Characteristics of Jesus, Revelation 1:5-6

5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

The following points concerning Jesus are found in the above text and need to be "fleshed out" for a full discussion sermon:

Jesus:

1. The faithful witness
2. The first begotten of the dead
3. The Prince of the kings of the earth
4. He loved us
5. He washed us from our sins in His own blood
6. He has made us (Christians) kings and priests unto God, His Father.
7. He is worthy of glory and dominion forever.

The book of Revelation gives us many other figures and characteristics of Jesus. But, this is a good beginning.

SPW

Maintaining true discipleship to Jesus, John 17

Introduction:

1. This text is the prayer of Jesus to God, the Father, shortly before His trial and crucifixion.
2. Specifically, Jesus is referring to His relationship to the God the Father and His relationship to His apostles. However, there are important lessons to be learned by all disciples of Jesus.
3. What are my responsibilities to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, my Savior?

I. Keep (Obey) the Word of God (John 17:6)

II. Glorify Him (John 17:10)

III. Be Filled With Joy (John 17:13)

IV. Not to be Of The World (John 17:14-16)

V. Go Into All the World With the Truth (John 17:17-20)

VI. Be Unified -- Maintain Oneness in Him (John 17:20-23)

VII. Keep the Love of God in Our Hearts (John 17:26)

Conclusion: By following and practicing the above admonitions or requests of Jesus' prayer, we may:

1. Be kept from evil, v. 15
2. Be sanctified through the truth, v. 17
3. Not be lost, v. 12
   

SPW

Have you "transisted" lately?

Several weeks ago I was traveling from Los Angeles to Singapore. While I was in the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) during a period of about 5 hours, I heard numerous Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) over the Public Address (PA) system. One of the PSA’s was the recorded voice of a female who repeated the same message every few minutes. She said, “If you are transisting from the Domestic Terminal to the International Terminal…” or, “If you are transisting through LAX….” The emphasis on the word “transisting” in the quotation is mine. But, that was the word she used in that context. The word “transisting” does not exist!

Words are important. They convey ideas and messages. Choosing the correct words are important for communicating ideas in the right way. An old saying I used to hear was, “A slip of the lip can sink a ship.” We have heard much about the “dumbing down” of America. And, we hear much about people who supposedly have a diploma, but cannot read or write. I do not know if the script given to the announcer was written correctly or incorrectly. I do not know if she was following the script as written, or if she just made up a word. Maybe she was half-blind and thought "transisting" was actually in the script. But, whatever the reason, when she said the word “transisting,” she was in error. One does not “transist” through an airport. Possibly, she was trying to say the word “transiting.” I really think the word she was supposed to be saying was “transiting.” This would have been the appropriate word. But, to hear such a gross mistake in wording was irritating and embarrassing to me. I wonder if anyone from Los Angeles has heard the mistake? I wonder if anyone in L.A. has tried to correct the error? I wonder if anyone in L.A. cares. If I am “transisting” I may be sending out a controlled signal—maybe I am just an electrical conduit.

The above matters have little, if anything, to do with spiritual matters per se. But, in matters that are spiritual, one must choose his words wisely as he tries to communicate the word of God to others, or in normal conversation. We are not to take God’s name in vain, swear, use profanity, tell dirty stories, lie, or slander.

The Scriptures teach, "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." –Matthew 12:35-37.

SPW

Net-etiquette

I receive many emails--some of them from friends, and a lot of spam. I don't like spam. Spam is very frustrating.

However, one problem I have from time-to-time involves some friends who either do not know, or maybe, do not care very much to learn some basics rules of etiquette (net-etiquette) about emails, attachments, forwards, and other matters involving email.

May I make a few suggestions which can help to stop frustrating me and your friends when you send emails? It takes just a few moments to learn these basic matters, and it can help to avoid having your emails trashed as soon as they arrive in the recipients’ email “Inbox.”

1. Learn how to use the Blind Carbon Copy (Bcc) feature of your email program when addressing emails to more than one person, or to many people. If you do not know what “Bcc” is, ask someone who can explain it to you. There are very clear instructions on how to set up and use “Bcc” in your email program. Please show your intelligence by reading the “Help” section of your email program. Use the “Bcc” category to put in all the email addresses of the recipients of your email. Most folks who receive emails from you do not want, nor do they need, to see the 25 to 50 or more email addresses of other people to whom you send a particular email.

Added to that, some folks do not want other people seeing and knowing their email address when you include it with many other people’s email addresses. It is a matter of personal privacy. “Bcc” helps to avoid other recipients seeing all the other email addresses of the recipients of a particular email. It gives privacy. Also, some underhanded people gather email addresses when the “Bcc” is not used and they abuse the lists that are visible. They spam others, and sometimes they use it to commit crimes against those whose email addresses they have “harvested.” So, if you put 20 to 30 email addresses in the “To” or the “Cc” section of an email, everyone who receives that email sees all the other addresses. It also takes up a lot of extra space in the recipients’ email. I do not particularly like everyone in the world seeing my email address. It is only the business of those whom I wish to have it. So, if you are too lazy (or just don’t care) to learn how to set up and use Blind Carbon Copy (Bcc), then I humbly ask that you not send any emails to me that have numerous email recipients that are visible to all.

2. A second problem with some emails is receiving emails with attachments or messages that have been forwarded several times. By the time I receive it, I have the numerous lists of email addresses of people I do not know. This is the result of previous senders forwarding emails without the use of the Blind Carbon Copy feature! If each person who receives an email and wishes to forward the email would take the time to delete all previous email lists from all the previous “forwarders” prior to sending it to me, then the email would arrive fairly clean.

3. But, that is only one problem with receiving “forwarded” emails with attachments or messages. The other problem in receiving the attachments is that by the time I receive many of them they have been forwarded four or five times. Now, I have to wade through trying open a fifth- generation attachment. This takes a few minutes. If you think an attachment is worth sending to someone else, why not take a few minutes to show me that it is worth having me receive it and open it? Why not take that attachment and stop the “forwarding” of an email that has been “forwarded” to you. Make a new attachment with it directly from your own email program as though it is a new email. Then, when I receive it, I can open it on the first or second click of my mouse. Honestly, when I receive a fourth or fifth generation forwarded attachment, I usually just trash it without opening it! I do not have the time nor desire to mess with it! And, that applies to almost everyone. I just trash it. I feel that if an attachment or message is worth sending it is worth cleaning up and making it look like a first generation message. You can still give credit to the originator of it.

4. Some attachments contain viruses or Trojan horses. This is another reason that I rarely open an attachment that is several generations old. I will trash it without opening it. The only time I might open a new email with a first generation attachment is that I know the sender personally, and know that the attachment is clean.

5. Another problem with forwarded emails is that after so many times of forwarding it, it will have all those “forwarding” symbols on it, such as vertical lines on the left of the email message, or the “>” symbol vertically on the left side of the message. If I wish to use that article or message, then I have to copy it to my document program in Microsoft Word, then go through the process of deleting the symbols and reformatting the entire article to make it suitable for further use. What a waste of time!

6. Another email problem is that of sending attachments that are too big. Many of us live in certain areas of the world (and some even in the USA) who still use a “dial-up” modem to connect to the internet. Dial-up connections are usually quite slow. Not everyone has a high-speed connection that downloads emails with large attachments quickly. When you open the email program in a “dial-up” situation (such as I have), and the new emails begin to enter the “Inbox,” sometimes there may be 10 emails trying to come in. After a few minutes one begins to notice that the new emails appear to have stalled, or are very slow coming in. A check reveals that a second or third email in the list of new incoming emails is still in the process of entering your email program in your computer. This can only mean one thing—“someone” has sent an email with a huge attachment! I have sat and waited for 15 minutes or longer for an email to arrive just because someone decided I needed to have a series of photos or some unique message that was 5 Megabytes (MB) (over 5,000 kilobytes-kb) or larger! This clogs up a person’s emails, and it is very impolite and time consuming. We are talking about “Net-Etiquette” here, right?

An email attachment often does not need to be larger than 300 kilobytes (kb). In fact, that size can be large on “dial-up.” If you start to attach something to an email and your email client/program shows that it is 500kb to 1oookb or more, you need to warn the recipient that it is coming, or find a new way to communicate what is in that attachment. What can one do? One answer is to have one’s own website, free blog site, or free photo site (such as FLICKR) where such photos or other types of attachments can be uploaded by you and viewed by others without using an email to transfer it. Then, all you have to do is just send an email to your friends and say that you have just uploaded some new photos to your site, and you would appreciate it if they would view them when they have time. Give them the URL of your site, and let them go to it and see what you are trying to show them. If they wish to download the photos, etc., they can do so at their own leisure.

7. Another concern is that of sending an email message using all upper case (capital) letters in the email. Such emails are very hard to read. But, as some have said, when using all upper case letters, it is the equivalent of shouting to the recipient. So, let’s not shout, okay?

8. One matter that causes trouble is sending a message that is very private or personal, and expecting that the recipient(s) will not send it to anyone else. It has happened that one has sent emails that contained very private, and personal information, or volatile information to others who they thought were trustworthy, only to learn that such recipients have made public that very private information! Don’t be foolish nor naïve! If a matter is personal, then speak confidentially by phone or in person to those with whom you wish to communicate. The internet is no place to be sending highly classified, confidential information. If it CAN be made public, it just might come back to “bite” you! You might be surprised how fast something can be forwarded around the world! The result can be very embarrassing to you, the sender. It could sow discord among brethren, destroy the good name of another, or be slanderous.

9. Another potential problem with emails is assuming that the sender is trying to say something to you in a harsh or reprimanding tone. We, then, take offense at the email or the sender, when the sender was simply providing information in an objective, sensible, and kind manner. Sometimes we tend to read something into an email, and what we read into it may be based on our own personal feelings, attitudes, or disposition, at the time. And, we may be mistaken! Then, we fire back a quick, harsh retort. Then, a war starts where none was ever intended. Be cool!

We need to be more considerate of one another in the matter of sending emails. Let’s be more thoughtful. Try following the “Golden Rule” in this matter just as you would in other matters.

SPW

Speaking clearly

A few weeks ago I was in Singapore on my way back to Jakarta. I enjoy being in Singapore. It is a beautiful city-state. It is clean and orderly. And, it is the only place in Asia where one can drink the water out of the tap and not become ill. I also have a number of friends in Singapore. I wanted to find a certified watch repair shop to repair a special watch I had bought in Singapore several years ago. I finally obtained the phone number from Singapore's Directory Assistance service. I called the repair shop and was told that they were located at a certain address on "Abbott" Road.

Before I go further, one must understand that Singaporeans speak a language that is often referred to as "Singglish." It is a combination of British English and a few other languages put together (Chinese and Malay primarily). Emphasis is often placed on syllables that are not necessarily correct, and there is often an interesting "lilt" when they speak. And, it is often spoken very quickly which sometimes makes it hard to be understood. One should also know that Singapore was at one time under British rule, and the English most often spoken has a definite British and Australian influence in it. Singapore also has many streets and lanes named after many people and places that are British in origin.

I went to the concierge in my hotel and showed him the address. He tried to tell me where he thought the building was located. I then entered a taxi and showed the taxi driver the address and we started off. I was very curious as to where this repair shop was located because I thought I might never have been on that road before. We drove around, and finally, I saw a sign. Suddenly, it dawned on me that the young lady who gave me the address had not spoken as clearly as she could have, and I did not understand her Singaporean English (Singglish) as much as I thought I did. I have often had to interpret for myself what I think a Singaporean is saying. In this case, I was way off. The street was actually not "Abbott" Road, but "Albert" Road. And, the building was a location I knew very well! If one thinks about it, one can see how easy it would be to make such a mistake.

Sometimes we may not be speaking as clearly to others as we think we are speaking. Or, we may not be listening as closely or carefully as we should when others are speaking. In some cases, this may have eternal implications.

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:" --James 1:19.

Jesus said, "Take heed, therefore, how ye hear:" -- Luke 8:18.

SPW

What children say...

Recently, my wife and I were eating lunch in an east Indian restaurant (we enjoy Indian food very much!). A family of four entered the restaurant and were seated two tables away from us. There was the father, the mother, and two small children. The youngest child was about two or three years old. But, the child that attracted our attention was a cute 5-year old boy.

While we were eating the 5-year old boy suddenly spoke in very clear, serious language, "I'm getting calmer now." That sounded a little unusual coming from a child his age. A few minutes later, the little boy spoke up again and, in a very grown-up, but spirited voice, said, "I'm getting happier and happier!"

We were amused and quite taken by the young tyke's ability to speak so clearly and express himself as he did. But, the thought also entered our minds, "What conversation went on in that family prior to them entering the restaurant?" We could only assume that the boy's parents had warned him about his conduct in public. We could only assume that he had a history of misconduct in public, and that his parents had warned him rather strongly that he should be calm and be happy, rather than to act out, put on a show, or throw a tantrum. And, we thought that his words were a means of letting his parents know that he was really trying his best to behave in public and not get into trouble.

Since that occasion, we have told a few people about that little boy and his sayings. And, we have found ourselves saying at various moments, "I'm getting happier and happier!" or, "I'm getting calmer now." It has been an interesting source of learning and humor for us.

One thing that I have not found amusing over the past few years is the blatant and irreverent use of God's name. I am "sick" of hearing the exasperated, or surprised expression, "Oh, ...My... God!" (with a pause between each word for emphasis). It can be heard on television, radio, and in the movies. It is often heard in public. Such an expression or ejaculation of words is very irreverent and sinful. It is the taking of God's name in vain. Sometimes children say it because they heard an adult say it. I even heard my Indonesian landlord use the expression once in English. Apparently, he had heard it on an American program which was being aired on Indonesian television.

In 1968, a country singer by the name of Henson Cargill sang a song entitled, "Skip A Rope." The introductory lyrics are:

"Oh, listen to the children while they play,

Now ain't it kinda funny what the children say,

Skip a rope."

The song is a sad song and a potent, but true commentary about what children say to each other as they play with one another. They hear what their parents say at home and repeat it at play and in school--sometimes even in Sunday school. The song deals with spousal hatred, lying, cheating on taxes, parents who fight, not following the Golden Rule, getting ahead regardless of the means, and hating others because of the color of their skin. It is a powerful statement of what goes on in some homes and just where children often first learn to be disrespectful, irreverent, and immoral.

Cargill ends the song with the following refrain:

"Just listen to your children while they play,
It's really not very funny, what the children say,
Skip a rope, skip a rope."

I heard a fellow one time say that a certain young person got in with the wrong crowd--he got in with his parents! What a tragic home that must have been.

Deuteronomy 5:11 states, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."

Jesus taught, "But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:... Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black" Matthew 5:34, 36.

"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" Matthew 12:36.

James 5:12 states, "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation."

Parents have a serious responsibility to train their children in the way of the Lord, and that includes the matter of speech. "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," Ephesians 6:4.

The little boy in the Indian restaurant was well-behaved, but he has really given us much food for thought. What are your children seeing and hearing in your home?

SPW

In the hospital

Recently I found it necessary to enter an American hospital due to dehydration. The dehydration was caused by severe gastrointestinal problems following (I suppose) the eating of some tainted food.

It is no fun being in a hospital. The doctor gave me a choice of two hospitals to enter. I chose the one where both of my paternal grandparents died. This was done at the suggestion of a family member. Perhaps it was thought that I might undergo the same end? (just kidding). I don't really think so. The advice was given in good faith.

I learned a few things, though, about American medicine and health care (at least in the hospital I entered as a patient).

I became ill and was sick for about 10 hours throughout the night with diarrhea and severe projectile vomiting. The next morning I went to a clinic to see a doctor. I have health insurance, but it does not cover office visits. Although my tongue was clinging to the roof of my mouth and I could barely walk or speak due to weakness and dehydration, I was told that we would have to pay $120 before the doctor would look at me. What a blow that was! My wife wrote the check. The final bill just for that visit was an additional $165.

The doctor found out that I am a missionary to Indonesia. He immediately seemed to want to conclude that I had developed a blood clot as a result of long-term flying, or that I had brought to the USA some exotic Asian "bug." Actually, it was neither. I pretty much knew what the problem was--bad food--from somewhere! I had already been back in the USA a couple of months, and blood clots or exotic Asian "bugs" would have already made themselves apparent long before the time I became ill.

I was given an IV in the doctor's office to help replenish my fluids. The problem was that the nurses in the clinic could not seem to insert an I-V needle into the back of my hand. They stuck me several times. My veins were quite obvious to the naked eye, and it should have been no trouble at all. My wife was trained in nurse's school, and her philosophy is that a nurse gets one try to put in the IV needle, and if she cannot find a vein or botches the job she has to stop. It is possible to give her second chance. But, more than two tries indicates some level of incompetence. Three nurses tried to perform this simple procedure that has been done on me several times in other clinics and hospitals both in the USA and in Asia (with success on the first try). Well, they caused a lot of unnecessary pain. While all this was going on, I looked at my wife; she looked at me, and we both knew what the other was thinking--"One try only... They do not know what they are doing!"

After the IV bag was connected and the contents finally dripped into me, I was taken to the aforementioned hospital. From the start it was clear that not too many so-called professionals knew how to do their job, or they just did not care. If it had not been for my dear wife who stayed by my side and really did the job others were being paid to do, I might have died. My blood pressure dropped dangerously low--and I usually have high blood pressure.

I had been ill for about 18-20 hours before anyone decided to run tests on the contents of my stomach to see just what kind of "bug" was making me so ill. That was also a surprise because it should have been one of the very first tests to do.

I was in the hospital three days and was discharged while I was still sick with some of the same awful symptoms that put me there. That was another puzzle. There were a lot of strange things that happened while I was a patient there that we could not understand, and some of which seemed to go against proper medical practice (we could make a list of about 15-20 matters).

Another puzzle was that I waited about 7 hours or more to be dismissed from the hospital after the doctor told me (at about 6:00 AM) I would be released very soon that day. I was eventually released at about 7:30 PM that evening.

Only one RN acted like she was competent, and she did her best to help me. As I was awaiting the papers for dismissal from the hospital, a nurse's aide came into my room to remove that pesky IV needle (I thought that was primarily the job of an RN, not an aide). The nurse's aide was wearing perfume and bright red nail polish. It should be known that such things as strong perfume and colored nail polish are discouraged for health care workers in hospitals. Anyway, she did not clean the area of the back of my hand where the needle had been inserted. Nor did she wear sterile gloves. She ripped off the tape and instead of pulling the needle out gently backwards from the way it had been inserted into my vein, she lifted it up vertically and pulled UP on it and yanked it out! OH! What pain! Then, she took a piece of balled up cotton she had brought with her into the room--unwrapped and balled up in her bare hand. She slapped the cotton on my hand and put a band-aid on top of it and walked out! When the RN came in I told her about it. She took off the bandage and cotton, cleaned the wound, disinfected it, and properly applied a bandage--thank-you! My hand and arm were swollen and red streaks ran up my arm for several days afterward. I had to do special hot damp cloth therapy on it to reduce the swelling. And, we wonder how so many patients in American hospitals get staph infections!

What was the best part of staying in that hospital--other than leaving it? Getting to eat banana-flavored popsicles when I could not hold anything else down. I am certain that I will soon receive a bill from the hospital, and the expectation will be that I am supposed to pay for less-than-good professional health care.

In Singapore, my experience has been that test results are often received the same or the next day in clinics and hospitals. Doctors take real time with their patients. Money is not the bottom line. And, some doctors actually apologize to their patients without fear of being sued for malpractice. They are really human and humane! They act like they REALLY care, and I think they do.

If I ever move back to the USA one thing I will miss is the very good, even great, health care I have received in Singapore, as contrasted with some of the health care I have received by some practitioners in America. This is not an indictment against all American health care workers or hospitals. It was one stay in one hospital. On the other hand, health care in Indonesia is another story.

SPW

Moving to a foreign country

When my wife and I moved to Indonesia to live as residents we first entered through the immigration desk at the airport in Jakarta.

After entering Indonesia we were required to visit the offices of the State Police of Indonesia. We had to fill out many forms involving personal questions concerning our background, questions about our parents (dates and places of birth) and our siblings (dates and places of birth).

We were fingerprinted.

We had to be approved by the Indonesia Department of Religion, Department of Immigration, Department of Labor and the State Police in order to live and work legally in Indonesia. We were required to present letters of endorsement and support from the USA to prove that we could support ourselves or receive support from the U.S. while living in Indonesia.

We are required to carry with us our State approved credentials and must present them upon demand. We had to renew our visas and other documents each year.

In order to work and be able to carry on daily activities we had to learn to speak the Indonesian language, Bahasa Indonesia. We never expected the Indonesians to learn English just to accommodate us.

We recognized that we were, and are, guests in a foreign land. We realize that at any time we may be asked by the authorities to leave their nation. If that should happen then we will leave as requested. We will not try to slip back in undetected.

We have never assumed that we had any rights, and we have always known that the government of Indonesia will not be lenient to us nor provide benefits to us simply because we are foreigners in their land. In fact, we have had to prove to the government of Indonesia that our presence there brings some very positive social and moral benefits to the citizens of that nation in order to be able to remain there.

There are rules to follow when entering a foreign nation. Those who try to circumvent or avoid obeying the law of the land which they wish to enter are considered criminals, and may be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. One would not wish to serve time in an Indonesian prison!

The rules for entering and living LEGALLY in Indonesia are not very different from the rules in any other nation on earth. Enforcing those rules (laws) helps to preserve order and avoid all kinds of internal chaos. Why would an honest person, who only wishes to do good, NOT wish to follow proper legal procedures to enter and live in another country?

Perhaps Americans need to think more seriously and logically about such matters as they may relate to the problems we are now facing in the USA!

LemmonsAid -- a new blog

My good friend, David Lemmons, has a new blogsite. You will benefit from accessing and learning from it. You may find it by following this URL...

http://lemmonsaid.wordpress.com/

spw

Information concerning Indonesia

One of the best, most accurate, informative summaries of information concerning Indonesia may be found on the following U.S. Department of State web page. As I read it I found it completely reliable. You may find it very interesting.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_2052.html

spw

Reaping the Whirlwind

An interesting statement is made in the Old Testament by the prophet Hosea. "For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind..." (Hosea 8:7). Although these words were said of the people in the days in which it was written many centuries ago, there is an application that may be made today.

The "wind" of secular humanism (which is atheism) has been in the public school systems and universities of America for well over 65 years. This "wind" of "no absolute truth," "moral relativism," "situation ethics," "values clarification," "organic evolution" "do your own thing," "no one can tell you what is right or what is wrong," "what is right is what is right for you and what others think is right or wrong is not so significant," "there is no one set standard of right and wrong," "there is no one set standard of truth," "if it feels good or right for you, then do it, etc., etc.," has been sown into the minds of American youth for generations. For the past few years we have witnessed and even experienced the "whirlwind" of degrading, damaging, destructive results of such a godless philosophy.

We witness the shootings and murders in high schools, the senseless beatings of teenagers against teenagers, the rise of illegitimate births, abortion, promiscuity, the seduction of students by teachers, the exaltation and glorification of popular people (entertainers, movie stars, etc.) whose lives are a downward spiral of immorality from day to day, perversity of all sorts which is beyond belief. We hear little girls screaming the names of their favorite singing stars who (the stars), although they may of marriageable age, are often too immature to be married and have children. Rather than practice discipline that works, we are told to let the child have his way, let him vent his anger and his frustrations, after all we do not want him to have a "complex." Everyone is not always right, and should not be made or allowed to believe that being wrong is right or okay. Those who fail in school or in some contest do not deserve to be rewarded in their failures just to make them feel good and avoid hurt feelings. The result of humanism is a bunch of undisciplined, rude, arrogant, angry, selfish, rebellious, disrespectful young people who act out their frustrations by killing each other, or their family members, or those toward whom they have a grievance. Respecting the rights and property of others has never been heard of by some of these upstarts. American young people have been "dumbed down" to the extent that many of those in high school cannot even write a decent sentence or legible paragraph. Americans who follow and practice this philosophy are setting a bad example for the rest of the world. When people of other nations hear about and watch the unholy, immoral antics of well-known American entertainers and celebrities on television and in movies, then see them living out those things in their lives, and when they witness the squandering of millions of dollars on selfish interests by such people, they develop an impression of America and Americans that is not good.

There is no question that America is now reaping the "whirlwind" of this godless philosophy. And, it appears that those who seek to bring sanity back to America by setting forth the Bible as the objective standard of God for man, the result is for the Bible-believer to be belittled and ridiculed as "out of touch" or "not facing reality" or "old-fashioned." It is high time to start in the public school systems to eradicate this godless philosophy and those who advocate secular humanism and situation ethics. It is time that those who believe in an objective standard of right and wrong, and who are patriotic, be given a place of leadership and influence among our young people. There is right and there is wrong! The result of the humanist philosophy is bringing America down so very fast--faster than most people realize. Those who espouse and uphold secular humanism need to be relieved of their duties if they are in places of influence over young people. I am not advocating any kind of violence, for that is wrong. I am simply saying that it is time to fire those who can be fired and to not hire those who only have themselves as their own standard. Even in modern religion, secular humanism has taken quite a stand. Many "churches" are filled with moral and religious relativists who want to have religion their own way, not necessarily God's way. It is time to learn how to say such things as, "No," "There is a way that is right and you can know that it is right," "There is a way that is right and is not wrong," etc.

Secular humanism is a selfish, self-glorifying, self-gratifying, self-exalting philosophy that results in immorality, murder, bias, and the devaluation of human life and the traditional American way of life.

"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" John 17:17.
Jesus said, "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." John 12:48.