"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.

"Racism Is A Disease of the Heart"

Every week, I buy my new wife flowers from a (white) Florist.  On Friday, I was in her shop and she inquired as to how my beautiful (black) bride was doing.  Then, she asked me ANOTHER question.

"Do you and your wife ever have any problems with people who don't approve of you?"

Before I could answer "not really," she told me she was dating a black man now and they had a very tragic thing happen.  Seems that they were eating out and a white lady came to their table and said, to both of them, "you people are what's wrong with this society today."

It was heartbreaking to hear.

I told the Florist that my wife and I rarely have problems with people who don't like us, but even if we did, we have a very strong support network at our church which ENCOURAGES us and offsets any critics.  Additionally, as Christians who believe and live by the Bible, we cling to Scriptures such as "if God is for us, who can be against us?"  And in the ultimate sense, it doesn't matter what ANYONE thinks of us.  We live before God and are not slaves of men, you see.

Some will object to my "bringing God" into a discussion about racism, but I make no apologies.

Racism is a disease of the heart.  Electing the "First Black President" didn't eliminate it, the success of the Black Panther movie won't purge it, and having all of those commercials with interracial couples won't change people's hearts...only GOD can do that. 

I hope, of course, that the Florist and her boyfriend don't break up over that incident but more than that, I hope they find THE LORD and know peace, like we do!!

"Montag ist der Gedenktag"

"MONDAY IS MEMORIAL DAY."  My title says this in GERMAN because if it wasn't for those Americans who died defeating Hitler, we might all be speaking it now.  (Silly intro?? Maybe...but it makes a point, I trust!!)

Anyway, the big issue is what exactly IS Memorial Day?? Well it is NOT primarily a time for barbeques, baseball and honoring everyone who has served, or IS serving, in our military.  Memorial Day is specifically to honor those who "gave all" in the service of our nation and who kept us FREE.

I change our church sign every week...last week, the sign read "THOSE WHO SERVE DESERVE OUR THANKS" and I was thinking about keeping it in place through Monday, Memorial Day.

Then, I realized it would NOT be appropriate because "THOSE WHO SERVE" is present tense.  Memorial Day is about those who HAVE served...and died...and as the dead can longer HEAR our expressions of thankfulness there in Eternity, the old sign would not work on a FEW levels.  (Thanks why I changed it to the NEW sign you see pictured.)

So remember...as you and enjoy the Fruits of Freedom this Memorial Day weekend, "ALL GAVE SOME, BUT SOME GAVE ALL."  And humanly speaking, that's why we are where we are, living FREE, here in 2018 America!!

"I'm Glad I'm Not Harry"

I didn't watch The Royal Wedding as it occurred, but I saw enough highlights AFTER it to realize I'M GLAD I'M NOT HARRY.

First off, my new bride and I, married only 3 weeks before Harry and Meghan, have something all of the Royal Couple's wealth and status and fame can't buy: THE LORD.  When problems arise in our marriage, we go to Him in prayer and we consult His Guidebook, the Bible, for answers.  At this point, sadly, Harry and Meghan aren't quite "there" yet with God when you look at the fruits of their lives, but, prayerfully, one day they WILL be.  (Better to start off with the Lord, however!!)

Secondly, I'M GLAD I'M NOT HARRY because I married a Princess, she did not become one when I married her (like Meghan did.)  Big difference!! I married a godly, lovely, Proverbs 31 woman that GOD transformed.  Again, Meghan is not quite "there" yet but hopefully that...and SHE...will change before long if the Lord changes HER like He changed my bride and me, many years ago.

Yes, I'M GLAD I'M NOT HARRY because I'm truly...............................HAPPY!!

"The Reality Reminder"

 

When Prince Harry marries tm'w, his new wife immediately becomes a Princess. 

But when I married MY bride three weeks ago, it's because she was ALREADY a Princess!! I'm a VERY happy man right now (back from our Honeymoon...see last post), and we had a GREAT Honeymoon!!  But something happened on it which, while a bit sad, was also a great "Reality Reminder" in the midst of our incredible joy.

 

 

Two of my friends, VICKI and BOB (shown with his wife Dottie) passed away.

Both were happily married for over 40 years, both were Christians and both are in Heaven now with the Lord Jesus Christ, their Savior.

Both died between the period of my Wedding and Honeymoon.

And it's a reminder that LIFE IS SHORT and MARRIAGE IS TEMPORARY because there is no marriage in Heaven, according to Scripture.

 

 

See, we Christians pledge to each other that we will love one another "till death do us part"...and God willing, we WILL...but the reality is that death DOES part even the HAPPIEST of couples one day.

 

The Lesson?? LOVE YOUR SPOUSE WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART EACH DAY.  None of us knows how much longer we'll have that privilege!!

"APOLOGIES!!"

My deepest apologies!!  In my last post, I promised that our wedding on April 28th would be LiveStreamed over Facebook.  And it WAS.....but apparently only for a few seconds, beginning at the "middle" (see photo), not the beginning (when the bridesmaids walked down the aisle!!)

We are mystified.  The person LiveStreaming had practiced and seemed competent, but there is no explanation as to why the streaming went dark.  In any event, the WEATHER was great, the WEDDING was perfect and the RECEPTION was exceptional!! Praise God!! Mercedes and I just got back from our two week honeymoon which brought us through 13 states, of which we stayed in 8 (nine different hotels), ending up in Niagara.  My new bride did the wedding planning HERSELF (with help from her friends and sisters in the wedding) and I did the Honeymoon planning (with help from my bride.)

We trust that our wedding and reception glorified GOD, the Giver of every good and perfect gift.  Please pray with us that our MARRIAGE would always glorify and honor Him ALSO.