Catching Wild Pigs

The following story was forwarded via our local branch of West Virginians for Life, Inc. It illustrates the words of Edmund Burke,

“People never give up their liberties but under some delusion.”

Catching Wild Pigs
A chemistry professor in a large college had some exchange students in
the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Professor noticed
one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back, and
stretching as if his back hurt.

The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told
him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting
communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his
country's government and install a new communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a
strange question. He asked, ' Do you know how to catch wild pigs? '

The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punchline. The
young man said this was no joke. 'You catch wild pigs by finding a
suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs
find it and begin to come every day to eat the free corn. When they are
used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place
where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they
begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence.
They get used to that and start to eat again.. You continue until you
have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in The last side. The
pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to
eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.

Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and
around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to
eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten
how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their
captivity.

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees
happening to America. The government keeps pushing us toward socialism
and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as
supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies,
dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine,
drugs, etc.. While we continually lose our freedoms -- just a little at
a time.

If you want to see what you can do to start breaking down the fences that have herded millions of women to kill their babies see the post below.

Fighting FOCA

Have you ever noticed in a group of kids when one kid says “I’m not allowed” the other kids accept that. It’s okay. He has an excuse. His parents won’t let him. And it’s a comfort to the kid that his excuse is accepted by his peers. Maybe they even wish they had parents who care enough to say, “You’re not allowed.”

These thoughts came to me while contemplating a story emailed to me by our local Pro-Life chapter that ended with a quote from Thomas Jefferson, “A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have."

The Freedom of Choice Act, aka FOCA, is soon to come before Congress. The FOCA seems to be telling us, “It’s okay – Go kill your babies. It’s allowed.”

The big government Jefferson warned us against is giving people what they want – permission to be promiscuous and not own up to the consequences.

Or as Pastor puts it: We – yes, us Christians - have allowed “blood sacrifice on the altar of selfishness.”

Pastor frequently quotes wise men like Jefferson. Related to our fight against FOCA is this battle cry from the American Revolutionary War: “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.”

Edmund Burke, an 18th century politician from Ireland known as the “father of conservatism” said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

By allowing Roe v. Wade to pass in 1973 with hardly a peep from the pews across America, our parents and grandparents let the federal government totally reverse God’s sixth commandment to: Thou shalt kill.

Female vessels of clay are allowed to tell the potter what is to be – or rather what is not to be. As Isaiah 29:16 states:

Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, "He did not make me"? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?

So if this talk is stirring you to stand up for God’s cause, sign up at Fight FOCA and join the more than 685,000 warriors who have heard the battle cry.

But do not just sign a petition. Read about what is happening at Americans United for Life. Call your congressmen and congresswomen. Show up at their doorsteps or at their place of work – your capitol.

Let us bravely ask them, "How do you stand on the FOCA - Freedom of Choice Act? Do you realize this act of man makes every allowance for murdering babies whom God may have intended for good?"

"It does not require a majority to prevail, rather an irrate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in peoples minds." Sam Adams

Are you angry enough yet?

"Jerusalem Watchman" - A man good enough for the job

To be “in the know” of what is happening in the Middle East, biblically speaking, I know of no better source than Jerusalem Watchman.

The “Jerusalem Watchman” is Stan Goodenough, a Christian Zionist originally from South Africa. He is a journalist and speaker who has lived in Israel for more than 15 years.

Once on his website, http://stangoodenough.com, you will see a handsome man who is taller and even more attractive in person, with his compelling message and slightly South African accent. (Sorry ladies, he is already with his soul mate and at last count, four children).

Since time is so crucial I recommend first going to the following posts:

A new ‘land-for-peace proposal’ - by Michelle Nevada, Nov. 22 for some biblical background.

Then skip ahead to the post of Dec. 26 – “The shameless abandonment of Gilad Shaliat” to read Stan’s calm while outraged commentary.

The material is so weighty that you will need to take a break – while emailing everyone you know with http://stangoodenough.com. Or they can just do a search for "Jerusalem Watchman” and his site will come up.

In the name of the Messiah, Jesus
Please, pray for Israel.

Visitor Extraordinaire

I have been remiss in posting to this site. It has been nearly four months! Shame on me!

At the end of my last post I mentioned two visitors from Jerusalem. These two men have made a huge impact on their brief tour in the United States this July to drive home to Americans the message of Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you. And I will curse them who curse you.”

This verse refers not only to Abraham - known as Abram at the time - but his descendants, the Jewish people and their promised land, Israel.

One of the men is Don Cobble. Pastor and his family have known Donnie since they lived and ministered in Latvia, the formerly Communist Baltic country. Donnie ministers in Israel part of the year. In October he went to Jerusalem with his new wife, Pastor and others from our church, and thousands of foreigners - Jew and Gentile - to celebrate the Feast of the Tabernacles.

Donnie is the senior pastor of Kaleo Christian Center in Woburn, MA near Boston. He has taught at our church several times over the years. A flamboyant speaker, he comes with warnings to expect the unexpected.

Donnie doesn’t mind telling people how he spent over $60,000 in defending his biblically-ordained mandate to discipline his son with “the rod.” Actually he used the leather end of a belt over the boy’s clothes on the place God deems best - the most cushioned part of the human body. Donnie won his case in the Supreme Court of Massachusetts in 1999.

I brought that up only to show that Don Cobble is a man of conviction and is willing to stand on the teachings of the Bible. He teaches the Bible and its prophecies with conviction as well.

The most dramatic thing he said while he was teaching at our church about a year ago got us all thinking about the threat of Islam as a force trying to take dominion over the world.

We know that won’t happen, but Christian - and Jew - beware, because we are already seeing the signs and may be here to see much more. We need to be strong and knowledgeable in order to fight this enemy. We must be ready to give our lives.

Donnie made the shocking statement, to let us know that terrorists are really very devout Muslims following their founder Mohammed who in fact had his enemies beheaded. See Did Mohammed Practice Beheading?

Donnie said (you see I have been approaching this carefully) “If Jesus beheaded people, I would be out there beheading people too!” That’s the kind of preacher he is. That is the kind of person our Pastor does not hesitate to bring to our church. Our church is the kind of people who can take this kind of message and run with it. That is what I am doing here.

I have not been able to get onto http://www/doncobble.org. But if you “Google” Don Cobble you will get info about his court case, his teachings, and references from his friend, the other visitor to our church in July, Stan Goodenough.

I cannot say enough good about Stan, and he says everything so much better on his site called Jerusalem Watchman. I urge you to go there and be prepared to be enlightened.

Christians among Muslims

Prayer saw our church revival through six services and beyond.
Prayer for six weeks at two gatherings every Friday night preceded this revival.
Prayer continued through our team’s trip to Middle Eastern nation - to which country and for which purpose I cannot tell. (Enough people will be persecuted and martyred without my help.) Emails to and from there have to be in code.

It is the country where Christianity began, where many cities mentioned in the New Testament exist, some with modern day names; where little isles of Christians now meet under close scrutiny amidst a sea of Muslims.

One of our team there had an awful scare - the thing anyone would fear the most while traveling in a foreign, hostile country - not having a valid passport! Our brother’s passport - the most valuable item, more precious than gold, his ticket home to wife and child - was apparently ruined. It went through the wash - some forty minutes of soaking in a rudimentary washing contraption.

The pass port swelled to ten times its original thickness . Could it still be identifiable? Acceptable to the next official demanding its presentation?

But prayers and fasting were going on thousands of miles away, and our brother had been in spiritual prayer himself. He was tuned-in for the voice of God.

God told him to put the passport in his journal and sleep on it. He did so on his belly arising with the imprint of the notebook on his stomach.

Lo and behold - his passport unrecognizable as the swollen mass upon which he had lain. It was as good as need be to pass through all the inspections thereafter. God’s will be done. God’s name be praised ! !

What’s happening in your church? ? I have yet to tell you of our two visitors from Jerusalem.

Azusa Revisited

This blog has not been active for nearly two months! I apologize to my regular readers and those who signed up on Posts (Atom) - at the bottom of this blog - to receive notices of each new post.
I have been overwhelmed by happenings at our church and waiting for God’s direction.

We had a revival - a true reVIVEal a few short weeks ago.
The visiting evangelist, who shall remain nameless and faceless to protect his entry to every tribe and nation and tongue,
compared this capsule of time and place to the Azusa Street phenonoma of the last turn of the century.
That was just a few years from just a certain spot.
This - this move of God - is happening from all little spots in the world on the earth.
People saying “We are a light. We shine from here” - but it will reach all over the globe.

On the second night the preacher’s beautiful, vibrant wife proclaimed - “Prayers are going up from all around the earth. Prayers rising to the heavens, collecting like vapor, like clouds. Clouds of praise that will brim over in rain - the latter rain that whole earth has been waiting and groaning for.” It was awakening. . .enlightening. . . .

Is your church one of the little spots of light reaching around the world?

Please share your church news - the good news - here.

Children of the World

I knew I had to go see The Children of the World Choir when I saw they were performing at the First Baptist Church in the next little town called Paden City (not to be confused with Peyton Place, although they sound alike).

The flyer I saw, then of course chose to write up as a Coming Event in the newspaper where I work, said the group consisted of 15 children from Uganda, India and the Philippines, most of whom were orphaned by AIDS.

As anticipated, the children were all truly beautiful. They sang and danced their hearts and souls out and let the spirit flow. The children sang all the songs in rhythmically articulated English and spoke scriptures posted on the video screen behind them.

One of the songs that they sang I had not heard before. The lyrics included:

I put my hope in You,
I will never be afraid.
I put my hope in You,
I will never be ashamed.

When the battle rages
I will not be phased.
I will put my faith, hope and trust in You.

It made me think about what these precious ones have been through and what rescuers the people of World Help Ministries are. They bring the love of Jesus to these children.

In the free book they distributed is the statement “Most children of AIDS suffer from every one of these adverse conditions” which, according to the U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare cause children to be emotionally stunted:

* Abandonment - left to fend for themselves for a long period of time.
* Inadequate supervision or being left alone.
* Involved in activities that are harmful.
* Inadequate medical and dental care.
* Inadequate education.
* Inadequate nutrition.
* Inadequate shelter

The children of AIDS - 90 percent of whom live in Africa - have gone through all of the above. And yet the children I saw singing and praising God were joyful.

The staff and volunteers of World Help - very much as the people of The Sparrow’s Nest - take these children under their wings, feed, clothe and love them; and teach them about Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

They know they sleep in the arms of God - I know, because they sang about it.

Let each of us Children of God do something to help our littlest siblings.
Elizabeth