​According to the Bible, God has ordained the state (i.e. government) to be a servant of God in punishing evil. It is for that purpose that it “bears the sword,” or the right to engage in punishment, including capital punishment and to engage in just wars, and while there are many times in our history when the “just-ness” of our wars may be questioned, that is not the case with ISIS, which ruthlessly and barbarically slaughters men, women, and children. The means by which our government prosecutes the war should be effective to achieve the goal.
That said, the church, my “faith tradition,” is commanded to pray that God would change the hearts of these people, that they might come to a knowledge of the truth, and turn to the one true God, and to do what we can to reach them with the gospel. 

​Music is a gift of God to us. It can evoke our deepest emotions and reflect or contribute to moods that span the range of human passions.
Music has, from the earliest times, held an important place in the church of Christ and the worship of God.
At its best, proper songs, with lyrics that accurately reflect the teaching of scripture, and music that properly carries and expresses the lyrical content, can be a great buttress to our faith and worship; such songs not only express devotion and thankfulness to God, but teach us the great truths of the faith.
When songs begin to become more man-centered than God/Christ-centered, or when the music becomes a distraction from or even replaces preaching as the focal point of our church services, it can, and often does, become detrimental to faith and worship, and cause “worship” to become little more than Sunday morning concerts.

​While animals are a critical part of this world and a great blessing to us, there is nothing in the Bible that would lead to the conclusion that animals have a soul – an immaterial and continuing aspect of their being – or that they will take part in the afterlife. That is not to say that there will be no animals in heaven, it is a near-certainty that there will be, we may even have them as pets, but my past pets will not be waiting for me there when I arrive.
Animals are a different class of being than humans, and humans are the only part of the creation to be created in the image of God, and created with an enduring soul.
Far more important is the fact, dear reader, that you do have a soul, the state of which is of eternal consequence.