God/Creator
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‘Next to your soul, time is the most precious thing you have. Wasting it is your most extravagant and costly expenditure. There is too much talk of killing time and in doing so, you commit suicide.
The future is somewhere everyone arrives at the universal rate of sixty minutes an hour, twenty-four hours per day and it does not depend on what we do or where we live, or whether we are sincere, nor does it have anything to do with our education, status, or money. Time is always uniform, universal, and utilitarian. It sometimes seems to fly like a bird and at other times seems to crawl like an exhausted worm.
We begin life with a cry and end it with a groan and the cry and the groan are not far apart. Life is like a story that is told—a good story, a bad story— of success or failure. Each year is a chapter in that story. You are the author. You determine whether it is a success or failure. As you look back on each chapter of your life, it is folly to blame anyone but yourself.
With the birth of every person, he or she is given an unknown number of life’s coins—time to use as he wills. It’s all you have and only you decide how it will be spent. And it will be spent since it is impossible to hoard time. Since you don’t know the amount of the coins, you must spend them wisely and for sure, don’t let others spend your time!
When I was elected a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, I also continued as Administrator of the Indianapolis Baptist Academy, a Christian school of 620 students, Pre-K through 12th grade. I was also a consultant to many Christian schools in the Midwest and Canada. Obviously, I had to use my time wisely. Frequently, a good friend would “drop by” my school office for a chat, and it got to where it was a very delicate problem. He was a good friend whom I greatly respected and would never consider hurting. However, I had to let him know that I would have to limit our chats at least until school was out for the summer. There was too much involved to let him control my limited time.
You would not permit another person to control your bank account so why would you permit another person to control your time which is far more valuable than money?
The bad news is time flies but that’s no problem if you are at the controls; however, most people are flying through life blindly not knowing where they are going with no destination in mind. They waste time and don’t realize that time equals life; therefore, if you waste your time, you waste your life, but if you control your time, you control your life.
Charles Dickens opened his classic 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities with, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” however, it was the only time they had. Same with you and me.
We must face each day unafraid with confidence and determination. Time must be used, not misused or abused. If you don’t use time wisely, you will stand on a cold December morning amid the sharp stubble of a reaped wheat field crying, “The harvest is past, the harvest is past” and your life will have slipped away.
Harvey Mackay declared, “Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.”
Napoleon appreciated the value of time when the sun was sinking upon Waterloo. He thought if he had a little more time his military fortunes would be retrieved. His advisors saw him point to the sinking sun and heard him say, “What would I not give to be this day possessed of the power of Joshua….” Joshua performed a miracle and caused the sun to stand still giving Israel the military victory. Napoleon thought a little more time would give him victory.
Napoleon was frustrated because time continues and what we want, pray for, or do cannot change that fact barring a biblical miracle. Time and tide wait for no man, but time always seems to stand still for some women once they celebrate their 30th birthday. Well, it stands still in their minds, but mirrors don’t lie. Humans should be nearly as honest as mirrors.
Voltaire, the blatant French infidel, appreciated the value of time at least when dying. While living, he wrote some miserable chapters of his life. On his death bed, he said to his doctor: ‘I am abandoned by God and man! I will give you half of what I am worth if you will give me six months’ life.” When told that he could not live six weeks, he burst into tears and said, “Then I shall go to hell, and you will go with me. O Christ! O Jesus Christ!”
He discovered too late that time is what he wanted most, but what he used unwisely during his debauched, excessive, and careless life.
John Wesley appreciated the value of time when he stood on his steps waiting for a carriage that was ten minutes late. As it approached, he said, “I have lost ten minutes forever.” He realized that time once lost is gone forever. It is better late than never, but it is better to never be late since you are taking precious time from another person.
Time should be used for things that will outlast time. Now is the only time we have, so live, love, and laugh, and don’t place faith in tomorrow for the clock may then be still. You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are always thinking about yesterday.
The years flip by like the chapters of a book until we each come to the final chapter. We should live each week as if it is our last for it may well be.
One day, the final century will arrive, and then will come the last decade, and then the final years, and the final months, and the final day.
Like small drops of water and little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean and the pleasant land.
So, the little moments, humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages of eternity. (Julia A.F. Carney)
The Angel of God, descending from the throne will put one foot in the surf of the sea and the other on the sand and cry to the nations of the world: “that there should be time no longer.” The last Spring will swing its censer of apple blossoms, and the last Winter will bank its snows. The last sunset will burn like a California forest fire and the last morning radiate the hills. The clocks will strike their last hour, and the watches will tick their last second. Time has stopped and eternity has begun.
You will never have this day with your children again. Tomorrow, they will be a little older than they were today. This day is a gift. Breathe and notice. Smell and touch them. Study their faces and little feet and pay attention. No matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion; we can never rub precious memories away nor should we desire to do so.
Your spouse that you took as a young person may be stooped, tired, sickly, and wrinkled and the romance may be subdued but love, respect, and appreciation are expressed with a touch of the hand. Young love is usually explosive but mature love is far more expressive and far exceeds the much-touted young love.
I found in my notes the rhyme I have used for decades that makes the point of time’s importance:
The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power
to tell just when the hands will stop at late or early hour.
To lose one’s wealth is sad indeed, to lose one’s health is more,
to lose one’s soul is such a loss that no man can restore.
We only have the present as our own; so live, love, laugh, and toil with a will—place no faith in tomorrow.
We peruse the past only to learn from it; we cannot make any changes. We can look and anticipate tomorrow and determine to live that day as if it will be our last. And it well may be.’https://donboys.cstnews.com/are-you-using-your-precious-gift-of-time-wisely
So glad these Republicans stood for TRUTH!
‘The Mahaska County Republicans unanimously voted to censure Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks following her vote in support of a bill codifying homosexual marriage, repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and forcing Iowa to recognize anything another state decides qualifies as a “marriage.”
Here is the text:
“Her vote directly opposes the Mahaska County Republicans policy platform item #6 — family values:
“In keeping with the reality that we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, and that our nation’s foundation and subsequent blessings flow from adherence to and respect for the Judeo-Christian ethic, we affirm the following: We support an amendment to the United States Constitution stating that “Only marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized in the United States, and that neither the Federal government, any state government, or the political subdivisions thereof may create or recognize a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals.”
“Her vote also directly opposes the Iowa Republican Platform, Liberty #13: “We believe that traditional, two-parent (one male (XY) and one female (XX)), marriage-based families are the foundation to a stable, enduring, and healthy civilization. We encourage the repeal of any laws allowing any marriage that is not between one natural man and one natural woman.”
“There is nothing more foundational to our society than marriage as instituted by God between one man and one woman.
“Our Representative, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, directly opposes the expressed will of God and of her constituents and is hereby formally censured for her vote.”
The motion to censure Miller-Meeks was unanimously approved in a voice vote.’https://theiowastandard.com/mahaska-co-gop-censures-miller-meeks-says-she-directly-opposes-expressed-will-of-god-and-of-her-constituents/
“Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:1)
‘It is significant that in this first verse of what may have been Paul’s first inspired epistle, he twice identified the Son of God as “the Lord Jesus Christ,” thus giving Him the honor and recognition to which He is entitled.
Paul used this “full name” of Christ at least 19 times in the brief Thessalonian epistles, as he often did in his other epistles. Likewise James called himself “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1). Jude warned against any who would deny “the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4). Peter began his first epistle with “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3). John closed the last book of the Bible with the benediction “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Revelation 22:21).
In the New Testament epistles, He was also frequently called Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus, the Lord Jesus, the Lord, or simply Christ. Once He was called “the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:24). It is significant, however, that He was never called merely by His human name “Jesus” except when the writer was referring strictly to His human incarnation. In the gospels, the name Jesus was used very often in relating His words and deeds, but never did His followers address Him as Jesus. Always when speaking to Him they addressed Him as “Lord” or “Master” (note John 13:13).
Perhaps modern Christians are too careless when they speak or sing of Him or pray to Him using only His human name. As Peter said, “God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). He is now our risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ!’https://www.icr.org/article/13561/
Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
‘One of the RAGBRAI events in Mason City turned a few heads. A drag show followed the Sugar Ray concert in Mason City, drawing mixed reactions.
Some individuals enjoyed the show while others from the community lamented the fact it happened.
It does not appear the show was heavily advertised based on comments on social media or through the event’s website or social media pages.
On the RAGBRAI Mason City website, concerts by Don Felder and Sugar Ray are promoted. Entertainment by 13 on Seven, Brad Morgan and Danny Grause is also listed. And there’s also entertainment at the beverage garden, but nothing is listed for a drag show.
The Iowa Standard reached out to the Mason City Administrator, a person called Aaron Burnett. We asked if the drag show in Mason City during RAGBRAI was an official event put on by the city or something else as information about the event online is scarce.
Here was Burnett’s response:
“The city of Mason City was proud to be a sponsor and support the very successful RAGBRAI Mason City overnight which hosted approximately 20,000 riders and support personnel from across the world. The city was a key sponsor and the overnight was a collaboration of many entities including hundreds of volunteers, the city of Mason City, Visit Mason City and Main Street Mason City. The goal of RAGBRAI Mason City was to provide a unique experience that welcomed all of RAGBRAI to our community and offered something for everyone to connect with during the night.
“The show closed out the night and brought people into the Plaza area, and away from the Main Stage area, to allow for teardown and cleanup after Sugar Ray’s performance.”
We asked Burnett if minors were allowed to attend the drag show. We have not received a response, but will provide an update when we hear from Burnett.’https://theiowastandard.com/38226-2/
Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
‘The Justices wrote that the previous law was incorrect. It had forced “a theory of life” on the nation, defined by the passing of “an arbitrary point in a pregnancy”.
In the June 24, 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned the 50-year-old mandate for nationwide legalized abortion, there were many excellent points of truth. But the incorrect theory of life is critical and brings up another one of the great evils of evolution theory – underlying as it does so much of what is called “a culture of death”.
The Roe v. Wade Court of 1973 had coined the term “trimesters”. It was a word invented to allow for the dehumanizing of an unborn person during the early stages of pregnancy, and thus the purposeful taking of the life. Justice Harry Blackmun admitted it was their invented “framework”1 so that they could arbitrarily divide the abortion code into three different time-frames. By doing this, they attempted to deal with the inconsistency of allowing abortion when the killing of a human being is murder. There were to be no exceptions for abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy – considered essentially a “non-human” phase of pregnancy.
The theory that human life is not present from the beginning of pregnancy owes its modern basis to the Theory of Evolution. True biological science actually affirms that each individual of any species must start their life-cycle as an exact copy of the progenitor cell. This is understood from the routinely proven biological principles of “Fixity of Species” and the “Law of Biogenesis”. Furthermore, the Bible tells us repeatedly in Genesis 1 that all created life will reproduce in no other way except “after its kind”.
You might give people in the early 1970s – especially under the pressure of the sexual revolution and women’s liberation – an excuse to have abortions. Both ultrasound scans and genetic science were not as developed as they are today. People learned they could use “science” – taught through the Haeckel embryo drawings – to argue that a fetus was not truly a human life. It is an excuse you will hear to this very day – another great evil, given “scientific support” by the pseudo-science of evolution.
Zoologist Ernst Haeckel drew his infamous embryo drawings in the year 1874. He was a zealous proponent of Darwin’s theory of evolution, and he proposed that human embryos retraced their evolutionary history as they grew in the womb. He coined the technical terminology for this supposed retracing of evolutionary history as life develops: “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny”. Indeed, Charles Darwin himself was convinced of Haeckel’s argument. In fact, he declared that the similarity of vertebrate embryos in their earliest stages – which he thought demonstrated their descent from a common ancestor – was “the strongest single set of facts” supporting his theory!
You can see in Haeckel’s presentation of embryos three rows of eight different species – fish, salamander, tortoise, chick, hog, calf, rabbit and human. By separating them into three rows – showing early, middle and late stages of development – Haeckel conveniently created three divisions for the Roe v. Wade Court to split its ruling into three “trimesters”. In this way, evolution once again promoted a culture of death – as it has in undergirding Nazism, Communism, eugenics, and other false and godless philosophies.
For over 150 years, the drawings have been used in textbooks to proclaim evolution. Yet, they are known frauds with Haeckel’s “embellishments”. For instance, he drew the mammalian embryos with gill slits in place of wrinkles. There are no perforations like gills in the mammalian embryos! And yet, Haeckel said the embryos were going through a “fish” stage of development.
Even the late renowned evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould wrote in 2000: “We do, I think, have the right to be both astonished and ashamed by the century of mindless recycling that has led to the persistence of these drawings in a large number, if not a majority, of modern textbooks.”
But let’s continue to think critically about the argument. What kind of proof is mere similarity? Is similarity of appearance sufficient evidence in a court of law? Or do we need better evidence to draw a conclusion – like fingerprints and DNA? I suppose if you go back all the way to fertilized egg cells, all life would look pretty similar on a macro scale – though hugely different genetically. And, if a developing baby is not “viable” until a more “independent” stage, is a baby not human until his arm and leg lengths are of adult proportions? Or maybe until she can speak? Or when he can feed himself?
We rapidly descend into infant sacrifice, for which the pagan nations around ancient Israel were judged, the Bible says. And we actually have many advocating for essentially that in our society today! On May 16, 2022, for example, after news of the pending decision had been illegally leaked, all 49 Senators of one political party voted for the most radical abortion bill proposed in the history of the United States Congress – including abortion right up to birth.
Like so much agenda-driven “research”, Haeckel did his work with an end-point in mind. In that sense, he was like anthropologist Margaret Mead and entomologist-turned-sexologist Alfred Kinsey. They both laid “scientific” groundwork for increased sexual promiscuity and deviancy through the last century. Both did “research” with an agenda driven by their own deviancy, desired outcomes and evolution-supported worldviews. Both are now thoroughly debunked.2,3 And both have been used for years to justify conclusions desired by those who push a godless and/or subversive agenda of sexual license – as has Roe v. Wade.
1 Desanctis, A., “Little Known Facts about Roe v. Wade”, National Review, Jan 23, 2017.
2 Freeman, D., Margaret Mead and Samoa: The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological Myth, Harvard University Press, 1983.
3 Reisman, J.A. and Eichel, E.W., Kinsey, Sex, and Fraud: The Indoctrination of a People, Huntington House, 1990.
Image: Ernst Haeckel’s infamous and inaccurate embryo drawings (PD)’ https://creationmoments.com/newsletter/eventually-the-truth-prevails-one-way-or-another/?mc_cid=4265557c07&mc_eid=00c1dcff3c
