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Obama rated 5th best US President ever
Of the total of 44 US Presidents: Obama rated 5th best president ever. I was just reading a Democratic publicity release that said, "...after a little more than 4 years, Obama has been rated the 5th best president ever."
The details according to White House Publicists..: * Reagan, Lincoln, and 8 others tied for first, * 15 presidents tied for second, * 17 other presidents tied for third, * Jimmy Carter came in 4th, and
* Obama came in fifth
Found the below devotional from Bible Gateway most edifying, so thought I'd share.
SYNCRETISM
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools… Romans 1:21-22
Satan has led many quasi-religious groups to unite around a mixture of religious teachings and then brand honest Christian believers as bigots for clinging to salvation in Christ alone. An outgrowth of the postmodern era in which we live is that many people no longer believe in absolute truth. A natural extension of this lack of absolutes is the widely held view that there is good in every religion and all roads lead to heaven. Individuals can then pick and choose the elements they wish from whatever faith and mix them all together. This is true syncretism. Chuck Colson refers to its impact on our faith as “salad-bar Christianity!”
Satan is delighted when people believe and expound on his lies. He does not want anyone to know the truth and come to a personal relationship with Jesus who is the truth, the way and the life (John14:6). Jesus is the only way.
One man reportedly traveled the world to find one name for God that would be universal and bring all people together. Instantly the word love came to his mind. He later wrote, “Give God the universal name of Love and we will create a golden cord to tie together the truths of all the religions of the world.” But love is not God’s name. It is His nature. And God expressed it most fully when He sent His Son to die for our sins (John 3:16). Only when we accept Christ’s sacrifice for us will we know the love of the one true God that can bind people together.
few years ago, an inter-faith group of 10,000 people met at the Vatican in Rome. The group included the Pope, the Dalai Lama and Muslim Imam W. D. Mohammed. An outspoken Hindu woman was quoted as saying, “It was refreshing to note that the idea that all religions have universal truths, and are merely different paths to the same goal was accepted as a given from the outset by all delegates without a single dissenting voice.”
The same delegates also endorsed a general condemnation of “aggressive” proselytizing. This is the prevailing thinking of our day and age. Satan will do all he can to cause this thinking to even invade the church and individual Christian thinking and action.
The end result of syncretism in free societies will be anti-conversion laws and a prohibition of Christian witnessing. The euphemism for this law will probably be called “religious freedom.”
RESPONSE: Today I will guard carefully against the deceptions of Satan leading to syncretism.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to fix my eyes on You and Your Word today so that I will not stumble.
Found the below most moving, so thought I would share.
"O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame?" Psalm 4:2
An instructive writer has made a mournful list of the honours which the blinded people of Israel awarded to their long expected King.
1. They gave him a procession of honour, in which Roman legionaries, Jewish priests, men and women, took a part, he himself bearing his cross. This is the triumph which the world awards to him who comes to overthrow man's direst foes. Derisive shouts are his only acclamations, and cruel taunts his only paeans of praise.
2. They presented him with the wine of honour. Instead of a golden cup of generous wine they offered him the criminal's stupefying death-draught, which he refused because he would preserve an uninjured taste wherewith to taste of death; and afterwards when he cried, "I thirst," they gave him vinegar mixed with gall, thrust to his mouth upon a sponge. Oh! wretched, detestable inhospitality to the King's Son.
3. He was provided with a guard of honour, who showed their esteem of him by gambling over his garments, which they had seized as their booty. Such was the body-guard of the adored of heaven; a quaternion of brutal gamblers.
4. A throne of honour was found for him upon the bloody tree; no easier place of rest would rebel men yield to their liege Lord. The cross was, in fact, the full expression of the world's feeling towards him; "There," they seemed to say, "thou Son of God, this is the manner in which God himself should be treated, could we reach him."
5. The title of honour was nominally "King of the Jews," but that the blinded nation distinctly repudiated, and really called him "King of thieves," by preferring Barabbas, and by placing Jesus in the place of highest shame between two thieves. His glory was thus in all things turned into shame by the sons of men, but it shall yet gladden the eyes of saints and angels, world without end.
Found the below an excellent summary, so thought I'd share.
The Cost of Discipleship
Matthew 8:18–22 “Another of the disciples said to him, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead’” (vv. 21–22).
A great crowd gathers about Christ as His acclaim spreads in Capernaum, and He prepares to cross the sea of Galilee (Matt. 8:18). We are not certain why He makes this move, but many interpreters believe Jesus is seeking rest. After all, He is found asleep in the episode following today’s passage (v. 24).
Seeing that our Savior is about to depart, a scribe trained in the law of Moses expresses His desire to follow Jesus wherever He goes (v. 19). Christ does not turn this would-be disciple away, but He explains to this scholar the cost of discipleship. Following Jesus, the scribe learns, might even entail the loss of a permanent home (v. 20). The Redeemer’s people must accept that they are strangers and exiles in this present world (Heb. 11:13–16). In Christ we will one day rule over all (2 Tim. 2:12a), but the Christian life, as the church father Tertullian says, is a call to follow the Lord’s pattern: “He walked in humility and obscurity. He had no definite home. …He is unadorned as to dress. He exercised no right of power even over his own followers. …Though conscious of his own kingdom, he shrank back from being made a king” (On Idolatry, 18.4–5).
Like Jesus, we must be willing to tell people that there is a cost to following the Savior. We do not help the non-believer if we teach or imply that Jesus can be folded into the fabric of our lives without the world hating us (Matt. 24:9).
Even family duties take second place when Jesus calls. After speaking to the scribe, another man says he is willing to follow Christ if he can first go bury His father. Yet Jesus allows no hesitation (8:21—22). This is a difficult saying, since Scripture tells us to honor our parents (Ex. 20:12), but it is likely that our Lord’s reply to the dead man’s son is a universal principle, not a universal application. Jesus alone deserves our supreme devotion, but the ways in which this principle is applied may vary. John Calvin comments, “Children should discharge their duty to their parents in such a manner that, whenever God calls them to another employment, they should lay this aside, and assign the first place to the command of God. Whatever duties we owe to men must give way, when God enjoins upon us what is immediately due to himself.”
Coram deo: Living before the face of God John Chrysostom comments on today’s passage that Jesus would not have us “think lightly of the honor due to parents.” His words only signify “that nothing ought to be to us more urgent than the affairs of the kingdom of heaven” (Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, 27.3). It can be hard to know how to honor one’s parents and follow Jesus, but let us remember that His will alone deserves our undivided submission.
I have been going through dark times of late, and found comfort in the below, so thought I'd share.
"Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." Hebrews 5:8
We are told that the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering, therefore we who are sinful, and who are far from being perfect, must not wonder if we are called to pass through suffering too. Shall the head be crowned with thorns, and shall the other members of the body be rocked upon the dainty lap of ease? Must Christ pass through seas of his own blood to win the crown, and are we to walk to heaven dryshod in silver slippers? No, our Master's experience teaches us that suffering is necessary, and the true-born child of God must not, would not, escape it if he might.
But there is one very comforting thought in the fact of Christ's "being made perfect through suffering"--it is, that he can have complete sympathy with us. "He is not an high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities." In this sympathy of Christ we find a sustaining power. One of the early martyrs said, "I can bear it all, for Jesus suffered, and he suffers in me now; he sympathizes with me, and this makes me strong." Believer, lay hold of this thought in all times of agony. Let the thought of Jesus strengthen you as you follow in his steps. Find a sweet support in his sympathy; and remember that, to suffer is an honourable thing--to suffer for Christ is glory. The apostles rejoiced that they were counted worthy to do this. Just so far as the Lord shall give us grace to suffer for Christ, to suffer with Christ, just so far does he honour us. The jewels of a Christian are his afflictions. The regalia of the kings whom God hath anointed are their troubles, their sorrows, and their griefs. Let us not, therefore, shun being honoured. Let us not turn aside from being exalted. Griefs exalt us, and troubles lift us up. "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him."
Thought I would share the below remembrance. RIP.
"The right of freely examining public characters and measures, and of free communication among the people thereon ... has ever been justly deemed the only effectual guardian of every other right." --James Madison
Inspiration Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)
Editor's Note: Friday marked the one-year anniversary of Andrew Breitbart's death. He never feared to ask the tough questions and seek the accountability in politics that so few "journalists" today pursue. May his legacy be remembered and inspire others to defend Liberty.
"Andrew Breitbart's quest for the truth served as an inspiration to people around the globe. It had a profound impact on both of us as well. Andrew not only served as fellow warrior in the trenches of journalism, but he also made an impact on our lives and both of the organizations where we work. ... [W]e are excited to announce the Franklin Center and Heritage Foundation will once again sponsor this year's Breitbart Awards. In the months following Andrew's death last year, Franklin and Heritage teamed up for a summit on the future of media. ... Today, as we mourn the loss of Andrew and pay tribute to his accomplishments, we're calling on you help ensure his legacy lives. Please take a moment to visit BreitbartAwards.com to nominate someone whose efforts advance the spirit of Andrew Breitbart's work. We're accepting nominations for individuals who are driven by an indomitable pursuit for truth and accountability, and whose work has broken meaningful ground in advancing those causes on behalf of the public good. ... As you think about who best to nominate, consider these questions: Who has the courage and honesty to tell the real stories that matter to people's lives? When the legacy media fails to do its job, who among the army of bloggers stands out when holding the institutions of power accountable? Who is the citizen activist who uses information to dig up the truth and serve as a watchdog in your community? Andrew was incredibly kind, devoted to his family and work, and most importantly, enthusiastic about life. He cherished freedom and liberty. And his work had a profound impact on American politics, media and culture. Help us keep his legacy alive." --Heritage Foundation's Rob Bluey and Erik Telford
