And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

What is with the President of the United States?  Obama for the first time endorsed the Palestinians' demand that their eventual state be based on borders that existed before the 1967 Six Day War in which Israel forces occupied east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.  Are we to expect the U.S. government to change its policies in regards to its own history from this new policy?

Case in point:  In the 1800’s the U.S. invaded and occupied land of a tribal people and forced them on secluded worthless land.  They were then labeled hostile and many were massacred by the U.S. Army.  When valuable natural resources were found on the “worthless land” these tribal people were again moved.  

The President of the United State forced worthless treaties upon the wealthy and educated groups of the more advanced tribes.  Their homes, businesses, and land were confiscated by the U.S. government.  Over 4000 of these non-violent people died from the actions of the U.S. government when forced to walk 800 miles to be relocated.   The U.S. government continued to oppress these people because they wanted their land.  The U.S. government would not allow these people to keep their children, speak their own language, own property or practice their own religion.  For the most part, however, the U.S. government was a ruthless enemy. The government attacked many harmless villages, and killed many in government approved massacres. 

So, if we would require other nations who under military action gained land from their “enemies” then should we not do the same? 

The arrogance of President Obama to demand Israel to change their borders back to 1967 is the height of hypocrisy.  Maybe we should clean up our own house before we criticize others. 

I am aware Israel has depended upon the United States for economic and military aid and that our government may feel we have paid the price to control the actions of the Israeli government but regardless Israel is still a sovereign nation. 

Has Israel made mistakes in their dealing with the Palestinian people?  No doubt, however, if the Arab Nations had not been so set on destroying Israel this problem would have been settled long ago.  There have been many opportunities for the Palestinians to have their own home land but they refused to make peace.  

Before we get the “holier than thou” attitude do we give back the land our government took from the Native Americans?  Do we give back Texas to Mexico?  Do we give back lands we took from Spain?  I don’t think so.  For those who would say Israel is different, you are wrong.  They won the land through military action just as we won Texas from military action.  It is time we pulled out of the conflict that has existed since 1948 and let Israel take care of its own problems.  I am sure if the world stopped meddling in Israel’s affairs they would solve the Palestinian problem.  If the Arab Nations are so concerned about the Palestinians let them open their doors to the thousands of refugees that are now homeless and show compassion.  But that is not the Arab way.

Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden-- Destroyer of Freedom

I must confess up until today I could not have named one person who was killed on 9/11.  I could not give you the name of one of the acting terrorist.  However, I have not forgotten Osama Bin Laden and the havoc he has rained down on our country.  The cost is now over 3 trillion dollars!  It looks like his death is going to create more havoc with our freedom and security. 

Since 9/11 we have been engaged in a Muslim war in Iraq and Afghanistan at a cost in lives of our young men and women which cannot be replaced. The marriages of those in the military are falling apart at an alarming rates--divorce is on the rise.  The financial losses many retired American suffered after 9/11 will never be recovered.  The personal freedoms we once enjoyed are gone-- maybe forever.  Through the enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act and subsequent executive directives and regulations, essential rights and freedoms that were once guaranteed to all individuals have been lost. Many Americans still do not realize the significance of what we have lost from Bin Laden.

There was a time in America where we could speak our mind.  Today, government agents can monitor activities of religious and political institutions, and then infiltrate these groups with no suspicion of criminal activity. This is a return to domestic spying on law-abiding religious and political groups.  You can be the subject of a government investigation simply because of the political, activist, or advocacy groups you are involved in, or the statements you make within these groups.  Your freedom of speech has been limited to what the government will permit.

Authorities may now conduct secret searches and wiretaps in your home or office without showing "probable cause." They need only to claim that intelligence gathering is "a significant purpose" of their intrusion, even when the primary goal is ordinary law enforcement. They may also monitor where and to whom you send and receive e-mail, or where you go on the Internet, recording every e-mail address and website you have been in contact with. Authorities may now demand any personal records held by any source including your doctor, employer, accountant, or library. All they have to do is claim that it is related to an investigation into "terrorism." The record keepers may not reveal that your records were provided to the government. 

For those who travel by air, freedom has been reduced, here are some highly publicized incidents around the screening procedures:

• A breast cancer survivor was forced to remove her prosthetic breast
• A bladder cancer survivor had his urostomy bag seal broken during a pat-down, leaving him soaked in urine.
• A woman with a hip replacement was singled out for pat down.
• A rape survivor was distressed by a pat-down that she described as feeling like being sexually assaulted again.
•  A 3-year-old child was distressed by surrendering her teddy bear and being subject to a pat-down.
• An eight-year-old boy was patted down on his genital area.
• A woman claims that she was selected for additional screening by a male TSA worker for the size of her breasts.
• A four-year-old boy was on his way to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., with his parents when TSA agents forced him to take off his leg braces.

Do these individuals sound like terrorist? I don’t think so.  These are the freedoms we have lost because of Bin Laden.  There are those who would discredit the premise that Muslims are the main reason we have lost our freedoms.  It is hard to deny the driving force behind the loss of our freedoms is tied directly to the Muslims.  There are those who would deny Bin Laden was a true Muslim—but he was.  When will we stop allowing our freedoms to be taken from us?  

We as American, continue to fund the terrorist with our dependence on foreign oil.  As the price of oil goes up many Americans will have to make financial decisions like – do I keep my home or do I eat.  Maybe we need to start using our own oil.

 America is in the worst recession since the 1930s and we seem to have billions to spend on mosque building in 27 Muslim countries.   I don’t know of a Muslim ruled country that doesn’t have massive oil wealth and plenty of money already to build or renovate their own mosques!  What happened to separation of church and state?  This is nothing less than stealing from the American people at a time when millions are losing their homes jobs and careers!  We should be shutting down these houses of hate instead of rebuilding them. 

 Our State Department is worried about our image in Muslim countries while the goodwill and freedom of the American citizen is of no concern.  Bin Laden even in his death will continue to destroy the American way of life and reduce our freedoms.  Am I glad he is dead?  I don’t know.  What excuse will be used now that he is dead to reduce our freedoms?  What concessions will we give to appease the Muslims?  Do I hate Muslims?  No, I just know there is a better way of life than being filled with hate.  Has American been in the wrong in Muslim countries? There is no doubt we have taken the lives of many innocent people, destroyed towns and cities and are continuing to do so.  If we are so bad why do Muslim leaders continue to ask us to stay?  Why do they continue to take our money?  I feel it is time that we allow the Muslims who are fighting Muslims to fight their own wars and America stop funding both sides.

Well, I have rambled long enough.  It’s time to take back America from the leaders of this country who are more concerned about what the Muslim world thinks than what the American citizens think.

Where Are The Leaders?

I have for most of my ministry served in rural churches in central Indiana.    What I have noticed is that rural churches are in a leadership crisis.  There are too few available upcoming leaders within our churches. There could be several reasons for the problem but the main reason is lack of loyalty and commitment to the rural churches.  In our community the church attendance is down in all churches.  More of our young people are leaving for larger churches.  They are walking away from active involvement in the small rural church to attend large churches that offer more entertainment, less personal involvement and require no commitment.

The leadership problem is also due to the changing makeup of our families. More of our young people are marrying those who are not Christians and establishing families that are unlikely to provide church leaders.  Today’s younger families are more concerned about their children’s involvement in sports than in church activities.  The importance of a spiritual life is not a priority in the training of their children.  The involvement of the fathers in activities outside the church has taken stolen the hearts of the potential church leaders.

The church must expand its understanding of what leaders do. The church fails to develop leaders when it has a too narrow view of leadership and thinks only of the vocal ministry.   The leadership model employed in the typical church does not encourage today’s young people to consider church leadership as a worthy pursuit. We often hear church ministry degraded within the church.  The respect given to the callings of God are not taken seriously within the membership of the church.  There are often those within the church who are pseudo-leaders or self-appointed and are only concerned about control.  This type of leadership is not determined by spiritual values or a Spirit-filled life but by a carnal nature that destroys the work of good leaders.

As the leadership within the church grows older it  becomes ineffective in providing examples of meaningful involvement in those works that can advance the local church—teaching, evangelizing, preaching, serving, and personal contact.  Why is this?  When the greatest number of leaders in the church are in their seventy and eighties they lack the physical strength to continue to provide meaningful involvement.  

Planning for the future is important to the survival of the church.  Leaders within the church should be training their replacements.  Since the church has been caught up in the professional leadership we miss the leadership called by God.  It would be in the interest of the church to develop leaders from within than to import a secular professional leadership that is not compatible with the local congregation.  When leaders from outside the small rural churches are not from the local meeting, they fail to be sensitive and are not successful in leading the church to growth. Leaders must be among the people, spending significant amounts of time with the community they live in, teaching and mentoring, modeling and equipping.

God develops leaders from unlikely sources. God does some of his great work through the messy and the broken, and he makes such people leaders who can reach out and help others. Church leaders ultimately come forth because they genuinely believe the gospel—they believe Jesus will do what he promised to do. They have been changed, and they seek to change others. Therefore, they are people of prayer, and people of action. They depend on God’s power more than human power. They are called by God to fulfill the Great Commission, spending tremendous amounts of time ministering to people. This is seen in their commitment to sharing the good news and shepherding God’s children.  Where are our leaders?

I am neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet but I will make this prediction based on the information I have concerning the aging leadership within rural churches.  If there is not a group of young men and women who accept the roles of  leadership in the church in the next ten years most rural churches will cease to exist.

I am thinking about declaring myself an illegal.

This week I paid my taxes.  I am retired from 28 years of teaching. I receive a monthly income from Teacher Retirement Fund and Social Security.  I pay taxes on both incomes. The taxes I paid totaled one month of my Teacher Retirement income.  So, I got to thinking what about those who never pay taxes?  So here is the story, I sure you have heard this one before but here it is again.

You have two families: "Joe Legal" and "Jose Illegal". Both families have two parents, two children, and live in the great state of Indiana.  Joe Legal works as an HVAC tech, has a Social Security Number, and makes $30.00 per hour with taxes deducted.  Jose Illegal also works as an HVAC tech, has NO Social Security Number, and gets paid $15.00 cash "under the table".

Ready? Now pay attention...

Joe Legal: $30.00 per hour x 40 hours = $1200.00 per week, or $62,400.00 per year. Now take 30% away for state, local,  and federal tax; Joe Legal now has $43,680.00.  Jose Illegal: $15.00 per hour x 40 hours = $600.00 per week, or $31,200.00 per year. Jose Illegal pays no taxes. Jose Illegal now has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays medical and dental insurance with limited coverage for his family at $1200.00 per month, or $14,400.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $29,280.00.  Jose Illegal has full medical and dental coverage through the state and local clinics at a cost of $0.00 per year. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.  Joe Legal’s insurance will go up at least 7% next year to cover Jose Illegal’s medical cost.

Joe Legal makes too much money and is not eligible for food stamps or welfare. Joe Legal pays $500.00 per month for food, or $6,000.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $23,280.00. Jose Illegal has no documented income and is eligible for food stamps and welfare. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays a mortgage of $948.00 per month, or $11,376.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $11,904.00.
Jose Illegal receives a $500.00 per month federal rent subsidy. Jose Illegal pays $500.00 per month, or $6,000.00 per year. Jose Illegal still has $ 31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays $200.00 per month, or $2,400.00 for auto insurance. Joe Legal now has $9,504.00.
Jose Illegal says, "We don't need no stinkin' insurance!" and still has $31,200.00.  Joe Legal has to make his $9,504.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, etc.  Jose Illegal has to make his $31,200.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline and what he sends out of the country every month.

Joe Legal now works overtime on Saturdays or gets a part time job after work.  He is struggling to keep his house out of foreclosure and pay his health insurance. Jose Illegal has nights and weekends off to enjoy with his family at the local park supported by Joe Legal. Joe Legal's and Jose Illegal's children both attend the same school. Joe Legal pays for his children's lunches while Jose Illegal's children get a government sponsored lunch. Jose Illegal's children have an after school ESL program paid for by Joe Legal’s taxes.  Joe Legal's children go home loaded down with homework that Mrs. Joe Legal must take the time to help them complete.

Joe Legal and Jose Illegal both enjoy the same police and fire services, but Joe paid for them and Jose did not pay for these services. Jose Illegal also gets a multitude of other government benefits no questions asked, that Joe Legal and his family do not get although they were paid for by Joe Legal. If Jose does pay some taxes on a portion of his income, he gets the EIC and is refunded all taxes he paid plus he gets a $2500.00 tax refund (welfare) giving him $33,700, for the year.

Our government leaders who represent Illegals more than they do Legal U.S. Citizens and the business owners who support the Illegals are no less a criminal than those who are here illegally.

So, I am thinking about declaring myself an illegal.