5

Like it or not our world is becoming more and more digital everyday. That means we rely more and more on computers. Practically everything we do is somehow dependent on a “chip” which in itself is a miniature computer. As we use computers to communicate, write papers for school & work, or even download all the pictures that we just took at that special family event last week on our digital camera, there is something we need to address & that is BACKING UP OUR COMPUTER FILES.

Three years ago I learned the hard way when the 750 gig hard drive that I had all my video files on (representing 100’s of hours of work) just quit on me. The only thing I could do was send it to a specialist to try & recover my data, but that was going to cost me over $1500…. so needless to say I lost it! Since that time I have been determined that would NEVER happen again! There’s an interesting story (joke) that perhaps you’ve heard that kind of illustrates the importance of saving & backing up your work. It’s entitled “Jesus Saves”

Jesus and Satan have a discussion as to who is the better programmer. This goes on for a few hours until they come to an agreement to hold a contest, with God as the judge. They sit themselves at their computers and begin. They type furiously, lines of code streaming up the screen, for several hours straight. Seconds before the end of the competition, a bolt of lightning strikes, taking out the electricity. Moments later, the power is restored, and God announces that the contest is over. He asks Satan to show what he has come up with. Satan is visibly upset, and cries, “I have nothing. I lost it all when

the power went out.” “Very well, then,” says God, “let us see if Jesus fared any better.” Jesus enters a command, and the screen comes to life in vivid display, the voices of an angelic choir pour forth from the speakers. Satan is astonished. He stutters, “B-b-but how? I lost everything, yet Jesus’ program is intact. How did he do it?” God smiled all-knowingly, “Jesus saves.”

The point is, if you want less turmoil & stress in your life, we need to save & back-up as well. I don’t know what I would do if I lost all the pictures our new granddaughter. I’m sure there are many things you can identify with as well.I’ve said all of THAT to say THIS. The following are some simple steps to keep in mind when devising your own “BACK-UP” plan for your family. I hope this helps & I hope YOU WILL do something about BACKING-UP if you haven’t done so already. If you are NOT backing-up sooner or later…YOU WILL GET BURNED! I personally have had 4 hard drives fail in the last 3 years, but I have not suffered because I now have a system of BACKING-UP.

HERE ARE A FEW SIMPLE THINGS TO REMEMBER:

1. If you do not have at least 2 copies of your files, you DO NOT have a back-up. If the only copy you have is what’s on your desktop or laptop, YOU ARE NOT BACKED-UP! If your computer dies…you lose!2. Also, if you only have a copy stored at your house, what happens if there is a fire or hurricane that destroys your copy?3. The best solution is to make regular back-up copies both at home & have an “off-site” back-up as well.4. The easiest way to back-up your computer files is to purchase a USB external hard drive. These are getting less & less expensive & are worth the cost. (Most brands sold in the US are pretty equal in quality so brand is not extremely important) Many of these external hard

drives come with a utility program that will automatically back-up all your data files (documents, pictures etc…) & you don’t even have to think about it unless there is a problem. (If you have a Mac you already have a program that automatically backs up EVERYTHING on & EVERYTHING attached to your computer…called TIME MACHINE) My important files, I save to 2 different external hard drives to make things even more secure.5. The second choice in backing-up is to CD or DVD. I periodically copy all my picture files to blank DVDs & put them into an album that I store. Be sure to label them & store them in a safe, dry place. The only thing about this is…it is not automatic & I have to remember to do it periodically. I put it on my calendar. That helps me to remember.6. In addition to your “in-home” back-ups, it’s good to have an “off-site” back-up. You can always make 2 copies of your files on 2 different external drives & then perhaps keep one at your office or some other safe place. (the only thing about this is you must periodically get the two drives “synced” so they have the exact same things on them. BUT…. There is a company that I use called BACKBLAZE that makes this whole thing EASIER! Their service costs just $55/year (less than $5/month) & all my data on my computer as well as any external hard drives I have connected to my computer is backed-up over the internet each night while I sleep. If you have a lot to back-up, the first time you sign up for the service, it might actually take a couple of weeks to get everything uploaded & up to date. Once it is done, then the software on your computer will automatically detect any changes you’ve made or new files you’ve added & it will automatically back it up. If you have a problem, you can simply get online & download the lost files you need. There are several companies that do this, but this is the BEST I’ve found & the only company that will back-up all your drives included in the price.

CHECK THEM OUT AT www.BackBlaze.com

I hope these simple tips will help you out. REMEMBER, none of this will do any good unless you DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Back-ing up is NOT really that hard to do. You just have to discipline yourself just like you do in other areas of your life & be determined to do it! Believe me, it will pay-off some day, just like as a Christian, it will pay to discipline yourself & be faithful to the Lord!

How interesting it was

to find that Virginia

Delegate, Mark L. Col

e (R-Fredericksburg) h

as

sponsored a bill that wo

uld protect Virginians f

rom attempts by employer

s or insurance companies

to implant microchips in

their bodies against th

eir will.

Delegate Cole said that

privacy issues are th

e chief concern behind

his attempt to criminali

ze

the involuntary implan

tation of microchips.

But he also shared som

ething else. He said,

“My

understanding-and I am

not a theologian-but t

here’s a prophecy in t

he Bible that says you

’ll

have to receive a mark,

or you can neither buy

nor sell things in end

times. Some people think

these computer chips mig

ht be that mark.”

As you would expect, the

bill has caused member

s of the other politica

l party and some members

of the press to mock bot

h Delegate Cole and the

legislation. Delegate Ro

bert Brink (D-Arlington)

was especially critica

l when he said, “When

I was campaigning last

year, I didn’t hear v

oters

being concerned about th

e dangers of asteroids s

triking the earth, or th

e threat posed by giant

alligators in our cities

’ sewer systems, or abou

t the menace of forced i

mplantation of microchip

s

in human being.”

Even some supporters o

f the legislation are

uncomfortable with the

religious overtones. B

ut

these people are complet

ely missing the point. L

et’s forget for a moment

that there is any word

in prophecy about a ma

rk, which most likely

will, indeed, be a com

puter chip that leads

to a

cashless society, thus

no buying or selling w

ithout it. What about

the simple privacy issu

e at

stake here?

Once you have this chi

p implanted, a plethor

a of information can b

e stored in this chip

about

you, your personal life

, your medical informat

ion, your financial info

rmation, and so on. Is

it

not ironic that, the ver

y people who claim to be

such strong advocates f

or civil liberties, and

the very people who base

d abortion legislation o

n a “right to privacy” t

hat they allegedly found

somewhere in the Const

itution, are the very

people who are now rea

dy to force you to for

feit

every last bit of your p

rivacy?

Other states are workin

g on the same legislati

on. While I appreciate

the efforts of some sta

tes

to pass this legislation

, I believe it is just

a temporary measure. Any

U.S. President has the

power, just by signing a

n executive order, to fo

rce you to do just about

anything he demands. We

have three separate bran

ches of government for c

hecks and balances, and

at one time the majority

of leaders in these br

anches were concerned ab

out obeying our founding

documents-primarily the

U.S. Constitution. The d

anger comes when leaders

effectively abolish the

Constitution, or when a

President signs execut

ive orders that underm

ine the Constitution a

nd rights of the peopl

e, or

when our leaders sign in

ternational laws that su

percede our Constitution

. When even one of those

events happens, it doe

s not matter what law

the states pass, becau

se it will become a la

w for

the history books.

It does not matter how

much laughter and moc

kery comes from the po

litically correct medi

a,

liberal legislators fr

om any side of the ais

le, or even some Chris

tians who do not belie

ve in

biblical prophetic event

s. The fact remains that

we are watching the ful

fillment of prophecy, and

it is happening so quick

ly that one cannot keep

up with the daily events

. Laugh if you want. One

day when the rest of us

are gone, the scoffers

who were left behind wil

l be pillaging our homes

to find every prophecy bo

ok, CD, and DVD they can

get their hands on.

When you hear somebody i

n a secular position sta

nd up for biblical truth

, it is important to let

them know that you app

reciate their stance.

It is hard enough to b

e in the public spotli

ght,

and even more difficult w

hen you are the brunt of

continual criticism. Le

t people know that you

appreciate their effort

s to stand for truth i

n the midst of a sea o

f political correctnes

s and

ridicule.

Banks are raising rates and cutting credit. You can beat them at their game.A survey by Credit.com last March found that more than one-

third of cardholders surveyed had been penalized by their credit-card companies in some way. Fifteen percent of cardholders reported higher interest rates, 11% said issuers had raised minimum payments, 8% said their credit limits had been lowered, another 8% reported that their rewards program had been cut back, and 7% said their account was simply closed. Despite the powerful bankers lobby, President Obama signed on May 22 the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, which goes into effect in February 2010. The new law incorporates new Federal Reserve regulations that were scheduled to take effect in July 2010 and provides additional consumer protection. Changes you’ll see include an end to arbitrary rate hikes on existing balances, payments over the minimum applied to the highest-rate balance first, and a provision that lets you forbid your card issuer from approving any transactions that will exceed your credit limit. If you do this, you will never receive an over-limit fee. Other provisions include no more double-cycle billing, clearer disclosures of account terms (statements will indicate fees paid in the current month and year to date and the reasons for the fees). There will also be an explanation of how much interest you will pay and how long it will take to pay off your balance if you pay the minimum and the amount you must pay to pay off your balance in 36 months. How to fight back - Even with a reform law, many of the anticipated consumer safeguards won’t take effect until next year. That means anyone who routinely says “Charge it” needs to be hyper-vigilant. Start by regularly monitoring your account. Pay attention to credit limits and annual percentage rates and, above all, read notices that come in the mail. Don’t automatically set your online bill-paying program to make the minimum payment (or just a little more) each month. A change in a formula or a rate hike could boost your minimum, and failing to make the minimum payment could be devastating, sticking you with a stratospheric interest rate. Another scenario with unfortunate consequences: You schedule payments at preset intervals and the issuer moves up the due date. If you spot a change for the worse in your terms, especially if you can’t remember a likely trigger, get on the phone and work your way up the customer-service chain. Your account may have been swept into a computer-run portfolio review. But humans, sometimes, have override capability. You have the right to reject new terms, but think twice before you do. If you opt out, your account may be frozen while you pay off your balance under the old terms. Or you may be able to use your card until it expires. Either way, closing the account can have repercussions for your credit score, especially if you’ve had the account for a long time. That’s why McNamee, the computer scientist, has decided to keep his cards despite the higher rates and fees. “The issuers have leverage because I’ve held the cards for so long. I’m between a rock and a hard place,” he says. If you do carry a balance and would like to find friendlier terms, be aware that balance transfers aren’t what they used to be. Credit standards are stricter for 0% offers. A score of 720 used to suffice, but 750 now seems to be the cutoff, says Ben Woolsey, of CreditCards.

com, a card-comparison site. Terms that used to last 12 months have been cut to six. Balance-transfer fees are now rarely capped, and some companies, including Bank of America, have raised fees from 3% to 4%. Don’t let cards lie dormant in your desk drawer. In the current economic climate, an unused credit line represents nothing but risk to the issuer, who may close your account, shaving points off your credit score in the process. “I’ve heard that the cut can be in the 50-point range,” says Woolsey. Nor should you depend on just one or two cards. It’s true that a flurry of card applications will reflect negatively on your credit score. But if you rely on just a couple of cards, you risk losing access to credit completely if an account is suddenly closed or if the terms become too onerous. “In this day and age, don’t have all your credit eggs in one basket,” urges Gail Cunningham, spokeswoman for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Smart cards - Credit users can still assemble a hardworking portfolio of credit cards -- especially by applying for cards from community banks and credit unions, which often have lower rates and better terms than money-center banks. One of Kiplinger’s favorites is the Pentagon Federal Credit Union Visa Platinum Rewards card (800-247-5626). It has no annual fee, and you get a 5% rebate on gas, 2% on groceries and 1.25% on everything else. The card, with an interest rate of 13.99%, is usually best if you pay off your balance each month. But it also has a balance-transfer offer with a 2.99% rate good for the life of the balance and a maximum transfer fee of $100. Another balance-transfer offer that’s worth considering comes with the Visa Classic card from IberiaBank (800-217-7715). The 0% balance-transfer offer is good for six billing cycles, and there is no transfer fee. If you qualify, this card is also tough to beat for its low rate -- the variable purchase rate can be as low as 6.25%, compared with a national average of about 13%. Farm Bureau Bank’s no-fee Platinum MasterCard currently carries a low, 5.24% variable rate). It’s nice to get a little something back from your credit card, especially these days. The BP Visa gas card earns a 5% rebate on gas, 2% on travel and dining, and 1% on everything else. Plus, you get double rebates for the first 60 days. We also like the Simmons First Visa Platinum Travel Rewards card because you earn a plane ticket after just $22,000 in charges. With the American Express Blue Cash card (800-223-2670), you’ll earn a 1% rebate on grocery, drugstore and gasoline purchases, and 0.5% on all other purchases until you spend $6,500. After that, you’ll earn 5% on groceries, gas and drugstore items, and 1.25% on the rest. A raft of new cards is tapping into the newly frugal zeitgeist by helping you pay off your mortgage, rebuild your retirement fund or save for college. For every $2,500 you charge on your Wells Fargo Home Rebate card, the bank applies 1% of the amount to the principal of your Wells Fargo mortgage. Fidelity Retirement Rewards American Express card gives Fidelity account holders a 2% rebate that can be deposited in any Fidelity-managed individual retirement account. The Schwab Bank Invest First Visa card sweeps a 2% rebate into your Schwab IRA or brokerage account. The new Upromise World MasterCard from Bank of America deposits a 1% rebate on all purchases into your Upromise college-savings account, then adds another 10% rebate on spending at drugstores and grocers. Depending on the card, you can also add to your Upromise account with rebates on gas purchases and dining.

Fred Harvey was a name almost every American knew in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

This son of Britain had come to America and made his mark in the food industry. Working with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, he built a chain of restaurants across the great Southwest which became legendary for their insistance on quality and their devotion to the customer. In his book, “Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire That Civilized the Wild West,” Stephen Fried says Harvey originated the first national chain of restaurants, of hotels, of newsstands, and of bookstores--”in fact, the first national chain of anything--in America.” You may be familiar with the Judy Garland movie on the Harvey Girls, another innovation of Fred Harvey’s. He recruited single young women in the East, then sent them to work in his restaurants from Kansas City to California. In doing so, he inadvertently provided wives for countless westerners and helped to populate a great segment of the USA. All of this is just so we can relate one story from the book. Once, in the short period before women took over the serving duties for his restaurants, Harvey was fielding a complaint from one of his “eating house stewards” about a particularly demanding customer. “There’s no pleasing that man,” said the steward. “He’s nothing but an out and out crank!” Harvey responded, “Well, of course he’s a crank! It’s our business to please cranks. Anyone can please a gentleman.” Pleasing cranks. Anyone can please a gentleman. It’s our business. Why did that line sound familiar to me, I wondered as I read past that little story. I know. It sounds so much like the Lord Jesus. Think of it. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you....for if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even tax gatherers do the same?” “And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same?” (Matthew 5:43-47)

It’s our business to love enemies; anyone can love his neighbor. It’s our business to greet strangers and welcome them; anyone can be friendly toward his brother. Jesus repeated this theme in another place.... “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.” “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.” “And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount.” (Luke 6:32-34) It’s our business to love those who hate us, to do good to those who do us wrong, and to give to those who will never be able to repay us. Anyone can love the nice guys, do good to the gracious and lend to the wealthy. It’s our business to do the hard thing, the unexpected thing, the good thing. This theme is found all through Scripture. Do you recall the incredible ending of the Old Testament prophecy of Habakkuk? If not, you’ll enjoy discovering it and then incorporating it into the fabric of your faith.... “Though the fig tree should not blossom, And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food; Though the flock should be cut off from the fold, And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet, I will exult in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet; And makes me walk on my high places.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19) Anyone can praise the Lord when the money is in the bank, the business is flourishing, the boss has given you a good review and a raise, the kids are doing well in school, the report from the doctor was good, your wife adores you, and your team is winning. But let’s see you praise the Lord when you’ve been told to clean out your desk, the doctor orders you back for more tests because the first ones “don’t look too good,” your wife and kids ignore you, and the bank is threatening to foreclose.

Anyone can praise God and rejoice in the good times. It’s our business to praise God at all times. It’s our business to rejoice. After he had lost everything precious to him, most importantly, his beloved children, Job was told, “Why don’t you just get it over with--curse God and die!” He answered, “Oh no. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Paul said, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am; I know how to get along with humble means and I know how to live in prosperity. I have learned the secret.... I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13). Anyone can give when you have an excess. It’s our business to give when we are in great need. See the Macedonians in II Corinthians 9 and the poor widow in Mark 12. The 19th chapter of Leviticus is hardly known by God’s people today but contains a wealth of insights on this higher standard He expects of His children. Farmers were not to harvest the corners of their fields nor return to reap what they may have missed the first time, but “you shall leave them for the needy and the stranger. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:9-10).They were not to take advantage of the less fortunate. “The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse a deaf man nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you

not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (I Peter 1:8). Anyone can serve the Lord when He answers all our prayers. It’s our business to serve Him when Heaven seems shut up, God seems indifferent, and our prayers seem to rise no higher than our heads. Anyone can witness within the congregation. It’s our business to share the good news of Jesus Christ to the world. Anyone can praise in the daylight; let’s see you do it in the darkest night. It’s our business. Anyone can sing in the sunshine. It’s our business to sing in the prison. See Acts 16:25. It’s our business to testify in the courts. See Matthew 10:17-19. Anyone can forgive when the offender repents and comes to you with a humble spirit. But let’s see you love him when he’s still hostile. God did. See Romans 5:8. We are to feed our enemy and give him a drink (Romans 12:20), to love him (Luke 6:27). It’s our business not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Anyone can worship when he feels the Lord’s nearness and is overdosing on joy. (Luke 24:41) But it’s our business to worship Him not only then but also when He seems far away. (Psalm 40:1) Any church can be unified when no issues arise to divide the people. It’s our business to deal with conflict in a Christ-honoring responsible way. (See Acts 6) Jesus did not send you and me to “do what comes naturally.” His way is often hard, frequently making no sense to the outside world or even to us. We will obey Him by faith or we’re not going to make it in this life. Elect leaders who do not understand faith or appreciate the hard commands of the Lord Jesus and your church is in trouble from the start. No bank or commercial business that I’ve ever heard of can operate this way. The next time you hear someone say, “The church is a business,” you might want to answer something like, “Ha.” (That’s as

eloquent a response as that dumb statement deserves.) Faith by its very nature means we’re missing some evidence, some pieces of the puzzle. But with the evidence we have, we confidently stand and do our job. I’d like to apologize to a young pastor who probably meant well but provided me with a dozen illustrations by something he said in a letter. In the months following the devastation Hurricane Katrina wrought upon our part of the world, when so many of our churches were erased from the earth and the ones that survived were struggling to get vertical, a young pastor in another state wrote me a letter. In essence, he said, “I’d like to move to your area to pastor a church. But I don’t want to come to one filled with immature people who demand their own way. I want to come to a church poised for growth.” I wrote him back. “Hey friend, wouldn’t that be nice. Wouldn’t it be great not to have to deal with disciples who bicker and complain, who want their own way and think everything should revolve around them? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to walk into a church where everyone is like Jesus, everyone loves each other and welcomes strangers, and are just sitting there waiting on us to tell them how to spread the gospel? But we don’t have any of those churches.” I doubt if one has ever existed. I told him our churches were made up of Christians of all kinds and all degrees of maturity, but mostly people who were trying to get their lives back together after the hurricane. And I wished him well in his search for the perfect church. I was probably guilty of overkill. Having long since forgotten his name, there’s no way I can check back on him and encourage him. When I told our pastors in the New Orleans area about that letter, we all laughed at the absurdity of it. Anyone can pastor a church ‘poised for growth.’ It’s our business to pastor the Lord’s people no matter what they are poised for. Our Lord once asked, “When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8) Will He find us taking care of business?

shall revere your God. I am the Lord” (Leviticus 13:14). Strangers were to be treated as well as neighbors. “When a stranger resides with you in the land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 19:33-34). Anyone can be fair, just, and law-abiding when dealing with his own people. It’s the business of God’s people to bless the poor, show justice to the defenseless, deal fairly with the alien (whether legal or illegal, mind you!), and to be mindful of the handicapped among us and respect them. I hope you noticed the little addendum at the end of each of these statements: “I am the Lord Thy God.” That was a reminder to God’s people that He was not trifling. The Lord was saying, “This has the strength of law. It’s not a suggestion and not a hint. I mean this. Do it!” In the New Testament equivalent Jesus would preface a statement with “Amen, amen, I say unto you.” (“Verily, verily” in the KJV) Same point. In His resurrected body, the Lord Jesus said to the apostle Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed? Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet believe” (John 20:29). Anyone can believe when they see. It’s our business to believe when we do not see.Later, the Apostle Peter was to write, “...and though you have

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