WEBLOG--Recent entries

Entries here are a few of the significant and special happenings over the last year (or more) in our lives in the context of the world picture--which is by far more important. When we refer to the Bible/Scripture, we are considering a translation rather than a paraphrase of it. Christians who are Spirit-refilling will have an easier time understanding -- and praying for these activities and the leaders, 1Tim 2:1-8. We try to avoid identifying those with whom we disagree unless the persons and factors are widely known and the name is pertinent. We want to especially honor those we see moving toward His will in the Kingdoms. Draft ---------

Dec 11, 2010 Prepared email notification of our updates on Key Govt Issues (and our Weblog) on this website to our top elected officials and a number of others who seem very interested in the path/positions Christians that the USA should prayerfully consider.

Dec 8 Our Congress should limit funds from the Executive branch for programs which now honors homosexual practice and Pride by Ordering that partners should have the same job Leave privileges as actual husband and wife couples to care for children (tho we are for child care!). Probably homosexuals will get conjugal visits in prisons shortly—maybe with a line of visitors! A study by San Francisco State University discovered that 50 percent of gay couples were having sex outside the relationship --with their partners’ consent.” Not a solid base for society.

Dec 7 America needs to restructure its income tax more fairly. Frank Rich reports on studies from other books Richistan and Winner Take-all Politics that “The top 1 percent of American earners took in 23.5 percent of the nation’s pretax income in 2007 — up from less than 9 percent in 1976. During the boom years of 2002 to 2007, that top 1 percent’s pretax income increased an extraordinary 10 percent every year. But the boom proved an exclusive affair: in that same period, the median income … households went down and the poverty rate rose.” Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Sr, and other superrich realize their tax rates are unfair; their secretaries pay a higher rate! While some superrich as Whitman, Fiorena, and McMahon could not buy their elections this time, with the new law of Corp. contributions, it will not be long before the rich will run even more of the govt offices.

Nov 22 College costs are much too high and giving a poor example of educational values. “ According to an analysis of federal tax forms by The Chronicle of Higher Education, 30 college presidents received more than one million dollars in pay and benefits in 2008. …Andrew Hacker is a political science professor at Queens College who recently teamed with New York Times contributor Claudia Dreifus to write the book, Higher Education? How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids -- and What We Can Do about It. Hacker tells OneNewsNow [publisher of this insert] he is distressed about the salaries, especially with tuition continuing to rise. "These are steps in the wrong directions," he contends. “ GoACTA.org studied 700 leading USA colleges and found the annual student costs about $40K/year with courses and results detailed that in their www.WhatWillTheyLearn.com Less than 5% of the colleges require Economics, less than a third require mid-level foreign language and a broad survey of US Govt. or History. “Nearly 40% …require no college-level math.” Our K12 education is about 25^th down among the developed nations (see the recent PISA international education test results).

Oct 25 There seems to be an increasing misunderstanding in evangelical teaching about a number of doctrines, e.g. love and forgiveness-- God’s and ours. Some of the problem is that we do not want to wrestle with the “hard or dark sayings”in the Word. Granted, it seems that the Bible has some seemingly contrasting statements of truth. E.g., Jesus said in Lk 11:23 “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.” But, in Mk 9:50 Jesus said “…whoever is not against you is for you.” (A better translation per Dr. G. Archer, Bible Difficulties, 6^th ed.; note the context, situations, and persons “Me; you.) Some modern preachers drift off the Scripture and say: You are “fully pleasing to God” as by R. S. McGee in his book Search for Significance 2^nd ed. pp77 & 94. But if we already are “fully pleasing” Him, why would Paul he prays “… in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,…” (Col 1:10) Searching for Significance is precarious. Dr. Joe Stowell, former President of Moody Bible Inst. and now Pres. of Cornerstone University in his book Perilous Pursuits: Our Obsession with Significance agrees that we are significant in Christ and forordained (Eph 2:10). “The culprit is our struggling, stumbling attempts to manufacture our own sense of significance p.28 … Those restless, inner energies of pleasure, pride, [poor theology], and passion become perilous impulse for many of us as we seek after our own significance,” p.30. Other preachers who seem off the mark say such as “You would not please God more or less by how you act. He would not love you more --or less-- based on what you do. God loves you just the way you are, you do not need to change for He will change you. If you were the only person on earth God would give His Son for you. Forgiveness requires that you forgive all and not require nor expect any repentance or correction by the violator. You forgive primarily for your peace of mind; etc.” Please think about these thru the Spirit of Scripture. While there is a particle of truth within the sentences above, portions are wrong and can easily mislead the listener (and the speaker) but worst of all they likely misrepresent and displease our Dear Father.

Nov 15 The USA should prosecute the many criminals in the $6 tril + financial/mortage/ crimes and take their ill-gotten gains under the Unjust Enrichment laws, etc.. We have been much too lax in white-collar crime. The CEO of HealthSouth paved (paid?) his way out of conviction after he had urged all his CFOs to inflate earnings. In a report by B. Quick of CNBC, Richard “Scrushy's defense (in so many words): He had the misfortune of hiring five crooked, book-cooking CFOs in a row. "When you've got people caught dead to rights and they still get off, this scares the h___ out of the prosecutors," says a prominent analyst. Quick continues “That's probably why prosecutors are ignoring what should be a powerful weapon in their arsenal: Sarbanes-Oxley. The Scrushy case was a big black eye for Sarbox -- it was the first case brought against a CEO under the 2002 law. (Fortunately Scrushy was imprisoned on other charges.) But investor Jim Chanos, who spotted the problems at Enron long before the rest of the market, says the government is missing a huge opportunity. "I'm rather stunned that with all the effort that went into enacting Sarbox, specifically for these types of financial crimes, that not one major case using its provisions has been brought in connection with the crisis,"

Nov 12 The President’s Commission on Fiscal …Reform (debt reduction+) according to leaked reports today has some good ideas but has apparently failed reality on at least 2 counts: it is meeting at an expense Ritz Hotel in AZ, and it recommends reduction of the tax rate on the high earners. As we have pointed out here before, not taxing the multimillion $ earners at a 90% marginal rate allows them to take unfair advantage of our court system to adjudicate their contracts, airwaves to broadcast and lobby for added breaks (which those in Washington state successfully did this past election), Most Christians seldom realize that God has given the smarts, ideas, supporters, education, training, favor, and even the internal drive so that some make multimillions per year. Unfortunately few can spend huge private wealth well and so usually miss out on Heaven as Jesus said “It is harder for a camel [or rich man?] to go through the eye of a needle than to enter Heaven” and in the meantime he likely will lead many others to material gods. From their perches of privilege, they amass more wealth, e.g., put up their sports stadiums with government bonds and your payments and twist city politics to favor them. . Most Christians do not grasp their own demoralization even while witnessing the rich not alleviating the dire poverty of half of the world. God forgive us and wake us up!

Nov 11 Some pastors are part of the decline of His Church. Had coffee with one today who at a point exclaimed “O my Gosh.” (For the vainness of that Search elsewhere on our site.) We played a card of Bible T(riva) to get our thoughts back to the Bible, and though he was now a consultant to churches and said he read the Bible through many times he related he “had no clue” about “For whom did God designate 6 Levite cities of refuge? Or What nation is to be crushed by Israel in Eze 38? Or Who was David’s first son? Or What list is in Ezra 2? That we would miss one or two is not bad, but do we really read the Bible for its facts or to skim thru it? Lord, help us.

Nov 5 We should encourage law suits to get back the high salaries and bonuses of the financial wreckers –even under fraud or Unjust Enrichment, especially when high-level Citi execs admitted that they did not know the risks of their subprime packs. Also sue Moody’s, S&P, etc. and other even if the SEC is too timid. Do not allow the complicitous SEC to settle claims for miniscule $s without admitting guilt. The AP reports “The SEC said the $75 million penalty [against Citigroup, tho the Judge was still objecting] is "fair, adequate, reasonable and in the public interest." [for the] settlement of unintentional [??] civil fraud charges in late July. The agency had accused the third-largest U.S. bank of repeatedly making misleading statements in calls with analysts and regulatory filings about the extent of its holdings tied to high-risk mortgages. Citigroup had said the exposure was $13 billion or less; the SEC said it exceeded $50 billion.” If this is allowed to stand, it will be a disgrace to the USA in foreign countries also—perhaps equal to Gitmo or OJ Simpson or the Tuskegee airmen. See an article The Deal by Allan Sloan , Sr Editor of FORTUNE mag “ Want to get away with murder? Become a bank.” The headline tells the story.

Oct 30, 2010 Many Christian stages (we hesitate to call many as pulpits anymore) support vain speech. Most seriously is the vain use of our God’s names. Today a top musician and MC introducing one of America’s most presently-famous gospel quartet remarked about them—“Golly, you are good.” Dr Rex Rogers, formerly President of Cornerstone University and now a columnist wrote that many now think it OK to inappropriately exclaim Lordy, Oh my Lord, my God, Gosh, Jesus, Gee, …. Other uttered words are fricken, freaking, Heck, Darn on stage and streets—also by those who are named Christians. My MD said my Charts looked “Darn good,” but I said I hope they don’t look that bad. I am contemplating saying -- after another says Oh Gosh; what God are you invoking? Or O Dear Lord, please guide us. And after one says O my Goodness I might say-- Whose goodness are we considering? While we are on stage talk, we might add that we are disappointed with some “biblical” seminary guaduates who graduate some new preachers who talk favorably about the violent, harmful, ungodly game of football, etc. even offending some by favoring some teams.

Oct 29 “… [O]verwhelming Muslim majorities -- i.e., better than two-thirds of a well-conducted survey of the world's … Muslim countries -- want these immoderate outcomes: strict application" of Shari'a, Islamic Law, and a global Caliphate.” Specifically, the World Public Opinion.org/ University of Maryland poll per the AmericanThinker.com reported that our “allies against terror” Pakistan and Egypt had a higher desire than the 67%. Germany, Denmark, Belguim, France, and Switzerland have take stances against the Muslim encroachments. The UK and the USA seem blinded by PC. While “Dutch prosecutors asked the presiding judges to acquit Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders on all charges of inciting hate and discrimination arising from his comments on Islam,” the Dutch Judges who demanded his trial have yet to rule. Pray they rule in favor of freedom of truth speech.

Oct 28 The Christian Life and Character of …the United States, written in 1864 by Benjamin Franklin Morris the Assistant Librarian of the Congressional Library, Washington, D.C. , is just out again in reprint. His documented material in 1060 pages seldom is touched in modern US History texts. Morris opens with “… We have a noble nation, full of the evidences of the moulding presence of Christian truth, and of the power and goodness of Divine wisdom in rearing up a Christian republic for all time. That this was the spirit and aim of the early founders of our institutions, the facts in this volume fully testify." This is now available on amazon.com Oh that our leaders would refresh about our Christian history leading to its documents and embrace the patterns God has given us. Instead of relating of the 50 Christans (half were theologically trained) of the 55 signers of the Declaration of Independence, they tell of the Diest B Franklin and T Jefferson, great as they were, who did not reportedly embrace Christianity tho they promoted the biblical God and His presence. See WallBuilders.com Jefferson promoted Bibles for the public schools, Church services in Capitol bldgs, and called ours a Christian nation.

Oct 27 Saw 2 young mothers at tables next to each other at our local BurgerKing, one reading her Bible. “What gems are you extracting?” She said she was in Jeremiah 10 and related, “Sounds like you are a disciple of Jesus?” She “But mainly with my children at this point.” An honorable ministry!

Oct 25 Bill Gates says: In Five Years The Best Education Will Come From The Web for free; you'll be able to find the best lectures in the world,” Gates said at Techonomy conference. Many basic subjects are now being taught at KhanAcademy.org In higher ed, visit openculture.com/freeonlinecourses to see top lecturers in 250 subjects. We have noted that much of college expansion (e.g., Calvin.edu, GVSU.edu) is being done in the sports arenas!

Oct 24 Pray about the clash of civilizations that are the outgrowth of the The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) which in the words of Iran’s VP an Observer at the 2008 Summit stated that the SCO “is a good venue for designing a new banking system which is independent from international banking systems” The SCO started in 2001 with China, Russia, and a few --stans in order to limit the extension of the USA, NATO, and Westerners into Asia. “Russia's Putin also included these comments: “We now clearly see the defectiveness of the monopoly in world finance and the policy of economic selfishness. To solve the current problem Russia will take part in changing the global financial structure so that it will be able to guarantee stability and prosperity in the world and to ensure progress.” The SCO now encompasses about half the world’s peoples and 2/3rds of its natural resources. Many in SCO say the West is a “pseudocivilization” of Madison Ave, Wall St, and Hollywood. Not too far from the truth. Unfortunately. Pray for Revival and improvement.

Oct 22 Received the new website of our missionary son www.heathclips.com In addition to their Wycliffe Bible Translation in Nigeria, their videos including one on the Dukawa Culture there reveals the customs of this wonderful primitive people.

Oct 21 An Oct 1-2 conference of over 1600 hosted by Dr. Erwin Lutzer—Senior Pastor at The Moody Church and other Professors of MBI in Chicago reaffirmed Israel’s place in Christendom based in part on Romans 11:25-32 among Evangelicals who often side exclusively with the Palestinian plight. The site chosenpeople.com/main/index.php/conference-report revealed “…The notions that belief in the theological validity of [Israel continued place in God’s plan or that] the modern state of Israel demands that one be anti-Palestinian was thoroughly countered at the Inside the Middle East Conference–not only by the speakers in general, but also by Tass Saada, a Palestinian Christian [who was a sniper for the PLO and a driver for Arafat and who now] believes that the Jewish people, according to the Bible, hold the divine deed to the land of Israel. There was a united heart of concern … for the struggles of both Jews and Palestinians. Joel Rosenberg made the point a number of times that much of the trouble in Israel has been caused by more radical Muslims who not only oppose the Jewish right to the land, but also persecute those Palestinians who have come to know Jesus as their Savior. … also expressed great hope in the Lord because of the growing number of Jews and Palestinians coming to faith in the Land of Israel.”

Oct 20 Robert Reich, former Secy of Labor in his Blog The Perfect Storm That Threatens American Democracy states “The top one-tenth of one percent of Americans now earn as much as the bottom 120 million of us.” Perfect for the financial deceivers and a few who have by a great idea and have not yet had the opportunity to share the windfall with those who helped them. Reich relates that “A relatively few Americans are buying our democracy as never before. And they’re doing it completely in secret. Hundreds of millions of dollars are pouring into advertisements for and against candidates — without a trace of where the dollars are coming from. They’re laundered through a handful of groups.” Pray for sanity for our lawmakers to change this gross inequity!

Oct 20 Our President Obama is also now deleting God from our Founding documents. The AFA.net reports that “For the third [up to about 7 now] …, President Obama has refused to include any mention of the "Creator" in his recitation of the Declaration of Independence. The Founders believed that "all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Repeatedly now the president has simply said Americans are endowed with certain rights, but persistently refuses to acknowledge with the Founders that these rights are a gift from God. He stripped God from our founding document on September 15 (video here) when speaking to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. He did it again on September 23 at a fundraiser in New York City. And he did it yet a third time on Monday night at in Rockville, Md. when speaking to Democratic Senate candidate donors. This can no longer by any stretch of the imagination be considered unintentional or accidental. President Obama is deliberately stripping our Christian heritage from us right before our very eyes. If our rights do not come to us from God, they come to us from government. And what government gives, government can take away. President Obama has taken a long stride on the path that leads to tyranny and ruin.”

Oct 18 The extent of man’s ill treatment or major govt policies to rehab our globe of carbon warming is still unsettled. Dr Hal Lewis who was a Prof in physics and a long-time office holder in nuclear control commissions and in the American Physical Society (APA) resigned from the APA because it would not correct the misleading studies (Climategate) for fear of losing much research revenue. Now a blogger on CollidingUniverses.blogspot.com tries to put it in perspective: “… APS [Society, replies that it] continues to recognize that climate models are far from adequate, and the extent of global warming and climatic disruptions produced by sustained increases in atmospheric carbon loading remain uncertain. In light of the significant settled aspects of the science, APS totally rejects Dr. Lewis’ claim that global warming is a “scam” and a “pseudoscientific fraud.” The blogger comments on the exchange: “Excuse me. … If "APS continues to recognize that climate models are far from adequate, and the extent of global warming and climatic disruptions produced by sustained increases in atmospheric carbon loading remain uncertain," what exactly is "settled" about the science? I doubt anyone disputes the basic properties of carbon dioxide, as such. The question is, how much does it matter? That unsettled part is what most people, facing big, legislated lifestyle changes, care about.” So let’s all exercise great personal care of our carbon footprint (God is looking down), put in a few laws where people are mindless about their wastes (such as outlawing NASCAR, reducing hiway speed to 60mph, motorboat racing, excessive travel) by raising taxes on gas and ticket prices, etc. CAP and Trade laws seem like a lotteries where a few could be bandits.

Oct 17 Contrary to many Christians also, religion is a wonderful step in humanity. It, however, can not get one into Heaven (see Eph 2:8,9). Sam Harris, describes his view of religion in discussing his book Moral Landscape and reveals his ignorance of what is “true religion”, see James 1:27 for our Creators definition. While he does accurately describe the Quran as not being a coherent or moral book and in fact is against women and widows as well as those not of their ilk. Harris does fault the Roman Catholic for being more concerned with contraceptives and the well-being and rape of children. Harris faults Islam and Christianity specifically for their press for certainty of their path to the afterlife. He states the Quran forbids the heaven to those who believe that Jesus is God while Christianity does not permit Heaven unless we believe in the divine Virgin birth. And those faith points are irreconcilable.

Oct 16 The Fed Govt made huge mistakes in the financial crises. 1) It should have not rescinded the Glass-Segal Act which had prevented banks from other financial 2) It should have Regulated much better and 3) It should have handled the Mortgage crises better. Ezra Klein wrote in the Washington Post October 8, 2010 quoting one of the top advisors and warners of Structured Finance: “This can be done with a resolution trust corporation, the way we cleaned up the S&Ls. The system got back on its feet faster because we grappled with the problems. The shareholders would be wiped out and the debt holders would have to take a discount on their debt and they’d get a debt-for-equity swap. Instead we poured TARP money into a pit and meanwhile the banks are paying huge bonuses to some people who should be made accountable for fraud. The financial crisis was a product of our irrational reaction, which protected crony capitalism rather than capitalism. In capitalism, the shareholders who took the risk would be wiped out and the debt holders would take a discount but banking would go on.” Relatively few in finance and govt have raped the world’s financial system and persons of its strength and vitality.

Oct 16 The increased inequality of wealth should be corrected. There are many hazards that few are addressing. “In a recent working paper based on census data for the 100 most populous counties in the United States,… [authors including me] found that the counties where income inequality grew fastest also showed the biggest increases in symptoms of financial distress. For example, even after controlling for other factors, these counties had the largest increases in bankruptcy filings. Divorce rates, … long commute times, … reduced voters’ willingness to support even basic public services. … crumbling roads, weak bridges, an unreliable rail system, and cargo containers that enter our ports without scrutiny. But are there offsetting benefits? There is no persuasive evidence that greater inequality bolsters economic growth or enhances anyone’s well-being. Yes, the rich can now buy bigger … But this appears to have made them no happier. And … one effect of the growing inequality has been to lure our most talented graduates to the largely unproductive chase for financial bonanzas on Wall Street, [etc., Big wealth allows them to lawyer-up, which is their gross overuse of our “free” court system (also water, land, and airspace) as their playground, to defend themselves and get minimum setbacks IF caught, ] … it has imposed considerable harm across the income scale without generating significant offsetting benefits. … . So maybe we should just agree that it’s a bad thing — and try to do something about it.” Robert H. Frank is an economics professor … at Cornell University for the NYTimes.

Oct 15 America is soft on white collar crime. Sholam Weiss was jailed for major fraud, … but allowed a pass to leave jail, but fled. The jailers found he gambled away $70K on a weekend. Sentence was reduced for “good behavior.”! Within a few years, he defrauded the National Heritage Life Insurance Co for about a half billion dollars of nearly-worthless mortgages. It was the largest such crime in history. If he would have been handled correctly and punished severly the first time, we might not have had the 2009 Mortgage crisis. Allowed bail again, he fled the USA before the Verdicts of Guilty. It was another year before the FBI caught him, faught for his Extradition, and he is now serving 800 year sentence. But avoidable costs and havoc enroute. Hard labor? Studying his warped brain? Probably not.

Oct 14 Discovered that some of the best questions to ask others are: How or where is God leading you in His kingdom efforts? What do you wish Jesus to heal for you? What do you think about most often? What do you enjoy most about life? Would you like assistance in finding a better life situation? Try to think of more and better ones.

Oct 10 The media misrepresents the factors of the homosexual discussion. Sitcoms and the news spread acceptability. Even the NYTimes online today had a heading that the NY governor-candidate “Paladino Attacks Gays in Brooklyn Speech.” But he criticized “Cuomo, for marching in a gay pride parade” -- unacceptable, and that if taught properly “…children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family, and I don’t want them brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option — it isn’t.” From mega analyses/multiple studies , homosexuals (not those who had an intoxicated encounter) are only about 3 % of the adult population; men slightly higher than women. A 2010 Indiana University survey of 5865 by Center for Sexual Health funded by Trojans, revealed e.g. as one index, that during the “past year” about 3/4ths of the men received oral sex from a woman but about 5% received it from another man. And in spite of the many health and other problems, the media and even “higher ed” promote with homosexual practice! Rutgers.edu recently honored one who committed suicide when his dorm room “encounter” was disclosed on the internet (also sad). And then its President released a statement “…Last year Rutgers opened an LGBT resource center and established our first LGBT scholarship fund for undergraduate students. And while we are working toward the creation of additional safe spaces in response to student concerns, we must make every space at Rutgers safe. Accordingly, I pledge that we will work even more closely with our student leaders to make certain that our campuses are places where students of all races, faiths, cultures, and orientations feel accepted and respected.” Maybe pedophiles, fornicators, cheaters, hackers, kleptomaniacs, terrorists,... —where is the line against sin to be drawn?

Oct 5 Pray and write to USA leaders who drop references to God from our national documents. Hundreds of references to God have been dropped; see nationaltreasures.org/ Pres Obama twice in recent days dropped “by their Creator” from our Declaration of Independence while speaking; once before a Hispanic Congressional Caucus which I saw on Youtube with Close Caption and in separate print. See update above. And inspect this cite http://visiontoamerica.org/story/under-god-now-dropped-from-gettysburg-address.html Lincoln’s “under God” was dropped from the reproductions of this historical document in the ACS legal program -- acslaw.org/keepingfaith The faith of the legal society appears to be diminishing.

Oct 4, 2010 Started “Thru the New” testament in 90 days reading plan with many in our church. I plan to use http://interlinear.biblos.com/matthew/1.htm and ff switching back and forth with my Greek texts on key words. It should make a great review and add to my understanding. Pray His Spirit would invade our thinking and every part of our lives.

Nov 30 God still heals and often uses physicians. But we need to go to the Great Physician first, lest we might suffer and die as righteous King Asa (2Chron 16:12,13). About 3 weeks ago, my (Al) pain in the center of my right chest hit about a 7 (of 10, which is fetal with tears). After prayer and 30 minutes, we packed my bag for the hospital. But the pain let up a little and instead we headed for the Elders at Church for prayer, anointing, and confession (James 5:13-16, God's usual plan for healing,written on my emergency bracelet). The pain almost immediately dropped to a 4. This was about the 7^th time God did miraculous healing in our lives-that we know of, perhaps many more. Pain reduced to an intermittent 2 over the next few days. My dear Yvonne reminded me that her Chiropractor might help; and after 2 manipulations, all pain has fled, PtL.

Nov 26 Christians must engage in a better health practices. No health insurance program can afford the care needed if we citizens do not change our habits. We will take ever more dangerous activities, and thus be less productive. Moreover, the growth of His Kingdom is hindered when we move about lethargically and do not present Christianity fairly to our neighbors. We must show each other and the world a better life style-for starters: eating, exercise, and attention to worthwhile (and often less dangerous) sports. Thus in reverse order, not participating and seldom watching football e.g. now that we know that the injuries lead to dementia, arthritis, and some say cancer. Our exercise should not harm our knees, hips, etc. and we should be regular with our cardio. Sugars and transfats should be rare. We are killing ourselves-- and murder is still in His Book. I/Al am overcoming gluttony by God's power (Rev 12:11) and I still need to lose about 20#s. Now to be encouraging. We should compliment others when appropriate such as: "You're looking healthier" rather than "You lost a lot of weight." For The Biggest Loser TV reviews illustrate that losing weight can be harmful if not properly done. Lord, we desperately need your guidance, wisdom, and help to protect our bodies, Your Temples.

Nov 15 Trying Gitmo militia in a US civilian court who were captured on foreign fields is a disastrous process. We speak more about this under our Key Govt Issues which includes an email on this to elected Fed officials. In the trend in July, [Fed Judge Colleen] Kollar-Kotelly ruled a Kuwaiti detainee at Guantanamo captured in Afghanistan in 2002, Khalid Al Mutairi, had been unlawfully detained as an enemy combatant. The habeas corpus ruling led to the Obama administration's decision in October to transfer Al Mutairi to his home country. Kollar-Kotelly, appointed to the U.S. District Court was chief judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the FISA court, from 2002 until this year. She was among the judges who moved to rebuild the "wall of separation" between criminal investigators and intelligence agents cited by the 9/11 commission as a factor in the failure to detect the 9/11 plot, notes counter-terrorism expert and former federal prosecutor Andrew C. McCarthy. The rebuilding effort, however, was overruled by the FISA Court of Review in 2002. ... In 2005, she ruled enemy combatants were entitled to counsel, at taxpayers' expense, to challenge their detention.

Nov 10 According to ActforAmerica.org /ACT, CAIR is subversive. In P. David "Gaubatz's book, "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America," published by WND Books, he and co-author Paul Sperry present first-hand evidence CAIR is acting as a front for a well-funded conspiracy of the Muslim Brotherhood - the parent of al-Qaida and Hamas - to infiltrate the American system and help pave the way for Saudi-style Islamic law to rule the U.S. In the lawsuit, however, CAIR, a self-described Muslim civil-rights group, does not defend itself against the book's claims. The FBI cut off ties to CAIR in January after the group was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case in Texas, the largest terrorism-finance case in U.S. history. Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York and other senators have called for a government-wide ban on CAIR." Recently, the FBI gathered the Gaubatz's files of CAIR for suing CAIR. CAIR alleges Chris Gaubatz signed a confidentiality agreement when he worked as an intern with CAIR for six months, but Gaubatz denies it, and CAIR reportedly says it has no copy of such agreement. In any event, ACT relays that Gaubatz's Atty Dan Horowitz says CAIR has bigger things to worry about: "If a grand jury hears even half of what is in the 'Muslim Mafia,' CAIR will be destroyed and its leaders could face massive prison terms." CAIR is but one of the active Muslim groups in the USA, see next below.

Nov 5 Though we have many witnesses and perhaps cell phone photos may emerge of the terrorist Major Hasan, media PC still calls him an alleged militant. A recent book American Islam, 2007 FSGbooks.com by Paul Barrett of Business Week presents a slightly Islam-biased (page 281, 283) view about some communities in the USA. It seems to report accurately, including Sura 9:5 "...slay the idolaters ...and take them captive and besiege them,..." but if the idolaters repent, pray, and pay a religious tax to the Muslims, they should be allowed to go their way, pp 77-78. The largest Muslim community in the US is in Dearborn/Detroit and also has the Arab American News paper. The AAN was influential in mustering MI Senators and Reps. favor for USA citizenship for one who supported physically and financially the Palestinian PFLP. However, "Many Muslims ...have given money to factions in the Middle East that the US government considers terrorist. ... pride in Hezbollah, common among Arab-Americans ..." pp.29-31. The AAN has reported on the "Arab crime wave, gangs, and drug dealings in Dearborn at crisis levels for years," and Y. Arafat was "one of the perennial heroes in the pages of the AAN for years" pp 33-34.

The Saudis sponsor professors, many American university Chairs of Arabic Studies, mosques, etc. Occasionally, one like the woman Prof A. Nomani will complain against CAIR, the Muslim Student Association/MSA and others-usually when they have been snubbed pp157-167. Such has led to "segregation in mosques growing more extreme" p174 and death threats, p 176. Teaching continues as "One of the most important fundamentals ... is to love and be loyal is Islam and the Muslims, and to hate and renounce the disbelievers" citing "For the scum disappears like froth cast out ... [Sura] 13:17 p 177. According to Barrett, the English-language IslamicWeb.com will at times denounce moderate? leaders who have influence in Washington. Once the site contained a prayer about the leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of America, "May Allah disfigure the appearance of [Sheikh] Kabbani ..." 197. Kabbani told the State Dept in 1999 that the "ideology of extremism has been spread to 80% of the American Muslim" ...and the Muslim university students [e.g. MSA] presented a special danger...their way of thinking is brainwashed, p198. Muslims turned on him and his Muslim Magazine ceased publication.

Immigration/INS opened doors to the Mid East in 1965, and while Visas were more restricted after 9/11, Mid East grad student admissions rose 12% in 2005. After an extensive Saudi-backed PR campaign roped in the Uof Idaho law school, Al-Hussayen's doctoral advisor, other UofI profs, the libertarian newspaper, The Idaho Statesman, the jury (e.g.,see 248), and even Barrett, Al-Hussayen was found Not Guilty on terror but a Mistrial on 8 immigration charges. He agreed to be deported in 2004. Within 4 months on a sister site IslamToday.net (English version is moderate) 26 Saudi "scholars" signed that "Jihad against the [Iraq] occupation is a duty." pp 240-264. While moderate Islam is growing in America, so are the Extremists, p 252. Other authors very knowledgeable about Islam such as the Caner brothers, Y.Tekoah, R. Spencer, N. Darwish, A. Dershowitz (in our library; most mentioned on our website) are deeply concerned about the potential destruction within the USA. Dear Christ, we need your Spirit's power to love all, even during trouble.

Oct 30 Books (and papers) showing the Christian history of the USA are being found and republished. AmericanVision.org reprinted E. Boudinot's refutation of Thomas Paine's sequel to Paine's better thoughts expressed in Paine's Common Sense papers. Gary DeMar wrote a new Forward to Boudinot's book about the Founding Fathers and also tells that:

"Thomas Jefferson is one of their patron saints, and yet he wasn't even present during the drafting of the Constitution. Of course, Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence which states emphatically that God is the Creator and the Judge of the world. The ACLU plays down these words. Benjamin Franklin is another one skeptics love to trot out as an anti-religious Founding Father. But it was Franklin who stood up at the Constitutional Convention and quoted Psalm 127:1 as a warning to the delegates: "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it." Not much is said about these remarks by Franklin.

"So liberals bring out what they believe is their biggest gun-Thomas Paine. Paine wrote Common Sense in 1776 and used the Bible (Judges 8; 1 Sam. 8; Matt. 22:21) to make the case that Americans had a biblical right to oppose tyrannical governments. These facts are ignored by today's "scholars" and skeptics. Instead, they reference Paine's The Age of Reason as the work they claim proves America was founded on Enlightenment principles. Hogwash! The first part wasn't published until 1794. Even Paine's friends denounced him for his views. John Adams called Paine a "blackguard" who wrote out of the depths of "a malignant heart." George Washington, previously one of Paine's fiercest advocates, attacked Paine's principles in his Farewell Address (without referring to his name) as unpatriotic and subversive. But you would never know any of these facts if you sat through a history lecture on the period in a modern-day college classroom.

"But here's something else you will probably have never heard: Paine's Age of Reason was thoroughly refuted by Elias Boudinot in his masterful book The Age of Revelation. Never heard of Boudinot? I'm not surprised. It's because Boudinot was a real Founding Father who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, signed the Treaty of Paris, helped design the Great Seal of the United States, served as Director of the United States Mint, founded the American Bible Society, and proposed a resolution (that passed) just after the ratification of the First Amendment that called on the President to issue a Thanksgiving Day Proclamation. Boudinot said he "could not think of letting the session pass over without offering an opportunity to all the citizens of the United States of joining with one voice, in returning to Almighty God their sincere thanks for the many blessings he had poured down upon them." You won't find any of these inconvenient truths in today's textbooks.

"Boudinot believed it was Paine's popularity with his 1776 Common Sense that attracted people to The Age of Reason. It's in this [his later] book that Paine unwisely declares that the Bible is more "the word of a demon than the word of God." See docs.google

Oct 25 There seems to be an increasing misunderstanding in evangelical teaching about love and forgiveness-- God's and ours. Some of the problem is that we do not want to wrestle with the "hard or dark sayings"in the Word. Granted, it seems that the Bible has some contrasting statements of truth. E.g., Jesus said in Lk 11:23 "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters." But, in Mk 9:50 Jesus said "...whoever is not against you is for you." (A better translation per Dr. G. Archer, Bible Difficulties, 6^th ed.; check the context.) However, some modern preachers drift off the Scripture and say such as this series: You are "completely forgiven and fully pleasing to God" according to R. S. McGee in his book Search for Significance 2^nd ed. pp77 & 94. "You would not please God more or less by how you act. He would not love you more --or less-- based on what you do. God loves you just the way you are, you do not need to change for He will change you. If you were the only person on earth God would give His Son for you. Forgiveness requires that you forgive all and not require nor expect any repentance or correction by the violator. You forgive primarily for your peace of mind; etc." Please think about these thru the Spirit of Scripture. While there is a particle of truth in phrases within the above statements, portions can easily mislead the listener (and the speaker) and but worst of all they likely misrepresent God.

Eric Rauch writes on AmericanVision.org : That gradients at least of "God's friendship/love is conditioned upon obeying Him and doing what He commands. If we show love for Jesus by keeping His commandments, then we also show hate [or distrust] for Him by not keeping them. Those who preach unconditional love [other than for entry into Heaven as His child] are simply trying to disarm godly [and ungodly] people in order that evil may triumph. The same is true of the idea of unconditional forgiveness. Forgiveness in the Bible is always conditional upon true repentance. Unconditional forgiveness is simply the total, unconditional toleration of and acceptance of evil. It demands that we accept the criminal, the pervert, the degenerate, the subversive as they are..." -and may continue to be.

God requires repentance; note the consequences in Dt 28. And told Solomon [and us, for He has not changed this] "... if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land [and hearts]" (2Chron 7:14). If we are to forgive as God forgives, repeated ofttimes in Scripture, then some measure of repentance is needed for restoration of full personal fellowship (Luke 17:2-4).

While God's variations of even agape love and steps to forgiveness are very clear to Him, we "see through a glass darkly." So let us suggest that man might usually go thru 3 acceptable plateaus of forgiveness: 1) a willingness to forgive IF minimum conditions are met 2) a wanting to forgive if certain conditions might occur, and 3) outright forgiveness when the victim sees no further recompense available and things would be better to "let go of it." A friend suggested asking oneself this series : Could I ever forgive?, Will I forgive? When will I forgive? Thought provoking.

Oct 7, 2009 Prepared notification of our updates on Key Govt Issues (and our Weblog) on this website for sending to our top elected officials and a number of others who seem very interested in the path/positions Christians in the USA should prayerfully consider.

Oct 5 Even some Muslims somewhat concerned with democracy in the USA recognize that terrorism is in the DNA of many in Islam. OneNewsNow.com reports that "Congressman Keith Ellison denounced Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, for warning that political Islam has a militant strain that's used to justify terrorism. Jasser told a congressional briefing that terrorism won't be stopped until his Islamic faith goes through its own Reformation to separate mosque and state. Ellison responded by accusing Jasser of giving people a "license for bigotry. ..." But Jasser declared, "This is an Islamic problem and it needs an Islamic solution." Pray that Yahovah Eloheim (Rev 4:8) would impress them.

Oct 4 We should usually boycott theater films and DVDs made in part by the 138+ persons who signed support for Roman Polanski's release from further prosecution and other who live publically in fornication. It shows that the Hollywood type is so out of touch with civility but in addition encourages criminal behavior by its films and is responsible for promoting much of America's thirst for murder, adultery, and most kinds of thievery and violence.

Oct 4, 2009 Atty/Commentator Megyn Kelley of FOX TV had a thorough overview of the Truth about ACORN, revealing its criminal activity as shown in a congressional report headed by Rep Issa which also referred to docs by ACORN's own attys. Then Mr. E Maloney showed again his "Indoctrinate U" on the DOC channel about the liberal indoctrination that most "liberal arts" professors present on secular and some religious campuses. Many colleges are so anti-American that they not only twist religious history of our Founding Fathers (AKA dead white males), deny tenure to conservatives even when they are silent about it, but do not even want the American flag to be prominent. Prepare your children for the onslaught to your beliefs that most will face.

Sep 22 We need to pray against and resist Muslim and Sharia culture from invading the USA. Large inroads have already been make in the EU, and in some countries such as the Netherland persons are forbidden to speak out against Islam. David Barton of WallBuilders.org relates of the USA that "... a federal court of appeals ruled that public schools in nine western states can require a three week indoctrination to the Islamic faith in which all junior high students must pretend they are Muslims and offer prayers to Allah (students are further encouraged to take Islamic names, call each other by those names, wear Islamic garb, participate in Jihad games, and read the Koran during those three weeks). Yet that very court also ruled that it was unconstitutional for those same students to voluntarily mention "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Likewise, a federal court on the east coast ruled that public schools may display Islamic holiday symbols but not Christian ones. And the University of Michigan recently spent $25,000 of taxpayer money to install foot-washing facilities to accommodate the religious practices of Muslim students but made no similar expenditure on behalf of students from any other religion."

Sep 17 Have been considering designing a self-questionnaire that would reflect how well we embrace a "Christian world and life view," which Geo Barna of Barna.org says we are sorely lacking. Granted that Christians will vary in how they view things (including the intensity with which they weigh the important factors), but these might we some of the questions we should ask ourselves. Do I study His Word daily? Do I believe it is the Final Authority on all of life? Will I follow its teachings? Will I suffer for Him with joy (Jame 1:1,2). Tradition states that that all 12 of His disciples were martyred. Am I willing to do what His Spirit leads me to do at whatever cost to my wallet or welfare? Am I willing to "speak truth in love" (Eph 4:15) even to those in authority (Peter did, Stephen lost his life, Paul suffered much). I will give a current example of speaking up to a recognized authority. We are studying a helpful book, but one of its 4 main premises states that it is Satan who puts in our minds that "Those who fail are unworthy of love and deserve to be punished." First of all, we should separate those 2 hypotheses. I would agree that Satan wants us to think we are unworthy of love -- especially when we fail at something. But I believe that we Christians also deserve to be punished in many circumstances while we realize that Christ paid the death penalty for ALL our failures and sins. And particularly for repentant Believers He is "gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; ...and ... as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us" (Ps 103:8-12). However, tho Christ bore our ultimate punishment, God reveals that He is concerned that we be redirected on the right course for the Kingdom and our benefit: Heb 12:6 - "For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children" (NLT). Sometimes He uses the government to punish His people, see Romans 13.

Sep 11, 2009 Some would place the Rapture 10 days after the start of the Great Tribulation (see our Aug 20 entry below) based on Re 2:10 - "Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." Our friend, Tom Steinbach, gave us a copy of his book "Your Quest: End Times Expert" which includes "Now we are stating that believers and nonbelievers will go through the first TEN DAYS of the Great Tribulation. THEN all faithful followers of Jesus will be reaped Home" (page 127) correlating with Re 14:16 - "So He who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested." FF Bruce in his International Bible Commentary cites Dan 7:13 --"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was One like a Son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. ..." Eventually Daniel saw the historical end coming: 27 :"Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints. ...[and all will] obey Him." PtL. Let us prepare our hearts to endure with a measure of joy until He comes for us, whether the Rapture is before the Tribulation begins as many believe and all of us would hope that it would occur at least before end of the of first 1260 days when the 2 witnesses are revived (Rev 11) or Mid Trib Rapture, or as in Dan 12: 10 Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly ... . 11 And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the Abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days." Steinbach postulates that God will rapture us before the end of the last 45 days-- the Great Tribulation. The drownings in Noah's time lasted only 40 days, Moses fasted only 40 days, the Spys were in danger only 40 days (Num. 13:25), Goliath and the Philistines were defeated in 40 days, God and Jonah gave Nineveh forty days to repent, and Jesus restricted His time with the devil in the desert to 40 days. Mt 24:22 states of the Tribulation "If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened." If the Lord waits till the last 40-45 days to Rapture us, the last 2 verses of Scripture will certainly be our cry: "20 ... Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen."

Sep 3, 2009 A key blogger/pastor tim ten clay RCA Herald blog aug 09 finds that Worship is not being done well in his denomination's churches. There is an"Absence of creeds /confessions and Old Testament in worship .... ; since so few of our congregations actually worship "in accordance" with the liturgy (as they are actually required to by the BCO), our worship has often missed some of the most important aspects that have traditionally been of Reformed worship." A requirement is that "The points of doctrine contained in the Heidelberg Catechism shall be explained by the minister at regular services of worship on the Lord's Day, so that the exposition of them is completed within a period of four years." This orderly presentation of the biblical doctrines is infrequently followed. Ideally, each sermon should have verses and illustrations from the OT and NT; and "Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" (Eph 5:19;Col 3:16) preparing persons for the tribulations to come (see our below). Please bring us closer to Your whole counsel, please Lord.

Aug 20 More Christian leaders such as GospelTractSociety.org are moving toward a pre-wrath rapture theology. Although the GTS website still reports that they do not promote a church doctrine, they now apologetically (both meanings) state in their newest Harvester pub that we Christians "should be prepared to endure at least some portion of the Tribulation." Not that Christians will remain through the Wrath (Rom 5:9; 1 Thes 1:10, 5:9) of the Great Tribulation "namely, the [Great] tribulation to which the martyrs were exposed under the fifth seal" (JFB Commentary on Rev 7:14) which may come after 42 months (Rev 11:1-5), but that Christians will remain until our apostasy ushers in the named antichrist and he establishes a seat of power. The main verses for that theology appears in 2 Thes 2: "1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming [parousias; rapture] of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together [episynagoges] to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away [apostasia] comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple [naon] of God, showing himself that he is God." Similar teaching is found in Mat 24: "12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. 15 "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,'[the son of perdition] spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-- 16 then let those [not raptured?] who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. ... 19 How dreadful it will be in those [1260? (42 months) Rev 11:2] days [of the 7 last vial plaques of Rev 15:1]... . 29 Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 30 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all [those left of] the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds [rapture in the sky]... .

Then the last 1260 days of the Great Tribulation begins? Many have and are already going thru a semblance of the Tribulation. So more preachers are realizing that we must not only work to save souls, bring social justice, witness, become disciples, and even teaching others "all things... . " We must also become personally strong in the Lord thru knowledge of Him from the Bible and trusting Him for everything, and exercise dominion and authority over the devil-- "Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7) with the full armor of God (Eph 6). In openness, we must state that our preWrath theology (see prewrathrapture.com; prewrathministries.org) is not widely accepted. In R. Ludwigson's A SURVEY OF BIBLE PROPHECY, Zondervan, 2^nd ed. the Mid-Tribulation Rapture received only a 2 page defense whereas PreTrib got 13 pages and PostTrib received 8. We can not assert that the Church will remain only until the Great Tribulation Wrath, we need to be prepared by His Spirit to standfast and witness enroute.

Aug 15 Revisiting what it means to be a Christian. One major writer, pastor, and speaker speaker dr Jeffries of 1^st bapt, 12K of dallas uncluttered Christianity on TV said that it is not being saved, socially assisting others in the Name of Jesus, or even being a disciple; "it is to become like Christ." Perhaps thinking "What Would Jesus Do"/ WWJD. However, unless we understand the spirit-man of this Most Excellent Son Jesus who was from the beginning when the Triune God said "Let us make man in our image" (Gen1:26), we will not understand what part of His character we may emulate. Because He is God, He may be judgmental and wrathful as He was in Noah's flood, Jealous as in the 10 Commandments, vengeful as noted in Rom 12:19 quoting OT, at least 10 other traits/actions that we may not do, e.g,, shove the marketers out of the temple/church. So we must learn of the biblical Christ, then discern His life to know who we are to be before we do everything like He would. He might still walk long distances while teaching. Maybe that is what we should do?

Aug 6, 2009 Computer hacking is almost exploding in frequency and is often done over political and religious differences. The New York Times reported: "A "blogger, a refugee from the Abkhazia region ... disputed between Russia and Georgia ... identified ... by the name Giorgi ... who said he taught at Sukhumi State University" was involved in a large scale interruption. If one is Hooked on the Net, as is the title of Andrew Careaga's book, addictive deviousness can easily be the pitfall. Computer power can be exploited by a few psychotics. We need prepare for a www computer crash.

July 28 Refreshed my faith by walking the beach with St Justin the Martyr (c150AD) who was the most well known Christian thinker and writer for God of his time. NewAdvent.org reveals that Justin, who studied philosophy extensively and " ... was still under the charm of the Platonistic philosophy when, as he walked [Peripatetic student] one day along the seashore, he met a mysterious old man; the conclusion of their long discussion was that [t]he soul could not arrive through human knowledge at the idea of God, but that it needed to be instructed by the Prophets who, inspired by the Holy Ghost, had known/[was] God and could make Him known" (per the Dialogue, written by Justin).

"All facts of the life of Christ that Justin takes from these memoirs [of the Apostles] are found indeed in our Gospels ... It is quite probable that Justin used a concordance, or harmony, in which were united the three synoptic Gospels ... Justin's dependence on St. John is indisputably established by the facts which he takes ... Dialogue with Trypho 69, 88), still more by the very striking similarity in vocabulary and doctrine." Along with his 2 volumes of Apologies, it is refreshing to see how early on the Bible was being canonized and significant parts were becoming available to contemporary (Polycarp c120) and later (Irenaeus c180; Origen c 220; Athanasius c 320) prominent theologians. PtL.

July 26 God will heal all his children. Is this true? It is a desired truth of faith for us when we are in pain. I will use many facets of Scripture to understand and support this proposition/truth. God is interested in words and meanings. Let's begin with viewing our Eternal Life-which is affirmed when we truly believe. Jesus said in John 5:24:

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my Word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." So the perfect eternal life has begun for us which will eventually include the perfect health in our new body in Heaven. And the Word says that He has "...blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ" (Eph 1:3).

We need to view concepts and words (eternal life, riches, weight, healing etc.) the way the Lord does and writes to us in His Word realizing that we are predominantly spiritual beings in physical bodies rather than flesh in a spiritual aura. So we must view His teachings primarily through His spiritual lens. God pictures the facets of life such as riches and weight and health differently than we would often like to view.

Now let's look at riches. He told us to "lay up our treasures in Heaven." And in Lu 16:11 He said "So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" We can in truth say (not in jest or flippantly) "God wants us rich." But what does that mean? Paul states in Ro 2:4 : " do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" And also some monied people have surrendered to Christ when they realized that He was the One who allowed and gave them the bucks.

Now on to the spiritual views of "weight": our worries or burdens we carry for others or those added pounds of our fat that deteriorate our health. God wants to help us in all those areas. Christ tells us to "Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me ..., for My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Mt 11:29,30). But He wants our request for help as a "prayer of faith" which includes that we "Confess our sins [to Him] and to one another ...that you [we] may be healed" (James 5:15,16; see also Isa 59:2). God has neither an obligation nor perhaps a strong desire to heal or answer prayers when we do not follow His precepts and desires; we often ask "amiss...to spend it on our passions" (James 4:3). And earthly parents do not like to give gifts that are wasted or not appreciated. Heb 12:1,2 tells of our responsibility "let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus ..." If I do not want to move to reduce my weights of worry (God tells us to "be not anxious") or of extra fat or anything that offends Him, then Jesus may not wish to process my healing immediately (not that it does not begin upon our sincere repentance) . Often our healing starts with facing the demons upon us-and fighting them off with His power. To heal us when we do not cooperate with Him would be honoring our delinquency. However, He wants to heal His children and ultimately will.

We also need to realize that God does not always heal or reveal His healing immediately (similarly, when an MD removes an appendix about to rupture, we may not feel healed-then or even later.) With God's direct healing, we must believe that not only can He heal, but that He is healing us. However, health does not always continue (or we would not die). Luke 17:12ff relates about the ten lepers that Jesus was about to heal: "Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God." We do not know if the other 9 noticed their healing or retained it. Sometimes we do not savor our healing, give full thanks for it, or doubt He is doing anything for us. If we think that our most effective help comes from a pill or that God must use a pill for our healing, we have left God on the cabinet shelf. We should rather pray that the Great Physician would heal us directly so that we will give Him all of the credit.

If we are still not convinced of our need to understand healing in a spiritual way, contemplate what God thinks of our "heart." Isn't He primarily concerned with that spirit center of our life being given over to Him? And then He wants us to "not lose heart" or spirit (even tho the "body is decaying," 2Cor 4:16). Jehovah told Ahaz to "not lose heart" [or fear] the threats against Jerusalem (Isa 7:14). But He is also concerned with our physical heart and will care for that now, or in our New Body; PtL.

God heals or choses to delay healing when it suits His kingdom purposes. If few will believe for it or believe it even after the evidence of healing, He may chose to delay. In 2Th 1:4,5 Paul commended the Church: "4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer...."

If in His delay or not revealing our healing our faith and joy thru the suffering produces a witness of His Sufficient Grace (2Cor 12), then delay could be best for His kingdom -which should be our primary concern. Amen?

July 25 We need to teach our students how to detect truth/lies. Prof Patricia Hill Collins in her book Another Kind of Education urges students to be free to evaluate all words the teacher utters and then evaluate the phrase for lies/truth. She questions the students with: Did Lincoln free the slaves? If she wanting the young to explore statements with modest skepticism, we might agree. And she encourages students to see visions beyond pragmatism.

July 24 The 2 major 1000+ page Congress Heath Care Bills have major flaws: According to FORTUNE online magazine "If you prize choosing your own cardiologist or urologist under your company's Preferred Provider Organization plan (PPO), if your employer rewards your non-smoking, healthy lifestyle with reduced premiums, if you love the bargain Health Savings Account (HSA) that insures you just for the essentials, or if you simply take comfort in the freedom to spend your own money for a policy that covers the newest drugs and diagnostic tests -- you may be shocked to learn that you could lose all of those good things under the rules proposed in the two bills that herald a health-care revolution."

In addition, abortion will be paid for, and euthanasia or its sister, limited care, will result.
In the prominet medical journal The Lancet (January 2009 [PDF]) Obama's special health policy advisor Ezekiel Emanuel, brother of the Obama's Chief of Staff, wrote that if healthcare has to be rationed, he prefers the "complete lives system," which "discriminates against older people."

July 23 The NEA supports payments for abortion rights -and now also supports homosexual marriage. The Christian Educators Association International (CEAI) says it has seen an increase in enrollment because about one month ago, the National Education Association (NEA) voted to throw its full support behind homosexual "marriage," and members voted down a resolution calling for the NEA to take a "no-position" stance on abortion. Public school teachers should consider switching to CIAI which allows them to pick their individual political causes.

July 22 The finance crisis taking brief repose. Prosecutions for fraud and proposed Regulations are permissive; big banks and finance companies have been given dollars to covers their misdeeds, and the Bailout dollars have not yet cranked up inflation. The AIGs and Moodys are getting a pass, C and CIT are "too big to fail," and the price of bread and milk has declined. It is win-win-win yet for all but the "working class."

July 10 This date is the 500^th celebration of John Calvin's birthday. We owe so much to God and him for his contributions to our understanding of Scripture through his Institutes and contributions to the Geneva Bible, which the Pilgrims used and took on the Mayflower to America. Thanks be to God for His fortitude, forgiveness, and followthrough.

July 7 The Pope has just called us all from the UN on down to a more-biblically ethical life. Select helpful excerpts from Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), Pope Benedict XVI's new encyclical on the economy and Catholic social teachings include:

The USATODAY culled the above and added that "Lew Daly, senior fellow at Demos, a New York City-based public policy organization and author of God's Economy: Faith-Based Initiatives and the Caring State, praised the [Pope's] text as "a turning point for the church and particularly for the American church, because our nation and our society is both the epicenter of wealth and the epicenter of inequality.

"Nearly half of the world's population lives on less than $2.50 a day and nearly 80% live on less than $10 a day. In the meantime a relative handful of corporations and wealthy families have grown rich far beyond the greatest emperors and kings of the past.

"There may be growth, but a faithful Catholic [Roman or Protestant] does not call this progress, the pope argues, until the growth is more equitably shared according to the design of the Creator," says Daly.

The Bible provides directions in caring for the poor (Ex 23; Lev 23) soon after He gave us the 10 Commandments. The rest of Scripture amplifies on how we are to treat the poor and others (Mt 25).

July 7 Barna.org, a religious survey group, recently discovered that about 3% of those in the USA are other than heterosexual. "...one's understanding of God. ... [is] one of the biggest differences noted in the study. While seven out of every ten heterosexuals ... have an orthodox, biblical perception of God, ... [only about] 43% of homosexuals do." Many homosexuals identify themselves as born-again, and if they do not practice mental or physical homosexuality as in Romans 1:18ff, we embrace them (gently) in His love as fellow strugglers toward the victorious Christian life. Unfortunately, both camps frequently do not practice clear Christian biblical principles.

July 7 Too many Christians in the USA take wild (and costly) risks of life and limb for sport (or encourage those who do): mountain climbing, football, hockey, NASCAR, motorcycle racing, motorboat racing, skydiving, balloon flights, gliding, etc. Most of these, except for military defense conditioning, take their energy away from useful tasks, pollutes the environment, and furthers the false idol/gods syndrome. And if the riskies know that universal health care will pay their bills, the situation will get much worse. Please God, guide us to enjoy what You wish accomplished for the feeding and caring of mankind and your earth. And to build in proper ratings, Deductibles, Copays, etc. into any national health insurance scheme.

July 6 "A Federal full Appeals Court ruled leniency on the diminution of women, children, and bestiality in a recent major opinion. Chief 9^th Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski kept pornographic images on a public Web site including "a picture of naked women on all fours painted to look like cows [with vaginas prominent] and a video of a half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal." The Legal Intelligencer of July 6 reported also that a 11-judge judicial council of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals specially assigned to hear the case issued a unanimous 41-page opinion in In re Complaint of Judicial Misconduct. Kozinski even admitted that other pictures/postings were more "inappropriate " ; racism, pedophilia, ...." USLaw.com portrays some. However the panel wrote "The judge's acknowledgment of responsibility combined with the corrective actions he has already completed or has committed to pursue and his apology, along with our admonishment, made public in this opinion, properly remedy the problems raised by the complaint," 3rd Circuit Chief Judge Anthony J. Scirica wrote. Not so fast! We have only seen apologies for the public web postings, not for the porn or misogyny. Kozinski was previously in trouble with Chief Justice Rehnquist for breaking federal blocks on porn sites but that case was not brought to conclusion.

Now Kozinswki has just been Admonished without Discipline and apparently without any oversight of changes of his personal views on porn. It would seem much more appropriate to Censure, Reprimand, and demote him from Chief Judge, a position that is responsible for judging the misconduct of other federal judges in his circuit. Or Impeaching and assigning him costs for this protracted investigation which he invited. About a hundred lawyers have labored on this case including Chief Justice Roberts. Pray for judges to be instructed in justice, to have good qualities, and to enforce reasonable conduct (see Ezra 7:25).

July 4 Pray that Pres. Obama and our leaders do not forsake, continue to deny, and sell out our nation's Christian roots. We honor and love him, but he is overlooking many facts of historical and biblical truth. US Supreme Court Justices. Joseph Story, appointed by Pres Madison, and considered the founder of Harvard Law School where Obama went and the Founder of American Jurisprudence remarked "In [our] republic, there would seem to be a peculiar propriety in viewing the Christian religion as the great basis on which it must rest for its support and permanence." And Obama has the Audacity to overlook the Hope of heaven in his book. For footnotes for this and extensive Forefathers background to our Christian nation, see Wallbuilders.com which I discuss earlier in my blog (use Find). While at Wallbuilders, > Historical writings > you can enjoy the opening to the > Proclamation 1777 of Congress: "FOREASMUCH as it is the "... indispensable Duty of all men...to adore... Almighty God...." And much more; see also > Library > Issues and Articles. Tho Barton is often attacked, he seems to document and correct himself better than most historians. Atty David Gibbs Jr and President of ChristianLaw.org in his book One Nation Under God "makes the case for our nation's Christian heritage and it foundation on the Bible."

June 29, 2009 Muslims are gaining major restrictions on USA freedom of speech and we need to pray and protest against the losses. On June 26, ActforAmerica.org " received news that the state of Maine had levied a fine against the Christian Action Network (producers of the "Homegrown Jihad" documentary) apparently in part due to [alleged] content the state called "an inflammatory anti-Muslim message." In April the Delray Beach Marriott, in what appears clearly to be a breach of contract, unilaterally canceled an event designed to educate attendees about the threat of radical Islam. In May the Loews Hotel unilaterally canceled a similar event. Ten days ago the City of Dearborn, Michigan issued an order, upheld by a judge, prohibiting a Christian organization from handing out flyers at a large International Arab festival being held on public streets." When some Christians asked those in the booths to explain what the Muslim brochure meant with videocam in hand, they were pushed away on15+ occasions (on youtube) before being ushered out. While more Christians should work to expand His Kingdom with love even when Muslims try to dominate, reaching out and conversing with them about True Life and purpose, what Rich Warren seems to be attempting, is a Way to go forward. We should respect the Muslim as a person while we do not have to respect Islam, tho we should not purposely disrespect it.

June 28 The Protestant church is frequently encouraging people to participate in meals that are killing them. Not only the eating of sweets and fat but something more harmful-if without the proper preparation. We are talking about ingesting the Flesh and Blood (or its symbols if one does not believe in complete Transubstantiation) of our Lord Christ. At the Lord's Supper. The clearest expression for the Church's protocol for such Communion is in 1 Cor 11. However, the Lord's Supper/Communion/Eucharist is often offered with the devastating omission or even its explanations/warnings or a paraphrase of verses which state: "... 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves. 30 For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died." Gill's Exposition of the Bible lists at least 20 different ways that we can eat "unworthily" --and cause ourselves punishment. A major part of the Communion sermon should be on the Lord's Supper and its explanations. We are not suggesting one need go down a checklist before taking the Lords's Supper but that we study what this key sacrament is and let the Spirit teach us and refresh our relationships first. In present days when people are distracted from adhering to Scripture, are generally caught up in the world cultures, and move between churches, it is no longer sufficient for the pastor to make an announcement the Sunday before that Communion will be next week. Nor before serving it to say that "all confessing members in good standing of a church may take communion." Most will not know what confessing members or good standing means. Are those witnessing members or they have not been excommunicated? Full instructions of the verses above and that attendees may just pass the Bread and Winejuice along if they are not prepared to partake. We all must repent and ask God to forgive all of our sins-- or we will be joining His Body with our sin infested body and that will lead to our getting sick and dying-according to His Word. (Most commentators believe that long-time disciple Judas Iscariot was excused before the original Lord's Supper.) In contrast to when we initially give our lives to Christ and then ask Him to cleanse us of our sin and addictions, when we come to the Lord's Supper, we must be actively thwarting our addictions.

The Eucharist/Communion/Lord's Supper is a major sacrament in the Christian religion. Recently some texts took on added meaning to me. Here in Rev 18:8 "And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life, which belongs to the Lamb who was killed before the world was made." In the Greek it indicates the death of Christ was planned-- apo katavolees kosmou (modern transliteration)/from foundation of world. That is, God knew Adam would fail and therefore Jesus was appointed to die before the world was formed cf 1 Pet 1:19-20, probably to illustrate that agape love required of man in the Golden Rule and the added " new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, ..." that is, that you be willing to "lay down one's life for his friends" (Jo 15:18). Thus God enacted that great love for us that we are to offer to our friends, and thus also "proclaim the Lord's death until He comes"as in v. 26 above.

June 21 Former FDA director David Kessler in his book The End of Overeating shows the high price of diabetes, heart and other illnesses, and lost productivity from our present addictive eating cycles and policies. The govt also needs to act (see our Suggestions this month in our Key Govt Issues) but also families and churches need to greatly change their eating habits to live well (more govt insurance will likely do little to help and may make it worse for persons will take more risks with their health) and encourage each other to eat nutritiously by employing wholesome customs, standards, and markers.

June 20 The Hate Crimes Bills are primarily to give added protection to homosexual activists per Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute : "The crimes [against Dr Tiller, the Holocaust guard, and the like] that took place have absolutely nothing to do with the content of the hate crimes bill, which only really is focusing on the special treatment and special privileges of protection to be granted to people because of their homosexuality or transsexual status." Dacus adds according to OneNewsNow.com that "the bill is not about providing equal treatment -- it's providing unequal treatment," which he believes is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. "The hate crimes bill accomplishes nothing except to intimidate and silence legitimate, peaceful opposition to the never-ending demands of the gay and transsexual activists," he concludes.

May 16, 2009 Homosexuality has not be shown to be determined by their genes. The American Psychological Association/ APA.org in its Sexuality statements now relates this: "There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors. Many think that nature and nurture both play complex roles; most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation." By contrast, many acknowledge that even with their past dissonant experiences, they make the choice -to enter and leave the homosexual lifestyle. Janet's story and video is at http://www.janetboynesministries.com/ ; her book is Called Out. Many Christian organizations can help, e.g., Exodus-International.org

May 9 We need to study federal issues and communicate our analysis to officials. We are in grave security and economic danger. Good sources for Bills in Congress are: Thomas.loc.gov, OpenCongress.org, and Congress.org. The latter allows you to see the votes of your congresspersons and to email or write them; very helpful.

May 8 The USA should shutdown distant NASA flight plans to Mars, Moon, etc. for a number of reasons, including cost and pollution. According to USATODAY online "The Department of Energy announced ... that it will restart its program to make plutonium-238 ][weapons grade flight fuel] . The United States stopped making it about 20 years ago and NASA has been relying on the Russians. But now the Russian supply is running dry because they stopped making it, too." Distant space exploration is not needed, too costly, and new 238 could lead to more atomic weapons.

May 7 Christians need to help stop the degrading "homosexual agenda " and promote sound reasoning and debate where needed. While we dearly love even the practicing homosexual or any conflicted individual, society should put all these matters in a proper light. However, "PepsiCo has agreed to sponsor the New York Gay Pride Parade June 27. AFA.org [author of these quotes has frequently] asked PepsiCo to be neutral in the culture war regarding the homosexual agenda and the legalization of homosexual marriage, but PepsiCo has adamantly refused to do so. PepsiCo has given homosexual groups more than a million dollars in the last two years. It has refused to give one penny to organizations such as Parents and Friends of Ex-Gay and Gays (PFOX) that work to help individuals change their sexual behavior." Pepsico which is being boycotted by AFA and us is only one of a number of companies and monied interests, e.g. Jon Stryker, that are activists for the homosexualists. But such promotion brings problems in addition to being deadly according to verses in the Bible last recorded in Jude 5:7 -

"In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion [in this case homosexual activity]. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. "

Briefly, other problems with homosexuality are that 1) the approximate 2% who are actually homosexuals are draining society and government of time and resources by promoting a destructive counter culture by what should be a private life matter 2) while there are many highly talented, likeable, and functional persons who are homosexuals, publicly endorsing their lifestyle is an horrendous problem for the Western Judeo-Christian ethic and society 3) Muslim and most other religions which despise homosexual practice have one more reason for rejecting Western "so called Christian" society 4) the practices often masks and delays dealing with their sexual and other personal problems 5) promiscuity usually precedes deciding or coming out 6) such experimentations limit their and other's social development 7) homosexuality usually then defines their personhood and they become activists 8) STDs become rampant) what should be a private matter, usually confuses young people when discussed spontaneously in public and youngsters may wish t