We WILL Take It All - Eventually

In case this information has escaped notice, the IMF has declared that it wants governments, especially the USA’s, to begin taxing at a rate of 71%.

IMF Calls For US Income Taxes as High as 71 Percent

IMF Wants a 71 Percent Tax Rate


IMF is the initialism for the International Monetary Fund.


Hollywood took this and used it in the Mission Impossible TV series and then the Movie series.  In this story line IMF stands for Impossible Mission Force, where the special mission team performs covert missions on behalf of the shadow rulers of the world.  Their missions are impossible in nature and yet they heroically complete the missions, with the common folk never knowing.


Would the common folk accept this impossible imposition of taxation without the many years of covert activity of the IMF?  Did the common folk elect the IMF to control the world's monetary instruments?  Do the decisions of the IMF ever require approval from the common people?


What is the effect of such taxation?  Even if this exorbitant tax rate is imposed only upon business owners and the so-called wealthy, does this not cause even more inflation of prices of common goods and services?  If so, who then really bears the brunt of these taxes?  Is it not the common laborer who already struggles to purchase goods and services at the already unaffordable prices?

. . .

The U.S. Health Care Money Making Scam

For a very disturbing look at the US Health Care System, see 50 Signs That The U.S. Health Care System Is A Gigantic Money Making Scam That Is About To Collapse.

Included in this article is a warning against government provided health care.

Others are urging us to become more like Europe.

But do we really want what they have in the UK?...

Sick children are being discharged from NHS hospitals to die at home or in hospices on controversial ‘death pathways’.

Until now, end of life regime the Liverpool Care Pathway was thought to have involved only elderly and terminally-ill adults.

But the Mail can reveal the practice of withdrawing food and fluid by tube is being used on young patients as well as severely disabled newborn babies.

One doctor has admitted starving and dehydrating ten babies to death in the neonatal unit of one hospital alone.

Writing in a leading medical journal, the physician revealed the process can take an average of ten days during which a  baby becomes ‘smaller and shrunken’.

The article in the link mentioned above is Now sick babies go on death pathway: Doctor's haunting testimony reveals how children are put on end-of-life plan.

According to what is reported in this article, the health care industrialists have determined that some people should be sent home to be murdered.  They are not merely sent home without medical assistance, but actually have their food and water denied to them so that they die of dehydration and starvation.  This is a very different action than declaring that no additional medical treatments will be administered.  This is a determination to kill the person.  The person is condemned to an agonizing death as this hospice pediatric nurse reported in the article:

     ‘I have also seen children die in terrible thirst because fluids are withdrawn from them until they die.’

     ‘I witnessed a 14 year-old boy with cancer die with his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth when doctors refused to give him liquids by tube. His death was agonising for him, and for us nurses to watch. This is euthanasia by the backdoor.’

What does it take to cause people to become alarmed?  This is appalling!  These decisions are not based upon helping people but upon judging people as unfit to live and to receive love and care.  This is not “end of life” care.  This is determining to end life.

Doctors do not know whether a person can survive.  Anyone with any long term experience in these issues has seen multiple cases where the doctors were DEAD wrong.  People have been healed of what doctors declared to be incurable diseases and circumstances.  People have recovered and lived when doctors judged them to be terminal, often even audaciously predetermining the time frame.

Acceptance of the judgment of doctors in these matters becomes more and more common as fewer and fewer people trust that these matters remain in God’s merciful judgment.  As God becomes reduced to technology and the limitation of medical ‘science,’ people begin to trust the arrogant judgments of doctors and bureaucrats and begin pondering the “most humane” ways of “letting people die.”

Truly loving and caring people will recognize that there are times when what is called “heroic measures” should not be pursued when a person’s heart has stopped beating and the person has stopped breathing.  But this is not the same as determining no longer to give hydration or nutrition to a person, or administering lethal drugs to hasten a person’s death.

True caring for people involves standing by their bedside, speaking kind words, leading in prayers and hymns and administering the means of grace.  Such acts truly comfort a person facing life threatening illness and even death itself.

But who believes in such things today?

As for me and my house, ... (Joshua 24:15)

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What Is Happening to Our Money?

As prices continue to rise faster than incomes can compensate, do you share in wondering: “What is happening to our money?”

Here are two articles that deal with this issue:

Who Or What Is Really the World’s Central Bank?

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES.

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Gary Kah & the Coming of Change

In one of the earlier posts I commented on the Dirty Rotten Thieves and illustrated how inflation is used by the big boys to rob everyone even without their awareness and often even with people’s thanks.

Gary Kah has a video of a TV interview where he talks about some of the ways that these things and the movement to worldwide domination are being effected.  This video and other interviews are also available at Gary’s Web site at Gary Kah TV and Radio Interviews.

While I cannot endorse Gary’s theology, he is a very intelligent and highly informed man regarding the current events in the world and the globalism movement.

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The Price of Love

I took this photo of one of dozens of posters that have been stapled to power poles all over our neighborhood. I called the telephone number earlier this week to inquire whether the cat has been found. I was informed that the cat has been missing since Aug. 3rd and has not been found.

I took the photo because it struck me how much these people must love their cat. These posters are everywhere within at least a one mile square, perhaps farther. I count 30 staples in this one poster, and it is a high quality poster. Just the cost of the posters and staples amounts to a considerable sum. Then the time invested is substantial. Additionally a $300 reward is offered.

At first I thought that this is an absurd amount. I would not pay $300 for a dog, much less a cat. But then I began to think of the fact that to fill the fuel tanks on my chipper truck costs over $350. That is just to enable me to get to the job site and do the work of attempting to earn a living. And that is only for my chipper truck. I also have the regular fuel costs of my pickup truck, my chipper, the stump grinder, and all of the chainsaws and other equipment.

From this perspective, I realized that $300 is not as exorbitant of a price as I had first thought. I still would not spend that for a cat, but it causes me to realize that it is not such a large cost in the mind of someone who has lost a pet that is dear to the family.

While I would not spend that much outright on a pet, I certainly have invested many times more than that in time and effort in letters and emails and phone calls and trips to visit family and friends. I have invested many times that in helping needy neighbors, both in actual monetary expenditures as well as in time and effort. The amount of my time and energy and resources and education and emotions that I have invested in preaching the Gospel I cannot even begin to estimate.

All of this reminds me of the endless goodness and mercy of the Lord. His love for us is poured out freely and without measure, and yet at a cost to Him that cannot be calculated. Moreover, His love is despite our arrogant belligerence and defiance and betrayal and blasphemy and disobedience. Such is His fatherly love and will concerning us.

In Matthew 13 we are told that the Lord Jesus told a series of parables concerning the kingdom of heaven. Over the years I have come to realize that my understanding of two of these in particular has probably been entirely wrong. All of the preaching that I have heard and all of the commentaries that I have read seem to share in hearing these two parables exactly backwards from what they really teach and mean.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:44-46)

For the greater part of my life I have heard these, both from my own perception as well as everyone else’s, as describing how one who hears the Gospel rightly will respond. However, this does not at all fit with the context of the other parables in this series. In fact, this perception and understanding directly contradict what the preceding and following parables declare.

In the parables where Jesus begins by saying, “the kingdom of heaven is like” who is being set forth as the man or the king or the person of action? Is it not the Lord Himself? Is it not God who is being shown to us?

In the two parables above, the treasure that is found and the pearl that is found is us. The Lord is the one seeking that which is lost and we are the ones whom He finds and purchases. In what way do we imagine that we could possibly purchase for ourselves the Gospel and the kingdom of heaven? Selling all that we have would never give us the price or authority to make the Gospel and the kingdom of heaven our own. All that we have is filthy and bloody rags to offer. No, it is the Lord who is making the purchase in these parables. It is the Lord who sold all that He had, and came to the earth to purchase us to be in His kingdom.

Much more can be mined from these amazing parables, but for now I will let this important thought be pondered and move to the objection that our minds tend to raise from the following statment:

Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. (Matthew 13:51-52)

Our selfish hearts are inclined immediately to cry out: “But see! Here the Lord says that we are the ones to find and bring forth the treasure.”

But this is because we are always inclined first to understand from our own perspective rather than hearing what the Lord is actually saying. The scribe is said to be one which is instructed. Thus the scribe is already a baptized believer, one who has been made a recipient of the outpouring of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and has been thoroughly catechized in the doctrine of the true faith. Moreover he is identified as a householder, that is, a lord or ruler of a house, which makes him a pastor/teacher in a congregation. From his treasure, that is, from the office that has been entrusted to him, the office of the Word, this scribe brings forth both new and old things. So, from what he has already been given by God this scribe brings out for all both old and new revelations. These revelations themselves are already in the texts of the Scriptures, but some have been heard many times within the household of faith and some will be things from within the great treasury of the Scriptures that have not been recognized before. They are from eternity, but nevertheless are new to those who now hear them and receive them.

We do not enter the kingdom of heaven by anything that we do. We do not seek and find it, until we ourselves have been sought and found by the Holy Spirit and baptized into the kingdom. Once we are within God’s Holy Communion, like little children we find the many gifts that are piled up in the great treasury of the Father’s house and we rejoice in the discovery of His wonderful gifts that He has stored up for us from eternity. These are ours in accord with the faith of Jesus, who has made them to be ours, having purchased us at the cost of all that He is. The more deeply that we ponder this the more marvelous we perceive it to be.


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NewsMax Lies

Recently NewsMax has resumed bombardment of my e-mail boxes with their propaganda. Propaganda has come to have a negative connotation in our society, even though the word itself is positive. Certainly as I am bombarded with NewsMax propaganda I am left with the negative association that has become common today.

Some years ago we signed up with NewsMax to receive a very worthy newsletter: The Blaylock Report. However, NewsMax also pulled some trickery on my wife (and many others). From that time we stopped trusting NewsMax. Of course, things like what I received in my e-mail today continue to reinforce our distrust of this pretender to the role of a defender of liberty and morality.

Today’s e-mail reminded me of the prophets of old who decried the same kinds of lies and thievery among the Old Testament people. One specific quote came to my mind:

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, Who oppress the poor, Who crush the needy, Who say to your husbands, "Bring wine, let us drink!" (Amos 4:1 NKJV)

The e-mail was from the President and CEO of Newsmax Media. In it he claimed to have sent a video to me the previous week and had noticed that I had not viewed it.

What?!!! How could he know whether or not I had viewed the video? I checked the link to see whether a person would have to give an e-mail address or other identification in order to view the video. Nope. So I called customer service to ask. Nope, he lied. The poor customer service lady was required to try to cover for his lie, but he lied.

The video is also loaded with lies and false promises.

How often today do we hear that something will be given “ABSOLUTELY FREE” if only we will call this number watch this video or whatever. Then, the offer is proclaimed to have a shipping fee, or is connected with a subscription to a newsletter, or is a “no risk” trial offer?

This is false advertising. This is raw deception. Even with the “no risk” offer, such as this one, a payment is required, which allows the seller to use our money interest free.

But this is not the ultimate issue of concern regarding this e-mail and what is contained in the video to which it links. The video has promises that are not kept, promises to tell about two amazing investment opportunities but those are not actually revealed. But this, too, is minor contrasted to what is forthrightly promoted.

Now most people are unlikely to respond to this with this concern. Most people will likely respond with desire to be included in what is promoted. But to this the Lord declares:

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, Who oppress the poor, Who crush the needy, Who say to your husbands, "Bring wine, let us drink!" (Amos 4:1)

The video tells how we can learn how to profit from the misery that the international bankers, the greedy controllers of the economy, and the corrupt politicians are causing. It tells how we can learn to imitate the ways of those who are destroying the great heritage of America and are taking over America and the world’s nations through economic manipulation.

The video, which can be viewed here, follows the typical way of promoters of hype. The video is set up so that you have no control. You cannot fast forward or back up or pause. If you try to leave the web site it pops us and makes you click more buttons. When you refuse to stay, it gives you another page with the information in page format. Perhaps this is good, as at least one can examine it better.

From that page, here is what is stated regarding the third stock option, one of the two that are promised but not actually revealed without signing up for the trial subscription.

2011 Guaranteed Dividend Stock #3:
A Wall Street Bank Everyone Hates!

My mantra of being greedy when others are fearful lets me recommend another unlikely stock for 2011, one of America's biggest banks and one of the biggest bailed out by the federal government.

The current bogeyman of the Obama administration is Wall Street money center banks like this one. Temporarily, this would seem to be a bad investment.

However, in 2010, this administration also attacked Goldman Sachs, British Petroleum, Berkshire Hathaway, and Johnson & Johnson. All four stocks took turns being the bogeyman, and all four are up HUGE since being attacked. This company is just the latest "villain" for the White House.

The company's revenue sources include credit card services (25%), global corporate banking (18%), global markets (17%), wealth management (14%), home loans and insurance (16%), and deposits (10%).

Just a few years ago, this stock was selling for close to $60 a share. Today you can buy shares for pennies on the dollar — pretty close to what it was selling for in the early 1990s and 11% off of its tangible book value of all its intangible assets.

In plain English, you are buying it for a price less than you would pay if you started a bank from scratch.

And you get all the rest of it — the card services, global corporate banking, global markets, and wealth management businesses — for free.

One last thing: Hedge fund superstar John Paulson, the man who made $20 billion on the subprime debacle is betting HUGE on this stock. His fund has been profitable in 13 of the past 14 years, including an almost 40% gain in 2008.

He has taken his largest equity position in this company's common shares, buying 168 million shares.

I think this stock is a slam-dunk for 2011 . . . and I'll tell you all about it in my brand-new special report, The Best Dividend Machine Stocks for 2011.

Just in case you read past it without noticing, here is the key point again:

My mantra of being greedy when others are fearful lets me recommend another unlikely stock for 2011, one of America's biggest banks and one of the biggest bailed out by the federal government.

Once more for good measure, slightly more condensed:

My mantra of being greedy when others are fearful lets me recommend . . .

Now, NewsMax claims to oppose the bailout and the stimulus spending bill and the raping of people through health care. They promote newsletters for doctors who speak against big pharmaceutical promotion of drugs as the answer for all problems. They promote awareness of the tea party movement and the cry to stand up for what is right and to oppose the big government and big business pillaging of the people and their earnings and of the trampling of the Constitution.

And here they promote investing in the very things that they claim to oppose. They promote profiting from the big drug pushers called health care. They promote profiting from the foreclosure of homes. This mindset is especially promoted in another e-mail sent a few days ago, the first portion of which can be seen below:

And again from the video:

My mantra of being greedy when others are fearful lets me recommend another unlikely stock for 2011, one of America's biggest banks and one of the biggest bailed out by the federal government.

And where is the federal government getting this money to bail out big banks and to give money away in the trillions of dollars? The government swindlers are borrowing the money from the international bankers who own the Federal Reserve. They are borrowing this money in our names. They are stealing this money from you and from me and from all of the future generations who will be bankrupted by this action.

So why should we not follow the advice to get rich from other people’s loss and misery? Why should we not take advantage of the situation and profit from it just as the big boys are doing? Why should we be left behind to suffer the loss?

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, Who oppress the poor, Who crush the needy, Who say to your husbands, "Bring wine, let us drink!" The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: "Behold, the days shall come upon you When He will take you away with fishhooks, And your posterity with fishhooks. You will go out through broken walls, Each one straight ahead of her, And you will be cast into Harmon," Says the Lord. (Amos 4:1-3 NKJV)

Is the Lord blind? Does He not see how we join with the evil ways of the world? Were the prophecies of old only concerning the greedy of those times?

More importantly, is this really the way that we want to act? Do we really want to imitate those who take advantage of others unfairly? Is greed the way to happiness? Or is the way to true happiness the way of contentment and of defending the poor and the widows and the fatherless and the oppressed?

Ultimately it comes down to who and what one counts as God. In whom and in what does one trust and rely? In whom and what does one find security and peace and satisfaction? How one answers these matters determines one’s affinity to the ways promoted in the above propaganda.

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:24-34)

Tires

When I know of a business that does right by people, I like to let others know.

 

Central Ag Wheel & Tire is such a business.  I have been purchasing tires from them for my business needs for a number of years now, and they always have done right by me.  Sometimes I am in need of a good used tire for my chipper truck.  Other times I have needed replacement tires for my chipper or trailer.  This week I needed new front tires for Stephanie's mustang.  I checked at Sam's Club first.  They would have to special order the tires.  Apparently that type of 15" tire is no longer sold very often.  After all, it is a 1989 mustang.  But then I checked with Tom.  He did not have that size in stock, but pulled up a couple of suppliers on his computer screen and showed me dozens of tires of various brands.  Then he selected one that would be inexpensive, yet fully meeting my needs.  The installed price of the tire was a little more than half the price of the cheapest tire at Sam's Club.  The installed price was very pleasing to me.

Central Ag Wheel & Tire, as the name proclaims, is primarily directed toward the needs of farmers and other agribuisness.  Yet they are able to supply tires for nearly every need, and they do so at very pleasing prices.

I asked Tom for permission to post his card on the blog.  For anyone in the Wichita area, he is a good guy with whom to do business.

Our Beloved Synod

One of the sayings that I remember as part of the mantra that I learned throughout my years of growing up in the LC-MS and then in my pastoral training is: “Our Beloved Synod.” I wonder how many prayers that I heard during my youth and that people heard from my lips as a pastor included this mantra. The use of the phrase, “our beloved synod,” is an indicator of a people’s pattern of thinking. It is indicative of what is understood as necessary for life as a believer. I wonder how many people who use this phrase and regularly hear this phrase in church parlance and in worship settings actually think of what the use of this phrase indicates.

It is generally used in connection with an area of concern regarding the life of the church body. When the church body is facing trouble of some sort, this phrase becomes very commonly and regularly utilized. It is often used during times of convention and restructuring. It is very frequently used in connection with fund raising.

I noticed this example at the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) website, although a substitute phrase is used: “WELS Connection.”




November 2010 - Christian giving from WELS Streams on Vimeo.

This video is entitled: November 2010 - Christian giving. It is a very well made video. It is very powerful. It pulls very hard on the heart strings. Yet it has the appearance of being meek and gentle and humble.

An interesting aspect of this is the title of this portion of the web site: WELS Connection. This fits perfectly with the assumptions of the members, be they WELS members or LC-MS members or ELCA members or members of other church bodies. Those assumptions are rarely spoken or even identified openly, yet they rule the hearts and minds of the members. One of those assumptions is that membership in the church body is equal to membership in The Church. Another assumption is that to give to the church body is equal to giving to the Lord. Another assumption is that the Church cannot function without the existence of church bodies and that these church bodies must be propagated and preserved. Another is that the so-called mission activities and ministries of these church bodies are the means by which the Lord carries out the evangelization of the world and that without these the Gospel would more or less stagnate.

And so programs like WELS Connection are invented. The current example in the LC-MS is the Ablaze!™ movement. (Notice the trademark.)



This Ablaze!™ movement of the LC-MS is especially clear in emphasizing that it is not static. It is a “movement.” This is strongly stated in What is Ablaze!? and especially in What makes Ablaze! different from every other church evangelism program of the past?. The underlying proclamation, although rather subtly hidden, is the necessity of the LC-MS cooperative efforts.

Is an awareness of this subterfuge important? Does such awareness serve a purpose? Does it matter that the various church bodies are held so highly? Is there a problem with the mentality that accompanies the use of the “our beloved synod” phrase? Did St. Paul address anything like this in his epistle of 1 Corinthians? Is there a connection to Matthew 21:12-16 and Mark 11:15-18? What does Jesus mean by what He says in Matthew 23 ? Does this or Jeremiah 7:4 mean anything in this connection? Is there a connection between the misquote of Matthew 26:61?
John 2:18-22 begs the question even more powerfully, as the Lord Jesus speaks of them tearing down the temple of God, that is, the body of Jesus, and that He will raise it up in three days, but they speak of Him tearing down their temple. The question in this is: why did they associate the temple of God with the works of their own hands and the works of their fathers, and not with the house of God in which God actually lives?

Is there a connection between this and the mentality that accompanies “our beloved synod”?

The Lord Jesus says: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

What does this mean? Does it have any application at all in this matter?

We Care About Mission Money

Whenever I receive an envelope in the mail with this return address and insignia, I know that I am being hit up for money. I know that this group has one and only one interest concerning me and my family, like the Federal Reserve’s Internal Revenue Service, they want my money.

The material enclosed always includes a letter that begins like this one:

The intent of the letter is to inform me how much the LC-MS cares about mission work and the spread of the Gospel so as to move my heart to give them money. Isn’t that lovely? The LC-MS wants me to know how much they care about the Gospel and about mission work and about missionaries and about the sharing of the Gospel on the home front and in the military. Perhaps I will refrain from the sarcastic reminders of the many ways in which the LC-MS has withdrawn support for this work and misused the people’s monies for other-than-Gospel purposes. Perhaps I’ll let those who are in the know reflect upon and react to those issues.

This month’s money request has this very carefully chosen and attractive cover on the envelope:

“GOING where God leads us...” is what it declares. The emphasis is on going. Let’s get going. All CAPS are used for going. “where God leads us...” is given a lesser emphasis. This is what concerns me to a much greater degree than the fact that I continue to receive assaults upon my conscience in attempts to obtain my money.

This seemingly insignificant variation in emphasis has very significant impact upon the practice of those who hold it. Thus the pursuit of my money. With the primary emphasis being on GOING, the practice that follows this emphasis is on works of men. Perhaps it is actually the other way around. The preponderance of the focus on the works of men drives the emphasis on GOING.

This is very likely the biggest false doctrine attached to missiology and evangelism. The mission is not comprised of the works of men. The Gospel is God’s work, work in which He includes men. This false doctrine, which reverses the works of God and men, changes everything. Thus the LC-MS World Mission organization is not even concerned about me and my spiritual well-being. They are not in the least concerned about whether or not my wife and I have survived the horrendous evils that the LC-MS has perpetrated against us, nor concerning the hundreds of other pastors who have been abused. Their only concern is to attempt to persuade me to give them money to GO.

Yet they have the audacity to claim as their motto: “GOING where God leads us...” The church body is divided to such a degree that some are hoping to regain 50-80 % unity in the future. Where is the evidence of the church body and its missiology being directed and led by God? Do the Scriptures ever give any indication whatsoever of the apostles considering seeking financial support from beyond those with whom they are in communion? Did the apostles ever indicate in any way that mission work could be effectively pursued apart from 100% unity in doctrine and practice?

When unity in doctrine and practice is the primary concern, what is the result? Is not unity the result? When unity exists, do the people not of their own accord give from their hearts for the work that the Holy Spirit urges?

Is this not the problem in the churches today? Borrowing from a very common cliche, the cart is being hitched in front of the horse. Under such conditions, the horse struggles even when whipped severely. Is it possible that the churches will someday remember that the mission begins with teaching, that is, Baptism, as the Lord of the Church declares in Matthew 28? The mission begins with proper catechization of the Baptized within the congregation. Proper catechization includes regular participation in the Eucharist, by which true unity is embraced and made real. How many churches today completely ignore this ultimate manifestation of unity and proclamation of the Lord’s death, that is, the pure Gospel? How many churches never even discern the body of Christ at this most rudimentary and essential and defining level? How then can they imagine themselves to be led by God in anything, when they openly defy what God has ordained for the life of His Church on earth?

Christ declares Himself to be the way, the truth, and the life. The way cannot be discerned or acknowledged apart from the truth. Morever, the life of the Church cannot in any way be divorced from or contrary to the way and the truth. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.

When churches forget this as the foundation of the Church, when churches forget that only pure administration of the Gospel and Sacraments has the effect that God promises for the Church, how can they imagine that they have the ability to go forth by God’s leading? If they want to receive God’s leading, they really need to listen to what He says. Don’t they?

When they remember this, they won’t need to reach out for money and they won’t need to reach out with the Gospel. For the Gospel is a light and the true Church is the light that God sets up on the hill for all to see so that people will come to the light. Mission work begins with the local congregation. What sort of witness is it to send forth missionaries when even the local congregations do not show forth the light that is to be carried abroad?

Notice that St. Paul did not urge the Corinthians to support mission work. Why not? Because they were the mission that needed the Gospel. They were so divided that the apostle told them that their supper was not the Lord’s Supper. He warned them that they were partaking of the table of demons. Until the unity that the pure Gospel produces was manifest among them, they had no light to show to the world. Thus he called them to repent, to return to the complete unity in which they at first shared together. At the end of the admonishments he finally called upon them to unite with the Galatians, who were also plagued by disunity, in supporting the saints, that is, the Church that was distressed by persecution on account of faithfulness to the pure Gospel.

St. Paul spoke of mission work to congregations that were united in Christ. He even asked them for their financial support. Could it be that the one whom the Lord Jesus called as the apostle to the Gentiles actually knows the manner in which mission work should be pursued? Could it be that the Holy Spirit inspired men to record these things for us to hear so as to be led by God? Whom should be counted as correct, the Holy Spirit and those who were directly inspired by the Holy Spirit, or a bureaucratic organ of a church body created and directed by men? Which is truly the mission of the Church, collecting money for GOING, or standing fast in the unity of the true Faith?

Credit Card Interest Rate Scams

Beware of phone calls claiming to be Credit Card Services. A recorded message begins by saying that there are no problems with your credit card account and that the company is offering reduced interest rates. The number that registered on my phone was (269)-768-2211. An Internet search showed it as a cell phone by one company and an unpublished land line in Michigan by another reverse search company. The Consumer Protection Agency says that the FTC is investigating.

Before calling the CPA I called AT&T. What a fabulous company. Everything is automated to provide as little actual customer service as is possible. The first call required pressing nearly a dozen buttons, after which the very pleasant voice informed me: “Due to circumstances beyond our control we are unable to take your call at this time. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. Please call back again later.” On the next call I pressed zero until I spoke with someone, was transferred to a specialist, and after answering a protracted list of privacy/security questions and recognizing the clear indication of a runaround, I hung up. This appears to be the objective and the standard procedure of nearly all customer service departments of larger corporations today.

At least on this occasion the customer service people spoke English and seemed able to understand English.

The main point of this post is to warn that there are clever people calling to deceive and steal from people who are already being hurt through the deceptions of the banking industry and the government. So please beware of phone calls offering to help. The standard advice is not to trust anyone who calls claiming to be representing a bank or other institution, especially where account information is involved.

The secondary point is that when calling the proper agencies for assistance, it is easier just to go into a closet and scream for a few minutes. The results will be immediate and more effectual.

Thirdly, if the caller I.D. shows an unfamiliar number, not answering will be annoying for as long as the phone is ringing, but will be much less frustrating than actually answering the phone call.

Fourthly, reciting the Catechism is a much more rewarding activity than anything listed above.



Luther’s Small Catechism and be found here or here or here.

Congressional Switchboard

Has the Congressional Switchboard ever been as busy as in the last few years? Trying to dial the numbers for the Congressional Switchboard today yields a busy signal or the nasty 3 tone ear blast followed by “We’re sorry, all circuits are busy.”

An interesting aside was noted by a friend regarding one of the toll free numbers for the switchboard. The number is 877-762-8762. Using the keypad letters this spells 877 SOB U SOB, or Servants of Bankers You Servants of Bankers.

This is an interesting observation. One can hardly count it as funny, though.

At the pace that Congress is working to force new legislation into law, letters via the US Postal Service are too slow. Emails seem largely to be ignored. And the Congressional Switchboard is overloaded.

So the frustrated people of the country turn to talk radio where they pacify one another, telling each other that they are great Americans and the like.

More and more diatribe and lambasting is encouraged as banter and even more perverse, as making a difference. What should be acted upon is turned into a game, into word play. Talkers sign contracts for millions of dollars while those calling in are pacified and directed to useless tea parties and other impotent gatherings of noise makers who cry out about how their government is abusing them and bankrupting them. Meanwhile, those who actually take action by stepping outside the two party system are vilified or demeaned and diminished, if not completely ignored.

How many people have even heard of the recent bill that has been sponsored that calls for a complete audit of the international banking cartel known as the Federal Reserve? How many people have even heard of H.R. 1207: Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009? Have the so-called conservative talk show hosts been discussing it? Have they encouraged people to consider the merits of this bill? Or is the traditional lambasting of the Democrats what they have promoted?

What value exists in lambasting others without taking decisive action oneself?

Where does all of the interest earned by the Federal Reserve go? The interest that is charged to the federal government should be accounted for, should it not? Does the Federal Reserve association of bankers pay taxes on its income? Why is the federal government charged interest on its own money in the first place? Does anyone keep track for the sake of the general welfare of the citizens of the nation? Why is HR 1207 not front page headline news?

The Great American Bailout

Fire Department Hoax

316-652-9861

This is the number from which a call was issued to our home in the name of the Sedgwick County Firefighters Union soliciting funds on behalf of fire safety training for Sedgwick County Children.

Is this a genuine solicitation on behalf of the Sedgwick County Firefighters Union?

Who cares?

It still is a hoax!

Beware of such solicitations by phone. The first thing to beware of is the fact that professional fund raising companies generally turn over only 15% or less of the monies to the cause to which you donate. 85% or more of what you donate goes to pay the professional fund raisers. So what is really being supported by the donations? Answer: the promotion of fund raising.

Moreover, in this instance, the fire department already has professional people allocated for this very purpose. The City of Wichita Fire Department web site reports: “There are 14 employees assigned to Fire Prevention and these individuals are responsible for Investigation, Inspection and Public Education.” Additionally, there is a Battalion Chief of Fire Prevention.

So, the staff are already in place and in the budget.

One meeting by the Battalion Chief of Fire Prevention with the School Superintendent and School Board would allow presentation of all available material and information that could then be sent on by E-mail to every teacher in the school system. Much of the information and materials is already available at the Fire Department web site.

So why the request for $$$ ?

How is the money to be spent and by whom and for what?

These are the kinds of questions that people need to be asking any fund raising people who call.

When you ask such questions, be prepared for a rude response and likely a disconnect.


One more thing of which to beware. Anytime that people asking for money say, “It’s for the children,” BEWARE! You can be certain that it is a lie.





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Footnote: people who are truly concerned for the children do not wait for funding or union guidelines or support from a committee or legislature. They simply act according to the needs that they observe. They act directly. They use their own money and possessions. Loving parents and grandparents and other family members simply act and give. Caring teachers likewise act and give, often paying for supplies themselves and putting forth great extra efforts. Truly caring rescue people also put their lives on the line without waiting. None of these people stand by waiting and calling for support or monies. They see the need and they act. Those who say, “We want to help the children but we need your money,” by their own statement indicate their first priority. Those who call asking for money so that others can help the children, well . . . read between the lines.

Guys who got it Right on the Economy.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Guys who got it Right on the economy.
Why are they ignored?

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ! ! ! ! ! ! !

From the standpoint of seeking to get ahead on the efforts of others, I suppose I am just a big boob. I have never had any desire to do anything more than to earn a living while providing a service to others. I’ve never had any desire to “make it big” or to use other people and their money and efforts to make a pile of money for myself.

So why should people listen to me about the economy and investment plans?

But there are folk who have made piles of money through investments and such. They are well known throughout the world. They have spoken out regarding the decisions that have actually worked, AND have spoken out against the decisions that have NEVER worked.

Here are a couple of videos you may want to consider. I’ll provide them as embedded videos and also provide the URLs so that you can view other related videos. (Some parts may be a bit loud, so you may want to adjust your volume accordingly)

Guys who got it Right on the economy. Why are they ignored?




Governments want a One World Monetary System




Things can be set back to what worked. We still have a window of opportunity, if only we will elect leaders who will do what needs to be done.

This election matters.

Money as Debt

The following video is posted at GCNLive, a worthy source of news in this current age.

Paul Grignon's Money As Debt
One Of The Most Important Videos You Will Ever See
(on what is happening in the nation and the world today)

After viewing this and observing the “Why” behind the secularly observed slavery of this age, then compare the current candidates being offered in the mainstream.

Then consider that we actually have candidates who are seeking to Reform the nation and to counter those things that currently rule over the populace.

Are not these men and women worthy of full consideration?


What would happen if every person who believed that it is foolish to vote for the lesser of two evils actually voted for someone who stood for something? What if we all actually voted FOR a candidate rather than voting against a candidate? What would happen if we all voted for candidates who actually tell us what they believe and do so consistently rather than checking the polls to find out what we want them to tell us that they believe?

Believe it or not, such candidates of integrity DO exist and are actually on the ballots.




(In the paragraph above, the secularly observed slavery is meant. Sin is the true cause of the slavery of mankind, and of course, the current matters are manifestations of that total slavery which can only be undone through the grace of God through faith.)