A New Mexico man who used "Satan" as one of his aliases is facing up to 16 years in prison and/or a $24,000 fine. 30-year-old Paul Edward Duran was arrested in May 2003 for allegedly speeding and driving recklessly in a stolen vehicle. As the investigation widened the charges against the man increased. A jury convicted Duran on charges including burglary of an automobile, reckless driving, a felony count of criminal damage to property. Possession of a controlled substance, and two counts of resisting or evading an officer. It only took the jury a couple of hours to reach their decision.

Authorities say Duran has a tattoo reading "666" on his forehead. Court documents listed Duran's other aliases as "Lucifer," "Morning Star," "Satan's Son," "Anti-Christ," and "666." Duran already had a criminal record. He was convicted of battery on a peace officer with a deadly weapon and receiving or transporting a stolen vehicle in October 1999.

District Court Clerk Isabel Chavez noticed some interesting things about Duran during his trial. She says, "Duran refused to wear street clothes for his trial." Instead he wore his orange jail jumpsuit. She says Duran wanted to wear his shackles during the trial, though they are normally removed for court proceedings.

—http://dchieftain.con/news, Man who uses alias 'satan' is convicted, January 17, 2004.

Though Mr. Duran was sadly deceived. The choices he made clearly led him in the wrong direction, and in the end, he is responsible for his own sin.

Galatians 6:7-8 NASB "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life."

As a mere footnote to the Columbine massacre, T. J. Solomon took a .22 rifle to Heritage High School in Conyers, GA and shot six classmates. A TIME magazine article about the shooting begins by saying "Thomas Solomon Jr. is no monster." Deeper into the article the writers comment, "We'd like to believe that no boys are truly evil, and if Eric Harris [a shooter at Columbine] tested that proposition at Littleton exactly a month before Conyers, T.J. did not."

One of the victims of the shooting, Stephanie Laster, talked with some friends after the surgeons repaired the damage a bullet did to her intestines. They all felt "awful" for T.J.

"Blame shifting" is a popular way of explaining evil behavior. With the school shootings, we've heard its not the boys' fault, it is the NRA's, the motion picture industry's, video game manufacturers', the parents' or the school's fault, but few mention that the boys who did the shooting are to blame.

Psalm 51:3-4 NASB "For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. [4] Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, And done what is evil in Thy sight, So that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, And blameless when Thou dost judge."

When a city dump truck backed into Curtis Gokey's car, he decided to sue the city of Lodi, California for damages. The problem is Gokey was driving the dump truck and hit his own car. Even though he admitted the crash was his fault, Gokey filed a claim for $3600 in damages.

The city denied the claim saying in essence Gokey was suing himself, which made the case invalid. Afterwards, Gokey's wife decided that she would sue the city instead. City Attorney Steve Schwabauer says the new case also lacks merit because a wife cannot sue her husband for negligence in a community property state such as California. The law considers them one entity and any damage is damage to community property.

Gokey's wife, Rhonda disagrees. She claims she has the right to sue the city because a city vehicle damaged her private vehicle. Her claim is for $4800 rather the original $3600. Mrs. Gokey says, “I’m not as nice as my husband is."

—http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1731950. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Matthew 5:39-41 (GW) "But I tell you not to oppose an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn your other cheek to him as well. [40] If someone wants to sue you in order to take your shirt, let him have your coat too. [41] If someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him."

In his book, "An Unstoppable Force", Erwin McManus writes, "I was sitting in my living room, going through a periodical. On the second page I saw a full-page photograph of a little Somalian boy whose body was ravaged by famine. His head was swollen, and his body was nothing more than skin and bone. The backdrop was clearly a desert, barren and lifeless, and standing directly behind him as he staggered to the ground was a vulture waiting for him to die.

This photograph incensed me. I was overwhelmed with anger. As my wife, Kim, looked at it, she began to weep. After looking at the picture time and time again, I finally grabbed the magazine and closed it as if it were pornography. I felt that my home had been invaded, that my consciousness had been violated. Kim asked me why I was so angry, and frankly, I was uncertain at the time. But soon it became clear: I didn't want to know. I didn't want to know that somewhere on this planet there was a little boy who didn't have the strength to make it to the water station. I didn't want to know that famine has a face and that suffering has a name. That one photograph robbed me of my peace of mind. It robbed me of my ignorance. It robbed me of any innocence I could hold onto."

James 4:17 (NLT) "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."

The House of Representatives has passed a bill preventing people from blaming food companies and restaurants for their weight problems. H.R. 554, the "Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act" also known as the "Cheeseburger Bill" passed on a bipartisan vote of 307-119.

While polls show most Americans agree the food industry is not to blame for obesity, several food producing organizations were happy with the legislation because it blocks frivolous obesity suits, but does not protect business that violate the law or serve contaminated food products. Hunt Shipman from the Food Products Association said, "We fully recognize that obesity has become a serious national health concern, affecting both adults and children, but lawsuits against food companies are absolutely the wrong way to address this issue." Most organization feel more energy should be put into solving the problem of obesity, and less into assigning blame in order to collect legal fees.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest was not happy with the legislation. Executive Director Michael Jacobson said, "It seems to me that if Congress really wanted to encourage personal responsibility, it would enact laws that actually encouraged Americans to choose better diets."

—www.CNSNews.com, House Passes 'Cheeseburger Bill', October 20, 2005. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Galatians 5:22 (NASB) "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,"

Yankee third baseman and superstar Alex Rodriquez (A-Rod) became an instant celebrity in 2001 when he signed the largest contract ever for a pro athlete, twenty five million per year for ten years, to play shortstop for the Texas Rangers. A-Rod) immediately felt the responsibility to live up to the gigantic contract. Some believe this pressure led to his use of anabolic steroids. Former teammate Bill Haselman said, “He felt it. He had the mentality of somebody trying to hit a three-run homer with nobody on base.”

When you feel the pressure to do the impossible, how do you respond? When expectations overwhelm you, where do you turn? When Peter faced the performance pressure while walking on the sea he cried out to the Lord, “Lord, save me!” When the Lord felt the pressure of the crucifixion in the garden, he cried out to the Father, “take this cup from me.”

--Sports Illustrated, May 11, 2009, p. 66. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Psalm 121:1 (NASB95) I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come?

In his book, Common Sense, Glenn Beck writes, “Religion is not the cause of intolerance any more than the lack of it is the cause of mass murder. People are responsible for their own behavior—those who kill in the name of any religion are just as delusional as those who, like Stalin and Hitler, kill for no one but themselves.”

Ezekiel 18:4 (NASB) "Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.”

Esau couldn’t take responsibility for his own problems so he blamed them on Jacob. Of course Jacob wasn’t innocent, but Esau was as responsible as Jacob, or more so. It is a common failing among humans. Rather than take responsibility for our lives, we blame the poor conditions on someone else. Tara Obenauer is a Wall Street executive and should know better. She spent years as the willing mistress of a Nassau County, NY police officer. Now that it is over, she is blaming the police department.

Her claim is that “The department was negligent for not knowing Officer Mike Tedesco often visited her home while on duty, and that the affair caused her ‘severe and substantial emotional damage.’” Esau has many imitators. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Genesis 27:36 (HCSB) “’So he said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice now. He took my birthright, and look, now he has taken my blessing.’ Then he asked, ‘Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?’”

Most political pundits emphasize the importance of casting a vote, but in one Ohio race the results might have been different if the wife of a candidate had taken time to vote. When the tabulation for the City Council race in Walton City was complete, Robert “Bobby” McDonald and Olivia Ballou ended up tied with the same number of votes. The County Clerk said the procedure for such a situation is to decide the winner by tossing a coin. After learning the results, McDonald lamented that his wife Katie had not voted. McDonald’s wife, who is finishing nurse’s training at a local college and works at a hospital had been sleeping and woke up a few minutes before the polls closed. He felt sure her vote would not change the result of the election and told her not to worry about rushing to the polls. He said, “If she had been able to get in to vote, we wouldn’t be going through any of this. You never think it will come down to one vote, but I’m here to tell you that it does.”— Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Robert McDonald Election Results: Race Tied After Candidate’s Wife Doesn’t Vote, by Paige Lavender, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/robert-mcdonald-election-results_n_2093147.html , Accessed November 8, 2012.

Colossians 3:23 (HCSB) “Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men,”

31-year-old Jennifer Fitzgerald holds a record she never planned to set. She has accumulated the most parking tickets, and the biggest fine that the Chicago area has ever seen. Fitzgerald owes over $105,000 for 678 parking tickets, issued over three years on a car registered in her name. The city has suspended Fitzgerald’s driver license until the matter is settled, but she has filed a lawsuit contending she doesn’t even own the car and that the city is at fault, because no one ever took responsibility to follow procedures.

Fitzgerald claims a former boyfriend bought the car, and registered it in her name. When they broke up, he took the vehicle and parked it at his work. He left it there for more than three years, and the city never towed the abandoned car away allowing it rack up the huge number of tickets. Mike Brockway, who runs a local blog tracking parking violations, said there are many concerns with the case. He wrote, “No one took it upon themselves, took the initiative and said, ‘hey, we got a problem here, this car has been here for months and years, collecting all these tickets.’”
— Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Jennifer Fitzgerald, Chicago Woman, owes $105,000 In Parking Tickets, By Sara Gates, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/26/jennifer-fitzgerald-chicago-parking-tickets_n_2193046.html?
utm_hp_ref=chicago&ir=Chicago ; Accessed November 26, 2012.

1 Samuel 2:3 (ESV) Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

Businesses spend millions every year to attract customers and prove that they deserve the trust of the public. According to the 2013 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient, that money is well spent because six out of ten American shoppers study a company’s reputation before buying from them. The reputation affects everything from sales revenue to stock price. The same poll found another interesting change in reputation. Apple, the company that was considered the most reputable country in the United States was replaced with a new favorite, Amazon. In the survey 50% of the respondents reported they had discussed Amazon in the previous year, and stated that the conversations had been positive.

Robert Fronk, executive vice president of the company that took the poll says the reason the change occurred was that Apple lead the way with innovation, products, and services, but financial performance became the main focus of their reputation. Since their stock declined over the last year, Amazon moved up due to their emotional appeal, product line, and service. Fronk said, “There’s no doubt that having an array of products and services at the right place is valuable. But they take that advantage and actually use a lot of information that they’re able to define about their consumers and make recommendations back to them, help them lead a better life, and even delight them on occasion.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Amazon Beats Apple as Most Trusted Company in U.S: Harris Poll, by Nicole Goodkind, http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/amazon-beats-apple-most-trusted-company-u-harris-133107001.html, Accessed February 12, 2013.

Proverbs 22:1 (ESV) A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.

When Prince William and his wife Catherine named their first child, they choose a name that reflects a proud family heritage. The baby shares a name with six King Georges, including the father of the current queen of England. For William John Kane VIII, a database specialist from Portland, Oregon, his name is steeped in tradition and family pride because it has been passed down for eight generations. Kane says he hears the jokes and heckling, but puts up with it because he is proud of his name and the tradition it holds for him. Even though, he considers himself just an average person, Kane says, “I feel a modicum of responsibility, the pressure of carrying on this torch that has been passed to me, and passing it onto another generation.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Sharing a family name: The good and bad, By Christina Zdanowicz,
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/27/living/family-name-sharing-irpt/index.html?hpt=hp_bn11, Accessed July 27, 2013

Proverbs 22:1 (CEV) A good reputation and respect are worth much more than silver and gold.

A Canadian woman says she has learned her lesson about communicating clearly and being sure you understand everything you need to know. When Kristen Cockerill returned a rented Mustang to a rental agency, she followed the directions she had been given because the office was closed on Sunday. She parked the car by the door, under the light, locked it, set the alarm, and dropped the keys in the secure drop box. The next day, she got a call from the agency asking where the car was. They said they had the keys, but the car wasn’t there. They told her she was responsible for the car until it was checked in by an employee, and warned her that she would have to pay for the car. Cockerill maintained that the car had been turned in, and therefore she was not responsible. An investigation found that the car had been stolen from the lot after Cockerill had dropped it off that evening, but she also learned that her insurance company would have to pay for the loss because she was responsible based on small print in the contract she signed. The company also apologized for the miscommunication and promised to look for ways to communicate more clearly with customers in the future.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Enterprise Rent-A-Car charges customer over C$47,000 after car returned, By Charlene Sakoda, http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/oddnews/enterprise-rent-a-car-charges-customer-over-c-47-000-after-car-returned-200546554.html, Accessed January 8, 2014

James 5:12 (ESV) But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

An auction company in Hong Kong has reported that the cleaning crew may have inadvertently discarded a 2012 painting that recently sold for more than 3 million U.S. dollars. The auction house reported that the painting entitled, “Snowy Mountain” was missing, and video footage showed the cleaners moving the painting. Though the video does not show what the cleaners did with the painting, officials fear it may have been sent to the city landfill with the garbage. Local police are investigating, and say they cannot confirm what happened to the painting.—--Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Missing painting sold in HK for $3.7 million may have gone out with the trash, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/09/us-hongkong-art-idUSBREA380EN20140409; Accessed April 9, 2014.

Romans 7:15 (HCSB) (15) For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate.

June 2015 was one second longer than usual because scientists added one leap second to keep the earth and atomic clocks in synch. Scientists say that leap seconds are not like a leap days, which come every four years. Leap seconds are not predictable because weather exerts a force on the Earth’s surface, which can cause the planet to slow slightly. Other factors include volcanoes and earthquakes. For example the magnitude 9 quake that struck near Japan in 2011 is estimated to have shaved about 1.8 millionths of a second off the calendar. NASA geophysicist Richard Gross studies the planet’s motion at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. He said, “Atomic clocks keep uniform time scale, but the Earth does not. The speed of the Earth’s rotation varies and changes.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Ready for the June 30 leap second?, By Deborah Netburn, http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/science-technology/article24865147.html, Accessed June 29, 2015.

A Texas woman was awarded over $229,000 because a cable company placed 153 automated calls to her cell phone. Araceli King said, the calls were meant for the person who had the cell number before her, and even though she told the company, the calls did not stop. The cable company said the calls were made through an interactive voice response system and claimed they were not liable, but the judge disagreed. He awarded triple damages of $1,500 per call because the cable company willfully violated the law. He said they should have tried harder to find the correct person, especially after King had informed them that the number was wrong. King’s lawyer said, “[Companies] benefit from efficiency, but there is a cost when they make people’s lives miserable. This was one such case.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Time Warner Cable owes $229,500 to woman it would not stop calling, By Jonathan Stempel, http://news.yahoo.com/time-warner-cable-owes-229-500-woman-not-215227468--finance.html, Accessed July 7, 2015.

Matthew 7:12 (NIV) (12) So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Joaquín García, was a Spanish civil servant whose job was to oversee the construction of a water plant in Cádiz in 2004. He decided in 2010 the job was beneath him and so he stayed home to read philosophy. However, he did keep collecting his $41,500 salary. This year city officials recognized him with an award for 20 years of loyal service. Some of his co-workers spoke up saying they hadn’t seen him in years. García was fined $30,300 for his six-year absence. He is appealing, saying he’s the victim of a media “lynching.”—Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

Matthew 12:36 (HCSB)“I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak.”

RESPONSIBILITY

Technology provides ways to keep track of tasks, but some people still cling to old fashioned ways. One of those people is 24-year-old Claira Hart, who uses an online project management app to communicate with coworkers across the country, but prefers a pen and paper to keep track of her to-do list. She is part of persistent minority who prefer to keep track of their responsibilities this way. Research shows that writing things down helps people retain information better, and Hart said, “There is nothing satisfying about moving a Trello card from one column to another. But being able to physically cross something off and see a big black line through it shows that you’ve actually taken a bite off something that has been on your plate for a while.”—Jim L. Wilson & Jim Sandell

Galatians 6:4–5 (HCSB)“But each person should examine his own work, and then he will have a reason for boasting in himself alone, and not in respect to someone else. ⁵ For each person will have to carry his own load.”

The way a single mother from South Carolina used her tax refund inspired thousands of people across the country. Christian Knaack used social media to share the way she decided to use the money she received. Knaack said she received a $5,600 refund and decided to pay her rent for a year. She said that since she was a single mom working a minimum wage job, she wanted to make sure her family had shelter. She said, “My kids don’t want for anything because my priorities are straight. And this also means I will have an extra $450 a month to do things with my kids.” She said there were a few hateful comments but most people were encouraging. She added, “As long as my post has inspired people, I am happy with that.”–Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

1 Timothy 4:12 (HCSB)“Let no one despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”

A Pennsylvania college student got a reminder about taking out the trash when his mother sent him a care package at school. Connor Cox told a local TV station that his mother mailed two boxes to him. The first contained food and other goodies and the second was filled with garbage. When Cox called his mother to ask if she had made a mistake, she told him that she had mailed him the trash he was supposed to have taken out when he was home the last time. Cox said he has three sisters and a very special relationship with his mother. He added, ”She knows what to say at the exact time she should say it.”–Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Deuteronomy 5:16 (HCSB)“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and so that you may prosper in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

The social media network, Facebook has announced that they have developed new tools to help charities raise money, help mark people safe during a crisis, and seek or send help during a crisis. The company made the announcement during a forum designed to show off the tools they are creating to enable user to assist their friends and made a difference in the world around them. The company introduced a feature which allows Facebook users to mark themselves “safe” during a crisis such a natural disasters or bombings. The company began allowing charities to raise money through their platform. So far, over 750,000 nonprofits have used the feature. The network plans to introduce a tool allowing users to seek or offer shelter, food, and other assistance during crises. Speaking on a video, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “The philosophy of everything we do at Facebook is that our community can teach us what we need to do. And our job is to learn as quickly as we can and keep on getting better and better.”–Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Isaiah 1:17 (CSB)“Learn to do what is good. Pursue justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause.”

During a Junior Varsity baseball game, Jake Maser tried to stretach a hit to left center field into a triple. Coach John Suk, the third base coach, seeing the throw coming and the play at third was going to be close, gave Maser the sign to slide. Maser slid but his cleat became stuck, and he suffered an ankle injury requiring surgery.

Maser has filed suit in a New Jersey court alleging that his ankle injury was due to negligence on the part of the coach for telling him to slide.

Since the beginning, when Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent, humans have had a problem accepting responsibility for their own situations. When we are called at last to give an account for our deeds, blaming others will be insufficient. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

A Pennsylvania township collected more income than authorities expected from an increase in property taxes, so they decided to give some of the million dollar surplus back to residents. In response, the Board of Supervisors decided to send everyone a dividend. They mailed over 14,000 checks for $68 to all local property owners.

Chairwoman Amy Strouse said most residents felt they paid too much in taxes anyway and the township thought it was irresponsible to hold on to that much money when they had, “the opportunity to help people out a little bit.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

In the early morning hours of Sunday, November 12, 2007, Marquise Goodwin, wide-receiver of the San Francisco 49ers expected to deliver his son. Instead, his son was delivered stillborn, and what was supposed to be a joyous occasion was marked with sadness. Of course, no one expected him to play in that Sunday’s game against the New York Giants after such a tragic loss, but after prayer and support from his wife, he decided to play, anyway. In that game, he scored a touchdown, his team won, and a powerful testimony was born.

Few people would have blamed him if he had stayed off the field that day. Some may criticize him for this decision to play, but really, that was a personal choice—a choice to fulfill his responsibilities despite his personal pain. –Jim L. Wilson & Daniel Yoo.

1 Peter 3:14–16 (CSB) “But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear or be intimidated, ¹⁵ but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. ¹⁶ Yet do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.”

Mateusz Fijalkowski, 23 decided it was time to end it all. He attempted to drown himself in a Virginia swimming pool. Police officers rescued him but Fialkowski is suing the officers, not for saving him, but for not saving him soon enough. He is grateful to police officers who rescued him after he tried to kill himself but blames them for not diving in until he swallowed a lot of water and went into cardiac arrest.

Young Mateusz hasn’t learned to take responsibility for his own decisions. Even if he is able to fool a jury, he must understand that God is never deceived. We all will eventually reap what we sow. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

Tyler Pence won the 2021 Quad Cities Marathon with a time of just over 2 hours and 15 minutes. He is the first U.S. runner to win in the past 20 years.

However, there is more to the story. The Quad-City Times reported, “Pence’s win came after Elijah Mwangangi Saolo, and Luke Kibet diverted from the course a little more than halfway to the finish line when the bicycle rider leading them mistakenly went straight when he should have turned.”

The Kenyan runners followed the cyclist instead of the “well-displayed” signage, resulting in the error.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it.

I am not sure if we own them or if they own us. Research from Asurion shows that Americans average checking their smart phones every 10 minutes. While they say they are doing this to stay connected with their friends and family they acknowledge that their phones get in the way of their face-to-face conversations. They report: “Nearly 9 out of 10 Americans get offended when someone they’re speaking with starts looking at their phone. However, three-quarters admit they have done it themselves. And nearly 1 in 5 say they do this frequently.”

Time with friends and family is precious. We should be fully present when we are together.

Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.