All posts for the month October, 2007

Democrat or Republican, some presidential policies won’t change

We evangelicals were ecstatic several years ago when the majority of us saw such a promising Republican candidate for President in George Bush.  The majority of his promises and proclamations were in lockstep with our beliefs, so we voted him into office twice.  He has done some things right like his response to 9/11 by sending troops to Afghanistan to strike back at the Taliban and his nomination of two conservative judges who eventually were confirmed as Supreme Court Justices.

However, like any human being he has shown himself fallible or downright disappointing with many of his other actions, much to the chagrin of evangelicals.  Much of our disappointment with him has to do with his policies on trade, immigration, and government spending.  Now that his administration is coming to an end, we are once again searching for strong conservative leadership.  Unfortunately, there isn’t much to choose from in the present pool of candidates.  Even if there were and we elected him or her to office, we would still have some major disappointments.  Why?  There are forces at play internationally and domestically to influence our President that circumvent or trump the will of the American people.  If you haven’t noticed, since the 1980s the U.S. Presidency has little by little become more concerned about taking steps toward globalization while chipping away slowly at the importance of preserving the sovereignty of the U.S. and its citizens.

It’s a good and necessary thing for us evangelicals to make our voices heard to preserve some semblance of godliness so our nation will continue to be blessed by God and to preserve our Constitutional rights.  Nevertheless, whether we vote for a Democrat or Republican, we will still end up with policies put into effect by the President that will advance the goals of having a one world government with a one world religion.  Democrats and Republicans will still have a few differences like abortion, gay rights, and government spending, but there are other major policies that both Democrats and Republicans will attempt to force on American citizens to promote globalization that will whittle away at our constitutional rights.

Those policies include the following:

  • The continued establishment and enforcement of free trade agreements.  It is argued that the U.S. economy is strengthened by such agreements through the creation of more jobs and the expansion of industries.  Then economists who support such policies tell us to look at how strong the U.S. markets are.  But they conveniently downplay the fact that the middle class and manufacturing are shrinking or that the gap between the rich and poor is widening.
  • Delaying and discouraging steps to remedy illegal immigration.  We are told that illegal immigration is a complicated situation to handle and there is no easy way to discourage it.  The only reasons we are told this is because certain wealthy government officials or their friends have benefited in some way from illegal immigrants.  Although there has been a crackdown recently on illegal immigration which proves that the problem can be alleviated, the federal government is moving toward a North American Union to unite Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.  Therefore, a major crackdown on illegal immigrants would hamper those plans, which leads me to the next policy.
  • Establishing a North American Union.  The leaders of the three North American nations want to unite their governments to compete with the European Union and to establish one currency, the amero, to compete with the euro.  This agreement would call for opening up the borders by reducing the need to go through customs when a citizen of one country wants to travel to another country or when goods from one country need to be shipped to another North American country.  The idea may sound practical on its face, but the ultimate goal is to make us bow down to the sovereignty of a one world government via the UN.  This is why the Bush administration refuses to defend or pardon the border agents who were thrown in prison for shooting a border-crossing criminal which was part of their job.  This is also why the Bush administration is presently fighting for the convicted rapist/murderer and illegal immigrant, José Medellín, imprisoned in Texas claiming that the Texas courts should follow the ruling of the UN’s International Court of Justice after Mexico’s government sued the U.S. there.  The case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court, where some of the justices in recent years have made statements that their decisions should be influenced by the rulings of the International Court.
  • Keeping China as a favored trading partner.  No matter how many atrocities the Chinese government commits, trade with China is strong all over North America which enriches corporations in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.  Since they enrich our economies, maintaining trade with them will strengthen the North American Union.  Products made in China also make up a huge amount of products that are shipped in the Mexican trucks that President Bush wants to be able to roam freely on our roads.
  • Kowtowing to the United Nations.   As I mentioned before, the U.S. President wants to promote and strengthen the idea of a one world government.  He must therefore take the lead in not only pressuring our courts into following the unappealable decisions of the International Court of Justice but must try to get us to conform our laws to match the UN’s laws such as the Law of the Sea Treaty, giving the incompetent and corrupt organization control over our waterways.  While I’m on the subject of water, many municipalities in our nation for the past few years have grappled with allowing foreign corporations to control the distribution of their water to their citizens because they’ve been strapped for cash.  Giving control of our water to foreigners like the Germans is always bad policy in my opinion.  Placing ourselves in that position just opens us up to extortion if they should disagree with our policies.
  • The “All religions lead to God” doctrine.  In order to appease Muslims and not offend anyone of any religion, the fact that the U.S. was founded on Judeo-Christian principles will continue to be muddled.  The majority of the founding fathers, as fallible as they were, recognized the importance of Biblical principles in the preservation of this nation even if they may have been nominal Christians.  It is because of those principles that we can allow anyone to practice any religion in our country as long as it does not jeopardize lives (e.g. human sacrifices).  But to go so far as to make attempts to wipe out any resemblance of Christianity just to appease someone who is offended only serves to weaken the morals and foundational principles of this country.
  • Co-existence of Israel beside a Palestinian nation.  The goal of this policy may be to bring peace to the Middle East, but the fact remains that the Muslim world hates the very existence of Israel.  Even if a Palestinian nation were to arise, there would still be unrest in the Middle East.  Although Israel does a lot of wrong things, they are no worse than any other nation and the land where they sit has been theirs since God made a covenant with Abraham centuries ago.  If some so-called “peace” agreement is ever finalized, this will be a sure sign that the one who accomplishes this is in fact the Antichrist, who will eventually prove to have an ulterior selfish motive for the agreement.  If Condoleezza Rice or President Bush knew the Bible, they wouldn’t be surprised that their talks about forming a Palestinian state are unravelling as mentioned in the press recently.

Evangelicals may be looking for the most conservative candidate possible, but no matter who we vote for, they will still cling to these evil policies.  Our battles will continue whether the President is a Democrat or Republican.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

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by Harry A. Gaylord on October 25, 2007  •  Permalink
Posted in Christianity, End times, government, politics, religion, U.S. Constitution

Posted by Harry A. Gaylord on October 25, 2007

http://sunandshield.wordpress.com/2007/10/25/democrat-or-republican-some-presidential-policies-wont-change/

Cast down but not destroyed

Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Ebedmelech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city. Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.  

So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.  And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.  So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.  Jeremiah 38:7-13

Since we live in a world where the majority of the people hate righteousness and love sin, we as Christians should expect rejection and persecution for living godly or standing up for what’s right.  Even if we live our lives based on God’s commandments through our actions without preaching a word, there are individuals who will still hate us.  Sometimes the ill-will that a person has toward us may lead them to ruin our reputation with false rumors or cause them to go as far as jeopardizing our lives or livelihood.  Jeremiah the prophet faced such a threat in his life when he preached what God told him to preach.

After Jeremiah preached that the nation of Judah would go into captivity for their sins, people who knew Jeremiah labeled him as a traitor and convinced the king with their lies that he should be put in prison for treachery.  Jeremiah pleaded his case with the truth, but his pleas were not heard and the king allowed Jeremiah’s enemies to place him in a pit full of mud.  His situation lets us know that even if we have the truth on our side, it is not a guarantee that we will be judged fairly by those around us or by those who are in power to enforce the law.

In Lamentations 3:52-57, the prophet recalls how he cried out to God in the midst of his suffering.  Surely he must have felt that his situation was hopeless and he probably wondered if God had forsaken him.  It is understandable in a time of darkness how one could question the Lord, especially if you take great pains to make sure you do what pleases God.  The Lord showed himself faithful by touching the heart of the African, Ebed-melech, to go to the king on Jeremiah’s behalf. 

When Ebed-melech heard of Jeremiah’s plight, he had compassion for the prophet because he knew Jeremiah was a just man who didn’t deserve to be treated as he was.  It would have been very easy for the African to not concern himself with the situation by telling himself it wasn’t any of his business or reasoning in his mind that he could be demoted by the king or be caused to suffer for defending Jeremiah.  But he put aside all concern for himself knowing that his conscience would bother him if he did not try to do something to counteract in some way the evil he was made aware of.  Ebed-melech was more concerned about saving Jeremiah’s life than about preserving his own life of comfort.  He knew the situation had to be taken care of quickly, so with courage he approached the king with his plea.  I wonder if the average churchgoer, including myself, would display such unselfish courage to take up for someone who is being treated unfairly if there was a possibility that some personal suffering would result.  Could I be courageous enough and love them enough to defend them?

The king, probably knowing within himself that Jeremiah was wronged, agreed to let Ebed-melech take 30 men to pull Jeremiah out of the dungeon.  Ebed-melech then had to devise a way to free Jeremiah from the muddy pit.  It is apparent the king was rather callous since he did not offer Ebed-melech the use of any practical resources.  The African had to round up some old rags and use MacGyver-like knowledge to get Jeremiah free.

It must have been such an encouragement to Jeremiah’s faith knowing that the Lord was looking out for him in his bleak situation.  The help came from an unexpected source which I’m sure made praising God all the more worthwhile.  Since Ebed-melech blessed the prophet of God in acting as an angel of mercy, God blessed him with a special blessing–

Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.  But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.  For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.  Jeremiah 39:15-18

By saving Jeremiah’s life, Ebed-melech’s life was saved when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem.  In conclusion, this account in the Bible let’s us know a couple of things.  When we suffer severe persecution in our lives for trusting in the Lord, he will not forsake us in our hour of need but will deliver us out of it even if the way out is not foreseeable.  This holds true if it’s not our time to die.  Secondly, if we trust in the Lord and take bold action with wisdom to help out a fellow saint who is in trouble, God will give us a special blessing for being faithful and unselfish.

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by Harry A. Gaylord on October 22, 2007  •  Permalink
Posted in Christianity, encouragement, life, persecution, religion

Posted by Harry A. Gaylord on October 22, 2007

http://sunandshield.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/cast-down-but-not-destroyed/

Putin’s saber-rattling

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is proving more and more that once you are KGB, you’re always KGB in his latest spouting off against the U.S.  Making arguments based on his paranoid antics, he has now made claims that the U.S. is out to invade Russia so we can get their natural resources.  Therefore, he has no choice but to manufacture new nuclear weapons to defend Russia from the greedy U.S., who like a bully invaded the defenseless nation of Iraq, according to Putin.

The London Telegraph is also reporting that his new battery of weapons will include nuclear submarines, nuclear missile systems, and nuclear bombers.  Putin has made further accusations that the U.S. attempted to hamper his visit to Iran earlier this week by masterminding a devious plot that made false inferences that there was a conspiracy to assassinate him when no such conspiracy existed.

This comes in the midst of his statement that the U.S. should pull out of Iraq.  The only reason Putin has falsely accused the U.S. of lusting after his resources is because his own lust for more has reached new heights.  He’s projecting!  In reality, Putin wants the U.S. out of Iraq so Russia, Iran, and whoever else is in league with them can go into Iraq to divide the spoils.  Russia’s booming economy from its oil has served to enlarge his ego and his covetousness.

Russia’s ongoing cozy relationship with Iran is fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.  They are laying the foundation for an eventual invasion of Israel in an attempt to take Israel’s land from them.  Ezekiel 38 states that the land of Magog, which is believed to be Russia, will ally themselves with Persia (Iran), Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer (Germany?) and others to conquer Israel.  But their attempts will utterly fail.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord

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by Harry A. Gaylord on October 18, 2007  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, economics, End times, government, greed, Israel, politics
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Posted by Harry A. Gaylord on October 18, 2007

http://sunandshield.wordpress.com/2007/10/18/putins-saber-rattling/

Heavenly saints of the seven last plagues

The book of Revelation provides a lot of insight into how God operates in these last days.  It gives us glimpses into how the physical and spiritual worlds interact as well as their affects on each other.  As in other books of the Bible, Revelation shows how important angels are to carrying out the Lord’s will.
Guardian angels, courtesy of karenswhimsy.com
In chapters 2 and 3 of this book we are shown that angels are not only spiritual beings but that they can also refer to a human who delivers God’s messages to a church.  There are also two other incidents that take place toward the end of Revelation that reveal another interesting aspect of who can be considered an angel.

And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: … And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.  Revelation 17:1, 19:10

This angel was assigned to escort John into the spirit realm to show him what would happen to spiritual Babylon.  John tells us that he is one of the seven angels who had one of the seven vials to pour out one of the seven last plagues on the earth.  When John was shown what would happen, he was so overwhelmed emotionally that he bowed down to worship the angel.  How did the angel respond?  He commanded John not to worship him since worship was only for the Lord to receive.  The angel identifies himself as a “fellowservant” and one “of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus.”  Regular angels in heaven are never referred to as fellowservants or brothers of believers in Christ, nor do they have the testimony of Jesus since Jesus did not die to save them. 

Hebrews 2:16-17 tells us that Jesus made himself lower than the angels to be made like his brethren, the human saints.  Ephesians 3:8-11 and 1 Peter 1:10-12 reveal to us that God established salvation for mankind through Jesus Christ to show the angels through his church just how vast his power is.  Therefore, it is impossible for the regular heavenly angels to have Jesus’ testimony of salvation from sin that brings righteousness and eternal life to every believer.  That being the case, this “angel” who took part in pouring out one of the last seven plagues is actually a Christian.  He is a saint that has died and dwells in heaven who God told to take part in punishing the Earth during the great tribulation.  There is a second similar incident in Revelation:

And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. … And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.  Revelation 21:9, 22:8-9

So another angel carrying one of the seven last plagues takes John on a spiritual tour of New Jerusalem.  John once again becomes emotionally overwhelmed and worships the angel.  Like the previous angel, he claims to be a fellowservant.  But he also says he is a brother who is a prophet and who practices the word of God.  These terms, like the terms I discussed above, can only refer to a Christian.  Although regular angels prophesy, they are never called prophets and as I stated before, they are never referred to as being our brothers.  So now we see there are at least two saints of God who have a hand in pouring out God’s judgment on the Earth.

Could it be that once believers die and go to heaven, God gives us certain assignments to carry out?  I think that’s an interesting concept.

Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?  1 Corinthians 6:2

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

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by Harry A. Gaylord on October 18, 2007  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Christianity, End times, God, judgment, religion, Revelation
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Posted by Harry A. Gaylord on October 18, 2007

http://sunandshield.wordpress.com/2007/10/18/heavenly-saints-of-the-seven-last-plagues/

From fallow ground to hallowed ground

Oilseed rape courtesy of freedigitalphotos.netSow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.  Hosea 10:12

Ancient Israel at the time of this godly message was caught up in idolatry that affected their whole society.  The Lord was so disappointed with their behavior that throughout the book of Hosea, he called them spiritual whores.  Nevertheless, God being the God of mercy and longsuffering called out to them to repent so they could receive his blessings instead of his punishment.  Since they were an agricultural society he used terms they could understand to get his message across.

Fallow ground is ground that becomes hard through lack of water, neglect, and abundance of weeds.  It is symbolic of a man’s heart as explained by Christ in his parable of the sower when he has no root in himself, and so he endures in God’s word a little while; afterwards, when affliction or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately he is offended and falls away.  Or the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering into his heart, chokes the word, and it becomes unfruitful in his life.  Whatever the excuse for our hardened hearts, God is calling all men everywhere to repent.  Pride, covetousness, lust, hatred, idolatry, and all other evil must go.  It is not only the unsaved but the saved as well who can become susceptible to hardened hearts  (Mark 6:51-53; Hebrews 3:13).  We may have seen God work wonders in our lives in the past, but for some reason we doubt he will deliver us from a present danger we may be facing.  I know I’ve had my share of doubts over the years–especially when I’m trying to do what’s right and the wicked seem to prosper in their wrongdoings.

For there to be a breaking up of the fallow ground, the human heart has to cooperate with God’s divine design.  Any good farmer knows that he has to till the soil with a plough to prepare it for planting.  Not knowing what type of harvest will come in the future, he ploughs and sows his field in faith believing that if he does his part nature will do its part.  Likewise, if reformation is to take place in one’s life, one must be willing to plough one’s hardened heart in repentance by faith in God’s word and sow God’s righteousness with the renewing of their mind to reap God’s abundant harvest of mercy.  Reformation, like ploughing and planting, is hard work that is very time-consuming and requires patience working in partnership with faith.  The rewards most of the time are not seen overnight, but one must be willing to endure to the end.

When we soften our hardened hearts and sow righteousness in our lives, we are seeking the Lord by allowing him to work with and through us.  As a result, the works we do in public and private please God and have a positive impact on society.  Like Christ, we become concerned about social and civil issues regarding the fair treatment of others regardless of their status; or the use of honest business practices; caring for the poor, the elderly, and the fatherless; and considering human life as more important than material wealth.

As we make commitments to do these things, God sends his rain of righteousness to shower us with his blessings that nourish our spirit man and as time progresses, we begin to see the fruit of our godly labors.  Finally, after our laboring day-by-day, the Lord blesses us with a bountiful harvest stemming from his mercy.  The seeds we planted may have been small and few, but they have rendered a double portion and more to us because of God’s boundless mercy.  This reaping may be reflected in the growth of a ministry, the passing of a just law that affects our society, the handing down of a court opinion that glorifies God, or the breakthrough in an individual we reached out to that simply looked hopeless.  In the end, we discover that our faith paid off and that God is a God of his word.

For thus saith the LORD … Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.  Jeremiah 4:3

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

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by Harry A. Gaylord on October 16, 2007  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Christianity, encouragement, humanity, life, religion
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Posted by Harry A. Gaylord on October 16, 2007

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Pulpit manipulations and pulpit marketing

UK, Stockton Baptist Tabernacle, source--freefoto.com

I took some time last Friday night, October 12, 2007, to watch T. D. Jakes being hosted by John Hagee at Cornerstone Church.  While introducing the well-known preacher, Hagee went to great lengths to boast about how Jakes was the author of several books and had recently signed a moviemaking deal with Sony Pictures.  Upon stating these facts, I thought to myself, “is all of this really important?  So what? He got a movie contract.  Big deal!”  Why waste time on earthly stuff that doesn’t matter when all we need to know is whether or not he preaches the gospel and what church he is from?

Then when Jakes took the podium to speak, he opened up with how blessed the people would be if they bought his latest book on sale in the church lobby.  He went on to explain that they really needed to get his life-changing book before leaving the church that night.  I thought to myself “Why does he think he should promote himself or his book when his focus should be on his message?”  A lot of us church folk have libraries full of the latest Christian titles and our lives are still messed up because we read everything except God’s word.  If we get around to reading God’s word, sometimes our hearts are so hardened that we fail to put it into practice.  “…of making many books there is no end;” (Ecclesiastes 12:12)

He finally got around to his sermon, which had a very good message.  Titled “Peter’s last night on the boat,” Jakes’ message basically dealt with how when hard times and setbacks come into our lives in the midst of our ministry, we have a tendency to revert back to habits that are familiar and comfortable to us.  Peter went back to fishing after Christ was crucified.  Instead of going back to what we used to do we should wait for God’s direction and continue moving forward.  Jakes gave some real world examples making his sermon all the more relevant.

At the end came the altar call.  Of course, by this time emotions were high.  The underlying statement for the altar call was “You need to get up to this altar right now so God can change your life!”  Last time I checked, God can work on a person’s heart no matter where their body is.  The Lord is not confined to the altar since he’s omnipresent and omnipotent.  He can change a person right in their seat if they cry out to him.  “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24) 

Not only that, but anyone who is right with God can pray with a person who needs it.  They don’t necessarily need the person standing at the altar to do it.  An usher standing nearby can do it!  As if emotions weren’t high enough, he manipulated them even more after people flooded to the front.  Jakes said something like “If you still haven’t come and God is telling you to come down, you have 60 seconds to get out of your seat and come down this aisle!”  Then he proceeded to count down the seconds as if God’s mercy and grace were going to run out if they didn’t hightail it down the aisle in time.

Such manipulations are completely unnecessary.  The Holy Spirit can do what he needs to do without anyone trying to control another person’s emotions.  I guess I’m somewhat jaded because I’ve fallen prey to these types of routines so many times in the past.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord– 

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by Harry A. Gaylord on October 16, 2007  •  Permalink
Posted in Christianity, church, clergy, preaching, religion
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Posted by Harry A. Gaylord on October 16, 2007

http://sunandshield.wordpress.com/2007/10/16/pulpit-manipulations-and-pulpit-marketing/

Are we in the hot seat? Global warming worse than originally thought

Michael Perry of Reuters has reported that an Australian scientist, Tim Flannery, said a UN climate change report to be released in November shows that we are already at the critical level for greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.  It had previously been thought we had 10 years to go before those levels would be reached.  But data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reveals that we crossed the critical point of 455 parts per million of CO2 in the middle of 2005.

Gases such as nitrous oxide, methane, and hydrofluorocarbons were also included in the measurements for greenhouse gas emissions to determine a general level for the gases as a whole.

According to Flannery, “What the report establishes is that the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is already above the threshold that could potentially cause dangerous climate change.”  He attributes the higher levels to the economic expansions of China and India.

The report will be released just in time for a meeting of UN environment ministers this December in Bali, Indonesia, giving them a greater sense of urgency.

How convenient!  A gloom and doom report just in time for a meeting on climate change.  Global warming advocates have been complaining for awhile now that things aren’t moving fast enough to change greehouse gas emissions.  Now they have “scientific proof” to beat their opposition over the head with and twist their arms into funding their cause.  This may be one of the best forms of scientific extortion I’ve seen.  I love the idea of improving the environment and lowering harmful exhaust fumes from motor vehicles, but it can be accomplished without all of this hoopla.

Will this report have any major impact? We’ll see.  Should we put this much trust in scientists who may have hidden agendas?  Isn’t it possible their data may be incorrect?  After all, they previously thought the parts per million of carbon dioxide was much lower.  Scientists, although intelligent, can make mistakes.  They have told us Pluto was a planet, then discovered it wasn’t.  We’ve been told the appendix in our bodies had no real function, now they’re saying it has a purpose.  Maybe it wouldn’t hurt them to go back and re-check their data to make absolutely sure they’re right.  Personally, I think anything coming from the UN is suspect. 

Although we as humans can be destructive when it comes to how we handle nature when God has given us the responsibility to preserve it for our own good, the Bible clearly states in Revelation that the one who will do the most damage to the Earth will be God himself when he decides it’s time for mankind to be punished for their wickedness.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

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by Harry A. Gaylord on October 9, 2007  •  Permalink
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Posted by Harry A. Gaylord on October 9, 2007

http://sunandshield.wordpress.com/2007/10/09/are-we-in-the-hot-seat-global-warming-worse-than-originally-thought/

Aquatic ecosystems are affected by Bt corn

The Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences is publishing a study this week that shows genetically engineered corn negatively affects aquatic ecosystems near farmlands.  The study conducted at Indiana University by environmental science professors shows that Bt corn and its byproducts stunted the growth and lifespan of aquatic insects.

Bt corn was engineered to be pest-resistant to increase corn yields.  It was designed to specifically target the corn borer, but some aquatic insects who are closely related to the corn borer have been affected when they eat the corn’s pollen or other byproducts.  One such insect is the caddisfly.  The caddisfly is a main source of food for fish and amphibians found in bodies of water near farms.  When the Bt corn stunts their growth and cuts their lives short as has been shown in the tests, it creates a shortage of food supply for the fish and amphibians.  You can read more about the study here.

I am all in favor of advancements in science, but this may be another case where mankind gets ahead of himself in trying to improve on what God has created.  In the beginning, mankind was assigned dominion over the Earth to take care of it and use it for the good of all mankind.  But, of course, sometimes we have a tendency to come up with ideas that we think will help us that end up hurting us in the long run because we are fallible.  Let’s hope that there won’t be worse things that are found to result from the use of Bt corn since it is increasingly used in food products that have corn syrup in them.  Is it possible that this study will be another catalyst to encourage us to go with organic foods?  Time will tell.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord– 

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by Harry A. Gaylord on October 8, 2007  •  Permalink
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Posted by Harry A. Gaylord on October 8, 2007

http://sunandshield.wordpress.com/2007/10/08/aquatic-ecosystems-are-affected-by-bt-corn/

Of divinations and the damned: Halloween’s deceit

Samhain (pronounced sow-in or sah-ween, meaning “summer’s end”) began as a Celtic celebration centuries ago to commemorate the end of their old year and the beginning of a new one.  The various rituals on this night were led by the Druids who were the priest class of the Celts.  During this time of the year, all livestock were brought in from the summer pastures.  Celts believed October 31 (which, of course, was not called October back then) was the night when the world of the living and the dead were not separated.  It was believed the dead came back to walk the earth to either bless the living or wreak havoc in their lives, depending on what steps the living took to appease the dead.

The main god and goddess commemorated during this pagan festival were Bronach, the goddess of Samhain rituals, and Crom Cruaich, the god of harvest, death, and contact with the dead (necromancy).  When the Romans conquered the Celts, they added to some of the heathen rituals of Samhain and when the Roman Empire became Roman Catholic, the season was renamed Hallowmas to celebrate “All Hallows’/Saints’ Eve” (Oct. 31, later renamed Halloween), “All Saints’ Day” (Nov. 1) and “All Souls’ Day” (Nov. 2).  Here are some of the pagan beliefs and rituals celebrated during the Halloween season contrasted to the truth of God’s word:

  • Divination.  To the Celts, time was circular, not linear.  That being the case, they considered this season the best time of the year to look into what the future held for marriage, health, and the weather.  Bobbing for apples is a marriage divination ritual.  Peeling an apple was a divination ritual for determining how long a person would live.  Other forms of divination are encouraged, like palm reading, tarot cards, crystal balls, and tea leaves.  Pagans and Satanists still participate in these rituals today and Halloween is one of their high holy days when participation is most common.  It is during Samhain that powers of divination are believed to be heightened, so pagans will seek out psychics or if they are psychic they seek to strengthen their power.
  • The Lord said to Jeremiah, The prophets prophesy lies…they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.  Jeremiah 14:14
  • Lighting candles, jack-o-lanterns, communicating with and leaving food for the dead (necromancy).  This is done as a way of being nice to the spirits to light their way when walking among the living so they will be nice to the living who have lit their candles.  Contacting the dead through mediums and ouija boards in seances to find out what the dead want and feeding them are ways to appease, or treat, them as opposed to being tricked with an evil prank from them.
  • Jehovah said, There shall not be found among you … a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.  For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive [the heathens] out from before thee.  Deuteronomy 18:10-12
  • Reincarnation.  Pagans believe Samhain is the time where human souls in animals are released to appear in new bodily forms.  This is why there are witches or other heathens who support groups like PETA and are staunch environmentalists who refer to “Mother Earth” or “Mother Nature.”  In their minds, animals are equal to humans and everything is a god of some sort and a god is in everything or everyone.
  • The Bible clearly states a person has only one life to live (Hebrews 9:27).  In Paul’s explanation of Christian resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, he explains that only Christians will come back to life in a bodily form, and that bodily form is no way like an animal or any other form except a spiritual body which is like Christ’s resurrected body.
  • Human sacrifices.  Modern pagans try to sanitize what Druids did in ancient times by denying they sacrificed humans, but Julius Caesar and some historians refer to the sacrifice of humans by Celts.  Samhain was one of the main festivals where human sacrifices were made.  They lit bonfires, a word created from bones (referring to human bones) and fire.  Archaeologists have even dug up mummies in the peat bogs of Ireland that prove humans were sacrificed.  Human sacrifices have been rumored or stated to occur among modern black witches and Satanists by those who have defected from such groups.  Among such rituals is the act of vampirism.
  • Throughout the Old Testament, God expressed his anger for those who made their children “pass through the fire” to be sacrificed for false gods.  He also repeatedly told Israelites not to ingest blood (Leviticus 3:17, 7:27, Deuteronomy 12:23, Psalm 16:4).

Many churches have done away with celebrating Halloween, thank God.  However, some of the more liberal ones still embrace it as being harmless–to their own spiritual detriment.  

Learn not the way of the heathen… For the customs of the people are vain …  Jeremiah 10:2, 3

Sources consulted:

Bilderberg.org

Blessed Samhain

The Pagan’s Path

The Watchman Expositor

11 Comments
by Harry A. Gaylord on October 5, 2007  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Christianity, God, Halloween, idolatry, religion, wicca, witchcraft

Posted by Harry A. Gaylord on October 5, 2007

http://sunandshield.wordpress.com/2007/10/05/of-divinations-and-the-damned-halloweens-deceit/

Desperately wicked: 10 of the most shocking incidents in the Bible

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9

As anyone who reads the Bible knows, God’s word is not only a testimony of his awesome power, it is also a real account of just how evil we as people can be.   Here are 10 of the most shocking stories that are recorded to show just how much we need Jesus and to warn us of how low we are capable of stooping if we aren’t careful:

10.  Angry Jewish leaders stone Stephen to death (Acts 7). Truly one of the saddest accounts, it tells about a Christian who was just minding his own business carrying out the ministry God gave him.  That wasn’t good enough for some religious folks who were jealous of him and hated him and the message God told him to preach, so they put him through an unfair trial to summarily convict and execute him.  This is a poignant lesson that if you tell the truth, there are many people who don’t want to hear it and will do everything possible to either make your life miserable or try to end it.  Just look at what goes on here in the U.S. or around the world and you can see how this continues even today.  Whistleblowers, those who try to preserve life, and those who speak out for treating everyone fairly no matter what their race, religion, or gender are still ostracized, persecuted, or sometimes murdered.

9.  Seven sons of Sceva get their butts kicked by a possessed man (Acts 19). You know they got a serious whoopin’ if the guy beat them so bad they all ran away naked.  We can learn at least two things from this incident.  The first being that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is sacred so don’t take it lightly and the second is that those who don’t really know Jesus do not have access to the power that is in his name.  These evil spirits still roam the earth today looking for people to inhabit and should be taken seriously.

8.  Religious people in a Nazareth synagogue try to throw Jesus over the edge of a hill (Luke 4). Of course, those who are convinced that they are basically good don’t want to hear how sinful they really are, which is what Christ was pointing out to them.  They were a proud people who assumed that their cultural and religious heritage meant an automatic ticket to receive all of God’s blessings, including heaven.  Isn’t this the same way so many of us here in America act and think?  If they were raised in a Christian home or in a country they think is “Christian”, they believe they can ride the coattails of their relatives or the founding fathers right on into the pearly gates, praise God.  Jesus had to tell his fellow Nazarites their hearts weren’t right with God.  They considered his message sacrilege and thought this gave them the right to get rid of him permanently.

7.  The sons of the high priest Eli had sex with women who came to worship at the tabernacle (1 Samuel 2). If you thought Catholic priests started this trend, you’re wrong.  Hophni and Phinehas were actually married at the time and were priests who helped their father with his priestly duties, but disregarded the importance of anything sacred whether it was the sacrifices brought to the tabernacle, the women who brought the sacrifices, or marriage.  We see this same trend in a large number of churches today.  Eventually, judgment day came for Eli and his sons.  God gave them time to repent, but they refused and it cost them their lives.  “…be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23)

6.  David’s son Amnon rapes his half-sister, Tamar. What a tragedy this incident was!  It set off a chain of events that ruined so many people’s lives.  Amnon should have received severe punishment for his actions that ruined Tamar’s life.  David chose to do nothing about it.  This angered Tamar’s brother, Absalom, who eventually murdered Amnon when he realized his father wouldn’t defend his sister’s honor.  Absalom ended up fleeing for several years and when he returned, his father did not show him the love he longed for, resulting in Absalom’s resentment of his father, his attempt to steal the kingdom from his father, and his untimely death at the hands of treacherous Joab.  What a lesson this is to highlight the importance of godly discipline, forgiveness, and unconditional love that should take place within families to avoid unnecessary hurts.

5.  David commits adultery with Bathsheba and orders her husband to be murdered. Even strong, reliable leaders have a tendency to make bad judgments.  This is why it is so important not to put too much trust in any man, no matter who they are.

4.  Jephtha makes a vow that causes suffering for his daughter. I covered this at length in another post, so I won’t go into detail here.

3.  The men of Gibeah brutally rape a man’s concubine (Judges 19). The young man and his concubine were on their way home to Mt. Ephraim but had to stop in Gibeah because it got dark.  It was customary to take in a fellow countryman if they needed lodging at night, but the people of Gibeah were not very hospitable.  Finally an old man came along to lodge them for the night.  Then the men of the city got together and beat on the old man’s door later that night, requesting that he send out the young man so they could rape him.  They only stopped harassing the old man when the concubine was shoved out of the house to be brutalized and murdered by them.  It took awhile, but eventually these wicked men got what was coming to them after the young man appealed to all of Israel for justice.

2.  Lot’s daughters get him drunk to have sex with him. Although these young ladies knew of the faith of their great uncle Abraham, they obviously were influenced by all of the ungodliness in their midst at Sodom where they lived.  Their lack of faith in God led them to believe all hope was gone of them finding suitable husbands to replace the ones they lost in God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.  They drew the conclusion that the only way for them to have children was to be impregnated by their own father.  How disgusting!  This story is a lesson on waiting for God to replace what needs replacing in your life, if you’ve lost it or just waiting for him to provide what you need by not leaning to your own understanding.

1.  Sodom and Gomorrah’s unbridled lust. These perverted men had seared their consciences and were so consumed by their own lust for the two angels, they threatened to rape Lot in addition to the two angels if he didn’t move out of their way.  It’s the type of lust that says, “I’m going to do whatever I can, including using others to make me feel good, even if it ends up hurting them or me.”  Even after the angels struck them with blindness, the evil men of Sodom were still trying to get to them.  What is to be learned from this?  The evil men of Gibeah mentioned at no. 3 and the men of Sodom are what can happen when a society decides not to legislate morality.  When a society caves in to the demands of wicked people, wicked people only make more demands and society suffers moral decay where more people’s lives are put in jeopardy.  It has been estimated that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually molested.  If we give in to the demands of sexual perverts for their so-called rights, that number will only go higher and more than just kids will be negatively affected.

It’s interesting that people haven’t changed much in the hundreds or thousands of years since these stories were recorded.  Mankind is just as wicked now as we were then.  The only things that have changed about us is that we’ve come up with newer ways to promote and carry out our wickedness.  But it makes me even more thankful for the Lord Jesus Christ since he will one day annihilate all evil and bring about true peace to overtake the earth.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

2 Comments
by Harry A. Gaylord on October 5, 2007  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Christianity, God, humanity, life, lust, religion

Posted by Harry A. Gaylord on October 5, 2007

http://sunandshield.wordpress.com/2007/10/05/desperately-wicked-10-of-the-most-shocking-incidents-in-the-bible/

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