Tom Roe - Lessons Learned

Satan tries to kill Tom Roe; God has other plans

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:00:00 +0000

We don�t know why bad things happen to good people other than to say that we live on a fallen Earth, and we all are waiting for God to send his son Jesus back to take us home. We desperately look forward to the new Earth that will come after this old one passes away, an Earth where God and man are together as it was meant to be. This blog entry is about faith, and hope, and the constant vigil of the children of light. If this blesses you, please pass it along and show others the faithfulness of our Father God in Heaven. God bless all those who read this, and give them confidence that your Holy Spirit is working in our lives and can turn things which Satan means for evil into wondrous works that demonstrate Your glory. Praise the Lord!

I have no memory of the twelve days that follow... On the 1st of June, 2008, my wife Robin discovered me in an incoherent state in our bed. She called my dad for help, and he and my brother-in-law, tried to get me to a car so they could take me to the emergency room (ER), but I was not cooperative enough to make this possible, so an ambulance was called and they rushed me to the hospital.

It was very late, and the emergency waiting room was empty. This was a good thing because the entire ER staff was needed to hold me down so they could attach the devices necessary to stabilize me and run needed tests. It was said by some of the staff that I tossed them around like rag dolls. This is definitely not my character, and I can only presume that in that state, my subconscious was attempting to fight off what I felt was a spiritual attack. My family spoke of how I was calling out to God for His help in my delirium. The ER staff thought that I must be on something that made me strong; this was proved to be false by the tox-screen results. They asked why I was so strong and my family told them it was yoga. My wife Robin is an instructor of yoga and she teaches it from a Christian perspective. The doctors were worried because I seemed to be having seizures, and they thought that maybe I had had a prolonged seizure before my wife found me that night; there was concern about permanent brain damage. They moved me to the ICU at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital (LCRH), and while Robin was watching me struggle against the restraints, she worried, and prayed. Then she heard the sound of a loud exhaled breath near her ear and in her spirit she knew this was an angelic presence. She knew that God was preparing her for a difficult time ahead, but wanted her to know that His angels were there, and the Holy Spirit was watching over her husband. In simpler terms, He was saying, "Prepare yourself."

No information was gained about the cause of my condition at LCRH, so they called Lexington, Kentucky's University Hospital. It was determined that my case was �interesting� and they made a bed available in the ICU for me. This word �interesting� generally does not bode well for the patient. In spite of this Robin and my family prepared for the best, not the worst that could happen. Due to bad weather, I was taken there by ambulance by the next day.

A little background may be helpful here. Things were going well for us after two and a half years of mostly unemployment for me, I had gotten a good job as a technical writer in my home town, and things were looking good for our financial future again. My oldest daughter had set a date for her wedding and we were looking forward to that coming to pass in a few weeks. My dad was going to perform the ceremony and all was right with the world. Now, I can tell you what I think happened to me, but after more than 1,000 tests, not even the doctors (there were many) know for sure. I was working for two weeks prior to this on my yard, nearly an acre that I had let get a bit out of hand over the previous years. I spent most of my free time bagging three-year-old leaves and clearing overgrown brush. While clearing, I was frequently dusted with some pretty old, and moldy, debris. I�m not one to get sick; before this situation I hadn�t been to see a doctor since 1989. So I was surprised when the lymph nodes on my left shoulder and neck began to swell up. This continued for a couple of weeks, and I just presumed my body would fight it off and things would return to normal. These were the last two weeks of May, and that brings us up to date.

Back to the Lexington hospital, after a few days of trying to get my symptoms under control, washing my system with lots of drugs including every type of anti-biotic, they had damaged my Kidney�s in the process. I was not responding well, and x-rays showed my lungs filling with infection, so they performed a surgery on my shoulder/neck area to remove the infection that had grown there. They warned my family, specifically Robin and my mom, about the possibility that it may be cancer, and they responded exactly the way I�d expect them to, �I rebuke that in the name of Jesus, he does not have cancer.� The doctor said that they needed to prepare for the worse. My mom said that it wasn�t necessary to prepare for the worst because they were preparing for the best, and God was going to heal their son.

Meanwhile, my church, Victory Christian Fellowship, was alerted to my condition, and they prayed. This is a large church, and they have connections to many other churches around the country and even the world. This prayer turned into a chain of emails that caused other churches to put me on their prayer lists, and this became a dramatic move of God on his people to intervene on my behalf. I can�t even describe the emotion writing about this brings up in my spirit; I�m so blessed by it. Every time I think about it, tears well up and my spirit is overwhelmed. I�m so unworthy of this love God has given me, but so thankful, as is my family. Everyone�s plans had changed, my daughter decided to put off her wedding until her father could walk her down the isle. My two youngest daughters were staying with their grandmother in another town, and all of my family had put off any personal plans, and instead spend a lot of time with my wonderful wife in Lexington as she sat beside me day after day while I was in a coma. She prayed for me, read to me, and sang to me while my body rested. I know it's what is expected, but I can't imagine what it was like to have that kind of faith, believing that I would come out of this thing. She told me later that after a particularly bad day, she went to the waiting room, which surprisingly was empty and just collapsed into the middle of the floor crying. The attendee there asked if he could do anything, and she said that she needed her husband to come back to her; she needed me to be normal and my brain to be like it was; her children needed their father back.

After one week in the ICU, my dad put his hand on my chest and prayed, �God, I only want one thing for Father�s Day; I want my son back.� This prayer was followed by another bad week. I constantly moved from a little better to much worse. Robin told me about one nurse in the ICU who got close to me and spoke in my ear that she was praying for me to have peace, because unless I had a peaceful night they could not take me off the respirator. That night I slept in peace.

The next morning was the Saturday before Father�s Day, the 12th of June. My eyes opened and I saw my mother�s face staring at me. I heard my dad say, �Do you recognize her?� I couldn�t speak because of the tubes, but nodded in agreement. He then asked if I recognized him, and I agreed. Everyone had been concerned about my memory, so he continued with a question about me remembering my sister, Lori. I gave a puzzled expression and shook my head. Later they were telling everyone about my awakening, and he told Lori that she should prepare herself because I didn�t remember her when he asked me, I didn't mean for this to happen, I was just joking, but he didn�t understand that. As far as I was concerned it was the next day, I didn�t realize that I had been unconscious for nearly two weeks.

Later that day, still Saturday, I asked Robin what had happened to me, and she said it was a long story. Many people wonder what I saw while I was unconscious and all I can say is I have no memory of that time. The folks that sat beside me, praying, singing, and reading to me probably can answer that question easier, because they saw the turmoil my body was in, and I can only presume that my spirit was in a battle. They watched helplessly as I drifted from calm to torment, and they prayed.

The following Sunday, Father�s Day, my church heard the announcement that I was awake and recovering, and they cheered. My younger sister Crissy, always the baby of the family but now a mother of three boys, seemed a bit dismayed at the attention I was getting. She said it was like the movie, �It�s a wonderful life� times ten. I was simply blessed beyond words by it all. You wonder if your life has meant anything to those around you, and it�s times like these when you discover the value others place on your life, possibly a value far greater than you ever placed on yourself. The same can be said for the company I had started working for just a few weeks before the sickness hit me; they were also very concerned with my well being and lifted me up in prayer.

A quick rundown of the following days will help illustrate the wonder of my miraculous healing. Sunday, the tubes were removed, and I was moved to a regular room out of the ICU. While alone, I attempted to stand; my legs had no strength, and I fell like a stone to the floor. It seemed like a long time passed as I attempted to put my legs beneath me and stand, but to no avail. I also tried to use my arms to pull myself up, but finally had to call for help. Just two weeks before I was so strong, but now� In my mind I said, �God, I can�t start over. I�m the only income my family has. I need to work. I need to walk!�

Time seemed to move slowly, what felt like days were simply hours passing, and I got very little rest. The drugs they had me on distorted my subconscious thoughts and it was during the next two days that I saw glimpses of the battle I had had in the spiritual plane that surrounds us. The images I saw during short spans of sleep still haunt me today, and I�ll have to write that down some day when I�m able to make sense of it. Every time I closed my eyes, even while awake, I saw psychedelic imagery that made it very hard to rest; dark, disturbing images.

That evening the possibility of what lay ahead confronted me as doctors and therapists told me of how long it would take for me to walk again on my own, and how my kidneys were near the stage where I may have to have dialysis. A therapist arrived and spoke with me about my inability to stand or walk. After my first attempt, I was very disturbed about the thought of standing, but the physical therapist (PT) insisted that I try and with the help of two male attendees I stood, though, I didn�t feel very strong. I wanted Robin to work with me to help me walk, but the PT explained that there was big difference between a PT and a yoga instructor and I would need at least three days of intense therapy to get my legs moving again.

Monday morning I got some positive results from blood work that said my kidney�s were heading back toward normal. A rating of 8.0 signifies that I would need regular dialysis, and a rating of 1.0 is normal. After the damage done by the medication, I needed dialysis just to survive while in a coma, but the third time they performed dialysis they stopped it because I seemed to be improving. By this day, Monday, my kidneys were at a 5.6, and were improving by about one and a half points per day; I knew God was healing them.

That evening Robin said she didn't believe that the extensive PT was necessary and we agreed that God would repair my muscles and bones and give me the strength I needed to walk. Robin began working with me and I was standing with the help of the walker and doing leg exercises and simple stretches to prepare to walk. My head was swimming, but I was able to stand without assistance.

By Tuesday, my daughter had decided to have a small ceremony there in the hospital chapel, and my wife and I were determined that I would be able to walk her down that aisle. We would still have a regular ceremony several weeks later the way it was originally planned, but due to honeymoon plans that could not be refunded or changed, it was important to get them married that week. The doctors kept coming back with new potential problems that I might suffer, and when they did, I would ask Robin or another family member to pray with me about it and believed that God would correct the problem so my healing and my return home would not be delayed. Keep in mind that in more than 1,000 tests, one doctor described it as every test known to man; nothing had been found wrong with me. No disease was found, just those symptoms which could not be explained. We could not rely on their knowledge because they didn�t know what was wrong with me and their only course of action was more tests, which now included a desire to re-test for things that I had already been tested for.

By Tuesday afternoon, they removed my catheter and that freed me to move more and Robin walked up and down the hallways with me helping me to get my strength and confidence back. By that evening, I was carrying my walker.

I had tubes coming out of my neck where they had performed dialysis during my coma state, but so far I hadn�t needed further treatments because my kidneys were rapidly recovering. By Wednesday afternoon, they removed those tubes, and I was able to shower and prepare for my daughter�s chapel wedding that afternoon. Quite a few family members were able to make it for the ceremony including my other two lovely daughters. It was amazing, and I did walk Iliea down the aisle and gave her away to Chris Jones, a wonderful young man and a welcome addition to our family.

By Thursday, I was determined to leave, and had packed all my things in preparation for that event. The doctors were amazed at my rapid recovery and I know that, some of them at least, knew that they had witnessed a miracle. By noon that day I was getting in our van and we were praising God while Robin drove us home.

The following Sunday, Robin and I stood before my church congregation and proclaimed God�s glory, and thanked the faithful prayer warriors there for their intervention and my wonderful family for being beside me. Robin spoke as well and blessed me with her faith and the boldness of her testimony about what God had done.

With great thanks, your servant, Tom.

Views of the Revelation - Part 1 - By Tom Roe

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 03:39:00 +0000

Edited by Tom: Dec 2007 -- There is an axiom, "What we don't know is so much bigger than what we do know." This is very true of everything in the universe, and for Christians it is especially true about the Bible. John tells us in Revelation, that anyone who reads or hears the words of Revelation will be blessed by it. I am no expert, but I have been studying it for as long as I've known about God, that was sometime in 1974 I think. I was ten. I am blessed by it, even now, after all the times I've read it. Some people just consider it strange or confusing. That's not God's intended purpose. I believe that God is trying to help you to understand some things about His creation with Revelation. Some things that are so important he went over it several times in the same book. You must understand that at one point Revelation goes all the way back to when Lucifer got on God's bad side, and it also revisits some events several times.

There is a lot of imagery in Revelation, and it is big important stuff. Just reading it is cool, but what if you could see it? The imagination is a great place to consider things because there are no limits, but some folks gave up their imagination when they got their first job, or when they entered high school so they might have trouble comprehending some of these images. If that's the case, I would like to take a shot in this series at explaining some of the things I see when I read Revelation in the hope that it will help someone else to better appreciate it. God help me with this so I don't mess up.

I saw Star Wars III recently, (Who hasn't?), and I loved the shots of Corescant, with it massive buildings. This is fiction of course, but I thought it would be neat to illustrate something from the Bible that is just as cool, and even more so because I believe the Bible is true, and therefore know that this is not fiction, it is something I will actually get to see. With that in mind, here goes...

John was on the Island of Patmos near Turkey, and he had visions, a Revelation, about God's creation, past, present, and future. Near the end of the book of Revelation, in chapter 21 verse 10 and 11 John writes, "And he [the angel] carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal."

In an effort to comprehend the size of this Holy City, I've begun modeling it to scale in Lightwave 3D version 8.3. Most people can't really appreciate this just by reading it, myself included, so I thought this would be a good way to finally and completely get it through my thick skull, exactly what God was revealing to John that day.

Brace yourself.

This city is so huge, that standing on the tallest mountain, Everest, wouldn't even give you a good view of it unless it was waaay out in space. So I'm assuming it was. So there's John standing on Mt. Everest with this angel and what does he see? Well, he sees the curvature of the Earth for one thing, because the only way to see this massive city is to stand a thousand miles away and that will cause the Earth's edge to somewhat block your view. Also, he sees very little of a wall, unless the angel takes him on a tour and gets him real close to the city so he can examine the particulars of the design, which, of course, the Bible says he did.

The reason he couldn't see the walls from the initial wide view is that they are very small in the grand scheme of things. Imagine that you are looking through one of the massive 12 gates toward the inside of the city. The angel measures the thickness of the walls and you see that they are a mere 80 meters thick, that's 262 feet to us Americans. Nearly the length of a football field.

You may think that's one seriously thick wall, but you ain't seen nuthin yet. (Warning for english teachers or grammar gurus: I will occasionally modify the english language somewhat for dramatic effect or written inflection. Please don't get anal about this, it is just my writing style.) I ignored that number for my illustration because you wouldn't be able to see a wall only 80 meters thick inset into a city that was 1380 miles across, deep, and wide. It would be so small it wouldn't be visible. So, just to balance things out a bit, I made the wall a bit bigger, ok, a thousand times bigger.

Please ignore my use of artistic license there and realize that the fact that I'm telling you about this tweak, implies that I'm not adding aaaanything whatsoever to the book of Revelation. Why am I saying this? Well that's a story for another article. For a preview of why I wouldn't want to add anything to Revelation see chapter 22.

Most of the time when you see this city depicted, it is a giant cube, like something the Borg would build if they assimilated God's kingdom into their collective.

This illustration shows a more city-like city. Not exactly what I want, but for a reasonable amount of design time, it will do.

Let me know what you think at tom@tomroe.com and if you want to use this illustration or article in a sermon, go ahead, just give me credit. If you want to use a higher resolution version of this image in print or in a project you will sale, get permission and rights first. I have to make a living too.

Iron Sharpens Iron - Stepping Out of my Comfort Zone

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 16:35:00 +0000

A new acquaintance of mine on the web recently gave me some advice concerning stepping out of my comfort zone so that I can accomplish things for God's kingdom. My point of view on this is probably tainted by many years of doing just that, but in retrospect I realize that faith is more than clever cliches or one liners. Sometimes faith is waiting. What follows is an slightly edited version of my response to him. Hopefully it will give you some insight into my though process and maybe God can use this to help someone.

I have seen the sacrifices some were willing to make and are still making. I myself thought, that for service to the church I am attending, I should make whatever sacrifice necessary to accomplish the goals of my pastor and the church. I served for three years running digital video and power point. I quit this when I discovered my children were growing up without me, and my wife was becoming distant. However, many of those who have sacrificed in this manner, have lost their families, or their job, and then experienced financial ruin because they have forgotten the priorities established in their lives. My priorities are...

God - This is the keystone to your life, it involves a personal relationship with God through His son, Jesus Christ. This is not church attendance.

Family - If you have entered into a marriage, then you have an obligation to keep that together and serve and nourish it spiritually, emotionally, and economically. Job or Church do not take precedence because that could destroy the commitment to Family.

Job - This is how you keep things together at home, by providing stability, food, and a roof over your families' heads.

Other stuff - Some things I haven�t though of, but they are important.

Church - What most people associate with a building where believers meet. This would probably be better if it were simply home groups, but nevertheless it is important, and you should gather together with believers because iron does indeed sharpen iron.

As a 40 year old man, saved since I was ten, I have had plenty of opportunities to screw my life up (just read my resume on the home page http://tomroe.com for example), so the catch phrases "everything has a price" and "move out of your comfort zone", are all too familiar to me.

Many Christians don't realize how important a contract is to God, probably because they haven't actually studied the Bible cover to cover. In august I will have been married 20 years. A marriage is a contract proclaimed before man and God. Letting obligations like this fail because of service to a job or a church (which, in spite of its good work is still just a building not a God) is a mistake, and an error in judgment.

"Comfort zone" is a funny place - Most people associate it with home and family, but those things aren't always comfortable, and sometimes holding a family together is the most uncomfortable thing to do. Sometimes keeping your family together in spite of fellow church folks abandoning you as friends because you've stopped attending their church temporarily is the hardest thing in the world to do, but if you are a man of God, you will fight to keep the contract you made, and keep your family in love and together. This is a battle worth winning. Sometimes you have to abandon your dreams temporarily, because other priorities have precedence and need to be nurtured and cared for. If you loose sight of this, you will loose sight of God's will for you because there will be no peace in your life. There will be no time for you to enJOY the life God has given you.

There are some wonderful things God has given me to do for His kingdom. But, I am willing to wait for Him to open the way, clear the path, and provide the means for me to accomplish those things. I don't have to run over my family to get there. Sometimes the road ahead looks like it is crowded with opposition. God can fight those battles for you, you don't have to forsake contracts and obligations to fight them yourself.

Sometimes, the best way for a man to demonstrate God's love is to show that he loves his wife, and his children. We are living the example God has given us when we truly understand what it means to leave your mother and father and take a wife. The children that are born of that relationship are living reminders of what God must feel toward us. Every time I hear my child say daddy help me. I realize that God is listening to me with the same compassionate ear, and He wants what is best for me.

This letter is meant to show you a bit of what I mean by "not going to jeopardize my family". Hopefully it will mean more to you than a catch phrase or a clever saying. Hopefully it will reveal to you some of the values God has placed in me.

Your turn - Iron Sharpens Iron.

In His Service,

Tom Roe - tom@tomroe.com

International Tragedy

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Thu, 30 Dec 2004 15:33:00 +0000

International Tragedy

I am saddened by what has happened. The tsunamis have taken a terrible toll.

The dead of course will sort themselves out in the presence of God, but the living must go on living. Children have been separated from their parents, and parents have been separated from their children. This is the greatest tragedy I see here. As a parent of three lovely daughters, I shudder at the prospect of this happening to me. It is very disturbing. As a prayer for the living, I would like to write the following...

God please be with them in this difficult time and help them to rely on You most of all. Help them to see that life is not certain, and death is not always far from us. Help them to see the bigger picture. Right now they see death and destruction all around them, but allow them to see that this life is short even if you live it to the end of your expected years, and it is so important that we seek Your will in our lives and allow the grace you've given us through your son Jesus Christ to cover them in life and death. Many more will perish because of disease so God be with those who help the sick and afflicted, to get there quickly. Give them the strength, the constitution necessary to deal with the environment they are entering. Provide the funds and other resources necessary to save lives, and heal the sick.

Thank you God that the United States will lead the way in this, that we the people of the US will not rely solely on our government to step up and meet the needs of these nations but that the people of this blessed United States will step up and give beyond the worlds wildest imaginings to provide the money necessary to carry out the recovery and repair of the nations struck by this disaster. The people of this nation give more than all the governments of all the nations of the world including our own. Let this truth be told so that the people of the world will see that we are blessed by God, and that we do what You told us to do. We give, we help, we feed, we save. We are blessed because You have blessed us. We bless others because You told us to do that. As my eyes tear up from the thought of the horror that is awaiting those who are going to the nations in need right now. I apologize that I have not done more for You and your people God. Forgive me of my shortcomings. Forgive me of my fear. Allow me to do what I can to help and hear my prayer. You said that if we pray demons will flee, so now I join millions across the planet who are praying for the people who live and work in these decimated countries. Keep Satan and his minions from them, and allow your grace to show in the hearts and faces of the people that are there.

Amen.

I hope that everyone who reads this will pray for the nations of this tragedy, and for the nations that are helping to recover the wounded, the dead, and to repair the damage that has been done. Also, find a trustworthy organization, such as those listed at

http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/tsunami/ngolist.html

If you can't give money, don't underestimate the power of prayer.

Software, Movie, and Music Piracy

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Tue, 23 Nov 2004 18:03:00 +0000

I have a teenage daughter, and lately, her friends have been bestowing on her these wonderful gifts of CDs and DVDs that she can add to her collections. She is almost legally an adult, so I'm going to run through these guidelines with her now and let her work out how much of it pertains to her later.

You see, it really doesn't matter what we say or what we say we are going to do, or what we say that we did. What really matters is what we believe and how much of our beliefs have become core values that we cling to and that the world can not take away from us.

I can preach until I'm blue in the face about what is right and wrong, but it's my life as a whole and my persistent actions that really matter. The word persistent here is meant to represent that occasionally we all make mistakes, and as a Christian I am forgiven for those mistakes. They do not become an example of who I am, they are mistakes, and as such, are suppose to be avoided in the future to the best of my ability. However, since they are attached to me, a human being, there is a good chance I will make those mistakes again in the future.

There is only one moment that can truly cover the sum of one's life, and that is the moment that one decides to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is a life changing event. Everything else is a variable.

Back in the heyday of the Commodore 64 and later the Commodore Amiga computers I was a great pirate of computer software and I used all of the classic justifications.

I don't have the money to buy this program so they're not loosing anything on me anyway.

It's not really stealing because I'm not taking anything. It's just data. It's not like I'm stealing floppy disks from the store.

When I'm rich enough to buy these programs I will, but now I'm just learning how to use them.

If these excuses sound familiar then you are now, or have been in the past, struggling with the same stuff I was then, and indeed still struggle with today. This is my rule, you get your own (ok - if you don't have one you can use this one)...

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
NO WAY - It can't be that simple can it?

Well, yes it can. I'm an artist, and I'm wondering how I would feel if something I created was just taken and used without my permission? I have given this a lot of thought, and I think it lines up pretty well with the word of God. It's based on the golden rule after all.

God does not expect you to do unto others as Billy Graham would do unto you. You see how that works? You should do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That means that this rule is based on your sincere beliefs of what is right and wrong. The law is another matter entirely. The law says the following..

If you distribute copyrighted material in any way, you are breaking the law and are potentially subject to litigation and penalties. End of conversation.

But, but, but - I know there are some objections, unknown variables, subtle rule deviations, etc., that may come to mind at this point, but the law is still the law, and I am suppose to follow the laws of the government over me unless they directly conflict with God's law. For instance, I'm not suppose to bow down to graven images, other gods, and pagan rulers and such. But we accept that as an axiom so I won't go there.

My personal beliefs, which will probably keep me out of music industry litigation, are the following..

It's ok for me to share a song with someone, but not a complete CD.

It's okay to invite them to my house to watch a DVD I bought or rented but it's not ok to give them a copy of that DVD.

It's okay for me to mix several CDs that I own into a special mix for someone in my household, but not for someone who doesn't own the CDs in question.

Concerning software, it's okay for me to use a program like 3D Studio Max or Maya 3D or Lightwave 3D to learn how to use the program, but it's not okay for me to create revenue from that software until I own the right to use it that way. (This rule is very personal, and is probably pretty easy to defeat in a court of law, but the software in question is very expensive, and is intended for graphics professionals, not novices and people experimenting with it for learning purposes.) So if you make money with it, or use it in your work, then buy it. That's why it was created.

This is the simplest way to think about something like a piece of software, a DVD, or a Music CD.

It's like a book from the library. You can't create a situation where two people in two different locations could read the same book at the same time. You can loan it to someone and let them read it, but you can't make a photocopy of the book, and give it to them.

There is a reference to this in Romans chapter 2 titled, "Jews Are Judged with Impartiality". It's the reason I'm writing this article.

For there is no partiality with God. For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
What this is saying is what I said at the beginning of this article. It matters what you do persistently, innately. Not what you say is the right or wrong thing to do. Some people are living according to God's will without the law. It's simply in them, and you don't have to teach it to them. However, no one is completely without sin, and therefore we all need forgiveness.
Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?...
This is where the rubber meets the road isn't it?
Do what I say AND what I do!

As you can see, my quandary is to teach my daughter what she is suppose to do and lead her by example. I'm not perfect and I've made some (ok many) mistakes, so how can I expect her to do the right thing? Well, I can teach her in the way she should go and she will not (usually) depart from it. That's about the best any of us can do for our children. I put the word usually there because I know she is going to make mistakes just like I have, and I know that because she is a Christian, she is forgiven as well.

Tomorrow is the day we vote.

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Mon, 01 Nov 2004 15:36:00 +0000

Tomorrow is the day we vote.

Pray for our nation, that its people will vote for security, and keep President Bush for four more years. He has been a great blessing to all of us, and the world's history will show some day that his impact against the terrorist has been a deadly blow indeed. He has led the charge that few were willing to take. The gathering threat didn't form on his watch; it was simply ignored for ten years. If there is hope against world-wide terrorism it lies in the hands of principled, God-fearing men like George Bush. This is world war three; the world just hasn't figured that out yet.

My hope is that is war can be resolved over there so that it doesn't land on our shores again. The fact remains that even though it is terrible that our troops and our allies including the people of Iraq have to die in this war, it is more important that we gather those that oppose freedom to a distant place for battle. We can�t simply wait for them to attack us on our own soil again. The real threat is not that we have to fight such a war, it is that there are those forces in the world that would not hesitate to detonate a nuclear weapon in the heart of a large city such as New York, Los Angeles, London, or Paris. They would simply say they did it for Allah. We have to stand up and show them that God is on the side of the righteous and that is why we succeed. God is against those that defile His word, and that is why they fail.

I continue to be distressed by the lack of objective news reporting around the world concerning the importance of this war. It was front page news in papers all over the world that the Americans lost more than 1,000 soldiers in this war a few months ago, but it seems to be back page news that the Americans lost 30,622 to suicide in 2001 (These are the most current statistics to date).
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/dvs/nvsr52_09p9.pdf

The above link is a PDF so I�m adding this link to a new page of similar info.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/fact_book/26_Suicide.htm

There is a curious lack of perspective in this reporting that can not be a coincidence. Don't be fooled by the majority of the world�s media into believing that this is not a just war, it is not only just but imperative that we fight it. Saddam had unmarked mass graves that exceeded hundreds of thousands of people who's only crime seems to have been disagreeing with the monster in charge and his minions.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/27000.htm

The information the world media is doling out to the public is so slanted toward a Kerry victory, that it is shocking to see them fall all over themselves to try to make that happen. In spite of all they have done, possibly billions of dollars of free press promoting their candidate, he is still having trouble breaking even with the President in this run for the highest office in the land. If the worldwide press had been fair and balanced in their coverage - imagine what the polls would show now.

Tom Roe - tom@tomroe.com

The Day After Tomorrow? - By Tom Roe

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Fri, 15 Oct 2004 17:41:00 +0000

"The Day After Tomorrow" was fun to watch. I enjoyed the effects especially. You don't have to watch long to feel uncomfortable about how far they've reached into the implausible to shore up the premise for this movie. I'm a 3D artist and animator, so I was very excited to see the movie, but I shuddered inside each time they took a jab at modern politics like there is something we could do to stop or start such a catastrophe. First of all the movie says that we could enter into a similar climate change like the one that happened, according to their science, 10,000 years ago. They then proceed to imply that humanities use of fossil fuels and combustion engines is the cause of this change. This is really weird for a premise because it disproves itself. We can not effect the global climate with anything less than a nuclear holocaust. The fact that it supposedly happened 10,000 years ago without our help demonstrates that in massive catastrophic earth-wide disasters happen when they happen, not when we make them happen. So it's not us. That doesn't mean we can't hurt things. Desserts now exist in places where there were once forests. The dust bowl happened long ago because of over-farming the land and some days in big cities like LA you can't go out of the house because of smog. We have moved from a mostly industrial planet to a more and more technological planet and this is changing the amount of hazardous waste we pump into the air. We can do better and we are doing dramatically better than we were 50 years ago, but you have to keep things in perspective. Did you know that a single volcanic eruption spews more greenhouse gas into the earth's atmosphere in one moment at one location than mankind has created in many years.

LINKS

National Review weighs in
http://www.nationalreview.com/hibbs/hibbs200406010819.asp
Bad emissions are trending down rapidly - We must be doing something right eh?
http://www.pacificresearch.org/pub/sab/enviro/04_enviroindex/09_air.html
Junk Science (Where science gets it wrong)
http://www.junkscience.com/news/prma2.html
Volcanoes destroy ozone more than humans
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pinatubo/self/index.html

After reading some of the material at the above links, I'm really starting to get annoyed at the rhetoric of the liberal loons. Would you people just shut your cake holes! We no more can control the destiny of this planet's global climate than we can stop the earth from spinning on its axis.

It is by the grace of God that we are spared from the catastrophes depicted in the movie "The Day After Tomorrow". The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom! It is by God's own hand that the universe and our solar system remains balanced in perfect harmony. Should God remove His influence for a moment, we would all perish. Realize from where you receive grace! Thank God for the grace he has shown you.

Tom Roe - October 15th, 2004

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Tue, 12 Oct 2004 18:03:00 +0000

An Internet acquaintance and fellow 3D artist, who is preparing to go to an art school recently wrote me about some concerns he and his dad had. He described one school tour and explained
how great the work was that they were doing there, then he wrote the following..

"...We got to the end of the tour, and when we heard that all students must take a full year of the fundamentals, including a year of life drawing, my dad asked the important question. He wanted to know if there was anyway to avoid that certain objectionable part of life drawing. The answer was an absolute no. They would not budge."

This attitude among Christians concerning traditional art is very disconcerting. I felt it was important to help this young man understand the difference between pornography and art. There is no fuzzy line here as far as I'm concerned. When it is pornography your spirit will feel very uncomfortable in its presence. When it is simply an expression or human observation of the beauty God made then your spirit will recognize that. This is no "I'm ok, your ok" type justification, it is simply separating the kind of conviction God's Spirit can give you, and the kind of guilt Satan will give you to interfere in the plans God has for your talents.

What follows is my responce which I believe may help others...

I presume that by "objectionable part" of life drawing you mean nudes. While I do understand that the thought of staring intimately at a nude human form while studying it and putting your version of what you see on paper can lead to some initial embarrassment, I'm a bit puzzled by your response to the idea. You seem to imply that drawing a nude is a type of pornography. That couldn't be further from the truth. God made us all so wonderfully that it is difficult to truly appreciate the work of the greatest artist unless you get a chance to study the human form. This has been true as far back as art has been a form of expression. This is a non-sexual forum, and other than some initial embarrassment which quickly passed, I found nude drawing to be one of the best opportunities I had in college to further my abilities as an artist.
It is true that we are suppose to be modest in how we present ourselves to the world, but you also have to consider the context of the presentation. To look on the human body and see sin is not what God had in mind, and having read the Bible through a couple of times, I can assure you there is no biblical support for that position.
The context of which I speak is of course the life drawing forum. Many students are gathered around a nude in an attempt to understand why [and how] the human form is so complex and wonderfully made. I see this as an opportunity to study God's work in a non-sexual forum. It is akin to studying a nude to determine what is wrong with the body so you can fix it, like a doctor. You wouldn't presume that a doctor studying a nude is involved in a pornographic endeavor, and the same is true for an artist.
Of course it is also possible to take what God intended for good and turn it into something bad, like using pornographic materials, available freely on the web, to further your artistic abilities, but at the same time wading through tons of images which are an abomination to what God made - sex, and the human form. This is wrong, and the spirit behind it is evil.
If you let Satan convince you that a nude human is something that should offend you, then Satan has won a pretty major battle in your mind. You must be able to separate the truth from the deception. If you can't look upon a nude without wallowing in sexual imaginings then you probably shouldn't draw nudes, but if you can ask God to control your mind, and help you to understand his creation better without giving Satan the upper hand then I think, for an artist, it is imperative that you take lessons from the greatest artist, God Himself.

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Tue, 12 Oct 2004 02:10:00 +0000

I've been amazed to watch the polls as they bounce all over the place between the two candidates, President George W. Bush and John F. Kerry. In spite of this I believe that this race is over now. I watched the second debate and like many people of similar beliefs I was relieved to see Bush pull it together - his first debate was way less than adequate, there were a lot of missed opportunities. He was interesting to watch. This doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. He is passionate about what he believes. He generally is, but it was more apparent this time. It's easier to be passionate about your beliefs when you keep the same ones for most of your adult life. You become very adept at telling people about them and you don't have to remember where you stood last week or yesterday because they're always the same. I'm blessed that he did so well. Kerry on the other hand, did well also for his point of view, and I'm glad because it draws an obvious line in the sand about who stands for what. Kerry still vacillated between positions several times on several issues, but for the most part he came out on the other side of many important things.

He is against the war and will bail as soon as he can do it with any of his dignity intact.

He is for a woman's choice in that he believes she should be allowed to kill her unborn child on a whim.

He is for raising taxes on as many people as he can get away with.

There is definitely a clear choice here.

Now you can probably guess whom I will be voting for. You should understand that the first and most important issue for me is an unborn child's right to life. I believe it is the foundation of a civilized society that we protect the innocent. There is nothing more innocent than an unborn child in its mother's womb. God is on my side here. If you don't believe me you should read about Manasseh in 2nd Chronicles and 2nd Kings. This is a scripture that caused me to do a double take. God rarely responded to man's obscenities to this degree. God was so angered at Judah, that He said He would forsake the promises He had made and allow their enemies to wipe them from the face of the earth. God is not amused by our justifications for the slaughtering of the innocent. Once I've determined that not only does the candidate believe that that is a life worth protecting, but also he or she is willing to put his or her job and future on the line for that belief. In the end we're all responsible for our own salvation, which must be worked out with the Lord. I can easily judge a person's character at the moment I determine how they feel about that life growing in its mother's womb. Everything else is important also, but this is the most important thing to me. We have to stop the hemorrhaging of our nation's morality. It is flowing so freely into the pit of political correctness and apathy that it almost seems impossible to stop. Those of you who believe in saving the unborn, and stopping the disintegration of important institutions like the Supreme Court and marriage. Those of you who believe that America is in the middle of an important war against terror. Those who believe that our cause is just and millions of people have been given the precious gift of freedom. You need to register and you need to vote. You need to make it count toward the values you believe in.

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Sat, 28 Aug 2004 23:16:00 +0000

It has been too long since I posted to this blog. I've had so much fun learning about the things God has in store for my future. Those of you who know me may have some questions about where I've been lately. Of course if you work with me, you understand that I'm involved with many different organizations that serve the kingdom of God in different ways.

As Technical Director of WisdomTEK Media Services I have been leading a small team of people in the development of several sites for NewLife Industries. NewLife is in their 25th year of business. They are a leading distributor of Christian apparel throughout the United States.

WisdomTEK has become the hub for media development for that company and now we are moving into a new era. NewLife is tightly bound to the success or failure of WisdomTEK. If WisdomTEK succeeds in the projects we are currently involved in, NewLife Industries will flourish. It's the only way to achieve the success that the president of the company, Richard Humble, wants for their future. Why is this?

NewLife, like most similar businesses, is tied to bulk mail as the source of its revenue. In the past, if you wanted to increase profits, you would just mail more and viola, you would have the increase in sales necessary to improve your bottom line. Now however, that is not the case. It is getting more and more difficult to achieve good results by simply mailing more people with promotional material. We are working way too hard to just break even. The Internet offers a solution. E-mailing promotional material is the only way to succeed in the future. The people we mail are already on our lists as customers and we have been collecting data over the past two years to allow us to move to an Internet based mailing process. This saves us a lot of postage, and increases our ability to target more accurately the people who are interested in our products.

WisdomTEK is focused on ministry support. We want to help ministries to achieve the kind of success that is only possible if you have plenty of money. We have developed a way to make that possible. NewLife's production is undergoing a transformation, which will allow them to serve ministry more effectively. If you have a large group of people in your mailing list we want to help you promote your needs and services more effectively. If you have some of the following circumstances..

You have a web site that is in need of repair
You need someone to host your website
(We will do this for $10/month for most sites)
You don't have a website

We can build your site for free. This is a custom website; not a template based cookie cutter creation. We will defer your cost for this site to funds generated by our links placed on your site. If you want we will build a custom store that sells our products on your site to your visitors. We will give back a large percentage of the total sell to pay for the construction of your site and then as a check paid directly to you. This is usually 20%, but may vary depending of the profit margin of the products sold. This service is intended for ministries - Generally non-profit organizations. But we may make exceptions for worthy causes.

I am going to be moving to a more creative roll in the near future. WisdomTEK is going to need a new Technical Director with tremendous skills in the area of Web Development. You must have a great track record with Dreamweaver Studio MX and be able to manage a web server from the ground up. You must also be good with people, and understand that what we are doing is ministry sensitive. We are in the business of increasing the kingdom by providing resources to ministries, missions, and companies that are doing that. We are not a non-profit company, but we are determined to put a great deal of our profits into this endeavor.

Server skills should include expert knowledge in the Apache Linux environment. Expert knowledge is also required in the following technologies..

PHP - MySQL - MS SQL - Plesk 7 and it's many plug-ins
Dreamweaver Coldfusion - Dreamweaver MX
Microsoft IIS - MS ASP - HTML - XML
You should also be comfortable in the usual Microsoft applications like MS Office Professional and MS Project.

My near future is going to be dedicated to video production and 3D animation and design. I will be using Lightwave 3D version 8 for my 3D work and Adobe Premiere 6.5 for my video editing software. The editing will be done on a dual processor system I built myself to house the Digisuite NLS editing system. I'm using a Sony 3-Chip camera as a backup mini DV camera and a Canon XL1s as my primary. I've been working with this for some time now, and have gotten pretty good at simulating film look with it. I love that camera!

This is an amazing time for me and my associates at WisdomTEK.com Keep us in your prayers. God is good all the time. Right now He is doing a great work in me and I can't wait to see where this journey leads. Praise the Lord.

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Fri, 06 Feb 2004 03:22:00 +0000

Today has been awesome. I've finally put the finishing touches on the first draft of a new web site at http://wisdomtek.com - This is the beginning of a fantastic service for Christian ministries and projects around the world. God bless this effort and guide us in Your will as we seek your face and expand the kingdom of God through these ministries You've created to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through all the earth. Amen.

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 21:10:00 +0000

I've
given him a face now! Still not sure about a name. Any suggestions? tom@tomroe.com

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Fri, 30 Jan 2004 22:45:00 +0000

Hey!
Today I've been working on a partner for the TEKBOT. He doesn't have
a name yet. Any suggestions? tom@tomroe.com

Click the image to see the full version

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Tue, 27 Jan 2004 21:34:00 +0000

Ok - It took longer for me to get around to it, but the TEKBOT
is moving and I'm including a bit of animation here for your perusal. This robot
was created in Lightwave 7.5 and has many objects parented with inverse
and forward kinematics applied.

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Thu, 22 Jan 2004 03:04:00 +0000

Today I used Lightwave 3D 7.5 to complete a new character. I call it TEK-BOT. It's a robot character (duh) and it looks pretty cool. I'll post some artwork tomorrow, including an animated walk sequence. It took me longer than expected to rig this guy. Since he is articulated with many separate objects, I used rotational limits rather than bones to create the basic setup. That only took me 1.5 hours. The NULL/Inverse kinematics setup took four or five hours, because I'm not very good at it yet. After the third try, I got it! Well, close enough to animate anyway. I'll set up some more animations tomorrow. This is fun. It's been a long time since I had the chance to animate. I want to get good at this, it's such a feeling of power, muahahaahaahaha! Oh, forgive me a cruel chuckle, mm, power, yessss. It's ALIVE!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Sat, 10 Jan 2004 21:37:00 +0000

Completed creating the DVD today using DVDit! from Sonic. This program works but doesn't have much in the way of troubleshooting built in. It would have been fairly simple to place some helpful hints into the DVD production process, but they have assumed that you will know what to do, and even though I am very competent in using Windows based applications, this program has created hours of unnecessary research, analysis, and errors during the production of my first couple of DVD's. I think I have it down now, but they get a "D" on help and intuitive design.

The NewLife Promo I just mailed yesterday, was going to SteeleHouse Productions in Tulsa, OK, and it is going to be included in the Elevate 2004 program schedule. I feel really good about this, and am delighted that God made a way for me to use my talents to contribute to such a good cause.

A little background...

NewLife Industries has been doing what it does, Christian Apparel, for more than 25 years and they are very good at it. Of course being good at something isn't sufficient to ensure that you will survive. You have to move forward and follow trends and keep up with the world or you will be extinct. With the advancement of our Internet Commerce plans we have at least begun the process of stabilizing the future growth of NewLife Industries. As Technical Director for I have done my part in encourage change in the company and even given a 45 minute presentation to the board and key supervisors in a critical meeting in April of 2003. I believe that was a major catalyst for change in the company and with WisdomTEK Media Services God's great assistance it will help NewLife to prosper and grow well into the future.

More background...

WisdomTEK grew out of a need for us to have a way to share our capabilities with NewLife's customer base, which consists of many Christian organizations and churches. These groups don't always have the finances to pay large media companies to produce things like websites, logos, 3d animations, and videos but we believe we can do quality work on a lower budget. Having the resources to do this in Somerset, KY is unusual. Right now WisdomTEK consists of Me - Tom Roe - as Technical Director, Cindy Smith - as assistant, she is learning how to edit websites and content, including artwork. She's very quick and I think she will be able to handle most things within a few more months of on the job training. This time of training her has shown me that you don't really need a background in Information Technology to do this job, just a desperate desire to learn, and an sincere interest in what computers can do for us. She is most competent on Macromedia Fireworks and is learning to use Dreamweaver for editing websites. Tony Poynter is a competent artist/musician, and can handle most of the projects that are thrown at him. Tony is very technically astute and works mostly with Photoshop - In Design - and other Adobe tools. He is also getting pretty good with Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver. He dabbles in 3D Studio MAX on his PC at home. I complete the team as Technical Director. There really isn't anything I can't do. This is not ego, just acknowledgment of what God has given me. If I come across something that is beyond my skills I am quick to figure out what I need to do the job and get the hardware, software and knowledge necessary to do it. I use the following tools on a regular basis...

Macromedia
* Dreamweaver MX - Web Development
* Fireworks MX - Artwork production and optimization for video and the web
* Flash MX - 2D animation for the web - Also 2d GIF animation FW
* Director 8.5 - Web gadgets and interactive game content

Adobe
* Premiere 6.5 - Video editing software
* I have used Photoshop, but my needs are for video and Fireworks does it all

Matrox
* Digisuite MAX/DTV - Video editing hardware

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Fri, 09 Jan 2004 03:28:00 +0000

Today I created a new commercial for the Elevate 2004 Conference in Dallas, TX and Charlotte, NC - This is a great opportunity for WisdomTEK Media Services - NewLife Industries - and Me, Tom Roe - Your humble artist. NewLifeShopper is featured in the ad which is a minute and 5 seconds long. This is our first commercial so I spent a lot of time getting it right. The first DVD we sent was almost done but I finished editing version two today, Thursday, January 8th, 2004.

Elevate is something that... "was initially in the mind and heart of Bob Reccord, president of the North American Mission Board. As a result of his vision, courage, and leadership a team of people filled with passion and armed with a long list of credentials began to piece together Elevate. Under the direction of NAMB, OnCore was retained to provide a turnkey conference." {Excerpt from their website}

I created this commercial on a 2 GHz Dual P4 Xeon computer with one Gig of RAM which I built myself using parts from www.micropro.com and a DigiSuite MAX/DTV board array installed. The Chassis and Motherboard were from Super Micro I think. It's been well over a years since I built this. I use Adobe Premiere 6.5 to edit and create 3d animation and models with Lightwave 7.5 from NewTek. I will be posting a streaming version of this commercial at WisdomTEK Media Services - The company created by Richard Humble (President of NewLife Industries) and myself in November 2002.

This conference is an awesome idea. It was produced by the North American Mission Board - NAMB - which is a Southern Baptist organization. I've never seen anything quite like this. They seem to be looking outward more, and having grown up in the Baptist church this seems to be quite a deviation from the norm. I like this trend. The more we can abandon our ritualistically organized religions and think outside of that box the better we will be able to meet the needs of others and expand the Kingdom of God.

noreply@blogger.com (Forgiven - Tom Roe) — Wed, 07 Jan 2004 21:08:00 +0000

Now I've done it! I've created a monster. This Blog will now have to be fed and maintained on a regular basis. I hope you enjoy what happens here. The worst case scenario is that it will just be a place for me to vent. If that's all it is then that's a good enough reason. So it begins...