A little boy was overheard talking to himself as he strutted through the backyard, wearing his baseball cap and toting a ball and bat.  "I'm the greatest hitter in the world," he announced. Then, he tossed the ball into the air, swung at it, and missed.

"Strike One!" he yelled.  Undaunted, he picked up the ball and said again, "I'm the greatest hitter in the world!"

He tossed the ball into the air.  When it came down he swung again and missed.  "Strike Two!" he cried.

The boy then paused a moment to examine his bat and ball carefully.  He spit on his hands and rubbed them together.  He straightened his cap and said once more, "I'm the greatest hitter in the world!" 

Again he tossed the ball up in the air and swung at it.  He missed. "Strike Three!"

"Wow!" he exclaimed.  "I'm the greatest pitcher in the world!"

It's important that we find what we're good at and do it with all our might.  Not everyone can be a great hitter.  If you can't hit, then work at being a great pitcher.  If you can't do that, then be a great base runner or fielder or batboy or fan in the stands!

One of the great aspects of the Lord's church is that not everyone is expected to excel in the same areas.  Some are great preachers.  Others are great encouragers.  Still others have a special way of working with children.

Paul used the illustration of a human body, each part having a different function, and each one essential to the well-being of the body as a whole.

"For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ." (I Cor. 12:12)

Thank God for the abilities and talents He has given you, and make every effort to use them to His glory in His kingdom.

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1.  Leave the copy machine set to reduce 200% extra dark, 17 inch paper and 99 copies.
2.  Sit in your yard pointing a hair dryer at passing cars to see if they slow down. 
3.  Specify that your drive through order is "to go." 
4.  If you have a glass eye, tap on it with your pen while talking to others. 
5.  Sing along at the opera. 
6.  Insist on keeping your car windshield wipers running in all weather condition "to keep
     them tuned up." 
7.  Reply to everything someone says with "that's what YOU think." 
8.  Practice making fax and modem noises. 
9.  Highlight irrelevant material in scientific papers and "cc' them to your boss. 
10.  Make beeping noises when a large person backs up. 
11.  Finish all your sentences with the words "in accordance with prophecy." 
12.  Signal that a conversation is over by clamping your hands over your ears. 
13.  Disassemble your pen and "accidentally" flip the cartridge across the room. 
14.  Holler random numbers while someone is counting. 
15.  Adjust the tint on your TV so that all the people are green and insist to others that you "like it that way." 
16.  Staple papers in the middle of the page. 
17.  Publicly investigate just how slowly you can make a croaking noise. 
18.  Honk and wave to strangers. 
19.  Decline to be seated at a restaurant, and simply eat their complimentary mints by the
       cash register. 
20.  TYPE ONLY IN UPPERCASE LETTERS. 
21.  type only in lower case letters. 
22.  dont use any punctuation either 
23.  Buy a large quantity of orange traffic cones and re-route whole streets. 
24.  Repeat the following conversation a dozen times:  "Do you hear that?"  "What?" 
       "Never mind, it's gone now." 
25.  As much as possible, skip rather than walk. 
26.  Try playing the William Tell Overture (The Lone Ranger theme) by tapping on the 
       bottom of your chin.  When nearly done, announce, "No, wait, I messed it up," and 
       repeat. 
27.  Ask people what gender they are. 
28.  While making presentations, occasionally bob your head like a parakeet. 
29.  In the memo field of all your checks, write "for sensual massage." 
30.  Stomp on the plastic ketchup packets. 
31.  Go to a poetry recital and ask why each poem doesn't rhyme. 
32.  Ask your co-workers mysterious questions and then scribble the answers in a 
       notebook.  Mutter something about psychological profiles."
33.  Tell your friends 4 days prior, that, you can't attend their party because you're not in 
       the mood. 
34.  Send this list to everyone in your e-mail address book even if they sent it to you or 
       asked you not to send things like this.

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I have heard that there is a monastery in Greece perched high on a cliff, several hundred feet in the air.  The only way to reach the monastery is to be suspended in a basket which is pulled to the top by several monks who pull and tug with all their strength.  Obviously the ride up the steep cliff in that basket is terrifying.

One tourist got exceedingly nervous about half-way up as he noticed that the rope by which he was suspended was old and frayed.  With a trembling voice he asked the monk who was riding with him in the basket how often they changed the rope.

The monk thought for a moment and answered serenely:  "Whenever it breaks."

We are shocked that someone would wait that long before changing the rope. It only makes sense that the rope ought to be changed long before reaching that point.  But it dawned on me that God operates the same way in our lives.  If we were to ask God when He will change our lives, His answer might well be, "Whenever you break!"

You see, our lives can only change once we have what the Bible refers to as a "broken spirit".  As long as we remain arrogant and determined to do things our way, God can't shape us and mold us.  Like a wild stallion, we remain useless until we are "broken".

"The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit."  (Psalms. 34:18).

Father, I so often want to stubbornly do things my way.  Help me as I strive to have a broken spirit, recognizing my shortcomings, humbly willing to listen to Your instruction.  In Jesus' name, amen.

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A fascinating shockwave presentation of the Gospel message can be found here. This file is only about 385 KB. I have run it on my system (Packard Bell 155MHZ Pentium) several times with no ill effects. Share this with your friends! It is one of the greatest things I've found on the Internet to date.

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Years ago, a man with a large family lay dying. His children had been called from the four corners of this country. All of them were Christians except the youngest boy. As they all gathered around the bedside, the father tried again to bring the youngest boy to Christ – but he would not come. The others had received Christ and were living creditable Christian lives in other communities.

Finally the father began with the oldest, and as he came by, he shook hands with him and said to him, “I'll see you soon.” And he shook hands with the next one, a daughter, and said to her, “I'll see you tomorrow.” Finally at the end of the line the youngest boy came to him. The father looked at him for a moment and tears came into his eyes as he said, “Son, good-bye.”

The boy asked, “Dad why do you say good-bye to me?” He replied, “Son I'll never see you again. If you continue to reject Jesus Christ as you've been rejecting Him, you are spiritually dead, a separation from God.” The boy broke down, knelt at his father's bedside, and received Christ as his Saviour.

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“I don't care a rap what you think about it before I begin or after I am through. I have a message that burns its way into your soul and into my heart ... In my opinion the theater is of such doubtful character that it has been relegated to the class of forbidden amusements ...If you want obscenity you will find it in the theater ... Your show has to be tainted in order to gather in the coin ... You will find divorce smeared all over the stage,
and adultery even lurking in the flies. Why, there are shows where they have beds right in the middle of the stage, and carryings on which, if they happened in your own homes, would probably result in your receiving a visit from the police .... The time is long past when any number of serious-minded citizens look to the theater for entertainment or instruction ... You listen to me! I defy anybody to contradict what I have to say about the matter.”

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- When it was reported worldwide Dec. 9 that "Little Foot," a "3-million-year-old [bipedal] hominid skeleton, "had been uncovered in South Africa, paleoanthropologists announced the almost complete fossil would force the rewrite of
human evolutionary history.

Not so, writes Hal Ostrander of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in the February/March issue of SBC Life in an article titled, "The Colossal Fossil Failure: What the Fossil 'Experts' Don't Tell You."

The so-called human evolutionary ancestor, an "ape man," is named "Little Foot" because it is said to have a big toe "resembling the grasping toe of a chimpanzee while the back portion of the foot is more explicitly human," recounts Ostrander, associate
professor of Christian theology at Southerner's James P. Boyce College of the Bible who specializes in science-faith issues.

According to the ancient bone specialists, "Little Foot," much like the famed find named "Lucy" from a quarter century ago, falls somewhere in between humans and the common ancestor that African apes and humans supposedly shared several million years before pre-human bipedal hominids appeared on the scene.

Rather than one more of the few-and-far-between "missing links," or transitional forms, evolutionists think "Little Foot" represents, Ostrander suggests that fossils like the recent South African find are "nothing more than the remains of a once alive but now extinct primate [ape] species, creatures once as carefully wrought by God as any other vanished species from taxonomic families other than hominidae [human]."

What Darwin himself called "extreme imperfection" in the fossil record, that is, the lack of transitional forms, when he wrote "Origin of Species" a century and a half ago, creationists have long called lack of evidence. Not surprisingly, when evolutionists find a fossil that can by any stretch of the imagination be interpreted as a missing link, the tendency is to overstate the case for evolution, Ostrander writes.

Ostrander pinpoints the cause of this particular tendency not in the objective evidence or data but in something much more fundamental: world view. He sees "the whole episode as a reflection of the tenets of a culturally entrenched evolutionism ... the ongoing clash of two titan world views -- naturalism vs. theism."

The war of world views, Ostrander further asserts, must be engaged by Christians at the level of the dual revelation of God in nature and Scripture. Changing a world view is not easy, but "at the level of God's general revelation to us, you take apart your opponent's system piece by piece, demonstrating to them in due course that it fails collectively with respect to at least four world view tests." The tests are: logical consistency, empirical
adequacy, explanatory power and practical relevance.

"At the level of God's special revelation to us, you continue to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ with boldness, knowing that the Holy Spirit will work infallibly and according to God's good pleasure in the hearts and minds of your various world view opponents, naturalists, new-agers, or otherwise," Ostrander writes.

What the fossil finders fail to tell the public is called the "trade secret of paleontology" by Harvard geologist and paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, referring to the scarcity of
transitional forms that have been unearthed since Darwin's day.

"In brief," Ostrander notes, "the fossils [or lack thereof] tell one story, and the 'experts' tell another."

Some of the things that the public rarely hears about include: paleoanthropological research is not considered as objective as many other forms of scientific investigation; paleoanthropology's overall achievements have been questioned by documented cases of
hoax and deceit; unmistakably human fossil remains appear only suddenly in the fossil record; the wide genetic diversity found in contemporary humans renders evidence for evolution inadequate when it comes to the hypothesis of primitive-to-advanced contours
of fossil skulls; self-deception is always a possibility because of the influence of theory on the collecting of facts; fossils identical to modern humans appear alongside australopithecus africanus [Little Foot]; and homo erectus fossils do not appear to have evolved over their conjectural 2-million-year history. Further reading on these shortcomings, Ostrander notes, can found in the book "Bones of Contention" by Marvin Lubenow.

Based on this suppression of evidence, the only conclusion to draw is that "driven by a naturalistic world view, evolutionary paleoanthropologists have failed to account for these many items, either on the basis of sheer ignorance of their chosen field, or willful misinterpretation for the sake of avoiding religious implications," Ostrander writes. "Either way, what they have on their hands is a colossal fossil failure for all to observe."

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If you ask around, you find that there are not at all many hard-core atheists about. Most people say they believe in "god", but I want to suggest that they are usually not talking about the Creator God of the Bible, but about a false, "fuzzy" god, whom I shall label "fuzzgod" for short.

Unless our concept of God is totally based upon what God has revealed about Him- self, the word "God" has no fixed content, and communicates no objective meaning. As evolution has eroded trust in the reliability of the Bible, many churches have begun contemplating such ideas as whether God could be referred to as "she". Let's face it -- if people are only talking about a god of their own imaginings (which is all that is possible if the revelation of the true God is effectively discarded) they might be conceivably talking about a three horned cosmic cow.

On the other hand, once revelation is accepted as authoritative, there is no room for argument on the subject of God's "gender." Having been told that God is spirit, we are plainly told that He wishes believers to address Him as Father, not mother -- end of discussion.

Let's list some features of this popular god of today:

l. "Fuzzgod" is not a god of holiness. Whereas the true God hates sin and has repeatedly acted in judgment in history, fuzzgod wouldn't do anything like that. Fuzzgod only makes people feel good, not bad. Fuzzgod is convenient to give comfort when you need warm fuzzies, and doesn't really mind about you cheating on your tax. Fuzzgod is good to send just about everyone to heaven (or maybe arrange reincarnation).

2. Fuzzgod accommodates everyone's opinions. We've all heard people say what they think God would or wouldn't do, oblivious to the pronouncements of the Bible. They must be talking about fuzzgod, since the true God gas set down what is right and wrong regardless of our opinion.

3. The character of the true God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Many regard that as a little stodgy today -- unwilling to change (evolve) with the times. Not like fuzzgod, who is quite flexible, depending on the need -- sort of fuzzy around the edges. Fuzzgod’s adherents are similar. I remember asking a hospital chaplain whether he was theologically liberal or conservative. He replied, "Whichever the patient wants me to be."

4. Fuzzgod is broadminded -- offering many different ways to truth and enlightenment, whereas God the Creator says there is only one way to Him, through the death and sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.

5. Fuzzgod is only "sort of" the creator of all things. When fuzzgod’s devotees are engaged in sinful actions, it's convenient to focus on the "impersonal" aspects of the idea that we just evolved from animals- less sense of responsibility that way. But when they want meaning or purpose to existence, the idea of fuzzgod as some sort of vague, impotent guiding force to the evolutionary process helps in a fuzzy sort of way.

The "unfuzzy" miracle- working God of the Bible tells us clearly that He did not stand by while millions of years of death and accidents did the creating. That sort of powerful God, who caused billions of dead things to be buried in rock layers because of judgment on a sinful world, is quite uncomfortable for the unconverted.

A Christian commercial on public TV features children telling us that "God made everything." I suspect it will do little to wake people up to the Gospel because most would respond, "Yeah, I know that God (they mean the fuzzy variety) let everything evolve." A fuzzy god leads to a fuzzy (or non-existent) Gospel.

All of this underscores why it is so important to make it clear that proclaiming and defending Genesis creation is about more than just "God making things." It is about the authority of the Bible, and the power and nature of (the true) God. It is about the reality of the Fall and the origin of sin. Thus the ultimate concern is about the whole message of salvation -- only through the blood of Jesus Christ.

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A devout Christian heard an urgent news report on his radio that a flash flood was within minutes of entering the peaceful valley where he lived. Immediately he went to his knees and prayed for safety. The words were still on his lips when he became aware
that water was gushing under his door. He retreated to the second floor and finally onto the roof of his house.

While he sat on the roof, a helicopter flew by and the pilot asked over the loudspeaker if they could lift him off. "It's not necessary since I have the Lord's protection," he replied.

Moments later the house began to break up and he found himself clinging to a tree. A police boat, braving the waters, approached him for rescue, but he assured them that the Lord would save him. Finally, the tree gave way and the man went to his death.

Standing before the Lord, he asked, "Lord, I'm glad to be here, but why didn't You answer my prayer for safety?"

The Lord responded, "Son, I told you over the radio to get out of there Then I sent you a helicopter and a motor boat!"

A young soldier found himself in a terrible battle during the Scottish Reformation. [I cannot remember the soldier's name or the exact date of the battle. I think it took place 
sometime between 1200 and 1400 AD.] The enemy was soundly defeating this young man's army. He and his comrades found themselves hastily retreating from the battle field in defeat, running away in fear of their very lives. The enemy gave chase. This young man ran hard and fast, full of fear and desperation, soon found himself cut off from his comrades in arms.

He eventually came upon a rocky ledge containing a cave. Knowing the enemy was close behind, and that he was exhausted from the chase, chose to hide there. After he crawled in, he feel to his face in the darkness, desperately crying to God to save him and protect him from his enemies. He also made a bargain with God, one which I (and perhaps you too?) have made before. He promised that if God saved him, he would serve Him for the remainder of his days.

When he looked up from his despairing plea for help, he saw a spider beginning to weave its web at the entrance to the cave. As he watched the delicate threads being slowly drawn 
across the mouth of the cave, the young soldier pondered its irony. He thought, "I asked God for protection and deliverance, and he sent me a spider instead. How can a spider save me?" 

His heart was hardened, knowing the enemy would soon discover his hiding place and kill him.

And soon he did hear the sound of his enemies, who were now scouring the area looking for those in hiding. One soldier with a gun slowly walked up to the cave's entrance. As the young man crouched in the darkness, hoping to surprise the enemy in a last minute desperate attempt to save his own life, he felt his heart pounding wildly out of control.

As the enemy cautiously moved forward to enter the cave, he came upon the spider's web, which by now was completely strung across the opening. He backed away and called out 
to a comrade, "There can't be anyone in here. They would have had to break this spider's web to enter the cave. Let's move on."

Years later, this young man, who made good his promise by becoming a preacher and evangelist, wrote about that ordeal. What he observed has stood by me in times of 
trouble, especially during those times when everything seemed impossible. He wrote:

"Where God is, a spider's web is as a stone wall. Where God is not, a stone wall is as a spider's web."

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- In order for the church to impact culture, energize the church and carry the gospel to the ends of the earth, more ministers must strive to be "Moses men," Conrad "Buster" Brown told students Feb. 11 at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

With two years in Singapore as an international missionary and nearly 17 years experience as pastor of East Cooper Baptist Church in Mount Pleasant, S.C., Brown said he looked to the early history of the Hebrew people and the lives of Moses and Aaron as
guides for becoming an effective minister.

Brown told students that even though Moses and Aaron displayed two opposing leadership styles, the two brothers are described as near equals in the Book of Exodus. Regarding the leadership of Moses and Aaron, Brown preached from Exodus 32 and said that
effective ministry is not built on public opinion polls and milquetoast messages.

With Moses gone and the people growing increasingly impatient, Aaron bent under the pressure of the crowds to worship another god. But the Lord desires purity, not popularity, Brown noted.

A ministry marked by "finger-in-the-wind" politics results in a popular, man centered, "golden calf" theology, Brown said, referring to the perilous nature of Aaron's leadership in building the golden calf.

"Aaron types will never impact cultures, energize the church or take the gospel to the ends of the earth because they are 'half-way' men," Brown said of Aaron's weakness for public favor.

A mob rules mentality fails to meet the needs of the Lord's church. The relevant need of the church "is to seek first the kingdom of God," Brown said, adding that unless the Lord is with the church, then all efforts will fail.

"Aaron type men love the bandwagon (and) public opinion polls," he said. "Moses men say, 'I will walk before God with sincerity.' ... The greatest need I have is to walk with God," Brown said. Like Moses, ministry requires traveling with God.

Brown said if he were not "pleading with a holy God to pour his life through me by the power of Jesus to the honor of his triune name, I am not the pastor I should be." Having said that, Brown confessed, "I'm an Aaron man ... and I plead to be a Moses man."

Accepting blame and disgrace with integrity marks the life of a Moses, Brown said. "Half-way men" shirk responsibility for their failures. "Aarons" look to a third party for blame and worship the Lord without concern for his Word.

According to Brown, Moses type ministers worship the Lord without fear of public criticism. In a day of syncretism between world religions and inclusivism within Christianity, ministers must stand opposed to "half-way worship," Brown warned.

"'I rather die a thousand deaths than for my Lord and Savior to be so dishonored,'" said Brown, quoting Henry Martin, a 19th-century missionary to India who was asked if he would accept a painting of Mohammed and Jesus bowing before Allah, the God of
Islam.

"Moses type men walk in the fear of God ... and are consumed with zeal for the honor of God," Brown said, noting they stand firm, fully committed to God's glory in all things.

With great zeal for the glory and worship of God, a "Moses" man will leave a legacy of faithfulness, Brown said. The family and church will remember a "Moses man" as one who stood upright in the sight of God and man.

The crowds may rebel and cry out for an "Aaron man." Families may leave the church, he said, but in the presence of God, believers will all confess: "Thanks be to God that we have a pastor who is a 'Moses man.'"

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I remember my son when he was five, explaining to his kindergarten class what his father did for a living. "My Daddy," he said, "pretends to be people."

There have been quite a few of them. Prophets from the Old and New Testaments, a couple of Christian saints, generals of various nationalities and different centuries, several kings, three American presidents, a French cardinal and two geniuses, including Michelangelo. If you want the ceiling re-painted I'll do my best. There always seem to be a lot of different fellows up here. I'm never sure which one of them gets to talk.  Right now, I guess I'm the guy.

As I pondered our visit tonight it struck me: If my Creator gave me the gift to connect you with the hearts and minds of those great men, then I want to use that same gift now to re-connect you with your own sense of liberty ... your own freedom of thought ... your own compass for what is right.

Dedicating the memorial at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln said of America, "We are now engaged in a great Civil War, testing whether this nation or any  nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure."

Those words are true again. I believe that we are again engaged in a great civil war, a cultural war that's about to hijack your birthright to think and say what resides in your heart. I fear you no longer trust the pulsing lifeblood of liberty inside you ... the stuff that made this country rise from wilderness into the miracle that it is.

Let me back up. About a year ago I became president of the National Rifle Association, which protects the right to keep and bear arms. I ran for office, I was elected, and now I serve ... I serve as a moving target for the media who've called me everything from "ridiculous" and "duped" to a  brain injured, senile, crazy old man." I know ... I'm pretty old ... but I sure ain't senile.

As I have stood in the cross hairs of those who target Second Amendment freedoms, I've realized that firearms are not the only issues. No, it's much, much bigger than that.  I've come to understand that a cultural war is raging across our Land, in which, with Orwellian fervor, certain acceptable thoughts and speech are mandated.

For example, I marched for civil rights with Dr. King in 1963 --Long before Hollywood found it fashionable. But when I told an audience last year that white pride is just as valid as black pride or red pride or anyone else's pride, they called me a racist.  I've worked with brilliantly talented homosexuals all my life. But when I told an audience that gay rights should extend no further than your rights or my rights, I was called a homophobe. I served in World War II against the Axis powers. But during a speech, when I drew an analogy between singling out innocent Jews and singling out innocent gun owners, I was called an anti-Semite.

Everyone I know knows I would never raise a closed fist against my country. But when I asked an audience to oppose this cultural persecution, I was compared to Timothy McVeigh.  From Time magazine to friends and colleagues, they're essentially saying, "Chuck, how dare you speak your mind. You are using language not authorized for public
consumption!" But I am not afraid. If Americans believed in political correctness, we'd still be King George's boys subjects bound to the British crown.

In his book, "The End of Sanity," Martin Gross writes that "Blatantly irrational behavior is rapidly being established as the norm in almost every area of human endeavor. There seem to be new customs, new rules, and new anti-intellectual theories regularly foisted on us from every direction. Underneath, the nation is roiling. Americans know something without a name is undermining the nation, turning the mind mushy when it comes to separating truth from falsehood and right from wrong. And they don't like it."

Let me read a few examples.

At Antioch college in Ohio, young men seeking intimacy with a coed must get verbal permission at each step of the process from kissing to petting to final copulation ... all clearly spelled out in a printed college directive.

In New Jersey, despite the death of several patients nationwide who had been infected by dentists who had concealed their AIDs --- the state commissioner announced that health providers who are HIV positive need not... need not ... tell their patients that they are infected.

At William and Mary, students tried to change the name of the school team "The Tribe" because it was supposedly insulting to local Indians, only to learn that authentic Virginia chiefs truly like the name.

In San Francisco, city fathers passed an ordinance protecting the rights of transvestites to cross-dress on the job, and for transsexuals to have separate toilet facilities while undergoing sex change surgery.

In New York City, kids who don't speak a word of Spanish have been placed in bilingual classes to learn their three R's in Spanish solely because their last names sound Hispanic. 

At the University of Pennsylvania, in a state where thousands died at Gettysburg opposing slavery, the president of that college officially set up segregated dormitory space for black students.

Yeah, I know ... that's out of bounds now.  Dr. King said "Negroes." Jimmy Baldwin and most of us on the March said, "black." But it's a no-no now.  For me, hyphenated identities are awkward ... particularly "Native American." I'm a Native American. I also happen to be a blood initiated brother of the Miniconjou Sioux. On my wife's side, my grandson is a thirteenth generation native American ... with a capital letter on "American."

Finally, just last month ... David Howard, head of the Washington D.C. Office of Public Advocate, used the word "niggardly" while talking to colleagues about budgetary matters. Of course, "niggardly" means stingy or scanty. But within days Howard was forced to publicly apologize and resign.

As columnist Tony Snow wrote: "David Howard got fired because some people in public employ were morons who (a) didn't know the meaning of niggardly,' (b) didn't know how to use a dictionary to discover the meaning, and (c) actually demanded that he apologize for their ignorance."

What does all of this mean? It means that telling us what to think has evolved into telling us what to say, so telling us what to do can't be far behind. Before you claim to be a champion of free thought, tell me: Why did political correctness originate on America's campuses? And why do you continue to tolerate it? Why do you, who are supposed to debate ideas, surrender to their suppression? Let's be honest. Who here thinks your professors can say what they really believe? It scares me to death, and should scare you too, that the superstition of political correctness rules the halls of reason.

You are the best and the brightest. You, here in the fertile cradle of American academia, here in the castle of learning on the Charles River, you are the cream. But I submit that you, and your counterparts across the land, are the most socially conformed and politically silenced generation since Concord Bridge. And as long as you validate that ... and abide it .. you are - by your grandfathers' standards - cowards.

Here's another example. Right now at more than one major university, Second Amendment scholars and researchers are being told to shut up about their findings or they'll lose their jobs.  Why? Because their research findings would undermine big city mayor's pending lawsuits that seek to extort hundreds of millions of dollars from firearm manufacturers. I don't care what you think about guns. But if you are not shocked at that, I am shocked at you. Who will guard the raw material of unfettered ideas, if not you? Who will defend the core value of academia, if you supposed soldiers of free thought and expression lay down your arms and plead, "Don't shoot me."?

If you talk about race, it does not make you a racist.  If you see distinctions between the genders, it does not make you a sexist.  If you think critically about a denomination, it does not make you anti-religion.  If you accept but don't celebrate homosexuality, it does
not make you a homophobe. Don't let America's universities continue to serve as incubators for this rampant  epidemic of new McCarthyism.

But what can you do? How can anyone prevail against such pervasive social subjugation? The answer's been here all along. I learned it 36 years ago, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., standing with Dr. Martin Luther King and two hundred thousand people.

You simply ... disobey. Peaceably, yes. Respectfully, of course.  Nonviolently, absolutely. But when told how to think or what to say or how to behave, we don't. We disobey social protocol that stifles and stigmatizes personal freedom. I learned the awesome power of disobedience from Dr.King ... who learned it from Gandhi, and Thoreau, and Jesus, and
every other great man who led those in the right against those with the might.

Disobedience is in our DNA. We feel innate kinship with that Disobedient spirit that tossed tea into Boston Harbor, that sent Thoreau to jail, that refused to sit in the back of the bus, that protested a war in VietNam. In that same spirit, I am asking you to disavow cultural correctness with massive disobedience of rogue authority, social directives and onerous law that weaken personal freedom.

But be careful ... it hurts. Disobedience demands that you put yourself at risk. Dr. King stood on lots of balconies. You must be willing to be humiliated ... to endure the modern-day equivalent of the police dogs at Montgomery and the water cannons at Selma. You must be willing to experience discomfort. I'm not complaining, but my own decades of social activism have taken their toll on me.

Let me tell you a story. A few years back I heard about a rapper named Ice-T who was selling a CD called "Cop Killer" celebrating ambushing and murdering police officers. It was being marketed by none other than Time/Warner, the biggest entertainment conglomerate in the world. Police across the country were outraged. Rightfully so - at least one had been murdered. But Time/Warner was stonewalling because the CD was A cash cow for them, and the media were tiptoeing around it because the rapper was black.

I heard Time/Warner had a stockholders meeting scheduled in Beverly Hills. I owned some shares at the time, so I decided to attend. What I did there was against the advice of my family and colleagues I asked for the floor. To a hushed room of a thousand average American stockholders, I simply read the full lyrics of "Cop Killer" - every vicious, vulgar, instructional word.

It got worse, a lot worse. I won't read the rest of it to you.  But trust me, the room was a sea of shocked, frozen, blanched faces. The Time/Warner executives squirmed in their chairs and stared at their shoes. They hated me for that .... Let's just say I left the room in echoing silence. When I read the lyrics to the waiting press corps, one of them said "We can't print that."  "I know," I replied, "but Time/Warner's selling it."  Two months later, Time/Warner terminated Ice-T's contract. I'll never be offered another film by Warners, or get a good review from Time magazine. But disobedience means you must be willing to act, not just talk.

When a mugger sues his elderly victim for defending herself ... jam the switchboard of the district attorney's office.

When your university is pressured to lower standards until 80% of the students graduate with honors ... choke the halls of the board of regents.

When an 8-year-old boy pecks a girl's cheek on the playground and gets hauled into court for sexual harassment ... march on that school and block its doorways.

When someone you elected is seduced by political power and betrays you ... petition them, oust them, banish them.  When Time magazine's cover portrays millennium nuts as deranged, Crazy Christians holding a cross as it did last month ... boycott their magazine and the products it advertises.

So that this nation may long endure, I urge you to follow in the hallowed footsteps of the great disobediences of history that freed exiles, founded religions, defeated tyrants, and yes, in the hands of an aroused rabble in arms and a few great men, by God's grace, built this country.

If Dr. King were here, I think he would agree. Thank you 

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A fellow had just been hired as the new CEO of a large high tech corporation.  The CEO who was stepping down met with him privately and presented him with three numbered envelopes.

"Open these if you run up against a problem you don't think you can solve," he said.

Well, things went along pretty smoothly, but six months later, sales took a downturn and he was really catching a lot of heat.  About at his wit's end, he remembered the envelopes.  He went to his drawer and took out the first envelope.  The message read, "Blame your predecessor."

The new CEO called a press conference and tactfully laid the blame at the feet of the previous CEO.  Satisfied with his comments, the press and Wall Street responded positively, sales began to pick up and the problem was soon behind him.

About a year later, the company was again experiencing a slight dip in sales, combined with serious product problems.  Having learned from his previous experience, the CEO quickly opened the second envelope.  The message read, "Reorganize."

This he did, and the company quickly rebounded.  After several consecutive profitable quarters, the company once again fell on difficult times.  The CEO went to his office, closed the door and opened the third envelope.  The message said, "Prepare three envelopes."

What do you do when things go wrong?  Who do you blame?  How do you react?  Imagine for a moment that the apostle Paul has prepared three envelopes for you when life gets tough.

The first envelope contains 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (make sure you don't read it until you really need it!) 

The second envelope contains Philippians 1:19-21 (only read it if things are getting worse!)

And the third envelope contains 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (save this one for extreme situations!)

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Morning, February 12

"For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ." - 2 Corinthians 1:5
 

There is a blessed proportion. The Ruler of Providence bears a pair of scales - in this side he puts his people's trials, and in that he puts their consolations. When the scale of trial is
nearly empty, you will always find the scale of consolation in nearly the same condition; and when the scale of trials is full, you will find the scale of consolation just as heavy.

When the black clouds gather most, the light is the more brightly revealed to us. When the night lowers and the tempest is coming on, the Heavenly Captain is always closest to his crew. It is a blessed thing, that when we are most cast down, then it is that we are most lifted up by the consolations of the Spirit.

One reason is, because trials make more room for consolation. Great hearts can only be made by great troubles. The spade of trouble digs the reservoir of comfort deeper, and makes more room for consolation.

God comes into our heart - he finds it full - he begins to break our comforts and to make it empty; then there is more room for grace. The humbler a man lies, the more comfort he will always have, because he will be more fitted to receive it. Another reason why we are often most happy in our troubles, is this - then we have the closest dealings with God.

When the barn is full, man can live without God: when the purse is bursting with gold, we try to do without so much prayer. But once take our gourds away, and we want our God; once cleanse the idols out of the house, then we are compelled to honor Jehovah. "Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord."

There is no cry so good as that which comes from the bottom of the mountains; no prayer half so hearty as that which comes up from the depths of the soul, through deep trials and afflictions. Hence they bring us to God, and we are happier; for nearness to God is happiness. Come, troubled believer, fret not over your heavy troubles, for they are the heralds of weighty mercies.

The young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer.

"Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear."

The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear it's weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then open another door and pick any cross you wish."

The man was filled with relief. "Thank you, Lord," he sighed, and did as he was told.

As he looked around the room he saw many different crosses; some so large the tops were not visible. Then he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall.

"I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered. 

And the Lord replied, "My son, that's the cross you brought in."

-Unknown

A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. On the day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to force the body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. It just seemed to be stuck.

Then the man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the moth because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening was the way of forcing fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle. By depriving the moth of a struggle, he deprived the moth of health. 

Sometimes we make the mistake of cutting the spiritual cocoons of others. There is a balance in helping other people. We are called to rescue the perishing (Proverbs 24:11), weep with those who weep (1 Corinthians 12:26), and help our brother in need (1 John 3:17-18). But at other times we interfere with God's work, if we intervene (e.g. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15). There are some burdens we can't and shouldn't carry for others. If we take all the struggle away, we cut God's spiritual cocoon. Addiction groups call it "enabling."

In some cases, it is actually an unloving act to help people. When we help people who are able to help themselves, we are in fact "enabling" them to remain immature and weak. Instead we are to "speak the truth in love" to them (Ephesians 4:15,25; Matthew 18:15; Proverbs 9:8; Luke 17:3). Encourage them (1 Thessalonians 5:14). And pray for them (Ephesians 6:18). But when it is God's plan, don't be afraid to let people emerge from their cocoon to become the butterfly that God intended.

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In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts.  So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down.  It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's."

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups.  When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service.  "Wet your whistle," is the phrase inspired by this practice.

Also years ago in England, criminals to be hanged were driven through town on a wagon from the gaol (jail) to the gallows.  On their way, the county would allow them one last drink at the local pub "on the hoosegow", later used as "on the house".  If the barmaid came and offered to get them another drink, the jailer would say "no, he's on the wagon".

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes- when you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on.  That's where the phrase, "good night, sleep tight" came from.

The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." uses every letter in the alphabet.  (developed by Western Union to test telex/twx communications).

The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

When opossums are playing 'possum, they are not "playing." They actually pass out from sheer terror.

The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the Pacific.  When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.  If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."

The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the "General Purpose" vehicle, G.P.

The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth II, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.

Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.

No NFL team which plays its home games in a domed stadium has ever won a Super Bowl.

The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It To Beaver."

Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.

In Cleveland, Ohio, it's illegal to catch mice without a hunting license.

It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs.

Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.

There are an average of 178 sesame seeds on a McDonald's Big Mac bun.

The world's termites outweigh the world's humans 10 to 1.

The 3 most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca-Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.

When Heinz ketchup leaves the bottle, it travels at a rate of 25 miles per year.

Ten percent of the Russian government's income comes from the sale of vodka.

On average, 100 people choke to death on ball-point pens every year.

In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all the world's nuclear weapons combined.

After eating a tourist, do alligators have to wait one hour before getting out of the water?

Is it illegal to run into a crowded fire house and yell "movie?"

Why do people who own Stairmasters always take the elevator?

Has there ever been "dueling banjos" to the death?

How does a shelf salesman keep his store from looking empty?

Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?

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Margaret Sangster had charge of a good will center among the underprivileged in a big city. One day,  speaking to a large audience, she told this experience. 

"There came into my big playroom one day a crowd of boys. Among them was one walking on a homemade crutch and a homemade cane. He limped in. One foot turned completely around and faced backwards. His whole body was so twisted he couldn't play with the others, so he backed up against the wall and followed them so hungrily with his eyes that my heart just broke for him. I called him into the office and asked him what had happened. He answered, "A truck ran over me." 

I cleaned him up and made an appointment with a doctor friend who had helped me many times before.  The doctor examined him carefully, then called in several other doctors. Finally they said, "Miss Margaret, we can straighten his leg and arm and a few other things. There is no reason why he can't walk again! It will take several operations. He'd have to stay in the hospital for a long time. The only problem for you now is to get somebody to pay the hospital expenses. We'll do our work gratis -- we'll gladly do it  for you if you can find somebody to pay the expenses. 

"I picked up the telephone and called the president of one of the banks and told him I needed to see him right away. He said, 'Well, come on down. I've got the president of one of the other banks here with me.   Come on, it's just about a block and we will both be glad to see you.' The little boy, on one crutch and a cane, limped with me into the president's office. I told them the story. They looked at each other for a moment, nodded, and then said to me with a smile, 'Go ahead, Miss Margaret, put him in the hospital. We will see that the bills are paid.' 

"The day came when the boy literally danced into my playroom and putting his hands on his hips, he hopped up on one foot and then on the other, then asked, "How'm I doing, Miss Margaret?" 

I answered, 'You're doing just fine.' When he had gone, I walked around the playroom with my shoulders up and my head held high with pride. I said to myself, 'Margaret, that's one thing that you did that you can see. You are always complaining that you can't see any visible results, and you don't know whether you are accomplishing anything or not. There's one thing definite that you can put your finger on that you did.'" 

Then Margaret Sangster leaned over the podium and asked: "Where do you think he is today -- that boy the doctors and bankers and I straightened out?"

Someone in the audience replied, "He's a preacher." She said, "No." 

"A banker?"     "No." 

"Governor of the state?"     "No." 

"A Senator?"     "No." 

"A lawyer?"     "No." 

Miss Sangster held up her hand for silence and with sadness in her voice said: "You'd never guess. He's in the penitentiary for life for a crime that was so heinous, so terrible, that except for his youth they would  have sent him to the electric chair or the gas chamber." After a moment she continued. "Do you see what my mistake was? I spent so much time teaching that boy how to walk that I forgot to tell him where to  walk." 

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