“If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” So declared Virginia O’Hanlon’s papa in 1897. Would that we could be so certain of our news media today.
Copyright 12/02/2006 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org
When eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon asked The New York Sun if there is a Santa Claus, she knew they would tell her the truth. The response by veteran editor, Francis P Church, has become an annual favourite, even after more than a hundred years.
Whether there is a Santa Claus is not so important here, as whether we can be sure that our newspapers and televisions are telling us the truth, and nothing but the truth.
Pick up two major dailies and you’ll soon learn which one supports the Republicans, and which supports the Democrats. One aligns itself with the President; the other has nothing good to say about him. Which can you trust?
The television broadcasters are no different. In the race to be first with a story it’s a wonder that some networks even know in which country the event took place. CNN is notorious for pulling a number out of the air when telling how many people died in a mud slide or an earthquake. The number is adjusted – generally downward – as more reports come in. But does CNN apologize for the inflated figures in the first broadcast? Dumb question!
Last week I took the word of several Ohio newspapers which said my friend, Richard Markland, would be sentenced on January 2nd. Richard’s parents – and they should know – say the date is, as yet, undetermined, but it will be in December. If the reporters can’t get such simple information correct, how can we be sure they’ve reported the truth about the rest of the trial? We really can’t.
One news account said the jury convicted Richard of raping and molesting an eight-year-old girl, adding, “…crimes that carry a mandatory life sentence.” Yet the reports further say he “…could face life in prison….” Which is true? In his December-something sentencing, will Judge Jeffrey Welbaum believe the account that says he must give Richard life, or will he say, “Maybe I should give him life” or “Maybe I shouldn’t.” Fortunately he has better authority than the news reports to guide him.
Yet even his authority can be fallible. Much of Judge Welbaum’s decision will be based on what has transpired in previous cases. And they will be based on….
It’s like the little rhyme, “Big fleas have little fleas upon their back to bite ‘em. And little fleas have smaller fleas, and so on ad infinitum.” Every judge is bitten by the judges that preceded him. So where does true justice come in?
We have a perfect judge who knows whether Richard is innocent or guilty, and he won’t depend on the word of the unjust judges of the world when he makes his decision.
We also have the truth by which we will be judged. Jesus acknowledged to his – and our – father, “Your word is truth (John 17:17).”
What word did Jesus refer to? The same word that Paul told Timothy to study: the scriptures of the old testament (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16).
Perhaps if our judicial system looked more to God’s truth, than to man’s imperfect decisions, the Richard Marklands of this world would receive fairer trials.
Meanwhile, we must pray that the one person who knows the truth on every side, will give Richard the protection he needs while in jail – and prison, if he is so sentenced – and guide the judge when he makes his decision this month.
And we can hope that the news media will search for the truth before they publish one more word about Richard Markland.
Addendum: If you wish to write to Richard, his current address is below my photograph. Please be careful what you write, as his mail is screened before he receives it.
A servant of the only true and living God
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A special note to those who wish to write to Richard Markland. Apparently anthorities tear off the return address from the envelope, so Richard is unable to respond to you. So he has asked that, when you write, include your return address on the letter.
Richard Markland
Miami County Jail
201 W. Main Street
Troy, Ohio 45373
U.S.A.
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You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.
If you could kick the guy who gives you more unhappiness than any other, you wouldn't be able to sit down for a week
Copyright Leslie A Turvey / 12/09/2006 laturvey@becon.org
It’s human nature to blame the other guy. And when it comes to most of our woes, the other guy is generally the government.
Was it really the government who took the ten commandments out of public buildings? Was it really the government who took bible reading out of schools? Was it really the government who declared it a crime to pray in school or public places?
God was kicked out of our lives long before being kicked out of schools.
It was you and me folks, who chose to live our own way, and ignore God who gave us everything we have, from hot dogs to Rolls-Royces.When we had done a superb job of ridding ourselves of God, we took him out of our homes, our schools, the work place, and even our churches. Now when our kids go wrong, and all hell breaks loose on our streets, who do we blame? The government, of course. We ask, “Why doesn’t the government do something?” Shouldn’t it be, “Why don’t I do something?”
Something we all need to do is to re-introduce ourselves to God who wants nothing but the best for us, individually, socially, and nationally. We see this in God’s promise, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).” But God doesn’t say, “If the government….” He puts the onus on us – you and me – to tell him we’re sorry for kicking him out of our lives, and to ask him to return.
God wanted Israel to be his showcase nation to world, and told them, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that the Lord your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth…. And all people of the earth shall see you are his, and they will hold you in deep respect…. And the Lord will make you the head, and not the tail; and you will be above and not beneath. But you must obey the commandments of the Lord your God…to observe and to do them. And you shall not turn away from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them (Deuteronomy 28:1,10, 13-14).”
But many quickly forgot God and turned to golden calves. Thousands were executed by God’s command (Exodus 32:26-28). Thousands of our own people are murdered every year. Is it possible God allows this because we have turned away from him and have made gods of our own design, including such things as psychology, evolution, and The DaVinci Code?
Recently a bunch of school kids – grade six – were asked how we can get rid of violence in communities. All had human answers. Not one even mentioned God. Yet God says if we listen to him, we’ll be safe (Deuteronomy 28:1-14).
No, don’t blame the government. They’re people too, just like you and me. We can only blame ourselves for not insisting that the government refuse to listen to a few ungodly people or minorities, and tell them to listen to God. But it all has to start with one person.
There’s a well-known song that begins, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with the government.”
Wait! What it really says is “Let it begin with Me.”
You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.
Many people believe in an idea called the rapture. But they have a difficult time answering some easy questions about it.
Copyright Leslie A Turvey, 12/16/2006 laturvey@becon.org
A bespectacled reporter steps into a telephone booth, spins around several times, and emerges to save the world from the criminal element.
Question: Where do Clark Kent’s clothes go when he turns into Superman?
Don’t get too hung up on trying to resolve this conundrum, but you might give some consideration to a similar situation.
At some future time, as many people believe, Christians will be wafted off to who-knows-where, to escape a great tribulation to come on the earth. They call this event the rapture.
Recently someone published a short video of a hell-fire-and-brimstone preacher booming out his message of Jesus’ return. His listeners, about a hundred of them, were seated in neat rows of folding chairs.
The preacher, bible in hand, warned that Jesus might come this month. He might even come this week. Or, he might come….
A sudden flash of lightning, and crash of thunder, momentarily turns the screen black. When the picture returns, a few bewildered young people, obviously not having given their hearts to Christ, look about the room wondering where everyone went. One fellow falls to his knees, perhaps praying for forgiveness for not having made his decision to become a Christian before it was too late.
There are a couple flaws in the video – three, in fact. One is the neat rows of chairs. I don’t know about you, but when I’m seated, I often fold one leg under my chair. When the people were “raptured” wouldn’t some of the chairs be upset, thus destroying the neatness of the rows?
We wondered where Clark Kent’s clothes went when he changed into Superman. When people are raptured, where will their clothes be? It is my understanding that Christians – people – are to be raptured. Are their clothes Christian too?
So the second flaw in the video is the chairs are empty. If the people were raptured, doesn’t it seem right that shirts and trousers and bras and – well, you get the idea – should have been strewn about with the overturned chairs? Wouldn’t bibles and hymnals, and other paraphernalia be left behind too?
But the most important flaw in the video is the timing. It seems Jesus Christ had returned and taken his people to safety from the coming tribulation. But Matthew 24:29-31 says, “After the tribulation the angels will gather God’s elect.”
Now this poses some problems. If the Christians are to be raptured to escape the tribulation, who are God’s elect? And why should God’s elect have to go through the tribulation, while the non-elect are protected from it?
But these are not the only problems. Some people speak of a pre-tribulation rapture, such as described in the video. Others, reading Matthew 24:29-31 refer to a post-tribulation rapture. Some say it will be seen by everyone else. Yet others say it will be secret – no one outside the Christian community will know about it.
In the closing verses of the bible we are warned not to add to anything to what’s written in God’s word, nor to subtract from it (Revelation 22:18-19). As someone noted many years ago, when you add to the truth you subtract from it (see also Proverbs 30:6).
Nothing in God’s word suggests such an event as a rapture. Someone concocted the idea, and added it to the sacred writings, thus also subtracting from them. That someone is satan, the devil, the father of lies. And hundreds of years after the words of scripture were completed, he inspired someone to publish one of his lies called the rapture.
If you have been duped into believing this satanic idea, may God’s holy spirit lead you into the truth (John 16:13), and help you dispel satan’s deception from your mind.
You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.
Well, if that’s the way you want to be. Kapow! Is this how to solve problems, or does your bible teach a better way?
Copyright 12/30/2005/ Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org
A wealthy farmer returned home from travelling abroad. His hired hand met him at the airport.
“Well, Ben,” enquired the farmer, “did anything exciting happen while I was gone?”
“Nothing much,” came the reply. “Except your dog died.”
“Killer? How’d he die?”
“From eating too much burnt horse meat, I reckon.”
“Where’d he get burnt horse meat?” queried the farmer.
“From the barn fire, sir. The stable burned down, and your prize thoroughbreds got cooked.”
“The barn burned down? How did it catch fire?”
“We figure a spark from the house fire landed on the hay.”
“There was a fire in the house?”
“Yes sir. Burned right to the ground.”
“How did the house catch fire?”
“Seems one of the candles tipped over and lit the draperies.”
“Candles? What candles?”
“The ones by the coffin, sir.”
“Coffin? Who died?”
“Your wife, sir. But other than that nothing much happened.”
We really don’t like to be bearers of bad news, but sooner or later it has to come out. Normally we get to the point a bit quicker than Ben.
Sometimes our bad news involves the way someone has treated us. If we’re not careful, our response can have serious consequences (Romans 12:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 1 Peter 3:9).
The old wild west movies wouldn’t have been very exciting without some fisticuffs at the local saloon. Old timers will recall the story: Big Bad John swaggers through the swingin’ doors, demanding to know whose been playin’ around with his gal. Tables are overturned; a fair supply of liquor gets spilled; and John’s the only one standing when the fight is done.
Of course the hard-drinkin’ cowboys of the old west weren’t too interested in solving their differences in a Godly manner but, too often, neither are today’s church members.
It’s a familiar story: Nellie tells Sally about Tillie (in strictest confidence, of course), but Sally passes it on. Eventually it gets to Tillie in a grotesquely distorted form. Tillie gets her nose out of joint, and refuses to speak to Nellie. Or she may decide she’d be better off in the church down the street, so off she goes.
Fisticuffs solve nothing. Neither does Tillie’s way of dealing with the problem.
Jesus gave us the way to solve person-to-person problems. He said, if someone offends us we’re to go and discuss the matter with him. Anyone who’s tried this has discovered it often solves the problem (Matthew 18:15).
But, Jesus knew it doesn’t always clear up the matter, so he said if the miscreant refuses to hear us out we’re to take one or two witnesses to hear what is said. Note, these are witnesses; they’re not to get into the fray (vs 16).
Lest you think we should go to the troublemaker in the morning, and take witnesses in the afternoon, please think again. Give him time to consider the matter. We may even want to go back a second or third time alone. Then, if he’s still defiant after a few days or weeks, that’s the time to take the witnesses.
Even then, the fellow should be given some time to reconsider. If another visit with the witnesses proves him to be unrepentant, then it’s time to take it to the church, perhaps through the minister (vs 17).
Barging in like Big Bad John won’t solve the problem. It will only make matters worse. But resolving the problem step-by-step, as Jesus taught, can have long-lasting, and often friendship-building results.
You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.
You cannot break God's law, but if you disobey God's law.....
Copyright 2003 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org
The recent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak terrified the world like no other disease in recent history. Death was almost certain, and came in a matter of days. Not one doctor or medical association was ready for this new disease. Fortunately, through a concerted world-wide effort the outbreak was contained and, for the time being, SARS is no longer a threat.
Hindsight has 20/20 vision, so it is said. Looking back to the SARS outbreak it's evident that disobedience of God's law gave SARS its get-go.
The World Health Organization visited Foshan City, Guangdong Province, China, where the first known case of atypical pneumonia occurred. After considerable research it was determined the causative agent was an entirely new coronavirus. The infected person unknowingly spread the disease to others. With modern travel SARS quickly arrived in Toronto, Ontario, and almost shut the city down.
Research teams in Hong Kong and China then announced detection of a SARS-like coronavirus in the masked palm civet and racoon-dog. These and other wild animals traditionally consumed as delicacies, are sold for human consumption in markets throughout southern China. This is where God's law enters the scene.
Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 list which animals, birds, and sea life are safe, and which are unsafe for human consumption. Search as you will, you'll not find any of the cat or dog families listed among the clean animals -- safe for humans to eat.
Hark! Is that the voice of dissent I hear? Is someone saying those musty old testament laws were nailed to Jesus' cross (Colossians 2:14)? Is someone else saying Paul claimed nothing is unclean of itself (Romans 14:14)? Ah, yes, and methinks I hear someone muttering about Peter's vision of a sheet full of all sorts of critters (Acts 1:9-16).
Regardless of the arguments one might proffer, God's dietary laws of Moses' day are equally applicable today as they were four thousand years ago. The proof reveals itself in discoveries which link SARS with the eating of such animals as the palm civet and the racoon-dog.
A similar discovery was made several years ago when the source of the AIDS virus was traced to Africa where another unclean animal was eaten regularly by humans. Monkeys, according to Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 display the characteristics of unclean-- unfit for human consumption -- animals.
You may rightfully argue nearly everything you can eat provides some nutrition for the human body, even monkeys. But monkeys also carry the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) which, when it infects the human body becomes HIV, commonly called the AIDS virus. Yes, monkey meat, cat and dog meat, pig meat, and such, all provide some nutrition for the human body. But so does milk laced with cyanide.
God created animals for various reasons. Horses and elephants are working animals. Pigs and shell-fish are part of the world's ecological garbage system. Cats and dogs and alligators were all created for their particular role in the scheme of life. But they were not created to be food for human beings.
God gave us his dietary laws in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, not to stop us from enjoying such "delicacies" as the masked palm civet and the racoon-dog, but to show us what not to eat so we wouldn't destroy ourselves with animal-borne disease.
The linking of the SARS virus, and the AIDS virus to the ingestion of unclean animals supports God's law. And as one minister told his congregation, "You cannot break God's law, but if you disobey God's law it will break you."
You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.
SCENT TO BED (A Life Lines Special)
There's a teen advertising scheme every parent needs to be aware of. What you're about to read may make you puke, but the message is too important to ignore.
Copyright 2003 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org
Retail advertising has hit a new low. It's targeting our teens with a campaign designed to promote and encourage promiscuity among the most vulnerable segment of our society.
A United Kingdom-based apparel company, selling products under the name FCUK (French Connection U.K.), are marketing two new teen fragrances, "FCUK Him" and "FCUK Her."
In a recent USA TODAY article, Theresa Howard wrote of a ten million dollar "Scent to bed" marketing campaign with print ads in teen magazines such as "Maxim" and "Teen People." Miss Howard wrote, "The company hopes the brand name and suggestive imagery...will get the attention of teens already jaded by a heavy dose of sexually oriented messages in music videos and video games."
According to the USA TODAY article, free T-shirts reading "Scent to bed" are offered with the purchase of the teen fragrances. Doorknob hangers have invited guests to a New York fragrance-launch party. The message? "FCUK in progress." In a holiday promotion stores will issue "License to FCUK" cards, with a Web-based chance on a trip to Club Med, and a list of the best pick-up lines.
A photograph shows a scantily-clad mature woman and a young adult male, apparently under the spell of the new fragrances. If the advertising firm was honest, it would show fourteen- and fifteen-year olds, the age group they're really targeting. But that would be too obvious, wouldn't it?
Marketing expert Alissa Quart, author of "Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers," says the Web promotion is "another example of non-traditional techniques to gather personal information."
Roberta Combs, president of the Christian Coalition of America says, "It's a sad day when people have to do this type of advertising, especially toward our youth."
Such reactions may have an adverse result according to Michael Wood, vice president of Teenage Research Unlimited. "The more people say, 'How dare them,' the more interest they get from the teen market."
Conscionable retailers will not promote the FCUK campaign. But the unconscionable, according to Donald E. Wildmon, Chairman of the American Family Association, "are eagerly joining with the hopes of making millions by exploiting our children."
It's our teenage children and grandchildren who are being targeted by this sick advertising campaign. They may believe themselves to be almost adults, but we're still responsible for their health and welfare.
God-given sexual intercourse in the context of a loving marriage is right and beautiful, but the sickos of this world have taken it out of the marriage bed for their own greedy financial gain. You can be sure the "Scent to bed" advertising campaign will be just the first of many promoting pre-marital sex among our young people.
What's next? FCUK baby clothes?
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To read Theresa Howard's full report
go to your favourite search engine
and search FCUK USA TODAY
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You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.
To most of us the Serengeti conjures up dreams of exotic travel as we leaf through the National Geographic. For those who have been there, it evokes memories of the grandest safari ever.
Copyright 2005 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org
Once upon a time, in a land far away, lived a little boy named Obi. Being an adventuresome lad, Obi often found himself in trouble for not listening to his parents’ warnings. Like the time he got lost in the forest while he pretended to be a great hunter.
Not far from Obi’s home is a vast plain with wonderful grasses, and wild animals we only see in zoos or on television, or in travel magazines. It’s called the Serengeti.
Every year people travel to Africa to visit the Serengeti and witness the wildlife roaming there. But only the most foolish would consider such a safari without an experienced guide. He knows the area, knows the animals’ habits, knows what is necessary to keep the visitors safe. Without a guide, the visitors would become hopelessly lost in the unknown territory, and would likely never survive. They could become victims of the intense heat, or possibly be lunch for a roaring lion.
Life is a vast unknown territory, and too many try to travel it alone. They think they know it all, and eventually become hopelessly lost. They become victims of unwed parenthood, drugs, alcohol, gangs, and many live on the streets either as panhandlers or as prostitutes. The roaring lion of life simply swallows them up, and one-by-one their dead bodies are found in garbage dumpsters, under railroad overpasses, or frozen in their homes made of old cardboard boxes.
Grandparents, like me, have travelled the Serengeti of life. We know the territory and its dangers, and we want our grandchildren to travel it safely and wisely.
Fortunately, the generations before mine had a guide to see them through the dangers of life’s Serengeti. His name was God. But, with each passing generation, some of God’s guidance got pushed aside. Today, if God had a roadside stand advertising Serengeti Guide Service, it would likely be dilapidated and covered with cobwebs. God would have vacated it long ago for lack of business.
Oh, we do want God, but only on our terms. As a result we stumble through our Serengeti, seeking a bit of shade, a trickle of water to refill our canteens, and terrified by every shadow, fearing it may be another lion ready to devour us. Eventually we may find the age-ravaged guide-service stand, and cry out, “Where are you, God? You’re supposed to be here.”
Then, from somewhere a voice may be heard: “Where have you been? You didn’t need me when life was good. You had a job, but you didn’t put your heart into it. You didn’t want me ‘cause you’d have to give a hundred percent to your employer (Colossians 3:23).
“I gave you a beautiful wife, but you treated her like a nobody when I told you to honour her (1 Peter 3:7).
“Sure, you went to church when it was convenient, but you really didn’t listen to what I was telling you (Deuteronomy 28:1).
“So here you are, lost in the Serengeti of life, looking for me to bail you out. My prophet told you to look for me, and to call on me while I was near (Isaiah 55:6). Actually I’ve been here all the time, just waiting for you.
“My son, I’m a merciful God, and am ready to pardon you. Just give up your selfish ways, and turn to me, and let me be your guide through the Serengeti of your life (vs 7).”
To children and grandchildren everywhere I say, be mindful of your creator, the eternal God, while you are young (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His mercy and kindness and love for you lasts for ever (Psalm 106:1).
You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.
The heavens declare the glory of God. Our seven years living away from the city revealed to Betty and me the glory of God and his handiwork.
Copyright 2003 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org
Springtime in the country: what an exciting season! Gentle rains watered the emerging wheat; baby chicks greedily devoured grain from a trough, throwing as much on the ground as they ate; frogs in the pond sang us to sleep, and woke us in the morning. But the most exciting thing about springtime on the farm was the first "Kildee, Kildee" of the killdeer over the fields. It was our signal that spring had truly arrived.
Spring blossomed into summer, and the chumming of the harvesters told us that autumn had arrived. The chicks were all grown; the frogs no longer serenaded us; and suddenly the skies were eerily silent: the killdeer were gone.
Why does the rain come just at the right time for the new wheat? How do the frogs know when to begin their nee-deap, nee-deap? And who tells the killdeer when to come and go? Mere happenstance? Or is it all part of a grand design?
A book called the bible -- perhaps you have one -- begins with the declaration, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." It's a unique volume as it doesn't attempt to prove the existence of a being called God. It simply affirms it: "In the beginning God..." Neither does it try to explain how the universe came into being. It simply states, "God created the heavens..." Nor does the bible get into evolutionary debates about why we have no fossilized fish with feathers, or ancient birds with scales. The first chapter outlines the sequence in which God made trees and grasses, birds that fly in the air, and sea creatures which live in the water. It tells that he made every sort of critter from tiny moles to immense elephants, each with its own characteristics. And as the grand finale to the sequence, the bible tells us God created man.
Although the bible doesn't try to prove God, it does reveal him. The opening chapters reveals him as the great creator, but God is more than that. Unlike many ancient religions which have gods of the dead, the bible reveals the creator as the God of the living (Matthew 22:32; Luke 20:38). There's no need for a god of the dead, as the bible tells us the dead know nothing (Ecclesiastes 9:5), and cannot praise God nor any other god (Psalm 115:17).
The bible reveals God as the author of law and order. Suppose God had created man first, then a few days later heard him groaning with hunger. "Oh! Sorry Adam. I never thought about that. I'll create some grass. You can eat that until I make something more substantial." But that conversation never took place, as God arranged each part of creation to support the next.
Adam and Eve were given one law to live by (Genesis 2:16-17), along with the consequence for disobedience. But their disobedience introduced sin to the world, so God wrote other laws to guide mankind's life. The "Thou shalt nots," as some people call the ten commandments, are truly "Thou shalts," as Jesus taught, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God...and thy neighbour as thyself (Matthew 22:37-39)." The first four commandments disclose how to love God; the last six tell how to love your neighbour.
The bible reveals God as being full of mercy (Psalm 86:15), the God of truth (Exodus 34:6), and the God of love (1 John 4:10). He is also revealed as the God of grace and salvation to those who love him (Ephesians 2:8).
Space doesn't allow me to catalogue all of the eternal, living God's marvellous characteristics, but the psalmist, David, sang in praise, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork (Psalm 19:1)."
The killdeer and the frogs, the chicks and the wheat and the rain in due season certainly declared God's glory while we lived in the country. And even the silence of the skies declared his glory, as it heralded the coming of winter, with the snow and ice that displays his handiwork in a beauty unique among the seasons.
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together (Psalm 34:3).
You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.
We’re making great progress. But are we going in the right direction? Recent history and the scriptures show we are not.
Copyright 2004 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org
How does a nation go from the world’s greatest superpower to spiritual bankruptcy in just a few years?
In 1803 the United States attempted to negotiate the purchase of small parcels of land or, at the least, navigation rights on the Mississippi River. The French, who held rights to the land, astonished President Jefferson’s envoys by offering them an all-or-nothing deal: 800,000 square miles extending from New Orleans into Canada, and from the Mississippi to Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. The price? Less than five cents per acre!
No amount of negotiation could have brought this about. The thirteen original states trusted in Almighty God and he, in turn, blessed them beyond belief.
What did God tell our forefathers? “If you listen to me, and do all my commandments, I will set you above all the nations of the earth (Deuteronomy 28:1).” The next verses continue with blessing after blessing experienced by the United States well into the 20th century.
But what happened? Little Viet Nam humiliated the Americans. President Bush sent his troops into battle against Iraq, then prematurely declared the war was over.
Drought plagues the farmers; horrendous diseases are known in every household; no one is safe on the streets, or even in their homes; demented men crash airplanes into the nation’s memorials to the almighty dollar; and “In God We Trust” are just words on a dollar bill. One person observed they should be changed to, “In this god we trust.”
How did the United States go from the world’s greatest superpower to spiritual bankruptcy in just a few decades. Deuteronomy 28:15 to the end tells the story. “If don’t listen to me, and do all my commandments, then these curses shall take overtake you.” Read for yourself what has become of the world’s greatest superpower. Despite America’s claim of being a Christian nation, the governing powers at every level have caved in to the demands of minority groups when they should have thundered, “No!”
God says, “Do,” and we don’t. He says, “Don’t,” and we do. Our schools teach safe sex when we parents should be teaching purity. Our young people are turned on to Harry Potter and his demonic friends; they haven’t a clue to the value of the classics. The entire nation let one woman take prayer from our schools. Now a few people want to take God from our schools, our homes, our lives. And the powers that be say, “Go for it.” (I’m not blaming any political party: one’s as guilty as the other.)
During my journalism days I accompanied a man in his attempt to swim across Lake Ontario. Our navigator got schnockered the night before the swim, and wasn’t too much in command of his ship during the trip. He assured us we were making good progress. What he didn’t know was we were going in the wrong direction.
Our governments -- the United States, Canada, Great Britain -- tell us we’re making good progress, but they don’t tell us we’re heading in the wrong direction. The passages from Deuteronomy indicate we’re way off course. Is it too late to return to the right way?
God told King Solomon, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).”
Canada recently held our federal elections, and it’s obvious we didn’t elect a God-fearing government. Will the United States do any better in November? Or have our nations sunk so deep into spiritual bankruptcy that we’ve given up the will to seek the face of God?
P.S. Since this writing I received word that pro-gay-marriage advocates spent $450,000 to fight a Missouri amendment to ban such unions. The pro-amendment group spent $19,000.
The National Council of Churches boasts 140,000 member congregations across the United States. If every congregation donated only $3.25 -- well, you can do the math.
The pro-amendment group said they were distressed by the result, but their distress should come from the lack of support of, what seems to be, spiritually bankrupt Christian churches.
You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.
A repair shop advertises, “We repair what your husband fixed.” I guess they rely on husbands with a stupid gene.
Copyright 2004 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org
It started simply enough. Our carpet shampooer refused to work.
You wives know what happened next. Hubby figured he could tinker with it a bit, and everything would be fine.
Let’s see. First I’ll take off this cover….. Now, if I remove this screw it should..… Then, undo this gizmo….. And that’s how it went. Soon I had a mechanical jigsaw puzzle, with no idea of how to put it together.
When I finally gave up, Betty saved me the embarrassment of taking the parts to the repair shop, but she did ask what she should tell the service man. “Tell her a friend tried to fix it for you,” I suggested. Not a lie, really, since husbands and wives are supposed to be friends.
When she returned, saying it would cost a month’s grocery money to reassemble the shampooer, I felt lower than the dirt it was to have cleaned from the carpet. And it didn’t raise my spirits when someone suggested I inherited a stupid gene, and shouldn’t tackle anything more complicated than changing a light bulb.
Why do us guys get into such muddles? Do we really have a stupid gene, or is there something else? Let’s look to the bible for answers.
King Solomon said, “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him (Proverbs 18:13 NKJV).” Considering this in a mechanical sense he said, “If you start fixing something when you haven’t read the manual, you’ll wind up with egg on your face.”
In another place The Wise One said, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall. When I didn’t ask for advice I certainly fell in my quest to get our shampooer working. Guess I should have listened to Solomon, ‘cause the rest of the verse says, “…in the multitude of counsellors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14).”
Finally, ol’ Solomon noted, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).” Was I too proud to ask for counsel before I started my project of destruction? Did I have a spirit of arrogance that made me believe I could get the machine going myself?
Many people -- not you, of course -- are like that. They’ll read a verse or two of scripture, and decide for themselves what it means. But in discussion with those who investigate all the related scriptures, they may slink away in humiliation. Truly, whoever answers a matter before he has all the facts is foolish and shameful.
Safer to ask for counsel regarding a decision, but the counsel must not come only from those who agree with the decision.
The Roman statesman, Cicero, wrote, “I always study my adversary’s case with greater carefulness than my own.” He knew it’s easy to be mesmerized with one’s own opinion, right or wrong. He also knew the other fellow could -- would -- have some valid points to consider.
Unfortunately human pride causes many people not to ask for counsel or, if they do, they reject it. The destruction of our shampooer was only temporary, but the destruction that follows ingrained pride before God can be eternal, and a spirit of arrogance can start one on the slippery slope to that destruction.
You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.
It seemed to be a beautiful bronze statue but when a part broke off it revealed what was inside. Some Christians are like that: beautiful on the outside; something else on the inside.
Copyright 1996 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org
The lady was not pleased. My finger merely brushed her trophy, yet a part broke off.
Earlier we had admired the tiny bronze statue of a newsboy from the ‘40s. It was magnificent. Every detail was perfect. Folds in the lad’s coat were highlighted with the sheen of bronze patina. Beautiful.
Then, disaster. A light touch and the hand holding the newspaper fell off. The lady was crushed. The little newsboy was her most treasured award.
Now solid bronze doesn’t break that easily. Inspection revealed the trophy was made of plastic with a paper-thin bronze overlay.
What a disappointment. What an irony: the award was for quality and service. But where was the quality in the trophy?
That trophy is like many church-goers. Not all, of course. Many are solid bronze with a fine patina.
But many professing Christians are represented by that trophy. They have a thin veneer of Christianity. They go to church, sing in the choir, and can recite the 23rd psalm and John 3:16. Underneath the facade, however, is the real person.
You know him: joins in off-colour jokes at the office; flies into a rage when things aren’t just so at home; is a member of the second-martini-for-lunch-bunch.
You know her: always listening to the latest about the organist’s affair with deacon Smith, and adding her own juicy tidbit when she passes it on; joins all the organizations that will get her picture in the papers; gets in good with the minister by bending his ear about everything going on in the church.
It’s easy to be a Christian on sabbath morning, or at Wednesday evening prayer service. It’s easy to gush, “Isn’t it wonnnderful to know the Lord?” or “Ohhhh how I love Jeeeeee-zuz,” when your fellow pew warmers are around. It takes courage to be a Christian seven days a week.
Those with the courage don’t need a paper-thin facade. They’re solid bronze all the way through.
He’s the fellow who privately lets the joke-teller know he’d just as soon not hear the smutty stories. She’s the lady who turns a deaf ear to gossip, and prays for the gossiper to become more Christ-like.
The deceit of the newsboy’s manufacture demands the question, is the patina phony as well?
There’s no deceit about seven-day Christians. Their patina is genuine, made beautiful by quietly living their Christianity at home, at the office, and on the street among people who may never darken a church door.
What kind of Christian are you?
You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.
Has a minor disagreement severed your relations with a friend or relative? Maybe it’s time to get on with life.
Copyright 2003 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org
“What do I do,” Betty asked, “that you don’t like?”
Oboy! It was a typical woman’s question. You know, the kind that allows the choice of two wrong answers.
Fortunately, during my journalism days, I’d heard enough politicians that I learned how to side step such questions, so I said something like, “I don’t know. You might do something that irks me for the moment, but it’s so inconsequential that I just forget about it.” Another crisis averted in Turveytown.
A teenager asked why his dad criticized every little thing he did. His father replied, “I’m don’t know. I guess it’s because I can’t find anything big to criticize.”
You may have read the book “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff -- and it’s all small stuff.” Well, I’m not sure it’s all small stuff, but the majority is. Yet don’t we tend to make mountains out of molehills?
“My husband is such a slob,” is a common lament. “He drops his socks and underwear wherever he takes them off.” Ann Landers would have said, “Be thankful he drops them at your house, and not some other woman’s.”
You likely know of someone who hasn’t spoken to her sister for twenty years, because of something that was said. “She made me soooo mad I don’t care if she never speaks to me again.” Oh?
Imagine the wonderful events they could have shared. The birth of their babies. A trip to wherever. The ribbon-cutting at the new house. And they missed it all because of a few words spoken at a family get-together.
Often the aggrieved person has simply taken the statement the wrong way, and nothing will change her mind about what she thought was said. Such people generally live shallow lives. They’d rather dwell on their hurt than try to heal it. They’re like a kid who picks at a scab, so the little abrasion never heals properly. They spend the rest of their lives with a needless scar.
There’s no need to go through life picking away at a few abrasive words spoken twenty years ago. Dr. Phil McGraw often says, “You can’t fix what you don’t own.” If someone has said something, and it came out all wrong, it does no good to be accusative. But if you’re willing to admit you may have mistaken what was said, it gives an immediate opportunity to correct the situation.
A Life Lines reader asked me to pray for him. He has a problem judging people he disagrees with. I was able to suggest that he listen carefully to what the other person has to say. Generally, in a discussion, there are many areas in which both parties agree, so own up to the fact that the other fellow has some good points. This allows the one or two points of disagreement to come into better focus.
Many readers write to tell me how wonderful a particular Life Lines column was. Hey! I like the orchids. But I learn more from the person who sends a bouquet of onions. There’s a saying in business, “When two people always agree, one of them isn’t needed.” It’s through valid disagreement that we learn.
Author Celia Luce said, “A small trouble is like a pebble. Hold it too close to your eye and it fills the whole world and puts everything out of focus. Hold it at a proper distance and it can be examined and properly classified. Throw it at your feet and it can be seen in its true setting, just one more tiny bump on the pathway to life.”
So throw away that pebble of disagreement, and get on with life. When you do, two people will be happier.
You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.
Was the crucifixion really on Friday? Did Paul say to be absent from the body is to be with the Lord? There’s a phenomenon among church goers today: they’d rather cling to ancient un-truths, than to the truth of God’s word.
Copyright 2005 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org
Some teens, on a busy street corner, looked up. One pointed. Another gaped in awe. Soon several people were looking up, and the teens walked away laughing.
People are like that, aren’t they? They want to see what you see, even if there’s nothing to see.
About two o’clock one morning, far away from the city, I saw an Unidentified Flying Object. Next morning I wrote my experience into the radio news. Guess what? Half the county phoned to say they had seen it too. Each added a tidbit to the story: shimmering silver; zero to speeding in one second; speeding to zero just as fast. Nothing like the slow-moving flaming ball of swamp gas I had seen.
People want to be part of the action, don’t they? They’ll say they saw the UFO, even though they were sound asleep in their bed.
Here’s some fun for you. If you see a person look at his watch, go immediately and ask if he has the time. Guaranteed he’ll look at his watch again. Why? People seldom consult their timepiece to see what time it is. They really want to know whether they’re on time, how much longer they have to wait for the bus, and so on.
My favourite dictionary defines a phenomenon as an unusual occurrence, often one that cannot be explained. And who can explain the phenomenon of bible study?
Few people really study the bible. They read the words but don’t pay much heed to what they say. Most simply accept what others tell them the bible says, and for the most part it’s wrong!
For centuries people believed they were living in the last days of civilization as man knows it, even though Jesus said the gospel of the kingdom will be taught in every nation before the end comes (Matthew 24:14). This was impossible as late as the nineteenth century. It seemed possible toward the end of the twentieth. But here we are with most of the twenty-first century ahead of us. The technology is either already available to us, or will shortly be available, to spread God’s word worldwide.
Jesus said the gospel – the good news – of God’s kingdom will be preached. Why, then, do the religionists teach the bad news of an ever-burning hell fire? Haven’t they yet come out of the dark ages when churches terrorized people with such stories to control them and their pocketbooks?
Few ministers tell of a hellish time not far ahead of us: a time of which Daniel said would be unlike any the world has ever seen (Daniel 12:1). Jesus said it will be so terrible that no flesh would survive unless… (Matthew 24:21-22).
Those who do tell of such a time, don’t generally use it as a warning, but as an introduction to say it will be all right with those in their congregation because Jesus will waft them off to heaven to escape it. And, true to the phenomenon, the people eat it up like sugar candy.
It’s a comforting idea, but Jesus said otherwise. Read Matthew 24:29-31 – “Immediately after the tribulation…they shall see the son of man coming…with power and great glory. And [after the tribulation] he shall send his angels…to gather his elect….”
Myriad ideas taught during centuries past still exist today, but most bible-professing people never follow God’s admonition in 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Prove all things.” If they did they’d discover the crucifixion was not on Friday, and the resurrection did not take place Sunday morning. They’d also discover Paul never said to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And they’d discover Jesus words in John 3:13 that no man has gone to heaven.
Another phenomenon is, when people are shown these things from their own bible, they refuse to believe it. Yet they cling to the fact that God’s word – the holy bible – is truth (John 17:17).
What about you?
You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.