Used by permission from
Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie, PO Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2010
The Sovereignty of God
Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, "Why have you made me like this?" — Romans 9:20
There was a sense that something big was about to happen on the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The crowds thought "the Kingdom of God would begin right away" (Luke 19:11). Scripture does teach the Messiah will come and establish His kingdom on earth. That is still in our future. But Scripture also teaches, in places like Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, that the Messiah first would come and suffer and die for the sins of the world. Yet that concept was largely lost on the people of this day.
They wanted Jesus as their king—as long as it was on their terms. They wanted a deliverer and a Messiah that would conform to their plan—instead of theirs to His. They wanted Jesus to destroy Rome—not their cherished sins or their hypocritical, superficial religion.
There are people like this today. They will sing the praises of a Jesus who will give them wealth, success, and personal happiness. But they recoil from the idea of a God who would ask for obedience, commitment, and sacrifice. They like God as long as He fits into their plans. But the moment He does something they don't like, they get mad at Him. It is okay to say we don't understand God. It is okay to ask God, "Why?" But we have no right to be angry with Him. And it is ridiculous for us to say that we are. Who are we to argue with God?
As Chuck Swindoll says, "God is able to do what He pleases with whomever He chooses whenever He wishes." This is called the sovereignty of God. We don't always like it, because it is not what we want. But God can do what He wants when He wants to do it.
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Every
American
Needs To
Read And
Understand
This!!!
545
vs.
300,000,000 EVERY
CITIZEN
NEEDS TO
READ
THIS AND
THINK
ABOUT
WHAT
THIS
JOURNALIST
HAS
SCRIPTED
IN THIS
MESSAGE.
READ IT
AND
THEN
REALLY
THINK
ABOUT
OUR
CURRENT
POLITICAL
DEBACLE.
Charley
Reese
has been
a
journalist
for 49
years.
545
PEOPLE
By
Charlie
Reese
Politicians
are the
only
people
in the
world
who
create
problems
and then
campaign
against
them.
Have you
ever
wondered,
if both
the
Democrats
and the
Republicans
are
against
deficits,
WHY do
we have
deficits?
Have you
ever
wondered,
if all
the
politicians
are
against
inflation
and high
taxes,
WHY do
we have
inflation
and high
taxes?
You and
I don't
propose
a
federal
budget.
The
president
does..
You and
I don't
have the
Constitutional
authority
to vote
on
appropriations.
The
House of
Representatives
does.
You and
I don't
write
the tax
code,
Congress
does.
You and
I don't
set
fiscal
policy,
Congress
does.
You and
I don't
control
monetary
policy,
the
Federal
Reserve
Bank
does.
One
hundred
senators,
435
congressmen,
one
president,
and nine
Supreme
Court
justices
equates
to 545
human
beings
out of
the 300
million
are
directly,
legally,
morally,
and
individually
responsible
for the
domestic
problems
that
plague
this
country.
I
excluded
the
members
of the
Federal
Reserve
Board
because
that
problem
was
created
by the
Congress.
In
1913,
Congress
delegated
its
Constitutional
duty to
provide
a sound
currency
to a
federally
chartered,
but
private,
central
bank.
I
excluded
all the
special
interests
and
lobbyists
for a
sound
reason..
They
have no
legal
authority.
They
have no
ability
to
coerce a
senator,
a
congressman,
or a
president
to do
one
cotton-picking
thing.
I don't
care if
they
offer a
politician
$1
million
dollars
in cash.
The
politician
has the
power to
accept
or
reject
it. No
matter
what
the
lobbyist
promises,
it is
the
legislator's
responsibility
to
determine
how he
votes.
Those
545
human
beings
spend
much of
their
energy
convincing
you that
what
they did
is not
their
fault.
They
cooperate
in this
common
con
regardless
of
party.
What
separates
a
politician
from a
normal
human
being is
an
excessive
amount
of gall.
No
normal
human
being
would
have the
gall of
a
Speaker,
who
stood up
and
criticized
the
President
for
creating
deficits..
The
president
can only
propose
a
budget.
He
cannot
force
the
Congress
to
accept
it.
The
Constitution,
which is
the
supreme
law of
the
land,
gives
sole
responsibility
to the
House of
Representatives
for
originating
and
approving
appropriations
and
taxes.
Who is
the
speaker
of the
House?
Nancy
Pelosi.
She is
the
leader
of the
majority
party.
She and
fellow
House
members,
not the
president,
can
approve
any
budget
they
want.
If the
president
vetoes
it, they
can pass
it over
his veto
if they
agree
to.
It seems
inconceivable
to me
that a
nation
of 300
million
can not
replace
545
people
who
stand
convicted
-- by
present
facts --
of
incompetence
and
irresponsibility.
I
can't
think of
a
single
domestic
problem
that is
not
traceable
directly
to those
545
people.
When
you
fully
grasp
the
plain
truth
that 545
people
exercise
the
power of
the
federal
government,
then it
must
follow
that
what
exists
is what
they
want to
exist.
If the
tax code
is
unfair,
it's
because
they
want it
unfair.
If the
budget
is in
the red,
it's
because
they
want it
in the
red ..
If the
Army &
Marines
are in
IRAQ ,
it's
because
they
want
them in
IRAQ
If they
do not
receive
social
security
but are
on an
elite
retirement
plan not
available
to the
people,
it's
because
they
want it
that
way.
There
are no
insoluble
government
problems.
Do not
let
these
545
people
shift
the
blame to
bureaucrats,
whom
they
hire and
whose
jobs
they can
abolish;
to
lobbyists,
whose
gifts
and
advice
they can
reject;
to
regulators,
to whom
they
give the
power to
regulate
and from
whom
they can
take
this
power.
Above
all, do
not let
them con
you into
the
belief
that
there
exists
disembodied
mystical
forces
like
"the
economy,"
"inflation,"
or
"politics"
that
prevent
them
from
doing
what
they
take an
oath to
do.
Those
545
people,
and they
alone,
are
responsible.
They,
and they
alone,
have the
power.
They,
and they
alone,
should
be held
accountable
by the
people
who are
their
bosses.
Provided
the
voters
have the
gumption
to
manage
their
own
employees.
We
should
vote all
of them
out of
office
and
clean up
their
mess!
Charlie
Reese is
a former
columnist
of the
Orlando
Sentinel
Newspaper.
What you
do with
this
article
now that
you have
read
it..........
Is up to
you.
This
might be
funny if
it
weren't
so
darned
true.
Be sure
to read
all the
way to
the end:
Tax
his
land,
Tax
his bed,
Tax
the
table
At
which
he's
fed.
Tax
his
tractor,
Tax
his
mule,
Teach
him
taxes
Are
the
rule.
Tax
his
work,
Tax
his pay,
He
works
for
peanuts
Anyway!
Tax
his cow,
Tax
his
goat,
Tax
his
pants,
Tax
his
coat.
Tax
his
ties,
Tax
his
shirt,
Tax
his
work,
Tax
his
dirt.
Tax
his
tobacco,
Tax
his
drink,
Tax
him if
he
Tries to
think.
Tax
his
cigars,
Tax
his
beers,
If
he cries
Tax
his
tears.
Tax
his car,
Tax
his gas,
Find
other
ways
To
tax his
ass.
Tax
all he
has
Then
let him
know
That
you
won't be
done
Till
he has
no
dough.
When
he
screams
and
hollers;
Then
tax him
some
more,
Tax
him till
He's
good and
sore.
Then
tax his
coffin,
Tax
his
grave,
Tax
the sod
in
Which
he's
laid..
Put
these
words
Upon
his
tomb,
Taxes
drove me
to
my
doom...'
When
he's
gone,
Do
not
relax,
Its
time to
apply
The
inheritance
tax.
Accounts
Receivable
Tax
Building
Permit
Tax
CDL
license
Tax
Cigarette
Tax
Corporate
Income
Tax
Dog
License
Tax
Excise
Taxes
Federal
Income
Tax
Federal
Unemployment
Tax (FUTA)
Fishing
License
Tax
Food
License
Tax
Fuel
Permit
Tax
Gasoline
Tax
(currently
44.75
cents
per
gallon)
Gross
Receipts
Tax
Hunting
License
Tax
Inheritance
Tax
Inventory
Tax
IRS
Interest
Charges
IRS
Penalties
(tax on
top of
tax)
Liquor
Tax
Luxury
Taxes
Marriage
License
Tax
Medicare
Tax
Personal
Property
Tax
Property
Tax
Real
Estate
Tax
Service
Charge T
ax
Social
Security
Tax
Road
Usage
Tax
Sales
Tax
Recreational
Vehicle
Tax
School
Tax
State
Income
Tax
State
Unemployment
Tax (SUTA)
Telephone
Federal
Excise
Tax
Telephone
Federal
Universal
Ser vice
Fee Tax
Telephone
Federal,
State
and
Local
Surcharge
Taxes
Telephone
Minimum
Usage
Surcharge=2
0Tax
Telephone
Recurring
and
Non-recurring
Charges
Tax
Telephone
State
and
Local
Tax
Telephone
Usage
Charge
Tax
Utility
Taxes
Vehicle
License
Registration
Tax
Vehicle
Sales
Tax
Watercraft
Registration
Tax
Well
Permit
Tax
Workers
Compensation
Tax
STILL
THINK
THIS IS
FUNNY?Not
one of
these
taxes
existed
100
years
ago, and
our
nation
was the
most
prosperous
in the
world.
We had
absolutely
no
national
debt,
had the
largest
middle
class in
the
world,
and Mom
stayed
home to
raise
the
kids. What
in the
heck
happened?
Can you
spell
'politicians?'
And I
still
have to
'press
1' for
English!?
Danny Glover
and all of the other communist comrades in Hollywood
need to pack up and leave this country if they truly
dislike our values and efforts that much. I for
one, am absolutely tired of having to read stupid
comments by ignorant people that the left winged press
is so enamored with.
I will never
watch another feature of any kind that has Danny Glover
in it!
07/11/09 Tom Bludau said:
What a great day of fun and fellowship. Everybody I talked to had a great time.
Don't miss out on the next Special Forces Event.
07/11/09 Daniel Harsh said:
We had a good time.
07/12/09 Mike Lashley said:
Sue and me had a great time thanks
Have you ever been down so low
that it seems you will die, or at least never get out of your
present pit? My wife & I have been really struggling
financially. We have been praying to God, the God that made the
heavens and the earth, along with many others about this. It
didn't seem to us as though God was doing anything or even heard
us. Like there wasn't really a God at all. Then, my physician
called out of the blue and asked if my construction company
could remodel their kitchen. At that same time customers began
to come into our new retail store that nearly bankrupted us.
You see, God did hear us. He was
fixing the problem for us. We just wanted it fixed NOW. Like a
child wants candy NOW. God may have been waiting for us to show
Him we were really standing on His foundation. Maybe, He wasn't
waiting at all. Maybe we all were waiting on those He called to
act.
This story is two fold. First, do
not give up on God. He is faithful. There may be obstacles in
the way of His answer. Keep praying. Daniel of the old testament
prayed for 40 days and nights, fasting and hardly sleeping
before he was answered. It turned out that the angles God had
dispatched were met by Satin's troops and nearly lost the
battle. Only Daniel's continued praying turned the tides and
allowed victory!
Secondly, when God nudges you to
act or move - do it. Do not delay even a moment. There may be a
life hanging in jeopardy somewhere. There may be a Tom & Sheila
about to loose it all and give up on Gad, life and the whole
deal. While you fool around and decide if you feel like doing
what you know God wants, someone, maybe a brother or sister in
Christ might be dying for an answer from God, and everybody is
waiting on you. Think about that for a moment.
Thank you God. Thank you for
being God, for making everything that is and caring for
everything that You have made. Thank you for proving to me once
again that before I was even born, You knew me, even in my
mother's womb. Thank you God.
On 04/06/10
Pastor Tom wrote:
Today my sweet daughter read out
loud from a book detailing a father's struggle with an addicted
son. The picture of the author reflected a totally together and
affluent man on the outside that total veiled the brokenness on
the inside.
I hope that if you or your family
struggles with addiction, you will be strong enough to seek
help. The addiction hurts not only the addict but the entire
family as well. Do not attempt to journey this road by your
self. Lean on God. He created all that is and WILL help you
shoulder this seemingly unbearable load.
God promises that He will not
allow us to be tested beyond that which we can bear. Remember
that when life seems ready to break you my friends.
On 01/10/10
Reseller Hosting wrote:
Your blog keeps getting better
and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones
you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
Pastor
Tom's Notes: Amanda & John have been a part of my life
for years. Amanda is one of my nieces and is the one who
got me going to become ordained. This is a special wedding
for me as it will be my first to officiate. I wish them all of
the best and pray this truly is a lifelong marriage.
Pastor
Tom's Notes: Jennifer & Justin make a lovely couple.
Having known each other for over 4 years, they found themselves
in love about a year ago. It was a beautiful wedding with a
beautiful bride. Of course being the Father of the Bride, I have
no bias at all!