A New Start for a Troubled Marriage

Sunday, May 30 is a momentous moment in the life of Bay Springs Baptist Church. We will celebrate the re-marriage of a couple whose relationship become so estranged that it finally culminated in divorce.

This couple first began to treat each other with indifference, then frustration, and on to antagonism. They really didn't dislike one another, they just felt better when there was a wall of distance between them.

However, something happened as they traveled life's journey. At some point one or both began to realize that God wanted them to investigate the possibility of starting over. The man came to realize that he had never given himself completely to Christ and was born again. The woman realized that she was not allowing Christ to be the boss of her life, and she committed her life to live for Him. Then God showed them that their divorce has been all about self. Couching their decisions in noble sounding declarations no longer seemed satisfactory.

God taught them that He views marriage as permanent, and they sought help to learn how to more effectively relate to one another as unto God Himself. They learned that one's primary purpose to so cultivate a heart that seeks after God, regardless of what one's partner does.

Now they are coming before God and His people and confessing their past individual and collective failure and dedicating their lives to God and one another.

I know several couples who need to begin again. It starts with each individual making a decision to turning his, or her, heart toward God, and making the commitment to God to so live as to reflect God in all their doings.

Each individual believes his/her situation is unique. It is not. Others have walked the same path and succeeded. There is no justification for failure in the marriage relationship. God loves marriage and hates divorce, so those who marry have the blessing of God upon their lives when they start.

I'm thankful to see what God has done in the life of both these fine people who are beginning again this weekend. Lord, I ask you to go before them and drive the hornet of opposition from their path even as you teach them the consummate joy of relying on you.

Believers and The New World Order

President Obama on Saturday offered a glimpse of a new national security doctrine that distances his administration from the policy of preemptive war, emphasizing global institutions and America's role in promoting democratic values. During the address the President seemed to subtly promote the concept of global unity reminiscent of George Herbert W. Bush's "New World Order."

Presidents have lately seemed intent on building a global order which would erase nationalism and create a Utopian Society where everyone is a citizen of the world. Such a concept is not new. Empires have sought to rule the world through conquest throughout recorded history. Nor is it an antiquated notion. Adherents of communism viewed it as a vehicle for world dominion.

Chinese Communist leaders have seemingly discarded communism for capitalism and seem intent on dominating the world through finances. Japan turned her aggressive militaristic nature to economic policy and made enormous gains until the house of cards fell before she could bring the feat off.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise when powerful leaders to look at the world as another challenge to conquer. It certainly is no surprise to Evangelical Christian Believers. Scripture describes the end times as a time when powerful men will ascend to positions of influence and power unmatched in human history. Genuine Believers understand that the energizing force behind such men is nothing less then the prince of this world system, the enemy of God and all those who call upon the name of the Lord.

We do not fear these men; because we, who are genuine Believers, serve the God of Glory under whose dominion the prince of this world system is allowed to operate for a season. We know that at the end of the season, God will ultimately and finally overthrow him and those who have faithfully followed Christ will reign with Him for all eternity, while the enemy and his followers will wallow in a godless, lightless, friendless, comfortless, and never ending hell.

© 2010 Mike Rasberry

Difference in First Ladies

First Lady Michelle Obama simply does not measure up in the class category when it comes to formal dress. This particular outfit looks cheap and demeaning. Of course, the attempt at provocative dress might be an attempt to distract eyes from the seething anger emanating from those eyes, and the set of her jaw.

Maybe she doesn't speak Spanish, because they are entertaining the President of Mexico and his wife on this occasion.







Laura Bush appears genteel and discrete in her gown at a WH Christmas party during the Bush years.

The extreme difference in poise and style is evident in the two photos.


Michelle Obama's seeming attempt at provocative appears to deteriorate to the edge of vulgarity. A few lessons in decorum would appear to be in order.

Turn up The Heat

When I was a child I enjoyed taking crayons and dropping them into a pot to see what colors I could devise. As I dreamed of creating an unique color, I learned that too much heat would boil away some of the properties of the crayons and leave my new creation brittle and unuseable. I also learned that too little heat would not allow the colors to flow together and blend. The great melting pot of America is struggling today with just how much heat to apply so that those coming to America can blend in such a way as to add to the whole without becoming an unuseable monstrosity.

Yesterday four students were sent home from a school in the San Francisco Bay area for wearing shirts with an American flag on them. They were sent home because children of Mexican descent felt it was their day to express their heritage, and the four were disrespecting “Cinco De Mayo.”

Folks, this is serious business. We seem to have failed those from other nations who have immigrated by not teaching them that America is more than just a meal ticket. The American flag should be proudly flown in the midst of their celebrations. They should understand the policies and loyalties which have contributed to the wealth and freedom they seek here. Their fathers left Mexico seeking a better way of life, or chose to stay when annexation took place. Either way, they are American by choice.

I often wondered about the other large countries of the world why they could not develop, then I discovered that most are hamstrung by language barriers. India has several large states, each with its own language. Canada is wracked by language chaos, with French and English competing, and even China with its strong central government has struggled with the hundreds of unique dialects employed throughout the country.

American has grown because she is the great melting pot, with colors and languages blending their unique attributes into the whole to make a beautiful mosaic where all our lives are richer and more full. However, contemporary officialdom seems intent preventing that mosaic from growing. Policies and laws seemingly designed to prevent the assimilation of other cultures into ours are dividing us according to language, race, and heritage.

Yes, there is a distinct American culture which has been molded by that very melting pot, and those who come here to live should come with the purpose becoming a part of that culture. Poles, Italians, Chinese, Mexican, Navajo, French, African, and from around the globe they have come; making us the pre-imminent nation of the world. But these coming in this era are hyphenated Americans; not attempting to become part of the melting pot, they want to carve out a section of the country for their own where they can maintain the same culture, language, and customs of their native lands.

The most egregious perpetrator of this deadly policy is the public school system which seems to delight in teaching every cultural anomaly except that of the founders of the Country. Students can tell you about Black History Month and Hispanic culture even while they are unable to explain the Bill of Rights, or tell why our forefathers established this great government.

We has best awaken to the danger facing us here in the United States. Celebrate “Cinco de Mayo” but do it proudly under the banner of the Stars and Stripes. This is not Mexico. This is America. The heat needs be turned up a little on our melting pot in order for us to blend more evenly, so that we might continue to become a mosaic of freedom and opportunity for the nations of the world to aspire to.

© 2010 Mike Rasberry

The Time is Right: Dissolve the State Conventions

On February 27, 2007 I published an article questioning the need for both State Conventions and Associations, alluding to possibility of state conventions as inefficient anachronisms.

Today I want to revisit that topic and examine the purpose of state conventions and associations.

Associations have traditionally been the guardian of doctrinal integrity. Associations, which are generally organized geographically, are near autonomous entities subject to the executive board which is comprised of representatives of the local member churches. They may have an executive whose purpose it is to implement the work authorized by the body.

Membership is expanded when a local church petitions to join the association, and after examination by those so authorized, the local assembly is accepted into the fellowship of the association, or has its petition rejected. Such rejection is ordinarily based on doctrinal weakness or heresy. Should the church be accepted, the customary practice is to place the church under watch care for a period of time in order to observe the faith and practice of that church.

Should such a church have its petition rejected, a committee is usually appointed to work with the church to ascertain if it desires to conform to the requirements of the association. Such work can continue until such time as the committee determines it is ready to once again petition the association or decides the church is not serious enough about becoming a member to change the doctrine and/or practice deemed unacceptable.

Associational churches can be disciplined by the association for matters of doctrine and/or practice by placing them on probation and/or withdrawing fellowship from them; a practice tantamount to expulsion.

Recently local associations seem to have evolved more into the establishing of programs. Such actions appear in some instances to be in competition with the local churches. The Birmingham Baptist Association provides opportunities for individuals to sign up for twenty-nine different programs and to give directly to the Association. That seems to violate the spirit of the Association as being an instrument of the local churches. Should the association become self-sufficient, that is not dependent upon the gifts of the local churches, it could become an entity apart and follow the course of such institutions as Baylor University, or Mercer University; which voted to divorce themselves from the local entities which owned them and stole the property, influence, and good will of Southern Baptists in their respective states.

I believe the preponderance of gifts should come through the local church, and not from disaffected church members looking for an avenue to advance pet causes in defiance of the local church leadership.

While state conventions have served Southern Baptists well, by providing a venue by which churches from disparate points of the state could work together on mission projects, training, and ministry; contemporary communication and transportation allow the local associations to do every thing the state conventions do. State conventions, especially in the Deep South, now seem to spend more time promoting projects than anything else. Untold millions of dollars of missions monies are absorbed in the bureaucratic morass of the state convention.

Why local churches need a state convention to convince them to utilize a particular program, or participate in a particular activity escapes me. The local church needs a resource entity which is available lend its expertise to a particular need, not someone to try to convince the local church to follow a particular path of ministry. Neither the state convention, nor the association have the responsibility to “care for” the local churches. Local pastors do not need a “pastor to pastors” to serve as an associational executive.

The local church is responsible for setting an agenda to minister to its unique congregation and community. That is made easier by having assurance that a sister church is ministering effectively in an adjoining community, and throughout the state.

Time and again pastors are requested to turn in the names of leaders to the association and/or state convention so that those entities might communicate directly with church members. As a pastor, I don’t want those entities communicating directly with the members of the local church. If the pastor and church leadership have a plan for reaching their Jerusalem, they shouldn’t have to spend time defending their plan against one put forth by the state convention or association. The state conventions and associations work for the local churches, and it is unethical to by pass the local church leadership to promote a different agenda. Sometimes the associational executive acts as if he is an employee of the state convention. That was, in fact, the case in Louisiana until just a few short years ago.

I believe the time has come to dissolve the state conventions, thereby increasing the amount of funds available for mission efforts, and making the association a more effective entity. State executives and staff are certain to oppose any attempt minimize their position in the convention hierarchy (Baptists don’t have a hierarchy right?), but there is reformation in the air, and now is the time to act.

© 2010 Mike Rasberry

Cohabitation is a Blight on the Christian Church

The crass statements of my youth justifying premarital sex like, “Never buy a car before you try it out,” have given way to socially acceptable cohabitation in the name of protecting the institution of marriage. Time and again the reason is given by both the couple and their supportive parents that they need to make sure they can make it before entering into the permanence of marriage.

This attitude, especially among Believers, demonstrates a total lack of understanding of God’s plan and leadership. When two Believers come together as one, they should have a sense of God’s working in their lives, and that alone should be enough to help them maintain their commitment through the inevitable tough times.

Dr. Albert Mohler Jr., President of Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Ky; said in a recent article, “Many young adults tend to believe they are wise to try living together before committing to marriage, but actually they are undermining the institution they hope to protect.”

Dr. Mohler went on to say, "They do not know that what they are actually doing is undoing marriage. They miss the central logic of marriage as an institution of permanence."

That marriage is a gift of God is fundamental to Christian belief, yet there seems little practical difference between those who claim to be Believers and those who do not. Not only do young people openly engage in such behavior, but parents and extended family often seem to facilitate it. Even the local body of Believers known as the church seems little inclined to deal with her members who adopt such lifestyles lest someone be offended.

I wholeheartedly agree with Dr. Mohler’s assertion that cohabitation weakens marriage. I also believe that weakened marriage weakens the Christian message. However, I see little opportunity to combat the problem as long as the local body of Believers refuses to see cohabitation as an affront to Holy God. When the local assembly begins to deal with those who claim to be Believers, yet live their lives as if God’s Word and way is unimportant, I believe there will arise a dedicated, disciplined, and Spirit-filled church where the power of God is evident and the influence of the church is expanded.

© 2010 Mike Rasberry

Pondering John McCain & Regulations

John McCain is a true hero. He survived as a POW without compromising. I wish he had carried that same dogma into his political career.

Conservatives understood that McCain was only a "lukewarm" presidential candidate because he was the consummate fence-straddler. Now, he is proving that the country is probably better off with Obama as President. At least, with Obama, we know he is a far left ideologue. We are alert to his every move and can oppose him, because there is little subtly in his approach.

McCain, however, is a different matter. He seems never to have seen an industry, or product, which doesn't need government regulation. He appears to search for new items to regulate. Now he wants to regulate food supplements. All one needs see is the result of government regulation on other products, to recognize the inherent danger here.

Now some are going to say, "But Mike, these things need regulation. They affect our health." I have no problem with "truth in advertising, or accuracy in labeling." However, most of the medicines I was raised on, the same things my mother who is now eighty-four was raised on, and her mother, who lived to the age of ninety-eight, was raised on have been regulated out of our reach.

The sulfur mixed with a molasses was an effective antidote to the red bugs, or chiggers outside the deep South, fleas, and ticks. The penicillin tablets, crushed and mixed with the molasses, fought the infections we contracted as we stepped on rusty nails, and cut ourselves with broken bottles. The Paregoric, also mixed with molasses, helped young children suffering from intestinal disorders and teen girls with menstrual cramps, and was an effective toothache remedy. None of these items are available anymore except through prescription which naturally requires a doctor visit, and trip to the local Walmart Drug store. Can anyone say, "Unnecessary additional costs?"

Now this wolf in sheep's clothing, McCain, desires to regulate even more of our lives. I say, "Enough Already!" Write another memoir, take a fact finding trip to Australia, hike the Grand Canyon, you'll still get paid well by the taxpayer. Just leave our personal lives alone. NO MORE REGULATIONS!!!

© 2010 Mike Rasberry

Wasted Years

This morning I received word that my cousin lies on a hospital bed in Covington, Louisiana near death. Little can be done for him because a lifetime of profligate living has utterly destroyed his body. But there's more to this story than that.

You see, Tommy's skill with people coupled with his innate intelligence allowed him to ride the crest of success at an early age. However, those same attributes, never harnessed by submission to Holy God, led him to experiment with mind altering drugs. Drugs, and later, Alcohol became his obsession, his reason for living. They were cruel masters, unwilling to share their slave with family or friends. Going for months on end without contacting those who loved and prayed for him; this wasting shell of his former self would eventually show up needing help.

The song, "Wasted Years" has never seemed more poignant than this morning.

Wasted years wasted years oh how foolish,
As you walk on in darkness and fear,
Turn around turn around God is calling,
He's calling you from a life of wasted years,
As you wondered along on life's pathways,
Have you lived without love a life of fear,
Have you searched for life's great hidden meaning,
Or is your life filled with long wasted years,
Wasted years wasted years oh how foolish,
As you walk on in darkness and fear,
Turn around turn around God is calling,
He's calling you from a life of wasted years,
He's calling you from a life of wasted years

Each time I ponder the potential of a young man filled with energy, strength, and intelligence who has wasted his life; I remember that Holy God died for just such as he. Oh that he would have exercised his talents and gifts in the pursuit of holy living as the bond slave of Jesus Christ rather than those harsh taskmasters who robbed him of all his productive initiative.

Wasted years. I find myself wondering if I did enough to demonstrate love and compassion to him. Time and again I pleaded with him to give himself to Christ, and every time he acknowledged his need, yet never seemed able to trust Christ enough when the pangs of desire for his one true love, alcohol, stirred his being.

Young men, I plead with you. Reject the alluring advances of that strange lady alcohol as she flits her skirts in her most seductive manner, lest one day you awaken to discover that you, too, have wasted the most productive years of your life.

Lady Alcohol is an unnatural lover, unable to satisfy the cravings for love, companionship, and accomplishment. Her promising enticements serve only to fuel the senses for more and more. Promising much, but delivering nothing more than "Wasted Years."

Turn today to The Lord. Psalm 103:12 says, "As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us."

© 2010 Mike Rasberry

The Mount Vernon Statement

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council reports that than 100 conservative leaders joined together today to celebrate the release of the Mount Vernon Statement -- a document he believes has reaffirmed conservative commitment to Constitutional Conservatism and the principles of the Declaration of Independence: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

I wonder if the document goes far enough. At first blush it appears more nuanced than substantive. Perhaps, however, I'm being too critical. I'm actually looking for genuine conservatives, of which Tony Perkins certainly is one, to explain in plain English just what the "pursuit of happiness" means and the limitations to such a statement.

The document states, "The conservatism of the Declaration asserts self-evident truths based on the laws of nature and nature's God. It defends life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It traces authority to the consent of the governed. It recognizes man's self-interest but also his capacity for virtue." In the 18th Century this was a clearly understood statement, which met with little equivocation, even by unbelievers. In this contemporary, pluralistic society such terms need defining.

While I agree with the intent of those who formulated the statement, it appears to not be so notable a statement as to create even angst amongst those who are the enemies of traditional constitutional government. Not one of these signers need fear the loss of position, property, or prestige over the signing of such an innocuous statement.

I believe the time has come for bold leadership in America. The kind of leadership which, in the tradition of the founding fathers, risks everything for the purpose of restoring our constitutional government.

While I will sign the agreement, I believe it to be far short of what is needed.

Memories of My Childhood

During my second year of elementary school, my family moved atop what was known as "Crocker Hill," so named because Mr. Joe Crocker and his family lived on the East side of the red clay road at the top of the steep hill. We lived across the road from the Crockers in a three-room house with a pantry and another little bitty house out back.

The house was "L" shaped with a door opening into the front room which served as both a bedroom for my parents and our living room. It was that room which became the center of attention on Saturday Nights when the Crockers would come over and my Mother's parents would come up the hill to eat chili and watch wrestling. I still remember Mrs. Crocker yelling at those referees for allowing "Gorgeous George" to be treated so badly by other wrestlers.

Next to the front room was the room shared by my sister Sue and me, until I was moved into the pantry behind the kitchen. Aunt Eunice Ivey stayed with us at one time because my Mom was working and my Dad was driving a truck, so she stayed in the room with Sue and me, also.

Behind our room was the kitchen. It housed the refrigerator, a pot-bellied wood heater, a butane fired stove, and our eating table. The pantry was a small room about six feet wide and about ten feet long.

A door opened to the outside from the kitchen and down several concrete steps was a huge oak tree right in the "L" of the house. The exposed roots made a great playground as I imagined myself a character in the Dick Tracy comic strip, or Sunset Carson, or Johnny Mack Brown, or any number of other contemporary heroes. Hour upon hour was consumed playing with or without my sister on those roots.

I regret that my grandchildren and their contemporaries have not learned to enjoy the roots of a tree. Electronic gadgets have opened new vistas for their exploration, but I doubt they'll be happier than I was as a child. My parents did not have much in the way of material things to give us, but what they did give us has remained with me these sixty plus years-- the memories of childhood.

Today, while pondering the financial pressure parents bring upon themselves in order to give their children a better life than they had, I wonder if the children could possibly be more fulfilled and content than I, or if those "gadgets" bought to satisfy their cravings to conform will prove as worthwhile as those hours on the roots of that old oak tree.

Aah--The memories of childhood.

© 2010 Mike Rasberry

Continuing Erosion of Personal Freedoms by Police Entities

A recent article entitled "Police want backdoor to Web users' private data" by Declan McCullagh reveals the potential for the continuing surreptitious erosion of personal individual rights by governmental entities which seem to believe they alone are capable of protecting us from ourselves.

Government has two primary constitutional responsibilities: (1) Protect the citizenry from foreign powers who would overthrow our form of government. (2) Maintain domestic judicial order so that the citizenry can develop their resources to their greatest capability without oppressive interference from the authorities who maintain such. That is all government is needed for.

We do NOT need government to make sure we have health insurance, or food, or clothing. Nor do we need government to protect us from ourselves by limiting those activities which some entity might consider dangerous.

Seat belt laws are an example of government's intrusion into the personal lifestyles of individuals. While seat belts are obviously beneficial, they are also detrimental in some instances and downright ridiculous in others. My grandchildren are certainly not nearly as comfortable on trips as my own children were who were provided a bed in the floor board and allowed to sleep in an unrestrained position during trips. Seat belts were already becoming accepted as a safety factor when government decided to require everyone everywhere to wear them. While the transition to seat belt use would have taken longer, I believe it would have occurred nonetheless.

Bleeding heart elitists, the hoi oligoi, believing they know what is best for the hoi polloi, the great unwashed masses, seem obsessed with implementing more and more rules in the name of safety, security, and the general welfare. Such rules, once enacted, become simply another tool by which the commoners can be controlled. Control, it seems, is more important than any genuine benefit.

All of which leads us to the topic at hand. I am a strong proponent of the police in general. They have an often thankless profession, and must deal continually with the lowest class of society, the criminal. As the criminal cleverly devises ways to gain an advantage through deceit, theft, or subterfuge, the police must be prepared to react to each new invention of the criminal's diabolic mind. Yet, there must be limitations on their freedom to access the private information of the citizenry. Taking the time to obtain a paper warrant before accessing private information might indeed allow some criminals to escape. No system is failure proof. However, laid alongside the right of private law abiding citizens to protect their information, it is no contest. We must err on the side of freedom, or we will eventually err on the side of totalitarianism.

Only the most naive believe they can prevent private information being disseminated in this the information age. However, to authorize what amounts to warrantless intrusion into one's personal affairs is nothing less than an abdication of personal responsibility. Few who acquiesce to these procedures would allow the forcible search of their homes by police without a bonafide warrant, nothing less should be demanded of the electronic media.

You and I should contact our congressional delegations posthaste to inform them of our opposition to such procedures, lest they be inserted into innocuous appearing bills without raising a stir, or worse be enacted as administrative decisions by pompous bureaucratic aides.

Stoney Hearted People

Jesus told a parable of the soil where good seed falls on rocky ground. It is able to germinate but the soil is not sufficient enough to allow it to grow. One’s hearts can be like this kind of soil. He has a desire to do right but fails to grow because he has no depth of commitment. When difficulty comes, he wilts under the pressure. He is one who has based his understanding of Christ on an emotional experience. His faith is wholly experiential and not based upon Biblical doctrine. He is wont to say, "Doctrine doesn’t matter as long as you love Jesus."

Jesus said, “If one loves Him, he will keep His commandments.” One’s doctrine, or theology, must be in harmony with God’s Word. In another place Jesus said, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” The one who bases his relationship to God upon experience alone, is doctrinally unstable with shallow roots, so that when the experiences of life seem set against him, he is easily drawn away by the false teachings of the Evil One.

The Late Dr. Adrian Rogers often called these people, “Alka-Seltzer” people. They are people of fizz, warm and emotional, who respond easily to emotional appeals, but they are shallow, superficial, and rootless. They only want to be happy and will follow what ever seems to make them so, even if it is only temporary.

Churches are full of stony-hearted people. They simply do not understand the demands of the cross, nor do they desire to understand it. At the first sign of difficulty, they look for something else; something which will entertain them of make them feel good. They want an easy Christianity without trials.

Are you one of these? Are you like the rich young ruler who went away sorrowfully when he learned the real demands of the Gospel? Do you hunger and thirst to understand the basis of God’s great love for you, or are you one who simply bases your faith upon a series of experiences. If you are, I say to you this morning, "Repent! Ask God to take away your stony heart, and the Bible promises he will give you a heart of flesh.” A heart which will be able to learn and allow you to base your faith upon His Word.

© 2010 Mike Rasberry

Genuine Fellowship

The missing element in the contemporary church is the real fellowship so evident in the early church. The warmth and sweetness of their fellowship demonstrated the “oneness” of body which the church exemplifies. Their possessions were not considered goods to be protected, cherished, and hoarded. Rather they were treated as tools to be utilized for the common good.

This was not Communism where government pooled resources and doled them out equally to all, but rather a voluntary recognition that God had blessed them with everything they possessed and they were simply the caretakers. Brothers and sisters in Christ experienced the generosity of one another as genuine family. There was no recrimination for those who had need and no hesitancy on the part of those who had plenty.

A tangible result of that attitude of fellowship was that they had great power in witnessing and uncountable numbers were added to the church. That we have lost that is evident in the fact that we often sit in a worship service and know little of the affairs of those around us. We go to our homes, and watch football, or play games without involving ourselves in the lives of those with whom worship. Throughout the busy week little social interaction takes place outside a few close friends and family. How can one approach a virtual stranger and share his fears, joys, and concerns? Must the church remain an impassive body unresponsive to the genuine needs of brothers and sisters in Christ simply because we choose not to engage them on a personal and intimate level?

I believe church should have a reputation as a safe harbor where truth is presented in love by caring people genuinely interested in the general welfare. Rather, it is often represented as a cold body which rejects the imperfect. Strife, bickering, unforgiveness, and jealousy within the body give the lie to the message that Christ can meet one’s needs and lift his burdens, because what he sees in the church is no different than what he experiences at home and at work.

So the world asks, “Why do you claim that Christ is the answer? Your life is little different than ours, and we can sleep late on Sunday Mornings.”

The missing element, I believe, is genuine fellowship, and the only way we’re going to reverse the trend toward irrelevance in the local church is for those who claim Christ as Lord, to begin opening themselves in a vulnerable way to others so that the world might see genuine fellowship in us. Will you commit yourself to expanding your area of genuine concern by involving yourself with someone within the body who you don’t know much about? Invite them to your home for dinner, or coffee and cake. Choose this day to grow the fellowship within your local assembly so that the world will know you are different.

© 2010 Mike Rasberry

We All Need A Tree

Sometimes we all need help remembering that God never intended us to carry our burdens and to distribute them to those we love. I was sent an email with the following link which says it much better than I. http://home.att.net/~soloshideaway/751/tree.htm

Joy To The World

Joy to the World, The Lord is come...Those words by Issac Watts reflect the angelic message to shepherds faithfully carrying out their menial tasks.

Joy to the World...It blares from digitally enhanced church steeples even as anxious shoppers within its sound trudge from store to store only to be confronted by short-tempered, ill-mannered, and inconsiderate shoppers and shop keepers.

Where is the “Joy” in Christmas? Everywhere one turns he hears, mumbling, grumbling, groaning, and complaining. The oft heard comment, “I just don’t have enough time,” reflects the consternation the Christmas Season brings.

I think it is time to take stock of what Christmas should be all about. It should be a time of willing self-sacrifice, not grudging dutiful drudgery. It should reflect the willing sacrifice Jesus Christ made when He left the glories of heaven to be born as a vulnerable human being during a time of poverty and political oppression, so that He could offer Himself a sacrifice for the sin of the world.

Should we approach the purchase of gifts as an opportunity to express our love and appreciation of those for whom the gifts are intended, we might be less frustrated in our search. Those people with whom we deal are simply obstacles placed there by the enemy to challenge our resolve to act in Christ-like love to those who serve us in our pursuits.

The driver who swerves into the parking place ahead of you, the shopper whose self-centered dash upends your load of packages, the clerk whose aching feet and splitting headache override her normally courteous behavior, and the myriad of others you encounter are simply opportunities to demonstrate that the Angels were not wrong. They did bring good tidings of great joy, and Issac Watts is correct, we can have joy.

Joy which is dependent upon perfect external conditions is not really joy at all. Joy is an expression of an internal condition which naturally flows from an ongoing and growing personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

JOY TO THE WORLD!!! THE LORD IS COME!!!

From "A Word For Living" by Mike Rasberry

© 2009 Mike Rasberry

The Gift of Self

As you continue searching for the perfect gift for that special person during this Christmas Season, why don’t you consider the giving a more complete “You.” While such a gift is not monetarily expensive, it is costly. Such a gift means that you choose to forego the personal pleasures to which you’ve become accustomed in order that you might be more available to the one(s) you love.

A great gift for any loved one is when you choose to put aside some habit or indulgence in order to make another’s life more full and meaningful. Several destructive habits and indulgences which steal one’s time and wreck relationships include, but are in no way limited to:
Alcohol
Tobacco
Computer Games
Pornography
Gossip

During the Christmas Season, that indulgence most often bringing destruction is the use of alcohol as a beverage. Misery will greet huge numbers of homes this season because of the destructive nature of alcohol and the hold it takes on men when they imbibe.

This season, purpose to give your loved ones the gift of a sober, rational, and whole person by choosing to stay away from the deadly brew.

Johnny Sanders Pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Downsville, La. Copied the following poem off the wall of Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman several years ago. The author is unknown to this writer.

THE BAR
The name of each saloon is bar,
The fittest of its names by far.
A bar to Heaven, a door to hell;
Whoever named it, named it well.
A bar to manliness and wealth,
A door to want and broken health.
A bar to honor, pride, and fame,
A door to grief, sin, and shame.
A bar to hopes, a bar to prayers,
A door to darkness and despair.
A bar to honored, useful life,
A door to brawling, senseless strife.
A bar to all that’s true and brave,
A door to every drunkard’s grave.
A bar to joy that home imparts,
A door to tears and aching hearts.
A bar to Heaven, a door to hell,
Whoever named it named it well.

Taken from "A Word For Living" by Mike Rasberry

© 2009 Mike Rasberry

Criteria for a Just War

A recent article in Associated Baptist Press by Bob Allen reported on a speech by Robert Parham in which he outlined five criteria for a war being “just.” I agree with some, but with some of his listed criteria, I take issue. What are your thoughts on the matter?

The first standard necessary for a “Just War,” he said is a “Just Cause.” I must agree with this standard. The use of force to protect America, her allies, her citizens, and those unable to defend themselves seems a legitimate criteria. Whether of not popular opinion considers it “Just” is not the issue. Those who stand on the side of justice often must swim upstream against the ever increasing tide of those who, when they begin to experience personal hardship abdicate their moral responsibility.

Parham lists the second standard as property authority. Again, I agree with this criteria. However, he includes the UN as such an authority. I do not believe the UN has any kind of moral authority to wage war. I do not believe in a one-world governing entity, which such authority will inevitably bring about.

The third standard which must be met according to Parham, is “last resort.” That is to say that a country should attempt to mediate through peaceful means before turning to war. I agree with this point in a limited way. The United States kept giving Japan chance upon chance to turn back from her treacherous course. Time and again, the Japanese were caught in their web of lies, yet the desire to try one more time eventually left us ill prepared for the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. There must be a firm time table with tangible positive response. In the case of overt attack as in the 9-11 assault, reaction must be swift and comprehensive.

Parham lists the fourth standard as “probability of success.” I think this is a terrible criteria for war. There can be nothing but victory in war. Anything less than the total commitment of the people to the success of the endeavor will spell eventual disaster. One man suggested that Gideon would never have gone forth with his 300 hearty men had probability of success been a criteria. George Washington’s heroic stand against the greatest military power of its day would never have gotten off Long Island if probability of success had been a consideration.

The fifth standard listed by Parham is “proportionality.” This is the most absurd of the criteria listed. Proportionality means that the nation attack with only the amount of force necessary to eke out a victory. It is the concept of “proportionality” which resulted in the loss of Korea and Vietnam. It is proportionality which has kept our troops bogged down in the Middle East for nearly nine years. When a nation goes to war, she should unleash the power necessary to bring a quick end to the conflict. Untold tens of thousands of American lives were spared by the unleashing of the Atom bomb on two Japanese Cities. Do you really believe that the last fifty years of privation suffered by the people of North Korea would have occurred if American leadership had demonstrated the resolve to unleash MacArthur on the Communist giant growing on the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese mainland.

While I regret the loss of so-called non-combatants, I doubt the existence of many such. Those in war torn areas are already involved. The Vietnamese peasants were NOT non-combatants. They either supported the Allies or the Viet Cong. I suspect that is the case in most areas. That folk can live in the midst of war without taking sides is something for the movies, but doesn’t exist in reality.

© 2009 Mike Rasberry

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND THOSE WHO SERVE

When I arrived back in the Continental United States in September of 1967 from Vietnam, I was not met with a hero’s welcome. Rather, some of my first “greeters” were protestors carrying signs calling me a “baby killer” and worse. I was spit upon, cursed, and derided in every conceivable manner. Now those folks did not know my name, but because I wore a Marine uniform, I was the enemy.

I’m thankful to Holy God that He saw fit to use me in the defense of this great country, just as He used my Dad before me. As I look back, I can see the Hand of God in His intervention in my life. Some of those I was raised with, trained with, and fought with did not return alive, or whole after the war. I don’t know why God chose to deliver me, but I purpose to so live my life as to demonstrate my appreciation for Him and for those who died in my stead.

Thank you Holy God for giving us men and women who are willing to serve to the uttermost in these uncertain times.

Thank you men and women of the military, for doing what you do. Please know that there are millions like me who appreciate your devotion to duty.

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND THOSE WHO SERVE!!

Happy Birthday Marines!!

The year was 1965 and I was the fresh faced, smart alecky hard head who thought he was really tough. I had failed to graduate from high school and was working in the oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico, when I received the notice to report for my physical prior to induction in the Army.

I knew I didn’t want to be drafted, so I began investigating the other branches of service and settled on the Air Force. I had my airplane ticket to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for recruit training when I was visited by a Marine Corps Recruiter. Before he left my home, I was singing “The Marine Corps Hymn” and preparing to catch a bus to Birmingham, Alabama where I was sworn in along with about twenty others. Then it was on to Parris Island, South Carolina.

My recollection of that first few days remains somewhat foggy, but I remember waiting in the very cool night air outside the gate for a bus to take us to our orientation area. Once inside the gates of Parris Island, all civility ceased. The sergeant, who had been so courteous and gregarious outside the gate, instantaneously metamorphosed into a hideous antagonist seeming intent of destroying every iota of self image we possessed.

We learned quickly that we were the scum of the earth hardly worth the taxpayers money expended in a probable ill fated attempt to transform us into Marines. We were relieved of our clothing and personal belongings, and issued Marine Corps skivvies which were sufficient clothing for us to fill out what seemed like reams of paperwork. Then we were marched, in skivvies, to another building where we received ill-fitting utilities and boots.

As dawn broke upon us we were herded, what we did was certainly not marching, to the mess hall to partake of our first real Marine Corps meal. Over the years, I’ve become convinced that the first meal is especially designed to so repugnant that future meals will be appreciated.

The day was spent outfitting us and explaining a few rules: like “if you mess up my Marine Corps, I will personally give you a vertical butt stroke.” I had no idea what a vertical butt stroke was, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t good.

Night time was anticipated in much the same way a starving man anticipates food. We were emotionally and physically exhausted. Eighty plus men in our squad bay fell instantly asleep.

At 4:30 A.M. a short Corporal named Sparks started beating on the metal G.I. cans in our squad bay and screaming that we had fifteen minutes to be dressed and lined up outside so that we could get a little exercise before breakfast. I’m not sure how far we ran, but I was grateful that I was in pretty good shape.

So began my love affair with The United States Marine Corps. I learned to never give up on myself, my country, and The Corps. I learned that the whole is much stronger than the parts which make up the whole, and I learned to really love this great country in which we live.

I entered the Corps, a snot nosed, immature, boy. After Boot Camp, ITR, specialized training, thirteen months in Vietnam, and my terminal assignment in Yuma, Arizona; I left the Marine Corps as a man committed to impacting society for good. I thank my God regularly that He so orchestrated events as to place me in The Corps.

It was during my tour that I regained that lost love of learning which continues to press me to study today. It was during my tour that I married the love of my life, who has been a positive influence upon my life. And it was during my tour that God directed me to the First Southern Baptist Church of Yuma, Arizona where He spoke clearly to me about the life work to which He was calling me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARINES!!
Semper Fi!!!

THE MARRIAGE DILEMMA

People choose to marry for many reasons. Here are just a few of the reasons listed in numerous surveys:

• To be free from parents.
• To have sex.
• Love.
• To relieve loneliness.
• To be happy.
• Physical attractiveness.
• To have a baby.
• Financial security.
• Immigration purposes
• Friends are married.
• Fear of not finding a partner.

In Christian Circles “Love” is listed as the primary reason for marriage, but one must question whether or not those listing “love” actually understand the meaning. God commands Believers to love one another. Therefore, one must conclude that love is not an emotion. Now, none will deny the emotional aspect of what the world calls “falling in love.”

Love, it seems to this writer, is acting in such a way as to demonstrate one’s care for the welfare of another. Love would, therefore, be quite selfless in its actions always seeking first to make the other successful and fulfilled, and thereby gaining a sense of fulfillment in those very acts.

God seems to command the Believer to marry and raise up children who are taught to love God and live their lives as a reflection of that love. Therefore, the primary reason for marriage ought to be obedience to God. If two Believers are committed to walking with Christ, they will develop a strong emotional tie as a natural result of their acting in love toward one another.

The tragedy of contemporary marriages between Believers is that most are based upon an emotional attraction which, unlike a faith commitment to God, often changes based upon the circumstances of life. Therefore, marriages between Believers are dissolving at an alarming rate.

It seems to this writer that two Believers who genuinely “like” one another and are willing to act in love toward one another, as unto God Himself, would make a great marriage. They could grow together over the years, and would stand a much better chance of success than those marriages based upon emotional attachments and/or physical attributes.

Don’t mistake the emotional attraction for “love.” Few couples genuinely understand love until they’ve been married for some years. Emotional love is important, but it should be that which has grown out of sharing, struggling, and growing together.

© 2009 Mike Rasberry