Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Truth From Dilbert

I am still laughing and I found this 3 days ago.

Cecil....Really? Your Upset About Cecil???


Cecil is one lion. He may have been a popular lion, both in his pride and in the world, but really people, he is just one lion that was killed by a dentist from Minnesota.

So what is all the angst and acrimony about here?

Since the Roe V Wade decision, over 50 million unborn humans have been killed by their own mothers. The unrealized potential there should be enough to make you question the human decision making process and how corrupt it must be. One of those kids might have cured cancer. One of them might have brought world peace. One of them might have been the greatest president in US history. One of them might have saved Cecil. Now we will never know what they could have been.

Where is the outrage over 50 million human lives lost in this genocidal holocaust? The hard hearted nature of humanity never ceases to amaze me. One lion makes worldwide headlines. Daily human holocaust (abortion) is a woman's right to her own body and not a big deal at all.

What a screwed up world we live in. Hitler and Stalin would think it's just great. Chairman Mao and Pol Pot would love it. Satan, I am sure, is loving it too.

Our race is bent.

Fukushima Aftermath

Do you remember the 9.0 undersea earthquake and resulting tsunami in the Pacific back in March of 2011 that devastated Fukushima, Japan? It caused the nuclear power plant there to ultimately go into a 3 way core meltdown. There were massive radiation releases on land and into the sea that Japan will be reeling from for perhaps centuries. Many believe that this thing continues to release its radioactive poison into the environment. It was truly a disaster of disaster film proportions, the effects of which the Japanese and indeed the world are only beginning to realize.

Natural Society is reporting that mutant daisies have been discovered 65 miles away from the nuclear facility in Fukushima. It is believed now that the radioactive water from the nuclear facility has made it's way into the underground fresh water aqua firs and the effects are being felt far from the original disaster site. This is tragic. I do not think we know yet what the full impact of the disaster will be for Japan or the life cycle of the Pacific ocean. The pain of this disaster will make us long for the days of coal fired power plants. A little CO2 is better than cobalt 90 any day of the week.

 If the plant radiation is doing this to the flora of Japan, what is it doing to the people of Japan? What is it doing to the sea life around Japan? Is the radiation moving west?

I suppose the airborne stuff has been around the planet a few times by now. Makes you think twice about eating seafood from the Pacific too.

What will be the final results of this disaster in human terms? We need to find a better power source and we need to stop building nuclear power plants in earthquake zones. That would be a good start...if it's not too late.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

The Way it Works - Take It From A Conspiracy Theorist

It's not a dissertation, but it reveals the brutal truth of why we have war, and seemingly never ending war since our Vietnam days . We have been creating our own enemies so that we can fight them. It started with the mujaheddin in Afghanistan. We armed and trained them to fight the Russians during the Carter administration. We promptly ignored them thereafter, so they became angry with us and transformed into the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. We created Saddam Hussein. We caused the backlash in Iran against the Shah with our support of his governing tactics.These events are not in historical order, but they are the excuse for never ending US and NATO intervention in parts of the world that we made very dangerous on purpose. The cycle is explained below. It is the 'why'. It's money and petrochemicals.

Now we are faced with the likes of ISIS or ISIL or whatever they are calling themselves today. Rumor has it that they are the creation of an unlikely cabal of governments, namely, the US, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the United Kingdom. Their purpose is to continually inflame the rift between the Sunnis and the Shia Moslems and cause general instability, creating the need for constant intervention by western powers - perpetual war.

It's about money, oil and minerals. It has nothing to do with right or wrong or freedom or slavery. There is no moral imperative. Empire is the goal. World government. One might think that with all the sabers rattling, world government was a long way off. I'm here to tell you that we already have it. It's just maintained in a way we never expected. There are no real nation-states. Government is just the enforcement arm of banks and corporations. If a government decides to buck corporate control, the allegedly free press is used against them. It is a system all of it's own and it's been running like a top since the end of WWII.

How are we, the average citizens, involved you ask? We pay for it with our money, our sweat and in some cases, our lives. We are their slaves. If anyone tells you otherwise, they probably work for the government or the controlled media. Don't be tricked. They are liars.

All Things Fred



I have to confess. One of my guilty pleasures in life is reading Fred Reed. Fred is the pimple on the buttocks of political correctness. He is a man that knows who he is and what he is and he does not care what others think. He offers his thoughts bolstered by much fact and if you do not like it, surprisingly, he's OK with that. Just don't try to shut him up.

His most recent column is about the rise of matriarchy and its acceptance in the western world. It is at once hilarious and truth filled. Here's a quote:

"The United States has embarked, or been embarked, on a headlong rush into matriarchy, something never before attempted in a major country. Men remain numerically dominant in positions of power, yes, but their behavior and freedom are ever more constrained by the wishes of hostile women. The effects have been disastrous. They are likely to be more so.
The control, or near control, extends all through society. Politicians are terrified of women. The president of an Ivy university is fired, and replaced by a woman, if he makes the obvious observation that women are not much good at mathematics. Women dominate the schools and universities. A Nobelist in biology has to apologize profusely for having said that in laboratories women cry when criticized. Women have forced the lowering of standards for hiring police and firemen, for the military. They have made life miserable for small boys. The beat goes on.

 The pathological egalitarianism of the age makes it career-ending to mention that women in fact are neither equal nor identical to men. The differences are many and most of them are obvious:

Women are less curious than men. They will learn to drive or use a computer, but will have no idea how either machine works.

They are totalitarian. A man is willing to let girls be girls and boys be boys. Women want all to be girls or, more accurately, to behave according to female standards.

Men enjoy competition; women deplore it. “Lel’s have a cooperative game led by a caring adult.”
Men prefer freedom to security; women, security to freedom. Wear your helmet on your bike. Use sunscreen. Dodge ball is violent and dangerous. Don’t swim without a lifeguard.
Women prefer emotion to substance. College is now more about feeling good and social arrangements than about academics. Note that if a man suggests that women are not terribly good at math, they do not respond with counterevidence, which would be substance. They become furious, and get their way by what amount s to a vast hissy-fit.
Women hate each other; men do not. In any office, for example, ninety percent of the interpersonal problems will be between women."

And then there is Fred on white supremacy:

"I find Cornel West, a black professor, complaining of White Supremacy, which he believes our black President needs to remedy. Obama, he says, is “niggerized.”
“A niggerized black person is a black person who is afraid and scared and intimidated when it comes to putting a spotlight on white supremacy and fighting against white supremacy,” West said.
I would like to explain to Professor West a few things about this dread supremacy:
We have White Supremacy, Professor, because for 2500 years we, whites, have produced the best minds on the planet, the greatest flourishing of the arts and sciences ever seen, the most complex and organized societies. We have White Supremacy, whatever exactly it may be, because we have been the earth’s most successful race. No other has come close. Deal with it."

In all, Fred is a throw back to better times when men were men and women were...well, maybe I better not say that. I will let Fred do it. (;^))))

Thanks Fred for some great reading. Go here for more Fred. 

Monday, July 27, 2015

Focus

Focus is important. If the eyes do not focus properly, we cannot see things with the clarity needed to accurately portray the physical world to our brains. If microscopes and telescopes did not focus, we would not be able to see things like bacillus subtilus or the sombrero galaxy in any detail. Lack of focus can create distortions about reality. We would be peering into mirrors dimly as the apostle, Paul once observed. How did he put it?

" For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."

For the uninitiated, that's from the love chapter of I Corinthians - chapter 13, vs 12. He is talking about perception. He's talking about what we see and what we know about reality, about how things are and about how things should be. He is talking about the way we see spiritually and what kind of focus we have about such things and about how that will will one day change when something called "the completeness" comes. It's about focus.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[c] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[d] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"

So focus is all about the availability of the proper light with which to see reality, otherwise you are in darkness, able to perceive very little.

But it goes much deeper than that does it not? Mirrors and eyes really only observe what is going on outside of ourselves. And while it's true that what is going on outside of ourselves does much to reveal the truth of our existence, it is not the end of it is it? No. So really, Mirrors and eyes are just symbols for our perception are they not? It's our perception and what we choose to expose that perception to that determines the reality we perceive. 

If we choose to see a godless, existential universe then we will see one. And why is this? It's because we have preconceived notions about reality before we ever look at it closely with any focus, on our own, without the colored glasses of the world. We also have attitudes and motivations that have formed within our minds and spirits that color the way we see things. They come from good places and bad places and neutral places, but they still color our world and influence how we react to it.

Jesus wanted to stop this lack of focus and end the prejudice that we have from living in a distorted, out of focus world bent by sin. He wanted to restore the vision that His Father had when He created the Universe all those millennia ago. He wanted us to be able to "see" everything with spiritual clarity. Of course, if you refuse to acknowledge that anything spiritual actually exists, then many things will remain out of focus for you. Your unhealthy eyes will not let in the light. Your perception of reality will only and always be partial. 

Now if you are a Christian, you know what I am saying is true, but does this mean the light of your own perception is as bright as it should be? Are you really seeing things as God intended you to see them or are you still grappling in the shadows to determine the true form of things or the proper direction in which to go? Paul said that if we want to know how to live according to God's vision, we had to live by the Spirit. Are you living by the Spirit? Are your preconceived notions about the universe in which you live coloring your perception? Are you allowing the things of the world to determine how you live? Do you deal with the pressures of life through living by the Spirit or is your pressure vent more worldly?

For us who have faith, we have no other option but to live by the Spirit. We are supposed to be dead to all the preconceived notions about life in our world, but sometimes it's like we chose not to die to them isn't it? We keep the old self on life support in case we need him. 

If this is the case for you Christian, then it's time to pull the plug. Let it die. Your old self is interfering with your perception. You will not see correctly until he is dead. He is blocking your access to the light. 

In John 8:12, Jesus said, "“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”. He also said in 8:31,  “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Live by the Spirit Christian. Take your old self off life support so your new self can live fully and perceive the complete truth. Use your new, healthy eyes with the light of Jesus and look in that mirror again. The complete truth of reality will begin to unfold and you will never long for the darkness of your old self again. 

Focus. 

Friday, July 24, 2015

The Church Police

You know who they are. They are the fruit inspectors. They proudly wear their badges and march through our world and our churches proclaiming the unrighteousness of others. It's a slick trick. It moves the focus of attention from them and to others - whoever that might be. They are the Christian version of the liberal social justice workers (SJW's) that see it as their duty to save us from ourselves and the world at large.

In an article in Relavant magazine, Cara Joyner discusses why Christians should not be culture's morality police. I think she is right on in her dissection of the issue. She says, "We were never commissioned to demand that secular culture reflect biblical principles. We were commissioned to reflect biblical principles in the middle of secular culture, pointing to God’s redemptive story."

This is what it's supposed to like for us. We are not part of the world, but we live in it and our job is to plant the seeds of our truth, salting the cultural landscape and making who and what we are seem attractive to people that might be struggling in their life journey. We cannot do that by making blanket judgements and condemnations about people that are not of the faith. 

Christian, my thought is that if you cannot keep your judgements to yourself, then leave them/us alone. You are making the rest of us look bad. These people need Jesus. They do not need some morality cop beating them up.

Jesus ate with "publicans and sinners and tax collectors" on a regular basis. He had the strength of character to do this and He would also plant the seeds required to make these people question their status and their relationship with God. When I say, "strength of character", I mean he was strong enough spiritually to spend time with them and remain true to His principles. It needs to be the same with us. We must not become part of their lifestyle, but we must be part of their lives. We must be friends to them, planting seeds in their minds and salting our conversations with encouraging words about what we believe and why. There is no real place for fruit inspection of the Pharisaical variety in such conversations.     

Inside the Church at large, there is some room for fruit inspection, but again, I do not think a policing attitude is going to generate much positive response. We live in a world full of churches. Some people will just go elsewhere if they are not comfortable with the level of conversation where they are at. We need to meet these people with their issues where they are at, come along side them and try to help them see whatever it is. Bludgeoning them with judgement and condemnation will not help them. 

So, lets leave our badges at home and start by loving each other and loving our neighbors in the world. The Church will grow both spiritually and numerically this way.

I will close with the same quote from Paul that Cara used in her article.

I Timothy 1:15, 16

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.

This is true for us as well. Let's live it.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Hillary on Abortion


Donald Trump - Repulican Nightmare

Donald Trump is many things. He is rich - over 10 billion by most sources. He is iconic - people loved his TV show. He is a loose cannon; his mouth is often engaged while his brain remains in neutral. But he is also something else. He is a Republican that is running for POTUS.

The Donald, in his early campaign, has completely distracted the voting public with outrageous comments about immigrants and the military record of Senator John McCain. He continually dominates the news cycles and distracts us with his inflammatory rhetoric. People say 'so what, it's entertaining and he's right about many things'.

My thought is that the Republicans should be very afraid - not of Trump - but what he is doing to the electoral process.

Currently, he has the media so distracted that they are not covering more viable candidates in the Republican barn. We hear nothing about other candidates. Instead we hear how the Donald leads with his mouth day to day. This will be devastating for the Republicans. If they do not do something about him, they will be faced with either bending the knee to his bluster or facing the strong possibility of his 3rd party candidacy.

Donald Trump is a calculated distraction. He is neither an actual Republican or Democrat. His job is to distract, to siphon off votes and ensure that we end up with another 'establishment' type president in the style of Clinton or Bush or Obama.

Donald Trump is the Ross Perot of our time. His job is to bring down one of the major party candidates and ensure the election of the other. At this point, it's too soon to say which candidate, but I would bet my vote that it's the Republican candidate that he is supposed to take down.

In a three way race in the general election, I'm thinking that Trump would draw away the most votes from Jeb Bush. Since I'm a Christian Libertarian, I am all for destroying all things Bushy. However, the prospect of a Hillary Clinton presidency elected by a minority of the voters makes me want to scream like a preteen girl. It is a loathsome and fearful prospect. The Evil Borg Queen or the Dark Lord of Mordor.

So, I can only hope that if the Donald runs 3rd party, that he wins. Frankly, he is the least disgusting of the three.

For the record, as a Christian Libertarian, I can only support Rand Paul of all the major party candidates. For me, he is the best choice. I am sure that I will not be able to support the Libertarian Party candidate. Normally, they are such odd balls, their own mothers would not vote for them. The Constitution party is an option. They will not win, but they are an option.

For now and the future, I must face the facts. I am a minority voter. I will not be heard, either in a Republic or a Democracy. My vote and my opinion does not matter. I can only hope for chaos and an eventual reordering of the culture. Yes, Revolution. This is the only thing that will fix the current political dyspepsia. The current ruling class, which has no political aspirations, will continue to manipulate the political process to their own ends. They do not have principle. They only have desire to keep what they have and steal more. They can only do this by controlling those who govern. The Empire of the United States is internationally controlled for this purpose. Until the controllers are destroyed, they will continue to manipulate the players, both corporate and political, for their own ends. It may well be time to introduce them to the guillotine. Whatever...I do not have time for revolution. I do not have much hope for our alleged republic either. I will wait quietly for the end.

Go Donald!           

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Humility and Loving Your Neighbor

There is an article in Relevant magazine by Mike Mc Hargue about keeping humility in the proper perspective and how that can effect our ability to do what Jesus commanded - to love your neighbor as yourself. It seems that he has recognized a pattern in many Christian people toward self hatred that he believes effects our abilities to love others. This makes perfect sense, but at the same time, the self loathing aspect of their character is many times what drives them (us, meaning me) to achieve things we could not otherwise achieve.

He talks about talented Christian people that he knows that find the work they do with their talents unsatisfactory or even poor. At the place where I work, we call that "constructive dissatisfaction". It's actually a "best practice" designed to create processes of continual improvement over time and it works. We will take a look at what works and try to make it work better.

Many creative people use this process to push themselves. It can create an unhealthy mental state if you are not able to improve on what you did previously, but then if that's the case, it can also help you sort out what you are good at and what you have no business being involved in.


A few years ago I tried my hand at writing poetry and prose. I enjoyed the creation process, but my product always ended up sounding like something from Dr. Seuss....not that there's anything wrong with that. I do have some proverbs that I wrote and may one day share with y'all, but I think my poetry days have pretty much ended. I am not very good at it. That kind of writing did serve a purpose in my life though. It was a method I used to quantify what I knew about the world, the Bible and myself. And that last bit was quite therapeutic. It helped me to vent a lot of spiritual and mental pain. And while I am aware that there may be some argument about this, I think I am mentally and spiritually healthier now, having gone through that process even if it meant I gave up the poetry.

You see, it was the pain and anguish that drove the poetry. Today, much of that is gone or I have at least become mature enough to deal with it in the proper perspective. Getting old is wonderful for that very reason.

To my mind, the thing that really drives one's ability to love oneself and be able to love others is this. Friendship. Attaining quality friendships and learning healthy ways of interacting with other people that do not lead to acrimony, envy or self loathing. Friends build each other up. Friends do not use each other. Friends respect and love each other and their differences and they help one another to see their strengths and weaknesses in light of God's plan for their lives.

I have had many people in my life that I have called friends that were merely acquaintances. These were fairly shallow relationships, but they were good for the time and good times were had.

There have been about 5 people in my lifetime that I would call genuine friends. Trust and love developed in the friendships and this is a rare and precious thing. These people have helped me with my personal issues simply because they were willing to sacrifice a bit of themselves to get to know me. I hope they gained something from knowing me too, besides a headache. Of the 5, one is dead. Another is no longer a close friend even though she knows most everything about me. It's kind of like we had a respectful divorce, but that's an issue for another post. There is another that comments on this blog from time to time that I have known most of my life. The other two are professional God-botherers (as opposed to my amateur standing - I'm not in the union).

Of the last two, one has become an "old friend" even though he is not old and the other is a new friend that I hope to become closer to as our friendship develops. These two are completely different in their personalities but I love them both. If I had children, I would want sons like these two.

The thing that all 5 of these people have in common is that they have pushed me or push me from time to time - to think, to do or to change. This is what I think everyone needs from their friends to get a proper perspective on themselves and what they can do. This process has also helped me to learn to love. I'm still not real good at this, but it's getting better I think.

It's true that loving yourself is a key aspect to learning to love others, but I think that only happens by actually doing both in relationship - in friendship.

Let me just say one more thing to my friend Eric. Buddy, you probably do not even realize this, but our friendship did more to get me above water and breathing again than just about anything in my life to date. I can't thank you enough. I miss you. The amazing part is that you really didn't do anything except be my friend (and drop my rod in the pond). Thanks Man!

Friends are the ticket. Find yourself some.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

I Dreamed A Dream

It was intense, visual, in color and I thought it was really happening. I had a dream last night that I remember mostly because I finally woke up. Some might characterize it as a bad dream, but I do not. It was filled with bits and pieces of my life and there were people in it I recognized and conversed with. It seemed odd that some of them were there, but they were there nevertheless. A vigorous dream is a very good sign of some intense REM sleep. For the uninitiated, REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is the deepest sort of sleep of all the sleep stages and the best for your mental and physical help. I am told that REM sleep is hard for people of my age to come by, so I am encouraged by the genuine rest I received last night.

Sleep experts have said that dreaming is a way that your brain and particularly your subconscious, reboots itself. I suppose a better description would be that your brain runs a anti virus program and releases all the bad files to a containment area for deletion. Whatever the case, I was sleeping well last night. I hit the bed. I read a bit on the Kindle, Oliver was tightly coiled by my side. And I went into a very sound and deep sleep.

As I said, the dream was not bad, but it was, shall we say, disturbing.

I came home from work. It was early. There was still sunlight in the west. There were construction crews in the yard. They were taking out the front window and tearing up the ceiling in the lower level. Dad was home. He appeared to be 20 years younger - my age. He had on a tool belt and I asked him what the heck was going on. He informed me that he was having some long overdue repairs done to the house. I told him that we had only recently (5 years ago) had the front window replaced. He did not believe me. He never believes me. I do not know what I'm talking about. Such is and always has been his attitude.

As I moved around the house, I saw the workmen (who were all Hispanic) ripping out various things or pushing them over. The 3 seasons porch downstairs was being pushed over when I arrived. I went back upstairs and found a Hispanic woman that seemed to be the construction supervisor and began to argue with her to no avail. Everything was totally out of control.

By this time, Dad had sat down and was watching as his house was being destructed. At the same time a man from work appeared in the living room. He was in drag and putting on make up. I asked him what he was doing there and he said he wanted me to know what he did when he was off. I did not need to know.

At just about that time, I noticed thickening pendulous clouds to the south through the gaping hole that was once the front window. Lightning was flashing and there was the low rumble of what I thought was thunder. I went to the construction supervisor and told her that we would need to put up some tarps to keep the rain and hail out of the house. She agreed and her crew began to scurry in search of coverings for the now open air house.

As I watched the sky, the clouds moved closer and became thicker and lower to the ground. There was a strange red glow in the cloud's center. Like it was giving birth, a Boeing 727 passenger plane began to exit the storm. First the nose and then the wings and then the tail section emerged from the cloud. It was on fire and getting closer and closer to the house. I watched in stunned silence as it descended in altitude and almost made contact with the roof as it passed. It crashed to the north of a band of trees beyond the house. The explosion was tremendous. A fireball went up, and then the ear numbing noise blasted through the house.

Again I heard the sound of jet engines. I turned to the south again. This time, emerging from the clouds was a huge, black military aircraft seemingly on the same course as the 727. The cockpit section of the aircraft glowed like fire. There was smoke coming from all four engines and as it passed, it too crashed beyond the trees to the north. The ensuing explosion was 5 times what the 727 was. A mushroom cloud rose above the trees and then the shock wave moved past. The intensity of the light was blinding and the sound was deafening. Debris from the explosion was flying through the air. A small piece hit me in the chest and it burned with heat, but I was uninjured.

Immediately after, we all ran to the north to view the wreckage...except Dad. He remained in his chair staring toward the south unphased by these events.

As the rest of us walked toward the north to the red glow of the aftermath, we discovered another house being built. There were people from church there working hard to get it finished. There was one there who I have not seen for ages that now goes to another church. We were in awe that they continued to work while the wreckage to the north continued to burn. We were told that finishing the house was more important than what was going on to the north. All they would say was, this is what happens.

About this time I awoke, breathing very hard, but feeling very rested. Now you know why I don't go to movies anymore. I don't need them. (;^))) 

    

Monday, July 20, 2015

Make That Twice

Looks like there was another hack attempt from this IP - 41.58.56.48 - . It's even weirder.

IP Address Location

The IP address is located here.
Country: Nigeria (NG)
City: Lagos
Latitude: 6.45306
Longitude: 3.39583 
 
Odd don't you think? Glad Google was on top of it though. I mostly believe that Google is the antichrist, but they did a fine job today.
 
I will probably find out tomorrow that it was not Google at all and by changing my email password, I gave everyone in the world access to my electronic guts.
 
Gee...I hope they don't blackmail me. I don't have any money. Come to think of it, all my blackmail-able behavior occurred before 1979 anyway. We didn't have computers then. I did have a pocket calculator though. Even so, they won't get much.   

I Think I've Been Hacked

I received an email from Google concerning suspicious activity on my email account. They provided me with the IP of the source and suggested a password change. I did that, so if you do not get an expected email from me, please put it down to me not remembering my new password. I looked up the IP they sent and I got the following info. It's interesting in a geek sort of way, but I still do not know much about the source. Anyway...be careful out there. Feces happen.

IPv6 address:
IPv6 expanded:
2600:3c01:0000:0000:f03c:91ff:fe84:b1ba
IPv6 decimal:
50511880863631184802145314315652346298
WHOIS data:
whois data is currently unavailable [GL85-85]. Try again in 20 hours, 34 min.
Internet service provider:
Hurricane Electric
Organization:
Hurricane Electric
Country name:
United States
Country ISO alpha-2 code:
US
State:
New Jersey
City:
Absecon
DMA code:
504
Timezone:
America/New_York
Longitude:
-74.4957
Latitude:
39.4284
Reverse DNS in-addr.arpa:
Host a.b.1.b.4.8.e.f.f.f.1.9.c­.3.0.f.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.1.­0.c.3.0.0.6.2.ip6.arpa not found: 3(NXDOMAIN)
Reverse DNS last updated:
1437449118 - 0 seconds ago
Reverse DNS next update:
1438053918 - in 7 days
Operating System
Windows 7
Browser
Chrome 35.0.1916.153
Device Type
Desktop
User Agent String
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/35.0.1916.153 Safari/537.36 SE 2.X MetaSr 1.0
Bot/spider
No
Record views
14
This IP pageloads:
1

Bacon

While I am not a bacon snob and definitely not a bacon epicure, I do like me some bacon. I had some delightful bacon yesterday from a Minnesota meat shop called the Knaus Sausage House.

It was a thick cut pepper bacon that, frankly, did not look like much in the package. After it was prepared though, I found it better than most bacon I have eaten. The strips were short and thick. I thought they would cook away to nothing, but it turns out that the meat fat distribution was almost perfect. There was little shrinkage and lots of tender flavor.

I prepared it in the oven. I line a cookie sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil and place a baking rack in it. Next I lay out the bacon in row after row on the rack. I then place the cookie sheet in a preheated 400 degree oven that is set on "convect". I would give you a time to cook, but this can be misleading. Every bacon is different. Rather, turn on the oven light and watch it. Midway you might want to spin the cookie sheet around if it appears that the bacon is getting done too much at one end of the pan. Once the bacon is done to your taste, pull out the pan and set it on some trivets. You will notice that most of the grease is off the bacon and on the foil in the bottom of the cookie sheet. From a health point of view this is good. It also makes cleanup easy because if you carefully remove the foil, capturing all the grease, you will find what is left is a clean cookie sheet. But I digress...

This pepper bacon from Knaus Sausage House in Kimball Minnesota was amazing. It was thick cut. It was tender. It was not too smoky or salty and it was very flavorful, almost hamlike. I have had many of the major brands of bacon from Oscar Meyer to Hy Vee. They are now just ok to me. I think I have a new standard. Trouble is, if I want more, I have to drive to Kimball to get it. I am closer than many of you, but the drive would take all day.

I was hoping it could be mail ordered, but it looks like Knaus only mail orders their preserved products...so I will have to wait until Steve goes back to Minnesota and slip him a fifty.

Thanks for the bacon Steve. There is nothing like a plateful of scorched dead animal shavings. Just so you know, I did not just eat the bacon. I also made a 4 egg mushroom omelet topped with provolone cheese and  some sliced new potatoes fried in a mixture of olive oil and butter with sea salt, freshly ground pepper and a bit of ground rosemary.

You will need a nap for digestion purposes if you do this.



Image result for knaus house sausage bacon minnesota
31 S Main St, Kimball, MN 55353

(320) 398-5485

Saturday, July 18, 2015

How to Pray - Matthew 6:5-15

Jesus continues in His Sermon on the Mount with another act of righteousness - Prayer. In Matthew  6:5-15, Jesus tells us the manner in which we should pray, where we should pray and He even offers us an example of how we should pray. The model is beautiful in its simplicity. It does not try to drown God in words. It does not try to manipulate Him or ingratiate Him to the pray-er.

Prayer

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
    but deliver us from the evil one.[b]
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Questions

Jesus says not to pray like the hypocrites that make a show of it. Aside from what Jesus offers here, in what ways does prayer become a show; A work to be done so that everyone will know you are righteous? 

-We've all heard windy, flowery prayers offered in King James English. Then there are the prayers that are not so much prayers to God as they are sermons to others that may be listening. Both kinds of prayers can go on and on. It's like the pray-er needs to inform God of things He did not know or advise others present of the pray-er's close relationship with God. These kinds of prayers are probably not what Jesus had in mind when He was teaching.

Jesus also indicates that private prayer is the best policy. So, why do we even offer public, corporate prayer in gatherings of the Church?

-This is a rhetorical question. You figure it out. I know what I think. I'm not sure there is a place for  corporate prayer inside the meetings of the church or outside. Prayer is personal. Where in the Bible do you see an example of corporate prayer? Seriously. It just is not there - especially in the New Testament.

The model prayer that Jesus offers is interesting. It honors God. It asks that His will be done. It asks  that our daily need for food be met and it acknowledges God as the giver. It asks for forgiveness. And it asks for protection from temptation and its source - the evil one. It is at once, simple straightforward and brief. Why do we not pray in this fashion? Why do we take this simple outline of a prayer and hang every last little request on it's parts?

-As Jesus said, God already knows what we need. We need to keep it simple. Keeping the line open is one thing. Jabbering on and on about the least little things that God already knows about is quite another. The Lord does not need it. We must not confuse our needs with the reasons for prayer. If we want to talk to Him about the issues of our day, perhaps that helps us more than Him? Maybe God does not mind that. Maybe He can work through that to help us. Maybe he would just like us to use the brains He gave us? Who is to say? I know we do not see prayer like ours today recorded in scripture. Do you really think there was a prayer list in the early churches? I wonder.

Before Jesus gave them this example, do you think anyone ever taught the people of His time to pray?

- I am thinking not. At least not like this.

The line in the prayer about debt is interesting. Do you think it's about monetary debt or something else? If so, what?

Here's a clue - the answer lies in vss 14 and 15. 
  

Matthew 6:1-4

Jesus continues preaching on the mountainside in Matthew 6. In this chapter He addresses sermon to several acts of righteousness and how they should be practiced. In verses 1-4 Jesus talks about giving to the needy.

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus assumes that his listeners will be giving to the needy, but He want them to know that the manner in which they give makes a difference, particularly to God. Giving should not be motivated by a desire for self aggrandizement or the approval of other. Instead, it needs to be done as an act directed toward God and in private. If we give because we love God, then the giving should be between the giver and God alone.

Back in the day, the Pharisee would walk into the temple with his money bag on his belt, fully loaded with change. He would slowly dump the contents in the poor box. The noise of the coins falling would echo throughout the house, drawing the attention of worshipers to the man's alleged generosity. Swelled with pride, the Pharisee would do his victory walk to the gate, having impressed the rank and file with his generosity.

Jesus says that people like this have already received their reward for giving. However, those that give in secret, without making a show, will receive God's approval and eternal rewards await these people.

Questions

So, what are some contemporary ways that people "blow trumpets" to call attention to their giving?

-Have you ever seen a memorial plaque on an object at church? That's one way. Others will designate their gifts. In the world, politicians and philanthropists just call a press conference. 

What does "do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing" mean in vs 3?

-It means that giving behavior should be something that is automatic, perhaps done without thinking about anything other than the need. It should be a natural spiritual response produced in us by God, that we do not even notice. 

What is the best way of ensuring secrecy in giving?

-Simple. Keep it quiet. Don't talk about it except to God.
  

Attitude is Everything - Matthew 5:21-48

In the pursuit of righteousness, it's not just what you do that matters. What you do is always proceeded by thoughts and attitudes. Those thoughts are capable of producing actions. Some of those thoughts and actions could produce sin under the right circumstances.

You may never murder anyone or commit adultery or fornication...but did you think about it? Did you consider, if only briefly, that some people just need killin and this guy (whoever he might be) is pushin all the right buttons for that? What about that scantly clad young lady moving her way down the sidewalk ever so seductively? Did you ever think for a minute that it would be nice to spend the afternoon with her discussing her finer points? Maybe it was a car that caused the desire or the top was down and the woman inside had managed to sell the whole package to you all in a flash in your mind. 

When we dwell on things, when we get angry or or we covet or we lust; this is when the process of sin and unrighteousness starts. Our attitude in a given situation can produce a harvest of sin. What does Jesus say? 

Murder

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Anger is akin to murder. If someone is angry with us or we with them; the whole thing can escalate out of control. It might start with an off hand remark about their intelligence or maybe something stupid like a small financial debt. The result could be violence or a lawsuit or worse. Instead of letting things get out of hand, we need to find ways to make the peace, particularly if we are the ones in error. We have to do what we can to keep the peace with our neighbors and with God. The issue, whatever it may be, has to be settled with as little acrimony as possible. Vengeance and loss of control are not godly behaviors and they can lead to violence and murder.  

Adultery

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[e] 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Lust is a bad habit. It's a luxury we cannot afford to be burdened with. If we allow it to rule us,   serious consequences will abound. Adultery is just one result. We can lust after all kinds of things that have nothing to do with sex. It's possible to lust over a plate of bacon or your neighbor's lawn mower. Lust, unbridled desire and covetousness can lead to all kinds of sins that bring very serious consequences. Broken families, sexual disease, obesity and thievery are a few; not to mention separation from God or at least a major dent in that relationship.

Divorce

31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’[f] 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

In the old days, men were kings and women were property. Under the Law, you could divorce your wife for burning the toast. And I am sure there were hard hearted men that did just that. The same is true today. There are men and women in marriage relationships that are abusers and philanderers and whatever else you might care to name. Forgiveness is needed. The desire to change negative behaviors must prevail. Love should rule over both husband and wife so that things to not get to this point. Selfishness must be put out of the house. The needs of your partner must always take precedence. 

Jesus does not want divorce. He is opposed to it. He offers only one valid reason for it - infidelity. He goes so far as to say that anyone who divorces for any other reason forces their partner to commit adultery. This is because it is almost inevitable that the couple will marry other people...and in God's eyes, you are still and always married to you original wife or husband. God does not believe in divorce, hence, remarriage is adultery.    

Oaths

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

The bottom line here is....if you always tell the truth, then oaths will not be necessary. Simple eh?

Eye for Eye

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[h] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Someone said if we all operated under the "eye for and eye" principle, we would all be blind and toothless. This is probably very close to the truth. I'm not sure I will be hanging around for the second slap though. 

I think that the idea behind Jesus' advice here is to avoid conflict and show your tormentor that you are of better character than they are. In time they will find no satisfaction in their bad behavior and it will stop. 

Love for Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Really, love my enemies? This is hard. Praying for them is easier than loving them. Nonetheless we are commanded to do both. Why? Maybe because they too were created by God and despite their unrighteousness, God loves them too and wants them to draw close to Him. Showing love toward them might eventually enable that possibility.

Verse 48 caps off a list of things that are nearly impossible with one that is completely impossible. Jesus says to be perfect like our heavenly Father.

Some try to say Jesus meant that we should be perfect in love like God, but really, is that not just as impossible? And the text does not say that anyway.

And that may be the point. Jesus, in this sermon, is taking the high bar of the law and raising it even higher. He knows that we will not be able to keep the law under either His interpretation or even that of the Pharisees. What I think Jesus is really teaching us about in this sermon is the character of God, His Father. 

It will not be the works of the law that saves us. It will be being born again in His Spirit; regenerated, reformed and able to change our attitude. Self control of outward acts is something most all of us can do. Changing our spiritual nature is something only God can do for us. We just have to surrender our wills. Sounds easy - takes a lifetime. That's my experience anyway. Maybe you are already perfect like our heavenly Father. If so, you can come over and walk across my swimming pool. 

Wait...I don't have a pool. We will have to go to a pond. I will drive. OK? 

Hard to Get

In the midst of our efforts to remain faithful and be obedient to our Savior sometimes we get distracted and frustrated because we do not understand why things are the way they are. We wonder why we are faced with certain life challenges. We do not see the purpose or even the cause of the things we suffer through. We actually feel a sense of divine injustice. Some will lose faith. Others will question their Creator.

I have been both places. More often than not though, I am a questioner. I don't know if that's appreciated in the heavenly realms, but God did let Job rattle on for 38 chapters. Oh to be as sound in my thinking as Job. Do you remember what God said to Job in chapter 38 after all his entreaties?

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
“Who is this that obscures my plans
    with words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
    Tell me, if you understand.

God went on like that with question after question for two chapters. Job, of course, had no answers and you know what? He never got any from God either. As our modern philosophy so tritely puts it, "it is what it is". There are things that, even if explained, we would never understand. This does not stop the questions of course. Like two year old's, we want to know the "why", even if there is no way we will comprehend what is in the mind of God. 

This is maybe why Paul says in Romans 9:

 14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.

and again...
 
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” 20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?

God's mercy is at once a glorious and terrible thing. It can be received like a cool drink of water on a hot day when we need it or as a gross miscarriage of justice when applied to someone else we have judged as undeserving. The fact is though, we all need His mercy and His grace. We should accept that gift and move forward regardless of who we are and we should not pass judgement on God when He gives it to people we have deemed unworthy. Who are we to do the "deeming" anyway?

So question away. God is bigger than you know and he can take it. What you need to consider is this....are you big enough to withstand his reply? 

Again, to close, I will turn to another song by Rich Mullins. In his song, "Hard to Get", he gives an apt description of our sometimes attitude and a reminder of what His mercy cost.
   
You who live in Heaven
Hear the prayers of those of us who live on earth
Who are afraid of being left by those we love
And who get hardened by the hurt

Do you remember when You lived down here?
Where we all scrape to find the faith to ask for daily bread
Did You forget about us after You had flown away?
Well I memorized every word You said

Still I'm so scared, I'm holding my breath
While You're up there just playing hard to get

You who live in radiance
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in skin
We have a love that's not as patient as Yours was
Still we do love now and then

Did You ever know loneliness, did You ever know need?
Do You remember just how long a night can get?
When You were barely holding on and Your friends fall asleep
And don't see the blood that's running in Your sweat

Will those who mourn be left uncomforted
While You're up there just playing hard to get?

And I know You bore our sorrows
And I know You feel our pain
And I know it would not hurt any less
Even if it could be explained

And I know that I am only lashing out
At the One who loves me most
And after I figured this, somehow
All I really need to know

Is if You who live in eternity
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in time
We can't see what's ahead
And we can not get free of what we've left behind
I'm reeling from these voices that keep screaming in my ears
All the words of shame and doubt, blame and regret

I can't see how You're leading me unless You've led me here
Where I'm lost enough to let myself be led
And so You've been here all along I guess
It's just Your ways and You are just plain hard to get

The last stanza says it all. The Lord does understand us. He knows we have questions. This is why we must be faithful and obedient. We will probably not understand while we are here. But someday, I think it will be clear. We will know. And it will have been worth the stress.

Keep walking Christian. He's just ahead of you. You might even be able to see Him smiling as He looks over His shoulder. He is taking you to a wonderful place. If you fall down, He will come back for you. You are not alone!