Author: admin

What Are The Chances?

Yesterday I posted the page ‘More Foolishness, explained’. It exposed me even more than my story already does, which is not smart in a world where people amuse themselves by tearing down peers who display vulnerability. Ah well, my blog is aptly named & I am a fool, but at least I recover some value by being a fool for Christ! He said we should not cast our pearls before the swine, yet He is the pearl of great price that costs everything. The gospel by which He comes to us is the greatest treasure we have on this Earth, yet we are instructed to cast it out like a fisherman’s net again & again. Our most prized valuable is constantly cast before swine at His command!

Why does He put us in such a predicament? One, to prove us faithful. We overcome the world by the blood of the Lamb AND the word of our testimony. It completes the victory we obtain in Christ our Lord. Two, to reap a harvest. Salvation is propagated via the gospel; there is no other way for people to obtain it. The saved vindicate Jesus’ work on the cross, else it would have been pointless! Three, the swine must be judged. What people do with THIS pearl is the basis on which they will be judged!

The desire of my heart, which is to have unreserved companionship (like Allen is blessed with in my story; Erin is so amazing!) & to bear fruit in Christ (I don’t want to be ashamed in His presence, folks) seems very unrealistic. I am without reputation & beneath the notice of most everyone. When I speak, my voice is lost among millions of others who have better platforms than I do. What are the chances that anything will come of my feeble efforts? Astronomical is a good term to describe it. The thing is, I don’t rely on my chances. I am relying on Jehovah Jireh, my Provider. He loves me & sees the motivation of my heart. I am convinced that what He sees in me moves Him, so He will grant my request!

If Rats Could Talk…

(If you are one of the dozen or so who haven’t watched Endgame, spoilers are ahead.)

We’d have to listen close to hear what they say. Their voices would be tiny, given their small size. I recently watched “Avengers: Endgame” (oh, yeah, I grew up on those comics & still have a soft spot for them.) It seemed to me that the one on Scott Lang’s dashboard had something to say. If anyone missed it, I thought I’d relay it here. The voice sounded a lot like Stan Lee grumbling — this is what it said:

“Come in here & destroy half my creation? You big purple party pooper! 14 million to 1 chance of getting away with it? I don’t give a rat’s — well, you know, what the odds are! The apparently random footstep of common vermin will begin a chain of events that will be your undoing. This is MY endgame & I have a different outcome in mind!

“Oh, and Josh, don’t go snapping your fingers in MY house again! If you feel the urge to do that coming on, take it to the DC universe next time! Don’t make me set Deadpool on your trail; NO ONE needs that kind of hassle!”

Getting ‘Stan the Man’ riled was never a wise choice! If any decide to take issue with what I’ve written here, let me remind you that you are reading a blog that calls itself Foolishness. What did you expect?

Who’s The ‘He’ In HIStory?

If history is ‘his story’, then whose story is it?  Publishing gives credit to the author, regardless of the content, whether fictional or non-fiction.  Characters in the story are just that; the story belongs to the teller.  If he is a man, then like a man the story has a beginning & an end.  Man admits freely that he was not always here, so necessitating some kind of pre-history that tugs at the imagination.  Any evidence of intelligent behavior having been at work in prehistoric times challenges explanation.  If man wasn’t responsible for the evidence, then who was?

Everything changes if God is the storyteller.  Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth,” leaves no room for prehistoric notions.  He is the beginning and the end, so it is impossible to look outside His story; there is no such time & place.  There are other created beings (angels) that predate humans in the order of God’s handiwork (angels in day two, man in day six of creation.)  If one does not accept the Biblical account, he will have to turn to ancient alien theory, which basically just kicks the can down the road.  Then the question arises, where did the aliens come from?

Folks who don’t know where they come from CAN’T know where they are going!  That may sound like it opens unlimited possibilities, and maybe it does; but like religious freedom, it does NOT ensure a good outcome.  The freedom to worship what you will as you will allows for the truth that is Christ Jesus; however, that freedom does not benefit the one who rejects Him!  Likewise, mankind charting his own future doesn’t necessarily lock the species into a future of grand adventure.  Unlimited options are narrowed down with every step taken, every choice to proceed, & every day lived.  I can say that with authority because death is inevitable for all of us.  Only Jesus can continue the story, because He alone has conquered death!  

The Forgotten Betrayal; Where’s The Outrage?

In 2014, ISIS made public that they had possession of American journalist James Foley.  They made it clear that he would be murdered if ransom demands were not met.  America’s standing policy of refusing to negotiate with terrorists made the demand pointless.  When Foley’s family looked into raising the ransom themselves, the government threatened to prosecute them for supporting terrorism if they continued.  The family desisted & Mr. Foley’s murder was televised.

In 2016, outgoing President Obama ordered the delivery of a planeload of cash to Tehran, under cover of darkness.  The American public would never have known, had it not been for a surreptitious video that showed pallets of American currency being unloaded from an American military transport on a runway of Tehran’s International Airport.  When confronted with the footage, Mr. Obama said the money was the property of Iran, frozen since the overthrow of the Shah.  1.7 BILLION DOLLARS was handed over to the world’s biggest state sponsor of terrorism!  Coincidentally, 4 American prisoners being held in Iran were released the next day.  He stated these events were unrelated.

When the Shah was overthrown in 1979 by the extremist regime that has reigned ever since, President Carter & Congress froze Iranian assets in the U.S. to keep them OUT of the hands of those deemed to be a potential threat to national security.  That estimation was vindicated when our embassy in Tehran was invaded & its staff taken hostage, with the new government’s approval.  To his credit, President Carter did not ‘pay them off’, though there had to be pressure to do so.  Every U.S. president since has considered the release of Iranian funds to be an unacceptable risk to our nation’s security, as evidenced by the choice to ‘let it ride’.  It has not been a topic of discussion in Congress, for the same reason.

In his typical imperious way, Mr. Obama discounted the wisdom of the 5 previous presidents, circumvented any discussion with Congress & tried to sneak his actions past the American public.  According to a Washington Times article dated February 7th of this year, some of that $1.7 billion has been traced by our government to Hezbollah & the Yemeni rebellion.  Did the former President not see that coming, or just not care?  Iran calls America “the great Satan” & Israel “the little Satan.”  ‘Satan’ means adversary.  Israel takes their hostility very seriously, & we should, too.

What disturbs me the most here is not Mr. Obama’s treason (which in NO WAY overstates the case), but America’s silent acceptance of it.  Where is the outcry for justice?  Will it take an event of 9/11 proportions to stir up American outrage?  Lord, I hope not!  If such happens, perhaps we’ll find stenciled on whatever weapons are used:

Funding Provided by President Obama: ALLAHU AKBAR!

Jesus’ return; no date, but a window

Matthew 24 records a statement the Lord made that gave those listening all the information He was privy to; “THIS generation will not pass away until all these things are fulfilled.”(Matthew 24:34)  What things did He speak of that would be fulfilled in a single generation?  The time frame is set 2 verses earlier with the parable of the fig tree.

     “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender & putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:”(Matthew 24:32)

Israel is symbolized in scripture by a vine, an olive tree & a fig tree.  It is sometimes mentioned as him (as above), hearkening back to Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel.  When the fig tree is used, it refers to Israel as a national entity.  We are all aware that the nation was only a memory until being re-established in 1948.

As any deciduous tree that sheds its leaves for the winter, the fig tree shows no sign of life until it begins to bud & put forth leaves.  It looks like it is dead until that time.  Israel as a nation showed signs of life immediately after the U.N. resolution was passed that reconstituted it.  Life grows, multiplies & fights for survival in particular.  Israel came under attack less than 24 hours after the resolution creating it was passed.

The generation that will not pass away until all these things are fulfilled turned 70 this year.  It has become elderly!  If you believe God’s word, we are near the end of the window of time Jesus described to His disciples.  “All these things” includes a visitation “like lightning” in which “one is taken & the other left” (commonly called the rapture) & the sign of the Son of man returning in the clouds with power & great glory.  This generation must see all of it, or Jesus of Nazareth was a liar!  Since nothing else He said was a lie — He even rose from the dead as He promised — we had better prepare to meet Him!