has ever come out of the human mind. The reason that I say so is because of my experiences of 2008.

On March 13, 2008; I nearly lost my life in the emergency room at Christus Santa Rosa. As a matter of fact, during that evening seven doctors told my parents that I was dying. Now I wonder-what would a person of "reason" have told my parents that night if I had died? What does a person of "reason" say to those who have lost a loved one due to an accident or a tragedy?

I don't recall at any time during the four months or so that I was in the hospital with an open wound where my belly button used to be, a person of "reason" come in and try to tell me that everything would work out in the end. How would they express it and say it in such a way as to bring comfort and relief to someone who may be depressed or angered?

I don't recall at anytime after I went home and had to have a machine attached to me (to let me know when I was having problems with the wound dressing-a blessing and an irritation), a person of "reason" coming in to give advice, wisdom, etc...

What kind of advice would they have given to handle the frustrations of leaking colostomy bags that happened in the middle of the night? The frustrations of every other day, having the wound dressings changed (making a person feel like a stuffed teddy bear)? The frustrations of having JP tubes sticking out of the body draining fluids out of your body? The frustrations of having fistulas explode out of the body out of the sudden? What would "reason" do to bring relief?

In the end, "reason" would have just driven me crazy, or maybe suicidal or just angry for the rest of my life? So in the end, I would rather be a person of faith (and be considered a fool) than a person of "reason" who is one....

subtle sign

There are times when God will send you a subtle sign of His presence. For me one of those times was when I was at Lifecare Hospital. Being there day after day tended to get a little repetitive and discouraging...so the Lord sent me a sign. It was not a big, overt thing saying "hey look at me". It was something very simple, just like the still small voice He used with Elijah.

I had a room with a view of the "courtyard" and could see the other rooms of the hospital and I noticed that the frame of the outer windows were in the shape of a cross. It was God's way of saying to me, "Son, I am with you...my Son suffered so that you wouldn't have to...I will never leave you or forsake you." And it was the first thing that I could see when I opened my windowshades in the morning....

That little reminder kept me going and gave me encouragement and served as a reminder. So when you have a chance, look for the subtle signs that God gives to remind you of His presence, that He is there with you and that He has you in the palm of His hand, and as Yeshua (Jesus) said, My Father, who gave them to Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. (John 10:29)

Yom HaShoah

Normally, when thinking about the 11th of April, I usually think about my birthday. But this year there is a remembrance that is even more important. Tomorrow is Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) in which we remember the six million killed in the concentration camps during the in the Holocaust.

The idea of remembrance is so very important in that we keep alive the story of what happened during that time and remember those whose lives were so ruthlessly cut short. Remembrance is so very important in that the farther we get away from those times, the easier to say that it did not happen, but remembrance reminds us that it did, and it must never be allowed to happen again. We must continue to hold the memory of these department men and women for as long as time continues. We must continue to remember to refute the lies and propaganda that are told. We must continue to remember so that we can let our children and grandchildren know that this happened and that they must guard against this happening. We must continue to remember so that no one is ever forgotten and that no one's life was lived in vain.

I recommend that during this time that you visit the nearest Holocaust Museum near you (even if you have to do it online such as at http://www.ushmm.org/; take in the exhibits, do not turn away from them and remember-let the memories of what happened burn into your mind to the point where you do not forget...or you can go to the Shoah foundation website (the Shoah foundation started by Steven Spielberg) at http://college.usc.edu/vhi/ , take in the testimonies and remember.

Do not let the six million have died in vain, keep their memory alive, keep it burning for future generations, so that this will NEVER happen again.

"grand" uncle

This weekend, I became a grand-uncle for the first time. My nephew and his significant other became the parents of a 7 lb. 19 inch baby girl named Kayla Ann Lozano. But that gets me to thinking about the word "grand"...and at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grand;
one of the definitions was noble or revered-for example: a grand old man.

Noble or revered...the way that happens is to maintain a testimony in which they can say "Here was a person who had character and was one that why should try to follow". And to do that is to get back to the way that I was and to avoid what I wrote about in the earlier posting-"The Return of the Fat Man"-http://1ncisfan.blogspot.com/2010/04/return-of-fat-man.html .

When John the Immerser called for repentance, the Greek word that was used was "metanoia"; which meant "change of mind"; i.e changing the way one thinks. Which in my case means turning from being "wishy-washy" about my faith and other things to being someone being sure and committed.

Because I see what is happening with the next generation and I see a little girl that will be affected by the way that I live-one way or another. And whether or not she sees someone who is truly "grand" depends on whether or not I decide to truly follow the one who gave the best example for all of us....

return of "The Fat Man"

I went to the DGD (Diabetes and Glandular Disease) Clinic for my follow-up on Monday and everything checked out well, except for one number. And as you can infer by the title, you know what that one number was. How could this have happened? There were many "factors" that I could have blamed....but what it boils down to, the only one responsible for the gain was me...Because I knew what to do as far as eating the right foods and the right amounts, I knew what to do as far as exercise goes, but yet I neglected them and allowed whatever ground I had taken to be retaken by the enemy.

What had happened was neglect, pure and simple. I remember reading Norm Schwarzkopf's autobiography It Doesn't Take A Hero, and he mentioned about what had happened when he took over command over a battalion that become known as "the worst of the Sixth", and he found out why...it wasn't that the soldiers weren't any good, it was that it had been allowed to deteriorate into a bad group by the neglect of its commanders. And because of that, it was placed in a position where the enemy could act with impunity.

I looked up an old message and saw the following:
"I looked up the word (neglect) and came up with the following: “to fail to do something, especially because of carelessness or forgetfulness”... We have seen the in newscasts the result of neglect; whether it is of an animal or of a human being….when it is by accident it is sad, but when neglect is deliberate, it escalates in a tragedy of unbelievable proportions. And as sad as physical neglect is, spiritual neglect is just as tragic."

We have been given great gifts talents and abilities, but we also have been given a great responsibility...to not neglect what we have been given and to continue to use it in the Father's service. Paul in 1 Corinthians 9 talked about "keeping himself sharp":
24Know ye not that those who run in a race all run, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain it.


25And every man that striveth for mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible.


26I therefore so run, but not with uncertainty; I so fight, but not as one that beateth the air.


27But I keep control of my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

In 1 Timothy 4, he warned Timothy about neglect:
14Neglect not the gift that is in thee,

If we neglect what God has given to us, we come in danger of not doing his work and under the condemnation of what is told to us in James 4:
17Therefore to him that knoweth how to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

We are in a warfare, and when we neglect ourselves, we leave ourselves open to the attack by the enemy by "sleeping on post". Oliver North in his autobiography Under Fire, told how he would rouse a soldier who had fallen asleep. He would take his metal helmet and hit the asleep soldier in the head just enough to wake him up. He would remind them that if he had been the enemy he would have slit his throat... And with many of us unfortunately, God has had to do the same thing with us...get our attention one way or another, and warn us that if we stay asleep the enemy will come and get us.

So the warning to us is to stay awake, not neglect what has been given to us, so that we can be aware of what the enemy is doing and not let "the Fat Man" (our old nature) return!