Saw this on MSNBC today:
The video states that a "Christian Militia" plotted attacks on the US government in order to bring about the ruin of the government. One such attack involved killing a police officer, then bombing the funeral. This, my friends, is terrorism. A militia provides for the common defense, this seems to be an offense against fellow citizens. The group hides behind a religious front claiming they are preparing for the anti-Christ. This may, or may not be true, but judging by their plan of action against US citizens, I would have to say this is an extremist anarchy group.
The press eats this up, because it is everything they claim we are. A bunch of knuckle dragging, anti-government, gun clinging, bible thumping, flag waving, extremists. Only they seem to have their own flag that they fight under, and the only mention of Christianity is preparing to defend against the anti-Christ. I do not know their heart, so I cannot judge, but this seems extremely cultish.
Be wary of these sorts of things. Though we may not agree with our leaders, God has still placed them over us. There may be a time when we have to fight with arms, to defend our rights, to be free to worship, etc; but as of now, we can fight it in the courts and congress. God is still in control, He has placed people in authority over us, and therefore, we should obey them, until their orders contradict the orders of God. We should pay taxes, give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's. Though it may seem bad and chaotic, in time, it will all make sense. During WWII, I doubt that it seemed to be making sense what was happening, and why things were going the way they were going; however, looking back, it all comes together. Everything happened in just the right way for evil to be stopped, at least for a while. Israel was created once again, and a nation of Israel was set up, so that the prophecies in Revelation could be fulfilled.
Should we fear the anti-Christ? No, we have salvation in Jesus. Who can stand against the awesome power of Christ? Our sins are forgiven, they are washed away, we have been made clean. We are children of God now, not the devil; sin and death have lost their power. Nothing of this world can have affect. Our God is an awesome God, He rescues His people out of darkness. We yearn for the day we can be united with Him in heaven, but until that day, we carry out His work.
Should we prepare? Yes. Hard times are ahead, I believe. Real persecution, like that which is in other countries. Our freedom has granted us an easy life thus far, we are free to worship, we are free to pray, we are not killed by the government for our faith. But that may change. I believe it will, personally. Prepare for that. Memorize scripture, know what you know is true. You must be sure of your faith, you must be sure of who Christ is, you must be sure of your forgiveness from sin. At one time, you might be faced with a choice, deny Christ or die. Remember, to live is Christ, to die is gain. Let the world despise and leave us, they have left our savior too. Let them destroy the body, let them take away the very air we breath, our God is mighty to save, and they cannot harm the soul. I do not believe we can fully prepare for that time of suffering, but I pray that I will have the courage to say "Yes, I do believe in Christ."
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Human Nature
No! There is a God! Of this I have no doubt! His love is displayed all around. In creation, in the complexity of life, in the beautiful poem that is His will. The way all these great acts of evil work into good. The way that all the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning Jesus were fulfilled, and the way that the prophecies in Revelation are being fulfilled. The way that each person is created different, but equal. The way that all the different parts of the world work, and fit perfectly with one another.
Anonymous said...
Could this be chance? Could this really have happened by coincidence? No, I don't see how it could. There is evidence of a creator in the world. I see it all around. There is evidence of a savior, I feel it every day. Our God is an awesome God. He reveals Himself to us through His word. Who can stand against the Lord? He is almighty, all powerful. Who is greater than our Lord? There is no one. May the name of the Lord be praised. Might are His works! His love for His people is seen throughout history, and even today. The Lord our God is mighty to save, and mighty to forgive. I beg of you, reconsider your position. Do not harden your heart.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Human Nature
I must say, I am truly saddened by such a world view.I don't see how someone with it could have any hope in life. Could even get up in the morning. Can you honestly believe that this world is all chance? That we are but chance? That nothing happens for a reason? That no one is in control?
Anonymous said...
I will admit it has been fun entertaining this kinship with you.
For your amusement: I am a devote atheist. I attend a catholic college. Oh, the irony. It makes sense, though. It was being surrounded by fanatics like you that turned me to this path.
My friend, you have no truth. We are all flying around this random star on this weird rock. We dont know where we came from, we dont know where we are going. And we always have to go to the bathroom. Theres no meaning to any of it. Think, if the purpose of life is just for the individual to save himself, even if its through helping others we will still have an eternity of humans accomplishing nothing. No, your way is far too simple, and therefore not truth. I too search for absolute truth, and it is not so easy to find that it is there before we are born.
P.S This will be my last response.
By the way, im only 18.
Mai dimenticata.
Nulla è reale, tutto è lecito.
Arrivederci, mi amico.
"Think, if the purpose of life is just for the individual to save himself, even if its through helping others we will still have an eternity of humans accomplishing nothing." The purpose of life is not to save oneself. That is impossible. The purpose of life is bring glory to God. That is what creation was created for.
"No, your way is far too simple, and therefore not truth." Yes, it is simple, isn't it? But there is no other way. Nothing can take away our sin, except the blood of Jesus. Why can't simple be truth? Wouldn't a God who loves us, and wants to be with us, make it as easy as possible to be with Him? Wouldn't He do as much work as he could to make His love available to us? I submit that He has gone as far as possible while still giving us the choice between accepting His love, and denying it.
It is horrible for anyone to go to hell because they did not accept the great love offered them. How much more horrible the one that heard of it repeatedly, who saw it throughout their life, who saw people changed by it, and yet did not accept it! Cursed is that man! I submit it would be better had he never been born, for then he would not have to live with eternal regret for not accepting such a love!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Re: Re: Re: Human Nature
And such is the way of the world. No hope. No sense of right or wrong. Nothing to judge by. What a horrible world to live in! What a horrible world view to live by! If there is no judge, then why do right? If this life is all we get, then why not please yourself? The very fact that this world is not in complete chaos shows that there is a God who cares about us, and restrains us from being taken completely by evil. Who restrains us from our evil desires. Who has given us a conscience.
Anonymous said...
You can deny it, but it is apparent in everything you have written to me today. And it is at this point where you are simply and utterly wrong.
There is no good or evil. There is no right or wrong. There is no god. It is not a question of belief, but of existence. Just remember, everything is a perspective and people are no more or less for what they believe. I do not see myself as above you because I believe that your beliefs are wrong, just as you should not view yourself as better than those who chose not to follow your path. And since when did I ever claim perfection? Maybe you dont get it, but I dont care what "evil" i do with my life, because no matter how bad it is your judgement and by extension your gods is useless on me.
In the words of Altair:
Nothing is real. Everything is permitted.
Once you understand this paradox then you will see what i see.
Have a nice life. Or whats left of it anyway.
There are absolute truths. There is right and wrong. It is apparent. There are laws set forth by our creator, and when we follow such laws, things go well for us. When we do not, things go poorly. These laws work because they are good. They are good because they tell us the nature of what God is. They are based off the attributes of God.
I am sorry if I came off as judgmental, I was not trying to do so. I do not look at people as lower than myself because they do not believe what I believe. The only reason that I talk of such things is because it would be cruelty not to. If you knew how to heal cancer, would you keep it to yourself while you saw those around you suffering? Could you let them continue to suffer even though you knew the secret that would save them? I cannot! Forbid it that anyone should keep such a gift as eternal fellowship with Jesus Christ to themselves! I am not trying to ram it down someones throat, that would be impossible. You can lead a horse to water, yet you cannot make it drink. If it chooses to die of thirst because it refuses to drink of the water, than so be it, but at least you gave it the means to survive.
Christians are not better than those that are around them. We are still human. We still fail. We still fall back into our past addictions, our past patterns, our past sins. So what makes us different? Christ is at work. Christ is changing us. Christ has forgiven all of our past sins, and all of our future sins. But for the grace of God can I stand. In Christ alone is hope. This world has nothing for its people. There is no hope for those that do not have Christ. Christ is everything that we need. I beg of you, do not reject his love anymore. You have heard the truth, you have seen what can save you, it is up to you to drink. We cannot force you to accept rescue, to stop fighting; you must do that. I will be praying for you, my unnamed friend.
Re: Re: Human Nature
Anonymous continues:
I must ask, have you ever lied? Have you ever cheated? Have you ever stolen? Have you ever hated? Have you ever lusted? Such things are not of God, and anything that is not of God is evil. I have stated before, that evil is the absence of God. Since we are born absent from God, we are evil.
You ask the question, why would I soul choose to be born if it knew it would be evil. I tell you that our souls did not exist before we were born. There is no preexistence for creation. We have a definite beginning. God however, is eternal, He has no beginning, and no end. We are created, and therefore, have a point in time when we were created.
I hope this helps answer your questions.
We cannot choose to be born, we cannot choose between good or evil. As I have said, we are evil, and are in need of a savior. I did not say that we chose to be evil, it was Adam and Eve that did so at the beginning. However, we are their descendants, and are born separated from God.
Anonymous said...
Answer me! Tell me the meaning of life, and maybe then I shall give your damn religion some credit.
I must ask, have you ever lied? Have you ever cheated? Have you ever stolen? Have you ever hated? Have you ever lusted? Such things are not of God, and anything that is not of God is evil. I have stated before, that evil is the absence of God. Since we are born absent from God, we are evil.
You ask the question, why would I soul choose to be born if it knew it would be evil. I tell you that our souls did not exist before we were born. There is no preexistence for creation. We have a definite beginning. God however, is eternal, He has no beginning, and no end. We are created, and therefore, have a point in time when we were created.
I hope this helps answer your questions.
Re: Human Nature
In the comments of my post entitled Human Nature:
So, God did not create man evil, He created them perfect. We fell short of His glory. All man kind, by that fall, lost communion with God. Man is under His wrath and curse, and therefore liable to all miseries in this life: to death, and to the pains of hell forever. But God, out of His good pleasure, did not leave us to die. He entered into a covenant of grace to deliver us out of our estate of sin and misery, and to bring us into an estate of salvation, by a redeemer. Our only redeemer is Jesus Christ, who being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was and continues to be, God and man, in two distinct natures, and one person forever.
Therefore, I submit that we were created good, but we gave it up to serve ourselves. All creation was created for one purpose, and one purpose alone: To bring God glory. When we left to bring glory to ourselves, we became evil. We are now born evil. Every day we sin, anyone who says that they do not sin is either a liar or insane. There is none righteous. Everyone has lied. Everyone has cheated. Everyone has had evil thoughts. Everyone has done evil in the sight of the Lord, even if they have not in the sight of man. I do not need the Bible to tell me that I do wrong. I know it in my heart. The Bible tells me how I can be saved from what I have done.
First, allow me to establish what I believe in regards to man being created. Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. They were created with knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures. When God created man, He made a promise of life with them, on condition of perfect obedience. He forbade them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil upon the pain of death. Adam and Eve, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the perfect state that they were created in by sinning against God. The covenant that God made with them, was not only for them, but for all man kind descending from him by ordinary generation. Therefore, we sinned in him, and fell with him. All descendants of Adam are therefore born into sin.
Anonymous said...
Now I will be disrespectful and impose me beliefs on you. You believe man is naturally evil, therefore created evil. Yet you believe that your creator loves you though he created you evil. You also believe that heaven is reserved for the good, and hell for the evil. Good and evil, which you define as belief or non-belief in your religion. If that is so then why would your god create you as a low being yet make a way for you to be good? Would it not make more sense that you were created good, for the purpose of doing good in the world, and then have your reward when you die? Of course, you say. It works either way, you say. Except it doesnt. Christianity's basic premise is that Jesus is salvation, and what is he saving you from? Sin, your natural evil. But what tells you that you have sin? It is not imperfection. Imperfection alone does not imply evil, or sin. It is your own Bible that tells you. The Bible says you are evil, and that Jesus is good. One requires the other. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and therefore an artificiality.
Thus I submit to you, my convictions.
So, God did not create man evil, He created them perfect. We fell short of His glory. All man kind, by that fall, lost communion with God. Man is under His wrath and curse, and therefore liable to all miseries in this life: to death, and to the pains of hell forever. But God, out of His good pleasure, did not leave us to die. He entered into a covenant of grace to deliver us out of our estate of sin and misery, and to bring us into an estate of salvation, by a redeemer. Our only redeemer is Jesus Christ, who being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was and continues to be, God and man, in two distinct natures, and one person forever.
Therefore, I submit that we were created good, but we gave it up to serve ourselves. All creation was created for one purpose, and one purpose alone: To bring God glory. When we left to bring glory to ourselves, we became evil. We are now born evil. Every day we sin, anyone who says that they do not sin is either a liar or insane. There is none righteous. Everyone has lied. Everyone has cheated. Everyone has had evil thoughts. Everyone has done evil in the sight of the Lord, even if they have not in the sight of man. I do not need the Bible to tell me that I do wrong. I know it in my heart. The Bible tells me how I can be saved from what I have done.
Human nature
We have all seen the old cartoons where someone is about to make a big decision. On one shoulder, we have an angel, on the other, a devil. Each try and sway the person to the side of good or evil. In the end, one wins out, and the person makes their decision. While this may make a comical visual, it is inaccurate. As humans, we are evil. We don't need a devil on our shoulder fighting with an angel for control of our decisions. We ourselves make horrible, evil choices naturally. What we need is the Holy Spirit to guide us down the right path.
How often though, that we make the foolish decision, and try to please ourselves! How quickly we forget the great love and mercy shown to us every minute of every day! We are a wretched people, who's very core is corrupt. Everyday, we are reminded that we need a savior, and thankfully, every day, our savior, Jesus, rescues us. With one hand we praise God, and with the other we reject Him. Fortunately, God loved us enough to not only rescue us when we do evil, but to also begin a work within our heart. To change our sinful nature. We will fail Him every day until we go to heaven to be with Him, but His grace and love is everlasting. He will never forsake us. He will always forgive us. Let us praise Him! Let us thank Him! Let us be ready when He calls! Let us serve Him! Here am I, send me!
Some think that we must do good works to be saved. Foolishness! There is nothing we can do that would save us. We all deserve death. Only Jesus can save. Only He can change us. And because of that change, we live for Him. Because of the love shown us, we love others. How foolish to think that we can judge if someone is worthy of God's love! None of us are worthy! None of us deserve love. All of us deserve death and suffering. No one is good. No one is righteous. Therefore, we must take God's love to all people. Do not let a day go by when it is not shown!
Do you really believe, that what you believe, is really real? When I was first asked that, I had to think for a while. I prayed that God would show me, and thank God, He did. There is no savior except for Jesus. There is no way we can stand without Him. If we truly believe that what we believe is really real, then how can we withhold God's love? How can we keep it to ourselves? We must share with every nation! Do not let a single person leave without knowing God's love. Our God is mighty to save! Praise the Lord oh my soul!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
A world without God
At the very core, humans are evil. We are not basically good. Take, for example, a young child. The child sees the pretty flame and wants to touch it. Being good and kind, and knowing they will get burned, you keep them from it. They do not think you know what is best for them, and continue to try over and over. When you stop them, if they had the power, they would tear you limb from limb to get what they want. Your life means nothing to them, their mind is one track, they do not have the values we as a society have. All that they see is oooo pretty, I want, I don't care who gets in my way.
So, obviously, most people don't kill whoever gets in the way of what they want, so what changed? Well, an atheist would say society. Society shaped them, but then, how was society itself shaped? I submit to you that there is a creator who loves his creation, and who has a plan that in the end works all evil together for good.
Well, why is there evil to begin with? Good question. I like this example: Light and darkness. In reality there is no such thing as darkness. We do not create darkness, we can not make darkness darker, it is merely a word we have created to identify a void. That void is the absence of light. Now, with light, we can always add more to make it lighter. It will ever get brighter and brighter, and there is no limit. God and evil are the same way. Evil is the absence of God. Take God out of the equation and evil flourishes. The world would be full of 1 year olds, but with the power to destroy anything that got in their path. There would be no reason to do right or good. No justice. No peace. Even the most evil men still had some light shown on them. God did not abandon them, no matter how hard they tried to push him away. This is apparent because they were not as bad as they could have been.
Thankfully, God does exist, and is good. Like the example of light, good can be added without limit. It can grow and grow, and God is abundant with it. He has no limit on His grace and love which He pours out to us. The darkness can not take away from the light, but light casts out the darkness. God, in the same way, can not be defeated by evil, but when evil attacks, it is driven away by His glorious might.
In the last days, after Jesus returns, and after the Holy Spirit has left the earth. Those that are left behind will experience true evil. Read the end of Revelations, it is not pretty. God is full of mercy, but is also just. In the end, He will not tolerate those who reject Him, and in those days, the people left on earth will cry out to the rocks to fall on, and bury them.
The God of the Bible is love, but He is not a helpless, defenseless God. Never forget that. He tells us what to do because it is best for us, but He is all powerful, and one to be feared. Without Christs blood covering our sin, we cannot even dare to stand before Him who created us. How foolish for us to believe that we are anything important.In Christ alone can we stand. In Christ alone is hope.
There is no hope for those that are of this world. The world only holds death and suffering. There is no hope in death. How sad that people should believe such things! I submit to you that a world without God would mean a world without order. A world without God would mean lawlessness, and without judgement for ones actions. If God didn't exist, what reason would there be to do right? Why wouldn't everyone try and be happy because this is all there is? There has been great evil in this world: murder, abuse, rape; but I submit that we have not even begun to see what evil would come from a world without God.
Praise Jesus for saving us. Praise Him who reigns over us. All praise and glory be to the God of the universe who holds all things together by His word, and cares enough about us to rescue us. Who cares about the world so much that He has held off on destroying it until all His elect are saved. That He shows his goodness by letting people on earth enjoy things. By letting his creation enjoy life and each other. Foolish is the one that rejects God's love! Foolish is he that says, "There is no God!" In the end, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Those who accepted His love will do so out of thankfulness and awe at His mercy. Those that rejected Him till the end will do so out of fear and awe at His power.
I pray that every reader accepts this love, that none turns it down.
~Sheepdog
So, obviously, most people don't kill whoever gets in the way of what they want, so what changed? Well, an atheist would say society. Society shaped them, but then, how was society itself shaped? I submit to you that there is a creator who loves his creation, and who has a plan that in the end works all evil together for good.
Well, why is there evil to begin with? Good question. I like this example: Light and darkness. In reality there is no such thing as darkness. We do not create darkness, we can not make darkness darker, it is merely a word we have created to identify a void. That void is the absence of light. Now, with light, we can always add more to make it lighter. It will ever get brighter and brighter, and there is no limit. God and evil are the same way. Evil is the absence of God. Take God out of the equation and evil flourishes. The world would be full of 1 year olds, but with the power to destroy anything that got in their path. There would be no reason to do right or good. No justice. No peace. Even the most evil men still had some light shown on them. God did not abandon them, no matter how hard they tried to push him away. This is apparent because they were not as bad as they could have been.
Thankfully, God does exist, and is good. Like the example of light, good can be added without limit. It can grow and grow, and God is abundant with it. He has no limit on His grace and love which He pours out to us. The darkness can not take away from the light, but light casts out the darkness. God, in the same way, can not be defeated by evil, but when evil attacks, it is driven away by His glorious might.
In the last days, after Jesus returns, and after the Holy Spirit has left the earth. Those that are left behind will experience true evil. Read the end of Revelations, it is not pretty. God is full of mercy, but is also just. In the end, He will not tolerate those who reject Him, and in those days, the people left on earth will cry out to the rocks to fall on, and bury them.
The God of the Bible is love, but He is not a helpless, defenseless God. Never forget that. He tells us what to do because it is best for us, but He is all powerful, and one to be feared. Without Christs blood covering our sin, we cannot even dare to stand before Him who created us. How foolish for us to believe that we are anything important.In Christ alone can we stand. In Christ alone is hope.
There is no hope for those that are of this world. The world only holds death and suffering. There is no hope in death. How sad that people should believe such things! I submit to you that a world without God would mean a world without order. A world without God would mean lawlessness, and without judgement for ones actions. If God didn't exist, what reason would there be to do right? Why wouldn't everyone try and be happy because this is all there is? There has been great evil in this world: murder, abuse, rape; but I submit that we have not even begun to see what evil would come from a world without God.
Praise Jesus for saving us. Praise Him who reigns over us. All praise and glory be to the God of the universe who holds all things together by His word, and cares enough about us to rescue us. Who cares about the world so much that He has held off on destroying it until all His elect are saved. That He shows his goodness by letting people on earth enjoy things. By letting his creation enjoy life and each other. Foolish is the one that rejects God's love! Foolish is he that says, "There is no God!" In the end, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Those who accepted His love will do so out of thankfulness and awe at His mercy. Those that rejected Him till the end will do so out of fear and awe at His power.
I pray that every reader accepts this love, that none turns it down.
~Sheepdog
Recognizing and dealing with deception
Lies surround us. The very core of evil is lying. Every sin is a lie in some way. When you sin, you are lying to yourself that God doesn't care about you, or know what is best for you, and therefore, you must take care of yourself. Look out for number one. We are told that the world will bring us pleasure. That the world is all we need. That there is no God. That we are all that is. That the world is what it is all about.
For those of you who claim to be Christians, if someone came up to you and said, "There is no God," you would be in total opposition to them. So, the world comes at us in different wording. "Can't we all just agree? You believe what you believe, I'll believe what I'll believe. Don't ram Christianity down my throat. Get Christianity out of the schools. Get God off our money. Get God off our monuments. Don't post the ten commandments." In effect, they are making God irrelevant. Unfortunately we didn't fight it. We don't fight it. So they make God irrelevant in their lives, and ultimately in everyone else's lives. Basically they are saying "God does not exist."
One of our biggest mistakes, in my opinion is buying into the lie that America is a Christian nation. That Christianity is the majority in America. America is a country. America is run by humans. We are, or at least were started, as a republic. A republic is ruled by law, which is better than a democracy which is ruled by majority vote, but the best system is a theocracy which is ruled by God. Our country has since turned into, I believe, a democracy. Instead of being ruled by law, we are ruled by popular opinion. Instead of wishing justice we look for loopholes to get around the law. Our country is secular. The world hates Christians. Whether they admit it or not, Christianity is offensive. God is offensive to the evil.
What is evil anyway? Evil is the absence of God. When the world buys into lies, they reject God. Everyone is born separate from God, and is therefore evil. Those that have been called out of darkness have begun a transformation. We are to be imitators of Christ, and therefore are offensive to the evil. Sure, they mask it as other things, but ultimately, the world hates Christians. Christianity is the hard way out. The world wants nothing better than to write God off as some irrelevant, not caring, being without power, or existence. Therefore, they will do everything they can to oppose Christians and draw them astray.
The world is full of wolves, ready to devour the unwary sheep. They twist scripture and the definitions of words. They quote verses so close to the original, that it sparks just the smallest memory, and we begin to question if that was in fact what the verse said. They choose their words wisely, making their message sound friendly, when in reality, it is dripping with death. The new believer, or the one unsure in his belief, fall victim to this trap and start believing lies. Once a lie is believed, it is very difficult to change that belief to the truth.
We must be grounded in the word. We must memorize and meditate on scripture. We must ask God to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. When people come at us with false doctrines, we must recognize it for what it is, and not let our brothers or sisters be lead astray. This is a battle. The battle is spiritual. We must understand that it is a battle, that we are at war 24/7, know our enemy, and know how to fight it. We must know the truth. We must be sure of our faith. We must be sure we have forgiveness, that God exists, that we need him, etc.
Our enemy is not the world, though we are theirs. Our enemy is evil. We should view the world as prisoners of war, for we were once dead in our sins, but God didn't give up on us. When He called, we ran and hid. Not only that, we actively opposed Him. We hated Him. We didn't want Him. We wanted to destroy Him. But He rescued us. He loved us enough to not give us what we wanted, death, but gave us eternal life. Therefore, when the world hates us, show them the love shown to us. Let our life song sing to Christ, so that when the world looks at us, they see Christ at work in us. If we believed the way we claim we believe, and the way we should believe, we should be on our knees begging unbelievers to come to know Christ.
We have many hard times ahead. The way of Christ is most certainly not the easy way out. The world will hate us and reject us. We will be persecuted. We may even be beaten, tortured, or killed. But this world is not our home. I consider myself a patriot, and am very proud of this country, but this nation is not ours. I love this country, I am willing to die for it, for freedom, and for my fellow Americans. But no matter how patriotic we are, understand that it is a nation of the world, and therefore we should not give our ultimate loyalty to it. Our loyalty lies with Christ and his kingdom. There will be a time when this great nation turns against us. It has already turned against God. We must figure out now, where our loyalties lie. Do we follow America when we know that it would be sin to do so? It was one of my hardest decisions to make, but in the end, God is the ultimate authority. We must follow his commands first.
Take care my dear readers.
~Sheepdog
For those of you who claim to be Christians, if someone came up to you and said, "There is no God," you would be in total opposition to them. So, the world comes at us in different wording. "Can't we all just agree? You believe what you believe, I'll believe what I'll believe. Don't ram Christianity down my throat. Get Christianity out of the schools. Get God off our money. Get God off our monuments. Don't post the ten commandments." In effect, they are making God irrelevant. Unfortunately we didn't fight it. We don't fight it. So they make God irrelevant in their lives, and ultimately in everyone else's lives. Basically they are saying "God does not exist."
One of our biggest mistakes, in my opinion is buying into the lie that America is a Christian nation. That Christianity is the majority in America. America is a country. America is run by humans. We are, or at least were started, as a republic. A republic is ruled by law, which is better than a democracy which is ruled by majority vote, but the best system is a theocracy which is ruled by God. Our country has since turned into, I believe, a democracy. Instead of being ruled by law, we are ruled by popular opinion. Instead of wishing justice we look for loopholes to get around the law. Our country is secular. The world hates Christians. Whether they admit it or not, Christianity is offensive. God is offensive to the evil.
What is evil anyway? Evil is the absence of God. When the world buys into lies, they reject God. Everyone is born separate from God, and is therefore evil. Those that have been called out of darkness have begun a transformation. We are to be imitators of Christ, and therefore are offensive to the evil. Sure, they mask it as other things, but ultimately, the world hates Christians. Christianity is the hard way out. The world wants nothing better than to write God off as some irrelevant, not caring, being without power, or existence. Therefore, they will do everything they can to oppose Christians and draw them astray.
So, the American people truly are attempting to destroy God. There will come a time when we will be shown real persecution. On that day let us not fall away, but embrace it. Ready to suffer for Christ. To suffer for Christ is greater than anything we could ever do. Let the world despise and leave us. They have left our savior too.
The world is full of wolves, ready to devour the unwary sheep. They twist scripture and the definitions of words. They quote verses so close to the original, that it sparks just the smallest memory, and we begin to question if that was in fact what the verse said. They choose their words wisely, making their message sound friendly, when in reality, it is dripping with death. The new believer, or the one unsure in his belief, fall victim to this trap and start believing lies. Once a lie is believed, it is very difficult to change that belief to the truth.
We must be grounded in the word. We must memorize and meditate on scripture. We must ask God to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. When people come at us with false doctrines, we must recognize it for what it is, and not let our brothers or sisters be lead astray. This is a battle. The battle is spiritual. We must understand that it is a battle, that we are at war 24/7, know our enemy, and know how to fight it. We must know the truth. We must be sure of our faith. We must be sure we have forgiveness, that God exists, that we need him, etc.
Our enemy is not the world, though we are theirs. Our enemy is evil. We should view the world as prisoners of war, for we were once dead in our sins, but God didn't give up on us. When He called, we ran and hid. Not only that, we actively opposed Him. We hated Him. We didn't want Him. We wanted to destroy Him. But He rescued us. He loved us enough to not give us what we wanted, death, but gave us eternal life. Therefore, when the world hates us, show them the love shown to us. Let our life song sing to Christ, so that when the world looks at us, they see Christ at work in us. If we believed the way we claim we believe, and the way we should believe, we should be on our knees begging unbelievers to come to know Christ.
We have many hard times ahead. The way of Christ is most certainly not the easy way out. The world will hate us and reject us. We will be persecuted. We may even be beaten, tortured, or killed. But this world is not our home. I consider myself a patriot, and am very proud of this country, but this nation is not ours. I love this country, I am willing to die for it, for freedom, and for my fellow Americans. But no matter how patriotic we are, understand that it is a nation of the world, and therefore we should not give our ultimate loyalty to it. Our loyalty lies with Christ and his kingdom. There will be a time when this great nation turns against us. It has already turned against God. We must figure out now, where our loyalties lie. Do we follow America when we know that it would be sin to do so? It was one of my hardest decisions to make, but in the end, God is the ultimate authority. We must follow his commands first.
Take care my dear readers.
~Sheepdog
Monday, March 22, 2010
A government big enough to give you everything you want...
...Is big enough to take away everything you have.
The history of the world and its nations seems to repeat itself. Each great nation seemed to follow this cycle:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence
From dependence back into bondage.
This cycle takes, on average, 200 years to complete. You can see most of it has been completed in America. The founding fathers had great spiritual faith, and that was why they came to America, to avoid persecution. They gained great courage in the belief that they should be free from england. That courage then lead to fighting a war, and ultimately, liberty. That liberty lead to an abundance, by God's good grace. But with abundance, came a lack of remembrance of where the country had come out of. That lead to complacency with certain freedoms being taken away to please a certain group of people. The allowance of this, lead to apathy towards encroachment on more rights. Finally we get to where we are.
I believe we are between apathy and dependence stages. This health care bill will make us totally dependent on the government, and it is just a short skip and a hop back into bondage. Currently, I see it taking no longer than 10 years.
It doesnt have to be that way though. We can have a spiritual awakening in this country. We can create great courage. We can make a move for liberty. Our for fathers fought with arms. I believe this situation calls for a fight with votes. All those who voted for the bill must go, that is certain, no grey area there. The tricky part will be voting people in that will completely repeal the bill. There is no half way here, it must be totally removed. We do not have much time, every year brings us closer to a dictatorship.
Every year, government grows bigger. At the end, there will be no options to vote for, and then the only thing left to do would be to fight with arms. On that day, however, I believe we will find no arms to fight with, and no where to stand. The 2nd Amendment was put into the constitution to keep the government in check. Therefore, if the government wants to totally put us into bondage, they will have to remove the arms. This will not come all at once, that, I hope, would be impossible. No, they will take it away, little by little, bill by bill, "common sense" law by "common sense" law; until there is nothing left.
Remember, ignore your rights, and they will go away. Fight every bill that will remove yours or someone else's right in even the smallest way possible. Even if you don't agree with the 2nd Amendment, it is there to protect the others. Remove it, and the others will disappear, guaranteed.
We live in dark times, my friends. Keep your ears up, and your eyes alert.
~Sheepdog
The history of the world and its nations seems to repeat itself. Each great nation seemed to follow this cycle:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence
From dependence back into bondage.
This cycle takes, on average, 200 years to complete. You can see most of it has been completed in America. The founding fathers had great spiritual faith, and that was why they came to America, to avoid persecution. They gained great courage in the belief that they should be free from england. That courage then lead to fighting a war, and ultimately, liberty. That liberty lead to an abundance, by God's good grace. But with abundance, came a lack of remembrance of where the country had come out of. That lead to complacency with certain freedoms being taken away to please a certain group of people. The allowance of this, lead to apathy towards encroachment on more rights. Finally we get to where we are.
I believe we are between apathy and dependence stages. This health care bill will make us totally dependent on the government, and it is just a short skip and a hop back into bondage. Currently, I see it taking no longer than 10 years.
It doesnt have to be that way though. We can have a spiritual awakening in this country. We can create great courage. We can make a move for liberty. Our for fathers fought with arms. I believe this situation calls for a fight with votes. All those who voted for the bill must go, that is certain, no grey area there. The tricky part will be voting people in that will completely repeal the bill. There is no half way here, it must be totally removed. We do not have much time, every year brings us closer to a dictatorship.
Every year, government grows bigger. At the end, there will be no options to vote for, and then the only thing left to do would be to fight with arms. On that day, however, I believe we will find no arms to fight with, and no where to stand. The 2nd Amendment was put into the constitution to keep the government in check. Therefore, if the government wants to totally put us into bondage, they will have to remove the arms. This will not come all at once, that, I hope, would be impossible. No, they will take it away, little by little, bill by bill, "common sense" law by "common sense" law; until there is nothing left.
Remember, ignore your rights, and they will go away. Fight every bill that will remove yours or someone else's right in even the smallest way possible. Even if you don't agree with the 2nd Amendment, it is there to protect the others. Remove it, and the others will disappear, guaranteed.
We live in dark times, my friends. Keep your ears up, and your eyes alert.
~Sheepdog
Ignorance
Some say ignorance is bliss. There is truth to that. You are happy when everything seems right in the world, even when its about to come crashing down. Some would say it is better to die happily in ignorance than to live, struggling every day with the knowledge that you know, and fighting to make things right instead of wrong.
I prefer struggling every day to make something right, over ignoring that there is a problem. Once you understand that there is something not right, how can you not fix it? How can you go about doing what you did before? How can you not change? The sheep can ignore the wolf, but in the end, the sheep dies, and while the wolf happily devours him. Ignorance is only temporary bliss. Weather you ignore it or not, the problem still exists.
If Christ has begun a work within you, can you really stay the way you were before? Can you really continue doing what you know is wrong? Can you stay ignorant of how what you do affects others? I'd say you cannot. If your life is changed by Christ, how can you go back? Yes, we fail. We are human, but because of Christ we are forgiven, and because of Christ we can stand. Because of Christ, we can help those around us, we can be a light to a world of darkness. Is it possible to be a child of God, and not do differently?
I would say no, there is no way. A person who has been changed by Christ, who has been saved from their sin and their mistakes, who has been shown forgiveness and grace, cannot continue in ignorance. It would be impossible. Not only would they change for the better, they would also wish that others would find the amazing love they have been shown. How could they hold such a great gift back? How could they stay quiet?
My friends, we live in dark times. We are heading for the end times, perhaps, we have already arrived. We must do as our Lord commanded. We must be lights to a world of darkness. We should not do it because we have to, but because it is impossible for us not to. Our lives should reflect Christ. Our very thoughts should be thought to the glory of Him who sent us.
Let the Lord use you in ways you cannot even imagine. Keep your mind open to how He is using you for His will. You may be surprised how He has used you to bless others, I was. It's amazing what He does. Our God is an awesome God.
Here am I, send me.
-Sheepdog
I prefer struggling every day to make something right, over ignoring that there is a problem. Once you understand that there is something not right, how can you not fix it? How can you go about doing what you did before? How can you not change? The sheep can ignore the wolf, but in the end, the sheep dies, and while the wolf happily devours him. Ignorance is only temporary bliss. Weather you ignore it or not, the problem still exists.
If Christ has begun a work within you, can you really stay the way you were before? Can you really continue doing what you know is wrong? Can you stay ignorant of how what you do affects others? I'd say you cannot. If your life is changed by Christ, how can you go back? Yes, we fail. We are human, but because of Christ we are forgiven, and because of Christ we can stand. Because of Christ, we can help those around us, we can be a light to a world of darkness. Is it possible to be a child of God, and not do differently?
I would say no, there is no way. A person who has been changed by Christ, who has been saved from their sin and their mistakes, who has been shown forgiveness and grace, cannot continue in ignorance. It would be impossible. Not only would they change for the better, they would also wish that others would find the amazing love they have been shown. How could they hold such a great gift back? How could they stay quiet?
My friends, we live in dark times. We are heading for the end times, perhaps, we have already arrived. We must do as our Lord commanded. We must be lights to a world of darkness. We should not do it because we have to, but because it is impossible for us not to. Our lives should reflect Christ. Our very thoughts should be thought to the glory of Him who sent us.
Let the Lord use you in ways you cannot even imagine. Keep your mind open to how He is using you for His will. You may be surprised how He has used you to bless others, I was. It's amazing what He does. Our God is an awesome God.
Here am I, send me.
-Sheepdog
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Health care
Health care has passed:
But even still, what's wrong with giving everyone health care? Well, lets look at what government run health care means, because that really is what this is about. When the government is paying for your health, they control everything. Everything is related to health in some way. What you eat, what you drink, how much sleep you get, where you work, what you drive, where you live, what you own, your political views, your religious views, it can all be lumped into health in one way or another. Government wants power, and unfortunately, they have it.
But it's their job to take care of you, isn't it? No, it should be governments job to make sure its citizens do not trample on the rights of other citizens. Government nowadays is focused more on making citizens live lives that they (government) deems they should. They believe that they are the only ones that can think straight, and must therefore regulate the citizens for their own good. This, my dear reader, is socialism.
But in the end, wont this do more good than harm? Well, let's look at that. There is no way in the world that the government can research and develop at the same rate as the free market. The reason the free market works is because people are free to try an idea out, and risk failing on that idea. The good ideas remain, the bad ideas are weeded out. Everyone is trying something new, and the idea keeps improving as time goes on. There is no way that the government can do that.
Another problem is government will have the monopoly on health care. Health insurance is a business. The company has a product, and the consumer can choose weather or not he wants it or not. This creates a competitive field to always be changing to fit the needs of the consumer. That means competition for better benefits, better prices, etc. When you have a monopoly, there is no incentive to improve, everyone has to come through you anyway, you will be payed the same weather you do well or not.
Yet another problem is, government cannot pay for everyone to have the top care. This means that they will have to discern who they can help and who they cannot afford. It's called triage, and we do it all the time with search and rescue. You can not save everyone, those that will use up to many supplies that can be used to save the lives of others, will be left to die. Same thing with government. However, if you have options, like we currently do, you can go to a clinic, and if you have the money, you can pay for that risky expensive procedure. Maybe you don't have the money, but at least you had the option do choose weather to have it or not.
Another one is personnel. Doctors and nurses are not magically formed. They have to go through school, get a degree, find a job, and then get paid for that job, enough to live on. Perhaps more importantly, they need to want that job. If government cant pay them what they can make elsewhere, why should they stick around as a doctor? And if government pays them hire, guess who's really paying for that? The citizenry.
It all comes down to this, government control is a poor substitute for a competitive, free market. It hasn't worked, it doesn't work, and it will never work. It sounds like a great idea, but it is still only an idea. Ideas are not reality. No idea is too great to not work. There comes a time when you must face the facts, and accept reality. Trying the same thing, just harder is insanity.
So, now how do we fix this? Well, that's a hard one. Once a bill becomes law, it is very difficult to reverse. The first step is vote every last person who voted for this unconstitutional bill out of office. The second would be vote people into office that are against big government. Currently, both republicans and democrats operate under the idea that government is the answer to problems. We must discern who is trustworthy enough to do what is good for the people and not for the government.
Now, there are two things we can do about the law. A, there could be a bill put forth to revoke the health care bill, but that has a very small chance of working. B, the next congress can just withhold funds from the program. The program cannot work without funds, but the problem is, it is still on the books for whoever at a later date wishes to start it up. We must figure out a way to remove the law completely, and take back the country. We must be a people whose standard for the law of the land is the constitution, and whose will is to do what is right.
As Christians, remember, this world is not our home. As much as it pains me to say, I believe we have lost our country. I will not give up hope that we can take it back, but for now, it doesn't look promising. Remember, God is in control. America might need to fall for His perfect will to be accomplished. I just pray that He will use me to accomplish it, and that I may live to see it completed. Perhaps this is His way of setting up the world for the end times, I don't know, but it would make sense from where I stand. Remember, however, we only see a small part of a stroke of a brush, God sees the whole painting. He knows what he is doing.
May the Lord bless you all,
~Sheepdog.
It will provide coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans, prevent the worst insurance company abuses, and begin to wrestle with relentlessly rising costs — while slightly reducing future deficits.Sounds peachy right? What they don't tell you is how it is paid for. By taxing the other 300 million of Americans. They make it "Equal" (except of course, the senators and congressmen are more equal so they get to have better care) by pulling the average and making them like the below average.
But even still, what's wrong with giving everyone health care? Well, lets look at what government run health care means, because that really is what this is about. When the government is paying for your health, they control everything. Everything is related to health in some way. What you eat, what you drink, how much sleep you get, where you work, what you drive, where you live, what you own, your political views, your religious views, it can all be lumped into health in one way or another. Government wants power, and unfortunately, they have it.
But it's their job to take care of you, isn't it? No, it should be governments job to make sure its citizens do not trample on the rights of other citizens. Government nowadays is focused more on making citizens live lives that they (government) deems they should. They believe that they are the only ones that can think straight, and must therefore regulate the citizens for their own good. This, my dear reader, is socialism.
But in the end, wont this do more good than harm? Well, let's look at that. There is no way in the world that the government can research and develop at the same rate as the free market. The reason the free market works is because people are free to try an idea out, and risk failing on that idea. The good ideas remain, the bad ideas are weeded out. Everyone is trying something new, and the idea keeps improving as time goes on. There is no way that the government can do that.
Another problem is government will have the monopoly on health care. Health insurance is a business. The company has a product, and the consumer can choose weather or not he wants it or not. This creates a competitive field to always be changing to fit the needs of the consumer. That means competition for better benefits, better prices, etc. When you have a monopoly, there is no incentive to improve, everyone has to come through you anyway, you will be payed the same weather you do well or not.
Yet another problem is, government cannot pay for everyone to have the top care. This means that they will have to discern who they can help and who they cannot afford. It's called triage, and we do it all the time with search and rescue. You can not save everyone, those that will use up to many supplies that can be used to save the lives of others, will be left to die. Same thing with government. However, if you have options, like we currently do, you can go to a clinic, and if you have the money, you can pay for that risky expensive procedure. Maybe you don't have the money, but at least you had the option do choose weather to have it or not.
Another one is personnel. Doctors and nurses are not magically formed. They have to go through school, get a degree, find a job, and then get paid for that job, enough to live on. Perhaps more importantly, they need to want that job. If government cant pay them what they can make elsewhere, why should they stick around as a doctor? And if government pays them hire, guess who's really paying for that? The citizenry.
It all comes down to this, government control is a poor substitute for a competitive, free market. It hasn't worked, it doesn't work, and it will never work. It sounds like a great idea, but it is still only an idea. Ideas are not reality. No idea is too great to not work. There comes a time when you must face the facts, and accept reality. Trying the same thing, just harder is insanity.
So, now how do we fix this? Well, that's a hard one. Once a bill becomes law, it is very difficult to reverse. The first step is vote every last person who voted for this unconstitutional bill out of office. The second would be vote people into office that are against big government. Currently, both republicans and democrats operate under the idea that government is the answer to problems. We must discern who is trustworthy enough to do what is good for the people and not for the government.
Now, there are two things we can do about the law. A, there could be a bill put forth to revoke the health care bill, but that has a very small chance of working. B, the next congress can just withhold funds from the program. The program cannot work without funds, but the problem is, it is still on the books for whoever at a later date wishes to start it up. We must figure out a way to remove the law completely, and take back the country. We must be a people whose standard for the law of the land is the constitution, and whose will is to do what is right.
As Christians, remember, this world is not our home. As much as it pains me to say, I believe we have lost our country. I will not give up hope that we can take it back, but for now, it doesn't look promising. Remember, God is in control. America might need to fall for His perfect will to be accomplished. I just pray that He will use me to accomplish it, and that I may live to see it completed. Perhaps this is His way of setting up the world for the end times, I don't know, but it would make sense from where I stand. Remember, however, we only see a small part of a stroke of a brush, God sees the whole painting. He knows what he is doing.
May the Lord bless you all,
~Sheepdog.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs.
LTC (Retired) Dave Grossman talks about sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs.
Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into "warriorhood", you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference. There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.Read it, its very good.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Human rights.
A friend posted this on facebook:
Couple of things.
I am not Republican, I am not Democrat. I am a Juris Naturalist. I believe in higher law, set forth by Almighty God. There are two parts of Higher Law, Do what you say you will do and Do not encroach on other persons or their property. That is, do not rape, murder, steal, etc. If these laws are widely followed, there is prosperity. If not, there is misery.
I believe that government should not be involved unless it is to stop one persons rights from being trampled on. That is, to protect the rights of its citizens in a way that does not destroy the rights of another. This is done by taking those who have committed an offense, and trying them in a court of justice. Notice that I did not say a court of law. Any jury, any court should be trying to find what justice is, and how to apply it to the situation. Justice, you see, is not created; justice is found.
Throughout history, man has shown their lust for control. The people with the biggest stick won, and trampled the rights of those weaker. That is why we have the 2nd Amendment. If the people have the biggest stick, the government must respect their rights. The people have a right to live peaceably. When someone decides to disrupt a persons peaceful life, that person has a right to defend themselves and property, to bring about justice. It is human instinct to stay alive and survive.
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