Zach Uram's Blog

  • Ho! Ho! Ho! I am Santa Claus

    I am jolly
    Old Saint Nick
    I come down chimneys
    Made of brick

    When I laugh
    My belly shakes
    Like a bowl full of jelly
    I ate many cakes

    I bring
    Many wonderful toys
    For good
    Girls and boys

    On Christmas Eve I like
    A nice little snack
    Of cookies and milk
    I’ll be sure to be back

    I carry the toys
    In a big sled painted red
    I keep it in good shape
    We have many stops ahead

    It’s pulled by
    Nine flying reindeer
    Thanks to Rudolph’s shining nose
    Inclement weather we need not fear

    I love this time
    Of year
    When hearts are joyful
    And full of good cheer

    We must remember Christ
    He came to us as a baby
    The Son of God with us
    Held in the arms of Mary

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • Mental Maladies

    Today I feel totally not okay
    Much to my dismay
    I wish I was feeling gay

    My mind is broken
    Never a truer word was spoken
    At least I’m one of the chosen

    A malfunctioning brain
    Has been my bane
    When young I ran in the rain

    Oh cruel earth
    I have suffered greatly since birth
    But in Christ is found my worth

    I take a lot of medication
    They are psychoactive regulation
    Where is my motivation

    I must get through each day
    I need to pray
    It’s a heavy price to pay

    Mental illness can seem like a curse
    Every year it gets worse
    It’s certainly an unwelcomeness

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • Lucifer: A Defeated Foe

    Because of his rebellion
    Satan was cast down to earth
    It was man, not angels
    Who would receive a second birth

    Pride was behind
    His downfall
    Satan hates man
    Who receives the effectual call

    He tempted Jesus three times
    In the wilderness
    Jesus responded with Scripture
    He was guiltless

    Satan tries to keep man
    Hellbound
    He is a cunning foe
    We’re in a spiritual battleground

    There is only one way
    To be with Christ for eternity
    That is to be born again
    God’s sovereign grace sets you free

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • That Magical Season

    On a cold December night
    In the town of Bethlehem
    A star above gave great light

    To a humble stable down below
    There was a newborn babe
    With hay for a pillow

    Angels sang with joy
    And instructed shepherds
    For the little baby boy

    He is Christ the Lord
    The King of Kings
    The living Word

    We celebrate His incarnation
    Fully man and fully God
    What a combination

    Behold the Son of Man
    Born to give man second birth
    He would follow the Father’s plan

    At Christmastime, we look to Calvary
    Jesus would die on the cross
    To set us free

    On the third day since His last breath
    Jesus rose triumphantly
    Defeating sin, Satan, and death

    Make merry this yuletide
    Celebrate our Savior’s birth
    In your heart may He abide

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • Mary Considered

    In Roman Catholic theology, Mary has an elevated status; she is inextricably integrated into the economy of salvation. It is Mary who, according to Roman Catholic theology, is the Mediatrix of All Graces. She dispenses grace to sinners from the Treasury of Merit.

    The problem is that this Mariology is unbiblical. There is no such thing as a Treasury of Merit. Mary is no Mediatrix. Scripture is clear there is one mediator between us and God the Father, and that person is Christ.

    There has been great popular support among the laity to add another role to Mary, namely Co-Redemptrix. Some popes have said this will not and should not happen. But if we look at the history of Mariology, we see that there was several times, massive outcries from the laity to add various Marian doctrine, such as her role as being Immaculate, which was finally approved as dogma by a pope. So it’s not farfetched that the role of Co-Redemptrix could be added as dogma by a future pope.

    Scripture does not even hint at such doctrine. To say that Mary is the conduit of all graces from Christ is to deny clear biblical teaching on salvation. The Roman Catholic church has elevated Mary to an exaggerated status.

    Scripture reveals that Jesus saves:

    • by faith in Him, not baptism
    • by His grace, not our merit
    • by His finished work, not our works
    • by His righteousness, not ours
    • by His one offering for sin, not the Mass
    • by His blood, not purgatory
    • by His obedience, not ours
    • by His Gospel, not man’s perversion of it

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  • The History of Mental Health Treatment in America

    As a person who has suffered with severe mental illnesses for the past 25 years, I am keenly aware of the ignorance and stigma that sadly still exist in our modern societies.

    In the past 100 years, mentally ill patients who were institutionalized were, sadly, often subjected to acts of cruelty, sadomasochism, and barbarism. Although, thankfully, there is greater oversight and better policies in place now, these wicked acts against the severely mentally ill still do happen.

    If I was born in earlier times I most likely would have been confined to an asylum for decades, if not for the rest of my natural life. If we go back even further, I most likely would have been literally chained up in a dungeon.

    Great strides have happened, but it has been less than 70-75 years since horrific procedures like the lobotomy were common.

    Lobotomies were widely used from the late 1930s through the early 1950s. According to one 2013 research paperTrusted Source, roughly 60,000 lobotomies were performed in the United States and Europe in the 2 decades after the procedure was invented.

    But by the 1950s, the dangers and side effects of lobotomies were becoming widely known, drawing more scrutiny from doctors and the public.

    Some high-profile incidents helped turn public opinion against lobotomies. For example, Freeman gave President John F. Kennedy’s sister Rosemary a lobotomy that left her permanently incapacitated.

    Even James Watts, Freeman’s partner who helped him perform the first U.S. lobotomy, became disillusioned with the procedure by the 1950s. At the time, medications like antipsychotics and antidepressants also became widely available.

    This made it easier to provide outpatient treatment for mental illness and treat symptoms without resorting to brain surgery.

    https://psychcentral.com/blog/the-surprising-history-of-the-lobotomy

    I thank God that lobotomies have fallen out of fashion. Yet for a period this procedure was embraced by the medical community. The Portuguese neurologist Egas Moniz who invented the lobotomy received the Nobel Prize for his work in 1949.

    Today, thanks to new psychiatric drugs, therapy, and the consensus that the vast majority of the mentally ill can live independently on their own, instead of being warehoused in psychiatric institutions, life is better for those suffering from mental illness.

    I’ve faced many challenges in my 25 years of living with schizophrenia, major depression, anxiety disorder, and PTSD. However, I can live with my dear elder sister Vi and she also has the same diagnosis as me. Our dear mother also has severe mental illness. We love and support each other. We take our psychiatric medications, see our psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses, and we are living a joyful life in Christ.

    I should mention that the history of the treatment of the mentally ill by the Church has been wrought with bigotry, willful ignorance, bad theology, and even hatred.

    For my assessment of mental health and the Church, “The Church in Crisis: The State of Mental Health in the Body of Christ”, please see the blog post linked below:

    The Church in Crisis: The State of Mental Health in the Body of Christ
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  • A Painful Day

    Today I labored in excruciating pain
    The discomfort did not wane

    I felt my sanity slip away
    My mind did decay

    My poor bum
    Made me squirm

    I cried bitter tears
    The hours felt like years

    Then my dear sister Vi came to my aid
    Preparation-H ointment made the pain fade

    I was happy as a lark
    So overjoyed I could bark

    Now I’ll sleep like a baby
    Vi is indeed saintly

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • Spiritual Combat (My 700th Blog Post!)

    Who will stand with me
    As I battle the Satanic horde
    We are nothing without the Lord

    I mount my steed
    And ride into battle
    My sword does rattle

    Bravely I engage the wicked foe
    I slash and hack
    I attack from the front and back

    I wear
    The full armor of God
    Standing before Christ I am awed

    The Satanic beasts
    Snarl and growl
    But I am always on the prowl

    In Christ
    We have total victory
    We’re immune to Satan’s trickery

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • An Ode to Insanity

    My grasp of reality
    Is very tentative
    I lost my sanity

    Oh dear
    I am psychotic
    I feel rather queer

    There are things I see
    Which are not there
    This is sheer lunacy

    I hear voices constantly
    They are hallucinations
    Sometimes they are heavenly

    I yearn to be free
    And to have a whole mind
    Until then I have a mental malady

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • President Donald Trump: Under Fire

    Four days ago, on July 13th, President Trump was shot in the ear at a rally in Butler, PA. It’s a short drive from my city (Pittsburgh) to the location.

    The shooter has been identified and he lived (Secret Service sniper shot him dead) in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Bethel Park.

    The shooter used an AR-15 style rifle and was able to fire off 8 bullets in just 3-4 seconds, before he was shot dead.

    The Secret Service immediately covered President Trump with their bodies to protect him.

    President Trump raised his fist in defiance and said “FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!” before being escorted away.

    When President Trump was shot, and was on the ground and bloodied he prayed to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

    President Trump was only down for 20 seconds.

    He showed great tenacity and an indomitable spirit. President Trump demonstrated true resilience.

    I predict President Trump will win by a landslide.

    Let’s vote for President Trump and make America great again, united in faith in Christ!!!

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