Christus Emptor

This being black history month. I hope to do some post on some of my black heroes. Being a white southerner this may be strange to some, but it should not be. There were (is) some really smart and real black people in history that really made a difference.

Watch for these post in the next couple of weeks as I gather my information.

My interest in this subject started years ago. In the Wiregrass area we have the “Peanut Festival” once a year. Back in the early ’90’s I noticed that there wasn’t much acknowledgment to Dr. George Washington Carver. The brilliant scientist that discovered the many uses of the peanut. Making it the cash crop for our area after the attack of the boweavel on cotton crops. Almost ruining the south’s economy.
Being a street minister at the time and needing a good tract to pass out, I wrote a tract on Dr. Carver and his belief in God as it’s message. People took the tract and some teachers asked for more to give their students. By the next year there were floats honoring this black gentleman.
And now we have a small museum for him here is Dothan. Men like this are worthy of acknowledgment.

I hope to share more on Him and others of the black race that I have come to admire.

Happy Robert E. Lee’s Birthday,
Just wanted to remember one of the greatest leaders in US history on his birthday. My family tree is full of confederate soldiers, quite a few who made that long march from Appomattox back home. But one copy of a news article I’ve seen that wish to post about is one of a distant relative of mine. Second Cousin Four Times Removed Henry Harris Sasnett. The article tells how Henry acting as a scout for the south entered a confederate camp and was took prisoner. The solders thought he was a spy. After some time they called the person over the camp and he questioned him about the charge. After determining that he was innocent and a southern scout, the officer asked him to join him for a meal. Then they went their separate ways until the end of the war. Later in Jacksonville, Fla. the two meet again and Henry gave the officer a pair of new boots.
The officer later wrote Henry a thank you note for the boots. This I saw a copy of along with the news article. The note was sign Robert E. Lee.

This speaks of the character of the man. In the book “Christ In The Camp” by J. Williams Jones, Jones did a chapter on the General and wrote how he was an adv id writer. He wrote everyone he could think of with thank you notes. This is amazing knowing the time he did not have to waste.

I saw a History channel doc one day (DVD I got for Christmas) and how the general was not beat but gave up to save lives. I seems his army was out of food and every train shipment that came to them was full of weapons but no food. He was commanded to retreat into the mountains and wage “Guerrilla War”. This was something the Union was afraid would happen. This would prolong the war for years to come and cost many-many lives. He choose to surrender and help bring the war to and end. I believe He listened to the commander-in-chief of heaven and obeyed.

Another story on the doc was that after the war. In the Va. church were many leaders attended. The blacks still sat in the back, but one day as the Pastor called people forward to receive communion, an elderly black man came forward and stood at the alter. After a couple of minutes awkwardness a gray haired gentleman came forward and stood beside the black man and took communion. The gentleman was Robert E. Lee. Then others came. General Lee spent the rest of his life trying to heal the division of North and South.

To our beloved General, Happy Birthday. You lost all you had, but gained a place in history and hearts.

I found this great site I wanted to share.
You go to http://freerice.com Play the vocab game and as long as you stay and play the advertisers donate rice to the poor for how many words you guess the meaning of. It is real goos for home schoolers and people like me with a lousy vocab.

Check it out.

I saw the news article Tuesday (12/18/07) on Aruba putting Natalee Holloway’s case (an Alabamian Teenager) on “Cold File” status.
Without ranting on injustice and other issues about this case. I look at my 19 year old daughter and wonder why anyone would send their child off to an island were any person of any age can enter a bar and get drunk? I blame not the parents but the whole worldly view that kids graduating from school should be rewarded by letting them go off and sow their wild oats. This is a lie from Hell and soon more children (and that is what they are. Not young adults.) will end up being the ones planted.

But I do not want to go into all the issues involving this case. I just want us to remember her through the years and not forget that our responsibility to our children do not stop when they get their diplomas. And they board that ship for a Sr. trip to mark their passage to adulthood. Let’s use our common sense, OK?

Also, Let’s do something constructive , boycott Aruba. Don’t go, let your school system know not to allow senior trips there, and contact Game Shows, or the networks they appear on, when you see trips to Aruba offered.

I just saw the Movie “Recess Christmas: Miracle on 3rd Street” and was really tee’d off. I don’t know what the directors and writers were trying to do but they messed up. The carton had little to do with Christmas until the end and the only time Christ was mentioned was in the title. The part featuring a Christmas play was to be interfaith but all holiday beliefs were represented but the Christian faith. We got Santa Claus. And Mickey learned that he was only rel if he believed in him in his heart. They could have at least given Christ the same blow-off. The real miracle on 3rd Street would have been the Lord getting far time.

Here is a list of those responsible for the Movie/cartoon. And visit the people at Disney.

Directed By:
Chuck Sheetz
Howy Parkins
Susie Dietter

Written By:
Chuck Sheetz
Holly Huckins
Joe Ansolabehere
Mark Drop
Michael Kramer
Paul Germain
Phil Walsh
Steve Bannos

“Now there were in the country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I give you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” Luke 2:8-9

On the night of the greatest event in world history the Lord choose to reveal Him-self to low class shepherds of the fields. These shepherds had to travel away from their families to get their herd to greener pastures. They had to watch in shifts during the night to protect them from predators. They had no corral to place them in for safekeeping. The night shift shepherds were surely the hired hands of the owning family. No evidence just experience on those who is always chosen for the night shift.
God chooses the lowly to share in the Good news of a savior being born. This shows us that God loves dearly those in low places like those missing their families because of “greener pasture”.
If you find yourself in this situation as I have found at this time. Rejoice that God has placed angels to watch over you, His flock, during the night. Receive His Good News and joy to all people like you.

{This is from a comment I made on Crosswalk Forum}

The first time I had heard of the fused chromosome theory was on a Nova episode a couple of weeks ago.
When I heard it the questions that came to my mind was:
1. Have science been able to fuse two chromosomes in the lab or it the same as the life-from no life theory.
(And even if it can be done in the lab does not mean it can be done el-natural)
2. If the ape chromosome fused to make a human , wouldn’t that create a jump in the line of evolution crossing out the links between Heidelberg man and Cro-Magnon. If evolution is a slow process, wouldn’t the creation die before being able to mutate.
3. Why is it so hard to believe that God (by definition is all-powerful and can do anything) created man as recorded in the Bible.
Or what in animal tells it to mutate or fuse. What force, what intelligence tells the creature to mutate to a more needful level.
Naturaly it is just hard to believe. And I have seen no evidence that persaudes me to leave a believe system that has proven true to me for the past 29 years. My rejection of the spirit part of me would cause me to de-evolve so-to-speak in the scheme of things.

Can science prove without a doubt that the chromosomes fused by themselves naturaly. I can find no evidence of this in writing or on the web. We are told to believe just because some biased scientist say we should. I don’t think so. Show me the evidence.

Major Ian Thomas once wrote to the affect of (my paraphrase):” Anything that can be explained in human terms is probly not the work of God”. (Mystery of Godliness by Major Ian Thomas)

I came across this quote by Charles Darwin in a set of books my daughter borrowed from the college library. I have heard of many quotes saying that Darwin had recanted of his theroies on his death bed and returned to faith in God. This turns out to be “evangelical wishful thinking”. There is not any proof of this. Even his son says that it isn’t possible. One author I read says that he became more atheistic as he grew older. This is also not provable. This quote brings out a lot of discussion but most can not be believed outside of the whole text of writings together. Like scripture this portion has to be read along with the rest of his writings to get a clear picture of his true beliefs and how they evolved. But one belief mentioned in this quote that stands on it’s own and that’s the one I want to look at.
Here is the quote:
“But I own that I cannot see as plainly as others do, and as I should wish to do, evidence of design and beneficence on all sides of us. There seems to me too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidre with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice. Not believing this, I see no necessity in the belief that the eye was expressly designed. On the other hand, I cannot anyhow be contented to view this wonderful universe, and especially the nature of man, and to conclude that everything is the result of brute force. I am inclined to look at everything as resulting from designed laws, with the details, whether good or bad, left to the working out of what we may call chance. Not that this notion at all satisfies me. I feel most deeply that the whole subject is too profound for the human intellect. A dog might as well speculate on the mind of Newton. Let each man hope and believe what he can. Certainly I agree with you that my views are not at all necessarily atheistical. The lightning kills a man, whether a good one or bad one, owing to the excessively complex action of natural laws. A child (who may turn out an idiot) is born by the action of even more complex laws, and I can see no reason why a man, or other animal, may not have been aboriginally produced by other laws, and that all these laws may have been expressly designed by an omniscient Creator, who foresaw every future event and consequence. But the more I think the more bewildered I become; as indeed I have probably shown by this letter.”

Charles Darwin
From: “Life and letters of Charles Darwin”
Vol. 2 Letter to Asa Gray 1860 pg. 312
Johnson Reprint Corp. 1969

I have heard this argument for the “non-exsistance” of God for a long time. I remember one episode of a well known sit-com called Home Improvement were the character “Randy” announced to his parents that he was atheist. When asked why, he replied (as I remember it) that he could not believe in a God that allowed so much suffering in the world, or in words implying this. When Randy’s parents got upset and he asked them why he should believe, Tim answered that,”it was the right thing to believe”. I know Tim’s answer was pretty stupid and shallow. And made the believer character look pretty foolish. Now as I’ve gotten older and studied some on the subject I see how Randy’s answer was just as stupid. Just as Darwin and others who just can’t bring themselves to believe in a God that let’s bad things happen or create organisms that kill other organisms. This argument is so unscientific that I’m surprised that people claiming themselves smart and demand such a high proof of evidence from believers would use such a weak argument. And for an atheist to use the words “if” and “God” together would likely make him or her agnostic.
The newest phrase I’ve learned is “malevolent design”. How ever educated this sounds, it is not evidence and will not prove anything. Once again atheists demand that we prove our beliefs but offer no proof for themselves. To say that you believe that there is no God and if there was one, He would be an evil one not worthy of worship. Does this should a little bias to anyone? And they get there info from the Bible which they say they don’t believe is reliable. SOoo, they don’t believe in God because if he was true He would be bad because the Bible which they don’t believe says so. How confusing is this? And we as Christians are told that we do not use our brains and we believe in fairy tales.
I really must ask, where is the proof?

Would you like to hear the Christian explaination. If not, quit reading here.

In the book of Genisis we are told that God created everything (I am simplifing this down for you thinkers) and said,”It is good”. Now God had given instructions for the created humans that they were free to eat anything in the garden but the fruit from one tree. The day they ate it, they would spiritualy die. Now the tree was not poison or deadly. It was was good. God gave the humans a free will, but limits to their freedom. Who knows why. That is not an issue. Anyway, they disobeyed and they, the garden and the earth was cursed with the result of sin. The results of this sin cursed the earth all the way down through history. It changed animals. Lions could no longer lay down with lambs. They ate them. Roses were more than just beautiful, they had thorns. Gold was no longer transparent as mentioned in the description of heaven’s golden streets. It became a crude yellow. This also corrupted bacteria and organs. One good example is that one type of cell rebelled and did it’s own thing in the human body instead of working with the rest. it is known as cancer.
So all that God created is good. It is man that is responsible for all the bad on earth. They just like to blame God, who they don’t believe in. It is funny how we tell God to get out of our schools and our lives then blame Him when He doesn’t step in to divert a disaster. But, we humans are like that. Until we are “born again” (not reincarnation but as explained in the Book of John Chapter 3) with a new spirit to replace the one that died in Eden. We will remain that way and blame our Creator.

Romans 1:1
Paul uses the titles Bondservant (NCV) and Apostle. He only used this combination once more in the book of Titus. In Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Timothy he uses Apostle and in Philippians. he uses Bondservant. In Philemon he uses prisoner. And he uses neither in Thessalonians. There may be nothing special about these usages but we can see a principal here that illustrates a concept we can use. Note that in the KJV bondservant is translated as just “servant”. A bondservant is a slave that is bought totally and owns nothing and has no rights except what his or her master allows.
In verse one of Romans Bondservant or servant is used before the title “Apostle”. This illustrates how we should be found faithful as a servant before our calling weather Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher. (Eph. 4:11) can be proved. Some receive their calling at an early time but does not move into it until they are trained by God in that calling. Weather schooling of just hard knocks. The whole experience of being a servant can be all the training we need. Moses and David’s life as a Shepherd helped in their calling as leaders of God’s Chosen.
So we must be found faithful as a servant before the Lord uses us elsewhere. Joseph would never had risen as head of Potipher’s household if he had never been faithful as a servant. He would never had became lead trustee in the prison if he had not submitted and become the model prisoner. Some may yell, “I am not a slave but a friend of Jesus.” Quoting from John 15:11-15.  Even so we must be found faithful even to be a friend. At one company I had worked at years ago after working as hard as I could I became good friends with the owner. Then after some time I became lax in my work as I became comfortable in my position. Just as many long timers in some companies. Soon my friendship with the owner became strained and I lost my job and my friend. Even being a friend of Jesus according to the Bible means that you obey His commands. So this relationship is a joyous servant/friend relationship. Some may not care  because they don’t feel they are called to anything. I believe that all of us are called to a ministry. And when we are ready the Lord will move us into it. For the benefit of the Church and His Kingdom.

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Psalms 116:15

Last week my Dad died. Thursday morning Oct. 18, 2007. After being taken to the hospital he had another heart attack. After quite a few flat lines and being revived we decided not to postpone the inevitable.
He had been ready for this event for a long time. He was operating on only 20% of his heart with one artery in and one out. Before when he would have a heart attack, he told me that the doctor would tell him that he did not have much to work with and that next time they my not be able to revive him. He would reply with,”I know were I am going, how about you.” His life was full of good fruit, showing what was inside.
The preachers gave a good service but neglected to explain, why my dad was the way he was. Jesus! I believe if my Dad had been there he would have stood up and yelled, “Preach Jesus, Not me!” Instead it was left to the Holy Spirit to reveal to each one there the answer to the question. And maybe that was the best way.
The funeral and burial were the first I had attended of someone really close. It was marked with peace and assurance that He was doing fine. I could not touch his body or even speak to it. I could not see it as him. The old saying kept coming to mind, “Here lies the shell, the real nut is gone.”
The comfort that he was with the Lord and that one day we who believed would see him again was very real. I was given my Dad’s bible and this passage was marked, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
Those who do not believe have no way of knowing this peace that passes their understanding. They know that there is something more. That’s why they invade christian web forums and post comments on Christian sites. That’s why they spend their energies raving about Christians instead of improving themselves to herald the next evolution of mankind. They know that there is more.
My Dad once was a believer, now he is a knower. We cry no more for him although we miss him. There is a void left in us because of his death. But have peace there is One who can fill the void. His name is Jesus.
After the funeral I realized that I had never said good-bye or that I loved him. The Lord revealed to me that he (my Dad) was plunged into the very Source of our spirituality and when we prayed in the Holy Spirit my Dad would receive the prayer also. What the Lord knew, my Dad knew.
God is so good. How can I ever accept a belief that reduces us to animals with out any real evidence and forsake a God that shows us the truth. In life and death.

In memory of Franklin Morris Brooks husband of Bettie Maxine Duke. Son of Oscar Morris Brooks and Ira Blankenship. Father of Franklin, Curtis, Wayne and Bucky Brooks.