MEMORIAL DAY

“The patriot’s blood is the seed of Freedom’s tree.” – Thomas Campbell

“No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.” – George S. Patton

On Memorial Day, Americans reflect on those men (and women) who died in defense of this nation that we hold so dear.  Americans look at America with awe and wonder and are grateful to live in a nation so free.  This nation has been the recipient of so much freedom and so much economic might that it would make the great (past) Empires of the Earth stand in awe.  But as we look at where this country has headed, we must ask: Is America still great?  Has the blood of the Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airmen been spent wisely, or in vain?

I posted two contradictory quotes at the beginning of this post.  One is the nice, politically correct quote.  The other is the hard reality quote.  The fact is that America is not free because over one million men gave up their lives for her, and shed their blood in a poetic sacrifice, but because millions more were killed on her behalf.  But then we must go to the next, and presently more pressing question.   Is America still free?  This is a fantastic question and one that deserves answering, though I don’t have the answer for you, just what I know to be my truth.  You see, in this age or relativity, we have gotten away from genuine truth, and moved to relative truth.  ”Well, what’s true for you isn’t necessarily true for me.”  And that’s what those running America want.  Relativism.  But down to what we as Americans believe freedom to be, I say no.  Freedom of Speech is  infringed upon daily, as is the Freedom of Religion.  The right to life is not sacred as 3,500 babies will be killed on whatever day it may be that you read this.  An incredibly disproportionate number of these babies will be black because, despite the more than 600,000 civil war deaths to end persecution based on skin color, a certain liberal political party still wants to oppress and kill the black population, and since the beginning of the “Progressive” movement with Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, blacks are specifically targeted by way of Eugenics via abortion and Planned Parenthood.

Memorial Day is supposed to be a day of remembrance for those who paid for our freedoms with their lives, and for those men and women, we are supposed to be grateful.  But while many men truly died in decades past for our freedom, many men and women are dying today to advance a corporate agenda.  My grandfather fought in the Army in France, Belgium and Germany to preserve freedom from fascism, but now we have a fascist living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  One of his best friends and another of my heroes was a Marine in Korea, fighting against the advance of Communism in Asia, but what happened?  Communists are now some of the closest advisers of the President.  They fought not to preserve freedom forever, but for awhile.  I am so indebted to these two men and many like them as are all Americans, but what about the 500,000 or so Americans who never came home of their own volition from these two wars?  Did they die to protect freedom?

Well the short answer is that, yes they did, for a while.  But America is no longer truly free.  In fact I don’t know if it will ever be free again in the way the founders intended, or in the way the average American believes it is.  Now, the most selfless men and women America has to offer go to nations that don’t really want freedom and we impose on them the freedom from tyrannical dictators and lay in their wake tyrannical corporations controlled by an international oligarchy.  And what do we have here at home?  If you want to peacefully assemble, you need permits.  (If you are even granted them) If you want to speak freely, you need to ensure that you speak not against protected classes.  If you want to practice the free exercise of religion, you need to ensure that you do not offend those who live lascivious lifestyles.  If you want to carry a firearm for defense you have to keep up with increasingly more stringent rules and regulations.  If you want to be free in your person, papers and effects, you need to ensure that your person, papers and effects are not in any way connected to the internet.  (or travelling on an airplane)  If you want to hold onto your property, you need to ensure that your property is not in a profitable area for someone connected to a powerful politician.  If you want to ensure your access to rights not specifically given to other branches of government, you need to ensure those rights are not in any way profitable to any well-connected political agenda.  And there you have the new bill of rights, “slightly” changed from those adopted over 200 years ago.

America is no longer a truly free nation, and while those men and women we look at as heroes did not all die in vain, those who do now probably do die in vain.  I’d love to give the rah, rah patriotism speech to “honor” Memorial Day.  But I can’t.  My grandfather died before I could truly understand the horrors he went through.  His friend nearly broke down telling me the horrors he faced in Korea as a POW.  I know that what I saw in Iraq was the catalyst in my transition from liberal to conservative.  But through this transition, it was not “neo-conservatism”, but true conservatism.

I understand the value in a man giving up his life for a great cause.  This is why real men love movies like “The Lord of the Rings” and “Braveheart.”  Dying in defense of something greater than yourself is noble, and honorable.  But what about dying for something that is less than honorable?  Is it honorable to give up your life for a government that uses you as a tool to advance a political agenda?  What about giving up your life for people who don’t even want freedom?  Or giving up your life to defend a nation that no longer values life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness? Is it worthwhile to die for a nation that believes that we should steal from those who have spent their lives working and give to those too lazy to work?  Frankly, these are the things our troops now fight for, and I am grateful to no longer be fighting for the selfishness of present-day America.  To my friends who still are, may God Bless you and keep you, and may you come home safely to your family, fully intact as God deemed I should.

2012
05/28
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WHERE ARE THE FATHERS?

“Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6

I haven’t talked about the Trayvon Martin shooting on here, because first there was a massive rush to judgment on the part of America, primarily fueled by the American Media.  I wanted to hold commenting on this until more evidence came out.  Now, as more evidence comes out, the reporting is becoming more balanced.  It is more a reporting of facts instead of a rush to judgment and a virtual lynching.

What the evidence that has thus far been presented shows is that a young man and a boy came into an altercation that ended the life of one, and may have ended the life of the other had he not been legally carrying a concealed weapon.  It shows a boy who has been in trouble at school, for legal issues, (regardless of what his mother says, drugs and graffiti are crimes) went to stay with family in Sanford, FL because of these school troubles, was smoking marijuana and acting suspicious in a neighborhood which had recently seen its share of crime.  A man who had volunteered to help the neighborhood saw this child whom he believed was acting suspicious and called police.  The 911 dispatcher advised him to stay put.  (this is not a command or directive, but was good advice)  He ignored it but supposedly lost track of the boy and headed back to his car.  Martin supposedly confronted Zimmerman, and an altercation ensued seriously injuring Zimmerman.  He was legally carrying a concealed weapon and considered his injuries and the continued beating severe enough to shoot the boy.

How all this happened, we don’t know.  We don’t know who started the argument. (if there was one)  We don’t know who started the fight.  We don’t know if Zimmerman chased Martin, or if Martin chased Zimmerman.  We do know that a boy is dead that should not be, and a man is facing murder charges for defending himself.

As a former soldier, I know what it’s like to be in a situation where the “bad guy” has the upper hand.  You are trying to keep the peace, and at any moment, someone can pull a gun out on you because they were planning on killing you because of the uniform you wear.  You try to balance treating everyone as an honest person while having the understanding that any one of them could kill you in an instant if they are prepared to do so.  I know how it feels to be so scared and have to suppress that fear so that no one knows it, because you can die if they know it.  I know where Zimmerman was coming from.

Ultimately, he was trying to protect his neighborhood.  Martin was trying to go home in peace.  Tragically, neither of these things happened.  But what does this have to do with fathers as my title claims?  Everything.

Unfortunately, most black children grow up without their fathers being a strong presence in their home.  Most Hispanic children suffer this pain as well.  When the father isn’t in the home, boys (and girls too, but differently) look for the male affirmation and affection that should come from their fathers in other places.  It could be gangs, or other “friends” who are trying to live a “hard-core” lifestyle.  It could be through music and music videos that portray that same “thug” image.  It could be that they turn to homosexuality, because sexual contact may be how they try to fill this void.  Whatever it is, they are left searching for affirmation and affection that should be coming from  their father.

I really can’t say how involved Trayvon Martin’s father was in his life.  He may have been very involved, I really can’t say.  But most boys, 4 out of 5 in the black community, do not have a good fatherly influence in their life.  If Trayvon’s father was good, it is safe to say that most of his friends’ fathers were not good.  It is also extremely likely that the hip-hop culture that has gone from a culture that talked about how things were in the streets to glorifying (and magnifying) how things are in the streets played a role as well.  Most places you go you will see boys walking around like a prison “bitch” and girls walking around like prostitutes.  Actually you can’t even tell the difference between many women and girls from prostitutes nowadays.   What happened?

When did being a criminal, or a harlot become the thing to be?  It really begins with fatherlessness.  When so many boys and girls don’t have fathers, they look for that love and validation from somewhere else.  For many girls it is through hormonal boys who are taught that women are hoes, and for boys it is through other boys or through music where they are taught to be thugs and to treat women like hoes.  But what if you change this?  What if fathers are doing their jobs?  What if the father was there to show his daughter real love, and to truly treat her with respect?  She wouldn’t need the validation of a boy who treats her like crap.  If one of these punks tries to come to her house, the father will pull the old, “cleaning my gun” routine or something similar, but really, it wouldn’t even be necessary, because she would never allow herself to be near a boy who treats her poorly or who is only after sex.

A boy with a real father wouldn’t need that male validation from thugs either.  He would be taught to respect women and to avoid girls who walk around with their butts hanging out of their shorts.  He would know that she is a harlot, and he will avoid her altogether.  (Proverbs 7)  He would also know that “Bad company corrupts good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33b)  He would stay away from people who would bring him down.  If he does something stupid, he will be disciplined.  But if he has a real father, he will know he is loved, even through discipline and his mistakes.  Many boys do not have a real father.  If they did, society would be much better.  But what CAN be done, is Christians can be out trying to help as many boys as possible.  I suggest for anyone who did not have an active father in their life, or if their father did his best, but didn’t have a father in his life, that you read John Eldredge’s “Fathered by God.”  It helped me and at least one other friend of mine.  I’m sure countless others also.  If you’re a father and you don’t know what to do, look for help.  The movie “Courageous” will fire you up, the book I mentioned will give you some steps to take, and then prayer, fasting and doing your best every single day will make the difference.  You’re not going to be perfect, but you can probably be better than you’ve been.  As Christians, and as a society we can’t let our parenting be as poor as it has been for the past few decades.  If we do, there will be other Trayvon’s, of every skin color, every day.  That shouldn’t happen.

2012
05/18
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GAY MARRIAGE

“An explanation of cause is not a justification by reason.” - C. S. Lewis

This week has been a busy week on the gay marriage front.  First, on Sunday, Vice-President Joe Biden stated on a Sunday morning talk show that he supported gay marriage.  This set off a flurry of questions on Monday, which led to the Press Secretary stuttering and looking ridiculous before the White House Press Corps.  Then, on Tuesday, the state of North Carolina voted overwhelmingly in favor of traditional marriage.  Not only that, but they voted to not even recognize homosexual civil unions.  The very next day, on Wednesday, President Obama came out in favor of gay marriage.  Not to be cynical, but there was apparently a threat from the gay community to withhold campaign contributions if he did not publicly support gay marriage.  This could have meant well over a $100 million or maybe even $200 million loss in the President’s SuperPAC funds.  Given the President’s three and a half-year record of failure in regards to the nation’s economy, he could not afford this kind of financial loss.  So he “came out” in favor of gay marriage a few months earlier than after the election, a time at which many people assumed he would make this same announcement.

Much of the commentary surrounding all of this debate has been, predictably, emotion based and not logic based.  What does a Christian do in this situation?  How should a Christian feel about gay marriage?  How should an American feel about these issues?  I hope to address these questions with this post.  First, I’ll address the questions regarding Christians and then the American questions.

Now with regards to the Christian emotionalism, there has been much, “Homosexuality is the only sin that God destroyed a nation over,” going on.  Is that really why Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed?

“Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.  Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.” – Ezekiel 16:49-50

Sodom’s sin was not homosexuality per se, it was pride carried out to such an extreme degree that they would deny their flesh nothing that they desired.  They were prideful, greedy, selfish, covetous and committed all kinds of abominations to include homosexual rape.  They had everything they could possibly need and then some, but they wanted more.  Their pride exhibited itself in the form of homosexuality.  Really, most great civilizations devolve to this point before their end.  If you look at Greece and Rome, they both fell to sodomy and pedophilia before their end.

With that said, a Christian should not support gay marriage first, because gay marriage is an oxymoron.  The definition of marriage is: the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc.  Should we change this definition because it is not politically correct anymore?  I don’t think so.  Furthermore, what does God have to say about homosexuality?

“You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.” – Leviticus 18:22

“If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.” – Leviticus 20:13

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.  For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” – Matthew 5:17-18

“For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.  For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” – Romans 1:25-27

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” – 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Clearly, homosexuality, even being effeminate, will earn you an eternity in Hell.  So I look at the definition of marriage being between a man and a woman, and homosexuality being a sin that will send those who practice it to Hell, and I as a Christian can not support this. (Clearly I recognize that all sin put Christ on the Cross, but this sin did too.)

What about as an American now?  Well, if the definition of marriage is one man and one woman, I don’t think we should change that either.  But here is where it gets trickier.  I believe that the greatest American document is the Declaration of Independence and the second greatest, the Constitution.  The Declaration states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  Likewise the fifth and fourteenth amendment state, “No person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”  In thinking about these things, it is clear that even if one disagrees with homosexuality for religious reasons, or even if one disagrees for medical or scientific reasons, (which there are many) under American ideals, principles and law; people are free to practice this lifestyle.  One would hope they wouldn’t.  The numbers are staggering.  HIV rates, drug use, alcoholism, suicides and more are all exponentially higher in the homosexual community.  This does not mean that there are not gays who live what the average person would consider a normal life, but it does mean there are serious risk factors in this community.  With that said, they are free to live that way in America.  Furthermore, they ought to be entitled under US laws to the same rights and protections as everyone else.

Now I don’t believe in supporting gay marriage, because I don’t believe in changing the definition of a word because it offends 5% of the population.  But I do believe that there should be a means to provide for the same rights and privileges that all other Americans enjoy.  If this means civil unions, then I think that ought to suffice.  In fact, I personally would like to see civil unions apply to all “marriage-type” relationships that are between two (and only two) individuals, except those that are explicitly religious in nature.  I would also make it much more difficult for marriages in this system to be dissolved than civil unions.  But that would be my ideal, and not likely to pass Constitutional muster.  At any rate those are my thoughts.

We do not live in a Christian Theocracy, we live in a Constitutional Republic.  This nation has been the best example of government throughout the world save a few good kings.  Honestly a monarchy with a good monarch is the best government, but there are rarely good monarchs.  This Constitutional Republic is the next best thing, and less prone to corruption, though after 235 years, we may need a good purging and restructuring as a nation.  However, I believe that all people are entitled to pursue happiness, even if that pursuit destroys them.  I believe in trying to help people stay away from those lifestyles, but in the end, you can’t force them.  In America, it is their right.  They should be entitled to the same protections as everyone else; not treated better, or worse, but equal.  As far as marriage goes however, it is one man and one woman, and to change it for the feelings of a small community of people is preposterous.  The same rights can be given under the name of civil unions.

2012
05/11
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GO INTO ALL THE WORLD…

“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” – Mark 16:15

Go into ALL the world and preach the gospel to ALL creation.  It’s interesting because, this is usually interpreted through human logic to mean, people and not creation, and Christians don’t even preach the good news to people.  But the Greek word really means creation, and the Greek word for world, more accurately means universe, and those pesky words ALL, really mean ALL.  Why do I bring this up?  Well the good news is not being preached by those who call themselves Christians. (with rare exceptions) There is the occasional invitation that is handed out, the occasional gospel tract that is handed out.  There are people who occasionally invite someone to their church, but when was the last time you saw (or heard) someone preaching or reading the bible in the town square?  You’d think the command was, “go into all (or some) the world and invite a few people to your local church building.”

The only people you ever see going door to door are Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons.  Jehovah’s Witnesses will only go door to door or share their faith if they are on the clock and getting credit by others for sharing, and Mormons only send their 18-20 year old “elders” door to door for a two-year period of their life.  But you never see them preaching in the square, and you (almost) never see anyone who is not in a “cult” doing that either.  Oh, that’s right, because everyone’s been told that would be salvation by “works”.  It’s those works that help the lost to be saved and well, Jesus said go into all the world, and preach the gospel to all creation.  It may be a work, but it is also a command, and the command that says All, really does mean all, as in everything.  You see, preaching in the street, door knocking, sharing with neighbors, friends, coworkers, etc., isn’t enough to properly fulfill this command.  What about the hills and trees?  They need to hear the good news too.  Sound ridiculous?

“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.  Thus says the Lord GOD, “Because the enemy has spoken against you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The everlasting heights have become our possession,’  therefore prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “For good reason they have made you desolate and crushed you from every side, that you would become a possession of the rest of the nations and you have been taken up in the talk and the whispering of the people.”’”  Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD. Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the forsaken cities which have become a prey and a derision to the rest of the nations which are round about, therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Surely in the fire of My jealousy I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and with scorn of soul, to drive it out for a prey.”  Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and in My wrath because you have endured the insults of the nations.’  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, ‘I have sworn that surely the nations which are around you will themselves endure their insults.  But you, O mountains of Israel, you will put forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel; for they will soon come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you will be cultivated and sown.  I will multiply men on you,all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities will be inhabited and the waste places will be rebuilt.  I will multiply on you man and beast; and they will increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited as you were formerly and will treat you better than at the first. Thus you will know that I am the LORD.  Yes, I will cause men—My people Israel—to walk on you and possess you, so that you will become their inheritance and never again bereave them of children.’” – Ezekiel 35:1-12

This chapter of Ezekiel is part of a number of chapters where Ezekiel is told to be a watchman for the righteous and unrighteous and to speak God’s Word to the people and eventually to even the mountains.  He is told to preach to the mountains.  How strange does that seem to our human logic?  But the Earth and Creation has to suffer humanity and our sinfulness.  The good news of salvation is not only for people, but for the Earth as well.

“Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy Before the LORD, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness.” – Psalm 96:11-13

Now I believe that the priority for sharing the Gospel should always be people, because the mountains are innocent bystanders to the sins of humankind, and humanity is the perpetrator that doesn’t know what it is doing.  People need the good news, and Christians should be proclaiming the Gospel of Salvation to them regularly and boldly.  But let the rest of creation hear the good news too.  Let the mountains, hills, valley and animals know that the Christ has come, He has defeated death, and He will return again soon to make things right.

2012
04/29
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LEGALESE

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.  For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.  Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:17-19

Legalese: Dense, pedantic verbiage in a language description, product specification, or interface standard; text that seems designed to obfuscate and requires a language lawyer to parse it.

In the Christian world, there is a language that only those in the know can understand.  Some of it comes from the bible, some from traditions and some via different denominations.  This language may be difficult for non-Christians or new Christians to understand.  It is tough to work through, but the determined can manage it.  But why I really post this is not truly about the frustrating language of modern Christians, but about one of these Christiany words specifically: legalism.  Now legalism has no specific definition to the Christian, but that which he gives to it.  To one, legalism is any mention of the Law of God outside of that which the Jews followed.  To another, it is anyone who believes that any of God’s Laws that they do not like ought to be followed.  What it really should mean is this:  Legalism is the belief that one is saved through works of the Law, and not by the Grace and Mercy of God.  That’s it.

Now, it is clear through the words of Jesus that He did not abolish the Law.  As to what “saved by Grace” means, that is covered in my previous post.  So what we really have to touch on is this question, namely, what does the Law mean for those of us who call ourselves Christians?  Well if Jesus didn’t abolish it, it is still in effect correct?  Now there are certain aspects of the Law that have been magnified, such as adultery not being the physical act but the heart issue of lust.  There have been things that have been taken from a physical act to a spiritual act, such as circumcision.  There is also the matter of foods, which God showed to Peter, saying that it is not what goes into a man that makes him unclean, but what comes out, thereby making bacon lawful.  Mmmm, bacon.  But, even this is elevated, since chewing the cud is like reading the word and having a divided hoof is rightly dividing the word.  A clean animal had to both chew the cud and have a divided hoof to be clean, (Leviticus 11:1-8) but a clean person not only understands God’s Word, but puts it into practice.  Besides these and a few other similar issues, how do we throw the Law away?  But that is what much of the Christian world has done.

The Christian world has said that since we are under grace, we no longer need to follow the Law.  After all, we are saved by grace, not the Law.  Since Christ took the  curse of the Law for us, we are no longer under the CURSE of the Law.

For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.”  Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.”  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”—  in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” – Galatians 3:10-14

And as we are no longer under the curse of the Law does that mean that we no longer need to follow the Law, thereby transgressing the Law?   Of course not!  The King James says this best, that sin is transgression of the Law. (1 John 3:4) If you violate God’s Law, you are engaging in sin.  But didn’t we just say the Law doesn’t save us?  Yes, however the book of Romans sums this up well.  Just because we are saved by Grace and not through obedience to the Law, it does not mean that we ignore the Law.  Jesus paid for every sin of the righteous, do we desire to add to His suffering for our own carnal pleasure?

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!  Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?  But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,  and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.  I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.  For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.  Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.  But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:15-23

So again, obedience to the Law does not save us, but that doesn’t give us a free pass to sin, but when we DO sin, we are covered by God’s Grace, so long as our heart is to do that which is right.  God does not want sacrifice, even under the old covenant which REQUIRED sacrifice. (Psalm 51:16-17)  This is a paradox.  God required (and still does) sacrifice, but He doesn’t want it?  Well, yes.  He wants you to be obedient and love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.  If you love Him this way, you will follow His Law, because His Law is more than just a set rules to follow, but it is protection for His children.  It is designed to keep one safe.  If you are following His Law, you don’t need a sacrifice, because you are a living sacrifice, crucifying the desires of your flesh and making yourself obedient to the Will of God.  (Romans 12:1)  He knows you will not follow it each and every day, but if you try to follow it each and every day, you will remain in His protection.  Just as children who are disobedient get punishments appropriate for the crime, we deserve punishment fitting our transgressions of His Law.  But because Christ became the curse for us, those who are in His Love, do not have to fear eternal death for our sins any longer, but we are now free to be obedient to the Law.

So then, the Law remains in effect, but since our debts have been paid by Christ we are sanctified through HIS righteousness.  Just as someone with a warrant for their arrest needs to hide from officers of the Law, those not saved by God’s Grace need to hide from His Law.  But those whose crimes and debts have been paid by Christ can walk about freely.  They no longer need to hide, but can walk with confidence that their crimes have been paid for by another, at a very high price.  Therefore we can walk with confidence, but we should remember the price that was paid for our freedom and with that knowledge, we will not intentionally break the Law again.  Once someone has died in our place, they cannot die again in our place, and if we treat their sacrifice with contempt, the Judge will throw the book at us the next time we stand before Him.

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?  For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.”  It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” – Hebrews 10:26-31

2012
04/26
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PAIR-A-DIMES IV – GRACE

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:8-10

Are we saved by Grace?  Hold on a minute and really think about it.  The answer is, well, yes.  But I think people have to really rethink what grace is.  If you’ve been watching Joel Osteen, you might get a much different picture of what grace is than what the bible says.  The modern church teachings on grace center around making a “decision” for Christ at some point in your life, living however you want, being fully engulfed in the world and then being saved in the end because of your “decision”.  I could get into “Praying Jesus into your heart” (or accepting) but that’s for another post, but most people decide to make Jesus Lord at the age of 7 and go through a cycle of fornication, alcohol and drug abuse, blasphemy, dishonesty, etc.,  sometime around the teenage years.  In their 20s or 30s they decide to “straighten up”, maybe go to church and they cut out the drugs, tone down the alcohol and only engage in mental fornication via the internet, or if they do fornicate, it’s with someone they REALLY love who is not their spouse. (like that makes it okay) But they made that “decision” and we can’t be saved by works so it doesn’t matter how we live our life, correct?

 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” – Matthew 7:21

“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’” – Matthew 7:22-23

“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,  and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?  Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” – James 2:14-17

 ”But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”  You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” – James 2:18-19

Faith you see, is necessary, and we are saved by grace and not by works of the Law. (Romans 3:28)  All have broken the Law, which is written on our hearts, so that we are without excuse.  All are guilty and deserve death for our lawless deeds.  But because God so loved the world, He sent His Son to be a sin offering in our place, thereby fulfilling the Law for us.  Not because we deserve it, but because He loved us enough to extend His grace to us.

However, it is clear that works are necessary, not that we are saved by those works, but that those righteous works prove that we are saved.  (Romans 2:12-16)  They are the evidence, the fruit of our salvation.  A good tree bears good fruit.  If you are saved you will do good works and they will be the proof that you are actually saved.  (Matthew 7:15-19)  This is really a heart issue.  There are many who do good works in an effort to get into heaven through those works.  This will not save them.  Then there are those who don’t do good works because they know they can’t be saved because of those works but only by grace.  These people are also not going to be saved.  True Christianity means having an understanding that your sins put Jesus on the cross, He took the physical punishment that you deserve, and He also took your sin, and all sin of the righteous upon Himself.  (a punishment far worse than the physical)  With this knowledge, you turn from sin, and live your life for Christ.  You stop living in lawlessness, but you fulfill the Law, not just fulfilling it through actions, but through your heart.  Jesus made the law noble, or honorable by magnifying it.

“The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make [it] honourable.” – Isaiah 42:21

When Jesus preached the sermon on the mount, He elevated the Law.  He took it from not doing evil, to not thinking evil.  Many people are able to discipline themselves to not do evil most of the time, but to not even think evil, that’s truly noble, and that’s the heart of the Law.  God doesn’t just judge our actions, he judges our heart as well.

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12

God knows what our intent is.  If we are trying to do good to look good before others, then we have our reward already.  (as the sermon on the mount reiterates over and over) But if we are doing good because it’s right and we want to please the Father, He knows that as well.  We are not saved by those works, but those works are the fruit which proves our salvation.

So grace is not something that we can just claim that we have and not have fruit to back it up.  We can’t just say “I trusted in you, and you extend grace so I’m good right?” When you stand before the throne of the Almighty, you might get an unsatisfactory answer.  There should be fruit, and it should be good fruit.  Jesus destroyed a tree that did not give Him fruit. (Mark 11:12-14) Was it because he was just extra hungry that day?  NO!  It was because the Lord of the Harvest expects to see fruit when he comes.  Just as the tree did not know the time of Jesus’ appearance, so we do not know when Jesus will return.  If you are not producing fruit for the Lord, you need to, because it is your evidence and you do not know at what time you will be called to stand before Him, or when He will return.

We ARE saved by grace, simply because we don’t deserve salvation, but that doesn’t mean that we avoid good works.  Good works are absolutely necessary for the Christian, again, not because they save us, but they prove our repentance and salvation.

2012
04/19
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STAY AT HOME MOMS

“Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6

“Genius is a nuisance, and it is the duty of schools and colleges to abate it by setting genius-traps in its way.” – Samuel Butler

Note: This post may seem a little disjointed because it’s really two distinct thoughts, but the first is necessary to frame the second.

Much has been made of recent comments by Obama Administration advisor Hilary Rosen, in reference to Ann Romney having  ”never worked a day in her life” and as such is not “an expert on the economy.”  Well let me explain first where the comment came from.  Mitt Romney on the campaign trail had mentioned that women all over the country tell Mrs. Romney that the economy is the number one issue they are facing.  Hilary Rosen decided this was the opportunity to take a swipe at the wealth of the Romneys as well as stay-at-home moms. Really, her argument is off from the start because no one has claimed that she is an expert on the economy, only that most women tell her the economy is their biggest fear.  This is not intended to be a political post, but it is an opportunity to discuss something that comes down to the main purpose of this blog, which is men being men and leading their families.

You might say, “but this post is about moms.”  No it really isn’t.  You see, while moms are critical in the raising of families, they are not more important than fathers.  I might get some hate for this, but it’s true.  Children can grow up without their moms, but children who grow up without fathers (most children in America) have a serious deficit.  Our society gets this backwards.  Men need to be the leaders of their homes, not women.  I promoted the movie “Courageous” heavily, and I strongly encourage anyone who hasn’t seen it to go and see it.  It paints a picture of the average American family.  They’re nice people who have their roles confused, and it shows the journey to fix that, something that too few families actually do.  Now how individual responsibilities are divided in each household is up to each family, but the man needs to be the one who leads it, and the movie shows this well.

The bible describes the relationship of husband and wife (as well as Christ and the Church) as a “head” and “body” relationship.  The head has the final decision-making authority, but the head listens to the body.  If you have a cut, the body tells the head, “Hey, there’s a cut on the leg, we need to deal with that.”  (or a broken leg, or gunshot wound)  The head takes this information and decides whether the cut, broken leg, or gunshot wound is a priority.  In almost all situations, the head will say, “Okay, lets deal with this problem now.”  But what if you’re in combat and you have a  paper cut or a broken leg?  Well the paper cut will certainly have to wait, and the broken leg might have to wait.  The body might be screaming to fix the problem, but the head has to say, “I understand that there is a serious problem, but if we don’t address the enemy coming for us, the broken leg will be the least of our worries.”

What does this have to do with stay-at-home moms?  Well, in an ideal situation, both husband and wife will stay home.  I would love to make enough money writing and doing other side jobs from home that I didn’t have to leave my home and those I care about the most to go to a job.  Unfortunately, I can’t stay home right now.  But it is imperative however that at least one parent stays home because the public education system is a nightmare.  There are many causes for this, which I won’t get into now.  Suffice it to say that despite the best efforts of a majority of teachers, the school system is ineffective in teaching the majority of children.  Because I can not stay home, the responsibility of running the day-to-day operations of the home and homeschool falls to my wife.  As I said before, I am ultimately responsible, but I trust her and she is more than capable of doing what she does.  Which leads me into my thoughts on the talk radio topic of the past week…

Now anyone who is reasonable knows that moms who stay home and take care of their children work extremely hard, which is why the swipe Hilary Rosen took at moms has created such a firestorm.  When everyone goes out for the day, (to work, school, day care) dishes don’t get dirty, toys don’t get dragged all over the house, spills don’t happen, etc.  When the mom and children stay home, all of these things and more happen.  To the moms who homeschool their children, you have even more work.  You have to come up with curriculum planning and gearing a curriculum to the strengths and weaknesses of each of your children, and usually manage multiple different grade levels of work at the same time and you have to become an expert in all the material, again.  If you are going through all of this trouble, you probably also prepare healthy meals for your children, which takes time, instead of letting them eat Twinkies all day long.  Why would you go through all of the sacrifice to stay home only to give your children garbage to eat?

You see, what really irks me about this whole discourse has been that all of the defense of the Romneys I’ve heard so far has been focused on “staying at home is a hard job,” (which any reasonable person knows) and ignores the issue that is most important.  The most important thing is that staying at home is almost absolutely necessary.  I say almost really because I know there are some who can not do it.  When I say some can’t do it I don’t mean those who don’t know what to do with their children, or the people who think it will be too hard, but the people whose husbands, ex-husbands, or baby daddy’s are too much of a loser to do their job and support their families.  Again, it is the man’s job to raise their children and ensure their children’s success.  I heard so much discourse on this subject that the woman is the CEO of the home and she knows more about budgeting than men, yada, yada, yada.  If that’s the case, then the man in that home needs to go and look for his manhood, because he lost it somewhere.  Every home is going to be run different, and there will be different dynamics as to who does what, but the man is the CEO and is ultimately responsible for what happens in his home.  If it works for you to have your wife pay the bills, fine, but you as the man better know what the heck is going on because YOU are responsible.  If you want to let her run the day-to-day operations, that’s fine but YOU are responsible for the success or failure.  If you want to let her do the bulk of the teaching that’s OK but you are the principal of that homeschool, YOU are responsible.

Now if you have the intention of trying to right this ship, know that the deck is stacked against you.  Going from a two income paradigm to a one income lifestyle may not happen overnight.  It is impossible in most cases for both parents to just drop everything and stay home with their children, because contrary to what Miss Rosen thinks, the average stay at home mom lives in a household that makes $47,000. If a two income family makes $70,000-$80,000, taking a 35%-50% cut in income is hard, and might not happen overnight, but it can usually be done over the course of a year or two.  The Romneys may have a lot of money, (they didn’t when Ann Romney began staying home)  but most people don’t have tons in savings for them to say, “let’s both quit our jobs and raise the children together and live off of the interest from our millions in savings.”  But, you can make little decisions that will move you into a position where one and/or eventually both parents can stay home and raise the children together.

This debate from the conservative spectrum seems to be centered on a “war on women” or “class warfare” or some other red herring.  Really, it’s a war for your children.  Modern Society has made parents feel incapable of raising their children by taking children away from you, by making you feel incapable of teaching your children, and by making you think that you can’t survive without 3,000 square feet and two new cars you have given away the most valuable gift God has given you.  He gave you His child, to raise and teach and train to love Him.  But as soon as maternity leaves end, children usually end up in a daycare.  In many cases, this costs almost as much as the mom makes, but they have to do it because they have bought into this “keep up with the Jones’s” way of life.  You have to have a flat screen TV (even when there’s nothing wrong with your current TV) and two brand new cars, an iPhone and iPad as soon as the new one comes out, etc.  Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with having a new TV, car, iPhone, etc., if you can afford it and you aren’t giving your children over to Molech in the process.  I’ll also say that if you have no other choice but to have both parents work and put your children in daycare, then that’s what you have to do.  But if you’re putting your children in daycare so that you can work a job to pay for a nicer lifestyle, then you are abdicating your responsibility in order to achieve some lifestyle that you do not need.

I understand that society has trained women to believe that they are not as valuable if they stay at home and raise their children.  It has also castrated most men and made them think that their job is to make money, but their wives should be running their home.  But you must understand that our society HATES your children.  It wants to raise your children for you so that it can poison them; spiritually, mentally and physically.  If you stay home and take the time to raise your children, you will not only do them a great service, but it will be better in the long run for your family, and your children and grandchildren.  Please take the time to research, pray about and make the right decision for your family.  Perhaps you’d like to homeschool but can’t right now.  Start putting yourself in a position where you can as soon as possible.  Begin to scale back your lifestyle so that you can live on one income.  As you’re doing that, you’ll be able to save money and pay off debt so that you will be in the best possible position to move to a lifestyle that puts family first instead of things first.

I know this idea can seem daunting, challenging and downright scary, but aren’t your children worth it?  Isn’t your family worth it?

For the record, I have not supported Mitt Romney, in fact, out of all of the Candidates who have run this election cycle, I had Governor Romney only slightly ahead of Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich and President Obama.  I much preferred Herman Cain, Michelle Bachmann and Rick Santorum and even Rick Perry, whom I generally dislike, over Governor Romney.  It wasn’t really even close, however, his wife being attacked by “feminists” for putting her family’s needs above her own desires really sent me over the edge.

2012
04/15
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Resurrection or Easter?

This is Resurrection Sunday, the day Christians remember that Jesus died in their place, taking their sin upon themselves, and becoming the Lamb of God, the true sacrifice for sins. But for some reason, most people who call themselves Christians will not be celebrating Resurrection Sunday, they will be celebrating Easter. Easter is a pagan holiday that celebrates the pagan fertility goddess Ishtar or for those of you who’ve read your Old Testament, Asherah.

It’s really rather strange that Christians would celebrate the Resurrection with Easter egg hunts, bunnies, and candy when the resurrection has nothing to do with any of those things. I know people will try to make the stretch and say that eggs represent new life, and we remember how Jesus defeated death, but let’s be real, these things were a part of the pagan celebrations because Ishtar was goddess of fertility and harvests. How did people celebrate this? Through child sacrifice and orgies! Is this how we as Christians want to celebrate Christ’s victory over death?

But someone might say, “Oh come on, you’re being too rigid.” Well, I never saw anyone in the bible condemned for being too zealous (or rigid) for God. Celebrating the Resurrection by calling it Easter and having egg hunts is at best teaching a tainted message to our children (and pagans that we would witness to) and at worst it is blasphemy. But I lean towards blasphemy.

” You shall not plant for yourself an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the LORD your God, which you shall make for yourself.” (Deuteronomy 16:21)

“Ahab also made the Asherah. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.” (1 Kings 16:33)

“They forsook all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal.” (2 Kings 17:16)

“He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah, and Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron.” (2 Chronicles 15:16)

Why is it that Christians are willing to do this?  Is it just because it’s tradition?  Didn’t Jesus say, “Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,  “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”  And He answered and said to them,“Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?  For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.’  But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,”  he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.  You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.  ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”

What happened in probably the 4th or 5 th century was a watering down of the Gospel.  When missionaries went into Britain, they had a very difficult time getting the people to give up their worship of idols and pagan gods.  So they made a compromise.  They decided to call the gods of the pagans “saints”.  (though a saint is any true Christian) It made the missionaries jobs easier and they felt better, and all that the pagans had to do was accept another god.  Accepting another god is easy if you already worship 200 gods.  In addition, they tried to adjust the pagan festivals and “Christianize” them.  The pagans celebrated Easter, and Easter happens around the same time as the resurrection generally, so they incorporated some pagan traditions so the pagans still felt good, but the missionaries used this opportunity to spin the pagan worship into being about Jesus.  The problem is that if you make something partly worldly and partly godly, God leaves, and it becomes totally worldly.  I guarantee that there will be no “move of God” (unless it’s man-made or Satanic in nature) in any churches preaching an Easter message this morning.  It’s either all about Christ, or it’s not about Christ.

I understand that breaking with 1500 years of tradition, and generations of tradition in your own family is difficult.  Perhaps you remember doing egg hunts as a child, and then you organized them for younger siblings and your own children.  Perhaps you watch happily as your grandchildren do it now.  But is that tradition worth disobeying the command of God?  God says, “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.” (2 Corinthians 6:17)  Christians need to be separate from worldly activities.  But we certainly need to be separate from pagan activities.  Easter, and all of the associated celebrations, traditions etc., are pagan.  It’s clear.  So why do so many people celebrate it?  Please, be separate.  Your soul depends on it.

2012
04/08
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PAIR-A-DIMES III (ARE YOU A SINNER?)

Conventional wisdom in the Christian community says that everyone, even every Christian, is a sinner.  Is that true?

“Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.  Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;  the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.  No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.  By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:4-10)

The Christian paradigm is that we all sin every single day, and we cannot go through a day without sinning.  The Word of God tells us something different though.  Through John, we see that not only are we capable of avoiding sin, but if we sin, we are not truly born of God.  Now taking the entire bible in its proper context we understand that we will sin.  Even in 1 John we are told that we have all sinned and will sin.  But someone truly born of God is capable of avoiding sin. (through the power of the Holy Spirit) During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told those listening to him to: “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)  Would Jesus tell us to be perfect if it was impossible?

Now only Jesus was capable of being perfect for a lifetime, which no one else has been able to do in the history of the world. This is why we need God’s Grace and a Savior.  But Christians have set the bar so low, they don’t even believe they can be perfect for a day.  Heck, not even without sin for a day.  (I believe there is a difference between being without sin, and being what we would consider to be perfect)  Why would Jesus tell us to be perfect if we couldn’t handle it for a measly 24 hours?  Why would the Holy Spirit through John say we should live without sin if it was impossible?

If we have the Holy Spirit, we have an immeasurable power inside of us.  I think the real problem is that so many people who call themselves Christians do not truly have the Holy Spirit.  If you have the Holy Spirit, you have the power of God within you!  Are you telling me that you can’t go 24 hours without sinning, that it’s impossible to, even with God living inside of you???  If that is true, then we worship a pretty wimpy God.  I think the problem is that we have bought into one of the many paradigms created by Satan and instituted through religion. (false religion) The truth of the matter is that someone who is walking with God, who has the light burden, easy yoke and Holy Spirit should be able to go without sin.  Your heart should be new, and you should want the things of God.  Sure we’re still in the flesh, but your heart should be pure, God should be living inside you via His Spirit and we should become more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  When I see women walking around with their butts hanging out of their shorts, (this is far less often in Colorado than in Texas praise God) I’m repulsed.  I see what God sees.  I see a harlot.  I feel sad for her, that she feels that she has to degrade herself for the attention of a man (or more likely a boy) that she should have received from her earthly father and can still receive from her Heavenly Father.  That used to cause me to look with lust, but now I look with disgust.  (The rhyme is totally unintentional, but it fits so I won’t change it)

This is one example of many that I could go through.  I really believe that this kind of heart is possible:  That living a life without sin IS possible.  Sure you’re going to mess up from time to time.  But you have to stop telling yourself that living the life of a sinner is a foregone conclusion.  You don’t have to go through every day as a sinner.  You can be a true son of the Father.  You can do as Christ did, and as the Apostles called us to do.  Just try it, try to go one day without sin.  It is possible.  With God, all things are possible.

2012
03/30
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#IlikeObamacare because…

It’s interesting that this all started with conservatives hijacking yet another attempt by President Obama to bring his drones out to dominate a topic on Twitter. He started the hashtag, “#IlikeObamacare” and liberals were supposed to say how Obamacare is so good and wonderful using the tag. What happened was Conservatives dominated the subject, followed closely by porn and iPad spammers and liberals were WAAAAY behind.

What it showed was that opposition to a Government run healthcare system is alive and well in America. The problems and solutions to our healthcare system in America can not be summed up in 140 characters. They really can’t be summed up in a blog post, though I will do my best. This post started when conservatives dominated the hashtag with snarky responses such as:

“#ILikeObamacare because I want my healthcare to be just as efficient as the DMV.”

As well as: “#ILikeObamacare because seeing a doctor for an emergency the same day the emergency happens is overrated.”

And let’s not forget the one that started the battle that caused this post: “#ILikeObamacare because creating a healthcare monopoly is sure to make it cheaper and more efficient.”

Now these comments were said as a joke, but also meant to bring out truth. Apparently, the last comment struck a nerve with someone, because I got attacked by someone who is for a single-payer healthcare system. I know I have a ton of influence on Twitter with my 123 followers, but the level of attack seemed interesting. After being undaunted by this person, another person came in her defense. Now my initial reaction was that this person works for Media Matters, MoveOn or some other similar organization and she follows Twitter trends and attacks conservatives who don’t know how to defend themselves. But, undaunted as I was, she enlisted help from her supervisor.

Now there’s no way that I can know for sure that this is the case, but it makes me feel good that a Twitter nobody like myself could attract such attention from people who are paid to promote disinformation on social media. Perhaps she is just a liberal college student who has never been taught how to think or process information, or perhaps she is simply retarded. She did seem to possess intelligence, even though she was unable to apply it. Or perhaps she understands the complex nature of the healthcare debate, but hopes she can shut me up by tweeting one time more than me. Anyhow, enough background as to why I’m writing this…

I have worked in a government healthcare setting in the US Army, primarily as an Active Duty Soldier but also as a government contractor. I have also worked in the “non”-profit sector for a Hospital Network that is the largest in Central Texas.  I have seen the pros and cons to a government-run system and a system designed to turn a profit. I know people will say that a non-profit is not designed to make a profit, but the “Sisters” aka the Daughters of Charity will slap you upside the head if you spew that non-sense in front of them.

I’ll begin with an evil, anecdotal tale of woe and despair at my son’s Orthopedics appointment at the Brooke Army Medical Center. He had hurt his finger at his day care, (actually one of the other kids slammed a door on his finger, slicing the tip of it off) and though everything was fine, we had to have his finger looked at and bandages changed. His first follow-up appointment was for 9 AM. You can understand my surprise and dismay when, upon checking in at 8:40 AM I was told that the clinic was running 2 hours behind. The clinic opened at 8 AM mind you. My response was, “How can you be two hours behind when you’ve only been open for 40 minutes???” They ignored this question and said, “It’s easier to be on time after lunch.” This is government healthcare.

This however will pale in comparison to what is in store for America if Obamacare is fully implemented. The fact is that the Military healthcare system almost works because the bulk of the patients are generally fit and healthy. Because most of the patient population is under 30, there are few medical problems for the average patient. When you talk about a similar system with unhealthy patients, (most of America) you will be begging for your routine appointment to be only 2 hours late.

Why does Universal healthcare not work? If there is a universal healthcare system, there is no competitive incentive for companies, or even employees, to perform exceptionally. Waste is rampant. Why is this? Well if you go over budget, you go over budget. The average employee is indifferent to efficiency.

Evil, anecdotal tale number two: The outpatient pharmacy at BAMC regularly ran with two-hour wait times. People just understood that this was the reality and dealt with it. I supervised the refill pharmacy which ran 15 minute wait times because we had solid teamwork and I felt bad for the staff and the patients so I would come out of my office and stop doing paperwork, which I hated anyway, and help out when it was busy. Every so often, weekly that is, I would be called by my supervisors at the main pharmacy to send soldiers or civilians to the main pharmacy to help, “Because they were so busy.” My soldiers would tell me that the civilians would be screwing around not working which was why it was so busy. One day, I decided to go and watch for myself. In between helping each patient, the civilian employees would gossip for 3 or 4 minutes and eventually get around to helping another patient. That was the last time one of my soldiers ever went to help.

I tell this story to illustrate how once you unionize lazy people into the government, you end up with laziness and inefficiency. Now it has been argued by liberals that a single-payer system is better because there are no bonuses to pay executives and no stockholders to worry about. Well that’s a really stupid argument. Executives in the real world don’t get paid bonuses unless the company turns a profit. The executives that get bonuses when the companies fail work for companies that get subsidized by tax dollars like Solyndra. Every company running in a free market (not operating under crony capitalism) can not pay a bonus to an executive or anyone for that matter unless the company performs well. If there are no profits, the company can’t pay a bonus can they?

Ah, those evil profits! If companies didn’t make profits, they could charge people less! Is that accurate? Isn’t it true that most companies in the real world can not gouge their customers because their customers will simply go to the competition?  Companies have to charge the lowest cost possible because if they don’t, they lose customers, so they have to turn a profit through efficiency or higher quality and not through “gouging”.

But what about insurance companies? Well, should they not also turn a profit? One reason that insurance is so expensive is that government has so regulated insurance companies by forcing them to cover EVERYTHING imaginable that it massively drives up costs. You’re a twenty-two year old single male, but yet you have coverage for abortions, birth control pills and in vitro fertilization??? You might say, well thanks, but really, I don’t need any of those. Well according to ________ (your State name here) State law, you are required to carry insurance for these. But I CAN’T POSSIBLY USE THAT! Sir, are we going to have a problem?

What else causes medical costs to be so high? John Edwards. Yes, the guy with the nice hair who knocked up some chick while his wife was undergoing cancer treatments, (Not Gingrich, the Democrat) was an ambulance chaser who made tens of millions of dollars suing hospitals for medical malpractice. Now I will say that if a hospital or doctor screws up and a patient suffers, that hospital and doctor should pay and attempt to fix what was broken. But malpractice lawsuits were so out of control that they drastically drove up medical costs. In states that have enacted tort reform, insurance costs for physicians have come down, and medical costs have followed suit.

Portability. Why is it that healthcare in America is tied to a job? Liberals and Conservatives can generally agree on this. It is in the solutions that we differ. Imagine if you bought your health insurance like you purchase every other service; cell phone, internet, car insurance, etc.? You would shop around, and you’d have Farmers, State Farm, GEICO and others saying how switching to them could save you lots of money on health insurance. If they provide poor service they get dropped just as fast as I dropped Progressive car insurance. If employers didn’t have to provide insurance as a benefit, they could pay their employees more, and it’s a win-win situation.

The Mandate. The biggest issue I have with Obamacare, even more than how they may have illegally passed it is the mandate. Never, in the history of the United States has a person been forced to purchase something just because they are alive. People will argue that you have to buy car insurance. But that’s not true. You only have to buy car insurance if you want to drive. You don’t have to buy car insurance for being alive! Well, what about property taxes? You don’t have to own property! Well you pay taxes vicariously through paying rent don’t you? You can live in a van down by the river! I CHOOSE to live in a nicer place and a consequence of that is vicariously paying property taxes. I CHOOSE to drive a car, so I buy car insurance. I don’t choose to live. I am alive until God calls me home, so I have to make a decision if health insurance is right for me or not. Using the power of the IRS to force someone to buy insurance or pay a fine , at gunpoint, is not choice. Consequently, I have “insurance” through the VA but obviously that isn’t saying much. But after spending $5000 per year on insurance and seeing the doctor once per year, I realized that I was throwing my money away. So instead of that money going to a health insurance company that wasn’t providing me with any beneficial service, I was putting it into the economy in other, more beneficial ways.

I don’t need health insurance. If I get sick, I can pay a doctor a one-time $150 fee and save the other $4850 per year for other things, like gas. That might not cover it, (actually it doesn’t) but it’s close. People like me do take the risk of getting really sick to the point where they need to be hospitalized and find themselves unable to pay their medical bills. The “non-profit” healthcare system that I worked for takes those “non-profits” and provides charity care to the tune of over $300,000,000 per year. Surely many other systems do the same.

What could be a reasonable solution to this mess and to the situation people like me find themselves in? Make insurance portable, and make it more “a la carte.” A single man shouldn’t have to carry in vitro fertilization on his insurance. If he wants to, I suppose that’s his prerogative, but he shouldn’t be forced to. I’d like to be able to go and buy an insurance package that covers emergency care and subsequent hospitalization. If I get a minor cold, I can pay cash. Doctors prefer cash anyhow, and charge a lower rate for doing so. This will drive down costs, and make patients (and providers) happy. It also keeps people from going to the doctor as often, just because they want to burn up their HSAs. If they’re not trying to burn doctors visits “because they have it coming,” (I always heard this when I worked in the government system) demand on the physicians will plummet, meaning they have to become more efficient, provide better service and have to lower their prices. Imagine that.

Liberals will usually try to say that the “free-market” approach isn’t working. Well the free-market hasn’t been given an opportunity. Big insurance companies and healthcare networks cozy up to politicians to get favorable laws passed. If they actually had to compete in a truly free-market, they would have to provide superior service at a low-cost.

These are a few little tidbits of what could begin to fix the problems with healthcare in America. But as for government, it is not the solution, it is the problem.

Finally, people will say that the “Affordable” Care Act doesn’t create a government run, or single-payer system. Granted, it doesn’t, but it’s designed to. Obama and his surrogates know that a government run system can not happen overnight. They do know however, that this bill will destroy the private healthcare industry, leading eventually to a single-payer system. That’s the goal as President Obama has himself stated.

2012
03/28
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