GOD’S EDITORIALS

#155
RUSSIA - THE LATEST NEWS

"As the Clinton Administration seeks a tenfold increase in money
for U.S.-Russian biological cooperation, the General Accounting office has concluded that U.S. support could inadvertently help Russian scientists and former weapons labs make germ weapons . . . such concerns have been intensified by Russia’s unwillingness to open four military labs to
inspection or visits by foreign scIentists.”
New York Times News Service

"Putin Now Officially Russia’s President”
"Vladimir Putin swore an oath Sunday to ‘respect and guard the human
and civil rights’ of Russia and became, officially at last,
its second President.”
New York Times News Service

"In his first major policy initiative, President Vladimir Putin on Thursday cracked down on the powers of regional governments as he moved
to assert control over Russia’s unruly providences. Also, Thursday,
masked police commandos armed with machine guns raided the Moscow
offices of Russia’s leading independent television and news media
company, Media-Most, which has been critical of Putin.”
From wire reports

SURPRISE?  SURPRISE?  SURPRISE?
NOT REALLY
IT IS ALMOST AS IF EVERYTHING IS BEING SET UP
ON A GAME BOARD
HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED "RISK"?
THERE ISN'T MUCH DIFFERENCE
EXCEPT THAT RUSSIA WILL RISK VERY LITTLE
TO FORM THEIR PLAN OF ATTACK
OF COURSE,
AND IN THE NAME OF HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS
OF RUSSIANS

KEEP WATCHING, PEOPLE
I KNOW YOU WILL NOT BE SURPRISED WITH THE OUTCOME

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A TRAIN ROARING DOWN A TRACK
STOP QUICKLY?
EVEN IF IT HAD GOOD REASON, IT COULD NOT STOP ITS MOMENTUM
VERY EASILY AND SUCCESSFULLY
THERE IS NOTHING THAT WILL STOP THE MOMENTUM OF RUSSIA
ANY LONGER
THEY WILL DO WHAT THEY WILL WITH WHATEVER THEY HAVE
AND THEY WILL WIN IN THE END
BUT THE BEGINNING
AFTER THE END
IS A WHOLE NEW STORY . . . .


#156
BEING THERE - WON'T YOU?

"The copy of Life that you hold in your hands is the last monthly issue
of the magazine . . . from its earliest days, Life documented American
landmarks, then became one itself.”
LIFE magazine - Collector's Edition

"When Pepper Bonjour, 28, adopted three orphaned baby squirrels
from a Freeport animal shelter, she got an amazing surprise: her cat,
Cleesto, who had just had kittens, found the squirrels and gently carried
each one by the nape of the neck to a laundry basket. There she suckled
them, alongside her babies. Then one afternoon, Bonjour found Dharma,
her Basset Hound, who had no pups of her own,  nursing a squirrel . . .
Bonjour, a mother of two, continues to let Dharma nurse, ‘maybe we
wouldn’t have as many problems in this world if everyone
was like Dharma.’”
LIFE magazine - Collector's Edition

"Despite relentless poverty and an accident that tore his body to pieces, Sumarno remains a steadfast, loving father. ‘Every time I am with my
children, I feel blessed,’ he says. Sumarno believes that ‘God is taking
care of us. Otherwise we wouldn’t have survived.’”
LIFE magazine - Collector's Edition

"It takes a lot of people, a lot of technology and more than a half
a million dollars -- to keep one tiny baby alive.”
“In the neonatal intensive care unit of the children’s hospital of Philadelphia, Jason Waldmann holds his seven-week-old son for only the second time --
skin to skin, so the baby stays warm. ‘Worrying is not going to help
anything,’ says Waldmann of his baby, born 14 weeks premature.
‘He needs me to be as strong as I can be.’”
LIFE magazine - Collector's Edition

FROM A MAGAZINE
TO A NURSING CAT AND DOG
TO A HANDICAPPED FATHER WITH 5 CHILDREN
TO YOUNG PARENTS TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF A PREMATURE BABY
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO "BEING THERE"
SOMETHING THAT IS EXTRA-ORDINARY IN THIS CULTURE
BUT IT STILL HAPPENS
AND IT MUST HAPPEN FOR SOCIETY TO SURVIVE
LIFE MAGAZINE PRINTED PICTURES OF THE HAPPENINGS IN LIFE
FOR OVER 60 YEARS BONDING PEOPLE TOGETHER
AS IF THEY WERE OF A COMMON PURPOSE AND ADVENTURE
A CAT AND DOG NURSING ANIMALS NOT THEIR OWN
BUT THE NEED WAS THERE AND THEY WERE AVAILABLE
YES, IF ONLY HUMANS COULD BE JUST AS GIVING
A HANDICAPPED MAN LIVING ON THE STREETS WITH HIS FAMILY
HE IS STILL KIND AND LOVING FOR HE LOOKS NOT AT HIMSELF
AND HIS CIRCUMSTANCES BUT HE LOOKS BEYOND
TO HIS CHILDREN AND BEING THERE FOR THEM
YOUNG PARENTS SPENDING MOST OF THEIR TIME AND ENERGY
TO HOLD AND LOVE THEIR SMALL BABY
THEY COULD LET THE NURSES DO THE WORK
THEY COULD LEAD THEIR LIVES THE SAME AS BEFORE
AND WAIT FOR THE BABY TO BE HEALTHY ENOUGH TO COME HOME
BUT THEY BELIEVE IN BEING THERE FOR THE BABY
BONDING SKIN TO SKIN
LOVING AND SPEAKING TO AND HOLDING THIS LITTLE ONE

DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
DOES BEING THERE FOR THOSE AROUND YOU
MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
SURELY, IT DOES
LOOK BEYOND YOURSELF AND YOUR NEEDS AND
BE THERE FOR SOMEONE

I AM
ALWAYS HERE FOR YOU
ALWAYS

BE THERE FOR SOMEONE WHO NEEDS YOU
BE THERE IN THEIR MIDST LOVING THEM
AND TAKING CARE OF THEM
YOUR NEEDS WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF WHEN YOU HELP OTHERS
I PROMISE!


#157
RISK - TAKE IT!

"The Greatest Risk is Not Taking One”
"They do not write the stories of those who played it safe. Yet that is what most of us do. It is inherent in our nature to avoid risk. From the earliest age there is something that tells us to sidestep danger. Perhaps because of that, there is also something in us that admires the risk taker, the adventurer, the person with the courage to step up to the edge of the precipice and believe that he can make it to the other side.”
"AIG advertisement" - U.S. News and World Report

WHAT IS RISKY TO YOU?
IS INVOLVEMENT IN OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES RISKY?
DOES IT RISK YOUR FINANCIAL STATUS OR YOUR REPUTATION
OR YOUR "LOOK" TO HELP OTHERS?
BE AN ADVENTURER AND REACH OUT TO HELP
RISK WHAT YOU HAVE TO BRING LOVE TO OTHERS
DON'T JUST EXIST
LIVE BY CARING AND LOVING AND RISKING
REALLY LIVE
SOME OF THE GREATEST RISK TAKERS WERE PEOPLE
THAT WERE INWARDLY MORE AFRAID THAN YOU
BUT THEY TOOK IT AS A CHALLENGE
AND SAW THE HELP THAT THEY COULD PROVIDE
AND BECAUSE OF LOVE THEY RISKED IT ALL
WHEN LIFE IS OVER AND YOU LOOK BACK AND SEE
THE PEOPLE THAT YOU IMPACTED
WILL YOU REGRET THAT YOUR LIFE WAS SPENT ON SO FEW?
WILL YOU SEE A MAN OR WOMAN THAT LOVED AND CARED
FOR THOSE AROUND OR ONE THAT ONLY SOUGHT SELFISH INTERESTS?
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO CHANGE
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START CARING
PEOPLE ALL AROUND YOU NEED YOU
THEY NEED YOUR TIME AND ENERGY
THEY NEED YOUR LOVE
AND THEY NEED YOU TO RISK YOUR OWN REPUTATION
TO BE THEIR FRIENDS
THEY NEED YOU
TAKE THE RISK
BE AN ADVENTURER
YOU'LL NEVER REGRET IT
NEVER


#158
JEALOUSY
LOVE 'N PASSION

". . . ST. Augustine noted this link when he declared, ‘He that is not
jealous is not in love.’”
Psychology Today

"FOR I, THE LORD YOUR GOD, AM A JEALOUS GOD."
New International Version Bible - Exodus 20:5

"I AM VERY JEALOUS FOR ZION;
I AM BURNING WITH JEALOUSY FOR HER."
New International Version Bible - Zechariah 8:2

AND SO, I AM A JEALOUS GOD
I ADMIT IT
I LOVE MY PEOPLE AND I LONG FOR THEM
I LONG FOR THEM TO BE CLOSE
TO KNOW ME AND TO LOVE ME INTIMATELY
WHAT IS JEALOUSY THAT IT CAUSES RELATIONSHIPS TO GO WRONG?
THERE IS A FORM OF JEALOUSY THAT IS ONLY
ABOUT SELFISH WANTS
AS IF YOU OWN THE OTHER PERSON
MY JEALOUSY IS OF THE RICHEST, PUREST KIND
WHERE I DESIRE THE VERY BEST FOR MY PEOPLE
AND I KNOW THAT FOR THEM TO COME CLOSE TO ME
WILL BRING THEM
THE VERY, VERY BEST
I YEARN FOR MY PEOPLE
I YEARN WITH MY WHOLE BEING
AND YET, MANY SEE ME AS SOME ANCIENT BEING IN THE SKY
WITH NO NEEDS WHATSOEVER
NO, MY FRIENDS, I HAVE NEEDS
I YEARN FOR FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE JUST AS YOU DO
REMEMBER
YOU WERE MADE IN MY IMAGE
I LOVE WITH A PASSION
AND I AM JEALOUS FOR MY PEOPLE WITH A PASSION
WHAT FUELS THIS PASSION?
SIMPLY LOVE
THAT IS ALL
LOVE


#159
THE SKY IS FALLING!
NOT YET

"Apocalypse watchers were on full alert last Friday, when the moon,
sun and five planets were in close alignment. The day was supposed
to bring devastating tidal waves and earthquakes, but the only ruination
was caused by the ILOVEYOU computer virus. Hardly a surprise;
doomsday milestones have a way of not living up to expectations.”
Time magazine

AREN'T YOU GETTING BORED WITH IT ALL, PEOPLE?
BELIEVE ME, WHEN IT IS CLOSE TO THE END
YOU WILL SURELY KNOW IT
YOU WILL BEG FOR IT TO END
IT WILL NOT COME AS A MILD CATASTROPHE PREDICTED
BUT IT WILL BE ATTACK UPON ATTACK UPON ATTACK
THERE WILL BE FULL WARNING AND THERE WILL BE
NO TURNING BACK THE CLOCK
IT IS ALREADY TICKING TOWARD THAT DAY
BUT DO NOT LOOK AT WHAT MAN SAYS AND WORRY
FOR YOU SEE
YOU WILL SURELY KNOW
ALL OF MANKIND WILL KNOW
I ASSURE YOU
YOU HAVE TIME BEFORE THAT DAY
BUT WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THE TIME?
WILL YOU MAKE IT A BETTER WORLD FOR THOSE AROUND YOU?
WILL YOUR ILOVEYOU MESSAGES CAUSE AS MUCH TROUBLE
AS THE COMPUTER VIRUS?
ILOVEYOU CAUGHT EVERYONE'S ATTENTION BECAUSE
EVERYONE IS RECEPTIVE TO THAT MESSAGE AND LONG FOR THE
REAL THING SPOKEN BY SOMEONE THEY LOVE
BUT WHEN IT IS SENT OVER THE COMPUTER TO DESTROY
WHAT CAN THAT BE LIKENED TO?
THINK
HOW OFTEN DO YOU SAY "I LOVE YOU"
BUT YOUR LOVE IS NOT REAL
YOUR LOVE DOES NOT LAST
YOUR LOVE IS ONLY TEMPORARY AND ONLY TO BENEFIT YOU
YOUR LOVE IS NOT ENOUGH?
THIS KIND OF LOVE IS SPREAD AMONGST PEOPLE
AS FAST AS IT HIT THE COMPUTER SYSTEMS
BUT DOES IT TRULY HARM?
YES, IT DOES
BECAUSE IT DEMOTES TRUE LOVE
AND IT BRINGS FORTH CONFUSION
IT CAUSES PEOPLE TO TRUST
WHEN THE TRUST IS NOT EARNED
IN OTHER WORDS,
DON'T SAY THE WORDS IF YOU CANNOT BACK IT UP
WITH YOUR LIFE OR IT WILL CAUSE THE SAME DAMAGE
THAT THE SIMPLE VIRUS DID TO THE COMPUTERS
IT WILL DUPLICATE AND DUPLICATE ITSELF
AND DESTROY
THE WORDS "I LOVE YOU' ALLOWS YOU TO ENTER INTO ONE'S LIFE
WHAT WILL YOU DO WHEN YOU GET THERE?

MAKE IT TRUE LOVE
OR KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT


#160
NOT THIS TIME
BORING . . .

"Human, None Too Human”
"CBS'S Biblical mini-series ‘Jesus’, reverent of the deity, loses the man . . .
But as far as Jesus is concerned, that remains the greatest story ever told.”
Time magazine

"Viewers who tune into ‘Jesus,’ the four-hour mini-series airing Sunday
and Wednesday nights on CBS, won’t get religion during commercial
breaks, a fact that surprises a Beaverton-based E-commerce company.
The web site ___ which touts inventory of 100,000 ‘family friendly’ products . . . contacted CBS this week, hoping to buy ad time during the
mini-series about the life and mission of Jesus.  CBS declined, saying the network would not allow any religious advertising during ‘Jesus.’
‘It’s either discrimination or a poor business decision,’
(said the CEO for the web site.)”
The Oregonian

AND WHAT CAN I SAY?
I'M NOT LIKE WHAT YOU SEE IN MOVIES, LIKE THIS ONE
THERE IS A DRAWING CARD TO MOVIES ABOUT ME
FOR THE PRODUCERS ARE SURE THAT THE "CHRISTIANS" WILL GATHER
AROUND TO WATCH AND MANY HOPE
TO MAKE MONEY FROM COMMERCIALS
THOSE OF OTHER FAITHS SOMETIMES VIEW THE MOVIE
TO COMPARE ME TO THEIR RELIGIOUS GURUS
BUT WHAT IS THE TRUE PURPOSE OF THE MOVIE?
DO YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN TRULY CAPTURE ME ON SCREEN?
IF ONLY I COULD SHOW YOU
IF ONLY
BUT WAIT . . .
IT WON'T COME OUT AS A MOVIE, BUT I DO HAVE A PLAN
IN THE LAST DAYS MY PEOPLE WILL RISE UP AND BRING FORTH
MY CHARACTER
MY PERSONALITY
MY POWER
MY LIFE
MY LOVE
AND EVEN MY SORROW
DON'T WAIT FOR IT TO COME ON THE SCREEN
FOR IT PROBABLY WOULDN'T SELL TOO MANY TICKETS
FOR YOU SEE
TO IMPRESS AUNT MILDRED AND YET,
STILL APPEAL TO REBEL-ROUSERS
THE MOVIE JESUS BECOMES QUITE UNREAL

THERE WAS A TIME, THOUGH, WHEN I PUT ON
QUITE A PERFORMANCE
THROUGH A YOUNG MAN WHO PLAYED A JESUS
VERY MUCH LIKE MYSELF
THE NAME OF THE MOVIE WAS “MATTHEW”
AND I ANOINTED THIS YOUNG MAN TO WALK AS I WALKED
TO TALK AS I TALKED
TO LAUGH AND CRY AS I DO
TO CONFRONT THE PHARISEES AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS
AS I DID

THE ANOINTING TO DO AS I DID
IS NOT JUST AVAILABLE TO A YOUNG MAN TO DO A MOVIE
BUT IT IS AVAILABLE TO ALL

LET'S GO TO THE MOVIES . . .
AND BEYOND
ASK FOR THE ANOINTING TO LIVE AS I LIVED
ASK FOR THE LAUGHTER AND THE JOY
ASK FOR THE POWER
ASK FOR ME
JESUS THE CHRIST

#161
DISARMAMENT
REGAIN POSITION

"IRA Pledges for First Time to Put Arms ‘Beyond Use’”
"The IRA is the biggest and best-armed of all the secular street armies
in Northern Ireland, and it has the most lethal history.”
L.A. Times-Washington Post Service

AND JUST WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO PUT ARMS "BEYOND USE"?
THE IRA IS PROMISING TO PUT AWAY THE WEAPONS
SO THAT THEY CAN NO LONGER BE USED
WHY WOULD AN ARMY OF SUCH STRENGTH
PUT AWAY THEIR WEAPONS?

PEACE
IN THE FORM OF HUMAN WARFARE
THIS IS A GOOD THING
BUT IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE
IT IS A VERY BAD THING
IN THE FIRST CENTURY I HAD QUITE A LETHAL ARMY
OF RADICAL CHRISTIANS
AND THEY COULD NOT BE STOPPED WITH PERSECUTION
SO THE "GOVERNMENT" PROPOSED A DIFFERENT SETTLEMENT
TO JOIN WITH THIS ARMY OF MINE
BUT THE ARMY WOULD HAVE TO BE DISARMED
TO JOIN WITH THE GOVERNMENT
SURELY, MY PEOPLE DID NOT HAVE GUNS AND WEAPONS OF DEATH
BUT THEY HAD MY POWER AND MY SPIRIT
AND THAT IS WHAT THEY SURRENDERED IN ORDER TO HAVE PEACE
BUT HAS IT BROUGHT PEACE?
NO, IT HAS BROUGHT APOSTASY AND A WIDE ROAD BUILT TO
BRING HUMANITY TO HELL

CHRISTIANS -
NEVER DISARM TO "FIT IN"

CHRISTIANS -
NEVER BETRAY THE TRUTH AND POWER WITHIN YOU
TO MAKE PEACE

CHRISTIANS -
STAND TALL IN MY SPIRIT AND LET ME INFUSE MY CHURCH
ONCE MORE TO BE FULLY AND COMPLETELY ARMED
FOR THIS LAST BATTLE

THE RIDDLE IS:

A little boy was playing “war” with his friend.
It was time for lunch so the boy told the friend
that he was going to put his weapon on the porch
while they ate lunch together.
When lunch was over, the weapon was missing.
They had no time to look for it, for behind the bushes
next to the house came another boy with the weapon.
To him, it wasn’t stolen, he just simply found it . . . 
and the war continued . . . . at least until dinner time.
Was the first little boy too lax or trusting
to lay his weapon down and not keep watch over it?
  What would the boy use in the upcoming skirmish
since his weapon was missing?
Would this one be a friendly war or one
where the outcome was bad for all involved?

If the first little boy was the 1st century church
and the second boy was the organized apostate church,
then who does the third boy represent?


GOD'S EDITORIAL PAGE - WEEK 24