If life matters to you, vote Romney/Ryan. If you live in the 4th congressional district in Iowa, and life matters to you, vote Steve King.
Any office holder who is willing to take an unborn life is also willing to take everything you have. Make no mistake about it, the credibility of a candidate is determined by the Life issue.
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
JUST DO IT
Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road ( Luke 10:3-4).
I have been reading through Luke's gospel. When I read these verses I thought of my dad. The commission the Lord gave to the Seventy was basically my dad's philosophy of life. Most of the time we do not even make an attempt because we do not have enough money, talent or ability. We do not want to make a fool of ourselves by attempting to do the impossible. My dad's philosophy was, "if you want to do a thing, then do it."
In the larger text of Luke 10:1-7, the Lord lists the essentials that it takes to do any job to which one is called; I believe these essentials are still needed today.
1. Faith. The Lord called his disciples to do an impossible task. What made the task impossible was they were instructed to take nothing with them. They had to trust the Lord to make provision for them each moment of every day. Christian's are not materialists, they do not see money as the solution to every problem. Even though money is the practical necessity of everyday life on this earth, the disciples were instructed to look to the Lord to make provision for them and it is no less true today.
2. A partner, one whom can absolutely be trusted no matter what; the Lord sent them out two by two. Being sent out as "lambs in the midst of wolves" is a stressful life. Knowing that someone with skin on "has your back," understands the mission and is committed to the mission, relieves the stress and brings encouragement.
3. Prayer, asking God to bless our personal labors to accomplish the mission and asking God for more laborers to join in the mission and see it through. Everyone should be involved in a mission that will fail if God does not help, whether it is a spiritual enterprise or a business enterprise, it does not matter.
The lesson here is to not allow an apparent lack of something keep you from trying. We have a great God who will sustain you as you labor to accomplish the mission to which you were called. When the lovely and gracious, Helen, and I, returned to the family farm to raise our children here, we had nothing. We did make a commitment to do any honorable work, even if it was lowly, to make that happen. Back in the "80's" farming was not good and was certainly not easy. My tax preparer recommended that I quit farming--I was working for almost nothing. But with the Lord providing, and the help of a faithful wife, we did it. Life is good--and it is getting gooder.
My advice? If God has called you to the mission and you have these three essentials, just do it!
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
I have been reading through Luke's gospel. When I read these verses I thought of my dad. The commission the Lord gave to the Seventy was basically my dad's philosophy of life. Most of the time we do not even make an attempt because we do not have enough money, talent or ability. We do not want to make a fool of ourselves by attempting to do the impossible. My dad's philosophy was, "if you want to do a thing, then do it."
In the larger text of Luke 10:1-7, the Lord lists the essentials that it takes to do any job to which one is called; I believe these essentials are still needed today.
1. Faith. The Lord called his disciples to do an impossible task. What made the task impossible was they were instructed to take nothing with them. They had to trust the Lord to make provision for them each moment of every day. Christian's are not materialists, they do not see money as the solution to every problem. Even though money is the practical necessity of everyday life on this earth, the disciples were instructed to look to the Lord to make provision for them and it is no less true today.
2. A partner, one whom can absolutely be trusted no matter what; the Lord sent them out two by two. Being sent out as "lambs in the midst of wolves" is a stressful life. Knowing that someone with skin on "has your back," understands the mission and is committed to the mission, relieves the stress and brings encouragement.
3. Prayer, asking God to bless our personal labors to accomplish the mission and asking God for more laborers to join in the mission and see it through. Everyone should be involved in a mission that will fail if God does not help, whether it is a spiritual enterprise or a business enterprise, it does not matter.
The lesson here is to not allow an apparent lack of something keep you from trying. We have a great God who will sustain you as you labor to accomplish the mission to which you were called. When the lovely and gracious, Helen, and I, returned to the family farm to raise our children here, we had nothing. We did make a commitment to do any honorable work, even if it was lowly, to make that happen. Back in the "80's" farming was not good and was certainly not easy. My tax preparer recommended that I quit farming--I was working for almost nothing. But with the Lord providing, and the help of a faithful wife, we did it. Life is good--and it is getting gooder.
My advice? If God has called you to the mission and you have these three essentials, just do it!
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
GETTING HEAVEN INTO YOU
And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).
Salvation is an intriguing subject. As a child and young person, I had the assumption that it was all about getting to Heaven. I've grown out of that, though getting to Heaven is the destination of salvation and I am looking forward to the time of arrival there.
To liberals, salvation is the social gospel, making Heaven on earth through political means. Certainly, one's relationship with Christ will change how he will view and how he will treat other people, but charity cannot be imposed through political power. Charity in a society has to come from the heart or freedom is lost and tyranny rules. Forced charity brings death, not life; read the history of communism in the 20th century.
I believe that salvation is primarily about getting Heaven into you, and less about you getting to Heaven. Certainly, Heaven on earth is not a possibility except within the company of Christians. Getting Heaven into you is the mission of Holy Spirit as he works in a life surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes it seems as if His work is agonizingly slow. Sometimes we wonder why it seems as if there is so little change and so little production, but rest assured, getting Heaven into you is happening if you are surrendered to Jesus!
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Our Father's Love,
Tom
Salvation is an intriguing subject. As a child and young person, I had the assumption that it was all about getting to Heaven. I've grown out of that, though getting to Heaven is the destination of salvation and I am looking forward to the time of arrival there.
To liberals, salvation is the social gospel, making Heaven on earth through political means. Certainly, one's relationship with Christ will change how he will view and how he will treat other people, but charity cannot be imposed through political power. Charity in a society has to come from the heart or freedom is lost and tyranny rules. Forced charity brings death, not life; read the history of communism in the 20th century.
I believe that salvation is primarily about getting Heaven into you, and less about you getting to Heaven. Certainly, Heaven on earth is not a possibility except within the company of Christians. Getting Heaven into you is the mission of Holy Spirit as he works in a life surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes it seems as if His work is agonizingly slow. Sometimes we wonder why it seems as if there is so little change and so little production, but rest assured, getting Heaven into you is happening if you are surrendered to Jesus!
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Our Father's Love,
Tom
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
SHAME: A COVER UP
So when the woman saw the fruit was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also give some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden (Genesis 3:6-8).
Shame is a complex subject. In fact, some scholars will not even agree with my definition, which is based in Webster's dictionary definition. Shame is a painful emotion characterized by feeling guilty, incompetent, blameworthy, indecent or worthless. Adam and Eve felt guilty.
The manifestations of shame in a person's life are another reason that shame is a complex subject. But, the basic manifestation of shame is covering up. In German and in Latin, the root of the entomology of shame means, to hide or to cover. That is an exact description of what Adam and Eve did in the attempt to deal with their shame. Humanity has not changed much since creation; we still do bazaar things to deal with our feelings of shame. We declare sin not to be sin, and still feel worthless. We cover ourselves with designer clothing, all kinds of makeup, jewelery and tattoos all to show we are not worthless and to assuage our feelings of guilt. Our narcissism and arrogance are other defense mechanisms used to mask our feelings of guilt.
I want to suggest some designer clothing that really does cover up shame: . . . for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Galatians 3:26-27). Being sons of the King, we are clothed with the finest designer clothing there is because we are clothed with Jesus Christ. Our worth and our pardon are established in the clothing of Jesus Christ because only he can cover our shame.
Our Father's Love,
Tom
Shame is a complex subject. In fact, some scholars will not even agree with my definition, which is based in Webster's dictionary definition. Shame is a painful emotion characterized by feeling guilty, incompetent, blameworthy, indecent or worthless. Adam and Eve felt guilty.
The manifestations of shame in a person's life are another reason that shame is a complex subject. But, the basic manifestation of shame is covering up. In German and in Latin, the root of the entomology of shame means, to hide or to cover. That is an exact description of what Adam and Eve did in the attempt to deal with their shame. Humanity has not changed much since creation; we still do bazaar things to deal with our feelings of shame. We declare sin not to be sin, and still feel worthless. We cover ourselves with designer clothing, all kinds of makeup, jewelery and tattoos all to show we are not worthless and to assuage our feelings of guilt. Our narcissism and arrogance are other defense mechanisms used to mask our feelings of guilt.
I want to suggest some designer clothing that really does cover up shame: . . . for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Galatians 3:26-27). Being sons of the King, we are clothed with the finest designer clothing there is because we are clothed with Jesus Christ. Our worth and our pardon are established in the clothing of Jesus Christ because only he can cover our shame.
Our Father's Love,
Tom
Saturday, September 08, 2012
CLASS WARFARE IS MARXIST JARGON
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's (Exodus 20:17).
One of the reasons that communism is so anti Christian is because it is founded on values that contradict the instruction of God. Communists are materialists, meaning that man does live by bread alone; God says otherwise. Each person is to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and, as a result, his need, for love, food, clothing, shelter and something worthwhile to do, will be met.
Marxism promotes class warfare, God promotes a classless society, meaning that all are to be treated equally under the law. The Bible says that showing favoritism to anyone is a sin. Bribes are evil and sinful because equal treatment under the law is denied. Communists make the claim of having a classless society, but it is government and party officials who live like kings while the rest of the population lives in relative poverty compared to free peoples.
America has been the most classless society in world history. This has been true because our country has been founded on a Biblical world view. As we have traded a Christian consensus for a secular one, marxist concepts and vocabulary have crept into the national discussion. I object to the term "class" when it is used to describe an apparent strata of society. The middle class is not a permanent class, nor should we want it to be. We are free people who, because of our choices and our circumstances will flourish or fail economically. I object to the term, "masses." To me it implies that the free people of the United States are now the government's herd of cattle, incapable of supporting themselves without the government "feed wagon" filling the public "trough."
Marxist vocabulary destroys human dignity and quenches the human spirit. Let us refuse to use it.
Our Father's Love,
Tom
One of the reasons that communism is so anti Christian is because it is founded on values that contradict the instruction of God. Communists are materialists, meaning that man does live by bread alone; God says otherwise. Each person is to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and, as a result, his need, for love, food, clothing, shelter and something worthwhile to do, will be met.
Marxism promotes class warfare, God promotes a classless society, meaning that all are to be treated equally under the law. The Bible says that showing favoritism to anyone is a sin. Bribes are evil and sinful because equal treatment under the law is denied. Communists make the claim of having a classless society, but it is government and party officials who live like kings while the rest of the population lives in relative poverty compared to free peoples.
America has been the most classless society in world history. This has been true because our country has been founded on a Biblical world view. As we have traded a Christian consensus for a secular one, marxist concepts and vocabulary have crept into the national discussion. I object to the term "class" when it is used to describe an apparent strata of society. The middle class is not a permanent class, nor should we want it to be. We are free people who, because of our choices and our circumstances will flourish or fail economically. I object to the term, "masses." To me it implies that the free people of the United States are now the government's herd of cattle, incapable of supporting themselves without the government "feed wagon" filling the public "trough."
Marxist vocabulary destroys human dignity and quenches the human spirit. Let us refuse to use it.
Our Father's Love,
Tom
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