jimbrettell

Enough Is Enough

jimbrettell — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:42:00 GMT

The following letter was sent to my Congress-persons today, February 26, 2009.

Beloved Congress-person:

I am 74 years old. I am a born-again Christian, a Pastor-Teacher, teaching God’s Holy Word to any who will hesitate long enough to listen. However, I write to you as a citizen of the United States. I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I am a conservative by choice. I am not persuaded by conservative talk-show hosts. I am an independent thinker. I need no one to tell me what to think or how to think. I am able to do that on my own. I have done so; I am doing so; and I’m quite disturbed.

I have given 9 years of my life in service to my country in the United States Navy. I served at the Naval Hospital in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, about a quarter of a mile from the now infamous prison. I have been inside that prison as a free-world sailor – but back around 1959, and that was before our President, Barack Obama, was born.

Barack Obama is my President. I will honor him as such, but I reserve the right to disagree with him – and contrary to popular opinion, if I happen to disagree with him, that does not make me a racist.

In addition, you, too, are an elected official responsible to represent your constituency. You were not elected to “vote your conscience,” although that idea is stated by many in your position. You are there to represent me and/or your constituents.

Are you blind? Do you suffer from spiritual myopia? Can you not see where this nation is headed? To this latter question, it appears that the answer is “No.”

If there is any truth to the following paragraph, I am overwhelmed with grief. I am not a violent man. I have not ulterior motives; but two weeks or so ago, I told my wife that I believe we are headed for a tax rebellion in this country. Lo, about a week later I learned that someone was being interviewed on the radio in the State of Arkansas and the one being interviewed had already collected 2,000 signatures in support of a tax rebellion. A few days later, I heard of another person somewhere on the east coast doing the same thing. Get it clear in your mind, there is opposition mounting out here at the grass roots level the likes of which you are not going to appreciate. It’s beginning. It’s here. It’s on the scene, and those of you in position of leadership had better get your eyes open and your heads on straight. You are either politically and economically naïve – I would hate you use the word ignorant – however, if that word describes you as an individual as someone who “just doesn’t get-it,” I suppose it would not hurt to use it.

Let's review some of our President’s most recent actions since he was inaugurated:

* His first call to any head of state as president was to Mahmoud Abbas, leader of Fatah party in the Palestinian territory.

* His first one on one interview with any news organization was with Al Arabia television.

* He ordered Guantanamo Bay closed and all military trials of detainees halted.

* He ordered all overseas CIA interrogation centers closed.

* He withdrew all charges against the masterminds behind the USS Cole and 9/11.

* Now, we learn that he is allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees to move to and live in the US at American taxpayer expense.

On another thought -- throw-in the following:

“H.R. 40: Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act”

You’ve got to be kidding me. I have read the entire text of H.R. 40. I had nothing to do with slavery in this country. No one alive today had anything to do with slavery in this country; and you are going to spend 8 million dollars to study whether or not the U.S. Government should apologize for slavery that ended in 1865. Excuse me. How ignorant do you think I and others are out here at the grass roots level? And you’re going to consider whether people alive today should receive some form of remuneration for something that ended in 1865. Excuse me once again.

Some of the highest paid people in this country are African-Americans – just check the pay-checks of contemporary athletes.

What about black advancement in all arenas of life: The President of the United States, Congressmen and Congresswomen, Supreme Court Judges, Cabinet Officers, Governors of States, Mayors of Cities, professional athletes, college professors, school teachers, military officers at the highest level, radio and television personalities, and we could go on and on. Give me a break, sirs. Don’t talk to me about discrimination. Life is tough, and then you die. The problem in our country is not discrimination. We have a morality problem – and it’s rampant among all races and permeates our entire society from the halls of Congress to the streets of the smallest city in the U.S. Shall we begin by listing some examples in the halls of Congress? Oh, excuse me. I forgot. Government leaders forget, and are absolved of guilt. It’s me that goes to jail for the same “oversight.” Sorry, a mental lapse on my part. Is it any wonder that government official’s approval rating is so low – and plummeting about as fast as DOW Jones.

The housing crisis and the banking crisis in this country was not caused by that “fumbling/bumbling” George Bush. You’ll find the source of the problem with the “group” that forced banks to loan money to people who didn’t qualify and could pay. Hhhhmmmmm???? I wonder who that “group” that was?

I have a prediction – and we’ll see just how free my speech really is. The present liberal bias in our country will last four years – just long enough for President Barack Obama and our present liberal Congress to completely destroy the freedoms of the people they were elected to serve. Keynesian economics will destroy capitalism and the free-market economy. Government will seek to control every area of our lives. The conservative element in our country will react with such things as tax rebellion and strong rhetoric that the liberals of this country will seek to put-down or silence – by legislation or other means. It won’t work. There are those out here who will once again die for their personal freedom. I am one of them. Death is the only way to completely stifle personal freedom and shut the mouths of opposition. Don’t think for a minute that the thought of being put to death to preserve the personal freedom guaranteed by our Constitution is a hasty and irrational thought. I had already penned this thought, and lo, just yesterday, I learned of a popular blog site where someone had written a statement that went like this: “How can we get rid of them?” – meaning the conservative element in this country – not the ones who hate government or hate government officials, but the ones that loathe government and government officials whose mind-set seeks control.

Here’s my prediction: You will see a rise of rhetorical opposition to Presidential and Congressional liberalism. That opposition will come from the conservative side of America. The liberals will be thrown-out of office in four years and supplanted by renewed and vigorous conservatives, and when the political and economic pendulum swings back toward conservativism, the liberal element of America will head for the streets in revolution that will approximate civil war. I’m talking about blood in the streets – not invasion from outside, but American against American – freedom haters against freedom lovers. Can you not see it coming? Or don’t you really care?

I am opposed to the so-called “stimulus” bill. I refer to it as “economic Viagra” – a poor substitute for the real deal.

I am asking you to consider the Constitution that you swore to uphold, and you can begin by voting to get government out-of-the-business of the peoples of America. You are sworn to protect us, not from ourselves, but from outside aggressors. GET OUT OF OUR BUSINESS. The ship-of-State is sinking, and those of you in Congress are a huge part of the problem. Get-it-together or you’ll sink with the ship you are sinking.

I, as a citizen of the United States, will support you when I believe you are right, BUT I, as a citizen of the United States, will oppose your thinking when I believe you are wrong. I will pray that God will give you the moral courage to stand against Congressional decisions that oppress the freedoms of the grass-roots American – people just like me.

In closing, you ought to see what has happened to my wife’s 401K after 40 years of work in the corporate world – and George Bush is not and was not the problem. Perhaps Congress needs to look in the mirror.

Respectfully,

Jim Brettell

(private citizen)

P.S. And please, do not have one of your staff members respond with a computerized response that does not address anything I have said in this e-mail. Thank you for this consideration.

God Is 3 in 1

jimbrettell — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 21:17:00 GMT

How do we explain the concept that God is Three in One? Simply put, God is not three Persons in One Person. The Christian Godhead is THREE separate and distinct Persons with ONE essence.

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are eternal. They have always been. There hase never been a time when they weren't. While the three Persons of the Godhead have exactly the same essence (characteristics, nature), They have three different job descriptions.

The characteristics of the Godhead (using an acrostic): SELL JR. OOO IV.

S - sovereignty; EL - eternal life; L - love (agape); J - just (fair); R - absolute righteousness;

O - omniscient (all knowing); O - omnipotent (all powerful); O - omnipresent (present everywhere);

I - immutable (unchanging); V - veracity (truth)

The three different job descriptions:

Father: Author of the plan of God (1 Cor. 8:6a)

Son: Executor of the plan of God the Father (Jn. 5:30; 1 Cor. 8:6b)

Holy Spirit: Revealer and restorer to the plan of God the Father (Jn. 14:26; Tit. 3:5; Gen. 1:2)

Prayer Chains/Prayer Meetings

jimbrettell — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 12:44:00 GMT

Religion is the devil’s ace trump. Religion is man by man’s efforts trying to please God. Along the path of growth from spiritual babyhood to spiritual maturity, every born-again Christian whose desire it is to travel that path will discover along the way vestiges of religious thinking or practice that must to be removed from his or her life. One such vestige is the concept of the “prayer chain” and “prayer meeting.”

Let me be clear. Prayer is the most powerful tool available to Christians. Prayer moves an omnipotent God into action. However, the concept of “prayer chain” and “prayer meeting,” in most cases, is no more than a religious hangover taught to us along the way by “religious” Christians who had not yet come to grips with the spiritual side of the Christian life. The prayer chain? You know, someone has a problem and calls #1 to begin calling the chain of people to pray about the matter. #1 calls #2, who calls #3, who calls #4, and each person called then prays about the requested matter. Prayer meeting? Instead of calling, we just gather together in one place to pray. Really not a bad idea as long as we are not all praying about the same matter.

Here’s what bothers me about the “prayer chain/prayer meeting. Listen to James: “The effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16) Note the use of the word “man.” It’s the generic use and means either male or female Christian who meets the criteria of being “righteous.” This is experiential righteousness, not positional righteousness. Every born-again Christian is positionally righteous from the moment of salvation, but only those who are clean before the Lord through confession of sin (1 John 1:9), yielded to God the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:13), and applying (James 1: 22) every pertinent truth to life’s situations is “experientially” righteous. Possible? Absolutely. Expected by God? Absolutely.

Back to what bothers me. If, as James states, the “effectual fervent prayer of an [experientially] righteous man availeth much,” why do any of us need anyone else to pray over any matter as though God is going to be moved into action by the “number of people who are praying” as opposed to being moved into action by the prayer of “one” experientially righteous person?

By mere definition, the “religious mind” knows little or nothing experientially about the spiritual side of the Christian life; and having been taught, if by no other means than by watching the religious practices of others, makes the concept of prayer chains/prayer meetings a part of his own religious thinking and practice. How sad?

Many years ago a lady a Christian lady friend chided me for having made a decision to leave my denominational background. She said, “I don’t think I’ll pray for you any more.” My response: “That’s all right with me.” Sitting with her was a lady who held a lofty position within the denomination. She was aghast at my response, and said, “You need all the prayer you can get.” The implication was I needed many Christians praying for me because my decision to leave the denomination was deemed by them to be a huge mistake. My loving response to both was simple: “Ladies, it’s not a matter of how many are praying for me, but a matter of WHO is praying for me.” You see, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man (singular) availeth much.

God is not moved by a multitude in prayer. He is moved by the effectual fervent prayer of the experientially righteous ONE.

Using Modern Technology in Christian Service

jimbrettell — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 12:23:00 GMT

Modern technology is a tool that we as Christians can use to network our thoughts and actions as we serve our Lord in this devil's world. My desire is to use every tool available. If any of you have a spare moment, I'd like to encourage you to tune in daily, Monday through Friday, to my two radio broadcasts in the Little Rock, Arkansas, area. I broadcast "live" over station KVDW 1530 AM from 9:30 - 10:00 AM (CST), Monday through Friday, and "live" over station KMTL 760 AM from 11:30 - 12:00 noon (CST), Monday through Friday. These two programs can also be heard ("live" audio) by logging onto www.drjimtalk.com/drjimtalk.htm at 9:30 and 11:30. Both programs also stream "live" video at 9:30 and 11:30 over www.brettell.org/livevideo.htm. (All times are CST). Both radio programs are call-in programs. The local telephone number is 851-9001 and the toll free number is 1-877-305-2226 . The toll free number is answered only during program air time. My Monday Night Home Bible Study streams "live" video each Monday night at 7:00 PM (CST) from my home in Maumelle, Arkansas. You are certainly invited to attend -- physically or via the internet. Resting in Him, Dr. Jim

Yielded to God the Holy Spirit

jimbrettell — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 21:02:00 GMT

"Yieldedness to God the Holy Spirit" is to the Christian's spiritual walk as "faith alone in Christ alone" is to salvation -- no faith, no salvation; no yieldedness, no spiritual walk. Yieldedness to God the Holy Spirit is a mental attitude of surrender to the Holy Spirit who indwells the human spirit of the born-again believer. When the believer is yielded, the Holy Spirit will manifest Himself to and through the believer in seven ways: 1) He will develop Christian character in the believer; 2) He will develop the believer's Christian service; 3) He will teach the believer; 4) He will promote the believer's praise and thanksgiving; 5) He will lead/guide the believer; 6) He will bear witness with the believer's human spirit; and 7) He will make intercession for the believer.

Satan's Responsibility in Eternity Past

jimbrettell — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 19:21:00 GMT

We hear many things about Satan's responsibility in eternity past prior to his fall. In the interest of space, Ezekiel 28:14 makes it clear: "Thou art the anointed Cherub that covereth." This indicates that he was a "ceremonial guard of the throne of Jesus Christ." Anointed (Hebrew adjective = Messianic); Cherub (highest order of angels); that covereth ("covering" as in "guarding").

Freedom as a Fundamental Principle

jimbrettell — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 19:06:00 GMT

Freedom is the most fundamental principle in the spiritual battle that we call the "angelic conflict." Freedom provides the environment for both good and bad choices. Freedom demands responsibility. What is responsible freedom? Responsible freedom is making choices to pursue the achievement of one's own goals without disrupting the freedom of others to do the same. One person's freedom ends where another person's freedom begins. Rules and operational procedures are not designed to restrict freedom, but to protect freedom. Freedom is more fundamental to the human race than is Christianity, yet Christianity provides the solution to every problem that man will ever face. The question remains: will mankind freely choose God the Father's solutions?

Punishment vs. Discipline

jimbrettell — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 18:59:00 GMT

Discipline and punishment are not synonymous terms. Discipline is teaching children to respect the rights of others through responsible thinking by learning to obey rules. Punishment is “trying to change what children do by hurting them, either physically or verbally, or giving them no options or choices. Punishment was never designed by God to change behavior. Punishment was designed for the purpose of justice.

Truth or Truth Distorted?

jimbrettell — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 01:12:00 GMT

When biblical truth is applied to the facts of life resulting in an understanding that is undesirable, the unbeliever and carnal believer will then distort the truth so as to produce an understanding of the facts that matches what he or she wants to believe.

Is Truth True?

jimbrettell — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 00:15:00 GMT

Darryl Anderson sent this to me: "Truth isn't what is true, but rather, what people want to believe is true. If the facts don't support the conclusion, well, then invent 'facts' that do."