Fortunately I read a couple of stories that have relieved my concern.

The Standard-Examiner of Utah reports the man was at Wal-Mart May 11 when he reached down for what ended up being a 20-inch long brown rattlesnake. Craig said he was at the store looking for mulch to grow medical marijuana.

Obviously he was a bit too “laid back” and “moving slow” after sampling too much of his product. Since I am as fast as ever when being pursued by rattlesnakes, I should be OK on that front.

The other story must have been a total fabrication -

From Goose Creek, S.C., WJBF (a radio station) reported in September 2009 on the story of a man in his mid-30s who, while shopping at WalMart, was bitten by a copperhead rattlesnake. . .

Any person with “snake sense” knows there is no such “animal.” One or the other, maybe, but I am going to assume the whole story was a ruse to damage America’s favorite shopping place.

Of course you can be “bitten” by the “snake” of Scriptural renown. I suggest you keep your eyes and ears open, stay close to your Church, and talk often with our lloving Father. I assure you that “bite” can put some hurt on you!

I am convinced there is a different kind of forgiveness as well. Sometimes there are breaches of friendship, words spoken in haste, slights that hurt, condemnations, anger, misunderstandings, inappropriate commentary, and such like, things that demand forgiveness lest any “root of bitterness” grow.

Often times these kinds of difficulties are never talked about – almost as if, on the part of one or the other, knowledge of the “sin” remains unknown and certainly un-discussed. Still, forgiveness must be distributed, and forgetfulness must follow. It is easy to wait – hope for healing words – but they may never come. So, the forgiveness must be “in us” now. And it must be complete, and choosing to remember the circumstance no more, appropriated.

If that is unclear – you probably have never discovered this “different forgiveness.” And, somewhere deep inside you, there is resentment, bitterness, darkness, and pain.

It’s best to learn about it now. Failure in this matter kills joy and peace.

Now that the campaigns for political office are again in full swing, I have a complaint. In fact, I want to complain about everything that is said that is untrue, wicked, crooked, perverse and just plain wrong. We have seen so much of that in recent years in the political spectrum, in the reporting of “news” and in our society at large. We would be dishonest if we did not also acknowledge the Church is guilty of the same kinds of things.

I wish the war in Iraq was over. Who knows what is going on there? Certainly if one listens to the news media we are losing big time. If we listen to our President and some others, we are winning; slowly but surely. Somebody is not telling the truth, and I am praying it is the media. During the election cycle it seems as if no one is talking about anything except the “other candidate.” It’s almost never about what one can do to be effective in government, rather always about how the “other” candidate is a failure, a crook, a liar or just pain stupid. It is difficult to know who believes what, or who has done what, unless one knows the candidate personally, and even then it is “iffy” sometimes.

Since the Church of Jesus Christ, in opposition to God’s command, has become defensive against the onslaught of evil in the world, rather than offensive attacking the very gates of Hell, we too have succumbed to this problem of speaking truth. It’s getting more difficult to know who is on the Lord’s side. With pseudo-prophets waxing eloquent, false teachers populating the air-waves, and misrepresentation of God’s Word prevalent, we need all of God’s real children to get their mouths right and knowledgeable. Jesus said it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles, but what comes forth in our speech indicating what is in our hearts. (Matthew 11:15-18)

One does not have to listen long to hear wicked, crooked and perverse things. And God knows we cannot always be successful in keeping such things from our ears, but we can always control what comes from our mouth. We must recognize the only way to have a Godly mouth is to have a pure heart. The only way to have a pure heart is to be free from sin. When we are, then our mouths will speak truth. Truth is always apparent to those who have found the genuine knowledge of God’s Word. We need to get in the Word. We must confess our sin. We must allow God to purify our heart. We’ll notice the difference in our mouth.

There are some incredibly pretty places where men have chosen to build their homes or spend a significant portion of their time. One of those was described to me this week as “my little piece of Heaven.”  It could be that Heaven will be a bit like that place, or totally different, we just don’t know. What we do know is that this Earth and everything on it will be destroyed. Only the people will survive – some destined for eternity with God, and some headed toward eternity separated from God. Baring a change of heart, i.e. the impartation of salvation to the soul of some folks, good and bad, their little piece of Heaven here on Earth is the only Heaven they will ever know.

How sad it is that one can labor a lifetime for something that strikes them as Heaven and still miss the greatest gift God has to offer. They never come to the knowledge that by exercising faith and receiving grace resulting in the redemption of our life from the wages of sin, that when “our earthly house is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.” (2 Corinthians 5:1)

There is great beauty in this Earth, and I am a believer in seeing and enjoying as much of it as possible. I can’t help but believe that Heaven will have some of the beauty of this place we call home, but we’ll never know if we fail to focus on the reality that only a heart changed by the Spirit of God will ever have the opportunity to discover God’s infinite dwelling place.

One thing I hope; every House of Worship of the Living God will be a little piece of Heaven. It is there that we discover llove and peace and hope and healing. It is there that we find the Truth and its application to our daily life. It is there we immerse ourselves in the Family of God and journey toward Spiritual maturity. It is there we glimpse what eternity will embody and the llove we will share.

Find your little piece of Heaven. But, for Heaven’s sake, find Heaven.

“If there is one thing that we learned in 2008, it’s that nothing is more powerful than millions of voices calling for change.” — Barack Obama on Saturday at his campaign kickoff rally in Columbus, Ohio

I beg to differ, Mr. President. One thing (there are others) that is more powerful than “millions of voices” is Truth. Throughout the history of the World there have been voices calling for something – Ramses, various Caesars, Kahn, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Mao Tse-Tung, Pol Pot, Hirohito, Ho Chi Minh,  and others, converted millions of voices into support for their wicked, evil plans. They were ultimately defeated by the clear, rational, understanding that mankind is created with a thirst for freedom, morality, justice, and hope.

Now we hear (and we have for a long time) voices calling again. Some are “certain.” Others are “evolving” in their embrace of sinful behavior, but those voices, however multitudinous and strong, will never be right – because the Truth never changes.

Democracy (to use a term that is not always understood) carried out in a Constitutional Republic, is a great, perhaps the best (I’m partial to an absolute Theocracy), form of Government. But, it is not the rule and value system established by God for mankind, indeed God will judge His World, and every person in it, in the manner that He has clearly revealed in His Word. He has established Truth, permanent, unyielding, unassailable Truth. Millions – even billions – of voices will never change that.