God’s Message to Rulers

Psalm 82:1-8

¹ A psalm of Asaph. God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the "gods": ² "How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Selah ³ Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. ⁴ Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. ⁵ "They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. ⁶ "I said, 'You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High.' ⁷ But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler." ⁸ Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance. ^NIV

Asaph the Psalmist wrote that wicked rulers will perish just like the men they have persecuted.

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is still in charge and will defend the cause of the weak (including babies that have been aborted) and the needy from the hand of the wicked rulers.

Asaph cites the blindness to truth (darkness) of the wicked; especially those who act as if they are “gods” themselves, beholden to no man, making their own rules and then breaking even them.

Stand up, Look up, and Stop rolling over [Update 2]

Cubicle dwellers — we are not like 'whistle pigs' waiting to have our numbers thinned. Stand up, Look up (to the Lord – 2 Chron. 20:12, 15), and Stop rolling over for something just because someone in power says so. We should do so peacefully as much as it is possible, but also remember the struggle our nation's founding fathers engaged in to reject tyranny.

A recent WorldNet Daily article describes what some are doing to shift from their hunkered down mode to an active speaking out against the increasing tyranny of the police state we have morphed into.

Join with the Tea Teams to get off your couch and participate in the nation’s restoration. Bill Finley (“Wild Bill for America”) and the Tea Teams are not sitting idly by and just letting things happen. Step up to leadership and actively inform your elected representatives of your reaction to their behavior.

Remember the famous quote attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller an outspoken foe of Adolph Hitler:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out-- 
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-- 
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

We must speak while it is still possible to speak!

King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven . . . a time to be silent and a time to speak.” Now is the time to speak!

[Update 2]

When a pastor in Simi Valley, California noticed that Bibles in Costco were labeled “Fiction” he spoke out. See the Fox News segment. This was likely a genuine mistake for which Costco apologized and took immediate steps to correct, but some morally challenged people who commented applauded the mistake. That mentality is becoming rampant today.

Unwitting Victims of a System

For some time, I have been writing to challenge my readers think about what is going on in our world. I will present some possible scenarios in my upcoming novel, Eye of the Storm. There are many things taking place right now that will lead up to the event Christians call the Rapture which will be followed by chaos and even more government control and loss of freedoms dear to every American.

The proliferation of technological advances is providing government with tools for surveillance and control of citizens distracted by entertainment and the simple struggle to survive in the declining economy being structured by big government and its puppets.

John Whitehead, writing in his book, A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State describes well the current situation in America (and by its influence also the world):

We are — and have been for some time — the unwitting victims of a system so corrupt that those who stand up for the rule of law and aspire to transparency in government are in the minority. This corruption is so vast it spans all branches of government–from the power-hungry agencies under the executive branch and the corporate puppets within the legislative branch to a judiciary that is, more often than not, elitist and biased towards government entities and corporations.

We are ruled by an elite class of individuals who are completely out of touch with the travails of the average American. We are relatively expendable in the eyes of government–faceless numbers of individuals who serve one purpose, which is to keep the government machine running through our labor and our tax dollars. Those in power aren't losing any sleep over the indignities we are being made to suffer or the possible risks to our health. All they seem to care about are power and control.

Whitehead, John W. (2013-06-12). A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State  (Kindle Locations 3411-3418). SelectBooks Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Know Your Rights or You Will Lose Them

Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to William Stevens Smith in 1788, wrote:

It astonishes me to find ... [that so many] of our countrymen ... should be contented to live under a system which leaves to their governors the power of taking from them the trial by jury in civil cases, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of commerce, the habeas corpus laws, and of yoking them with a standing army. This is a degeneracy in the principles of liberty ... which I [would not have expected for at least] four centuries.

John Whitehead writes in A Government of Wolves:

Whether we can turn things around will depend on how many Americans are willing to learn their rights and take appropriate stands for freedom. "Most citizens," writes author and journalist Nat Hentoff "are largely uneducated about their own constitutional rights and liberties."

The following true incident is a case in point for Hentoff's claim. A young attorney preparing to address a small gathering about the need to protect freedom, especially in the schools, wrote the text of the First Amendment on a blackboard. After carefully reading the text, a woman in the audience approached the attorney, pointed to the First Amendment on the board and remarked, "My, the law is really changing. Is this new?" The woman was a retired schoolteacher.

It is frustrating to watch the pandemic decline of morality and integrity taking place among Americans and even Christians who one would think should know better.

I guess I should expect it given Jesus’ warning about the approaching final days recorded in Matthew 24: “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people” (Matthew 24:9-11 NIV).

The apostle Paul wrote to his young friend, Timothy about the later times: “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2 NIV). 

Scripture

Scripture provides excellent guidance for our behavior: ^“Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies” (Psalm 141:4 NIV).

Beware of partaking of the government’s so-called largesse. It will come back to bite you in the end and make you even more subservient. Proverbs says:

When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Do not eat the food of a stingy man, do not crave his delicacies; for he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost. "Eat and drink," he says to you, but his heart is not with you. You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments. (Proverbs 23:1-8 NIV).

When we allow ourselves to become servants to any system of government we deny our God-given rights to serve only the Lord and experience His blessings.

Proverbs 22:7

 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. ^NIV  

We have been warned of the price of disobedience to God:

Isaiah 24:1-6

See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants —  it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word. The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. ^NIV  

Other books

Books worthy of reading for an understanding of our world today include:

From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation by Gene Sharp

Disinformation: Former Spy Chief Reveals Secret Strategies For Undermining Freedom, Attacking Religion, And Promoting Terrorism by Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa and Prof. Ronald J. Rychlak

The Five-Thousand Year Leap: Twenty-eight Ideas That Are Changing the World by W. Cleon Skousen

The Enemies Within: Communists, socialists and progressives in the U.S. Congress by Trevor Loudon

Impeachable Offenses: The Case for Removing Barack Obama from Office by Aaron Klein & Brenda J. Elliott

How Evil Works: Understanding and Overcoming the Destructive Forces that are Transforming America by David Kupelian

Understanding the Book of Daniel by H.A.Ironside

A Nation Forsaken — EMP: The Escalatiing Threat of an American Catastrophe by F. Michael Maloof

Alexander the Great: The Macedonian Who Conquered the World by Sean Patrick

Eco-Tyranny: How the Left’s Green Agenda Will Dismantle America by Brian Sussman

Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton by Kathleen Willey

Shut Up, America! — The End of Free Speech by Brad O’Leary

The Nazi Connection to Islamic Terrorism: Adolph Hitler and Haj Amin Al-Husseini by Chuck Morse

Monkey Master

Gene Sharp in his book, From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, recounts a Chinese parable about the Monkey Master.

A fourteenth-century Chinese parable by Liu-Ji*, for example, outlines this neglected understanding of political power quite well:

In the feudal state of Chu an old man survived by keeping monkeys in his service. The people of Chu called him “ju gong” (monkey master).

 Each morning, the old man would assemble the monkeys in his courtyard, and order the eldest one to lead the others to the mountains to gather fruits from bushes and trees. It was the rule that each monkey had to give one-tenth of his collection to the old man. Those who failed to do so would be ruthlessly flogged. All the monkeys suffered bitterly, but dared not complain.

 One day, a small monkey asked the other monkeys: “Did the old man plant all the fruit trees and bushes?” The others said: “No, they grew naturally.” The small monkey further asked: “Can’t we take the fruits without the old man’s permission?” The others replied: “Yes, we all can.” The small monkey continued: “Then, why should we depend on the old man; why must we all serve him?”

Before the small monkey was able to finish his statement, all the monkeys suddenly became enlightened and awakened.

On the same night, watching that the old man had fallen asleep, the monkeys tore down all the barricades of the stockade in which they were confined, and destroyed the stockade entirely. They also took the fruits the old man had in storage, brought all with them to the woods, and never returned. The old man finally died of starvation.

Yu-li-zi says, “Some men in the world rule their people by tricks and not by righteous principles. Aren’t they just like the monkey master? They are not aware of their muddleheadedness. As soon as their people become enlightened, their tricks no longer work.”

Our current president is behaving like the Monkey Master and relying on the ignorance (Rush Limbaugh calls them “low-information voters”) of American citizens to accept his pronouncements as truth when they are in reality just the opposite.

Solomon, one of the wisest men ever to live wrote, “A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength; for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers. Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say. He who plots evil will be known as a schemer. The schemes of folly are sin, and men detest a mocker.” (Proverbs 24:5-9 NIV)

Clearly a large number of Americans have allowed the federal leadership to deceive them for the purpose of achieving the goals of progressivism (also known as communism or socialism).

A metaphor for their complicity in accepting the words of a deceiving leadership is found in another warning of Solomon; “When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.” (Proverbs 23:1-3 NIV) That is, if you are addicted to food stamps and other federal handouts be aware that this is a deceptive trap that will relieve you of your God-given liberty.

Solomon also wrote, “A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it” (Proverbs 22:3 NIV) and “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” (Proverbs 26:11-12 NIV)

As recounted above, “Yu-li-zi says, ‘. . . They are not aware of their muddleheadedness. As soon as their people become enlightened, their tricks no longer work.’”

Sheeple, wake up and smell the sewage that is being proffered as flower fragrance by the powerful elite!

Sure, times are tough and troubled right now (not getting better as we are being falsely told by the mainstream, Soros-controlled media) so what we do? Solomon also posed the proposition, “If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!” (Proverbs 24:10)

The writer of the Bible book of Hebrews recounted and commended the men of faith, “. . . who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. (Hebrews 11:32-34 NIV)

Don’t be deluded. The foreign enemies (Muslim Brotherhood, al Qaeda, and progressive ideologists) are already among us and working to destroy this nation which was originally founded on Judeo-Christian principles.

Paul the apostle reminded the church members in Philippi, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13 NIV)

The beginning of all this ability of course, is to be a person of faith by accepting Jesus Christ as savior, making Him Lord in your life and then living a life in conformity to 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12.

We have a choice—to monkey around with our freedom or rely on the power of God to protect and guide us as we live the righteous and holy lives God designed us to live. The task is daunting, but achievable!

Distributed Denial

In the computing world we have sometimes heard of or read about something called a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. Some few of us might understand what that is and how it affects us and our excursions into cyberspace. Others would have a “Huh” reaction, knowing only that our stupid computers were running very slow again or something was preventing us from getting on the Internet to retrieve our e-mail messages or Facebook or Twitter posts. Very frustrating! We felt so helpless!

Without getting too deep into the world of geekdom, DDoS attacks take a multitude of forms; each more insidious than the previous. While heading the computer support at Bethany College, my crew and I had to respond to a number of attacks. They took many forms: Syn floods, Low-rate Denial-of-Service attacks, spoofing, denial of access to web sites, execution of malware (Trojan horse programs, viruses etc.) and such.

Today, our nation is being subjected to what could be termed Distributed Denial of Rights (DDoR) attacks. The very provisions of our Constitution are being denied to us: First Amendment rights to free speech, freedom of the press, freedom to worship as we choose; Second Amendment rights to own and bear arms to protect us from the excesses of the government; Fourth Amendment rights prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause; and Tenth Amendment rights limiting federal government and preserving the rights of states.

In Greek mythology Hercules was required to fight and vanquish a creature called the Hydra. The Hydra had nine snake-like venomous heads, one of which was immortal. Each time Hercules cut off one of the heads, two more grew back. Hercules devised a way to cut off the heads and not have two more grow back. He had his nephew cauterize the neck stubs as he cut off the heads and then finally buried the immortal head under a large stone, thus immobilizing it and vanquishing the beast.

Every time conservatives are successful in putting down (cutting off) a gun control initiative, two more seem to rise up in its place with the ultimate goal of disarming the citizens of America and denying us the constitutional right to own and bear arms. Time for some cauterizing! Impeachment or even prosecution of legislators overdue to be replaced may be an effective method to put down the Barak Obamas, Nancy Pelosies, Michael Bloombergs, Harry Reids and Diane Feinsteins who continue to deny Americans their Second Amendment rights.

Attacks on free speech: limiting locations where it may be practiced, labeling certain speech hate speech (particularly when speaking about a certain Middle Eastern religion), restricting military chaplains from representing their faith, and limiting non-mainstream (read not-sold-out) media discussion of anything the government thinks is not complementary about the administration.

Rampant spying on private citizen’s communication without benefit of judicial sanction for probable cause and aggregation of information to be data-mined by government agencies is ongoing and increasing.

Expansion of federal government functions by Executive Order without Congressional approval.

Our nation is being destroyed by a conscious, pre-planned effort of individuals committed to aggrandizement of their personal desires and not the good of the citizenry and adherence to the goals of the world’s power elite. We have a choice: roll over or resist and insist on our government’s conformity to the Constitution.

Tons of Good News

We keep hearing from the administration that there are “tons of good news” about our nation’s economy, the job picture, unemployment, healthcare, immigration, etc. Are those “tons” in units of bovine excrement, because that is the essence of the so-called “good news.” Obama truly has given us plenty of shovel-ready information to process.

Fox in the Henhouse

With the recent IRS scandal besmirching the Obama administration and Obama’s track record of lying, deceiving and dissembling, do we have a case of the (foreign-born) fox in the henhouse?

It has been clearly proven that Obama manipulated the last election by having the IRS selectively audit the records of conservative groups. The audits diverted the rightful attention of the conservative groups to educating the voting public about illegal methods being used to allow Obama-friendly voters to vote twice and ignore or lose valid conservative ballots. Many Boss Tweed political machine tactics  were used to facilitate getting Obama voters to polls and to intimidate conservative voters.

Now, ObamaCare has built into its little understood provisions that the IRS will be the policemen for allowing or disallowing medical care to individuals. The fox is in the henhouse!

ObamaCare must be repealed or at least de-funded! Contact your congressional representatives both in the House and the Senate and insist they take action to evict the fox from the henhouse. Obama and his Chicago crime family must be stopped if America is to survive.

Am I suggesting the IRS and other executive branch Obamacare bureaucracies are capable of murder? No, of course not. They’ll just play politics with your medical care, the same way they used the power of the IRS to bleed the finances of Obama’s critics.

Wayne Allyn Root in a Personal Liberty Digest article entitled, “Will the IRS Allow Us toDie, Too?,” posed the question:

Am I suggesting the IRS and other executive branch Obamacare bureaucracies are capable of murder? No, of course not. They’ll just play politics with your medical care, the same way they used the power of the IRS to bleed the finances of Obama’s critics. . .

They will:

• Slow pay your bills.
• Repeatedly lose your medical requests or bills.
• Deny permission just long enough that you’ll be denied your chance to live.
• Compound your illness by adding frustration and stress, thereby cutting years off your life.
• Approve only 50 percent of your bills for cancer treatment, while paying 100 percent for Obama donors.

Or maybe they’ll just extort Obama’s enemies by offering to pay for the medical care you need, as long as you never appear again on FOX News or conservative talk radio.

Stop right now and write, call or e-mail your representatives.

House members may be contacted via [Representative last name].house.gov

Senate members may be contacted via [Senator last name].senate.gov

Failure is not an option!

Thoughts from Adams & Franklin

In his introduction to The Rights of the Colonists by Samuel Adams in 1772, Benjamin Franklin recorded some thoughts that apply well today:

All accounts of the discontent so general in our colonies have of late years been industriously smothered and concealed here; it seeming to suit the views of the American minister [Lord Hillsborough], to have it understood that by his great abilities all faction was subdued, all opposition suppressed, and the whole country quieted.

That the true state of affairs there may be known, and the true causes of that discontent well understood, the following piece (not the production of a private writer, but the unanimous act of a large American city), lately printed in New England, is republished here. This nation, and the other nations of Europe, may thereby learn, with more certainty, the grounds of a dissension that possibly may, sooner or later, have consequences interesting to them all.

One could easily paraphrase Franklin’s words as follows:

All accounts of the discontent so general in our nation have of late years been industriously smothered and concealed here; it seeming to suit the views of the American President, to have it understood that by his great abilities all faction was subdued, all opposition suppressed, and the whole country quieted.

That the true state of affairs there may be known, and the true causes of that discontent well understood, the following piece lately blogged is republished here. This nation, and the other nations of the world, may thereby learn, with more certainty, the grounds of a dissension that possibly may, sooner or later, have consequences interesting to them all.

In his treatise, Adams asserted,

Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can. These are evident branches of, rather than deductions from, the duty of self-preservation, commonly called the first law of nature.

All men have a right to remain in a state of nature as long as they please; and in case of intolerable oppression, civil or religious, to leave the society they belong to, and enter into another.

When men enter into society, it is by voluntary consent; and they have a right to demand and insist upon the performance of such conditions and previous limitations as form an equitable original compact.

Every natural right not expressly given up, or, from the nature of a social compact, necessarily ceded, remains. [emphasis mine]

All positive and civil laws should conform, as far as possible, to the law of natural reason and equity.

As neither reason requires nor religion permits the contrary, every man living in or out of a state of civil society has a right peaceably and quietly to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience. [emphasis mine]

"Just and true liberty, equal and impartial liberty," in matters spiritual and temporal, is a thing that all men are clearly entitled to by the eternal and immutable laws of God and nature, as well as by the law of nations and all well-grounded municipal laws, which must have their foundation in the former.

. . . The natural liberty of man, by entering into society, is abridged or restrained, so far only as is necessary for the great end of society, the best good of the whole. [emphasis mine]

In the state of nature men may, as the patriarchs did, employ hired servants for the defence [sic], of their lives, liberties, and property; and they should pay them reasonable wages. Government was instituted for the purposes of common defence [sic], and those who hold the reins of government have an equitable, natural right to an honorable support from the same principle that "the laborer is worthy of his hire." But then the same community which they serve ought to be the assessors of their pay. Governors have no right to seek and take what they please; by this, instead of being content with the station assigned them, that of honorable servants of the society, they would soon become absolute masters, despots, and tyrants. [emphasis mine]

When it was incorporated by Thomas Jefferson into the Declaration of Independence, the rights of citizens were cited as, “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Adams asserted that natural rights remained with citizens and were to be honored by the government. The most basic right is self-preservation. Further, he noted that personal property could not be taken from people without their consent.

For a government to attempt to disarm citizens is to deny both the right of self-preservation and the right to retain their property. When the 2^nd Amendment was written in to the Constitution, it codified the natural right to keep and bear arms.

Adams warned that public servants (and elected officials of government could not take what they wanted from the population lest they become “absolute masters, despots and tyrants.”

Today the Obama administration, Congress and the Supreme Court has forgotten this basic fact of history and, in fact, are all becoming despots and tyrants dictating what they think is right rather than acknowledging the natural rights of citizens.

One of those natural rights, tolerance for worship in its many expressions, is also encoded into the Constitution in the form of the 1^st Amendment. Increasingly, the administration is denying citizens and especially military members the right to practice their faith.

Adams cites the writing of John Locke, saying “Insomuch that Mr. Locke has asserted and proved, beyond the possibility of contradiction on any solid ground, that such toleration ought to be extended to all whose doctrines are not subversive of society. “

Efforts by the Muslim Brotherhood has undue influence with the federal government to challenge, threaten, and oppose the practice of the Christian and Jewish religions is subversive to American culture.

Atheists as well are practicing their non-faith in a supreme deity by “worming” their way into governmental decision-making on religious grounds and a faux equality and fairness platform.

Spineless military leaders and politicians are laying down our natural rights without protest.

If we truly love this country and want to see it continue for our children and their children, we must speak out and demand cessation of these insidious attacks on the culture of America. 

Congressional Hearing Needed on Navy Seal Deaths

The August 6, 2012 the situation resulting in deaths of Navy Seals and National Guardsmen is crying out for a Congressional hearing to learn the facts.

In what is considered the worst loss of American lives in the war in Afghanistan, a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan was shot down on Aug. 6, 2011, that killed all 38 people on board—Seals from Seal Team 6, national guardsmen, and some Afghan soldiers.

Parents of the slain servicemen are demanding a full and complete hearing. It seems that the hearing on the equally horrific slaying of our ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi is taking the spotlight.

During Operation Extortion 17, 38 servicemen, including many of the Navy Seals of Seal Team 6 were killed. Vice President Joe Biden, in a traitorous slip, identified the Seals who successfully captured and killed Osama bin Laden. When the administration, including President Obama confirmed the part Seal Team 6 played in the bin Laden assassination, a target was place on the backs of the Seal Team members.

It is strange that on August 6, 2012, the Seals were asked to engage the Taliban and were embarked on a non-Special Forces helicopter to take part in an ongoing battle without adequate assistance normally utilized in such a deployment.

The reason given was that “We are trying to win the hearts and minds of the Afghans.”

What a load of cattle excrement!!

Not only should VP Biden be prosecuted as a traitor for totally inappropriate release of classified information, but the administration officials (up to and including the President) and military Pentagon officials who failed to live up to their sworn oaths should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines Traitor as: “one who betrays another's trust or is false to an obligation or duty.” Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution states, “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Rules of engagement which limited our ability to engage the enemy with maximum safety for our troops must be changed! If we cannot do much more than provide examples of what the term “cannon fodder” means, we should leave and let the Afghans work things out for themselves!

Take a look at the press conference held yesterday by the families of the slain heroes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rqtJrJ40Cio

Call, e-mail or write your federal legislators to demand that they initiate an immediate Congressional hearing to discover the full truth and identify the people responsible for this atrocity and then proceed against the identified officials to the maximum extent allowed by the law. 

Some Books Worth Reading

Below are some books which explain what’s happening in the world today. I have read each of them and found them a worthy source of contemporary and even historical information.

Psalm 83: The Missing Prophecy Revealed by Bill Salus

Salus presents an intriguing look at a seldom recognized psalm with a prophetic impact.

Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of your Professional and Personal Life by Linda Elder and Richard Paul

Elder and Paul provide insight very much lacking in the population today. Critical thinking has been excised from the educational life of students today.

GBA 2015 by John A. Turner

Sheriff Turner gives a look at events of the present and near future in a combined fiction and non-fiction format.

How Evil Works by David Kupelian

Kupelian gives insight from a soundly Christian viewpoint into the machinations of evil in our contemporary world.

A Nation Forsaken: EMP: The Escalating Threat of an American Catastrophe by F. Michael Maloof

An electromagnetic pulse could devastate our electrical and electronic dependent society by either an air-burst nuclear explosion or a more natural solar production of sun-spot activity.

The U.S. Navy Seal Survival Handbook by Ralph Pezullo and Don Mann

Pezullo and Mann give information and reminders of methods used by our ancestors and today’s Navy Seals for surviving a societal collapse to a more primitive time.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin

Franklin provides insight into the early formation of our nation and its political and societal foundations.

Petrus Romanus by Thomas Horn and Chris Putnam

Horn and Putnam present a little-known prediction of papal heritage and the arrival of the final Pope.

Spiritual Tsunami: Bible Prophecy and World Events are Converging by Dr. Fred Thompson

Thompson notes the rapidly convergence  toward the final end times of both Bible prophecy and world events.

Critical Thinking or Stinking Thinking

The choice is ours. We may engage in either form of thinking. Although the latter is often more a reaction generated by emotions and execrable world-view than genuine cognitive reflection.

Excerpts from Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life By Linda Elder and Richard Paul

"The mind is its own place and in itself can make a hell of heaven or a heaven of hell" —Milton, Paradise Lost

You are what you think. Whatever you are doing, whatever you feel, whatever you want—all are determined by the quality of your thinking. If you’re thinking is unrealistic, you’re thinking will lead to many disappointments. If you’re thinking is overly pessimistic, it will deny you due recognition of the many things in which you should properly rejoice.

In a similar way, if the quality of your life is not what you wish it to be, it is probably because it is tied to the way you think about your life. If you think about it positively, you will feel positive about it. If you think about it negatively, you will feel negative about it.

For most people, most of their thinking is subconscious; that is, never explicitly put into words. For example, most people who think negatively would not say of themselves, “I have chosen to think about myself and my experience in largely negative terms. I prefer to be as unhappy as I can be.”

The truth is that since few people realize the powerful role that thinking plays in their lives, few gain significant command of their thinking. And therefore, most people are in many ways “victims” of their own thinking, harmed rather than helped by it. Most people are their own worst enemy. Their thinking is a continual source of problems, preventing them from recognizing opportunities, keeping them from exerting energy where it will do the most good, poisoning relationships, and leading them down blind alleys.

A Complex World of Accelerating Change—Can we deal with incessant and accelerating change and complexity without revolutionizing our thinking? Traditionally, our thinking has been designed for routine, for habit, for automation and fixed procedure. We learned how to do our job, and then we used what we learned over and over. But the problems we now face, and will increasingly face, require a radically different form of thinking, thinking that is more complex, more adaptable, and more sensitive to divergent points of view. The world in which we now live requires that we continually relearn, that we routinely rethink our decisions, and that we regularly reevaluate the way we work and live. In short, there is a new world facing us, one in which the power of the mind to command itself, to regularly engage in self-analysis, will increasingly determine the quality of our work, the quality of our lives, and perhaps even, our very survival.

From scripture:

 “Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies; For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. "Eat and drink!" he says to you, But his heart is not with you. The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words” (Proverbs 23:6 NKJ).

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2 NIV).

In the Psalms, many psalms written by King David have portions ending with the word Selah which basically means pause and consider this. We would be wise to have those selah moments applied to our thinking processes.

Creeping Evil

Something to consider—

“The great paradox of the human race—namely, that we’re so smart we understand just about everything, except ourselves—has never been more striking, or more troubling, than right now.

Today, we understand the physics of an expanding universe and the mysterious behavior of quarks. We know how to create vaccines and custom genes, replace body parts and build space robots. Our knowledge of life and the universe continues to grow dramatically in every field imaginable; except one.

We don’t understand evil—what it is how it works, and why it so routinely and effortlessly ruins our lives. Put another way, we don’t understand ourselves. Despite the human race’s extraordinary capacity for invention and progress, we clearly have a millennia-old blind spot in this one all-important area.”

Excerpt from How Evil Works by David Kupelian

The very core of today’s challenges lies in the nature of evil. Abject evil is the fundamental essence of the multitude of problems we face: economic, environmental, physical, emotional, moral, ethical, and spiritual. Because mankind has forsaken the knowledge of God, the Lord is allowing us to experience the reality of evil and the machinations of the devil.

Philosopher George Santayana reminds us of the value of history, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Today, we are so distracted by urgent matters that we have forgotten the lessons of the bible that teach us about God’s goodness and positive plans for us. From the “git go” evil was present and opposing God’s wonderful plans.

Just over the past two centuries, history has recorded some atrocious massacres and acts of genocide. The introduction of ideologies that encouraged departure from godly principles and faith practice has resulted in development of extremely secular approaches to society:

Communism—a revolutionary socialist movement to create a classless, moneyless and stateless social order structured upon common ownership of the means of production, as well as a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of this social order.

National Socialism—was the ideology of the Nazi Party in Germany and related movements outside Germany. It is a variety of fascism that incorporates biological racism and anti-Semitism. Nazism developed in Germany from the influence of the far-right racist  German nationalist movement and the anti-communist  paramilitary culture which fought against the communists in post-World War I Germany.

Socialism—a kinder, gentler socialism that rejects centralized, elitist, or authoritarian methods of transitioning from capitalism to socialism in favor of grassroots-level movements aiming for the immediate creation of decentralized economic democracy.

The term is often used by socialists who favor either electoral transition to socialism or a spontaneous mass revolution from below to distinguish themselves from authoritarian socialists that call for a single-party state, most notably to contrast with Marxist-Leninists and Maoists.

Progressism—a general political philosophy advocating or favoring gradual social, political, and economic reform. Modern Progressivism emerged as part of a more general response to the vast social changes brought by industrialization.

All of these ideologies are present in our world and in our nation’s leadership today. We must resist them. They are the means by which the enemy of our soul wants to divert us into secondary battles so he may win the war.

We’re fighting the wrong battles

We can learn from the Chinese warrior strategist Sun Tsu. Though he was writing The Art of War circa 500 B.C., many of the principles he identified to be a successful commander are valid today. Even Barack Obama uses some of them (scrubbed through Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, of course). Obama’s implementation is shown below in [square brackets].

• All warfare is based on deception. [Tell the enemy one thing and then do another.][Lie a lot.]
• When able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.
• Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him. [Make the enemy think you want to “reach across the aisle” in open negotiation and then force him to do what you want.][Use Executive Orders to realize your objectives if you cannot convince the enemy otherwise to do it your way.]
• If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. [Don’t let up on the enemy even for national holidays or recessions in Congress.]
• Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected. [When the enemy is prepared to fight you on one front, move to another.]
• Cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays. [Keep up the pressure and don’t let off.]
• The proximity of an army causes prices to go up; and high prices cause the people's substance to be drained away. [Use the economy to destroy the enemy’s will to fight.][Make sequesters hurt the maximum number of people in the worst possible way.]
• In order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger. [The anger does not even have to make sense. Angry people do not reason well.]
• Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting. [You have won when the enemy withdraws from the battlefield.]
• The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided. [Don’t attack where the enemy is strong and protected.][Alinsky says, “The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.”]
• The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. [Recognize that the enemy will adhere to what he thinks is higher principles. That is a weakness you may exploit. Alinsky says, “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.].
• Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive. [Keep pushing at every turn in the contest. Alinsky says, “Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose.”]
• To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence. [Obama thinks he is smarter than the average bear and is above the common man’s way of thinking.]
• The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers. [Divide and conquer!][Get the enemy fighting among themselves. Create division and disparate group identities.]
• One who is skillful at keeping the enemy on the move maintains deceitful appearances, according to which the enemy will act. [‘nuf said]
• Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted. [Control the agenda and be there first.]
• You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.

Note with me please that most of Alinsky’s tactics are the very same that the devil uses. They are also the ones which will be used by the Antichrist of Revelation.

Satan is the father of lies. Jesus said to some Jews who opposed his message, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44 NIV).

Scripture tells us to “resist the devil and he will flee from you,” but we often fail to obey the qualifying condition, “submit yourselves to God” (James 4:7 NIV).

Since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, man has been plagued by constant strife with evil. The apostle Paul instructs believers to don armor to engage in the warfare with “rulers, authorities, principalities, powers of this dark world, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:11-12 NIV).

We are clearly in a war with evil and so must be aware of the enemies we face.

As the time of the end draws ever nearer, believers in God Almighty must become aware of the opposition’s ways and with God’s provision for His people.

We are on the winning team and will prevail if we do not flag in our dedication and effort, trusting ever in the Lord. Our job is to arm ourselves, stand with courage and the strength God provides, and to resist the subtle temptations to yield to fear or terror. We must resist the efforts of the devil to seduce believers into compromise and apostasy.

The enemy will try to keep us confused about the location of the battle lines. God is not the author of confusion, the devil is. Stay focused, alert and vigilant.

Finding Rest in Times of Stress

No one can deny that today everyone is taxed with so many challenges that finding rest seems a far off goal. In today’s rush of information, priorities and tasks it is difficult to enjoy a peaceful rest. When we spend too much time focusing on finding or keeping a job in a down economy, it seems wasteful somehow to take time out to for the breaks necessary to restore a balance in our lives. The challenges seem overwhelming.

Sleep seems beyond our reach. Adrenaline flows so constantly that it becomes a toxin for us. Constant stress induces an unhealthy mindset. We choose not to exercise. We consume comfort food and drink that adds to the stress; particularly alcoholic beverages that only anesthetize us for a brief time. Comfort food is the least healthy for us. It adds empty calories that result in weight gain, clogged arteries, and nutritional imbalance.

God has provided several guidelines for stress reduction: scripture contemplation, commendation of the benefits of exercise, and strategies for changing our thinking patterns.

Scripture contemplation

In the book of Joshua, the Lord recommended to Joshua as he ascended to lead the Israelites that he not just do his leader tasks, but that he also spend time contemplating scripture. Note that in Joshua 1:7-9 God exhorted Joshua to take his role seriously and behave with strength and courage, but alto to not just talk about what He had caused to be written, but to spend time  mulling it over until Joshua could enfold it into his life and leadership.

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:7-9 NIV).

Benefits of exercise

Physical exercise helps the body clear out toxins that poison a person’s thinking. When toxins build up in our bodies from being continuously overstimulated, the adrenaline and noradrenaline that are at first helpful as we perceive events to threaten our lives, allowing our God-given self-protective reaction of fleeing, fighting or freezing to take place.

When our bodies are in tune, we can more effectively think and react in appropriate ways. There is a time when it makes sense to depart the situation (flee). There is a time to stand and react aggressively (fight). There is a time to hunker down and not react at all (freeze).

“Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance  (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:7-10 NIV).

Thinking patterns

When we are stressed, clear thinking departs from our lives. We become victims of stinking thinking! As usual, God has made a way to restore our thinking processes to ones more helpful and purposeful. As we look to the Lord and conform to God’s way of doing things, it simplifies our lives so we can enjoy a lower level of stress. Knowing and conforming to God’s way is the path of least resistance and highest return on our efforts.

“. . .  I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2 NIV).

Finally

Read Christ’s invitation in Matthew 11:28-30. He invites us to come when we grow weary and feel inadequate to handle the burdens we face. Then he promises to give us rest for our souls.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV).

Remember, with God on your side, you can handle anything!