Wolves, Sheep and Sheepdogs

I know that I have mentioned and posted this before; however it is such an important mindset, issue of the heart to remember.  We live in a fallen world, evil abounds.  Whether you believe in him or not we have an enemy, if you don't believe in him then he has already won the battle, subterfuge is his best weapon along with complacency.  Dave Grossman has written a book called On Killing.  I have yet to read the book (although I plan on doing it soon); however I have read the article he wrote On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs.  This is an article that has shaped my mindset on evil, and I am not only talking about whether I will carry my pistol or not, more so it is being aware of the evil in this world.  Paul states it so eloquently in Ephesians 6:10-18.  I want to focus just on the first couple of verses.  Starting in verse 10 Paul states, "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."  Ultimately we are fighting an enemy of our hearts.  Just as we are under his attack, so are others.  John states in the Gospel of John the following, starting in John 3:16, and skipping ahead to verse 19.  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." and then vs. 19, "And this the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."  The two verses in between talk about how Christ came into the world to not condemn the world.  Please be sure to read it in context.  Notice how God redeems the world through His son, but because people love the darkness, they reject Him.  The enemy has enticed people in their hearts to love the darkness.  It is an age old problem.  No matter what we do while we are on this earth evil will exist.  God will set that wrong to right at the final judgment, until then we must do what Paul states in Ephesians.

With all that being said God gave us the ability to be prepared for that evil both in the spiritual, as outlined in Ephesians, and in the physical.  Nehemiah was tasked with rebuilding Jerusalem after it had been destroyed by the Babylonians because the nation of Israel had turned their hearts against God.  The first task that Nehemiah set out to do was to rebuild the wall that protected Jerusalem.  While he did this his enemies set out to stop the rebuilding, their hearts were set on lawlessness and evil.  So let's pick up the story in Nehemiah 4 (again please read in the entirety, I am going to focus on the highlights) where Nehemiah sets a watch day and night (vs9).  He positions men and their families near the unfinished portions of their walls with their swords, their spears, and their bows (vs13).  He then has half the people worked at construction and the other half  held the weapons (vs16).  Even those that worked, while they worked one hand built the wall and the other held a weapon (vs17).  Nehemiah armed the people, he prepared them for the wolves, they were sheepdogs, they were prepared for the evil.

Dave Grossman in the following article talks about the mindset of being prepared for evil, protecting those that we love and guarding against murder.  Please read the article and consider what you are and what you would like to be.  Here is the Article

Lastly, watch this 20 minute video (located here).   It is an interview with Dave Grossman and Tim Schmidt, President of the United States Concealed Carry Association.  Keep in mind this interview was done several months ago.  I am interested in any healthy discussion on the topic so please leave any comments below.

I will end this post with this thought:  We must be prepared for evil both spiritually and physically.  Our nation, which means the people of this nation, have wholly rejected God and His commandments.  God did not make us robots and will allow us to walk the path we have chosen (as a nation), he has given us over to our depraved minds (Romans 2:24).  There are consequences to every action.

Perspective

A couple of great articles with perspective on the mass murders.  This is such a terrible tragedy and  unfortunately is "nothing new under the sun" Ecclesiastes 1:9.  Take a look at this Wikipedia article on a very early mass murder in America dating back to the French/Indian War:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac%27s_Rebellion_school_massacre

Some additional reading.

Good article on the firearm issue:
Massad Ayoob
http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/2012/12/15/against-monsters/

Great article on the heart of the issue.  I highly recommend this one!
http://tybenbow.blogspot.com/2012/12/reflecting-on-american-tragedy.html



One last thing I will say.  I have observed a lot of discussion on Facebook between "friends" on the gun issue.  I would encourage everyone to have an actual conversation about the issue, debate vigorously but don't divide.

Step by Step

It has been just over a year since we have moved to Colorado.  It has been a journey of full of mountain top experiences, hikes through the valley and even crawling through some dark places; however the Lord has been faithful through it all.  I want to share just some of what I have learned over the past year and what I still learning to this very day.  This will take several posts, so please be patient with me as I step through this journey. 

I updated my playlist to start off with Rich Mullins' song Sometimes by Step.  That song has been such an incredible guide for me.  Our last Sunday at Living Springs Community Church back on Sunday, September 18, 2011 Pastor Kirk taught a message to us that he called "Step by Step: Abraham: Genesis 12-25".  There were five key ideas he shared about vision and letting the Lord lead you step-by-step (Shared with permission from Kirk and Livings Springs Community Church).  This has been a guide to me over the last year and has become more real to me that I ever could have imagined.  I have experienced in some way each of the points covered below:

I.    Being called & Led
    a.    Be available to be led by a vision
    b.    Build altars along the way
        i.    Serve as reminder of our vision
        ii.    encourage us to continue the journey
        iii.    inspire faith in us when times are dry
    c.    call upon the name of the Lord
        i.    make your vision about honoring God with your life
        ii.    worship the Lord along the way
        iii.    walk with God, step-by-step
II.    Fighting for your vision
    a.    There are forces against your vision
    b.    there are allies standing with you regarding your vision
        i.    share your vision with these people
        ii.    have these people pray for you
        iii.    Allow the Lord to bring people into your life that He will use to help your vision along the way
    c.    Giving so the Lord gets the glory
        i.    A form of trusting God with your vision
        ii.    The way of honoring God with your blessings
        iii.    Generosity strengthens your vision but also the faith of those around you
        iv.    Makes our outcome reliant upon God’s blessing   
III.    Believing
    a.    Genesis 15
IV.    Growing through mistakes as we pursue vision
    a.    Abram lies to Pharaoh about Sarai, Genesis 12:10-20
    b.    Sarai gives Abram Hagar to bear them children, Genesis 16
    c.    Sarah lies to the Lord about laughing, Genesis 18:13-15
    d.    Abraham lied to Abimelech, King of Gerar about Sarah, Genesis 20.

Proverbs 24:16 – for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity NIV

V.    Living Your Vision
    a.    Carrying the marks of your vision, Genesis 17
    b.    The birth, Genesis 21
    c.    Growth, Genesis 22
    d.    Tests of obedience, Genesis 22:12 (The test of Abraham over sacrificing Isaac)
    e.    Even through loss, Genesis 23:1, 2 (Sarah died)
    f.    By passing it on, Genesis 25:5-11
Conclusion:
    Proverbs 16:1-3
    Proverbs 16:9

This sermon had a profound affect on us.  I would encourage you to familiarize yourself with Abraham's story in Genesis 12-25 before continuing onto the subsequent posts.  This journey has been and will continue to be step by step for Shannon and I.

Innocents Betrayed - True Story of Gun Control

A friend shared this video with me.  I hesitated sharing it here simply due to the extremely graphic nature of the video, there are pictures where it displays death and destruction so please be forewarned on this.  With that said, I think knowing history is extremely important because if we do not learn from our past we are going to repeat it.  While this deals with gun control, evil men, and evil regimes, that principle can be applied in every aspect of our lives.  Proverbs 26:11 reminds me of this in my own life:

"As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly."

The video can be fount at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=137bWHaAA1o&feature=related

I write this for my sons, because one day I fear that either my sons, or their children will have to one day fight again for their freedom, not just because of what our government has become, but because there are enemies of God and His people.  For me, it hearkens back to what Nehemiah did when he was rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem and there were enemies all around them that were trying to murder the workers and destroy the people:

Nehemiah 4:18: "Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built."

Men it is our responsibility to protect our families and to protect those we love.  It starts in the home with principles, being men after God's own heart.  This is a just one principle.

Senators Call for Gun Ban

So we knew it would be just a matter of time before before folks would call for gun bans in light of the recent tragedy in Aurora.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/21/mass-shooting-prompts-calls-from-capitol-hill-and-beyond-for-tighter-gun-laws/?test=latestnews

So while the 44 - 50 million Americans that legally carry and own firearms and don't go out and commit mass murder Senators will call for gun bans because of a single deranged individual.  I highlight my previous post where more people are killed every year because of drunk drivers than because of assaults with guns.  If we use the same line of thinking or logic that these Senators use we need to ban vehicles and alcohol.  People need to think critically, think for themselves and do what is right here.  It was ALL about this deranged psycho and not about the guns.  Again it goes back to the heart.

Aurora Tragedy and Guns

The shootings in Aurora are tragedies for all those involved so first and foremost pray for those affected.  With that said it never ceases to amaze me how when something like this happens folks immediately attack the guns, and not those behind the guns.  Let’s look at some statistics:

 The National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 60, No. 3, December 29,2011 that shows the death statistics compiled for the year 2009 we have the following (see page 93 of the link below):

Assault (homicide) by discharge of firearms:                          11,493

Assault (homicide) by other than discharge of firearm:          5,306

Total Homicide:                                                                       16,799

Drug-induced deaths                                                                39,147

Alcohol-induced deaths                                                           24,518

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_03.pdf

Additional Statistics from other sources (documented below the stat:

2010 DUI Deaths:                                                                    13,365

http://www.bts.gov/publications/by_the_numbers/drunk_driving/index.html

2010 Homicide Deaths by firearm:                                          8,752

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded/expandhomicidemain

Number of Americans who legally own firearms:                   45 million to 50 million (depending on various websites you look at)

Observations about those statistics:

1.       When it comes to assault-homicide (the act of murdering another human being) a firearm is the preferred method of performing the act, as opposed to say a baseball bat or knife.  It is effective.

2.       The 2010 numbers show that there was a decline in murder by firearm from 2009, while the number of firearms owners is at an all-time high: http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/28/gun-crime-continues-to-decrease-despite-increase-in-gun-ownership/

3.       A human being was either behind the trigger or driving the car after drinking alcohol.

I think what the numbers above reveal is that guns don’t pull their own triggers just like cars don’t drive themselves.  So is the gun evil, is alcohol evil, and is the car evil?  The answer is no, it’s how those things are used.  So that brings us to what is the cause, well it is a matter of the heart.  This young man in Aurora decided in his own heart that he would perform these evil acts; he just used guns to carry out his intentions.  I personally know of many people that willingly get into a car under the influence of alcohol and that have also hurt or killed folks because of that action.  My question is what is the difference?  Well at the root of it, it’s a matter of the heart.  Unintentional selfishness can be just as devastating as intentional selfishness.  This young man in Aurora was very selfish and as a result had very evil intentions in his heart and used tools to carry out those intentions.  Guns, just like an automobile are tools.  Guns can be used for recreation, feeding your family (hunting) and for protecting yourself from people whose hearts have evil intentions.  The interesting thing about a criminal is that they don’t care about the law.  So is the criminal act of driving drunk any different than the criminal act of murdering someone with a gun?  Neither person cared about the law, much less the person that they injured or killed. 

Those that are hell-bent on hurting others will find a way, whether by a gun, a baseball bat, a pen, a knife, a car, whatever it is all about their heart.  They will find a way to accomplish what they want.  Let’s deal with the root issue, people’s hearts.

Here are some other interesting facts about Gun use:

http://gunowners.org/fs0404.htm

Google Joins the Anti-gun club

Google Joins the Anti-gun club which is why I will be discontinuing my use of Google mail, unfortunately there are no real competitors to Google when it comes to blogging.  I have watched over the last few years how anti-gun groups have used subterfuge to quietly accomplish their anti-gun agendas.  Doing business with like minded individuals used to be easier; however in today's internet age and "global economy" that has become harder and harder to do.  We end up doing business with companies that use our money against the very ideals and values that we spend money to support, which essentially negates those funds and even worse supports (indirectly) the very thing we are against.  Please understand that I don't think that this will make any dent in Google's business or in their anti-gun agenda and left wing thinking; however it is important that I uphold the values, principles and ideals so that my sons and their children will take note and one day make those same types of decisions.  Please visit my new blog at http://www.dontmissthejourney.com.  Also, please be patient as it will take me some time to get things updated and functioning again.

Here is a link to some of the news around Google's new policy on guns.  While I understand that this only affects the shopping aspects there is no way to know how Google adjusts their search results and I have to believe that their money is going to anti-gun PAC's and politicians.

http://nation.foxnews.com/google-banning-firearm-sales/2012/07/01/google-bans-firearm-accessories-its-shopping-services
http://www.forbes.com/sites/frankminiter/2012/07/05/google-sadly-joins-the-anti-gun-brigade/
http://news.yahoo.com/google-crosshairs-over-gun-ban-222640258.html

Great Men

There have been so many great men that have lived through the ages. What intrigues me more is how they got that way, what was their makeup? Great men (or women) are not created overnight they are usually born in adversity and had to really work (although they would call it living) through life.

I have been reading Sergeant York and the Great War and am almost half way through the book. It is really just a collection of Sergeant York's journals and reflections on his life through World War I. For those who don't know, Sergeant York was considered one of the greatest heroes of WWI. Here is an excerpt as to why:

Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964) was one of the most decorated American soldiers in World War I.^[1] He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nest, taking 32 machine guns, killing 28 German soldiers and capturing 132 others. This action occurred during the U.S.-led portion of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France, which was part of a broader Allied offensive masterminded by Marshal Ferdinand Foch to breach the Hindenburg line and make the opposing German forces surrender.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_C._York)

York did not act in that moment because of who he was in that moment, rather he acted that way because of who he was. Here is an excerpt from the book that so far sums up what I have read and the sort of man that Alvin C. York was:

"So I was saved!
And that is the greatest victory I ever won. It's much harder to whip yourself than to whip the other fellow, I'm a-telling you, and I ought to know because I done, both. It was much harder for me to win the great victory over myself than to win it over those German machine guns in the Argonne Forest. And I was able to do it because my mother's love led me to God, and He showed me the light, and I done followed it." (Sergeant York and the Great War, pages 60-61)

After those amazing feats of bravery and leadership, Sergeant York was offered a life a fame and money, a movie was even made about him and to this day folks still talk about his bravery. Sergeant York wanted nothing more than to return to the mountains of northern Tennessee to live the life that he'd always known, he turned that life of fame and money down because he felt that he did what he must. It was all he knew and that made him a great man.

Sonship

I have been reading more of Fathered By God and there was an idea in the book that John Eldredge talked about and it was this idea of sonship, stating that "Forgiveness is not the goal. Coming home to the Father is the goal." (Page 32) How often do we as Christians focus on the fact that we are forgiven rather than on the fact that because we are forgiven we once again have relationship with the Father, the Lord of all creation. As Eldredge further makes this case he speaks about the Prodigal Son and points out that the story is "Not primarily about the prodigal son. It is about the father's heart." (Page 33) That really struck me because how often have we thought about that story and focused on the prodigal son as I am that son (or daughter). Well, while that's true we are all prodigal sons and daughters, it isn't about us; but rather it is about the Father's desire to love us, to have relationship with us. It is ALL about the relationship with Him. He gave His son so that we can have relationship with Him, that is the heart of our God.

On Youth

A dear friend gave me this in light of our recent move. I thought I would share this as well. I pray that I will always be youthful!

On Youth
Oh, the eagerness and freshness of youth! How the boy enjoys his food, his sleep, his sports, his companions, his truant days. His life is an adventure, he is widening his outlook, he is extending his dominion, he is conquering his kingdom. How cheap are his pleasures, how ready his enthusiasms! In boyhood I have more delight on a haymow with two companions and a big dog - delight that came nearer intoxication - than I have ever had in all subsequent holidays of my life. When youth goes much goes with it. When manhood comes, much comes with it. We exchange a world of delightful sensations and impressions for a world of duties and studies and meditations. The youth enjoys what the man tries to understand. Lucky is he who can get his grapes to market and keep the bloom upon them, who can carry some of the freshness and eagerness and simplicity of youth into his later years, who can have a boy's heart below a man's head.
- John Burroughs

This helps me keep perspective. Like any place Leadville Colorado has it's own challenges and what others would call work. For me what better playground is there than deep snow, mountains, or a plow on the front of a truck and a long drive way ;)

Life and all that is in it is an adventure to be lived, not a problem to be solved.

Take a look at Ecclesiates 11:8 - 12:14

Leaving a Legacy

As I reflect on our past year and what incredible changes have occurred in our lives I am left with the thought of the effect that our move will have on generations to come. We made this move to forever change the lives of our sons, and their children, to forge a new path, to allow them to grow up in adventure to explore the majesty around them. This will be a legacy.

Today I embark on a journey that I invite all those that read this to join me on. Today I start on a journey to that will change my heart so that I will in turn be able to leave a legacy to my sons so that they will see my walk with the Lord. I started to read the Bible in it's entirety using the Legacy Reading plan by Hank Hanegraaf. The reason I like this plan is because it groups the books of the Bible together by genres, you aren't simply reading from Genesis to Revelation, instead you read by Hebrew History, Prophetic Books, etc. You can find out more by taking a look at the actual plan: http://www.equip.org/site/legacy_bible_reading_plan. The other aspect is that you read at your own pace, their are goals for each month, but it's not something you have to do everyday. This is something I hope to do each an every year, not because I have to but because I want to. God has spoken to us, He has only spoken to us through His Word.

So what does this have to do with a legacy? As I have shared in the past, no matter what a person does during his/her life it will eventually be forgotten. Man is a vapor. The absolute greatest impact one can have on this life is the legacy that is left with his/her children. Whether you know it or not there is a legacy that is left. That legacy may be one like Enoch where it was said of him that he walked with the Lord. I want that to be said of me. Or, that legacy might be one of David, who, because of his sin with Bathsheba, the sword never left his home. Yes, he was a man after God's own heart, but sin has consequences. He lived and died with those consequences and it affected many generations after him, Israel and Judah didn't fall in one day, it took many generations. That was the legacy that was left. Our nation isn't where it's at today because of what people are doing today, those affects will be felt by future generations; no what we see today is because of the legacy that was left by the previous generation. I want my legacy to be that I loved the Lord, my sons saw that I loved the Lord and by loving the Lord with all my heart, by being a man after His own heart they knew I loved them. By knowing the Creator's Word and applying it in my life I will become that man, there is no other way. That's leaving a legacy.

Join me on this journey, wrestle with God and His word, I promise (and He promises) it will not leave you unchanged.