An Email Between Friends

Me: Are you feeling anxious, afraid, lonely, confused, suicidal, angry, guilt ridden, tired, hateful, stressed, depressed, repressed..... sounds like you have a hole deep, deep inside, that only one person can reach.....!

Friend: Who are you talking to?

Me: Everyone .......

Friend: Who is the one that can help?

Me: Jesus! He puts everything in context and perspective! For example there will never be peace in the Middle East, so we can have all the peace accords, treaties etc. It will never happen. The word of God tells us as much. Men will cry, peace, peace and there never will be peace.

Those who have their eyes open are jaded by politicians, politics and their fanciful but hopeless politicing. Politicians and politics are not the answer. The answers don't come from within.

The answers, come from Jesus.

Religion and religious people have contributed to this messed up world for sure. But do you throw the baby out with the bath water?

An emphatic, no!

We are all searching for more. Something more than this existence!

Something so close but yet so far. Something far beyond wealth, status, fame, sex, drugs, music, power, idolatry, idealism, philosophy, mythology and yes even empty religiosity. People have tried all of these substitutes before and they are not happy, not at peace, but joyless and empty!

Did John Lennon, Princess Diana, Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson, that German billionaire who committed suicide because his net worth was cut in half during the recession, seem at peace, seem content?

Looks like they were looking, for much more!!

Do Kanye West, Brittany Spears, Paris Hilton, Perez Hilton, Donald Trump, David Letterman and Oprah, can't forget Oprah, seem at peace to you, full of joy, contentment?

Looks like they are looking, for much more!!!

If you looking for more, look to Jesus!!

Human gods?

With the recent tragic deaths of Michael Jackson and Steve McNair of NFL football fame, there are some interesting questions being posed. How do we remember celebrities and sports heroes in death? What legacy do these famous icons leave behind? The polished accolades of a shining star or the sordid details of the fallen?

Certainly over the last decade or more Michael Jackson, despite his musical legacy and genius has led a very strange life, to say the least. From the obvious over the top plastic surgery, sexual abuse allegations and subsequent trials, marriages to Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe, the births of his until recent times, mystery children, bizarre public behavior, feuding with his family etc., MJ, has left quite the dark twisted tale.

Steve McNair, the 3-time NFL Pro Bowl QB, who led his team to the Super Bowl in 2000 and NFL Co-MVP with Peyton Manning in 2003, was by all accounts an all around great guy, the favorite son of Nashville Tennessee, a family man who loved his wife and four sons, a tough no-nonsense football player, was taken tragically in a murder-suicide by of all people, his 20 year old girlfriend, tragic indeed!

Now what? Is their mythical god-like status tarnished? Do we just ignore the obvious chinks in their armour and remember only their exploits?

Or are we, the ever adoring fans, society at large, setting ourselves up for the eventual fall? We basically idolize and grant god-like status to our celebrities and sports heroes. Are we as a society not to blame for this unprecedented fame and flame out, of these bright lights?

After all, the recent tragic deaths of Michael Jackson and Steve McNair, accompanied with the twisted aftermath in each case has proved once again, that we are only human!!

He's Alive!!

A poll of three thousand people was conducted in Britain recently, to determine which dead person Britons would most like to meet. Some of the people in the top ten were Martin Luther King, Freddie Mercury, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and William Shakespeare. All great people and of course all very dead, well, except for maybe, Elvis!

Number one on the list of dead persons Britons would most like to meet is, surprise, surprise, Jesus! This is not surprise, surprise, Britons would most like to meet Jesus! This is surprise, surprise, Britons think Jesus is dead!!

Come on people, Jesus is very much alive!! I don't want to get all preachy and such, but in the first chapter of the Book of Acts, it is recorded that Jesus revealed himself to his disciples after his crucifixion and resurrection on numerous occasions. Right up until his ascension to heaven in verse 9-11, Jesus was very much alive and is very alive today. Read for yourself http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%201:1-11;&version=31;

In John 14:2-3 (NKJV), Jesus says, "² In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."

Sounds alive to me!

Britons and indeed the world, you can't believe half the account and not the other!

An article on this poll can be read at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/5474600/Jesus-and-Princess-Diana-lead-poll-of-dead-people-we-most-want-to-meet.html

Winner?

By now we have all heard that Scottish singing sensation, Susan Boyle, has finished second on Britain's Got Talent. There is no shame in her taking second place. She is already a winner, in the fact that she took a great risk and placed herself on the line, to the point where except for that beautiful voice, she could have been humiliated. The fact that she survived the interview process alone, is a mere miracle of human determination!

Susan would have faced may detractors along the way. We live in such a pretentious, superficial world, that fake has become the new norm. Let's face it, if Sarah Vaughan or Ella Fitzgerald were alive today, they wouldn't stand a chance, yet they are regarded as divas. Today, female vocalists have to look like fashion models or porn stars to achieve success. We can trust that the music industry will tart up, up and coming female singers, i.e., Alicia Keys, to ensure their success and of course, the almighty $$$ bottom line.

So, cut Susan some slack. She may have suffered a slight break down or responded harshly to the media in recent weeks, under intense media hype and scrutiny, but she embodies the underdog in us all!

Susan Boyle, has won for all of us!!