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Monday, September 23, 2013

Monday Musings

Little Johnnie had been sneaking out at night and hopping the fence to the abandoned neighborhood at the end of the LAX runway. He had been hunting down the lizards that took over after people had moved out and the big houses were removed. When he caught them he would pull their little legs off and release them. The poor creatures were on edge anytime they thought Johnnie was around. This went on for years until his family moved to Bakersfield. No one knew until now...


"From an article at Discovery News: "A bustling airport would hardly seem the place to find a new species of reclusive animal, but a team of California biologists recently found a shy new species of legless lizard living at the end of a runway at Los Angeles International Airport

What’s more, the same team discovered three additional new species of these distinctive, snake-like lizards that are also living in some inhospitable-sounding places for wildlife: at a vacant lot in downtown Bakersfield, among oil derricks in the lower San Joaquin Valley and on the margins of the Mojave desert." Here's some more information in the form of a press release from Cal State Fullerton, home to James Parham, one of the discoverers."

 We are a couple of weeks away from getting our newly designed $100 bills, and when they arrive on October 8, some will actually be worth $1,000 ... or more.

I know...lets program them as they grow up!
 The material is silent on the concept of fair use, a legal doctrine that allows for the reproduction of copyrighted works without the rights holder’s permission. Instead, students are told that using works without permission is “stealing.”

Why they are coming here in droves...
98,000 people a year die from hospital mistakes and in 2010 the Office of Inspector General for Health and Human Services said that bad hospital care contributed to the deaths of 180,000 patients in Medicare alone in a given year. Now comes a study in the current issue of the Journal of Patient Safety that says the numbers may be much higher — between 210,000 and 440,000 patients each year who go to the hospital for care suffer some type of preventable harm that contributes to their death, the study says. And why do we need the NSA again?

 "The Hill reports, 'The National Security Agency has posted a job opening for a privacy and civil liberties officer. The position was first mentioned last month, when President Obama outlined his plans to bring more transparency to the NSA surveillance programs. 
A White House press release said the agency was "taking steps to put in place a full time Civil Liberties and Privacy Officer."'

 — From the NSA job posting: 'The NSA Civil Liberties & Privacy Officer (CLPO) is conceived as a completely new role, combining the separate responsibilities of NSA's existing Civil Liberties and Privacy (CL/P) protection programs under a single official. The CLPO will serve as the primary advisor to the Director of NSA for ensuring that privacy is protected and civil liberties are maintained by all of NSA's missions, programs, policies and technologies. 

This new position is focused on the future, designed to directly enhance decision making and to ensure that CL/P protections continue to be baked into NSA's future operations, technologies, tradecraft, and policies. The NSA CLPO will consult regularly with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence CLPO, privacy and civil liberties officials from the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice, as well as other U.S. government, private sector, public advocacy groups and foreign partners. '"

Overheard from the peanut gallery:
" Somehow I feel this position will be as effective as a Racial Sensitivity and Ethics Officer aboard a Slave Ship."

" Government-owned crime syndicate needs clownish do-nothing to stand around like a deer in headlights while taking the blame for coworkers' malfeasance by virtue of a blatantly dishonest job title. Flexible hours, competitive pay and benefits."

" I nominate an adorable puppy. They will protect our civil liberties as much as whomever they decide to hire will be able to, will be more adorable than any adult human, and will work for costs significantly below minimum wage. They would probably even be good for morale within the NSA."

You gotta see this. These plants are like no other plants on our planet. Could they be remnants from Eden?


The Hot New Atheist Church ( "Hot" as in hell)


Selling the 'anointing' away...

I was on the phone today with my friend Erik. Our topic was about the apparent loss of those who were once known to be genuinely prophetic to something more pathetic.

You see, there is this one website where a lot of so called prophetic people gather to tell us their prophet 'words' and to sell us their prophetic wares. It is honestly quite discusting to see the unholy mixture on their site of merchandising and pathetic attempts to whip up a 'word from the Lord.' Seems like a fifty/fifty mixture.

I have a friend who tells the story better then I do on his blog:


Those of you who know me personally, know how outspoken I can get about these things. But I won't do it here and mess up the carpet.

Read my friends take on it and you will know just how I am feeling about this festering sore in the Body of Christ today...
It's so wrong!

This begins in the winter of 1976. I was in a grocery store, passing the magazine aisle, when my eyes fell upon a 'gossip' type newspaper titled, "Midnight". I don't typically stare at the front page of magazines or newspapers, but this one was different, because it featured a photo of Brant Baker praying for a lady in a wheelchair. I certainly knew who Brant was, so I picked up the paper and began reading the accounts of a number of physical healings that had supposedly occurred in various Shekinah Fellowship services. My eyes widened when I reached the last few paragraphs of the first column, as it told the story of the healing of a lady in the Seattle area (where I live). I will quote directly from the paper...

"Take Caren Leanderson, a 32 year old Sattle, Wash. woman facing the possibility of undergoing a hysterectomy. Two Pap tests to detect cancer in women came up positive and Caren's doctor had little doubt s he was in the early stages of cancer. He scheduled more tests and said she would probably have to undergo surgery. One night, as her husband Roy prayed, he felt 'a special presence of the Holy Spirit' and knew the Lord was going to touch his wife.

They looked forward to Brant's services at their church. 'The second evening of the services, I went forward for prayer fully believing I would be healed', said Caren. "And as Brant prayed for me, the power of God came upon me'. Caren returned to her doctor confident she had been healed. Further tests proved negative, and there was no need for surgery." .....

Well, I bought the paper and read all of the fascinating accounts of the physical healngs that had occurred in a number of Brant's services. I kept the paper for future reference....

Fast-forward to 1985, nine years after the article was written. I'd just received word that Brant Baker had recently passed away. In the midst of my sorrow, I suddenly remembered the article and found the paper.

The next day I looked in the phone book for Caren Leanderson, the Seattle woman who'd been healed years before. I found the number and called. Her mother answered the phone. Caren was on vacation with her husband at the time, but when I asked her mother if Caren had really had cancer and been healed, she replied, "Oh, yes. And test showed the cancer was gone and never returned. She's perfectly healthy after all these years." We talked on for a few minutes. She was saddened to hear of Brant's death, but was thankful for the way God had used him....

You know, it's funny- I never thought there was much truth in those kind of 'newspapers', but that particular one contained a wonderful story of a woman healed of female cancer by the power of God, and her own mother confirmed it to me some nine years later! How 'bout that?

(pastor Jim Ewing)

Christianity as a "RELIGION"

It seems to me that Jesus taught the best sermon was the one that is lived, not spoken. The world and many within "the church" see Christianity as a "RELIGION", and although you can look at it from that perspective, the "real" Christianity is a life-style that is rooted in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; not adherence to a code of laws as was the case in the Old Testament.

The best way to witness is to live what you believe, and be familiar enough with God's Word so that you can show anyone who asks about the "difference" that they see in you. It is not enough to simply tell someone what you believe based upon what you have heard someone else say; a Sunday School teacher, a Pastor, and Evangelist, a friend, etc. I dare say that most church members would be hard pressed to provide Scripture references for their beliefs, let alone be able to explain the plan of salvation or other basic doctrines of the Christian faith.

To compound the problem there are the differences in denominations that all claim the Bible to be the inspired Word of God and their basis for faith and practice (or at least part of the basis for their faith and practice), yet their interpretations vary widely, even within a denomination. No one in their own power can "tell" anyone else what the Word of God says, nor does anyone have a mandate from God to do so.

It is our job to be prayed and studied up such that we can be empowered by the Holy Spirit in all humility to be the "light" and testimony for Jesus Christ, especially within our own families; because that is the hardest place to maintain our testimony; with those who see us, not at our "Sunday" best, but as we truly are: sinners saved by grace.

Pray for your family members. Read and study God's Word so that you will be equipped to explain not only what the Bible says, but what it doesn't say, which is sometimes far more important. Make sure that your life is right with God and that your "light" is shining brightly. And most of all, wait upon the Lord to provide you with the right time and place to share your faith, your beliefs, and your understandings; always ready, willing, and able to listen to the questions and objections that someone else may raise about your faith, the Bible, Christianity, etc.

There are plenty of people out there who have been misinformed about what it truly means to be "Christian"; about what the Bible says and teaches; about the relationship of Christianity to other world religions. God tells us in His Word to develop the Christian characteristics of love, humility, patience, mercy, etc., the very characteristics of Jesus' life. His Holy Spirit will take what feeble attempts we make as a testimony and witness, and honor them with the fruit that sometimes we are all too often so impatient to harvest.

Author:
Daniel Hopkinson

Have a great day!
Dave


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