Monthly Archives: March 2013

Real Men ….. Defined

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I have thought long and hard about the definition of a “real man”….realizing too well that many things could fill that definition…so I have elected to state some of the things “I” think a real man is.

Real Men love Jesus!

Real Men are a “father” to their children

Real Men are “husbands” to their wives

Real Men cry when their children hurt and when they are happy

Real Men make mistakes….then admit them without hesitation

Real Men never dye their hair or paint their nails

Real Men are never afraid to ask for directions

Real Men never get lost….see above

Real Men wear footwear of all types….most Real Men wear boots…of the western variety

Real Men carry more than one gun…and always more than one knife

Real Men will eat any wild game cooked…even if they can’t pronounce it

Real Men can say they are sorry…please forgive me

Real Men are everywhere….sometimes you just have to look real hard for them

Real Men like rifles that kick hard…even if they don’t …they say they do

Real Men wear Cowboy hats….even if they don’t look good in them

Real Men clean their fingernails with a knife….even if it hurts

Real Men can do laundry, dishes, cook, school homework, sew, change diapers, you get the idea

Real Men ain’t afraid to say I Love You…to whomever

Real Men have a lot of tools….mostly for looks

Real Men don’t mind watering their wives plants…well they do…but they don’t say anything

Real Men know when not to say anything….especially to their wives

Real Men don’t mind going to the grocery store…especially if they are hungry

Real Men refuse to go to Wal-Mart on Saturday afternoon

Real Men buy .22 bullets every time they go to Wal-Mart

Real Men are always on time….their wives make them late

Real Men are in great demand….especially today

Real Men love and respect their parents

Real Men ain’t afraid of the dentist….most don’t go

Real Men belong to the NRA….regardless of the insurance

Real Men think other Real Men are cool

Real Men can live anywhere….most are found in the south….north, east, and west!

Real Men are mentors and teachers and role models…without making millions of dollars a year

Real Men stand strong in the face of adversity….but are made weak by the grace of God

Real Men wear the same belt everyday….well they try to anyway

Real Men are a blessing….thank God for them all!

Prison And The Law

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If you do a quick study of, say, Leviticus, with an eye toward how the Jewish theocratic system of justice differed from our own, you find a number of interesting points:

1. Offenders were never allowed to be a burden on society. Penalties included restitution and corporal punishment even up to death, but never incarceration.

2. Justice was swift and local. Whether an offense called for the payment of a few coppers or a stoning, the local judge heard the dispute, made a ruling, and declared the sentence. Two weeks from crime to punishment was probably common.

3. Everybody knew the whole of the Law. The Pentateuch makes a smallish book, but it contains all of the Mosaic law with many repetitions, along with much history. Everyone could memorize the criminal code by their teenage years, and everyone was trained to do so. (This was part of what we call “education.”)

4. The Law was never distinguished from morality. The Israelites never had “victimless crimes.” Every offense was an offense against God for starters, and possibly others besides. This is important because the Law was never arbitrary, and so never engendered contempt.

These are traits I’d like to see brought back to our own laws, but I tell you the truth…I’m not holding my breath.

-AaronB  

Praising God Seven Times

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Psalms 119 vs 164: “Seven times a day do I praise thee because of they righteous judgements” Today I want to praise the Lord seven times.
No. 1 Genesis 1 vs 1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth.” I praise Him today for my eyesight that I might behold His marvelous creation and with my eyes I can read the Word of God.
No. 2 Matthew 1 vs 21: “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” I praise God for the gift of His Son and my Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ.
No. 3 1st Corinthians 1 vs 4 & 5: “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; that in everything ye are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge.” I praise God today for the knowledge of His saving grace, knowing there is a way unto salvation and the way is Jesus Christ.
No. 4 Romans 12 vs 3: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man a measure of faith.” I praise God for that measure of faith for with it I can believe unto salvation.
No. 5 Philippians 2 vs 8: “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” I praise God for the cross and all it means. The cross was the symbol of death, but once the Son of God was hung there it became the symbol of life everlasting. Thank you dear Jesus for my salvation.
No. 6 Hebrews 9 vs 22: “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” I praise God for the blood. It’s with this blood that my salvation is bought.
No. 7 1st Corinthians 6 vs 19: “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not yor own.” I praise God today for the Holy Spirit that dwells in me. The Holy Ghost guides and directs my life. The more I yield to the Spirit the more I grow in faith and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

These are the seven praises I give to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Holy One of Israel, our heavenly Father and the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Meth Epidemic In Oklahoma

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Meth…also known as ‘CRANK’. It is an extremely potent form of ‘SPEED’ as it was known in the 60’s & 70s. Speed of course being amphetamines.

I live in an area of Oklahoma where Meth lab busts are common on a weekly basis. A few years back, my county ranked as number 2 in the Nation for Meth lab busts. Two to three every week. We’ve had houses blow up right here in town…in nice neighborhoods as well as the bad ones, when something went wrong in the lab.

I have watched this drug over the years go through various stages of how users obtain it. At one time, it was a very secretive and dangerous business for all involved. Many drug related murders directly connected to meth have been committed in my county. In the early stages of the beginning of its wide spread use here, there were only a very few ‘select’ dealers. The labs were the most elusive of all things to find and bust. Usually tucked away in some far away farm house out in the boonies. The hardest main ingredient at one time to come by was…’The Cook’. Often cooks where brought in from out of the area, the lab was set up and waiting. The cook would do his job for 3 or 4 days then take his cut in cash and split. It was nothing to hear of a cook making $50,000 off of one large batch. Then the ‘recipe’ got out via the internet and users. ‘Kitchen labs’ are abundant in the area now. Some for private use, others for ‘production’.

Another street name for Meth is ‘Crank’. Along with this slang term was born the term ‘Crankster Gangster’. A ruthless, dangerous individual with no morals, no thought of bloodshed over a nickel’s worth of this horrible drug.

Spotting a Meth user: Its often hard to see it at first. They appear to be healthy for all intent and purpose. The one sure sign I am aware of, is a person who seems extremely hyper active. One very obvious and odd trait is that the user will display, is the gnashing of teeth. The lower jaw working side to side. This is often referred to as ‘Tweaking’ by the users. Tweaking is when the drug is at its most potent level in the users body. If you should ever see it once first hand, you’ll know it again immediately when you see it.

As the addiction progresses, the user will begin to stay up for days on end. Paranoia and hallucinations set in and at this stage, the user can be very dangerous. Damned dangerous if I may say so.

Then the drug begins to take it’s effect on the body. Major weight loss being the first sign. Secondly, something about the drug causes the loss of enamel from the users teeth. Blackened teeth begin to show. This comes after being addicted to the drug for a good length of time.

What can we do about it? If you suspect any of the signs others have posted about things you may find, Mr. Coffee filters ‘usually having a red stain to them’, and other items. Back off…call law enforcement.

Protecting kids? Meth is no different than any other illegal substance abuse our youth at sometime in life will be confronted with. Peer pressure being the major influence for most part.

What to do if you discover a friend, family member or loved one is a user? Family intervention is a good start. Followed with a lot of prayer! Try your best to get the person to seek counseling. Try and find a local chapter of Narcotics Anonymous. You may do this by doing an online search for meetings in your area. Should the afflicted party begin making an honest attempt at quitting, support them as strongly as you can. Learn what ‘tough love’ means. You’ll in all likelihood have to make use of it before the person recovers. Addicts and alcoholics are some of the most accomplished liars on Gods green earth. Trust me on this.

I learned all of this the hard way. I have been a recovering alcoholic/addict for 17 years now. Yes…the leopard can change his spots. But only with a daily walk and belief in a loving God of his understanding, and a desire to stay clean and sober that never ends. In the past 17 years living my life alcohol and drug free, I’ve often been called on to be a pallbearer. None of them died from old age. NOTHING is a stronger reminder to me of what lies ahead if I ever take another drink or use another drug in this life, as to when I stand…walk to the casket…grasp the handle, and once again carry someone gone home early to their final resting place.

And finally, my most often quoted line to a young addict or alcoholic is simple.

~Kid, buy yourself one…maybe two good suits. You’re gonna need em’.  One…for the funerals you will be going to, the second…they’ll need one to bury you in.~

God Bless,

Marc R. Murphy

 

~But for the Grace Of GOD…there go I~

It’s The Heart That Counts

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It was a pleasant September day, the kind of day meant to be spent in the company of friends. Several of us had been invited to spend the day at Rob Applegate’s place. Rob and Marilyn opened their home to us and we spent an enjoyable time looking over Rob’s collection of guns and his shop until the ladies called us in for a snack. After having eaten into Rob’s private store of Colby cheese and washing it down with cold beverages the men took off to Rob’s private shooting spot while the ladies went in search of antiques. It promised to be an enjoyable afternoon.

Everyone brought a reasonable collection of guns and copious amounts of ammunition. It was a real pleasure to share this time with fellow shooters. Everyone made me feel welcome and let me try their various pet guns. There were Linebaugh built Rugers, Gary Reeder built Rugers, Smith and Wesson’s and assorted long arms. Rob had a gong set up around 200 yards and one set up at around 25 or 30 yards (if memory serves me) The farther gong soon became the target of choice as we took turns terrorizing it with all manner of calibers and weapons.

In the middle of all the fun and camaraderie I kept ribbing Gary about his “tupperware” gun that he was packing on his hip. Amongst all the custom revolvers, old Smiths, old Rurgers and such, his G-g-g (I can’t even get myself to type the name!) plastic gun seemed out of place. Being a fine Christian gentleman he took the kidding as long as he could, then he did the unthinkable, he made me shoot it! He handed me the pistol with a clip full of nondescript hardball ammo and told me to give it a try. I aimed at the 200 yard gong, squeezed the horrid trigger…..and rang the gong! That didn’t seem right. The horrible trigger, the ugly gun, the cheap ammo, and yet I hit the gong! In fact, as I worked my way through the clip full, I hit the gong more often than I did with any other gun! Life’s not fair!

Later, as I reflected on the experience, I got to thinking about how that g-g-g-gl-glock was a lot like some people. It had nothing attractive at all about it. It was soul less plastic poured into an ugly square mold, and yet it did a fine job of what it was to do. If given the pick of the tailgate of all the guns brought to that shoot, I’d probably never have picked out the g-g-g-gl-glock. In stead my eye would have been attracted to any one of the various “sexy” guns that had been brought along. The Smith 29 with the 10+ inch barrel, the Gary Reeder .475, the Linebaugh .45, the Old Model .357 Ruger – they each had some aesthetic appeal that would have taken my fancy. But the fact remains, the g-g-g-gl-glock shot better for me at that distance than any of the rest.

You see, we as humans, tend to judge things by their outward appearance. Our eyes often deceive us, because we believe that whatever pleases the eye must be good. But God looks upon us differently. When the profet Samuel was searching for a man to replace Saul on the throne of Israel, he went to the house of Jesse like the Lord had told him to. Jesse called his sons before Samuel and Samuel looked on them with human eyes. Here’s what the Bible tells us about what happened that day.


And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’S anointed is before him. But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. I Samuel 16:6-7
The King James Version

We, too, must learn to discern and to seek the heart, not the appearance. Although I hate to admit it, that Glock of Gary’s is a fine shooting gun. It has a lousy trigger, but despite that, it gets the job done and that’s what counts. May I do the same for my Lord.