RE: Bill would protect all from bullying News Leader 2-17-06
HB 1502 is why no parent in their right mind should send their kids to the Government’s welfare schools. Rep. Lampe now wants Jefferson City to dictate your communities values and school policies. This bill would require all school districts to have one policy in-spite of what the local school board says. This is nothing more then a usurpation of power by people who do not share the same values as you. As long as you have kids, you will have bullying. This is an insult to the teachers. Lampe’s bill acts as if our teachers do nothing to protect their kids from bullying. This is a local issue that should be solved locally. As for Mr. Dressel and his groups obvious voice in this legislation, I say why are you insistent that we accept your abnormal lifestyle as normal. And tell me how a 6 year old can understand that they have an attraction towards the opposite sex? Maybe if we kept your groups agenda out of our schools we wouldn’t have any LGBT youth. Missouri you brought this upon yourself when you decided to push God out of your schools to let Dressel’ group in.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Sunday, February 05, 2006
When You Pray
Just a little talk with thee
Last time I talked to you about one of the three acts of righteousness. I thought about it and decided to continue with that theme in this article as well. This time I’d like to talk about prayer. It is a expected task that is rarely practiced. If it is, it is usually a little rehearsed rhyme heard at church or a published one from a little book of prayers. I understand personally this struggle to pray. For years I felt like “why does God want to hear from me“? Then when I got married, it seemed to hit me. In a relationship, there has to be communication. If there is no communication, the relationship stagnates and becomes rough and even unbearable. In communicating, you have a chance to express your feelings, wants and desires. You also have a chance to be validated and to validate the other person. I want to say to you, God wants to talk to you. He wants to hear your desires, needs and hopes. He wants to pour His joy into your life. Prayer is not a magic formula like some may teach. Prayer is not making God into some pawn shop or cosmic genie like others may profess. No, prayer is a just a little talk with God. If one was to go into a Christian bookstore, they would find volumes of books on prayer. One lady has made millions on her series The Power of a Praying… These books are good resources to start a prayer life but ultimately one must develop a more personal prayer life. Jesus, in His sermon on the mount, gives the example we all need. But when you pray do not be like the hypocrites who love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners praying so that they can be seen by men…But when you pray go into your inner room close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret…And when praying do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles, for they suppose they will be heard because of their many words. (Matthew 6:5-7). Also, later in verses 9-15 we see how Jesus wants us to pray. Notice again that it does not say if you pray, but more importantly, when you pray. Jesus commands that we have a prayer life with the Father. Also He says we must keep it personal and not make it an issue for all to see. There is a time and place for corporate prayer, but this is talking about your personal prayer life. You should be praying more often then just at church. Lastly, we see Jesus saying we need not to repeat ourselves. This would make prayer out to be some sort of magic spell as opposed to a personal talk with a loving Father. Some preachers would have you believe that everyday you need to remind God that he promised you this or that and you need to tell Him about it every time you pray. Do not be as the Gentiles, but keep it real. Follow Christ’s example and not man’s.
I got email from my cousin who, like so many in our family, have been called to a life of ministry. I believe it will help those who may have no clue as to how to pray, or where to start. Please enjoy and start a prayer life today.
A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father. When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows.An empty chair sat beside his bed. The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me, he said. 'No, who are you'?" said the father.The minister told him his name and then remarked, "I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up."
"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?". Puzzled, the minister shut the door."I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I never knew how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head."
"I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old gentleman continued, "until one day four years ago, my best friend said to me: "Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with God. Here is what I suggest. Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see God on the chair. It's not spooky because He promised: 'I will be with you always'. Then just speak to Him in the same way you're doing with me right now.""So Preacher, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though because if my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."
The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old gentleman to continue on his journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church.Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her Dad had died that afternoon.Did he die in peace?" he asked. "Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me how much he loved me, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was one thing strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?".
The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said: "I wish we could all go like that!".
Last time I talked to you about one of the three acts of righteousness. I thought about it and decided to continue with that theme in this article as well. This time I’d like to talk about prayer. It is a expected task that is rarely practiced. If it is, it is usually a little rehearsed rhyme heard at church or a published one from a little book of prayers. I understand personally this struggle to pray. For years I felt like “why does God want to hear from me“? Then when I got married, it seemed to hit me. In a relationship, there has to be communication. If there is no communication, the relationship stagnates and becomes rough and even unbearable. In communicating, you have a chance to express your feelings, wants and desires. You also have a chance to be validated and to validate the other person. I want to say to you, God wants to talk to you. He wants to hear your desires, needs and hopes. He wants to pour His joy into your life. Prayer is not a magic formula like some may teach. Prayer is not making God into some pawn shop or cosmic genie like others may profess. No, prayer is a just a little talk with God. If one was to go into a Christian bookstore, they would find volumes of books on prayer. One lady has made millions on her series The Power of a Praying… These books are good resources to start a prayer life but ultimately one must develop a more personal prayer life. Jesus, in His sermon on the mount, gives the example we all need. But when you pray do not be like the hypocrites who love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners praying so that they can be seen by men…But when you pray go into your inner room close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret…And when praying do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles, for they suppose they will be heard because of their many words. (Matthew 6:5-7). Also, later in verses 9-15 we see how Jesus wants us to pray. Notice again that it does not say if you pray, but more importantly, when you pray. Jesus commands that we have a prayer life with the Father. Also He says we must keep it personal and not make it an issue for all to see. There is a time and place for corporate prayer, but this is talking about your personal prayer life. You should be praying more often then just at church. Lastly, we see Jesus saying we need not to repeat ourselves. This would make prayer out to be some sort of magic spell as opposed to a personal talk with a loving Father. Some preachers would have you believe that everyday you need to remind God that he promised you this or that and you need to tell Him about it every time you pray. Do not be as the Gentiles, but keep it real. Follow Christ’s example and not man’s.
I got email from my cousin who, like so many in our family, have been called to a life of ministry. I believe it will help those who may have no clue as to how to pray, or where to start. Please enjoy and start a prayer life today.
A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father. When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows.An empty chair sat beside his bed. The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me, he said. 'No, who are you'?" said the father.The minister told him his name and then remarked, "I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up."
"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?". Puzzled, the minister shut the door."I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I never knew how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head."
"I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old gentleman continued, "until one day four years ago, my best friend said to me: "Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with God. Here is what I suggest. Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see God on the chair. It's not spooky because He promised: 'I will be with you always'. Then just speak to Him in the same way you're doing with me right now.""So Preacher, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though because if my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."
The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old gentleman to continue on his journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church.Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her Dad had died that afternoon.Did he die in peace?" he asked. "Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me how much he loved me, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was one thing strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?".
The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said: "I wish we could all go like that!".
Friday, February 03, 2006
Lord of the Bling
Lord of The Bling
As some of you may or may not know, bling is what today’s culture calls: wealth and material possessions. It comes from the hip-hop culture where rap stars flaunt large rings and large wads of cash to show the world that they are all that. What I would like to talk about this month is money. Not in a prosperity doctrine kind of way, but in a what does God expect us to do with all that bling sort of way. After all, he is the Lord of the bling. If you remember, or have been reading this paper long, you’d remember that I wrote about the church’s responsibility, as a whole, to take care of the poor and needy. This month, I want to address the individuals responsibility to give. First, I want to make clear this is not about tithes. Tithing is a principle Jesus did not address because the people were already practicing it without be prodded to. Instead, I want to talk about offerings. Not only does the Bible expect you to tithe, it also expects you to give above and beyond that!
In the book of Matthew, in the sixth chapter, the evangelist writes about the three acts of righteousness which are giving, prayer, and fasting. These are, of course, part of Jesus’ sermon on the mount. Jesus says, when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets…they have their reward in full. (Matthew 6:2 NASB) Notice first that it does not say if you give, but instead it says when you give. This was not a request, but a commandment from Christ himself. Christ expects us to give to the poor. Some may say my tax dollars pay for welfare, so I am helping the poor. How is forced taxation a true sign of giving? Giving is to be done cheerfully, not grudgingly. How many sing and jump when it is time to pay their taxes? Jesus knew we’d always have the poor.(Matthew 26:11) So he knew the importance of instructing the believers to see to their care. There is a difference between being poor and being lazy. The Bible says if a man does not work, he does not eat (2 Thess. 3:10). So if a person is able bodied but chooses not to work, they should not be a recipient of your giving. However, if they are a single mother working two jobs and barely meeting essential bills like lights, heat and food, then this is a chance to show the love of Christ. In today’s society, so many that call themselves poor are simply wanting to keep up with the Jones’s and the Smiths. They believe it is not fair that they cannot afford cell phones, cable TV, and more bling. So discernment will be needed to truly see the needy. I suggest you practice the other two acts of righteousness, prayer and fasting and ask God to show you where you may be used for His glory. Also, your church may have a benevolence fund, so ask your pastor. We have hope in knowing this, that when we follow His commandments, He will reward us. Until next month, continue to worship, not the fellowship of the bling, but the Lord of the bling.
As some of you may or may not know, bling is what today’s culture calls: wealth and material possessions. It comes from the hip-hop culture where rap stars flaunt large rings and large wads of cash to show the world that they are all that. What I would like to talk about this month is money. Not in a prosperity doctrine kind of way, but in a what does God expect us to do with all that bling sort of way. After all, he is the Lord of the bling. If you remember, or have been reading this paper long, you’d remember that I wrote about the church’s responsibility, as a whole, to take care of the poor and needy. This month, I want to address the individuals responsibility to give. First, I want to make clear this is not about tithes. Tithing is a principle Jesus did not address because the people were already practicing it without be prodded to. Instead, I want to talk about offerings. Not only does the Bible expect you to tithe, it also expects you to give above and beyond that!
In the book of Matthew, in the sixth chapter, the evangelist writes about the three acts of righteousness which are giving, prayer, and fasting. These are, of course, part of Jesus’ sermon on the mount. Jesus says, when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets…they have their reward in full. (Matthew 6:2 NASB) Notice first that it does not say if you give, but instead it says when you give. This was not a request, but a commandment from Christ himself. Christ expects us to give to the poor. Some may say my tax dollars pay for welfare, so I am helping the poor. How is forced taxation a true sign of giving? Giving is to be done cheerfully, not grudgingly. How many sing and jump when it is time to pay their taxes? Jesus knew we’d always have the poor.(Matthew 26:11) So he knew the importance of instructing the believers to see to their care. There is a difference between being poor and being lazy. The Bible says if a man does not work, he does not eat (2 Thess. 3:10). So if a person is able bodied but chooses not to work, they should not be a recipient of your giving. However, if they are a single mother working two jobs and barely meeting essential bills like lights, heat and food, then this is a chance to show the love of Christ. In today’s society, so many that call themselves poor are simply wanting to keep up with the Jones’s and the Smiths. They believe it is not fair that they cannot afford cell phones, cable TV, and more bling. So discernment will be needed to truly see the needy. I suggest you practice the other two acts of righteousness, prayer and fasting and ask God to show you where you may be used for His glory. Also, your church may have a benevolence fund, so ask your pastor. We have hope in knowing this, that when we follow His commandments, He will reward us. Until next month, continue to worship, not the fellowship of the bling, but the Lord of the bling.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
The Constitution party of Missouri response to the State of the Union
E-Mail: info@constitutionparty.org
Website: www.constitutionpartymo.org
Springfield- February 2, 2006 Following the cursory grand entrance and perfunctory bravado, President George W. Bush reported to the citizenry his State of the Union address. After declaring the state of the Union as “strong,” Bush gave us further observations and let us in on his administration’s plans. The Constitution Party of Missouri is left concluding that the only thing reflecting strength is the federal government’s insatiable appetite for regulation of U.S. citizens, economic debt, and world dominance. With the Bush administration accruing the highest debt of any U.S. presidency in history, the President promised more money for welfare schools, AIDS at home and abroad, the winless military conflict in Iraq (~ $1 billion/day), “the oppressed,” medical care/research, etc. To top it off, the President vowed to “end tyranny in the world” while calling for the renewal of the Patriot Act. Catching our collected breath, let’s briefly examine these issues and their implications. Each of the President’s goals lacks not the votes from the two-headed one party system in D.C. What is lacking here is fidelity to the U.S. Constitution with its delegated and enumerated powers, to which every elected official in Washington has sworn to protect and defend. None of these acts, not to mention multitudinous others, find any ground or authority in the Constitution. Thus, truly patriotic Americans are left with a runaway federal government accountable to no fixed standard, only the wanton desires of office holders and their groping constituencies. Sadly, too many Americans love plunder and its pork, and devote themselves to “my government, right or wrong.” They covet their welfare schools, and most other ill-gotten gain from their benevolent “servants” in D.C.; that is statism. The vast majority of Christians are quite satisfied with W the celebrity who declares Islam a “noble race,” one that worships the same god as they according to the all wise President; that is polytheism and blasphemy. While the President is saddling up to ride into the sunset on his conquest to end tyranny in the world, let us remember that he and Congress continue to fund abortion on demand, more socialized medicine, leave our borders porous, send jobs to foreign lands, give more power to unelected foreign bureaucrats, give us irredeemable currency and inestimable debt, and a future that is deservedly bleak. The Constitution Party of Missouri calls on all Christians to pray for President Bush and Congress, but have none of their revolution. Moreover, we call on all Americans to reject pragmatism, “compassionate conservatism”, democracy as a panacea, and all other wayward notions. As our first President declared, “Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair, the event is in the hand of God.”
Website: www.constitutionpartymo.org
Springfield- February 2, 2006 Following the cursory grand entrance and perfunctory bravado, President George W. Bush reported to the citizenry his State of the Union address. After declaring the state of the Union as “strong,” Bush gave us further observations and let us in on his administration’s plans. The Constitution Party of Missouri is left concluding that the only thing reflecting strength is the federal government’s insatiable appetite for regulation of U.S. citizens, economic debt, and world dominance. With the Bush administration accruing the highest debt of any U.S. presidency in history, the President promised more money for welfare schools, AIDS at home and abroad, the winless military conflict in Iraq (~ $1 billion/day), “the oppressed,” medical care/research, etc. To top it off, the President vowed to “end tyranny in the world” while calling for the renewal of the Patriot Act. Catching our collected breath, let’s briefly examine these issues and their implications. Each of the President’s goals lacks not the votes from the two-headed one party system in D.C. What is lacking here is fidelity to the U.S. Constitution with its delegated and enumerated powers, to which every elected official in Washington has sworn to protect and defend. None of these acts, not to mention multitudinous others, find any ground or authority in the Constitution. Thus, truly patriotic Americans are left with a runaway federal government accountable to no fixed standard, only the wanton desires of office holders and their groping constituencies. Sadly, too many Americans love plunder and its pork, and devote themselves to “my government, right or wrong.” They covet their welfare schools, and most other ill-gotten gain from their benevolent “servants” in D.C.; that is statism. The vast majority of Christians are quite satisfied with W the celebrity who declares Islam a “noble race,” one that worships the same god as they according to the all wise President; that is polytheism and blasphemy. While the President is saddling up to ride into the sunset on his conquest to end tyranny in the world, let us remember that he and Congress continue to fund abortion on demand, more socialized medicine, leave our borders porous, send jobs to foreign lands, give more power to unelected foreign bureaucrats, give us irredeemable currency and inestimable debt, and a future that is deservedly bleak. The Constitution Party of Missouri calls on all Christians to pray for President Bush and Congress, but have none of their revolution. Moreover, we call on all Americans to reject pragmatism, “compassionate conservatism”, democracy as a panacea, and all other wayward notions. As our first President declared, “Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair, the event is in the hand of God.”
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