3 SWEDES

 Three Swedes died on Easter Sunday and went to Heaven.
St. Peter greeted them at the Pearly Gates and told them
that in order to enter Heaven each one had to answer a
question correctly. If they gave the wrong answer, they
would end up in Hell.
St. Peter turned to the first Swede and asked: "What is
Easter?"
The first Swede replied "That's when kids get dressed up
in costumes and go door to door collecting Trick or Treat."
"No, stupid", said St. Peter. "That's Halloween. You're
down to Hell!"
St. Peter turned to the second Swede and asked "What is
Easter?"
The second Swede answered "That's when the fat man in
the red suit comes down the chimney and leaves gifts for
everybody." "No, you moron", said St. Peter. "That's
Christmas. Go down to Hell!"
St. Peter turned to the third Swede and asked, in a very
exasperated tone of voice, "What is Easter?" The third
Swede answered "That's when Jesus rises out of his grave."
"And???" said St. Peter.
"And, if he sees his shadow there's another six weeks of
winter!"
GOD BLESS MY HOMELAND

DENOUNCING THE POLITICS OF HATE (FINAL CHAPTER)

The politics of hate are wrong in Mosul, in Beirut, in
Brussels, in Paris, in Ankara, in Pakistan, in San
Bernardino--and they are also wrong in the public
discourse of the United States. People of faith
should denounce the politics of hate everywhere--
whether propagated by violent terrorists or by political
leaders or candidates of any political party.
We must deny the terrorists their victory by not
becoming more like them in succumbing to hate and
violence. Rather than letting the terrorists change who
we are, we must become more like our truest selves
and more like Jesus we follow.
It's time we turned towards God and not into our own
human fears and hatreds. And it's time to listen to
what Jesus told his disciples again and again: "BE
NOT AFRAID."
(Jim Wallis is editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine)
GOD BLESS THIS EVANGELICAL AND HIS CALLING!

DENOUNCING THE POLITICS OF HATE (PART FOUR)

DENOUNCING the POLITICS of HATE (part four)

Thirdly, and finally, we must utterly denounce the
message of political leaders who speak and act to
politicize terrorist violence in service of their own
political agendas and ambitions. In particular we
must denounce the message of those who have
called for the "patrolling" of Muslim neighborhoods
in the United States and for putting Muslim
American citizens under surveillance we must also
denounced the words of those who secure fear of
more attacks and purpose to protect
"us" from "them" by monitoring Muslim Americans,
banning Muslim immigrants from the United States,
torturing suspects and killing the families of terrorists,
and even suggesting they might be open using
nuclear weapons against Isis.
__

DENOUNCING THE POLITICS OF HATE (PART THREE)

The second way that we can deny the terrorists their
victory:

Second, we must resist with all of our beings that
hateful, ugly, and violent reactions people who are
not responsible for these atrocities. In particular, we
must resist attacks of discrimination against
Muslims and hateful language against the religion of
Islam. We must avoid re-victimizing Muslims, who
are already suffering from Isis violence, in our
responses to terrorism. Instead, Christians and other
people of faith should reach out to our Muslim
brothers and sisters to build bridges of understanding,
love, and mutual respect. Then we must all work
together to undermine, disrupt and end this evil violence

DENOUNCING THE POLITICS OF HATE (PART TWO)

Here are some ways that we can deny the terrorists
their victory:

FIRST, WE MUST focus on life and the terrible human
suffering that these attacks are causing all over the world.
When you add up all of those killed, maimed, wounded,
and traumatize--and all their family members, friends,
fellow congregants, and co-workers--the number of human
beings impacted by terrorist violence is almost countless.
We must also include the impact on all our children whose
fears these attacks kindall, and the fears we in turn feel for
them.

While the terrorists focus on provoking a political reaction,
we must pray, remember, and focus our minds and hearts
on the human lives that have been ended or forever changed.
It's especially important in these times to remember our
Muslim brothers and sisters all over the world, who are
killed in much higher numbers than non--Muslims by Isis
and their I LK

DENOUNCING THE POLITICS OF HATE (PART ONE)

(in my humble opinion this is a must read article)
(The following is an article written by Jim Wallis of
Sojourners, because of the length of the article it
will be divided up in parts.)

What Isis and other terror groups who share their
views want is precisely to terrorize us. They want
to turn our fear of them into fear of everyone who
looks like them, and everyone who follows the
religion they are trying to hijack. They want us to
suspect, fear, and hate the 1.6 billion people of the
world who practice Islam--including millions of
Muslim Americans. They want to provoke us to
anger, and they hope, that in our anger and pain
we will overreact.
Right now, unfortunately, they are succeeding with
too many of our fellow Christians, and even with
some of the candidates for our highest political
offices.
When ISIS terrorists succeed in provoking
Islamophobic responses, they come closer in their
goal of dividing the world into two categories--
Muslims and non-Muslims--which also brings them
closer to their goal of claiming the mantle of being
the only "true defenders" of Islam. Islamophobic best
directly helps the terrorists recruit more young
Muslims to their cause and makes it harder for other
Muslims to work against them. In the next part Mr.
Wallace discusses some ways that we can deny the
terrorists their victor.

WHAT LOVE LOOKS LIKE

(Jesus said) "This is My commandment, that you love one
another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are
My friends if you do what I command you." John 15:12-14

WHAT LOVE LOOKS LIKE

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because
God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest
among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so
that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we
have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to
be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:8-10

Look into the Bethlehem manger, pray in Gethsemane's
Garden, stand before the Roman cross, and go into the
empty tomb. There you will see a love so pure, so
undeserved that it is unique in all the world. Never before
and never again will the world see such care and compassion.
These places show that God is love.

THE PRAYER:

Dear Lord, grant that we -- having seen and been saved by
Your love -- may reflect that love to a world, which is lonely,
lost and despairing. May they also see the Savior who is
visible proof of Your love. This I ask in the Savior's Name.
Amen
(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

ALL CHRISTIANS PLEASE DON'T FORGET

To All Those who follow "The Way", through all this
political rhetoric please remember what we follow!
If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give
to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come,
follow me (Matthew 19:21).
Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what
belongs to you, do not demand it back (Luke 6:30).
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal
(Matthew 6:19).
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye
of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God
(Matthew 19:24).
All the believers were together and had everything in common.
Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as
he had need (Acts 2:44-45).
At the end of every seven years you shall grant a remission
of debts (Deuteronomy 15:1).
You shall not charge interest to your countrymen: interest on
money, food, or anything that may be loaned at interest. You
may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you
shall not charge interest, so that the LORD your God may
bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are
about to enter to possess (Deuteronomy 23:18-19).

MEET EVIL WITH LOVE

But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
Revelation 12:11
Voice
As for ourselves, yes, we must be meek, bear injustice,
malice, rash judgment. We must turn the other cheek,
give up our cloak, go a second mile.
Dorothy Day
Prayer
Confronted with great evil, we confess our desire to
meet it with overwhelming force. And yet, O Lord, you
met evil with love, with forgiveness, with mercy, with a
willing death on the cross. Convert us, today and everyday,
to your way of peace, Almighty Lord, Lamb who was Slain.
(Sojourners)

BE GOOD TO YOUR FAMILY

Proverbs warns us: “Whoever brings ruin on their family
will inherit only wind…” It is foolish to think that one can
hurt their own family and not hurt themselves in the
process. Whether by Divine retribution or by way of
natural consequences, when we hurt those closest to
us we bring ruin upon ourselves. In the end, we gain
nothing, we inherit only empty wind, when we make our
family suffer. Some sages explain that the Hebrew word
for wind, ruach, also means spirit, and they interpret this
phrase to mean that one who brings ruin on their own
family will bring a spirit of contention into their homes
and into their lives.
When we wrongfully hurt each other, no one gains. I
think this teaching is true of our biological families and
also of our greater family of mankind. When we bring
others down, while we may not realize it, we will suffer
as well.
At the same time, the exact opposite principle is true:
Whoever does good to their family will bring blessings
to his or her own self. Again, I believe this to be true of
our biological families as well as our friends,
acquaintances, and society. When we bring others up,
we raise the level of living for us all.
Let’s remember to do our best to be givers of love, joy,
and comfort – for God’s sake and our own.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

REMEMBER TODAY

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the
LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give
you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon
Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you.
Jeremiah 29:11-12

THE PRAYER:

Dear Lord, grant that I may believe in the Savior
even when there is no life-threatening motivation
to do so. Even more, grant that I may share the
life-saving Redeemer's story with others.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.