Random Brain Blast

Collected Thoughts about nothing in particular:

It’s first of Oct tomorrow. Today feels like August. We are going to have some 80s next week. Fall is such a gift. We have yet to turn our heat on, although I fire up the fireplace. I know it’s a net loss but it makes me think I’m doing something. We will have these spectacular days from time to time from now till Thanksgiving. Then cold. For 3 months, then nice. I can take it.

New Christian song that’s going to be a monster hit. Group 1 Crew, Everybody’s got a Song to Sing. This group came out of Chicago, company that produces them is from Nashville and the main office contact is Florida. But they are fabulous. Hip Hop (Rap sorta) Christian Music. I love Macy Gray and her music, this is better. Look for it. On the other hand you won’t have to, it will run you down till you are sick of it.

We have our BIG block party tonight. I have to get up early to play on the worship team at Church. These two things don’t go together. Saturday night hoot and Sunday morning Scoot. I’ll do my best. I’ll need a nap tomorrow afternoon.

I discovered a really neat gadget. On google there is somehow a way to get update feeds from several news feeds and create a page. I have most of the blogsites I follow on a special bookmark deal from Firefox. Some blogsites don’t work. But I discovered this by trying to figure out how to do this with Julies blogsite.

I use dialup. So for me to troll across the blogosphere and read everyone who is there means I have to commit some time to it. I was visiting her site every time I “trolled” because I had no other way of checking if she had written anything brilliant lately. So, because I sort of “make the rounds” and most everyone is on a “feed” I had to actually hit her site to check. I think I made her nervous.

Then, in trying to find some way to avoid it I came upon this google thingy on her site. Wow, what a gadget. So now, the only time I have to check in is if there is something there fresh. I’ll bet she will miss my 10+ hits per day on the blog counter. Or not.

I spent a wonderful Thursday morning with Ben Peters and Barry Kolb. We sat and shared “ghost stories” and then Ben began to prophesy. I flow in this pretty well but Ben knows nothing of what has been ever said by the Spirit that had been delivered thru me or what the situation at LOL is. It was wonderful. I dearly love the prophetic gift because of how it wipes the mud from our eyes and allows us to see clearly. Remember that song by (I don’t remember) “I can see clearly now the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my Way" It might be Pain but the concept is the same. Well that’s what the prophetic is like when you take it to heart. It clears away the spiritual cobwebs, puts you on a course for the future, and gives you confidence. I don’t know when or if Ben and Barry and I will ever get together again. Ben is going to wait on God to tell him when or if we should. But, I believe God is about to reveal his purposes in all this. I’m patient and never disappointed.

I have been preparing for the men’s ministry meeting next weekend. I honestly get more out of this than anyone else. If only I showed up and only I shared with me what God has given me it would be enough. I think that’s what it is supposed to be like. Sometimes the gift God gives is just for me (or you). Teaching is a wonderful way to learn.

A random political note. If the divide in this country were geographical rather than philosophical we would be engaged in civil war. That’s how wide the gulf really is. Each side (and there are sides) is convinced the other is living on another planet with alternate realities and completely blind and warped in their thinking. For clarity, both sides think this of the other. That’s what brought on the long discussion with Ron MacKenzie below. He would normally fit into the camp of which I am a part and doesn’t really. But, we (both sides) really think the other is off their nut. In fact, to be honest, we don’t think so, we are confident in our position. (Both Sides) know SO. That’s why I say, if we were geographically divided as we are philosophically and politically, we would be at war.

I bring this up because of the thought of the future, let’s project, if the liberals win, the conservatives will harden their position and try even harder to discredit the other side and take back power, ditto the other way around. If the Conservatives win the liberals will do what happened in Mexico and for a third time claim we nasty conservatives stole the election. They will become even more radicalized. There is no compromise.

The problem is as we drift apart we are never going to arrive at the same place, there is no middle ground, the middle ground is gone. There can only be victory by one side and grudging submission and subversion of the government as we have had the last two years from one another.

This also applies to the issue of the Islamic fundamentalists and the battle being waged by them against western culture. They are never going to give in to our way of life. There is no compromise. They want women in submission, they don’t want their daughters to dress like little whores, they don’t want homosexuality pushed on their little boys in school, they don’t want drugs and alcohol, they don’t want dirty movies shown in their cities, and they don’t want the open perversion, ponography and putrification they see in American society. There is no compromise. They will do all they can to destroy the great Satan. We have shown his face to them on TV and in Movies. They want none of it. They don’t want the society they have created polluted by us. They would rather kill us then let us infect them.

So there is no compromise. There is no moderation. There is no middle ground on which we will agree to get along. There is only conquest by one side and defeat of the other.

We are engaged in civil war, in the USA, the middle east, and around the world. It’s a war of ideas.

I don’t like it but I see it clearly. Who will win in the end?

I read the Book.

He does.

Sometimes I Don’t Know What to Think

I am a pretty definite person. Overfull of certitude my critics say. I'’m OK with that. I know in whom I have believed and I am convinced.

There is a man from Christchurch New Zealand, Ron McKenzie, who I have never met. I wish I could. I have been reading his blog, Blessed Economist, for over 2 years. I have often wanted to post a comment on one of his posts. But his blog hates me. Not really, but it doesn't for some reason allow me to comment.

He's an economist and a very excellent theologian. I read everything he writes and nearly 100% of the time I agree with him. I have printed off some of what he has written from time to time and handed it off to pastor friends of mine. He'’s that good. I commend him to you. I love his view of government, civil and eccesiastical. In fact the denomination under which I licensed as a minister is using some of his material in developing the proper approach to the apostolic model in church leadership.

So, it was with some chagrin that a couple weeks ago he wrote a piece that was not supportive of the War in Iraq, President Bush and his role fighting the war on terror.

He Wrote:

George Bush sees the War on Terror as part of a Struggle for Civilization. I suggest that he does not understand war or civilization.
War on Terror is a strange name for a war. Terror is a weapon, not a war. So who is America actually fighting against: Al Qa'ida, an Axis of Evil, all Muslims, the Middle East nations?

Now, in principle I understand. He claims we do NOT understand what the War on Terror is; we have declared war on a weapon or a symptom, in a way it'’s like having a war on Atom Bombs, or our "War on Drugs" or the war on poverty.

If that is all there is, the war on terror is hopeless. If people'’s hearts aren'’t changed then nothing changes.

I had to think about it. Since his blog doesn'’t take comments from ME, I wrote Ron directly. I asked him this question, "“What would you do, say or encourage our President to do or say since he has the responsibility of leading and protecting this nation and it'’s constitution”. They really want to kill us. Kill us all. Nuclear annihilation. I recognize that the Gospel is the weapon that will get us further than any bomb or force. I understand your idea of interchange and communication. I do think this is a war for the ideals, for good and bad of western civilization. Capitulation defeats us all".

He responded:

Gene, a few of them want to kill you, but if you ignore the posturing, the truth is that they are mostly powerless or incompetent. Most of them just want to survive. They fear that the United States wants to kill them and there is a fair bit of evidence to justify their fears.

I'’m not sure I buy that, (Incompetent??) but then Ron said:

The people of the United States have very little to fear. You live on a large island that is almost impossible to invade. Even if Iran develops nuclear weapons, it has no way to get them to the United States. Terrorists have found it very difficult to strike against the United States, with only one success in a couple of decades.

Make that two, world trade centers 1 & 2. And there have been several near misses. Shoe Bomber. Gel Bombs. Others we may never know about. There'’s a problem, if they want to kill us, they are patient, they will strike, and they will use nukes next time, they will try to wipe out NYC and Washington DC. There are enough "“nutters" prepared to die in the cause of Islamofacism to propagate this. It would be worse if the weak Liberal politicians in the USA ran things. They have no fortitude to stand and fight. Only to cut and run. They are weak in the face of a real threat and believe that hiding and surrender is the right approach. In a soft way they represent the viewpoint Ron propounded.

Then Ron said:

I suspect that American culture has far more to fear from the corrosive growth of state power and the false gospel flowing out of Hollywood.

AMEN. But Johnny Depp isn't threatening us with a nuke. His threat while dangerous is being neutralized in that that we are winning the battle against what comes out of Hollywood.

Ron goes on:

First of all, I need to point out that terror is the weapon. It is a weapon used by some Islamic groups, but the United States military also uses terror as a weapon. A one-ton bomb dropped from a B1 bomber causes just as much terror as bomb let off by a suicide bomber. The difference is that the B1 pilot has better technology than the suicide bomber, so he can cause terror without risking his life. If the latter had the technical ability to hit his target without risking his life, he would probably do so. However, they both cause terror to the people they target. Islam does not have a monopoly on terror.

My response: if you live in those countries or areas of hatred for the USA you live under this threat (for a time), BUT no B1s are dropping bombs anywhere today. When does the next terror attack happen in Chicago or LA? We have ceased bombing them. The terrorists do not call a cease-fire and will not unless they are dead or changed spiritually, both of which must be the goal. They don't look to the sky in Iraq or Afgahnistan and fear the next B-1 is about to fly over today to bomb them. In the USA we do look up, every day. Every time I go to the airport I'm reminded of what is happening. I turn the news on with an eye toward what 9-11 style news flash will come next.

America thru no fault of it's own making has become defacto like Israel. There aren't any jews strapping on bomb vests and boarding palistinian busses or buses in the Hezbollah controlled areas of Lebanon. And there are no Israeli planes flying overhead bombing them today. Ceased fire. BUT, without constant vigiliance, without aggressive response as they did a couple months ago, there would be no peace in whatever form at all. The USA didn't declare this war, but we will fight those who have declared war on us. Israel didn't declare this war, but they fight to defeat those who want to destroy them. I think Ron's view of this struggle is short sighted in many ways. Good in theory, poor in execution.

Then Ron says

Secondly, we need to understand that both Islam and Christianity are expansionist religions. They both claim to have a monopoly on truth. They both want the whole world to accept the truths that they hold. This fact puts them on a collision course.

I am confident that in the end the gospel of Jesus will be successful, not because we have bigger guns, but because we have the Holy Spirit on our side.

With That I agree wholeheartedly. I am confident in our God.
But, George Bush is our President (by the grace of God alone), and if I read the text correctly, he is placed there by God to rule in the best way he is able. I believe in President Bush. I believe he knows and trusts the same Jesus I do. So, last, to the question I asked Ron was, “"If you had the Presidents ear, what would you advise him as a man of God".

Ron says:

How should I know. I do not even live in the United States.

(I knew that Ron, I know there are very few terrorists sneaking in to blow up New Zealand, your family or loved ones. The Perspective you offer is one which seems reasonable until looking up the barrel of a gun pointed at you becomes a reality)

BUT WHAT?

Ron Goes On:

1. George Bush's role is to defend the United States. The biblical rules for this role are outlined in Defence and War. George has not been appointed as the world's policeman. Tramping round the Middle East in big boots will not bring peace.

2. God does not need to United States to complete his purposes. American civilization will not save the world. American democracy will not save the world. The United States is currently in danger of becoming part of the problem. Maybe God has stirred up Islam to bring judgment on the United States Empire.

3. Absolute security cannot be achieved, no matter how much is spent on military power. George Bush may not be able to prevent every attack. If American culture is strong then it will survive. Life will go on. The gospel will advance.

4. A relevant passage is 2 Chron 25:8:
Even if you go and fight courageously in battle,
God will overthrow you before the enemy,
for God has the power to help or to overthrow.
Before going to war, you had better be sure that God is on your side. If he is against you, the strength of your forces will be irrelevant.

To which I must reply, even if stirring up the Middle East was part of the Plan of God to bring judgment, even if "“Tramping Around" brings unease, even if we can'’t bring absolute security, For GWB to do nothing belies his oath of office and the mandate he has as President of the USA to do his constitutional duty. We have a choice, we can face them THERE with boots on the ground, or we will face them in OHIO. We can take casualties THERE with men and women who are equipped and trained to inflict casualties in kind even if they take some themselves, OR we will take casualties in California by innocent non combatant men women and children as we did on 9-11. I would rather take the battle to them. And, according to the Islamic newswires, they have imported 4000 men to die in the cause in Iraq. We used to call that flypaper on the farm. So, yes we are fighting the real enemy in Iraq. They are getting desperate. They will try anything. They will use even chemical weapons. We must stop them, destroy their will, destroy their ability to wage this war. This is growing in determination, on both sides. I can't imagine what would happen if we "Gave Up". Iran invades the middle east and Europe.
Israel ceases to exist. This is not easy but it is essential.

Like Ron, I am very confident the Gospel will go on. I also think that for the USA to less than activly pursuing a military option to create a terror detente would be irrational and perhaps for our leaders ungodly.

Long time back I wrote a series of articles on why Biblically it is essential that the war in Iraq and the War on terror is waged. That it is a Prophetic war (the stand we take now will determine the stand we take in the future when REAL pressures come) with long term implications. That we must stand against this anti-Christ spirit now or we will have to stand later but weaker.

I wrote a series of articles on this war and why it's the right thing to do, now and ultimately. They are here: pt1, pt 2, pt3, pt4, pt5

I am still convinced that what we are doing in Iraq is right, just and must be won however that looks. I think even Ron McKenzie sees more of this aspect than he lets on. This is more than important, it's supernatural.

I admire Ron a great deal. He is a treasure and a gift to the Body of Christ. I just think he misses it on this ONE issue.

Ron, keep on blogging, keep on writing, your writings on the Prophet and the Apostle are rare and insightful. But on this issue, I think the story is yet to be told.

Maranantha

Junior Senior

A friend of mine just had his birthday.  He turned 62.  (you know who you are).

 

I face that in a few months.

 

I hate getting older.  They always say, "it's better than the alternative".  I'm not convinced.  But, I'll stick around. 

 

In any case, he's now 62.  The title the demographers place on this age bracket is Junior Senior.  I can't speak for him, but speaking for me, I'm just getting used to being middle age and now I'm not anymore.  WHAHAPPEND?

 

Also, 62 is the breakpoint at which they quit measuring you.  Up to 62 they consider you part of the 54-62 demographic.  After that it's 63-dead. 

 

Nice thought eh?  Talk about the ultimate pejorative.  He, and soon I no longer count.  Too old to be young, too young to be really old.

 

Is there any justice?

 

NO!

Why Where and How did all this Happen?

I got an interesting question on a blog I write comments on. Say Anything. It was after some discussion of a new film Jesus Camp that the issue of TONGUES came up. Always a tough one to explain to someone who hasn't been there. I had said this earlier in the post:
Seems like people that have never tried Mangos all have an opinion on what they do or don’t taste like and if we should or shouldn’t eat them.

Those who regularly eat and enjoy Mango’s can’t figure out what the fuss is all about. So it is with Tongues.

Then this honest question came forth:

Gene, Thanks for the insight! When, where and how did your first expirence with tongues take place? How does speaking tongues differ from normal prayer and why do think you speaking in tongues is necessary?

I tend to take a very reasoned and logical view of religion and I am having trouble understanding the reason and logic of this practice. I am not trying to talk you and the practice down but I wish to understand it better.
NodakJoe on September 26, 2006 at 03:14 pm

My Response:

I was in my mid 30's. I had heard a teaching on the Baptism in the Holy Ghost. I Thought, Wow, that would be something.

I was alone kneeling in prayer. I had weeks before prayed and asked God to fill me with His Spirit. I was hoping he would. I didn't know if he would but I was believing for it. I really wanted it.

Then soverignly without any promting it happened. Suddenly - like in the book of acts I opened my mouth and words I didn't make up or had ever learned came from me. It filled me with such joy. I felt like I was speaking directly to the heart of God in a way only he could understand. After a time I was overcome with the power of what had happened.

Now, as often as I can, whenever I'm alone, when I shower, when I drive and even in Church I find myself enjoying this marvelous gift. (lots of Spirit Filled Christians love to pray in the Spirit (tounges) in the shower)

It builds my faith. The very same faith that allows me to trust God for miracles in my life is the same faith I exercise while speaking in tounges. In that way I am edified, my faith is strenthed.

I'm baffled why everyone wouldn't want it. After more than a quarter century of walking in Pentecost I can't imagine what life would be like without it.

How does it differ from normal prayer? Well to me, tounges is normal. But, more to the point, sometimes I just run out of words to say, I am incapable of expressing what I have in my heart, I can't verbalize what I know I should or I don't completly grasp the whole situation I know I should or want to pray about. At that point I pray in tounges with the assurance that the Father hears me, understands and even guides my prayer.

Reason can be a tyrannical master and sometimes can be the enemy of faith. It was unreasonable for Peter to step out on the water when Jesus called. But he did. I want to abandon reason like Peter sometimes.

I take a reasoned view in many areas of my life but I try hard not to let my intellect get in the way of faith.

You might be interested in what this LUTHERAN pastor from our area preached on the Baptism of The Holy Spirit and Speaking in Tounges. They are a good read and should answer all your questions.

I am part of a Good Lutheran Church here although it's probably less like any Lutheran Church you have seen. We don't use hymnals, we're looking for a new drummer and the music is foot-tapable. God is doing a new thing. Get in on it.

And, Thanks for Asking.

How to Meet THE ONE

In Saturday’s Wall Street Journal Personal section there was an exhaustive analysis of all the paid and free internet dating singles websites. I read it. I have since done an informal survey and compiled the following information. Unscientific, yes! accurate, YES!

It turns out the success rate among those signing up for all the different matchmaking dating services on the internet have an abysmal success record according to the article. What’s even worse is the capacity of some people to get out there thru these services are sometimes really weird or bad people.

In discussions I have discovered that far and away the bulk of marriage matches are made in only FOUR major ways. All others including internet dating make a distant 5th.

How to meet the ONE!

1. In School (College usually) that’s were the bulk of marriages are formed
2. At Work (Either someone you work with, a customer or a supplier, or working as a volunteer somewhere for free)
3. Someone introduces you (this could be a blind date or a fix up) I know several which have worked out very well, my cousin Rita and Bill who were fixed up by my Sister Barb. “If you are single and someone says, I know someone you should meet, perhaps you should”
4. In Church (You never see Young Women or Young Men so excited as when a new “Prospect” begins attending the Church they do)

I know people go to bars to meet folks. It happens sometimes, but is a pretty tough way to make it all work. Those folks are looking for a one-night hookup. Dances ditto. Most social affairs are a difficult way to get it together. Social clubs don’t seem to make much progress.

So, the long and short of it is,

• IF you aren’t currently taking classes at a college or if you are an older then average student (small pool of prospects) you’re prospects are reduced.
• IF you aren’t working in an environment where potential folks of marriageable type show up that you might meet you are in some difficulty.
• IF you are unwilling to respond to a “Fix-Up” or are offended if it happens to you, then you have passed up a great way to meet new people.
• IF you don’t attend Church or if the Church you DO attend is 100 or less, static in attendance and you have attend the same church for some time you need to reach out to find a place where you might find someone. A few of the big MEGA Churches in the Chicagoland area thrive because people go there to find someone. The join the singles in their 30’s and 40’s group and go prospecting. It works. I have several friends male and female who made just such a program work. What’s interesting is after they meet and marry they almost never stay at that church. Problem is there are stories there that chase them down later in life.

So, dear reader, that is what I know about the dating scene and I can tell you I surveyed a hundred or more people, young and old. There's lots of methods that DON'T work. These 4 are tried and true. Don't waste your time, risk you life and be frustrated by the other options. There’s lots of fish in the sea my mom used to say. Well, that’s true, but you have to put your hook and bobber in where they are to catch any. I’ve just told you where to look.

Failure Makes Cowards of us ALL

I studied psychology with Dr. James T. Nolan during the 70's.  It was part of the development process in teaching Dale Carnegie.  Not everyone went in for the whole Kuhuna, but I'm a glutton for punishment.  I did. 

 

During that time I learned a great deal about how human beings deal with threat, failure and pressure.  That helped me in two ways.  One is to help me see when people are pushed to far.  Second it has helped me see the fly in my own ointment. 

 

People under pressure from a potential failure mode pull back, revert to what they knew, the tried and true, old school, tradition, what they were told would work by others and are rendered impotent because of it.  They start punching a clock in life.

 

They stop being courageous and creative.  The capacity for innovation and the boldness to implement what they believed might work is stifled by fear.

 

Oh, there are rationalizations why they are doing what they do, but it's all fear based. 

 

I am going to do a few, a series of essays on this topic.  I see so many people I care about unwilling to take the action necessary to reach into greatness.

 

They don't realize they were created to impact the world.  That God purposed them to be really great. 

 

In Princess Diaries the comment is made, "Why am I afraid of Greatness".

 

Fear of Failure.  It's a curse and it must be broken.

 

Stay tuned.

Fearmongering Pays Off

Yesterday's big news. Branson of Virgin Airways gives 3 billion over 10 years (that's $300,000,000 per year) to fight man's influence on global warming. Never mind that lots of people, including me, doubt very seriously that man can influence climate change plus or minus a whit.

But you see, environmentalism is always about control, power and money. No one bothers funding or even interviewing Dr. William Gray who is a reputed climatologist and who doubts anthropogenic global warming.

Nope, the only way you get on the Branson Global Warming payroll is to pretend you are Al Gore; scream disaster, terror, fear, and (show me the money). If there wasn't big money behind this whole global warming caused by man idea it would die a suitable death.

I see that the oceans have cooled off a bit. I see that Greenland just harvested it's first barley crop in 600 years. You remember Greenland, Vikings moved there years ago and settled. Then the climate changed and they were frozen out.

And you aren't going to drown. If ALL the water in ALL the ice caps in ALL the world and All the glaciers were to melt precipitously TODAY the net rise in sea levels would be 12.5 inches. The oceans are a really big place, and there isn't as much ice as you think. So raising it several FEET as Gore says is tough to do. There was a brave countercultural Environmentalist Bjorn Lomborg PhD who was on Glen Beck recently who said this. Relax, you aren't going to drown (unless you decide to rebuild New Orleans underwater, then you will).

Now a foot of sea level rise is going to cause some havoc. There will be beachfront properties in FLA that will be impacted.

But life will go on. Climate Scientists have always sold out to the highest bidder. Remember Global Cooling? I do, that's one of the benefits of being really old. You get to look at life thru a wide angle lens.

On the other hand, this idea of a total meltdown of all the ice on the planet assumes it won't snow anymore, that there is no replenishment of the ice caps in arctic places. That's not going to happen.

I just wish I could get in on that Branson $300,000,000 per year for the next 10 years. Unfortunately I have ethics unlike the junk science whores who will take the money and buy beachfront property in Florida and then complain when it drifts out to sea. They'll be looking for government handout to save them.

As for me, I'm looking into some Oceanside property in Greenland. I hear the summers there are cool and fresh and getting nicer. Winters? There's always Florida.

This Could Ruin Everything

So, we’re in the middle of all kinds of Papal Conflict, Evil, Hatred, Anti-Bush Spewing. Normal stuff.

Well, listening to Rush the other day he told of a fellow by the name of Greg Easterbrook who writes or works for ESPN (I personally never heard of him but I’m not a huge sports fan) had written an editorial about a gamma ray emission from 470 BILLION light years away.

His conclusions are this.

This gamma ray emission came from a huge supernova. This happens often. The galaxy (not solar system) galaxy within which this supernova took place, if there was any life, it has now been exterminated.

That all this happened at the speed of light. There is no warning. If there was life in the galaxy where this supernova happend 470 billion years ago it was snuffed out in a second. No warning, no hiding, no nothing. Just blink and you were gone.

That we have had supernova’s from time in time in our galaxy. Not often. It’s postulated that the extermination of life that killed all the dinosaurs could have been from just such a supernova.

So, in case you need something to worry about, your extermination may well be hurtling at you at the speed of light. You will never know. You will just cease to be.

But it’s always been that way. You aren’t granted another second of breath except by the grace of God.

You can read the whole article here. I lifted it from his ESPN page. He rambled on and on about sports and other such meaningless things in the actual article which you can read if you want to google him up.

So, you might ask, what’s a person to do. Huh? Well, stay right and stay ready. We could all die in the next 10 seconds.

Or not.

Your future is coming at you at the speed of light and that’s pretty darn quick.

Stop Breathing

I wish people would just stop breathing around me.

That way I wouldn't have to go thru the irritation I'm in right now. Cough Cough Cough. Sniffle, I need a nap.

You get the drift.

So, in the future, when you are in my presence, please suspend all breathing.

OK?

Thank YOU!

Update: I know a rebuke when I get one. I am rebuked. So I have now modified my request to be more loving and compassionate. There, I feel so much better now.

Feel the Love.

Oh, you don't feel it? I'll keep looking, I have some here somewhere.

Still looking. Some people think being depressed is intercession, some think being loving is acceptance of all people everywhere, and some people think being prophetic is angry and cold.

But some interecession is depressed, some love is overacepting, and some prophetic is angry and cold.

Guilty as charged.

Critical Mocking Spirit Results in Barrenness in Ministry

There is a story from 2 Samuel 6.

King David is bringing back the Ark of the Covenant after a failed attempt and after the Philistines had captured it but released it because they all got a bad case of hemorrhoids. Some even died.

This was a day of great excitement and joy. David leads the parade. He begins dancing before the ark. He takes off most of his clothes. He leaps and spins.

But, his wife, Michael sees him and despises him. She ridicules David when he gets home. "Look how the King acts, uncovering himself and making himself the fool".

David isn'’t deferred. He says, "I will be even more undignified than this".

This criticism results in Michael being rendered barren for the rest of her days.

There is another story from 2 Kings 2:23-25

Elisha (Double Anointed Prophet of God) is going up to mount Carmel, a holy place of victory. 42 young men, we don’t know how old (most think late teens or early 20’s) come out and make fun of him, using and the fact that he has a bald head (not something common among Jews) and that he doesn't go up in a flaming chariot as Elijah did. Elisha turns and curses them in the name of the Lord, and then 2 female bears come out of the woods and kill all 42 boys.

Tough Story.

So what does all this have to do with the price of Gasoline or bread? I walk in the office of Prophet. That doesn’t mean I tell the future, I reveal what God says or how he sees others. Mostly that’s a good thing. Sometimes it’s not exactly what people wanted to hear or see.

The reaction should be for the person receiving the word to hear it, sit on it, judge it, and act on it accordingly. If it contains a promise to keep recalling it and reminding God of it. That is the right way.

Unfortunately in many Churches there are those who choose rather to make light of the word brought by the prophet, to demean it, to leave it alone without action.

If they make criticize the prophet or the word they run the risk of being rendered barren. Unable to multiply or reproduce. The ministry dies a quiet death. Repentance is the only cure. It would be far better to say nothing rather than be critical.

If they mock the Prophet or the word the run the risk of being destroyed or devoured by the spiritual bears of lack and destruction.

And when the bears consume them they grow and feed the cubs they are nurturing (more lack and destruction).

I’'m here to say that among Godly leadership there are those who treat the role of the prophet in just such a way and as a result suffer the consequences. Among Believers we must be careful to, "Touch Not My Anointed".

Many unbelievers make fun or ridicule the prophets of God and they end up having the Dagons of their lives thrown down and/or developing a bad case of hemorrhoids. God holds unbelievers accountable, but far less than he holds the house of the Lord accountable. Jesus said that Judgment will begin in the house of the Lord. Be careful in making fun. Judgment is at the door.

Remember in the 2 Samuel 6 passage, a man (Uzzah) reached up to steady the ark and it killed him. But you know for certain the Philistines handled the Ark all day long and nothing happened.

Sometimes ignorance can be bliss. God judges those who place themselves in leadership roles in the Church or are placed there by others.

To church leaders who read this, if you make fun, belittle or discount the spiritual gifts among you, you run the risk of being rendered barren or worse destroyed. God is not happy about someone throwing away the gift he has given out.

Don'’t be an Indian giver and don’t toss the gift in the corner if you want Gods favor on your ministry.

One last comment, the Church I work as a prophet in does NOT do these things. If you are from Lord of Life and you read this, be confident in this, the Prophetic is honored and upheld. The blessings that result from that are manifesting.

The same goes for you who Read this from IHOP. The prophetic is a prime engine that drives that place. So the blessing of God is on them as well.

I got a call last week from a friend of mine who works as a Prophet in a church in Bismarck. He related some things his Pastor had said. I believe as one of the Blue Collar Boys always says, “I’ve Got Your Sign”. It says Ichabod (unless you repent at once).

2006 is Over, Republicans Retain House and Senate

For every mean spirited venomous writer on the left there is a sweet gentle counterpart on the right. Sometimes they are bearers of good news.

Peggy Noonan is just one such.

She writes this yesterdsy:

They say the election is all about Iraq. It's not. It's about George W. Bush. He dominates the discussion, or rather obsesses the discussers.

I think that Americans have pretty much stopped listening to him. One reason is that you don't have to listen to get a sense of what's going on. He does not appear to rethink things based on new data. You don't have to tune in to see how he's shifting emphasis to address a trend, or tacking to accommodate new winds. For him there is no new data, only determination.

You know he means it when he says he is trying to protect America. You know his heart is in it. You know he means it when he says there are bad guys and we will stop them. And that has meaning.

With all this polarity, this drama, this added layer Mr. Bush brings to a nation already worn by the daily demands of modern individual life, the political alternative, the Democrats, should roar in six weeks from now, right? And return us to normalcy?

Well, that's not what I sense.

The Democrats' mistake--ironically, in a year all about Mr. Bush--is obsessing on Mr. Bush. They've been sucker-punched by their own animosity.

"The Democrats now are incapable of answering a question on policy without mentioning Bush six times," says pollster Kellyanne Conway. " 'What is your vision on Iraq?' 'Bush lied us into war.' 'Health care? 'Bush hasn't a clue.' They're so obsessed with Bush it impedes them from crafting and communicating a vision all their own." They heighten Bush by hating him.

One of the oldest clichés in politics is, "You can't beat something with nothing." It's a cliché because it's true. You have to have belief, and a program. You have to look away from the big foe and focus instead on the world and philosophy and programs you imagine.

Mr. Bush's White House loves what the Democrats are doing. They want the focus on him. That's why he's out there talking, saying Look at me.

Which leaves them unlikely to win leadership. And unworthy of it, too.

And that my Friends is why 2006 is now in the bag for the Republicans. Not because they deserve to win or that they did such a good job. But because the Democrats fought the wrong fight. When you hate Bush that much it blinds you to anything else. Place foot directly under gun barrel. Pull Trigger. It's over.

Whew..........

Tent Torn Down

Today the tent is being torn down in a cornfield near Asheville North Carolina. There has been a revival meeting going on there for the last few months. 4000 people have been saved and/or baptized in the nearby river since this revival meeting began in July. The tent meeting was only scheduled for a couple weeks. It just didn’t stop.

I have seen this before. It is a wonderful thing. Even the newspapers reported it. Do it again Lord, do it again.

Friday the President of the United States was asked at a press conference about statements he had made about a third great awakening:

Bush told reporters he has noticed far more people approaching him at public events lately and telling him "Mr. President, I'm praying for you."

The president said he considered the prayer offerings a sign of a "third awakening" of religious devotion similar to the great spiritual revivals that transformed America prior to the nation's independence in the 18th century, and again before the Civil War in the 19th century.

"It seems like to me that something is happening in the religious life of America," Bush said. "I'm able to see a lot of people, and from my perspective, people are coming to say, 'I'm praying for you.' And it's an uplifting part of being the president. It inspires me."

I see it too. Something is up. Dead religion is being set aside for a true spiritual focus on Jesus. Creative new ideas are being implemented by men and women of God to build bridges to the lost. To create an atmosphere for revival. This one intrigued me. Jesus in a beer glass. I wasn't offeneded, I was impressed.

Of course religious people hate revival. Always have, always will. Never support it, never engage it. Persecute it. Jesus was crucified. The Pharisees are still crucifying Jesus.

And, the non-Christian doesn’t have a clue. Deer in the headlights. Look at what Maureen Dowd said about the President’s remarks. She uses a sincere comment by Bush to bash him. They are pitiful and pitiless. The comments on this person's blog show you the "depth" of their hatred for Bush. Blinded by rage they lurch headlong into a hell of their own design.

No matter what you believe, only one is true. Heaven or Hell is the ultimate destination. Religions have different ways of teaching who will end up where. I think it is the ultimate bad gamble to hope things will work out and not explore deeply what it means in God’s economy regarding our eternal soul.

The tent is being torn down today near Ashville. That doesn't mean God is done, it means he is doing a new thing. But, everyone's tent will be torn down. Then what?

Toxic Personalities

When I taught the Dale Carnegie Courses for so many years in the Dakotas sometimes there were people who came to the course as a result of the boss "Sending" them.  They were always difficult.

 

They didn't want to learn to "Win Friends and Influence People".

 

So, they were determined to be obstinate no matter how much  I and the graduate assistants would try to help them.

 

In most cases these were people who were in jobs that required them to have some interactions with others.  They weren't good at it.

 

I have the full list of all of the "Golden Rules" about how we can become the person we wish we could be, how to have more and better friends, how to keep friends, how to get over worry, how to become a more focused confident person, how to cultivate long term relationships and mostly how to be well liked and happy.

 

The original list is long, but, over time I have boiled it down to a few on being better with people:

 

To have more real Friends

    Be genuinely interested in what others are, it's not about you.

    Listen, stop talking, smile, listen, It's not about you.

    Don't argue, they aren't going to change their minds

    Ask questions, encourage for others to talk, It's not about you

    Tell people what you think of them ABOVE where they are, give people         a reputation to live up to.

    Don't Criticize, Condemn or Complain to or about people to others

   

To be happier:

    Learn to say Thank You.

    Most people don't think good or bad of you, they don't think of you at all,     It's not about you

    Be yourself, don't imitate others,be transparent, admit mistakes

    Lincoln said, Most people are about as happy as they make up their mind     to be.     

    Hamlet said, Things are neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so

    Fill your thoughts with peace, courage, health and hope.

 

Last, It's not about you.  Unhappiness and a self absorbed personality pushes people away instead of attracting them to you.  Worrying all the time about what others do or don't think of you or what their motives are is borderline insanity.

 

It's also a toxic personality.

 

The Truth is Out There - or not

I love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, you know, Hitler and Elvis are still alive and that guy that invented the 200MPG carburetor sold it for $50,000,000. I know it’s not true but its fun.

But in today’s world there are many really whacky theories promulgated mostly from the left. They have little concreteness lof any real ideas to offer the American voter so they manifest and propagate these inane ideas like:

• The Government (CIA Probably) blew up the Twin Towers
• NO WAIT The Jews blew up the Twin Towers
• Bush's people blew holes in the dikes in New Orleans (Spike Lee)
• And Oil Prices are dropping due to the Fall Elections

I wish the government (Bush) had the absolute power people insist it does. It does not. In fact, it's kind of anemic.

When bad things happen, these people MUST blame someone. And if good things happen, be sure to give no credit to anyone right of center and certainly not that anti-christ Bush. National Review Online has a great article you should read on these wacky conspirator revelators. Here's a bit of it:

“Conspiracy theorist” isn’t quite right either. These are priests of the Church of Conspiracy, a heresy of Gnostic heresy which holds that man is the ruler of history, the demiurge of all events that befall us. Powerful and unseen forces lurk in the shadows. The conspiracy theorists know they’re out there, even as the enemy’s name changes almost daily: Big Oil, capitalists, Republicans, or perhaps those eternal pullers of mankind’s puppet strings, the Jews.

The masons of dementia build upon a bedrock of one absolute truth: Bad things happen, and someone must be responsible. Upon this bedrock they pile convenient and selective facts like bricks. Contradictory facts are clever lies. When Popular Mechanics debunked 9/11 hokum, the immediate response from conspiratorialists was “cover-up!” and “CIA front!” because in this perverted faith, denying the ultimate truth must be proof of a lie.

This rough beast slouches toward sedition because it assumes not that our leaders are knaves or even mere criminals, but that they are murderous Supermen with no loyalty to nation, decency or law. Our Constitution is a fraud, a charade for the rubes some of us naively call citizens. If you disagree, you’re either fool or “in on it.” In his 1964 essay, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” Richard Hofstadter demonstrated that this fever of the mind is as old as America itself and its outbreaks flare up across the ideological landscape. What is so sad and frightening is that this diseased thinking is reaching epidemic proportions. More than a third of Americans believe the U.S. government was likely to have been involved in 9/11.

Oliver Stone and Michael Moore have done their best to inflame an ignorant unthinking portion of our country. I guess when what you believe in is every day shown more and more to be false, you will believe anything no matter how weird to desperately hang on to your warped view of the world.

I Investigate Nancy Grace on CNN Headline News

I am not a fan of Nancy Grace. She is a shrew. She has a yelling and screaming show on CNN Headline News. The only thing that allows me to know that she is still there is that she is on right after Glen Beck. I can't stand to watch her. I have tried. She's sickening.

After what I would describe as a Salem Witch trial by Ms Grace on Video the persecuted mother of a missing child who MS Grace accused of murder killed herself. No Judge, No Trial, Just an Executioner. Ms Grace. Salem.

MS Grace pleads innocent. Yea right.

It reminded me of a reporter who got the snot kicked out of him the other day in California. I had no pity for this idiot. The bad guy he was dogging was a bad guy. But in typical journalist style he dogged him anyway. Clue Video boy. You don't lean into the punch. You don't spit into the wind. If you jump off a high ladder you break a leg.

He got his nose busted instead. The guy he was invesegating beat him up. Bad. I have no pity.

Now he's crying the blues. When did news reporting become sacred? If he were a law enforcement officer I would be sympathetic. But he was a hack reporter who placed himself in harms way and suffered the consequence.

So Ms Grace - shame on you. Wheather that woman was guilty or not, her blood is on your hands. You are not Judge and Jury even if you act like one.

And to Mr. Brokennose. Tough Cookies. Wise up.

I'll bet you don't pull that kind of stupid manuver again.

Sentiment from the Front

I have been accused of being just a little harsh, just a little critical, just a little direct by some readers in ministry who email me and say, Gene, "For a  Christian you...........".  To which I say, "you don't know what you are talking about.  You know nothing at all about the battle for the souls of men".

 

They are reading the WWJD version of the Bible and fail to read the real version.   It's all kisses and candycane to them.  No blood no whip no cross.

 

So, for a perspective from someone on the field on the frontlines of missions work fighting the battle for real I offer this (Emphasis Mine) excerpt from a missionary newsletter:

 

Hey! Spud killed a rat, actually in the last 4 days we killed seven rats. The neighbors decided to remodel their house. Guess who decided to move?  The rats! The moral of this story is that nothing reinvigorates Spud like a good ‘rat fight’, kind of like his owner. I’d decided to park the ‘Soap Box’ for 2006, I upset too many people! And, I am familiar with the proverb: “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger, the tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.” And, “Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace…” So, I decided to shut up, but then…, Spud killed that big rat….

So, “Drag out that box Spud!” Up I go… Now, I have a proverb of my own, “Never trust a friend who is afraid to make an enemy.” Why? They won’t tell you the truth. I know I have a big mouth, considered by some to be a ‘Smart (Biblical word for donkey)’, but I don’t lie. Do you know what got Stephen (the early church deacon in Acts) killed? It was his big mouth. He told the truth. If he had just left the verses in Acts 7:51-53 unsaid, he’d probably have lived a lot longer. But then God used that event to turn Saul around, and scatter the church to build the kingdom of God. Not a bad exchange.

So, why not just be a nice guy; promote world peace, etc.?? I’d probably retain more donors. We’ll, what about your favorite camp bracelet, “WWJD” (What would Jesus do?). I know, He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God”, so, there is hope for the wimps of the world, but what did he DO?? Hmmm?? He stood outside the temple weaving a whip (don’t tell me this wasn’t pre-meditated) as he watched the merchants inside making a fortune off God’s people, then He went inside and drove them out. (Jn 2:15) he called the Pharisees “Vipers” and “Whitewashed tombs”, not exactly terms of endearment, because they were taking widow’s, and even their parent’s money, and claiming it for God’s use.

Why do I stir up so much controversy? Because, the same thing is happening today with a lot of “Rip off Christian” organizations taking money from God’s churches and doing no ‘Kingdom good’ with it. They talk ‘Christ’ to the churches, and then never mention His name in the field; they love to talk about good works and “pre-evangelism”. They tell heart wringing stories about building schools, orphans, or rescuing prostitutes (and manage to get them beaten or killed), while raising millions of dollars in the name of Jesus, but are so afraid of loosing their secular funding, they won’t mention His name to those who most need to hear it.

Are you mad at me yet? If not, this should really stir things up. I have a suggestion, before you write another check, due to the emotional tug of these hucksters, find out how many souls are entering the Kingdom of God. What good are you doing, in an eternal sense, if you take a hungry, desperate, person and turn them into an educated, self satisfied, contented person, if in the process they never come to Christ? Good works, coupled with the Gospel, are powerful. That is precisely why Paul told Titus (3-14): “And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful” Make no mistake, the fruit Paul was talking about was souls.

The truth is that good works alone may do more eternal harm than good, if they eliminate the spiritual hunger that could lead people to Christ.

“Spud! Why are you growling at me? You got your rat, let me have mine!

Back boy! Bad dog!” 

There are ministries, even high profile ministries I will not support.  Some even some run by friends of mine.  I would like to tell them the truth but I may not have earned the right for them to hear me yet.  If I am going to put my life on the line to raise a half million dollars for some ministry it better be demonstrating the ability to get results for the kingdom or don't come knocking.

I offend a lot of people, but as the old saying goes, if something offends you then it must have revealed something in your heart.  We are never offended by non issues to us.

I was appreciative of Barry Kolb taking the initiative to support some schools in Liberia instead of certain high profile ministries with limited success, or of Don Lyon who is in the middle of an expensive building program setting it back by raising nearly $50,000 in one Sunday for a Ugandan Orphans of Aids Mission.

That's meat and potatoes front line missions work.  Watch out little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear.  There are seducing spirits everywhere.  Even in the Church.

 

 

 

The dangers of Blogging While Angry.

I wrote a nasty mean piece of villification which I don't repent of as much as repent of the lack of literate tone.

So, I rewrote it. It's almost readable now.

I would ask you to read it again. It bears repeating. Thank you for your indulgence and now re-run Turning Evil into Good again.

Your humble rewrite servant.

The Road to Oblivion is Paved With Bad Intentions

I don't like to just cut and past whole articles and usually won't UNLESS they are so good that simply linking to them won't get them read. Gates of Vienna (the blog) is one of my "Favorites". Level headed, european in scope. You can read it in it's origional form with all the hyperlinks.

The Road to Oblivion is Paved With Bad Intentions
by Dymphna

Larry Kudlow warned the MSM about their hubris, using The Washington Post’s front page report from Tuesday on President Bush’s 9/11 anniversary speech:

Keep misunderestimating President George W. Bush as The Washington Post did this morning on its front page when it trashed Bush’s 9/11 speech to the nation.

Curious, I wandered over to Wapo’s front page "news" (subscription required) for 9/12 to see what they had to say. Kudlow was right: it was not a straightforward news report, it was analysis veneered with a thin layer of events, and larded with snarky asides. Here is one such passage:

The president’s painstakingly choreographed day was intended by the White House to recapture — at least for a moment — the sense of shared purpose that prevailed in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

But Bush faced a tall order. Although he urged Americans last night to “put aside our differences,” Democrats have been attacking the administration over Iraq and Bush’s national security record, hoping these issues will help them reclaim one or both chambers of Congress in November. Polls suggest the public does not accept Bush’s contention that the war in Iraq is a “central front” in the campaign against terrorists.

Last night, Democrats said Bush politicized the Sept. 11 anniversary. “The president should be ashamed of using a national day of mourning to commandeer the airwaves to give a speech that was designed not to unite the country and commemorate the fallen, but to seek support for a war in Iraq that he has admitted had ‘nothing’ to do with 9/11,” said Sen Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).

Bush has sought to shift public opinion in the past two weeks with speeches aimed at explaining the nature and goals of radical Islamists and putting the war in Iraq in a broader — and, he hopes, more popular — context.

And as Kudlow reports, while the MSM continues on this road (the one to oblivion, not the one paved with good intentions), in the real world — the one where people put their money where their mouth is — things are looking good for the Republicans. Tradesports.com is showing gains for the Republicans in the November elections:

The Senate GOP ‘06 contract is up to 84 from 78 just a few days ago. And most important, the House GOP contract is up to an unbelievable 46 today, compared to 38 just a few days ago. Especially for the House race, this is big news.

Kudlow also chortled over the strong gains in the stock market today, following the events of the 9/11 memorial and speech. Traders love tax cutters, despite the foils and curses of the economically illiterate MSM.

Dow 11,498.09 +101.25
Nasdaq 2,215.82 +42.57
S&P 500 1,313.11 +13.57
NYSE 8,348.32 +86.15

The learning curve for journalists seems to be infinite. Somehow I don’t think they’ll ever get over the fact that Woodward and Bernstein are your father's journalists, and Vietnam is so 20th century that as a meme it's road kill -- very flat, not much left of it. Certainly not enough to dine out on anymore.

Along with their Dem pals, the MSM continues to wander the halls, hoping that things will change. But "things" have changed; it's the Dems and the MSM who are stuck in a time warp where doom and gloom cloud the atmosphere with threats of scarcity and chaos.

Blinders and wishful thinking don’t make for a sane foreign policy or for prosperity at home, guys. Bad science, bad economic theory, and ignorance of history lead you to the dustbin. Oh, well -- you'll have lots of company as the unions jump in with you. Perhaps being wrong — dead wrong — is less painful when you have lots of company.


All I could say was AMEN, they said it so much better.

Oil at ~ $45 as predicted and Gas at $2

I have much faith in the spoken word of God to my spirit. I know that freaks many people out. It shouldn’t. It’s available to all who will just be still, are full of the Holy Spirit, know what his voice sounds like (it sounds like you), and know how to discern.

Jesus said my sheep will hear my voice and know me. I hear it and I’m a sheep.

Last December as I waited for the Lord to give me whatever he wanted me to share with you all he gave me a word regarding gas prices. I have been confident in that word but have wondered when it would happen. I’m confident in all his word, spoken and written.

He said to me:

Oil prices will begin the year at $60 crude. Thru an attempt to manipulate the market some time in 2006 crude will breach $100. This manipulation will fail and the price will fall to $45. Your security isn’t in cheap oil. I can and I will provide all you need. In 2006 a new energy source will be revealed. In 2005 my prophets told you of this impending discovery. When you see it you will not recognize it. But I will provide. I am Jehovah Jira.

Now oil prices are $64 today and dropping. Gasoline is $2.00 in parts of Iowa and that price is spreading fast across the nation. It’s still $2.50 in our area.

Of course alarmists are saying it won’t last, this is an illusion. I’ll check with the expert of the ages on what he says. I’m not panicky.

But what about the price thing? Last fall the price of Gold was $448 per ounce. Today it is $583 per ounce. This also means that in real dollars as per the time of the prediction the price is about where He said it would be. That makes the current $64 price in real last fall dollars at the time of the prediction $48 per barrel in last fall money. The real proof of the pudding is $2 gasoline. A price everything inside me said was a real price. I even said it earlier.

So could it happen exactly as predicted yet? Perhaps. I just know our security isn’t in cheap oil. There are new things coming on. When the creative heart of God is released in man’s spirit supernatural breakthroughs will take place. They already are.

I haven’t heard the news media talk about his much; I haven’t seen those pictures of high gas price signs. Sigh. I guess it doesn’t matter when prices go down and people settle down.

Turning the Bad of 9-11 into Good

I’m not happy 9-11 happened. I am happy with some of the net results of 9-11. It wiped the mush off our goggles and have allowed the country I love to begin to think and see clearly again.

Things I’m glad have happened as a result of 9-11:

1. Air Base Baghdad and Air Base Kabul. They aren’t perfect yet but they provide a visible restraint on the nutcases who want to kill us all. I wish we were further along in securing them but we will. I hope our men and women stay there for a hundred years. We still have work to do. We also will win the hearts and minds of Arabs as we do what we must to stabilize the Middle East.

You also see others who criticize the American response to the attack calling it "savage" or "brutal" which are words commonly used by the Arab media that at the same time ignores the savage brutality of the attack in the first place.

2. Saddam is in jail. His boys are gone. He is and was an evil man who unabashedly hated the USA and Israel. He was the centerpiece for a culture and movement that rubbed our noses in our incompetence and timidity before 9-11. Guess what spiderhole boy, we ain’t timid no more.

3. Our REAL Enemies have revealed themselves. We now know exactly who they are and every day we kill some. Sometimes we let them live in captivity. They hate us and we must crush them every chance we get. You don’t negotiate with a snake, you kill it.

4. Syria and Iran have been revealed as state terror sponsors. No more Mr. Nice guy with those thugs. Oh, and Nukes, you get one, it will blow up in your house, not ours. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to kill every American man woman and child if he gets the chance. He won’t if I keep my gun cabinet full of deadly weapons loaded.

5. Russia and China have been revealed for who they really are. They are not our friends allies. All the nicey nice talk is stifled by the lack of support for what needs to be done.

6. Europe (except for Britain) has been shown up for the paper tiger it really is. This will get some legitimate governments off their behinds and cause them to defend themselves. I only wish it wasn’t the French working in Lebanon. My hope is Europe will wake up and learn to fight again. NATO is a joke.

7. The Taliban are gone, yes they try to come back, and we kill them again. We must. They're like ants in an anthill. You can’t kill them all until they congregate. Let’s have a Taliban convention and ……….. There’s a Toby Keith song to that effect.

8. All this disaster has focused our country on the real menace facing us. We are arguing less and less about if there is danger. We know there is a real enemy and he really wants to kill us.

9. Left Wing Delusions have been exposed. There are still a few deluded people who don’t think we have to take the battle to the enemy. An equally deluded media encourages the confusion they feel. One benefit of 9-11 is the deluded masses are exposed for what they are. Those on the left do not understand what it will mean to them specifically if this war is lost. Everything they hold dear is over when the Taliban comes:

……..precisely the values that modern liberalism had done so much to promote and protect for the past 40 years: civil rights, gay rights, feminism, privacy rights, reproductive choice, sexual freedom, the right to worship as one chooses, the right not to worship at all. And so they bid an unsentimental good-bye to their one-time comrades and institutions: the peace movement, the pages of the Nation and the New York Review of Books, "the deluded and pathetic sophistry of postmodernists of the left, who believe their unreadable, jargon-clotted theory somehow helps liberate the wretched of the earth," as Mr. Rosenbaum wrote in the New York Observer in 2002.

10. 9-11 and the Iraq war have exposed the anti-American media in our country. All the leaks, treasonous reports and un-American things the press has engaged in has done two things. Caused people like me to doubt most of what I read in newspapers. And to look for the bias in what I do read. They are exposed for the traitors they really are.

11. The weak, ineffective and unpatriotic behavior of some of our elected officials is disgraceful and has taken the mask off of who they really are. They are exposed as people of bad faith. They have given comfort to the enemies of America over and over again. I hope that people now see them for the weasels they really are.

12. I am thankful that we have learned to fight again as a country. Yes there are a great number of pantywaists in our country, but there is a brave noble cadre who make up the new greatest generation ready to fight the most dire threat this country (and Western Civilization) has ever faced. That is not only my opinion. It’s the opinion of many. You my friends are part of the greatest generation. Opposition to courageous action is nothing new. Most of the citizens of the USA didn’t want to go to war with Hitler in 1940. That is not until Pearl Harbor. 9-11 was a greater travesty than Pearl Harbor. Even after Pearl Harbor there was nearly a majority who didn’t want to go to war. That’s why we have leaders. That’s why we trust them to do what needs to be done.

When we survive as a country it will be in spite of the opposition from within and without. From without I understand the battle, from within I do not. Dissent does not include putting my loved ones in harms way be your words and actions. That's sedition.

It’s time to decide what side you are on. There are only two. You must choose. This is a pretty black and white choice. As President Bush said to international governments after 9-11, you are either with us or you are against us. Neutrality is no longer an option.

We are at war, either here or there, we are under attack, either here or there, we will take casualties either here or there. The choice is ours. I choose there.

If we take this battle to them, they take casualties too. And in the long run I’m betting on our war capabilities and the goodness of the American spirit. Oh, they can run and hide, they can shoot from the caves, drive the car bombs. But with every bombing we get better, with every attack we get smarter, with every incursion we get more savvy. They do too, but we have the right stuff to beat them if our elected officials will let them do what they are designed to do as an armed force. Kill the enemy and destroy his things.

This is going to be brutal, it’s going to be bloody, and it’s really only just begun. We must be ready for decades of this war. We must win. If the traitors and cowards among us don’t defeat us from within we will win. Winning means we are no longer faced with an organized enemy who launches mass attacks against innocents in the USA. That will be victory. But it will never be as it ever was. That was a fantasy world we pretended to live in. The price of peace is eternal vigilance.

Peace and victory is our only option or we will live in submission to an occupying power and ideology that hates everything about us.

I choose Victory first and then Peace.

How about you, what side are you on? There are only two.

Thou Art The Man

You know the story. Nathan comes to David, David has commited terrible sin. Nathan tells David a story. David becomes enraged at the protagonist in the story. He says, who is this guy?

Nathan says, You da man.

Usually You da man is a good thing. We say that in a golf game. We say that as a masculine comment. But, sometimes when things go wrong in life and we wonder why what we really need is a mirror. A mirror that can tell us, You da man.

David didn’t like what he heard. He didn’t love the fact that Nathan became his spiritual mirror. Nathan didn’t like it either. David could have had his head for saying what he did and that would have been that. But David feared God more than he feared the worldly consequence of his sin. When we have someone in our life who is a God Agent sent to be a spiritual mirror it can be painful but if we fear God it is essential. We must look ourselves in the face directly and deal with the issues God puts up before us.

This comes up because of a corporation my wife used to work for had a conflict resolution consultant come in and work with the corporation as to why there is so much muss and fuss among the people. After a time the expert went in and sat down with the CEO and said, You da man.

That wasn’t what the CEO wanted to hear. He wanted to find out who was causing all the trouble OTHER THAN HIM. No, the expert told him, it all starts at the top. Whatever problems exist, whatever assumptions your people have, whatever conflicts exist they exist substantially because of you. Your people reflect who you are. If you want change in your organization you must change yourself.

I don’t know if he will. I kind of doubt it. It’s a smaller company. He may not have to. But if the company does or if it wants to grow it will outgrow its CEO quickly. HE is the single limiting factor in the organization. It is ever thus.

I have had this experience in my own life. When I lived in Fargo my combined workforce in the companies I ran at that time was about 80 people. They unfortunately reflected the culture I provided. Our success (creative and aggressive) and our failure (organizational and asset management) flowed from me. Oh, we did OK. We were successful to a point. But to move up took another person. They outgrew me. I began to realize I needed other people’s strengths to help me move ahead.

Same thing happened when I became CEO of a large corporation in Chicago in the mid 80’s. We made bold and fast changes. Heads rolled. Things happened. Results came. But there came a point where the lean sleek aggressive nature had to be moderated with structure. It worked because the naysayers were gone. We never did it that way before was no longer in the corporate culture. We didn’t ask if or how we were going to do thus and so, we asked how soon. The only regrets I have from that experience is not taking action when the time presented itself. If fired too late, stayed with old programs too long, left old systems in place beyond their lifespan. I would have done better by taking action, demanding the system work and putting up with the complainers who said, “I’m not happy about the changes going on around here”. I had a few of those. They didn’t last.

When I left that company, some of the dogged determination and “get things done” spirit left. More meetings. More strategy sessions. More wonkyness. Not bad, it just didn’t flow from me.

This is true in Churches and Ministries. I have several friends in ministry who are tremendous leaders up to a point. Then they hit a spiritual ceiling that sits on top of them that if they don’t’ break thru will condemn the ministry they lead to stagnation in the same place they are today. A year from now they will be fighting the same battles with the same people with the same issues with the same frustrations because they left things the same. Not all change is improvement BUT there is never any improvement without change. Be of good cheer little flock, Change for the most part is reverseable. Unringing some bells can be positive change. It can be a unifier.

I know a pastor (who doesn’t read this blog) who was a tremendous leader. Prophetic gifting. Charismatic. But, the answer person. If an idea didn’t come from Pastor it wasn’t going to happen. When people came to Pastor with ideas or even potential course corrections nothing happened unless Pastor could construe it as coming from the Pastor’s vision. Ego driven Pastorate. This comes from a lack of confidence. That Church is about to close. The building will go up for sale. It lasted 6 years. Grew to 150 people and now is dribbling away to nothing.

The opposite of that is Doctor Owen Weston. When he was the Pastor sometimes ministries would spring up in the building without his knowledge, they would prosper and only after a couple months would he hear of it. People would say, "Wow, that ministry to Mom’s you have at your church is something". He would say thank you and then go back to the church and ask, “Do we have a ministry to Moms?” His churches grew organically because his people were enabled to move with confidence in ministry with confidence. Doc O has written several books on how to do it right. I have always admired him and his vision for allowing the Body to be the Body without the Pastor’s intervention. Most Pastors aren't as courageous or as confident as Doc O.

If you wonder why your ministry is like it is, find a mirror. It can be just a looking glass if you can tell yourself the truth or better still find a person who is a mirror for you who has the right and ability to say, You da man.

Otherwise, be prepared to live in mediocrity and far less than the potential God had prepared for you. It’s about you setting the tone. Whatever is important to you will be important to your people.

Since I have a couple dozen people who read this in ministry I’ll be nice and say, this isn’t about you. Unless it is.

Name the top frustrations you have in your ministry regarding:

• Giving
• Evangelism
• Love for one another
• Willingness to Change
• Volunteers
• Excitement
• People inviting others
• People not capturing the vision
• Passion
  

Anything that frustrates you about the people you are the leader of as Pastor or Minister in large part flows from you. It trickles down from the top. You know it’s true of all the pastors you know in all the other churches or ministries you know. You are not exempt. It’s you.

You be da man.

Things I Learned this Weekend

I was busy ministry-wise all weekend. Friday night in Bolingbrook, Saturday Morning Men’s fellowship, Sunday Morning Church, Sunday Night Church, Movie on Channel 7 re 9-11.

Sometimes it’s just good to reflect, did I learn anything? I did:

People need to be let out of Spiritual Jail. Sometimes we just need to have someone speak words of release over us. God created the universe with a word. We can cause things to happen with a word of faith spoken over a person in need of a miracle.

People’s troubles are like Hurricanes. Every hurricane starts with a tropical depression. A tropical depression is only neutralized by meeting up with a high-pressure system. Our lives storms start with depression and are only corrected by meeting up with the most high. If you stop the depression, you stop many storms.

Most people let circumstance dictate truth to them. Even when the circumstances they face aren’t the truth of God they are controlled by circumstance.

Most people don’t understand what God’s plan is for the life they are leading. If they did they would walk with more confidence. People are immortal until they have reached the destination they were created for. It’s people who live aimlessly that are subject to being derailed by Satan.

Women are a mystery to Men. That’s good and that’s bad. There are answers. The Song of Solomon reveals the heart of a woman and a man. Get that and you will get it. God wants us to live in fullness in our marriage more than we do. And he has a wonderful way to do it. Dr. Phil doesn’t have a clue to much of this. Most “Christian” books on marriage are pop psychology set to the beat of a few Bible verses and “What a Friend we have in Jesus”. Ignore them at all costs.

When tough times come like 9-11 or Katrina people flee. They become refugees. When tough times come in life, many Christians become refugees from faith. They need to be nurtured and nourished by words of Faith. The must be helped back from being faith evacuees.

Seducing spirits are all around. They are harmless until we pay attention to them. Kent Hunter said this Sunday Morning. He is a good guy and a great grower of Black Walnut. I have seen lots of supposed Black Walnut plantations and never heard of anyone who had it together like Kent did. I look forward to continuing conversations with him.

If we depart from having faith, there is only one place we will live, the state of fear. There is no middle ground in the realm of believing God. A little disbelief can stop a train of faith.

God wants to show off thru us. Let’s let him. We have to find out what that looks like.

I heard the best altar call presentation I ever heard: “If you know you are in spiritual trouble and want to come back to Jesus come up here”. Powerful.

People who are unsure of themselves spiritually, talk too much. I call it the habbada habbbada habbada of spiritual leadership. It can be embarrassing. Once a person gets full of God and overflows in it they use far fewer but far more powerful words. Wordiness is a sign of spiritual immaturity.

Some people, well meaning people, even people who pray in tongues, pray in fear. It’s sometimes called, worrying our prayers. You’ve done it. “Oh, Lord, You see the big trouble we are in, this is a mess, etc”. Whatever is not of faith is sin. So, I don’t know where that stands. I do know this, sometimes praying the “Lord’s Will” is praying in fear. I don’t see anywhere in the word where Jesus rebuked the disciples by saying, “you have too much faith”. His only rebukes in this area were acting in fear, doubt and unbelief.

If someone is going to pray for me, I want them to pray in faith believing. Jesus said that unless you do this, “Let him not expect much from God”. I want to expect a lot from God. So, if it’s OK with you, I’ll pray in faith believing.

I saw the 9-11 film on ABC. This must be a two-headed attack to win this war. First we must crush those who want to kill us. That is war.

Then we must persuade the ones who don’t know of the truth who Jesus really is. This is the single greatest Challenge of the Global Church today. Unfortunately as anemic as the Church in America is I have no hope we can do much other then get out of the way. In fact, most of our missions programs are a waste of time. Only men and women of God from those Countries who can reach them and the converts in their midst can do this. If we support them there may be hope.

And, that’s what I learned this weekend.

What Really Matters

I watched the Path to 9-11 (at least the part left after I got back from Church).

It was an extraordinary piece of work. I'm very impressed with everything about the film.

I just don't know why we have to be "Treated" to the Nightline people to "Balance".

So, what tomorrow night will bring? I don't know.

I'll watch. Only the truth matters. I want the truth.