2010 In Review

January: 

January 12 - A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti. During the next 12 days at least 52 aftershocks were recorded measuring 4.5 or greater. An estimated 230,000 people were killed and another million were made homeless. It was one of the deadliest earthquakes in recorded history.

February: February 8 - The Boy Scouts of America celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary.

March:
March 20 - The Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull began to erupt in the form of a fissure vent in the high neck between Eyjafjallajökull and the neighboring icecap, Mýrdalsjökull.

April:
April 10 - Polish President Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and 94 others perished in a plane crash near Smolensk-North Airport in Russia. There were no survivors.

April 14 - Eyjafjallajökull resumed erupting after a brief pause, causing the closure of airspace over parts of Europe on several days in April and May as volcanic ash in the atmosphere made air travel dangerous.

April 14 – A 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit Yushu, Qinghai, China, killing 2,700 people.

April 20 - The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, starting the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. Eleven men were killed in the explosion and 17 others were injured. Crude oil began to gush unimpeded into the Gulf.

May: May 1-2 – Torrential rains caused 1000-year floods in middle and western Tennessee, southern Kentucky and northern Mississippi. In Nashville, the Cumberland River crested at 51.86 feet, it's highest since 1937. The flooding broke all-time records in several places along the Cumberland River, Duck River, Buffalo River, Red River and Harpeth River.

May 11 – David Cameron was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, at age 43 becoming the youngest British Prime Minister in 200 years. His Ministry is the UK's first coalition government since WWII.

May 31 - Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) commandos raided and seized the MV Mavi Marmara in international waters after warning the Turkish flotilla that they were enforcing a naval blockade of the Gaza area. Nine activists and seven IDF soldiers were killed in the clashes that followed.

June: June 7 - Long-time White House Press Corps member and columnist Helen Thomas retired following the negative reaction she received after saying on May 27 that the Jews should get out of Palestine and go back to Poland and Germany. She was 89-years-old.

July: July 2 – The FAA officially approved a car, the Terrafugia Transition, that can be converted into an airplane in less than a minute.

July 11 - A total eclipse of the sun occurred over the southern Pacific Ocean.

July 15 - The Deepwater Horizon gushing wellhead was finally capped, stopping the leak. The disaster had released about 205.8 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean over the course of three months.

Throughout July - Flooding suffocated Pakistan so that, at one point, one fifth of Pakistan's total land was underwater. The floods directly affected close to 20 million people, with almost 2000 deaths reported.

August:
August 5 - A cave-in at the San José copper-gold mine near Copiapó, Chile trapped 33 men 2,300 feet below ground. The men would remain there for over two months.

August 7 - Elena Kagan began to serve as the US Supreme Court's 112th justice. She is the fourth female and eighth Jewish justice.

August 10 - The World Health Organization declared the swine flu pandemic over.

August 17 – All but one of 131 passengers aboard a "miracle" Colombian jet escaped death when their plane crash-landed on the Caribbean island of San Andres. The Boeing 737 split into three sections, but its engines shut down on impact and its fuselage did not catch fire. Only one woman died - of a heart attack on her way to the hospital.

August 21 – Iran held an official ceremony to launch the loading of fuel cells at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant near the Persian Gulf.

September: September 19 - Moms International succeeded in kicking off the first annual Bless Our Schools Sunday, to remind churches of the importance of praying for their local schools.

September 28 - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to permanently lift the injunction against federally funded embryonic stem-cell research and allow the National Institutes of Health to continue the controversial research.

October:
October 13- Every one of the trapped 33 Chilean miners were successfully rescued after a record 69 days underground. According to estimates, more than 1 billion people around the world watched the rescue live.

October 26 - Iran announced it was finally loading its controversial Bushehr nuclear reactor (for real). If all goes as planned, the 1000-megawatt nuclear plant will start producing energy by early 2011.

November: November 15 - NASA announced that astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory had found evidence that a supernova discovered in 1979 had indeed developed into a black hole. It offered scientists the opportunity to watch a black hole develop from "infancy."

December: December 20 – A total lunar eclipse hung blood-red in the black sky on the darkest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It had been 372 years since a total eclipse of the moon coincided with the winter solstice.

Between earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and one particularly unpleasant oil rig explosion, there were certainly a number of tragedies in 2010.  Yet, some precious miracles took places as well.  The freeing of the 33 Chilean miners, or the Colombian airplane that split into three parts without a single person dying in the crash, offer tremendous pictures of mercy this past year.  May 2011 do so even more.

Welcome 2011!!  

Related Links:

• Monitor The Strategic Trends »
  - Koinonia House

Should Billy the Kid be Pardoned?

I don’t know about you, but I am glad to know that Billy the Kid is still an outlaw. I guess you are probably award that New Mexico governor was thinking about issuing a pardon for the notorious William Bonney, who was killed by lawmen 130 years ago, but he decided against it. 

The granddaughter of equally legendary sheriff Pat Garrett, who brought Billy the Kid down, had “expressed outrage over the proposal” according to Fox News. She explained, “It’s ridiculous to pardon a murderer.  Hollywood has turned him into some sort of a folk hero.”  

The descendants of New Mexico Governor Lew Wallace also were not amused either. Granting a pardon now would rewrite New Mexico’s history to make Lew Wallace “a dishonorable liar,” in the words of his great-grandson. 

But, this seems to the the norm that so many are taking, rewriting history.

The larger question is why New Mexico’s current governor would be wasting time and resources on such a frivolity anyway.  He’s not the only one, as Florida’s outgoing governor, Charlie Crist, frittered away his last days in office by working on a pardon for long-dead Doors frontman Jim Morrison, convicted of indecent exposure in 1969 for opening a door that should have remained closed, in front of a Miami concert audience.  Crist called the pardon an acknowledgement of Morrison’s “enduring body of work.”  I’ve lived in Florida for most of my life, and never before realized the state government essentially runs itself, leaving the Governor plenty of time to work on salutes to the legacy of long-dead rock stars.

Every level of government wastes time and money on these symbolic gestures, which politicians are hopelessly addicted to.  

At the national level, we get stuff like the ritual White House pardon of the Thanksgiving turkey.

These symbolic gestures are not exactly harmless good fun.  They take up time and money – pardon requests must be processed and researched.  When they’re official attempts to rewrite the past, as the Billy the Kid pardon would have been, they tarnish the reputation and legacy of people like Governor Lew Wallace and Sheriff Pat Garrett. 

They also test the patience of a public grown increasingly exasperated by government offices that have much more important things to do. The wasteful spending just add to all the frustration of the people toward a government that has "no clue" as to what is happening.

The Rapture

Folks, I know I keep saying this to you, but each time I repeat it, it's even more true: Get ready! Jesus is coming soon! You see, the 'man of lawlessness' that will lead the one-world government cannot be revealed until the One who restrains him has been removed from the earth. 'The restrainer' is the Holy Spirit. And since the Holy Spirit dwells in all true believers, to remove Him from the earth means we must be removed, also. That's what we call the 'Rapture.' 

Because we see the Antichrist's government now being created by the nations of the world; because we see the world plunged into financial chaos and desperately searching for a solution (which is precisely how the Antichrist will achieve worldwide control); and because we have a blow by blow blueprint of these final days provided us by the ancient prophets, I can say with authority that time is short. Make sure you've accepted the pardon that Jesus died to purchase for you. Make sure your friends and family have the opportunity to accept this pardon, too. It's the best Christmas present they will ever receive! 

Don't ask, don't tell?

The President said that the law will “strengthen our national security and uphold the ideals that our fighting men and women risk their lives to defend,” Obama said during a signing ceremony this morning at the Interior Department. Members of the armed forces make numerous sacrifices to serve, he said. “None of them should have to sacrifice their integrity as well.”

Repeal of the policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” was a political victory for the president, who as a candidate campaigned to end the 1993 law because he regarded it as a civil rights issue.

The change won’t happen immediately. The Defense Department must draft a plan for putting new regulations into place and the president and military leaders must certify that allowing gays to serve openly won’t hurt the nation’s war efforts. The president vowed that the transition will be made “swiftly and efficiently.”

The president encourages those who were discharged under the policy to re-enlist. “We will be honored to welcome you into the ranks” of the military once again, he said. “You will serve as role models for all who come after you,” he said to members of the audience.

Since when did “sin” ever serve as a role model, unless you have Sodom and Gomorra.

A former Army chaplain who now recruits military chaplains says by repealing the ban, Congress has redefined morality, with uncertain consequences. Retired Brig. Gen. Doug Lee tells The Associated Press that chaplains from the churches he represents could be forced to choose between their career and their calling to teach and counsel what the Bible says about homosexuality. Lee notes that the Bible says, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil."

Sin is a reproach to any nation. Sin has brought the judgement of God on many nations before us. What makes one think that our nation is any different?

God In a Manger

The power of the Messiah’s humility might be the most surprising thing about Christmas.

Christmas has become such a monumental event that it’s almost too big to define. If you set in the mall long enough, you might wonder if anyone really knows what Christmas is all about. I don’t believe that the average person really understands what the ‘incarnation’  really means.

In theological terms, we use the word “incarnation” to describe this event. Or we try to simplify the phenomenon the season commemorates by merely saying, “This is when God became a man.” Then we turn from the manger, thinking, Ah, now I understand—and go on with our 

But we don’t understand, not even a little.

Unless you understand who “little baby Jesus” was and what He was up to before the day of His birth, you’ll never understand what Christmas is all about.

The apostle Paul wrote some amazing Christmas commentary that often flies under our Advent radar, yet tells us more about the real meaning of Christmas than many verses more commonly associated with the season:


Philippians 2:5-7 (KJV) 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 

The word “incarnation” comes from the Greek word keno (from which we get the theological term Kenosis), which refers to an “emptying.” It describes someone of great position who is brought low, voluntarily laying aside his high rank and becoming as nothing in comparison with his prior dignity. Compare this to the President of the United States or another leader of a wealthy country leaving behind all authority, rank, power, and bodyguards, and moving to an impoverished Third-World country as an unknown homeless vagrant. In choosing to subsist in near-starvation and subjecting himself to the perils of roving bands of thieves and murderers, he would be “emptying” himself.

But this analogy doesn’t even be close to what Paul is talking about. When he says that Jesus “existed in the form of God,” he uses the Greek word morphe. It means that what you look like on the outside corresponds perfectly to what you really are. You are in essence what you are in appearance. Jesus didn’t just look like God; He was always God. As Paul tells us, before that amazing day when everything changed—before becoming a tiny fetus within a young woman—Jesus was in every way and eternally God.

The Baby in the manger was a Being of another kind and place who took on a new nature—a human one—yet without changing who He was innately and eternally.

And that is what Christmas is really all about.

What Is Christmas?

I am setting here, looking out the window, and even though it is breezy outside today (Sunday 19) and the sun is shinning, it is Christmas 2010. It doesn't feel like Christmas. My thoughts of Christmas , I guess from my childhood, is "SNOW." Now to some of you, you're probably glad there isn't any snow, and others wish we had some of the white stuff that they have.

But I have been doing some reflection about what Christmas is. Even though there are those, and a minority at best, who are trying their hardest to do away with Christmas, the truth is that it is Christmas.

Christmas is the pivotal event on which all of human history hangs. It is the physical birthday in which the Son of God became the Son of man so that sons of men could become sons of God. I wonder if we really realize what that says to us.

For you see, long before you and I were, God was planning what it would take for you and me to be able to know Him. And that is what Christmas is all about. The one who would take my place because of my sin, and make it possible to call God, my "Father," Jesus, became my "Savior."

Christmas is the day that holds all time together; eternity past, eternity present, and eternity future.

Christmas is when light came into our world; John 8:12 (NKJV)  Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

During this Christmas season, it is proper that we keep our eyes, our voices, and our hearts lifted upward as we offer our profound thanksgiving to God for His matchless gift through our worship and our praise to Him.

Merry Christmas and a blessed new year.

Nazism and Islam: Two peas in a pod

Nazism and Islam share common values and, more importantly, a common enemy in the Jews, World War II-era Palestinian Arab leader Haj Amin al-Husseini is cited as telling his German benefactors in the latest survey of declassified US wartime documents.

Prepared by the UN National Archives, the report titled “Hitler’s Shadow” references thousands of declassified intelligence and diplomatic reports in detailing Husseini’s active cooperation with the Nazi leadership in its quest to rid the world of the Jewish people.

According to the report, Husseini was paid an enormous salary for fomenting hatred of the Jews in “Palestine” and for helping to recruit Muslims as Nazi soldiers. His contract with the Nazis also promised Husseini rulership over Palestine at the successful conclusion of the war.

One document cites Adolf Hitler as telling Husseini that Nazi Germany’s only aim in conquering Palestine was to eradicate the Jewish presence there. After that, the country would be Husseini’s to rule as he saw fit.

During a later recruitment trip to a Muslim-dominated part of Croatia, Husseini praised new Muslim recruits to the Nazi military, and stated that “the entire Muslim world ought to follow their example.”

Amazingly, or perhaps no so amazingly, as the war came to a close and it was clear the Nazis were going to lose, the British authorities in the Middle East were actually open to letting Husseini return and lead the Palestinian Arabs there.

One of the diplomatic cables has the British head of Mandatory Palestine’s Criminal Investigation Division telling the US assistant military attache in Cairo that Husseini could unite the regions Arabs and “cool off the Zionists. Of course, we can’t do it, but it might not be such a damn bad idea at that.”

The report concludes by noting that despite the mountain of evidence against him, the Allied powers allowed Husseini to flee to Syria after the war and did not pursue a criminal investigation. Husseini died in Beirut in 1974 as a hero among his people.

The international community’s lenient treatment of Husseini even though he had openly collaborated with modern history’s most brutal and criminal dictatorship was again repeated when the world decided to take the most blood-soaked terrorist in history, Yasser Arafat, and reward him by making him a head of state.

Have We Quit Thinking?

Adolf Hitler had it right when he said, "How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think."

Dr. Thomas Sowell, in "Dismantling America," said in reference to President Obama, "That such an administration could be elected in the first place, headed by a man whose only qualifications to be president of the United States at a dangerous time in the history of the world were rhetoric, style and symbolism – and whose animus against the values and institutions of America had been demonstrated repeatedly over a period of decades beforehand – speaks volumes about the inadequacies of our educational system and the degeneration of our culture."

Obama is by no means unique; his characteristics are shared by other Americans, but what is unique is that no other time in our history would such a person been elected president. That says a lot about the degeneration of our culture, values, thinking abilities and acceptance of what's no less than tyranny. As Sowell says, "Barack Obama is unlike any other president of the United States in having come from a background of decades of associations and alliances with people who resent this country and its people." In 2008, Americans voted for Obama's change. Let's look at some of it.

Our society has become one who let others think for them. Have you noticed that those who seem to be doing the thinking, are now telling us how we are to live, and because they feel that certain things that we have done for many years are offensive to them [Nativity scenes, Christmas, ten commandments, prayer, etc.] that they can have it removed from our society.

What we are seeing is exactly what happened in Germany with Hitler, only this time, I believe that we are seeing the beginning of the end, as related to this world’s system, and the Rapture of the Church and the tribulation period.

Are you ready?

GIVING THANKS

Even though we have come through the Thanksgiving season, there are some scripture verses that come to my mind as I think toward the Christmas season. I hope you will find comfort in them as we enter this time of celebration of the birth of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

1Chronicles 16:34 - "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever."

Psalm 18:46-50 - "The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.  It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.  He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name. Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore." 

Psalm 30:11-12 - "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;  To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever." 

Psalm 75:1 -  "Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare. 

Psalm 106:1-2 - "Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise?" 

Psalm 106:48 - "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD." 

1Corinthians 15:57-58 - "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." 

2 Corinthians 2:14 - "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place." 

1Thessalonians 5:16-18 - "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 

1Timothy 2:1 - "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;"

1John 3:1 - "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:"  

Rev 11:15-17 -  "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned." 

1John 4:19 -  "We love him, because he first loved us."

Will the world end in 2012

You can't miss it.


It seems that everywhere you look, there is a growing interest in the future and the year 2012... Nostradamus, the Mayan calendar, St. Malachy, Edgar Cayce, 2012.


It seems that people everywhere sense that something is about to happen. They're nervous and they're searching for answers.


In the last part of the 20th century and into the 21st, it seems an entire industry sprang up to publish the "amazing" prophecies of Nostradamus. Amazing? At best, his quatrains are so nebulous that they can be interpreted myriad ways. Just the law of averages proves him "right" occasionally!


But if you want to talk about truly "amazing" prophecies, you have to talk about the predictions of the ancient Bible prophet Ezekiel. And unlike Nostradamus and the others, he wasn't afraid to name names! Ezekiel's prophecies pinpoint an exact time, place, and the precise historical conditions of a future world catastrophe. He names the peoples and nations involved in an intricate convergence of history. Out of a spectacular chain of eleven specific prophecies, we have witnessed ten come to exact fruition. And we see the eleventh taking unmistakable shape today. What's more, Ezekiel predicted all of these things more than 2,600 years ago!
There is still that sector that doesn't believe that we are that close to the future events that are predicted in Ezekiel and Daniel's prophecies.


Here are just a few headlines that deal with these last days:


WikiLeaks Cables Present An America in Decline
Russia Moving Nukes Closer To Europe
China Calls North Korea A 'Spoiled Child
Pakistani Woman Condemned For Insulting Muhammad

These are just a few of the many headlines one can read every day. Truly, we are living in the last days. Are you ready to meet the Lord? Is your family ready? Are your neighbors ready?
Something to think about today!

Dangerous 'new' Dark Ages

Two national-security experts have issued a report through the Heritage Foundation that warns Obama administration officials to start working now to prevent – and mitigate the damage from – an electromagnetic pulse attack on the United States because of the potential for "unimaginable devastation."


An EMP strike can easily obliterate America's electrical, telecommunications, transportation, financial, food,and water infrastructures, rendering the United States helpless to coordinate actions and deliver services essential for daily life.


But it would not stop at U.S. borders. Most of Canada would be devastated, too, as its infrastructure is integrated with the U.S. power grid. Much of the world's intellectual brain power (half of it is in the United States) would be lost as well. Earth would most likely recede into the 'new' Dark Ages,"


A detonation over the middle of the continental U.S. has the capability to produce significant damage to critical infrastructures that support the fabric of U.S. society and the ability of the United States and Western nations to project influence and military power.

It doesn't take a "high tech" machine to accomplish this, either.

A determined adversary can achieve an EMP attack capability without having a high level of sophistication. For example, an adversary would not have to have long-range ballistic missiles to conduct an EMP attack against the United States. Such an attack could be launched from a freighter off the U.S. coast using a short- or medium-range missile to loft a nuclear warhead to high altitude.

Terrorists sponsored by a rogue state could attempt to execute such an attack without revealing the identity of the perpetrators. Iran, the world's leading sponsor of international terrorism, has practiced launching a mobile ballistic missile from a vessel in the Caspian Sea.

Iran has also tested high-altitude explosions of the Shahab-III, a test mode consistent with EMP attack, and described the tests as successful. Iranian military writings explicitly discuss a nuclear EMP attack that would gravely harm the United States.

While we do not know the intention of Iran in conducting these activities, we are disturbed by the capability that emerges when we connect the dots.

What we could see is an attack would turn science fiction into reality.

Airplanes would literally fall from the sky, cars and trucks would stop working, and water, sewer, and electrical networks would fail. Food would rot, medical services would collapse, and transportation would become almost nonexistent.

What could happen already has been documented in the 1977 New York City blackout, although on a much smaller scale.

Two lightning strikes caused overloading in the electrical power substations of the Con Edison power company. These lighting strikes, the equivalent of a minuscule fraction of [EMP], caused the Indian Point power plant north of the city to fail, as well as the subsequent failure of the Long Island interconnection. … Failure of the Linden-Goethals 230,000-volt interconnection with New Jersey resulted in the protective devices removing overloaded lines, transformers, and cables from service.

As a result, a power failure spread throughout the New York area. This blackout lasted only one day, yet resulted in widespread looting and the breakdown of the rule of law throughout many New York neighborhoods. The estimated cost of the blackout was approximately $246 million, and nearly 3,000 people were arrested through the 26-hour period.

The blackout in New York City resulted in an immediate breakdown of the social order. The police were outmatched and had no chance of stopping such massive theft, largely having no choice but to stand by watching the looters from a distance.

In North Brooklyn, a community of more than a million residents, only 189 police officers were on duty.

In 2003, a blackout in Ohio, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Canada saw massive traffic jams and gridlock when people tried to get home without traffic lights.

Railways, airlines, gas stations, and oil refineries halted operations. Telephone lines were overwhelmed due to the high volume of calls. Overall, the blackout's economic impact was between $7 billion and $10 billion due to food spoilage, lost production, overtime wages.

A true EMP attack could prove even more severe.

Is Marriage Becoming Obsolete?

A new study by the Pew Research Center indicates that 39 percent of Americans believe that marriage is becoming obsolete.

As noted in the “Executive Summary” of the study:

The transformative trends of the past 50 years that have led to a sharp decline in marriage and a rise of new family forms have been shaped by attitudes and behaviors that differ by class, age and race, according to a new Pew Research Center nationwide survey, done in association with TIME, complemented by an analysis of demographic and economic data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

A new “marriage gap” in the United States is increasingly aligned with a growing income gap. Marriage, while declining among all groups, remains the norm for adults with a college education and good income but is now markedly less prevalent among those on the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder. The survey finds that those in this less-advantaged group are as likely as others to want to marry, but they place a higher premium on economic security as a condition for marriage. This is a bar that many may not meet.

On the face of it, such an assertion—that economic security and marriage could be competing values—ought to be unthinkable in a culture worthy of the name. The marital union stands as the fundamental social unit as the bedrock of human civilization, and marriage is the normal context of the next most important level of community: the bond between parents and children. The bonds of husband and wife, father and mother and children, are the fundamental context of human existence, from which economic security is often a secondary benefit. When economics are placed in competition with marriage, the economic situation has gone dangerously awry.

I believe there are many reasons why this is happening, but fundamentally, a growing number of Americans simply do not believe in the authority of Scripture. They do not believe the Bible is true or relevant today. This is directly responsible for the breakdown in biblical values. For a hundred years liberal scholars have undermined Scripture and the Living God by first casting subtle doubt on the historicity of the Bible, beginning with Genesis. This is key in understanding where we are today. 

After decades of liberals mocking foundational truths, such as the God-instituted “one-man for one-woman” concept, we no longer know who we are.  God designed men and women to complement each other in every way and thus produce children and inhabit the earth. This was His mandate.

But the Genesis accounts of origins and early human history have been rendered unbelievable (which I find unbelievable) by God-hating critics, who present themselves as earnest, sincere truth seekers. In fact, they are God-haters who want everyone else to share their diabolical worldview. Many other examples could be cited of these competing worldviews. Look at Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it…”

If our culture believed that the Bible is true, you would see healthy marriages everywhere, instead of the train wrecks that are commonplace in our homes.

President Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the everwatchful providence of almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggressions, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the most high God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United Stated States to be affixed.

—President Abraham Lincoln, October 3, 1863

Reprinted from the National Park Service.

When God Blesses Others

When Saul observed that David was very successful, he dreaded him.—1 Samuel 18:15

Jealousy is a destructive attitude that poisons the way you view life. It is so harmful that God condemned coveting in two of the Ten Commandments. King Saul was a jealous and insecure man. He had been elevated to the highest position in Israel. He had been blessed in numerous ways. But Saul saw that David was gaining the attention and praise of the Israelites. The Israelites recognized Saul's accomplishments, but they also praised David, whom God was using to accomplish even more (1 Sam. 18:7). Rather than rejoicing that God had empowered another to defeat their enemies, Saul became murderously jealous and sought to destroy David.

Jealousy is an abomination in the life of a Christian. God has made us His children. None of us deserves to be God's child, so there is no need to compare our blessings with those of other children of God. Jealousy is self-centeredness at its worst. Jealousy robs us of joy and chokes out contentment. Jealousy hardens the heart and stifles gratitude. Jealousy assumes that God's resources are too limited for Him to bless another and still bless us.

Saul grew so preoccupied with his jealousy toward David that he neglected important things, bringing suffering and pain upon his people. Because of his jealousy, Saul's family was destroyed.

Watch over your heart! If you find yourself unable to rejoice in the success of others, beware! Do not let jealousy taint your heart. Repent before it robs you of any more of the joy and contentment God desires for you. When you are tempted to compare your success in life to that of another, ask God to remind you of all the ways He has blessed you undeservedly.

Plastic toy pig was removed from a children’s farmyard set..What did you say?

I came across this article from the UK.

A plastic toy pig was removed from a children’s farmyard set by the Early Learning Centre (ELC) for fear of offending Muslims and Jews.

ELC’s HappyLand Goosefeather Farm set included a chicken, a horse, a cow and a sheep, as well as a pig sty. But no pig was included.

When one mother complained to ELC, she was told it had been removed because of “customer feedback and religious reasons”. Islam and Judaism are among the faiths which view pigs as unclean.

Ridiculous You Say?

The decision has drawn fire from a lot of mothers. One mother who bought the Farmyard set for her daughter’s birthday, exclaimed: “Surely if someone has issue with a toy that they don’t agree with, then don’t buy it!”

Other mothers have expressed their disbelief on the internet forum netmums, calling ELC’s move “ridiculous”, and “madness”.

Muslim mums on the site questioned why the pig had ever been removed.

Why was it Banned?

A Muslim mum named Safiyyah said “its just another animal” and she asked whether characters such as Peppa Pig would be banned.

She said the solution was “simple”; if you don’t want the toy pig, don’t buy the product, or take the pig out.

Another mother, who said she was part of a “muslim household”, commented that it is “up to the parent” whether children play with the pig or not.

So What Happens Now?

The ELC has now responded to media coverage of the story by deciding to “reinstate the pig and to no longer sell the set in international markets where it might create an issue.”

The company says any customers who have bought the set recently can now get a free toy pig from the ELC website.

I wonder when we will see that happening here in America?

Are the Muslims dictating our civil rights?

The Islamist attacks on America began before 9/11/2001. We were introduced to metal detectors at airports and security checks were becoming routine. All because of Muslims who insisted on attacking air travel to kill the infidels. Since 9/11, the rights of every American citizen have been restricted because of what the government wants us to believe is a handful of radical Muslims.

It has been said many times that the Muslim terrorists needed to be right only once, and American security wrong only once for there to be a major terrorist disaster.

How much money do you think the Muslim religion has cost the American taxpayer. Further, how much of our civil rights loss has been due to the Muslim religion. 

Now, in the news, the government has come up with what it calls “Backscatter” technology that uses low doses of radiation to create a naked image of those traveling on airplanes. This is what the government believes is an acceptable way to scan prospective air passengers for explosives or other materials that could cause death on an aircraft. The government says the radiation is safe, but who is to trust the government these days? Some believe there are health risks associated with these machines.

If one does not want to experience the naked body scan complete with the extra radiation with unknown future side effects, one can submit to a so-called “pat down.” This “pat down” includes a government official groping your genitals. If you refuse such a groping, it is likely you will not be permitted to fly and you are susceptible to civil fines of up to $10,000 according to Transportation Safety Administration policies. The Airlines can refuse to transport you if you refuse to permit a search of person or property by the TSA. You agree to this as part of the terms and conditions of purchasing an air travel ticket. In other words, you give up your Constitutional right of privacy and of unwarranted search and seizure.

In Genesis 16:12, an angel of the Lord describes Ishmael, the son of Abraham that the Muslims claim as their connection to God. The angel says, “And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” 

This prophecy is true today because most everywhere in the world there is trouble, Islam is associated with it. 

Yet, when you see ll of the news, it is the Muslims who protest the loudest about airport restrictions on their religious rights. I

One wonders why they would not protest so vigorously against terrorism.

‘We need to stand up and say, 'No to Shariah.'’

 From Jewish World News - By Diana West

The contents of the following article could very well happen here in America in the next few months if we don't wake up!

When Barack Obama spoke in Mumbai about "the different meanings" of jihad, he set up us up again for the Big Lie: "I think," the 44th president said, sounding much like the 43rd president, "all of us recognize that this great religion in the hands of a few extremists has been distorted to justify violence toward innocent people that is never justified."

All -- all -- of the sacred books and schools of Islam say differently. Every, single one. The fact is - not the fantasy -- there is no distortion of Islamic texts required to justify the violence of jihad from Mumbai to Tel Aviv to New York City to Bali to Madrid and beyond. But we, dhimmi-citizens of an Islamizing world, are not supposed to notice the links between the violence and the faith, the faith and the law, the law and the violence -- and certainly not say so out loud. Most people don't. Increasingly, this state of denial is enforced by actual states of denial - the most recent example being Austria, which, in a trial on Nov. 23, will attempt to use "hate speech" laws to send Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff to prison for as long as three years for statements about Islam very similar to those I've just written.

The Viennese mother and housewife originally approached the subject of Islam from her unique background that includes a childhood stint in Iran during the Islamic Revolution in 1979 when her diplomat-father was stationed there; and her own work experience with Austrian embassies in both Kuwait at the time of the Iraqi invasion in 1990, and Libya, on 9/11 ("The Jews did it!" Elisabeth's Libyan landlord shouted at her that same day).

She studied the Islamic texts and commentaries, the apologetics and the critiques. Empowered by her natural right to free speech, she decided to educate others in her native Austria about the Koran, about Islamic law (Shariah), in seminars she offered under the auspices of the pro-Western-civilization think tank Wiener Akademikerbund (Association of Vienna Academics). Contracted by the anti-Islamization Freedom Party (FPO) in 2008, Sabaditsch-Wolff has been educating Austrians about Islam ever since.

"The groups were very small at first, sometimes as few as five or six people" she recently told me. "Later on, the numbers rose to 35." Last fall, one attendee in particular seemed "overly enthusiastic about the topic," Elisabeth recalls. She turned out to be a journalist who would brand the seminar a "hate school" in a sensational story for NEWS, a left-wing publication.

"It causes a huge uproar among the establishment," Elisabeth says, although now that her trial approaches Austrian media are silent. "Bishops, rabbis, politicians, all of whom had never attended any of my seminars and knew nothing of the content, were asked to weigh in and condemn me. The bishop said, `One must never speak about any religion the way Ms. Sabaditsch-Wolff did about Islam.' This was especially painful for me."

Elisabeth's husband, a military surgeon, is very supportive of her. "My mother had to come to terms with her daughter being maligned in the media," she says. "My sister has cocooned herself and believes the NEWS story rather than confronting reality. My father, who has attended all of my seminars, knows the truth and supports me 100 percent."

Of course, when she enters that Vienna courtroom, she will face the state alone. "The thought that the state -- a state that I love very much and that I represented proudly all my life -- is prosecuting me for thoughts is a painful one. It is hard to understand that I should have to stand trial for thoughts that are not only based on experience but are the product of careful study of the texts that make up Islam." But Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff is also standing trial for her courage, which threatens all states of denial. "It is interesting to note that once the topic is raised, most friends out themselves as feeling the exact same way I do, however, there is fear. They do not want to become active out of fear for losing their jobs (which is a very real possibility) or getting hurt by some Muslim wacko. My response is always, `Fear is the wrong feeling here. We need to stand up and say, No to Shariah, gender apartheid, theocracy, parallel legal systems.' "By the way," she adds. "I am being charged for saying all of this!"

I don't know who follows my blog, or if any body does, but I wonder when I will be told I can't voice my opinion, on "certain" topics. Maybe you need to wonder the same things, wether you agree or not. "Think about it!"

What Are We Really Doing Today?

Rather than discuss the nature and threat of Islamic supremacism, the Western media, Western political leaders and academics deny it --- and believing Christian and Jews are paying the price.

Caroline Glick has an interesting article in the Jewish World Review that I would like to do some quoting from. “Years from now,” she says, “when historians seek an overarching concept to define our times, they could do worse than refer to it as the Age of Dissimulation.” 

It seems that today, those who are suppose to be in the know are trying to figure out ways how they can hide reality from themselves and you and I as well.

On Sunday, John Brennan spoke on Fox News about the latest attempted Islamic terrorist attack on American soil.

Since the Obama administration has barred US officials from referring to terrorists as terrorists and effectively barred US officials from acknowledging that Islamic terrorists are Muslims, Brennan simply referred to the Islamic terrorists in Yemen who tried to send bombs to synagogues in Chicago as "individuals."

Today, practically, the only individuals willing to speak honestly about who Islamic supremacists are and what they want are the Islamic supremacists themselves.

Rather than discuss the nature and threat of Islamic supremacism, the Western media along with nearly all Western political leaders and academics deny and dissimulate. Rather than address the threat, they accept the Islamic line and blame Israel for everything bad that happens in the world. 

One could say that the fear of Islamic terrorism fuels some of this behavior. But fear can't be the full explanation. Most Westerners have no contact with Muslims. And Islamic terrorist attacks in the West are not a daily occurrence.

The West's newfound obsession with Islamophobia probably also has something to do with it. Western elites are terrified of being accused of racism. This is particularly true when — as is the case with Islamophobia — the charge is leveled on behalf of people who were oppressed in the past by Westerners.

But while fear of the charge of Islamophobia does play a role in Western kowtowing to Islamic supremacists, the West's aversion to the perception that it is oppressing those it once oppressed fails to provide an adequate explanation for its willingness to collaborate with Islamic supremacist attempts to blot out Jewish history. The West's history of oppressing Jews is far bloodier and longer than its record of oppressing Muslims.

Caroline goes on to say, In the end, there is only one credible explanation for the West's willingness to lie about the nature and goals of Islamic supremacism. There is only one credible explanation for the West's willingness to collaborate with Islamic supremacists as they purge the historical record of the Jewish roots of Western civilization. There is only one explanation for the West's willingness to accept the Islamic supremacist assertion that Israel is to blame for Islamic aggression against Jews and Christians alike.

But if I mention anti-Semitism, I will be attacked as a paranoid Jew.

“What is going on in the world?”

Someone asked me the other day this question “What is going on in the world?” In our conversation, here are some of the things that were discussed, not necessarily in the order they appear.
It seems like the world has turned upside down. / People seem to be given over to the lusts of the flesh and pleasures of this life. / What has happened to the virtues of honesty, decency and hard work? / Where has common sense gone? / It seems that the entire world has turned against Israel. /The world is becoming more and more like Sodom and Gomorrah. / Everything seems to be going in a global direction, from economics to education. / Many countries are in financial trouble. / Multitudes all over the world are finding fewer jobs available. / Many are losing their homes. / Every time a person goes on the Internet–where they go, what they do, and what they say on any site or in any email—is permanently recorded and can be accessed in microseconds. / More and more devices to monitor you are being installed worldwide. 
And I am thinking, WOW, what a discussion!
And, with few exceptions, no matter where you go, you are being watched and recorded. Much of the reporting by the news-media is not objective, and often news concerning issues of importance go unreported. More and more earthquakes are occurring. Occasionally, new diseases are appearing. 
Knowledge and technology are increasing at an incredible rate. Terrorism is spreading at an alarming rate. 
I wonder if there might be any place in the world one can go and be 100% sure they will be safe? 
We see in our country, the United States of America, that we are going in the direction of more control over people’s lives and businesses; and our individual freedoms are declining. Often statistics that are published are misleading, violating the public trust. The name of the game that is going on is control and deception. 
The Bible says that a world dictator will come on the scene soon, but before this happens, many of the things listed above are going to get worse, even as those in authority may tell you things are getting better. 
So what can we do? Bring forth God’s Word and prepare the people to meet Jesus; but few will listen, even as it was in the days of Noah. Few believed the flood would come.. The fact that few believed the flood would come, did not stop it from happening. Things are going to get worse, but God’s Word is always correct.
 Much of what is happening has been foretold in God’s Word. While many are upset about these and other things, the informed, born-again Christian knows what is happening. He knows that an event in the Bible called the Translation or being “caught up” (or the Rapture, as many call it) is getting closer and closer. Few will be taken, and many will be left behind, crying out, “Lord, open to us!” 
Many of the things mentioned here are mentioned in the Bible, as events that would take place after Israel’s rebirth. The Bible clearly states that Israel would be reborn as a nation. That was the event that revealed we had entered in the latter days. It happened May 14, 1948. Within a generation of that event, a multitude of prophecies would be fulfilled, including the Rapture. A generation “may” perhaps be 70 years (Ps 90:10). Some believe it could be longer. 
Of the 365 prophecies that the Bible tells us would take place, 364 are solidly in place. Several of these prophecies that are listed have to do with born–again churches and the Bible. 
The Bible clearly states that is the last days, there would be a "falling away." Religious persecutions would increase, for those that let their light shine for Jesus. The Bible predicted that the people of the world would no longer want sound doctrine, but they would want to hear what their itching ears wanted to hear. Sin would increase more and more. Yes, things have greatly changed in the last few years, but 100% of the changes are in perfect harmony with what God’s Word has told us.


And so, as you read this, where do you stand?