The Parable of Our Cat

Well, our cat is running back and forth throughout the house right now. Sunroom to living room, living room to bedroom, bedroom to sunroom. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Is our cat insane? Yes, but that's beside the point. I think our cat is simply happy.

Our cat is a "used" cat and by that I mean that my wife is the second owner. Our cat's previous life was spent in a small duplex with high, curtained windows . . . and a dog. Not that any of that is bad, but now it is living in a bigger, window-filled, dogless house and I think the cat is merely expressing joy in its new home.

The parable here is simple - a joyful life IN Christ. Think about it. Did we ourselves not journey from one "owner" to the next? Have we not been given a new heart? Are we not loved and cared for? We have all we need and SHOULD be joyful.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice." - Philippians 4:4

Granted, our cat still gets into trouble from time to time. It's a curious cat. But we too can stray from the path of righteousness. But then we are corrected and forgiven.

My wife absolutely loves her cat. And the cat knows it. It will sleep on her lap and waits for her outside the bedroom door each morning. And then, when her owner finally emerges, well, let the joyful romping begin! Oh, to have a faith like that!

Emily

What can you decern by looking at this picture? A young woman being prepped for surgery? Yes. Is she upbeat or fearful? She is smiling and flashing the "I love you" hand sign. I'd say VERY upbeat, almost excited. Why?

Well . . .

This is Emily Damari. She was one of the hostages recently released by Hamas. She had two of her fingers shot off on October 7th, 2023. If you look closer at the picture of her hand you can see that her 3rd and 4th fingers are not folded over. They're gone! Yet, she smiles. Why?

Of course, I can only guess but she is no longer being kept in tunnels (where she was held for 471 days). She is finally being treated for the nerve damage caused by her wounds. She was in constant pain during her captivity. Her physical pain is finally coming to an end. But what about her emotional and psychological pain? When will that subside?

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33

We all suffer pain in this life. Most of OUR pain is nothing compared to what this young lady went though. Perhaps her purpose now is to serve as a visual reminder of perseverance and hope. She has accomplished that already.

In the JNS article (link below) she thanked President Trump for getting her out and also asked that he get the remaining hostages out as well. But Emily is missing something else besides her two fingers.

Emily was given a gift. That's for sure. But her thanks and praise are directed to human hands. She speaks of hell (in the tunnels) and miracles (her survival) but never mentions God at any time.

Perhaps Emily will one day realize that the reason she was set free was not due to the efforts of any one man. Its roots are in the grace, love, and mercy of the Lord God Almighty.

We must continue to pray for the remaining hostages as well as their families. Even prayers for Hamas, that God would soften their hearts.

It is good to see Emily smile. Hopefully, one day, she will smile because she is standing before Jesus, having accepted Him as her Lord and Savior. He has already saved her once. May He do so again.

One final thought. Look at Emily's hand again. A permanent reminder of God's love . . . a permant 'I love you" for all to see.

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. ⁴He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” - Revelation 21:3-4

Lord, please heal Emily's emotional and physical pain. Also, heal her heart, and her hand. Prepare her heart as she testifies to others about what she went through. But most importantly, heal her soul through the shed blood of Jesus. Her testimony will be a powerful one. May she thank YOU and praise YOU for her safe return as she shares it. In you merciful name I pray. Amen.

JNS Article

We The People

"Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words with never hurt me."

That childhood limerick might have worked for us kids when I was growing up but in the political arena of today it has proven to be a big, fat lie.

We witnessed an assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump this past Saturday. I have a few questions.

How did a 20-year old guy get on top of a nearby building with a rifle? Somebody in the "Secret Service" did not do their job.

The news media always seems obsessed with finding out who the shooter was. And, in nearly every case, they ALWAYS get it wrong. At first, we heard it was a Chinese national. Wrong. What's really going on here?

Let's go back to a story about Jesus in The Bible and I'll take a look.

"Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve." - Luke 22:1-3

There are several things worthy of note in those three verses, but the biggest is this: Satan ENTERED Judas.

Pro tip: Satan will not enter where the Holy Spirit (The Restrainer) is present. That tells us all we need to know about Judas. And each other.

Next, it was the chief priests and the teachers of the law who wanted to KILL Jesus. Who would they be in the present-day Trump scenario? I'll let YOU answer that. There are several possibilities.

That brings us to the third interesting thing in this Luke 3 text. "They were afraid of the people."

Pick up your copy on the U.S. Constitution. I'll wait.

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

We, the people, have it within our power to elect officials. WE choose. We do NOT have the right to kill them.

When our elected officials get into the habit of referring to their opponents as 'Hitler' or as a 'threat to democracy,' they need to remember that WE are in charge, not them. Their inflammatory words only encourage others to act according to Satan's will, not God's.

It is In God We Trust, not Satan.

Here's an interesting quote from Joe Biden as reported by The Western Journal:

"Days before an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden said it was time to “put Trump in a bullseye.” - The Western Journal

The left, it seems, will go to anything length to maintain their grip on power. So, am I saying that the shooter was hired by The Left? No. But what I AM saying is, that if they did, it would not surprise me.

"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." - Ecclesiastes 10:2

If we place our hope in presidential candidates we are fools. Trust in God, not man. "In God We Trust" is the official motto of the United States of America. It's about time we act like we mean it. To God be the glory. Not man.

God's Grace

I came across a story in the Bible this week that made me stop and think. It was about Jehoiachin (aka Jeconiah), king of Judah.

Jehoiachin became king in 598 BC at the age of 18 and "did evil in the eyes of the Lord." Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin's father, another evil dude, gave him the kingdom.

The thing that got me thinking about this story was that this man, even though he did bad things, suddenly was released from prison at the end of his earthly life, given new clothes, and sat and was fed at the king's table all the remaining days of his life.

God blessed him. Why?

"In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. He did this on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month. He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table. Day by day the king gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived." - 2 Kings 25:27-30

Why was Jehoiachin important? Why is he in the Bible? He only reigned for three months and ten days. And he did evil! Yet, at the end of his life,  he was treated with grace and respect.

Well, he was the last king of Judah and he was a decendant of King David, therefore in the lineage of Jesus. Jehoiachin was the last king of Judah.... until Jesus, the Lion of Judah, came upon the earth.

In the story above we see how God can still extend grace to those who sin against him, even though, by God's will, he was punished for his sins (prison).

Doesn't Jehoiachin represent each of us in a way? We all do evil in the eyes of the Lord. Yet God has extended us grace through His Son, Jesus. And won't we be putting on new clothes in heaven one day? Clothed in righteousness through our faith in Jesus.

And we too will "sit at the Kings table" and be fed all the days of our eternal lives because of our faith in Jesus, a decendant of Jehoiachin.

Jehoiachin is a good reminder of God's righteous judgement, but also of His grace.

"He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free." - Psalm 146:7

In God We Trust

Four little words - In God We Trust. One simple question - Do we?

The United States of America has this 'In God We Trust' slogan printed on its money. But do we really trust in God. I'm not sure all of us do. Some want to remove this slogan from our currency. Atheists, to be sure. They worship only themselves.

We, as a nation, celebrated our independence yesterday. Our independence from what? Well, the British, who tried imposing their religious beliefs on an entire nation. Our nation was founded on religious freedom.

Now, however, we are beginning to see our nation entertaining ideas contrary to our religious beliefs. It has gotten so far that our law makers are making laws against these religious freedoms. Thankfully these laws have been ruled unconstitutional by our nation's Supreme Court.

What will happen when your nation's highest court becomes "packed" with liberal minds who oppose religion? As president Ronald Reagan once said, ""Without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."

Amen to that!

So, is it time for another revolutionary war? Not quite yet, I think. You see, we who believe have the Lord God Almighty on our side. What do we have to fear concerning mere men?

Still, it is disheartening to see God's will for us contradicted and removed and then the opposite instituted in our society as law.

President Obama once said that we are "no longer a Christian nation." Sadly, I think he is right. We have strayed from the plan our forefathers envisioned - "One nation, under God. Indivisible."

We ARE a nation that has become divided. God is mocked in places He once was worshiped in. SO, what do we do? Are you willing to fight? Our answer to that question should be 'no.' Are we willing to die? Our answer to THAT question should be 'yes.'

There is one true God. He is not Buddha, He is not Allah. He is God, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. Let us celebrate our independence from the lies being held up as truth. Let us praise and worship our risen King. The truth will set us free. And, one day, we shall be free indeed.

"Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

39“Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.

42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." - John 8:34-44

The Rebel In Me

What is it with us humans? Half of us want to do whatever the government tells us to do while the other half want to do just the opposite. How to tell what is right and what is wrong?

One thing that always gripes my cookies is when someone tells me what I can and cannot do.  We live in America - the land of the free for goodness sakes! We are free to make our own choices and, as long as they don't infringe on anyone else's rights, we should be free to make them.

This whole stay at home thing for example. Our governor here in Wisconsin has now decided that we all need to stay "safer at home" until the end of May. That's ridiculous. I understand where he's coming from. He wants to "keep everyone safe." But what about our sanity?

The biggest topic of discussion I have heard talked about during the past several years has been mental health. Heard anyone talking about that lately? No. The news is all corona virus - 24/7. What happened to mental health? Locking someone up in their homes for two months with no income and zero social interaction is mentally depleting.

I'll go out on a limb at predict that there will be an a huge spike in domestic abuse, suicide, depression, alcoholism, and any other "ism" you can think of during this month and next. Why? Because were all cooped up in our homes. We're slowly going crazy! So much for mental health.

Do you remember this Bible verse?

"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" - Mark 12:17

Jesus spoke those words. We, as followers of Christ, are to obey our government's laws EXCEPT when they conflict with God's laws. For example, abortion. It is a lawful thing to do in our country. We are to obey that law. Yet God says "do not murder." It's one of the ten commandments. So what do we do? God wins out. Therefore I personally will oppose abortion so should any Christian. Those who perform abortions will answer to God one day. So will those who support it.

What about the stay at home executive order? I think that we should obey the governor's wishes as much as possible. I also feel that "his wishes" are very close to violating our constitution and Bill of Rights. The Constitution say "we have been endowed by certain unalienable rights." By whom? OUR CREATOR! I therefore have decided to stay inside . . . except when I feel the need to go out and exercise my rights. Freedom of assembly. Freedom of worship.

We should be smart but we should also be wary. There are too many politicians lurking around with agendas of their own. Many are not interested in what God thinks, only in what THEY think. And that's where the rebel in me says, "Enough!"

Be smart! Think! But do what is right in God's eyes. We are His. He is our King. Read that verse again. "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." We belong to God!

Look, I will stay inside. But if there is a church service somewhere, where everyone is worshiping within the social distancing guidelines set up by Caesar, I am going! No matter what Caesar says.

Come, Now Is The Time To Worship - Phillips, Craig and Dean

Now We Are Free

The battle you are waging right now - do you look forward to its end? Even the fiercest of warriors long for times of peace - when they can finally be free.

I spent Friday morning without any technology. No television, no computer, maybe a little phone time but that's about it. It was nice. A welcome break from all the "news" and political slop.

I look forward to the time when there will be no more tears or suffering and we all can live in peace. No arguments, no more enemies, no more sin. Peace from ALL battles. We will finally be free.

As I was visiting with a friend Friday morning, I was reminded of the story of Moses and battle that was being fought against the Amalekites. It was a tough fight. Back and forth. But Moses, with the help of his friends, won the day. They literally held him up in battle.

"The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”

So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up - one on one side, one on the other - so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword." - Exodus 17: 8-13

When we fight our battles in this life it can often feel hopeless. The enemy can seem so powerful. That's when we need to remember one thing. God has promised to never leave or forsake us. He has promised to "lift us up on wings like eagles" (Isaiah 40:31).

So lift up your hands! Engage the enemy. He is powerless against almighty God! And should your arms get weak, should you grow weary my friends, call on the name of The Lord! You will prevail!! Not because of YOUR strength, but because of His.

Blessed be the name of the Lord!!

Now We Are Free - Two Cellos

I Almost Cheated

My wife and I are at our new favorite motel in Petoskey Michigan. It has free everything! Free food, free cookies, and free haircuts! That's right! This is also the place where I almost cheated.

You see, no one has cut my hair except my regular barber, Don. When my wife suggested I try the free haircut I told her no because that would almost be like cheating.

That got me thinking this morning. What does cheating on God look like? I think it's when we take some of God's glory for ourselves. It's not spending time with Him when we really should.

Relationships are very important to God. That's why we were created. To spend time with God, to worship God. But God also said, "it is not right for man to be alone" - Genesis 2:18. He also commanded us to look after the widow and the orphan. Who are they? Could they be the spiritual widow? The person who has no father as in God, The Father? And what does it mean to 'look after them'?

I think it means to love the people God places in our lives. But that love is never to take the place of our relationship with, and love for, God. Our earthly relationships are a gift from God, not something we have created ourselves to take His place. I am married, I have friends, none of them should be more important than my relationship with God. That would be like getting the free haircut at the motel outside of my relationship with my barber. My getting a haircut elsewhere would be taking food off his table.

I have people in my life that I love. Dearly. We all have cherished relationships. But they should not supplant God in our lives. That would be idolatry. That would be spiritual adultery. Instead we should praise God for everything we have been given - our relationships, everything. We must not be tempted by the greener grass on the other side of the fence. The free stuff. We were made to love God and to be loved BY God. Our earthly relationships should be patterned after that love, not take the place of it.

When I experience something my first desire is to contact my wife and tell her about it. I might contact a friend to share something with. That's all well and good if we remember to share it with God first. Thank Him first. Praise Him first. Then share. Remember God first in ALL things.

We are blessed in this country with many freedoms. Let us always remember who gave us those freedoms and continue to praise God in everything we do. Doing so fulfills the reason we were created in the first place.

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;" - Genesis 2:15-16

Made To Love - TobyMac

Running Wild

When I was growing up I had a dog named Linus. Yes, he was named after the famous Peanuts character. Linus used to stand on his hind legs at the end of his chain and bark at anything that passed by. He kept working at his chain until it broke and then he took off running, chain dragging behind. He loved to run wild.

It always took a long time to get him back home once he was free and running to and fro, wherever he wanted to. He enjoyed being free and doing what he wanted. Unfortunately, he was also running blind - running without being aware of his surroundings.

In the summer we would travel to our family farm and there we would let him run free. He really enjoyed that. He would run and run until he couldn't run any more.

You and I are a lot like Linus. So often we think of this life and some place to run wild through. We won't listen to the voices that are calling after us. We ignore them in favor of doing what we want. That can come with some heavy consequences.

Although we don't have chains on us we do have God's Law as our leash. Our obedience is something that God wants from us. When He yells, "Stop!" God wants my dog to obey because we are often going somewhere we shouldn't.

There are two things that can happen when God removes OUR chains and we are allowed to run free. Either we are obedient to our Master and stay by his side or we run wild through life, disobeying everything we have ever been taught.

Are we obedient? Or are we running blind?

"5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine," - Exodus 19:5

"25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do." - James 1:25

Running On Empty - Jackson Browne

The Rescuer

It didn't occur to me until this morning, the significance of what I had done the other day. Looking back on it now I feel like it was a message of some sort. A message that needs to be told.

I am building a tiny home in our yard. It's slow going to be sure but I am almost done with the exterior. Each morning I walk up to the job  site and open all the windows and the door. I have been doing that since, well, since there were windows and a door.

Periodically bugs get in and beat themselves senseless against the windows trying to get back out side. "Have you tried the open door?" I ask to myself, shaking my head in disbelief. Well, the other day THIS happened. All on the same day, all within the span of a few hours.

I was working most of the morning, putting siding on the tiny home. Painting, caulking, but I was getting hungry so I decided to take a break. When I got back to our regular house I heard a low, buzzing noise. I looked up to see a hummingbird, trapped in the rafters of our garage. It must have flown in through the open overhead door and couldn't see a way to get back out.

So I opened the service door and the two garage windows for some more obvious exits and went in to eat my lunch. When my meal was over I checked on the hummingbird. It was still in there buzzing so I went back up to the tiny house.

When I got there I heard and saw a fluttering of wings - a female Evening Grosbeak was INSIDE the tiny home. It had come in through the open door but couldn't find its way back out. I tried grabbing it but it was too freaked out and scared to allow it. It eventually landed on top of the open door and I directed it downward with my hand to freedom and off it went.

A few hours later I returned to the big house to get something and noticed that the hummingbird was gone. "Well, that's good," I thought to myself as I walked bake to the tiny house. When I arrived, I again noticed the fluttering of wings inside the tiny home.

"Again?" I thought? Yep. This time it was a Monarch butterfly. My favorite kind of butterfly. I reached out to it, gently, and held it inside my closed hand. Opening it slowly outside, I set it free and it was on its way.

There are so many different directions to go with this story, it's almost unbelievable. I'll start with the hummingbird, which eventually found its own way out of the garage. Some people are like that. You can show them what they need to do in life and eventually they can figure it out for themselves. But people waste a lot of time trying to find things out on their own, searching for answers. If they'd only listen.

Some people require direction when they get in trouble, like the grosbeak. They need a guiding hand to point them in the direction they should go. When they "see the light" they take off, never to return to the trap they found themselves in.

Then there are others who will die in the trap the found themselves in. There are numerous flies, wasps and bees in the windows of my tiny house because no one showed them the way out. But the beautiful butterfly was noticed by someone who cared for it. Like I said, the Monarch is my favorite butterfly. I took the time to actually, physically, rescue it.

Who is the butterfly in YOUR life who needs to be held, guided, loved and then released?

Jesus will provide for our every need. NEED, not want. He will guide us and direct us to where He wants us to be. But we DO need to open our eyes and see. We DO need to think and respond to His leading. If we don't we are destined to keep going around the mountain, around the mountain, around the mountain. Beating ourselves senseless against that ways of this world.

Jesus is OUR rescuer. He desires that no one should perish. But we have to allow Him to work in us and through us to save us. May God rescue those whom YOU love. May He guide them to safety and may they not become too damaged on their way to freedom in His arms.

37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing." - Matthew 23:37

Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd

When Is Enough Enough?

Men lined up on a beach. Each one dressed in orange - a striking contrast to their captors, shrouded in black, knife blades glistening in the sunlight. DO yourself a favor. Do NOT search Google Images using the word "beheadings". The images will never leave your brain. It's real people. Men, women and children in this world are being killed because of their faith.

Mini rant here: When is this country going to stand up and defend religious liberty? When ISIS burned the Jordanian pilot alive there was much public outcry but we took no action. Jordan did. Good for them. They acted against a very real threat to them. But religious liberty has taken a vacation from most of the seemingly apathetic world and it is thinking about leaving US if we don't make a stand.

We still have religious liberty here in our country . .. at least for now, but it's only a matter of time before this right is taken away from us. Do you think I'm kidding? Do you think I am being an alarmist? Take a look at Europe. It's already happening there.

Here is a link to an article penned by the Catholic News Agency. [Note: Removing religious liberty in France has begun happening long before this article was written in 2012]

France's New "Monitoring" Policy

In that article you saw that "The State", France, is now determining which religious groups are mainstream and which are radical. They have a new governmental agency in France now called The Observatory of Secularism. This agency exists to promote secularism in France. They observe "radical groups" and then report to the government, who then decides if these groups should be shut down or not.

This "wonderful" French agency is mainly going after Islamic terrorists, but of course they don't want to single out an individual group so they are proposing to eliminate ALL religious groups. Religious Liberty = GONE!

And just who are these "religious extremists" that France thinks are simply too radical? Radical Islamists? Yes. One can easily understand that given all the beheadings and burning people alive. But check out these other "radical" groups that are also on France's list of extremists.

• Creatonists
• The Catholic Church
• Orthodox Jews

France has decided to weed out the extremists IT feels are unworthy by banning ALL religious groups. Are you ready to have your religious liberty taken away from you? Not me. That's the reason this country was founded!

Open up your Bibles. Let's see what Jesus thinks we should do about removing "the weeds" from our fields?

"24 Then Jesus used another story to teach them. Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like a man who planted good seed in his field. 25 That night, while everyone was asleep, the man’s enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and then left. 26 Later, the wheat grew, and heads of grain grew on the plants. But at the same time the weeds also grew. 27 Then the man’s servants came to him and said, ‘You planted good seed in your field. Where did the weeds come from?’

28 “The man answered, ‘An enemy planted weeds.’

“The servants asked, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’

29 “He answered, ‘No, because when you pull up the weeds, you might also pull up the wheat. 30 Let the weeds and the wheat grow together until the harvest time. At the harvest time I will tell the workers this: First, gather the weeds and tie them together to be burned. Then gather the wheat and bring it to my barn.’” - Matthew 13:24-30

Am I saying ISIS should be left alone to practice their version or "religion"? No. I am saying we shouldn't stop ANY religious group from "meeting." We should, however, stop them from KILLING.

Most religions are peaceful. Some are not. In the end, God will decide which belief system is right and which ones don't measure up. Are you sure of your beliefs? Dead sure?

Jesus told us we are to love our enemies. I'd say that even includes while they are holding a knife to our throats. And we are to forgive them, even if they are burying children alive. We are called as Christians to "love our neighbors" - even those dressed in black holding our brothers and sisters captive because of their faith. Our reward is in heaven, not here. We must pray for ISIS. Pray that they would see Jesus through the lives of those they are killing and that they then would repent. We need to be on our knees for our religious liberty.

"Give me liberty or give me death!" - Patrick Henry

And finally, there is this from Jesus . . .

"21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times." - Matthew 18:21-22