I just got back from the Normandy beaches. I had a God moment there.I imagined all the invasions coming in. Britain took Sword Beach and Gold Beach, the Canadians on Juno beach, and the US on Omaha and Utah beach. Then it hit me.

The English fought together as one unit. The US fought together as one army and the Canadians were one army. Each of them had separate battles, each of them had their own beach (s) Yet the outcome was something great for God.

It is like that for the Catholics and Evangelicals. We cannot successfully mix our two armies, we need to take separate beachheads. We are all fighting on the right side of the war, against the culture of death and the devil, but we cannot intermingle the armies successfully.

If the English, Canadians and US soldiers went into a bar together on a Saturday night, they would be punching each other out by 11PM. And the US General Eisenhower, and English Montgomery didn’t like each other.

So it is with Ecumenism… we can come together to strategize and pray together, but in general we need to fight with our own army.

 I’m not a “young earth guy”. However, I’m puzzled by something. People of the left say that Sarah Palin is “denying science” by her belief that the world is young. My question to them is this … who is denying science more…her or Obama who says he doesn’t know when human life begins?

The most blatant denial of science that is occurring thewse days is the denial of pro-abortionists who believe a human isn’t human till it pops out the womb and screams.

I wonder how many more degrees Obama will need before he can figure out what Sarah Palin new the moment she was pregnant with her 5th precious baby. Who is the one denying science?

I’ve been living in an apartment for 8 years. It’s an interesting place downtown with many characters who drink too much, and have subsidized rent and stuff. Then there are those of us who pay market value for the rent. I had heard that every 5 years the landlord is obligated to paint your apartment if you ask. So I went to our municipally supported CO-OP, mostly run be tree hugging folks who are pretty “on the left”, not that I like talking about philosophy in terms of “right” and “left”.

Anyway, I spoke with the woman in charge, who was young, confident and attractive. She said, “we have no obligation to paint, we do it on an ‘as needed’ basis if our budget isn’t used up.”  I asked “do those of us who pay rent have any precedence over those who don’t?” 

OOOOOPS!!! I couldn’t have said anything worse. Her face contorted up and she glared at me and said “do you think you’re better than the welfare mom, or the women who have trouble with alcohol?” 

I didn’t want to get into the whole story about how I was a recovered alcoholic, drug using, post abortive, gender bending, Harlem rap producer, and messed up guy who was set free in Jesus many years ago.  I didn’t think that would have helped matters much anyway. So I said “uhhh, I don’t know, I just thought that I might not get punished for being a stable, working, rent paying tenant for 8 years, while transient people get a paint job every time they move.”  She said curtly “We will look at your apartment but will give preference to those who need it!” I left my name and number.  As I walked out I tried to understand her level of anger. I suddenly realized for the first time, that I appear to be a member of a new oppressed quadruple minority here in urban Canada — a middle aged, straight, white, working male. 

Some people ask, “why doesn’t the Church just mind its own business and not get involved in my personal life?” Ultimately, each one of us is responsible before God for our personal life. However, the Bible said the Church has an obligation to be involved with people who want to be in relationship to it (Acts 5:1-10, Mat 16:19). The Church is also obligated to share it’s message with society at large (1 Cor 9:16).

The Church is the new Israel (Romans 2:28, 29). In the Old Testament, the people of Israel lived together and they all had spiritual obligations to the greater good. The early Christian elders were very much into the lives of the community of believers (Acts). The idea of “Live and Let Live” is not a very biblical concept except when Jesus instructed the apostles to shake the dust from their feet and leave a heart hearted town (Mat 10:14).

Forty years ago, a politician declared “the state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation.” It was a compelling proposal that solidified the concept of “private sin,” which soon became “there is no sin - only preference.” Fueled by the contraception industry, now much of our health care budget is used for sex related health and psychological problems. Our court system is jammed with sex and relationship problems, and public education funds indoctrinate Christian children into this mess. The Church has also suffered immeasurably. Every sin that I commit in private affects the health of the Church community and the world at large. (Mat 18:15) The experiment of “private sin” has been a complete disaster.

The Church has an obligation to vigorously guard the integrity of the Eucharist by having moral requirements for communion. I know this sounds intolerant, which is perhaps another concept that has been distorted in recent decades. Many would rather not deal with the hassle, and just leave the Church, which a huge problem. But Jesus was never into numbers (Jn 6:56). He would rather not comprimise the truth. Before becoming Pope, Cardinal Ratzinger said “the Church of the future might be much smaller, but more faithful.” We cannot move the goalposts that God has set out for us. But I hope you don’t leave. God has given me incredible gifts as a result of being a part of his Body on earth, and I trust He has great things for you also.

Man, I’m so sick of the left wing press twisting words of Sarah Palin…

I decided to pull up the Sarah Palin talk about IRAQ to her church… It’s NOT what the NY Times and the secular media are trying to dump on her. She is NOT saying that the war is from God… she is saying that if we are sending our sons and daughters we better pray that our leaders are right… and pray that it is from God. Sarah Palin says

“…My son Track is in the military, …he’s being deployed to Iraq…Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right, [pray] that our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God. That is what we have to make sure that we are praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God’s, so bless them with your prayers, prayers of protection over our soldiers, so speaking of Track …”

What mother wouldn’t want people to pray for her kids at war… and what mother wouldn’t want people to pray that there actually is God’s will in this war… It is clear that she is NOT saying the IRAQ war is from God… it is a request that Alaskans pray for the leaders, that IF leaders are sending soldiers to war THEN pray that it is God’s plan [cause otherwise, if it’s not God’s will, then it would be a disaster and would mean lots more of danger for her sons and other soldiers.…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG1vPYbRB7k

A site dedicated to Sarah Palin rumours is here: http://explorations.chasrmartin.com/2008/09/06/palin-rumors/