Unemployment Down! (even Though we lost more jobs)

If you lack the intelligence to realize losing 11,000 jobs and claiming unemployment is down from 10.2% to 10% cannot occur without playing with numbers, you just may be a liberal.

Joblessness is still a major issue in the United States. The way they figure unemployment numbers now is different than how it was done 25 years ago. Unemployment now if calculated the same way as then would be around 17%.

Now the government stops counting people unemployed for over a year, considering them as no longer interested in finding employment. I have met many in construction who have not worked in about a year who are very willing to work. But they do not count. Nice.

If I would have used government math in high school I never would have graduated.

WELCOME TO THE USSA.

With pelosi and her ilk passing Comrade Obama's pet socialist health care bill, we have officially become a Communist nation. All elections are just a mere formality.

This sickens me. The government (I will no longer call it our government, as they serve their own best interest, not ours) sickens me.

A bunch of "special" people in congress are not bound by this health care trash, but we peasants are. I am disgusted. All of you who voted for obama and pelosi and the rest of those who voted for this suspension of basic freedom are responsible for the fall of the former United States. We are now the Union of Soviet States in Amerika.

Now if you do not have health insurance, you will be fined and/or jailed. The vote was 220 communists to 215 who still favor freedom.

Link to the story: "House Narrowly Passes Health Care Bill" (in the dark of night)

Update on the Outrage at Ft. Hood

Early reports were inaccurate, Malik Nadal Hasan is alive and apparently acted alone.

This "man" has a history of praising "suicide bombers." More information is bound to come out in the next few weeks, but this is an act of terrorism.

On a positive note, the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the action. Of course, if they didn't it would have been a public relations nightmare. Either way, they did the right thing this time.

Hopefully Obama is as outraged about this as he was when Tiller the abortionist was murdered.

See previous post for links about this story. Some will contain updates.

OUTRAGE! TERRORIST ATTACK ON MILITARY BASE

Despite our idiotic government already declaring that this was not a terrorist attack, I am declaring just the opposite- THIS IS TERRORISM!

Major MALIK NADAL HASAN was killed after killing other soldiers and civillians and reports are that two others have also been captured. He undoubtedly expected to meet allah and get 72 virgins, but he will be in hell regretting his mythological beliefs.

Yes, I am prejudging the events of today; but when will the UNITED STATES wake up to the fact that Islamic terrorism is our enemy? We should not be making things easier for them.

I went to the White House blog to see Obama's thoughts, but there was only commercials for his socialist ideas. My understanding is that he made a statement, but it is not on the whitehouse.org site at the time of this post. UPDATE: I added a link to a YouTube video of Obama's statement. Not quite as heart-felt and condemning as he was with abortionist Tiller, but he did make a statement.

Links about the terrorism unleashed today:

12 Dead, 31 Injured in Foot Hood, Texas (WND.COM)

12 Dead, 31 Wounded in Shooting at Ft. Hood Army Base (FOX NEWS)

Army: 12 dead in Shooting Rampage (ABC NEWS DALLAS)

Coverage of Fort Hood Shootings (CNN)

Report From The US Army (army.mil)

Who is Major Malik Nadal Hasan? (MY FOX DC)

PENTAGON REPORT ON TERRORIST ATTACK (Pentagon Channel/army.mil)

OBAMA ON YOUTUBE- Statement about the shooting (YOUTUBE)

Twitter Search on Malik Nadal Hasan (Twitter)

Emmanuel Ministries Notes 11/01/09

Sunday was the final message in the worship series. The time of ministry was good and the people were attentive.

The outline below is followed by the streaming message and a link to download if you wish. The message was cut short due to some type of technical difficulties.

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¹¹ Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

¹² Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3.11-17 ESV)

BACKGROUND (v.11)-

(Previous to verse 11, Paul outlines past behaviors [negatives] that need to be put away)

In Christ we have no divisions:

• 1 Corinthians 1.10, “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” (ESV)
• National: not Greek or Jew (American, Mexican, Honduran, Russian, Chinese, etc), but Christian
• Religious: religious rituals do not define us, our place in Christ does
• Cultural: (barbarian- anyone foreign to Greek culture; Scythian- considered wild, savage nomads)
• Economic/Social: whether wealthy or in poverty, Christ unites Christians
• Galatians 3.28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Christ is all and in all:

• As Christians we share the same Spirit: Ephesians 4.4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (ESV)
• Christ broke down all divisions between Christians through His sacrifice

All this opens up the next section, a part of Scripture encouraging Christians to be Christlike…

GOD’S CHOSEN (v.12-15)

As His Chosen Ones:

• Paul calls Christians “holy and beloved”- this language ties in God’s description of Israel as His possession in the Old Testament and of Jesus in the New Testament

- meaning Christians are His possession, His people

- we’re to be reflections of Christ & our relationship with God a reflection of the Father with Christ

- as such, we should display the fruit of our place in Christ

Acting as His Chosen Ones:

• Paul outlines several positive characteristics (the fruit)

- compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience

- all in line with Galatians 5.22, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (ESV)

• Paul emphasizes forgiveness and love

- Reflecting the character of Christ (Luke 23.34, from the cross says, “Father forgive them…”)

- Based on God’s forgiveness of us- being forgiven, forgive.

- Peter asked how many times to forgive; Jesus answered “seventy times seven times” literally meaning be always ready to forgive. No limits.

- Love is what is most important, (1 Corinthians 13.13, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”)

- Some make a case that Galatians 5.22 is all really about love; everything that follows is a fruit of love: the fruit of the spirit. 1 Corinthians 13. 4-7 actually compares very well with Galatians 5.22

- This will bring the peace of Christ- the closer we are to Christ, the closer we are to each other

- Thankfulness should be the result of this place in Christ

CHRIST’S WORD (v.16-17)

• As the Word of Christ is part of our lives (studying, praying) we become grateful and thankful to God
• We express this with worship-

- in teaching and wisdom/in song (psalms, hymns, spiritual songs)/with thankfulness

- doing everything in the name of the Lord

Closing: As we find our place in Christ we find our reason to worship Him. God is worthy of our worship. He is the object of our “worth-ship.”

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Worship Series (pt.2): "In Spirit and Truth"

Sunday we had a good time worshiping God at the Ministry. We sang worship songs without my guitar again (I still need to replace my string). That went well. However, I long to preach more each week. I was excited to begin my second message on worship.

After the message, a lady named Sandra came up to rededicate her life to Christ. She had been there before. Anyway, I preached the message "Worship: In Spirit and Truth." You can listen to it in the streaming player below or download it by clicking the link below the player.

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Emmanuel Ministries Notes 10/25/09

Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." ¹⁷The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; ¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true." ¹⁹The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship." ²¹Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. ²⁴God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." ²⁵The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things." ²⁶Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he." (John 4.16-26 ESV)

Background/Context:
Jesus sat by a well and spoke with a Samaritan woman and asked her for water. She resisted and He told her that He could offer “living water” that would make her to never thirst. He spoke spiritually, she understood physically. The conversation continued.

The Encounter (v.16-19)

• Three significant things:
  • The well: Where Isaac & Jacob wives were at a well when first encountered
  • The conversation: For a man to speak to a woman asking for water was considered flirtatious
  • The racial/gender issue: Jesus was a male Jew, the Samaritan was a woman. Men and women did not normally speak in public, nor did Jews and Samaritans associate.
• Two things about the husband request:
  • Availability: the woman’s response could mean she was declaring herself available
  • Adherence of customs and prejudice refused: Jesus confronted her with the fact of five failed marriages and her living with a man she was not married to; also showing that He refused to be bound by man-made rules, especially when a soul hangs in the balance
• One thing about the woman’s perception:
  • She finally sees there is something different about Jesus- calling Him a prophet
    

The Exchange (v.20-24)

• The woman makes two statements:
  • Samaritans worshiped on Mt. Gerizim
  • Jews worshiped in Jerusalem
• Jesus speaks to her with authority
  • Stating “the hour is coming” was prophetic language that required the hearer to listen to the message
  • She proclaimed Jesus a prophet and was bound to hear the prophetic message
  • He began by addressing her statement about where to worship, saying salvation is of the Jews (it started with the Jews and could proceed from them)
  • He then took it farther: again stating, “the hour is coming” and said, “true worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth.”
  • This marked a change in the need to worship at a temple, or Synagogue. Worship would now be from the temple of God: the human. (“…do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” -1 Corinthians 6.19 ESV)
  • in spirit and in truth: tied together to demonstrate the need for genuine worship- not a show like the Pharisees, not based on outward acts, but on the commitment of a heart to God- seeking God in prayer and obeying Him personally.
    

The Enlightening (v.25-26)

• After hearing Jesus the woman says she knows “Messiah is coming”
  • Samaritans did not look for a “Messiah” per-se, but a Prophet who would reveal the truth
  • She probably used the word because she was speaking to a Jew
• After the woman’s statement about the coming Messiah, Jesus brings the reality to light:
  • He simply states: “I who speak to you am He.”
  • The Greek is “ἐγὼ εἰμι,” meaning, “I am”, the Greek equivalent to YHWH in Hebrew- a statement Jesus makes several times in the Gospel of John, typically called on of Jesus’ “I Am” statements tying Him in to being Divine in nature
    

Closing/Wrap-up:
Jesus revealed His nature of the Messiah-God to a Samaritan woman despite many cultural and religious taboos. He also declared prophetically to her that, “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” We have been freed from legalistic worship, from bloody animal sacrifices that only swept sin under the rug. Through the sacrifice of Christ we are able to worship God in spirit and truth. We have access as children of God to the Father because of Christ. Our worship can be genuine because of the grace of God that has brought us freedom. Wherever we are we can reach God as we worship.

VíVí: a new writer

Cindy, my co-blogger, and I welcome our Junior blogger: VíVí. She is in Elementary school and she is my daughter. She has some valuable insights, especially for an eight year old.

#1 Education about #2 Family information

By: VíVí

 

Education is very important in life. Without proper education it is very hard to succeed.

 

Family is people that love you and me, they care for us. Some families don't care at all. Be glad with the family you have.  I have excellent parents, their strength is making me stronger. My sister makes me smile. My parents also make me smile.  My parents give me information about education. Education in the family is very important because with knowledge families will raise their kids better, and their kids will make better choices in the future.  My mom didn't have proper education when she was a kid.  Her mom and dad didn't have any education at all.  She's working on her Master degree now.

Emmanuel Ministries Notes 10/18/09

Yesterday was a good day at the Ministry. We had a larger group than normal, including one gentleman who came with his wife (she is there most of the time). He was just released from jail and he had been a subject of our prayer for some time.

I preached the message I posted yesterday morning. Márcia's husband, my friend Joe, was also there. It was nice and cool (the temperature was about 55º or 60º).

You can listen below in the streaming player or download it at the link below the player.

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