Joel Osteen: God likes you, accepts you, and he approves of you

Jer 23:16  Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. 17  They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, 'It shall be well with you'; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, 'No disaster shall come upon you.'" 

Jer 8:11  They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. 

"HuffPo Live host Josh Zepps quoted from Osteen’s new book: “It doesn’t matter who likes you or who doesn’t like you, all that matters is God likes you. He accepts you, he approves of you.”"

~WND

God likes you? He accepts you? He approves of you? 

Really.

Scripture is clear on how God views the man outside of Christ and it's not pretty:

John 3:36  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Jud 1:14  It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15  to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him." 16  These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

Psa 7:11  God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. 

  

Psa 5:5  The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; You hate all evildoers. 6  You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 

"Hates":  Hebrew: sane: A primitive root; to hate (personally): - enemy, foe, (be) hate (-ful, -r), odious, X utterly.

Rom 9:13  Just as it is written, "JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED." 14  What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 

Jer 14:10  Thus says the LORD concerning this people: "They have loved to wander thus; they have not restrained their feet; therefore the LORD does not accept them; now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins." 11  The LORD said to me: "Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence." 

Even with the widows and orphans, God does not approve or like the wicked ones:

Isa 9:17  Therefore the Lord does not take pleasure in their young men, Nor does He have pity on their orphans or their widows; For every one of them is godless and an evildoer, And every mouth is speaking foolishness. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away  and His hand is still stretched out. 

And among professing Christians:

In Acts 5 God strikes Ananias and his wife Sapphira dead at church because they lied not just to man but to God about the selling price of their plot of land.

Matt 18 teaches about church discipline, stating that if a person refuses to repent of their sins, they are to be excommunicated from the church and treated as an  unbeliever.

1Co 5:1  It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. 2  And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. ...5  you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 

Mat 7:21  "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22  On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23  And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' 

How about in Revelation? Does God approve of everyone there?

Rev 19:11  Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 14  And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15  From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16  On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. 

God only approves of, savingly loves, and is at peace with  the one who is saved by faith in the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ:

Rom 5:1  Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Luk 2:13  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14  "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!" 

Osteen shushes the wicked in one fell sweep by telling them there is no war between them and God. There is no hostility, hatred, or rebellion that needs to be either punished in a biblically just way that either requires eternal punishment or reconcilation through the blood of Christ. Reconciliation necessitates two warring parties, a hostility between the two. This is hardly "approval".

Isa 48:22  "There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked."

Psa 11:5  The LORD tests the righteous, but His soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. 6  Let Him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. 7  For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face. 

Frankly, Osteen sounds a whole lot like Reformergent Tim Keller.

To tell the Christ-rejecter that God loves him is to cauterize his conscience as well as to afford him a sense of security in his sins. The fact is, the love of God is a truth for the saints only, and to present it to the enemies of God is to take the children's bread and to cast it to the dogs. 

~ A.W. Pink

But there's more....

WND's report continues:

Zepps followed up by asking if that [God's liking and approval] included homosexuals.

“Absolutely,” Osteen insisted, “I believe that God has breathed his life into every single person. We’re all on a journey. Nobody’s perfect.”

“But I believe every person is made in the image of God, and you have accept them as they are, on their journey. I’m not here to be preaching hate, pushing people down. I’m not here telling people what they’re doing wrong.”

“I believe the scripture says that being gay is a sin...But my faith is based on what I believe the scripture says, and that’s the way I read the scripture.

End quote.

This wolf is brazen enough to clearly state he's not going to tell people they are wrong. Notice his stand is based on what he believe the Scriptures says, the way he reads it, not the objective, knowable truth of what the Bible actually says. This thinking, is the same as the Gospel Coalition's , Tim Keller's and other leaders in that group. His view of not telling homosexuals that they are in  sin is also just like Keller's.

But saith Scripture?

2Ti 3:16  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17  that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. 

2Ti 4:1  I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2  preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3  For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4  and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 

God doesn't approve of homosexuals. Period. Or liars. Or the sexually immoral. Of sinners. Scripture makes that clear.  And I guess I have to repeat this truth yet again.

1Co 6:9  Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,10  nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

God opposes and condemns homosexuality in every age: in the patriarchs (Genesis 19:1-28); in the Law of Moses (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13); in the Prophets (Ezekiel 16:46-50); inthe New Testament (Romans 1:18-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Jude 7-8)

Being created in the image of God does not necessitate Him liking and approving us. The Flood is proof of that. In fact, because Man is made in the image of God, Man is responsible for his sin before that holy God. "Nobody's perfect and we're all on a journey" is hardly an answer to or justification of such a deviant sin like homosexuality. Being perfect is never the issue because since Adam, we are all born sinners. "Nobody's perfect" is a conversation stopper by those who don't want to be held accountable for their sin before God. 

Osteen seems to be leaning toward Universalism. He claims God likes (that is just such an immature way to even think about God's relationship with man, and frankly quite irreverent and trivial) and approves of  and accepts everyone and that we're all on a journey...what journey? To where, exactly? Is he saying that all people will end up in the place at the end of their lives? That God dismisses various sins and trespasses? That He winks at sin? That sin is really no big deal to God? 

I think the Flood again answers that, as does the return of Jesus Christ when He comes to slay His enemies on Earth.

The Beginning and the End. Genesis and Revelation.

Joh 3:36  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

God is holy, holy, holy and no man can stand before Him in his sin.

“We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”

The games politicians play: Barack Obama is having a lot of fun using the government shutdown to squeeze the public in imaginative ways. The point of the shutdown game is to see who can squeeze hardest, make the most pious speech and listen for the applause. It’s a variation on the grade-school ritual of “you show me yours, and I’ll show you mine.”

President Obama is not a bad poker player, but the man with all the chips always starts with the advantage (and he gets all the aces). He has closed Washington down as tight as he dares, emphasizing the trivial and the petty in making life as inconvenient as he can for the greatest number. It’s all in a noble cause, of course. Access to most of the memorials is limited, and often in curious ways. The Lincoln Memorial is easy to reach, with the streets around it remaining open. But the Martin Luther King Memorial is made difficult to reach, relegating it, you might say, to the back of the bus. Not very nice.

The Park Service appears to be closing streets on mere whim and caprice. 

“It’s a cheap way to deal with the situation,” an angry Park Service ranger in Washington says of the harassment. “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”

Read more at The Washington Times

Federal Shutdown: "We're winning...it doesn't really matter to us"

A quotation from an unnamed senior administration official in today's Wall Street Journal explains why.

Said a senior administration official: "We are winning...It doesn't really matter to us" how long the shutdown lasts "because what matters is the end result."

With this view, it explains why President Obama won't agree to any piecemeal legislation that would keep Veterans Affairs and NIH open during the shutdown. And it explains why President Obama would rather cancel his Asia trip than negotiate with Republicans. 

It's because the White House (or, at least this unnamed official) believe it is "winning" by shutting down the government and blaming Republicans. And when one's winning, he's not likely to change course.

~Weekly Standard 

Like I say, this is all just one big game and we're merely the pawns in this unconstitutional power and money grab.

I'm sure George Washington would've gladly allowed the United States Government to shut down his house.

Right.

Rob Schneider Not Supporting the Democrat Party Any Longer

                                     

[Rob] Schneider hit the scene in the ’90s as a cast member of “Saturday Night Live.” He is now known for his comedic lead movie roles, including Deuce Bigelow, and supporting roles alongside his good friend Adam Sandler.

He credits Sandler for nudging him to the political right, and he is not shy about voicing his disdain for California’s current path.

Schneider told WND he is frustrated that red tape in the policies of Gov. Jerry Brown forced him to move his vitamin business out of California. It became too expensive and time consuming for him  to comply with state regulations.

Brown and the supermajority of Democrats in the legislature, Schneider said, have created a hostile work environment for its most prized industry – filmmaking.

Schneider said that no state has more to offer in terms of talent, climate and resources than California. He wants to do more work in the state but blames the Democrat supermajority and its hostility to business for the the industry’s struggles.

~WND (video at the site)

Among Hollywood celebs that have leaned politically right:

Clint Eastwood,  Patricia Heaton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Angie Harmon, Bruce Willis, Heather Locklear, Tom Selleck,James Woods, Jon Voight, Jeff Foxworthy, Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, Dennis Miller, Adam Baldwin, Kurt Russell, Kirk Cameron, Andy Garcia, Kelsey Grammer, Ron Silver, Ben Stein,Adam Sandler, Scott Baio and Kathy Ireland, Dean Cain, Kevin Sorbo, Jessica Simpson, Jaclyn Smith, Gary Sinise,Drew Carey, Jamie Farr, Lou Ferrigno, Fess Parker and Sylvester Stallone and Heidi Montag, 

For the full list go here.

The New Sexual Revolution: the totalitarianism Trojan horse

Parts of this burgeoning totalitarianism are already evident – like legislation that flat-out prohibits counseling help for minors who want to overcome unwanted same-sex attractions; the prosecution and criminalization of ever-larger numbers of Christian business people for simply declining to promote homosexuality on moral and religious grounds; the new California law decreeing that boys must be allowed to use girls’ restrooms and locker rooms if they identify with the opposite sex, and vice versa; forced integration of open homosexuals into the military; and the imposition on the nation of homosexual marriage.

But as this issue of Whistleblower shows, those are just the issues that have made it into the news cycle. The bigger story – what’s going on behind the scenes, and what’s coming down the tracks – is even more troubling.

“Ironically,” says Whistleblower Editor David Kupelian, “this particular issue – this revolutionary sexual anarchy movement, which more than any other ideology, including Marxism, Islam or atheism, has the potential of permanently corrupting our nation’s core ‘operating system’ called the family – is the one issue that almost everybody is afraid to confront.

~Read more at WND

God has already spoken against homosexual and for traditional family. A country that rejects HIS truth will earn His judgement.

It is beginning.

Peace,Love, and.....Volatile Insults: welcome to the "peace" of Post-Modern Hypocrites

Democrats, who have long posed as the party of peaceniks and doves, have been anything but during the great rhetorical war of 2013. In fact, the party of George McGovern and Jimmy Carter has been mad as hell as of late, leading an offensive of bombastic insults and rhetorical bullying that has dominated the government shutdown. It’s a perfect storm, with Democrats leading the pace.

President Obama called Republicans “reckless and irresponsible,” casting the Grand Old Party in the role of villain. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, referred to Republicans as “anarchists,” and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, deemed Republicans “legislative arsonists.”

~Washington Times

How mad they get when they don't get their way! The generation of "peace","love", and "harmony" never did grow up or gain wisdom and get some manners and respect of others.

There's only "peace" when everyone agrees with them or at least won't fight them. Just like teenagers (or toddlers), when they come across an adult who won't give them everything they want, they have a tantrum.


                         


Yes, as I have been saying myself, liberals are quite the bullies, and frankly some of the most immature, irrational people I've observed. They are also some of the biggest hypocrites.

Acorns and Autumn

                              

Its Fall. I know, because the oak tree next door to us is raining acorns on our roof. Pelting more like. I bet thousands a day are falling. We cleaned up the side yard last month for our daughter's bridal shower. Yesterday I could barely see the concrete it was so heavily covered with leaves and acorns. My work is cut out for me still. Our region is expecting gusting Santa Ana winds to blow tonight and tomorrow. Which means.....more acorns and leaves will be covering us once again.

Oak trees are majestic and beautiful with the classic shape for climbing or handing a swing. But the leaves and acorns hurt if you step on them barefoot. I mean, you just can't run out there barefoot.  Pretty to look at. A bear to live with.

As I write this I hear a wee tap, tap, tap. Turns out it's a  squirrel  munching on one of those acorns.

Yup, Autumn is here.

Acorns keep fallin' on my head....

                          

Chuck Smith Sr. Dies of Lung Cancer

Chuck Smith, Sr., pastor of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, died of lung cancer today at age 86.

                     

I wouldn't want to stand in Chuck Smith's shoes before the thrice Holy God of Israel.

Not to be looked upon in any favor, I believe this man did far more damage than any good.

I went to his church when I was a teenager and  was baptized by one of the youth pastors there. I went to many a Saturday Night Concert, where Contemporary Christian Music was made popular.

And yet I cannot honor this man, because he did not honor Christ.

James 3:1  Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 

Recap:

Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Says “There Are a Lot of Good Mormons Who Do Believe in Jesus and I Believe They'll Be In Heaven”

Chuck Smith Says He Has "The Same Lord and the Same Faith” as His Cousin, Who is a Mother Superior (Nun) in the Roman Catholic Church

"Catholics are basically Christian too"

Chuck Smith advised a pregnant woman, who was told that her baby was likely going to die, that aborting her baby was ok .

Chuck Smith refused to see his son as an apostate even though Chuck Jr. denied a literal hell and believed people were born homosexual and therefore not a choice. He also denies the Genesis account of a literal 6 Day Creation week and instead holds to evolution. He also denies the Rapture. His wife divorced him after 18 years of marriage and then he became depressed and went on psych meds. All of these things happened while he was a pastor. The problem with Sr. is that he refused to see his son as an apostate and as well, felt closer to his son than ever (at the time of the interview).

God takes very seriously anyone who partakes of the Lord's Table in an unworthy manner, but especially a church leader. This passage is still in effect, He has not changed, and we should consider this with the utmost soberness.

1Co 11:27  Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 

1Co 11:28  Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 

1Co 11:29  For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 

1Co 11:30  That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 

And these serious, sobering words from God to the shepherds of Israel still are true today, even of professing Christian pastors:

Jer 23:16  Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. 

Jer 23:17  They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, 'It shall be well with you'; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, 'No disaster shall come upon you.'" 

Jer 23:18  For who among them has stood in the council of the LORD to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened? 

Jer 23:22  But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds. 

Jer 8:11  They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. 

Irritable Bowel Syndrome: there is relief

                                        
For those many who are suffering with this, I hope this might help. Getting healthy is something I've been working on for a while now, and with a family member who has many health issues, I think this is a serious consideration.


IBS contributes to brain fog, metabolic disease, chronic fatigue plus a host of other degenerative diseases. Statistically speaking, IBS affects 10 -15% of the population and, according to conventional health experts 'there is no cure'. Well, that's a lie and natural solutions are available."

~Jonathan Landsman of Natural News

The symptoms that let you know you are likely suffering from irritable bowel syndrome are:

excessive bloating
gas
constipation
diarrhea
a history of antibotic usage
unexplained joint pain
headaches
depression
inability to concentrate
loss of appetite
low energy
frequency of illness due to a compromised immune system

IBS contributs to several degenerative diseases  such as chronic fatigue, metabolic disease, and even brain fog.

You need to heal your gut. Pure and simple.

Landsman tells us, "Normally speaking, our gut is loaded with trillions of microscopic organisms that create a natural ecosystem called the "gut flora". When this inner terrain gets out of balance from consuming too many toxins and being malnourished - chronic gut inflammation will threaten your health."

How do you do rebuild your gut?

Its what you eat and don't eat.

Don't indulge in over-processed junk food which has a lot of chemical preservatives and lacks in nutrients, and avoid genetically-engineered corn, soy, and other GMO by-products like high fructose corn syrup and alcohol.

Do eat whole foods rich in vitamins and minerals. He suggests (as have others) that eating small daily amounts of fermented foods and drinks like sauerkraut or kombucha. Also, load up on raw or at most slightly steamed vegetables, small amounts of fruit and freshly-prepared organic juices and smoothies.


                             

"For a variety of reasons, the food available for purchase today, even if organically grown, is a nutritional shadow of what it was just fifty years ago.  According to one study, to receive the vitamin A content of a single apricot from 1953 would require more than 50 apricots today.  It’s impossible for anyone to expect to fulfill or exceed his or her basic nutritional needs over time given this change in the quality of the food supply, which is why a measured approach needs to be taken to ensure that one’s core nutritional needs are not only met, but exceeded for optimal health.

This approach is the use of at least one core superfood-saturated drink per day.  Superfoods are food substances packed with nutrition—often the nutritional density so many multiples higher than even organically grown common vegetables and fruit that superfood consumption can make the consumption of other foods for nutritional needs almost negligible."

~ Natural News

Don't forget to exercise too. That's important for the whole system to work properly.

Feds Try to Shut Down Mt Vernon and Other Sites Like A Tiny Park for Children

Barrycades: Feds Try to Shut Down Privately Owned Mount Vernon

Also:

- Numerous hiking and biking trails throughout the greater DC region, despite requiring zero immediate maintenance or patrols, have been closed down. Irate citizens are merely flouting the law and using them anyway.

- The NPS has stationed officers along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal that runs 184 miles from Washington, D.C. to Cumberland, Maryland to make sure nobody uses the bike paths. It would have required less manpower to keep this trail open. The handles on all the well pumps have also been removed.

- The feds also shut down a tiny park in which children play on fake turtles, prompting angry mothers to remove the barriers, only to see them put back up. “The park is extremely small and sort of seems pointless to block off,” reports the Daily Caller.

~ Info Wars

Clearly, Obama is faking the government shut down by either creating an entrance and then blocking it, or by closing down sites that have little or in many cases, zero federal employees working the site, to make it appear that the government shut down is huge.

He won't even compromise with the liberal RINOS to fund NIH and its experimental cancer trials for 200 children. He'd rather win his game and lie doing it.

To Obama, we're all just pawns---even an irritation---in his game of politics and power.

Obama should be fired immediately. Yesterday wouldn't be soon enough.

Just Wondering....

How can Obama afford to man all these fake barricades  if there's no money?

The Ministry of the Scriptures

                My Word ... shall not return to Me ... without accomplishing what I desire" (Isa. 55:11)

"Man does not live by bread alone, but ... by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord" (Deut. 8:3).

                                 

The Bible contains many precious promises, two of which relate specifically to itself. First, the prophet Isaiah said that the Word is productive: "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I send it" (Isa. 55:10-11).

As you administer the Word, it may encourage a fellow Christian, bring a sinner to repentance, or even confirm an unbeliever in his sin. Whatever the response, be assured that the Word always accomplishes its intended purpose.

The Word is like a messenger that runs to do God's work: "He sends forth His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly. He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes. He casts forth His ice as fragments; who can stand before His cold? He sends forth His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow. He declares His words to Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances to Israel" (Ps. 147:15-19). Just as God sends the natural elements to accomplish His purposes, He also sends His Word.

The Word is also nourishing. Moses wrote, "Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord" (Deut. 8:3). God's Word feeds believers, causing spiritual growth.


How should you respond to such a powerful and productive Word? Trust it, so you can live each day in confidence. Proclaim it, so others will come to know its author. Obey it, so it can continue its transforming work in you, making you more like Christ each day. 

~John MacArthur, Drawing Near, October 3,2013

GOP Offered to Fund NIH Separately Without Pre-Conditions But Obama and Dems Refused

BASH: But if you can help one child with cancer, why wouldn't you do it?

REID: Why would we want to do that? I have 1100 people at Nellis Air Force Base sitting home. They have problems of their own.

Reid then attacked Bash's intelligence, "For someone of your intelligence to suggest such a thing is irresponsible."

Apparently, Reid sees healthy furloughed workers sitting comfortably at home as equal to children dying of cancer.

~Breitbart (video is there too) (emphasis, mine)

You know what they say: when  you can't win an argument based on merit,   you left to using insults. It's called a logic fallacy. It's also called rude and arrogant and a bad perspective on cancer victims.

Just Wondering....

Why is it that Obama is loath to compromise  to Republican leaders, yet he's willing to do so with Iran?

Honesty and Trust

Examples of honesty and trust abound, but imagine the cost and inconvenience if we couldn't trust anyone. We would have to lug around measuring instruments to make sure that it was in fact 10 gallons of gas and 1 pound of steak that we purchased. 

Honesty and trust come into play in ways that few of us even contemplate. In my neighborhood, workers for FedEx, UPS and other delivery companies routinely leave packages that contain valuable merchandise on the doorstep if no one answers the door. The local supermarket leaves plants, fertilizer and other home and garden items outdoors overnight unattended. What's more, the supermarket displays loads of merchandise at entryways and exits. In neighborhoods where there's less honesty, deliverymen's leaving merchandise on doorsteps and stores leaving merchandise outdoors unattended or at entryways and exits would be equivalent to economic suicide.

Crime, distrust and dishonesty impose huge losses that go beyond those suffered directly. Much of the cost of crime and dishonesty is borne by people who can least afford it -- poor people. It's poor people who have fewer choices and pay higher prices or must bear the transportation costs of going to suburban malls to shop. It's poor people in high-crime neighborhoods who are refused pizza delivery and taxi pickups. The fact that honesty and trust are so vital should make us rethink just how much tolerance we should have for criminals and dishonest people.

~Walter Williams 

"Undying Gratitude": Obama Decided to Block Free and Open Public Access to Memorials

Blocking access really shows our "undying gratitude". Obama indeed  has forgotten disdain for their sacrifices for our country as well as for us citizens...

"The Obama Administration has decided to block access to public memorials on the National Mall as a result of the government shutdown. Like its decision to end White House tours when the sequester cuts took effect, there is no rational reason for this. The Park Police, nominally in charge of monitoring these spaces, isn't even effected by the shutdown. Shutting off access to these sites is gratuitous and petulant. 

The memorial is in a public space and is open 24/7, with almost no oversight from Park Police personnel. (Who, by the way, are exempt from the government shutdown.) 

Having lived in DC for 18 years, I can tell you, the WWII Memorial is simply an architectural structure in an open public space. There is no official "access" to it. There are no guards. It's a building in a park. Yet, the Obama Administration tried to block veterans from viewing the public memorial, even after hearing about the planned visit." 

~Mike Flynn, Breitbart

Flynn is correct. Having spent an entire week in DC, many of the memorials are open-access in parks, which by the way, don't require any personnel.  

Obama had to make up an entrance and then make up barriers then keep them closed, as opposed to just shutting a gate or a door already exists as access to that venue. In other words, Obama takes away open and free access and then claims its now closed, when it never was closed, even at night.

An aerial view of the WWII memorial

A World War II veteran touches one of the wall's within the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C., June 7, 2006. The veteran lost a few of his fingers while deployed to Europe during vietnam. (DoD photo by Spc. Ferdinand Thomas, 214th MPAD, Richmond, Va.) (Released) 

This closing off what was is open and free 24/7, making an artificial entrance, isn't about the government shutting down. It never was. Its definitely not a  need, either, but rather its about the dictatorial bullying of Obama to shove his fist (and wannabe power) in the face of Americans citizens and its war heroes.

**UPDATE**

A new wave of veterans were forced to move barricades at the WWII Memorial in Washington Wednesday morning to gain access during the government slimdown, a spokeswoman from Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., told FoxNews.com. ~Source

More Personnel Sent to WWII Memorial than Benghazi

Shutdown overreach: More personnel sent to WWII memorial than Benghazi; Park Service closes park it doesn't run

The Totality of Sin in Man

While this list was in relation to sin being the deadliest plague of all time and that as Christians we continue to deal with its presence and affects, I think this biblical list how totally depraved man is, particularily the first three:

Sin corrupts the mind (Jer. 17:9; Eph. 4:17-19), 
the will (cf. Jer. 44:16-17),
and the affections (John 3:19; 1 John 2:15).

Sin brings people under the control of Satan (John 8:44; Eph. 2:2)
and makes them the objects of God’s wrath (Eph. 2:3).
Sin robs people of peace (Isa. 48:22) 
and replaces it with misery (Job 5:7; Rom. 8:20).


Clearly there is no such thing as "free will" when our mind, will, and emotions are dead and enslaved to sin.

1Co 2:14  The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Rom 6:6  We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7  For one who has died has been set free from sin. 

Rom 6:16  Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 

The Deadliest Plague

“But I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.” - Romans 7:23

Sin is the deadliest plague ever to affect mankind.

While sin invariably causes physical and (apart from faith in Christ) spiritual death, it has many other devastating consequences. Sin corrupts the mind (Jer. 17:9; Eph. 4:17-19), the will (cf. Jer. 44:16-17), and the affections (John 3:19; 1 John 2:15). Sin brings people under the control of Satan (John 8:44; Eph. 2:2) and makes them the objects of God’s wrath (Eph. 2:3). Sin robs people of peace (Isa. 48:22) and replaces it with misery (Job 5:7; Rom. 8:20).

Although as Christians we experience God’s gracious forgiveness, sin still has serious consequences in our lives. Sin grieves the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30), causes God not to answer our prayers (1 Peter 3:7), limits our ability to serve God (2 Tim. 2:20-21), or even disqualifies some from Christian service (1 Cor. 9:27). It also renders our worship hypocritical and unacceptable (Ps. 33:1; Isa. 1:14), causes God to withhold blessing (Jer. 5:25), robs us of joy (Ps. 51:12), subjects us to God’s chastening (Heb. 12:5-11), hinders our spiritual growth (1 Cor. 3:13), and pollutes our fellowship with Him (1 Cor. 10:21). Most significantly, sin causes our lives to dishonor Him (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

Every true Christian despises sin and yearns to be free from it. Do you realize the deadly nature of sin? I pray that the cry of your heart would echo that of Paul’s: “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24).

~John MacArthur, Strength for Today, October 2,2013

Check Those Facts on Obamacare

The following are some of President Obama's better-known claims, and how they stack up to the facts...(Go here)

Autism

Autism is not sexy to the press, so it is left by the wayside. The fact that it has increased by 1,000 percent in 40 years barely got a blip in the printed or online press.

“It probably had existed before, but no one noticed the pattern,” Guttmacher said.

But according to John Hopkins professor Leo Kanner in 1935, the rate of autism in children was zero prior to 1930. Then in 1930, Thimerosal, a mercury containing preservative, was used in some vaccines.

Today, children could receive close to 9 shots in one visit to the doctor’s office.

In July 1999, the Public Health Service agencies, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and vaccine manufacturers concurred Thimerosal should be eliminated, or at least reduced in vaccines.

~Ellen Ratner, WND

More Professional Typos in the Age of the Computer

I found this today as I was reading about vaccines. Come on professional writers, use that spell check (red squiggly underline) and grammar check (green squiggly underline)! Perhaps the old-fashion editor needs to come back and read every journalists' article.

"However, when it is a bipartisan health issue, no one cares. It just isn’t an something that causes right-left controversy, so no one pays attention."

~Ellen Ratner, WND

Gardasil Vaccine Shown To Be Extremely Dangerous and Deadly: Japan Pulls Recommondationof Gardasil Shots While Obama's Government Continues to Push Its Use

Japanese health officials have recorded nearly 2,000 adverse reactions—hundreds of them serious—in girls who got a dangerous U.S. government-backed cervical cancer vaccine that’s also been linked to thousands of debilitating side effects in this country.

The alarming reports have led Japan’s government to take action, suspending recommendation for the controversial vaccine which is billed as a miracle shot that can prevent certain strains of cervical cancer caused by Human Papilloma virus (HPV).  The U.S. government has taken the opposite approach amid equally alarming cases of serious side effects. Not only does the Obama administration continue recommending the vaccine (Gardasil), it spends large sums of taxpayer dollars promoting it and works hard to keep details involving its dangers secret.

Judicial Watch has reported extensively on this and uncovered droves of government records that show Gardasil has been linked to seizures, blindness, paralysis, speech problems, pancreatitis, short-term memory loss and dozens of deaths. Incredibly, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fast-tracked Gardasil’s approval and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends it for girls starting at age 9. 

~Judicial Watch


Currently the Obama regime continues to heavily push Gardasil via videos and presented by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as part of  the National Immunization Awareness Month. , without mentioning the multiple serious adverse reactions to this drug.


The Obama regime has yet to pay out all of the the $6 million dollars to victims.


The HPV virus is a sexually transmitted disease, which can cause an increased risk of cancer later on in life. The problem isn't the HPV or the cancer, but the immorality of children and adults. People need to have more self-control and wait until marriage to have sex. Ignoring this plan of God, people try to escape the responsibility and consequences for having sex outside of marriage.

Evangelism Is Either God's Way or the World's Way

We are not to proclaim the Gospel in a worldly, fleshly way (using man’s wisdom, clever speech, and persuasive words), but by the spiritual way: by proclaiming Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Scriptures, in simplicity and boldness.

Nor are we to customize the Gospel to appeal to the world and the flesh, for it is of a spiritual nature, which the world’s wisdom and flesh cannot comprehend.

                           

1Co 1:17  For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1Co 1:18  For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 

1Co 1:26  For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 

1Co 1:27  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 

1Co 1:28  God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 

1Co 1:29  so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 

1Co 1:30  And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 

1Co 1:31  so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." 

1Co 2:1  And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.

1Co 2:2  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

1Co 2:3  And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,

1Co 2:4  and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

1Co 2:5  that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

1Co 2:13  And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

1Co 2:14  The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Eph 4:17  Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 

Eph 4:18  They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 

Isa 55:6  Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. 
Isa 55:7  Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 
Isa 55:8  "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. 

Isa 55:9  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. 

Isa 55:10  "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; 

Isa 55:11  So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. 

Evangelism, then is either God’s way or the world’s way; either biblical (and frankly, quite simple) or pragmatic (often complicated with gimmicks, endless "new" fads, and much calculation of what audience one is speaking to). One will lead the elect to the cross of Christ in humility as they see their sin before the thrice holy God, and the other will keep people dead in their sin (pride) while feeling  (falsely)justified. That is to say, such a use of the world’s wisdom and means can only lead at best, to a false conversion, which frankly is hatred of that person’s soul and unbelief in the power of the Gospel of God:

1Co 1:18  For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1Co 1:19  For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Rom 1:17  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

 The world hates Christ, Jesus said in John's Gospel. To try to soften the blow of their offenses against God, and at the same time get them to like Christians (because then they'll like Jesus), is nothing but utter foolishness, unholiness, and unspiritual. It is, to put it boldly, outside of the Holy Spirit, devoid of His power and is not interested in glorifying Him nor honoring Him. It seeks to honor and glorify the enemies of the cross. 

The Gospel Coalition's Attack On Scripture

Important to read if you hold Scripture above everything, even the name of God.                                       

                                                               

Psa 138:2  I will worship toward Your holy temple, and give thanks to Your name for Your mercy, and for Your truth; for You have magnified Your Word above all Your name. 

                                   

Quote, Unquote: Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

"To be GOVERNED is to be kept in sight, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom, nor the virtue to do so. 

To be GOVERNED is to be at every operation, at every transaction, noted, registered, enrolled, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. 

It is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be placed under contribution, trained, ransomed, exploited, monopolized, extorted, squeezed, mystified, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, despised, harassed, tracked, abused, clubbed, disarmed, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and, to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, outraged, dishonored. That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality."


--French socialist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, General Idea of the Revolution in the Nineteenth Century, trans. John Beverley Robinson (London: Freedom Press, 1923), p.294


Clearly this is what socialism actually is and does. This is why liberalism,  in the guise of the Democratic Party,and  not conservatism, is actually the beginning of socialism, statism, Marxism, communism. Communism and socialism are to the left of the political spectrum, never the right.

Quote, Unquote: Alexis de Tocquerville

"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money."

-- Alexis de Tocqueville

Federal Shut Down

Maybe the shut down of the federal government will cause people to get some perspective.

                       

We don't need most of the federal government and its red tape. And I do mean "need". Most of the federal government is unnecessary and nothing but a bloated, absolute behemoth of a mess.

Who cares if we can't get into a national park? Seriously, that's not a need. The more shut down, the less of our money not spent. It would be even better if Congress didn't show up for a while; at least there would be less confusion, less encroachment of liberties, and less debt being incurred.

Most importantly, we need to realize how much Americans rely on man and material things instead of God. So perhaps with some of the "stuff" not being funneled our way temporarily, we will see that 1) we indeed can do without most of this bloated big government, and 2) stuff isn't what is eternal, spiritual things are.

Jeremiah 17:5, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord.’” 

Isa 31:1  Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD! 2  And yet he is wise and brings disaster; he does not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evildoers and against the helpers of those who work iniquity. 

Its also time to understand that our Founding Fathers believed that our unalienable rights did not first be given  to the king and then from the king to the people as he willed. Rather such rights were given to the people by God, and then from the people to the government in a limited way.

"In the end, more than freedom, they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life, and they lost it all – security, comfort, and freedom. When the Athenians finally wanted not to give to society but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again."

-- Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man who knows what the law is today can guess what is will be tomorrow."

-- James Madison, Federalist no. 62, February 27, 1788

Those who would give up essential Liberty to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
-- Ben Franklin, Respectfully Quoted, p. 201, Suzy Platt, Barnes & Noble, 1993

Quote, Unquote: Milton Friedman

"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself."

-- Milton Friedman

Quote, Unquote: Dr. Thomas Sowell, Winston Churchill

"Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it."

-- Thomas Sowell

"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. "

-- Winston Churchill

Quote, Unquote: Dr. Thomas Sowell

"It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong."


-- Dr. Thomas Sowell

Quote, Unquote: Thomas Jefferson

"One single object. . . [will merit] the endless gratitude of the society: that of restraining the judges from usurping legislation."


-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Edward Livingston, March 25, 1825

Say What?

The caption says: "The Royal family are payinf for the work themselves as the property is owned by her [Albanpix]"

These are supposed to be professionals with computers which all have  spell check, but I'm finding an increase in misspelled words in news articles.

Are You Good?

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” - Romans 3:23


Rom 3:10  as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;
Rom 3:11  no one understands; no one seeks for God.
Rom 3:12  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."
Rom 3:13  "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips."
Rom 3:14  "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness."

Noble-Mindedness

"[The Bereans] were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11).

On his second missionary journey, Paul, accompanied by Silas, preached the gospel of Jesus Christ in the city of Thessalonica. They weren't there long before the gospel took root and many turned from their idolatry to serve the true and living God (1 Thess. 1:9). In 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul says, "We also constantly thank God that when you received from us the word of God's message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God." Their open response to God's Word made them an example to all the believers in that area (1 Thess. 1:7).

But as exemplary as the Thessalonians were, their fellow believers in Berea were even more so. God called them "noble- minded" (Acts 17:11). They were eager to hear what Paul and Silas had to say, but tested it against God's prior revelation in the Old Testament before receiving it as a message from God. They had learned to examine everything carefully and hold fast to the truth (1 Thess. 5:21).


The church today, however, has an appalling lack of that kind of discernment. Many believers are duped by novel teachings and outright heresies. They're "tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine" (Eph. 4:14). We desperately need a new breed of Bereans who will raise high the banner of sound doctrine and never compromise it.

~John MacArthur, Drawing Near for Oct. 1,2013

In Mourning:Obamacare Starts Today:

The end of what little capitalism and freedom from government we had is officially gone.

"Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition."

-- Thomas Jefferson

 


"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I travelled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer."

-- Benjamin Franklin

"The government of the United States is a definite government, confined to specified objects. It is not like state governments, whose powers are more general. Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government."

-- James Madison, speech in the House of Representatives, January 10, 1794