Our minds

Our minds may be one of the most important tools we have to use.  3 lbs of gelatin like substance located between your ears will gather information using all your senses, process this information and create a response to the gathered information. Your mind is what tells you what to do, how to act, what to say. It will lead you down either the right path or the wrong path. How do control your mind and the decisions it makes? By controlling the information that goes into your mind. Not a very easy task in this day and age, with Hollywood, drugs, media, or whatever bad influences you can think of. The negative influences are all around us. We live in the devil's world but we don't have to live of the world. He is constantly tempting us with anything he can get his hands on, movies, tv shows, magazines, pornography. Your eyes send these tempting images to your brain, and your brain throws the idea around. STOP. It's already to late, soon as you start mulling over the idea in your head you begin to tell yourself, "it's not that bad" "it won't hurt anyone" "I'll only do it once". You have to control what your eyes see. If you know a certain magazine has tempting photos, don't even pick it up. Throw out all the movies in your house that are not pleasing to God, that's right throw them out, don't give them away, you don't want them to be temptation for someone else. Look at women in the eyes, do not gawk at their body. Clear out all the evil from your home and replace it with good. Teach your children at a young age to do the same, that way it will be easier for them to continue the Godly lifestyle. Don't just tell your kids how to live, be that example for them. Control what goes into your mind, so that the right decisions will be the natural decision. Your brain is an powerful, complex tool given to you by God, use it to honor Him.

Taxes

The big debate is whether president Obama increases or decreases taxes. I found an article that breaks down the math for us. Obama says "I also lowered taxes for small businesses 18 times. And what I want to do is continue the tax rate — the tax cuts that we put into place for small businesses and families". 8 of these were temporary and are no longer in place. 5 were enacted by president Bush. The 5 left over results in 3 billion dollars. Now he wants to raise taxes by 52 billion according to figures from the joint committee on taxation and the IRS. Of course some people will argue that he has cut taxes more than president Bush. Bush's tax cuts in the first four years were about 475 billion. Obama's tax cut's in the first four years were 1 trillion which includes Bush's tax cuts that were extended. If it weren't for Bush's tax cuts being extended, Obama's total tax cuts would come out to 290 billion. We can talk figures all we want, but the numbers don't matter if the business owners and hard working American don't see the cuts. Obama's "tax cuts" include tax incentives, which means you have to spend money to see the savings. So all that money can go towards the stats, but is it really helping? Are the business owners really saving money?

Christianity and Secularism

These days it seems impossible to talk about anything dealing with religion without being laughed at or even sued. This has been on my mind for awhile. How America has changed directions and is the opposite of how it started. The lack of morals and values. The broken families, the divorces, the abuse and all the destructive behavior. Our nation was founded on christian values. Believe it or not the very first thing our first president did right after becoming president was, walk down the street with everyone to the church and pray for our nation. And now you can get sued for offending somebody even though we have the right to pray. We all here talk about the end of the world, well for me as a christian I'm not afraid of the end of the world. In fact sometimes I can't wait, because where I'm going is a lot better than this place. The only reason I don't want the world to end is because of all the unsaved people out there. That I might have the opportunity to share Christ with them. So for all those people who are suing others because somebody prayed in public. I have a question for you. Where are you going when the world ends or when you die? I know where I am going, and if you don't know Christ as your personal Savior, I know where you are going too and it's not a nice place. What is even better, this world is temporary, and when you die that is forever. So go ahead and make fun of all the Christians and keep suing them, we don't need the money. God says " Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves  break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also". Matthew 6:19-21. God also says, " 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 the heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they"? Matthew 6:25-26. The constitution protects our freedom of religion, and nobody is forcing you to be apart of any religion, and if they are then they are wrong. So why are people trying to take away my freedom. For all those who are offended and suing people because of it, maybe you need to reevaluate your life and ask yourself, where am I going after I die. I can guarantee if Christianity offends you and you don't know Jesus as your personal Savior, then you are going to hell. And I feel bad for you and am praying for you, because you don't have to go to hell. That is your choice. Heaven is an option. It's as easy as ABC. Accept Jesus into your heart as your personal savior. Believe that he died for you on the cross and rose from the dead to conquer death. Confess your sins. Everyone is a sinner, every living person on the face of this earth. All you have to do is ask God for forgiveness and he promises to forgive you. No matter what you have done. There is nothing to bad that he can't forgive. He has seen it all. Remember it's your decision, and there are lots of people in the same shoes. We are praying for you.

Perspective

Today is a weekend, so the mates I work with are home.  I will not hear them come in today and tell me how bad it is or how many days till the weekend.  A cycle repeated again and again “three days left, if we make it that far.”  As though our lives were intended to be lived like a gerbil on a wheel.  “Keep it spinning that is all we can do”.  But that is not the purpose; that is the purpose without god.  Each day God’s majesty is revealed before our very eyes.  New and beautiful every morning.  Psalm 19:1 the heavens declare the glory of god the skies’ proclaim the work of his hands.  Everything we see and touch is a measure of God in our life.  Do we see it as mundane or appreciate God taking the time to be a part of our lives.  We should take the opportunity this day to see how we can be a part of it.  To find our place in the plan of God and become a part of His created work.  Put aside our pride and our free will, follow Jesus and team up with the maker of the universe.                                By RJ Mack

Forgiveness

I am compelled this day to think about the greatness of God's grace. A God who created the universe and put up with man's rebellion for thousands of years made a place called heaven, and he himself made a way that all who want to can go there. He endured the cross in our place that if we choose we can join him in heaven. Why would he even care or put himself through such an ordeal. Love. And he even made a way that if we choose we don't have to go. Yes heaven is for real, a place of joy and glorious reunion. A place without tears of pain or sin. And yes hell is for real , a place of torment and torture. And it is everyone's choice what to pick. Why do people blame God for hell when we a sinful rebellious people, wanted it. God does not want anyone to go there. That is why he paid the price for us. So don't blame him that because of your pride you cannot just ask for forgiveness and take the free gift he has offered you. We all have sinned, we all have fallen short, and he knows it. And he is waiting there just to forgive and welcome you.                             By RJ Mack

Everything Belongs To God

Colossians 1:16 says, " For by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him". So there you have it, everything belongs to God. So why are we so greedy and why do we need so many material things? It's all God's stuff anyways. We are on this earth because He put us here and we have the things we have because He gave them to us. Think of it this way, everything you own, you don't really own, you are just borrowing it while your here. That kind of gives you a different perspective, especially when people ask you if they can borrow something. That is how our mind set should be, everything belongs to God and i'm just borrowing it. Try it. I bet it will make people less greedy, less materialistic and more compassionate when it comes to giving and sharing. Can you imagine a world where everyone was willing to give away their stuff just to help someone in need. There is a lot of people like that, but there is also a lot of people just the opposite of that. It all starts with on person, one act of kindness, the good in people is contagious we just need to spread it around.

Prayer In Schools

I do not see a problem with prayer in school.
Students should be allowed to practice their religious freedoms. Schools should not force prayer on students, but the students should have the right to pray on their own free will without being afraid of getting punished or harassed. Here is how I see it, if you want to pray then pray, if you don't then don't pray. It's as easy as that. From the research I have done I found that prayer is allowed in school as long as you are not interrupting the instructional time. Here is a few things I found. You are allowed to pray and read your bible during meals, recess and like we said, non instructional times. You are allowed to organize events and religious activities like any other non curricular activity. School employees cannot encourage or discourage prayer. This country was founded on religious beliefs. That is one of the reasons our ancestors came to America, for religious freedom. The first amendment says, "congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." So there can be no law promoting or prohibiting religion. The whole argument about the separation of church and state comes in to play. The school is not the state, it is an education system not the government. Yes it is funded by the government, which I disagree with, but that is a whole other topic. People are confused about what is the state and what isn't because the government is taking over programs that affect our daily lives. So in conclusion, if you want to pray or exercise your religious beliefs, more power to you, you are protected by the constitution. And for those who don't want to pray, nobody is forcing you to, so don't. And stop harassing those who do.