Defined in Merriam-Webster as
a queer, odd, or eccentric person -- used especially of elderly men.
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This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
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Yes, I definitely qualify and identify as one of those old geezers! On August 5, 2013 I hit the big 8-0.
What follows are comments on what may be considered as significant or not so significant happenings in the year 2013.
First, for Jean and me it was the year we celebrated 60 years of marriage on June 13, 2013. There is no doubt that God in His sovereign love and mercy brought us together. We met at the church we both attended. In fact our first date was on a Sunday evening and we attended the evening worship service at our church. Two years later we were married (at ages 19 and 17) and off to North Carolina where I was assigned duty at Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station. Sixty years have passed and at this point in time there are 5 children, 9 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. This means there is never a dull moment when it comes to the clan that resulted from the marriage of Clayton D. Harriger and Jean (Botzer) Dixon!
Two years after discharge from the U.S.M.C. my life was turned around 180 degrees when I experienced a radical transformation through repentance of my sins and faith placed in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Shortly after that came His call to preach and teach His Word in pastoral ministry. A little over 20 months after becoming a Christian I was appointed pastor of the Greenwood and Simpson Methodist Churches in New Castle PA.
I have lived long enough to witness drastic changes in the nation where I am a citizen who speaks the English language, and in a world that is in a state of indescribable chaos.
Now consider some dates that will also "live in infamy:"
President Roosevelt referred to December 7, 1941 as a date that would live in infamy - the date that the Japanese pulled off a sneak attack on our military at Pearl Harbor. But we now have other dates that have earned the right to live in infamy even ahead of the Pearl Harbor sneak attack.
In 2013 there was no fanfare or celebrating in spite of the fact that it was the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling which stated that no longer could the Bible be read nor prayer uttered in the classrooms of public schools! In effect God was shown the exit door and informed that He was no longer welcome on public school property.
Anybody who still has the ability to think and ponder a bit will have to admit that conditions in our public school systems prior to the Supreme Court decision were far superior to what has followed in the decades since! One word that applies to many public school happenings these days is the word, violence! Many ways in which it takes place -- assaults, bullying, use of weapons that result in tragic loss of life, etc.
Another anniversary of notoriety took place as we entered 2013. During January the 40th anniversary of another insane Supreme Court decision took place. A sufficient number of black robed individuals ruled that it is basically a constitutional right for a female to have her unborn child mutilated, murdered and the remaining pieces of the child discarded as casually as you set out the week's garbage for collection!
Unborn Babies Brutally
Mutilated and Murdered
since Roe vs. Wade
January 1973
Watch this for 60 to 90 seconds
and see what happens!The track record at this point is over 56 million victims of what can be accurately described as the United States' tailor made version of a horrific Holocaust! Many in high elected positions of government support the ongoing slaughter of the innocents. There are church leaders who are supportive of this grisly practice as well and others who at best chose to remain silent about it - sort of like the proverbial ostrich with his head stuck in the sand. What the majority of citizens fail to realize is that Almighty God, Who had a wonderful plan for these unborn victims, has yet to make a full response to this massive "shedding of innocent blood" (a Biblical term) and when He does, we won't want to be within the boundaries of this republic at that time.
While there is no anniversary to note as such, there have been drastic changes in our culture during the last 5 decades in particular. Moral standards have not just descended to a gutter level but have become submerged in the gutter! It is now the adopted philosophy by persons of all ages that "Sex is fun with anyone (or more than one at the same time), anywhere and at any time on a 24/7 basis!" A tidbit of a news item some time ago revealed that the mother of an elementary age girl was extremely upset when she was informed that her daughter was involved in a contest on the bus as they travelled to school - the contest? To see which girl could give oral sex to the most boys before they reached the school! The little tykes are certainly learning fast, are they not? The Hollywood and TV industries have sort of moved this whole thing along a bit -- it is nothing for celebrities to flaunt their immoral lifestyles. Some have gone so far as to have their sex tapes "leaked" into the public arena for viewing -- a shot in the arm for the sake of publicity!
But there is much more - in recent decades we have seen the establishment of and the strategy employed by what can be termed the sodomite/lesbian cartel. It is like a powerful juggernaut running roughshod over all opposition and chalking up success after success in reaching the goal that has been set. That goal is full acceptance of that way of life, including all the benefits and privileges presently possessed by heterosexual married couples. States, different organizations and companies, and even churches are capitulating one by one. To dare to resist or to suggest that this bunch is immoral is to invite a vicious retaliatory attack and the labeling of the resisters in the most negative terms. The media for the most part assist the s/l cartel in its quest.
Surprisingly, a lot of churches are going along, adopting legislation that is favorable to the sodomite/lesbian goal. I am an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and member of the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference. The UMC officially in its Book of Discipline clearly states that we believe homosexuality to be incompatible with Christian teaching. This phrase has come under full assault at a number of General Conferences held in the past. (GC meets every 4 years). Further, practicing homosexuals are not to be ordained as pastors, pastors are not to officiate at any same-sex ceremony, and such ceremonies are not to be held in any United Methodist Church.
However, a very disturbing series of events recently took place involving United Methodists:
A retired United Methodist bishop performed a same-sex ceremony. His position is that the Book of Discipline of the UMC is wrong because it discriminates against certain persons - that is, sodomites and lesbians!
Jesus indicated that we would witness a repeat of conditions as existing at the time of Noah before the judgment of the flood that wiped out all of the human race except for eight persons and the conditions that existed in Sodom and Gomorrah when Lot lived in the area before God destroyed them. It is noted that this destruction was a lesson set before those who are determined to live ungodly lives! God has given us a clear revelation which includes what He has done in providing through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, the offer of forgiveness of sin and that we can live with hope and assurance of a place in His Kingdom forever. But He also has revealed how the end of human history will play out - with the vast majority making wrong choices that lead eventually to a devil's Hell and a small minority making the right choice to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. Which choice have you made?
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Jesus speaking in Matthew 7:12-14 (King James Version)
A Significant Selah Moment!
O LORD, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear? even cry out to You, "Violence!" And You will not save. Why do You show me iniquity, and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention arises. Therefore the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
Habakkuk 1:2-2 (NKJV)
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