The Lord may give you troubles and hardships. But your teacher will no longer be hidden from you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Isaiah 30:20
(GW)
On June 3, 1775, the American Continental Congress passed a resolution forming a committee to draft a letter to the King of England. Thomas Jefferson drafted the original version of the letter. The Americans hoped that King George III was not fully aware of how the Parliament had been treating the Americans. So they sent the letter directly to the king, detailing the abuses they had received from Parliament and from local British officials. The letter became known as the Olive Branch Petition, where the colonists asserted their desire for peace, loyalty to England, and reconciliation with the king.
The entire Congress voted on an edited version by John Dickinson. It was signed by 48 members of Congress and entrusted to Richard Penn of Pennsylvania to deliver it to King George III.
What would have happened if King George actually accepted the colonies olive branch of peace? What would the United States of America look like under the appeasement efforts of the original colonies? Would we have had such a rich history or would the experiment in self-rule been aborted? How many exceptional experiments are birthed in adversity?
The old adage holds true that necessity is the Mother of invention. And out of the ash heap of adversity rises greatness.
The Lord said to Moses, “When you get back to Egypt, see that you show Pharaoh all the amazing things that I have given you the power to do. But I will make him stubborn so that he will not let the people go. Ex 4:21 (GW)
On August 23, 1775, King George declared all of the colonies were in full rebellion. Eleven months later, the same men who signed the Olive Branch Petition signed the Declaration of Independence.
As you see sometimes God will harden hearts of those who are opposing His will in order to get them to do what it is He wants them to do. In the case of America, King George refused the colonies attempts at appeasement which led to the Declaration of Independence and the start of the Revolutionary war. In Israel’s case, Pharaoh refused Moses request to free the people which led to the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.
Without opposition America would not have been born, and without oppression Israel would still be in Egypt.
It is not always possible to make peace with the opposition party. Sometimes you need to leave them behind and move away. Or perhaps you need to stand up against them and defeat them. In either case always remember ‘the Lord is the one who directs a person’s steps. How then can anyone understand his own way? Prov 20:24 (GW)
And that is today’s tail-feather.
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Tags: American Revolution, George III of the United Kingdom, Independence Declaration, King George, Olive Branch Petition, Thomas Jefferson, United States, United States Declaration of Independence
Category Current Events, Tail Feathers |
Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”
Random Ramblings from the Resident Raptor
Assume your own responsibility. Galatians 6:5
Be not tricked; God is not made sport of: for whatever seed a man puts in, that will he get back as grain. Galatians 6:7
Because he who puts in the seed of the flesh will of the flesh get the reward of death; but he who puts in the seed of the Spirit will of the Spirit get the reward of eternal life. Galatians 6:8
The laws of God is never thwarted. As hard as we try we are unable to escape the natural laws and the laws of nature’s God. When a farmer plants corn he expects to harvest corn. When planting a wheat field the wheat farmer does not expect to harvest barley or hay. A farmer plants what he expects to harvest, otherwise why bother planting if you never know what you are going to get?
The law of expected consequences is what drives a farmer to plant crops each year because he expects to gather in a harvest at the end of the growing season. There are exceptions to the growing cycle, such as in years of drought, but under normal conditions a seed goes in the ground to later produce a bountiful harvest. A farmer will usually harvest more than he plants but will harvest nothing he does not plant. Therefore a successful farmer makes sure to plant the best seed in order to get the best crop possible.
This law of expected consequences works the same way in the spiritual world as Paul’s letter to the Galatians indicates. We will reap according to what it is we plant into our lives. If we plant according to our fleshly wants and desires then from that seed we will reap destruction. If however we are more concerned about doing things rightly then we will plant according to God’s word and God’s Spirit in order to produce everlasting life, a life that will continue to be fruitful and fulfilling.
Why is it then that many Christians seem to think they can circumvent these laws of nature and nature’s God? Why is it when an individual makes bad choices they expect good results? Why is it when a person ruins their life by consistently rejecting God’s wisdom and guidance they expect positive results?
I am afraid that as a nation we have deviated so far from the correct course, and have been sowing “wild oats” for so long, the only crop we can expect to reap is that of destruction. There is no way we can reap any other result then the logical outcropping of our poor choices fiscally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Poor choices have led us to the place we are now, reaping the harvest of irresponsibility.
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Tags: Agriculture, Barley, Consequences, Field Crops, Harvest, Physical law, reaping, Seed, sowing, Wheat
Category Current Events, Devotionals, Eagle Views, Tail Feathers |
Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”
A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org
for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. Revelation 18:23 (KJV)
Medicine has come a long way in recent history, and new and experimental drugs are being developed at an alarming rate. Most of the medicines are miraculous in their ability to fight once hard to treat diseases, with a very high and effective success rate.
Ask anyone who has suffered from a debilitating ailment if drug therapy has been a life saver to them, and they would probably respond in the affirmative. Anyone who has undergone chemo-therapy for cancer, despite the unpleasant side effects, credits the marvels of modern medicine with curing a one time incurable disease.
Friends of mine who are being treated successfully for diabetes know the importance of prescribed drugs in their treatment. Many drugs on the market today have invaluable beneficial uses in our society and societies around the globe. Research in the treatment of AIDS has brought about medicines that fight back the deadly epidemic of this life-ending disease. How many know the benefits of that ’miracle drug’ aspirin?
In spite of all the obvious benefits associated with most pharmaceuticals, there also appears to be an underlying, growing dependency on drugs and medicines in everyday normal society. It is to this growing trend that I wish to address my comments.
In the above quoted verse from revelation the word sorceries in the Greek, is the same root from which we get the word pharmacy.. (pharmakon)
The rapid expansion of the drug subculture in our society is alarming. There are now medications for just about anything one could imagine. We all have seen the television commercials for vitamins, allergy remedies, mood altering drugs and even drugs that effect ones libido.
Our children are being introduced to the likes of Ritalin and other drugs to battle A.D.D. Many people in our society who are considered troubled are being treated with one type of drug or another. Even those who are addicted to an illegal substance are then given a prescribed drug to counteract the recreational drug they found addictive.
Young people are experimenting with Ecstasy and other “designer drugs” as a way of finding happiness. How many of us have heard of the ’date rape’ drug? A very famous radio talk show personality recently admitted being addicted to a prescription pain killer. The need for this pain killer kept increasing until it became a monster that threatened to destroy the person who grew accustomed to it.
Athletes are seduced into believing that steroids will give them super human powers and turn a mediocre athlete into a superstar. College students cramming for a test have been known to swallow ’energy pills’ giving them the perceived ability to forego sleep and enhance their ability to learn. Those who can not sleep at night have taken sleeping pills to induce a peaceful nights rest. There are pills to prevent pregnancy, pills to end pregnancy and the list goes on and on and on.
(more…)
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Tags: addiction, Drug, drugs, Drugs and Medications, Health, Medication, medicine, Pharmacology, pharmacy, pills, prescription
Category Devotionals |
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.
Can you imagine a world where Oren’s gift suggestions are actually put into practice? Wouldn’t it be a much nicer world in which to raise your children? Wouldn’t it be nice to know that everyone was playing by the same rules? Alas this is far from reality, the world has long ago forsaken the ways designed for civilized living. Apart from a full-fledged revival of biblical proportions I fear that perhaps the good old days are just that. Yet I have hope that there remains those who desire to be a light in the darkness, to be an agent of change and a beacon of hope where there is only hopelessness. So as the world spins out of control I pray this Christmas season that once again God would send peace on Earth and goodwill to all men.
The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America
The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America
George Whitefield: God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century
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Tags: Christianity, Christmas, Christmas and holiday season, Colonial history of the United States, Earth, Holidays, Peace on Earth, People and Society, Religion and Spirituality
Category Wisdom Wednesday |
For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: “That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged.” Romans 3:3-4 (NKJV)
US News & World Report, July 24-31, 2000, devoted an entire issue to “Mysteries of History.” Not only are there many unanswered questions such as the disappearance of aviatrix Amelia Earhart; the possible survival of the Russian princess Anastasia; whether the FBI killed Public Enemy No. 1 John Dillinger; what happened to the Van Gogh that was sold at Christie’s auction house for $82.5 million in 1990; whether Christopher Columbus visited Iceland in 1477; who was Beethoven’s great love; or whether there is actually a lost civilization of Atlantis; but long-accepted truths are being called into question.
Many doubt if William Shakespeare was the author of the many plays ascribed to him. Historians doubt whether Davy Crockett died defending the Alamo. Some doubt whether Marco Polo ever visited China. Some find no evidence that there was ever a King Arthur or the Round Table or Camelot. Others question whether Abraham Lincoln ever wrote a sympathy letter to the Boston widow Lydia Bixby who had lost all five of her sons in the Civil War. Others wonder whether the pharaohs built the Great Sphinx. Brian Huberman, professor of art and art history at Rice University in Houston, Texas, stated, “It shows the way in which history works, in the sense that it has to be revitalized regularly for each generation.”
Doubters have arisen in ever generation and the 21st is no exemption. Our own history as a country is under constant assault from those who wish to change the foundation of this nation from one based on Judeo-Christian principles to one devoid of any influence of God. Those who wish to rewrite our rich Christian heritage go so far as to call into question the very beliefs of our founders. These revisionists feel that if they can discredit the person, then their beliefs will be discredited as well. And since they desire a godless society it is necessary to assail the very foundations upon which this country was founded. Anyone who attempts to oppose these revisionists are labeled uneducated or foolish or worse yet “right-wing” extremists.
Even during the time of Jesus’ ministry there were many learned men who questioned the authenticity of Jesus. They did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God and accused him of blasphemy. Despite witnessing the many miracles he performed they still did not believe. No amount of proof could be offered that would dismiss their unbelief. Even when he rose from the dead after three days buried, stories had to be told that the body was secretly stolen or that Jesus was not really dead but only in a coma. Those stories persist even to today.
So whether you believe Lincoln wrote a letter of sympathy to Lydia Bixby or if Davey Crockett died defending the Alamo or not, there is one thing you can be sure of. Jesus is alive and well and still seeking to save the lost. And no amount of historical revisionism is going to change that fact, you can take that to the grave. And that is this week’s tail feather.
Blessed is the person who does not follow the advice of wicked people, take the path of sinners, or join the company of mockers. Rather, he delights in the teachings of the Lord and reflects on his teachings day and night. Psalms 1:1-2 (GW)
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Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Christianity, Christopher Columbus, Davy Crockett, God, Jesus, William Shakespeare
Category Tail Feathers |
