The Importance of Joy

In The New Testament 'joy' is mentioned in a repetitious manner. The letter to the Philippian church has the line: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again rejoice." (Phil 4:4 NIV) - The book of Thessalonians 5:16 says, "Be joyful always." Jesus had sent out 72 disciples (Luke ch 10) to announce the "Kingdom of God is near." and they came back with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." Jesus' replied, "...do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

Why the instruction to rejoice? Digging into the Philippian and Thessalonian text a bit further each gives similar answers.
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(Phil 4:4-7) - Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
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(1 Thes 5:16-24) - Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
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The reason God commands us to be joyful is that it brings peace into our hearts. A friend once told me that he thought that men everywhere desire peace in their hearts and minds more than anything else. Not the kind of peace that is an absence of war but the kind of peace that is the presence of tranquility. By cultivating a spirit of joy in the inner man it will radiate into other areas of our lives. Indeed, it will radiate into the lives of those around us. Serenity, enjoyment, delight, happiness will increase in this world if we, as individuals seek to follow this directive of God's word.

Sounds Pollyanna-ish but it does work. In case you missed it the 'how to' is given in these scriptures. Pray without ceasing and giving thanks for God's blessings. How much will that cost?

Just your entire life.

It is worth it though...

There is a God!

We now have proof that there is a God and He does concern himself with the affairs of men. We need look no further than the Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. Just think. He might have been elected president. But for the Grace of God!

The chairman is supposed to bring to the party donations, good PR and votes. Donations are down. Good PR? It is questionable at best. Votes? Even his supporters are thinking twice about what they have done in setting him up for the position he holds... It seems that when Dean is speaking the good things (there are some but they get buried in the rhetoric) about the Democratic party are not uplifted and placed in the headlines. Dean is.

from SFGATE.COM -
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Dean said in San Francisco this week that Republicans "all behave the same, and they all look the same. ... It's pretty much a white Christian party."
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Wade Randlett, a key party fund-raiser in Silicon Valley said, "For small donors, hearing 'George Bush is bad' is enough,'' Randlett said. "What I'm hearing very clearly from big donors is: Tell me how we'll win.
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"We need a Democratic National Committee that is convincing white Republican Christians that they should be voting for us -- not vilifying them,'' said Randlett, who supported Dean for the chairmanship. "He's got himself in trouble with social commentary -- and that's not what the DNC chair does.''
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From redstate.org we find this tidbit. -
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Sen. Joseph Biden (D-NOW) used his appearance on ABC's lightly-watched This Week program to test market a modified limited disavowal, telling Clinton-stooge-turned-"journalist" George Stephanopoulos, "He doesn't speak for me with that kind of rhetoric and I don't think he speaks for the majority of democrats. I wish that rhetoric would change."
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Prying1 sez:

Normally you get what you pay for. But with Dean I think the Dems will be paying more than they thought and more than he is worth. - So it goes...

Zimbabwe Troubles Need Prayer!

While all eyes are on the Michael Jackson trial a few are looking at troubles in Africa. The Art of the Blog has a story, comment and link to Samizdata on what the so called 'leader', Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, is up to and asks where is the outrage? More concern is shown for a few specks of urine on a book in Cuba than for lives being ruined. C'mon folks from both sides. Lets focus on real problems. Pray for these people in Africa that the Living God will intervene to set them free from real tyranny.

The Battle Still Rages

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The demon floated high above the earth. Except for an occasional prayer that would shoot through his body he had no problems. He worried little about those little darts. He healed quickly. His territory encompassed a huge area. His wings cast a shadow over several countries and he was secure that the minions he had in control beneath him were battle hardened warriors and would keep the area under his control.

Suddenly the air and darkness about him seemed to shift. From behind and to his left a battle host of the Lord appeared with blazing swords and cut a swathe through the back edge of his left wing. He immediately pulled his sword, an evil curved blade of a dull finish and a razors edge. He swung it towards the attackers. They simply split into two groups as the blade whistled past them. His bellow called up some of the fiends from below that left their diabolical activities and immediately flew up to join in the battle. Most of the iniquitous imps below cowered as they stared skyward at the bright flashing light swinging past their lord.

Little had he realized that the Lord had directed people to pray from other corners of the earth. The prayers had gone to fill the golden bowls in God's throne room and when these bowls overflowed all heaven broke loose. The angels attacking him had surprised him with their ferocity and cunning. They again joined forces as soon as the metal passed them, swung down and took a cut through his right wing.

For countless generations this demon had cultivated his area to worship him instead of the Living God. His spawn had increased over time until the face of the land beneath him was covered with his imps. Each one had it's purpose. They continually harassed the minds of men, causing them to have their God given consciences seared to the point where evil was considered good and good evil. There were a few holdouts among the weak creatures of mankind, hence the occasional prayer that would rip through his body or wing. These were scattered and ineffectual. Most good untainted men were in hiding for fear their lives would be forfeit. When they did gather only a handful would dare join the meetings and the fear in their hearts kept their faith from being any sort of dynamic force that would endanger his hold on the land.

But this attack was different from anything he had experienced in generations. He had gotten lax in his training of his forces. The angelic host divided into 3 groups. One meeting the devilish defenders coming up from below. Another again ripping through his left wing and the third swinging towards his head. The companies of angels were small. They would soon be contained and destroyed. As he thought this he swung his sword toward the company flying towards his head. This time he changed the direction of his swing and the blade cut through some of the angels removing wings and arms as they tried to avoid the sudden move.

As he turned to see the damage he had wrought a sudden ripping at his belly filled him with pain. Another squad of angels had come at him from below and to his right. God's forces were not fighting fair. The protectors from below were being routed and did nothing to protect his soft underside. Pouring forth from his wound were hundreds of thousands, a giant multitude of demonic spirits that he had been feeding on through the centuries. Spirits that had been feeding on the souls of men and in turn became his food. The true Circle of Life. Now they had been set free.

That was his only consolation as his body dissolved into odiferous smoke. The stinking brood that was released at once dropped to the earth to find more souls to consume. They were hungry. A few were caught by the band of angels that had dispatched the attack from below but most made it to the ground where they quickly found men whose bodies and minds they would invade. These unfortunate men would instantly become willing host to innumerable spirits that would drive them to unspeakable acts. These would work the seven deadly sins towards undoing the damage done by the prayers of God's people. They only needed time. The prayer warriors would soon tire, relax, and cease their pitiful whining. Traitors in the midst of their churches would ridicule their petitions or better yet prattle polarizing appeals to God and cause them to loose faith in prayer's efficacy

Once again the Chief Dragon would send a new battlechief to control the principality and beyond. These newly released goons of Satan would harry the enemy till their forces tired and ceased their skirmishes against them. Once again the rulers of the darkness of this world would control vast areas. This was merely a setback that would soon come under the control of spiritual wickedness in high places. Despotism would soon reign again. Spread by the host of hell, death and destruction, darkness and fear would rule and those in the adjoining areas would see their hopes for freedom and peace dashed. All they needed was time. The church would soon fall back asleep.

Or would they???


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Protect Bloggers Free Speech Rights - Open Letter to the Federal Election commission

Attention - This post is good for archive and historical purposes only. The FEC has stopped taking comments. All emails sent to the FEC address below will be returned as undeliverable -

Sailor in the Desert has written an open letter to the Federal Election Commission and has kindly set it free on the internet to anyone who wishes to use all or part of it in crafting a letter to the FEC.

Be sure to include your name and mailing address: internet@fec.gov -

In case you missed the news Sailor has that covered too. (click here for his complete story) - A Sailor Quote - Back last fall, a federal court judge decided that the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act some how needed to include the Internet as part of that regulation. The FEC has been ordered to apply this law to the Net. This could have the effect of ending the free political speech of bloggers. Why the FEC never appealed this ruling is beyond me. Both Senators McCain and Feingold are on the record as stating that their Bill was never intended to stifle the free political speech of bloggers. Either the FEC needs to appeal this decision or Congress needs to pass legislation exempting the Internet and specifically bloggers from the reach of McCain-Feingold. - end quote - - He also has a link to a Washington Post Editorial that is wishy washy as far as I'm concerned. Below is Sailor's Letter. Use it as you wish as a template for your own or cut and paste those parts you feel most applicable to your feelings on the matter. Email it to your friends. Include this line:

- Be sure to include your name and mailing address: internet@fec.gov -

An Open Letter to the Federal Election Commission


To the Commissioners of the Federal Election Commission:

One of the most basic founding principles of this country was and is the right of free political speech. This possible attempt to regulate the blogs is flies directly in the face of that principle.

Consider this; The blogosphere is the electronic equivalent of the Town Square. Bloggers are those people, that in a bygone era would be upon a soap box in that town square, expressing their political beliefs. That being said, the government should no more attempt to regulate the free political speech of the bloggers, then it would have attempted to silence the citizen on that very soap box in the town square.

Having read some of the reasoning for this hearing, I have to wonder if the FEC will soon be trying to attempt to assess the worth of the campaign volunteer, who goes door-to-door handing out a candidates literature or spends time manning the phone banks. How much is a volunteer's time worth to any campaign? The FEC would not even consider assessing that volunteer's time as a campaign contribution. So why would the FEC even consider trying to assess the value of a bloggers link to a candidate's web site as a campaign contribution?

Any attempt by the FEC to regulate the political speech of any blogger is clearly a violation of the First Amendment and not at all what campaign finance reform was attempting to do.

Clearly, McCain-Feingold, was never intended to include the regulation of the free political speech of bloggers. Senators McCain and Feingold are both on the record saying this. As I see it, the Commissioners have a few paths they can go down:

1) They can table this and await legislation from the Congress clarifying the status of the blogs.
2) They can appeal the court's decision, which I believe they should have done in the first place.
3) They can extend the press exemption to the blogs.
4) They can release a firestorm and put in place rules unconstitutionally regulating the rights of free speech of bloggers.


In conclusion, let me say this, if the FEC makes rules that limit my First Amendment right to express my opinion on core political issues, I will not obey those rules.

Thanks Sailor!

Homosexual marriage Bill California AB19 Defeated

A bill has been defeated that would have changed the language of the state's family laws - Basically the bill strikes out "MAN/WOMAN" and replaces it with "TWO PERSONS" in the state's family laws. I had blogged on this previously and that blog can be read here .

(quote from San Francisco Chronicle) Ultimately, the Legislature remained unmoved, voting 37-36 for Leno's bill, AB19, four votes shy of the majority needed for approval Thursday night. For the time being, the vote signaled an end to lawmakers' struggle over one of society's most divisive issues, and it indicated that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger probably would not be faced with a bill on the subject this year. - end quote -

I (prying1) saw articles saying that the governor would and would not have signed the bill. The latter news had said he would not. Perhaps he had read my email and changed his mind. :-)

Prying1 sez: This really is a blessing for the homosexual community. Some may not see it that way but it does not give them the false sense that their lifestyle is viable.

The avid activists that are spearheading this issue have motives beyond those stated and are using emotional pleas to plow their agenda through and into law. The homosexual marriage issue has been voted down in the City of San Francisco which shows that this issue has divided even the homosexual community. Not all in this group want to see the definition of marriage changed..

Had this passed it simply would have given the activists the audacity to push the envelope even further. They would not be satisfied and indeed they still are not satisfied. Please don't think this issue is now over. This issue and others like it will continually surface. We need to continue praying down the spiritual darkness that hovers over and around our capitols and elected officials.

Must Read For "American Troops Torturing Captives" Buffs

Sailor in the Desert has a post that is really eye opening. Unless you want to go around with eyes closed I'd suggest you click here to find out what is really happening with the American Troops torturing the terrorists!

Old School Photos Online - FOR FREE!!!

This site is amazing - All sorts of countries available with thousands of school yearbook pictures. I was insecure about giving personal info so I used my ex-wife's and the pics looked clearer than they did in her old yearbook. Check this one out!

http://www.worldschoolphotographs.com/wsp/index1.htm

Both Sides Are Right! - AND Wrong!!!

A few blogs ago Clive Allen of Gone Away fame wrote a comment (1st comment on this blog) - quote - "I think it's important to realize that God is neither a Republican nor a Democrat. He's not even a Libertarian. The fact is He has His own politics and, when we become part of His Kingdom, we cease to be right wing or left wing, socialists or capitalists. We become Christians and are a part of God's politics from then on." - end quote -

Although loathe to admit Clive is right (I love my politics.) It is true that God could care less which political party we belong to as long as we listen for his voice. I have pondered on it a bit and want to recognize and move upon the truth in what Clive said. Since that time I went to a prayer conference led by Dick Simmons (of Men For Nations) and something he said added to Clive's statement.

Mr. Dick Simmon's Quote: - "Liberals demand justice with no demand for righteousness and conservatives demand righteousness without a demand for justice." - end quote -

Although this line is not absolute there is a lot to it that can be seen to be true.

For example some food for the poor programs show this. With no real accountability some of the food ends up scattered willy nilly to those who really are not in need or sold by the recipients to purchase tobacco, drugs or alcohol. Liberals feel the loss is worth the good that is done. Conservatives look with skepticism and call the whole program a scam. (please know that I realize this is a general statement and does not apply to all persons of either side.) It is true that some programs are merely a scam to part people from their money. They are the results of greed working off the goodness of giving hearts. Neither side should put up with this obvious unrighteousness because it causes the good programs to suffer. Demands for accountability from the recipients of welfare programs (can they truly work or are they lazy?), demands on the programs themselves (is the majority of funds going to administration?) will increase the conservatives willingness to participate.

The same can be seen with the abortion issue. Many liberals say that they don't believe that abortion should be used as a form of birth control yet that is the main reason they are executed. On the other hand many conservatives do not believe there is any good reason for abortions to be performed. With the lives of 48 million children forfeited in the U.S. since Roe vs. Wade there has to come an agreement between liberals and conservatives on the abortion issue instead of allowing it to continue unabated. From this issue has grown a big business in the baby parts industry which I'm certain most liberals do not truly endorse.

Justice and righteousness need to work hand in hand. Since both sides are lopsided in their beliefs I propose that everyone rethink the positions as they come up with an eye on the demand for both issues in their personal conclusions.

If you must ask the tired old question of whose level of righteousness we use and where we draw the lines I suggest you get in touch with a.) Your conscience and see how far you have allowed it to get twisted. and b.) God.

Baby Parts For Sale

Ever wonder why partial birth abortion was defended by the pro-abortion crowd. This is the procedure where a baby was turned so it would be a breech birth. (legs first instead of head first.) Then after all of the baby's body was out of the mother, except the head, they would poke scissors or a knife into the brain, stir it around, suction the brains out, crush the skull and then remove the baby the rest of the way. This was supposedly done to save the mothers life but the question I always had was if the body of the baby could get through why not the head too?

Well it seems the answer has nothing to do with the health of the mother. It has everything to do with money. Here is the link that tells the story. -

Baby Parts for Sale -

Quotes - Kelly stated, We would sell the tissue to private contractors. They in turn would sell to other universities and researchers. There was a high demand every week to buy such fetal tissues. It was shipped by UPS,Fed Ex, Airborne and sometimes by special couriers. Sometimes we would take the specimen in a box to the airport and put it on as regular cargo, to be picked up at the destination. And did these shipping companies know they were transporting baby parts? No. All they knew was that it was just human cells. But it could be a completely intact fetus. It might be a batch of eyes, or or 40 livers going out that day, or thymuses.

And then the obvious question. Kelly is still working for this company, so why did she come and tell this story to a pro-life group? One day when she was working, a set of twins at 24 weeks gestation was brought to us in a pan. They were both alive. The doctor came back and said, `Got you some good specimens, twins.' I looked at him and said, `There's something wrong here. They are moving. I don't do this. This is not in my contract.' I told him I would not be part of taking their lives. So he took a bottle of sterile water and poured it in the pan until the fluid came up over their mouths and noses, letting them drown. I left the room because I could not watch this. But she did go back and dissect them after they were dead. She said, That's when I decided it was wrong. I did not want to be there when that happened. And then it happened again and again. At 16 weeks, all the way up to sometimes even 30 weeks, and we had live births come back to us. And then? Then the doctor would either break the neck or take a pair of tongs and beat the fetus until it was dead.
Did the abortionist ever alter the procedures to get you the type of specimens you needed that day? Her answer was Yes, before the procedures they would want to see the list of what we wanted to procure. The [abortionist] would get us the most complete, intact specimens that he could. They would be delivered to us completely intact. Sometimes the fetus appeared to be dead, but when we opened up the chest cavity, the heart was still beating. She was asked if the type of abortion procedure was intentionally altered to deliver to you an intact specimen, even if that meant giving you a live baby? Her answer was Yes, that was so we could sell better tissue, so that our company would make more money. At the end of the year, they would give the clinic back more money because we got good specimens.

prying1 sez:
What I find a pity is the large bloc of liberals that continues to claim it is for the choice of women that they fight for abortion. In reality they are helping BIG BUSINESS. The same group of people liberals claim to hate when it is about oil. Either they are once again believing a lie since it is not about choice, it is about big business; or they really are hypocrites and know that baby parts are helping evil capitalists get rich. One way or the other they need to change horses in mid stream. This is wrong and cannot continue unabated...

Is God Moving Men's Hearts to Pray?

Recently a few men started a prayer group in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County.

Inspired by a prayer warrior, Dick Simmons, from the Washington DC area, head of Men for Nations this is one of many prayer groups Mr. Simmons has seen birthed. The morning meetings, from 5 AM to 7 AM, average around 19-20 people. Since the first group started there has been a few other nearby locations to catch the Spirit and more groups are forming. There are 5 pastors and the men involved are from several churches. Denominations and doctrine do not enter into the prayer time. All involved simply desire to hear from God and pray according to His will.

Every man's life has changed dramatically as a result of committing to these meetings. Most evident is a commitment to repentance and holiness and a growing desire to walk in God's perfect will. Each is walking in joy knowing that years of bad habits are sloughing off. More Word time and an increased knowledge of the presence of God in their lives are added benefits.

Getting up before dawn is not easy and all have found their internal clocks still need adjusting after 6 weeks of near daily meetings (except Sunday). None appear inclined to quit. Indeed, it seems each has made a lifetime commitment to early morning prayer with other men of God.

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Just wondering if this a just a local (U.S.A.) thing or is God moving more people in other areas of the world to form interdenominational prayer groups?

I'm asking Christians to leave a comment one way or another.
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Keeping Terri Schiavo's Memory Alive

The American Princess has blogged on Terri Schiavo. It seems that Terri's husband's lawyers were in Circuit Court Judge George Greer's office settling affairs the same day she succumbed to court ordered starvation and dehydration.

(Quote from Michael Schiavo on the Larry King show: When asked why he doesn't just divorce his wife or turn over her care to her parents, Michael Schiavo said he couldn't.

"This is Terri's wish, this is Terri's choice," he said. "And I'm going to follow that wish if it's the last thing I can do for Terri." - end quote -)

Seems the last thing after the last thing was clearing out any account. Ever hear, "Follow the money trail"?

Mystery No More!!!

I heard a line on a TV show the other night. "God works in mysterious ways". It reminded me of a word study I had done a few years back. That is on the New Testament use of the word, "mystery" and it's co-word "mysteries". If you read this you will never again be able to use that tired cliche'.

New Testament use of the words (Strong's Concordance - KJV)
Mystery 22 times - mysteries 5 times -
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Each time the word "mystery is used in the New Testament it says something to the effect that the answers to these mysteries are now available to all men. Uncovered. Revealed. In the Old Testament times the mysteries were shrouded. Hidden up for a latter age to understand.

We are in the latter age. "The Age of God's Grace" In the New Testament the mysteries are uncovered just as the curtain in the Temple in Jerusalem separating the main sanctuary from the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom at the death of Jesus (Matt 27:51 & Mark 13:28) now all men can freely access God's throne room.
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All it takes is moving towards God and he will meet you where you are.
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Ephesians 5:32 'mysteries' speaks of Gods church being related to Him as a husband and wife are related. Love is to be the foundation of each.
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I Timothy 3 mentions "mystery" twice. The first speaks of those seeking an office in the church, that is, how their behavior should be good and they should be holding the 'mystery of the faith' for others to see. The second use in this chapter explains this as: "Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."
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That is, Jesus was born from seed created in His mother's womb by the Living God, lived a sinless life and became our sacrifice for sin. No longer was the blood of bulls, goats and sheep needed. Jesus became the perfect sacrifice and He was able to truly say from the cross, "It is finished."
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This is the mystery of old, now revealed.
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Colossians 1
1:25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God;

1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
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Matt 13:10-11
And the disciples came, and said unto him, "Why speakest thou unto them in parables?" He answered and said unto them, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given."

Also in Luke 8:9-10 in a similar situation the disciples asked and Jesus answered: And his disciples asked him, saying, "What might this parable be?" And he said, "Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand."
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Big clue here that if you have problems understanding the parables of Jesus even with the explanations you are on the outside and need to communicate with Jesus. Start asking him questions just as the disciples did. The answers will sometimes come in the most unlikely ways. Perhaps an event or something said will trigger the parable and revelation. It may be that as you ask the question you will hear the answer in your own mind. God deals with each person individually so there is no set rules on how it will happen. Just know that when you start to talk to God, He will answer.
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Is Real ID Act Setting Us Up for Revelations?

Hat tip to CadiaConcepts. Joshua gave a heads up in a way that gives pause. Is the Real ID Act going to set in wheels in motion that will bring about prophecies of the Book of Revelations? This story from USA Today (5-5-2005) is not getting much air time perhaps because of the judges filibuster and the Pepsi CEO story.

Quote from USA Today - The Real ID Act, which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday and likely will clear the Senate next week, would require most license applicants to show a photo ID, a birth certificate, proof of their Social Security number and a document showing their full name and address. All of the documents then would have to be checked against federal databases. - end quote -

Joshua states in his blog: The card will likely take the place of your driver's license and will store at the very minimum your name, birthdate, sex, ID number, a digital photograph and address, with the possibility of additional data such as a fingerprint or retinal scan. State DMVs will be receiving federal funds to hand over their databases, with the goal of making each state's data available to all other states. The House passed the measure on Thursday, and both the Senate and President Bush are expected to sign off on the bill next week. But the real question is, who will be the first to ask to have the chip implanted so they don't have to worry about forgetting their wallet?

Hmmm. - Revelations Chapter 13 has a bit to ponder too.
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. KJV -

If all else fails, it would be better to die than to take the chip! - Get informed by reading the book before the need arises.

Scotwise Does it Again!!!

Once again Scotwise posts a bit of his personal history that will be an encouragement to you if you would just take a couple minutes to go and read it. Wonderful stuff there daily but today I feel it is even more real because his post comes from his heart and is something he has lived.

Yard Sale for All Notions

My cousin decided it was time to reduce the amount of her worldly possessions not to enter a more ascetic lifestyle but to increase the living space which Providence had allotted her. Annie (fake name to protect the innocent and guilty) collected a good size pile of stuff***

- *** STUFF(n.) things that take up space and are saved with the knowledge that you will need them someday. That is, the same day you cannot find them -

In the collection were books, clothes, nick-nacks, some furniture and other odds-and-ends.

Little did Annie realize that placing an advert in the local paper announcing a garage sale would open the door to the Twilight Zone. It was not long after the paper came out that she received a call (Never put your phone number in a garage sale advert) asking if there was any lingerie for sale. She thought about it, remembered there was a couple items and told the caller, "Yes".

The caller asked if he could bring his camera and would she model it for him? Without a word, for fear invectives would be released and only encourage the guy, she terminated the call. - CLICK - A few other calls she received reaffirmed her faith in humanity. That is, most people are of good character and the first call was just a nut or a joker. One of the latter calls she assured a gentleman that there were clothes for larger women. Another call she gave the scope of subjects the books covered.

The day of the sale came and during a lull in customers one person in a nicely tailored pastel pink jump suit parked nearby and came up the driveway. As the customer approached my cousin realized it was not a woman as she had first thought. A few words of conversation and she recognized the voice as the man asking about the larger size women's clothes. He went right to the racks (poles across 2 ladders) and started going through the clothes.


Pulling a nice sequined dress from its hangar he said he hoped she wouldn't mind if he tried it on first, took a couple steps into the open garage and proceeded to take off the jump suit. My cousin was a bit surprised. I would say 'taken aback' but that is so cliche'ish. Sounds like something that Dickens would use. Lets just say she was surprised. She did tell me that his brassiere and panties were stylish and would not clash with the dress.

After he put the dress on he asked and she brought a small mirror which was close at hand. It was difficult for him to see the full effect of the dress in such a small mirror. At this point Annie's daughter and granddaughter came out of the house. Both were taken aback by the situation (I know, I plagiarised the line from Dickens. So sue me.) but quickly fell into the swing of things. After all this was a yard sale and the purpose of yard sales is to get rid of stuff. They affirmed the dress was darling.

The granddaughter picked up a handbag and declared the dress adorable but it needed accessories. She declared it would not be for sale had it been a few sizes smaller and wasn't it a shame the shoes would not fit. Setting the prices up a tad in order to give a deal by coming down they finally had a sale. Annie sent the ever helpful granddaughter in to get her a drink of water and saved the young girl from seeing the dress get peeled off and the customer re-attired in the jumpsuit. Friendly waves all around and Annie decided the next spring cleaning Salvation Army gets the entire load...

An Answer for Stephen

A bit ago in the comments for my Liberals Hate Children posting I had a commenter ask why I voted for Bush. In his 2 comments it was also implied that I should be in favor of government social programs because Jesus would want me to. This is my reply to Stephen...


Comment: - quote -
Seriously though Paul, all jokes and sarcasm aside:

You come across as a very nice guy to me, who cares about his community and family. I'd expect a man like you to have a real sense of humanity and a social conscience.

Chances are however that you voted Bush.
I really can't understand why people on the right wing (in the sense of 'moral' issues) seem to vote GOP.

Bush in my opinion is not a good person.

A man who is big on war and invasion. A man who has put many people (including children) to death, directly violating UN charters. A man who is responsible for a lot of death in Iraq, and a man who I believe is lying to the American people - telling them what they want to hear about morality and pumping them full of fear. A man who clearly supports the rich.

Are these the teachings of Jesus?

Don't get me wrong, I accept fully Bush's right to rule having got a decent majority this time around, it just perplexes me to think why so many voted for him.

Obviously, J Kerry wasn't a formidable opponent, but why did you Americans vote for Bush?

(Please don't respond aggressively, I'm genuinely interested)
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Answer to Stephen's Questions

First of all I am going to assume that you are a Christian by choice and not a Christian as a result of heritage. By this I mean that at some point in your life you have personally met the risen Christ, made a choice to trust in Him for salvation and don't merely call yourself a Christian because your parents took you to that type of church. I've met people of many faiths and religions who fall into the latter category and I hope you fall into the first.

I notice from what you have written a lot of statements that could have been taken from talking points of John Kerry's election campaign. Indeed these points could be taken from most U.S. Democratic politicians, the hate Bush at every turn group and the Mainstream Media throughout the world. Bush is an evil liar, war is killing children in Iraq, socialism is the route for good Christians to go, etc. etc. etc....

I would suggest you take a good look at what the mainstream media (MSM) is feeding you and compare it with the Truth. I say Truth with a capital T because if you inspect the MSM you can see many times that simple bloggers have pulled them down because their veracity is very dubious in the majority of what they project. As you may have noticed recently NewsWeek was caught telling lies (Check also Dan Rather, Eason Jordan, ad infinitum...) about the flushing of a Koran down a toilet. Never mind that 99% of toilets would clog quickly, they printed the story. People have died as a result of this 'news' and then they turn around and blame Bush's administration for not telling them to not print the story.

The truth is that the U.S. soldiers are the ones providing Korans to the prisoners that are being held to protect their own countrymen. I understand that the U.S. soldiers have a special protocol in handling these books even wearing gloves as they are passed out. Prisoners themselves are the most likely source of the story.

Did Newsweek volunteer any of this info? No. Will they tell the world of this? Probably not. Why? Because they have an agenda to deceive. It is only because of the internet that they are loosing the power to keep us in the dark.

I said that to show you that the source of your questions is questionable in itself. If you are a true Christian and know Jesus in a personal way I'm confident that you would prefer the truth over living in a lie.

Well, here is some more truth. Bush is not an evil liar like the MSM would like you to believe. The U.N. had sanctions against Iraq and were not enforcing them due to the Oil for Food program. The fact that there have been no Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's) found in Iraq does not destroy the fact that Saddam Hussein used gas weapons against his own people. Bill Clinton, John Kerry and many people against Bush and the war in Iraq declared that Saddam had the weapons and it wasn't until after the U.S. went in and did not find them readily available that they started screaming Bush lied. Do they mention that they lied too? How often do they point out the other, MAIN reasons the U.S. went to war with Saddam Hussein? He DID harbor terrorists (we keep finding them there). His presence caused instability in the region and he was a murderous dictator. In fact Eason Jordan wrote an article that his news organization had been NOT reporting the truth concerning Saddam and thereby allowing his crimes to go unreported. Do you really want to trust the news source that allows 11 year old girls to be raped by a dictator's sons because the news source didn't want to get kicked out of the country and lose their source for news. What is the sense of that? I think it is criminal and not the way to run a good news business. News business's should be in the business of reporting facts and leaving the editorial style adjectives off the front page.

Next time you see a news article on President Bush try highlighting the adjectives. See how many are negative fluff that really add nothing to the facts in the story.

The Anti Bush crowd were mistaken just as Bush was. They were trusting in intelligence data that was accrued during the Clinton administration. I will admit it was not smart of Bush to believe anything that came from this impeached president's term of office In fact, did you know that many people still working in our government received their jobs as a direct result of Bill Clinton. You know him. The 'impeached for lying to a court while under oath' president. I figure that if these people love the real liar they would not be above leaking lies to the press. Lies like flushing a Koran down a toilet... Newsweek has yet to let us know who the 'government source' was. Our government does not fire everyone from the previous administration because these people are not supposed to be for the political party but instead should be for the nation. In their misguided beliefs they feel that hurting Bush will help the nation.

The war in Iraq has been a good thing. Ask the people with purple fingers and thumbs that voted. Ask the children there that will not be raped by Sadamm's boys. Ask the people that will not end up in a mass grave. Ask the people that have started local newspapers with freedom of speech. Ask the people that have started businesses. Ask the girls that can now go to school. Ask the women that are not forced to wear burkas. Ask the women that will not be raped and then murdered because they 'cheated on their husbands'. Ask the boatmen whose marshes have been returned from opening Sadamm's dams. Ask the birds that have returned to the marshes. Ask the people that can raise their voices against the U.S. because we give them freedom of speech.

If we wanted their oil we could have walked in and taken it. In fact it would have been easier to take over Mexico and steal their oil. It is a lot closer. The U.S. is not in the business of colonizing other nations. We will however defend our interests. One of those interests is not having terrorists fly planes into our buildings. Even at this point I would like you to take a close look at the way these prisoners are really treated. How many come out of prison looking like the gaunt skeletons from Hitler's camps? Abu Garab was not the norm. It was an aberration.

Enough on the war and Bush. Let us turn to social issues. I'm sure you have heard the saying that, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for his life".

How many poor people do you know that give others jobs? Thousands? Hundreds? Dozens? I think not. Poor people do not give jobs to anyone. Except perhaps government employees. (More on this later)

Poor people go to business owners for jobs and business owners are not poor. This has been the way of things since before Buddha. I will admit that not all business owners are nice people. Some are, some are not. I have worked for both kinds. Chances are you have too. We must admit that it is the business owners that are taking the chances. The employees can walk away and (hopefully) find another job. If the business fails the owner could be liable for debts for years to come. Should governments work to help or hinder these benefactors to the working class?

If they help the employer the employees could benefit from higher wages in the future. Unless they have found a bum employer in which case they CAN move on to another company.

But what happens if the government takes more money from the employer's cash register than the company can afford? To top it off the government takes money from the employees in the form of payroll taxes. The government promises they are going to help the poor. A bureaucracy is set up of government employees getting high wages to decide which poor person gets the money. The employer goes broke and applies for the benefits and his employees are in line behind him.

That is the ultimate end of government largesse. Taking from the haves and giving to the have nots. Governments do not produce anything. They only help hold up the infrastructure and if they do a bad job of that the country will go broke. Often times programs are set up and the only people that benefit are the government employees. For this reason I would prefer an 'evil' corporation over a government social program. You would have a better chance of getting an even shake from the company. If all else fails you can walk away from the company. The government will hound you till after death for the taxes.

Now re: Jesus being a rebel. It is true that he turned over the moneychanger's tables. Why? Because, as he said, they had taken away the purpose of the temple. It had become a place where people went to fulfill legalistic obligations. He wanted it to be returned to God's original intent which was that it become a "House of Prayer". That is, a place where people could commune on a personal level with the Living God.

How many churches today are more like a place filled with money changers tables? I do not mean that money is the ultimate goal of these places. Most often it is 'good' reasons that they have as goals. It goes way beyond money. They have become places of social obligations. Buildings that people go to in order to appease a conscience burning with guilt but with no intentions of turning from sin to God. A structure where programs take precedence over anyone actually seeking God's will for their life. Indeed those that do so are ostracized as fanatics and forced to remove themselves from the company of those self satisfied that run the place with godless efficiency. As long as children can play basketball and football in a safe environment the church has fulfilled it's obligation to the Almighty. As long as the bags of food distributed are a bit more than the community needs the Divine need not bother them. Sunday service will not be disrupted with spontaneous praise for the Creator because the agenda must not be extended so everything is done 'decently and in order' as scripture so conveniently states and all the parishioners can get to the local restaurant before the church across the street lets out.

I think you get the point. Was the last line a run on sentence?

Jesus was indeed a rebel. At one point He had over 5000 men plus women and children at His command. They were well fed and ready to move. He could have tried to use them to gather others and worked to overthrow the Roman government.

Instead He climbed a hill by Himself and prayed. He felt the communion with His Father more important that ruling a country.

Jesus was not hot on social programs. He did like it when individuals saw the need in another persons life and would help to fill that need. It was not something forced on the individual but instead was a result from the Living God being active in the individual's heart. He did say that the poor would always be with us. (Matt 26:11 plus other gospels) He did not suggest that we should let government agencies take care of them. Indeed I'm confident He wanted it to be a personal matter. I'm confident too that He would prefer we cared for them by teaching them to fish.

Sorry this has gotten so long. I do want you to understand a bit of why I believe the way I do. Hope this helps - Paul - GBYAY -

Smoothing the Rough Spots

This morning a friend told me about a near tragedy that happened this last weekend. His son-in-law was driving with his daughter riding shotgun and a friend in the backseat in the diamond lane of a L.A. freeway. For whatever reason the son-in-law lost control of the car and as control was lost the daughter said, "Jesus, save us!" The car actually flipped over and ended up on it's roof. The car is unsalvageable. All three occupants got out of the car without a scratch.

Now, would they have escaped unscathed if the woman had not called out to Jesus? Impossible to tell. I can say this. If the woman did not have Jesus paramount in her heart anything else could have escaped from her lips. If she had filled her soul with certain types of music it could just as well been profanities filling the car instead of a prayer. That might have been tough to explain had they gone to meet their maker instead of exiting the car unscratched.

Which brings me to the point of this post. Trusting in Jesus does not mean that life will be a bowl of cherries with no troubles in it but the Lord does tend to even off the rough edges. In a less dramatic event in my own life I got a flat tire (explosive kind) at night just as I exited a freeway near my home. I was able to continue through a green light, across the street, down half a block and park the car across the street from my home. I thanked the Lord, went inside and went to bed, saving changing the tire till morning's light...

Laws I'd Like to See

There are a few laws I'd like to see passed. This list is in no way complete but some of the main ones are:

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Re: taxes - Any politician proposes a tax hike he must first put half of his material possessions and half his paycheck into an escrow account. After his tax hike is proposed it is sent to the people affected by the hike for a vote. If the people vote 'yes' the politician gets his money back. If the people vote 'no' he loses and his money is distributed to all those who show a receipt showing they voted no.

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Any politician caught trying to raise taxes without going through the escrow/voting process will be tarred, feathered & run out of town on a rail.

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Re: gun control - Anyone who uses a gun in the commission of a crime will have these mandatory sentences on top of any other sentencing concerning any other charges.
1.) Brandishing or showing the gun during the commission of a crime. - 10 years min. with no time off for good behavior.
2.) Pulling the trigger during the commission of a crime. - 20 years min. with no time off for good behavior.
3.) Injuring someone with a gun during the commission of a crime. - 35 years min. with no time off for good behavior.
4.) Murdering someone during the commission of a crime. - Death penalty with rules below applying.

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Re: Death penalty cases - Guilty party will have sentence fulfilled within 2-1/2 years +1 day of actual sentencing date. There will be only 3 appeals allowed.
1.) First appeal is mandatory
2.) Second and Third appeals are at the discretion of the sentenced individual. All evidence at this point must relate directly to the actual case and cannot be concerned with side issues such as bad upbringing, abusive parents, too many twinkies or the public school system failing to instill sound moral judgment.

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re: taxes - Every seventh year of a persons life shall be TAX FREE. That is, for a full year measuring 365 (plus one day for leap years) This includes ALL taxes. Federal, state & local (water, trash disposal, utilities, sales, payroll, stocks and bonds interest, etc... Any taxes absconded with by the government during this period will be refunded from the congressional payroll office and congress's payroll will decrease in commensurate amounts.

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I could come up with a bunch more but I thought some of you blog surfing folks might help me by coming up with a few of your own. Feel free to utilize the comment button and add your ideas.

NC Church Political Scandal Mis-Reported by MSM

Scotwise has posted the real scoop. Not that it is really news. Just business as usual for Main Stream Media. Don't bother digging. Just report what they got and guess at the rest. Waylan Owens taught Chan Chandler, the pastor involved in the East Waynesville Baptist Church in Waynesville, N.C., the church where "all the members of the church who would not support George W. Bush in the 2004 Presidential election were ousted". There is a lot more to the story and much info left out that would have been readily available to any reporter interested in finding the real story. - Check Scotwise daily for encouragement and great Christian teaching. - GBYAY -