I get an enormous amount of mail, email, texts, and flyers for Republican candidates. I think I must be on every list of every candidate in every state. From California to Maine, Florida to Alaska, I get mailings and urgent texts like I live there. The reason is that I am cursed to see the big picture.
If I want to live life the way I do now in WOLF JUNCTION, FO (the state of FLYOVER), I have to CARE about the politics of states I have never even visited – to say nothing of nearby states, states where I used to live, states where I will someday live, and state[s] where I do live right now.
SO, with that in mind, today (yesterday, whatever) I looked down at my small electronic device, and saw a FAMILIAR NAME, asking for help. Funny, my immediate urge was TO HELP. And while my means of helping with money are somewhat limited, I do have something else – a BLOG on which I can ramble incoherently about one thing or another.
So please – indulge me while I ramble.
One of the most remarkable things about our Very Stable Genius, President Donald J. Trump, is that he has made moderate Republican politics about the edgiest thing in town. Personally, I take this as PROOF that the man is a certifiable genius, because nobody should technically be able to do this. It’s like making people watch BRIDGE instead of BREAKING BAD. And yet, he did it. It’s remarkable. Absolutely remarkable.
How did he do this?
Complicated business.
So I find it absolutely shocking, when I now realize that the moderate Republican who I used to support – John Kasich – has now been completely replaced by a DIFFERENT moderate Republican who I now support – Susan Collins – based on the simple fact that one of them gets the brilliant strategy of a third moderate Republican – DONALD J. TRUMP – and the other does not.
Trump Gravity is an amazingly funny thing. It just throws people around this way and that, but after a while, it really makes sense. All this stuff he said in his books – it makes sense. Watching the man – it’s like Trump University – it all makes sense – and it’s FREE.
However, sometimes you just have to cut past all the complications, and just speak the obvious truth. “This thing here is pulling on that thing there, and it made it all move THAT-A-WAY.”
When I looked down at my small device, and I saw the name Susan Collins, I remembered one thing above all. When it could very well have cost this woman her seat in the Senate, she stood up for a guy named Brett Kavanaugh, simply because it was the RIGHT THING TO DO.
Not only that – in doing so, she stood with President Trump – not always the most popular thing with the Democrat Fake News Media, upon whose good graces she DEPENDS much more than many other politicians.
This is not the only time she supported President Trump when it would have been very easy to make a virtue signal to the center by automatically opposing him – say – on IMPEACHMENT. She is ALREADY looking like she will NOT be railroaded by the left or the media on impeachment.
And then there was when she vigorously SUPPORTED JEFF SESSIONS FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL.
Yeah, it’s possible to entertain theories of “Deep State Sessions”, with “Deep State Collins” supporting him, but look at the VOTE NUMBERS on Sessions’ appointment, as Q says. It was 52 to 47. Deep State Sessions? YEAH, RIGHT. Look at how hard the leftists tried to smear Sessions on RACE. Look at how they BOXED HIM IN with the FAKE RUSSIAN COLLUSION HOAX.
But who was there for him? SUSAN COLLINS.
It is worth reading the rest of this document, to see just how impressive Jeff Sessions really is. There is a REASON that this lady supported Jeff Sessions. She can SPOT THE GOOD ONES – just like she did with Kavanaugh.
One of the most INTERESTING times that Susan Collins really impressed me, was during the “Russian Election Interference” hearings held by the Senate. There was mucho grandstanding by EVERYBODY involved. But in the middle of all that sound and fury, signifying nothing but a DEMOCRAT PLOT, Susan Collins asked the good lady from DHS, Jeanette Manfra, a VERY subtle and perceptive question about organizational technical responsibility for cyber tools determining specifics about attacks – and it was NOT DHS.
This changed everything for me, and basically CRACKED THE CASE. Susan Collins had gotten past Brennan’s “responsibility-casting” dodge, in the same way that Elise Stefanik managed to get past Comey’s carefully hidden bypassing of counter-intelligence head Bill Priestap, while leaving Priestap holding the bag on Spygate.
NOBODY NOTICED what Susan Collins did – well, except maybe guys like Nunes and others who were trying to figure out what was really going on.
So, I appreciate this woman. Even though she sometimes does and says stuff that drives me nuts.
Now I’m not saying this lady is never going to make me want to spit nails again, for being a waffly squish on this or that. I’m sure she will. Nobody makes bipartisanship as PAINFUL as Susan Collins, with the FAKE NEWS MEDIA hanging on her every word, looking for SOME NEW WAY to use it against President Trump, conservatives, or Republicans in general.
However, even if there were no other reason than the following, my feeling is that Susan Collins holds a Republican seat in a state that could easily be dragged into solid blueness, and she does so by “being Susan Collins”. And what does that mean for us? This lady holding a seat that, against many odds, she shouldn’t?
It means WINNING on key issues and votes.
And most of all, for me, it meant this.
A GOOD MAN – much like Jeff Sessions – was appointed to a post he deserved, in spite of a world of anger, hatred, and LIES raised up against him.
Which we covered in great detail.
The Lawfare Playbook Is Already Written
The Timelines Always Get Them
I don’t expect everybody to agree with me. Heck – Wolf Moon from a few years ago doesn’t agree with me on this one. If you feel differently about supporting Susan Collins, no problem. I respect your honest difference of opinion, in a very Collins-like way.
However, I will make one last point – a kind of extrapolation about what Trump teaches on “revenge” as he calls it, but which I prefer to think of as BASIC JUSTICE and TRUTH IN DEALINGS.
The FLIP SIDE of remembering when people are DISLOYAL, and don’t deserve our continued support when they come and ask for it, is that we need to remember when people are LOYAL, so that they ABSOLUTELY CAN get our support when they NEED IT.
W
I know what you’re saying, Wolf.
😏
“Don’t let ‘perfect’ be the enemy of ‘good'”…right?
There’s a reason why Pres Trump plays this song at the end of his rallies:
[youtube
Yes. Exactly. “Perfect” may not actually take root in Maine, if you know what I mean.
And more than that, we need to be careful when we judge – “flexibility” in some ways. I know that the politics of Midwestern states is ALL very different from one state to the next. ALL very different. From Kansas to West Virginia, every single one is unique in its flyover properties from the ones RIGHT NEXT DOOR. From North Dakota to Texas – same thing. So imposing OUR “perfect” on Maine is fraught with danger.
We’ve got a Senator here in OK…Lankford…who is far from perfect.
He’s conservative.
But he’s turned out to be a squish on Immigration, much to our disappointment.
Lankford was a Baptist ‘youth minister’ before running for Congress a few years ago.
He said all the right things, Tea Party type things…so he won easily.
He’s all for the H1B visa program, though.
😕😠
Since the Baptist vote in this state is so huge…I’m not sure that there is any hope for primarying him.
We may be stuck with him for awhile.
😬😖
I tell you – if I went back in time and told people 50 years ago that the Southern Baptists were going to be the way they are now, people would go silent, then howl with laughter and congratulate me on the best tall tale they’d heard in years!
Unfortunately…there is corruption going on these days, in the church leadership of most denominations.
Yup. I had always thought the Baptists – most of all the Southern Baptists – would NEVER fall to any of this stuff.
NOPE. We’re all human. Take a number.
I always laugh when Southern Baptist is brought up. I was raised SB until I turned 15 and escaped those reins. Many years later I find them holding their conventions in Las Vegas and knew I had been very smart. But your right Wolf…who would have “thunk it”?
“Unfortunately…there is corruption going on these days, in the church leadership of most denominations.”
The trickle down effect over the years of corruption at the highest levels of government. Setting an example, more or less.
The Communists and Banksters TARGETED.
“…Lenin’s vision to bring America to its knees required penetration of the wellsprings of its civil identity, the “transmission belts” of American culture. …”
This is where Willi Muenzenberg came in.
From the book Willing Accomplices: How KGB Covert Influence Agents Created Political Correctness and Destroyed America by Kent Clizbe
Oh, this is great stuff! A full understanding of the material here allows us to REVERSE THEIR CRAP and FAST, TOO!!!
“Unfortunately…there is corruption going on these days, in the church leadership of most denominations.”
______________
It always has to do with Authority — in almost every form of error leading to corruption which I can think of.
Where is the Authority for each and every practice found — is it found in God’s Word (book, chapter and verse), or is the Authority from some man or men?
If it is of men, it is corrupt by definition, and every thing which comes from it is likewise corrupt. Just as simple as that.
And those corrupt things become ‘tradition’ within a generation.
Then following generations build upon that (unscriptural) ‘tradition of men’, and the corruption grows. Do this for 5, 10, 20 generations, and you can end up with a ‘religion’ that bears almost no resemblance to Christianity as taught and practiced in the Bible.
It’s the same progression of error, resulting in the same corruption, every single time.
And why would we expect any different?
God created His church, and He organized it with fallible man in mind, so that if Man obeyed and followed His Word, such error was less likely to happen, and if it did happen, it would not infect other congregations.
So there is the pattern and example for Christ’s church established by God in His Word.
And then there are all the many different patterns and organizations established by men, according to what men thought best.
Which man among men is capable of organizing the Lord’s church better than the Lord did it?
If there is any name attached to that answer, then I guess people will follow that person.
But if there is only SILENCE in response to that question, then STOP what you are doing, repent, and go back to the pattern and example found in God’s Word.
Do it ALL THE WAY, in EVERY thing — leaving nothing undone, and doing nothing for which there is no Authority in God’s Word.
It’s not complicated. It’s actually much easier follow God’s way than it is to try to keep up with all the changes and complications men always add. God’s way doesn’t change, it’s no different at all today than it was in the 1st century.
The key is to RESIST, expose and REPUDIATE the constant urge of Men to think — in their own human ‘wisdom’ — that they can ‘fix’ or ‘improve’ anything which God has already created, in HIS wisdom.
Amen
And one of the corruptions, which resulted from another terrible corruption, is ‘denominations’.
WHERE is the Authority in God’s Word — in God’s plan for HIS church — for ‘denominations’?
Where is the Authority for such ‘official divisions’ within the Lord’s church?
It is not found.
Like the institution from which they sprang, each of these divisions (denominations) takes upon itself a ‘name’.
What is that ‘name’?
Who or what does that name glorify?
Does it glorify God the Father or Christ the Son?
Or does it glorify some man… or even more strangely, some city?
Why would a church be called after a name that glorified a man, or a city?
Can any man save your soul?
If the answer is ‘no’, then why would we be members of a church named after a man, instead of members of the LORD’S church?
Likewise, can any city save your soul?
If the answer is ‘no’, then why be a member of any church named after a city?
Ask better questions, get better answers…
How was the Lord’s church called in the first century, and in God’s Word — and who (or Whom) does it glorify?
…………………………………
The church of God: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28, KJV cf. 1 Cor 1:2, 1 Cor 10:32, 1 Cor 11:22, 1 Cor 15:9, 2 Cor 1:1, Gal 1:13, 1 Tim 3:5)
The church of the Firstborn: “To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,” (Hebrews 12:23)
The church of Christ: “Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.” (Romans 16:16)
…………………………………..
By what Authority is any church identified differently today?
Is it by the Authority of God (where is the book, chapter and verse)?
Or is it the doing of some man?
If it was the doing of some man, even a well-intentioned man, whether it was long ago or just last week — how can it be right?
If an error is old enough, does that somehow make it acceptable to God?
The church is the ‘body’, of which we are to be members: Rom 12:5, 1 Cor 12:12, 1 Cor 12:20, 1 Cor 12:25 1 Cor 12:27, Eph 5:29-30). Christ is the Head of the body, the church, and He is the savior of the ‘body’ (Eph 5:23, Col 1:18).
Is Christ going to save His own body (His church)… or some other?
Whose church then are we to be members of?
It matters, doesn’t it?
Who is it that we are to believe and obey and follow?
Is it man?
Or God?
“Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29, KJV)
If there is any context wherein that verse is not true and applicable, what context would that be?
Very interesting problem!
The Baha’is saw how factionalization of this kind weakened both Christianity and Islam, and made a lot of specific provisions to prevent it – so far mostly successful, but still constantly having to deal with the issue in various ways.
What is your view on the Nicene creed and other “later” attempts at unification of Christians?
I personally don’t have a problem with churches differing, any more than the variety of traditions in Judaism. IMO, people need to seek to find, and in doing so will take slightly different paths to God. The ideas of division are mostly psychological, IMO – they’re in our heads, and then get expressed with more importance than they deserve.
All very interesting, regardless!
Replying here where there is more room:
“Very interesting problem!”
__________
It’s certainly a curious problem, but it’s not a difficult or complicated one.
Man must surely be the most stiffnecked creature to ever live, and I am no exception to that characterization.
The answers are simple, “in plain sight” even, the problem is that, for a whole variety of reasons, Man does not like the answers, so Man does instead whatever Man thinks is right in his own eyes. It has always been so:
“All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.” (Proverbs 16:2 KJV, cf. Pro 21:2, 12:15, Deut 12:8, Judges 17:6, 21:25)
“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. [18] For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” (Romans 16:17-18)
Or to look at it another way, here are a few words about God and His nature:
“The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.” (Psalm 145:17)
“The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. [9] The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. [10] More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. [11] Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.” (Psalm 19:8-11)
And here are a few words about Man, and his nature:
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: [11] There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. [12] They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10-11)
That’s me, I recognize myself in those words. I am trying to do better, but many days it’s one step forward, two steps back. Sometimes no steps forward. It’s hard, it’s not easy. It’s a fight, every day. Some days I get a few good punches in, many days I’m getting up off the floor (again), wondering who or what just hit me (again). 😁
Most importantly, recognizing that God is always right, so any time that I find myself in conflict with God’s Word, then I must be wrong — by definition. Hopefully I can figure out and understand why I’m wrong, but even if I can’t, at least recognize that I am wrong. It may not seem like much, but it’s an important step. After I took that step a few times, it got a lot easier. Now it’s not hard at all.
If I am wrong, i want to know, and understand why, and make correction. Hopefully I learn something from my mistakes. So there is (or can be) benefit from being wrong, but there is no benefit from being wrong without recognizing it and making correction.
I believe that most people mean well. I do too. Meaning well is good, it demonstrates a good conscience, that our heart is in the right place. The Bible has many examples of people who meant well, but who did not do according to God’s Word, and as a result, caused great sadness — both to themselves and to others.
“O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23)
This lesson is written all OVER God’s Word, in many different ways.
Man is wrong, even most of the time when he means well, and thinks he is right.
God is right, all the time, every time.
So what do men do?
The wrong thing most of the time, of course.
They follow after men and not God.
They follow after the doctrines, commandments and traditions of men — LOTS of them.
The New Testament is only 299 pages long, in the fairly small print of my KJV.
Think for a moment, how little that really is.
Just 299 pages.
By contrast, the doctrines, commandments and traditions of men could fill the pages of a thousand libraries, and many more are being created every day. A figurative ocean of error, all of it created by Man. Anchored to nothing, adrift and changing with the direction of the winds and the tides.
That way madness lies… a stark and stunning contrast to the elegance, simplicity, perfectness and comparative brevity of God’s Word.
“The Baha’is saw how factionalization of this kind weakened both Christianity and Islam, and made a lot of specific provisions to prevent it – so far mostly successful, but still constantly having to deal with the issue in various ways.”
___________
I don’t think I had heard of the Bahai religion before, but a quick check shows “The Baháʼí Faith, or Bahaʼism, is a religion teaching the essential worth of all religions, and the unity and equality of all people.”
It sounds like idealized relativism, i.e. to teach the ‘essential worth of all relgions’ is akin to teaching no worth, that none is different or better than any other. Like teaching that all ideas are equal, when clearly some ideas are good ideas, and some are clearly bad ideas.
As Townhall.com columnist Gregory Koukl wrote many years ago in an article titled “The Myth of Tolerance” (republished many times since, sometimes under different titles), we should be egalitarian toward people, but elitist toward ideas:
……………
“When you are elitist regarding ideas, you acknowledge that some ideas are better than others. And they are. Some are good; some are bad. Some are true; some are false. Some are brilliant; others are just plain foolish.”
“Here’s the key,” I summed up. “True tolerance applies to how we treat people, not how we treat ideas.”
We respect people who hold different beliefs from ours by treating them courteously, allowing them a place in the public discourse. Though we strongly disagree with them, tolerance requires us to be civil towards them in spite of our differences.
We have a different obligation toward ideas, though. Reason and intellectual integrity require we treat some ideas as better than others. Any other approach is foolish, even dangerous, because ideas have consequences.
These two categories are frequently conflated in the muddled thinking created by the myth of tolerance. The view that one person’s ideas are no better or truer than another’s is simply contradictory. To argue some views are false, immoral, or just plain silly does not violate any meaningful standard of tolerance.”
.
My favorite part of the article, which I quote most often, is near the end:
“Most of what passes for tolerance today is little more than intellectual cowardice — a fear of intelligent engagement.
Those who brandish the word “intolerant”are unwilling to be challenged by other views or grapple with contrary opinions, or even to consider them. It’s easier to hurl an insult — “you intolerant bigot” — than to confront an idea and either refute it or be changed by it.” (boldface emphasis mine)
https://witte2020.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/koukl-greg-the-myth-of-tolerance.pdf
……………
Good thoughts!
The Baha’i faith, IMO, runs into the risks of exactly what you describe, although it deals with them in fairly interesting ways, which seem to work pretty well. Because it arose as a reformist and heretical strain of Islam, it takes issue with the core problems of Islam, without being overtly critical of Islam itself. It grew up in a very particular historical vise, so to speak, and expresses the symmetries of that vise. Thus, it is intensely pacifist, and also tends toward sects like Sufism and others that are more abstract and mystical. Yet as you note, it is built on a kind of extreme tolerance, albeit a significantly different one from what we generally regard as “PC” on the left.
There is a significant overlap between the outlooks of the Baha’is and the modern American Christian left, but the Baha’is are required to shun politics, and the Christian left, not so much. The result is actually somewhat more self-consistent, IMHO, although I tend to think that Christ’s thinking on “Caesar and God” is more realistic in the complexity that was implied (IMHO, that God would “take care of” the Caesar part).
“What is your view on the Nicene creed and other “later” attempts at unification of Christians?”
___________
Surely you won’t be surprised by my answer, lol!
My first question is, where in God’s Word is the Nicene Creed found?
Answer: it is not found in God’s Word.
Therefore, by definition, it is of men, and not of God.
God is perfect.
Therefore God’s Word is likewise perfect.
Man is not perfect. Man is so far from perfect that it is an insult to the concept of ‘perfect’ to use the word ‘perfect’ in the same breath as the word ‘Man’.
So the ONLY thing fallible Man could possibly do by meddling with God’s Word, creating statutes and creeds and decrees, is to introduce error.
That is the ONLY thing Man could do.
Man certainly won’t introduce any truth which God has not already covered.
Could Man ever make God’s Word better, or improve upon it?
Error is both the worst Man could do, and also the BEST that Man could do, in relation to God’s Word.
Once that is understood, then everything else starts to make more sense.
.
Regarding the Nicene Creed specifically, I don’t even have to know it or read it, because my view of the Nicene Creed is the same as any other Creed of men.
If a creed says MORE than what God’s Word says, is it not adding to God’s Word without authority to do so?
If a creed says LESS than what God’s Word says, is it not subtracting from God’s Word without authority to do so?
And if a creed says the SAME as God’s Word, is it not redundant and unnecessary?
Worse, it is seeking to say better what God Himself has already said…
Who will restate what God has already said, and say it better than God did?
Great answer! (No matter how one thinks on this question, IMO.)
“I personally don’t have a problem with churches differing, any more than the variety of traditions in Judaism.”
__________
And by the same token it is not what I think about it that matters.
But it certainly matters what God thinks about it, doesn’t it?
Isn’t that what it always comes back to?
What I think about anything having to do with God doesn’t matter (except to me of course), but what God thinks matters — certainly to anyone who claims to believe in and follow Him, yes?
The two main ‘traditions’ or sects in Judaism in the 1st century were the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Did Jesus not expose their error and hypocrisy regularly, at practically every opportunity? He noted that they sat in Moses’ seat, so those things they taught according to Moses do, but do not after their works:
………………….
“Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, [2] Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: [3] All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. [4] For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. [5] But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,” (Matthew 23:1-5, KJV)
………………….
Some differences matter, some differences (where allowed) are personal choice, or according to what is expedient, according to God’s Word. It is God’s Word which determines those things, not own desire.
When the command was given to go into all the world, teaching the gospel and baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20), it did not specify HOW to go.
So that choice is left up to us, whatever is expedient. We could go by foot, or by horse, or by boat, by car or train or plane, etc.
When God commanded Noah to build the ark out of gopher wood (Genesis 6:14), that excluded every other kind of wood. The choice, the option, was not Noah’s to make.
Some congregations have the morning worship service at 8am, some at 9am, some at 10am, etc. The specific time was not commanded by God, so that is a matter for each congregation to decide for themselves.
The day, however, is not a matter of choice. Worship and communion (and giving of contributions to the church) is to be done on the first day of each week:
…………………
“And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” (Acts 20:7)
“Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” (1 Cor 16:2)
…………………
Everything is like this, simple and direct, with book, chapter and verse for every thing.
We either have command, apostolic example, or necessary inference (i.e., Scriptural Authority) to do some thing in the name of the Lord, or we do not.
If we do, there will be book, chapter and verse for it, and if we don’t, then there will not be book, chapter and verse for it. That is how we know some thing is of men and not of God.
If there is a command to do something, we will either have specific Authority (e.g., Noah using gopher wood) or general Authority (e.g., to go by whatever means is expedient, into all the world teaching the gospel).
But when it comes to the Lord’s church, to matters of doctrine, belief and practice, there should be unity.
How could there not be unity, if we are all following the same Lord, and the same doctrines found in God’s Word?
…………………
“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, [2] With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; [3] Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. [4] There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; [5] One Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:1-6)
…………………
“IMO, people need to seek to find, and in doing so will take slightly different paths to God.”
________
Certainly people find God in many different ways.
Some are blessed to be born into a strong Christian family, raised in “ the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph 6:4), but that’s not necessarily an easier road than others.
Many have found God as a result of friends or family sitting down with them, with an open Bible. Many of course have found God through hearing gospel preachers. Many are what I learned are called ‘seekers’ by some, people who for any number of reasons decide to search for God:
“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:” (Acts 17:27)
However, once having found the Lord, there should be unity, if we are seeking to be acceptable to the Lord.
And how can we hope to be acceptable to the Lord, except by following and obeying His commandments, His Word?
How can there be the unity which Christ desires, if we are not all following the same Word of God?
“The ideas of division are mostly psychological, IMO – they’re in our heads, and then get expressed with more importance than they deserve.”
________
I suspect many of the underlying reasons for division are psychological, and who can ever know how many of them occurred organically, as opposed to being planted by those with subversive intent?
Whatever the reasons might be, the divisions manifest themselves in doctrine, and a doctrine (or practice, or belief) is either provable by God’s Word, or it is not.
If it is not, then division is guaranteed, so long as at least one individual remains faithful to God.
A man who is familiar with God’s Word, who is presented with a doctrine or belief or practice which is not found in God’s Word, is obligated to recognize it as error, to reject it, and to warn others against it.
So creating division is easy.
Just dumb down the congregations of God’s people, so they don’t know what God’s Word says (no different than the schools have been dumbed down, and for similar reasons), make them susceptible to error; then have a charismatic leader make something up, and the sheeple will follow him into error.
And those who know God’s Word will object… must object… and ‘division’ is created.
And those who follow after the charismatic leader will scorn and ostracize those who object, in favor of the charismatic leader… they will follow after the man, and not after God.
Because the man is right in front of them, and he speaks such eloquent words, and he wears a nice suit, and all the best people say the best things about him… and God, well what He says is in that dusty old book…
It is always the same.
So recognize it, understand it, know that it’s coming, and then do what is right.
Because your only other option is to go with the flow, and be carried away in error.
On Judgment Day, it will be better to have stood on the truth of God’s Word — even if you were all alone in doing so — than it will have been to stand with seventy times seven men in error.
Because it’s not what Men think that matters.
It is what God thinks that matters 🙂
“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)
I have to say, I get nervous when I see only hymnals and no Bibles in the pews. This is why I think personal devices (on vibrate, of course) having THE BIBLE on them are almost a necessity these days.
Our preachers regularly say “I love to hear the sound of pages turning, it means everyone is looking in their Bible and reading along, to be sure whatever I might be teaching is right and true”, or words to that effect.
After the example we have in Acts 17:11 —
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“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (KJV)
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They weren’t taking any chances, they were checking and verifying that what the apostle Paul taught was according to God’s Word!
And they were commended by God in Scripture for doing so.
If they were checking Paul, then we ought to be checking everybody… 👍 😁
“All very interesting, regardless!”
_______
Yes, it is fascinating.
And often harrowing.
Because our time to find the truth in this life and repent is finite, but the consequences are eternal, and there are so many people I hope for personally, and all mankind generally, and it is incredibly distressing when they do not see or hear.
Like seeing a man in a burning building, and he won’t come out, and he has barricaded the door so I cannot come in to rescue him. He is not ready to come out yet. Maybe he will be ready at some point, or maybe he won’t be, but he’s not ready right now, and there is nothing I can do about that.
If there was, I would do it. Both for his sake, and for my own sense of relief 🙂
My hope therefore is that everyone has more time and opportunity, that a seed would be planted, that it might take root, that others might help it along in truth, that one day the time will be right, and their eyes will be opened.
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“So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” (1 Cor 3:7)
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But it never happens without God’s Word. The wisdom of man’s words cannot do it (cf. 1 Cor 1:17, 1 Cor 2:4, 1 Cor 2:13), and being mindful that the world is an ocean filled with error, the truth of God’s Word is all the more rare, and more precious than gold. (cf. Psalm 19:10, 119:127)
Wow – this is a great rendition of the song!!! I almost feel like there will be JUSTICE FOR JFK JR when I hear this version!!!
Yep…and the lyrics are as applicable Today as they were when the song was written.
Uncanny, huh?
That is what TIMELESS looks like!!!
The Stones wrote some great music. Someday I hope to go into more detail, perhaps. But I’m flexible! I get what I need! 😀
I find this early version fascinating, too.
Wheatie! It may be even more than that. “I saw her today at the reception.”
Donald Trump met Melania at a party and started pursuing her immediately.
Dedicating this to ruthless corrupt Hillrotten…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8GZ3PFVGM
^^^ For nearly three years, when events don’t flow “exactly” as I wish, I literally recall the words…
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need.
^^^ AN absolute brilliant musical refrain adopt at every rally…
Thankfully, we get what we NEED AND MOAR;-)
Life isn’t what each of us views as perfect. But, life is GREAT. With President Trump, MOAR so.
.
.
Wolf, an excellent post for me, perhaps many to reflect on. Personal integrity, accountability at critical junctures a huge plus enabling leaps forward.
President Trump signals this as he goes out of his way to praise and support many who at times stymie his efforts. President Trump gets what he needs for America.
HUGE difference between Collins and say McStain or Flake.
YES – your final point is YUGE!!! I think I see the difference between Collins and McCain / Flake has to do with the exact two things you state – PERSONAL INTEGRITY and ACCOUNTABILITY AT CRITICAL JUNCTURES.
Kavanaugh was a BIG THING. To think of the alternative now – just horrible. That was a GIANT leap forward for the good guys.
I’ve been thinking EXACTLY about the comparison between the two – Collins and McCain – and there is a deeply hidden and complex difference. Why SO MANY soldiers and veterans disrespect if not DESPISE McCain. I tell you, the PICTURES of him showing up secretly on foreign trips with creeps like Mouaz and Baghdadi or Deripaska on a yacht – all of it just screams of the things in Gail’s post on these same comments – CORRUPTION – a word that nobody would even dream of connecting to Collins, though I know from the MOMENT I SAY THIS, the dark and dirty bowels of Democrat [CRYPTOCOMMUNIST] political machinery will try to create FALSE DIRT to do exactly that.
No mind – the record is clear. Collins has stood up for people of integrity who the greatest LIARS of the Dems [e.g., KAMALA “Horizontal & Hoaxes” HARRIS] have worked like crazy to destroy.
Light does not run from darkness – it runs straight into it and shows us what’s there!
You build a compelling case, boss. A lot of us in the midwest have swamp creatures for Senators. Honestly, Roy Blunt is really the black sheep of a conservative family that can do damage in the compassion department (and does), but, like Collins, he’s been a reliable vote when needed.
This is definitely worth considering.
Thanks for just considering it! I really appreciate it!
Brett Kavanaugh was very important to me, because of a basic sense of right and wrong. It was very clear to me that, as his life poured out so unfairly on every newspaper, television, mobile phone, and computer monitor in America, he had been FAR MORE of a gentleman than I had – and I was certainly not all THAT BAD. To see a GOOD GUY getting a BAD RAP was infuriating.
Collins HELD THE LINE. I invested a lot of time and energy defending an innocent man, and so did she. I appreciated what she did. Now it’s my turn.
You are right, Wolfie. We used to think all (most) politics are local. They aren’t anymore. “Our” Senators & Reps work for COC and foreign entities and dark money PACs.
Progressive orgs like Move On send agitators to local council meetings and school boards nationwide.
Think about it – Not. A. Single. Riot. after impeachment vote. Why? Because We the People aren’t professional, paid agitators. We still believe in our Constitution.
But there ARE times when the other side is SO egregious that a Susan Collins will do the right thing at potentially great political cost to her. She infuriates me. But you hit the nail on the head – she got Kavanagh across the line.
I will send her a donation and a prayer of thanks for Kavanagh.
I am a relative babe in the woods when it comes to politics–Obama woke me up–times were horrible and getting worse. Donald Trump energized me–we can and would get better…and trying to learn all I can to understand his plan, but I don’t know all the players. I have a hard time distinguishing between a white and black hat–because there is so much I don’t know.
If I had to defend every decision I ever made, what would that look like? I might be hard pressed to explain other than it’s my gut feeling–that’s why I did that. sometimes right, sometimes wrong…but none of us is perfect.
I believe our Congresspeople should get to know their districts–what’s important there–how issues are viewed THERE. and then take those views with them to DC. There they have to and SHOULD compromise for the good of the country.
I am willing to wait and watch and see people reveal their true colors…Collins is in my iffy pile yet…respectfully.
Oh, I hear you! Collins could be bashing Trump tomorrow – and I could be face-palming for the next month! 😀
But I have a HUNCH I’m right on this – that if Trump keeps nominating excellent people, she will continue to defend them!
trust your gut…
Collins and Jeanette Manfra of DHS, eh?
Cyber Security Hacking tools would be the purview of C_A and FBI?
Right?
Yeah, I remember the Air Force One flight back to Mississippi with Cindy Hyde Smith rally about 20 minutes from me. Big T was there. That’s when President Trump threw down the gauntlet and the WOMEN of the Repub party rallied for Kavanaugh.
It made all the difference.
Susan Collins speech for Kavanaugh was brilliant and Cindy was sitting right over her left shoulder.
Agreed, it’s time to come out and support Collins, even if we’re not in her state. She will need our help this election season.
WELL DONE, Bossman!
Thanks, Daughn! Glad to have you in my corner on this one!
Susan Collins is what an Independent looks like, but Independents can’t win.
I consider myself an Independent. I won’t hijack your thread by going into them, but I hold ideas and principles which others here would condemn, I am certain. But I think the way I think based on my own life and experiences, just like everyone else.
It is Susan Collins’s job, and every other Representative’s job, to REPRESENT. That means if the majority of her constituents want a certain thing, it is her job to work for THAT THING. Not what she wants, or we want, but what THEY WANT.
Somehow, we have gotten very far away from the concept of these people working for US, doing what WE WANT them to do. But that is supposed to be how our government runs. Of course, there must be some consideration of the fact that the President was elected by a majority of the country, but the Legislative branch was not designed to be a rubber stamp for the President.
Susan Collins is fine with me.
No hijacking here – very good thoughts!
I think this points to where Trump is unifying, which is around things which are OUTSIDE OF THE CONTROL OF THE DISLOYAL FAKE NEWS MEDIA.
This could not be done as an independent, as you say – the positions would be destroyed by the two parties which excluded them.
COMPLICATED BUSINESS!!!
Wasn’t there a photo of Pelosi leaning threateningly over Collins in the halls of Congress?
There’s one of Feinstein leaning over Murkowski, but I don’t remember a Pelosi over Collins.
That’s the one – I just confabulated it in my memory!
Thanks, DP! :8-)
Worth finding if it’s there. Pelosi has no hold over Collins, but there are joint functions, and nothing is off limits to SPEAKER GAMBINO!!!
Right on time – Hill says pressure is on Collins to play pivotal role re: Impeachment.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/475579-susan-collins-set-to-play-pivotal-role-in-impeachment-drama
YUP. SCUMMER IN ACTION.
Look at how the FAKE NEWS MEDIA CREATES FAKE PRESSURE BY CREATING FAKE NEWS.
We no longer have journalists – they are narrative engineers!
Thanks for the reminder, wolf.
The journey to (Christian) perfection as even John Wesley would probably espouse is filled with bumps and bruises along the way. We only need to be reminded of the Preamble to our Constitution – “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union…
It cannot become a more perfect union without the input of the multitude’s voices for consideration. In so doing we learn from each other as well as teach. However, it comes with bumps and bruises. It is within this context we journey in America. However, the journey must remain focused on the end goal and destination – a more perfect Union. There can be no lying, greed, backbiting, criminality, self interests before collective, and so on to take over if we plan to reach our goal and complete the journey. Human sin causes those bumps and bruises – we simply choose to do it our way instead of for the collective good as provided by our Lord.
As long as Susan Collins stands in the gap for We the People on our journey toward the perfect union, I am good with supporting her and accepting the blows she dishes out on occasion. She’s flawed and human like all of us. Truthfully, there have been no viable alternatives coming from that state anyway. If her performance changes for the worse I will be the first in line to help escort her to the door because American patriots have been all that stands in the way of evil taking over this planet. The Lord is using a flawed human being like all of us in PDT to deliver a doctrine that is obviously reviving the world and restoring our ability to journey toward that perfect union again. Susan Collins needs to remember that as she votes. Hopefully, she will. However, it would help our journey to add more truly American patriots to the Senate to make sure we are never dependent upon her to win a battle of importance to the Republic.
Extremely well said! Thanks for this!!!
Speaking of Maine…
…I wonder how Andrew1979 is doing.
Haven’t “seen” you lately… hope you are doing well.
Andrew has locked his Twitter –
Tweets by andrew1979
Thanks GA/FL.
Hoping he still “lurks” here.
“Susan Collins” would certainly get his attention!
Wolfie,
I do not remember the exact details, it has been decades🙄 but during the Farm Wars there was a really bad bill that Susan Collins was supporting. I had written a detailed essay on WHY this was such a very bad bill. Hubby forwarded it to my liberal B-in-L who then gave it to Susan Collins.
SHE IMMEDIATELY CHANGED HER MIND AFTER BEING PRESENTED WITH FACTS!
So yes, I think it is worth supporting this woman.
Now THAT is interesting! And our VSG clearly knows this, too! WOW.
Minority vote here…….
I vote “Present” on this one 🙂
I hold the side eye for Collins just as I do for Lindseed Gramnesty.
Blind squirrel…..
Broken Clock……
House Reps are in eternal election mode due to 2 yr terms…….
The BIG thing I see about SINators (6 yr terms):
When up for re-election……
EVERYTHING changes.
Just glad I don’t have to vote for her.
BTW, I hold Tom Cotton from Arkansas in this same condition.
IIRC….Mr. Cotton was a member of the “Sea Island” never Trumper confab.
JMHO
Good opinions! We must never delude ourselves about the FACTS!!! Very important. Politicians who are excused by all for everything will INEVITABLY wander into MOAR ERROR!!!
Voting Present is a great option!!! 😀 LOL!
Heads up folks
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1208609691036737536.html
There could be some AMAZING discovery here.
Just WHAT CHINA GOT will likely make the WORLD SHUDDER!!!
“Susan Collins holds a Republican seat in a state that could easily be dragged into solid blueness”
It seems to me that’s the heart of the matter. Politics is a dirty and despicable business and it means doing business with people you don’t like and whose beliefs you eschew. Susan Collins is not a Republican in my eyes. But I won’t forget her defense of Kavanaugh which was noble, and needed.
It is doubtful we could replace her with a better candidate, and it is likely we could replace her with a whole lot worse. Realpolitik.
Thought provoking post, Wolfie. ❤
[…] Let me now take you along with the arc of my thinking from Gail’s post. […]