History records cultures throughout the world whose people are convinced there is a God. These people represent a cross-section of sociological, intellectual, emotional, and educational backgrounds. Yet, they have this common belief in a Creator God that is to be worshipped.

God is not made real when persons believe. He does not cease to exist should everyone cease to believe. I am simply stating that I do not believe that every believer throughout recorded history could possibly be wrong or self-deluded. One who rejects the idea of God must say that every believer is, and has been, in the least, mistaken. Yet, there always has been a universal belief in God.

The complexity of our planet is another proof for the existence of a deliberate Designer. If Earth were smaller, our atmosphere would not be able to sustain life. If Earth were larger, the atmosphere would contain free hydrogen. Earth is the only known planet equipped with an atmosphere of the just the right mixture of gases to give and sustain life. Coincidence is most plausible? Hardly!

The Earth is located the right distance from the sun. If we were farther away, we freeze. Any closer, we burn up. Even a fractional variance in the Earth's position would make life unbearable. The rotating axis allows the surface to be properly warmed and cooled every day. Marvelous accident!

And our moon is the perfect size and distance from the Earth for its gravitational pull to create ocean tides and movement so ocean waters do not stagnate, and yet it restrains the massive oceans from spilling over across the continents.

Ninety-seven percent of the Earth's water is in the oceans. But there is a wonderful system designed to remove the salt from ocean water and distribute that water throughout the globe. Evaporation easily disperses water for vegetation, animals and people. It is a system of purification that recycles water.

Your brain deals with more than a million pieces of information every second, while evaluating its importance and allowing you to act on the most pertinent information. All from chance plus time? I don’t think so.

When the shuttle launches, we assume a monkey did not write the plan. It has to be from intelligent and knowledgeable minds. Only a higher intelligence could have designed and created the lower intelligence of humans. The question is whether this higher intelligence is also human, or divine.

It would be easier for me to believe that the likenesses of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt were carved by winds across Mount Rushmore than to believe all I see is a product of chance plus time. Common sense tells me that some one planned and skillfully designed what I see.

Jesus came to reveal and explain God. He lived, died and raised himself from death to prove he is the author and sustainer of life as described in Scripture and seen through nature.

I remember the first time I truly entered my prayer “closet”. I was seeking a deeper relationship with God. I couldn’t understand how some Christians could pray for hours. I wondered if I could. This was my first attempt to pray for a sustained amount of time.

I began to pray about everything that came to my mind. When I finished, it seemed I had prayed for about ten or fifteen minutes. I was attempting to pray for at least an hour so I stole a quick peek at my wristwatch to see how much longer I had to go. It had been about three minutes!

Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. They no doubt had observed Jesus’ intense and long discussions with the Father. They wanted to pray like Jesus.

My first prayers were more like King James. That’s the types of prayers I heard in church. It was like this special language. Men's voices would change when they prayed and they used a lot of "Thees" and "Thous." Then I heard my first conversational prayer. It blew me away. Such sincerity and simplicity. I wanted to pray like that.

I also observed how my mother's prayer life changed once she found out she was not going to recover from her cancer. You would swear Jesus was standing in the room with her when she spoke with him. I was her minister. I didn’t pray like that. I remember asking God,

“Father, do I have to get cancer to be able to pray like her?”

His answer was clear,

“No, you just have to know me.”

How can you hold a sustained and meaningful conversation with a stranger? I think that was why it was first so difficult for me to pray. I didn’t know God that well. We didn’t have much in common.

As I grew in my walk with God, I started to learn him. Up until that time I only knew ABOUT him. But, I didn't KNOW him. Huge difference.

Now, I spend much time listening when I pray. I pray easily at any place and anytime. More recently I have started to sense when he comes to me. This is an awesome side of prayer. It must have been what Mother was experiencing. When he comes, he brings different moods with him. Sometimes he is sad about the sin in the world. We cry together. Sometimes he brings his supernatural peace or joy. We laugh together. His presence is breathtakingly beautiful.

As you come to know him better your prayer life will increase. As you seek him, he will begin to find you and come to you. You will find yourself becoming more sensitive to his Spirit. You will know when he shows up at your worship or by your bedside. You will begin to discern truth. You will begin to discern him.

We have an awesome God. He has granted us the privilege of holding deep and sustained conversation with him, spirit to Spirit. We have the double blessing of hearing him clearly and sensing his moods.

I pray you soon discover him. There is no god like him. There is no god but him.

Pancreatic cancer took Mother when I was thirty-one. She was forty-nine. She had many gifts. She told few, if anyone (besides me), about her “special” gift.

Mom knew things. She knew things like any mother, but more. Mother knew the night my cousin died (her nephew) in a fatal one-car accident on a deserted stretch of highway. She was awakened from sleep when it happened. She knew he was dead. It would be hours later before a passing truck driver would happen to glance off the road and catch a glimpse of an overturned car in a creek bank beneath the fog. This truck driver was so uncertain of what he saw that he actually continued to drive, dropped off his tractor in the next town and returned in his personal car to investigate further. He found Wayne's body beneath the overturned automobile. He was 18. He most likely fell asleep at the wheel, ran off the road, and was ejected from the vehicle to have it roll on top of him. The clock in his Monte Carlo was stopped at just after midnight. He was found around daybreak.

Mom also knew when another close relative was in a car accident. She wasn't given specific details. She knew a close family member was hurt. (It turned out to be her niece.) She knew at the time that the person was injured but not seriously. (Joyce was only badly bruised.) She got the call later that day.

These are the only two visions Mother ever revealed to me. She didn't like to talk about this gift. She was in a strict form of Christianity that did not teach the existence of spiritual gifts. Thus Mother believed the gift more a curse than a blessing.

It’s a shame, really. She lived her life believing she was cursed instead of blessed. Me, I believe it was a personal gift from a personal God. She was truly a special person.

I miss you, Mother, everyday. I love you.

The United States is a nation. America is a continent. We are North Americans along with the Canadians. We have Central and South American neighbors. Canadians, Central and South Americans are not United States citizens. Yet, all are Americans! Those born in the United States are United Statesians by nationality.

European-American, African-American, Italian-American, what's up with that? Were you originally born in Europe, Italy or Africa! If you were born here, you are a United Statesian. You have a unique heritage, culture and language.

The United States is not a pure democracy! It is a Representative Republic. One of our founders, John Adams, once said, "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." Chief Justice John Marshall adds, "Between a balanced republic and a democracy, the difference is like that between order and chaos."

It saddens me to see democracy promoted in the Middle East and Iraq. Democracies fail. A pure democracy is a tyranny by majority. If the majority are terrorists, you have a tyranny of terrorists. That's what happened to the Palestinians. All you need in a pure democracy is for 51% to be evil. Then you have evil reigning supreme. Have we forgotten the lessons from history?

A republic is a decentralized and limited government. The rule is by law. All citizens, including government officials, answer to the same laws. The government protects all citizens against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It punishes illegal activity. It promotes trade and commerce. It builds roads and infrastructure so business can flourish without fear or fraud.

I pledge allegiance "to the REPUBLIC for which it stands”. I sing the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” I’ve never sung "The Battle Hymn of the DEMOCRACY" and will never pledge allegiance to “the DEMOCRACY for which it stands.”

We seldom see any benefit in suffering here in the United States. We are quick to relieve the smallest discomfort. When uncomfortable, we simply put on more clothes or seek out the nearest thermostat and make an adjustment. If we feel the slightest twinge of hunger, we open the refrigerator or rush to the nearest fast food outlet. Let the children start grumbling and complaining about the slightest inconvenience, and we rush to soothe them. Why is that?

Pain and discomfort teach many things. We must allow it. It can speak volumes about where we are in our journey with the Lord. It can measure our faith and determine if it is true. It can bring a deeper dependence on God for true happiness, joy and peace.

I’m not saying that we should seek out or delight in pain. That would border on masochism. I’m just stating that maybe we should not be so quick to deliver ourselves or others. Let's all learn the lessons pain intends to teach.

Do you have pain right now? It may be a clear call from God. He desires a deeper relationship with you. He wants you to move toward him in all your pain. He loves to deliver!

Don't miss the call. God may not call again.