Now Is The Time For Action!

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. His ways are always prosperous; your laws are rejected by him; he sneers at all his enemies. He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.” He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.” His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue. He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent. His eyes watch in secret for his victims; like a lion in cover he lies in wait. He lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.He says to himself, “God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees.” Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. Psalm 10:2-12 NIV

As a strong believer in the power of prayer, I also understand that praying without taking appropriate action won’t accomplish much. Yes, we need to pray for people in times of crisis and tragedy, but we also need to take action–not just the Everyday Americans who’re praying, but the legislators who have the authority to change the way we do business and to curtail the evil nurtured in those who do not know God.

There is a time for prayer–daily, as often as one needs to talk to God–but then if we want to see concrete results of prayer, we must DO SOMETHING in order to see our prayers answered. Faith–total confidence in God–requires action on the part of the people praying, not just giving lip service in a time of crisis. Yes, “our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of tragedy,” may make us feel better that we said something, but does it make sense for us to keep saying the same thing, over and over again, when our lawmakers–hold within their hands the power to change the landscape of tragedy into one of hope and saved lives?

I’m praying that all of those legislators who have so happily received funding from NRA will now, reject further involvement by them and act on principle and morality instead of party partisanship. It is time to set aside greed and govern according to the needs of people across America who have suffered loss or injury from out of control people using guns. We NEED COMMON SENSE GUN LEGISLATION, NOW! The discussion needs to be held now, not later when the sensationalism has subsided, but now while wounds are still gaping and bleeding and graves waiting to embrace the innocent. Now, is the time, legislators must stop procrastinating and DO SOMETHING to save lives and end the carnage that erupts by those who are either mentally unstable or just plain evil.

And to be clear, evil doesn’t just rise to the surface unexpectedly. It rises out of careful nurturing over time, being fed and watered out of hate of self and others and those who are partaking of the nurturing, should also be punished for the role they play in the senseless loss of life. Evil doesn’t hide–it parades itself for all to see and someone watching the parade should speak up and try to direct the evil to turn aside into a place of peace and love so healing can begin.

As a nation, we cannot afford to sit idly by and say nothing–we must speak out and force our elected officials to do their job for the sake of all, not the gun lobbyists and manufacturers. Now is the time for action; getting beyond lip service to bring about legislative change to protect us all.

I pray we can affect this legislation immediately, but if we can’t, I urge all to keep pushing for Common Sense Gun Legislation (CSGL) and in 2018 and 2020 vote for candidates who will get it done–forsaking the all mighty dollars of the NRA, in order to save lives.

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About Praying!

“So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you.  Jeremiah 7:16 NIV

“Do not pray for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress. Jeremiah 11:14 NIV

Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. Jeremiah 14:11 NIV

But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ Matthew  18:16 NIV

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans 8:26 NIV

The time has come (if not already past) for us to recognize that “praying for the #WHidiot” is not changing anything. He’s still the same self-centered, narcissist he’s always been; only thinking about what will work best for him, not the masses, and he’s still lying–to Congress and all America–in his attempt to get the media focus off the trumprussia investigation.

No matter how many times church leaders tell people to pray for this idiot–and see no results; they should be able to draw their own conclusions and people should stop listening to the church leaders and listen to God through understanding His Word. For if people continue to pray for him–to change or whatever they’re praying for–and nothing happens, we should know that we’re not praying the will of God, but by direction of mere mortals who are just as fallible as the rest of us.

I’m not wasting my time praying for the #WHidiot for he has already determined to do whatever he wants to do. I will continue to pray that all Americans will wake up and demand that Congress do their job in upholding the oaths of their office and the Constitution and #impeachtrump.

Until Americans–We The People–stand up to the “wannabe dictator” nothing will ever change. Tax payers are picking up the tab for his weekend excursions and already he’s adding to the national debt by launching an “unwarranted” missile strike against Syria, to the tune of almost $90 million dollars, without congressional authorization. Then, he lied about the strike being a matter of “vital national security” and in some interviews and his letter to Congress, “retaliation” both of which are lies.  We don’t need a reactionary in the White House, we need a leader–one who is capable of thinking and rational, logical conclusions. We don’t have that person in the White House.

The pictures did not move him to “horror and grief” for there have been more pictures from years ago depicting the horror suffered by those of chemical weapon attacks. Perhaps, as it has been stated about the idiot–a picture with fewer words will help all to understand the travesty of having this person in the Oval Office.

No matter what–most of us–who are not blinded by the drama–will push Congress to do their job and we who know The Lord, will keep praying for revelation knowledge of truth for all who have been blinded by the shiny object–so-called Syrian initiative.

No Disappointment With Christ!

Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Romans 5:2-6 NLT

Though there be many things and people that might disappoint us in life, when we are in Christ, we are not disappointed–for we know His love will see us through whatever falls upon us.

Sometimes–we see not getting what we want as a disappointment, but we have to learn how to rise above above what we thought we wanted and accept what God has for us. After all, He knows more than we do about what is best for us.

But knowing this does not stop us from appealing to Him for those things we desire. What helps us in not being disappointed is when we align our petitions to Him based upon His Word.

We are to pray for leaders in the world and when we ask God to pour out wisdom upon them and those leaders are receptive to hearing God and obeying, we can rest assured of peace in the land.

However, when we can see that leaders are not hearing from God–and we can tell by what they say and do–we must seek God’s wisdom for ourselves so we can endure to the end–never wavering in our faith in Him–because He will never fail us.

I’ve expressed my disappointment in church leaders and political leaders and lawmakers and teachers and in so many others that I’m now tired of being disappointed by people. My focus has to be turned to Christ in whom there is no disappointment. That does not mean I ignore what is going on around me, but that I consistently reaffirm my faith in God and know that He will work it out!

Therefore–it is to Him I give the glory; it is to Him I give the praise; it is to Him I commit my soul until my dying day. There is no one like Him–no one in the earth who can do the things He does and no one who has a place for me for all eternity where I will live in peace and rest with Him.

We don’t have to worry about being disappointed with Christ as long as we live to please Him and not people!

Expecting From The Lord!

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request. I Chronicles 4:10 NIV

So, the first day of boot camp didn’t quite turn out the way we wanted it to work.

The breakfast I had planned was a miserable fail (baked omelette). Apparently, I forgot something needed in the recipe and we ended up with cheesy egg toast.

Lunch was chicken salad, which for me was enhanced by using the cheesy egg toast for an open-faced sandwich.

Dinner–well, I have no idea since I didn’t eat dinner and left the others to their own devices.  We’ll get better as we go along–I hope.

A rocky start, but most of what we wanted to accomplish for day one–achieved.

Grandson is reading and analyzing specific passages of scriptures, relating them to daily living and other literature designed to open his eyes and open dialogue with us.

More next time–keep praying!

Lord, keep us focused on our task and always dependent upon You and enlarge our understanding of how to move forward in such a way that not only will our grandson learn a valuable lesson, but we will, too.

 

Just Do The Word!

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  I Thessalonians 5:11-18 NIV

We don’t need to carry big bibles, wear crosses so large they cause us to bend from the weight, or “just talk about” being a Believer. Following Jesus Christ and doing what He has told us to do–is not limited to a political party–as much as some would have us to think. There are Believers in the world who are affiliated with all sorts of political systems and some are not even worthy of mention. The truth of the matter is–Jesus said, people would recognize us by our love for one another. Love, inspired by God, transcends politics.

Today and everyday, our time should be spent in The Word, praying one for the other, and doing what The Word says to do. Though we are to encourage those who are living according to The Word, we are also to admonish and correct those who are not–if they claim  to follow Jesus. For those with whom it is evident that Jesus Christ is not their Lord, we simply pray that He will reveal Himself to them in an awesome way. And we must remember this–The Word was written for the benefit of The Believers for the unbelievers won’t care!

And when we caution others about following the dictates of men, we do so with the authority given us by Jesus Christ through Holy Spirit. For those who allow Holy Spirit to guide them in all things, will not speak anything Holy Spirit has not given them to say.

What is amazing to me is that there are those who truly feel that they have a right to direct–moral conscience–in others, when what they really end up revealing is their lack of trust in God. Not one of us–is the only person to whom God speaks. I pray He is speaking to all of His children and all of His children are listening. But I also recognize that not every person who proclaims to be a Christian, actually is–they just use the banner to entice others into foolishness.

Prayer changes things and people when they are receptive to hearing God’s voice. Pray for peace in the land, unity through Holy Spirit, and joy in the heart of every person who loves The Lord. Pray for the exposure of those who are disguising themselves to be Christians, but are manipulating the masses for their own purposes. Pray for the end of bigotry and hatred in the hearts of those who have grown cold from the lack of love in the hearts for The Lord. Pray that all who have lost loved ones will allow God to comfort their hearts and fill the void with His Love. Thank God for all who have received His love and are constantly seeking Him for direction in all things as we continue this journey called life.

We can still change things in the world, but we first learn The Word and then just do The Word!

Until We Return To The Lord, We Will Weep!

“I myself said, “ ‘How gladly would I treat you like my children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares The Lord. A cry is heard on the barren heights, the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel, because they have perverted their ways and have forgotten the LORD their God. “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.” “Yes, we will come to you, for you are the LORD our God. Jeremiah 3:19-22 NIV

In the wake of sadness because of the hatred and violence across the land, we must realize that nothing is a surprise to God. Since the days of the prophets (the true prophets), we have been warned that if we willingly forsake God’s ways, our crying would be heard from every corner. And here we are–crying–foul, injustice, hatred, bigotry–and souls are lost because we have turned from God.

Not all of us are guilty of perpetuating violence and hatred, but there are so many who are that the most the rest of us can do is to pray–appealing to God’s merciful nature--while submitting to His Ways and interceding for all who turned from Him.

I don’t know of any one person who would celebrate the lives lost–through gun violence–and yet–our legislators would rather spend time and money on a witch hunt–simply to hinder a person from being elected. It would appear to me–and I’m not serving in Washington–that it would take far less time to legislate sensible gun-control, provide the financial assistance for law enforcement agencies to train personnel not to overreact in situations than it has taken investigating Hillary Clinton. And they think–all the pointless time and money spent–tax payer money–is money well spent! How sad for our country–we have elected leaders who are spending more time and money promoting their agenda than in serving the needs of the people.

Personally, I think every person who has been sitting on their thumbs, refusing to work for the people–should be removed from office and they certainly should not be paid. If anyone else–hired to do a job refused to do it–they would be fired, so it’s time to fire the obstructionists legislators and hire those who will work for the people–not a party.

Until we get things right with God–in our own lives, in our communities and exercise common sense (exercising Godly Wisdom) when electing officials who make decisions, we will continue to hear the cries of those weeping, and we will continue to see the violence because without God guiding us–love is swept aside, so hate reigns.

There are some who think we’ll be brought to our knees if Hillary wins the election and there are some who know we’ll be brought to fall on our faces, prostrate–seeking God’s grace and mercy if Trump wins. We have seen in the past how fearmongering results in foolishness with a president who started a war–over misinformation–and the number of lives lost because of it and the trillions of debt incurred behind it. I knew then, if Bush won the second term, we’d be praying–like never before.  I wasn’t wrong, then and I’m not wrong now. We need a leader who cares about the people–all of us–regardless of our skin color, religious affiliations, ethnicity or gender–every human being in America and knows how to love–unconditionally.

Lord, forgive us and give us a heart of flesh, filled with a desire to please You and not people so love will overflow, drowning the hate and bigotry. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen!

Watch Your Mouth!

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21 NKJV

James reminds us that the tongue–that little member–holds much power and the only person who controls it–is the person to whom it belongs.

With the tongue we can mend relationships or destroy them forever.

With the tongue we can construct greatness or ignite destruction.

With the tongue we can have peace or chaos.

With the tongue we can create an environment that brings about prosperity or fuel abject poverty.

With the tongue we can speak life–to our bodies and promote healing and wholeness or we can doom ourselves to sickness and disease.

With the tongue–we are responsible for all we say and we must watch what we say because once we say it–we cannot recall words out of the air as easily as we can recall cars that need repair. When we are foolish–we can apologize and ask forgiveness, but it doesn’t take away the sting and hurt of words that linger in the air and in our minds. We must watch our mouths.

When we speak positive things–our words are not often remembered, but the negative things we say, are remembered by others long after we have forgotten what we said.

We have an obligation to ourselves and others to make sure that before we speak, we have prayed and given much thought to how we want our tongues to function. We are to be slow to speak and quick to listen to all God has to say to us and if we listen and obey, we cannot go astray.

Watch your mouth! Think about how words function–to heal or hurt, to spring life or trip to death, the tongue–the tiny member over which we have complete control–must submit to God and only say those things that He says.

We are healed and whole, peacemakers and not peacebreakers, the head and not the tail, providers of those in need and not  manipulators of greed. We are His children, members of a royal priesthood, created to do good, not bad and we shall praise Him for His mighty acts as we live according to His Word so others might see our good works and praise Him,too.

We have shaken off the deeds of darkness and choose to live in the marvelous light of The Lord. We are encouragers to others to live by faith and will not discourage any to live the life God has destined for them.

We are more than conquerors and have victory in Jesus at every turn where the enemy has laid a snare.

We live according to the hope we have in Jesus, not in expectations of mere mortals for they have no power outside of His power to make a positive, lasting, difference in our lives. And we will watch what we say–speaking only as He speaks–so we can obtain what He has already planned for us.

When Holy Spirit Moves Upon Us!

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:2-4 NKJV

Today, I address (or tackle) the operation of Holy Spirit given to us, as promised by Jesus. There are only two occasions by which we speak in tongues when we are filled with Holy Spirit. There are a number of theological, hermeneutical, philosophical, etymological and other narratives about what it means to speak in tongues and only what God says really matters. 

First of all, it is absolutely abhorrent for anyone and I do mean anyone--to try to force someone to speak in tongues by having them positioned in prolonged prayer or by the repetition of any words or phrases. I defy anyone who uses these methods to validate them from the Bible. I can only conclude that those who use this method are simply not familiar with God’s Word and only do so out of misguided traditional efforts.

Then there are those who have training session for others to speak in tongues. Here again, we can find no evidence of this method aligned with The Word of God. Speaking in tongues cannot be taught–and when it is–it is simply an act to impress others; it is not movement by Holy Spirit within a person.

Here’s the difference between Holy Spirit moving and people attempting to force someone else to speak in tongues.  Holy Spirit moves from within–the evidence of being filled; when people speak in tongues because others have manipulated the event–it is external influence; not internal and it is them–not Holy Spirit.

The most obvious understanding of Holy Spirit moving from within is the fact that we–who are filled–understand that we speak as He gives utterance, not as we choose to speak. In other words, we don’t have a planned tongue as having learned a foreign language and speaking it. The language Holy Spirit speaks is from heaven and can be interpreted only by Holy Spirit–either through the one person speaking in tongues or by someone else who Holy Spirit chooses to use. (I Corinthians 12)

Now, speaking in tongues as a prayer language is decidedly different from speaking in tongues as a means of exalting and encouraging the masses. When we pray in tongues, the conversation is between us and God–no one else and no one else needs to understand what is being said.

Speaking in tongues as in “operating in the gift of tongues” is accompanied by interpretational and prophetic gifts operating collaboratively–by Holy Spirit--not people. These gifts are given to encourage the Body of Christ–and not intended for use as a spectacle (which occurs in many churches).

Since I am aware of the various approaches to speaking in tongues, I’m sure some people won’t agree with what has been said. That’s okay. I write by permission of Holy Spirit and according to The Word–not people.

Being filled with and allowing Holy Spirit to operate in our lives on a daily basis creates within us and around us–an environment that is permeated with His love. Without the infilling of Holy Spirit–we have no spiritual power and this is why Believers are weak in their faith and in their deeds–their strength wanes when attempting to do without Holy Spirit power. It is the power within that keeps us going and going and going and going. When we are drained from daily events, we remove ourselves from the fray of those things we cannot control, and allow Him to refresh us and energize us so we can keep going. We keep praying, we keep comforting, we keep exalting God and promoting the Gospel, and more importantly–we keep loving–even those who have proven themselves to be unlovable.

This is what happens when Holy Spirit moves upon us and operates from within us–we operate with His power.

The Devil–Cloaked With Deceptive Devices!

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 2 Corinthians 4:1-5 NIV

Disclaimer–I am a devout Believer in Jesus Christ and claim no denominational ties or affiliations, I am ordained by God and man to teach God’s Truth, no matter what the circumstances or who it may expose. I’m not particularly impressed with any politician because I know they all lie, but when it comes to mocking a practice that is pivotal to our faith, I tend to get a bit incensed.

Your thoughts are welcomed!

I am unable to attach the link I wanted to reference, but please check on YouTube and search for “Donald Trump Meets With Religious leaders.”

Please note that this video posted in September 2015. Much has been revealed about the man, by himself, since then.

I’m praying even the more for God to pour out His Wisdom upon all flesh, that blinders will be removed and ears unstopped so they will receive Truth.

 

Snoozing and Losing!

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man. Proverbs 6:10,11 NIV

What happens when we sleep through life without paying attention? We lose big time!

Of course, the sleep I’m referencing is figurative–not literal. Although there are some people who literally sleep through life. The others–tend to close their eyes, not willing to see what’s happening right in front of them. And these are the people who go through life, wondering what happened and why life didn’t treat them better.

Who’s sleeping? Apparently, all those frustrated, bitter people over what life has handed them or at least what they think is the fault of life–are asleep–walking with blinders covering their eyes and it is evident in the way a buffoon is racking up delegates in the GOP race. No rationally, sane person could ever believe a non-stop, talking detonator could ever believe that Trump is a any kind of Christian and what’s worse–is that he supposedly has the support of some evangelicals. They must be sleeping.

But they’re not the only people asleep as they walk. Parents in Detroit should be outraged at what is happening to their children’s opportunity for a quality education. Governor Snyder has no love for them or the impoverished in any city–he’s the businessman who had a plan (and shipped jobs to China) and then arbitrarily ignored the signs of what an emergency manager was doing–siphoning money from an already cash-strapped school district. But it appears that’s what emergency managers do–take–from the people who need it the most and become the sacrificial lambs for greed. The teachers in the Detroit Public School deserve better than having their salaries sliced thinner than Swiss cheese and pastrami, paying more for healthcare than anyone with their jobs should ever have to pay, and being forced to adhere to an educational strategy that many have said won’t work; especially when kids are tested beyond endurance. After all that–they are subjected to punitive evaluations that are not designed to assess what they do and do well, but what they don’t do–adhere to the cookie cutter standard in presenting information to students.

It’s time for people to WAKE UP! Prop open eyes and see what’s going on around them. They need to stop listening the political rhetoric deliberately formulated and executed by the media to make Trump sound like he has any potential to win the presidency. Of course, if people (those who claim they know and love God) don’t vote according to the directions of The Word–we may have the most laughable and comedic buffoon living in the White House. Trump has already earned the disrespect of many other nations’ leaders and it is justice since he has no respect for anyone–including himself to continue to delude himself into thinking he’d make a great president. Of course, the slogan–take America Back resonates with all those bigots who have resented having a black man in the White House. We don’t need anyone to take America Back–America hasn’t gone anywhere and anyone with half a brain–understands exactly what he and others mean when they use this phrase.

Back to the parents in Detroit–most of the sleep induced fog is evidence of a lack of education for themselves. They do not understand the importance of an education and unfortunately, their drug of choice–whatever it may–keeps them in a deep sleep–unable to see through the fog of their addictions to understand their children are in danger are following in their footsteps–uneducated, and addicted to poverty.

If this blog post sounds extremely rigid and harsh–good–I’ve made my point. It’s time for people to get off their hind parts, put some cleansing drops in their eyes, and find their way to the polls–after praying and seeking direction from God. And if they don’t believe in God–they need to read the information that is so easily accessible about every candidate–if they can read. If they can’t read, there are a number of apps out there that will read the information to them. But they must do something and do it now!

Wake up America–and see with clear, unobstructed vision–the direction we’re taking with allowing Trump to think he can be president. Wake up Detroit Parents–before it’s too late and your children suffer the fate of third world countries–held in captivity to poverty because their parents refused to take action in the situation when they had a chance. Stand up and protest–understand that your children’s future is at stake and if they are held back–chained to the mistakes of your past–their lives will be worse than those of their parents.