Have you ever noticed the signs on the exit ramps of American Interstates that are facing backwards as you exit? Do you know what those signs say? If you ever get confused and start to enter an Interstate by an exit ramp, then you can clearly see those signs. They read: "Wrong Way".

The Interstate builders are boldly telling us that something is wrong! Are they being judgmental? How politically uncorrect! Of course the Interstates were built in the 1960's, so that might explain some of it -- a few things were still considered to be morally wrong back then.

But do they have a right to tell people "Wrong Way" in the liberated 21st Century? Of course they do! And a responsibility to tell, too! Wrong is still wrong and all the creative denial in the world can't change facts. Don't believe me? Read the signs!

One sign is the human conscience. We, human beings, are programed with a sense of right and wrong. We have the freedom to ignore the inward sign of our personal conscience, but when we do, we experience a sense of guilt that says "Wrong Way".

Another sign is the Bible. It clearly says that many things are morally wrong, "sins" -- lying, adultery, stealing, sex outside of marriage, breaking just laws, profanity, fraud, over eating, selfishness, self-righteousness and many more. Yet we choose to ignore the Bible in our society and then get upset if a congressman refuses to be "sworn in" with his hand on the Bible. Is that not a double standard?

Don't take down the "Wrong Way" signs on the Interstate exit ramps. People may die if we do! And people are dying and destroying themselves and their families because we are pushing the "Wrong Way" signs out of our culture.

Sex outside of marriage is killing people through HIV and Hepatitis C while our society eagerly promotes it and makes fun of anybody who speaks out against it and says "Wrong Way". Millions of unborn babies are being unmercifully executed every year and even those who believe it is morally wrong say "Pro Life" instead of "Wrong Way". Abortion is as morally wrong as killing a child or an adult in his or her sleep.

"We can't legislate morality!" someone says. True, but if we continue to take down, drown out, or destroy all the "Wrong Way" signs, how can we avoid personal self-destruction and the eventual fall of our society into Iraq style anarchy?

I am thankful for "Wrong Way" signs! They protect me from myself and from my tendency toward self-destruction. I read the Bible frequently and listen to my conscience and then do my best to obey them. How about you?

Hope is one of the most powerful positive emotions in the world. Life without hope is, well, hopeless -- and that is a terrible way to feel. Hope is one of our most important daily nutritional needs. Without the spiritual nutrition of hope life becomes extremely painful. A hope deficiency is a very dangerous malady. So keep your hopes up!

Your life is of tremendous importance and unlimited value. But without hope, you lose the sense of your own magnificence. Don't lose hope! Good things are coming your way. You will make it through your situation, even though it may often seem unbearable. Your life will get better if you don't give up. This too will pass. Hang in their and hope.

HOPE -- Help Other People Endure. Push the "shift" key on your thinking today and think about someone who's life is in worse shape than yours. Can't think of anyone? Let me help you. I work with 86 men in a free rehab -- many of their lives are in total desolation.

Actually go to someone who is hurting worse than you (or about as much as you) and help him or her. Give him an encouraging word, a hug, a prayer, some spiritual or physical food. Let him or her talk about his pain as you genuinely listen with compassion. Then do your best to help him.

If you still feel hopeless, find someone else and help some more. Help Other People Endure! As you help other people endure, your thinking will shift to their needs and away from your own. And that will cause you to forget about your hopelessness for awhile. Before you know it, some hope will seep into your own heart.

Try it, today. Call up a discouraged friend. Drop by a hurting family member's home. Knock on a neighbor's door. Stop and talk to the hopeless looking person on the street corner. Do your best to encourage one person and observe what happens to your own level of hope when you do.

Don't just read this. My words won't help you much. Get up. Overcome passivity and inertia and do it, now. Here's the phone. Make the call, now. Your mission, should you have the courage to accept it, is to Help One Person Endure (I'll make it easier for you by changing Other People to One Person) today.

Who ya gonna help? I can't hear you. Who? Do it now. Then come back and leave a comment about what happened and tell us how it made you feel to Help One Person Endure. Hope is coming. Make it happen. Now!

* There is a lot of inspiration in this world, but you have to wade through a lot of drivel and nonsense to get to it.

* Most of the quotations I read in English language quote books come from white men, but this leaves out the majority of the world's wisdom. The wonderful wisdom from the world's women is mostly neglected and ignored, or is in some cases credited to men. The awesome wisdom of Native Americans, Africans, South Americans and other hispanics, Asians, Arabs, African Americans, and so many other people groups; is also pretty much left out of our English language quote books.

* Men who forcibly held men, women, and children in life-long bondage; who kept people from learning how to read and write, who prevented people from marrying, who made people work their entire life without any pay or compensation and had them whipped on their bare back if they refused, who "sold" people away from their families -- the men who did those horribly wicked things are frequently quoted in English language quote books; even though the way they treated other human beings makes a mockery of the wisdom they professed. I wonder why they are so frequently quoted?

* Another group of people are surprisingly left out of our English language quotation books -- the writers of the books of the Bible. I very seldom see a quote by any of these people: Paul of Tarsus, John the Beloved, Ruth, Matthew, Moses, David, Solomon, Luke, Ester, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Obadiah, or Ezekiel. I wonder why those folks are left out?

How are you feeling right now? On a 1 to 10 scale (1 means you are feeling about as low as you have felt in years and 10 means you are feeling fabulous) how are you feeling? Stop reading a few seconds and rank your emotional state. Come on, play along with me here.

So what is your feeling number? OK. Thank you for participating in this.

Now here is an experiment for you to try. For the next three hours act 10% better than you feel. If your number is a 2, then act like you feel like a 3. If it is a 7, act like you are feeling like an 8. Got it? Good. There's more. Sometime after the three hours, come back to this post and in the comment section tell us all about your experience of acting 10% better than you feel for three hours. All comments are welcome about your results -- good, bad, or indifferent.

I think you will like the outcome of this feel good experiment. Thank you for your kind cooperation. Happy smiling!

Yesterday morning a strange question suddenly popped into my mind: "Is Christianity categorical or cataclysmic?" I didn't quite know what to make of that question, so I just pushed it aside.

A couple of hours later I was at work at the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center in Nashville and I picked up a random book. I flipped it open and my eyes fell on the word, "cataclysm". Ok. Was that an accident? How many books would I have to randomly pick up and flip open before I found the word, "cataclysm"? 100? 1,000? 1,000,000? 100 million?

Alright. I am a little slow sometimes. But I think I am suppose to write about: "Is Christianity categorical or cataclysmic?". So here goes.

Most Christianity I have observed, both contemporary and historical, seems to be categorical. It fits nicely under the category of "religion" -- just like on the TV game show, "Jeopardy". Categorical Christianity is only one of the many aspects of a person's life -- a religious appendage tagged on to all their other activities, interests, desires, and responsibilities.

Categorical Christianity seems to have an "on/off" switch -- it is turned "on" for the church service and turned "off" for daily life. The category is flipped "on" for the table blessing and "off" for the dinning experience. It is turned "on" for the religious discussion and "off" for the ball game. It is "on" when the meeting is started with prayer, but "off" during the rest of the meeting when people act like God is a million miles away. And have you noticed? Even the most committed Christians seem to have the category turned "off" more than they have it turned "on"?

What would happen if someone kept their heart-felt Christianity switch "on" all the time? Why, that would be cataclysmic! God would be a welcome and active part of every conversation, every activity, every thought, every moment -- a constant companion! All the other activities, interests, desires, and responsibilities in a person's life would have to get in line behind their heart-felt love for and obedience to God. Cataclysmic!

Jesus said: "Deny yourself, take up your cross (your execution) and follow Me." That is a cataclysm! Jesus said "The kingdom of God is at hand," and He taught us to pray "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." Christianity is the ultimate cataclysm -- the living God establishing His rule in human hearts and lives!

New Testament Christianity is cataclysmic. Read the book of Acts (the Biblical history of the early church) and observe the cataclysmic events and lifestyle of Jesus early followers.

Don't settle for a catechism -- "a summary of religious doctrine often in the form of questions and answers". Surrender to the living God and His cataclysm for your life!