JEC Republicans Health Care Law Tax Report
TD Jakes rocked the apostolic world when he denounced “oneness” and proclaimed the “trinity.” To most people this is a confusing topic and the easiest way I can sum it up is like this: Oneness believe Jesus is the father, … Continue reading
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. (Acts 3:6 kjv) I believe in “compassion” ministry and social justice. … Continue reading
Twitter is not a weapon There is an old song that simply says “He’s still working on me, to make me what I ought to be.” Today I am remind of that even more than normal. I have made it … Continue reading
Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. (Philippians 1:4, 5 NLT) As … Continue reading
I would like to say first of, I have no research to back up my “opinion.” They are simply my experience being raised in a pastors home, working with a pastor as youth leader for 10 years, 1 year of … Continue reading
Read this the other day: “Football I love football season–the fans cheering, the big games, the great rivalries. With every new season there’s always anticipation and hope. Will the players rise to the challenge, or will some bad play cost … Continue reading
Proverbs 13:20 NIV 20 Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. I believe in the power of influence. What and who you allow to speak into your life will determine your direction. I’m … Continue reading
Leviticus 21:10 (KJV)
10 And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;
JOB – One by one the news of the dramatic losses began to pour into the ears of Job. His cattle, his goods, his stuff, his kids, his world began to crumble around him, before his eyes everything began to fall apart. One report after another, brought nothing be devastating news, heartbreaking messages, and I can imagine as he slipped further down into his chair as he began to suffer from a broken heart. This is Job, a godly man, yet he finds himself at his wits end, without hope, in despair and the bible says he “rends” his clothes. In an act of total despair and depression, HE TEARS HIS CLOTHES.
DAVD- As the news reaches the ears of King David, his heart sinks to the bottom of his stomach, and tears well up in his eyes, he hears those dreaded words that no parent ever should hear…your son Abner is dead. In this moment of hopelessness, the mighty King, the man after God’s own heart, RENDS HIS CLOTHES
JACOB – as Jacob set in his house, his boys came bursting in bringing the dreaded news that his beloved boy, Joseph, had died. As Jacob heard the news, his eyes filled with tears, his heart began to break in pieces, what had started out as a great day, turned into a day he would never forget. In a moment of utter fear, and heartache, HE RENT HIS CLOTHES.
KING – 2 Kings 6 – A great famine swept through Samaria and they were besieged by the King of Aram. The situation was so bad donkey heads were being sold for 80 pieces of silver, dove dungs was sold for 5 pieces of silver, The King of Samaria was on the walls walking, when a women comes to him for help and tells him a story of two mothers who decided to kill one baby and eat him, then kill the next and eat him. After one was killed, the other mother changed her mind and hid her child, the king was so overwhelmed with what was going on, he rent his clothes…this is devastating and no hope, never recover, no solutions.
Rending garments was accepted, but not for the PRIEST, they were never to do it.
OT Priest were allowed to be in the PRESENCE of YAWAH.
To rend their garments would simply say, even being in the presence of God, my situation is to bad, to far gone…to hopeless
That would be an insult to my God: He is: omnipotent…powerful…Mighty God…
Everyone else my seem out of hope, in despair, the world my be in fear but I”VE got the anointing oil! But to those that the anointing oil rest and those that have been in the presence. There is nothing that my God can’t do!!!
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (KJV)
8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
I’m troubled but I’m not going to rend my garments – its not hopeless! Perplexed, but not in despair! Persecuted, but NOT FORSAKEN! DOWN, but NOT OUT!
YOU ARE NEVER WITHOUT HOPE!
As most of you that follow me on twitter and facebook know, I’m extremely disapointed with Coach Payton and his decision to give up on the community of New Orleans. I read an article by Jim Duncan from the Times Picayune that summed up how I feel and why I feel that way I do.
I am not here to condemn or condone Sean Payton’s move to Dallas.
The subject has been folded, spindled and mutilated for an entire week. Time to give it a much-needed rest.
But what I am here to do is defend the local reaction to the story. The local citizenry has been unfairly criticized in recent days for the widespread panic generated by Payton’s move.
As the story gained traction last week, it swept across the nation like a California brushfire fed by Santa Ana winds. It went from local to regional to national news in a matter of days.
Jim Rome on “Rome is Burning,” Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon of “Pardon the Interruption,” the panel on “Around the Horn,” Colin Cowherd, two columnists from CBSSports.com - everyone had an opinion.
Even Gov. Bobby Jindal and Mayor Mitch Landrieu felt compelled to weigh in on the matter.
Similarly to the post-Katrina coverage, the national viewpoint was vastly different than the local one. Most national pundits were outraged at New Orleans’ outrage.
Cowherd, ESPN Radio’s marquee act, took New Orleanians to task for their myopia.
“Not everybody wants to be a part of a rebuilding process,” Cowherd said. “Let’s be honest, New Orleans has got its issues. … You live in a bathtub. It’s a bowl. It’s only 50 percent rebuilt because of Katrina. … Westlake is high living, better schools, no crime.”
Something tells me Cowherd and former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens would have gotten along.
As we all know, the Paytons do not live in New Orleans. They live, or lived, in Mandeville, where the schools rank among the best in the state and the crime rate is virtually non-existent.
Mandeville hasn’t had a reported rape or murder in more than two years.
Know how many robberies were committed in Mandeville last year? One.
The most dangerous thing in The Sanctuary, the exclusive gated community the Paytons have called home for the past five years, are the free-roaming deer that wander the wooded hillsides.
Cowherd wasn’t the only critic shooting from the hip.
CBSSports.com columnist Gregg Doyel accused New Orleanians of playing the Katrina card.
“New Orleans was the site of a bona fide tragedy, the worst natural disaster this country had seen in 75 years,” Doyel wrote. “Hurricane Katrina was horrific, and what happened to that city in 2005 was terrifying. But that doesn’t give New Orleans, and the people who live there, a free pass to play the victim card as an excuse for trying to run Sean Payton’s life. And it’s not going to stop people like me, and others I hope, from calling out New Orleans for this pity party.”
Katrina, as we all know, was anything but a natural disaster. That aside, there are three reasons why New Orleanians are understandably upset.
The first is timing. As they say, it’s everything, and in this case Payton’s move caught everyone off guard. The move comes five years into Payton’s tenure in New Orleans, smack in the heart of the spring school semester.
Payton still has two years left on his contract. Most New Orleanians assumed the Paytons were happy and rooted here for at least that long, especially after the release of Payton’s bestseller “Home Team” last summer, which rhapsodized about the symbiotic relationship between the Saints and the city.
Second, the Saints head coaching position is special. In Louisiana, it’s arguably the most high-profile job next to the Governor. In New Orleans, it’s an exalted position. The job doesn’t have a residency requirement like the mayor, but it might as well.
Rightly or wrongly, New Orleanians want and expect the Saints head coach to be part of their community.
This isn’t the case for most sports jobs. But it is for the special ones Ñ Green Bay Packers, Detroit Red Wings, University of North Carolina basketball, Alabama Crimson Tide football.
In the NFL, perhaps only the Packers job is more important to the local populace. And rest assured, the Cheese Heads would be just as upset today if Payton had taken the Packers job five years ago and then elected to move his brood mid-term to Westlake, Texas.
Third, and perhaps most important, is the Paytons’ choice of relocation sites.
Dallas is the anti-New Orleans. It’s everything New Orleans is not. It’s the pretty honor-roll sister who was voted most likely to succeed, and did. But it’s also a soulless concrete jungle of strip malls, chain restaurants and cookie-cutter subdivisions.
And then there’s the little matter of Payton’s cozy relationship with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. These guys are not just colleagues, they’re drinking buddies.
Texas has stolen so much business and talent from New Orleans over the years, the thought of losing their Super Bowl-winning coach there rightfully knots the gut of every warm-blooded Who Dat.
How do you think Alabama fans would react if Alabama football coach Nick Saban chose to move his family to, say, Gainesville, Fla.? Think that would sit well with the Crimson Tide faithful?
What if North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams decided to move his family back to Lawrence, Kan.? How would that be received along Tobacco Road?
So spare us the righteous indignation. New Orleanians have every reason to be disappointed and disillusioned. We don’t want your pity or your scorn.
Either you get New Orleans or you don’t.
Lafcadio Hearn got it. The Ohio native moved to New Orleans more than 100 years ago and famously chronicled its happenings for a newspaper called the Daily City Item. He wrote about the good, the bad and the ugly of New Orleans, and loved all of it.
“Times are not good here,” Hearn wrote to a California friend in 1879. “The city is crumbling into ashes. It has been buried under a lava flood of taxes and frauds and maladministrations so that it has become only a study for archaeologists. Its condition is so bad that when I write about it, as I intend to do soon, nobody will believe I am telling the truth. But it is better to live here in sackcloth and ashes, than to own the whole state of Ohio.”
Saints fans are upset because one of their own, the coach of their beloved football team, seemingly doesn’t share Hearn’s sentiments.
True, we might live in a bowl. But it’s what’s inside the bowl that counts
Hey everyone! I know it has been difficult, but I am believing that God is going to use our obedience to His word to unleash the POWER of His word in our lives and our community. I just want to encourage you today, if you have slipped during these first 9 days, don’t beat yourself up, get up and continue the fast. God sees your HEART.
Leviticus 25:23 ASV 23 And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is mine: for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
God was saying that the people would one day possess land in Canaan, but in God’s plan, only God’s ownership was absolute. He wanted his people to avoid greed and materialism. If you have the attitude that you are taking care of the Lord’s property, you will make what you have more available to others. This is difficult to do if you have an attitude of ownership. Think of yourself as a manager of all that is under your care, not as an owner.
Read this blog by Jentzen Franklin and thought it was a great reminder of what fasting is really about. Enjoy
As we enter the 8th day of the fast, I find myself thinking about the meaning of the number 8. When I looked up the meaning, I read that in Hebrew, it means “cover with fat”, “super abound” or “one who abounds in strength”. I found myself laughing at the irony of what I had just read as it indicated the exact opposite of what I’m feeling right now. Don’t get me wrong, losing weight is a huge advantage to each fasting season (and believe it or not, I do lose weight every fasting season), but we need to remember that it’s a bonus and not our primary purpose.
As I look back on my fasting experiences, one thing has remained a constant: that fasting is a time of spiritual renewing…a fresh beginning. This is the time for us to rediscover areas that we may not have necessarily lost, but throughout the year, we have let fade from our primary focus. We may not “bow down” to other gods, but we often incorporate a lifestyle influenced by worldly priorities, people and things. Even though we have surrendered to Jesus and He is our personal Savior, our dedication is far from complete.
I know that many of you are veterans of fasting and then there are those that are experiencing fasting for the first time. But no matter the category you fall under, there is one thing that we all must do. Rediscover the Word.
The Word was rediscovered during the reign of King Josiah (who was 8 years old when he became king). The Book of the Law was found under a pile of stones in the temple. The book had been there for years, but it’s power untouched. King Josiah then heard the Word being read and his heart was tender and he humbled himself before the Lord.
Fasting brings out our rediscovery of the Word and it’s authority. It’s the book of divine inspiration. The book that reveals God to us. It is the Word of God.
Hear it. Proverbs 1:5 says “A wise man will hear and will increase learning.”
Read it. In faith, read the Word.
Study it.
Take notes.
Memorize it. Set a goal to memorize the Word.
Meditate on it. Psalms 1:2 says “in His law, does he meditate day and night.”
I pray a hedge of protection around you and your family as you rediscover the Word of God during this fasting season. Blessings!
Exodus 28:3 NIV Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest.
The tailors who made Aaron’s garments were given wisdom by God in order to do their task. All of us have special skills. When God fills you with his Spirit, he anoints you to use those skills for his glory. Think about your special talents and abilities. What ways could you use them for God’s work in the world? As you focus on helping and giving to others, God will show you the best ways to do it and give you wisdom to accomplish the task.
The best way to know your ministry is to SERVE! Find someone doing something for God and attach yourself to them and serve. You are gifted by God, now allow Him to use those gifts for His kingdom!
Hebrews lets us know that as we see the day approaching we must never forget the power of church, or the assembling together. Been thinking about that a lot as I read about churches having less church, and even as I contemplate this approach for new life, yet I’m always being pulled back to this idea, the power of the Sanctuary.
In Psalm, you find David about to throw in the towel and give up, questioning everything, wondering why it was happening to him, how can the wicked prosper and I’m constantly stuck in caves, running for my life. As he stood on the verge of spiritual suicide, he gave the sanctuary one more try! When he entered in, his world was changed! That is the power of the sanctuary! That is the power of being faithful to church. You may have come your whole life and it has become routine, but keep coming, b/c one day when you are on the verge of spiritual suicide, that service will change your life!
Thank God for the sanctuary, thank God for a refuge, safe place where we can run and be safe! As our world continues to not have time for Jesus, make Him your priority and never forget the POWER OF THE SANCTUARY!
