The Prescience of Palin on President Obama's "Flexible" Leadership

As Russia invaded Ukraine, Governor Palin posted the following on her Facebook page. That's right; Prescient Palin strikes again!

Post by Sarah Palin.

During the 2008 election, Governor Palin was mocked for postulating that Russia may invade Ukraine if then Senator Obama was elected. As Tony Lee at Breitbart noted, during the 2008 election, some in the media called Palin's scenario "far-fetched". In reality, Governor Palin has proven prescient, almost clairvoyant, on many occasions from death panels to the Arab Spring to rare earth metals to quantitative easing to common core.  Just to name a few.

 There is  a sense of vindication when a woman so mocked by the media and the establishment's of both parties is proven right time and time again.  There is also a sense of a frustration and sadness that such a great nation lacks the leadership it needs. A Russia bold enough to invade Ukraine can only do so because of a vacuum of leadership in America. President Reagan famously won the Cold War with the USSR without firing a single shot because of his principled and strong leadership, not  "flexible" leadership that declares "happy hour" when the world is in chaos.

 Crossposted here, here, and here.

A 52 Word Journey for Bible Study in 2014:Words 5 and 6: Humility and Compassion

In January, I began a series of blog posts summarizing what I'm calling my 52 word journey of Bible study. I'm taking one word from Scripture a week and studying it as part of my personal Bible study. As a means of helping to organize my jumbled notes (and often equally jumbled mind!), I'm sharing my journey of study on my blog. Over the last two weeks, I've studied the words humility and compassion.

Humility (or Humble/Humbly)

Humility, in my humble opinion (pun intended), is an often misunderstood concept. Too often humility is perceived to be an attitude of self-debasement. The Scriptures seem to indicate, however, that humility really is recognizing our need for powerful, benevolent God and acting in such a way that we put others before ourselves. C.S. Lewis, I think, summarized it well when he said, "humility is not thinking less of yourself'; it is think of yourself less".

In the Old Testament, it is amazing to me how the Psalmists and Solomon in the book of Proverbs indicate what God does for those who humbly recognize who they are in comparison to God:

• Psalm 18:27-"You [God] save the humble"
• Psalm 25:9-"He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way"
• Psalm 147:6- "The Lord sustains the humble"
• Psalm 149:4-"He crowns the humble with salvation"
• Proverbs 3:34-"He mocks the proud mockers but gives grace to the humble"
• Proverbs 11:2- "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom"

Although I did not share the complete verses in each of the above, most of them describe the contrast between pride and humility, which is important. God spiritually provides for those who yield to Him.

In the New Testament, the use of the words humility or humble is often a translation of the Greek word tapeinophrosynē or some variant of that word which provides a better picture of the concept of humility than simply the word humility. In Strong's Concordance,  this Greek word is defined as a "deep sense of one's [moral] littleness". If we are able to understand this and make this our attitude, it will influence how we  treat others.

While many of the verses in the Old Testament about humility note what God does for the humble, many of the verse in the New Testament about humility note how we live out humility in our own lives. In two verses, Colossians 3:12 and 1 Peter 5:5,  Paul and Peter both note how we are to clothe ourselves with humility--making that attitude part of our identity in Christ. The most challenging verse on humility to me, though, comes from Philippians 2, when Paul gives the ultimate example of humility-- Christ lowering himself to live life as a man and die on the cross for our sins. Christ has no littleness; He is the Son of God. He was willing, though, to take on that "littleness" because of His love for us. What a challenge to us to take on our own littleness and live humbly.

Compassion

One of the most striking things about the word compassion in Scripture is that during the time in history when Scripture was written, people thought that such attitude/emotion-fueled action emanated from one's bowels or womb. One words in Hebrew translated to compassion in the Old Testament is "racham", meaning "womb" or "compassion", and one of the words in Greek is "splagchnizomai" meaning "to be moved as to one's bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity)". Perhaps this sounds a bit gross and ignorant in light of today's understanding of biology and emotion, but at the same time, it is indicative of how deep our compassion should be.

In Psalm 103, David  beautifully describes God's compassion for us throughout the Psalm. In verse 4, David not only notes how God saves us from the pit, He crowns us with compassion. He not only saves us from destruction, he treats us as royalty.  In verse 8, David ties God's compassion to His grace, love, and patience. In verse 13, David writes of God's compassion for us in the context of a father's compassion.

In the book of Matthew, he notes multiple times that Jesus "had compassion" on the crowds and the sick. Compassion was not just an emotion. Jesus lived it. When He had compassion on the crowds who came to hear Him speak He fed them (Matthew 14:13-21). When He had compassion on the sick; He healed them (Matthew 20:29-34). This is the same kind of compassion we are to clothe ourselves (Colossians 3:12) with and live out in our lives (Ephesians 4:32).

Previous posts:

 Introduction to the 52 Word Journey

 Words 1 and 2: Confidence and Peace

Words 3 and 4: Perseverance and Works

A 52 Word Journey for Bible Study in 2014: Words 3 and 4: Perseverance and Works

In January, I began a series of blog posts summarizing what I'm calling my 52 word journey of Bible study. I'm taking one word from Scripture a week and studying it as part of my personal Bible study. As a means of helping to organize my jumbled notes (and often equally jumbled mind!), I'm sharing my journey of study on my blog. Over the last two weeks, I've studied the words perseverance and works.

Perseverance

Interestingly, at least in the NIV, the word perseverance or any derivative of the word is only found in the New Testament. However, one of the most striking uses refers back to the Old Testament heroes who themselves persevered with faith. The designations of chapters and verses in the Bible were not found in the original text of Scripture, so there were not distinctions between Hebrews 11 and Hebrews 12. Hebrews 11 is often noted to be the "Hall of Faith" where the writer of Hebrews highlights the faithfulness of many--from Abel to the prophets. The first verse of Hebrews 12 then reads:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

That great cloud of witness are the men and women of faith referenced in the previous chapter. They are cheering us on in this race that we are to run with perseverance. I've read this verse dozens and dozens of time throughout my life. I even wrote it on the back of my hand the first time I ran a half marathon for motivation. However, something hit me differently this time. Previously I had read the verse that we must persevere through the entanglements of life and our sin, but the verse reads that we must get rid of those entanglements first, then we can persevere. We can do this because of the examples of those great clouds of witnesses referenced in Hebrews 11--witnesses that include a prostitute like Rahab and a doubter like Gideon--men and women who were themselves imperfect yet showed faith.

The study of perseverance also showed me that Paul, Peter, and James all characterized perseverance as a part of a process of maturing in our faith...and often occurs alongside trials and sufferings. Look at these three verses written by these men of faith. It is a process:

Paul in Romans 5:3-4: 

"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;perseverance, character; and character, hope." 

James in James 1:3-4: 

"because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Peter in 2 Peter 1:5-7: 

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.

Works

In my study I focused on works primarily as a noun, rather than a verb. The idea of doing "works" or deeds has been the subject of much debate--even church splits-- throughout Christian history. We all seem to fall somewhere along the spectrum of thinking we can work our way to grace to thinking that we don't necessarily need to exhibit our faith demonstrably because of God's grace.

"Works" translated from the original Hebrew or Greek in the Bible is often translated from two separate concepts of works. One of these concepts of works is in the sense of extraordinary works, miracles, or wonders. This is "pala" in Hebrews or "dynamis" in Greek. David often used the word "pala" in the Psalms to describe the works of God, including in Psalm 139:14 when he notes that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made". Similarly, the word "dynamis" is often used in the Gospels to detail Jesus' miracles, but the later books also use that Greek word to describe the way that God's power works in our lives through His Holy Spirit.

The other concept of "works" is in our occupation, work, or business. In Hebrew this is the word "melakah" and in Greek it is "ergon". When Moses wrote about God's creation of the world, he used the word "melakah".  When the Scripture mentions the Israelites building the tabernacle or temple, that is the word that is used. In the New Testament, "ergon" is used extensively, often translated as either "works" or "deeds". When Paul talks about being saved by grace through faith not by works, especially in the book of Romans, "ergon" is the word he uses. We cannot work to receive His grace; He gives it freely. What, then, are we to do? What about those works that "God prepared in advance for us to do", as Paul writes about in Ephesians 2?

Think about a role in your life that you may be passionate about--be it within your family or your career even-- a role as a wife, husband, mom, dad, aunt, teacher, health care researcher, or whatever it may be. A mom does not love her children--change their diapers, feed them, clothe them, etc-- to earn the "title" of mom. She is a mom, so she does those things for her children because she loves them.  A teacher who is passionate about her job doesn't spend extra time preparing lesson or tutoring students so that she earns the title of teacher, but because she is a teacher, she does those things. Why is it different for our faith? We do those "good deeds" not to earn the title of "Christian". Instead, because our "spiritual occupation", for lack of a better phrase, is that of Christian, we strive to do good things. Good deeds are the product of a Christian life, not the payment to earn the right to be called a Christian.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. I pray that I am truly Spirit-focused in this endeavor and that anything I write as a result of this study is in line with the truth of God's Word.

Previous posts:

Introduction to the 52 Word Journey

Words 1 and 2: Confidence and Peace

Palin, McCain, and the Difference between Support and Agreement

Yesterday Governor Palin penned a post on her Facebook page expressing her support of Senator McCain in the face of censure by his own party in Arizona.  In many ways, it echoed the op-ed she wrote for the Arizona Central when she endorsed Senator McCain's re-election nearly four years ago. Governor Palin's support of Senator McCain shows far more of her character than of his merit. As Governor Palin wrote last night:

We live in a time of diminishing virtues because of societal influence towards total self-centeredness. This is unfortunate and makes raising families, conducting business, and governing that much more challenging. I know how important the virtue of loyalty is because in politics it’s pretty much nonexistent. I stand on that most important virtue and answer those asking today: “Yes, I am proud to have been asked to run with him in 2008, and he is my friend.”

If loyalty is essentially nonexistent in politics as Governor Palin notes, how would anyone know what it looks like? One needs to look no further than Governor Palin's own character and action over the years. Governor Palin has stood by Senator McCain's side since 2008, in spite of his often tepid support for her and his nonexistent defense of her when she was more or less accused of murdering his Arizona constituents in Tucson three years ago. Governor Palin's loyalty has been noted by many. For example, Governor Nikki Haley noted in her book about Governor Palin's continued support in the midst of allegations during Haley's gubernatorial campaign that she had an affair:

When allegations from Folks first surfaced, Haley remembers having Palin in her corner after just one phone call – a contrast to the way another supporter, Romney, had handled the news. “Sarah goes with her gut, and I love her for that,” she writes. “Mitt’s team [said] they were going to have a ‘Nikki Haley meeting’ the next morning to decide what to do next.”

Governor Palin again stood with Haley in May of 2012 when a South Carolina union leader beat a pinata with a picture of Governor Haley's face on it. This came even after Haley's silence when Governor Palin and the Tea Party was blamed for the Tucson shooting. Suffice it to say, Governor Palin's loyalty is because of who she is (her character), not because of who the others are. Support differs from complete agreement, however. Governor Palin has expressed disagreement with McCain either implicitly or explicitly multiple times. As she noted in her Facebook post,  Governor Palin parts ways with Senator McCain on ANWR and immigration. She has parted ways with him implicitly too. Her "Let Allah sort it out" approach to Syria is 180 degrees different than Senator McCain's neocon approach to Syria. In her vintage speech to a Tea Party rally in Iowa in September 2011, Governor Palin mocked Senator McCain, although not in name, for his reference to Tea Partiers as hobbits. To be sure, Governor Palin has her share of disagreements with Senator McCain, just as some supporters may disagree with her for supporting Senator McCain in this manner. That is the beauty of independence of thought--difference of opinion does negate support. As Governor Palin's brother Chuck Heath Jr. noted on his Facebook page today:

Post by Chuck Heath, Jr.

It can't be said much better than that. We don't have to always agree, but we all can learn a lesson in loyalty from the one political figure who personifies it.

Crossposted here, here, and here.

Meet the "Kronies"--Brilliance in Highlighting "Crapitalism"

I don't know exactly how to characterize this, but there is a new campaign to highlight crony capitalism (or the portmanteau that I like to use--crapitalism) . This campaign--The Kronies-- uses youtube clips and specially designed 80s style action figures. Here's the introductory video:

 

 It hearkens me back to my childhood, but there's no particular protagonist action figure like Heman or She-rah. Instead there are guys like "Big G":



 Whatever this campaign is, they are taking aim at both political parties, which is a good thing. I'm sure the likes of Governor Palin, Peter Schewizer and Michelle Malkin, who have focused their careers around fighting cronyism, approve.

 H/T Hot Air

Crossposted here, here, and here.

A 52 Word Journey for Bible Study in 2014: Words 1 and 2: Confidence and Peace

As I noted two weeks ago, my Bible study plan this year is a weekly focus on one word found in Scripture. This is an endeavor I've entered prayerfully, and as I write these summaries every two weeks, I want to share what the Spirit has shown me as humbly as I can. I don't presume to be a Biblical scholar or a hermeneutical expert, and my summaries will not be exhaustive, simply brief summaries. I simply want to share what the Scripture has shown me.

The words that I have studied during these first two weeks of January are confidence and peace. The secular world portrays these attitudes or ideas differently than the Scriptures, so I have feared that I have not understood them as correctly as I should. This is why I chose these two words to kickoff this 2014 journey.

Confidence 

In the New International Version of the Bible, the word "confidence", or some variation of it, is used 18 times in the Old Testament and 19 times in the New Testament. There are multiple Hebrew words that are translated as "confidence", most intriguing to me were "batach" and "mibtach". Naturally, they both have similar meanings, batach focusing more on the aspect of trust while mibtach focusing more on seeing God, someone, or something as a refuge. The Old Testament use of the word "confidence" spans from Israel's or other nation's confidence in political or military leaders to a husband's confidence in the "woman of noble character" in Proverbs to David's confidence in God in the Psalms. However, the use of confidence in the Old Testament that spoke to my heart most were found in Isaiah. Perhaps it is due to my Midwestern roots, but Biblical agricultural analogies have always resonated with me. Isaiah 32:16-17 reads:

The LORD’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field. 

The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.

What a message. A fertile field of God's righteousness will produce peaceful fruit leading to both quietness and confidence. I've always thought of confidence as loud, but it seems it is not. Isaiah is using the word "betach". There is a trust that comes from righteousness and peace.

In the New Testament, there are multiple Greek words that are translated as "confidence" in English. The word "parresia" was the most intriguing to me, meaning cheerful courage. Interestingly, it is also often used in reference to people speaking plainly, without ambiguity, but with boldness. Perhaps a little bit like Sara Bareilles's song "Brave", which was stuck in my head the whole week I was studying this word:



However, the use of word confidence in the New Testament is more often about being confident before God (I John 3:21) --coming before His throne--and in the face of persecution (Hebrews 10:32-35) than it is about trying to verbally right a wrong. So often the world attaches to the idea of confidence to self, when, in Scripture, the only use of the phrase "self-confidence" is in Nehemiah when the an enemy of Israel lost "self-confidence" when defeated by an Israel that put its trust in God. The Scriptures point to confidence as something we can have in coming before God and in being bold in this world because of Him.

Peace

For the word "peace", I used the English Standard Version. With the prevalence of the word (273 times in the Old Testament and 94 times in the New Testament) throughout the Bible it was easier to follow using the Lexiconc resource on BlueletterBible.org. During this week, I decided to focus on the peace in relation to God or a sense of personal peace, rather than to look at the verses that discuss peace surrounding the relationships between nations.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word "shalowm" is generally translated as peace, meaning tranquility, prosperity, quietness. A large portion of the verses that use the word peace are in reference to "peace offerings" sacrificed to God, but there are other uses as well--especially in the Psalms. What intrigued me most is the verbs associated with peace:

Psalm 4:8- sleep/dwell in peace
Psalm 34:14-seek/pursue peace
Psalm 37:11- delight in peace

As I studied the Psalm 37 verse, it was especially interesting to look at what Hebrew word was translated into "delight"-the word is "anag" which means to be delicate or to be pampered. What a concept! To pamper yourself in peace because of God. I know it's certainly not something I do very well. It has given me a new view of peace. God's peace is a glass of red wine, a bubble bath, or a manicure for your spirit!

In the New Testament, the Greek word "eirene" (tranquility, harmony, security) is usually what is translated as peace. There are many interesting tidbits about the use of peace in the New Testament that I discovered during this week's journey:

• Jesus told His disciples "peace be with you" three times in John 20 following His resurrection
• There is an interesting thread in Romans connecting the Trinity and peace. Romans 5:1 which notes that we can have peace with God through Christ, and Romans 8:6 which notes that the mind of the Spirit is life and peace
• There are over a dozen references to peace in the greetings and closings of Paul's letters to various churches

This is my Scripture word journey so far. Thank you for letting me share it with you.

Obamacare: Meet the New Contractor, Same as the Old Contractor

The Obama administration will not renew the contract of CGI Group Inc, the Michelle Obama tied company that oversaw the failed website. Per Chicago Business:

CGI Group Inc., the company that built the federal Obamacare website, will be replaced next month when its contract with the U.S. government expires, a person familiar with the decision said. The Obama administration intends to sign a contract with Accenture Plc to complete unfinished work on HealthCare.gov and run the site, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the decision isn't public. Montreal-based CGI fell as much as 3.8 percent in New York trading.

Things can only get better, right? Well, perhaps not. The Chicago Business article continues:

The Oct. 1 debut of the insurance exchange serving 36 of the 50 U.S. states was plagued by delays, error messages and hang-ups that prevented people from completing applications. Accenture, the second-largest technology-consulting company, led construction of California's better-performing state system.

Through November the California exchanged netted more Obamacare enrollees than the federal exchange, but such numbers are more of a testament to the failure of the federal exchange than the success of the California exchange. The Accenture built California exchange is not without its problems. The Washington Examiner reported last month that seven in ten California doctors wanted to boycott the exchange. The California exchange website--Covered California-- is listing doctors who are not part of the exchange. Also, Covered California was found to be giving out health care consumer information without consent. Per the Daily Caller:

Widespread fears that Affordable Care Act exchanges would fail to guard customer information are already coming true in California, where the state exchange is giving selected insurance agents customer contact information, resulting in unwanted calls and emails to Californians who have checked out the exchange but declined to buy insurance. The Los Angeles Times’ Chad Terhune reports that Covered California, which Obamacare proponents have held up as a rare example of a functioning state health care exchange, provides names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of customers who did not ask to be contacted.

Furthermore, just last week Covered California extend their premium payment deadline per Tony Lee at Breitbart News:

"Covered California" announced the news as news outlets across California started reporting on residents who were unsure if they actually successfully enrolled in Obamacare or still had trouble finishing their applications because of website malfunctions. Many residents reported being "stuck" in the middle of the application process and not being able to get answers about whether their information had been successfully transmitted to insurance companies.

While the Obama administration may tout this contractor change as a means to improve their failing exchange, it is really just more of the same failure.

Crossposted here, here, and here.