Another, New, Chosin Battle Documentary Of Marine Unit I Was With

Common Sense Commentary: The now famous, historic Battle of Chosin Reservoir in far North Korea, near China, has become one of the three most  thoroughly studied and written about battles in Marine Corps history, as well as one of the top battles in the history of warfare. The uniqueness of this battle is in the facts that is was fought in -20 to -40 degree below zero weather, in the isolated Taebaek Mountains. It was 75-80 miles inland from the Sea Of Japan with one way out on a one lane dirt road whose bridges had been blown.
We 12,000 Marines, and a few soldiers, were surrounded and outnumbered 10 to 1 by 120,000 Communist Chinese Soldiers and there were no reinforcements available. The record shows that during this one 2week  battle, the Marines alone lost over 3000 killed, at least 6000 wounded and we all had frost bite; some lost feet and fingers.  The Chinese confirm they lost 34,000 killed in this one battle.

This new documentary deals with a  rifle company of approximately 200 Marines, to which I was nearly always attached as a combat, radio operator (SCR-300). I carried a rifle as well as a radio because in the Marine Corps, every Marine is first and foremost a rifleman. The Company was "George Company". The documentary is titled, "Bloody George Company At Chosin". It is an episode of the series, "Against The Odds" on AHC, the American Heros Channel (formerly Military Ch.), and will be aired for the first time this Monday, Mar. 31 at 10pm Eastern time and 9pm Central time .  I was with George Company at Inchon, in the capture of  Seoul and at Chosin in the battle through Hell Fire Valley going into Chosin and coming out.

As you may know, several other documentaries have been done on the Chosin battle, two of which I was interview in. I was not interviewed  for this most recent one about "George Company". Watch it if you can. I would appreciate your prayers for my surviving old buddies, all of whom are as old or older than I, and are passing on rapidly ... leaving all their old wounds behind. RB

Three Brave Women: Debora Had God's Hand But Jael Had A Hammer And Nail

Common Sense Commentary: No question about it, the United States is a hair trigger away from a full blown dictatorship or revolution. When such blatant abuse of our individual freedoms, by every Federal Agency, has become the norm, with no outcry from the press or the Republicans either, tyranny reigns in our country. If there is hope at all, of the restoration of our Constitutional Republic and it's laws, it is in this Nov. 4 elections, and only then if we elect strong Constitutional candidates to stop Obama and his Liberal violators. 

The next two paragraphs were sent to me by a fourth brave and patriotic, Christian woman.


If you don't think the IRS, OSHA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (among other agencies) have been used blatantly for political purposes by the Chicago machine now in Washington, just listen to this testimony--under oath--before Congress.  Just put yourself in the place of this sharp, articulate woman.  If you're not disgusted you should be.  Those of you who found yourself disgusted with George Bush might ask yourself this question.  Do you believe George Bush would have set the tone in his Administration that resulted in the kind of political abuse of government that is so typical for decades in Chicago and was imported to Washington by the Chicago gang brought there by President Obama. 

Please hear this gut wrenching testimony from a brave, brave woman.  One of the clearest signals I have seen so far on the state of our country.  It should make EVERYBODY, no matter what your political persuasion: Democrat, Libertarian, Republican, or someone who has absolutely no interest in politics or the political parties to take notice. Please listen to this brave woman's testimony.....below the scripture verses...  

But, first, I must interject the Biblical case of two very courageous women who defeated an evil king and his entire army in Judges 4. RB

 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD .... And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan ...the captain of whose host was Sisera .... for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment .... And she sent and called Barak ...., and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men ....?  And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.  And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.  And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. And Barak ... went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him. 

Now Heber the Kenite, ... shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor. And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him ... unto the river of Kishon. And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. 

And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots ... and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet. But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left ... Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite .... And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No. (He goes to sleep)

Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples. So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. Judges 4:1-24.

The third woman: Mrs. Catherine Engelbrecht, Patriot

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=589797007761126&set=vb.275776592496504&type=2&theater

World Vision Crossed The Red Line Wall Between Holy And Unholy,Which Is Not Flexible

Common Sense Commentary: A decision of such magnitude is far too revealing, of the true mindset of World Vision, to simply require a request and granting of forgiveness. Forgiveness of a mistake is easy, but the deeper revelation of a blatant violation of an undeniable Scriptural truth reveals a perverted heart ... not just a "mistake" no matter who it may be.


When you make a policy in line with your true moral standards, your scriptural interpretation and best judgement, it reflects who you really are. To reverse that decision, based on outside pressure, and lost income, rather than what you and your board believes is right, only proves your primary concern is financial support. Your corporate heart still believes hiring homosexuals is a reasonable idea for a Christian ministry or they wouldn't ever have made such a decision. Convince a man against his will ... he is of the same opinion still. To be so blatantly wrong on what the Holy Scriptures teach, renders World Vision as spiritually visionless and unworthy of  any Christian support whatever. Yes, they are asking forgiveness.

Forgiveness is easy. Continued financial support is another matter. If I support a missionary who is discovered to be transporting cocaine but asks my forgiveness, and promises to cease doing it, I can easily forgive him, but I can no longer support him with monies raised from those who are trusting my good judgement in the use of their sacrifices, wisely. It is not my forgiveness he needs, to restore himself, but a right relationship with God and, therefore, better judgement. If I continued to financially support him, my judgement would be no better than his. And it matters not if he is my best friend or brother. I can love him but I cannot support him with God's money.

Both World Vision's President and their Board Chairman say the Board "prayed about their dilemma for years" before making the "mistaken" decision. Does that now mean they are reversing it under pressure from men, in spite of what they believed was God's will? This is a crisis they cannot come out of whole. The Scriptural admonition is.... 
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness..." Eph.6:12-14.


There are plenty of other faithful, scripturally correct, Christian Ministries worthy of the financial support World Vision has disqualified themselves for. Rayburn Blair

What was their decision and reversal of it?

World Vision reverses decision to hire Christians in same-sex marriages

Published March 26, 2014

| Associated Press

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NEW YORK –  Facing a firestorm of protest, the prominent Christian relief agency World Vision on Wednesday reversed a two-day-old policy change that would have allowed it to hire Christians in same-sex marriages in the US.

The aid group sent a letter to supporters saying the board had made a mistake and was returning to its policy requiring celibacy outside of marriage "and faithfulness within the Bible covenant of marriage between a man and a woman."

"We have listened to you and want to say thank you and to humbly ask for your forgiveness," the agency said in the letter, signed by World Vision president Richard Stearns and board chairman Jim Bere.

Based in Washington state and started by evangelicals, World Vision has an international operating budget of nearly $1 billion and conducts economic development and emergency relief projects.

The agency had announced Monday that its board had prayed for years about whether to hire Christians in same-sex marriages as churches took different stands on recognizing gay relationships. World Vision staff come from dozens of denominations with varied views on the issue. The board had said World Vision would still require celibacy outside of marriage and would require employees to affirm that they follow Christ, but would change policy in the U.S. as a way to avoid the divisive debates that have torn apart churches.

But the change drew widespread condemnation, with many donors posting on the agency's Facebook page that they would no longer fund the sponsor-a-child programs that are central to World Vision's fundraising and education.

Darrell Bock, a New Testament scholar at Dallas Theological Seminary, wrote on his blog that the new hiring policy was an "act was a betrayal of the nature of the Christian community" and "a denial of how Jesus defined marriage as between a man and a woman when he was asked about divorce."

Evangelical supporters of hiring Christians with same-sex spouses also rallied, increasing their donations and urging others to do the same.

However, World Vision reversed course.

"In our board's effort to unite around the church's shared mission to serve the poor in the name of Christ, we failed to be consistent with World Vision U.S.'s commitment to the traditional understanding of biblical marriage and our own statement of faith, which says, `We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God,"' Stearns and Bere wrote. "We are brokenhearted over the pain and confusion we have caused many of our friends, who saw this decision as a reversal of our strong commitment to Biblical authority. We ask that you understand that this was never the board's intent."

A few other conservative religious charities have tried to change hiring policies to recognize gay relationships, prompting controversy and a drop in donations, but World Vision was the largest and most prominent by far to take the step.

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Making our decisions in agreement with God's Word is becoming more and more unacceptable and even illegal in this wicked world, but it has never been more important and needful. If you are uncertain about what God's word says on the subject, Romans 1:20-32 is a good place to start correcting what you did or thought in the past. It's what you do from now on that will matter in eternity. RB

Human Memory Amplifies, Agrandizes Inflates And Reframes Itself, With Time

Common Sense Commentary: Over years, our memories tend to expand or adjust to accommodate our preconceptions, preferences and changing ideals. Human memory does not align perfectly with what actually occurred or what God has on His record books. In police reports, eye witnesses who all saw and heard the same thing, give varying, differing testimony of what they thought they saw, sometimes radically different. Human perception, cognition and memory are no more absolute or perfect than all the other aspects of the human psyche. In every way, in our flesh, we are all faulty and imperfect, and will be until we, as Christians, are made perfectly whole ... when we see Him who is perfect... Jesus Christ ... "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." 1 Jn.3:2. Until that day we must be content with the knowledge and promise of Jesus that these mortal bodies, and minds are destined to be glorified "... whom he justified, them he also glorified." Rom.8:30. Let us rest in the promise and simply do our very best, with His help, to be honest, true and faithful in all things. That cannot be done without His abiding presence in us.

"For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?  And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.  What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one...." Rom.3:3-10.


New research from Northwestern Medicine identifies how the brain transforms memories.

"Our memory is not like a video camera," lead author Donna Jo Bridge, a postdoctoral fellow in medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine said in a press release. "Your memory reframes and edits events to create a story to fit your current world. It's built to be current."

To investigate how memories change, researchers studied the memory recall of 17 men and women. Participants were asked to study a computer image with 168 objects against various desktop backgrounds. They then were asked to place the objects in their original locations but on a new background. Every time, participants failed to place the objects in their original spots,

Investigators then showed participants one object in three locations on one screen, asking them to identify the object’s position on the original screen. Participants consistently chose the incorrect location they identified initially.

"This shows their original memory of the location has changed to reflect the location they recalled on the new background screen. Their memory has updated the information by inserting the new information into the old memory,” Bridge said.  

Researchers say this shows how memory is built to change. They identified the hippocampus as the brain’s equivalent of a film editor and special effects team– the site where memory editing happens.

"Everyone likes to think of memory as this thing that lets us vividly remember our childhoods or what we did last week," study author Joel Voss, assistant professor of medical social sciences and neurology at Northwestern, said. "But memory is designed to help us make good decisions in the moment and, therefore, memory has to stay up-to-date.”

Researchers noted that the study, which was published in the Journal of Neuroscience, was done in a controlled experimental setting but believe it reflects how memory behaves in the real world.
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Not one historic record, religious commentary, scientific statement or person is perfectly true ... except God Himself, His historic record, commentary and scientific knowledge. RB

That includes the article above and my own commentary. RB

Are Bankers Being Suicided ?

Common Sense Commentary: Exactly how do you shoot yourself 8 times in the head and torso with a nail gun? No, a master carpenter with years of experience is not the answer. RB

Are Bankers Being Suicided?

Investment banker Kenneth Bellando, 28, was found dead March 12 on the sidewalk in front of the apartment building on Manhattan's East side where he lived. Police think he jumped from the roof of the six story building.

A former investment bank analyst at JP Morgan, Mr. Bellando had been working at Levy Capital since January. His brother, John, is a chief investment officer at JP Morgan.

Mr. Bellando is the 11th financial professional -- the 4th with ties to JP Morgan -- to die mysteriously in the last two months.

One of them, American Title Services president Richard Talley, 57, was found dead in the garage of his home in suburban Denver Feb. 7. Police have ruled his death a suicide.  Mr. Talley shot himself in the head and torso eight times with a nail gun, police said. That's tough to do  Suicide or suicided?

Document: JPMorgan Chase Bets $10.4 Billion on the Early Death of Workers

From Wall Street On Parade

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: March 24, 2014

(Left) JPMorgan's European Headquarters at 25 Bank Street, London Where Gabriel Magee Died on January 27 or January 28, 2014 Under Suspicious Circumstances

Families of young JPMorgan Chase workers who have experienced tragic deaths over the past four months, have been kept in the dark on many details, including the fact that the bank most likely held a life insurance policy on their loved one – payable to itself. Banks in the U.S., as well as other corporations, are allowed to make multi-billion dollar wagers that their profits from life insurance policies on employees will outstrip the cost of paying premiums and other fees. Early deaths help those wagers pay off.

According to the December 31, 2013 financial filing known as the Call Report that JPMorgan made with Federal regulators, it has tied up $10.4 billion in illiquid, long term bets on the death of a large segment of its employees.

The program is known among regulators as Bank Owned Life Insurance or BOLI. Federal regulators specifically exempted BOLI in passing the final version of the Volcker Rule in December of last year which disallowed most proprietary trading or betting for the house. Regulators stated in the rule that “Rather, these accounts permit the banking entity to effectively hedge and cover costs of providing benefits to employees through insurance policies related to key employees.” We have italicized the word “key” because regulators know very well from financial filings that the country’s mega banks are not just insuring key employees but a broad-base of their employees.

Just four of the largest U.S. banks, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup hold over $53 billion in investments in BOLI according to 2013 year-end Call Reports. Death benefits from life insurance is purchased at a multiple to the amount of the investments, meaning that $53 billion is easily enough to buy $1 million life insurance policies on 159,000 employees, and potentially a great deal more. Industry experts estimate that the total face amount of life insurance held by all banks in the U.S. on their employees now exceeds half a trillion dollars.

When the General Accountability Office (GAO) looked into the matter for Congress in 2003 and 2004, it found the insidious practice of continuing the life insurance even after the employee had left the company – nullifying any ability to consider him or her a “key” to the business. The GAO wrote: “Unless prohibited by state law, businesses can retain ownership of these policies regardless of whether the employment relationship has ended.” The GAO found that multiple companies held life insurance policies on the same individual.

A Scene From Every Hospital Emergency Room In U.S.

Common Sense Commentary: This Doctor has put his finger exactly on the primary cause of our government's moral and financial, bankrupt failure... which will end our wasteful way of life. Here is a scene from every hospital emergency room and every store of every kind, including liquer stores and tattoo parlors. RB

View of a young Doctor: Diagnosis, prognosis and cure in just three (3) short paragraphs!  If you doubt any part of what Dr. Jones says, go visit your local hospital emergency room as an observer for an hour or so some Friday or Saturday night.  Pictured below is a young physician by the name of Dr.. Starner Jones. His short two-paragraph letter to the White House accurately puts the blame on a "Culture Crisis" instead of a "Health Care Crisis". (Picture disappeared) RB

Dear Mr. President:  During my shift in the Emergency Room last night, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient whose smile revealed an expensive shiny gold tooth, whose body was adorned with a wide assortment of elaborate and costly tattoos, who wore a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and who chatted on a new cellular telephone equipped with a popular R&B ring tone. While glancing over her patient chart, I happened to notice that her payer status was listed as "Medicaid"!( A Completely Free Healthcare Program provided by our Government) During my examination of her, the patient informed me that she smokes more than one costly pack of cigarettes every day and somehow still has money to buy pretzels and beer.  And, you and our Congress expect me to pay for this woman's health care? I contend that our nation's "health care crisis" is not the result of a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. Rather, it is the result of a "crisis of culture", a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on luxuries and vices while refusing to take care of one's self or, heaven forbid, purchase health insurance. It is a culture based on the irresponsible credo that "I can do whatever I want to because someone else will always take care of me."  Once you fix this "culture crisis" that rewards irresponsibility and dependency, you'll be amazed at how quickly our nation's health care difficulties will disappear.  Respectfully,  STARNER JONES, MD

These people vote and reproduce.....
http://www.youtube.com/embed/O0azojPPRhw?feature=player_embedded

Christianity, Stewardship And Health Are a Way Of Life, Not A Quick Fix

Common Sense Commentary: They are not a brief diversion or a temporary experiment. They are our daily bread, our necessary breath. They are like "clean" which requires constant attendance, not a once a week attempt to catch-up. Obedient Christianity results in the Constancy of good stewardship, and good stewardship results in spiritual and physical benefits as well as substance provision, which result in a more effective, wider and deeper ministry to reach others for Christ and strengthen the brethren.

One of the primary dynamics of stewardship is frugality and conserving. That is not greed, it is the wisdom of obedience. What a person earns is not as important as being frugal and conserving what you do earn. No matter how high a person's income, they can spend themselves into bankruptcy over and over again. No matter how low a persons income, even if it is minimum wage, they can be extremely frugal and conserve every drop of what they possess and save every penny, for essentials, which does not need to be spent, and every pin, screw and nail that comes into their hands. But it is not a part time, hit and miss effort, it is a way of life. Usually the waster ridicules those who are so frugal and conservative, but wastefulness is also a way of life and has brought many to poverty, suffering and regret, as a result. Proverbs is packed with instruction on frugality vs. waste, labor vs. laziness, and was written by an extremely wealthy and wise man ... King Solomon, who wrote from experience, for God, and for the benefit of God's people.  "He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster." Prov. 18:19.

Being a Christian is not limited just to spiritual, eternal things, but to practical, physical human needs as well. The Bible is full of both of the needs of the two-fold nature of humans ... spiritual eternal and physical temporal.

When I resigned my first pastorate and moved my family to Florida to start a new church, we had no salary and no savings. I couldn't hold a job and build a church too, rapidly enough to pay a salary, so I knocked doors five days a week, all day long. My wife, Bettie, took in sewing, our sons got paper routes, and our daughters helped their mother and baby-sat. We threw nothing edible or with any small intrinsic value away. We used up soap to the tiniest sliver and even water sparingly. We bought day-old bread, clothes from Goodwill and Salvation Army stores. Our trash cans were always nearly empty. I picked up every nail, screw, nut, bolt and bit of copper wire I came across. We lived on the edge of physical survival, but God provided enough ... with no waste on our part. We had church in an old store-front building and baptized in Blue Sink-Hole, a large spring rising into a deep pool. The church grew rapidly and within a year I was on a small salary. We survived and all of our children learned to work, to make do, to not quit, to deal with people and many other valuable lessons. They are all very "God conscious" and believe on Jesus. Mrs Blair and I are still frugal and conserving. We squeeze the last smidgen of tooth-paste out of the tube, the last drop of liquid from every kind of bottle and put the tiny bits of hand-soap in a squirt jar with water for liquid hand-soap. Any kitchen scraps Mrs. Blair has, she buries in her garden. It is not a part time frugality, it is a way of life... with everything that comes into our possession. This does not mean we are stingy. Good stewardship preserves resources and provides you with sufficient resources to help others. We are often able to help out missionaries or others in need, and we tithe, of course. We are also able, now, to enjoy the few luxuries which appeal to us. We both enjoy work more than luxuries, and entertain ourselves more enjoyably than movies or any other kind of so called entertainment.

Productive frugality and conserving are not part-time but a full time way of life, and has a more Biblical name .... "stewardship". A steward is a person put in charge, as manager, of a more wealthy person's possessions, resources and wealth.  God is the Christian's wealthy master and we are His stewards. The possessions we have are not ours but His. We are the responsible, authorities and managers of those possessions and will give account to Him as to how we use and invest His property. You see, good stewardship is not only a good way to serve our master, but also a productive method to personal growth, prosperity and, literally, a way of life ... "Give and it shall be GIVEN unto you ...".  Investing your time, talents, testimony, tithes and other treasure is stewardship. You will do it well or you will do it badly but only you will give account of the things God has put into your hands to use and invest for Him, and for your own well-being. I repeat, Christianity, Stewardship and Health are a way of  life ... every day, in every way, it's God's word you obey, and yourself you pay, so start today. Pardon the poetic outburst. Yes, we are even stewards of our health. It too is a way of life, day after day, year after year ... constant and consistent. We cannot change inherent, physical weaknesses, but we are responsible to strengthen those weaknesses and built health on top of them, as best we can.  I have seen it done a thousand times. We must all make the most of what we have, not what we do not have. We can all, by strength of character and God's grace, force ourselves to eat the right things, not junk. We can all force our rebellious selves, by prayer and Christian character, to cease overeating ... gluttony. We can all do the same with proper exercise, moderation in all things, hygiene, good thoughts, and a hundred healthy habits to improve our health. Worry and anxiety are killers of health. Bury them under prayer, worship, praise, scripture, faith and love. "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Phil. 4:8. 

Frugality, conserving and health will soon be a matter of financial and even physical survival. Most Americans are not old enough to remember the Great Depression or other truly hard times, especially anyone under fifty. Poverty won't be nearly as hard to take if you have ever been really poor. You already know how to be poor. Your children under fifty do not, and in most cases it cannot be effectively taught to them. It has to be experienced, but that experience takes time and is often too late.

Christianity begins as a spiritual birth, but after that, is also, and  more importantly, a way of life. If it is not your primary way of life, it will not take a back seat to what is. It will let you drive your own life into a ditch to awaken you to God's presence.  Sunday is not the only day of worship. Every day is a day of worship. Every hour, minute and second is when we are to be Christian. We should deal with every thought, word and action, which is not right with God, immediately ... to keep it from building a nest in our brain. An initial sin is much easier to repent of than a second and a second than a third. The longer sin is embedded in our flesh, the stronger it is and the weaker we are to resist it. A sin willfully retained is an open door to all manner of other sins. Only a full-time Christian is able to walk with God, and even that requires God's grace holding your hand.

"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." Isa.30:21. This is the prophesied "way" Jesus walked. Do I walk perfectly in His steps?  No, but it is the right path I have chosen because it is the "way" of my LORD. I am like a Gentile dog... following my Master ... but from side to side, sniffing at every crossing track and stopping at every bush, while He walks straight ahead.

If you are a Christian, you are a steward. If you are a "good steward", you will prosper to the extent to which God knows you can be trusted with resources.  Remember, my friend, Christianity, Stewardship and Health are a way of life, a way of life, a way of life. If people can't tell you are a Christian, don't tell them. I heard someone ask, "If you were arrested for being a Christian, is there enough evidence to convict you".  RB

Patriot Jack Wheeler ... To The Point With Phrase, Pen And Rapier

Common Sense Commentary: Amazingly, Snopes says this is "True" with no negative commentary to leave shadows of doubt. Unusual for them.  Of course, it is true. It is too brilliantly written to have been composed by some deceiving jerk originator, out of thin air. Jack Wheeler is one of the most interesting men in the world, in my opinion, and, as you can see, he doesn't mince words and makes his thoughts indelibly clear. RB

Jack Wheeler is a brilliant man who was the author of Reagan's strategy to break the back of the Soviet Union with the star wars race and expose their inner weakness. For years he wrote a weekly intelligence update that was extremely interesting and well structured and informative. He consults(ed) with several mega corporations on global trends and the future, etc. He is in semi-retirement now. He is a true patriot with a no-nonsense approach to everything. He is also a somewhat well-known mountain climber and adventurer.

Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler The O-man, Barack Hussein Obama, is an eloquently tailored empty suit. No resume, no accomplishments, no experience, no original ideas, no understanding of how the economy works, no understanding of how the world works, .... nothing but abstract, empty rhetoric devoid of real substance. He has no real identity. He is half-white, which he rejects. The rest of him is mostly Arab, which he hides but is disclosed by his non-African Arabic surname and his Arabic first and middle names as a way to triply proclaim his Arabic parentage to people in Kenya. Only a small part of him is African Black from his Luo grandmother, which he pretends he is exclusively. What he isn't, not a genetic drop of, is 'African-American,' the descendant of enslaved Africans brought to America chained in slave ships. He hasn't a single ancestor who was a slave. Instead, his Arab ancestors were slave owners. Slave-trading was the main Arab business in East Africa for centuries until the British ended it. Let that sink in: Obama is not the descendant of slaves, he is the descendant of slave owners. Thus he makes the perfect Liberal Messiah. It's something Hillary doesn't understand - how some complete neophyte came out of the blue and stole the Dem nomination from her. Obamamania is beyond politics and reason. It is a true religious cult, whose adherents reject Christianity yet still believe in Original Sin, transferring it from the evil of being human to the evil of being white. Thus Obama has become the white liberals' Christ, offering absolution from the Sin of Being White. There is no reason or logic behind it, no faults or flaws of his can diminish it, no arguments Hillary could make of any kind can be effective against it. The absurdity of Hypocrisy Clothed In Human Flesh being their Savior is all the more cause for liberals to worship him: Credo quia absurdum, I believe it because it is absurd. Thank heavens that the voting majority of Americans remain Christian and are in no desperate need of a phony savior. He is ridiculous and should not be taken seriously by any thinking American!

All In The Control Of Professionals

Common Sense Commentary:  At least as much destruction, loss of lives, loss of fortunes, loss of freedom and loss of empires has been caused by the "professionals" in charge, as have been caused by the absence of professionals. The professionals have been responsible for all of the wars which have ever been fought. Professional Politicians, who were supposed to work, legislate and vote for those things which would be for the strengthening of the nation and ultimately best for the nation's citizens, most often betray their constituents, their oaths, promises and consciences. This they do in order to appease the greedy element of their constituents to secure their own elected offices, and enrich themselves. Professional Ministers, of Religion, have betrayed common sense, logic and their calling in order to insert their own perverted, Liberal ideas of Socialism in place of the individual freedom God's word proclaims in Christ. Professional CEOs and Boards of Directors of  big Business Corporations and international Bankers have betrayed their trust and sold their souls for status, power, fame and secret agendas, at the expense of the grass roots, common, working people.  To you tax paying, hard working, Christian readers, you might still do all right, in eternity, if you put your savings, or even your lives, into the hands of the Professionals, but don't you dare put our U.S. Constitution, your children or mine, or your eternal souls into the hands of the so called "Professionals".... government or otherwise.  If you have jumped on board the RINO Republican or Socialist Democrat, Obama freight train, hoping to escape a hard-work living and your God given responsibilities ... jump off quick .... before their train stops in the tunnel up ahead. RB

All In The Control Of Professionals

By Art Cashin 

 “In 1944, in the pre-dawn chill, a freight train pulled out of Balvano, Italy.  Now this was not a particularly good year if you lived in Balvano...or anywhere in Italy.  As you history majors will recall, 1944 was a very active year in something called World War II.  The Allies had landed in Anzio and were busy killing Italians to get them to surrender.  Meanwhile, the Nazis were busy killing Italians to prevent them from surrendering.  Thus the over/under on being a current Italian citizen was not quite a chalk bet.

 

That brings us back to Balvano and this day.  As that freight train pulled out, several hundred of the local folks, hoping to find a place better or safer, scrambled aboard the freight as it slowed on its first upgrade.

 

But the train was not quite the Silver Bullet.  As it chugged along, it labored and labored behind its double locomotives.  You must remember...it was war time...the locomotives were like Spam cans and the coal was somewhere between Bituminous #1 and kitty litter.

 

So, it was little wonder that when the train reached its steepest incline ...inside the long tunnel into Mt. Armi, it ground to a halt.  Some think the train crew simply decided to wait and re-stoke the locomotive fires.  In the meantime, aboard the train, atop the boxcars and inside them, people slept soundly dreaming dreams of escaping trouble.  But as the crew waited and the stowaways slept, the locomotives belched carbon monoxide into the tunnel.  In less than an hour, the crew and 420 free-riding passengers of this freight train lay dead in one of the worst train calamities in history.  No crash.  No falling bridge.  No derailment.  Just a 45 minute delay.  All in the control of railroad and political professionals.

Balance Requires Awarerness Of Two Opposit Extremes To Find Center Truth

Common Sense Commentary:  "Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself  over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?" Ecc. 7:16-17. As a young minister, I avoided these two verses because I did not understand them. Now, I'm too old to be concerned with what someone may think about my interpretation of hard verses. I think the key words in understanding the verses are, "neither make thyself". A person can "make themselves" too self-righteous, or even make themselves appear to be more worldly they really are. Either of which is self destructive. We all understand self-righteousness, which is most often seen in religious demonstration, but self deprecation is a bit more difficult to comprehend. Actually it is just as common. We Christians are sinners saved by grace, and 
"....there is none good but one, that is, God." Mk.10:18. But we have all seen Christian men who have dressed like an Outlaw or Hell's Angel to hit the highway on their motorcycles or Christian girls or women who dress in suggestive, inappropriate clothing to wear to school, out shopping or even to church.  I think these verses are simply teaching spiritual balance. It is not spirituality if it is pretended.
The same is true of a "voluntary humility".  Pretending to be what we are not is "making thyself" a lie.
"Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility...." Col.2:18. The deeper lesson here is, "Be real, be true ... and be yourself", but be the "you" which God intended you to be when He created you, not a pretended "you", or a corrupted you, perverted by sin, which God did not intend for the real you. Balance is a fine line. It is not perverted to the right or to the left. It is upright and true to the gravity of God's standard like the high-wire walker. Our balancing rod is the Word of God which keeps us in the center of right and truth for a successful and safe Christian walk through life ... to the end of the line.
"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." Isa.30:21.

As we walk with God and progress through life, we must set out eyes on the straight line ... to our 
God given goal, and not deviate to either extreme, right or left. There are many slips, diversions, 
choices and dangers to avoid on the way. Highways have a center white line, two lanes and two ditches... one on each side of the highway, a right extreme and a left extreme. The ditch on one extreme is full of self-righteous hypocrites, crashed there. The ditch on the other extreme is full of unrepentant sinners... crashed there. Scriptural progress can only be accomplished up on the High Way where two lanes are carrying Christians who are  "going in and out, and finding pasture." Jn.10:9. Those in the two ditches have veered off the highway and are bogged down in the mire of an imbalanced extreme of one sort or another and are a hindrance to the cause of Christ and His Church which is  up there on "...the way, which leadeth unto life..." Matt.7:14.

In the exact center, where the white line of perfection divides the High Way, is where the Spirit of Christ directs traffic ... coming and going. His white line is the absolute center of truth and true righteousness. It is where the perfection scale or balance is decreed between law and grace and various extremes. All Christians travel this HighWay, but must always be conscious of spiritual balance between the self-righteous ditch on one extreme and the religious but unrepentant sinner ditch on the other extreme. You may cross the white line and change lanes but no one except Jesus can stay on that white line of absolute and constant perfection. Every driver wavers a bit to right or left, here and there, in his fleshly vehicle, but staying steady and balanced in the lane between extremes prevents a lot of pain, difficulty and expense.

Jesus must shake his head as those in the religious, self-righteousness ditch and those in the opposite, unrepentant, sinner ditch, on the other extreme, who are all pointing across the HighWay at each other and saying Thank God I am not in that ditch over there ...or ...  "I thank thee, that I am not as other men are". Lk.14:11. Strangely, both sides are throwing rocks at those who are up on "The Way", passing by, in their lane, doing their calling, with their eyes on the road, in God's will and on God's HighWay to God's purpose. RB  

This is an introduction to developing blogs on "Balance" between various biblical truths such as Law and Grace, Wealth and Poverty, Discipline and Reward, and Husband / Wife relationships ... as possibilities. RB

A Dark Cloud Of Black Swans Are Circling Above Us All

Common Sense Commentary: What is a "Black Swan" event ?  Black swan events are typically random and unexpected. For example, the previously successful hedge fund Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) was driven into the ground as a result of the ripple effect caused by the Russian government's debt default. The Russian government's default represents a black swan event because none of LTCM's computer models could have predicted this event and its subsequent effects. From Investopedia

Another way of explaining a "Black Swan" event is to say, "It is a very precarious international event which happens at a key moment, and has the potential of spontaneously igniting a volatile economic or political atmosphere among nations, followed by a calamitous series of explosive reactions." From R.BlairOpedia.

There are, at this moment in time, a whole series of "Black Swans" circling over the world like vultures arriving above the dying carcass of a huge beast, and awaiting its last trembling breath or kick, to sweep down upon it.

Muslim countries threaten to wipe Israel off the map with Holocaust #2.  Israel threatens a nuclear response if the Muslims try it, or maybe even a preemptive nuclear strike. 

Obama threatens to cut off Chinese goods if they try to make their yuan the world reserve currency to replace the U.S. dollar. China threatens to dump $17 trillion of U.S. treasury debt if the U.S. interferes.

Obama and NATO threaten Russia's Putin with sanctions if Russia invades the Ukraine. Putin threatens to default on $billions in U.S. loans, and to demand payment in gold, from Europe, for Russian oil & gas if they interfere with Russia's dealing with neighboring Ukraine.

There is a world crisis of currency wars between nations, a world crisis in interest rates, a world crisis at BIS, IMF, the World Bank, and in potential hyper-inflation, deflation or depression.

There is also a world crisis with unassimilated,  rebelious Muslims immigrated into nations around the world, an unemployment crisis and a world food production and water shortage crisis.

With all of that, who needs a hyped-up, bogeyman, make-believe, "Global Warming" crisis. We still have record heat waves from 100 years ago, before auto carbon emissions,  which haven't been broken yet. But there are a whole gaggle of circling "Black Swan" events, any one of which might ignite world-wide chaos, like the straw that broke the camel's back, under just the right circumstances, at the right moment and place. It may not even be the largest or most volatile of events which sets it off, not the powder keg but the fuse or spark, not the missile but the little trigger or the Dutch boy's finger removed from the hole in the dike.

I bring all of this to your attention, if it isn't already, to forewarn those who are unmindful or neglectfully unprepared in both physical and spiritual needs, but primarily in the spiritual needs. Are you absolutely certain you are saved, redeemed, born again by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ? Are we actively serving our Lord by our words, prayers and actions? None of us do those things to perfection, but we must be about the Master's business. Every Christian's testimony is vital. We must be honest and open faced Christian witnesses. We must tell others of what Christ has done for us and will do for them. We must find a faithful, Bible teaching, preaching, loving church and be faithful and supportive of it. If you are not in such a church .... find one. The Lord has not left us with only dead or Barnum and Bailey, three ring circus type churches. There are still real, Bible oriented, loving, worshiping, churches "prevailing".... as Jesus promised. We must be regularly in prayer and worship of God. We must be wise, prudent and pragmatic in our preparations as good stewards and faithful ambassadors for Christ. 

My dear friends, the whole world is set up for a "Black Swan" event setting off a horrendous fall which will bring in a world dictator revealed in Scripture as the Anti-Christ. Prepare for the great falling away and trials leading up to the Rapture of all Christians, followed by the world Tribulation and final days recorded in The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Only after that .... His Millennial Kingdom and our eternal home ... in heaven.  Then we can rest. RB

Possibly America's Greatest Citizen

Common Sense Commentary: This man's life and accomplishments seem to prove the human race is devolving not evolving. Do you know any other living person whose intelligence, wisdom and  practical accomplishments could anywhere near equal those of Thomas Jefferson?  Compare him to our present President or any other we have had since Jefferson. We are not evolving, we are devolving from Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses, ...... Jefferson, and down hill from there to Barack Obama who has zero on his resume but thousands on his Prince of liars list ... and still falling .... devolving on the way to the bottom of the Great Tribulation barrel, Anti-Christ.  Only then, when things couldn't get any worse, does Jesus Christ unveil the first perfect kingdom which will last for eternity ... Be there! RB

Who was Thomas Jefferson? This is amazing. There are two parts. Be sure to read the 2nd part (in RED). Thomas Jefferson was a very remarkable man who started learning very early in life and never stopped. At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor. At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French. At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages. At 16, entered the College of William and Mary. At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe. At 23, started his own law practice. At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America ? And retired from his law practice. At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress. At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence . At 33, took three years to revise Virginia 's legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom. At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry. At 40, served in Congress for two years. At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams. At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington. At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society. At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party. At 57, was elected the third president of the United States . At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation's size. At 61, was elected to a second term as President.  At 65, retired to Monticello . At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine. At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president. At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence along with John Adams. Thomas Jefferson knew because he himself studied the previous failed attempts at government. He understood actual history, the nature of God, his laws and the nature of man. That happens to be way more than what most understand today. Jefferson really knew his stuff. A voice from the past to lead us in the future: John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." "When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe ." -- Thomas Jefferson "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." -- Thomas Jefferson "It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world." -- Thomas Jefferson "I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." -- Thomas Jefferson "My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." -- Thomas Jefferson "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." -- Thomas Jefferson "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." -- Thomas Jefferson "To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." -- Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson said in 1802: "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."