"If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they keep my word, they will also keep yours. " ~ Gospel of John, Chapter 15, Verses 19-20

Hello friends and neighbors. It is Wednesday, September 29, 2021, and, I bring you greetings from my place to yours. I know many of you will not be surprised by the continuing lambasting of Christians in the mainstream media. While it is not new, there are some things happening now that we all should pay attention to. A recent theme has arisen where the beliefs in life after death are being linked to folks who are not obeying the coercive mandates regarding the pandemic. In short, if you believe the Biblical teaching on eternal life, well, you are not as inclined to do all you can to keep on living here on the planet. I know. The abortion versus the right to life has this kind of connotation as well, but, delving into the very specific beliefs of individual Christians in order to paint them as enemies of the state, well, to me this gives us all reason to be concerned. Not that we should be surprised since we know persecution for those committed to Christ is predicted in The Scriptures, however, the subtle forms of how this is beginning to work are somewhat chilling to me. They blamed the burning of Rome on people of faith and now they are attempting to link the prolonged pandemic with its associated deaths to none other than people of faith. While it may only be MSNBC and CNN talking heads at this time, once it is out there, it does begin to resonate in our overwhelmingly secular society which sadly includes many established religious entities. It is something for us all to keep our eyes on. 

I don't have a clue as to what Mr. Bentley is thinking at any given time, however, I am convinced of one consistent behavioral response: He doesn't have any notion that he is a dog! Whatever we were supposed to do to teach him otherwise, well, it didn't get done, period, end of the story. Not really. The story continues, 24x7. Even if we sent him to one of those therapy sessions where all the other dogs would be saying things like, "Hello, my name is Rowdy, and I am a dog." Our Bentley would have to announce: "Hello, my name is Bentley and I am King of the world." Oh well, as they say, it is what it is, and, we actually are the enablers here. And, we still love him even though at our age it is more difficult to bow and curtsey if you know what I mean. Vern. Some will get that reference. Others can just continue on their merry way. Have a great day and may God add His blessings. Amen. .....until next time.