'Feel Good' recovery

Who among us believes or even thinks that the economic recovery has begun ‘in-force?’ Offer then your proof of said recovery. What is the measure of economic prosperity? What amount of income does one person need to earn in order to be described as economically successful? How much earning power must be stripped away from productive society members in order to make the non-productive and the unwilling societal members economically prosperous? What are you willing to ‘give’ to those who won’t or refuse to produce? The White House and its spin doctors have once again hit the ‘campaign trail’ to tell us about the Emperor’s New Clothes – the Economic 0bamao Recovery. That sell is incredible. For those folks who are unfortunate and have lost their jobs – many have quit looking and have settled for lower-paying even part-time work that barely keeps food on the table. There are those who are still receiving their jobless benefits but are facing the very real probability that no job is available and they will find themselves in the aforementioned status. For those new to the jobless benefits they know that this is not what she or he wants. The net result is disillusionment with the charm, smiles and silvery rhetoric of ‘hope.’ For the sale that exists now is the empty message of ‘hope’ that socialism and a fundamentally changed capitalist system cannot bring. 0bamao is a liar and a misanthrope. He trusts only big government. He doesn’t care what you want or need. He knows there is no economic recovery that will allow you and me to be successful in our own definition of success. His desire is for your success to be tied to your neighbor’s inability to succeed. He wants you to give up the collective difference from who those who have more to those who want more. The problem lies in the fallaciousness of that reasoning. In our system those who own or provide the means of production provide also the jobs that produce tax revenues and economic success for those whom they employ. No government job produces tax revenues that sustain an economy. There must be production of goods and services that are sought by a consumer willing to pay for those good and services. Socialists like 0bamao don’t want that system. They want everyone’s economic salvation to be predicated upon everyone having the same level of ‘junk’ except of course those like him who know best what we need. In the words of Sharon Osbourne, “He’s barking mad.” Sharon would know that definition, she’s married to Ozzie. Realistically we are faced with a dilemma. Shall we be bold and rid ourselves of these ‘fleecers’ in the Fall 2010 midterm elections or shall we stand idly by scratching our heads wondering who’ll step up and ‘do it?’ There is no one else. It’s come down to this we must get our hands dirty, do the heavy and unpleasant lifting of eliminating the trash from our governance process. We won’t get them all in the first sweep but our next sweep will – 2012 can put the socialists into a deep sleep which should be familiar to them since they are somnambulistic dreamers of the 0bamao persuasion who have no cogent thoughts of their own.

Department of Justice Scofflaws

I have been struggling with the right words to describe my disbelief over the illegal behavior of the Department of Justice attorney, who has at the request of the 0bamao administration dropped the cases of voter intimidation against members of the New Black Panthers who threatened and intimidated voters during the 2008 elections. When I became old enough to vote I had to pay a ‘poll tax.’ The poll tax was meant to keep poor and black voters away from the ballot boxes. That was a pure form of voter intimidation and discrimination. I add to this that the Voter Rights Act of 1965 was already Federal law when I had to pay the ‘poll tax.’ Fast forward to this behavior by the Department of Justice and we see a revisiting of voter intimidation only it’s coming from a president who has sworn (by his own admission in his biography) to ignore his mother’s race because it represents oppression and thusly will intimidate anyone who comes to the voting place who is not black.

The political appointees swore an oath to uphold the laws of the land and now we learn that not only did the Department of Justice civil rights division attorney Thomas Perrelli choose to ignore the law but he did so in consultation with Cassandra Butts, former White House deputy counsel and Harvard classmate of 0bamao (aka CINCO - comrade-in-chief 0bama) whom she calls her dearest friend. Attorney General Eric Holder and his boss 0bamao (CINCO) have blatantly violated their oaths of office. 0bamao warned those who would vote for him and those who wouldn’t that he was out to fundamentally change America. His idea of fundamentally changing America is to ignore 234 years of learning to be a representative government. This nation is quickly becoming a thugocracy run by a despot, elected by the incapable and fawned over by the blinded left media sycophants.

If we stay away from the November elections we will get more of this. And if we turn out in force to reject their behavior they will act in ‘lame-duck-absentia’ to destroy this nation with their poison pill legislation. We must bite down hard on the bullet and get rid of this despot and his fawners.

Spin and Lie when all else fails

It looks as though CINCO (comrade-in-chief Obama) and his minions will be targeting the tax cuts put into effect after the 9-11 attacks as the reason that the economy is failing. When all else fails point the accusatory finger at Bush. There is a problem with that logic: the housing mortgage market imploded taking the economy with it. If you examine carefully the reasons behind the mortgage market implosion you will clearly see that its implosion had nothing to do with tax relief. The mortgage market imploded taking the main economies with it because of the failed lending practices put into place by the bereft policies that everyone, without regard to their ability to repay, deserved a mortgage. The sub-prime mortgage market was like the junk-bond market of the 1980s. When you change the fundamental rules of doing business and thereby protecting the lender and the borrowing public from extreme failures you are at risk for the total mortgage market failure. Guess what happened. Yep. The entire mortgage market failed taking down the economy which was threaded to the mortgage market domestically and internationally. Who changed the rules? It began with Jimmy Carter, William Proxmire and Paul Volcker. Think for a moment about the former president who has built a reputation on building ‘free homes’ for those who couldn’t afford to own a home. Carter. In successive years the predominantly Demokrat congress (house and senate) have loosened the controls and lowered the standards for mortgage lending practices as well as funding the quasi-governmental failures known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Remember too that it was Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Barney Frank (D-MA) who’ve been at the helm of making those fundamental changes. You cannot pin the failed economy on Bush without heaping blame on the Demokrat legacy of free housing at the tax-payers’ expense. Blaming Bush is like blaming a firefighter for the house burning down but that is the November tactic that is brewing in the gangster-riddled boiler room of the Chicago thug in the Whitehouse. Don’t sit around and listen to their lies. Stand up and challenge them wherever you find them. They want you to forget that it was the mortgage market that took down the economy and that THEY (CINCO included) precipitated the failure. From Alinsky’s rules for Radical, Rule #5 states, "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon." The Demokrat plan of attack for the mid-term elections is to ridicule any conservative platform as failed Bush policy. Pay attention to this one as they will try repeatedly to convince you through ridicule, which they admit is irrational but it keeps their opponent off-balance. They are liars and market wreckers. That is what communists do.

Character shines through again

I know - this is my 3rd character anecdote that includes golf and acts of integrity. As a fly fisherman you’d think that I’d have story about the character of fly fishers. Tim Dahlberg has again written a masterful article about character and as he points out, “after months of being mired in the slime of Tiger Woods, golf needed Brian Davis worse than Davis needed to win his first tournament on the PGA Tour.” Read this and send Tim an email thanking him for yet another article about integrity and character in sports: tdahlberg@ap.org

“A loss for Brian Davis _ but a big win for golf

Published: 4/20/10, 3:25 AM EDT

By TIM DAHLBERG

(AP) - What happened in the junk off the 18th green at the Harbour Town Golf Links could have all been avoided if Brian Davis had only taken the easy way out. That, however, was never really an option. Davis was going to play the shot out of the hazard instead of taking a penalty drop because it was probably the only chance he had to finally win a golf tournament. And for that, golf can be grateful. If this was some kind of fairy tale story, Davis would have won the tournament he so desperately wanted to win. It's not, and Jim Furyk's name is on both the winner's trophy and the $1.026 million check. Don't expect Davis to be happy about that. He's tried too long and too hard to win a PGA tournament, and this one was almost in his hands. "You're not playing for second, but playing to win," Davis said. "But I can hold my head up high." Indeed he can. And, in the end, that may be more important than the win that got away. Because after months of being mired in the slime of Tiger Woods, golf needed Brian Davis worse than Davis needed to win his first tournament on the PGA Tour. "It's not exactly what I was thinking about," Davis said. "But anything good for our sport is good, I guess." In case you missed it - and the anemic television ratings would indicate all but the most die-hard golf fans did - Davis was in the hazard next to the final green with a wedge in his hand, needing to somehow get up-and-down in two to keep his overtime playoff against Furyk going. After much deliberation with his caddie, he splashed out from a crummy lie to about 30 feet, giving him a chance to make it to stay alive. But something felt wrong, and he immediately called over a PGA official to tell him why. "I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye," Davis said Monday in a telephone interview. "I didn't feel anything, but I thought I might have seen something." What Davis saw was his club almost imperceptibly grazing a reed in the hazard. Under rule 13.4 - moving a loose impediment during a takeaway - that meant a 2-stroke penalty, even if the offense was only visible in super slow motion replays. And that meant the golf tournament for Davis. For six years the Englishman turned Florida resident has been trying to win one on this side of the pond. He could have pretended he never saw the club graze the reed, and taken the chance no one else saw it either. But he didn't. He's a golfer. And golfers don't cheat. Not on the course, at least. "That's what makes our sport so special," Davis said. "It was just one of those things. I had to call it and I did." The golf community understood. They patted Davis on the back, and two prominent players on the senior tour called and thanked him for restoring some sense of integrity to the game. But what shocked Davis more was the reaction from people who don't know the difference between a putter and a 6-iron. The e-mails and phone calls flooded in Monday from around the country. Teachers even had their students write. "It was mostly `I just wanted to send you a note to say we need more people like you in sports,'" Davis said. "People saw it as an example to the younger generation to make the right choices." In this case the right choice was the only choice for Davis. He may not play golf like Woods but, unlike Woods, he plays a gentleman's game like a gentleman. And instead of capitalizing on his newfound fame to sell shoes, he's using it to sell awareness. Davis, who has had three bouts of skin cancer, is a spokesman for the Skin Cancer Foundation. "If you see the damage it's done to someone, it wakes people up," Davis said. "Coming from England we didn't worry much about it because we seldom saw the sun, and by the time I became aware of it, it had already done a lot of damage." Davis hopes to get people slathering on the sunscreen like he does twice a day. He hopes even more fervently to win on the PGA Tour some day, and believes his time will come. It almost did Sunday in South Carolina, where he had to make an 18-footer on the final hole just to get in the playoff. He's sure he would have made that last 30-footer, too, had it meant anything. Instead, he halfheartedly hit it by the hole, knowing his big chance was gone. It was a bitter disappointment, but Davis was buoyed by the response to what he did. "For me now it's nothing but positive looking forward," Davis said. "It's going to be a good year for me." It could be a good year for golf, too. And for that, some thanks should go to an Englishman who acted like a gentleman.”

____

Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg@ap.org

The Real Winner

I enjoy golf.  I am not a good golfer.  What I truly enjoy is humility and respect for the game.  With the circus around the amoral character of Tiger Woods at this Masters, Phil Mickelson showed the greatest of character, integrity and love of family.  He didn't rant and rave at missed shots - he simply played his game as best he knew how.  In the end character shown through not the surly and despicable words of a snarling 'tiger' who only signs up to win but a real man who knows the value of love and family.

Congratulations Lefty and May God heal your beloved Amy and your mom quickly so that you and your family may continue to share character in world without character.

This article by Tim Dahlberg is worth reading several times...grab a Kleenex.

April 12, 2010

“Phil Mickelson's emotional win a win for golf, too”

Published: 4/12/10, 7:09 AM EDT

By TIM DAHLBERG

"AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Phil Mickelson was doing his best not to cry again as he slipped on another green jacket and tried to put into words things that he couldn't possibly put into words. He had already shed a tear on the 18th green, though he wasn't alone. Anyone who knew the story had to shed a few, too, as Mickelson latched onto the tiny blonde woman who had been through so much and shared an embrace that neither seemed willing to end. He had struggled on the golf course all year, but that meant nothing. Not compared to the struggles Amy Mickelson went through while battling breast cancer. There would be plenty of time later to talk about the shot that will live in Masters lore, plenty of time to reflect on what a third title means to his career. As the fading sun added some drama to the victory ceremony on the practice putting green, though, Mickelson wanted to talk about something closer to his heart - his wife. "We've been through a lot this year; it means a lot to share some joy together," he said. "She's an incredible wife, an incredible mother. She's been an inspiration for me this past year, seeing what she's been through." It couldn't have been more sincere. It could hardly have been more appropriate. All week long the talk at the Masters was of another golfer and other women. The circus that surrounded Tiger Woods blew into town on Monday, and the tent was still up as the leaders teed off on a Sunday afternoon brimming with drama. Mickelson hadn't been ignored, but he had certainly been overlooked. He wasn't alone, because the drama surrounding the comeback of Woods overshadowed the entire week at Augusta National. Until early Sunday evening, that is. That's when the week that golf feared suddenly became the week golf fans will always remember. It started with a shot a Vegas high-roller would have never dreamed of betting on. It ended with a scene so touching it washed away any lingering memories of the stain Woods had put on this Masters. The man who stands for everything Woods doesn't stood wearing the green jacket Woods so desperately coveted. Even better, when he looked up on the 18th green, his wife - who had been bed-ridden most of the week - and his children were there to share it all with him. "I was just really glad she was there," Mickelson said. "I wasn't sure if she was going to be there today. I knew she would be watching. I didn't know if she would be behind 18. To walk off the green and share that with her is very emotional for us." If it was emotional for Mickelson, it was also therapeutic to golf. The throngs who crowded every hole as the leaders made their way around Augusta National may not have been quite sure how much emotion they were going to invest with Woods, but with Lefty there was no doubt. They cheered him on every shot, pulled for him at every turn. And when he hit the shot on No. 13 no one will ever forget, they roared with delight. The swashbuckler danced with danger and pulled it off. Mickelson couldn't help himself because, while the risk was great, the reward was even greater. He's taken that approach his whole career, and he's lost some big tournaments because of it. He could have lost this Masters, too, something caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay was thinking as he debated the wisdom of the shot with his boss of 18 years. "I begged him to lay up on 13," Mackay said. "He said, 'Get out of the way.'" Mickelson was in the pine needles off the right side of the 13th fairway with two large trees right in front of him and 207 yards to the hole. He had a 6-iron in hand, and a narrow chute of just a few feet to feed the ball through while making sure he hit it pure enough to clear the water in front of the green. No one else would have even attempted it. Mickelson didn't give it a second thought. "I just felt like at that time, I needed to trust my swing and hit a shot," Mickelson said, "and it came off perfect." The ball flew out of the pine needles, settling just 4 feet from the hole. Mickelson missed the eagle putt but made the comebacker for birdie and didn't miss another shot the rest of the way in. "It's one of those shots, really, that only Phil can pull off," playing partner Lee Westwood said. "Most people would've just chipped that out. But that's what great players do. They pull off great shots at the right time." Indeed, the shot was a reminder of just what a great player Mickelson is. The other reminder is that he's now won four major championships, three of them at the place where he first broke through with a win in 2004 that broke a long scoreless streak in big tournaments. That tournament will be remembered for the leap Mickelson took on the 18th green after sinking a 20-footer to win. He then scooped up his daughter, Amanda, and told her something she likely couldn't comprehend at the time. "Daddy won!" he said. "Can you believe it?" Amanda is 10 now, and Saturday night she had to have her wrist put in a splint because of a hairline fracture from a roller skating fall. Life isn't always perfect for the perfect family man, but that was a mere blip compared to the cancer issues both his mother and his wife face. Mickelson, who has for the most part kept Amy's condition and treatment a private matter, said earlier this week that her long-term prognosis is very good, though she still deals with unspecified quality-of-life issues. Once a fixture in the crowd following Mickelson, she hasn't been on the course with him at a tournament since being diagnosed last year. On this memorable day, she walked hand-in-hand with her husband off the 18th green, waving to everyone along the way. People stood and cheered, yelling out well wishes to both. Mickelson was red-eyed, seemingly shell-shocked, the goofy grin that so often adorns his face gone for the moment. Amy, though, was all smiles. "Good to see you guys," she told them. Surely it was. But not nearly as good as it was for golf to see a champion and his wife, together once again."

___

Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg@ap.org.

Out of Action for two weeks

Hello friends in Christ!  I will be out of 'action' for two weeks beginning Monday March 1st with knee replacement surgery.  Please pray for my wife and me as I undergo surgery and the recoery therapy.  Thank you in the healing Name of Jesus

Lenten Devotion - Saturday February 20

Hebrews 9:11-14, “But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!” 

Being born again because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us is an amazing if not wondrous act of love. What do we do with His act of love? How have we responded? What do we now believe? In this letter to the Hebrews we encounter the negation of blood sacrifices as essential to eternal life. Once Jesus gave His life upon the cross our eternity is written with His and the Father and the Holy Spirit. We have the choice to accept or refuse Jesus’ act of grace and mercy on our behalf. How we choose determines what we will ‘do’ about our sin and guilt. If we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior then we must confess our sin, ask God through Jesus to forgive us and repent. When we have experienced God’s grace and forgiveness it will be our longing to live as Jesus lived in holiness.

Prayer: Eternal and loving God thank you for seeking us constantly and redeeming us through Jesus Christ. Hear my prayers Father and forgive me I pray. In Jesus’ holy Name I pray. AMEN.

Lenten Devotion - Friday February 19

Matthew 11:20-24, “Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Jesus speaks to nations, cities, and communities regarding their faithlessness and sinfulness. It wasn’t a phenomenon of Jesus rather God had been speaking in this same manner through His prophets and He continues through His Son. Each nation, city and community is comprised of individuals who have a duty to relate to God through Jesus Christ and with one another. When nations, cities and communities fail to be obedient that failure begins with the individual who refuses to be obedient to God through Christ. The only way for a nation, city or community to return to favor with God through Christ is for each individual to confess, seek God’s forgiveness and repent. It is here that we begin.

Prayer: Father thank You for today and the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Help us fall to our knees in humility. Let us once again see Your Divine will for our lives. Forgive us we pray in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.

Lenten Devotion - Thursday February 18

Jonah 3:4-9, “Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”

What an amazing and wonderful thing to witness that the prophetic message that sent Jonah to Nineveh to deliver was heard and being heeded not just by its inhabitants but by its leaders as well. Wouldn’t it be a miraculous act of God that the leaders of our Nation and the world suddenly turned her or his heart to God through Jesus, confessed their sins, asked God to forgive them and repented – sinning no more? Would you believe it if it happened one day? God has that kind of power and that kind of influence. We must be carriers of God’s truth as Jonah was and be willing to go into ‘Nineveh’ where danger certainly awaited him to deliver the message of God’s real hope of eternal life. We must never stop seeking out ways to share the great good news of repentance and eternal life.

Prayer: Father forgive our weakness and lack of faith. You have been amazing in Your anticipation of our faith. Strengthen us in faith, help us confess our failures, lead us in Your Holy Way. In Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN.

Ash Wednesday

Daniel 9:3-6, “Then I turned to the Lord God, to seek an answer by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “Ah, Lord, great and awesome God, keeping covenant and steadfast love with those who love you and keep your commandments, we have sinned and done wrong, acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and ordinances. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.”

Daniel knew that he needed to devote himself completely to God - so he began his prayer time with God by fasting, wearing sack cloth (burlap cloth) and his exposed flesh covered with ashes. All these are signs of humility, submission and obedience to God. As we begin this Lenten time we too come forward with fasting and ashes as a reminder that we must clear our hearts and minds of the distractions of daily life that cause us to turn away from God slightly or completely. When we are distracted from God we lose focus on what it is that God would have us do. Daniel teaches us again how we must approach our renewal by preparing our hearts to confess, receive forgiveness and repent – starting and our relationship with God and one another.

Prayer: Father I confess that I have not You and one another with my whole heart; I have not been faithful to Your church; I have not kept my covenant with You and with my neighbor another. Forgive me I pray in the Name of Jesus who saves me. AMEN.

A Christian Nation

Leviticus 19:1-4, “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. You shall each revere your mother and father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. Do not turn to idols or make cast images for yourselves: I am the LORD your God.”

As early as the Mayflower Compact the United States was founded upon its faith in God through Christ. Those who would seek to destroy or limit religious speech or public practices of faith fail to remember that basic truth of our existence and founding. It is time that we recognize whereupon we have begun our journey.

Prayer: Father, deliver us from our failed practices of faith. Strengthen us in Your Holy service. Help us remember that You set our Nation on a course of Christian belief and Christian hope. May those who seek to destroy our Nation hear Your powerful Word Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN

Alinsky's Rules are in play again by Bolshevik Obama

From Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals:

RULE 5: "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon;"

RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it;" CINCO (comrade-in-chief Obama), went on the attack again.

Yesterday CINCO (comrade-in-chief Obama), at the invitation of the Republicans, went to Maryland to talk (fight) with the House and Senate Republicans to prove to them and the world with cameras rolling that he is right and the Republicans are wrong. He continued his antagonistic rant against Republicans so virulently that he proved the points that have been made that he simply will not listen to anything a Republican has to say. He came to office as a ‘uniter’ by his own definition and what that really means is that he wants to unite his Bolsheviks under one banner instead of working for America. He said in the Spectacle of the Union speech that ‘we all love America.’ He lied. If he loved America he wouldn’t have made a world apology tour and he would have saluted the men and women who were murdered at Ft. Hood instead of holding his crotch. CINCO is a liar and a divider. He said to the Republicans that he heard their concerns about tort reform, defensive medicine and trade barriers among states regarding health insurance purchases and those things are in the bill. Which bill CINCO? Where is it that those elements have been included? You lie!

When you hear Demokrat strategists speak about this action by CINCO they applaud him -  they have no desire to get along with Republicans or any conservative. They are in full attack mode with CINCO at the lead. Soros and Alinsky are flying the hammer and sickle.

What does he do today?  He begins a brand new tactic and that is espousing the pilfered plank of too much spending.  He stole a plank from Scott Brown's win and now he's riding in with the hammer and sickle flying to save us reckless spenders especially since none of us is smart enough to figure out what to do since we have already shown that we cannot be trusted to interpret a healthcare bill from behind a locked door.

A Nineveh Moment

Jonah 3, “The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.” When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh. He ran. And God still found him. Resigned to his ministry he went to Nineveh and proclaimed God’s powerful message for repentance. Jonah’s fear of being destroyed in that great warring city came to be unfounded. The Ninevites and their king repented and dressed themselves in sack cloth and ashes as a sign that they believed God and were truly sorry for what they had done. Simply put, they believed.

Prayer: Eternal and loving God. Help us to confess, seek Your forgiveness and repent believing forever that Your Words and actions are true and in love for Your Creation. Help us Father return to Your Holy Way. In Jesus Name we pray. AMEN

Stand Up and Fight for our Nation!

Since Wednesday night we’ve been swarmed by pundits and their take on the Spectacle of the Union that CINCO (comrade-in-chief Obama) trotted out; his lies, his constant haranguing rhetoric about who’s to blame and his belief in his own messianic anointing. The American people deserve better than this empty suit. I did note however, that the American electorate so desperately wanted someone with silvery words and a willingness to step into the breach that they elected a shaped image that better reflects that of a hologram than a real leader. CINCO stood in front of Americans and denigrated us for not ‘understanding the healthcare legislation when not one senator or representative could admit that she or he had read the bills and understood them. In fact CICNO had not read the bills and when he challenged Republicans or anyone to come to his office and he would go over them line by line he didn’t keep his promise as Republicans lined up for that moment. CINCO’s behavior toward the Supreme Court was nothing less than despicable. He expects respect for his office but is unwilling to give the same respect to the Supreme Court.

Brothers and sisters of America the current president of the United States is a pretender, a liar and a communist who wants to destroy this nation. The time is growing short for action. Every member of Congress and the Senate who sees what he is attempting and are either helping in the overthrow or simply are looking out for her or his own political interests need to be voted out of office. It’s time for those who haven’t been involved in politics to rise up and take charge of this citizens' revolt against the destruction of America. Find a candidate or any issue and began swamping your senators or representative with the news that this is over. Stand up America and get involved – this is our future!

Avoid them!

2 Timothy 3:1-5, “You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them!”

Even in the time of this pastoral exhortation to Timothy we find the prophetic voice of the future calling out to us. We read: lovers of self, money, boasting, arrogant, and abusive; this behavior sounds like today. This self absorption and tyrannical behavior is brokenness with God and with our neighbor. Listen to the arrogant political speeches about a politician’s self-importance and follow the advice of Paul, “Avoid them!” In other words keep them out of your government, your schools, your businesses, your church congregations and your homes. There are strong words in this pastoral letter and it would serve us well to follow what is encouraged to Timothy. At the core of this wicked behavior is brokenness that leads to spiritual destruction. We must avoid them and it.

Prayer: Loving God You have set our lives in motion and You have given us Your pattern for holy life. Help us bring to this world a sense of right relationship with You and with one another. In Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN.

Spectacle of Lies

The State of the Union was a spectacle of lies. Taunting, mocking and lecturing Republicans to do what CINCO (comrade-in-chief Obama) wants. That is his philosophy of bi-partisanship. He tried to use the word ‘no’ as a tool of vindication and he took no responsibility for failure. He stated that he should have explained things better. We’ve had enough campaign speeches CINCO. What America needs and deserves is an honorable leader. You are a liar and a phony. There is no openness or transparency. Those are sheaves of lies and you know it. Two million jobs created or saved? Hardly, even the Congressional Budget Office states that there is no way to calculate that. Tax credits and incentives will not cut it. You need to cut taxes across the board and stop spending across the board. Congress needs to give back its pay raises and expense accounts.

CINCO you discredit the office of president, this nation and yourself. You are a disgrace. Your arrogant and condescending ways do nothing more than polarize this nation into factions. A lying coward that hides behind braver men and women than you’ll ever become. It’s best if you and Joe ‘Bribe-‘em’ leave office.

Shadows and hope

Hebrews 10:1, “Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who approach.”

Routinely I hear of those practicing the Christian faith attempting to convert the Bible, the Holy Word of God, the foretelling and incarnation of Jesus, as a recipe that we must follow for our salvation. Human history with practice like that is long and storied. There is a simple explanation and it takes the form of humans needing some ‘thing’ to worship and follow. The law or Word of God is not followed so as to gain salvation. The Holy Word of God is the guide of our faith and within its rule we are allowed to share in the limits of our understanding of God. The basic salvific fact is accepting Jesus Christ as Lord of our life and Savior of our life. Once we get that and are moved by the Holy Spirit to yield to His Lordship we will get the rest. Let’s not let the rule of faith be our recipe for salvation. Let’s live into our faith in Christ and live out what He desires for us and in His Kingdom.

Prayer: Heavenly Father thank You for today and for the gift of Your unfailing love for us – Jesus. Soften our hearts to yield to His desire for our lives. In Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN.

Liar-in-Chief redux

Tonight we will have the State of the Union spectacle. This person sitting in the highest office of the land delivers silvery throated rhetoric that makes my skin crawl. He epitomizes how Satan works, ‘seductively calling Eve to the forbidden fruit.’ His style is smarmy and disingenuous. You cannot believe anything that he says because as we have seen, it didn’t take more than a few days in office for him to realize that he was elected on charisma. He is an empty suit trying to be president. He is failing miserably and creating a greater gulf between voters. It must be his plan to cause civil war within our borders. He’s creating such enmity among folks that the only solution left will be for those who believe that others have more than they will be for the ‘less-thans’ to take from the ‘more-thans.’

America, please do not be fooled by this 21st century Bolshevik and the revolt that he fomenting. He wants nothing more than to turn this nation into a vassal state of the last standing communist power. His clueless approach to economics and his stable of wannabe economists and ‘money-experts’ have mangled the economy. Tonight he’s going to pull a Marie Antoinette stunt and say, ‘let them eat cake (spending freezes and tax credits).’ He’s going to tell us that he’s fighting for us. He lies. That’s the Chicago-way. With Gibbs, Jarrett and Emanuel on his close team of advisors and Plouffe now showing up to help the ‘anointed one’ campaign we can expect more spurious lies of the half-truth variety.

Remember what this liar says tonight. He does not have any interest but his own in mind. He is not a Christian, he is a socialist, and he is trying to destroy our nation.

Prayer Concerns and joys in Christ

Something we can share together.  Respond to this post with your prayer concerns or joys in Christ.  Give first names (or relationship - sibling, spouse,  parent, friend) only; joys or issues and we will take those to our prayer time in Christ.

Our prayer begins this way:  "Loving God we thank you for this day and for Your Son Jesus Christ who redeems us.  Hear our prayer...(add your prayer concern or joy)..."

Respected Leadership

Titus 1:5-9, “I left you in charge in Crete so you could complete what I left half-done. Appoint leaders in every town according to my instructions. As you select them, ask, “Is this man well-thought-of? Are his children believers? Do they respect him and stay out of trouble?” It’s important that a church leader, responsible for the affairs in God’s house, be looked up to—not pushy, not short-tempered, not a drunk, not a bully, not money-hungry. He must welcome people, be helpful, wise, fair, reverent, have a good grip on himself, and have a good grip on the Message, knowing how to use the truth to either spur people on in knowledge or stop them in their tracks if they oppose it.”

This pastoral letter to Titus is insightful. Paul speaks about the work that he left half-completed and why he appointed Titus. I wonder, if we chose our leaders throughout our land as our forbearers were instructed what condition would our society find itself in today? The standards that Paul offers in choosing leaders seems foundational and structurally sound to a moral and holy people. Why can’t we change the course of a nation and begin to choose leaders based upon these principles?

Prayer: Eternal and loving God, we thank You for this day, the day that wasn’t promised. Let us live lives and choose leaders because we are all guided by the same commands that You gave so very long ago in human time. Your love is timeless. Help us see Your authority and take Your authority to do Your holy will. In Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN.

Broken Covenant

This morning my wife and I were at the orthopedic surgeon’s office. While in the waiting room I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between a husband and wife. Apparently the husband was supposed to undergo an MRI and had taken an anti-anxiety medication in advance. The office assistant had advised the couple that they would have to wait a bit. After they learned that they would have to wait, the man’s wife was trying to reason with her husband about sharing information with the medical team about his having already taken his medicine. He became nasty toward his wife and ultimately said, “Why don’t you use your brain?” He said it loud enough for anyone around to hear. She got up and walked out. He muttered, “Guess I’ll have to find a ride home.” I sat and stared at this oaf wondering why she would tolerate his antics. He just kept looking down at his phone all the while texting and griping.

The marriage covenant is very simple. You both agree to, “love, honor and cherish as long as you both shall live.” When that or any other portion of the covenant is broken the covenant that the husband and wife made with God and one another is now broken. This man needs to repair the damage that he has done to his wife. His belligerent and condescending behavior toward his wife was a despicable act. I pray God’s healing on their relationship, his repentance and for his wife’s safety and assurance.

Temptation

Matthew 4:1-4, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Satan is active in this world and life. He won’t stop until he is stopped by Jesus Christ at His Second Coming (or Parousia). As we can tell from reading from Matthew, Jesus was hungry after fasting for forty days and nights. Most of us would be hungry after a one day fast (me included). Satan used Jesus’ hunger as a moment of perceived ‘weakness’ to lure Jesus into his snare and engage Him for his purposes rather than to serve God as Redeemer and Restorer. Jesus put a very quick halt to Satan’s march and gives us in this lesson an understanding of what it takes to live into God’s expectation of us, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” We cannot survive merely with sustenance for the physical we are composed of a spiritual self or soul that requires spiritual food or sustenance that only comes from God through Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Loving God, You have made us in Your very image to be fed by Your very hand and desire. Feed us with Your holy will and by Your loving heart. Lead us into Your perfect Way, Jesus Christ, for it is in Jesus Name that we pray. AMEN.

Ohio golfer's scorecard confession earns accolade

“Ohio golfer's scorecard confession earns accolade
Published: 1/24/10, 4:25 PM EDT

MOUNT GILEAD, Ohio (AP) - A scorecard confession that cost an Ohio high school golfer the state championship five years ago has earned him a national sportsmanship of the decade award. Adam Van Houten (HOW'-ten) of Mount Gilead High School in north-central Ohio had finished the 2005 state high school golf championship with a seven-stroke lead when he noticed a mistake on his card. A playing partner had written down a 5 for the 10th hole instead of 6. Van Houten pointed out the mistake to officials and was disqualified because he'd already signed the card. Five years later, Van Houten's act has won him a spot on Sports Illustrated's sportsmanship of the decade list. Van Houten is now a sophomore on the golf team at George Mason University near Washington.”

Information from: News Journal, http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com//

Character is what you do when no one is watching. This young man is a credit to his family and his integrity adds a measure of respect for his athletic endeavor. Praise God for him and for Sports Illustrated for recognizing integrity.

Vengeance is Mine

Deuteronomy 32:35-36, “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; because the day of their calamity is at hand, their doom comes swiftly. Indeed the LORD will vindicate his people, have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone, neither bond nor free remaining.”

One of the great challenges in life is to not take vengeance. In 1782, Pierre Ambroise Francios Choderios de Laclos wrote, “Revenge [vengeance] is a dish best served cold.” He didn’t attend to what God said that revenge [vengeance] belongs to God alone. Often we want to get even or even up the score or regain wholeness; and our method in doing so is exacting revenge [vengeance] on those who hurt us. If it is justice that we seek, then seek justice and let God serve the revenge [vengeance], else our souls will be in mortal danger.

Prayer: Father, thank You for today and for Jesus Christ who came to save us and to be our judge. Help us get into Your Way and desire for us. Let revenge and vengeance alone be Your province. In Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN

Current Rage

The current rage in politics is Senator-elect Scott Brown of Massachusetts. Why? I believe the answer to why he is the current rage is the current rage of the American electorate. Americans are angry at elected officials who choose to ignore us and not do what we asked them to do. America is not Europe. While many of our ancestors came from Europe the reason many left Europe to begin with was to get away from Europe. Some of our ancestors are from Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. Every one of our ancestors came here to get away from the status quo of Euro-imperialism and bigotry. The exceptions are those who came as indentured servants and slaves. America came to its being through a harsh struggle at times tearing itself apart to remake itself. But here we are in 2010 where a black man is the sitting president and the nation is angry not because the president is black but because he and the rest of the political elitists and statists have decided that we aren’t intelligent enough to know what is good for us so they are going to ram what’s good for us down our throats and we get to like it.

Guess what? The most liberal and Democrat state in the union, Massachusetts, just elected a conservative Republican as the new senator to fill the seat held by the most liberal senator on the floor. Scott Brown is every man, woman and child in this nation who seeks her or his own way through self-determination not governmental central planning in its nanniest of states. He made an interesting comment that he is the 41st vote but so is every other Senator who chooses liberty over tyranny. CINCO (comrade-in-chief-Obama) said that Scott Brown was swept into office for the same reason that he was. That’s a lie! CINCO has spent so much time believing all the god-terms associated with his candidacy and qualifications that he suddenly believes that every man, woman and child thinks as he does.

This is rage against your Chicago-style politics as usual CINCO. Get over your self-indulgent, self flattery and land the ship of state in reality. You have failed miserably in every endeavor that you and the Demokrat party have taken this Nation.

Congratulations Massachusetts for having the presence of mind and conscience to say no to this political recklessness and to show America that there is still a tree of Liberty in your hearts.

First Fruit

Leviticus 23:9-11, “The LORD spoke to Moses: Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall raise the sheaf before the LORD, that you may find acceptance; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall raise it.”

What is our first fruit? It is our salary, income, receipts for services, proceeds from the sale of an item or property and it represents the pre-tax amount or gross sale. The tithe is part of the first fruit and it is one-tenth. This long ago was given to Moses by God to remind us of the source of our abundance. Some in ministry abuse the giving practice and have at heart a monument building intent. These individuals are no different from those in Jerusalem whose intent was strengthening their coffers for the purposes of riches and power. God’s intent for the first fruit offering is a reminder of the source of mercy and an honor to God. Let us remember what God has done and let us honor God by keeping this ordinance.

Prayer: Father we thank You for all that we have received in Your mercy. Forgive us we pray when we fail to remember and help us to become better stewards and more faithful in our attention to Your ordinances. In Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN.

Holy Days and Holy Ways

Leviticus 23:1-8, “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: These are the appointed festivals of the LORD that you shall proclaim as holy convocations, my appointed festivals. Six days shall work be done; but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no work: it is a Sabbath to the LORD throughout your settlements. These are the appointed festivals of the LORD, the holy convocations, which you shall celebrate at the time appointed for them. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, there shall be a Passover offering to the LORD, and on the fifteenth day of the same month is the festival of unleavened bread to the LORD; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not work at your occupations. For seven days you shall present the LORD’S offerings by fire; on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation: you shall not work at your occupations.”

After bringing the people of the House of Jacob (Israel) out of Egypt and into the wilderness God spoke to Moses to have the people set apart celebrations and remembrances of God’s acts in redemption of Israel. So holy were these times of remembrance that no work could be done. These celebrations and worship of God were held in the same regard as the Sabbath. Over time the House of Jacob would turn these days into such perfunctory performances that the worship of God was driven out replaced with ‘duty and obligation.’ What God did for Israel should have been held in the deepest of reverence and love yet the people of Israel had a way of corrupting the holiest of days into duty when what God wanted was worship and love and honor. How do we honor God today? Do we make others work so we won’t have to? Or do we set aside the Holy days of god for God worship?

Prayer: Eternal and loving God thank You for the day that wasn’t promised. Turn our thoughts, words and deeds back to you. Help us live Your expectation of us. In Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN.

"Why I am Not a Communist" by Betrand Russell

"Why I am Not a Communist"

by Betrand Russell

"I am completely at a loss to understand how it came about that some people who are both humane and intelligent could find something to admire in the vast slave camp produced by Stalin."

In relation to any political doctrine there are two questions to be asked: (1) Are its theoretical tenets true? (2) Is its practical policy likely to increase human happiness? For my part, I think the theoretical tenets of Communism are false, and I think its practical maxims are such as to produce an immeasurable increase of human misery.

The theoretical doctrines of Communism are for the most part derived from Marx. My objections to Marx are of two sorts: one, that he was muddle-headed; and the other, that his thinking was almost entirely inspired by hatred. The doctrine of surplus value, which is supposed to demonstrate the exploitation of wage-earners under capitalism, is arrived at: (a) by surreptitiously accepting Malthus's doctrine of population, which Marx and all his disciples explicitly repudiate; (b) by applying Ricardo's theory of value to wages, but not to the prices of manufactured articles. He is entirely satisfied with the result, not because it is in accordance with the facts or because it is logically coherent, but because it is calculated to rouse fury in wage-earners. Marx's doctrine that all historical events have been motivated by class conflicts is a rash and untrue extension to world history of certain features prominent in England and France a hundred years ago. His belief that there is a cosmic force called Dialectical Materialism which governs human history independently of human volitions, is mere mythology. His theoretical errors, however, would not have mattered so much but for the fact that, like Tertullian and Carlyle, his chief desire was to see his enemies punished, and he cared little what happened to his friends in the process.

Marx's doctrine was bad enough, but the developments which it underwent under Lenin and Stalin made it much worse. Marx had taught that there would be a revolutionary transitional period following the victory of the proletariat in a civil war and that during this period the proletariat, in accordance with the usual practice after a civil war, would deprive its vanquished enemies of political power. This period was to be that of the dictatorship of the proletariat. It should not be forgotten that in Marx's prophetic vision the victory of the proletariat was to come after it had grown to be the vast majority of the population. The dictatorship of the proletariat therefore as conceived by Marx was not essentially anti-democratic. In the Russia of 1917, however, the proletariat was a small percentage of the population, the great majority being peasants. it was decreed that the Bolshevik party was the class-conscious part of the proletariat, and that a small committee of its leaders was the class-conscious part of the Bolshevik party. The dictatorship of the proletariat thus came to be the dictatorship of a small committee, and ultimately of one man - Stalin. As the sole class-conscious proletarian, Stalin condemned millions of peasants to death by starvation and millions of others to forced labour in concentration camps. He even went so far as to decree that the laws of heredity are henceforth to be different from what they used to be, and that the germ-plasm is to obey Soviet decrees but that that reactionary priest Mendel. I am completely at a loss to understand how it came about that some people who are both humane and intelligent could find something to admire in the vast slave camp produced by Stalin.

I have always disagreed with Marx. My first hostile criticism of him was published in 1896. But my objections to modern Communism go deeper than my objections to Marx. It is the abandonment of democracy that I find particularly disastrous. A minority resting its powers upon the activities of secret police is bound to be cruel, oppressive and obscurantist. The dangers of the irresponsible power cane to be generally recognized during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but those who have forgotten all that was painfully learnt during the days of absolute monarchy, and have gone back to what was worst in the middle ages under the curious delusion that they were in the vanguard of progress.

There are signs that in course of time the Russian régime will become more liberal. But, although this is possible, it is very far from certain. In the meantime, all those who value not only art and science but a sufficiency of bread and freedom from the fear that a careless word by their children to a schoolteacher may condemn them to forced labour in a Siberian wilderness, must do what lies in their power to preserve in their own countries a less servile and more prosperous manner of life.

There are those who, oppressed by the evils of Communism, are led to the conclusion that the only effective way to combat these evils is by means of a world war. I think this a mistake. At one time such a policy might have been possible, but now war has become so terrible and Communism has become so powerful that no one can tell what would be left after a world war, and whatever might be left would probably be at least as bad as present -day Communism. This forecast does not depend upon the inevitable effects of mass destruction by means of hydrogen and cobalt bombs and perhaps of ingeniously propagated plagues. The way to combat Communism is not war. What is needed in addition to such armaments as will deter Communists from attacking the West, is a diminution of the grounds for discontent in the less prosperous parts of the non-communist world. In most of the countries of Asia, there is abject poverty which the West ought to alleviate as far as it lies in its power to do so. There is also a great bitterness which was caused by the centuries of European insolent domination in Asia. This ought to be dealt with by a combination of patient tact with dramatic announcements renouncing such relics of white domination as survive in Asia. Communism is a doctrine bred of poverty, hatred and strife. Its spread can only be arrested by diminishing the area of poverty and hatred.

from Portraits from Memory published in 1956

While Russell was a philosopher and logician (aka dreamer) he was practical.  He was a socialist and I thought that reading his thoughts on a nanny/totalitarian state under the guise of socialism might be helpful.  Dr. Russell's opinions are not mine - we share intersections in thought.

Socialism/communism

I felt that it is necessary to review again the tenets of socialism/communism:

Marx described three necessary phases toward achieving his ideal state (Summarized from the communist manifesto).

Phase 1: A revolution must take place in order to overthrow the existing government. Marx emphasized the nee¬d for total destruction of the existing system in order to move on to Phase 2.

Phase 2: A dictator or elite leader (or leaders) must gain absolute control over the proletariat. During this phase, the new government exerts absolute control over the common citizen's personal choices -- including his or her education, religion, employment and even marriage. Collectivization of property and wealth must also take place.

Phase 3: Achievement of utopia. This phase has never been attained because it requires that all non-communists be destroyed in order for the Communist Party to achieve supreme equality. In a Marxist utopia, everyone would happily share property and wealth, free from the restrictions that class-based systems require. The government would control all means of production so that the one-class system would remain constant, with no possibility of any middle class citizens rising back to the top.

Marx also detailed the 10 essential tenets of communism:

• Central banking system

• Government controlled education

• Government controlled labor

• Government ownership of transportation and communication vehicles

• Government ownership of agricultural means and factories

• Total abolition of private property

• Property rights confiscation

• Heavy income tax on everyone

• Elimination of rights of inheritance

• Regional planning

Use this as a checklist with Congress, the Senate and CINCO.

Away

Hello my sisters and brothers in Christ!

I have been swamped with other duties and have not been writing.  Please forgive my interruption.  So much has happened that we must stay current.  I look forward to hearing from you in 2010.  My earnest prayer is that 2010 will be a memorable year for all the right reasons. 

May God bless you and fill you with the desire to speak your heart in Christ, in truth, and with integrity.