I am all for being able to get down my street to my house. I am also for great traffic flow.
Read the article by clicking on the link above, then tell me that this was about parking!
Really now. What sheriff or police officer will knock on a person's door and ask the owner of the home if singing, praying, bible reading, in short religious activity is going on in the home? What business is it of anyone what kind of assembly is going on (unless it is homeland terrorism, of course)?
The pastor's wife said nothing was said about parking. That tells me that it wasn't about parking. it was ALL about a religious assembly.
America, we've got a problem. We have given Satan the foothold he needs and now it's all about him.
The truly sad thing is, all the persecution going on around the world has exploded the numbers of Christian believers. Persecution breeds strong feelings and we Christians just do not have those strong feelings anymore. We are sick with apathy. We'll be outraged for a second when a TV news story blasts into our living room, but we don't get passionate enough to write our congressmen, or those who are impinging upon our right to freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and freedom to worship the way we see fit. Hundreds of thousands of American boys fought and died for those rights and we're letting them slip through our fingers.
Memorial Day
I just wanted to say a public THANK YOU to all those who have fought for my freedom, and to all the families that have lost loved ones so that I can worship the way I am called, work where I am called, and live where it pleases me and my LORD.
It isn't free, but by the grace of God and the lives of many, we do have it. I pray that we appreciate it and that we don't legislate it away. I pray that Christians will pray for the leaders of our country so that we may remain the land of the free and the home of the brave.
It isn't free, but by the grace of God and the lives of many, we do have it. I pray that we appreciate it and that we don't legislate it away. I pray that Christians will pray for the leaders of our country so that we may remain the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Twitter Tweet Tweet
Groan...
Oh, no. I heard how you said that and it wasn't anything like the way I said it. Say it again, and draw it out... long, and loud and clear. It isn't a laugh, Mary Poppins.
Actually, it's Feed the Birds time. Someone just put another thing about Twitter on my group Christians Authors, Editors, Publishers, and Bloggers at LinkedIn.
Why is this craze so crazy? Can anyone tell me in 25 words or less what is so great about hearing other people's conversations? Is it the thrill of eavesdropping? Is it because people like Neil Diamond will Tweet your cell? That sounds kind of nasty, doesn't it? Neil tweets and tweeted or is it twittered when he signed another contract with Columbia Records... this time, I think for 7 years. I love Neil! I'm delighted for him, and me so I can go buy more records. Excuuuuuuse me, CDs. We don't have those old fashioned vinyl things anymore.
Over in my CASA group, they are telling me that iTwitter is something ever Exec Director should do because it is a useful business tool. How? Explanations be hanged. They couldn't generate enough excitement in me to rush out and do the Twitter Thang.
And while we're on social interaction junk, what about Facebook? I'm on that and I get email about every half hour from friends wanting me to do this or fill in that or (and I did like this) wishing me happy birthday. If we don't be very careful, we won't have time for any work at all we'll be doing the Tag Thang all day long. Okay, I'm done venting for the moment.
No. Wait. There's more to this diatribe.
I've discovered I am Aunt Ruby. I realize you don't have time in your busy day, what with all the Twittering and Facing going on, so I'll explain. Steve Thomas of Oneicity tells us to ask our Aunt Ruby to make a donation to our charity. Then we are to just listen, don't do any explaining, no hinting, no telling her which button to click or even how to find our website. It's even better if you can record the hunt to give.
That's me. I'm Aunt Ruby. I am floating around in the sea of technology and getting absolutely no where. I must spend a great deal of my time for work on my computer, and I really like being Aunt Ruby who can't even find the button to click to give to her niece's charity. If I were that savvy, then I'd never get any work done.
If that sounds witchy, I'm sorry. Stop already with the advancement of technology. I've been marooned on the moon with Will Robinson's robot. Danger, Will Robinson, danger. The Birds are flocking and I'm going Psycho trying to escape throug the Rear Window, but The Rope has suddenly come alive and I just know I'll go down the 39 Steps and find my self in the Family Plot.
Yeah, I would have done Twilight Zone, but I couldn't remember any names of the episodes! Oh... wait... let me pull up the internet and Google it.... yeah... that's the ticket... pass me my cell phone, I've got to make sure the battery is charged...
Oh, no. I heard how you said that and it wasn't anything like the way I said it. Say it again, and draw it out... long, and loud and clear. It isn't a laugh, Mary Poppins.
Actually, it's Feed the Birds time. Someone just put another thing about Twitter on my group Christians Authors, Editors, Publishers, and Bloggers at LinkedIn.
Why is this craze so crazy? Can anyone tell me in 25 words or less what is so great about hearing other people's conversations? Is it the thrill of eavesdropping? Is it because people like Neil Diamond will Tweet your cell? That sounds kind of nasty, doesn't it? Neil tweets and tweeted or is it twittered when he signed another contract with Columbia Records... this time, I think for 7 years. I love Neil! I'm delighted for him, and me so I can go buy more records. Excuuuuuuse me, CDs. We don't have those old fashioned vinyl things anymore.
Over in my CASA group, they are telling me that iTwitter is something ever Exec Director should do because it is a useful business tool. How? Explanations be hanged. They couldn't generate enough excitement in me to rush out and do the Twitter Thang.
And while we're on social interaction junk, what about Facebook? I'm on that and I get email about every half hour from friends wanting me to do this or fill in that or (and I did like this) wishing me happy birthday. If we don't be very careful, we won't have time for any work at all we'll be doing the Tag Thang all day long. Okay, I'm done venting for the moment.
No. Wait. There's more to this diatribe.
I've discovered I am Aunt Ruby. I realize you don't have time in your busy day, what with all the Twittering and Facing going on, so I'll explain. Steve Thomas of Oneicity tells us to ask our Aunt Ruby to make a donation to our charity. Then we are to just listen, don't do any explaining, no hinting, no telling her which button to click or even how to find our website. It's even better if you can record the hunt to give.
That's me. I'm Aunt Ruby. I am floating around in the sea of technology and getting absolutely no where. I must spend a great deal of my time for work on my computer, and I really like being Aunt Ruby who can't even find the button to click to give to her niece's charity. If I were that savvy, then I'd never get any work done.
If that sounds witchy, I'm sorry. Stop already with the advancement of technology. I've been marooned on the moon with Will Robinson's robot. Danger, Will Robinson, danger. The Birds are flocking and I'm going Psycho trying to escape throug the Rear Window, but The Rope has suddenly come alive and I just know I'll go down the 39 Steps and find my self in the Family Plot.
Yeah, I would have done Twilight Zone, but I couldn't remember any names of the episodes! Oh... wait... let me pull up the internet and Google it.... yeah... that's the ticket... pass me my cell phone, I've got to make sure the battery is charged...
Knock out punch for the "gay gene" theory
Here is another American Psychological Assoc. admission which will go overwhelmingly under-reported because it goes against the gay agenda.
The APA states that there is actually no real evidence that there is a gene which causes homosexuality or gender confusion. Too many homosexuals have left that particular lifestyle (struggle or not, they set the lifestyle behind them) through "reparative therapy or through a relationship with Jesus Christ," so says Liberty Councils's Matt Barber.
This "gay gene" theory has been the cornerstone for the homosexual agenda for more than a decade. I remember when it came out. There was an article in Discover Magazine which showed pictures of a professed homosexual man's brain and the brain of a heterosexual man. The different colors were supposed to represent the homosexual tendencies. They received so much mail from accredited scientists, they had to retract almost the whole article in the next issue.
God changes the man or woman, it seems He can also change the minds of the APA.
The APA states that there is actually no real evidence that there is a gene which causes homosexuality or gender confusion. Too many homosexuals have left that particular lifestyle (struggle or not, they set the lifestyle behind them) through "reparative therapy or through a relationship with Jesus Christ," so says Liberty Councils's Matt Barber.
This "gay gene" theory has been the cornerstone for the homosexual agenda for more than a decade. I remember when it came out. There was an article in Discover Magazine which showed pictures of a professed homosexual man's brain and the brain of a heterosexual man. The different colors were supposed to represent the homosexual tendencies. They received so much mail from accredited scientists, they had to retract almost the whole article in the next issue.
God changes the man or woman, it seems He can also change the minds of the APA.
25 things my mother taught me
Got this again this year, but for some reason it was a lot funnier... I've actually said these things!
25 REASONS I'VE LEARNED TO APPRECIATE MY MOTHER:
1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE . 'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.'
2. My mother taught me RELIGION. 'You better pray that will come out of the carpet.'
3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL . 'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'
4. My mother taught me LOGIC. ' Because I said so, that's why '
5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC . 'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me.'
6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT. 'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'
7. My mother taught me IRONY 'Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about.'
8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. 'Shut your mouth and eat your supper.'
9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM . 'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!'
10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
'You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone.'
11. My mother taught me about WEATHER. 'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'
12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY. 'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'
13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE . 'I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.'
14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. 'Stop acting like your father!'
15. My mother taught me about ENVY. 'There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do.'
16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. 'Just wait until we get home.'
17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING . 'You are going to get it when you get home!'
18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE. 'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.'
19. My mother taught me ESP.. 'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'
20. My mother taught me HUMOR. 'When that lawn mower cuts off your foot, don't come running to me.'
21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT . 'If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.'
22. My mother taught me GENETICS. 'You're just like your father.'
23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS. 'Shut that door behind you.. Do you think you were born in a barn?'
24. My mother taught me WISDOM. 'When you get to be my age, you'll understand.'
25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE 'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you.'
25 REASONS I'VE LEARNED TO APPRECIATE MY MOTHER:
1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE . 'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.'
2. My mother taught me RELIGION. 'You better pray that will come out of the carpet.'
3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL . 'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'
4. My mother taught me LOGIC. ' Because I said so, that's why '
5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC . 'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me.'
6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT. 'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'
7. My mother taught me IRONY 'Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about.'
8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. 'Shut your mouth and eat your supper.'
9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM . 'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!'
10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
'You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone.'
11. My mother taught me about WEATHER. 'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'
12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY. 'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'
13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE . 'I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.'
14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. 'Stop acting like your father!'
15. My mother taught me about ENVY. 'There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do.'
16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. 'Just wait until we get home.'
17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING . 'You are going to get it when you get home!'
18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE. 'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.'
19. My mother taught me ESP.. 'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'
20. My mother taught me HUMOR. 'When that lawn mower cuts off your foot, don't come running to me.'
21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT . 'If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.'
22. My mother taught me GENETICS. 'You're just like your father.'
23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS. 'Shut that door behind you.. Do you think you were born in a barn?'
24. My mother taught me WISDOM. 'When you get to be my age, you'll understand.'
25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE 'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you.'
Craigslist gives in, will shut down Erotic Services section - Ars Technica
"Craigslist is ditching the Erotic Services..." NOT.
Isn't it lovely that Craigslist is buckling under to the pressure exerted by the feds and 40 something states' attorney generals? Yes, they are getting rid of the "in plain sight" ads, but they will be opening an adult section to Craigslist and then business as usual.
I'm not surprised since the erotic industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. Americans are proving over and over the god of America is Pursuit of Pleasure, no matter how temporary that pleasure is. However, Craigslist does report a 90% drop in erotic listings. That is because they can backtrack credit card and phone numbers. Interesting.
Today, the government can read the wine label off the wine bottle on your backyard table, can hear your phone conversations, and can't seem to get a handle on pornography. Ah, well. These are the times that try men's souls. (Was that Charles Dickens?)
There is some good news. The pursuit of pedophiles by NBC and ABC magazine reporters has truly paid off. Pedophile sites have dropped in number, which was reported on NBC the other day, but I can't find a source to confirm that. It makes sense though, because we certainly watched numerous men get caught (almost with their pants down), on camera pursuing underage girls. I take my hat off in congratulations to those reporters who exposed a growing problem in America with results. That's a good thing.
Isn't it lovely that Craigslist is buckling under to the pressure exerted by the feds and 40 something states' attorney generals? Yes, they are getting rid of the "in plain sight" ads, but they will be opening an adult section to Craigslist and then business as usual.
I'm not surprised since the erotic industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. Americans are proving over and over the god of America is Pursuit of Pleasure, no matter how temporary that pleasure is. However, Craigslist does report a 90% drop in erotic listings. That is because they can backtrack credit card and phone numbers. Interesting.
Today, the government can read the wine label off the wine bottle on your backyard table, can hear your phone conversations, and can't seem to get a handle on pornography. Ah, well. These are the times that try men's souls. (Was that Charles Dickens?)
There is some good news. The pursuit of pedophiles by NBC and ABC magazine reporters has truly paid off. Pedophile sites have dropped in number, which was reported on NBC the other day, but I can't find a source to confirm that. It makes sense though, because we certainly watched numerous men get caught (almost with their pants down), on camera pursuing underage girls. I take my hat off in congratulations to those reporters who exposed a growing problem in America with results. That's a good thing.
The Barna Group - Most American Christians Do Not Believe that Satan or the Holy Spirit Exist
The Barna Group - Most American Christians Do Not Believe that Satan or the Holy Spirit Exist
What is terrifying to me is that 1/4 of Americans who describe themselves as Christians, do not believe God is the All Powerful Supreme Being who created the universe. They describe Him as “everyone is god”, “he is the realization of human potential”.
Oh, my goodness, where are we going?
I believe that this new survey by the Barna Group is clearly indicative of why we’ve found ourselves in the gutter covered in filth. Here is why:
Four out of ten Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” An additional two out of ten Christians (19%) said they “agree somewhat” with that perspective. A minority of Christians indicated that they believe Satan is real by disagreeing with the statement: one-quarter (26%) disagreed strongly and about one-tenth (9%) disagreed somewhat. The remaining 8% were not sure what they believe about the existence of Satan.
I know precisely where this comes from. It comes from mothers not teaching their children, from fathers setting bad examples and from parents not taking their children to church, and from Sunday School teachers not adhering The Word. We Christians are at fault.
We have lost the urgency and love for the lost. We think that because someone professes Jesus, he or she is a full-blood brother or sister. It is not so.
Statistics like this frighten me, yet it will get a lot worse. This earth will never get better because it is ruled by the Father of Lies. What can we do? Oh, Lord God, what can we do?
Father, forgive us. Hear our prayer as you heard Daniel.
O Lord, the great and awesome God, keeping the covenant and mercy to those who love Him, and to those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Your commandments and from Your judgments. Neither have we listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our forefathers, our rulers, and our presidents, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us the shame of our faces, as it is today to the people of America. and to all who are near and who are afar off, through all the countries where You have driven them because of their sin which they have sinned against You. O Lord, shame of face belongs to us, to our kings, to our rulers, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against Him. We have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God, to walk in His Laws which He set before us by His servants the prophets.
Yea, all America has transgressed Your Law, and turned aside, that they might not obey Your voice. Therefore the curse has been poured out on us, and the oath that is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him. And He has confirmed His Words which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us. Yet we did not make our prayer before Jehovah our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand Your truth. For Jehovah our God is righteous in all His works which He does; but we are not obeying His voice. And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out from the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and brought fame to Yourself down through the ages, as it is today, we have sinned, we have done wrong. Lord, I pray You, according to all Your righteousness let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from America, the country built on You as a foundation.
And now, O our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, filled with holy desires, and cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O my God, bow down Your ear and hear. Open Your eyes and behold for we do not present our prayers before You on account of our righteousness, but because of Your great mercies.
O Jehovah, hear; O Jehovah, forgive; O Jehovah, listen and do. Do not delay, for Your own sake, O my God; for Your country and Your people are called by Your name.
In Jesus name, for His sake. Amen and Amen. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly.
Meeting the God of America
I need some serious critiquing for this project. I will be submitting this in a few days and I would like your honest critique of it. Where could I make it better? Does it flow well? Are the bridges built well? Etc... Thank you in advance!
A question of faith
Meeting the God of America
When the tank is dry…
The unsatisfied soul is a train wreck waiting to happen… it is the broken tracks that derail an otherwise pretty good life, or so the world may think. Add fear to dissatisfaction and we have a sure fire derailment with a huge casualty list. It creates a life that is completely useless because one who is not satisfied cannot satisfy.
The reasons for dissatisfaction are wide and varied, but it when the water has boiled away, the kernel of truth left is there is a lack of something. It is quite surprising that Americans have this dissatisfaction in their hearts. After all, America is the land of milk and honey. Americans have more pocket change than most of the world has in a week. Why do Americans have such cravings that no amount of new clothes, new cars, new toys, new sex, husband, wife, children, work, hobby or church activity can satisfy? The answer lies in a hole in the soul.
There is a chasm so deep and so wide that all of creation cannot fill it up. Mankind tries to fill it up because it hurts, and it cries to be filled. This abyss is located in man’s soul. It is precisely why, down through the ages, mankind has devised so many different things to fill up this hole. Two things which man tries to use are Fortune and Destiny. These are so primordial that they are mentioned in various ancient texts including the Holy Bible.
For the most part, Americans give evidence that they worship these gods more than any other. The question is why do so many put faith in what has proven very fickle down through the ages? Humans would rather put faith in something seen and that can be touched rather than in the invisible. However, that is not faith. It is worship of the work of man’s hands in the case of Fortune. In the case of the demon Destiny, that god is credited with how things turn out. “It just wasn’t in the cards. It was fate.”
Seeds of discontent germinate when satisfaction is tasted, but not savored and fully digested. Cravings keep driving a person without giving any direction to where it can be satisfied. This causes that circle of despair which has no egress. This is what causes Americans to put faith in what the moth can destroy and hope in what can be gone in a moment. Those things have no eyes to see the despair and troubles, no ears to hear the cry for help and no hand to reach down and comfort. Yet, Americans keep driving down an empty road searching for the elusive prize of satisfaction.
This quest for Satisfaction rules the hearts of most humans. Hungry, we reach for something to eat, thirsty something to drink, cold we turn up the heat, hot we crank up the air conditioner. It seems to be the god of most Americans. Our forefathers are rolling in their graves, so to speak, at what America puts first. Our nation was built on Biblical principles by Christian men and women. Satan’s lie is that it was not. One has only to do a bit of reading of historical speeches and writings of John Hancock, John Adams, Sam Adams, and many others to know that the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Matthew, Mark, Paul and John was also the God of our forefathers. Nonetheless, today the battle cry is not Give me liberty or give me death. It is king size it and I’ll have it my way for if it feels good, I’ll just do it, because I deserve a break today. Regardless of lessons from times past, people have not learned how to let history be a teacher.
Shake Well
Anna Nicole, Brittney Spears, Lindsey Lohan. Everybody knows them. They’re famous. One is dead and not even she knew who the father of that precious baby of hers was. No one knew until after she was dead. The other two are traveling a road that is fraught with pitfalls. All because they are searching for something they cannot find. Five years or ten years from now there will be other famous people traveling down this same road, and they keep searching.
Where is their security? Brittney was raised in a Christian home, and at one time in her life knew what Christian living was like -- at least that’s what she said. Who knows about Lindsey? It is so sad what I see in their lives; the choices they have made. For it truly is a choice how we live our lives and how we align our priorities. Our forefathers could recognize Truth when they saw it, but today we are told truth is relative.
Too many people believe a good and loving God would never allow troubles or problems. Some believe that all troubles are the result of sin, when in fact, it is because the one true God is good and loving that there are troubles. One reason for the predicaments we face is that they are common to man. There are many whose problems seem greater and quite a few who we think we should be blessed with their problems, and their money. Give a person a lot of money and unlock all restrictions and there goes a walking time bomb. Too many of the rich and famous have the world on a string: Great job, beautiful home, the things that make life grand. They suck down temporary pleasure, listening to the call of the world becoming mesmerized by the world like some cobra charmed by the charmer. We all know who that charmer is. It would seem that pursuit of satisfaction is their life journey and Personal Pleasure is their god.
But, their trials are really no different than what you and I face day to day. Sure, it boils down to choices, but if you are breathing, you have problems. We all have problems. Some people’s problems seem bigger than other people’s problems. They are not. Centuries ago one man wrote, You have been put to no test but such as is common to man: and God is true, who will not let any test come on you which you are not able to undergo; but he will make with the test the way out of it, so that you may be able to go through it.
Troubles follow every human. They serve a purpose whether we realize it or not. Just as we go to school, take tests and move on to the next lesson, so, too, is life. We show up for class every day. The huge question is whether we learn from our troubles or once having passed through that fire must go through it again and again. Troubles are purposed in the Lord. Yes, even those who are not Believers. Most of the time, it takes bringing an unbeliever to a place so low that the only way to look is up before it finally registers that God is the solution to the problems and cares of this world. However, Americans have rebellious hearts.
From as far back in time as 1689 when our ancestors rebelled against England, troubles abounded so the rebels rebelled. But, they all looked to one God. In 1775, John Adams said, “We recognize no sovereign but God, and no king but Jesus!” Inscribed in the front of Thomas Jefferson’s personal bible, “I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our creator.” Patrick Henry quoted both Jeremiah and Matthew in his speech, “It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” Unfortunately, it is only the last that is usually quoted or remembered. George Washington said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” Abraham Lincoln said, “I am busily engaged in study of the Bible.”
Our founding fathers knew who to lean on, who to pray to, who would carry them in times of travails so insidious their lives could have been forfeit. Down through the ages, Americans hark back to those first days of an infant nation, recognizing God as the founder. “It is necessary for the welfare of the nation that men's lives be based on the principles of the Bible. No man, educated or uneducated, can afford to be ignorant of the Bible,” so said Theodore Roosevelt. John F. Kennedy said, “The rights of man come not from the state but from the hand of God.” When the astronauts of Apollo 13 faced certain death, President Nixon called for all Americans to pray for them. It wasn’t to pray to Fortune, or to Destiny, or to any other god. After 911, Congress gathered on the steps in the sun and prayed with one heart for God to protect our nation. That is the one true God of America.
Adrian Rogers once said, “A faith that hasn’t been tested is a faith that cannot be trusted.” Troubles put a person, and a nation, to the sun test. In the first century, potters would fire a pot and if it cracked, would put wax in the crack which would conceal the flaw. If the cracked pot was unfortunate enough to find the sun’s rays, the heat of the sun would melt the wax and the flaw would be exposed. That is where the word, sincere comes from. Sun-tested. Flaws exposed. The difference is that we have the power and the choice to bring our flaws to God to be worked on, smoothed out, fixed, or skimmed off so that all the silver left after the firing is pure and reflective of our Lord. However, many see that as weakness, lack of control, or even giving up freedom. So they buy the seeds and sow discontent within their hearts, never leaving the vicious circle of despair by choice. Their gods never satisfy and the cravings never end.
Troubles also serve another purpose: the Thorn-in-the-side. Those troubles are put there for us to recognize whence our grace and strength comes, not to concentrate on the pain of the trial. It is there to reflect God’s glory to the world. Unfortunately, too many do not see past the pain.
Another purpose is to be the witness by the response to the trouble. Do we react like the seed that fell in the brambles? Get all choked with the cares and worries of the world? Or do we put down our roots, confident in the fact that the one true God is much greater than any problem or trouble? The world sees how we react to our travails and that can be a much more powerful witness than any spoken word.
An extremely good teacher once said, “Sometimes God must shake well before using.” This is why bad things happen to good people. Bad choices make for extremely fruitful seeds of discontent, and life is not fair. It never has been, nor ever will be fair. Our sense of justice gets bruised and we rail at what some suppose God is, that invisible ruler with an iron and irascible fist, because blame is the name of the game. Someone is to blame and it can’t be me, it has got to be God.
Fill ‘er up…
So Americans go about grabbing all they can to stuff into the God-sized hole that He created in our soul when our soul was created. They stuff new clothes and shoes into the hole, or more parties, or boats and cars, or change wives like they change shoes to satisfy that hunger and soothe the ache that bruises our insides. The culprit of dissatisfaction draws us down paths in search of Shangri-La, the greener grass, the things hoped for and things as yet unseen. Americans search for the American dream, yet when things like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 911 disaster, and all kinds of economic distress hit American hearts and minds, Main Streets and kitchen pantries, that is when the hearts of Americans turn to the God with eyes to see the misery, the grace to forgive sin, the hand to lift the fallen underneath their heavy loads. We go back to the foundation laid by our forefathers, all the way back to a hill called Calvary and a blood stained cross. That is what has given us great comfort, great courage, great peace, and that is what fills the God-sized hole.
We live in a land of great freedom and the land of slavery… addictions… bitterness… rage… unforgiveness… all the seeds of the dissatisfied soul. It would be so much easier to let God carry us than for us to walk on our own two feet. God wants to teach our feet to walk on all types of ground—rocky, grassy, soft dirt, swinging bridges, up hill and down vale. He does not intend to carry us our entire lives. We must walk in order to receive God’s blessings. Our founding fathers knew this and gladly suffered frost, heat, bullets, hunger, thirst, inadequate clothing, treasons, life without limbs, and death to give us this legacy of freedom. They did this while trusting and loving God, and giving Him the glory.
Oh, it is so incredibly easy to be sustained by His wonders… to be lifted up by emotions, and to rely upon those fickle feelings rather than to rely upon His word for sustenance and to be filled to bursting with the Truth and the Light of Jesus breath, His word. It is also much easier to enjoy the blessings rather than becoming the blessing. Without investing our lives and becoming the miracle, we cannot be the salt or the light in a dark world. We effectively become stagnant.
In order to move into the Promised Land, the Israelites had to cross the river, take up their swords and follow God’s lead on who to fight when. Just as Egypt was the place of bondage, Canaan was the place of victory and spiritual maturity. We must participate in His will, His commands, His statutes for our own good. And that takes work mixed with believing God. Our fathers believed Him.
With belief, comes action. With action, comes blessing. With blessing, comes pleasure. With pleasure, comes God’s smile… And that is the prize they claimed, then handed down to us! But, even beyond that, we reap all the fruit of the Spirit: Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 meekness, self-control. Against such things there is not a law. All those wonderful things are ours just because we belong to Him, yet how many of us actually have tanks completely full, topped off with this fruit? Why don’t we?
So where does the satisfaction come from? Isa 58:11 And Jehovah shall always guide you, and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
When we run dry, and we always do, we’ve got a huge God who will fill us up, but we’ve got to go to the right place for a fill up… we’ve got to have the right attitude and we’ve got to make sure we’ve got the right motivation in our hearts, but mainly we must continue to make sure our foundation is securely placed upon the Rock as did our forefathers.
A question of faith
Meeting the God of America
When the tank is dry…
The unsatisfied soul is a train wreck waiting to happen… it is the broken tracks that derail an otherwise pretty good life, or so the world may think. Add fear to dissatisfaction and we have a sure fire derailment with a huge casualty list. It creates a life that is completely useless because one who is not satisfied cannot satisfy.
The reasons for dissatisfaction are wide and varied, but it when the water has boiled away, the kernel of truth left is there is a lack of something. It is quite surprising that Americans have this dissatisfaction in their hearts. After all, America is the land of milk and honey. Americans have more pocket change than most of the world has in a week. Why do Americans have such cravings that no amount of new clothes, new cars, new toys, new sex, husband, wife, children, work, hobby or church activity can satisfy? The answer lies in a hole in the soul.
There is a chasm so deep and so wide that all of creation cannot fill it up. Mankind tries to fill it up because it hurts, and it cries to be filled. This abyss is located in man’s soul. It is precisely why, down through the ages, mankind has devised so many different things to fill up this hole. Two things which man tries to use are Fortune and Destiny. These are so primordial that they are mentioned in various ancient texts including the Holy Bible.
For the most part, Americans give evidence that they worship these gods more than any other. The question is why do so many put faith in what has proven very fickle down through the ages? Humans would rather put faith in something seen and that can be touched rather than in the invisible. However, that is not faith. It is worship of the work of man’s hands in the case of Fortune. In the case of the demon Destiny, that god is credited with how things turn out. “It just wasn’t in the cards. It was fate.”
Seeds of discontent germinate when satisfaction is tasted, but not savored and fully digested. Cravings keep driving a person without giving any direction to where it can be satisfied. This causes that circle of despair which has no egress. This is what causes Americans to put faith in what the moth can destroy and hope in what can be gone in a moment. Those things have no eyes to see the despair and troubles, no ears to hear the cry for help and no hand to reach down and comfort. Yet, Americans keep driving down an empty road searching for the elusive prize of satisfaction.
This quest for Satisfaction rules the hearts of most humans. Hungry, we reach for something to eat, thirsty something to drink, cold we turn up the heat, hot we crank up the air conditioner. It seems to be the god of most Americans. Our forefathers are rolling in their graves, so to speak, at what America puts first. Our nation was built on Biblical principles by Christian men and women. Satan’s lie is that it was not. One has only to do a bit of reading of historical speeches and writings of John Hancock, John Adams, Sam Adams, and many others to know that the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Matthew, Mark, Paul and John was also the God of our forefathers. Nonetheless, today the battle cry is not Give me liberty or give me death. It is king size it and I’ll have it my way for if it feels good, I’ll just do it, because I deserve a break today. Regardless of lessons from times past, people have not learned how to let history be a teacher.
Shake Well
Anna Nicole, Brittney Spears, Lindsey Lohan. Everybody knows them. They’re famous. One is dead and not even she knew who the father of that precious baby of hers was. No one knew until after she was dead. The other two are traveling a road that is fraught with pitfalls. All because they are searching for something they cannot find. Five years or ten years from now there will be other famous people traveling down this same road, and they keep searching.
Where is their security? Brittney was raised in a Christian home, and at one time in her life knew what Christian living was like -- at least that’s what she said. Who knows about Lindsey? It is so sad what I see in their lives; the choices they have made. For it truly is a choice how we live our lives and how we align our priorities. Our forefathers could recognize Truth when they saw it, but today we are told truth is relative.
Too many people believe a good and loving God would never allow troubles or problems. Some believe that all troubles are the result of sin, when in fact, it is because the one true God is good and loving that there are troubles. One reason for the predicaments we face is that they are common to man. There are many whose problems seem greater and quite a few who we think we should be blessed with their problems, and their money. Give a person a lot of money and unlock all restrictions and there goes a walking time bomb. Too many of the rich and famous have the world on a string: Great job, beautiful home, the things that make life grand. They suck down temporary pleasure, listening to the call of the world becoming mesmerized by the world like some cobra charmed by the charmer. We all know who that charmer is. It would seem that pursuit of satisfaction is their life journey and Personal Pleasure is their god.
But, their trials are really no different than what you and I face day to day. Sure, it boils down to choices, but if you are breathing, you have problems. We all have problems. Some people’s problems seem bigger than other people’s problems. They are not. Centuries ago one man wrote, You have been put to no test but such as is common to man: and God is true, who will not let any test come on you which you are not able to undergo; but he will make with the test the way out of it, so that you may be able to go through it.
Troubles follow every human. They serve a purpose whether we realize it or not. Just as we go to school, take tests and move on to the next lesson, so, too, is life. We show up for class every day. The huge question is whether we learn from our troubles or once having passed through that fire must go through it again and again. Troubles are purposed in the Lord. Yes, even those who are not Believers. Most of the time, it takes bringing an unbeliever to a place so low that the only way to look is up before it finally registers that God is the solution to the problems and cares of this world. However, Americans have rebellious hearts.
From as far back in time as 1689 when our ancestors rebelled against England, troubles abounded so the rebels rebelled. But, they all looked to one God. In 1775, John Adams said, “We recognize no sovereign but God, and no king but Jesus!” Inscribed in the front of Thomas Jefferson’s personal bible, “I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our creator.” Patrick Henry quoted both Jeremiah and Matthew in his speech, “It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” Unfortunately, it is only the last that is usually quoted or remembered. George Washington said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” Abraham Lincoln said, “I am busily engaged in study of the Bible.”
Our founding fathers knew who to lean on, who to pray to, who would carry them in times of travails so insidious their lives could have been forfeit. Down through the ages, Americans hark back to those first days of an infant nation, recognizing God as the founder. “It is necessary for the welfare of the nation that men's lives be based on the principles of the Bible. No man, educated or uneducated, can afford to be ignorant of the Bible,” so said Theodore Roosevelt. John F. Kennedy said, “The rights of man come not from the state but from the hand of God.” When the astronauts of Apollo 13 faced certain death, President Nixon called for all Americans to pray for them. It wasn’t to pray to Fortune, or to Destiny, or to any other god. After 911, Congress gathered on the steps in the sun and prayed with one heart for God to protect our nation. That is the one true God of America.
Adrian Rogers once said, “A faith that hasn’t been tested is a faith that cannot be trusted.” Troubles put a person, and a nation, to the sun test. In the first century, potters would fire a pot and if it cracked, would put wax in the crack which would conceal the flaw. If the cracked pot was unfortunate enough to find the sun’s rays, the heat of the sun would melt the wax and the flaw would be exposed. That is where the word, sincere comes from. Sun-tested. Flaws exposed. The difference is that we have the power and the choice to bring our flaws to God to be worked on, smoothed out, fixed, or skimmed off so that all the silver left after the firing is pure and reflective of our Lord. However, many see that as weakness, lack of control, or even giving up freedom. So they buy the seeds and sow discontent within their hearts, never leaving the vicious circle of despair by choice. Their gods never satisfy and the cravings never end.
Troubles also serve another purpose: the Thorn-in-the-side. Those troubles are put there for us to recognize whence our grace and strength comes, not to concentrate on the pain of the trial. It is there to reflect God’s glory to the world. Unfortunately, too many do not see past the pain.
Another purpose is to be the witness by the response to the trouble. Do we react like the seed that fell in the brambles? Get all choked with the cares and worries of the world? Or do we put down our roots, confident in the fact that the one true God is much greater than any problem or trouble? The world sees how we react to our travails and that can be a much more powerful witness than any spoken word.
An extremely good teacher once said, “Sometimes God must shake well before using.” This is why bad things happen to good people. Bad choices make for extremely fruitful seeds of discontent, and life is not fair. It never has been, nor ever will be fair. Our sense of justice gets bruised and we rail at what some suppose God is, that invisible ruler with an iron and irascible fist, because blame is the name of the game. Someone is to blame and it can’t be me, it has got to be God.
Fill ‘er up…
So Americans go about grabbing all they can to stuff into the God-sized hole that He created in our soul when our soul was created. They stuff new clothes and shoes into the hole, or more parties, or boats and cars, or change wives like they change shoes to satisfy that hunger and soothe the ache that bruises our insides. The culprit of dissatisfaction draws us down paths in search of Shangri-La, the greener grass, the things hoped for and things as yet unseen. Americans search for the American dream, yet when things like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 911 disaster, and all kinds of economic distress hit American hearts and minds, Main Streets and kitchen pantries, that is when the hearts of Americans turn to the God with eyes to see the misery, the grace to forgive sin, the hand to lift the fallen underneath their heavy loads. We go back to the foundation laid by our forefathers, all the way back to a hill called Calvary and a blood stained cross. That is what has given us great comfort, great courage, great peace, and that is what fills the God-sized hole.
We live in a land of great freedom and the land of slavery… addictions… bitterness… rage… unforgiveness… all the seeds of the dissatisfied soul. It would be so much easier to let God carry us than for us to walk on our own two feet. God wants to teach our feet to walk on all types of ground—rocky, grassy, soft dirt, swinging bridges, up hill and down vale. He does not intend to carry us our entire lives. We must walk in order to receive God’s blessings. Our founding fathers knew this and gladly suffered frost, heat, bullets, hunger, thirst, inadequate clothing, treasons, life without limbs, and death to give us this legacy of freedom. They did this while trusting and loving God, and giving Him the glory.
Oh, it is so incredibly easy to be sustained by His wonders… to be lifted up by emotions, and to rely upon those fickle feelings rather than to rely upon His word for sustenance and to be filled to bursting with the Truth and the Light of Jesus breath, His word. It is also much easier to enjoy the blessings rather than becoming the blessing. Without investing our lives and becoming the miracle, we cannot be the salt or the light in a dark world. We effectively become stagnant.
In order to move into the Promised Land, the Israelites had to cross the river, take up their swords and follow God’s lead on who to fight when. Just as Egypt was the place of bondage, Canaan was the place of victory and spiritual maturity. We must participate in His will, His commands, His statutes for our own good. And that takes work mixed with believing God. Our fathers believed Him.
With belief, comes action. With action, comes blessing. With blessing, comes pleasure. With pleasure, comes God’s smile… And that is the prize they claimed, then handed down to us! But, even beyond that, we reap all the fruit of the Spirit: Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 meekness, self-control. Against such things there is not a law. All those wonderful things are ours just because we belong to Him, yet how many of us actually have tanks completely full, topped off with this fruit? Why don’t we?
So where does the satisfaction come from? Isa 58:11 And Jehovah shall always guide you, and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
When we run dry, and we always do, we’ve got a huge God who will fill us up, but we’ve got to go to the right place for a fill up… we’ve got to have the right attitude and we’ve got to make sure we’ve got the right motivation in our hearts, but mainly we must continue to make sure our foundation is securely placed upon the Rock as did our forefathers.
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