When Evil Became Good
One day Good and Evil met on the seashore. They said to one another, "Let us bath in the sea." Then they disrobed and swam.
After a while, Evil came out and put on the garment of Good and walked away.
When Good came ashore, she could not find her true garment. To hide her nakedness, she had no choice but to robe herself with the garment of Evil and walk away.
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When Evil steals the garment of Good, Good is left with no choice but to wear the garment of Evil. That's what we see happening in the world today, as evil actions and attitudes are lauded as good. In such a world, those who do good are given no choice but to assume the role of being considered evil.
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter" (Isaiah 5:20).
"Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness" (Luke 11:35, NLT).
A Wolf In Shepherd’s Clothing
PennLive reports:
A Pennsylvania drug rehab founder and CEO is accused of selling heroin and fentanyl to the addicts the facility was designed to heal.
Federal officials say 65-year-old David Francis was dealing those deadly drugs to clients and throughout McKees Rocks, a borough near Pittsburgh.
The Next Step Foundation that Francis operated is listed as providing recovery housing to drug addicts and alcoholics.
Instead of providing the housing, education, support and services to help them recover from addiction, as the organization's mission states, federal agents say Francis was acting as their drug dealer.
Federal authorities on Friday raided his home and the rehab facility amid charging him with intention to distribute fentanyl. His detention hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in federal court.
A person who bought drugs from him in May died of a fentanyl overdose, investigators said.
Federal officials began investigating in July after multiple overdoses were reported in McKees Rocks and nearby Ingram.
Lost and desperate people look to the Church for hope. Sadly, rather than ministering grace, many in this industry actually stoke the sin nature with a regiment of shame-based legalism and works righteousness, proving that the only thing worse than a wolf in sheep’s clothing is a wolf in shepherd’s clothing.
Pastors are supposed to help those who struggle with their addiction to religious pride, which keeps them from humbling seeking God’s grace. Ironically, many in the Church actually encourage this addictive behavior.
The Church is here to save mankind, not to put him on an even more addictive and hopeless path. These clergy act more like this rehab founder than the healers God has called them to be.
"But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:4-5).
Playing Dumb
The Verge Reports:
TV networks have figured out how to game the Nielsen ratings system. It’s as easy as playing dumb, literally. On days when programmers know their viewership will drop, like on holiday weekends or during sporting events, they “accidentally” misspell their show’s name on the nightly Nielsen lineup, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Over the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, for example, NBC aired NBC Nitely News instead of its usual NBC Nightly News so the holiday drop in viewership didn’t affect its ratings standing. Nielsen’s automated system counted that misspelled show as an entirely different program. By doing this, NBC managed to actually gain ratings against its main competitor: ABC World News Tonight.
NBC apparently misspelled its shows 14 times since the start of the 2016 to 2017 TV season, and it’s not the only network to pull this tactic. This season, ABC did so seven times with its Wrld New Tonite, while CBS replaced The CBS Evening News with CBS Evening Nws 12 times.
Playing dumb is one way to get around the rules—a pretty effective one if you’re attempting to get around the Nielsen ratings system. But it’s not so effective if you’re attempting to get around God’s rating system!
“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open” (Luke 8:17).
God knows us. He knows our name. Misspelling it won’t help!