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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Grand jury rules in Michael Brown's death - Reaction Predictable

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Grand jury rules in Michael Brown's death - Reaction Predictable

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by Victor Kubik

Source: DanielVilleneuve/iStock/Thinkstock

Violence, looting and burning erupted last night after a prosecutor announced that police officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted in the August 9th death of Michael Brown. Since that date tension has been high and sustained in what appeared to be a delayed ruling. Fear was that whether Wilson was indicted or not, violence would erupt. Supporters of both sides were ready to take action after the verdict would be announced.
I watched President Obama urge calm after the announcement of the verdict. He added that if there were to be protests, that they should be peaceful. However, while he was speaking on television, a live scene was displayed alongside the President showing a crowd rocking a police car, attempting to turn it over.
Burning and destruction ensued through the night. Streets were closed. It is unknown still at this writing how widespread this escalation will go. Voices of reason warned that this conduct was not going to solve anything. It was only hurting the people who felt most strongly about this, along with their communities. And it would set back any progress in correcting broader injustices.
There was hope briefly after the grand jury announcement by some commentators that this would "settle down" on its own. However, it did not. What happened is what is so predictable in our human experience: inability to peacefully solve conflict, and instead resort to irrational rage that only harms everyone.
"When will they ever learn?" are the words to a popular song "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" by Peter Paul and Mary from decades ago. The song is about cyclical conflict, war and death. Again and again.
I was sickened when I saw the anger and fires on the news. I become angry and have rage build within me when I see people hurting themselves and others to express their wrath. However, my comfort is that I understand that humanity is intrinsically incompetent in peace-making skills. God's intent is that we turn from this behavior and take on a new nature. It is in God's plan to build a new person who abhors what he is and adopts a new nature. Humans need outside help, outside the human realm to learn this.
In Romans:3:17, Paul states in a commentary about human nature: "And the way of peace they have not known." He quotes what was already in Isaiah:59:8—"The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways."
We preach the Gospel of Peace that Paul spoke of when describing the metaphoric spiritual armor that we wear in Ephesians:6:15: "And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace…"
Our world simply will not "get it" when it comes to solving problems peacefully. Witness what else is taking place on this earth. We are coming to the time when there will be intervention for humanity spoken of by Jesus in describing the events prior to His second coming: "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved" (Matthew:24:22).
It is this knowledge that is giving me real hope. It is not an empty hope. It is a hope based on what is shown biblically to come pass and what will end this world's conflicts.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Vertical News: First Ebola Case from the U.S.

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Vertical News: First Ebola Case from the U.S.

article by Amanda Stiver

How do we process the arrival of this disease in the Northern Hemisphere? Does it imply a connection to end-time events?

Source: freeimages.com/Sarej

A case of Ebola hemorrhagic fever has been diagnosed in a patient at a hospital near Dallas, Texas. The individual struck with the disease had recently traveled from Liberia, one of several African nations where the Ebola outbreak has taken at least 3,000 lives. Recent reports suggest that there is another potential case of Ebola in a family member of the original patient and others, including children, may have been exposed.
Authorities are working on narrowing the field of any others who may have been previously exposed. According to their warnings, Ebola is not spreadable until symptoms begin to appear in a victim (“Ebola Crisis: Texas Children ‘Monitored for Symptoms,’ ” BBC at BBC.com, October 1, 2014).

Is panic the answer?

So, how do we look at this first case of Ebola originating in the U.S.? Is this the early arrival of one of the four horsemen of end-time events in the book of Revelation? A potential pandemic, if not caught early, could certainly appear to fit with some of the events described in chapter 6 of Revelation.
But perhaps we would be getting ahead of ourselves if we jumped to such a conclusion. An important couple of verses in the book of Matthew give us a bench mark from which to process some of the frightening happenings in the world right now, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences , and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew:24:7-8, NKJV, emphasis added).
Wars, nations fighting, disease outbreaks (like Ebola), and earthquakes are definitely signs of the end of this age. Yet, human history has experienced such patterns of upheaval before, so it’s important to take note of the general increase of these events, and not be caught off guard. As Christ admonished, “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke:21:36). God’s people are watchers, workers, and faithfully patient in analyzing the prophetic implications of current events.
Like any disease, Ebola has the ability to turn into a pandemic, but so do many others. Taking reasonable precautions with our personal sanitation, eating nutrient dense foods and generally taking care of our health as much as possible is all part of our personal responsibility for the bodies God has given us. But when it comes to disease, God gives us the added blessing of being able to call on Him for protection and healing, specifically through the scourging that His Son, Jesus Christ took on our behalf (1 Peter:2:24).
Never be afraid to ask God to provide for you! His protection is our best defense.

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Friday, August 8, 2014

Ebola and "The Last Ship"

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Ebola and "The Last Ship"

by Frank Dunkle

Source: freeimages.com/frimlik

This summer I’ve watched several episodes of a new cable TV series called “The Last Ship”. The premise of the show is that a deadly virus has spread around the world, decimating the population, and a doctor on board an uninfected U.S. naval vessel is the only hope of developing a vaccine to save the world.
The plot twists and challenges arising in each episode recalls the original “Star Trek”, but the reality of the current Ebola outbreak in Africa forcefully reminds me that the show is only fiction. This current epidemic is a very real danger that can’t be solved before the next commercial break.
I had to ask myself, have we gotten so used to fictional solutions for problems that we fail to think properly about real ones? The virus on TV is one that I can forget about when I hit the “off” button. It only kills fictional people who normally don’t even appear on screen. However the current Ebola outbreak has already killed several hundred people who ARE real—even though they are far away and also normally don’t appear on screen.
It would be easy to assume that the disease won’t come to the West and affect us, but that would be a mistake. The epidemic is only one plane ride away. In 1918 a world-wide flu epidemic brought on by WWI troop movements killed more than half a million Americans, and possibly as many as 100 million individuals around the globe.
In watching the show, I’m certain that the doctor on “The Last Ship” will develop the needed vaccine; that’s the way it works on TV! Real disease often doesn’t work that way, though. Doctors have been trying to find a cure for Ebola since it first appeared in 1976 and killed 90% of the people it infected. Fortunately, earlier outbreaks have faded—and hopefully this one will too. But it has not been because of human efforts.
What is the solution for an epidemic that is real and not on TV? The Bible taught the old-fashioned practice of quarantine long before scientists had learned how bacteria and viruses spread disease. That is still the best way to stop sickness from spreading.
However, Bible prophecy tells us that in the time before Jesus Christ’s return pestilence (another way of saying disease) will rage all around the world (See Matt:24:7). That could include Ebola and/or any number of other deadly bugs. Fortunately, scripture also tells us that Christ will return to save mankind from extinction (Matt:24:22). As much as I enjoy a happy ending on TV, this real life happy ending is going to be so much better!

Friday, January 10, 2014

What Should You Ask Your Pastor?

From http://el-paso.ucg.org/ or call 1-888-886-8632.

What Should You Ask Your Pastor?

A commentary by Robin Webber

Why do we attend the church we do? Are we hearing there the words of God or simply the opinions of a man? The bottom line is where could Jesus comfortably attend services in today's world? How would He react to the words coming from the pulpit at your church?

Here in the United States a media storm surrounds Democratic Party candidate Barrack Obama's relationship with his self-described spiritual mentor of twenty years, Pastor Jeremiah Wright. The Chicago-based clergyman's incendiary comments, caught on video, are troubling a wide range of Americans.
Lifted from several sermons, his remarks are laced with rough language condemning America on a variety of issues. He is specifically scathing about the historically oppressive role of the white man, leaving his audience with the question: Are the chickens coming home to roost?
When this fiery pastor's words hit the news they became the hot topic in every quarter, be it television, newspaper editorial pages, talk radio or ordinary Americans chatting around the water cooler at work.
In a major speech Obama tried to distance himself from the comments of this man whom he likened to a crazy uncle while at the same time not distancing himself from this preacher (now retired) from whom he had chosen to learn for decades.
Many in America are now asking how could a man who defines his candidacy on the issue of judgment not have confronted his pastor with the question: What do you mean by what you say?
While the Obama campaign has tried to stop the bleeding and lay the matter to rest with a wide ranging speech on racism in America, there remains a lingering question for each of us, not just for Mr. Obama, to answer. Why do we attend the church we do? Are we hearing there the words of God or simply the opinions of a man?
Perhaps you also have been attending a specific church for years because that's where everyone in your family or neighborhood has always gone or as a means of being socially connected to your community or for your own personal pursuits or you simply like the guy in the pulpit and are willing to allow him to be foot loose and fancy free with the message of the Gospel.
The bottom line is where could Jesus comfortably attend services in today's world? How would He react to the words coming from the pulpit at your church?
Words have meaning! They simply cannot be excused away. Jesus taught that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:32). He also taught that man should live "by every word of God" (Luke 4:4).
If Jesus were sitting in the pews of the church you attend would He hear the pastor preaching about His birth, life, resurrection and second coming? Or about how His Kingdom is going "to beat swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks" (Isaiah 2:4)? Would Jesus hear the biblical prophecy relating to the brotherhood of man in which the age-old enemies of Israel, Egypt, and Assyria will become one under God's coming literal Kingdom on this earth (Isaiah 19:25)?
Let's go a little deeper. Would He hear that the Ten Commandments should be the moral guide of our lives? Or would He hear them dismissed as not binding on New Covenant Christians? Would Jesus hear any mention of the same day—Saturday—on which He worshipped as the Sabbath? In fact, you probably would not have been able to have attended with Him because His habit was to always show up to worship God on Saturday, not on Sunday.
In the months ahead as this story about the judgment of Obama regarding his pastor continues to resurface—before you get too harsh, even high and mighty, with him—take a good look at yourself. That's always a good start for each of us.
What are you putting up with in your religious environment that doesn't have a biblical leg to stand on? Do you regularly compare your pastor's remarks to the Bible? Have you asked for God's guidance in selecting a church that preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God in its entirety? Perhaps the big talk ahead of you should be preceded by your asking God to guide you in learning how to properly put His word ahead of the word of man.
Then, talk to your pastor. Hold him biblically accountable for what comes out of his mouth.
To properly "test the spirits" of your religious environment, as God's word implores everyone to do (1 John 4:1), you need to know precisely what the Bible teaches about the essential characteristics of the church Jesus would have you attend?

United Church of God El Paso

Tuesday, December 2, 2014