Back Again!! The Spin Doctor Flu

  I hope you have been doing well, and that life is good.  I have been taking a few months away from the blog in order to devote myself to a book I am writing, but now I am back.  I hope this blog is helpful to you.  I hope it entertains, and more I hope it helps you eavesdrop on the work of God’s Spirit in the world.

  Actually, I haven’t been away from the blog at all.  No, in reality I just skipped from October 19 to January 19.  I decided not to observe the last three months of the year and skip them.  It can be done… ask the Samoans.  The only thing I am wondering about with the Samoans is “Why skip a Friday?”… if you are going to skip a day, most of the time, a Monday would have been a lot better choice. Maybe they were just in a hurry to get to Satuday.

  Of course, during the break, the presidential campaign continues.  Its been wild already.  The media continues to “skeet shoot” everyone who challenges Mitt Romney.  I love the voters in Iowa… someone there missed the memo that said, “Attention voters, here are the candidates we are telling you to vote for and here are the ones you are to ignore; repeat vote only for our proclaimed front-runners” signed, “the media.”  Don’t know much about Santoroum, but like the way he did the footwork, talked to folks, and got the vote.  In a day where politics seems a lot about “flash” and “photo ops”  he seems to have gotten his votes the old fashion way.  In related news,   Rick Perry dropped out today, and is throwing his weight behind his dear friend Newt Gingrich ( I suppose he is taking down the anti-Gingrich website),  Stephen Colbert is endorsed by Herman Cain, and Barack Obama just released his first campaign ad… The second week in November (the one after the election) looks better all the time.

   In Iran things continue to escalate… no not the whole nuclear weapons thing; the illegalization of Barbie.  It seems the all out “ban” didn’t work, so now merchants are required to hide Barbie dolls behind the other toys.  One merchant noted that the practice of the day for most retailers… hang the veiled covered dolls in the window (government likes it and nobody’s buying them anyway) and sell the Barbie like hot cakes.  I wonder what an Arab Barbie would be like?  Barak Ken?  What kind of palace would she have? 

   Of course, in serious news, it is looking more and more like the Iranians are about to produce their first nuclear weapon.  Yes, I know, it is unsettling… they lied to us.  What is the world of international politics coming to? 

  I am beginning to wonder if its a new “flu” strain going around.  Evidently, so Italians have contracted it.

Coast Guard: Hello, Costa Concordia, are you all right?  Passengers have phoned relatives and say they are in great danger.

Concordia:  We are good, just a power outage.

Coast Guard:  Is the power outage the reason items are falling on people, everyone is putting on life vests and your captain is bravely leading the way to the life boats?

Concordia: It is just a power outage.

Coast Guard: Is the power outage why your ship is impaled on the rocks and your hull ripped open?

Concordia: It is just a power outage.

Coast Guard:  Concordia, Is it the power outage that is causing your ship to lay on its starboard side?

Concordia: It is just a power outage.

   ***Our prayers go up, and our hearts go out to all those who lost loved ones in the accident.  We also pray for those crew members who served gallantly and worked to prevent there from being even more casualties than there were.

  Of course, a near fatal case of this dreaded flu has been contracted by inmate David Belniak of Tampa, Florida.  It seems David is suing the estate of Ray McWilliams.  Ray McWilliams died in an auto accident.  Belniak is the man who hit him.  Belniak, it has been confirmed, was travelling at about 80 mph, when he rear-ended McWillams, who was sitting at a red light.  The details were verified by six witnesses, the data recorder in McWilliams’ car, and confessed to by Belniak in the original trial.  His time in prison has caused Belniak to reflect and see things differently now.  Somewhere in the solitude of the cell he realized… “It wasn’t my fault at all; it was the guy sitting in my way waiting for the light to change.”  So now Belniak is on a quest to change his image as a reckless driver… and cash in doing it.  The “spin doctor flu” continues to go round.  Watch out for those sneezing your direction.

  There are a lot of amazing things I love about Jesus, one of my favorites is his authenticity.  It comes through the pores of virtually every page in scripture.  On the very first page of the gospels, you find it there.  There were several ancestors the PR people would have encouraged him to gloss over, but he didn’t.  He makes no pretense about being something other than the son of a Nazareth carpenter.  He doesn’t court the rich and powerful to follow him… nor does he turn them away.  How many times in the gospels does he go to heal someone, but first takes them outside the city, away from the crowds.  He heals a crippled man, then quietly slips through the crowd.

   Whatever you do with the life of Jesus, it was no orchestrated PR campaign.  There were no spin doctors, no hype in his work.  John said it best, “We beheld his glory, full of grace and truth.”

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