Lamb or Lion? 

   Believe or not believe, what do you think about Jesus?

   Was he a teacher, Mary's child grown up, a miracle worker crucified by jealous insiders? If you believe the gospel story, do you still think of him in human likeness, way up in heaven, unable or unwilling to crush evil on earth, far removed from your daily life?

   Meet the Lion of Judah, who gave his elderly disciple John visions setting the stage for his Revelation - the tribulation and ultimate victory.

   I saw...someone like a son of man (a) dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet (b) and with a golden sash around his chest. (c) His head and hair were white like wool (d) and his eyes were like blazing fire. (e) 

   His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace (f) and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. (g) In his right hand (h) he held seven stars (i) and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. (j)

   His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. (k)   

a. Daniel 7:13-14

b. as worn by priests, judges, rulers and kings; Hebrews 4:14-16

c. a mark of triumphant royalty; Matthew 28:18-20 

d. absolute purity and holiness; Daniel 7:9-10 

e. penetrating wisdom and righteous judgment; Daniel 10:6

f.  strength; his victory over Satan  

g. full and strong; Ezekiel 1:24, 29; 43:2 

h. the hand of action

i.  angels of the seven churches; Rev. 2 & 3

j.  sword of the Spirit, the Word of God; Isaiah 11:4-5; Rev. 19:15

k.  glory too bright for Moses (Exodus 33:22-23) and Saul (Acts 9:3, 9)

   And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. 

 Rev. 1:12-17                   

Impeach Who?   

   We know from the book of Revelation that bad guys will meet their Maker. Meanwhile, what do we do with Afghanistan, as if God gives us the power? 

   Republicans filed impeachment articles - not against the president - but Secretary of State Antony (without the h) Blinkin. Over - not the goal - but the shameful way the withdrawal became a crisis evacuation. Why him? 

   We googled the 59-year-old government figure. He studied at Harvard and Columbia, the same stops many Democrats make enroute to Washington, including Obama. Blinkin also studied in Europe. His late stepfather was a Holocaust survivor. 

   Over much of the past 30 years he worked for Senator then VP Biden. He admits "we made errors in Iraq - we did too much - and Syria - we didn't do enough."

   Maybe, like Goldilocks, he was due to get Afghanistan "just right." Sorry. 

   As for ISIS initially, he considered them "no threat." We remember President Obama calling ISIS the "jayvees." Well, the junior varsity just killed 13 U.S. troops and seriously injured 20 others. Let's hope they don't become the varsity. 

   In his favor, Blinkin believes, "Force can be a necessary adjunct to diplomacy." Too bad he didn't think of that this summer. To his shame, he invited the UN - of all people - to visit America and investigate our racist inclinations.   

   We were troubled by disagreements in Trump's early White House days. Now we realize it takes a range of diverse opinions to produce better governance. Don't Democrats love diversity? Not in Washington!   

   And now we know state department - "Foggy Bottom" - academics are in charge of all things Afghanistan. Not the Dept. of Defense. Republicans chose the right culprit, not that he has to worry.  

   The blinkin truth is that egocentric President Biden was on board with the so-called strategy, and made it even worse. 

   Enemies of the Afghan people have been killing them and American and allied troops for two decades. Watch for U.S. planes flying to Kabul with our tax dollars, if only the medieval, murderous Taliban plays its cards right. For Democrats, every purpose starts and ends with money.  

   But first - beware Foggy Bottom's response to hostage takers.  

       Jimmy

  

"Sitting at Jesus' feet" 

does not mean passively waiting.

Jesus often desires that we are active,

choosing, risking, stretching and doing.

It does mean he is present here and now.

We don't have to pretend we control the universe.

GOD IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK            

 

The Art of Letting Go

What keeps us from living in the presence of God?

Many of us have good intentions.

But we miss out on his presence because 

we get overwhelmed by preparations for life.

We get distracted.

Worry.

Sometimes we live as if worry helps us control our world.

Some things are completely out of our hands. 

Why Write to Rep. Clyburn?

   He is in South Carolina. We're in Florida; not his constituents. 

   James Clyburn is the only SC Democrat elected to the U.S. House (1993) His district is the largest of seven. We don't fault him for naming buildings and seeking $ millions for his district.  

   He is the House Majority Whip - who helps set agendas, unite his party, and broker deals. Remember "broker deals," because deals can affect all of us.

   "People say the president has blood on his hands," I wrote. (Yesterday, that was sadly evident when 13 service members lost their lives - not fighting - helping desperate people escape on airplanes. Another 15 were injured.) 

   "If that's so," I continued, "we haven't forgotten that candidate Biden was going absolutely nowhere until South Carolina's primary, when you rallied Democrats to his candidacy, and all the other states dutifully fell in line. Credit your experience brokering deals." 

   Remember, readers, there is little disagreement about our Afghan exit. The woeful, inexcusable decision was to discard Trump's muscular plan. [Fly out American civilians and Afghan loyalists first, remove or destroy $85 billion of amazing military aircraft, vehicles and weapons, and draw down soldiers and marines last - all while threating the Taliban to be nice, or else.] 

   Meanwhile, we're not buying the president's "sad face" and promise to hunt down the ISIS guys who sent two of their own on suicide missions. What an actor. They could be in Pakistan or Iran by now, if anyone even knows who they are.

Back to Rep. Clyburn

   "Did you know (in 2020) of Biden's extraordinary ego," I asked, "his suspect record on foreign policy, his loose connection with truth, his declining mental state?" 

   And I tossed in - "If FDR had Biden's 'expertise' on December 7, 1941, he might have let the Japanese capture Midway and continue their rampage over southeast Asia. Biden is another James Buchanan." 

   "With your 27 years in Congress," we concluded, "we assume you knew the real Joe Biden. What we'll never know is who put you up to it. No doubt - the same people who muzzled him for most of the 2020 campaign. Disgusting." 

         Jimmy

 

Two Threats; Two Means 

   Many of us are focused on Afghanistan. The White House and Congress - possibly more focused on building their power. 

   Did you see yesterday's step - a spending bill that will obliterate our future, if they get it through the Senate? And how much time the president spent urging Democrats to vote aye, while Americans are stranded in violent Afghanistan? 

   Yes, Jen Psaki, stranded! 

   Observers who know are warning us that Afghanistan is now terror headquarters for the world. Russia, China, Iran and perhaps others are okay with that. We have no way to monitor; no surrounding nations will cooperate, and who could blame them? The jihadists have more tech skills and will have far more fighters than in 2000, or even a few weeks ago.     

   If bad guys from around the world can cross our southern border while agents are tied up with immigrants, so can terrorists. 

   That's one threat.  

   The more immediate is progressive, Marxist Democrats rushing to take control of U.S. elections before the 2022 midterms. Hence, a bill to nationalize election laws.

   There are two ways to cancel people. Radical Muslims cancel by beheading or otherwise killing those they hate, and family members. They may hold thousands of Americans hostage. How much are taxpayers willing to give them? 

   Second. In America, we have a "cancel culture" from coast to coast. 

   The only difference is that one rules by death, the other by politics and indoctrination. with media support.    

   It's past time for all of us to focus. And pray.    

       Jimmy

Crazy Minutes

   Since we will keep the minutes of our homeowners meeting in September - for the first time - we decided to practice by recording a pentagon briefing on Tuesday. Here goes: 

Q. How many Americans are still unaccounted for?

A. Well...ah...it's a...we don't...ah...it changes by the hour.

Is the president firm on an August 31 end date? 

It is...ah...true...a...a...must get to the...airport by the end of August. 

There are blockaids...people are unable to get there. 

We are...working on that...ah...throughput...and processing. 

Some have told their congressional reps they are trapped.

Ah...there is no constraint. It's ah...ah.. retrograde situation.

Are those who helped us a priority?

Ah...the situation...ah...is constantly fluid. There is dissonance.

What do you say to family members back home?

We are facilitating passage...ah...ah...improving visibility.

Does the president have a plan in case people are left behind?

Ah...the dispositions of the draw down are what we are concerned about first and foremost. There is no constraint. You can ask Centcom about that. Ah...there are bottlenecks...and structure...but also deliberations.

We hear our forces in Kabul will begin withdrawal this Friday.

They...they are already beginning to process out. ISIS-K is nearby.

Won't the Taliban then have total control before the 31st? 

Ah...that is speculation. We're in...ah...deliberations with the Taliban, and...ah...trusting they will keep their word. 

So, a collection of terrorists are dictating to the mighty U.S.   

We are constrained by the agreement made by President Trump. 

Does Obama regret freeing those five terrorists from Gitmo? Isn't Biden the vice president who handled the draw down in Iraq, and ISIS emerged from the chaos? And won't terrorists from Afghanistan start coming through our southern border?

Ah...that's all the time we have today. We might update you tomorrow.

#

The Tree of Life 

Genesis

2:9   In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  

Revelation

1:3    Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. 

14:13   Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them. (in the tribulation) 

16:15   Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed. 

19:9  Then the angel said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" 

20:6   Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. 

22:7   Behold I am coming soon. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.

22:14   Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 

China is the winner. People of Taiwan - prepare for invasion.

  Al Qaeda is back, Mr. bin Laden ... wherever you are.

    Taliban goons pick up where their 7th century brothers left off.

      Allies are disgusted with us, Mr. President. Stop lying.

        Security in America is more questionable than in the year 2000.     

          Trust is hard to win at first; harder still to recover. 

            Really? Some Americans might want to stay in Afghanistan? 

              Optics. That's the byword for Democrats focused only on power.

                President, sir, why are neither you nor the VP in Washington?

                  Hostages. How many will there be? America is not back.  

                    Exit strategy: Military first. Citizens last. Weapons $$$ - ?

   And the headline is __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __  

        Jimmy

         

Dust of The Rabbi

May you always be covered by the dust of your rabbi.

May you follow him so closely that the dust his feet kicks up 

is what cakes your clothing and lines your face.

What mattered was not the particular activity.

What mattered was being with your rabbi, whatever.

Dusty Disciples

We can be sitting at Jesus' feet when kneeling in prayer,

negotiating a contract or fixing lunch or watching a movie.

This is the choice Mary made, the one thing that was needful.

Jesus has made God's presence available to anyone who wants it.

      GOD IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK               

While on earth, Jesus was constantly calling for relationship.

He gently but relentlessly asked people to 

make a decision about their relationship with him.

He invited them - Follow me.

To be with him and learn how to be like him.

As for our day, Jesus promised that he and his Father

will come and make their home in us, if we wish.

We have a decision to make.

Jesus called this choosing - the one thing needful.

                                                         GOD IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

 It's In Their Blood  

   A little history. President Johnson, a D, accelerated our war in Vietnam, but not so as to win or even strike enemy supplies across the North/South border. His leadership was so costly he did not run for reelection.

   We turned to once defeated Richard Nixon, an R. Soon we blockaded the harbor where Russian supplies had been offloading, and in time it ended, but in loss. 

   Nixon resigned for other reasons, and Gerald Ford, an R, finished his second term. Voters preferred Jimmy Carter, a D., over Ford. In 1979 Muslim college students in Iran took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Before Ronald Reagan, an R, replaced Carter, the Iranians knew their fun was over, and on his first day in office our people came free. 

   It was Reagan who told the Russians to tear down the Berlin wall. 

   George H.W. Bush, an R, rode Reagan's coat tails into office and took military action to free Kuwait from Saddam Hussein. He had a 90 percent approval rating, until the Dems lured him into raising taxes. 

   Bill Clinton, a D, served two terms. He enjoyed a spell when Russia was wobbling and China was yet to emerge. 

   The 9/11 killers didn't fear the Bush son, another R. Anyway, after they all died in their hijacked planes, what nation could be blamed?

   We found where the blame lay, and Bush took out some dudes in Afghanistan. You know the rest of that story. He also finished in Iraq what his father started, but turning a Muslim nation into a Thomas Jefferson democracy is wishful thinking.

   Obama, a D, served two terms, allowing ISIS to rise in Syria. Donald Trump, an R, organized the demise of ISIS, if not completely, and bombed a terrorist hideout and a Syrian air base used for shelling civilians. 

   Afghan's Taliban had no interest in angering President Trump. Then the voters thought Joe Biden, a D (if the election was honest) was best. In seven short months the U.S. has lost some security, honor, respect, and possibly civilian lives and/or more hostages. 

   Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, both Ds, are looking better.

   Feel free to walk through this again. And remember whose blood is at stake next time you vote.

            Jimmy

AAA - Red Cross Version   

   MENSAJES DE AUTOCUIDADO 

   PARA PERSONAS MIGRANTES 

   Wonder how immigrants find their way north? The Red Cross might hold the secret. 

   A Texas rancher found a pamphlet on the ground, well north of the border. On one side is a map of routes from Panama to the U.S. It lists places of shelter and medical help. 

   The other side includes information about safely traveling through jungles, and dealing with immigration authorities. 

   Titled Messages of Self-Help for Migrants (in Spanish), this crosses a line beyond life-saving information, according to Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies. 

   "It's one thing to give water to immigrants. It's another thing to help them migrate illegally - and breach the sovereignty of a border," she told the Epoch Times.  

   We can't verify this report, but if true it would help people find routes, shelter locations, and tips on jumping off a moving train safely. 

          Jimmy

Not Surprising

Freedom in Decline

   With the fall of Afghanistan - where women tasted freedom for 20 years - the world's percentage of free people dropped below 20 percent. 

   Freedom House's annual report marked the 15th straight year of decline in global freedom. Of course, China and Russia lead the way, cheering the breakdown of democracy - and speeding it. 

   Declines occur in Hong Kong, Belarus, Ethiopia, Algeria and Turkey. Venezuela and Cambodia exploit the pandemic to restrict liberties. Sound familiar? 

   Freedom is gaining in Malawi, Taiwan (as China simmers), Montenegro and Bolivia. 

   Freedom House attributes this to a fading presence of major democracies. Democracy, they say is failing not because it doesn't work, but most prominent democracies aren't doing much to protect and encourage it. 

   Our thumb points to us, kissing up to Communist China for example. Our democracy weakens as Democrats slide into socialism and Republicans toward nationalism. We lost points in the freedom index for our lack of transparency, and corruption. 

   India targets Muslims and Christians. Elsewhere, Muslims target non-Muslims. Europe, the EU, is home to bureaucracies.

   "Democracy is not our idol," says Mindy Belz in WORLD magazine, "just a better system than all the others."  

   "Democracy is hard," she points out. "It demands election winners accept when their opponents to beat them next time." Compromise on all sides is essential. All that demands a high level of consensus and a shared reality. These values are under attack in America.   

   "Christians," Belz offers, "stake their freedom in Christ, whether living in a democracy or an authoritarian state." 

        Jimmy  

Taming His Tongue                     Monday AM

   Take a vacation, Mr. President. 

   FDR vacationed at the Little White House in Warm Springs, GA with his mistress.

   Truman vacationed at Key West, as far south from Washington as he could get. 

   Ike vacationed on the Augusta National golf course. 

   Johnson - probably in Texas. Carter - probably in Georgia.

   Reagan vacationed on his California ranch.

   Bush number 1 vacationed at Kennebunkport. 

   Clinton vacationed 174 days, at Martha's Vineyard and the Caribbean.

   Bush number 2 at Kennebunkport and Florida.

   Obama golfed at Martha's Vineyard and around the world, ~400 days in all. 

   Trump - golfed in Florida. 

   Biden - on vacation at Camp David? 

   All presidents since Eisenhower have used nearby Camp David for a retreat, sometimes for certain meetings. 

   President Bush 2 was speaking at a Florida school when an aide whispered in his ear that terrorists had struck New York City. He calmly waited for the right moment and excused himself without alarming the kids. 

   Officials in Washington told him to stay away, as the city might be the next target. The president was flown briefly to another state. Nuts! He ordered his pilots to deliver him to Washington, ASAP. 

   A couple days later, he grabbed a bullhorn and told responders at ground zero, and the world, "They will soon hear from all of us!" Like soldiers and police, he went toward trouble.

   Last week, egocentric President Biden embarrassed himself twice by assuring us there would be no panic or problems in Afghanistan.

   He was sentenced to five days vacation, without even a bullhorn

Monday PM

   Tongue Loosed   They brought him back to read a speech. Then they sent him (the most powerful man in the world) back to his room at Camp David . 

             Jimmy

 An Awful August                                   - Sunday evening -

   We have two revolting developments in five days.

Awful No. 1 - On August 10 the U.S. Senate with the cooperation of 19 Republican senators passed a super-expensive bill crafted solely by Democratic operatives. Marxist Dems must be laughing in their beer. The by-partisan friendship they got for the first of two bills are liable to bankrupt the country and destroy everything our founders stood for. Voters didn't have a say.  

   We can't count on Republicans to block the next bill, all told, $12.5 trillion for a little infrastructure and a lot of government power, including the estimated $6 trillion Biden budget for the upcoming fiscal year. That's more money than we spent on all wars from the beginning.   

   Got $1,000 in savings? How much will that buy next August? Not worried? Call me a year from now and let's talk. There are more ludicrous, harmful threats on the horizon, but we'll get on with...

Awful No. 2 - Did you see the sad photo of our president sitting alone at Camp David, "on vacation." looking across a huge table at a Zoom meeting. Really? 

   Biden recently said the Afghan capital - if overrun - would hold out for maybe three months. Soon it was three weeks. Then it was three days...and the final score? Six hours. 

   Most Americans wanted out. Trump was planning an exit. I've had doubts since a couple years after they dispatched Osama bin Laden, which Vice Pres. Biden opposed as too risky. Our troops have prevented another 9/11 maybe; now it's back to pre-9/11 times, including bin Laden's Al Qaeda.  

   Shame on so-called leaders of this Republic who thought they could negotiate with the Taliban, as if those rascals have an ounce of honor. Shame on those who assumed the Afghan army would stand and fight. Shame on an Administration, if they had to do it, for choosing the summer season when the Taliban is in full force.

   So, they blame Trump, while women are carried off to become wives - no more education - and heads of our Afghan interpreters roll. 

   This is worse than Vietnam. Our word means little, and who could be happier than the Communist Chinese? 

         Jimmy

    We didn't forget our awful border crisis   

  CHOICE  

You have to trust the author.

You have to believe that God has a good reason for subtlety.

He allows frail human beings the capacity for choice that

we would never have in his obvious presence.

God wants to be known, but not to overwhelm us.

Rather, love freely chosen. 

God moves incognito...the master of disguise.

When God did appear, he did not look like Michelangelo's painting.

He had no majesty that we should be attracted to him.

Men "despised and rejected him."

                                                        - GOD IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

"If you're looking for certainty,

you've chosen the wrong game."

                                       - Marv Levy, former coach, Buffalo Bills 

Not knowing doesn't mean we're condemned to anxiety;

rather, it calls for trust, and trust is crucial to good performance.

It is somehow essential to human life as God ordained it

that we can know the final score of yesterday, but not tomorrow.

You can walk by faith, but not by sight.

"If you find God with great ease,

perhaps it is not God that you have found."

                                               - Thomas Merton

Anything New Under the Sun?   

   The collectivist nature of the Soviet Union was a new threat to world freedom. Was top down domination really new?

   Nazi rise to power was a mixed bag of ideologies. The Nationalist Socialist German Workers Party was right-wing fascist, with the economy under strict control of the government, and social Darwinism, all in the interest of the "common good."

   These or China or Cuba or North Korea and others were/are varieties of the same thing. They all claim to be the real deal, and when it fails they deny theirs was "it." 

   All have in common - top down government, be it utopian socialism, communism, national socialism or democratic socialism. Government rules, and values such as freedom and private property fly away. 

   We assume, at Obama's birthday party in his $20 million house in Martha's Vineyard, this was the inner circle of elitists expecting to be our superiors in the near future, if not already so. 

   But, they aren't as wonderful as they think...

Two Thousand Years Ago 

   You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you.

   Instead, whoever wants to become great among you first must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Matthew 20:25-28

       Jimmy

Tyranny of Big Tech?  

   Political freedom in America means permission to be left alone, if desired ... being engaged but independent ... and having a say in government of one's town and state, and Washington, D.C. - free from elitist power and control. 

   In practice, it's been some of this and some of that. And government isn't the only practitioner of power and control.   

   Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri has written a book - The Tyranny of Big Tech - which takes issue with Amazon, Facebook, Google and Twitter. 

   We haven't read the book, just about it.

   Hawley is concerned with big tech's power and its lack of concern for Americans' privacy. He provides ideas for reform. 

   He would break up the monopolies and change the way they do business. He also describes how families can protect themselves from big tech. Interesting.

Internet Everywhere!

   Speaking of big ideas, SpaceX founder Elon Musk offers Starlink, a satellite-based internet service provider that promises high-speed internet anywhere on earth. 

   Pardon my sniff - it's a fine development - but wouldn't the coming antichrist love to have immediate access to everyone on earth? 

Duh!      

   I am reminded that I drive three miles one way to walk one mile on the treadmill.

               Jimmy

 What Gender Are You?  

   You have 58 choices.

   God created "male and female," and over the ages that sufficed. Two thousand years ago Paul wrote in Romans chapter 1 of those "who claimed to be wise... became fools" and "God gave them over to their sinful desires, sexual impurity." Still, they were either male or female.  

   In English, sex - the anatomy - and gender - mental identity - were essentially the same. No more. In our lifetime, the "wise" became even wiser. 

   LGBTQ is only the beginning. How about: agender, androgymous, bigender, cis, cisgender and its relatives, female to male, FTM, gender fluid, gender nonconforming, gender questioning, gender variant, neither, neutrois, nonbinary, trans person and its relatives, trans sexual and two-spirit...58 in all. 

   We see 58 labels, not 58 differences. But, we're so ... not wise.

   On day one, "moderate Catholic" President Biden issued an executive order that revived President Obama's critical gender policy, essentially adding 56 genders to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Biden - rather, whoever wrote his order - applies transgender ideology to schools, locker rooms, sports teams, healthcare and homeless shelters. 

   Academia, corporations, news media, Facebook and others fall in line. 

   The U.S. House of Representatives officially does not recognize he or she, him or her. Representatives are referred to as "member," "delegate" etc. It seems the two original genders are forbotten (forbidden).   

   Although, Rep. Pelosi still boasts of being the first female speaker of the House.

   Friends, if you aren't sure what you are, let me know and I'll send you the full list of options.

         Jimmy 

Assaying the Gold  

   Search Bodie, California for interesting videos of gold rush days. What's left of Bodie is 75 miles southeast of Lake Tahoe. It had two churches and 65 taverns, and you can guess what else. 

   When a miner presented a dirty nugget to be confirmed and weighed, the assayer poured acid over it to reveal the truth. Beginning in 1859 and continuing into the early 1900s, numerous people became millionaires, including Richard Sears, Alva Roebuck and Levi Strauss. 

   While Bodie was booming, in more ways than one, Abraham Kuyper started a newspaper in the Netherlands. He was interested in a different wealth. He said, "Scripture contains God's ordinances - that is, his eternal and unchangeable principles - but mostly in mixed form, like nuggets in a gold mine." 

   He wrote, "Neither history nor legal science nor philosophy of law, as far as we can judge, offers a reliable starting point for knowledge of the true, sound, eternal principles of justice." 

   Pastor Jack Hibbs of southern California, who pastors 10,000 people and reaches hundreds of thousands on Youtube etc., last Sunday held an open Bible above his head and slowly lowered it past his heart.

   He was demonstrating the cleansing properties of God's word to wash away our dirt and other impurities, and to reveal truth. 

         Jimmy

 Pride and Self Importance   

   As we grind our way - now in chapter 3 - through Mark Levin's AMERICAN MARXISM, we struggle in an ocean of big words and long sentences. 

   Like most college professors, current-day Marxists speak and write in lofty language. We mortals need a dictionary. 

   Levin himself matches the enemy in verbiage and expression.  But this isn't about his opinions. He quotes endlessly both the living and the dead.

   We get the drift. Socialist/Marxist educators, and there are thousands, have one goal - the overthrow of American government - to be replaced by - what? 

   Why does millionaire Senator Bernie Sanders promote "free" college education? Not to teach young people knowledge that will serve them and their country. It is to speed the indoctrination of a generation. 

   A minority of Americans have a four-year degree. It is necessary also to conquer elementary and high school students not destined for college.  

   These thinkers don't believe in God and his word, but they feel they're doing right for "the oppressed." Their methods go beyond education; they espouse violent revolution, if that's what it takes. (What is Portland if not an example to copy?)  

   Let's not suppose a Republican majority elected in 2022 and 2024 will make it all go away. Teachers who hate America and capitalism have been with us for more than 150 years. They aren't going anywhere.

Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? 

   Proverbs 26:12 speaks of pride and self importance, and therefore arrogance and confidence in one's own ideas. It is God who is wisdom and truth. 

         Jimmy

Don't look at me God

Sometimes we don't have a sense for

God's presence, but there's no mystery to it.

Our desire for God can be pretty selective. 

Sometimes we don't want God to be around.

How necessary it is to us that we 

be unobserved in our wrong.

God walked in the garden to be with them.

"Where are you?"

"I heard you in the garden,

and I was afraid...so I hid."

                                                                             God is closer than you think

"Whether we are aware of it or not,

at every moment of our existence we are

encountering God ... Father, Son and Holy Spirit ...

who is trying to catch our attention, trying to draw us

into a reciprocal, conscious relationship."

- William Barry

Perhaps our capacity to pay attention to God

only gets stronger when it gets exercised.

 It's About Time  

   Good news. The governor of Missouri finally pardoned the McCloskeys of St. Louis for their "misdemeanor"...I think it was. 

   You remember the social activists - or dupes - who broke into their gated community and attempted to occupy their upscale home. Husband and wife each took a firearm outside and held off the radicals, until the intruders thought better of it. 

   A leftist in city government charged the McCloskeys basically with the crime of protecting their home. 

   While this ended well, think of the nation if and when these socialists/Marxists capture our government and make it their own. 

Hypocrisy on Steroids  

   We note that President Biden, or whoever is coaching him, has stepped up calls for vaccinations. He singled out Texas and Florida, where cases are spiking.

   Biden threatens - "If you aren't going to help (save lives), you need to get out of the way." Of course, these are Republican governors in states the left desperately wants to control. 

   Gov. DeSantis of Florida fought back: "This is a guy saying he was going to shut down the virus, and what has he done? He's imported more virus from around the world by having a wide open southern border."

   "Do your job," DeSantis continued. "Until you get this border secure, I don't want to hear a blip about COVID."

   Case in point: We know a couple from Pittsburgh days, now retired near Jacksonville. The husband recently entered a Dollar Tree store, encountering a large number of illegal immigrants deposited in Duval County by the Biden Administration. Did he catch it there?  

   Though vaccinated, he developed symptoms serious enough to require hospitalization. He is now recovering at home on 14-day quarantine. His wife reports that all doctors and urgent care facilities in that area see patients virtually, and/or by appointment only. Their hospital is full. 

           Jimmy

Coral, or Scarlet King?  

   While visiting us last week, our adult daughter noticed a snake in the pool. 

   My sneaky method of capture is to hold a bucket under the visitor and let water and gravity do the rest. There was enough light to see rings of three colors: red, yellow and black. 

   This was either a venomous coral snake - "red on yellow, kill a fellow" - or a scarlet kingsnake - "red on black, friend of jack." Each grows to about 2 feet. 

   Without agreeing in the dark, which it was, we released the snake. 

Evil, or Virtuous? 

   Americans are having a difficult time agreeing who we are. Janie Cheaney in WORLD magazine loves her country, but states, "America's sins, common the world over wherever one group gains power over another, are treated as unique" by those without civic education. "Her virtues are taken for granted or waved away."

   "No nation before America," she writes, "ever dared state (our founding) truths as the formal basis for its politics, and none has strived harder, or done more, to achieve them." 

   "Not all men or women were equal in 1776, but those words promised they would be. Power always corrupts, but the words called power to account," Cheaney says. "Our mistakes, some of them grievous, have tended to self-correct because of the words embedded in our national consciousness."  

   "Critical race theory teaches: History is about power, not virtue." While there is some truth to the history CRT cites, she states that "we can build our shared house," or we can "tear the house down, to be replaced with - what?" 

   Meanwhile, we've begun reading AMERICAN MARXISM, by Mark Levin. Without agreement, one side will win. If it is the Marxists in the Democratic Party and its supporters like foreigner George Soros, the U.S.A. will indeed be about power, as in Cuba and elsewhere. 

             Jimmy

 Earth Calling Heaven   

   Monday we wrote of the importance of interpersonal communication, and how God has communicated from his realm to mankind on earth, for centuries. 

   Today, let's talk about communicating from our realm to his. 

   Jesus gave his disciples a model prayer (in Matthew 6:9-13). If I recited this prayer with the congregation every Sunday from age 10 to 30, it would total more than one-thousand times. 

   His prayer is exceptional, as are the Ten Commandments and the Apostle's Creed, which we also recited endlessly. Stop! 

   By age 30 I was walking no closer to God; in fact I was backsliding. Blame me. 

   I didn't know what "hallowed" really meant, nor did I question the meaning of "your kingdom" or "daily bread." If you've followed Views for years you know my story, how I lost a battle but connected with the Lord, and He with me. 

   Prayer begins by addressing our Father in heaven, who loves us and through Christ desires our fellowship. He created us. Prayer is concerned with your kingdom on earth; not just his ultimate kingdom but his spiritual presence, gifts and the war against Satan...today!  

   We pray your will be done with specific purposes in mind for our lives, families and the Spirit's leading. Daily bread is our more immediate needs, which God knows better than we do. 

   As we quoted recently, we must forgive in order to be forgiven.  

   We also pray for deliverance from the evil one, for we the believers are his hated targets. 

   Synonyms for hallowed include holy, sacred, blessed, revered, reverenced, honored, worshipped and divine.

Hallowed be his name.

                  Jimmy

A Dam Story   

   Hoover Dam and Lake Mead are an American success story. The lake reached near the top in the year 2000. 

   Since then, the water level has fallen 140 feet, its lowest point ever. Only 36 percent of the lake's capacity has water. 

   An estimated 40 million people rely on the Colorado River. Likewise, four million acres of farmland.

   Last year, 64 percent of the American West was under drought conditions. This summer that share is above 97 percent.  

   We wonder when the rest of the country might feel the affects of water and crop shortages out West. 

Saving Our Democracy

   What do you think of this idea? 

   Instead of bemoaning riots, free shoplifting and burning, defunding police, critical race education, serious criminals going free, our border now useless, election cheating, deficit spending, skirting the rules, outright lies, Marxist cancel culture, corrupted news media, BLM, Antifa, The Squad, Marxist class warfare, mandates on masks, playing nice with Iran and all things China, loss of energy independence, printing money to hand out (when jobs are plentiful)...

   Republicans could go all out, supporting these very practices while campaigning in Democratic neighborhoods. 

   The Democrats would suddenly express horror at their own ideas, quickly restoring America's founding principles. 

   Oh, we know. They will still make trouble, and anyway, the Marxists among them would welcome Republican overtures, so it all might backfire.

   Better not.

                Jimmy

Let's Talk   

   How many relationships fall short because we don't talk, or one person communicates while the other(s) "let it go in one ear and out the other," as Mom used to say? 

   Possibilities are lost when parent and child fail to talk constructively. Or husband and wife, and others associated in important ways can't relate. 

   Before Mrs. Donut became Mrs. - I told her if we can just talk, be open, everything will work out. She agreed. 

   Of course, people must share convictions and priorities, or agreement will be an uphill proposition. 

Heaven Calling Earth!

   God more than anyone wants a relationship with us. He loves to talk. But we have to talk (pray) too, in confidence. 

   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

   Jesus said, My word will never pass away. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish... I am the Good Shepherd. I lay down my life for the sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.

   In New Testament letters, the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit...the word of life...living and active. People in relationship with Jesus are called to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...do what it says. 

Uttermost Love     

   Jesus loves us thoroughly; he died for us. He said, if we don't love him more than our mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, we are not worthy of him. Matthew chap. 10.

   He gives believers the same Spirit that descended on him and later, his disciples. We looked up more than 30 ways the Spirit works on our behalf.   

   If we don't listen to his voice now, we will hear it later: A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear (my) voice. John 5:28.

                           I need these reminders as much as anyone.     Jimmy

  

 Are We Doing Okay?

Like the ancients, many drift into spiritual maintenance mode.

We put our hopes in a president.

We rationalize, I'm doing okay.

Jesus never said, I have come that you might do okay.

On spiritual autopilot, rivers of living water slow to a trickle.

Human nature desires to rule.

                                                                   God is Closer Than You Think