Slavery in America

I can't believe in this day and age we still have slavery in America. No, not the kind you might be thinking of, but a kind of slavery to which people voluntarily submit themselves.

I see it everywhere I go; Wal-Mart, restaurants, pools, the lake, shopping malls, yes, even church. Most people don't consider it slavery, but I sure do. Most participants consider it a pleasure and many claim to enjoy being a slave, but there is, thankfully, a growing opposition to this problem.

I'm talking about smoking.

"What a minute!" I can hear you say. "I'm not a slave to smoking!"

Oh really?

What's the first thing you think about in the morning?
What's the thing that you can't wait to do at a break?
What's the thing that you get mad about if someone criticizes it?
What's the thing that you hide from your parents, children, or even preacher?
What's the thing that you have to stop every so often and do because you "have to?"
What's the thing that you have to do immediately after each and every meal?
What's the thing that you have to have just one more before you go to bed?
What's the thing that you will endure freezing wind, driving rain, or hellish heat to stand outside and have one?
What's the thing that you want to stop doing, but just can't.

I'm sure not talking about drinking water!

I saw a woman in Wal-Mart the other day carrying around an unlit cigarette in her hand and would occasionally put it to her lips.

I see people standing out in bitterly cold temperatures taking a drag.

I see people sneaking off to do it because they don't want anyone to know. And by the way, breath mints DON'T cover up the smokey smell on your clothes...

The way I see it, smokers are slaves to their habits. When a habit (any habit) rules your life this much, it is sin. The Bible says that when we are in Christ Jesus that, "sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace."

When we begin to see bad habits as sin, we should be repulsed by the fact that we have submitted ourselves to be slaves to that habit and the habit becomes our master. It shouldn't be this way.

For those that have not placed their trust in Jesus Christ, go ahead and try the patches or the 12 step programs; sometimes they work, I guess. But don't kid yourself; you are still a slave to sin. Jesus can free you from the sin and give you a good clean start-over. Email me if you want to know how...

(and I'm not being legalistic about this; I'm calling the "not being able to stop" part about this habit the "sin" part)

Apology not necessary

I received the following in an email. I thought it was worth sharing here:

At a time when our president and other politicians tend to apologize for our country's prior actions, here's a refresher on how some of our former patriots handled negative comments about our country.

JFK'S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60's when DeGaule decided to pull out of NATO. DeGaule said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible.

Rusk responded "does that include those who are buried here?

DeGaule did not respond.

You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When in England, at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.'

You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?'

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?'

You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?'

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, 'Maybe it's because the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...

Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.

"You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically.

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready."

The American said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it."

"Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France!"

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, ''Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to."

My Beloved Sooners

Not our best year, that's for sure.

I'm very proud of Landry Jones. He has really stepped up and did a fine job in difficult circumstances.

The difficult circumstances is the fact that he has been effectively playing alone. He has no protection. He has no receivers. And would the defense like to actually get off the bench and come and play the game?

I'm very sad about Sam Bradford. More than just because he can't play. He is a good kid and I hate to see him hurt.

I don't really know what happened in the Texas game at half-time. If we had played the second half like we played the first, we would have owned the Longhorns. Something happened, however, to make our guys start playing like they did against Miami.

We dropped from an embarrassing 20th place in the AP poll to an appalling 25th place. We aren't even ranked in the Harris Poll or the BCS.

There are lots of fair weather fans out there who get mad and stomp around, or worse, don't even support the team when we lose.

I'm different- I'm alumni.



Boomer Sooner, Baby!

Scripture Abuse

Do you abuse Scripture? Think about it. I would describe or define Scripture abuse as "using or twisting Scripture to meet your own needs or justify sin."

Some Scripture abuse happens innocently or even accidentally. Unintentional Scripture abuse comes from not knowing or understanding the Word of God. Think of Psalm 119:11 which says, "Your word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against You." (NASB) To first treasure something in your heart you must first HAVE it in your heart. Merriam-Webster defines the verb "treasure" as:

1 : to collect and store up (something of value) for future use
2 : to hold or keep as precious : cherish, prize.

I like both definitions of treasure for God's word. If you don't know God's word well enough, you can be deceived by anyone, anywhere, anytime. In fact, I think Scripture abuse is a by-product of the end times. Matthew 24:11 says "Many false prophets will arise and mislead many." One of the ways they will mislead is to twist Scripture.

Right now it is not politically correct to speak out against sin that has been considered acceptable by our society. This includes homosexuality, so-called "same-sex marriage", abortion, divorce, adultery, drunkenness, idolatry, sorcery, fornication, and the list goes on. However, the Bible is clear that these things are indeed sin and will be rewarded with the wages that sin brings: DEATH.

It isn't popular to condemn what society approves. You are labeled everything from "fundamentalist" to "hate-monger". Lets be very clear about this; I am not preaching hate. I am preaching, however, that God hates sin and cannot/will not tolerate it. When folks think that they are "getting by" with something and God doesn't care, they don't realize that they really will have to pay for their sins one day.

I thank God that He has chosen to reveal to me the wonders of grace and salvation through Jesus Christ. I am no better than anyone, but the blood of Christ makes me holy and acceptable to God. This free gift of God is available to all who will accept it. But make no mistake; He will not tolerate your sin. He will show it to you and He will give you strength to change. But repentance must be done.

Know Scripture. Know God. Know true peace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

Final (Hopefully) Pneumonia Update

I'm hoping this will be my last update about my illness. I finally received word back from the doctor regarding my blood tests.

Everything was within normal limits with no abnormalities remarkable.

He said I look great on paper.

I told him I look even better in person.

I want to thank everyone who has prayed me through this illness. God is good! You can take me off of your "sick list" prayer list. Please keep praying for me, otherwise!

Pneumonia Update

I finally made it to the pulmonologist in Tulsa yesterday. They measured my lung/breath capacity, took blood, took an X-ray, etc. The doctor seemed to be extremely competent with the obligatory dry sense of humor.

After a lengthy interview, he hummed and hawed quite a bit and finally said, "I don't know what you have." In a moment of levity, he then quickly said, "well, I know what you have, I'm just not going to tell you!". I thought that was the funniest thing I'd heard all day!

The long and short of it is this: I'm improving. I don't have a fever. The blood test MAY tell what I had. He didn't give me any more medicine. I have a follow up appointment in two months. If my condition worsens, I'm to contact him immediately.

He suspected it was a fungus of some sort. Didn't know if it came from Africa, Asia, or my CPAP machine....

In any case, thanks to all who have been praying for me. I feel so much better and praise God for it!

My Letter To Nobel Prize Committee

The email below was sent this morning. There is nothing else to say that I didn't say to the Nobel Prize Committee.

From: Rick Boyne
Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 10:27 AM
To: 'postmaster@nobel.no'
Subject: 2009 Nobel Peace Prize

Please forward to the appropriate committee members:

Dear 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Committee: Thorbjørn Jagland, Geir Lundestad, Kaci Kullmann Five, Sissel Rønbeck, Inger-Marie Ytterhorn, Ågot Valle
I am shocked and outraged at your selection of US President Barak Obama as the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. The nomination deadline was a mere two weeks after this man assumed the office of President. What on earth could he have done in those two weeks to merit receiving this prestigious award?

This year’s prize is a slap in the face to all previous award recipients who deserved the award. It diminishes the award’s value and meaning. It is an insult to brokers of peace who truly have earned this award.

Perhaps if you had awarded Mr. Obama after he had proved himself, you could have preserved the integrity of your award. But, alas, you have corrupted its meaning, value, and future desirability and have turned it into something akin to a teen-aged popularity contest.

Sincerely,


Rick Boyne
XXXXXXXXX Ave
Wagoner, OK, 74467
USA

www.RickBoyne.com

SDG

The Rumor

Ever been a part of a rumor mill? Have you ever been the topic of a rumor?

Well, I am currently the center of a hilariously false rumor going around town. I heard about it at the Hog Fry last Saturday.

One of the guests at the event heard several things about our church lately. It all started with our starting a new church, the Native Fellowship Baptist Church, which meets in our fellowship hall. There is a history with our church that goes back about 7-10 years, which includes two church splits and LOTS of hard feelings. (I didn't know all of the history when I took the church, but that isn't important right now.)

About ten days ago or so, I put up a new message on our road-side sign that said, "New Church Plant Event, Indian Hog Fry, Saturday 1-5 pm"

Then later in the week, the following ad came out in the Wagoner Tribune:

Well, my friend saw one of her friends out at Wal-Mart and was told, "It's about time that Immanuel Baptist Church finally shut down! I'm glad there's another church going in there." Then she also heard from another friend that I had resigned!

Personally, I am conflicted about these rumors. On one hand, I think they are funny! God is doing such amazing things at our church that the evil one thinks (thought) he could sabotage it with silly rumors. On the other hand, I am sad that people, even church-going folk don't understand about churches starting other churches. It happens so seldom that when it does, people think that one church is 'going out of business' and another one is going to take its place.

I am so proud of my church. They are living out the Great Commission in the best way they know how, one step at a time. They are finally looking outside of the four walls and seeing the lostness of our own society. Soon, as we grow together, they will recognize the need is greater than even their own neighbors and will take the Good News to areas that are different than their own comfort zone.

Last Sunday, I announced the Oklahoma-East Asia Partnership and mentioned that we need to participate BY GOING! I had a lot of people give the "second look" kind of thing when I said that everyone who just said in their heart "not me" is probably the ones that will end up going!

These kinds of rumors are almost funny; there are other kinds though, that ruin reputations. I hope I'm never the center of THOSE kids of rumors!

Hog Fry

The Native Fellowship Baptist Church had it's kickoff hog fry event this past Saturday. We had 141 in attendance.

Basically, to have a hog fry, you:

1. buy some chuncked up hog
2. cut the pieces smaller
3. cook it in oil until it's done
4. eat it with fry bread, coleslaw, beans, and lots of cakes and pie!

I have some pictures I took up on the church's website here.

Oklahoma 20 - Miami 21

We are four points from being 4-0 instead of 2-2.

This really stinks!

Where were the offensive blockers?

Where were the receivers?

Where was our defense?

Landry Jones did a good job; but the rest of the team forgot they were playing!

Good Grief!


Boomer Sooner anyway.

Like a rock

And not as in "Chevy tough" but in "falling like a".

The Sooner fell (rightfully so) down to 19 in the AP, 21 in USA Today, and 20 in the Harris polls.

Oklahoma State is 15, 13, and 14 respectively.

So much for any chance at all at the National Title this year....

Boomer Sooner.

How to Write Good

Avoid run-on sentences that are hard to read.

No sentence fragments.

It behooves us to avoid archaisms.

Also, avoid awkward or affected alliteration.

Don't use no double negatives.

If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, "Resist hyperbole."

Avoid commas, that are not necessary.

Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.

Writing carefully, dangling participles should not be used.

Kill all exclamation points!!!

Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.

Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

Take the bull by the hand and don't mix metaphors.

Don't verb nouns.

Never, ever use repetitive redundancies.

Last but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.

WILLIAM SAFIRE

[HT: Advice to Writers]

The Gamaliel Foundation

The post below resulted in my interest in a previously unknown to me socio-political organization called the Gamaliel Foundation. Here are a few talking points of what I found out about it.

• It is a Left-Wing activist group.
• It is multi-faith, meaning it includes Muslims, Buddhists any anyone else in its governing leadership.
• It was formed in Chicago in the 60's to assist an African-American organization fighting to "protect homeowners on Chicago's West Side who had been discriminated against by banks and lending institutions."
• They desire to make the government provide civil rights and healthcare to our nation's illegal immigrants.
• They assembled a large number of left-wing religious leaders in 2003 to organize a voter drive to oust the incumbent Pres. Bush from the White House.
• Their "Yahoo Group" describes themselves as "... an affiliate of The Gamaliel Foundation, a power organization, which has affiliates in 22 different states and South Africa."

To me, it looks as if this is just another liberal pseudo-religious organization out to undermine the foundation of the government of the United States of America.

Am I against immigrants having healthcare? No. Am I against ILLEGAL immigrants having healthcare? Most definitely YES! I was a legal resident of 5 different countries. I had a million hoops to jump through to remain a legal resident of those countries. Was I afforded any of the benefits provided to citizens of those countries? NO! Why should we foot the bill for folks who are unwilling to go through our legal system to live legally in our country? I surely can't answer that one.

The Gamaliel Foundation just made my personal "watch list". I think it is bad for America.