Remember Pearl Harbor Day

This Friday, December 7, 2012 marks the 71st anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan. On that grim Sunday morning- December 7, 1941- 3,500 US Servicemen were killed and hundreds more wounded in two waves of air attacks lasting a little over two hours. Three hundred and fifty aircraft were destroyed and all eight battleships of the US Pacific fleet were sunk or severely damaged, although the US Aircraft carriers at Pearl remained unharmed in the attack. The sinking of the invincible USS Arizona marked the end of the battleship's distinguished career in service to this nation. In 1987, I had the opportunity to travel to Hawaii and visit the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Standing there looking down at the lost ship, which at that time was still leaking oil into the water, I thought of the lost men lying entombed beneath my feet. It was both an eerie and sad moment. I was also reminded of the words of Christ, "Greater love hath none than he who lays down his life for his friends." Freedom loving Americans need to pause and reflect on and honor the memory of those lost that Sunday morning over seventy years ago. Now more than ever, the bravery and sacrifice of those men and the slogan, "Remember Pearl Harbor" should never be forgotten.

America's Freedom In Serious Jeopardy

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."
 -Ronald Reagan

 The government of the United States of America has been literally hijacked by people who are about as anti-American as you can get. The long standing belief of the American individual's right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness has now been placed in serious jeopardy after last week's devastating betrayal of the American people by the US Supreme Court's decision to uphold Obamacare.
 The highest court in the land ruled in the name of “fair and equitable treatment for all people.” This is certainly not the same as “and justice for all.” This is about appeasing the lazy, the selfish, and the greedy who walk among us, those screaming in the streets for "economic equality" yet do not want to work, and are jealous of those who have worked hard and been successful in their lives.

They would rather listen to the media spun lies of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and the rest of the traitorous and hypocritical political Far Left  about how the much demonized, "greedy, rich people" of America "owe them". In reality, Obama, Pelosi, and Reid are "greedy, rich people" themselves!

Christ said, "The poor will always be among you." And while it is noble and good to help the poor and the needy, it should not be a state-mandated obligation based on income levels. In other words, people should not have to be forced, through the federal government imposing higher and higher taxes, to foot the bill for those who want to sit around on their lazy butts and collect a government check every month. It does not seem very fair or right when many of these people are physically and mentally capable of going out and getting a job and pulling their own weight in this world.

Being and taking responsibility for your life, and the time-honored Yankee notion of  "pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps" through hard work and determination, is one of the mainstays of a free society. Yet, the Obama Administration seeks to reward the lazy and the selfish by encouraging them to stay on welfare and other government entitlement programs, which now includes free healthcare at the expense of hard working American tax payers already struggling to make ends meet in this floundering economy.

"If anyone will not work, neither let him eat....Indeed, we hear that some among you are disorderly, that they are passing their lives in idleness, neglectful of duty, being busy with other peoples' affairs instead of their own and doing no work." II Thessalonians 3:10-11

  America was established on the Judeo-Christian principles found within the Holy Bible. Those who fought the Revolutionary War to secure our freedom from the tyranny of the British Crown, and later, the men who founded our government, realized that if it had not been for the direct intervention of Divine Providence, we would have never won the War of Independence. 

 As Benjamin Franklin, often portrayed as one of the least religious of the founders, wrote in a letter to William Strahan in 1784:

“My dear friend, do not imagine that I am vain enough to ascribe our success [Revolution] to any superiority…If it had not been for the justice of our cause, and the consequent interposition of Providence, in which we had faith, we might have been ruined. If I had ever before been an atheist, I should now have been convinced of the Being and government of a Deity!”

  Mr. Franklin realized that true liberty can only come from God, and striving to live righteously before Him and by obeying His laws. The founding fathers' personal religious beliefs might have been varied amongst themselves, yet, the general consensus of the men assembled to draft our laws were unanimous in their conviction that the primary role of the newly formed government was to uphold and protect the constitutional rights guaranteed to all Americans, and to keep us safe from enemies, both foreign and domestic. And that's it!

However, from her infancy, the great freedom experiment called America has been threatened by people who have actively fought against these principles, who wanted to impose their own selfish desires on the people that they, as public servants, had pledged to honor and protect.
 Fortunately, this  group of detractors were far outnumbered by people who believed in and practiced the godly principles implemented into our government. The result of their striving to live righteously before God was America, a nation like no other on the face of the earth, a "shining city on a hill" and a beacon for Jesus Christ.

Now, 236 years later, it seems like the descendants of the anti-God group have triumphed. Liberalism has taken over this nation and is destroying our freedom.  In the eyes of many liberals, God, if He truly does exist at all, is viewed as the enemy. The only god they seek to serve is the humanistic god of The State. Man is worshiping man and replacing God's truth with the inferior and self-centered desires of man.
 However, unlike the too often broken promises and betrayals of politicians and judges in these uncertain days,  God's promises are the real deal.
And His promises are eternal.

"If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14


Photograph Source: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=637&q=cross+in+America&oq=cross+in+America&gs_l=img.12..0i5.12730

Only God Sees The Heart

Is prejudice rooted in the sins of idolatry and pride?



The Lord admonished the prideful and conceited nature of man when He told his listeners,"Be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy." Luke 21:1

God is not going to judge us on the color of our skin, or our race, or our ability to absorb knowledge. God's concern is with the condition of our hearts.

The Lord's greatest desire is to see all His children, called forth from every race and nation, Jew and Gentile alike, come together to worship Him in spirit and in truth, as the Unblemished Bride of Messiah.

"For you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, God's own, purchased, special people; that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1Peter 2:9

Called "out of darkness into His marvelous light"

An awesome thought, indeed!

"The Heavens Declare The Glory"

Planet Watch
March 2012

Tonight I went outside to see the stars and was blown away by the sight of the planets Venus and Jupiter shining so bright and beautiful and so close together in the western sky. According to the website, EarthSky, the two planets will come together in a dazzling conjunction this week, with the more distant planet Mercury barely visible beneath them. Meanwhile, rising in the east, the mysterious red planet, Mars, will be visible at dusk, beaming all night as the brightest star just behind Sirius, commonly known as "The Dog Star".

"The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament shows and proclaims
His handiwork." Psalm 19:1

Looking up at the myriad of stars glittering across the deep purple canopy of night, my thoughts reflected those of the psalmist, beholding the beauty of God's creation while longing for fellowship with the Creator Himself.

"How lovely are Your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul yearns, yes, even pines and is homesick for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out and sing for joy to the living God." Psalm 84:1-2

Yes, my soul longs for You, O Lord! For You alone are worthy of my praise and glory!

Year Of The Bible Controversy

Several weeks ago the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
unanimously adopted a resolution making 2012 the Year of the Bible.
This has enraged atheists groups in the state who opposed the measure,
and to prove their point, one group of atheists put up a billboard,
taking a verse of bible scripture-"Slaves obey your Masters"- out of
context, and pairing this with a picture of a black man in chains.
Then they made sure to place this inflammatory billboard sign in one
of Harrisburg's most racially diverse neighborhoods where it was sure
to cause a huge controversy. The community was outraged. The
billboard was soon vandalized, reflecting the indignation of the
residents there. Although the billboard has since been taken down,
the damage has already been done. Meanwhile, the spokesman for the
group responsible for the billboard, Ernest Perce V, told the local
news media that his group's intention was not to stir up racial
strife, but the message on the billboard was meant to serve as a wake
up call to people across the state, urging them to phone their
legislators and demand that the offending "Year of the Bible"
resolution be thrown out.

“My thinking was, we're in Pa where a large number of people are
Christian bible readers, they know what that verse meant,” stated
Perce.

Oh really, Mr. Perce? So, how does one equate the humiliating picture
of a black man in chains with a call to throw out a resolution making
2012 the Year of the Bible in Pennsylvania? Because, says, Mr. Perce,
the bible 'condones slavery'. After all, it says, "Slaves obey your
Masters."

But does the Bible actually say this?

The correct translation of this verse, found in Colossians 3: 22, is
"Servants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not
only when their eyes are on you as pleasers of men, but in simplicity
of purpose, with all your heart, because of your reverence for the
Lord and as a sincere expression of your devotion to Him."

In other words, servants honor the Lord through your work. Colossians
3: 23 further advises, "Whatever may be your task, work at it
heartily, from the soul, as something done for the Lord and not for
men."

While slavery was a common practice in the Bible times, especially as
one of the spoils of war, it was widely practiced throughout the
ancient world. The Egyptians took slaves, as did the Babylonians, and
the Persians. The Ottoman Sultans enslaved thousands of young women
inside their palace harems, while the huge Arab slave markets of North
Africa flourished for years, providing slaves for the New World
colonies. However, as the Bible is primarily the history of one
people, the Jewish people, when the Israelites took slaves, these
people were considered servants, who performed certain tasks in the
household, like making pottery or clothing, or they tended the garden
or grape arbors, or worked in the fields harvesting the crops. They
were almost treated like a member of the family. Furthermore, after
several years of service, the slave of an Israelite could be set free
from his bondage.

By taking Colossians 3:22 out of context and pairing it with the
picture of a black man in chains makes this ignorant, race-baiting
atheist group no better than the ignorant and cruel slave holders in
the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries in America who took the bible out
of context to justify their enslavement of their fellow human beings,
or, in another example, the overly zealous Puritans of Salem,
Massachusetts who misused scripture to accuse and persecute innocent
people of practicing witchcraft.

The disgusting actions of this atheist group is just one more sick and
pathetic attempt to eradicate the deep roots of the Christian faith in
America. What these groups and their antagonistic supporters in the
liberal social media fail to realize is that without God's blessing,
this nation would have never come into existence. Many of our
founding fathers felt this way. Benjamin Franklin, addressing the
delegates gathered to form our nation in Philadelphia during the
summer of 1787, said it best: "I have lived a long time, and the
longer I live, the more proof I see of this truth. God governs the
affairs of men. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His
notice, can an empire rise without His aid? Without God's help, we
will do no better than those who built the Tower of Babel. We will end
up divided by our own selfishness, and our work will come to nothing."

Defending The Faith

Recently, the United States Air Force was forced to remove a logo
which carries a reference to God.

The logo, which was found on a patch, was removed several weeks ago
from the Rapid Capabilities Office, because it included a line from
Latin which translates, "Doing God's Work With Other Peoples' Money."
However, after a group calling themselves the Military Association of
Atheist and Freethinkers lodged a complaint, the line was rewritten to
read, "Doing Miracles With Other People's Money."

I have to ask, "Who is really promoting religion here?"

While the word, religion, is equated with belief in God, or going to
church, or can be used as a reference for a certain church
denomination, synagogue, temple, or mosque, there is also another
meaning of the word that is far too often overlooked in our society.
Religion is your way of life.
For example, you can religiously drive to work the same way every
morning, or walk your dog religiously at a certain time each day, or,
as in the case mentioned above, be allowed to get away with bullying
and/or intimidating people who believe in God by threatening them with
a lawsuit. This is the "religion" or way of life of many atheist
groups in this nation. They seem to forget that while they are
accusing people of promoting belief in God, they are themselves
promoting or forcing their religion, or way of life on others, which
is the belief in no God. Furthermore, they seem to hold a particular
venom for anyone or anything associated with Jesus Christ and
Christianity. However, despite the concerted efforts of professed
atheists and their conspirators in the ACLU (American Civil Liberties
Union) and the secular news media to obscure and deny our heritage of
faith, America was founded upon the Judeo-Christian precepts of the
Holy Bible. And in no place is this more evident than in our nation's
capital. On almost every government building in Washington DC there is
a fresco or statue of the biblical patriarchs, displays of the The Ten
Commandments, and/or verses from scripture inscribed on the walls.
Atop the magnificent obelisk known as The Washington Monument are
engraved the words, "Laus Deo" which translated from Latin means,
"Praise Be To God". In the main reading room of the Library of
Congress, there is a bronze statue of Moses holding The Ten
Commandments. On the ceiling of that same room is a painting called
"Judea" which depicts a young Jewish woman raising her hands to God
in prayer. "The heavens declare the glory of God." (Psalm 19:1) is
one of the many quotes found inscribed on the walls there. Meanwhile,
in the main lobby of the library there are two Bibles on public
display.
The motto, "In God We Trust" can not only be found on our currency,
but is prominently displayed in both the United States House and
Senate Chambers. The Lincoln Memorial also contains numerous
acknowledgments of God and passages from the Bible, as well as the
faith-based declarations that, “we here highly resolve that . . . this
nation under God . . . shall not perish from the earth..." while in
the Supreme Court, a bronze image of the Ten Commandments is displayed
above the bench where the Justices preside in the main courtroom.
It is solely due to our Godly heritage that America has prospered
like no other nation on the face of the earth. And in these uncertain
times of economic and political instability, Christians need to stand
together to defend the faith of our Founding Fathers, and our
guaranteed rights under the US Constitution of freedom of religion and
the right to expressions of worship, including the public
acknowledgment of God.
President John Adams, one of America's Founding Fathers once wrote:
"Our great advantage of the Christian religion is that it brings the
great principle of the law of nature and nations-Love your neighbor as
yourself, and do to others as you would that others should do to you-
to the knowledge, belief and veneration of the whole people. Children,
servants, women and men, are all professors in the science of public
as well as private morality. No other institution for
education...could diffuse this kind of necessary information."

The Destruction Of Gog And Magog

"Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, of Meshech, and of Tubal." Ezekiel 38:2

The prophet is speaking here of the enemies of God coming against the land of Israel. Many biblical scholars have debated over the years just what countries are Gog and Magog, and most of them have drawn the conclusion that Gog is actually symbolic of the leader of the world powers antagonistic to God. "Rosh" was Russia, while "Meshech" and "Tubal" are people to the east of Israel, from the Caucasus.
"Gog" was viewed as a power coming from northwest Asia.
If you look at the geography of the world today, it is easy to see what countries the prophet was speaking about here. "Magog" is Syria. "Rosh" or Russia has seen a steady invasion of Islam. As in New York City, traffic in Moscow and St. Petersburg is tied up on Fridays by scores of Muslims kneeling and praying in the streets. I would think "Rosh" also includes the post Soviet states-Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan-all predominantly Muslim nations. Also, parts of Turkestan and Armenia, which are called "Togarmah" in the Bible.

"And you will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding horses, a great host, a mighty army." Ezekiel 38:15

"Meshech" and "Tubal" are representative of the Muslim hordes from different areas in Turkey who will also be part of this mighty army.
Also included is "Persia" (Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Iraq) "Put", which is Egypt, the current stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood; "Cush" (Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen and possibly more of Africa;) Libya and Tunisia, which are also occupied by forces of the Muslim Brotherhood; southern Europe, which includes Spain and all of the Balkan Peninsula....like a mighty storm they rise, surrounding Israel like a great storm cloud.

"And you (the mighty army of Gog) shall come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land." Ezekiel 38:16.

The Lord Himself declares that, He "will bring you (Gog) against My land, that the nations may know, understand, and realize Me when My holiness shall be vindicated through you (Gog) in your overwhelming destruction." Ezekiel 38:16

The prophet then declares that there will be "a great shaking" and "cosmic catastrophe" in the land of Israel."
The Lord will reveal His Presence so that "all the men (nations) that are upon the earth shall tremble and shake..."and with pestilence and bloodshed will I enter into judgment with Gog, and I will rain upon him and upon his hordes and upon the many people (nations) who are with him, torrents of rain and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone." Ezekiel 38:22

"...torrents of rain and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone."....A cosmic catastrophe...a meteor?

Through the destruction of Gog and his hordes, God says, "I will demonstrate My greatness and My holiness, and be recognized in the eyes of many nations, that I Am the Lord." Ezekiel 38:23

"The Heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork." Psalm 19:1

Who Will Be The Gideons Of This Generation?

I was doing some research this morning to see whether or not Islam

is mentioned in the Bible. Although the word, "Islam" is not

mentioned in the Scriptures, I thought this reference from Judges 8:21

was very interesting:

"Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise yourself and fall on us; for as

the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon rose and slew Zebah and

Zalmunna and took the CRESCENT-SHAPED ornaments that were on their

camel's necks."

Zebah and Zalmunna were both Midianites (Arab) kings.

The word, "Zebah" is very similar to the Arabic word, "Zabah" which is

defined as the Muslim method for the slaying of animals. (Halal)

Meanwhile, the name Gideon means "Destroyer" and "Mighty Warrior"

Gideon was the son of Joash, from the Abiezrite clan in the tribe of Manasseh.

He was a Warrior-Judge of God in ancient Israel.

Who will rise up and be the Gideons of this generation?

Just a little spiritual food for thought!

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