Sentence Criminals to Church

Judges have a lot of latitude when it comes to sentencing criminals for crimes committed. I have always thought that a great sentencing for a criminal would be to require him to go to church. It seems to me that our society would benefit by more people attending church. In my opinion a good base from which to help make decisions is formed by going to church and learning the ways of Jesus.

I have no data to back me up, but in my opinion, major crimes are usually not committed by a person that has truly given their life to Christ and studied His word. If judges could sentence criminals to church, they could require the criminal to have their pastor sign off on participation and Christian and moral growth.

I realize that we have to have a separation of Church and State, so this idea will never be implemented. I also realize that this would be too controversial for our court systems to use. We do, however, need to come up with ways to rehabilitate criminals so that they can become better members of society. It seems that we do not try very hard to help criminals to break the cycle.

Life is Terminal

Every day it seems that we hear of someone who is suffering from a terminal illness. My father suffered from terminal lung cancer ten years ago. Other relatives and friends of mine have suffered from terminal illness. Before I go on, this post is not meant to diminish the severity of suffering that many of us have witnessed from those who have or have had a terminal illness.

When people talk about terminal illness, I mention that we all suffer from a terminal illness. 'Life here on earth' is terminal, so we all suffer from a terminal illness called 'life here on earth'.

It seems that we spend all of our life thinking we are immortal when in reality we all will suffer from death here on earth. We should be turning our attention to focus on the prize that God has in store for us after we die.

'Eternal life' is not terminal.

Those Who Suffer Have Something To Say

What do you do when you are suffering through one of life's trials? I pray. When things are going great I do not pray as much, even though I should. God wants us to talk to Him in good times and in bad times. But, it seems that I go to God more in bad times than in good.

I think that most people talk with God more when they suffering. So, when we are suffering we are closer to God. I guess suffering can be good for us because we are talking to God more as a result.

I have sat and listened to people tell of their suffering and how they would like the suffering to go away. As I am listening to them, I am thinking that they are probably closer to God at this moment. So, I really listen to them to try to feel what they are going through.

While sitting in Sunday school one day, I mentioned that I felt that those who are suffering are closer to God. I was asked how that could be, and I responded that many people who are suffering are constantly going to God in prayer to ease or get rid of the suffering. And, when we go to God in prayer and have a conversation with him, we are closer to him.

In suffering, sometimes we feel lost and alone. When we really think about it, we are not alone because God is always with us and he knows everything about us. Psalm 139, Luke 12:7, and Matthew 10:30-31 all talk about how God knows everything about us and He understands everything about us. If we know this, then we are comforted in our times of suffering.

One of my best friends went through tremendous suffering from cancer that had ravaged her body. I am sure that she spent almost every waking hour talking to God because she knew that God above all others knew everything about her, her feelings, her thoughts, her pain. She called me up during one of her last days and asked me to bring her a 'turkey call'. That morning she had looked outside and saw a flock of turkeys. They had since left and she wanted them back. She knew that we might have some 'turkey calls' at school that we had received in some kits about wildlife when she was there as our principal. She was right. We quickly found a 'turkey call' for her and had it delivered so she could blow that call and get those turkeys back.

As a principal and a teacher I experienced talking with students and parents who were suffering and felt all alone. I wanted so much to talk to them about God's word and guide them to those verses that show that our God knows everything about each of us. It would have helped them through their suffering to know that God would be with them every second of every day and that he even knows how many hairs are on their head. But,sadly, because of the separation of church and state, I felt that I had to keep Faith out of the discussion. I broke the rules on a few occasions, though, and I could not believe the peace and love that filled the room when I did.

Yes, those who suffer have something to say.

Here is a poem I wrote about the flock of turkeys that visited my friend during one of her last days:

God Sent A Flock Of Turkeys

God sent a flock of turkeys yesterday.
His sense of humor had something to say.
You see sometimes we really, really complain,
About work and people and even the rain.
God sent a flock of turkeys yesterday,
To open my ears and hear Karen say,
That what is important to you and to me,
Is right there in front of us for all to see.
So quit your bellyakin’ about everything.
Everything that happens should make us shout and sing.
For those that suffer have something to say.
God sent a flock of turkeys yesterday.
So when we all think we have too much to do,

Remember that time is God’s gift to you.
Use it wisely, for time will not stand.
Remember that everything is in God’s plan.
Yes, God sent a flock of turkeys yesterday.
His sense of humor had something to say.
So be aware of when he’s talking to you,
And let’s all help each other get through this life, too.

God's Word is Living

It is amazing to me that so much is written or spoken of every verse of the Bible. If I were to search a specific verse or passage on the internet there would be too many links to click on and read. Hebrews 4:12 says that God's word is living and is sharper than a double edged sword. God's word knows our heart, our intent, our bones, and our joints.

I am sure that each pastor, as he is preaching a sermon, has an intent or purpose in his own interpretation of the passage of scripture from which he is speaking. However, God's word is so alive that it evokes something different in all of us.

While a pastor is speaking from God's word, each person is processing it in their mind differently than anyone else in the congregation. This shows that God's word is very much alive in each heart and mind that is reading or hearing His word.

The pastor's original intent or interpretation of the scripture that he is referencing may not be the same understanding of anyone else that is hearing the pastor's sermon. God's word is so powerful that it speaks to each of us differently.

Each time we read the same passage, God's message to each of us changes and it evokes different thoughts and ideas every time we read or hear His word. That is why a pastor can probably write several different sermons on each verse of the Bible based on what the Holy Spirit is saying to him at a particular moment in time. The words of each verse do not change, but the message from the Holy Spirit each time changes.

No matter how many times I read a verse or passage, it is like reading it for the first time. God's word is so powerful that it speaks to me with a different message each time. This keeps His word fresh and alive in my mind.

If we will continue to read and discuss God's word, we will keep His word alive.

The Old Deluder Satan Act

The Old Deluder Satan Act

Did you know that the Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a Compulsory Education Law in 1647 that stated that every township was to provide education on how to read and write when the population of a township reached 50 families?

The purpose of education was so that their children and families could read the Bible. They felt that Satan's job was to keep them from understanding the scriptures. So, if everyone was taught how to read and write then they could read, study, and understand the Bible.

So, the first compulsory education in America was enacted so that our forefathers could read the Bible.

Ponder on that for a while.

Loving Enemies and Praying for Them

Luke 6:35 is a very powerfully packed verse. God is telling us not only to love our friends and those who believe the way that we do, but also those we disagree with. This verse says that God is kind to everyone, even the unthankful and evil.

Matthew 5:44 talks about loving our enemies, blessing those that curse us, doing good to those who hate us, and praying for those who use us and persecute us.

Luke 6:27-31 says to offer the other cheek to one who strikes you. To those who take from you, offer them to take more, and to not ask for the items that they stole from you.

Wow! It is tough to love those who you disagree with and those who you have felt have wronged you. Are you kidding me? He says we should not ask for stolen items to be returned to us. How crazy is that? When someone hits us, we should ask him to hit us again? How can I be kind to someone that is evil?

God loves everyone. He loves all things. It is tough for us to comprehend Him. But, if we just listen to what He says in these few verses. If we would try to do what He would do, this world would definitely be different.

Instead of doing what God would do, we do what we feel like doing. We treat evil with evil back. We take from those who have taken. We do not love our enemies. We condemn those who don't believe the same as us. We hit back those who hit us first, or we hit them first in anticipation of being hit.

And do we bless those who curse us and hate us? No, we condemn them with actions and with words.

Instead of preaching from the pulpit with hate, we should preach from the pulpit with love. Instead of using the national stage to condemn, use it with love.

We feel good about ourselves when we condemn those who hate us and we feel better than them because we think we are right and they are wrong. What we really need to do is humble ourselves before God and our enemies. Treat them like we want to be treated.

If we would only be humble servants of all living things, both good and evil, God's 'will' would be done on this earth like it is in heaven. Instead, our 'will' is done on earth, not God's. God's 'will' in heaven is perfect, our 'will' on earth is not. We are going to make mistakes with our judgments because of our 'will', but we can learn from our mistakes of using our own 'will' to make decisions and comments. We can make this world a better place if we pray for our enemies, turn the other cheek, give and receive till it hurts, and let the Holy Spirit take control of our thoughts and words.

Worry and Treasures

A few years back our house was broken into while we were asleep in the bedroom. We really did not realize what had happened until we put all the evidence together.

One morning I noticed that the door facing was loose on one of the outside doors. I just thought that my wife had some trouble with the door sticking when she left for work. So I fixed the door facing and then forgot to say something to my wife for a couple of days.

A few days later I noticed a bush was crushed like someone had stepped on it. The bush was located under a window on our garage. I then noticed that something was wrong with the window. So, I walked into the garage to examine the window and I found that the window screen had been pushed in and that someone had probably crawled through it.

The door facing that had been loose a couple of days before was the door from the garage to the basement which is the entrance and exit to our home that we had always used the most. I did some looking around in the basement room next to the garage entrance and I found that a VCR was missing. Right beside the missing VCR was a video camera that was left alone. It appeared that nothing else was missing.

I guess we were very fortunate because we had been asleep while the thieves had been in our basement. They were probably scared off by our St. Bernard who was a house pet. So, we were safe and only one thing was missing.

The thought of thieves being in our home while we were also there was very unnerving. In fact, I became somewhat paranoid about it and obsessed about catching the thieves if they ever tried it again. We found out that the town had suffered from a rash of burglaries and that some homes had been broken into more than once.

So, I decided to put alarms on every entrance so that we would know if someone was breaking in. My wife became upset with me on several occasions because I constantly talked about the break-in and obsessed about it. I felt so violated that I even compared being broken into with being raped.

When I finally calmed down about the break-in, I realized that I was worried way too much about stuff or possessions. I realized that possessions are not as important as other things in life like family and faith. It made me examine my whole life.

I started really examining where my heart was in everything that I was involved with during the everyday aspects of my life. When I would find myself being obsessed by material things I would remind myself of the scripture found in Matthew 6:19-21 that discusses treasure that can be stolen by a thief and treasure that can not be stolen by a thief.

This experience constantly reminds me to examine where my heart is at all times. I am guilty most of the time of having my heart in the wrong place. I worry way too much about things that I can not control, when all I really need to do is to let my heart be in the right place and trust in The Lord to take care of things.

I need to strive for treasures in heaven that thieves can not take away from me.