“Then a demon-oppressed
man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the
man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, ‘Can this be
the Son of David?’ But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ‘It is
only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.’
Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, ‘Every
kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided
against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided
against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out
demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be
your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons,
then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a
strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?
Then indeed he may plunder his house. Whoever is not with me is against
me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you,
every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the
Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of
Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be
forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.’”
(Matthew 12:22-32 ESV) [1]
Thursday, October 24, 2024
A House Divided
Monday, October 21, 2024
God is Our Strength
"When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
(Psalm 73:21-26 ESV) [1]
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Believe in God's Son
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. So we have these three witnesses— the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.
And this is what God has
testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever
has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.”
(1John 5:1-12 NLT) [1]
“If you openly declare that
Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made
right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are
saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be
disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have
the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For ‘Everyone
who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.’” (Romans 1:9-13 NLT) [2]
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
The Lesser of Two Evils
Having voted in 13 presidential elections, it has become apparent to me that the American people are usually faced with a choice between two flawed candidates. People have shortcomings, and it is no surprise that the people who run for President of the United States are not perfect – although they seem to want us to believe that they are.
I voted for George McGovern in 1972. I was young and liberal back then, but I voted for McGovern mostly because he was not Richard Nixon. I just didn’t trust Nixon, and Watergate later proved he could not be trusted.
The liberal press ridiculed Gerald Ford mercilessly, but I voted for him in 1976. He was a good, descent man who kept the Democratic Congress from excessive spending that would have made the financial mess we were in worse. Jimmy Carter won, made the economy worse, and then blamed the people for it.
If I remember correctly, I voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980. A lot of people did, mostly to get Jimmy Carter out of office. We the People would rather have voted for Mickey Mouse (another actor) than Carter. We were all hurting because of the Carter recession, and Reagan eventually turned it around.
There was a clear choice, for once, in 1984, and I chose Ronald Reagan over Walter Mondale … along with a vast majority of the voting public. Reagan’s ideas were working, at home and abroad. Back then, people had the good sense to stay with what worked.
In 1988, Geoge H.W. Bush defeated Michael Dukakis. I reluctantly voted for Bush. Dukakis was obviously too weak to be President. Bush was an “establishment Republican,” but he was the lesser of two evils. I didn’t think Bush would fully support continuing Reagan’s policies, and indeed he did not.
George H.W. Bush lost the White House in 1992, in an upset by Bill Clinton. Clearly, the choice was between two very bad candidates, and I couldn’t bring myself to vote for either one. It is debatable whether third party candidate, H. Ross Perot, damaged Bush’s chances more than Clinton’s, or vice versa. I voted for Perot because his ideas were better. Perhaps it was a wasted vote, but he was the better man of the three.
The Republicans ran Bob Dole against Bill Clinton in 1996. Dole was a lackluster establishment Republican who didn’t campaign very hard. He was elderly, and he did not appear to have the vitality needed to govern. I voted for him because he was not Bill Clinton.
George W. Bush defeated Vice
President Al Gore in 2000. Basically, Bush
wanted to continue his father’s vision of a compassionately conservative
America. In other words, he was an
establishment Republican in disguise.
Gore’s sense of entitlement was a total turn-off, and he promised
nothing new except the Internet. I voted
for Bush, whose ideas were at least a rejection of the Clinton era’s
politically correct Progressivism.
Again, Bush was the lesser of two evils.
I was so glad to see the Clinton’s go.
Surprisingly, George W. Bush acquitted himself well during the economic downturn of 2000 and the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attack on 11 September 2001. He made mistakes after that, but the only one who doesn’t make mistakes is the person who does nothing. (Henry Ford) So, I voted for him again in 2004. John Kerry was a phony whose ideas were failures waiting to happen. A subsequent example of which is the defeatist nuclear agreement he made with Iran. He is not worthy of any public office, period.
The “too big to fail” banking crisis began just before the 2008 presidential election. John McCain rushed back to Washington to help congress deal with it. His selfless act may have cost him the election. Like Kamala Harris today, Barack Obama ran a “hope and change” campaign that was long on promises and short on specifics. I voted for McCain, mostly because I felt his running mate, Sarah Palin, was an effective advocate for conservative ideas.
In 2012, Mitt Romney looked like a promising alternative to the nauseating progressive garbage Barack Obama was handing out. I voted for Romney. That was before I found out what kind of people he and Paul Ryan are. Now, I would never vote for them again. That poses a problem, because I could never vote for a Democrat either.
I have spent much of my life serving society in the military and government. It is our duty to vote, which leads me to the 2016 election. I didn’t vote for Donald Trump in 2016. His conduct during the Republican primaries, his assumption that a billionaire can buy an election, and his super-sized ego caused me to question whether he was presidential. Of course, I couldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton. The Clinton’s are corrupt, self-serving, Progressive political operatives. Their tactics are ruthless and ethically bankrupt. There is no government office that Hillary is fit to occupy. I wrote in for Sen. Ted Cruz.
I voted for Donald Trump in 2020. His first term in office demonstrated his uncanny ability to identify the nation’s greatest challenges, and to come up with innovative solutions. He was unbelievably good for the USA. Unlike with Ronald Reagan’s reelection, this time the American people did not choose to stay with what was working. For reasons I will never understand, they elected Joe Biden. Mr. Biden has taken Jimmy Carter's place as the worst president in living memory.
On 5 November, we will again be voting for one of two flawed candidates. The purpose of this walk down memory lane is to show that this is not the first time. The primary election system has made candidate selection more “democratic,” but we need a better way of doing it. Kamala Harris’ candidacy demonstrates that the system can be subverted. Further, running for the nomination has increased campaign costs. The need for money is the root of many political evils, and we must find a way to keep it from tainting our elections.
I’m voting for Donald Trump. I am vigorously opposed to his reluctance to provide aid to Ukraine, and his public threats not to defend NATO allies who do not meet his approval. NATO is a treaty. Treaties have the effect of law, even taking precedence over other laws. The President of the Unites States is not above the law. The rule of law means that we are “ruled” by law – not by men. I do not agree with Mr. Trump’s idea that he can cut deals to solve the geopolitical problems that we face. We must oppose the enemies of freedom with every means at our disposal, including force if all else fails.
You can’t make a deal with Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, or the Mullahs in Tehran. They will make unreasonable demands, stall, and undermine progress. They will fabricate alleged violations of agreements, and then blame others for them. They will use the allegations as an excuse to violate an agreement when an opportunity for aggression presents itself. International relations are not the same as real estate development.
Taken as a whole, however, Donald Trump’s ideas are leagues ahead of the liberal, even Marxist, ideas of Kamala Harris and the Progressive cabal that is running the executive branch now. All Kamala Harris will bring us is more of the same failed policies of the Biden Administration, only on steroids. Pay no attention to her recent reversals on her previous stands. Once elected, she will revert back to who she really is.
It will be great when the
election is over. I’m sick of the
speculation and hype. I’m earnestly praying that God will cause His will to be
done. I’m voting for Donald Trump, and I
urge you to do the same. He is definitely
the better of the two alternatives.
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Blessed Hope
“… God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.” (Romans 4:23 NLT)
“Therefore, since we have
been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of
what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ
has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and
we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into
problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And
endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our
confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to
disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us
the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” (Romans 5:1-5 NLT) [1]
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Will there be a Run on Guns?
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have a history of opposition to the exercise of our 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms. After President Biden’s election in 2020, Americans rushed to buy guns and ammunition for fear they might become unavailable. The result was a shortage of guns, ammunition and many other items associated with shooting sports. It got so bad that hunters had trouble finding the cartridges they needed to hunt with.
Recent events have influenced many voters to look favorably on candidates for office who advocate for “reasonable” laws that they say will help curb gun violence. There is little agreement, however, between anti-gunners and gun rights advocates regarding the meaning of “reasonable.”
Presidential Candidate Harris has emphasized that she is a gun owner. This does not mitigate her history of opposition to the private ownership of handguns and “assault weapons.” In 2019, she repeatedly said that she supports mandatory gun buyback programs, which is a form of confiscation. [1]
Candidate Harris will push for strict regulation of private gun ownership if she is elected in November. Other tactics have been used by anti-gunners before. To name a few, these include higher taxes on guns and shooting products, increased vulnerability to litigation for manufacturers and merchants, increased record keeping requirements and inspections for licensed retailers and gun shows, restrictive regulation of the import and export of firearms and ammunition, and restrictions on the type of ammunition that may be sold to private citizens.
The bottom line is that this has contributed to price increases that make participation in shooting sports prohibitively expensive for some Americans. It's like cigarettes. If you don't want people to have them, make them so expensive they can't afford to buy them.
According to the economic law of demand, the more you sell of a product, the more you can charge for it. The past is a good predictor of the future. If past buying patterns continue, the sale of guns, ammunition, and all things shooting will increase dramatically if Kamala Harris is our next president.
Panic buying is counterproductive. It creates a scarcity of firearms, ammunition, and everything from targets to cleaning supplies. It drives prices up, making it difficult for average Americans to enjoy shooting sports and defend their homes and loved ones.
Buy what you really need, but don’t hoard. Prepare yourself for what may not be available in a few months, but don’t clear off everything on the shelf. Leave some for others.
To reiterate Lamp in a Corner’s long-held position, we support legislation that will not infringe upon the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms and that will prohibit the possession and use of deadly weapons* to criminals and people who are dangerous to self or others. Effective laws that would discourage the commission of violent crimes would provide for long mandatory sentences without parole for crimes in which deadly weapons were used, or use of a deadly weapon was threatened. All such sentences must run consecutively, rather than concurrently.
These are the “gun control” laws that will work, and they
will not infringe on the constitutional right to gun ownership for honest US
citizens. Please vote for law-and-order
candidates who understand that our laws exist to protect and defend law-abiding
Americans and consequence criminal behavior.
* Examples of deadly weapons are edged weapons, bludgeons,
firearms, bows, explosive devices, and poison.
They are any weapon capable of inflicting death, disfigurement, the loss
or impairment of a limb or organ, disability, or serious risk of these injuries.
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
New Life in Christ Jesus
“So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:21 NLT)
“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
“Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
“Do not let sin control
the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any
part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give
yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So
use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of
God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the
requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.”
(Romans 6:1-14 NLT) [1]