Saturday, December 29, 2012

Spiritual Warriors

The Holy Spirit moved an apostle to write, "We are not ignorant of Satan’s devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11).

Christ warned his disciples to "be wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16).

The Israelites sent out spies before entering the promised land.

Within the text of The Art of War by Sun-Tzu (a book studied today by men in intelligence), he discusses the use of spies in Book 13. Sun-Tzu was born in 534 B.C. and lived most likely until after the year 453 B.C. In 500 B.C., some men were farmers, and some were spies. Today, both occupations still exist. The modern American farmer is vastly superior to the ancient farmer of 500 B.C., so how does the modern spy compare? Applied thought leads most to assume that he or she is vastly superior also.

The Word of God is accurate, for it warns that God’s people "are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6).

The practical difficulty in obtaining honest information [truth] in today’s Big Brother world is aptly described by an intelligence asset over the Internet:
"If you are lucky and work hard, you will find some of the truth. If you are lucky and work REALLY hard, you might find the WHOLE truth... as someone wants you to know it. If you are PHENOMENALLY lucky and really work your tail off, you might even go on to find the REAL truth. But no outsiders... and in fact, very few insiders ever ... EVER ... learn the WHOLE REAL truth." 
The entirety of the above text was initially obtained from this SOURCE.  It has been modified slightly and links have been added. The purpose of posting it here is to make you [the reader] think.

Men of the world have no real power in the world.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).

Jesus Christ has been given all authority in heaven and on earth through His finished work on the cross (ref. Matthew 28:18).

If you [the reader] have given your life [your heart, your soul, your being] to The Lord - Christ Jesus, then you have been set free of the bonds of this world.  You are no longer a man of the world - you are a man of God.  In this, by the gift of Christ and His Holy Spirit, you are a new creation in Christ and you have power (ref. Acts 1:8).

It is time that we [men of God] exercise our faith and authority in Christ Jesus - by faith through fervent prayer.  It is through prayer that the world is transformed.  Let us start now.  Ask God right now in the name of Christ Jesus - what you can do, what you can say, what you can think, what you can learn - to change the world for the glory of Christ Jesus.  Be astonished by what Jesus can do through you.

Always remember:  "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).

Shine your light into the darkness.

Photo credits:  followtheseinstructions, Bruce Guenter

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Do You Own A Firearm? We Know Who You Are, And Will Make Sure Everyone Else Does As Well

A New York newspaper has gone to the effort to map out and publish online – complete with names and addresses – all the people in its area who own handgun permits.

The Journal News of White Plains, N.Y., has created interactive, online maps of all handgun permit holders in Westchester and Rockland counties, while it’s also waiting on information from Putnam County.

The newspaper boasts it was able to obtain the names and addresses through a Freedom of Information request, for New York state law makes permit holders’ information public record.

The interactive maps not only give an overall picture of the distribution of handgun permits, but can also be zoomed in upon, revealing the name and address of those licensed to own a handgun, be it pistol or revolver.
Presumably, a person familiar with an area could also use the maps to obtain locations of homes where the owner doesn’t have a handgun permit.

Jeff Knox, director of The Firearms Coalition, called the newspaper’s action “an outrageous invasion of privacy and a highly irresponsible action.”

“People choose to own handguns for a variety of reasons, personal defense being the most common,” Knox told WND. “How many victims of domestic violence, armed to protect themselves from an abusive spouse or boyfriend, were jeopardized by releasing this information? How many vulnerable seniors were placed at-risk by revealing the fact that they own guns?

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A gun in the home is a last line of defense against violent criminals,” Knox continued. “Publicizing the existence of the gun in a particular home can have a potentially deadly impact. Guns are highly desirable targets of thieves, and we can expect that some of the people on this list will have their homes burglarized within the next 12 months.”

Response to the online article, judging by its comments section, has likewise been overwhelmingly negative.

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