The Constitution: Powers of the Federal Government

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  How are y'all doing?  Things are going good out here.  I am currently delivering at Alco in Wilburton, OK.  Not much new going on since my last post.

Let me ask y'all something.  Do you believe that America was founded on Christian principles?  Not that all the founding fathers were Christian, but that God used our founding fathers to make a great country.  A country where people would have the freedom to worship Him and to do His will?  I do.  The reason I do is cause in reading many of the founding fathers writings, I see that they used the same ideas that God told us is fact.  Ideas like:  "No man can govern another man perfectly."  "All men have hate in their hearts (in the form of greed)."  "If given unrestrained power, man will abuse that power to take away other peoples rights."

It doesn't matter who you are, what your skin color is, or how you were raised.  You are human and you have greed.  Look at both Biblical history and resent history.  Even Gods greatest people fell, didn't they?  Even the smartest man in the world, Soloman, fell.  Look at King David.  God proves to us time and time again that NO MAN ... NONE ... is a good leader.  The founding fathers knew this and have written many papers about it.  This is why they formed a Republic.
Think about it.  Our founding fathers could have made any type of government they wanted.  They were starting with a clean slate and they had to have known that they would be in government.  They could have followed their human nature and formed an Oligarchy and been the rulers of America.  They could have said, "We will not be greedy, we will be good leaders."  In fact, some of them did want to make George Washington a king.  But, by forming a Republic, they were tying their own hands.  Isn't that something?  They were saying, "No man can be trusted.  Not even us."  That isn't human nature, that is God nature.

The constitution is amazing.  It has two parts to it.  A part that restricts the Federal Government by limiting its powers and then a part that restricts the local governments by listing things it can't do.  This actually gives local governments more freedom then the federal government.  Why?  Well, the people were not afraid of their local government.  They feared having a federal government.  When the constitution was written up, local governments were already established.  Every state had a government and its own constitution.  People were happy with this.  The founding fathers had to assure people that the new federal government would have just enough power to save America (the current federal government was very weak and America wasn't going to survive) but it wouldn't have so much power that it would take away the states rights.  So, what happened is that the states said what powers THEY WOULD GIVE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT and they wanted a way to make sure that the federal government wouldn't take any more power then the ones given to it.  You can find this list of powers in Articles 1, 2, and 3.  The agreement that the federal government wouldn't take more power is found in the 10th Amendment.

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

The powers given to the Executive Branch (President) are to grant reprieves and pardons (except in impeachment cases). Appoint Ambassadors (again with the consent of senate). Appoints public ministers and consuls (with the consent of senate). Can reject or accept the judges of the supreme court (with the consent of senate). Can appoint basically any officer that is ranked below him with the consent of the senate. Can fill up vacancies during the recess of the senate.  He signs or vetoes laws submitted by Congress.  He is also the Commander in Chief and has control of troop movement (must have authorization by congress before going to war).

The Supreme Court has a simple role.  They only interpret law.  That is it.

Now, some people say that the constitution can be changed.  That the founding fathers knew that times would change and therefor left it open for it to be changed with time.  This is where the "living breathing document" comes from.  Well, that is kinda true but they knew better then to let the federal government have the power to change the constitution anytime it pleased and to let the federal government change it to what ever it wants.  Think about it.  Would you sign a contract giving someone that much power of you?  To be able to change a contract you signed anytime they wanted without your agreeing to it?  What makes you think the states agreed to do it?  There is a way to change the constitution.  It is called "Amending the Constitution" and the last time this was done was in 1992.  You can find this in Article 5 of the Constitution.  It isn't an easy process at all.  Amending the constitution requires a two-thirds vote of both the House of Representatives and the Senate followed by a ratification of three-fourths of the various state legislatures.  This is why lots of elected officials just ignore the constitution.  They know that laws they want (which would give them more power then the constitution gives them) will not pass such vote.  Especially if the law would take away the states rights. But this is very important. Think about it.  The constitution limits government power so that you have more freedom.  Changing the constitution always carries a risk.  A risk that your rights will be taken away.  And since the Constitution is the law of the land, once it has been Amended, it is law.  The Supreme Court will have no power to have it removed because the Supreme Courts only job is to INTERPRET THE CONSTITUTION not change it.  They can rule government laws unconstitutional, but they can't rule the constitution unconstitutional (lol).  So, the founding fathers were very smart to make changing the constitution extremely difficult. 

Our federal government has been operating outside its given powers for a long time.  Slowly, it has been growing and our rights have been taken away.  Unfortuntly, many people are ignorant when it comes to the constitution and the dangers of human nature.  People today have a lot of faith in government.  They are willing to give the government unlimited power for financial security and protection.  This is very dangerous.  Any person in government should not be trusted with the power they have.  Their power must be limited and the people should make sure that our elected leaders are following the law (the Constitution).  It is up to the people to make sure that these laws are followed.  It doesn't matter what political party is in office.  ALL MEN HAVE GREED.  If you do not know what is in the constitution, you can download the constitution by going to http://www.usconstitution.net/const.pdf.  You will then have it on your computer and be able to read it at any time.  You can also take a free constitutional class at Hillsdale.  They have three courses (introduction to the constitution, Constitution 101, and Constitution 201).  Hillsdale is a great collage that specializes in Government.  They don't take any taxpayers money.  These courses are free and you take them at your pace.  These are the same courses taught at the collage to the students that attend the collage.  Simply goto http://constitution.hillsdale.edu/ if you want to learn more about the Constitution.

Our founding fathers were guided by God when forming our government.  They knew that it isn't government that keeps people free.  It is law that keeps people free.  A law that restrict government and that government has to follow.  Without that law, government is free to do whatever it wants.  Having a government without law is very dangerous because man is dangerous when it is given unlimited power and resources.  Now, no man will restrict himself.  Every person needs someone to make sure they follow the law.  Likewise, government will not restrict itself.  It is up to us, the people to be educated and to make sure that the government is following the law.  Take care and God Bless.

Love,The Oklahoma Tomcatwww.facebook.com/oktomcatwww.twitter.com/oktomcattheoklahomatomcat.blogspot.com

First mobile blog

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  How is everyone doing? Things are going good here. I am at Norit Americas in Marshall, TX waiting to get my trailer loaded. 

This blog is an experimental blog. I no longer have my mobile wifi.  The mobile wifi allowed me to access the internet on my netbook anywhere I had a Virgin Mobile cell phone signal.  I am leaving the mobile wifi at home so that my wife can use it. She is home schooling the kids and needs it more then I do. This also makes it so she can get rid of her smart phone which saves us money.  Only one problem I see with blogging on the smart phone.  No spell check.

We are not making progress on the remodeling of our house as fast as I want.  With our trucks not working, me not being home very much, and not having very much money. It looks like it will take forever to get our house remodled.  I have vacation pay coming and plan to use that to get our Ford Ranger fixed. We need the truck first so that we can pick up the supplies needed for the remodel.  We then need to get a propane heater and lines so we can heat the house. We were heating with wood but I want to switch over to propane so it will be easier for my wife. We also need to insulate the kitchen, front bedroom, and living room. We will then seal off the back of the house. The back part of the house is what needs the most work and I want to take care of that during the winter when the bugs are asleep.

Well, that is my plans. I kinda like this blog app. Wonder if there is a spell check app I can download to use with blogger. I will try to get on here more and keep y'all updated. Take care and God Bless.

Love,
The Oklahoma Tomcat

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Tolerance

Good morning. How are y'all doing?  I pray that everyone finds this post in good health and spirits.  Things are going great out here.  My wife is on the truck with me this week and things are going great.  I really have missed having her with me 24/7.  We use to team drive and you couldn't pry us apart with anything.  We were constantly together.  It was wonderful.  What is great is that we still have that same feeling for each other.  We always have that desire to be with each other.  I really feel what Dolly Parton is singing when she says, "It is too bad that money has to keep us apart."

We are currently at Alco in Llano, TX.  At 0800 we have to deliver some products to them and pick up some things that has to be returned to Abilene, KS.  This is a brand new Alco store that hasn't opened yet.  

I have been thinking. Do y'all find it amazing that the people who cry out for tolerance of other peoples lifestyle is actually the least tolerant? In looking at all the demonstrations in America and listening to different groups and people, I find that most (I know not all) Christians are actually more for the freedom of people living as they want and saying as they want as long as they don't hurt others, then the people who call the Bible a hate book. Christians believe that EVERYONE has the right to live any lifestyle they want. They also believe that EVERYONE has the right to disagree with the way some people live and with what some people do. Christians believe in freedom of speech. Christians do not believe in FORCING others to agree with them. Those that keep crying out "tolerance" and call the Bible a hate book are only for tolerance if it is in line with their belief. If you disagree with them then they want you to

 be silenced. How do they silence you? By saying that your words and belief are hateful. The purpose of this is to make those who disagree with them afraid to speak out. What is crazy is that those who disagree with these people are hateful for disagreeing with their lifestyle but yet, they are not hateful for disagreeing with the Christian lifestyle. Hmmm.

God isn't hate and neither is the Bible. Anyone who says the Bible is a hate book has not read the Bible. Actually, the Bible tells us to love people but hate sin. Simple as that. If you love people then you can't love sin. If you love people you can't accept sinful actions. It is because of what the Bible tells us that Christians do allow people to live in sin, if they wish to do so. The Bible does instruct us not to force people to live according to the way God tells us nor to silence them. It is interesting that Christians practice what the people who cry "tolerance" say they want everyone to do. Yet ... it is the Christians who are made out to be hateful.

The next time you hear someone say "Those people hate ...". Stop and think. Why is that person saying this? Is it simply cause they disagree with him or her? Is it hate to disagree with someone? If so, then does he or she hate them? They probably do hate the person they are saying hates.  

Mitt Romney responsible for steel plant closure?

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  How is everyone doing?  Things are going good out here on the road.  I am currently at Alco Distribution Center in Abilene, KS waiting on a load that will take me to the house.  I can't wait.  When I pull out of the driveway on Sunday afternoon, my wife will be on the truck with me.  The children will be with my little sister while my wife comes out on the road with me for a week.  It will not only be good for me to spend a week with her, but it will be good for her to have a week off from the house and kids.  It will also be good for us to have time together and get caught up.

Priorities USA posted this Ad about Mitt Romney and Bain Capital and how their actions caused this man's wife to die of Cancer. If you have not seen the ad, please take a moment to watch this video before reading the rest of this blog:

I am very sorry for anyone who has cancer or losses someone to cancer. I do know the pain it causes. I lost my dad to cancer. So I do know the feeling.  But what this man did is wrong and he isn't showing love by using his wife's as a campaign ad.  I could never imagine doing such a thing with my dad's death.

Before I go to discredit this Ad, I want to ask everyone a question. Should any company stay open just to keep people employed and provide health care? If a company is losing money, should the owners keep that company open and put themselves on the street just for the employees? If you say "yes" then let me know when you start a business. I will be sure not to buy your stocks. I may work for you though. Just cause I know I will be OK even though you are homeless. I hate to tell y'all this, but that is selfishness and not rooted in love. You should not expect anyone to ruin their life just for you.

Something about Bain Capital and all other companies like them. They do not take over companies. If a company is doing poor, they CALL on Bain Capital to either help them turn the company around or to liquidate everything and get the most out of what they have left before the owner do loose everything. Unfortunately, sometimes that means closing plants and stores down. But, this is the risk of having a business. Sometimes it doesn't work out. But sometimes it is the fault of the business owners. They mismanage the business, are not good stewards over the funds, or they started a business and people don't want the product or service. This steel plant wasn't doing good and I think everyone should know that the American Steel Industry wasn't doing good anyway. If anything, Bain probably kept this steel plant open longer then it normally would have on its own.

OK, lets look at the facts. This man (and all of the employees) was given a buy out before the steel plant closed. Mitt Romney left Bain in 1999 to work at the Winter Olympic in Nevada. The Steel Plant closed in 2001. Therefor, Romney had nothing to do with the closure. This man's wife had her own health insurance from her own job. Therefor, it was her health insurance that paid for treatments and tests. If she didn't say nothing about her illness, it wasn't cause they had no health insurance. In fact, even he had insurance thru her. So, they did have health insurance. His wife passed away 5 years after he lost his job. I think that no employer could be tied to that.

This just goes to prove a point. You need to challenge everything. I don't pay attention to these ads anyway cause they are just ads. No different then an ad to get you to buy something. They are out to make a product or person look good. So, when it comes to picking a candidate, look at their work history. 

Take care and God Bless.

Love,
The Oklahoma Tomcat
www.facebook.com/oktomcat

So ... you are a Christian and don't believe the Bible is the word of God?

“And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment–to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ”  (Ephesians 1:9,10).

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  How are you doing?  I pray that this blog finds you in good health and spirits.   I am currently at Kansas Truck Center in Salina, KS.  My truck was having problems and it had two recalls, so I am having it worked on before picking up tonight and going home.  If all goes well I will be home early tomorrow morning.  

While being shutdown for truck repairs, I thought I would take the time to blog about a subject that kinda saddens me.  That topic is Christians who don't believe God has put His word in writing for His people.  In other words, Christians who don't believe that the Bible is the Word of God.  Now, I know that there are Christians who believe that the Bible isn't the word of God but believes that the word of God is another "holy" book or papers.  If that is you AND YOU READ those books or papers and FOLLOW them, then I am not directing this blog towards you.  I disagree with you, but this blog isn't about you.  I am talking about those who believe that God didn't leave His word for us.

This saddens me cause these people don't know God.  They have no idea what God has planned for them.  They are lost in life and live life without true guidance.  There life is an experiment and usually live life trial after trial.  If this is you, why would you think that a loving God would put you on earth without telling you how to best live your life?  Seems rather cruel to me.  Do you really believe that God put you here to experiment with life?  To risk you messing up and live miserable life?

How do you know right from wrong?  When I ask a Christian who doesn't think the Bible is the word of God this question I usually get the reply, "Well, it is easy to tell right from wrong."  Is it?  Think about that for a moment.  Are we born to know good?  If you say, "Yes" then you either never had a child or you were blind in thinking your child was an angle.  No human is born knowing what good is.  NONE.  Every person is born selfish and selfishness is not love.  In fact, selfishness is hate and it causes wars and fights.  EVERY CHILD IS SELFISH and must be taught selflessness.  Any good that you have was taught to you by someone in your life.  Here is the problem.  How do you know that the good you were taught is actually good?  Have you challenged it?  If so, what have you challenged it to?  Your own feelings and emotions?  If you believe that you are so good that you can depend on yourself then not only do you not understand human nature, but you also think very highly of yourself.  That means you are self righteous.  I know human nature very well.  I see it in myself and in every person I come into contact with.  Human nature isn't good at all.  In fact, this is one of the problems we have in society today.  People actually believe that we are born to be good and learn hate.  Because of this, parents do not train up a child to know what love is.  Then we look around us at children and young adults and ask, "What happened?"   We do need to be told what love is.  We can't depend on ourselves to know this and we can't depend on others either.  To think that a loving God who wants us to treat one another with love would put us on earth without some kind of instructions as to what love really is just doesn't make sense. 


How do you know how to make good decisions?  There are different ways trials happen in life.  Some trials happen cause life is hard, some are created by others, but most happen cause we don't listen to God.  Do you believe this?  If so, then how do you think God tells you how to live life?  How does God tell you what decisions you should make?  LOTS of people do not handle finances very poorly and get into lots of debt.  They spend money foolishly.  Do you really think God didn't tell us about financial responsibility?  How about parenting.  I hear lots of people say that a single person with no children know nothing about parenting.  If you say this, do you really know what you are saying?  You are saying that God wants your first child to be an experiment and learning experience.  That doesn't sound like a loving God, does it?  How about marriage?  Do you think God wants you to wait till AFTER you get married to know what it takes to have a good marriage?  Is that a loving God?  If you truly believe that God didn't give you instructions on how to have a successful life, then you must think God doesn't really love us.


What is your purpose in life?  Do you think your life is to aimlessly wonder the earth with no purpose?  Or do you think God has a purpose but He is keeping it a secret and you have to find it for yourself?  Not a good Father to have His children wonder around aimlessly and go through failure after failure needlessly, is He?  A loving Father would be up front with His purpose for His children.  A loving Father would tell His children what He expects of them, wouldn't He?  So, if you truly believe that God is loving, then you would have to think that He did give us instructions and told us what His purpose for us is and why we are here on earth in a physical body.


Why is there pain and suffering?  Did God create diseases?  If not, why does He allow disease and suffering?  It is important for Christians to know the answers to these questions without a doubt cause this topic is used by non-believers to put doubt in Christian minds.  I hear so many atheists use this on me to try to prove that there is no God.  Luckily, I know the answer cause I know where God gives us the answer.  Do you know the answer or do you believe that God doesn't tell us why we must suffer here on earth.  Do you truly believe God would be heartless and let us suffer without telling us why?


Why does God hate sin?  Did God just give us a bunch of rules with the attitude of "Just do as I say" with no reason behind them?  You know, if you understand the reason God made the rules and why He hates sin, you are more likely to obey them and the more you would love God for them.  This is were we, adults, are like children.  Does your child obey you more when you have reasons for your rules or is you make rules without reasoning.  If you always have reasons for telling your child to do something, then the time when you tell your child to do something without a reason, your child just does it cause they trust you.  We are the same way.  Do you understand sin?  Do you even know what sin is?  If you don't believe that God told us then you must think that God doesn't want you to know what sin is and why He hates it.


How do you even know that there is a God?  If God didn't leave you with His word, then how do you even know there is a God?  Truth is, you can't be sure.  A person with very convincing "proof" can go to you and convince you that there is no God by showing you what "expert scientists" have found.  


Truth is, God did give us His written word.  He has told us what is the best way to live life, how to avoid most trials in life, how to deal with unavoidable trials, what is sin and why sin is bad, how to treat others, how to manage finances, how to find a wife or husband, why marriage is important, how to raise children, why families is so important to God, and what love really is.  God has given us all of this and more.  Why?  Cause He loves us.  If you believe that God didn't give you instructions on life, then you can't believe God loves you.  It is as simple as that.


Well, I must go and check on the progress of my truck.  I pray that this blog will help you in considering that God does love you enough to tell you how best to live life and avoid unnecessary trials.  Take care and God Bless.


Love,
The Oklahoma Tomcat
www.facebook.com/oktomcat

Should Christians Judge?

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged."  Matthew 7:1


"The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray."  Proverbs 12:26




Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  How are y'all doing?  I pray that this blog finds y'all in good health and spirits.  Things are going pretty good here.  I am writing this blog from Moriarty, NM.  I will be picking up freight here and then deliver in Abilene, KS.  


I hear a lot about judging among Christians.  Some say that Christians are to judge and some say that we should never judge.  So, who is correct?  Well, both are correct.  For every verse that shows that we should judge, you can find a verse that says we are not to judge.  I gave two verses that reflects this above and there are many many more.  


The verses that say we should not judge is quite clear.  This does cause many to think that God doesn't want us to judge and that is the end of the story.  But God does warn us of people who do wrong.  If you are to be careful when choosing your friend then you have to judge before you decide to be friends with someone.  In the Bible it also says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”  This means that we have to judge our friends.  “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.”  You mean I have to judge someone before I decide to marry them?  “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers …”    Again, have to judge in order to beware of evil workers.


So, how can you judge someone without judging them?  It is in what you are judging.  Many people fail  to realize that we can judge a persons actions without judging the person.  Just cause someone does something wrong doesn't make the person a bad person and that is how we should look at everyone. It is very important to judge actions.  First of all, we can't know what is good and bad action without judging the actions.  How do you know stealing is bad unless you judge it.  Another reason to judge action is to help the innocent.  If you walk down the street and see someone steeling a woman's purse, you can't help the woman unless you judge that the thief did something wrong and the woman is a victim.  Another reason judging action is important is to help the person doing wrong.  That is correct, we must judge bad actions in order to help the person doing wrong.  I always say that if a person sees me sinning and doesn't say something to me, that person hates me.  Sin doesn't just hurt others, it hurts the sinner.  This is why God hates sin and why Christians should hate sin too.  It doesn't only kill the soul, but it drags the sinner down both morally and spiritually too.  It brings down self esteame and self respect.  It also makes the sinners life a tough one.  So, when you see a friend (either christian or non-christian) sinning, you should see if there is something you can do to help them change their life.  Another reason you should judge action is to avoid people while they are sinning.  If you hanging out with some friends and you see them break out some drugs, you must judge that what they are going to do is wrong and excuse yourself.  This doesn't mean that you avoid them from now on.  It means that while they are committing the sin, you stay away from them.  Sin currupts good people.  It is very enticing to sin.  We all want to fit in and look cool.  It is human nature and your flesh will cave when you are surrounded by sinners.  But, in order to do this ... you must judge the actions.


Now, we are never to judge the person.  What this means is that when you see a person sinning, you should never look at the person as a bad or evil person.  Remember, you also sin.  When you sin, does that mean you are a bad or evil person?  No, it means you are human and your flesh is weak.  What we are to do is love the sinner and pray for them.  Just like you want others to do for you when you sin.  Now, by loving them doesn't mean to condone or excuse the sin.  Remember, sin destroys people and this is why you hate sin.  You can not love people and sin.  But, at the same time you don't hound them about the sin they have done.  Of course, if the sin being commited is serious and harms others then you have to stop it (rape, abuse, steeling, ect).  And that does bring up another thing.  It is funny when people say "You should not judge."  Do you know that everyone judges actions.  How about the men who flew the planes into the World Trade Center?  Did you judge that action as being terrible and bad?  I hope so.  But, how about the men that did it?  Do you judge them?  You shouldn't.  How about people who abuse children? Abuse women? Abuse animals? and the list goes on and on.  All sinful actions and we should judge the actions.  But are the people who do them bad people?  We don't know what is inside the minds of these people and therefor we can't be a rightous judge when it comes to judging people.  Therefor, we should leave the judging of people to God.  But God did give us the ability to judge right actions from wrong actions.  


Well, I must get to bed.  I pray that this blog has been helpful to you.  Take care and God Bless.


Love,
The Oklahoma Tomcat


www.facebook.com/oktomcat
theoklahomatomcat.blogspot.com/


Ref:  Proverbs 12:26, Proverbs 27:17, 2 Corinthians 6:14, Philippians 3:2, 2 Thessalonians 3:6, Romans 16:17, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37

Who is in control?

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am currently in Abilene, KS at the Alco Distribution Center. I am now on the Alco account where I pick up here and deliver to the Alco stores. It is a real easy and nice account. I like it and I get home every weekend.

This blog is one that I am not just writing for you, but also to remind me. It is a topic I have known for over 5 years but I have gotten away from it. It is based on a sermon that Paster Mike of Crosswalk Community Church in Oklahoma City (http://www.facebook.com/richland.crosswalk). The sermon reminded me that what I was doing was wrong and that I wasn't showing faith or obedience to God.

I have a question for everyone. Do you believe that God is in control over everything? If you said yes, then I ask, do you really? How about when things seem to be going bad for you or for someone you know? Do you believe that God is in control of the situation? If something bad is happening, do you believe 100% that God knew it was going to happen and He is allowing it to happen for a reason? Do you believe that the reason He is allowing it to happen is for good?

These are very very tough questions to answer. Those of us that knows God's word, knows the answer to them is "yes" but we all run into problems where it just doesn't make sense that a loving God would let these things happen and we ask "How in the world can this be used for good?"

Now, let me make this even more complicated. How about our elected leaders? Is God in control when it comes to who we have in power AND the laws they put in place. NOW is God in control or did God just give up on that? Does God have plans for every country and will His plans be carried out? I tell you, not only is God in control, but He is the one that gives our leaders authority (Rom 13:1-3). No one has authority on earth without God giving them authority. So, why would God give authority to people who clearly does wrong?

Throughout the Old Testament we see leaders who had hearts that were hardened. Pharaoh, Caesar, and Herod are three of the most popular Kings. But notice that God said that He gives ALL Authority. If you read through the Bible, you will notice the miracles that God was able to perform because of the king He placed in authority. Yes, these men did terrible things to people. But, God was able to use those terrible things to do better things for His people. There are times when God has to let "bad" people in power to achieve His good. Sometimes it is to wake people up, sometimes it is to prove something to us, sometimes it is to fulfill prophesy, and sometimes it is so He can do something that needs to be done. Whatever it is, we must be faithful to God and we must respect and honor that person who God placed in Authority.

Now, sometimes God does place someone in Authority who is good and a person of God, but that person strays. We see that LOTS of times in the Old Testament. Remember that God knew that person was going to go against Him even before God gave him authority. But God still chose that person and for good reason. Not only did God use that person for His purpose, but it also shows us just how weak we all are. No matter how close to God someone is or how good the person is, everyone falls. This is especially true when the person is given power. No man can rule over another man perfectly. But again, we must respect and honor those who God has given authority to.

Even today, God has complete control and still places people in authority for His good. God has a plan for all the countries and His plans will be carried out no matter what. We, as Christians, must trust that God's plans are good and that He knows what He is doing. Looking at history and reading the Bible, I believe that He is proving to us that what He said in 1 Samuel 8 is true. "This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day." Remember, God was king of Israel before they chose to have a human king. God warned them that a human will not make a good king cause humans are greedy and can't handle power. Back then, they were called king. Today, we call them presidents. This is why when you see countries rise in power, it falls. America is no different. Even thought our founding fathers did set up a great government with the idea that no man can rule over a another man perfectly, America too has a problem. It has a human government that does eventually abuse it's powers. They tried to eliminate this problem by setting up a republic to which the federal government has to follow, but man is week and will figure out ways to get around the laws. God wants to show us that no matter what, man can not make a good government. No matter what type we form, it will abuse the people. This way when God returns, we will have learned our lesson and let Him, the only one that is perfect and good, be king.

So, yes, tougher times are in store for America. But it is to teach us and show us that God was correct. It shows us that no matter how things may appear to us, God is always telling us the truth. So, now I ask you, do you trust God? Do you trust Him enough to stop criticizing the person He has given Authority too? Enough to respect and honor the President? I know it is hard. I am still trying to change my thinking and actions. Just this morning I messed up again and posted something things on facebook that I shouldn't have. But we should keep working on doing what God wants us to. One of the things that helps me is to keep telling myself, "God is in control. He has a handle on this so I don't need to worry."

Now, I will add one thing. By respect and honor, that doesn't mean that we are to obey laws that go against God's word. For instance, lets say a law is made that says you are to no longer pray. What do you do? You continue to pray. Lets say that a law is made that says you are no longer to assemble as a church. What do you do? You continue to assemble. Lets say that a law is made that says your church must perform gay marriages. What do you do? You refuse to do them. Lets say a law is made that says your hospital must perform abortions. What do you do? You don't do them. This example is illustrated by Jesus, the disciples, Apostle Paul, and many others in the Bible. But notice that when they were tried, they still showed respect to Authorities and didn't even fight the person in authority. In fact, many times the king had trouble convicting the person brought before him because the person wasn't right out rebellious. So even when we go against a law that is contrary to God's word, we must be respectful to the people God gives authority to.

I pray that this blog has helped you understand God's Will for you when it comes to our elected leaders. I will continue to work on respecting and honoring those in office and will pray that God helps me. I ask for your prayers too for my flesh is extremely weak in this. I thank you for reading my blog. Take care and God Bless.

Love,
The Oklahoma Tomcat
www.facebook.com/oktomcat

ref: ROMANS 13:1-7, I TIMOTHY 2:1-4, 1 Peter 2:13-25, Matthew 22:21, Acts 4:18-20