I recently heard a black “pastor” give his support for President Obama and his re-election in spite of the president’s support for same-sex marriages. Pathetic. He said that everyone’s personal freedom (homosexuals included) was more important than any other Christian tenet that Christ taught (paraphrasing). Simply put, that’s bullshit.

 As Christians, something this man was obviously not, we do not have the choice of choosing to ignore the teachings of Jesus Christ in favor of our personal soap boxes. That includes those who love to take advantage of their ancestor’s misfortunes, even when they haven’t personally suffered from slavery for even one brief moment in time.

As an American, little is more important to me than my personal freedoms. They have been fought and paid for even by members of my own family through many wars. BUT, the teachings of Jesus Christ far exceed my personal freedoms in importance. As the Ten Commandments begin, “Thou shall have no other Gods before me.”

Jesus didn’t even teach slaves to rebel to gain their freedoms. Instead, he encouraged them to serve their masters faithfully as His personal representatives.

Eph 6:5-7 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

Col 3:22-24 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,  since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Titus 2:9-10 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

1 Peter 2:18-19 Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.

I wonder if this pastor would still support personal freedom over the Christian tenet of ”Love your neighbor as yourself.” if those people chose to use their freedom to wear a white hood rather than practicing homosexuality?

Is anyone else concerned about the future of our country now that the president has came out in support of homosexuality? Am I one of the only ones who actually believes the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah?

Does anyone else out there remember what happened to those two cities of arrogance and decadence who defied the Living God and not only practiced homosexuality openly, but tried to have homosexual relations with the very angels He sent to fetch Abraham’s nephew Lot?

I am saddened, but not alarmed, by the fact that two people of the same gender want to have sexual relations with each other.  What’s new about that? The destruction of Sodom and Gomorah happened thousands of years ago. That is even verified by archiological records. Look it up.

What saddens me the most, is the people whose lives will be destroyed as they have seemingly been given the green light to participate in this act of sexual deviation by the people they have been taught to respect the most, namely our national leaders.

Over the last 15 years of my medical practice, I have seen many young high school boys and girls who participate in oral sex as a fallout from President Clinton’s escapades and the political acceptance or lack of  discouragement given toward it.

This support by President Obama and Vice-President Biden of homosexuality will give fuel to those who prey upon young men (boys)  and women (girls) to fulfill their own sexual desires and leave many with wounds that will never heal.

Pathetic. Matthew 18:6  “…but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

In a recent home Bible study, The life of Joseph, we saw the deaths of one the great patriarchs of the faith, Joseph’s father Jacob. Although they both lived many more years than you or I probably will (Jacob-over 130 and Joseph-110), we were reminded that our life is not our own.

And with the recent sudden death of Norweigen world class swimmer Alexander Dale Oen at the age of 26, I was reminded of this once more.

Psalm 139:13-16 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

So our prayers are lifted up for the family and friends of Alexander Dale Oen. Pray that each of them considers their personal relationship with God Almighty.

And we are reminded that life is not in our own power to keep. Our days are truly numbered by our Creator.

Every since FDR initiated the “Great Society” by starting government programs designed to help the poor, we have been taking money away from those who can and do and giving it to those that won’t.

Yes, you heard that correctly. There is a great difference between those who can’t (the lame, elderly widows, the mentally challenged) and those who won’t go to work. We all know the difference and yet we all feel powerless to do anything about the national trend of entitlements that have not only destroyed America but have done nothing to decrease the number of “poor” in our nation as FDR had intended.

I was recently reminded of this issue when I was doing some reading on historical figures and Benjamin Franklin’s name and story came up. Read his thoughts on this very subject written over 200 years ago. “I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it… The less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.”

Although this may initially seem cruel, we need to ask ourselves whether we are really helping the poor when they are given handouts that facilitate them to remain dependent upon governmental subsidy?

That’s called enslavement. The government loves that because it gives them purpose but it is not good for the poor nor is it a part of the duties outlined in the Constitution.

In the process of completing your medical training, student physicians are instructed on identifying those patients who may have a  problem with alcohol.

Rarely does a patient admit to having such a problem. They are usually more willing to admit that they may have had a DUI or are having some of the stigmata of chronic alcoholism such as loss of employment, marriage difficulties, etc…

In order to get to the real truth, key questions to ask are learned by the new physicians. One of those questions is whether or not the patient may need or crave an early morning glass of their favorite drink such as wine or beer–an eye opener, as it is called.  

At this morning’s business breakfast that me and my medical partners enjoy on a weekly basis, we noticed that the waitress was carrying 5 empty beer bottles from a group of other restaurant customers that were there enjoying breakfast too.

Really, we asked? Someone is actually having beer for breakfast? She informed us that they were a group of parole officers that work the night shift. WOW!  My eyes were opened alright. Does that strike anybody else as cautiously interesting ?

My mother-in-law passed away recently. No, that’s alright. I am doing fine. Believe me.

But with death, comes the usual disposing of all the crap someone has accumulated over their lifetime. And believe me, she seems to have had more than her share.

How many doilies do you need? How many spools of thread, wall hangings, or purchased over the telephone kitchen appliances do you need?  

And why does everyone, except me, seem to want to have them transfered to their house so they can be accumulated for the next generation to move when we pass?

The arguments about evolution or creation have died down a bit over the last few years. But I assure you that evidence shows that man may have evolved afterall. Not from the monkey but from the packrat!

Romans 8:1 tells us, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Yeah God! But what does that mean exactly and how do I apply that truth to my daily Christian walk?

When we raise children, we give them boundaries in which to live their lives. We start with a few simple rules that will protect them from harm. Rule number one: Dad and Mom are the boss. What they say is the law. Obey them and things will go better than if they don’t.

Other rules may include: Don’t touch the electrical outlets around the house, no dessert if you don’t eat your dinner, don’t lie, leave other people’s things alone, always ask before rummaging the refrigerator, etc…These will vary by household.

It is our hope that they obey these “laws” or else they will suffer the penalty(ies). I believe in spanking. Read your Bible, God agrees with it too. But our ultimate hope is that they will eventually obey, not out of fear of punishment, but out of a desire to please us because they love us.

God works the same way. The Ten Commandments were given to the Israelites (and to us) to demonstrate to us what God expects. Thou shall not steal. That’s simple. If it is not yours, leave it alone. Thou shall not commit adultery. Again, it’s not rocket science.

Unfortunately, we all break these laws in one form or another, every day of our lives! And that would normally condemn us. Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death. But for those who are “in Christ Jesus” there is no condemnation. Jesus paid the penalty of our sins when we accepted His substitutionary death on the cross instead of relying upon our own works for our salvation.

The law therefore, no longer condemns us. I am not going to hell because I stole a pencil from the work place or stole a passionate glance from the office secretary. We are set free to accept it as our own guide for pleasing the One who died in our place, just as we hope our children obey our household rules, not out of fear but out of their eventual love for us as parents.