Saturday, April 01, 2006

Stupidity and Greed are their own Reward

This happens in Chicago all the time.  A con man finds a nice box. Box says new TV, Microwave, etc on it.  He puts a couple bricks in it.  You can buy bricks.  He bubble wraps them. You can buy bubble wrap.  He tapes it shut with official looking clear plastic tape.  OfficeMax sells that too.
 
Then he goes to a part of town where people have been educated in the public school system. He goes where they believe that the man is out to get them.  They want to "Stick it to the Man". 
 
Con man approaches them.  Says he "found" this TV.  Or he got it off a man unloading a truck.  Never says that the warehouse hired him to market these TVs for them.  The sucker thinks, I'll buy this, I'll get a new TV for $50.  Save me $300.  Greed takes over.  Sucker comes up with money. Con man disappears.  Sucker goes home finds a brick wrapped in bubble wrap.  Bought it from the trunk of a car from a guy who says he "found" it and they are mad they were suckered in. Greed and stupidity.  If they are lucky they won't need but one of these educational sessions.
 
In South Bend there is a rash of Oven Door Thefts.  People breaking into new houses and stealing the oven door.  They do a variation on the Brick in the Box scam.  Find a box that held a flat screen TV.  Put a stolen oven door in it wrapped in bubble wrap.  Tape it shut and find a sucker.
 
They are easy.  Greed is everywhere.  I don't even have to read the paper.  This happened somewhere in Chicago TODAY.  Maybe several times.  Greed and stupidity.
 
These are almost NEVER reported. NEVER.  So, what do you say to the investigation officer? "See it was like this, I was in a parking lot and..........."
 
Never Mind.
 
For most it's a high priced education in being stupid and greedy.  Hopefully they won't have to go to school again.
 
 

Friday, March 31, 2006

The Substance of Things Hoped For

When I taught the Dale Carnegie Courses we spoke a great deal about envisioning what you might or could do.  We called it the Should Be.  That was as compared to the AS IS.  Now that more of my teaching is Biblical. the same thing is true.  We speak of things that are not as though they already were.  We know that FAITH is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for. 

This man who wrote this article below has had that experience.  So have I.

The question is, what great things would you do if you knew you could not fail,  The other question is, who said you would or more important what if you did.  You might have succeeded, but you will be guaranteed to fail if you never try. 

 

THE WISH LIST

Not long ago I came across a yellow sheet of legal pad paper tucked into my old journal I refer to as my "Black Book of Dreams."

I knew exactly what it was before I unfolded the old piece of paper. I was taken back to the very place and time I had dumped all of my ambitions onto one piece of paper. I had been a young man fresh out of college beginning a career and starting a family. I was a young man with more dreams and wild ideas than even I could imagine. I had begun reading great motivational books and proving the wisdom I had found in them and knew I could accomplish just about anything I set my mind to. And so, one evening I pulled out a legal pad and decided to make a personal WISH LIST. I decided to hold nothing back and to write down every practical, impractical, exciting, scary, outlandish WISH I could come up with. It was my list after all, and it could contain anything I wanted.

With nothing but my imagination and heart to guide me, I started writing. Some of the things on the list made me laugh out loud, some made my heart race, and some made me flat out excited. When I was done, I read the list to my wife. As she had done before and would do many times over the next 20 years, she helped me believe that we could accomplish any of the things together.

I never forgot the WISH LIST, but I can honestly say I didn’t use it as a tool. I tucked it into my journal and never really went back to it until recently. As I rediscovered this list what seems like a lifetime later, I was amazed at how many of the things that seemed outlandish and impractical at the time of writing them down had actually happened. I had actually done 75% of the things on the list including writing a book, running a marathon, starting a consulting business, "traveling around the country giving talks on sales," and taking at least one vacation a year with my wife and one a year with our children. I was amazed and excited to realize how many great things in my life had been on this sheet of paper before I had any idea if, when or how I would ever accomplish them. There were many crazy things that I haven’t come close to and maybe never will, like walking on the moon, meeting 3 U.S. Presidents or making a movie, but it sure is awesome to see how many of the things on my WISH LIST eventually became a written goal and turned into a dream come true.

What if making a WISH LIST opened your mind to the possibilities in your life? What if it stretched your view of yourself enough to accomplish any percentage of the WISHES you wrote down? I know from my experience it was a worthwhile exercise from a crazy kid with every place to go in life. My personal, private brainstorming session subconsciously confirmed that I could do at least some of these things I wished for.

Why not take a half hour and start your WISH LIST? Really, WHY NOT? Who knows how many of the crazy things you dream of will become your reality by setting goals to get there.

- Jim Paluch

 

Things to Do Next

At the bottom of the page that I had labeled my WISH LIST were thoughts on the next steps to take...I’m guessing I took those steps on the WISHES that really mattered to me most. This list from a young, inexperienced kid holds the same disiplines I use and teach today.

1. Write it as a goal.

2. Put a date on it.

3. Determine what groups and people need to help get you there.

4. Decide what info I need.

5. Identify the obstacles I need to overcome.

6. Develop a game plan.

7. Know what’s in it for us

8. Become a goal-setting machine.

9. Develop a positive lifestyle.

10. Write the principles and outlines of goal setting based on experience and the knowledge I have acquired.

11. Turn your DREAMS into WISHES, your WISHES into GOALS and GOALS into action...make your dreams come true.

 

Opportunities We Didn't Wish For

Sometimes we get what we wish for, and sometimes we are faced with opportunities we never dreamed of. I learned a great lesson recently on SEIZING THE DAY and knew without a doubt that my original response to an opportunity would have kept me from an amazing experience. Unlike the author of the previous article, I am not prone to seeking adventure or stepping out of my comfort zone. I’m often content to sit back and truly enjoy watching others do something exciting rather than doing it myself. This was certainly the case last week as we ventured to Provo, Utah, on business and had a day in the mountains with no responsibility, a certified "play day." Traveling with our 21-year-old son on his spring break, we were looking for something fun to do on our day off. I was glad to do the research, make the phone calls and set up reservations for a 2-hour snow mobile tour. The two Jim Paluches were thrilled and excited to be heading into the mountains for a snow adventure.

I packed a good book in my bag and headed off with them for a beautiful drive up the mountains. I can honestly say that I love to watch my family have fun and was completely content to sit in the lodge, enjoy the surroundings and read my book while they drove their snow mobiles off into the distance. When we arrived, the air was a mild 40 degrees, the sky was clear and the sun brilliant. "Ah, two hours to stare at the mountains, read a book and chill out..." As they signed the forms and searched for the right size ski suit, my son enthusiastically said, "Mom, you’ve got to go with us! When are we ever going to get to do this again?" I looked at the sparkle in his eyes and looked out the windows at the snow-covered mountains surrounding us and thought to myself, "I really have no desire to get on the back of a snow mobile and hang on for dear life for two long hours." Then I said out loud, "What if I can’t hold on and fall off the back?" This was obviously not a thought process that would qualify me as a positive thinker and the guide said, "The only people that ever fall off are the ones that think they are going to..." Now why did he have to say that?

In the next few minutes my slight hesitation toward wanting to please my son had me in snow gear from head to toe, and I was committed to an afternoon I will never forget. It was one of those opportunities that sneaks up on you and calls for a response. Five short minutes into the ride, I knew I had almost missed something great in my life. There was no way they could have ever come back and explained what it was like to be part of the snow-covered mountains, to whiz around in the powdery snow, to step off the machine in the middle of a huge meadow surrounded by mountains in every direction and be in snow up to your waist...I could have completely missed watching my husband and son have the time of their lives and would have only enjoyed the "leftovers" as they might have tried to explain it later. Oh, what I would have missed, a shared experience of laughter and a number of heartfelt screams to, "SLOW DOWN!"

It made me think about the importance of being content and yet not letting that contentment rob you of something great. It might just be that the unexpected adventures in life are the ones that cause us to examine ourselves, challenge us to stretch our vision of what we think we can do and expand our reality. I’m not sure of how many times I have missed opportunities like this in the past, but I am confident that I’ll recognize others in the future because of one sunny day in Utah.

- Beth Paluch

 

Quotes

"I don't dream at night, I dream all day; I dream for a living."
- Steven Spielberg

"If I could wish for my life to be perfect, it would be tempting but I would have to decline, for life would no longer teach me anything."
- Allyson Jones

"Cherish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements."
- Napoleon Hill

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Aim is the task we set our wishes to."
- Ambrose Bierce

 

Mexicans Versus American White Boys

This happened this morning.

I am in the nursery business. During this time of year getting product dug and shipped and out the door is all we can do.


Finding competent help is the issue. Much of the nursery trade uses Mexicans. Many are illegal.


I was speaking to a large nursery in Tennessee who was complaining of their plight. They had posted signs all over town looking for workers. $11 per hour. Pretty much hard manual labor. The phone had rung off the hook all morning. White boys hot to trot.


Here’s what the nursery operator said: “"Mostly we got calls from white boys. You know, pick-up drivin’ mullet wearing tattooed types. We used to hire them but they couldn’t finish a days work and never came back a second day. If they had to do actual work they complained all the time. Now we only hire Mexicans. We can tell who we will hire by their accent. If they speak English we don’t even discuss it. But we did get a couple who couldn’t speak a lick. They’'ll be great".”


Pure and simple reverse discrimination.


So this morning in Tennessee 2 more illegals took jobs White Boys are still looking for. I know the type. Did you ever see the TV Show, My Name is Earl. That’s your average white boy. You want him working for you?? I like blue collar TV as a joke but hiring them is a joke.


So, the white boys in Tennessee stay on welfare and unemployment and the illegals are hired because they actually do work.


In fact the nursery said they pay MORE for a good Mexican than any white boy they ever had working for them.


I can tell you from my own experience it’s true. I was never sued for workman’s comp by Mexicans (twice from white boys), I never had to discuss sick days with Mexicans (a constant battle with white boys) and I never had to push the Mexicans to finish an undone job with a little overtime (when it’s Miller Time for white boys they quit).


I wish it weren’t so. I wish the work ethic among the white boys were equal to the Mexican labor force. It’s not in my experience.


Somehow our weenie school system, video games, TV, draconian child labor laws and the hip hop culture has bred the work ethic out of our country. I fear for the white boy future. They don’t have one.


Jose and hose B do.

Mexicans 100 – White Boys 0

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Public Educational Suicide

Public Education is the worst bargin American ever made. It's like unions. A hundred years ago it made some sense. Now it's a complete boodoggle.

You will want to see this. public schools in Washington DC can't educate kids to even graduate. Yet private schools for a third less money have most of the graduates attending college.

I know all the arguments.

But, the truth is, public education is dead dead dead. Never coming back. It can't come soon enough in my opinion.

You will want to read this. If you are a teacher, this is going to bad for your long term employment.

Wendys is still hiring.

Healing from Cancer - Astounded but not Surprised

A couple years ago a man came to me in a healing meeting.  His wife brought him. None of the other pastors on site would minister to him.  He had cancer.  He was oozing puss from the tumor on the side of his neck.  It was disgusting. It's odor was repulsive.  He looked terrible.  The doctors had told him to go home and die.  His wife had brought him as a last ditch effort.  As my friend Barry calls it, they had tried everything else and were down to Jesus.
 
In the ministry work I spend a fair amount of time ministering to people for healing.  I am always amazed at the way God works.  I won't recount here the many instances I have seen wonderful healings after ministering God's way.
 
I know that cancer must bow the knee to Jesus.  I know that the name of Jesus is above every name, the name of tumors, the name of cancer and the name of doctors.
 
My faith was shaken by what I saw.  And I was shaken that all the other ministers in the room had decided, "Let Gene have him".  I guess to them I'm the patron (non) saint of lost causes.
 
I have to admit I have my days when I am not walking in the power and anointing of the Holy Ghost that I minister to someone with less than overcomers faith.  I am human.
 
After praying in tongues for a while and laying my hand on him, faith rose.  I spoke the words of faith to encourage him (and myself).  I prayed for his faith and mine to connect and then I spoke the authority of Jesus over the cancer.  I instructed him to receive and believe.  I'm not sure I believed.  I never saw him again, till a couple days ago.  I figured (as a mighty man of faith) that he had died. 
 
WELL-
 
He had been healed.  He was whole.  Doctors amazed.  No Cancer. But now after two years his some kind of cell count was up higher than it should be.  He had gone in for a 6 month check-up and they said it looked like things were welling up again. Glands.  Cancer.
 
I know nothing about medicine.  I want to know less.  I do know Jesus. 
 
When we met the other day after a couple years he asked me to again minister healing.  This time a righteous indignation against this lie of the Devil rose up in me.  His faith was high.  After just a little while praying in the Holy Ghost I laid my hands directly on the affected gland and cursed the cancer cells that were raising their ugly heads.  I saw them in the Spirit.
 
I became agitated.  Sometimes after a particularly intense session like this I do.  I was angry at the Devil. I was wired.  I walked and prayed intercession for half an hour till I was released to stop.
 
I'm believing God this time instead of my feelings.  Ol Smith Wigglesworth used to say, "I'm not moved by what I see, I'm not moved by what I hear, I'm just moved by the mighty word of God".
 
I will be, I am.  Next time I won't be so surprised.  Or maybe it's good that sometimes I am, not surprised, but astonished by the goodness and mercy of Jesus towards his people.
 
He's sure good to me.
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

The 1374 Year War and Counting

"I was ordered to fight all men until they say 'There is no god but Allah.'"
Prophet Muhammed's farewell address, March 632

"I shall cross this sea to their islands to pursue them until there remains no one on the face of the earth who does not acknowledge Allah."
—Saladin, January 1189

"We will export our revolution throughout the world . . . until the calls 'there is no god but Allah and Muhammed is the messenger of Allah' are echoed all over the world."
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 1979

"I was ordered to fight the people until they say there is no god but Allah, and his prophet Muhammed."
Osama bin Laden, November 2001


In case you are confused, the western world Christianity has been at war with Islam and it's imperialist notions for 1374 years. We just didn't always know it.

The war was engaged on US soil September 11, 2001 when men and women bravely took on and took out hijackers of United Flight 93 and crashed the jet in the fields of Pennsylvania. Thousands of lives and gallons of blood have been spilled since. The idea that we can retreat to our borders and leave the battle unfought in other lands like Iraq that many well meaning Americans believe would be prudent is delaying the inevitable. We must win this war on all we hold valuable and dear or surrender our lives on the altar of political expediency forever. This is a battle we must win. Retreat or defeat is not an option.

I have wondered why the silence from the so called Muslim moderates when Rhaman was sentenced to death in Afghanistan. It's easy to understand now. They know what side they are on. We don't. This isn't about hate, it's about recognizing those who hate me, you and the life we choose.

Those quotes at the top are on the lips of much of the Islamic world. They are the emerging world religion which will take a historic run at crushing anything resembling Christianity on this planet. Christianity to them means anything NOT MUSLIM. That means you.

You can read more here. But when they come for you or your children, you have been warned. Get ready, This is war.

Monday, March 27, 2006

An Exorcism Story

Warning, if you have come upon this and are not a believer in Jesus what you are about to read will freak you out.  This is not meant to be sensational but faith building for Christians.  I write this for friends of mine who need to see what the other side looks like so as they walk out their faith they are confident in Jesus.

 

I have been part of and conducted exorcisms.  I don’t say that pridefully.  I don’t enjoy them.  But I hate the devil more.  The excerpts from this article is about a decidedly non Christian exorcism.  Very new age.  Very strange.  But as I read it, a real experience which parallels what I have seen and experienced first hand.  I hope you read it without judgment.  My purpose in publishing this controversial article is to open you eyes to the reality of the devil and his work.  We are instructed NOT to be ignorant of his devices.

 

The young woman in this story traveled all the way to Peru to experience a drug-induced exorcism.  The crime is that in many good Holy Ghost filled fellowship she could have been set free without the danger.  She chose otherwise.  I will publish notes from the article.  But as you read this please understand this, these events, these visions, these experiences are going on every day among people who know how to do battle with demonic oppression and possession.  The Blood of Jesus and the Name of Jesus is more than enough.  I’m always puzzled that people who are oppressed will try everything else except Jesus.  It seems too easy.  They worry how it might look.  So off they go to Peru and ingest some toxic substance to deal with the demons in their life.  It’s crazy but we live in such a world.  So hang on your hat, here goes:

 

I've told no one this time—especially not my family. I grew up among fundamentalist atheists who taught me that we're all alone in the universe.

This explains her hesitancy to deal with this by the power of the cross.  It’s too easy and too counter to her upbringing.  Isn’t it sad?

 

I knew there were some stubborn enemies hiding out in my psyche: Fear and Shame. They were taking potshots at my newfound joy, ambushing my successes. How do you describe what it's like to want love from another but to be terrified of it at the same time? To want good things to happen to you, while some disjointed part of you believes that you don't deserve them? To look in a mirror and see only imperfections?

She had been delivered from depression but now she is dealing with doubt.  Joy found in any other than the person of Jesus will leave you empty and alone.

 

Then on the darkest night of his life, when he was filled with spiritual despair, he says he called to God and begged him—if he did really exist—to show himself. Hamilton claims he then heard voices and saw spirits. He thought he'd gone insane. So did his psychologist. But then a trusted acquaintance suggested that he wasn't crazy at all; he'd merely opened channels to other dimensions.

The man mentioned in this story did something I commend.  Ask God to reveal himself to you and he will.  Then get connected with a body of believers who knows how to help you get where you need to go.  He didn’t. 

  

Which seemed to have an equally powerful role in alleviating my depression: It was as if I'd been shown my own self-imposed hells and taught how to free myself from them.

Most of the “hells” we find ourselves in are self imposed.  But real freedom is in Jesus.

 

The unconscious mind holds many things you don't want to look at. All those self-destructive beliefs, suppressed traumatic events, denied emotions. Little wonder that a vision can reveal itself as a kind of hell in which a person is forced—literally—to face his or her demons.

You were never meant to deal with this alone.  You need people who know the power of the Word of God to walk with you thru this.  It’s essential but dangerous alone.

 

"It's probably not for most people in our world today. You have to be willing to have a very powerful, long, internal experience, which can get very scary. You have to be willing to withstand that."

Deliverance is indeed for everyone on the earth today.  We can find peace under the shed blood of Jesus.

 

People are used to suppressing their feelings. Many mistakenly think that holding back emotions is a sign of strength and control; actually, Hamilton says, it's the opposite. Avoidance, a refusal to face painful feelings, is a weakness; unless this suppression stops, a person will never be healed of physical and psychological issues.

The healing we need, the pain we have cannot be resolved in our own strength.  We must have a vehicle.  That is the Name of Jesus.

 

The colors vanish all at once as if a curtain has been pulled down. Blackness. Everywhere.

This is what happens when you come to grips with the demonic.  The demons try to scare you.  Try to scare those who are working with you.  Darkness is best pushed back by light.  The word of God.

Dark creatures sail by. Tangles of long, hissing serpents. Dragons spitting fire. Screaming humanlike forms. For a bunch of hallucinations, they seem terrifyingly real. An average ceremony lasts about four to five hours. But in this space—where time, linear thought, and the rules of three-dimensional reality no longer apply—four to five hours of sheer darkness and terror can feel like a lifetime. My heartbeat soars; it's hard to breathe. But I have done this before. I remind myself that what I'm experiencing now is my fear taking symbolic form.  Fear that I have lived with my entire life and that needs to be released.

This I have seen more than once.  I have seen the terror in peoples eyes.  I have seen the demons myself.  Fear is the main tool of the devil.  It’s all an illusion.  People will scream and twist on the ground.

 

These negative energies are actual spirit entities that attach themselves to the body and cause mischief.

Demons will take up residence anywhere they are allowed to.  They are there to kill you.  But they have only the right given to them. You have nothing to fear but they will terrify you until they are exorcised.

 

Whenever unpleasant thoughts enter a person's mind—anger, fear, sorrow—it's because a dark spirit is hooked to the body and is temporarily commandeering the person's mind. In some cases, he adds, particularly evil spirits from the lowest hell of the "astral realms" take over a person permanently—known as full-blown demonic possession—creating a psychopathic mind that seeks only to harm others.

True demonic possession is rare but it happens.  Most of the time it is an oppression that fears the name of Jesus.  They really aren’t hard to cast out but it takes time.  To do this many time takes more time than most people are willing to invest.

 

Clouds of bats and demonlike faces. Black lightning. Black walls materializing before me no matter which way I turn. Closer and closer, the darkness surrounding me, trapping me. I can barely breathe.

The demonic which I have seen face to face is ugly, evil and dark.  Always black.  Think about that young man who killed those people in Washington Sunday morning after a Zombie rave.  When a person is oppressed by the devil they see only evil and darkness. 

 

I see dark, raging faces. My body begins to contort; it feels as if little balls are ripping through my flesh, bursting from my skin. The pain is excruciating.

Every person I have ever seen go thru this experiences a pain they didn’t expect.  That’s why they scream.  But the devil doesn’t let go easily and when he leaves he does so with anger.

 

I yell out. And now they appear to be escaping en masse from my throat. I hear myself making otherworldly squealing and hissing sounds. Such high-pitched screeches that surely no human could ever make. All the while there is me, like a kind of witness, watching and listening in horror, feeling utterly helpless to stop it. I've read nothing about this sort of experience happening from anyone else. And now I see an image of a mountain in Libya, a supposedly haunted mountain that I climbed a year and a half ago, despite strong warnings from locals. A voice tells me that whatever is now leaving my body attached itself to me in that place.

This is the part where a person needs most to have Spirit Filled believers to stand with them.  This is a difficult time.  Watching people writhe on the floor like a snake, watching them vomit, watching their eyes roll back in their heads. This is serious business, deliverance.

Haunted mountains. Demonic hitchhikers. Who would believe this? Yet on and on it goes. The screaming, the wailing. My body shakes wildly; I see a great serpent emerging from my body.

Only a naive person believes that you can fool around with the dark side and get away with it. Be very careful what you see, hear, read or say.  The demonic is always looking for a chance to attach themselves to you.

 

All negative thoughts, shamans believe, are dark spirits speaking to us, trying to scare us into reacting; the spirits then feed on our reactivity, growing stronger and more formidable until they finally rule over us. This is how, Hamilton suggests, addictions and psychological disorders develop in people.

I could preach a sermon based on this truth.  The devil only knows how to lie to us and then watch our reaction and then make us dance to his tune in addiction and disorder.  The devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may desire.

 

"Everyone hears the voices of spirits," he tells me. "They've just convinced themselves that they are hearing their own thoughts." We must, he maintains, practice choosing which thoughts we pay attention to.

More important, we must learn to be careful what we say.  The devil doesn’t know what you think, he only can hear what you say. So reject the thoughts and ideas you know come from him.

 

"God!" I yell out in my vision. "Where are you?"

Now here’s a prayer God will answer. Ask him to show himself and he will.

But only darkness. The seemingly endless darkness. I'm getting more and more aggravated. Why do religious people always say that God is there for you when you need him? Well, he's nowhere. Just serpents and those little demon guys.

Hunger is what God responds too, this woman in the story is getting hungry and impatient.  As the deer pants for the water so her soul longs after Him.  He will respond.

All of a sudden, I realize that my fears about his not existing, about my not being able to find him, may be thoughts created by dark spirits. I release those fears and immediately I rise higher, into white realms. Through a hazy gray cloud, I can see a vision of a white-bearded man—God? Appearing like a giant Santa Claus. And while I'm sure the way he looks is a stereotyped invention of my mind, a kind of visual distillation of something wholly beyond conception, it's bizarre to be talking to him about my problems.

This is the way he appears to her because in her limited understanding it’s the best she can grasp.  God will reveal himself to us from our own understanding.  But he will reveal Himself if we are hungry enough.


"Why did you hate me so much?" I demand.  "I never hated you," he says. "You hated yourself. I have always loved you as my own child. Know that suffering is the greatest teacher on Earth. It leads us out of our belief in separation." I don't know what he means by "separation."

Now she has a taste.  He is revealing himself to her, she is discovering the personality of the Eternal father.   There’s more to be done.   She has tasted and seen that God is good.  She will not be content.

Darkness falls. I can't see God in my vision anymore. A scathing pain rises in my chest—the most excruciating pain I've ever felt. I squeak out a cry to Hamilton and he comes over, singing spirit songs. Legions of demons sail out of my body. I'm helpless before them; they contort me. I cough violently and watch as demons burst out of me, roaring, only to disintegrate in white light.

There is little more to be done as the revelation of the Father begins to complete the work.  Is this God?  The God of the Bible?  Even in a drug induced state here hunger is responded to .  He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him after believing that he is.  That’s the God of the Bible.  It’s not his preferred way but He will.  But the Devil is there to deceive too.  Don’t go to Peru.  Go find believers who can take you to the throne for your deliverance.  They are everywhere and they are ready to minister to you.

 

Then before me this enormous image of God. He takes me in his arms and coddles me like a child. I know, unequivocally, that I am loved and have always been loved. That I matter and have always mattered. That I'm safe and, no matter what happens, will always be safe. I will never allow myself to become separated from him again.

I hope for this young woman’s sake this is true.  I am concerned that now after becoming clean she will allow new demons even worse than the former to enter.  She needs to get grounded.

 

Exorcism is real. The devil is a liar.  We must be certain to be vigilant for the roaring lion that is seeking to devour you.

 

I will pray for this young woman.  I hope she finds Jesus and becomes grounded in him never more to be prey for the enemy of her soul.

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Who the heck are you (Politically)

I took this clever little test to see what my political and social position really is. It's pretty good. Take it and let me know what you ended up being. Now, to those of you who think I'm a right wing radical. I'm far more centered than most. You are the one with the far out views. ;-)

I score about the same as Pope John Paul II. I could do worse.

Hat tip to Say Anything


You are a

Social Conservative
(35% permissive)

and an...

Economic Moderate
(55% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Centrist











Why They Don't Integrate

I work with Mexicans. I had 2 in my house working on Friday. They are hard working and respectful. I hope they thought the same of me.

One of the two men did not speak a word of English. They seem to have a low opinion of Americans. The chart below is a Zogby Poll just released. They think we are weak, stupid and a lot of other things the poll reveals. We look pretty bad in their eyes.

Even if we don't agree with them, this may explain why they don't want to be like us. Why they don't learn our language. Why they hang on to their culture so tenuously.

Mexican culture looks down on us and doesn't want to lower itself to be like Americans. Don't believe it? Read the results of this poll.

How We See Each Other - Personal Attributes:

On Mexicans:

Hard Working

Honest

Law Abiding

Tolerant

Racist

How The U.S. Sees Mexicans

78%

42%

34%

44%

18%

How Mexicans See Mexicans

76%

49%

39%

45%

17%

On Americans:

Hard Working

Honest

Law Abiding

Tolerant

Racist

How The U.S. Sees Americans

56%

41%

46%

36%

35%

How Mexicans See Americans

26%

16%

40%

17%

73%