Martin Luther King Walked in the way, the truth, and the light of Jesus Christ. He was for real hope and change. There was no deception or cover up in what he preached or stood for. He brought out the best in people. God was with Dr. MLK and people from all races and genders, rich or poor were too.  Al Sharpton and those like him will never bring us peace. I believe America is at a tipping point right now. If we can't bring out the truth and work with each other now,  when will we?  If S.C. shooting doesn't wake up ALL Americans then what will?...It would have to be something worse than what happened in S.C.  If people can't or wont invite the Holy Spirit in as part of the racial  solution today then their the wrong people to move forward with. Other wise it will be the same song and dance we've heard for the last 10 years. If I was in Charleston's S.C.  I'd be asking the leaders of the black community churches to find a Godly man of Truth and integrity to stand up and lead us out of this mess America has fallen prey to. We need to heal this Hatred between the races. The people who want to continue to deny and look away, Let them. One day they'll stand before Jesus Christ and give an account as to why they ignored the growing hatred and division between the blacks and whites until the lid of hatred and evil  finally blew it's top off.  If we can't stand by and help stop the racial violence people are living with because of the color of their skin,  black, white or any other, then we might as well  go back to our cushy lives and let them kill each other and work it out for themselves while we watch America continue to implode on itself.  These 9 God loving christian that died that day blew the whistle on what's happening in America and they died with God by their side.  God was no where near this racist killer. Their deaths don't have to be in vain.  Most of the responsibility as to how we got here as Americans lies in  the media's hands.  They decide what you and I will be informed about.  If they had done their jobs and worked on the real and significant issues plaging our country ten years ago, we wouldn't be where we are today.  We don't want jacked up sensationalized news anymore. Today everything is "Breaking news". We need a real and legitimate news station for people to get their information from that doesn't lean left or right but gives us news that can keep us in touch of important information and issues that affect our daily lives. Martin Luther King would probably say America needs God again but most Christians don't care about the condition Americas churches are in today.  Jesus Christ does.  And He cares about the racial divide America is going through today.  Who are we going to listen to?  What has our faith taught us as Christians? Today all our attention is on our next blessing from God, and the Golden Rule with racial harmony gets shoved back into a corner. America needs God again.

Joesph and Mary were a days journey away back  to Jerusalem before they noticed Jesus wasn't with them.  >Luke 2:42-45<   They just assumed he was, and headed back with the group. You almost know for sure that once Mary and Joesph were out of sight people were probably saying things like; what kind of parents would leave their child behind without checking to make sure he was with us first before we left?  My God that's terrible.  What in the world are those two thinking doing something like that?  etc.  Have you ever taken off on some project assuming you had Jesus approval when you didn't?  Last year I did some volunteer work for an organization call little brothers of the elderly.  You've heard of big brothers?  this is just the same only we visited and made friends with the elderly who were lonely. They would match you up with someone who had the same likes & dislikes as you,  and you would take them places like the zoo or different places  around the City.  They matched me up with a guy name Robert who use to run a liquor store in Mpls  called zips with his brother. There's a good chance Robert or his brother waited on me years ago because I use to buy my liquor there from time to time.  Roberts brother was shot and killed by a guy who robbed the place but I can't remember what year it was. What I do remember is the pain I and my family went through when my brother Joe was killed back in 1994. He was only 33 years old.  I remember thinking God, why did you let this happen?  You could stopped this. Something like that can shake your faith up real good.  But Robert an I had a lot in common.  About two months into my volunteer work we all got an email  from the local little brothers center that they would be changing their volunteer work and would be serving strictly the LGBT community starting sometime in October.  I was angry. I've got nothing against gays but why single them out and exclude the rest of the old folks?  I asked the other volunteers what they were going to do,  some would stay, and some would go. I would honor my three month commitment with them,  but after that would have to leave.  As a Christian I couldn't volunteer for a LGBT organization and keep a clear conscience. I rushed into this thing without praying about it first.  I figured why pray?  Why wouldn't the Lord want me to do this?  I rushed into it and left Jesus behind.  Nothing good came out of this whole thing and had I prayed first I probably could have avoided a lot of nonsense.  Like Joesph and Mary I took off on and left Jesus behind.  It's another lesson I learned the hard way. Pray first, then proceed.   P.S. I'll bet I'm not alone on this.     >Be Blessed<  

You would be surprised at how well prison wardens can control the bad apples within the prison. It's not by giving the inmate more time to serve. Most of the trouble makers are doing life without parole, More time served means nothing to them.  They control them by throwing them in the hole. Today it's called the Shoe.  In the shoe you've got no privileges at all. Nada. The only activity for the day is listening to them bring your food around 3 times a day. It's hard time to say the least. No books no radio, no time out of your cell, Nothing. The saying, you don't know what you've got till it's gone fits the shoe perfectly (Pun intended)  After a while If an inmate in the shoe can prove he can follow the rules he goes up a step and, he gets his books back. After a certain amount of time if he's still cooperating he gets his radio back. within time if the inmate is still following the rules he gets to go back to general populating and given all of his privileges back.  The penile system has found this is the best way to control inmates. It's not by punishing them with more and more time served,  It's through the reward system.  So why doesn't this reward system work for young kids and gang bangers on the street?  1st. What are you going to reward a teenager with if he stays on the good road?  More basketball courts?  That doesn't work. More Scholarships to collage? that doesn't work.  Unless a kid is fortunate enough to get born again he has a good chance of heading straight to gangs and crime and that means more prisons and more of the same. My Mother wasn't mother of the year by any means. But the one thing she did right is she made sure we were all in church on Sunday morning.  I hated it.  But just by me being there and hearing the Gospel,  Kingdom seeds were planted. God's said My word will not come back void.  And within 10 years those tiny mustard seeds would begin to break open and I became born again Christian and my life completely changed. I wasn't perfect and I would have slips with alcohol off and on (About 3 times a year?) for a few years, But I was yoked up with someone who was perfect.  People are surprised there are born again Christians in jail but their are more than you'd think. Didn't Jesus say I was in Prison and you visited me?  And you know what?  The Christians in jail have a perfect avenue to wittiness to people that nobody else can reach.  I did. And the most troubled inmates are the ones who seemed to listen the most. I don't have all the answers to turn around troubled kids. But if you can start early enough and let them hear the Gospel and the life Of Jesus Christ you can let the Holy Spirit do the rest and not only turn a kids life around in the future,  but give them eternal life as well.  There is ONE thing an inmate gets to keep when he's in  the hole, it's the Bible.  After a while an inmate can get so bored he'll read anything. And there have been men who have found Christ in the hole.  You can ask any warden in any prison if A REAL jail house conversion with an inmate isn't one of the best rehabilitation's an inmate can get and he'll say yes. The answer for gangs, crime, violence, rebellion etc. Is Jesus Christ. The Government has proven over and over again they aren't  helping. It's the church. The church has got to reach out to these kids someway, somehow to turn this around. They've gotta hear it from someone who's been there and has come out of it. There not going to listen to a priest or a pastor tell them Jesus loves them because they've never walked in the kids shoes. You need someone who's been where they are and has come out of it. You know who helps an alcoholic get sober? It's not the doctor or the priest or family.  It's another alcoholic. He's living proof. He's the one who can give the alcoholic hope again and help get him out of it. Too many churches are failing at making any kind of a REAL effort to save our kids. How is helping people get to the next level in church going to help these kids?  Their killing each other and we're worried about how we can get blessed. Why do we serve ourselves and call it Christianity?  I want to end on a good note by saying there are churches and communities and organization reaching out to these kids and making a difference. Kids are hearing the Gospel and without a doubt lives are being changed. We just need more churches to step up and do the same.  Bottom line, we need more Christians who care.  

John appeared in the wilderness and all the people of Judea & Jerusalem came out to him <Mark 1:44-5< ...you're thinking What?....They came out to John? That weirdo people talk about that lives in the desert dressed up with camels hair like a cave man?..Yeah, that John. Sweet Lord Jesus whats John preaching out there?  Its gotta be how God can bring you favor, right? No!  Then it's about how God can bless you in some kinda way,  because people don't trudge all the way out into the wilderness with snakes and wild animals roaming around to hear what this homeless loser has to say unless it's something good. What's John talking about?....John's talking about sin, repentence and, pointing people to the true messenger. It doesn't make sense does it?  People don't want hear Sin. In fact that's about the last thing people want to hear. It makes more sense to think the people would be going out there to shut John up. People are getting irritated listening to him telling everybody their sinners and they need to repent, he needs to repent.  But King Herod protected John >Mark 6:20<  This crooked  king with blood all over his hands actually like to hear John the baptist preach. That blows me away. This is the same guy that would order John's execution in the very near future. Corrupted power will make you do things you don't want to do, to insure things keep running smoothly and you can save face.  What  John had was the Truth. Give them the Truth and the people will come. Because when cultures and societies get so corrupted, in time people don't know who or what to believe anymore, and they just want the TRUTH. God is a God of Spirit and truth and without that nothing changes.  It's just more of the same slice up and diced up over and over to get people in the pews, and the only think that happens is the  people remain dry . Their dieing of thirst and nobodies giving it to them.  Jesus said come to me all ye that are thirsty and drink from the river of life.  John may have been in the river in Jordan, but his message had the truth that led people to the river of life good glory to God I'm gettin happy just preachin to myself.  John new the truth would set them free, and he new they were ready to receive it.  He was preaching and the people kept right on coming and he just kept on preaching cause you know John was a shoutin Holy preacher praise God. It don't matter if it's a hairy, scary cave man preaching way out in the wilderness,  when people get hungry enough for the truth they'll come. I wonder how many times the devil tried to shut  John down?  Personally I think that's why John lived where he did. He must  have got so tired of dealing with the the presser and resistance and haters he was up against that God finally said John,  move out of there.  John was was human too. You know he was dealing with some powerful principalities, and that can affect you emotionally, spiritually, and physically. He finally got to the point where he had to removed himself from the drama. Even Jesus the son of God would remove himself from the crowds to be alone from time to time. John didn't care if he was out of the picture. In fact he wanted it that way saying I must decrease and He must increase. John cared about the message not the messenger or who brought it. He didn't have a secret agenda, He wasn't competing with people, he wasn't even thinking on that level.  John was all about pointing the people to the right person, Jesus Christ. There are some preachers who are beginning to open up with the truth. I'm surprised at how little some Christians knows about Christianity. It almost hurts.  But if God is behind it, nobody can stop it. One way or the other God's will is going to come out on top. I've seen how God can come through with situations that look impossible again and again. We just have to keep any loose ends tighten up and keep praying and get out of the way. God's going to do it. ----->Be Blessed<----

There are two things we must have if we are going to change our way of life.
One is faith, the confidence in things unseen, the fundamental goodness and purpose in the universe.
The other is obedience, that is, living according to our faith, living each day as we believe God wants  us to live, with gratitude, humility, honesty, purity, and unselfishness, and love.
Faith and obedience, these two, will give us all the strength we need to overcome sin an temptation and live a new and more abundant life.--->Alcoholics Anonymous 24 hours a day<---

Have you ever been doing all the right things and yet the storms keep coming in over and over? And these storms are bigger, darker, and more powerful than anything you've ever faced. Your prayers and guardian angels aren't winning these face offs. When the dust settles you've been kicked, cut, punched bruised and buried. But through it all God's peace is right there by your side singing closer than a brother praise God. Your "Crew" cut out a long time ago.  you might have peace but you got mud all over you and if they stick around you, they might get mud on themselves....Right?  you done and they gone.  If your a Christian these storms WILL come, and God doesn't need your help when these Monsters come along. A good prayer warrior knows how to find the closest fox hole, jump in, and keep his head down until it's over.  Our "Fox holes" are under the wing of the Almighty God. We may hear the wind roaring, lightning cracking, and things flying through the air at 90 miles an hour but there's peace under that wing as long as you stay there.  As soon as we start  interfering and "gonn'a fix things our way", we're out of God will and that includes His protection of peace. Don't listen to so and so, who just heard from him and them, you said this and that,.......Sorry but I gotta run now see ya later. We can't play with information we hear floating around and take that info and then act on it and expect God's peace to ride along with us. WE KNOW that doesn't work but most of us do just that. What "They say" isn't going to affect what you have with your relationship in Christ. If the devil can't take it away what makes you think John Doe and his crew can take it away? The world didn't give it to you and the world can't take it away.   Believe it or not these storms can be perfect opportunities to let God bless you. (Hear me out on this)  If God says His peace is always with us, then the bigger the storm the stronger the needed peace to keep us peaceful in the storm. I'm not saying I'm looking forward to trials and tribulation but look....You've got two options. Surrender the storm,  or get ripped up and torn. I'm not kidding when I say this. I hope every Christian gets a chance to face one of these twisters from hell. If I had that level of peace with me everyday It would be Heaven on earth.     P.S.  It's the kind of peace that makes you want to jump up, pound your fist on dat table throwing chairs round dat room singing peace like a river good glory to God.   Well, maybe not like that, but you get it. STRONG Peace.