People are wondering how the House of Representatives not funding parts of our federal government will all play out. That really is not the main problem because they already funded most of our government in separate bills. About 83 percent of government employees are working again and they all will get paid. The more critical issues is the need to raise the national debt ceiling limit by October 17th or the U.S. Treasury says we could have a debt default.
This is not to be taken lightly because Treasury Secretary Lew, has cleaned out every government trust fund in existence over the last couple of months to pay the bills. That is why the national debt clock stopped months ago. By October 17th, there will be no more government trust funds to “borrow” from. So any debt ceiling crunch is not going to be like last time when they just found money in these trust funds until the debt ceiling bill was passed. “Borrowing” from trust funds set a bad precedence and the Treasury now routinely cleans out the trust funds before they set a default deadline. Maybe this time they will borrow from our 401K’s and bank accounts to avoid default?
If the ceiling is not raised, they just might have to pay with IOU’s and that is not going to fly well for those collecting government checks or those invested in the United States Treasuries. Nobody really know what will happen if the default occurs and China is warning us not to let it happen. If the debt ceiling is not raised, Obama chooses who gets paid from any new tax revenues and he is already hinting that social security recipients might not get their checks. That is a scary thought. And I assure you there is not enough new tax revenues being collected to pay for all programs.
The reason the House is playing hardball with Obama on funding the government is because they want to let the people that they represent know that the Affordable Care Act is not good law and it certainly is not yet ready to go prime time. When things go wrong under the ACA, as they obviously will, they can point their finger at President Obama and his refusal to delay the program until the problems were worked out. I also think the House is fed up with Obama’s dictatorial ways. They are sending a message to him that he was not elected to be dictator and he will have to deal with Congress to govern.
Obama thinks the Republicans controlling the House will cave, but maybe not. Maybe the Republicans think Obama will cave like he did after saying he was going to strike Syria. Maybe Republicans should tell Putin to give Obama a deal he can’t refuse.
Keep in mind that everyone in the House of Representatives is up for reelection next year. Many in the House want the ACA to be rescinded and some were elected to Congress to do that, but they also know as long as Obama is in office that this is not going to happen. The best the Republicans can hope for is some compromise and some publicity that tells those that elected them that they are doing their best to oppose Obama’s socialistic programs.
The powers that be, had better work something out by that Oct 17th deadline or there is going to be one hell of a panic in the financial markets late next week. I suppose there is a good possibility that they will come up with a short-term debt ceiling raise and kick the can down the road so that we can do this all over again in a few months.
Even if they do raise the debt ceiling, if the continuing resolution is not fully funded, Veteran disability checks may not be sent out next month. Last week the House tried to fund the Veterans but the Senate and Obama oppose a separate bill funding the Veterans. The House will try again, and if the Senate and Obama do not allow the funding of the Veterans to pass, millions of Veterans and their supporters may soon be marching on Washington DC for an extended stay. Somebody in Washington had better face reality soon. Nobody is going to score political points by screwing the disabled war veterans of this nation.
If that happens, It might be time for the military to step in and dissolve our government and hold new elections like is underway in Egypt. I am not sure that a two-party system even serves the people of this nation anymore. We might have to set up a parliamentary system where all majority and minority parties have representation and together they come up a Prime Minister to govern. In that system, when enough people lose confidence in their government the parties agree to dissolve the government and hold new elections. It keeps things more peaceful. It seems that we have come to a point where the two-party system that we now have has become dysfunctional.
A one party system did not work in the USSR and our two-party system may be the next casualty. Many Americans are not being represented by these two parties. There appears to be too many different factions in the United States to just have two parties decide who will lord over all Americans. This is no longer the WASP nation that the founders set up.
Dare I say it? Maybe it is time for a Constitutional Convention. Our government is not following the Constitution that we have now anyway. Do your realize that the Democrat majority Senate has not even passed a budget in more than three years.? The government has run on continuing resolutions since 2009. That is one dysfunctional way to run a government.
It would take a couple of years for the states to even vote to hold a Constitutional Convention and by that time, I have a feeling that the “progressives” will not be in favor in America. So it may be a good time to get the ball rolling. We need to firm up the wording of certain parts of the Constitution and do some adjustments to limit federal government and change some things about how our federal government governs. We also need term limits and a balanced budget in the Constitution. And like I said, a parliamentary system might now be more suitable.
It is hard to say who will take the most heat for these budget crises’ in the next election. Conservative Republicans are going to have to turn public opinion against the uncompromising Democrats. I think they may have started to do that mainly because of the message and efforts of Senator Ted Cruz and the influence of alternative media. If the Republicans play their cards right, more support will come later because the ACA will prove to be a dysfunctional nightmare.
Everything the Democrat “progressive” socialists do ends up in a disaster because these people do not deal with human reality. I have said before, if you give the socialists enough rope they will hang themselves. They have enough rope and it looks like they are on the path to the gallows.
The man who Conservatives have looked for, could be Ted Cruz. He is shaking up the Republican establishment and he leads those that want more limited Constitutional government. It is a little early to say if Cruz can stay true to his message or succeed in his efforts, especially since he is being demonized on both sides of the Senate aisle and by MSM.
Certain high-profile established Republican leaders in the Republican Party fear Ted Cruz, and well they should. Their jobs will be on the line if they lose control of the Republicans to actual Conservatives. Cruz is nothing short of brilliant, he also seems to be incorruptible and unflappable. Ted Cruz very well could be the next President of the United States if the majority of Americans get fed up with the Republican establishment that relentlessly caves in to left-wing programs.
I know one thing. The ACA is the biggest government grab for power in the history of this nation. The Act is insanely unconstitutional, and when people find out what this Act means to them, they are going to go ballistic. Obama delaying parts of the Act, and his giving exemptions to whomever he wants, is against the law. He does not have the authority to selectively enforce the ACA. He needs to enforce the laws of this land equally for all or he should get impeached. I do not see how the Supreme Court allows these Acts of injustice on Americans to stand. Certainly, Americans should not allow this injustice to continue.
Perhaps the best policy is not to hinder the socialist self-destruction. The ACA will crash and burn in due time. When it does, progressive heads will roll. By wanting to delay this Act by a year, Conservatives might actually be helping Democrats win more seats in the 2014 election. I am aware of the argument that if we do not stop the ACA right now, that by 2014 or 2016 the American people will become dependent on it, and then it may be too late to rescind it. Maybe…but who says that Americans will not be in full revolt against these socialistic program by 2016 because of bureaucratic tyranny, irresponsible overspending, debt, money creation, rising costs, and what all this does to our already frail economy?
We do need affordable health care for all in this nations but this ACA regulatory monstrosity and the government bureaucracy and tyranny that will be required to enforce the Act is not the answer for America.
We should not assume that there will not be major negative consequences to the standard of living in America because of the socialistic Obama programs. As things further deteriorate in this country, Obama’s approval rating will drop. In the last Gallop poll it was down to 41 percent. If it drops into the mid to upper 30’s, Obama becomes a liability to the Democrats. They will trash him if they think it will save their own skin.
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Many of the same progressive loons that run our economic policy also run our foreign policy, so it should not surprise Conservatives that the Obama administration is also making all the wrong decisions in foreign affairs. For example, appeasing the known murderous liars in Iran will do nothing but encourage them to continue to ramp up their nuclear arms program in secrecy.
Iran is going all out to develop nuclear weapons and if anyone in a position of power says differently, they either do not want to be confused with the facts, or they are complicit in wanting Iran to become a regional nuclear power. Even so, the power brokers of the West should not think that they can bully Israel into doing nothing about Iran. Israel will do whatever it thinks it must do for its own survival. They are not going to just sit around forever watching Obama play out these failed games of appeasement and diplomacy while Iran continues developing the means to destroy them.
Israel must have finally figured out that America under Obama has become a liability to them. They must know that soon they will have to take matters into their own hands or a religious cult in Iran will attempt to destroy them. Israel is really in God’s hands, but most in Israel believe the enemies of Israel will be defeated through Israel’s own military might. In other words, many in Israel give lip service to God protecting their nation, but they think they have to help Him out.
Will Israel really let Iran go into another winter season when Israel loses much of its surveillance capability because of cloud cover, or will they strike Iran before this winter? Who really knows? I know this, Israel certainly will not allow Iran’s Plutonium reactor at Arak to go operational. The Arak reactor got delayed a year but it is now scheduled to go critical within a year. After the reactor goes operational, any attack to destroy it would spread deadly Plutonium on a number of countries. If they don’t attack the reactor, it will be producing enough Plutonium to produce the material for two nuclear bombs a year. That is how North Korea got the bomb. That is why Israel will destroy this heavy water reactor before it becomes operational, just as they did the reactors in Iraq and Syria.
Therefore, if Israel bombs Iran within the next year, what will Obama do? He probably will blame Israel for starting a war with Iran. If Congress does not stop Obama, he might even take more action against Israel than just blaming Israel. He certainly will not be helping Israel, but Israel should have known the history and the psychological makeup of Obama before they put their trust in him to stand with Israel like previous presidents.
Israel has no excuse for ever thinking that Obama changed his spots. This guy is no friend of Israel and he never has been one. All the talk of support for Israel was just a lie to appease supporters of Israel for their contributions to his election campaign and for their votes. People are known by the friends they keep. With all of Israel’s intelligence they ought to have known that it would come to this.
I would say that if nothing is achieved to stop Iran nuclear weapons program, that the very latest Israel will act against Iran will be the fall of 2014, and they could take action this fall or in the spring. I do not think Obama will take any military action against Iran unless the American public puts so much heat on him that he sees no other choice. After his about-face in Syria, Iran is now also convinced that Obama will never order any bombing attack on them. They see no reason to stop developing their nuclear weapons ambitions. The nuclear talks with Kerry only exist because they know that America is incredibly gullible. It seems that Liberals want to be lied to because the alternative upsets their utopian apple cart. The peace talks in Israel is much the same as is the talks with North Korea. Liberals never learn.
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There is a populist but demonic Pope in the Vatican. He is giving out a message to the world that could lead people to their damnation. The Pope said that if people do what they conceive is right that they will go to Heaven. Psychopaths do what is right in their own eyes so will they go to Heaven? Some mass murders and world tyrants do what they conceive is right, but they are wickedly evil and they never will be in Heaven. The Pope wants people to believe that if everyone just follows their conscience the world will be great and when they die they will go to Heaven. I have news for this Roman joker, that would make Heaven a Hell hole.
With every word that proceeds out of the mouth of this false vicar of Christ, one has to ask? Is the Pope Catholic? It seems that he opposes some Roman Catholic doctrine. Some Catholics would call him an anti-pope. He certainly cannot be Christian when he promotes Universalism and salvation through your own works theology. This Pope is especially dangerous because he says some true things about the Roman Catholic Church that need to be said. However, truth mixed with error has always been the deadly poison that Satan uses for deception. Pope Francis appeals to those that think that people can earn their way to Heaven by trying to do what is right in their own eyes, but that is taking the broad gate that leads to destruction (Mt 7:13). One must come in through the narrow gate that leads to life and that gate is Jesus.
It is interesting that soon after this Pope was chosen, I wrote an article asking if Pope Francis will be the Antichrist or the False Prophet? That article has already ascended to the number three spot on the all time downloads on this six-year-old Blog. Obviously a lot of people are wondering about this Pope, and for good reason. He simply gets the Christian message all wrong. He seems to be a fitting leader of the end time Harlot of Revelation chapter 17. This Pope is antichrist but probably is not the Antichrist. In any case, things are rapidly shaping up for all prophecy to be fulfilled in the very near future.
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Pastor Chuck Smith went to be with the Lord a few days ago, he was 86 years old. Sometimes I bring up his name in Christian company and local Christians do not have any clue who I am talking about. That tells me that most people know little about what is going on in Christianity outside of their own little bubble or denomination.
Chuck Smith was and is a giant of the faith. Smith started the Calvary Chapel movement …who are they, you ask? The first Calvary Chapel started as an outreach to hippies in California. It was also known as the Jesus movement. There are now 1600 Calvary Chapel churches across the country that have followed the leading of Chuck Smith. The main emphases of these churches is expository teaching through the Bible. Their teachings in the Sunday service go verse-by-verse through the Bible. The teaching of the Bible is in-depth and the teaching message usually lasts the better part of an hour on Sunday. Calvary Chapels also have lengthy music worship that appeals to those that want to worship the Lord through songs of reverence and praise. Many Calvary Chapels also have home groups or small group Bible studies during the week.
A lot of Calvary Chapels have become mega churches because they are good churches and there usually is only one or two Calvary Chapels within reasonable driving distance even in the big cities. Also, Calvary Chapel pastors do not jump ship for bigger churches, they stay and grow their own congregation. These are not seeker sensitive churches with the watered down gospel and they are not postmodern emergent churches that are guided by relativism and mysticism.
Calvary Chapels preach the word as if it is God’s message to the world and Church. It is! They also are premillennial and they teach the soon return of Jesus Christ. They are not concerned with being politically correct. They take biblical stands on all the issues impacting our society. They believe the only solution to the problems of the world is spiritual rebirth by Jesus and trusting in God’s written word for instructions on how to live as new creations in Christ.
There are now many great teachers in the Calvary Chapel movement. The first ones started teaching in Chuck Smith’s own church Bible studies. When they showed themselves approved, Smith helped them start-up new Calvary Chapel churches in other parts of the Southwest. Then these successful churches followed Chuck Smith’s own example and they produced many other great teachers. Now there are 1600 Bible churches calling themselves Calvary Chapels and the movement continues to expand to all over the United States and now parts of the world. Calvary Chapels really are not a denomination, they are independent Bible churches, but to use the Calvary Chapel name there are certain requirements that have to be met.
Chuck Smith’s teachings were first available on tapes from free tape lending libraries. People moving from Smith’s mega church in California to other areas of the country still wanted to hear Smith’s messages so tapes were produced and lending libraries were set up in other cities. Often Chuck’s teaching led to small home groups that then became the core group for the start of a new church.
Today Calvary Chapels have their own radio network. They have dozens of excellent teachers broadcasting 24/7. You might want to check to see if you have a Calvary Chapel radio station in your own listening area. If not, the broadcasts also can be download to your computer, Ipad, Iphone or Android. You might even have a Calvary Chapel church in your local area. I certainly would attend a Calvary Chapel church myself if there was one anywhere near where I live. The nearest Calvary Chapel is over 2 hours away. 😥
I can think of no contemporary Christian man who did more to positively impact true Christianity in America. He also never compromised his message like some other good teachers have done through their ungodly lifestyles and hypocrisy. Thank God for Pastor Chuck Smith! He will be greatly missed on earth… for a short season.
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I have not told you this, but for a couple of years now ~David has been proofreading my articles. I am telling you this so that you will blame him for any grammar or spelling mistakes that you see. 😉 Don’t get on his case too fast though, I first post the article and then sometimes it is hours before he proof reads it, then I still have to make the corrections that he points out.
If you read an early addition of my posts, you most likely will see a number of grammatical errors. God did not bless me with a brain that easily learns proper English skills or that sees all omissions of words or words that should not be there. Sometimes I will read something over a dozen times and still not see an obvious word missing or some other obvious error. So ~David helps a lot. Thanks David!
I changed a few settings on my comment spam software and changed some things on the site access file. I think some people were getting needlessly blocked and some people and robots that should be blocked were getting through. With all the spammers and hackers out there, it is hard to keep up with Internet security. I probably will be backing up everything on my site to the Cloud before long since it is so easy for someone with a little skill to hack into a site and destroy years of work if it is not regularly backed up.
If you are having a problem accessing this site or commenting, send me an email but also try to explain the problem so that I can research it. I have 34 plugins activated on my blog and about a dozen of them just deal with comment spam and hackers. None of these can possibly work perfectly because some real people do look or act like robots. 
Don,
I may be mistaken but there should be zero chance of a default regardless of what happens with the debt ceiling. We take in approximately $200 billion in tax revenue a month. Our debt service is $25 billion a month. We are required by law to service the debt first so we should be in no danger of default. We will however have to revaluate the rest of our spending (like everyone else with a household budget). but I don’t see how the situation is as dire as it’s being made out to be.
What am I missing?
By the way, if we have to borrow money just to pay our debt, we are bankrupt already. It would be equivalent of getting my Visa’s credit limit increased so I can pay off my Mastercard.
Thank you for talking about Chuck Smith. He truly was a special man. I went to his church and bible studies in Costa Mesa many years ago and learned about Jesus Christ through his teachings. He was a good and faithful servant of the Lord, unlike our current pope who is downright scary in my opinion. He’s going to pull the wool over a lot of people’s eyes. Fits with everything else that’s going on. I sometimes don’t even recognize the world we’re living in. In regards to the shenanigans that are being played out by our government, since we can print money like mad, won’t they just print even more money if they actually went into default (which I don’t think they’ll do)? Granted, it’s going to destroy the dollar (what’s left of it), but they don’t seem to care about that either. Seems like we live in a constant crisis mode. No confidence in anything anymore. Sad future ahead for many.
Mark,
The President can pay the debt service if that is the priority that he follows, but then he cannot fully fund something else. For example, Social Security might not be paid.
We only take in about 2/3rds of what we pay out each month. The rest is borrowed. What you might also not be taking in account is that as buyers of Treasuries see a greater risk of default then interest rates begin moving higher making our debt payments an even bigger slice of the pie. That would change the whole equation and then debt default becomes more likely. Cyprus was a good example. Government could not pay the debt due, so they robbed private bank accounts to make the payment.
Technically we are not quite bankrupt yet because we can still borrow on the Visa to pay off the Mastercard. Until you reach the point when you reached your borrowing limit and start missing payments they might raise your interest rates but they are not yet going to cut off your borrowing and send out the collection agency. We actually could pay off this debt, but it would take a lot of belt tightening and that is not going to happen under our socalistic entitlement society.
Adriana,
The Treasury first has to be able to sell bonds (debt) for the Federal Reserve Bank to buy this debt by creating money. As long as there is a debt limit the Treasury cannot legally sell more debt. Besides, the money printed by the Federal Reserve Banks now buys only Treasuries and Mortgages. The idea is to sell the debt to others when the economy heats up, otherwise the Fed goes bankrupt. If the Federal Reserve were just to print money to fund a third of our government programs any investor in the United States would want higher interest rates because of the risk of the fall of the dollar or a default. Governments have tried that but it always leads to hyperinflation and economic ruin.
For example, if Interest rates rise just 5 percent to about 8 percent (as it has in the past) do the math. .08 x 17 Trillion = 1.36 trillion in interest in the first year. That is about half of what we take in in taxes. So then how do we fund government? We would have to borrow and print even more but then investors will see that as even more risk so they will want 12 percent and on and on we go.
In the Jimmy Carter Presidency 10 year treasures actually went to 16 percent. Do the math on that. If it went that high today, we could not even pay the interest on the debt, yet pay for government. They reached that interest rate in Greece for the last few years but Germany is picking up the tab. Who is going to pay our bills? By the way, we are going to default sooner or later if we do not live within our means.
Don, don’t know how you feel about Mark Levin, but I had him on this evening and he was explaining all the shenanigans the government I playing with the debt ceiling, Social Security, etc. He mentioned the trusts which all contain IOU’s since our elected officials cleaned them out but also said their is enough to pay short term if Congress would cut 25% from the budget. Also the Treaury could cash in bonds which the Fed would buy but then they have to sell to a willing buyer, good luck with that. There has been talk on the indie radio shows of if the government would go after IRAs, 401k, and their is a clause in banking rules that FDIC could tap accounts to pay for defaults. But as you and Levin said, they are borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.
I don’t think too many of us were blessed with the ability to comprehend or retain proper English. Thanks for the information on Chuck Smith & Calvary Chapel. I will have to see if there is a member church in my area. The closest thing to preaching the gospel by me is an Assemblies of God, which the pastor is not afraid to go against PC
, homosexuality, corrupt govt and said one day they will haul him off for speaking the word of God. Some in my neighborhood go to Willow Creek, some of their offshoots, and Gregory Dickows Life Changers, which I attended years ago and the one I mentioned her a few years ago for spending 20 minutes begging for money. Thanks again Don for all the time and effort you put into your site to keep us informed and properly schooled. Look forward to each article, but glad you limited it to once per week to prevent burnout and give you more time with family.
Hi Robert,
I like Mark Levin a lot, he tells it as it is, and he really has some good ideas. He just wrote a book called the “The Liberty Amendments” that suggests that a state structured Constitutional Convention could be the answer for the states to take our government back from big government federal tyranny. By the way, there are people working toward that end. I am sure you will hear more about it in the future.
Hi Don,
I first met Chuck and his wife at a Bible conference held in Honolulu when I lived in Kauai. I know you might think me weird for saying this, but there was literally a halo around their heads. I am not kidding! I was raised Baptist and go to a Baptist church, but if I lived in Ft Lauderdale I would attend Calvary Chapel, led by Bob Coy. Yes, Chuck Smith and his wife were wonderful servants of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit allowed me to see the glory of the Lord upon them. I truly believe it was the result of many hours on their knees before the Lord. Oh that more of us would follow in their footsteps. All the other points in your article point to the soon return of our Lord. Our Pastor is in Genesis and he gave a message, title ” Go build your Ark”. It was a stirring message to get out and do something great for God. We need more refreshing messages as the days get darker, to keep sharing Jesus with the lost before it is too late.
Don,
The first part of this article addressing the economics and government in the U.S. is playing out nearly on Que to what you said was going to happen through your articles going back to even a few years ago…it looks as though it is happening nearly verbatim.
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Too many U.S. citizens don’t seem to realize the imminent danger of Iran, not only to Israel and the U.S. but to the entire world…Iran believes they have a duty to destroy Israel (“Little Satan”) and the U.S. (“Great Satan”) to usher in their Mahdi and Sharia Law Worldwide through submission.
If Iran were to get ICBM nukes, it wouldn’t be long before ICBM’s are fired from them…the world is much smaller now though the information age and weapon technology.
Sorry to overstate and repeat the obvious.
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Pope Francis seems to me to be the “perfect” Pope for these end times…I don’t think a script could be written any better for these last days as we are seeing. A time to be excited again for God’s Letter To Us, The Bible, on its spot on, 100 percent accuracy.
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Don, thank you for your section on Pastor Chuck Smith. He (and other Calvary Chapel Pastors) has been a huge part of my life for the last 30+ years, I am so thankful that The Lord led me to him early in life.
As you said, there are a lot of Calvary Chapels in the U.S. (and many overseas also)…there are also some that are Calvary Chapels, though, their church name might be different…like Pastor Greg Laurie’s “Harvest”, for example.
I also would encourage anyone who is interested in Calvary Chapel teachings to check out http://www.hischannel.com.
And yes, I agree, he will be missed on earth, but it appears only for a short season.
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Don, you are certainly welcome for any help I can provide for what I regard as the most important website on the internet.
Don,
I have also heard from multiple sources that we have the money to service the debt many times over and that SS must be paid (I also heard Levin on that topic last night).
The only reason we would default or that SS would not be paid would be because the President CHOOSES not to. (Given his behavior in regards to the national parks and making things as painful as possible, it wouldn’t surprise me). And according to Levin, the 14th Amendment makes it unconstitutional for him to not service the debt first. Not that the Constitution has stopped him before.
There is no critical need to raise the debt ceiling. There is, however, a critical need to cut spending across the board.
Thanks again for your site and the effort you put into it.
Mark,
That is not all of the story. If Obama does not touch programs like Social Security, Medicare, Defense, Vet benefits, debt payments, and food stamps there is only about 20 percent of the budget left to cut. You could eliminate every other program in existence and you still would not collect enough in taxes to balance the budget and you would have instant riots all across this nation. Even if you could cut all expenditures in government across the board by the 20 to 30 percent it would take to balance the budget it would cause a deep recession in the United States so then government income would fall and they would have to cut even more. Not to mention there still would be riots.
They have to borrow money, until they can grow the economy, and if they can’t grow the economy we are up s—- creek, because if they just raise taxes or make cuts we will go into a depression spiral.
All of this spells ‘w-a-r’ to me. Maybe it’s a matter of timing. Yes, internal civil war (as if that’s not already occurring), but more so world war. I can’t see but maybe another couple years at most. Isreal will do what it will do and I do not know what that will spark, in terms of America. Ultimately, the world has had just about enough of America, or so it seems.
“Ultimately, the world has had just about enough of America, or so it seems”
So it seems Craig, but isn’t that to a very great degree our own fault. Nations have chosen to become influenced and dependent on the US and to allow your systems to dictate, where they should have stood up for their own best interests. So much of the world has greedily run after the excesses of capitalism and materialism and imported too much of the filth that it has propagated.
On the other hand the world has had every opportunity to share the very real and eternal blessings that God has given the US and I refer to such men as Schofield, Chafer etc. (There are many others but these two men have had great influence in my life) I don’t know Chuck Smith’s teachings, but from Don’s eulogy he must have been a great man.
I have had ministry dealings with Christians in Africa and know first hand that the pure doctrines of such men and their students have passed on through that ongoing work of Christ building his Church so that many have been blessed in that land (and my own for that matter).
Our own ministry was built on the grace principles of beloved brethren from the US so although the current climate is not good, you have reason to be proud of these your compatriots. I have great pride in them and look forward to meeting them in the eternity to come.
Don,
How is it even remotely possible for the government to grow the U.S. economy when this government over the last 20+ years has been most concerned with killing small business by imposing very strict tariff and other taxes on businesses, unless they are of the big corporate conglomerate variety ?
They (the government mafia) continue to storm into businesses like what happened recently at Gibson Guitar and demand that lumber be processed over-seas instead of letting it be done here…the number I read was 50 Gibson lumber processing jobs lost, not a huge number of jobs in the grand scheme of things, but it shows what continues to happen in our country.
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Brian,
The thing I think that Pastor Chuck Smith did so well is love The Lord God with all his heart and soul…he lived his life like he taught the church…with a strong passion for The Lord God Almighty and His Book to us, The Bible.
~David,
I did not say it would be easy or likely. Ronald Reagan accomplished that because we were in a similar fix when he took office after Jimmy Carter. We then had near 20 years of growth, and so much so that by the time of Bill Clinton we even had a budget surplus.
How we do that is to emulate the economic model of Chile or Hong Kong. In other words, we have to limit government and regulation and make the tax business climate one of the best in the world. Unfortunately we going in the exact opposite direction under big government socialism. For any major growth to happen the socialistic government has to go.
Hi Don,
It has been awhile since I caught one of your articles. This was a good one. With regards to the healthcare law and it’s impact, I thought I would put in my .02 cents since I work as a treatment provider and have to deal with this scam. In Oregon, there are people very high up at the State level who are colleagues of mine who privately admit to me that they were supporters of this idea, until now. As they see what this law is really doing, they are realizing that it is not financially stable or possible to implement. The Republicans would be wise to allow the implementation, and do not delay the individual mandate. The reason is simple math. People who supported this believe the lie that this would become “affordable” health care. On the surface, it appears partially true. A family or individual can get insurance for less than the current market plans available.. That is, the monthly fee.. But the deductable is where they get burned. The deductables reflect the built in assumption that everyone buying these “exchange” plans has a pre existing condition. So they hit them with a ridiculous deductable, alone with coverage in the plan for things they may or may not even need (eg. 58 year old man required to have prenatal coverage).
As for the fine that goes to those who don’t pay.. Well, the law says the first year fine is $96.00 dollars right? Well, not really. It is $96.00 or 1% of your yearly income, whichever is higher. People did not read that! So if you make 35,000 a year, your fine is 350.00. Our entitlement “class” who supported this were expecting an almost free ride, and will really throw a fit when this all hits.
Along with all of this, there will be very few doctors that will be accepting the insurance plans at all. I am not even sure I will be able to accept these plans!
Thanks for the article Don,
🙂 Rod
This nation (USA) is a nation of spoiled rotten brats. There is zero chance of a Ronald Raegan type winning 49 states. About the only export this nation is accomplishing, other than rapidly diminishing support for missionaries, is an overwhelming immoral / wicked culture (the insanity of the Miley’s are running amock).
It almost feels like pre-WW-II Germany (not that I was there, of course). It very well could lead to “left went so far as to meet right”, which won’t be Colonal Klink.
In any case, any correction (as if a potential God-less right would be any correction) is too little too late. Without any blessing nor repentence to preceed it, only judgment will lead to God getting anyone’s attention (and we’re not talking about adulescent selfish brats).
This nation is heading straight toward Romand 1:28 onward.
Brian et al – I am looking forward to meeting you in the eternity to come.
Blessings.
Craig,
I tend to agree but a Conservative does not have to win 49 states to get elected. However, if conservatives actually got into power the big problem probably will be the riots by the Liberals, Progressives and the government plantation slaves.
Hi Don,
I just read that the pope will be consecrating Mary to the world this weekend. Definitely fitting in with everything else demonic that is going on.
To All, In case you didn’t see; Sen. Ted Cruz won the presidential straw poll at the 2013 Values Voter Summit taking 42% of the vote. Apparently he does have presidential aspirations as does Dr. Ben Carson who took 13% of the vote.
A Cruz/Carson ticket might be a good one if we don’t crash and burn before 2016.
[How about a Netanyahu/Putin ticket? lol]
Way back in the day, Chuck Smith, along with Caryl Matrisciana hosted a series of videos exposing the New Age Movement and it’s invasion of the churches. I wish I remembered what it was titled. There were about 20 one hour programs. These were the days of VHS. What’s amazing is how prescient they were. Just look around. However, and I don’t want to make anyone mad, some of my best friends go to Calvary Chapel, where was the discernment concerning Lonnie Frisbee? This was in the very earliest days, at the very beginning.
Hi Anna,
There were some problems in the early Calvary Chapel movement. Those that wanted it to be more “Charismatic” and have less Bible teaching had a falling out with Chuck Smith. The co-leader of the Calvary Chapel movement split and then took over the Vineyard Movement. That movement is based on perceived experiences and is a complete disaster. It gave birth to the signs and wonder heretics such as the Kansas City prophets, IHOP, NAR and a whole host of side show freaks and circus clowns.
Don,
Have you ever heard of the Sheparding movement back in the 70’s? Chuck Smith would not go along, instead he exposed them. I believe this happened during the Jesus Movement. Some left to go on and give birth to cults, one of which are the Twelve Tribes of Israel, that has caused great harm to their members. Chuck Smith stayed true to God’s word, and steered his flock during some turbulent times away from heresy and false teachers.
Kate,
I was aware of the Shepherding Movement. The key point in all this is that over the many years Chuck Smith always stayed grounded in the word. Those that did not departed from the truth.
I just remembered the name of the series with Chuck Smith. It was called Pagan Invasion. I think it was produced by Jeremiah Films. It was ground breaking for the times and who knows if some of it may be on youtube. I think that even though it’s a bit dated, it’s still very informative and worth watching for lots of people.
Hi Anna,
Lonnie Frisbee was very influential in getting the hippies to attend Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa during the Jesus hippie movement.
I did some research on Lonnie Frisbee long ago and even talked to some of my Calvary Chapel friends about it who were there during Mr. Frisbee’s time (Calvary Chapel is my home church).
How can a guy who seemed to be so on fire for The Lord Jesus throw it all away for drugs and disgusting sexual practices ? I don’t exactly know, however, I take it as a life lesson because…
I assume from the evidence I’ve read and heard about Mr Frisbee that he got “too big for his britches” with his near “celebrity status” and believed the praise he received and became extremely prideful.
I too have believed the nonsense that the world has told me and deems so important and it’s very dangerous…who needs The Lord Jesus and His Word when one believes that one is just so good and so “important” ?
We have certainly seen it plenty of times in the news with apostate religious leaders who get caught doing very sinful practices…they probably started off on the right track but then succumbed to their celebrity status.
Don,
Thanks so much for mentioning Chuck Smith. I was led to California in 1971 from Ohio when I was just 17. I lived in one of the Christian Communes associated with Calvary Chapel next to the Huntington Beach pier, where we witnessed and brought strangers in to eat and spend the night. We had Bible studies every night and went to Calvary 3 nights a week and Sunday morning.
At that time Chuck went through the Bible in about two years and his church on Sunflower exploded from 300 to 3,000 almost overnight. Most of my time there was spent in the circus tent with heaters in the winter. It was there that God took me out of the hippie lifestyle I was trying to live to being rooted and grounded in His Word.
I have a ladies Bible study in my home in Ohio and everyone is amazed by Chuck’s teaching. We are using the C3000 series which only plays on the computer. I am in deep mourning right now. I always thought Chuck, of all people, would be raptured. Although I was happy to learn he died in his sleep. Chuck was so humble and loved people and the Lord so much – I feel like the Moses for our time is gone. Thanks to God, his messages are saved for us.
I have attended Calvary Chapels elsewhere (on vacation) but the Calvary pastor here where I live is weird. So, for anyone interested, I highly recommend the C3000 series. There is also a 3 video tribute to Chuck (on youtube I believe) which will bring tears to your eyes.
Thanks to Anna for Pagan Invasion. I too, just heard about this series and plan to get it.
Hi David,
I agree with you and it makes me think of the verse in scripture that admonishes us all to take heed lest we fall. I have read quotes by Chuck Smith’s wife and son in very high praise of Lonnie Frisbee, even though his LSD use was common knowledge. Even after Lonnie died of aids, Chuck Smith’s son referred to Lonnie as the “nitro” and Chuck Smith as the “glycerin”. I am totally uncomfortable with that, but I will say no more. I actually deeply regret now that I brought up Lonnie Frisbee because Chuck Smith was a godly and very decent man and we need way more like him. And every pastor of every Biblicist church who is accomplishing things for God is not going to go unnoticed by the enemy. Thank you for replying to my comment because I think you said all the right things. There was a time that Calvary Chapel of Ft. Lauderdale was a home away from home for me.
Don, I don’t know who to trust anymore Don. I don’t know if I trust Cruz either. He seems sincere, but we have been duped before.I look at who Cruz has worked under before, such as Bush-Cheney and in defense of Boehner in a lawsuit. His wife Heidi works for the honorable Goldman Sachs and she is a member of the CFR. Maybe it’s nothing, but everyone seems to have ties to others in govt that have betrayed the peoples trust before. Just feel I will be duped again.
Hi Robert,
The politicians in America are doing what the majority that they represent want or they would not be elected and reelected. The problem is that secular humanism in the real belief of many Americans even if they give lip service to some god. If we did not have the moral issue the other problems would not exist. The plain truth is that God gave them over to do the unseemly because they would not retain the knowledge of Him in their lives.
I’m no saint, but even I can’t believe how this country has changed Don. Bombarded daily by evil in govt, business, entertainment, shopping, and driving on highways daily is a challenge. I’m trying to draw closer to God and tell my wife we are tested ourselves in order to be dependent on God, not man, govt, job, or ourselves. I’m very thankful for what I have and thankful for your work and information on this site. You are very knowledgeable and a blessing to all. Thanks for all your work.
a 1.8 million skull has been found so it makes me wonder about the 6000 year old man and creation. Something is strange here unless we dont take the 6000 years literally.
Simon,
They cannot date bones from before the flood, they use circular reasoning. Because it was found in some layer of sedimentary rock they say the bone is that old. They choose not to understand that most sediment was a result of the great flood.
Simon,
Are man’s guess-timations more to be believed than the God of truth and love.
The reason the ungodly have concocted the theory of evolution is because it gives them (they think) an excuse for rejecting God and/or his word. This pertains to those inside and outside the Church.
On the topic of “bone dating”, I have come to understand that the whole fossil bone dating is a sham to begin with.
I think it is as Brian said, man’s guess-timation at best, or worse, a biased fraudulent ideology centered on disproving Biblical accounts…kind of a back door atheism.
I do know from personal experience that the majority of public displays of “ancient” bones shown are models, not the real bones themselves….and when the rarity of real “ancient” bones are on display, there most likely will be guards protecting it.
The deception of the fake models aren’t even told to the unknowing public…they are presented as authentic and the actual bones.
Should we expect anything less from the deceivers ?
thanx for your explanations, it really does seem like they will try to say anything possible to reject god,fools.
Don, do you have any thoughts on tne Trans-Pacific partnership agreement? And weather it mzy be stage setting for one world government or other prophetic implications? I am just learning about it myself and was curious of your perspective.
Hi Jen,
Nothing specific, all theses international trade agreements are another step toward world governance.
Don,
What is the significance that almost all the astute christians around the world that follow world events sense that the end is near? Is this a God given feeling to let his people know the general timing of His return or can anybody know this just by putting the pieces together?
Jim,
It is what is said in the Bible about Israel. It is also conditions on earth and conditions among those that are claiming to follow Christ. It is really the word of God as illuminated by the Holy Spirit in His people. Even so, non Christians can come to the conclusion that mankind cannot survive much longer. That is why Bible prophecy continues to be a great witnessing tool as we approach the end of the age.
Don,
I really enjoy reading your insights into scripture and prophecy. I don’t mean to get off topic but you mentioned the passing of Pastor Chuck Smith. I was wondering what you thought of Pastor Greg Laurie who was mentored by Chuck Smith.
Please let me add something about Lonnie Frisbee. I was there during that time in Costa Mesa and my attention was always on Jesus, not some superhero pastor/leader. Of course, I knew of Lonnie, but I didn’t know he was having problems with drugs and homosexuality.
I was attending a CC fellowship in Cincinnati, when my pastor, Ed Gaines, told me that Lonnie was in a backslidden state and that 2 Calvary Chapel pastors had ministered to him on his death bed. Lonnie was very difficult to talk to and determined to go on with his lifestyle, (even though he was dying of aids), but before he died he did come back to the Lord.
Sheep wander away – part of their nature – but Jesus goes and gets them. Just thought I would clear that up.
David,
I used to like Greg Laurie but he seems to be too much into ecumenicism these days. Anyone who quotes “The Message” as if it were God’s word is part of the postmodern problem. Anyway, I hate to broad-bush Laurie because I really do not listen to his teaching anymore, it seems too shallow to waste my time on. Having the gift of evangelism does not necessarily qualify one to become a good Pastor/teacher.
Don,
Couldn’t agree more with your last comment. I had that same nagging feeling – shallow teaching – so I stopped listening to or reading Laurie’s articles. It is funny how the Spirit teaches you all things. Good to know I wasn’t the only person who felt that way.
Hello don,
I have been going through some of the links on this site and am overwhelmingly grateful for all these resources.I would like to ask what you think about some information from living journey as I know I will get a logical realistic response from you.I hope I am asking in the right area.
There is an article on sky trumpets that I came across early this year and here it is again.
The discussions are saying it is a warning of some sorts while others dispute it and say it is some worldwide hoax.LA Marrzulli made comments but I am not sure if he is correct.
Would God cause something as obvious as this?
anna
(aust)
RE: Greg Laurie,
I do think you all are bringing up valid points on Greg Laurie.
He does seem to be trying to bring The Gospel to all people by all methods.
Most of what he says is accurate scripturally, but then there is the evidence that he uses some weak or questionable material to get his points across…which I think we should rightfully question.
I think when a pastor is trying to minister to a stadium full of people, a pastor might get mega church syndrome possibly.
RE: End Times Evangelized By Astute Christians
It is not hard to see regardless of where one is in the world that the world system is about to implode.
For an atheist or non-believer (in Christ), we are seeing a growing trend towards power struggles and getting the “culprit” Christians muzzled or destroyed…this is happening worldwide as I see it.
In the U.S., Liberalism seems to be quite sure that if they can just get rid of Christianity and any mention of Jesus, sin, or The Cross…then everything will be great.
So, things continue to get worse in the U.S., so the libs want more of their homosexual, deviant human acts, everything goes nonsense and continue to kick The Living God and any shred of human decency out of society through our courtrooms, which they seem to be winning at nearly every turn.
The Way, The Truth, And The Life = Jesus Christ is the ONLY solution…but is being rejected instead.
An astute Bible Believing Christian is not lost or looking for man’s answers to world problems, he/she can plainly see that these world events are not some coincidence or related to a fixable problem by humanity, it is abundantly clear that what we are seeing develop before our very eye’s is running right on course 100% with what The Bible said would happen in the last days.
Anna,
The noises are natural events. There are various theories on what causes them. I put L.A. in the same boat as Steve Quayle, Tom Horn, Sid Roth, and all the rest of the hyper-charismatics that are looking for anything to prove to their followers that signs and wonders are taking place and the tribulation is already upon us. All of these guys are post-toasties looking for the Antichrist rather than looking for Jesus Christ returning for His Church.
For those who are interested and perhaps had some connection to Pastor Chuck Smith and/or Calvary Chapel, there is a 4 hour memorial to Pastor Chuck that looks to be quite good.
I was concerned that it might glorify Pastor Chuck and take the eye’s of the viewer off of Our Lord, Jesus Christ…but so far, it does not, it is sort of a retrospective with a strong emphasis on Pastor Chuck’s Love Of The Lord Jesus.
http://watch.pastorchucksmith.com/