Like me, I am sure you were appalled at the murders which occurred at Fort Hood last week. It's incomprehensible to me that an American would turn his weapon upon fellow unarmed soldiers and randomly murder them.
There is a great danger lurking here for our nation. Its not jihadists or radical islamists. Its not our policies in Iraq or Afghanistan. It is more insidious than these. It is the anger we could seed into the lives of our children. History shows that rage always worsens with succeeding generations (see Bosnia, etc.).
You may not want to hear this, but most Muslims are not evil. We may not agree with their religious tenants, but that does not make them terrorists.
The tough challenge about Fort Hood is that we must practice discernment and not racial profiling. Scripture tells us to be discerning and in particular, on the lookout for the presence of evil. As believers, when we see evil we are to react
to it.
Major Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused of the Fort Hood murders, committed an act of evil. He needs to be tried in a court of law and if found guilty, held accountable for his actions. This is the appropriate action.
Uncontrolled anger fueled by fear is the wrong response to Fort Hood. We don;t need to nuke Muslims in the Mideast or drag peaceful Muslims from their homes. Racially profiling innocent Muslims is a throw back to some of the darker chapters of American history.
Monday, November 09, 2009
A Mandate for Action-Being a Gideonite
I am not sure what storms or life challenges you face today. Perhaps its a terminal illness. Perhaps its the loss of a job or mountains of debt. Perhaps its the end of a marital or friendship relationship. The fact remains that life is filled with storms, circumstances that can blow all of us off course.
I love the story of Gideon, the mighty Jewish warrior found in the pages of the Old Testament. Here was a guy from the smallest Jewish tribe, who found himself and his nation outnumbered and overwhelmed by fierce enemies.
In the Old Testament book of Judges, chapters 6-8, Gideon meets God who tells him to trust in Him. Gideon obeys and jumps into the deep end of the pool, trusting that God would provide the victories needed to deliver his people.
You can read the outcome of God's provision in Judges chapter 7. The takeaway for us today is this:
-God is just as trustworthy today as He was in Gideon's time.
-There is no storm to big or strong that God cannot provide a way for you to navigate through it.
-Overwhelming odds are no reason to give up what we know to be true. If Gideon had accepted defeat he would have never seen God work a miracle.
Whatever obstacles you face today, remember that God will go before you into your battle. Your response: to trust Him and jump in.
I love the story of Gideon, the mighty Jewish warrior found in the pages of the Old Testament. Here was a guy from the smallest Jewish tribe, who found himself and his nation outnumbered and overwhelmed by fierce enemies.
In the Old Testament book of Judges, chapters 6-8, Gideon meets God who tells him to trust in Him. Gideon obeys and jumps into the deep end of the pool, trusting that God would provide the victories needed to deliver his people.
You can read the outcome of God's provision in Judges chapter 7. The takeaway for us today is this:
-God is just as trustworthy today as He was in Gideon's time.
-There is no storm to big or strong that God cannot provide a way for you to navigate through it.
-Overwhelming odds are no reason to give up what we know to be true. If Gideon had accepted defeat he would have never seen God work a miracle.
Whatever obstacles you face today, remember that God will go before you into your battle. Your response: to trust Him and jump in.
Friday, November 06, 2009
God Can Change Any Heart-40 Days of Life National Campaign
This is a must read story of a former abortion clinic's directors journey to God. Let me preface this one by affirming that God is in the business of redeeming dark human souls. Redemption and reconciliation is God's number one priority. Also, there is a great nation-wide effort to pray outside of abortion clinics touted as the "40 Days for Life Campaign." More below.
Here is the story.
For more information on the National 40 Days for Life Campaign, click here.
Here is the story.
For more information on the National 40 Days for Life Campaign, click here.
Unemployment Soars Hitting Families Hard
The latest national unemployment report is awful.
See the story here.
If your family where unemployment is ripping through you, there is not much immediate hope.
Our political leaders here in Colorado (Gov Ritter and crew) and in Washington, DC have acted obtusely in managing our economy, keeping taxes low and creating jobs.
In the long-run, government spending never spurs an economic recovery. The engine of our economy fires away when small businesses have the ability to create sustainable jobs.
The fact remains that sustainable job creation occurs when job creators have excess capital, low taxes and a profit incentive to produce. To our detriment, many Americas are clueless about the workings of our historic market economy.
See the story here.
If your family where unemployment is ripping through you, there is not much immediate hope.
Our political leaders here in Colorado (Gov Ritter and crew) and in Washington, DC have acted obtusely in managing our economy, keeping taxes low and creating jobs.
In the long-run, government spending never spurs an economic recovery. The engine of our economy fires away when small businesses have the ability to create sustainable jobs.
The fact remains that sustainable job creation occurs when job creators have excess capital, low taxes and a profit incentive to produce. To our detriment, many Americas are clueless about the workings of our historic market economy.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Maine Affirms Traditional Marriage Definition
Defying the predictions of many, Maine voters repealed a law that had legalized homosexual marriage in this northeast state. In recent months, other New England states-New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut had joined Massachusetts in allowing gay partners to marry.
Gay marriage has now lost in every single state -- 31 in all -- in which it has been put to a popular vote. Gay-rights activists had hoped to buck that trend in Maine -- known for its moderate, independent-minded electorate -- and mounted an energetic, well-financed campaign.
However, pro-marriage forces under the banner of "Yes on 1" won the day.
Here is the story.
A couple of points to consider:
-Gay marriage has now lost in every single state -- 31 in all -- in which it has been put to a popular vote.
-Those who would argue that Jesus would have endorsed gay marriage argue from silence. Scripture is clear on the definition of marriage-Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4-5.
-Colorado passed a state constitutional amendment in 2006 defining marriage between one man and one woman.
-A vote for traditional marriage is a vote for our freedoms and liberties. As we preserve the family we preserve one of the historic hubs of freedom in our nation...
Gay marriage has now lost in every single state -- 31 in all -- in which it has been put to a popular vote. Gay-rights activists had hoped to buck that trend in Maine -- known for its moderate, independent-minded electorate -- and mounted an energetic, well-financed campaign.
However, pro-marriage forces under the banner of "Yes on 1" won the day.
Here is the story.
A couple of points to consider:
-Gay marriage has now lost in every single state -- 31 in all -- in which it has been put to a popular vote.
-Those who would argue that Jesus would have endorsed gay marriage argue from silence. Scripture is clear on the definition of marriage-Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4-5.
-Colorado passed a state constitutional amendment in 2006 defining marriage between one man and one woman.
-A vote for traditional marriage is a vote for our freedoms and liberties. As we preserve the family we preserve one of the historic hubs of freedom in our nation...
Monday, November 02, 2009
Abortion Alive and Well in Obama Care
Despite repeated attempts by pro-life legislators on both sides of the aisle, taxpayer funding for abortion is back with a vengeance in ObamaCare proposals.
Thus far, all 17 proposed amendments that would prohibit taxpayer funding for abortion in ObamaCare have been defeated, and pro-life Congressman Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Michigan, said of the House's 2,000-page bill (H.R. 3962), "Language in the bill still does not do enough to prevent federal funding from going to abortion services.
"I am disappointed the Capps Amendments has remained intact (in the House bill), mandating abortion services for the first time in the nation's history."
Here are some more details and facts:
-In the Senate version, the 10% of doctors who submit the most reimbursements for Medicare patients will have their pay docked by five percent. This inevitably will lead to rationing of care for seniors, and make "death panels" inevitable as doctors strain to stay below the threshold.
Finally, Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) describes the House bill this way: "This 2,000-page bill includes a job-killing employer mandate, an individual mandate that requires Washington bureaucrats to define what kind of coverage is acceptable, burdensome tax increases, Medicare cuts, and a huge expansion of Medicaid that will break already strained state budgets."
Let your congressional representatives hear your voice!
Thus far, all 17 proposed amendments that would prohibit taxpayer funding for abortion in ObamaCare have been defeated, and pro-life Congressman Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Michigan, said of the House's 2,000-page bill (H.R. 3962), "Language in the bill still does not do enough to prevent federal funding from going to abortion services.
"I am disappointed the Capps Amendments has remained intact (in the House bill), mandating abortion services for the first time in the nation's history."
Here are some more details and facts:
-In the Senate version, the 10% of doctors who submit the most reimbursements for Medicare patients will have their pay docked by five percent. This inevitably will lead to rationing of care for seniors, and make "death panels" inevitable as doctors strain to stay below the threshold.
Finally, Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) describes the House bill this way: "This 2,000-page bill includes a job-killing employer mandate, an individual mandate that requires Washington bureaucrats to define what kind of coverage is acceptable, burdensome tax increases, Medicare cuts, and a huge expansion of Medicaid that will break already strained state budgets."
Let your congressional representatives hear your voice!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Origins of Halloween
This weekend a lot of us will be dressing up and playing ghosts and goblins. I am not trying to spook anyone, but I think as believers we should know the origins of Halloween.
Here is a fact sheet we wrote about Halloween...
Origins Of Halloween
For a proper understanding of the modern American celebration on October 31st, we must look at three early celebrations that have come together to form today's Halloween.
The first of these precursors to Halloween goes all the way back to pre-Christian Ireland and Scotland to a celebration of the Druids or Celtic priests. The Celtic year began on November 1st with the festival of Samhain. On the eve of Samhain, October 31st, laughing bands of young people disguised in grotesque masks carved lanterns from turnips and carried them through the villages. It was sort of a harvest festival, and in addition, it was thought of as a festival of the dead. The druids believed it was on that night when the earth comes into closest contact with the spiritual world; and consequently ghosts, goblins and witches supposedly destroyed crops, killed farm animals and wreaked havoc on the villagers. As these spirits of the dead roamed around, villagers lighted bonfires to either drive them away or to guide the spirits of the dead back to their homes.
The second precursor to Halloween goes back to the Dark Ages in central Europe. There, the Christian church destroyed many of the temples of various pagan gods and goddesses, such as Diana and Apollo. However, this pagan worship was never completely eradicated and took on the form of witchcraft. One of the most important aspects of witchcraft is a number of celebrations each year which are called "Witches' Sabbaths." One of the highest of the Witches' Sabbaths is the High Sabbath or the Black Sabbath of Witches on October 31st. Much of the Halloween folklore of today such as black cats, broomsticks, cauldrons and spells come from the Black Sabbath.
The third precursor to Halloween goes back to the early Roman Catholic Church. The church had appointed certain days to honor each saint and basically ran out of days in the year for all their saints to have a day, so they decided to have one day to remember all the saints. They called it All Saints' Day. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III changed All Saints' Day from May 13th to November 1st, and in the year 834, Pope Gregory IV extended this celebration to the entire Roman church. This event was called Allhallowmass, and as you might suppose, there was a celebration on the evening before on October 31st, called All Hallow E'en, "all hallow" meaning all of the hallowed ones. As you might guess, the contraction of hallow and e'en is where the word Halloween is derived.
The modern custom of going door to door begging for candy while dressed in costumes called "trick or treating," goes back to the pagan new year's feast in Ireland. The spirits that were thought to throng about the houses of the living were greeted with a banquet. At the end of the feast, villagers disguised as souls of the dead, paraded to the outskirts of the village leading the spirits away. This was done to avoid any calamities the dead might bring. Another way the villagers tried to appease the dead was to set out bowls of fruit and other treats so the spirits would partake of them and leave them in peace. Later when the belief in ghosts and goblins declined, youths dressed up as ghosts and goblins and threatened to play tricks on those who failed to be generous with treats.
The jack-o-lantern, also known as will-o-the-wisp, fox fire and corpse candle, among other things, was believed to be a wandering soul which could not find refuge in either heaven or hell because of a particularly evil deed committed in its lifetime. The Finns believed that it was the soul of a child buried in the forest. A corpse candle is said to be a small flame moving through the air in the dark and is believed by the superstitious to be an omen of the observers imminent death.
According to ancient folklore from many places, a will-o-the-wisp wanders about swamp areas, enticing victims to follow. These strange fires were also known as "foolish fire," because only a fool would follow them. Today's pumpkin face is symbolic of that mocking spirit. It is always wise to look into any customs associated with holidays and be aware of their roots.
Here is a fact sheet we wrote about Halloween...
Origins Of Halloween
For a proper understanding of the modern American celebration on October 31st, we must look at three early celebrations that have come together to form today's Halloween.
The first of these precursors to Halloween goes all the way back to pre-Christian Ireland and Scotland to a celebration of the Druids or Celtic priests. The Celtic year began on November 1st with the festival of Samhain. On the eve of Samhain, October 31st, laughing bands of young people disguised in grotesque masks carved lanterns from turnips and carried them through the villages. It was sort of a harvest festival, and in addition, it was thought of as a festival of the dead. The druids believed it was on that night when the earth comes into closest contact with the spiritual world; and consequently ghosts, goblins and witches supposedly destroyed crops, killed farm animals and wreaked havoc on the villagers. As these spirits of the dead roamed around, villagers lighted bonfires to either drive them away or to guide the spirits of the dead back to their homes.
The second precursor to Halloween goes back to the Dark Ages in central Europe. There, the Christian church destroyed many of the temples of various pagan gods and goddesses, such as Diana and Apollo. However, this pagan worship was never completely eradicated and took on the form of witchcraft. One of the most important aspects of witchcraft is a number of celebrations each year which are called "Witches' Sabbaths." One of the highest of the Witches' Sabbaths is the High Sabbath or the Black Sabbath of Witches on October 31st. Much of the Halloween folklore of today such as black cats, broomsticks, cauldrons and spells come from the Black Sabbath.
The third precursor to Halloween goes back to the early Roman Catholic Church. The church had appointed certain days to honor each saint and basically ran out of days in the year for all their saints to have a day, so they decided to have one day to remember all the saints. They called it All Saints' Day. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III changed All Saints' Day from May 13th to November 1st, and in the year 834, Pope Gregory IV extended this celebration to the entire Roman church. This event was called Allhallowmass, and as you might suppose, there was a celebration on the evening before on October 31st, called All Hallow E'en, "all hallow" meaning all of the hallowed ones. As you might guess, the contraction of hallow and e'en is where the word Halloween is derived.
The modern custom of going door to door begging for candy while dressed in costumes called "trick or treating," goes back to the pagan new year's feast in Ireland. The spirits that were thought to throng about the houses of the living were greeted with a banquet. At the end of the feast, villagers disguised as souls of the dead, paraded to the outskirts of the village leading the spirits away. This was done to avoid any calamities the dead might bring. Another way the villagers tried to appease the dead was to set out bowls of fruit and other treats so the spirits would partake of them and leave them in peace. Later when the belief in ghosts and goblins declined, youths dressed up as ghosts and goblins and threatened to play tricks on those who failed to be generous with treats.
The jack-o-lantern, also known as will-o-the-wisp, fox fire and corpse candle, among other things, was believed to be a wandering soul which could not find refuge in either heaven or hell because of a particularly evil deed committed in its lifetime. The Finns believed that it was the soul of a child buried in the forest. A corpse candle is said to be a small flame moving through the air in the dark and is believed by the superstitious to be an omen of the observers imminent death.
According to ancient folklore from many places, a will-o-the-wisp wanders about swamp areas, enticing victims to follow. These strange fires were also known as "foolish fire," because only a fool would follow them. Today's pumpkin face is symbolic of that mocking spirit. It is always wise to look into any customs associated with holidays and be aware of their roots.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Maine Evenly Split on Historic Marriage Vote
Latest polling from Maine show residents equally split two weeks ahead of a historic vote which will decide if marriage is redefined in that state.
Here is the story.
What's important here is not whether Mainites will vote for legitimizing homosexual marriage, but whether they will choose to redefine marriage.
In 2006 Coloradans added a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a relationship between one man and one woman, 57-43 percent.
Here is the story.
What's important here is not whether Mainites will vote for legitimizing homosexual marriage, but whether they will choose to redefine marriage.
In 2006 Coloradans added a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a relationship between one man and one woman, 57-43 percent.
Medical Marijuana Law a Front for More Marijuana Use?
I love social do-gooders. Much of the time I am one myself.
But, Colorado's medical marijuana law, passed with good intentions to help chronically illl Coloradans has gone bust.
Find this story here.
In 2000, Colorado voters approved Amendment 20 which legalized small amounts of cannabis to be used by patients under the care of a physician. The rationale- many Coloradans with serious illnesses would finally get relief with medical marijuana. Right.
Most of us knew what would eventually happen. Word would get out and the fraudulent schemes would occur. In essence, marijuana use would be legalized in Colorado. Now, the number of Coloradans claiming a need for it is soaring!
My opinion. This law needs to be repealed.
But, Colorado's medical marijuana law, passed with good intentions to help chronically illl Coloradans has gone bust.
Find this story here.
In 2000, Colorado voters approved Amendment 20 which legalized small amounts of cannabis to be used by patients under the care of a physician. The rationale- many Coloradans with serious illnesses would finally get relief with medical marijuana. Right.
Most of us knew what would eventually happen. Word would get out and the fraudulent schemes would occur. In essence, marijuana use would be legalized in Colorado. Now, the number of Coloradans claiming a need for it is soaring!
My opinion. This law needs to be repealed.
H1N1 Vaccine Shortages-How Did This Happen?
This may have been the biggest under reported story yesterday.
However you slice it, the government has botched up the H1N1 flu virus supply line.
If you missed this story, here it is...
However you slice it, the government has botched up the H1N1 flu virus supply line.
If you missed this story, here it is...
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Montana judges smack down parental rights
Montana is not Colorado but its close.
This story should chill you particularly if your a parent.
What a Montana court has done is stand on its head the right of natural parents to have sole claim on their child. Instead, there is legal precedence for third parties to make a parenting claim on a child.
This is not new news in Colorado. Colorado law allows an individual (non-parent) to petition for parental responsibilities when he or she has had physical care of the child for at least six months.
What we object to is a court determining that a non-parent's claims to parenting time trumps those of a fit natural parent...
This is a bad decision that needs to be overturned.
This story should chill you particularly if your a parent.
What a Montana court has done is stand on its head the right of natural parents to have sole claim on their child. Instead, there is legal precedence for third parties to make a parenting claim on a child.
This is not new news in Colorado. Colorado law allows an individual (non-parent) to petition for parental responsibilities when he or she has had physical care of the child for at least six months.
What we object to is a court determining that a non-parent's claims to parenting time trumps those of a fit natural parent...
This is a bad decision that needs to be overturned.
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