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Jodi Arias, Cable TV, and a Nation Fascinated by Shiny Objects
There are times, not many thankfully, when I get depressed, brought down by the sorry evidence that we live in a country fixated on shiny objects. This is one of those times.

A jury in Phoenix has found Jodi Arias guilty of first-degree murder. That’s not what gets me down. What I find so depressing is our collective fascination with trivia, with anything that we can follow without having to actually think.

No one ever heard of Jodi Arias until cable TV made her famous. No one ever heard of the boyfriend she killed, you know, what’s his name. The Arias murder trial tells us nothing about anything bigger than Jodi Arias. She wasn’t famous like O.J. Simpson before she was arrested. This wasn’t Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. Those trials had implications. The Arias trial had none.

When it became known that the jury had reached a verdict, cable news went wall-to-wall with Jodi Arias. It would be 90 minutes before the verdict was announced in court, so anchors and pundits spent the time saying nothing – nothing that mattered anyway. But this is a small point. Saying nothing about Jodi Arias gets you more viewers than saying something about the national debt.

But you can’t blame cable TV news, not entirely anyway, because television is a business that gives the people what they want. And if they want Jodi, TV executives will give them Jodi for hours on end. Hell, if she had been found not guilty they might have even given her a show.

In Phoenix, hundreds of locals dropped whatever they were doing when they heard the verdict would soon be coming down and raced to the courthouse so they could be close by when the verdict, which had no effect on them or their families, was read out loud inside the courtroom.

Why the interest? Sex. That’s it. The trial was filled with tidbits about the sex life of Ms. Arias and the boyfriend she killed by stabbing him 27 times and cutting his throat. Sorry, I’m wrong — it was about more than sex. It was about sex and violence. Of course if Jodi Arias weighed 350 pounds and had crooked teeth, we wouldn’t be nearly as interested (which is another way of saying we wouldn’t be interested at all, and neither would cable TV).

The Arias verdict came down on the same day the House held hearings to determine what really happened last September 11 in Benghazi and to try to find out why four Americans were killed at the U.S. consulate there. Did then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who will likely run for president in 2016, make big mistakes that led to their deaths? Hey, who cares about insignificant crap like that?

Mike Huckabee, the Fox News host, said that the Benghazi hearings would lead to the downfall of Barack Obama, that when the facts came out Mr. Obama would not be able to finish his presidency. That is nothing but wishful thinking masquerading as political analysis. Americans don’t care about Benghazi. Not all Americans, of course, just most Americans.

But they care about Jodi Arias because shallow people like shiny objects. That’s why they love to follow car chases on TV, even when the culprit is only some doofus who stole a piece of gum from a 7-11. The chase can go on for hours. They’ll keep watching. Car chases are more interesting than real news any day.

So is the life and death drama of a woman who dressed up like the librarian in glasses who lets her hair down and goes wild on New Year’s Eve. The national debt is a crisis that may some day take us all down. But until then, we can have a grand old time following shiny objects. This article was written by Bernie Goldberg

Kill Anger Before It Kills You or 
Your Marriage
In marriage, anger rivals lust as a killer. My guess is that anger is a worse enemy than lust. It also
destroys other kinds of camaraderie. Some people have more anger than they think, because it
has disguises. When willpower hinders rage, anger smolders beneath the surface, and the teeth
of the soul grind with frustration. It can come out in tears that look more like hurt. But the heart has
learned that this may be the only way to hurt back. It may come out as silence because we have
resolved not to fight. It may show up in picky criticism and relentless correction. It may strike out
at persons that have nothing to do with its origin. It will often feel warranted by the wrongness of
the cause. After all, Jesus got angry (Mark 3:5), and Paul says, “Be angry and do not sin”
(Ephesians 4:26).
However, good anger among fallen people is rare. That’s why James says, “Be quick to hear,
slow to speak, slow to anger ; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God “
(James 1:19-20). And Paul says, “Men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or
quarreling” (1 Timothy 2:8). “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be
put away from you” (Ephesians 4:31).
Therefore, one of the greatest battles of life is the battle to “put away anger,” not just control its
expressions. To help you fight this battle, here are nine biblical weapons.
1. Ponder the rights of Christ to be angry, but how he endured the cross, as an example of long-suffering.
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an
example, so that you might follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21)
2. Ponder how much you have been forgiven, and how much mercy you have been shown.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave
you. (Ephesians 4:32)
3. Ponder your own sinfulness and take the beam out of your own eye.
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is
in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of
your eye,” when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out
of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s
eye. (Matthew 7:3-5)
4. Think about how you do not want to give place to the devil, because harbored anger is the one thing the
Bible explicitly says opens a door and invites him in.
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no
opportunity to the devil. (Ephesians 4:26-27)5. Ponder the folly of your own self-immolation, that is, numerous detrimental effects of anger to the one who
is angry – some spiritual, some mental, some physical, and some relational.
Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be
healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:7-8)
6. Confess your sin of anger to some trusted friend as well and as possible with the offender. This is a great
healing act.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be
healed. (James 5:16)
7. Let your anger be the key to unlock the dungeons of pride and self-pity in your heart and replace them with
love.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does
not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at
wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
8. Remember that God is going to work it all for your good as you trust in his future grace. Your offender is
even doing you good, if you will respond with love.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those
who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that
the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full
effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)
9. Remember that God will vindicate your just cause and settle all accounts better than you could. Either
your offender will pay in hell, or Christ has paid for him. Your payback would be double jeopardy or an
offence to the cross.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written,
“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not
threaten, but continued entrusting [his cause] to him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2:23)
Fighting for joy and love with you,
Pastor John
©2013 Desiring God Foundation. Used by Permission.
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute

Joe Wright is Senior Pastor of Central Christian Church in Wichita, KS.

Pastor Wright had been invited to serve as the House’s guest chaplain by Rep. Anthony Powell, a Wichita Republican who was also a member of Wright’s church. Accordingly, Pastor Wright composed a prayer, read it at the opening of the legislature on January 23, and departed, unaware of the ruckus he had created until his church secretary called him on his car phone to ask him what he had done.
Reportedly, one Democrat walked out in protest, three others gave speeches critical of Wright’s prayer, and another blasted Wright’s “message of intolerance.” House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer (also a Democrat) asserted that the prayer “reflects the extreme, radical views that continue to dominate the House Republican agenda since right-wing extremists seized control of the House Republican caucus last year.” Rep. Jim Long, a Democrat from Kansas City, said that Wright “made everyone mad.” But Rep. Powell, who had invited Wright in the first place, claimed that House Democrats were only trying to make political points with their criticism and affirmed that he supported the theme of the prayer.
Pastor Wright said afterwards: “I certainly did not mean to be offensive to individuals, but I don’t apologize for the truth.” His staff stopped counting the telephone calls that came from every state and many foreign countries after the first 6,500. Wright appeared on dozens of radio shows and was the subject of numerous TV and print news reports, and his prayer stirred up controversy all over again when it was read by the chaplain coordinator in the Nebraska legislature the following month. Wright later explained, “I thought I might get a call from an angry congressman or two, but I was talking to God, not them. The whole point was to say that we all have sins that we need to repent – all of us . . . The problem, I guess, is that you’re not supposed to get too specific when you’re talking about sin.”

The prayer as delivered on January 23, 1996 by Pastor Joe Wright to the Kansas House of Representatives:

Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. Lord, we know Your Word says, “Woe to those who call evil good,” but that’s exactly what we’ve done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.
We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it moral pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbors’ possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our fore-fathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us oh God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state. Grant them Your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your will. I ask it in the name of Your Son, the Living Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

What Can You Do to Prevent Identity Fraud?

While no one can prevent all identity theft and fraud, but there is a lot you can do to protect your identity and private information.

Check your financial accounts regularly. The sooner you notice something out of the ordinary and report it, the better.
Install a firewall and anti-virus software to protect your computer and personal information, and update them frequently.
Update your operating system and web browser software regularly.
Secure you wireless home (Wi-Fi) network by enabling encryption.
Be wary of emails that urgently implore you to click on a link to update your account information, use a generic greeting like “Dear Member,” have misspellings or use poor grammar.
Do not click on any links or attachments. You can often spot a fake email by hovering over the links and checking whether the URL actually leads to the website of the business or, in a scam email, to a third party site.
Delete suspicious email from your computer completely and be sure to empty your “trash can” or “recycling bin,” as well.
If you did click on a link, run your anti-virus software’s full system scan feature.
If you’re not sure if an email is legitimate or not, contact the company directly to verify, or visit their web page by typing in their web address (instead of clicking the link provided in the email).
Protect your passwords by keeping them in a safe place. Your passwords should have at least eight characters and should contain numbers, symbols and letters. Create different passwords for each online account that you have, and use an online password manager like Roboform to remember them all.
Use cash more instead of debit or credit cards.
Never give personal or financial information to unsolicited callers.
Use a good debit card as a credit card so you don’t have to enter the pin number.
Never access your financial accounts or purchase anything when using an unsecure public Wi-Fi connection.
Protect your smart phone by adding a password lock, enrolling in a data wiping program that can be accessed from a computer if you lose your phone, and downloading apps only from trusted app stores.
Enroll in an identity guard service like LifeLock for as low as $10.00 per month, to monitor access to your personal and financial information.
What Should You Do if You are a Victim of Identity Fraud?

If your purse or wallet are stolen, or home has been broken into, contact the police. If you need to file an insurance claim, they will need your police report number.
If your financial accounts have been compromised, immediately contact your bank or debit/credit card issuer to report the misuse and request a new card.
Report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) through their ID Theft Clearinghouse at http://www.ftc.gov/idtheft. This will allow the FTC to identify patterns associated with the unauthorized transactions.
If your data has been accessed through a data breach, consider subscribing to a credit-monitoring service, which is often is offered for free for a year by the company that had been breached.

Don’t Stop Voting (you do it every day with the choices you make)