God and Sin

As I sit here at the HyVee restaurant waiting for breakfast, I am really not sure where this is going to go. It is not going to be doctoral material, but there is the possibility that it will be correct, so please bear with me.

Maybe we should start with a definition here first. What is sin? From my study, it is anything contrary to the will of God. Please take note here that I am talking about the one true God. You might identify Him as the Christian or the Hebrew God. He is certainly not the demon that is worshiped in Islam.  He is the Lord God and he hates sin.

There are many things that are contrary to His will - things that constitute sin; things that humanity has regularly participated in since it first started making its own moral choices. We are a sinful race. We are able to choose to do or not do things that are within God's will. This is the way He created us. He wanted us to be able to see the choices before us and choose to do His will and refrain from all things sinful. I am sure that, as our Creator, He knew that this would be a battle for us, but that ultimately some of us would make the right choices if we had the correct information. He supplied us with the Law as handed down to Moses so that we would know what sin was; so that we would be without excuse. He sent His Son to refine our understanding of what sin is and how to live without it. Most importantly though, He gave His son a mission to redeem us from our bad choices and empower us to make the right choices. Once His Son's work was finished, God sent those of us who believe, His Holy Spirit. He was and is God's permanent presence in the lives of those of us that believe. He indwells us and strengthens our will power to withstand temptation and the urges of our decaying bodies to sin. I have left some very important things out of this equation for the sake of brevity, but the bottom line is that God knows we will sin. He knows we are weak. And this is why He has provided us a way out and and a way back to Him. He had to do this. If He did not, judgement and eternal condemnation would have been required. He did not want that for us.

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, wrote a letter to the Roman Church explaining these things much better than I am doing now. In the first few chapters of the letter, Paul outlines how humanity ended up in their present sinful condition. He leaves no wiggle room for anyone. We have all sinned. Chapters one and two are and indictment of the human race and Paul makes no distinction between unbelievers and believers in his condemnation of sin.  

ROMANS 1:18 - 2:11

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

2 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ² Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³ So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? ⁴ Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

⁵ But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. ⁶ God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”^{[g] 7} To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. ⁸ But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. ⁹ There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; ¹⁰ but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ¹¹ For God does not show favoritism.

The world is an evil place. We all live in a fallen state. Our physical bodies have been corrupted by the works of sin. We have become weak and cannot save ourselves from God's wrath that is overdue because of sin.

The answer is Jesus. He is the only way out of the condemnation of God and He is the only way into a right relationship with God. Paul discusses this in depth in his letter to the Romans and maybe we can discus that tomorrow or in the near future. Tomorrow however I believe we will look at Romans 2:1. This is a scripture which gets regularly ignored by believers when the study of chapter one commences. It must not be glossed over. It points a finger directly at the self righteousness of believers. It is a warning shot. Christians, know this; no one is righteous. 

Generation Jones

Wikipedia says,
Generation Jones is a term coined by the author Jonathan Pontell to describe the cohort of people born from approximately 1954 to 1965.^[1][2][3] Pontell defined Generation Jones as referring to the last years of the post–World War II baby boom.^[4] The term also includes first-wave Generation X.
The name "Generation Jones" has several connotations, including a large anonymous generation, a "keeping up with the Joneses" competitiveness and the slang word "jones" or "jonesing", meaning a yearning or craving.^[5][6][7][8] It is said^{[by whom?]} that Jonesers were given huge expectations as children in the 1960s, and then confronted with a different reality as they came of age during a long period of mass unemployment and when de-industrialization arrived full force in the 1970s and 1980s, leaving them with a certain unrequited "jonesing" quality for the more prosperous days in the past. The generation is noted for coming of age after a huge swath of the population had come immediately preceding them; thus, many Generation Jones members complain that there was a paucity of resources and privileges available to them that were seemingly abundant to Baby Boomers born earlier. Therefore, there is a certain level of bitterness about and a "jonesing" for the level of freedom and affluence granted to older boomers but denied to their generation.<sup>[9]

Ya, I'm Jonesin'. 

Us Generation Jones types are the butt end of the Boomer generation and man does it feel like it. Our Boomer brethren took all the money, shipped out our opportunities to China and burdened us and the generations after with an unpayable debt. We have been made debt slaves, born to pay for the retirement plans of the most selfish generation of humans in history.

I'm telling you now that I will not participate. We need to get our act together along with the generations that followed us and refuse to pay the Boomer's bills.  Repudiate the debt of these blood suckers and let them die. They are pustules on the body politic that must be lanced. There will be scars, but so be it. The time is now.

Boomers you are on notice. We will not carry your load. It is not our job. You are leeches that steal from your fellow citizens and you produce nothing but pain for others. It's time for you to go.</sup>

Gingers Have No Souls

That is just one of the epithets I have had to endure in my lifetime thanks to those wonderful creators of South Park. I can assure you that this redhead does have a soul and it's much more sensitive than you might think given my INTJ status on the Meyers-Briggs personality inventory. 

There are other forms of hate speech used to denigrate those of us that belong to the master race. I have heard "carrot top" which is really stupid if you consider that carrot tops are green. There is "red headed step child". This one is particularly nasty since I am not a step child and what if I was? There a millions of step children in the world. Why does the color of their hair matter? Another name I heard, particularly in high school was "red on the head like a @#$% on a dog". I assure you that the color of my glorious high school locks did not match that of male dog genitalia. And while the sight of orange pubic hair can be scary when seen for the first time by others in a high school locker room, I assure you that "Fire Crotch" is not a complimentary designation. There is also another myth, and here I speak for myself alone I think; the rumor is that we are really hot sex partners. The fact is that this red head is celibate. My sex drive is probably abnormally low and I really don't care. It's just one less burden from my point of view. Now there may be other red heads that have unquenchable desire in this area, but me....it's all crickets and cobwebs.

There is much hate and, I think even jealousy in regard those of us that enjoy the privilege of ginger status. It's like a mark has been placed on us by God as a warning to them. There is no doubt that we are individual, mostly because of the "hairist" environment that we have to live in, but that makes us even more special.

We are a rare item in the world among the human race. Wikipedia says,

Red hair occurs naturally in 1–2% of the human population. It occurs more frequently (2–6%) in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations. Red hair appears most commonly in people with two copies of a recessive gene on chromosome 16 which causes a mutation in the MC1R protein.^[1]
Red hair varies from a deep burgundy through burnt orange to bright copper. It is characterized by high levels of the reddish pigment pheomelanin and relatively low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The term redhead has been in use since at least 1510.^[2] It is associated with fair skin color, lighter eye colors (gray, blue, green, and hazel), freckles, and sensitivity to ultraviolet light.^[3]
Cultural reactions have varied from ridicule to admiration; many common stereotypes exist regarding redheads and they are often portrayed as fiery-tempered.

The fiery temper thing...really? I am so sick of that one. It makes me want to throw my tablet across the HyVee dining room and scream at all the bigots. How could anyone say such a thing? Miserable jerks. It's just not true!!!

Then there is this,

Today, red hair is most commonly found at the northern and western fringes of Europe;^[1][9] it is associated particularly with the people located in the British Isles (although Victorian era.^{[citation needed]} Ethnographers consider the Udmurt people of the Volga to be "the most red-headed men in the world").^[10] Redheads are common among Celtic^[1][9] and Germanic^{[citation needed]} peoples.
Scotland has the highest proportion of redheads; 13% of the population has red hair and approximately 40% carries the recessive redhead gene.^[11] Ireland has the second highest percentage; as many as 10% of the Irish population has red, auburn, or strawberry blond hair.^[12] It is thought that up to 46% of the Irish population carries the recessive redhead gene.^[1] A 1956 study of hair color amongst British army recruits also found high levels of red hair in Wales and the English Border counties.

So be careful with us. Be gentle. Be nice. Imagine we are white tigers or some other exotic creature of which there are few. We are special. I know everyone believes that about themselves, but we really are special. Among all of God's human beings, He blessed us with this glorious mark. My soul is uplifted because He loved me so much that He made me a ginger. I am His, chosen from before time and creation to be a red head. Praise the Lord for Gingerosity.  

February 26th Was A Rough Day In Flathead County Montana

From the Police Blotter of the Flathead Beacon

7:16 p.m. A sibling argument over a toothbrush was overheard during an accidental, or not so accidental, call to 911. Either way, no emergency was identified.
8:52 a.m. In some sort of weird “retaliation” effort, people reportedly rolled numerous 250 pound tires across some property on Point of View Drive in Whitefish.
9:39 a.m. A woman in Bigfork reported that someone had been in her house eating her food.
10:27 a.m. A Kila resident suspects that a local realtor has been stealing property on Emmons Canyon Road.
11:51 a.m. A woman was arrested for felony theft after a showdown at an Evergreen business.
12:20 p.m. Someone reported that the black Mercedes parked in the handicapped spot in front of a Bigfork business did not have a handicapped sticker.
12:57 p.m. A Hungry Horse man reported that the neighbor’s dog was loose again. He said that he contacted the neighbors, but they pretended to have no association with the animal.
12:57 p.m. A resident Highway 35 in Kalispell reported that someone told him that his neighbor has been lying on the couch, dead, for several days. The neighbor was found to be alive and well.
2:51 p.m. A woman on Deer Trail reported that a man handing out flyers was in her garage yelling at her, forcing her to take a flyer.
4:39 p.m. A man on Highway 35 in Kalispell reported that a woman and her “associates” have stolen numerous items from him.
5:05 p.m. A Whitefish resident called in with a “long story” to tell.
8:14 p.m. Someone found a diaper bag lying in the middle of Highway 2 East.
10:00 p.m. A motorcycle fell out of a pickup traveling down Conrad Drive.

Alzheimer's Disease

Do you know anyone with Alzheimer's or any kind of dementia? I do. It's a terrible thing to watch, particularly when it's a family member or loved one. My Dad has Alzheimer's. He was in the early stages before Mom died and I have been watching over him since her passing. It has not been pleasant, but there have been, strangely, blessings that have come from our increased interaction with each other over the past 4 years. We have had an opportunity to get to know each other again and even in his diminished capacity, Dad can be an interesting man to talk to. And since we were not close when I was a child and a teenager living in his house, this time in our lives has brought us back together. It was tough for both of us in the beginning.

After Mom died, I moved in with him to make sure he ate. I took over his financial affairs and I try to do for him what I can to make sure he remains comfortable and undisturbed by the realities of the world. I get him out to the doctor and try to manage his health care as best I can. He is in good condition for someone that has so many things wrong. He has afibrillation of the heart, which, in its current state, is uncorrectable. He has grand mal epilepsy, which he has had to deal with all his life. No seizures since 1968 thankfully. And now he has this insidious, gradually increasing dementia.

Until now, his chief difficulty and personal issue has been time. He never knows what time it is. He never knows what day it is. He does not even know what year it is, even though they shout it at him on television all the time.

There are also entire portions of his life and my childhood that he does not remember. This is probably a good thing.  The sixties and seventies are a blank slate for him. I have trouble with the seventies too, but for different reasons...that was a joke. He also sometimes thinks that my uncle, his brother, is me. There is some family weirdness there because my grandparents would also sometimes refer to me by my uncle's name. The whole thing baffles me.

Then last Saturday a new symptom reared it's head. Dad told me that he didn't think the people on the television could see him, but they had been asking him questions and he had been answering. I actually witnessed this behavior last night. He would test it by standing behind the screen because he thought they might be reading his lips. He is convinced now that people on television are talking to him.

I believe we might be approaching the time when Dad has to make a move to a care facility. It's either that, or I quit my job and stay home with him. I could probably do that. It would just be a matter of finding some affordable health insurance for me and selling some property.

Anyhow, I would ask that you pray for me and for Dad while I consider our options. I do not want to accelerate his condition by taking him out of a familiar environment and I really hate to take him away from the dog. He loves Oliver (wheaton terrier) and in some respects, Oliver is a major help in keeping Dad active and thinking. They have adventures together like getting the mail, taking out the garbage and catching the possum that got into the basement. They are a team and great comedy relief for me. I love them both and I really do not want to separate them. But a decision looms nevertheless.

There are also my guilt issues, but that will have to be for another post...maybe. I should have been a Calvinist. I was born guilty.

Gots to go now.  

UFO's

I have been hearing the stories all of my life. Saucer shapes, cylinder shapes, deltas, bright, fast moving multicolored lights that make sharp turns at high speeds in the sky or rising out of the oceans. The reports are ubiquitous. And I have to say that I find it all fascinating. I have read volumes on the UFO phenomenon. It is very entertaining above everything else. I am fascinated by these things that ordinary people experience every day, but cannot be explained. I am fascinated by the need of the authorities, whoever they might be, to explain it all away in some trivial fashion. It all reeks of conspiracy and secrecy and the idea of "what are they not telling us". I also find the whole abduction phenomenon more than passing strange because so many people have experienced it. It has ruined peoples lives and made a handful wealthy.

Where am I with all this? Do I "believe" in UFO's? Is alien abduction a reality?

The answer is yes to both questions, but with an explanation. and I probably should write a book about it (:^))

There are things in our skies every day that I cannot identify. Maybe someone can. I cannot. One such event occurred last summer. I had arrived at work. I had just exited my truck. It was still dark. I felt prompted to look up at the stars from the parking lot. It was a clear, dark early morning star field. I was looking straight up, directly overhead. The stars were beautiful, but I noticed that one of them was moving west to east at a fairly high rate of speed. The object looked like all the other stars; it was a pinpoint of light, but it was moving. There was no apparent exhaust trail. It was just moving fast. In just a split second, this moving star veered north - a 90 degree turn at high speed. It then overtook another motionless "star" and that star disappeared. It was like pacman. Then it continued north and blinked out of view.

Explain that one. I cannot. It was very weird.

My experience with abduction is very limited too. I pretty much just chalk it up to bad dreams because it mostly happens when I'm trying to sleep. Sometimes it's like I leave my body. I see things and people that were but are no more. There is more I could say here but I wont. You might know me and be thinking that I need committal, or at the very least, some counseling. I think I'm fine.

So yes, I think both of these phenomena are real. I just do not accepts the conventional explanations for the sources for the phenomenon from either the believers or the debunkers. While I do believe the government may well be responsible to some extent with experimental aircraft; I think much of this could have a spiritual, demonic origin. Still it fascinates me. I am drawn to study it. I would actually like to take a vacation and go in search of UFO's. A trip through southern Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada would be 'da bomb. Some day I'm gonna do it.

"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get" - Forrest Gump's Mom.

James Says Resist The Devil and He Will Flee From You

Resist the Devil and he will flee from you. So says James, the Lord's brother in James 4:7-10. Here it is:
 "⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. 

Really James? He will flee?

He makes it sound so easy doesn't he? That's my issue with James. He preaches these little vignettes about different moral issues and he makes it sound so simple. It's like he's giving us the spiritual version of, "Duh". It annoys me, but as I have pointed out before, Truth can do that. I just hate it when someone makes me feel stupid and lazy. You would think I'd be used to that by now. 

I will just say it. The bluntness and clarity with which James writes hurts my feelings - yes I do have them. Sometimes he makes me flat out angry. Again, I think these emotional reactions are the result of hearing the truth. It is God's Spirit working through His Word, coaching me, making me better, making me try harder. Even so, a kinder, gentler James would have been nice.

James leaves me feeling convicted. Even though he does not directly condemn, I still feel convicted, like I need to do something.. He pushes me.

For those reasons alone, I recommend reading the epistle. James is motivational. He will make you think.  And if we really follow his advice, the Devil will flee. The problem I think comes when we fail to put down the initial temptation and it progresses to contemplating sin. Once we reach that point, we have lost. The poison has entered the system.

In his review of Thomas Brooks 17th Century book, "Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices", 
Tim Challies offers ten ways to resist the Devil.

1. Be Ruled by the Word. Make the Word of God your rule and authority and live in obedience to all it says. It will keep you walking straight and guard you from all manner of temptation. “When men throw off the Word, then God throws off them, and then Satan takes them by the hand, and leads them into snares at his pleasure.”
2. Beware of Grieving the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that gives the Christian the ability to discern Satan’s temptations and to see his hand in and behind life’s circumstances. If you grieve the Spirit, you drive off the one whose ministry involves guarding you against Satan’s attacks.
3. Labor for Wisdom. There is a great difference between knowledge and wisdom, between accumulating facts and applying Scripture to those facts so they become wisdom. It is not the Christian with the most knowledge, but the Christian with the most wisdom, who is equipped to battle Satan’s temptations.
4. Resist the First Stirring of Temptation. It is safe to resist temptation and dangerous to dabble in it. “He that will play with Satan’s bait, will quickly be taken with Satan’s hook.” God promises that we can resist temptation, not that we can resist sin once we have begun to dabble in that temptation.
5. Labor to Be Filled With the Spirit. The Spirit is a Spirit of light and power. The Spirit’s light shines bright against the darkness of sin and his power is sufficient to overcome all evil and temptation. When it comes to fighting Satan’s temptations, it is better to have a heart filled with the Spirit than a head filled with facts.

6. Keep Humble. A humble heart would rather lie in the dust than rise to prominence by sinful means; it would prefer to lose everything than to sin and be left with a guilty conscience. The humble person is neither drawn in by what Satan offers, nor terrified by his threats.
7. Be Constantly on Guard. A secure soul is a soul in a position to be led astray and ensnared. “That soul that will not watch against temptations, will certainly fall before the power of temptations.” Satan strengthens his assaults when the soul grows drowsy and careless. So be constantly on guard. “Watchfulness is nothing else but the soul running up and down, to and fro, busy everywhere; it is the heart busied and employed with diligent observation of what comes from within us, and of what comes from without us and into us.”
8. Continue Communing With God. It is as you join in communion with God that he gives you strength to resist Satan’s attacks. “A soul high in communion with God may be tempted, but will not easily be conquered. Such a soul will fight it out to the death.” Take full advantage of God’s means of grace.
9. Do Not Engage Satan In Your Own Strength. You need to draw the power, and even the desire, to resist sin from Jesus Christ and you need to do this every day. “Certainly that soul that engages against any old or new temptation without new strength, new influences from on high, will fall before the power of new temptation.” Commune with God, be on guard, be humble—do all of these things! But do not rely on them in the battle; instead, rely on Christ.
10. Pray Constantly. “Prayer is a shelter to the soul, a sacrifice to God and a scourge to the devil.” So pray and pray constantly. Tell God of your own inability to detect and respond to temptation; tell him that you are utterly dependent upon his grace; tell God that Christ’s blood has been applied to you; tell God that you are his child; ask God to deliver you from temptation for the glory of his name.

Some good stuff there.

I Am In Mourning

                                                             

I will always remember where I was when I learned that Mr. Spock died. I was standing up in my cubicle at work when Charlie, a coworker, got the news on his smart phone and announced it.  You expect Vulcans to live a long time, but it's still a shock to the system when they go. I guess he was half human.

This is not the first time that Mr. Spock died. You may recall that he gave up his life once for the good of the many when he entered the matter - anti matter reactor on the star ship Enterprise to make repairs that saved the ship and everyone on board. He lost his life this first time only to take it up again after his internment on the Genesis planet where they tested the Genesis effect of terraforming worlds.

The Genesis effect resurrected Spock, but he was never quite the same after that. He seemed transformed by the process. Many thought he would live forever after that. As it turns out, he did not. He went the way of all humanoids. He will now return to dust.

He did indeed live long and prosper. Rest in Peace Mr. Spock

The Mind, The Heart, The Soul

These things are at the center of who we are as humans. I know there are some that would say that the mind is located in the frontal lobe of the brain. Some would also say that our hearts are in our chest, functioning as a multipurpose pump and valve that keeps the physical body alive with oxygenated blood. And many, especially those that rely on science, will tell you there is no soul.

For people that actually believe these things, I often wonder how they arrive at any moral approach for living. I think the answer is that they have to steal their morality and life philosophy. Normally, they purloin the Judeo-Christian morality if they live in the West. Even then it gets bent and warped, since they do not believe anything beyond the physical exists.

The truth is that the mind, the heart and the soul are part and parcel of the same thing. The mind tends to be less emotional and more intellectual. The heart (not the pump in you chest) tends to be the seat of emotional responses like empathy, sympathy, lust and anger. They both combine in the soul which is the non-physical part of a human.  The ancients knew of these things, even the ancient pagans. I too am certain of this. I have experienced both the oneness of body and soul and also the separation of the two. I will not elaborate on this except to say that I know there is life outside the bodies we have here. It is a spiritual existence that is different than what we live here.

In the metaphysical sense, it is best if our hearts and minds work in unison. It makes for a more peaceful existence here in the three dimensional realm. Many times however, the heart wants things that the mind knows are not good - not good for the health of the physical body and or not good for the spiritual health of the whole human.  This is why it's best for the mind to control the desires of the heart. It is less emotional, more logical and is more knowing than feeling. Jesus spoke of the deceit of the human heart when he was discussing what it is that makes a man unclean. He said,

Matthew 15:16-20

¹⁶ “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. ¹⁷ “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. ²⁰ These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

For the Christian, this is why both the mind and heart need to be controlled by the Spirit of God. If this does not happen, there can be conflict between the two or worse, the two will be in disagreement with God's Spirit. Not a good situation.

This is why Paul calls for the renewing of the mind.

Romans 12:1,2

12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The notion of presenting oneself as a living sacrifice is scary. But if we offer ourselves in submission to God; if we submit our minds and hearts to His will, we will be transformed. We will lose that self destructive edge that every human seems to carry and then we will be able to live lives of peace in union with our Creator.

How do we offer ourselves, submit ourselves to God to achieve this transformation?

Obedience. Yup. Sounds easy, but we humans tend to learn obedience by being disobedient. This is unfortunate, but it is true for many of us even among believers.

Use your mind to control the waywardness of your heart and submit to God in obedience and peace and internal conflict will not be such an issue. Some of us are more submissive than others and so the process will be easier for some than others, but sacrificing yourself may involve some pain just so you know.

For me it has been a life long struggle for many reasons. Maybe some day I will have the testicular fortitude to explain it in words or on a screen or publicly out loud, but that time is not now. Suffice it to say, God's Spirit  is moving in me as I seek to submit. It's when I seek to please myself or concern myself with what others (besides God) think, that I get into trouble.

I think most of us know what we have to do. We just fail to do it full time. Living sacrifices tend to crawl off the altar to escape. The thing that will stop that is the death of the sacrifice. We have to choose to die to ourselves and submit to God. Simple and tough, but true.

So is it possible to live a sinless life in perfect harmony with God's will? Can we live our lives and not sin? At least occasionally?

My heart tells me no, but my mind says yes...lets do it and see what happens (:^)))

Someone Was Reading the Daily Ground Hog Today And I Know Who

Call me paranoid, but this blog had an unusual amount of traffic today and most of it happened all at one time, like within a 5 minute period. I pulled up the stats and I showed 241 hits today. On a really good day, TDGH gets 40 hits. I know that sucks, but I don't like crowds.

I also get a report on percentage of browser types used and also operating systems.The operating system used in the time period specified that had the highest percentage (98) of use was Linux.

I do not know many people that use Linux on their desktops, laptops, tablets or phones. Linux is usually for the big industrial users and government. Wikipedia says,

"It is the leading operating system on servers and other big iron systems such as mainframe computers and supercomputers,^[14][15][16] but is used on only around 1% of desktop computers.^[17] "


So, naturally, being the conspiracy freak that I am, I have chosen to assume the worst. I believe that official ears have scanned TDGH and from the looks of it, they hit every blog post and comment. Who else could do this in such a short time period? Who else would bother with a nearly nonexistent blog? And who else would waste precious taxpayer resources on someone like me?

You know who! The picture above explains it all.

And you know what? It's ridiculous. I am a Christian Libertarian, but I am not dangerous. I do have ideas and I do like to make people think, but I am not - repeat - not dangerous. Cynical and sarcastic at times, yes, but otherwise I am meek, mild and unassuming.

Isn't there a banker or an ISIS member you can spy on? Now them guys is dangerous...just sayin.

You Can't Handle The Truth

Have you ever heard the expression, "you create your own reality"? I am finding that after 57 years on the planet, most of us do this to one degree or another. We have this construct in our minds of what the world should be and who we are in it and we then build it according to our own design; in our own image, if you will. I think this is because we cannot handle the truth. We cannot handle the truth about ourselves, about our circumstances, about our friends, about our jobs and the companies we work for, about whatever...

We construct a tissue of lies and proceed to believe them and live them so we do not have to deal with the nasty details of what makes our cushy lives so cushy.

Right now there is a factory in China that employs 250,000 people where they make a certain brand of cell phone. These people live at the factory in dormitories and eat at the company cafeterias. In essence, they are slaves, indentured for a period of time to satisfy the desires of your teenagers to have a hot cell phone. There are mills in India, Sri Lanka, and throughout the African continent that make designer clothing. The shirt that you paid $75.00 for cost .50 cents to make in Colombo. Little Haggi works his fingers to the bone 14 hours a day, 6 days a week, so we can be stylish.

Our government deliberately destabilizes middle eastern nations like Syria and Iraq so that our allies (Saudi Arabia) can build a gas pipeline through those countries to the Mediterranean and Europe. Our government distracts the Russian bear in Europe by destabilizing Ukraine, so the pipeline project can be finished.

This is just the tip of the New World Order iceberg that is headed toward us. We face a future of robots, drone surveillance, genetic modification and genocide that is not far off.

One of these days people, this carefully designed world you have created for you and your family is going to completely unravel if you do not wake up and smell the coffee.

I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer here. I just want you to be prepared when the feces hit the oscillating wind device, and I am not talking about being a prepper when I say that.

Our lives in this world are short. Depending on where you live, it could be nasty, brutish and short. There is life beyond this one. It is eternal. Where you spend it is not dependent on what you have managed to construct for yourself here. It is dependent on your knowledge and acceptance of the truth. The truth is that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life and no one will see the bright side of the day after judgement day without acknowledgment of that fact. Hell is real. Spending eternity there is not a prospect that anyone should look forward to. Ruling in Hell is not better than serving in heaven.

The single most important thing that you can do for yourself and for your children is to cozy up to Jesus and talk to him about your future. Get a grasp on the real truth and toss out the reality you have constructed for yourself. It is not real. Stop believing your own lies, bend the knee to Jesus and let Him open up the real truth for you.

I think you can handle it.

How Just One Thing Can Ruin Your Day

Maybe this is just me, but all it really takes is for just one thing to go wrong in my workday and the rest of the day is a complete loss. I work in a small office and there was a dispute today between two employees. The cause of it was an email sent from one employee to the other (in the next cubicle and why would anyone do that?). The receiver interpreted the intent of the email in a negative way, did not like the wording and thought that the sender was trying to supervise her. I do not believe this was the intention, but it happened and the rest of my day was spent trying to keep the peace while conferring with my boss about the situation. Now it looks like HR will get involved and I am so tired of it all, I could scream.

This ground hog needs to retire to a nice burrow in Belize, but he cannot for a number of other reasons, one of them being the care and feeding of Papa Ground hog.

Human beings are bent. I do not exclude myself from the "bentness" of the race.  I do not want to seem self righteous. But really people; work these things out and be willing to admit when you might be wrong.

Why is the world in this condition?

The Church Lady knew.

It's Satan. He has been dogging me too and I'm sick of it.

This was probably incoherent. So be it. That's the way I feel right now.

Lord, please make Wednesday better. Please ask our common enemy to go play some place else tomorrow. Thanks. I know I need to man up and be able to deal with these situations, but that might not be so good either. Show me what you want me to do. I need some rest now. It's going to be tomorrow in just a few seconds 

Trouble in Flathead County

There are really awful places to live in this world (Iraq, Syria, Los Angeles) and you would think a place like Flathead County, Montana would be a paradise compared to them. However, if you read the Flathead County Beacon Police Blotter, you realize there is trouble everywhere...even in Paradise. All of this happened on February 10th. Glad I was not there. The last two entries are my favorites. There is more at the Beacon! 

10:58 a.m. A woman reported that her sister punched her in the back of the head while she was driving.
1:27 p.m. A Bigfork resident reported that his roommate “went nuts” and broke his stuff.
2:01 p.m. A Hungry Horse resident fell victim to some kind of internet software scam.
2:19 p.m. There is an ongoing dog barking issue on Cayuse Lane.
2:57 p.m. A Somers resident who was home sick complained that he was unable to rest because his hyperactive upstairs neighbor was too noisy.
3:24 p.m. A Whitefish resident reported that someone stole his muscle stimulating unit.
5:17 p.m. One power tool was stolen by a medium sized man in Lakeside.
6:17 p.m. A potentially intoxicated woman called from Hungry Horse with complaints regarding the drunken man she lives with and his inability to build a fire that gives off enough heat, but not too much.
11:49 p.m. A Kalispell woman reported that her neighbor’s house smells like chlorine and it’s giving her heartburn.

Spiritual Experience

Spiritual experience is a difficult thing to talk about, mostly because it is after all, spiritual. Spiritual things are not quantifiable in the empirical sense. They cannot  be measured except in the most subjective of terms. I think this is why 'science' will not even study it or acknowledge that there is such a thing as an actual human spirit or a spiritual world. We, as humans, tend to keep things like this in little boxes that we bring out at church or at the yoga class or the latest new age festival during the vernal equinox. We separate our physical existence from our spiritual existence and the result is a grave misunderstanding of what it means to be spiritual and human.

God created us as both body and spirit. It is what makes us unique among all His creations. We are incomplete when our bodies and spirits are separated. It is an unnatural state for a human being. Hence death is an unnatural state for a human being, yet we do die, fragile things that we are. And there are a number of reasons for this phenomenon which goes beyond the scope of this blog post.

Suffice it to say that if death is a separation of our eternal spirit from our bodies, then why is it that we live as though we were already dead, separating our spirituality from our lives in general?

Even Christians, who are fully aware of these things do this and it needs to stop.

We are at our most complete as God's creations when our spirits live in harmony with our bodies and we are at peace with God's spirit that dwells within us also. 

And therein lies both the beauty of spiritual experience and the tyranny of it. Because of the inherited tendency of humans to live outside of the will of God, the body wars with the spirit and if the said same body also has God's spirit within, then the war intensifies. Many Christians collapse exhausted during this war and settle for a less than fabulous existence, falling into a cycle of sin, repentance and forgiveness that stunts spiritual growth and retards spiritual understanding. It's a tragedy and it can be prevented. Even Paul talks a bit about the problems of doing what he does not want to do in Romans 7. It is a pervasive issue. And it becomes more complicated when we begin to believe the lies of our adversary who will always pretend to be on our side until we self destruct.

So the question is....is it possible to live without conflict between body and spirit and with God's spirit. My answer would be yes, but it is not easy and it is not probably something you will be able to do alone. For myself, I am someone, who from all appearances, does not need the help of others. The fact is that as I age, I am finding that God's Spirit is pushing me to seek out others during times of spiritual conflict so that when my end comes, I will have a good finish. Truly, I am becoming obsessed with this idea.

Jesus and Paul said that we need to die to our physical selves with it's desires and emotional reactions and interactions and be lead by God's Spirit. And while this is correct, I think many Christians see this as some sort of emotional experience when it's really not. Christian spirituality is not emotionally based. It is intellectually based. Our salvation and our spiritual well being comes from a knowing and not a feeling. We need to be informed. We need to know. And while winning this war between spirit and flesh is fraught with emotional issues, we need to stay focused on the One that saves. Our spirits need to work in conjunction with God's spirit to quiet the brokenness of our physical bodies and live in harmony with God. It requires our cooperation. We have to participate in our own rehabilitation. It will not be magical....oh, would that not be easy....but I digress.

It also is instructive, helpful and necessary for us to work within a framework of community to achieve this purpose. That community is the church. Within our churches there are thousands of years of spiritual experience, both good and bad, that we can draw on. The support of our brothers and sisters through prayer and personal communion is essential to this process.

This means sharing our spiritual issues with others, and while I would rather have hemorrhoid surgery than share my personal spiritual issues with anyone; if I really want resolution to my spiritual issues, this may be my answer. There are all kinds of reasons not to do this. My mind is calculating all the negatives right now.

But if I want to be able to live in harmony with my God, both in body and in spirit, it would behoove me to seek all the assistance I can get.

After all, we only get one soul. Our bodies will be replaced by a newer, more eternal model. If this one collapses from withdrawal, so be it.

Got to go to work now.

Why Study The Bible...

For us Christians, it's important to know about our faith. We need to be prepared as the blog post below indicates, but we also need to grow spiritually, both as individuals in the body and together as the one unit - the Church. There are a number of venues for that. There is personal study. There is Christian or Bible college. And there is the Church itself. Some of the most valuable spiritual knowledge can be gained by studying side by side with your brothers and sisters in Christ. There is a vast amount of spiritual experience to be mined at church. That's why I would suggest that you look into attending an adult Sunday school class or Bible study at you church. Christian spirituality is intellectually based. It's more than a feeling. It's a knowing. How can you know anything unless you study and learn. Paul put it this way in Ephesians 4:11-16:

¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

A properly functioning New Testament style church requires instruction to be able to go where Jesus want it to go. Studying the Word of God is your ticket to go on that ride. As God's saints, we have to be prepared. You can do that in Sunday School.

See ya tomorrow right? OK.
   

The Full Armor of God

 
As Christians, we all face times of spiritual testing and trial. What we do in those times depends to a great extent on whether we are prepared. Any test requires study. Any trial requires testimony and witness.We must prepare.

Paul saw these trials and tests in terms of war; spiritual warfare, and that is about the best way to put it.  We are at war and not with non-believers or even other believers that may disagree with us. We are at war with the source of these troubles. Satan declared war on us when Jesus claimed us as His own and took away his twin weapons of sin and death. The Devil is a sore loser. He will not go down alone if he can prevent it. His job from his point of view is to take as many us out of the game as possible and prevent others from seeing the truth and joining us. He is a subtle adversary that takes souls wherever he can and his armies are vast. They have infiltrated every institution from the government to the Church; from the secular to the sublime. They are Lucifer's special forces teams working throughout the world to send as many people to Hell as possible. This is their mission.  

Paul used military language in Ephesians 6:10-18 to describe how we should prepare so that we can stand in times of trouble. I quoted this yesterday in the blog post below, but I did not detail it. What I can tell you is this.

He says to be strong in the power of God. Put on His full armor. the reason for this is what I have already alluded to - that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. It is against the dark spiritual forces of the spiritual world that exists in the same time and space as we exist in. We must be prepared for their intervention in our world.

Paul described several defensive spiritual weapons in our arsenal that protect us during periods of trial and testing. There is the belt of truth. It sort of holds together our combat gear in a way that protects. The belt of truth is the enduring principles of the Word of the Living God. As long as we are bound tightly by them, we will not fail.

Then there is the breastplate of righteousness. This is another very important bit of spiritual armor that no Christian should spend a day in the world without. It should be noted here that this is NOT the Christians own righteousness. This is the righteousness of God that is given to every Christian for their faith in Him. It is a gift that is close to the heart. It protects the soul from permanent damage or damage that could cause spiritual death.

Spiritual footwear is also important. Our feet have to be fitted with footwear designed for the agility required in battle. Only the gospel of peace will work here.When we are shod with this, we will move with the grace of God even in the heat of the spiritual battle..

Then there is the shield of faith that protects us from the unexpected flaming arrows launched by this demonic army. The best thing about the shield of faith is that it may be used in conjunction with the shields of other believers to protect an entire group under spiritual attack and even those who may have lost their shields temporarily. This is a Christian's most valuable defensive weapon...along with the helmet of salvation. This helmet is another gift from God for our faith. When the negative spiritual forces in the world see a number of these helmets gathered together, they become fearful. It reminds them of their inevitable defeat.

We do have one offensive weapon at our disposal and it is offensive to many in this world. It is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. This the most powerful weapon believers have in their arsenals. The writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews 4:12 says this:

¹² For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

This sword can take down any spiritual enemy when used correctly.  And that brings up my final comment. All the armor and defensive gear in the world will avail you nothing if you do not practice using them. They become just useless bits of a spiritual costume if you do not actively prepare to meet the enemy. Use of the sword is particularly important. Know your sword. Take care of it and learn how to use it...otherwise it's a blunt instrument that will fail you when you need it most.

I will close with this from First Peter 5:8

⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Stay Frosty. No one wants to be the Devil's lunch. 

Pagan Revival in Iceland

Europe seems to be returning to it's roots. The Caucasian population of western Europe is beginning to embrace their race as the onslaught of middle-eastern migration to the area continues at a record pace. The path they have chosen is an interesting one. They are looking to the gods of their ancestors to reinvigorate their native and national pride. Throughout Scandinavia there is a resurgence of interest in the ancient pre-Christian gods of their people. Their is revival is real.

In Iceland, construction will begin soon on the first temple to Odin and the Norse gods in over 1000 years. It will be interesting to see if the revival grows and spreads to Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark.

According to the Guardian:

 

"Icelanders will soon be able to publicly worship at a shrine to Thor, Odin and Frigg with construction starting this month on the island’s first major temple to the Norse gods since the Viking age.

Back for Thor: how Iceland is reconnecting with its pagan past

Worship of the gods in Scandinavia gave way to Christianity around 1,000 years ago but a modern version of Norse paganism has been gaining popularity in Iceland.
“I don’t believe anyone believes in a one-eyed man who is riding about on a horse with eight feet,” said Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, high priest of Ásatrúarfélagið, an association that promotes faith in the Norse gods.
“We see the stories as poetic metaphors and a manifestation of the forces of nature and human psychology.”
Membership in Ásatrúarfélagið has tripled in Iceland in the last decade to 2,400 members last year, out of a total population of 330,000, data from Statistics Iceland showed.
The temple will be circular and will be dug 4 metres (13ft) down into a hill overlooking the Icelandic cap."

One has to wonder how long it will take for other people groups in the world return to the superstitions of their ancestors and whether they will take these faiths seriously, practicing them as they did in ancient times. The post Christian age is upon us. We have to be prepared. This could be the return of full scale evil.  This can only come from demonic sources.

So be prepared

Ephesians 6:12-17

 ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Psalm 139:1-18

These are the thoughts of David about the Lord. He was right. You can run, but you can't hide. If you are His, you will not get away. He will do whatever it takes to break you and bring you home.

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

Moses - The Lord's Introvert

When Jews and Christians think of Moses, they will most likely describe him as the greatest leader and prophet of all time. Christians would make an exception for Jesus who is also the Son of God, but Moses would follow close behind. And Moses was indeed a great man called by the Lord God to lead the descendants of Jacob out of the land of their servitude into a place promised to them and their ancestors. But God's choice of Moses to do this thing is a bit of a mystery to my mind.

Moses was no ordinary man to be sure. He was the son of Hebrew slaves that had been reared in the King's household. He enjoyed privilege and the best education; something that was most likely denied to the Hebrew slave population. But he was also a Hebrew and He knew this. The condition of his people in Egypt frustrated him. He even killed an Egyptian for excessive cruelty to one of his people. When this became known, Moses had to flee Egypt for the desert.

His journey ended in the tents of Jethro and the Midianites, where he met his wife and became a shepherd. For 40 years Moses tended sheep in the Sinai with no one but his family and his wife's tribe as support. I'm sure it was very different from life in Egypt. It actually sounds kind of peaceful and serene.

It's my thought that only an introvert could accept such a life. It would destroy an extrovert. Nevertheless, the Lord God chose Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. The event took place on the slopes of a mountain where Moses spied a bush that burned with fire but was not consumed. He left his shepherding duties to see what this was about.

The rest is history. The God of all creation approached him with a job offer through this burning bush.

The amazing thing is that Moses, rather than submitting immediately in fear to the theophany, began to question God. He was an 80 year old man with a good life out there in the desert. Why should he take of on such a dangerous adventure?

He asked/said to God:

"Who am I that I should go...."
"What if they ask me what your name is..."
"What if they (Israelites) do not believe me..."
"I have never been eloquent....I am slow of speech..."
“Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”

These are the kinds of things that any introvert will put forward to avoid being put in a leadership position. Fortunately, God was not tricked. He was actually getting a bit angry at Moses, but Moses continued to press the issue. He did not want to do this thing, but he did finally submit to God's will.

God empowered him to do what needed to be done. He and the Lord became close friends and together they lead their people out of Egypt and toward nationhood. It was a hard road, but Moses finally achieved what God put Him up to when he was 120 years old, and then God took him home.

Moses makes one more appearance in the days of Jesus. He and Elijah appear at the transfiguration with Christ as God proclaims His pleasure with the work of His Son.We do not know if Moses or Elijah said anything, but God was quite please at that moment. His great plan was coming to completion...just goes to show you...we never know who God will use.The quiet guy might be the one.

Depression

I have threatened to write about this for awhile, but I never seem to get around to it because I always think that reviewing it will suck me back into the cycle.

Depression is an awful thing. It can make you want to sleep for days. It can make you cry for no reason. It can make you hate yourself and the others around you. It can addict you to prescription and non prescription remedies, aka self medication. There is no way around.

There are many people that "think" they know what causes depression. The most popular is bad brain chemistry brought on by who knows what. I have heard everything from food additives and preservatives to agricultural chemicals or a faulty gene pool. The more "religious" types like to ascribe depression to guilt about sin and the sin could be most anything. The problem with that one is that it does not afflict everyone and this is not because they do not sin. I think it has more to do with our concept of who we are in God's eyes and whether or not we love ourselves. Much of the whole shame issue can traced right back to how we were brought up, what family life was like and whether we were allowed to forget our errors in life or they were brought out again and again to club us like  baby seals whenever we failed. 

Forgiving oneself for past failures (whether classified as sin or not) is the key avoiding a nasty bout of depression. If you can do that, it's a giant step in the right direction. God gives us His grace. If He can do it, there is no reason to withhold it from ourselves. The upside of this is that if we treat ourselves better, we will treat others better, we will have more friends and our mental attitude will improve.

Another thing that improves my mood is sunlight. The short days of November and December just oppress me and if it's a time of constant cloud cover, I know I am doomed. I need sunlight. There is no amount of vitamin D that will replace it.

Finally, I would advise that if you know someone prone to depression and you love them, please monitor them. It is no longer an issue with me for a number of reasons, but suicidal thoughts are not uncommon. My personal thought is that this is demonic in nature. Spiritual forces taking advantage of a bad situation. But if it is just bad brain chemistry, look for ways to fight it. Use exercise, stay busy, do not drink and my advice do not watch TV. A little vitamin D could not hurt either. I am opposed to the use of anti-depressants. I think they can have an opposite effect, but if they work for you, go for it. Most important - Love Yourself. God loves you and He did not create Junk. Hang in there. I know how it is. 

Happy Birthday George

The first president of the United States is an enigma to many. Americans tend to create him in their own image in much the same way they do their God.

Whoever you were in your time George, I am glad you were there. I apologize for what we've done with the place. I am concerned that we have become a bit like your adversary during the revolution, trying to control the world through whatever means possible. It's kind of sad.

We have become comfortable and it seems like we will do anything to ensure that our comfort remains undisturbed no matter who has to pay for it or how many lives are lost. We will trample on the unalienable rights of everyone else to maintain our own.

Is this what you wanted for us George? Probably not.

The Savior is Waiting

This was the song we were singing when Jesus yanked me out of my seat in April of 1971 in a Bible college chapel in Joplin, Missouri. What a long strange trip it's been since that time. I praise His name for all the second chances. Give Nikkimae a listen. She's good.

Be A Servant Like Your Master

Philippians 2 New International Version (NIV)

2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature^[a] God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature^[b] of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”^[c] Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky ¹⁶ as you hold firmly to the word of life.

It still boggles my mind when I read it. Part of God actually came to earth as a man and served His creations. Jesus Christ gave up the glories and riches of heaven to spend some time with us, teaching us how to live in a way pleasing to God and then he offered His life in service to us. I am forever grateful. Thanks Lord.

Go to church tomorrow. Visit a Sunday school class or Bible class. Learn how to get yourself back with God. Put away the rebellion and the anger and the hate and submit to His will. He is waiting. Anything He asks you to give up or anything He might ask you to do is a small sacrifice for the things that await in the next life. This one is only practice anyway.  Why do it alone?

The High Crimes and Misdemeanors Of Abraham Lincoln

 
When I was sophomore at a Christian college in Texas back in the 70's, I went through some culture shock. Texas is, in some respects, a nation unto itself and it was most definitely a part of what was called the Confederacy back in the mid 19th century. What I learned while there was that wounds heal slowly and if those wounds are cultural, sometimes they just go on festering and itching and never completely heal.

I was an Iowa boy that grew up believing that Abraham Lincoln was the greatest American president in the history of the Republic with the possible exception of George Washington. I was taught this in school. It was reinforced by my family and there were monuments in Washington DC to prove it. So when this ground hog went to Texas and to college and he studied American history under the tutelage of Dr Smith (whose first name escapes me), he had to reassess his initial programming.

When we came to the history of what I thought was the American Civil War, me and my classmates were all quickly informed that it was not the civil war, but in fact it was the war between the states. Then for the next two days, we had to endure a lecture about the 16 impeachable offenses of Abraham Lincoln. My first thought was that Dr Smith was a revisionist and we were being treated to an alternate version of American Civil War history that was not written by the victors of said war. But as I listened (and tried to argue with without success), the crimes of Lincoln and the Union government of the north were revealed to me in convincing fashion. I felt like a light had been turned on in my brain.

The war between the states was a terrible thing and it had nothing to do with slavery. It had everything to do with the death of states rights and increasing the power of the federal government over them. In a very real sense, the good guys lost that war. It's true that slavery is a terrible thing, but the fact is that slavery was on its way out as an institution. The industrial revolution was under way throughout the western world and slaves were going to be replaced by factories and machines that did agricultural work. Slavery was doomed. This war was not about slavery. It was about consolidation of political power and economic power.

All of this came flooding back to me yesterday when I got to thinking about Lincoln (it was his birthday) and googled a few things. I found this article in the Southern Sentinel blog that details the whole issue. I thought I would share some of it here. Let me know what you think.

   
LINCOLN’S CRIMES
1. Lincoln waged a war that cost the lives of 620,000 Americans. Including the murder of 50,000 innocent Southern civilians.
2. He arrested several thousand Marylanders suspected of Southern sympathies, including 30 members of the State legislature, a US Congressman representing Maryland, the mayor and police commissioner of Baltimore, and most of the Baltimore city council. These political detainees were imprisoned in Fort McHenry and Point Lookout without trial, in many cases, for several years.
3. He suspended the writ of habeas corpus without the consent of Congress (as required by the Constitution).
4. He illegally shut down and confiscated the printing presses of dozens of newspapers that had spoken out against him.
5. He re-instated and summarily promoted an Army officer who had been court martialed and cashiered by the US Army for war crimes.
6. He even had an arrest warrant issued for the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court because said justice refused to back his illegal actions.
7. Chief Justice Roger B Taney ruled that Lincolns actions were illegal, criminal and unconstitutional.
8. He invaded the South without the consent of Congress as required by the Constitution.
9. He blockaded Southern ports without a delclaration of war, as required by the Constitution.
10. He imprisoned without trial, hundreds of newspaper editors and owners and censored all newspaper and telegraph communication.
11. He created two new states without the consent of the citizens of those states in order to artificially inflate the Republican Partys electoral vote.
12. He ordered Federal troops to interfere with Northern elections to assure his Parties victories.
13. He confiscated private property, including firearms, in violation of the Second Amendment; and effectively gutted the Tenth and Ninth Amendments as well.
14. He had his Generals attack US cities full of women and children and burn them to the ground.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Number 14 is particularly interesting to me. There were Iowans in the front lines of General Sherman's army when he put Atlanta to the torch. And when that army marched north to Columbia, it was an Iowan that tore the Confederate flag from the rooftop of the capitol. That flag is on display today in the capitol building in Des Moines. Is it any wonder that southerners still refer to that time as "the recent unpleasantness"? I doubt they will ever forget it. It is deeply burned in the southern conscience.