Why can't I see my future? Why can't I day dream like normal people? Why can't I imagine my sons getting married and giving me cute grandkids? Why can't I even see five years down the road, maybe a trip to Disney World? Elijah's first ride on his bike without training wheels? Asher finally getting taller than Elijah...Shiloh scolding her brothers for making a mess, her helping me get Thanksgiving dinner ready in our very own kitchen...
All that silly crap, in my head, but deep down, it's just not going to play out like that.
Or is it? I still have a faint, very faint, almost too faint to even be real, glimmer of a speck of hope that this can all be turned around. I have the utmost faith in God that He would just wipe all the nasty plans out and pour out the blessings on this nation again...God can turn on a dime, sure, but us? Would we change our ways so easily? Do we even think we need to change? God is saying, there is the hard way, and the harder way. You choose. I wish we would choose the hard way. But we're not. Is there time left to still go back and choose again? I don't know. Is it my job to tell people we need to go back and choose the other way, instead of full steam ahead into our complete and total crushing destruction- the only way God will get our full attention?
I don't know, I don't know, I don't know.
I do know I want a future. I know I have one future, and maybe it's a sin that I hope for another, more immediate one. I don't know, I don't know.
I don't know.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
To the Point
First, right now, do not do anything without consulting God. Any move you are about to make regarding job, house, children, car, anything from the biggest decision to the smallest mundane detail of your life. Why? Because He is going to be the only one who could possibly do anything about anything in the near future. Get used to His ways now, learn how He speaks to you and how He gets His message across to you.
Second, pay attention to what is going on around you. Deception is everywhere. Examine the "news" and look to the Bible for wisdom in all things. Test Everything. Keep what is good. Do not trust blindly- only God is trustworthy in all things. For everyone and everthing else, examine before you trust. Keep your wits about you, and look to the Bible for everything!! There WILL BE traps and snares that look perfectly good and harmless. It will be very hard to distinguish between the good and the horrible. Don't get caught.
Third, remember what we are here for. We are here for a blink of an eye, here to fulfill the plans God has made for us well in advance of our existence, here to be Christ in the world, to show Him in all we do. We must do that. The next part of this 'remember' is remember that one day we will be in Heaven with our Lord. That is to be our hope and joy- not something to be scared of. All our hope and joy should be in this one thing.
Now, once again, this is watered down and as gently put as possible. If I let it come out as it sits in my head, it would be a roar. It may come out as that roar as we get closer to whatever it is we are getting closer to. I am not comfortable with any of it, in fact I pretty much hate it. Regardless, it is here, within me and God is pushing it out, of this I am sure. So, too bad for all of us. But that is a complaint for another posting...
Second, pay attention to what is going on around you. Deception is everywhere. Examine the "news" and look to the Bible for wisdom in all things. Test Everything. Keep what is good. Do not trust blindly- only God is trustworthy in all things. For everyone and everthing else, examine before you trust. Keep your wits about you, and look to the Bible for everything!! There WILL BE traps and snares that look perfectly good and harmless. It will be very hard to distinguish between the good and the horrible. Don't get caught.
Third, remember what we are here for. We are here for a blink of an eye, here to fulfill the plans God has made for us well in advance of our existence, here to be Christ in the world, to show Him in all we do. We must do that. The next part of this 'remember' is remember that one day we will be in Heaven with our Lord. That is to be our hope and joy- not something to be scared of. All our hope and joy should be in this one thing.
Now, once again, this is watered down and as gently put as possible. If I let it come out as it sits in my head, it would be a roar. It may come out as that roar as we get closer to whatever it is we are getting closer to. I am not comfortable with any of it, in fact I pretty much hate it. Regardless, it is here, within me and God is pushing it out, of this I am sure. So, too bad for all of us. But that is a complaint for another posting...
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Cuckoo, cuckoo!
See, now this is the stuff that I would have considered crazy, along the lines of alien abduction type stuff. But, here it is! How do you wake sleeping people up to crazy stuff like this?? Particularly, if being a "watchman", and I see this destruction on the horizon, and it's my job, or I'm held responsible for everyone that I don't warn....ugh. Trouble.
Billions of People Expected to Die Under Current Codex Alimentarius Guidelines
Barbara Minton
Natural NewsJuly 21, 2009
Your right to eat healthy food and use supplements of your choice is rapidly vanishing, but every effort has been made to keep you in the dark about the coming nutricide. Codex Alimentarius is scheduled for full global implementation on December 31, 2009, and not a word has been spoken in main stream media about this threat to humanity. Yet, according to the projections of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a minimum of 3 billion people will die from the Codex mandated vitamin and mineral guideline alone. As the clock ticks toward this irrevocable deadline, the Natural Solutions Foundation (NSF) and its medical director, Dr. Rima Laibow, are feverishly working to change Codex guidelines. They need your help.
Former Nazi is father of contemporary Codex
Forner Nazi Hermann Schmitz looked for an alternative to brute force for controlling people and realized that people could be controlled through their food supply.
Codex is the enemy of everyone except those who will profit from it, according to Dr. Laibow. She points to its association with those who committed crimes during the Nazi regime. At the end of World War II, the Nuremberg tribunal judged Nazis who had committed horrendous crimes against humanity and sentenced them to prison terms. One of those found guilty was the president of the megalithic corporation I.G. Farben, Hermann Schmitz. His company was the largest chemical manufacturing enterprise in the world, and had extraordinary political and economic power and influence with the Hitlerian Nazi state. Farben produced the gas used in the Nazi gas chambers, and the steal for the railroads built to transport people to their deaths.
While serving his prison term, Schmitz looked for an alternative to brute force for controlling people and realized that people could be controlled through their food supply. When he got out of prison, he went to his friends at the United Nations (UN) and laid out a plan to take over the control of food worldwide. A trade commission called Codex Alimentarius (Latin for food code) was re-created under the guise of it being a consumer protection commission. But Codex was never in the business of protecting people. It has always been about money and profits at the expense of people.
In 1962, the timetable was set for Codex to be fully implemented on a global level by December 31, 2009. Under Codex, committees were established to create guidelines on such topics as fish and fisheries, fats and oils, fruits and vegetables, ground nuts, nutrition, food for specialized uses, and vitamins and minerals. There were 27 committees in all, creating a huge bureaucracy. Under Codex there are over 4,000 guidelines and regulations on everything that can be put into your mouth with the exception of pharmaceuticals which are not regulated by Codex.
Codex is a weapon being used to reduce the level of nutrition worldwide
Codex is an industry dominated regulation setting organization, and as such has no legal standing. Participation in Codex is said to be voluntary. But Codex has risen to the level of de facto legal standing because Codex is administered by the WHO and FAO. They fund it and run it at the request of the UN. Since the WHO and FAO are supposed to be about health, there is conflict of interest. The committees of Codex work up guidelines, rules and regulations, and present them to a Codex commission for ratification. Once they are ratified and approved by consensus, they become mandatory for any country that is a member of the WHO.
Codex was accepted when the WTO was formed in 1994 as a means of harmonizing food standards globally for easy trade between countries. As a result, countries must harmonize with Codex if they want to have any standing in a trade dispute. When disputes arise and countries are pulled in to WTO, the one that is Codex compliant automatically wins, regardless of the merits of its case.
Dr. Laiblow sees codex as a weapon to make every nation scurry to become compliant to the decline in nutritional standards. She points out that compliance in the U.S. will mark the end of its consumer protection laws. Codex will not serve consumers. Codex will serve the interests of the medical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical, and big agricultural industries.
Under Codex, nutrients are classified as poisons
The Dietary Substances Health and Education Act (DSHEA), was signed into law in 1994 for the purpose of ensuring that safe and appropriately labeled products would remain available to those who wanted to use them. In the findings associated with this law, Congress stated that there may be a positive relationship between sound dietary practice and good health, and a connection between dietary supplement use, reduced health-care expenses, and disease prevention. Under DSHEA, nutrients and herbs are classified as food. There is no upper limit set, and access is freely given. Americans are allowed to have any nutrients they want, because under English common law, anything that is not expressly forbidden is permitted.
Codex, on the other hand, is based on Napoleonic law under which anything not expressly permitted is forbidden. Therefore, only what is expressly allowed under Codex will be permitted, and everything else is forbidden. In 1994, the same year DSHEA was signed, Codex had nutrients declared to be toxic and poisonous. And as poisons, they claimed people must be protected from them through the use of toxicology and risk assessment, under which scientists test small doses on animals until they are able to discern an impact. They then take the first sign of the most minimal impact and divide this amount by 100 to establish a safety margin required from these poisons. This means that the largest dose of any nutrient allowed under Codex is 1/100th of the amount shown to produce the first discernable impact.
Nutrients allowed under codex are limited to those on the positive list, expected to contain only 18 nutrients, one of them being fluoride. Dr. Laibow points out that although fluoride has no biological benefit whatsoever, it does make people complacent.
The codex proponents now have several bills before Congress designed to overturn and get rid of DSHEA. Once this is accomplished, the U.S. will have been harmonized with the vitamin and mineral guidelines of codex. High potency, therapeutically effective, significant nutrients will then be illegal in the way that heroin is illegal. They will not even be available by prescription.
Codex supports toxic food additives, pesticides and GM foods
Dr. Rima Laibow explains Codex Alimentarius. See the rest of the video here.
Codex poses a significant threat to the food supply, according to Dr. Robert Verkerk, founder and director of the Alliance for Natural Health. About 300 dangerous food additives that are mainly synthetic will be allowed under Codex, including aspartame, BHA, BHT, potassium bromate, tartrazine, and more. Dr. Verkerk is particularly concerned that no consideration has been given to potential risks associated with long-term exposure to mixtures of additives.
Codex sets limits for the dangerous industrial chemicals that can be used in food, but they are incredibly high, and the list of chemicals that can be used is long. In 2001, 176 countries including the U.S. got together and decided that 12 highly toxic organic chemicals, known as persistent organic pollutants (POPS) were so bad that they had to be banned. There are many more than 12 toxic chemicals used on food, but these 12 were unanimously declared to be the worst. Of these, 9 are pesticides.
Under Codex, 7 of the 9 forbidden POPS will again be allowed in the production of food. All together, Codex allows over 3,275 different pesticides, including those that are suspected carcinogens or endocrine disrupters. There is no consideration of the long-term effects of exposure to mixtures of pesticide residues in food.
Organic food governance will be dumbed down to suit the interests of large food producers. Various synthetic chemical additives and processing aids will be allowed, and food labeled as organic may be irradiated. Labeling will permit the use of hidden, non-organic ingredients.
Monsanto, a member of Codex, will benefit greatly as production of genetically modified (GM) foods are stepped up and more GM plants are given the green light. Terminator seeds will be approved for international trade. GM food animals will also be on the way.
Under Codex, every dairy animal can be treated with growth hormone, and all animals in the food chain will be treated with sub-clinical levels of antibiotics, according to Dr. Laibow. She claims that Codex will lead to the required irradiation of all foods with the exception of those grown locally and sold raw.
Dr. Laiblow sees Codex as "food regulations that are in fact the legalization of mandated toxicity and under-nutrition". According to her, the WHO and FAO estimate that of the 3 billion people initially expected to die as the result of the Codex vitamin and mineral guidelines, 2 billion of them will die from the preventable diseases that result from under-nutrition, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and many others. Those who will live will be the wealthy elites who are able to somehow provide themselves with sources of clean food and other nutrients.
Codex is legalized genocide
Dr. Gregory Damato, Ph.D., writing for Natural News, has characterized Codex as "population control for money". He sees Codex as run by the U.S. and controlled by the big pharmaceutical corporations and the likes of Monsanto with the purpose of reducing the population of the world to a level considered sustainable by those promulgating the New World Order. This would mean a reduction of approximately 93 percent of the current world population.
Once Codex standards are adopted there will be no turning back. When Codex compliance is instigated in any area, as long as the country remains a member of the WTO, those standards cannot be repealed, or altered in any way.
Natural Solutions Foundation is working to revamp Codex guidelines worldwide
Some hope remains. Over the years, the WTO has accepted Codex standards as presumptive evidence of the rules of trade between countries. However, several times in history, the WTO has refused to make Codex the single and only standard to be used in trade disputes. Under Codex’s own statutes, their guidelines are claimed to be "advisory", and nations are able to set up their own guidelines.
Since compliance with Codex standards is simply presumptive evidence, and not finally determinative, a nation can opt out of the guidelines in an effort to protect its traditional foods and remedies. The Codex Two Step is a legal strategy that the Natural Solutions Foundation has developed to help nations wanting to do this. Under Step One, the country develops its own food and health guidelines that may be at variance with Codex guidelines. For example, it may be much stricter on the issues of toxins in the food supply or on the issue of genetically modified foods. It may require, for example, that companies using GM ingredients be required to indicate them on food labels. In countries that refuse to use GM foods, this can be indicated on their label too, so that people can make informed choices.
So, the first step is for a country to set up its guidelines. The Second Step is to adopt a national law that implements those guidelines on a sound scientific basis. The NSF is preparing models to be used for doing this that are available to any country. There is a model vitamin and mineral guideline, and a model of a food and health statute to implement that guideline.
Normally, in a trade dispute before the WTO, the country that has adopted Codex guidelines will be the winner of that dispute based on those guidelines being presumptive evidence. However, when countries have gone through the two step process to create their own guidelines, there is no such presumption, and the WTO will look at the science behind the guidelines.
In the U.S. the door is open to Codex
In 1995, the FDA issued a policy statement saying that international standards such as Codex would supersede U.S. laws governing all food. Under the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which is illegal under current U.S. law, but is legal under international law, the U.S. is required to conform to Codex as it stands on December 31, 2009.
This is why NSF needs your help. Because the current pro-Codex stance of the U.S. is in violation of current laws, NSF has created a Citizen’s Petition in which they are asking the U.S. government to amend its Codex position according to the Two Step plan that Codex allows. This petition is a ground-breaking legal approach to compel the government to hold public hearings and move from a pro-illness Codex position to a pro-health position. If the government does not respond in an appropriate manner, the next step in the process is to take them to court.
A Citizen’s Petition is a legal means to focus a government agency’s attention on an issue of concern to citizens. Once a Citizen’s Petition has been entered, a docket to debate it is opened and public comment is accepted. A Citizen’s Petition does have one thing in common with the more familiar types of petitions. Any number of people can add their names to it and become co-petitioners.
So far, over 30,000 people have joined this petition, and three members of Congress have written a Congressional Letter in support of it. NSF needs you to read and sign this petition by going to http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?pa… On this site you will also find a letter that can be sent to the U.S. Codex Manager, Dr. Edwin Scarbrough, and Dr. Barbara Schneeman, Head of the FDA’s Office of Nutritional Products.
Dr. Liabow is encouraging people to pass the word about Codex to everyone they know or with whom they come in contact. As a reader of Natural News, you are in the forefront of knowledge regarding health standards and the need to safeguard them. You are probably someone who others look to for advice on health matters. As such, you are in a special position to help this petition move forward. The new guidelines created by NSF have mandated biochemically individual determination of optimal health. These guidelines need to be adopted by Congress and also by other countries who value their traditional foods and remedies.
When Dr. Laibow was recently working in Washington D.C. to inform the members of Congress about Codex, she found that very few of them knew anything about it all. As they have become informed, some have come out against Codex. This makes writing to your congressmen on this issue critically important. Tell they about the threat of Codex. Suggest that they need a congressional briefing on the issue and suggest that they contact Dr. Rima Laibow. Remember, any negative part of Codex can be overturned by a guideline that is positive.
And while you at it, be sure to sign the Health Revolution Petition, created by Mike Adams, editor of Natural News http://www.healthrevolutionpetition… This petition highlights a series of actions critically needed to move from a disease care model to a true health care model with the goal of restoration and perpetuation of vibrant health for everyone.
For more information:http://www.naturalnews.com/024128_C…http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/http://www.anhcampaign.org/
Billions of People Expected to Die Under Current Codex Alimentarius Guidelines
Barbara Minton
Natural NewsJuly 21, 2009
Your right to eat healthy food and use supplements of your choice is rapidly vanishing, but every effort has been made to keep you in the dark about the coming nutricide. Codex Alimentarius is scheduled for full global implementation on December 31, 2009, and not a word has been spoken in main stream media about this threat to humanity. Yet, according to the projections of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a minimum of 3 billion people will die from the Codex mandated vitamin and mineral guideline alone. As the clock ticks toward this irrevocable deadline, the Natural Solutions Foundation (NSF) and its medical director, Dr. Rima Laibow, are feverishly working to change Codex guidelines. They need your help.
Former Nazi is father of contemporary Codex
Forner Nazi Hermann Schmitz looked for an alternative to brute force for controlling people and realized that people could be controlled through their food supply.
Codex is the enemy of everyone except those who will profit from it, according to Dr. Laibow. She points to its association with those who committed crimes during the Nazi regime. At the end of World War II, the Nuremberg tribunal judged Nazis who had committed horrendous crimes against humanity and sentenced them to prison terms. One of those found guilty was the president of the megalithic corporation I.G. Farben, Hermann Schmitz. His company was the largest chemical manufacturing enterprise in the world, and had extraordinary political and economic power and influence with the Hitlerian Nazi state. Farben produced the gas used in the Nazi gas chambers, and the steal for the railroads built to transport people to their deaths.
While serving his prison term, Schmitz looked for an alternative to brute force for controlling people and realized that people could be controlled through their food supply. When he got out of prison, he went to his friends at the United Nations (UN) and laid out a plan to take over the control of food worldwide. A trade commission called Codex Alimentarius (Latin for food code) was re-created under the guise of it being a consumer protection commission. But Codex was never in the business of protecting people. It has always been about money and profits at the expense of people.
In 1962, the timetable was set for Codex to be fully implemented on a global level by December 31, 2009. Under Codex, committees were established to create guidelines on such topics as fish and fisheries, fats and oils, fruits and vegetables, ground nuts, nutrition, food for specialized uses, and vitamins and minerals. There were 27 committees in all, creating a huge bureaucracy. Under Codex there are over 4,000 guidelines and regulations on everything that can be put into your mouth with the exception of pharmaceuticals which are not regulated by Codex.
Codex is a weapon being used to reduce the level of nutrition worldwide
Codex is an industry dominated regulation setting organization, and as such has no legal standing. Participation in Codex is said to be voluntary. But Codex has risen to the level of de facto legal standing because Codex is administered by the WHO and FAO. They fund it and run it at the request of the UN. Since the WHO and FAO are supposed to be about health, there is conflict of interest. The committees of Codex work up guidelines, rules and regulations, and present them to a Codex commission for ratification. Once they are ratified and approved by consensus, they become mandatory for any country that is a member of the WHO.
Codex was accepted when the WTO was formed in 1994 as a means of harmonizing food standards globally for easy trade between countries. As a result, countries must harmonize with Codex if they want to have any standing in a trade dispute. When disputes arise and countries are pulled in to WTO, the one that is Codex compliant automatically wins, regardless of the merits of its case.
Dr. Laiblow sees codex as a weapon to make every nation scurry to become compliant to the decline in nutritional standards. She points out that compliance in the U.S. will mark the end of its consumer protection laws. Codex will not serve consumers. Codex will serve the interests of the medical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical, and big agricultural industries.
Under Codex, nutrients are classified as poisons
The Dietary Substances Health and Education Act (DSHEA), was signed into law in 1994 for the purpose of ensuring that safe and appropriately labeled products would remain available to those who wanted to use them. In the findings associated with this law, Congress stated that there may be a positive relationship between sound dietary practice and good health, and a connection between dietary supplement use, reduced health-care expenses, and disease prevention. Under DSHEA, nutrients and herbs are classified as food. There is no upper limit set, and access is freely given. Americans are allowed to have any nutrients they want, because under English common law, anything that is not expressly forbidden is permitted.
Codex, on the other hand, is based on Napoleonic law under which anything not expressly permitted is forbidden. Therefore, only what is expressly allowed under Codex will be permitted, and everything else is forbidden. In 1994, the same year DSHEA was signed, Codex had nutrients declared to be toxic and poisonous. And as poisons, they claimed people must be protected from them through the use of toxicology and risk assessment, under which scientists test small doses on animals until they are able to discern an impact. They then take the first sign of the most minimal impact and divide this amount by 100 to establish a safety margin required from these poisons. This means that the largest dose of any nutrient allowed under Codex is 1/100th of the amount shown to produce the first discernable impact.
Nutrients allowed under codex are limited to those on the positive list, expected to contain only 18 nutrients, one of them being fluoride. Dr. Laibow points out that although fluoride has no biological benefit whatsoever, it does make people complacent.
The codex proponents now have several bills before Congress designed to overturn and get rid of DSHEA. Once this is accomplished, the U.S. will have been harmonized with the vitamin and mineral guidelines of codex. High potency, therapeutically effective, significant nutrients will then be illegal in the way that heroin is illegal. They will not even be available by prescription.
Codex supports toxic food additives, pesticides and GM foods
Dr. Rima Laibow explains Codex Alimentarius. See the rest of the video here.
Codex poses a significant threat to the food supply, according to Dr. Robert Verkerk, founder and director of the Alliance for Natural Health. About 300 dangerous food additives that are mainly synthetic will be allowed under Codex, including aspartame, BHA, BHT, potassium bromate, tartrazine, and more. Dr. Verkerk is particularly concerned that no consideration has been given to potential risks associated with long-term exposure to mixtures of additives.
Codex sets limits for the dangerous industrial chemicals that can be used in food, but they are incredibly high, and the list of chemicals that can be used is long. In 2001, 176 countries including the U.S. got together and decided that 12 highly toxic organic chemicals, known as persistent organic pollutants (POPS) were so bad that they had to be banned. There are many more than 12 toxic chemicals used on food, but these 12 were unanimously declared to be the worst. Of these, 9 are pesticides.
Under Codex, 7 of the 9 forbidden POPS will again be allowed in the production of food. All together, Codex allows over 3,275 different pesticides, including those that are suspected carcinogens or endocrine disrupters. There is no consideration of the long-term effects of exposure to mixtures of pesticide residues in food.
Organic food governance will be dumbed down to suit the interests of large food producers. Various synthetic chemical additives and processing aids will be allowed, and food labeled as organic may be irradiated. Labeling will permit the use of hidden, non-organic ingredients.
Monsanto, a member of Codex, will benefit greatly as production of genetically modified (GM) foods are stepped up and more GM plants are given the green light. Terminator seeds will be approved for international trade. GM food animals will also be on the way.
Under Codex, every dairy animal can be treated with growth hormone, and all animals in the food chain will be treated with sub-clinical levels of antibiotics, according to Dr. Laibow. She claims that Codex will lead to the required irradiation of all foods with the exception of those grown locally and sold raw.
Dr. Laiblow sees Codex as "food regulations that are in fact the legalization of mandated toxicity and under-nutrition". According to her, the WHO and FAO estimate that of the 3 billion people initially expected to die as the result of the Codex vitamin and mineral guidelines, 2 billion of them will die from the preventable diseases that result from under-nutrition, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and many others. Those who will live will be the wealthy elites who are able to somehow provide themselves with sources of clean food and other nutrients.
Codex is legalized genocide
Dr. Gregory Damato, Ph.D., writing for Natural News, has characterized Codex as "population control for money". He sees Codex as run by the U.S. and controlled by the big pharmaceutical corporations and the likes of Monsanto with the purpose of reducing the population of the world to a level considered sustainable by those promulgating the New World Order. This would mean a reduction of approximately 93 percent of the current world population.
Once Codex standards are adopted there will be no turning back. When Codex compliance is instigated in any area, as long as the country remains a member of the WTO, those standards cannot be repealed, or altered in any way.
Natural Solutions Foundation is working to revamp Codex guidelines worldwide
Some hope remains. Over the years, the WTO has accepted Codex standards as presumptive evidence of the rules of trade between countries. However, several times in history, the WTO has refused to make Codex the single and only standard to be used in trade disputes. Under Codex’s own statutes, their guidelines are claimed to be "advisory", and nations are able to set up their own guidelines.
Since compliance with Codex standards is simply presumptive evidence, and not finally determinative, a nation can opt out of the guidelines in an effort to protect its traditional foods and remedies. The Codex Two Step is a legal strategy that the Natural Solutions Foundation has developed to help nations wanting to do this. Under Step One, the country develops its own food and health guidelines that may be at variance with Codex guidelines. For example, it may be much stricter on the issues of toxins in the food supply or on the issue of genetically modified foods. It may require, for example, that companies using GM ingredients be required to indicate them on food labels. In countries that refuse to use GM foods, this can be indicated on their label too, so that people can make informed choices.
So, the first step is for a country to set up its guidelines. The Second Step is to adopt a national law that implements those guidelines on a sound scientific basis. The NSF is preparing models to be used for doing this that are available to any country. There is a model vitamin and mineral guideline, and a model of a food and health statute to implement that guideline.
Normally, in a trade dispute before the WTO, the country that has adopted Codex guidelines will be the winner of that dispute based on those guidelines being presumptive evidence. However, when countries have gone through the two step process to create their own guidelines, there is no such presumption, and the WTO will look at the science behind the guidelines.
In the U.S. the door is open to Codex
In 1995, the FDA issued a policy statement saying that international standards such as Codex would supersede U.S. laws governing all food. Under the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which is illegal under current U.S. law, but is legal under international law, the U.S. is required to conform to Codex as it stands on December 31, 2009.
This is why NSF needs your help. Because the current pro-Codex stance of the U.S. is in violation of current laws, NSF has created a Citizen’s Petition in which they are asking the U.S. government to amend its Codex position according to the Two Step plan that Codex allows. This petition is a ground-breaking legal approach to compel the government to hold public hearings and move from a pro-illness Codex position to a pro-health position. If the government does not respond in an appropriate manner, the next step in the process is to take them to court.
A Citizen’s Petition is a legal means to focus a government agency’s attention on an issue of concern to citizens. Once a Citizen’s Petition has been entered, a docket to debate it is opened and public comment is accepted. A Citizen’s Petition does have one thing in common with the more familiar types of petitions. Any number of people can add their names to it and become co-petitioners.
So far, over 30,000 people have joined this petition, and three members of Congress have written a Congressional Letter in support of it. NSF needs you to read and sign this petition by going to http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?pa… On this site you will also find a letter that can be sent to the U.S. Codex Manager, Dr. Edwin Scarbrough, and Dr. Barbara Schneeman, Head of the FDA’s Office of Nutritional Products.
Dr. Liabow is encouraging people to pass the word about Codex to everyone they know or with whom they come in contact. As a reader of Natural News, you are in the forefront of knowledge regarding health standards and the need to safeguard them. You are probably someone who others look to for advice on health matters. As such, you are in a special position to help this petition move forward. The new guidelines created by NSF have mandated biochemically individual determination of optimal health. These guidelines need to be adopted by Congress and also by other countries who value their traditional foods and remedies.
When Dr. Laibow was recently working in Washington D.C. to inform the members of Congress about Codex, she found that very few of them knew anything about it all. As they have become informed, some have come out against Codex. This makes writing to your congressmen on this issue critically important. Tell they about the threat of Codex. Suggest that they need a congressional briefing on the issue and suggest that they contact Dr. Rima Laibow. Remember, any negative part of Codex can be overturned by a guideline that is positive.
And while you at it, be sure to sign the Health Revolution Petition, created by Mike Adams, editor of Natural News http://www.healthrevolutionpetition… This petition highlights a series of actions critically needed to move from a disease care model to a true health care model with the goal of restoration and perpetuation of vibrant health for everyone.
For more information:http://www.naturalnews.com/024128_C…http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/http://www.anhcampaign.org/
Friday, July 17, 2009
The church exists because God set things up to work that way. We obey Him, follow Christ, and seek to be as He intends us to be. We can't go around talking about the church like it's something we are creating, doing, making. It happens naturally, as a result of our striving to be sanctified followers of Christ, and to help others become the same. All this talk of increasing attendance, having more outreach, all this "church" talk is missing the big picture. We do not build the church, we did not create it, nor do we decide how it functions. We simply apply our functions (our gifts) within it, as taught clearly in the Word, and God does the rest. The church will exist as long as we seek to fulfill our purposes in Christ. It can't not exist if we are doing that. Everything we try to organize and shove around within the church is Sysiphus pushing the boulder up a hill. God moves the boulder!! Not us! Fulfill your purpose, live out your gift within the Body of Christ as it exists naturally. The church will grow because we are obedient and reliant on Christ. There is no amount of re-organization, re-structuring, re-focusing we can do on account of the church. The church, as it exists within the pages of The Word, is the only church there will ever be. All incarnations of it are simply people adding on to God's perfect Church. Soon, we will have no choice but to operate simply via the Spirit, simply being the Church as it was in the very beginning. Get off the details, and get back to simplicity- simple obedience, simple Biblical Truths, simple following God's lead. Simplicity seems to be really hard for people these days.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
What would be enough?
So, I know the story. I know the drill. I have the words, basically. I have an idea of the point I'm trying to get across. I KNOW this stuff. But do I?
First, God gives me a tiny inkling of what I've got to speak. It scares me to death, but he gives me Ezekiel 33 to make sure I understand that it's imperative. The whole watchman business. UGH!
Then, the message gets more intense, more out there, more crazy-tin-foil-hat-ish. Believe me, I'm fighting this one tooth and nail. What is God's reply? Ezekiel 2:3-7. Speak even though it'll be like your among scorpians. Speak regardless of whether or not there are ears listening. WHAT??? How does that help??
Fine. But why does it have to be this craziness? Sure, I believe you, Lord, duh, but I'm already half-crazy anyway. Normal people are not going to take this stuff seriously! What is His answer to all of this?
You think this stuff is crazy talk, I'll show you what's crazy. The whitewash my people are believing. Comfy cozy, safe, no real effort required...God is love love love...but He ain't SOFT. Everything has a shiny coat of love over top of rubbish. My people are standing on shoddy feet, content with half-way. That is crazy.
Good point, God, good point. I agree. However...I can't argue with you, but I will certainly try to. I speak this, and 2% listen. Fantastic. Heaven has a party. The other 98% fiddles around in denial, and then we watch them jump off a cliff into total destruction. Do I like that scenario? No. Obviously not. But...but...but...not my business. Your business. I get it.
Well, I'm sorry. But apparently I've got a long way to go, here, Lord. Do I want patience? Or do I just want to get it over with? I don't know. You tell me, Lord. Give me more Ezekiel bits that I can't argue with. Clarity. Assuredness. Power from You. I am not who You think I am, even though I am. What a way we have to go.
First, God gives me a tiny inkling of what I've got to speak. It scares me to death, but he gives me Ezekiel 33 to make sure I understand that it's imperative. The whole watchman business. UGH!
Then, the message gets more intense, more out there, more crazy-tin-foil-hat-ish. Believe me, I'm fighting this one tooth and nail. What is God's reply? Ezekiel 2:3-7. Speak even though it'll be like your among scorpians. Speak regardless of whether or not there are ears listening. WHAT??? How does that help??
Fine. But why does it have to be this craziness? Sure, I believe you, Lord, duh, but I'm already half-crazy anyway. Normal people are not going to take this stuff seriously! What is His answer to all of this?
You think this stuff is crazy talk, I'll show you what's crazy. The whitewash my people are believing. Comfy cozy, safe, no real effort required...God is love love love...but He ain't SOFT. Everything has a shiny coat of love over top of rubbish. My people are standing on shoddy feet, content with half-way. That is crazy.
Good point, God, good point. I agree. However...I can't argue with you, but I will certainly try to. I speak this, and 2% listen. Fantastic. Heaven has a party. The other 98% fiddles around in denial, and then we watch them jump off a cliff into total destruction. Do I like that scenario? No. Obviously not. But...but...but...not my business. Your business. I get it.
Well, I'm sorry. But apparently I've got a long way to go, here, Lord. Do I want patience? Or do I just want to get it over with? I don't know. You tell me, Lord. Give me more Ezekiel bits that I can't argue with. Clarity. Assuredness. Power from You. I am not who You think I am, even though I am. What a way we have to go.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Under duress??
Here I am standing a few hundred feet away from something I know will be awesome, that will show the glory of God to people who don't really think He is actively working in our lives right now, at this very moment.
Between me and that ultimate end is a neck-high river of sewage. The sewage is my own doing, but I've got to get through it in order to do what God intends for me to do. But it's not like I'm jumping right in. But how long can I stall??
I'm overwhelmed, but not yet overcome. I don't know my time schedule, which just makes things worse. I have three children to think of. And believe me, that is what I am thinking of.
The thing is, who the heck am I to say this stuff? While I realize that the message is for me as much as it is coming from my lips- do other people get that?? I know I can't ever be good enough to deserve to speak this stuff with authority, yet here I am being told to do it. Why give it to me? Why can't I know the reason?
Trust, trust, trust. Obey, obey, obey. So easy to type. much harder to put into action and live. Throw me against a wall, please.
Between me and that ultimate end is a neck-high river of sewage. The sewage is my own doing, but I've got to get through it in order to do what God intends for me to do. But it's not like I'm jumping right in. But how long can I stall??
I'm overwhelmed, but not yet overcome. I don't know my time schedule, which just makes things worse. I have three children to think of. And believe me, that is what I am thinking of.
The thing is, who the heck am I to say this stuff? While I realize that the message is for me as much as it is coming from my lips- do other people get that?? I know I can't ever be good enough to deserve to speak this stuff with authority, yet here I am being told to do it. Why give it to me? Why can't I know the reason?
Trust, trust, trust. Obey, obey, obey. So easy to type. much harder to put into action and live. Throw me against a wall, please.
Monday, July 13, 2009
What would destruction be to you?
If life as you know it was destroyed- what would be destroyed? Has anyone really thought about this?
While God will not be directly responsible for destruction that I believe is coming- even as I write that, it's funny, because there is nothing that goes on that God is still not sovereign over, as He chooses to exercise that sovereignty- God will use this "destruction" to re-build His people. Right now, we are stifled, we are distracted- by our actual lives! The life we lead is our greatest blockage to God. The ways to get around God, scoot past Him, work around Him, etc- they are numerous. The road to destruction is wide, remember??
So, there it is. What would destruction mean to you, and how will you allow God to re-fashion you into something He can fill? And use? How will you glorify Him? How will you serve Him when the crap that surrounds us now is gone? When all there is...is survival? How will you allow God to carry you through, and how will you fulfill your purpose within Him?
While God will not be directly responsible for destruction that I believe is coming- even as I write that, it's funny, because there is nothing that goes on that God is still not sovereign over, as He chooses to exercise that sovereignty- God will use this "destruction" to re-build His people. Right now, we are stifled, we are distracted- by our actual lives! The life we lead is our greatest blockage to God. The ways to get around God, scoot past Him, work around Him, etc- they are numerous. The road to destruction is wide, remember??
So, there it is. What would destruction mean to you, and how will you allow God to re-fashion you into something He can fill? And use? How will you glorify Him? How will you serve Him when the crap that surrounds us now is gone? When all there is...is survival? How will you allow God to carry you through, and how will you fulfill your purpose within Him?
Friday, July 10, 2009
More false prophet stuff
2 Peter 2:1[ False Teachers and Their Destruction ] But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
Micah 2:6[ False Prophets ] "Do not prophesy," their prophets say. "Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us."
Lamentations 2:14The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading.
Jeremiah 23:16This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
I have been...intrigued...( I suppose that is a good word for it) by the teachings on false prophets. Most are found within the OT prophets themselves, and a lot is in the NT. I'm pretty sure I've been urged to cover this stuff by the Holy Spirit- first, because the Lord is being very gracious with me and giving me my Gideon-proof. (I suppose I don't need wet/dry wool, just the hard-hitting Truth of the Word.) Second, because it makes my message or whatever, ever more clear to me. Its all quite amazing, this process by which God is dealing with me. Even in the midst of my husband possibly being laid off, being in a house that is not my home, and being on a whirl-wind tour of my emotions thanks to pregnancy- I feel very secure, content, and encouraged in all of this. Praise God for that!!
Micah 2:6[ False Prophets ] "Do not prophesy," their prophets say. "Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us."
Lamentations 2:14The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading.
Jeremiah 23:16This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
I have been...intrigued...( I suppose that is a good word for it) by the teachings on false prophets. Most are found within the OT prophets themselves, and a lot is in the NT. I'm pretty sure I've been urged to cover this stuff by the Holy Spirit- first, because the Lord is being very gracious with me and giving me my Gideon-proof. (I suppose I don't need wet/dry wool, just the hard-hitting Truth of the Word.) Second, because it makes my message or whatever, ever more clear to me. Its all quite amazing, this process by which God is dealing with me. Even in the midst of my husband possibly being laid off, being in a house that is not my home, and being on a whirl-wind tour of my emotions thanks to pregnancy- I feel very secure, content, and encouraged in all of this. Praise God for that!!
Monday, July 6, 2009
More false prophet stuff...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LykBSM0vMWw
The more I learn about false prophets, I am less inclined to include myself among them- thank goodness, er, thank God for His assurance, that He knows I need.
I don't know about this dude, he wrote some Idiots Guide stuff, which kinda makes me furrow my brow, but I suppose that is a good way to get Idiots to read about scripture...perhaps to move on to actual scripture. I don't know. I like this video, some of his others seem a little whack. He claims the first horsement of the apocalypse came on 9/11, his reasoning is interesting, but I don't know that I think that way. I don't know what to think of that stuff, I don't believe it is stuff for me to concentrate on. I deal with what's in front of me, and what the Lord places in front of me. I don't need to be telling people about the horsemen of the end times when what they really need to hear is repent and turn to Christ, get serious about your life bearing the name of our Lord. Be a Christian.
Anyway...I continue on my quest for assuredness in my gift, assuredness in my role as servant of God, assuredness in myself as myself. Whatever that means.
The more I learn about false prophets, I am less inclined to include myself among them- thank goodness, er, thank God for His assurance, that He knows I need.
I don't know about this dude, he wrote some Idiots Guide stuff, which kinda makes me furrow my brow, but I suppose that is a good way to get Idiots to read about scripture...perhaps to move on to actual scripture. I don't know. I like this video, some of his others seem a little whack. He claims the first horsement of the apocalypse came on 9/11, his reasoning is interesting, but I don't know that I think that way. I don't know what to think of that stuff, I don't believe it is stuff for me to concentrate on. I deal with what's in front of me, and what the Lord places in front of me. I don't need to be telling people about the horsemen of the end times when what they really need to hear is repent and turn to Christ, get serious about your life bearing the name of our Lord. Be a Christian.
Anyway...I continue on my quest for assuredness in my gift, assuredness in my role as servant of God, assuredness in myself as myself. Whatever that means.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Ezekiel 13: False Prophets and their whitewash
I read about false prophets with a certain anxiety, because it would be my ultimate failure as a human being and child of God to be one of them. I check myself constantly and doubt myself constantly because I fear being false. I ask God continually to show me where I put myself into His words, His thoughts- and to be removed so that only He remains and nothing of me can malign His work.
So, I have read Ezekiel 13, where the Lord talks about false prophets, who prophesy out of their own imagination. What is interesting is that these falsies must be prophesying some rosy future, or "it's all good" sort of stuff. God says they cover a flimsy wall with whitewash, and when the true storm comes and totally smashes the wall, all the people are like, "Hey! Where'd the pretty white wall go?"
I find that fascinating because I can see it going on today. People want to worship the God that forgives and comforts and protects...but not all of Him. Not the part that rebukes, corrects, even judges. The tough truth is that in this country, if we do not start sticking up for all of God- the parts of the Bible that seem harsh or too judgemental- we will find ourselves being corrected. God has a plan- sin does not have a place in that plan, and it will be dealt with! Deal with it now with repentence and remorse! See God for who He is- so wonderfully immovable and perfect and steadfast and absolute...and loving, forgiving...to those who choose to repent and seek Christ with their entire heart.
The whitewash that this country has continually doused herself in is about to find itself up against a storm of Biblical proportions, so to speak. God is ready to show Himself as He is, and we will all see it. What will you see? The glory of the Lord, full, beautiful, powerful, fantastic? Or scary, misunderstood, judgemental, and cold? God is who He is and you cannot seperate His personalities. He is all loving, but all right, all true, all good, all sovereign. He is all forgiving, but He is all good, all holy, all perfect! He will forgive that which you realize is wrong and causes you to seek His forgiveness! We must seek Him, for He has already made His move for us- in Christ. If you know the deal, if you know Jesus and what He did, then you know it's your move. Stop accepting the whitewash and see the Truth.
So, I have read Ezekiel 13, where the Lord talks about false prophets, who prophesy out of their own imagination. What is interesting is that these falsies must be prophesying some rosy future, or "it's all good" sort of stuff. God says they cover a flimsy wall with whitewash, and when the true storm comes and totally smashes the wall, all the people are like, "Hey! Where'd the pretty white wall go?"
I find that fascinating because I can see it going on today. People want to worship the God that forgives and comforts and protects...but not all of Him. Not the part that rebukes, corrects, even judges. The tough truth is that in this country, if we do not start sticking up for all of God- the parts of the Bible that seem harsh or too judgemental- we will find ourselves being corrected. God has a plan- sin does not have a place in that plan, and it will be dealt with! Deal with it now with repentence and remorse! See God for who He is- so wonderfully immovable and perfect and steadfast and absolute...and loving, forgiving...to those who choose to repent and seek Christ with their entire heart.
The whitewash that this country has continually doused herself in is about to find itself up against a storm of Biblical proportions, so to speak. God is ready to show Himself as He is, and we will all see it. What will you see? The glory of the Lord, full, beautiful, powerful, fantastic? Or scary, misunderstood, judgemental, and cold? God is who He is and you cannot seperate His personalities. He is all loving, but all right, all true, all good, all sovereign. He is all forgiving, but He is all good, all holy, all perfect! He will forgive that which you realize is wrong and causes you to seek His forgiveness! We must seek Him, for He has already made His move for us- in Christ. If you know the deal, if you know Jesus and what He did, then you know it's your move. Stop accepting the whitewash and see the Truth.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Once more with feeling.
This country, supposedly so full of Christians and lovers of the Lord, ah...this country. These people. Wanting for nothing, suffering from mental illnesses that come from such excess. How we grieve God when we seek to right all this wrongness with everything and anything...but Him.
Hungry? There is a grocery store full of anything you could possibly hunger for, and if you are still hungry, drive to the nearest fast food restaurant. Open your immense fridge and struggle with the decision of what, oh what, to eat.
Feeling sick? There is a doctor ready to diagnose you and give you any drug imaginable for any possible ailment. Better yet, we can help you be happy, take away your anxiety and stress, help you overcome shyness...and we can keep your kid from being annoying and jumping all over the place. All with pills.
Bored? How could you possibly be bored with 150 channels and DVD stores with thousand upon thousands of choices. And then there's the internet full of games and junk and more junk. And then we have Playstation and Wii and Xbox and whatever other gaming system there is. The best part is, you don't even have to be at home. With your phone, you can listen to music, surf the net, text explicitly, watch videos, take pictures... Now seriously, are you bored??
What clutter! What a mess our minds are slugging through every single day. Who has room for God? And I mean, for REAL. Not just an hour or so in church, a recited prayer at bedtime, a passing thought of Him on Christmas and Easter...
WHAT GOD ARE YOU WORSHIPPING???? WHAT DOES YOUR GOD DESERVE FROM YOU??? WHAT DOES A GOD EVEN MEAN TO YOU?
Make room. No, don't just make room- CLEAR IT ALL. Get extreme about God.
Why? Because we NEED HIM. And we are going to find out just how much. TRUST HIM NOW- with every single miniscule detail of your life. Refocus, refit.
He's calling us. Louder now. Come, be near Him- seek Him earnestly, genuinely, and with as much passion and fervor and heart and gusto that you can muster. All that you loved in the world- your favorite movie, food, clothes, car, sports team, band, friends...all the attention and time you lavished upon that stuff- Give it to the One who deserves that kind of devotion and adoration and love- Give it to JESUS.
Wonderful, sweet, perfect Jesus. Pure, holy. Be glorified. We are nothing without You.
Hungry? There is a grocery store full of anything you could possibly hunger for, and if you are still hungry, drive to the nearest fast food restaurant. Open your immense fridge and struggle with the decision of what, oh what, to eat.
Feeling sick? There is a doctor ready to diagnose you and give you any drug imaginable for any possible ailment. Better yet, we can help you be happy, take away your anxiety and stress, help you overcome shyness...and we can keep your kid from being annoying and jumping all over the place. All with pills.
Bored? How could you possibly be bored with 150 channels and DVD stores with thousand upon thousands of choices. And then there's the internet full of games and junk and more junk. And then we have Playstation and Wii and Xbox and whatever other gaming system there is. The best part is, you don't even have to be at home. With your phone, you can listen to music, surf the net, text explicitly, watch videos, take pictures... Now seriously, are you bored??
What clutter! What a mess our minds are slugging through every single day. Who has room for God? And I mean, for REAL. Not just an hour or so in church, a recited prayer at bedtime, a passing thought of Him on Christmas and Easter...
WHAT GOD ARE YOU WORSHIPPING???? WHAT DOES YOUR GOD DESERVE FROM YOU??? WHAT DOES A GOD EVEN MEAN TO YOU?
Make room. No, don't just make room- CLEAR IT ALL. Get extreme about God.
Why? Because we NEED HIM. And we are going to find out just how much. TRUST HIM NOW- with every single miniscule detail of your life. Refocus, refit.
He's calling us. Louder now. Come, be near Him- seek Him earnestly, genuinely, and with as much passion and fervor and heart and gusto that you can muster. All that you loved in the world- your favorite movie, food, clothes, car, sports team, band, friends...all the attention and time you lavished upon that stuff- Give it to the One who deserves that kind of devotion and adoration and love- Give it to JESUS.
Wonderful, sweet, perfect Jesus. Pure, holy. Be glorified. We are nothing without You.
Calm before the storm...
I am suddenly calm, cool, collected and not particularly as crazed as I was beginning the week. I'm not sure if I should consider it a good thing or a bad thing. Either God has calmed me and is giving me some time to chill out about all of this, or I've succeeded in cramming it into the back recesses of my head so that I don't have to think about it every second of every day.
Either is possible. However, I will take this time. It won't be enough time, I know, but I will take it. I will plug in and charge up, like a cell phone, so my voice doesn't crack and I'm heard loud and clear.
The Winnowing fork is out. I keep hearing that. I know it can't mean ultimate judgement day, but what I think it means is the Lord is calling the "real" faithful to Him, and even the sorta-faithful- it's a wake-up call, but this is the last great chance to either see with wide eyes, or have them shut and be blind to all the deception that will come.
I don't know. I just don't know anything about anything. I see stuff, I hear stuff, I think stuff- and I just don't trust myself enough to believe it all.
Either is possible. However, I will take this time. It won't be enough time, I know, but I will take it. I will plug in and charge up, like a cell phone, so my voice doesn't crack and I'm heard loud and clear.
The Winnowing fork is out. I keep hearing that. I know it can't mean ultimate judgement day, but what I think it means is the Lord is calling the "real" faithful to Him, and even the sorta-faithful- it's a wake-up call, but this is the last great chance to either see with wide eyes, or have them shut and be blind to all the deception that will come.
I don't know. I just don't know anything about anything. I see stuff, I hear stuff, I think stuff- and I just don't trust myself enough to believe it all.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
My new best friend Ezekiel.
So, the chaos in my head continues. The back and forth, being sure but then being pummeled back into unsuredness. I would like to blame pregnancy for this roller coaster ride, but I think I know better in this instance.
Reading and re-reading through Ezekiel, I realize I feel very similar to everything going on in that book. Israel is already in a state of serious trouble, but the Israelites are either totally in denial and just going about their business, or they are already teetering on the edge of despair and ready to throw in the towel and commit their lives to wailing and tearing their clothes and stuff. Sounds very familiar.
Ezekiel gets to drop the bomb on them that Israel as they know it is done. Gone. Fin. God gives him a scroll: "When I looked he had his hand stretched out to me, and in the hand a book, a scroll. He unrolled the scroll. On both sides, front and back, were written lamentations and mourning and doom."
Sounds pretty awesome. Doooooom. Dooooooooom! What is Ezekiel's reaction to this, um, job? Here it is: "The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I went bitterly and angrily. I didn't want to go. But God had me in his grip. I arrived among the exiles who lived near the Kebar River at Tel Aviv. I came to where they were living and sat there for seven days, appalled. "
I'm at about that point. Except I didn't have the luxury of the 4-headed beast with wings and eating the honey-tasting scroll and all that concrete stuff that would let me know it's all for real. So, I'm a little funkified over that. I suppose I have 7 days to sit here.
Then he said to me, "Son of man, I'm going to cut off all food from Jerusalem. The people will live on starvation rations, worrying where the next meal's coming from, scrounging for the next drink of water. Famine conditions. People will look at one another, see nothing but skin and bones, and shake their heads. This is what sin does." Yep, I'll be saying something similar.
14-15 "When I get done with you, you'll be a pile of rubble. Nations who walk by will make coarse jokes. When I finish my angry punishment and searing rebukes, you'll be reduced to an object of ridicule and mockery, turned into a horror story circulating among the surrounding nations. I, God, have spoken.
16-17 "When I shoot my lethal famine arrows at you, I'll shoot to kill. Then I'll step up the famine and cut off food supplies. Famine and more famine—and then I'll send in the wild animals to finish off your children. Epidemic disease, unrestrained murder, death—and I will have sent it! I, God, have spoken." I want to say that is extreme...but...
And at the end of every statement, God says, "Then they'll know that I am God."
"Tell them, 'Time's about up. Every warning is about to come true. False alarms and easygoing preaching are a thing of the past in the life of Israel. I, God, am doing the speaking. What I say happens. None of what I say is on hold. What I say, I'll do—and soon, you rebels!' Decree of God the Master."
6-8 "Therefore, say to the house of Israel: 'God, the Master, says, Repent! Turn your backs on your no-god idols. Turn your backs on all your outrageous obscenities. To every last person from the house of Israel, including any of the resident aliens who live in Israel—all who turn their backs on me and embrace idols, who install the wickedness that will ruin them at the center of their lives and then have the gall to go to the prophet to ask me questions—I, God, will step in and give the answer myself. I'll oppose those people to their faces, make an example of them—a warning lesson—and get rid of them so you will realize that I am God.
All of this- it all makes my brain jump, so to speak. But it all sounds so harsh and unbelievable. Though every time I think it, the urgency increases, the intensity increases and I'm thrust into this state. My husband says jump already. Easy for him to say...much harder if you are the one who has to do the doing. Speak the crazy. To reasonably comfortable people that don't want to hear crazy.
How about, Lord, if I just lay on my couch and you can drag me around and move my mouth and manipulate my vocal chords? Would that be cool? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know, I know, I know. I KNOW! BAH!
You know I'm not there yet, Lord. And I am telling you, pleading with you, make my brain work. I trust You, I don't trust me. I don't know if I am being deceived and misled. I need to see the dry wool and wet ground. And then I'll need to see wet wool and dry ground. Forgive me, Lord. I don't know what else to say.
Reading and re-reading through Ezekiel, I realize I feel very similar to everything going on in that book. Israel is already in a state of serious trouble, but the Israelites are either totally in denial and just going about their business, or they are already teetering on the edge of despair and ready to throw in the towel and commit their lives to wailing and tearing their clothes and stuff. Sounds very familiar.
Ezekiel gets to drop the bomb on them that Israel as they know it is done. Gone. Fin. God gives him a scroll: "When I looked he had his hand stretched out to me, and in the hand a book, a scroll. He unrolled the scroll. On both sides, front and back, were written lamentations and mourning and doom."
Sounds pretty awesome. Doooooom. Dooooooooom! What is Ezekiel's reaction to this, um, job? Here it is: "The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I went bitterly and angrily. I didn't want to go. But God had me in his grip. I arrived among the exiles who lived near the Kebar River at Tel Aviv. I came to where they were living and sat there for seven days, appalled. "
I'm at about that point. Except I didn't have the luxury of the 4-headed beast with wings and eating the honey-tasting scroll and all that concrete stuff that would let me know it's all for real. So, I'm a little funkified over that. I suppose I have 7 days to sit here.
Then he said to me, "Son of man, I'm going to cut off all food from Jerusalem. The people will live on starvation rations, worrying where the next meal's coming from, scrounging for the next drink of water. Famine conditions. People will look at one another, see nothing but skin and bones, and shake their heads. This is what sin does." Yep, I'll be saying something similar.
14-15 "When I get done with you, you'll be a pile of rubble. Nations who walk by will make coarse jokes. When I finish my angry punishment and searing rebukes, you'll be reduced to an object of ridicule and mockery, turned into a horror story circulating among the surrounding nations. I, God, have spoken.
16-17 "When I shoot my lethal famine arrows at you, I'll shoot to kill. Then I'll step up the famine and cut off food supplies. Famine and more famine—and then I'll send in the wild animals to finish off your children. Epidemic disease, unrestrained murder, death—and I will have sent it! I, God, have spoken." I want to say that is extreme...but...
And at the end of every statement, God says, "Then they'll know that I am God."
"Tell them, 'Time's about up. Every warning is about to come true. False alarms and easygoing preaching are a thing of the past in the life of Israel. I, God, am doing the speaking. What I say happens. None of what I say is on hold. What I say, I'll do—and soon, you rebels!' Decree of God the Master."
6-8 "Therefore, say to the house of Israel: 'God, the Master, says, Repent! Turn your backs on your no-god idols. Turn your backs on all your outrageous obscenities. To every last person from the house of Israel, including any of the resident aliens who live in Israel—all who turn their backs on me and embrace idols, who install the wickedness that will ruin them at the center of their lives and then have the gall to go to the prophet to ask me questions—I, God, will step in and give the answer myself. I'll oppose those people to their faces, make an example of them—a warning lesson—and get rid of them so you will realize that I am God.
All of this- it all makes my brain jump, so to speak. But it all sounds so harsh and unbelievable. Though every time I think it, the urgency increases, the intensity increases and I'm thrust into this state. My husband says jump already. Easy for him to say...much harder if you are the one who has to do the doing. Speak the crazy. To reasonably comfortable people that don't want to hear crazy.
How about, Lord, if I just lay on my couch and you can drag me around and move my mouth and manipulate my vocal chords? Would that be cool? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know, I know, I know. I KNOW! BAH!
You know I'm not there yet, Lord. And I am telling you, pleading with you, make my brain work. I trust You, I don't trust me. I don't know if I am being deceived and misled. I need to see the dry wool and wet ground. And then I'll need to see wet wool and dry ground. Forgive me, Lord. I don't know what else to say.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
When the Lord speaks, sometimes He does get pretty loud.
Just on a whim, after checking out some Facebook stuff, trying to get over myself and this funkiness that I'm sitting in, rather grumpy...I clicked over to Biblegateway and typed in Ezekiel 2:5- I have no knowledge of this verse, it just popped into my head and I typed it. Because I have it set as the Message version, 2:3-7 came up. It has slayed me completely.
Ezekiel 2:5 (The Message)
3-7 He said, "Son of man, I'm sending you to the family of Israel, a rebellious nation if there ever was one. They and their ancestors have fomented rebellion right up to the present. They're a hard case, these people to whom I'm sending you—hardened in their sin. Tell them, 'This is the Message of God, the Master.' They are a defiant bunch. Whether or not they listen, at least they'll know that a prophet's been here. But don't be afraid of them, son of man, and don't be afraid of anything they say. Don't be afraid when living among them is like stepping on thorns or finding scorpions in your bed. Don't be afraid of their mean words or their hard looks. They're a bunch of rebels. Your job is to speak to them. Whether they listen is not your concern. They're hardened rebels.
How much longer can I stay in this state, before I listen to what I know I'm being told? Is the price of disobedience going to be my sanity? Or at least my pseudo-contentment? Work on me, Lord, I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this.
But I am the Lord's servant. Let it be to me as you have said.
Ezekiel 2:5 (The Message)
3-7 He said, "Son of man, I'm sending you to the family of Israel, a rebellious nation if there ever was one. They and their ancestors have fomented rebellion right up to the present. They're a hard case, these people to whom I'm sending you—hardened in their sin. Tell them, 'This is the Message of God, the Master.' They are a defiant bunch. Whether or not they listen, at least they'll know that a prophet's been here. But don't be afraid of them, son of man, and don't be afraid of anything they say. Don't be afraid when living among them is like stepping on thorns or finding scorpions in your bed. Don't be afraid of their mean words or their hard looks. They're a bunch of rebels. Your job is to speak to them. Whether they listen is not your concern. They're hardened rebels.
How much longer can I stay in this state, before I listen to what I know I'm being told? Is the price of disobedience going to be my sanity? Or at least my pseudo-contentment? Work on me, Lord, I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this.
But I am the Lord's servant. Let it be to me as you have said.
All Falls Down
Is it me? Have I crossed over onto the slightly insane side? Funny, I don't feel crazy. I mean, more than usual.
I go outside and sniff the air like an animal of some kind. Every plane that goes by, every strange tint the sun makes in the sky...I'm waiting for it. I don't know what I'm waiting for, and I don't know if I'm supposed to know or if I am supposed to trust God that whatever it is, He will be my strength- more strength than I think possible.
But until then, every day I turn over inside myself- not knowing quite what to do, asking for direction and expecting some kind of real directions- something specific so that I can know I am doing what I'm meant to be doing. I want to be a wind-up toy with the operating instructions stuck right on my back in three languages.
So, am I failing at this faith thing? Because I know that's what you want, Lord. Standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing but not knowing what is at the bottom, waiting for your "Go!" or at least expecting a shove in the back and off I go. Why must everything be so grandiose? Why must this "coming" thing be so unnerving? I cannot stand in the waiting room forever- I am much more comfortable being under the knife already.
I know it is not me You/we are waiting for. But how many times should I speak this...what appears to be craziness- and just how much craziness should I let slip? To convey my true, unadulterated, un-watered-down feelings would most certainly get me in trouble. I realize I can face some trouble, some raised eyebrows, but how much are you expecting, Lord?
My faith in You is not the problem, Lord, at least that's what I think. My faith in me, and who I am and who I am to other people- that is where I see the problem arising. To speak this kind of stuff and try to speak it with authority- I will need to be thoroughly drowned in the Spirit. And I mean drowned.
I can speak my piece, like Agabus, and then can I run away screaming at what I just said? Or will that kind of lessen the impact?
I await your orders- orders I can understand and carry out. Please bring them soon. Until then I sit here, waiting, wondering, listening, expecting, and going absolutely crazy in the process.
I go outside and sniff the air like an animal of some kind. Every plane that goes by, every strange tint the sun makes in the sky...I'm waiting for it. I don't know what I'm waiting for, and I don't know if I'm supposed to know or if I am supposed to trust God that whatever it is, He will be my strength- more strength than I think possible.
But until then, every day I turn over inside myself- not knowing quite what to do, asking for direction and expecting some kind of real directions- something specific so that I can know I am doing what I'm meant to be doing. I want to be a wind-up toy with the operating instructions stuck right on my back in three languages.
So, am I failing at this faith thing? Because I know that's what you want, Lord. Standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing but not knowing what is at the bottom, waiting for your "Go!" or at least expecting a shove in the back and off I go. Why must everything be so grandiose? Why must this "coming" thing be so unnerving? I cannot stand in the waiting room forever- I am much more comfortable being under the knife already.
I know it is not me You/we are waiting for. But how many times should I speak this...what appears to be craziness- and just how much craziness should I let slip? To convey my true, unadulterated, un-watered-down feelings would most certainly get me in trouble. I realize I can face some trouble, some raised eyebrows, but how much are you expecting, Lord?
My faith in You is not the problem, Lord, at least that's what I think. My faith in me, and who I am and who I am to other people- that is where I see the problem arising. To speak this kind of stuff and try to speak it with authority- I will need to be thoroughly drowned in the Spirit. And I mean drowned.
I can speak my piece, like Agabus, and then can I run away screaming at what I just said? Or will that kind of lessen the impact?
I await your orders- orders I can understand and carry out. Please bring them soon. Until then I sit here, waiting, wondering, listening, expecting, and going absolutely crazy in the process.
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