Capable of Vice and Virtue

         I want to start a series of blogs about human vices and virtues that can be applied to yours and mine's life. We like to think that we are good people by birth, or evil people by birth. Modern man believes themselves to be good and progressing toward a better person with hard work and struggles while Christians believe in the original sin coined by Augustine in the 3rd century A.D. Original sin talks about Adam and Eve taking and eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil making death inherently inevitable for man. Any person through this philosophy will claim that man is inherently evil. The bible says through Paul in Romans about Jacob and Esau that "before they did any good or evil", so when you are born, you inherited a clean slate: Clean from the good and evil deeds and words of yourselves and parents. A child doesn't know good or evil from birth, it is taught by example and teachers with words and deeds. Just because a newborn is new in ignorance, doesn't mean he or she is not capable of good or evil-- We are all able to do or say good or evil: that's the power of freewill.

         This capability can be dangerous and a lot of people don't want to be responsible for their actions. Yes, there are consequences for vices like the lack of happiness of a greedy man or woman whose sole purpose is the love of money. Or, the poverty of a person who is able to work but doesn't because they feel entitled to riches without diligent hard work, so they chose laziness or theft to satisfy their tastes. Or, the consequence of a prideful spirit of independence believing one's self to be better than their neighbor because of pride of self when achieving something. There is nothing wrong with achieving something, but to make yourself pridefully better than someone else doesn't make you a better person. We all are capable of these vices, including myself, and that should frighten us to the core. I love Benjamin Franklin's saying that says: "Make war with your vices." The problem today is that we believe we don't have any vices because we have inherited perfection: it's an illusion and a lie.

        History tells us that man or woman is capable of the most destructive evils and the greatest triumph of good. Spain's Ferdinand and Isabelle in 1492 justified their evil acts against the Jews with the Spanish Inquisition using a proverb from the scriptures to justify the popes decision. Spainard's used torture chambers with machines to pull arms and legs from a Jew's body to murder them with torment. If modern America believed deceitfully that we are not capable of such evil, look at abortion. The same tactic used against the Jews are being used on unborn babies. We are able to stop this abomination, so please end the abomination and make a choice to never repeat the past.

        Goodness can happen as well by our good choices. David and his men were afraid because of death threats from Saul, and a messenger said that Keilah was being attacked by the Philistines. David inquired of God twice, and obeyed to go to Keilah to save that city from Israel's enemies. David chose to do good despite the evil against him and God rewarded him with a kingship and dynasty that lasts for all time. In American history, George Washington, After General Gate's victory at Saratoga in 1777, was pushed by Congress as well as general Conway and Gates to be dethroned from his office of generalship. It all started with a letter from Conway to Gates that was leaked to Washington that attacked his character. Washington ignored the attack and chose self-control and not to little himself to the level of those who ambitiously desired his station with jealousy. Washington knew he was capable of such pettiness because of man's human nature. He chose self-control and dignity. With that virtue came confidence of the people and that confidence made him the first president of the United States of America.

       Jesus knew human nature and knew He become a man with such nature--even though he's the Son of God. He was all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Jesus saw a woman caught in adultery and she was accused by the Pharisees, He went on His humble knees to write on the ground. I believe He did this to remind Himself of the evil he could do in this temptation, so He needed a remainder of the commandments. He said: "Whoever is perfect, let him cast the first stone." The Pharisees were convinced of their conscience seeing what Jesus wrote, and walked away. When Jesus and the women were alone, Jesus said with love and grace: "Go and sin no more." I don't know about you, O reader, but I want to follow Jesus, my example, knowing my capabilities of vices and virtues. I hope in future blogs, I will discuss specific vices and virtues, so please continue to read, my friends.

Prove Peace

         War has broken out in Israel again in this year of 2021, which is 73 years after the first Arab-Israel conflict happened. 1948 was the year that Israel declared independence from the British Mandate that they were under since the end of World War I. The Palestinians were under this same mandate as well, but weren't promised a homeland like the British did for the Jews with the Belfour Declaration. there were conflicts between the Arabs and the Israelis before the State of Israel existed, but i'm not going to focus on those. the first conflict between then two happened after the United Nations created a two-state solution by giving a portion of the land to the Jews and another portion to the Arabs, and making sure that Jerusalem and Bethlehem were in international hands. This didn't satisfied the Arabs in 1947, and they tried to conquer the land of Israel for themselves and killed the Jews in the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem until the Israelis saved them in the War of Independence. Arabs lost a lot of territory to the israelis, but kept the temple mount and the Al-Aqra mosque, which was under the control of Jordan.

        This was the first of many conflicts between the israelis and the Palestinians. Israel had always been in need of a homeland as was promised to them by the British after World War I. Wars had been fought over the land with Israel victories in 1967, 1973, 1980, 2003, 2008, 2012, and now. the problem in the conflict is the same. both sides have learned to not get along as members of the family of Abraham. Palestinians want to take the whole land of Israel for themselves, and the Jews want a land to live in peace. No one is doing what the God of Abraham wants them to do. No one is proving to live in peace with each other. Even if there's a two-state solution to this conflict--which had been done before and led to war. How can you expect the two-state solution to happen again? The Palestinians want the whole land--even if that means killing Jews, and Jews only want to live in peace.

        Nothing has changed in 73 years of this conflict between the two. If i may be bold to tell you the truth. the only reason why this recent war in the middle east has happened is because the president of the United States sent aide to the Palestinians that gave them funding to fund terrorists. That's how Hamas got the rockets to fire into Israel. Trump cut the funds to the Palestinians because he knew they were funding Terrorists. Joe Biden is to blame for the conflict today because of his anti-Israel policies. there are consequences for actions, and more so for people of power. I love the quote from Abraham Lincoln when he said: "Any man can withstand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." Biden has been tested with power, and is failing because of his unfruitful character. We need to learn the wisdom of the God of America. If you want to have peace in the Middle East, stop funding terrorists. Stop fueling terrorists, and stop making war for no reason at all. Prove with your actions that you want peace.

        I have the luxury of going to Israel and Jordan in 2008, and i have the luxury of learning about both the Israelis and the Palestinians. I have learned that the Israelis are very down to earth and the Palestinians were a very family ordained people. both want to live in peace, but are faced with problems that the land offers. Both are of the seed of Abraham, and both want peace. prove me wrong that they both want peace. prove it, and wage peace instead of war. Only then can the conflict end. Theodore Roosevelt said it best: "speak softly, but carry a big stick." hopefully, war will end: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Shot Heard Around the World

         This day is the anniversary of the battle of Lexington and Concord that sparked the American Revolution. On April 19, 1775, British troops sent by the royal governor of the colony of Massachusetts marched to the town of Lexington and were met with the colonies farmers and brave men on the American side. Before this famous battle, a famous man named Paul Revere did his midnight ride to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adam that the British were coming. Paul Revere did his best to avoid British capture in order to warn the people of the danger that would come. But this revolution to create a new nation started with this midnight ride and also began with what Ralph Waldo Emerson said in his Concord Hymn the shot heard around the world. that shot happened on the bridge of Concord and in the town of Lexington, but no one knew who actually made the shot to start the revolution.

        This battle started a chain of events that led to the battle of bunker hill and the battle of Dorchester heights, and eventually to the glorious declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Lexington and Concord was a victory for the Americans who went toe to toe in musket fire against the more trained and more disciplined British. The British couldn't defeat the will of the Americans to fight to the bitter end, and they eventually retreated to Boston when the British charged the hills of Bunker hill fighting toe to toe with the more advantaged Americans and dying in the process. American would have won that battle if it wasn't for their gun powder running out. The Americans were defeated, but the British lost a great deal of men to make it so. This boast the morale of the Americans and demoralized the British. So much so that they never fought George Washington in Boston, but retreated by ship when Washington was at Dorchester Heights, which was considered a miracle by divine Providence

        These American inspiring battles were the beginning of eight long years of war to gain our independence and liberty. Patrick Henry said it best when he said in his famous speech to the Virginia Legislature: "Give me Liberty or Give me Death!". The ups and downs of the American Revolution helped shape the nation into what it is today--even though we had forgotten the famous battle of Lexington and Concord. The world was turned upside down after America became a nation, and without the shot heard around the world, we wouldn't have an America as we see it today with all our accomplishments and standards of living. The humble roots started this day on 1775, and it shouldn't be forgotten.

        What does this anniversary have to do with you O Reader? Well, right now, America is fighting against herself between two revolutions: the Marxist revolution, and the American Revolution of 1775. We can't be half Marxist and half American under God; for a house divided against itself cannot stand. Who among you will fight for his Land, God, and Union? Who will fight our foes like the Americans of 1775 against the British? Who will save the Union? Who will fight to the bitter end for the American way of life freely declared on the declaration of Independence and the constitution? Who will renew the covenant that the founders made with God and relied on His providence giving their lives, fortunes and their sacred honor? will you on this anniversary of the shot heard around the world do these things? God willing.

Save the Union!

           December 7th is the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan in 1941. That attack, 79 years ago, caused a giant that was at peace with her neighbors to go into a war that already begun years ago when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. America was very different then. Christianity was still very strong in America in 1941 as the reason for a prayer meeting before FDR's day of infamy speech the next day. America didn't want to fight a war as was said by FDR in his fireside chat when Hitler invaded Poland. Sure America became neutral for a time, but that didn't last long; for when Japan was told by Germany to attack Pearl Harbor, it took considerable time to plan and execute. Japan wanted the spoils of victory after the war was over, and expected to defeat America in the war. Unfortunately for the axis powers, that did not happen. America and the world was saved by the might of God's chosen people, and a God that strengthen their arms for war as was promised in genesis that He would do for Joseph's descendants.

           79 years has past since that fateful day in infamy that turned a depressed nation into an industrial giant, many things had changed since that time. Martin Luther King Jr changed the nation and the world with his 'I have a dream' speech, and his marches for freedom to end segregation. President-elect Johnson gave his Great society speech and witnessed the first Americans on the moon. Nixon was elected and due to Watergate resigned. Ford, Carter, and eventually Ronald Reagan came into the scene to face off against nuclear threats by the Soviet Union. The Berlin Wall fell, and eventually the Soviet Union collapsed. God has saved the Union again. But, this generation knows not the horrors of war in Europe or the threat of nuclear holocaust--although the 9/11 attacks was a wake up call. America has been prosperous unlike any other nation in history, and it's because of our covenant with our Creator that the founders made on July 4th 1776. God was our God and We were His people. George Washington saw that when he made his first act as President to dedicate the nation to God at St Paul's Chapel in New York City.

            America is not the same as it once was. The cracks in our foundation are being revealed: Abortions, homosexual marriage, rioting, looting, porn, corruption everywhere--even in church--sex trafficking, and many other abominations that we do to weep our Creator and spit at the covenant the Founders made. There's talk of civil war--well that has been done before and 700,000 Americans both north and south died from that war. The deadliest American war in our history. Why did we fight it? what was the purpose of brother going against brother? The south said state's rights, and the north said slavery, but to a Just God it was Punishment for our national sins. Lincoln knew that and proclaimed a fast to humble the nation to prayer and fasting and repentance. God wanted the abomination of slavery to end in America, and Lincoln did so to bring about the end of the war between the states and to save the union.

            This covid virus should help us to look at ourselves and what we are doing to deserve the punishment due us for our sins as a individual and as a nation. Although many people died from the virus, many millions more babies in the womb died from abortions, and it's still happening. How can we be so stout and steadfast about protecting ourselves from a virus, but not protecting the unborn from being murdered? What are our priorities America? We fought and defeated the Nazis two generations before, and in this generation, socialists and Nazis try their best to destroy America from our own people. History is forgotten or corrupted by people who claim they know the truth, but are liars. American history is being torn down by Marxist's revolutionaries who don't want God in their knowledge, but God is everywhere in American history--just look to the original sources. Patrick Henry quoted scriptures all the time in his famous give me liberty or give me death speech. Abraham Lincoln's 2nd inaugural address was jammed with scripture. by the way, Harry S Truman, a Christian Democrat, quoted from Lincoln at the end of World War II. Where have we gone from our heritage, O America? Where's the American Spirit? The spirit of the Alamo that would rather die than live without liberty? What happened to the patriot's that fought in the pacific and in Europe and North Africa to save the Union? how the mighty have fallen in the midst of the earth

             There's talk of war between ourselves, but not so much talk about how to save the Union. That was Lincoln's official purpose as president of the United States during the Civil war. How many of us still have the American Spirit to face tyranny? to love liberty to the death? Who among us will fight for our land, God, and Union? Who will fight for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Who will fight for religion and morality that George Washington said was the most fundamental things that kept our institutions sound as he said in his farewell address before leaving the presidency. Who among us will save the Union?

Before Kristalnacht

        What I am about to say is very grave indeed, but it must be said; for I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to tell you the truth. History is repeating itself today. We haven’t learned from the past, and because we haven’t learned from history tyrants are rising up in America to do what Hitler did to the Jews in the 1930s. Why do I say that? Well, Hitler used propaganda to criminalize Jews and calling them the inferior race and the Germen Gestapo called them pigs. They were the deplorables and the white privileged of Germany before the war—sound familiar America? Hitler needed someone to blame for the lost of World War I, and in all of his writings and speeches, he had to blame someone, and that was the Jew. He believed that the Jews were trying to take over the world with their financial system—which started with the Bolshevik revolution during World War I in Russia. 

Well, sounds like people in America who are in poverty or different or of a different race or class or gender need someone to blame for their difficulties, and they happen to blame white Anglo-Saxons. Sure, we’ve made mistakes, but we had also tried to correct those mistakes. America is not perfect—no human made country can be perfect, but throughout our history we had done our best to apply God’s principles into the fabric of this country. People today with their socialist hearts are trying to destroy the foundations of this country to make it a country that is just like Germany before and during World War II. The socialists want nothing more than to ruin this country, and make it something that will destroy liberty.

Hitler did lock downs too for Jews: Jews had to wear a star of David to identify themselves as Jews—like we are forced to wear masks for no reason at all—like the papers we get for being essential workers. They couldn’t go to the theater or the park or have a business, and if they did have a business it would be fined or vandalized by Nazis. Jews couldn’t work in the civil service even if they were a part of the military. If you were a Jew you couldn’t marry an Aryan person because it would defile the master race. This was before Kristalnacht in 1939. America, we have a pandemic that is calling out the socialists to do exactly as Hitler did to the Jews on the American people: lockdowns, Gestapo arrests for stupid crimes that shouldn’t be crimes, and hypocrisy in government officials. Our grandfathers didn’t fight the Nazis so that their grandsons could become the very evil that they fought against.

Now, because of the cops killing a black man named George Floyd, now there’s a call for justice just like when a Jew killed a German official in France to call Kristalnacht in Germany. The Pogrom destroyed and looted Jewish businesses and places of worship burning books and breaking windows. Fires were everywhere, and the Nazis did nothing to stop it. Now we are in a similar situation here in America where looters and vandalizes and socialists are repeating history. How long, O America? How long will you turn your back on God and tolerate the oppression of the socialists? How long will you defy God and not return to Him with all your heart to be a nation under God? We are in judgment because of our abominations. Thomas Jefferson said it best about America in his day: “I tremble for my countrymen when I reflect that God is just and his judgment cannot sleep forever”. In America, we are breaking the law of nature and nature’s God by doing things which are against nature. God’s judgment cannot be delayed on a people that disregard the rules of order and right which heaven has ordained as George Washington said in his first inaugural address.

            I fear that the course that we are taking in this country is in the direction of a holocaust unless we turn from our wickedness, and repent of our deeds. There’s still time to return to your Creator, O Fairest in the land. How long He’ll wait for us is uncertain, but clearly time is short, and we must act quickly.

Liberty and Safety

        There was a quote by Benjamin Franklin in light of this crisis with the Corona Virus. He said: “They who give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” This is profound from where it came from. You see, he was a signer of the declaration of Independence which made him a traitor to the crown of King George III, and if he were to be caught by the British, he would have been hanged. Signing the declaration of Independence was a sentence to death, and he did it full heartedly relying on God to protect him and others who signed that oath to God. The signers of the declaration faced hardships by the British: some lost their properties, some were put into prison in Florida, and some lost loved ones, but they all made the sacrifice for liberty. Patrick Henry said it best in his famous speech: “Give me liberty or give me death!”

Have we lost that American Spirit in America today? Have we lost the spirit of the pilgrims that went to Jamestown and Plymouth? The same spirit that declared to the world that we were relying on God and that all men are created equal who have inalienable rights by God of which is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Have we lost the same spirit of the frontier when men like Daniel Boone, Davy Crocket, and Johnny Appleseed founded this country under harsh conditions? Have we lost the spirit of America that expanded from coast to coast starting with the Louisiana Purchase of which Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to explore? Have we lost the spirit of the fighting men and women of the Civil War that fought to free all Americans from slavery? Have we lost the Spirit of Martin Luther King Jr who with so many whites and blacks fought to free all Americans from segregation in the south?

 

Who are we America? Are we cowards or are we brave? Are we selfish or loving? Is our heart pure or corrupt? We spit in the face of those who fought for liberty over the years in this country just because we want a little safety. Franklin was right: we don’t deserve safety or liberty—if we are so willing to give it up so easily. Ronald Reagan said it best when he said: “Freedom is never more than a generation away from extinction.” Americans fought the Nazis during World War II to save Jews and other men and women of Europe from tyrants that wished to rule with an iron fist. How long have we been since we were really tested? The test is simple: do you want to live free or to live as slaves? Americans since the founding have answered this question with their own blood. War of independence, Civil War, World War I, World War II, and even Iraq and Afghanistan most recently were examples of Americans fighting for freedom. Where is that pioneering spirit that built this country? Where are the brave men and women who stand up to tyranny in all its forms?

 
        This pandemic has taught Americans one thing: freedom is fragile and that you can’t sacrifice freedom for safety. John F Kennedy faced the Soviet Union in the midst of a cold war with nuclear weapons during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and still maintained liberty for America. How far have we gone from the pioneer spirit that made this nation great? We are not great because of our own wisdom and might, but because of the covenant that we made with God at the founding: the same vow that still holds true today, and that vow needs to be renewed in every American. That we are one nation under God with banners that said to tyrants: “there is no king but king Jesus.” If we don’t fight for liberty, who will? If we don’t stand up for righteousness and virtue that God laid out in nature and nature’s God through the bible then we don’t deserve the liberty we take for granted. Return to God, America, and He’ll return to you. God willing—He will deliver us from ourselves.

Joy in Pain

        Some of us can’t consider ourselves to be broken vessels. We feel the pains of life: the loss of loved ones, an unforgivable illness, or even a word from someone whose intent is to hurt you. Too many people know what it’s like to have pain in life; I am no different. My brother Andrew had died from cancer in 2016, and his memory still makes me feel like I could have traded my life for his, but God had other plans. I am still here; he is in the ground waiting for his Maker. I live on with the hole in my heart that used to be him while living with the regret that I could have been there for him more in my life than I have, but I can’t think about that. I remember the good times: the practical jokes and the school nights watching Jay Leno in a tiny black and white television. I even remembered hanging out with him when he had his house in Holland, Michigan. He was a neat-freak like his grandma—I tried to respect that. He had a zest for life, and lived it to the full.

        I moved back to Michigan from Kentucky in 2014, and not too long after that he was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors tried their best to save him and use every experimental treatment available—including one that killed him. I had the honor of being his stem cell donor, and I gave 12 million stem cells when he only needed 7 million. God answered my prayers in that situation, but it was all in vain because the stem cells were not working well with his body and he died from complications. I have to live with the knowledge that all my effort to save him was in vain: his death was inevitable. No one can change how I feel about that because it’s something I have to live with. My family had to deal with the loss of him and my aunt Margie in the past few years, but we find ourselves finding joy in the pain. How can that be, right? How could such devastation and loss find joy? I’ll tell you the truth from my experience: God is my joy.

        That’s right: the joy of the LORD is my strength. God’s love for me and my family in the midst of our darkest hour is the revelation that we needed, and still need. God shows us the little things that only He could give. The joy of His plan for salvation, the joy of His creation, the joy that Jesus Christ died for me and for my family and for all mankind, the joy that we can still love again after a loss. God’s love is real, and we need it in this world more than ever. There are too many things that bring us pain, but there are just as many things that bring us joy. I tend to look at the joy in life: to turn my pain into joy. It’s not easy, and it’s difficult to find the joy in life when life seems to not feel good at this time, but it’s there—if you search with all your heart. God lives forever and time with Him is not in vain—even if your life feels like it’s vain. I can honestly tell you this from experience, and I hope you all, O my readers, will listen to this young sage.

        Even though my brother is in the ground waiting for his Maker, his memory will live on in our hearts and minds. He will always have a place in our hearts—especially in the heart of his daughter who is now 6 years old. I still laugh at his jokes and the fun he had—especially when Kentucky basketball was playing. Those will live on forever—even if he is in the ground. The truth is, O reader, life is too short to not see the joy in it: joy is everywhere and can be easily seen if you seek it. Joy can be found in you and in your relationship with God. Full joy can only be found in that relationship with God: Jesus Christ said that our joy will be full and he also said that he came to give us abundant life. I look for that every day of my life—even in the days of sorrow and pain. Even when my soul feels like it’s drowning in salt water as I’m sinking down during a storm walking to Jesus—thankfully He will grab my hand and bring me to the boat safely. I know; I know: I have little faith. I’m working on it. But, this I know: I can have joy in pain, and that’ll never be a regret.