"GHETTO GETAWAYS" (Outline of idea I got for my next book)

ANDRE:   20 year old black man, lives in a poverty-stricken ghetto but wants badly to earn his way out.  Starts business called "GHETTO GETAWAYS," naively thinking that rich whites will pay to stay in his neighborhood for a week at a time to learn what it's like to be poor.  Andre is fatherless, angry at God  (though he says he doesn't believe there is a God) and is desperate to escape the ghetto, himself.  Unlike many around him, Andre wants to be self-reliant and "make it on his own."  By renting out empty apartments in the building he is the young and single Superintendent of,  Andre hopes that by bringing people INTO his area for a "Ghetto Getaway" he'll eventually be able to earn enough money to move OUT of his ghetto.  However, he's increasingly bitter when, at first, no one wants to try a "Ghetto Getaway."

 

BOB:   40 year old wealthy, single white man, lives in suburbs.  Bob is a Christian and, when younger, wanted to be a missionary but became very disenchanted because his rich Christian parents were content to give money to missions but never reached out to lost people right in their own area.  Even when "the mission field came to us" via the influx of people from foreign countries, they were content to send money, but not to give of themselves to needy people locally.  However Bob still has a missionary HEART, he reads of Andre's business and takes him up on a "Ghetto Getaway," intending to make him wealthy with some of the fortune he inherited from his parents, but ALSO to witness to him about the TRUE riches he can find in Jesus Christ.

 

CONVERSATIONS:  After Bob attempts to give Andre $50,000, Andre demands to know WHY he would do that...at first thinking Bob may be motivated by White Guilt, and not wanting the gift. "I don't want charity, Bro." (Andre wanted to enlighten rich white folks about poverty, but not manipulate them.)

Bob builds a bridge to Andre by telling him they are both "entrepreneurs"....Andre with "Ghetto Getaways"  and Bob with his, in effect, OWN self-funded mission outreach.  "I can seek to reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ the way *I* want to now, no one tells me how or where or to whom to reach out to (except the LORD)" Bob says.  "And I don't have to beg anyone else for funds.  I love it!"

Because he and Andre have so many external differences, Bob deems it wise to keep expressing his issues with what he saw as "The Missionary Mentality."  He tells Andre "Most Missionaries don't encourage Christians to be missionaries WHERE THEY ARE.  They just encourage them to send them money so they can be Missionaries FOR them.  And nowadays, Missionaries seem thrilled that 'the mission field is coming to THEM' but Jesus said all Christians are to be 'Fishers of Men'.  When have you ever heard of a fisherman who sits back and waits for the fish to come to them and jump into their boat?"

Andre is still leery, though he can relate to Bob taking exception to those he regards as lazy...he has interacted with many such people, in his 20 years of ghetto life.  "Bro, I don't want to take your money and feel obligated to listen to your 'preaching' ."

(But despite his outward 'wall," over time Andre feels a BOND towards the older man who, like himself, goes against the tide of the thought-environment in which he was raised.  And Bob, on the other hand, begins to realize Andre is like the son he never had, and admires HIS independent spirit.)

Bob, himself a wise "Fisher of Men," over time begins a Bible Study with Andre .......seeking to apply Scriptures to issues current in Andre's  life.

He tells Andre that:

* The Bible teaches we are all born sinners and because of that, we carry a "ghetto" around inside of us which leaves us far from God and Heaven and headed for the ultimate, inescapable Ghetto...Hell.

*Human ghettoes may or may not be the residual effect of slavery lingering from years ago [Andre thinks that might be so], but the spiritual ghetto we all have by nature definitely comes because of our native slavery to sin.  And we all are slaves of sin and Satanuntil we're SAVED."

* Some MAY escape the physical ghetto and live in material comforts the rest of their lives, but unless he (Andre) gets out of the ghetto WITHIN him, he'll never truly be "wealthy" and will be lost eternally.

Andre, confused, eventually "bites" and asks how he can be delivered from this "ghetto within," the "ghetto of sin" inside of him.

*Bob tells him of Jesus, who came from the glories of Heaven to dwell amongst us on earth, and to make a way that WE, sinners though we are, can go to Heaven.

* Bob's words have weight, for though Andre has always been angry at God because he was fatherless, he realizes Bob left the comfort of the suburbs to come to the ghetto and give HIM the riches to escape.

He saw something of the Christ Bob was speaking about, evident in Bob's life.  Gave his words WEIGHT.

* Finally, in their 5th Bible Study, Bob leads Andre through Scripture, showing him how Christ died for all of those who repent and believe.                             Andre, in tears, calls out to the LORD and is saved!!

 

 

EPILOGUE:  5 years later, Bob visits the ghetto again on a Sunday morning and enters a storefront church started by Andre with the $50,000.  Andre is now a preacher, delivering messages about "Ghetto Getaways" of a much different sort: the deliverance from SIN that causes a ghetto WITHIN (the "Ghetto Getaways" business was disbanded right after he met Bob.)  Andre's congregation is growing.

Bob gives silent thanks to God as he listens to Andre preach the gospel.  He knows the time HE has left is short, but is grateful for how God used him as a missionary to Andre before the cancer takes him Home.

(Andre does not know that Bob is dying and left him in his will for the rest of his fortune.  However, he is most grateful ALWAYS for the way God used him to bring him true riches in Christ.)

 

COPYRIGHT (c) 2018 by CHET JELINSKI

 

"Bill"

Today would have been the 91st birthday of my good friend BILL.  Here is the tribute I wrote about him when he passed in 2014...this says it all.






Dear Mrs. Bane, Bill Jr. and Don,


I join hundreds, and even thousands, of Bane-Cleners from all over the world in saying that, quite simply, we are at a loss for words regarding the loss of your dear husband and father. It is hard to know what to say and for several days, we have said nothing except to let our tears for his loss and our prayers for you all "speak" for us. The time has come to attempt the next step, however, which is to try to put his amazing life into perspective.


To you he was a dear husband and "Dad" but Mr. Bane was, to us, a humble, generous and sincere man filled with unique wisdom and common sense developed over many years and life experiences. He could always be counted on to counsel us as to what was in our best interest, and always spoke encouraging words when we sought his input. He was not only exemplary in his gentlemanly love for his dear wife of 67 years and loyalty to his family, but his praiseworthy conduct even overflowed towards "enemies." Many times in his "Cleaning Digest" or "Clene Times" articles he would go out of his way to commend a competitor where such was warranted. This was despite a constant barrage of unfair criticism which he often received and was aware of. Mr. Bane held no grudges! He firmly believed that "The Bane-Clene Way" was the best way, but he reached out to others in the industry and commended them where possible. True leaders always take the arrows, but Mr. Bane did it without bitterness!


When someone in the Bane-Clene Family or the cleaning industry at-large passed away, he wrote touching tributes to them. He was always inspiring and edifying to be around. He knew how to listen to us every bit as perceptively as he spoke. Allow me, please, to share some of my enduring and endearing personal memories of Mr. Bane. Before I came to Bane-Clene, the very first issue of the "Cleaning Digest" I received in the mail (from early 1981) told me a lot about its publisher, William F. Bane. There was a Japanese-American man shown on the cover, cleaning draperies, you see. Mr. Bane lacked prejudice before it was fashionable to be that way, and when I later learned he was a World War II veteran I was even more impressed with him for that. At my first visit to Bane-Clene Institute in 1983, there was a female entrepreneur back in the days when this was uncommon in the male-dominated cleaning industry. Mr. Bane treated her with total respect and again, he was on the cutting edge with this attitude. I was amazed at how a man in his 50s at the time (I was in my 20s) adapted so well to the changes around him and, in fact, helped effect many of the positive ones. 


He truly loved baseball (and knew the game very well), he truly loved this country and, most of all, he truly loved PEOPLE. Even after I retired last year, he and I remained good friends and e-mailed each other often about those things I just mentioned, and others. Towards the end of his life, he never complained or felt sorry for himself, he merely asked for prayers and expressed gratitude when assured that they were forthcoming.


When I think of Mr. Bane, I think of a man I respect, not just a gentleman but a "Gentle Man." He was a thinking man, an articulate man, a generous man, a Man's Man. He was a salesman extraordinaire, but always a supremely ethical one in my 32 years of dealing with him. He was a man worth emulating and respecting. He was a man who was very rare and who will be greatly missed by a world which has changed so much, often for the worst, in his lengthy and uplifting lifetime.


Mr. Bane was true friend to me and thousands of others who, with you, mourn his loss with tremendous sorrow of heart.


You and the family are in our prayers,


May the God of Peace give you peace,


Chet Jelinski

"A HERO Amongst the Hollywood Hypocrites!!"

Hollywood stars are famous for being hypocrites.  The latest examples are those who whine that we "shouldn't break up families" while they commit adultery and divorce each other right and left.  Before that, it was things like "Save The Whales" as they support killing human babies, and protesting GUNS while they make outrageously violent movies depicting all manner of mayhem and destruction.  (I could go on and on with examples of this hypocrisy, but I won't.)

You see, most actors and actresses who take up causes seem intent on convincing us that they really care about something other than themselves, but the irony is...while pretending to be MORE than actors, most of them are, frankly, doing the very best acting job of their careers.

However, a guy like CHRIS PRATT (above), star of "Guardians of the Galaxy" and Jurassic World," is a rare exception....a HERO by Hollywood standards.  He said some things a few nights ago on TV that are NOT in vogue amongst the Hollywood elite, he took a stand that may COST him and cause him some monetary loss down the road.  Here's the speech, if you missed it:


http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/06/19/chris-pratt-shares-message-faith-during-acceptance-speech-at-mtv-movie-and-tv-awards.html


Pratt's bold endorsement of GOD and FAITH may keep him from being cast in future movies...in fact, he may be cast OUT of  the Hollywood Inner Circle for not "following the crowd," as others do.  Yet, HE SPOKE UP.  Now, I do not approve of ALL Chris said...some of his language could be improved, and it's a shame that you "have" to drop certain words just to get the attention of dumbed-down young people today...but the GIST of what he said was excellent.

And it's good to know that there's a real HERO amongst the Hollywood Hypocrites!!

"Technology and the Ohtani Effect"

Perhaps you've heard of Major League Baseball's "next Babe Ruth," the new Japanese import who can hit AND pitch (like The Babe.)  Up until he got hurt recently, his fans were boasting that "one man filled two needs on his team's roster." But now that he may be out of commission until 2020, those same fans are lamenting that his team has, in effect, LOST two valuable players....and some question the wisdom of signing him in the first place.

The Angels RELIED TOO MUCH ON SHOHEI OHTANI, you see.  Oh, it worked great when HE was working, but now that he's out of commission, well, it's quite another story.

The same is true with our (what I call) over-reliance on technology.

*   When our cell-phones work, they are great but when they don't, why, we are in BIG trouble.  There are no PAYPHONES anymore if you're stranded on the road, and you won't know the number of someone to call for help WITHOUT being able to access data in your phone (unless you have a paper copy of important numbers, or a great memory), ANYway!!

*   When our GPS works right, it's fantastic but who knows how to read a paper MAP anymore....who knows how to GIVE directions anymore....if the GPS shuts down?? (Not many!!)

*   Our COMPUTERS are great till they act up, then they SLOW our work down and, in some cases, wipe it out totally.

*   E-Z PASS helps traffic move quicker when it works right, but what about when the unit acts up and YOU get an expensive ticket because E-Z PASS was broken??  And it's not always so "E-Z" to get a live person the phone to help you rectify matters, Lol!!

I could go on and on, but here's the point....don't be like the Angels and Shohei Ohtani.

Don't think that this new technology can replace the "Babe Ruth" that is your brain...Babe Ruth has been "around" since you were born (unless you're more than 115 years old) and so has the brain God gave you.  DON'T RELY SO MUCH ON THE SHOHEI OHTANI TECHNOLOGY THAT YOU'LL BE LOST WHEN IT GOES KAPUT.  Keep using your mind...not losing your mind.

And this newfangled technology WILL (go Kaput)...............when it does, what seemed to be a blessing can quickly be revealed to be a CURSE because this stuff is making us too lazy (mentally and physically), too dependent on it and too.............................WISHY-WASHY.

In closing, even though "nothing really happened" on Y2k 18 years ago, there were lessons to be learned and it is my opinion that most Americans did NOT learn them, sorry to say.

Don't lean on technology so much, and Beware the Ohtani Effect!!

"Flag Day"

I firmly believe that, unless the Lord intervenes, this nation may well be called ISLAMERICA within 20 years.  God may well give us up to our godlessness, as a judgment against our sins.  I hope I'm WRONG, of course but it leads me into my "Chetitorial" of the day: namely, some thoughts about FLAG DAY yesterday.

To me, the American flag represents Freedom and that certainly includes the freedom to NOT display your American flag on June 14th (a freedom that, sadly, many apparently took advantage of yesterday.)  But here's a quick thought about all of that. 

If my fears are realized, if this DOES become a Muslim nation, we are all going to see how we took our lost freedoms for granted. For example, in my last post I mentioned how the gays paraded their bondage to sin openly and freely.  That will most certainly cease if Islam takes over....in fact, gays will probably be put to death, and that is sad.  Christians want to see gays SAVED and alive in Christ, not killed and sent to Hell.

If this DOES become Islamerica one day, we'll be forced to fly moon and star flags with the darkness of night in the background....a fitting symbol of the darkest religion known to man.

We'll probably have to fly it year round, and, we WON'T have a choice whether or not to do so.

If you didn't fly your American flag yesterday, consider flying it NEXT year (or, even on Independence Day, July 4th, of THIS year.)

Better to celebrate our freedom while we have it, than to lose it and lament never appreciating it.

"Heading 'North' But Going Downhill"

There's a spot in the mountains of New Jersey (yes, we have mountains in New Jersey, Lol) where the road sign  says "North" but there's a VERY steep incline.  The effect of driving this road, at least for me, is that you feel you are sinking fast, though the sign insists you're going "North" (upwards.) 

Yesterday, when I drove this road again, it made me think of "Gay Pride Month" in America and the many Gay Pride Parades that are taking place in our country this month.  Now, the Liberal mainstream media praises sinful displays like the one pictured above....THEIRS is like the sign which is saying we are going "North" as a nation.  But the reality is, we feel that America is on a steep DECLINE that will DOOM us, if God does not intervene.

And this is one time our feelings are 100% correct.

Please don't tell me you're offended at this photo, I could have shown pics of gay men publicly dressed as giant penises and lesbians as giant vaginas. 

I want to show those of you who care (but are hiding from reality) a small sample what is actually happening out there.  We need to get into our PRAYER closets and pray that these folks get saved or get back in THEIR closets because these open displays of sin, gleefully endorsed by the Liberal media, are killing us as a nation. 

NO OTHER GROUP of sinners attaches the word "PRIDE" to their name.  You don't see ADULTERY Pride parades, or MURDERER'S Pride parades, or THIEVES Pride.  Please don't tell me "this sin is no worse than any other."  While it is true that the least sin of any kind, unrepented of, will land us in Hell, the sin of "Gayness" affects multitudes with the message of rebellion against God as Creator. And they add to that PRIDE, the sin which Scripture says God hates and resists.

Additionally, no other group seeks to enlist CHILDREN as aggressively as the LGBTQs do.  They want to see their sin continue to new generations, but (thankfully) they cannot reproduce naturally so they try to CONVERT children. Kids were present at the parade pictured above.  I don't see OTHER groups of sinners parading their sin where kids are present....do you?? If not then please, please stop saying "their sin is no worse than any other" without the proper qualification to that statement. 

No other group proudly parades their sin while the mainstream media helps them and says we're heading "North"..............as we're going downhill.

Message I'm Bringing Tm'w: "A Lesson From Ol' 'Doubting Thomas' "

"A Lesson From Ol' 'Doubting Thomas' "

                              (John 20:24-29)

 

 

 

Everyone has heard the phrase "Doubting Thomas."  In God's Word, 'Doubting Thomas' was one of the 11 remaining disciples who, for some reason, was not present with the others when Jesus appeared to them after His resurrection.  Thomas must have been from Missouri, the "Show Me" state, because he refused to believe the others when they said they'd seen Jesus.  Thomas refused to accept that Jesus had risen unless he, personally, could touch the wounds He had received at His crucifixion.

 

Jesus was very patient to accommodate Thomas rather than rebuke him for his unbelief.  Eight days later, the text says, (in verses 26-27),  that Jesus appeared to the disciples again and this time Thomas WAS present.  Note that Jesus appeared "out of nowhere" though the doors were locked, and said "Peace be with you" to everyone.  He then gave Thomas exactly what he wanted, urging him to not remain "faithless" but to "Believe!" He encouraged him in a positive manner regarding his lack of faith, rather than reproving him, you see.

 

Thomas often gets a bad rap for his doubting, but give him credit, when Jesus let him touch his wounds, he exclaimed "My Lord and my God!" (verse 28.) Now Jehovah's Witnesses, who do NOT believe Jesus is God in the flesh, say that Thomas was, in essence, saying "My God!!" as if he were taking the Lord's Name in vain.  But if that were the case, Jesus surely WOULD have rebuked him.  He did not, but rather Jesus accepted Thomas' declaration that He is God (as we saw in verse 29.) His response to Thomas' response was "you believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven't seen me and believe, anyway."

Thomas was clearly expressing faith that JESUS IS GOD and Jesus did not "correct the record."  That's because Jesus IS God.

 

In the book of Acts, when Cornelius wanted to worship Peter, falling at Peter's feet, Peter rebuked him (Acts 10:26.) Then in Acts 14:14 and following, the people wanted to offer sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas but they were agitated and made them stop.  It's inconceivable that JESUS would fail to put a halt to someone who was falsely worshipping HIM......unless of course the worship was warranted (and it is.)  If Peter and Paul refused false worship, JESUS would have ALSO...except that in Jesus' case, worship was and is warranted!!

 

In conclusion, the real lesson we can learn from "Doubting Thomas" is not to STAY doubters. 

 

Those of us who live after Jesus ascended into Heaven can never touch Him like Thomas did, but Jesus said in verse 29 that there will be those blessed ones who can believe in Him WITHOUT seeing Him!! And Peter went a step further, for in 1 Peter 1:8 he wrote that even though we don't SEE Jesus now, we can LOVE Him.  So do you believe in Jesus?? Do you LOVE Him??  Maybe you've been thinking that it's impossible to believe in Him and love Him until you see Him in Heaven, but the Bible teaches that without faith it is impossible to please Him...if we don't believe in Him and love Him NOW we will not GET to Heaven. Verse 30 of our passage says that "these things are written" (regarding all the recorded things about Jesus in the Gospels) so that we may believe that Jesus IS the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him we will have life" (meaning ETERNAL Life, in Heaven.) DON'T be like Thomas in his DOUBTING.  Be like Him by telling Jesus He is your Lord and your God!!           Let us pray.

 

 

"Meeting Mariano Rivera!!"

Last night I met future Hall-of-Fame baseball player, the great MARIANO RIVERA!! It was at a charity event to raise money to help build a church.  It was a tremendous thrill to meet this great Man of God.  Some may remember that, seven years ago I wrote a Gospel tract with Mariano's achievements as a starting point.  For those who are not familiar, here is the link to the tract...

https://mwtb.org/products/pmt-the-greatest-saver-of-all-time-nkjv?variant=27600285767

Mariano AUTOGRAPHED the copy of the tract that was presented to him last night, and THAT is a great thrill, ALSO.

(By the way, one month ago yesterday we saw Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripken Jr. while on our honeymoon, and to actually MEET the future HOFer, Mariano, a month later is amazing!!)

"Cos and Effect: Cosby's 'Joking' About Sin"

First off, let me state that Bill Cosby WAS guilty of rape if even ONE of his fifty-plus accusers was telling the truth.  And as much as I used to like Cosby, I also believe the charges about him because of what I consider damning evidence from his OWN mouth.

You see, sometime in the past few years I read that one of Cosby's comedy albums had a routine where he joked about drugging women and exploiting them.  This album was released in the 1960s before Cos really, REALLY hit it big and right around the time some of his accusers say he first acted out this perverse fantasy.

Proverbs 14:9 says "Fools make a mock at sin" and Cos showed himself to be, in God's eyes, a fool by entertaining sin to the point that he JOKED about it....on a wax recording that thousands heard, no less. One wonders if his audience would have laughed at his "Spanish Fly" routine if they could see that, 50 years later, he is getting time in jail for essentially acting out what he joked about.

It's interesting that ANOTHER comedian, a few years ago, stated that Cos was a rapist in one of HIS comedy routines and this led to a new examination of that horrible, once unthinkable possibility. I cannot help but see the hand of God in this Providence, and the lesson seems to point back to COSBY'S joke which got him going down the path to pain for many women and shame for HIM. Was Cosby emboldened by the laughter and applause he got for that fateful routine??

As we listen to comedians, we must be careful that we don't "endorse" sins that some make light of.  We may be aiding them, and ourselves, down a path of accepting, then embracing, sin by laughing at that which should sadden us.  The Bible says our hearts are deceitful and sin is ALSO....it can start with the pleasure of "innocent" laughter and end up with a Guilty Verdict and shame beyond belief.