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

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

“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.

Cover of

Cover via Amazon

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

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Educating Our Children

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

“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
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Pouring Salt in Our Wounds

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. Matt 5:13 (NKJV)

This past week tragedy struck outside a Safeway grocery store in Tucson Arizona killing 6 and wounding 13. A lone gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, with a long history of disturbing behavior opened fire on a political rally hosted by

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who police said was the gunman’s first target. Much has been written about the motives and causation of this tragic event. Many were quick to cite Sarah Palin and conservative talk-show hosts as the catalyst that ignited Jared’s shooting spree. Although no link could be found to ‘conservative ideology’ that did not stop the commentators from continuing the story line. The media was incessant in their attempts to give Jared an out, a reason for his heinous act. They desperately wanted to find a link between Jared and Sarah Palin, yet none could be found. Could it be that the heart of Jared was simply wicked? Was there anyone to blame other than Jared? Were their cries for help? I believe there were many but our “politically correct” society prevented Jared from getting the help he most desperately needed. A change of heart.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? Jer 17:9 (NKJV)

In an article published at crosswalk.com Kevin DeYoung, Senior Pastor at University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan wrote in his commentary about this incident:

“The human heart is desperately sinful and capable of despicable sins. Of course, no one commends the crime, but few are willing to condemn the criminal either. In such a world we are no longer moral beings with the propensity for great acts of righteousness and great acts of evil. We are instead, at least when we are bad, the mere product of our circumstances, our society, our upbringing, our biochemistry, or our hurts. The triumph of the therapeutic is nearly complete.”

 

In his book The Death of Satan: How Americans Have Lost Their Sense of Evil by Andrew Delbanco. we read

A gulf has opened up in our culture between the visibility of evil and the intellectual resources available for coping with it. Never before have images of horror been so widely disseminated and so appalling-from organized death camps to children starving in famines that might have been averted. Rarely does a week go by without newspaper and television accounts of teenagers performing contract killings for a few dollars, women murdered on the street for their purses or their furs, young men shot in the head for the keys to their jeep-and these are only the domestic bulletins…

The repertoire of evil has never been richer. Yet never have our responses been so weak. We have no language for connecting our inner lives with the horrors that pass before our eyes in the outer world…

In our disenchanted world, one respected historian has recently remarked (and here he is perfectly representative) that mass murderers like Hitler and Stalin require us “judiciously [to] distinguish mental disorders that incapacitate from streaks of disorder that should not diminish responsibility.” This distinction would be meaningless to the scores of millions who died at their hands. What does it mean to say that the inventor of the concentration camps, or of the Gulag, was subject to a “disorder?” What does it mean to call these monsters mentally disordered, and to engage in scholastic debate over whether their brand of madness vitiates their responsibility? Why can we no longer call them evil? (3-4).

Kevin continues his commentary with these words:

“The world, and to a large extent the church, has lost the ability to speak in moral categories. We have preferences instead of character. We have values instead of virtue. We have no God of holiness, and we have no Satan. We have break-downs, crack-ups, psychoses,maladjustments, and inner turmoil. But we do not have repugnant evil as the Bible has it. And this loss makes the world a more dangerous place.”

With all the commentaries written this past week about the Tucsan shooter, the silence from the church was deafening. In one report a Catholic Bishop was quoted as saying:

“I wish I knew the answer. “But as the world continues to seek an answer to that question, we can, each in our own way, strive to respect others, speak with civility, try to understand one another and to find healthy ways to resolve our conflicts.”

Face it my friends, there is evil in the world because there is a real devil. The bible says Satan roams around seeking souls to devour and to spread death and destruction, to the individual as well as society (1 Peter 5:8). God loves; and Satan hates everything God loves.

In our politically correct society sin is no longer permitted to be called sin, evil must be explained away, and the secularist religion requires the removal of all judgments of any kind. The secularist sees the world as evolving and men as gods, while the Christian sees the world as fallen and in desperate need of a savior.

Where has the salt gone? Is there anyone left to stand in the gap? If not us then who is going to speak the truth? Who is left to “pour salt in the wounds” of society?

In our quest to get along we have been silenced by the thought police and our vocabulary has been corrupted by the PC society in which we live. We are no longer acting as the preserving agents. I am afraid we have lost our saltiness and therefore been reduced to worthlessness in a hurting dying world. Pouring salt in wounds stings a bit but it promotes faster healing.

Where does one go to find the saltiness needed to preserve moral order if the church has lost it? What hope does the world have if the preservative loses its power to preserve? Think about it!

eagle_feather_icon.gifAnd 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

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The Blame Game

Allen Frederick 2 Comments

pointing finger 

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“How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:4-5 (NIV)

Game shows abound on the television sets across America. Some have been around for a long time. ‘The Price is Right‘, ‘The Wheel of Fortune’, ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?‘ just to name a few of the most popular. The audience and contestants both enjoy playing the game if the look on their faces is any indication. Growing up as a child we would play made up games around the neighborhood. In fact playing games is a big part of growing up.

Adults play games as well. These may not be the familiar board games of our childhood but they are games none-the-less. A recent addition to the Television game show roster is the “Blame game.” The rules are simple enough that even a child can play it. In fact it is during our formative years that we learn how to play this game. The better we get at playing the game the more mischief we can achieve without getting caught. Who does not remember the “Not me” response most kids learn when asked who had done something. Johnny did you break this glass? I didn’t do it mommy? Well who did? I don’t know. I do not know seemed to get blamed for a lot of mishaps around our house when I was growing up. Unless of course a snitch lives in your house. The mole, the back stabber, the person who would be the first to run to mom or dad and tell on you. They were never the favorites in any misadventure. They were the tattle tale. The truth teller if you will. They were the ones who would expose our falsehood with the truth. The biggest enemy of a lie is the truth. Therefore those who like to play the “Blame game” avoid the truth at all cost.

Human nature has within it the innate desire to point the finger at someone else for it’s misadventures. Adam blamed God for giving him that woman. Eve blamed her fall on the serpent who tempted her. We blame others for our own shortcomings.

All last week we have been unable to escape this new game show as all the news outlets continually ran the story of the Tucson shooting incident. To listen to the commentators one would get the impression that anyone who listens to “talk radio”, supports Sarah Palin, is a member of a local TEA party, is conservative in their political ideology, or opposed to the Obama administration are all responsible for the shooting in Tucson. Not once did these original commentators blame the actual shooter for the offense.

Immediately Sheriff Clarence Dupnik of Pima County, started to point the finger of blame at Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin although there was absolutely no evidence that either of these national figures had anything to do with the shooting. All the networks ran with this story line and as of today have yet to apologize to all of us who by inference became victims of this “blame game.”

Although the Pima County Sheriff’s office had a history of encounters with the shooter, the sheriff was not indicated in anyway as being responsible for the shooting since they did nothing to stop the disturbed behavior of the suspect now in custody. There were numerous reports of the shooters erratic behavior for several years leading up to this event, and yet nothing was done. Instead fingers were pointed in many directions accusing the innocent of being accomplices after the fact, while all the while excusing the actions of the actual perpetrator. It was like he had no choice but to do what he did because of the actions of others. And the blame game continues even today.

Pointing the finger may not be new but God wants us to take responsibility for our own actions. We need to admit that we are  miscreants by nature and in need of saving ourselves from ourselves. If we are left to our own desires we will surely come to ruin. For we just like the original inhabitants of this third rock from the sun are unable to resist temptation. We need an an advocate to free us from the effects of sin. Jesus came to rescue us from ourselves. He came as the truth teller, to set us free from the results of the “blame game”. He forces us to face the truth, and admit our involvement in our misadventures. He forces us to face our own shortcomings and take responsibility for our own actions and choices. He forces us to point the finger of blame right were it belongs, our own sinfulness and shortcomings.

Satan is the original finger pointer, the accuser of the brethren, the original host of the ‘blame game”. He is the one who attempts to fault find at every opportunity he gets. With him constantly pointing a finger at us we need someone to take our side to come to our defense. Unless of course we just simply point the finger at someone else to take the fall for us. Someone who is weaker and unable to defend themselves. Isn’t that how the “blame game” is supposed to be played?

Well to those of us who call ourselves Christians the answer is found in the gospel according to Matthew where we are admonished to look in the mirror first and take responsibility for our actions before we attempt to point out someone else’s faults. To the news media, and Sheriff Dupnik, this means check out your own actions and responsibility before you attempt to push the blame of your own failings unto someone else. First take the plank of hypocrisy out of your own eye then perhaps you can see more clearly the cause of the others failings. If we all take responsibility for our own actions we will find there is not much room left over to play the “blame game.” Personal responsibility is the antidote to the “blame game.”

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

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Are You Like Martin Luther King?

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked (Ps 82:3-4).

God raises up leaders to take on causes that are much greater than themselves.

However, these causes are often first birthed as a result of a personal crisis or conviction; then this leads to a larger cause. Not until you are moved with deep conviction are you able to stand against the tide in opposition to a position.

Last year Markai Durham, a girl featured on MTV’s 16 and Pregnant with her boyfriend James, found herself pregnant again. She explored her options, talked with her mother and best friend, and discussed with her boyfriend their financial situation and the daughter they already had. Then she made the choice they all said only she could make. But the pain seeped through.

Markai’s voice broke when she called the abortion business to ask for information: "Afterwards, do you know, like, how I’ll be or how I’ll feel?" After the abortion, when her boyfriend called her baby a "thing," she lashed out: "You would never feel my pain. You weren’t the one in the surgery room. I was there." Markai pointed to their curly-haired baby, "A ‘thing’ can turn out like that. . . . ‘Nothing but a bunch of cells’ can be her."

Experiencing the pain of abortion first hand changed Markai’s perspective. Her response to her boyfriend shows the depth of pain she felt as she lashed out against his insensitive description of the aborted child.

Markai like Martin Luther King had a personal conviction. An inner burning, a deep sense of the subject at hand. Markai felt the deep pain of abortion Luther’s was racial discrimination. Luther sought to change this through preaching and nonviolent demonstrations. It wasn’t long before this became the conviction of others and it became a movement larger than any one person. A recent Pew Research report shows support for abortions decreasing. A greater number of Americans are taking a stand against this shedding of innocent blood.

William Wilberforce was a political statesman in England. He came to Christ when he was twenty-eight years old. He began to have personal convictions about slavery in England and he committed his life to the goal of destroying slavery. He finally achieved his goal after fifty years of work. His work also resulted in sixty-four world changing initiatives before he died.

William Wallace was burdened about the persecution his country received from the wicked English king named Edward the Longshanks. Born in 1272, Wallace grew up under the persecution from the wicked king. When he was older, he led a rebellion against England that resulted in the freedom for the nation of Scotland. The popular movie, Braveheart, was the story of William Wallace.

Norma Leah McCorvey, Jane Roe of Roe V Wade fame, has become a strong advocate for the pro-life movement. In the 1980s, McCorvey asserted that she had been the "pawn" of two young and ambitious lawyers (Weddington and Coffee) who were looking for a plaintiff with whom they could challenge the Texas state law prohibiting abortion.

Today she is a confirmed Catholic Christian and a strong advocate for Operation Rescue’s campaign to make abortion illegal.

You too can make a difference in the life of one person, by speaking up for those who can not speak up for themselves. Join the movement, make a difference, defend the defenseless, take up the cause of the rights of the poor and oppressed. Be a Luther, a Wilberforce, a Wallace, a Markai Durham, or a Norma Leah McCorvey.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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