President Obama Establishes “Council Of Governors”

Hello Everyone,

Here is Chuck Baldwin’s take on this “Council of Governors.” 

I saw the item on the Whitehouse web site almost right after it showed up and asked a couple of folks on our list if they had seen or heard anything about this.  None had at the time.  I sent a copy to a whole group of known commentators asking if they had heard anything about it.  I received no replies, but I noticed that several others picked it up as a story.  And there is much agreement that something not good might be planned for. 

All I can say at this point is to watch, keep your eyes open.  This may be a pre-emptive move just in case some taxpayers or even whole states don’t like politics as usual. 

Godspeed,

Gill Rapoza

Veritas Vos Liberabit

http://grapoza.blogspot.com/

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President Obama Establishes “Council Of Governors”

By Chuck Baldwin

January 19, 2010

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2010/cbarchive_20100119.html

The White House Office of the Press Secretary released a report on the White House web site titled “President Obama Signs Executive Order Establishing Council of Governors.” According to the press release, “The President today [January 11, 2009] signed an Executive Order establishing a Council of Governors to strengthen further the partnership between the Federal Government and State Governments to protect our Nation against all types of hazards. When appointed, the Council will be reviewing such matters as involving the National Guard of the various States; homeland defense; civil support; synchronization and integration of State and Federal military activities in the United States; and other matters of mutual interest pertaining to National Guard, homeland defense, and civil support activities.”

According to the report, the Council will be composed of “ten State Governors who will be selected by the President to serve two year terms . . . Once chosen, the Council will have no more than five members from the same party and represent the Nation as a whole.”

The press release also states that “Federal members of the Council include the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs, the U.S. Northern Command Commander, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau. The Secretary of Defense will designate an Executive Director for the Council.”

As with most Presidential Directives or Executive Orders that have the potential to swallow our liberties and expand federal—or even international—police powers, the mainstream media conveniently fails to inform the American people as to what is happening. Such is the case with Obama’s EO establishing a Council of Governors (COG). Therefore, it is left to independent writers to issue the alert. Thank God for the Internet!

As with any expansion of the federal government, this new Council of Governors needs to be monitored very carefully by freedom lovers. One blog rightly noted that the COG “clearly represents another assault on Posse Comitatus, the 1878 law that bars the military from exercising domestic police powers, which was temporarily annulled by the 2006 John Warner National Defense Authorization Act before parts of it were later repealed.”

Another blogger wisely stated, “As with most government powers, there is always the potential for abuse. In this case, there is cause for serious concern because every bit of this entails expanding traditional Command in Chief powers to the DOD [Department of Defense], spreading troops around the US (potentially not American troops at that . . .) and deciding who has ultimate tactical command over reserves and Guard in the event of ‘emergencies,’ terrorist attacks, or natural disasters.”

Actually, this EO is simply the latest in a series of events going back to the Bush and Clinton years, in which the federal government has taken steps to lay the foundation for extensive military police action within the United States.

Back in 2008, retired lawman Jim Kouri wrote, “In a political move that received little if any attention by the American news media, the United States and Canada entered into a military agreement on February 14, 2008, allowing the armed forces from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a domestic civil emergency, even one that does not involve a cross-border crisis, according to a police commander involved in homeland security planning and implementation.

“It is an initiative of the Bi-National Planning Group whose final report, issued in June 2006, called for the creation of a ‘Comprehensive Defense and Security Agreement,’ or a ‘continental approach’ to Canada-US defense and security.

“The law enforcement executive told Newswithviews.com that the agreement—defined as a Civil Assistance Plan—was not submitted to Congress for debate and approval, nor did Congress pass any law or treaty specifically authorizing this military agreement to combine the operations of the armed forces of the United States and Canada in the event of domestic civil disturbances ranging from violent storms, to health epidemics, to civil riots or terrorists attacks.

“‘This is a military plan that’s designed to bypass the Posse Comitatus Act that traditionally prohibited the US military from operating within the borders of the United States. Not only will American soldiers be deployed at the discretion of whomever is sitting in the Oval Office, but foreign soldiers will also be deployed in American cities,’ warns Lt. Steven Rodgers, commander of the Nutley, NJ Police Department’s detective bureau.”

See Kouri’s column at:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8551

Of course, the groundwork for this US-Canadian agreement occurred in 2002 when President G.W. Bush created USNORTHCOM. For the first time in US history, an entire Army division has been tasked with “homeland defense efforts and to coordinate defense support of civil authorities.” (Source: USNORTHCOM official web site) Plus, The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, which passed with almost unanimous bipartisan support, and was signed into law in January 2008 by then-President Bush, required the implementation of the COG.

Then, in June of 2009, USNORTHCOM sent a legislative proposal to Congress requesting “amending Title 10 of USC, expanding the Secretary of Defense’s powers to mobilization of the Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Navy Reserve, and Marine Corps Reserve to assist civil authorities in disasters and emergencies . . . ‘thus enabling a truly Total Force approach to disaster response.’”

See the full report at:

http://tinyurl.com/cog-history-connect-the-dots

Matthew Rothschild at The Progressive penned, “The Pentagon has approached Congress to grant the Secretary of Defense the authority to post almost 400,000 military personnel throughout the United States in times of emergency or a major disaster.”

Concerning this, David Mundy at the Texas National Press commented, “If granted, the move would further erode the authority of the states and would minimize the role played by the states’ militia . . . in handling domestic issues.

“More ominously, nothing in the Pentagon’s request specifies that the troops to be posted in U.S. cities would necessarily be Americans.”

The report notes that in September of 2009, USNORTHCOM released its 32-page initial framework for the “Tri Command,” referring to NORAD, NORTHCOM, and Canada COM. It is noted that while NORTHCOM and Canada COM are national organizations, NORAD is set up as a binational force.

It is largely understood, therefore, that the Council of Governors has been established for the purpose of getting the governors’ blessing on this newly accumulated power. In other words, the COG is Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Stockton’s effort to establish a liaison between the governors, DHS, DOD, and the National Guard.

Of course, as the report suggests, what is not being disclosed is what powers will be conferred upon the 10 gubernatorial council members and what authorities they will be required to cede to the federal government.

Anyone who is not concerned about the ever-increasing encroachment of federal power upon the states and citizenry at large is either not paying attention, or is already a slave at heart. Instead of worrying about whether a gubernatorial or State legislative candidate is a conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat, we need to be focusing on whether or not our State governors and legislators have the historical and constitutional acumen and resolve to resist the current dismantling of State sovereignty and personal liberty being orchestrated by this federal leviathan that is known as Washington, D.C.

We can survive hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, looters and thugs, blackouts, and even Muslim terrorists. What we cannot survive—at least not without great cost and effort—is tyranny at the hands of our own government. In this regard, our greatest threat is not foreign terrorists or natural disasters; our greatest threat is Washington, D.C.

So, while DC has an eye on this new Council of Governors, you’d better keep an eye on your governor as well; and keep the other eye on what’s left of your liberties, because if those federal foxes come in the middle of the night and run off with them, it will be your governor that opened the door.

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

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© Chuck Baldwin 

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Gill Rapoza

Veritas Vos Liberabit

http://grapoza.blogspot.com/

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The Truth About Abortion

The Truth About Abortion

By Chuck Baldwin

January 22, 2010

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com

Today marks the 37^th anniversary of the infamous US Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision, which, in effect, legalized abortion-on-demand nationwide. The aftermath of this tragic ruling is the deaths of over 40 million (a very conservative number) innocent unborn babies. It is no hyperbole to say abortion is America’s holocaust. Think of it, every American citizen today, 37 years old or younger, has never known a country that respected and protected innocent human life in the womb. Put it another way: when Hitler’s Third Reich was at its zenith, the abortion rate was 40%. In 2003 (the last year that I checked), the abortion rate of the county in which I live was 39%. And I live in the heart of the so-called “Bible Belt.” In fact, statistically speaking, the most dangerous place to be in America is not in an automobile without wearing a seat belt, or in a commercial airliner with a potential terrorist on board. Statistically speaking, the most dangerous place to be is in the womb of one’s mother.

Dr. Bernard Nathanson once headed America’s largest abortion clinic in New York City. He admitted superintending over the killing of 75,000 unborn babies. He later recanted his pro-abortion activity and wrote what may be the quintessential book defending an unborn child’s right to life, “Aborting America.” Dr. Nathanson said, “There is no longer serious doubt in my mind that human life exists within the womb from the very onset of pregnancy.”

Dr. Mildred Jefferson was a surgeon at Boston University Medical Center, a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery with many honors and awards. She said, “Many people try to hide behind the confusion of not knowing what happens before a baby is born. But we do not have to be confused. We in medicine and science have a different name for every stage of the development of the baby, but it does not matter at all whether you know those names or not. When a young woman has not had much opportunity to go to school and she becomes pregnant, no one has to tell her that she is going to have a baby.

“I became a doctor in the tradition that is represented in the Bible of looking upon medicine as a high calling. I will not stand aside and have this great profession of mine, of the doctor, give up the designation of healer to become that of the social executioner. The Supreme Court Justices only had to hand down an order. Social workers only have to make arrangements, but it has been given to my profession to destroy the life of the innocent and the helpless.

“Today it is the unborn child; tomorrow it is likely to be the elderly or those who are incurably ill. Who knows but that a little later it may be anyone who has political or moral views that do not fit into the distorted new order. To that question, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ I answer ‘Yes.’ It is everyone’s responsibility to safeguard and preserve life. A child is a member of the human family and deserves care and concern.”

How many physicians, scientists, teachers, pastors, missionaries, statesmen, musicians, businessmen, and notable contributors to society have been murdered in the womb?

At this point, I can hear someone interrupting, “What about cases involving rape or incest?”

While these cases number less than 1% of pregnancies, consider this case history: a 12-year-old girl was raped and became pregnant. “Get an abortion,” you say? Congratulations. You just killed Ethel Waters.

And as Dr. Jefferson said, just where does the acceptance of abortion lead? If we listen to the former governor of Colorado, Richard Lamm, elderly people who are terminally ill have a “duty to die and get out of the way.” (Source: New York Times)

And does anyone remember Baby Doe in Bloomington, Indiana?

A little baby was born April 9, 1982, with Down’s Syndrome in a Bloomington, Indiana, hospital. The parents refused to allow a doctor to correct a defect in the esophagus that prevented eating because the child was born with Down’s. The Indiana Supreme Court upheld the parents’ right to make this decision. Despite many couples on hand willing to adopt the child, adoption offers that came in from all over America, and an appeal pursued to the U.S. Supreme Court, Baby Doe died of starvation on April 15, 1982.

Add to this blatant disrespect for human life the potential for mandated government-run national health care—complete with cost-related rationing—and one can only imagine how the value of human life will continue to decline in these United States. Plus, if you want to do some personal research that will really send chills up your spine, start investigating the fact that many scientists and researchers are seriously discussing genetic manipulation and genetic engineering. Good grief! Our own government and military are already culpable in grotesque medical experimentation with both civilian and military personnel.

Our own Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has admitted to using military personnel as human guinea pigs for medical, biological, and mental experimentation under various programs associated with the now-infamous title, MK-ULTRA. CIA officials say the programs have all been scrapped. Don’t you believe it.

In addition, consider the testimony of Dr. Carolyn Gerster, a physician specializing in internal medicine and cardiopulmonary diseases. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Oregon Medical School in Portland. She spent two years as a medical officer in the US Army.

Dr. Gerster told Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum, “I was asked to become a member of the American College of Physicians many years ago. It’s any honorary society of internal medicine. I was very proud right up until the day that the society gave the James D. Bruce Award for Medical Research to Dr. Saul Krugman for the following experiment. Dr. Krugman had taken living hepatitis virus MS2 and injected this living virus into 25 retarded children in Willowbrook Home for Retarded in upstate New York. This was defended on the basis that they would probably get the hepatitis virus anyway.”

Consider, too, that, contrary to what most people assume, the vast majority of physicians graduating from medical school today no longer take a Hippocratic-type oath—an oath that binds physicians to the following: “I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone. I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan; and similarly I will not give a woman a pessary [medical device] to cause an abortion.”

As Schaeffer and Koop pointed out in their book, “Whatever Happened to the Human Race?” “The Declaration of Geneva (adopted in September 1948 by the General Assembly of the World Medical Organization and modeled closely on the Hippocratic Oath) became used as the graduation oath by more and more medical schools. It includes: ‘I will maintain the utmost respect for human life from the time of conception.’ This concept of the preservation of human life has been the basis of the medical profession and society in general. It is significant that when the University of Pittsburgh changed from the Hippocratic Oath to the Declaration of Geneva in 1971, the students deleted ‘from the time of conception’ from the clause.”

Today, the ageless principles that had guided the medical profession throughout Western Civilization have been expunged from a majority of our physicians’ training and practice. And the Roe Supreme Court decision had much to do with this.

What is especially irritating about the whole abortion debate is the way the subject has been used as a political football by those on both the right and the left of the political aisle. While the national Democratic Party proudly touts itself as being “pro-choice,” (meaning, pro-murdering unborn babies), it has been the so-called “pro-life” Republican Party that is mostly to blame for legalized abortion being left as the law of the land for nearly 4 decades.

Think of it: the GOP has dominated US Supreme Court appointments for the 37 years since the Roe decision. In fact, the 1973 court that released the Roe decision was a Republican-appointed court by a 6-3 margin. The same GOP-dominated court also rendered the Doe v. Bolton Supreme Court decision reaffirming Roe.

Consider still: the “pro-life” Republican Party controlled the entire federal government from the election of 2000 to the election of 2006: six long years of GOP domination of both houses of Congress, the White House, and the US Supreme Court. And in all that time not one single unborn baby’s life was saved. NOT ONE!

And, yet, each year, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) would introduce the Sanctity of Life bill. And each year, the bill would sit in the document room of the Capitol Building and gather dust. What would Rep. Paul’s bill do? Two things: (1) It would define unborn babies as persons under the law. (2) Under the authority of Article. III. Section. 2. of the US Constitution, it would remove abortion from the jurisdiction of the court. Had the “pro-life” Republican congress passed Dr. Paul’s bill, and the “pro-life” President, G. W. Bush, signed it into law, Roe v. Wade would have been effectively overturned.

So, why didn’t President Bush trumpet the bill? Where was the Republican leader in the Senate? Where was the Republican Speaker of the House? Where was Orrin Hatch? Where was John McCain? Where was Lindsey Graham? Where was Glenn Beck? Where was Rush Limbaugh? Where was Newt Gingrich? Where was Sean Hannity? Where was the National Right to Life Committee? Where were the tens of thousands of “pro-life” pastors and Christians?

And, yet, these same “pro-life” pastors, church members, and “conservatives” refused to support Congressman Paul for President in 2008, because he was not “conservative” enough. Actually, they opposed him because he opposed the war in Iraq, which means they would rather support a politician who promotes taking America into unconstitutional wars—but who will do nothing to overturn Roe and save the lives of unborn babies—than support a man who demands that the Constitution be followed, and actually had a constitutional plan to overturn Roe and end abortion-on-demand as a national “right.” No wonder Jesus noted that unbelievers often have it over believers in the brains department. (See Luke 16:8.)

I remind you that preserving life and liberty is the primary purpose of government (read the Declaration of Independence, for example). At this point, however, I think it is safe to conclude that to pretend there is any hope that Washington politicians (from either party) will do anything to overturn Roe is pure fantasy. At this point, it is up to State legislatures and governors to preserve life in their respective states. Several states are already beginning to do just that.

According to Fox News a few years back, 30 states were poised to pass laws outlawing abortion if and when the US Supreme Court ever reversed its Roe v. Wade decision. What they need to do is stop waiting for the US Supreme Court to reverse itself, and go ahead and stand on their own State authority and autonomy, and outlaw abortion in their states now, as legislators in South Dakota, Georgia, Michigan, Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia are already attempting to do.

Legalized abortion is a national holocaust; an affront to our national character; a contradiction of established principles subscribed to from the beginning of Western Civilization; an insult to the principles of our Declaration of Independence; a bane of our national spirit; and a stench in the nostrils of Almighty God. That we have allowed it to continue for 37 years now stands as an indictment against this generation of Americans and bodes ominously for the well-being of our posterity.

© Chuck Baldwin 

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Chuck Baldwin’s commentaries are copyrighted and may be republished, reposted, or emailed providing the person or organization doing so does not charge for subscriptions or advertising and that the column is copied intact and that full credit is given and that Chuck’s web site address is included.

Editors or Publishers of publications charging for subscriptions or advertising who want to run these columns must contact Chuck Baldwin for permission. Radio or television Talk Show Hosts interested in scheduling an interview with Chuck should contact chuck@chuckbaldwinlive.com

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Please visit Chuck’s web site at http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com

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Gill Rapoza

Veritas Vos Liberabit

http://grapoza.blogspot.com/

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Job, Suffering, and Spiritual Warfare

Job, Suffering, and Spiritual Warfare

Part 1: The Invisible Foe

By Berit Kjos - January 2010

http://www.crossroad.to/Victory/articles/job/1-testing.htm

“...our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against . . . the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12

Back in the 1920s and 30s, Western missionaries brought the gospel to Korea. The people received it with joy and, by God’s grace, Biblical faith spread like fire. The news of their zeal spread to China, and Chinese believers came to visit and learn from them. But everything changed when the Communists took control.

By the 1950s, thousands had been killed. Torturous persecution had forced others into hiding. Near the village of Gok San, a group of 24 adults and 4 children lived underground in hand-dug tunnels. They were discovered when communist workers built a road near their tunnels. The Christians were pulled out, bound and led before a village crowd for a public “trial” and execution.

A guard told them to deny their faith in Jesus “or die.” But they refused. A communist officer then ordered the guards to seize the four children and prepare them for hanging. The frightened children clung to their parents, but the heartbroken parents comforted them with the tender assurance that “we will see you soon in heaven.”

With ropes tied around the children’s small necks, the officer again promised freedom if only the parents would deny Christ. None were willing to betray their Lord. The children were hanged. 

The officer then called for a massive steamroller and forced the adults to lie down in its path. The deadly machine soon arrived, and they were given one last chance:  “Deny this Jesus or you will be crushed.” Again they refused. They had already given up their children; there was no turning back.

As the steamroller neared its victims, the crowd heard the martyrs singing an old hymn that missionaries had taught them decades earlier: “More love, O Christ, to Thee, more love to Thee....”[1] Mingled with the chilling sounds of crushing bodies, the words of the hymn soon grew faint. But some of the secret believers in the crowd—those who remembered the hymn and the former days of freedom—now gained the courage to join in the singing:

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;

This be the parting cry my heart shall raise;

This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;

More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Notice the VISIBLE foes in this North Korean drama. They were the blinded puppets of Communism—indoctrinated in atheism and trained to hate God and His people.

Meanwhile, the INVISIBLE foes were the “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). Dedicated to the destruction of Biblical faith, they are now generally ignored in our post-modern culture. But their deadly schemes were all too familiar to the persecuted Christians in Marxist and other anti-Christian nations. As Pastor Richard Wurmbrand wrote in Tortured For Christ (1967),

“...there are no nominal, halfhearted, lukewarm Christians in Russia or China. The price Christians pay is far too great.... Communist persecution has backfired and produced serious, dedicated Christians such as are rarely seen in free lands.” 

Job, too, had to face a crushing confrontation but not because of any visible foe. His assailant was Satan himself! Job never saw the human instruments used in the battle to destroy his faith and family. Nor did he have the encouragement of God’s written Word, since his torturous test occurred long before the days of Moses[2] or the victory of the cross.

Job apparently lived slightly before (or during) the days of Abraham. His misery brings to mind the familiar questions: Why do good people suffer? Why would a loving, all-powerful God allow such pain? Job was a “righteous” man, yet he had to endure a massive loss, agonizing grief, excruciating pain, and merciless accusations from his wife and friends. Why?

We see a partial answer in the first chapter, where we meet Job and his precious family:

“There was a man in the land of Uz,[3] whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.

“And his sons would go and feast in their houses....  So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, ‘It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus Job did regularly.” Job 1:1-5

God saw Job’s faithfulness. While paganism flourished in most of the visible inhabited world, God had communicated His truth to the hearts of those who would listen. But now, during an invisible heavenly gathering of angelic beings—both good and evil—our sovereign, all-powerful God calls attention to Job:

“...there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.... Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?’”

Satan—who would love to destroy this uncompromising believer—can do nothing to Job as long as God protects him. So he challenges God to an amazing test:

“‘Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!’ 

“And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.’ So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.” Job 1:10-12

In other words, God gave Satan permission to tempt and test (and later torture) His servant Job. And Satan didn’t waste any time. A string of tragedies would soon break Job’s heart:

“Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; and a messenger came to Job and said, ‘The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabeans raided them and took them away — indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!’

“While he was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘The fire of God[4] fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants... and I alone have escaped to tell you!’

“While he was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!’

“While he was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!’

“Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’

“In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.” Job 1: 20-22 

God triumphed, and Satan was proven wrong! Job didn’t curse God! Nor did his faith weaken. Instead he worshipped God in the midst of his heartbreaking agony!

But Job’s trials and Satan’s assaults didn’t end here. In fact, Job was about to face a more subtle satanic scheme—one that sounds very similar to the assaults on Jesus two thousand years later. As Luke’s gospel tells us, “when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13) For Job, that “opportune time” was to be just around the corner.

Keep in mind, none of these plots surprise our sovereign God! Now as then, He uses Satan to fulfill His purpose: to demonstrate the victory of a righteous person who lives by faith in God and anticipates His promised eternity! History is full of such hope-filled believers! Some are listed in Hebrews 11, God’s special hall of fame:

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac... By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible....

“...the time would fail me to tell of ... David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions... out of weakness were made strong....

“Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy....” Hebrews 11:17-38

This message continues in the next chapter, Hebrews 12. It reminds us that the lives of these faithful men and women continue to shine as testimonies to God’s overcoming strength for us today. God’s righteous disciples, servants and martyrs of the past have demonstrated the kind of faith and endurance that we need now in order to follow His way and reach His goal:

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross...” Hebrews 12:1-2

Don’t expect the battles ahead to be easy. God trains His children through challenges that we can’t possibly meet apart from His Word and His strength. Evil will continue to flourish, but God can use it for ultimate good. And as we trust and follow Him, He may even use us as witnesses who demonstrate His grace and strength among broken people who long for His peace. For,

“...we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ... Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:35-37

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:16

Our two centuries of peace, freedom, and relative comfort in America may soon come to an end. But God invites us to train our minds with His Truth and our hearts to follow Him in the hard times ahead. Only by trusting Him and walking by His strength can we share in His victory. So let’s pray that He will encourage and equip us for the times ahead.

Many crowd the Savior’s Kingdom, few receive His Cross,

Many seek His consolation, few will suffer loss

For the dear sake of the Master, counting all but dross.

Many will confess His wisdom, few embrace his shame,

Many, should He smile upon them, will His praise proclaim;

Then, if for a while He leave them, they desert his Name.

But the souls who love Him truly—thrust in woe or bliss,

These will count their truest heart’s blood, not their own, but His;

Savior, Thou Who thus hast loved me, give me love like this.[5]

Author unknown.

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Notes:

1. The execution was reported in the North Korean press as an act of suppressing superstition. Various versions of this story is posted on numerous websites (without any copyright reference). Two slightly different accounts are quoted in Extreme Devotion (Voice of the Martyrs), p. 99 and Jesus Freaks (Voice of the Martyrs), p. 125. The most detailed version of can be found here. A similar, but more recent episode involving a steamroller is described in this article: Korean Reds Targeting Christians.

2. The first five chapters of the Bible were apparently organized and written as a cohesive manuscript by Moses. But archeologists have found written records that are over 4,000 years old. In 1975, Dr. Paolo Matthiae, Director of the Italian Archeological Mission in Syria, discovered “the greatest third-millennium [B.C.] archive ever unearthed.” It included “more than 15,000 cuneiform tablets and fragments” and unveiled a Semitic empire that dominated the Middle East more than four thousand years ago. Its hub was Ebla, where educated scribes filled ancient libraries with written records of history, people, places and commerce. See Archeological and historical evidence of Biblical accuracy.

3. Uz was in the area later called Edom, south of what was called Caanan. It was probably renamed when Esau and his descendant settled in Edom. When Moses led the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land, the Edomites refused to let them pass through their land. In Lamentations 4:21, we read this judgment against Edom: “O daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz! The cup shall also pass over to you, and you shall become drunk...” (Lamentations 4:21)

4. Satan who was given limited power to manipulate the forces of nature, was called the “prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2. During Job’s testing, he had permission to raise up “a great wind” (perhaps a tornado or hurricane) and “fire of God” (See Revelation 13:11-14.) He also provoked the deadly assaults by the Sabeans (apparently a nomadic tribe in Arabia, south of Uz) and the Chaldeans (east of Uz, near the Euphrates river).

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Gill Rapoza

Veritas Vos Liberabit

http://grapoza.blogspot.com/

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From Each

From Each

By Charlie Daniels

January 15, 2010

http://www.charliedaniels.com/soapbox-2010/soapbox-2010-0115.htm

“From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

Now that’s a high sounding, idealistic statement, isn’t it? For everybody to produce as much as their talent and energy will permit them and everybody to receive everything he or she needs.

Actually this is not a noble statement. It is a treacherous statement, deceiving in it’s intention and ruinous in it’s effect. These are the words of Karl Marx, and they are the very keystones of communism and socialism which have failed everywhere on earth they have been forced upon a nation’s people.

Communism discounts a man’s character, talent, desire and ambitions and rewards sloth, irresponsibility and downright laziness and is not adopted by a government for the good of the people but for control of the people.

It promotes an, “I’ll do just enough to get by, what the heck no matter how I work I’m not going to be rewarded any more than the slug down the assembly line who spends half his time in the men’s room smoking cigarettes and does lousy work” attitude.

Communism, in theory, is supposed to pull everybody up to the level of the best and the brightest, but in reality it drags the best and the brightest down to the level of the lazy and unproductive.

When the Iron Curtain finally came down across Eastern Europe and Western companies started moving into the area, the citizens were delighted, they wanted to work at places like McDonald’s to draw Western wages and there was no shortage of applicants.

They wanted the job and the salaries, but they didn’t want the work and it resulted in somewhere around a 300% turnover in help. These people had not lost the desire to make money but had, in the years under communism, lost all work ethic. Many of them wanted to sit around and read the newspaper most of the day and be given a full day’s pay.

The system they had grown up under didn’t reward work ethic or industrious attitudes, they had been conditioned to punch in every morning and spend the day doing as little as they could get by with.

After all, the government was going to take care of them from cradle to grave no matter whether they were hard workers or not. Everybody gets the same, so why work hard? There’s nothing to be gained from it.

Communism has always fostered a total dependence on a corrupt, elitist central government that eventually turns into a totalitarian monolith that dictates every facet of their lives by force, while the people in charge live in privilege and luxury in a separate “do as we say not as we do” world of their own.

In Russia, the political elite even had their own traffic lane in Moscow, reserved for them so they wouldn’t have to put up with the traffic of the common folks. This is just how far out of hand this system can get.

You see the mindset amongst the politicians taking hold already. The U. S. House of Representatives once had their own bank, which was closed due to over 8,000 bad checks written by individual members of Congress. And then there was the recent incident where a senator was so indignant that he was being instructed to get off his cell phone, like the rest of the unwashed masses in the cabin of an airplane about to leave the gate, that he called the flight attendant a derogatory term meant to refer to a female dog. The rules don’t apply to the political elite, or they believe that they shouldn’t.

You see the mindset in this country continue as the president, Senate and Congress want to force Americans on to a health care system that is so bad they have to meet behind closed doors and don’t dare let the voters know what’s in the final bill.

But the elite politicians will not have to go on this horrible health care plan, they will have their own plan where they, and their families, get to go to the front of the line and receive the best care available while you and your family will have to argue with some numbskull bureaucrat about why you shouldn’t have to wait three years to get a knee replacement.

If you’re looking for pity or compassion from this kind of government you will be bitterly disappointed. And if you’re gullible enough to think there aren’t provisions hidden in the health care bill to give bureaucrats the ability to decides who lives and who dies, you’d better think again.

It’s neither compassion nor righteousness of purpose that this government is trying to push off on us; it’s about control, power and the proliferation of power. They have it and they want to keep it, even if it means putting the nation into bankruptcy and totally wreaking the best health care system the world has ever known.

Now that’s real patriotism isn’t it, that’s real public service ain’t it?

I will admit that there are a few decent people left on Capitol Hill, but they are few and far between.

As far as I’m concerned Harry Reid should be tried for racketeering. He has perverted the system and corrupted senators with money that doesn’t belong to him and is nothing more than graft.

And I thought buying votes was against the law.

This nation is drowning in debt, everything the government has done so far to revive the economy has been a miserable failure and their ridiculous response is to do another stimulus package, which will fail even more miserably than the last.

With every vote in the Senate and the House, the United States of America sinks further down in the mire of socialism and dictatorship. Yes, I said dictatorship. That’s where the leaders do not respect the will of the people, but force their own will upon them.

This is ugly folks and getting uglier every day.

How many congressmen and senators are under investigation for crooked deals and how many of their crimes get covered up because they protect each other?

The executive branch of this government is peopled by naive, incompentent socialists, politically appointed fools, and inept pacifists while the legislative branch is as crooked as a barrel of fishhooks. A bunch of liars and self-concerned pathetic little men who have gone against their conscience so many times that they’ve probably destroyed it.

Contempt of Congress? You don’t even know the half of it.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops, and for our country

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels

© Copyright The Charlie Daniels Band

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Gill Rapoza

Veritas Vos Liberabit

http://grapoza.blogspot.com/

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