Archive for April, 2009
Chris Simcox Challenges John McCain to protect your freedoms
Sunday, April 26th, 2009Let Us Not Forget What is the Core of Conservatism
Saturday, April 25th, 2009If The LORD Delights In Us
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
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.
Hayden Chamber of Commerce Position on Tea Party and My Response
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009[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
We Need God’s Help
Sunday, April 5th, 2009by 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 From 1934 Describes Our Government Today
Saturday, April 4th, 2009This 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.
DAY 85: Gao Zhisheng’s Wife Pleads for U.S. Congress to Intervene and Delivers First Installment of Petition
Thursday, April 30th, 2009“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.
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