“I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.” ― Abraham Lincoln

Good morning to all those who read my blog postings. And, good morning to any that might land on the electronic copy floating around out there in the blogosphere. Thanks for showing up today, on this Thursday, June 7, 2018. I see people all the time dealing with matters where they or someone they love has been wronged and their lament is that "all we want to see is justice done." I get that. I understand. There was one fellow who wrote a pretty interesting response to 'justice' seekers. Do we all really want justice? The legal definition he was referring to has this to say, "Justice involves a scheme or system of law in which every person receives his/ her/its due from the system, including all rights, both natural and legal." (Taken from the Legal Dictionary.)  It's understandable to most of us when some heinous crime is being adjudicated. However, the person writing about this made a point. Do we, individually and collectively, want to be given exactly what we deserve? Those of us who know and believe the Bible certainly understand that we do not want to receive justice before a holy and righteous God. That would condemn us all to a devil's hell. But, in a practical sense, we are quite selective when we want justice pursued. For instance, we want criminals to get what they deserve but we feel a little differently about getting what we deserve for speeding, texting while driving, and many other areas where we are not 100% right according to the letter of the law. Fortunately, God, in creating the world and the human family, provided for us all a way of salvation, to be made right with Him, because His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ received our punishment on The Cross. As it pertains to justice in this fallen world, we might all want to think through our own failings when railing about the need for others to be dealt with. Just a thought. It came to me when I read what that fellow said and I've had it on one of the burners, not sure which one, back or front, for the past several days. It somehow got to the front of the gray cell brigade today and that's why I shared it. I am thankful for God's grace, mercy, and His willingness to provide a Savior for me. Amen.

In case you haven't noticed there is a resurgence in what commentators have termed Obama worship. Editorials, so-called news programs, talks shows, and other social media outlets cannot get enough of singing the praises of President Obama. One noted commentator from the New York Times wrote a piece entitled 'Maybe President Obama was just too good for us.' I saw the title but couldn't bring myself to click on it. I believe these folks need to hear from those on the committee who awarded the new President the Nobel Peace Prize. Eight years later they recognized they had given the prize based on the appearance of potential that was never realized. They lived to regret giving that accolade to him. Check it out for yourself. I mention this only to help set forth the true differences that exist within the viewpoints of the American public. I, for one, thought President Obama was a less than effective leader of our nation. I disagree with those who want us to become more government controlled and more government dependent. He was the champion of left-leaning liberal thinking. I am not of that persuasion. Because I see things the way I see them I was, along with millions of others, labeled as racist. President Obama was the darling of the world. He epitomized the kind of leader the world wants. Sorry. I don't want the kind of leader the world wants. I want the kind of leader that will focus on building up America. To me, that's the best way to help everyone, everywhere in the world. I never failed to pray for President Obama. I was proud that he as an African-American could rise to the highest position in our nation. At the same time, I was not inclined to support his vision or his politics. This means I will not be in line to join the worship services where he is the one being heralded.

As most of you know, I am always in search of approaches to express myself in new and different ways. Because of this, I am constantly looking for new thoughts and ideas. Here are some opening lines I adapted from a website devoted to this subject. "My wife recently gave me some advice on writing my blog. She said that I should stop trying to be charming, witty or intellectual...that I should just be myself." ~ "I was thinking the other day that as folks open up my blog we all share something in common. None of us know what I am going to say." ~ On a more technical note, another site gave these instructions for making a blog more readable and more interesting. ~ Be Short and Direct. ...Use a Quirky/Funny Opening Sentence or Paragraph. ...Ask a Thought-Provoking Question. ... Ask a Multiple Choice Question. ...Share a Shocking Fact or Statistic. ...Share Something Personal. ~ Please don't use any of those to evaluate my writing. Yeah. I thought the same thing. Being short and direct has never really been on my radar screen. I shared these with you just to prove that I know how to look things like that up. My blogs are somewhat akin to a journal. I use the open letter system. I open up and let-terrrr fly. Or something like that. But, I am interested in doing better. I think next time I will look that up. 'Interested in doing better.' I'll keep you posted. Take care and may God bless each one is my prayer. Always. Amen. ....More later.