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  • John T. Polk II 4:00 am on May 3, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , fortress, , government, , , , , , , , refuge, Rock, , , unhappiness,   

    Psalm 144 How To Live In A Happy State 

     This Psalm of David shows why God saw David as “a man after My own heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22). This Psalm is from a heart that knows what God’s grace and mercy is all about!

    Verses 1-2 acknowledge who is with David on his throne over Israel;

    Verses 3-4 recognize how short the rule of a man is compared to God’s reign;

    Verses 5-10 show who really deserves praise for victory over enemies;

    Verses 11-15 summarize where a nation’s blessings and strengths come from.

    Verses 1-2: “The LORD” was David’s “Rock” not a castle. God guided David’s conquests; God showed what “lovingkindness” was like in between battles; David’s “fortress” (protective dwelling), “high tower” (lofty position above the enemy), “shield” (protection against soldiers’ attacks) and “refuge” (safe haven), were all in God. Thus if David’s “people” didn’t obey God, David wouldn’t be king of a nation! Would that Governments recognized this today (John 19:10-11)!

    Verses 3-4: “What is man” is the question David asks that shows great humility (Psalm 8:4). What makes us think we are so important that God would notice us? We are important not because of what we have done, but what God has done (Hebrews 2:17-18)! We do not live long enough to be impressive (James 4:13-15).

    Verses 5-10: God, however, is so impressive that He can “come down” over the Earth; make mountains smoke; use lightning strikes; all as weapons of war “from above.” It is God “from above” who “rescues” the righteous from a flood of “foreigners” hurling “lying words” and lying handshakes.  Those who serve God cannot expect those who do not to be following the same rules in the same way! Christian behavior is not universal, but should be (Ephesians 5:1-17)! It is God who deserves praise for our salvation and daily life. The “harp of ten strings” was an instrument of David (1 Chronicles 23:5) which appealed to the spiritually lazy (Amos 6:3-7) and was condemned. No man-made musical instrument was authorized by Moses’ Law.

    Verses 11-15: It would be by God’s rescue that the Nation of Israel would have: sturdy “sons” and “daughters;” plentiful “produce” and “sheep” and “oxen;” and no external raids nor internal struggles. A nation of people who respect God, will have “sons” who mature like plants and know their work to be done; “daughters” who accept their role of “pillars” as wife and mother; “produce” for people who know how to save for the next crop; fertile “sheep;” “oxen” useful for burdens; peaceful living without disruptiveness. Truly such a nation is “happy,” for “Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!” The plague of America is unhappiness, and it has become pandemic because people do not have the LORD God. “Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:1-3). “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (1 John 5:11). “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). DO YOU KNOW GOD?

    All Scriptures and comments are based upon the New King James Version, unless otherwise noted.

     
  • Richard Mansel 9:09 pm on May 2, 2013 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , government,   

    Dear Government… 

    clock77967

     

    What if you spent as much time working on the economy as you did promoting homosexuality….

     
  • John T. Polk II 4:59 am on October 31, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , government   

    Psalm 33 

    Vs. 1-5a show happiness centers on God;

    Vs. 5b-9 credit God with creating the Earth so remarkably;

    Vs. 10-17 remind the “higher powers” that there is “The Highest Power;”

    Vs. 18-22 show God’s pleasure in “those who fear Him.”

    “Praise from the upright is beautiful” when rightly done. “Making melody” with “the harp” or “instrument of ten strings” has been replaced among Christians with “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). David introduced musical instruments into worship by his own authority (1 Chronicles 15:16) and God authorized none of them among Christians. David’s “harp” has been changed to “heart.” To sing “a new song” adds life to worship, not same old ritualistic repetitions. On the Earth, ALL “right,” “truth,” “righteousness,” “justice” is because of God, so that: “The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.”

    The earth is full of the Creative Genius of the LORD, as well. Verses 6-9 capsulize Genesis, chapter 1. God (Hebrew, Elohim) created it from nothing (Genesis 1:1), using only His “word” (later known as Jesus, Hebrews 1:1-2), “breath of His mouth” (The Holy Spirit, Genesis 1:2), and therefore everyone living on God’s world should “stand in awe of Him.” The terms (1) “made,” (2) “gathers,” and (3)“stood fast” show (1) the Creation from nothing, (2) design and orderliness, and (3) scientific law controlling it, respectively. The only adequate, truly scientific, and humbling explanation of “the heavens and the earth” is written in God’s autobiographical book, The Bible! The marvels of Creation are not to be worshiped, but should cause all scientific studies to point to the Creator!

    Verses 10-17 explain why mankind has not devised a workable plan for living on God’s earth without acknowledging God! The “alphabet powers” (U.N., U.S., U.K., U.A.R., U.S.S.R., E.U., NYSE, WTO), or “short named powers” (Nazism, Marxism, Islam-ism, ad infinitum), fall short of world domination because “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Daniel 4:32). There is no “governing authority” unless it is “ordained of God” (Romans 13:1-2). Psalm 33:12 gives the reason America (like nations before) has fallen on hard times, for its Government has banned God, Jesus Christ, Bible, and Christianity from its public assemblies, public education, public knowledge, thereby making God its enemy! Since “No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength” (Psalm 33:16), the American boast that it has “the strongest military on earth” becomes nothing more than false bravado. A return to God in Government circles is the only remedy. “Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

    Godless Government doesn’t keep the country going, for “the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy” (Psalm 33:18). God keeps them alive and helps them through famine, therefore God is to be praised, NOT Government! “Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.”

    All Scriptures and comments are based upon the New King James Version, unless otherwise noted.

     
  • Mike Riley 8:12 pm on November 5, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: government, incident, instigate, , , plot, , , , , , response,   

    Caving In Under Pressure 

    The incident I’m thinking about is found in John 11:41-48 regarding the religious leaders’ (chief priests & Pharisees) response after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. When they heard the news of his resurrection, they instigated a plot to kill Jesus (John 11:49-53).

    They caved in under the pressure of praise and popularity, being afraid of loosing their position of power and wealth within the Roman government.

    They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God (John 12:42-43).

    Men have not changed this manner of thinking in the 21st Century. Most still love the praise of men more than the praise of God.

    This is a dangerous state to be found in (Acts 12:20-23).

     
  • Mike Riley 10:37 pm on October 6, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: accountable, , , , , , , government, , hiring, , , , ripe,   

    Another Possible Government Takeover 

    Christian Post columnist, Dr. Tony Beam, reports that “the Federal Government sees business in America as a target rich environment ripe for takeover.”

    http://www.christianpost.com/article/20101006/the-govt-goes-after-private-higher-education/

    If it succeeds, the State could stop the preaching of the gospel and force private church-run schools to abandon Christian principles in hiring, plus change the way these schools hold students accountable to Scriptural principles.

    Brethren, if this happens, our freedom of religion, i.e., to worship as the New Testament directs, will be in grave danger.

     
    • Robert Floyd 7:19 am on October 7, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      How will we preach the Gospel without Christian colleges? Imagine the 1st Century church trying to spread the message without college trained preachers and missionaries. How could the church possibly have grown? Oh, wait…

      • Richard Mansel 7:33 am on October 7, 2010 Permalink | Reply

        Robert, getting an education in a Christian college to prepare you to preach the gospel is not inherently evil. It is how they handle it and what they do with the education that is the determining factor. Of course, you can preach without it, but training is always useful.

    • Robert Floyd 9:00 am on October 7, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      I don’t want to suggest preaching degrees are wrong. However, I am concerned that we have a mindset that says that’s the only/best way to train ministers. What happened to the mentoring system Paul used so successfully in the 1st Century (II Tim. 2:2)? I have no problem with Christian colleges (my daughter went to Harding): I have a problem with the idea that, without them, we can’t do the Lord’s work.

      As for “the State could stop the preaching of the gospel,” that’s nonsense. If we are at the point where we allow a decree of the State to shut down the proclamation of the gospel, we have truly lost our way. “We must obey God rather than man.” The outlawing of Christianity in 1st Century Rome didn’t slow down the spread of the gospel. Have we become so at ease that we fear having to choose between God and country? Perhaps we’ve forgotten that our citizenship is in Heaven and that we are strangers and pilgrims on this earth.

  • Mike Riley 1:02 am on May 31, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , government, , omnipresent, potent,   

    Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches people by example. If the government becomes the law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law and invites every man to become a law unto himself.

    Louis Brandeis, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1856-1941)
     
  • Mike Riley 7:34 pm on March 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , government, inefficiency, ,   

    Here Is Our Efficient? Government In Action 

    Conservative syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin has posted a received e-mail from a US census worker. This is how our government is a government of waste and inefficiency:

    http://michellemalkin.com/2010/03/30/e-mail-of-the-day-confessions-of-a-census-worker/

    Additionally, I can personally attest to the inefficiency and waste of our local school district here in El Paso. It’s a sad state of affairs, to say the least. In my view, term limitations are in order for all elected officials.

     
  • Mike Riley 4:34 am on February 8, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , government   

    We demand entire freedom of action and then expect the government in some miraculous way to save us from the consequences of our own acts…. Self-government means self-reliance.

    Calvin Coolidge, 30th U.S. president (1872-1933)
     
    • Randal Matheny 10:41 am on February 8, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Terrific quote, Mike. How human that people want their cake and want to eat it, too!

  • Mike Riley 3:38 pm on January 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , government, ,   

    What is the State of the Brotherhood? It’s in a state better than our country is in – but not much better. Just as in government, we have “liberals” in the church that continue to present various teachings, not in accord with the New Testament.

    There are churches of Christ who so want to be like the denominations round about them, that they’ll sacrifice Bible truth in order to engage in their unauthorized practices (1 Samuel 8:19-20; Colossians 3:17). However, this should be no surprise to us today, because Paul and Peter predicted this would occur (Acts 20:29-31; cf. 2 Peter 2:1-3).

     
  • mtmcvb 12:15 am on December 27, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: government, heritage, , ,   

    “Let the American youth never forget, that they possess a noble inheritance, bought by the toils, and sufferings, and blood of their ancestors; and capacity, if wisely improved, and faithfully guarded, of transmitting to their latest posterity all the substantial blessings of life, the peaceful enjoyment of liberty, property, religion, and independence.” –Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution, 1833 In much of the above we could apply it to our spiritual citizenship.

    Citation
     
  • mtmcvb 2:01 pm on December 8, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , government,   

    A child was taken away from its family and given to the Mother’s former lesbian lover.

     
  • mtmcvb 2:00 pm on December 8, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: government, Jefferson,   

    “We are firmly convinced, and we act on that conviction, that with nations as with individuals our interests soundly calculated will ever be found inseparable from our moral duties, and history bears witness to the fact that a just nation is trusted on its word when recourse is had to armaments and wars to bridle others.” –Thomas Jefferson, Second Inaugural Address, 1805

    Citation
     
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