We are a brainwashed Psycho-Social Republic

Are you (we) being brainwashed? I suggest that we are. What is it? It is a desensitization of certain things to bring about a change in thought, or conviction. (my definition). So....who is doing the brainwashing? I am glad you asked. To answer that we must examine to what things are we being desensitised to? Well, a lot of things. One is obvious, the counter culture accronym has been replaced by the term progressive. Instead of being behind the curve and at the fringe of society, certain groups are asserting they are now on the forefront of socioeconomic and cultural change. But who is giving these groups this credibility? The socialist left has created a pipeline through liberal judges to create this path to legitimacy. And we as conservatives have allowed it to happen. The activist judges have been strategically placed to overlook constitutional law and to make ruling contrary to the will of the majority of the people. We also have a president that through his policy is denying due process to anything counter to his agenda. This has been taking a hard blow to conservative christians as well. The denial of an exemption to Hobby Lobby for the Obamacare mandate based on their christian values is a clear indication of the direction this country is headed in making us into a psycho-socialist republic. That is a term I came up with to describe the state of this country when the laws and the courts stop looking at the constitution and original intent in favor of growing the federal government. And to that end it represses capitalism, in favor of a welfare state, it represses Christianity, in favor of anything else like Islam. It overrules the will of the people and what they vote on in favor of singular individuals or groups. Does that sound familiar?? We are there folks, and we sat around and watched it happen. Now the people on government welfare roles are electing our officials, not us. The people who do NOT work outnumber the people who do. We are living in a Psycho-Social Republic. There is a path back, but we have to bow up and stand our ground. We need to elect true conservatives to office at every level, from local on up. We need to keep the voice of the majority ahead of the fringe elements and not them become mainstream and us marginalized. We need to stop accepting the premise of racism and start making people accountable for their actions (and reactions). We need a person to counter to Sharpton, and Jackson to show all races that there is a better way. We have let Obama's cronies ignore travesties like Benghazi and Fast and furious. We are letting them give us the run around on the IRS scandal. Even the last election of Obama was a farce as evidenced by several precincts all over the country without a single vote for anyone but him, but the silence from our side is deafining. Where is the outrage? Where is the accountability? Our so called elected Republicans are even partnering with them to bring about this change, John Mccain is the worst. It is time to hit our knees and hit the voting booth. Remember, we are also to blame on this, we allowed this path to continue on our watch. Be vocal, silence has doomed us for too long.

Preaching to the Choir

Have you ever heard a preacher say, "This is for me too" ...or even say , "I have issues in this area"...well that sometimes is refreshing to hear. But have you ever been giving what sounds like great advice then realize you could "learn" from your own comments? I have. It is humbling even convicting, especially giving relationship advice in front of your spouse, you better be on your game after that! I think God gives us insight into things and we are expected to use that insight to help others and along the way even for ourselves. I think we can help others walk through situations and in so doing grow a little too. I know this seems to be shallow water I am stepping into, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. We all have the ablility to be "something" to those around us, we can be standoffish (is that a word?)  We can be one of those people who always enables others when they are not doing right, pat them on the back and say there there, it will be alright. Or we can be Godly and give them (and ourselves) insight into the situation from another perspective that they may not hear otherwaise from thier worldly friends. I choose the latter. I am speaking these words into all of my friends going through rough times right now and also praying that I might use them to better myself too. We are in a study called the Truth project. In it we learn that there are certain biblical truths that are essential in understanding who and why we are. There is the truth about who man was created to be, who he is without God, where he will be without God and who he will be with God. But through all of this is the truism that Apostle Paul wrote when espousing his sinful nature in a battle with his desire to be more like God. It is a daily struggle where sometimes, even though we don't want to, we fail and we do those things which we do not want to do. But the good news is that God is still there, still soverign and lifts us back up from those failings. God NEVER changes. He has the same nature day in and day out. But we fail him, and will continue to do so, thank God for his Mercy and Grace. So the next time you are giving stellar advice, don't get puffed up and feel good about it, look inward and listen to the voice of the never changing God and see what parts of it you can put into practice. None of us are perfect, we ALL fail, but it is how we move forward from those failings that count. God wants us to succeed, he chooses our paths. He lights our way, but when we walk into the darkness, it is not the darkness that frightens us, it is the absense of his light.   

Forever on 2 wheels

Since 2002 I have been on many long Motorcycle excursions. The pure Lunacy of some of them has me looking back on why we did it the way we did. The first was a long weekender of right at 1000 miles to Arkansas and back through rain and Fog... I have made probably about 25 trips to Arkansas and Talimena drive as well since then, each one with its own misery or elation. We have ridden to New mexico and Colorado a few times, Wyoming twice, Idaho,Utah, and Montana with a day in Yellowstone. Also to Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama, as well as a trip to New Orleans and all over Texas. Along the way we have visited caves, mountains, civil war battlefeilds and crossed many rivers. Have ridden 3 times to the top of the highest paved road in North America, Mt Evans Colorado. And talk about weather....Rain, in buckets coming down so hard cars are parked on the side of the road as we ride by. Hail....it hurts! Winds... high winds! Snow, yes I said snow. Cold cold in the early morning and 110 degrees for hours coming home.  I have ridden as much as 18.5 hours in one day and many many days of over 12 hours. We have had flats, deer encounters, had a car hit a member of our group while sitting at a gas station, and he received a broken leg. We have been inundated by Love Bugs in Mississippi, hit by large insects and small birds. Pooped on by birds, splattered by bugs and peed on by cattle in a truck. I have been stung by insects on my face and neck and ear 6 times! We have seen animals galore, bears, deer, Elk, Moose, Wolves, Eagles, Foxes, Coyotes and a cave with 12 million bats flying out of it and dodged every kind of roadkill you can imagine. We have also ridden at dawn and watched as the sun peaked up over the horizon in a splender unmatched. And we have watched it set while we chased it over the horizon. We have met wonderful people, eaten in awesome little cafes all across this land. I have covered almost 100,000 miles on my bikes in the last 10 years, and the one thing that sticks in my mind the most are the guys I have shared the road with, from my Pastor and music leader, to other church friends, to local riding buddies to close friends I met because I ride, to those few biker buddies I am proud to call Brother, and you know who you are! Whether it was on top of Mount Evans, sitting on a park bench in Eureka Springs listening to Banjo music played by stringy haired stinky hippies, or sitting in a large circle of friends just laughing and having fun, biking has kept me sane. It has given me life long friends, and as I said in a previous post, kept me on an even Keel. Its all about the experience, good or bad on a bike, but at least it is on a bike. This retrospective was prompted by my looking forward to my large trip in 9 days, hopefully I will only add to the stories, and create more memories that last a lifetime....Forever on 2 wheels!!

Why I Ride...and Where....

This is not a thesis derived to justify my motorcyle riding and trips. It is not even the ramblings of a blowhard biker who feels the need to stick it to the man! I just wanted to share the reason that I , and many others, choose to mount our iron steeds and seek solice on the open road. Within each of us is something that keeps us on an even keel. What is that you ask? Well, like on a sailboat, in order to perform and sail with speed even in trecherous conditions a weight is placed below the hull to offset the lateral forces of the wind and keep the boat from capsizing, that is what my motorcycle trips do for me. My family, especially my lovely wife is my rock, she keeps me anchored in what is good and right, but the rest of the world drags me out into open water, and it is there I start to "keel" over or be pushed into capsizing by the waves and wind. It is in those moments on my bike where the worlds ropes start to break, when the sail is at the perfect angle and provides a lighthouse to make me aware of the rocks. In a little over a week I am leaving on a journey that for us will be of epic proportions. My best  riding buddy Greg Cohlmia and I are heading to see the 13 westernmost states, the Pacific, several mountain ranges, 12 national parks and travel over 5000 miles. Why you ask? Why Not, I ask. Life provides for us what we need, God gives us a partner in life, but we must influence how we actually live. Every time I go on a trip and return I return energized, glad to see my family and full of a sense of accomplishment. On the trips I see God's hand in creation, I see his glory presented in such a way that only a blind and deaf scientist that never steps outside could deny. I learn to appreciate what I have. So, during my trip, each night starting on May 31st, and ending with a wrapup June 16th if all goes as planned I will throw on here a quick synopsis of the day and what it had to offer, good and bad. I hope you follow it, feel free to comment. But by all means ride along with us as we explore on motorcycles and see this wonderful country from the outside, smell and feel the fresh air, hear nature, be at one with the road. Below is an overview of where we will be each night on the trip and what we will see:

May 31st stay in Amarillo Tx (nothing to see )
June 1st ride across NM to Gallup (again pretty boring ride on I-40)
June 2nd ride to Flagstaff and see the Grand Canyon then stay in Williams Az
June 3rd Ride to Las Vegas on Route 66, see Hoover Dam spend afternoon and night in Vegas
June 4th Ride through Death Valley N.P. and stay in Mammoth Lakes Ca
June 5th Ride through Yosemete N.P. and across Cali and stay in Petaluma Ca.
June 6th Ride north through 3 Redwood forests and then along the Pacific coast highway to Crescent City and Redwood N.P.
June 7th ride NE into Oregon and the Cacade mtns and ride through Crater Lake N.P. and on to Bend Or for the night
June 8th ride north into Washington to Clarkston for the night
June 9th ride across Idaho into Montana to Bozeman for the night
June 10th ride south into Yellowstone N.P. for the day and stay in Jackson that night
June 11th ride to Heber City Utah(swiss alps of Utah) for the night
June 12th Moab Utah and Canyonlands and Arches N.P's
June 13th through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison N.P. and to Gunnison Co for the night
June 14th south through the Rockies to Red River NM for lunch and on to Eagle Nest NM for the night
June 15th ride back to Enid Ok

Forgiveness heals

We walk about each day in our mundane lives not giving a second thought to others around us. We go about our work so we can make it to that pinnacle, for some that is as simple as making it to the weekend for others they look toward money and status. But there are a lot of people who get up each morning with something inside festering. It is gnawing at them, eating away at their joy and taking away any chance at completeness. Most of the time as humans we can pinpoint the cause of that anger, and it usually is another person. For whatever the reason we have decided that it is in our best interest to not allow ourselves to forgive that person. We have made a conscious decision to carry that inside of us, making the determination that they do not deserve forgiveness and we are not bound to give it. I am reminded of a sermon that Craig Groeschel gave once where he equated that to holding a handful of broken glass, squeezing that glass in a fit of rage. The glass remains, it has no problem doing what broken glass does, when we open our hand, blood flows from the wounds created by the glass. That is just like us, the unforgiveness and grudges we harbor are more damaging to us than we can imagine. I have known several people through the years that have had to live with the fact that a loved one went to their grave not having been freed by our forgiveness. Because you see, forgiveness also frees the troubled soul of another. One has a hard time being truly repentant without receiving true forgiveness. But if they are truly repentent then we should forgive....

Daniel 9:9. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him

God owns forgiveness, he created it, he expect us to live a life full of forgiveness, we are made to forgive, it is in our unwillingness to forgive that we rebell against him.

  Luke 17:3-4 says, Pay attention to yourselves!  If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, “I repent”, you must forgive him.

It is clear, even after a battle or a conflict if we are asked to forgive, we must, and boy do I know that is easier said than done, our sinful nature pulls at us and tells us, "Wait a minute, that person wronged you, they deserve no solice, they need to live with the knowledge that you will never forgive them." But that is the voice of Satan trying to make us harbor a feeling that will only fester and cause us even more pain.

Our pride gets in the way and wells up and makes us think that we deserve to punish, ....but do we? Can we expect to be a person who should be forgiven if we are a person who refuses to forgive? I think not.

The perfect example of forgiveness comes from a perfect man, Jesus. Imagine being falsely accused of a capital crime. Being dragged and beaten then stood before your own people and being sentenced to death. At that point being beaten some more, mocked and forced to carry your own death apparatus down the road to a lonely spot where others have died before you. The sentence is carried out, bloodied and beaten, Jesus summoned up the strength to say out loud "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." All of this is a pure lesson in the greatest forgiveness a man could ever give. At that very point he was not only bleeding and dying an earthly death, he was carrying the weight of all the sin of mankind, every little lie, every murder, every dark corner sin that mankind will ever do, was weighted upon him, ....but yet he stayed the course, at that very moment he not only asked for the forgiveness of his killers, but he also became the intercessor for our sins, an avenue through which we can go to God and ask forgiveness for our sins and our transgressions. Jesus was so much for us, and his example of true unwavering heartfelt forgiveness should be an example for all of us. The next time you feel outraged at someone for what they have done to you, remember we are not in this alone, God, the very owner, creator and arbiter of forgiveness is standing right there with us. So today if there is someone that needs forgiveness, give it, if there is someone that you need to apologize to so you can receive forgiveness do it. The healing nature of forgiveness can not be measured. And the strength to give it or ask for it, is given to us by our Father in heaven. As a Christian we do not walk that path alone.

How do you pray? And when....

Lately I have been challenged. Challenged to look at how I view God. Our pastor has been leading us through Hebrews and in doing so has given me some things I need to be reminded of. Sunday he preached on Enduring and discipline: Hebrews 12 says:

⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

 Mainly I have been in need of being reminded of God's sovereignty. Of his majesty, of his strength, of his purpose for us. He leads us, he guides us, but not always through the primrose path but right through the thorns. But when we get out of the other side the scars are a badge of courage. He sees our simplistic thoughts, he hears our cries, but still sometimes he chooses to let us walk the hard path so we learn something. But it is more than that, the trials and the hard times are there and always will be there so we can know him. But, we must choose to endure those times, not resist them. It is through those times that the true character of him is revealed. It is through those times when our true dependence on him is cemented. It is through those times when it is revealed how much we truly need him. We hear teaching and preaching all of the time of how someone in the bible or someone lately endures the hardship of life and prevails. We hear stories that make us weep because through uncertainty we see triumph, through pain we see joy, but do we ourselves when confronted with those times see GOD? Apostle Paul said in Philippians 2:12 "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want"......That is a great testimony, to be as much as ease in good times and bad, because we know who is steering the boat. We know who is guiding our path. We can rest assured that when we hit a bump in the road of life that God is already there and make sure that as we are crying out to him in agony that we also give him the praise for allowing us to learn through that trial. We need to also thank him fervently for the good times. Endurance is so much more than taking a deep breath and hoping we come out the other side. It should be a way of life. An accepted way of living, which is learning as Paul did, to be content in all things good or bad. To accept all of the hardships as opportunities not as punishment. To see through the worlds idea of God and see the biblical God. The way we pray in those times reflect our understanding of our God, do you always pray for God to "fix" situations, or "remove" you from the troubles? Or do you pray for him to be revealed through those times, and to show you what you are supposed to learn? I hope it is the latter. All of us as Christians seem to spend more time in prayer when we are up against something than we do when things are seeming to go good. But we need to reexamine the purpose of our prayers, look deep inside ourselves and see if it is a selfish motive that we pray to God for when the walls are closing in. Or do we see the bigger picture, one where God is sovereign and he is in control, and through every circumstance, hardship and pain even if it is self inflicted we must choose to look unto the one and only God to give us guidance, and endurance to persevere, for in him even during those times, we can know peace, and contentment.

A Prayer for Newtown

Just like a lot of people I have been trying to come to grips with the tragedy in Connecticut. I have 2 daughters and a granddaughter. I have 14 neices and nephews and 16 great neices and nephews. I really don't know how I would react if any of them, especially my children or grandchild, were in that school and lost their life. I know it is normal to feel anger, guilt and so on. But what is normal? You hear the phrase, "the new normal" thrown around all of the time and I get it, but for these people having a new normal that is minus a precious life, and worse yet they were taken so violently, words can not explain what they must be going through. One of the toughest books in the bible to process sometimes is Job. Job was a man of God that was allowed to walk through losing everything in his life so God would be glorified and the Devil would be put in his place. Job lost his family, and his livelyhood. All through the book of Job there were so called friends of his trying to disuade him into beleiving God was evil, that he should not accept what happened and be bitter, but Job stood his ground. Now he was irritated and had moments thoughts that seem trite towards God, but he continued to walk the path set before him. After the trial, God blessed him 10 fold for his faithfullness. I am not saying that everyone involved will be like Job, but I am saying that God can walk beside them and us in this situation. He equips us to be able to see the other side of an issue. He walks along side us and carries us when needed. He is always faithful. This week we studied the story of Jonah in small group and Jonah, when asked to go back to the hostile land, he ran. Until God brought a huge storm while he was in a boat. The storm was so bad they were on the verge of sinking, but God said if Jonah were to be cast into the sea, it would become calm, they were reluctant, until it was obvious there was no other way, so Jonah insisted they comply. You know the rest, he was swallowed by a huge fish, where he was able to come to grips with what God wanted of him and he was spit out of the fishes mouth. These 2 examples show one man who through tragedy fought the good fight and another, just the mere thought of it ran away. But both were eventually used by God for good and his glory.

   My prayer for the folks directly affected by this tragedy is that they seek God and his plan in this and use it to help with healing, and try to discern how he wants to use this in their lives. I also pray that for those running from the prosepct of a Godly intervention, that they too sense his calling and hear the knock upon their heart, and invite him to do a miracle even in this situation. When we are in the midst of a horrible situation, it is hard to see any light in the darkness. This is an extremely dark time for these people, and I pray that somehow the light will begin to shine through and they can feel the warmth again. I pray God's blessings on all of the people of Newtown and all of the extended families affected. Amen