The HEART of the Matter

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celebrations, Christmas, dingy manger, Expectations, family, Hanukkuh, heart, LONELINESS, meaning, The HEART of the matter

Have you been to the mall? Are your decorations up? Is your baking done? Did you get your Christmas or Hanukkah cards in the mail? How about all the Christmas music on the radio, tired of it yet?

Last weekend, I had to pick up some chocolate chips for my daughter. She wanted to make some fudge. I stopped at the local grocery store and went directly to the baking aisle. It was overwhelming!(I am NOT one who enjoys the art of shopping, so I am typically in and out within 15 minutes!) I headed down the baking aisle in search of a deal on what I needed, spotted the rascals on the left side of the aisle, and stopped momentarily to compare prices. A young woman with long black hair, glasses, and a scowl was behind me where I stopped. She looked up at me (and I’m only 5’5″) and with a sardonic smile said, “Yes, every time you stop, the whole line has to stop!”

Well, I only had stopped ONCE! I kind of looked at her in disbelief, and looked back at the shelf. When she didn’t make a move to circumvent me, I looked back at her and she told me to, “get f*’d!” I smiled politely and said, “same to you!”

As I finished my shopping, though, my heart broke for her and the thousands like her who have been totally engulfed by our secular, anti-goodness society. It’s not a new thing entirely, but godlessness has become a national past time in OUR time. Only recently, has it become socially acceptable to be selfish, self-centered, and unkind. It is everywhere now. (Watch drivers, if you have any doubt.) People think only of themselves, their agenda, their needs and are completely unaware? or unconcerned? with others. “Screw you, lady! You’re in MY way!”

The HEART of the matter is GOD! Many people, whether alone or surrounded by others, are lonely these days. GOD, whomever we understand Him to be, is relegated to a distant dark corner of our pseudo-sophisticated society only to be recognized as the source of some fringe lunatic. Darkness increases while those holding the Light remain well shielded by the protective bushel of their/our choosing, and we wonder why society is breaking down.

The attitude of this one young woman shocked my heart, my reality. She was not suffering from some obvious disease, but her heart is sick. Mine, too, struggles under the burden of perfection portrayed by TV and movies … the perfect Christmas or Hanukkah celebrations always show scores of happy family members laughing and embracing one another with tables loaded with boundless delicacies and truckloads of gifts for everyone. I don’t live there, do you?

• But the dingy manger? THAT I can relate to! Our best laid plans sometimes fail.
• The hardship of that journey to Bethlehem with Mary at 9 months pregnant? THAT I can relate to … discomfort is a big part of life!
• Alone in a strange town, crowds of people milling around yet, no place just for them. THAT I can relate to! Surprises! Unexpected journeys!
• Supplies insufficient to the task at hand? THAT I can relate to! Making due with what’s on hand is daily life, and it requires faith in something or Someone bigger than me!

At this point in time, the media (TV, movies, magazines, etc) sets our expectations for more than any of us realize. Today’s movies always show the various holidays … PERFECT! There may be a bit of a struggle to get there, but perfection always arrives. LIFE is not perfect! It is not orderly or predictable. It is our daily challenge to make order out of chaos.

The moral of this story? When the Christmas lights are unplugged, when the Hanukkah gifts are given, when the parties are over and the cookies are eaten, what is left? GOD is there in my emptiness and unfulfilled expectations, and He’s there in yours, too! He didn’t stay in that dingy manger, and the oil has still never run dry! He is not necessarily where we expect Him to be, that’s all. Though we have tried for centuries to package Him and present Him all neat and tidy, He reminds us constantly that HE is GOD, and we are not!

Look for HIM as you celebrate … or as you endure whatever hardships and discomfort is your life. He is THERE!

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What’s It Worth to US?

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al-Qaeda, Christian Church, compromise, contamination, deception, Expectations, If My people, morality, repentance, truth

This post is addressed to believers in Jesus Christ. The best of us have been contaminated by the sinfulness in our society. This is not a condemnation of others, but a gentle rebuke of myself and any who have ears to hear. If we want God to heal our land, quiet the hatred and violence, heal our families, we must repent of our sinfulness, our compromise, our choice to look the other way when our children do wrong. If we want God to heal our land … we must decide how badly we want … or need him to heal us, and we must decide what it is worth to us. We must also decide if we, as the American people, are able to heal and restore our land on our own. If not, the price is clear. Are we willing to pay it? Are we willing to clean up our act, our mouths, our attitudes for the sake of a restored America? Or have we become addicted to our stuff, our loose ways, our bad mouths, and our loneliness, the fear that rules our lives?

Perhaps the single most frustrating thing to me about this entire election season is the moral compromise within the Christian Church. First, I want to define for my purposes here, the Christian Church to be every faith, protestant, Catholic, or other, that believes in the divinity of Jesus Christ as the way to a victorious, contented life here and a heavenly life after. This includes, also, those who believe this way but are not involved with any particular denomination of local assembly.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God says, “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Not too many Americans would deny that our land is in great need of “healing.” But what price must be exacted to obtain the longed for healing? Is it turning back the clock to the “dark ages?”

They knew, yet they let the battle rage for hours while Marines awaited the green light. They knew, and they let Americans die … WHY? So YOU might think al-Qaeda wasn’t involved, so the President would look good. So, how’s that workin’ for you, Mr President?

I hear many Americans complain about the lying in DC, but is there TRUTH in our lives? I read about sex scandals because, of course, sex sells, but is our sex life pure? Celebrities are famous not only for their entertainment but for their common misuse and abuse of “recreational” drugs and alcohol. They make the news with their carousing, but what about you and me? Are our lives so pure and without “sin” that we are qualified to cast the first stone?

The horrific incident in Benghazi fills the blogosphere, and is beginning to appear in the mainstream media. Outrage over this affair is seen on Twitter and Facebook as more information filters out to us. As I read through one of the articles today, tears overwhelmed me. Righteous indignation over the administration’s apparent (perhaps deliberate) withholding of help from those under fire burned within me, and I wept.

My tears turned to prayers for the families of those lost, but quickly evolved into prayers for us … You and me sitting comfortably and allowing the character of people in this nation to waste away, expecting nothing above animal behavior. Oh, our expectations have been slowly eroded over decades even as we once were outraged by smoking or women in slacks. We have grown accustomed to immorality. Every TV programs flouts sexual exploits with multiple, rotating partners. While cigarette smoking has been minimized, language has devolved.

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chron 7; 14

We have a decision to make November 6, that involves so much more than who will set up housekeeping in the White house. Our behavior will cost us, one way or another. I used to teach my kids that “Righteousness brings blessing, but disobedience to God requires a price.” No! It doesn’t require that every American believe in God, or submit to His ways! No! It doesn’t require us to “give up” that secret vice we want no one to know about. It simply requires us to be honest with ourselves. How can we expect our leaders to govern in integrity if we don’t require it in ourselves? How can we ask our leaders to represent us in Truth, if we cannot discern the truth from fiction?

• We must decide if we want our society to be a caring and compassionate society that respects one another even when we disagree, or if we will forego our individual freedoms for some illusion of communal security.
• We must decide if we are ready to toss the Golden Rule and insist on the lowest Common Denominator in morality,as well as education.
• We must decide if the development of a woman’s brain is more important than the availability of free contraception and abortion.
• We must decide if mankind is no different than animals, or can we learn from our mistakes and pursue a virtuous life that bears its own rewards? Do we stay where we’re comfortable, even though it’s killing us, or strive to improve our lot for ourselves and our progeny?

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you,
that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing;
therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice,
and that you may cling to Him,
for He is your life and the length of your days;
and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers,
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Really? What’s American Freedom worth to you?

The Speech You Never Heard

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Expectations

“I think also, that general virtue is more probably to be expected and obtained
from the education of youth, than from exhortations of adult persons;
bad habits and vices of the mind being, like diseases of the body,
more easily prevented than cured. I think moreover,
that talents for the education of youth are the gift of God;
and that he on whom they are bestowed,
whenever a way is opened for use of them,
is as strongly called as if he heard a voice from heaven…”
Benjamin Franklin

June 7, 2012
Patriots, I am in New Orleans today at the World War II Museum with my favorite War II Vet, my father. The guest column this week is from my colleague, Neal Boortz, a lawyer and nationally syndicated radio host. Given all of the commencement speeches delivered in recent weeks, I invite you to read the commencement speech Boortz has never been invited to deliver, as excerpted from his book by the same title.

Pro Deo et Constitutione — Libertas aut Mors
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis




Mark Alexander
Publisher, The Patriot Post

The Commencement Speech You Need To Hear

I am honored by the invitation to address you on this august occasion. It’s about time. Be warned, however, that I am not here to impress you; you’ll have enough smoke blown your way today. And you can bet your tassels I’m not here to impress the faculty and administration.

You may not like much of what I have to say, and that’s fine. This isn’t the first time you’re not going to like what someone has to say … your bosses, for instance. Things change today. There will be a lot less pandering to your every whim, and a lot more demands for performance. You will remember what I had to say though. Especially after about 10 years out there in the real world. This, of course, does not apply to those of you who will seek your careers and your fortunes as government employees … or as college professors.

You’ve heard the old saying that those who can – do. Those who can’t – teach. That sounds deliciously insensitive. But there is often raw truth in insensitivity, just as you often find feel-good falsehoods and lies in compassion. Say good-bye to your faculty because now you are getting ready to go out there and do. These folks behind me are going to stay right here and teach.

By the way, just because you are leaving this place with a diploma doesn’t mean the learning is over. When an FAA flight examiner handed me my private pilot’s license many years ago, he said, ‘Here, this is your ticket to learn.’ The same can be said for your diploma. Believe me, the learning has just begun.

OK .. it’s time for you to hear something — to learn something — that may, but should not, come as a complete surprise.

You are the victims of a terrible fraud. You have just completed your travels through an educational system that had no real intention of educating you … at least not too much.

You’re pretty hot at research right now, aren’t you? While those skills are still with you, perhaps you would like to put them to work studying the start of compulsory government education in the early part of the last century. Do you really think that the goal of our compulsory government education system has been to actually educate you?

Did you study H. L. Mencken? In 1924 he wrote an article for the American Mercury where he defined the true aim of our then-fledgling system of education. Listen carefully:

The aim of public education is not to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence. … Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim … is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is the aim in the United States and that is its aim everywhere else.

Think about this. Who owns the schools? The government. Who mandates attendance? The government. Who staffs the schools? The government … with government workers. Who directs the work of the schools? The government. Can you see where it is in the best interests of government to suppress dissent and originality? Can you understand why government would want a standardized citizenry? Those who dissent; those who produce originality of thought; those who exceed the standards are a threat to what? The status quo, that’s what … and government likes the calming influence of the status quo…… READ MORE

RELATED READING:

Texas A&M Commencement Address – The students gave a standing ovation; the faculty were deathly silent!

A Tale of Two High School Students