Misplaced priorities?

A Beijing soccer fan refused to let the small matter of his house burning down disturb his enjoyment of Tuesday's World Cup match between France and Spain.

A fire broke out in a hutong in the center of the Chinese capital at 3am local time Wednesday -- kickoff time in Hanover -- and gutted the traditional courtyard dwelling, the Beijing Daily Messenger reported.

"When the neighbors shouted 'fire!', I took my little baby and ran out in my nightclothes," the man's wife told the paper.

"My husband paid no attention to the danger, just grabbed the television and put it under his arm.

"After getting out of the house, he then set about finding an electric socket to plug in and continue watching his game."

Doesn't that fit perfectly into our sinful human race? God tells us that we will spend an eternity separated from Him, and instead of turning from our sinful desires to trust in Him alone we seek to continue in what we enjoy. Let's continue:

One man quit his job in Beijing to return to his hometown Chongqing so he could watch the whole tournament uninterrupted.

State news agency Xinhua reported that the 23-year-old's boss at the IT company had offered him a pay rise, but he turned it down flat, saying the World Cup was more important than his job.

God tells us that He has provided a free gift (which is eternal life--how can you beat that?), but sinful humanity would rather continue in their personal desires without Him.

Another from Putian, Fujian province, took a less diplomatic approach, Xinhua reported.

When his cheers during the Argentina-Ivory Coast match woke his wife and she switched off the television, he locked her in their bedroom and settled back down to watch the game ignoring her loud protests.

Some just can't stand to hear God or His people speak of life with Christ--there response is to merely shut the door--to their own eternal detriment.

Apes and Human Rights

From a couple of news sources:

The governing socialists in Spain have put forward legislation to grant great apes ‘human rights’. The same government which stripped from unborn human children the right to life and permits destructive research on human embryos, has put forward legislation to grant great apes the rights the rights to life, freedom and to not being tortured, according to a report by Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

The idea of “human” rights for great apes is possibly a stab at what secularists regard as “retrograde” Christian ideas about the hierarchical nature of creation with man, as the image of God, at the top.



Spain is about to take the world into uncharted legal territory. Later this month, a resolution is going before parliament which, if passed as expected, will give a set of rights to chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orang-utans. These great apes will then be regarded in Spanish law as "legal persons."

It will be of historic significance, the first time that any civilization has recognized the special status of another species and the need to protect it not only from extinction but also from individual abuse. Spain will be obliged to introduce new laws protecting the great apes, putting pressure on other European countries to follow suit, and will undertake to organize a forum of rich nations to fund the protection of the great apes in their natural habitat.

The resolution is based on the work of the Great Ape Project, which was founded in 1993 by philosophers Peter Singer and Paola Cavalieri. It urges the goverment in Spain to take the necessary measures in international forums and organizations to protect great apes from maltreatment, slavery, torture, death and extinction.

The central idea of the project is that the great apes share more than just DNA with humans. There is an enormous amount of data collected by scientists, including Jane Goodall, Diane Fossey and Birute Galdikas, that the great apes are intelligent beings with strong emotions that often resemble our own.

So if you are planning to go to Spain later in the year when the bill is passed, don't be suprised to see a gorilla walking down the street in a suit, or a ape serving you coffee in Starbucks.

From Colorado

Hello everyone! We discovered that we have internet access available to us here at camp on a limited basis. (It is one computer available in the office for all of the campers'--300 in three camps--use.) It is v-e-r-y s-l-o-w, so we will not be doing much with it! I admit it...I'm not very patient when it comes to slow internet access. We are doing well, trying to get some rest and enjoying the wonder of God's creation at 9,300 feet above sea level. The speaker for this week is good, and we are enjoying sitting under his teaching. We've enjoyed some conversation with him and his family already, and we hope for the opportunity for more. Thanks for your concern and prayers. We are having a great time, and we trust all is well at home with all of you.

Federally Funded Murder

Planned Parenthood is one of our nation's leading pro-choice groups. They have changed the landscape of America through their funding of abortions and sex education. Did you know that $272 million of our tax dollars goes to fund this organization? Since 1987 they have received $3.9 billion in tax dollars to continue murdering the unborn.

If that isn't outrageous enough, Planned Parenthood is reported a profit of $63 million dollars for 2004-05, and is requesting more money from the government--more of our dollars.

"Large numbers of Americans want this taxpayer funding to stop," Sedlak states in a press release. "We are confident this new financial report [from Planned Parenthood] will generate a grassroots groundswell for government to cut off the ever-increasing flow of our dollars." He refers concerned Americans to American Life League's online petition campaign to end taxpayer funding of the agency, stopplannedparenthoodtaxfunding.com.

The Million Dollar Question

Ray Comfort's Living Waters ministry is in trouble--sort of. Apparently, the ministry sells a tract that looks like a million dollar bill (which doesn't exist in American currency). The back of the "bill" has the gospel message on it which is in the form of a "million dollar question."

Some foolish person tried to deposit one of these tracts at his bank, which then prompted a counterfeit investigation which then led to the seizure of 8,300 tracts by the Secret Service. Ironically, since the seizure took place there have been orders for about 500,000 of the tracts. Comfort has been advised by attorneys to not turn over the goods.

"The thinking is that if agents show a judge a copy of the $1 million tract, he would laugh till he cried and then, after catching his breath, he would thank the agents for a good laugh and then ask them to stop wasting his time," he explained.

So what's happening here? Is this "religious persecution" or a legitimate crime? Just wondering.

Interesting Day

Surely you know what today is. Yes, it is Tuesday. And yes, it is June 6. But have you heard the full story of today? It is June 6th, 2006. Or, if you prefer, 6-6-6. As far as I'm concerned, it's merely another of the days that Lord has made--man simply put some numbers to it.

People in Hell, Michigan are really living it up, though.

They're planning a hot time in Hell on Tuesday. The day bears the date of 6-6-06, or abbreviated as 666 - a number that carries hellish significance. And there's not a snowball's chance in Hell that the day will go unnoticed in the unincorporated hamlet 60 miles west of Detroit.

"I've got `666' T-shirts and mugs. I'm only ordering 666 (of the items) so once they're gone, that's it," said Colone, also known as Odum Plenty. "Everyone who comes will get a letter of authenticity saying you've celebrated June 6, 2006, in Hell."

Most of Colone's wares will sell for $6.66, including deeds to one square inch of Hell.

Live entertainment and a costume contest are planned. The Gates of Hell should be installed at a children's play area in time for the festivities.

"They're 8 feet tall and 5 foot wide and each gate looks like flames, and when they're closed, it's a devil's head," Colone told The Detroit News for a Saturday story.

Some people are not so hyped, however:

The 666 revelry is just the latest chapter in the town's storied history of publicity stunts, said Jason LeTeff, one of its 72 year-round residents - or, as the mayor calls them, Hellions or Hell-billies. But LeTeff wasn't particularly enthused.

"Now, here I am living in Hell, taking my kids to church and trying to teach them the right things and the town where we live is having a 6-6-6 party," he said.

Being Alone

There have been many times that I have had people tell me that they feel very alone as a Christian. The complaint is that coming to Christ alienates a person from friends and family, and can hinder other relationships as well. This is all true. Believing in Jesus means automatic enmity with the world. But for a new(er) Christian those things are extremely important; it is difficult to disciple people through those situations.

Obviously, the Body of Christ needs to step up and become involved in the lives of people who are struggling with these kinds of losses. We must also realize, though, that even Jesus experienced these same things. In John 6, Jesus miraculously feeds the 5,000. It is an incredible event that demonstrates Jesus' deity to His disciples and the people who ate from the five loaves and two fishes. You would think that this would be the perfect time to celebrate and to stand in awe of Jesus.

Not quite. The people miss the spiritual message and want to make Jesus their political king. Notice what happens next: "Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself." Even as the Savior of the people Jesus was alone (notice that I did not say "lonely"). The people didn't get the message, which is in essence a rejection of Jesus Himself. When we come to Jesus, there will be others who don't get the message which often results in alienation. Take courage, my friends. Jesus experienced the same thing, and yet He still died for you. And when people reject you, they are not rejecting you, but the One who bought you.

We're Home!

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us during our trip to Montana. We are now home, having arrived last night. We are thankful to be home--hopefully we can get some rest now! Please continue to pray for my dad. At this time it appears that his only long-term hope is in the healing of our Lord. He will begin treatment next week, Lord willing. Hopefully that won't make him too miserable.

Our God is good, and everything that He does is good, so for now all we can do is commit ourselves to the hand of the One who has life in Himself (John 5:26). To God be the glory. Amen.