Month: November 2022

WHAT IS This Country Coming To?

For over two years now (longer actually), I’ve put up with all this crap about election fraud, shady elections, questionable election practices and the like. The past two years or so have been the worst because all of a sudden, it’s no longer “cool” to question election results… unless, of course, those results favor a republican nominee over a democrat. I’ve had it.

Like I said this garbage has be going on far longer than the past two years. My most pressing question is:

HOW Did We Get Here?

Or have we always been this complacent? Looking back, I envision more of a slippery slope. Maybe we’d see some sort of blip or a glitch now and then in this election or that one. What was done? Was the problem taken seriously? Was it resolved? Was the integrity of the election process examined with any issues addressed and corrected? I don’t know. Maybe these things never happened. They should have. Even if they did, somewhere along the line someone shrugged. Some problem was simply ignored or otherwise allowed to fester. Then other problems arose. More and more they slid under the radar. During this last election cycle, where the most glaring example is in Maricopa County, Arizona, issues, major issues of election integrity and an honest count, are in danger of being simply batted away like a pesky fly. If it persists, they’ll just kill the fly.

HOW Can We Let This Happen?

Where is the outrage? I liken this to my wife when she reconciles our checkbook. If she is off just one penny, she will work those figures like a dog worries a bone. I’ve seen her fret for days about the most insignificant (to me) discrepancy. Personally, I’d write off a few cents and be done with it. Not her. Only 100% agreement between the bank and her calculations are acceptable. THIS is the sort of attitude we need to have concerning our electoral process.

Discrepancies, murky questions, and shady dealings should never, EVER be associated with our electoral processes. Everything needs to be on the up and up and on full display for everyone to see. ALL questions should be dealt with, in public. The process should never need be questioned.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a myriad of issues come up in multiple elections all over our nation. These range from dead people voting, to questionable individuals being allowed to vote without ID (right here in Virginia where ID is legally required to vote!), to scores of voting machine issues – including alleged flip/flopping actual votes, machines that conveniently jam or otherwise fail, districts counting more votes than they have registered voters, and more. Whether any of these issues have been properly addressed, and I’m certain some of them have NOT, is more often than not never publicized beyond the initial reports. Granted, news media thrives on conflict and dies on resolution but one would expect at least a hint that some of these issues are resolved. Instead, crickets.

Enough Is Enough!

Frankly, I’m pissed. My anger is not directed at the cheaters or at those whobenefit from cheating. It’s not directed at the courts who refuse to even look at these problems. It’s not directed at our elected officials who should see to it the issues are addressed properly and corrected. Nor am I angry with those charged with overseeing the processes and ensuring they are right and proper. No. I am mostly pissed at myself and my fellow citizens. WE are allowing this to happen. WE are ultimately responsible to see to it that OUR elections are squeaky clean and there is NO QUESTIONS about their integrity.

WHERE IS OUR OUTRAGE? When are WE going to INSIST our elections are done right? There is no excuse for us if all we do is throw up our hands in surrender. Right here. Right now is when we must take a stand. If any, ANY result is not “right”, then we need to DEMAND a strict accounting. The books need to balance. We cannot afford to be off one single penny, one single vote.

The Society For the Elimination of Thanksgiving

In case you are wondering there is no official “society”… yet. It just feels that way to some of us. Okay, it feels that way to me. Years ago I read where Halloween was the second biggest retail season of the year. It was only outpaced by Christmas. It wouldn’t surprise me if Halloween was now number one. Certainly more people seem to broadcast their love for Halloween far more often and vocally than anyone does for Christmas. Many even fear saying “Merry Christmas”. Instead they substitute the benign “Happy Holidays” or some such tripe… with voices dripping with weak apologies no less.

As for myself, I have always hated Halloween, this even before I came to Christ. The revelry always gave me the creeps. It still does. If you ever want to open your eyes to the truth about this “holiday” I urge you to check out Carol Kornacki. She is a former witch who accepted Christ. My favorite line of hers is “if you are watching the parade, you are part of the parade”. Of course everyone in my family, save my wife, always berated us for refusing to allow our children to participate in the “festivities”. We were just no fun. We were depriving them of their childhood and so on and so forth. I wish my childhood had been as deprived. Seriously, they are all grown now and I don’t really think they were damaged by our decision. About all that “fun” they missed – think about it.

What is the central theme of Halloween? What word do you think of when you hear Halloween? Scary? Close enough. Another word for “scared” is fear. What are those fears based on? Death. Sure, some kids want to be Superman or a firefighter and such but lets face facts. Most of the glory centers around the gory. The movie ain’t about a tea party. Nor are the sequels. They are scary. They are about death. I’ll grant you, Halloween isn’t all about death. It is mostly a celebration of evil. Cry and whine all you want, take out those things that celebrate evil and death and what are you left with? Uh-huh. Without those things are society would abandon Halloween in a heartbeat. What does that say about us?

Skipping on Christmas, why not take a blunt look at this season as well. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of Christmas either. I tend to root for the Grinch. I know it is supposed to be a time when we celebrate the birth of Christ, at least ostensibly. But do we really? Any serious or even semi-serious biblical student (semi-serious so I can count myself in) should have to admit Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th. Just on the basis of angels announcing Jesus birth to the shepherds, one can ascertain he must have been born in the fall or spring. Winter is too cold to be pasturing sheep. There’s more evidence available for anyone willing to look. It’s nearly as easy to debunk as Kwanzaa. Look, if our society truly embraced Jesus during the “Christmas season”, I’d be far more supportive of it but even this holiday was heavily commercialized from the time it was first popularized. I remember reading somewhere that Dickens was encouraged to write “A Christmas Carol” for the express purpose of popularizing the holiday. If it were truly a sacred time then it would be about as exciting as, well, Thanksgiving.

The best the hawkers can do is promote “Black Friday” – the day after Thanksgiving. These days, they’ve polluted that day in order to try to leverage a buck. Now, rather than launching the Christmas season, the “Black Friday season” begins 30 seconds after the Halloween decorations are put up. Of course I’m exaggerating. They no longer wait for Halloween to be over anymore. It’s all about the money. That’s way they hate Thanksgiving. There’s no real money in it. And that’s exactly why I love it.

Now Thanksgiving is under attack. Just the other day I read where protesters (you can guess who) are decrying Thanksgiving. They say it’s an “imperialist” holiday, whatever that means. Oh, I’m sure they’ll tell us. Let me beat them to the punch – by “imperialist” they mean it is NOT communist. For the record, I maintain communism is a poor cousin to globalism. As the Highlander would say, “There can be only one.” and that “one” will be a globalist. Bet on that. Now the curtain has been pulled back, you can see the real reason Thanksgiving will soon become a point of great contention. Thanksgiving by its very name centers around God. To add insult to injury, we celebrate this by bringing families together. There is nothing the globalists hate worse than God and family.

It won’t be long before someone forms an organization resembling “The Society for the Elimination of Thanksgiving”. Wait for it. In past years, globalists have done their best by polluting the waters. Most recently, they urge their minions to insist on discussing volcanic topics at the dinner table. Why think of those things we have to be thankful for when we can talk trash about Trump? This year my money is on “gun violence”. It may be the top menu item from the left as I write for all I know. Yesterday’s Walmart shooting is still fresh off the presses. “Never let a crisis go to waste”, as they say. I’m sure it won’t be “vehicular violence” or “knife violence” or “pushing people into trains violence”. I guarantee no one from the left will want to bring “hammer violence” to the table. Nor will they want to discuss just plain “violence” or “crime” in general. Both are losers. Truth be known, the whole “gun violence” idea is a loser, ask anyone in the nether parts of Chicago.

Word is now out that Biden’s handlers have released a “cheat sheet” to arm his minions with propaganda to spew out for the holidays. Ironically they called it some “talking points when that uncle comes at you”. Interesting. I’d say they stole this from me but I hadn’t posted anything at the time. Unless they are lurking on my computer…

Meanwhile they emphasize “working with Republicans” while downplaying any and all real family issues. The only “republicans” they work with are RINOs and only when they can be taught to perform cheap globalist tricks – like impeaching Donald Trump or holding trials disguised as congressional committee hearings that would make Stalin proud.

May I propose we set aside darkness and talk about godly things instead? Note, I said “godly things” not necessarily God. Sure we can talk about God too or even entirely. I’m all for that. You and I both know how that sort of things go in most families. There’s always Uncle Crank. Why can’t we talk about love? What’s wrong with happiness? There’s a whole world of good things out there to talk about, is it so impossible to focus on them? Many family gatherings will harbor at least one “Uncle Crank” who seems determined to sour the mood if not incite a nuclear incident. Sometimes conflict is unavoidable but more often than not a peacemaker can emerge and save the day. Why not commit yourself to being that peacemaker? Pray about it now and be ready to enlist God’s help to diffuse any situation.

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

It’s a start. Happy Thanksgiving and God bless you.

Below Psalm 28 is posted in both KJV and WEB formats followed by my observations and where they led me.

KJV

Psalms 28:1 Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
3 Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
4 Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.
5 Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
6 Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
8 The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.

WEB (World English Bible)

Psalms 28:1 To you, Yahweh, I call. My rock, don’t be deaf to me; Lest, if you are silent to me, I would become like those who go down into the pit.
2 Hear the voice of my petitions, when I cry to you, When I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Don’t draw me away with the wicked, With the workers of iniquity who speak peace with their neighbors, But mischief is in their hearts.
4 Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings. Give them according to the operation of their hands. Bring back on them what they deserve.
5 Because they don’t regard the works of Yahweh, Nor the operation of his hands, He will break them down and not build them up.
6 Blessed be Yahweh, Because he has heard the voice of my petitions.
7 Yahweh is my strength and my shield. My heart has trusted in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoices. With my song I will thank him.
8 Yahweh is their strength. He is a stronghold of salvation to his anointed.
9 Save your people, And bless your inheritance. Be their shepherd also, And bear them up forever.

I almost posted the previous Psalm (27) instead of this one. Psalm 27 is one of my favorites. There is so much to draw from it. I include verse 11 or a paraphrase of it anyway in my daily prayers:

11 Teach me your way, Yahweh. Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies.

Why post both KJV and WEB versions? The King James is my “go to” – it is the bible I read every day. More specifically, I read one particular publication, “The Companion Bible” by E.W. Bullinger. This title was first published over 100 years ago. I like it because Bullinger was an exceptional scholar and his Companion Bible offers a great deal of insight via his notes and the appendixes. In this version he always prints the Hebrew word YHWH as LORD. At the time, the scholarly translation was Jehovah. I believe the current rendering of YHWH as “Yahweh”, a phonetic spelling is more accurate. Why is this important? YHWH, or Yahweh, is the proper name of God Almighty. His only begotten Son has a proper name. In English it is “Jesus”. As for the name YHWH, the WEB version translates it into a pronounceable name and treats it as God’s proper name. While I often transition the word “LORD” accurately in my head, I think it is important to offer a plain rendering for anyone who prefers not to practice my kind of mental gymnastics. Besides that, the WEB is a fairly decent rendering for the most part while presenting a version of scripture that is easier to read.

Do note that other words in scripture is also rendered “lord”, with and without caps, and as such, words with completely different meanings are jumbled together so as to dilute the true magnificence of God’s Word.

As for my comments on this passage, my focus today leans more towards those described as “wicked” here. These are also referred to as “workers of iniquity”. Here the references begin in verse 3…

Psalms 28:3 Don’t draw me away with the wicked, With the workers of iniquity who speak peace with their neighbors, But mischief is in their hearts.

By asking Yahweh not to draw David away with the wicked he, of course, implies the wicked will be drawn away. Away from what? Away from whom? There is no answer to the question of “where” but it is logical to ascertain the wicked would be drawn away from those who are not wicked. So far so good.

Next, we are faced with another challenge as the word “the wicked”is now coupled with “the workers of iniquity”. Notice the word “with”. It appears twice. Huh. So are the “wicked” the “workers of iniquity” or another group? I must admit I got stuck on this for a moment. I almost simply declared “what’s the difference, really?” and moved on. Then I realized God, does not use words idly. He is not at all haphazard in His usage. Thus I decided it was worth a bit more effort to find out. The results were no less than enlightening

The word for “wicked” in the Hebrew is “rasa” (pronounced raw-shaẃ for some reason) it mostly means “guilty one” as in guilty of sin against God or man. It also means “hostile to God”. Hmmm. Okay, this word seems pretty straightforward. Onward.

The phrase “workers of iniquity” is comprised of two words – pa-al, meaning to do or make – and aven. Aven is where things get interesting, but only after digging a bit deeper. Mostly it is defined as trouble, wickedness, sorrow, or idolatry. The root word is not used but it means “to pant”. In this respect it is linked to Ecclesiastes where it says “everything is vanity”. How is it linked? Vanity can be understood as “vapor”. Now consider the more modern phrase “huffing and puffing”, or how about “nothingburger”?

Now consider the rest of the verse: “Psalms 28:3 …who speak peace with their neighbors, But mischief is in their hearts”

They talk of peace but they want mischief. Would it be safe to say this pretty much sums up the globalists, the media, and everyone else seemingly bent on tearing down this nation? Climate change, white supremacy, racism, the list goes on for pages. What little truths proponents manage to sprinkle into their rhetoric are either inconsequential or blown far out of proportion and nearly entirely encompassed by lies. In the end, nothing but vapor comes from their mouths.

The next verse urges God to give them their due. I’ll leave it at that. The following verse states that because they do not regard Yahweh, He will break them down and not build them up. Now, take a moment and consider those thoughts. Did those people David wrote of deserve what they got? Maybe even more? After all God is merciful.

What about you? Do you regard God? What of our nation? How much do we, as a people, regard God? For most I would say God is a mere afterthought, if He is thought of at all. We go about our days, live our lives, send our kids off to school, go to our jobs, stop at the supermarket, take our children to afterschool activities, and maybe watch some television. Surely anyone whose life resembles part or all of these daily activities are not “wicked”, but how much do we regard God?

Now some of you reading this may be active in their church. If you are doing good as a result, I commend you. For those who are doing everything they can, I’ve got news for you, God has bigger plans for you. I would ask you to look around you. How many others are living similar lives? I’m not asking you to judge, just take notice. Jesus said “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few”. Count yourself blessed to be one of the labourers.

As a nation we not only do NOT “regard” God but many are intent on driving God out of our nation entirely. The globalists’ goal is to replace the One True God,Yahweh, with a one-world government. I can almost see some of you scoffing but take heed – what did the communists do in the former USSR? What are the Chinese doing today? I’ll tell you right here and now, communism is nothing more than a thinly veiled tool of the globalists. The end game is the same – one government to rule us all.

What can we, as Christians do? Speak out. Hold forth the truth. What you should NOT do is “speak out against”.

First and foremost, get right with God.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Do you believe that God is? Can you honestly say you trust Him… no matter what is going on around us? Do you believe God will reward you if you diligently seek Him? Do you even want to please Him?

Are you ready to make a real commitment to God? I’m not talking about the “starting to go back to church again” kind of commitment. By all means do that if you aren’t already and seek out more opportunities to spend time with your siblings in Christ, but I’m talking about your own personal walk. Are you committed to seeking out God on a daily basis in prayer and reading scripture? Do NOT give me “I don’t have time.” nonsense. Rather, think about looking the Creator of the heavens and earth in the face and explaining how you were “too busy” to seek Him out. I’ll wait.

Let me be blunt. Unless you are fully persuaded God is real, He is in control, and His Word is truth and relevant to our lives today, you aren’t ready to step out, much less step up.

For those who have gotten this far, pray for God to open up opportunities for you. Ask Him to put you in the game. You need not look far. In the words of Lewis B. Chesty Puller, USMC

“All right, they’re on our left, they’re on our right, they’re in front of us, they’re behind us…they can’t get away this time”

EXPECTATIONS

What can you expect to happen? This, I cannot say because I do not know. From my own life, I can say I haven’t made any big splashes. It would be nice if I were able to say that, at least, I’ve lived a good and sinless life these past 40+ years. I cannot say that at all. Every day I find myself before God acknowledging my need for forgiveness. Even so, I am a better person than I was four decades ago. I am a better person today than I was yesterday. With all of that said, I can safely say that while my life would never be called exemplary in my Christian walk, I have from time to time been able to muster up some instances of positive influence. The least of which is this blog, mostly because I cannot say for sure anyone has actually read my postings and came out the better for them. Still, I write and post. What I can point to is some of the people I’ve been blessed to have crossed paths with. While I haven’t kept score, I strongly suspect I’ve gained more than I’ve given, but who can say what effect we’ve had on others in the long view? It’s easy to see some of the impact my wife has had on others and much of that impact is a direct result of my influence on her.

The bottom line here is while someone reading this may go on to do great things in God’s name, and even point to something read here as inspiration, no human can say for sure how my scribblings might be received when I post them. My goal is to do today what I feel led to do rather than launch some mighty ministry intending to change the world. For all I know, that kind word I had for some person in passing will yield bushels of fruit while this entire blog ends up being no more than a puff in the wind.

The same goes for you. God, Yahweh, is working in you right here, right now. What you accomplish is up to Him. All you need to concern yourself with is those things you can do right now.

James 5:16b The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

One of the most sneered at actions one can do is prayer. Who sneers at them? Non-believers scorn prayer, yet God places great emphasis on it. Where do you stand on this? Do you scoff? Or do you believe “that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”?

“But… I’m nobody special!” Oh really? How so? Did not Yahweh choose you “before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love”? Nobody expects you to be the next Paul of Tarsus or Billy Graham. If you are not, that doesn’t mean you have no place in God’s Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?

20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.

21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:

This entire passage refers to the “body of Christ” – that’s you, me and all of our brothers and sisters in Christ since that day at Pentecost. We all have our place in the body. Every. Single. Person. God chose us for a reason – His reason. Who are we to question Him?

Stepping back and looking at the bigger picture, I see our nation poised for revival. I see a massive outpouring of God’s Word and God’s grace upon our nation. Will this be enough to restore our nation or will our nation fall to the globalists? I cannot say. It doesn’t matter. What matters is for each of us to get right with God, seek Him out and endeavor to live a life pleasing unto Him. I am convinced there are many, many of His children in this nation who are ready to turn to Him. What part will you play?

Scripture to Ponder – PSALM 28 – I’ll Come Back to This With Comments

KJV

Psalms 28:1  Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
2  Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
3  Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
4  Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.
5  Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
6  Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
7  The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
8  The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
9  Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.

WEB (World English Bible)

Psalms 28:1   To you, Yahweh, I call. My rock, don’t be deaf to me; Lest, if you are silent to me, I would become like those who go down into the pit.
2  Hear the voice of my petitions, when I cry to you, When I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.
3  Don’t draw me away with the wicked, With the workers of iniquity who speak peace with their neighbors, But mischief is in their hearts.
4  Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings. Give them according to the operation of their hands. Bring back on them what they deserve.
5  Because they don’t regard the works of Yahweh, Nor the operation of his hands, He will break them down and not build them up.
6  Blessed be Yahweh, Because he has heard the voice of my petitions.
7  Yahweh is my strength and my shield. My heart has trusted in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoices. With my song I will thank him.
8  Yahweh is their strength. He is a stronghold of salvation to his anointed.
9  Save your people, And bless your inheritance. Be their shepherd also, And bear them up forever.

America First? Or GOD First?

There’s a lot of talk these days about hiring politicians who put America First. Depending on how they mean this, I’m all for it, but I also wonder… shouldn’t we really be putting GOD first? Hear me out.

Time and time again, I’ve advocated turning to God Almighty as a nation. My premise is our nation was founded by God Himself, blessed by God Himself and has risen to be the greatest nation this world has ever seen because God Almighty Himself has graciously allowed it. Why? Because for the first time in the history of the word, a nation has emerged on the basis if being ruled by its very citizens, one that sensibility guarantees each citizen equal rights under the law as the foundation of our being. We are NOT ruled by a monarch or an emperor. We are NOT ruled by a dictator. Nor are we subject to some communist scheme or ruled by a mob (i.e. a democracy). We are a Constitutional Republic, a shining light to other nations. Our nation was conceived by Christian men who risked everything to give birth to it. Now, as we decline in power, both economically and politically, as we are increasingly engulfed in corruption, we are faced with continuing on this path of assured self-annihilation, or repenting and turning back to God – asking Him to restore our nation to former glory.

I suspect my voice has fallen onto the ears of three distinct groups.

First, my brethren in Christ, most of whom look upon my words in puzzlement. Don’t they already pray to God? Daily? Repent? Of what? Surely we are seeking God already.

Second are those who already “have their religion”. Some of these claim Christ. Others worship other gods.

The third and final group scoff at the very idea. God who? They ask. Aren’t we in the modern world? You mean to say you still believe in those old fables? Well, yes, I do.

Hopefully there is yet another group – those of you who are not satisfied with the so-called “answers” above. Somewhere, maybe deep down, you know something isn’t right. Something is missing. I’m sure most of you identify with one of the above groups in some way but it’s not sitting well with you. It is you to whom I am reaching out. Hang in there. Maybe things will soon start to make sense… finally.

For starters, I’m sure you’ve come across the phrase “For God and country”. I can’t tell you where or when I heard it first. Even here something seems to be missing. In my mind this should include the word “family”. So I did some searching and what do you know?

It seems this phrase “God, family, and country” is attributed to Thomas Aquinas. He was a Roman Catholic priest and philosopher. As such he is also attributed “sainthood” but not being Catholic, I’ll circumvent that label. Still, many of his writings are remembered and studied today. Among them is the idea that the three pillars of traditional Western society are “God, family, and country”.

While I have yet to see where anyone else has said this, maybe it is just too obvious, but the order of this phrase is exactly correct. God first, family second, and country last but certainly not least. Thomas Aquinas is also known for defining many principles of “natural law”. I contend here and now, that God, family, and country are not only pillars of our civilization but also the principles on which our natural, God-given laws must stand on.

Thus God should and must come first. Why? Mostly because without God, we have nothing. Okay, let’s back up. What do we have WITH God?

For the moment set aside the concept of “sin”. For those who do not believe in God, the concept of sin is abstract at best. Rather, let us consider something all humans have sought since our beginning – life after death. For those of you who believe there is no such thing, well there you have it. Once you’ve used up whatever time you have, you’ll end up with nothing. Unless you’re wrong, but let’s not go there. I’m perfectly happy to let it go at that. You die and then… nothing. Isn’t that bad enough? Seriously, without God this is the best you can hope for.

Now WITH God in the picture, we have… eternal life. By my calculations, eternity is going to last a long, long time. Even better, in God’s world, eternity is also going to be a big upgrade to what we have now. What about the other side of that coin? You know, that eternal damnation bit with the fire and brimstone and all that? Well… what about it? I’ve heard stories. I’ve read scripture. Yes, I do believe some will end up there. Who and how, I’m not all that clear on. My own feeling, and it’s just that, a feeling, is only the very worst of the worst will end up there. (No, I don’t know about you mother-in-law.) I’m pretty sure all those devil spirits stand a good chance of job security, unpleasant as that may be. Forgiveness aside, there are a few humans I might not feel all that bad about if they ended up there. Even then, I’m not feeling very gleeful at the thought. I suspect a third option is possible. That option is simply death. Lights out forever. How about we revisit that eternal life thing?

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

Well, that doesn’t look all that hard now does it? We can obtain eternal life through Jesus Christ. The fact is, it is not hard at all. It was never meant to be. So what’s the catch?

Matthew 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

Is that the catch? Whew! I’m not “rich” so I’m good right? In the passage above, wrath wasn’t the real issue. Jesus was talking to a young man who happened to be wealthy. Jesus told him to sell all he had and to follow him. The statement above falls into the “figure of speech” category. You see, that whole “eye of the needle” stuff was really a thing in those days. In some walled cities, in order for a camel to enter, they had to take off everything it was carrying as the entrance was too small for a loaded camel to get through. Whether this was by design or not, well that’s another topic. The idea here is, like that camel, you gotta lose your baggage before you can get in.

You can look at this a lot of ways but, today, I think it’s safe to say, you’ll need to give up that “well there’s many paths to God” thinking if you want eternal life via Jesus Christ. Last I heard, he wasn’t accepting coupons from other stores. Now if you’re thinking, “fine, I’ll just find a back door somewhere”, um, Houston, we’ve got a problem. Now I haven’t studied those “other paths”. I hopped on the Jesus track after I realized atheism was a dead end – literally. That said, I’m pretty sure they all pretty much think they are the only way to eternity. So, I ask you, how can they all be “right”? I guarantee you not one of them will tell you to accept Jesus as Lord. If they did, they’d have to also tell you:

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Um, yeah, there is that. Of course, you can always say Jesus was the liar, but if that is true than who is saying that and how do you know you can trust them? The thing is, I’m not seeing anyone stepping up to fill the gap if Jesus is tossed out. Nobody, nothing, even comes close. Islam? Funny thing about them, they acknowledge Jesus as a prophet and then deny him as well as his words. I have a hard time seeing how anyone can have it both ways. Can you see the problem here? I see the same issues popping up no matter where else you turn.

Now for the good news – God made it easy for us.

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

God only gave Adam ONE commandment – do NOT eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That was it. Eve was to follow this too but only ADAM was specifically told “NO”. So the serpent, the devil, went to work on Eve who then convinced Adam it was okay to do the ONE thing God said NOT to do. The point here is, God also makes it easy for us to accept Jesus Christ as Lord. Why? Mostly because we’ve got a lot more to deal with than Adam had back then and unless He makes it easy, we’re going to mess it up. So he made it simple.

Really, that’s the whole starter pack. Sure there’s more, a lot more, but this is the ticket you need to get your slice of eternal life. Is there more to it than this? What do you mean by “it”? If by “it” you mean being set as far as eternal life is concerned, I’d say “yep, that’s it”. Now if you are wondering if you need to do more, well… the short answer is yes, but don’t worry, God has got your back. Let me elaborate just a bit.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Whoa! What? Yeah. Let that sink in. God, the CREATOR of the Universe chose YOU before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame before Him in love. Sink your teeth into that and chew on it again. Remember, God is BIG. He can create, He knows what’s going to happen down to every single detail, and He’s, well, God, so He can do what He wants… and HE CHOSE YOU. I can’t speak for anyone else but the thought still gives me chills. Trust me on this, there are lots of times I wonder why the Creator of the Universe would even want me, but He did and He does.

Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Now consider the next verse in Ephesians:

Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will

This verse does require a bit of work to “get it” due to some common misconceptions and a rather inaccurate rendering.

First, let’s tackle the word “predestinated”. Without getting into a study of the Greek, according the Vine’s New Testament Dictionary, the word can be understood as “foreordained” or “predetermined”. In other words, while some might say everyone’s life is “set in stone”, so to speak, and thus our choices are already made for us, the very wording of this is contradictory. How can we have a “choice” if our actions are predetermined? Do keep in mind one of God’s principles is our own free will. Revisiting the Garden of Eden, Adam did not HAVE to listen to Eve and eat that fruit, but God knew ahead of time he would. If he’d refused, mankind would have taken another path and, chances are, you or I would never have been born.

Now about that word “adoption”. Ask any adopted child, the very term can be somewhat painful. Going back to the Greek, the word used here would have been better rendered “sonship”. We are children of God via birth.

1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Jesus first alluded to this when he spoke with Nicodemus in John 3. He was speaking of the “new birth” that did not become available until after he died and God raised him from the dead at Pentecost. From that day on, when we confess Jesus as Lord and believe God raised him from the dead, God creates that “incorruptible seed” in us, that earnest (token) of what we be blessed with when Christ returns.

1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

And here we are right back to eternal life. Putting it all together, God, our Heavenly Father, in His foreknowledge, chose you to be holy and without blame before Him in love before the foundation of the world. He brought you here, today. Whether you accept these words or not, if you are His, He will continue to show you the truth until you are ready to accept Him as God Almighty and His only begotten son, Jesus, the Messiah (or Christ) as Lord and Savior. This is your ticket to ride.

As for my siblings in Christ who may still be wondering what you are doing here… it’s going to take all of us, both new and old, to reclaim our nation. We all need to turn to God and put God first in our lives. Certainly we were born into the greatest nation this world has every seen. We’ve been blessed beyond what anyone could expect. Many of my brothers and sisters in Christ seek God daily. What more can we do?

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

I’ve no doubt you have faith. Of course you believe that He IS, how could you not. But are you on board with the latter part of this verse? Do you believe He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him? Let me put it another way…

Do you really believe God can and will restore this nation just because we ask Him to? I’m not so sure who believes this. My own wife is often skeptical. Even I doubt if it will happen, but I don’t doubt God. Rather I wonder if we have not lost faith in God to deliver us. What faith?

James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

But there is more to it than just asking…

James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

This last election cycle has demonstrated this principle perfectly. The polls, if anyone can believe them, strongly indicated a “Red Wave”, even a “Red Tsunami”. What we saw was a red ripple. What happened? We voted, didn’t we? Yes. We voted. By one account Republican’s outvoted Democrats by over 3 million citizens nationwide and still many key races were lost. Why? Two reasons.

First, I am completely and thoroughly convinced, the Democrats cheated. Whether you agree with this assessment or not (I’ll not belabor it), in any honest contest, any and all discrepancies would be completely examined and questionable tallies removed. It’s been pointed out multiple times since the 2020 election that if the Democrats were so confident that vote was honest, they would insist on audits to vindicate themselves. That never happened. Instead they fought tooth and nail at every level to obfuscate any questionable results. However this is entirely secondary.

Even worse is the realization that these elections were even close. Far too many citizens proudly vote for godless ideals – abortion on demand, racist policies, pro-criminal behavior, and so forth. Much of what the globalists desire is pure evil. Those voting for evil either embrace the evil or they are blinded. The very idea that more people could possibly vote for evil over Godly principles sickens me. These same citizens have effectively rejected God Himself. Even with this great shroud of darkness looming over our nation, there is a ray of light.

Remember Ephesians 1:4-5? How many of those voting for evil are lost souls? How many has God foreordained them to be His children? I do not know, but I am convinced there are more than a few. The even better news is WE need to reach them. All we need do is reach out. It is God’s place to call His children to Him. He will not let a single one fall into the devil’s hands – at least not for eternity.

I see the potential for a great revival in this land. God is not finished with this nation. This can happen whether or not God chooses to deliver it, however restoration will not happen if we continue to turn our backs to Him. In light of this, the only commitment that makes sense is to put God first in our lives. With this strategy, we cannot lose. What can you do?

Seek out God in your private life. Pray. Read scripture daily. Join or start a bible study. Seek out others to worship with. Turn away from sinful things. Speak the truth.

On this last, I am not advocating for anyone to quote biblical passages to individuals or groups as a means of “speaking the truth”. A quiet word injected in a conversation may be enough. If you commit yourself to listening to God, He will show you. He will direct your path.

Psalms 27:11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

God will lead you to those who need to hear.

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

So many of us, Christians included, look for a Donald Trump or a Ron DeSantis to save our nation. They cannot. Surely God can put such men in place to do His work but our nation needs more. It is bigger than one governorship, or a single presidency. It is greater than Congress. Our nation is one comprised of self-governing citizens, a Constitutional Republic. If we are a nation under God then we will once again be that shining beacon to the world. By putting God first in our lives, we will ensure America is first among all other nations.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Do you believe?

Time To Go Underground? Maybe Not Yet

Earlier today I happened across the article below in The American Conservative. It is a very long article but well worth reading. As my reading comprehension is good IF I take my time with the text, I performed a “deep skim” on this article – I tried to read and absorb it without taking the time to assimilate or contemplate what the author was saying.

The long and the short of my understanding can be summed up as such:

Our nation is not as “Christian” as we would like to believe

We need God more than politics

There’s a growing chance Christians will soon be forced to take our faith underground. To this end, small groups may be the best way forward.

The author points to Europe, particularly Eastern Europe for examples. What came to my mind was a book I’d read long ago called “China Cry”. It’s a true story of a young Chinese woman. She was a Christian, born into a wealthy family. She and her siblings in Christ were forced underground and could only meet in small, secret groups.

The Most Dangerous Post-Election Lie For conservative Christians, it’s the idea that politics will deliver us from the persecution to come

In the days ahead, I hope to comment more on these issues, unless, of course, this regime suddenly deems me to dangerous and shuts me down.

Was The Election Stolen… Again? Why This Doesn’t Matter

In fact, we are much better off as a nation if this last election was stolen. How crazy is that? Consider the alternative – Fetterman won, fair and square. What does this say about the people of Pennsylvania? Forget Fetterman. Instead take a look at any race in this year’s election cycle resulting in a disappointing loss. As far as I’m concerned, none of these races should have been close, much less a loss. At least they shouldn’t be close from the perspective of liberty.

Every single democrat ran and won on a single unifying principle – more government. This, at a time when we are all drowning in government. You just don’t throw water on a drowning person. Ronald Reagan was right – the more government we have, the less liberty we enjoy. (paraphrased) This idea, in and of itself is nuts. Our nation was founded on the principle of a limited government but today’s society all but demands unlimited government and it’s killing us, literally as well as figuratively.

There was reason and logic behind the concept of a limited government. Citizens should be free to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. As long as we respect each other’s rights, rights each of us equally enjoy, our nation will thrive. While in practice, our implementation of these principles have been flawed from day one, our nation has thrived. We’ve risen to be the most productive, influential, and powerful nation the world has ever seen. Imperfect as we are, we remain a shining beacon for the world. Nobody is flooding Haiti’s borders trying to get in. You know why.

Instead of a prosperous and orderly nation, we’ve devolved into a myriad of tribes each vying for prizes from the treasury. Equity has replaced equality and as such, has burdened our most productive citizens by forcing one group to suffer to appease another. Worse, productivity has taken second place to privilege so merit is devalued as a factor for opportunity. Everybody loses. Those with lessor skills no longer need to sharpen them to make the grade and those with better skills languish where their abilities are wasted. The new normal is to settle for mediocrity rather than strive for excellence and it shows.

Our nation is devolving into a third-world county. Already, we’ve lost the respect of nations that once looked up to us. Once the cash flow to them subsides, our influence will drop to zero. Our military will soon be transformed from the envy of the world to a laughingstock. Even Corporal Klinger would bow his head in shame. Once our economy tanks and we can no longer afford all those things we now take for granted, the world will look for more promising markets. Nobody heeds a bum, no matter how fabulously wealthy and successful they were yesterday.

None of this is, or will be the result of this last election cycle. Rather it the result of where our nation has been headed for decades. Some will look back to Woodrow Wilson’s presidency. Others may recognize roots extending beyond that. In some ways, I contend we were doomed from the start because our forefathers failed to properly educate the people about the duties and responsibilities of our republic. In their defense, I suggest that few, if any, really understood many of the nuances themselves as what they accomplished had never been done before.

From a godly perspective, we are likely right where we ought to be in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps the real question should be… where do we go from here? I see two paths. One continues on the way we are going, growing government, limiting liberty until everything crumbles… and crumble it will. Our current situation is unsustainable, as we continue to spend far faster than we can produce. The second path is rugged. It doesn’t even appear to be navigable. Instead of growing government, we need to shrink it… a lot. Instead of suffocating ourselves with endless regulation, we need to simplify. Rather than practice “set it and forget it” citizenship where we only show up occasionally on election days, we need to roll up our sleeves and dig in. We need to hold our representatives, ALL of our representatives accountable. We need to gauge every action, every proposal against the standard of limited government vs liberty. We need to learn to do things for ourselves instead of clamoring for more government to do things for us. Most of all… we need to get right with God. What does God have to do with anything? Everything.

If you cannot see how God fits into the equation then you are part of the problem. I’m sorry if you are an atheist or even a non-Christian. I am particularly sorry if you claim Christ and cannot see my point or worse, take offense. Don’t get me wrong, I am not discounting non-Christians. Nothing in our Constitution requires any citizen to be a Christian or even believe in any god at all to participate. You have just as much say, just as many rights as anyone else. That said, our nation was founded by the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and blessed by Him in no uncertain terms. Those of us who claim Christ need to accept and acknowledge this. Never mind the rest, they get a free ticket to ride. We Christians, however, must put God first in our lives and in our nation.

There is a deeply spiritual aspect to the state of our nation today. It is war. In the end, God wins. Meanwhile this nation is a battleground. The real war is God vs the god of this world, the devil. If we are to win, it will be with God at our side. Politics will not win this war.

While The Election Fog Clears – A Word for Today

This is the Psalm that came up in my daily reading this morning. I’m posting it in its entirety in the World English Bible (WEB) version. The WEB is not only a reasonably accurate version but it also renders our Heavenly Father’s proper name correctly – at least in most cases. I cannot vouch for every instance. Consider these words in light of this election cycle.

Psalms 25:1  (By David.) To you, Yahweh, do I lift up my soul.
2  My God, I have trusted in you, Don’t let me be shamed. Don’t let my enemies triumph over me.
3  Yes, no one who waits for you shall be shamed. They shall be shamed who deal treacherously without cause.
4  Show me your ways, Yahweh. Teach me your paths.
5  Guide me in your truth, and teach me, For you are the God of my salvation, I wait for you all day long.
6  Yahweh, remember your tender mercies and your loving kindness, For they are from old times.
7  Don’t remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. Remember me according to your loving kindness, For your goodness’ sake, Yahweh.
8  Good and upright is Yahweh, Therefore he will instruct sinners in the way.
9  He will guide the humble in justice. He will teach the humble his way.
10  All the paths of Yahweh are loving kindness and truth To such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
11  For your name’s sake, Yahweh, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
12  What man is he who fears Yahweh? He shall instruct him in the way that he shall choose.
13  His soul shall dwell at ease. His seed shall inherit the land.
14  The friendship of Yahweh is with those who fear him. He will show them his covenant.
15  My eyes are ever on Yahweh, For he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16  Turn to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted.
17  The troubles of my heart are enlarged. Oh bring me out of my distresses.
18  Consider my affliction and my travail. Forgive all my sins.
19  Consider my enemies, for they are many. They hate me with cruel hatred.
20  Oh keep my soul, and deliver me. Let me not be disappointed, for I take refuge in you.
21  Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for you.
22  Redeem Israel, God, Out all of his troubles.

Note the last verse specifically asks God to redeem Israel. As far as I’m concerned this takes nothing away from applying these things to our nation today. The biggest difference, of course, is David still looked for the Messiah while we need only look for Jesus’ return.

CAN We Win on November 8th?

Most of us are anticipating the “Big Game” on Tuesday. It’s the Nationalists vs the Globalists in a heated contest. From the looks of things, the Nationalists are coming on strong. Many are predicting a blowout. Others warn it’s not a done deal. The Globalists are known to play dirty and there is every reason to believe they will pull out every sneaky play in their book. One thing we all can agree on – this one will be a nail biter.

Yawn. That’s right. Wake me when it’s over. Don’t get the wrong idea. I do believe this coming election may well be very crucial to the future of our nation. No matter which way it goes it will be decisive. Or will it? Let’s consider.

Suppose the worst happens, as far as us “Nationalists” are concerned. The blue team snatches a victory by keeping a majority in both houses. Even if all they do is keep on doing what they are doing now, we are in for one hell of a tempest. Our current path leads nowhere but down. Worse, the burgeoning diesel crisis could soon plummet our nation into depression territory. I’m not talking about running out of diesel. I am assured we are still producing it but we will see shortages. And since our nation literally runs on diesel fuel – from trains to trucks to tractors to heavy equipment and more – no aspect of our nation’s economy will be unaffected. And that is just one issue.

Even more dire is the fact that the globalists will seize upon a win, declaring it a mandate to double down. It won’t matter if they cheated to gain the advantage. They will not let go of it come hell or high water. And double down is just what they will do. Hunting down political adversaries, shutting down all semblance of free speech, even demanding more violence against dissenters will all be on the table. If the globalists win, we who oppose them will be in a fight for our very lives.

But what if we win? That’s a good thing… right? It depends. Really. One factor we need to consider is how big the win is. At this point I’m seeing a lot of speculation about impeachments. Every time I point out that unless there are enough potential votes in the Senate to convict, any impeachment efforts are a foolish waste of time. And the democrats are not likely to vote for a conviction even if the evidence is overwhelming. Here in Virginia, our two Senators, Warner and Kaine are solid blue. I cannot see Kaine voting against his party under any normal circumstances. Warner might possibly jump ship IF he was convinced it was the only way to salvage his political career. Such would be the case for any democrat Senators and none of them will even be up for election for another two years. That’s a lot of time to forget.

Besides that, gaining a “super majority” in the Senate is more pipe dream than possibility. I don’t see it happening. So what we’d be left with is a majority in both houses and there is no guarantee of this either but let’s dream a bit. Again, with a majority in the House, the republicans could impeach anyone within their constitutional reach, but, again, there’s no teeth to this act and I cannot see Joe Biden stepping down for that. I can see him pardoning anyone who happens to be impeached. Along with that, I’ll stand by my prediction that Joe will not last much past the two-year mark of his first term. How the handlers plan on dealing with Harris is beyond me. If I were in their position, I’d replace her first and then dump Bobo, but I digress.

What, exactly can an opposition majority do with a globalist president in the Oval Office? One thing they are not likely to do is override any vetoes. So anything they pass will have to be negotiated. And they can hold up funding so as to make life miserable for the leftist cause. The danger here is the left will be screaming bloody murder all the while. They know from experience, what they scream is far less crucial to their cause than how loudly and how often they scream it. Even defeated, they do not give up and they do not give up. My point is, what the nationalists can do is limited at this point, especially when the globalists control the administration. But it gets worse.

What’s worse? Winning will most likely give us a false sense of security. We’ll breathe a collective sigh of relief – hopefully it will be about the only “collective” thing we do – and go back to our day jobs. Meanwhile, the political machines keep rolling. Unless we keep applying pressure, supporting those who support our republic and shining the light on the globalists and their agenda, we will soon end up right back between a rock and a hard place. In short, we can expect little reward for our win and lots of trouble.

The Bigger Issue

As a nation we have a far bigger issue facing us. I’ve pointed this out before and I’ll keep on doing it until I crash into some brick wall. The problem is, somewhere in the neighborhood of half our nation buys into the globalist garbage enough to put them in power. This is not a “political” difference. It is not some intellectual contest. It runs much deeper than that. It goes to the core of our nation. It is spiritual in nature. The globalists’ “god” is government. Their god is a false god and they worship it in earnest. I’ve pointed this out before – their ultimate goal is complete and total rule over every aspect of every individual’s life. And they’ve conned nearly half of our citizens into believing in their utopia.

The only way to reclaim our nation is to reclaim our stature as sons of the God and Father of our Lord Christ Jesus. We need to turn back to God and ask Him for His help. We must stand strong on those principles we’ve been taught since our youth. We need to turn away from ungodly things and set our affections on things above.

Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Do you turn to God daily? How many times? The apostle Paul encouraged us to pray without ceasing. Does your life reflect your commitment to Christ? Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying we all need to start living like monks. Speaking for myself, I see a whole lot of room for improvement in my own life. That said, I do endeavor to make those improvements on a daily basis. I’ve also gone down paths where I’ve spent days, weeks, and months pursuing things that would never bring me closer to God. Not all pursuits necessarily need to be “sinful” to draw us away from our relationship with God. I’ve even seen “church projects” that have lead honorable men away from a godly life. Often it is not the path itself but the perspective of the individual traveling it.

No matter what party ends up with a majority in either house, we can win or lose by the actions we take as citizens and believers. If we gain ground, great – lets make sure those we elect into offices are held accountable and that we diligently work towards bringing God back into our lives and our nation. If we lose ground we need to do much the same but it will be harder as the globalists will do all they can to eradicate anyone or anything in their way. They cannot defeat God but knowing this will not deter them.

Pandemic Amnesty

This is apparently from The Atlantic:

 

My comments are made without reading the article. Forgive me, it’s The Atlantic and I just ate breakfast. Speaking of forgiveness, I have no problem with that.

I forgive Tony Fauci for his part in it. I forgive Andrew Cuomo, Gretchen Whitmer, and… oh hell the list is far, far to lengthy. I’d bore even myself and that takes some doing. Let’s just call it a blanket of forgiveness. Some of you are guilty of very despicable deeds. Many of you were energized by the power you seized and wielded it like bloodlusting berserkers. You are forgiven. Yes, even the worst of the worst of you… I forgive you.

Now lets talk about amnesty. No way. No how. Uh-uh, forget it. First let’s make sure we are on the same page.  This from Merriam-Webster

amnesty: the act of an authority (such as a government) by which pardon is granted to a large group of individuals

The forgiveness I offer is spiritual in nature. This is something I am instructed to do as a believer in Christ.

Mark 11:25  And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26  But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Now there is more to it than above, but isn’t this enough? My Heavenly Father has forgiven an untold number of my sins. Surely none of them resulted in a single death, much less hundreds, thousands, or millions of deaths but such is besides the point. The above scripture didn’t qualify any “trespasses”. It didn’t say I’m only required to forgive those trespasses that are equal or less than my own now did it? No. He (Jesus) said “any” and he meant any.

However nowhere in scripture are we told forgiveness allows us to escape consequences.  There will be an accounting.

Romans 14:11  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Now here consequences are implied but not specifically stated. However we all know that here in this life, forgiven or not, we still must often pay for our mistakes.

Every now and then a story will rise up about a convicted murderer about to face execution. Some have come to Christ since their conviction. Are they forgiven? Surely they are, but the death penalty is still invoked.

Now lets talk about the pandemic, shall we? Where do we begin? With the “two weeks to flatten the curve” crowd? How about those who shut down schools and businesses? Or pushed “vaccines” on those who didn’t need it. (Turns out, that would be just about everybody, at least.) Or those who fired anyone who refused a mandated jab? Again, the list is endless.

Families were separated, friendships forever destroyed, not because of the pandemic itself but over differences of opinion on how to deal with it.  The entire world, along with our nation was disrupted and forever soiled. Much of the corruption of the 2020 election is a direct result of the ensuing panic.

Crimes were committed. Our Constitution was shredded in the name of “public health”.  Only now are many people beginning to realize what a number of us suspected or even knew – the pandemic was a scam, a con game. The virus was little more than a flu bug, easily treated and quite survivable by more than 99% of the population.

Far more people died due to blatant medical malpractice, with the blessing of our own governments, than were even at risk from the virus alone. Given early, effective treatment, many of those would have lived. Had not so many infected elderly been warehoused in nursing homes, many more lives would have been spared. Then there’s the “vaccine”.

First of all the very term “vaccine” is an aberration. The definition of the word had to be changed to accommodate the mRNA technology. Just like the popular product “Velveeta” cannot legally be called “cheese” (it must be termed a “cheese food”) the mRNA concoction could not be called a “vaccine” unless the term was redefined. Even the term “anti-vaxxer” was redefined to include anyone who dared question the insanity of widespread, repeated jabs of otherwise healthy individuals.

Secondly, early treatments such as hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin were purposely disavowed and still are in some circles. At least one pundit shed light on this by stating the reason for disavowing these treatments was because the FDA could not legally authorize the emergency use of the mRNA product if an effective treatment was available. Oh.

And now we are seeing the consequences of  this push to inject this crap multiple times into as many arms as possible. People are dying, literally dropping dead. Many more are suffering severe health issues. These poor people, and their families, are paying dearly for what? A mistake? Or was it all deliberate? We may never know. But really, tell me exactly why those directly or indirectly responsible should receive “amnesty” for their utter disregard for the science, much less logic and common sense.

In this group, I am including health professionals. I myself had a run-in with a physician’s assistant who refused to even discuss sane treatments for Covid. She stated she didn’t want to lose her license to practice. To her credit, she did not advocate the jab, at least to me. And I can understand her fear of losing her livelihood. However many walked away from careers on principle. My problem with her is her total refusal to even consider or discuss alternative approaches. She “wasn’t going to argue” about it with me. Granted I can be very argumentative but in this case, I was far from that point. I was only questioning her about her stance.

If a far greater number of health professionals stood up and insisted on actually following the science, the entire landscape of the pandemic would have changed for the better. It’s one thing to not understand what is happening. It is quite another to go along with procedures and protocols when you’ve seen the devastating results firsthand.

Then, how should we treat the media and big tech? Both groups colluded with government officials to spread the lies and keep them going. Even today, they continue to double down on falsehoods.  At one point, several media personalities advocated those who failed to bow to their lies be imprisoned, left untreated, left to die, or even killed. Concentration camps for the “unvaxed” were advocated and even implemented in some countries (Australia comes to mind). Both suppressed any dissent from the official line. In fact, they still do.

The buzz from these groups is all about eliminating “misinformation” and “disinformation”. Ironically, once the truth becomes overwhelming. it will be their heads on the chopping block. (Note to the feds and other nanny groups – this is a figure of speech and not to be taken literally.) The most outrageous purveyors of “misinformation” and “disinformation” is the main stream media and big tech. It’s almost as if they are incapable of telling the truth.

These are but the worst examples. So, no, those of you who pushed this swindle need to be held accountable. If you broke the law then you need to be charged, tried, and  if convicted, punished. These are the consequences of your actions. I’m not advocating this for the sake of vengeance. “Vengeance is mine, saith the LORD, I will repay.” So no, I am not being vengeful. However, in addition to accountability, i.e. “confessing your sins” or in lieu of this, having your actions reviewed in court, an example must be set. If we do not act according to the law and pursue justice for your illegal actions then our inaction would be an open invitation to do it all again. And this, we cannot tolerate.

The Paul Pelosi – David DePape Affair

I know what you are thinking. Okay, I confess, the subject kinda alluded to it but no, I’m not going to speculate on the sexual orientation or activities of Paul Pelosi  and/or David DePape. All I’ll say is this: Paul Pelosi, you can come out now. Really. Nobody really cares. Considering whom you are married to, I’m not sure anyone would really blame you in that respect. Your sexual orientation is between you and God – if you believe in God. If you don’t well the other is a moot point anyway.

Now about that headline… the interweb is chock full of all sorts of facts, tidbits and speculation about what went on at the Pelosi residence the other night. There are lots and lots of unanswered questions. And, of course, as part of the privileged  class, like it or don’t, many of those questions will remain unanswered. If someone from Pelosi’s camp did deign for some details to be released, you can be sure they would be awash in black ink redactions. National Security, don’t you know. So I won’t go there either. So where AM I going? Smirk.

I thought I’d reveal some of what I came up with on my own. Stuff nobody else seems to be paying attention to. I’m sure I’m not the only one but those voices are as obscured as mine. So here goes:

From The Gateway Pundit:

One area of concern is related to the websites allegedly tied to DePape, a man who lived in a bus parked in Berkley for the past couple of years.

Now one of those “websites” is a WordPress-hosted blog. It was already shut down when the article was posted. There was another website with it’s own domain name “frenlyfrens.com”. This one was apparently hosted by Wix and Wix is also listed as the registrar. How do I know? I use a domain lookup service called “Whois”. Several companies offer this service free of charge. The information is publicly available. Here is what I found:

The registration date was September 08, 2022 (Format: YYYY/MM/DD)

Note the address and phone number given. Now the state is listed as “AL” or Alabama but the zip code is Richmond, CA. In fact a search on “1822 Shasta St” returns a residence in Richmond, CA.THIS residence, in fact.

 

Here is a satellite view of the same address:

It doesn’t exactly look like the address of a bum living in a bus, as somereport, now does it. According to The San Francisco Standard:

The alleged attacker of Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, lived in a Richmond garage and was known to his neighbors as a quiet right-winger.

The article above states a couple of people who insist DePape sported “right-wing” views.  While this agrees with the MSM gleeful assertations that Mr. DePape at least leaned to the right, it directly conflicts with many other indications that he is more of a leftist wingnut.

One thing I can say now with a certain degree of certainty – the webpages DePape allegedly put up and published his “right-wing views” were indeed taken down while he sat in jail. How did he manage that parlor trick? The next question is why? If those pages did indeed substantiate the contention that David DePape was a trooper for Trump (my words) then why would anyone  want them taken down?

One more tidbit gleaned from whois – the phone number. Now this is a hummer. The phone number listed on the whois page is a real number to a pizza place in Kent Washington. I wonder if the deliver to Richmond, CA?

What does it all mean? It’s hard to say at this point.

The New York Post says DePape has been an active blogger for some years now:

Paul Pelosi hammer attack suspect David DePape linked to conspiracy blogs

The posts on this article are hosted on blogger. The problem with blogger is there’s not much trail to follow as with a hosted domain name. Almost anybody could set up a blogger account claiming to be anyone – real or imagined. The same goes for the domain information above. Just because the whois page lists David DePape as the “responsible person”, it doesn’t mean he really is. That said, this domain appears to list DePape’s true address.

For all the ballyhoo bandied about concerning DePape’s alleged right-wing leanings, the Internet Wayback machine turned up an interesting result on the frenlyfrens page. As near as I can tell the site was active for only one day – October 29, 2022. Wayback crawled (visited and gathered data) the site on five days – November 1, October 28,29,30 and ,31. This is nothing unusual. What does seem odd is the website only had a homepage and that was up for two days – October 28 & 29. The other snapshots displayed a message that the website wasn’t up yet. I’m not sure but I wonder why Wayback would take 21 snapshots (October 30) of a site that wasn’t up.

Even more interesting is what was on the page.

Now maybe this first photo was of DePape himself. Who knows? Maybe he’ll say so one day. The second one below is what I found more interesting.

A rainbow unicorn. Hmmm. Of course, this second seems symbolic but symbolic of what? I had to look it up.

    It refers to a bisexual woman who sleeps with heterosexual couples
I’m not sure why David Depape would use such a symbol on his homepage unless he simply had no idea what it meant. Somehow, I find this hard to believe of a man who’s lived so long in a city that is nearly synonymous with homosexuality.
No matter how you decipher the above, I don’t get the feeling this site was established by any hard-core right-wing activist.
One of the problems with trying to unravel a mystery with such limited information is so much room is left for speculation. This post  is my attempt to add a bit of actual information about the website in question. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to come up with many answers. The only thing I know for sure is someone wanted to associate this frenlyfrens.com website with David Depape and it was apparently established, domain name-wise, more than a month before all this happened.
The Gateway Pundit article above lists two other websites purported to be associated with Mr. DePape –  qmspirit.xyz and hempnecklacestore.com
Whois searches for these reveal nothing about David DePape. When I searched for qmspirit.xyz, I told I could by this domain name for $2.98.  As for hempnecklacestore.com, the result was even stranger. Wayback at first didn’t want to cough up any pages. Then it decided to offer a listing going back several years but I found not actual snapshots. The descriptions were of hemp related items. A current visit to the page looks like some hastily erected content about trees. Like I said, weird. The whois lists a domain privacy guard for an address. Now THAT tells me something. Privacy guard protection is very common these days and many, many registrars offer it. Does Wix? Yes they do offer it for an additional cost. In light of this, I’d say it’s plausible someone could register a domain through Wix and skip the protection because they didn’t want to pay extra.
From what Gateway Pundit says about the hempnecklacestore.com domain, it is registered with GoDaddy. I know enough about this service to know it tends to be expensive. They don’t give nothin to nobody. Could this be the reason Mr. Depape (supposing Depape did this) went with Wix instead of going with GoDaddy again? It’s hard to say. Many people simply stick with what they know.
So… more questions arise. What’s going on with the hemp site? What’s the deal with the qmspirit site? Who is making these changes? Why does Wayback seem to be running interference? Why are the only pages available on the frenlyfrens.com site from October 28 & 29? This story broke on Friday October 28th and was said to have occurred early Friday morning. DePape was likely incarcerated when these pages were put up, so what gives?
Everything about this story seems sketchy. I’ve seen very little reporting on it and a slew of speculation and bad information. It doesn’t help that those who have the best information – the SFPD, the Pelosi’s, the Capital Police to name a few, are not forthcoming with anything factual so we are left to guess and speculate. Is this important?
I say YES! With so many accusations, so many fingers pointing here and there, what we need most is clarity. I’m glad Paul Pelosi will recover. I’m very happy nobody else seems to have been seriously hurt. I’m ecstatic to think Nancy’s ice cream stash is safe and secure. That said, we need the facts, just the facts, so we can put an end to the wild and crazy speculation.