Wednesday
THIS WEEK THE UNITED NATIONS!
September 21, 2011 of our 9th year of publication.
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A thought for the day and for the week:
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
William Pitt, British Prime Minister, 1783
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
William Pitt, British Prime Minister, 1783
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THIS WEEK THE UNITED NATIONS WILL BE FACING THE
MOST IMPORTANT DECISION OF THE CENTURY, OR
POSSIBLY OF ALL TIME, FOR THE WORLD
The Palestine Authority (PA) president, Mahmoud Abbas, is in New York to
present his appeal to the United Nations for recognition of the state of Palestine.
This official bid by the PA brings the long disputed Mideast conflict to the
world's attention. It is Abbas' intent to have the UN declare Palestine a
sovereign state without any negotiations with Israel. The U.S. has indicated
it will veto any such proposal in the Security Council. The U.S. has favored
a two-state solution to the problem -- a position with which Israel agrees --
but Palestine steadfastly refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. The U.S.
veto will prevent Palestine from becoming a member state, but the UN General
Assembly will doubtlessly grant them observer status as a non-member state,
which is a win-win situation for Palestine.
It becomes increasingly evident, beyond any question, that the world leaders --
in the UN, and in our own government -- do not acknowledge the authority of
the Bible in the affairs of men and of nations. Yet this book, the Word of God,
precedes by thousands of years other often quoted religious books, such as the
Quran or the Book of Mormon. God has stated clearly and unequivocally in the
Abrahamic Covenant His pledge to Abraham, the father of Israel: "I will make
of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great ...
and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee ..."
(Genesis 12: 2-3) And God confirmed that covenant, defining the land He was
granting to Israel, in these words: "In the same day the Lord made a covenant
with Abraham, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river
of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." (Genesis 15:18)
This covenant, given by God to Israel, through Abraham, is unconditional (not
based on human compliance), is literal (clearly defined), and is everlasting (or
never-ending). And this additional promise from God is something the other nations,
including the U.S., do not seem to understand, that He will bless them who bless
Israel, and will curse them who curse Israel. Thus, this pending action from the UN
can have a profound effect on the world, as we know it. God's Word does not
change with time. And this is not one of the "obscure verses" Mr. Obama speaks
of with respect to Christian beliefs -- more than once God reminds us, "I have set
before you life and death, blessing and cursing ..." (Deuteronomy 30:19)
And avoiding any speculative date-setting, we are truly in the "last days."
We are familiar with some of the oft-quoted "signs of the times" -- earthquakes in
diverse places ... nations rising against nations ... wars and rumors of wars ...
famines ... but Jesus also warned that in those last days "false prophets shall arise,
and shall deceive many." This may be perhaps the least noticed, but the most
significant happening of these times.
Recently, on the 10th anniversary of "9/11," New York's Mayor Bloomberg ruled
out any mixed clergy participation in the official observance, and few had the Bible
centered perception that he was right. Dr. Michael Youssef, writing in his Blog
(www.michaelyoussef.com) courageously agreed with the mayor, seeing it as "an
act of mercy, sparing us the spectacle of bundling all religions together, as if
they are worshipping one god, or if all those gods are equal..." Dr. Youssef
reminds us that beginning in Sinai, before Moses entered into the Promised Land,
God warned that His people must not bundle their worship with that of the
Canaanites who worshipped other gods than the one true God -- the God of
Abraham, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he concludes that, "Sadly,
America is committing the same abomination of syncretism, mixing the God
of the Founding Fathers with all those other 'non-god' gods."
We saw it in the pronouncement of the American Episcopal Primate, Bishop
Katherine Jefferts Schori, at a 9/11 service, "Jews, Christians, and Muslims
share God's vision for a healed world where all live together in peace, shalom,
salaam." We saw it also in a service commemorating 9-11, where liberal activist
Jim Wallis of Sojourners, called for "peace and unity" with the focus on better
relations with Muslims. (Wallis even claims to be an "Evangelical," but we recall
that Jesus warned of "false prophets.") And similarly the United Methodist General
Board of Church and Society (GBCS) held an interfaith service of remembrance in
Washington, with prayers from each of the "three Abrahamic religions" in English,
Hebrew and Arabic. (These deluded representatives of Christianity never seem to
note that none of their "interfaith" services are ever held in Mosques.)
This is a time for Christian believers to return to Jesus' first announcement that He
was building His church, and that it was to be an aggressive, forward moving body
of believers against whom the gates of Hell could not withstand. (Matt. 16:18)
This seems a good time to remind you of our Countdown for Prayer.
There are now just 412 days till election day, Nov. 6, 2012 -- 412 days to
pray for our nation and for our leaders to have wisdom in governing it, and for
God's solution -- not men's solution -- to the conflict in the Mideast between
God's people, Israel, and her Muslim enemies which surround her. And pray
also for our fellow Christian believers who are suffering persecution from the
Islamic jihadists all over the world . . . and ask God's direction as we go to the
polls in 2012 and vote to restore America to the nation it was intended to be.
Last week a new political campaign program hit the Internet: in a glaring
red and black announcement format, inviting viewers to join by sending their
Email addresses to President Obama's re-election campaign organization -- its
name: "Attack Watch." Its goal is to enroll thousands of "snitchers" who will
report to Obama headquarters the names of anyone who makes any kind of a
criticism of President Obama. One observer commented, "Attackwatch.com
is merely the latest in the depressing succession of botched U.S. Leadership
101 tests by Barack Obama and his team." But perhaps the best comment
on this latest Obama sponsored civilian spy program came from Jack Marshall,
writing in Ethics Alarms: "What is frightening is the naked incompetence
and juvenile instincts of the people the President allows to represent and
advise him, who don’t understand the culture of the nation they are
supposed to govern and how deeply offensive this kind of paranoid, Big
Brother-style, enemies list behavior seems to most Americans when it
comes from a President. The fact that he allows this shows that the
President doesn’t understand, either. This is, after all, the man who is
supposed to work for and respect the opinions of supporter and critic alike."
No indication is given as to what retribution would be brought by the Obama
administration against Americans who might criticize him.
In considering this frightening application of ruling government power, we are not
alone in recalling George Orwell's novel, "1984," where the ominous phrase, "Big
Brother is watching you," became part of our vocabulary.
Whether it is called "stimulus" or "investment," the corollary is always "Debt,"
and our first two presidents left us with very meaningful thoughts on that subject:
"No pecuniary consideration is more urgent, than the regular redemption
and discharge of the public debt: on none can delay be more injurious, or
an economy of time more valuable." --George Washington, 1793
"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation ... one is by the sword.
The other is by debt." -- John Adams, 1826
It is always interesting to read "What Others Are Saying" . .
"It both annoys and amazes me that a majority of Americans - including
many so-called conservative commentators - still take Barack Obama to be
a serious, well-meaning individual who is simply 'in over his head.' I might
actually agree with that assessment if he were just another liberal politician.
But he's not. Barack Obama is an angry, anti-American, anti-capitalist,
anti-liberty hate monger who is committed to implementing the dreams
'from' his father (a self-avowed communist) and transforming the United
States of America into the Soviet States of America." -- Robert Ringer
"All propaganda must be so popular and on such an intellectual level, that
even the most stupid of those toward whom it is directed will understand it...
Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made
to see paradise as hell, and also the other way around, to consider the most
wretched sort of life as paradise." -- Adolf Hitler, 1935
"... polls show that more than 60 percent of Americans disapprove of
Obama’s handling of the economy. Memories are long. The $800 billion
stimulus package nearly three years ago didn’t work. So why do it again?
Large dollops of government spending combined with temporary tax cuts
do not promote investment or entrepreneurship, which are the true
job-creators." -- Larry Kudlow
"We don't know yet what the overarching theme of President Obama's
reelection campaign will be, but the word 'change' is likely to once again
play at least a co-starring role. But this time it's different... there is another
kind of change he needs to talk about if the change he proposes is to be
believed. He needs to make clear the changes he intends to make in himself,
in the way he governs, and in the way he approaches the big, systemic
changes he claims to want to see." -- Arianna Huffington
And this week we found a varied assortment of "One Liners" . . .
Ralph Nader (on TV): "The only remedy left ... is impeachment."
Thomas Sowell (on Obama): "Arrogance is no substitute for experience."
Scott Baker (in The Blaze): "Huntsman had more lines fall flat than Dick
Cheney‘s heart monitor."
James Carville (on the N.Y. and Nevada elections): "What should the White
House do now? One word came to mind: Panic."
Barack Obama (campaign speech in No. Car.): “If you love me, you got to
help me pass this bill,”
If you could use a little touch of humor, here are two amusing quotes from
James Delingpole's book, 365 Ways to Drive a Liberal Crazy:
(1) Q. What's the difference between Obamacare and a car battery?
A. The car battery has a positive side.
A. The car battery has a positive side.
(2) You remember the Reagan era, when Ronald Reagan was President, and
Bob Hope and Johnny Cash were still with us?
Well, now we have Obama, no hope and no cash.
And now, selected at random, here are some "Afterthoughts" . . .
We almost hate to give him any further publicity . . . because that may be
one of his reasons for using his own personal TV show to make what has been
described as "kooky" pronouncements. But Pat Robertson stepped over his own
ridiculous line last week by declaring that if one's married partner -- husband or
wife -- is suffering from Alzheimers, that is a valid reason to divorce the mate,
and let the non-affected partner get on with their life. The embarrassing and very
unfortunate aspect of his weird statements is that he is labeled by the media as an
"Evangelical." As a wealthy individual who controls his own TV facilities, he is
doubtlessly entitled to express his own personal opinions, but should not attempt
to clothe them in the respectability of Evangelical beliefs. This appears to be an
example of reshaping Biblical teaching to conform to current day trends. Among
the many comments on this latest escapade was the suggestion that Mr. Robertson
may be suffering from dementia - he is said to be 81 years of age.
Obama's "non war" war in Libya continues to raise questions . . . like
what kind of government will replace Qaddafi? There is a possibility that it might
be worse. The first General Provision of the constitution for the reorganized
Libya includes this provision: "Islam is the Religion of the State and the
principal source of legislation is Islamic Jurisprudence [Shariah Law]."
With Israel so much in the news, it is interesting to note that a new DVD
series titled "Israel, A Journey of Light," has been released by Christians for
Israel. Filmed on location, the series begins with the birth of monotheism in the
time of Abraham, through the birth of Jesus Christ and into the modern era, thus
spanning the entirety of Judeo-Christian culture. It is from Israel that came the
laws which have been the foundation for Western life and culture. Our world
has been forever changed and shaped by the nation God chose and called
"Israel." We have not seen the production, but look forward to doing so.
It's hard to understand the ACLU . . . or is it, really? The ACLU has been
fighting religion in general, and Christianity in particular, for decades, and has taken
action to ban prayers in public schools. . . but now has suddenly come out in
support of allowing Muslim students to pray in public schools. Kevin Keenan, the
spokesperson for the ACLU in San Diego, explained it this way: "Performing
these prayers is widely recognized as one of the five essential pillars of Islam."
Perhaps someone should explain to Mr. Keenan, and his ACLU cohorts, that
prayer by Christians is also a widely recognized essential of Christianity.
There is always something to be learned from our Founding Fathers . . .
"We are either a United people, or we are not. If the former, let us, in all
matters of general concern act as a nation, which have national objects to
promote, and a national character to support. If we are not, let us no longer
act a farce by pretending to it." -- George Washington, 1785
"Let the American youth never forget, that they possess a noble inheritance,
bought by the toils, and sufferings, and blood of their ancestors; and the
capacity, if wisely improved, and faithfully guarded, of transmitting to their
latest posterity all the substantial blessings of life, the peaceful enjoyment of
liberty, property, religion, and independence." -- Joseph Story, 1833
Comments:
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Michael Youssef has picked up your reference to the ACLU in San Diego backing Muslim prayer in schools. Can you post a news link where we can read more about what the ACLU is up to in this situation?
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