Dave Merrick, Davemerrick.us is an internationally known and published artist whose works reach into the greatest diversity of audiences. Known primarily for his astoundingly lifelike portraiture, Merrick’s drawings and paintings grace the walls of an impressive array of well-known corporate and private clientele. Many of his published wildlife pieces have become some of America’s most popular animal imagery.
He has more original work in the Pro-Rodeo Hall of Fame than any other artist. His wildlife and Southwestern-theme work is distributed internationally through Joan Cawley Galleries of Scottsdale AZ.
This article is addressed especially to those among my good readers who are unbelievers and have not been approached by the real Christians who are supposed to be doing their job in telling you about the real good news of Jesus Christ. I often feel that most people have the idea that God is this huge, ANGRY monster, and He is just waiting for us to mess up! But He is not at all that.
On the peaceful drive home from Santa Fe, going the back way up through the San Luis Valley to Colorado Springs, I caught an AM radio program that was wafting in and out from some town in the southwestern United States. The sun was setting. I was alone on the highway. And the saged prairies dotted with dark juniper cedar trees were rolling by in front of high mountains covered in pine. Anyone who's made that trip will understand the awesome solemnity which accompanies that beautiful scenery.
Jesus' disciples were greatly impressed at the miracles He was performing as they went about their evangelical business. He was healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, regularly dodging death in various attempts on His life, and He even restored life to people who had died. Miracles were certainly flowing from the merciful heart of a loving God. But the miracles were also intended to drive home the authenticity of Jesus' divinity and to underscore His invitation for our salvation. Just as we are told throughout Scripture, Jesus Christ - whether you want to hear it, or believe it, or not - is God in human flesh. He is that, even at this very moment!
Way back when I was a hippie, all the pot and loud music couldn't cloud the fact that the wrong side of any debate was usually the more dramatic, flowery presentation. The plentiful aesthetics, drugs, sex, music, movies, etc. of the 60s only proved to deaden everybody's brains.
I had little doubt that 'the memo' was going to be released. And in my head I immediately had to deal with the inevitable squirming the left was going to do in response to that. I absolutely knew that the left's leadership - most visibly people like Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, et al. - would not miss a beat in meeting that release head-on with all sorts of obfuscation, rhetorical dancing and blatant lies.
Last night's State of the Union address from our nation's greatest president since Ronald Reagan - President, Donald Trump - was, after our weathering two terms of circling in the Obama toilet, a breath of fresh air.
This holiday season I was especially looking forward to Christmas, much due to the yearly reminder of the unconditional love and blessings that I need so badly and that I've been given in Jesus - coupled with the reunion of my beloved family members. It had been an extremely rough year for me. And I was looking to hide from some of my grief by just celebrating God's unfailing love in the company of my beloved, visiting Christian children. My (now grown) babies are great gifts of unconditional love from my Heavenly Father. And they are this old man's joy in the face of even life's darkest moments.
America is starting to 'go global' - in a new way.
The terrorism of Paris, London, Berlin ... It's no longer "over there". The Lame Stream Media has been working overtime trying to find ways not to broadcast the antics of extremist Islam. To date, it's been the chore of 'right wing' grassroots 'fake news' agencies to spread such fanaticism. Now the Big Six is going to have to step up and do some honest reporting - because this junk is right here in our own front yard.
Before a people are enslaved, before any nation is taken over, they are first disarmed. That's just history and common sense. From the inside or out, a nation is always first compromised by the removal of its ability to defend itself. Stalin, Hitler, Mao, et al., they all declawed whatever organism that stood in their way - most especially the people they intended to govern.
One of the reasons I write for Canada Free Press is that my editor does not mind a bit when I incorporate my faith in my work. Most places get queasy about that. Religious stuff has a tendency to chase people off. I don't like writing for religious venues, though, because I don't want to waste my time talking to the choir. As many of my regular readers know, I myself was once a hardened atheist. And I didn't want to waste my time reading church magazines.
