WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HOUSING INDUSTRY

Well, in a nut shell, two things. The government did not enforce the law and when it didn’t the Housing Industry opted to make a quick buck instead of demanding that the government enforce the law.

There already were laws that prohibited hiring illegal aliens. These laws were enacted in order to protect the jobs of the American people. That is supposed to be the main interest of the government, but it is obvious that the main interest of the government is how much those who run the government can benefit by what the government does, or does not do.

When one company in any local job market hired illegal aliens the others in the same field of endeavor had two choices. One was to monitor the hiring practices of the rouge business and demand that the government enforce the law. The other choice was to copy the rouge businesses illegal practice.

It was obvious that they could get away with it because the government was not doing its sworn duty, and it was just as obvious that there was a quick buck in it. No one thought any farther than that, so no one realized that if American workers lost their jobs there would be no buyers for their houses.

The illegal workers were sending as much of their wages as they could to their home in Mexico, because that is where they intended to return to. They were not going to buy a house here and those who might have bought a house here no longer could (No job, you know).

Anyway the immigration problem is solving its self. The Housing Industry can not sell a house, so it can no longer afford to build them. If no houses are being built there are no more jobs, even for illegal workers. If there are no jobs most of the illegals will return home as that is where they always planed to go anyway. Maybe they can be hired to put wheels on all those houses, so they can take them to their own country; where all the money went.

Well, that is not the entire problem the North American Foolish Trade Act and the Most Favored Nation (over our own) are the main problems, but no one is doing anything about any of the problems. I mean no body, not the News Media, not the Government, not the economists,                   

NOOO    BODDDYYY.

By the way, I see that the Ford Motor Company made a profit last quarter, by selling cars in other countrys. WELL  DUH.  

SHOULD WE CRITICIZE OTHERS?

The definition of criticize is to “find fault with”, or “to judge the merits and faults of; analyze and evaluate”.

Now, I am called to criticize and so are you. Acts 17:11 says, “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true”. If you also want to be of noble character, then examine the Scriptures every day to see if what anyone says is true. If Paul were here today very few of us would doubt anything he said, however that is exactly what we are called to do.

If you find anything that a Church leader says to be not quite true, and you point it out, you will be branded a critic, as though it is a character fault, instead of a character virtue (which is what it really is).

There are those who I really admire whose opinion of me borders on hate, because I dare to be critical of what they say. You would think that they would be eternally grateful that I criticize their words, instead of resentful.

I have thought about this problem (yes it is a problem for anyone who is interested in the truth and only the truth) and of course the problem or character fault lies with the one being criticized and not with the critic.

If you criticize me, and you are correct, I can only gain from it. If you criticize me, and you are wrong, how does that affect me? That is not to say that it does not bother me to be criticized. After much thought I realized that it hurts my pride to be criticized. The problem really is mine. I know that I am not supposed to be prideful and I understand that there is nothing, except God, that I have any right to be proud of, but I am human and therefore flawed. So if you see anything or anywhere that what I say is not right then please criticize it. There is nothing that you can do for me that is more important, or more loving. If you are compelled to praise me then know this, there is nothing that you can do for me that can be more injurious. So don’t.

If you feel the urge to criticize me personally it might surprise you that I will agree with you no matter what you say. You see, I am not perfect, and because that is true I will agree with you. If you say I am stupid you are correct, however I am not perfectly stupid. If because I express what I think to be true, you say I am a “know it all”, you are correct, however I am not a perfect “know it all”. Pick your subject and I will agree with you. Short, ugly, stupid, old, anything, but I am not perfectly short, ugly, stupid, or old. Take your best shot and then let us really study why you think that I am wrong about something which I said. I really don’t care about what you think about me personally. I only care about the truth of what is said.

Take this country as an example. If I say this country is not a gift from God, and I point out Scripture which supports this view, and you think otherwise, then point out your supporting Scripture. I am not interested in your personal opinion if it is not based on God’s Word, and about this you should be the same as me. Perhaps I am wrong and it was God’s plan all along that man should rule himself, for that is what the plan of Democracy actually is.

There are a few other areas where it seems those whom I have been critical of will not apply Scripture. Wine is a good example. The Bible says, Rom 14:21&22, “It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves”. You would think the verse only applies to someone who thinks it acceptable to drink wine; however it applies to both views. The man who thinks it acceptable to drink wine approves it, and the one who thinks it is not acceptable approves of abstinence. There are many in this world that make their living in the business of making, transporting, selling and serving wine. Not obeying these Scriptures rolls a big obstacle in their path. But to consider this, first one must consider that he could be wrong, and wrong about something he really believes. This takes real humility and it doesn’t happen often.

Everyone, who is genuine in their desire to teach God’s word, wants to be correct in what they teach. The problem is everyone is flawed. So some part of what they teach is wrong. I think that is why God says we are not to be called ‘teacher’ (Mat 23:10). Just as the verse says, we have one Teacher, and that is Christ. If you can accept and remember that we are all students it should not bother us so much that we will not admit it when we find ourselves wrong about doctrine. If you think that you are a teacher, you might want to meditate on Mat 23:9&10 for a while.That is not to say it should not bother one to be wrong about doctrine. If we teach, even though we do not claim to be teachers, and we are wrong we may lead someone off the path, and that would be terrible.

If we are not critical it will lead to many problems and if you think I am wrong then look at the problems that the Catholic Church is facing.

THE STORY OF THE CHINESE FARMER

This is a story that Bob Russell used to use in his sermons every now and then. It has served me well when things were not going very good. I would remember that the Bible says that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and then I would think of this story. 

There’s an old legend about a Chinaman whose horse broke out of the coral and ran away. His neighbors sympathized, “Sorry to hear about your horse—too bad.” “Well, we don’t know if it’s bad or not,” said the Chinaman. “Wait and see.” The next day the horse returned and led five beautiful wild stallions into the fold. “Good news about your horse returning,” the neighbors said. “Well, we don’t know if it’s good news or not,” said the Chinaman. The next week his son was thrown off one of the wild stallions and the boy broke his leg. “So sorry about your son,” said the neighbors. “To bad he broke his leg.” “Well, we are not sure it’s all bad,” responded the Chinaman. The next day a military leader came by conscripting all able-bodied young men for the military. The Chinaman’s son was exempted because of his disability and all the neighbors rejoiced, “Good news about your son not heaving to go off to war,” they said. But the Chinaman said, “We can’t be sure if it is good news or not.” A week later the young soldiers returned from a victorious battle and celebrated by dividing up the spoils. “To bad your son was not able to go with us,” one of them said. “We’re not sure that’s bad,” said the Chinaman. The story could go on for ever! What appears to be good news one day can be bad the next and vice-versa.

 

The lesson that I received was “We can’t always understand how God is working for our good. What seems bad one day will be good the next”. (Romans 8:28 )

 

 

 

ELECTION or PREDESTINATION

The idea that God choose some to be saved from before time comes from the Bible itself. There are those who say man has freewill to turn to God and there are those who say only those who are predestined will turn to God. Because of each mans pride in what they know, or think they know, much friction is created, along with many arguments that separate brothers.

It seems to me that both parties are correct, and a complete understanding of election comes from agreeing with both sides of the argument. This is a paradox, but both sides can be reconciled. It seems we get tunnel vision. The person who thinks we are predestined only looks at verses which say the same, and disregards or attempts to explain away those verses which say we have freewill, and the one who thinks we have freewill only looks at the verses which support freewill views. We look at this with the eyes of men, but let us try to look through the eyes of God.

God knows everything, so therefore God knows who will be saved and who will not, and He always knew. God knew even before He made me, or you, if you would turn to Him, or not turn to Him. That doesn’t mean God stops anyone from turning to Him, or makes anyone turn. Romans 8:29 says that those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. The key here is foreknew. He knew who would and will turn to Him, but He does not make anyone turn if they do not want to, but as the verse says, He predestined those who He knew would turn to Him, not to turn to Him, but to be made like His one and only Son.

Just because God knows what we will do does not mean He makes us do it. This can be tested. I=m sitting in a room as I write this. There is a door leading out of the room. I have the choice of turning either to the right, or the left, after I pass through the door. God knows which way I will turn no matter what I do. Perhaps I will try to fool God. I will go through the door fake a left and quickly turn right. Will I be successful and fool God? Of course not, but I do have an unrestricted choice of what I will do: whether I turn left, right, go straight, don=t even go, or what ever I think to do.

If God has a present waiting for me on the right side of the door, and I want the present, and I turn right, and receive the present, God knew I would. If you are looking through God=s eyes it was predestined that I receive the present. If I turn left and don=t even look to the right I do not receive the present, but God knew before He made me which way I would turn. In this hypothetical situation the plan of God was I should turn right. He wanted me to turn right. He made the universe and everything in it, the room, me, the present and the choice, and He gave me the power to choose, but at the same time knew my choice.

Perhaps it would be easer to understand if you examine your own past. You can see your past just as God sees all of your life. Your past can not be changed, however you had many choices before your present became your past. If you decide to sin now, in your present, you can and as soon as you do, it will always be you past and can not be changed. 

Sin is what separates us from God (Isa 59:2). If predestination means God chooses some and not others through no fault of the others, then God would be responsible for their choices. This would not be fair, right or just, and God is always fair, right, and just. Look at what God said to Cain (Gen 4:7 NIV) AIf you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.@ If Cain did not really have the power to choose right would God have said, “You must master it”? Wouldn’t He have had to say, I will not let you master it?          

This is a very difficult thing, to reconcile two seemingly opposite views. Time is one of the factors that confuse. God doesn’t exist in time. Not in the same time in which we exist. I did not turn to the Lord until I was almost forty years old. So it seems to me I was once unsaved and became saved rather late in life, but to God I was always saved, because He always knew I would turn to Him.

It=s pretty obvious that I can not really see through God=s eyes. I am only a man and have a  man=s eyes, so I am not trying to teach. I am only trying to reveal the view from my side of the table. It is hard for me to grasp that God feels bad when someone, who He has made, and knows they will not accept Him as Lord and Savior, does not accept Him. I think God gave me a glimpse of understanding by reminding me about my broken legs.

I am somewhat of a thrill seeker. I have managed to break my right leg twice by falling off of a motorcycle, and then both legs crashing an ultralight aircraft. I know that if you break your leg it will hurt. I remember it did hurt, but I can not feel the pain now. No matter how hard I try to remember the pain I can not really feel the pain of a broken leg. One can only feel the pain at the time of the break. You must experience the broken leg to experience the pain (I wouldn’t recommend it).

I think this understanding of pain applies to the pain God was speaking of in Genesis 6:6.

Because I understand that God knows everything that will happen even before it does, He knew He would be grieved by what men did. However when it happened His heart was filled with pain. God was experiencing the pain of rejection. He knew they would be wicked and evil even before He made them, but yet when they turned to wickedness, and would not turn to Him, at that point His heart was filled with pain. I believe God was hurt, because they didn’t have to be evil. The choice was their=s, but they would not turn to Him. The point in time when they turned to sin and away from God, was to God as the point in time that I broke my leg, was to me.

If a person has no free will of the choice to turn, or not to turn, to God, why did He send His Son to earth to pay the price which must be paid for sin? If it is God only who chooses who goes to heaven with no input from man there would be no reason for a Savior. It would not be sin that separates man from God (Isa 59:2). It would be God that separates man from God.

Looking through this man=s eyes, nothing makes any sense at all without free will, and everything makes sense with free will. I have heard it said that if there is a God why does He permit this war, or this murder, or some other terrible act by man. It seems to me the answer is simple. He gave the right to make the choice to sin, or not to sin to mankind. If God stops the sinner from his sin, then God did not really give the choice to man. It is men who sin and men who compound the sin by blaming God for their sin.

There are those who say if a man has free will to choose he is responsible for his own salvation. Really!!!? If God made everything, the universe, air, water, me, the plan of salvation, everything, and gave me the choice (I didn’t even create the choice), how could I claim any credit for my salvation?

There are some who quote the verses in Ephesians chapter one that speak of predestination as though they applied to all believers. One can see that the predestined spoken of are the Afirst to hope in Christ@(verse 12). That would be the Apostles as they were the first. The letter was written to the Ephesians and they were not told they were predestined. They were told that they were included in Christ when they heard the word of truth and believed it (verse 13). The Apostles were predestined to be chosen because they were part of the plan of salvation (verse 11). You and I are not predestined, but like the Ephesians, we are included in Christ when we hear the word of truth and believe it. We force our way into the Kingdom of God (Luke 16:16).

Because I see with the eyes of man I see freewill. I can understand that through the eyes of God we are predestined, but I am not God. I can not see the future. I can not see who will be saved and who will not. Those who think they are predestined are only sure of their own salvation, and that is only a feeling, as there is no verse that singles them out by name. The Israelites in the Old Testament believed in predestination. They believed they were saved because they were Abraham=s offspring. They had verses which seem to support their views and they felt secure in their belief, but they were not correct (Rom 9:8) and not all of Abraham=s natural children will live with God (Psalms 95:11, Hebrews 3:11, 4:3&5).

The man who believes in free will has many verses that reassure him of his own personal salvation. I=m to much a coward to believe in predestination. No where in the Bible does it say astudent you are predestined to be saved. I like a personal assurance of my own salvation and God has given this assurance in 1 John 5:1-13.

Let me give you some of what seems to me to be good advice about predestination. When you study, or question, whether or not one is predestined for salvation, take your quest to the Bible, not to me or Calvin. I believe both of us will only confuse you.

I have to admit that I have not studied the works of Calvin, because I have spoken with those who have. If Calvin is correct God is not fair and just. I can=t even imagine God not being fair and I am afraid I become somewhat angry at the thought. One of the questions Calvinists ask is, ACan a dead man ask for salvation@. The answer is yes. Everyone is dead in his, or her sins: not dead physically, but separated from God. Calvin is correct when he speaks of the man who has suffered the first death, the death before the second death, but that man can=t even read what Calvin wrote, because he is separated from this world. If someone is alive physically and therefore can read Calvin and he, or she, has not accepted Jesus as Lord and Master, they are dead spiritually, or separated from God. Dead in their sins and yet they can ask for salvation.

I view life as a court room. I was the defendant. The Judge is God. My defense attorney was (is) Jesus Christ. The prosecuting attorney was Moses, because he brought the law, which I am guilty of violating, and my accuser is Satan. I first plead innocent, but then I realized that I was guilty and asked my Attorney to change my plea to guilty, and to ask for mercy from the court, but Jesus knew the Judge, being fair and just, would pronounce the sentence of death on me. Whereupon Jesus stepped forward and volunteered to take my punishment for me. The Judge granted His request and I was set free. Now I serve on the jury. I do not judge, because the Judge is the one who passes sentence, or condemns, but I do discern right from wrong.

There are those who apply Matthew 7:1 to others who are only discerning right from wrong. As I understand Ado not judge@ it means do not condemn, but not Ado not discern@.

The trick to everlasting life (if it can be called a trick) is to plead guilty and beg for mercy before the trial is over and the sentence is past.  

If I were teaching you a lesson about election, your assignment would be to read 1 John 5:1-13 ten times, letting God Himself speak directly to you, not through me, to you. I am just a student, not a teacher. He is the teacher and He wrote the Bible to You.

That is predestination from my side of the table. You see, I believe in free will and predestination. I am free to choose and because I did choose, predestined to be made like Jesus. Did you really think my view would be like your=s?

IF YOU DON’T HAVE A JOB, THANK A POLITICAN

Politicians passed NAFTA and politicians voted China the status of “Most favored Nation”, so it was politicians that ruined our economy. Yes, it is ruined and personally I don’t see any hope for recovery. If you used to have a job in manufacturing, or if you used to work in any trade that depends on others having even a moderate amount of money you know what I mean. How about a little analogy to explain just what I mean.

Bob and Bill are competitors in the same kind of business located In the USA. They both manufacture widgets. Each widget cost both business $2 to make. They compete by sales promotions of one kind or the other. Both business are stable and hire many employees.

Then the politicians pass the North American Free Trade Agreement. Bob sees that if he moves his business to Mexico it would be possible to drastically lower his cost of manufacturing. Labor costs will be much lower, there would be little, or no government regulations, such as OSHA. It is almost a win win opportunity.

So Bob does move to Mexico. Now he has a distinct advantage and he can undercut Bill by a large margin, but of course he only undercuts him enough to take all of the business and pockets the rest (That’s the name of the game).

Bill sees what is happening and he realizes that he must also move to Mexico. To remain where he is would only lead to bankruptcy.

So what just happened? All of the employees just lost their jobs.

Why, do you say?  So the business could make more money.

Didn’t the politicians know what would result? The truth is they didn’t care (then).

All politicians are rich. They are the ones that own the businesses, or stock in the businesses.

Anyone, with even half of a brain, can see that this would and did happen to all of our manufacturing businesses. We are told that our economy is changing to a service orientated type. That is definitely true as there are no more manufacturing jobs.

The problem with that is service jobs generate no income for the country and because service jobs require parts and equipment there is a constant drain on our wealth.

We had import duties which kept this from happening before NAFTA. Those who should have put the American workers needs ahead of their, and foreign countries interests, did just the opposite.

Our “Most favored Nation” designation of China is even worse than NAFTA.

Now I have a few questions that this generated.

Who is going to buy widgets when they have no job?

Who is going to buy anything when they have no job?

Who is going to pay the taxes necessary to support our country?

By the way, all politicians are responsible for the downfall of our economy. Democrats started it and Republicans have done nothing to stop it. What do you expect as they are all rich.

Buy the way, by the way, if you think this is not your problem, or it will not effect you then you are about to learn all about economical recession in the real world (your world).

What I have said is only common sense, but you don’t have to take my word for it. Jump in your car and take a ride through the retail section of your town or city (If you can afford the gas) and notice how many businesses are gone. They are gone because people no longer have money to buy what they were selling.

You don’t even have to go to that much trouble. If you are reading this you are on the web. Just check out the news about the housing industry, and the automobile industry.

Very few are buying because very few have a job and those who did buy when they had a job are losing everything.

The only thing I could suggest is to pray to God to get us out of this, but to be truthful I don’t know why He would.

HEY, ATHEIST IT’S COMPARING APPLES & ORANGES!!!

Suppose Bob was on the beach one day making a raft. He was using vines to lash logs together to make it and he was chewing the vines into, in order to make them the proper length.

John walks by and sees him working at his task. He returns to his home and makes a knife and writes an instruction sheet that explains that he made the knife, what he expected Bob to do with it, and that he would return to reclaim it. John goes back to the beach and lays the knife and the instructions where Bob will find them.

Bob sees both of the items and because he is very intellectual he immediately uses the knife to cut the vines. He finds many uses for the knife other than just cutting vines: some good and some bad.

He begins to wonder where the knife came from and why it was placed where it could be easily found. He knows that the knife didn’t just happen and it couldn’t have made itself.

Bob remembers the instruction sheet and reads part of it, but he doesn’t believe it. So he begins to study the knife and test it. He weighs it, measurers it, subjects it to as many tests as he can think of in order to find out where the knife came from.

Bob discovers many things about the knife, but not who made it, nor why. The answers to those questions are written in the instruction sheet. They are the thoughts of the maker and thoughts of another can not be found in the products of his or her hands.

The same holds true of God. His thoughts can not be found in what He has created: no matter what method, or how one tries. God’s thoughts are in the Bible and the Bible is proved true by the predictions of future events that are, or were, in it.

Those who will not believe and put their faith in the Bible put their faith in many books, none of which are true. If one writes a book on anything in this world in ten years some one will write a book that refutes it. Maybe not completely, but still a claim that part or all is not true: and they will be correct!

When I attended school all matter was made of electrons, protons, and neutrons and they were the smallest particles in the universe. Hum…

Anyway, the thoughts of the Maker are not possible to find in His creation. If you can not even find them you certainly can not prove them by studying His universe.

The wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God are truly different (1 Cor 1:20&21). One can not use either one to prove the other.