Iraq

I have been posting some comments on Dave's Blog-o-Rama and I just wanted to post those comments here cause they will further help you understand how I feel about Iraq.
The following is from a comment board discussion on Daves site. The first comment is refering to this

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Chad,
Thanks for weighing in. To respond to your statement that the Bible doesn't address turning the other cheek a second time if an enemy does not desist and renews the attack, I am reminded of Mathew 18:21-22, which states:

21 Then Peter approaching asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?"

22 Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.

Posted by Vickie at 14.03.03 13:58

Vickie,
Thank you for pointing this out. Peter asked Jesus about a brother sinning against him personnally. I am going to forgive anyone who sins against me... no matter how many times that person sins against me. I, however, am not going to allow anyone to take advantage of me. There is a difference between being passive and extending forgiveness. If someone breaks into my house and trys to kill me I am going to defend myself.

When I have defended myself successfully I will forgive the person who attacked me but he will probably still go to jail for attempted murder because of the laws of this country and the institution of government.

1 Peter 2:13-14
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.

Government is one of three divine institutions set up by God. The other two being the Church and the Home. Romans 13 gives us a good picture of authority established by good to deal with evil.

Romans 13:4
Everyone must submit himself to the governign authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.
For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. [Government] is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

I see Saddam Hussein as a wrongdoer. I am going to forgive him for building weapons of mass destruction, persecuting Christians and non-christians in his own country, being a ruthless ruler who cares nothing for the well-being of his people but only cares for the number of new palaces he can build over the course of a decade while his people starve. Please read the rest of my thoughts on this subject in my blog:
My thoughts on Iraq

I believe that for me personally there is no need for me to go out and pick fights with people that I know are doing wrong. If they are breaking the law it is likely the government(which includes police, military, and lawmakers) will take care of them. If they have wronged me personally and not broken any laws I will turn my cheek a thousand times.

Posted by chad at 14.03.03 15:11

 
I am going home for spring break today and leaving for Colorado on Monday to go skiing. You guessed it. I will not be posting to my blog for just a bit more than a week. I am guessing we will probably be at war by the time I get back from skiing. This is not my hope... just my guess. I am hoping that we can convince Saddam Hussein to step down. He needs to step down so that the persecution of his people will come to an end. Of course as soon as we are done dealing with Iraq we will have to deal with a bigger threat... N. Korea. So... have a great weekend everyone (if anyone is reading this...) and a good next week. I'll be on the slopes of Copper Mountain next week and blogging will be the furthest thing from my mind...
Happy Blogging!!
:-)

 
May a Christian Serve in the Military??

I think so...
here is why...

 
Verse of the Day

Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to
gooodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to
self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and
to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness,
love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing
measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and
unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
--2 Peter 1:5-8
New International Version

THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
Wow! What a message. God wants us to be productive in our
lives. He wants us to have more than just head knowledge. He
wants us to put it to work in our lives and be effective and
productive with it. But, I've got to put out some effort and
try to grow in these qualities. Peter is saying, "Okay folks,
God wants you to get after it and make a difference through
your life!" I'm ready! Let's begin today.

MY PRAYER...
Holy God, I am going to put out the effort to grow in your
grace. Please bless my efforts and receive them as my
heartfelt appreciation for loving me when I was unlovable and
redeeming me when I was lost. I want to be productive to your
glory in my life with Jesus, through whom I pray. Amen.

-----------

Heartlight Daily devotional and prayer are written
by Phil Ware of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, on the web at:
http://link.crosswalk.com/UM/T.asp?A1.21.10772.1.990564

 
Verse of the Day
We know that in all things God works for the good of those who
love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
--Romans 8:28
New International Version

 

my thoughts on Iraq...

Some of you might be wondering what a Christian in the Military thinks of all that is going on in the world these days... well I can give you my view and you can go from there. I think George W. Bush is a good president. I believe Bush is a Christian man with strong convictions. Knowing this it is easier for me to follow the decisions he makes concerning world affairs specifically Iraq. Paul writes in Romans 13 that, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God" and later in that chapter Paul writes that, "[Government] is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer." I see Saddam Hussein as a wrongdoer. The persecutions of his own people and the Christians in that country has to stop. Some of you might be thinking that since all authority is established by God who are we to go take it away from Hussein. Well, I think what Paul says about bringing punishment to the wrongdoer clears that up. It scares me to think that a man like that may have chemical warfare weapons that he would not hesitate to use if he is not disarmed. If the rest of the world is not going to step up and do the job that the UN was set up to do... then by all means the US and Britain should go at it alone. I thank God that Britain is on our side in this. I don't know about Tony Blair and his beliefs but I am glad that he sees the need for the Iraqi disarmament. I would love to hear what others think on this topic so leave some comments by clicking the shout out link below if you feel so inclined.

 
Verse of the Day
He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that
through them you may participate in the divine nature and
escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
--2 Peter 1:4
New International Version

 
Verse of the Day
The Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his
covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love
him and keep his commands.
--Deuteronomy 7:9
New International Version

 
I took the Peanuts Character Quiz today... turns out I figured out why I like Charlie Brown so much...




Which Peanuts Character Are You Quiz

 

blogging

This blogger stuff is pretty fun... at least I think so. I don't really know if anyone ever looks at my blog cause no one ever leaves comments but it doesn't really matter... I just like the thought of having an online journal that is easy to maintain. I wanted to do this way back during my freshman year in college but there wasn't really any good way to do it back then. I was lookin' for them in '98 and early '99 and it was a little after that some weblogs started showing up according to a weblog history I found. Myrna James really needed one for the site I made for her. I built that site in late '97 and early '98.

Man... the web has come a long way since then. That page I made for her is quite horrible as I look at it today. Of course that was the first website I ever built. I had no clue what web design was. I imagine I will look back on this site in the not so distant future and think it is not all that whoopy... in fact I know it is not all that good now... but it suits my purpose. So... if you are reading this... give me a shout out or sign my guestbook... just so I feel better...

 

Good Quotes

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and deny him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
~DC Talk~

 

"If you can't pay for a thing, don't buy it. If you can't get paid for it, don't sell it. Do this, and you will have calm and drowsy nights, with all of the good business you have now and none of the bad. If you have time, don't wait for time."

 
Spring break is in 4 days!! My teachers were kind enough to keep this week free from to many tests and due projects so I don't have much school work to do this week... someone suggested to me that I should use this time to get ahead. Not a bad idea... but it would be more likely that I am going to use this time to get caught up. It is supposed to warm up by the end of this week... that will be nice.
We are leaving for Copper Mountain a week from today! I am pumped! This is going to be the cheapest ski trip I have ever been on. Twenty dollar lift tickets, i've got my own skis, cheap lodging... i think it is going to be 120 bucks for 3 days of skiing and 4 nights at the condo. Can't beat that really.

 
In your hearts, set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared
to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason
for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and
respect.
--1 Peter 3:15
New International Version

 
I took some kids to KC today for AWANA Olympics... really didn't feel like going but ended up having fun with the kids... big surprise! I love kids!! Even the one that wouldn't shut up. Got back and got cleaned up and Jeremiah and I had a movie night at our place... we watched "The Ring." It was pretty good... kinda gruesome... I didn't think it was as scary as "Event Horizon." That movie freaked me out.
Anyway... the last person left about 20 minutes ago and I am on my way to bed...

 
God has saved us and called us to a holy life -- not because of
anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.
This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning
of time.
--2 Timothy 1:9
New International Version