Recognizing Our True Condition

For a passionate desire to walk in God’s love and light to sweep across our nation, resulting in obedience to His commands

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love.
—II John 1:6

O Lord God, You are light and there is no darkness anywhere in You. You are love and there is no ... evil anywhere in You. I praise and thank You for the security and hope this brings me today. You are victorious over every form of darkness, and I praise You for this, in Jesus Christ!

Holy God, You know the great darkness that lurks in our country, and You see how innocents and wise ones alike are fooled into thinking that darkness is light and wrong is right. I ask for Your truth to be shown in our country today, that together we may desire to walk in Your love, spurning evil and dark ways. Do this, because of Your kindness and love I pray, O holy God, amen.

***The picture above is really striking. Does anyone know where this is? I think I'd like to visit there sometime.***

This is the latest in the series of prayers led by the Presidential Prayer Team for the new President and for our nation. If you are interested in receiving the email with each day's prayer assignment you can click here and sign up.

Today's Prayer From The Presidential Prayer Team

Today the PPT repeated yesterday's post. Not a bad thing, because I think that we are going to need to pray for President Obama's courage in the days to come (and ours too for that matter.) But rather than post the same thing two days in a row I thought I'd offer my own prayer for today. It is on the same basic theme.



Prayer that the people of America and its newly elected leaders will not fear men, but will fear God.

"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows." Matthew 10:28-31

Father God, thank You that You have promised to care for even the smallest creatures! Thank You for the assurance that we are worth more to you than anything else in creation. What great love You have lavished on the people of the earth!

Father, please help us as a nation to respect You as we should. Please write Your laws on our hearts and cause us to obey Your precepts. In the same way, Father please cause our elected leaders to fear You more than they fear popular opinion or the threats of others. Give them the courage to lead in the direction that You would have our nation to go even if it is unpopular. Cause them to have a godly fear if they try to direct our nation towards ungodliness.

Please place wise advisors around those that have been elected to office and please put Your counsel in their mouths. Please give our leaders the wisdom to heed Your advice and to ignore any that is not from You.

Thank You, Father that you have promised to be a strong tower of refuge for the righteous. Help us to place our confidence in You and not in people, political parties, or the things that we can see with our eyes.

In the name of Jesus, amen!

Want Some Salt With That Crow, Dr. D?

Dr. Dobson has finally come to his senses. About a year ago he said in no uncertain terms that he would rather stay home than vote for John McCain. He has changed his mind. You may recall that I showed the folly of his statement and predicted that this day would come. Well, it has.

In an interview with Dennis Prager, Dobson said:

Well, you know I did a radio program about a month ago with Dr. Albert Mohler, and we talked about what was at stake in this election and our concerns about the policies that Barack Obama would implement. The more I hear the more I learn, the more concerned I am, and so on that program Dr. Mohler and I talked about the fact that John McCain is not the perfect candidate. He’s certainly would not be my choice and, for over a year, I did not feel that I could vote for him. But I said in that radio program that “I can’t say it now”—which was then, because I didn’t know who his vice presidential choice would be, and he if would come up with Lieberman or Tom Ridge or somebody like that, we’d be back in a hole again. But I said for the first time “I might, I might.” And some people call that a flip-flop. If they do, so be it. Campaigns are long. You get information. You find out what the choices are. So I’ve been moving in John McCain’s direction....

...I can tell you that if I had to go into the studio, I mean the voting booth today, I would pull that lever....

...You know, Dennis, the things that concern me about John McCain are still there. I made those comments not just based on emotions, but based on his record and some of the things that took place—embryonic stem cell research, and other things, the campaign finance, and other things. Those are still there. So, there’s still concerns. But I tell you, when I look at the choices that are ahead and what the implications are for this country, and now especially with this selection, with just an outstanding V.P. candidate as a running mate, I tell you what I am relieved and very excited.

So there you have it: Dr. James Dobson has all but endorsed the McCain/Palin ticket for President.

Perhaps Dr. Dobson should leave the emotions completely out of his commenting. That way he wouldn't have to eat his words. It simply wasn't logical or wise to make the statements that he did earlier, knowing who was running on the Democratic side. Even Rudy Giuliani (as liberal as he is) would have been a better choice than either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. I hope that he will exercise more wisdom in the future.

A Very Important Message

This is a message that is targeted primarily to my Christian readers, but should be of benefit to anyone who reads it. It is largely an excerpt of a post that I wrote for the Conspiracy of Kindness blog, but I believe that its message is important enough to duplicate it here.

Very few Christians would deny that God still speaks to His people. This communication can come in various forms: from general impressions, to visions, to dreams, and to a voice that isn't heard with our ears but is instead discerned by our spirits.

One of my friends has a particular fluency in their communication with God. Recently, in the midst of a conversation that this individual was having with God about a situation that they are dealing with, God shared something that I believe is very important for many to hear. Based on my experience with this individual, my knowledge of their understanding of the subject matter of the message, and the context in which it was given, I believe that this is a bona fide message from the Lord.

The Bible tells us to "Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment." While many in traditional and even evangelical churches are uncomfortable with calling someone a prophet today or even in allowing that prophecies are still given today, I hope that you will not be offended by this term. A prophet is merely someone who tells others what God has told them. It is our job as priests in the Kingdom of God to consult with the Holy Spirit to test the prophecy. It is with this caveat that I submit this message for your consideration:

If you have an abundance don't invest it in the stock market. That's going to crash later this year. It will be a lot like 1929, but for those whose investment is primarily in the Kingdom there won't be a problem.

Wealth, as America knows it is almost over.

Dave Ramsey's teachings about mutual funds work well in this season - this system, but the economic system is about to change dramatically. The same rules will not apply.

I'm getting ready for the great wealth transfer. Many will be saved. Those in debt will suffer the most. Many will lose everything. "But those who know their God will do mighty exploits."

Let me begin by explaining something of the context in which this message was given. What I have shared was an excerpt from a larger conversation between my friend and God. There was nothing before this in the conversation that even made mention of the stock market, although financial matters had been discussed. This is one of the reasons that I believe that this message is from God.

A second reason that I believe that this message is authentic is that my friend has no knowledge or understanding of the stock market or the economic factors that drive it. This individual has (as was indicated in the prophecy) listened to Dave Ramsey, but that is the extent of their knowledge. In fact, my friend hardly even listens to or reads the news. So I don't believe that this is an idea that could have come from this individual's own concerns about the economy or knowledge about it.

Where does this leave us then? One of the purposes of prophecy is to encourage God's people. The entirety of the context of this message served to strongly encourage my friend.

Another purpose of prophecy is to warn God's people of sin and/or impending events. Proverbs tells us "The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, but the naive go on, and are punished for it." and "A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, the naive proceed and pay the penalty."

I am no financial expert. I cannot tell you what to do in response to this message. Perhaps it would be wise to study the events of the Great Depression and look specifically to the areas that thrived in the midst of the collapse of the Stock Market. I have heard that when one type of investment falters there are often other areas that do well. This may be a time for God's people to be able to prosper because of this warning.

Perhaps it would also be prudent to move funds from stock market based investments to investments with guaranteed interest. (I'm thinking particularly of folks with 401-ks and that sort of thing.) However, once again, I don't really know what I am talking about. Your best bet would be to ask God what you should do with your investments.

I would also encourage you to ask God about expediting the payoff of any home equity lines and about refinancing your home if the mortgage is not locked into a long-term fixed rate.

Can I guarantee that this is a word from the Lord? No. But I felt strongly enough that it was that I felt a responsibility to warn as many people as I could about it. Please pray and ask God to show you whether this prophecy is true and to tell you what you should do about it.

One last thought... Christians are not to be motivated by fear. This message should not cause fear, but should encourage us to praise God for giving us a warning before this event takes place.

If you are heavily in debt this may cause you some distress. That is understandable, but do not operate out of fear. Cry out to God in repentance over your situation and ask Him how to fix it. Allow your faith to rise up and trust your God to take care of you and your needs. I can attest that He does and He will. That is not to say that you may not suffer loss, but God will not allow the righteous to be forsaken or their children to beg for bread.

For any of my non-Christian friends who are reading this blog, I hope that this information will benefit you too. If it does, my sincerest prayer is that you will give glory to God for giving you this warning and that you will submit your lives to Him because of His goodness. He truly loves you and wants the very best for you.

Hmmm...

I am starting to realize that hardball political activism has a cost conservatives don't think enough about. It costs you a lot of quality liberal acquaintances. And the reverse is true for liberal agitators. Liberals may be wrong about everything, but there are a lot of wonderful people who are way out on the left, and if you're constantly ridiculing liberals and the left, you make it hard to have those people in your life. Reaming out moonbats is fun, I know, but maybe the cost is too high. The more you abuse and humiliate people, the harder it is for them to agree that you're right. If we really care about winning converts, maybe we need to focus on effective persuasion instead of just trying to score points. What's the real, fundamental goal? Making liberals look silly, or helping people believe the truth? I know what you're all thinking. "Making liberals look silly." But somewhere deep down in your heart, you don't really believe it.

Steve Graham @ Hog On Ice

More Wonderful Welcome Wet Weather

Like my alliteration? Give me a break! It's after 3:30 in the morning!

We've had more wonderful rain. I wish it could have been for longer, but it has once again been a good, soaking rain. The verdict is in - looks like prayer works. No apologies to the Atlanta Freethought Society. God is real. God controls everything. Deal with it.

I know I'm busting AFS's chops a little bit, but I really want them to see how good God is. Life is tough and then you die. It's that way for everyone Christian and pagan alike, but it certainly isn't equal.

I've tried life without God and life with God, and WITH is infinitely better. If I could get over myself and my hangups and fears and unbelief there is this incredible ABUNDANT life that is available to me. I hope that I am able to achieve that place before I die! LONG before I die. But even if I don't, what is waiting for me afterwards as a Christian is ASTOUNDINGLY GOOD.

Not so much for non-Christians. It is sad that some will actively choose to reject God and His great gift to us and choose to suffer God's justifiable wrath. Others will apathetically follow the herd down the path of least resistance right over the cliff. If you're on the "wrath" side of the coin right now, don't be offended. God is extremely patient and is offering the chance for you to be whole and free and joyful. All you have to do is accept the gift. You don't have to clean yourself up first - He takes care of that later, you just come. I cannot understand how someone could turn such a great deal down, but the Bible says that many will. It's tragic really.

If you haven't accepted God's gift of salvation, please do. I assure you that you'll be glad you did.

In the meantime, I'm gonna keep praying for rain!

Bugger...

Arizona Biologist Likely Died of Plague

Man, pretty good reason to not be so tough and go on to the doctor when that cold comes on!

A wildlife biologist at Grand Canyon National Park most likely died from the plague contracted while performing a necropsy on a mountain lion that later tested positive for the disease, officials said Friday.

Eric York, 37, who worked in the park's cougar collaring program, became ill on Oct. 30 and called out sick from for a couple of days before being found dead in his home Nov. 2. Tests were positive for the pneumonic plague.

You can read the entire article HERE.

Migratory Urges

Tomorrow begins the annual fishing haaj to the NC Outer Banks. This year's crew is noticably thinner than the past several years. The older fellows are starting to die off, and the younger fellows are busy.

I am glad to be going, but it hasn't always been so. The first year I went I got so frustrated. There were all these men I didn't know that well and I felt like I had to prove my manhood to them by being proficient at catching fish. Those of you who have fished on the surf know that surf fishing is completely different than pond or river fishing. The same rules just don't apply. So I was pretty frustrated. I wasn't catching fish, my line wouldn't stay down and kept getting tangled in everyone else's lines and to make matters worse, they were catching fish and I wasn't even getting a bite!

My frustration kept mounting until one of the men that I knew pretty well pulled me alongside. His son was there and was feeling some of the same pressure I was. Charles told me, "You know, I told Jeff that the whole reason I come out here is just to hang out with these fellows. If I catch fish, it is just a bonus." Well, those may not be his exact words, but it was something along those lines. It helped me to realize that there wasn't a competition and that I could just relax and enjoy being there. Oddly enough, I did relax and began to catch fish.

How many times in our lives do we let a performance mentality ruin the moment? How often do we let it set unrealistic expectations that end up leaving us feeling disappointed and unfulfilled? I can't count the number of times that I tried so hard not to fail that I ended up doing that exact thing.

It is the same with the Christian walk. We will never walk successfully when we are trying to follow some regimen or stand up to someone's perforance guidelines. This is why Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." By our effort we will never be holy and we will never be more worthy to God. It is His grace that produces sanctification - not our human righteousness.

I know some people now that are so afraid of failing and disappointing God that they are pharisaicly trying to maintain a "Christian" law and are failing at it. The problem is that the law always brings death and failure. Human flesh (fallen human flesh, that is) simply cannot live in holiness by adherance to the law. It is only by living life by the Spirit of God that we are able to achieve holiness - it is a free gift so none can boast.

As we learn to relax and allow the Spirit of God to live through us, we will find that we start to succeed!

So, back to fishing. I am looking forward to our annual migration. It will be a good time spent with my dad and my grandfather and the other men who have become familiar over the past few years. I will get to sit on the beach and smell the salty sea air, watch dolphins and whales swimming beyond the breakers, maybe get a little sun, and maybe, just maybe, catch a few fish. Fish or no fish it is going to be a great trip.

Time To Duck...

It hasn't rained at my home since my birthday over a month ago. The drought is so severe here in North Carolina that they don't have a more severe category to use to classify it. This is the driest that it has ever been here since they have kept records. This is what they would call a famine in biblical days.

The interesting thing about famines is that they don't come around for no reason. According to the Bible famines come as a wake up call from God to turn from our sins and cry out to Him. Here's the problem: no one seems to be calling out to God. Now, I know that I have a number of Christian friends who are praying for rain and even a few who are acknowledging that this seems to be a judgment from the Lord's hand. However, the numbers of people who seem willing to acknowledge this are small in comparison to those who want to scream "global warming!"

Today in the news I have heard about massive, violent, unseasonable tornadoes and thunderstorms all across the country. There is a major storm in Washington state right now that is threatening a floating bridge, and there has been an overabundance of rain in Texas of all places.

The thing that really concerns me is that the Bush administration is beginning to press Israel for a "Palestinian" peace deal again. They even have some people in Israel talking of giving up part of Jerusalem to the terrorists in exchange for peace. Just the other day Secretary Of State Rice declared that now is the time for a Palestinian state. I shudder. The last time we got involved in pushing Israel to give up its rightful homeland, ceded to them by God, Katrina devestated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, killing thousands.

In fact, historically, every time that the United States has pushed Israel to give up land it has ended very badly for us.

So right now we have catestrophic (historically associated with judgment) weather patterns plaguing us. Our economy is on very shaky ground with the dollar growing weaker almost daily and the banking industry suffering the consequences of the poorly thought out loans that they made during the housing boom. Businesses are run by CEOs with short term mentality and big time greed. We even saw swarms of insects attack our national passtime in the Cleveland and New York game! The next thing in the litany of judgments is pestilence and it may have been unleashed as MRSA claims more and more lives and begins to spread further and further. After that comes war and defeat.

I wish I knew what to repent for. The problem is not actually trying to find one thing to repent for - it is that there are so many things that we are guilty of! As a people we are perverse, murderous, idolatrous, greedy, self-absorbed, non-loving, rebellious, faithless, baby-killing, self-worshipping swindlers. I am reminded of a passage from Jeremiah that says, "'Should I not punish them for this?' declares the LORD. 'Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?'" (Jeremiah 5:9 and 5:29 and 9:9) These words make me tremble. I pray that they make you tremble as well.

God please forgive us! Please cause us to repent! And please turn your anger from this land.

I believe it is time to duck.

Yikes!

Here is a little excerpt from an article that I just read. Click HERE for the link. I had no idea it had gotten this bad. There is no doubt about it, the smart money is on sexual purity until marriage. That means no messing around at all! God knew what He was talking about. These stats don't even take into account the psychological effects of sexual activity outside of marriage.

There is a big difference between sex and what gets called sex in our culture. Sex is great. Sex is OK with God. Sex ONLY occurs within the bounds of marriage with the person you are married to. (By the way, and it is shameful that I have to define marriage but here goes, marriage is only between a man and a woman. Sorry if this steps on your toes. I didn't write the definition or come up with the plan. I'm just a messenger.) Anything else is either adultery, fornication, homosexuality or some other weird perversion that God gets pretty upset about.

Check out this smattering of factual 411 from Dr. Meg Meeker’s new book Your Kids at Risk: How Teen Sex Threatens Our Sons and Daughters:

• This year, 8 to 10 million teens will contract an STD.

• Nearly one out of four sexually active teens is living with a sexually transmitted disease at this moment.

• Nearly 50% of African-American teenagers have genital herpes.

• Although teenagers make up just 10% of the population, they acquire 25% of all STDs.

• Herpes (specifically, herpes simplex virus type 2) has skyrocketed 500% in the past 20 years among white teenagers.

• One in five children over the age of 12 tests positive for herpes type 2.

• Nearly one out of ten teenage girls has chlamydia, and half of all new chlamydia cases are diagnosed in girls 15 to 19 years old.

• STDs accounted for 87% of all cases reported of the top ten most frequently reported diseases in the United States in 1995.

• This new epidemic is not just cursing those “poor inner city kids.” No, the viruses have solidly taken up residence in the suburbs.

Yep, the reality is that every twenty-four hours 21,000 teens are slapped, saddled, infused and infected with some creepy, nasty and potentially deadly bug brought about by following the advice of our crass culture.

He didn't say anything about HIV or AIDS in this group. I'd be scared to see what kind of numbers there are there. Those herpes numbers are almost as bad as the HIV numbers in Africa. That's just scary!

Just think of how this will effect Hillarycare if, God forbid, we should get it, when the long-term effects of these diseases become more evident. And we thought that Social Security was going to bust us. Because of the foolish political correctness that has paralyzed the minds of everyone in the government, it is becoming more and more difficult for insurance companies to refuse coverage for STDs (and especially HIV/AIDS.) There are very few times that you will see me feeling sorry for an insurance company, but they are getting more than they bargained for with this deal.

I read another article not long ago that talked about the growing number of STDs among seniors too. Wow. More fuel to the fire. But we don't want to curb our sexual appetites or actually obey the Bible or something. We have to find a cure so we can keep on with our sinful - yes, SINFUL - lifestyles. Well the day is coming, and may already be here, where there won't be any pills to make it go away, or, for that matter, even to hold it at bay.

Quote Of The Day

"If I give you everything you want, and I can afford to do that, you'll grow up to be a 40-year-old child. I build men, not boys. I want you to grow up to be a 40-year-old man."
- Jane Wyman (to Michael Reagan who had asked her for a Schwinn 10-speed bike)

As quoted in Tough Love
By Michael Reagan
Thursday, September 13, 2007


Just click on the link and read the article. It will make perfect sense then.

Quotes of the Day

Thomas Sowell had some good thoughts in his article titled Random Thoughts

People who refuse to face the reality of hard choices are forever coming up with some clever "third way"-- often leading to worse disasters than either of the hard choices.

Wise people created civilization over the centuries and clever people are dismantling it today. You can see it happening just by channel surfing on TV or hear it in rap music or read it in the pompous nonsense of academics and judges.

With all the old movie favorites being shown again and again on television, it is remarkable that the old movie classic "Alfie" is seldom shown. Could it be fear that the scene where cold-blooded Alfie breaks down and cries at the sight of an aborted baby is something that would unleash the furies of the feminazis?

Chutzpah department: When disbarred former D.A. Michael Nifong mailed his Bar card back to his state Bar Association, he included a note decrying "the fundamental unfairness" with which the Bar had treated him. This from a man who was ready to ruin three lives and polarize a community, in order to win an election.