Friday, July 31, 2015
Friday Facinorous Factualism
From the Fox Mulder files:
Debunking the Chemtrail Debunkers
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The wealthy investors are building agenda 21"rack-em-and-stack-em" units all over Southern California.
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High tower cranes and operators from other states have been brought in because so many of these units are being built all over California.
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(If You live in Southern California, drive around your city and you will see these units going up all over.)
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There are not enough people to lease or buy into these completed units.
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So what are these powerful investors doing to get the needed occupancy rates?
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Here is one guy who describes some stuff that just might fit into the scheme to get a migration of Americans to these rack-em-and-stack-em" areas.
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China bought into the stack-em-and-rack-em and they can't get anyone to buy them or even live in them.
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So what do the wealthy investors in America's rack-em-and-stack-em do to get people to migrate to their investments?
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Scare Americans out of whole areas by making it seem dangerous to remain there and make it look as if the rack-em-and-stack-em areas are safe.
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"The truth is out there."
Fox Mulder
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Thursday, July 30, 2015
Thursday Teleonomy Tediferous
PureOS,
which is a Debian derivative by way of Ubuntu and other members of the
Debian-derivative family, but with no taint of proprietary code. Now
imagine all the binaries stripped out of the Linux kernel, making it
closer to the FSF ideal of a 100% free operating system than the Linux
kernel in use almost everywhere else.
Purism uses its own OS,
They're still using a proprietary BIOS, but have people working on a Free one. The main thing, though, is that Purism is working to give you all the privacy and freedom they can -- with more coming as they keep working to replace proprietary bits of the OS, BIOS, and hardware drivers with Free Software. Best of all, even if you don't need a new laptop right now, you can download PureOS and run it on any compatible hardware you already own.
***
It appears that MS has significantly botched their deployment of Windows 10.
I suppose we shouldn't be surprised, even though hope springs eternal. Since there are so many issues involved, and MS is very aggressively pushing this upgrade, I'm going to run through key points here quickly, and reference other sites' pages that can give you more information right now.
But here's my executive summary:
You may want to think twice, or three times, or many more times, about whether or not you wish to accept the Windows 10 free upgrade on your existing Windows 7 or 8/8.1 system.(Lauren Wienstein)
***
The greed of the oil companies here in California is shooting themselves in the foot.
More and more peope are buying electric cars or hybrids.
My wife's Pruis gets on the average 43 miles to the gallon of gas.
Geoff Ralston has an interesting essay explaining why is likely that electric car penetration in the US will take off at an exponential rate over the next 5-10 years rendering laughable the paltry predictions of future electric car sales being made today.
Present projections assume that electric car sales will slowly increase as the technology gets marginally better, and as more and more customers choose to forsake a better product (the gasoline car) for a worse, yet "greener" version.
According to Ralston this view of the future is, simply, wrong. — electric cars will take over our roads because consumers will demand them.
"Electric cars will be better than any alternative, including the loud, inconvenient, gas-powered jalopy," says Ralston.
"The Tesla Model S has demonstrated that a well made, well designed electric car is far superior to anything else on the road. This has changed everything."
The Tesla Model S has sold so well because, compared to old-fashioned gasoline cars it is more fun to drive, quieter, always "full" every morning, more roomy, and it continuously gets better with automatic updates and software improvements.
According to Ralston the tipping point will come when gas stations, not a massively profitable business, start to go out of business as many more electric cars are sold, making gasoline powered vehicles even more inconvenient.
When that happens even more gasoline car owners will be convinced to switch.
Rapidly a tipping point will be reached, at which point finding a convenient gas station will be nearly impossible and owning a gasoline powered car will positively suck.
"Elon Musk has ushered in the age of the electric car, and whether or not it, too, was inevitable, it has certainly begun," concludes Ralston.
"The future of automotive transportation is an electric one and you can expect that future to be here soon."
***
English cities are hard up for cash as the national government dolls out cuts. And in response, the country's councils — local governing bodies — have slashed costs by turning off an estimated 750,000 streetlights.
Fans of the night sky and reduced energy usage are happy, but the move has also sparked a national debate. The Automobile Association claims six people have died as a direct result of dimming the lights.
But a new study released Wednesday looked at 14 years of data from 63 local authorities across England and Wales and found that residents' chances of being attacked, robbed, or struck by a car were no worse on the darker streets.
***
You're in a dark basement reading this article by the glow of your computer screen. Your family dog is making unsettling noises as your mom cooks upstairs. You're still living at home, but fear not, you're not alone. It turns out that more and more young adults share your same fate despite an improving economy. Pew looks deeper into the phenomenon.
***
Are you still using Windows 7 because you were
afraid to update to the dumpster-fire that was Windows 8?
You know, the
Windows 8 with the weird colored-rectangle grid, the Windows 8 that was
so loathed that Microsoft up and skipped version 9 and went straight to
version 10?
Well, Windows 10 dropped yesterday — should you put it on (in?) your computer?
***
Rubber Ducky Your The One That Makes My Bathtime So Much Fun.
***
***
There they found about a dozen yellow school buses parked in a barn.
Inside an unlocked office, Gibson and his friends found keys hanging on a door.
They checked the numbers on the keys and matched them to the buses.
It took about a half hour to find a bus that would start. Orleans Parish school bus No. 0232 had been left behind with a full tank of gas.
A small time drug dealer rescued dozens during Katrina when no one else was helping.
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Windows "Start Button."
Windows 3.1 was so complicated that even a Boeing propulsion
scientist couldn't figure out how to open a word processor. A behavioral scientist, who once worked with BF Skinner at Harvard, was brought in to Microsoft to figure out what was going wrong — and he came up with the Start button, for which he holds the patent today.
It's a weird and cool look at how simple ideas aren't obvious.
O How We Love Him
Love The Lord
We as believers have got to understand the importance of yielding our
minds to the will of God, both in terms of allowing Him to use us as He
wills, and of simple obedience to the Lord on a day-to-day basis.Now, I'm not referring to any sort of legalism here- I've both seen, and been a victim of that for so many years that I get sick to my stomach at the mere thought of it.....
What I DO want to deal with here is our daily walk with Christ- in the power of the Holy Spirit.
If we have problems in this area, it will be difficult to yield our members to Him in order to be used of Him in any significant way.
Read the 119th psalm.
David is so desirous of fully following the law of God- verses 35 through 37 read, "MAKE me to go in the path of Thy commandments; for therein do I delight. INCLINE my heart unto Thy testimonies, and NOT to covetousness.
TURN AWAY mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken Thou me in Thy way."
David both craves the Presence and the law of God, and knows just how prone he is, left to his own devices, to wander from the God he so dearly loves.Re-read those words, "MAKE, INCLINE, TURN AWAY"...
He is asking- beseeching the Lord to cause him to look to Him, for he knows what a rascal he is in the flesh, despite God referring to him as "a man after Mine own heart".
This is something we must all learn, if we wish to be used of God- our utter helplesness, and the Lord's all-sufficiency.
Years ago, Phil Keaggy wrote and sang a song-( I don't remember the title, but) it contained the words, "I never had a selfless thought since I was born."
When I first heard those lyrics, I thought to myself, "Finally- here's a believer that I can relate to, someone who knows the kind of struggles I go through!" .....
Realizing the importance of looking to Him, and not ourselves, on a daily basis, is so important because we tend, as David knew, to go our own way.
When we follow OUR will, we quickly get into trouble because we're naturally attracted to the things of the world (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life), and its pull is far too powerful for any person to resist.
God knows that our ONLY hope is trusting and depending upon Him, and that's what obedience to Him is.
Once we begin to understand and walk in that truth, God can freely use us by His Spirit as He wills, and isn't that what we all desire in our heart of hearts?
May He bring us all to that place!
God bless you.
pastor Jim Ewing
Don't Pee Here We Will Pee Back
San Francisco is testing an ultra-water-repellant paint on walls in areas fraught with public urination problems.
The paint is designed to repel the urine and soil the offender's pants.
"It's supposed to, when people urinate, bounce back and hit them on the pants and get them wet. Hopefully that will discourage them.
We will put a sign to give them a heads up," said Mohammad Nuru, director of the San Francisco public works.
Signs posted there warn, "Do not pee here! We pee back!"
...but it's not all good news
However there are serious concerns that some nano particles may have a detrimental effect on the environment if allowed in any significant quantities into the waste streams, onto the land or into the sea.Respiratory ailments will increase as nano particles are released into the environment.
Already they have a name for this calling it COPD.
Nano technology will increase human mortality.
There is growing concern about the unregulated usage of nano particles in products.
NANOTECHNOLOGY
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Hundreds of nanotechnology applications are already in commercial production despite a huge health and safety question mark. Hazards looks at how an industry the safety authorities admit they know precious little about has been allowed to grow, unregulated, into the biggest thing since the microchip.
https://www.osha.gov/dsg/nanotechnology/nanotech_healtheffects.html
http://www.medicaldevicedaily.com/servlet/com.accumedia.web.Dispatcher?next=T09536_7168
https://osha.europa.eu/en/tools-and-publications/publications/literature_reviews/workplace_exposure_to_nanoparticles
Trickle Down Theory Is Stinking Hogwash!
Wealth doesn't trickle down- it just floods offshore, research reveals...
The loss to society by tax evasion and corporate crime by some of the wealthiest multinational companies and individuals is enormous.
A far-reaching new study suggests a staggering 21tn in assets has been lost to global tax havens.
If taxed, that could have been enough to put parts of Africa back on its feet- and even solve the euro crisis.
Global Elites Are Hiding More Than $4.5 Trillion In Tax Havens
Inside the Global Offshore Money Maze
http://www.taxjustice.net/blog/
World's Best Tax Havens
Java script and flash binary clocks because we geeks like it
Java Script:
http://www.glassgiant.com/geek/binaryclock/binclock.phphttp://
Flash:
www.glassgiant.com/geek/binaryclock/binary_clock_flash.swf
How to read a binary clock
Impress your friends by putting a binary clock on your desk. You can read it in two modes using these simple steps.
Get a real binary clock here :-)
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
A world-famous chemist tells the truth: there’s no scientist alive today who understands macroevolution
On Professor Tour’s Website, there’s a very revealing article on evolution and creation, in which Tour bluntly states that he does not understand how macroevolution could have happened, from a chemical standpoint...
Professor James M. Tour is one of the ten most cited chemists in the world.
He is famous for his work on nanocars (pictured above, courtesy of Wikipedia), nanoelectronics, graphene nanostructures, carbon nanovectors in medicine, and green carbon research for enhanced oil recovery and environmentally friendly oil and gas extraction.
He is currently a Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Computer Science, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Rice University.
He has authored or co-authored 489 scientific publications and his name is on 36 patents.
Although he does not regard himself as an Intelligent Design theorist, Professor Tour, along with over 700 other scientists, took the courageous step back in 2001 of signing the Discovery Institute’s “A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism”, which read:
“We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life.
Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.”
Macroevolution, microevolution and chemistry: the devil is in the details
God Loves You
Firstly, let's understand that it is God who is the initiator in His love for us: John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..."He loved and therefore He gave.
He proved His unfathomable love to us by giving that which was most precious to Him, His own Son, and by giving Him up to die a humiliating and painful death, by crucifixion on a Roman cross, for us- lost, pitiful, sinful mankind.
We couldn't even approach God if HE hadn't taken the initiative to reach down to us: John 6:44 "No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him" ...
Of course, the resurrection follows the crucifixion, and therefore not only are our sins forgiven, but we now have new life- ETERNAL life.
Praise God, that's the only kind of life He gives- the eternal kind! He never leaves anything incomplete, never goes only part-way, but always extends His full and complete love toward us, His people.
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We are the objects of that incredible love.
Amazing as all of that is, it doesn't end there. You see, we also get to love Him back!
The love that the Christian has for God is God-given and is just as wonderful as His love for us, which leads me to the second point.
While God initiates this love toward us, we need to respond to that love.
We can either close up our hearts and live in a self-centered manner (and we see far too many believers that choose to live in that condition), or we can let His love pour over our souls in such a manner that we can't help but want to return it to Him over and over again in a continual act of worship- and this is exactly as the Lord intended for it to be with ALL of His children.
Unfortunately, if we don't cultivate that relationship, we develop a certain hardness of heart over time. Other believers can often see it in us, because the joy of the Lord is hard to hide, and so is a stony heart.
Since God only wants a living, PASSIONATE relationship with ALL of us, it sometimes becomes necessary for God to break through the layers of apathy, laziness, and dissatisfaction that cover this once adoring heart.
Just how He does it will vary with the individual, but be sure that, just as He never goes only part-way with us, He does not want us to to go only part-way with Him- ever!
All that any believer who finds his or her self in this condition has to do is simply look up, and in faith say, "Lord Jesus, bring back the passion, love and devotion I once had for You, and remove from my life the things which hinder that love." He is not only able to do so, He longs to do so!
HE is the iniatiator, we are the responders. He first loved us, and nothing pleases Him more than His beloved children returning that love!
God Bless You.
Pastor Jim Ewing
Staying In The Groove
Don't take the bait
Bait of SatanTaking offense can trap you.
Learn how to not be ensnared in victim mentality and walk in forgiveness.
Satan is laying traps for you, and his most deceptive snare is attacks on your person.
Learn how to respond to hurts and insults in a godly way.
OFFENSE
(OFFENSE) 1. skandalon ^4625^ originally was "the name of the part of a trap to which the bait is attached, hence, the trap or snare itself. "
In NT skandalon is always used metaphorically, and ordinarily of anything that arouses prejudice, or becomes a hindrance to others, or causes them to fall by the way. Sometimes the hindrance is in itself good, and those stumbled by it are the wicked.
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
(Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
The Readers Digest Universal Dictionary defines " to take offence" as a) to become angered, b) displeased, c) resentful, d) even to feel hurt. " To offend as to a) create or excite anger, b) resentment or annoyance, c) or hurt the feelings of, d) to be displeasing or disagreeable to.
Have you been trapped?
This book exposes one of Satan's most deceptive snares used to pull believers out of God's will. It is the trap of offense.
Jesus said, "It is impossible that offenses will not come" (Luke 17:1).
Nevertheless, most people who are ensnared by the bait of Satan don't even realize it.
So don't be fooled!
You Will encounter offense, and it's up to you how you're going to let it affect your relationship with God.
Your response will determine your future.
You can be delivered from the bait of Satan, stay free from offense and escape the victim mentality.
Don't let another's sin or mistake affect your relationship with God!
Contents:1. Me, Offended
2. Massive Offensive
3. How Could This Happen to Me
4. My Father, My Father!
5. How Spiritual Vagabonds Are Born
6. Hiding From Reality
7. The Sure Foundation
8. All That Can Be Shaken Will Be Shaken
9. The Rock of Offence
10. Lest We Offend Them
11. Forgiveness: You Don't Give - You Don't Get
12. Revenge: The Trap
13. Escaping the Trap
14. Objective: Reconciliation
Many who were involved with Shekinah Fellowship left because they were offended.
Some were harshly treated and wrongly accused.
When offense comes upon us we must deal with it or become ensnared. If ensnared, and not properly dealt with, the offense leads to bitterness.
Bitterness destroys.
Hebrews 12:15
Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;
Ever run across people who have been offended and have not forgiven the offender?
There is such bitterness towards the offender.
Paul tells us that it is a 'root' of bitterness that springs up and causes trouble.
The net result is that many become 'defiled' by it.
John Bevere goes into depth with this topic in his excellent book.
I am not pitching his book, that is not my intention here.
I do regard his book as a resource that covers the ground with grace to counter the roots of bitterness.
If anyone were to look deep within their soul and honestly assess that they have not released the offender by which offense entered their life, they may, by the grace of God, realize that they have roots of bitterness choking out blessing.
John takes the reader through, in detail, how offense can occur and what to do about it from a biblical perspective.
I am talking to you and you know it!
You are in a position of unforgiveness towards someone or others.
Matthew 5:23-24
Anger and Reconciliation
…22"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
23"Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.…
The blood of Jesus covers every sin and washes us clean.
Repent at the cross of Christ and forgive one another as Christ has forgiven us.
John 13:34-35
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another.As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
So Why Do I Want Windows Ten?
Most people use their computer mainly for internet access.
Therefore windows ten comes with a whole new faster browser experiece.
Built from the ground up.
Windows 10 launches today and with it comes a whole new browser, Microsoft Edge.
You can still use Internet Explorer if you want, but it's not the default.
IE turns 20 in less than a month, which is ancient in internet years, so it's not surprising that Microsoft is shoving it aside.
Still, leaving behind IE and launching a new browser built from the ground up marks the end of an era for Microsoft.
“Knowing that browsing is still one of the very top activities that people do on a PC, we knew there was an opportunity, and really an obligation, to push the web browsing experience and so that’s what we’ve done with Microsoft Edge," Drew DeBruyne, director of program management at Microsoft told VentureBeat.
Everything Computer Is About To Get Faster Than You Can Imagine
The next big thing has arrived finally.
Intel and Micron unveiled a novel new kind of non-volatile data storage device during a press conference on Tuesday.
The chips, dubbed "3D XPoint" (pronounced "cross-point"), are being touted as the first new class of "mainstream memory" to hit the market since 1989.
These new chips could soon speed up everything from cell phones and SSD laptops to genomic sequencers and supercomputers.
Go To Windows Update For Your Updates To Get Ready For Your Free Windows Ten
Today Microsoft officially released Windows 10 in 190 countries as a free upgrade for anyone with Windows 7 or later.
The annoying hot corners in Windows 8 have been removed — thank God.Reviews of the operating system generally consider it an improvement over Windows 8.1, despite launch-day bugs. Peter Bright writes, "Windows 8 felt unfinished, but it was an unfinished thought
Windows 10 feels unfinished, but in a different way. The concept of the operating system is a great deal better than its predecessor.
It's better in fact than all of its predecessors. ...
For all my gripes, it's the right idea, and it's implemented in more or less the right way.
But I think it's also buggier than Windows 8.1, 8, 7, or Vista were on their respective launch days."
Tom Warren draws similar conclusions:
"During my testing on a variety of hardware, I've run into a lot of bugs and issues — even with the version that will be released to consumers on launch day. ...
Everything about Windows 10 feels like a new approach for Microsoft, and I'm confident these early bugs and issues will be addressed fairly quickly."
(Full review here)
The Story Of Windows Ten From Inside Microsoft
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
I Am Always With You
Matthew 28:20 "...and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
Amen.
Beloved of the Lord, I am about to delve into a subject that few believers even ponder, yet we all know the reality of it.
I can remember listening to a taped recording of the rev. R. Brant Baker, original pastor of Shekinah Fellowship, just over thirty years ago as he said very simply, "We forget that Jesus is always with us...".
Now, those words were so elementary, so simple, weren't they? I'm sure that they got a few 'amen's from the congregation to whom he was speaking at the time, but they caught my own attention to the point that my mind was absolutely fixed, as it were, on those words, and despite the fact that his message continued on, I could only keep hearing those words over and over again, "We forget that Jesus is always with us."
The reality of it all hit me that night- It is an absolute spiritual fact that our Savior is with us always...every moment of the day and night, and that fact will continue to be so until we either breathe our last and then die, or He returns to the earth, abolishing the ugly spectacle of death once and for all....
Did you just feel your spirit jump within you as you read those words?
Christian, this is a fact which can never be taken from the believer, and it is as real as the cross of Christ and His resurrection from the dead!
If you are in Christ, then His Presence never leaves you. '
Hebrews 13:5 says,"I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
This fact was very real to the early, persecuted Church- real enough that they were willing to die for their testimony of the Beloved Savior.
We've forgotten that, haven't we?
We have gotten so comfortable in our faith that we forget that many of those who went on before us suffered greatly for the Gospel 's sake, even to the point of death, but they were never dissuaded from the truth that their Lord was WITH them unto the very end of their earthly existence, because they knew that His Presence was a fact, not as a principle, but as a total reality, one that they GLADLY staked their very lives upon.....
Jesus, when He was teaching His disciples, did not speak from the position of doctrine (we believers disagree on much of what we call doctrine, don't we?), rather, He spoke TRUTH, and He never spoke anything BUT the truth. He always lived the truth, and in fact, He WAS and IS the Truth- John 14:6- "I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life..."
His very Presence, just after telling Peter to "launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught" following an unsuccessful night of fishing, was enough to prompt the fisherman to entreat Him, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." (Luke 5:8)...
My point in all of this is that we as believers must see that, regardless of what we endure, no matter what or how we may feel at the present time (and times may indeed be extremely rough), He is, in absolute reality, our constant Companion.
We needn't try to imagine that this is so, we mustn't merely hope that it's true, we must recon it so, and act upon that fact- FACT. As we do this, He will burn the reality of His Presence deep within our souls.
It will never be because we try to 'visualize' it, it cannot be because we wish it into being, or because we believe that we've been good and faithful to Him.
He is with us always, because He said He would be, and He is faithful to His Word, and to His people.....
Believe Him, move in that truth, Christian, and you will never be satisfied with 'wishin' and hoping'' ever again.
You have His word on it!
En Agape,
Pastor Jim Ewing
God's Love
The loving person does not remain aloof from life.
The loving person is not disengaged or protected from the brutal realities of this life.
The loving disciple can never neglect the plight of the poor, the weak and the broken.
Rather, God’s love reaches out to us wherever we are.
The children of God who have been grasped by this love, like Jesus, invest themselves in the lives of broken and wounded people.
People who are shaped by this kind of love are willing to get their hands dirty in the service of others in God’s world, as Jesus did.
http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20090807/NEWS/908079960?Title=Christians-should-want-to-serve
Where Are The Prophets?
I’ve been wondering lately, where are the prophets?
Are there any real prophets cut from the same cloth of an Elijah who confounded the evil King Ahab or a John the Baptist who called out the sins of Herod?
Are there any among the fundamentally conservative or the progressively liberal wings of Christianity who are willing to break political ranks and speak truth to power?
Solutions to complex issues like war, poverty, healthcare and environmental deterioration will require greater vision than what is currently possessed by those in power and those seeking to replace them. Our nation stands in great need of the truly prophetic.
The populace of American Christianity is generally polarized along the same fault lines as the two political parties who seek to gain the blessing and endorsement of the faithful.
Tepid partisan clergy ranging from conservative to liberal on the theological spectrum has generally displaced the prophetic mantle in the public forums of our time.
Much of the upper tier conservative clerics still offer their carte blanche blessings to a political party and president whose values and policies have grossly distorted the Christian image to the rest of the world.
The progressive wing of Christianity offers a similar endorsement of the entire platform of the other party.
Where is the prophet like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who fearlessly advocated against war and for social justice in the face of both Republican and Democratic leaders and the Church?
I have a question for those recognized as prophets by the theological left and right.
Are there points on the platform of your chosen political party that falls short of mercy and justice?
If so, then please show some genuine prophetic authenticity and offer divine public correction to these issues.
You could help change the errant course we travel as a nation.
Our national leaders on the left and right apparently possess no map and have lost their compass.
They desperately need prophetic help in the realms of vision and accountability.
They do not need your blanket endorsements.
Many conservative and liberal clerics alike have become nothing more than pathetic lap dogs for the two political parties and the special interests they represent.
Citizens entering voting booths must make their choices based on their individual conscience, but how can true prophets publicly endorse a single political party when both are corrupt?
Shouldn’t the prophetic office serve as a watchdog of the Church and the State?
Prophets point out injustice and speak uncomfortable truth to those in authority regardless of their political party or church affiliation.
Their function in society is not bound solely by the parameters of religion.
Their authority to rebuke and bring correction historically extends into every social dimension where justice is lacking and mercy is needed.
Where is there a clear prophetic voice rising from the American societal landscape today?
Where is the group or individual who dares to expose the injustice committed in our name by our government regardless of who is in power?
Why do the preachers of the left and right only rebuke those leaders of the opposite party and never their own?
Where is the prophet who is bold enough to confront the harlotry of the Church as she runs recklessly into the seductive arms of corrupt and conscienceless political suitors?
It is a terrible and costly compromise when preachers and prophets offer their endorsement of any party or candidate who is not willing to work legislatively for mercy and justice on every front.
It is an even greater compromise when they dare not speak needed confrontational truth to those whom they have endorsed.
The fear of losing their privileged place at the trough with the other lobbyists tragically enforces their silence. The big houses and the fine vehicles and the rich lifestyle just might be jeopardized, they sold out.
Much study and editorializing has been done regarding the influence of fundamental Christianity in the outcome of the 2002 and 2004 elections.
Although conservative Christian voters seemed pivotal in the elections, their actual impact in public policy was minimal.
Four years of total Republican control of the White House and Congress delivered little that represents the values and concerns of the conservative Christians who endorsed them.
Two Supreme Court appointments are the only real solace for the believers who supported that president and his subservient Congress.
Much work is being done among progressive Christians to counter that electoral influence.
The 2006 elections show the pendulum of political control is swang away from Republicans and to favor the Democrats in 2008. Did moderate and more liberal Church leaders speak truth to power when they were the ones being allowed through the turnstiles of the White House and the Congress?
The current influence of the polarized Church is apparently no greater than any other minor special interest group finding identity and nominal representation in the political parties of today.
It will always be so as long as the church world allows itself to be exploited and fragmented by the strategists of the two political parties.
A united Church could actually become a powerful purveyor of good in the realm of public policy.
This could happen if the conservative and the progressive wings decided to coalesce around a broader spectrum of justice related issues.
They could collectively influence both parties to design public policy more reflective of judicious mercy. Is such a thing possible?
God help us.
Where are the prophets?
Gary Vance
Gary Vance is an evangelical pastor/writer living in rural Tennessee. He is the author of "Wasn't Jesus a Liberal?" and other published essays.
Monday, July 27, 2015
Monday Wrapup
A Siri like device.
We like it!
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It wasn’t clear if the compromise would satisfy religious traditionalists. The Mormon Church put out a statement Monday night saying its “century-long association with Scouting would need to be examined.”
The Boy Scouts of America, facing litigation, shrinking membership and sweeping acceptance of gay rights, voted Monday to lift its ban on openly gay troop leaders and employees.
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The Nevis Arc Swing in New Zealand drops you more than 500 feet and sends you 75 miles per hour rushing down towards the possibility of a rocky death. But don't worry! That probably won't happen.
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Rachel Is Doing It Again!
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When people were just starting to discover the Internet K-Mart gave it a shot. They were kind of cutting edge but Buy.com was coming on line and so were a lot of others. Scott Blum sold Buy.com for Three Hundred And Fifty Million Last year.
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We all enjoyed Bill Cosby in I Spy. Then we enjoyed his comedy in the 60's.
Now we see something emerging that is gaining traction...
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Old Hippy shows us how to launch a nuclear missile on antique equipment.
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Something about the simplicity of the question makes us think, "Yes, we can totally answer that!" but
look a bit closer and you can feel your brain start to melt trying to puzzle together what this means.
"Who did he tell you that to?"
A very confusing question indeed...
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Best drone video. Not what you think...LOL
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Monday Magniloquent Malacophonous
If you take a closer look at the evidence, it’s a bit premature to predict cash’s disappearance
Daredevil Gregg Godfrey set a new world record by jumping his semi truck 166 feet during Butte, Montana's Evel Knievel Days, obliterating the previous record of 62 feet.
This energy, Donohue insists, is destroying his life. A student at the University of Washington, with degrees in electronics, broadcasting, and telecommunications already under his belt, Donohue has been teaching himself chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology through independent studies with professors, looking for insight into the neuro-immune disorders plaguing him. The school has been a refuge for him, a place he can feel productive, but the proliferation of Wi-Fi may force him out.
Seven hours and 39 seconds of nothing but driving in the rain in a foreign country, what could be better?
El sonido de la lluvia en coche. Wait for it...
Dog the Bounty Hunter told FOX411 that he would not be going after El Chapo, the escaped Sinaloa cartel kingpin for whose capture the Mexican government has offered a $3.8 million reward. “He probably would be out of my league,” Dog, whose legal name is Duane Chapman, said.
LinkedIn caused a storm a couple of days ago when it removed the option to instantly download contacts. Many users of the professional social network were more than a little irked to discover that while contact exporting was still available, a wait of up to three days had been put in place. Unsurprisingly, users revolted, having been particularly upset by the fact the change was implemented with no warning or announcement. But the company has managed to turn things around by quickly backtracking on its decision after listening to a stream of complaints on Twitter.
Attention Gmail Users
Dmail is a Chrome extension developed by the people behind Delicious, the social bookmarking app/extension. This extension allows you to set a self-destruct timer on your emails. You can use Dmail to send emails from Gmail as usual, but you will now have a button which can set an self destruct timer of an hour, a day or a week. Dmail claims it will also unlock a feature that won't allow forwarding, meaning only the person you sent your message to will be able to see it.
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One of the features that has been removed from Windows 10 — at least for home users — is the ability to pick and choose when updates are installed. Microsoft has taken Windows Update out of the hands of users so the process is, for the most part, completely automated.
In theory, this sounds great — no more worrying about having the latest patches installed, no more concerns that a machine that hasn't been updated will cause problems for others — but an issue with NVidia drivers shows that there is potential for things to go wrong.
Irate owners of NVidia graphics cards have taken to support forums to complain that automatically-installed drivers installed have broken their computers.
MPPA Busted
Techdirt reports on a plan to run an anti-Google smear campaign via the Today Show and the WSJ discovered in MPAA emails.
Despite the resistance of the Hollywood studios to comply with the subpoenas obtained by Google concerning their relationship with Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood (whose investigation of the company appeared to actually be run by the MPAA and the studios themselves) one of the few emails that Google have been able to get access to so far was revealed this Thursday in a filling.
It's an email between the MPAA and two of Jim Hood's top lawyers in the Mississippi AG's office, discussing the big plan to "hurt" Google.
The lawyers from Hood's office flat out admit that they're expecting the MPAA and the major studios to have its media arms run a coordinated propaganda campaign of bogus anti-Google stories.
One email reads: "Media: We want to make sure that the media is at the NAAG meeting.
We propose working with MPAA (Vans), Comcast, and NewsCorp (Bill Guidera) to see about working with a PR firm to create an attack on Google (and others who are resisting AG efforts to address online piracy).
This PR firm can be funded through a nonprofit dedicated to IP issues.
The "live buys" should be available for the media to see, followed by a segment the next day on the Today Show (David green can help with this). After the Today Show segment, you want to have a large investor of Google (George can help us determine that) come forward and say that Google needs to change its behavior/demand reform.
Next, you want NewsCorp to develop and place an editorial in the WSJ emphasizing that Google's stock will lose value in the face of a sustained attack by AGs and noting some of the possible causes of action we have developed."
As Google notes in its legal filing about this email, the "plan" states that if this effort fails, then the next step will be to file the subpoena (technically a CID or "civil investigatory demand") on Google, written by the MPAA but signed by Hood.
This makes it pretty clear that the MPAA, studios and Hood were working hand in hand in all of this and that the subpoena had no legitimate purpose behind it, but rather was the final step in a coordinated media campaign to pressure Google to change the way its search engine works.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Mig 29 Superiority
As this MiG-29 fighter jet speeds down the runway and lifts off, nothing seems too out of the ordinary And then just seconds after lifting off the ground, the jet abruptly turns its nose to the sky and shoots vertically into the clouds. A twin-engine jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union.
Your right on it's tail and suddenly it is gone, headed straight up like a rocket!
Your right on it's tail and suddenly it is gone, headed straight up like a rocket!
Good Morning My Family!
Please read and use these for your own blessing in the Lord!
Jesus- The Perfect Bible Preacher!
Jesus name made this man strong!
Bible Study Tools
How To Improve Your Personal Bible Study
The Finest Free Resource For The Serious Bible Student
Who Are You Serving? Yourself Or The Lord?
This particular post is for believers, not non-christians.
Every time we intimate that the horrible murders and assaults taking place nowadays in our public schools is an inevitable result of our forbidding any mention of the cross our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ in those schools, we are quickly met with the incredulous response, " How could a loving God allow this to happen to innocent people just because we don't allow Him in our schools anymore?"
It's sort of a "God, protect us from evil, but don't have Your people push Your Word or Your will on us!"
It makes no sense, yet we expect that from a society of lost individuals today.
But how about today's twenty- first century American Churches?
What is it that squelches a genuine move of God right here, where we claim to allow The Lord free reign in the midst of His people?
We know that for the most part, He seems to be waiting for us to simply let Him move, yet we're perplexed that He doesn't.
We act as if everything's OK, even though we know it isn't.
We continue on, not daring to mention the 'elephant in the room', for fear that we may discover we're not where we ought to be insofar as our passion for the Living, risen Christ is concerned.
Do we love Him and do we love one another?
Jesus Himself tells us that these are the two greatest commandments (Matthew 22: 36-40).
I had a phone discussion with Pastor David Sloane earlier today concerning what has happened among the Body of Christ over the last forty or so years, especially how it relates with the way things were back in the heyday of the "Jesus Movement".
We both notice, as may many of you who come to this website, that we as a body are no longer concerned with following Him completely in the spirit of agape love.
We'd rather put forth our own 'programs', as it were, and believe that God will bless our efforts, but God forbid that we should get our hands dirty!
Pastor Sloane has told me that when the hippies started coming to Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa,
These hippies were not wearing shoes- "They'll ruin the carpet!"
What did Pastor Chuck do in response to the concern- kick them all out until they agreed to put shoes on?
No- He replied, "Then we'll tear out the carpet!"
Now, THAT is the response of a man who loves his Lord and who loves people!
Human beings- dirty, barefoot and all- were more important to him than carpet.
Is that how we are today?
How about the way we look at ministry?
There is certainly nothing wrong with biblical education- we need to, indeed we must be- students of the Word of God.
But are we looking to the Word and its Author, or do we find ourselves adulating preachers who have such great credentials (education-wise)?
I'm just curious here.
Would you rather hear a well known, extensively trained preacher expound to you from the Word of God, or would you prefer to listen to a man or woman who was not so secure in themselves, but who desperately wanted you to receive from God?
When you prefer the presence of those who want God's will more than anything else, then you are in a position to know Christ more passionately.
But be warned- things may get a little messy.
You may be brought out of your comfort zone, but you'll be blessed beyond words!
I want to get back now to how things have changed among the Body of Christ over the last few decades.
When the 'Jesus Movement' was in full-swing, Christians from all denominations, all walks of life, all educational backgrounds were forced to look at things a little differently all of a sudden.
Many were offended at the audacity of these young believers who wouldn't even cut their hair or
Who were these sloppy upstarts?
Why would anybody listen to such unknowledgeable bums, when there were well dressed, confident, respectable preachers to hear instead?
Others- like Pastor Chuck Smith- looked beyond things like physical appearance, affluence and social
And the Jesus Movement spread like wildfire, as people were reading their bibles, adoring their Savior, having bible studies, and bring countless others into the Kingdom by the power of His Spirit.
Today, we bring in marketing consultants and conduct classes on how to attract people, grow our churches and market our 'product', the Gospel- AND WE WONDER WHY GOD STEPS BACK, why He doesn't move in our midst as He once did!
Where are the believers- preachers and laymen alike- who absolutely crave the will of God- who so desire His presence in our midst that our own methods and programs are no longer attractive to us
I believe that looking to, and depending on God Himself for His Holy Presence, for ministry- for our very life- is the major difference between what was once the thrust of the Gospel, and much of what passes for ministry today.
Those silly, dirty hippies were just naive enough to believe that, as they sought CHRIST HIMSELF, He would honor them with Himself.
And He did!
Today we can still see the fruit of their labors.... Beloved, think on these things.
En Agape,
Jim Ewing
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