Big daddy

The United States of America has been successfully attacked. Not by enemies, foreign or domestic. No invaders from a foreign land or military coup rising up within our borders. No, we have been devastated by Satan.

Our country was born on values and principles forged from the pages of the Holy Bible. But the chief of liars has exploited the cracks and weaknesses that our country has developed even as we have prospered and become the most powerful nation on Earth. However, throughout the history of this nation, we have grown ignorant and distracted. As the trappings of this world became more accessible, the citizens of this country became detached from the roots and foundations that were laid down to make this nation the first of its kind.

A cunning attack by the most advanced tactical mind this world has ever known. There is no man alive or dead that could outwit or out manipulate the devil. { John 8:44 ⁴⁴You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.} No crafty politician, no scheming war lord, no mafia boss, could stand a moment against this foe. He has been so successful in his accomplishments that his work has gone unnoticed and even praised as “advancements” in civilized living. By offering distractions and pleasures, the US has drifted into a trance of self-love and worship of worldly things. Oddly enough this is the same tactic Satan has used for millennia. New Testament writers warned of the exact same maladies and distractions, even before, iPods, BlackBerry’s, PlayStations, and Satellite TV, Satan was able to sufficiently distract humans from their true purpose. { 1 John 2:15 ¹⁵Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.¹⁶For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.} Satan has lead legions into darkness, forever lost, never to taste the joy that is the Lord. Sadly, these legions don’t even know what they are missing. So thorough was the devil in his mission to eradicate all need to rely on God from our daily lives, that we didn’t even know God was there, calling to us. Everyone feels the pull of the Holy Spirit at some point, but Satan offers to fulfill that call with a new car, a new lover, a new philosophy. God has rules. From the beginning of time he has set out to love and to be loved. He will not violate this rule. The great liar plays by no such rules and therefore can offer to intervene in the place of love. Satan does not require you to love him, only to ignore God. Actually, it often seems that the deck is stacked against God. The amazing thing is that every American has access to the truth, perhaps too much access. The word of God is so readily available that it is taken for granted (another deception). I have at least 6 Bibles in my house and cannot say I’ve read through one in its entirety. God is in there and with Him is salvation. I think that deep inside everyone knows what needs to happen in their lives. But it is scary and hard, much harder than flipping on the television or X-box. But at the end of the day, at the end of this life, we will all die in our sin without the love of Jesus Christ. { Ephesians 2: 1-10 ¹As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ²in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. ⁴But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.} God doesn’t really ask too much of us, especially given what we get in return. If we were capitalists about our eternal destination His offer is about the best return on investment in all of history. { Titus 2: 11-14 ¹¹For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.¹²It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.} I write this as much as a challenge to myself as anything else but if you are reading this and feel the call of God, the urging of the Holy Spirit to take a step toward living an “upright and godly life” do not hesitate, in that hesitation Satan will swoop in and steal that joy from you. As a Christian I need this reminder to keep myself alert to everything that goes on around me that is not of God and serves only this world. GLORIFY THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR, THE GOD WHO SENT DOWN HIS SON TO DIE FOR YOU AND ME SO THAT OUR SINS CAN BE ATONED AND SO THAT WE CAN BE EQUIPED WITH A WEAPON TO STRIKE BACK AT THE ENEMY. That weapon is the holy word of God. You have a Bible…

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Caleb Quinn was born on Friday May 29th at 3:51 am. He was 2 lb 12 oz and 15 inches long. He's a very tiny but strong boy. He has been breathing on his own and steadily improving in the few areas they were watching him on. He'll be in the NICU for a while. Angela is improving as well. We're still trying to get her blood pressure down. But she is up and moving around better and getting ready to take her first shower since Caleb was born. She'll feel like a new person after that. So here are a few pictures I took last night.