9 Ways to Become Happy

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9 Ways to Become Happy, changes, compassionate, contentment, depression, despair, discouragement, goodness, grief, harassment, hopelessness, humble, humility, humilty, joy, kindness, life answers, life struggles, life-liberty-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness, LONELINESS, morality, mourning, persecution, poor in spirit, suicide, Teacher

Who among us does NOT want to be happy? Silly question! Happiness is a universal goal or desire of mankind something all humans have in common. Even our “Declaration of Independence” includes happiness in its list of “unalienable rights” guaranteed by our Creator.

What IS happiness? The dictionary defines it as good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy. Some people define happiness in terms of achievement of personal goals like a six figure salary, or a new car. Others seek that perfect relationship (which, btw, does not exist!) Some seek temporary gratification by putting others down or using the weaker ones around us for our personal advantage. Still others just want everyone to agree with them … on everything!

Whatever your definition, I’d be willing to bet it includes some element of human comfort, so as I post these 9 methods toward happiness, you may find them foreign. They are, however, proven over centuries in a variety of cultures and circumstances.

9 Ways to Become Happy

• “Happy are people who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. (or “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.”)
• “Happy are people who grieve, because they will be made glad. (or “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.)
• “Happy are people who are humble, because they will inherit the earth.(or “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.)
• “Happy are people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they are full. (or “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.)
• “Happy are people who show mercy, because they will receive mercy. (or “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.)
• “Happy are people who have pure hearts, because they will see God. (or “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.)
• “Happy are people who make peace, because they will be called God’s children. (or “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.)
• “Happy are people whose lives are harassed because they are righteous, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. (or “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.)
• “Happy are you when people insult you and harass you and speak all kinds of bad and false things about you, all because of me. Be full of joy and be glad, because you have a great reward in heaven. In the same way, people harassed the prophets who came before you. (or “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.)

WOW, huh?

These are commonly known as “The Beatitudes,” a message delivered by Jesus. Most Americans have some knowledge of Jesus, and even if they do not believe Him to be the Son of GOD, as He claimed to be, they see Him as a great Teacher.

Maybe He’s on to something here, eh? With suicide rates up, depression, despair, & discouragement overtaking the lives and hearts of many Americans, perhaps our culture’s compass has become skewed? Perhaps, all the “selfish feel good” mentality is counter productive? Maybe money isn’t the answer to all our problems, after all. Maybe it’s time for a new direction, as taught by an ancient wise “Teacher?”

How badly do you want to Be HAPPY? Badly enough to try a different way of thinking? A different way of living? You decide.

**NOTE: The BEATITUDES are found in Matthew 5: 3-12. The versions shown above include the Living Bible and the Message Bible is in parenthesis above, linked for your convenience.

Why does it hurt, Lord? part 1

Tags

"The Problem of Pain", “Love Letter”, Christianity, church, goodness, hurt, LONELINESS, Love of God, pain, reality, sickness, trials, tribultions

Why does it hurt, Lord?

“We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to.
God whispers to us in our pleasures,
speaks in our conscience,
but shouts in our pains:
it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

I had an interview a couple weeks ago, and the interviewer told me he was a Christian. We talked a bit, and he said his 6 yr old grandson had just been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. He was struggling with this. He said the child asked him why God was mad at him. He was actually asking my opinion.

So, I carefully asked a few foundational questions concerning the Nature of GOD:

1. Is GOD sovereign?
2. Does GOD love each of us equally?

If GOD is Sovereign …

The concept of GOD’s sovereignty rests on His nature as Creator. If He designed and created all things, then He ought to have “sovereign” control in the design and functionality of all He created. Isn’t that the “fair” thing? Whatever we create, we expect to “control,” yes?

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 6 “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. ~ Jeremiah 18: 5-6

If GOD is sovereign, He can rightfully do with each of us as He pleases. It is really that simple. So then, the companion question revolves around the perfect Love of GOD.

Does GOD love each of us equally?

Romans 5: 6-8
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4: 9-10
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

There are many more parts of the Bible that talk about, define, and express the boundless unconditional Love of God freely given to you and me. In fact, honestly the entire Bible is one giant “Love Letter” explaining how deep, how wide, how high, and how limitless GOD’S LOVE is for us. He created us for His pleasure, to have an open friendship with Him. To apprehend that the Creator of the Universe desires an intimate friendship with us, with each of us, as David says, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.” (Ps 139:6)

“The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of a God who loves, is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word “love”, and look on things as if man were the centre of them. Man is not the centre. God does not exist for the sake of man. Man does not exist for his own sake. “Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” We were made not primarily that we may love God (though we were made for that too) but that God may love us, that we may become objects in which the divine love may rest “well pleased”.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

The Problem of Pain, by C. S. Lewis, takes a deeper look at the difficulty so many Believers, and the Church at large, have with the reality of PAIN. Sometime in the last century, the Western Church adopted a wrong mentality in the belief that becoming a Christian meant suddenly that all pain and difficulty would be removed from our lives. To accept that belief is to deny reality AND the ability of GOD to walk us through pain.

In fact,Jesus promises us pain … tribulation, affliction, difficulty – whatever word fits your situation or mine.

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” ~ John 16: 33

Why would Jesus bother to say this if He planned to remove all our pain?

Pain is a part of the human condition, and it is here to stay. Going back to the statement the interviewer’s grandson made, the fact that this child has diabetes is not an indication of GOD’s wrath or disapproval. Nor is it a curse, a punishment, or just for fun.

I don’t pretend to understand why beautiful, loving people are stricken with cancer or helpless children become victims of abuse. This much I do know: GOD loves endlessly, so I have to trust that GOD, in His sovereignty, has a GOOD purpose even in those events or situations that seem irredeemable because GOD is good and He cannot move against his nature.

“As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation- either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

James 1 starts with this admonition:

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James tells us that our “trials” have divine purpose, and that purpose involves growing something in us of Christ, that we “lack nothing!” So we’re encouraged to “count is all JOY!” Elsewhere, we’re told to “In everything, give thanks!”

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Psalm 136: 1-2

It’s all a matter of perspective.

We can choose to sit around and bemoan the imperfections of our life, the apparent areas of lack, the unanswered prayers, or

We can do as the Psalmist does in this Psalm, and rehearse the GOODNESS of GOD, and give thanks for GOD’s faithfulness to us, especially in the dark places.

Seeking perfection in this life will only bring us disappointment and despair, while rehearsing GOD’s GOODNESS will enable us to savor richness of this life.

The facts remain. GOD will never leave you no matter what happens. His love for you and I doesn’t hinge on our behavior, our attitude, or our faith! GOD chooses to love us … each of us. He gave us hundreds of promises and He is not able to lie because He IS Truth. He is not able to break His promises because His name is “Faithful and True!”

“There is no security is what God is doing. There is only security is who God is!” ~ Graham Cooke”
Graham Cooke

Related: 12 Things To Thank God For In The Midst Of Affliction

They’ll Be Dead by Morning (What Difference Will it Make?)

Tags

Christianity, faith, freedom, Kim Jong Un, martyrdom, modern-day martyrs, North Korea, persecution, playboy, the persecuted churches

**Warning: This post may make you feel bad.

**Warning: That feeling may be appropriate.

There are moments in life that feel like a swift slap in the face.

No one courts that.

No one wants to feel that pain.

But, if it’s a slap that rearranges your priorities to align with God’s heart,
then you will thank God even for that bracing offense.

I received that slap today
when I read the Washington Times news item that Kim Jong-un

has ordered the execution of 33 Christians

reported to have been part of planting over 500 underground churches in North Korea.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/6/kim-jong-un-calls-execution-33-christians/

I imagined thirty-three of my Christian friends executed for leading people to Christ, facilitating worship, praying, or offering praise to God.

I would be horrified, sad, and angry

devastated

but I would also know that God has the last word on their lives not Kim Jong-un or the evil power behind him.

Still, I would want their deaths to motivate the church of Christ.

I would want their deaths to galvanize other believers to put feet to their own faith,

To fuel their passion for Christ,

To remember to pray for those who suffer,

To spread God’s word with more zeal, persistence, and creativity than ever before.

While we in the West argue over worship styles,

sleep in when there’s a visiting preacher,

bemoan having to endure a boring prayer request or off-key soloist,

serve up the pastor’s sermon over lunch,

or sit home and judge the church unworthy of our attendance altogether

there are other brothers and sisters

gasping their way to every precious moment

when they can gather, in hiding, with other precious believers

and hear a whispered message from God,

bathe in the reading of His word,

and pray with passion and tears for strength to endure

and the courage to continue speaking the truth under threat of death.

God placed us all where we are.
He assigned us to our stations.
There is no guilt in being born in the land of the free as opposed to a country under harsh rule.

But there is guilt if we use our freedom to indulge our petty preferences,

to pad our comfort,

to drift through this dark world basking in our own light

rather than using it

to serve those who waste away in prison cells wondering if they’ve been forgotten

or their families left to struggle alone with hunger, fear, and lonliness,

or those serving the Lord in dark, dark places who need our prayers for their protection, deliverance, courage, and strength.

This blog is just a bunch of words. It costs me absolutely nothing to write. I am free here to say whatever I want without fear that it will cost me or my loved ones their lives.

But the words I speak on my knees have the power to move forces in the heavenly realm

and make a difference for those who know the names and faces of those 33 facing execution,

to comfort those who know their touch, their dreams, the plans they had for this life that will end any minute now

and to strengthen those who pick up the bloody batons these 33 will be forced to release

and continue to build the kingdom of Christ in lands where the enemy of God rules.

Worship will be different for me this week, with the report of 33 gunshots bouncing around the inner chamber of my soul

reminding me that we aren’t home yet.

***This article is reblogged from “Deeper with Jesus in Rhode Island” Thank you!

Kim Jong Un Channels Hugh Hefner Whilst Executing Christians [Video]

North Korea’s young leader Kim Jong Un seems to be acting like a regular playboy these days, according to recent press coverage. The very young dictator, who is 31-years-old, was seen cavorting around with a group of blushing female pilots during a series of drills at a North Korean air strip – practically reenacting a scene from the popular TV series The Girls Next Door, which featured “Hef” and his Playboy Bunny girlfriends. Although Jong Un almost channels an odd version of Hugh Hefner during the event, outside of that fun-loving image stands a man who plans on executing a group of 33 Christians, suspected of “no good”.

On Friday, North Korea’s Workers party released a few choice pictures to Korean Central News Agency. These very cheerful photos show Jong Un smiling, laughing, and happily posing alongside a gang of seemingly smitten female pilots at an air force based. The imagery harkens back to a time of Hugh Hefner, sitting in his mansion, surrounded by admiring women, looking on in awe of his success and manhood. The 1940’s style uniforms worn by the North Korean ladies certainly helped to round out the strangeness of the scene. More HERE

I wonder how many American churches will even pray …

Will you pray?

Jesus said, “I told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have trouble, but be brave! I have defeated the world.”
John 16:33 (NCV)

Confirmed: U.S. Chief Facilitator of Christian Persecution

Tags

Africa, American Church, call to prayer, Christian Persecution, Christianity, church, conviction, devotion, islam, Jihad, martyrs, middle-east, suffering, Syria, torture

Will YOU pray?

Confirmed:
U.S. Chief Facilitator of Christian Persecution
Special Bulletin

By Raymond Ibrahim

Prominent indicators confirm that the U.S. is the chief facilitator of the persecution of Christians around the world today.

According to the recently released 2014 World Watch List, which ranks the 50 nations where Christians are most persecuted, Syria is the third worst nation in the world in which to be Christian, Iraq is fourth, Afghanistan fifth, and Libya 13th. All four countries receive the strongest designation, “extreme persecution” (other designations are “severe,” “moderate,” and “sparse” persecution).

Aside from being so closely and harshly ranked, these four nations have something else in common: heavy U.S. involvement. Three-Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya-were “liberated” thanks to U.S. forces, while in the fourth, Syria, the U.S. is actively sponsoring “freedom fighters” against the regime, many of whom would be better labeled “terrorists.”

The Syrian situation alone indicts U.S. foreign policy. According to Reuters:

“Open Doors, a non-denominational group supporting persecuted Christians worldwide, said on Wednesday it had documented 2,123 “martyr” killings, compared with 1,201 in 2012. There were 1,213 such deaths in Syria alone last year, it said. “This is a very minimal count based on what has been reported in the media and we can confirm,” said Frans Veerman, head of research for Open Doors. Estimates by other Christian groups put the annual figure as high as 8,000.”

Read More

Will you pray?

It’s Not Complicated!!!

Tags

America, boundless love, extravagant love, Father's Love, fear, imperfections, love, not complicated, outrageously loved, shame, simple, sin, sinfulness, unconditional love

It really is simple! For thousands of years, men of education, and assumed intelligence, have sought to explain what is elementary enough for the youngest, most simple-minded among us to grasp. We complicate it with sophistication, assuming we can improve the experience of history: HIS-STORY! We complicate it with lofty knowledge’s elaborate words trying to impress … whom? God? or man?

From before Creation was spoken into existence until the time of His-story’s culmination, GOD is LOVE. That’s it! Every thought, every word, and every action of God is motivated, directed, and empowered by LOVE. Unconditional Love. A Perfect Father’s Love.

Problem: Burdened by inexplicable (and unaccepted in our society) guilt, we hate our Self. And because we hate our Self, we are unable to fully love any one or anything. We can’t give real love or receive it. We Fear instead. We fear alone-ness. We fear one another. We fear our differences. We fear our sin. We fear our Self. And we blame God.

Our imperfections, our sinfulness, cloud our understanding of God, of Love, so we distrust Him. This causes a separation resulting in loneliness, which is not about people, but about missing our closeness with Father God. In our loneliness, our vision (still clouded,) we see the brokenness and imperfections in others and feel repelled and rejected.

NEWSFLASH: GOD IS LOVE!!!!! Not just ambiguous, unfocused, vague, and random, but person, intimate, accepting and individual love. Every minute of every day, GOD is literally moving heaven and earth to LOVE YOU. He will not quit until your life’s last breath is gone.

Just a few of the hundreds of promises that are yours and mine!

What’s more … Every promise, every promise, every promise contained in His book … between Genesis 1 and Revelation 22 is a personal promise for YOU (and me.) But to see these promises fulfilled, though some again make it complicated, the only requirement is that you RECEIVE them. Of course, to do that, you must first have some belief that God can and will actually come through.

From the beginning of time, God knew we would fall, we would not always do the right thing. God knew, and because He didn’t want us to be estranged from Him indefinitely, so He set up a plan to reconcile us. It meant sending Himself in human form, Jesus, to live as a sin-free man. This enabled Jesus to choose to pay the price of my sinfulness, suffer and die on the cross, then walk out of the tomb, conquering death. Why? because He loves us and wants to hang out with us. Everything he says, everything He does, and everything He speaks comes from that Love … Everything!!!! He wants to love us outrageously, lavishly, happily, boundlessly forever! It’s really that simple!

Ray Comfort: Here is a rule of thumb when reading the Bible: “With God, nothing shall be impossible.”

Now you can believe that seas can open, food can fall from the heavens, the sun can stop, whales swallow people, animals can fit on a boat, arks float, walls tumble, and fish can multiply. It’s really quite simple.

Nothing is impossible in your personal life. Nothing is impossible in your family. No thing is impossible in this nation, if we return to God, receive His love and pass it on to one another freely, as He commands! God can fix what is broken in America, but first, we have to ask Him!

Follow the Matrix of Liberty

Tags

America, character, Christianity, education, faith, Forefathers' Monument, Founders, freedom, justice, LAW, liberty, Matrix of Liberty, mercy, morality, Pilrims, Separatists, tyranny, youth

Matrix of Liberty: The Founders’ Monument

or
Where Do We Go From Here?

Unknown or unacknowledged by many, our forefathers erected a “Matrix of Liberty” for the purpose of documentation. It documents the road map they followed to win and establish LIBERTY in AMERICA. The monument has been there for decades, built with government funds, in the off chance We, the People would lose our way and allow the government to assume tyrannical power. Oops! Good thing, right? Yet, it is ignored.

Below, the matrix is explained. Each of the granite figures carries meanings like pieces of a puzzle. I have outlined each figure below, but the video completes the explanation. Please watch and be amazed!!!

FAITH
Meet FAITH! She is paramount! She is pointing upward toward the God of the Bible. FAITH in God is what brought the first Pilgrims, or Separatists, to Plymouth. Not the sour, pious stiffness we were told in school, but a LIVE FAITH that carried them through persecution and hardship as they broke free from tyranny.

MORLITY
Morality is internal liberty, and starts in the HEART of the individual. As we pursue our God in faith, He teaches us true fairness via internal morality of heart.

EVANGELIST
EVANGELISTS preach the message that transforms the heart. TRUE Freedom and Morality are products of FAITH in GOD and His Promises, the BIBLE, studied and taught to every person.

LAW
A MORAL SYSTEM translated from God’s Law into civil law, balanced by MERCY and JUSTICE, with Equality under the LAW for each individual.

EDUCATION
A Woman training her young children (YOUTH) according to heart-held principles and an honorable character, preparing the next generation to carry forward the “Matrix of Liberty!”

LIBERTY
LIBERTY is the result of following the “Matrix of Liberty!” LIBERTY is seated in Victory. He is holding the broken chains of the manacle of tyranny attached to his leg. He has slain the Lion Tyrant, yet bears the marks as a remembrance on his shoulder. Liberty has his foot on the chest of Tyranny, holding it down by following God’s principles only – no bloodshed! Strength based on Morality, overcoming evil with Goodness!

So much of what we were taught in school, and even more of what our children are being taught in school today is simply untrue based on historical documents still in existence. Notably, the first Bibles printed in the United States were funded by CONGRESS in 1782 for the use of our SCHOOLS – First public school law!!! Bibles were used in schools starting in 1647 through 1963 (which I remember!)

LEARN MORE … PLEASE WATCH VIDEO!!!!!

So … where do we go from here, America? Toward FAITH or TYRANNY?

Related reading: The Forefathers’ Monument Explained – VERY COOL!

A Roller Coaster Year

Tags

2014, City of God, New Jerusalem, New Year, prophecy, prophetic dream, roller coaster, vision

INTRODUCTION: Many years ago, I built my first website on the messages of other men and women of God. In the belief that God uses as many “vehicles” or methods of communication as possible, I believe God is eager to share with us “secrets” of what He is doing today. Keep in mind the story from the Old Testament of Balaam and his talking donkey (Numbers 22:22-41 NKJV.)

Anyway, this is the God of Creation we’re talking about and I, for one, will put no restraints on Him! So in that mindset, this is a “Word” concerning this new year.

My God bless and increase our wisdom & understanding according to His extravagant love for us!

Where there is no vision from God, the people run wild,
but those who adhere to God’s instruction know genuine happiness.
Proverbs 29:18

by Rick Joyner

A Vision of a Roller Coaster

When I prayed for this coming year, I was shown a roller coaster. This means we will have ups and downs this year. I realize that hardly takes a prophet to predict, but the encouraging thing about this vision was that the ride ended at the highest point. We’re going higher this year! So don’t be discouraged by the dips. Hang on and know that we will be going up again soon.

Our prophetic friend, Bob Jones, told us several months ago that it was going to be a very hard winter. I think this one has already qualified for that. As I am writing this in South Carolina, it is 8 degrees outside. I don’t remember it ever being that cold here. However, the great thing is that spring will certainly follow! The point is that we must hang on during any dips or hard times. They will come to pass, but they will pass! As Winston Churchill once said, “When you’re going through Hell, keep going.” Keep going.

The roller coaster I saw was very rickety. It did not seem that it could make it through another turn or the ups and downs. It held together though. I love roller coasters, but this one was not the kind I would get on voluntarily. We don’t have a choice, we are on it. Even the strongest systems of this world are very shaky, and most can only make it through another day because God is holding them together. He is doing this for our sakes, so we should never stop praying for them.

A Glistening Train

In the vision, there was a platform at the end of this roller coaster ride. It did not look any stronger than the roller coaster, but as we walked across, it became stronger and stronger. On the other side, there was a beautiful, brilliantly glistening train which we boarded. It was the most beautiful and well-appointed train I’ve ever seen.

However, as I boarded I saw that when it left the platform, it would enter a long, dark tunnel that I could not see the end of. Even so, the tunnel was going up, and this was a powerful, mountain-climbing train. We’re going up. It may be dark and a bit scary for a while, but we are going higher. That was the end of this vision.

Trains often speak of training in dreams and visions. We may still be on a rickety old roller coaster, but the vehicle that is going to take us to where we must go will be training. This speaks to me of Ephesians 4 – the equipping of the saints to do the work of the ministry. Even though it may take a while for us to see where we’re going (the long, dark tunnel) we will be going up. This is the vehicle that will get us to where we must go.

The City God is Building

It is the nature of the faith walk to not be able to see where you’re going, but you should know what you’re looking for. The one who started the walk of faith, Abraham, did not know where he was going, but he did know what he was looking for – the city that God is building, not men.

The cities that men have built are impressive, but once you see what God is building, you can no longer be impressed with anything man is building. It takes revelation to see what God is building. John saw Babylon until he was carried to a high mountain. Then he saw the New Jerusalem, which is the city that Abraham saw. It is still being built. Being a part of it is the highest calling we can have. Do you see it?

As we see in the Book of Revelation, the New Jerusalem is the Bride, the wife of the Lamb. As Don Potter recently remarked, it is an amazing thing how a bride can look like she is in shambles just minutes before the ceremony. However, in those last few minutes she comes together and emerges so beautifully and so perfect that you know you have witnessed a great miracle. This may well be just the way it happens with the Bride of the Lamb. We may look like a disaster right up to the end and then, miraculously, we come together without spot or wrinkle.

Never give up.

Rick Joyner
MorningStar Ministries
Email: info@morningstarministries.org
Website: morningstarministries.org

Rick Joyner is the founder and executive director of MorningStar Ministries and Heritage International Ministries and is the Senior Pastor of MorningStar Fellowship Church. He is the author of more than forty books, including The Final Quest, A Prophetic History, and Church History. He is also the president of The OAK Initiative, an interdenominational movement that is mobilizing thousands of Christians to be engaged in the great issues of our times, being the salt and light that they are called to be. Rick and his wife, Julie, have five children: Anna, Aaryn, Amber, Ben, and Sam.

Historic Presidency – Historic People

Tags

"In God We Trust", 2016, “2016: Obama’s America”, Benghazi, citizenship, Common Core, deception, Dinesh D'Souza, failure, fema-camps, foreign born, freedom, Hillary Clinton, IRS, Keystone Pipeline, militia, NDAA, NSA, obama, One nation under God, police state, survival, tyranny, US Constitution

Corey James wrote “Quit trashing Obama’s accomplishments. He has done more than any other President before him. He has an impressive list of accomplishments:

• First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner.
• First President to have a social security number belonging to another man, from a state he has never lived in.
• First President to preside over a cut to the credit-rating of the United States.
• First President to violate the War Powers Act.
• First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
• First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party.
• First President to spend a trillion dollars on “shovel-ready” jobs when there was no such thing as “shovel-ready” jobs.* * * *
• First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of companies to his union supporters.
• First President to by-pass Congress and implement the Dream Act through executive fiat.
• First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the deportation of illegal immigrants across the U.S. including those with criminal convictions.
• First President to demand a company hand-over $20 billion to one of his political appointees.
• First President to tell a CEO of a major corporation (Chrysler) to resign.
• First President to terminate America’s ability to put a man in space.
• First President to cancel the National Day of Prayer and to say that America is no longer a Christian nation.
• First President to have a law signed by an auto-pen without being present.
• First President to arbitrarily declare an existing law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it.
• First President to threaten insurance companies if they publicly spoke out on the reasons for their rate increases.
• First President to tell a major manufacturing company in which state it is allowed to locate a factory.
• First President to file lawsuits against the states he swore an oath to protect (AZ, WI, OH, IN).
• First President to withdraw an existing coal permit that had been properly issued years ago.
• First President to actively try to bankrupt an American industry (coal).
• First President to fire an inspector general of AmeriCorps for catching one of his friends in a corruption case.
• First President to appoint 45 czars to replace elected officials in his office.
• First President to surround himself with radical left wing anarchists.
• First President to golf 73 separate times in his first two and a half years in office, 102 to date.
• First President to hide his medical, educational and travel records.
• First President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing NOTHING to earn it.
• First President to go on multiple “global apology tours” and concurrent “insult our friends” tours.
• First President to go on 17 lavish vacations, including date nights and Wednesday evening White House parties for his friends paid for by the taxpayers.
• First President to have 22 personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his wife.
• First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000 a year at taxpayer expense.* * * *
• First President to fly in a personal trainer from Chicago at least once a week at taxpayer expense.* * * *
• First President to repeat the Holy Quran & tell us the early morning call of the Azan (Islamic call to worship) is the most beautiful sound on earth.
• First President to tell the military men and women that they should pay for their own private insurance because they “volunteered to go to war and knew the consequences.”
• Then he was the First President to tell the members of the military that THEY were UNPATRIOTIC for balking at the last suggestion.* * * *
• First President to side with a foreign nation over one of the American 50 states (Mexico vs. Arizona).

How is Obama’s “Hope and Change” working out for you?”

I believe Obama should be arrested and impeached for only a few of his “Great Accomplishments.” For being best President in many of his Democratic followers eyes… I feel this Great Nation in being misled in an immorally direction away from what it was originally founded on. I pray for the safety and promising future for our children. I pray our children do not become as greedy, ungrateful, anti-christian and un-patriotic as I see our current leaders leading their lives.

I commend you for reading all of this. And, I hope it has empowered you with knowledge and opened your eyes more.

Thank you,
Daniel S. Hudson
— feeling patriotic.

♫ That’s Why I Pray ♫

Tags

America's Psychosis, bullying, call to prayer, faith, forgiveness, God, kindness, mass shootings, mental illness, prayer, second amendment

Oh oh oh oh, oh oh, yeah

Man on the TV’s gone insane, everybody’s just laughing
People ‘cross the world holding on
The earth caved in, the ocean came down crashing
My neighbor lost his house ’cause he can’t find a job
Don’t you dare pledge allegiance, don’t you dare speak of God
Speak of God
Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

Obamanomics Kills Jobs as GOP Dithers

“If it weren’t for a shamelessly dishonest, hyper-protective liberal media, the American people would know, unanimously and without doubt, that Obamanomics is killing American jobs. There is no silver lining in the December jobs numbers.

Experts and analysts were expecting this latest jobs report, released Friday, to show 200,000 new payroll jobs in December, but there were only 74,000, which is 37 percent of the goal. Not 90 percent, not 80, not 70, not even 50 percent. Just 37 percent.

If these abominable numbers had occurred under George W. Bush’s watch, the GOP would have had hell to pay for decades. But liberal presidents always get a pass in the form of wildly far-fetched excuses and rationalizations for their failed policies.

Attentive minds, however, will not be fooled. As the liberal media live by the dishonest rationalization, so they must die by it, as well. With the help of sympathetic economists, they have been whitewashing Obama’s perennially anemic economy as being in “recovery” for 52 months now.” Read MORE

♫ “That’s Why I Pray” ♫

Now I’m begging for forgiveness
I wanna make a difference even in the smallest way
I’m only one person, but I can feel it working
I believe in better days
That’s why I pray

Some stupid video posted as a joke, somebody’s life gets ruined
Out of everything we can create
Where is the cure to keep the sick from losing
Babies having babies ’cause their parents are always gone
Somehow we have forgotten how to make a house a home
How to make a house a home
Oh! Oh! Yeah! Yeah!

Seems “bullying” is in the news every week as either a teen commits suicide or a politician uses “bullying” language in reference to an opponent or opposition party. If “bullying” is defined as someone acting loudly arrogant and overbearing, then many in the headlines fall into that category. Problem is, we, as adults, are teaching our kids how to bully and when to bully, and it starts in the White House! Until we, as adults, remember we are all Americans & we all have a voice, our kids will pay the price for our bigotry.

Moral Intelligence and Public School Bullying

“On December 4, 2013 Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.5-million member American Federation of Teachers (AFT), spoke on C-Span about bullying, particularly of gay students. Ms. Weingarten said, with surprise in her voice, that she doesn’t understand why gay students are still bullied in public schools, because in 2013, “It’s cool to be gay.” She also said she is gay, and now speaks about it openly.

As a psychotherapist, I tell clients that being surprised by another person’s behavior often results from erroneous assumptions about the person, usually because you see them as you want them to be rather than as they are. As Ms. Weingarten talked about the love that not only dares speak its name but never shuts its yap, I imagined how it would sound if a heterosexual male schoolteacher said, “The way I do sex is cool.” Read MORE

♫ “That’s Why I Pray” ♫

I’m begging for forgiveness, I wanna make a difference
Even in the smallest way
I’m only one person, but I can feel it working
I believe in better days
That’s why I pray, yeah
That’s why I pray, yeah

These demons from my past haunt me every night
And I just can’t get through it
If I could forget them on my own, I’ll let go and just move on
But heaven knows I am only human

Politicians have chosen to make firearms an issue in place of the more controversial issue of Mental illness. In doing so, they totally miss the point in an attempt to distract the public and give a semblance of “taking action!” We, as Americans, must demand better! Our streets are littered with people … human beings who have lost their way by means of mental illness, not to be confused with substance abuse!

Mass Shootings: America’s Psychosis

After every mass shooting, I write a variant of the same column. Perhaps I’ll republish this one when the next attack happens.

The increase in mass shootings over the course of the past several decades is not imaginary. In 2000, The New York Times analyzed 100 mass shootings between 1949 and 1999 and found that 73 of them had happened since 1990. Since 2000, according to Mother Jones magazine, there have been 33 more, including the recent massacre at the Navy Yard. The majority of the killers have untreated mental illness. Read MORE

♫ “That’s Why I Pray” ♫

And that’s why I pray, yeah yeah
That’s why I pray, I pray, I pray, I pray

Yes I’m begging for forgiveness (I’m begging for forgiveness)
I just wanna make a difference (Just wanna make a difference)
I believe (I believe) in better days
That’s why I pray

Music & Lyrics(in italics) by BIG & RICH

Please PRAY, now more than ever …

for this nation,

for our fellow Americans,

for our leaders – both elected and otherwise.

♫ Somewhere in the Middle ♫

Tags

affliction, challenge, Darkness, depression, difficulties, DO SOMETHING!, hardship, Jesus, test

Walking on Giants

by Bill Yount

In Charleston, South Carolina, a little boy about four years old walked over, looked up at me and said, “You are little!” I said to the pastor standing beside me, “What did he say?” The pastor said, “It sounds like he said, “You are little!” It made the boy feel good since he was so short. But it humbled me. It made me think.

We should look at our biggest giant or mountain and say, “You are little! You are little compared to the God inside of me!” It will humble any mountain or giant to fall. What mountain or giant will the Lord raise you up to stand on top of this coming year? What stormy seas will He cause you to walk on?

On the sea of Galilee, famous for storms, I asked the Lord a question. “Lord, are we near the place where Peter got out of the boat and walked on the raging sea before he fell?” The Lord answered me. “What do you mean Peter fell? This is the sea where Peter walked!” As though He didn’t remember Peter falling. Peter sank but he walked on water. The eleven sat in the boat living in regret. The terror of that storm paralyzed them. They missed that once in a lifetime opportunity. Sinking is better than sitting. When life is over we won’t regret taking a risk for God and sinking. We will regret sitting. And God won’t remember us sinking.