Praying With Hands Outspread

Highly appropriate for the post-modern Christianity of America -

by Dr. J. Vernon McGee

When the first delegation of Jews returned to the [Promised Land], they met discouragement. It is at times like this that you let down. It has happened to many Christians. Someone has said that discouragement is the devil’s greatest weapons. The Jews let down their guard and intermarried with the surrounding heathen and enemies of God and Israel. That in turn led to a practice of the abomination of the heathen. The lack of separation plunged them into immorality and idolatry. The returned remnant is in a sad, sordid, and squalid condition.

Now there are several things Ezra could have done in this situation. He could have broadcast a program on patriotism, run up the Israeli flag, displayed the Star of David, and held great rallies on patriotism. But he did not do that. He might have delivered a withering blow against the intermarriage and immorality and idolatry by making speeches, but Ezra did not do that either. Or he could have followed another procedure: he could have formed an organization and become involved in trying to recover these couples who had gone into this immorality. That, my friend, is how we do it today. But I want you to notice what he did. It is something that we don’t see much of in our day.

And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. (Ezra 9:3)

When all of this was brought to Ezra’s attention, and he found that it was accurate, he was absolutely overwhelmed and chagrined that God’s people would drop to such a low level.

Today we talk about the apostasy of the church – at least I do. But I wonder if we are as exercised about it as we should be. Friends, it is so easy for you and me to point an accusing finger at that which is wrong, but notice what Ezra did. He was so overwhelmed by the sin of his people that he tore his clothes and tore out his hair. Instead of beginning a tirade against them (which would have been characteristic of many people today), notice the next step Ezra took.

Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice. (Ezra 9:4)

There are many who profess to have a love for the Word of God, and they have notebooks and marked-up Bibles to prove it. The interesting thing is that their own lives are marked up and fouled up, and they are doing nothing about it. They say that they believe the Word of God, but it has no effect upon their lives whatsoever. They do not tremble at the Bible. Like the man of the world, they say, “God is love.” And He is – it is wonderful to know that God is love. But He is more than that. Our God is a holy God. He will punish sin, and that is the thing that is troubling Ezra.

Ezra sat astonished “until the evening sacrifice” because of the transgression of those who had been carried away. Ezra was shocked by this. Does this concern us? Really, today, how much are we involved? How much do we believe the Word of God? My Christian friend, it would pay you and me to go to a solitary place and ask ourselves these questions: “Do I really believe God’s Word? Do I really obey it?”

And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God. (Ezra 9:5)

What does it mean to spread out your hands to God? It means that you are not concealing anything. It means when you go to God in prayer, friend, that your mind and soul stand absolutely naked before Him. Ezra went to God with his hands outspread. He was holding nothing at all back from God. The apostle Paul put it this way, “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting” (1 Timothy 2:8). We need to remember that in our prayer lives.

--From Dr. J. Vernon McGee’s Edited Messages on Ezra

RON PAUL UPDATES 02/29/08

Ron Paul Sharing The Political Wealth With Like-Minded Candidates
By Jonathan Allen, CQ Staff
http://tinyurl.com/2exrj9

Ron Paul: Bernanke Deliberately Destroying Dollar
Congressman schools Fed chairman again during House Financial Services Committee meeting, warns "history is against you"
Paul Joseph Watson/Prison Planet

Congressman Ron Paul slammed Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke during a House Financial Services Committee meeting today for following a policy of deliberately destroying the dollar and wiping out the American middle class.
http://tinyurl.com/35egq7

WHAT A WONDERFUL LAND

The Return of Ethnic Nationalism
by Patrick J. Buchanan

According to Pew Research,
there will be 127 million Hispanics here by mid-century, tripling today's 45 million - and almost 100 million new immigrants. No nation faces a graver threat from this resurgence of ethnonationalism than does our own.
http://buchanan.org/blog/?p=956

3 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES CONFIRM WORLD GOV'T. AGENDAS
Patrick Briley/NewsWithViews.com
http://tinyurl.com/yqwfuv

Kids Vaccine Linked to Fever, Seizures
By MIKE STOBBE AP
Children suffered higher rates of fever-related convulsions when they got a Merck & Co. combination vaccine instead of two separate shots, according to a new study presented Wednesday.
http://tinyurl.com/yot638

San Jose Police To Use Crowd Control Sound Wave Weapons
What's good enough to force a terrorist out of a cave is good enough to make you fall into line
Steve Watson/Infowars.net
http://tinyurl.com/2ancg8

WEIRD OR REAL 2/25/08

A Lead on the Ark of the Covenant
By David Van Biema/TIME Magazine

But according to Tudor Parfitt, a real life scholar-adventurer, Raiders of the Lost Ark had it wrong, and the Ark is actually nowhere near Egypt. In fact, Parfitt claims he has traced it (or a replacement container for the original Ark), to a dusty bottom shelf in a museum in Harare, Zimbabwe.
http://tinyurl.com/2cc3cu

UPDATE: Arizona Firefighters Train For UFO, Alien Contact
ABC News

Events like the March 1997 mass-sighting of strange night lights above the Valley, popularly dubbed "Phoenix Lights", have generated questions and turned skeptics into believers. A 600-page guide may lend credibility to UFO believers. The Fire Officer's Guide To Disaster Control can apparently be found in firehouses across the United States. It covers everything from fire and flood response to aviation disasters. Chapter 13 of the book has an unusual twist. Titled "Enemy Attack And UFO Potential", it outlines what could happen in the event of a UFO crash.
http://tinyurl.com/375c57

Fla. To Track Child-Welfare Workers With GPS Devices

The touch-screen units, about the size of a book and featuring Global Positioning System technology, will record the amount of time caseworkers spend with each family, take photos of children in state care and allow the workers to update case information on the spot, Gov. Charlie Crist and Children & Families Secretary Bob Butterworth said Thursday at a news conference in front of a UPS truck...
http://tinyurl.com/ys5gc9

Chucky Possesses Elmo Doll, Threatens To Kill Toddler

A Lithia family says a cuddly, programmable Elmo doll revealed its dark side yesterday after fresh batteries were installed. Instead of singing songs or reciting the favorite color of its 2-year-old owner, James Bowman, the doll started making death threats, the family says.
http://tinyurl.com/2lbe38

SHOOT THEM ALL!!!

Rule by fear or rule by law?
Lewis Seiler,Dan Hamburg

According to diplomat and author Peter Dale Scott, the KBR contract is part of a Homeland Security plan titled ENDGAME, which sets as its goal the removal of "all removable aliens" and "potential terrorists."
http://tinyurl.com/2h7fu4

Putin’s Iron Grip on Russia Suffocates His Opponents

Shortly before parliamentary elections in December, foremen fanned out across the sprawling GAZ vehicle factory here, pulling aside assembly-line workers and giving them an order: vote for President Vladimir V. Putin’s party or else. They were instructed to phone in after they left their polling places. Names would be tallied, defiance punished.
http://tinyurl.com/22xd7f

Will Canadians Shoot Americans?

Canada and the U.S. have signed an agreement that paves the way for the military from either nation to send troops across each other's borders during an emergency, but some are questioning why the Harper government has kept silent on the deal.
http://tinyurl.com/3yswep

Blogs4Borders 021808

In this weeks edition:

The Merida Initiative: heard of it?

A "wave of hate?" Sure, but it's not who you think it is!

100% Preventable! Two illegal alien criminals -- 39 crimes! When will the madness end!



You can download the show for your Ipod here.

This has been the Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst. The Blogs For Borders Blogroll is dedicated to American sovereignty, border security and a sane immigration policy. If you’d like to join find out how right here.

NCARD

North Carolinians Against Real ID

North Carolinians Against Real ID is a grassroots effort by We the People of North Carolina to stop the Real ID. We are comprised from all walks of life. Many members are proud U.S. Veterans. Others are grandparents, mothers, fathers, members of the clergy, business owners and so on.

Our Plan is a simple one. We will contact and educate every one of our Legislators until they understand the costs and privacy concerns when it comes to the Real ID. Furthermore, once we have educated them, we want legislation passed to stop all compliance of the Real ID Act and any databases that include biometric and other personal data required by the Real ID Act to be removed.

We want a secure driver's license, but creating a national id card is not the answer. Many states were already in the process of securing their drivers licenses before the Real ID was voted into law as part of a massive military spending bill.

For more information and to sign up for updates go to http://www.ncard.info/.

KNOCKED DOWN BUT NOT OUT

This has been the longest week of my life. I apologize for the Swamp Fox Files drifting into dormancy, but I spent the week in the Land of Flu. It's not a very pleasant place, believe me. I feel like I have been kicked in the chest by an ornery old mule, and then the mule drug me through all the levels of Dante's Hell. Yeah, it was that bad.

It seems, that I have not been alone in my suffering. The flu is really packing a punch this year. And those wonderful flu shots that are supposed to protect you from the flu, have backed fired. This year, the media claims, the vaccine is not protecting against the particular flu strain that is sweeping the country. This year? That's the case every year. The vaccine is only good for what has happened in the past.

I have never taken a flu shot, and never will. This year goes a long way to show my case. I believe that getting decent nutrition and plenty of Vitamin C is just as, if not more so, effective than the mighty flu shot. No, Vitamin C didn't protect me this time, but other than my sinuses, I rarely get sick.

Things will be back into full-force around here this week. Thank you for your patience.

Swamp Fox/RP