Tandem Vincitur

It was the medieval and ancient times that man regarded the king to be God, or a god. This was the foundation of the Greek myths. It was evidenced in the Bible in the account of Nimrod. The Bible does not go into details of the life of Nimrod, only to mention he was a mighty hunter and established at least eight major cities including Babylon and Ninevah. The secular accounts tell of his gruesome battles and victories and that he was considered to be a god. It was in this mindset that he set about to prevent the people from fulfilling their mandate from God to create urban sprawl and rounded them up to build the Tower of Babel to commemorate and celebrate the accomplishments of man.

King Herod and mere puppet for Caesar considered himself to be a god and did not silence the people when they worshiped him. The Bible tells us, in chapter twelve of Acts, when he accepted the praise of man and failed to give glory to God, he was struck down and immediately eaten by worms and died.

In America, the land of the free and home of the brave, we have become overrun by bureaucrats. Many of them believe themselves to be gods. In fact, they hold the power of God over a man’s life and business. Even many bureaucrats who profess to be Christian, have no fear of God but continue to build empires and despise their brothers’ freedoms.

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First, it is a myth that guns for drug wars come from the US. This is a straw man to destroy our Second Amendment. Obama is slick, he will use this crisis and a treaty to steal our Constitutionally protected rights.

Obeying the Voice of God

by Jack MacDonald as told to Donnie MacDonald

ISBN 978-0-9778545-1-6

This book begins with an episode of a showdown between the author and a cult leader. The Holy Spirit gave Jack the leading to make a most audacious claim. Jack obeyed and God reaped a great victory in the small town where he was ministering.

Then he rewinds the clock with a brief history of his life; growing up in a single parent home and coming to faith in Jesus Christ in his teen years. The book is written from the viewpoint of an Assembly of God minister, and he writes about speaking in tongues. But there is much in this book to be gained even if the reader is a staunch Baptist. The message of the book is what can happen in and through a life that is yearning to follow God and listen to the Holy Spirit.

Jack writes about his experiences in Vietnam; how God used him to minister and how God saved his life, over and again. He writes how God moved him to change his career from farming to ministering. Every step of the way, he gives examples how God used him when he listened and obeyed.

His ministry work did not pay well but he wrote how God used the skills he had to provide for him and his family. Even better, he demonstrated that even though God gave him these skills, it was not the skills that provided, it was God who was his provision. This is a message we all need to grasp: even if we say we trust God to provide, we often fall back on our faith in our own abilities and it is easy to forget though God may use our skill, it is He alone who provides - and it is He who gave us the skill, in the first place.

After many anecdotal episodes of God’s hand in his life and how God used him when he listened and obeyed, he wraps up the book with admonitions to fellowship with other believers, the importance of unity among the brothers and listening to the Holy Spirit.

This is a fun book and it is full of practical examples on improving your walk with God. Though it is 350 pages, it is a fast read with large print and lots of blank pages. You will enjoy walking with the author and experiencing the life of one who yearns to follow God. It will encourage you to listen, and maybe you might hear God’s voice in your life and see what He will do when you obey.

Help, LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.
Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception.

May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue that says, “We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips — who is our master?”

“Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy,
I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will protect them from those who malign them.”

And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.

O LORD, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever.
The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men. [Psa 12:1-8 NIV]

When we look at our nation and the world today, it is easy to become discouraged. President Obama was elected to office on a whirlwind of praise from the media. After his first one-hundred days he can still do no wrong, regardless the appointments of those who favor to impose abortion and homosexuality upon our culture. He campaigned on the mantras of “Change” and “Hope” and what the people understood was that previous administrations had kept close strings on the public piggy bank and now he was going to open that piggy bank and disperse it back to the people it belonged to. What he did was stuff an empty vessel full of IOUs that even our grandchildren will be paying.

Our times mirror David’s observations: Everyone lies to his neighbor and refuses to acknowledge the truth. We have reclassified sin as a civil right, murder as a privacy issue and now we deceive ourselves that we can spend our way into prosperity. And the people believe we have found our messiah - the praises will never end and his blunders will be ignored. We hail the mantras of “Change” and “Hope” - our words and positive thoughts will make it so and we ignore the truth. On the pretense of relieving the poor, we will impoverish the masses and future generations.

Our leaders, bureaucrats and lawyers have worked hard to remove Jesus Christ from every inch of our culture. And the wicked have become emboldened to impose their perversions upon our children. But God tells us His word will stand. Even when it looks like evil is winning, we are not to become disheartened because God is still in control - and He is watching over us.

This week I was reading an article about the secularization of the Epsicopal Church USA. William Murchison, a longtime member, has written about this in his book, “Mortal Follies: Episcopalians and the Crisis of Mainline Christianity.” But he is not discouraged. He said, “I happen to think this is a wonderful time for evangelism. I’m too old, at 67, to be a pessimist; I’m more of an optimist. And I believe that God’s in charge — and he will take us through the trials of today, and he will bring his people where he wants them to be.”

God is still in control. No matter what is going on in your life - no matter what you see going on around you, God will bring you where He wants you to be. Amen.

“My name is Geng He and I am the wife of political prisoner and lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who is currently being persecuted in mainland China. On March 11 this year, I arrived in the United States with my son and daughter for political asylum. … We are safe now, but my husband’s situation has become more perilous…

“In the past, whenever I was worried about my husband because of his challenges against tyranny, he would often console me by saying…that if one day he would be persecuted because of his ideals and sense of justice, the people in the world who believe in justice would stand by him and support him. I know that he would still harbor this light and hope in his heart while enduring various torments in prison!”

– Geng He’s open letter to the U.S. Congress asking for Congress to intervene on behalf of her husband Gao Zhisheng. Read full letter.

Another great commentary and admonition from David Crowe. http://restoreamerica.org/

On Sunday, November 2nd, 2008, just two days before the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States, I wrote,

“Tuesday, November 4th, will be a day of deliverance, either into captivity and lamentation, or into the recognition that our ordered liberties come from God; into the twilight before nightfall, or into the glorious light of day after the threat has passed; into an awakening and revival, or the awareness of great loss and evil to come.”

Can God’s people  be counted on to stand up for truth?

A few nights ago Miss California chose to honor God, and take a stand for traditional marriage before a TV audience of millions. The truth - and her relationship with Christ - was more important to her than a temporal, earthly crown.  It may have cost her a beauty contest, but in the minds and hearts of millions of Americans, she is ‘Miss USA’, no matter how the judges ruled.

A few days before, another woman - not as young or attractive - ignored the snickers, sneers and jeers of Britain’s pop culture, and courageously demonstrated it was worth pursuing her dream no matter what anyone else thought of her!

If America is to recover from the elevation of Godless secularism over the last 70 years, and the debilitating agenda of the current administration and out of control congress, Christians must do as Carrie Prejean and Susan Boyle did.  If we do not, we will find ourselves consigned to an economic, moral, spiritual and political wilderness that one would never wish upon anyone, let alone their children.

That is the challenge to America’s Christians.  Will we stand, or will we fold?  Will we open our mouths, and speak truth, or will we continue to be intimidated by misguided policy makers, the self aggrandizing, the deceived, the intolerant, and the morally challenged?  None of these are insurmountable giants to be left to guide public policy for their own pleasures and agendas, especially when America’s Christians stand shoulder to shoulder in the voting booth and town councils!

The eyes of faith. . . or the lens of fear

Bob Gass, in the April 21st “The Word for You Today” writes, “When you get right down to it, there’s very little difference in people, but the little difference amounts to a big difference, and the little difference is attitude; it determines whether you see life through the eyes of faith or the lens of fear.”  When those around Joshua and Caleb “saw only giants and wanted to turn back”, Caleb said,

“If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us.” - Numbers 14:8

When God’s people seek His Face, turn from their wicked ways, and live courageously, confidently, and boldly to honor and glorify Him, He honors and blesses them. . . and heals their land!   Cf. II Chronicles 7:14
Does our God ‘Delight in us’?

When we

* Shrink back from honoring Him openly, publicly, and courageously?
* VOTE for candidates for public office who openly defy God’s laws?
* Ignore our citizenship reponsibility to VOTE?
* Look the other way when we see evil being condoned?
* Choose to wait for the rapture instead of occupying until He comes?
* Refuse to speak truth in public meetings, forums, and legislatures?
* Remain silent when we should speak up and take action?
* Refuse to support and work for candidates who hold our values?
* Remove pastors from their pulpits who wish to speak openly and clearly into the culture?

Does He “Delight in us” when we do these things?
“There comes a time in the affairs of men when they must prepare to defend, not their homes alone, but the tenets of faith and humanity on which their churches, their governments, and their very civilization are founded.”  Franklin Delano Roosevelt [ed - ironic, isn't it?]

That time has come, and it is imperative that we prepare NOW for the 2010 elections.

[Note: 08 April 2009, someone from the Chamber sent a mass email notifying members of the upcoming Tea Party in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Many of us were glad to receive the information. I was glad to find we had a local Tea Party and attended that event today - it was a great non-partisan event. The president of the Chamber works for the City of Hayden (commerce???) and this is the disclaimer she sent the following day. I sent my response less than an hour later.]

The participation of the chamber members is measured in part by the responses we get in attendance at events and from the responses to information that we send out. I am happy to say that we have an active and vibrant membership!

The issue at hand is the response that has come back following the mass email that was sent yesterday regarding an upcoming event: The Kootenai County Tea Party. While in theory this is not a political event sponsored by any specific party, in actuality it falls into the gray area of perception.

“The question of perspective can be controlled somewhat by the form into which the rhetoric casts the remarks. The audience renders a decision based on the articulation of values with which the listener already agrees or disagrees.” R.H. Carpenter

What the heck am I saying, you ask! Whether you agree with the premise and values of this event is not the issue, the issue is perception of what is being said, by whom, and whether it belongs in the Hayden Chamber at all. While this event is sponsored by a collection of groups in Kootenai County, it still is a political rally. By informing our membership of it, have we promoted the chamber and the goals of the chamber, or have we diminished our reputation and sided with one political group or another? I don’t have the clear cut answer to this question!

I have posed this question to the Government Affairs Committee and asked that we have a policy of sending out information in the future. Basically what was decided was that the board should look over anything that is going out and try to be balanced and fair in the decision to censor or change content. Personally, I just would like to see our membership be sensitive to the fact that we choose not to be a partisan group and that perception is everything to content!

There are more valuable ways of getting partisan information out than mass emailing our members. Individuals or groups should be responsible to incur the cost of advertising things that do not benefit the group as a whole. If we set the precedence that you can call Cat Smith and ask her to send out a mass email and she does it, then she has to do it for everyone that calls and asks. It should not be her responsibility to make the decision as to the appropriateness of the mass email. Let’s not put her in that spot!

Please email the board if you have something that you feel is worthy of going out to the general membership. This means that you will have to get that to us prior to our monthly meeting, the third Wednesday of each month. Then we as a board can decide if we feel it meets the goals and criteria of the chamber. I know that we cannot please all of the members all of the time, but I think that we can collectively decide if the content is going to be perceived as a political statement. If we feel it is one the chamber is willing to put out as an official opinion, then it will be approved to be sent out by mail. Luckily we have the structure to do that. This board was elected by the membership and is a good representation of all aspects of business and commerce. Let’s use it the best way we can and avoid putting our staff in awkward and no win situations.

Cat asked me to apologize for her. While I appreciate her sentiment, I think that we have all learned from this situation. Let’s work TOGETHER to make this the best chamber ever!

Nancy Lowery, President - Hayden Chamber of Commerce

NOW MY RESPONSE (about which, I have not heard back. My store, Unique Motif is a member):

Nancy,

While I can appreciate your viewpoint I cannot accept your premise. First and foremost, this is a chamber of commerce. Though the organization has become diluted in the last few decades by incorporating government representatives, schools, lawyers and such, the fact remains we are about commerce. Taxation and regulation are the largest impediments to commerce. In that respect, to stand up against taxation is not a partisan issue, it is a commerce issue.

Thank you for your concern. However, I was not offended by the Tea Party notice and I would tend to suspect that most commerce-oriented members of the Chamber, whether Democratic or Republican, were not offended either. I would suspect the government-oriented members of the Chamber were more likely to be offended. But their opposition is in the spirit of their careers and not in the spirit of commerce.

Sincerely,

Dean Isaacson

by Franklin Graham

“The first quarter of 2009 is shaping up to be one of the most dismal financial performances since the early 1980s.  If trends continue, things could get even worse. Unemployment is soaring , the stock market is sinking, and every economic indicator points to continued bad news.

Yet, even in the midst of some of the worst times I can remember, I haven’t seen one leading public figure in government or industry stand up and say that our country needs God’s help. Not one.

Perhaps this shouldn’t surprise us. for decades, our courts, politicians and educators have done everything they could to remove God from the public square.  Our nation has ceased to acknowledge and worship God.  We have arrogantly exalted ourselves, and we’ve come to believe we can fix every national ailment without God’s assistance.

Our current plight reminds me of the Prophet Jeremiah’s warning to Israel, a nation that was still enjoying relative prosperity but was on the brink of God’s judgement through the invasion of Babylonian forces.

Jeremiah issued the Lord’s stern rebuke:  “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Jeremiah 2:13).

Their chief offense was that, in their comfort and ease, they had forgotten the God who had delivered them through the centuries, and instead relied on their own self-righteousness.  They had forsaken the Source of all blessing and constructed a self-reliant society that was doomed to fail eventually.

That has a familiar ring, doesn’t it?

America was once a nation that honored and trusted God, albeit imperfectly.  Many of  today’s prestigious institutions of higher learning were founded by Christians, and precepts from Scripture were foundational for instruction.  Presidents and national leaders embraced Christianity’s influence on civil matters, and God’s moral laws were encoded into our judicial system.

That godly heritage has been abandoned and rejected, and I believe we are paying the price today.  Greed isn’t good.  The lack of personal integrity has massive consequences.  We’ve built a culture of our own making that is on the verge of destruction.

The answer is straightforward:  “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding” (Jeremiah 3:22).  The biblical scenario for personal and national restoration is always the same - confession of sin, repentance and renewed obedience to the Lord and His ways.

This is a time of testing for our country.  Will we acknowledge our sin and turn back to God?  Will we call on God for help in our hour of distress, or will we continue to further distance ourselves from His aid?

God always leaves room for repentance.  He is patient and long-suffering.  But there comes a time when He finally allows us to reap what we’ve sown.  That will be a bitter harvest, one that I pray we will not experience.

Now is the time for believers to call on the Lord, confess our sin and be cleansed.  Now is the time for the church to be salt and light in a dark season.  If we do, perhaps God will move in mercy and grace to heal our land.

“For I am merciful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever.  Only acknowledge your guilt (Jeremiah 3:12-13).”

This cartoon is just as true today as it was in 1934. Government makes the problem, blames private enterprise and offers the solution of greater regulation and taxes. To think we can spend our way to prosperity will surely lead us into slavery to our leaders.

This book is a simple, fast chronicle of a very interesting and complex life - a FUN life. We all should have fun lives. Some do more than others. To read my friend’s book is like reading the life of a charmed person. But, I know Jim and not everything has come to him easily.

Abraham Lincoln said something along the line that a person is about as happy as they make up their mind to be. James Galbraith decided long ago, he was going to be happy. His happiness, however, did not spring up from self-determination or any such other efforts. The source of his happiness came from finding salvation in the person of the Son of God.

You see, before he got saved (that’s believer talk for receiving Jesus Christ), he was a miserable wreck. His life was on self-destruct and he was destroying the lives of those around him. Jesus changed all that - in a day, in an instant. This book is a testament to a life sold out for Jesus Christ.

Reading about someone else’s life is always fun, especially when it is someone you know - and they are still alive. I had fun learning new things about my friend and reading about episodes he had told me before - some I had forgot. You will enjoy reading this book as well. Jim wasn’t a victim in any sense of the word. He reached out and grabbed life and you will enjoy reading about his faith and his courage. It will encourage you to raise your sights and set new goals, with the help of God in your life.

Less than one hundred pages and lots of pictures, this book is a fast read. A couple hours with this book and you will be refreshed and ready to take on the day, yourself - with God.