"The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament showeth his handiwork" (Ps. 19:1).

There are but two alternatives relative to the origin of the universe: natural creation (that all the amazing, imponderable, multitudinous phenomena were the products of an infinite number of accidents and blind chance), or supernatural creation ("In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," Gen. 1:1). The only specific thing the Bible says about atheism is found in less than one-half of a verse, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (Ps. 14:1; repeated in Ps. 53:1). And there is never any discussion in God's Word that He may not exist!  The evidence that "God is" is overwhelming; the Word simply states this fact, without argument or debate. How can anyone question His existence in light of all that is manifest in the physical universe (as well as in the Sacred Scriptures)? . . .

WHEN I WAS YOUNG

When I was young and songs were sung that did not sound like rap,
There wasn’t any Under Armor, Nike Shoes, or Gap

Our clothes came from the catalogs of Wards or maybe Sears,
More likely they were hand-me-downs but things changed through the years.

I used to get my brother’s bibs and if they were too long,
I rolled them up two times or three and that did not seem wrong,

My socks had holes in heal or toe, my shoe souls worn clear through,
Christmas time, the only time I got clothes that were new.

Striped, long sleeved polo shirts and jeans of nondescript,
Big brass buttons on the fly, I wanted some that zipped.

But I was happy just to get some clothes not worn before,
Because I understood the times and knew that we were poor.

We did not have computers then and not a TV set,
No video games or cell phones and alas, no internet.

We had a table radio that played a lot of static,
No Siri or Alexa and not one thing automatic.

To pass the time we played outdoors, maybe hide and seek,
We roller skated, rode our bikes, six days every week,

We did not lack for things to do, we never had to search,
And every Sunday morning you would see us going to church.

It’s sad today that kids don’t know nor could they understand,
That all the name brand shoes and clothes are not what makes a man,

They have to have expensive clothes with brand names on display,
And hundred dollar sneakers or whatever Mom will pay.

Spending hours on their cell phones and lost in video games,
These actions have reactions and the devil is to blame,

One only has to look about at our society,
And wonder what the future holds for youth, for you and me.

We’re spoiled as a society and wealth has made it so,
We’re victims of prosperity and this could lead to woe,

We understand that what goes up, eventually comes down,
History says affluent times can quickly turn around.

Teach the young that value comes, not from those things we buy,
Value is within ourselves in everything we try,

I would go back to yesterday, to times of wants and needs,
To times of care, to share and bear, its where my soul bleeds.


—Ron Bliss