It's A Wonderful Life

It was over 2000 years ago that a young woman, pure and clean, was visited by an Angel. Her name was Mary and she was told that she would carry the child of God.  Mary said she was God's handmaid and would accept God's will.  From this, our Savior was born and the world would celebrate his birthday until the end of time. 

What if history did not play out as it did?  What if God had not sent us his son.  What if Jesus had never been born?

In the time of Jesus, mankind was forced to live as those in power chose for them to live.  People who had strength or riches, had power.  Women, the elderly and sick were mistreated or killed.  If you were different or thought different than those in power, you would face a brutal death. 

Very likely, without the birth of the Prince of Peace, life would have only become worse.  Centuries after Jesus was born, came the time of Mohammad and the eventual birth of Islam - a religion that preaches respect for life but imposes terrible penalties on those who do not comply with it's teaching - a belief which is enforced to the highest extreme by radical factions today.  Without Christ and his disciples to teach about peace and forgiveness, Islam and other radical religions may rule the earth today. 

Without the gift of the Son of God given to us, women who disrespect men would be stoned.  Gay men and women would be killed.  Mentally or physically handicapped people would be slaughtered.  Without God sending his son in the form of the Holy Spirit to walk the earth, government sanctioned murder would not be limited to just aborted babies.  People who dared to think for themselves or who opposed those in power would be crucified on a cross.  Technology as we know it - telephones, lights, cars and computers might not exist since free thinking would not be allowed.

If God had not given us the greatest gift of his son so many years ago, December 25 would not be filled with colorful lights, gifts and celebrations with friends and family. It would certainly not be a day off from work.  If the King of Kings had not been born over 2000 years ago, life on earth might not exist today.

There are a growing number of lost sheep today who identify as "atheist".  In the minds of these people, Jesus was not born and did not save us from our sins.  Atheist's have an arrogance about them that allows them to believe that the birth of Jesus, which was prophesied in the Old Testament thousands of years before it happened, never happened.  They somehow believe that they are smarter than thousands of years of recorded history. 

By God's own rule, atheists have the free will to believe as they choose.  Unfortunately, it is their lack of belief or faith which will eventually lead to the end of Christianity and the strengthening of the powers working against God.  In other words, because they choose not to believe, it will be non-Christian and anti-Christian beliefs which will be allowed to flourish and grow.  As Christianity is pushed aside, we will return to the times when men with strength and riches who will determine how we all will live - we need not look far to see it happening all around us today.

Despite what Satan desires and what the lost sheep believe, Jesus was born of the virgin Mary.  Jesus had died on a cross to save us from our sins and Jesus has taught us to love our neighbors and our enemies. But most of all, Jesus taught us that every year on December 25, when we see the star shine bright in the sky and we hear the trumpets sound, a Savior is born - the Christ, Jesus; the Lord of Lords and King of Kings; the Prince of Peace and the salvation of the entire universe.  It is because he was born on this day that we can celebrate this Wonderful Life!  Merry Christmas to All!

Can I Bum A Smoke?

Remember when cigarette smoking was our biggest social issue?  It started when a bunch of people who chose to stop smoking, decided everyone else should also stop smoking.  This group pushed their agenda until governments had the freedom to tax smokers into poverty and employers were allowed, literally encouraged, to discriminate against this single group of people. Oh yeah, these people call themselves "progressive".  

Way back then, many people stopped smoking and just went on with their life.  They didn't try to push their agenda on their neighbors or co-workers.  They stopped smoking, went out and bought a dog or a jigsaw puzzle, and life went on...until...one person thought to himself, "if I can't smoke, nobody should".  That is when it all started  - the progressive movement.  If only his best friend or a co-worker would have punched him upside the head at that moment, life might be better today for everyone.  It's a bit like that going back in time and killing a mosquito - Newton's equal and opposite reaction, third law of physics thing.

Let's take a look back on 2016 to see how one cry baby many years ago, determined how we should live today.

• Obama spent the past 8 years calling conservatives all sorts of offensive names including, "tea baggers".  Conservatives are labeled as too sensitive for objecting to the name calling.
• Trump calls Hillary a crook for...being a crook. The left loses their minds.
• Trump makes an ignorant comment about women a decade ago and women's rights groups protest Trump for disrespecting and exploiting women.  The same women's rights groups are defending women who chose to appear on television in very compromising and sometimes, disgusting situations.
• Planned Parenthood sells baby parts for profit - and it's okay!?!?!?!
• Illegal immigrants are allowed to flood into the country unrestricted and un-vetted.  The U.S. President tells them to go ahead and vote in the November national election because they will not get caught.
• Young people across the nation are given "safe spaces" in colleges and universities; and additional "understanding" when they break the rules in the workplace, because we must be more understanding.  Poor babies.  
• Young people across the nation are shooting up workplaces, night clubs and colleges and universities; and cutting off the heads of people who do not agree with or "understand" them.
• Criminals who happen to be black are misunderstood, so they assassinate cops and we are supposed to understand that criminal lives matter.
• One third of the population is no longer in the workforce but somehow we are expected to accept that only 4.5% of the population is unemployed.  Even more frightening is how many people actually believe that unemployment is only 4.5%
• Speaking of work, those who work hard are accused of "playing the game".  People who break the work rules are considered trendy or enlightened.
• Donald Trump is elected President, promising another 4 years of progressive policies, yet progressives are protesting Trump's election and threatening the lives of Electors if they vote as they are obligated to.  Am I the only one that sees a problem here?   
• Prospering on your own is considered greedy.  Speaking against government provided prosperity is considered racist.
• Praying to God and belief in Jesus is considered hateful.  Denying God is considered tolerant and understanding.
• Honoring the U.S. Constitution and the American flag is considered offensive or aggressive.  Burning the flag and disrespecting the U.S. Constitution is considered patriotic?!?!?!
• Fidel Castro is now a hero.  Glenn Beck, Ted Cruz and other conservatives are considered UN-American.  

This list can go on for weeks but you get where I'm going.  The nation has seemingly lost it's mind and I blame it on the anti-smoking movement.  For so many years we used the smoke break to think through our problems.  

The smoke break was a time to decompress and forget about trivial irritants, like the women standing in the middle of the aisle of a grocery store, reading a label.  If you cannot figure out how to move out of the way, what do you hope to learn by reading a label?  See?  When I smoked, this would not have bothered me.

After coming to the end of one of the most bizarre years in my life, I propose that we all stop for a smoke break.  We need to reel in our sanity.  Let's face it, American Indian's have been using tobacco as medicine for years so there must be something to this dried weed.  At midnight on December 31, let us all start smoking.  Not only will this make the nation a much happier place, but this can be a New Year Resolution we can all keep.  Happy 2017!