Intelligentsia is not running the country

In 1819, John Adams wrote to Jefferson: "Have you ever found in history, one single example of a nation thoroughly corrupted that was afterwards restored to virtue?...  And without virtue, there can be no political liberty... Will you tell me how to prevent luxury from producing effeminacy, intoxication, extravagance, vice and folly?... No effort in favor of virtue is lost." 

 

Unmistakably, America has been built on the virtues of the Bible. It is unlike any nation in history besides obedient Old Testament Israel. However, in its decline it is sharing in the common demise experienced by all great nations and empires – the degeneration of its moral fabric. The Progressives as they are so labeled who are leading the charge down this path of destruction should be aptly renamed “the digressers!” It reminds of the passage in Romans where it says “professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” 

Harry Reid recently said “Everybody else, including the rich people, are willing to pay more. They want to pay more.” Nancy Pelosi famously stated concerning the need to pass the Affordable Care Act "It’s going to be very, very exciting. But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it..." I am left with no doubt that many of these politicians are in government because with logic and intelligence such as this, they would never make it in the private sector. The problem becomes however, they are in a position of authority to regulate the private sector which they have no idea how to make successful. In school, students who were not up to speed academically would be tutored till they came up to the standard of the rest of the class. I wonder if many of our congress men and women need a little education in how capitalism works? 

The following is taken from

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2013/oct/14/does-raising-debt-ceiling-increase-our-debt/

Do you remember this: Obama said in reference to raising the debt ceiling "does not increase our debt. It does not grow our deficits. It does not allow for a single dime of increased spending. All it does is allow the Treasury Department to pay for what Congress has already spent."

So, contrary to what Obama said, if the the debt ceiling is raised high enough, it does, in fact, "allow" for additional spending. It just doesn’t demand it.
"Clearly, raising the debt ceiling does not in and of itself increase the debt or grow the deficit," said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. "But to say that it doesn’t allow for a dime of increased spending is misleading. When the credit card company increases my credit limit, it doesn’t increase my debt load or even my spending. But it certainly facilitates it. The same is true with the debt ceiling."

Satya Thallam, director of financial services policy with the the center-right American Action Forum, concurred, saying that while the debt ceiling has "little to do with the present," it has "everything to do with future potentials."

Thallam said the debt ceiling can be perceived as a prerequisite for future spending -- though a better term, he said, may be "post-requisite."

"It’s like signing a contract to purchase new furniture, and then going to your credit card company and asking for a credit limit increase to cover the amount," he said. The debt ceiling "doesn't lead to additional spending, but it does risk the possibility that you won't be able to pay."

They're masters of rhetoric that's for sure. 

Forerunner

Hebrews 6:19-20 (KJV)
¹⁹ Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
²⁰ Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

The word “forerunner” has a rich history in the maritime world. “A ship comes into harbor, but cannot draw too near to the shore in the darkness. So a sailor gets into a boat with an anchor and a line attached which is also fixed to the ship. He is called the "fore runner". As he rows, the line between anchor and ship is played out and links them. Eventually the forerunner boat arrives and the seaman carries the anchor ashore and secures it on land. In the morning, no sails are needed. The crew of the ship begins to wind in the anchor cable yet it isn't the anchor which moves but the ship. Slowly the vessel winches towards the shore. This is the background to the word "forerunner". Our "forerunner" is Jesus who has entered through the veil and our anchor is made fast. Our salvation is secure like the sailor ashore whom the crew cannot see. Christ is no longer visible to us, He is "ashore" in glory, and WE ARE ATTACHED BY FAITH TO GLORY BY HIM. He has entered glory for us. Day by day the cable is shortening, and pulling us nearer and nearer to Christ our forerunner. Eventually we shall reach heaven's shore and what shall we see? Our "forerunner" waiting to greet us, that "where He is there we may also be." Faith links us already, and will bring us to Him at last. THAT FAITH IS ASSURANCE.”[1]

No matter what turbulence may come your way in making choppy seas for your life – hold onto the anchor of Jesus Christ!!

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[1] https://www.facebook.com/evangelistreinhardbonnke/posts/10153211544665258

A Fun Game :-)

A programmer and an engineer are sitting next to each other on a long flight from LA to NY. The Programmer leans over to the Engineer and asks if he would like to play a fun game. The Engineer just want to take a nap, so he politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks.

The Programmer persists and explains that the game is really easy and a lot of fun. He explains “I ask you a question, and if you don’t know the answer, you pay me $5.” Again, the Engineer politely declines and tries to get some sleep.

The Programmer, now somewhat agitated, says “OK, if you don’t know the answer you pay me $5, and if I don’t know the answer, I will pay you $50!” This catches the Engineer’s complete attention, and he sees no end to this torment unless he plays, so he agrees to the game.

The Programmer asks the first question. “What’s the distance from the earth to the moon?” The Engineer doesn’t say a word, reaches into his wallet, pulls out a five-dollar bill and hands it to the Programmer. Now, it’s the Engineer’s turn. He asks the Programmer: “What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?” The Programmer looks at him with a puzzled look, he takes out his laptop computer and searches all his references. He taps into the Airphone with his modem and searches the Net and the Library of Congress. Frustrated, he sends e-mails to all his co-workers and friends he knows. All to no avail.

After over an hour, he wakes the Engineer and hands him $50. The Engineer politely takes the $50 and turns away to get back to sleep. The Programmer, more than a little miffed, shakes the Engineer and asks, “Well, so what IS the answer?” Without a word, the Engineer reaches into his wallet, hands the Programmer $5 and goes back to sleep.

- Source unknown

Maturity - a necessity

Maturity: Be able to stick with a job until it is finished. Be able to bear an injustice without having to get even. Be able to carry money without spending it. Do your duty without being supervised.  – Ann Landers 

 

Consider this story told by Bernard L. Brown, Jr., president of the Kennestone Regional Health Care System in the state of Georgia. Brown once worked in a hospital where a patient knocked over a cup of water, which spilled on the floor beside the patient's bed. The patient was afraid he might slip on the water if he got out of the bed, so he asked a nurse's aide to mop it up. The patient didn't know it, but the hospital policy said that small spills were the responsibility of the nurse's aides while large spills were to be mopped up by the hospital's housekeeping group.The nurse's aide decided the spill was a large one and she called the housekeeping department. A housekeeper arrived and declared the spill a small one. An argument followed.

"It's not my responsibility," said the nurse's aide, "because it's a large puddle." The housekeeper did not agree. "Well, it's not mine," she said, "the puddle is too small."

The exasperated patient listened for a time, then took a pitcher of water from his night table and poured the whole thing on the floor. "Is that a big enough puddle now for you two to decide?" he asked. It was, and that was the end of the argument.[1]

We have all heard the age-old advice of parents tell the child in no uncertain terms “grow up!” Usually the parent will say it in a tone that rings with a sense of urgency that the sooner it happens the better. Immaturity is costly and reduces the effectiveness of a person and a church. We create all kinds of problems by saying immature things, by making immature decisions, by acting in immature ways. The result is hurt feelings, loss of friendships, division in families and churches, and ultimately the loss of effectiveness in winning the world to Christ. We have all seen the impatient action of a person swerving wildly and giving us hand signals as they passed us to then notice the “I love Jesus” bumper sticker. The immature behavior of that person ruined the witness of the bumper sticker. I believe we all have walked away from situations too many times saying to ourselves “why did I say that?” However, as we mature, those frustrated times should become less and less. 

Growing older is inevitable but growing up is an option! Spiritual maturity takes time, effort, and humility. It is not arrived at accidently but on purpose. No one arrives at maturity over night. It is a lifestyle of diligence in creating my future by each decision I make. Maturity should be a goal of life. We don’t think of it as a goal; we think of owning a house, a career, having children, and retirement as goals but without maturity, none of these things will truly be appreciated, or in many cases, even achieved. 

What is maturity? It means to be fully developed, full grown, and able to fulfill its created purpose. It’s being able to balance the short term gains against the long term consequences. Growing up is the process of leaving your childhood behind, embracing adulthood and all it represents such as responsibility and an awareness that you are not the center of the universe. 

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[1] Bits & Pieces, September 16, 1993, p. 22-24.

Persecution and Seduction

We live in an age of tolerance where protecting someone’s feelings is more valued than speaking the truth. The challenge facing the church in the East is persecution; the challenge facing the church in the West is seduction. This seduction is the subtle perversion of Scripture to accommodate the feelings and ears of the hearer. What the West is facing is a deadly scheme of Satan to stop the effectiveness of the church. I am not minimizing the devastating pain and horror of persecution of our brothers and sisters in the East, but Satan realizes if he can’t stop the voice of the church, then if he perverts it, then the masses fall. Think about it, what is more effective: removing a piece here and there or leavening the whole lump? Guard the Truth with all your heart.

It was in the news recently that young journalists are getting most of their information from such people as Jon Stewart, MSN, MSNBC, CNN, and etc. Thus, these young minds are being poisoned by disinformation and bias viewpoints. I wonder if most Christians are getting their nourishment from the cotton candy stores of Christian Television? We become what we repeatedly hear. IF the church returns to nourishing itself on the unadulterated Word of God, then the fruit will reappear in the form of a revival that will storm society with a vigor unlike anyone has ever seen.  

If I’m honest and truly hungry for the Truth, then I will be free.

John 8:32 (KJV)
³² And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

However, if I do not love the truth, then deception will fill the vacuum and I will devote myself to a lie.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (KJV)
⁹ Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
¹⁰ And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
¹¹ And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
¹² That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.