"Child Abuse"?

What Would Happen If Jesus Were Born In U.S. Today?

Infant Discovered In Barn, Child Protective Services Launch Probe

Nazareth Carpenter Being Held On Charges Involving Underage Mother

12/14/06 --" - Bethlehem, Judea - Authorities were today alerted by a concerned citizen who noticed a family living in a barn. Upon arrival, Family Protective Service personnel, accompanied by police, took into protective care an infant child named Jesus, who had been wrapped in strips of cloth and placed in a feeding trough by his 14-year old mother, Mary of Nazareth.

During the confrontation, a man identified as Joseph, also of Nazareth, attempted to stop the social workers. Joseph, aided by several local shepherds and some unidentified foreigners, tried to forestall efforts to take the child, but were restrained by the police.

At one point Joseph became confrontational and delusional claiming the child was "God's child". An officer, who used a Tazer device on Joseph, stated,"The man became uncooperative. We feared for his own safety and that of the child so we used a non-lethal weapon and restrained him in handcuffs. This was the same man I detained earlier for attempting to take a donkey on a public highway. At that time he incredibly claimed a 'common right to his conveyance of choice on a public highway' explaining that his donkey only used the grassy portion and was nointerference to the faster vehicles.

He showed no identification, said he had no job and claimed to not have a social security number-laughing and uttering some non-sense that it was the 'mark of the beast'. He was cooperative at that time so I let him go with a highway warning and a charge of vagrancy. It's a trend with these types of people: We find that they start in minor trouble like traffic incidents and graduate to more acts of civil disobedience. Eventually they cross-over and break one of the many many laws of and for government. Still, I can't understand why he became uncooperative to the point that we had to use non-lethal force-after all we're just doing the job of the 'consent of the governed'. Don't these people understand that they must submit to authority that is in their best interests?"

Also being held for questioning are three foreigners who incredibly allege to be "wise men" from an eastern country. The INS and Homeland Security officials are seeking information about these who may be in the country illegally. A source with the INS states that they had no passports, but were in possession of gold and other possibly illegal substances. They resisted arrest saying that they had been warned by God to avoid officials in Jerusalem and to return quickly to their own country. The chemical substances in their possession will be tested. An officer at the scene said the suspicious enclosures for the chemical substances might constitute "drug paraphernalia". The agent for Homeland Security stated that he contacted the IRS under the suspicion that this gold might be linked to a foreign trust method of "under-reporting income".

An agent commented: "The presence of paraphernalia, chemical substances, gold, and foreign people without passports is certainly suspicious. Terrorists are known to fund terrorism activities through illegal drug trading. Or these could be part of an illegal-alien smuggling ring from Mexico. In either case the claim that these three are Kings is unsubstantiated as they are not diplomats registered with the Department of State."

The owner of the barn is also being held for questioning. The manager of Bethlehem Inn faces possible revocation of his license for violating health and safety regulations by allowing people to stay in the stable. Civil authorities are also investigating the zoning violations involved in maintaining livestock in a commercially-zoned district. The owner of the barn claimed he provided the lodging free hence the guests did not need to register.

He was noted to exclaim, "For heaven's sake, its Jesus! Can't we forego government intrusion into our lives for the Christ-child celebration?" Authorities were not amused and demanded his identification and his Inn lodging and restaurant board-of-health certification.

The location of the minor child will not be released, and the prospect for a quick resolution to this case is doubtful. Asked about when Jesus would be returned to his mother, a Child Protective Service spokesperson said, "The father is middle-aged and the mother definitely underage. This is suspicious behavior worthy of investigation." When asked who these people were and where they were from, the spokesman replied: "Both parents refuse to provide identification. Both claim no social security number and provided no marriage license.

The father claims a license from heaven as a common-law right. They have no birth certificate for the baby Jesus. In this sense they are deemed uncooperative by us and are probably members of some anti-government common-law movement group. I simply can't imagine why parents would not want to register the birth and citizenship of a baby such as Jesus!

In America everybody does this--it's for the welfare of the child. Why would they not want to register that baby Jesus as a UNITED STATES CITIZEN and hence leave his real citizenship in question? If they are not hiding something, what do they have to fear?

I tried to reason with the father. I asked the father the question as to why he never applied for baby Jesus' social security number explaining that Jesus could have earning's credit's and receive retirement benefits. The father uttered total non-sense about 'rendering unto Caesar', more religious 'mark-of-the-beast' dogma, and retirement in God's kingdom.

Frankly I'm flabbergasted by these types of people. It's a trend we wish to stop. They never volunteer and this we view as uncooperative behavior. They never apply for social security numbers, they never register the birth of their children, they refuse to register to vote for our two parties, they don't show us identification when we ask 'for their papers" kindly, they refuse to send their children to public education under a homeschool banner, they claim adherence to God's law and not man's, they claim government harassment as the reason they must be transients, and they protest filling-out voluntary-compliance government forms. Frankly, these types of anti-government people are always uncooperative. We are checking with officials in Nazareth to determine what the legal relationship is between father, mother and baby."

Joseph has admitted taking Mary from her home in Nazareth because of a census requirement. However, because she was obviously pregnant when they left, investigators are looking into other reasons for their departure. Joseph is being held without bond on charges of molestation, kidnapping, child endangerment, and statutory rape.

The local prosecutor had this to say: "I feel confident that this man is either suffering from a psychological problem or is hiding his uncooperative, anti-social and anti-government viewpoints under the disguise of religious dogma. Everybody is entitled to a viewpoint but the defining line is statutory criminal activity and possible terrorist threats. We will weigh the evidence collected and then decide the extent of the charges and whether to prosecute."

A spokesman for the court said this: "We always consider the welfare of people first. If this case is brought to trial we will judge it on the basis of social welfare for the child and criminal activity in violation of law for government. If brought to trial they will be allowed court-determined due process before a jury of their peers to present factual evidence on their behalf. Rest assured, they will NOT be permitted to express their view of the law to the jury-even though they claim to operate under God's law and not man's. This could 'unduly influence' the jury.

They will be appointed an attorney free of charge as attorneys are always for incompetents only. Rest assured that even though our incarceration rate is the highest in the world, the People still claim our courts and judges are the fairest in the world. We respect their religious viewpoints however, they will be judged and prosecuted to the full extent of our government statutory law and we will not allow their religious viewpoints to interfere with our government statutory law in the administration of our justice."

Mary was taken to the Bethlehem General Hospital where she is being examined by doctors. Charges may also be filed against her for endangerment. She will also undergo psychiatric evaluation because of her claim that she is a virgin and that the child is from God.

The director of the psychiatric wing said, "I don't profess to have the right to tell people what to believe, but when their beliefs adversely affect the safety and well-being of others - in this case her child - we must consider her a danger to others. The unidentified drugs at the scene didn't help her case, but I'm confidant that with the proper therapy regimen we can get her back on her feet."

A spokesperson for the governor's office said, "Who knows what was going through their heads? But regardless, their treatment of the child was inexcusable, and the involvement of these others frightening. There is much we don't know about this case, but for the sake of the child and the public, you can be assured that we will pursue this matter to the end."

"The Duke"

 

"the Quiet man"

Gentle Reader,

I just ran across this story and while I can't say it's true I won't say it isn't either. It points up a truth that is truer that true. Read, enjoy, and comment if you like. Be sure to read the comments that others have written and my response to them.

See you at the end.

THE POWER OF A LETTER

Most of you know John Wayne as an actor. You may not know what happened to him before he died. This is
that story! Robert Schuller's teenage daughter,
Cindy, was in a motorcycle accident and had to have
her leg amputated. John Wayne is a big fan of Robert
Schuller. He heard Dr. Schuller say on one of his
programs that his daughter had been in an accident and
had to have her leg amputated. John Wayne wrote a
note to her saying: "Dear Cindy, Sorry to hear about
your accident. Hope you will be all right." Signed,
John Wayne.

The note was delivered to her and she decided she wanted to write John Wayne a note in reply. She wrote:

Dear Mr. Wayne, I got your note.
Thanks for writing to me. I like you very much. I am
going to be all right because Jesus is going to help
me. Mr. Wayne, do you know Jesus? I sure hope you
know Jesus, Mr. Wayne, because I cannot imagine Heaven being complete without John Wayne being there. I hope, if you don't know Jesus, that you will give your heart to Jesus right now. See you in Heaven. And she signed her name.

 She had just put that letter in an envelope, sealed it, and written across the front of it "John Wayne" when a visitor came into her room to see her. He said to her:

" What are you doing?" She said: "I just wrote a letter to John Wayne, but I don't know how to get it to him." He said: "That's funny, I am going to have dinner with John Wayne tonight at the Newport Club down at Newport Beach. Give it to me and
I will give it to him". She gave him the letter and he
put it in his coat pocket.

There were twelve of them that night sitting around the table for dinner. They were laughing and cutting up and the guy happened to reach in his pocket and felt that letter and remembered. John Wayne was seated at the end of the table and the guy took the letter out and said: "Hey, Duke, I was in Schuller's daughter's room today and she wrote you a letter and wanted me to give it to you. Here it is". They passed it down to John Wayne and he opened it.

They kept on laughing and cutting up and someone happened to look down at John Wayne.
He was crying. One of them said: "Hey, Duke, what is
the matter?" He said (and can't you hear him saying
it), " I want to read you this letter." He read the
letter. Then he began to weep. He folded it, put it
in his pocket, and he pointed to the man who delivered
it to him and said: "You go tell that little girl that
right now, in this restaurant, right here, John Wayne
gives his heart to Jesus Christ and I will see her in
heaven." Three weeks later John Wayne died. You never know how your witness to another will effect their eternity!

So there you have the story of "Duke" and what I like to call a defining moment! Each of us have at least one in which God becomes a wee bit more visible and steps into time as it were to touch you in a way that perhaps you can not explain, but can say "I know that there is a God in heaven, because He touched me"!

 Love you the most, until the next time Gentle Reader,

Denis

Gentle reader,
Late in his life, the great stage and screen actor, John Barrymore, was quoted as saying, "You can tell you're old when regrets take the place of your dreams."

I realize regret is commonly encountered by people in the world—especially in the second half of life. But it shouldn't be that way for God's people. It certainly doesn't have to be.

I was reminded of that in a powerful way by something I read the other day. It made a powerful impression on me and, here at the beginning of a brand new year, I sense a leading to share it with you today.

A Pointed Question

I recently came across a moving story shared by a Christian man who was well-into his 60s. His name is Jim.

Last December 30th, Jim's mother passed away and went to be with the Lord. She was 93. As Jim tells it, right up until the day she passed away, her mind was clear. Until just a few months earlier, she had been active—doing sit ups and push ups to stay in shape. She sounds like a phenomenal lady.

About a week before her passing, Jim was sitting with her in the hospital and decided to ask her a pointed question. The kind of question a wise man asks when he knows his opportunities for asking are few and precious.

"Mama, do you have any regrets?"

Now, I know that if someone asked me that question today, I would have to say, "You'd better get out your note pad. And make sure that pen has plenty of ink!"

I suspect that most of us could think of many words it would have been better to have left unsaid. And many forks in the road at which we made a poor choice.

How did Jim's mother answer that question as she looked back across 93 years of living? She said, "Yeah, Jimmy. I do."

Jim said he braced himself for her answer. Was there a broken relationship that never got mended? A fateful choice that altered the course of her life?

"What is it, Mama?"

She said, "Well, I made a commitment to the Lord to read through the Bible this year, and I'm not going to get to finish. I know that now."

Finished Business

Jim asked his mother how far she had gotten (fearing that if she had only read to the Psalms or to Isaiah, there wouldn't be enough time to help her keep her commitment.)

She said, "I lack First, Second, and Third John, Jude, and Revelation." She had only four tiny epistles and Revelation's 32 chapters standing between her and a holy promise kept.

Jim said, "Well, I think we can get through that." So he got out his Bible, settled into the bedside chair, and began to read. John's letters and Jude were finished in short order.

Then, over the next few days, they began to move through the book of Revelation. As they read, they talked about heaven; about the worship that will take place around God's throne; and about the Lamb that was worthy to open the seals.

Then one day, they came to these words:

And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost...He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. (Revelation 22:17,21,22)

With those glorious closing words of Revelation, a final regret was eliminated.

Just a couple of mornings later, the nurse came in and asked Jim's mom if she would like some breakfast. She ate a little toast and took a sip of coffee. She put her head back on her pillow. Then the Master whom she loved and for whom she'd lived, called her home.

May you and I live with such God-honoring priorities. And when our races are finished, may we pass with such grace.

Your Year of No Regrets

I share this wonderful story for two reasons. First, I want to encourage you to enter this new year with a prayerful resolve to live this year, and the ones that follow, in such a way as to not allow regrets to replace your dreams.

Of course, the biggest source of regrets on earth involves relationships.

That's why we will be here for you in the coming months to help you strengthen your most important relationships. Karen and I will be using every medium at our disposal to help you make your marriage better and more fulfilling; to bring you keys for raising emotionally and spiritually healthy children; for succeeding in literally every area of your family life!

That brings me to the second reason I shared Jim's story...

Our Common Privilege

What a privilege Jim was given. To help someone he loved pass from this life without regrets. No unfinished business. No un-kept promises.

You and I have just as great a privilege, however. We have the opportunity to keep people from having one of the most devastating regrets of all — a shattered home.




Denis

MY FAITH? YOUR FAITH? THE FAITH

MY FAITH? YOUR FAITH? THE FAITH
By the late Pastor Bob Hanna

The word "Faith" has suffered untold distortion and misapplica-tion over
time. There are several proper definitions, but they have been shamefully
misinterpreted. One accurate definition is "The Faith," referring to that which is
believed. The apostle wrote; "He [Christ] gave some, apostles, and some,
prophets, and some, evangelists: and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of
the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith" (Eph. 4: 11-13).

"And so were the churches established in the faith" (Acts 16:5). Faith, in
these examples, is the common cause in which we believe. This definition is
ordinarily not the victim of misinterpreta- tion. The same can't be said, for
example, of Paul's declaration, "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me"
(Galatians 2:20), Most modern translations erroneously render "His faith" to
read, "my Faith". This, of course, is impossible. Human faith has no power to
sustain one's spiritual preserva-tion.

Another false impression popularly held, is that faith can be humanly
generated which can attain one's personal desires. Such a one might be heard to say,
"The reason the Lord didn't answer my prayer is that I didn't have enough
faith." Our faith consists of believing and obeying God, not in producing desired
results. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which
are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Hebrews 11:1-3).

Strangely, it appears that people can more easily place their faith in
matters of the secular world than in spiritual things. For ex-ample, when a person
is presented a personal check in payment for a service or a purchase, the
recipient is accepting it because he has faith that it will be honored by the bank.
Yet when that same person is offered salvation by grace through faith, he
resists.

God is looking for those with whom He can do the impossible - what a pity
that we plan only the things that we can do by ourselves. -- A. W. Tozer

Bury the past!

Gentle Reader,

In New Testament times capital punishment was sometimes carried out by tying a murder victim's body directly onto the perpetrator' s back. That way wherever he went he was literally weighed down by his crime, with no way to escape the stench of decomposing flesh. Eventually the bacteria-filled corpse infected him too and he died an agonizing death.

Some days Paul felt the weight of his old nature pressing in, reminding him of things from his past that he couldn't change or eradicate. And recognizing how past events can color the present, Paul describes himself as "a wretched man," and asks, "Who will rescue me from this body of death?"

The fact is you can't move ahead with "the old man" still clinging to you; you must bury him. Even death doesn't have the finality that burial does; part of coming to closure involves disposing of the body. Funerals are for the living; they give people an opportunity to accept that their loved one has gone and that the relationship as they knew it is over.

And as you embark on a new year isn't it time you stopped carrying the past around on your back-and on your mind? Paul says, "Present yourselves to God as those alive from death" (Romans 6:13 NASB).

In other words, refuse to let old memories negotiate a deal with you! Bury them, and do it today. You can't afford a secret love affair with a corpse! It's time for an epitaph, not a revival! There are things in life worth reviving, but not past sins that Jesus paid for and forgave long ago.

the Barnyard

Gentle readers,
Perhaps you can indentify with this little offering.
Denis

The Call of the Barnyard

A flock of wild ducks were flying in formation, heading south for the winter. They formed a beautiful V in the sky, and were admired by everyone who saw them from below.

One day, Wally, one of the wild ducks in the formation, spotted something on the ground that caught his eye. It was a barnyard with a flock of tame ducks who lived on the farm. They were waddling around on the ground, quacking merrily and eating corn that was thrown on the ground for them every day. Wally liked what he saw. "It sure would be nice to have some of that corn," he thought to himself. "And all this flying is very tiring. I'd like to just waddle around for a while."

So after thinking it over a while, Wally left the formation of wild ducks, made a sharp dive to the left, and headed for the barnyard. He landed among the tame ducks, and began to waddle around and quack merrily. He also started eating corn. The formation of wild ducks continued their journey south, but Wally didn't care. "I'll rejoin them when they come back north in a few months," he said to himself.

Several months went by and sure enough, Wally looked up and spotted the flock of wild ducks in formation, heading north. They looked beautiful up there. And Wally was tired of the barnyard. It was muddy and everywhere he waddled, nothing but duck doo. "It's time to leave," said Wally.

So Wally flapped his wings furiously and tried to get airborne. But he had gained some weight from all his corn-eating, and he hadn't exercised his wings much either. He finally got off the ground, but he was flying too low and slammed into the side of the barn. He fell to the ground with a thud and said to himself, "Oh, well, I'll just wait until they fly south in a few months. Then I'll rejoin them and become a wild duck again."

But when the flock flew overhead once more, Wally again tried to lift himself out of the barnyard. He simply didn't have the strength. Every winter and every spring, he saw his wild duck friends flying overhead, and they would call out to him. But his attempts to leave were all in vain.

Eventually Wally no longer paid any attention to the wild ducks flying overhead. He hardly even noticed them. He had, after all, become a barnyard duck.

Sometimes we get tired of being wild ducks-followers of Jesus Christ. It's not always easy to be obedient to God and to discipline ourselves to hang in there for the long haul. When we are feeling that way, that's when Satan tempts us to "fall out of formation" and to join the barnyard ducks - the world.

But look what happened to Wally. He thought he would just "check it out" for awhile and then leave when he wanted to. But he couldn't do it. Sin is like that. Sin is a trap, and it has a way of changing us into people we don't even want to become. Eventually we lose touch with who we really are--the sons and daughters of the Most High. We become barnyard ducks.

God calling!

Gentle Reader, How do you know God is speaking to you?

You will hear God speaking to you in that still, small voice that prompts you in your spirit. But, how do you know it is God who is speaking to you? God has given us some direction as to how we can determine His voice from any others we may hear, either real or imagined. These confirmations will strengthen our faith and enable us to hear God more clearly as we grow in our faith.

How do you know God is speaking to you? - The Tests
The following tests will help you determine if God is speaking to you. These methods should be accompanied by continual prayer and in some cases fasting.

The first test is the confirmation of God's written Word - the Bible. Everything that God says will agree with His written Word. He will never tell you to sin or go against a teaching in His Word. This simple test can clarify many "messages." We must, however, be careful not to read the written Word with any preconceived ideas of what it is saying.

The second test is the confirmation of godly counsel. God has placed people in our lives to help us to hear His voice. These people may include pastors, teachers, parents, and godly friends. In most cases, they will confirm the voice of God to you and help you to see His plan. This is not to say that you should rely on them solely. These people are human and can have their own feelings and fears distort their objectivity. However, they can be a very valuable source of confirmation when you are uncertain of God's voice.

The third test is the confirmation through circumstances. Christians can carefully studying their situation for indications of God's will. Some Christians have called this the Gideon method or "putting out the fleece." When God told Gideon that he was to lead Israel into battle against their enemies, Gideon put a fleece out on the ground in order to receive a sign that God was really speaking to him. If you feel led to use this test, come to God with a humble attitude and not a spirit of testing Him. Pray for God to reveal His will and carefully watch the circumstances that relate to that decision.

It is wise to not use any of these methods exclusively when trying to receive confirmation of God's voice. Most Christian leaders would agree that a combination of all three methods of confirmation is the best way to verify that the message you have received is from God. Each method is to be done with prayer. God wants you to hear His voice and He will reveal it to you.

Finally, remember that prayer is a conversation. When you ask God to talk to you, be still and listen for His voice. If you expect Him to speak and you are listening for it, He will speak to you regularly.