February 22, 2012

How you can prevent forced abortions in the USA

Nothing polarizes americans more than reproductive health and nothing energizes the christian get-out-0ut-the-vote effort more than abortion does.

No self-respecting bible believing Christian can possibly defend the murder of unborn children as moral or wise or altruistic. That is not even the point of the debate among Christians and political leaders.

The debate over abortion comes down to the question of WHO should set and enforce the laws, the states or the feds.

In China the central government gets to decide the reproductive health laws and enforce them.

  • Chairman Mao saw a booming population as healthy, so government encouraged reproduction. For all of his murdering while coming to power, on reproductive issues, he was basically pro-life. The more people he could preside over the better.
  • His successor Deng Xiaopong had a different take. For him overpopulation was a problem. Since the precedent of government authority to set laws on reproductive issues was established, he simply had to change the rules  to discouraging reproduction and to force abortions where it deemed appropriate to him.

The ultimate result of government being impowered to decide on reproductive health issues was that as recently as 2009, 35,000 FORCED abortions were performed in China every day.

Are you certain you want the US federal government making reproductive health decisions?

Why do so many Christians assume that a certain liberty minded pro-life presidential candidate has it wrong when he says the decision should remain with the states as per the rule of law outlined in the tenth amendment?

Think it through…

Man is sinful and should not be trusted with unrestricted power over the lives of others.

If you want to prevent forced abortions from becoming a reality in the USA, then don’t just support candidates that speak with an anti-abortion rhetoric, Chairman Mao did that.

If you want to prevent forced abortions then support candidates that understand the tenth amendment and the separation of powers which keeps the federal government strictly limited in its activities.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/ron-paul-social-conservatism-i-think-its-losing-position

“We’re not   supposed to nationalize  these problems.  The founders were very clear that problems like this,  if there needs to be legislation of sorts, the   state has the right to  write the legislation that they so choose.

“To summarize my views–I believe the federal government has a role  to play,” said Paul. “I believe Roe v. Wade should be repealed. I believe federal law  should declare that life begins at conception. And I believe states  should regulate the enforcement of this law, as they do other laws  against violence.”

“I don’t see the value in setting up a federal police force on this  issue any more than I do on other issues,” Paul said. “The Fourteenth  Amendment was never intended to cancel out the Tenth Amendment. This  means that I can’t agree that the Fourteenth Amendment has a role to  play here, or otherwise we would end up with a ‘Federal Department of  Abortion.’ Does anyone believe that will help life? We should allow our  republican system of government to function as our Founders designed it  to: protect rights at the federal level, enforce laws against violence  at the state level.

“I will use my constitutional authority as President to stop the  enforcement of all regulations relating to ObamaCare, including the new  HHS regulations forcing all employers, even religious or  church-affiliated ones, to provide coverage for contraceptives and  RU-486 as part of their health insurance plans,” said Paul.

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February 22, 2012

Hackers threaten to unleash year of jubilee on greece

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/anonymous-hacks-greek-ministry-website-demands-imf-withdrawal-threatens-it-will-wipe-away-all-c

“Anonymous…have left an extended message of demands on the Greek ministry of justice website, warning that unless the IMF withdraws from the country and the government resigns, all debts of Greek citizens will be wiped clean.”

 

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February 21, 2012

America – who will you follow, Greece or Iceland ?

The birthplace of democracy is quickly becoming the poster child for modern serfdom as its citizens are betrayed by politicians who are under the influence of globalists. It’s hard to grasp the significance of the precedent being set by what is going on but it is easy to repeat the sound-bytes offered by the lame-stream media.

The complicit lame-stream media version of events:
- The Greek people are prone to striking and protests, they do it all the time for no good reason.
- No-one forced them to borrow the money , they need to pay their debts for the sake of the EU.
- In general, the Greeks are a lazy people who retire early and work few hours each week.
- The nations of Europe are simply asking/forcing them to keep their word on budget adherence.

The reality
- Many banks in the US were forced to take bailouts, Greece was in fact corrupted into borrowing money and adopting policies that ran counter to fiscal prudence.
- The Greeks average work week, for those still working, is longer than that of Germany.
- The globalist banking elite  have strategically used debt to undermine Greek sovereignty and now they are literally installing a foreign government over what was formerly independent Greece and they are implementing fiscal policies that Greek workers fear will make poverty permanent.

Why Greece matters
- ‘As goes Greece’, so goes Italy, Portugal, Spain, and eventually the western world.
- The pattern playing out in Greece is being used around the world to install a global government.
o Cloward Pivens Strategy is espoused by liberals as a way to bring about fundamental change to a nation.
o The key strategy of Cloward Pivens is to overwhelm a system with debt and entitlements so that it collapses under the weight of its financial obligations.
o President Obama said repeatedly prior to his inauguration that he was here to bring about the fundamental transformation of America.
o The US senate is co-operating with the transformation plan by pursuing a course of fiscal imprudence, just like Greece did. The senate has not passed a budget in over 900 days and the balance sheet of the Federal Reserve has dramatically accelerated and reached a point that looks certain become an exponential growth curve.
o When fiat currencies have failed in the past, the accompanying economic collapse results in political upheaval which rarely ends with the good guys coming to power.
o There really is a globally coordinated effort to install global government , it is an open secret.
o It is quite likely that events in Greece and the peripheral EU states will cascade into a serious crisis that requires a coordinated global response that will solidify the endgame of a great many currencies and nations.
o This crisis will set the stage for more consolidation of power and it will establish the precedent and the pattern for absorbing nation states into an amorphous global government.

Biblical principles that we need to understand
- While going into debt is evil,  debt forgiveness is an important biblical principle and useful tool to reinforce the prudence and ambition of lenders who would otherwise lend too freely or willfully abuse lending to enslave others.
- Undermining the right of free association and/or national sovereignty is wrong
- Man is evil therefore centralized power is a really bad idea

Logical implications of our choices regarding how to handle debt
- If debt forgiveness is not an option, then lenders can easily become slave owners. If debt forgiveness is an option, then lenders must use good judgment when deciding who to lend to.
- If governments can regulate all commerce, setting regulations and minimum standards and certifications, then Government can encourage business to go into debt in order to comply with their regulations.
- If governments hold a monopoly on choosing statistics and can change the reporting methodology secretly at will; and if the media serves as a lapdog instead of a watchdog, then the government can mislead people into making bad decisions about which loans and investments are safe.
- Micro level example, for a family, a high and unsustainable indebtedness reduces savings which constrains investment. Debt also raises the chances that marriage will fail and the kids will become dependents on society. Limited bankruptcy/debt forgiveness can enable a fresh start whereby the family can save, invest, start businesses, raise their children to be productive members of society.
- Macro level example, if a country has debt that is unsustainable and debt forgiveness/default is not an option then the only solution is for the country to cut spending and/or borrow more money. When a country has to borrow in order to pay interest, higher interest rates are likely. When a country cuts spending the short term impact is a lower GDP thus reducing their ability to make interest payments. For all practical purposes, the country is already functionally bankrupt and the outcome will simply be the slow motion consolidation of ownership and transfer of assets from the working classes to the governing and banking elites.

Modern Example of outcome of Debt Forgiveness
- Iceland decided to choose sovereignty over solvency. They defaulted and put the interest of the country and the people ahead of banks and governing elite. They are now enjoying a strong economic recovery and the rule of law has been preserved.

“According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Iceland’s economy is in line to expand 2.4% both this year and next, after growth of 2.9% last year and in the wake of shrinkage of 6.7% in 2009. In contrast, the OECD estimated in November that the euro area will only expand by 0.2% and the OECD area by 1.6% in 2012.”

Choose you this day…
Indications are that Americans are following in Greece’s footsteps like sheep to the slaughter, when we should be considering the biblical principles and we should follow in Iceland’s footsteps by choosing sovereignty over solvency.

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February 21, 2012

What kind of world will our kids grow up in?

Do you ever look at your kids and wonder about what kind of world they will grow up in?

In the world you will  have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Jn 16:33b

Keith Green pondered that thought and wrote a gut wrenching song about it.

This afternoon I sat my son in front of the computer and had him watch this video which conveniently displays the lyrics as the song plays. My teenage son reached out and held my hand knowingly…

I thought that some of you that have children might “enjoy” it or at least find it useful.

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February 19, 2012

Mexican Grandma’s Tortilla Recipe

How to make tortillas the way a friend learned from his Mexican grandmother.  We used a cast iron skillet but a flat rock heated next to a campfire will work too!

Grandma’s Tortillas

Ingredients:

  • 2.5 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup lard
  • Approximately 2 cups of water
  • Teaspoon of baking powder
  • Salt

Instructions:

  1. Combine dry ingredients and lard, adding warm water gradually to create a sticky dough with no lumps.
  2. Form into balls (dough will still be quite sticky, heavily flour your hands).
  3. Allow the dough balls to rest 10-15 minutes. Heat skillet greased lightly with lard.
  4. Work dough balls by hand and then roll into flat circles. Cook on skillet one at a time (they should bubble like pizza dough a small amount).
  5. Occasionally slide tortilla around the skillet, turning once when brown spots begin to appear.
  6. Remove from heat after other side begins to develop brown spots or until desired crispiness.
  7. You may need to apply more lard to skillet based on the level of season on your skillet.

Original Field Tested Content, thanks KC.

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February 15, 2012

Parents – meet the lunch police. They choose what your kid eats…

The Carolina Journal reports on this thrill-packed adventure of the Food Police:

A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because a state employee told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious. 

The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the agent who was inspecting all lunch boxes in her More at Four classroom that day. 

What regulations empowered the Food Police to swoop in and make the bust, wrestling that deadly turkey-and-cheese sandwich away from the young citizen, and saving her from dietary child abuse with a timely infusion of State-approved chicken nuggets?

The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs — including in-home day care centers — to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home. 

When home-packed lunches do not include all of the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing ones.

I can hardly wait for the first Food Police no-knock raid of a home day care center.  I bet there’s a lot of sliced turkey in those dens of iniquity.

The girl’s mother — who said she wishes to remain anonymous to protect her daughter from retaliation — said she received a note from the school stating that students who did not bring a “healthy lunch” would be offered the missing portions, which could result in a fee from the cafeteria, in her case $1.25. 

“I don’t feel that I should pay for a cafeteria lunch when I provide lunch for her from home,” the mother wrote in a complaint to her state representative, Republican G.L. Pridgen of Robeson County. 

The girl’s grandmother, who sometimes helps pack her lunch, told Carolina Journal that she is a petite, picky 4-year-old who eats white whole wheat bread and is not big on vegetables. 

“What got me so mad is, number one, don’t tell my kid I’m not packing her lunch box properly,” the girl’s mother told CJ. “I pack her lunchbox according to what she eats. It always consists of a fruit. It never consists of a vegetable. She eats vegetables at home because I have to watch her because she doesn’t really care for vegetables.”

Look, citizen, you’re going to have to understand that we are all property of the State now.  Your parental authority, and the personal preferences of your daughter, are irrelevant when measured against the State’s fiduciary interest in your health.  A highly qualified commissar of the Food Police explained the error of this misguided parental unit’s ways:

While the mother and grandmother thought the potato chips and lack of vegetable were what disqualified the lunch, a spokeswoman for the Division of Child Development said that should not have been a problem. 

“With a turkey sandwich, that covers your protein, your grain, and if it had cheese on it, that’s the dairy,” said Jani Kozlowski, the fiscal and statutory policy manager for the division. “It sounds like the lunch itself would’ve met all of the standard.” The lunch has to include a fruit or vegetable, but not both, she said. 

There are no clear restrictions about what additional items — like potato chips — can be included in preschoolers’ lunch boxes.

“If a parent sends their child with a Coke and a Twinkie, the child care provider is going to need to provide a balanced lunch for the child,” Kozlowski said.

Ultimately, the child care provider can’t take the Coke and Twinkie away from the child, but Kozlowski said she “would think the Pre-K provider would talk with the parent about that not being a healthy choice for their child.”

“No clear restrictions?”  Fear not, citizens.  Clarity will be provided at the pleasure of the Department of Health and Human Services.

This principle will not be confined to children in schools.  As we saw from the condom controversy, and King Obama’s “accommodation” – which involved ordering private insurance companies to provide contraceptives for “free” – the State now has limitless power to regulate the behavior of the citizenry, to control health care costs.  The people will be compelled to provide each other anything the State deems good and proper. 

This is really a modest expansion upon the principle of the “individual mandate” at the heart of ObamaCare, which compels private citizens to purchase a State-approved product from private companies.  If the State can force you to buy health insurance, then of course they can force you to buy chicken nuggets.  Or vegetables, gym memberships… anything that is deemed in the “public good,” which now includes anything related to the health of the population.  You’ll be amazed how much is “related to the health of the population” a few years from now.

Hopefully the little girl rescued from her maternal unit’s foolish ignorance by the valiant Food Police won’t suffer any lingering psychological trauma, such as the conviction that turkey is poisonous, or her mother can’t be trusted to take care of her.  Surely taxpayer-funded psychological counseling will be made available if necessary. 

Meanwhile… have you seen the garbage adults are eating for lunch?  Have you seen the way fast-food restaurants tempt children with those hellish Happy Meals?  There is much work ahead for the Food Police.

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February 15, 2012

Danish rescue of jews – something to believe in

As unjust governments come to power, Christians are faced with monumental decisions that affect their lives and the lives of others, living and yet unborn. Many prosperous Christian nations have been over-run and conquered throughout history. Others have staged impressive resistance, acts of heroism, they counted the cost and some paid a dear price.

Too often, Christians go along to get along. They think only of their immediate families, their jobs, their possessions and they entertain cognitive dissonance, denial, and hopeful patience which history often reveals to be cowardice with a thin veneer of lipstick.

The price of resistance is clearly high (incarceration, death, closed churches) but the price of inaction and co-operation with unjust government is even higher although not as clear. We can measure the price in lives and freedom lost or in the loss of moral authority of the church in areas where tyranny is allowed to operate without resistance.

Germany

Approx. number killed at each extermination camp[133]
Camp name Killed Coordinates Ref.
Auschwitz II 1,000,000 50°2′9″N 19°10′42″E / 50.03583°N 19.17833°E / 50.03583; 19.17833 (Oświęcim (Auschwitz, Poland)) [134][135][136]
Belzec 600,000 50°22′18″N 23°27′27″E / 50.37167°N 23.4575°E / 50.37167; 23.4575 (Belzec (Poland)) [137][138]
Chełmno 320,000 52°9′27″N 18°43′43″E / 52.1575°N 18.72861°E / 52.1575; 18.72861 (Chełmno (Poland)) [139][140]
Jasenovac 58–97,000 45°16′54″N 16°56′6″E / 45.28167°N 16.935°E / 45.28167; 16.935 (Jasenovac (Sisačko-Moslavačka, Croatia)) [141][142]
Majdanek 360,000 51°13′13″N 22°36′0″E / 51.22028°N 22.6°E / 51.22028; 22.6 (Majdanek (Poland)) [143][144]
Maly Trostinets 65,000 53°51′4″N 27°42′17″E / 53.85111°N 27.70472°E / 53.85111; 27.70472 (Malyy Trostenets (Belarus)) [145][146]
Sobibor 250,000 51°26′50″N 23°35′37″E / 51.44722°N 23.59361°E / 51.44722; 23.59361 (Sobibór (Poland)) [147][148]
Treblinka 870,000 52°37′35″N 22°2′49″E / 52.62639°N 22.04694°E / 52.62639; 22.04694 (Treblinka (Poland)) [149][150]

Immediate Impact

There is quite a bit of debate over how many were killed in concentration camps but the figure most commonly respected is 6 million souls consisting of jews, gypsies, and others the nazi’s considered non-desirable.

Longer Term Impact

“The German census of May 1939 indicates that 54 percent of Germans considered themselves Protestant and 40 percent considered themselves Catholic, with only 3.5 percent claiming to be neo-pagan “believers in God,” and 1.5 percent unbelievers. This census came more than six years into the Hitler era.[1]

Christianity is still the largest religion in Germany, with around 49.4 million adherents (62.8%) in 2008[17] of which 24.5 million are Protestants (29.9%) belonging to the EKD and 24.9 million are Catholics (30.0%) in 2008, the remainder belong to small denominations (each (considerably ) less than 0.5% of the German population).[ 

So the percentage of germany's population that considers themselves christian has dropped by 30% over the past 70 years. At today's population level that means 24 million souls are impacted by the statistical difference.

 Aggregate impact

30 million souls (6 million killed, 24 million not in the faith)

Denmark

The rescue of the Danish Jews occurred during Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark during World War II. On October 1st 1943 Nazi leader Adolf Hitler ordered Danish Jews to be arrested and deported. Despite great personal risk, the Danish resistance movement with the assistance of many ordinary Danish citizens took part in a collective effort to evacuate about 8,000 Jews of Denmark by sea to nearby neutral Sweden.

The rescue allowed the vast majority of Denmark's Jewish population to avoid capture by the Nazis and is considered to be one of the largest actions of collective resistance to repression in the countries occupied by Nazi Germany.

Immediate Impact

As a result of the rescue and Danish intercession on behalf of the 5% of Danish Jews who were deported to Theresienstadt transit camp in Bohemia, over 99% of Denmark's Jewish population survived the Holocaust.

Longer Term Impact

According to official statistics from January 2006, 83.0 percent [8] of Danes are members of the Lutheran state church, the Danish People’s Church (Den Danske Folkekirke), also known as the Church of Denmark

So Denmark has 20% higher rate of Christians in their population as compared to Germany. If only 63 percent of Denmark were Christian, then 1 million more souls would be lost.

Aggregate Impact

Over 1 million additional souls (1,000,000 + 8,000 not killed) were impacted by the Danish resistance.

Conclusion

Unjust rulers rely on self-interest to divide and conquer. The self-interest of churches, Christendom, ministers, and even christians is to take the path of least resistance. We reason with ourselves that if we get locked up, who will minister to the masses? Who will conduct the weddings? Who will give the sermons and save souls? Is not the church to be about kingdom business? We can’t get bogged down in the things of this world? We are spiritual after all…

The point of this post is that taking a stand against evil, rescuing those being led away to slaughter, and disobeying authorities when their instructions run counter to the word of God is spiritual. To do less than that when circumstances warrant it, is to communicate that we don’t really believe God’s word. It is to sacrifice our moral authority and credibility. Why would people want to participate in ‘a religion’ whose salt has lost its saltiness?

If we truly want to evaluate the kingdom impact of our ‘neutral strategy’, we must consider the soiled consciences of people co-operating with tyranny, the victims who had no-one to rescue them, and the millions of souls who will find that the church has no relevance and no credibility to speak into their lives since it tucks its tail when the stakes are high. Is Europe’s church in decline because of secular apathy or is apathy a symptom of the church losing its saltiness?

Official disclaimers

This was an admittedly limited comparison of how the church in germany and the church in Denmark fared under nazi occupation. I have considered merely the low hanging fruit in drawing conclusions as it is very difficult to obtain data from 70 years ago and it is impractical to consider too many variables.

  1. Demographic values for percentages of the population that are Christian imply nominal christianity
  2. Causation and correlation are not analyzed or isolated , I acknowledge the inherent weakness in this approach
  3. Cultural and other distinctive differences between Germany and Denmark are not taken into consideration
  4. The vitality and health of the church is not considered

Still, I think a quick review of the data indicates that the church in America may be following the wrong example in appeasing the rising tyranny on our own shores.

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February 14, 2012

Valentines Day – choose wisely

As long as valentines day has been about romance, it has been about courtship.

Saint Valentine’s Day, often simply Valentine’s Day:   The first recorded association of Valentine’s Day with romantic love is in Parlement of Foules (1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer[21] Chaucer wrote:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day – Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make. 

["For this was on Saint Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate."]

Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine’s_Day

Much has been said about the distinction between dating and courting, but it bears repeating on valentines day. 

The picture that describes modern dating

Summary of dating as it is practiced in modern america.

(1) Dating is a recent phenomena that developed in the soil of an apostate secularized culture.

(2) Dating tempts the parties involved to commit sexual immorality. In fact, modern dating presupposes privacy and a certain amount of kissing and sexual touching.

(3) Dating trains people to confuse infatuation, lust and strong emotions with genuine biblical love.

(4) Dating trains young people to take male-female covenant relationships lightly. Its practice has contributed to a high divorce rate in society.

The divorce statistics in the dating centric United States are not good, with over 50% of overall marriages ending in divorce. Contrast that with arranged marriage centric India where divorce rates are under 10%. The idea of convincing americans today to let someone else pick their mate seems more than far fetched. But the popularity of books on courting reinforce the idea that many are willing to consider a better process for choosing their mate which involves accountability and getting godly counsel. 

The once familiar but now seldom practiced pattern of courtship stands in sharp contrast to dating regarding goals, practices, and outcomes.

The pattern of courtship

  1. Build up your dowry and treasure
    1. Who has God made you to be? Do you have a vision for your life? Eph 2:10
    2. Is your life in order? Do you have forward momentum? Gen 2:24
    3. Take inventory of your own life. Would you make a good spouse? Gal5:22-23
    4. Don’t open the door of your heart until the time and conditions are right.  SS 2:7

2. Go to the dance, but wear a leash

  1. Your heart will leap at the idea of love, hold it back, and guard it. SS 3:5
  2. Get to know people in group settings, not one on one. James 4:7 / 2 Tim 2:22
  3. Do lots of homework BEFORE allowing yourself emotional attachments.  SS 8:4
  4. Have accountability partners with good judgment all around you. Prov 27:17 

3. Enjoy courting, safely

Dinner with parents can be fun

  1. Spend time with other courting couples, parents and/or authority figures  John 3:20

  2. Talk – do more relationship homework and look for yellow/red flags   Amos 3:3

  3. Delay physical affection as long as possible; it seriously impairs your judgment.  SS 8:9  

4.  Before you head to the chapel…

  1. Prayerfully count the cost, “I do” is for as long as you both live  Mt 19:6
  2. Seek godly counsel from people who know you well regarding your desire to commit  2 Co 13:1
  3. Do pre-marital counseling to validate your choice and to inspect your “homework”

How can one choose wisely? What should one be looking for in others and cultivating in themselves?

  1. Character –  Do they keep their word and work hard? 1 Thes 4:11-12 / Prov 31:10-17
  2. Calling – What are you passionate about? What are you called to do? What about them? 2 Co 6:14 
  3. Compatibility – Is this the person  you want to spend your life with ?  1 Peter 3:8 

Song of Solomon 8:4 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.

I will wrap up with the comment that I have a wonderful valentine that God has blessed me with and I hope everyone everwhere gets to experience loving and being loved. But it is important to recognize that being single is a valid option and perhaps one that deserves special consideration given the times we live in.

1 Corinthians 7:26  Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is.

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February 14, 2012

Amish farm shut down for selling raw milk

Before the US existed, before pasteurization had been discovered, before the FDA and USDA over-regulated the farm industry and dramatically reduced the number of farmers in America, before all of this…people were drinking raw milk and they were sharing, giving it, and yes bartering it with their neighbors. Our forebears prospered enough on their raw milk to make sure we are here today. But now, the government has decided that the threat of raw milk is more critical than our rights.  

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/13/feds-shut-down-amish-farm-selling-fresh-milk/print/

“I can’t believe in 2012 the federal government is raiding Amish farmers at gunpoint all over a basic human right to eat natural food,” said one of them, who asked not to be named but received weekly shipments of eggs, milk, honey and butter from Rainbow Acres, a farm near Lancaster, Pa. “In Maryland, they force taxpayers to pay for abortions, but God forbid we want the same milk our grandparents drank.”

This action by the federal government is a violation of the rights of the poor, it is a violation of private property and free association. If we let this stand, we will have no leg to stand on when the government comes to our door to violate our rights, to take away our right to self-defense or our right to raise our own children by our convictions.

 Proverbs 31:9
Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.

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February 13, 2012

Troubling questions remain, answers sought…

As we start this week in America, hearts are bearing the loss of one of america’s sweethearts, Whitney Houston.

I can still remember the impact she had on me when I was a younger person. She was beautiful, she had an amazing voice, and she sang songs that resonated with the human condition.

One of her songs in particular seemed to propel her notoriety into the stratosphere: “How will I know?”

“This love is strong, why do I feel weak? I say a prayer with every heartbeat…Does he love me, does he love me not? How will I know?”

Whitney asked questions that had broad appeal.

All of us carry the emotional need to be loved and when the “One” who will love us best has not yet been identified, is not yet in place, every waking moment can sound like a Whitney Houston song.

The newspaper today has the headline, “troubling questions remain, answers sought…” referring to Whitney’s death. Comments from her daughter reflect a desire for privacy at this painful time for their family.

Why is the cause of Whitney’s death the question that the media asks Americans to focus on this Monday morning?  Are there troubling unanswered questions that affect more people and have more serious consequences? To be sure…

Why do we not seek answers to meaningful troubling questions?

We could seek answers to troubling questions about celebrities:

  • Why do so many celebrities die young? Why do celebrity marriages fail so often?
    Why is drug use so rampant? Why do we and our children idolize people who use drugs, die young, and can’t stay married?

We could seek answers to troubling questions about Christian families:

  • Why do most Christians let the media dictate their current event focus, let hollywood set the entertainment agenda in their home, let the department of education indoctrinate their kids, and let the Jones’s set the bar on how hard they should work and how much stuff they should have?
  • Why is the divorce rate among Christians about the same as everyone else in America? Why is our success rate for passing on our faith to our adult children so abysmally low?
  • Why do so few Christians vote?

We could seek answers to troubling questions that have the greatest potential impact on our country and planet

  • Why do we call it defense when we are by far the biggest military presence on the planet? Why did we actually invade Libya and kill its elected leader? Why, if our mission was to liberate Iraq, have the Christian communities there been decimated since the war began? Why are we partnering with Al-Qaeda, whom the CIA created, in some countries and using their presence as an excuse to invade in other countries? How does one win a war on terror? When is such a war over? Who gets to define ‘terrorist’?
  • Why is the media not talking about how great Iceland is doing since they defaulted on their debt? Why is Greece not following in Iceland’s footsteps instead of giving up their sovereignty? Why are unelected but appointed bankers now ruling Greece?
  • Why has the US senate not passed a budget in over 900 days? Why is our government militarizing local police, hiring resettlement specialists, setting the legal framework for martial law, and preparing to activate fema camps across the country?
  • Why is the US government using the Department of Homeland Security to secure supply lines of goods outside of our country? Why is asking tough questions now grounds to be considered a terrorist?
  • When a government abandons the rule of law is a Christian’s loyalty supposed to remain with the rule of law or does it switch to the ruler who claims to be above the law?
  • Why, if as pastors often say, the bible talks as much about money as about any other subject, do churches not teach about sound money, usury, and the implications that fiat currencies are unbiblical, dangerous, and throughout history have always ended in misery and ruin.

Why don’t Christians in general ask important questions?

<sarcasm on> Eh, Christians are spiritual, they can’t be bothered with unspiritual things like politics. Ewww. Whitney Houston’s death, fine yeah. Politics, never. <sarcasm off>

There are important issues at stake and now more than ever, the world needs Christians that are salty and shining their light.

Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;  to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

God does conceal things, but men of substance; kings, search things out. Revelations makes it clear that in Christ, we are made into men (and women of course) of substance; Kings and Priests in fact.

Let’s move beyond questions of broad appeal to meaningful questions.  Let’s be mature people of substance and faith.

Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”

Hebrews 5:13-14 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

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