Wednesday, September 30, 2015

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

You have overshadowed  my life with your Spirit
You have insulated me from disaster
You have strengthened my spirit through trials
You have brought peace in the midst of my humiliation

I have felt your nearness though your home is beyond the stars
You walk with me though I do not see you
You help to bear a load that I could never have carried alone
Without you I am nothing and yet you love me just the same

You take up the prayers of those that love me
And answer them by protecting me
You have saved me from myself more times than I can count
My debt to you I cannot repay except in love and loyalty

You are my Lord and my God, my Savior and my friend
I thank you and praise Your Name for caring about me
I love you and fear you and I am fascinated by you
I would know your mind if I could do so and still live

Your peace is like no other
In the midst of turmoil and discontent you make me think
In the midst of fear and doubt you bring me calm
I know that I do not walk alone

There are times I swear I can hear your voice
You soothe me with words I cannot repeat
You send me dreams and fantastic thoughts
You put words in my mind so I can write them down

Your breath in my mind is subtle and sweet
It brings tears of joy and release and salvation
To know that I am yours
To know there is nothing and no one that can change that
This is why I never want to be free of you

Long ago you demolished my soul
You rebuilt me from the rubble
I am stronger now, though weaker of will
And my weakness brings your grace and your power
My strength you use to the benefit of others

As it should be
I am your child
I love you Lord
I will see you when I get home

Monday, September 28, 2015

Ode To My Physician

I went off to the doctor, I'd not seen him in awhile
A prescription I was needing to maintain my lifestyle
He said, "so what else is there, that I can do for you?"
Then I went complainimg; You could see I wasn't through

"There's pain in my neck; it's getting worse as you can see "
So I asked the doctor, 'Doc, what ever can it be?'
He said that it was 'Arthur' if you know what I mean
I said 'I really hate him, is he some kind of fiend?'

He said, "you see it is old age, that stiffening condition
Who knows now why it happens, I have no premonition
But I know this from git-go; there is nothing you can do
Just take a couple aspirin; some at 1, and some when due."

Doc then said,  "you are fat both inside and out.
You need some statin pills so you will not stroke out"
I said, 'Now do I really? How can this ever be?"
"I think that I am fine; so depart you wretch from me"

These words did not please him, not one little bit
He looked at me in anger; I thought that he would spit
He threatened me with death from my fattened condition,
And advised me to give up on my rotten disposition

I said, "but all these pills, they will cause me much more pain
In my joints and in my muscles, the pain will be insane.
My memories will die; I will forget my life is hard
I surely will be like some kind of geriatric tard"

"I have read upon the Net that the cure, it is much worse
That the statins they are wicked and the lipids not a curse.
How is it you can prescribe all these pills for me?
Can I just remain from these pills, remain completely free?"

The good doctor grinned and said, "now here, you must take these,
One every day at morn with the lowest dose now please
It should drop your lipids quick; and soon you'll surely see
Just how happy it will make us both; both you and me"

"You will live much longer now with no heart attacks
For it is my job do this; It is I that sees to that
You may have pain for real in your muscles and your joints
But you will live much longer, will that not bring me points?"

I said, "Doc, is there nothing here but this that I can do?
Like a decent high carb diet and some low fat foods?
Maybe exercise in bits would surely not kill me
I could walk and I could run to slow all this you say will be"

But the MD said that this regime would not be enough
That only statin pills could prevent all this bad stuff
So now I'm in a quandry. I don't want to obey
But if I do not do it I receive all his dismay

With death at my door, I took up his prescription
He smiled and said "now son you're making good decisions"
I smiled back so kindly, but in my mind I sure did not,
Think that I'd be taking any of his miserable lot

To cure this that's no bother does not seem right to me
It's crazy, lame and silly, but I just can't make him see
If it's not broke, please don't fix it, it should be left to be
Can he not just let it go and then go and have some tea?

My neck is what hurting and he doesn't seem to care
But he'd have me take these meds that my body cannot bear
For my pain he says there's nothing at all that he can do
But for phantasmic lipids, he can make me come unscrewed

These meds that he gives me, they are what is called statins
I'm sure that they are all quite heavily in patent
Money they will make for the huge drug companies
Still people will drop dead while attending symphony

His pound of prevention pills, it just staves off the cure
I'm not gonna take them, and of that you can be sure.
You ask, do I choose death? Am I taking a big gamble?
I say, then it's off to heaven, that I'll sure be soon amble 

So does it mean anything? My life's quality?
You can bet your statins and your medical degree
I will lose some weight my friend. I surely will do that
But you can take your pills and you can feed them to your cat

I will move my LDL on to the lower numbers
So he can't make a case for death become my slumber
Then I will say to him, "you see I did not die,
I'll die in my own time and this is not a lie"

He will say that if I took the pills that he did so prescribe
I would live much longer, this would be his diatribe
I know you cannot argue with a doctor I have tried
He wants to push his pills and to also keep his pride

So I will let him think that I took all of his pills
Deceit will be my plan while I try to cure my ills
It is said that when a man tries to be his own MD
He has a fool for patient; I guess that would be me

Friday, September 25, 2015

Our Long National Nightmare Is Over

From the New York Times:

 WASHINGTON — Speaker John A. Boehner, under intense pressure from conservatives in his party, will resign one of the most powerful positions in government and give up his House seat at the end of October, throwing Congress into chaos as it tries to avert a government shutdown.

Johnny Boy has betrayed his party, his government and the people of the United States. He has sold us out time and time again to the very interests that would destroy our nation. It is long past time that he take his toys and go home. He is a traitor and should be tried...or maybe sent to Guantanamo. He has done us more damage than the Taliban. In a less civilized time, the tar and feathers would be at the ready.

It's my Party and I'll cry if I want to...
John, why don't you leave early, like now. I long for the wheels of government to come to a screeching halt. Stop the presses, pull the plug and throw the wooden shoes into the machinery (sabu). Shut the government down. See if anyone notices. I bet they don't. We don't need you John. Go Home.  

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

The Horned One

I would say it's just a coincidence, but it happens frequently and perhaps it's intended to be subliminal. Whatever the case, I've believed it was true since 2008.

"Please allow me to introduce myself..."
I'm not feeling the sympathy
It's possible, and I know the guy in white in the first pic is probably the false prophet. They sort of go together. We will know for sure next year. If he declares martial law and cancels the elections in 2016, I think we can call it. And who could blame him considering the slate of available candidates?

The devil is always in the details.

The Day of the Lord

 
Today is September 23rd, 2015. For many evangelical nut jobs and preppers, today marks the end of the world or at least the beginning of the end. Sunday night, September 27th will mark the 4th blood moon in an unusual tetrad that is occurring during the Jewish high holidays. I will let you Google all of that if you don't know what I'm, talking about and if you don't want to know, who can blame you.

Lest I come off as a scoffer, just let me say that if Jesus comes back today or on a day of absolutely no historical significance, it makes no difference to me. I will ascend to my place either way.

Having said that, there is what will really happen today according to Cultured Vultures.

What will really happen on September 23rd? Here are some things we can be fairly certain of:
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Pope will perform an afternoon mass after meeting Obama and parading around in his ‘Pope mobile’.
MAUI, HAWAII: The film Pixels will be aired at Maui Megaplex cinema. That ought to be tragic, for sure.
SIMA KADE, SOUTH AFRICA: SkyFest will begin. People will do yoga and celebrate their spring equinox.
MILLVILLE, NEW JERSEY: It’s ‘Art and Wine Night’ at Southwind Vineyard. I like your style, Millville!
HURGHADA, EGYPT: Eid El-Adha celebrations will take place at Soma Bay beach.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND: James Bay will be performing at the O2 Apollo.
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA: Cat Mojo at the Jorge Eliecer Gaitan theatre. Learn the innermost workings of the mind of a cat. I feel like many people would be gutted to miss that.
SITGES, SPAIN: You’d be forgiven for thinking the world was ending here as the deafening Santa Tecla festival takes place with drums, fireworks and streets packed with people.
TOKYO, JAPAN: Autumn equinox celebrations. I predict a swift rise in rates of sake consumption.
GLOUCESTER, ENGLAND: Scotland will face Japan in the Rugby World Cup. More sake, anyone?
What will not happen on September 23rd?
The apocalypse. Sorry.

Now I will give you the fact that the Pope is in the US, at the White House no less, and this a bit concerning, but really, why would he come here for the end of the world? Better bomb shelters? I don't know. If it happens, it happens.

The real question is, are you prepared to meet Jesus Christ when He does arrive? Keep in mind, He will be returning as a judge on the great and terrible day and not the Prince of Peace. Time will be up. You say you don't believe? OK, but I think you need to be sure. That's all I am saying. Peace to you my friends. Maranatha!!!

Monday, September 21, 2015

The Biggest Secret of the Afghan War - Did You Know This???

From the New York Times, Joseph Goldstein

"Rampant sexual abuse of children has long been a problem in Afghanistan, particularly among armed commanders who dominate much of the rural landscape and can bully the population. The practice is called bacha bazi, literally “boy play,” and American soldiers and Marines have been instructed not to intervene — in some cases, not even when their Afghan allies have abused boys on military bases, according to interviews and court records.
The policy has endured as American forces have recruited and organized Afghan militias to help hold territory against the Taliban. But soldiers and Marines have been increasingly troubled that instead of weeding out pedophiles, the American military was arming them in some cases and placing them as the commanders of villages — and doing little when they began abusing children.

“The reason we were here is because we heard the terrible things the Taliban were doing to people, how they were taking away human rights,” said Dan Quinn, a former Special Forces captain who beat up an American-backed militia commander for keeping a boy chained to his bed as a sex slave. “But we were putting people into power who would do things that were worse than the Taliban did — that was something village elders voiced to me.”

The policy of instructing soldiers to ignore child sexual abuse by their Afghan allies is coming under new scrutiny, particularly as it emerges that service members like Captain Quinn have faced discipline, even career ruin, for disobeying it."


Forgive me, but my first thought is "WTF".

This is unbelievable. Child molestation in Afghanistan is OK because it's a cultural thing? We should leave them alone? Look the other way?

First, I do not know how this kind of behavior becomes cultural or pervasive in a given society and I do not care. If there are worse things than say abortion in this world, then this has to be it. Our troops have to be the closest thing to law and order in that country right now and they are not even allowed to help the helpless? There will be literal hell to pay for this kind of moral failure on judgement day and I am not talking about the molesters (though it won't be so good for them either). We are in a position to stop and even change this behavior and we do nothing. We let it happen. We can save the Afghans from the Taliban, but we cannot save their children from their adults.

This is incredible to me. I do not know how the Afghans can live this way, allowing this sort of thing to happen, but neither do I understand how the US military can let it go on. Looking the other way is the same as approval in my book. Y'all are going to hell. I hope you know that.

I hate our government. Go read the entire article.  

Friday, September 18, 2015

58

It is the day of my nativity.

On September 18, 1957 at about 3 AM a star appeared in the east, my mother was in Mercy hospital in Des Moines, Iowa completely sedated, and I was pulled from her womb the hard way, screaming bloody murder and demanding to know why I had been disturbed.

The doctor said, "we thought you were a tumor. How long have you been in there?

Baby Ghog said, "9 months plus two and a half weeks. I think I should be done now."

Daddy Ghog said, "If it's not tumor, I'm going back to work while you figure out what to do with that thing"

And things went down hill from there. I know what you're thinking. How could I possibly remember that right? I'm sure it went down something like that. There is nothing wrong with exaggeration for illustration purposes. Ask any preacher.

Anyhow...I am 50 flippin 8 years old. Unbelievable. I never thought I'd make it past 30. It's been a long, strange trip as I have said before. I have been so many things since that fateful day that God let me take the air for the first time. for instance, if you look at me now, you would never believe I had ever been a baby. Or a farm hand. Or a window washer. Or a Pharisee. Or a pothead. Or a nursing home orderly (that one is believable). Or a convenience store clerk. Or a gas station attendant. Or a census taker. Or a parking lot attendant. Or a truck driver. Or even an air freight forwarder....but I have been all those things.

On top of all that, I think God has finally managed to save my soul. Who would have thought that was going to happen?

And you know what else?

I have never been unemployed. I pay my taxes. My credit rating is over 800. I own property in two counties.

How can anyone say I am a failure?

Yet there are those that expected more. I am sorry, but I am quite happy with the way things turned out. It was a bit touch and go there for awhile when I was 24, but not anymore. I am outstanding in my field.
So Happy Birthday Ghog!
Should be an interesting year. Do you think I'm too old for a career change? Should I grow a pony tail or maybe get a tattoo? There are so many possibilities and so little time. I better get to work!

Thursday, September 17, 2015

I Hate Going to the Doctor

I visited my health care provider yesterday, mostly because I needed my blood pressure prescription. It became a complete physical and a trip to the hospital for x-rays of my neck. This is why I hate going to the doctor. All life stops until all possibilities have been exhausted. The other thing I got yesterday was a new prescription. I have not decided whether I will use it. Statins are quirky meds. There a many negative reviews of their effects from sore joints to memory loss to hardening of the arteries. It worries me. I was assured by my doctor that only 25% of the people that take statins get sore joints. I already have sore joints. My neck vertebrae are a mess, hence the x-rays.

Anyway, I hate going to the doctor. It's true that I need to stay alive long enough to see Dad home to his reward, but beyond that, I'm not sure more life is worth it. It's been my observation that the last 10 years are kind of crappy regardless of health (if the lives of others around me are any kind of proper sampling).

Anyway, I asked the doctor if we could wait on the statins until my new blood tests came back. He said, "no, you're overweight and and your last test rendered a LDL of 156, you need to be on a statin".

When people, not just doctors, talk to me like that, the specter of rebellion rises. As a Christian, I know one thing. Rebellion brings death, maybe not in the short term, but definitely in the long term. I need to stay alive awhile longer. I still have stuff to do. When I'm not needed anymore, that will be the time to throw away the modern medical miracles. I never understood why people try so hard to stay here anyway. It is a silly place.

My meds are mail order. I should have the Lipitor in 5 days. I've got some time to think about this. I really do not want to take another pill if I don't have to...but maybe I have to.     

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

My Philosophy of Money

All my life I've heard things like, "money makes the world go 'round" and "money can't buy happiness, but it can make the down payment". My parents philosophy of money seemed to be that you could never have enough. Strangely, this also seems to be the attitude of David Rockefeller and Lord Rothschild; and while it has served them well, my parents never made it out of the middle class. I think the difference is in attitude and philosophy. My parents had moral and ethical standards. They would not take advantage of people. They worked with their bodies and with their minds to make a living without ruining the lives of other people. I know an argument can be made that Rockefeller and Rothschild have made the world a better place, but there seems to be a willingness on their parts to sacrifice whatever it takes to gain the monetary supremacy. This is why they are part of the one per cent that controls 99 per cent of the worlds wealth and I am not.

I have never had a great deal of respect for money. I think this is because I have never known need in any appreciable way. I have also been willing to take jobs that others would not do to ensure that I had what I needed. Other than that, I have never been a financial planner. It has always been one day at a time with me. I do have a 401K and a couple of pensions in the retirement waiting room, but beyond that, I do not have massive savings, gold or silver stores or property holdings. I have always lived like a college student in some ways. This made it easier for me to come and go or just go as the case may be. I hate things that tie me down or obligate me to terminal responsibility. This is probably why I never advanced very far in my career. I have always viewed work as a job where you make money for the things outside of work. I never wanted a career of ever expanding promotion and salary. I just want to pay my bills and stay out of debt. Debt makes one a slave don't you know!

It's for this reason that I always shunned home ownership. This practice leads to mortgages that last anywhere from 15 to 30 years - talk about slavery. The very word "mortgage"  literally means "death pact". Even if you renegotiate your mortgage for better terms, it's still a death pact. The worst part about home ownership is the continuing maintenance and property taxes. Something is always broken or falling apart and on top of that the government actually is charging you a kind of rent to live in a house that you allegedly own. And I know financial advisers will tell you that home ownership is the single best investment anyone can make, but really, is it? You have no idea what that home will be worth in 30 years and the fact is that it's not exactly what you would call a liquid investment. Turning a house back into capital is time consuming and it can even be costly. Once you sell it, if you do not reinvest the money back into some other related item, you are penalized with a tax of 50 per cent on what you make.

When you cannot use your money or your property in the way that you want to when you want to without being penalized with heavy taxation, something is terribly wrong.  

To my mind, money just represents debt. The purpose of it is to pay debts. If you had no debts, why would you need it? But we need food, clothing and shelter and a means to get it, so we work and we pay and we get penalized when we try to escape that cycle.

I am sorry, but money is not a good thing in the present financial context. The problem is that it's use and supply are strictly controlled by the one per cent I mentioned earlier. We need to take that control away from them, but that is for another blog post...not sure when that will be.

So I don't have a lot of respect for money. I need it to live, but it is in it's very nature a corrupted instrument.

Well, I have to go to the doctor now. Wish me luck. I have not been in awhile and I am well past my sell by date. My warranty is expired. I to feel OK, but I have no doubt he will be pedaling some kind of pill for something I did not know I had. We will see.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

A Prayer

Lord, thanks for taking care of me. Who would want that job besides you? It's been a long strange trip and so far, the last part of the ride has been the best. It's certainly been the most challenging and interesting. I sense that it will be over soon. I am good with that. If that's not correct, I am good with that too. Doesn't really matter though, does it? We all gotta do whatever it is we do. Anyway, thanks for taking care of me; seeing to my physical needs and teaching me. I know there is still some stuff to learn, some wisdom to gain. I'm all yours. Sometimes I have the attention span of a gnat. I appreciate your patience.

Lord, please take care of Dad today. Help him to think, to focus, to pay attention and to remember as much as is possible given his situation. Thanks for what you have done for him to this point.

Lord thanks for my church. Please guide the leadership and staff at church. Help them to lead us in ways you would have us go. Cause them to think about the future of your Kingdom and the things that need to be done within it and also what we should be doing outside the gates.

Please also continue to guide me and my Sunday school class in the study of your life on earth and the things you taught. Help us to see you Lord in the pages of the gospels and come to know you as the friend that you are. We spend much time on the doctrinal and mechanical side of our faith and I don't think we spend nearly enough time getting to know you and keeping you at the center of our lives. Thanks for the class Lord. I love it.

Lord, thanks for your love and your grace and your kindness to me. I will never forget your kindness and the hope that you bring to my life. Please help me to realize that hope Lord. Let me enjoy your grace and your forgiveness when I fail and help me to remain humble in the victories when they come. I know I am nothing without you and that any success I enjoy is because you are my Lord and my God.

Please take care of my friends far and near and thank you Lord for them. Bless them and their families and see them all safely home on the great and terrible Day.

In your Name

Amen   

Monday, September 14, 2015

The Sovereingty of God

There have been volumes written about this subject. That I should think I could explain it all in any detail or accuracy in a short blog post is probably the height of presumption and arrogance, but I am going to try to give you a birds eye view of what I have come up with. This will not be a scholarly treatise. It will be my thoughts on the matter and that is all. You may walk away saying that Ghog is a heretic. So be it. I am a work in progress. So please bear with me.

When the Lord God created us, we were to be something new; living beings that were at once material and spiritual. We were to sense both of these worlds at the same time, enjoying the physical and appreciating the spiritual all at once. We are indeed unique among all the living things that God has made.

You see our Creator wanted us to be like Him in many ways. He wanted us to be able to choose and to create and to love. Mostly though I think He wanted us to be able to love and to serve Him of our own free will.

Free will was a new thing too in the spiritual realm. Until God created the physical universe, all things were attuned to His will alone. Nothing was capable of making a choice outside of His will.  God was indeed sovereign over everything and in total control.

If there was to be free will in this new physical universe, this would mean that God would have to  surrender some control. It's my belief that He did this. He did it for us and He did it for Himself. He wanted His new creations to serve Him out of choice and not due to their programming or His control.

He had to know from the beginning how it was all going to play out. After all He is God. Romans 8:28-30 tells us,

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those that are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become  conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first born among many brethren.; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."

The Lord gave up a bit of control to us, so that we could choose and enjoy free will. What He did not give up was His foreknowledge of who we would be. He knew these things before we were ever born. And it is based on His foreknowledge of our choices, actions and decisions that He predestines us either to eternal glory or eternal death.

We make the decision to either serve Him our serve ourselves. He works with our decisions to create His desired out come. He knows those that are His before they are ever born. We do not. We do not enjoy His foreknowledge. It is a genuine journey for us to the destination of our choosing.

What more would you want from your Creator? To be able to choose freely is the greatest gift that He gave humanity. When He gave us free will, He gave up a part of Himself, His control, His sovereignty to us to do as we pleased. He wanted us to use it to make decisions within His will, all the while knowing that we would not always do that consistently.  He also knew some of us would never do that. Still, He created them too. The only way they would ever know they made the wrong choices in life would be to go out and actually make them. He knows the end of the game. We do not.

He knows those that will come to Him in faith and He knows those that will not. He knows what our choices will be and how we will exercise our free will. He does not interfere with it, but He does try to influence it with His Word. If His Word is consistently ignored, consequences will be forthcoming. The final say is always ours. If we have faith in Him, a glorious future awaits.

God Loved Us so much, they He gave some of His sovereignty to us. We have to be careful how we use it.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

What Would Jesus Do?

WWJD? Is it just a bumper sticker that Christians put on their cars? Does the fact that we have the T-shirt mean that we know what it means?

If you want to know what Jesus would do, you have to read the gospels in the New Testament. Mathew, Mark, Luke and John tell us very specifically what Jesus would do; what He did. I think sometimes we read the written record of Jesus' life and we really miss the point of what it means to be Christlike.

Yes, I know He is the Son of God with powers, knowledge and determination that I will never have. I know that He is perfect, but still, He lived as He did when He was here to set us, and His people at the time, an example.

I, and my Sunday school class, have embarked on a study of the book of Matthew. It is something that is rapidly turning into a study of the life and teaching of Jesus. I have not been able to teach Matthew without also going to the other gospels for details of the same events. The whole thing is growing into a monster study and I love it. The class seems to be enjoying to. There has been much discussion and questions explored. We are moving at a snail's pace, but I think this is a good thing. We are using no lesson book and the Bible is our only guide. I am willing for them to go down into every nook and cranny of scripture to find correct meaning. I believe it is genuine Bible study. The class members are a wise bunch. I have no fear of heresy spreading.

That being said, I think we are genuinely discovering what it is that Jesus would (did) do. And it has been surprising for some. After the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus immediately began doing some amazing and remarkable things that  the Jewish religious leaders of His time would never have done.

He allowed a leper to approach him for healing. Lepers were unclean according to the law of Moses and so was anyone that touched them. Jesus touched him and healed him.

Jesus worked with a Gentile Centurion to heal his servant. Jews steered clear of Gentiles as much as possible to avoid spiritual contamination.

Jesus cast out demons that tormented many. He had no fear of evil spiritual influences. Rather, He did what He could to ease the suffering of those tormented by Satan and his servants.

Jesus allowed women to approach him and speak with him. One such woman was experiencing constant bleeding for a number of years. No doctor could help her. Jesus did. Jews were to avoid contact with blood and Jewish men were to avoid contact with any woman that was not a part of their immediate family. Jesus did not seem to care about this. He was more interested in helping. He did not rely on every nuance of the law to relieve Him of responsibility.

Jesus was not above touching the dead either, though forbidden by Jewish law. Jairus' daughter comes to mind in this regard. Of course, she was not dead for very long. It's amazing what being touched by Jesus can do for someone.

Then there's Matthew himself. He was a Jewish boy, but he did not have a good reputation. He was a tax collector, viewed by his people as an agent of Rome and a sinner and traitor. Jesus invited this sinner to join his group and He even ate at Matthew's house with his friends who were also 'publicans and sinners'.

All of this got Jesus much criticism, but when he claimed to have authority to forgive sin, that was kind of the last straw for his critics.

So that's what Jesus would do. Are you doing stuff like that? I know you can't heal or raise the dead, but are you helping? Are you loving? Are you showing mercy and compassion toward those in need?

Or are you like Jesus' critics, avoiding publicans and sinners and certain races or nationalities or those among your own that have been weakened by sin or poor health or evil circumstance?

Brothers and Sister! We cannot behave that way. We have to look to do what Jesus would do and try to emulate His behavior. We can even forgive when someone sins against us if we are willing to get over ourselves and off our high horses.

So the next time you are vexed wondering what Jesus would do, read a few chapters out of one of the gospels and then go do something about whatever it is. You will ultimately be blessed for it and Jesus will be smiling down on you as you go out among 'them' like He did.

Hang in there Christian. It's only going to get better and if it doesn't, it will. :^)))

I love y'all. Se ya in Church!      

Thursday, September 10, 2015

An Immigration Debate From The Old Days...Sound Familiar???


I Desire Mercy, Not Sacrifice

Speaking through the prophet, Hosea, God said this to His people.

Hosea 6:6

 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
    and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

There was a serious problem among God's people at the time Hosea recorded those words. They were observing all the ceremonial aspects of the law of Moses, but they paid little heed to God's commands to love Him and their neighbors. They would sell their brethren into slavery for a pair of sandals if they needed to without mercy or any thought of kindness. They used the poor among them and stole from them without pain of conscience.  

Such was the moral fiber of these people. They were doing as they pleased from a moral standpoint, but they thought they were forgiven for their bad behavior simply because they continued to offer the prescribed sacrifices. They were, after all, God's chosen people. He would not discard them.

They were wrong.

God has always preferred obedience and mercy and forgiveness over sin and sacrifice. He has always preferred relationship over superstitious kowtowing.  His people were not having it and so He judged them and sent them into captivity.


None of this was happening in Hosea's time. His people eventually paid for their failure to live in relationship and obedience to their God. Mercy and acknowledgement of God was not forthcoming from these people.  

Many years later, after the captivity when God's people had returned to the land of their forefathers, God sent them Jesus. Jesus tried to teach them and especially their spiritual leadership many things. Jesus quoted this passage to the pharisees when they accused him of hanging around with tax collectors and sinners. Here is an excerpt.

Matthew 9:10-12

10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

This is what God means when He says He desires Mercy over sacrifice. He wants to show us His mercy and His grace and He wants to be in relationship with us and heal us. All we have to do is love Him and love our neighbors. He wants the best for all of us, but He cannot help with that if we have our own sense of righteousness that does not derive from Him. 

I think we in the Church are many times guilty of behaving like ancient Israel. We may not sell our brethren for a pair of sandals, but how often do we turn our backs on the unsaved because they are not 'moral enough' to hang around with us righteous folks? 

We are all sinners my friend. We all need forgiveness and grace from the One True Source. It's the only way we will ever be anything even approaching righteous. So Christian, next time you are riding the high righteous horse and thinking you are carrying the sword of the Lord, have some mercy and grace instead. Your heavenly Father will remember it and bless you in eternity. Love as Jesus loved. Give as He would give. Never forget what it took to save you and then you will know why God prefers mercy to sacrifice.  

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Blu Emu



Yes, this is a product endorsement and no, I am not looking for freebies, but I would let them advertise on the blog.

Blu Emu is a 'miracle working' substance. It is almost 14.00 USD for a jar of the stuff, but it is worth every penny and a jar will last a long time. I first experimented with it on my nearly 80 year old father. He was having some joint pain in his right knee. He rubbed it on. He liked it immediately and he does not like anything, including me, so that should tell you something.

Then, one morning last week I woke up with some lower back pain and neck pain. I also had a headache. The headache comes from the narrowing of the space between my neck vertebrae due to compression of the discs in between them. The wrong position of my head during sleep will cause a bone against bone type situation and the pain will go right up my neck and into the back of my head. My spine was probably out of alignment too, and this does not help matters.

Whatever the cause of my distress, I was in severe pain. I can usually depend on aspirin for relief, but it barely touched the situation, so I decided that I would try the Blu Emu.

It worked. I felt the relief coming almost immediately and it lasted all day. When my headache began to subside, I knew I had found a miracle balm.

I highly recommend this product. I have since heard it advertised and I will say all the claims are true - for me.  It is safe, effective, non-greasy and absorbed immediately through the skin, And yes, it does not make you stink. There is no camphor or menthol odor. There is barely any odor at all. It is the perfect salve.

I am not sure what makes it work. Blu Emu does contain emu oil, but I do not know if that is the ingredient that makes it work so well or if it is something else. The emu oil might merely be the delivery system that takes the active ingredients to the deep muscle tissue and joints. Whatever it is, I like it.

I am not sure how they extract emu oil from emus. This worried me a bit. Do they have to kill them first or can it be milked out of them? Who knows? Emus are a domesticated farm animal now much like the ostrich and their meat and feathers are sold for use as consumer products. I think there is a market for their eggs too. I have heard they are a nasty bird, but at least now they serve a purpose.

So try some Blu Emu after a hard day of burrowing or right after you get out of bed in the morning. You will not regret it. Us ground hogs love it! It's also available in a spray. Blu Emu! Try it.

     

Why Me?

I like to check the blog stats from time. I think it's interesting to see who is watching. I have about 11 core readers, but I get page views from all over the world. I would guess that the search words they use in their search engine match up with something in a blog post title and they end up here. I do not know if they stay or read much, but they are coming here. Sometimes the visitors are from strange places. Today I perused some of the 'referring site' statistics and here is some of what came up below.

Do you see anything weird or sort of out of place? I swear that I have never been in prison or even a gang member let alone a prison gang member. I would not join any club that would have me as a member. I think I need to be more careful with the blog post titles.

Click on the link. They are an interesting bunch.   

Referring Sites

EntryPageviews
2








1








1








Now I'm scared :^(

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Are We Ready?

I was talking with a friend last night about the future of the Church in America and how we will be doing church in the coming decades. It was obvious to both of us that the time would be coming when Bible believing churches would not be able to gather under one roof to worship and share. I think we concluded that many churches would after a time have to break up into house churches. The immediate reasons for this should be obvious. Culturally, in the US, we have moved to an 'anything goes' lifestyle where if you disagree with something someone else is doing or refuse to play along, you get censured.

The most glaring example is the same sex marriage issue. Evangelical churches are not going to bend the knee to the Supreme Court and marry same sex people if they show up with a license. We just are not going to do that. We disagree with the marital union of a man and a man or a woman and a woman. It is not what God intended and yes, it is sinful whether inside or outside of wedlock.

More to the point, I am not here to debate that question. You have your opinion. I have mine. I'm sorry that you feel the need to force everyone to agree with you, but it is what it is.

What I am getting at here is that, since we are not going to do these things, it will probably mean that our churches will lose their tax exempt status.

Fine. I can deal with that. Maybe we should have been paying taxes all along. Jesus said to render unto to Caesar what is his and to God what is His. I am right on board with the whole concept. The problem is that the middle class church in America has built these modern day temples to meet in that they can barely afford. The added burden of taxes could well end that practice and I do mean quickly.

Think about it Christian. In a world eager to punish us for our politically incorrect free speech practices, there may also be a desire to punish through taxation. It will not be called that of course, but that might well be the purpose of any such legal action.

Are we ready for that? Is there a plan B?

I am thinking not.

We need to be prepared to move and do so quickly. We can not wait around. Changes like this can happen very quickly. even overnight. Ask any Jew that lived in Germany in the late 1930's - if you can find one.

This is how Fascists and Socialists work.

We need a plan. We need to be prepared to break up into small groups, to meet in homes and to come together in public places. Nothing beats the fellowship of a small group and meeting in a public place just might just annoy the hell out of the authorities if you know what I am saying.

And consider this. The money we stop spending on suburban temples can be used in the fight against our spiritual enemy. The Church in American might actually enjoy a growth spurt the likes of which have not been seen since the Great Awakening.

If you are in the leadership of a church, please give my words some consideration. We need to be ready. Our brethren in Asia are already doing this. They have to. We have time to plan for it.    

Friday, September 4, 2015

A Future

I was sitting in the McDonald's across from Adventureland this morning enjoying an Egg McMuffin and reading the news on my tablet when an 'old lady' walked over with her tray and a very large bag and sat down at the counter in front of the fish tanks. (Yes, they have fish tanks at the Adventureland Mc Donald's.) I was situated behind her and I could see what she was doing. She sat her tray down first and then she proceeded to unload her bag. She pulled out a book stand, an old style spiral bound writing tablet and a pen and then she reached into the bag and pulled out a very large black book and put it on the book stand. It was a Bible. As she alternately took sips of her coffee and orange juice, she would flip through the Bible and make notes in the writing tablet. She obviously knew her way around her Bible. She had an edition that offered no commentary and did not seem to have any cross referencing or even a concordance. That's when it became obvious to me that she was preparing some sort of lesson and she was totally absorbed in the task as if she were all alone in the restaurant studying. I was impressed. She was obviously searching the scriptures for the truths that were there so she could be ready to share.

I do not know how old she was, but by her appearance, I would put her at 80+ years.

I remember thinking to myself, if I live to be 80, will I be doing something like that?

Ya know, I hope so.

We should all be prepared to give an answer to those that want to know about our faith. We should all be able to flip through God's Word and be able to connect it's consistent truths as seamlessly as possible. Beyond all that though, I would still like to be teaching and sharing and generating discussion among Christians of like mind when I am very old. I would like to die on a Sunday afternoon after giving the best lesson of my life. That would be perfect.

Lord, if I can choose, that's the way I want it to go down. OK?

Ya, I know. You don't get to choose. It would be nice to have a good finish though.

"So did you talk to the old lady Ghog?", you ask.

Well no, and I regret not doing so. She might have been a whole bundle of wisdom. I might have asked if she understood what she was reading and then a lengthy and scholarly discussion might have ensued.

It also occurs to me now that she might have been totally bonkers with dementia and her note pad might have been full of nonsense.

Ghog: "Old Lady, do you understand what you are reading?"

Old Lady: "Yes, for it is written,"Blessed are the Cheesemakers of Ephesus for the divine Paraclete of Zion will shine on them with the fury of 7 suns and the ass will lay down with the behemoth and they will be for naught for the Holy One of Israel will curse them with a thousand locust infestations.""

This is not what I want to be like when I am 80.

Lord, I know you can prevent that. Please make it so. I would like to be sharp as a tack on my last day and have my wits about me when I go home. I know that Mick Jagger says, "You can't always get what You Want' and they will probably play that at my funeral (or maybe "Can't get no Satisfaction"), but it would be nice not to be totally bonkers on my death bed. I'm sure it would be entertaining for some and friends would have a good laugh at my expense while wondering when I will be dead. I just want to be able to snap back with something snotty and sarcastic. You gave me that gift and I would like to be able to use it effectively to the end. So if you would, give it some thought. Be creative. I know I will be. The future is full of possibilities. 

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Christian Civil Disobedience - The Right Way - The Wrong Way

I think the time has come for us all who call ourselves Christian to begin standing up for our faith in ways that violate current law and  government regulation. We need to advise the courts, congress, local legislative bodies and even county and city officials that we will disobey when ordered to curb our public profession and practice of our faith. We too have freedom to speak and to practice our religion. If you do not want to look at it or be a part of it, that is fine, but do not stand in my way. I do not make trouble at gay pride parades that occur on public property or women's rights seminars held in public schools and universities. Please do not make official trouble for me when I am in the public venue practicing and sharing what I believe.

As with everything, there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. And aren't you lucky? I happen to have an example of each.

The wrong way as illustrated by Rowan County Clerk, Kim Davis, and reported by US News and World Report .
Kim is the one in blue.

"The Kentucky county clerk facing potentially stiff penalties for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses has been married four times, raising questions of hypocrisy and selective application of the Bible to her life. 
The marriages are documented in court records obtained by U.S. News, which show that Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis divorced three times, first in 1994, then 2006 and again in 2008.
She gave birth to twins five months after divorcing her first husband. They were fathered by her third husband but adopted by her second. Davis worked at the clerk's office at the time of each divorce and has since remarried.
Davis has described her desire to strictly adhere to the Bible in stark terms and thus far has shown no sign of bending to court orders on same-sex marriage. She said Tuesday she fears going to hell for violating "a central teaching" of the Bible if she complies with the orders."

Kim, if you believe that marriage is for one man and one woman for life, then why did you make it four men and one woman (and a mix of children of questionable heritage)? How can you hold anyone's feet to the fire on any moral issue? You are a hypocrite of the worst order. Do you not know that God hates divorce! What would you have done if a county official had refused to grant you a divorce on religious grounds? I wish they had! You are the kind of Christian that creates hate toward God's church because your own behavior is so contradictory. If you want to lodge a protest about the gay mariage issue, simply resign. You are not a martyr. You are an idiot.




"VILLA RICA, Ga. -- A Georgia school district is investigating after video of a mass baptism was posted on YouTube.
The video, posted by First Baptist Villa Rica, was shot on school grounds just before football practice. "We had the privilege of baptizing a bunch of football players and a coach on the field of Villa Rica High School! We did this right before practice! Take a look and see how God is STILL in our schools!" the caption with the video reads."  By Tuesday evening, the video had been removed from YouTube."

This one is going to cause much pain for the social justice warriors in far away places like New York and Washington DC and Los Angeles. But the rejoicing in Villa Rica, Georgia will be heard in all those place. This is what needs to happen everywhere in every place. Get 'em baptized and into the kingdom. Do it in public at high schools, college campuses, city squares and anywhere the Lord can take them in. And when they come after you stand firm! Do not obey them. There is no option but to speak the Name that we were given and share the joy of salvation. Anyone that objects can simply go home. You do not have to listen to it. The public square is ours too and you will share it or face our willful disobedience. Do you want to be seen arresting Christians for peacefully practicing their religion? Then bring it on. I need another star in my crown.

They know how to do it in Villa Rica.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Nearly Hacked Again

Google is telling me that someone in Colorado Springs tried to hack my account today using my passwords. I hate changing my passwords, but I had to.  It's strange because when I tracked the IP it was just northwest of Wichita, KS, so who knows what the real deal is.

Is this going on all over the world or is someone messing with me. This is like the third time.  Maybe it's Google that's messing with me. Who knows?

Whoever or whatever it is, please know that I have nothing you could possibly want besides some strange opinions about things that you may or may not agree with or even care about.

I think I am just going to have to get one of those industrial strength passwords that contain symbols, punctuation marks and more upper case letters.

My employer makes me change my passwords every 30 days. Maybe I should start doing that.  

I'm getting too old for this crap.