Fifth Sunday of Eastertide-May 25
22
May
Develop new ministries Our society glorifies personal accomplishments, but we are limited as we try to accomplish things alone. The church needs to take this time to help members discover where they can use their gifts in current ministries and survey the community to discover the needs around it so it can develop new ways to minister to those in need and use the gifts of those who don’t fit in current ministries. Many churches continue to put their effort into the same old ministries it has always carried out and fail to take advantage of newly discovered gifts and the changing needs around it. The church also needs to introduce its members to Christian Social Service agencies that may have need of their talents.
Politics-AB-AY
22
May
The Democratic party has always been autocratic. While they call themselves Democrats, they do not support the vote by the general population. It was founded by the Aristocrats in the South to protect slavery. They felt they knew better than the slaves and poor Whites what was best for them. The party was formed with a strong central leadership that has frequently overruled the will of their members. It has continued to be run by the leadership but has become more dictatorial in recent years. The Democratic Party now has a large number of delegates at large which includes former Presidents, major donors, and other important people. In the national convention, after the vote by the delegates elected by the States, the delegates at large add their votes. There are enough of them to alter a close vote. Both Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden were eventually nominated to be the Democrat candidate, yet both complained that they had been passed over in the nomination for president in previous elections, even though they won the Democratic primaries. It was evident in the vote for Obamacare. Several pro-life Democrats in Congress refused to vote for the abortion amendment. They were called to the White and later voted for the amendment. Apparently President Obama threatened to withhold support from the Democrat party and Planned Parenthood which would have crippled their reelection campaigns. The Republican Party was formed to oppose slavery and has usually been responsive to the will of their members. They have very few members at large and they generally support the candidate elected in the primaries. While they encourage their members to vote for certain legislation, they don’t blackmail them to get them to comply.
politics-AB-AX
22
May
It is only now that we are learning the full intentions of the Democratic leadership in its constant attack on Donald Trump. Not only did they want to discredit him so they could get control of the office of President so they could carry out their liberal agenda. They knew the American people would not support their agenda and vote them on its merits. They also wanted to get the American public so used to the baseless accusations that when their own crimes came out, people would simply dismiss them as baseless accusations and not take them seriously. Hillary Clinton knew that if Donald Trump became President that he would begin investigating her use of her own computer to shield her from discovery of her dealings with Russia and the Arabs to undermine the security of the United States. By keeping the government tied up in investigating Trump, they would not have time to look into what she had been doing. By selling our uranium to Russia and sacrificing the diplomatic staff at Benghazi to avoid exposure of her dealings with the terrorists, she was aiding and assisting those seeking to overthrow the United States. She provided the information to the FBI that they used to discredit Donald Trump by leaking it to the media and the Democratic leadership used to impeach Trump, both of them knowing the information was fake. In addition, the FBI tried to cover up the discovery of Hunter Biden’s laptop knowing it contained a lot of incriminating evidence against him. Such actions indicates corruption at the highest levels of government and poses a clear threat to a democracy.
Politics-AB-AW
22
May
It is shocking the more we hear about how incapacitated Joe Biden was and how his aides and leaders of the Democratic party hid the fact so they could use him to further their own interests. In effect, we went four years without a President because he was incapable of making rational decisions. His aides literally ran his office. We are fortunate that our enemies did not take advantage of it to attack to United States or its offices abroad. We would not have been able to launch any kind of defense with no one in the White House capable of making rational decisions. Our economy fell apart, our border security fell apart, and the deep state took advantage of the occasion to further their own interests. In addition, President Biden’s son and family took advantage of his term as Vice-President and as President to enrich themselves using his influence. Yet people wonder why President Trump has had to be so heavy handed in cleaning out the corruption in our government.
Study course-Economics 102-Government Influence
15
May
https://www.udemy.com/course/economics-102/?referralCode=A64E23B9A6657623E1D8
Fourth Sunday of Eastertide-May 18
15
May
Seek Gifts Eastertide is a time of preparation for ministry. The disciples prayed together for the power (Holy Spirit) Jesus had promised. The church should be united in prayer as we seek the gifts that God has given us and where God would have us use our gifts. Although it is a personal search, it should be undertaken together with the church, seeking guidance and feedback from our fellow believers. We need the support and direction of the body of Christ to help us locate our individual gifts because we often confuse where we want to serve (because of the prestige) with where we are gifted to serve and would enjoy serving. Those who know us can help us explore various areas of service to see where we can contribute our gifts. Too often the church pressures people to serve where there is an opening even when the person does not enjoy it or have the needed gifts. (See “The Important I” which I wrote to help those seeking God’s will for their life).
Economics-F-B
15
May
Many people see the price increases resulting from the new tariffs, and don’t bother to understand the reasons behind them. The United States prospered after World War II because the manufacturing plants in Europe were destroyed and the United States was supplying the manufacturing products to the world with no competition. In addition, many of the homes and businesses were destroyed so they needed a lot to rebuild. Our manufacturing was not destroyed in the war and had greatly expanded to produce a lot of the war materials for the Allies. They were quickly converted to peacetime production. Without competition, unions forced pay increases which greatly increased the cost of goods and companies did not bother to modernize equipment to cut production costs. With the newfound prosperity, Americans could afford to pay the higher prices. When Europe began to rebuild its manufacturing, they built the most modern facilities. Their wages were far lower and with new cost saving equipment, they were able to sell far below our cost. In addition, Europe imposed tariffs on goods from the United States to protect their manufacturers from American competition, but the United States did not impose tariffs in return. As a result, we lost the overseas sales and our retailers began importing goods from overseas because they were cheaper than American made goods. It destroyed our manufacturing and forced many manufacturers to move their plants overseas where they could produce goods cheaper. It not only cost us jobs, it also reduced the money received from taxes on the goods produced. In addition, it made us dependent on foreign manufacturers which was evident after 9-11 and after Covid when our borders were sealed cutting off goods from other countries, because our manufacturers were not ready to produce what we needed. By President Trump imposing tariffs on other countries, he increased the cost of goods from overseas so our manufactures could compete. It also forced other countries to reduce their tariffs on our goods. More important, it encouraged manufacturers to move their plants back to the U.S bringing the jobs and the money from taxes with them. It will raise prices some because we will no longer have low cost foreign goods available but that should have been done a long time ago before we became addicted to low cost foreign goods. It boils down to which you want more, a job, or low cost foreign goods you can’t afford.
Economics-F-A
15
May
Critics accuse President Trump of causing price increases by instituting tariffs. They forget some critical things. President Biden raided the treasury in the last three months of his term to give out trillions of dollars, which were not in the budget. A lot of those funds were untraceable. The huge government spending further fueled the inflation beyond that from his previous spending. In addition, it added a tremendous amount to the national debt. It was designed to break the bank and force the country into a depression which they would blame on President Trump. He also added a large number of new workers which vastly increased the cost of government. Many of those workers were assigned to spy on and harass those who opposed their socialist policies. We have no record of any previous President going so far to ensure that his successor failed. To avoid a financial meltdown, President Trump had no choice but to make drastic cuts in spending to offset the trillions of dollars that President Biden spent. In addition, he had to lay off many of the workers that President Biden hired since they served the Democrat party and not the country.