Author: Rev. Charles Pugh

Wow, with all of the news lately, there is much that could be discussed! The Virginia Supreme Court REVERSED the verdict about the guilt of the Virginia Tech University following the 2007 Shooting Massacre. Whatever your feelings are there, much still does need to be learned to reverse practices that lead to such tragic shootings. My book focuses on these things further! Other news also shows the need for reversals. A bullying scandal has rocked the Miami Dolphins and the entire NFL along with the Sports world. The gun control debate was ignited yet again with the recent shooting at the Los Angeles airport where several were wounded and a TSA agent was killed. Thousands have also just passed into eternity in the Philippines, where a Super Typhoon devastated that island Nation. Since the U.S. debt limit was raised and the partial government shutdown ended (note my last blog article), grave economic fears have waned. Still, there are major concerns over what is directly, negatively affecting millions of Americans and what will have a personal effect on each of us. The debacle with the health care situation and the Federal Government’s website, the Affordable Health Care Act has been consistently dominating the news. What is going on? Where are the answers? We need a reversal here as well!

Whatever your political leanings are, you likely see the need for some kind of reversal here. People in charge of the highly publicized government website have certainly been reversing and perhaps even running! The President has even been reversing on some of his comments and his often repeated promise “if you like your plan you can keep it; if you like your doctor, you can keep them.” With nearly 5 million health care policies already being cancelled, a reversal on this controversial law looks more and more likely. Pride keeps many moving forward, though (just like the embattled and recently embarrassed Toronto Mayor), when humility and some reversal is really needed.

How do you stop something once it has begun? How can you even stop the force of such a large and powerful natural storm like this recent Super Typhoon? Could we reverse a great meteorite barreling toward us at thousands of miles an hour? Some things definitely are hard to stop or reverse! Some things are even impossible for us human beings to reverse or turn around. Can we control the rain or snow that falls? Can we reverse the winds and send them back to where they came from? Mankind does have some ability to predict, but has very limited ability to reverse so many things!

On the other hand, GOD is All POWER-FULL and HE is only limited by HIS Character and HIS Inspired Word! HE is the GREAT CREATOR! HE put all the billions and billions of stars and planets in place and hangs them by HIS forces in space. HE can reverse things that man sets in motion and HE can even reverse HIS actions to Judge, if HE so chooses. If there isn’t a reversal in the direction America and the rest of the world is going, then GOD will finish HIS-Story and bring in the Judgments HE has promised will come. Are you ready? Are you looking for the soon return of Jesus Christ as so many Christians are, or if you are not a professing Christian, are you looking for another great world leader? If there is not a reversal in the direction our world is headed, then the “the winepress of HIS wrath” will become full (Revelation 14:19; 19:15) and there will be no reversal in HIS Judgment then!

So, will the U.S. Government reverse the direction on this health care law? If not, then more embarrassment will likely follow and many things desired will not be able to be accomplished. The Affordable Care Act is not financially sustainable and thus will become increasingly unaffordable and provide less care than Americans are accustomed to receive, thus defying the name of this very law. Time will tell how many reversals may occur or if medicine in America will become more socialized. So far as the direction of this Country as a whole, as well as the direction of much of the world, reversals are needed to keep from incurring more of the Cause and Effect Judgments from GOD. Some things naturally happen due to the fallen world we live in, but Protection in this world and Blessing comes only from The CREATOR and following HIS ways as revealed in HIS Word. As an individual, be certain you reverse (repent) from any contrary direction or be prepared for HIS Judgments!

By now, you should have some opinion about the partial U.S. Government Shutdown. This is not a closing of any local or state government, so most things are continuing on as usual (at least in the short term). This is not even a shutdown of every aspect of the federal government, as many federal workers are still working and the government has to continue to function in many capacities, as we do not live completely separated from all the other countries in the world. Politicians are still working and we are certainly hearing more of their comments; the IRS is definitely not going to miss taking in revenues! All of the hype in the media makes this seem more like a horrible tragedy. Is it? Are we all or is the entire world in terrible danger? Is this a shutdown tragedy?

To understand this better, one must learn to better understand how government works. I deal with this more in chapter 4–“Lessons for COUNTRY”– of my book (The Virginia Tech Tragedy and My Personal Tragedy: Lessons To Learn From An Insider And From Scripture). Whenever you have a group of people living together in any area, there must be some form of law or government to deal with the differences of opinion and how people can cooperate for greater influence. When there is some interruption or shutdown in the way that any government works, then there certainly will be impacts in the society, perhaps even leading to tragedy of many sorts. Some government is necessary and it can be a blessing or even a curse.

So, what of this latest U.S. Government partial shutdown? Tragedy? Well, it is certainly negatively impacting the lives of millions and will increasingly impact all of us. It certainly does show how partisan or locked up the opinions within the government have become. Our Federal Government is large and it has become increasingly larger in recent years. It is indeed tragic that things have developed to this place of a partial shutdown. Some are not willing to give on their positions. This can be good and it can be bad. Indeed, if our federal government does not get a handle on all the spending and get its fiscal house in order, then it will go bankrupt and collapse, which would be a great shutdown tragedy, definitely impacting each of us and the entire world!

This debate involving this partial shutdown is important and I believe in the end, not so much of a tragedy. The greater debate looming, also tied to this, has to do with the government’s ability to borrow, rather than spend, and is a far more grave deadline. If we can’t borrow more money, we will then default, diminish our credit rating, and then lose our stature and influence as a Country in the world. Were that to happen, a much more dangerous enemy would likely fill that void. That would indeed be a shutdown tragedy! So, the partial shutdown here can be considered tragic for some, but it actually may turn out to be a blessing in the long run.

Friend, we all must be responsible with our money, governments included! We can’t simply give things away to people who will not do their part to be productive in society. There must be a system of law and order. When mankind gets to the place of bankruptcy in our trying to accomplish this (and eventually, we will), Scripture teaches that there will then be a Kingdom that comes in to govern the world in righteousness. The tragedies of mankind-run government will be shutdown, and the Prince of Peace will reign and govern the world and His people with Him. Scripture teaches that Jesus Christ is soon returning again. He will then judge the nations and only those individuals who have accepted His forgiveness for their sins will be safe and in His Kingdom.

So, is this partial government shutdown a tragedy? Well, it is an opportunity. There is still time for us to get our fiscal house in order and have longer term health as a Nation! There is this opportunity now for us to also evaluate our relationship with the Creator and be sure that we avoid our own personal shutdown tragedy!

Fresh from the rare military death sentence being issued for the 2009 Fort Hood Shooter, Major Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people and wounded 31, comes yet another military massacre! The Nation, and military in particular, was just hit again with another horrible massacre at the Washington D.C. Naval Yard. This strike immediately made the news and has drawn the world’s attention rather quickly, given that it was on a military base and so close to the U.S. Capital and White House. Again, 13 souls have passed into Eternity, with 8 or more other injuries from the multiple gun battles with police, before the shooter, Aaron Alexis, was killed. More information about the shooter and shooting is still coming out, but no doubt, this latest military massacre is yet another horrible shooting that will leave us with many more lessons needing to be learned!

What are these lessons to learn? Well, this shooting has already led many to bring up the gun discussion once again. As I have previously written, there are many things to consider (see my 01-16-13 “Gunned Down” blog or even the 04-09-13 article, “Gun Control or GOD Control?”). No doubt, there are many lessons that the military needs to consider as well, such as security issues or even communication weaknesses. Given that the main problem here lies not with any gun or even any military issue, the attention on the shooter and even his mental stability is very appropriate. Indeed, the one behind the gun should be the focus of our attention along with the atmosphere leading to the decision to shoot others. Any such massacre of human life certainly does come from a mind that is mentally unstable. This most recent shooter is no different.

Investigation has shown that the shooter of this massacre had a deep problem with anger, which is a problem each of us must learn to control or else it will end up controlling us! A whole article could be written about that. Added to this, Aaron Alexis had been hearing voices and believing he was being followed and even influenced by “some sort of microwave machine” that those allegedly following him were using to send vibrations into his body. Clearly, something was going on in his mind that even troubled police interacting with him in Rhode Island, to send an alert to the military through the Navy police. The opportunity to get him help was obviously lost somehow in the Navy system of following up on this. Furthermore, opportunities were likely lost to help him at a couple of Veterans Administrative hospitals that he reportedly went to seeking some sort of care.

Aaron Alexis is also said to have practiced Buddhism. Much could be said there, but clearly he did not find any peace within Buddhism that gave him victory over his anger or kept him from the rampage of this military massacre. It could even be argued that any philosophical understanding of Buddhism supported the possibility of his hearing voices and interacting with them as some kind of enlightenment into a higher consciousness or experience of karma. His Buddhist faith was not enough to help him keep from 8-10 military misconduct charges from traffic offenses to disorderly conduct. Clearly, he was not enlightened to protect human life and may have even been awakened to real demonic forces that tried to destroy him and get him to massacre others.

Friends, if we hope to prevent any future military massacre or future school shooting, such as what changed the world through the Virginia Tech Tragedy, then we had better acknowledge the lessons to learn here. We had better learn to find victory over personal anger and stress through a personal relationship with the Sovereign Creator, Who was Himself willing to suffer for His self-willed Created beings. We had best learn that each of us can only find forgiveness and victory over self through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins. When we find this personally, we will respect a Sovereign Creator and His Creation, working to preserve life and not destroy it. We will work to help others find this personal forgiveness and victory over a sinful self, the only sure way to prevent any future massacres. May this latest Military Massacre teach us all!

If you have been paying attention to recent conversations in this Country and not merely living in your own private world (see my last blog article 🙂 ), then you likely have some opinion in the recent George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin case. The verdict and acquittal of George Zimmerman has enraged many around the Country and the President even decided to address this issue publicly this past Friday. On Saturday, rallies focusing on the theme “Justice for Trayvon” were held in 100 key cities around the Country. Now, the United States Justice Department is even investigating this case for potential civil charges against Zimmerman. Whether you believe justice has been served or not through Zimmerman’s acquittal, you should be able to identify with the greater issues this case has brought to attention. Playing off this case and conversation, I’m writing today about Justice!

Everyone wants to see justice! It is part of how we are made. We want to see that things are fair and right! You may wish to review my “Fair?!” Blog (https://vtlessonstolearn.com/2010/06/27/fair/). Just watch a child who wants a toy just like the other child near them. Notice how one sibling wants to be able to have the same amount of food or things that the other has. We like things to be the same or similar. We want life to give each of us equality. In America, we hold this up as a standard and that “all men are Created equal” and it follows that we all should have equal opportunity. Many Companies strive for this for their employees. The Government, though, has come to emphasize equality more than equal opportunity and has become indebted, nearly to the point of collapse, by giving money and opportunities to certain groups and people trying to help them be equal. Socialism, however, is not supposed to be our form of government. Justice is more and even different from mere equality. Justice is what is right or righteous! It involves moral judgment, not simply equality.

Think about it. You don’t REALLY want things equal; you want things to be just! Equality is not the reality in this fallen world, nor can it be. There is variety in life and different stages of development. At whatever stage you are in, when you do good, you want to be rewarded for good. You want those who do not do so good to be punished or receive less. Kids even understand this too. They want more if they do more. They want their brother or sister to be punished if they do wrong. When parented properly, children learn a sense of justice early on. When someone violates your personal space or steals and damages your property, you want justice! You want that person to be punished for what they did that was wrong. That means morality and value is involved. Choosing right is just and doing right is just.

Perhaps George Zimmerman should not have followed Trayvon Martin in the first place. We do not know what all was seen or heard. Perhaps Trayvon should not have fought George, though we don’t know all going on between them. Perhaps George should not have shot Trayvon and particularly not shot him with a deadly blow. Perhaps the law in Florida needs to be changed or made better somehow. All of these matters are moral matters and you must get the morality straight to have true justice.

Friend, there is true justice coming and we all had best be prepared! We all have chosen, at least at times, to do wrong or been selfish to the detriment of those around us. We all are guilty before a Holy and JUST GOD! We all need forgiveness to be right and have a right relationship with our Creator. This Justice is only possible through the sacrifice of the “monogenes” (only-born or unique) JUST ONE–JESUS CHRIST! Justice was served when JESUS bore the punishment for our injustices. You will only be positionally just and know GOD through acceptance and faith in JESUS and you will only be able to do true Justice when you follow what GOD has revealed. The prophet Micah said it succinctly in Mic 6:8: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God”

As we consider the 237th anniversary of the Independence of America, we cannot help but consider one of the greatest concerns in the Country today—“The Right to Privacy.” Do we actually have a right to talk to whom we want and when we want? Do we have the right to go where we want whenever we want? Liberty does have some limitation, even by definition (as there must be a way to explain what it is not), but is it really liberty to have the government or someone else pry into our phone records or monitor where we go? Most Americans are concerned about the revelation that government officials have been looking at thousands of private phone and email records and even the IRS targeting conservative organizations. Are there people monitoring every purchase we make, every place that we go and every conversation we have with others? Should they be? Do we actually have The Right to Privacy?

What does it even mean to have privacy? Unless you are completely secluded and away from any contact with other people or usage of technology (not the case if you are even reading this article 🙂 ), your life is not entirely private. People around you do watch you (and even judge you) and sometimes do so to an extent that makes you uncomfortable. Most of us are part of some family unit and even have to work at a job where we have regular contact with others. Certainly, each of us has some private times when we are all alone, but as social creatures, this typically does not last long and we usually have closer interaction with at least a few people. To that extent, we do not have privacy. Privacy is being apart from company or observation and most do not like to be all alone for very long.

The fact is, though, that we are alone when it comes to our thoughts. Only we and GOD know everything that we think and others do only to the extent that we let them know. This private world of the mind is ultimately where you live and where you make the choices that impact your life and the lives of those around you. Being as busy as most of us seem to be these days makes it hard to maintain any real privacy, even in our minds. We fill our minds with the thoughts of others when we are around them or when we listen to them or watch them. Even when watching Television alone, we are still not completely private, as those thoughts and ideas go into our minds. The so called private world of the mind, though, is where you find GOD and meet with HIM. GOD is the Ultimate Observer and nothing is really hidden or private from HIM, though HE will not force HIMSELF on you.

We do want to have freedom of thought and belief and we do not want any government official intruding into our lives. This sense of privacy is supported in our United States Constitution, even though there is no express “Right to Privacy” given there. We are an independent minded people and do not want others trying to mess with or control our lives, especially in those areas we consider more private. We must remember, though, that spiritually, there is no “Right to Privacy.” There is The SOVEREIGN, CREATOR GOD WHO knows and sees ALL! Hebrews 4:13 proclaims, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Scripture teaches that this accounting will be between you and GOD, though no doubt, others will see the results.

So, while there is no ultimate “Right to Privacy” that anyone has, there is the reality of the privacy in your mind between you and GOD. Others may or may not want to know you, but HE wants you to know HIM and HIS plan of Salvation through the Person of JESUS CHRIST. JESUS paid the penalty for sin when HE died on the cross and proved HIS Deity in Rising from the dead. HE longs for a more intimate relationship with you! HE does not want you to try to act private from HIM!!