Random Christmas thoughts

First off, here's wishing all of my readers a very Merry Christmas! I pray for God's blessings upon you and your loved ones, as we celebrate the turning point in history, the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Just some random thoughts about Christmas time:

*I recently read a good commentary about the three great Christmas movies that came out in 1946. You definitely know It's a Wonderful Life (unless you live in a cave on an uninhabited island) and also Miracle on 34th Street, starring little Natalie Wood. But the OTHER movie that isn't as well known is also worth a viewing: The Bishop's Wife with Cary Grant as the angel Dudley and David Niven as the troubled bishop (the 90s remake The Preacher's Wife was okay, but you can't top the original). The best scene is when Dudley (with a typewriter that typed with unseen hands) dictates a sermon for the bishop, about the One who ususally DOESN'T have a Christmas gift under the tree every December 25. That scene alone is worth watching the entire movie.

*Many Bible readers have yawned their way through the numerous names in Jesus' geneological trees recorded in Matthew (his step-father Joseph's side) and Luke (Mary's family line). And yet (as I found out in a wonderful message yesterday by my former pastor), there are very powerful truths God is speaking through those parts of scripture, if we would only take a look. For example, look at the four women listed in Matthew's list (three of them, by the way, were Gentile): one acted like a prostitute in desperation (Tamar); one WAS a prostitute (Rahab) who saved the Israeli spies at Jericho; one was from a people,the Moabites, that the Jews were forbidden to intermingle with (Ruth), and the last was an adulteress (Bathsheba). And yet, all four are in the holy scripture as part of the line of Jesus Christ!

The lessons: 1) God doesn't focus on what you've done, but what you can become; 2) the wonderous Christmas story comes to us through horribly inperfect people; 3) As Pastor Gray illustrated, every instrument in God's orchestra matters to Him! What a lesson of hope for us all!

*I'll end this with my list of favorite Christmas movies:

Best all time: It's a Wonderful Life.
Best Christmas Carol version: A Christmas Carol, the 1951 English version.
Best innovation on Santa Claus: Ernest Saves Christmas. You read that right. It's the first Christmas movie I can remember with a "renewable" line of Santas (The Santa Clause came out several years later). And yes, the movie IS hilarious.
Best TV Christmas movie: A Christmas Memory with Truman Capote (PBS), funny and tear-jerking at the same time (Capote's narration of his classic gives it extra impact). A Child's Christmas in Wales (also PBS, based on the Dylan Thomas classic story), comes in a close second.
Best Christmas cartoon: a four-way tie between A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (all released in the 60s). The kids STILL drop everything to watch them. They just don't make them like that anymore.
Best modern Christmas classic: A Christmas Story, complete with kids getting their tongues frozen on poles and a turncoat store Santa: "A BB gun? You'll put your eye out!"
Best underrated Christmas movie: The Nativity Story, which got a ton less publicity than it deserved.

New US health care "reform" critic: China

With all the so-called health care nationalization "debate" (read: railroading) cluttering the airwaves in Washington, you might have missed a critique of Obamacare from an interesting source: no, not Rush, Hannity or Beck, but CHINA. You read that right. The homeland of Anita Dunn's favorite inspirational leader is expressing its concerns over the viability of the plan, according to Reuters' reporter James Pethokoukis:

"Guess what? It turns out the Chinese are kind of curious about how President Barack Obama’s health care reform plans would impact America’s huge fiscal deficit. Government officials are using his Asian trip as an opportunity to ask the White House questions. Detailed questions.

"Boilerplate assurances that America won’t default on its debt or inflate the shortfall away are apparently not cutting it. Nor should they, when one owns nearly $2 trillion in assets denominated in the currency of a country about to double its national debt over the next decade."

Get that? China owns $2 trillion in US debt. Our lender, if you will, is raising a red flag--it's a like a banker noticing that you're behind on your car payments, and wondering why you suddenly have a hankering to buy a boat.

President Obama and his health-care nationalizers should check out the Bible (which would be a great start) and consider Proverbs 22:7 (ESV): "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender."

Obama politics, the Chicago Way

If you like quoting from classic movies as much as I do--while at the same time trying to stop your head from spinning with all the Obama administration attacks against anyone who opposes them--you'll want to check the article here by Kim Strassel at the Wall Street Journal.

There, you'll find out about how Chicago thuggery is being used against Obama's opponents--and even those who go along with his socialistic transforming of our society--using lines from the classic 1987 Brian De Palma movie The Untouchables (which earned Mr. 007, Sean Connery, his first-ever Oscar).

President Obama's blasts against his opponents would have made Nixon blush. And the hypocrisy is just plain blatant. During a recent news coneference, White House Press Secretary (and laughing stock)Robert Gibbs was forced to defend his boss's labeling Fox News as not a "real" news organization, since it has a "perspective," against probing questions by ABC's Jake Tapper and veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas. The kicker: attending an off-the-record briefing with the president that week was Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow--two commentators from the "non-perspective" MSNBC.

Could this all be a purposeful distraction, a sleight of hand move to take the public eye off the flailing health care nationalization and Obama's dithering on whether to send more troops to the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan?

So in this great war of words that the Great Bipartisan Unifier has declared on his critics, remember the true philosophy of Chicago politics from which he draws his inspiration: "They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way"--Malone (played by Connery), The Untouchables.

A Nobel joke

It's official--the Nobel Peace Prize is now a joke. Keep in mind, President Obama was nominated for the prize within 10 days of his inauguration (Jan. 30 is the deadline for nominations). Okay, so maybe the Nobel Peace Prize committee has some supernatural foresight about Obama's "future" achievements we are not privy to (more than likely, the committee--drawn from the leftist Norwegian parliament instead of the Swedish-based committees--wanted to prop up a prominent fellow "progressive").

Please tell me what "accomplishments" Obama has, that put him in the same category as Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa or Norman Borlaugh (the scientist whose research and promotion of genetically-enhanced wheat and maize is credited with saving ONE BILLION LIVES). Sure there have also been dumb choices over the years (does the name Al Gore ring a bell?) But even some Obama supporters were astonished by this choice.

Let's see, by the way, what our president does with the $1.4 million prize (will he "spread the wealth"?).

Obama's Olympian flop

"The Ego Has Landed."

This Drudge Report headline sums it up--the ousting of Chicago from the 2016 Olympic running (in the first round) is a major pushback by the IOC against President Obama's overweening pride.

A friend had asked me this morning what were Chicago's chances of landing the games. I responded that based on the presentation I saw on late night TV, chances were not very good. The video presentations were slick enough, and it probably would have been best to end it on First Lady Michelle Obama's sharp speech. But the Chicago team had to go "over the top" with bringing in the president (dragging him away from less urgent matters like, say, Iran's nuclear weapons quest, the increasing downturn in the war in Afghanistan, and his flailing health care nationalization; then again, that last point might have made his trip to Copenhagen worthwhile after all).

But two points of the presentation convinced me that the Windy City's quest was all but lost:

1)During the final video clip, a bunch of children kept repeating "Yes We Can!"--the official Obama worship mantra...I mean campaign slogan. Dragging in a political slogan into the Olympic bid was not a very bright move.

2) Then there was this incredible line from the president's speech to the IOC: "Nearly one year ago, on a clear November night, people from every corner of the world gathered in the city of Chicago or in front of their televisions to watch the results of the U.S. Presidential election. Their interest wasn't about me as an individual. Rather, it was rooted in the belief that America's experiment in democracy still speaks to a set of universal aspirations and ideals. Their interest sprung from the hope that in this ever-shrinking world, our diversity could be a source of strength, a cause for celebration; and that with sustained work and determination, we could learn to live and prosper together during the fleeting moment we share on this Earth."

This statement is akin to Obama's claim during the presidential campaign that when he was elected, the oceans would stop rising (you know, from that global warming that's allegedly melting the polar ice caps).

Such self-love was probably a little too much for the delegates to throw in their lot with Obama's hometown. Now, there more than likely were other reasons: the tape of some Chicago gang thugs beating an honor student to death; recent polls showing that the city was split on whether to hold the games; a streak of anti-Americanism among IOC members that goes back to the 90s; and even the current economic woes in America (remember, during the economic slump in the 70s, Denver was awarded the 1976 Summer Olympics--but that city's voters rejected the games because they did not want the tax burden. Wise move, since most Olympics run into serious debt or only barely break even).

Here's hoping that, however the state-run media spins this latest Obama flop, his worshippers (including his highness) will see that the world doesn't revolve around him.

Prayer... to OBAMA?

Breitbart TV recently turned up this unbelievable December 2008 clip from The Gamaliel Foundation, the community organizing group that helped sponsor Barak Obama's initial work in Chicago. If THIS doesn't cause you to cry out to our Lord Jesus for our nation, I'm not sure anything else will.

Obama worship (again)

“Barack Hussein Obama
“Red and yellow, black and white
“All are equal in his sight …”

This is part of a song that children in a New Jersey school were taught--a song of praise to President Obama (I wonder, are they allowed to sing Christmas songs?). Watch the video and pray to the TRUE God for our children. Never has this nation been taught to idolize any leader in such a way (and as Glenn Beck asked on his show, is the word “his” in the third line capitalized or not? We are all equal in WHOSE sight?).



Someone please explain to me what the difference is between this, and having children sing to some despot in North Korea or Cuba, or some other cult leader. On a side note: I've wondered about whether Matthew 25 Network was an actual religious group or mere political stooges. Now it's settled: they're religious--and we know who they REALLY worship. Why else would they not stand against such anti-Christian idolatry?

Cult of personality?

This video was recently shown at an elementary school assembly in Utah, outraging parents. Take a good long look at it: never in our history have Americans been urged by our government to promote a specific leader in such a cultic manner. With the health nationalization taking a dive (although that battle is not yet over), the arts community--at the urging of the White House and its newly acquired propaganda arm, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)--is coming to the Great Leader's rescue.



Imagine the outcry it George W. Bush ad urged the arts community to do this: an ad that features his voice over his presidential campaign art (the famous drawing that adored one too many t-shirts), and ends with one of the glittering participants pledging, "I pledge to be of service to Barack Obama," after peppering the video with crude and leftist hotbutton comments.

It's all too appropriate here to quote the German theologian and martry Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from a 1933 radio address (that was mysteriously cut off near the end): "Should the leader allow himself to succumb to the wishes of those he leads, who will always seek to turn him into an idol, then the image of the leader will become the image of the misleader. This is the leader who makes an idol of himself and his office, and thus mocks God."

Best comment of the year

When Sarah Palin nailed President Obama's health care nationalization bill for containing provisions for "death panels," it all but stopped the behemoth bill in its tracks. The massive protests at the town halls, already in full force, picked up the battle cry, and Obama was forced to loudly whine about the comment to his supporters. The battle to stop this monstrous grab for power is still far from over, but this Palin salvo could well have crippled it (and to think, the former governor wrote his on her Facebook!).

It's also hilarious to see the Left's tactics being used against them. Arch-Leftist Saul Alinsky, in his Rules for Radicals "community organizing" book that Obama and his followers live by, states in Rule 13: "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it and polarize it." That's exactly what Palin did to Obama's health nationalization bill with her "death panel" statement. Mr. President: How does it feel to get a taste of your own medicine?

Idiot comment of the year

Just one more sign of the idiocy of the left wing bloggers: Melissa Lafsky at the Huffington Post recently asked "what Mary Jo Kopechne (the woman left to drown by Ted Kennedy at Chappaquiddick) would have had to say about Ted's death, and what she'd have thought of the life and career that are being ... heralded.

"Who knows -- maybe she'd feel it was worth it."

Don't count on any boycotts by DailyKos, Moveon.org or the letterhead group Color of Change against this lower-than-contempt commentator anytime soon (since they're all squarely in the left corner of the political spectrum). As Forrest Gump observed, "Stupid is as stupid does."

Best TV show of the week: Glenn Beck

Best TV broadcasts this week: the five-part series on Glenn Beck's program about how groups surrounding President Obama are poised to snatch away our freedoms in their efforts to "change" our society to a leftist oligarchy. If you missed any of the broadcasts, you can get the facts from Glenn's web site.

Any of the broadcasts, of course, should send chills up your spine. Glenn asked on Thursday, for example, why Obama NEEDS a "civilian national security force" he openly proposed during his presidential campaign, "that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded" as the military. More importantly, Beck asks, who is the enemy that this "security force" is supposed to defend us from?

If you wonder why leftists bloggers and the mainstream state-run media seem to zero in on Glenn Beck, this is part of the reason why: he's asking the questions the watchdog media refuses to even consider. For example, Glenn's viewers (3 million of them) are learning about how Obama's 1,000-page stimulus and health care bills are being written by radical groups, and the Marxist background of some of Obama's "czars." In contrast, I learned more about Obama's vacation at Martha's Vineyard from CBS News's Up to the Minute newscast than anything else.

If truth can put a stop to the new American oligarchy, then these broadcasts will make a difference.

On Ted Kennedy

My one and only Ted Kennedy story goes back to 1980, when I worked at a state park on Long Island where Kennedy had docked his boat (actually, it was docked there for him), in the midst of his sinking presidential bid. I remember the workers of the park having to scrub that park clean and pull up every stray weed we could find, to make the place immaculate for the great senator. Finally (with us lowly workers safely kept away), Kennedy bounced out of his car, waved (I think), got on his boat and sailed away. Alas, so much for the “common touch."

Oh well, maybe that’s the way senators are (although I had met others who were or were to be in the Senate, who seemed to have no such problem talking with the public; I interviewed former Senator and Vice President Dan Quayle in 1994 and soon-to-be Senator George Voinovich at about the same time; and chatted with Senator Gary Hart in 1983).

As much as part of me wants to praise the “Lion of the Senate” for his lifetime of achievements, I can’t. I’m sure his dealings with political opponents were cordial and friendly; and maybe he DID think highly of Rev. Jerry Falwell, whom he befriended, and Falwell was able to speak some of the truths of God into his life (much the same way, I believe, that Rev. Billy Graham was able to do so with the senator’s older brother, President John F. Kennedy, according to Graham’s autobiography).

So why CAN’T I offer my accolades for Kennedy?

1) Let’s start with his unbelievable fanatical support for abortion on demand, which has led to millions of unborn being slaughtered. He did this flying in the face of his Catholic upbringing, and in contradiction to a statement in 1971 that he believed in protecting the life of the unborn (click on his letter on the matter above). Is it any wonder Pope Benedict XVI has kept mum on Kennedy’s death?

2) There’s tons of materials on the Chappaquiddick incident, so I’ll let you sort through all that. What the 1969 incident comes down to is this: he was willing to leave a young woman, Mary Jo Kopechne, to drown in his submerged car--and subsequently to lie about the accident--to save his political career. While Chappaquiddick did prevent Kennedy from becoming president, it did not stop Massachusetts voters from blindly voting him back to the Senate. And if he ever formally apologized to Mary Jo’s family, I have yet to read about it.

3) Then there was his collaboration with the KGB, to try and derail President Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy dealings with the Evil Empire, the Soviet Union. See this link.

4) “Do we operate under a system of equal justice under law? Or is there one system for the average citizen and another for the high and mighty?” Kennedy made this statement when ex-President Richard Nixon was pardoned by President Gerald Ford in 1974, following the Watergate scandal. The same question should have been put to him. The arch-environmentalist, for example, opposed having wind mills set up near his Cape Cod sailing waters. The champion of women’s rights was infamous for his exploitation and abuse of women. And yet the national media never really called him to account for these contradictions. In fact, one of the few times national media came close to criticizing him was at the end of the 1980 Democratic convention in New York. President Jimmy Carter had just given his famous nomination speech (when he called Hubert Humphrey “Hubert Horatio Hornblower”). The defeated Kennedy then joined Carter on stage—and roamed around accepting applause, while ignoring Carter and refusing to lift up Carter’s hand to acknowledge his support for the president. The TV commentators were perplexed by Kennedy’s selfish display.

So I’m sure the media will be bellowing its mourning for Kennedy until the end of the year (unlike its coverage of other long-serving senators from both sides of aisle, including Humphrey and Jesse Helms). I sympathize with the fact that Kennedy suffered from brain cancer, a horrible death I would wish on no one, and pray for comfort for his family. But you’ll have to excuse my not joining in on the national dirge (which President Obama will no doubt use to try and ram through his flailing health care nationalization).

Must read article

Check out this psychological profile on President Obama by a prominent psychologist here. If Dr. Sam Vaknin's assessment is anywhere near accurate, we're in for a long 3-1/2 years (or longer, if the Republican Party doesn't get its act together).

Consider the president's recent actions (his backtracking on his deadline to pass his horrific health care "reform"; his insulting the Cambridge police for doing their job--then stopping short of apologizing to the sergeant he slandered; and his endless TV appearances that even has some on the left irked). This psychological profile should give anyone who cares about our country the chills. It should also spur us to pray more for President Obama--he is not beyond the touch of God.

Kiss free speech goodbye

The Hate Crimes Bill, the one that extends "hate crimes" prosecution to homosexuals, has passed the Senate today (snuck onto a defense spending bill) by a 63-28 vote (with five Republicans voting with the Democrats).

Well, it's important to bring cheer into the lives of others--and I'm sure I will be able to do that now for the Matthew 25 Network gaggle. All it will take is my getting into the pulpit to denounce homosexuality as a sin, and to proclaim that JESUS can set anyone free from this sin. Next, some unrelated violent attack on a homosexual will occur somewhere in the county--and some gay activist will point the finger at my "inciting" it--even though I denounce violence against ANY group, and regardless of whether the perpetrator actually HEARD my sermon.

And to the M25N's delight, it will be the chain gang for me! I'll be sure to send M25N my jail address, so they can cheer my heart as well by sending me their materials. I suspect I'll need a comedy break by then.

UPDATE from the Florida Family Association:

"Approval of the cloture motion only means that the hate crimes amendment was adopted. However, the Hate Crimes amendment will not become law unless the $680 billion Defense Authorization bill passes. Additionally, the amendment must be reconciled with the version of the hate crimes bill passed by the House. Furthermore, the Senate Defense Authorization bill includes funding for F-22 jets. President Obama is opposed to funding the F-22 jets and has threatened to veto the Defense bill if it funds the project."

Call your senators and PRAY!

TRUE Revival

I've been getting some e-mails over the last several days about some questionable "revivals" that are going on in the church. In one video I witnessed, a minister was staggering around acting "drunk" in the Spirit--and to be honest, I didn't know what was worse, his mockery of preaching or the audience egging him on.

So I thought it might be fitting to recall a TRUE revival that took place in the early 70s, that was sparked by a mighty move of God at Kentucky's Asbury College. One of the true hallmarks of revival is its transformational power on a society--and I'm not sure we've actually SEEN a true revival since Asbury (some "revivals" didn't even appear to impact the neighborhood where the "revival center" church was located). The Asbury revival, in contrast, impacted college campuses throughout the nation, in a time when outright rebellion was the campus norm. And it was sparked not by gimmicks or magnetic cerebrity "spiritual leaders," but by students hungry for God, who faithfully banded together in prayer believing for God's visitation to their campus.

Give this video a look, and PRAY for a TRUE move of God that will turn the hearts of people--in and outside the church--toward Jesus!

Why Palin REALLY stepped down

Sandy Rios at OneNewsNow gives a very revealing take here on why Sarah Palin stepped down as Alaska governor. Hint: it has a lot less to do with future ambitions than you think.

Yes, it's possible (as Roger Stone notes at his website here) she took a page from Richard Nixon's playbook which led to his election in 1968, after losing the 1960 presidential race to JFK and the California governorship to Pat Brown two years later (after which he famously said, "You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore"). But Rios' insight should make all decent people want to support Palin even more, if she chooses to run for president in 2012 to save what's left of our country.

One more note: Palin says the constant barrage of frivolous "ethics complaints" by left-wing opponents was a major factor of her decision to step down (since it drained her resources and time to defend herself, instead of serving the state). The next assignment for any REAL journalists: try to find out how many of these kooky complaints originated with those working for ACORN, Obama's political Gestapo.

Does God hate sinners?

Does God hate sinners? No.

I’ve been exploring this question the last several weeks, and can come to no other conclusion. There is a group of believers who claim that God DOES hate sinners as well as their sin, and they point to verses such as Psalm 5:5-6 to justify their view (they also claim that those who claim God loves the sinners while hating the sin are deceived). But God’s hatred of evil-doers in these and other verses is not the human “hatred” which wants vengeance, but a righteous indignation by God against His creatures for their willfully disobeying His laws. His love is very much a part of this indignation, an indignation aimed at the evil actions and attitudes of the sinner.

Let’s look at two sections of scripture, the first in Matthew 5:43-48 (ESV):
Mat 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
Mat 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Mat 5:45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
Mat 5:47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
Mat 5:48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Here, Jesus tells us that we are to love our enemies—those who harbor ill-feeling towards us—so that “you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven” (v. 45). Specific examples of us loving our enemies versus loving only those who love us are given in v. 46-47, with Jesus’ concluding admonishment in verse 48, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (v. 48). In other words, showing love toward specific enemies is a reflection of God’s love towards all, both the saved and unsaved. Some who believe that God hates sinners claim this is just a “general love towards mankind”—but the context, and the specific examples given by Jesus, make this argument ring hollow.

Next, let’s look at 1 John 4:19: “We love because he first loved us.” We show our love towards God by first and foremost accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. So if God “first loved us,” this HAD to have been BEFORE we were saved, while we were still sinners!

In writing this, I am not seeking to “water down” the gospel message, which calls for repentance (turning from sin) on the part of the sinner for salvation in Christ. But the word “gospel” means “good news,” and a message that tells the unsaved, “God hates you” can’t be good news for anyone! (Plus, one person I discussed this issue with never really answered my question, when he claimed WE are COMMANDED to love sinners: so we love the sinners, while God doesn’t? Aren’t we supposed to be ambassadors for God to those lost in sin, according to 2 Corinthians 5:18-20?).

If you have any thoughts on what I have just discussed, just post them here.

Elijah or Daniel?

Do we need new Elijahs … or new Daniels?
I came across this message on YouTube the other day from Bishop Frank Duprée of Living Water Church in North Arlington, NJ (I know of Bishop Frank, because he was my pastor while I was a teenager on Long Island). What intrigued me was his insight on how Christians should reach out to our nation. Many Christians want Elijahs raised up by God, he says, when we really need Daniels—the difference is whether our nation is backslidden or totally pagan. Give Bishop Frank a listen here and tell me what you think.

Obama's self-love: the LEFT is catching on?

Well, it’s been evident to those on the right of the political spectrum that President Obama’s actions and policies are driven by his self-love. But when the LEFT starts noticing …
Check out this monologue here from, of all people, Bill Maher. Yes THAT Bill Maher.

(Caution: a few of Maher's comments may be offensive. If you would rather skip the monologue, the gist of his message is below).

While you may not agree with his stand on the issues he mentions, Maher's central point about Obama worrying more about his TV image than anything else cannot be missed. President Obama, you KNOW you’re starting to sink in the public’s eye when a left-of-gauge celebrity wishes you would be more like your predecessor.

“…I don’t want my president to be a TV star, because TV stars are too worried about being popular,” Maher says in the monologue. And might I add, they become less worried about other distractions, oh, say, like the crises in Iran and North Korea, that can well threaten our nation’s security.

Tiller's murder and pro-life "verbal violence"

In regard to the murder of abortionist Dr. George Tiller, I noticed at Matthew 25 Network their statement on the murder, which looks awfully similar to the White House press release (too bad President Obama didn’t express any “shock” and “outrage” over the countless unborn children snuffed out by abortion). In M25N’s release, I noticed a fact that was conspicuously absent. I took a leap of faith and left a response to the statement here, on the website.

Well, that was at about 4 p.m. CST; as of 6:45 p.m., my comment was, according to the website, “awaiting moderation.” Since the M25N moderator has yet to act on my response (maybe he or she is on vacation?), I’ve chosen to lend them a helping hand and post it below:

In your response to Dr. Tiller's murder, I noticed no words of commendation for the pro-life groups who immediately denounced the murder. Your statement reads like a mere reprint of the White House's statement. You won't get much "common ground" with pro-life groups when you make one-sided slams at their alleged "verbal violence."

So while M25N’s moderator gets done “moderating” my response, let’s consider the charge that the lone nut who murdered Tiller was not “acting alone,” according to the Obama Justice Department. Will this ominous “investigation” by Attorney General Eric Holder lead to laws against “verbal violence” that allegedly incites violence against abortionists? (Incidentally, I would like to know what “verbal violence” has been uttered by Focus on the Family, Concerned Women of America, the Catholic League, National Right to Life and other pro-life groups that denounced Tiller’s murder).

And as other commentators have pointed out, it’s interesting that Holder is assigning U.S. Marshals to abortion clinics, while no such precautions are taken for military recruiting stations in the wake of the murder of an Army private at an Arkansas recruiting station, by a Islamic fanatic (maybe Holder can investigate ties to the “verbal violence” that inspired the murderer of 24-year-old Pvt. William Long? Don’t hold your breath).

“A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people,” President John F. Kennedy warned. And it appears that we are seeing an Obama administration and its cheerleaders becoming more afraid each day of those who challenge their liberal orthodoxies (almost as afraid as M25N’s website is to post my comments)-- and acting to suppress those views.

Focused prayer

Well, I can harp on and on about the topsy-turvey climate we're living in. So what can Christians do? In taking on the task of being a light in this darkening world (Phil. 2:15), we must be spiritually equipped before anything else.

Prayer obviously is the first step--and I mean a focused prayer. It must be noted, as one famous preacher recently noted, that Jesus never taught his disciples to preach, but to pray.
Now, when I talk about focused prayer, it may not necessarily be super-specific.

Jesus, for example, told his followers to pray for the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and further told them they would be witnesses to the entire world as a result (Acts 1:4, 5, 8). But there were no specifics beyond that—they did not know that they would be supernaturally empowered by the Spirit, that 3,000 people would be saved after Peter's prophetic message, that a massive community of believers would spring up in Jerusalem, that the gospel would progress from Jerusalem to Rome itself ...they prayed simply what Jesus told them to pray.

Churches can and should follow this. For example, instead of having the usual Bible study at my church this week, I had a short teaching at what we need to pray for, then spent the rest of the time in prayer at the altar (I learned this basic pattern at the church in Florida where I was an associate pastor). It was a powerfully anointed time of prayer! We all prayed for specific people who were unsaved or backslidden; for laborers to be raised up for the harvest (Matthew 9:35-37), and for a fresh vision from God for being a light in the community and the world.

So far as being spiritually equipped through prayer, fasting and almsgiving (the latter two will be discussed soon), George Grant gives an excellent discussion of this in his book from the 80s, Grand Illusions: The Legacy of Planned Parenthood. He discusses these exercises in the context of fighting the evil of abortion, but these principles should be a normal part of the Christian's life.

We can endlessly expose President Obama's destructive agenda, decry the numbness of America's conscience, and spotlight the pseudo-Christian groups like Matthew 25 Network, who bandy about Jesus' Name while contradicting the Bible. But as Grant puts it in his book, you can't fight something with nothing. Only by remaining true devotion to Jesus, and shining His light in this dark world around us, can we advance God's kingdom (see Matthew 6:1-13).

Obama to call for divided Jerusalem?

A VERY disturbing prediction by Joel Rosenberg...PRAY for Israel!

“I'm horrified by credible reports that in his June 4th speech in Cairo, President Obama will say it is time to divide Jerusalem and make the holy city the capital of a Palestinian state.

"No, Mr. President, it is not.

“Jerusalem is and should be the eternal, undivided capital of the Jewish people and the Jewish state. Dividing Jerusalem will not make peace. Rather, it would send a message to every Radical Islamic jihadist around the world that Israel is weak, that the Jews won't even defend the sovereignty of their own capital, that there is 'blood in the water,' and that it is time to strike Israel and wipe her off the map. Dividing Jerusalem would trigger an apocalyptic war in the Middle East the likes of which the region has never seen.”

News briefs

NOTHING LIKE ENHANCING OUR STANDING OVERSEAS: Dr. Jack Wheeler, in his To The Point newsletter, reports on the assessment of President Obama by a friend of his, a member of France’s military intelligence agency, General Directorate for External Security: "My agency considers him a joke …Every day there is some fresh lunacy that we cannot believe. Mr. Bush would often make us angry. But at this man we just laugh."

IT MUST BE SAID: I promised I would try never to comment on Matthew 25 Network ever again, but looking at their website’s anti-conservative Christian stances, their ridiculing churches that believe in the Rapture (you know, those churches before November that were so valuable to them) and their spinelessness in response to their dear leader trying to crush free speech, I must get this off my chest:

Anyone who is a part of the Matthew 25 Network could care less for souls, could care less for whether anyone spends eternity in heaven or hell. They only care about advancing the destructive agenda of their cult leader president, under the guise of promoting “social justice.”

Got that, Christian voters?

Overwhelmed

I have to apologize to my readers for not being more on the ball. With all that’s going on in the world, I think I’m just overwhelmed. All the “change” promised in November is happening at break-neck speed:

*President Obama had repeatedly made himself an international laughingstock--posing and schmoozing with every kook dictator he can find; rushing to apologize for America’s “wrongs”; allowing thugs like Chavez and Ortega to openly ridicule and “correct” him, without a whimper of defense; insulting or ignoring our faithful British and Israeli allies; failing to meet with Israel’s leaders while rushing to apologize to, and bow before, Muslim dictators; giving away our nation’s security secrets … can it get any worse? (I’m afraid it will). Obama only seems to be concerned with nurturing his overweening pride. Just look at when Ortega, at the Summit of the Americas, ranted on for 50 minutes about America’s “sins” in Latin America. Obama’s only response: I’m glad you didn’t blame ME (yes, he actually said that).

*Domestically, we have a few more economic time bombs waiting to go off that can shatter the economy even more (there’s a reason leftist stooges don’t want you to watch or listen to Glenn Beck, who is the only broadcaster addressing these coming economic shocks); a hate crimes bill, under which I can well be hauled out of the pulpit and arrested for “hate speech,” for saying that homosexuality is sin according to the Bible; a Homeland Security chief who calls conservatives terrorists, while making sure she doesn’t insult Islamo-fascist killers … and all this and more in merely three months of the Age of Obama.

You Christian voters who pulled the lever for Obama in November: was THIS the “competence” you voted for (since you claimed you were voting against George W. Bush’s “incompetence”)?

All this, with the lapdog media cheering Obama on, like some Third World press corps that acts as a mouthpiece for the dictator in power. The LDM cheers on any anti-America protests it can find, while openly, and in a perverted fashion, ridiculing the massive Tea Party protests that sprang up around the nation.

Then we have the debacle in the church world, with Rick Warren apologizing for supporting California’s Proposition 8 (he claims he never supported it, but any visit to YouTube will dispel that statement). No, the great mega-church leader can’t speak up in defense of marriage--but a brave Miss California, Carrie Prejean, had no problem doing so, even with the USA crown on the line (I suspect Pastor Warren will change his mind and back Proposition 8 again, when sales of his Purpose Driven Life materials hit the nickel layer of the earth). Check this link here to see Warren’s cowardice and Prejean’s brave stance.

“This happened for a reason. By having to answer that question in front of a national audience, God was testing my character and faith. I'm glad I stayed true to myself,” Prejean told Fox News after the contest, which she more than likely lost due to her response to the idiot judge's pro-homosexual marriage "question." You go girl!

May you live in interesting times, an ancient Chinese curse says. Indeed. I’ll be discussing how Christians can confront our declining climate in this country and, as Paul said in Philippians 2:15, “be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world …” (ESV)

Bad News, Good News Report

First the bad news, which shouldn’t be too surprising but is not largely reported in the MSM (mainstream media, otherwise known as LDM, or Lap Dog Media): President Obama’s foreign tour and the G-20 conference was an unmitigated disaster for American interests around the world. What else can you expect from bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia (the main propagator of the violent Wahhabi sect of Islam worldwide, including in America--and no, Obama didn’t drop his Tic Tac) and endlessly apologizing for America’s actions? And that was just for starters. Read the depressing assessment in the London Daily Telegraph here, and try not to wince at the second coming of Jimmy Carter, who right now is looking more like Thomas Jefferson compared to the GTOIC (Great Teleprompter Orator in Chief). And the LDM complained about Sarah Palin’s lack of foreign policy experience? Gerald Warner, the Telegraph writer, sums it up in the first line: "President Barack Obama has recently completed the most successful foreign policy tour since Napoleon's retreat from Moscow.” For you worshipful Obama fans, don’t strain your thinking cap too much researching that one.

Now for some REALLY good news from Joel Rosenberg in his April 10 blog entry here, on the masses of Muslims turning to the Lord Jesus as their Savior! Have a very blessed Resurrection Sunday! JESUS IS RISEN!

Don't laugh at President Teleprompter

A chilling note from Dr. Jack Wheeler in his To The Point e-newsletter, about President Obama's teleprompt gaffe on St. Patrick's Day:

"I'm sure you've seen the news reports on how President Teleprompter thanked himself due to his teleprompter foulup. Note, however, while the media of course videoed the gaffe--it is nowhere to be seen, not on YouTube or anywhere else. Not only has the video of "Obama thanks himself" vanished, but try clicking on any website claiming to have it. Up will come a security alert trying to gain access to your computer. This happens not just on US websites, but world-wide. And it happens with search engines world wide, not just Google. The video of Zero thanking himself would go instantly viral once posted on the Web. But not only has its posting been prevented, they will try to damage your computer as well. Zero can't stand to be laughed at, and will try to hurt you if you do."

Except, of course, if he laughs at his own poor bowling on Jay Leno's show, claiming it was something out of the Special Olympics--a major insult to those with special needs if ever one was heard. The White House later apologized, but could you imagine the media firestorm if that insult was uttered by President George W. Bush instead?

You'll probably eventually notice that the late-night giants that ripped Bush apart nightly all but shy away from jabbing at the Great Leader. Such is the speech-chilling "change" more than half of America voted for in November.

A coming evangelical collapse?

I ran across this interesting article here in the Christian Science Monitor, and want to get your take of it. It seems like it could happen, especially since we're trudging down the road Europe has taken with our European-approved president (80 percent of French wanted Obama elected). This article may be one way evangelicals in America need to taske stock (although it doesn't mean we have to agree with all the points in the article). With our president busy apologizing to the Muslim world and eager to "engage in dialogue" with "moderate" Taliban forces (???!!!???), while busy insulting our faithful British allies (returning a bust of Churcill from the White House? DVD gifts I could get from Amazon? And they criticized PALIN for lack of foreign policy experience?), we may want to examine whether the church is losing its salt and light in these increasingly dark days.

On Jindal's speech

On Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s Republican response to President Obama’s speech on Tuesday:

*No, it couldn’t measure up in style to any Obama speeches. Obama can recite “Mary Has a Little Lamb” and have MSNBC drooling in awe. Sure, Jindal’s response could be considered lightweight, but it wasn’t terrible either. On an audience panel of Fox News Channel, at least several audience members seemed to appreciate that Jindal was direct and understandable in his speech.

*One speech does not necessarily a political success story make. New York Governor Mario Cuomo wowed the 1984 Democratic convention with his scathing speech against President Reagan, but his White House prospects never matched his rhetoric. Then there was another governor who gave a terrible, overblown speech at the 1988 Donkey Party convention--who wound up being elected president four years later.

*In any event, President Obama’s disastrous proposed federal budget--along with the economy-killing stimulus package--will all but assure Jindal’s speech will be long-forgotten. And the sour reaction among pundits won’t erase Jindal’s turning away $100 million of stimulus money from Louisiana, due to his foresight that it would create more state budget problems down the road.

On a side note, I notice among some anti-Jindal bloggers their hysteria over an article Jindal wrote in a December 1994 edition of the New Oxford Review (the magazine is ultra-Catholic, but there’s more intellectual wattage in one edition of NOR than among a year’s worth of all the New Left blogs combined). Here’s a tip for anti-Jindal writers: trying reading the ENTIRE article (of which I have a copy). Jindal, a traditional Catholic, merely WITNESSED the exorcism that occurred at an evangelical campus meeting he was visiting. His bewilderment over what he saw was very evident in the article. And it’s interesting that these same “intelligent” bloggers who ridicule any belief in demons or Satan (incidentally, Jindal’s view of demonic possession is consistent with Catholic teachings) won’t employ their so-called intellect to examine the contradictions and serious shortfalls of their savior president. You see, in the Obama religion, blind belief in his charisma and charm is a-okay, regardless of what he says (out of both corners of his mouth). But let a conservative express belief in a personal force of evil, and WATCH OUT! CALL BILL MAHER!

So we’ll be hearing from Jindal in the near future, especially when the Obama Republic collapses under the weight of bad, BAD economic policies (when Hillary is begging China to buy more U.S. debt, you KNOW it’s going to get REALLY bad) and fairy tale foreign policy (like apologizing to the Islamic world, which has led to those countries letting terrorists go free, and loading Hamas with tons of aid money that will be used against Israel).

Ad of the week

Check out this great CatholicVote.org pro-life ad here, which CNN and NBC (two informational acolytes to President Obama) refused to air.

See, I told you so

Look, I will REALLY, REALLY try not to harp too much on the Matthew 25 Network anymore, okay? With the "stimulus" package set to destroy what's left of the economy, and other issues, there's not a lot of time to waste writing about M25N being wolves in sheep's clothing (which I've made pretty much clear during the election).

But I couldn't help notice the M25N's "new look"--blogs sharing about their concern regarding Christians who would oppose Obama's "change" of America. If you have the stomach to visit the website, please note all those blogs about the "Christian Right," and how it is so out of touch (and, of course, their sincere efforts to "understand" us).

So the M25N mask finally comes off, and they reveal themselves for the far-left religionists they really are--complete with all the pious-sounding whining about not wanting to go by "labels" (with good reason for their interests!). I hope any of those Chrisians who "testified" on their site about how voting for Obama was their "Christian duty" take a good hard look at how they were used, and are no longer of any use to this bunch, now that they have their political savior in the White House.

By the way, I may have stumbled upon who "James" is, the irate writer who defended M25N's bashing of Sarah Palin during the campaign. I wrote in response back then, asking for examples of what exactly Palin said that slandered Obama. Nothing yet.

You may be interested in knowing that at least one of these bloggers checks up on those "Christian Right" blogs--no doubt to educate us misguided brothers and sisters in the Lord with the overwhelming truth of the gospel of Obama!

So while our new political savior leads us onto the Promised Land (a $1 trillion rat hole), in righteousness (while reneging on the $1.7 million he still owes the city of Chicago for his election night bash), peace ( HOW MANY more troops called up for Afghanistan, again?) and holiness (a bunch of administration appointees who can't seem to pay their own taxes, and at least one deputy Justice Department AG who has defended pornographers), it's nice to know he'll have his amen chorus at M25N ready to pounce on us "misinformed" Christians who speak out.

New "hope," M25N? Look for a meltdown of this "hope" in the coming months--and I'll be interested with how much cheerleading you'll still be doing for President Obama.

Thought of the day

"Should the leader allow himself to succumb to the wishes of those he leads, who will always seek to turn him into an idol, then the image of the leader will become the image of the misleader. This is the leader who makes an idol of himself and his office, and thus mocks God."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1933

Brother's keeper ... except on Inauguration Day

The latest word from Inauguration Central ... the homeless of Washington D.C. are being "encouraged" to move for a few days to the outer limits of the city, so that they would not disrupt Barak "Brother's Keeper" Obama's taking the oath of office. Read the article here at The Washington Post (hat tip to Rush Limbaugh's web site). And yes, you have my permission, go ahead and snicker at the mockery that is the Matthew 25 Network (if it's even still in existence) and its "brother's keeper" campaign ads during the election. You would think the Great Compassionate One would use just a small part of that $170 million shelled out for the inauguration celebration (more than four times that spent by President Bush for his 2005 inauguration festivities, which earned the chagrin of the guardian media), to, well, HELP some of these homeless who are being asked to take a leave of absence from the festivities.

Truth tonic about Gaza conflict

Ralph Peters at To The Point newsletter couldn't have put it any more bluntly, or truthfully, regarding the media whining over Israel's alleged "aggression" in Gaza against the Hamas terrorists. An excerpt of his truth tonic that should wake us up:

"Israel hasn't killed a single civilian in the Gaza Strip. Over a hundred civilians have died, and Israeli bombs or shells may have ended their lives. But Israel didn't kill them.

"Hamas did.

"It's time to smash the lies. The lies of Hamas. The UN lies. And the save-the-terrorists lies of the global media.

"There is no moral equivalence between Hamas terrorists and Israeli soldiers. There is no gray area. There is no point in negotiations.

"Hamas is a Jew-killing machine. It exists to destroy Israel. What is there to negotiate?

"When Hamas can't kill Jews, it's perfectly willing to drive Palestinian civilians into the line of fire - old men, women and children. Hamas herds the innocent into 'shelters,' then draws Israeli fire on them. And the headline-greedy media cheer them on.

"Hamas isn't fighting for political goals. 'Brokered agreements' are purely means to an end. And the envisioned end is the complete destruction of Israel in the name of a terrorist god."

This truth makes President-Elect Obama's waffling on the issue--he mutters about the US having "one president at a time," while endlessly pontificating about his supposed coming economic rescue of America--all the more troubling so far as Israel is concerned. Pray for God to continue watching over Israel.

Column of the Week ... Fight FOCA

President-Elect Obama made uninformed and willfully ignorant evangelical Christian voters swoon during the campaign by claiming he wanted to "reduce abortions," by having pro-life and anti-life forces somehow find "common ground" on the issue. Obama's evangelical stooges at Matthew 25 Network were euphoric with delight about his "common ground" view, and his getting support for adoption included in the Democratic platform.

This makes it all the more important that you read Chuck Norris' column here at Human Events, about Obama's "other" promise ...the one he made to pro-abortion forces to make signing the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA)--wiping away all state restrictions on abortion--his first act as president.

Several points to observe here:

*As could be expected, M25N made nil mention of this promise throughout the campaign, and apparently found great wisdom in Obama's bumbling answer to Rick Warren about abortion (answering a question about the issue is "above my pay grade," he said at the presidential forum at Saddleback Church).

*I’m sure the pro-abortion forces--the ones who viciously attacked Sarah Palin for giving birth to her Down’s Syndrome son (which otherwise blows the illusion of pro-abortion “compassion” to smithereens)--look on with approval to M25N’s “reasoned” approach to abortion. And forget the whining about being on the “right side” on other issues, which allegedly would make it okay to take the WRONG one on taking the life of the unborn. Just look at the serene smiles you are receiving from Planned Parenthood right now. And tell me if you think your platitudes about “justice” also extend to the unborn.

*Human Events reported on a survey a while back that exposed the biggest supporters of abortion on demand: MEN ages 18-34. Once again, the feminist promises of “more freedom” actually place women in even more slavery to selfish, unscrupulous MEN who (as they did in the “sexual revolution”) use them and throw them away (in this case, also throwing away the life of the unborn).

Gay bishop part of Obama inauguration celebration

The downward spiral continues.

The New Tolerance brigade, through its incessant protests against President-Elect Obama for selecting Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren to offer the invocation at the inauguration, has scored another victory--with Obama now inviting homosexual "Bishop" Gene Robinson to say a prayer at an inauguration event at the Lincoln Memorial. NewsMax has the story here.

A few posts back, I wrote about how Obama sought advice from Robinson during the presidential campaign. Let's put in straight: you don't support an issue or candidate if you you don't expect something in return. Looks like the homosexual movement may be calling in more of their chips in the coming days with the Great Agent of Hope and Change in the White House.

Homosexual band in inauguration parade

In case you may be optimistic about President-Elect Obama, with his choice of Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration (and the opposition it drew from homosexual groups) ... don't jump for joy just yet. Check out the news report here from the Catholic News Agency, about the Lesbian and Gay Band Association being invited by Obama to march in his inauguration parade. The association, a network of homosexual bands from across the U.S., has confirmed they will field a band for the inauguration parade ... and while they're at it, will participate in the Southern Decadence Parade in New Orleans in September. If THIS doesn't stoke you to pray for our nation and witness for Jesus like never before, nothing will.