God designed marriage to be days of delight and sweet nights. Genesis 2:23-25 Complete Jewish Bible says, "The man-person said, “At last! This is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. She is to be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” This is why a man is to leave his father and mother and stick with his wife, and they are to be one flesh. They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed."
Biddy Mason didn't get God's plan. She got the responsibilities of a marriage-like situation without the rewards of legality and love. An African proverb says, "A polygamist suffers a lot." Biddy, an African American and Native American, suffered a lot. She was a slave of many masters including Robert and Rebecca Smith. Robert was the father of both Rebecca's and Biddy's children.
Slaves don't have too much say so in their own destiny. Robert decided to leave the American south and head west. He, his family, Biddy and his other slaves ended up in California. California was a free state.
When Biddy learned that California was a free state, she kept her thoughts of freedom for herself and her children, Ellen, Harriet and Ann, a secret.
Eventually Robert wanted to go to Texas, a slave state. Biddy let her secret out and said no way was she and her daughters going to Texas.
Biddy met many free blacks in California. Some were born free. Others escaped slavery. Biddy asked her friends about how to escape slavery.
With the help of friends Biddy presented a court petition for freedom. On January 21, 1856, Biddy, her daughters and other slaves of the Smith's were freed.
Many people dream of being married. Some people dry up in response to an unfulfilled dream. Others ask God for new dreams, and pursue them. Biddy's children didn't come from a dream husband, but she pursued freedom for herself, her daughters and others, and got it. With her freedom Biddy worked and acquired not only a house for herself and her daughters, but also other property. It wasn't easy. California had housing discrimination. Biddy decided to do something about the discrimination. Some of her property she rented to other blacks. Other property she donated for purposes like grocery stores, day-care centers and churches. Biddy was also one of the founding members of the Los Angeles First African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Everyone needs the right to live, survive and thrive.
Chen Guangcheng is married to Yuan Weijing. He is not in a forced marriage-like situation as Biddy was. However, he became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy. Guangcheng's lawsuit was rejected, and he was placed under house arrest.
Like Biddy surprised her slave master with an escape from slavery to freedom, Guangcheng, a blind self-taught lawyer, surprised China by escaping from house arrest in April 2012 and entering the US embassy in Beijing. A deal was worked out between China and the United States; now Guangcheng lives in New York with his wife and children.
Friends helped Guangcheng to flee from house arrest in China and to continue the human rights activism he was doing in China into the United States.
On Tuesday he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
Sometimes friends are afraid to help friends. 1 Peter 5:7 New Living Translation says, "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." That doesn't mean trouble will go away; it means we can be confident and courageous because trouble isn't going to stop God's purposes and plans to make His people more like Himself.
Guangcheng's nephew, Chen Kegui, has been in jail after using knives to fend off local officials who burst into Kegui's home after Guangcheng's escape.
Chen Guangcheng said, "Recently, many friends and neighbors who I have been in touch with by phone have been taken into custody by the authorities for questioning. They have been threatened and made to describe what our conversations have been about," (January 29, 2013, Reuters article entitled "Blind dissident urges global pressure on China over rights" by Paul Eckert.)
When we are in the process of improving a marriage or another relationship, Satan, the kingdom of darkness and those under their influence get upset and stir up trouble. Don't get hung up on the trouble. Behold God and His plans, and move. Some change is immediate. Much change is long-term. Pasos cortos, vista larga (Short steps, long view.)
Biddy walked almost 2,000 miles from the American south to the West where she could get freedom. Guangcheng may have hoped to solve forced abortions and forced sterilizations in China, but coming to America was a necessary step.
Japanese Americans and other Asian Americans were forced into detention during World War II. Japanese Americans and others had to take a lot of steps from the 1940s until 1988 to get Congress to pass and former President Ronald Reagan to sign legislation which apologized for the internment and said that the government's actions were based on "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership." The US government eventually dispersed more than $1.6 billion in reparations to Japanese Americans interned and their heirs. Each citizen who had been interned was awarded $20,000.
No matter how many steps it takes to live in love and freedom, take the steps.
Showing posts with label Chinese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chinese. Show all posts
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Send Salt to Your Enemy
By July 4, 1827, African-American slavery was illegal in the state of New York. Nevertheless, the Dumonts sold Peter, Sojourner Truth's son, to the Gedney family who sold Peter to another family that took Peter to Alabama.
Peter's sale was illegal. New York law prohibited blacks being sold or sent out of state to circumvent their being freed within the state. Sojourner Truth, who was named Isabella at the time, confronted Mrs. Dumont. "Mrs. Dumont replied, "A fine fuss to make about a little nigger!...A pity 'tis, the niggers are not all in Guinea!"
Isabella insisted, "I'll have my child again."
"How can you get him?" asked Mrs. Dumont. "And what have you to support him with, if you could? Have you any money?"
"No," replied Isabella. "I have no money, but God has enough." (Sojourner Truth Slave, Prophet, Legend by Carleton Mabee with Susan Mabee Newhouse.)
God helped Isabella/Sojourner Truth to free Peter by connecting with Quakers and lawyers like Herman M. Romeyn, Charles H. Ruggles and A. Bruyn Hasbrouck, who had served a term in Congress.
God also helped another New Yorker to connect with help to secure freedom. God sent Chen Guangcheng, a blind lawyer, some friends to help him flee from house arrest in China in April 2012 and to continue the human rights activism he was doing in China into the United States. Guangcheng played a key role in exposing forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced in China as part of China's One-Child Policy. Guangcheng now lives in New York and travels out of state.
On Tuesday he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
Guangcheng's nephew, Chen Kegui, has been in jail after using knives to fend off local officials who burst into Kegui's home after Guangcheng's escape.
A few months ago Guangcheng received the 2012 Tom Lantos Human Rights Prize, named after a deceased California congressman who was the only Holocaust survivor to serve in the U.S. Congress, according to a January 29, 2013, Reuters article entitled "Blind dissident urges global pressure on China over rights" by Paul Eckert. The article says that the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice has given previous annual awards to the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, Holocaust survivor and activist Elie Wiesel and Paul Rusesabagina, a Rwandan hotel manager who hid and protected more than 1,200 refugees during Rwanda's genocide.
Guangcheng said regarding US negotiations with China in translated remarks read in English by actor and Tibet advocate Richard Gere, "There should be no compromise, even if there are large business interests at stake - dignity, freedom and justice are more important" (January 29, 2013, Reuters article entitled "Blind dissident urges global pressure on China over rights" by Paul Eckert.)
"Porque vosotros, hermanos, a libertad fuisteis llamados; solamente que no useis la libertad como ocasion para la carne, sino servios por amor los unos a los otros," dice Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960. The Bilingual Bible New King James Version says, "For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."
When Sojourner Truth's son was freed, she did not use her liberty as an opportunity to nurture her flesh in isolation. Instead she spoke to many for the liberty of African Americans and women. Likewise when Chen Guangcheng was freed from China, he did not nurture his flesh in isolation in New York. Instead he has been speaking out for the freedom of his family, the unborn and all Chinese people.
Freedom for the maximum number of people also requires interaction with enemies. A Japanese Proverb says, "Send salt to your enemy."
Japanese Americans and other Asian Americans were forced into detention during World War II. The fight for Japanese-American/Asian-American justice took from the 1940s until 1988 when Congress passed and former President Ronald Reagan signed legislation which apologized for the internment and said that the government's actions were based on "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership." The US government eventually dispersed more than $1.6 billion in reparations to Asian Americans interned and their heirs. Each citizen who had been interned was awarded $20,000.
Peter's sale was illegal. New York law prohibited blacks being sold or sent out of state to circumvent their being freed within the state. Sojourner Truth, who was named Isabella at the time, confronted Mrs. Dumont. "Mrs. Dumont replied, "A fine fuss to make about a little nigger!...A pity 'tis, the niggers are not all in Guinea!"
Isabella insisted, "I'll have my child again."
"How can you get him?" asked Mrs. Dumont. "And what have you to support him with, if you could? Have you any money?"
"No," replied Isabella. "I have no money, but God has enough." (Sojourner Truth Slave, Prophet, Legend by Carleton Mabee with Susan Mabee Newhouse.)
God helped Isabella/Sojourner Truth to free Peter by connecting with Quakers and lawyers like Herman M. Romeyn, Charles H. Ruggles and A. Bruyn Hasbrouck, who had served a term in Congress.
God also helped another New Yorker to connect with help to secure freedom. God sent Chen Guangcheng, a blind lawyer, some friends to help him flee from house arrest in China in April 2012 and to continue the human rights activism he was doing in China into the United States. Guangcheng played a key role in exposing forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced in China as part of China's One-Child Policy. Guangcheng now lives in New York and travels out of state.
On Tuesday he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
Guangcheng's nephew, Chen Kegui, has been in jail after using knives to fend off local officials who burst into Kegui's home after Guangcheng's escape.
A few months ago Guangcheng received the 2012 Tom Lantos Human Rights Prize, named after a deceased California congressman who was the only Holocaust survivor to serve in the U.S. Congress, according to a January 29, 2013, Reuters article entitled "Blind dissident urges global pressure on China over rights" by Paul Eckert. The article says that the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice has given previous annual awards to the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, Holocaust survivor and activist Elie Wiesel and Paul Rusesabagina, a Rwandan hotel manager who hid and protected more than 1,200 refugees during Rwanda's genocide.
Guangcheng said regarding US negotiations with China in translated remarks read in English by actor and Tibet advocate Richard Gere, "There should be no compromise, even if there are large business interests at stake - dignity, freedom and justice are more important" (January 29, 2013, Reuters article entitled "Blind dissident urges global pressure on China over rights" by Paul Eckert.)
"Porque vosotros, hermanos, a libertad fuisteis llamados; solamente que no useis la libertad como ocasion para la carne, sino servios por amor los unos a los otros," dice Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960. The Bilingual Bible New King James Version says, "For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."
When Sojourner Truth's son was freed, she did not use her liberty as an opportunity to nurture her flesh in isolation. Instead she spoke to many for the liberty of African Americans and women. Likewise when Chen Guangcheng was freed from China, he did not nurture his flesh in isolation in New York. Instead he has been speaking out for the freedom of his family, the unborn and all Chinese people.
Freedom for the maximum number of people also requires interaction with enemies. A Japanese Proverb says, "Send salt to your enemy."
Japanese Americans and other Asian Americans were forced into detention during World War II. The fight for Japanese-American/Asian-American justice took from the 1940s until 1988 when Congress passed and former President Ronald Reagan signed legislation which apologized for the internment and said that the government's actions were based on "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership." The US government eventually dispersed more than $1.6 billion in reparations to Asian Americans interned and their heirs. Each citizen who had been interned was awarded $20,000.
Friday, April 12, 2013
An Inescapable Network of Mutuality
"We must all learn to live together as brothers or we will all perish together as fools. We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the way God's universe is made; this is the way it is structured.
John Donne caught it years ago and placed it in graphic terms: "No man is an island entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." And he goes on toward the end to say, "Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." We must see this, believe this, and live by it if we are to remain awake through a great revolution," says Christian Minister and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King, Jr., in his Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution speech.
In America we are being diminished by the deaths through abortion of a baby boy or a baby girl every 30 seconds. Since 1973 when abortion was legalized in America, more than 55 million babies have been killed. Since China's one-child policy was implemented in the 1970s more than 336 million babies have been killed by abortion; that's more Chinese baby boys and baby girls have lost their lives to abortion than the combined total population of the United States of America and Australia.
Chen Guangcheng, a blind lawyer who in April 2012 escaped from house arrest in China, is now in the United States studying, writing a book and engaging in human rights activism. Guangcheng played a key role in exposing forced abortions and forced sterilizations in China. On Tuesday he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
"If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don't be afraid to speak up," says Japanese Fred Korematsu who resisted the forced detention of Japanese Americans during World War II.
The fight for Japanese-American justice took from the 1940s until 1988 when Congress passed and former President Ronald Reagan signed legislation which apologized for the internment and said that the government's actions were based on "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership." The US government eventually dispersed more than $1.6 billion in reparations to Japanese Americans interned and their heirs. Each citizen who had been interned was awarded $20,000.
Should African Americans receive reparations because of African American slavery in the US? What about the unborn once Roe v. Wade legalizing abortion in America is overturned and China's one-child policy is stopped?
Martin Luther King, Jr., taught personal, social and economic freedom and justice. In his Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution speech he says, "In 1863 the Negro was told that he was free as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation being signed by Abraham Lincoln. But he was not given any land to make that freedom meaningful....
Every court of jurisprudence would rise up against this, and yet this is the very thing that our nation did to the black man. It simply said, "You're free," and it left him there penniless, illiterate, not knowing what to do. And the irony of it all is that at the same time the nation failed to do anything for the black man, though...Congress was giving away millions of acres of land in the West and the Midwest. Which meant that it was willing to undergird its white peasants from Europe with an economic floor."
Everyone needs the right to live, survive and thrive. Proverbios 31:8 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960 dice, "Abre tu boca por el mudo en el juicio de todos los desvalidos." The Bilingual Bible New King James Version says, "Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die."
John Donne caught it years ago and placed it in graphic terms: "No man is an island entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." And he goes on toward the end to say, "Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." We must see this, believe this, and live by it if we are to remain awake through a great revolution," says Christian Minister and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King, Jr., in his Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution speech.
In America we are being diminished by the deaths through abortion of a baby boy or a baby girl every 30 seconds. Since 1973 when abortion was legalized in America, more than 55 million babies have been killed. Since China's one-child policy was implemented in the 1970s more than 336 million babies have been killed by abortion; that's more Chinese baby boys and baby girls have lost their lives to abortion than the combined total population of the United States of America and Australia.
Chen Guangcheng, a blind lawyer who in April 2012 escaped from house arrest in China, is now in the United States studying, writing a book and engaging in human rights activism. Guangcheng played a key role in exposing forced abortions and forced sterilizations in China. On Tuesday he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
"If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don't be afraid to speak up," says Japanese Fred Korematsu who resisted the forced detention of Japanese Americans during World War II.
The fight for Japanese-American justice took from the 1940s until 1988 when Congress passed and former President Ronald Reagan signed legislation which apologized for the internment and said that the government's actions were based on "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership." The US government eventually dispersed more than $1.6 billion in reparations to Japanese Americans interned and their heirs. Each citizen who had been interned was awarded $20,000.
Should African Americans receive reparations because of African American slavery in the US? What about the unborn once Roe v. Wade legalizing abortion in America is overturned and China's one-child policy is stopped?
Martin Luther King, Jr., taught personal, social and economic freedom and justice. In his Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution speech he says, "In 1863 the Negro was told that he was free as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation being signed by Abraham Lincoln. But he was not given any land to make that freedom meaningful....
Every court of jurisprudence would rise up against this, and yet this is the very thing that our nation did to the black man. It simply said, "You're free," and it left him there penniless, illiterate, not knowing what to do. And the irony of it all is that at the same time the nation failed to do anything for the black man, though...Congress was giving away millions of acres of land in the West and the Midwest. Which meant that it was willing to undergird its white peasants from Europe with an economic floor."
Everyone needs the right to live, survive and thrive. Proverbios 31:8 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960 dice, "Abre tu boca por el mudo en el juicio de todos los desvalidos." The Bilingual Bible New King James Version says, "Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die."
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Good Love
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," wrote Christian Minister and Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, Jr. in a letter written while he was in a Birmingham, Alabama,city jail because of protesting racial segregation.
The war against love is in America, in China and in multiple nations globally. Today segregation is illegal in America, but racial problems still exist and other forms of discrimination abound. One area of discrimination is abortion. The unborn in America in China and elsewhere are missing a right to life. Since 1973 when abortion was legalized in America, more than 55 million babies have been killed. Since China's one-child policy was implement in the 1970s more than 336 million babies have been killed by abortion.
Chen Guangcheng played a key role in exposing forced abortions and forced sterilizations in China. Guangcheng is a blind lawyer for the disabled and against forced abortions and forced sterilizations for anyone. He escaped from house arrest in China in April of 2012 and is now living in New York of the United States of America. On Tuesday he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
In America more than one million babies are killed by abortion annually. Women are killed too. Tonya Reaves, a 24-year-old African-American woman, died July 20, 2012, on the operating table of a Chicago, Illinois, Planned Parenthood as a result of an abortion-induced hemorrhage reported a local CBS television station. Christin Gilbert was a 19-year-old with Down Syndrome who was killed by a botched abortion along with her baby. Both mom, Rosa Rodriquez, and baby, Ana Rosa Rodriquez, survived abortion, but baby Ana had her arm sliced off.
A Dagari African proverb says, "Living together is possible only after many a confrontation."
A diversity of people are needed to confront evil wherever it exists. I had a former homosexual co-worker tell me that he was against abortion but for gay sex. While he is wrong about gay sex (a form of adultery), he is right about abortion. Leviticus 18:22 New Living Translation Bible says, "“Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin." Exodus 20:14 English Standard Bible says, "“You shall not commit adultery." Exodus 20:13 Complete Jewish Bible says, "“Do not murder."
God designed sex between a husband and a wife to be beautiful. Spooning, vaginal rear-entry, man on top, woman on top and other forms of sexual intercourse and other love play are marvelous. Sometimes out of the marvelous new life is created to be cherished.
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for love. Chen Guangcheng is speaking for love. Will you?
A Japanese proverb advises, "Do quickly what is good."
The war against love is in America, in China and in multiple nations globally. Today segregation is illegal in America, but racial problems still exist and other forms of discrimination abound. One area of discrimination is abortion. The unborn in America in China and elsewhere are missing a right to life. Since 1973 when abortion was legalized in America, more than 55 million babies have been killed. Since China's one-child policy was implement in the 1970s more than 336 million babies have been killed by abortion.
Chen Guangcheng played a key role in exposing forced abortions and forced sterilizations in China. Guangcheng is a blind lawyer for the disabled and against forced abortions and forced sterilizations for anyone. He escaped from house arrest in China in April of 2012 and is now living in New York of the United States of America. On Tuesday he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
In America more than one million babies are killed by abortion annually. Women are killed too. Tonya Reaves, a 24-year-old African-American woman, died July 20, 2012, on the operating table of a Chicago, Illinois, Planned Parenthood as a result of an abortion-induced hemorrhage reported a local CBS television station. Christin Gilbert was a 19-year-old with Down Syndrome who was killed by a botched abortion along with her baby. Both mom, Rosa Rodriquez, and baby, Ana Rosa Rodriquez, survived abortion, but baby Ana had her arm sliced off.
A Dagari African proverb says, "Living together is possible only after many a confrontation."
A diversity of people are needed to confront evil wherever it exists. I had a former homosexual co-worker tell me that he was against abortion but for gay sex. While he is wrong about gay sex (a form of adultery), he is right about abortion. Leviticus 18:22 New Living Translation Bible says, "“Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin." Exodus 20:14 English Standard Bible says, "“You shall not commit adultery." Exodus 20:13 Complete Jewish Bible says, "“Do not murder."
God designed sex between a husband and a wife to be beautiful. Spooning, vaginal rear-entry, man on top, woman on top and other forms of sexual intercourse and other love play are marvelous. Sometimes out of the marvelous new life is created to be cherished.
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for love. Chen Guangcheng is speaking for love. Will you?
A Japanese proverb advises, "Do quickly what is good."
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Love Letters, Relationships and Political Activism
"What started as an idea between two young people who fell in love and dreamed about the future has burst into the effervescence of reality. As time has gone by, it has been amazing to watch you bud, blossom and bring forth fruit. The fruit of that love, that wisdom and that tenacity have been the nectar that has nurtured me as a man and made our children who they are. I take this occasion to thank you, to water you with my love and adoration, to fertilize you with the season of our experiences, hardships, tests and trials, which have brought forth the blossom of love that we so cherish. My life is better because of you. My heart is stronger because of you, and it beats at the memories, at the moments, at the affections that we have shared. My partner, my lover, my friend, my wife. Thank you," writes Bishop T.D. Jakes in a love letter to his wife, Serita Jakes, published in the February 2013 Ebony magazine article "House of Love."
What wife would complain about a husband who regularly watered his wife with words like those written above by T.D. to Serita? People seek romance. Romance novels are half of all mass market paperbacks sold in the United States.
Does Chen Guangcheng speak love letters to his wife? Guangcheng is a blind lawyer for the disabled and against forced abortions and forced sterilizations for anyone. He escaped from house arrest in China in April of 2012 and is now living in New York of the United States of America. Guangcheng's joy of celebrating marital love must be tinged by the sadness of knowing family in China are being persecuted for Guangcheng's activism. Yesterday Guangcheng told the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China.
True love is limitless and loaded with goodness. Wisdom is good. Wisdom is a name for the Great Lover Jesus Christ.
When Guangcheng came to the United States of America, he could have stayed silent, happy to be with his wife and two children free from prison and torture. But he didn't choose this path.
Lovers are outstanding time managers. "Mirad, pues, con diligencia como andeis, no como necios sino como sabios, aprovechando bien el tiempo, porque los dias son malos. Por tanto, no seais insensatos, sino entendidos de cual sea la voluntad del Senor," dice Efesios 5:15-17 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960. The Bilingual Bible New King James Version Ephesians 5:15-17 says, "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is."
Creyentes (believers) have wisdom. Are you using it to speak words of love in all relationships? Could a spouse, family or someone else write or speak about you like T.D. Jakes, "My life is better because of you"?
What wife would complain about a husband who regularly watered his wife with words like those written above by T.D. to Serita? People seek romance. Romance novels are half of all mass market paperbacks sold in the United States.
Does Chen Guangcheng speak love letters to his wife? Guangcheng is a blind lawyer for the disabled and against forced abortions and forced sterilizations for anyone. He escaped from house arrest in China in April of 2012 and is now living in New York of the United States of America. Guangcheng's joy of celebrating marital love must be tinged by the sadness of knowing family in China are being persecuted for Guangcheng's activism. Yesterday Guangcheng told the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China.
True love is limitless and loaded with goodness. Wisdom is good. Wisdom is a name for the Great Lover Jesus Christ.
When Guangcheng came to the United States of America, he could have stayed silent, happy to be with his wife and two children free from prison and torture. But he didn't choose this path.
Lovers are outstanding time managers. "Mirad, pues, con diligencia como andeis, no como necios sino como sabios, aprovechando bien el tiempo, porque los dias son malos. Por tanto, no seais insensatos, sino entendidos de cual sea la voluntad del Senor," dice Efesios 5:15-17 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960. The Bilingual Bible New King James Version Ephesians 5:15-17 says, "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is."
Creyentes (believers) have wisdom. Are you using it to speak words of love in all relationships? Could a spouse, family or someone else write or speak about you like T.D. Jakes, "My life is better because of you"?
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Black History and Chinese Abortions
The Philadelphia Female Antislavery Society invited James Forten, Sr., to speak on April 14, 1836. Some of what he said in his "The Tears of Those Who Will Be Left Behind" speech is, "Again, the South most earnestly and respectfully solicits the North to let the question [of] Slavery alone, and leave it to their bountiful honesty and humanity to settle. Why, honesty, I fear has fled from the South, long ago; sincerity has fallen asleep there, pity has hidden herself; justice cannot find the way; helper is not at home; charity lies dangerously ill; benevolence is under arrest; faith is nearly extinguished; truth has long since been buried, and conscience is nailed on the wall. Now, do you think it would be better to leave it to the bountiful honesty and humanity of the South to settle? No, no. Only yield to them in this one particular and they will find you vulnerable in every other."
In addition to speaking against African-American slavery and for African-American freedom (being an abolitionist,) James married an abolitionist. James Forten, Sr. (1766-1842) and his wife, Charlotte Vandine Forten (1785-1884,) raised their nine children in prosperity materially, spiritually and intellectually. They were Christians. James was one of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's wealthiest merchants. He owned a business producing sails for ships. His business employed his own sons and both black and white people. Charlotte was a businesswoman who invested in real estate. James and Charlotte were leading members in the free-black community in Philadelphia, which was America's largest free-black community. Charlotte along with the Forten daughters were founding members of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. James wrote letters and articles advocating justice and equality for black Americans and women published in various newspapers. James was also actively against forcing black people to leave America, which had become their country, to live in Africa or Haiti. James' and Charlotte's home was a frequent stop on the Underground Railroad which helped fugitive slaves to hide from their former slave masters on the path to freedom.
The Forten children are: Margaretta Forten (suffragist), Harriet Forten Purvis (abolitionist and suffragist), Robert Bridges Forten (abolitionist), Sarah Louisa Forten Purvis (abolitionist), James Forten, Jr., (abolitionist), William Deas Forten (abolitionist), Charlotte Forten, Mary Theresa Forten and Thomas Willing Francis Forten. James and Charlotte taught their children to select spouses who shared their values. The Forten children absorbed the lessons and selected spouses who were also speakers and writers for abolition and other justice issues like women's right to vote.
The Forten Christian activism extended to their grandchildren. A Swahili Proverb says, "The way you bring up a child is the way it grows up." With God the Holy Ghost in control of our lives, nothing good is impossible. Galatians 5:16 New Living Translation Bible says, "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves." One of the Forten's granddaughters, Charlotte Forten Grimke, was a teacher to newly freed slaves on the South Carolina Sea Islands. She said, "Let us labor to acquire knowledge, to break down the barriers of prejudice and oppression...believing that if not for us, for another generation there is a brighter day in store...." One of the Fortens' grandsons, Charles Burleigh Purvis, became the first black American to oversee a hospital with his appointment at the Freedman's Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Who are some more Forten family members who have made notable contributions to society?
In the Forten family instead of men and women waging war against each other, they waged war against evil. Author and motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, says, "Many marriages would be better if the husband and the wife clearly understood that they are on the same side."
Former US. President Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, encouraging border states to outlaw slavery, helped push through Congress the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which finally freed all the slaves nationwide in December 1865, led the United States through the American Civil War preserving the Union, and battled depression said, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Why don't we have a separate Federal holiday recognizing Lincoln?
Some are afraid of large families because they have bought fear-based propaganda. Yet 2 Timothy 2:7 Amplified Bible says,"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control." Yes, one can motivate someone with fear. However, love is a more effective and enduring motivator. Fear creates false realities and causes fatalities. Love liberates and lengthens global good.
James Forten, Sr. and Charlotte Vandine Forten had nine children. Civil Rights Activist Fannie Lou Hamer was the youngest of 20 children. A doctor forced a sterilization on Fannie Lou Hamer because she was black.
Abortions and sterilizations are forced on women in China because the Chinese government fears too many Chinese. Since 1979, Chinese couples have been limited to one child by law in order to control the country's population. In October 2011, Feng Jianmei, a 22-year-old woman from the small village of Yuping in Zeng Jia Township, Shaanxi province, became pregnant with her second child. On June 2, 2012, while Feng was seven months pregnant with her second child, she was forced to have an abortion. On June 11, Feng's family posted graphic pictures of her aborted child on the Internet. The images soon became a viral phenomenon, sparking controversy within China and drawing international attention to the issue of forced abortions.
Pray and participate in positive activities to end China's forced abortion and forced sterilization policies. Rescues from forced abortions and forced sterilizations are possible. Women's Rights of China edited and produced a short video reporting that family planning officials broke into the home of husband and wife Li Fu and Cao Ruyi because Ruyi didn't have Chinese governmental pregnancy approval; when Ruyi was taken to a hospital for a forced abortion, it couldn't be done because a hospital bed was unavailable; through the efforts of Women's Rights in China, ChinaAid Founder and President Bob Fu and U.S. Congressman Christopher Smith, Ruyi was rescued and so was baby Li Dahai; yet Fu and Ruyi still face a fine of $15,000.00 for Ruyi's pregnancy and are not able to register baby Li Dahai's birth with the Chinese government. The Canada Free Press reported on 3/18/2013 that the lack of registration means, "In China’s authoritarian system, this means his existence is not recognized by the government and he cannot get a government-issued identification card, which is required for all basic activities of a citizen, including attending school, opening a bank account and even getting medical care."
Activists inside and outside China are working to stop forced abortions and forced sterilization. Chen Guangcheng, who was blind from an early age and self-taught in law, is a leading activist born in China who is now living in the United States. Today he was scheduled to testify before a U.S. congressional subcommittee.
Juan 18:37 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960 dice, "Le dijo entonces Pilato: Luego, eres tu rey? Respondio Jesus: Tu dices que yo soy rey. Yo para esto he nacido, y para esto he venido al mundo, para dar testimonio a la verdad. Todo aquel que es de la verdad, oye mi voz." John 18:37 Bilingual Bible New King James Version says, "Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."
May la verdad (the truth) be heard and victorious.
In addition to speaking against African-American slavery and for African-American freedom (being an abolitionist,) James married an abolitionist. James Forten, Sr. (1766-1842) and his wife, Charlotte Vandine Forten (1785-1884,) raised their nine children in prosperity materially, spiritually and intellectually. They were Christians. James was one of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's wealthiest merchants. He owned a business producing sails for ships. His business employed his own sons and both black and white people. Charlotte was a businesswoman who invested in real estate. James and Charlotte were leading members in the free-black community in Philadelphia, which was America's largest free-black community. Charlotte along with the Forten daughters were founding members of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. James wrote letters and articles advocating justice and equality for black Americans and women published in various newspapers. James was also actively against forcing black people to leave America, which had become their country, to live in Africa or Haiti. James' and Charlotte's home was a frequent stop on the Underground Railroad which helped fugitive slaves to hide from their former slave masters on the path to freedom.
The Forten children are: Margaretta Forten (suffragist), Harriet Forten Purvis (abolitionist and suffragist), Robert Bridges Forten (abolitionist), Sarah Louisa Forten Purvis (abolitionist), James Forten, Jr., (abolitionist), William Deas Forten (abolitionist), Charlotte Forten, Mary Theresa Forten and Thomas Willing Francis Forten. James and Charlotte taught their children to select spouses who shared their values. The Forten children absorbed the lessons and selected spouses who were also speakers and writers for abolition and other justice issues like women's right to vote.
The Forten Christian activism extended to their grandchildren. A Swahili Proverb says, "The way you bring up a child is the way it grows up." With God the Holy Ghost in control of our lives, nothing good is impossible. Galatians 5:16 New Living Translation Bible says, "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves." One of the Forten's granddaughters, Charlotte Forten Grimke, was a teacher to newly freed slaves on the South Carolina Sea Islands. She said, "Let us labor to acquire knowledge, to break down the barriers of prejudice and oppression...believing that if not for us, for another generation there is a brighter day in store...." One of the Fortens' grandsons, Charles Burleigh Purvis, became the first black American to oversee a hospital with his appointment at the Freedman's Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Who are some more Forten family members who have made notable contributions to society?
In the Forten family instead of men and women waging war against each other, they waged war against evil. Author and motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, says, "Many marriages would be better if the husband and the wife clearly understood that they are on the same side."
Former US. President Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, encouraging border states to outlaw slavery, helped push through Congress the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which finally freed all the slaves nationwide in December 1865, led the United States through the American Civil War preserving the Union, and battled depression said, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Why don't we have a separate Federal holiday recognizing Lincoln?
Some are afraid of large families because they have bought fear-based propaganda. Yet 2 Timothy 2:7 Amplified Bible says,"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control." Yes, one can motivate someone with fear. However, love is a more effective and enduring motivator. Fear creates false realities and causes fatalities. Love liberates and lengthens global good.
James Forten, Sr. and Charlotte Vandine Forten had nine children. Civil Rights Activist Fannie Lou Hamer was the youngest of 20 children. A doctor forced a sterilization on Fannie Lou Hamer because she was black.
Abortions and sterilizations are forced on women in China because the Chinese government fears too many Chinese. Since 1979, Chinese couples have been limited to one child by law in order to control the country's population. In October 2011, Feng Jianmei, a 22-year-old woman from the small village of Yuping in Zeng Jia Township, Shaanxi province, became pregnant with her second child. On June 2, 2012, while Feng was seven months pregnant with her second child, she was forced to have an abortion. On June 11, Feng's family posted graphic pictures of her aborted child on the Internet. The images soon became a viral phenomenon, sparking controversy within China and drawing international attention to the issue of forced abortions.
Pray and participate in positive activities to end China's forced abortion and forced sterilization policies. Rescues from forced abortions and forced sterilizations are possible. Women's Rights of China edited and produced a short video reporting that family planning officials broke into the home of husband and wife Li Fu and Cao Ruyi because Ruyi didn't have Chinese governmental pregnancy approval; when Ruyi was taken to a hospital for a forced abortion, it couldn't be done because a hospital bed was unavailable; through the efforts of Women's Rights in China, ChinaAid Founder and President Bob Fu and U.S. Congressman Christopher Smith, Ruyi was rescued and so was baby Li Dahai; yet Fu and Ruyi still face a fine of $15,000.00 for Ruyi's pregnancy and are not able to register baby Li Dahai's birth with the Chinese government. The Canada Free Press reported on 3/18/2013 that the lack of registration means, "In China’s authoritarian system, this means his existence is not recognized by the government and he cannot get a government-issued identification card, which is required for all basic activities of a citizen, including attending school, opening a bank account and even getting medical care."
Activists inside and outside China are working to stop forced abortions and forced sterilization. Chen Guangcheng, who was blind from an early age and self-taught in law, is a leading activist born in China who is now living in the United States. Today he was scheduled to testify before a U.S. congressional subcommittee.
Juan 18:37 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960 dice, "Le dijo entonces Pilato: Luego, eres tu rey? Respondio Jesus: Tu dices que yo soy rey. Yo para esto he nacido, y para esto he venido al mundo, para dar testimonio a la verdad. Todo aquel que es de la verdad, oye mi voz." John 18:37 Bilingual Bible New King James Version says, "Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."
May la verdad (the truth) be heard and victorious.
Monday, April 8, 2013
A Long Time Coming
John 4:48-53 English Standard Version Bible says, "So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household."
God is still doing spectacular miracles like the one in John 4:48-53 that encourage belief in Him. Gospel Singer DeWayne Woods got HIV. God got rid of it.
If God doesn't speedily answer your prayers for healing from a disease, a dying relationship or something else, will you endure (keep on trusting Him and living led by God the Holy Ghost)?
One of the definitions of "immortal" in Webster's New World Dictionary is "enduring." Blue (lan) is a color associated with immortality in China.
All creyentes (believers) are going to heaven (home). Some creyentes are not associated with enduring adversity along the journey (home).
A Tunisian expression for a weak person is, "Hit him with a bean, he will break."
No matter how strong we think we are, we all have areas of weaknesses and trust issues that show their brokenness.
Instead of being mad, disappointed, resentful or something else negative when you don't get a John 4:48-53 response to prayers, be thankful. God knows best what we need. Sometimes is takes a while to turn a mess into a miracle.
Have you experienced a 20-years-or-more healing?
God is still doing spectacular miracles like the one in John 4:48-53 that encourage belief in Him. Gospel Singer DeWayne Woods got HIV. God got rid of it.
If God doesn't speedily answer your prayers for healing from a disease, a dying relationship or something else, will you endure (keep on trusting Him and living led by God the Holy Ghost)?
One of the definitions of "immortal" in Webster's New World Dictionary is "enduring." Blue (lan) is a color associated with immortality in China.
All creyentes (believers) are going to heaven (home). Some creyentes are not associated with enduring adversity along the journey (home).
A Tunisian expression for a weak person is, "Hit him with a bean, he will break."
No matter how strong we think we are, we all have areas of weaknesses and trust issues that show their brokenness.
Instead of being mad, disappointed, resentful or something else negative when you don't get a John 4:48-53 response to prayers, be thankful. God knows best what we need. Sometimes is takes a while to turn a mess into a miracle.
Have you experienced a 20-years-or-more healing?
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Sex, Lies and Education
Frederick McKinley Jones and his boss, Joseph Numero, formed the U.S. Thermo Control Company after Jones perfected a truck refrigeration unit. Jones' refrigeration unit meant that fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy products, other food products, blood and medicines could now be shipped all over the country without spoiling.
Preservation is also important mentally and spiritually. The Epistle of Jude is written to creyentes (believers,) "to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ" (Bilingual Bible New King James Version.)
Once we receive a relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost, God never lets go of us for all eternity. However, creyentes sometimes let go of God by sinning.
Dr. Derek Grier says in his sermon The Anatomy of a Shipwreck that lying seems good until no one trusts you anymore.
The sin of lying is common to singles and married people. Many married people lie to people who are not their spouse to get sex.
Why is it so hard to stay sexually satisfied inside marriage?
Since ancient times zi (the written word) has been revered among the Chinese. Have you tried Chinese pillow books to communicate better sexually with your spouse? Read my March 23, 2013, article "Have You Tried Chinese Pillow Books?"
Parents with awesome, affectionate, romantic, sexually sublime marriages are well positioned to talk to their children about sex. When parents have little or no sexual relationship, talking to their children about sex may inspire their children to think, "What do you know?;" "You aren't having fun and sexual sinners seem to be having fun." These children may decide to pursue sex outside of marriage.
We live in times when schools, the media and others cannot be relied upon to teach our children about sex. Many advocates exist who promote sex outside of marriage and adolescent autonomy from parents, family and the Christian faith.
Who we are on the inside shows up on the outside. Is the view attractive?
Attractive, awful and somewhere in between, "Orad sin cesar" (Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960.) "Pray without ceasing" (Bilingual Bible New King James Version.) God likes us to talk with Him; God is excited to stop us from spoiling our relationships.
Preservation is also important mentally and spiritually. The Epistle of Jude is written to creyentes (believers,) "to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ" (Bilingual Bible New King James Version.)
Once we receive a relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost, God never lets go of us for all eternity. However, creyentes sometimes let go of God by sinning.
Dr. Derek Grier says in his sermon The Anatomy of a Shipwreck that lying seems good until no one trusts you anymore.
The sin of lying is common to singles and married people. Many married people lie to people who are not their spouse to get sex.
Why is it so hard to stay sexually satisfied inside marriage?
Since ancient times zi (the written word) has been revered among the Chinese. Have you tried Chinese pillow books to communicate better sexually with your spouse? Read my March 23, 2013, article "Have You Tried Chinese Pillow Books?"
Parents with awesome, affectionate, romantic, sexually sublime marriages are well positioned to talk to their children about sex. When parents have little or no sexual relationship, talking to their children about sex may inspire their children to think, "What do you know?;" "You aren't having fun and sexual sinners seem to be having fun." These children may decide to pursue sex outside of marriage.
We live in times when schools, the media and others cannot be relied upon to teach our children about sex. Many advocates exist who promote sex outside of marriage and adolescent autonomy from parents, family and the Christian faith.
Who we are on the inside shows up on the outside. Is the view attractive?
Attractive, awful and somewhere in between, "Orad sin cesar" (Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960.) "Pray without ceasing" (Bilingual Bible New King James Version.) God likes us to talk with Him; God is excited to stop us from spoiling our relationships.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Money and Friends
"In James 4:3, the Bible says we pray for blessings and don't get them because we've asked with evil, selfish motives. We want the blessing to be for ourselves exclusively. Instead, let's ask God to bless us so we can be a greater blessing. We might say, "God, bless me. Do something amazing in my finances. Get me to the point where I can buy somebody a car. Get me to the point, God, where if need be, I could rent an apartment for someone who doesn't have one and pay the rent for a year until she gets on her feet." Wouldn't that be wonderful? Or you might pray, "Help me, God, to be able to buy furniture for a family who doesn't have any. Help me be able to take them to a furniture store and just say, 'Here's your budget; pick out a house full of furniture.'" writes international, practical Bible teacher Joyce Meyer in her book Joy Redefined Loving Others.
God is not against people having pleasure. God desires that creyentes (believers) give and receive pleasure. George Washington Carver worked for Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee Institute. They were both committed to helping people, especially African Americans. Washington died before Carver. Carver gave one year's salary to Booker T. Washington's memorial fund. Carver says about this generous gift, "It was a sacrifice in one way but a blessed privilege in another."
Unbelievers recognize the pleasure of giving. Meng was the prime minister of King Qin in ancient China. Meng sent his advisor Feng out to collect debts. Feng forgave all the loans of villagers saying he was doing it on orders from Meng. At first Meng was mad, but one year later Meng was merry for Meng had trouble on the job and had to return to his home village. People were glad to see him and welcomed him. Meng praised Feng.
Use money to make friends. Jesus Christ says in Luke 16:9 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960, "Y yo os digo: Ganad amigos por medio de las riquezas injustas, para que cuando estas falten, os reciban en las moradas eternas." "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home" (Bilingual Bible New King James Version.) Luke 16:9 New Living Translation Bible says, "Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home."
What are some compassionate, creative and committed ways you have used money to make friends?
God is not against people having pleasure. God desires that creyentes (believers) give and receive pleasure. George Washington Carver worked for Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee Institute. They were both committed to helping people, especially African Americans. Washington died before Carver. Carver gave one year's salary to Booker T. Washington's memorial fund. Carver says about this generous gift, "It was a sacrifice in one way but a blessed privilege in another."
Unbelievers recognize the pleasure of giving. Meng was the prime minister of King Qin in ancient China. Meng sent his advisor Feng out to collect debts. Feng forgave all the loans of villagers saying he was doing it on orders from Meng. At first Meng was mad, but one year later Meng was merry for Meng had trouble on the job and had to return to his home village. People were glad to see him and welcomed him. Meng praised Feng.
Use money to make friends. Jesus Christ says in Luke 16:9 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960, "Y yo os digo: Ganad amigos por medio de las riquezas injustas, para que cuando estas falten, os reciban en las moradas eternas." "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home" (Bilingual Bible New King James Version.) Luke 16:9 New Living Translation Bible says, "Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home."
What are some compassionate, creative and committed ways you have used money to make friends?
Friday, April 5, 2013
Honor, Service and Relationships
"Then she came to the end of that concert, singing "Ave Maria" as nobody else can sing it. And they called her back and back and back and back again, and she finally ended by singing "Nobody Knows de Trouble I Seen." And her mother was sitting out in the audience, and she started crying; tears were flowing down her cheeks. And the person next to her said, "Mrs. Anderson, why are you crying? Your daughter is scoring tonight. The critics tomorrow will be lavishing their praise on her. Why are you crying?"
And Mrs. Anderson looked over with tears still flowing and said, "I'm not crying because I'm sad, I'm crying for joy." She went on to say, "You may not remember; you wouldn't know. But I remember when Marian was growing up, and I was working in a kitchen till my hands were all but parched, my eyebrows all but scalded. I was working there to make it possible for my daughter to get an education. And I remember one day Marian came to me and said, 'Mother, I don't want to see you having to work like this.' And I looked down and said, 'Honey, I don't mind it. I'm doing it for you and I expect great things of you.'"
And finally one day somebody asked Marian Anderson in later years, "Miss Anderson, what has been the happiest moment of your life? Was it the moment that you had your debut in Carnegie Hall in New York? She said, "No, that wasn't it." Was it the moment you stood before the kings and queens of Europe?" "No, that wasn't it." "Well, Miss Anderson, was it the moment that Sibelius of Finland declared that his roof was too low for such a voice?" "No, that wasn't it." "Miss Anderson, was it the moment that Toscanini said that a voice like yours comes only once in a century?" "No, that wasn't it." "What was it then, Miss Anderson?" And she looked up and said quietly, "The happiest moment in my life was the moment that I could say, 'Mother, you can stop working now.'" Marian Anderson realized that she was where she was because somebody helped her to get there," said Christian Minister and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King, Jr., about international Singer and Civil Rights Activist Marian Anderson in his speech Why Jesus Called A Man A Fool.
Anderson's life showed that it is not foolish to honor your parents. "Honra a tu padre y a tu madre, para que tus dias se alarguen en la tierra que Jehova tu Dios te da," dice Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960. "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you," says Bilingual Bible New King James Version.
On April 4th many honored Martin Luther King Jr., a father of four children, who was assassinated on this day 45 years ago. On April 4th deceased parents and other ancestors were honored for the Chinese holiday Qingming Festival.
Treating our parents well and other people well is also treating ourselves well. John Maxwell, author, speaker, entrepreneur writes in his May 2013 article for Success magazine entitled "Taking the Leap Is it time for your big, bold venture?," "People go along with people they get along with.
"Between 70 percent and 90 percent of decisions not to repeat a purchase of anything are not about product or price. They are about some dimension of service," author and former Burger King CEO Barry J. Gibbons once noted. Yikes! If that doesn't force you to put a smile on your face and some warmth in your handshake, I don't know what will."
Few smiles, few warm handshakes, a lack of parental respect and other poor service issues impact Christian disciplining. The ways in which we live in or out of love have a direct impact on the number and quality of our relationships.
As a part of Qingming Festival people sweep tombs. Ask God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost if there is anything that needs to be swept out of your mindset that is blocking a more influential love lifestyle. Then allow the power of God to change you and cause you to do more of those things that please Him.
And Mrs. Anderson looked over with tears still flowing and said, "I'm not crying because I'm sad, I'm crying for joy." She went on to say, "You may not remember; you wouldn't know. But I remember when Marian was growing up, and I was working in a kitchen till my hands were all but parched, my eyebrows all but scalded. I was working there to make it possible for my daughter to get an education. And I remember one day Marian came to me and said, 'Mother, I don't want to see you having to work like this.' And I looked down and said, 'Honey, I don't mind it. I'm doing it for you and I expect great things of you.'"
And finally one day somebody asked Marian Anderson in later years, "Miss Anderson, what has been the happiest moment of your life? Was it the moment that you had your debut in Carnegie Hall in New York? She said, "No, that wasn't it." Was it the moment you stood before the kings and queens of Europe?" "No, that wasn't it." "Well, Miss Anderson, was it the moment that Sibelius of Finland declared that his roof was too low for such a voice?" "No, that wasn't it." "Miss Anderson, was it the moment that Toscanini said that a voice like yours comes only once in a century?" "No, that wasn't it." "What was it then, Miss Anderson?" And she looked up and said quietly, "The happiest moment in my life was the moment that I could say, 'Mother, you can stop working now.'" Marian Anderson realized that she was where she was because somebody helped her to get there," said Christian Minister and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King, Jr., about international Singer and Civil Rights Activist Marian Anderson in his speech Why Jesus Called A Man A Fool.
Anderson's life showed that it is not foolish to honor your parents. "Honra a tu padre y a tu madre, para que tus dias se alarguen en la tierra que Jehova tu Dios te da," dice Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960. "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you," says Bilingual Bible New King James Version.
On April 4th many honored Martin Luther King Jr., a father of four children, who was assassinated on this day 45 years ago. On April 4th deceased parents and other ancestors were honored for the Chinese holiday Qingming Festival.
Treating our parents well and other people well is also treating ourselves well. John Maxwell, author, speaker, entrepreneur writes in his May 2013 article for Success magazine entitled "Taking the Leap Is it time for your big, bold venture?," "People go along with people they get along with.
"Between 70 percent and 90 percent of decisions not to repeat a purchase of anything are not about product or price. They are about some dimension of service," author and former Burger King CEO Barry J. Gibbons once noted. Yikes! If that doesn't force you to put a smile on your face and some warmth in your handshake, I don't know what will."
Few smiles, few warm handshakes, a lack of parental respect and other poor service issues impact Christian disciplining. The ways in which we live in or out of love have a direct impact on the number and quality of our relationships.
As a part of Qingming Festival people sweep tombs. Ask God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost if there is anything that needs to be swept out of your mindset that is blocking a more influential love lifestyle. Then allow the power of God to change you and cause you to do more of those things that please Him.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
A Breath of Fresh Air
More than 30 men employed by the Cleveland Waterworks Company were at work in a tunnel about 250 feet below Lake Erie on July 15, 1916, when an explosion ripped through the area trapping the men in the tunnel and filling the air with deadly gases. Rescue workers arrived immediately, but the dense smoke prevented them from entering the tunnel. They didn't know from who to get help.
Inspiration came when someone remembered Garrett Morgan. Morgan had won a grand prize at a New York Safety and Sanitation Fair for a gas mask he invented.
Using Morgan's gas mask, the workers were freed from the tunnel.
News of the rescue traveled. Fire departments across America wanted Morgan's gas mask. Orders poured in until people found out that Morgan was black. Then business dropped off.
Christian Minister and Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated April 4th, 45 years ago, said in his I Have a Dream speech, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Proverbios 18:16 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960 dice, "La dadiva del hombre le ensancha el camino y le lleva delante de los grandes." Proverbs 18:16 Bilingual Bible New King James Version says, "A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men."
In 1917 America entered World War I. Thousands of American soldiers used Morgan's gas mask to protect themselves from the enemy's deadly chlorine gas.
People probably faced fear when the Cleveland tunnel explosion happened and no way appeared to rescue those trapped. Morgan probably faced fear when business for his gas mask dropped when people found out that he was black. Many people have faced fear in the midst of crises and other difficult situations.
A Chinese proverb says, "Use incidents from the past as lessons for the future." Crisis need not stop commitment to self and social development. With courage and creativity Morgan didn't stop when crisis came into his life, and neither do you have to. He kept on perfecting his gas mask, developed other inventions and founded the Cleveland Call newspaper to improve media coverage of African Americans.
Creyentes (believers) have the power of the Creator of the Universe living inside of us. Be confidant in crisis. God will accomplish all His will. Psalm 115:2-3 Amplified Bible says, "Why should the nations say, Where is now their God? But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases." What is something that please God? -- that good overcome evil.
Inspiration came when someone remembered Garrett Morgan. Morgan had won a grand prize at a New York Safety and Sanitation Fair for a gas mask he invented.
Using Morgan's gas mask, the workers were freed from the tunnel.
News of the rescue traveled. Fire departments across America wanted Morgan's gas mask. Orders poured in until people found out that Morgan was black. Then business dropped off.
Christian Minister and Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated April 4th, 45 years ago, said in his I Have a Dream speech, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Proverbios 18:16 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960 dice, "La dadiva del hombre le ensancha el camino y le lleva delante de los grandes." Proverbs 18:16 Bilingual Bible New King James Version says, "A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men."
In 1917 America entered World War I. Thousands of American soldiers used Morgan's gas mask to protect themselves from the enemy's deadly chlorine gas.
People probably faced fear when the Cleveland tunnel explosion happened and no way appeared to rescue those trapped. Morgan probably faced fear when business for his gas mask dropped when people found out that he was black. Many people have faced fear in the midst of crises and other difficult situations.
A Chinese proverb says, "Use incidents from the past as lessons for the future." Crisis need not stop commitment to self and social development. With courage and creativity Morgan didn't stop when crisis came into his life, and neither do you have to. He kept on perfecting his gas mask, developed other inventions and founded the Cleveland Call newspaper to improve media coverage of African Americans.
Creyentes (believers) have the power of the Creator of the Universe living inside of us. Be confidant in crisis. God will accomplish all His will. Psalm 115:2-3 Amplified Bible says, "Why should the nations say, Where is now their God? But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases." What is something that please God? -- that good overcome evil.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Silent Rapes
I wrote in my January 13, 2013, article "Thoughts About Abortion," "Even in the hard cases abortion can be avoided. Rapists can be male or female."
Adolescent boys have been seduced by adult women with children resulting from these sexual unions. Not only should these children not be aborted because these children are human, also the existence of these children can be used as evidence of rape/incest.
On a social and personal level we do not like to discuss certain issues because they are surrounded by pecados (sins).
Some men have been date raped by their male boyfriends, and the reason they don't want to tell their wife is, "What are they doing with boyfriends in the first place?"
Leviticus 18:22 English Standard Version Bible says, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." Proverbs 5:18-19 Contemporary English Version Bible says, "Be happy with the wife you married when you were young. She is beautiful and graceful, just like a deer; you should be attracted to her and stay deeply in love." Compared to God, who is eternal without beginning or end of life, we are all young.
God does not hate people who have same-sex sexual relations, same-sex romantic relationships, abortions, incestuous relationships, are rapists and other types of sexual/adulterous sins or any type of sin. God wants people to stop sinning and to start loving God, themselves and other people. Pecados (sins) are not sexy and sweet; pecados hurt and harm people.
Proverbs 28:13 Amplified Bible says, "He who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes his sins will obtain mercy."
First tell God about your sins, and allow Him to heal you and to restore you to a right relationship with God and people. Also, allow God to lead you to the people you need to confess your sins to. James 5:16 Amplified Bible says, "Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]."
Are you involved in secret sins? Don't let Satan fool you with fear and other tactics. "Fear is a disease that eats away at logic and makes man inhuman," said Marian Anderson, a singer and civil rights advocate. People experience consequences from our sins; they may or may not know the source of problems. Tell the truth, so that the situation can be transformed for good for you and for others.
In Chinese culture the number 8 is associated with prosperity. What can be more prosperous than lives filled with love?
Love wins when rape, incest, adultery, abortion and other sins end.
Adolescent boys have been seduced by adult women with children resulting from these sexual unions. Not only should these children not be aborted because these children are human, also the existence of these children can be used as evidence of rape/incest.
On a social and personal level we do not like to discuss certain issues because they are surrounded by pecados (sins).
Some men have been date raped by their male boyfriends, and the reason they don't want to tell their wife is, "What are they doing with boyfriends in the first place?"
Leviticus 18:22 English Standard Version Bible says, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." Proverbs 5:18-19 Contemporary English Version Bible says, "Be happy with the wife you married when you were young. She is beautiful and graceful, just like a deer; you should be attracted to her and stay deeply in love." Compared to God, who is eternal without beginning or end of life, we are all young.
God does not hate people who have same-sex sexual relations, same-sex romantic relationships, abortions, incestuous relationships, are rapists and other types of sexual/adulterous sins or any type of sin. God wants people to stop sinning and to start loving God, themselves and other people. Pecados (sins) are not sexy and sweet; pecados hurt and harm people.
Proverbs 28:13 Amplified Bible says, "He who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes his sins will obtain mercy."
First tell God about your sins, and allow Him to heal you and to restore you to a right relationship with God and people. Also, allow God to lead you to the people you need to confess your sins to. James 5:16 Amplified Bible says, "Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]."
Are you involved in secret sins? Don't let Satan fool you with fear and other tactics. "Fear is a disease that eats away at logic and makes man inhuman," said Marian Anderson, a singer and civil rights advocate. People experience consequences from our sins; they may or may not know the source of problems. Tell the truth, so that the situation can be transformed for good for you and for others.
In Chinese culture the number 8 is associated with prosperity. What can be more prosperous than lives filled with love?
Love wins when rape, incest, adultery, abortion and other sins end.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Keep Out?
Solomon, preacher, poet and king, wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:9 Complete Jewish Bible, "What has been is what will be, what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun."
Comedian Dave Chappelle, a nonbeliever in God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost, recently made a Solomon-like observation. "Remarking on the feat of building the Great Wall of China, he marveled, tongue in cheek, "I didn't know they had Mexicans" (The New York Times, April 2, 2013, "Comedian And Jokes Return, Tweaked.") Efforts to keep out foreigners, war and poverty are continual themes in human history.
Defense is necessary. So are major peace offensives.
John Maxwell, author, speaker, entrepreneur, has a daily email, A Minute with Maxwell, with a thought word for the day. Today's thought word is "maximizer."
Fe (faith) comes by hearing. Let's maximize the numbers of people who hear about God and enter into relationships with Dios (God) and creyentes (believers).
Of course some people will not receive Jesus Christ. Some also will not form close relationships with us. An Egyptian saying for a person who is unsuccessful at becoming intimate with another person is, "A thousand raps at the door, but no salute or invitation from within."
The Apostle Paul teaches us to examine ourselves to see our spiritual state; we may find that we have some barriers to forming good relationships that need to be broken. Paul also encourages us to go out of our way to relate well, not in a way that violates Biblical principles but rather shows Biblical principles lived beautifully. 1 Corinthians 9:20-23 the Message Bible says, "Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!"
Please share some major peace offensives.
Comedian Dave Chappelle, a nonbeliever in God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost, recently made a Solomon-like observation. "Remarking on the feat of building the Great Wall of China, he marveled, tongue in cheek, "I didn't know they had Mexicans" (The New York Times, April 2, 2013, "Comedian And Jokes Return, Tweaked.") Efforts to keep out foreigners, war and poverty are continual themes in human history.
Defense is necessary. So are major peace offensives.
John Maxwell, author, speaker, entrepreneur, has a daily email, A Minute with Maxwell, with a thought word for the day. Today's thought word is "maximizer."
Fe (faith) comes by hearing. Let's maximize the numbers of people who hear about God and enter into relationships with Dios (God) and creyentes (believers).
Of course some people will not receive Jesus Christ. Some also will not form close relationships with us. An Egyptian saying for a person who is unsuccessful at becoming intimate with another person is, "A thousand raps at the door, but no salute or invitation from within."
The Apostle Paul teaches us to examine ourselves to see our spiritual state; we may find that we have some barriers to forming good relationships that need to be broken. Paul also encourages us to go out of our way to relate well, not in a way that violates Biblical principles but rather shows Biblical principles lived beautifully. 1 Corinthians 9:20-23 the Message Bible says, "Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!"
Please share some major peace offensives.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Strong Feet
Abraham Lincoln said, "I do not like that man. I must get to know him better." Creyentes (believers) are here to connect with people, enemies included, to introduce them to God and to encourage a growing relationship with Him. Growing in God includes growing in human relationships.
Ephesians 6:15 Amplified Bible says, "And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace."
All creyentes (believers) have their feet shod in peace to move into relationships and to develop them. Having something is not the same as using it effectively.
Jan Ernst Matzeliger's mom was a black woman from Suriname, South America, and his father was a Dutch person from Holland. Matzeliger eventually left South America and came to the United States of America. After 1877 as he worked in a shoe manufacturing company, he noticed that production was slow because workers had to attach the bottom of shoes to the top by hand. Only 50 shoes could be made by hand daily. So Matzeliger invented a machine to increase production. Matzeliger was a man who clearly had a good mission in life, but many rejected him because of his race.
A Chinese proverb says, "Climbing a tree to seek for fish;" it means "attempting to do the impossible." Embracing people who are different may seem impossible. We may not like the personality, physical characteristics and/or something else about a co-worker, boss, spouse, child, family member, acquaintance or someone else. Our ultimate enemy and adversary, Satan, wants us to believe the lie that it's impossible to form a godly relationship with people, especially people we may not initially like. Satan also speaks various lies to us designed to destroy relationships.
Matzeliger developed more than one machine before he got a patent for the "Lasting Machine" that could rapidly stitch the leather of shoes to their soles. Matzeliger's machine turned out 150 to 700 shoes daily.
God has given creyentes feet with the Gospel of peace, so we can live out things like Acts 10:34 New Living Translation Bible which says, "Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism." God's goodness is for whoever will receive Him.
Anytime is the right time to talk to God. When we find we know the Bible, but we cannot use our feet effectively or any part of the Bible, ask God for the strength to do it.
Where are some amazing places God has strengthened your feet to go?
Ephesians 6:15 Amplified Bible says, "And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace."
All creyentes (believers) have their feet shod in peace to move into relationships and to develop them. Having something is not the same as using it effectively.
Jan Ernst Matzeliger's mom was a black woman from Suriname, South America, and his father was a Dutch person from Holland. Matzeliger eventually left South America and came to the United States of America. After 1877 as he worked in a shoe manufacturing company, he noticed that production was slow because workers had to attach the bottom of shoes to the top by hand. Only 50 shoes could be made by hand daily. So Matzeliger invented a machine to increase production. Matzeliger was a man who clearly had a good mission in life, but many rejected him because of his race.
A Chinese proverb says, "Climbing a tree to seek for fish;" it means "attempting to do the impossible." Embracing people who are different may seem impossible. We may not like the personality, physical characteristics and/or something else about a co-worker, boss, spouse, child, family member, acquaintance or someone else. Our ultimate enemy and adversary, Satan, wants us to believe the lie that it's impossible to form a godly relationship with people, especially people we may not initially like. Satan also speaks various lies to us designed to destroy relationships.
Matzeliger developed more than one machine before he got a patent for the "Lasting Machine" that could rapidly stitch the leather of shoes to their soles. Matzeliger's machine turned out 150 to 700 shoes daily.
God has given creyentes feet with the Gospel of peace, so we can live out things like Acts 10:34 New Living Translation Bible which says, "Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism." God's goodness is for whoever will receive Him.
Anytime is the right time to talk to God. When we find we know the Bible, but we cannot use our feet effectively or any part of the Bible, ask God for the strength to do it.
Where are some amazing places God has strengthened your feet to go?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)