The Great American Shift

Pondering this for quite some time now, it is clear the position of America has shifted.

The question of “should Christians get involved with politics?” is one that has been swept under the proverbial rug for decades. Why? The idea that we would have a voice in governing was a deceptive lie of the enemy that many embraced on both sides.

How can any country have Christian leaders if they don’t get involved with the process?

Exodus 18:21

“Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.”

The above verse demonstrates God’s purpose for us in that we have the elect duty to place in leadership roles those who pledge truth to govern. Once again God gives us the choice but if we elect people of dishonest gain, we all will suffer.

In my 63 years on this earth, I have never known America to be so divided. For decades the enemy has been working hard to achieve disunity and to a great extent he has succeeded. But this is America, and what goes on in America goes elsewhere and God is putting a halt to it.

A discorded media, along with venomous social atmospheres have become the crusades of hate, vitriol, cruelty, bullying and maliciousness. Much of these have been planted; paid for and fueled by wealthy donors of contempt and viciousness. Why? The devil doesn’t like to lose and he is speaking through the mouths of those who have allowed him entrance into their sad, jealous lives to maintain power and control.

As I dive into to murky waters here, it is imperative that we see the difference. God is no respecter of persons or political party. (Romans 2:11) However, when it is perfectly clear which side is right and which one is wrong, we as Christians need to wake up and understand God expects us to follow righteousness even if it goes against what our family has always done or what we have believed in the past.

Recently on Facebook a woman replied to a comment I made about the state of our country. Her hate for President Trump centered on the future of her grandchildren and what a terrible example he was as our leader. She had been a Democrat her entire life and felt our present government was leading us down the wrong path. She alluded to the fact she is a Christian and didn’t really believe in abortion yet was determined to vote liberally.

My response to her was anyone who votes Democrat at this point is voting for abortion, homosexuality (etc.), illegal immigration, and just about anything anti-Christian. The top 2 are reasons enough for any Christian to vote conservatively because they go against everything God stands for. She never responded. At the least, hopefully she rethought her position.

Christians have had the idea President Trump isn’t Christian enough. He isn’t a Pastor, Preacher or Priest. He’s a business man. Yet, observe just a few of his positions and accomplishments so far.

President Trump’s Executive Order prohibits the U.S. Government from discriminating against Christians or punishing expressions of faith, affirming First Amendment protections for religious freedom.

President Trump has reversed President Obama’s policy of allowing transgendered people to serve in our military because the military is no place for progressive social experiments.

President Trump has given states the option to deny Planned Parenthood access to Medicaid and other federal grant money because Planned Parenthood uses this money to facilitate its conducting of more than 328,000 abortions per year at Planned Parenthood’s abortion mills.

In sharp contrast to President Obama’s rhetorical war on America’s police, President Trump is outspoken in his support for America’s police and has offered cities federal support to crack down on violent crime in our city streets.

President Trump ordered the move of the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. A major win for the Jewish people that no other President has accomplished.

President Trump and his team have worked diligently to free almost 20 Americans from foreign prisons including Christians such as Pastor Andrew Brunson.

We must remind ourselves that many in the Bible such as Moses, Abraham, David, Samson, Peter and Paul were faulted men who in some cases were involved in criminal acts. God raised them up and used them mightily to achieve his purposes. God is doing the same with President Trump. He is just as human as they were and as we are.

Election Day is around the corner and many are already voting. God is just getting started with the last great revival. He is using America as a cornerstone of spreading the gospel because we are and always have been a Christian nation.

God has given America a fair and balanced system of election; use it. Vote according to God’s word and will.

All you have to do is Google an agenda for the Republicans and Democrats and read the Bible.

The writing is on the wall. (Daniel 5)

 

 

 

 

The Lost Champion

 

As one who played tennis for many years and watched championships for decades, I must say I have never seen one like yesterday’s Women’s final at the US Tennis Open.

 In any sport there are rules and regulations. There are contentious moments and days of grandeur but in the end the cliché that “it’s not about winning, but how you play the game,” still holds true.

In the past, players would rant and rave, scream at umpires and throw rackets. Some more than others depending on their temperaments. They displayed themselves in questionable performances or meltdowns of anger and hurt. Often they were cited for violations and sometimes fined as they should be. These outbursts of emotions from top seeded tennis pros would draw crowds filling stadiums to witness such shows of passionate athleticism but it doesn’t excuse their behavior.

Sadly, it has become the victimization of players who get offended by umpire calls and cited for their blistering tirades on the court that screams at the validity of the game. Calling into question are also the umpires who have personal issues with certain players along with whether or not they nitpick rules in different matches. The job is one that comes with recognition but should be scrutinized carefully. Umpires should be fair to all.

Bias of sportscasters of one athlete over all the other players has become as bad as the media in politics.  It only adds to the fury of hate and the loss of the Champion in waiting; and that was definitely the case these last 2 weeks.

 Of course there are discriminating facts between the sexes. It isn’t right, but shouldn’t be given into the debate of one player over another simply because of their accomplishments, fame and fortune. No one is above the rules especially as technology today can reveal exact spots the tennis ball lands and film crews can video tape unauthorized activities of those involved with the players during a match.

Everyone is responsible for how they act on and off the court. In this day and time the authors of entitlement have declared war on others because they believe they deserve to be treated differently and receive that which doesn’t belong to them, no matter what. That goes for players, coaches and umpires alike.

Forget competition as an incentive; the master of greed and offense has taken over.

What started out as an exciting, and anticipated great Championship match ended up being all about victimization that literally stole the greatest moment in a 20 year old girl’s life.

As she stood on the sidelines waiting and watching, her years of hard work and labor were swept under the rug of a diminished culture set on an “it’s all about me” syndrome. Tears streaming down her face should have been tears of joy for becoming the first Japanese woman to ever win a Grand Slam tournament. Instead they were tears overshadowed by shameful disputes that should have been determined peacefully and quickly to the point of being settled off the court in private even if the match needed to be paused.

 

As an American citizen and one who loves the game of tennis Naomi, I apologize that you were exposed to such reprehensible inefficiency.  The USTA needs some strong lessons in court management so that this kind of disorganization never happens again.

I commend and congratulate you, Naomi Osaka for your mature, quiet and graceful conduct in the midst of a tumultuous scene. You truly are the real Champion.

 

 

John the “Scammer”

 

Just when you think it won’t happen to you, it does.

A few weeks ago my laptop almost crashed. Literally. It began screaming and sounding off alarms….do not shut off….do not close….call this number……

Had I known then what I know now I would never have called that number.

The guy who said he was ‘John” from Microsoft wasn’t. Or whatever his name was.

He had the drill down pat.

He was nice, professional and loved to be a Microsoft tech agent helping people gain their privacy back. Yeah, right.

Had I looked up the real phone number to Microsoft I would have caught him sooner than later.

My Dell was suffering.

He walked me through the process of repairing it all the while lying through his teeth.

According to Microsoft, the real one, these scammers are everywhere. The fraudulent phone numbers they sent to me was a mile long.

These scammers con people into ordering their tech support, then get the unsuspecting customer to give them access to their computer. Little did I know my virus protection had run out and that’s how “John” or whatever his name was, got access to mine.

They also lie to you and tell you to buy a Google Play card, call them back once you do so they can install it which helps to protect your PC and then use it themselves. NOPE. NaDa. Not happening.

Once it was fixed or I thought it was a few days later as I was surfing, all of a sudden I lost control of my mouse. Then all these porn sites began to appear on my screen. The mouse was obviously being controlled by someone else…..because I couldn’t move it. I would try and click the exit button to remove the sites and they would take it over again.

Checking my installed programs I found one, “logmein” that looked unusual. Google told me that was one of many, scammers use to scam into the most vulnerable laptops.

They don’t care; it’s all random.

Explaining this to my husband and daughter, we realized the guy who was supposed to be helping was the villain himself.

He continued to call me and leave me messages of which I didn’t respond to any.

Within the next 24 hours we had to change everything. Thank the good Lord, nothing was stolen.

Thanks to Experian, we now have Fraud Alerts on our accounts. Even if he tried to get a credit card in our name, the companies would get an automatic alert to stop it.

Hindsight is often a learning tool. Looking back, the signs were there.

Red Flags jumping like screaming cats.

Misspelled words in emails from this so-called Microsoft Tech Agent.

His constant stuttering on the phone and anxiety ridden words.

But….this is not about what John the Scammer did to me and who knows how many others but how God immediately told me to forgive him.

Outside of wanting to ring his neck, calling him back and placing the fear of God in him, my gut instinct just told me to pray for this guy.

Sure, he’s a criminal but God still loves him just like He loves me.

I truly believe in his mind he is so deceived that as he attacks unsuspecting victims. By invading their privacy he thinks he is really helping them. I only think that because either he was an extraordinary actor or he was a nice criminal if there are any.

However, I give him no resolve, just forgiveness and many prayers that God is convicting him of his lifestyle of sin.

Beware of these scams. They catch people off guard and can if one is not quick and smart to steal what they can.

And Forgive.

Ephesians 4 31-32

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

 

 

 

 

 

Oscar Who?

 

You know….

Oscar….friends of Tony, Emmy and Grammy?

I wonder if Oscar knows who he was really honoring Sunday night….

Does he care? What about Tony?

Does Grammy understand the lyrics in the songs he rewards?

Does Emmy approve of the shows she recognizes?

These self-imposed flattery events are just that….filled with Hollywood elites who have lost touch with what is really important.

They are no longer ads for future actor’s roles but platforms to spew hate and vitriol towards anyone who disagrees with them. Fortunately, the ratings have dropped to the lowest in years but it is bothersome that still over 30 million people glue themselves to such a waste of time.

In case you haven’t figured it out I don’t watch them. The only reason I am writing about it is to sign in on the other side.

I use to wonder if Oscar knew how he was being treated…Does he have any idea who filters through the auditorium of red carpet celebrities just to win Oscar, take him home and sit him on shelf to collect dust.

Does Oscar and his many friends have any clue the funneled money of fashion, jewelry, fancy cars and gifts could be used otherwise?

Melt him down and he could aid in what many of these entertainment communities fight so hard for….such as; (that is without using their own personal finances)

Education

Feeding and sheltering the homeless

Abused and battered women

Aids and medical research

Sex trafficking

Philippians 2: 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.

All these are worthy to be recognized as needing help. However the Hollywood crowd is very political in who they choose to support. While Matt Damon and George Clooney play shoot-em-up-cowboy with guns and rifles they yell and scream at anyone else who uses those weapons as self-defense backing up any politician who agrees with them to pursue gun control.

While stars believe abortion is a right not a life, they promote those who are medically trained in such murder.

While many in the acting/music industry believe anyone who doesn’t agree with their politics is intolerant, they use these platforms to bash our new President and anyone who supports him. HUH?

But what about the other people. You know. The Americans who really deserve awards?

First Responders: Police, Firefighters, Paramedics, Rescuers

Missionaries

Hospital workers, Doctors, Nurses

Pastors

Sunday school teachers

Private education

Military/Veterans

My aunt and uncle were missionaries to Mexico many years ago. The major earthquake that hit was not far from where they lived. We didn’t know for weeks if they survived. She later told me how it devastated the already poor country.

My cousin, their daughter was in Banja Luka, Bosnia when it was at war. She hid in a friend’s apartment for weeks just to stay alive. She taught English and Spanish at the University there helping many students grow in education as a missionary who also brought many of them to Christ.

Presently my cousin and his family, their son have moved to Germany and are ministering to many Muslim refugees. It is a dangerous calling; one which he has to keep private.

And then there is our military which really hits home with me. Living near one of the largest Jet Fighter Training bases in the world for almost 10 years has given me a whole new perspective of what sacrifice means.

A Major, told me a few years ago after being deployed to Iraq for 12 months he was, “so glad to get home because he was tired of getting shot at.”

My next door neighbor who has since retired and moved away was a pilot for 20 years. He flew every aircraft available and served in many operations. He would not talk about it.

Our neighbor now is in the new division of Army personnel at this base since President Obama shut one down in Atlanta a few years ago. His job is deciphering intelligence. As I probed him a few weeks ago for any information I thought I could get, all he responded with was, “There is a whole lot going on in the world right now.” He spoke it with a very strong sense of concern.

So again I ask, Oscar who?

As Americans where are our priorities?

Oscar and his friends probably would like to be more useful.

Instead of a superstar’s reflection of their own past achievements in a comfortable, protected environment, maybe we should be celebrating and supporting those who are the real heroes who live and work daily in life or death circumstances.

Then Oscar and his friends can throw out that can of Pledge.

 Isaiah 58:10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

 

 

 

 

 

Divine Connection or Coincidence?

 

Technology is mind boggling and necessary in our modern society but like many advances it comes with its problematic issues.

Never mind the Linksys router we’ve been using for years wasn’t on my radar for radical change; like buying a new one. After a morning of endless paperwork especially taxes on my laptop all of a sudden I had no internet connection. Our daughter confirmed she had none either so through numerous channels of communication discovered the router had finally died.

Net Gear found a new home re-connecting us not only to the internet but giving us a better signal all over the house.

The next day, I continued my journey with our taxes only to realize the printer wasn’t connected wirelessly so I couldn’t print anything. Ugh.

I am by no means a computer whiz, but after 20 years using these devices I have learned one or two things. Remembering how it was connected using my laptop before I began the process.

A few hours later, pulling my hair out as to why it wasn’t working, I sat on the phone twice with Net Gear for 20 minutes each waiting for the free tech support that came with our purchase. No agent ever answered. The next option was a chat online which resulted in the agent telling me this wasn’t a Net Gear problem but a printer problem. So much for free support. I’m sure this agent was well qualified to figure out the problem but chose otherwise making it a service warranty marketing tactic instead. Not buying it.

Frustration began to take over so I quit working on it punishing myself for not being able to do what appeared to be easy. Sitting down for a rest, I prayed.

 

“God, I know you know the printer isn’t connected and I need to use it. Please help or send me someone who knows how to do this. Thank you.”

Honestly, 10 minutes later my doorbell rang.

My next door neighbor who never comes to our door, and is one of my tenants was standing there. He’s an Army man and asked about their lease making sure they could remain in the house until 2018 when he would get his orders to move.

“I will speak to the owner but see no problem with that. Only right now I couldn’t even print you out a lease because my printer isn’t connected to our new router.”

An hour later he diagnosed the problem. The printer needed to rest so he told me to try the next day repeating what he had done. Informing him of how I had beaten myself up over this lack of knowledge he said they have IT people specifically trained at the base that spend their time all day long identifying problems with their computer systems which is how he knew what to do. And for the record it wasn’t anything I had seen before.

After he left, I thanked God.

There is no doubt in my mind God sent him to my door.

There is no doubt God knew this man would answer my need.

There is no doubt this was a Divine Connection God set up.

God wants to be a part of every area in our lives but we have to ask and communicate our needs to Him most of the time before He will answer. There have been times in my life when I didn’t even know I had a need and God supplied it without me having any idea it was coming. He did that because I was so focused on what was so vitally important to begin with that He took care of that which was completely out of my control.

Our relationship with Christ is the key here. When the lines of communication are open 24/7 with God, not only does He supply, surprises become a fringe benefit.  He also protects us from that which we don’t know we need protecting from.

I commune with God off and on all day long, every day. It’s like a never ending conversation. Little prayers like, “God help me with this,” or “God what is your take on this particular subject” go a long way. And as always, He loves it when our gratitude is also never ending. Being thankful to God is like making deposits in a bank account that just keeps growing.

Knowing God intimately produces love, healing and peace which often leads to answers to crucial questions we may have along the way. Even questions that may seem trivial.

But God likes trivial.

 

 

 

 

Super Bowl what?

 

My team lost.

Before the overtime started we turned the TV off and went to bed.

Waking up Tuesday morning I checked my phone and there it was.

The Patriots had made an historic comeback.

Of course they did! My teams always seem to be the underdog.

However, the Lord stopped me.

In my heart he spoke these words,

“The Patriots comeback is a confirmation of the comeback for America I began on November 8^th, 2016.”

My entire mindset changed.

Thanking God for his goodness and mercy, the Super Bowl took on a whole new meaning. It wasn’t about a game, or a halftime show or who won or lost.

It was about God showing up in one of the most watched TV programs of the year and making a statement about Himself.

It was about how for some reason God likes football???????

It was about how God can use any format to deliver his messages.

But mostly He was telling me to be hopeful about America. He was letting me know He has plans for this country that are for good and not evil, for a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11) He heard and listened to our prayers; from those of us who for years have been on our knees crying out for forgiveness to heal our land.
(2 Chronicles 7:14)

No matter how bad it looks right now with all the protests, vandalism and criminal behavior, God is reforming our nation to be a leader for other nations for His kingdom. He is literally shaking the evil to root it out. The enemy will continue his battles but once again, he has been dealt a huge blow.

That “Trumps” any game loss any day, even the Super Bowl.

 

 

Cloverton’s Hallelujah

A Recopied post from Matt Walsh

This is so good I had to re-post it here on WordPress.

FROM MATT WALSH BLG:

Jesus deliberately did …and said things that He knew would upset people. He stirred up division and controversy. He provoked. He didn’t have to break from established customs, but He did. He didn’t have to heal that man’s hand on the Sabbath, knowing how it would disturb others and cause them immense irritation, but He did, and He did so with ‘anger’ [Mark 3:5]. He could have gone with the flow a little bit. He could have chilled out and let bygones be bygones, but He didn’t. He could have been diplomatic, but He wasn’t.

He could have told everyone to relax, but instead He made them uncomfortable. He could have put them at ease, but He chose to put them on edge.

He convinced the mob not to stone the adulterer [John 8], and you’ll notice that He then turned to her and told her to stop sinning. Indeed, never once did He encounter sin and corruption and say: “Hey, do your thang, homies. Just have fun. YOLO!”

The followers of Nice Jesus love to quote the ‘throw the first stone’ verse — and for good reason, it’s a beautiful and compelling story — but you rarely hear mention of the exchange that occurs just a few sentences later, in that very same chapter. In John 8:44, Jesus rebukes unbelieving Jews and calls them ‘sons of the Devil.’ Wow.

That wasn’t nice, Jesus.

Didn’t anyone ever tell you that you can catch more flies with honey, Jesus?

Of course, you’d catch even more flies with a mound of garbage, so maybe ‘catching flies’ isn’t the point.

While we’re often reminded that Jesus said, ‘live by the sword, die by the sword,’ we seem to ignore his other sword references. Like when he told his disciples to sell their cloaks and buy a sword [Luke 22], or when He said that He ‘didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword’ [Matthew 10].

Now, It’s true that He is God and we are not. Jesus can say whatever He wants to say. But we are called to be like Christ, which begs the question: what is Christ like?

Well, He is, among other things, uncompromising. He is intolerant of evil. He is disruptive. He is sometimes harsh. He is sometimes impolite. He is sometimes angry.

He is always loving.

Christ was not and is not a cosmic guidance counselor, and He is not mankind’s best friend, nor did He call us to be. He made dogs for that role — our destiny is more substantial, and our path to it is far more challenging and dangerous.

And nice? Where does nice factor into this?

Nice: affable, peachy, swell.

Nice has nothing to do with Christianity. I’ve got nothing against nice — nice is nice — but even serial killers can be nice to people. They generally are exceptionally affable, except when they’re murdering. That means they’re nice to, like, 97 or 98 percent of everyone they meet.

I guess they’re following Christ almost all of the time, right?

And tolerance?

Tolerance is easy. Any coward can learn to tolerate something. Tolerance is inaction; intolerance is action. We are called to refuse to tolerate evil. We are called to get angry at it and actively work to destroy it.

Who’d have guess it — anger is far more godly than tolerance ever could be.

Obviously I’m not suggesting that anger is automatically, or even usually, justified. Christ exhibited righteous anger; righteous anger is the sort of anger that naturally fills our soul when we confront the depths of depravity and sin. It is wrong to seethe with rage because someone cut us off in traffic or gossips about us behind our back, but it is also wrong to feel no anger when babies are murdered and the institution of the family is undermined and attacked. Anger is good when it is directed at things that offend not us, but God. Just as Christ’s intolerance, like the intolerance we’re commanded to have, stems from a desire to save souls and defend Truth.

Even when we have righteous anger, we do not have carte blanche to act on it in anyway we please. But, according to the Bible, there are times to use strong language, there are times to cause a scene, there are times to hurt people’s feelings, and there are times when we might need to use physical force.

Jesus told us to turn the other cheek when we are personally attacked; He never told us to turn our backs entirely and let lies spread and evil grow.

So, enough with the niceties.

Christians in this country sound too similar to the the Golden Girls song, and not enough like the Battle Hymn of the Republic. There’s too much ‘thank you for being a friend,’ and not enough ‘lightening from His terrible swift sword.’

We’re all hugging and singing Kumbaya, when we should be marching and shouting Hallelujah.

We’re nice Christians with our nice Jesus, and we are trampled on without protest.

Enough, already.

I think it’s time that Christianity regain its fighting spirit; the spirit of Christ.

I think it’s time we ask that question: ‘What would Jesus do?’

And I think it’s time we answer it truthfully: Jesus would flip tables and yell.

Maybe we ought to follow suit.

Now where is that frog?

 

Last night I posted on FB a picture of a tiny green frog on our dining room wall. Edgar our, ferocious predator cat was determined to get this frog for himself.

With such a high ceiling there wasn’t any way any of us could have reached this wayward tailless amphibian.

Somehow I don’t think it stopped Edgar. Either he stayed up all night waiting to catch this little guy or ……. He ate it. There is no sign of the frog and Edgar has hardly moved from his sleeping chair all morning. If he gets sick later, then we’ll know what became of the tiny intruder.

The lesson here is that Edgar didn’t learn his lesson from the last time he caught a frog. If he actually did eat it this time he really is a slow learner. He is one to catch a critter and beat it, or torture it to death which I find totally disgusting but not eat it.

His instincts as a feline are to hunt and catch. Altho he is a spoiled baby who has been completely sheltered since he adopted us last June (2015) that instinct is proudly demonstrated in his big world of our back yard. Unlike Maxi our female cat who has left us many gifts, Edgar growls as he runs in the house with arms or legs hanging out of his mouth. He wants to show us his great catch, but don’t even think for one minute he will let you have it.

Aren’t we just like that with God?

We choose to hang on to that which isn’t good for us instead of giving it to God for him to deal with?

Old habits are hard to break. God may even want us to let go of certain habits that aren’t necessarily bad but God may have an alternative that is better.

Psalm 55:22 “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

Sounds easy, so why aren’t we doing that?

Maybe you should ask my cat.

 

 

Video with Patricia King and Lance Wallnau