Christ's First Coming—Prophesied in Detail!

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Christ's first coming. This follows this post about Auschwitz. This follows this post about Saudi Arabia. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.
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Christ's First Coming—Prophesied in Detail!
When Jesus Christ fulfilled all the Bible prophecies regarding His life, death and resurrection, that proved absolutely that He was the promised Messiah, Son of God and "Savior of the world" (1 John 4:14).

The Bible foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus Christ two thousand years in advance in the true story of Abraham and his son Isaac:
Abraham loved his son Isaac as much as any parent could love a child. Abraham and his wife Sarah had longed for a child, but Sarah was "barren"—unable to conceive. However, God promised them that they would have descendants, and after a 25-year-long wait, when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90, they had a son together whom they named Isaac. This miraculous birth was a type of the future miraculous birth of Jesus Christ.
Then when their pride-and-joy was an older teenager or young adult, God shocked Abraham with a command to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering at the top of Mt. Moriah (at the present-day Jerusalem). God was testing Abraham's faith and obedience and giving us a picture of what He would go through in giving His Son for us. As grief-stricken as Abraham was, he agreed to carry out God's command because he believed that God would resurrect Isaac in order to fulfill His promises regarding descendants.
The journey lasted three days, so in Abraham's mind, his son was as good as dead for three days. Isaac could have resisted but apparently did not. At the last second, God stopped Abraham from slaying Isaac. Abraham's faith had been proven. As a substitute for Isaac, God provided a ram.
The willingness of Abraham and Isaac to carry out God's command illustrates the willingness of God the Father and His Son to make the ultimate sacrifice because of their love for all the world. The substitution of the ram was a type of Jesus suffering the death penalty in our place. And the sparing of Isaac was a type of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. See Genesis 22 and Hebrews 11:17-19. This poignant story gives us a deeper appreciation and sympathy for the sacrifice by the Father and Son for all of us.

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The Essential Purposes for Christ's First Coming

The heavenly Father and the Son, also called the Word, are both God (John 1:1). They planned "before the foundation of the world" that the Word would one day temporarily give up His glory and power in heaven, be born as a human being and set a perfect example for mankind of how to live a godly life (1 Peter 1:20; John 1:14; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 John 2:4-6).
Jesus Christ revealed God's amazing plan for enabling mankind to receive eternal life as children in the Kingdom of God (Romans 8:14-17). Jesus, as God in the flesh, then allowed Himself to be killed in order to pay the penalty of sin for all (John 3:16; Romans 5:6-10).
His resurrection and return to His former glory in heaven were the final proofs that He was God and had become mankind's Mediator, Lord and Savior (1 Timothy 2:5; Acts 5:30-31; 2 Peter 1:11). In fact, the entire Bible points directly and indirectly to the past, present and future work of Jesus Christ.
Let's now take note of several important prophecies and their fulfillments.
Was the Messiah to be a descendant of King David?

Isaiah 11:1
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
Jeremiah 23:5
"Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth."
Matthew 1:1
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham…

Note that Jesse, mentioned in Isaiah 11:1, was the father of Israel's greatest king, David. During Jesus' ministry, some people quickly became convinced that He was the promised "son of David." Then during Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem several days before He was crucified, "the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: 'Hosanna to the Son of David!'" (Matthew 21:9).
Was the Messiah to come from Bethlehem?

Micah 5:2
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."
Matthew 2:1
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem…

There were two Bethlehems, one in the region of Ephrathah in Judea and the other to the north, in the region of the biblical tribe of Zebulun. But Micah's prophecy is clear. Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea as Micah foretold.
Would the Messiah be born of a virgin mother?

Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Luke 1:26-35
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"
But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."

An angel appeared first to Mary to tell her that she would conceive a child by the Holy Spirit. The angel appeared later to Joseph to explain to him that Mary's conception was a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy (Matthew 1:20-23).
Did the biblical sacrifices point prophetically to Jesus' sacrifice?

Hebrews 9:11-12
But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
Hebrews 10:11-12
And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God…

The book of Hebrews explains how the animal sacrifices and temple rituals required of ancient Israel were a physical type of the perfect sacrifice of Christ. They pointed to the future "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). The sacrifice of the lamb for Passover dramatically pointed to "Christ, our Passover [who] was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7). As a fulfillment of prophecy, Jesus died on the very day of Passover. The lamb's blood on the doorposts of the Israelites' houses symbolized the shed blood of Christ who died so we can be forgiven and saved (Romans 5:9).
Would the Messiah be crucified?

Psalm 22:16
For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet.
Luke 23:33
And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
John 20:25, 27
The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."…
Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."

Crucifixion is the only form of execution likely to cause a piercing of hands and feet. Yet amazingly, this prophecy was stated about 800 years before the Romans started using crucifixion for condemned criminals!
Would any of the Messiah's bones be broken?

Psalm 34:20
He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken.
John 19:32-33, 36
But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs...
For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken."

In spite of all the brutal and cruel torment that Jesus received, God made sure that none of His bones were broken in order to fulfill this prophecy!
Would the Messiah be betrayed by a trusted friend for 30 pieces of silver?

Psalm 41:9
Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
Zechariah 11:12
Then I said to them, "If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain." So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

When Jesus indicated it was Judas Iscariot who would betray Him, He said this was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Psalm 41:9 (John 13:18, 26). And Judas was indeed paid 30 pieces of silver for his traitorous act (Matthew 26:14-15).
In fact, no fewer than 29 prophecies were fulfilled in the 24-hour period leading up to Jesus' death. In a sermon by the apostle Peter, he said, "But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled" (Acts 3:18).
For more proof that Jesus Christ was God as well as human, that He lived a perfect life and then died to pay the penalty of sins for you and all mankind, please read our free booklet Jesus Christ: The Real Story.

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Consider that with all the prophecies of His own suffering and death, Jesus knew in detail what He would have to go through. No wonder He prayed, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). Luke 22:44 explains that "His sweat became like great drops of blood" through the mental agony He experienced. Yet He was willing to do all this to pay for our sins so we can be forgiven!
Read Acts 2:36-38 and consider the response God wants from us for that great sacrifice. Take some time today to talk with God about Christ's sacrifice and the response He wants from you.
Next Lesson: Jesus Christ—The Greatest Prophet
Questions about this lesson? Feedback about this lesson?
Related Resources:
Jesus Christ: The Real Story
Jesus Christ's Life and Death in Prophecy
Was Jesus Christ the Messiah?
Jesus' Amazing Fulfillment of Prophecy
The Bible Prophesied the Exact Year the Messiah Would Appear

The Racial Subtext of #DeflateGate

A timely post about from http://nicholasstixuncensored.blogspot.com about DeflateGate. This follows this post about the Youth Misery Index.
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The Racial Subtext of #DeflateGate

By Fisk Ellington Rutledge III

At first I wondered why the sportswriters were so insanely hostile and jumping to wild conclusions about DeflateGate. They were acting as if DeflateGate were the equivalent to mass murder.

Then it occurred to me that after an entire season of Blacks Behaving Very Badly in the NFL, that the writers were relieved to be able to dump on two high-achieving White men like Brady and Belichick.

I'm sure someone has noticed this too, but I have yet to read about it.

Have You Had the “The Conversation” Yet About the NFL?

By Stan D Mute

[In response to:

“Racist Seahawks Pre-Schooler Richard Sherman Goes Out of His Way to Insult White Reporter (Video)”]


The thing to keep in mind is that every white man who watches football or basketball is himself personally putting money into the pockets of negro criminals and their white apologists/cheerleaders.

The "but I like football" crap is bogus. I like cocaine, but I know how harmful the substance is not only to myself but to our society overall. Just quit it. Spend the time reading. Spend the time watching old westerns. Spend the time with your kids. Spend the time scratching yourself, if you prefer. Just STOP supporting negro thug millionaires and the media. Starve them out. If you don't, then stop the hypocrisy and become a full-fledged negro fanboy, cheering for illiterates who make more in a year than you'll make in a lifetime.

Trust me, quitting is easy. It's harder convincing friends and family to quit with you, but the conversation needs to occur. Turn off your TV next Sunday and discuss negro crime for four hours instead.


N.S.: I wish it were so easy. I grew up playing (badly) baseball, football, and basketball, and constantly watching them. It is simply not normal for a red-blooded American boy to grow up and swear off pro sports.

However, I watch less and less, and race is part of the reason, the entire reason, where the NBA is concerned. I haven’t watched an NBA game in years, because of black supremacism. (On rare occasion, I’ll watch college or NBA highlights during TV news, but I rarely watch those broadcasts, either.)

During the mid-1980s, after being away for almost 10 years, I noticed that black NBA players were flagrantly violating basic rules, like traveling and palming. Then during the late 1990s, they began flagrantly assaulting and bettering white head coaches.

I still watch Jet losses, but at the rate at which pro football players are openly displaying their black supremacism, the NFL will be next.

With baseball, the problem is reconquista, which is another story for another time.


[See also:

“LeBron James is a Black Supremacist; Will Any White Basketball Fans Make Him Pay for It, or are They All Uncle Toms?”

“St. Louis Rams Players Do ‘Hands-Up, Don’t Shoot’ Dance Before Game Against Raiders: Racist Thugs Showing Their Support for a Failed, Racist, Black, Aspiring Cop-Killer”;

“Racist NBA Star LeBron James, Female Impersonator Serena Williams, and Other Famous Racists are Outraged that Ferguson Grand Jury Failed to Uphold Mike Brown’s License to Kill, and Officer Darren Wilson’s Duty to Die”; and

“NBA Racism: Player Nik Stauskas Says He Expects Opponents to Attack Him on the Court ‘Because I'm a Rookie and I'm White.’”]

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Auschwitz. This follows this post about snow. This follows this post about Saudi Arabia. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.
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Auschwitz: 70 Years Later

A survivor called this death camp "the world's biggest cemetery". Do we remember and have we learned the lessons?

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[Darris McNeely] You see the sign over the entrance to this camp? It says, “Arbeit macht frei” – “Work makes free”. It’s the deceptive sign, famous, over the entrance to the German concentration camp in Warsaw called Auschwitz. Today (January 27, 2015) marks the 70th anniversary that Russian troops entered the camp and liberated the surviving Jewish members of this particular death camp which is one of the most famous of the many that the Nazi Germans conducted during World War II and the infamous Holocaust, where more than six million Jews lost their lives during that time. World leaders are gathered there today. Yesterday, many survivors came in and were there, and many for the first time coming back into that camp since they were teenagers and barely survived with their lives in the horror of what was taking place at that particular time.
Auschwitz, by one, was called “the world’s biggest cemetery”, because of the thousands and thousands of people who died there in crematoriums. It’s a sobering situation. Those who went back yesterday certainly did go back wanting not only to revisit where they were in their youth, but to also make a point that the world should not forget, and that they should remember what took place there. And that is very interesting because we don’t want to forget – for many, many reasons – the evils that were perpetrated upon a group of people during this particular period of time. It’s particularly important to remember because right now in Europe, with terrorist threats that have been taking place, especially in France, and other events – the specter of anti-Semitism has once again reared its ugly head in Europe. In fact, some are saying that in France today, it is the most unsafe spot in Europe for Jews because of attacks on synagogues, and Jews in particular, even as recently as a few weeks ago with the Islamic terrorist attacks upon the French newspaper, that a day later also included an attack upon a Jewish market and people being killed there. And so it is very unsafe and that attention is being drawn to the problem of anti-Semitism from many different quarters against Jews in Europe and other parts of the world, as well. The problem has not gone away. And so it is true that while this particular event, the Holocaust of World War II, should be remembered, never forgotten, we should also remember that the world has moved on a lot since then. And frankly, in some parts of the world, the lessons have not been learned. And this is not remembered in the same way that I’m trying to do it here with this particular Daily. There is still evil, there is still hatred against Jews and against other ethnic groups of people, and the evil that mankind can know has not yet stopped.
I also have a particular interest in this because I recognize some of the roots of anti-Semitism being far deeper than just against a group of people. The hatred that is expressed historically against Jews also reflects a hatred against God, and any who would try to worship God in spirit and in truth, according to the Scriptures. And when I say that it hasn’t been forgotten, it’s because I read a scripture such as Revelation:12:17And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ., where it shows a time in the future prophetically where the powerful spiritual forces of evil that unleashed this particular Holocaust and other holocausts of history will once again be unleashed against those who seek to keep the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. And that’s sobering because that transcends any ethnic group. That transcends the – that comes to the people of God. And that’s important as we recognize what the scripture tells us and what the nature of evil is as it is inspired by powerful, evil spiritual forces in this world today.
So let’s remember this particular event, the Holocaust of World War II, seventieth anniversary of Auschwitz, but let it also remind us of something deeper in terms of the costs that are there, as we obey God and we worship Him in spirit and in truth today.
That’s BT Daily . Join us next time.

A very interesting post from www.jihadwatch.org about Facebook's censorship. This follows this post about the Muslim call to prayer at Duke. This follows this article about American energy independence and preventing money from going to hostile countries. For more, you can read two very interesting books HERE.
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Zuckerberg said “je suis Charlie,” but now Facebook blocks Muhammad images

By Robert Spencer 3 Comments

“It’s an illustration, perhaps, of how extremely complicated and nuanced issues of online speech really are,” says the Washington Post. But it isn’t really an illustration of anything except the cowardice and inconsistency of Mark Zuckerberg.
“Two weeks after Zuckerberg said ‘je suis Charlie,’ Facebook begins censoring images of prophet Muhammad,” by Caitlin Dewey, Washington Post, January 27, 2015:

Only two weeks after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg released a strongly worded #JeSuisCharlie statement on the importance of free speech, Facebook has agreed to censor images of the prophet Muhammad in Turkey — including the very type of image that precipitated the Charlie Hebdo attack.
It’s an illustration, perhaps, of how extremely complicated and nuanced issues of online speech really are. It’s also conclusive proof of what many tech critics said of Zuckerberg’s free-speech declaration at the time: Sweeping promises are all well and good, but Facebook’s record doesn’t entirely back it up….

(Facebook)

Now, per the BBC, Facebook has blocked an unspecified number of pages that “offended the Prophet Muhammad” after receiving a court order from a local court in Ankara. A person familiar with the matter but not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to the Post that Facebook had acted to “block content so that it’s no longer visible in Turkey following a valid legal request.” In the past, social media companies that failed to comply with such requests — including Twitter and YouTube — have been blocked in the country, entirely.
Turkey is, in fact, one of Facebook’s more vexing territories, at least where censorship is concerned. The country represents a huge potential audience for U.S. tech companies, with its growing population of young digital natives and its rapidly transforming economy.
But according to Facebook’s latest transparency report, which covered the first six months of 2014, Turkey asked Facebook to censor 1,893 pieces of content in that timespan — the second-most of any country. Many of the requests sprang from local laws that prohibit criticism of Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, or the president or the Turkish state. (Turkey takes this stuff seriously, too: You may have heard about the teenager who was arrested in December simply for reading a statement that criticized President Tayyip Erdogan.)…

The House DHS bill keeps DHS "clean" from executive amnesty -- The Senate should pass it.

An interesting article from www.NumbersUSA.com about the Senate and Executive Amnesty. This follows this post about Renee Ellmers.This follows this post on HOW amnesty is funded in ways other than the DHS. Remember, “Amnesty” means ANY non-enforcement of existing immigration laws! This follows this comment and this post about how to Report Illegal Immigrants! Also, you can read two very interesting books HERE.
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https://www.numbersusa.com/sendfax

The House DHS bill keeps DHS "clean" from executive amnesty -- The Senate should pass it.

Politico reports that New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen spearheaded a letter to Senate Leader Mitch McConnell demanding that he not put the House's DHS appropriations bill up for a vote due to it's language that defunds President Obama's executive amnesties. We need an immediate response in online comments, social media, blogs, letters to the editor, water cooler conventions, the barber shop, etc: The Senate must pass the House's language to defund executive amnesties. Before the election, Sen. Shaheen issued a statement that said she would not support a piecemeal approach issued by executive order but now she is leading the effort to preserve the executive amnesty in the Senate. Shaheen's message today is: The message we are sending today is clear: We should not play politics with critical homeland security resources that keep our country safe. Roy Beck says this about Shaheen's quote and the Senate Democrats' letter: Who is playing politics with Homeland Security? President Obama has threatened the ability of the entire security-checking apparatus of DHS by his promise to thrust 5 million illegal aliens on the system for work permits. With all the security concerns cited in the Democrats' letter, the last thing that DHS needs to be dealing with this year is the most massive caseload of applications in American history. This is a threat easily recognized by the union representing the workers who would have to handle Obama's latest executive amnesty. The House DHS funding bill removes that threat. Unless Congress stops this 5-million-application dump on DHS, that department's ability to guard the physical security of the American people will be greatly compromised in these tense times.

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about snow. This follows this post about Saudi Arabia. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.
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This Is the Way... A Walk In the Snow: Character Counts In a Nation's Leaders

article by Robin Webber

Today, during and after the recent impeachment hearings and trial, there is talk of "compartmentalization"—the notion that all the parts of one's life do not necessarily have to connect, that moral character and job competency do not have to be in one man. This is simply not the original American equation of republican ideal and it is certainly not biblically founded.

Historical episodes are much like a snowfield. Someone has to go first through the dual challenge of wonderment and danger. There comes a time in the human experience in which people, tribes and nations are confronted with this proverbial field of snow. I would like to share with you one man's walk in the snow on behalf of his nation. But before I do, let's understand who lays the field before us.
Long ago, God stated to Abraham that, "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed"(Genesis:12:3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.). It is to be understood that first and foremost this is speaking of spiritual salvation for all humanity through the birth of Abraham's descendant, Jesus Christ. But there is also an added aspect of historical note regarding the physical descendants of Abraham that should be considered. It is found in Genesis:48:19And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.. In speaking of Abraham's grandchildren, the Bible says, "He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations."
This verse spells out a prophetic blessing upon Abraham's descendants that defines a role of historical greatness.These verses speak of a people who would become "great" and a kindred people who would become a "multitude of nations." We see spelled out verses that depict the modern rise of the special relationship communities of the United States (Manasseh) and the famous alliance of nations known as the British Commonwealth (Ephraim).
But greatness does not just occur. God utilizes men and women throughout human history to bring about His will and purpose. God intervenes in the human chronicle through the hearts and minds of people. Romans:13:1Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. exemplifies God's finger on the pulse of history by stating, "For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God."
Throughout the biblical narrative we think of Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Tiberius and Herod. What about George Washington? No, he is not biblically mentioned by name, but can we consider that he was directly used by God? Was he "appointed" by God to a role in His plan of establishing the "greatness" of modern day Manasseh? A "greatness" that would be molded by his personal walk through the historical fresh snow laid before him at the dawn of the American Revolution? Let's peek back in history and understand the tracks that Washington laid for future generations to follow.
The Man Behind the Picture
Today, many people when confronted with George Washington, think of the man with the stern face painted by Gilbert Stuart that appears on America's one dollar bills. As a landed gentleman, he would become first a general and later the first president of the United States. This is indeed a limiting picture, and to limit Washington is to limit ourselves. Rather than being stuck with the visual picture of the colonnades of Mt. Vernon, let's understand that Washington was born in humbler surroundings, being born into a much lower rung of Virginia gentry. We might say towards the bottom.
At his father's early death, in accordance with the British custom, most of the inheritance of family domain went to his half-brother Lawrence. Washington's formal education was over at age 15. But he did an amazing thing. He wrote out a collection of European maxims which he titled "The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation." This exercise would instill in him a moral fabric in relating to other human beings. It would be his shining star to guide him. This is not too unlike the writing exercise the ancient kings of Israel were to perform. The instruction of Deuteronomy:17:18-20 [18] And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
[19] And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
[20] That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel. states, "Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel."
God's law was more than just rules for rules' sake, but more about relationships. Relationships that would not separate men, but bring them together on the equal plane of "brethren." Washington's list is in no way holy writ, but it contains a lot of wisdom pertaining to personal dealings with others. Let's read a few of the rules he wrote:
"In the presence of others, sing not to yourself with a humming noise, nor drum with your fingers or feet." "Sleep not when others speak, sit not when others stand, speak not when you should hold your peace, walk not on when others stop." My favorite is, "Spit not in the fire, nor stoop low before it, neither put your hands into the flames to warm them, nor set your feet upon the fire especially if there be meat before it."
What is interesting is the sense of value placed on outgoing concern towards others. These "proverbs" of the classical era would offer Washington a sensitized moral compass of "justice, judgment and equity;" as mentioned in the Bible and offer "to the young man knowledge and discretion-A wise man will hear and increase learning"(Proverbs:1:4-5 [4] To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
[5] A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:). At a time when colonial America was still inventing itself, this young man was likewise self-examining and personally inventive. He recognized that if he were to succeed and be a person of worth he would have to establish standards and values. Values that would work later in life for him-recognizing that you do not find your values in a trial or situation, but you take them into the arena with you. The common self invention of the man and the nation would cross paths on the snow field of history 40 years down the line.
Prepared For Future Battles
As a young man, Washington had burning ambition and a self-importance that moved him through the ranks of the colonial militia. His time spent in the French and Indian War would both prepare him for future battle and place a curb on his ego, as he experienced both triumph and failure. After the war, he married well, having taken Martha Custis to wife. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, he became commander of the Continental Army. As an interesting part of focused leadership, he had the Declaration of Independence read aloud to every soldier so that he might know what was at stake.
This would be very important in the bumpy road to independence from the British Empire. Early on, he would be chased from Brooklyn, lose Manhattan, flee across New Jersey, and pick up a couple of victories at Princeton and Trenton. But always his biggest victory would be keeping the army together. Imagine an army composed of merchants, farmers, backwoodsmen, including every ethnic and racial group in America (still in some cases speaking their native tongue), all from 13 different sovereign states. Yankees from New England, Dutch from New York, Germans from Pennsylvania, Scots-Irish from the South, Swedes from Delaware, and African-Americans seeking a piece of the dream for liberty .
But all this would come to a grinding halt in the snows of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, in the winter of 1777. Washington despaired, "The game will be pretty well up!" The British General Howe was outside Philadelphia, Congress had fled to Baltimore, and there before him in the snow was the sight of "men, without clothes, to cover their nakedness; without blankets to lay on; without shoes, by which their marches might be traced, by the blood from their feet." His army had shrunk to 3,000 men, and more were deserting daily. What had happened to that bright and wondrous picture of liberty? What had happened to the pure and glistening wonderment of government not based upon birth, but government based upon personal ability?
Like the snow, Washington now had to step out and make tracks where no man had gone before. Encouragement would come from a young, French nobleman, the Marquis de Lafayette. It is said that at one particularly low point the Marquis reminded his general that "the eyes of Europe are upon you!" Every step was being watched, every footprint in the snow was being analyzed by a world which had never known anything other than kings, emperors, czars and khans. Proverbs:29:18Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Sometimes we need to remind one another exactly "why are we here?" In his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey calls it "beginning with the end in mind." Herbert Armstrong called it "keeping the big picture." Remember, you don't find your values in a trial, you take them in with you. First Corinthians 3:13 vividly reminds us, "Each one's work will become clear: for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is."
The Most Famous Man in the World
The "greatness factor" of this one man's personal walk through the snow was yet to come a few years down the line. It came in 1783. The war was won and the long drawn-out peace accord was finally ratified. What Washington did next would astound the world. He simply got off his horse and went home to his beloved Mt. Vernon. This made him the most famous man in the world. The greatest victory he accomplished was letting go of power. This had rarely been done before. The snow was fresh and Washington carefully and surely laid a great print for others to follow. He was the modern day Cincinnatus, the Latin farmer of Roman lore. According to history as it comes down to us, Cincinnatus had victoriously defended Rome against her enemies at her gate and was invited to become ruler. But, he went back to his farm saying only that he had done his duty. What would you have done?
In English history, having disposed of King Charles, Oliver Cromwell stayed on his horse at the head of the New Model Army and became Lord Protector. Napoleon a few years down the line would stay on his horse and go from being "first citizen of the republic" to Emperor. In the course of the American Revolution as sole commander, Washington had outlasted eight presidents of the Continental Congress. On December 23, 1783, at Annapolis, Maryland, Washington ceremoniously handed back to the president of Congress the parchment commission he had received in Philadelphia on June 15, 1775. He had never lost the vision. For this man, giving up power was more ennobling than winning a war. It is said that King George III asked the American painter Benjamin West what General Washington was likely to do when peace came. Would he stay with the army, would he become head of state? West replied, "Washington will probably return home to his farm." King George responded, "If Washington does that, he will become the most famous man in the world."
Rather than merely comparing Washington's example to Cincinnatus, let's focus on Christ's words in Matthew:20:25-28 [25] But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
[26] But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
[27] And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
[28] Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.. "But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave-just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
Whether or not Washington fully recognized it, he was following someone else's tracks that had been laid out long before his.
For the remainder of his life, George Washington realized he would have incredible responsibility in how he conducted himself and used his fame and notoriety. He would be called on again and again to "walk through the snow." In 1785, two years after the final peace treaty had been signed, with the country tottering in its disunited infancy under the Articles of Confederation, he stated, "I can foresee no evil greater than disunion." Here were 13 loosely confederated states of America now more afraid of one another than the nearby lingering shadow of the British Empire. How could they ever unite? As he would state, "the fate of unborn millions" would rest on their deliberations. Here was an individual of growth and invention that would spend his life in transformation from a British subject, to a man of the South from Virginia, to a Nationalist.
Character Does Count
But as all the wrinkles were slowly ironed away at Philadelphia's Constitutional Convention, a lingering nerve of contention remained before the delegates. Having cast off (in Colonial eyes) a tyrant, would they ever again dare invest authority in an executive power? Washington's powerful life example spoke louder than any good arguments. It would not be by his grasp for power or intellectual wit that he would ascend to the presidency—but simply by "quiet tracks in the snow" laid over a lifetime.
Pierce Butler, of South Carolina, thought the president's powers were "full, great, and greater than I was disposed to make them. Nor do I believe they would have been so great had not many of the members cast their eyes towards General Washington as President; and shaped their ideas of the Powers to be given a President by their opinions of his virtue." From the beginning America's concept of the presidency, was the idea of virtue—let's put it plainly—character. The standard would be—not simply what you do—but what you are. This was the only way a young and frightened nation could come to terms with trusting an executive leader. Washington's lifetime of self invention based upon his "Rules of Civility" had served him and the nation well.
Today, during and after the recent impeachment hearings and trial, there is talk of "compartmentalization"—the notion that all the parts of one's life do not necessarily have to connect, that moral character and job competency do not have to be in one man. This is simply not the original American equation of republican ideal and it is certainly not biblically founded. Notice the power of cause and effect as outlined in Proverbs:29:2When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.: "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Washington's stepping off his horse, and later his stepping away from the executive office after his second term, set forever the mode of America's greatness of being gallant enough to conquer the problems that lay in her path, but also to have the ability to muster the "right stuff" and go back home when the task was accomplished.
Snow is a wondrous attraction. So are the revolutions of history. What appears wondrous can take a sharp turn towards disaster. Many revolutions would follow the American experiment. Hope would turn to despair as tyrants of royal blood would be replaced with demagogues with radical blood flowing in their veins. Much of Latin America would devolve for nearly two centuries into military dictatorships. The great revolutions of France and Russia would go through stages of moderation to radicalism-ending with much of their citizenry losing their lives, because of the lack of a galvanizing example of moderation like Washington's. Imagine a "modern day Manasseh" whose civilians would report to the military or whose chief executive maintained total power for a lifetime. Then, think again of one man's influence as he walked in the snow for a nation to follow. WNP

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An interesting article from www.vdare.com about Renee Ellmers. This follows this post about the U.S. president.This follows this post on HOW amnesty is funded in ways other than the DHS. Remember, “Amnesty” means ANY non-enforcement of existing immigration laws! This follows this comment and this post about how to Report Illegal Immigrants! Also, you can read two very interesting books HERE.
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REDSTATE Conservatives Turn On Renee Ellmers On Abortion… But Why Not On Immigration?

By James Kirkpatrick       

Immigration patriots already knew that North Carolina GOP congressthing Renee Ellmers was a traitor. Now the pro-lifers at RedState know it too. But will they continue to prioritize attacks on immigration patriots rather than a GOP Establishment that despises them?
VDARE.com is focused on immigration and the National Question—whether the U.S. can survive as a nation-state, the political expression of a particular people. It does not take a position on abortion, and we know our writers and readers are on both (all) sides of the issue. But we are vitally interested in any clash between GOP leaders and the party’s base, because it is the GOP leaders who have systematically frustrated the base’s desire for patriotic immigration reform.
And Ellmers turned on the pro-life Republican base faster than the French government turned on free speech after the Islamic terrorist attacks on Charlie Hebdo. On the very eve of the annual March for Life, an event that brought half a million pro-life protesters to the Capitol, Ellmers waged an insurgent campaign within the Republican caucus to defeat a bill that would have banned late term abortions. [Abortion bill dropped amid concerns of female GOP lawmakers , by Ed O’Keefe, Washington Post, January 21, 2015] Thus, at the hands of a Southern Republican, the pro-choice movement can celebrate a victory and the already disorganized Republican caucus looks even more hapless [Planned Parenthood seizes on House GOP’s abortion bill retreat, by Sarah Ferris, The Hill, January 22, 2015]
The base is outraged. Jim Duncan, chairman of the Chatham County Republican Party, was apparently already looking at a primary challenge to Ellmers but his incipient rebellion now has serious momentum behind it. Roll Call is reporting that her abortion vote may mean Ellmers will face a “bruising primary from the conservative wing of her party in 2016 [Renee Ellmers May Face Primary Challenge, by Emily Cahn, January 23, 2015].
The Respectable Rightists of RedState are especially outraged. Erick Erickson spat that Ellmers is a “damnable liar” who “must be ruined politically” for claiming “she’d vote for the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act after she ensured it would not pass.” He proclaimed that “the pro-life movement must stop being the whores of the GOP” and mused, “Maybe it is time for a third party to give the GOP competition” [The Pro-Life Movement Must Stop Being Whores of the Republican Party, RedState, January 22, 2015].
Thomas Crown, a former Director of RedState vowed: “I will never vote Republican again. Not for any reason… today, the Party stands for indifference in the face of a man-made cataclysm of flesh and blood, and for apathy toward good and cooperation with evil.” [The Friend of My Enemy is My Enemy, by Thomas Crown, RedState, January 22, 2015]
RedState Commissar Leon Wolf wrote:

Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC ) was swept into office in 2010 on a wave of Tea Party support and based on the fact that she had the good fortune to have a Democrat incumbent who let himself get videotaped assaulting some college kids. The video in question went nationally viral and Ellmers’ election became something of a cause celebre in conservative circles. When she narrowly pulled off the victory, people expected great things from her.
However, since her election, she has been one of the worst members of the GOP caucus…Ellmers is either lying to her constituents about being pro-life or she has become a poltroon on this issue now that the GOP has taken control of the house and she figures she can increase her district’s share of the federal feeding trough… It would be better to have a Democrat in this seat than a cancer in the Republican caucus.”
[Renee Ellmers is Worse Than a Democrat, January 21, 2015]

And RedState regular Aaron Gardner triggered progressives around the country by demanding of Ellmers, “Tell me why you are worthy of this life you have been given, Representative.” [Is Renee Ellmers Worthy of Life?, January 23, 2015]
Nevertheless, it’s hard to take these kinds of militant statements seriously when we review RedState’s recent record on immigration. After all, Erickson has made some excellent comments in the past about the baleful impact of consultants on the Republican Party, but has apparently retreated on the issue now that the Republicans might have the potential to do something about it.
Significantly, RedState purged Daniel Horowitz for his excellent immigration updates and issued an abrupt volte face on the immigration issue. Leon Wolf openly urged the Republican Party to pass Amnesty as quickly as possible. Wolf also whined about the “toxicity of immigration rhetoric” and even about the “racism” of referring to George Bush or John McCain as “Jorge Arbusto” or “Juan McCain.” When someone posted a link to VDARE.com in the comments section, it was deleted and Wolf congratulated himself for it.
As for Aaron Gardner, he previously wrote that the likes of Glenn Beck providing showy charity for the Obama administration’s orchestrated “Central American refugee crisis” was really about “Christians living their faith” and called out the American Thinker for criticizing it [On Immigration, the Border, and Dana Loesch, The American Thinker Isn’t Thinking or American,” by Aaron Gardner, RedState, July 21, 2014].
Gardner concern-trolled by claiming “This sort of rhetoric does nothing but empower the left on immigration” and “will lend further credence to the liberal caricature of conservatives hating brown people.”
But it seems more accurate that the average person will be angrier at a conservative blogger demanding a female congresswoman justify her very existence than they will be about American Thinker’s criticism of Glenn Beck wanting moral credit for crying on his website again. And truly “living their faith” would require these Christians to pay a bit of attention to Matthew 6:2-6:8.
Ironically, immigrant Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, now a Mexican-American dual citizen, is pretty overt about his frankly racialist rationale for pushing mass immigration. “Conservatives hating brown people” is a media caricature but it seems pretty accurate that many “brown people” hate conservatives.
This holds true not just on economic issues like increasing spending but also, in increasing numbers, on abortion and other “white” cultural issues.
Exit polls after the 2012 elections show that “big majorities of Latinos across the country… agreed that abortion should be legal” and that their support for abortion exceeded that of voters in general. [Latinos Endorse Legal Abortion, by Richard Morin, ABC News, November 6, 2012] Allegedly “socially conservative” and “natural Republican” Hispanics are also one of the most important drivers behind the country’s rising number of out-of-wedlock births.
If Erickson was serious about a Third Party that would be defined by the pro-life issue, we have news for him—such a party already exists. It’s the Constitution Party and ran former Virginia Congressman Virgil Goode as its presidential nominee in 2012.
But Goode’s patriotic position on immigration was just as strong as his pro-life stance. And any serious effort to have an independent “pro-life” political movement would require immigration patriot backing to have any chance to get anywhere.
As much as RedState hates to admit it, elections aren’t just about ideas—they are about demographics, and Hispanics will never vote for them.
The pro-life movement needs patriotic immigration reform and the demographic base it represents—especially if pro-lifers are trying to be independent of Establishment Republicans. It’s true that some immigration patriot groups are progressive and overtly pro-choice, just as many pro-lifers are progressive except on the single issue of immigration. However, the mass base of any political movement would require a coalition of those groups that are currently perceived as expendable by the Beltway Right.
But is RedState really interested in preventing abortion or just making sure conservatives stay focused on issues other than immigration? In the past, Leon Wolf has attacked Tom Tancredo because of his alleged “ties” to immigration restrictionist groups like the Federation for American Immigration Reform and figures like Dr. John Tanton [Tom Tancredo’s Unsavory Backers, RedState Archive, 2008]. In fact, of course, as Tancredo himself noted in 2013, the former Colorado Congressman has a “100% rating from National Right to Life and a 99% rating from the American Conservative Union” [Immigration and the Pro-Life Movement, Townhall, February 17, 2013]. If a strong position on immigration cancels out a perfect pro-life voting record, then it’s fair to say that a weak position on immigration is more important to people like Wolf (why?) than a strong and consistent pro-life position on abortion.
Moreover, the real action on the abortion issue is not taking place in Congress or even the state legislatures. The pro-life movement has actually had notable success in the last few years by working to shut down abortion clinics directly, by exposing regulatory violations etc., rather than counting on the political process. The result has been a dramatic decline in the number of abortion clinics open throughout the country [Not Just ‘Marching for Life’ Anymore, WND, January 22, 2015], If the goal is to “save lives” as such, pro-life champions like those at RedState could be doing more to popularize these kinds of tactics.
Therefore, it’s hard to take this kind of tantrum seriously. RedState and its writers are no doubt sincere in their pro-life convictions. But it appears that they don’t really want to build a populist coalition that could challenge the Beltway Right. It looks like the abortion issue just provides a way to get grassroots conservatives to be angry at a faux Establishment, while leaving the donor-driven and immigration-obsessed real Establishment in place.
The real story is not RedState’s empty threats to destroy the Republican Party. It’s the RedStaters’ unwillingness to seriously engage with the immigration issue—even if that is the only way to stop politicians like Renee Ellmers from taking the GOP base for granted.
James Kirkpatrick [Email him] is a Beltway veteran and a refugee from Conservatism Inc.

Editorial: Do Immigration Patriots only want to vent about non-enforcement of laws?

Editorial




Do Immigration Patriots only want to vent about non-enforcement of laws?


According to www.NumbersUSA.com:


Debate over some bills is running longer than expected, so it's still uncertain when Sen. McConnell will bring the House-passed DHS spending bill to the Senate floor. But, Politico is reporting that GOP Leaders are looking for alternative solutions to stopping the President's executive overreach should the DHS spending bill not pass.

"Top Republicans are exploring ways of escaping their political jam on immigration, with steps that could avoid a funding cutoff for the Department of Homeland Security while letting conservatives vent their anger at President Barack Obama."

-- Politico, "GOP seeking Plan B on immigration", Jan. 21, 2015

NumbersUSA President Roy Beck protests that thinking:

We aren't interested in venting anger; we're interested in results that protect American workers and their families from the wage depression of Mr. Obama's actions.