This country has it all. Good soil to grow just about any crop you want to plant. Our land is full of precious minerals that we could mine. Everything about this country was perfect. So, what happened? Why have we become so dependent on other countries for the things we have right here in our own backyard? Why do we import everything these days?

It is so important for a country to be self-sufficient. For example: When we entered World War I & II, we were able to produce everything needed to sustain ourselves. We can't do that these days, a lot of contracts have been given to foreign countries. We also rely too much on imports. What if we went to war with one or two or more of these countries? What would happen if our enemy took over the country(ies) that we rely on for minerals or parts for our jets or basically anything that is not mined or manufactured here? We lost our self-sufficiency. We have no one to blame but ourselves.

We let too many things happen to this country. We let athiests tell us we can't pray here or there. They tell us we have to remove God from this country. This country was built on God by faith and trust in Him. This country cannot survive without God, as you will see. It's already falling apart. We let the immorals of homosexuality have it's way. We all hate child molesters, yet we let people manufacture and sell costumes or lingerie that makes a woman look like a little girl. Look at our prisons, filled to the max. Sex is totally out of control, there's nothing sacred about it anymore, by the way things are going, kids will be having sex before they're 10 years old.

Families are almost non-existent. Kids are out of control. Our youth are not getting properly educated. Too much reliability on technology(we don't have to use our mind anymore). Both parents have to work to keep up with the wants. God will take care of our needs, provided we love Him. This is why both parents have to get a job these days. God doesn't want to see broken homes or families that are apart even though they live together. I remember when the Father would go to work and the mother would be at home for the family. It was nice to get up in the morning to a good breakfast, come home from school and mom would be there waiting. In the evening we would all have a good wholesome dinner together, not fast food garbage or frozen dinners. This was a great time for the family to interact with each other.

Everyone seems to be so self-absorbed these days. Instead of how can I help, it's what can I do for me. There is a great lack of consideration for one another. Instead of people being considerate, it seems like they want to make others angry. If you need an example, just take drive somewhere, it won't be long before you see what I'm talking about. Inconsideration, purposely doing things to annoy others, or just plain being ignorant is nothing more than Hate. It's all in your attitude. If you want to have a pleasant day, then be pleasant. If you want to be miserable, then keep it to yourself.

From time to time, things go wrong, mistakes happen, as well as accidents. Nobody's perfect, we need to remember this. When someone makes a mistake we need to help them through it, not make it worse for them. This is called compassion, a form of love. Be grateful for what you have, there's always someone worse off than you.

Greed has many different forms. It already has caused this country to be on the verge of a depression. The world itself is close to a global economic colapse. Things are happening all over the world that we need to be concerned about. Natural disasters, famine, disease, terrorism, a new super power on the rise (which will be a big threat to us & I don't think we're going to win this one).

What happened to this country? What happened to the world? Why are we putting up with terrorism? Why do we even negotiate with these people? You can't negotiate with hate. Israel has been trying for years. They keep giving away land in exchange for a peace deal and the U. S. even coaxed them into it. They have given away land that rightfully belonged to them. They're almost out of land. The land they've traded for peace, still hasn't brought them any peace, only more terrorists. They almost have Israel completely surrounded. Egypt is the only one left and they're hooking up with Iran and going to break ties with Isreal. Israel right now wants to give up half of Jerusalem. Israel, the United States and England seem to be wimping out these days. Not having God as head of a nation is a big mistake.

Back when Israel had faith in God, they were strong, the ultimate warriors, just as they were in the Old Testament days. Look at the Six Day War, it was an impossible feat for any country to accomplish what they did in six days. God was certainly with them then. History repeats itself, great nations come and go like the wind. With God, nothing is impossible. When we start pushing God away disaster happens. These things are happening right now to Israel, the United States and England.

It's not going to get better until we get better, in other words Wake Up! Man seems to always want to do things his way. Why? Because of pride. God created this planet and He created us. One other of man's downfalls is teaching evolution. God knows better than anyone about how things are supposed to be done, whether it's farming, or how to set up a community so there isn't people living on top of people causing diseases and how to punish criminals so crimes will cease, even how to pay taxes (one tax - 10%). We have more taxes than we know what to do with. God gives us all the instructions we need to be healthy, properous and so no one goes without. We could be free from all misery, so why are we so stupid? We wouldn't let someone operate on us without knowing that that person was properly instructed on how to perform an operation would we? How about work on our car or build a house for us or teach our kids in school?

There's a perfect instruction manual available to us on everything we need to know about life and how to live it. This manual is called the Bible. It was given to us by our ever so loving God. If we all would follow His Instructions, we could all live together in perfect harmony. We would be able to live our lives in total peace and freedom without fear. God wants to bless us so much, He dosen't want us to suffer. All God is asking is that we love Him back. Why is that so hard? Such a small price to pay for peace and happiness.

May God Bless You and Your Family

By: Robert Lee

There was a man who worked for a painting contractor. When he began his employment he was a mere laborer with no skills. After many years of being taught by his fellow workers he became a master of his trade.

This man was sent one day to paint the exterior of the largest building in the city. As he painted many passed by and admired his workmanship and skill, the man continued to focus on the task before him.

Near the end of his task a small crowd had gathered and was admiring the work of his hands. At this moment the painters who had trained this man stopped by. When these men beheld how the crowd admired his workmanship they began to shout; "This man was trained by us, without us he would be nothing".

These painters had taught this man many things, but what they were not aware of was that the owner of the company had taken this man under his wings, and when the other painters had gone home for the day this man would remain at the office where the owner would instruct him.

As the job was ending, the owner of the company stopped by. He inspected the job and replied; "Well done".

At this, the other painters began to reply; "We have done many jobs that are more beautiful than this".

The master painter-the owner of the company, then responded; "This man has done this job exactly as I have instructed him to do".

By this time the crowd had grown to such a number that they could not be numbered.

The other painters rose up again before the multitude and began to point out all the flaws in the paint job. One by one they began to proclaim such things as, I would not have left this area unpainted, I would have chosen another color, I would have used a higher quality paint, I would have used a paint with less gloss!

At these sayings, the master painter spoke again. Didn't you hear me? This man has done no more and no less than that which I instructed him to do! At this rebuke the other painters stormed off in anger.

The master painter and his workman went on to do many a job together, and most of the other painters moved on to work for themselves and opened their own businesses.

The years seemed to fly by and the workman began to grow old, but he never forgot the day when the master painter had sent him into the city to paint the name of Jesus on the largest building he could find!

It is an impossibility for the carnally minded to look upon the things of God and perceive their Spiritual meaning or significance.

Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Robert Lee has studied and taught the Word of God for over 25 years. His website is http://www.b2bf.com Born To Be Free. Part of the generation that seen the last true move of the Spirit of God.

Therefore the man who schemes to obtain an alternate amount of grace is offensive to God. This man’s thinking is overrun with sinful rottenness; the fruit of his actions will be only greater discontentment and frustration. This is the folly of churchgoers who desire both Godly freedom and worldly riches at the same time.

Tragically, the majority of American Christendom strives against the Lord and tortures themselves by trying to adapt His Spirit to their own worldly, versions of faith. Churchgoers think they’re pretty clever for living a way that looks the part while their hearts are filled with every kind of bitterness and putrefaction. Many who sit in their usual pews and listen faithfully to the weekly sermon are willfully misguided so they can ignore God as long as they want.

Deceived people suppose they can call the shots for their faith, but every deceived person is only an underling of the head master of deception himself. Deception in general is designed by the father of lies to destroy people all the while giving them the illusion of control. But trusting anything or anyone besides Christ amounts to eternal futility as well as boldfaced rebellion against our Maker.

Misguided people suppose that they can occupy themselves with more than one, life-enveloping object at once. Satan is quite content to divide people’s hearts into two or three parts (or into something they suppose is a careful balance between God and other things). The opponent is delighted to divide people any way they desire. He is content with this because he knows, and Christ confirms it, that a soul cannot be balanced between God and something else, but only 100% enslaved to God or else 100% enslaved to the father of lies. Distracted, divided men will not help to bring the kingdom of God to earth, but rather they will only contribute their frustrations to an already frustrated world.

Religion in particular distracts and divides men to the point that they forget altogether what Spirit-led, God-pleasing obedience might even look like. Mind-numbing, religious activity keeps churchgoers from noticing the disturbing state of their rebellious hearts. The subtlety here is that people’s success in religion leads them to suppose they are successful from God's point of view.

But to the Lord, who is Spirit and Truth, outward signs are not of primary importance. In fact, He so jealously desires the undivided souls of His chosen people that He will kill their bodies to save their souls. He won’t hesitate to do away with what was dying anyway in order to secure that which is undying. This sounds harsh to the shallow, distraction-loving masses but, nevertheless, God is too smart to mix up His eternal, heavenly priorities with the fleeting priorities of men.

This leads us to the fact that God cares less about tasks in themselves and more about the state of our hearts as we strive toward obedience. Of course, we should value right action, but God desires a far more fundamental prerequisite, which is that our hearts, souls and motivations for living should be upright before His omniscient perception. This is especially obvious in regards to Christ’s church, whose calling amounts to much more than finishing a list of chores. It is the extent to which we belong to Him, from the inside-out, that really matters.

And Godly obedience amounts to much more than some mysterious, evasive guessing game. It is following the powerful, unmistakable lead of God's Spirit among us.

Fellowship amongst believers is a good example of the “how it’s done” coming before the “what is done.” Though fellowship doesn’t accomplish any measurable task, yet it is, in itself, a vital aspect of God's kingdom. Obedient action within Christ's church depends more on how we relate to each other than how high and wide we stack our religious bricks or how many people we’ve successfully assembled into one of our buildings.

If God leads us into working together as a spiritual family to build some physical structure, then the flawlessness of our finished, physical product is not our first priority (though we should strive for excellence in everything we do). But God, in His wisdom, cares more about the state of my heart as I hand the hammer over to my workmate than He cares about how well any nail is secured into a wooden board. He cares about how I ask for that bucket of paint, even despite my physical fatigue. The ultimate purpose for this is to lead us into trusting Christ first. Then it will be obvious to the world that it is He who works out every meaningful aspect of our lives.

Therefore, when in doubt, let’s determine nothing more than to love God, our spiritual family and whoever is our neighbor so that there will be more than concrete and wood that holds up our construction.

Following Christ is necessarily humbling to the man who takes his life into his own hands. All-abandoning trust in God is, in fact, offensive to the natural, willful man.

A churchgoing man who, in reality, is distant from God might say glibly, “Oh yes, God could easily do anything He liked, even without my help…” and then go on to deny this by never consulting the Lord before he goes about his daily business. The foolishness of sinful hypocrisy is to acknowledge Christ and yet hold Him at arm’s length, choosing instead to plod along fruitlessly.

Therefore it remains for spiritually infantile manly-men, or anyone else who wants to be spiritually potty-trained, to humble themselves and seek out Christ with childlike sincerity. This includes well-seasoned churchgoers, no matter how sure they are of themselves and their right answers. It is appropriate for such people as these, who are still dribbling, spiritual toddlers, to weep and moan in light of their desperate need for God's mercy.

How frustrating God's wisdom must be to the working man who prides himself in the sweat of his brow! Tragically, this is the majority of men, both inside and outside of church walls. Fleshly men work today in order to earn for themselves the right to look backward and say, “Look at what I’ve done!” Then they bolster themselves, assuming they will live another day, saying, “Look at what I’m going to do!” But this clashes with Christ’s command for us, which is: Trust God alone and be content whatever blessing He sees fit to give us.

What man can boast in his future? No mortal can know whether this day is his last. The future does not yet exist.

On a similar note, Christ did not respect the most impressive religious construction of His day. He chided those who gazed at men’s buildings, because He knew the day was close at hand when not one brick would be left sitting upon another. That which men plant must whither and die quickly, Christ says, but that which God plants can never be uprooted.

Look and marvel at this, O earthly man, that Christ commands His followers to pray for only enough to survive today and yet at the same time seek the fullness of God’s glory on earth. He injects heavenly significance into everyday things, which has the side-effect of minimizing men and maximizing God in men. This is a terrifying prospect for those who are in love with their itineraries and plans. Do we dare ask God if our plans might fit into His?

Obedience to Christ requires that we should continually ask Christ, “How, Lord, might a people such as ourselves ever contribute to Your heavenly plans? Lord, please bring us to whatever place you want us to be. Put us on the same page as You, forcibly if needs be!”

This is an excerpt from To the Church of the West, Scattered Throughout the World. Find this book and similar articles at www.BooksByPatrick.com