What Happened to Liberty?

The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit. Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. Proverbs 18:10-13 KJV
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4:18, 19 KJV

No matter what happens in America or in the land, there is always a Word of The Lord to address the situation. And now--with 45--the gift of France should be returned and the National Anthem put on a shelf.

Oh, say! can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming;
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's re d glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there:
Oh, say! does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Building walls instead of bridges, censoring what people can say or tweet, keeping out those in need, escaping tyranny and oppression--negates the purpose and intent of the gift given from France--Lady Liberty--who if she could--would be heartbroken and crying to see the state of America at this point.
Frances Scott--though an advocate of slavery--would have to see the utter irony of the line--"Over the land of the free and the home of the brave?" Or maybe we never were the land of the free and certainly not the brave when the leader of a "supposed" free world bullies and encourages bullying by others in his administration. We know anyone who attempts to bully others is not brave, but cowardly. 
 
Where has liberty fled? Where is the Congressional intervention that should be implemented in keeping 45 in check? Where are those with the backbone, will and desire to stand up to oppressive leaders who are attempting to employ a fascist regime.

Lord, we know we have complete liberty in You and perhaps that may be the extent of liberty in America for a time, but we shall with Your direction--continue the fight in opposition to oppression, and continue to defend the rights of the poor and the needy. Thank You for strength, wisdom and knowledge to do all things well--to Your glory!
 

The First Death Is Just The Beginning!

"Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Unless Jesus returns before we take our final breath, we will die (or fall asleep) and our end will only be for the earthly measurement of time. The heavenly measurement of time begins when He returns and all the dead in Him (those who died believing Him to be their Savior) shall rise at the sound at the trumpet and they shall be judged first.

It is not the first death that we need to concern ourselves while we live. It is the second death--the assignment of eternal resting place--in heaven reigning with Jesus or in the lake of fire, being tormenting continually for eternity.

While I know there are those who do not believe in heaven or hell, according to God's Truth they do exist and in the end, we'll all discover their existence. But while we wait for the end to come, we must know that our final resting place for eternity is determined by what we do while we have breath to live. Notice what John says, about who ends up in the lake of fire.

"The cowardly--those who are always fearful because they do not know that love casts out fear. The fearful do not know love for it they did, they would not fear. The unbelieving--those who refuse to accept God's existence so they can do whatever their flesh dictates. The vile--those who do every imaginable evil thing they can without concern about how their actions impact others. The murderers--those who have no respect for life and consistently are responsible for the deaths of others. The sexually immoral--those who use sex as a tool for pleasure with anybody and everybody without discrimination or adherence to God's plan for sex. Those who practice magic--misusing gifts of discernment and abilities given by God for monetary gain or fame. The idolators--those who worship things made by the hands of man or people--holding the things and people in higher esteem than God. The liars--those who twist and malign truth (especially God's Truth) for their own personal agendas in order to influence others into doing what is pleasing in their own sight--totally ignoring God's plan for man." All these--when they have chosen to do these things--will end up in the lake of fire, unless they choose to live as God desires before the first death.

No person--can send another to hell and God won't either. The eternal resting place in which we end up is determined by what we do when we are alive, having the ability to choose and choose wrongly. Every person--believer and unbeliever--chooses their final destination and they have no one to blame but themselves.

No matter how our end comes the first time--illness, accident, war, acts of violence or old age, our greatest concern should be the second death.

Consider Your Ways!

"Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways" (Haggai 1:5).

People are often amazed at the senseless violence, loss of life, destruction of families, and crimes of such magnitude that all we can do is simply shake our heads.

Inconsiderate people are incapable of thinking beyond the moment or about how their actions impact others. We see it all the time. Carelessness with campfires or even cigarette smoking--fires burning out of control, destroying property, taking lives, and ruining memories. Inconsiderate people drink and drive with no other thought other than to make themselves "feel good" when in actuality, they only feel worse. These people cause accidents-maiming and killing--and some never stop drinking and driving.

Inconsiderate people speed through neighborhoods--with no thought of children or others in wheelchairs or the elderly who cannot move as fast as they used to move. They hit people with cars and run from the scene like the cowards they really are. The cowards often leave people dead or dying and they do not care. They gave no thought to their actions.

Inconsiderate people are often greedy people who will stop at nothing to obtain what they want by any means. They rob people at gunpoint, with shovels, with knives, with threatening notes in banks and stores and care not one wit about how actions will leave a life time of tragedy in their wake.

Inconsiderate people think everyone around them wants to hear their loud, crass, raunchy music--so they play it loud enough to shake windows and interfere with other drivers and their ability to hear what is going on around them.

Inconsiderate people play pranks without thinking about all the possible consequences and some pranks have led to the death of people.

Inconsiderate people think the world evolves around them and therefore they have a right to do whatever they want to do, whenever they want to do it and then they complain when they have to deal with the consequences of their actions. They have never learned to "consider their ways."

If we want to see a change in the world, we must begin in our homes and learn to be considerate of others in all we do. Loving others will bring about consideration because we would do not harm those we love. Loving others leads to considering others above ourselves. So the lack of consideration demonstrates a lack of love among many. If we cannot love self, we cannot love others. Consider your ways--do your actions demonstrate love or do they demonstrate total inconsideration regarding others. Think-love-consider all so we can live in peace and harmony and families won't have to mourn the loss of loved ones.

Enticed by Sin!

"My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them" (Proverbs 1:10 NIV).

Although Solomon is addressing his son, the advice is relevant to all--men and women.

"If those who are living in sin, doing all those things that God has said is sin, try to entice you to do likewise, don't do it."

Sinful--full of sin--those who see no wrong in doing anything and everything the flesh dictates--"just doing it"--lying, stealing, abusing and molesting children, cheating on wives and husbands, fornication (all sexual sin), favoritism, blasphemy, turning God's Truth into lies to suit their behavior and encouraging others to do what they do--sin.

How do we avoid being enticed to engage in sin?  We stay away from those who commit sin and encourage others to do so. We study God's Word. We work on developing and maintaining a right relationship with God. We focus on hearing and obeying God. This is how we avoid being enticed by those who would lead us into behaviors that would not please God.

When we understand the consequences of our actions and that our actions lead to negative consequences, we should not want to participate. However, when we are interested in doing those things that appease flesh, we are easily led astray.

Unfortunately, the temptation to please self and flesh often overrule common sense--the wisdom needed to know that temporary gratification will not lead to lasting happiness. James reminds us that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God for wisdom and He will give it without making us feel foolish. When we operate in the wisdom of God, we make good decisions and can look forward to the positive outcomes that will result in lasting happiness.

Having respect for our bodies--the temple where Holy Spirit dwells (if we are filled with the Spirit of God), means that we avoid behaviors that will destroy the body. Much of the illness and disease we suffer is due to behaviors that are contrary to keeping our bodies healthy, including our eating habits, lack of exercise, smoking, drugs, unprotected sex, etc. Respecting God's Word in all things will keep us mindful of living healthy lives, keeping our temples undefiled, and focused on pleasing God.

Lord Jesus, help us to recognize who people are by their conduct and steer clear of any who would entice us to sin against You!