Micah 7:7-9

7 Therefore I will look unto the LORD;
   I will wait for the God of my salvation:
   my God will hear me.

8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy:
   when I fall, I shall arise;
   when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.

9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD,
   because I have sinned against him,
   until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me:
   he will bring me forth to the light,
   and I shall behold his righteousness.

Melvin Earl Duke

My friend, Mel Duke, died on October 14, 2008, at the age of 75. Mel and and his wife, Mary Lou, are both very special to me. Mel spent countless hours discipling me when I was a young Christian, in 1959 and 1960, and I have never forgotten. We visited several times since then: in Wyoming, at Glen Eyrie (The Navigators headquarters in Colorado), in Riverside, and once at our home in Dallas.

Mel and Mary Lou served the Lord with The Navigators for over 40 years. They spent many years in Russia and Estonia, and just returned to America this year.

Last year I found his blog, and we traded several emails. A memorial web site has been established at Melvin Duke.

I will greatly miss him, as I am sure many will. But he is home now, with his Lord!

Good Books in Amharic

Brad and Betty Lapsley spent 10 years in Ethiopia as missionaries. They have collected lot of good books, including the whole Bible, written in Amharic (the language of Ethiopia), and they are freely available on their web site:

Fireproof -- the movie

Well, Becky and I did go to see this movie. And we loved it! It is very well done, and has a terrific message. Do your marriage a favor. I dare you to go see it.

Do you need more cowbells?

This is just for fun: you can go to the website and upload any mp3, and add all the cowbells you want. I uploaded a recording I made many years ago, of my daughter and me singing.

	Make your own at MoreCowbell.dj

Fireproof -- the movie

I look forward to seeing this movie, when it comes out in September!

Win Ben Stein's monkey - by Chuck Norris

"Why can't creationism or ID be taught in public schools? Naturalists answer by saying that ID is not science. Rather than debate classifications, however, I would further ask: Why can't variant theories of the origins of life be presented even outside science classes? Isn't education based upon presenting a wide array of knowledge and opinions?"

read more | digg story

Scots-Irish Patriots and the Holy Scriptures

I received the follow inspiring email from my friend Mike Casey:

To the Casey Clan, et al,

In his great book, Born Fighting, author James WEBB omitted from his list of great Scots-Irish Americans, a man who is perhaps not as famous as some of the others but is still deserving of our respect and admiration today.

James McHENRY, a Protestant by faith and ancestry, was born at Ballymena, Ulster, Ireland on 16 Nov 1753. He was educated in Dublin, and immigrated to Philadelphia in 1771.

McHENRY was one of three physicians (with Hugh WILLIAMSON and James McCLURG) involved in crafting the constitution.  A delegate from Maryland, he was a signer of this most important American document, and was an outstanding early American statesman. He served under George WASHINGTON and John ADAMS as the third Secretary of War. He is also the namesake of Fort McHenry - the subject of the 1812 poem by Francis Scott KEY, which later became our national anthem.

At 62, McHENRY died on 3 May 1816, and is buried in the Westminister Burying Ground (est. 1802) in Baltimore, MD. Other great Americans are buried here; among them, one Philip Barton KEY (1818-1859), the son of Francis Scott KEY.

In an 1813 letter, as president of the Bible Society of Baltimore, McHENRY wrote:

"Public utility pleads most forcibly for the general distribution of the Holy Scriptures. The doctrine they preach, the obligations they impose, the punishment they threaten, the rewards they promise, the stamp and image of divinity they bear, which produces a conviction of their truths, can alone secure to society, order and peace, and to our courts of justice and constitutions of government, purity, stability and usefulness. In vain, without the Bible, we increase penal laws and draw entrenchments around our institutions. Bibles are strong entrenchments. Where they abound, men cannot pursue wicked courses, and at the same time enjoy quiet consciences."

Mr. McHENRY's quote is one one of many such early American quotations expressing faith in God and the importance of the Christian religion in the lives of early Americans.

And the liberal minority continues to have us believe that God has no place in a government founded on religious principles. Shame on them!

It's not freedom from religion, but the freedom of religion that keeps this country great. When we turn our backs on Him, it will only be a matter of time until He does the same to us.

As a most important election looms nearer, please keep America in your prayers!

Mike CASEY,
Casey Family Association., Inc.
27 Feb 2008

God is my Rock!

Psalm 62:5-8

5 My soul, wait thou only upon God;
    for my expectation is from him.

6 He only is my rock and my salvation:
    he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

7 In God is my salvation and my glory:
    the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

8 Trust in him at all times;
    ye people, pour out your heart before him:
    God is a refuge for us. Selah.

'Twas the Month Before Christmas...

A politically correct Christmas poem ... sent by a friend

Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.

See the PC Police had taken away
The reason for Christmas -- no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing,
About shepherds and wise men and angels and things.

It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say --
December 25th is just a "holiday."
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit,
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!

CDs from Madonna, an X Box, and I-Pod,
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanza
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.

As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word "Christmas" was nowhere to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penney's and Sears,
You won't hear the word "Christmas" -- it won't touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive, di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, now Darden, now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen,
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!

At the top of the Senate there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus in all public matter.
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith,
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace.

The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded,
The Reason for the Season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebrate "winter break" under your "dream tree,"
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.

Choose your words carefully, choose what you say,
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ... not Happy Holiday!

-- Anonymous Author