Response to immigration plan

How much power does the president have? This seems to be the question of the day lately as "We the People" wait to see what will happen with Obamas immigration plan. Another good question to ask is when relating to human nature, how much is enough? The reason I ask this is because Obama is taking more than his share of the power pie and running with it and trying to get away before mom and dad (legislative and judicial) find out. In a nutshell president Obama is handing out visas, papers and social security numbers to otherwise illegal immigrants merely so that the family's of said people won't get upset. Another point of interest is when looking at the the executive branch, it does not have the power to create laws only to enforce them. Texas representative Lamar Smith stated "This executive order would be a violation of the president’s oath of office and a blatant abuse of power,” (New york times) Smith also stated "The president has sworn an oath of office to uphold the laws, but now he is planning to rewrite them on his own.” (New york times) This is clearly an overstepping of executive's power that needs to be dealt with before this goes too far. Obama knows that with these new Republicans in congress that he's not going to have near as much leeway as he did previously so he's trying to get away with what he can and get out of office before he can face the consequences. In the past Obama tried to win the votes of the Republicans by going on a deporting spree with which advocacy groups labled him "deported and chief". But now seeing that he didn't gain any majority of republican votes by doing this, he wants to cut his losses and move on. But what Obama is really trying to do is two things first he wants to make a name for himself, he wants to be remembered as the one who made family's happy and brought people back together. Second of all by making people happy and gaining their "love" you have secured future votes for your respective political party. So in short what Obama is doing is very illegal but on his part smart. And that's really sad if you, the president of the United States has to do something illegal in order to be praised or honored, which is not what being president is about, it's about serving your people, not yourself.

response to 6th circuit judge, sutton

The events that have been occurring in the United States recently concerning marriage, can be described as an equality revolution for some and a moral catastrophe for others. I can't say much for the forementioned group but as for the latter group, those that speak up about this issue will not sit quietly, they will speak their mind and sixth circuit Court judge Sutton is no exception. Until last weak there was no indication that the decision made by United States vs. Windsor to legalize same sex marriage would be challenged. Enter the sixth circuit Court and judge Jeffrey S. Sutton. When confronted with the choice to either keep marriage between a man and a woman or to legalize same sex marriage, the sixth circuit Court, in a 2-1 decision, elected to keep marriage between a man and a woman. As expected this bit of news blew all of America away and forced the question as to why they decided this way. Judge Sutton argues that marriage was in place long before any  government controlling power, therefore whs the power to change that? This is a shockingly good statement and one that has never been brought up before, if marriage was an institution that created governments, not the other way around, why are we trying to do away with it? Judge Sutton also argues that since marriage between a man and a woman can produce offspring and a marriage between two of the same sex can not, what are you contributing? If you can't contribute to the future of America by producing offspring then what's the point if eventually all the advocates for same sex marriage die off? Now looking at the big picture, will this happen? Will they die off? Probably not, but it is something to think about. In the end judge Sutton offers this, it is not the decision of the courts or judges to change the future of America, it is up to the people of America to settle this democratically. Judge Sutton knows that this issue will go to the Supreme Court, he is also aware that the supreme Court will most likely rule in favor of same sex marriage. All judge Sutton has to say for that is this: "In his opinion, he made clear that this would be a mistake and a violation of the Court’s own logic." (Albert mohler) As for the rest of us that believe this is a moral catastrophe, let us pause for a moment and thank judge Sutton for willingly standing up for the history of America and the future of America, he could have easily just watched and let the events unfold and not say a word. Thankfully he didn't and for that he deserves our thanks. Although Sutton is not a Christian, he deserves our respect for indirectly standing up for our beliefs and doing what we all should do.

Response to Christianity without hell

In a recent Time magazine article by John shore, the thought of Christianity without hell was brought into question. This means that if we as Christians believed that there was no hell only God's divine love for us and that hell did not exist even in the Bible, how would we live? Shore brings up such points as "Christianity without hell would be fearless", and although he puts it nicely he basically says that Christianity would be pointless. The strange thing is that he is right. I never really thought about this until recently after being a Christian the majority of my life but if hell is taken out of the picture, what's left? The thing that Shore doesn't understand is that without hell there is no Christianity, that's like trying to take a fish out of water and telling it to live forever, a fish can't survive without water and Christianity without hell doesn't make sense. The question that Shore should really be asking is, why does hell exist? The reason hell exists in Christianity is to in a sense, separate the boys from the men and the girls from the women. If you can't get past the fact that God is a just God and can't grab the implications of that, you are the boys and girls of the Christian faith. The fact is that Shore is just trying to find a way to make Christianity work without bringing the hardships of hell into it. In a magazine article that Shore wrote in April of 2012 for Patheos titled The Bible and Homosexuality he stated that "the Bible is the bedrock of the Christian faith". If Shore agrees that the Bible is the bedrock, why doesn't he try to find his answers in the bedrock of the Christian faith the Bible and not in wherever he gets his strange notions. Here are the facts, God loves us all, he created us for his pleasure of course he loves us. The problem is that the fact that Jesus loves us is the Broccoli that your mom won't stop feeding you because its "good" for you. We as Americans are told so many times that Jesus loves us that when the hard times come and opposition stares us in the face, we sometimes duck under the opposition and give up and not fight it out like God would want us to. God is a warrior, He's coming back on a white horse not a donkey. As for Shore, all I hope is that before he writes anymore articles on the Christian faith that he would read up on his subject in the Bible. The "bedrock of the Christian faith".

Response to insured abortions

On august 22, 2014, every insurance carrier in California was ordered by the government to start including surgical abortions as "basic health care" in their clients policies. The thing was that this new requirement was passed around quietly and it wasn't until recently that the government has started cracking down on it. As it stands California has not bent to the will of the government and the government doesn't like that. It is rumored that California could lose all government funding if we do not give way to this new requirement. The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) senior counsel Casey mattox says: "No state can blatantly ignore federal law and think that it should continue to receive taxpayer money". Think of the government as a child for a moment who doesn't get what they want and throws a fit and then you'll understand this. Now to the main issue, us Christians. We may look at this and scoff at this and rally together and say this isn't fair or even that this is infringing upon our first amendment rights, which in its own way, is true. But as I've said before in one of my previous blogs, is this kind of attack new? Is this something that is unprecedented in Christian history? Well the answer is no. As I see it now, here in America, we are not running for our lives avoiding getting our heads chopped off, nor are we providing light for dinner parties. I'd say we're living a lot more comfortable than that. Now don't mistake those last few sentences for me being ashamed to protest against the rest of the world for I am not. I have the utmost respect for those who are leading these protests against the  government and the rest of the world. All I wish to convey to all those Christians who think this is the end of the world and that we have lost is this: The truth is that there is no reason to think we have lost, for God is on our side, no one ever said that being a Christian was going to be easy. I can personally testify that being a Christian is one of the hardest things I've ever attempted, I say attempted because everyday is an attempt to live for Christ and not for the world. However, the bad part is, I fail a lot. But in the end I know my little struggles will be worth it, us Christians will all be winners so don't lose faith, but be strengthened knowing that this life is nothing compared to what's ahead. But until that time comes, always remember that God's light always shines brightest when darkness is at hand.

Response to Missionary doctor criticism

Recently, Missionary doctors have been the subject of controversy over the treating of the virus Ebola. You see where secular organizations have pulled out because there is no more limelight in treating Ebola, the Christian doctors have stayed and continued to treat the virus. To non-believers this seems like a completely outrageous concept, why risk your life treating those lower than you? Yet the Missionary doctors continue to stay with no plan to pull out in the near future, and this bothers some people. An article written by Brian Palmer for "Slate" magazine, said "It's great that these people are doing God's work, but do they have to talk about him so much? Obviously this man is ignorant about Christianity and knows nothing about it. But is that not why we as Christians do acts like this? To show God's glory and love for us? Galatians 5:13 states that: "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Now to those who are unfamiliar to the Christian faith, I pray this sheds some light for you and answers your question as to why Missionary doctors stay behind and serve the people of Africa. It is because where secular doctors and missionaries do it to be in the limelight or get the paycheck, those missionary doctors are called to a higher purpose than a lame paycheck, and that is to be a servant to the rest of the world. Jesus was on this earth for 33-34 years before he was crucified, there wasn't a second that he wasted in doing something for a profit or doing something selfish. The creator of everything laid down his life for us sinners, that in and of itself is enough to answer the question of why Missionaries stay, why Missionaries risk their life, and why Missionaries can't stop spreading God's word. But those who refuse to accept that fact look for other answers, they don't find them and they justify their way to their own doctrine. And this is what has become the modern doctrine, welcome to the American Gospel. 

A complex God

As Christians we know that we are made in God's image therefore if we are made in the image of an all-knowing and perfect God, don't you think that He would make us complex and not simple? George Johnson writer of the article "Creation, in the Eye of the beholder" states in the article that "When we see such intricate symmetry, our brains automatically assume there was an inventor". Later in the article Johnson states "If God is so powerful, why would he need to assemble eyes with such an elaborate structure". If we were made simple and not complex and God claimed to create us, couldn't Johnson make the argument go the other way? He could just simply say, If God is so powerful why did he create us so simply? However, since God is so powerful he wants to put his power on display for the rest of the world to see. Johnson also states that "creationists and conspiracy theorists share is a deep disbelief in accidents". These "accidents that Johnson is relating to are accidents that are not recorded in any form of history. However, where Johnson questions Christianity and creation, we have documented proof (The Bible) that creation occurred and by knowing God's nature as perfect in other words He cannot lie, it is true. I am a seeing is believing person and for me it is sometimes hard to grasp and believe the things of God. However when I look around and see these complex fixtures from the beauty of the human eye to the hugeness of the Milky Way Galaxy I know that there is something else out there, something of so much more power than myself. In reality evolutionists aren't that far off because when God created the universe, I'm sure it was the biggest bang in the history of the world. 

Response to Isis

It's been about a month since the terrorist group Isis televised the beheading of reporter James Foley. Several beheadings later with at least two televised, we are finally targeting Isis oil refineries from which the terrorist group gets their income. Isis started out to be a regional issue for surrounding areas like Syria and Iraq but soon they became an issue for the U.S. However, as we get farther and farther into this ordeal, we are finding that the rest of the world is getting in on the hunt for Isis. France especially is taking some heat. Recently Isis stated that "If you can kill a disbelieving American or European - especially the spiteful and filthy French... then do so" (The Local). France responded to these threats by stating that they were "not afraid" and that "France is prepared to respond to their threats."
As stated before, it is now clear that the world not just the U.S. is being targeted by Isis and accordingly, Isis is not only being targeted by the U.S. but also by the rest of the world. Even Vladmir Putin has been looking to join the coalition against Isis. If this is true, then that means that the tension the U.S. has had with Russia will go on the backburner if not go away all together. The people of America also need to unite, to put aside their differences and stand up for what they believe. We need to put aside our little squabbles as a nation and focus on the big picture. If Isis takes control then there will be no more freedom for anyone. So before more people start wanting more rights for issues like gay marriage, worry about what will take away your freedoms and rights if given the chance.
As a nation and as a country, we need to unite and put down this common enemy, and in the process of doing so we may happen upon of a time of peace unprecedented in decades where countries live without fear of nuclear war, where people have a sense of security, and where the patriotism of all is unquestionable.