Men Love Darkness

People are forever asking why God permits this or why He permits that. I don’t pretend to understand it all but some of it is obvious. As the title says, men prefer darkness. Darkness has many advantages for those who wish to do wrong. Mostly, it helps to hide their deeds. But more than that, darkness represents the evil itself. And when people are given the choice between light (good) and dark (evil) they prefer the dark (evil)

Now, let’s look at the entire verse that the phrase came from and maybe you will understand.

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

However, though it doesn’t say as much, I perceive that it is collective. When all men prefer the dark, then there is nothing but evil. This country has just about totally turned it’s back on God (the source of all light) and has chosen to do evil.

When we are young, more often than not we are afraid of the dark. We are afraid of what might be hiding in it. As we get older, we have a tendency to prefer the dark, as it is easier to hide that which we do. And so it is, as humans, we prefer the dark rather than the light. We certainly don’t want the world to see what we are doing.

Thieves and murderers love the dark. It is why I keep my porch light lit, as most do. It is why many have the motion detectors that turn on bright lights when they detect something moving in your front yard. The darkness helps to hide the evil men do and so men prefer darkness, which according to the verse is the condemnation of men. And choosing darkness (evil) is certainly one reason why evil is in this world.

The two seem inseparable. Evil follows darkness and darkness follows evil. Only the Light of God can break the chain.

I wish I could say this all better, bring it to light, so to speak. It would be better for you to read it rather than what I write about it. Better yet, if you never read another word of the Bible, read the first three chapters of John. It won’t take long and, if you pay close attention, you will learn a lot.

The Pattern

Wait for it. Watch for it. It won’t be long and it won’t be difficult to see.

First, there will be the requests for prayer, which is a sad joke. 80% of those asking for prayer don’t believe in it. The remainder will be the ones who would not spend a minute on their knees, not until after a disaster. Few and far between are those who earnestly prayed before the event. Those who gave thanks for what we have and those who prayed for peace.

Let me see a show of hands, how many, earnestly spent 10 minutes on their knees in the last year speaking to the Lord. That’s as I thought. Not many. Now, now, after the fact, you you go to God and you ask others to do the same… knowing that it will do far less good than the prayer would have done before.

Second, the anti-gun groups will be out in numbers. In truth, they could care less about the lives that were lost. All they are really after is the excuse to call for gun legislation. The believe in magic. Make the laws and everyone will stop shooting each other. May I remind folks, murder is against the law and I have yet to see one recent day go by when someone in the city of Memphis has not tried to kill someone. And it is as bad or nearly so throughout the country that ignores God.

I consider this a little more than odd when I look back over the last year or two and see all the crime committed by gun, and those that did it are wondering the streets today…likely with an illegal gun. If they really want to reduce crime, the first thing to do is put the criminals in prison.

The second thing to do is address the problem of broken homes and one parent families.

The third, and the most important, stop ignoring God. He can fix the problems. He knows how. However, if you ignore Him, why should He fix them? If you turn your back on God, why is it that He should do anything for you? If you refuse to admit His existence, for what purpose should he provide you any assistance.

Pain and sorrow follow those who do not follow God and His guidance.

Smiles

Went to Burger King today. First time in a week we went anywhere to eat, being as I had been sick. They had a big poster up for Halloween and I complemented the person I saw there on it. It surprised me. She got a great big smile and said thank you.

Did not know it meant so much. Maybe she was the one that picked it out. And by the way, it was a very nice poster.

Nonetheless, it did bring to mind something. Isn’t it nice to bring such a big smile with such a little gesture?

It never added one penny to the woman’s salary, but I guess, it still made her feel better. And you know what? It made me feel better too. Wish it was so easy to make make everyone feel a little better. Maybe it is, when we know the right thing to say or do.

That for Which I am Thankful

Daily writing prompt
What are you most proud of in your life?

I am thankful for a family that provided for me and guidance in my early life. I am thankful for the Marines, which taught me many things that I have needed throughout my life. I am very grateful to be an American, where, at least for now, I have more rights and protection than any nation that ever existed.

Proud is a word I use very reluctantly. First, I have very little to be proud of. Secondly, it sorta gets in the way when I want to make a real self evaluation.

By the way, I do have a very extensive list of things I am truly thankful for. Certainly right at the top, is my salvation, which Jesus provided me, before I asked for it and totally without my help. I assure you, pride only delayed it, as at one time I believed I could do it on my own.

At What Point?

There must be a point, that is to say a line, or in other words, some threshold over which the Arabic peoples might cross where they should be recognized by free people, by free countries and by people who simply have a brain in their heads as terrorists, as killers, or in other words, very bad.

And yes. I just said all that in one sentence. Can you imagine what I might say in two? Incidentally, for some reason, it would seem that they can do as they wish to any extreme and the Hamas would still be the victims in minds of some, that is, assuming they have one.

Flag Waving

They are coming to America, as the song title says. However, the flag they wave is not the Stars and Stripes. Instead, they prefer the flag of the country from which they come.

Repeatedly, the dems point out that we are a nation of immigrants. True, but always before, the immigrants let go of their old flag, and country; and took up their new flag, and new country.

I don’t know when it changed, but there was a time when dual citizenship was not permitted. If anyone knows the benefits of split allegiance, please let me know.

As Jesus said, a man cannot serve two masters. I do believe that goes to nations as well. For when the time comes for decisions, do you decide for the Stars and Stipes or for your former colors. To be sure, the decisions just might confront you each time you enter a voting booth. Are you, for sure going to vote for the good of the US, or will you maintain your ties to your prior country? Just which country will benefit from your vote?

Which flag gets waved? Which flag gets saluted? In my book, a person ought not gain citizenship until they are ready and willing to put down their former colors.

This is greatly amplified in Congress. There is a Constitutional requirement for the president to be a native born American. It is a shame that there isn’t such a requirement for both houses of Congress. This very day we have people in our Congress who wave foreign flags and they are proud to do it.

There’s just some wrong about that. To whom do they owe their allegiance? For whom do they cast their votes?

Retribution

There is no doubt. In retribution for Iran’s part in the attacks on Israel, we should immediately require Iran to withdraw their ambassador and all of his mission from the US.

Wait a minute. We already did, let’s see, a long time ago. It was done when they took hostages from our embassy.

Now let me see. Again, why is it that Old Joe gave 6 billion to Iran? Just what purpose was it supposed to serve? What good did it serve?

Looks to me like it caused a whole lot of death and destruction, for Israel to be sure. But also for Hamas. Does anyone really think Israel will let Hamas get away with a slap on the wrist?

As usual, the dems are doing the things that result in death.

Oh yes. And by the way. This just might be the start of something bigger.

Let’s all say… thank you, Joe. Thank you very much. And let’s not forget all the puppeteers who are pulling Old Joe’s strings.

As my aside… Aren’t you really glad of all the United Nation was able to do. Sure am glad that they were able to do so much to preempt the disaster. Wait a minute. I am not sure they did one little thing to stop the attack. My guess is that, as usual, they were useless.

Does it Really Help to Know

I took my Ford Taurus into the dealership to have some minor work done on it. When I went to pick it up, the service manager informed me that the anti-lock brakes control went bad. Then he suggested it might have been battery acid that dropped down on it.

I actually thought about arguing the point. The battery was relatively new and there was not one drop of acid around it. Moreover, it was in a tray which was also dry. I decided against it. I knew it would do no good.

I knew the guy was handing me a line but sometimes it isn’t enough to know. I wasn’t there to see it and I could see no evidence of anything that his man did. So that was it, more-or-less. Of course, the customer always has a last resort. I had owned three Fords before; none since.

The point is that sometimes, sometimes, it does not do any good to know. I knew the man was lying to me, but it did not do be any good. Anything short of having a video of the whole thing, I am doomed to lose the argument before I start. Even then, they might not accept a video of proof.

Well, there is another thing I know that will never do anyone any good. I know there was major cheating in the last election. Guess what. The dems know it too. The problem is that there was never a way to get it into the courts to prove anything; this even though some in position of authority outright admitted to not following the law. Incidentally, I believe the courts knew it too. I mean, it was a poorly kept secret.

The dems decided to ignore it and they insisted that everyone else ignore it too. Moreover, if anyone brought it up, the dems made sure that they suffered for it.

Now we stand on the brink of another election. You think they will do it again? They certainly will, if we permit it. Actually, they just might have obtained the power to do it even should we do not permit it. It may have already reached the tipping point. We, even now, might be living in a one party country. If so, it won’t do any good to know it. It will be too late. Very soon. we will all know. A lot of good it will do then.

Not a Fan of Crowds

Daily writing prompt
Tell us about a time when you felt out of place.

Put me in a crowd and I will head for a corner.

Actually, when I saw the prompt, I had a little laugh. People rarely are interested in anything I want to say. Moreover, much of what I hear in a crowd, I wish I had a way to unhear. (Or un see) Many crowds have folks who are drinking, and I don’t mean tea. I don’t like being around others who are drinking, even one on one.

Very few have any interest in discussing electronics, computers, Christianity or politics. Might I remind that we are cautioned about taking about religion and politics. It somewhat limits my conversation.

As usual, I could talk about the weather. As Mark Twain, said, “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.”

I guess old Samuel Clemens never felt out of place. He seemed to always have something to say. I sure wish I had his gift of gab. It sure would be nice to have folks listen to me when explaining the plan of salvation. It would be nice if I could command the attention of thousands when I warn against the fallacies of communism.

Well, little as it is, I do what I can, even though I can’t draw a crowd.

Division Among Republicans

Sad to say, there is division among the Republicans.  As such, very little of what they all hold in common gets passed, epically with Old Joe in the presidency and the dems having a small margin in the Senate.

However, what I’d really like to zero in on are the Republicans in the house right now.  As near as I can tell, there are at least 3 major factions.  The majority of them are conservatives.  Right now, they hold the majority of the votes, which angers what Rush Limbaugh used to call the country club group.  These are what are called rinos, or republican in name only.  Regan was certainly one of the conservatives.  He went from being a conservative Democrat to a conservative Republican.  (no more conservatives among the dems)The first Bush had the opportunity to learn at Regan’s feet but he was not a very good student.  As soon as the going got tough, he abandoned what he learned and he abandoned those who voted for him, which is why he lost the next election.

The next factor is the libertarians.  I like to call them Republicans without morals, R.W.Ms.  While they have very conservative ideas concerning finances, likely more than most, they don’t seem to have any morals.  Many have no problems with legalizing drugs, homosexuality, and many other moral things.  You might have a difficult time finding a Christian amongst them.

And so it is that there are fights within the party, some very bitter.  The only suggestion I have is to take what we can.  Most Republicans are financial conservatives.  Let’s concentrate on that.  That way we can fortify ourselves on that.

Moreover, there are many things that even the libertarians can agree on.  Let’s make sure that parents are notified before abortions.  Let’s make sure all women have full informed consent before an abortion.  That alone will cut down the number of the abortions.  Moreover, it is the right thing to do.

Let’s make sure that every dollar is spent wisely.  I would suggest every dime but we have gone well beyond that.  When people do spend recklessly, they need to be relieved of their position and possibly prosecuted.

Let’s permit the executive branch to hold back spending if it is not needed.  Some do not know it, but the President is required by law to spend every dollar that is allocated, even if not needed.  There are not many successful businesses run like that.

We need a total makeover of federal law enforcement.  One place we can start is by de-allocating monies to the FBI and CIA, particularly in the higher ranks.  They need to be trimmed down and their salaries need to be reduced.  They have become top heavy.  (Top heavy is another term for unsuccessful.)  Though the rino group might have problems with that, most of the others will likely go along with that.

I am a pro-military person.  I was in the Marines and I believe in keeping the armed forces strong.  However, spending blindly only destroys the strength of the services.  I have seen the waste from the inside.  I have seen $25 dollar fuses that can be bought at the hardware store for 39 cents.

Being a marine, I do understand mil-spec requirements.  However, just because something meets mil-spec, that is not a reason to pay $24 more.  We can make our armed services stronger.  However, we cannot do it by throwing money at it.  All that does is make the Defense Department fat.

We need to put much more of the power in the hands of state and local governments.  Money is power and that is the way the federal government acquires power…by spending our money.  Many of the departments, especially education can be drastically reduced or even done away with.  However, that department has become like a leech.  It just hangs on and will not let go.  The country club group kind of likes it so we are sort of stuck with it.  Nonetheless, we can sort-of trim it out of existence.

One way we will look back on these days.  We might look back on it glad that we did something about it; or we might look back wishing we had.

One last note, the feds not only spends a lot of money loosely, but they also spend money in places they shouldn’t, as an example sex-ed for kindergartners and gender changes for 3rd graders. Surely all republicans and a even a few dems can agree on that.