065 Turns Out...

Turns out that those who have been suspicious about the sincerity of Bush's supposed piety are being vindicated before Judgment Day. At least the London Times is giving us a wee glimpse of that "I knew it all along" feeling.
As far as the rest of them goes: no, we'll be good & won't say, "How could you have been so dumb all along?!"

Also turns out that ordinary dirt appears to be more than ordinary. A fistful of it contains billions of living organisms necessary to keep things on this planet growing, and consequently, us fed.
The bad news is, it's disappearing. Like so many other things that didn't seem good to us & we took for granted...
You just can't beat God at anything. Not even at making plain old dirt.

(See also this recent article on the issue.)

Turns out ... once again, we're not quite as smart as we all would like to think, are we?

Oh, and it also turns out that an even greater pollution factor than transportation (as in cars and exhaust fumes), as well as occupant of 30% of the earth's ice-free land is the production of the burgers we stuff down: meat.
No wonder the "Enlightened ones" want us to become vegetarians. After reading this article, one might even consider becoming one.

Wouldn't be a bit surprised if that's going to be on the NWO's "menu for the masses:" "Repent of the evil we have tempted you to commit all along!"

Well, I don't mind, as long as I don't have to take that silly mark in my hand or forehead. You can keep that for your cattle. I promise I won't touch'em. Just don't make us your new cattle.

Turns out that President Sarkozy of France is following in the footsteps of Napoleon and pretty much dancing to the New World Order beat. But this time I'm not surprised.

Finally, it turns out that, no, this doesn't seem to be quite the end of our beloved paper money as we know it, before the Big Boys blow out the candle on us, and "the lights in New York will go out for the last time," although - as we have not dared to hope otherwise, there are darker days ahead.

You wouldn't have believed us, if we'd have told you that 30 years ago, would ya?

064 Preaching At Home Syndrome

I know I'm repeating myself, but it just seems to be a fact that comes slinging back in my face over and over again: "The only thing we learn from history is that we never learn from history" (A. Toynbee).

One particular thing I'm referring to that we don't seem to learn from history, is what I'd call overcoming the "preaching at home" syndrom: It took the Early Church years, if not actual decades, until they finally realized and remembered (or at least cared to pay attention to the fact) that Jesus had bid them to "go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15), and not just to the Jews back home in the "Promised Land."

It took a former enemy of the church, the persecutor Saul turned missionary no.1 Paul, to lead the way and show that the Gospel was destined for the World, and not just for fellow Jews at home.

Why am I saying that this keeps happening? Well, look at the church today: Who are they preaching to? When you listen to those big star preachers like Joyce Meyer or a song from one of the many Christian bands and superstars from the U.S., whom are they addressing? Almost exclusively fellow Christians. The attitude is similar to that which must have been that of the Early Church stuck back home: "We like our own kind. As far as them hottentots out there, well, let'em go to hell: we wouldn't want them around in heaven, anyway."

Not only did the Early Christians initially fail to obey their Lord's bidding to spread out the message into the whole world, but they even gave the only fellow who actually did the job a hard time, by criticizing him and his ways of doing it and criticizing his flock ("Your pagan converts need to be circumcized and eat only kosher food, if they want to be saved," etc.). They most definitely failed to support him, initially.

It seems that the only thing that finally got them to change their minds on the issue was what God usually has to use in order to get his people out of their comfy-cozy ruts: persecution. That was a lesson the Early Church Jews had failed to learn from their ancestors in Egypt.

They'd been having such a great time there in the fertile Nile delta, the land of Goshen, which had been given to Joseph (son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham - as a reminder) for saving the world from starvation, that the furthest thing on their mind was getting outta there for some "Promised Land." It took the rise of some really mean Pharaoh, who was having them kill their own male babies and use the Jews as a slave work force, that very slowly mananged to change their minds.

Now, over a thousand years later, the first Christians didn't want to hear anything about that promise of "I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance." And it took incessant persecution to finally shake'em up and follow the footsteps of that suspiscious Paul dude...

What will it take for today's Christians to turn their focus outward, toward the lost sheep, instead of singing and preaching to each other over and over again? Especially those in a certain country which seems to almost resemble another "Promised Land," which - in the opinion of others - is slowly turning into a spiritual Egypt?

I guess we'll have to wait and see what God is going to have to pull out of His sleeve this time to get His people to join the frowned upon few who are already in the fields, tediously raking in the harvest.