Warning- I said I was Christian and I meant it, so fasten that seat belt.
Today I received an email from a friend that listed some current plans and trends of certain churches who call themselves the "Emerging Church." So what, you say? The "plan" is to merge Christianity with Islam. (Chrislam)Yep, you heard it right, some churches are pushing to merge the two religions in the name of "ecumenical love." Problem is, that's not love, it's political correctness. Not very correct, either. It's once again man's plan to "fix" a problem.
We should all exhibit love and compassion for people of all religions. We are ambassadors for Christ- doesn't mean we sell out our citizenship to try to schmooze the people. We should be kind and gentle, yet strong. We should not be legalistic morons who beat them over the head with our Bibles. But we also must remain true to our faith and our love of the Lord. We can't do that if we become a stew of different beliefs.
REAL love starts at the cross. That's not a religious statement, it's an action taken by God to reach people who are separated from Him. By Jesus' sacrifice, the walls were knocked down so that anyone can have a relationship with the Father. Without the cross, there is no real relationship to Him- it becomes head knowledge and works rather than personal and life-giving. We don't need to merge anything because God already did it at the cross. Man was given the access point to merge with the Living God via the Holy Spirit because of Jesus. And that's the only "merging" that really matters.
Anyone can do good works. Anyone can have head love and even heart love for others. God wants hearts that have compassion for people, but with love of Christ first (our "first Love"). From that foundation all actions flow. Anything not done in that foundation doesn't have true love in it. It's just man trying to make himself look good.
These churches are trying to make themselves look good. They are trying to mitigate the differences by destroying the foundation of the faith. Paul warned us it would happen. (1 Timothy 4, 2 Timothy 3). We need to pay attention. This is a harbinger of things to come. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Stupid Moments in America
At any one time, all of us can say stupid things. Like John McCain offhandedly saying the it was possibly illegals who started the fires in Arizona without some actual evidence. The news media grabbed that and started its own firestorm, most of which were comments taken out of context with what he was trying to say. But it was a stupid moment. He didn't think first about how he said it.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/06/20/john-mccain-blames-undocumented-immigrants-for-arizona-wildfires/
But the really ripe moment came through NBC. Their film editors decided arbitrarily to edit out "One Nation Under God" from the pledge of allegiance done by a group of school children during the U.S. Open coverage. What the?
This penchant that lefties have for trying to remove God from our society has to be challenged constantly. NBC "apologized if it offended anyone." Notice they didn't apologize for doing it, they apologized if it offended somebody. I rarely watch NBC anyway. And this has really cured me. Moving from rarely to never as of now. Am I offended? No, and I'm not shocked either. Disgusted maybe. Ticked off for certain.
Do the NBC bullies know better than we the people? I say no. I say we need to make some noise. We need to back the bullies off and tell them to get out of our face and stop trying to re-write history, the Constitution, and our pledge. Let's take the stupid out of the media!
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/06/20/john-mccain-blames-undocumented-immigrants-for-arizona-wildfires/
But the really ripe moment came through NBC. Their film editors decided arbitrarily to edit out "One Nation Under God" from the pledge of allegiance done by a group of school children during the U.S. Open coverage. What the?
This penchant that lefties have for trying to remove God from our society has to be challenged constantly. NBC "apologized if it offended anyone." Notice they didn't apologize for doing it, they apologized if it offended somebody. I rarely watch NBC anyway. And this has really cured me. Moving from rarely to never as of now. Am I offended? No, and I'm not shocked either. Disgusted maybe. Ticked off for certain.
Do the NBC bullies know better than we the people? I say no. I say we need to make some noise. We need to back the bullies off and tell them to get out of our face and stop trying to re-write history, the Constitution, and our pledge. Let's take the stupid out of the media!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Worldwide Chess
I'm not a chess player, but over the years I've happened to turn on a few championship games. The world masters don't think like the rest of us, and thus they are able to outwit the other guy in a flurry of somewhat confusing moves that make my eyeballs cross. On occasion, in a fit of temper tantrums, a few of them have refused to play and by default lost their titles. Chess requires patience, forethought, and strategy. So does living in this portion of history.
The world mostly runs in temper tantrums, but there are some things going on under our radar that we might wish to pay attention to. Not everyone is having a tantrum; there are some plans and forethought out there that have passed by nearly unnoticed. Taken together, they form a picture of a worldwide chess game. Those who pay attention will win; those who deny or over-react will lose.
Example: Turkey is ostensibly sending troops into northern Syria in a move to "protect" civilians against Assad's government crackdowns. Part of that move is because his own army is in need of more Sunni fighters, and one of the towns they intend to enter is Jisr a-Shughour. That town is the first place in the Middle East where the Muslim Brotherhood has engaged another Arab army directly. It means that the Turkish PM is looking for support among Sunnis, rather than the more conciliatory tone of his usual stance. Basically he is playing a dangerous game of chess that can alienate him from his pacts with Iran. So much for diplomacy. Good? Bad? Depends on your perspective.
Much of what we see in the diplomatic realm has a hidden agenda all over the world. In the end, it comes down to "what benefits me and to h.e. double toothpicks with anyone else." Our own government has many hidden agendas, most of which rarely see the light of truth. It happens in normal life as well- people who have agendas to take something from us are all around.
As Christians, our response needs to be calm and faithful. We need to see past the smokescreens of people and even nations' underlying garbage and respond with strength. I hear a lot of panic and anger out there. Remember that those who throw temper tantrums forfeit their titles. We can't do that- we are to be different. We have the best chess Mind of all-the Living God - on our side. Our titles as heirs to His Kingdom depend upon not losing it in the game. In the heat of battle, keep your vision clear,your mind sharp,and a good healthy does of faith in the middle of it all!
Daniel 11:32
The world mostly runs in temper tantrums, but there are some things going on under our radar that we might wish to pay attention to. Not everyone is having a tantrum; there are some plans and forethought out there that have passed by nearly unnoticed. Taken together, they form a picture of a worldwide chess game. Those who pay attention will win; those who deny or over-react will lose.
Example: Turkey is ostensibly sending troops into northern Syria in a move to "protect" civilians against Assad's government crackdowns. Part of that move is because his own army is in need of more Sunni fighters, and one of the towns they intend to enter is Jisr a-Shughour. That town is the first place in the Middle East where the Muslim Brotherhood has engaged another Arab army directly. It means that the Turkish PM is looking for support among Sunnis, rather than the more conciliatory tone of his usual stance. Basically he is playing a dangerous game of chess that can alienate him from his pacts with Iran. So much for diplomacy. Good? Bad? Depends on your perspective.
Much of what we see in the diplomatic realm has a hidden agenda all over the world. In the end, it comes down to "what benefits me and to h.e. double toothpicks with anyone else." Our own government has many hidden agendas, most of which rarely see the light of truth. It happens in normal life as well- people who have agendas to take something from us are all around.
As Christians, our response needs to be calm and faithful. We need to see past the smokescreens of people and even nations' underlying garbage and respond with strength. I hear a lot of panic and anger out there. Remember that those who throw temper tantrums forfeit their titles. We can't do that- we are to be different. We have the best chess Mind of all-the Living God - on our side. Our titles as heirs to His Kingdom depend upon not losing it in the game. In the heat of battle, keep your vision clear,your mind sharp,and a good healthy does of faith in the middle of it all!
Daniel 11:32
Monday, June 13, 2011
The "Slippery Slope" Saga
I've always been in favor of law enforcement- FBI, local, state, etc. I worked with them nearly all of my adult life, and am 99% on their side. But there are some facts that people should be aware of: their effectiveness and/or negative impact rests on their leadership.
Take a case in point: Today, Fox News is reporting about some changes in an FBI procedure manual that have some people worried about expanded powers to investigate "innocent" Americans. Officers are allowed more individual leeway in checking a person or organization out prior to starting a major investigation - such as going through someone's garbage or attending a few meetings of a suspect organization. On a good day, I don't see a problem. It depends on the leadership.
First off, you have my permission to check out my garbage. It will stink, it will be full of shreds of junk mail,and there will be lots of fish guts or dog poop and dog hair. My husband likes to fish and my dog well, he's a dog. At any rate, I guess you could call me an "innocent" American. And in ORDINARY circumstances I have nothing to hide and don't care what the government looks at. They can attend my church, monitor our ladies' group,listen in on my phone conversations (dullsville)and sit in on a Writer's Meeting and I don't give a rip. As long as there is a drop of common sense in the law enforcement community, I don't care.
The problem comes when government loses its grip on reality and becomes so alarmed at those ordinary things that they get paranoid and start making things up.
Case in point: The government was terrified of Martin Luther King, Jr. They believed he was subversive. The guy marched and made noise, but never once threatened violence or war or any other inciteful phrase. But the government was so concerned that file rooms full of paper were created, and a lot of money was spent (uh, our money) on ill-advised investigations.
Paranoia creates lies. It causes innocent people to be arrested and thrown in jail. It causes death, destruction, discord, and other problems-because the leadership is so worried that they make things up or overreact to the things people say. We need a balance as we move forward to curb terrorism and the investigation of it. Freedom is only stable when wise people build and protect it- lose the wisdom and evil takes over.
Take a case in point: Today, Fox News is reporting about some changes in an FBI procedure manual that have some people worried about expanded powers to investigate "innocent" Americans. Officers are allowed more individual leeway in checking a person or organization out prior to starting a major investigation - such as going through someone's garbage or attending a few meetings of a suspect organization. On a good day, I don't see a problem. It depends on the leadership.
First off, you have my permission to check out my garbage. It will stink, it will be full of shreds of junk mail,and there will be lots of fish guts or dog poop and dog hair. My husband likes to fish and my dog well, he's a dog. At any rate, I guess you could call me an "innocent" American. And in ORDINARY circumstances I have nothing to hide and don't care what the government looks at. They can attend my church, monitor our ladies' group,listen in on my phone conversations (dullsville)and sit in on a Writer's Meeting and I don't give a rip. As long as there is a drop of common sense in the law enforcement community, I don't care.
The problem comes when government loses its grip on reality and becomes so alarmed at those ordinary things that they get paranoid and start making things up.
Case in point: The government was terrified of Martin Luther King, Jr. They believed he was subversive. The guy marched and made noise, but never once threatened violence or war or any other inciteful phrase. But the government was so concerned that file rooms full of paper were created, and a lot of money was spent (uh, our money) on ill-advised investigations.
Paranoia creates lies. It causes innocent people to be arrested and thrown in jail. It causes death, destruction, discord, and other problems-because the leadership is so worried that they make things up or overreact to the things people say. We need a balance as we move forward to curb terrorism and the investigation of it. Freedom is only stable when wise people build and protect it- lose the wisdom and evil takes over.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Seniors and Their Drugs
There is currently legislation in the works (sponsored by drug companies, by the way)to stop Americans from purchasing generics or other drugs from Canada or any other nation. If it passes, you will see a lot of us older folks die quicker- because we can't afford the drugs from the U.S.
Let's talk turkey here: the big drug companies are in dire straits because some of their more expensive assets are coming out from under the patent.They want our money and they want it bad- but aren't willing to decrease the costs of the kinds of drugs many of us need.
Example: Plavix. Plavix is an extremely expensive but important drug for heart patients. It keeps the platelets of the blood from forming clogs in the arteries. It's not covered by many Medicare Advantage plans. And it is VERY expensive. When my hubby first got out of the hospital after his heart attack, that was one of the medications he needed- buying 20 pills literally emptied our bank account ($185.). If it hadn't been for a relative feeling bad for us and giving us that much back, we'd have had no money for the rest of the month. So we had no alternative but to go out of the U.S. for the drug.
The alternative drug is the exact same, and it is working great. My hubby's blood tests at last check were perfect and he feels fine. But if the Congress gets its way, we won't be fine. They tell us they are "protecting the American public against dangerous substitute drugs." Bull pucky. They are helping the drug industry fleece Americans.
Contact your Senators and Representatives- tell them to vote no to any bills that want to stop you from going to Canada for drugs. Or tell them to force the price of drugs down so that normal people can afford them. Our lives literally depend on it.
Let's talk turkey here: the big drug companies are in dire straits because some of their more expensive assets are coming out from under the patent.They want our money and they want it bad- but aren't willing to decrease the costs of the kinds of drugs many of us need.
Example: Plavix. Plavix is an extremely expensive but important drug for heart patients. It keeps the platelets of the blood from forming clogs in the arteries. It's not covered by many Medicare Advantage plans. And it is VERY expensive. When my hubby first got out of the hospital after his heart attack, that was one of the medications he needed- buying 20 pills literally emptied our bank account ($185.). If it hadn't been for a relative feeling bad for us and giving us that much back, we'd have had no money for the rest of the month. So we had no alternative but to go out of the U.S. for the drug.
The alternative drug is the exact same, and it is working great. My hubby's blood tests at last check were perfect and he feels fine. But if the Congress gets its way, we won't be fine. They tell us they are "protecting the American public against dangerous substitute drugs." Bull pucky. They are helping the drug industry fleece Americans.
Contact your Senators and Representatives- tell them to vote no to any bills that want to stop you from going to Canada for drugs. Or tell them to force the price of drugs down so that normal people can afford them. Our lives literally depend on it.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Reversal a Victory
The Federal Court of Appeals today reversed the Texas judge who yesterday tried to ban all religious expression at a Texas graduation ceremony. The couple who had brought the court action claimed that the expressions of prayer and even the "amen" would cause irreparable harm to their child. And the falderal caused by the parents is harmless? I think not.But the reversal is definitely a victory for freedom of religion in America.
I can truthfully say that prayer is dangerous. It changed my life. I've never been the same. I know I am loved, and I have an advocate in Christ. He stands with me through everything I face. And I got Him by prayer. So it's definitely dangerous and definitely life- changing. So if that's what they're afraid of, they're correct. But "harm?" That's hog poop.
If people are THAT touchy over everything then perhaps they need to move to a desert island somewhere that has no contact with people. If the chip on their shoulder is so big that those around them can't even mention the word prayer or the amen, how neurotic is their kid going to be? I think we should pray for them- obviously they are in need of some "irreparable harm" like the kind that prayer really brings.
I can truthfully say that prayer is dangerous. It changed my life. I've never been the same. I know I am loved, and I have an advocate in Christ. He stands with me through everything I face. And I got Him by prayer. So it's definitely dangerous and definitely life- changing. So if that's what they're afraid of, they're correct. But "harm?" That's hog poop.
If people are THAT touchy over everything then perhaps they need to move to a desert island somewhere that has no contact with people. If the chip on their shoulder is so big that those around them can't even mention the word prayer or the amen, how neurotic is their kid going to be? I think we should pray for them- obviously they are in need of some "irreparable harm" like the kind that prayer really brings.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Christianity Under Fire
Today there are two headlines that make my teeth hurt. (Mostly from clenching them).
1. A judge ruled that New York City can ban schools from using churches for functions.
2. A judge ruled that Texas (TEXAS!!!) can't have prayer (can't even use the word amen) at a graduation ceremony. (I reiterate: TEXAS? Land of Davy Crockett? What's the world coming to?)
Judges have created legislation hostile to Christianity yet again. Christianity has become the favorite whipping boy of our courts and government. We have been painted as dangerous and evil by the left wing. Their hostility is baseless. Do they think the kids will get cooties or struck dead from a church building? (I hope they realize that lightning bolts striking churches because someone walks inside is an urban legend).
Is the word "amen" akin to an Ebola outbreak? I know, they must have seen a Pentecostal meeting where everyone falls down on the floor and is "slain in the Spirit." That's it! They think it's a disease!
I believe the real issue is that people are totally afraid that we are right- there is a God who loves you and He wants your heart. They can run, but they can't hide.
Traditional prayers for blessing for students who are leaving school and using whatever facility is available for schools are now verboden ("forbidden" for those of you who haven't learned German or watched Hogan's Heroes on TV). So I guess schools can just spend more taxpayer money to build more facilities (right- good luck with that in this economy).
I guess we can just tell our children to get their butts out there into the world and do something without our blessings or hopes for their future. We can't pray for them because we don't really care, right? The government will catch them when they fail. (Uh,huh) Who needs God anyway? They're in control. They can do it all. Don't need no stinking religion.
When their hearts are broken and all is lost, have those liberal judges call me. We'll see if these bans extend to their own lives.
1. A judge ruled that New York City can ban schools from using churches for functions.
2. A judge ruled that Texas (TEXAS!!!) can't have prayer (can't even use the word amen) at a graduation ceremony. (I reiterate: TEXAS? Land of Davy Crockett? What's the world coming to?)
Judges have created legislation hostile to Christianity yet again. Christianity has become the favorite whipping boy of our courts and government. We have been painted as dangerous and evil by the left wing. Their hostility is baseless. Do they think the kids will get cooties or struck dead from a church building? (I hope they realize that lightning bolts striking churches because someone walks inside is an urban legend).
Is the word "amen" akin to an Ebola outbreak? I know, they must have seen a Pentecostal meeting where everyone falls down on the floor and is "slain in the Spirit." That's it! They think it's a disease!
I believe the real issue is that people are totally afraid that we are right- there is a God who loves you and He wants your heart. They can run, but they can't hide.
Traditional prayers for blessing for students who are leaving school and using whatever facility is available for schools are now verboden ("forbidden" for those of you who haven't learned German or watched Hogan's Heroes on TV). So I guess schools can just spend more taxpayer money to build more facilities (right- good luck with that in this economy).
I guess we can just tell our children to get their butts out there into the world and do something without our blessings or hopes for their future. We can't pray for them because we don't really care, right? The government will catch them when they fail. (Uh,huh) Who needs God anyway? They're in control. They can do it all. Don't need no stinking religion.
When their hearts are broken and all is lost, have those liberal judges call me. We'll see if these bans extend to their own lives.
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