Note from Webmaster:  I decided to include this article from the Heritage Foundation.  You might want to follow the money trail to see where the funding comes for this organization.  Here is a good place to start

For most Americans, the word “poverty” suggests destitution: an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, clothing, and reasonable shelter. But only a small number of the 37 millionpersons classified as ” poor ” by the Census …

The rest is here:
How Poor Are America’s Poor? Examining the “Plague” of Poverty in …

Without getting into all of the political stuff it is safe to say that U.S. relations with North Korea have gotten markedly worse since the Cheonan warship sank in March, 2010.  Former president Carter has been critical of the present administrations two track diplomatic tactic of sanctions and pushing for nuclear disarmament.  It is easy to see why North Korea asked for Carter to come and get Gomes.

Who is Aijalon Gomes and why did he decide to go to North Korea in the first place?  While seeking to answer this question I found out some interesting things about this man. Aijalon is a practicing follower of Jesus Christ and is a close friend of Robert Park who himself was imprisoned in North Korea earlier in the year for the same violation.  They both attended Every Nation Church of Korea which is a church plant of King’s Park International Church in North Carolina.

Marshalette Wise who trains English teachers in Seoul saud, “Aijalon Mahli Gomes attends church every Sunday in Seoul and refuses to quit his teaching job in South Korea despite the stress of being in a foreign country.

For two years, Gomes taught English about an hour-and-a-half from Seoul at Chungui Middle School. He appears to be a quiet, contemplative man but something happened inside of him that caused him to embrace the plight of those suffering in North Korea.  Could it have been the Spirit of Christ stirring our brother to leave his comfort zone and act boldly or was he just some misguided individual who made a bad decision?

“I don’t know exactly why he did it but I’m sure he felt that God was saying to him good can come out of this,” says English teacher Marius van Broekhuizen, who attended the same church as Gomes and Parks.

“To an outsider, it seems incredibly stupid what he did, but Aijalon stopped living for himself a long time ago,” Van Broekhuizen says. “If you know him, you would understand that everything that he did was to benefit the people around him. And I’m sure he was convinced that what he did could in a way help the people of North Korea to be free again.”

Van Broekhuizen says he talked and prayed with Gomes nearly every week for more than a year.  Van Broekhuizen speculates that his friend went to North Korea to find purpose in his life.

“Aijalon’s focus moved away from just having a good time to meaning something to the people around him — from first living for his own pleasure toward loving people and being sacrificial and that,” Van Broekhuizen says. “We did have a good time together, definitely. But it was more a deep relationship, than just a fun relationship, and I learned a lot from him.”

The pastor of the church they all attended said,  ”I don’t know why it happened, but, it just, amazingly, just two members from our church going to North Korea,” says Simon Suh, pastor of Every Nation Church. “I just want people to know that from my message, or our church orientation, that we don’t encourage people to go to North Korea.”

Pastor Suh says Gomes and Park may have been drawn to the North because of what he described as passionate prayers by defectors now living in the South, many of whom attend their small church.

“There are several occasions that we’d been really praying for the family members who came from North Korea, and hiding in our shelter in China,” Suh says. “We’ve been specifically praying for those people, and I believe that Aijalon was very much moved about those events.”

“Aijalon and I had several counseling sessions where he really wants to pray and find out God’s will. A lot of times he really didn’t know whether he needed to stay in Korea or go back to the United States. So he said, ‘Pastor Simon, that’s just one of the prayers that I’m constantly praying: What is next in my life?’ “

Joo Gyung-bae, a North Korean refugee who is also a member of the congregation, remembers sharing his life’s struggles with Gomes during prayer meetings. He says Gomes didn’t talk much, but you could see he cared more deeply than others, especially about the people of North Korea and the extreme hardships they face.

“He loved us more than anyone,” Joo says. “His heart really ached for us, unconditionally — that’s how he felt when he left us, with no hope for any reward. I trust in Mr. Gomes because I believe that Jesus sent him, and that he carried Jesus’ love with him.”

It appears to me that Aijalon Gomes became more and more concerned about the numerous other prisoners in North Korea and had to do something.  His conversations with Robert Parks, his friend and former fellow prisoner, no doubt played a part in spurring him to act.  Parks is still suffering trauma from his time in prison in North Korea and there are rumors that he may have been sexually tortured.   This all probably weighed in on the heart and conscience of Gomes.

Note from webmaster:  This is a very important article that gives a brief history of stem cell research

In 1999, the General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services argued that the wording of the law might permit an interpretation under which human embryonic stem cell research could be funded. If embryos were first …

Continued here:
A Brief Primer on Stem Cell Research » First Thoughts | A First …

President Obama signed a bill today significantly reducing the disparity in penalties for the use of crack versus powder cocaine, according to the White House.

The Fair Sentencing Act repeals a mandatory sentence of five years for first time offenders, and for repeat offenders with less than 28 grams of crack cocaine. The old law set the mandatory sentence for conviction at five grams.

The old measure had been in place for over 25 years and led to greater penalties for inner city blacks who statistically are the primary users of crack.

For more on this story here is a link

I think that it is important to note that one of the major opponents of the act was Lamar Smith from Texas who is the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.  He argued vigorously shortly before passage that to reduce the crack cocaine penalties would be a serious mistake.

Texas Tough

Here is a link that explains some of the effects of the old policy

Both the president and the attorney general are African American which in my opinion was necessary for this change to take place.  What do you think?

Ready or not, here it comes, and it has been coming for some time.  Simple church, organic church, or whatever you choose to call it is a evolving phenomena worldwide.  I personally have been making the transition from a “regular” church pastor to whatever I am now – whatever that is.

All I know is that I love the Lord and continue to have a strong desire to help people come to know Him in reality and truth.  I am still an elder and leader in the body of Christ but this is more of a function rather than a title.  To most I am just Jim, Dr Jim, hey you or just buddy.  Very seldom am I called reverend or anything close to it – not these days.

I remember when I worked as a mental health professional and longed for the days that I could be in full-time ministry.  I spent my working hours helping people who were in emotional and mental distress but I longed to be in full-time ministry.

Frequently my job required me to work with the local compassion ministry after hours that provided food, clothing and shelter, but I longed to be in full-time ministry.

One day, I was talking with a long time friend and when I shared my dilemma he said, “you’re already in full-time ministry brother”.  It was like scales fell off my eyes and I could see the truth.

Unfortunately, I fell into the mold of the full-time pastor – starting a church congregation, attending pastor’s meetings, a lot of preaching and teaching etc.  I must tell you, my life was much more exciting and fulfilling before I took on this role.  Now it seems God is bringing me full circle, after about 15 years.

Maybe you are longing for full-time ministry?  You need to get free from that erroneous idea.  God does not want us living our lives in these self created Christian ghettos.  Look at the life of Jesus – where did he spend most of his time?  In temples and synagogues ? – I don’t think so.

What do you believe is your purpose?  Why are you here on planet earth?  What need has God created you to fulfill?  Do you know, or do you struggle with this whole idea of living life on purpose?

One day I sat down prayerfully before God and I could see that my vocation, my purpose, is to be a people helper.  Whether I am in front of a crowd giving a speech, or sitting in a small group of people, I flow in my purpose, and I do not have to try that hard to do it either.  This is me, this is who I am.

I would like to see more and more people delivered from religious nonsense.  Let’s get rid of the idea of full-time ministry.  The great success is when what you do most of the time is what you feel you are called to do.  This is why I love the concept of Simple Church – it facilitates a simple life – one in which you are free to be who you are.

Do you love kids?  Do you spend most of your time around them – whether through a job or some volunteer activity? Maybe you are mom or grand mom to the neighborhood.  Just be free to flow in your purpose.  You do not need to be in children’s ministry in a formal church, although that is ok if that is what you feel you need to do.  Just get free of all the religious nonsense.

What you and I do does not define us.  God defines us in the purpose he calls us to, and we are free to enjoy His desire for our lives.  This is how we are designed to flow in life.

You might be reading this post and thinking, “Oh here we go again, and it’s another one of those Christian sites.  If this is what you’re thinking you may be right.  I am a follower of Jesus so in this sense I am Christian.  If you think I am one of those mean people who has a problem with everybody else then you are wrong.

Jesus came to save sinners and like Paul the apostle, I am chief or one of the main ones.  Let him who is without sin cast the first stone – Jesus said this once.  I have my own issues and I do not have time or the desire to judge you for yours.

I think I have rambled enough for now.  I am waiting for my granddaughter to have her first child.  Yes, I am getting ready to be a great grand pop but don’t let your imagination run away with you, I am not that old – she is just young.

I use to love to hear an old song called, “If I can help somebody” ,when I was growing up.  If I can help somebody, then my living will not be in vain.  Think about it, helping somebody – anybody.  What an idea!  Till next time.

Five years ago Tishman Speyer and Blackrock Realty partnered to purchase the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village housing complexes in Manhattan.  The plan was to get around rent controls and force the largely middle class occupants out of their homes so they could transform the places into luxury apartments at much higher rents. Recently they had to turn this purchase back over to their creditors because they couldn’t make a 16 million loan payment on over 5 billion dollars of debt.

Enter the real estate bust, and the best laid plans of mice and men are once again upset.  I find a kind of satisfaction to see that the little guys, represented by the working class people currently living in these apartments, seem to have come out on top – at least temporarily.  I say temporarily, because you can believe that there is some other greedy entity waiting in the wings to step in and try to get their hands on this perceived treasure.

My closing question is this – why was the Church of England involved in this deal? There is something seriously wrong with things when a so-called Church of England can invest in a deal that would ultimately profit from the misfortune of thousands of people.

There is a perfect real estate storm looming on the horizon involving commercial real estate.  We all need to take heed!

For the full story

I would imagine that at this moment in history there are some white people who are embarrassed and maybe even a little apologetic. People protesting in Washington against the health care bill have been seen and heard shouting racial epithets against black members of congress.

We should pray for our nation during this time. Many need to examine their hearts to see what is really motivating them and their vehement opposition against president Obama and his initiatives. To some, race may not even be an issue but unfortunately, to many it most definitely is.

http://www.aolnews.com/healthcare/article/raucous-ugly-build-up-to-house-health-care-vote/19407962

If a person or persons walk into a bank and take money that is not theirs they will be sentenced to jail. This is called bank robbery and it is a crime. Will Lehman Brothers CEO at the time, Dick Fuld, be found guilty of a crime? This same report declares that he was not criminally negligent.

Here is my question. If the CEO in charge of running the company is not guilty of a crime where lying and cheating was taking place not to mention theft, then who is? There is something seriously wrong with a legal system that will sentence a 16 year old kid to 30 years in prison for selling drugs when a 50 year old executive guilty of no less of a crime is not even charged.

Even a casual reading of Isaiah 63 in the Bible would lead one to think that God is interested in justice for the poor and oppressed. Jesus used the first portion of this passage to announce the onset of his public ministry. (Luke 4)

Up until this point I have avoided getting into any heated conversations with my friends who identify as conservative Christians – I think this is about to change. I personally do not see how anyone can be a follower of Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck who also claim to be followers of Jesus.

This last public spectacle by Glen Beck is really the catalyst for me taking a more public stance against these so-called political pundits who seem to be embraced by certain segments within Christianity. For those of you not familiar with what I am talking about, Glen Beck recently advised Christians to leave Churches that refer to a social gospel. This past week he told Christians to leave their congregations if they hear any preaching about economic or social justice issues. He went so far as to declare that these terms were code words for Nazism and Communism.

The Old Testament prophet Micah declared, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before God”. Social justice and concern for the poor is not the whole message of the Scriptures but it is a major part of it. I call on all Christians to reevaluate the people you choose to follow in support of your causes.

The 25 billion dollar bailout of the big three in Detroit was hardly even noticed. They are supposed to make more fuel efficient automobiles with the heavily subsidized loans. I think it is worth mentioning that two U.S. automakers will not touch the money – Honda and Toyota.

To read more check out the story over at Forbes