HAPPY FATHERS DAY

Rambling.....its fathers day again.... "If you have seen me you have seen the father" this could be a rough ride...I hope we can stay on the train of thought Show us the father and we will be ok…. John 14:8 Reality was sinking in…the miracles had come and gone, the celebration was over. It was now becoming clear that things were not going to turn out all rosy and fine. Cynicism began to question everything, doubt was creeping in. Skepticism was becoming full blown disbelief…..unbelief !! 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Fast forward to June 2009….. The world is at a historical crossroad with the security and even survival of humanity at stake. One path continues along the way that has been pursued to date, of the right of might and every person for himself regardless of the consequences. QUOTE Posted on Jun 18, 2009 White House / Pete Souza President Obama once said the deficit "keeps me awake at night." He's not alone. Three recent polls show that while Obama's approval ratings remain high, most Americans are preoccupied with the deficit and many question about whether the president is willing and able to rein in spending. QUOTE Is The American Empire Bankrupt ? By Chris Hedges Click here to read the story This week marks the end of the dollar's reign as the world's reserve currency. It marks the start of a terrible period of economic and political decline in the United States. And it signals the last gasp of the American imperium. That's over.. It is not coming back. And what is to come will be very, very painful. Each time we pray "Thy Kingdom come" in the prayer the Lord taught us, we are acknowledging that the present kingdom which has many branches known as countries, is going down. As a Christian, nothing that happens in this world surprises me because I have been told about it before. We Christians have been instructed in God's word to set our hope (our afection, mind, heart) on things above not on things here. So our politics whether it be right or left wing, our economy, whether it be capitalism, nationalism, communism or any other ism will crumble. There is no human savior. It is only a matter of time before the whole world economy collapses. They will decay because they have their source in the genius of humanity. Now is the time for the people of God to rejoice because the writing is on the wall!!!!! FROM : Ronald Benjamin , aiming to be a blessing Nowadays people spend more time with their workmates than with their families. This makes me wonder about the title I once read in a book describing the family as the "PRIMARY KINSHIP GROUPING"....nowadays in terms of time spent, family is kinda secondary for some people. So I am looking around the workplace at the problems that exist and I am wondering if these people are transfering their family situations into the workplace. ...Shazam !!! of course we are !!...someway somehow..we must,.. right? For instance you may want to make your boss your dad...if for example he has a quality which you like in your dad....or maybe wish your dad had. Maybe you can become lost in fantasies. Just a thought. J I think there is a bully in my workplace....overhearing conversations on the phone seems to confirm the suspicion that this person is also a bully at home. Jesus said "IF YOU HAVE SEEN ME YOU HAVE SEEN THE FATHER" It is not always true that people are like their father.....directly...but there is some connection. Either we avoid the things we dislike and try to be opposite or we just default to likeness without too much thought . So anyhow its fathers day again and I am thinking about it. Right off the cuff I must admit to a rather poor start in the fathering business.....but I do believe that I have improved somewhat if I might say so myself. I was always very squeamish about rating my parents....I just think it can end up being dishonoring in the biblical sense. I would rather be thankful for what I received and to think that my parents really did the best they could. I do think however now that I look back a little...and being the great story-teller that I so want to be....I didn't really know too much about my father by self-disclosure.....so I must respect that privacy for what it is worth and not give in to misguided curiosity. I must not however ignore testimony. Those impressions that have formed across the years. The things that are evident....evidence immediately available to all. Not just things evident need to be considered but things of good report, things virtuous and praise-worthy. Why? See Philippians 4 My Father was thoughtful….he though about things a lot ! Mindful is another word. What strikes me about many people in today's world is how mindless their behavior seems to be. One does not need to be calculating in the negative sense but I definitely need to think things through more carefully. The biblical book of Proverbs is full of instruction in this. For example Proverbs 21: 5 The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want. I won't take too much time but "careful" was another word daddy used a lot….so much so that when I got my drivers license I was unable to operate a vehicle over 50 MPH without mentally going to pieces. I was telling this to some friends the other day and they could not believe. Daddy's thinking went like this, in fact he would say that cars are man made and anything can go wrong. I always had pictures in my mind of a wheel flying off at 50 MPH….so I never drove fast but Ioved the curves, so to save face I used to tell my young friends that I was a "rally driver" not a 'drag racer'…..in fact my favorite stretches of road were the DEVIL's RACECOURSE and the JUNCTION….I hated the QUEEN's HIGHWAY….it was so long and straight and boring !!!! WAR and PEACE My mother taught me blessed are the peacemakers...so I never really learned to fight...but I kept being called a warrior. why would I tell anybody that I am not at war with my wife? Or my kids or anyone who is coming againt me? Am I a peacemaker just because I allow myself to be beat up and run over all the time…that's kind of wimpy…right?? So I am not standing up for anything, not standing against anything, is this a peacemaker? The thinking used to be it takes two to tangle. America is not at war with Islam ! !! ? Islam is a religion of peace !!! By peace he will deceive many – (Daniel) I am not come to bring peace but a sword The peacemakers are blessed because they are at peace with GOD Love your enemies....they are still your enemies The fight will never stop....the enemy is not the person it is the one who is using the person. Luke 12:49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! 51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. This is pretty rough stuff coming from the master…..do you see any easy way around this???.....read the entire chapter from verse one….this is really challenging material…….

doubt and fear...no !! nooooo

my heart has no desire to stay where doudts arise and fears dismay though some may dwell where these abound my prayer, my aim is higher ground     PRAY .....

I don't know....

and I don't care...It don't matter   Ecclesiastes 8 >> GOD'S WORD ® Translation 1 Who is really wise? Who knows how to explain things? Wisdom makes one's face shine, and it changes one's grim look. 2 I advise you to obey the king's commands because of the oath you took in God's presence. 3 Don't be in a hurry to leave the king's service. Don't take part in something evil, because he can do whatever he pleases. 4 Since a king's word has such power, no one can ask him what he is doing. 5 Whoever obeys his commands will avoid trouble. The mind of a wise person will know the right time and the right way to act. 6 There is a right time and a right way to act in every situation. Yet, a terrible human tragedy hangs over people. 7 They don't know what the future will bring. So who can tell them how things will turn out? 8 No one has the power to prevent the spirit of life from leaving. No one has control over the day of his own death. There is no way to avoid the war against death. Wickedness will not save wicked people from dying. 9 I have seen all of this, and I have carefully considered all that is done under the sun whenever one person has authority to hurt others. 10 Then I saw wicked people given an honorable burial. They used to go in and out of the holy place. They were praised in the city for doing such things. Even this is pointless. 11 When a sentence against a crime isn't carried out quickly, people are encouraged to commit crimes. 12 A sinner may commit a hundred crimes and yet live a long life. Still, I know with certainty that it will go well for those who fear God, because they fear him. 13 But it will not go well for the wicked. They will not live any longer. Their lives are like shadows, because they don't fear God. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++   We are ripe for judgement....don't put it out of your mind...live daily in the presence of God....

no need for regret

"I regret going to Colorado" "I should never have taken my vacation in September" Poor choices, bad decisions, mistakes....we all make them, sometimes we are beaten up a lot by our own conscience by family, even friends....but the sorrow of regret is not the same as the sorrow that can heal our hurt and restore our relationships Mrs Job for example was trying to make her husband regret the times he spent going to church...."curse God and die" was the advice she gave her husband. Mr Adams was trying to make his wife regret that she didn't follow his instruction so he told his BOSS it is the womans fault. The Davidson kid flat out blamed his dad...his regret: that 'you are my parents' and maybe he was right...the parents made many poor choices, mistakes etc.... outright sins ...committing adultery is definately not the prescribed way to build a family. ...but this is what this kid found himself in...a profoundly disfunctional family. Much of the book of Psalms in the bible describes some of the emotion in the disfunctional family of David (the Davidsons).....and yet we have some of the most delightful and encouraging words in the Psalms. So the way of regret and recrimination only leads to depression and dispair.....been there done that !!! but when I first read this: 2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. 12 Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you. 13 Therefore we were comforted in your comfort: yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all. The Clearing of yourselves jumped out at me. I'm not sorry I'm not sorry I've answered the Master's call Jesus took my heavy load Now I'm on the glory road I'm not sorry I'm not sorry I'm not sorry at all !!!

coercion vs consent, war and peace

THE FACE OF APOSTACY I walked up to the cashier, she was very pleastant, I was friendly, I smiled and paid and left thinking how modest she seemed to be in her traditional muslim headdress and frock……. There is a fear that has come to be associated with Muslims since we identified the 911 hijackers as muslim. Not only do we now fear them but some in our society have come to hate them. The president Barak in his speech in Cairo sensing the antagonism between cultures was trying to bridge the gap. This is quite consistent with the image we had as we listened to the Notredame speech a few weeks ago. The central theme: "finding common ground". Focussing on the things that unite us rather than the things that divide us. An historic examination of the two cultures suggests that the Islamic and Judaeo-Christian religions can be traced back to two brothers, Isaac and Ishmael. The president Barak is consistent in his role : a man of peace, the image is of a father trying to settle a sibling squabble....fast forward from Genesis now to Omega....the revelation is now clear that only the one who started this can end it....shall come in like manner evan as you saw (through the eyes of history) him go. The question for us is 'do we accept the record of history?'   Western civilization based on the religion of Isaac has become decadent. Greed and perversions of all kind have come in the name of freedom. The Ishmaelites on the other hand, have somehow managed to keep a stricter culture more regimented and fierce in its prosecution of wrongdoings. Most Western democracies have lapsed into a kind of anarchy in the name of freedoms. The real problem is the insiduous nature of these cultures. They tend to creep into the more structured "Ismaelite" societies through the channels of modern media and plant the seeds of lust that starts the breakdown of the moral fabric that hold a society together. None of us would deny that Hollywood is the largest promoter / exporter of immoral lifestyles in the world today. So the question for our "man of peace" is will he be able to sign the covenant?   Before this month ends there may be a new leader in Iran. Israel will not be allowed to strike Iran if our president has his way. Now what?....."then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man..." this is a direct quote from the "writings" that comes to mind, there should be no doubt in the mind of the serious student of history that these are highly unusual times and recent events suggest that there may be a certain judgement in the making nevertheless as it was in the times of Noe and this is another direct quote "people will be eating and drinking" being entertained, oblivious to the signs of the times. ------------------------- Obama calls for new effort for 2-state solution (AP) AP - Prodding the international community, President Barack Obama called Friday "for all of us to redouble our efforts" toward separate Israeli and Palestinian states. "The moment is now for us to act," he declared. U.S. President Barack Obama, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, answer questions during a news conference in Dresden, Germany, Friday, June 5, 2009. Obama visits Dresden, the former Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald and th US regional medical center in Landstuhl during his stopover in Germany.