Defining Greatness!

“An important chapter in our history has come to an end. Our country has lost a great leader, who picked up the torch of his fallen brothers and became the greatest United States Senator of our time.” --- statement by President Barack Obama on occasion of the death of Senator Edward Kennedy, August 26, 2009

Our mass media outlets will be saturated with information related to Edward Kennedy now that he has crossed over into that realm known as eternity.

There will be no end to the praises of what he did, having served longer as a senator except for two other persons in the history of the U. S. Congress. He is described as having compiled a very impressive “list of legislative achievements on health care, civil rights, education, immigration and more.”

A couple or so questions can be asked – “Is the country better off now than when Kennedy began his first term as a senator in 1962?” Is the nation standing at a higher ethical, moral and spiritual level now because of his powerful influence and the fact that he is considered the “greatest U. S. Senator of our time” according to B. O?

Remember in those early years of Kennedy’s term of office that significant changes did take place in our nation – we had court decisions that literally kicked God out of the classroom with no more prayer and no more Bible reading permitted and some years later another insane court decision that said it is perfectly acceptable for a female to arrange to have her unborn son or daughter destroyed before birth – the ushering in of the United States’ version of “Holocaust!”

So, again, think for a moment – are we at a higher level now than we were when Edward Kennedy began serving as senator? Do we have a higher standard of morals – are we closer to our Creator – is He being honored more in our personal lives and in our national life now than 50 years ago? We all know the answer to that one, don’t we?

There is the human way of defining greatness and starting with today and over the next number of days we will see that all played out – if you aren’t careful you will not see visions of sugar plums in your dreams – you will see Kennedy again and again!

Then there is God’s way of defining greatness with a notable example given of how this is. It is from the book of Joshua and features a man by that name who was a leader among the Hebrew people as they began to occupy the land promised to them by God.

Just a few words will make it clear regarding the U. S. definition of greatness as it pertains to political leaders as opposed to God’s definition.

First, look at God’s instruction as to how Joshua was to prepare himself for leadership responsibility and especially notice the guarantee of "good success":

"Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." --- Joshua 1:7-9

Second, look at the influence a truly great leader had on the people in a very simple statement that says it all – something you do not see today:

Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the LORD which He had done for Israel. --- Joshua 24:31

Ought we not to pray that God will raise up a number of Joshuas to provide sane, sensible and stable leadership for our beloved republic which now finds itself wallowing in a quagmire, sinking deeper as each day passes?

And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God." --- Jesus speaking in Luke 16:15

President B. O? An Unprecedented Nightmare Beginning January 2009!

And the LORD spoke by His servants the prophets, saying, "Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols), therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle.'......... Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin with which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD. --- 2 Kings 21:10-12, 16

It appears to be simply a matter of a few months and our republic will be under the domination of President B. O! Will McCain take the White House? Not likely -- there is something about B. O. that is unlike any person yet who has aspired to be president of the United States.

Think about it -- here's a guy who literally came from out of nowhere -- spent a limited time in the Illinois Legislature -- made it for the U. S. Senate on his first try and was selected (or was it a contrived set up?) as keynote speaker at the Democratic Convention last time around in electing a president with bulk of mass media all goo-goo eyed over this guy! It is inaccurate to call it "charisma" -- it is something more than that -- a kind of "anointing" but obviously not from Almighty God!

How could the election of B. O. to be president be a nightmare for the republic of the United States?

First, he's too young for such a position -- a person in his 40's cannot handle that kind of power and position responsibly. He will abuse this thing of issuing "executive orders" -- that is when a president becomes a dictator and by a stroke of the pen issues orders for things to be done -- the Congress is totally bypassed -- and we've already had too much of that in past administrations! Evidence is overwhelming that persons in their 40's elevated to positions of extensive power have abused that power due to lack of wisdom, common sense and failure to fulfill the responsibility in the fear of God!

The attempt might be made to cite John Kennedy as being in his 40's when elected president and that he was a "good" president. That is open to debate -- and what is definitely known is that Kennedy had raging hormones out of control and literally threw his marriage vows out the window more than a couple of times! God has spelled out what is required in those who govern and Kennedy flunked out on those clear requirements!

Second, B. O. will be regarded as the "Commander in Chief" of the military. It will not help the morale of the military branches of service in knowing a kid is in charge of all operations! Plus the fact that this kid has had no military experience whatsoever. It is easy to get reckless in using the power of the military -- and we've seen that happen in times past also!

Third, all indications are that he will be calling for more taxes under some kind of pretense or other. But then politicians in past decades have been notorious for increased taxes -- and once in a while try to convince us that they are our friends by giving a token "rebate" to help the economy! B. O. will not launch any kind of campaign to reduce the burden of our taxes -- it will still be spend, spend, spend, spend (add as many "spends" as you want!).

Fourth, he will zealously support the deceptive "constitutional right" to mutilate and murder unborn children! Further, B. O. will attempt to remove any and all barriers when it comes to protecting the lives of the unborn -- he will be a major contributor to the ongoing U. S. version of Holocaust! He stonewalled the effort in Illinois to protect the lives of the unborn in the late stages of pregnancy!

Of course what B. O. and all governing powers as well as mainline church groups fail to realize is that God has yet to make His response to a nation which claims that all persons should have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness! Somehow we seem to have adopted the attitude that God isn't paying any attention to the fact that we have destroyed nearly 50 million unborn children since January of 1973!

Cited above is one king from out of the past who was heady with power and thought he could ignore the holy standards which Almighty God has spelled out for the sane, sensible, healthy, peaceful and ongoing survival of a culture. B. O. will prove to be no exception to this!

Do not mistake these comments to be an endorsement for John McCain. Neither major political party has anything significant to offer when it comes to addressing the most serious ethical, moral and spiritual problems which are pulling our nation along a path to sure and certain destruction!

A number of us will be looking for a third party candidate who exhibits qualities needed such as those found in an effective leader known as Joshua a long time ago. Is such a person out there some where who can lead us out of this spiritual chaos in which we presently find ourselves?

"No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." --- Joshua 1:5-8

B. O. Inserts Big Foot into Even Bigger Mouth!

"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." --- B. O. in San Francisco as reported on Friday, April 11, 2008

Yes, B. O., some Pennsylvanians are serious about their religion and there are quite a number that take the attitude, "You'll get my gun when you pry it off my dead fingers!" And most of those Pennsylvanians would fully agree with the accurate bumper sticker released some years ago which said, "Ted Kennedy's Oldsmobile has killed more people than my gun!"

There are Pennsylvanians who are in sharp disagreement with a large number of politicians, including the president of the U. S. when it comes to the religious issue. The president is on public record as stating his belief that Muslims and Christians worship the same God! That statement can be documented as taking place at a joint news conference years ago with Tony Blair in the United Kingdom. It's more than an outside possibility that a lot of politicians, including the great B. O. himself, would agree with Bush on that religious position!

I and some of my fellow Pennsylvanians would radically insist there is but one true God Who chose to become human in the Person of Jesus Christ and any religious expression in this present world that does not have Him at the heart and center of its worship, devotion and activity in daily life is totally false. This is underscored in John 1 - 3 about Who Jesus really is and what He demands of us humans if we expect to enter His eternal Kingdom! Go ahead, and read it for yourself -- then you are on the spot -- you're at a fork in the road -- you have to decide -- is what is told about Him the truth and is He telling the truth, or is He just a high profile fraud and nothing more? If He is telling the truth, then this idea of worshipping God any way that strikes your fancy when it comes to "religion" is a bunch of nonsense and could cause a person to end up in a devil's Hell forever!

On this gun issue, all indications are that B. O. does not seem too sympathetic to the common interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. Yes, a lot of us Pennsylvanians have our guns and intend to "cling" to them as B. O. put it! I am one of a number who is licensed to carry a handgun concealed and loaded, if I so choose! And that can range from a .357 Magnum all the way to a very dainty little .22 Magnum that can be concealed in my hand!

Pennsylvania has not only a lot of gun owners but a great hunting population -- it is said that more deer are killed on PA highways in a year than are taken in the hunting seasons of a number of other states combined. Over a million hunters are out on the first day of Pennsylvania's deer season.

By the way, guns sometimes are excellent tools to have around the house -- it was reported a while back about a 12 year-old girl being home alone due to her parents being away at some evening function -- two illegal aliens broke into the home with one carrying a weapon -- that one came up the stairs toward the girl who had retrieved her father's 12 gage shotgun -- she shot the one coming up the stairs who took the blast in the abdomen and genital area -- he died instantly -- she shot the other one who managed to get outside where he bled to death! She had been trained in skeet shooting by her father and knew how to handle a weapon and use it when necessary! She ought to be a poster child for a while in a society reeking with people who think they can break into anybody's home and take anything they want by force, killing the occupants if they feel so moved!

But Pennsylvanians also have good memories when it comes to how politicians are prone to open their mouths and insert a big foot in them! If all goes well, perhaps B. O. has just shot himself in his big foot before he inserted it in his big mouth so far as Pennylvania is concerned.

But then, the other option on the Democratic ticket isn't exactly a winner either, is SHE? Then go Republican? Ooooh! Frustration will definitely be the name of the game when a lot of us go into that voting booth in November! Please understand that these statements are coming from one who, first, has a basic mistrust of all politicians to begin with (I rest my case on the records they have set for themselves!) and second, is a non-affiliated registered voter in south central Pennsylvania -- Cambria County!

We definitely need a Joshua type of leader in times such as these -- but I see none at all in the field -- do you? But more on that at a later time.

"Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." --- Joshua 1:7, 8