Prince Of Peace Makes War

^"33And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. 
³⁴And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—" Luke 2:33-34

I don't usually stop in the middle of a sentence; look up the rest of the verse for yourself, and see the context, but the point of the post today is in the final word above, 'opposed'.
Opposed doesn't half cover it. Herod the King of Israel started the ball rolling; when the Magi came looking for the Christ, he lost his collective cool-another King? Would he lose his Kingdom to an infant?
Long story short-the Magi found the babe, were warned off of returning to Herod, who sent his soldiers to slaughter all of Bethlehem's male children 2 years and younger.
That's Opposed with a capital 'O'. To no avail, as man and devil can never frustrate the plans of God.
Coming on 2012 and the Lord Jesus Christ is still being opposed by devilish men. My brothers and sisters in Christ around the world are being killed for bearing His name. That Iranian pastor I mentioned a while ago could walk out of prison today (if he can still walk) if he would only deny His Savior.
Opposed. I'll tell you who is opposed, friends. Everyone who does not belong to Christ is His enemy. They (you?) are opposed and defeated.
In His Grace and Mercy He chooses loved ones from the ranks of His enemies and showers Love on them, bringing them into His Kingdom. But only few, and of His choice.
If you grew up in a religious system that swears allegiance to Christ but does not live for Him...guess what?
You are a Herod. You are chaff and not wheat. Goat and not sheep. Stubble to be burned.
Pray that God will extend His Grace to you, shower Mercy on you. Are you opposed to that?

No-You're A Muppet!

It's a Memory Wednesday.  Back before you were born, in the second to the last decade of the past century I was 100 miles from the nearest 'real' rollerskating rink. Middle of Cold Winter, not much to do in our home port...I and a few friends went for it-all the way to Sault St. Marie, Ontario Canada to enjoy a skate.
The highlight of the night was a rinkfull of Canukians (plus three Coast Guardsmen) grooving in circles to
"The Rainbow Connection" from the big hit "Muppet Movie" Exhilarating. So was the ride back with no heat in the car...but it was all worth it. We stopped at the "Big Boy" restaurant in the American Sault. Good times.
There was a closer 'fake rink' in Alpena, Michigan, but too small; we were like dogs chasing our tails.
There's a new Muppet movie out now, but I doubt that it can re-capture the fun of those first movies. 
Tomorrow we celebrate as a nation being Thankful to God for all that we have, and all that He has protected us from. May you have a very good and Thankful Thanksgiving. Make a memory.

Rulers Schooled

^{This is a post about God's dealings with unrighteous rulers:}

⁷    “He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous;     

       But with kings on the throne     He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.
⁸    “And if they are bound in fetters,     And are caught in the cords of affliction,
⁹    Then He declares to them their work     And their transgressions, that they have magnified themselves.
¹⁰    “He opens their ear to instruction,     And commands that they return from evil.
¹¹    “If they hear and serve Him,     They will end their days in prosperity     And their years in pleasures.
¹²    “But if they do not hear, they shall perish by the sword     And they will die without knowledge."

Job 36:7-12

I had mentioned this verse in a discussion last week about those in 'power' who seem to think that they are the top petunias in the garden, that some act up and think they can do anything they want.
Look at the verses above. God is watching the righteous, watching to see how they are being treated by those who hold sway over their lives.
Those rulers-kings, presidents, premiers, straw bosses, etc. have to do right by their constituents, or God, Who sees all and knows all, will whup on them, declaring to them their transgressions. Big Heads.
Because He is a Merciful God, He will open their ear to instruction, and give them a chance to repent.
If they do, well and good. Prosperity. Pleasures.
But no hear-much to fear-sword time. C-yah.
You might ask for examples. King Saul springs first to mind. Pharaoh in Egypt. Adolph Hitler (sidenote-what would the History channel do without Hitler? He's on more shows than Simon Cowell!).
How about King George the 3rd? Nicolae Ceausescu? Mussolini? Are you catching the drift, citizens?
As Christians, we are commanded to obey those placed in power over us, whether they are good or bad or downright evil. We honor God by being good citizens. Which often leads to Christians shooting at Christians, as happens in most wars. It is quite possible that a German Christian ruled by Hitler killed or was killed by an American Christian soldiering under FDR...and that they now stand together in heaven, worshiping God.
I pray for President Obama often-that he will repent of his sins and seek God. I would love to see him in Heaven. I don't want anyone to go to hell.
What's good for the Grander is good also for the commoners-repent and seek God. End your days in prosperity and your years in the pleasures of knowing God. amen.

Don't Want To Live Like A Refugee

HAH! I KNEW I'd seen this act before! This OWS movement-where the alleged poor have-nots complain and revolt against the allegedly rich haves.
History lesson. In 1948 the United Nation created two countries: Trans-Jordan and Israel.
The Arabs living in Israel who did not want to become Israeli citizens booked out of town, left hearth and home and headed for Trans-Jordan.
The powers that were amongst the Arab 'leadership' pushed them back to Israel's border, set them up as political refugees and demanded that Israel be wiped off the map for 'stealing' their homes.
The "Palestinian" refugee camps serve only one purpose: to give the Arab peoples a marker, an aggrieved populace to champion who had been 'dispossessed' of their birthright...which they gave up when they refused to become Israelis.
Want to know a secret? Some of the Arabs stayed, became citizens, have lived under a democracy for over 60 years. They have all of the rights we enjoy here, including the right to worship Allah, and the right to vote.
There are Arab members of the Israeli parliament. Jews can't even set foot in Saudi Arabia, but Arabs in Israel live free.
On to Wall Street. Refugees from Capitalism are being championed by rich Leftists, poor communists and Michael Moore, that old one percenter dissenter.
Yasser Arafat skimmed billions of dollars off of the World support which was supposed to be helping the poor Occupy Israel ragmuffins.
Who will profit from Occupy Wall Street? Not the folks living in the Wall Street, an aggrieved populace with hardly an outlet charge their iPads! Inhumane!
Of course, they go home on weekends... to the Hamptons, while the Union thugs lowest on the graft ladder earn their keep with weekend duty as replacement (scab?) outraged citizens. Joking. Almost.
So-who will profit from this exercise in futility? No one. 40 years from now old Leftists will be applauded in the Party meetings for their OWS efforts in 2011. They might have been assistant substitute teachers in Paducah, but they will claim with pride that they stood up to "THE MAN" on Wall Street. Power to the feeble!

Staff Sgt. Ret.

VETERANS DAY.
On Veterans Day, services usually highlight our elder Veterans, showing old soldiers in uniform, with our flag prominently displayed. That is wonderful, and I look forward to attending a local service.
As a peacetime Veteran myself, I know that my service was important, but is lesser-those who serve during wartime deserve greater honor.
For this post I decided to go a different direct: I searched for photos of "Staff Sgt" and made a graphic of just a few of the results.
Those serving as a Staff Sargent are usually career soldiers-it is nearly impossible to attain that rank in a single term of service.
Look at those faces, friends. We don't know their stories, but after their career service, after they add "Ret." to their rank...I daresay that they will for the rest of their lives honor their country and their comrades in arms by attending both Memorial Day and Veterans Day observances.
I encourage you to do the same.

Peripherally Faithful

Looking for faith in all the wrong places, the Mistaken venture forth to attempt to seize, in their grasp, the hand of God. To see His face with their eyes. To hear His voice, experience His presence, to know Him...on their terms.
Faith is a gift from God, and it is repellent and repulsive to hear the Mistaken claim that they are Christians, just the same as those chosen by God.
But they don't have the faith that is supernaturally gifted by God. So they have nothing. They have faith, indeed, in lesser things, such as being born into a family of Christians, receiving Salvation by being baptized, seeking relics/signs, pegging their faith to what they can see, hear, touch.
Lost.
The Mistaken believe that they can receive God's Blessing by doing something. Even though they have not been chosen by God, they have been assured by their families and churches (who are also lost, blind leading blind) that God's arm can be twisted. That by doing certain works, no matter whether or not they repent of their sins, God can be made to accept them. That they can by their own efforts somehow generate righteousness good enough to win God's favor.
The Mistaken have been lied to all of their lives, and they often reject the truth of the Gospel when confronted with their need for Salvation.
"I'm a Christian, too!" One recently told me.
"We have an unbroken chain of Popes all the way back to Peter!" Said another.
There, I've tipped my hand-you might have thought I was talking about the Pentecostals, who seek after gifts and signs as earnestly as the crowds following Jesus in His day. Some other time.
The Mistaken are not collected under the single umbrella of one denomination. It's raining brollys. 
Faith in churches will send you to hell just as quickly as faith in Islam.
May God 'wake you up' to your actual condition and need for true Faith.

A sunrise, taken from the top of a water tower. The past few dawns I've seen some amazing views rivaling this picture.
I appreciate all that God has given me, including ten more years since I took this picture.
I was watching a documentary today on Humphrey Bogart, hosted by his son. (Sidenote-I LOVE DVR and TCM!)
Born wealthy, ruggedly handsome, eventually a movie star who had it all...
Four wives, chronic alcoholism and Cancer, which took him when he was six years older than I am right now.
God decides the number of each of our days; I'm ready to go, but until I can serve Him in Heaven, I will do what I can to serve Him here.
Appreciate what you have from the hand of God. Thank Him even for the hard times, as Paul did from his prison cell, Richard Wurmbrand from his, as Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani does today in Lakan, Iran.
Bogart 'played' heroes and villains, but they exist for real in our world today, and God decides who fills each role. It is good to be Blessed by God.