Strength of Character

It's tough for some Christians and/or Conservatives to read and watch the news without freaking out over the current state of America. Let's just say it's the "calling good evil and evil good" syndrome.It breeds fear and anger, and we must find the strength to confront it.

This morning on Twitter, one gentleman wrote that if someone voted for slavery then they shouldn't expect a patriot to spill his blood over them. I say to all of you- a true patriot will "spill his blood" over anyone because that's who they are. Our troops do it all the time. They die in wars fought over people who wouldn't do the same for them. It's what makes America different than others. Our first responders do it all the time as well- standing in the place of the citizens, dying to keep them safe. Do we have that character and strength?

One day when I was being fitted for my first police uniform, word came that a police officer had been murdered while on a traffic stop in a nearby community. When they gave his name, it shook me to my core: it was a young man that I had gone to high school with. A friend. I went to the funeral with safety pins all up and down my legs, which required me to stand for the entire service. And stand I did, vowing that when tragedy strikes, my response must be running toward it, not away from it.

All of us must find the inner strength to see the problem and move toward it. Whether it is prayer over the sad situation in our nation, or a real disaster that requires us to do something physically. And in all of that we must find wisdom. I see rampant rumors and conspiracy theories spread across the internet...none of which exhibit the kind of wisdom and calm response that we all must have in order to combat the growing darkness in America. As a friend of mine once put it, "believe no one, take everything to the Lord first."

Isaiah 60 states that gross darkness will cover the earth. It's already here. But if we want our light to shine in that darkness, strength of faith, strength of character, strength of love must be our rallying point. Will you be willing? Willing to allow that strength of character to be built in your life? Or will we all fold up into a ball of hatred, anger, and bitterness over the way things are unfolding before us? You choose.

Tragedy and Triumph

Last night, I grieved over a 26 year old security officer who sat innocently in his patrol vehicle as he was "assassinated" by a terrorist. He was totally unaware of impending death. The news reporter said that all he had ever wanted to be was a cop. Having worked with many police officers over the years, the whole thing bothered me greatly. The young man got out of bed, dressed for work, not having any idea that it was his last day on earth. I imagine him pinning his MIT badge on his uniform as he looked in the mirror, then reaching up to straighten his tucked in uniform shirt. It was the last time he would ever do that.

While watching the coverage of the Watertown incident, I ran through the entire Boston bombings and ensuing week's events in my head. Policemen, firemen, EMTS, and civilians fighting to save the lives of those around them in the midst of the chaos of bomb blasts. Police being attacked by explosives as they chased suspects through the streets. And finally a quick phone call by a citizen who amazingly survived after checking his boat and seeing the last suspect...a phone call that caused the entire world to descend on a quiet neighborhood in Massachussetts. The adrenalin, the intensity,the horror, the tragedy and the triumph all rolled into one week.

One thing remains paramount for all of America at this juncture in history: we must work together as well as law enforcement did last night. We must stop polarizing our nation by personal wants and desires,or the need for power and control, and remember that only unity works against evil. We must understand that we have enemies that will stop at nothing to destroy us. America was shaken by the incident in Boston, but it did not destroy us only because the people rose up and refused to be defeated. Cops fought, people fought, and through the tragedy of person loss and broken hearts, they managed to stand hand in hand. We must stand hand in hand as a nation or our enemies win.

Tomorrow's showdown

So word has it that Thursday April 11, is the big day when Congress blasts through new gun control legislation to "Fix" what's "wrong" with gun availability in America. And many Republicans are set to vote for it mostly because they are intimidated by the media and deceived by gun control advocates.

First, I am extremely aware that gun violence is real. I've read enough books and seen enough media controlled TV to understand that America is chock full of wackos. The issue here isn't that there is gun violence, but what CAUSES gun violence? The current crop of gun legislation is like handing an aspirin to a sick person. It treats the symptom for a while (until they take too many and get a brain bleed- speaking from personal experience).

Violence is a symptom of a society in desperate need of help. As fear of the crazy people grows, so too will the desire to restrict, limit, and contain law abiding citizens. Symptoms, not causes. Fear, not faith.

This blog was created because I told everyone that what is unseen influences what is seen with the eyes. Bad guys don't obey laws. Crazy people can't think like "normal" people. The symptom is violence, the cause is a society that hates God and has allowed a different crop of spirits to run it. Selfish, self-centered, without conscience, all of those things breed violence. We've put it on television, in movies, in music, in books, and on video games. We don't spend time with our kids to help them understand such things; we shove them in a corner with their earphones and let them fend for themselves because we're too busy or plain selfish to care. We murder babies by the thousands every day because we're too self-centered to take the time to deal with a child. Hey, it interferes with our lives. So if you're wondering why all the violence? It's by design, the design of the forces of evil. And it's only going to get worse until we repent and change our ways of thinking. Get a clue, America!

Weeble Wobble and Nanny Government

One of the most glaring problems with the current leadership of the world and the United States is their continual use of what I call "weeble wobble" in both treaties and legislation. Whoever the attorneys are that come up with this junk are masters at making something sound like something it's not.
Let's take the UN ARms Treaty for an example: The language seems so logical- regulating the trafficking of tanks, and big monster weapons across country borders. But when it gets to "small arms," suddenly the language goes all weeble wobble. It leaves it open for "interpretation," which means that unscrupulous people who could give a rip less about the Bill of Rights can twist the wording for their own agenda. And with the current crop of liberals who don't have a flippin' clue about what an "assault weapon" really is, that's dangerous.
Make no mistake: this government wants us disarmed and powerless. My dad, an avid gun collector, told me many times growing up that governments run by evil men always try to disarm the populace, and take away property rights. Why? Because citizens who own property and guns have strength. Take those two things away and they have none.
Another example is Obamacare. Hidden taxes, exhorbitant costs, secret things written as weeble wobble within a giant document that no one bothered to read before passage.
A government run by good men sees the value of a strong populace and strives to create an atmosphere where the people can flourish and hold personal responsibility. Without personal responsibility, the people can't thrive. When a government looks like it's thriving rather than its people, it becomes unwieldly and top heavy...ultimately it is destined to fall over like that big statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad.
A government run by evil becomes a bunch of control freak nannies. They use legislation to have power over the people, removing all semblance of personal responsibility. They use weeble wobble language to create a climate of worry rather than one of faith and hope. You can't do this, you can't eat this, you can't blah blah blah, so we have to "control you because you're all stupid." Unfortunately it is past annoying; it creates a nation of sheep who can't think for themselves. And that's what evil likes to do: give their minions power over us. Let's not allow the weeble wobble to create any more nanny government!

Love Covers

Since several of my friends have asked me, I'm going to tackle the current hot button issue in America. No one has ever accused me of being a "hater" because anyone who knows me understands that I love people regardless of who they are. I have always treated all people the same- with respect and love. We should all do that. Jesus commanded us to love, and was pretty emphatic that hatred and disrespect are unacceptable, no matter whether the people are gay, Muslim, Buddhist, pink, purple, or orange. A judgmental attitude does not bring people closer to God, it actually pushes them away. If we push them away, their eternal souls are in jeopardy and it will be our fault for being jerks.
BUT- there is another issue: God's heart. His Word tells us that the gay lifestyle is not what He planned for humanity. We have it because people have hardened their hearts and minds against the Lord. He didn't make a "mistake" when He created people of one gender or another. Everyone has a God-given purpose, a place in His heart. I feel for people who have been hurt by their parents or become confused by society. They simply do not know how much they are loved by the Creator of the Universe. That's our fault for removing the Presence of God from our society. So can we fix it? Not without a move of the Holy Spirit- which is the only way a leopard can change its spots.
Many years ago, one of my co-workers decided to change his gender. It completely freaked out our colleagues, who suddenly became hostile. They Bible-thumped him continually- which only ingrained his hostility. They did it out of FEAR, by the way. Had they operated in love instead of fear, who knows what could have happened?
I did not do that, and I advised my employees to keep their mouths shut and not be disrespectful. They didn't have to condone his action, but they were told to keep their judgments to themselves. In my spirit I felt nothing but terror for him because he basically told God that He made a mistake. So in spite of the fact that he didn't care for me as a person, I treated him with respect and love. When he left our department, "she" gave me a rose in a vase and told me thank you. She also sent me messages that told me his/her heart had been crushed by the animosity of people she had worked with for many years. She put a small plaque on my desk that said "Dear God, there is nothing that happens today that You and I can't handle." While his/her life had been turned upside down by the decision, I could feel the pain in her heart from the turmoil. Caring means feeling the pain of others, and being gentle in the way we handle it. Yes, we can talk about the Word of God, but the WAY we do it, needs to be directly from God, not our personal attitudes.
When we all as Christians begin to operate in love, when we seek the Face of God in every instance, we can change the world one person at a time. No, I do NOT believe that same sex marriage should be the law of the land. I believe that's a mistake in the overall scheme of things. But love covers. It softens hardened hearts. It breeds friendship and hope. And it changes lives.

Courage

"The time to guard against corruption and tyranny is before they have gotten ahold of us. It is better to keep the wolf out of the fold than to trust to drawing his teeth and talons after he shall have entered." Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826.
I believe the wolves have already created their "pack" and are attempting to destroy the flock. Thomas Jefferson was no dummy, and neither were most of our "founding fathers." They didn't always get along, but they were able to unite against the King of England and fight to be free. They all had a sense of duty to the people of their fledgling nation. That duty is sadly missing today. Not only is the duty missing, so is the honesty and integrity they so strongly portrayed by their actions. And take note, Mr. O, they were by and large Christian in character and practice.
The King of England tried to stamp out liberty and dictate every portion of the lives of the people.Their taxes were out of sight expensive for the day, and there were no representatives to stand up for their ivelihood. (The infamous "Boston Tea Party.") They came to the shores of America to be free to worship, to be free of governmental interference. They knew they would have to fight to win those rights. And fight they did. Jefferson once noted that "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God."
An ancestor of mine, Captain Alexander Harper, (brother to Colonel John Harper of Harper's Ferry fame), ended up in an Indian camp as a prisoner during the Revolutionary War. For 3 years he endured difficulties we cannot imagine. Until one day, he was given the chance to go through a gauntlet. A gauntlet allowed the Indians to hit him with tomahawks, rocks, and any other thing until he bled profusely from every portion of his body. He survived.And by his very survival, he won his freedom. He exhibited courage, the will to fight in spite of his circumstances. He could have given up, but he did not.And the Natives honored his courage with freedom.
We must elect men and women of solid character. We must stop electing fools and wolves whose only purpose is to greedily seek power and control over us. We must gather the courage to stand against the assaults on our freedoms by people who do not value the Constitution nor the men who wrote it. It is not an irrelevant document, and neither is the Bible. "The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time." (Also Thomas Jefferson). It takes true courage to stand against the tide of media scrutiny, against the sarcastic and evil comments of legislators who seem to enjoy talking into microphones without wisdom, against the loud and obnoxious screeching of people who know nothing of what they are talking about. It is those demonic powers we must defeat with courage and fortitude.

Conservatives? What Conservatives?

At this writing, a vote was taken in the House of Representatives on a "continuing resolution." If conservatives had voted against it, Obamacare would have been essentially defunded. They didn't. They passed it. Only 16 representatives voted against the resolution,and Idaho's rep was not among them. (Which gives me a headache). Apparently we have forgotten that every vote has repercussions like the ripples on water. Obamacare has repercussions across the board, all because no one bothered to read the entire bill before passage. And now we are stuck with it. My pocket book will suffer, as will yours, you just don't realize it yet. Obamacare contains more than "healthcare" -- it has several sections that affect the lives of every American on every level of their lives.
So let me explain what a "conservative" should be- not what the media says. A Conservative should be someone who values America and our personal liberty above reliance on the government or interference by the government. They should be strong advocates of the entire Constitution and Bill of Rights. They should be individually responsible for their actions, not desire free handouts from either the government or private concerns. Responsibility should be at the core of their belief structure.
They should be strongly in favor of the right to keep and bear arms, understanding that any legislation that tries to regulate "illegal firearms" will result in removal of firearms from those who obey the law, not criminals. The original intent of this right was to prevent tyranny of the government. Criminals do not obey laws, but for some reason our leadership seems to think they'll just cave in and do it. Not.
A Conservative should be fiscally responsible, and not a free spender of the taxpayer's money.
A Conservative should be aware of the Christian roots of America, and understand that freedom to exercise religious beliefs is part of our foundation. The demand that we remove all religious things (especially Christian ones) from our life is a twisted and unconscionable attack on freedom.
A Conservative should be wise enough to see the truth about the issues, and compassionate enough to see the needs of the people. Black, White, Native American, Asian, Pacific Islander, whoever, they should see the hearts, not cave in to the principle of entitlement. They should see protection of America as the first rule of government. They should be able to ferret out lies by our enemies, and lies by our own leadership. Rather than be powerless against such lies, they should have the guts to stand up and be the David's against the Goliaths. So where are the conservatives?