Bugs bunny.

Wow. What brought this one on?

My stepmom called me tonight. She is so darned awesome!

Yeah, but I quit reading them kinds of stories and watching that type of trash.

Yep, dumped one GF and got dumped once. If the relationship isn't good for you and good for her and vice versa, then the relationship either needs to get healed or needs to go bye bye, if you're not married. If you're married, you oughta work it out or separate until it gets worked out.

I've come to the conclusion a separation is better than a divorce, at any cost. Live apart for a while and try to work things out until you can move back in together again, ya know?

Unless, the cause of your break up is adultery. That'll permanently break your marital bond, I think.

You gotta go slow and work things out in a relationship. God's gotta be in the midst of things giving you respect for him and each other, else your relationship is doomed, I think.

I haven't really noticed all that Bling. Jessey Duplant is flamboyant, though. He oughta have it if he don't. The lady who runs the thing is heavily made up, too, but you gotta look beyond that.

It's whats inside a person that counts, not what they wear. Yeah, there are some whacked out things on TBN and you do have to use some discernment to figure out what's what (i.e. watch Benny Hinn for some of the wilder stuff lately).

But if you're using your discernment and you tune in stuff like Billy Graham, Crespo Dollar, Ralph Stanley and others, you can see some great stuff on there, stuff you'll find nowhere else. I've learned more from TBN in the last months than I learned the last 50 years of reading the Bible sporadically and going in and out of the faith community. The Lord is opening some doors in my life, and he can open them in yours, too. I hope that he does. Let it happen. Greatest thing in the world, bling or no.

Jellybean, I really appreciate your questions and comments here. They are EXCELLENT! You have some good and legitimate questions and concerns. They are questions and concerns people have been raising for hundreds of years and I hope they go on asking them for hundreds more. I'll try to answer some of your concerns and if you're still concerned, please say.

I think you've asked
Why do people deserve death
How did blood sacrifice pay for men's sin and so forth.

After I do this post, I'll go back and look at some of your questions and answer in more details and more specifically. I'm starting from the general and working toward the specific here.

Our understanding of the spiritual principles of Christianity depend, in part, on going back to the Old Testament. Most of the things in the New Testament (Christ's sacrifice for man's mistakes and death) have their roots in the Old Testament.

Blood sacrifice to cover sins has its roots in the Old Testament. After Adam and Eve transgressed by eating from the tree of Knowledge, God made skins to cover their nakedness, to cover their fallen spiritual condition and their separation from him. God sacrificed an animal, shed blood and covered the sin/nakedness with the skin.

Following God's act at the Garden of Eden, covering mankind's separation from him and bringing mankind (and womankind) back into fellowship with him, Abraham followed up by continuing the tradition of animal sacrifice. God covenanted with Abraham, that is he made agreements with him, and part of the whole covenant was the continuance of animal sacrifice and shedding of blood to cover men's sin: that is what Man did when he or she disobeyed God and was separated from God.

See, when we sin against God or someone else, we hurt them. The blood is the hurt that we create, enough blood shed, enough time gone by can bring us back into fellowship (a poor explanation, though).

When the Hebrews were slaves in Egypt, we have another example of Blood providing coverage of sin and prevention of death. At the eve of passover in Egypt, the Hebrews slaughtered lambs and put the BLOOD upon their doors, making the death angel pass over Hebrew households. The BLOOD of the lamb provided salvation for the Hebrews and their children.

Although blood sacrifice in the Old Testament was effective, it depended on the condition of the sacrificer's heart to be ultimately successful. A blood sacrifice offered in the wrong spirit, the wrong place, using the wrong animals would not be effective. Eventually, due to the rotten condition of man's heart (desperately wicked and deceitful above all things), God figured out the old way of animal sacrifice wouldn't work any more. As Jacob sacrificed Isaac, God would sacrifice Jesus, his own son, to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Yes, the sacrifice of Jesus is gory and scary. It scared me as a kid, too, but when I got older I had to put away childish things. I had to comprehend what was going on and once I did, the gory became glorious. I was able to comprehend that God so loved the world that while we were yet sinners, seperated from his love, he sent his only begotton son to give his life for us that whosoever believes in him (like, Jellybean and YZ and all of us, maybe) should not perish (apart from God), but should have eternal life.

Sin seperates us from God and this separation from God produces spiritual death here on earth and eternal death hereafter as we're seperated from God forever if we die without him. But thanks be to God, we have a chance to remedy that here through Jesus.

This separation is why the bible says the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ his son.

The shedding of Jesus' blood covers our sin. We are justified by our faith in God, our turning toward him and our desire to give our life to God as God gave Jesus' life for us. Like Abraham, we are made right with God through faith. Abraham believed his sacrifice, offered in the correct spirit, would put him in contact with the Lord, and we believe Jesus' sacrifice, properly accepted, will put US in touch with the Lord (and it will).

At any rate, that's the short version. Hope it helps.

God ain't dead, and you're right, JB. You gotta watch out for them "they" folks everybody.

And Hell, in my opinion, is the absence of God. If you'd apart from him, you're already there and on the way permanently. If you unite with him, you already have his spirit indwelling, you can know the divine presence and you have the promise of eternal life with Him. Could you give it a try? Should you give it a try? Would you give it a try? I hope you will.

God never writes anybody off. He's responsive to me and he associated with many types of people throughout the gospel. One of his main speakers throughout the New Testament murdered numerous Christians before coming to the Lord (see Saul/Paul in the book of Acts). If you want him, he's yours. All you have to do is ask.

If she's that stuck up on the age thing, you prolly don't want to mess with her anyway. Not worth your bother, you know?

I'd marry someone who could get their financial and spiritual house in order and get along with me OK. Hikerchick and Popcorncoke'd make good candidates, so far. There's a couple of others here and there on here, too, not at the top of my mind at the moment. Stay tuned.

Good news. God loves you and is ready to fogive you and change your life!

Amen, Lindyy! The only thing saving America from complete collapse is God's forbearance. You better thank your lucky stars that our nation has the annointment and the favor of God.

Columbine, school shootings, killings, crime. The only reason it doesn't go totally out of control is God's hand on us. If God withdrew his protection from us, there would be total chaos and disaster, mark well my words.

I'm no great fan of MSNBC. I think they're grinding their own axe and distort the news from a liberal agenda and a liberal viewpoint that is not favorable toward God and the message the evangelicals provide.

As for me and my house, we will worship the Lord and vote conservative. It's the way to maintain the liberty that has made this nation great the last 200 years or so.

All the zombies are working with me and living in my neighborhood! They had yard sales with the aliens today here!

I'm happy and tired. Thinking of hitting the hay. Gotta get up early tomorrow, read some and go to a meeting!

yah. The one kid, Tonni, is doing OK, she's married and lives away from her. Her other kid, Jessie, is suffering, though. She lives with her and has to put up with her indifference, her slobbishness, and her lack of motivation. It really bugs Jessie. She's going to church at Hilltop Pentacostal, though, and that's really helping her and giving her strength. She goes with her sister and her husband. They're studyhing The Purpose Filled Life, and that helps, too.

Pray that Jessie'll get into the word. That'll be a big help for her, too. That & reading the Psalms.

Give some to my church, another church, TBN, invest some and spend some. I'd probably move to Tennessee, too.

I KNOW it'd help and it'd bring me comfort. Matthew 21:12 says you can pray for anything and if you have faith, you will receive it!

My granddaughter's kind of an alkie and might have other issues going too. I'm praying for her, my church is, too and her kids are too. Pray that Tina Foster'll get her head screwed on straight and start walking for the Lord, if you would. She needs all the help we can give her!

You got it under control. Got the fence reinforced and all that. Just don't let YZ quote any poetry at 'em!