WORLD Magazine Healthcare question Cal Thomas Aug 11, 09
Cal hits the issue right on the head.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
If You Fully Obey the Lord . . . or, If You Do Not Obey the Lord. . . A Nation Can Expect X
A personal study I am currently doing on God and Government led me today to read Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26. Both these chapters deal with the blessings associated with a nation that obeys God and the curses of a nation that disobeys God. It was an eye opening, enlightening read, to say the least.
It was chilling to see what is and has been happening in America in comparison to what I read in these chapters. Please take the time to read them for yourself.
We, as a nation, need to heed God's wake up call because I would say we are definitely falling under the category of disobedience/curse. I'm not the only one who has felt that God's wrath was our course in these last few years especially but these two chapters really put teeth to that thought process.
Here's a few verses I found particularly chilling due to current events happening in America today.
Deut. 28:43-44 The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail.
(American use to be a lending country but we are now the country with the most debt, far outpacing any other country in the world. China holds the majority of our debt.)
Deut. 28:49-50 The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young.
(Sounds like the health care plan debate - I'm not sure that is what God meant here but it struck a cord with me.)
Lev. 26:40 But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers - their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies - then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Issac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.
We can find hope and comfort in the fact that God does not abandon us to our sins completely. He remembers his covenant with us, even though we have rejected it time and time again. He punishes with the intent to turn us back to him. His anger is instructive and meant to save us by getting us to stop, repent, and turn back to him. He loves us and is faithful no matter what. If we repent he is there to forgive and embrace us again.
Christians, we need to rise up, ask for forgiveness, and begin to turn this country back to a nation that worships God and puts him as our King. We need to uphold our end of the covenant and serve only the One, True God and live in obedience to him.
It was chilling to see what is and has been happening in America in comparison to what I read in these chapters. Please take the time to read them for yourself.
We, as a nation, need to heed God's wake up call because I would say we are definitely falling under the category of disobedience/curse. I'm not the only one who has felt that God's wrath was our course in these last few years especially but these two chapters really put teeth to that thought process.
Here's a few verses I found particularly chilling due to current events happening in America today.
Deut. 28:43-44 The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail.
(American use to be a lending country but we are now the country with the most debt, far outpacing any other country in the world. China holds the majority of our debt.)
Deut. 28:49-50 The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young.
(Sounds like the health care plan debate - I'm not sure that is what God meant here but it struck a cord with me.)
Lev. 26:40 But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers - their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies - then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Issac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.
We can find hope and comfort in the fact that God does not abandon us to our sins completely. He remembers his covenant with us, even though we have rejected it time and time again. He punishes with the intent to turn us back to him. His anger is instructive and meant to save us by getting us to stop, repent, and turn back to him. He loves us and is faithful no matter what. If we repent he is there to forgive and embrace us again.
Christians, we need to rise up, ask for forgiveness, and begin to turn this country back to a nation that worships God and puts him as our King. We need to uphold our end of the covenant and serve only the One, True God and live in obedience to him.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Are You Prepared To Give An Account?
And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.
"Whoever sheds the blood of man,by man shall his blood be shed; For in the image of God has God made man.
GENESIS 9:5-6
God is the creator and sustainer of all life.
As the creator, all (Man, animal, nature, systems)are under obligation to obey God.
Our civil governments are under the authority of God.
Our civil governments have been given the authority by God to protect the citizens and to punish crimes.
One of the ten commandments given to us by God is "Thou shalt not murder".
No one has the right to take another life (except in self-defense).
Our civil governments should punish people who take another's life.
When our civil governments encourage this behavior rather than deter it, they are acting outside the will of God.
When our civil governments fail to uphold their delegated authority positions as protectors of life, they will be held accountable by the God who gave them the standard to uphold.
When our civil governments govern based on their own set of standards and not the standards set by the Creator, it does not mean that the Creator is no longer in control.
The Creator sees.
Just as a citizen is punished for breaking the standard of the legal law, so can a lawgiver acting outside the standard set by God by enacting laws that harm human life also expect to be held accountable and punished.
Our civil government officials must answer to God, the Creator, for the laws they have passed legalizing abortion and/or physician assisted suicide.
We, the people, who voted for and chose these men and women as our leaders and have allowed them, and sometimes even encouraged them, to make such laws will be held accountable as well.
We must pray that we, on an individual level, will see the error of our ways and have a change of heart. We must seek God's will, not our own, in all areas of our life. We must raise our children to be God-fearing and teach them to submit to the authority of God.
We must pray that our elected officials see the light and become active once again in upholding the standards of God and begin by removing laws from the books that are in direct contradiction to those standards.
We must pray for new leaders to emerge who are God-fearing and understand the relationship of God as the ultimate authority and that all of life must fall on bended knee before Him.
We must pray that the people will vote for God-fearing men and women and pray for our officials to make wise decisions and properly execute the position of their office.
Our nation must change our rebellious, prideful, and selfish ways. We must strive for personal self-control and let the civil government get back to protecting the people instead of bending to our every whim and desire and allowing us to rebel against our Creator.
Yes, we can blame the politicians, and rightfully so, but we must also blame the culture we have created. The culture of wanting the government to tell us what to do instead of God. The culture of wanting the government to allow us to do the things we instinctively know are wrong. The culture of wanting the government to accept anything as okay and allowing the morality line to shift with the wind.
We must take a stand and say no more to this culture and the rebellion we have created!
We must remember who created us, who gave us life, who sustains us today.
We must rightfully step back and acknowledge we are not in charge and humbly look to our Father for guidance.
"Whoever sheds the blood of man,by man shall his blood be shed; For in the image of God has God made man.
GENESIS 9:5-6
God is the creator and sustainer of all life.
As the creator, all (Man, animal, nature, systems)are under obligation to obey God.
Our civil governments are under the authority of God.
Our civil governments have been given the authority by God to protect the citizens and to punish crimes.
One of the ten commandments given to us by God is "Thou shalt not murder".
No one has the right to take another life (except in self-defense).
Our civil governments should punish people who take another's life.
When our civil governments encourage this behavior rather than deter it, they are acting outside the will of God.
When our civil governments fail to uphold their delegated authority positions as protectors of life, they will be held accountable by the God who gave them the standard to uphold.
When our civil governments govern based on their own set of standards and not the standards set by the Creator, it does not mean that the Creator is no longer in control.
The Creator sees.
Just as a citizen is punished for breaking the standard of the legal law, so can a lawgiver acting outside the standard set by God by enacting laws that harm human life also expect to be held accountable and punished.
Our civil government officials must answer to God, the Creator, for the laws they have passed legalizing abortion and/or physician assisted suicide.
We, the people, who voted for and chose these men and women as our leaders and have allowed them, and sometimes even encouraged them, to make such laws will be held accountable as well.
We must pray that we, on an individual level, will see the error of our ways and have a change of heart. We must seek God's will, not our own, in all areas of our life. We must raise our children to be God-fearing and teach them to submit to the authority of God.
We must pray that our elected officials see the light and become active once again in upholding the standards of God and begin by removing laws from the books that are in direct contradiction to those standards.
We must pray for new leaders to emerge who are God-fearing and understand the relationship of God as the ultimate authority and that all of life must fall on bended knee before Him.
We must pray that the people will vote for God-fearing men and women and pray for our officials to make wise decisions and properly execute the position of their office.
Our nation must change our rebellious, prideful, and selfish ways. We must strive for personal self-control and let the civil government get back to protecting the people instead of bending to our every whim and desire and allowing us to rebel against our Creator.
Yes, we can blame the politicians, and rightfully so, but we must also blame the culture we have created. The culture of wanting the government to tell us what to do instead of God. The culture of wanting the government to allow us to do the things we instinctively know are wrong. The culture of wanting the government to accept anything as okay and allowing the morality line to shift with the wind.
We must take a stand and say no more to this culture and the rebellion we have created!
We must remember who created us, who gave us life, who sustains us today.
We must rightfully step back and acknowledge we are not in charge and humbly look to our Father for guidance.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
What's Your Motivation?
My step mom broke her ankle a few weeks ago. She had surgery to reset it with a plate and six screws and is out of commission for a few months.
A week after her accident, my dad had back surgery. He's laid up for a few weeks.
They cannot do much around the house right now, so my brother, sister, and I have been helping out with meal preparations, house cleaning, laundry, lawn care, and gardening. The grand kids have also been a great help!
My grandparents live right next door to my dad and their garden is right along side my dad's. One day when I was in the garden pulling weeds, my grandma came over to talk with me.
She said that she had decided that either I really liked my parents or that they must have a lot of money and I must want it. This was her conclusion to why I would spend so much time helping out my parents.
I told her neither were the case.
Not that I didn't love them, I did! However, they are not always deserving of that love and I'm not always the most loving person. I'm afraid to say, my love for them would not be enough motivation for me, unfortunately. I also know they do not have any money to covet after.
My answer to my grandma was this.
I love God and God commands us to care for our parents and for our family members.
I am motivated by wanting to please my Lord. When I am at home trying to convince my tired body that I must now go over to my parents to do their work, after I just have done all of mine at home, it is my desire to please God that provides the motivation for me to get up and do it.
My grandma was shocked at my response but she was also shocked at my actual actions over the past few weeks. I know she knows me as the selfish, do as I please, rebel of the family, person of old. To see me in action through this experience, I know she saw something different in me-the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit-a new creation- a new attitude. My actions backed up my response and confirmed for her a difference in me.
She also shared with me that she didn't think her own children would do the same for her and I could see that hurt her.
My dad said it's all in how you are raised. I agree that if we are raised in a giving environment we might tend to be giving people in our adulthood. However, I really believe the defining difference is a life and heart changed by Jesus Christ.
Through this experience I have had an opportunity to witness to my parents, my children, my grandparents, my friends, and my extended family without having to preach. This may open the door to conversations down the road.
A week after her accident, my dad had back surgery. He's laid up for a few weeks.
They cannot do much around the house right now, so my brother, sister, and I have been helping out with meal preparations, house cleaning, laundry, lawn care, and gardening. The grand kids have also been a great help!
My grandparents live right next door to my dad and their garden is right along side my dad's. One day when I was in the garden pulling weeds, my grandma came over to talk with me.
She said that she had decided that either I really liked my parents or that they must have a lot of money and I must want it. This was her conclusion to why I would spend so much time helping out my parents.
I told her neither were the case.
Not that I didn't love them, I did! However, they are not always deserving of that love and I'm not always the most loving person. I'm afraid to say, my love for them would not be enough motivation for me, unfortunately. I also know they do not have any money to covet after.
My answer to my grandma was this.
I love God and God commands us to care for our parents and for our family members.
I am motivated by wanting to please my Lord. When I am at home trying to convince my tired body that I must now go over to my parents to do their work, after I just have done all of mine at home, it is my desire to please God that provides the motivation for me to get up and do it.
My grandma was shocked at my response but she was also shocked at my actual actions over the past few weeks. I know she knows me as the selfish, do as I please, rebel of the family, person of old. To see me in action through this experience, I know she saw something different in me-the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit-a new creation- a new attitude. My actions backed up my response and confirmed for her a difference in me.
She also shared with me that she didn't think her own children would do the same for her and I could see that hurt her.
My dad said it's all in how you are raised. I agree that if we are raised in a giving environment we might tend to be giving people in our adulthood. However, I really believe the defining difference is a life and heart changed by Jesus Christ.
Through this experience I have had an opportunity to witness to my parents, my children, my grandparents, my friends, and my extended family without having to preach. This may open the door to conversations down the road.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Consider for Yourself
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
Acts 17: 24,25
Consider for yourself.
Who created the world and all of it's laws and systems?
Who created man and all of his functions and abilities?
Who created you and placed you in this specific day?
Who is ultimately in charge?
So many believe the world, the universe, and man to have happened by chance over the course of billions of years. Chance created complex systems, functions, and distinctions?
I just can't believe that. Why would someone believe a historical account that no one was around to witness or document, and happened theoretically over a billion years ago? How is that more plausible than the detailed, documented, preserved account of creation in the Bible?
The Bible tells us how things came to be, when, and even why. It tells of the divine creator. It tells of someone else (not us) in charge of events and Lord over everything!
Whether you believe this story or not doesn't discount the fact that he created you and gifted you with all you have around you.
The nature you enjoy, the knowledge you have gained, the possessions that surround you, the people that are in your life - all gifts from the creator!
When someone gives you something as a gift usually you respond with gratitude and appreciation.
Maybe today is the day you give consideration to the fact that God is the giver of life and thank him for making you and giving you this day in time in his creation story.
Acts 17: 24,25
Consider for yourself.
Who created the world and all of it's laws and systems?
Who created man and all of his functions and abilities?
Who created you and placed you in this specific day?
Who is ultimately in charge?
So many believe the world, the universe, and man to have happened by chance over the course of billions of years. Chance created complex systems, functions, and distinctions?
I just can't believe that. Why would someone believe a historical account that no one was around to witness or document, and happened theoretically over a billion years ago? How is that more plausible than the detailed, documented, preserved account of creation in the Bible?
The Bible tells us how things came to be, when, and even why. It tells of the divine creator. It tells of someone else (not us) in charge of events and Lord over everything!
Whether you believe this story or not doesn't discount the fact that he created you and gifted you with all you have around you.
The nature you enjoy, the knowledge you have gained, the possessions that surround you, the people that are in your life - all gifts from the creator!
When someone gives you something as a gift usually you respond with gratitude and appreciation.
Maybe today is the day you give consideration to the fact that God is the giver of life and thank him for making you and giving you this day in time in his creation story.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Remove abortion from health care legislation
Current proposed Health Care Reform legislation will result in the biggest expansion of abortion since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Decision in 1973. There is no explicit exclusion for abortion; instead it opens the door to allow, or even force, abortion to be included as health care coverage.
Abortion is not a health care benefit but an elective, and it should never be included in health care legislation. If abortion is not specifically excluded, it will automatically become a mandate or required benefit, leaving the American taxpayer with no choice.
I am not in favor of subsidizing abortion, and I do not believe the government should be forcing its citizens to pay for abortion.
I am urging you to contact your representatives and senators and ask them to see that abortion is excluded from health care legislation. Also ask them to vote “no” on any health care bill that does not include language that specifically excludes abortion. The next step is to look into all of the other flaws in the Health Care Reform legislation.
July 29, 2009
BY BARBARA J. FERRARO, Concerned Women for America, Hilo
I have emailed both my Senators and State Representative today asking them to do just what this lady has said. (Copy of my letter is below). Please do the Same!
I am a Wisconsin resident, a mom of five, and a Christian.
I am pro-life and against legalized abortion because I believe it to be against the ethical standard set by God. An ethical standard we are not at liberty to change or alter and one that holds spiritual consequences.
I would like to make my voice heard by relaying to you that I would NOT support a health plan that would cause taxpayer money to pay for abortions or include 'end of life' discussions with taxpayers as a way to cut costs.
I agree the current health care system needs to be re hauled but NOT at the expense of my convictions as a Christian. I urge you to vote NO to President Obama's current health care plan.
A health care system that encourages and supports murder and suicide is not good for any American, Christian or otherwise.
I am praying for wisdom and courage for you as you undertake this very important decision for Americans and for the moral and ethical landscape of our future.
Please vote NO!
Abortion is not a health care benefit but an elective, and it should never be included in health care legislation. If abortion is not specifically excluded, it will automatically become a mandate or required benefit, leaving the American taxpayer with no choice.
I am not in favor of subsidizing abortion, and I do not believe the government should be forcing its citizens to pay for abortion.
I am urging you to contact your representatives and senators and ask them to see that abortion is excluded from health care legislation. Also ask them to vote “no” on any health care bill that does not include language that specifically excludes abortion. The next step is to look into all of the other flaws in the Health Care Reform legislation.
July 29, 2009
BY BARBARA J. FERRARO, Concerned Women for America, Hilo
I have emailed both my Senators and State Representative today asking them to do just what this lady has said. (Copy of my letter is below). Please do the Same!
I am a Wisconsin resident, a mom of five, and a Christian.
I am pro-life and against legalized abortion because I believe it to be against the ethical standard set by God. An ethical standard we are not at liberty to change or alter and one that holds spiritual consequences.
I would like to make my voice heard by relaying to you that I would NOT support a health plan that would cause taxpayer money to pay for abortions or include 'end of life' discussions with taxpayers as a way to cut costs.
I agree the current health care system needs to be re hauled but NOT at the expense of my convictions as a Christian. I urge you to vote NO to President Obama's current health care plan.
A health care system that encourages and supports murder and suicide is not good for any American, Christian or otherwise.
I am praying for wisdom and courage for you as you undertake this very important decision for Americans and for the moral and ethical landscape of our future.
Please vote NO!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Brad Pitt - Denies There is a God!
Brad Pitt tells a German website during a recent interview that he does not believe in God.
"I'm probably 20 per cent atheist and 80 per cent agnostic," says Pitt. "I don't think anyone really knows. You'll either find out or not when you get there, and then there's no point thinking about it." - Brad Pitt
Well, I'm afraid Mr. Pitt will be very surprised at the end of the day to find out he was wrong in his thinking and will spend eternity in HELL contemplating his 'whatever happens' attitude.
The unpardonable sin - the one that leads to death - eternal death - is to deny the testimony of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit testifies to every one of us that God is real, Jesus is the Son of God, we all need Jesus to save us because our sinful condition keeps us from a Perfect God, and Satan is the enemy who wants to destroy us and keep us in bondage to our sin.
Every one of us has a choice.
We either acknowledge the Holy Spirit's testimony as true or we reject it as truth.
One choice leads to eternal life.
The other to eternal death.
It says in the bible that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.
I guess this is because the rich often feel secure in themselves, in their own abilities, in their own situations. They consider themselves self-made, having accumulated all their own wealth and possessions, and having achieved their idea of happiness and security here on earth. Pride and arrogance keep one from seeing the big picture. They deny a creator. They deny a higher power. They deny rules that come from someone other than them. They deny that they need someone else to help them get into heaven - if there really is one.
Mr. Pitt, it doesn't matter all the good you do in the world for others, how many kids you adopt, or how much money you donate for others. None of these acts will save you in the end. Your heart must be contrite and humble before a Lord and Savior that you NEED! Your works currently come from your own ambition not from a heart dependent on doing the will of God and pleasing him.
"I'm probably 20 per cent atheist and 80 per cent agnostic," says Pitt. "I don't think anyone really knows. You'll either find out or not when you get there, and then there's no point thinking about it." - Brad Pitt
Well, I'm afraid Mr. Pitt will be very surprised at the end of the day to find out he was wrong in his thinking and will spend eternity in HELL contemplating his 'whatever happens' attitude.
The unpardonable sin - the one that leads to death - eternal death - is to deny the testimony of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit testifies to every one of us that God is real, Jesus is the Son of God, we all need Jesus to save us because our sinful condition keeps us from a Perfect God, and Satan is the enemy who wants to destroy us and keep us in bondage to our sin.
Every one of us has a choice.
We either acknowledge the Holy Spirit's testimony as true or we reject it as truth.
One choice leads to eternal life.
The other to eternal death.
It says in the bible that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.
I guess this is because the rich often feel secure in themselves, in their own abilities, in their own situations. They consider themselves self-made, having accumulated all their own wealth and possessions, and having achieved their idea of happiness and security here on earth. Pride and arrogance keep one from seeing the big picture. They deny a creator. They deny a higher power. They deny rules that come from someone other than them. They deny that they need someone else to help them get into heaven - if there really is one.
Mr. Pitt, it doesn't matter all the good you do in the world for others, how many kids you adopt, or how much money you donate for others. None of these acts will save you in the end. Your heart must be contrite and humble before a Lord and Savior that you NEED! Your works currently come from your own ambition not from a heart dependent on doing the will of God and pleasing him.
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