"Walking On Water"

My good friend and brother in Christ (and contributor to Dakota Voice), Paul Scates, sent me this video this morning with the following comments. You should know that both Paul and I came to Jesus later in life after rejecting God and His Grace for over many years. So we know what it means to be lost in this world and trying to find our way on our own--and failing is so many ways. I hope that others who are in need of our Lord's love and grace will view this video and see how powerful is this Jesus, who transforms lives. How else to explain Nick's joy and love of the life that God has blessed him with. I, for one, need reminding of this often. God tells us "Fear not, for I am with you."

A.W. Tozer wrote that, of all the shortcomings of modern Christians, the most noticeable one to non-believers is an almost total lack of humility. Humility...how, if we truly understand Who God is and who we were and are...can we forget what filth and selfishness and self-centeredness He had to wade through to reach us...how, then, can we not be filled with humility that He loves us so much He forgives us for all our self-centeredness? Humility, and gratitude, and a desire that others know the joy of His love?

Watch this video. Some people will say this guy has just been brainwashed, or that he has no other choice, etc. But I see the pure joy and serenity of the acute awareness of God's love. If he were 'whole' as you and I are, he'd be like too many of us...distracted by pursuits, pleasures and the 'problems' of normal everyday life. Instead, he can say, even in his affliction, that he knows how much God loves him, and even thank God for making him this way.

This dose of humility, of shame and sorrow at how self-centered and selfish and unloving I still am, even after God patiently pursued me for 46 years until He broke through my arrogant heart and head to reveal His love for even me, a sinner of the first order, is a welcome thing. For when I stray, when I forget what God has done in my life, I NEED to be reminded, and I'm thankful for this humbling I just got from watching this video. (My best friend says Christians need to be reminded more than they need to be taught...and it's certainly true in my case.)

So, if you're ready for a major dose of humility -- which we should ALL retain every day of our lives! -- get out the tissues and watch this. It's about 10 minutes, but it flies by in seconds.

Love,
Paul

Nick shares more here.

For Pope Benedict XVI, Defending the Right to Life is Very Personal

NORTH HAVEN, Conn., April 11 /Christian Newswire/ -- Many people are expecting Pope Benedict XVI to speak out in defense of human life and against abortion during his visit to the United States next week. What few people realize, however, is that the pope knows first hand what happens when a society refuses to defend the most defenseless of its citizens.

As a boy of fourteen, Joseph Ratzinger had a cousin who had been born with Down's Syndrome, only a bit younger than himself. In 1941, German state "therapists" came to the boy's house and probably informed the parents of the government regulation that prohibited mentally handicapped children from remaining in their parents' home. In spite of the family's pleas, the representatives of the Nazi state took the child away. The Ratzinger family never saw him again. Later the family learned that he had "died," most likely murdered, for being merely "undesirable," a blemish in the race, and a drain on the productivity of the nation. This was Joseph Ratzinger's first experience of a murderous philosophy that asserts that some people are disposable.

Author Brennan Pursell heard this horrifying, heart- wrenching story while collecting material for his ground-breaking biography, Benedict of Bavaria (Circle Press, 2008). While most available biographies of the pope are based on Western news coverage, Pursell, who is fluent in German, went to Germany, especially to Bavaria, where the Pope is from and collected his information from what he calls "intimate sources" - the friends, neighbors, colleagues, and co-workers who have known Joseph Ratzinger for years.

As the pope said during his visit to Austria in 2007, the right to life is the first of all human rights. To speak, then, of a "right" to abort an unborn child is a contradiction in terms. This is a truth that, for Pope Benedict, is self-evident. But how will he convey this message in America where the abortion movement is so firmly entrenched? "He will present the Catholic teaching as a positive," Pursell says. "But at the same time he will be unapologetic about it."

Church Officials Go to the IRS Requesting a Church Tax Inquiry

Copeland's Eagle Mountain International Church Takes Unprecedented Step in a Good Faith Effort to Respond to Senator Grassley

DALLAS, April 12 /Christian Newswire/ -- Eagle Mountain International Church/Kenneth Copeland Ministries (KCM) took the unprecedented and historic step of requesting the IRS to undertake an inquiry of the Church. On Monday, April 7th John Copeland the CEO of the Church and KCM, personally delivered a letter to the IRS offices in downtown Dallas.

John Copeland explained to reporters, "We told the IRS in a letter that we welcome them to come and make inquiry of us and we will provide answers to the IRS regarding questions that Senator Grassley has. The Church desires to protect its and all other churches' 1st Amendment rights, and by this action, we believe we are doing just that."

For more than 40 years the Church/KCM has operated with integrity and in compliance with the tax laws and government regulations. KCM has no problem with giving the government the information Senator Grassley has requested, so long as the Church's constitutional rights are respected. It has always been KCM's position that there is a process already in place for the government, through the IRS, to obtain the information Senator Grassley has requested.

The IRS is the appropriate agency to receive this information, subject to processes and procedures set out in the federal tax laws that apply to all churches and to all private taxpayer information. By following these processes and procedures, which Senator Grassley himself helped write, the Church's rights will be protected, but the Senator will still be able to obtain all the information he is demanding by requesting it from the IRS after it has concluded a church tax inquiry.

If the Church is not given the protections from disclosure afforded by the federal tax laws, the Church is concerned that private church documents and information produced to Senator Grassley could be used in a manner that interferes with the Church's religious freedoms. The Church believes that the Senator's demands are inconsistent with longstanding principles that require the separation of Church and State, as well as Supreme Court rulings that hold that the government may not inquire into the very nature of a church's religious beliefs and practices.

To view a copy of the letter delivered to the IRS and other Church responses to Senator Grassley, go to www.kcm.org

Poll Shows Overwhelmingly Positive View of Pope on Eve of His U.S. Visit

Marist Poll Commissioned by Knights of Columbus Released at National Press Club

WASHINGTON, April 12 /Christian Newswire/ -- Americans have an overwhelmingly positive view of Pope Benedict XVI on the eve of his visit to the United States, according to a new poll released today at a Newsmaker event at the National Press Club.

The poll was commissioned by the Knights of Columbus and conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion between February 25 and March 5, 2008. The results were announced by Supreme Knight Carl Anderson.

By a ratio of four and a half to one (58% to 13%), respondents said that they had a favorable or very favorable view of Pope Benedict. The poll also found that an even higher percentage - 65% - have a favorable view of the Catholic Church, although a higher portion, 28% have a negative view.

Forty-two percent of Americans said that they would like to attend one of the Pope's public appearances while he is in the United States, and 66% of Catholics said they'd like to attend one of the events. Pope Benedict will be celebrating large open-air Masses in Washington, D.C. (at Nationals Stadium) and New York City (Yankee Stadium), and will host several smaller gatherings with Catholic educators, seminarians and leaders of other religious faiths. Anderson also unveiled a special new website ( www.papaltrip.org) that offers detailed information about the Pope's trip, as well as historical material about previous popes and their dealings with the Catholic Church in the United States.

Seventy percent or more want to hear Pope Benedict talk about: allowing God to be a part of their daily lives (73%), finding spiritual fulfillment by sharing their time and talent (71%) and how they can make a positive difference in the world, their state, and communities (70%). Nearly two-thirds (64%) expressed an interest in hearing Pope Benedict talk about how they can have a society where spiritual values play an important role.

"The bottom line," Anderson said, "is that, despite years of very negative stories about the Catholic Church scandals, and dissenting view of the Pope as some sort of "panzercardinal" determined to pursue the unorthodox to the ends of the earth, the American people have a very sensible and balanced view of Benedict and the Church. And they are very open to hearing his views on matters of how they might live their faith and put it into action in their daily lives."

The full results of the poll can be found at the Knights of Columbus website, at http://www.kofc.org/un/cmf/resources/maristpoll.pdf.

A System Flawed!

I was reading an article that reminds me why I am not impressed by what our court system has become. In theory, the system, as designed, is impressive. But it seems that we have become too bored, too careless, or even too self-absorbed to maintain the balance necessary to assure the system continually functions as intended. As a result, many lives have been detoured into an unforgiving nightmare. The story below is only one of many.

A 26-Year-Old Secret Could Free Inmate

By SHARON COHEN (AP National Writer)
From Associated Press
April 12, 2008 1:01 PM EDT

CHICAGO - For nearly 26 years, the affidavit was sealed in an envelope and stored in a locked box, tucked away with the lawyer's passport and will. Sometimes he stashed the box in his bedroom closet, other times under his bed.

It stayed there - year after year, decade after decade.

Then, about two years ago, Dale Coventry, the box's owner, got a call from his former colleague, W. Jamie Kunz. Both were once public defenders. They hadn't talked in a decade.

"We're both getting on in years," Kunz said. "We ought to do something with that affidavit to make sure it's not wasted in case we both leave this good Earth."

To read the rest of the article, go to Earthlink News .