Liberty or Tyranny


Robert Charles Winthrop (1809–1894), an American philanthropist, congressman from Massachusetts, and one-time Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, stated “Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or by a power without them; either by the Word of God or by the strong-arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet.” We find ourselves in the state we are in because of the choices we made in the past. We chose to place our trust in the tyrannical arm of a central government rather than the strong-arm of a benevolent God.The only way back from total tyranny is total surrender to God. For blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Ps 33:12 http://amplify.com/u/bs3c0

A Time for Peace in the Middle East?


Christian wallpaper Matthew 5:9
As long as there are people living in the Middle East and elsewhere who are at war with Israel there can be no peace in the Middle East.

Furthermore, at that time the son who was conceived in a natural way (Ishmael) persecuted the son conceived in a spiritual way (Isaac). That’s exactly what’s happening now (Arab and Jews). But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son (Ishmaelites or Islamists), because the son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman (Jews or Israel).” Galatians 4:29-30 (GW)

This war will continue until the end of time when Jesus comes back to fight on behalf of His chosen nation.

Now then there is a religion of peace on Earth and good will toward all men, the religion of Christ, Christianity.

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A Prayer for President’s Day


“We have staked the whole of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” —James Madison

Presidents Day is a day to celebrate the lives of Presidents Washington and Lincoln.  America’s beloved first President was born, according to the Gregorian calendar, on Feb. 22, 1732.  And America’s 16th President was born on Feb. 12, 1809.

In 1971, Congress decided to merge the birthdays into a one-day celebration and deemed that “Washington’s Birthday,” also known as Presidents Day, would be moved from February 22 to the third Monday in February.

“Believing that a representative government, responsible at short periods of election, is that which produces the greatest sum of happiness to mankind, I feel it a duty to do no act which shall essentially impair that principle.”—George Washington

“I leave you hoping that the lamp of liberty will burn in your bosoms until there shall no longer be a doubt that all men are created free and equal.”—Abraham Lincoln

“The only assurance of our nation’s safety is to lay our foundation in morality and religion.”  – Abraham Lincoln

When Washington was leading his troops in the struggle for independence, he was greatly discouraged during the harsh winter the army was gathered at Valley Forge. A resident of Valley Forge, Isaac Potts, was walking through the woods when he heard a man praying aloud. He peeked through some trees to see that it was General Washington himself!

Isaac Potts later told his pastor, the Rev. Nathaniel Snowden, that the prayer he heard was “a plaintive sound” coming from a man in need of divine help. Mr. Potts went on to say that he saw Washington on his knees, his sword on one side and his cocked hat on the other. He heard Washington beseeching God for aid and direction. “Such a prayer,” Isaac said, “I never heard from the lips of man. I left him alone praying.”

Once again our nation is beset with great barriers to overcome. We are faced as a nation with many national decisions to make. As a nation we are poised on the precipice of bankruptcy and ruin. At such a time as this it is only fitting to once again fall to our knees and offer a plaintive sound of a nation in need of divine guidance and providence once again. So we beseech the God of Washington and Lincoln once again:

Lord of heaven and earth, we offer you our deepest appreciation for this blessed land. Stir up a sense of stewardship in every citizen so we all may care for our nation and each inhabitant of it.

We pray especially for our leaders. Prompt everyone in a position of authority, from local to national leaders, to strive for righteousness, justice and the welfare of all citizens.

Finally, we pray that we may be ever mindful of the psalmist’s teaching that “Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord …” (Psalm 33:12, NRSV). May that promise become real “from sea to shining sea.” Amen.

Never Ask a Ground Hog or Al Gore to Predict the Weather


“In the evening you say that the weather will be fine because the sky is red. And in the morning you say that there will be a storm today because the sky is red and overcast. You can forecast the weather by judging the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. Matt 16:2-3 (GW)

Punxsutawney Phil Weather Prognosticator

Yesterday the world’s most famous four-legged weather forecaster, Punxsutawney Phil, predicted an early spring. Phil’s handlers told Groundhog Day revelers at Gobbler’s Knob, a tiny hill in Punxsutawney, Pa., that the groundhog had not seen his shadow, meaning winter will end within six weeks, according to tradition.


Meanwhile the nation was digging out from record snowfalls and fighting record low temperatures, caused by a recent winter storm.

Paul Kocin, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Washington, D.C., said the storm compares to some of the greatest ever largely because of its timing. He estimated 50 million people were affected.

The fearsome storm spread a smothering shroud of white over nearly half the nation, snarling transportation from Oklahoma to New England, burying parts of the Midwest under 2 feet of snow and laying down dangerously heavy ice in the Northeast.

The storm that resulted from two clashing air masses was extraordinarily rare for its size and ferocious strength. The storm derived its power from the collision of cold air sweeping down from Canada and warm, moist air coming up from the south.

Louis Uccellini, director of the government’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction, said the storm also drew strength from the La Nina (la NEEN’-ya) condition affecting the tropical Pacific Ocean.
La Nina is a periodic cooling of the surface temperatures of the tropical Pacific Ocean, the opposite of the better-known El Nino (el NEEN’-yoh) warming. Both can have significant impacts on weather around the world by changing the movement of winds and high and low pressure systems.

“A storm that produces a swath of 20-inch snow is really something we’d see once every 50 years maybe,” National Weather Service meteorologist Thomas Spriggs said.
It’s Global Warming Don’t You Know
Record-setting snow and cold afflicting much of the nation in recent weeks didn’t deter Al Gore from making dire warnings about global warming however.

The former Vice President on Monday January 31st responded to Fox News Channel host Bill OReilly’s on-air question last week: “Why has southern New York turned into the tundra?”
“I appreciate the question,” Gore wrote on his website.
“As it turns out, the scientific community has been addressing this particular question for some time now and they say that increased heavy snowfalls are completely consistent with what they have been predicting as a consequence of man-made global warming.”

Gore then quoted an article by Clarence Page in the Chicago Tribune in early 2010: “In fact, scientists have been warning for at least two decades that global warming could make snowstorms more severe. Snow has two simple ingredients: cold and moisture. Warmer air collects moisture like a sponge until it hits a patch of cold air. When temperatures dip below freezing, a lot of moisture creates a lot of snow.

“A rise in global temperature can create all sorts of havoc, ranging from hotter dry spells to colder winters, along with increasingly violent storms, flooding, forest fires and loss of endangered species.”
In other words, if there is record snow falls it is global warming, lack of snow during the winter is also a result of global warming, record droughts or record rainfall all are results of global warming. So whether you freeze or burn it is all a result of global warming. No matter what the weather forecast is for tomorrow you know it will be a result of global warming.

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In the movie “Groundhog Day,” Bill Murray plays weatherman Phil Connors doomed to relive Groundhog day, over and over, until he achieves some sort of spiritual discovery.


Whether Phil sees his shadow or not the forecast is always the same six weeks until spring.

“You want a prediction about the weather? You’re asking the wrong Phil,” Bill Murray’s character says in the movie “Groundhog Day.” He continues, “I’ll give you a winter prediction: It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be gray, and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.” Al Gore would say it is hot and getting hotter and it will last you the rest of your life.

Al Gore, Punxy Phil, the global warming crowd all continue to give the same forecast day after day. Now all they need to do is come up with a theme song to play every morning at 6 AM.

Perhaps we would do better by asking the creator of the weather what tomorrow’s forecast will be?
As long as the earth exists, planting and harvesting, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never stop.” Gen 8:22 (GW)
And that is this week’s tail feather.

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31Open Link in New Window (BBE)


Along for the journey

Educating Our Children


“Train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” — King Solomon, Proverbs 22:6
 

consequences_of_failureOne group of people apparently knows this truth better than another. With the advent of public education we now have a system in place to train children to believe whatever it is the public school system wishes for them to learn. With a school system under the control of godless men and women is it any wonder that we have raised several generations who have forgotten from wench we have come? Is it any wonder that these same children grow into adults who repeat back the pabulum they were fed as children?

Is it any wonder that the government controlled school system teaches that it is the government which occupies the highest seat of honor in the country and not the individual for which our constitution was drawn up to protect. Is it any wonder that today’s young people view socialism positively and yet our founding father’s looked askance at the very idea of a strong centralized government interfering in the lives of the citizens. Train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it is wise instruction. Do you suppose it is time we get back to teaching our children what made America great? Do you think it is time to get back to teaching our children about the richness of our Christian heritage? Do you suppose it is time to teach our children about what freedom really means and how to maintain a free society? Do you suppose it is time to teach our children about the failures of our federal government and remind them of what our Constitution actually taught? Do you think that perhaps it is time to do away with government-run education?

 

This week is National School Choice Week, School Choice advocates will gather all across the nation to shine a spotlight on effective education options for every child. Rather than accepting the status quo, and putting up with failed schools, advocates for school choice stand up to demand their children be given a choice in their education. Parents want alternatives to the failed government-run school system. National School Choice Week, a collaborative effort by more than 150 organizations, will raise public awareness about any and all forms of educational choice, including public charter schools, magnet schools, virtual education, homeschooling, tax credit scholarships, and opportunity scholarships.

Americans have talked about the need to fix our public schools for decades. There have been movies, documentaries, books, newspaper stories, panel discussions, academic studies, and presidential speeches all pointing to the problem within Americas public school system. And yet here we are still talking.

Our leaders promise reform, but each spring, too many kids graduate high school full of hope and dreams, only to quickly find out they don’t have the skills necessary to compete in a global economy. Our public schools have failed them. That must change.


During the week of January 23 29, 2011, concerned citizens from all across the country are joining together to promote school choice as the best way to reform our nations failing public education system.

The message of National School Choice Week is very simple: let parents decide which kind of school works best for their child. It might be a charter school (which is just another type of public school), a cyberschool, a private school, a religious school, or a traditional public school. Whichever option they choose, parents should have the right to decide which school will best help their child to learn and grow.

Allowing children to stay trapped in failing schools is immoral. Critics charge that school choice advocates secretly want to do away with public education. That’s simply not true. School choice advocates want all children to receive the best education possible. Instead of questioning our motives, teacher unions and their political surrogates should join the effort to do what is best for each child.

God advocated for parents to teach their children especially when it came to teaching them about the ways of God. He desired that every child be learned in the way of God so that when they grew older they would remember all the wonderful things that God had done for their parents. Therefore allowing parents to have the final say in their child’s education is supported by scripture.

As a nation we have failed to instill in our children all the blessings bestowed upon this great nation and as a result we have seen our children grow up to forsake the way of the righteous and run off after worldly gain. It is sad really to see how quickly our society has crumbled because of our neglect for the ways of the Lord. Parents, grandparents, I urge you to once again take up the torch of truth and light the pathways of knowledge for your children and grandchildren, shine the light of truth into the darkness of deceit and declare with certainty and authority the right paths to take. Shine your light of truth so that those who are seeking truth can see it and be led into the path of truth.

There is a great deal of teaching going on in our public schools that is having a harmful effect on our children and thusly upon our nation. It is time we get back to the basics and teach once again about the goodness of God, and teach our children to honor the Lord in all things. Now there is a civics lesson that needs to be taught.

For more information about National School Choice week, visitwww.schoolchoiceweek.com