Issue 3

This election, November 3rd, includes an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Ohio. Currently, casino gambling is prohibited in the state of Ohio. The amendment would allow casinos to be constructed and casino gambling to take place within the state.

Regardless of your belief about gambling being permissible for a follower of Jesus . . . this is a HORRIBLE amendment!

Key facts:

1. Issue 3 is an AMENDMENT to the Ohio Constitution that will create a private monopoly controlled by four casino owners.

2. Issue 3 WILL COST OHIO JOBS – not create them. Draining billions of dollars from the Ohio consumer economy will cost Ohioans real jobs.

3. Nothing in the language will keep casino proceeds in Ohio. Two of the four properties are controlled by OUT OF STATE casino owner/developers.

4. Nothing in the language requires the out of state casino companies to actually build their promised casinos. The biggest player in Issue 3 is PENN National.

PENN is not obligated to build a single casino in Ohio if Issue 3 passes. They can simply freeze the Ohio properties to protect their existing casino business in Pennsylvania and Indiana.

5. PENN National is the same company that spent MILLIONS opposing the 2008 Ohio Amendment. They said it was wrong to use the Ohio Constitution to create a private monopoly, which is EXACTLY what they are trying to do in Issue 3.

6. More casinos mean more gambling addictions, ruined lives and broken families. No one even disputes this fact any longer. Casino billionaires instead are trying to tell us that such addictions are just the cost of doing business.

7. Ohioans have voted FOUR TIMES AGAINST casino gambling. Over 10 million votes have been cast AGAINST casinos. This is by far the worst proposal Ohioans have seen to date.

For further information please visit www.votenocasinos.com.

High price

Yesterday a friend of mine confessed to me, "I've paid such a high price to live such a low life."

The same could be true for every one of us--certainly for me. Every bad choice we make lessens the life that God desires for us. How high of a price are we paying to live a lower life?

A heifer Christmas

Our Thrive Group met this past week and we talked about Christmas. For the past several years we have gathered on New Year's Eve and exchanged Christmas gifts. One of the members of our group suggested that this year we change things up. We all have "enough."

Sooo, instead of giving gifts to one another, we're giving gifts to those in need. And we're doing it through The Heifer Project International. The Heifer Project takes our donation and purchases animals for families living in poverty. A single animal that will literally change the economic status of a family. Here's some of the options . . .

1 pig = $120
3 rabbits = $60
1 sheep = $120
1 llama = $150
Honeybees = $30
1 heifer = $500

If you have "enough" and would like to bless another family this Christmas, go to www.Heifer.org.

Crazy Love

Frances Chan, in his book "Crazy Love," challenges us to examine ourselves against God's standards for our lives, not against how we measure up to others. One specific way that he encourages us to do that is to look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and to insert our own name in the place of the word love.

So here goes . . .

Greg is patient. Greg is kind. Greg is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Greg does not demand his own way. Greg is not irritable and keeps no record of being wronged. Greg does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Greg never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

OUCH!!!

Okay, your turn . . .

The Hole In Our Gospel

"The Hole In Our Gospel" is Richard Stearns new book. Stearns is the CEO of World Vision International. As you probably know, World Vision is a not for profit organization that ministers to people at risk, specifically those in poverty or experiencing extreme risk from tragedy (war, earthquake, disease, etc.) around the globe.

Here are some highlights from the book . . .

"The idea behind 'The Hole In Our Gospel' is quite simple. It's basically the belief that being a Christian, or follower of Jesus Christ, requires much more than just having a personal and transforming relationship with God. It also entails a public and transforming relationship with the world."

"For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved." (Richard Stearns version of Matthew 25)

"Bob Pierce once said, 'Don't fail to do something just because you can't do everything.'"

"So, in my opinion, the single most significant thing that can be done to cure extreme poverty is this: protect, educate, and nurture girls and women and provide them with equal rights and opportunities--educationally, economically, and socially."

"Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when He could do something about it. 'Well, why don't you ask Him?' Because I'm afraid He would ask me the same question."

"God never asks us to give what we do not have . . . But he cannot use what we will not give."

Mr. Stearns new book is both challenging and insightful, born from his personal experience in wrestling with the mission of Jesus to those in need around the world. Definitely worth your time!!!

Struck by stupidity?

My wife felt compelled to read this news article to me this morning from The Week magazine.

"Of the 648 people killed by lightning in the U.S. in recent years, more than 80% were men.

Do males perhaps contain more lightning-attracting iron? Does their slight height advantage make them more attractive targets? Alas, no. It's just that men are stupid. Whether through ignorance, denial, or bravado, men seem less willing to interrupt their outdoor activities when dark clouds begin gathering."

Ummm . . .

The Lost Symbol

Dan Brown, author of The DaVinci Code, released his new book, The Lost Symbol, a few weeks ago. DaVinci was one of the best sellers of all time and Symbol is anticipated to generate the same kind of revenue.

Just as The Davinci Code created a firestorm in the church (it proposed that Jesus was secretly married to Mary Magdalene and had children with her), The Lost symbol will certainly raise controversy as well. I found both books to be incredibly readable--Dan Brown is a gifted author.

For the first 450 pages of The Lost Symbol I hated to put the book down. It's in the last 50 pages that Brown unveils his agenda and the book becomes very disappointing. Without going into a great deal of detail, Brown is suggesting that there is a hidden "gnosis" that the church has been trying to repress. Gnosis simply means "secret knowledge." The truth is that this gnosis has actually been around for 1900 years and suggests that "we" are god. That the knowledge to everything, the key to all power, the salvation of us all lies within each of us and is waiting to be discovered. It's a nice premise that many people choose to believe but it's simply not true.

The reality is that, left to our own devices, we ultimately fail. That's why, in my belief system, we need Jesus.

I know that many people will read The Lost Symbol. I would strongly remind you that it is a work of FICTION. And, that it is a proponent of a heresy and false belief system that has been around for nearly two millenia.