GRIN AND SHARE IT: “Indian Maiden”

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Indian Maiden

A saleswoman is driving toward home in Northern Arizona when
she sees a Native American Indian Maiden thumbing for a ride
on the side of the road. As the trip had been long and quiet, she
stops the car and the Indian Maiden gets in.

After a bit of small talk, the Indian Maiden notices a brown bag on
the front seat. “What’s in the bag?”, asks the Indian Maiden.

“It’s a bottle of wine. I got it for my husband”, says the saleswoman.

The Indian Maiden is silent for a moment then says, “Good trade.”

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“Is the United States a Christian nation?”

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon


It may seem intuitive, at first, to attempt to answer this question by focusing on government. But the best way to determine whether or not the United States is a Christian nation is to compare the philosophy of its people to the Word of God.

The Declaration of Independence states that every person has these God-given, inalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This philosophy is what we could call the “American Worldview”, and it drives everything about the nation – from its economic and foreign policy to the private lives of its people. This is the atmosphere in which most of us have grown up. But does this American Worldview be called a Christian Worldview? Can we really call the United States a Christian nation?

Life
First, what does “life” mean to a Christian? Most Americans would say we have a right to be alive, just by virtue of having been born. Most Americans would say we have the right to do with our lives as we choose, because our lives belong to us. Christianity agrees that we have the “right to life” and recognizes that life comes from the Creator, just as the Declaration says. However, the Christian (Biblical) view is that the right to live does not exist by virtue of being born, but by virtue of being created first in the mind of God (Jeremiah 1:5). Acts 17:25 says that God “gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” The Bible is saying here that the life of man is sustained by God, and as such, it belongs to Him. But Americans generally believe that we are free to do with our lives just as we please because we believe our lives belong, primarily, to us. For a Christian, God’s law is the absolute truth, and the final authority. It tells the Christian “Thou shalt not murder” and “Thou shalt not bear false witness”. But the United States shows, both by the lives of her citizens and the laws passed in her courts that she does not recognize the authority of God, nor respect His laws.

Liberty
What does “liberty” mean to a Christian? Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion and the freedom to bear arms are some of the rights outlined in the Bill of Rights. All of these freedoms are good things valued greatly by Americans. Today, however, our nation has, for the most part, rejected the Bible as the standard of right and wrong. So, now liberty has an additional meaning to our citizens: it means that we are ultimately free to do whatever we want. It means that we control our own destiny—or that we should—and that nobody can tell another person what is right or what they should value. This mindset has had disastrous results. In America now, everything is subjective. In the face of the monstrous tragedy of abortion, Americans echo the words of Pontius Pilate: “What is Truth?” Our personal choice has become the only thing we truly value. We are tolerant above all, but only because to put down another person’s freedom is to endanger our own liberty. Practically speaking, since such a wide variety of religions are now represented among our citizens, how can we say “America is a Christian nation” without obliterating the Christian faith? A Christian individual will not kill or hurt someone of another religion who refuses to convert. However, the Bible is clear: we are not to tell people that all roads lead to Heaven. There is one Way, and His name is Jesus Christ. The Bible informs Christians that freedom and liberty are good and right. But, it also gives us the context of that freedom: we have freedom as Christ’s followers, because we trust in His righteousness, instead of our own. We were slaves to this world, and to sin. Now we are slaves to Christ – and that is a Christian’s definition of freedom. That doesn’t sound much like the definition of Liberty that is held by the government or the citizens of America.

The Pursuit of Happiness
Now, the Pursuit of Happiness: what is it, to a Christian? In the Bible, happiness is an emotion that is welcomed, but not to be sought after. We seek God, and Joy is a result of closeness to Him. But joy is different from happiness. Joy is a spiritual contentment and pleasure that comes from the Holy Spirit. A person must be in fellowship with the Spirit to experience it, and it transcends circumstance. The Apostle Paul said that he had “learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11), and Paul’s circumstances were hardly the sort to produce happiness: beatings, stoning, shipwreck, hunger, thirst and danger. But his joy and peace were from God, not from his circumstances. In contrast, Americans tend to believe we are to pursue, at all cost, happiness in our lives here in this world. Pursue happiness, the American is told, at the cost of all else. If it makes you happy to leave your wife and children, do it. If it makes you happy to devote your life to stardom at the expense of friends and family members, you should follow your dream. If you are a man but you think being a woman will make you happy, have a sex change. Play video games 10 hours a day? Drink yourself to death? Get married to your dog? Sure, if it makes you happy! Perhaps when the Constitution was framed, the Judeo-Christian ethic of “love thy neighbor” was understood as a foundational principle upon which to base our right to pursue happiness. But it has changed over the years to mean a right to pursue individual pleasure, no matter how strange the means, without being judged by your fellow man and without regard to how that pursuit affects the other person’s rights or freedoms, or affects the fabric of society itself.

But consider the following verse from Mark 8:36: “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” For the Christian, this thought is central: nothing is gained from pursuing comfort and happiness here on earth. Nothing is really gained, for a Christian, by “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The Christian person pursues other things: “…pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22) “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Romans 14:19). “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11). Christians are concerned with the spiritual – because they belong to another country; they are citizens of a spiritual country, the Kingdom of Heaven.

So, is the United States a Christian nation? No. Not in its philosophy, or in what it loves, or in what it does. Despite its Judeo-Christian roots and heritage, and the beliefs of some of its founders, the United States today is a nation that follows other gods, and lives a lifestyle that is not compatible with Christianity.

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GRIN AND SHARE IT: “Variations on Murphy’s Law”

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Variations on Murphy’s Law

The Law of Reality
Never get into fights with ugly people, they have nothing to lose.

The Law of Self Sacrifice
When you starve with a tiger, the tiger starves last.

The Law of Volunteering
If you dance with a grizzly bear, you had better let him lead.

The Law of Motivation
Creativity is great, but plagiarism is faster.

Boob’s Law
You always find something in the last place you look.

Wailer’s Law
Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn’t have to do it himself.

Law of Volunteer Labor
People are always available for work in the past tense.

Conway’s Law
In any organization there is one person who knows what is going on.
That person must be fired.

Iron Law of Distribution
Them that has, gets.

Law of Cybernetic Entomology
There is always one more bug.

Law of Drunkenness
You can’t fall off the floor.

Heeler’s Law
The first myth of management is that it exists.

Osborne’s Law
Variables won’t; constants aren’t.

Main’s Law
For every action there is an equal and opposite government program.

Weinberg’s Second Law
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then
the first woodpecker that came along would have destroyed civilization.

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“How can we have everlasting life when we still die?”

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

 The Word of God assures us that all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will have everlasting life (John 3:16; 6:47; 1 John 5:13). The Greek word translated “everlasting” means perpetual, eternal, forever. Perhaps the word “perpetual” best explains the biblical concept of everlasting life; it is life that, once begun, continues perpetually into eternity. This speaks to the idea that man’s life is not merely physical. Rather, the true life of human beings is spiritual, and while the physical life ends, the spiritual continues throughout eternity. It is perpetual.

When God created Adam and Eve He put them in the Garden with the tree of life, intending that they would live joyously forever, both physically and spiritually, but they sinned and brought physical and spiritual death to themselves and to all subsequent generations (Romans 5:12-14). God then sent Adam and Eve from the Garden and stationed cherubim to guard the way to the tree of life, and He did so because in His mercy He did not want man to live forever under the weight of sin. But sin must be punished and the only acceptable punishment to a holy God is everlasting punishment (Mark 9:43-44). However, our merciful God sent His Son as a perfect sacrifice to suffer, once for all time, the punishment due mankind for sin, thereby providing a perfect way to the tree of life for anyone and everyone who believes in the Him (1 John 5:12; Revelation 22:14).

We receive everlasting life by dying to our own efforts and receiving Christ Jesus into our hearts as our Lord and Savior, and when we do we are instantly reborn and made alive in Christ. We may not feel any immediate change, but there has in fact been a rebirth in the heart (John 3:6-7) and we are now free of the fear of death; we have the promise of God that we will never die spiritually, but instead will live forever with our Lord Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10). Later, when we die physically, our soul will immediately be with the Lord, and still later when He returns, He will resurrect our bodies to meet Him in the air. As for those Christians that are alive at His return, their bodies will be resurrected “in the twinkle of an eye” and they will not experience even physical death (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

Jesus Christ instructed the Apostle John to write the last book of the Bible, and therein we again read about the tree of life: “To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God’” (Revelation 2:7b). The tree of life is, and always has been, symbolic of Jesus Christ. It is in Christ that all Christians trust, and it is in God’s power that we rest, assured of our everlasting life (1 Peter 1:3-5). From the moment we are reborn, God is in control of our destiny, and the one true God who created all things, including life and death and rebirth, will keep His word. Our God is all powerful and full of grace and truth (John 1:14), and He wants us to know that our eternal state is assured: Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies” (John 11:25).

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GRIN AND SHARE IT: “Trucker Story”

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Trucker Story

As a trucker stops for a red light, a blonde catches up. She jumps out
of her car, runs up to his truck, and knocks on the door. The trucker
lowers the window and she says “Hi, my name is Heather and you are
losing some of your load.”

The trucker ignores her and proceeds down the street. When the truck
stops for another red light, the girl catches up again. She jumps out of
her car, runs up to his truck, and knocks on the door. Again, the
trucker lowers the window. As if they’ve never spoken, the blonde
says brightly, “Hi, my name is Heather and you are losing some of
your load!” Shaking his head, the trucker ignores her again and
continues down the street.

At the third red light, the same thing happens again. All out of breath
the blonde gets out of her car, runs up to his truck, and knocks on the
truck door. The trucker lowers the window. Again she says “Hi, my
name is Heather and you are losing some of your load!” When the light
turns green, the trucker revs up and races to the next light.

When he stops this time, he hurriedly gets out of the truck and runs
back to the blonde. He knocks on her window and as she lowers it,
he says… “Hi, my name is Kevin, it’s winter in Minnesota and I’m
driving the SALT TRUCK!”

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“Should a Christian be politically correct?”

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon


Political correctness (PC) is defined as “a term that describes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, religious belief, disability, and age-related contexts.” The key word here is “offense.” No individual or group is to be offended in the PC world. Certainly, as Christians, we are not to go out of our way to offend anyone personally, but the truth is that Christianity itself is offensive.

The apostle Paul references the “offense of the cross” in Galatians 5:11. The cross was an offense to the Jews because their idea of salvation was to “work the works of God” (John 6:28-29), meaning keeping the numerous burdensome Old Testament laws and rules. When Jesus came preaching salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, they were shattered. He made it plain that “by works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight” (Romans 3:20), and that all their law-keeping was of no value to them whatsoever. Especially repugnant to them was the idea that without Jesus, they who prided themselves on their meticulous adherence to the letter, if not the spirit, of the law, could do nothing of spiritual value (John 15:5).

Truly the offense Jesus created was a stumbling block to the Jews, as Paul explained to the Romans. He reminded them of Isaiah’s prophecy that God would lay a Cornerstone (Christ) in Zion over which many would stumble and fall (Isaiah 8:14; 28:16; Psalm 118:22; 1 Peter 2:6). Just as the Jews stumbled over the idea of their works being of no value to God, so do many today hate the idea that Christ will build His church not on human merits, but on His righteousness alone. That message is as offensive today as it was in Jesus’ day. No one likes to be told there is nothing he can do to earn his place in heaven.

Equally offensive is the necessity of dying to self in order to follow Christ. Of all the religions of the world today, Christianity is the only one where its founder tells you to follow Him and die. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me'” (Matthew 16:24). Those who heard this message knew exactly what Jesus meant; to follow Him was to die to self and give up everything they ever held dear. That’s why everyone ran away when He was arrested; they weren’t prepared to die with Him.

Correctness in the secular, political realm is not the concern of Christians or the church because “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control” (Philippians 3:20-21).

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GRIN AND SHARE IT: “To Be Ten Again”

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

To Be Ten Again

Bob asks his wife, “What would you most like for your birthday?”

She answers….. “I’d love to be ten again.”

So on the morning of her birthday, he gets her up bright and
early and off they go to the local Theme Park.

What a day! He puts her on every ride in the park, the Death Slide,
The Screaming Loop, the Wall of Fear…everything there is!

Wow! She staggers out of the Theme Park five hours later, her head
reeling and her stomach upside down. Right Into McDonald’s they
go, and her husband orders a Double Big Mac for her along with extra
fries and a refreshing strawberry shake. Then off to a movie…it’s the
latest ‘Star Wars’ epic, and hot dogs, popcorn, Cola, and M & M’s.

What a fabulous adventure! Finally she wobbles home with her
husband and collapses into bed. He leans over lovingly and asks,
“Well, dear, what was it like being ten again?”

She opens one eye and she groans, . . .

“Idiot, I meant dress size.”

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It’s better than Xanax!

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

Worry seems to be America’s favorite indoor sport.  Stress and worry are far too common among most Christians.  The Bible teaches much about worry.

 The Bible clearly teaches that Christians are not to worry. In Philippians 4:6, we are commanded, “Do not be anxious [do not worry] about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” In this Scripture, we learn that we should bring all of our needs and concerns to God in prayer rather than worry about them. Jesus encourages us to avoid worrying about our physical needs like clothing and food. Jesus assures us that our heavenly Father will take care of all our needs (Matthew 6:25-34). Therefore, we have no need to worry about anything.

Since worrying should not be a part of a believer’s life, how does one overcome worry? In 1 Peter 5:7, we are instructed to “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” God does not want us to carry around the weight of problems and burdens. In this verse, God is telling us to give Him all of our worries and concerns. Why does God want to take on our problems? The Bible says it is because He cares for us. God is concerned about everything that happens to us. No worry is too big or too small for His attention. When we give God our problems, He promises to give us the peace which transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

Of course, for those who do not know the Savior, worry and anxiety will be part of life. But to those who have given their lives to Him, Jesus promised, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

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GRIN AND SHARE IT: “The Mind”

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

The Mind

The mind is an amazing thing.

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it
deosn’t mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are in;
the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be
at the rghit pclae.

The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it
wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos
not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

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“What is the pride of life?”

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Dr. Mike Harmon

 The phrase “pride of life” is found only once in the Bible, in 1 John 2:16, but the concept of the pride of life, especially as it is linked with the “lust of the eyes” and the “lust of the flesh,” appears in two more significant passages of Scripture—the temptation of Eve in the Garden and the temptation of Christ in the wilderness (Matthew 4:8-10). The pride of life can be defined as anything that is “of the world,” meaning anything that leads to arrogance, ostentation, pride in self, presumption, and boasting. John makes it clear that anything that produces the pride of life comes from a love of the world and “if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).

The first example of the temptation of the pride of life occurs in the Garden of Eden, where Eve was tempted by the serpent to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eve perceived that the fruit was “good for food,” “pleasing to the eye,” and “desirable for gaining wisdom” (Genesis 3:6). She coveted the fruit in three ways. First, it was appealing to her appetite. This John refers to as the “lust of the flesh,” the desire for that which satisfies any of the physical needs. The fruit was also pleasing or delightful to the eye, that which we see and desire to own or possess. Here is the “lust of the eyes” John refers to. Finally, Eve somehow perceived that the fruit would make her wise, giving her a wisdom beyond her own. Part of Satan’s lie was that eating the fruit would make her “like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).

Here is the essence of the pride of life—anything that exalts us above our station and offers the illusion of God-like qualities, wherein we boast in arrogance and worldly wisdom. Eve wanted to be like God in her knowledge, not content to live in a perfect world under His perfect grace and care for her. Satan tried these same three temptations on Christ during His 40 days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). He tempted Jesus with the lust of the flesh, bread for His hunger (vv. 2-3), the lust of the eyes, “all the kingdoms of the world with their splendor” (vv. 8-9), and the pride of life, daring Him to cast Himself from the roof of the Temple in order to prove that He was the Messiah by an ostentatious display of power that was not in the will of God or His plan for the redemption of mankind (vv. 5-6). But Jesus, though He was “tempted in every way, just as we are” (Hebrews 4:15), resisted the devil and used the Word of God to ensure victory over him.

Christians have always been, and will always be, lured by the same three temptations Eve and Jesus experienced. Satan doesn’t change his methods; he doesn’t have to because they continue to be successful. He tempts us with the lust of the flesh—sexual gratification, gluttony, excessive alcohol consumption, and drugs, both legal and illegal, as well as the “deeds of the flesh” about which Paul warned the Galatians, “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Galatians 5:19-21). He tempts us with the lust of the eyes—the endless accumulation of “stuff” with which we fill our homes and garages and the insatiable desire for more, better, and newer possessions which ensnares us and hardens our hearts to the things of God.

But perhaps his most evil temptation is the pride of life, the very sin that resulted in Satan’s expulsion from heaven. He desired to be God, not to be a servant of God (Isaiah  14:12-15). The arrogant boasting which constitutes the pride of life motivates the other two lusts as it seeks to elevate itself above all others and fulfill all personal desires. It is the root cause of strife in families, churches and nations. It exalts the self in direct contradiction to Jesus’ statement that those who would follow Him must take up their cross (an instrument of death) and deny themselves. The pride of life stands in our way if we truly seek to be servants of the God. It is the arrogance that separates us from others and limits our effectiveness in the kingdom. The pride of life “comes not from the Father, but from the world.” And, as such, it is passing away with the world, but those who resist and overcome the temptation of the pride of life do the will of God and “the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).

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