Paul's letter to the Roman believers, Chapter 13

       Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.  Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
     For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;  for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.  Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake.   For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.
     Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.  Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
     For this, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." 
     Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.  The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
     Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.


Romans 13:1-14 (NASB)

time for a change

Our country is a mess.  A stagnated Congress, an anti-Constitutional President, a Presidential contender who doesn't see the characteristic horror inherent in his "hijinks and pranks " (I am disgusted by his flippant explanation and pitiful apology), and a U.S. Supreme Court Justice who admires the Constitution of South Africa more than the Constitution of the United States.

Comedienne Maria Bamford quipped, "My mom is very religious and she said, 'Whatever you think about all the time, that's what you worship.' If that's the case I'd like everyone to pop open their Diet Coke cans and turn to page 37 of their People Magazines. In this holy scripture, we read the parable of Ms. Valerie Bertinelli."

Exactly.  The self indulgent distraction and willful ignorance of the American public brings our country to the brink of  manic self destruction.  What has happened to our country, our society, our culture, our "way of life"? I think the following excerpt from a Wiki on "The American Way" aptly illustrates the twists and bends that our jointly followed path of freedom has taken:

"The comic book superhero Superman fights for "truth, justice and the American way." In some modern comic books it has been changed to "truth, justice and hope" (after the events of the Infinite Crisis miniseries), and in the 2006 film Superman Returns the phrase was recited by the character Perry White as "truth, justice, all that stuff." The "Up, Up and Away" comic book story arc firmly re-established the slogan as "truth, justice and the American way." .In the Christopher Reeve movies, the phrase is used semi-ironically. In Superman the Movie, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) responds to the phrase by laughing and remarking "You're going to end up fighting every elected official in this country." (The film was conceived shortly after the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal). In Episode 1 of the 1948 Columbia Pictures serial Superman entitled "Superman Comes to Earth", Clark Kent's adoptive father John Kent tells Clark that he must use his powers to fight for "truth, tolerance and justice"."

The election of Barak Obama points to our collective dis-function; we elected a man to lead us to promised "change" without his once defining what that change would look like.  As a distracted nation we collectively ran blindly off a cliff of "hope" and see now that Obama's idea of change is to change personal freedom for slavery to government.

There are two things I know.

1. We cannot legislate morality, but that does not mean we shall be tolerant of, or indifferent to, those things we know to be wrong.
2. God defines "wrong" and "right"; He is still in charge and will remain so past the end of human existence.

Stand for what is right and moral.  Follow God.

Pray for the elected leaders of our nation, that they will learn, know and follow the will of our God.

This is the only hope left for our nation.

I have made a decision to vote, or to not vote, in the following manner:

• I will not cast a ballot for an incumbent politician in any office.
• I will not vote for any politician or party who advocates immoral or destructive behavior.
• If the above two choices are all that remain on the ballot, I will not vote for that office.

I can see that this will leave me with few choices to make; I will trust God to make up the difference.


"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.   I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."  ~  Revelation 22:12-13

our failing civilization

Jack Curtis provides a chilling insight to our failing civilization in an American Thinker offering.

The Big Picture: Our Curiously Failing Civilization

National Day of Prayer

Greg Laurie Comments on the National Day of Prayer

^"and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land."  ~  2 Chronicles 7:14 (NASB)

work

“But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.” ~ 1 Thessalonians4:10b-12


“Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” ~ Colossians 3:22-24

war in the heavens and on earth

If it wasn't for spiritual warfare, we wouldn't have any war at all.

Keep this in mind, through all you troubles, real or imagined, and continue to thank our God who loves you and is mindful of all you endure.

Pray without ceasing and praise, praise, praise Him!

236 years is nothing to God and we have a hard road ahead, America.

Sin, slavery, supplication, salvation, silence.  Repeat.  The story of Israel. (Thanks Pastor Roger, for the lesson!)

"Jerusalem, once so crowded, lies deserted and lonely. This city that was known all over the world is now like a widow. This queen of the nations has been made a slave."  ~  Lamentations 1:1 (CEV)

 Stay mindful,

Steve

peace to America

The Trayvon Martin case is a tragedy, but it is a local case, to be tried in the local courts by a local judge and jury.  Our President, our Federal and State officials need to keep their noses out of it, the media are just using it to engender "Gun Control" support and Sharpton and Jackson are just milking it for personal and political gain.  And for the last time,  I hope,  HE WAS NOT KILLED BY A POLICE OFFICER, on duty or off!

I grieve for the Martin family and friends and I pray that the senseless deaths in this country would stop; ALL of them, not just black men killed by White/Hispanic men, but all senseless deaths, of every type, shootings, stabbings, road rage, beatings, all of them and the color of the victim or of the perpetrator should never be an issue to anyone.

We'll find out during the legal proceedings the real story of what happened that night, not just the current  media exploited versions or the "Death to Zimmerman" racist hater versions, but the truth and, hopefully, justice will be served.

I know that many folks in this country have forgotten (or never learned) the tenants of the Constitution of the United States of America and that we are (supposedly) considered to be innocent until PROVEN guilty in a Court of Law.  We want and hope for justice and we hope and pray that the jury will consider the evidence presented and not be swayed by the "Trial by Media".  This case may not go to trial or it might.  In either case, hysteria, media generated hate and hype and racist taunting should never rule the day.

I will never forget the L.A. riots and how racist hatred burned a city.  I pray we will not see a similar reprisal.

Trayvon Martin was not killed by a gun, he was killed by a man.  The complete why and the complete how have not yet come to light; I hope they do soon and, whatever the outcome, I pray that, as a nation, we will allow the Martin family the time to grieve in peace and that this death will not beget other deaths, for any reason.



 

Robert Knight reviews Obama's attempt to misappropriate Reagan's values.

KNIGHT: Titanic misappropriation of Reagan

"545 People"

Charley  Reese has been a journalist for 49 years. 
 
545  PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese

" Politicians are the only people in the world  who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever  wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if  all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have  inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget.  The president does.

You and I don't have the  Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of  Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress  does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You  and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve  Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one  president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human  beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally,  and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague  this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve  Board because that problem was created by the  Congress.  In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty  to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central  bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a  sound reason.. They have no legal authority.  They have no  ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one  cotton-picking thing.  I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.  The  politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what  the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility  to determine  how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy  convincing you that what they did is not their fault.   They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What  separates a politician from a normal human being is an  excessive amount of gall.  No normal  human being would have the gall of a  Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating  deficits..  The president can only propose a budget.   He cannot force the Congress to accept  it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the  land, gives sole responsibility to the House of  Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.  Who is the speaker of the House?   Nancy Pelosi.  She is  the leader of the majority party.  She and  fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want.  If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if  they agree  to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of  incompetence and irresponsibility.  I can't think of a  single domestic problem  that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.  When you fully  grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal  government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to  exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it  unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in  the red ..

If the Army &Marines are in  IRAQ ,  it's because they want them in IRAQ

If they do not  receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not ava ila ble  to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no  insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift  the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can  abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to  regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can  take this power.  Above all, do not let them con you into  the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the  economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing  what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they  alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the  power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the  people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the  gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of  them out of office and clean up their mess!"

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel  Newspaper.

curmudgeon

cur·mudg·eon

 [ker-muhj-uhn] Show IPA

noun

a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person.

 

When I looked in the mirror this morning, I thought I saw an old curmudgeon looking back at me, but I was wrong.  Or maybe, I wasn't,  Some days are better than others and the same can be said for my temper, be it bad or good.

 

In all of us lies a dormancy of one nature or another; today, I think I'd like to be "the friendly old guy across the street".

 

I'll work on that.

 

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