Left-Right Paradigm Is A Hoax

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By Chuck Baldwin
February 16, 2012

[Subtitle: Both Liberals And Conservatives Are Selling Out America]

There may have been a time when the words “conservative” and “liberal” meant something, but that time is no more. Today, “conservatives” in government are doing as much to promote Big Government, as are “liberals.” In fact, if one were to honestly evaluate the twelve years of the George Herbert Walker Bush and G.W. Bush administrations, one could say that “conservatives” even eclipse “liberals” in promoting Big Government. Under the two Bushes, the federal government expanded (and even exploded) to levels that for-real liberal Democrats could only dream about.

Let’s get realistic. Just because a politico says he or she is “pro-life,” or “pro-family,” or “pro-marriage,” etc., does not mean that they are going to do anything to help save the country. Come on, folks; think! “Conservative” Republican administration appointments have dominated the US Supreme Court since the infamous Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions that effectively legalized abortion-on-demand. And we are no closer to overturning Roe and Doe after almost forty years of electing “pro-life conservatives” than we were the year after the Roe and Doe decisions were rendered. And for the first six years of the 21st Century, “conservative” Republicans dominated the entire federal government, and still the Roe and Doe decisions stand.

And when it comes to marriage and family, there is not a darn thing that Washington, D.C., can do to “save” it. Washington can no more “save” the family than it can “create” jobs! Washington is not God–the attitudes of most Washington politicians and national newscasters notwithstanding.

Herein lies the real problem: both “conservatives” and “liberals” expect Washington, D.C., to be the panacea for all the nation’s ills. Oh, the left and right come to Washington expecting different solutions, but they both come to Washington, D.C., for the solution. Both “conservatives” and “liberals” expect the federal government to “fix” America. But, in this regard, Ronald Reagan spoke with great profundity when he said, “Government [especially the federal government] is not the solution to our problem; government [especially the federal government] IS the problem!”

Hear President Reagan’s quote at:
http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?p=145

Both “conservatives” and “liberals” look to the federal government to establish and enforce their parochial agendas. “Liberals” look to Washington for the establishment of “social justice,” while “conservatives” look to Washington for the establishment of “military justice.” The net result is the federal government keeps getting bigger and bigger regardless of who controls the White House, Congress, or Supreme Court.

“Conservatives,” whether Christian or not, are just as culpable in the expansion of Big Government as are “liberals.” In fact, when it comes to the expansion of military adventurism, “conservatives” are the most culpable. And when it comes to the ever-burgeoning police state that is currently taking shape in the United States, “liberals” and “conservatives” are equally to blame. Let’s face it: both “conservatives” and “liberals” are in the midst of an intense and illicit love affair with Washington, D.C.

The way many “conservatives” have embraced the candidacy of Rick Santorum is a prime example of how skewed their understanding of historic, constitutional principles really is. Santorum goes around talking about “pro-life” and “pro-family” issues, while his voting record in the US Senate demonstrates that he is just another conservative-talking, big-spending politician. He has voted for so many Big-Government bills and endorsed so many Big-Government toadies that it is incredible that anyone could refrain from laughing out loud when he calls himself a “conservative.”

To check the factual record of Senator Rick Santorum, go here:
http://tinyurl.com/75yw3jp

By the same token, it is absolutely incredible that “conservatives,” especially Christian “conservatives,” could so quickly and firmly reject the candidacy of the man who most likely is going to go down in history as the greatest congressman to ever sit in the US House of Representatives, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas. Patrick Henry was probably the greatest governor that the United States has ever seen; and Daniel Webster was probably the greatest senator that the country has ever seen; and I am personally convinced that history will regard Congressman Ron Paul as our greatest US House member. For his entire political career, Congressman Paul has stood like a rock for the fundamental principles of liberty and constitutionalism, and, yet, many “conservatives” reject his Presidential candidacy. They would rather support Big-Government toadies like Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, or Mitt Romney. Egad!

Have people not wondered why the direction of the country has not changed one iota regardless if “conservatives” or “liberals” are running things? One would think that at some point people would wake up to the fact that until we start electing civil magistrates who take their oaths to the Constitution seriously, and who truly understand the nature of our federalist form of government, and who are truly committed to the preservation of the Bill of Rights, and who truly understand and appreciate the jurisdiction and authority of the states, nothing is going to change in this country. Nothing! And in 2012, there is only one man in the Presidential field who has an intellectual grasp and moral commitment to all of the above: Ron Paul. I will say it yet again: it will not matter to a tinker’s dam if anyone other than Ron Paul is elected President in 2012.

Furthermore, if Americans do not wake up to the importance of electing State governors, attorney generals, senators, legislators, and county sheriffs who understand that their primary responsibility as a State office holder is to safeguard the rights and liberties of the citizens of their respective states FROM THE USURPATION AND OVERREACH OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, our liberties are lost–no matter how many “conservatives” we elect!

Ladies and gentlemen, face it: the left-right paradigm is a hoax! It creates false conflicts and masks true problems. It caters to the increase of socialism on the one hand and fascism and corporatism on the other hand. It saps our strengths and augments our weaknesses. It blinds our eyes to the warning clouds above us and deafens our ears to the sounds of the sirens around us. It turns friends into adversaries and adversaries into friends. It dulls our senses and sharpens our illusions. It removes true courage and gives false hope. It sullies our character and shines our betrayal, and it puts shackles around our feet and greases the skids of oppression.

Instead of worrying about whether one professes to be a “conservative” or a “liberal,” we should be concerned about whether the people we vote for understand the fundamental principles of liberty and constitutional government and have the moral character to defend such principles at all costs. Furthermore, we should be concerned that both “conservatives” and “liberals” look to government for the solutions to our problems instead of looking to the Natural Law principles of our Creator. Yes, Martha, the Golden Rule really does matter–even in Washington, D.C.

This column is archived at
http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?p=4581

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be 

made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:
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Copyright © Chuck Baldwin

NOTE TO THE READER:

Chuck Baldwin is a syndicated columnist, radio broadcaster, author, and pastor dedicated to preserving the historic principles upon which America was founded. He was the 2008 Presidential candidate for the Constitution Party. He and his wife, Connie, have 3 children and 8 grandchildren. See Chuck’s complete bio at:

http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?page_id=6

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Jesus is breaking out the good stuff!

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Written by Pastor Mark Driskill
February 16, 2012

Read John 2:6-11

“But you have kept the good wine until now!”

Many of us are about to enter a season in which the Lord shows off in a big way. Just like he did in this story he will demonstrate his power and love so dramatically that there will be no doubt that he is at work. Jesus is about to break out the good stuff as he did in Cana.Get ready friend for exciting days.

When Jesus turned the water into wine it far surpassed what the groom had started out with. The headwaiter criticized the bridegroom for bringing out the best wine last. This was because he had no idea of the miracle that had taken place. The idea was to serve the good wine first then use the cheaper wine toward the end of the party when the guests had drunk too much to know the difference, but “You have kept the good wine until now”, the waiter complained. It’s just like Jesus to do such a thing. He not only made wine, but the wine he made far surpassed what they had run out of in the first place. We need to put away any notion we have of a savior who just wants us to get by. When he does a miracle it is marked by excellence. He never offers us a cheap miracle, or cheap grace. When you come to Jesus in prayer expect him to meet you with his best. And expect that he will far exceed what you have been living on without him.

Enough of this lame expectation that Jesus cannot compete with the things of this world. What he offers us is not only longer lasting but intensely more satisfying and fulfilling. Today perhaps you have come to the end of your resources. In a very real sense “the wine has run out in your life.” If you will reach out to the Lord Jesus he has something for you that is greater than you expect. His peace is greater than the world’s escapism. His love is greater than the world’s tolerance. His joy is greater than the world’s fickle, flavor of the month happiness. Turn to him today and see if you don’t find yourself shaking your head and wondering, “Why did I wait til now to bring out the good stuff?”

I believe we are entering days when the Lord is about to break out the good stuff on this generation. So many of us are running out of our own spiritual, emotional, and even material resources. We will soon find ourselves calling out to the Lord for help. I believe many who are reading this are already there. I have the sense that very soon many of us will see the hand of God manifest in our lives in unimaginable ways.

Many who have dismissed the Lord are about to discover just how powerful he is. He is about to break out the good stuff! He will demonstrate in the lives of those who call out to him that he has the best of everything to offer. He truly does offer life more abundantly. When he does these things lives are going to be transformed, bodies healed, families restored, and addicts set free. Where will you be when Jesus breaks out the good stuff?

Pastor Mark Driskill
Web Minister of Begotten By the Word web ministry
See our website at http://ourchurch.com/member/b/bbtw
and
www.facebook.com (to group “begotten by the word”)
Begotten By the Word is a ministry of Helping Hands Christian resources-Evangelism Outreach
www.hhcr05.org
(Feel free to copy in any way that will bring glory to God and further his kingdom.)

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When Jesus offends your prayers…

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Written by Pastor Mark Driskill
February 15, 2012

Read John 2:4-5

“Woman, what does this have to do with me?”
Sometimes I am taken aback by Jesus words. This is especially true in today’s passage. Jesus’ mother, being quite concerned about the crisis at this wedding, comes to him saying, “They have no more wine.” He responds to her in a curious, if not slightly offensive way. He asks a question that must have caused her heart to stop for just a second. Smooth it over all you like, it is a difficult thing to hear the savior say to the woman, who brought him into the world, taught him to walk and talk, changed his clothes and dried his tears for the greater part of his life “Woman, what does this have to do with me?”. However, we know our saviors love for his dear mother (see John 19:26-27). And we know that he says nothing without a good reason, and is always motivated by divine love. So rather than try to hide our offendedness let us ask ourselves what is really going on here. Is this just a young man trying to tell his mom to get off his back? Or is there a nugget of gold for our souls that can help us understand how we must approach him in prayer.

“What does this have to do with me?” Jesus asks. She has come to him on behalf of a friend in need and Jesus responds with a question about purpose. So what was he asking? Well the first thing to keep in mind is this: Whenever we find the Lord asking a question, he isn’t looking for information. He knows the answer already. He asks questions for our growth, not his own. Jesus knew this miracle to come would be the first of seven sign miracles. He knew that it was more than just a rescue operation for a wedding. So he poses the question to his mother. “What connection does this have with me?” in other words, where does this situation fit into my purpose in the world? No wonder she goes straight to the servants and says, “Do whatever he tells you.” I think he must have had a twinkle in his eye when he asked the question and told her, “My hour has not yet come.” She may not have known what was coming but she knew that whatever he did now and later would be guided by two principles we see in his words.

  1. The principle of redemptive purpose. “What does this have to do with me?”
  2. The principle of God’s timing. “My hour has not yet come.”

What would happen if we prayed with these two things in mind? What if instead of thinking God’s activity must always revolve around us and our purposes, we began to ask ourselves, “What connection does this need have with the purpose of redemption?” “What does it have to do with what Jesus is up to?” It would greatly impact not only what we prayed for but how we prayed for it. I wouldn’t just pray for a job. I would pray for God to place me in a job that will best impact his kingdom. I wouldn’t ask God for a relationship that satisfies me, but one that brings glory to his kingdom. Then what if I prayed in view of God’s timing rather than my own? What if I asked God to guide me into his will in timing as well as action?

I’ll never forget my first mission trip. I went to England with my pastor. As we were planning he said to me more than once, “The When of God’s will is as important as the What of God’s will.” I have never forgotten that. It still guides me to this day. I find that when I ask God to lead me into his purpose and timing rather than my own I have more peace of mind and a greater sense of God’s presence in my life. I also have more clarity in seeking him.

You have many concerns today. You have questions and needs. You have desires and hopes. We all do. God cares for each of them. As you come to the Lord with your needs, don’t start with yourself. Start with God. Ask him to line your mind and heart up with his purpose and timing. Then ask him to help you pray accordingly. Ask yourself two questions: What does your need have to do with his purpose (Oh yes it does, you just have to find it.) and what is God’s timing for your need?

Pastor Mark Driskill
Web Minister of Begotten By the Word web ministry
See our website at http://ourchurch.com/member/b/bbtw
and
www.facebook.com (to group “begotten by the word”)
Begotten By the Word is a ministry of Helping Hands Christian resources-Evangelism Outreach
www.hhcr05.org
(Feel free to copy in any way that will bring glory to God and further his kingdom.)

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What is Prayer Made of?

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Written by Pastor Mark Driskill
February 14, 2012

Read John 2:3

“The mother of Jesus said to him, ‘they have no wine.’”

I recently read a wonderful book, “Prayer” by O. Hallesby, in which the author tells how Mary shows the heart of prayer in this story. I love how he describes the simple power of intercession displayed in her words. Do you ever wish your prayers were more powerful? More effective? Let Mary remind you today of the simple power of prayer. In the words, “They have no wine.” We see some profound truths that have the potential to stir the heart of prayer in each of us. What do these simple words tell us?

1. First, I am struck by how mundane the subject matter is. She is not telling Jesus of a Hurricane heading to a village, or even a multitude facing starvation, or still an army facing defeat. She brings to him a need of relatively small, almost incidental proportions. A wedding is about to run out of wine. Yet there is no hint of embarrassment on her part at all. She knows that the Nazarene is the same savior when the wine runs out as he is when the storm rages around the ship. He brings the same holy power to bear on every need regardless of its size or scope. Do you bring the same faith to Jesus to the small requests as you do to the big ones? Oh please understand that our Lord is not insulted by our small requests only by our small faith. In the face of his mighty power there are no big needs. All are small to him. Yet he cares equally for them all. I have rejoiced to see the same savior who heals cancer reach down into my world and help me find a lost key in the house. Mock all you want. While you snicker I will keep experiencing miracles throughout the day while you speculate over what God ought to do.

2. Second, her request is not even a request. It is a simple statement of need. Mary feels no need to give direction to Jesus, only to make the need known. She makes no attempt to instruct him in what she would like him to do. In fact she quite possibly has no idea what he intends to do, or could do. She only knows He is the one who can best handle the situation. She has faith that it is enough to bring the need to Jesus. She trusts that he will know what to do with it. Do we pray like this? Or do we feel compelled to serve our Lord in a more advisory capacity as if he needed our direction?

3. Next her request is clear and simple. No need does she have to impress the Lord with clever or manipulative words. She sees no need to use her words in such a way as to ensure her desired response. She simply brings the need in clear and simple terms to the master. In our prayers how much time and energy do we waste trying to talk Jesus into being who he already is? Our magic words and phrases are more likely to turn him off than to move him as we suppose. Sometimes we are so making prayers that we never actually pray. By the time the holy Angels cut through the foliage of our holy hype they often find nothing behind them but hot air. No clear need, just spiritual rhetoric with no real substance. Mary reminds us to keep it clear simple and real. No word games. No pretense. Just say it in faith.

3. Finally, her prayer is completely vulnerable and helpless before the master. She places her faith out on the line. No holding back and no plan B in case it doesn’t work. She places all her hope and confidence in the character and power of her son and savior. This is the heart of prayer; a vulnerable heart and a complete trust in the character of Jesus. She gives him no resume of her own merits in hopes of gaining leverage. She simply trusts her request into the hands of the redeemer.

This is prayer at its finest. No props. No back up strategy. No deals. Just bring the need as it is to Jesus as he is. This is the stuff that prayer is made of.

Pastor Mark Driskill
Web Minister of Begotten By the Word web ministry
See our website at http://ourchurch.com/member/b/bbtw
and
www.facebook.com (to group “begotten by the word”)
Begotten By the Word is a ministry of Helping Hands Christian resources-Evangelism Outreach
www.hhcr05.org
(Feel free to copy in any way that will bring glory to God and further his kingdom.)

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President Obama’s Birth Control Problem Is Actually An Ultimate Control Problem

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By Dr. Tony Beam.

The Obama Administration’s answer to the outrage expressed by the Catholic over his contraceptive mandate is to change the conversation from a freedom of religion issue to a plain freedom issue. In announcing his “compromise” over the contraceptive mandate announced by Kathleen Sebelius on January 20, the President employed the tried and true “bait an switch” technique. Since Christians can be a sympathetic group especially when their constitutional rights are being violated the president decided to shift his mandate to the hated insurance companies. Surely no one in their right mind will dare stand up for their rights. So the President simply rewrites his edict forcing the bad guy insurance companies to hand out free contraceptives while the good guy religious groups are let off the hook. The problem is the hook in this case is the weapon of a government mandate that this President pulls like a gun.

The president is attempting to use a technicality to mask an executive branch power grab. Instead of facing and fixing the problem of mandating a service that is reprehensible to many Christians, President Obama has decided to make the problem worse by cheapening and then dismissing the core complaint by using an accounting trick. Chris Stillwell, writing for Fox News said, “One doesn’t prescribe a placebo unless he or she believes the problem is in the patient’s head.” Freedom is a foreign concept to the president. He truly believes that he is justified in handing down edicts from on high that are designed to curtail the base instincts of the great-unwashed masses. To him, conservatives really are nothing more than a group of misguided souls who cling to their God and their guns. That is why White House Press Secretary Jay Carney can respond with a smug turn of the head and a shrug of the shoulders when pressed about the so-called compromise. He simply paints all who disagree with the president’s new plan as extremists who have a political axe to grind.

Our founders had a right understanding of the separation of the church and state. They would never affirm the modern definition with its strict prohibition on any religious expression by agents of the state. What they would support is an understanding of this great truth as a liberating force for the church. The first amendment was never intended to curtail or corral the activity of the church. It was designed to protect the activity of the church from an overreaching, over regulating federal monster. In his book We Hold These Truths, Matthew Spalding writes, “What the separation of church and state does, then, is liberate America’s religions… in respect to their moral forms and teaching… to exercise unprecedented influence over private and public opinion by shaping citizens mores, cultivating their virtues, and in general, providing a pure and independent source of moral reasoning and authority.”

Take a long look at that last phrase… “A pure and independent source of moral reasoning and authority.” The phrase serves as a warning and a wake-up call for people who love liberty. Any source of moral reason and authority that is diluted by the whim of a leader who doesn’t recognize or respect true liberty must be rejected. Only someone who believes supremely in their own superiority could possibly set forth a mandate for houses of worship or houses of commerce. The right to act according to the dictates of our own conscience under God is a right for which generations of Americans have been wiling to fight and die. President Obama doesn’t understand this and that is why he is baffled by our reluctance to simply bow before his supposed wisdom. If Solomon had possessed the wisdom of President Obama he would have cut the mothers in half so the baby in the famous dispute could have enough of each to be pacified.

This squabble has never been about birth control. For the president, it has always been about ultimate control. It has been and continues to be a debate about whether this or any president can direct by fiat the actions of free, independent citizens apart from any action of the legislature. It we lose that debate we will lose more than our right to respond to God as we see fit. We will lose our right to respond to anything without the government’s approval.

You can hear Dr. Tony Beam live on Christian Talk 660 weekday mornings from 7:00-9:00 AM (EST) as he is the host of Christian Worldview Today. Visit Dr. Beam’s website at www.tonybeam.com.

Dr. Tony Beam is Vice-President for Student Services and the Director of the Christian Worldview Center at North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina, Dr. Tony Beam received his Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and his Doctor of Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Who are you Inviting to your Marriage?

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Written by Pastor Mark Driskill
February 13, 2012

Read John 2:1-2

“Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.”  On the day before Valentine’s Day most of us are thinking about love, and some about marriage. How fitting then that our scripture for today deals with Jesus attending a wedding. Here we read simply that Jesus and his disciples were invited. We can only assume that perhaps Jesus was invited because he was related to Mary. She was on the guest list and naturally her son was included as well. For all we know this was the only reason, but who knows? The important thing was that somehow Jesus got there and saved that wedding from disaster with his first recorded miracle, changing water into wine. Had he not been there things could have been really bad, humiliating at the very least. Culturally, it was no small thing to throw a wedding banquet and run out of wine. In some cases it is said a person could even be sued for such a thing. But Jesus comes along and saves the day. Good thing he was on the guest list.

In the past year we have seen a couple of major weddings, the Royal wedding in England and the extravagant albeit short-lived Kardashian wedding. In both weddings it was considered a great honor to be on the guest list. In order to be included you had to be pretty important at least in the eyes of the Bride and Groom. That’s what we do at weddings. We add the names of those who matter most to us on our guest list so they can share in the big event. As important as it is to invite the right people to a wedding, it is crucial that we give attention to who we invite to our marriage. I could spend a great deal of time at this point talking about who not to invite to the marriage. I could talk about the disastrous effects of letting friends, and extended family interfere in the lives of a new husband and wife. I could talk about how a marriage is a bond between two people who have become one flesh and all other human relationships must become secondary to that sacred bond. Parents, siblings, and friends cannot be allowed to come between you. But I want to talk simply about this. When you make your guest list of who is invited into your make sure Jesus is at the top of the list. He understands your needs better than you do and he has a magnificent plan for making your marriage the wonderful and fulfilling adventure God meant it to be. But most importantly, when the wine runs out, he will be there to keep you going.

There will be days when you just don’t think you can go on. When that happens there will be all too many people who will counsel you to get a divorce and go find someone else. They will have you hooked up before can break up. These people are all too plentiful in our society today. They live by the “sometimes it just doesn’t work out.” lie. But the truth is, marriages only stop working when we stop believing. There will be days when the wine runs out and you want to quit. But Jesus has a way of showing up and turning the water of tears and heart ache into the new wine of love and hope. Perhaps today you are in such a place. The wine is almost gone and you are already hearing the world calling you to give up. I hope you won’t listen. I hope you won’t invite the naysayers and cynics to your marriage. They will surely destroy it, and they will be there to destroy the next one and the next. I hope you will scratch them off the list and invite Jesus to your marriage. Put it in his hands. Call on him for help. Make your heart right with God then you will have the new wine to make things right with your spouse. This is not time to quit. It is time to call for help. Invite Jesus to the marriage. You will be so glad you did.

Pastor Mark Driskill
Web Minister of Begotten By the Word web ministry
See our website at http://ourchurch.com/member/b/bbtw
and
www.facebook.com (to group “begotten by the word”)
Begotten By the Word is a ministry of Helping Hands Christian resources-Evangelism Outreach
www.hhcr05.org
(Feel free to copy in any way that will bring glory to God and further his kingdom.)

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Going after the Open Heavens

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Written by Pastor Mark Driskill
February 10, 2012

Read John 1:50-51

“Because I said to you, ‘I saw you’…do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

Have you ever noticed how Jesus responds to simple faith? Think about the story of Nathaniel. The man simply acknowledges Jesus as “My Lord and my God!” This was enough to gain him entrance into the kingdom of heaven. But Jesus is so struck by the readiness of Nathaniel to believe; “Because I said I saw you under the fig tree do you believe?” Our Lord cannot ignore the faith of this man. So he offers him more than he bargained for. “Truly truly you will see heaven opened and the angels descending and ascending upon the Son of man.”

When we come to Jesus in simple faith he wants the same for us. He wants to open the heavens over our lives and show us his glory day by day. Jesus wants to draw us into such a relationship with himself that we experience his power and presence constantly. I was asked recently by a young believer; “Do you think it’s wrong to want more of Jesus in your life? I just feel like I want more of him all the time and I’m afraid I’m asking too much.” How many of us have the same notion of Jesus. We think he has saved us and that is all he can manage for us. But take a lesson from Nathaniel. The shepherd of our souls wants to do more than put us in heaven when we die. He wants to put heaven in us while we live!

Are you walking under an open heaven? Are you staying close enough to Jesus to see his glory unfold in your life? Can you see the angels ascending and descending? Or are you keeping your distance for fear that he only has enough salvation to get you to heaven some day? Friend stop being so timid around your savior. He is offering you Nathaniel’s promise. Draw close to him daily. Drink deeply from the Spirit. Fill up on his word and seek him with all your heart. Tell him how you long for more of his presence. Go after the open heavens and keep pressing in until you see the angels.

Pastor Mark Driskill
Web Minister of Begotten By the Word web ministry
See our website at http://ourchurch.com/member/b/bbtw
and
www.facebook.com (to group “begotten by the word”)
Begotten By the Word is a ministry of Helping Hands Christian resources-Evangelism Outreach
www.hhcr05.org
(Feel free to copy in any way that will bring glory to God and further his kingdom.)

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He Sees You Under Your Tree

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Written by Pastor Mark Driskill
February 9, 2012

Read John 1:47-49

“How do you know me?”

Nathaniel was converted the moment he realized God saw him. Isn’t that what we all want most? Don’t each of us just want to know that God sees us sitting under our own fig tree before we even have a clue about him?

This is one of the treasures of the gospel. God sees us and is interested in us. Nathaniel was not converted by clever arguments or amazing miracles. His heart was captured by the God who saw him personally and called him by name. We become more effective ministers of Jesus, and we are all ministers, when we stop trying to trick people into salvation and just show them that he sees them and loves them. Every kind deed and every holy word carries with it the message that changed Nathaniel’s life and the lives of countless billions. The message is simple: God sees you under your fig tree though you have yet to discover him.

Millions sit dreaming under their own trees living lives of quiet desperation, wondering if they matter to anyone at all. What a joy it is to be involved in the work of simply telling people they are not alone. They are not unnoticed. they are not insignificant. God sees them sitting under their trees. Whether the tree they occupy is full of gross sin or confusion, or jst a nagging hunger for something more God sees them and beckons them to come and join him in calling others out from under their trees. As you go out today look for lonely people sitting under trees. Look for ways to show them there is someone out there who sees them and cares for them.

Do you feel unnoticed? Invisible? Do you have the sense that you are so small in this universe that your life is of no significance? Perhaps you are in the middle of your own need to feel important. You have tried everything you know to mark yourself in the world, to be noticed and appreciated for who you are. If so then I have great news for you. The same God who saw Nathaniel, sees you. He knows your dreams, fears, virtues and sins. He understands your hesitancy to believe in what you cannot see. He understands the struggle you have, like Nathaniel, believing in the one who came from Nazareth. But if you will simply put on the eyes of faith and believe that he sees you and loves you, your life will change. Like Nathaniel you will fall to your knees and cry out, “My Lord and my God!” Friend today cast off your fears of being unnoticed. There is one who has had his eye on you since before you had eyes. He sees you now and he knows your name.

Pastor Mark Driskill
Web Minister of Begotten By the Word web ministry
See our website at http://ourchurch.com/member/b/bbtw
and
www.facebook.com (to group “begotten by the word”)
Begotten By the Word is a ministry of Helping Hands Christian resources-Evangelism Outreach
www.hhcr05.org
(Feel free to copy in any way that will bring glory to God and further his kingdom.)

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Rescue The Perishing

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By Coach Dave Daubenmire
Originally Published on NewsWithViews.com
Reprinted with Permission of the author

“Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save. Rescue the perishing, duty demands it; Strength for thy labor the Lord will provide.” -Fanny Crosby

Perish—To become destroyed or ruined.

We must rescue our children. They are perishing.

It is time to open our eyes and look around. There is a difference between seeing and understanding. We have denied what is before our very eyes.

We are losing our children. No amount of self-denial can powder-over the Truth. Our children no longer share our values.

Helen Keller said, “The only thing worse than being blind is havingsight but no vision.” We can see, but we don’t understand. Let me scream it!!

WAKE UP!! WE ARE LOSING OUR CHILDREN!!!

The evidence is everywhere. I could quote you a bevy of statistics to prove it, but most of you are in such a state of denial that you will reject it. Rejecting knowledge is worse than ignorance. Willfully ignorant…hear no evil…see no evil…speak no evil…

Don’t worry, be happy!!

The culture is eating your kid’s lunch. No wait. The culture is devouring your children. They are being chewed up and spit out. The landscape is strewn with the Spiritual carnage.

As Jack Nicholson uttered “You can’t handle the Truth!”

Our Lord will not treat lightly your disregard for the well-being of one of His children. He has entrusted them into your care. His warning is chilling:

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” -Matt: 18:6

You are an accessory to a crime. You have turned the training of your children over to the enemy. You have caused them to stumble…you have caused them to sin.

You have all of the excuses…”we can’t afford it”…”we are not qualified”…”the schools need our children to be salt and light”…”our schools are not that bad…”

Look around Buster. You are deceiving yourself. The public schools are destroying your children and you are the one who is responsible.

Permit me to paraphrase a Scripture. “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and LOSE HIS CHILDREN?!”

Sometimes I wonder if we know how to love our children.

Get them out of the government schools! Cease and desist…Run for your lives…flee immorality!

Wake up Dude!! Save yourself some heartache!! Rescue your children!

“Calling all cars. Calling all cars…government schools are poisoning your children.”

Children are the future. Peer into the looking glass. It ain’t pretty. We are facilitating our own demise.

Some things to consider:

• Many of your child’s classmates would never be welcomed into your home.
• Jesus is not honored in government schools no matter how “Christian” the teacher is.
• Childhood rape and molestation by teachers is skyrocketing in America’s schools.
• Many of your child’s teachers are amoral at best. The child becomes like his teacher.
• Do you know what the teacher believes? Is he/she someone your child should model?
• Seven hours of school per day…one hour of Sunday school per week. Duh!
• Would your church permit your child’s teacher to teach from the Sunday pulpit?
• Does your school teach the values of your church?
• Caesar teaches the values of Caesar. Do your kids belong to Caesar or to God?
• Do you know what senior boy has his sights set on your freshman daughter?
• Who is defending your daughter’s honor at school? Who is protecting her innocence?
• When your child is lost to the world what would you give to get him/her back?

Cut the crap. Cut the excuses. Quit lying to yourself.

It is time to rescue the perishing.

So here is a plan. Begin working it today. Set a goal and put the plan into action.

Begin homeschooling your children. Don’t believe the lie that the education establishment is dishing up. You don’t need a degree in education to educate a child. God entrusted you with the children. He wants YOU to implant a belief system in them. Christians must teach our values to our children. The government will teach the children the government’s values.

Did you watch the Super Bowl half-time show? Why do you think the NFL chose Madonna? They KNOW the values of the culture…the values of the government-educated masses. You think your child’s school is different…better? Do you need your head examined?

The internet is FULL of great home-school resources. “It costs little or nothing to provide students with a self-educating program. Technology is decentralizing. Parents can find a wide variety of programs for children with varying skills. The delivery system is essentially free if you have high speed internet access. The main cost now is time.”

Once a student learns self-education, he is ready for AP, CLEP, and DSST exams. For under $2,000, a student can quiz out of the first two years of college. This is where most of the indoctrination goes on. The home school student reads a textbook, does the usual cramming, takes the exam, and forgets the textbook. All students do this. But this way, colleges do not make a dime. -Gary North.

Start a home-school co-op in your church. Partner with other parents who are facing the same dilemma as you. Churches by the thousands are sitting empty during the week while God’s children are trained by Caesar and his acolytes.

Open the building, Pastor. Invite home-schoolers to make use of the facilities. Create an atmosphere where parents can help teach each other’s children. One parent handle math, another science. Charge five bucks per head and bring in challenging speakers and educators for a day. Meet once or twice per week. Use the internet. Guide the education of your children. Control the peers they associate with. Take them on group field trips to reinforce the values you are teaching. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! There is plenty of help. You can do it!!

We must re-link education and Christian values. We have one-generation…tops…to reclaim this culture. Secular education cannot do it. That is not their goal. Their goal is equality, no one smarter than anyone else. Government controls the curriculum. Please take 4 minutes to watch this video. It is funny…but heart-breaking…laughing all the way to hell.

Excuses are like noses. Everybody has one and they all smell. Go ahead…trade your child’s soul for something you can buy in a store.…

Downsize your house. Sell one of the cars. Get rid of some of the toys! It is not a question of whether you can afford it. It is a question of can you afford not to!!

Government schools can’t teach reading, writing, and arithmetic – why should we trust them to teach morality, respect, and character? If public education does for ethics what it’s done for learning, we’ll end up with a generation of immoral, disrespectful, and characterless students.” -Steve Dasbach

Yep.

Government education is destroying our children. It is destroying America. Stick your head in the sand if you want. That will not change the facts. Our children are perishing.

Look in the mirror. The Lord has entrusted them to you. Stop giving them “stuff” and start investing “You” into them. For heaven’s sake, do your duty. Rescue them!

© 2012 Dave Daubenmire – All Rights Reserved

Coach Dave Daubenmire

Coach Dave Daubenmire, founder and President of Pass The Salt Ministries www.ptsalt.com and Minutemen Unitedwww.minutemenunited.org, is host of the high octane Pass The Salt radio show heard in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1999 Coach Daubenmire was sued by the ACLU for praying with his teams while coaching high school in Ohio. He now spends his energy fighting for Christian principles in the public domain.

E-Mail: coach@ptsalt.com

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“It’s Going To Take ‘We The People’”

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By Chuck Baldwin
February 9, 2012

Writing for World Net Daily, Bob Unruh reports a refreshing story of how individual sovereign states are beginning to push back against federal overreach. Unruh writes, “State and local officials in surging numbers are telling Washington they simply won’t cooperate with any plans to detain Americans the federal government may choose to describe as ‘belligerents.’

“The issue centers on provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, signed by President Obama, for the indefinite and rights-free detention of those Washington cites as belligerents, whether American citizens or not.

“WND reported when Rep. Daniel P. Gordon Jr. immediately drafted a resolution in the Rhode Island legislature to express opposition to the sections of the NDAA ‘that suspend habeas corpus and civil liberties.’

“Now the Tenth Amendment Center confirms that the resistance to the federal bureaucracy is catching on.”

Unruh continues, “‘Sources close to the Tenth Amendment Center say as many as 10 states will consider legislation or resolutions in response to the detention provisions in section 1021 and 1022 of the NDAA,’ the organization is reporting. ‘Lawmakers in Rhode Island and Washington will likely introduce resolutions authored by the Rhode Island Liberty Coalition within the next week. Additionally, local governments, including Fremont County, Colo. and El Paso County, Colo., have passed resolution condemning the detention provisions.’

“Tenth Amendment Center executive director Michael Boldin commented that ‘federal politicians never seem to repeal federal law.

“‘It’s going to take “We the People” in our states to stand up and say, “No!” to this unconstitutional monster,’ he said.”

Unruh goes on to report, “Already, Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall, R-Manassas, has introduced HB 1160, which would prevent ‘any agency, political subdivision, employee, or member of the military of Virginia from assisting an agency or the armed forces of the United States in the investigation, prosecution, or detainment of a United States citizen in violation of the Constitution of Virginia.’”

“Mike Maharrey, communications director for the TAC, said the fight is shaping up like the conflict in the 1850s when northern states refused to cooperated with fugitive slave laws that required them to capture and return escaping slaves.

“‘It is clear to me, and I am far from alone in this view, that the detention provisions in the NDAA are vague, overbroad and open to interpretation,’ he said. ‘That leaves me to trust in the good character and moral clarity of Barack Obama, Rick Santorum or whoever happens to reside at the White House, to protect me and my fellow Americans from abuse of his power. No thanks.’

“Maharrey noted that during the latter days of slavery, ‘state and local governments in northern states stepped in and thwarted the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Acts, which allowed the federal government to arrest and detain black people, and send them back into slavery with little or no due process.

“‘We laud these men and women as heroes,’ he said. ‘I have no doubt that history will prove equally kind to those standing up for the most basic rights of Americans today.’”

See Bob Unruh’s report at:

http://www.wnd.com:80/2012/02/states-prepare-brakes-on-citizen-detention-option/

As I have said repeatedly in this column, the only hope for the preservation of liberty and freedom in America is for individual sovereign states to do what they were created to do: protect the rights and liberties of the citizens of their states from the overreach and despotic propensities of those miscreants in Washington, D.C. If freedom-loving people in the body politic truly intend to see to it that their rights and liberties are preserved, they will pay much more attention–and be much more attuned–to electing State governors, legislators, attorney generals, etc., than they are electing US congressmen, senators, and even electing the President.

With the exception of Ron Paul, there is not a major party Presidential candidate who will make a dime’s worth of difference in protecting the liberties and freedoms of the American citizenry. Both Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C., are all about empire-building, foreign interventionism, and expanding the Welfare and Warfare states. Furthermore, none of them (with the exception of Ron Paul) would do anything to thwart or reverse the burgeoning police state that is currently being rapidly constructed in this country. That means, as Michael Boldin said, “It’s going to take ‘We the People’ in our states to stand up and say, ‘No!’”

And quite frankly, that’s about the only thing that the power-elite in Washington, D.C., are worried about. They aren’t worried about Afghanistan, Iraq, or Iran. Those are all orchestrated conflicts to keep our troops fighting endless wars, to have an excuse to print more and more fiat currency, to satisfy the international bankers who are making trillions of dollars off the military-industrial complex, and to give them an excuse of “national security” in order to strip away more and more freedoms from the American citizenry. But State governors, legislators, and attorney generals who actually believe the Constitution and who have the courage to defend it, now THAT scares them to death! Why? Because they know that the real power in this country rests with “We the People” who, through their state governments, have the ability to actually stop their quest for globalism and feudalism.

America’s Founding Fathers clearly understood that the states are the ultimate guardians of the peoples’ liberties. James Madison (and even Alexander Hamilton) spoke to this eloquently in the Federalist Papers.

In Federalist #46, Madison said, “Were it admitted, however, that the Federal government may feel an equal disposition with the State governments to extend its power beyond the due limits, the [states] would still have the advantage in the means of DEFEATING SUCH ENCROACHMENTS” (emphasis added). By “defeating such encroachments,” Madison included “opposition,” “refusal to cooperate,” “frowns of the [State] executive,” “obstructions,” and “plans of resistance.”

Did you see that? America’s fourth President and Father of the Constitution said that it was the duty of the states to obstruct, oppose, resist, and otherwise refuse to cooperate with any federal policy or mandate that runs counter to the principles of liberty. And, remember, this is from the man who authored the so-called “supremacy clause” of the US Constitution!

In Federalist #45, Madison said, “Thus, each of the principal branches of the federal government will owe its existence more or less to the favor of the State governments, and must consequently feel a dependence, which is much more likely to beget a disposition too obsequious than too overbearing towards them. On the other side, the component parts of the State governments will in no instance be indebted for their appointment to the direct agency of the federal government, and very little, if at all, to the local influence of its members.”

Did you get that? In the mind of America’s founders, the federal government would be dependent upon the State governments, not the other way around! But what do we hear today? Even these so-called “conservative” politicos and talking heads say just the opposite. They keep insisting that the states are dependent upon, and subservient to, the federal government.

Even the colonists’ biggest proponent of central government, Alexander Hamilton, had it right on the power of the states to resist federal encroachment. In Federalist #26, Hamilton said, “Independent of … the national legislature itself … the State legislatures, who will always be not only vigilant but suspicious and jealous guardians of the rights of the citizens against encroachments from the federal government, will constantly have their attention awake to the conduct of the national rulers, and will be ready enough, if any thing improper appears, to sound the alarm to the people, and not only to be the voice, but, if necessary, the arm of their discontent.”

Wow! Did you catch that? Hamilton said that the states held the right and duty to resist federal encroachment with their “voice” and with their “arm.”

Does any of this sound like America’s Founding Fathers expected the states to be lap dogs for federal usurpation of power? They fully recognized that it would take the individual states standing against any potential federal overreach to protect and secure the rights and liberties of the American people.

I will say it again: it is far more important who is elected as your governor than who is elected President. It is far more important who is elected as your State attorney general than who is appointed US attorney general. It is far more important who is elected to your State legislature than who is elected to the US House and Senate. It is far more important who is elected as your sheriff than who is appointed as the Director of the FBI. But if all you watch is FOX News, CNN, NBC, CBS, and ABC, you will be mesmerized with national politics, and you will forget about that which is the most important defender of our liberties: our individual state governments. In fact, in many cases today, our State and local governments are as abusive of our liberties as is the federal government. This is mainly due to the inattention and misunderstanding of the People as to the importance of electing local and State leaders who will accept, as their first responsibility, the maintenance of liberty for the people they represent. And by nature, that means being a faithful watchdog to the incursions of the federal government against our freedoms.

It is encouraging to read that at least ten states are pushing back against the monstrously unconstitutional NDAA. If all fifty states would act as courageously as these tenacious ten–and not just against the NDAA, but also against EVERY assault of the federal government against our liberties–America could be restored to the “land of the free” very quickly. As it is, however, the protectors and guardians of our liberties (our State leaders and county sheriffs) are being bribed, coerced, cajoled, harangued, and intimidated into cowardly submission by these belligerent bullies in Washington, D.C.

Thank you Representative Daniel P. Gordon, Jr. of Rhode Island. Thank you Delegate Bob Marshall of Virginia. Thank you to all of you State legislators, State senators, and county sheriffs across our great land who truly understand the oath you took to the Constitution and who are willing to stand as the watchdogs of our liberties. It is a truism that if your tribe does not increase, our freedoms are surely lost.

P.S. Attention to any professional barber who is a like-minded patriot and who wants to relocate to, or currently resides in or near, the Flathead Valley of Montana. There is a job opportunity for a reliable, professional barber in an established shop located in a newly revitalized business area. This shop’s services include shaves, all style cuts, perms, and colors. References will be checked. This owner is a personal friend of mine and a real patriot. He wants to hire a fellow patriot in his shop. If you qualify and are interested, call Mike at Artistic Barbering, 236 2nd Ave. W., Kalispell, MT 59901, 406-755-1353.

This column is archived at
http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?p=4471

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Copyright © Chuck Baldwin

NOTE TO THE READER:

Chuck Baldwin is a syndicated columnist, radio broadcaster, author, and pastor dedicated to preserving the historic principles upon which America was founded. He was the 2008 Presidential candidate for the Constitution Party. He and his wife, Connie, have 3 children and 8 grandchildren. See Chuck’s complete bio at:

http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?page_id=6

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