You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January 2008.
Remember the story of Joseph? I can’t even imagine what must have been going through his mind as various seemingly horrible things came his way:
- His brothers threw him in the well
- They sold him as a slave
- After becoming a successful manager, he was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison
At that point, Joseph becomes immensely successful when he is able to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. He becomes second-in-command, the head honcho and in charge of ALL the food stores in Egypt. Now, when famine hits, his brothers come to buy food. They had no idea their brother was even still alive and didn’t recognize him, but Joseph knew them.
When they found out the truth, they were justifiably scared to death. He could have had them all killed for what they did to him. He could have held a grudge and made them all be his slaves. But that’s not what he did. You see, Joseph had the big picture in mind through all his ordeals:
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. -Genesis 50
God intended it for good. All the bad stuff Joseph had to go through was part of a larger plan. I believe the same thing is happening today in the presidential race. The other candidates and Goliath News Media intend to do a great deal of harm to Mike Huckabee’s campaign. Today many talk show hosts were calling on Huckabee to step down — this despite the fact that in the polls he is only 1.5% behind Romney!
CNN schemed to do Mike harm when they stuck him at the far end of the debate table and allowed McCain and Romney the lion’s share of talk time. But what happened to their plans? Mike got to stand by Nancy Reagan at the beginning. It ended up being good that McCain and Romney had so much talk time because they acted like High School Harry with all the bickering about who said what, when. Compared to their fumbling jabs at each other, Mike came across as a level-headed, caring, compassionate visionary who had a lot of unique ideas and common sense. And his position at the very end of the debate table? That worked in his favor as well, because he got to have the last word. What a last word it was, too:
And what did the voters think? A group of undecided California women got together to watch the debate. Here’s what they had to say, before and after:
Over and over again throughout history, what man intended for harm, the Lord turned to his own purposes. Let’s not forget that our God is Sovereign, and the world is literally in his hands. The media is being intentionally blinded by the powers of darkness; what else can explain their insistence that Huckabee is “out” of the running? Only 8% of the delegates have been selected…and in the polls, Huckabee is closer to Romney than Obama is to Hillary.
Many in the media are saying that a vote for Huckabee is really taking votes away from Romney; I say it’s the other way around! A vote for Romney is a vote against Huckabee! Mike agrees with me. I’ll leave you with statement published on his website:
We are in this race to win despite the desperate efforts by the Romney campaign to try and say that “a vote for me is a vote for McCain”. Actually, a vote for me is a vote for me! And it’s a vote to say no to the underhanded efforts of the Romney campaign and his wholly-owned talk radio backers who are repeating that nonsense. We have outlasted Rudy, Fred, and others who were supposed to be the winners. Only 8% of the Republican delegates have been selected, and we have about the same number of delegates as McCain or Romney. We are in it to win.
Why are we surprised that Goliath News Media is mocking Governor Huckabee? Take a look at what Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 5:
11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you[c] and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
I urge you to pay close attention to the Republican debates this evening on CNN. Carefully weigh what each candidate has to say about the issues. I doubt that Romney will have another whisper (surely his advisers can find another means to prompt him without it going over the air). But I want to propose a reason why Romney needed coaching at the last debate: he does not stand for something. He has no convictions. And if you don’t stand up for what you really believe in, you’ll stand up for anything.
But don’t take my word for it. Here are some of Governor Romney’s words:
On Abortion:
I will preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard.”Boston Herald Debate, 10/29/02
“Roe v. Wade continues to work its destructive logic throughout our society This can’t continue.”Speech to the Massachusetts Citizens For Life Mother’s Day Pioneer Valley Dinner, 5/10/07
On Illegal Immigration
“With these 11 million people [here illegally], let’s have them registered, know who they are….those that are here paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process towards application for citizenship.”Lowell Sun, 3/30/06
“One simple rule: no amnesty. If that [Kennedy-McCain bill] is not a form of amnesty, I don’t know what is.”
On the Second Amendment
“We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts; I support them. I won’t chip away at them; I believe they protect us and provide for our safety.” Romney in 2002 gov. debate, Boston Globe, 1/14/07
“I have a gun of my own. I go hunting myself. I’m a member of the NRA and believe firmly in the right to bear arms.”Boston Globe, 1/14/07
On serving in the military
“I was not planning on signing up for the military. It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam…”Boston Herald, 5/2/94
“I longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and be representing our country there and in some ways it was frustrating not to feel like I was there as part of the troops that were fighting in Vietnam.”Boston Globe, 6/24/07
Mitt Romney is a bad fit for America because he has no place to firmly set his feet. On what should a person stand? The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5 that we should stand firmly in the faith:
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Stand firm in what faith? To a Christian, standing firm in the faith means standing firm in the faith that we who put our hope in Christ have eternal life. We follow him and strive to obey his commandments. We seek to please God in everything we do. Who does Mitt Romney seek to please? From the flip-flopping of comments, I think he seeks to please the electorate. He wants to please those who he thinks will vote for him. (Let’s set aside, for the moment, whether a Mormon is a Christian. Since he also told us in a recent debate that he believes the Bible is God’s word, we shall see if he follows through with his actions.)
Hmm. Should a candidate seek to please the people? What’s wrong with that picture? Colossians 3 shows us why it’s wrong to put our efforts into pleasing the people:
23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Therein lies the main difference between Romney and Huckabee. Governor Huckabee is serving Christ. An obvious piece of evidence that he is indeed following Christ is the excessive bashing he is getting in the press. Goliath News Media is either saying he should drop out of the race or ignoring him altogether. He is being slammed for his convictions. He’s being mocked, persecuted, lied about, and evil, untrue things are being said about him. For that matter, those of us who support him are being slammed for ours in blogs all over the place.
They say we’re ignorant or extreme, and they use the word ‘evangelical’ as if it’s a bad word. They say we’re anti-abortion instead of calling us pro-life. They use language to try to push us down and stomp us out of the culture. But you know what? Jesus said this would happen and that when it does, we are to REJOICE!
11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you[c] and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
I like being put in the same category as the ancient prophets. If supporting Mike Huckabee means people steal signs out of my yard or write ugly emails, then so be it. Like Mike, I have convictions.
I leave you and encourage you with these words from 1 Corinthians 15:
57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Our grassroots intensive labor is not in vain! We shall not be moved.
Yesterday found me in a blog-induced funk. I’d been writing and reading and suddenly looked up and realized the time. Praise God, life does not exist merely in the pixels I see on the screen or in these words that I write!
My thoughts have been turning lately towards the presidential campaign. I’ve been praying about and writing blogs in support of Governor Huckabee. Many of my blog postings lately have been prompted not necessarily through Scripture, although I always try to back up my words with this authority. But last night my reading took me into 1 Timothy, and I was suddenly struck by how ALIVE the words of God are and how they are relevant even today in the year 2008.
In chapter 5, Paul gives instructions to Timothy on how to have good relationships with others — older men, younger men, older women, younger women, and widows.
1 Never speak harshly to an older man,[a] but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brothers. 2 Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.
3 Take care of[b] any widow who has no one else to care for her. 4 But if she has children or grandchildren, their first responsibility is to show godliness at home and repay their parents by taking care of them. This is something that pleases God.
Notice the comparison. Paul tells Timothy that he ought to treat every person as if he or she is a member of his own family. In other words, be careful to show as much love and respect to others as you do to your family (assuming, of course, that you treat your own family with respect!) We are told that when we do this, it pleases God.
It pleases God. Wow — above all else, I want to stand before my Father in heaven and have him be pleased with me. I want my earthly parents, my husband, and my daughter to be pleased with me. But I especially yearn to hear praise from the Father’s lips…knowing, of course, that anything I do that is good has its source in Him and is for His glory. It’s not about me. I want to be….like the piano. I want to be so in tune with the Lord that He can sit down and play me and find that I perform just as He created me to be so that others will hear the music that comes from me and will marvel at the musician, not at me.
One way I can be an instrument for God’s love is to see people — really see them as God sees them, as members of my family.
Now take a step with me if you will into Governor Huckabee’s record (you didn’t think I’d write on a primary day without mentioning him, did you??!). In his book From Hope to Higher Ground, Huckabee writes about what happened when an influx of Katrina refugees flooded Arkansas borders. As I read from 1 Timothy last night, I was struck by the Governor’s response. It seemed as if Paul himself was writing it!
“I had told our cabinet the day before….that the mission would be ‘to take care of people first and fill out the paperwork later.’ I challenged everyone working in our relief efforts to ask this simple question, “How would I want to be treated if it were me?” Each person was told that if they saw a seven-year-old coming off a bus or airplane, ‘Treat them how you would want your own seven-year-old to be treated in such a circumstance.’ When seeing an elderly and bewildered person, ask, ‘If this were my grandmother, how would I want someone to treat her?’ Once we established the Golden Rule criteria for all our operations, everything else got much easier.”
-From Hope to Higher Ground, by Mike Huckabee, page 12
Mike’s leadership gave these people hope, dignity, and respect. He followed Jesus’ teaching to “Do unto others as you would have done unto you,” and he also followed the advice given to Timothy.
And the Lord was pleased, don’t you think?
This just goes to show how Biblical teachings are not draped in cobwebs or destined for the vault of discarded 8-track tapes and vinyl records. The words in Scripture are living, and if we let them, they breathe life and insight into our complex and difficult lives.
If you look at Governor Huckabee’s record, you will ultimately find that he put a premium on placing people before the paperwork. If you read his book you’ll find a story about how difficult it used to be to secure a vehicle registration in Arkansas. Whew! I thought Texas laws were cumbersome! Huckabee went to the local DMV office and talked to the person who’d worked behind the counter for twenty years. “How would you fix it?” he asked her. She gave her practical advice, and guess what? Now people can complete the registration process online. Snip snip — hear that red tape being ripped?
The basis behind putting people ahead of paperwork can be found in 1 Timothy chapter 2. As we head into the last hours of the Florida primary, I pray this scripture over those who will be voting, over those who have already voted, over those who will not vote, over those who cannot vote and over all the candidates and their families:
1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
That’s another way we can please God our Savior — to pray for all people. That word all means all. Not just Republicans. Not just Democrats. Not just Americans, either. If we as a country could join hands across the aisle and put people ahead of paperwork, ahead of politics…imagine what God can accomplish through us!
Since I used to live in the Sunshine State, I know at least a little about what I speak. I lived on the Atlantic side of Florida in what’s known as the First Coast. Our suburb was separated from the city by a three mile bridge. My husband’s twenty mile commute sometimes took over ninety minutes, one way. If there was an accident or construction on the bridge, he had to drive on a loop completely around the other side of the city to get home. Needless to say, he spent many so many hours on the road getting to and from work that we joked he should buy stock in Exxon.
This summer we took a vacation to beautiful Destin, along with about a zillion other people who all decided to arrive — and leave — at the same time we did. A full one-third of our drive time took place in…you guessed it…Florida. Bumper to bumper traffic on roads built eons ago led to much aggravation and even pollution as we sat in our car and poked the last fifty miles at less than twenty miles an hour.
We’ve spent our share of time on America’s roadways. We’ve had three cross-country moves, all on interstate highways. There are some stretches of highways (I-45, for example, in Houston) that have been under construction as long as I have been alive! How can that be, when tollroads open up so much faster? I think the answer lies in government red tape.
That is where Governor Huckabee comes in! Listen, Florida voters! Tomorrow you have the chance to vote for THE conservative candidate, whose record in Arkansas shows an ability to accomplish things that the “status quo” said was impossible:
Governor Huckabee said,
“I can’t part the Red Sea, but I do believe I can part the red tape.”
In the case of roads, or “infrastructure,” Governor Huckabee is the only candidate with a plan to improve them. Take it from someone who used to bounce around in her grandfather’s truck on truly deplorable Arkansas roads…Governor Huckabee did indeed “part the red tape” in Arkansas and led the way towards turning some of the “worst roads in the nation” to some of the best.
Huckabee first mentioned roadways in the Florida debate:
This nation’s infrastructure is falling apart. And if we built those lanes of highways — with American labor, American steel, American concrete – I believe it would do more to stimulate the economy.
And the reason I say that is because when we were going through a recession in my state, we were in the middle of a billion-dollar highway construction program that brought about 40,000 jobs and brought a billion dollars of capital into the economy.
That’s a long-term stimulus package that I think would have more impact on the American long-term future. And it would keep social capital from being wasted, fuel wasted. A lot of people in Florida sit around in traffic every day, never getting to their kids’ dance recitals or soccer games because they’re stuck in traffic, and we’ve done nothing about it.
–Governor Mike Huckabee
Florida Atlantic University Debate
January 24, 2008
A study conducted by Texas A&M University concluded that we spend 4.2 billion hours each year in our cars due to added length of commutes and traffic congestion. That translates to nearly 3 billion wasted gallons of gasoline each year and costs our economy 78 billion dollars, per year!
Governor Huckabee has some ideas about traffic concerns specific for Florida, ones that you voters need to consider:
Florida’s economic engine rests on moving people and freight. It has the longest coastline in the continental U.S. and many vital ports. A strong highway system is integral to moving tourists through the state in a timely manner and taking freight across the country.
There is an immediate need to expand the ports of Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville, which are enormous economic engines not only for Florida but for the entire country. Yet there are challenges ahead:
- Annual operating security costs at the Port of Miami almost quadrupled from 2001 to 2006, from about $4 to $16 million.
- The current expansion of the Panama Canal will allow for much larger tankers to come through Florida. To harness these benefits, we must enlarge the capacities of the Port of Miami, the Port of Tampa, and the Port of Jacksonville.
- The Port of Jacksonville is currently working on becoming a deepwater port and expanding to double its cargo capacity. The Port will need road/rail improvement to transport goods across the state and country.
- Miami has requested $13 million to complete dredging of the Miami River this year or next. This would complete an $86 million dredging project started in 2004 and run by the Army Corps of Engineers. Over the next 20 years, this should generate $100 million in business from ships, letting them use the river at both high and low tides. The river had not been dredged since the 1930’s.
- The Miami Harbor has requested $2 million for engineering and design for dredging the harbor.
- These are just some of the important projects that a Huckabee administration will seek to foster.
As Huckabee states on his website, building roads and improving transportation doesn’t just make things easier for the commuter. It also helps the economy. Every dollar invested in infrastructure is estimated to produce $5.70 in economic activity. Every billion invested in federal roadways results in an additional 47,500 jobs. I am no math genius by any sense of the word, but even I can figure out that building and improving things, like roads, adds jobs and stimulates the economy.
Every once in a long while, a leader comes alone with a special combination of bold ideas, creativity, and common sense. Governor Huckabee is one such leader, and I am proud to be a supporter. Is it any wonder Huckabee has such wisdom? He states quite emphatically that he is a believer; his faith defines who he is and drives his decisions. He spends time in the Word of God and allows it to sink in him and guide him as he walks his path. His current path is this one: seeking the presidency. Take a look at Proverbs 2 and what God says about seeking wisdom:
1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,3 and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
Governor Huckabee does search for wisdom. You decide whether or not he’s found it. Here’s another “Huckism” for you:
We ought to be people of compassion. And being people of compassion means we deny ourselves, and our self-centeredness.
Here are some more treasures from Proverbs 2:
6 For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.7 He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
About the war in Iraq, Governor Huckabee said that he knows some mistakes were made, but the focus should be on the future, not on what’s behind:
In a war, whoever gives up loses. If we say that’s it, we embolden an enemy that has its intent to destroy us. They don’t care if it takes 1000 days or 1000 years.
Pulling out of Iraq would be tantamount to a loss, and Huckabee would not stand for that.
9 Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.11 Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,13 who leave the straight paths
to walk in dark ways,14 who delight in doing wrong
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,15 whose paths are crooked
and who are devious in their ways.16 It will save you also from the adulteress,
from the wayward wife with her seductive words,17 who has left the partner of her youth
and ignored the covenant she made before God. [a]18 For her house leads down to death
and her paths to the spirits of the dead.19 None who go to her return
or attain the paths of life.
Huckabee is in this race because he wants to serve a nation that seems to have lost its way.
If we are to leave a legacy for the next generation, we need to understand what kind of legacy we are losing as a result of confusing lust with love. There is something tragic about a culture that loses the capacity to express sacrificial love for another. We have abandoned that idea in exchange for ego-centered love that uses other people as vehicles for our personal satisfaction.
Who else in among the presidential candidates comes out on the side of sacrificial love?
20 Thus you will walk in the ways of good men
and keep to the paths of the righteous.21 For the upright will live in the land,
and the blameless will remain in it;22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
Mike Huckabee has great regard for America but does so with remarkable, “big picture” wisdom:
Every single one of us as Americans need to remember that freedom did not come free. As we get on our knees tonight, thank God we live in a country where people are trying to break into, and not a country people are trying to break out of.
I have had many people tell me that they really do like and “lean toward” Governor Huckabee, but they are worried about voting for him because of his standing in this poll or that poll. They are afraid that a vote for him would be a “wasted vote.” If you find yourself in that category, think about this: why do you vote anyway? Would you jump off a cliff if everyone else told you it was the “in” thing to do? Don’t let those polls or television pundits tell you who to vote for or how to think. The ONLY vote that is wasted is the one that doesn’t follow your conscience.
This principle of “thinking for myself” hit home hard today as my daughter and I were studying The Declaration of Independence as part of our homeschool history curriculum. Thomas Jefferson penned a document that actually had no original idea in it at all. Everything in it was based on similar writings that the English people themselves came up with in their “Glorious Revolution.” Thomas Jefferson used their own words as a basis for America’s decision to break off and become its own country: the King was breaking his own laws in his dealings with the Americas, taxing them without representation, denying the colonists a trial by jury, prohibiting free trade, etc.
Governor Huckabee reminds me of Thomas Jefferson in that he takes good ideas that have been around for awhile (such as the FairTax, the 9-point border plan, support for a Human Life Amendment, and belief that investment in our infrastructure will boost our economy) and embraces them. He is an intelligent man who doesn’t think he has to re-invent the wheel. He isn’t interested in getting glory or power or wealth. His interest is in serving.
You can get a better look at Governor Huckabee, the man, by visiting www.huckisms.com. There are lots of great quotes that reveal just how intelligent, thoughtful, and effective Huckabee is as a man, a leader, and a Christ-follower.
The Lord multiplied the loaves and fishes when the crowds gathered to hear Jesus speak. He can do the same with our donations! If you are stuck on Huck, please consider donating some funds to his campaign. My goal is to raise $500 by the end of this week. Click on the word “donations” above, and I’ll get credit. Even $5 or $10 will be used in mighty, God-honoring ways.
South Carolina was lost by a mere 7700 votes. Let’s give the Goliath News Media pundits some shock-and-awe!!
In history class, we learned about the Spanish-American War and the role of so-called “yellow journalism” in ultimately pushing for America’s involvement in the Cuban conflict. Two competing newspapers, one owned by William Randolph Hearst and the other by Joseph Pulitzer II, published ever-increasing sensationalized stories in an effort to gain more subscribers. When Hearst’s two highest-paid reporters stationed in Cuba sent him a telegram saying that there was not much action, he replied with his now-famous quote:
You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.
Today’s major news corporations like to think that they hold themselves to a higher standard of objectivity when reporting the news. CNN, FoxNews, MSNBC, ABC News and others daily report the news from what they believe is an objective point of view.
But they don’t. Consider Matthew 12:
For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
Or in the case of journalists, the pen writes. That is why it is impossible to objectively report only the facts without somehow slanting the article. The language writers choose dictates whether the story will have a positive or a negative feel.
But that’s not the only way news isn’t objective. Lots of newsworthy events happen all over the country today that aren’t reported. With limited time on the air, on the page, or space on the webpage, editors have to decide whether or not to publish a story based on what they (and their owners) consider to be of interest to the public.
In the case of presidential politics, the major news outlets define who is a front-runner and who is not simply by who they chose to report on or write about. The news media follows around all of the candidates, so there is no shortage of film. It doesn’t help that one of the candidates owns several media outlets…of course he’s the one who’s going to get the most coverage! Even in the debates, candidates are not given equal time to speak — Huckabee had a mere 11 minutes to Romney’s 22 at the last debate. But when Huckabee speaks, we are treated to much, much wisdom.
As Deacon Keith Fournier at Catholic.org writes, let Huckabee speak! After all,
For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
Don’t be fooled or satisfied by the mainstream media. It may just be that like David, Huckabee has some stones in his pocket. In fact, God often uses the underdog or the one whose outward appearance is weak to accomplish his purposes.
Remember the story of Gideon? The Israelites had been doing evil, and a foreign nation overran them and took over their lands. They were forced to camp out in caves and other hiding places, and they cried to God to help them. Rather than send in a mighty warrior, God did the unexpected:
From Judges 6:
14 The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”15 “But Lord , [a] ” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
16 The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.”
God chose not only a man from the weakest clan (or party??), but he chose the one who was the least in his family. The story continues in Judges 7 as Gideon gathers his thirty-two thousand men army together for battle:
2 The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, 3 announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
Okay, so now Gideon has ten thousand available to fight against a nation packed in so tightly on their lands that their camels were more numerous than grains of sand on the seashore. How’s that? God still wasn’t satisfied with the size of his army:
4 But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink.” 6 Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
7 The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place.”
All right! Now Gideon has 300 men to fight a city full of people. It could work, right? What happened next is even more unexpected. God tells Gideon to sneak down to the camp and listen to what was being said. So he did this and overheard enemy soldiers discussing a dream one of them had had:
I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
14 His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”
So there goes Gideon rushing back to his camp. He worshiped God and divided his 300 men into three companies. Then he led them in a very….unconventional way. No weapons at all…just glass jars and torches:
17 “Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’ “
19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. 20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
The above account is how the Bible reports on these events. If a reporter from the Goliath News Media filed a story on the same events, it might read something like this:
Today the Israelites picked Gideon, a very unlikely leader, who systematically pared down the military to less than a tenth of its original force. In the dead of night he and his men surrounded the Midianite camp armed with nothing but trumpets, torches, and glass. This unusual tactic caused confusion among the Midianites, who began shooting each other in their panic. The remaining Midianites beat a hasty retreat. In the meantime, thousands of former military soldiers are without jobs and healthcare.
The same events are spun with very different connotations. So be wary of what you read in the newspaper, see on television, or watch on the internet.
With David and Goliath and Gideon and the Midianites, the Lord chose unconventional, unexpected men to perform amazing deeds. Can the Lord use unconventional and unexpected means to place Huckabee ahead of the pack? Will he send a loaf of barley barreling into the Goliath News Media, grabbing Huckabee the spotlight he needs to win? If He does so, it will go to show us again that the battle is the Lord’s…and that we are victorious not by our own strength, but by His power and might.
As I write this blog tonight, I am like a loaf of barley smacking into the Midianites’ cyberspace. If you’ve stumbled here looking for information about the candidates, I am so glad you are here. Please go to Huckabee’s website and find out for yourself where he stands on the issues. If reading this blog causes you to decide to support Huckabee (or someone else, for that matter!), leave a comment! If you’d like more information, leave a comment and I will do what I can to find the answer.
Many thanks to the people who put this video together of snippets of Mike Huckabee’s speeches on a variety of topics that are relevant to today.
Yesterday I watched and recorded the Republican debate on MSNBC. On two separate occasions when Governor Romney was asked a question, an obvious whisper was heard right before he repeated whatever the whisper said to say! At first, I thought the MSNBC questioners perhaps whispered the words themselves, although I can’t imagine why they would do such a thing. One of these such instances can be seen here:
So whose voice was that? Does Romney have some sort of earbud or other transmitter that prompts him what to say? Or was that one of the MSNBC questioners? A recent blog post from NBC political researcher Domenico Montanaro states:
As far as figuring out the mystery of who or where it came from, that is being worked on, and we hope to have an answer soon. It puzzled us here too, and we’re looking through tape of other candidates to see if it was one of them. We’ll let you know.
The jury is out until we know more about who said what, when. The fact remains that the Lord despises falsehood. I can’t say it any better than this from Proverbs 12:
22 The LORD detests lying lips,
but he delights in men who are truthful.
I am hopeful that the truth on this controversy will come out.
My eyebrows were also raised when Governor Romney was asked about how much of his own personal fortune he’d spent on the campaign so far in Florida. He refused to answer that question, saying that he would file it as required by law at the end of the month — which just happens to be AFTER the Florida primary this Tuesday. Here’s what he said:
He doesn’t care about the voters? I think he probably meant that he doesn’t care if the voters know, but he doesn’t want his opponents to know. That is a cop out. Why not let his opponents know? What would they gain by knowing how much of his own money he’s contributed?
In contrast, Huckabee speaks to the heart of voters in response to a question on the new economic stimulus package:
What more can I say? Governor Huckabee has wisdom that rises above those of his opponents. I found an interesting verse from Psalm 2 regarding kings and wisdom. I pray that whoever is chosen to lead this great country of ours will take heed:
10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.11 Serve the LORD with fear
and rejoice with trembling.12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Most polls show Mike Huckabee behind McCain, Romney and Giuliani in Florida, but he is second in nation-wide polling (see Real Clear Politics, here). You won’t hear that on most news networks. The fact that his underfunded campaign is still going strong is a testimony to the strong grassroots support he has.
My mother has given me a new nickname: Huckabilly. I’m not really a hillbilly — there’s not a hill within 100 miles of where I live on the prairie — but I do believe Governor Huckabee is the best choice for our nation. Today I have become a Ranger for Mike Huckabee. That means I am one person, traversing the internet highways, trying to rope in some support and funds for Governor Huckabee’s campaign. If your conscience leans towards Huckabee and you want to help his campaign, go here, and enter in my Ranger Code R7954 so I can get credit for raising some funds. My goal is $100 by midnight January 26th. I will match 100% for the amount we raise, up to $100.
That’s why tomorrow I will be a part of www.huckazoom.com. Huckazoom is a grasssroots effort to raise money for Huckabee’s campaign. The goal is to raise $25,000 tomorrow, on January 25th. Supporters can register their intent to donate $25 at www.huckazoom.com; then, tomorrow, they can donate the $25 via Mike Huckabee’s website. If four readers each donate $25, then we’ll meet the goal!
Why am I devoting time and funds in these crunching economic times? Why would it be good for you to do so, too? Because it matters…by doing so, you will be giving a cup of cold water to “one of these little ones because he is my disciple.”
2And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” Matthew 10
In the eyes of the major news networks, Governor Huckabee is an underdog. He is a “little one.” I choose to bring a $25 cup of cold water to Mike Huckabee as he walks along this campaign trail. He is a deeply faithful Christ-follower, engaging the culture by his leadership and common sense. I choose to stand up for someone who is for us, who seeks to be a servant leader. Numerous conservative pro-family leaders have endorsed Huckabee in Florida, including:
Art Ally, The Timothy Plan
Frank Attkisson, Florida State Representative
Bill Bunkley, Host of Drive Time, Salem Radio Network
Barbara Collier with the Christian Coalition of Broward County *
Ken Connor, with the Center for a Just Society*
John Grant, Florida Senate, Retired
Janet Folger, with Faith2Action*
Terry Kemple, with Community Issues Forum*
Tomas Lares, with Council on Faith in Action (CONFIA)*
Pam Olson, with the Florida Prayer Network*
Rep. Marco Rubio, Speaker,
Florida House of Representatives
Mat Staver, with Liberty Counsel*
John Stemberger, with Florida Family Policy Council*
Stephen Strang, Strang Communications
Dr. David Uth, with First Baptist Church ofOrlando *
Senator Daniel Webster, Florida Senate
*for identification purposes only
One of the bloggers for Huckabee wrote,
I’m not for Mike Huckabee. Mike Huckabee is for me. That’s why I’m voting for him.
Another reason to give is to try to level the playing field. Individuals are allowed to donate up to $2300, period. Married couples can give a combined $4600. But if you are an independently wealthy candidate, you can spend AS MUCH of your own money on advertising and fundraising as you want. Current election laws favor the wealthy. But is America a country where only the very wealthy are fit to lead? Of course not! Our own Constitution says that all men were created equal. But even more stirring than that is that in God’s economy, the poor are the ones who will be blessed. Governor Huckabee will use these funds with the utmost of caution, realizing that people like you and me trust him to put them to good use. It is amazing that in Iowa, he was outspent almost 65 to 1, and he still won the caucus.
And that brings to mind another thought: Huckabee won a caucus. What do people do in a caucus? They talk. They reason together. Well, I can’t reason with you in the voting booth during the primary elections, but I can reason with you here. In a nutshell, here is why this Huckabilly supports Mike Huckabee:
- Families. Huckabee believes that parents do a better job raising kids than the government and that the government has no business interfering.
- Homeschooling. Huckabee believes that homeschoolers ought to be “left alone” and is endorsed by the Homeschool Legal Defense Fund Association, of which I am a member.
- Education. Although I homeschool, I know that most children in this country are enrolled in public schools. Governor Huckabee was faced with a court order to improve the schools in Arkansas. Under his leadership, Arkansas schools rankings went from near the bottom to near the top. He will use the presidency as a “bully pulpit” to encourage reforms such as increased opportunities for the creative aspects of education, like music and art. As a teacher, I am 100% in agreement with his belief that the coming years will require a workforce that is able to “think on its feet” and solve problems in creative ways.
- Human life amendment. Governor Huckabee is the only candidate in favor of a Human Life Amendment to the US Constitution. Such an amendment would require a vote by the people, but I believe it is essential that we at least try to get on the right foot here. What started as a way to prevent women’s deaths from back alley abortions has now become an epidemic. I have had a miscarriage at 8 weeks and at 2 weeks. Both times, I knew without a doubt that a living being had died, a unique child with a unique DNA. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I do believe our country deserves the chance to either approve or deny a human life amendment.
- Value of people. More than any other candidate, Governor Huckabee believes in our country’s constitution that every person has been created equal. He will not favor people based on their income or stock portfolios. He is a true representative of the everyday man and woman. He showed creativity and leadership during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and treated the refugees with dignity. While other places were herding people into stadiums like cattle, he worked with the scouting groups and church groups to open up their summer camping programs. These people were given more than just a roof over their heads. They were given hugs, hope, and even recreation opportunities in the midst of a terrible tragedy. The way he handled the huge influx of people shows that he knows how to respond to disaster — rather than group huge numbers of people together, they kept the groups small to help preserve order and to quarantine in case of outbreaks of illness.
- Marriage. When he was nineteen years old, his wife Janet was diagnosed with cancer in her spinal cord. She had to have surgery, and they were told she may be paralyzed from the waist down. Could you have handled that at nineteen? He stayed by her side, drove her miles and miles five days a week to get radiation therapy and cared for her during her recovery. Governor Huckabee also supports an amendment stating that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. He does not deny others their right to live differently, but he believes it degrades the whole meaning of the word marriage to allow other unions the same name.
- Fair tax. The sheer lunacy of our tax system has got to stop. Governor Huckabee believes that Harvard economists had it right when they came up with a Fair Tax plan. You can see more about this plan here. A tax system based on consumption would go a long way towards bringing business back to America. Three trillion in offshore revenues making its way back into our economy would be quite a shot in the arm!
- Health Care. Governor Huckabee is the only candidate who actively speaks of our nation’s health crisis. He recognizes that the health care industry is spiraling out of control — but doesn’t look for a government bail out or socialized medicine. There is something broken in our system when a health plan won’t cover the cost of a diabetic’s shoes but then pays $30,000 for the same diabetic to get an amputation. He knows what he’s talking about; he lost over 100 pounds after he got diabetes and has written a book about his experience — Digging Your Grave With a Knife and a Fork. His leadership — and his example — in this area could go a long way towards helping our people develop healthier lifestyles.
Tonight the Republican candidates will have a debate on MSNBC at 8 p.m., Central. I will be watching, and I urge you to watch, too. See what you think about Huckabee. Visit his website. Tell your friends and family. And if you can, give $25 tomorrow. Let’s help Huck ZOOM ahead…keeping in mind Proverbs 16:3:
3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed.
Okay, I know I’m a native Texan…but you just can’t take the Florida out of a girl. I loved my four years there and hope one day to be blessed enough to move back by the ocean. I am posting this short blog to counteract the reporting on Fox’s UNFAIR and UNBALANCED news. Huckabee is not giving up on Florida. He is retooling his campaign because he wants to win! Doing the same thing over and over again and not getting the desired results is insanity. Because he is a very intelligent man, Huckabee is in re-design mode. From his website:
Huckabee for President is being transformed into a leaner and more effective operation for the weeks ahead. We came very close in South Carolina, but very close isn’t good enough. We plan on winning and we are making a number of changes. The press has gleefully reported these changes as an sign of our “demise.” Not so. In fact, this exercise is actually breathing fresh air into our effort!
A campaign that doesn’t retool and try to be more effective with each set of new election results, eventually leaves the race. We are retooling because we want to win.
So buckle up and enjoy the ride.
For those of you who were Thompson supporters, I urge you to take a closer look at Huckabee. WallBuilders, a conservative organization that is “dedicated to presenting America’s forgotten history and heroes” has put together a Voter’s Guide for the upcoming primary elections. They took a look at the candidates’ stances on a human life amendment, gun rights, traditional marriage, business freedom, limited taxes, the Iraq War and moral education. I found it very informative and thorough.
You can view this .pdf file here:
One of the main reasons I support Huckabee is because out of all the candidates, he is the only one like me, from humble beginnings. He is the only leader who practices servant leadership, as Jesus taught. In his book, From Hope to Higher Ground, he writes of the time he held a staff meeting shortly after becoming Governor of Arkansas. He told them that every day they would have to look at a picture of the boss. (I can imagine a room full of shifting feet and raised eyebrows with people thinking “this guy has some ego!”) But no, the picture was never of him, nor was it of any of them. It was a picture of an ordinary Arkansas citizen. They changed out that picture every week or two, and the staff was always reminded that they were to answer to the PEOPLE. Not to interest groups or lobbyists or big business.
That servant mentality, friends, is the kind of leadership I want to see in Washington.
From John 13:
12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
Here we have a beautiful picture of our Lord….serving us! Peter was so offended by the thought of his Lord doing dirty work that at first he refused to let Jesus wash his feet. Jesus was and still is the greatest leader who walked this earth. He set an example of leading by serving. As you investigate who to support in our elections, I urge you to consider in your own minds which of the candidates would be a leader like this?
I came to the conclusion that Governor Huckabee is the one who will put the word SERVE back into government.
Yesterday I used a gift card to buy Mike Huckabee’s new book, From Hope to Higher Ground. I was disappointed by last night’s South Carolina primary results, but still I picked up his book to see what he really believes. I wanted to see for myself what kind of writer Huck is; I am not disappointed!
In fact, Huckabee’s first two chapters inspired me to look up the word hope in the Bible and see what God has to say on the subject. Huck has a God-given insight to the hurts of people around him; he really sees that people in this country of all persuasions are sick of the ineptitude and bungling mess that is now Washington. Mommies are working two jobs to keep their daddy-less families afloat; kids are killing kids in gang violence across the country — and not just in the big cities. A sense of cynicism and despondency has taken hold of many of us in America as we shrug our shoulders and figure that it’s too far gone to be fixed.
Then along comes Mike Huckabee, the underdog from Arkansas. The man’s faith and hope in the Lord is part of his DNA. His convictions come through loud and clear not just in his words, but in his actions. He is a do-er. Best of all, he has hope for America.
The Biblical sense of hope is a bit different than our modern interpretation of the word. My daughter eagerly might say that she “hopes” we will bake brownies this afternoon, my husband might “hope” that the Longhorns will pull it together next year, I might “hope” that the House Fairy will cook dinner for me while I’m laid up with a cold, and my dogs might “hope” we’ll forget that we already fed them and will feed them again.
A recent search of Biblegateway.com brought up 174 references to the word hope in the Bible. Take a look at these verses from Psalm 33:
13 From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth-
15 he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.
In those verses, the Hebrew word for hope is yachal. It is translated as to wait, to hope, to expect. The key thing here is the expectation that what you are hoping for will come to pass. My daughter doesn’t expect brownies just because she hopes for one; I don’t expect the House Fairy to make dinner! But I do expect the Lord to be my shield and my country’s defender! I expect Him to defeat my enemies because He is the creator and through Christ death has already been defeated. I expect Him to stir up a revival in our hearts so that we will reach out and truly love one another, as Jesus commands (and as Huckabee advocates!). Here’s another one, this time from Psalm 65:
5 You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,
O God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,
This word yachal — hope — speaks of what we might call optimistic hope. I admit I am not a cynic. I have always seen possibilities when none easily presented themselves. My faith in the God who created this world gives me undeniable optimistic hope. I had a recent conversation with someone who believes the greatness of America is behind us. They think that we are on the way out — that as a country we have lost favor with God. I can’t in good conscience believe that the God who sacrificed his Son ever gives up on his people. He pursues us just as we pursue our lost car keys, lost wallet, lost coin, lost child.
Mike Huckabee has this kind of hope in God, and this hope comes through loud and clear in his book. I recommend that those of you who are seeking who to support in the upcoming primary elections will take a look at his website (see the link at left). Find his book at your library or get it online or local bookstore. Read it and think.
I hope you will be inspired to pick up your Bibles and see what God has to say about life and challenges facing us as a nation…you will see that Governor Huckabee’s vision for America has a Biblical capstone. He lives his life for Christ and truly seeks to do unto others as he wants them to do unto him. His practical ideas are more than just policies and programs; they are about changing our country’s attitudes from those of cynicism to those of optimism. It was optimism — and hope — that birthed our country from thirteen extremely independent colonies. It was optimism that kept our country together and set us on the right path during and after the Civil War. Optimism brought us through the Depression, the Cold War. Now we face global terrorism, an oil-addiction, soaring health care issues, and overwhelming economic difficulties; optimism — and hope in the Lord — will surely bring us to higher ground.
What makes a person, a person? What is it that separates life from death?
The first and most important thing I can share with you is that Jesus defeated death. And he promised us that if we just believe in him, that He is the son of God, then we will also be defeaters of death. This is a most urgent message. What happens to you when you die? Have you ever seen someone who has passed away? It is immediately apparent! Everyone…even a family pet…knows right away when someone has died. The change in appearance is as immediate and unmistakable as plunging a well-lit room into darkness with a switch. We are made up of more than well-ordered cells and mitochondria, tissues and organs. Our bodies are like moving machines that carry our “essences” around. But they do not make up who we are individually. If the only thing of substance to us was physical, then an amputee would become a different person after the amputation. Of course that isn’t true; even atheists acknowledge that a person is made up of more than physical elements. The Bible tells us that this non-physical aspect to our personhood is our “spirit-man.”
Consider these verses:
8 But it is the spirit [b] in a man,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.
This is from the book of Job in the Old Testament and is thought to be the first Biblical book ever written. Here we learn that the spirit aspects of our human-ness is actually the breath of the Almighty! We see the breath of God again in Genesis chapter 2:
7 the LORD God formed the man [e] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
So according to these scriptures, it seems that the part about our bodies that makes us alive is the breath of God himself. There are many other references in the Bible to a man’s spirit. But the Creator doesn’t just breathe life into us and then ignore that life. Do you give birth to a child and then ignore him? Like a parent influences her child, God directly influences the spirits of men, even in those who are not believers:
From 1Chronicles 5:
26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria
God also knows what makes up the spirit of a man. He reads our thoughts.
From Psalm 32:
2 Blessed is the man
whose sin the LORD does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
From Proverbs 20:
27 The lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of a man [a] ;
it searches out his inmost being.
The Holy Spirit is given to those who believe that Christ is the Son of God. In Matthew 16, Jesus asked his disciples what people were saying about him. What was the word on the street concerning this man who healed lepers, gave the blind new sight, drove out evil spirits, turned water into wine, fed many thousands with just five loaves of bread and two fish, and gave life back to a little girl who died of a fever and to a man three days dead? Who did the people think he was?
14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. 15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am? 16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ,[b] the Son of the living God.” 17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
Jesus speaks of a man’s spirit as being a soul that can be lost. The essential part of our humanness is lost when we die — unless — we are covered in a covenant with him.
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life[h] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
In John 11, Jesus tells a woman who he is:
25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
There it is, in black and white. “He who believes in me will live.” Will live!
My brother-in-law who has brain cancer recently had a very scary non-stop seizure. He is in ICU in a medically-induced coma. Our prayers are lifting up the family. I haven’t slept the last two nights; my thoughts and non-stop prayers keep turning 800 miles away. But there is encouraging news, and that is this: he believes! Christ is his savior.
And that means, whatever happens at this moment with flesh and blood and cells and mitochondria, he lives. Jesus promised:
26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
I cling to this hope: the Christ who turns the impossible into the miraculous will work the glory of God into my brother-in-law’s life. I trust He who created him to bring him to perfection. Wholly healed. Holy.
“Oh God, all honor and praise and glory to you! Praise you for your promises! Praise you for salvation!”
Psalm 103:
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
And that is the word on my street.
