May God Bless President Obama

A few months ago I wrote/posted a story where President-elect Obama, before the Inauguration, came to Christ and became Born Again. His fellow Democrats, his advisors, didn't know what to do, couldn't comprehend that Obama was now one of "Those" people they had always mocked and ridiculed.


Fantasy? It was certainly fiction, but not all that fantastic.
Think about it-President Obama has the hardest job in the world. He may also have one of the largest egos, but he's human, like all of us, and every decision, good or bad, that he makes as President is going to be remembered for a long time.
God opposes the proud, but gives Grace to the humble. President Obama appears proud. If we accept the Bible as true, we must believe that he is going to be humbled. It may be soon, it may be years from now; it may only happen when he stands before God in Judgment. But the proud will be humbled.
No matter how confident he appears in public, the private Obama may be insecure, scared, unsure of what to do and who to trust.

30 years ago, God extended Grace to me, brought me into His family. I pray that God will extend that same Grace to President Obama.

Just For

Your viewing pleasure. Have a good weekend!

I said Ping and I meant Ping

24“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, 25and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. 26“Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27“And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven. Mark 13:24-27


My mind went 'ping' when I read "the farthest end of heaven". What a lovely turn of phrase! If Jesus is speaking of "The Heaven" which will be our eternal abode, it may be that at the event we call "The Rapture", not only will the living elect be caught up from earth, but also the saints in heaven will also be gathered, so that we may all be with our Lord in one place. Mighty cool!
If in the passage Jesus is speaking of the lowly heaven surrounding the lowly earth, we still are all going to be 'caught up' from here to waaaaaaay over there. Still mighty cool, and we will be together for all of eternity. We even return to witness Christ's triumphant battle with the kings of the earth, and their king Anti-christ:
"11And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses." Revelation 19:11-14

Whenever we are gathered to Him, all of us together, we will Praise Him, and that Praise will ring from here to the farthest end of heaven. Praise God for His Goodness!

Hope Or Nope

Let's weigh:

Hope in God, Creator of everything we can ever know.

vs

Nothing-the full dull weight of our ignorance busy keeping our ears separated.

Hope in God.

or

hope in anything, everything, anyone but God.
"Not God, no! Build me a god that doesn't recognize Sin! Carve me a god that I can turn to the wall. Sell me a god of Love!"

or

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart-lean not on your own understanding.

What I don't know could fill a very large book. But I know God, and He knows me, and my Hope is my rest in Him, for the rest of everything we can ever know.

Hope.

A Spot Of Tay? It's Good For The Soul

Call it affirming where my heart is. I am pleased to see that the idea of the "Tax Tea Parties" has spread across the land. Peaceful demonstrations, citizens exercising their Freedoms of Speech and Assembly, opposing the onerous new tax scheme of the Government. How did I do my part today? I went to work. I earned a days wage, which, by this time next year, will be somewhat diminished, as the taxes now threatened will come to pass.
I love the symbolism of the Tax Tea Parties. King George never said, "I won the election, so we'll do things MY way!" but he did turn a deaf ear to the Colonials who demanded the right to govern themselves.
If President Obama and his Greek Chorus Congress start making noises that opposition to their rule is unpatriotic or (whisper it) traitorous...they may find that Servants who pretend to be Rulers can be over-Ruled and fired.

Boast Post: Ghost or Toast

23Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD. Jeremiah 9:23, 24

First and foremost, I must thank my Pastor for quoting this verse in todays message. It struck me that people are the same now as in Jeremiah's day; boasters, putting their trust in their own strength, abilities and riches. I had a roughish gallery of examples to choose from, your list would differ, but the point is: trusting in your own wisdom, strength and riches rather than trusting in God is Foolish with a capital F. In the verses above the Lord says, "Let not" to the worldly, which to me means: "You've got nothing to boast about, unless your boast is that you know Me."
By the way, I'm not presuming that those pictured above do not know God-I have no idea. But they do work as examples of those who are presumed to be wise, strong and rich. And I did choose that picture of President Obama because he is pointing to the left.

Clerical Error, Chocolate Crosses and Deacon Blues

No static, man. No static at all. I’m very happy to have the weekend here and the workweek done. A few notes:
Rick Warren seems conflicted these days. Maybe his life needs more purpose and less PR. Look him up if you’re interested.

I heard many people wish each other “A Happy Easter” today, which is very nice. I love that my Savior rose again after being put to death as a sacrifice for my sins. Resurrection is my hope, too, and my joy, 365 days a year. I personally don’t like “Easter”, as I’ve written before, but you know what? Even a twice a year acknowledgment of Jesus Christ is welcome.

One of my co-workers handed out chocolate bunnies today. Not little inch high bunnies, but 5 inch solid chocolate bunnies, each in their own box. That was neat, and very much appreciated. I gave mine to a friend who has a little boy- I like chocolate just fine, but too much is.
I have heard that some companies make chocolate crosses-that just seems wrong to me.

As for the Deacon blues in the title, just a word or two. I know that many more people show up for church services on Christmas and Easter. That is fine, welcome. Most churches have Deacons, whichever the denomination, and those Deacons oversee the church, do more behind the scenes to make things run smoothly than you may ever know. If you happen to find yourself in a pew Sunday, seek out one of the Deacons and thank him for his service to the church family. It might just make his day.
Happy Resurrection Day!

Say What You Will, It's Still Progress

I love tech. Especially when it is useful, such as when I want to post pictures online. The days of sending film off to be processed, waiting for pictures ended in 2001 when I bought my first digital camera.
Above you can see one of my first pic attempts, of a friend in the camera store. Fuzzy, off-center...I've gotten better, I swear.

My friend Linas and I bought cameras the same day, and took enough pics to wear out batteries, and nearly the patience of our friends. Good times.
I took the snow pictures a few minutes ago; Spring will be here soon!
Enjoy the day!

Give.

I just had a dream where I was up to my old tricks, fighting again. My opponents: two brothers, friends of mine, a wager to be decided with boxing gloves. My mother was holding the key to the lockbox with the bets-I recall that I had $170.00 bet that I would win, some higher amount against.
Of the two brothers, one was roughly my size, the other a little lighter.
Knowing that the lighter one was easier to beat, I pinned him against a desk (no ring-this was in an office) so that he couldn't dance away and I just kept punching him in the face. Then I woke up.
Confession time: I'm not a nice person.
I used to box with words instead of gloves. My nature pushed me to win, to be relentless, to never give an inch.
Thank God for age!
A few weeks ago in church I mentioned a well known Christian minister who I believe is teaching error.
This last Sunday, one of my brothers in Christ called me on it, told me I was wrong.
Here's what's on my heart. I don't want there to be even a sliver of a tiny wedge between me and my brother over this. Our friendship is more important to me than who is right about anything. I relent.

A Little Night Reading

First, one more bid for critical thinking, as the next name you see might cause you to eject that reasoning tool and let your heart do the talking. I've been re-reading one of Ann Coulter's earlier books, "Treason" which is sub-titled "Liberal treachery from the cold war to the war on terror."
The book details over many chapters the years from the mid forties forward when "Red scare" "HUAC" "Alger Hiss" and "Joe McCarthy" played in the top ten of newspaper headlines.
I asked my parents what they remember about Senator Joe McCarthy, and the first word I heard was "criminal".
I have no interest in re-fighting old politics-if you choose to draw devil horns on Joe McCarthy's memory, have fun. The point of this post is this:
There were indeed Communist spies working against our Country, seeking our defeat and the supremacy of global Communism...in all levels of our Government. We survived. We made it to the 21st Century, through the Grace of God.
I believe that God indeed rules all of our Creation, all that we know and can see or touch. Like Pharaoh's army chasing Israelites into the sea, man cannot frustrate the will of God-He decides what happens when, and when He protects a country, that country is safe. If He decides to destroy a country, that country is finished.
I don't worry about much-I simply appeal to God to take care of me, of my town, my country, my world. I see no other Savior.

I Said It Was A Tool

I was reading an article today by a lady named Limbaugh, and if you just tuned out, that is what her article was about: how she is branded by sharing a last name with the Conservative Limbaughs.
She is Liberal, and makes no bones about it. She often meets people who assume things about her because of her name, and she is getting tired of it.
What is happening? Uncritical thinking, emotions kicking up assumptions which tar her with the same brush as her cousin Rush.
Emotions engaging the mouth while bypassing the brain.
"I don't need to think about it-I know!"
Hold on there, Junior. We're about to get to the point:
Don't let your emotions rule you. Emotions are supposed to season Life, making it better if not always sweet.
Right now I'm watching the shenanigans being perpetrated by the Democrats and am amazed at the lack of critical thinking being applied by the general populace. Here's a tool which may help you regain your critical footing:
Pay attention to both what President Obama says and does. You love Obama, voted for him, etc.
Now:
Imagine President Bush saying and doing those same things. Would you look on President Bush with the same admiration? No?
If it's wrong when President Bush does it, how can it be right simply because President Obama is doing it?
The Democrats have lied to you. They continue to lie to you every day. And you get angry with those of us who tell you the truth.
Critical thinking, friends. Don't believe the liars. Apply some critical thought to what they are doing to you and your country. Before it's too late.