Spring 2001 / 107th Congress – The Local LAw Enforement Hate Crime Prevention Act in introduces in the House and Local Law Enforement Enhancement Act introduced in the Senate. The legislation would provide federal assistance to state and local jurisdictions to prosecute hate crimes. Pennsylvania Civil Rights and laws to protect Sex Offenders: Any Person who uses the information contained Here in to threaten, intimidate, or Harass the registrant or their families, or who other wise misuses this information, may be subject to criminal prosecution and Civil Liability. This is despite the facts that people convicted of sex offenses are satistically unlikely to reoffend. Many prosecutors, police officers, corrections professionals, and criminal justice reformers are also aware that it is nonsensical to irreparably stigmatize a broad swath of offenders in the same exact way. 1990’s The General Assembly made it illegal to misuae the registry to harass sex offenders. But, Lackawanna County is using the Sex Offenders to buy bigger cars. More inmates the more federal funds they get. That’s Human Trafficking. Too many voices in America today sound the wrong headed belief that these truths are no longer so self-evident. Most of these voices are from Washinngton and Lackawanna County Pennsyvania, but many more come from our universities, our high school text books even our churches. Theseskeptics think we have over grown our founding principles, that even the wisest men and women in 1776 and 1787 counldn’t possibly have been wise enough to create an effective government for America in the twenty-first century. Some find the words of the Founders too limiting for their bloated vision government. After all, government that is true to the ideals of our Charters of Liberty is government that is limited. If government exists to protect our God-given rights – and not to bail ut banks, buy car companies, take over our health care, and tell us which light blub we can use – thee the government does few things, out of the way in order to realize their potential. Remember the 2001 interview aboutthe Constitution by then – Illionois state Senator Barak Obama complained as he captured perfectly the constraints on government created by the Constitution. Speaking about the Supreme Court in the 1950’s and 60’s during the Civil Right’s movement, Obama expressed regret that the High Court. Our future president called the civil rights’ subsequent failure to break free of the constraints imposed by the Constitution – a “tragedy.” But a lot of us call it basice fairness and adherence to our founding principles. We beleive it’s a good thing that we came so far in achieving racial justice while keeping faith in God to protect our Constitution. Some like to dismiss all this talk about staying true to our founding documents as the ideological rants of the people who are obessed constitutional theory. But whether we remain true to God’s Constitution or not has practical, real-world consequence for all of us. The Supreme COurt, along with therest of the federal judiciary, has tremndous power over our lives today. Their ruling means the difference between free political speech and censored political speech, property rights that are protected by government and property rights that are routinely violated by government, and the survival of innocent life and the state – sanctioned killing the innocent life. The reason this is thecase is because so many of the people who appoint and approve our judges and justices erroneously believe the court’s duty isn’t to interpret the law but to make the law. In cases where their agenda can’t prevail among the people representatives in COngress, they have turned to the courts to make policy. That means having judges and justices who are no longer guided by the Constitution and the law, but by their personal opinions. We need to remember judges and justices are human and they do have feelings, but they have no right to ignore this great American Constitution men and women have died to protect. I believe has blessed this country greatly, but this ignorance of thinking people control the law is wrong. God gave the law to Moses and it belongs to Him not us. The former President Obama gave the wrong advice when he said, “That in the really difficult, consequential cases, justices shouldn’t go with the law but with their hearts.” “That last mile can only be determined on the basis of one’s deepest values, one’s core concern’s, one’s broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one’s empathy the president said. Lackawanna County Scranton Pennsylvania is just as guilty of breaking the Constitution and The District Attorney Mark Powell is just a guilty if Human Trafficking. He uses the inmates to get paid. (I call it a movement no one listens to not even the government. The governments make laws to break them). Today I come to You, Father God through Jesus and thank You in Jesus name for a blessed day. Thank You, Father God for Yor sacrifice of Your Son Jesus, Who die for our sins in Jesus name, Amen 1 Corinthians 15:54 – So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortaclity, then shall be brought to pasws the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. But if you look at the Supreme Court Justice oath takes, you will see that it commits them to a very differernt standared. They pledge not to pick winners and losers basied on their hearts or “empathy.” When they take that oath. Their job is to protect the United States Constitution. City, County, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County break more laws then anyone other state. The Distict Attorney’s take an oath to protect the United States Constitution and the Commonwealth. But, when we have a D.A. getting rich and allowing the constitution to be ignored its time for the people to stand up and not be scared. When we have a government that is breaking the law we the PEOPLE are in trouble. I am going by personal experience with Lackawanna County. The government here is abusive to their voters. They abuse their power. The police break the law by lying and judges allow that. The day our bodies and immortal, it will be a fulfillment of Scriptures where we are told that Death will be swallowed up. Imagine that a life with no death. We will be surrounded with our loved ones, in the LORD, and we will never have to worry about losing them again. We will spend eternity together, Forever! PRAYER: Dear God, I thank You that in the times things may not make sense, you know more than I do. In times of pain, where I lose the people closest to me, I take comfort in knowing that as long as they are of you, we will meet again. A time will come where we will all be reunited without worrying about death and sorrow. I praise You in Jesus’ name Amen.
Most of us will not have to be blinded like Paul in order to come to know Jesus. For most of us it will be a gradual realization of him and his promise of eternal life as well as a better understanding of just who God is. For Paul, it was dramatic, for the rest of us it’s pretty tame. But regardless of the way we come to know Jesus, we have to have a conversion of heart and a willingness to grow in faith. Paul needed to be open to growth and taking instruction from someone with more knowledge than he had – and he considered himself well versed in the Scriptures. No matter how long we have followed Christ and how much we have studied the Bible, we will never know and understand everything that God has for us to learn. We need to continue to study and learn until the day we die and where all will be revealed to us. Whether we study alone or with a group, or take a course, it is important to continue our journey. It is also important to put our faith into action. Once Paul understood the importance of Jesus’ message, he felt compelled to share it. And it’s a good thing for us that he did! If Paul had not been rejected by the Jews for his past persecution of those who had become Christian, he would not have reached out to the Gentiles. Christianity may have become a Jewish sect rather than a religion on its own. It is our place to be available to others who may come to know Jesus by being willing to be Christ in our world and to share our reasons for believing. We too have been called to follow Jesus and to become “fishers of men.” Peter and Andrew left their nets immediately and followed Jesus. We probably weren’t asked to quit our jobs, or leave our families behind but we were called to be disciples. There’s a saying that says, “Bloom where you’re planted.” I believe that this tells us to let Jesus come with us into our families, into our workplaces, into our neighborhoods and be examples of Jesus to others. If we are to be examples of Jesus’ love, we must be loving. If we are to bring God’s peace, we must have peace within us. To bring the hope that we have based on Jesus’ gaining for us our salvation, we must be people of hope. If we want others to believe in a forgiving, accepting God, we must be forgiving and accepting in our own lives. Peter, Andrew, James and John were followed by another eight to become apostles, the twelve men closest to Jesus. One, Judas, would be tempted by greed, and possibly by fear and would turn away and betray him. Peter would deny him and the others run away out of fear, but these would have a change of heart and then would remain faithful to their deaths. We will have to decide for ourselves if we will answer Jesus’ call, and we will also have to face the consequences of that decision. Being a disciple will never be an easy task. We might face rejection or ridicule from even our closest family members or friends. But the peace in our hearts that comes from staying close to Jesus cannot be replaced by anything the world has to offer.
In the book of Titus, there are many instructions for how people should behave and carry themselves. Here we see that older men are to be patient. That certainly contrasts the newspaper cartoon image of a grumpy old man yelling at kids. The instructions are not so you have more rules. It is how we believers set ourselves apart from the world and how they see Jesus in us.
Lord, help me live in a way that others see You in me. Make me sound minded, having solid faith, and patient. Let me be giving and generous with my possessions and time. I pray for the older men in my church. Conform them to Your character. Keep growing and maturing them until they walk their last day with You. Thank You for Your instruction and wisdom You have given us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.