Self Help?

There is a lot of debate going on right now concerning the massive influx of illegal aliens entering the US via the southern border. There seems to be a propensity for the left wing liberals to debase anyone desiring to secure the border as inhumane. I have personally been involved in previous events of a similar nature - the Haitian boat exodus. I can personally vouch for the fact that we “screened out” innocent children as “economic refugees” while we knowingly “screened in” personnel who were former torturers for the “secret police”, the HIV positive, the MSRA TB positive, and known criminals. First off, the national health risk posed to the general population is rapidly escalating and is undeniable. This situation is an unprecedented opportunity for terrorists to easily penetrate our borders - practically an invitation from Obama himself! If liberals want to talk about humanitarian needs they could - but will not - look closer to home.

In the USA, the US government says that 1 in 5 children go hungry. According to the No Kid Hungry organization, food insecurity—the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food - exists in 17.2 million households in America, 3.9 million of them with children. That’s a lot of kids that need our help who do not pose a danger to national safety; and the needs at home do not end there.

As many as 1 in 6 seniors go hungry too. Organizations such as Meals on Wheels, who address the issue of senior hunger, need financial donations as well as volunteers.

The number of homeless in the USA is growing and with it a need for clothing donations. A caution though - not all organizations are truly giving to those in need though - some are multi-million dollar thieves. A good place to check out the credibility of a charity is Charity Watch.

There are literally hundreds of ways to fulfill the commandment to love your neighbor. Most programs, such as the nationwide VA “No Veteran Dies Alone” program, will cost you the only thing you can give to YHWH that He does not already own - your time.

We are told, as individuals, to get our own act right before we try to “fix” our brother. The same can be said for the actions of a nation as well. The USA should heed the saying, “physician, heal thyself”! If only the politicians would leave their million dollar homes and neighborhoods to at least “visit” the neighborhoods of the average US citizen they would find plenty of “crises” needing humanitarian actions that, like the “border crisis”, the politicians themselves have had a hand in creating.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"Welfare's purpose should be to eliminate, as far as possible, the need for its own existence." - Ronald Reagan

Comment: This quote relates to the old adage, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; but, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime”. Too many folks do not care enough to put forth an individual effort to help others. These folks would rather have the government hand out so called “entitlements”; but, this methodology does not address the roots causes of the issue of poverty and so does not benefit anyone in the long run. True love for your neighbor means more than throwing money at a problem - it means giving up your time and effort to help.

DID YOU KNOW?

In 2013, child poverty reached record high levels in the U.S., with 16.7 million children living in “food insecure” households and 47 million Americans depending on food banks - more than 30% above 2007 levels.

In 2012, in the US, 31 million low-income children received free or reduced-price meals daily through the government National School lunch program. During that same timeframe nearly 14 million children are estimated to have been served by just one civilian program - Feeding America.

Comment: Child hunger is a worldwide problem - including the USA; and, hunger has no race, no religion, no border. Of all the charities and programs out there I know of none that directly serve and help more people than local food banks. In AZ one local town’s food bank shut down this year due to low food supplies and a lack of volunteers - and this town has several “Christian” churches! And Jesus said:

And before Him shall be gathered all the nations; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And indeed He will set the sheep off His right, but the goats off the left hand. Then the King will say to those on His right, Come, the blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food to eat; I thirsted and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer, saying, Master, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and gave you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and took you in; or naked and clothed you? And when did we see you sick, or in prison, and came to you? And answering, the King will say to them, truly I say to you, in so far as you did it to one of these, the least of my brothers, you did it to me. Then He will also say to those on His left, Go away from me, cursed ones, into the everlasting fire having been prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you did not give me a thing to eat; I thirsted and you did not give me a thing to drink; I was a stranger and you did not take me in; naked and you did not clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer Him, saying, Master, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not help you? Then He will answer them, saying, truly I say to you, in so far as you did not do it to one of these, the least, neither did you do it to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life.

(Matthew 25:32-46)

No pain no gain

Imagine this scenario: A kid’s parents promise him a weekly allowance if he tries to mind well, do well in school, and do his chores. After a week goes by and the day to collect his allowance arrives the kid asks if he can have the car for the evening too. The mother hesitates and points out that the kid usually failed to take the trash out and that she ended up doing most of the dishes by herself. The father points out that the kid failed at least half the time to help his little brother get to and from school like he was asked to do. The kid just shrugs and says, “Okay, so no car for the evening, I understand, can I get my allowance now though? You promised.” The father replied no to the car for evening and that he had forfeited his allowance as well. The kid is stunned and says he ought to get at least half his allowance; after all he had done at least half of his part of the deal. The father points out that the deal was not do what you want and get paid for it. The deal was to try to do what was asked of him and he’d get the full reward for it.

This scenario fits a lot of so called “christians”. While ignoring over half of what YHWH has asked them to do they will still ask for a variety of things and then question why they do not get what they want. They obey only what is convenient for them and ignore the rest. They act as if obeying at least half the commandments is the same as being obedient. Most would not murder or steal even if it was allowed. Still they expect forgiveness for wilful acts such as coveting, adultery, etc., yet would never think of forgiving someone else for the damage done by an accidental car wreck, a medical error by a doctor, etc. Many will tithe to a “church” for their own convenience: so they can have air conditioning, nice carpet, and softer pews during “worship services”. Yet you will not find them personally “inconvenienced” by feeding the hungry, helping the homeless, visiting a jail, or even visiting a hospital to check on the well-being of strangers.

It is easy to find preachers preaching a get rich gospel, preaching activism for the rights of a racial or sexual minority, or even a gospel treating Jesus as just a great moral teacher - teaching an earthly, humanitarian, gospel of love that ignores the spiritual fact that love and obedience to YHWH is first and foremost. Can you name one “well known” preacher who teaches the gospel Jesus did - that salvation comes by love and obedience to YHWH above all else and then agape toward your fellow man next.

And behold, a certain scribe stood up, tempting Him and saying, Teacher, What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And He said to him, What has been written in the Torah? How do you read it? And answering, he said, "You shall love YHWH your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind," and "your neighbor as yourself." And He said to him, You have answered rightly; do this, and you shall live.

(Luke 10:25-28) (Seer also Matthew 22:37-39, Mark 12:28/29)
(References to Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18)

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

In the final years before Arcadia’s fall, there were many signs that disaster was at hand. Had the Republic still been governed by godly men in those years, much suffering could have been avoided. Barbarians raided along the borders with unnatural success, yet the stewards of the provinces chose to hide their depredations rather than admit their weakness. - Velnius, On History

Comment: As the Scriptures tell us there is nothing new under the Sun. The USA, once considered a “Christian” nation and a champion of freedom, is doing to itself what no other nation could do - destroying itself.

DID YOU KNOW?

NOTICE: All links in this article are to the taxpayer funded Voice of America website!

In 2010 Kenya adopted a new constitution which OK’ed abortion and the partial implementation of sharia law. This was done with the full support and backing of the Obama administration - which, in violation of US law, spent millions of US taxpayer money to push it thru (as well as promising more “foreign aid” if it was approved). After a United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) meeting in May 2010, the US also pushed the LGBT agenda for a repeal of all Kenyan legislative provisions which criminalize sexual activity between consenting adults. But Obama did not get all he wanted; so, on 26 June 2012, the United States embassy in Nairobi held what was believed to be the first ever LGBT pride event in Kenya. A public affairs officer at the embassy said, "The U.S. government for its part has made it clear that the advancement of human rights for LGBT people is central to our human rights policies around the world and to the realization of our foreign policy goals". Similar events were held at other U.S. embassies around the world.

The percentage of folks in the USA claiming to be LGBT is miniscule compared to the political power they wield: http://www.voanews.com/content/lgbt-percentage-highest-in-dc-lowest-in-north-dakota/1605262.html

But they, the LGBT mafia, have the full support and backing (via taxpayer money) of the US government to enforce their agenda worldwide (2011): http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-elevates-gay-rights-as-a-foreign-policy-priority-135136743/174955.html

Is it any wonder embassy security suffered in Africa? Don Obama and his administration were too busy using resources to push their LGBT agenda (June 2012)! http://www.voanews.com/content/us-embassy-in-nairobi-hosts-gay-pride-event/1252825.html

Security was not and is not a top priority (Benghazi, September 2012) - the LGBT agenda is!

Not to be out done the UN is pushing the same US backed agenda (2014): http://www.voanews.com/content/un-ramps-up-free-equal-lgbt-campaign/1908316.html

Comment: A leader held to no account is a no account leader. I proudly served 12 years in the Armed Forces of the USA; but, this was not the voice of the America I served. I still fully support the US Constitution and our form of government. However, I am ashamed and sicken at what our government has become and at what it is doing to people worldwide. America is no longer the land of the free and the brave have become too few. I fear the actions of the folks in Washington D.C. more than anything a terrorist could do. Obama’s pen and phone have proven far more dangerous. Further, the worst may be yet to come. Congress is so full of cowards the American people are being held hostage by Obama as he violates law after law with no consequences to himself or his acolytes. Whether the end of the world is near or not the end of the United States is well underway. Speak out now or be prepared to fight tomorrow.