Class 8 commentary

If

2011-06-16T18:23:00.000-05:00

IF
- by Rudyard Kipling.

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Are there Nazi's in Wisconsin?

2011-02-27T21:39:00.000-06:00

There's been an uproar in Wisconsin over public employee unions. It seems the union complaint is in the states desire to limit "collective bargaining rights" by the union. these folks seem to forget that since Wisconsin is a republic ALL citizens actually HAVE collective bargaining rights! it's called voting! since what we are actually talking about unionization AGAINST the state, which is a republic, those unions are actually demanding their will be over and above the real power of the republic, which is the public as a whole. yes, these unions are NOT protesting the governor, they are protesting against the electorate of the state of Wisconsin. they are DEMANDING from the electorate MORE STUFF FOR THEMSELVES AT THE EXPENSE OF THE WISCONSIN CITIZENRY. they can get rid of this governor and the next governor will still have to balance the budget either by cutting benefits cutting state services, or layoffs. so even these unions know the governor is a moot point, just a cheap attempt by the union bosses to utilize their useful idiots in their membership to distract the people from the real issue. these union bosses want power over the duly elected representatives of the people of Wisconsin. and so want power over the people of Wisconsin themselves. that's the real issue.
What case is there for unions in the public sector? that is unionizing against the public itself! and these clowns attempt to associate themselves with those fighting for the right to democracy now in the middle east? by fighting AGAINST democracy here in the states? what bullshit is this? this is nothing more than a minority trying to exercise it's will over the whole. it is the exact opposite of what unions were originally established for! unions in the private sector back in the day when some corporations held a monopoly in certain areas for the labor market, one example being the early coal companies in Appalachia. they abused their labor and unions were a good answer for that abuse, what abuse are the teachers unions of Wisconsin complaining about? I've seen all the pay and benefit data from that state and can't see any complaint. these teachers have above average pay and definitely above average benefits. (I should note too that most developed countries pay far less per student and get much better results than the US does, so teachers unions here demand more pay for far less performance by the world's standard) so, what's the real issue? POWER. nothing more, just a small minority wanting to hold sway over the whole of society, sound familiar? socialist utopianism is nothing new, and it always defies democracy and personal freedom and always ends up as a dictatorship. but, that's not taught in school anymore, in fact, many textbooks even attempt to paint Hitler's socialist party as some kind of right-wing movement in an effort for the socialist utopians to paint their movement in a better light historically.
The eminent psychiatrist Dr. sanity has a relevant post.

one example of the failure of multiculturalism

2011-02-22T08:10:00.001-06:00

The failure is not just in the barbarous acts of the one side, but the absolute unwillingness to stand against it on the other.

Read this, and this.

read all about it

2011-02-21T21:38:00.002-06:00

Joh 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

The day is coming for the "new guy" to come along that most of the world will willingly follow. Despite the fact the Lord provided, in his Love all the knowledge needed to know him, and thus know this impostor, still this will be. all these generations after Adam and Eve's day most folks still want to listen to the serpent, and Ignore their maker.
Here's a hint to those willing to seek the Lord's face. God handed to Moses a Law that proscribed seven holy days thru the year, Jesus fulfilled the three spring feasts of passover, unleavened bread, and firstfuits at his first coming. the Holy spirit fulfilled the feast of Pentecost that summer, all to the day. Jesus will fulfill the three remaining fall feasts of trumpets, atonement, and tabernacles at his second coming.

The front row seat

2011-02-16T20:39:00.000-06:00

Having too much time on your hands has some unexpected benefits. I get to read a lot of scripture, much of it prophecy, and I get to watch too much news. funny thing is it's hard these days to tell whether I'm reading news or prophecy due to the fact that I'm kinda scatterbrained and can't remember whether I'm reading my e-sword or a news site and both tend to be about the same subject these days. these two will be meeting very soon, it seems. thinkin this new "popular" Arab uprising will become a very Muslim uprising pretty soon, that many Arab nations will assemble themselves against Israel, that Israel will be forced to drastic actions to save that tiny little new Hampshire sized nation of 6 million that most of the 1.4 billion Arabs say so sorely oppresses them. think the love affair between militant Islam and western leftists will grow and blossom and cause trouble over much of the west (still don't quite understand it, kinda like I don't understand those women who seek out and marry violent criminals in prison). It's bothers me a lot to see how many people there are who refuse to trouble their opinions with even a cursory examination of the facts.
One of the fun guys to watch in this drama is this dude.
The outlandish things this guy says, and all the contortions the mainstream media goes to the not report anything about this is funny!
some may accuse me of fear-mongering here, the news flash here is I 'aint scared, and don't want you to be either. There's no need to fear, Yeshua HaMashiach will soon be here. I encourage everyone to read the Bible, I probably have worn that theme out here, but the troubling fact is, many churches and pastors these days spend little or no time on prophecy, I won't go into the reasons this may be but one thing I do know is that these scriptures were not handed down to us thru the ages to be ignored! those people who spoke these prophecies and documented them did so at great personal expense! it was obviously not for their personal gain. have a heart, people died so you could have a glimpse of these things, I know the popular response to such things these days is indifference, waking up from this slumber will benefit you in the long run.

Justice

2011-02-16T07:18:00.001-06:00

Eze 33:2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
Eze 33:3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
Eze 33:4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
Eze 33:5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
Eze 33:6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
Eze 33:7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
Eze 33:8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Eze 33:9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Eze 33:10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?
Eze 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Eze 33:12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
Eze 33:13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
Eze 33:14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
Eze 33:15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Eze 33:16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
Eze 33:17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
Eze 33:18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
Eze 33:19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
Eze 33:20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.

Many people, even though they know they have need of Christ's forgiveness, tend to think of him as some sort of celestial scorekeeper when they look at their relationships with their fellow humans. yeah, they want Christ's forgiveness for themselves, but to their neighbor, they want the Lord to keep score according to the law. do they really want their neighbor to have the same access to that same forgiveness? well, the proof is in the puddin. how do they act and react to their fellows? anger, selfishness, and indifference are not any of the fruits of the holy spirit now, are they? yes, you are your brothers keeper. this text above shows just how that crappy attitude towards your fellows will translate to your attitude to your maker too. unless you have a Love for God that supersedes your love for yourself and everything else, you will end up writing your own death sentence in the end.

A bit one sided

2011-02-13T09:37:00.000-06:00

Mat 11:16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
Mat 11:17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
Mat 11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
Mat 11:19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

The human response to Jesus love remains a baffling lesson for me, it might seem natural to some to assume because they see things differently than most, that perhaps they should just "go with the flow". after all, there is a widely held opinion that a consensus=truth right? if you think differently than most of your fellows ya gotta be wrong, right? somehow I have to disagree. I just don't think very many people realize the position they put their selves in with their attitude to God's love. Do people believe what God says about himself? and if not, what does that do to their view of the world? Jesus said he Loved you in the most profound way possible. providing for us a way back to God by way of him sacrificing his own life for our benefit. being killed in the most horrific way possible to reconcile humanity back to God! yet, what really are the most common responses to this love God has for his creatures? mostly indifference. face it, most people could care less. even many who make some claim to understand God's love continually pray to God for their needs, wants and desires to be fulfilled. what more really, can God do for you? having died on your behalf? yet that's just not good enough? is that not what you are saying? are you not ignoring the clear facts of God sacrificing himself for you for, what? some carnal need or want? frankly I can't see it. can people not look at their self from God's point of view and see how thankless this is? and what does this do for their attitude towards each other? God says he is no respecter of persons, yet, do people really believe this? look around, one person thinks because he prays the rosary and you don't, because I speak in tongues and you don't, because I pray more loudly than you, because i was baptized by dunking, because I'm in church twice a week, because I put more in the collection plate, because, because, because, because, ad nauseum. God thinks I'm better than YOU are! like the little children in the market in Jesus parable above, we are better and you are not, because, we piped and you didn't dance. why does the christian church today think they are any better off than the pharisees of Jesus day? because.
the part of humanity that does have any belief in God think they are in some kind of quid-pro-quo relationship with God? what can you give God that he needs? how f---ing arrogant can people get? they are even MORE arrogant today than the pharisees were in the day. because WE have the clear knowledge of redemption they didn't have!! they cursed themselves because they failed to see God's love in the law and the writings of the prophets, this generation failed even more-so by failing to see God's love in the life, and death of Christ Jesus. humankind still thinks they can buy their way into heaven. some inside track, some secret knowledge, some, something they got their neighbor doesn't. What, really has the Church shown the world of God's love? were not we of the church supposed to be some ensign to the nations? here's the church, all fractured and split and divided, on one point or another. we really show God's love, eh? the church is not even recognizable as compared to it's start under the apostles. should we blame God for that? introspection is tough, I know. turning this message around to the messenger will not help you, ya gotta help yourself, God did all he can do for you at the cross. you have to truly accept that, what do you think you are going to do the day you meet Christ? say he didn't make his plan clear enough for you? tell him you really were a "good" person? I did great works! think perhaps he won't bring up your treatment of your fellows? or your response to his love?
Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Gen 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
even Adam and Eve got to see God's love for them, God did not strike them down for disobeying him, why do we think better of ourselves than our neighbors? are we not all in the same boat?
God killed some animals, and made them some clothing of skins to cover their shame. God did this, himself, for them, get it? ain't we all in the same boat? WE ALL NEED GOD TO COVER OUR SHAME. and he will, for all those who will receive it. funny thing is, many won't. and should God's love not be flowing out of those believers to their fellows? wisdom truly is justified of her children.

What then??

2011-02-12T19:37:00.000-06:00

I've heard the talking heads in the media gush on about Egypt's "peaceful" protests bringing about their "freedom" for two days now. it left me wondering how the hell these folks define the word "freedom". "freedom" to them is apparently living in a country ruled by the military, at least that's how they define freedom for Egyptians in Egypt. somehow I don't think that if it were them they would be okay with that. If the US was being run by the joint chiefs of staff I believe they would be speaking against the notion. why the doublethink? It would seem obvious that freedom takes more work than protesting a despot. but, that's not what you're hearing from the talking heads today. huh.
One of the stories not getting a whole lot of attention at the same time all this is going on is that many of Europe's leaders declared multiculturalism a failure over there. there is no peace, and therefore, no freedom when you have two cultures competing for supremacy in the same nation. when one culture treasures personal freedom and the other culture treasures sharia, that does not even recognize the basic concept OF personal freedom there is an obvious problem. apparently after all these years, Europe's leadership is now coming to recognize the fact.
How do we all get along when differing groups have differing outlooks on life? seems tough especially when one group espouses a convert to my way or die mentality. how can one think "basic human rights" and "convert or die" can get along?
It does seem these two get along for some reason, leftist groups espousing their claimed belief in "basic human rights" have been in bed with Islamists from before the second world war. The Muslim brotherhood's motto is:
“Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.”
The founder of this group, Hassan al-Banna, was a good buddy of socialist Adolf Hitler and they held quite similar goals, aims and view's between them. even most Leftists today understand Hitler's view of the world and rightly despise it, yet, chide the world for not being "open-minded" about Islam. huh? I don't get it, unless it is some idea of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" mentality. after all, how long do you think a human rights activist would last espousing their opinions on the streets of Mecca right now? so, the question is, who do these groups think their enemy is? and just how far is either side willing to go to accommodate their "friend"? will code pink and the like take up wearing burqua's? help stone adulterers? perhaps help chop a few hands off of some hungry street waifs who stole a biscuit? kill a few infidels? will the other friend lay off the Idea of sharia, at least tolerate seeing a woman's ankle without thinking they should be raped and beaten for this "exposure"?
Just who do these groups view as their enemy? and will "discussion and understanding" ever be enough? history shows an answer, and it's an answer nobody wants to hear. the discussion nearly always eventually falls to violence where Humans are concerned. then the winner gets to write the history about the conflict.

Is finding fault enough?

2011-02-09T09:56:00.000-06:00

It seems an obvious point to me that, simply removing a bad idea is not enough. one has to replace the bad idea with a good one. consider the riots in Egypt as an example. Mubarak, the self-serving dictator is a bad idea, and it seems many in that country has seen that light. what doesn't seem to be developing over there is a good idea to replace him with. Rubin makes great argument about this here. we think democracy is a good thing, and it is, but only if it is underpinned with sound philosophy. democracy is just a mechanism. without sound logic it will fail, and fail horribly. it succeeded in the USA because of the sound moral values of our founders. and failed in France just a few years later because of the lack of such. those french leaders of that movement, while full of the good intentions of removing the despotism of monarchy, very shortly became far greater despots than the king ever was.
Finding fault has been a real passion of humankind throughout history, but what really is the end result? can this fix any problem? it's a start, that's all. what then? Is there logic in Love? most would say yes to that but there is a very wide idea of just what love is among us though is there not? millions have been slaughtered in the name of love, people have killed others in the name of the love of God, even more people have been killed in the name of love for humanity itself. can anyone see the hypocrisy of humans? think you that I'm being a hypocrite myself right now? finding fault with finding fault? let's look at those who make the claim of being the most compassionate nowadays. many people think "green" thinking is compassionate to future generations, after all, we worry about global warming drowning the world someday right? well, just how compassionate is this in the end? Al Gore's carbon credit scheme is said to be "compassionate" right? this scheme forces companies and governments to buy credits that are promises of doing something good for the environment like planting trees someday somewhere, for the right to expel carbon emissions now. so, what we have here is a scheme whereby Al Gore sells an electric company a promise of planting a tree in their behalf someday, somewhere, for a lot of money, thereby raising the cost of producing present energy, a lot. who benefits from this? well, Al says future generations do. who loses here? well, Al says the evil electric company does. is this the truth? no, the real answers are Al makes billions, and the billions he makes is at the expense of "we the people" who now have to spend more for energy. who has the toughest time? the poorest among us. so, the truth of the matter is Al Gore is making billions at the expense mainly of the poorest among us, so we can feel good, warm, fuzzy feelings about doing something about some future perceived threat, right? is this Love and compassion?
how about the ethanol craze, is this not the same compassion as described above? who loses the most when food gets more expensive? the poorest among us. but, John Q Yuppie can feel better about driving his beemer, so all's well that ends well right? one present craze now is "let them have health-care", yeah, that sounds great! but read the stupid law as passed and you find what that really is all about is Obama creating a whole new great big bureaucracy so he can employ more of his friends. use that bureaucracy to reward his friends by exempting them (and himself) from it, punish his enemies by enforcing it's expense on them. enslaving the entirety of the health-care profession to the government, and making us pay for it all. who gets hurt the most by increased taxes? who gets hurt the most by increased medical expense? the poorest among us. real compassionate.
If even the self-proclaimed "most compassionate" among us cannot even meet their own standards of compassion, from whence does real compassion from? if we can't meet our own standard (if we did we could not FIND fault, could we?) from whence do our standards come? what about just giving everyone money? you say? that'll fix everything! the problem is there will never be enough money, besides, if there was in theory, money itself would shortly become worthless, a fact that is presently playing out right now. who hurts the most when money loses value? the poorest among us, that's who.
Can truth reveal itself to Humankind? I think so, because truth himself told me so, and as truth told me also that he's no respecter of persons, and wills that all understand him and his Love. that he can reveal himself to you too. the Love of truth flows to all of us freely, if there is any difference in our response it is because of the difference in our various responses to that Love. you need no priest or preacher to help you understand, just a willingness on your part to respond to his Love, that's all.

here's a great snippet on truth's attempt to reveal himself to you borrowed from this website:

Revelation Theology

FAQ: Why Are Christians Always Quoting Scripture?

The cornerstone of Christian belief is REVELATION. We believe that it is not really possible to figure God out "from below", but that God in his love chose to "reveal" his nature. By "from below" we mean from down here--of the earth, or worse. By revelation we mean a knowledge that comes from "above".
This is key to why we are always referring to scripture: We believe it is a reliable guide to describe the nature of God and the nature of man.
Contained in this revelation are stern warnings NOT to imagine a "god" of our own liking--this is idolatry, which the real God rather dislikes. Our God is the living God, the self-existent I AM, the Creator God. He is not to be re-designed or second-guessed by humans. If he is to be believed, there is nothing that makes him more angry than people choosing to deliberately ignore his revelation and "make-up" their own man-made notions about his nature. He has spoken and confirmed his word.
And some day we will be face to face with our Maker. Then we can lecture him about what we think he should "really be like", that hell is not real, that he is a she, etc. How do you think this will fly with him... who spent so much to be so clear?
As scripture says so vividly, "prepare to meet your God!"
As a parable to illustrate this...

Suppose a potential "lover" took an attitude towards you of ignoring whatever you said about yourself. He or she might even claim to be having a relationship with you, etc. But instead of getting to know the real you, he/she just "makes it up" to suit his/her fancy, goes out with other suitors and says it is you, blows-off anything you say about yourself as "dogmatic", and projects on to you his/her own preference of what you "ought to be" in their opinion.
In this deceived lover's mind, you love him/her, you approve of him/her, regardless of your vehement protests to the contrary. "All paths lead to YOU," he/she asserts. "Don't be so narrow-minded," you are told as you try to describe what you really are like. But the "lover" is too intoxicated with his/her own ideas to be bothered with the truth of who you really are.
How would you feel about this person's "knowledge" about you. Some "relationship", eh?

For more on this see our cute little skit attached to the Theology Bible study. If God exists at all, then he has a nature. That nature exists independent of what you or I or anyone else happens to have coursing through our little heads. If he has indeed revealed himself, then we can confidently approach him and revel in the bounty of his self-disclosure. We can have a "real" relationship with the Living One. But if we are wrong... He does not change. Only we are cut off from the joy of his presence, or take the bait of a rival suitor.

John 1:1-5 (Phi) At the beginning God expressed himself. The personal expression, that word, was with God, and was God, and he existed with God from the beginning. All creation took place through him, and none took place without him. In him appeared life and this life was the light of mankind. The light still shines in the darkness and the darkness has never put it out. Mat 17:5-7 (NIV) While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid."

For more on this, see our expanded Bible study on the nature of The Truth. In summary:
1) God can speak. 2) God has spoken--and that very clearly--what he wanted to say.
3) His "Word" was Jesus Christ, the "visible expression of the invisible God" (Col 1:15-19).
4) He has pointed out that his self-revelation is TRUE, which makes some people go into a major snit, but it is what you would expect if God took the trouble to really reveal himself.
5) Some humans think they are wiser than God, who somehow botched the job of revealing himself. They are going to improve on God's message by editing out what they do not like.
6) God and these "editors" will someday meet. Place your bets, but play to win!

When we are past

2011-02-07T09:05:00.000-06:00

What will people think about our generation in the future? we know what we think of generations past, after all, Ben Franklin never had an iphone, so he couldn't have been as smart as us, right? what will future generations think of us? Imagine what archeologists will think as they finger thru the "ancient" buildings we've built and try to make sense of our past life? what did us ancient peoples value? well, shouldn't those scholars then look at our largest buildings and edifices to make sense of what we valued and worshiped? what conclusions would they come up with? what about when they looked at stored data on these ancient computers? what would they find on those ancient data storage and distribution units called "servers" and how should they judge us by what they find? should they not consider categorizing this data into groups and review what groups are larger, and weigh their judgments in part by the volume of groups? just what conclusions would these archeologists come to concerning this generation? well, what are our largest buildings now? and what is the largest content category in our servers now? those future archeologists would have to assume that we worshiped a funny looking ball made of pigskin that we wanted to fight over and, sex acts, lotsa, lotsa, lotsa, sex acts. would they not? judging by what they find?
huh? you think they would be too harsh in judging this? they don't understand? you say? my question is, why do YOU say that? is not the evidence plain as the nose on your face?
Coming back to my point in the last post about how presuppositions taint how you think. If you start by assuming God is a vindictive cuss, what you will find in scripture is just what you are looking for. you will decide God doesn't think like you and therefore God must be wrong, right?
If you take God's word that he loves you and make that your starting premise you will see the same things in a whole different light.
attitude has a lot to do with outlook, look at the world thru the glasses of anger you will see one thing, look thru the glasses of selfishness you will see another thing, look thru the glasses of pride you will see something else, look thru the glasses of love and you will see something else entirely.
One of people's louder gripes today about God is that they don't agree with his attitude about sex. why do their have to be rules? the people cry.
the popular attitude today is that sex IS entertainment. is this right? people nowadays think if people sell sex it is wrong, think prostitution demeans women and the like, and one-sided sex, called rape is wrong, but the only thing they see wrong with it is that it's one sided. as long as two people have sex simply for it's (selfish) entertainment value that's O.K. well, is it? don't you think that just perhaps if you think sex is just for it's entertainment value maybe you are selling yourself short? literally? perhaps you should think you are of more value than that? maybe there should be more to relationships than you presently think? People of the past thought so, God thinks so, who's right? remember the archeologists above? you perhaps think they might treat our generation unfairly in your eyes, right?
this doesn't just have to do with the relationship between God and humankind. this has a lot to do with people's relationships with each other. Your view of people is tainted by you presuppositions. if you look thru the prism of Love you will see others in a different light than if you look at them in thru the prism of vindictiveness.
Have we not all been the victim of presuppositions? is it not agonizing when people we care about make decisions about our motives that are not right? take a look at Christ, think you got it bad in this respect? He allowed himself tortured to death for your benefit, yet, many view this act either with anger or indifference. huh. all I can say is thank you Lord for showing me your Love, know I can't come close to returning the favor. wish I could help the rest of this world understand..............

What about Love?

2011-02-06T16:44:00.001-06:00

"If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under" ~ Ronald Reagan

It seems fitting that I should write this post on Reagan's birthday. some things should never be forgotten.

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

What about Love? how is this a better starting point to understanding God over any other means? look at these verses carefully, Jesus said we should love the Lord our God with all your heart, soul and mind. THIS has to be first. why? you ask? well the conclusions you could come to depend on your presuppositions. If you think God says that because of any number of selfish reasons, because he wants to be lifted up to lord it over you, you would come to one conclusion, If you presuppose he is saying so out of Love and concern for you you would come to another conclusion. the picture that comes to my mind is of a parent/teenager situation. God the parent tells teenager, who he loves dearly, that rules must be followed for their own good. God the parent says "I must be obeyed for your good". teenager thinks parent is full of himself and says this for some selfish reason like fear of embarrassment, or some desire to spoil their fun. Parent makes rules like don't drink and drive out of the love of their teenager, teenager thinks this rule is just to spoil their fun. who's being selfish here? the teenager, obviously. there is no respect of the law if there is no love for the lawgiver, is there? love has two components, the component of the one loved, and the one loving.

Jesus said the second law is like the first. to love your neighbor as yourself.
there's something that looks so easy, yet it is the failure of humankind both individually and as a whole to follow this that causes the "trouble with the world" we find. What would the world be like if everyone loved their neighbor as they do their-selves? what if people loved God's law, and loved their neighbor as they do their selves? A great many spoiled teenagers among us decry God's law as onerous, yet, look at the ten commandments, as ask yourself, can a society succeed without these? why do you think they are so onerous? are you a spoiled teenager still yet?
suppose that spoiled teenager gets drunk, and goes driving, wrecks and kills some of his friends and siblings? what position does this teenager find himself in, his sin, having caught up with him? what of his relationship with the law? the lawgiver? who's to come to his defense if and when he recognizes his sin and repents? what should happen then?
God loves us, his law is for our good. you can listen to God or to the snake, one of the two, but here's God's plan for us. as the lawgiver he is the prosecutor in the case, he prosecutes this wayward teenager. as the judge, he declares this wayward teenager guilty of his sin. and pronounces sentence, death. but the story doesn't end there! the judge gets off his podium, removes his robe, and takes the punishment for the crime onto HIMSELF! believe that! HE takes the place of the condemned! wow! but now, consider wisely your relationship with God now wayward teenager, you owe him an even bigger debt than ever! Do you love your redeemer like you should? ponder all that has been done for you, dear teenager. How would you feel, if you were the parent in this story? and your great sacrifice and love came back to you unappreciated, perhaps mocked, even? understand humankind's present position! we are the spoiled teenager, bent on following our friends ways and opinions and ignoring or, even worse, mocking and making fun of our redeemer. get to know God's mind by studying his word. understand your place as one loved of God and respect it.

To the Humanist

2011-02-06T14:08:00.000-06:00

In my last post I addressed the notion of replacement theology because frankly, there are many Christians who, for whatever reason (a reason that does not come from the scripture they claim to follow) believe God is vindictive, demands certain rituals and rites that, if not met by the believer, will result in angering their God and incurring his wrath. I further pointed out that an outworking of this idea resulted in a lot of torture and death, to the Jew first, but then also to the perceived heathens, many of which were even their fellow Christians. this assumption of God's vindictiveness clouds their view of God. no better example of this today is the Westboro baptist Church. Islam follows a vindictive God by it's own definition. their God does indeed demand certain rites and rituals, the enforcement of those rites and rituals, and any Muslim cleric will tell you so, so no need for me to say anything more about that nor is there any need for you to take my word for it. there is a lot of argument between a wide range of opinion as to the nature of God amongst Humans, can a person or group attempt to rise above this noise and circumnavigate this argument by other means? Atheism says there is no God, but then, is this not a logical fallacy? what proof is there of this claim? one would have a time trying to explain his very existence. how can one "know" there is no God? Agnosticism is no better logically, atheism claims there is no God, Agnosticism claims God can't be known, same difference then. (a christian answer to these here)
How about Humanism then? can we not sidestep the issue completely and just focus of Humanity? would this not be a more noble exercise? Humanism's claim is that Humans are the ultimate of everything, the ultimate of intellect, ability, knowledge, we are the SHIT! as the new slang term goes. o.k, let's examine that. many humanists like to make the claim that most of what's wrong in the world is religion, yet, make the claim that humanism is not a religion, and is in fact, a philosophy above religion itself. is this true? actually, Humanism would in fact qualify as a religion in any dictionary, look at the definitions. so, setting God aside, could humans be "the shit" even by their own definition? If humans were "the shit" would we not have all the answers to all our questions? could we not create a utopia by our own means and by our own standard? would not all human endeavors be met with amazing joy and success? after all, this popular humanist culture has busied itself by finding all the fault with the world and demanding "change". is "change" the road to nirvana? many people want "change" in our present health-care system today, many people want "change" in our political dialogue today, let's examine these two points. obviously, if ya want change, that is because you find fault with the present system, right? so, what's wrong with the present system? one argument is that health-care is too expensive and that only rich people can get access to decent health-care. o.k, lets look at the solution to this passed by congress. that solution now in place is a piece of legislation that is over 2600 pages long that creates a whole new bureaucracy to oversee health care when implemented in a couple of years. so, rather than your doctor having the personal freedom to run his own business, he will now have to acquiesce to the apparent greater wisdom and knowledge of the state when administering his service to his patients. and those patients, will have to acquiesce to the greater wisdom of the state for their treatment. so, rather than a patient paying a doctor for his services, the patient now has to pay for the doctor and all his staff, and the bureaucracy and all their expenses as well, and all this in the name of greater efficiency! with two exceptions to this rule, one is that the state that imposed this plan on the people exempted itself from this plan, and two, the state also reserves the right to issue waivers to whomever will donate to or support the emperor who so wisely "gifted" this oh so great plan to his subjects (but not himself). If humanism is so great, why can't we find a better plan? why do people demand their doctor neighbors businesses be co-opted by the state? why do they think this a good idea? would they be alright with this if they were doctors? and howabout the much complained about "lack of civility" in political discourse today? many people decry some of the talking heads as being intolerant, we had a good example of this a few weeks ago when Congresswoman Giffords was shot. before the bodies of the slain were even cold there was an outcry about the "tone of political debate", and even the assertion that political debate was the culprit of this heinous crime. according to many in the news the fault of this crime was placed, by name, on Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin. yes folks, the people who so decry the "tone of political debate" actually specifically named these two as the perpetrators of this crime. yeah, they are really sincere about their concern over the "tone of political debate" aint they? a congresswoman gets shot in the head, many people die including a little girl, and the knee-jerk reaction is to blame those who don't agree with them in things political. no regard for the victims, little or no concern if the actual perpetrator of the crime is found or gets his just punishment. even the sheriff that should have been in charge of getting to the facts of the case was more concerned with bandying about his opinion about Rush Limbaugh then doing his job. thankfully, the feds saw this and fixed it. but now that sheriff certainly did do the defendant, the actual perpetrator a real favor. all the defense attorney need do is play the interviews of the dumb ass sheriff to the jury. what more need he add? after all, isn't the opinion of the sheriff not worth something?

Ben Franklin's definition of democracy is "two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch".
Tyranny can fit within that definition, can it not? many people today confuse fact and opinion, and think if you can get enough people to agree on a point, then that consensus is "fact" (look out, Rush!). If humanism were some road to truth, than this would be true, would it not? wouldn't the consensus be "right"?
Why would some people see it right to trample the rights of others? is not a burgeoning bureaucracy tyranny? why don't people think doctors should be able to operate their businesses as they see fit? If people were inherently good, as humanism claims, why the need for ever larger and more expensive government? what's missing? that this has to be?
If people were inherently good, why do people so love to vilify others? despite the facts?
Remember Orwell? his tome "1984"? do we not have many of his definitions today? like "newspeak" and "doublethink"? is not the vilification of others today not unlike the idea of "thoughtcrime" in that book? Makes me wonder...

Replacement Theology

2011-02-04T11:05:00.000-06:00

Replacement theology is the teaching that the Christian church has replaced national Israel regarding the plan, purpose, and promises of God. It is the idea that God dispensed with Israel because of their sin, all covenants and promises that God made to Israel are either broken or bestowed on the Christian Church. this idea stems from the Human bent towards vindictiveness and spite and the desire of humans to attribute this evil to God. an attempt to mold a God in humankind's own image. basically idolatry in it's purist form. personally I wonder why humankind wants a vindictive, spiteful God. would seem to be an obvious dead end, literally, after all, the only way one could please a vindictive god is to die, is it not? yet, it is what it is. Islam takes this same theology one step further and declares that not only is God finished with Israel, but is finished with the Christian Church as well, because of their sin, so, in their view, God is done with Israel, God is done with Christians, but God will never be done with us, because we are better than y'all, we never make mistakes, you Jews didn't "get it" you Christians didn't "get it", but we? we "got it".

see the logic? neither do I. yet, here we be. People always want to believe they have a better take/knowledge/understanding/belief/standing than their neighbor. I'm closer to God than YOU are, na, na, naa, na, na, naa....stupid.
This Idea had it's start:
Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

the serpent told Eve that God was a lying, mean, vindictive cuss, and Eve, and Adam, believed him. They had two choices before them, either believe God, or believe the serpent. they made their choice. and we live with the consequences of that choice today. now we see, yeah, we have knowledge of good and evil, but to be honest, we seem to have a natural bent to choose wrong much of the time, do we not? there's something missing in our psyche it seems...
The outworking of the idea that God is vindictive has consequences, after all, If God is vindictive, cannot the followers OF God be vindictive too? this Idea has killed a lot of people in the world, and torn up nations, peoples, churches, families. waffling about this point is disastrous. ya gotta either believe God or believe the serpent, there is no middle ground. which do you choose? Prophecies point to an ultimate end of this question, there is only two sides to choose and God let that choice be you own.

Egypt

2011-02-03T08:12:00.000-06:00

Things look tough for Egypt right now, the protest might have started with nobler intentions that it will end with, I read a recent poll that made me wonder if Egypt could even stand more freedom. according to this research poll 90% of Egyptians polled said they believed in freedom of religion, and 84% said they thought anyone leaving Islam should be stoned to death. they also said that if it came down to a fight between modernization or Islamic fundamentalism 59% would support the fundamentalists and 27% would support modernization. 54% think the workplace should be segregated by sex, 54% think suicide bombers are justified in their actions, 82% think adulterers should be stoned to death, 82% have an unfavorable view of the USA. considering this, do you think Egyptians should even try to be more democratic? looks to me like, considering this, a "democratic" revolution there would make the bloody french revolution look like child's play.The vast number of Egyptians had favorable views on democracy, a free press, and the like yet think apostates from Islam should be stoned? how can this be, you ask? a lot of it has to do with their attitude towards their God, Muslim's do not believe their God loves them or has any desire to have any kind of personal relationship with them. They think their God demands tasks of obedience from them out of his own selfish desire. they MUST pray five times a day, the MUST make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life, the MUST convert others to further the just cause of ISLAM if not by verbal persuasion, than the persuasion of the sword. harsh punishment is just and righteous, chop the hand off the thief, stone the adulterer, force their wives into submission by beatings, kill their children if they rebel. their God demands this, and, to top this all off, the bestest way to please this tyrant God? to die in violent jihad against the perceived enemy of Islam!! This is the action that will get you into the great bordello in the sky!! where Allah will reward you for inflicting his righteous terror on the heathen below by providing you with 72 hot virgin chicks to beat for your pleasure! what's not to like about that? bet them wimmen are really lookin forward to heaven, eh?

Luk 19:21 For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.
Luk 19:22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

Thinking that God acts out of his own selfish desire is disastrous, not for God, but for YOU. understand this if you will understand anything, everything God does is out of Love. I feel the need to repeat this, EVERYTHING God does is out of LOVE. this quote above is from a parable Jesus used to illustrate this idea, though many will think it to be about money, or works. fact is, God don't need your money or your works. this is ass-backwards thinking and it will get you into trouble the day you stand before him. Please don't try to justify yourself that day. I'm begging you to understand this not for me, but for you. I pray for everyone to understand this, in tears, often. God the father and God the son have the Love that flows between them, a love that has a life of it's own, they don't need others to fulfill this love, but WE need this Love to fulfill US! you can share in that love, the Invitation is open!

Freedom

2011-02-02T10:14:00.000-06:00

"Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature."
Benjamin Franklin

If a civilization thinks freedom's author is government, what will eventually happen? doesn't take a genius to figure that out does it?

"Man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants."
Benjamin Franklin

Freedom comes from God's law, tyranny comes from man's law.

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!"
Benjamin Franklin

our founding fathers created a republic to keep the people in charge of their government, is this idea "outdated"? willful ignorance and apathy will kill the freedom the people enjoy.

"How many observe Christ's birthday! How few his precepts!
O! 'tis easier to keep holidays than commandments."
Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1757

Churches have to consider their part in this republic committing suicide, could they have been a better example?

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security."
Benjamin Franklin

so does the rest of us who comprise "we the people"

Christianity?

2011-02-02T00:05:00.001-06:00

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Many people in the past who have made the claim to be "servants of Christ" have enslaved, tortured, and slaughtered people. many "Christians" have even done so to other "Christians". read about the inquisition and about the Jesuits slaughtering the Huguenots and any might wonder about the Lord these folks claim to serve. servants ought to reflect the will of their masters, should they not? how can anyone reconcile the words above with such actions as these? can you find anywhere in scripture, Jesus calling for his followers to commit torture and murder? people have a real problem in their process of belief, many, many times you can find examples of opinion having little or nothing to do with the pertinent facts. how can a "christian" torture another person thinking he is loving his neighbor as he does himself? people are nuts. and I can't explain it. the best way one can get to the truth is to get as close to the facts as best they can, if you want truth of Christ, you would have to go to the Bible, read it, understand it. what you get from other people is OPINION. if you're looking for facts you'd best do your reading yourself. When looking at what any person or group has to offer, you will find both good thoughts and bad, if you learn anything in life, it's that people are flawed at some deep level in their psyche. some worse than others. some are full of more bad idea's than good and some vice versa. knowing this, I choose to start with the fact of the one person who claimed to BE God, that was quite an audacious claim, was it not? one that should be easy enough to examine as whoever would make such a claim would either have to be pretty much wholly bad as the chief liar of the ages or telling the truth, ya can't come up with any middle ground in that claim, can you, such a person would have to be exceptional one way or the other! think about it! most of us are chock full of inner conflict, we can't even live up to our own standard. is not such a person as this Christ Jesus worthy of examination? could not one learn from such? you be the judge. look for yourself what the Jesus expected of his followers by his own word, not by the word of those who obviously did not and do not follow his word or example.

What do ya get?

2011-02-01T22:21:00.000-06:00

"The system of banking is a blot left in all our Constitutions, which, if not covered, will end in their destruction. I sincerely believe that banking institutions are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity is but swindling futurity on a large scale."
"The end of democracy, and the defeat of the American revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of the lending institutions and moneyed incorporations."
"If the people ever allow the banks to issue their currency, the banks and corporations which will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property, until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
"Paper is poverty... It is not money, but the ghost of money."
"There is an artificial aristocracy, founded on birth and privelege, without virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government, and provisions should be made to prevent its ascendency."
"The bank of the United States is one of the most deadly hostilities existing against the principles and form of our Constitution. I deem no government safe which is under the vassalage of any self-constituted authorities, or any other authority than that of the nation, or its regular functionaries. What an obstruction could not this bank of the United States, with all its branch banks, be in a time of war? It might dictate to us the peace we should accept, or it might withdraw its aid. Ought we then to give further growth to an institution so powerful, so hostile?"

James Madison speaking on the first attempt to establish a central bank in America:

"History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit and violent means possible, to maintain their control over governments, by controlling money and its issuance."
"It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens and one of the noblest characteristics of the late revolution. The free men of America did not wait until usurped power has strengthened itself by exercise and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle."

Andrew Jackson speaking on the second attempt to establish a central bank in America:

"If congress has the right under the Constitution to issue paper money, it was given them to use themselves, not to be delegated to individuals or corporations."
"I am one of those who do not believe that a national debt is a national blessing, but rather a curse to a republic, inasmuch as it is calculated to raise around the administration a monied aristocracy dangerous to the liberties of the country."
President Jackson told the bankers "You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and by the Eternal god, I will rout you out!"

Abraham Lincoln speaking on the third attempt to establish a central bank in America:

"The money powers prey on the nation in times of peace and conspire against it in times of adversity. The banking powers are more despotic than monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. They denounce as public enemies all who question their methods or throw light upon their crimes.
I have two great enemies, the Southern Army in front of me, and the bankers in the rear. Of the two, the one at my rear is my greatest foe. As a most undesirable consequence of the war, corporations have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow. The money power will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in the hands of a few, and the Republic is destroyed."
"The government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the government and the buying power of consumers. By the adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. Money will cease to be the master and become the servant of humanity."
"Government, possessing the power to create and issue credit and currency as money, and enjoying the right to withdraw both currency and credit by taxation and otherwise, need not and should not borrow capital at interest as the means of financing governmental work and public enterprise."
"The privelege of creating and issuing money is not only the supreme prerogative of Government, but it is the Government's greatest creative opportunity."
"No duty is more imperative on the government than the duty it owes the people to furnish them with a sound and uniform currency, and of regulating the circulation of the medium of exchange so that labor will be protected from a vicious currency, and commerce will be facilitated by cheap and safe exchanges."

Albert Einstein, arguably one of the most intelligent people who ever lived, was asked what he thought was the greatest of mankind's discoveries. His answer: "compound interest." He went so far as to call it the eighth wonder of the world.

As an example of just how powerful this can be, consider the following scenario.

Let's say Christopher Columbus made an investment in the new world's future in 1492. If Chris had placed a single penny in a 6% interest-bearing account and instructed someone to remove the interest every year, the value of the interest earned to date (2005) would be almost 31 cents. Not too much to write home about, is it.

But if the young explorer had placed the same paltry investment of one cent into the same interest-bearing account but LEFT the earned interest to compound—earning interest upon the interest—the results would be drastically different.

What would you guess the account would be worth now? $10,000? $100,000? A million? 10 million? 100 million?

In actuality, the resulting balance of a penny invested at 6% COMPOUND interest for 513 years would be $95,919,936,112. That's 95 BILLION!

Not bad for a single penny. Do you see what Al Einstein was so worked up about? It's powerful.

It wouldn't take much 'cyphering to see how wealthy this nation could have been had the Wilson administration not signed off on the federal reserve act. all the compound interest we now have to pay that privately owned bank could have been kept in the treasury, though, we know full well that wouldn't have happened. we're way too greedy. our founding fathers warned us against this evil, but, times change and people get smarter (in their own mind).

Hypocrisy

2011-02-01T13:33:00.000-06:00

"And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."
Thomas Jefferson to John Taylor, Monticello, 28 May 1816. Ford 11:533

Why would a generation of people spend borrowed monies on their selves now, and thus incur a debt on future generations? and by this mechanism, wholeheartedly support the notion of taxation without representation?

How many people, who, having studied issues such as slavery of the past, and, consider themselves so much more "enlightened" and "intelligent" than their past generations, now wholeheartedly support such slavery by this device now? (oh, I remember, the unborn have no rights)

How many recreational drug users, by their particular commerce, knowingly commit many of their southern neighbors in Mexico, and the rest of central and south America to the terror and violence that the drug cartels employ. who often "hire" mules by kidnapping their families and threatening their death, usurp and/or corrupt their governments, and create a life of violence and death in general across much of that area?

How many feminists, who spend huge amounts of time decrying occasional rude sexist behavior in America's workplaces, remain silent as church-mice about their sisters in Islam being regarded as chattel of their male husbands or relatives, with little or no rights, covered from sight, barely tolerated in public, often stoned to death for the charge of adultery that was actually the result of their being raped?

How often does this country not just tolerate, but accept and do business with tyrants and/or tyrannical governments and/or religions because they have "stuff" for sale that we want to buy thereby facilitating slavery today?

but! you say, you're trying to oversimplify the issue mark! yeah, that'd be one issue I'm trying to point out. If we can find all kinds of excuses to tolerate slavery in the here and now, why speak against those dead, and unable to defend their-selves? it still is what it is though, isn't it? I've spent much of the day reading what our founding fathers have written concerning their own hypocrisy, enough to know THEY were well aware of theirs, is THIS generation as aware of their own? I wonder...

Thomas Jefferson, would he be elected president today?

2011-01-30T19:31:00.001-06:00

Thomas Jefferson is hands down the most slandered former president of our country. Jefferson sent a reply to a letter from a community of Baptists from Danbury, Connecticut and re-iterated to them the establishment clause of the first amendment. assuring the Baptists that congress would never interfere with the free exercise of religion, nowadays unethical, unscrupulous lawyers use his letter to attempt to do just that by taking his comments out of context.

Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson's "separation of church & state letter written to the Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut on January 1, 1802
"Gentlemen:
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which are so good to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Association, give me the highest satisfaction. My duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, and in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God; that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship; that the legislative powers of the government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, of prohibiting the free excercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and state. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore man to all of his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessings of the common Father and Creator of man, and tender you and your religious association, assurances of my high respect and esteem."

"I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."
John F. Kennedy to Nobel Prize winners of the Western Hemisphere, at a White House function, April 29, 1962
"And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."
Thomas Jefferson to John Taylor, Monticello, 28 May 1816. Ford 11:533
"I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries; as long as they are chiefly agricultural; and this will be as long as there shall be vacant lands in any part of America. When they get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, they will become corrupt as in Europe."
Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, December 20, 1787
"Self-love . . . is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others." "(If a) people (are) so demoralized and depraved as to be incapable of exercising a wholesome control, their reformation must be taken up ab incunablis (from the beginning). Their minds (must) be informed by education what is right and what wrong, (must) be encouraged in habits of virtue and deterred from those of vice by the dread of punishments, proportioned indeed, but irremissible. In all cases, (they must) follow truth as the only safe guide and eschew error which bewilders us in one false consequence after another in endless succession. These are the inculcations necessary to render the people a sure basis for the structure of order and good government."
In a letter to John Adams in 1819
"He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world's believing him. This falsehood of the tongue leads to that of the heart, and it time depraves all its good dispositions." (1785)
"I never ... believed there was one code of morality for a public and another for a private man."
In a letter to Don Valentine de Feronda, 1809

"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world."
Thomas Jefferson to A. L. C. Destutt de Tracy, 1820.
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government has grown out of too much government."
Senator John Sharp Williams, Thomas Jefferson: His Permamnent Influence on American Institutions, p.49 (1913). Lecture delivered at Columbia University, New York City, 1912.
"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."
"And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."
Letter to John Taylor, May 28, 1816
"The only foundation for useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion." "God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever."
"To the corruptions of Christianity I am, indeed, opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian in the only sense in which he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others..."
"I consider the doctrines of Jesus as delivered by himself to contain the outlines of the sublimest system of morality that has ever been taught but I hold in the most profound detestation and execration the corruptions of it which have been invented..."
As President, Thomas Jefferson not only signed bills which appropriated financial support for chaplains in Congress and in the armed services, but he also signed the Articles of War, April 10, 1806, in which he:
"Earnestly recommended to all officers and soldiers, diligently to attend divine services."
In a letter to Horatio G. Spafford, dated March 17, 1814, Thomas Jefferson wrote:
"Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains."
"A more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen; it is a document in proof that I am a real Christian; that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus."
"I have always said, I always will say, that the studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands."
Jefferson declared that religion is: "Deemed in other countries incompatible with good government and yet proved by our experience to be its best support."
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."

"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
Thomas Jefferson, while writing the 1st draft of the Virginia State Constitution.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
"In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution."

this last quote by the very writer of the first amendment:
Fisher Ames (Author of the First Amendment)
"Should not the Bible regain the place it once held as a schoolbook? Its morals are pure, its examples are captivating and noble....In no Book is there so good English, so pure and so elegant, and by teaching all the same they will speak alike, and the Bible will justly remain the standard of language as well as of faith."

Revolution!

2011-01-29T09:10:00.000-06:00

Found some folks in Egypt who's blogs I used to read a lot a few years ago now posting on their twitter accts somehow. while these folks are young intellectuals with ideas of more (and much needed) freedom. I can only hope these folks have a plan, as both history and the word of God state that even bad government is better that no government at all. this group of young, educated (usually educated overseas in American and European universities) have lived in oppression there for years. some of the bloggers I followed had been arrested and beaten for minor off the cuff remarks on their blogs against Mubarak's government this has happened time and again and they are tired of it. they deserve a better government. my concern, however is that a radical and even more despotic organization could step into the vacuum if these folks don't have some plan to keep that from happening. The Muslim Brotherhood are largely popular amongst the poorer and less educated young masses there and they are a large and probably well armed group. this bunch getting into power would be disastrous to the cause of personal freedom, and stability in the middle east. as the very idea OF personal freedom is completely foreign to Islam. I pray this all works out for the good. the history of revolutions teaches that they can be either good or bad. just study the difference between the American revolution and the French one. and the importance of the philosophy that was behind both that were very different. In America the obvious truth as our founders saw it was that God created all men equal, and the God gave men certain rights, chief amongst them were the right to life (and that's the best start, right there) liberty, and the personal freedom to pursue their happiness.

The french revolution was quite different, their mantra was Liberty, equality, and fraternity. and you have to note that they believed in fraternity first and foremost, then equality, then liberty as last. note there was no idea in the french revolution that anyone had any "God given" right. rights were recognized as liberties provided by the government to the individual and there was no recognized right to life at all! Fraternity meant the individual was to submit to to the will and the way of the revolutionaries in power, agree with them or meet with madame Guillotine, and many did! you see that if nobody has a right to life, there is NO liberty to be had. the leader of the french revolution had his own philosophy about this jump up and bite him in the ass. wonder if his last thought was that philosophy matters? and what of equality? Just because people are created equal does not mean they will remain equal in all the range of pursuits people will roam after. we all have differing abilities and ideas and goals. this guarantees differing finish lines. If I witness my neighbor go to the store and get a coke, and I want a coke, what should I do? petition my sheriff my grievance that my neighbor has a coke and I don't have one? after all, is not my neighbor ignoring my "right" to equality? should he not meet the Guillotine for this heinous crime? so you see, the idea of equality is not personal liberty either. if you want a coke, get a coke. if you can't afford a coke, get a job, then get a coke. the issue of covetousness is a dead end. society can't deal with it, only persons can, nine of the ten commandments God gave Moses deal with actions, the one last commandment forbids a thought, the thought that is nothing but a big dead end waste of time. covetousness.

Building a government requires building a philisophy of government first and foremost, maintaining a government requires maintaining that philosophy in word and deed and teaching that philosophy to the generations after. America is falling down on the job here, one might even say rolling backwards here. and the results of that could be catastrophic.

Love letters

2011-01-27T08:28:00.000-06:00

Young lovers look for little notes from their mates with excitement and anticipation. memories from high school are full of young girls giggling and young boys gushing. such were the responses of letters passed in class or stuffed through a locker vent. I can remember the anticipation and excitement on the faces as they unfolded their little notes. nowadays the methods those notes are passed is different, what with facebook, twitter, and smartphones but the responses to them are pretty much the same I'd bet. the bigger the note was the greater the excitement! and was it not just for such as response that these little notes were written?

Fellow people, we have a love letter written to us from our maker, who, having poured out his heart to us in this letter is awaiting a response from us. can you remember the response you had from those letters in school? did you not honor and treasure those little notes then? what about now? and what about the letter written to you by your maker, what is your response to it? is it the same excitement and anticipation you felt for your young friend? and if not? why not?

In thinking about the full range of responses someone may have about this blog I imagine the percentages would go like this: about 90% indifference, about 5% anger, about 4% friends or family seeking indications of my present or future insanity and less than 1% other than previously described. note that this is not an actual poll, just my guesstimate, but I can't be too far off. why bother to write, considering this, you ask? well, are you asking me, or are you asking the subject OF my writing? some may complain as to the "tone" or the "spirit" of my diatribes. after all, God is love, and love is all gushing and giggling, right?

Well, no, love is not all gushing and giggling, as any parent could tell you. and if you were to sort God's word into categories of gushing and giggling and instruction and admonition, the "gushing and giggling" category would hold a whole lot fewer pages than the "instruction and admonition" pile. If I am trying to testify as to God's word, and told you different from this, would this not be a most horrible crime?

I point out to you today that there is much written in scripture specifically for the people of today. Many evangelical Christians of today think we are in the "last days". there is much written in scripture specifically about, and for the church in the "last days" too, the Apostles Paul, Peter, and John wrote certain things SPECIFICALLY TO AND FOR the last days church. are you willing to read it? do you feel the same excitement and anticipation you felt when you knew there was a note in your locker from your high school sweetheart?

True Love

2011-01-25T10:47:00.000-06:00

It seems to me as though I have written these last few posts ass-backwards. and perhaps the last post might really be a good set-up for the previous few. funny how the world appears different when you take the time to stop, turn around and look back. It might be some benefit to you, dear reader, to consider this, go to my main page, and read these from the top down. then consider all that was written for your benefit in God's word, there is much both in what Christ taught, what the apostles wrote down that were written for this age, this generation (and a lot of it says we have a problem! are they lying? or telling the truth? think you, that "this doesn't apply to ME"?). all this that should bring you to the foot of the cross. when you are there look up, and witness the fact that the terrible cost of sin, and the terrible cost of Love hangs right there as a witness to you, Consider what God brought to this point, and what you brought here. God's begging you to understand. my prayer is that you would choose to understand, but then, whether this witness is for you or against you is YOUR choice. when it comes to writing, or reading I guess writing is really the easier part, choosing requires a multi-stepped effort. Jesus said "wisdom is justified of all her children". how many consider this, and lay it to heart? God knows. consider this fact, God chose to reveal himself to you through the written word, to honor someone, do you not have to honor their word? first and foremost? there have been many a time my words were not honored, even those, my most precious words "I love you" were regarded as trash, as shit, and dropped to the ground and stepped on by some. hey, we've all been there. that brings pain, tears, and anguish. but in my mind I know that the place of both my words and the response I got from them mean little in the big picture, but.... God's words divide truth and folly, light and darkness, life and death! imagine the pain, the tears, and the agony of our Lord Jesus Christ. how we respond to God's truth and Love matters.

the best gift I can give anybody is to bring them to the knowledge of Christ and testify to it's effect on me in the hope that that may open their eyes and inspire them to read the bible. some may consider my choice of forum for this as odd, but I do what I can do, I am hobbled in several ways physically at this point so all I can do is salute my friends and family from here. this is the fruit I can offer, sometimes fruit is taken as juice. the juice I offer is that little bit of the knowledge of Christ I have been given. juice is made by pressing and squeezing the fruit and throwing the husk away. if this juice is acquired though some pain and violence to the fruit so be it.
the common proverb states "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink" that is true for those beasts, if you know you are going to go ride out in the desert, you would hydrate yourself a bit extra before the trip, the horse, however, as an unthinking beast, knows not that his rider is leading him to a dry place and may not drink the water proffered. us humans are not unthinking beasts, though at times we all act like it. the idea of that old proverb is that you can lead a person to knowledge but you can't make him think. or feel. or love.

Do you see the tragedy? it's not in God's word that the tragedy lies, it is in our response to it. My Prayer is all will respond with all their heart and mind to God's True Love.

Have a Blessed day.

If you want to know what water is like, don't ask the fish.

2011-01-24T22:42:00.000-06:00

That is an old Chinese proverb (I think) can't honestly remember where I heard it, the Idea is that a fish that has been immersed in water it's whole life would have no common point of reference with us to explain to us what water is like. we think water is wet, does the fish? so likewise us, having grown up in the culture we find ourselves in...see the dilemma? we absorb traits from the culture around us. if we had grown up in a culture that has, for all our life called the color of grass purple, well, you get the picture.
If we were to apply this to the subject of truth, how DO we find truth, can people actually find truth? God says yes, in the bible, do we understand it fully, no, but that does not mean one should give up trying and say it's not possible, People can have a relationship with truth, God says so, and wrote a book about it, in fact. as a society though, our relationship with truth is quite distant in this day and time, it would benefit all to think and study about this problem.

one of the problems of our post-modern philosophy of today is this:

borrowed from this website

You are here: Philosophy >> Nihilism

Nihilism – Abandoning Values and Knowledge
Nihilism derives its name from the Latin root nihil, meaning nothing, that which does not exist. This same root is found in the verb “annihilate” -- to bring to nothing, to destroy completely. Nihilism is the belief which:

labels all values as worthless, therefore, nothing can be known or communicated.

associates itself with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism, having no loyalties.

The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), is most often associated with nihilism. In Will to Power [notes 1883-1888], he writes, “Every belief, every considering something true, is necessarily false because there is simply no true world.” For Nietzsche, there is no objective order or structure in the world except what we give it. The objective of nihilism manifests itself in several perspectives:

Epistemological nihilism denies the possibility of knowledge and truth, and is linked to extreme skepticism.

Political nihilism advocates the prior destruction of all existing political, social, and religious orders as a prerequisite for any future improvement.

Ethical nihilism (moral nihilism) rejects the possibility of absolute moral or ethical values. Good and evil are vague, and related values are simply the result of social and emotional pressures.

Existential nihilism, the most well-known view, affirms that life has no intrinsic meaning or value.

Nihilism – A Meaningless World
Shakespeare’s Macbeth eloquently summarizes existential nihilism's perspective, disdaining life:

Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more; it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

Philosophers’ predictions of nihilism’s impact on society are grim. Existentialist, Albert Camus (1913-1960), labeled nihilism as the most disturbing problem of the 20th century. His essay, The Rebel¹ paints a terrifying picture of “how metaphysical collapse often ends in total negation and the victory of nihilism, characterized by profound hatred, pathological destruction, and incalculable death.” Helmut Thielicke’s, Nihilism: Its Origin and Nature, with a Christian Answer² warns, “Nihilism literally has only one truth to declare, namely, that ultimately Nothingness prevails and the world is meaningless."

Nihilism – Beyond Nothingness
Nihilism--choosing to believe in Nothingness--involves a high price. An individual may choose to “feel” rather than think, exert their “will to power” than pray, give thanks, or obey God. After an impressive career of literary and philosophical creativity, Friedrich Nietzsche lost all control of his mental faculties. Upon seeing a horse mistreated, he began sobbing uncontrollably and collapsed into a catatonic state. Nietzsche died August 25, 1900, diagnosed as utterly insane. While saying Yes to “life” but No to God, the Prophet of Nihilism missed both.

Beyond the nothingness of nihilism, there is One who is greater than unbelief; One who touched humanity (1 John 5:20) and assures us that our lives are not meaningless (Acts 17:24-28).

a detailed treatise about this problem of human perception here

Have a Blessed day.

Truth

2011-01-23T08:19:00.000-06:00

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Jesus made the claim that nobody can or will come to the Father but by him. Jesus made no room for anybody to make some soft-pedaled claim that he was a "good teacher" or a "great prophet" or "nice guy". that there was any other way to enter the presence of God but through him. this is the exclusive statement of exclusive statements. nobody can be ambivalent about Jesus, he left NO room for it, at all. period. You have to believe either Jesus is who he says he is, or that he is the craziest kook, the utter nutter, the absolute father of all lies. there isn't any gray area to be found in this issue at all.none.zero.zip.nada. He made it that way.

Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

This truth, is the sword Jesus is, there is only two sides to this sword people can fall to. one or the other.period. all of society and all of the world are hurling headlong into the edge of this sword. the consequences of the decision that has to be made are dire. this sword will cleave the world of humankind in two. just because our current society holds pluralism and relativism on some pedestal higher even that we hold God will not change this fact, just because this society, and the spirit of the age wills that all people should be shamed into keeping their core beliefs private will not change this fact. making human government bigger will not change this fact. If you happen to believe Christ you HAVE to spread this message! what's the alternative! let others fall? is keeping this truth private for the sake of your present relationships your goal? then this goal is your God. is the Idea that you "don't want to offend" what motivates you? what fruit will this bear? for you or your friend? Should Christians remain huddled in their homes and churches, pat each other on the back, and feel good about their selves? Should Christians be devoted to praying for what they want God to do for them? or should Christians be praying for God's will to be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.

Many Christians have read about the arguments the Lord Jesus had with the religious leadership in the day. would he not have many of the same arguments with many church leaders today? and how much more the worse for us that this is so, for while the pharisees had knowledge of Moses and the Prophets in that day, this world has had the testimony of Christ these two thousand years! Are we where we should be spiritually? read the word, and judge.

Love

2011-01-21T20:43:00.000-06:00

This essay is not my own, but written by Dr. Peter Kreeft.
A very good piece, enjoy the blessing.

Without qualification, without ifs, ands, or buts, God's word tells us, straight as a left jab, that love is the greatest thing there is (1 Cor 13: 13). Scripture never says God is justice or beauty or righteousness, though he is just and beautiful and righteous. But "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8). Love is God's essence, his whole being. Everything in him is love. Even his justice is love. Paul identifies "the justice of God" in Romans 1:17 with the most unjust event in all history, deicide, the crucifixion, for that was God's great act of love.

But no word is more misunderstood in our society than the word love. One of the most useful books we can read is C. S. Lewis' unpretentious little masterpiece The Four Loves. There, he clearly distinguishes agape, the kind of love Christ taught and showed, from storge (natural affection or liking), eros (sexual desire), and philia (friendship). It is agape that is the greatest thing in the world.

The old word for agape in English was charity. Unfortunately, that word now means to most people simply handouts to beggars or to the United Fund. But the word love won't do either. It means to most people either sexual love (eros) or a feeling of affection (storge), or a vague love-in-general. Perhaps it is necessary to insist on the Greek word agape (pronounced ah-gah-pay) even at the risk of sounding snobbish or scholarly, so that we do not confuse this most important thing in the world with something else and miss it, for there is enormous misunderstanding about it in our society.

The first and most usual misunderstanding of agape is to confuse it with a feeling. Our feelings are precious, but agape is more precious. Feelings come to us, passively; agape comes from us, actively, by our free choice. We are not responsible for our feelings-we can't help how we feel-but we are responsible for our agape or lack of it, eternally responsible, for agape comes from us; feelings come from wind, weather, and digestion. "Luv" comes from spring breezes; real love comes from the center of the soul, which Scripture calls the heart (another word we have sentimentalized and reduced to feeling). Liking is a feeling. But love (agape) is more than strong liking. Only a fool would command someone to feel a certain way. God commands us to love, and God is no fool.

Jesus had different feelings toward different people. But he loved them all equally and absolutely. But how can we love someone if we don't like him? Easy-we do it to ourselves all the time. We don't always have tender, comfortable feelings about ourselves; sometimes we feel foolish, stupid, asinine, or wicked. But we always love ourselves: we always seek our own good. Indeed, we feel dislike toward ourselves, we berate ourselves, precisely because we love ourselves; because we care about our good, we are impatient with our bad.

God is agape, and agape is not feeling. So God is not feeling. That does not make him or agape cold and abstract. Just the opposite: God is love itself, feeling is the dribs and drabs of love received into the medium of passivity. God cannot fall in love for the same reason water cannot get wet: it is wet. Love itself cannot receive love as a passivity, only spread it as an activity. God is love in action, not love in dreams. Feelings are like dreams: easy, passive, spontaneous. Agape is hard and precious like a diamond.

This brings us to a second and related misunderstanding. Agape's object is always the concrete individual, not some abstraction called humanity. Love of humanity is easy because humanity does not surprise you with inconvenient demands. You never find humanity on your doorstep, stinking and begging.

Jesus commands us to love not humanity but our neighbor, all our neighbors, the real individuals we meet, just as he did. He died for me and for you, not for humanity. The Cross has our names on it, not the name "humanity". When Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd, he said he "calls his own sheep by name" (Jn 10:3). The gospel comes to you not in a newspaper with a Xeroxed label, "Dear Occupant", but in a handwritten envelope personally addressed to you, as a love letter from God to you alone. One of the saints says that Jesus would have done everything he did and suffered everything he suffered even if you were the only person who had sinned, just for you. More than that, he did! This is no " if" ; this is fact. His loving eyes saw you from the Cross. Each of his five wounds were lips speaking your name.

A third, related, misunderstanding about love is to confuse it with kindness, which is only one of its usual attributes. Kindness is the desire to relieve another's suffering. Love is the willing of another's good. A father can spank his child out of love. And God is a father.

It is painfully obvious that God is not mere kindness, for he does not remove all suffering, though he has the power to do so. Indeed, this very fact-that the God who is omnipotent and can at any instant miraculously erase all suffering from this world deliberately chooses not to do so-is the commonest argument unbelievers use against him. The number one argument for atheism stems from the confusion between love and kindness.

The more we love someone, the more our love goes beyond kindness. We are merely kind to pets, and therefore we consent that our pets be put to death "to put them out of their misery" when they are suffering. There is increasing pressure in America to legalize euthenasia (so far only Nazi Germany and now Holland have ever legalized euthenasia), and this evil too stems from the confusion between love and kindness. We are kind to strangers but demanding of those we love. If a stranger informed you that he was a drug addict, you would probably try to reason with him in a kind and gentle way; but if your son or daughter said that to you, you would probably do a lot of shouting and screaming.

Grandfathers are kind; fathers are loving. Grandfathers say, "Run along and have a good time"; fathers say , "But don't do this or that." Grandfathers are compassionate, fathers are passionate. God is never once called our grandfather, much as we would prefer that to the inconveniently close, demanding, intimate father who loves us. The most frequently heard saying in our lives is precisely the philosophy of a grandfather: "Have a nice day." Many priests even sanctify this philosophy by ending the Mass with it, though the Mass is supposed to be the worship of the Father, not the Grandfather.

A fourth misunderstanding about love is the confusion between "God is love" and "love is God." The worship of love instead of the worship of God involves two deadly mistakes. First it uses the word God only as another word for love. God is thought of as a force or energy rather than as a person. Second, it divinizes the love we already know instead of showing us a love we don't know. To understand this point, consider that "A is B" does not mean the same as "A equals B." If A = B, then B = A, but if A is B, that does not mean that B is A. "That house is wood" does not mean "wood is that house." "An angel is spirit" does not mean the same as "spirit is an angel." When we say "A is B", we begin with a subject, A, that we assume our hearer already knows, and then we add a new predicate to it. "Mother is sick" means "You know mother well, let me tell you something you don't know about her: she's sick." So "God is love" means "Let me tell you something new about the God you know: he is essential love, made of love, through and through." But "Love is God" means "Let me tell you something about the love you already know, your own human love: that is God. That is the ultimate reality. That is as far as anything can ever go. Seek no further for God." In other words, "God is love" is the profoundest thing we have ever heard. But "love is God" is deadly nonsense.

A fifth misunderstanding about love is the idea that you can be in love with love. No, you cannot, any more than you can have faith in faith, or hope in hope, or see sight. Love is an act, a force, or an energy, but persons are more than that. What we love with agape can only be a person, the realest thing there is, because a person is the image of God, who is ultimate reality, and God's name is I Am, the name for a person. If anyone says they are in love with love, that love is not agape but a feeling.

A sixth misunderstanding about love is the idea that "God is love" is unrelated to dogmatic theology, especially to the doctrine of the Trinity. Everyone can agree that "God is love", it seems, but the Trinity is a tangled dogma for an esoteric elite, isn't it? No. If God is not a Trinity, God is not love. For love requires three things: a lover, a beloved, and a relationship between them. If God were only one person, he could be a lover, but not love itself. The Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father, and the Spirit is the love proceeding from both, from all eternity. If that were not so, then God would need us, would be incomplete without us, without someone to love. Then his creating us would not be wholly unselfish, but selfish, from his own need.

Love is a flower, and hope is its stem. Salvation is the whole plant. God's grace, God's own life, comes into us by faith, like water through a tree's roots. It rises in us by hope, like sap through the trunk. And it flowers from our branches, fruit for our neighbor's use.

Faith is like an anchor. That's why it must be conservative, even a stick-in-the-mud, like an anchor. Faith must be faithful. Hope is like a compass or a navigator. It gives us direction, and it takes its bearings from the stars. That's why it must be progressive and forward-looking. Love is like the sail, spread to the wind. It is the actual energy of our journey. That's why it must be liberal, open to the Spirit's wind, generous.

Agape is totally defenseless against an objection like Freud's: "But not all men are worthy of love." No, they are not. Love goes beyond worth, beyond justice, beyond reason. Reasons are always given from above downward, and there is nothing above love, for God is love. When he was about six, my son asked me, "Daddy, why do you love me?" I began to give the wrong answers, the answers I thought he was looking for: "You're a great kid. You're good and smart and strong." Then, seeing his disappointment, I decided to be honest: "Aw, I just love you because you're mine." I got a smile of relief and a hug: "Thanks, Daddy." A student once asked me in class, "Why does God love us so much?" I replied that that was the greatest of all mysteries, and she should come back to me in a year to see whether I had solved it. One year later to the day, there she was. She was serious. She really wanted an answer. I had to explain that this one thing, at least, just could not be explained.

Finally, there is the equally mind-boggling mystery of the intrinsic paradox of agape: somehow in agape you give yourself away, not just your time or work or possessions or even your body. You put yourself in your own hands and hand it over to another. And when you do this unthinkable thing, another unthinkable thing happens: you find yourself in losing yourself. You begin to be when you give yourself away. You find that a new and more real self has somehow been given to you. When you are a donor you mysteriously find yourself a recipient-of the very gift you gave away.

There is more: nothing else is really yours. Your health, your works, your intelligence, your possessions-these are not what they seem. They are all hostage to fortune, on loan, insubstantial. You discover that when you learn who God is. Face to face with God in prayer, not just a proper concept of God, you find that you are nothing. All the saints say this: you are nothing. The closer you get to God the more you see this, the more you shrink in size. If you scorn God, you think you're a big shot, a cannonball; if you know God, you know you're not even buckshot. Those who scorn God think they're number one. Those who have the popular idea of God think they're "good people". Those who have a merely mental orthodoxy know they're real but finite creatures, made in God's image but flawed by sin. Those who really begin to pray find that compared with God they are motes of dust in the sun. Finally, the saints say they are nothing. Or else (Saint Paul's words) "the chief of sinners". Sinners think they're saints and saints think they're sinners.

Who's right? How shall we evaluate this insight? Unless God is the Father of lies (the ultimate blasphemy), the saints are right. Unless the closer you get to God the wronger you are about yourself, the five groups in the preceding paragraph (from scorners to saints) form a hierarchy of insight. Nothing is ours by nature. Our very existence is sheer gift. Think for a moment about the fact that you were created, made out of nothing. If a sculptor gives a block of marble the gift of a fine shape, the shape is a gift, but the marble's existence is not. That is the marble's own. But nothing is our own because we were made out of nothing. Our very existence is a gift from God to no one, for we were not there before he created us. There is no receiver of the gift distinct from the gift itself. We are God's gifts.So the saints are right. If I am nothing, nothing that is mine is anything. Nothing is mine by nature. But one thing is mine by my free choice: the self I give away in love. That is the thing even God cannot do for me. It is my choice. Everything I say is mine is not. But everything I say is yours is mine. C. S. Lewis, asked which of his many library books he thought he would have in heaven, replied, "Only the ones I gave away on earth and never got back". The same is true of our very self. It is like a ball in a game of catch: throw it and it will come back to you; hold onto it and that ends the game.

because my ass will hit the ground hard

2011-01-21T12:29:00.000-06:00

There is something I avoid doing because it will result in the title of this piece. Trying to look at how someone might take my writing as offensive (which I don't intend to be) I though it prudent to take a look at the underpinnings of how many people look at life, facts, and knowledge today. the way people think changes over time and distance. take a group of 500 people today and you will find probably 600 differing opinions about any event common to all of them. and while many differing opinions can exist in harmony, can all? are their any walls to this room or boundaries to this place? there are two tenets to today's popular philosophy that I want to address today, the first being pluralism, this is basically the idea that all ideas are equally valid. and relativism, which is the thought that ideas are relative to the thinker. like morals, or truths are relative to either the culture, the time, or person to which they originate. The problem is that just the very concept of truth is what? can "truth" be relative or have plural meanings? what of the idea that there is no such thing as absolute truth? can one be absolutely sure there is absolutely no absolute truth? note the contradiction here? if there are no absolutes, than you cannot be sure of anything, not even the idea that there are no such. If I were to attempt, from a free standing position on this planet to lift my legs up suddenly what would happen? would it matter what i was thinking or would it matter if there were several others around doing the same thing, would the results be any different? no. every one of us would have the same result, our ass would hit the ground. there would be no different result because of religious views, cultural views, attitude, mood, or time. To read up on relativism and it's counter argument I offer this link here, I will go on to consider how this problem affects people who wish to approach the God of the Jew and the Christian, who is the same. If one were to approach the Bible with an idea of relativism in any of it's forms that person would have an experience both troubling and confusing. there would not seem to be any continuity to the book to them at all, that book is simply chock full of absolutes inspired by the very absolute of absolutes. I AM is who Moses took his middle management position from and I AM is who Christians profess to follow. sizing that book, or it's author by some rule you created by your experience, your culture, or any of your other pre-formed idea's or delusions will be a failure. one needs to start with who I AM says he is and use I AM's word for what we are, what he desires us to be, and what he says we will become. I can tell you that that is not hard or complicated, even a child or even those with major mental issues can understand Him. as well as those learned and intellectual. everyone has an open invitation. God bless.

2nd Peter, the rest.

2011-01-20T16:29:00.000-06:00

A snowy day here, and one where I would rather like to stay in and keep warm. having realized I wrote a bit on the first third of this letter written by Peter I feel obliged to write about the rest of it, I'd really rather write something with a happier tone right now, but not every message is sweetness and cream, not even from a God who really Loves us all. Parents know sometimes tough lessons have to be taught to their children, parenting isn't always fun. a lot of it is hard. I can't imagine what a tough time God's prophets had with the job they were singled out for, to preach to a rebellious nation. worse yet, there will come prophets who will be sent to preach to a rebellious world. My intent with this blog is simply to try to get people to read the Bible, nuthin more. the effort has blessed me greatly, at one time I had no knowledge of God or his purpose for me or anyone else. now I know both. and while reading others commentary on the scripture helped me a lot, it was reading the scripture, the living water itself that saved me. For God is not who other people say he is, or who I say he is, or even perhaps what YOU think he is. God is who God says he is. now you can be in agreement with god here, as can anyone else. but even if two or three or any number of people come to some agreement on what God is, are they right? only if they are listening to the Holy Spirit, now have a look at all the many and varied churches there are today, all with their differing theologies, one cannot believe them all as many of these contradict each other. since many who claim to follow Christ will probably not completely humble themselves and submit to the Holy Spirit ( and yes I consider daily that this may apply to myself also) it looks like we should keep our nose in this book, the Bible, but then that is another study, the one about 2nd Timothy:)

2Pe 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
That verse is what it is, and says what it says. God provided truthful knowledge, but man's will? who can know it? often deception is loved more.
2Pe 2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
If a lie is told often enough and loudly enough, it will eventually be believed by the masses, now, after that takes place, whoever dares speak truth will get smacked upside their head, will they not?
2Pe 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
I'm not gonna lie, I think these two verses speak a lot to the condition of much of the modern church. read them again carefully and see if you agree.
2Pe 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
2Pe 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2Pe 2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
People could be thankful for a word of warning from God, but just because they could does not mean they will.
2Pe 2:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
2Pe 2:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
2Pe 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
2Pe 2:10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
2Pe 2:11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
2Pe 2:12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
2Pe 2:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
2Pe 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
2Pe 2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
Read the story of Balaam in Numbers ch22.
2Pe 2:16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
could we not all use a talking ass to straighten us out?
2Pe 2:17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
2Pe 2:18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2Pe 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
continuing to the last chapter:

2Pe 3:1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
2Pe 3:2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
many churches today say this, many do not preach or teach anything about the Lord's second coming.

2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
I have long wondered if the early world was encased in a mantle of ice in the upper atmosphere, making the world a giant greenhouse because of this verse and the genesis account, that remarks about waters above the firmament, and perhaps that melting for some reason caused the later flood.
2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
this explains the last 2000 years. patient and kind, the Lord is, though not all will think so.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Yay:)
2Pe 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
2Pe 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Don't fight the word, trying to press it into your mold, let the word mold you!
2Pe 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Okay now, tell me, considering this letter, would Peter be accepted into your church today?

2nd Peter ch.1

2011-01-20T11:43:00.000-06:00

2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
Obtaining = having accepted the free gift of God, note acceptance is an act of will.
2Pe 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
Note Peter says that Grace and peace come from the knowledge of God and his Christ here.
2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Once again here everything that pertains to life and goodness comes from what? Knowledge of him that called, that is, Christ.
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Thru this knowledge of Christ we were given "great and precious promises"! we partake of the divine nature and escape corruption by applying this knowledge God gave us to our lives. 'tis an act of our will to do this. as the word diligence below indicates.
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Spirit calls the Knowledge of God "living water", baptism is a spiritual image of a person getting immersed in the knowledge of god that washes away their sins, and will keep them from sin afterwords too. not that good people won't sin ever anymore but they should be noticeably apart from sin for the most part. one should be following the spirit of living water/knowledge of God more than their former carnal spirit.
2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2Pe 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
God gave us a gift and he will never take it back, but, mystery that it is to me, I guess someone might "forget" this gift in some form or fashion in their will, by choosing to follow the spirit of the age rather that God's holy spirit? would be a shame.
2Pe 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
Peter is intent to remind his friends of these facts, despite that fact they know them and are established in the truth. those following the Holy Spirit are never offended by truth, if you find yourself offended by truth, you should realize you need to wash up with that spiritual "living water". because you are not following God's spirit, but the rebellious spirit of the age.
2Pe 1:13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
As long as he lives, Peter desires to stir his fellows up to remember God's holy word. I'm willing to bet they didn't tire of it back then.
2Pe 1:14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
2Pe 1:15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.
2Pe 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Peter says "we were there, saw it and lived it! and now report to you accurately the Lord's word. who better to learn from? the report of those there is better and more accurate than any preacher that lives this day. sometime in the future there will come an end times Elijah that is foretold in scripture, who may well be one of the two witnesses mentioned in John's revelation. these will be real honest to goodness prophets, those on the earth at that time would do well to listen to them.
2Pe 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
2Pe 1:18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
Until the Day Star arises in our hearts, which is a future event that hasn't happened yet, Peter says here that we should read, study, and understand the prophesies God gave to us in the Bible. this 'aint me talkin, but Christ's Apostle Peter.
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Spirit moved the prophets of old to write what they wrote. God spoke, and the prophets testified it. now here's a point few want to consider in these days, many people's hearts have grown cold and crusty thanks to the spirit of the age, but God caused the prophets to speak and write his word so people would read it. be cleansed in this living water! Read the word and let the Holy Spirit do it's work to make you understand it.

Insanity?

2011-01-19T09:29:00.001-06:00

Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Rom 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Rom 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Rom 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

2Ti 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Ti 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2Ti 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2Ti 3:8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
2Ti 3:9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
2Ti 3:10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
2Ti 3:11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
2Ti 3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
2Ti 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Is this a critique of our generation? I wonder, watching the news, and watching the process of news reporting itself, the cry for "civility" that really means "anyone who disagrees with me should shut up"....(sigh)

Be a Berean

2011-01-18T08:14:00.000-06:00

Found a great website chock full of great studies. Please don't let this verse of Hosea be about you:

Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee,

It's no accident the Apostle John started his gospel the way he did, Jesus, Yeshua (salvation), is the word, that word is the light and life of us, the "strait" gate and the "narrow" way of Mat.7:14.

Check out this website, I would like to post about a lot of these subjects and if the Lord blesses me with the time to I will, but this is just too good a source of studies to keep, read up! share with your friends and family. and send a note of thanks to Dean and Laura VanDruff for the blessing.

Psalm 2

2011-01-17T08:26:00.000-06:00

Life is an adventure, to be sure. Some days are full of happiness, some days are kind of mundane, and some days are full of tears. Some though, are full of anger. most people experience a full range of emotions that give color and flavor to life, many folks tend to fall into some habit that leaves them stuck in a rut, too. some folks are mostly happy, some folks are mainly even tempered, some are habitually depressed, some habitually angry.
My desire and intent for the blog is to try to get people stirred up to seek the Face of God. Many parents go though a terrible time when their children hit their teenage years. It is a tough time for parent and teenager alike, not only do you have the problem of a youngster struggling to become independent at a time when they lack the wisdom age brings, the parent has both the external conflict of a rebellious teenager and the internal conflict of just what decisions do you let the child make on their own and what do you put your foot down about.'tis a mixed blessing, to be sure because you see your children make some good decisions but bad decisions too. There comes some point where parents have to let go, let their children strike out on their own, and just be available to give advice when asked. Human society as a whole seems to be in a rebellious teenager stage, and seems to have been from the days of Adam to today. some of my posts will not show humanity in a very good light because scripture does not paint humanity in very good light in many areas. Our forefather Adam and foremother Eve made a basic rebelious teenager mistake by disobeying God, AND listening to the serpent. how many times this has to take place before people "get it" boggles my mind. Using myself as an example I try to understand why humanity so vigorously pulls away from their loving maker. I'm going to think out loud here about how other people see me right now. some think me nice, some think me mean, some think me indifferent. to some I am a good friend, to some I am a hanger-on, to some I am smart, to some a fool, some might consider me a bum, some might remember me as hard working. some think me a weak minded brainwashed idiot. notice the wide range of opinions here? what I have lived and what I have said is what it is, yet from one person to the next you will find a wide spectrum of opinion. why?
Do people's opinion OF me define who I am? how can it? look above, who's right? who's wrong? and this is using a fellow human as an example. how much wider is the human opinion of God? this is the setup for comments of this psalm.

Psa 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Psa 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Psa 2:5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
Psa 2:6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Psa 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Psa 2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Psa 2:9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
Psa 2:10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Psa 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psa 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Due largely to church tradition, there are many Christians who view scripture as divided between the "old" testament and the "new" testament. and because of this, many do not realize it really is just one message. there is nothing "new" about it at all, even the Jewish scholars of old awaited a messiah, anyone who read and understood the scripture know that the animal sacrifices performed in the temple were only a foreshadowing of the REAL sacrifice that had to take place for redemption. there are myriad references to Christ in the old testament, and even the Jewish holy days are in themselves prophecies of the Christ Jesus. Jesus' followers knew him to be the Messiah because of their study and knowledge of the prophecies of the scripture. It is also prophecy itself that makes the Bible the only self-confirming book known to man. nowhere else will you find any literature that possesses clear, concise reports of events that at the time of writing, hadn't happened yet. there are many other events described that have yet to happen and this psalm is one such piece. It is worthy to note that the vast majority of Jews who spent quite a bit of time studying scripture rejected their messiah in the day. these people spent more time studying the word than most folks today do I'll bet. there was no television or a culture that prizes entertainment over all else back then. and they even had many prophecies actually saying that they would reject the messiah too. so to those who make their claim to be followers of the Christ now I put this psalm up as a warning to you, many will rebel against Jesus when he returns, many of you don't realize he even made any claim TO return to the earth, or that his days as a suffering servant will be over and his future days will be as a conquering King, and this DESPITE THE FACT that there are more prophecies about this event that any other by far!!!!hundreds!!

Rom 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
Rom 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

This is what the Apostle Paul had to say about his fellow Jews, Does this reflect the current state of many Christians?

I ask you to take the time to read Romans chapter 9 thru the end, this might give you a better understanding about both Jewish and Christian relationship to Christ.

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 1

2011-01-16T10:28:00.000-06:00

God Loves you, this is rather evident, just the fact of your existence speaks to this. you didn't have to be, yet here you are. Physicists tell us the entirety of the universe had a beginning. they call this the big bang, they tell us matter is condensed energy, and an incredible amount of energy burst forth and condensed into all the galaxies and stars, planets, everything you see and can't see throughout the night sky. Thanks to Einstein we know that space and time are relative, as space has expanded, so time had dilated in relation to space. also thanks to Einstein we know that perspective is important when looking at space/time. what you see standing at this point in time looking back to the beginning differs from what you would perceive standing at the point of singularity, that is, the point of the big bang looking forward to today.Our scientists today date the age of the universe at 13.75 billion of today's years old, and the age of our planet at about 4.5 billion of today's years old. what would the difference in time be if you were looking at today from the perspective of the beginning? you would have to be a much better mathematician than me to give an even close guesstimate but it would look considerably younger. consider this question, why did the big bang, bang? was there a reason for this? certainly something from nothing does not follow classical Newtonian physics, does it? Scripture tells us this "reason" was God. Many people look for other explanations, but what really have they found? it just "happened" is really all that science can explain by way of observation. physicists like to explain causes and effects but when it comes to the FIRST cause, well, then they will cite David Hume who said that humans cannot perceive causes and effects, so what, I'd ask, are they studying? If you can't perceive any cause or effect, what are they looking for? much of science today starts with an attitude first of skeptical conjecture. and attitude seems to dictate in humans where they will go in their observations. start with a supposition, then look for support in other supposed "facts". the problem with this is people will keep the "facts" that support their supposition, and ignore those little inconvenient "facts" that point in some other direction they don't want, or desire to go. what is this I have found here, for if desire dictates what people see as fact, and differing people have differing desires does each person exist in their own universe? sadly, way too many people these days think so, don't they? just fighting your way though a busy wal-mart will tell you so.
I bet you all are wondering what the heck this has to do with Psalm 1 by now, arn't you?
well I'll tell you now, it has to do with the transformation that will happen to you if you seek to love God. Living a life by your own will and your own ways has an end, and that end 'aint so pretty either. Truly Loving God will cause you to seek out HIS will and HIS way. and you will try your best to make HIS will YOUR will, and HIS ways YOUR ways.
to do this you need to know his will and his ways, and his way is prescribed in his word. the Apostle John looking at the beginning saw that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Press yourself into that mold God made for us, and see what happens.

the best two books of the Bible to start this process I can think of is Psalms and Proverbs. these two books give you many of the fundamental building blocks of conforming your mind to God's mind. chew on every word slowly, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a glimpse of how you stand up to the measure of God rule. Words give you knowledge, the Holy Spirit has to help you with the next part of the process which is understanding that knowledge, than understanding brings you to wisdom, not your wisdom, but God's. (if you try to take God's word and shape or define it by your desires, will you have the truth? no. let God define himself, this book, the Bible, is here for a reason) the Gospel message is so simple even a little child can figure it out. Christ even said this, we tend to make it complicated in our broken sinful minds. God does not force his will on us at this time, simply provides us the opportunity to know his will, what we do with that is up to us.
Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Psa 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Psa 1:5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
Psa 1:6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalm 37

2011-01-14T10:18:00.001-06:00

Psa 37:1 A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

Why would one be envious of the "workers of iniquity"? measure yourself not by others around you, but by the standard of Christ Jesus.

Psa 37:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

workers of iniquity will not inherit eternity, unlike God, we tend to look at just the little tiny bit of time we are living in and make judgments
about ourselves, others, and even God by this tiny tidbit of information. bad move.

Psa 37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Psa 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Psa 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

by looking only at this tiny bit of present time, we can become discouraged, losing sight of the blessings to come. look at the big picture, and understand that though perhaps you experience troubles at times, these are not that big a deal in sight of eternity.

Psa 37:6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
Psa 37:7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

There will come a day when Christ will sit on the throne of judgment. that will be a day rejoicing for some and a day of anguish for others, not because Christ respects any one person over the other, but because some will have accepted his gift of salvation and others will have rejected it. until that day the rain falls on both the just and the unjust alike, the wheat grows along with the tares until the time of harvest. don't be looking at your neighbor as to whether he is prospering or struggling as any indication of Gods blessing or cursing, and don't be measuring yourself against your neighbor for the same. consider the book of job, I'll be willing to bet Job was probably more righteous that any of us today by far, certainly more-so than me! I feel it safe to say and he had to admit to God he had spoken out of turn, and could do nothing but repent, cover his mouth, shut up and listen.

Consider his three friends too, accusing Job of some sin, and accusing God of punishing Job, without knowledge of such, and were reproved by God for this in the end. note that only the young man Elihu was not spoken against at the end of this discourse. what the young man said to Job and his friends was God is the potter, you are the clay. Jobs friends accusing Job of sin against God, had slandered God, and Job had come very close to this himself by justifying himself so as to be to the point of accusing God of being unjust.

Psa 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
Psa 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
Psa 37:10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
Psa 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Psa 37:12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
Psa 37:13 The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
Psa 37:14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
Psa 37:15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
Psa 37:16 A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
Psa 37:17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
Psa 37:18 The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
Psa 37:19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
Psa 37:20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
Psa 37:21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
Psa 37:22 For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
Psa 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
Psa 37:24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
Psa 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
Psa 37:26 He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
Psa 37:27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
Psa 37:28 For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
Psa 37:29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
Psa 37:30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
Psa 37:31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
Psa 37:32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
Psa 37:33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
Psa 37:34 Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
Psa 37:35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
Psa 37:36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
Psa 37:37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
Psa 37:38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
Psa 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
Psa 37:40 And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

a spiritual war is being fought, a fight between the redeemer and the accuser. the redeemer has his weapons he uses, and the accuser has his weapons he uses. you can identify the spirit by the tools it uses against you, and others.

Deu 30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
Deu 30:16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
Deu 30:17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
Deu 30:18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.
Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Deu 30:20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

My thunk of the day

2011-01-13T18:58:00.000-06:00

C.S. Lewis On Theology

"In a way I quite understand why some people are put off by Theology. I remember once when I had been giving a talk... an old, hard-bitten officer got up and said, 'I've no use for all that stuff. But mind you, I'm a religious man too, I know there's a God, I've felt Him: out alone in the desert at night; the tremendous mystery. And that's just why I don't believe all your neat little dogmas and formulas about Him. To anyone who's met the real thing they all seem so petty and pedantic and unreal!'
"Now in a sense I quite agree with that man. I think he probably had a real experience of God in the desert. And when he turned from that experience to the Christian creeds, I think he really was turning from something real to something less real. In the same way, if a man has once looked at the Atlantic from the beach, and then goes and looks at a map of the Atlantic, he will also be turning from something real to something less real: turning from real waves to a bit of colored paper.
"But here comes the point. The map is admittedly only colored paper, but there are two things you have to remember about it. In the first place, it is based on what hundreds and thousands of people have found out by sailing the real Atlantic. In that way it has behind it masses of experience just as real as the one you could have from the beach; only, while yours would only be a single isolated glimpse, the map fits all those different experiences together. In the second place, if you want to go anywhere, the map is absolutely necessary. As long as you are content with walks on the beach, your own glimpses are far more fun than looking at a map. But the map is going to be more use than walks on the beach if you want to get to America.
"Now, Theology is like that map. Merely learning and thinking about Christian doctrines, if you stop there, is less real and exciting than the sort of thing my friend got in the desert. Doctrines are not God: they are only a kind of map. But that map is based on the experiences of hundreds of people who really were in touch with God--experiences compared with which any thrills or pious feelings you and I are likely to get on our own are very elementary and very confused.
"And secondly, if you want to get any further, you have to use the map. You see, what happened to that man in the desert may have been real, and was certainly exciting, but nothing comes of it. It leads nowhere. There is nothing to do about it. In fact, that is just why a vague religion--all about feeling God in nature, and so on--is so attractive. It is all thrills and no work; like watching waves from the beach. But you will not get to Newfoundland by studying the Atlantic that way, and you will not get eternal life by simply feeling the presence of God in flowers or music. Neither will you get anywhere by looking at maps without going to sea. Nor will you be very safe if you go to sea without a map."

Christians believe in revelation theology: We know God because he has revealed himself to us. The knowledge of God is a great gift. Were it not for this, it would be impossible for us to "figure him out". But the revelation God has given may not fit our notions of how we think he ought to be. So many have rejected the knowledge of God and follow their own ideas, detached from the Scriptures and the Body of Christ. For these sects, "Theology Bashing" has become popular. Rom 1:22,25a,28 (NIV) Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.... They exchanged the truth of God for a lie.... Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not be done.

A.W. Tozer: "We can hold a correct view of the truth only by daring to believe everything that God has said about Himself... Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist on trying to modify Him and to bring him nearer to our own image."

Wisdom cries

2011-01-12T12:09:00.000-06:00

Pro 1:20 Wisdom cries outside; she utters her voice in the streets;
Pro 1:21 she cries in the chief place of gathering, in the openings of the gates; in the city she utters her words, saying,
Pro 1:22 How long will you love simplicity, simple ones? And will scorners delight in their scorning? And will fools hate knowledge?
Pro 1:23 Turn at my warning; behold, I will pour out my Spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.
Pro 1:24 Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention;
Pro 1:25 but you have despised all my advice, and would have none of my warning.
Pro 1:26 I also will laugh at your trouble; I will mock when your fear comes;
Pro 1:27 when your fear comes as a wasting away, and your ruin comes like a tempest when trouble and pain come upon you.
Pro 1:28 Then they shall call upon me, and I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me;
Pro 1:29 instead they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of Jehovah.
Pro 1:30 They would have none of my counsel; they despised all my correction,
Pro 1:31 and they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own desires.
Pro 1:32 For the turning away of the simple kills them, and the ease of fools destroys them.
Pro 1:33 But whoever listens to me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

how much time does a person spend on diversions in this day and time? entertainment seems to be at the forefront of most peoples desires, be it television, video games, movies, whatever. things productive, be it work, study, relationships, even prayer take a backseat to being "entertained". Why? to what end will this take a person or civilization as a whole? when does fantasy become reality in a person's or even a whole civilizations mind? and what good is it? what will happen when the bubble people have encased themselves in pops?
people have distanced themselves from truth by quite a margin at this point. folly rules the day, today. how will the people respond the day truth stands up?

Signs of the Times revisited

2011-01-08T20:37:00.000-06:00

I noticed that I did not mention the other part of the church, the remnant that follows the redeemer, giving the impression that the latter day church is wholly corrupt. this is not the case, although I believe a larger part of the latter church will follow the accuser, there is a part that will follow the redeemer, and will be largely protected from the accuser and his organization. this is found in Rev. chapter 12. please read all about it.

Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
Mat 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

note Mat 24:9 Implies the saints will be hated by the masses, then note that the next verse implies trouble within the church, that some of the brethren will betray their fellows. even Jesus made mention of this event to happen:

Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

Paul gives you the keys to discernment, one can easily judge between the tools the accuser uses and the tools the redeemer uses.

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Pray God's will be done.

Signs of the Times

2011-01-08T10:44:00.000-06:00

Fear is in the air, people looking for signs of the end of the age, talk is commonly heard about all the troubles befalling humankind and natural disasters. how is it that people will allow themselves to be gripped by fear because a few birds fall out of the sky or a few fish die in a stream. and point to these things as some sign of the end? lets look at what Jesus himself had to say about the signs of the end of the age.

Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

First things first. he said not to let any man deceive you. Knowledge of men and knowledge of God are two different items, if you want knowledge of God where is it found? if there is one theme I try to express continually it is READ THE BIBLE! our best source for seeking the face of God is not other people, not looking up in the sky, reading the newspaper or watching television. the best way to "not let any man deceive you" is to know the truth. where can truth be found?
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Here is one issue that pains me to point out, that is this. the Church, in the last days, described by the Apostle John in the book of revelation is not spoken of in flattering terms. it is, in fact, called a whore. and will be in kahoots with the final worldwide human government. (which will later destroy it) pointing this out will probably not not earn me any goodwill from many Christians today. this is not the kind of thing you will hear from the pulpit on Sunday (or Saturday) either. but there it is, read all about it. I don't ask anyone to follow my understanding. what I want out of this blog is to stir you readers up to seeking Gods face in HIS WORD.

Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

here we still 'aint there yet. this is just the beginning.

Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
Mat 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

the saints will have a lot of trouble with the majority of the people and church leadership in the last days, it seems.

Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

we have seen this in the past, and will see even more of this in the future, one key I can give to you here is that throughout God's word, saints are instructed to FEAR NOT. letting emotion get the best of you is clearly a mistake, according to God's word. allowing someone to stir you up in fear over one event or another is silly, you should fear God, that is have a reverence or respect. revere the redeemer, don't fear the accuser, or have any regard for him, the accuser stands opposed to the redeemer, and the redeemer's saints. and all that follow the accuser will follow him into the pit.

Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
once again we see that because the accuser and his minions hold sway over this world many that have love let that fade, let the spirit of apathy take over.

Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved

Here is the patience of the saints.

Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

while the Church has spread the word a lot, there are many who have not heard the message, sadly the one thing Jesus commanded of the church was to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel message, this has been done in part, it is not complete. many churches are little more that businesses, only serving those that serve the church, usually financially. how many churches are left carrying out the great commission? some, certainly, but not all, many churches don't even believe the basics of the gospel message, how can they teach them? mostly imperfect churches teaching an imperfect message. very few churches today would compare to the early church described in the book of acts. does God have a remedy for this, so all the world gets all the Gospel? yes, but will the church stomach it? who knows. For God will raise up his two witnesses (rev 11:3). there is also 144,000 described as needing protection from hazards while performing some mission (rev 7). could these be doing what Jesus had his Apostles, and another 72 do in going out ahead of him proclaiming the Gospel message during his first ministry?

Mar 6:7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
Mar 6:8 And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:
Mar 6:9 But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.
Mar 6:10 And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.
Mar 6:11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Mar 6:12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
Mar 6:13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

Luk 10:1 Later the Lord chose seventy-two other followers and sent them out two by two to every town and village where he was about to go.
Luk 10:2 He said to them: A large crop is in the fields, but there are only a few workers. Ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to send out workers to bring it in.
Luk 10:3 Now go, but remember, I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves.
Luk 10:4 Don't take along a moneybag or a traveling bag or sandals. And don't waste time greeting people on the road.
Luk 10:5 As soon as you enter a home, say, "God bless this home with peace."
Luk 10:6 If the people living there are peace-loving, your prayer for peace will bless them. But if they are not peace-loving, your prayer will return to you.
Luk 10:7 Stay with the same family, eating and drinking whatever they give you, because workers are worth what they earn. Don't move around from house to house.
Luk 10:8 If the people of a town welcome you, eat whatever they offer.
Luk 10:9 Heal their sick and say, "God's kingdom will soon be here!"
Luk 10:10 But if the people of a town refuse to welcome you, go out into the street and say,
Luk 10:11 "We are shaking the dust from our feet as a warning to you. And you can be sure that God's kingdom will soon be here!"

Will people take such a message to heart? God knows.

Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Mat 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Mat 24:17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Mat 24:18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Mat 24:19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Mat 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Mat 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25 Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

seems as though the end will be rather evident. nuthin here about dead birds or global warming.

Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

all the tribes of the earth shall mourn? yep, that's what it says.

Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Many people like to quote this verse, yet ignore the signs Jesus just spoke of, and the warning that comes after:

Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
Mat 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Mat 24:43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Mat 24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
Mat 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

do you not think Noah told his neighbors why he was building an ark? why do you think Jesus spoke of things to watch for? and to be vigilant? you have been given word of things to look for and you have been given reason why to look for them. to give you confidence, not fear. read the book, receive the free gifts God has in store for you.

Psalm 30

2010-12-29T13:28:00.001-06:00

Psa 30:1 A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the House of David. I will praise You, O Jehovah; for You have lifted me up, and have not allowed my foes to rejoice over me.
Psa 30:2 O Jehovah my God, I cried to You, and You have healed me.
Psa 30:3 O Jehovah, You have brought up my soul from the grave; You have kept me alive, so that I should not go down to the Pit.
Psa 30:4 Sing praises to Jehovah, O you saints of His, and give thanks at the memory of His holiness.
Psa 30:5 For His anger is only a moment; in His favor is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
Psa 30:6 And in my blessedness I said, I shall never be moved.
Psa 30:7 O Jehovah, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled.
Psa 30:8 I cried to You, O Jehovah; and I prayed to Jehovah.
Psa 30:9 What profit is in my blood, in going down to the pit? Shall the dust praise You? Shall it tell of Your truth?
Psa 30:10 Hear, O Jehovah, and have mercy on me; Jehovah, be my helper.
Psa 30:11 You have turned my mourning into dancing for me; You have torn off my sackcloth, and have clothed me with gladness,
Psa 30:12 so that my glory may sing praise to You, and not be silent. O Jehovah my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

It perhaps is foolishness on my part to comment on scripture, one can see the psalm above requires no comment. It's beauty and truth stands just fine all on it's own without any help from this knucklehead. I highlighted the one phrase that sums up God's entire plan for that part of humanity that would believe Him. There is a path to belief that cannot be cut short, belief comes from wisdom, wisdom comes from understanding, understanding comes from knowledge. can one believe something they do not know? or understand? one can attempt to go solely by feelings and emotion. but, as the prophet Jeremiah points out "the heart of man is deceitfully wicked, who can know it!" (jer 17:9).
there are many more such scriptures as this, an oft recurring theme in the Bible. so, going about "feeling" something without knowledge or understanding seems destined to fail. feeling WITH understanding though, that's great! look again at the highlighted verse above. Look at what comes in the future tense at the end of that phrase, take a glimpse of your future and rejoice:)

Forgiveness

2010-12-27T20:25:00.000-06:00

One thing true forgiveness isn't is showy, like play-acting. All of us at one time or another as children had a parent force us to say "I'm sorry" while the other child was forced to accept the forced apology. Is this true repentance by the one and true forgiveness by the other? Only God knows the true feeling of our hearts, and that goes for all of us. Only God is the source of true forgiveness, only the Christian Bible teaches that God completely forgives sins.

Heb 10:17 also He adds, "their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more."
Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
Col 2:14 blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.

If God completely forgives sins, and is in the business of redeeming us, who is it that accuses? Consider Christ's parable:

Mat 18:23 Therefore the kingdom of Heaven has been compared to a certain king who desired to make an accounting with his servants.
Mat 18:24 And when he had begun to count, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
Mat 18:25 But as he had nothing to pay, his lord commanded that he, and his wife and children, and all that he had, be sold, and payment be made.
Mat 18:26 Then the servant fell down and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me and I will pay you all.
Mat 18:27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.
Mat 18:28 But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. And he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me what you owe.
Mat 18:29 And his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, Have patience with me and I will pay you all.
Mat 18:30 And he would not, but went and cast him into prison until he should pay the debt.
Mat 18:31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry. And they came and told their lord all that was done.
Mat 18:32 Then his lord, after he had called him, said to him, O wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
Mat 18:33 Should you not also have pitied your fellow servant, even as I had pity on you?
Mat 18:34 And his lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was due to him.
Mat 18:35 So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also to you, unless each one of you from your hearts forgive his brother their trespasses.

Shouldn't we all consider just what we are forgiven from?

Christ forgave us our sins, He's the one who paid the check, what then, is to become of those who accuse and abuse their fellow-servants? The lord's prayer teaches us to "forgive us our sins, AS we forgive those who sin against us" and the Lord adds:

Mat 6:14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you;
Mat 6:15 but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

While salvation is a gift from God, freely given, there for the asking, there is but one condition here. to be forgiven one must forgive. this comes from the Lords mouth. the only person to get in the way of your own salvation is you. harboring ill will to your fellowservants, using the accusers tools like envy, bitterness, anger, backbiting, all that negative shit the accuser uses will destroy you. not the other party. think you can bring accusations against your fellowservant to the Lord? the Lord is interested in redeeming, not accusing. want justice? better you should want forgiveness for all, not just the people you like, the Lord is the judge, and he has already shown his desire that all would come to repentance.

Consider this parable
Luke 18:9-14 (NIV) To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God..."

God is not interested in keeping score, tallying how many black marks this one has or that one doesn't have. there should be a renewed way of thinking amongst those who follow Christ, Christians should be the bright light shining on the hill, so the people of the world can consider the light, contrast that with the darkness, and see the light is good.

Eph 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light
Eph 5:9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
Eph 5:10 proving what is acceptable to the Lord.
Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Eph 5:12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.
Eph 5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.
Eph 5:14 Therefore he says, "Awake, sleeping ones! And arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light."

I pray Christ gives us all light.

Prophecies Fulfilled

2010-12-25T09:52:00.000-06:00

No other book you will ever read contains events yet to happen at the time they were written about. Jewish rabbi's can attest to the dates most of these books were written as they kept accurate records despite all the trouble that nation has suffered. One needs to take into account that (most) Jewish Rabbi's do not at this time believe Jesus is the Messiah so there is no incentive for Jewish Rabbi's to "cook the books" for the benefit of Christians. Jewish scribes have carefully and painstakingly copied the Tanakh letter by letter over their generations. read this partial list of prophecy concerning Christ's first coming. one can pretty much cover Jesus ministry in writings written hundreds and even thousands of years BEFORE his ministry.

One of my favorite tools for studying scripture is e-sword, makes finding those passages you can only partially remember easy as pie to find. has a great search feature. the software is freely given, here's the link.

Gen. 3:15-He will bruise Satan's head.....Heb. 2:14, 1 Jn. 3:18
Gen. 5:24....The bodily ascension to heaven illustrated....Mk. 6:19
Gen. 9:26,27...The God of Shem will be the Son of Shem...Lu. 3:36
Gen. 12:3...As Abraham's seed,will bless all nations...Acts. 3:25,26
Gen. 12:7...The Promise made to Abraham's Seed...Gal. 3:16
Gen. 14:18...A priest after Melchizedek...Heb. 6:20
Gen. 14:18........A King also........Heb. 7:2
Gen. 14:18...The Last Supper foreshadowed...Mt. 26:26-29
Gen. 17:19.......The Seed of Isaac.......Rom. 9:7
Gen. 22:8...The Lamb of God promised...Jn. 1:29
Gen. 22:18...As Isaac's seed, will bless all nations...Gal. 3:16
Gen.26:2-5..The Seed of Isaac promised as the Redeemer..Heb.11:18
Gen. 49:10...The time of His coming...Lu. 2:1-7; Gal. 4:4
Gen. 49:10.......The Seed of Judah.......Lu. 3:33
Gen. 49:10......Called Shiloh or One Sent......Jn. 17:3
Gen. 49:10...To come before Judah lost identity...Jn. 11:47-52
Gen. 49:10...To Him shall the obedience of the people be...Jn. 10:16
Ex. 3:13,14........The Great "I Am".......Jn. 4:26
Ex. 12:5...A Lamb without blemish...1 Pet. 1:19
Ex. 12:13...The blood of the Lamb saves from wrath...Rom. 5:8
Ex. 12:21-27...Christ is our Passover...1 Cor. 5;7
Ex. 12:46...Not a bone of the Lamb to be broken...Jn. 19:31-36
Ex. 15:2...His exaltation predicted as Yeshua...Acts 7:55,56
Ex. 15:11...His Character-Holiness...Luke 1:35; Acts 4:27
Ex. 17:6...The Spiritual Rock of Israel...1 Cor. 10;4
Ex. 33:19...His Character-Merciful...Lu. 1:72
Lev.14:11..The leper cleansed-Sign to priesthood..Lu.5:12-14; Acts 6:7
Lev.16:15-17...Prefigures Christ's once-for-all death...Heb. 9:7-14
Lev.16:27...Suffering outside the Camp...Mt. 27:33; Heb. 13:11, 12
Lev.17:11...The Blood-the life of the flesh...Mt. 26;28; Mk. 10:45
Lev.17:11...It is the blood that makes atonement...1 Jn. 3:14-18
Lev.23:36-37...The Drink-offering: "If any man thirst." ..Jn. 19:31-36
Num. 9:12...Not a bone of Him broken...John 19:31-36
Num. 21:9...The serpent on a pole-Christ lifted up...Jn. 3:14-18
Num. 24:17...Time: "I shall see him, but not now."...Gal. 4:4
Deut. 18:15..."This is of a truth that prophet."...Jn. 6:14
Deut. 18:15-16..."Had ye believed Moses, ye would believe me."...Jn. 5:45-47
Deut. 18:18...Sent by the Father to speak His word...Jn. 8:28, 29
Deut. 18:19...Whoever will not hear must bear his sin...Jn. 12:15,
Deut. 21:23...Cursed is he that hangs on a tree...Gal. 3:10-13
Ruth 4:4-9...Christ, our kinsman, has redeemed us...Eph. 1:3-7
1 Sam. 2:10...Shall be an anointed King to the Lord...Mt. 28:18; Jn. 12:15
2 Sam. 7:12...David's Seed...Mt. 1:1
2 Sam. 7:14a...The Son of God... Lu. 1:32
2 Sam. 7:16...David's house established forever...Lu. 3:31; Rev. 22:16
2 Ki. 2:11...The bodily ascension to heaven illustrated...Lu. 24:51
1 Chr. 17:11...David's Seed...Mt. 1:1; 9:27
1 Chr. 17:12, 13a...To reign on David's throne forever...Lu. 1:32, 33
1 Chr. 17:13a..."I will be His Father, He...my Son."...Heb. 1:5
Job 19:23-27...The Resurrection predicted...Jn. 5:24-29
Psa. 2:1-3...The enmity of kings foreordained...Acts 4:25-28
Psa. 2:2...To own the title, Anointed (Christ)...Acts 2:36
Ps. 2:6...His Character-Holiness...Jn. 8:46; Rev. 3:7
Ps. 2:6...To own the title King...Mt. 2:2
Ps. 2:7...Declared the Beloved Son...Mt. 3;17
Psa. 2:7, 8...The Crucifixion and Resurrection intimated...Acts 13:29-33
Psa. 2:12...Life comes through faith in Him...Jn. 20:31
Psa. 8:2...The mouths of babes perfect His praise...Mt. 21:16
Psa. 8:5, 6...His humiliation and exaltation...Lu. 24:50-53; 1 Cor. 15:27
Psa. 16:10...Was not to see corruption...Acts 2:31
Psa. 16:9-11...Was to arise from the dead...Jn. 20:9
Psa. 17;15...The resurrection predicted...Lu. 24:6
Psa. 22:1...Forsaken because of sins of others...2 Cor. 5:21
Psa. 22:1...Words spoken from Calvary, "My God..." Mk. 15:34
Psa. 22:2...Darkness upon Calvary...Mt. 27:45
Psa. 22:7...They shoot out the lip and shake the head...Mt. 27:39
Psa. 22:8.."He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him"...Mt. 27:43
Psa. 22:9......Born the Saviour......Lu. 2:7
Psa. 22:14...Died of a broken (ruptured)heart...Jn. 19:34
Psa. 22:14,15...Suffered agony on Calvary...Mk. 15:34-37
Psa. 22:15........He thirsted........Jn. 19:28
Psa. 22:16...They pierced His hands and His feet....Jn. 19:34,37;20:27
Psa. 22:17,18...Stripped Him before the stares of men...Lu. 23:34,35
Psa. 22:18.....They parted His garments.....Jn. 19:23,24
Psa. 22:20,21...He committed Himself to God...Lu.23:46
Psa. 22:20,21..Satanic power bruising the Redeemer's heel..Heb. 2:14
Psa. 22:22.....His Resurrection declared.....Jn. 20:17
Psa. 22:27...He shall be the governor of the nations...Col 1:16
Psa. 22:31......"It is finished"......Jn. 19:30
Psa. 23:1...."I am the Good Shephard"....Jn. 10:11
Psa. 24:3......His exaltation predicted......Acts 1:11; Phil. 2:9
Psa. 30:3......His resurrection predicted......Acts 2:32
Psa. 31:5..."Into thy hands I commit my spirit"...Lu. 23:46
Psa. 31:11...His acquaintances fled from Him...Mk. 14:50
Psa. 31:13...They took counsel to put Him to death...Jn. 11:53
Psa. 31:14,15..." He trusted in God, let Him deliver him"...Mt. 27:43
Psa. 34:20.....Not a bone of Him broken.....Jn 19:31-36
Psa. 35:11....False witnesses rose up against Him....Mt. 26:59
Psa. 35:19...He was hated without a cause...Jn. 15:25
Psa. 38:11.....His friends stood afar off.....Lu. 23:49
Psa. 40:2-5...The joy of His resurrection predicted...Jn. 20:20
Psa. 40:6-8....His delight-the will of the Father....Jn. 4:34
Psa. 40:9....He was to preach the Righteousness in Israel....Mt. 4:17
Psa. 40:14...Confronted by adversaries in the Garden...Jn. 18:4-6
Psa. 41:9.....Betrayed by a familiar friend.....Jn. 13:18
Psa. 45:2...Words of Grace come from His lips...Lu. 4:22
Psa. 45:6...To own the title, God or Elohim...Heb. 1:8
Psa. 45:7...A special anointing by the Holy Spirit...Mt.3:16; Heb.1:9
Psa. 45:7,8...Called the Christ (Messiah or Anointed)...Lu. 2:11
Psa. 55:12-14...Betrayed by a friend, not an enemy...Jn. 13:18
Psa. 55:15...Unrepentant death of the Betrayer...Mt. 27:3-5; Acts 1:16-19
Psa. 68:18...To give gifts to men...Eph. 4:7-16
Psa. 68:18...Ascended into Heaven...Lu. 24:51
Psa. 69:4...Hated without a cause...Jn. 15:25
Psa. 69:8...A stranger to own brethren...Lu. 8;20,21
Psa. 69:9...Zealous for the Lord's House...Jn. 2:17
Psa. 69:14-20...Messiah's anguish of soul before crucifixion...Mt. 26:36-45
Psa. 69:20..."My soul is exceeding sorrowful."...Mt. 26:38
Psa. 69:21...Given vinegar in thirst...Mt. 27:34
Psa. 69:26...The Saviour given and smitten by God...Jn. 17:4; 18:11
Psa. 72:10,11...Great persons were to visit Him...Mt. 2:1-11
Psa. 72:16...The corn of wheat to fall into the Ground...Jn. 12:24
Psa. 72:17...His name, Yinon, will produce offspring...Jn. 1:12,13
Psa. 72:17...All nations shall be blessed by Him...Acts 2:11,12,41
Psa. 78:1.2...He would teach in parables...Mt. 13:34-35
Psa. 78:2b...To speak the Wisdom of God with authority...Mt. 7:29
Psa. 88:8...They stood afar off and watched...Lu. 23:49
Psa. 89:27...Emmanuel to be higher than earthly kings...Lu. 1:32,33
Psa. 89:35-37...David's Seed, throne, kingdom endure forever...Lu. 1:32,33
Psa. 89:36-37...His character-Faithfulness...Rev. 1:5
Psa. 90:2...He is from everlasting (Micah 5:2)...Jn. 1:1
Psa. 91:11,12...Identified as Messianic; used to tempt Christ...Lu. 4;10,11
Psa. 97:9...His exaltation predicted...Acts 1:11;Eph. 1:20
Psa. 100:5...His character-Goodness...Mt. 19:16,17
Psa. 102:1-11...The Suffering and Reproach of Calvary...Jn. 21:16-30
Psa. 102:25-27...Messiah is the Preexistent Son...Heb. 1:10-12
Psa. 109:25...Ridiculed...Mt. 27:39
Psa. 110:1...Son of David...Mt. 22:43
Psa. 110:1...To ascend to the right-hand of the Father...Mk.16:19
Psa. 110:1...David's son called Lord...Mt. 22:44,45
Psa. 110:4...A priest after Melchizedek's order...Heb. 6:20
Psa. 112:4...His character-Compassionate, Gracious, et al... Mt. 9;36
Psa. 118:17,18...Messiah's Resurrection assured...Lu. 24:5-7;1 Cor. 15:20
Psa. 118:22,23...The rejected stone is Head of the corner...Mt. 21:42,43
Psa. 118:26a...The Blessed One presented to Israel...Mt. 21:9
Psa. 118:26b...To come while Temple standing...Mt. 21;12-15
Psa. 132:11...The Seed of David(the fruit of His Body)...Lu. 1:32
Psa. 138:1-6...The supremacy of David's Seed amazes kings... Mt. 2:2-6
Psa. 147:3,6...The earthly ministry of Christ described...Lu. 4:18
Psa. 1:23...He will send the Spirit of God... Jn. 16;7
Song. 5;16...The altogether lovely One...Jn. 1:17
Isa. 6:1...When Isaiah saw His glory... Jn. 12:40-41
Isa. 6:9-10...Parables fall on deaf ears...Mt. 13:13-15
Isa. 6:9-12...Blinded to Christ and deaf to His words...Acts. 28:23-29
Isa. 7:14...To be born of a virgin...Lu. 1:35
Isa. 7:14...To be Emmanuel-God with us... Mt. 1:18-23
Isa. 8:8...Called Emmanuel...Mt. 28:20
Isa. 8:14...A stone of stumbling, a Rock of offense... 1 Pet. 2:8
Isa. 9:1,2...His ministry to begin in Galilee...Mt. 4:12-17
Isa. 9:6...A child born-Humanity...Lu. 1:31
Isa. 9:6...A Son given-Deity...Lu. 1:32; Jn. 1;14; 1 Tim. 3:16
Isa. 9:6...Declared to be the Son of God with power... Rom. 1:3,4
Isa. 9:6...The Wonderful One, Peleh...Lu. 4:22
Isa. 9:6...The Counsellor, Yaatz...Mt. 13:54
Isa. 9:6...The Mighty God, El Gibor...Mt. 11:20
Isa. 9:6...The Everlasting Father, Avi Adth...Jn. 8:58
Isa. 9:6...The Prince of Peace, Sar Shalom...Jn . 16:33
Isa. 9:7...To establish an everlasting kingdom...Lu. 1:32-33
Isa. 9:7...His Character-Just...Jn. 5:30
Isa. 9:7...No end to his Government, Throne, and Peace...Lu. 1:32-33
Isa. 11:1...Called a Nazarene-the Branch, Netzer...Mt. 2:23
Isa. 11:1...A rod out of Jesse-Son of Jesse...Lu. 3:23,32
Isa. 11:2...The anointed One by the Spirit...Mt. 3;16,17
Isa. 11:2...His Character-Wisdom, Understanding, et al....Jn. 4:4-26
Isa. 11:4...His Character-Truth...Jn. 14:6
Isa. 11:10...The Gentiles seek Him...Jn. 12:18-21
Isa. 12:2...Called Jesus-Yeshua...Mt. 1:21
Isa. 25:8...The Resurrection predicted...I Cor. 15:54
Isa. 26:19...His power of Resurrection predicted...Jn. 11:43,44
Isa. 28:16...The Messiah is the precious corner stone...Acts 4:11,12
Isa. 29:13...He indicated hypocritical obedience to His Word...Mt. 15:7-9
Isa. 29:14...The wise are confounded by the Word...I Cor. 1:18-31
Isa. 32:2...A Refuge-A man shall be a hiding place...Mt. 23:37
Isa. 35:4...He will come and save you...Mt. 1:21
Isa. 35:5...To have a ministry of miracles...Mt. 11:4-6
Isa. 40:3,4...Preceded by forerunner...Jn. 1:23
Isa. 40:9..."Behold your God."...Jn. 1:36;19:14
Isa. 40:11...A shepherd-compassionatelife-giver...Jn. 10:10-18
Isa. 42:1-4...The Servant-as a faithful, patient redeemer... Mt.12:18-21
Isa. 42:2...Meek and lowly... Mt. 11:28-30
Isa. 42:3...He brings hope for the hopeless... Jn. 4
Isa. 42:4...The nations shall wait on His teachings... Jn. 12:20-26
Isa. 42:6...The Light (salvation) of the Gentiles...Lu. 2:32
Isa. 42:1,6...His is a Worldwide compassion... Mt. 28:19,20
Isa. 42:7...Blind eyes opened... Jn. 9:25-38
Isa. 43:11...He is the only Saviour... Acts. 4:12
Isa. 44:3...He will send the Spirit of God... Jn. 16:7,13
Isa. 45:23...He will be the Judge... Jn. 5:22;Rom. 14:11
Isa. 48:12...The First and the Last...Jn. 1:30;Rev. 1:8,17
Isa. 48:17...He came as a Teacher...Jn. 3:2
Isa. 49:1...Called from the womb-His humanity...Mt. 1:18
Isa. 49:5...A Servant from the womb...Lu. 1:31;Phil. 2:7
Isa. 49:6...He is Salvation for Israel...Lu. 2:29-32
Isa. 49:6...He is the Light of the Gentiles...Acts 13:47
Isa. 49:6...He is Salvation unto the ends of the earth... Acts 15:7-18
Isa. 49:7...He is despised of the Nation... Jn. 8:48-49
Isa. 50:3...Heaven is clothed in black at His humiliation... Lu. 23:44,45
Isa. 50:4...He is a learned counsellor for the weary... Mt. 11:28,29
Isa. 50:5...The Servant bound willingly to obedience... Mt. 26:39
Isa. 50:6a..."I gave my back to the smiters."... Mt. 27:26
Isa. 50:6b...He was smitten on the cheeks... Mt. 26:67
Isa. 50:6c...He was spat upon... Mt. 27:30
Isa. 52:7...To publish good tidings of peace... Lu. 4:14,15
Isa. 52:13...The Servant exalted...Acts 1:8-11; Eph. 1:19-22
Isa. 52:13...Behold, My Servant... Mt. 17:5; Phil. 2:5-8
Isa. 52:14...The Servant shockingly abused... Lu. 18:31-34; Mt. 26:67,68
Isa. 52:15...Nations startled by message of the Servant... Rom. 15:18-21
Isa. 52:15...His blood shed to make atonement for all... Rev. 1:5
Isa. 53:1...His people would not believe Him... Jn. 12:37-38
Isa. 53:2a...He would grow up in a poor family.... Lu. 2:7
Isa. 53:2b...Appearance of an ordinary man... Phil. 2:7-8
Isa. 53:3a...Despised.... Lu. 4:28-29
Isa. 53:3b...Rejected... Mt. 27:21-23
Isa. 53:3c...Great sorrow and grief... Lu. 19:41-42
Isa. 53:3d...Men hide from being associated with Him... Mk. 14:50-52
Isa. 53:4a...He would have a healing ministry... Lu. 6:17-19
Isa. 53:4b...He would bear the sins of the world... 1 Pet. 2:24
Isa. 53:4c...Thought to be cursed by God... Mt. 27:41-43
Isa. 53:5a...Bears penalty for mankind's transgressions... Lu. 23:33
Isa. 53:5b...His sacrifice would provide peace between man and God... Col. 1:20
Isa. 53:5c...His back would be whipped... Mt. 27:26
Isa. 53:6a...He would be the sin-bearer for all mankind...Gal. 1:4
Isa. 53:6b...God's will that He bear sin for all mankind... 1 Jn. 4:10
Isa. 53:7a...Oppressed and afflicted... Mt. 27:27-31
Isa. 53:7b...Silent before his accusers... Mt. 27:12-14
Isa. 53:7c...Sacrificial lamb... Jn. 1:29
Isa. 53:8a...Confined and persecuted... Mt. 26:47-27:31
Isa. 53:8b...He would be judged... Jn. 18:13-22
Isa. 53:8c...Killed.... Mt. 27:35
Isa. 53:8d...Dies for the sins of the world... 1 Jn. 2:2
Isa. 53:9a...Buried in a rich man's grave... Mt. 27:57
Isa. 53:9b...Innocent and had done no violence... Mk. 15:3
Isa. 53:9c...No deceit in his mouth... Jn. 18:38
Isa. 53:10a...God's will that He die for mankind... Jn. 18:11
Isa. 53:10b...An offering for sin... Mt. 20:28
Isa. 53:10c...Resurrected and live forever.... Mk. 16:16
Isa. 53:10d...He would prosper... Jn. 17:1-5
Isa. 53:11a...God fully satisfied with His suffering... Jn. 12:27
Isa. 53:11b...God's servant... Rom. 5:18-19
Isa. 53:11c...He would justify man before God... Rom. 5:8-9
Isa. 53:11d...The sin-bearer for all mankind... Heb. 9:28
Isa. 53:12a...Exalted by God because of his sacrifice... Mt. 28:18
Isa. 53:12b...He would give up his life to save mankind... Lu. 23:46
Isa. 53:12c...Grouped with criminals... Lu. 23:32
Isa. 53:12d...Sin-bearer for all mankind... 2 Cor. 5:21
Isa. 53:12e...Intercede to God in behalf of mankind... Lu. 23:34
Isa. 55:3...Resurrected by God... Acts 13:34
Isa. 55:4...A witness... Jn. 18:37
Isa. 59:15-16a...He would come to provide salvation... Jn. 6:40
Isa. 59:15-16b...Intercessor between man and God... Mt. 10:32
Isa. 59:20...He would come to Zion as their Redeemer... Lu. 2:38
Isa. 61:1-2a...The Spirit of God upon him... Mt. 3:16-17
Isa. 61:1-2b...The Messiah would preach the good news... Lu. 4:17-21
Isa. 61:1-2c...Provide freedom from the bondage of sin and death... Jn. 8:31-32
Isa. 61:1-2...Proclaim a period of grace... Jn. 5:24
Jer.23:5-6a...Descendant of David...Lu. 3:23-31
Jer. 23:5-6b...The Messiah would be God... Jn. 13:13
Jer. 23:5-6c...The Messiah would be both God and Man... 1 Tim. 3:16
Jer. 31:22...Born of a virgin... Mt. 1:18-20
Jer. 31:31...The Messiah would be the new covenant... Mt. 26:28
Jer. 33:14-15...Descendant of David... Lu. 3:23-31
Eze.17:22-24...Descendant of David... Lk. 3:23-31
Eze.34:23-24...Descendant of David... Mt. 1:1
Dan. 7:13-14a...He would ascend into heaven... Acts 1:9-11
Dan. 7:13-14b...Highly exalted... Eph. 1:20-22
Dan. 7:13-14c...His dominion would be everlasting... Lu. 1:31-33
Dan. 9:24a...To make an end to sins... Gal. 1:3-5
Dan. 9:24b...He would be holy... Lu. 1:35
Dan. 9:25...Announced to his people 483 years, to the exact day, after the decree to rebuild the city of Jerusalem... Jn. 12:12-13
Dan. 9:26a...Killed... Mt. 27:35
Dan. 9:26b...Die for the sins of the world... Heb. 2:9
Dan. 9:26c...Killed before the destruction of the temple... Mt. 27:50-51
Dan. 10:5-6...Messiah in a glorified state... Rev. 1:13-16
Hos. 13:14...He would defeat death... 1 Cor. 15:55-57
Joel 2:32...Offer salvation to all mankind... Rom. 10:12-13
Mic. 5:2a...Born in Bethlehem... Mt. 2:1-2
Mic. 5:2b...God's servant... Jn. 15:10
Mic. 5:2c...From everlasting... Jn. 8:58
Hag. 2:6-9...He would visit the second Temple... Lu. 2:27-32
Hag. 2:23...Descendant of Zerubbabel... Lu. 3:23-27
Zech. 3:8...God's servant... Jn. 17:4
Zech. 6:12-13...Priest and King... Heb. 8:1
Zech. 9:9a...Greeted with rejoicing in Jerusalem... Mt. 21:8-10
Zech. 9:9b...Beheld as King... Jn. 12:12-13
Zech. 9:9c...The Messiah would be just... Jn. 5:30
Zech. 9:9d...The Messiah would bring salvation... Luke 19:10
Zech. 9:9e...The Messiah would be humble... Mt. 11:29
Zech. 9:9f...Presented to Jerusalem riding on a donkey... Mt. 21:6-9
Zech. 10:4...The cornerstone... Eph. 2:20
Zech. 11:4-6a...At His coming, Israel to have unfit leaders... Mt. 23:1-4
Zech. 11:4-6b...Rejection causes God to remove His protection.. Lu. 19:41-44
Zech. 11:4-6c...Rejected in favor of another king... Jn. 19:13-15
Zech. 11:7...Ministry to "poor," the believing remnant... Mt. 9:35-36
Zech. 11:8a...Unbelief forces Messiah to reject them... Mt. 23:33
Zech. 11:8b...Despised... Mt. 27:20
Zech. 11:9...Stops ministering to the those who rejected Him... Mt. 13:10-11
Zech. 11:10-11a...Rejection causes God to remove protection... Lu. 19:41-44
Zech. 11:10-11b...The Messiah would be God... Jn. 14:7
Zech. 11:12-13a...Betrayed for thirty pieces of silver... Mt. 26:14-15
Zech. 11:12-13b...Rejected... Mt. 26:14-15
Zech. 11:12-13c...Thirty pieces of silver thrown into the house of the Lord... Mt. 27:3-5
Zech. 11:12-13d...The Messiah would be God... Jn. 12:45
Zech. 12:10a...The Messiah's body would be pierced... Jn. 19:34-37
Zech. 12:10b...The Messiah would be both God and man... Jn. 10:30
Zech. 12:10c...The Messiah would be rejected... Jn. 1:11
Zech. 13:7a...God's will He die for mankind... Jn. 18:11
Zech. 13:7b...A violent death... Mt. 27:35
Zech. 13:7c...Both God and man.. Jn. 14:9
Zech. 13:7d...Israel scattered as a result of rejecting Him... Mt. 26:31-56
Mal. 3:1a...Messenger to prepare the way for Messiah... Mt. 11:10
Mal. 3:1b...Sudden appearance at the temple... Mk. 11:15-16
Mal. 3:1c...Messenger of the new covenant... Lu. 4:43
Mal. 4:5...Forerunner in the spirit of Elijah... Mt. 3:1-2
Mal. 4:6...Forerunner would turn many to righteousness... Lu. 1:16-17

Human Arrogance

2010-12-21T13:17:00.000-06:00

Testimony of Human arrogance begins right after the story of human beginnings. The second human created rejected the word of God for the shiny fruit of pride. It didn't take much encouragement from the serpent for Eve to ignore God's command and accept the evil premise that 'ol snake spewed forth. He said "you won't die, God is a liar, and when you eat that fruit, you will know as much as God." well, we know how well that worked out, don't we? or do we? Human arrogance is pretty blind, it can't see hardly anything outside itself. It's little wonder that this attitude brought forth it's offspring murder, the ultimate in selfishness. human arrogance mocked Noah, spending all that time building a big boat on dry land had the neighbors rolling in the street. Shortly after God singled out the nation of Israel those people grew rather arrogant against the very source of their strength, as the prophets testified. and even when Jesus, the Christ, the savior of the world was on this earth, the arrogant leadership of the Jews mocked and upbraided the very Lord they claimed to worship.
Many people today can look at these examples of human arrogance toward God and shake their heads and mutter against these people of the past, but consider this point, are Humans any less arrogant today than they were then? the chief priests even Mocked Christ as he was hanging on the cross, are there church leaders who would do the same today?
Atheists don't believe in God at all they believe all the complex systems that make up the universe just happened, believing against the most basic laws of physics. any scientist knows that is you see an effect, there has to be some cause behind it. is this not arrogance? just as many peoples of the past made a God formed with their own hands, molded by the will of it's human creator so do these folks form a God they can live with, their own delusion.
even among those who would call their self true believers there can be found similar arrogance, there is a lot of confusion in the church just who the potter is and who's the clay. many people form a God in their imagination to fit their wants or needs. this is ass-backwards. It is God who should be playing the fiddle and it is us, that is, Humans that should be dancing. not the other way around. who gets to choose how to worship God? God? or man? if you say Man, then you don't worship God at all, just some figment of your imagination that you hang God's name on. this occurs not only in individuals, but groups as well, does a lie become a truth if many people believe it? Is truth measured by who accepts it, or how many accept it? I'm convinced truth has to be measured by a standard far higher than my, or any other Human's thought, feeling, or guess. God ought to be the standard, and we ought to be the clay to be molded in his hands. anything else is simply self-delusion on our part either individually or as whatever group we choose to adhere to. what of that question Pontius Pilate asked the Lord? "what is truth?". Did Pilate really want an answer? one could argue the guy was looking truth in the face when he asked that question, it is my hope and prayer nobody holds to, and then falls for, that cynical spirit that is even more prevalent today that it was in Pilate's era. one problem with truth today is few people see any value in it. One of the spirits of this age is relativism, this is the thought that there is no such thing as absolutes, not anywhere, not in truth, values, all is relative to the individuals perception. truth is whatever that individual says it is. well, that might work well until you have any meaningful relation with another individual, when you have a community who thinks that reality conforms to their desires, their many and varied desires, what will the end result be? to even believe such a silly notion as relativism one has to ignore a most basic law of logic. a self contradictory statement can't be true. if I say that "there is no such thing as absolutes", what am i saying? is THIS statement absolutely true? the statement is inferring the absolute truth that there is no absolute truth. the only conclusion one could draw from this is that there is, in fact, absolute truth and that absolute truth is knowable.
Humans can have a relationship with truth.
The Apostle Paul, in Romans ch.7 talks about the trouble of humans struggling with truth, he talks of seeing things he should do, that he doesn't, and seeing things he shouldn't do, that he does. we all have this dilemma. the carnal fighting the spiritual within us. we know what is good, do it not and we know what is bad, and that, we do. it seems the same problem plagues Humankind throughout history. take a look at the ten commandments as an example.

1	“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2	“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments.
3	“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
4	“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
5	“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
6	“You shall not murder.
7	“You shall not commit adultery.
8	“You shall not steal.
9	“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10	“You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.”

Ask yourself what of these seem awful or grievous to you, imagine what society would be like if these were followed, you would not worry about being lied to, not have to worry about letting your children walk to school, wouldn't need locks on your doors as nobody would even think about stealing from their neighbor. look at the freedom Humans would enjoy by following a few simple rules, Put God first, the God who gave you this law, follow this simple law and you would have one incredible community free from worry and mistrust (and even a day off a week in the bargain). you can see how God wants us to live and it is strong evidence God Loves us a lot, seeing how he would like our world to be, it's a big difference from the world we created for ourselves, is it not? what with all the jealousy, envy, strife, arguments, selfishness, bitterness, destruction. all this, because we want to go our own way... seems like maybe God knows us better that we know ourselves, eh? Loving God would seem to have it's benefits. Jesus said if you Love me, keep my commandments. He also said my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Jesus said if we would humble ourselves, that is put God's will over our own, we could enter his kingdom. one cannot enter through any other way, not by following some plan contrived by other people, or some plan you made up yourself, You need to humble yourself and read the plan God made for us.

Psalm 22

2010-12-18T20:55:00.000-06:00

This Psalm was written a thousand years before Christ. reference the gospel accounts of Jesus crucifixion a millennium after this song was written.

Psa 22:1 To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
Psa 22:2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
Psa 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
Psa 22:4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
Psa 22:5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
Psa 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
Psa 22:7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
Psa 22:8 He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
Psa 22:9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.
Psa 22:10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.
Psa 22:11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
Psa 22:12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
Psa 22:13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
Psa 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
Psa 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
Psa 22:16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
Psa 22:17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
Psa 22:18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
Psa 22:19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
Psa 22:20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
Psa 22:21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
Psa 22:22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
Psa 22:23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
Psa 22:24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
Psa 22:25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
Psa 22:26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
Psa 22:27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
Psa 22:28 For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations.
Psa 22:29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
Psa 22:30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
Psa 22:31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

Here is the excerpts of the testimonies of Matthew and Mark.

Mat 27:30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
Mat 27:31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Mat 27:35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

Mat 27:39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
Mat 27:40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
Mat 27:41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
Mat 27:42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
Mat 27:43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
Mat 27:44 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.
Mat 27:45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
Mat 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
ar 15:18 And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!
Mar 15:19 And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.
Mar 15:20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.
Mar 15:24 And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.
ar 15:29 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,
Mar 15:30 Save thyself, and come down from the cross.
Mar 15:31 Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.
Mar 15:32 Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.
Mar 15:33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
Mar 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

This is just a tiny part of prophesy that was written, then mostly fulfilled a thousand years after. one could darn near get the sum total of the gospel of Christ from the book of Isaiah, while scholars disagree on when Isaiah was written, a copy of pretty much the whole book was found in the dead sea area that pre-dates Christ by at least a hundred years. you don't find extensive detailed prophesies in any other book. this is why I find it worth putting real serious study to.

sa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isa 7:15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
Isa 7:16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Isa 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
Isa 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Isa 11:3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
Isa 11:4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Isa 11:5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
Isa 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isa 11:7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Isa 11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
Isa 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Isa 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
Isa 50:6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
Isa 50:7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
Isa 52:14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
Isa 52:15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

Isa 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
Isa 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Isa 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Isa 53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Isa 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Isa 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Isa 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isa 59:15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
Isa 59:16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
Isa 59:17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

There is much more about what Christ will do in the future, something for another time.

Who is (your) God?

2010-12-13T12:49:00.000-06:00

Catchy title, aint it?

Somebody who was once very close to me liked to throw the phrase "don't be so heavenly minded your no earthly good" at me as some kind of accusation. well, I sincerely wish I was MORE heavenly minded and personally believe if I was, I would be MORE earthly good. so in light of this, pretty much all I will be posting on this blog anymore is going to an effort to nudge whoever might find this blog towards Christ.

Is God who HE thinks he is or is God who YOU think he is?

I think this is a very, very, important question. how does one person know another? do you know someone by going to their house? or by having a 5 minute chat in the coffeehouse? or jogging with then in the park one morning? do you get to know someone by talking about them with a third party? or working beside them or sharing a cab ride?
You can get to know bits and pieces of a person by all of the above but none of these will give you a clear picture. how many times to people just get these bits and pieces and fill all the blanks in in their own mind? and, when they have done this, come to think that this construct of their mind is really the person they met? sadly, this happens all too often in life between people. People make judgments about others all the time without all the information. most people are even aware of this yet still continue this same activity.

Do people do this with God too? What is the best way to get to know God? listen to the gossip? or go to the most direct source?

The four horsemen of the Apocalypse

2010-12-11T10:32:00.002-06:00

Ever wonder about these ghastly riders? wonder when they will ride? or are they already?

Many people have no belief in even a concept of God, or believe if there is such, Man cannot understand or even prove the existence of such. to such people I have little to say but to let God speak for Himself. I quote Psalms 14.

(Psa 14:1) To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Not only Does God say such people are fools, but it would seem God is saying he IS knowable. but how does one get to know God? after all, if you look the world over and see God's self-proclaimed representatives, the Church, what knowledge of God do you find there? For one church teaches one thing and the next church down the street teaches another. where then are God TRUE representatives? the Catholics? Lutherans? Baptists? Mormons? the Jehovah's Witness knockin on your door? who? all churches have some statement of faith or book of discipline or catechism members have to abide by or be shown the door, or receive the left foot of dis-fellowship if by chance there is one point or another where you might disagree with the accepted "truth" as the leadership would put it. some might wonder why I've only listed only Christian churches here? well one thing Christianity and Judaism have is a book as it's foundation, claimed to be inspired by God. but what about Islam you ask? it has a book claimed to be inspired by God! yes it does, but two obvious differences are that the Quran was written by just one man, obviously AFTER the Bible, that was written by 44 people, yet with amazing continuity. obviously twisting and perverting what the Bible, that was written before it, says. which, if you were to accept that, you would have to say God changes his mind and/or is wishy-washy like charlie brown, or lies, one of the two. any time I find a lie, I assume the liar is not God, but human. so the quran was obviously written by a lying human. read it yourself, to be intellectually honest you would have to come to the same conclusion. The other big difference is the Bible is chock full of prophecy. even if you don't want to use prophecy for it's predictive value you do have to look at the phenomena of prophesies written centuries before the events they described having been fulfilled literally in the past. that rules out not just Islam but Judaism too, for Judaism Ignored a heaping pile of prophesy by it's own prophets where Jesus is concerned. that pretty much leaves Christianity. One has to wonder about the state of the Church though. look around and there are all kinds of people claiming to represent the Lord, and many contradicting each other (and sometimes themselves) and fighting amongst themselves about this bit or that bit. none seem to represent like the early church of the first century that were under the disciples do they? I read somewhere a survey that said about 5% of the people claiming to be Christians actually read the whole Bible. kinda sad, when you think about it. how many are placing their faith in Christ directly? or placing their faith in some construct of their mind they hang Jesus' name on? each person will have to decide for themselves. back to the Horsemen:

(Rev 6:2) And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
This white horseman is trying to look like somebody, who? Jesus himself said "many will come in MY NAME", this gent surely does not look like the Lord on the white horse described in Rev 19., an impostor? many have done horrible things in Jesus' name, many pogroms of time past and the inquisition come to mind, I'm just trying to note that not all who come in Jesus name are true. one best study scripture in order to know the real from the fake.

(Rev 6:4) And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

This kinda looks like the spirit of Islam to me, there is no place either in history or currently that Islamic evangelism is not violent, this religion was quite literally spread with the sword, despite what the current batch of history reformers want you to believe today. even in Europe we see the coercion and the fear engendered by this rider today.

(Rev 6:5) And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
(Rev 6:6) And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Looks like the current economic structure to me, the pair of balances, the trade of money for goods, bible scholars say this "penny" here is a day's wages, so the average joe spends his whole day's work for a days worth of groceries. notice today how most families both husband and wife work ever longer hours to make just enough to get by. taking all their time just to work, not being with their families or having the time to teach their kids, work is everything, money is everything. no time or effort for much else. "hurt not the oil or wine" save this for the wealthy folks, look at the dirty underbelly of our world economy and you see a mere few families holding most of the wealth of the world. I'm not talking of the wealthy you see in the papers, the wealth of Bill Gates or even the Kings and Emir's of the middle east are a pittance to those who hold the keys to the fractional reserve banking establishment hiding in the shadows and pulling the strings behind governments of the world today.

(Rev 6:8) And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

this one is kinda obvious, It is no secret we can kill each other with an efficiency today never seen before in the not to distant past. most folks thing these prophecies are of some long distant future, to me it looks like these riders are making their travels today. Do you think perhaps God wrote scripture for our benefit? Do you think that only some scripture is worthwhile while other scripture is not? does some scripture scare you? how many times does the phrase "fear not" show up in the Bible? I think prophecy is written for a reason, much of the reason is to confirm the word, all scripture is worthwhile. Most people, If they want to know what someone is thinking, would go to THAT PERSON. why is it that when so many want to know what God is thinking, go to someone else to tell them what God is thinking, rather than go to the closest source to them, the BIBLE.

UPDATE: I may have been hasty in just what spirits these horses relate to, the red horse may very well be the spirit of communism/socialism. and the pale horse at the end the spirit of Islam. all the powers of the earth merge into a final human government. while Islam got it's start before communism it is only just recently become a real world-size power.

Handel's Messiah

2010-12-07T07:46:00.004-06:00

Handel's Messiah is my favorite baroque era work. It is the Gospel of Christ from is birth, John the Baptist's paving the way ministry to the establishment of his kingdom here on earth at his second coming, set to music! One of the things that strikes me so is what Handel understood then. pretty much the entire text of the work is from prophecy. very little is from the gospels. the promise of salvation, his sacrifice, death, resurrection, his coming again, his creation of an earthly kingdom, all this Handel understood way back in 1741!
About a third of the bible is prophecy, about a third of that prophecy has been fulfilled (literally too, not allegorically), nearly all prophecy has to do with Christ. so, there is about two thirds of this whole third of the scriptures that are prophecy about what Christ will do in the future. seems like something worth putting some study to, don't it?

here is a list of the scriptures that comprise the work:

MESSIAH

(1) Overture.
(2) Isaiah 40:1-3 “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned ...“
“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord) make straight in the desert a highway for our God”.
(3) Isaiah 40:4 “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain"
(4) Isaiah 40:5 “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it”.
(5) Haggai 2:6&7 “... and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come..."
(6) Malachi 3:2 “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire...”
(7) Malachi 3:3 “... and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering of righteousness."
(8) Isaiah 7:14 “... Behold,a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name lmmanuel”.
(9) Isaiah 40:9 & 60:1 “0 Zion,that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain;O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, behold your God. Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee”.
(10) Isaiah 60:2&3 “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee”. "And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising:"
(11) Isaiah 9:2 “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined!”
(12) Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace"
(13) Pastoral Symphony.
(14) Luke 2:8&9 “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid”.
(15) Luke 2: l0 &11 ‘And the angel said unto them, fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord”.
(16) Luke 2:13 “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying”.
(17) Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”.
(18) Zechariah 9: pt.9 & pt.14 ” Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter of Zion; shout, 0 daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy king cometh unto thee ...“
(Added by Handel) “He, is the righteous Saviour” (Then part of verse 10) “he shall speak peace unto the heathen ...“
(19) Isaiah 35:5&6 “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped”. “Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and:the tongue of the dumb sing ...“
(20) Isaiah 40:11 and Matthew 11 :28 & 29 “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young”.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls”.
(21) Matthew 11:30 “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.
(22) John 1:29. "... Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”.
(23) Isaiah 53:3 & 50:6 “He is despised and rejected of men: a man of sorrows and aquainted with grief...”
“I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting”.
(24) Isaiah 53:4&5 “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.... he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him ...“
(25) Isaiah 53:5 “... and with his stripes we are healed”.
(26) Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray;we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all”.
(27) Psalm 22:7 “All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, and shake the head saying”.
(28) Psalm 22:8. “He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him".
(29) Psalm 69:20 “Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none”.
(30) Lamentations 1:12 “... behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow”.
(31) Isaiah 53:8 “He was taken from prison and from judgement: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken”.
(32) Psalm 16:10 “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell: neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption”.
(33) Psalm 24:10 “Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory”.
(34) Hebrews 1:5 “... unto which of the angels said he at anytime, thou art my beloved Son, this day have I begotten thee?”.
(35) Hebrews 1:6 ”... let all the angels of God worship him”.
(36) Psalm 68:18 “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive; thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them”.
(37) Psalm 68:11 “The Lord gave the word; great was the company of those that published it”.
(38) Romans 10:15 “... How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.”
(39) Romans 10:18 “But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world”.
(40) Psalm 2:1 &2 “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing! The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed saying”.
(41) Psalm 2:3 “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us”.
(42) Psalm 2:4 “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: The Lord shall have them in derision”.
(43) Psalm 2:9 ”Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron: thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potters vessel”.
(44) Rev. 19:6: 11:15 and 19:16. “. . ,Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth”.
“... The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever"
“...KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS”.
(45) Job 19:25: 19:26 and I Corinthians 15:20. “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. Though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see GOD”. “ But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first:fruits of them that slept”.
(46) I Corinthians 15:21 & 22. “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”.
(47) I Corinthians 15:51 & 52. ”Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump."
(48) I Corinthians 15:52 and 15:53. “... for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality”.
(49) I Corinthians 15:54, ” ... then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory”.
(50) I Corinthians 15:55 & 56. “0 death, where is thy sting? 0 grave, where is thy victory?”
“The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law”.
(51) I Corinthians 15:57. “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(52) Romans 8:31, 33 and 34. “...lf God be for us, who can be against us? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God That justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died: yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."
(53) Revelation 5:12, 5:9, 5 12 and 5:13. “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain...”
“.. .and has redeemed us to God by thy blood ...“ "to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing”.
“Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever”. Amen.

These are the texts Handel chose to write Messiah which is truly a picture of the glory of God. It gives us glimpse of heaven and reminds us of the importance of our indispensable God and Saviour. Handel used over seventy quotations from Scripture. Many more are available in the Bible providing further enlightenment.

This is a flash mob performance of the Alleluia Chorus of Handel's Messiah in a mall food court somewhere in Ontario. good thing this was performed in Canada, because if this was a mall in the US it would likely have ended in arrests, or at least lawsuits being filed by CAIR or the ACLU. perhaps even Homeland security would have gotten involved as this chorus, concerning Christ establishing an earthly kingdom in the future, is clearly seditious in nature, and a threat to Emperor O! :-D

The party all should want to attend, but will they really want to?

2010-12-05T07:15:00.003-06:00

This is not an original idea of mine, but my thoughts on a little sermon I heard yesterday from Andy Stanley.
Most of us have read the story of the prodigal son. few of us have really understood it completely, most of us think we have forgiveness in our hearts, but do we really? how much time do many of us spend harboring an unforgiving attitude at people around us?
The parable Yeshua relates is about a Father and his two sons, the elder, a steady responsible young man who worked tirelessly for his father and the younger son who, it seems lacks a bit in heart and mind. one day this youngster walks up to pops and says "hey pops!, you know one day a portion of your wealth will be mine, but dang it you 'aint dying fast enough to suit me pops, I want my share now! I got important things I want to do NOW and it looks like you 'aint going to kick off fast enough to suit me."
So, what does the 'ol man do? he GIVES it to him! do you believe that shit! can you wonder what the neighbors think! can you wonder what Yeshua's audience was thinking? many of these were sinners and publicans, publicans being civil servants, government workers, in that time and place any people working for the Roman government was considered the lowest of the low by the "church" leadership of the time. and on the other side of the room was the church leadership itself, who quite simply could not understand how a teacher of scripture could dare allow himself to be associated with the lowly sinners sitting around him. consider their thoughts of this story. even the most self centered man there probably thought to himself that this young man in the story was a real lowlife bastard right? anyhow, back to the story:
our young jackass packs up and goes to a faraway city and spends his inheritance on wine, women, and song until he wastes the entire sum. then the economy takes a dive and the only job this young Jew can find is taking care of some dude's hogs. now, Imagine what our teachers audience is thinking now! surely the fine church leaders, the scribes and pharisees are thinking this young prick got what he deserved, right? I imagine even the commoners and sinners in the room are thinking the same thing too, there is probably complete consent in the whole room of scribes, pharisees AND publicans, common folk, and sinners that this little jerk got his just desserts eh? bet this is the end of the story right? nope, the teachers story goes on:
after a while the jerk thinks "hey, pops servants get better treatment than this, they got clothes to wear and food to eat, I'm going to go home and beg pops to take me back as his lowest servant. at least my Jewish father won't have any disgusting hogs to tend. I will confess my gross sin, and declare my unworthiness to be called his son, I can maybe tend his goats or something." so off our little jerk goes back home to pop, working out the little speech he's going to give to beg for any lowly job pop might have to give him. (pay attention to what happens now!) when he was yet a far way off his father saw him, had COMPASSION on him and RAN TO him and hugged him around the neck, and even before our jerk could ask forgiveness pop's orders servants to bring out his best robe, shoes, and a ring for his hand, (many of you folks today may not know what the ring signifies, but it means pop recognizes him as his SON). but, not only that, but orders the servants to kill the fatted calf and organize a party! call all the neighbors, church fellows, and family! it's party time! can you imagine the shock this crowd got when they found out what the party was for? oh, you remember pop's youngest, the brat who demanded his inheritance to run off and carouse with the whores, drunks, and dope heads in the faraway city? yeah, well he came back to pop's house in rags and smelling of hogshit and we're having the biggest party we ever had over it!
now cue the older brother, the older loyal, steadfast brother. upon hearing all the commotion asks one of the servants what's going on? and HE hears all this shit! and great indignation wells up within him! why how DARE Pop's have a party for that sorry asshole brother of mine when I worked hard and took care of all the chores and never balked once at all Pop's asked ME to do and he never so much as gave me a kidd of the goats to have a little party with my friends! what shit is this? Can you share in this brother's indignation? what think you? you can bet the scribes Pharisees and temple elders probably could. but what about you? look here what happens next:
Pop said to his older son "you were ever with me, all that I have is yours, it is RIGHT that we should be happy, because your little brother was dead, and now he lives, was lost but now he's found."
All that is important to Pop in this story is that they are together, present in each others company. no "what ya done for me lately." no "I'm right, you're wrong". nothing like that. Pop required no explanation, heck the brat did not even have time to say his little speech to his father before his father saw him "a long way off" and had compassion on him. Pop's knew before he heard a word what he was going to do for this wayward son. do you disagree with Pops? do you realize just who you are disagreeing with? All of us want redemption, but I often wonder why it seems to me that many people want to think they have some sort of "special" relationship with the lord that someone else doesn't have, like MY relationship with the Lord is better than YOUR relationship with him because I did this and that but YOU did that and this. YOU associate with the wrong crowd, YOU don't go to Church enough, YOU don't pray as loud or as often as I do. etc. etc. etc. This list can go on forever. but do we really want a Lord that will save only as some payment for some work we have done? if you run faster than your neighbor you win he doesn't? is that how ya want it? thankfully, that's not the case. Salvation is solely the work of Yeshua. and nobody can boast of any great work having gotten him or her any extra favor towards salvation. Hooray for that!

Government Motors

2009-06-02T23:19:00.001-05:00

GM, rolling out the new models.

Choices

2009-05-30T17:33:00.002-05:00

Some folks think that a Loving God would have no such place as Hell. I wonder at this, why? because we HAVE a loving God, so loving, in fact, that he gave us free will. we are free to make our own choices, If we had NO choice, could their be any such thing as free will? (or Love, for that matter) and because we HAVE choices, could one choice be bad, and one good? and because we have multitudes of men and angels, could not some choose good and some choose evil?
We have a choice, and I thank God for it, Because without choice, could their be any such thing as Love? Love is the greatest choice of all. One does not HAVE to love, one CHOOSES TO. Thank God he CHOSE to love us.

But then, much as I hate to bring this up, If you have some children who choose to be Loving and caring and some who choose to be hateful and mean, does their not come a time to separate the two groups? much as you'd dislike to, If you have one kid harming the other what do you do?

Some folks live in a mean, hateful world, and sadly, It's because they want to. some folks live in a kind and loving world, and that's because THEY want to.
some will choose to accept Christ's open invitation, some will choose not to. do you think God should FORCE those unwilling, to love him?...no? well then, Hell is prepared for those who choose it. right?

Freedom, Love it or lose it

2009-05-24T20:40:00.002-05:00

Which will you choose?

Blogger friends, I've been kind of busy, but I have been reading you and really appreciate you. I hope to start posting again soon.

Busy!

2008-11-02T00:27:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, no, I didn't fall off the planet, I'm busy starting a new business and it's been taking all of my time, should calm down a bit in a few months and maybe I'll have time to at least stop by your blogs once and a while.

Code Pink, where are you?

2008-09-04T15:50:00.002-05:00

Why arn't all the pinko's protesting Mayor Ritchie Daly? calling HIM a warmongering evil, do-nothing Chicago top executive, it is, after all governments fault, right?

Nearly 125 Shot Dead In Chicago Over Summer

Total Is About Double The Death Toll In Iraq
CHICAGO (CBS) ― An estimated 123 people were shot and killed over the summer. That's nearly double the number of soldiers killed in Iraq over the same time period.

Information from wire service reports and the Chicago Police Major Incidents log indicated that 123 people were shot and killed throughout the city between the start of Memorial Day weekend on May 26, and the end of Labor Day on Sept. 1.

According to the Defense Department, 65 soldiers were killed in combat in Iraq. About the same number were killed in Afghanistan over that same period.

In the same time period, an estimated 245 people were shot and wounded in the city.

link

RECALL CONGRESS!

2008-08-04T18:55:00.003-05:00

Rep. Eric Cantor has a petition out asking to recall congress to deal with the energy problem:

Congressman Eric Cantor

Dear Friend,

Last Friday, the United States House of Representatives, under Democrat Leadership, adjourned for a 5-week vacation. Normally, no one would raise an eyebrow; however, when the Democrats left, they did so without passing any form of energy legislation. They have left for over a month without doing anything to help lower gas prices. That means we'll see another month of inaction on the energy crisis.

The Democrats left, they turned off the lights, they turned off the cameras and they turned off the microphones. But, House Republicans did not leave. That's right, House Republicans are still here, talking to the American people, demanding that House Democrats come back and ease the increasing burdens on families. Republicans are fighting so that the American people are not left high and dry.

Now, we need your help. Join us by signing this petition to call on the Democrat Leadership to return to Washington , DC, to pass a bill that will increase American energy supply, open up offshore drilling and eliminate our reliance on foreign oil.

This is supposed to be the People's House. It's unfortunate that the Democrats don't see it that way.

Sign the Petition at www.CallCongressBack.com today.

Regards,

Eric Cantor
United States Congressman

P.S. Sign the petition to Call Congress Back to lower the price of gas.

Change I REALLY can't believe in

2008-08-04T18:34:00.002-05:00

Video stolen from Always on watch 2, please go read the rest of the story.

Change I can't believe in

2008-07-30T17:23:00.002-05:00

In order for people to want change, they must be dis-satisfied with their current situation, right? so, just what dire circumstances do Americans find theirselves in by the worlds standards that change is so important to them? let's see, is it housing? Americans live in the largest, best equipped homes in the world. is it poverty? no, America is the most affluent country in the world. is it tyranny? no, America is home to the most personal freedom in the world. is it lack of medical care? no, America has the best medical care in the world. is it education? no, Americans have access to the best education in the world.

so, If Americans live in the best homes, have kids in college, have a fine hospital on the nearest street corner, have money for not just cars, but unlike even Europeans, probably have TWO cars in the driveway, a boat, motorcycle, and a few other toys in the garage. just what are Americans SO unhappy about? is it that they can't afford a nintendo wii AND a microsoft x-box? could it be maybe that their i-pod nano does not have enough memory to hold ALL the songs they want? what is it that has Americans so disrought they want CHANGE!?!

Could it be, that Americans, those that were born of the can-do generation that won world war 2, are a bunch of whiny-assed, pansy, sniveling, crying, spoiled ass little brats? I think that is perhaps a possibility.

Our founding fathers wanted change, and we can thank them and God for it. but one must consider, Cubans wanted change, and they got Castro, China wanted change, and they got Mao, Russia wanted change, and they got Lenin, Cambodia wanted change, and they got pol pot.

Ideas, philosophy, facts, and intent makes one hell of a difference, Americans better consider this before they get all cought up in unreasoning emotionalism.

Iraq bound troops penalized for breaking apartment lease

2008-07-26T14:28:00.003-05:00

From Texas Fred,

Please go to Fred's site to get an address to send some hate mail to those most deserving.

Iraq-bound guards penalized for breaking apartment lease

July 26th, 2008 (1 hour ago) . by TexasFred

MCKINNEY - A North Texas couple is getting ready for their second deployment overseas.

They’re leaving to serve their country but instead they’ve been served with fees from their landlord.

“It’s a job, we have to do it,” said Chris Horvath.

But they’re leaving with added stress, since they’ve been in a fight with their apartment complex - McKinney’s El Lago development.

The couple, both of whom are sergeants in the Texas National Guard, are soon headed to Iraq.

Full Story Here:
Iraq-bound guards penalized for breaking apartment lease

^%&! political correctness!

2008-07-23T10:52:00.003-05:00

Joe Ligotti makes a salient argument against political correctness. but tender ears be warned, the guy's from Boston.

Energy in the USA

2008-07-21T15:59:00.001-05:00

I just got this from my representative. and I've got to say, I like his position! It's a rare thing for me these days to agree with a politician, and I'm happy to see there are a few smart people in the house who have their constituents best interests at heart.

Energy

Congressman Boozman is committed to helping provide relief at the pump. It's the number one concern he's heard from you and he wants you to know where he stands on this issue. If you would like to get updates on energy issues please click here to sign up.

Boozman Bulletin: Energy

Luckily we’re not paying the national average of $4.06 when we're filling up in Arkansas, but as the average price for a gallon of regular gas nears $4 in the Natural State, it’s taking a toll on our budgets and we’re forced to stretch our dollar more than ever.

Budgets all across the state are feeling the same strains. The Benton County Sheriff’s Department changed its patrol routes in an effort to reduce fuel costs, Fort Smith’s Parks Department implemented plans to make sure its crews are more efficient with the vehicles and the State Highway Department blamed the increase in gasoline prices for having to increase its budget. That doesn’t even skim the surface of the stories you’ve told me.

The reality of rising gas prices is a costly reminder of how dependent the U.S. is on foreign oil. To alleviate the pain we’re feeling at the pump Congress needs to encourage more production of U.S. resources. This is the only developed country in the world that refuses to use its natural resources. Opening up Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), building refineries and more nuclear power plants as well as opening offshore drilling are all things Congress seriously needs to consider to help increase our domestic energy supply.

President Bush recently lifted an executive ban on offshore drilling. This is a great step and one that a clear majority of Americans are supporting. A recent Reuters/Zogby Poll found that 60% of Americans surveyed say they favor efforts to increase domestic drilling and refinery construction. This is a realistic approach that isn’t being taken advantage of. Minerals Management Service (MMS), an office of the U.S. Department of the Interior estimates only 3% of this country’s 1.76 billion acres Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is leased for oil and gas exploration and development and more than 86 billion barrels of oil exists in undiscovered fields. At a time when we’re strapped for oil and gas, this is an area we must tap into.

There is no time like today to pass legislation to fully utilize the resources of this country. I’m a proponent of increasing the supply of domestic energy and have continually cosponsored and voted on legislation that aims to make us more energy independent. It’s in our best interest to bring legislation to the House Floor to give us what we need most, a break from high fuel prices.

Members of the House of Representatives have been challenged to sign a pledge that states "I will vote to increase U.S. oil production to lower gas prices for Americans,” and I gladly signed on. In encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this issue. The hardships the high cost of fuel is causing isn’t a partisan issue, it’s a matter of wellbeing and I’m ready and willing to take immediate action.

Click here to read more of Congressman Boozman’s opinion on energy.

Boozman’s Plan to Help Lower Gas Prices Savings

Bring onshore oil online (ANWR, Shale) $.70 - $1.60

Bring deepwater oil online (OCS) $.90 - $2.50

Bring news refineries online (none since 1976) $.15 - $0.45

Halt oil shipments to SPR $0.05

____________
Savings (at least) $1.80

FACT

In 2007, the United States consumed over 142 billion gallons of gasoline.

Source: Energy Information Administration

----------

Congressional plan to combat high fuel prices

2008-07-21T14:22:00.002-05:00

I'm not suprised Pelosi and co. are proposing this, just suprised they are doing so in an election year. but, then, they figure Obamessiah is a slam dunk shoe in. considering McCains tireless effort to lose, they are proably right.

secondly, do you need quality sleepwear that shows support for Obamessiah? well, in consideration of my readers I have found a source for just that, enjoy!

It's the Isms that'll get ya every time

2008-07-19T22:09:00.002-05:00

This video is long, but it's worth it. see if you recognize Obama, who's in the cast.

Satire, funny, huh?

2008-07-15T18:52:00.000-05:00

A German's view of Islam

2008-07-15T17:57:00.003-05:00

A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II, owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism."Very few people were true Nazis," he said, "but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories."We are told again and again by "experts" and "talking heads" that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace.Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the spectra of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.

The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers.The hard quantifiable fact is that the peaceful majority, the "silent majority," is cowed and extraneous.

Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.

The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet. And, who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into butchery.Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were "peace loving"?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points: - Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence. Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany, they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.

Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late.

As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts; the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Here, and here are a couple of posts from today. You wonder what Islam's intentions are? I don't.
Here's another good post on "moderate" Islam

I'm on the wrong side of the law

2008-07-14T17:13:00.003-05:00

My Son-in-law sent me this little eye opening bit of information.

Don't forget to read comparison chart after the pics...
CAN YOU GUESS WHAT THIS IS?

New Cook County Correctional Center, Chicago , Illinois

( I guess if I ever break the law, I'd better do it in Illinois!
Homeless people should have it so good!)
Once again the taxpayer gets stung.

It also shows that in most cases the quality of life for prisoners has improved considerably from what you might expect.
And I always thought prison was for punishment.!!!!!
Just in case you ever get these two environments mixed up, this comparison chart should make things a little bit clearer:

@ PRISON You spend most of your time in a 10X10 cell	@ WORK You spend most of your time in a 6X6 cubicle
@ PRISON You get three fully paid for meals a day	@ WORK You get a break for one meal, and you have to pay for it
@ PRISON For good behavior, you get time off	@ WORK For good behavior, you get more work
@ PRISON The guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you	@ WORK You must carry a security card and open all the doors yourself
@ PRISON You can watch TV and play games	@ WORK You could get fired for watching TV and playing games
@ PRISON You get your own toilet	@ WORK You have to share the toilet with People who pee on the seat
@ PRISON They allow your family and friends to visit	@ WORK You aren't even supposed To speak to your family
@ PRISON All expenses are paid by the taxpayers with no work required on your part	@ WORK You must pay all your expenses to go To work, and they deduct taxes from Your salary to pay for prisoners
@ PRISON You spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out	@ WORK You spend most of your time wanting To get out and go inside bars

Looks like a hell of a place to live, eh?

Training for Congress

2008-07-12T21:23:00.002-05:00

Just trying to help those of you who might want to learn a new trade.

An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun
in one hand pulling a male buffalo with the other.
He says to the waiter:

'Want coffee.'

The waiter says, 'Sure, Chief. Coming right up.'

He gets the Indian a tall mug of coffee.
The Indian drinks the coffee down in one gulp,
turns and blasts the buffalo with the shotgun,
causing parts of the animal to splatter everywhere
and then just walks out.

The next morning the Indian returns.
He has his shotgun in one hand, pulling
another male buffalo with the other.
He walks up to the counter and says to
the waiter

'Want coffee.'

The waiter says 'Whoa, Tonto!

We're still cleaning up your mess from yesterday.

What was all that about, anyway?'

The Indian smiles and proudly says ..

! ;

'Training for position in United States Congress:
Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull,
leave mess for others to clean up,
disappear for rest of day.

NOZZLERAGE!!

2008-07-10T18:31:00.000-05:00

Don't be a victim.

Insightful, accurate commentary about U.S. politics from...Egypt

2008-07-10T16:35:00.002-05:00

I think Americans tend to underestimate forigners a great deal. this Egyptian has an amazingly accurate grasp of our presidential politics, this is definitely a worthwhile read.

Advice for tourists in the African bush

2008-07-10T09:34:00.003-05:00

My Uncle sent me this little tidbit of advice for those visiting the African plain. (click on pic for a larger image)

Rodent abatement advice

2008-07-09T17:34:00.003-05:00

In my humble opinion, these are a better choice than these in ridding your home of rodents, most people want to get rid of mice because of the damage mice can to to your home, if your solution to the problem damages yourself, your family, and your home worse than the rodents themselves, perhaps you should form a better plan of attack.

If you have, say, a wild boar infestation in your living room, okay, I can see using a .44mag. or a wild bear infestation in the kitchen, yeah, sure. But mice? c'mon now.....

I'm no tech wiz

2008-07-07T09:30:00.002-05:00

But I humbly suggest you get firefox 3, you will like the speed, and the security.

read c/net story on internet explorers chronic security flaws

Happy Independence day

2008-07-04T08:54:00.003-05:00

stolen from Bloviating zeppelin

Lord who grants salvation to kings and dominion to rulers, Whose kingdom is a kingdom spanning all eternities; Who places a road in the sea and a path in the mighty waters - may you bless the President, the Vice President, and all the constituted officers of government of this land. May they execute their responsibilities with intelligence, honor and compassion. And may these United States continue to be the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Independence day prayer stolen from Yid with lid

I like guns too Jackie

2008-07-03T07:52:00.000-05:00

Hope and Change

2008-07-01T18:44:00.003-05:00

I think I found the demographic that Obamessiah's message appeals to.

Despite the anxieties of these times, happiness has been on the rise around the world in recent years, a new survey finds.
The United States ranks 16th.

Previous research has found that happiness is partly inherited and that money doesn't buy much of it.

and here's the juicy part:

A survey released last week found one reason America doesn't top the list: Baby Boomers are generally miserable compared to other generations. Further, a public opinion poll released by the Pew Research Center in April found that 81 percent of Americans say they believe the country is on the "wrong track." The response is the most negative in the 25 years pollsters have asked the question.

Yup, the boomers, the generation that had everything handed to them, who've lived in the most prosperous times of the most prosperous country. America's whiny-assed generation. go figure.

source

WAKE UP AMERICA!

2008-06-30T21:15:00.003-05:00

three stories, from just one news website, on one day, just bowled me over. I dunno whether to laugh, cry, spit in somebody's eye, slap myself, or puke. read this bullshit!
story 1

story 2

story 3

The coming world order government

2008-06-29T13:07:00.002-05:00

Socialism on a global scale, bought and paid for by your tax dollars, coming to you (or, is that FOR you?). does anybody care about the USA, our personal freedoms outlined in our Constitution? are we going to allow politicians to throw that all down the shitter by treaty? it's looking like it.

Read this

The right to keep and bear arms

2008-06-27T20:40:00.003-05:00

Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.

~ Thomas Jefferson ~

FIREARMS REFRESHER COURSE

1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone

3. Colt: The original point and click interface.

4. Gun control is not about guns; it’s about control.

5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?

6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.

7. If you don’t know your rights, you don’t have any.

8. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.

9. What part of ’shall not be infringed’ do you not understand?

10 The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.

11. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.

12. Guns have only two enemies; rust and politicians.

13. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.

14. You don’t shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

15. 911: Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.

16. Assault is a behavior, not a device.

17. Criminals love gun control; it makes their jobs safer.

18. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.

19. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.

20. You have only the rights you are willing to fight for.

21. Enforce the gun control laws we ALREADY have; don’t make more.

22. When you remove the people’s right to bear arms, you create slaves.

23. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

The 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the Unites State of America: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Stolen from Texas Fred

Hooray for Gov. Jindal!

2008-06-26T15:33:00.002-05:00

Jindal condemns Supreme Court, signs castration bill
Governor glad for new law to punish sex offenders on same day as 'atrocious ruling'

Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court announced it struck down the death penalty for child rape in his state, Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal signed a bill authorizing castration of sexual offenders.

You just gotta love this guy, wish he was our Pres. nominee!!

read story

The symbol of the 2008 presidential elections

2008-06-24T21:40:00.004-05:00

This, is IT, IT should be the symbol of this year's Presidential election!! since we are gonna get hosed no matter the outcome.....

picture source

This ought to be used extensively throughout Washington! in the white house, in congress, in the senate! in the supreme court too!! there is entirely too much shit stopping up too much plumbing all over Washington!! if this can be used to cleanse the cranial cavity of our leaders, by all means, USE IT!!

Humor, too close to the truth?

2008-06-24T21:17:00.003-05:00

The life and times of a self-absorbed jackass

2008-06-18T16:05:00.003-05:00

Do you want a DVD of a self-absorbed prick telling you how he's going to save you from yourself? In a genuine fake leather case? then go here.

Hat tip: MK Ham

Ayatollah Sistani is smarter than a 5th grader, are you?

2008-06-15T15:08:00.002-05:00

Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani knows politicians make false promises just because they are power hungry bastards who will say anything to get elected. Do you?

In a recent comment by his representative, Ayatollah Sistani told Iraqi officials not worry about the politicians who are running on a cut and run platform (Obama)...
They are just saying that because it's election time

"The pledges to withdraw from Iraq given by (officials) from occupation forces countries are only for elections sake ", Ahmed al-Safi, a representative of Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, said at Friday prayer speech in Karbala.
The cleric noted "the reality of their pledges is that they desire their troops to stay in (Iraq)".

former Obama advisor, Samantha Power, said the same thing to the BBC before she was let go by the Obama campaign:

The only thing I believe Obama on is his desire to raise taxes, disarm the U.S. in the face of hostile enemies, keep us from energy independence, and piss money away on the popular hysteria of the month, global warming, so he can help his buddy Al Gore make millions on our tax dollars.

source: Gateway pundit

Read 'em and weep

2008-06-12T15:57:00.002-05:00

Two good posts worth reading. Abouna Gregori on the origins of political correctness, and Bloviating Zeppelin on some of the sad results of said political correctness. our insane energy policy that takes a backseat to environmental hysterics.
For entertainment, we have Jackie and Dunlap's take on Obama's refusal to go to Iraq.

You'll never see two roosters walking arm in arm

2008-06-07T16:59:00.005-05:00

The very basic truth

2008-06-06T17:05:00.004-05:00

You've got to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

I'm adding this video I stole from Gayle's blog to show what's in the bargain, a fool, who thinks if we just disarm ourselves the world will love us! what a dumbass.

Farewell HamNation

2008-06-06T13:29:00.004-05:00

The best, and sadly, the last HamNation is good 'un! we're going to miss your posts and videos at Townhall.
Congratulations on the new Job at the D.C. Examiner.

I found another good Obama video:

Parenting skills, and the lack thereof

2008-06-02T20:06:00.002-05:00

Now that we can watch TV and see there are MANY people who are NOT smarter than a 5th grader, we have this story of an 8 year old girl from Indiana that begs the question, How stupid can humans get? really? and how do you protect the stupid from themselves? sue toy companies? I mean shit, if a kid will swallow magnets and ball bearings they will swallow anything, rocks, broken glass, whatever.
what ever happened to teaching kids the difference between food and hardware?

Thanklessness

2008-05-31T19:17:00.003-05:00

Update: this was one of those random E-mails I get and it was supposed to be written by Jay Leno, but I've now had time to source this and it was written by Craig R Smith.

'The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll
data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true, given the source,
right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the
direction the country is headed, and 69 percent of the country is unhappy
with the performance of the President. In essence, 2/3's of the citizenry
just isn't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What are we so
unhappy about?''

Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week?

Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and
heating in the winter?

Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time, and see
more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic
Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through
each state?

Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the
way that can provide temporary shelter?

I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the
world is just not good enough.

Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and
provide services to help all, and even send a helicopter to take you to the
hospital.

P erhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may
be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of
trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to
extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.

Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or
prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest
will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping
and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers
own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy
that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has
ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for
its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the
world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate
about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the President who took us into war and has no
plan to get us out? The President who has a measly 31 percent approval
rating? Is this the same President who guided the nation in the dark days
after 9/11? The President that cut taxes to bring an economy out of rec
ession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the
book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from
terrorist attacks?

The Commander-In-Chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending
you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show?
Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a
look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?

Think about it...are you upset at the President because he actually caused
you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to
kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have
volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom.
There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go.

They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' d
ischarge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a
''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of
Americans? Say what you want, but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds,
it leads; and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash
with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the
corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations.
They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by
'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a
murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about 'how he didn't kill his
wife, but if he did he would have done it this way'...Insane!

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the
TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird
cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is
exponentially more good than bad.

We are among the most blessed people on Earth, and should thank God several
times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.

'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding,
severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and
with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attac ks, 'Are we sure this is a
good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

Energy production activisim

2008-05-27T16:53:00.002-05:00

Do you think producing more energy stateside might be a good idea? Do you think less dependence on foreign dictators might be a good idea? then check this out

Our self-destucting country

2008-05-19T10:07:00.002-05:00

Because I couldn't say it better myself, I'm referring you to Fr. Gregori

The blame game

2008-05-14T14:48:00.002-05:00

Time to suck it up and take responsibility for our actions America!
Why do we have a government that behaves like a spoiled bratchild? because WE elected f--kin idiots into office! we value beauty over brains! WHY! WTF for? what's next? elect Paris Hilton as President? sadly, I don't see that too far from the truth. look at who we weeded out and who we kept this primary season!
Why do kids shoot up their school? because their parents did not bother to instill values in them, and probably let the TV babysit them at every opportunity. why are kids today so stupid? because we let stupid people run the DOE, and the school boards, and let our schools buy history textbooks from revisionists, social studies curricula from communist social engineers. What the hell is wrong with us? why are we allowing the globalist agenda to march forward undeterred by even a few questions about the future, and what that might mean? why did we allow ourselves to get addicted to foreign oil? and refuse to produce oil on our own, which our fathers used to do? even in light of today's prices nobody even wants to consider opening production and our government continues to vote against any such proposal. thank you representatives!
We are trading our freedoms for a few promises of free shit from a government that can't deliver, and we KNOW IT!! why don't we do something about it?