Pastor's Blogs
Viewing today's world in the light of Bible prophecy

September 26, 2006  "Spilled Milk"
We have been interested to observe a recent interview with the former President concerning what he and/or his administration did or did not do in reference to apprehending Osama bin Ladin.  It seems as if he was very defensive when asked the question about did he miss the opportunity to arrest Osama bin Ladin.  Now, as much as he might like to change previous history or past events, it is not going to happen.  It seems to me that it doesn't make any difference about what he did or did not do, what was the priority of the former President or his administration at that time.  It's all in the past. The President may have been preoccupied with some personal matters, which is neither here nor there except if he neglected the business of the United States and of the safety of the world.  One tactic that seems to be used by both parties is to attack the other party, often with untrue accusations.  It is my perception that we must concentrate our energies on being diligent at this point, and not worry about "spilled milk."  In the Bible we read the words that, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  It doesn't suggest that we should claim somebody else's sins are worse than ours.

September 20, 2006  "The Atlantis STS - 115"
The most sophisticated vehicle in the world today, with engines that create a combined maximum thrust of more than 1.2 million pounds returned the crew safely to earth, with the main landing gear touchdown at 6:21.30 a.m. EDT .  The nose gear touchdown was 6:21.36 a.m.  The wheels stopped turning at 6:22:16 a.m., bringing to a close a trip that was 4.9 million miles long in only eleven days.  What a marvelous technical world we live in!

Think of the detail, the quality of focused interest that our God is able to place on our lives when we call upon Him and trust in His care!

September 20, 2006  "Atlantis Returns to Earth Safely"
This event demonstrates how technically advanced our nation is.  Can you imagine going in a hundred years from transportation from walking or riding a beast of burden to that of a space shuttle which is capable of encircling the planet in about ninety minutes?

The other evening I called my brother on the telephone just outside of Ft. Worth, Texas, requesting a photograph of him.  He called his son in Los Angeles, California, who had the photograph, who then e-mailed it to me, and I received it in less than five minutes from Los Angeles, California.  You know, I couldn't even have driven down to the local photo processing place in the amount of time that I received this photograph from California.  Isn't technology wonderful? 

However, we see that human nature remains the same as it has been since the fall into sin in this world.  No matter how advanced technology gets, it seems that we're losing ground morally and spiritually.  There is going to be a better world tomorrow, with technology that will completely blow our minds. However, we must first find a way to have a solution over the moral depravity that is so rampant today. 

That solution is Jesus Christ.  He said, "I will take out your old heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh, and write My laws upon that heart."  The only way that we can advance as individuals in this so-called "sophisticated" technology world is to submit to the Creator God of the Universe and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

September 13, 2006  "Mid-term Elections"
We see that there is a lot of political rhetoric on the airwaves.  When the President was giving a speech on the fifth anniversary of 9-11 discussing the nation's war on terror, we saw that immediately his political opponents began accusing him of using the occasion and the speech for political purposes only.

There was a little boy who asked his father, "Dad, what are we on this earth for?"

The father thought about it and he said, "To help others."

The little boy had a follow-up question:  "Dad, what are the 'others' on this earth for?"

So, it seems to me that there are people on the earth who are helping making a positive contribution trying to make life better for others, and then there are the "others," who criticize, complain, they're never happy about anything, and they like to go around spoiling other people's days. 

The Bible says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."  I believe that we should do good and help others.

September 11, 2006  "9-11"
Today is the fifth anniversary of the most horrendous terrorist attack on American soil.  What a tribute to the President in that there has not been another attack during this last five years! While listening to the radio I heard facts that about 3,000 individuals died in the Twin Towers, but since then, over 5,000 terrorists have been killed.  Someone asked, "Are we safer now?" and the answer is definitely, absolutely, "Yes, we are safer now."  And due to the courage of our President against increasing partisan criticism, blame and attacks, our President stands tall and protects the American people.  I, for one, feel safer today than I did on September 11, 2001.

However, the war against good and evil continues.  There is another master terrorist, none other than the angel once known as "Lucifer, The Daystar."   The Commander in Chief that Christians choose is stronger and smarter than the terrorist Lucifer.  When we stand behind our Commander Jesus Christ, we have nothing to fear for the future except as we shall forget how Christ has led us in the past.  Again, today, I choose Jesus. 

September 5, 2006  "Stabbed in the Heart"
All of us were saddened when we heard of Steve Irwin's tragic death (the "Crocodile Hunter").  We all have vivid memories of the occasions where he stood in front of crocodiles and giant monster lizards, holding poisonous snakes, and on many occasions just missed seeing death by a matter of inches.  I can recall on several occasions where he warned his audience, "Don't try this at home."  And so, finally, it caught up with him. 

Which makes me think of the principle that God established in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.  He said, "Stay away from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, because it has the potential to kill you."  (Genesis 3:3,4)  If we were to sum it up, we would hear God say, "Obey and live.  Disobey and die." 

There are a lot of people who seem to challenge fate when they get close to those things that could kill them.  The safest plan is to stay away, far away.  Don't take any chances.  And live.

--Hershel Mercer, Pastor

                              Inverness Seventh-day Adventist Church