Disturbing, but True

I heard a couple of statistics yesterday that really soured my stomach. I have to share them for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that I actually have a fear for the continuation of our nation as a free Republic. What our founding fathers fought and died for is being erased and made null and void.

Statistic #1.
A poll was done in 2 days by an independent research company that questioned over 15K homes of registered voters as to whether or not they supported the idea of the federal "stimulus" bill. The results that they came up with showed that nearly 80% of Americans polled REJECT the idea of this stimulus package and DO NOT want it to pass. Personally, I do not know a single person that supports this legislation that is no more a stimulus bill than any other pork-filled piece of legislation.

In my estimation, if this bill passes, we are no longer a democratic republic, but rather live under an Anarchist Leadership where 550 some people get to decide the fate of all Americans regardless of what we think or vote. If this bill passes, with a CLEAR majority of Americans against it, every single representative legislator that votes for it, should be arrested and tried for treason, and if found guilty, hung for their crime against the people. These legislators were elected to represent their constituency, not to vote their own conscience.

Statistic #2.
If this stimulus bill passes under our currently democratically controlled House, Senate and Executive, this administration, in their first 30 days or so in office, will have authorized more deficit spending than, get this, our whole nation has authorized from 1776, to 1980!! That's right, this one administration in 30 days will have authorized the spending or more borrowed money (which this bill does not even address how that will get repaid, and no one seems to be asking...), than every single administration before them from George Washington through to Ronald Reagan! Unbelievable.

Statistic #3.
If this stimulus bill passes, the United States Government will them own or control over 30% of our nations Gross National Product. International economic statistics say that when a government owns or controls one third or more of the GNP of a nation, that it is no longer considered a democratic governmental system, but a Socialist one. In other words, if this bill passes, in the eyes of international money men, America will be looked upon as a socialist nation, not a democracy.

Please pray for our nation and it's leadership. It is a biblical directive after all. Then, call your legislators today and urge them to vote against this stimulus bill, or our nation will change for the worse, not the better, and may not be reversible.

No Fear in Love: But Wisdom None the Less

1 John 4:18

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

This being the week of Valentine’s Day, and by God’s divine timing the same week I started going through I Corinthians chapter 13 with our church body [also known as the ‘love’ chapter], I am going to dedicate this week to the study of Love. Not “love”, but “Love” as with a capital “L”. Hey, let’s just call this “Love Week” shall we?

A study on love, something that I’m doing right now, is an exhaustive search, and an exhausting task. This is so simply because the bible is God’s Word to man. It emanates from God, is inspired by Him, and God IS love. Therefore, God’s revealed story to us is all about love. I shared this past Sunday that all God has ever done, is doing, or will ever do, all originates and radiates from Love.

John talks a great deal about Love. John is a good authority on the subject as scripture defines John as the disciple Jesus loved. At least that is John’s description anyway. John is the one to whom Jesus trusted his mother from the cross.

And here, John connect Love and fear. Interesting. Scripture tells us more tan 300 times that we should not fear. And, when you add in all the other possible combinations of different ways that same thought can be worded, some have estimated the count to go up to over 1,000 times that we are told not to be afraid. But notice that this lack of fear, is based on our abundance of Love.

This Love of which we speak, as 1 Corinthians 13:1 tells us, is a supernatural gift of the spirit. It is divine, and it comes only from God. This is the reason that I have been capitalizing the word Love all along. Once we have, and understand this divine Love, it can be used for so many things. We can share it with others. We can use this Love to bring calm into our lives. Having this Love certainly allows us the freedom to enjoy people’s company or conversation in odd or strange situations, that should we lack that Love would make things difficult or at the very least uncomfortable. But most of all, having this Love at work in our lives, gives us the ability to trust God with all things. Including our safety.

Now I know that some of you who know me closely will find this a little bit strange, A man that works for a firearms company and is the strongest and most argent defender of the Second Amendment, using Love to protect himself rather than the always effective ~drilled into my US Army Infantry psyche ~ superior firepower option? Well, yes. Because we take realistic options to protect ourselves does not mean that we do not Love God enough to fully trust Him. I do own firearms, typically carry them and advocate their legal use for protection. Does this mean I do not Love God? No, but neither does the fact that I have a spare tire on my car, or a fire extinguisher in my house, or a bug-zapper in the back yard, or life, home or auto insurance, or a 401K. But I trust God to use these things, all of them, in His way, under His guidance, and under His sovereignty because I know He loves me. But what we must never do is allow fear to control us. Fear should never be a problem for us, it should always be HIS problem, and if our Love for Him is true, it WILL be His problem. Fear that controls us or limits our ability to work for His Kingdom or in anyway to serve God is a sin, just like anything else that might take control of us, and it must be avoided.

You see I love God, and trust Him to care for my provisions in my retirement years. I trust Him to protect us from severe health issues and house fires. But at the same time, we can make common sense choices to help protect ourselves as well. But having the Love of God in our lives frees us from the fear that may come should we lack that love. I pray for perfect love that allows all my hopes and desires to fall into the hands of God. He is my Rock, my Salvation, and my fortress. I certainly love Him enough to see to my protection, whatever that may be.