Life in our time

Why I am a racist

2008-06-11T17:51:00.001-07:00

Since the old British adage that, "Americans have never spoken english" is now demonstrably true (Just wait for someone to aks you a question) I will go ahead and utilize a word which most of the world misunderstands and admit that I am a racist. Well, in truth I suppose a more accurate description might be "speciesist", but since the aforementioned word does not exist, racist must do. I am a racist because when all races (or species) are line up side by side - I choose the human race every time. Beavers are neat, badgers interesting, hedgehogs are cute, but I cannot get around the fact that God endowed my species with gifts no other race has. In case you were wondering, swerving into my lane while talking on your cell phone isn't one of them.

I bring up this topic, one - because the vampires seem to show an interest in it and two, because I intend to vote for a racist for President in the November election. Sadly, Barack Obama is not a racist. How may I make such a claim? His Senate voting record proves he has denigrated his race to somewhere below sea turtle. In his own words, speaking to the National Abortion Rights action league (NARAL), Senator Obama said,

"A woman's ability to decide how many children to have and when, without interference from the government, is one of the most fundamental rights we possess. It is not just an issue of choice, but equality and opportunity for all women."

In Barack Obama's world, society has no right to put pressure on a young black girl not to have 5 children by the age of 16. He also somehow equates this position with opportunity? Must all illiterate young women of our race be permitted to have as many illegitimate children as they can pop out?

The Heritage foundation conducted a study in which they set out to determine what major decisions one makes would guarantee a life of poverty or guarantee that one would not live in poverty. This study boiled life's major decisions to 2 things. To whit:

1. If a young woman has a child before the age of 18, she virtually guarantees herself and her child a life of poverty

2. If a young woman does not graduate from high school, she guarantees herself and any of her progeny a life of poverty.

If, however this same young woman waits until after age 21 and will graduate from High School, she virtually guarantees herself that she will not live in poverty.

Apparently, Senator Obama thinks that societal or governmental influence in this decision is tantamount to a crime.

"I have consistently advocated for reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President. I oppose any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling in this case."

Even vampires understand that "reproductive choice" is a euphamism for abortion. Not wanting to overturn Roe v. Wade means Obama is a horrible lawyer or at least a lawyer who has no concern for law. Even if you are not a racist and could care less if pre-born children are murdered, you should tear your hair out when people speak of upholding a decision that everyone knows was the worst form of policitcal plagiarism the High Court has ever committed.

Another euphamism of the pro-abortion crowd is "reproductive service provider". This statement refers to an abortionist. Abortionists are those whom I most pity, for I cannot imagine the judgment they will receive at the end of the world. We have a sense of judgment in other capital crimes, for example, in Texas this month, the State is set to execute a man who murdered his female neighbor after raping her. We can sense that his judgment here is deserved and perhaps even think about how he may be judged by God. But what about the Abortionist who has killed hundreds of pre-born babies?

The vampires are almost ready for their evening chat (the sun is now setting) so I must sign off. But I want to reiterate that I am a racist of the first water - a determined advocate of my race above all others. I say, "Menscheit, Menscheit uber alles! "

Guys named Bunyan

2008-06-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

As a child, I delighted in reading the tales of Paul Bunyan and his great blue ox, Babe. The territories of the west, filled with trees were laid clear all in a day under the swath of his mighty axe. Now that I am old and broken down, I find that another Bunyan gives me joy - only this one actually exists. His name is John and he once led a life most of us cannot imagine. John Bunyan was born an Englishman to a cruel father and poorly prepared mother. At an early age, John turned to the sea and began learning the arts and crafts of a sailor. Like many young men (myself included) John's naval exploits lent themselves to the darker side of life and he eventually fell in with slave traders traveling from Africa to the West Indies. In the early 17th century there was a great deal of money to be made in slavery and John trafficked many years in that deadly trade. Several times he was shipwrecked and once he even fell under the power of an African Queen who held him hostage on an island.

There were still Preachers of God's word during this time who warned men like John that their lives were accountable to God and no one ignores His terrible wrath forever. John ignored this message until one day it struck him as a harpoon might strike a breaching whale. Pierced through to his soul, John gave up his life of evil and composed one of the greatest songs in human history - Amazing Grace. Once a pirate and slaver, John Bunyan became a crier of warning to others such as he who faced the wrath of God, either in this life or the next.

John wrote, "Friend, because it is a dangerous thing to be walking towards the lace of darkness and anguish; and again, because it is (notwithstanding) the journey that most of the poor souls in the world are taking, and that with delight and gladness, as if THERE was the only happiness to be found, I have therefore thought it my duty, being made sensible of the danger that will befal those that fall therein, for the preventing of thee, O thou poor man or woman! to tell thee, by opening this parable, what sad success those souls have had, and are also like to have, that have been, or shall be found persevering therein.
We use to count him a friend that will forewarn his neighbour of the danger, when he knoweth thereof, and doth also see that the way his neighbour is walking in doth lead right thereto, especially when we think that our neighbour may be either ignorant or careless of his way. Why friend, it may be, nay twenty to one, but thou hast been, ever since thou didst come into the world, with thy back towards heaven, and thy face towards hell; and thou, it may be, either through ignorance or carelessness, which is as bad, if not worse, hast been running full hastily that way ever since. Why friend? I beseech thee put a little stop to thy earnest race, and take a view of what entertainment thou art like to have, if thou do in deed and in truth persist in this thy course. "

What course might you be on? If you aren't sure, may I suggest you take some time and find out? All of the pleasure in the world means nothing to the dying soul wracked in pain suffering from malignant cancer, or the bereaved family whose father has just perished at the hands of a drunken driver.

Jesus Christ once said, "I am the way, the truth and the life". He demonstrated the veracity of His statement by getting up from the dead. No one else has ever done this. There are so many things of which our world is ignorant of today - don't let your eternal destiny be one of them.

Impending world doom?

2008-05-21T17:14:00.000-07:00

Since this is the world's most widely read blog as reported in Vampire's weekly, I thought I would outline a scenario for the end of the world - soon. No, I haven't been reading those pillars of Baptist theology, Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins. But I have been reading the world's commodity output figgers and have been keeping an eye on something called the "peak oil production". Peak oil production is the maximum amount of oil the world can produce. Rather like measuring the maximum amount of juice which can be squeezed from an orange, once the peak production of crude oil is hit, it will take drastic and dramatic global measures to fix it.

It appears that the world has reached peak oil production. According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy the peak output for crude oil in the world is approx. 85 million barrels per day. Today, the world uses nearly 89 million barrels of oil per day. In other words, all of the oil being produced from crude in the world is already being used. Yet, most economies are growing.

The DOE also suggests that China by itself will require 89 million barrels per day by 2018. In other words, China will likely use all of the world's current production capacity. What about everyone else?

Can you say war, children?

I'm no prophet (heck, i'm not even a profit), but it doesn't take a degree in education (yes, that's a joke) to see that if one country needs all of the world's supply of produced oil, and they can't get it, then something drastic must happen.

WHat is this "something"? Could China make a deal with Russia to capture the oil fields of Iraq, Iran, Egypt because America has become a non-entity and has a weak President who enjoys negotiating with foreign heads of state?

Could Russia finally use this as an excuse to rid the world of those nasty Jews?

I don't know what Russia or China will do. What I will do is make sure my family and I are not slaves to crude oil. My next car will hopefully run on electrons or perhaps even air. My next house will hopefully be powered by a huge ball of gas, (no, not Ted Kennedy or Rush Limbaugh)and much of my food will hopefully come from my backyard garden. I won't pay $6 a gallon for gas, much less the $10-$12 predicted by the global shortage. I'm not for killing all the forests so that obese soccer moms can shuttle their kids to practice in monstrous metal machines. I'm not for grading all of Nevada into a plain so that we can harvest crude from the shale in their mountains.

If we could harvest a portion of the methane emanating from Washington, D.C. we could fuel every aspect of American life, but sadly congress won't bend over. At least not for the American people. But I figure if enough of us begin to ignore both government and the oil interests, perhaps - just perhaps we can avert a global meltdown and still buy lead-laced toys from our pals in Beijing. Oh, yeah and don't forget the cavier from our druzya in Moscow!

John McCain, Boeing and American Decline

2008-03-08T07:13:00.000-08:00

Francis Schaeffer once told a reporter that it was a "terrible" thing to see one's country decline so rapidly during one's lifetime. It never occurred to me that I might live to see another period in our history like the 1970's when Jimmy Carter's administration crushed what was already a fragile economy and people waited in gas lines and built homebrew ethanol stations to survive the cost of gasoline.

I thought the 1970's marked a new and final low in the chapter of American decline, but sadly I was wrong. It appears that America is headed for a new decline: one from which we may never recover. This new decline is brought about by an odd combination of ultranationalist empire builders like George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld coupled with the ultraegalitarianism of bankers and what is very likely the most incompetent congress in the history of our nation.

In a nutshell, the Executive branch has stretched our military to the breaking point and embedded our nation in generations-long conflicts in several countries (not just Iraq, but Afghanistan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and even now with AFRICOM - somewhere in Africa). The bankers have plundered a gullible and selfish American population in a mortgage-back securities scam that dwarfs the junk bond scandal of Milken and friends. All the while, the congress spends its time in sycophantic interviews with baseball players, ignorant that the executive branch is usurping even more of their Constitutionally-derived power.

What does this have to do with Boeing and John McCain? Well, the current flap over a contract granted to EADS to supply the U.S. Airforce with tankers is sympomatic of the American decline I mentioned earlier. Initially, Boeing was let this contract without a bid, which suited the Congress because they wouldn't be forced to worry about all those nastly legal, contractual terms and the possibility of having to actually discuss national security escaped them.

Along came John McCain, who for all of his faults is as honest as the day is long. Senator McCain noticed that the executives at Boeing seemed to be spending alot of time with a woman at the Air Force department. He also noticed that the amount of money they agreed to build the aircraft for and the amount they were receiving were grossly disparate - in his words, nearly $6 thousand million worth. So, Senator McCain investigated Boeing and uncovered a contract-padding scam which sent a Boeing executive and an Air Force executive to the Federal hooscow for a brief interlude (probably until they could prepare for a congressional campaign). So, McCain became somewhat of a hero, trumpeting his pork-sniffing aptitude and crowing about how he successfully saved the taxpayers lots of money, which he truthfully did.

Fast forward a bit, remembering that the Air Force is still in need of a gas station that flies. Only now, they cannot dole out contracts based upon Shrimp Cocktails and pajama parties, they have to actually send out an RFP (Request for proposal) to qualified entities. Because France, England, Germany, Japan (and China) are given special status by our government, they were qualified to submit a bid for this RFP. France was the only nation with the capability to submit a bid, through its European subsidiary AirBus, who has a military branch called EADS.

When the Air Force reviewed the proposals from Boeing and EADS, there apparently was no comparison and EADS won. This is grating to some in Seattle (home of Boeing) because their company actually helped the government write the specifications for the new plane!

There will be much political hand-wringing and the infantiles in Congress will hold hearings so they can tell their constituents they worked hard "for America", but the truth is that the Air Force actually did the right thing. The RAF and the French use the EADS tanker and I am glad that we will too.

Finally, the American decline portion of this story comes from the fact that Boeing was so greedy and stupid that it blew a free, no-bid deal for more than $40 billion. This is analagous to the few hurricane Katrina evacuees who robbed markets in Houston while they were receiving Federal aid from FEMA.

America, my country, has become a fat, lazy cow which has grown tired of chewing its own grass and has wandered into a neighboring field, wherein lies a poisonous weed (egalitarianism).
We have feasted off of this weed and are now feeling its ill effects. We should thank McCain and those who worked to bring us the best deal. And if Boeing cared a bit about the country that has given it so much, they would begin to demand quality from their executives and workers and be prepared for the next contract. For those who are myopically bent on French-bashing, please try and remember your first grade history lesson. If it were not for the French, America would still be an English colony.

Wesley Snipes and American freedom

2008-02-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

I am not a fan of Wesley Snipes. I have seen 15 minutes of "Blade" and his acting reminded me that "Babe" should have won an Oscar. Having said that, I am glad he and his legal team defeated the IRS today in its fraud case against him.
Why?
Because, in my view the U.S. government has grown like a cancer to encompass nearly all of American life and I am glad when a citizen beats back the growth of the monolithic monster.

Did Mr. Snipes' celebrity help him? Sure. So did his race. Sadly, his pocketbook also saved him because he was able to buy the services of the best lawyers, which means that you or I would have been convicted on all counts because our lawyer would have farted like a pack mule during the closing arguments.

How does this affect you and I? As soon as I become an African-American film star I plan to stop paying all taxes!

Haven't we had enough of American non-healthcare?

2008-01-04T17:33:00.000-08:00

I was going to begin this post by saying something like, "I hate to pile on", but in reality I do not and so I won't. American healthcare sucks. It is NOT the best in the world. How can I say this?
Here's just 2 examples from this week:

A friend whose parents are uninsured called me to ask for prayer in part because his father who experienced multiple-organ failure could not be admitted to a transplant hospital until a deposit of $225,000 was made. No this isn't a typographical error - St. Luke's Hospital in Houston wanted $250,000 to admit my friend's father. He is currently at the county hospital (Ben Taub) and may die there because America which spends more than $10 billion per month building our empire in Iraq won't help a dying man without making huge profits.

Example number 2 is a woman who came to my house incredibly thankful that we had a used nebulizer for her daughter. We inherited it when a friend died earlier this year. She was thankful because although she has health insurance, it won't pay for things that are "non-essential" like nebulizers.

As an American, I am not accustomed to blindly accepting stupidity when I see it. Years ago, when stupidity reigned in the telecom industry, some other chaps and I saw it and did something about it and I can proudly say I was part of a revolution which brought about low calling rates and ubiquitous service around the world. I am itching to try the same thing with healthcare.

How about no debt in 2008!

2007-12-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

Most people don't find out until it's too late
That someone has to pay the price,
You can pay it yourself,
or get someone else,
But who would be that nice?
To pay a debt that isn't his,
Well I know someone like that.
He's your best friend,
He really is, He really loves you.

Most people don't find out until they're half dead,
that they need another life.
You say you've heard everything that's ever been said,
about the way, the truth, the life.
You say you've heard lots of preaching,
all before,
but did you ever open up your door,
give him a chance to prove Himself,
He's real you know.

I hope you find out before it's too late,
that there's really nobody else,
you know its breaking His heart,
the longer you wait,
Cause' you've only been lying to yourself.
No one believes a word you say - not even you.

You know your gonna find out that He's the way,
no matter which way you choose,
but I pray you'll find out what He's done for you.

Jesus.

(Words above by Keith and Melanie Green)

America the fat?

2007-08-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

It is no secret that America is the earth's most obese large nation. I used the adjective "large" because there are smaller, homogeneous countries where obesity is more of a problem (Samoa, for example). All one need do to verify this fact is to observe persons where one works, travels or spends much of his or her day. Obesity in the U.S. is a national health crisis, and for many a personal crisis as obesity affects every aspect of our physical and mental lives.

Obesity is defined as a Body mass Index (BMI) of 20kg/sqm or greater. The BMI is seriously flawed, I know (in college, at age 18, I had a BMI which labeled me as obese because of my muscular structure, even though I had a measured body fat of only 4% and wrestled competitively) but the BMI is what our country uses so we have to deal with it for now. A BMI which registers 20kg per square meter puts a person at serious risk for quite a number of mental and physical problems. Hypertension, diabetes, gall bladder disease, osteoarthritis, and sleep apnea are just a few of health problems you will suffer if you are morbidly obese.

In the U.S., the diet and supplement industry is a growing, multi-billion dollar industry which purports to help persons lose excess weight. Some programs such as weight watchers and Jenny Craig have some verifiable success, but these programs are fairly restrictive and can be expensive.

Science has experimentally determined that obesity causes major health problems, and yet more and more Americans are becoming obese, why is this?

Recently, I was in China and was given the answer by a Chinese man. He asked me if I wanted to know why Americans were "so fat". Curious, I said "yes". He said simply, "You eat too much".

Could this be true? Could the American obesity epidemic be due simply to volume? Well, it turns out that it can and indeed may be. Dr. Andrew Chung of Atlanta conducted research related to obese cardiology patients in his practice. He found that most persons in his study consumed between 3 and 11 pounds of food per day. Very few modern humans require this much food for survival (the only exceptions being extreme athletes). Dr. Chung discovered that climbers of Mt. Everest required only 2 pounds of nutrition per day during their climb which required constant effort and struggle. Reasoning that the average American doesn't expend even a fraction of the energy of an Everest climber, he designed a diet which he calls the 2pdOMER diet. Basically, this diet restricts a persons food intake to 2 pounds or less per day.

Can this really work, and is weight maintenance really this simple?

I think it might be. While I always lose weight when I travel to wierd places in the world, (often because of illness) I almost always gain it back within 2 weeks of returning to the U.S. However, after the rebuke of the Chinese man, I decided to try Dr. Chung's program for myself. The results? Not only have I not gained back the weight I lost in China, I have lost additional weight and am looking forward to reducing the size of my clothing for the first time in 10 years.

What I discovered in China was that I didn't need huge amounts of food. Even Chinese athletes I met didn't consume nearly as much as I had normally consumed in the course of a day.

In conclusion, if you are struggling with weight, here's some food for thought.
To see what being overweight is doing to you physiologically, go here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?highlight=obesity&rid=obesity.section.136

Dr. Chung's website can be viewed from the link at the top of the page.

Buy a cheap food scale and try limiting your entire food intake to 2 pounds per day. You'll discover some strange things. One, you'll find that you won't be able to eat much fast food. A whataburger with cheese weighs in at 1.6 pounds. Add fries and you are pretty close to using up all of your available food mass for an entire day.

Will you be hungry? Yes. For the first few days, you will experience hunger, but being hungry for a bit isn't going to kill anyone and will in fact be a benefit to you. Then, as your body adjusts to eating less, the hunger pangs will decrease and will eventually go away.

As an individual and as a nation we must decide to do what is right. All of the information in the world won't do a bit of good if we ignore it. If you are struggling with weight, here is some information - now it is up to you to take action.

Blessings,

Jeff Cokenour

Life in Tibet

2007-07-31T17:10:00.000-07:00

Having just returned from the highest city on earth, I thought it might be a good idea to write down what it is like in Lhasa, Tibet.

Once the secluded fortress of the Dalai Lama, Lhasa, Tibet is now a bustling, if dirty Chinese city. Since the "peaceful occupation" of Tibet by the Chinese army in 1949, the government of China has relocated hundreds of thousands of Chinese into the city and the population is now more Chinese than Tibetan.

Lhasa sits in between beautiful mountains at 12,000 feet above sea level. Once known as the world's most closed city (no westerner ever set foot there before the Chinese invasion) Lhasa is now a bustling center of tourism and a growing urban metropolis complete with trash, vehicle emissions and Karaoke.

But, we weren't there to enjoy the smog or the smoke-filled internet cafe's filled with WOW gamers, we were there for a couple of reasons:

1. To investigate a nasty disease called Kashin-Beck.
2. To share the love of Jesus Christ with those whom we met.

Kashin-Beck disease is a severe form of arthritis which deforms the joints (knee, wrist, neck and others) and curves the spine ( much like scoliosis). Our purpose on this trip was to collect DNA samples from affected persons to determine if there is a possible genetic mutation which increases the likelihood of contracting this disease. While we are reasonably sure the disease does not follow pure Mendelian patterns (it isn't passed on in a recessive or dominant pattern), it does appear that some sort of multifactorial genetics come into play as women predominate over men with the disease, and within nuclear families (families with the same mom and dad), some children may be affected, while others are not. The Chinese insist that there are environmental aspects as well, which we cannot deny, but my suspicion is that environmental factors play a small role, if any.

Here is a woman affected by the disease:

While you might think that nothing appears out of the ordinary for this woman, when I saw her in person (I am the world's worst photographer) I thought she was in her late 60's. her spine is bent and her hands swollen, as are her knees and elbows. She is in her 40's.

This is what happens to your major joints when you have Kashin Beck disease:

Notice the very enlarged areas on both sides of her knees - this lady is only 40 years old. The bones which comprise her knee are rubbing together - the cartilage is gone, which is one reason for the swelling. Imagine, if you can, walking each and every day with no cartilage between your bones.

Well, you may ask, "What can I do about something like this?"

There are at least two things you can do. One, is pray and ask God to reveal to us the cause and the cure for this disease. Two, you can either come with us the next time we go, or you can support a team member by helping to underwrite the cost of their trip.

If you are interested in more information regarding this project, scientific information regarding the disease or supporting this work, you can email me at:

jeff.cokenour@gmail.com

Or visit our website at www.innovativehs.net

A great story for a hard day

2007-07-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Though we never met, I think that Malcolm Muggeridge was one of the finest men the west has ever produced - or perhaps more accurately, that came out of the west despite its delinquencies. Another fine man of character (and not coincidentally a friend of Mr. Muggeridge) was David Niven - actor extraordinare and British war hero.

Mr. Niven tells a wondrous story of his service which can brighten even the harshest day.

In 1940, about 3,000 people were evacuated from france after the battle of Dunkirk - many of them Red Cross workers as well as British soldiers. Those fleeing were sent on board an old liner called the Lancastria and escorted by 3 British destroyers. Well, the Germans spotted this easy target and placed a bomb down its central smoke stack. The ship began to list terribly to one side as it began to sink. Many people rushed to the upper deck to jump overboard, but several hundred soldiers and sailors were trapped in a hold and could not escape because the ship lay almost on its side.

A young Catholic priest, serving as Chaplain onboard the ship, took a rope and lowered himself down into the hold, knowing that he and the men could never escape. Many of those who jumped overboard amid the burning oil and rubbish and waves said they would have given up and drowned except that over all the noise of the battle, they could hear resounding hymns emanating from the sinking ship even as it slipped beneath the waves.

Perhaps hundreds of men and some women are in heaven now because of a single act of sacrifice by one young man. His light continues to shine atop the hill of the world and his lamp will probably never go out as long as there is an earth.

When your day is hard and things aren't going as well as they might, think of this young man singing and encouraging hundreds of others as they prepare to make the journey from this world to the next.

The best representative of Jesus I ever met

2007-06-29T17:15:00.000-07:00

Since no one reads this blog except me, I figured I might as well put something here to help me remember something good in a world full of things which seem pretty bad.

Jim (not his real name) came to me one day with a "big problem" - he and his wife weren't getting along. Jim is a rather tall, fairly stout man who, on a standardized test might score a little bit slower than most people, but who is perhaps the most sincere, kind person I have ever met.

I knew Jim's children and as Jim went on to explain how his wife had begun not coming home after work, and showing up in public with a scumbag, I began to wonder what might happen if he were forced to raise them on his own.

I also waited to hear Jim say something like "will God hate me if I get a divorce?" Neither those words nor any remotely similar ever crossed his lips. Jim asked me to call his wife and talk to her (which was a very odd exercise in nonsense) and asked me to pray repeatedly so that his marriage would not fail.

The relationship between Jim and I went on for sometime in this manner - he would stop me at odd times and ask me to help him and often reluctantly, I would.

One day was particularly hard for Jim as his wife had assaulted him with a heavy object and his oldest child called the police. His deep blue scar and swollen eye made me wonder how on earth he could remain loyal to such an evil person.

As things progressively worsened, I referred Jim to an attorney and advised him to at least take his kids and flee for safety. Our final visit precluded the necessity of his having to do this because he found his wife on the sofa in the morning - dead from a drug overdose.

I haven't seen Jim in over 2 years and I never tried to keep up with him, but I will never forget him. Every time that I think life would be so much easier on the other side of marriage, I remember this good man who was far more faithful to his wife than I would ever be. Why?

Well, personally I think that the Roman Governor Felix's proclamation to St. Paul wasn't that far off. Felix told Paul, "much learning has made you mad!" Paul went on to tell Felix that he really wasn't crazy and that Jesus really did rise from the dead. We never learn if Felix understood and believed in Jesus, but he was right about "much learning". I don't know if Jim ever finished high school. Certainly, he never attended college and yet he had more kindness, love and wisdom in his little finger than I will ever have. Jim believed what the bible said - lock, stock and barrel. Jim didn't need lectures on dispensational theology and he probably didn't even know what a hermeneutic was.

If I were to find myself in heaven today and were to ask Jesus something like, "Why didn't you give us a real, physical example for our time of how to live?" I think He would laugh and step aside to reveal a smiling Jim, and say, "I did."

Sharing God's love in remote corners of the world

2007-05-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

Lhasa, China (Formerly Tibet) is a beautiful, interesting place with a terrible problem. The problem is a disease endemic to this region, known as Kashin-Beck disease (KBD). KBD terribly affects the children of Tibet, inflicting them with severe arthritis, deformities, and extreme pain.

The physicians at Medicines sans frontieres spent ten years investigating this disease but were unable to develop a treatment protocol or discover a cure for KBD.

Last year, an organization that I have been very fortunate to be associated with was asked by the government of China to investigate this disease. I happened to be conducting research on enzyme-related biochemical reactions and KBD appears to involve problems in enzyme catalysis.

My hypothesis is that the Glutathione Peroxidase-1 enzyme (GPX1) enzyme, which is seleno-dependent, is not functioning properly in KBD victims and therefore the victims experience gross deficiencies in selenium, iron and other trace essential elements.

This summer (July) Innovative Humanitarian Solutions was invited to investigate this hypothesis by initiating a clinical trial in the Lhasa region. This trial will be overseen by the Centers for Disease Control in Lhasa, China under the Direction of Dr. Zugang Jiang.

Dr. Richard Gunasekara, Ph.D., a University of Houston-Victoria professor and well-known geneticist will accompany a research team to Lhasa to oversee the trial initiation and to collect data for genetic screening of the population related to this disease.

Conducting work of this nature isn't cheap, but investigating the cause and developing a treatment protocol for a disease is infinitely less expensive than caring for its victims after they have contracted it.

The half-brother of Jesus Christ named James once asked the question, "If a brother or sister is naked and without daily food and they come to you and you tell them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled" but you do not feed and clothe them, what good is that?"

The Christian life is a life of action. R. Buckminster Fuller once said, "God is a verb". If you understand this and would like to help support the work of Innovative Humanitarian Solutions in Lhasa, providing hope for children of KBD, then please click here: www.innovativehs.net.

Please label your support : Tibet-trial so we will know where to post the funds.

May God richly bless you,

Jeff Cokenour

The dignity of human life

2007-05-19T11:38:00.001-07:00

Dear Friend,

There is a draft bill which is today circulating in the British House of Commons which has the potential to destroy the most important aspect of planet earth – human life itself. This bill, entitled the Human Tissue and Embryos draft bill authorizes British scientists to genetically modify live human embryos with the DNA of other organisms. All persons concerned in any way with human life must be outraged at such a blatant disregard for humanity and indeed for life itself.

By definition, an embryo is an egg which is fertilized. Fertilization of a human egg endows the embryo with all of its potential genetic attributes; each and every aspect of the fully developed human being is contained within this fertilized egg. It is at the point of fertilization that human life must begin. This rule applies to all mammalian life – not only humans. Can one imagine a geneticist proclaiming that the fertilized fish embryo in his laboratory is in fact a giraffe? Of course this would be called silly and foolish – giraffes do not emanate from fish embryos. Neither do anything but human beings emanate from human embryos. To experiment with live human embryos in such a fashion is to disregard the very tenet that human life is special and deserves the utmost care and respect.

One would think that the British of all peoples, would understand this fact. Many of the world’s great scientific and social discoveries emanated from Great Britain. Britain is the land of William Wilberforce who ended slavery in the United Kingdom and whose influence brought abolition to the United States as well. Sir Isaac Newton, who discovered the very foundational laws of our physical world was British and held the utmost respect for human life.

Proponents of this bill rightly claim that the bill itself contains prohibitions for the implantation of modified embryos into human females. However, any thoughtful person can see that this is a vain and transparent attempt to appease those concerned with human dignity and life in the hope that so-called “successful” experiments will enable scientists to persuade the British government and people to disregard these clauses at some later date.

This sort of dangerous experimentation is simply not necessary. Whatever gene expressions the British are allegedly seeking can be brought about in other ways which do not degrade human life and set the worth of humankind at the level of a laboratory experiment.

Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister of propaganda described the medical experiments of the Nazis in the following statement,

“Out starting point is not the individual, and we do not subscribe to the view that one should feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, or clothe the naked…our objectives are entirely different: we must have a healthy people in order to prevail in the world.”[1]

Without a defined reverence for life, this is where mankind must end: the selfish pursuit of desire regardless of the temporal or eternal consequences. Reverence for life can and MUST be the beginning point for all human research, whether clinical, theoretical or genetic.

Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the physician-missionary who spent his life serving the people of Africa stated,

“Only by means of reverence for life can we establish a spiritual and humane relationship with both people and all living creatures within our reach. Only in this fashion can we avoid harming others, and, within the limits of our capacity, go to their aid whenever they need us."[2]

Contrast Dr. Schweitzer’s thoughts with those of the Cambodian despot, Pol Pot who murdered millions of his own people in the name of “progress”: “Since he is of no use anymore, there is no gain if he lives and no loss if he dies.”

Humanity is already seeing the result of this sort of thinking in the euthanasia and infanticide movements in Europe and in the abortion industry of America. The degradation of human life is also manifesting itself in the form of sexual enslavement of thousands of Russian, Chinese, and Korean girls who are being sold to western “husbands” who treat them as property. Can we not see the ultimate end of this sort of thinking?

The dignity of human life is the gravus eventum of our day. Immigration is not, terrorism is not, neither is economic prosperity, for if we cannot as a race understand the dignity of human life, then no other issue will be of any consequence. Thoughtful persons of every society – not scientists alone, must ensure the proper place for human scientific research.

C. S. Lewis summed up this idea perfectly, when he wrote,

“Who can endure a doctrine which would allow only dentists to say whether our teeth were aching, only cobblers to say whether our shoes hurt us, and only governments to tell us whether we were being well governed?”[3]

Those who value humanity, peace, love and dignity must rise up and stop this madness before it metastasizes into an uncontrollable disease which dooms our entire race. I urge you to avail yourselves of every peaceful avenue to forbid the practice of live human embryonic experimentation.

[1] United States Holocaust memorial museum online, “deadly medicine, creating the master race”.

[2] Schweitzer, Albert, Reverence for life, edited by Thomas Keirnan, Philosophical Library. No publisher listed.

[3] Lewis, C.S. A Preface to Paradise Lost: Being the Ballard Matthews Lectures Delivered at University College, North Wales, 1941,

What do we do now?

2006-09-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Well, shows you how astute I am - Kinky Friedman apparently can't stop making racist remarks. I don't know him, and perhaps he isn't a racist. And Yes, everyone, has made racist comments at some time during their lives - including myself. But asking to be the governor of the second largest state in the most powerful country in the world requires more than just a good sense of humor and the ability to point out that the incumbent politicians are a genuine detriment to the progress of this state.

So, my question is, "what are we left with?" I personally can't vote for Rick Perry, because that would be like voting to punish myself. "One tough grandma" would turn Texas into a very large New Orleans casino row, and I can't encourage that to happen. What about Chris Bell?

He is a democrat and that is a problem - the current democratic party is the party of Haite Ashbury. (Anyone who kicks Joe Lieberman out of their party can't be sensible). But he seems to know what's up and what's down and he isn't plagued by idiotic remarks.

I need help. But we must never forget that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and we can take that to the bank.

The Texas Gubenatorial election

2006-09-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

Folks, God is still blessing me, but I have decided to devote this issue to a pressing earthbound need - leadership. To put it mildly, in Texas, there ain't any.

For those of us who have are conservatives, we are in a real quandry, which is why I have decided to vote for Kinky Friedman.

I would like to list all of Rick Perry's accomplishments here, but unfortunately, there aren't any. Texas lags almost every state in education, (we have a pre-prison system for a Houston school district), our taxes are out of control (my dad recently moved from Texas to Georgia because of property taxes. In Georgia, he pays less with both property and income taxes).

We have no healthcare initiatives in Texas. The only thing we are proud of is that individual small businesses can't pool together to buy group insurance.

Our cities are rapidly becoming Mexican. This isn't racism - my family is Hispanic. But Rick Perry has done absolutely nothing to stop the flow of illegals into our state.

If one looks at his democratic challenger, one would have to check one's brain at the door to vote for "one tough grandma". We had a grandma a few years back and have barely recovered from her tenure to date.

So check out Kinky. I am an evangelical Christian, and yes, he has insulted Jesus. He has also quoted the gospel of John, more sincerely than most I have heard. Regarding his eternal soul, I hope Kinky learns that Jesus is the one way to heaven. Regarding the state of Texas, I hope Kinky becomes our next governor.

www.kinkyfriendman.com

www.crossbridge.cc

How God blessed me today - August 24th, 2006

2006-08-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

Well, as usual I have missed quite a few days since my last post. I get so busy with other stuff that I forget to write. Well, here's what's happened since last time:

God has blessed me by not allowing me to become very sick. Houston, Texas has arguably the worst air quality in North America and this fact, in combination with my poor immune system is a recipe for disaster. I have been sick, but not to the extent I have in the past and my family has been very healthy. This is a great blessing and one I hope to never take for granted.

God got me through the MCAT. I have no idea what my grade will be, but I do know that I didn't sleep at all the night before and I didn't eat anything except 2 appled and a banana during the 8 hour exam. It was the toughest academic thing I have done with the possible exception of completing Physics II. But God got me through it and for that I am very thankful. He even allowed me to encourage a young woman from Lousyana who was discouraged because her school (Tulane) had been flooded and things were chaotic.

God has also allowed me to register for classes and has made a way for me to get my books for this semester. He also allowed for my professors to write LOR's for me so I can complete my med school applications next week.

I got an email from my friend Samantha who is in med school in the Caribbean. She reminded me that I need to be encouraged in Christ.

Won't you let God bless you this week? I am not talking only about finances, although that is a tangible way God blesses. But ask Him to allow you to serve Him in a unique way. Ask Him to provide an opportunity for you to introduce someone to Him.

How God blessed me today - August 5th, 2006

2006-08-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

It has been a week or more since I last wrote, and no, I haven't forgotten the blessings of God, not forgotten to thank Him, I just haven't had time to write them down here.
This week coming up will be a killer week - a physics exam on Monday, a physics final on wednesday and then the MCAT on saturday.

God has blessed me tremendously - for one, I'm still breathing!
Two, I had the chance to pray for a young woman named Alana who is recovering froma terrible health crisis.
I was also able to pray for my friend, Kate Moore who is recovering from a terrible infection which the doctors cannot get a hold of.
God blessed me in my relationship with my family and has allowed me to eat (more than I should) and act foolishly by being silly.

Although I have a very tough week ahead, God has blessed me because I am not afraid, (Psalm 23) and I am aware of man other people who have far more difficult weeks, months and years ahead.

How has God blessed you? We must always remember that "In Him we have our life and breath"

How God blessed me today - July 29, 2006

2006-07-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

I am blessed because,

For one, I am not addicted to alcohol, like Mel Gibson, although there was a time in my life when I was sent to an alcohol rehab because of my excessive drinking. I hope that Mr. Gibson will surrender his life to Christ and get some help for his addiction.

I am blessed today because Jesus Christ gave me the "exousian" which is Greek for "power" to become a child of God. He did this because I have believed in His name. So what?

Well, this among other things, gives me a right perspective on life. Sadly, I read recently about a person who lost this.

His name was Charles Brady and he was a retired NASA astronaut. Capt. Brady lived what the world would call an amazing life - he was a doctor, a pilot with the Blue Angels, a test pilot and an astronaut with hundreds of hours of space flight time. Yet, two weeks ago, Capt. Brady took his own life.
What went wrong? Well, sadly, thousands of people do this every day in our country and much of it is linked to depression by the media. I am going to say something here which, if anyone else read this would be misconstrued, but despression isn't the root cause of suicide. Sin is.

Every human being who has ever lived on this planet is full of sin. But not every person commits suicide. Why not? Well, sometimes, sin's effect is that it warps our bodies and causes defects which we cannot control without the supernatural power of God. Sin, makes a brain designed by God for goodness, love, joy and mercy to develop powerful thoughts of rage, anger, jealousy, murder and fear, sometimes through the complex image and signalling system of the mind and sometimes under the influence of chemical reactions.

Sometime's sin's effect is to weaken our faith and open the door for demonic influence - "voices" as it were which encourage us to do harmful things. For the unbeliever, these forces cannot be countered - no human has the power to overcome the devil.

For a believer, the wondrous news is that the devil has already been overcome - by Jesus Christ. His sentence has been passed - eternal punishment, but it has been delayed until an appointed time, which I happen to think is rapidly approaching, based upon Matthew 25.

Capt. Brady was overcome by sin. We all are at times, yet this time, he could not counteract its effect and it took his life. This doesn't make him any more of a "bad" person than anyone else. He isn't worse than I am, he was just overcome. I hope that he knew the Savior of the world personally before he died, which is the only thing that eternally matters.

I write this to remind us that the things which this world believes are important are eternally trivial. Imagine for a moment that you know you will live for 1,000 years. Will you really remember what you did when you were 30? I think not; this would be analagous to my remembering what I did when I was 6 minutes old; I simply cannot recall.

Now imagine that at 1,000 years of age you will not even have begun to live a new life of eternal joy and praise to God. This is exciting: think about how wise you might be had you been born in the year 965 instead of 1965. Emperor Peter I ruled Rome and europe was preparing to enter into a darkness known as the Middle Ages. You would have lived through the battle of Hastings in 1066, and seen the end of the Roman Empire. You would have lived through the rise of the French Empire under Napoleon, the Feudal wars of Japan and Russia, and the emergence of the Tsars. You would have seen the growth of Spain as it conquered the "New World" and you would have seen the rise of the British Empire upon which it was said, the "sun never set".

You would have seen the development of a new nation called "America" and watched as it defeated the great world power - England. Then you would have watched as it plunged itself into bloody civil war, killing more than 600,000 of its best and brightest young men. You would have seen as this new nation grew, and developed and lived through the great Industrial Revolution. You might have met George Washington Carver, Thomas Edison, Nicola Tesla or Michael Faraday. You would have watched as the nations of the world gathered to end the capture of europe by Germany - twice in the same century. You would have seen the towering mushroom clouds of destruction as they loomed over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

You would have seen America dive into wars in Vietnam and Korea. You would have seen tremendous political upheaval and the launching of an all-out war against unborn babies. You would have watched as communism collapsed in the Soviet Union and as China began to open to the west.

If you had experienced all of this, would your like be consumed by the trivialities of daily life, or would your focus be less time-centered and more event or purpose centered? I think the latter.

The crux of the matter is that we all will live for eternity. Some will live in a paradise created by God for those who obey His command to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ as their salvation. Those who refuse to do this, will have chosen to spend eternity without God. There is only one place which fits this description, and we call it hell. It somehow is filled with flame, and brings about unending torture through the revelation of a persons true selfishness - without end, or conscience. Imagine yourself at your worst moment, in a fit of rage, passion or lust, what you might be capable of. Now imagine living in this state forever, with no hope of reprieve - coupled with a gnawing pain which will not go away.

I hate talking about hell, but I do it because Jesus spent alot of time talking about it. Hell, you know wasn't created for humans - it was made for a fallen angel named satan. But those who choose to follow him, by denying Jesus Christ, will follow him into his eternal punishment, which is what he wants most of all - misery really does love company.

Put aside Hell forever. Wash away your anxiety that you will be faced with this future. Do this by trusting in the Son of God, Jesus Christ to save you from this fate. All you have to do is ask.

How God blessed me today - July 23, 2006

2006-07-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

God blessed me today because:

I have 3 healthy children. I don't take this for granted, but neither do I forget to thank my Father in heaven who gives them health.

My children all help my wife and I each month when we care for handicapped children so their parents can have a night out. This event is called "breakout" and is sponsored by Sugar Creek Baptist Church and is the brainchild of Ms. Barbara Waldhuber - a woman who loves children and the lord.

Because they work with children who suffer from Spina biffida, CP, autism, and many other undiagnosable illnesses, they understand how blessed they are and how blessed the other children are to be uniquely created in the manner in which they were made.

I am blessed because I have the honor and privilege of watching God guide my life. When I make foolish mistakes, He doesn't abandon or berate me - He gives me wisdom and sometimes correction, but most often hidden joy, so that I won't continue in my sin.

I am blessed because today in church, our children learned the parable of the talents in Matthew Chapter 25. This passage is very often misrepresented in churches today, because most expositors of this text think it focuses singularly on money. And, while the talent was a form of currency known to the first century hearers of Jesus' message, He wasn't speaking only about money and neither was He excluding it from the perview of His message. The bottom line is this: that God has given each of us gifts and talents and He expects us to use them for His glory - not ours. To use them for our own vainglory is blasphemy and greed of the highest order and will not go unpunished.

I remember an interview of the wife of some author, whose name I cannot remember. He apparently was the first American author to incorporate sex into mainstream literature and his racy novels were made into films which made him immensely rich. He would host parties on his yacht replete with cocaine and playboy bunnies.

When the interviewer asked his wife how she felt after his death, she said "I am the most miserable woman in the world." However, she was not speaking of the death of her husband as the occassion for her misery. She went on to explain how for decades, she sat by and watched as her husband paraded around the world with models and playmates, disregarding his wife and family. She felt as if she had spent her whole life for nothing. She also said that he had died miserably, in terrible pain and torment from a bout with cancer.

His cancer and her misery did not occur by mistake. When we use our gifts only for our own pleasure, that pleasure will last for a season. But eventually the season will end and tragedy will strike. This is not to say that tragedy doesn't strike those who are obedient to God - it often does. But such tragedy does not strike the faithful without purpose as it does those who are outside the will of God.

I would urge anyone who happens upon this blog to seek God earnestly and seek His blessings in your life. You can do this right where you are sitting. All you have to do is ask Him.

How God blessed me today - July 20, 2006

2006-07-20T09:38:00.001-07:00

Well, I am awake!

Also, a friend of mine who was diagnosed with lung cancer was prayed for by his church and now there is not lung cancer. PET scans are wonderful.

My wife has decided to shut down her custom drapery company, as she is just not a businesswoman. Some people would be sad about this because it really had great potential (her clients loved her so much they even offered to fly her to their vacation homes to do the drapes for them), but her heart isn't in it. If your heart isn't in something then you are wasting your time doing it. I am proud of her for realizing this and facing it instead of trudging through life doing something she doesn't want to do.

I am blessed because I have friends.

I was blessed today because another family which we had prayed for (as have many, many others) received a great gift from the Lord which lifted them up and helped them get back onto the right path.

I was blessed today to receive a letter from my friend in Northern Iraq. He is doing a great work for God and is persevering in the midst of some very tough times.

American evangelicalism is giving Christianity a bad name. There are bright spots, mainly among some younger groups, but by and large, ours is a nation filled with largesse, gluttony and greed, and I am not speaking of the pagan population. Some have the misguided notion that to express our gratitude for God's blessings is to pander to an outward desire to be heard, or somehow to demonstrate some form of spiritual superiority. Actually, vocalizing God's blessings is commanded by sacred scripture and if my eschatology and Koine Greek are near correct, has been practiced since eternity past by the Angels in heaven, the four living creatures, (whom I now think represent creation) and by the 24 Elders seated around the throne of God in the book of Revelation.

To express our thanksgiving to God is a natural response of redeemed sinners who have no other material way of thanking Him - we can't offer Him anything. David put it this way, "What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me?
I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD
Now in the presence of all His people. (Psalm 116)

Shouldn't we do the same?

How God blessed me today - July 20, 2006

2006-07-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

How God blessed me today - July 18, 2006

2006-07-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

Here's how God blessed me today:

For one thing, I was not born an Arab in Jordan or Israel to a fanatical muslim family.

Two, I was born in America, where we have the ability to worship as we please (for the time being).

I was blessed to eat today as well as walk and see. I also have all of my faculties and am healthy by God's grace.

God blessed me today because He has told me history in advance - this is called "prophecy" in the Bible. No, I am not a prophet, and I do not have the gift of prophecy, as outlined in Ephesians 4:11 in the Bible. But I do know what is going to happen in history. One day, perhaps soon, conflict and evil will advance to such a state that people cannot believe what is happening. Then, someone, somewhere, will emerge upon the world's stage and be hailed as a great peacemaker - offering to quell the world's violence and offer peace to Israel and the Arabs. At some point during this process, I will be out of here, because Jesus Christ, who is God, will return and take me with Him. Then literally, all Hell will break loose.

Imagine Al Queda without restraint, child molesters without prisons or police and rapists without civil or criminal law. That's what it will be like. Then this peace person will convince the world to appoint him ruler over everyone and he will declare martial law to end the violence and restore some peace. People will love it and him. But after 3 1/2 years, he will turn nasty and declare himself to be God - and demand that people worship him. Thos who don't will be killed instantly.

All the while, I'll be in heaven having a feast with Jesus and all the other believers. (hope they have Chick-fil-a chakes there - they are awesome)

Anyway, you can be blessed in this manner also, by reading the Bible books of Daniel, Ezekiel, 1 Thessalonians and the book of Matthew. Then you too can know history in advance.

God blessed me today by letting me out of physics class early to study for my huge exam tomorrow. (Harmonic motion, electromotive forces, electric field theory and stuff like that)

I wish that everyone would be blessed as I am. St. Paul told the Roman governor Festus that he wished he (Festus) would be just like Paul and follow Jesus. If you notice, I said "would" not "could". Anyone "can" be blessed. Not everyone wants to be, which really puzzles me.

To be blessed as I am requires only that you put all of your hope, faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your eternal savior. Nothing less and nothing more.

How God blessed me today - July 16, 2006

2006-07-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

I am going to talk about how God blessed me today, but before I do, I must address the 1 person who actually reads this blog besides me (anonymous Chris).

I write here because I am too lazy to use a pen and write in my prayer journal. Plus, perhaps in some small way, if CHrist does come soon, those who are not taken up with the Lord will see this and have some idea of who He is and what He has done.

God blessed me today because he allowed me to attend a church service where the Pastor preached about the benefits of Christ. The Roman church calls these things the "merits" of Christ, but they do not understand how to achieve them. The only way, is to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died on a cross and that God raised Him from the dead. Other than that, you are wasting oxygen.

God blessed me today because he allowed me to eat a nice, healthy lunch.

God blessed me today because even though the world is in an almost global state of war, I and my family have no fear. I don't own a gun or even a bow and arrow. You know, if I may digress, when I think back on my earlier life, how disobedient I was, it's amazing that God can be so merciful. When I was much younger, serving in the military and afterwards, I participated in military shooting competition and self-defense courses. I followed Jim Cirillo who as a NYC cop survived more than 200 gunfights. In fact, I even had custom-made bullets, mimicking his, which would kill a horse instantly. I carried a H&K USP 45 custom in a custom-designed invisible holster that I even wore with gym shorts and no one could ever tell I had a gun. I used to practise until within 1.5 seconds, I could draw this pistol and hit a bullseye at 40 feet. I would practise, telling myself that one day I may be in a store or restaurant when some freak entered and tried to rob me - and I would kill him.

This is what Jesus meant when He said, "Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,And seeing you will see and not perceive;" (Matthew 13:14). I heard the bible and saw what was written in it but I didn't understand what it literally said.

I wasn't a law-enforcement officer, nor a soldier, just a foolish man. But God didn't strike me down or turn me into a porcupine. Instead, He waited and brought others into my life to tell me the truth of His Son and how I should live. I'm not saying that no one should defend themselves who is a Christian. C.S. Lewis wrote an excellent book entitled, "Why I am not a pacifist" on this subject. But no Christian should live as I lived, hoping and training for violence. You can't turn the other cheek to someone while you are carrying a weapon that would instantly kill them.

God blessed me today because I am a Gentile and I was born during the "time of the Gentiles". This means that God could have had me born in first-century Israel as a Jew, where most likely I would have rejected His Messiah, like most other Jews did and have. Instead, He has allowed me to become "grafted in" so to speak into His original human family - the Jewish nation, because they rejected His Son. One day, they won't reject Him anymore, but we have no idea when that will be.

God blessed me today because He has given me faith. I really don't have any idea how I am gong to pay for upcoming school costs, medical school registration, courses, etc. I only know that I am a child of the King of the Universe and He has made a way for me too many times to even count.

God blessed me today because at church we had a baby dedication.

God blessed me today because we took my 92 year old grandmother to church with us.

God blessed me today because He has given us refrigerant to recharge the A/C in our car.

God blessed me today because He has allowed me to pray for my friends in Pakistan.

This morning's sermon was on the benefits of being a child of God. There are many, among them, peace, kindness, gentleness, patience, love, meekness, etc. People who are not followers of Jesus Christ cannot have these benefits. Of course, there are non-Christians who say, "I want peace", but they either follow a religion which does not or they do not understand what peace actually is. Peace is not the absence of violence. Peace is an all-encompassing love for others flowing from the fountain of God. Sure, Buddhists and Hindu's pray for peace, but step on their toes and they will seek revenge just as would any other "normal" person. But Jesus said, this is not to be so for His followers. Peace is asking yourself, "will I offer my only blanket to that cold person even though I am cold?" and then acting upon it.

You can have this kind of peace, but only by following Jesus Christ. I didn't make up this rule - He did. If you disagree, you'll have to take it up with Him. But, if you are willing to endure a bit of advice - take it up with Him BEFORE you die. Afterward, you will be out of options.

How God blessed me today - July 15, 2006

2006-07-15T15:10:00.000-07:00

I woke up again! Lest you think that I am abusing this statement as a blessing - please think again. Scripture commands us to, "Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other." And yes, for those of you who unlearned the eternity of Christ at your local theological cemetary, I do know the context within which this verse was spoken. We are to consider each day and know that God is in charge of it. I am thankful for yet another.

I got to have a free brunch with some friends who are apartment missionaries in a community nearby. (I am what is known as a food freeloader). I also got to serve some people and make waffles!

I got to talk with Raja who is from Pakistan. He is going to high school here and I have shared with him my experiences in Pakistan. Hopefully he will learn to follow Christ soon.

I got to eat some yummy cake and free pizza!!

My friend gave me a gas-powered weed eater. Previously, he gave me a leaf blower and a mulching lawn mower. No, I didn't ask- he asked me. I do not look for opportunities to do yard work.

I got another huge cucumber from my garden.

Yesterday I suddenly developed some terrible intestinal cramping and the accompanying bathroom-related symptoms. Today, I am munching cake and pizza!!!

Today while workin on my physics lab, I listened to a lecture from Richard Feynman. While he was wrong about God (I hope he changed his mind before he died!) he was brilliant and explains the nature of photons and particle theory better than anyone. You can listen to his lectures here: http://www.vega.org.uk/video/programme/45

If you can read this - you were blessed by God today. Have you thanked Him?

How God blessed me today - July 13, 2006

2006-07-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

God blessed me today because:

1. I woke up again!
2. I didn't have to go to trial, for something I didn't do! (passing a loading schoolbus)
3. I got to spend 5 hours with some mega-rowdy special needs kids. My kid o' the day was Andres, a 12 year old with down's syndrome and genetic diabetes. He was non-stop energy and beligerence and unfortunately, he had to go to "time out" for 5 minutes. The really funny part was, that he was crying the biggest fake cry on earth and then I asked, "Are you hungry" and immediately he stopped crying and plainly said, "yep!" Everyone laughed.

4. I got to pet a wallaby and a baby deer and a not-yet-smelly pig.
5. I learned that Hulk Hogan is 52.
6. I met with Prof. France Brown at CBS and had a neat discussion about grading papers.
7. I got to talk with my pal Wendell Smith. Wendell once lived under a bridge and he isn't a billy-goat. He was a homeless drug addict. Now Wendell is half-way through a bachelor's degree at America's best bible college www.cbshouston.edu.

8. I got to talk to my brother
9. I got to pray for a man I knew who was at the gym a week ago and passed out. His family will be signing a DNR order for him as his brain electrochemical function is zero. This is a direct testimony that you had better know where your eternal reservations are and have your ticket in hand because all tickets to eternity are one-way and non-refundable. Do you know where you will spend eternity? Are you absolutely sure? If someone were to place a revolver between your eyes and say, see you in eternity, sucka, would you be terrified or just frightened? (Terrified is when you don't know what will happen next)

10. I got a free lunch of a yummy sandwich.
11. I was able to put gas into my car.
12. I have a car! Which by the way was given to me by God. "How on earth could God give you a car" you say? Well, I had no car, and then my wife and I prayed and asked God if we could have one, and then shortly thereafter someone called and said, "I don't know why, but I just want to give you my car." This person graciously gave us his car - and I'm not even sure he believes in God. I hope he does.
13. I was able to listen to a pretty cool sermon by Neil McClendon of Grand Parkway former Baptist church, now Elder led, or something like that. I vicariously know Neil through my brother Terry.

14. I have been invited to a video game tournament at the luxurious home of a Houston welathy person. I don't know if I can go, but this will be the bomb = tons of networked XBOX 360's playing in team matches on big screens, with unlimited refreshments.

15. I learned that my friend Carol's son Chris is away visiting and she has some time to herself. This is important because Chris is an adult with CP (he is a BIG adult) and it takes alot out of his mom to care for him.

Remember, you too can receive God's blessings - but you have to know Him first. You know Him by believing in His Son, Jesus Christ. That's it - no religion, no ceremony, no fanfare necessary - just true belief.

ttfn