This Is Good News!

The Real Reason The ADL Is Against The Cordoba Mosque.

Excerpt:

The Anti-Defamation League has come out against the building of a huge Islamic center and Mosque near Ground Zero.


Here is the key passage from the ADL statement:

Proponents of the Islamic Center may have every right to build at this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message about Islam. The bigotry some have expressed in attacking them is unfair, and wrong. But ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a question of what is right. In our judgment, building an Islamic Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center will cause some victims more pain – unnecessarily – and that is not right.

Predictably, the surprising announcement has set off a fury of "first they came for" statements from the left-wing bloggers who usually act in sympathy with the ADL - except when it comes to Israel. The schism between pro-Israel Jews and Israel-meh Jews has been exposed in full force.

Continue reading here.


My comment there:

Thanks so much for this post. No matter the reason, I'm just very grateful that the ADL came out against the building of the mosque at Ground Zero.

You wrote:

"Rather, the ADL, like many of us, does not want to deal with the reality that regardless of the motivations of the individuals who will visit the Mosque, al-Qaeda and Islamists will portray the Mosque complex as the final conquest of The World Trade Center."

What I don't get is why couldn't the ADL admit that publicly? It is what the majority of freedom loving Americans think about the reasons why this terrorist supporting and funding group behind the mosque are doing it.

Did they have to come up with the victims families being hurt reason (which is a good one, of course) just because it was a good politically correct answer? Or was there also fear on their part in revealing the truth?

July 31, 2010 11:17 AM



When the steel frame cross emerged from the rubble at Ground Zero, it was more than just a symbol of the Christian faith. It was a blessed reminder that Jesus Christ offers us the gift of a rescued life - eternal life.

Dr. David Jeremiah:

We all know that no one could ever merit such a great sacrifice; no one could ever do enough to earn the incredible price of the gift of life.

That is the truth about salvation as well; we can never earn it. There is zero mathematical possibility that a sinful life can ever, under any circumstances, make a good exchange for the one perfect and holy life that was ever lived; no way human blood can equate to the blood of God's Son. We can't earn it. But what we can do is to know what Christ has done in the past, to know He is with us right now, and to know that He is physically coming back soon. We know those things with our minds. But do we know them with our hearts?

Yes Dr. Jeremiah. It depends upon our faithful answer to Jesus' question, "Who do you say that I Am?"


Hat Tip:

Legal Insurrection

Breakthrough with Tony Robbins

Okay~


So another reality show hit the airwaves this week. Unlike most, the show doesn't provide its contestants with luxury suites or lavish prizes. Hosted by Tony Robbins, it is designed to give people the breakthroughs they need to overcome whatever challenges they may face in the future.


In the pilot, Robbins tries to assist the Alioto family and seeing a life beyond the confines of his wheelchair. From the very beginning, the couple thought their wedding would be the start of their happily ever after together. Instead, it turned into a nightmare when on the eve of their big day Frank dove into the swimming pool breaking his neck.


"When I see pictures of Frank and I, it doesn't even look like Frank and I. We don't even know them anymore," says Kirsten.


The process begins with the two traveling to Fiji in order to meet with Tony. Re-creating their story is only the first step to seeing their whole situation in a totally different light. Like on their wedding day, they took a leap of faith and the unfortunate happened, he wants them to take another leap of faith to take back their lives. In order to do that, they must first confront the real issues and find a new source of inner strength that lays a new foundation for their relationship. He may not be able to do the same things used to, but he can still support her as a husband


"Being able to provide Kirsten with an emotional shoulder to lean on was very powerful. It was very important for me to understand that I can still be there for her and provide her with strength," said Frank.


They must see themselves and their situation in a entirely different light. For Frank, he must look beyond the confines of his wheelchair and redefine what is possible. In other words, there are no limits except the ones he puts on himself. for his life, Kirsten must see Frank "free" again, doing something they never thought was possible. In an effort to illustrate this point, Tony asks the couple to skydive.


"What is the most terrifying moment of my life went to the most powerful. It was the freest I've since being told I was paralyzed," Frank says.


Kirsten agrees.


"It was a moment I'll never forget. He didn't feel that he had no legs,"



As part of the next step, Tony gives them both separate tasks to do over the next week. For Kirsten, this involves going to a spa and focusing on herself for once. On the other hand, Frank travels to Oceanside California for his next challenge, participating in a popular quadriplegic sport called "Murder Ball" (dodgeball in wheelchairs). By doing this, Tony hopes Frank will exceed his own expectations of what he can do and see what is possible as an individual. At the end up practicing for a week, Frank actually plays in a game with his family and friends watching.


On a personal note, although I may agree with the majority of this post and Tony's methods. There is one ingredient he seems to be missing. Jesus Christ. Unintended or intended, he relies on the "power" or "strength" of the human spirit to cause a breakthrough. In reality, it doesn't work like that. One must rely on God for a lasting and permanent change.
-- -- --
Citation for TV program: "Alioto " Breakthroughs with Tony Robbins . NBC Channel 4 WRC July 27, 2010.

Daredevils Do Provide Star Power at X Games

My mistake X Games. Please let me apologize.

In a tweet earlier this week, my not-so-subtle hint was that X Games 16 was without stars. That was certainly wrong.

It's just a sign of age, I guess, and having grown up on Evel Knievel (who remains my best in-person sports-related meeting even after covering the Super Bowl, All-Star Game and more) you'd think I'd have a bit more respect for action sports -- which has long outdone anything Knievel, the sports founding father, achieved.

This week's edition of the X Games -- that's X Games 16 -- originates from Los Angeles, and ESPN's made-for-TV (and Internet and mobile) action sports conclave again provides a complementary mix of action and TV coverage.

The event provides comparatively cheap programming for ESPN and serves as a testing ground, of sorts, for production technology. That includes everything from small cameras attached to competitors to 3D technology.

Also, X Games 16 has well-known competitors, even for an almost ancient action sports like me. Specifically, Travis Pastrana was the focus of Moto X Freestlye action Thursday night with his gold-medal effort, and coverage this weekend includes BMX Freestlye with Jamie Bestwick, Skateboard Vert with Shaun White and Skateboard Street with Ryan Sheckler.

They're just part of the talent pool that helps make the X Games surprisingly good TV. The access, athleticism, danger/drama and technological highlights combine to make the four-day action sports festival entertaining.

The X Games and action sports still might not be mainstream, but they're much less marginalized than they was a decade ago (or even less) -- and deservedly so.

Bye Roy...

Have a cheese steak for me would ya?

On the surface this looks like a good deal for both teams. Philly gets an ace for a (hopefully) deep playoff run, and a staff anchor for next year, the Astros get younger, and more arms in the system. They also get a solid #2 starter in Happ that shows the potential to be around for many years.

Now, if the 'Stros could just find a sucker trading partner for Lee and a team needing Berkman we'd be onto something.


Until then, this is a good start.

News Roundup [Update 1]

Found a blog that mixes humorous stuff about the mess that pResident Obama and his Communist/Islamo-Fascist cohorts are doing here in America, along with some serious information that every American needs to know!

IOwnTheWorld.com: Glenn Beck – Inside A Radical Manifesto View the show HERE.

One of the comments over at IOwnTheWorld is quite profound:

FreeManinPA

July 29th, 2010
I’ve been a Beck fan since his show started. I am an insider.

My great great great….Uncle Sam said this and I think he could have said this about Beck if he were alive today.

“He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue, and who, so far as his power and influence extend, will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man.”

*******

Investors Daily.com: An Unserious Presidency On View

Excerpt:

Leadership: As Americans suffer economically, President Obama golfs, vacations, campaigns, appears on a frivolous talk show — and vacations some more. Gee, don't we have a war and other problems to attend to?

Will history record that Barack Obama's only great achievement as president was getting his golf handicap down to the teens? The president played more than two dozen rounds of golf in his first year in office — as many as George W. Bush did over his entire eight years.

This week, he traveled to New York City to be swooned at on ABC's daytime gal fluff-fest "The View." It led Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell to remark, "I think there should be a little bit of dignity to the presidency... I think the president of the United States has to go on serious shows."

Continue reading HERE

Some great comments there:

Posted By: Givemeabreak(655) on 7/29/2010 11:44 AM ET
A lot of us have seen right through this president but there are still those that think he is the greatest thing on earth. Those are the people who don't want to take responsibility but want your hard earned dollars so that they can live as good as you do and do nothing to earn it. It really scares me that we have just over 2 more years of Obama! This guy is in constant campaign mode without any regard for what's going on now.

Posted By: 13mogul(905) on 7/29/2010 11:24 AM ET
A disgrace to the office.

Posted By: TedNugent(15) on 7/29/2010 11:04 AM ET
I was watching Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer being interviewed on TV last night. She mentioned that she asked President Obama to come and see the border situation firsthand. The guy conducting the interview asked, "What was his response?" She replied, "He said he didn't have time!" Is this president the biggest joke in history or what?

Posted By: Tom in Michigan(2310) on 7/29/2010 9:46 AM ET
Obama is unwittingly giving us a preview of life under leftist domination-certain elites- government, Hollywood, the media and academia (at least until "intellectuals" inevitably become undesirables, as has always been the case under leftism) have all the wealth, power and privilege while the rest of us work to support their hold on power. Hayek predicted this in The Road to Serfdom. The third cadre of leftism is the deluded useful idiots who are liquidated when their purpose has been served.

Posted By: czarrboro(310) on 7/29/2010 8:52 AM ET
Worst President ever. People want jobs, debt reduction, and repair of the social security and medicare systems. BO expands the recession by taking & dumping productive taxpayer money down the black hole of bloated state gov'ts, mortgages that will never be paid, subsidized home and auto purchases that would have been made anyway by people who have jobs. Then he swallows up the 50% of health care that works to combine it with the 50% that doesn't work so that he can drive down doctor's salaries.

Posted By: The Barnicle(290) on 7/29/2010 5:36 AM ET
This is proof that o could care less about the American people or what they think about his policies, dictates, expenditures or image. Mrs. o supposedly has rented 30 rooms at a 5 Star resort in Spain for herself, one daughter and friends. Can you imagine the expense and this is only 1 of 5 vacations for the os in the recent past or near future. Useful idiots just keep giving him more power and there seem to be no limits as to what he will do or upon whose rights he may trample. Is it true that the FCC is no longer required to answer questions about any business o closes according to the FinReg bill? Scary?

[Note: What this means is that the FCC is no longer required to respond to inquiries under the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act). Glenn Beck has been discussing this on his radio show today. Those who think that our freedoms here in America under dictator Obama aren't in peril - have their heads deep in the sand!]

Posted By: Fargo Vortac(470) on 7/29/2010 1:26 AM ET
A true leader would have aspired to the position of POTUS in hard times to altruistically fix those problems for the good of the people by whom he was chosen. The 0, instead, lied his way into the people's good graces by mouthing promises of which he had, we know now, NO intention to fulfill, casts aspersions on the flag and anthem of the country, blames all problems on his predecessor, and parties down. When the American People rally and, in spite of the obstacles thrown in their way...

Posted By: Judith from Michigan(2220) on 7/28/2010 11:58 PM ET
The cool, macho sophisticate with his gaggle of groupies. Priceless photo. No class. No class at all. It takes much more than swagger and charm to be a capable & strong leader. It seems the faster he runs, the more he can avoid responsibility. It must be a terrible burden to be so weak. Thinking Americans can begin relieving Mr O of that burden starting Nov 2 by tossing his pals out of Congress. What a relief for all..

Posted By: Patriotdoc(685) on 7/28/2010 10:44 PM ET
I think this is political theater. If Obama comes across as being relaxed, golfing, travelling to resorts, talking small talk, the subliminal message to the average, non-involved American is that everything must be OK, even though those mean old, uptight conservatives claim everything is going to Hell in a hand basket. It's a sneaky way of diverting attention from the absolute catastrophe Obama and crew have wrought on America, and diluting the Tea Party message, who are on race defensive now.

[These are the people that we must reach and WAKE UP!]

Posted By: UofC Booth(365) on 7/28/2010 9:58 PM ET
I do not recall any President abusing the perks of being President like Obama. The country in a severe economic crisis and he uses Air Force One to go to dinner and see a show in New York and this is not an isolated incident? He sets a very poor example for fiscal responsibility and he should be a "little" more self-aware to how this looks to the Americans who are economically struggling. He comes across as a very small, narcissistic person; a sorry joke of a human being.

[Yep!]

Posted By: Viking American(25) on 7/28/2010 9:42 PM ET
The man is a poser. Utterly incompetent, feckless, and I believe immoral. Our son is serving in Afghanistan right now in a very dangerous post, and this metro sexual punk is partying every night. He is a disgrace to the Office.

[May God bless and protect your son, Viking American. Let him know that conservative Americans appreciate his service to our country and are praying for all in the military who are in harms way - protecting our nation!]


Hat tips:

IOwnTheWorld.com

The Daily Beck

Investors Business Daily.com

*******
Update:

This comparison posted over at Trevor's blog is just what was needed to show the huge gulf between the "social justice" far-left progressive adherents who infiltrated the Methodist churches (and other emergent type churches) and those who hold to Biblical Christian faith.

New Zeal: Nice Christian Boy Goes Bad, Admits Obama Joined Radical Party, Wants to Fight Glenn Beck - Curious Yet?

Two priceless comments there:

AbbeyNormal said...
And once again, some radical nutjob out there posting that Beck is wrong AND NEVER PROVIDING A SHRED OF EVIDENCE.

Slander only convinces the weak minded.

*******

Skwerl said...
It is moonbat theology like this- very strongly promoted by the United Methodist Church that drove me from it, and all other organised religion. It's just me, the Big Guy & his Word now...seems like the organised worship has an agenda that differs with God's.

[Note: I don't necessary agree with "Skwerl" that one should not go church. Just make sure that it is Bible -based!]

Skwerl continues:

Since Glenn reported on social justice UMC.org scrubbed their site clean. Prior to that it was crawling with it. If Social Justice is so great, why scrub the website? Why not defend it?

That last sentence is SO GOOD - LET'S REPEAT IT!

If Social Justice is so great, why scrub the website? Why not defend it?

BINGO!!!

Pass GO AND COLLECT $200.00!!!

You are a winner! You have figured out their game! Congrats!

Encouragement: For Such A Time As This

Now, all I have is now

To be faithful

To be holy

And to shine

Lighting up the darkness

Right now, I really have no choice

But to voice the truth to the nations

A generation looking for God

Chorus:

For such a time as this

I was placed upon the earth

To hear the voice of God

And do His will

Whatever it is

For such a time as this

For now and all the days He gives

I am here, I am here

And I am His

For such a time as this

You - Do you ever wonder why

Seems like the grass is always greener

Under everybody else's sky

But right here, right here for this time and place

You can live a mirror of His mercy

A forgiven image of grace

Repeat Chorus

Can't change what's happened till now

But we can change what will be

By living in holiness

That the world will see Jesus

Repeat Chorus

For some reason, the lyrics to Wayne Watson's "For Such A Time As This" came to mind this morning when I was thinking about what to write for the blog. As a society, it's hard to look around and not be disappointed with the direction America has taken.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a proud American and I will always be one. But there are some things that this country was once founded on that seem to be forgotten in the midst of becoming a "greater" America. As a result, our foundation and integrity is in question.

So where does this leave us?

I don't know about you, but it leaves me feeling inadequate sometimes. After all, I'm just one voice in the midst of a crowd. Why do this if no one chooses to listen?

But then, I'm reminded of the Touched By an Angel episode where I first heard the song. In the episode, the angels try to enlist the help of a senator and an effort to acknowledge the existence of slavery in the Sudan. While Sen. Cooper (played by Lindsay Crouse) is preoccupied with more "pressing" issues, her son takes an interest in the photos they gave the senator as proof. So much so, that he takes the photos to show and tell at his school. That in turn, causes an avalanche of support from his class raising money in an effort to "buy back" the people in the photos. Thomas takes particular interest in one child named Sam who reminds him in a strange way of his brother whom he never got to meet.

"I had a brother once. I never really knew him, but I miss him and I don't know this kid, but it's hard to explain, but I miss him too ! Tomas says to his class during show and tell.

In the end, the senator did go to the Sudan to see it for herself and "buy" back Sam.

What am I getting at? In truth, this post turned out to be quite the opposite of its original purpose. To remind you that on any given day, you have the unique opportunity to make a difference. But now I'm not quite sure if that even makes any sense to me!

-- --

Citation:

Citation for TV program: "For Such A Time As This " Touched By an Angel. Hallmark Channel 240 HALL14 July 2010. Original air date: 9/26/1999

More Than Ready for Some Football

Just 11 days remain until meaningful football returns to TV, and it comes just in time to end an otherwise dull span of sports on the tube.

While some might debate whether an NFL preseason game qualifies as "meaningful," there's no doubt the Aug. 8 Hall of Fame Game, which matches the Bengals and Cowboys, will draw interest and ratings.

Interest in that preseason game (and just about any other NFL preseason game that shows up on a national network in advance of the season) should outpace that for regular season games, and some post-season matchups, in every other sport.

Sports fans love football, the NFL in particular, and that passive-aggressive relationship (after all viewers sit at home with their emotions often stirred to an extreme) kicks into full gear in the next few weeks.

After the Hall of Fame Game, other NFL preseason games follow and college football season opens Sept. 2 with six games on the ESPN family of networks.

Since many fans last watched football on TV, we've filled the void with everything from reality TV (my favorites include "Cake Boss" and "Deadliest Catch") to boring baseball, imitation football -- although those CFL games on the NFL Network have been entertaining at times -- and on-air moves and news, such as "Moose" Johnson joining the NFL Network as a studio analyst. (He'll continue to work games for Fox Sports.)

Still, the real fix cannot come until the return of the NFL and college football. Especially NFL preseason games.

While my habits most certainly put me in a minority, I believe watching preseason games allows fans of a specific team to feel a bit more informed, to evaluate and watch for themselves regarding personnel changes. Although every team in the league probably knows 95 percent of its roster before camp begins -- meaning only a handful of spots are up for grabs during the preseason -- the ability for fans to watch preseason games actually shifts the information-control paradigm that leagues and teams have been honing the past few years.

In the preferred model, leagues and teams take information directly to fans. They become more transparent (in theory), using social media and websites to pass information onto fans and, in some cases, avoid the media. The approach usually generates praise from fans and dismay from the media.

With the current set of four preseason games, fans also get to see things for themselves, to watch how players develop and react. That first-hand experience, either in person or on TV allows fans to invest even more in their team. They can watch a potential diamond in the rough develop or witness an aging pro who has lost a step. Fans can often tell who has what it takes to make the team. Even if they're wrong, it fuels interest.

At the same time, college football games count from the start, and enough programs schedule quality non-conference games early in the season that numerous must-see matchups exist. In the first full weekend alone, the extensive list of at-least-interesting games includes: USC at Hawaii, Sept. 2; LSU vs. North Carolina, Sept. 4; and Boise State vs. Virginia Tech, Sept. 6.

All that action cannot start soon enough.

Until then, we'll have to make due with more previews and prognostications, including next week's Big Ten Conference media days, with coverage on the Big Ten Network.

Pluralism and Interfaith Consciousness? Or THE TRUTH!

In the comment thread section of my previous post, "Anonymous" came along and wrote the following:

Anonymous said...
Eboo Patel's placement is no accident. He has direct ties with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and Rick Warren. Patel is founder and Executive Director of the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based institution building the GLOBAL interfaith youth movement.


Now check over
http://interfaith2010.naz.edu/
Notice again Obama's Eboo Patel who sits on his Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Eboo is working to realize the President's priority of interfaith cooperation.(coming in through faith-based initiatives and youth community service) Listed speakers have all the connects. There is BeliefNet , owned by Rupert Murdoch. TED talks and-the (New Ager) Karen Armstrong, Bill Gates (population control), Amy Gutmann (transgender sex change funding college), etc. the whole futurist platform. Mentioned also is the Charter for Compassion and The Clinton Global Initiative...How fast can you list the UN's Millennium Goals?

Last April's conference covered:

4/11 - "The Art of Dialogue: Interfaith Dialogue Across the Generations"
4/11 - "The Divine Feminine: The Foundation of the Abrahamic World"
4/12 - "Acts of Faith: Interfaith Leadership in a Time of Global Religious Crisis"

Listen to the words of Patel himself speaking at the radically left Tides Foundation(which features a Buddhist-type altar and hosts other environmental, spiritual, educational, and governmental organizations sharing a common crusade of building a unified, earth-friendly GLOBAL civilization based on "new" universal beliefs and values. Listen carefully to his diversity speech on "democracy and pluralism" and "interfaith consciousness."

http://www.momentumconference.org/speaker-presentation/speaker/eboo-patel/presentation/religious-pluralism-in-a-democracy/index.html

As the world quickly moves towards the one world religion and interspirituality decide for whom you will serve. Our youth are being seduced away. Have you warned them to beware? How many are in God's word to discern truth and error? Who will stand fast for Jesus Christ, LORD and Savior?

Ephesians 5:6-11

July 27, 2010 12:38:00 PM PDT

If you visit those links, you will find out much more information about Eboo Patel and his involvement with the Obama Administration's Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

In response to Anonymous's post and links I wrote:

Christinewjc said...
Checked this one out: http://interfaith2010.naz.edu/
and the symbols of different religions in the avatar at the top of the page reminds me of the "coexist" symbols I have seen on cars. The word starts with the symbol of Islam (crescent and star) for the "c" in coexist, and ends with the "t" for the cross at the end of the word. Hmmm...kinda shows which one is valued more - doesn't it? The letters in between represent other religions.

I know. Non-Christians who often post here and hate my religious beliefs of Biblical Christianity will surmise that I'm intolerant - or worse. Well - Jesus was certainly intolerant and CLEAR when he said:

Jhn 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

People can be namby-pamby about religion all they want. But the truth is - not all religions can possibly be correct. That's the truth of the matter! The "can't we just all get along" ideology doesn't work when it comes to the decision on faith and salvation.

Jesus asks each of us, "Who do you say that I am?" Each of those other religions could only answer that he is a "good teacher," or "a great prophet," or "a good man" etc. In order to believe in an interfaith type of gobbledy-gook. Are you thinking what's so wrong with that? I will tell you. They will lead people astray! They would need to leave out what Peter (correctly) answered:

Mat 16:16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Why?

Because if they did include that answer - then all of the other religions would be proven false!

God is not a God of confusion! He gave us His Written Word - the Bible, and His Living Word - Jesus Christ and I believe that Jesus is who He says He is! The Holy Spirit of God brings back to our minds what God has told us in His Word - and leads us into all understanding of the Scriptures. Those who are born-again in Christ will not be fooled by those who preach a different gospel - a false gospel which only leads the hearer into spiritual oblivion.

We were warned that the closer we get to the end times, there will be:

Mat 24:24 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

You will notice that "the elect" WON'T be deceived! And we aren't deceived by groups like the one at that link!

July 27, 2010 3:55:00 PM PDT

Apparently, Kevin didn't like my response and he wrote:

Kevin said...
Hi Christine,
You state: "Hmmm...kinda shows which one is valued more - doesn't it?"
Actually Christine, being the first C in the word Coexist does not mean that the religion is more important! It is a symbol of all the religious symbols and the hope that we can all get along without killing each other. There is no conspiracy theory here.
Wouldn't it be nice if all the various religious would just let people make up their own mind which religion they wanted to follow? Just think how many lives would be saved if we stopped fighting over that.

July 27, 2010 5:26:00 PM PDT

So I replied:

Christinewjc said...
Kevin,

The various religions do already [have the opportunity] to all get along here in the U.S. But when one religion chops off the heads of the "infidels" and straps bombs to their bodies and blows themselves up at a Jewish wedding, market, or school; and when that same religion hijacks planes and crashes them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and one that was aimed for either the White House or Congressional building but landed in a field in Pennsylvania because some brave passengers charged the cockpit and wouldn't let the radical Muslims carry out their evil deed; then the "wouldn't it be nice" mantra that you obviously believe in doesn't recognize an evil religious belief when it is right before your very eyes!

People CAN make up their own minds which religion they want to follow in America. But just think how many lives would be saved if we stopped radical Islam from fighting their jihad and forcing their Sharia law and hard-core beliefs upon the world?

July 27, 2010 7:28:00 PM PDT

Kevin hasn't responded yet, but as I awoke this morning several verses came to my mind. I have expanded upon them here:


Isa 55:8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD.

Isa 55:9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Although secular man values "pluralism" and "interfaith consciousness," the Lord God requires truth. Those two so-called values may sound nice to the ear, look pleasant to the eye, and satisfy the flesh, but they are worthless spiritually.

Earlier verses in Isaiah give those who have strayed from God through "pluralism" and "interfaith consciousness" the way of return:

Isa 55:6 Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.


Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

It is important to read all of Romans 1, however, for the purpose of this particular discussion, I have selected certain verses that can be applied here:

Rom 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."


Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,


Rom 1:19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.


Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,


Rom 1:21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.


Rom 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,


Rom 1:23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

Rom 1:24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,


Rom 1:25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

The "pluralism" and "interfaith consciousness" is a form of "exchanging the truth of God for the lie." What the people who are doing this are actually accomplishing is "worship and serv[ing] the creature" [i.e. man, beast, idol (like the golden calf of the Old Testament), false prophets (Muhammad), false christs (eg. making Christ in their own image like the homosexual "bishop" Gene Robinson and other do)], etc.

In the following list of those who "God gave over to a debased mind" we see examples of those that could be applied to the ideas of religious pluralism and interfaith consciousness:

Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;


Rom 1:29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, [fn] wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,


Rom 1:30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,


Rom 1:31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, [fn] unmerciful;


Rom 1:32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
[Note: Bold mine]

Oftentimes, people focus on the sins that aren't in bold. However, notice that according to the righteous judgment of God - those who practice any or all of those things are deserving of death. What's more, Paul mentions that "those who approve of those who practice them" are also deserving of death. This reiterates that all sin is punishable by death. That is why Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross at Calvary and subsequent resurrection from the dead is the ONLY way to be forgiven and reconciled back unto the Father.

These people can dance around their religious pluralism and interfaith consciousness, celebrating it in their own minds (just like the Israelites danced around the golden calf "god" of their own making while their leader out of captivity - Moses - was away receiving the Ten Commandments from God); but as the previous verses point out, "their thoughts are not God's thoughts."

Since every word of the Bible is for reproof and correction, those who would violate God's Word with their own humanistic wisdom are guilty of "exchanging the truth for the lie."

Notice that the word "the" is before the word "lie." What is the lie? Why, it's the same lie from old that Jesus warns us about time and time again in the Scriptures:

Jhn 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

1Jo 2:4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Hat Tip:

Blue Letter Bible

I Want My MSNBC

Time Warner Cable Channels Freeze

News 8, MSNBC, and ESPN 2 and possibly others disappeared for at least a day from Time Warner Cable. Where did they go and why?

If you tuned in to MSNBC yesterday (Monday, 7-26-10) to channel 49 on the Time Warner Cable Standard tier, you found a frozen picture some awful wreck or explosion. ESPN 2 was frozen on a NASCAR whizzing by the camera. News 8 was also static.

By this today, (Tuesday, 7-27-10), the frozen images had turned to “color bars”, an industry term for tuning cameras and equipment and a clear indication that TWC knew that there was something wrong.

Only the TWC “Standard” package channels were affected. Digital and HD channels were fine.

The channels returned to the Standard tier of channels shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday for those who keep News 8 on all day long and other fans of Rachel Maddow or alt sports on MSNBC.

I was toward the end of an online “chat” with a TWC representative, when the channels were restored.

No, it didn’t just happen to you or your neighbors. This outage was across all of the Austin area, according to Stacy Schmidt, TWC communications. I thought it have impacted a lot of people because of the half-hour wait for customer service Monday evening.

Where did these channels go?

“It was a part of a technology upgrade in the standard tiers [gone bad],” Schmidt said. Engineers were still testing all portions of the market “area by area” to ensure that the channels were up Tuesday evening.

Schmidt promised more information. So, there will be more information, and there will be another customer service aspect of this story later.

© Jim McNabb, 2010

Disturbing Details Continue

In a WorldNetDaily report today, Aaron Klein reveals that Obama religion adviser linked to un-indicted co-conspirator
On speakers list for Muslim group cited as a 'chief conduit' to bring Islam to U.S.

Excerpt:

A religion adviser to President Obama has close ties to a radical Muslim group that was an un-indicted co-conspirator in a scheme to raise money for Hamas.

The group, the Islamic Society of North America, or ISNA, has an extensive relationship with the Obama administration.

In February, Obama named a Chicago Muslim, Eboo Patel, to his Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Patel is the founder and executive director of Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, which says it promotes pluralism by teaming people of different faiths on service projects.

But as you read through the article, you see quite a different picture. Rather than "promoting pluralism by teaming people of different faiths on service projects," there is a much more sinister plan afoot.

Excerpt:

In February, President Obama's top adviser on counter-terrorism, John Brennan, came under fire for controversial remarks he made in a speech to Muslim law students at New York University. The event was sponsored by ISNA.

During the speech, Brennan stated that having a percentage of terrorists released by the U.S. return to terrorist attacks "isn't that bad," since the recidivism rate for inmates in the U.S. prison system is higher.

He also criticized parts of the Bush administration's response to 9/11 as a "reaction some people might say was over the top in some areas" that "in an overabundance of caution [we] implemented a number of security measures and activities that upon reflection now we look back after the heat of the battle has died down a bit we say they were excessive, OK."

Much more about Brennan in the article. But here is one kicker to the report:

Excerpt:

"We are not Americans," shouted one speaker, Muhammad Faheed, at Queensborough Community College in 2003. "We are Muslims. [The U.S.] is going to deport and attack us! It is us versus them! Truth against falsehood! The colonizers and masters against the oppressed, and we will burn down the master's house!"

ISNA was named in a May 1991 Muslim Brotherhood document – "An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America" – as one of the Brotherhood's like-minded "organizations of our friends" who shared the common goal of destroying America and turning it into a Muslim nation, according to Discover the Networks.

Islam scholar Stephen Schwartz describes ISNA as "one of the chief conduits through which the radical Saudi form of Islam passes into the United States."

ISNA was founded in 1981 by the Saudi-funded Muslim Students' Association. The two groups are still partners. WND previously attended an MSA event at which violence against the U.S. was urged by speakers.


Steve Emerson shares even more details in the article at World Net Daily. For example:

According to terrorism expert Steven Emerson, ISNA "is a radical group hiding under a false veneer of moderation" that publishes a bi-monthly magazine, Islamic Horizons, that "often champions militant Islamist doctrine."

Nice....huh?

Now, the big kicker:

Excerpt:

Patel and the Ground Zero imam

Last week, WND reported Patel has close ties to the imam who wants to build a 13-story Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero. The two have been documented together discussing America as "the ideal place for a renewal of Islam," WND has learned.

Now it has emerged the two also share a relationship with ISNA.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the controversial Muslim leader behind the plan to build the Islamic center and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero, wrote a book in 2004 that had two different titles, one in English and the second in Arabic. In the U.S., his book was called "What's right with America is what's right with Islam."

The same book, published in Arabic, bore the name "The Call From the WTC Rubble: Islamic Da'wah From the Heart of America Post-Sept. 11."

It has emerged that the Arabic edition of Rauf's book was produced, with Feisal’s cooperation, by ISNA.

Rauf, meanwhile, wrote the afterword to Patel's 2006 book "Building the Interfaith Youth Movement: Beyond Dialogue to Action."

Patel is listed as one of 15 "Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow" on the website for the American Society for Muslim Advancement, which is led by Rauf.

In Patel's 2007 book "Saving Each Other, Saving Ourselves," he recounts discussing with Rauf the future of Islam in the U.S.

Rauf "understood the vision immediately and suggested that I visit him and his wife, Daisy Khan, at their home the following evening," Patel recalled.

Khan founded the society with her husband and has aided him in his plans for the mosque near Ground Zero.

"The living room of their apartment on the Upper West Side was set up like a mosque, with prayer rugs stretched from wall to wall," wrote Patel in his book.

Continued Patel: "I arrived at dusk, prayed the maghrib prayer with Daisy and Imam Feisal and then talked with them about how America, with its unique combination of religious devotion and religious diversity, was the ideal place for a renewal of Islam."

Can there be any more doubt what radical Islam is up to here in the United States? They fake adherence to "religious diversity" when all the while their plan is total Islamization of our nation.! We don't need to look very far to see that this is true. Look at what is happening in Europe! There is a term in Arabic that describes their sneaky, lying motives. I need to look up the term to be sure. Perhaps it's taqiyah? [Will post when find it.]

[Update: Found it! It is called taqiyya. Read the details about this at Daniel Pipes.com - Taqiyya and Kitman: The role of Deception in Islamic Terrorism. ]

[Second update: The term is also known as al-Taqiyya.]

What's more, look here at the ties between these radical Muslims and self-avowed Communist - Van Jones!

Excerpt:

Patel last March wrote a Huffington Post piece referring to Obama's former "green jobs" czar Van Jones as a "faith hero."

"In my last post on Van, I called him an American patriot," wrote Patel. "That is high praise in my book. But watching Van's speech at the NAACP, I have another title for him, one that I reserve for the true giants of history. Van Jones is a faith hero."

Jones resigned in September after it was exposed he founded a communist revolutionary organization and signed a statement that accused the Bush administration of possible involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks. Jones also called for "resistance" against the U.S.

Jones previously stated his advocacy for green jobs was part of a broader movement to destroy the U.S. capitalist system.

WND reported that one day after the Sept. 11 attacks, Jones led a vigil that expressed solidarity with Arab and Muslim Americans as well as what he called the victims of "U.S. imperialism" around the world.

People...don't let anyone fool you. The unholy alliance of Communist revolutionaries and Islamic jihadists are involved in a gradual, but radical takeover of our Constitutional Republic. Anyone who thinks otherwise must either be on their side or ignorant of the facts.

Radical Islam doesn't need to bomb us here in the U.S. anymore. They are getting their dirty deeds done through stealth manuevers (such as the Ground Zero mosque plan) and through evil manipulation of our freedoms and liberty.

Recall that one of our Founders stated that a Constitutional Republic can only be kept by a moral and religious people. What's more, it matters WHAT religion is used as the foundation for our lives in the cause of life, liberty, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. America was founded upon Judeo-Christian values, morals and ethics. Unfortunately, many people here in the U.S. no longer are willingly follow them. The majority used to follow them willingly - for the good of society. But now, moral relativism, political correctness, secular ideologies, and the misuse of the claim for "diversity" to allow illegal immigrants to invade our nation is wreaking havoc upon our country.

I often see the naysayers claim that Christians are trying to make this into a "Christian nation." That is such a lie. This nation was founded upon Judeo-Christian morals, values and ethics - all of which allows for religious freedoms for any and all religions (as well as no religions), as long as the leaders and followers are not gathering up take over or to do us harm. This cannot be said about radical Islam. There are peaceful Muslims here in America who aren't involved in this attempt at radical takeover. However, they were mostly silent about the terrorist attack of 9/11 (perhaps out of fear and being attacked themselves) and they are mostly silent any time radical Islam perpetrates another attack against our nation or anywhere throughout the world. The people in Muslim nations are often filmed cheering whenever Americans or Jews are attacked and killed by jihadists.

Please educate yourselves through the dozens of articles listed at the bottom of the WND article page! Get one or several of the books listed there!

Hat Tips:

World Net Daily

Daniel Pipes.org

Disability carnival #67- Proud Voices

Welcome back~

So, it's been kind of hard for me to find my voice this week. I often find myself at a loss for words in regards to what is happening in the world today. In my family even. What could I say to heal the wounds or dry the tears of those around me? For that matter, how do I know it would make any difference?

That being said, I can only conclude that this is lack of sleep talking. Over the last couple days, I haven't really slept much. I guess You could say I have a lot on my mind with everything going on.

I'm passing this link on in the hope it will provide some direction to your day and you can learn something from it even if I don't want to comment on it. One post certainly struck me in the midst of my dark and dismal day. (Metaphorically)

http://simeonstrail.blogspot.com/2010/03/doubt.html

In This Post, I was reminded where my true strength and confidence comes from.

But the other blog entries for the Carnival were good too!

http://davehingsburger.blogspot.com/2010/06/disability-blog-carnival-67-proud.html

Are You Happy

Is Your Journalist Happy?

Most journalists have muted satisfaction with their chosen profession, according to a short survey I conducted over the past couple of weeks. There is a striking difference in happiness when you break it down into job categories. Bosses are the happiest. No surprise there, but levels of satisfaction seem to go down each wrung of the ladder.

While some are trudging along, many of their colleagues are taking the necessary steps to be happy in journalism. “Some people are just not happy people,” one Austin news director commented to me a few years ago. That is true. I think it is also true that talented and motivated people can be beaten down by “the business” when they are not rewarded, supported, and encouraged by those happy bosses.

I cannot claim this is a totally “scientific” survey of journalists’ feelings for their jobs. I cannot claim to know all journalists. I don’t even know everybody in the business in Austin. This, therefore, is drawn from a sample consisting of my many friends working in news and choosing to participate. All were promised anonymity, unless they chose to speak out. These things said, I think that the findings are valid and representative of job satisfaction in the news business. Further, they may be applicable to many other lines of work nowadays.

I asked only five questions—questions which would be applicable to almost any profession:

1. Are you as happy in your job as you were three years ago?

2. Are you as happy in your job as you were 10 years ago?

3. Are you as happy in your job as you were when you started in the business?

4. Are you doing more with less support?

5. Are you confident about your future in journalism?

I got responses from journalists working in both broadcasting and print. Strangely, none of my friends working in Internet journalism replied. I divided the respondents into five categories: news managers, mid-managers (editors and producers), “talent” (on-camera anchors, etc.), reporters, and photographers.

News managers are the most satisfied and happy in their jobs. It’s apparent that the longer that they stay in “the business”, the happier they are, maybe because of money. As with any profession, your longevity and loyalty is often rewarded with raises. Many also find satisfaction in mentoring young, recently-graduated and talented minds.

“Most importantly, I’m ‘happy’ because we produce quality, multimedia Journalists,” said Henry Chu, a former news director at KXAN TV (NBC). Chu is now at WBKO in South Central Kentucky. “We hire a number of people straight out of college. We teach them about good storytelling, getting facts right, being fair and ethical. Our young Journalists learn every facet of the news gathering business.”

WBKO is in the 128th market. Austin is 48th. By the time journalists arrive here, they should be pros and they should be happy to be here. Austin is a coveted destination often equated with personal and professional happiness.

The news managers scored a “Perfect 10” in happiness. “I have the best ND [news director] job in the country, in my opinion,” said Frank Volpicella, news director at Austin’s #1 ranked KVUE TV (ABC). Being #1 may have something to do with it. One is never happy with being last.

The least happy group predictably is the mid-managers. As it is in any business, it is the mid-manager who is often caught in the crunch—in the middle between the generals and those working in the trenches. Every newsroom is different. Some are quite happy, but many others long for days a decade or so ago or more when the business was far less frenzied and more fun. As the pressure increases, so does their level of dissatisfaction. Since it is their job to “make it happen”, they, more than any other group, feel the pinch of “doing more with less support,” followed closely by reporters.

The reporters are a mixed bag. It appears that the biggest factor in many reporters’ growing dissatisfaction over the years is being asked to do more and more with less support. Reporters don’t just come up with story ideas, cover them, and write them, you know. Some TV reporters have to shoot their own stories. Some have to send their stories via broadband. They all have to tweet about their stories and post them on Facebook. They all have to contribute to their respective medium’s web site—stories and possibly blogs. This is not your father’s newsroom. I remember reporters whining about having to do different stories for different news casts. That would be a walk in the park nowadays.

“Are you doing more with less support?” resulted in almost universal answers like, “Isn’t everybody?” regardless of job category. One respondent discounted the pressure saying that one gets used to all of the extra stuff.

Perhaps because of these demands, these stresses, and these worries, many reporters, mid-managers, and even on-air “talent” are less than optimistic about their futures in journalism. News managers to a person were extremely confident (All scored “10s” again.), but that confidence isn’t always shared by their staffs.

While the anchors and other talent tend to love their jobs visiting Austin homes every day. Gone are the days when the anchors may have waited around for the next newscast. In all fairness, over the years, most anchors did help write for their shows, but their duties are greatly expanded now. They are the “face” of the TV stations. They also tweet, blog, and post to Facebook. They have some apprehension about their future in journalism. Given the dependence on Nielsen ratings, it is no wonder that some in this group would have some concerns.

Surprisingly, too few photojournalists responded to the survey to draw conclusions. One who did, Kenny Kaplan, formerly of Austin’s KVUE was extremely upbeat. “I am very happy with my job now, but I think that I enjoyed the TV business much more back then in 1978/79,” Kaplan said. Kaplan is now working in New York City. Many unhappy photographers have left TV news over the years, and they are very happy freelancing or shooting video for government or industry.

What conclusions can be drawn from these results? News managers may need to be more attentive to mid-managers and reporters. Mid-managers may need to be more assertive and upbeat. Reporters need may need to be creative and assertive too, choosing to be happy or choosing to, well, get out of “the business”!

© Jim McNabb, 2010

The Grace To Trust God in Adversity

Just before signing off from FaceBook last night, I noticed a post that read, "Actually, life DID come with an instruction manual. It's called the Bible."

How true! The limited knowledge of any secular, worldly-minded humanist, psychiatrist, psychologist, politician, teacher, college professor, business person, physician, nurse, scientist etc. could not possibly compare to the wisdom and knowledge of God contained within the Bible.

I have been thinking about how chaotic our world continues to be. It is only growing worse. The confidence that we once had in our government here in the United States has been shattered. We see so much corruption going unpunished that it could be easy for us to lose heart.

I know that the majority of Americans are deeply alarmed over ObaMarxist, the progressives in Congress and the unelected lunatic-leftist czars who are writing all the damaging legislation that will further hurt our economy, freedoms, and liberty. They look forward to the 2010 election - with millions of conservatives hoping and praying for the removal of the corruptocrats in Congress through the victory of Tea Party candidates and conservative Republicans. Such a victory would make Obama a lame duck pResident until the new presidential election in 2012. Hopefully, the new Congress will be taken over by Republicans and the checks and balances against the far left Marxist policies of Obama that are damaging our country so badly will be stopped. Some (like government-run healthcare) may even be overturned.

No matter what happens, as believers in Jesus Christ and his eternal promises, we are given the grace (through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit) to trust God in adversity.

In his book "Trusting God," Jerry Bridges had this to say about troubled times: "The moral will of God given to us in the Bible is rational and reasonable. The circumstances in which we must trust God often appear irrational and inexplicable...It is only from the Scriptures, applied to our hearts by the Holy Spirit, that we receive grace to trust God in adversity...The faith to trust God in adversity comes through the Word of God alone."

This is what it means to set our minds on God through His Word. As Bridges affirms, the Scriptures often turn worldly logic on its head. People may think we are unreasonable. The truth is that only those with their minds set on God know what reason really is; only God's course is the course that will ultimately prevail.

Thinking about how chaotic our world is today brought back to mind one of the best book that I have ever read on this topic - "Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World" by Dr. David Jeremiah. [Note: The above quote is taken from this book.]

One bookmarked page in Chapter Five, entitled "Stay Connected", has suggestions for three ways to stay centered in Christ.

After Dr. Jeremiah discussed the importance of staying centered in Christ he goes on to describe just how do we go from being earth-centered to being heaven-centered?

Here are three suggestions to help you in your quest for Christ-centeredness.

Seek God's Will. "but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).

I had to chuckle when I read what Dr. Jeremiah states next. It seems to meld with the thoughts of those whose eyes are only on this world - and not God's heavenly kingdom.

What is it about this verse? People insist on reading it backwards, as though from some spiritual strain of dyslexia: "Add all these things unto you, then seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness in whatever time is left."

Doesn't that describe today's worldly-minded people? I like that phrase, "from some spiritual strain of dyslexia." It proves how true the Bible is when we read:

1Cr 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Dr. Jeremiah:

Blessed are those who read it as written, as intended, as the truth happens to be. One missionary rephrased it well: "Take care of the things that are important to God, and He will take care of the things that are important to you."

That is good advice for every single individual on earth. No one else can take on YOUR PARTICULAR responsibility (whatever that may be) in order to "take care of the things that are important to God" in your own life. Thus, God taking care of the things that are important to you cannot follow without first trusting in God and having faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.

I have seen this scenario played out over and over again in my own life as well as in other's lives. I can discuss this kind of advice freely with my Christian friends because they believe in Christ and agree that the Bible is God's Word and contains absolute truth. However, non-believers often take offense at such a notion.

The second way to stay centered in Christ:

Search God's Word.

This is how Christians can keep their sanity in the midst of all the chaos going on in the world today. Sometimes, I wonder how non-believers can keep it together. If they are paying attention and are seeing all of the evil, corruption and sin being unleashed - without the perpetrators receiving their due punishment for it - how do they hold out any hope? If their hope relies only on the "things of this world," they will continue to be sorely disappointed throughout their entire lives. The things of this world only end up falling to dust and blowing away because reliance on such things do not last. Only God's eternal Word and His Kingdom through Jesus Christ will last for all eternity. Remember, the Bible tells us that one day "every knee will bow" before Christ, and "every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" - which means even the non-believers and followers of other pagan religions - will one day realize who Christ is when He returns to this earth.

Phl 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,


Phl 2:6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,


Phl 2:7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.


Phl 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.


Phl 2:9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,


Phl 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,


Phl 2:11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Also take note of what is written in Romans:

Rom 14:11 For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God."


Rom 14:12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

The book of Isaiah in the Old Testament is filled with prophesy, as well as prophetic verses. Take note of this wisdom:

Isa 45:20 "Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a god that cannot save.


Isa 45:21 Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me.


Isa 45:22 "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.


Isa 45:23 I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath.


Isa 45:24 He shall say, 'Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, And all shall be ashamed Who are incensed against Him.


Isa 45:25 In the LORD all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and shall glory.'

Dr. Jeremiah:

Jesus was a guest in the home of Mary and Martha one day, as Luke's gospel tells us. He found Himself caught in the crossfire of warring priorities. Martha was playing hostess and housekeeper, while Mary sat at Jesus' feet and listened intently to His teaching. It didn't seem fair to Martha, and she told Jesus so -- Mary, she said, should do her part. As always, Jesus gave the least expected response: "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:38-42).

As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we ALL need to be focused on what Jesus has instructed and "chose that good part" daily.

It's fine to be involved in family [I believe in God first, family second, job (or other interests) third], work, politics, and any other activity as long as it doesn't compromise what the Bible teaches as truth. However, when we seek and study God's Word on a daily basis, it helps us stay focused on Jesus - the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Hbr 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,


Hbr 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.


Hbr 12:3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

Dr. Jeremiah:

We face this choice every single day. Staying centered on Christ requires us to stay focused on God's Word. Geoffrey Thomas has written, "The love of Christ is the strongest constraint to knowing the Scriptures, and if we have little desire for the Bible, we should ask if we indeed know the Savior." In other words, our relationship with the Bible mirrors our relationship with Christ."

The third secret to staying centered in Christ is so simple, so powerful, and so often forgotten.

Support God's Work.

Simply go where His action is--and if you can't go there, find other ways to get involved.

The Sermon on the Mount instructs us:

Mat 6:19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;


Mat 6:20 "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.


Mat 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Dr. Jeremiah:

Pour yourself into eternal things, things that affect the invisible world; things that change the population of heaven.

Jesus says that our hearts naturally follow our treasures. What we value most is a magnet for our thoughts and emotions. Therefore we must learn to value God's things the most. The more we give ourselves to His purposes, the more centered on Christ we will become.

Amen!

Dr. Jeremiah:

There are many other means of staying centered on Christ in chaotic times. But if we start with seeking Him first and searching for Him in the Scriptures, if we remember that our heart follows our treasure and we invest that treasure in things above, we will be well on our way toward starting centered in Christ.

Hat Tips:

Reference: "Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World" by Dr. David Jeremiah, published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, 2009 pp. 128-132.

Blue Letter Bible

38 days and counting.

September 2nd.

Mark it down, stock up the beer fridge and get ready to roll because College Football is just over a month away.

Also, Download and print out your helmet schedule, circle the big games and make your plans now.

Some early thoughts: (With much more to come later)

1. This could be Georgia's year. Some say, for Mark Richt's sake, it had BETTER be Georgia's year.

2. Michigan goes to a bowl, or Coach Rod needs to be shown the way out of the door. First step: Beat UConn.

3. Other coaches on the hot seat: Les Miles, Mike Gundy. Prediction: Neither will be coaching their respective teams in 2012.

4. The Pre-Season Top 25 isn't going to mean much this year. Too many teams have questions and turn-over.

5. Most over-rated: Florida. Now that the chosen one is gone they're going to have to re-vamp their entire offense. Good defense, no points.



3CB ready.

Obama's Narcissism & Islamic Roots Are a Spiritual Problem

Dr Kates View blog has an excellent post up entitled, The Narcissist Cornered

Excerpt:

Obama’s lack of affection and affinity will increase:

The narcissist’s natural affinity with the criminal – his lack of empathy and compassion, his deficient social skills, his disregard for social laws and morals – now erupts and blossoms. He becomes a full fledged antisocial (sociopath or psychopath). He ignores the wishes and needs of others, he breaks the law, he violates all rights – natural and legal, he hold people in contempt and disdain, he derides society and its codes, he punishes the ignorant ingrates – that, to his mind, drove him to this state – by acting criminally and by jeopardizing their safety, lives, or property (emphasis added)

This is our experience, too: Obama has reacted to Americans’ concerns by appointing more and more individuals antithetical to our values, Constitution, and government; by moving to socialize more sectors of our society; by openly breaking the law, and by taking other actions that penalize individuals, whole classes of society, and our Nation.

Narcissists feel entitled to money, power, and honours incommensurate with their accomplishments or toil. The world, or God, or the nation, or society, or their families, co-workers, employers, even neighbours owe them a trouble-free, exalted, and luxurious existence. They are rudely shocked when they are penalized for their misconduct or when their fantasies remain just that.

Read it all HERE.

The comments and links provided are a must read too!

Here is a copy of my comment:

This is an excellent post! It captures what millions of Americans are thinking, feeling, and worrying about regarding Obama the narcissist and his evil cohorts.

Hope you don't mind if I add one thing, however. All of Obama's obvious problems - mental, emotional, social, political, etc. - which have been so eloquently listed in the original post here, as well as within many of the comments and links provided - have one thing in common. They are rooted in the fact that he (and all of the radical leftist progressives who agree, follow, and support him) and they have a severe spiritual problem.

The fact that Islam has its roots in paganism, shows us how well acceptance of its radical ideals fit in with the ideology of Marxism.

While participating in the ongoing discussion at Sarah Palin's FaceBook page I noticed the horror that most commentators have been sharing there. They wonder how any sane American could even consider the ludicrous idea of building a mosque at Ground Zero. I also noticed that several lefties wrote "we all worship the same God." I tried to educate them with a link to my blogpost so that they could read some facts and see how wrong they are. I also included links to an Australian Christian scholar's blog who wrote two excellent blog posts that the "we all worship the same God" myth is absolutely not true - and why it logically can't be true!

[See Bill Muehlenberg's Culture Watch blog and these two posts:
Culture Watch Blog: No, We Do Not Worship the Same God
Culture Watch Blog: What to Make of Allah ]

There is no way one can equate our Judeo-Christian God with the false pagan moon-god they label as "allah." If you are interested in reading these posts, please visit Talk Wisdom: Why Muslims Don't Worship the Same God as Christians. I hope that after reading these essays that you will spread this information far and wide in order to dispel that myth which is being spread by people are are, quite frankly, ignorant about the subject.

The fact is, Obama's narcissism and terrible political ideology is rooted within himself as a spiritual problem. Think of it as a kind of spiritual oblivion. The type of mindset that Obama possesses is totally anathema to the God of the Bible and the Judeo-Christian roots upon which our Founders built our Constitutional Republic. The United States of America, and Her Founding Documents were built upon Judeo-Christian morals, laws, and values. The lack of recognition of these facts and the spiritual deception that Obama and his ilk are under is the main reason why he and his cohorts are wreaking havoc upon this nation.

I want to know - when will we reach the point where enough is enough? We must stand up against this radical takeover of America and oust the perpetrators!

I continue to pray each day that this national nightmare will end soon. What Obama and his evil cohorts are doing to America is OUTRIGHT CRIMINAL and they all belong in jail because they are traitors to this nation!

Hat Tip:

Dr Kates View

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Update: A new comment over at DrKatesView led me to a comprehensive post over at Atlas Shrugs: Sharia (Islamic) Law in New Jersey Court: Muslim husband rapes, beats, sexually abuses wife, judge sees no sexual assault because Islam forbids wives to refuse sex.

This emphasizes even more why Muslim "laws" don't belong here in America...EVER!!!!

Excerpt:

On a lengthy note bene in the form of a short comparative law analysis: it should be stressed that this is another classic example where Islam/Shariah departs radically from the Judeo Christian tradition. Now, I cannot speak directly to Catholic canon on this subject or Christian Ecclesiastical law (although we do know that English common law, carried to the US, has long had a spousal rape exception—that is, husbands cannot be charged with raping their wives), but at least the Judeo portion of the Judeo Christian tradition is absolutely clear.



According to Jewish law, any form of coerced sexual relations between married couples is absolutely forbidden. (Talmud Bavli, Eruvin 100b: Rami b. Hama citing R. Assi further ruled: “A man is forbidden to compel his wife to the [marital] obligation, since it is said in Scripture: ‘Without consent the soul is not good; and he that hurries with his feet sins’” (Prov. 19:2). (Ba’ailei ha-Nefesh, Sha’ar ha-Kedushah; Code of Jewish Law, Hil. De’ot 5:4; Even ha-Ezer 25:2.)



Thus, even if the wife is not forced outright, as long as she is not amenable to intercourse, sexual relations are prohibited. (From authoritative Ashkenazi ruling on the Code of Jewish Law: Magen Avraham, Orah Hayyim 240, no. 7; from the leading Jewish mystical source, Kabbalah, Zohar, Bereshit 49b, 148b, Va-yikra 225b.) The greatest Jewish legal authority, the Sephardic Maimonides (known by his Hebrew acronym to Jews as the Rambam), rules, “[Her husband] should not coerce her [to have relations] when she does not desire to do so. Rather, [they should engage in intercourse only] when there is mutual desire and pleasure.” (Maimonides’ Code of Jewish Law, the Mishne Torah, Hil. Ishut [Laws of Women] 15:17.) Further, even if the wife is ambivalent about her desire, relations are forbidden. (Masekhet Kallah Rabbati 1:11; Tur, Orah Hayyim 240 and Even ha-Ezer 25.) Keep in mind that Maimonides is from the 11th-12th centuries and even the most recent of these (Code of the Jewish Law) is from the 15th-16th centuries. Old law is not necessarily bad law and “progressive law” is not necessarily good law. Shariah is not bad because it is old. It is bad because it is bad.


[An important digression: I make this latter point about old vs. new law because we often hear the criticism of Shariah that it is bad and primitive because it is “Medieval law” as if that is enough to condemn it. But by implication, the person who makes this criticism, is in effect embracing the “progressivist” or Hegelian teaching that Time/History is the one transcendence that saves us from the nihilism of relativism (all morals are relative except that a new moral is better than an old one), which allows the Leftist/Elites to clamor on about “progress” and the latest version of this, “hope and CHANGE”. And, if you give it a half-second’s worth of thought, you’ll realize why the progressivism of the Elite is tyranny [hint: there are no transcendent boundaries only time as a measure of progress]. It also impacts our constitutional jurisprudence. If old is bad simply, then granting the Supreme Court the authority (to which Marbury v Madison effectively opened the door) to “re-interpret” [read: re-write or amend by judicial fiat] the Constitution to mirror the “progress” and “change” in society must be a good thing. That kind of hollows out the originalist/conservative view of the Constitution, no?]