Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to light it?

Did you know his trial is over?

Did you know he was sentenced?

Did you see/hear any of the judge’s comments on TV or radio?

Didn’t think so.

Everyone should hear what the judge had to say;

Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant, Richard Reid, if he had anything to say. His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his “allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah,” defiantly stating, “I think I will not apologize for my actions,” and told the court “I am at war with your country.”

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General.. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutively. (That’s 80 years.)

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years again, to be served consecutively to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you for each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 that’s an aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government’s recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines..

The Court imposes upon you an $800 special assessment.

The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentence s so I need go no further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.

Now, let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant.. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature.. Whether the officers of government do it or your attorney does it, or if you think you are a soldier. You are not—– you are a terrorist.. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice..

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You’re no warrior. I’ve known warriors. You are a terrorist—a species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and the TV crews were, and he said: ‘You’re no big deal.’

You are no big deal.

What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have, as honestly as I know how, tried to grapple with is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?

I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing? And, I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose. Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discreetly. It is for freedom’s sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf, have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.

We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. The day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure.

Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America , the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done.. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That’s the flag of the United States of America . That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.
Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.”

So, how much of this Judge’s comments did we hear on our TV sets? We need more judges like Judge Young, but that’s another subject. Pass this around. Everyone needs to hear what this fine judge had to say.

Powerful words that strike home.

God bless America

Posted under RANTS & RAVES

I’ve been thinking this week about a lot of things both present and past while I eagerly anticipate the future.

One thing I have thought over is my ministry life so far and where it has brought me as well as what has been accomplished.  The memories have been bittersweet.

That night when I visited that coffeehouse and discovered how badly I needed a Savior, my life was changed. I started onto a road that has been amazing in a lot of ways. So far this journey has given me experiences beyond what I could have ever expected. I have felt unbelievable pain, joy, peace, brotherhood, friendship, betrayal, love, and just about every emotion you can list, I have felt it in its full form. I’m not the “thrill seeker” type person but if I were, this might be just what I would look for. It is definitely a rush sometimes.

You know, almost every thing I am speaking of whether hard to cope with or on the positive side has had a lasting effect on my life. It has ALL worked itself out to mold me into a better person, and I hope, a better representative and defender of the Faith. Even though I am a better man for it, these have not come without ransom. A great price was paid for my salvation and it cost me nothing. To live according to my calling and to make the most of what was purchased does sometimes have costs.

As I reflect, I can see many times where groups sharing the journey and cause with me were moved. Sometimes it hurt, sometimes it was a joyous occasion. The point is, God’s people should always be on the move striving towards our individual duties. As we travel along towards the common goal, my duties may change or yours may change which will take us away from each other for a time but to be reunited later.

I had some close friends and we were an amazing team working for the cause of Christ on a world-wide scale. As circumstances changed in our ministry, the team separated into 2 distinct groups each with their vision and tasks but on different paths to the same destination. There was some bitterness between some of us during this time of division and for a long time it was hard to accept. That is until I realized what I am writing about today, that God moves his workers around and we must embrace that and realize we’re all still on the same team although our place is changing.

Whatever brings on the change has to be overlooked in acceptance of the fact change is taking place for God’s purpose and whether it feels like it or not, God is very much in control of it. He is never out of control of our chaos. NEVER.

What would I change if I could go back and change anything considering my perfect hind-sight?

I’ll tell you because I have thought plenty about it over the past couple of years. I would absolutely stand against hell and the harsh words spoken to save the Godly relationships that were martyred to the changes in my life and ministry. The brotherhood I had with some men in my life was destroyed by harsh words and fighting for who’s right and who’s wrong. At the time I did not understand that no one was wrong, it was just time for our workers to stop occupying the same place. It was about placement, not power or right and wrong.

Right now those men are about their work doing what God has them to do and we are about our work doing what God has us to do. There is no hatred for one another but the bond we shared was broken through the process because neither side accepted what was happening as divine intervention. Each of us saw it as a struggle for place. NOW, I can see that my placement is just right. Now there are different ministries happening that would not be happening if not for the movement.

Wherever you are in your life or ministry, take comfort in knowing that God is so in love with you and when you feel like you are being opposed or betrayed by a co-worker in Christ, just try to realize that however unorganized or chaotic it feels, God has your place already secured and it will not be behind you, but ahead of you. Even though it hurts, it is progress. Accept some hard-learned wisdom today and do whatever it takes to save the relationships you have earned along the way. There WILL be a day when those paths will merge again and it will be great to truthfully embrace your friends and say it’s good to see you again!

Whoever said the Christian life, and especially the minister’s life was easy was probably as lost as a blind hog. It is not the easy life, but it is real life and not just a worthless existence with no eternal significance.

Last night I watched Kingdom of Heaven again for the 4th time. I love that movie. In the blacksmith’s shop the beam is carved to read, “what man is a man who does not make the world a better place?” We don’t make the world better by saving the dogs or cats or whales. We don’t make the world better by buying carbon offsets or stopping cruelty to animals. All those are great causes and they improve our environment. But, we make the world better by investing into people and building relationships that impact lives on an eternally significant level. Let’s keep our eyes on the prize and not let the enemy deceive us into squandering our most precious assets in the fight, our relationships.

May God bless you with an abundance of peace and discernment to remain victorious in your quest to further his Kingdom.

John

 

Posted under FROM THE HEART

This week I had a very harsh reminder of how smooth our enemy is.

You’ve heard me say many times, Satan is too predictable to me during a direct attack and the only way he is able to get to me is through other people.

Just this Sunday morning I got a brutal wake-up call from some people close to me that I love a whole lot. I’ve come to see that some folks I thought were friendly to me are in fact impostors just friendly for their own personal gain.

When the truth came out by way of a fiery tongue, I was devastated. My heart was broken so hard I felt like my world had come to an end.

Not knowing what else to do, I called on God to help me with this unbearable pain I was feeling inside. The more I cried the more it hurt and the less it seemed like God was going to answer my prayers.

The only other thing I knew to do was to call on my friends. I mean the friends who have nasty ministries Those men who shine the light of Jesus but you can always tell that light is shining through the grit , grim and puss that got all over them from someone else’s sores from life. The one’s who people call “dangerous Christians”. Those 3 men who I know would walk through fire to Carry me out if I couldn’t make it. With only a short plea typed through eyes swollen from all the tears, my friends came to my aid.

Unable to speak myself, I just listened to the counsel of a friend and prayer and a word of encouragement. Then emails and text messages leading me back to my feet where I could stand in the strength of the Lord again. OH GOD I THANK YOU FOR MY FRIENDS! PLEASE LET ME BE ALL TO THEM THAT THEY ARE TO ME!

A little later I started getting calls and messages from another group of people, those that were so brutal in their verbal attack on me were now telling me how sorry they were and how they did not mean anything they said. They tried but the honesty if it is that once things are said to hurt someone, they are said and can’t just be erased. I will say I love them and was never mad about that, just deeply hurt in it. Be careful what you say and be slow to say it. I’ve come to appreciate my Grandma’s advice as some of the best teaching I ever had. She always said, “If you can’t say something good, don’t say anything at all”. Good stuff Memaw! Thank you.

Today is Tuesday. The pain is still there and will be for a while I suppose. If I explained, you’d understand but that is not what my blog is about today. I want to offer you both a warning, and some advice.

WARNING: Be very careful who you allow to befriend you. Not everyone who speaks good to your face speaks good behind your back. They could be speaking badly of you to some people that are close to you and those words can rise up when you least expect it and pierce your heart and cause you unbelievable pain.

ADVICE: Develop Godly friendships of like-minded people. You may find that a handful will develop into a bond that has depth and power in it. These are so important. I know a lot of people. I have a lot of Christian friends. The brotherhood I speak of, I have 3 right now and those 3 men have been my strength on occasions when I really did not feel like I could get up and swing the sword again. While I just breathed, they locked me behind their shields and fought for me until I could get up and shake the enemy off me. WOW, how amazing it is to have even one friend like that! I am truly blessed.

Be very careful of your friends who are not born again believers. They are nice. They are friendly and you may have fun together but there are things about your life they just cannot understand and therefore will not be of any help in a spiritual battle. Spiritual battles are fought by spiritual warriors and if you have 3 or 4 fighting with you the battle will be easier won. Believe me, I know. I just had my biggest reminder ever this week.

Blessings and peace to all my friends who visit inthestreet.org. Whether we share faith or not, I love you all so much and hope that this message will offer encouragement and wisdom to you today.

No matter what you’re going through today or how hard it is, God is totally in control of the chaos. I know that does not sound acceptable but it is true. I can’t completely explain it but God is never out of control. All things (not all good things) ALL THINGS work together for our (the saved) benefit.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose ROMANS 8:28

With great big heaping piles of love for you today, 

John

Posted under FROM THE HEART