One Gusher Is Given Top Priority While Another Is Intentionally Ignored!

News is much dominated by the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico and fingers being pointed in all directions as to who is to blame and what ought to be done to stop the leak quickly. --- it's a shark in bloody waters situation with the mass media on the oil spewing into the Gulf

Broadcast media through major networks as well as internet sources are making the oil leak a priority news item. You can view a live stream video of the disaster on the internet. As is usually the case, there is a scramble to see who can outdo the competition in reporting the details. It is getting almost exciting as the blame game gets into high gear and the battle rages on with talk now coming from the federal government level of the pursuit of criminal charges possibly being filed. Ah, that makes great fodder when those evil oil companies become the target.

While that gusher continues to spew out the oil at the bottom of the Gulf there is another one that most citizens along with leaders (government and church) chose to ignore and have done so for decades.

That's the "gusher" of innocent blood that spews forth each day across our republic. It amounts to about 3,500 victims or more each day or about 25,000 every week on average throughout the year! These are unborn children who are intentionally singled out for mutilation and murder before they are born. The grand total since we instituted our own customized version of holocaust is now nearly 52 million!

It is a tragedy in more ways than one -- it's not just the huge number of victims but the fact that most, including our leadership (government and church), do not consider this a serious thing at all. If there is anything serious about it, that comes from a few who are considered to be fire-breathing radicals with an IQ rating of 65 at best and who need to be "educated" on why certain unborn persons do not deserve to live. There are government and church leaders who are "experts" at teaching us as to why this has to be and others who prefer to keep silent about the issue.

The tragedy is compounded by the fact that there is failure to realize that the mighty Creator of the heavens and the earth is going to make His response to this "gusher" of innocent blood in the future! One thing is sure -- the main question at that time will be something like this, "What have we done? Why is God doing all these bad things to us?"

Will you be among the crowd asking the questions, or will you be among the small number who will give a direct answer as to why calamities of the first magnitude are striking a republic known as the United States?

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 21:16

Hold On -- The Last Word Has Yet to Be Spoken on That Monster Bailout Bill!

House to revisit bailout after Senate passes plan -- Senators add ‘sweeteners’ to the proposal, aiming to secure House’s vote –--- Auto sales fall; 1 in 5 dealers may close
--- a couple of headlines on the Internet, October 2, 2008

The scrambling continues in that place known as Washington DC as the U.S. Congress attempts to get that gigantic bailout bill passed and on to the president’s desk for signature. One headline said, “Senators add ‘sweetners’ to the proposal, aiming to secure House’s vote.” It has been noted that this stuff has increased the amount to much more than the original 700 billion dollar figure!

Yea, sure – isn’t it rather common knowledge that a lot of politicians have connections with the wealthy, including CEO’s and that generous contributions have always been a staple in their holding on to their coveted positions in DC? Plus you have that crowd known as lobbyists who put on the pressure when it comes to voting on things that have to do with money, and a guarantee that those who have tons of the stuff will be sure to hold on to it and get much more of it!

Nauseating details in recent days of what CEO’s of failed financial institutions were given by way of salaries, perks and those notorious “golden parachutes.” As reported by one person, they literally walked away with millions. It all translates into a thing called greed and giving the average American citizen an obscene gesture while they grab all they can as quickly as they can.

But we’ve got to hang on, folks, and realize that the last chapter has yet to be written – no, the U.S. Congress won’t write it, nor will the president, no matter how many bills he signs which will allow the guilty parties to get off with very little if anything by way of penalty.

What would be a very good thing which would send a clear message to those others in top level management who are doing about the same thing but so far have not seen their company/institution go belly up, is to take all the assets and property owned by those who were in the upper levels of management of the failed institutions. Let those funds be applied to the debts incurred by the loss due to financial failure.

Then let those upper level “managers” be given an annual income of the average family of four in this country and an average home such a family lives in provided for them. Further, let them pay what an average family of four would pay by way of obtaining insurance and health benefits. Give them a car such as one the average family of four would have.

Actually no jail time would be necessary – the more effective and fitting punishment would be for these people and their families who have been driven by greed for years to have to experience the struggles of an average family of four or more on a limited income in this republic. No longer having that mansion and domestic servants and whatever else by way of “homes” and “vacation get-aways,” driving luxury automobiles, sending the kids to those prestigious “ivy-league” universities and getting those special favors from politicians that the rest of us will never get, would be punishment enough!

And, yes, I already know – there will not really be any kind of true justice done regarding those who exhibited such irresponsible leadership, caused financial ruin, and still hold on to their fortunes – or as mentioned earlier, that these white collar people literally “walked away with millions!”

But there is good news in the midst of the bad news on this bailout and the criminals who got away with everything just short of 1st degree murder.

Jesus Christ will write the last chapter and have the last word – it’s simply a matter of time! And while within the ranks of those who profess to be “Christian” there are those who deny that He will do much of anything and that He isn’t coming back to this earth as King of kings and Lord of lords, there is a small minority that is fully persuaded that He will set this world right side up – He will control and rule it totally and will judge every human being personally – yes indeed, each one of us will give an account to Him as to what we have done with our lives and the material goods entrusted to our care! It's all spelled out in God's special revelation to us, if you'd care to look it up -- and then decide, does God mean what He says or does He not?

For those driven by their greed and lusts and who caused such financial chaos in countless ways, God has especially singled them out for condemnation:

The righteous also shall see and fear, And shall laugh at him, saying, "Here is the man who did not make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness." --- Psalm 52:6, 7

Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death..... He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage. --- Proverbs 11:4, 28

As a partridge that broods but does not hatch, so is he who gets riches, but not by right; it will leave him in the midst of his days, and at his end he will be a fool. --- Jeremiah 17:11

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." --- Mark 10:23-25

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. --- James 5:1-5

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. --- 1 Timothy 6:17

The above are but a few of God's statements about money and those who become enslaved by it, having made it their "god" and consequently have brought severe condemnation upon themselves in the process. It remains, that very few people can handle wealth and power in a responsible fashion for the betterment of not only their own lives but the lives of large numbers of people who are impacted by decisions which such persons make on a daily basis.

There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; and one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches. --- Proverbs 13:7

Adopt a Prayer!

At least some states have encouraged the practice for years -- it's called "Adopt a Highway" or something akin to that. The idea is to have a group of persons "adopt" a portion of highway and a couple of times a year or so, go along that portion of highway which they have adopted and pick up all the litter which has been thrown from vehicles traveling along that stretch of road.

Here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania there is a great need for this and a number of families and groups have responded to the appeal. You see, our state is still plagued with a number of persons with a very low IQ and common sense level of decency and respect -- and so they throw out their beer and soda cans, their McDonald's french fry boxes and hamburger wrappers, and their Pizza Hut boxes along the road as they travel along after indulging in their food and drinks!

Seizing on the idea of adopting a highway for ridding it of all debris deposited by those aforementioned ignoramuses, I am suggesting that we do an "adopt a prayer" exercise for the future well being and survival of the republic of which we are citizens.

How about adopting the prayer of Daniel the prophet as he prayed most seriously in chapter 9 of the book of Daniel? If the leaders (political and church) of this republic and we citizens took this seriously and performed the necessary steps of full repentance, the most astounding miracles would immediately take place!

Here is how Daniel started:

Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land...." --- Daniel 9:3-6

Now there is quite a bit more, but since it's good to thumb through the pages of the Bible and do some serious reading on a regular basis, I'll let you look it up and finish reading that prayer.

Then, how about adopting it as a personal prayer on your part and from time to time insert words such as "we...our leaders in state and church...in the United States" etc. The words about sinning and disobeying God remain the same until there is clear evidence that we as a nation are really serious about quitting this massive sin thing and getting right with God on a personal and individual basis as well as a collective basis.

As an aside, can you picture the United States Congress praying this prayer in all sincerity and then taking necessary actions to prove the sincerity of what was prayed? One thing sure, there would be a heap of things to be changed if such would really happen!

Will you do it today and encourage others to get involved in the "adopt a prayer by Daniel" program?

"....if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." --- 2 Chronicles 7:14

Can You Come Up with Even One Good Reason?

"Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time I punish them, they shall be cast down," says the LORD. Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, 'listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not listen.'" --- Jeremiah 6:15-17

In a previous post reference was made to this nation possibly experiencing the wrath of God in judgment. The subject has been discussed in certain areas of my web site, Circuit Rider's Range. In the right hand column of this BLOG you can scroll down to an area that provides some links to additional information on that rather unpleasant subject.

In my morning conversations with the Lord and mentioning the needs of our beloved republic, I can't come up with one solid reason as to why He shouldn't bring judgment upon this nation in that very moment in which I am talking to Him! I can only plead that He delay yet a while longer and increase the chastising actions and calamities upon this country as He sees fit in His infinite power and wisdom -- with the hope that just maybe our leaders (political and religious) and we citizens will see the urgent need to seek Him in a spirit of humility and true repentance.

And so I put the question to you -- what reason or reasons can you give as to why God should not bring judgment upon this nation without any further delay?

Because this is a Christian nation? Oh? On what basis? Because there are good people in this country and we have a lot of churches and a lot of good things are being done in many places. But there were a lot of good people in the ancient Israelite kingdom of Judah in 586 BC -- they claimed to be God's people -- they did a lot of good things and they had the magnificent temple which had been built centuries before by the very famous King Solomon. And we can identify some of the very good people who lived at that time including one named Jeremiah who was in constant communication with God.

In spite of all the claims which the people of the kingdom of Judah might have made in 586 BC about being God's people etc. judgment still came after years of warning as well as pleading for them to repent of their sins and return to God.

The statistics related to our own rebellion against God and a prevailing national spirit of defiance are shockingly parallel to that which existed in the years in which Jeremiah lived.

We cannot even get half of our 300 million population into a place of worship on Sunday mornings. You know what goes on during Sundays, do you not? While the vast majority of U. S. citizens would claim to believe in God (another shallow reason for saying God ought not to bring judgment) they demonstrate that they are "practical atheists." A "practical atheist" is a person who claims to believe in God but lives each day as though God does not really exist!

On top of all that you have a 50 per cent or better casualty rate in marriages, with professing Christians having about the same failure -- all of which has contributed greatly to breakdown of the family and an ever growing number of problem children and youth!

Of course a lot of couples don't bother to marry -- they just set up house together in what has become known as a "relationship!" This arrangement doesn't have an impressive survival rate either.

Add to this mixture the bloody record of tens of millions of destroyed unborn children, entrenched idolatry, and pandemic sexual immorality and you have a formula for destruction at the hands of the One Who put this great universe together by spoken command!

Whatever appeal one feebly tries to make that God ought not to bring judgment on the United States, it has all been said before in years prior to 586 BC when a nation of people discovered too late that God keeps His promise when He says judgment will come if there is not universal repentance from all sin!

Want to read the best summary ever recorded as to how a culture finally crosses the line and experiences first hand the wrath of an angry God? Just read on -----

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He also did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD. And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel. Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the LORD which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy. Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. --- 2 Chronicles 36:11-19