When John was in prison, he heard about the things Christ had done. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for someone else?” _{Matthew 11:2-3 (GW)}

Are you the one or should we look for someone else seems to be the big question this election year. As the Presidential candidates ponder their picks for running mates perhaps it is time we the people take stock of what choices we are presented with. Our current Presidential candidates leave many of us wondering if we should be seeking another because we are not sure exactly where these candidates stand on key issues. It is troublesome that when choosing a President this election cycle we are more interested in whom each chooses for a Vice-president than we are with the current Presidential front runner.

Whoever walks with wise people will be wise, but whoever associates with fools will suffer. _{Proverbs 13:20 (GW)}

Don't let anyone deceive you. Associating with bad people will ruin decent people. _{1 Cor 15:33 (GW)}

Choosing associations is a good indicator of a person’s leadership abilities. Therefore whoever each candidate picks as a running mate will say a great deal about who that person has decided to form allegiances with. Two people can not walk together unless they are in agreement. Two candidates must have something in common in order for them to serve together in a leadership capacity.

Many conservatives have expressed concerns about Senator John McCain in regards to where he stands on issues important to the conservative base of the Republican Party. Considering his record of voting with Democrats on legislation conservatives found distasteful, and voting against the President on several key issues, many conservative Republicans are leery to cast a vote for him. Many feel a vote for McCain is a vote for a democrat. His association with democrat leaders on major legislation adds to their sense of unease. McCain Feingold, McCain Lieberman, McCain Kennedy are just a few of the legislation sponsored by Senator McCain that many on the Right side of the aisle find bothersome.

In a similar manner many wonder who Barack Obama is and what he stands for exactly. Barack Obama's earlier associations stirred quite a bit of controversy for their non-mainstream viewpoints and opinions. Obama's 20 year association with Reverend Jeremiah Wright along with his friendship with William Ayers and the work he performed for the controversial community activist group ACORN brings into question Obama's choice of associations. These personal and professional associations cause a conservative voter to question Obama's judgment. One or two bad associations can be overlooked as just bad apples but the list continues to grow with each major appointment to Obama's political election machine. Names like Mazen Asbahi, Rashid Khalidi, Jim Johnson, indicted Chicago Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Tony Rezko continue the long line of controversial associations plaguing Obama's campaign.

Although quoting from the gospel of Matthew on national TV the verse which states whatever you do unto the least of these you do unto me, Obama supports the killing of the very least among us in the form of abortion, even as far as supporting the withholding of medical care for a child born after a botched abortion. Doesn't the death of the innocent fall under the protection of the least of these?

Because of these questions surrounding both candidates we are now looking at their choice of a running mate to help solidify in our minds whether we can support them or look for yet another.

Any biblical scholar knows that even amongst Jesus' chosen disciples there was one bad seed -Judas Iscariot, but the other 11 choices proved to be more than adequate to carry out the work of the ministry of Christ and lead the world as ambassadors for the Kingdom of God. Can the same be said for Obama's chosen associates?

Does the voting record of John McCain support his stated position at the Saddleback Political forum broadcast on Saturday August 16th? Will his choice of a running mate solidify his position as the leader of the Republican Party platform or will it leave even more questions as to where his allegiances lie?

 Jesus answered John's disciples, “Go back, and tell John what you hear and see:   _{Matthew 11:4 (GW)}

Selecting a leader to follow should be met with serious inquiry. Even John who baptized Jesus in the river Jordan was beginning to wonder if Jesus was whom he said he was. When he heard about the things that Jesus was doing he sent his followers to check and see if Jesus was actually the Son of God or if they should be looking for another. John was there when Jesus came up out of the water and a voice from heaven declared that 'This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased' and yet John had his disciples check on the authenticity of Jesus to be sure he was who he said he was. Jesus told them to report back to John all the things that they heard and saw. He was not offended when challenged. Jesus was confident in whom he was, and the work he was doing would speak for itself.

Choice of associations and past actions can tell a great deal about a person. John heard about the things Jesus was doing and sent his followers to check them out. He was looking for proof of the character of Jesus. He wanted to be sure that he had placed his trust in the right deliverer. He wanted to be sure that when he died he was putting his hope in the true savior of his soul. He did not want to be misled into following after a false leader.

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. _{2 Cor 11:13-15 (ESV)}

Instead, test everything. Hold on to what is good. Keep away from every kind of evil. _{1 Thess 5:21-22 (GW)}

Paul warned the Corinthian Christians about false teachers and leaders who would spring up in attempts to mislead them into following after their deceitful ways. In Thessalonica Paul instructed the believers to test everything and hold onto what is good and avoid all that appears to be evil.

Let's face it-selecting a President may not be a matter of life or death, but making the wrong choice as to whom you listen too when making life altering decisions literally could be. If we, like John the baptist, doubt the validity of Jesus' claims we could be making an eternal decision with hellacious consequences. It is therefore important to ask the question, are you the one or should we seek another.

Whether we are selecting the President of the United States, a life partner, a world leader, a spiritual advisor, or a business associate, wisdom dictates that we prove each choice to see if their actions and associations measure up to their confessions. Testing the validity of any candidate vying for your affection shows sound judgment and proof that you take matters of choice seriously. Some wrong decisions could prove to be deadly while others could just cause a great deal of discomfort. Whomever you choose to support this election cycle I urge you to ask the right questions. Are you who you say you are or should we seek yet another?

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. _{Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)}

The mantra this election year is change. Change the way we do government, change the way we tax our citizenry, change the way we fight our battles, change the way we appoint leaders and judges, change the way we negotiate with enemies, change the way we protect the innocent.

Change can be good as long as the changes are for the betterment of a society. Many perhaps would feel that this year's campaign slogan for change is just that, a change for the better. Apart from any biblical foundation I guess any change could be considered good but we are warned in scripture to not associate with those who always insist upon change.

There are people who change their minds on every issue depending upon the circumstance. They change their viewpoints depending on the pressure applied by those who oppose those viewpoints. They are like ships without a rudder that change direction every time the winds of public opinion changes. They have no core values, no solid beliefs, nothing to hold them on a steady course. They are like empty clouds that blow in and bring no rain, or like the waves of the ocean tossed about by the wind. They can not be held to one position because they will change their minds if enough people oppose them. They can not be counted on to stick to a position on anything.

These people we are warned to avoid in scripture. Wishy-washy panderers make for bad leaders because you never know where they are going to lead you. One minute you could be headed toward safety and then the next minute you are being led out to sea. I for one would not feel comfortable sailing in a rudderless ship. Nor do I find much comfort in a leader who changes their mind, all the time, on everything.

What will America look like as an Obama nation?

It is hard to really tell what position Senator Barack Obama actually takes because he seems to change his positions depending on each situation he finds himself in. For an example, and this is only one of many, let us look at his most recent speech to the America Israel Public Affairs Committee Obama changed his position on Iran and sanctions to garner votes.

During this same speech Obama waxed eloguently on an undivided Jerusalem as Israel's capital city.  

OBAMA:  Any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized, defensible borders, and Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.

A day later on CNN's The Situation Room Candy Crowley addressed this very issue about an undivided Jerusalem and Senator Obama answered:

Obviously it's going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues, and Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations. My belief is that, as a practical matter, it would be very difficult to execute.  And I think that it is smart for us to work through a system in which everybody has access to the extraordinary religious sites in Old Jerusalem, but that Israel has a legitimate claim on that city.

During this same speech Obama went from holding talks with Hezbollah and Iran to taking a strong stance against them. I am not sure if he is for or against these terror harboring entities but from his speech I guess we could say WHO KNOWS.

The things we do know about Obama are startling in and of themselves. His relationships, his judgments, his politics, his associations, all point toward a radical left wing liberal. Anti-Bush rhetoric is very evident in most of his "Change" speeches. It appears that all Obama has done is taken up the Liberal democrat torch of "ANTI-BUSH" all the time mantra. No matter what it is he is referring to "change" in the mind of this liberal is anything that Bush did has to be undone.

So let us look at some of the things President Bush has done shall we? First I would like to address the war on terrorism which from most established reports we are winning, yet to hear a liberal democrat speak it is still a lost cause and we need to pull out immediately. Stop sending our forces to Iraq on this 'misquided war' to quote our illustrious Presidential candidate Obama. As far as Obama is concerned he sees "no good options left in this war". What winning is not an option? As far as Obama and his left-winged cronies are concerned Iraq is a hot topic issue and they have to oppose it because Bush is for it.

Another one of Bush's favorite things was his tax cuts that are set to expire in 2011. It would appear that Obama is in favor of higher taxes on everyone of us who benefited from the Bush tax cuts, which to a liberal mind means tax cuts for the rich. Well I am not rich by any means but I got a tax cut and it made my paycheck richer, but Obama and his ilk would like to take that away from me and you.

 Obama recently told Fox News, "I would roll back the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans back to the level they were under Bill Clinton, when I don't remember rich people feeling oppressed."

A far better approach would be for  the government to stop spending so much money and allow us to keep more of it to spend ourselves. Of course to a liberal mind that is an enigma to think that the average American can handle their finances better than the federal government can.

Another policy that George W. Bush  is for is the ban of partial birth abortions. Yes you guessed it our "silver tongued devil" Obama supports the killing of innocent babies. His lovely wife Michelle penned a letter in 2004 in support of her husband and partial birth abortion as legitimate medicine. Obama stands with those who slaughter innocent life, whether they be abortionists or terrorists (Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran). He sees no difference in his defense of those who take innocent lives by force.

Here are just a few other positions Senator Barack Obama has taken:

He sponsored S.CON.RES.53: A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that any effort to impose photo identification requirements for voting should be rejected.

In 1999 he was the only Illinois State Senator to vote against a bill barring early release for (criminal) sex offenders.

He voted against filtering pornography on school and library computers and he voted for sex education for kindergarten children through the 5th grade.

Also, in 2001, he voted “present” on a bill to keep pornographic book and video stores and strip clubs from setting up within 1,000 feet of schools and churches.

And the list goes on:

• He voted no on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions.
• Supports affirmative action in Colleges and Government.
• In 2001 he questioned harsh penalties for drug dealing.
• Says he will deal with street level drug dealing as a minimum wage affair.
• Admitted marijuana and cocaine use in high school and in college.
• He is willing to meet, unconditionally with Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Kim Jung Il and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
• Has said that one of his first goals after being elected would be to have a conference with all Muslim nations.
• Opposed the Patriot Act.
• First bill he signed that was passed was campaign finance reform.
• Voted No on prohibiting law suits against gun manufacturers.
• Supports universal health care.
• Voted Yes on providing habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees.
• Supports extending welfare to illegal immigrants.
• Voted Yes on allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security.
• Wants to make the minimum wage a 'living wage'.
• Voted with Democratic Party 96 percent of 251 votes.
• Opposed to any efforts to Privatize Social Security and instead supports increasing the amount of tax paid.
• He voted No on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax.
• He voted No on repealing the Death Tax.
• He wants to raise the Capital Gains Tax.
• Has never served in the military and has never visited Afghanistan, and hasn’t bothered to visit Iraq since Jan. of 2006.

Perhaps we can gain some understanding of Barack's personal beliefs from the associations he makes for example:

Rezko and Auchi, Odinga, Ayers, The New Black Panther Party, La Raza, Farrakhan, Mr. Wright

In addition a former CIA intelligence officer maintains that Barack Obama and former Weather Underground honcho William Ayers funneled money to Professor Rashid Khalidi, a known terrorist sympathizer.  I guess being a product of Chicago style politics all this is business as usual. Is this the "change" Mr. Obama proposes for the highest office of the USA? Bring in even more shady dealers and underhanded money schemes? The bible tells us with good reason that bad company corrupts  good morals. Surely we are known by the company we keep? Except of course if you are Barack Hussein Obama.

Oh by the way did you know that one of the first appointees to vet vice presidential candidates is Eric Holder, former Clinton  deputy attorney general responsible for the Clinton pardon of Marc Rich a fugitive from justice? Check this out if you still believe a vote for Obama is a vote for change.

I do not know about you but the kind of change I want to see in Washington is less corruption not more, less government intervention in business and free enterprise not more, less taxation not more, less pork barrel spending and special interest pandering and government earmarks not more. That is the "change" I am voting for and it is not Barack Obama.

Image from WikipediaWhat can you buy with a billion dollars? How about the presidency of the United States? Would you consider running for president if you had a spare billion dollars lying around? It would appear from a report on NPR that today’s presidential race is slated to topple the billion dollar mark for the first time in U.S. history. They reported that with more states striving for early primaries candidates are forced to be in more places in much of the same time frame. What once took a whole year to accomplish has now been pushed back to a few months. Having to purchase expensive television advertising in more places requires the candidates to raise larger sums of money than ever before. This year, as previously stated, the amount of money raised in the entire presidential campaign may top $1 billion dollars.

“Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your evil assemblies” (Isaiah 1:13).

There is no want of church services throughout the land. In every town in every city there are churches of every persuasion and size and structure. There are old church houses as well as newer modern worship centers. There are churches with gymnasiums and auditoriums that would rival a college or university campus. There are churches big and small, rich and poor.

One would think with all the church services going on in the United States of America we would have a solid biblical foundation in which we are building our futures upon.

Yet with all these church houses, and all the church services there seems to be a lack of a Godly fire within. Society crumbles around us and the church remains silent on the injustices that transpire each and every day. The moral decay inside the church house is second only to that which we find outside the church house.

---

The long-suffering of God has finally reached its tipping point in our scripture passage today. God has had enough of all the pretense and religious practice going on. Even that which He ordained and commanded has become a stench and reproach. The congregations have grown cold toward the things of God and are only going through the motions when it comes time to worship God.

They have replaced worship of God with a religious routine. The passion of serving God has been replaced with empty ritual and routine. The people have grown cold toward the things of God. They are only going through the motions as they gather in their assemblies. It is out of obligation or religious duty that they perform these functions and not out of sheer reverence to the One who formed them and made them who they are.

Israel had forgotten the God who brought them out of slavery and established them as a great nation. They have returned to worship like the nations around them would worship idols. They had rejected the ways of God for some other way.

Had not God formed them and founded them perhaps He would look the other way on this idolatry but because He calls them His own it is not acceptable for those who call themselves children of God to behave and worship in such a manner.

A new attitude had to take place in the hearts of the people in order for God to once again approve of their worship. They needed to wholeheartedly return to God and His ways. They needed to repent of their idolatry and return to the God of their fathers. This was no small matter for their future existence required a change of heart.

We take a lot for granted in America. We have been blessed beyond measure with the abundance of good things but all that is about to change if we too do not have a change of heart toward the things of God. No nation can long endure if they reject the providence of God upon them. Our nation like all those who have gone before shall too be judged by the righteous judge and we must give an account of our actions before Him.

Let us as a nation once again return to God as our source and strength. Let us  teach to our children the importance of worshiping God with our whole hearts and with the right attitude. God should not be an after thought He deserves to be foremost in our thoughts and on our minds.

All this must start in the church house the exact representation of Christ in the earth today. Each and every congregation needs to seek God wholeheartedly and with true humility and reverence. God is not impressed with the buildings and monuments we have constructed unto ourselves. He takes no delight in our assemblies for we have gathered together for all the wrong reasons. Our motives are not pure. We have forsaken the Lord who called us out of darkness into the Kingdom of His son Jesus.

Repentance is required. A change of heart is needed. A new direction must be sought after. The church is in dire need of an overhaul and not a make-over. Let us get back to our roots and remember it is God we are to be pleasing and not man. 

^{Isa 1:19 (GW)} If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land. ²⁰ But if you refuse and rebel, you will be destroyed by swords.” The Lord has spoken.

{Like} a city broken into {and} left without a wall,
{so} is a person who lacks self-control.
Prov 25:28 (GW)

Today's youth are surrounded by a vast wasteland of open spaces with no fences or boundaries. Our society has been trying to remove all barriers to one's "self awareness" and "self expression" that we have rendered our children lost in a maze of choices. Each choice is held as equal to the other, none holding any merit as a better choice because having the right to choose is more important than choosing right.

We would never send a toddler out in the deep forest without a guide yet we are leaving our young people wander around in this vast wasteland of open borders with no boundaries.

The current influx of illegal immigration has awaken me from the slumber of live and let live to a more thoughtful and purposeful train of reasoning.

If anyone can do whatever they want to do whenever they want to do it wherever they desire to do it then we as a society have lost our moorings and like a ship without a rudder we are adrift on life's seas.

One must have a anchor point, a boundary, a place where there is no trespassing allowed. But as with the first humans that have ever graced this planet we too have been overtaken in our lawlessness from our unbridled greed and lust for more.

When there is no one to say no then we never learn the value of restraint. We never learn to appreciate that which does not belong to us. We never learn to appreciate the need to ask before taking or respecting the limits set by others.

A casual observer may scratch their collective heads wondering what in the world we are thinking or which course of action we choose to be the right course. In our day of relativeness and no absolutes than anything anyone wants to do is acceptable as long as they can justify their actions with themselves.

Rules like 'thou shalt not covet' or 'thou shalt not steal' are completely ignored because we reason if we can acquire it then it belongs to us.

Crashing the borders to get to where we want to be without regard to the occupants of that said place is just plan selfish and self serving.

A society nor a people can long survive if they do not limit themselves from their shameful lust for more and coveting what others have. We need to learn to be thankful for what we have and thank God for his provision. 

Matthew 15:14 (KJV) Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

The Bible often refers to human beings as sheep (Ps. 100:3; Isa. 53:6; Matt. 9:36). Easily distracted and susceptible to group influence, we would rather follow the crowd than the wisdom of the Shepherd.

Mass media merchants long have held the notion that public opinion can be shaped and manipulated through the power of the press. Say something often enough and loud enough and sooner or later people will start to believe it. Advertisers spend big money on ad campaigns in attempts to persuade people to buy what they are offering. Political leaders spend huge sums of money on marketing in order for their messages to be heard.

Sunday, October 30, 1938, will forever be remembered as a seminal event in the history of American mass media and their potential impact on our collective consciousness.

Just one day before Halloweeern, an utterly unanticipated event occurred on the radio, then the primary medium of information and entertainment.

An audacious and brilliant artist by the name of Orson Welles broadcast a radio dramatization of H. G. Wells’ famous fantasy, “The War of the Worlds.”

Produced by Welles’ Mercury Theatre, the program was broadcast over WABC and the Columbia Broadcasting System Network.

A wave of mass hysteria seized thousands of listeners who were led to believe that an interplanetary conflict had started with invading Martians spreading wide death and destruction in New Jersey and New York. The broadcast disrupted households, interrupted religious services, created traffic jams, and clogged communications systems.

Thousands of telephone calls reached CBS stations, city authorities, newspaper offices, and police headquarters in various cities testified to the mistaken belief. The broadcast became a rumor that spread throughout the country, with many people standing on street corners, hoping for a sight of the “battle” in the skies.

Despite the fantasy nature of the reported “occurrences,” the program, coming after the recent war scare in Europe and a period in which the radio frequently had interrupted regularly scheduled programs to report developments in Czechoslovakia, caused fright and panic throughout the area of the broadcast.

Though only a work of dramatization The War of the Worlds broadcast demonstrated the power of radio to influence the public. Radio had an authority and immediacy that made even the bizarre believable.

John 12:12-13 (KJV) ¹² On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Each year Bridgeport, Connecticut holds their annual Barnum Festival. An upbeat civic event celebrating the life of P. T. Barnum (1810-1891). Barnum was the nineteenth-century circus king and was once the city’s mayor. Barnum was called “The Prince of Humbug.” He enjoyed playing hoaxes on people, all in the spirit of creative capitalism.

Barnum saw his sideshows as harmless ways of fooling people while giving them their money’s worth in good, clean fun. His “Cardiff Giant,” his “161-year-old nanny to George Washington,” and his “Fejee Mermaid” are legendary. He even wrote a book entitled Humbugs of the World (see www.ptbarnum.org).

The Barnum Festival is a 30-day-long Fourth of July celebration. A time to kick back, lighten up, block out all of the distractions in your life and embrace a mega-celebration of parades, concerts, parties, drum corps and the fireworks extravaganza.

The Barnum Festival was created to make people feel good about celebrating the life and times of P.T. Barnum who was known for putting on the “greatest show on earth”

With no apologies to Mr Barnum, those of us who have been redeemed from death to life through the work of Jesus Christ have a far greater celebration to partake of each year. The 40 days of Lent should be a celebration leading up to the grand parade of Palm Sunday where Jesus makes His entrance into Jerusalem to set up for the real ‘greatest show on earth and in heaven’.

Much like a circus parade that drew crowds to Barnum’s sideshows Jesus’s triumphant ride into Jerusalem was met with great crowds and enthusiasm. Unlike Barnum, Jesus was not setting up a sideshow.

John 19:15-18 (KJV) ¹⁵ But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. ¹⁶ Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. ¹⁷ And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: ¹⁸ Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

Orson Welles produced and narrated the retelling of H.G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds” and it caused quite a stir in the streets around the world. God wrote and produced the real “War of the Worlds” (Jesus’s crucifixion) which caused quite a stir in heaven and hell when it played out on the world’s stage. The battle between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness was being fought while the crowds stood around in stunned silence.

There were no cameras no radio show, no three ring circus, just three crosses on a hill outside Jerusalem where the Prince of Glory was sacrificed for our sins.

One wayward sheep led many to their slaughter in Eastern Turkey and one Lamb of God will lead many to eternal salvation from a hill called Mount Calvary.

Who has the power of persuasion over your life? Are you following the humanist thinking that dismisses God as a hoax? Are you being led around by the trickster of all tricksters Satan as he leads you from one sideshow act to another? Are you being led to your demise by a wayward sheep rushing over the cliff of self destruction because they have left the way of the Good Shepherd?

Who is leading your parade? Are you being led by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords or being misled by some other minstrel or piped piper? Are you in the crowd crying Hosanna Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord or are you one that is shouting Crucify Him?

We are all affected by our surroundings. What we see and hear affects our thoughts and actions. What are you filling your ears and eyes with? Are they focused on the truths of God’s word or are they fixed upon things of this world?

When the end comes will you hear APRIL FOOLS or well done thou good and faithful servant enter now into the joy of the Lord?

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What’s Left When There are no Rights?

Matthew 10:28 (KJV) And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Ezekiel 33:11 (KJV) Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: …

Psalms 1:6 (KJV) For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

1 Timothy 1:8-10 (KJV) ^{8 (King James Version)} But we know that the law is⁹ Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; good, if a man use it lawfully;

The penalty for sin is death. Even though we must all face death one day being found guilty of a crime and sentenced to die is a disgrace to any human being. Yet there are those who seem to be defiant even when faced with certain death. I take no delight in the death of a wicked man. It would have been far better had Saddam repented of his wickedness and accepted Jesus as Lord of His life. At the same time I can not turn a blind eye to the wickedness carried out under this evil tyrant. The law was set against Saddam and finally the long arm of the law reached out and hung the madman of Iraq.

The tyrant was reportedly defiant to the end, and though the entire hanging was videotaped with a stable camera, the only video to show the dictator's execution has been from an unidentified cell phone camera.

The video is available here, or here but be warned it is graphic.

By several accounts, Saddam was calm but scornful of his captors, engaging in a give-and-take with the crowd gathered to watch him die and insisting he was Iraq's savior, not its tyrant and scourge.

The Sun UK is reporting that the Iraqis were so delighted at the despot’s demise that immediately after his death they danced a jig around his body as it dangled from the noose. The same report cites one witness he died with his eyes open. In the video his corpse is then seen dangling at the end of the rope with his head at a grotesque angle. One onlooker proclaims: “The tyrant has fallen.”

Although many rejoiced in the death of Saddam there is coming a time for each of us to give an account of how we lived here on earth. As the old Styx song Renegade states:

Hangman is coming down from the gallows
And I don't have very long

Jesus is coming back on the clouds and we don’t have very long!