walking hand in hand, like brothers

Hi Folks,

We have lost our way, in a very important area of our Christians lives my brothers.

It has been raining here all day long, the kind of rain you only get in tropical parts of the world. It is a drenching, cold, penetrating rain, which becomes integral to your very being, it seems.

I just watched an eight year-old boy, walking down the street with his younger sister, under an unbrella. The boy was carefully holding his little sisters hand, and guiding her around the puddles strewn about the rain soaked ground. He was carrying the umbrella to shield her, and gently steering her towards better paths. You see, she was too young to be able to adequately identify the deeper puddles from the shallow. She needed his help.

This is what I think Jesus meant when he said we have brotherly love for each other. That the "older" of us Christians must take the younger by the hand and gently guide them to safe ground, to the more shallow areas. There WILL be rain in our lives, that is unavoidable, but we must learn to rely on the wisdom of our elders, and help to guide those younger Christians to safer pathways. It is a part of our Christian lives which we often forget about. The nescesity of falling under supervision, and the responsibility of discipleship.

We are younger than some in Christ, and older than others. Let us mentor one another. There is no competition amongst brothers in times of crisis, but motivation to help. If you think we are not in a time of crisis, then you must turn to the bible for elucidation. We can turn on the television and see there are still lost souls, listen to the radio to know the word still needs to be spread, get on the internet to know that satan must STILL be fought.

We ARE in times of crisis, we MUST pull together to keep each other safe from harm, and we WILL overcome in the name of Jesus Christ!

Take your Spiritual brother by the hand, and guide him. Allow YOUR hand to be held by your Spiritual brother and learn the wisdom of being guided.

God Bless

Richard

How can America do this?

Hi Folks,

Please take a few moments to read what the Wall Street Journal wrote about the current CRISIS situation in Honduras. Bear in mind that this is the Wall Street Journal, one of the most respected publications in the history of the world. This isn't being reported in some third world country by "El diario", or "La Prensa". This is unpoliticized truth!

"The Supreme Court of Honduras has constitutional and statutory authority to hear cases against the President of the Republic and many other high officers of the State, to adjudicate and enforce judgments, and to request the assistance of the public forces to enforce its rulings."

—Congressional Research Service, August 2009

Ever since Manuel Zelaya was removed from the Honduran presidency by that country's Supreme Court and Congress on June 28 for violations of the constitution, the Obama administration has insisted, without any legal basis, that the incident amounts to a "coup d'état" and must be reversed. President Obama has dealt harshly with Honduras, and Americans have been asked to trust their president's proclamations.

Now a report filed at the Library of Congress by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides what the administration has not offered, a serious legal review of the facts. "Available sources indicate that the judicial and legislative branches applied constitutional and statutory law in the case against President Zelaya in a manner that was judged by the Honduran authorities from both branches of the government to be in accordance with the Honduran legal system," writes CRS senior foreign law specialist Norma C. Gutierrez in her report.

Do the facts matter? Fat chance. The administration is standing by its "coup" charge and 10 days ago, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went so far as to sanction the country's independent judiciary. The U.S. won't say why, but its clear the court's sin is rejecting a U.S.-backed proposal to restore Mr. Zelaya to power.

Martin Kozlowski

The upshot is that the U.S. is trying to force Honduras to violate its own constitution and is also using its international political heft to try to interfere with the country's independent judiciary.

Hondurans are worried about what this pressure is doing to their country. Mr. Zelaya's violent supporters are emboldened by the U.S. position. They deface some homes and shops with graffiti and throw stones and home-made bombs into others, and whenever the police try to stop them, they howl about their "human rights."

But it may be that Americans should be even more concerned about the heavy-handedness, without legal justification, emanating from the executive branch in Washington. What does it say about Mr. Obama's respect for the separation of powers that he would instruct Mrs. Clinton to punish an independent court because it did not issue the ruling he wanted?

The Americas in the News

Get the latest information in Spanish from The Wall Street Journal's Americas page.

Since June 28, the U.S. has been pressuring Honduras to put Mr. Zelaya back in the presidency. But neither Mrs. Clinton's spurious "rule of law" claims or the tire iron handed her by Mr. Obama to use against this little country have been effective in convincing the Honduran judiciary that it ought to abandon its constitution.

It seems that Mrs. Clinton is peeved with the court because it ruled that restoring Mr. Zelaya to power under a proposal drafted by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias is unconstitutional. Thus, the State Department decided that in defense of the rule of law it would penalize the members of the Supreme Court for their interpretation of their constitution. Fourteen justices had their U.S. visas pulled.

Since the U.S. already had yanked the visa of the 15th member of the court, the one who signed the arrest warrant for Mr. Zelaya, this action completed Mrs. Clinton's assault on the independence of a foreign democracy's highest court. The lesson, presumably, is that judges in small foreign nations are required to accept America's interpretation of their own laws.

Thousands of readers have written to me asking how all this can happen in the U.S., where democratic principles have been recognized since the nation's founding. Many readers have written that they are "ashamed" of the U.S. and have asked, in effect, "How can I help Honduras?" A more pertinent question may turn out to be, how can they help their own country?

In its actions toward Honduras, the Obama administration is demonstrating contempt for the fundamentals of democracy. Legal scholars are clear on this. "Judicial independence is a central component of any democracy and is crucial to separation of powers, the rule of law and human rights," writes Ahron Barak, the former president of the Supreme Court of Israel and a prominent legal scholar, in his compelling 2006 book, "The Judge in a Democracy."

"The purpose of the separation of powers is to strengthen freedom and prevent the concentration of power in the hands of one government actor in a manner likely to harm the freedom of the individual," Mr. Barak explains—almost as if he is writing about Honduras.

He also warns prophetically about the Chávez style of democracy that has destroyed Venezuela and that Hondurans say they were trying to avoid in their own country. "Democracy is entitled to defend itself from those who seek to use it in order to destroy its very existence," he writes. Americans ought to ask themselves why the Obama administration doesn't seem to agree.

litigious Christianity?

HI Folks,

I was thinking today about how so many Americans groups find themselves in a position where they feel it is necessary to file a lawsuit to guarantee their specific rights under the American legal system. It is almost like peering over the brink of a cliff, in some ways. Looking at this supposition gives one a quesy feeling in their stomach, like there is potential danger there...

It is my estimation (unscientific estimation) that OUR group, us Christians, are the MOST maligned and "put upon" group in the history of the United States, and for that matter...the world.

Do you think that we as a group should be allowed to file a court case every time someone maligns us? When some stranger comes along and sneers at our time-honored faith, should we drag them into court and make them account for their mistake? If we had the legal protection which so many other groups have lobbied for, and won, would it make our lives easier? When a celebrity spouts off about the stupidity of "those Jesus freaks", should we be able to sue? When an openly homosexual person denigrates our faith and belief system with the words, "stupid breeders", shouldn't we be guarenteed the right to reach into their pockets within the structure of our legal system? When one of our countries liberal judges decides that the displaying of the ten commandments is against the legal codes of our great nation, shouldn't we have the legal right to challenge his/her decision, and possibly even have this judge removed from office for daring to affront our "rights"? When a Christian is martyred in a foreign land because he or she is attempting to fulfil Christ's "Great Commission", should the government respond AT LEAST to the same extent which they currently respond to a captured journalist, or a celebrity, or a government worker?

Is it possible that in today's American society it is a handicap for one to profess belief in Jesus Christ? Our country was founded on Judeo Christian principles, ethics and beliefs. This belief system is the one overriding reason that our country became the greatest nation on the face of the earth. How is it then that we have allowed our country to become embarrassed by us? How is it then that we have allowed our country to pass legislation which subverts the very beliefs upon which this great nation was founded? How is it then that OUR group, us Christians, have become so apathetic in our political process that we have allowed these things to occur? Since when do we pledge allegience to our political parties, instead of our beliefs? Since when do we stand united together behind a flawed political system which no longer reflects our values, instead of behind the principles of our true leader, Jesus Christ? We must realize that Jesus is our Lord, and act upon the principles which He in His greatness and mercy has handed down to us. We must immediately STOP promoting a particular party in our legal and electoral systems and instead return to the place where we calmly and faithfully vote our ethics. Many of us in America have allowed our political parties to become our new God...THIS is the problem with America today. We must take back our country in the best way we can, through the electoral process. We must once again learn to vote for the moral integrity of our politicians. I say that if the neighborhood dogcatcher is the ONLY moral person on the ballot, then vote for THAT person for president, or congress, or the senate. Let us remind ourselves how truly important that the qualities of morality and ethics and principles are to our nation and our way of life.

Return with me to the values of our founding forefathers and the great wisdom they
displayed in making this nation, "one nation, under God"!

As for the legislation of Christians as a protected group...I have to confess I was being specious when I wrote that. There are certainly enough of us, if we unite together, that this sort of legislation is unnecessary, and we even have biblical evidence that to try to pass this kind of legislation might controvert some of the principles of the Bible. Let us just agree, in this upcoming election year...to vote our consciences, and not our parties. THIS, then, will be sufficient.

Please join me in praying for our nation, and for discernment amongst our people...us Christians.

God Bless!!!

Richard Becton

preparations

Hi Folks,

As I prepare my heart, and my mind and my soul for my physical return to Nicaragua I covet YOUR prayers. My month of work in the Middle East has ended as of today, and my month of REAL work in Nicaragua commences tomorrow.

There is lots to do, and many things which need "seeing to" in Nicaragua. Please pray for the continuation of the school building project. The first building should NOW be completed, and we pray that the kids will enjoy the lessons learned inside the structure.



There are several personal matters which need to be attended to by me upon my arrival into Puerto Cabezas this time too. Please pray that God's will, will be done in these matters.

God bless!!!

Richard Becton
Church of God project # 045-0697